Lila ran towards where she had seen Marinette vanish. No, no, no...

"Marinette?" Lila called out softly, feeling her heart beginning to pound. She needed to confirm it now. Lila peered around the hunk of building where Marinette had disappeared. Her worst fears were confirmed; Marinette was nowhere to be found. All she could see was a small red band on the ground. It was a hair tie.

Lila didn't know how to reconcile her thoughts. Sometimes she kept clinging to her hopes, but it didn't seem like she could do that now. She didn't want to believe Marinette was Ladybug. She had kept telling herself that she needed to know, that she needed to find out. But she occasionally thought that she didn't want to discover the truth. Because what if she did, and she learned that the girl she adored was also the girl she hated? Lila picked up the hair tie and sat down amongst the rubble, feeling hurt inside. She stared at the red color, thinking.

She really liked Marinette. She really did. Marinette was kind and sweet. She was friendly and she liked Lila. But when Lila thought about Ladybug, she recalled only the shame that had burned her body that time. She could only remember feeling angry and upset. And then she remembered the darkness of being possessed by Hawkmoth. Where her feelings for revenge were amplified and controlled every fiber of her being.

That was a bad time.

If Marinette was Ladybug, then why had she even approached Lila in the first place? Lila thought of when Ladybug had purified the butterfly, and of when she apologized. It seemed negligible in comparison to the damage Ladybug had done. Maybe Marinette felt guilty about what happened.

That would mean she was only being nice to Lila out of obligation.

Lila gritted her teeth. She couldn't think of any other reason. When Marinette had offered friendship in the very beginning, all Lila had thought was that she was being nice. That Marinette saw another potential friend in Lila. She had also indeed thought that Marinette could have been Ladybug and was planning something else. But Lila had decided that if Marinette wasn't Ladybug, she had simply been kind. And that after spending more time together, that Marinette actually liked her. And she'd almost convinced herself that Marinette was nothing more than Marinette.

Lila had always feared finding out that it was Marinette who had worn the red and black mask and hurled accusation after accusation at her. But thinking about it now, it felt like she had just known it all along and had been pretending like she didn't, just because she had feelings for her. Why did romantic feelings have to get in the way of logic? It had been obvious since the beginning. The truth had always been clear.

That meant Marinette never actually liked her either. She'd never wanted to be friends. She just did it out of guilt. Or some other ulterior motive. And Lila had liked her. But that didn't even mean much, considering that Marinette already was in love with Adrien Agreste. So it wasn't like a relationship could have even worked out, even if her wooing had been successful.

Lila was less mad about Marinette being Ladybug then she was about Marinette never having actually liked her in the first place.

You still don't know for sure, a small voice said in her head. It could still all be coincidence.

"Lila!" A voice called. It sounded like Alya. "Did Adrien get over there yet?"

"No." Lila answered, but it may have been too quiet to register. Then Alya said something else, but she tuned it out, not wanting to listen.

She thanked you, a voice said. She didn't mind you holding her.

She doesn't even like me.

Why would anyone like me?

Just then she heard footsteps, and she looked up from her sitting position. It was Paris's other favorite superhero, Chat Noir.

"Chat Noir, at your service!" He said, and bowed. Lila scoffed; she'd had enough of super heroes.

"Isn't the villain somewhere else?" Lila looked away. More unwanted thoughts came to her head. Everyone knew that Chat Noir was head over heels in love with Ladybug, who was Marinette.

"It's not safe here, mademoiselle." Chat said. "Your friends on the other side told me to find you." Then he glanced around. "Speaking of which, shouldn't there be another girl here?" He asked.

"She left." Lila said, still looking away.

"Where?" Chat Noir inquired.

"I don't know." Lila answered bitterly. Then, without warning, Chat Noir crouched down and picked Lila up.

"Hang tight. I'll jump over to your friends." He warned as she suddenly felt furious. She didn't want anything to do with super heroes. She didn't want to go back to the others, she didn't want to see them. She wanted to go home and never come back.

"Let me go!" Lila hissed, beginning to struggle. "Put me down!"

Chat Noir nearly dropped Lila in surprise, and he put her down. "What's wrong?" He asked, stepping back several feet and giving Lila space. She felt hot and angry. She felt her heart beginning to pound as she breathed. Then she looked at Chat Noir, who had his hands up and worry etched in his face. He looked almost afraid for her. Maybe he was afraid of her. Of Volpina.

"Look. Don't you have to go to Ladybug?" Lila spat, anger coloring her voice. She felt overwhelmed with negativity. Of course the one girl she'd thought who liked her was actually her worst nightmare. Of course the one person Lila had developed feelings for had to be Ladybug.

"I…" Chat began, looking bewildered. Suddenly Lila saw a familiarity in Chat Noir's appearance. His hair was wilder now, but it was definitely hair she'd seen before. His green eyes were full of concern, eyes that Lila had once tried to keep on her. How perfect for them!

"Just leave me alone." Lila said as her anger began to grow.

"I'm sorry." The hero said.

I'm sorry, Ladybug's voice echoed in her head.

Lila turned around and ran, adrenaline pumping through her veins as emotions filled her body. She felt tears coming yet again, and she felt an intense hatred for herself. Lila was mad at Marinette, at Ladybug, and now she was mad at herself. For crying, for fooling herself, for being weak around Marinette. For being weak around Ladybug.

For falling for someone like Ladybug.

Why…

Ladybug already had someone who loved her, anyway.

Lila squeezed her eyes tight for a second as she raised an arm to wipe at her face. To think she cried earlier out of happiness! But then she'd felt her foot hit some solid, and she lurched forward. Lila crashed into the ground, her hands and knees taking the brunt of the fall. Her phone flew and skidded across the ground a couple of feet away, and then it vibrated. Lila shuddered as she sat back on her knees and looked at her hands. There were scratches all over her palms and tears on her leggings. But she got up.

She breathed as walked over to her phone, which had survived its own fall.

Alya: have u seen mari or adrien? where are u?

Lila's eyes narrowed as she read the text, and then it buzzed again.

Alya: chat noir told us you didn't want to come over, r u ok?

Lila shoved the phone deep inside her bag and continued walking, looking down at her stinging hands before curling them into fists.

You never really had friends before, why is this so bad? A thought said. Lila's legs began to speed up, and then she was running again. She was upset about too many things, and she felt like her chest would burst with the fury and sadness raging inside. The rage she felt about Ladybug, about Marinette, about her own life. But as she ran, the emotions abated. The wind brushed her face as she carried own, her hair waving behind her.

It was nice.

At least, it was nice until sparkles swept by in front of her, effectively stopping Lila in her tracks. She looked around her as the light moved on. And then swirls of pink and red were suddenly curling around her and the buildings about her, repairing damage. Debris floated from the ground and fixed themselves in their rightful places. People came out of their crouched positions, gasping in awe and appreciation as they witnessed this miracle. It was Ladybug's final move during every attack. A fresh wave of hatred coursed through her as she watched the last vestiges of the color vanish, leaving a perfect Paris in its place but doing nothing for the damage done to Lila's hands or to her heart.

As if that wasn't the worst of it, she looked up to the sky just in time to see Ladybug herself flying above. She was heading back to her friends. To Alya and Nino and Adrien. And Lila, except she was no longer there. Lila watched as Ladybug dropped down between two buildings not far from where she currently stood. And then she watched as Marinette Dupain-Cheng walked out from the same exact alley only seconds after Ladybug had disappeared.

Lila had known along. Her lip trembled. It had been so nice earlier today. She'd felt like she really had had friends. She'd felt like she'd finally found people who liked her. And she'd felt like she'd found someone to love.

She smiled bitterly. The higher you go, the harder you fall. And wow, was her fall hard.

Marinette was walking away, back to where she thought Lila was. Lila's gaze hardened as she watched the girl's figure get smaller.

But before she could do anything else, a familiar darkness invaded her thoughts. No.

"Volpina. It seems as though someone has done you wrong once again." Hawkmoth's dark voice said. Lila's first thought was shock and terror. Not again! But then suddenly it felt like Lila's anger doubled, and then tripled, until it was the only emotion left inside of her. Her fists were clenching and unclenching and she felt her teeth grind against each other. "I can give you the power to have revenge." Hawkmoth continued. He sounded so persuasive, so reasonable.

"Yes, Hawkmoth." Lila's mouth moved, as a glowing purple light outlined her angry eyes. She felt like she was falling away while something else took her form. Her vision blurred as she fell farther. She didn't want to be Volpina again. And then she was enveloped in a bubbling black substance that erased her and left only Volpina in her place.

When Marinette made it back to where her friends were, she was confused to see only Alya and Nino.

"Where is everyone?" She asked as she approached. But just as she'd said that, Adrien came running over, looking fairly out of breath.

"Adrien!" Nino exclaimed. "You, okay?" He asked.

"Girl, where were you? During the akuma attack Chat Noir found us and we asked him to get you and Lila, but neither of you were there." Alya turned to Marinette. "I texted Lila but she hasn't replied."

"What? Lila and I split up to go around the buildings!" Marinette said, suddenly worried. What could have happened to Lila?

"Maybe she left?" Adrien suggested.

"Why would she have left?" Marinette asked incredulously.

"Uh, I mean, maybe she was upset about something and left?" He corrected his previous statement.

"But what would could have bothered her?" Marinette chewed on her lip as she thought. "I'll try calling her." I shouldn't have left her.

She took out her phone and called.

"Is that Volpina?" Alya asked as Marinette put her phone to her ear. She looked up to the sky and squinted at the orange spot among the clouds. But she didn't have to squint for much longer, because the spot was getting really big really fast.

There wasn't enough time to do more than widen her eyes before something seized her wrist and her feet left the ground, her phone tumbling from her hand to the floor.

What?!

Marinette watched as her friends yelled and reached for her, and then she looked up and felt her breath stop. Because it was definitely Volpina who held Marinette's wrist in a vice-like grip and was currently flying her off somewhere. At least, it was the akuma Volpina.

"Lila?" She said as the wind rushed past. Marinette was very confused. Volpina hadn't actually been able to fly before. Only her illusions had been capable of soaring through the sky. So why was this Volpina able to touch Marinette without bursting in a puff of smoke? Furthermore, she wasn't wearing the necklace that had contained the akuma beforehand, so what had Hawkmoth even infected?

"I'm not Lila." The akuma said without looking down at Marinette, venom in her voice. "I'm Volpina."

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked, worried for her friend. What could have made Lila like this again? Then Volpina turned her head slightly to shoot a look at Marinette, sending a jolt through her.

"You are."