Who Needs Love?
Episode 21
Reflekta: Look At Me
"Dude. You're a model. Taking pictures is like, second nature to you."
It's Picture Day, and while everyone is nonchalant about the whole thing, Adrien is shifting from foot to foot, casting nervous glances at Marinette. Nino is trying to calm his best friend down, which unfortunately proves to be in vain.
"Yeah, but it's going to be my first picture with her. If I look even the slightest bit off, I'll never forgive myself," Adrien says, and when his panicked cries catch Marinette's attention, he throws a scowl her way to hide his nervousness. Marinette sticks her tongue out at him before turning around with a hmph!
"You're photogenic from every angle, man," Nino says. "You have nothing to worry about."
"Yeah," says a quiet voice behind them. Adrien and Nino turn to see a frowning Juleka. She continues, "At least you'll be in the photo."
"No, Juleka, I'm telling you—you're not cursed!" Rose cries, grabbing her best friend's arm. "This time it's going to work out. I know it will."
"What do you mean by cursed?" Adrien asks the black-haired girl.
"Ever since I was little, every time someone takes a photo of me…" Juleka sighs, looking down at her feet. "Something always goes wrong."
Juleka tells them about the past pictures she's tried to be in—her first class picture when she entered the Collège was ruined when Max shot his arm up in the air and covered her face. She and Rose attempted to take a picture together just last week, but a pigeon flew into the picture, thus covering Juleka's face. Finally, Rose and Juleka bumped into Alya, Marinette, Max and Kim at the park. Max wanted to take a picture for old times' sake, but Juleka tripped on her way to her spot next to Kim, resulting in her only being a black and purple blur in the far corner of the picture.
When it comes to taking pictures, Juleka really does have the worst luck.
"That really does sound like a curse," Nino says.
"It does," Adrien agrees. He places a hand on Juleka's shoulder and smiles at her. "But don't worry. We'll do our best to make sure you're in the picture. We'll break your curse."
Juleka smiles at Adrien's words. "Thanks, Adrien," she says.
When the current class taking their class picture leaves the courtyard, the photographer quickly eyes the class and adjusts his equipment. When he's all done, he points over at Max, Alix, Rose, Marinette and Mylene.
"You five!" the photographer says. "At the very front! And hurry up; I've got sixteen more classes!"
When the five of them take their seats, Chloe snorts, "Look Sabrina—they're up front at the baby seats!" She and Sabrina giggle at the blonde's joke, and the five at the very front only roll their eyes at the Queen Bee's comment.
The photographer then points to Alya, Nathanael, Sabrina and Chloe. "You four, at the rear bench," the man instructs, and Chloe's mouth drops open.
"Wait just one minute!" Chloe cries, stomping her foot childishly. "I have to be in the middle row right next to Adrien—though, preferably in the center." She yanks Adrien down to her level and says, "Look, we're the same height!"
The photographer rolls his eyes. "No. Go stand in the back row with the rest," he says.
"How dare you?!" Chloe shrieks, stomping her way over to him. "You're making me stand at the very back! Do you know who my father is?!"
"Is he a photographer?" he asks with a straight face on.
Chloe gasps. "N-no, but—" she begins.
"Then I don't need to hear it," the professional yawns. "Now, go stand with the rest. Or would you prefer to sit in the baby seats?" Chloe lets out a growl before walking over to her assigned place with a scowl on her face. The photographer slides over to the remaining students and says, "The rest of you, go stand in the second row."
While walking over to his spot, Adrien tells Chloe, "It's no big deal, Chloe. As long as we're all in the same picture, right?"
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!" the photographer exclaims. "Now let's take this photo!"
Adrien looks around, and smiles to himself when he sees Marinette sitting right in front of him. Not only will he be in a picture with Marinette, but he's so close to her too. He continues to look around, but his smile drops when Juleka's nowhere in sight. He looks back over to where he last saw her standing, to find that she's still standing in the same spot. He sees her look down at the bracelet tied around her wrist sadly.
Adrien quickly raises his hand. "Excuse me, sir, you forgot Juleka," he says, pointing over at the black-haired girl, who looks up in surprise.
"Oh, my bad! Forgive me, forgive me," the photographer says. "Go stand in the middle row, next to the blonde-haired boy who just talked."
"You're going to be right in the center," Adrien smiles, making room for his classmate. "All eyes will be on you. No more cursed photos." Juleka nods at him with a smile.
"Oh, this isn't right!" the photographer exclaims while looking through his lens. "It's not working here!"
"Of course it's not working—I'm in the wrong spot!" Chloe cries, crossing her arms. "I demand to be moved!"
"No, no, you're fine where you are," the man says, tapping his chin with his finger. "You," he points at Ivan. "Move here." After several shots of Ivan in different spots, the photographer lets out a cry of distress.
"Excuse me, but do we have a problem?" Principal Damocles asks.
"Me being in this spot is the problem!" Chloe complains, making the entire class sigh in exasperation. The blonde tries to jump down a row by pushing Juleka out of the way, but Juleka fights back, not allowing her to take her spot. For the first time ever, she's going to be seen in a picture—no way is she going to let her take this away from her.
"Ms. Bourgeois, behave yourself!" Mme Bustier scolds.
"This isn't gym class, you know Chloe," Adrien says. "Don't go pushing Juleka out of the way." Unknown to him, Marinette smiles at his words.
"You—over here, and you—over here," the photographer instructs. "You—over here, and you… here. There! Perfect!" The man smiles at his success, and everyone seems to be happy with the change, except for one.
"Uh, no?!" Chloe thunders. "It's not perfect at all! I'm totally not next to Adrien!"
At her words, Adrien and Marinette sigh.
"Please Chloe, we still have sixteen classes to photograph," Principal Damocles says, making Chloe growl and cross her arms.
"Everybody say cheese!" the photographer exclaims.
"Cheese!"
Juleka pulls on her widest smile, happy to finally be in a picture, when a beep suddenly resounds from the photographer's camera. "Oh, I don't believe this. Sorry, I have to go and fetch another battery. Nobody move!"
When the photographer leaves, Juleka looks down with a frown. "She knew it—it was too good to be true. She'll never be able to break her curse.
Juleka moves past her classmates and asks Mme Bustier, "Can I go to the washroom?"
"Sure, but hurry," the teacher answers, and Juleka quietly slips away.
Shortly after Juleka leaves, Sabrina jumps down from her seat and says, "Mme Bustier, I have to go too!" This is enough to make Adrien raise an eyebrow in suspicion, and he shoots a subtle glare in Chloe's direction. If something goes wrong, he's pretty sure he knows who's responsible for it.
"We're back in business!" the photographer exclaims upon returning. While he's not looking, Chloe jumps next to Adrien and hugs his arm.
"Chloe?!" Marinette scowls.
"How did you get here?" Adrien asks, and then frantically looks around. "Where's Juleka?!"
"Who cares? I'm in the right spot!" Chloe exclaims, wrapping her arms around Adrien's neck. "I'm finally next to my Adrikins!"
"I want you to flash your best smiles because this is the last time we're doing this!" the photographer exclaims. "Cheese!"
"Wait!" Adrien cries, throwing his arm out.
Snap!
"Thank you, everyone," the photographer says. "You'll each get your own copy of the class photo by the end of this week."
"Wait!" Adrien exclaims. "Please, sir, we have to redo the photo!" He couldn't stand the thought of being in a class picture when Juleka has been in school longer than he has. It wouldn't be fair.
"Why's that?" Principal Damocles asks.
"Juleka isn't in the picture," Adrien says. After his claim, everyone looks around and gasps to see that Juleka is nowhere in sight.
Questions like where did she go? and didn't she go to the washroom? travel around the courtyard, and not wanting to risk losing her spot next to Adrien in the retake, Chloe whispers to the principal, "Mr. Damocles, aren't we meant to be heading off to lunch now? And aren't you paying the photographer by the hour?"
"I'm sorry, everyone, but there's simply no more time to retake the picture," the principal says. "Move along, now. It's time for lunch."
"Juleka was locked in the washroom. She really does have the photo curse," Rose says sadly.
Adrien and Nino are sitting on one of the benches out in the courtyard, and Rose joined them when she returned from the washroom. Rose takes a seat next to Nino and frowns as she buries her face in her hands. Nino tries to comfort the blonde by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I should've known Chloe was behind this," Adrien sighs. "I'm sorry, Rose. Chloe may be my oldest friend, but she can be pretty selfish at times."
"We could ask the photographer to retake it," Nino suggests.
Adrien shakes his head. "There's no point, he wouldn't want to. Unless…" he smirks. "The photo disappeared, and the principal would have no choice but to retake the photo—with Juleka."
Nino grins. "I know that look," he says, and then turns to Rose. "Adrien knows what to do. You have nothing to worry about."
"Just find Juleka," Adrien says. "I'll take care of the rest."
Adrien runs off, and unknowingly passes Marinette, who was listening to their entire conversation. She watches Adrien leave with admiration in her eyes, and a small smile forms on her lips.
"All the material stays in the principal's office during lunch break," Adrien says from his hiding spot. Plagg flies out of his pocket and lies on his shoulder.
"Wow, kid. I never thought I'd see you this way," the kwami says. "Disobedient. Not by-the-rules. Who are you and what have you done to Adrien?"
"Plagg, you see me like this every day," Adrien says, and he grins when Principal Damocles and the photographer walk out of the principal's office. "I just don't have my mask on right now."
When the two adults are out of sight, Adrien looks around the area and when the coast is clear, he runs into the room.
"While you're actually cool this way, I don't think it's a very good idea," Plagg says. "You can find another way to solve this."
"Don't worry. We won't get caught," Adrien says. He spots the camera sitting atop the principal's desk, and walks over to it. While flipping through the photos, Adrien hears the doorknob twisting open and throws himself under the desk.
"Yeah, we won't get caught, huh?" Plagg asks, and Adrien glares at him.
Adrien holds his breath, his heart hammering in his chest because he's afraid of being caught (what would his father say?), until: "Relax. It's just me."
Adrien's eyes widen and he pops his head out from underneath the desk to see Marniette standing by the door with her arms crossed. "M-Marinette?" he stutters. "What are you doing here?"
"I overheard you telling Rose about your plan," she says, pointing at the camera in his hands. "I thought I'd… help out."
Silence.
"Alright, how much do you want?" Adrien asks flatly, sticking his hand in his back pocket to grab his wallet. This angers Marinette, whose face turns red with anger and offense.
"What? I don't want anything!" Marinette exclaims, flustered. "I just want to help Juleka out. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Yes," Adrien says with a straight face on.
"Oh, forget it," Marinette scowls. "I won't help you. I've changed my mind."
Adrien shrugs. "Alright. Like I asked for your help anyway," he says, which only angers her more. "You'd probably drop the camera and get us into bigger trouble. Some help you'd be."
"I was so stupid to think for even one second that you deserved my kindness," Marinette scoffs.
"Your kindness lasts for one second. Seriously," Adrien says. "I can't think of one day where you haven't called me a jerk, an idiot, or self-absorbed."
"You talk!" Marinette roars, stomping over to him. Adrien remains unfazed as she yells at him, but inside, his stomach is doing flips due to how close she is. He thinks back to how close they were in the film shooting during that whole Horrificator event, and his face turns bright red. Marinette continues, "Try to think of one day you haven't called me a klutz, an idiot, or violent!"
"You are a klutz, an idiot, and violent!"
"Then you're a jerk, an idiot, and self-absorbed!"
"How am I self-absorbed in any way?!"
"How am I violent in any way?!"
"Your question just proves how much of an idiot you are! Nino has a tally board of how many times you've slapped me in the past week! Oh, and by the way, your hits don't hurt one bit. You hit as hard as an infant—ow!"
"AS HARD AS AN INFANT, HUH?"
"SEE? YOU JUST SLAPPED ME."
"BECAUSE YOU KEEP PROVOKING ME!"
"IF I GET A BRUISE, I KNOW WHO I'M BLAMING."
"I WILL END YOU—"
The door suddenly slams open, making the arguing couple's faces blanch. They slowly turn to the door to find Chloe and Sabrina standing there, and they painfully close their eyes. This is worse than being caught by the principal. "You two are alone? Again?!" Chloe shrieks.
"Hey, we didn't plan this," Adrien says, waving his hands while shaking his head.
"Well, good thing you two didn't get inside here at the same time," Chloe says, snapping her fingers. Sabrina takes her phone out to reveal a picture of Marinette entering the principal's office, making both Adrien and Marinette gasp. "The principal would just love this video of you snooping around in his office, wouldn't he?"
"Delete that video, Chloe," Adrien says sternly.
"But Adrikins!" Chloe pouts. "We finally have a picture together!"
"We can take a picture together anytime," Adrien says. "Just don't get Marinette in trouble." Marinette looks up at him in surprise.
Scowling, Chloe takes her phone out and deletes the video, showing it to Adrien to prove that she really did. Just as he's about to thank her, a voice thunders from the other side of the door, "Where is Chloe Bourgeois?!"
"What was that?!" Chloe cries. Believing the voice belongs to an akumatized victim, Adrien grabs the camera's memory card, and then Marinette's hand, and runs out of the principal's office. He hears Chloe scream after them, "Adrikins?! Don't just leave me here!"
Adrien and Marinette run up the stairs and hide behind a wall, panting heavily as they catch their breath. "There you are at last! Chloe Bourgeois!" they hear the voice exclaim, and they poke their heads out of their hiding spots to see a flashy, pink-clad akumatized victim standing on the rails. It's hard to miss her—she caught their eyes immediately.
"Who are you?" Chloe grimaces.
"Reflekta!" she exclaims. The villain jumps in front of her and says, "Now, take a good look at me because I'm your future face!"
Chloe pushes her and screams, "Gross! I'd rather look like Marinette than look like you!"
This comment makes Adrien stifle his laughter, earning him an elbow in the gut from Marinette.
Chloe attempts to run away, but Reflekta zaps her with her bracelet, and Chloe is enveloped in bright, white light. When the flash disappears, Adrien and Marinette gasp to see that Chloe's been transformed into an exact replica of Reflekta.
"What in the—?!" Chloe looks down at her attire in horror. "Do you have any idea how much my outfit cost?!"
"You should be thanking me!" Reflekta cackles. "You look a thousand times better looking like me!"
Seeing that he has to go transform, Adrien quietly slips away from Marinette and runs into the nearest washroom. He checks the stalls to make sure that no one's there, and Plagg flies out of his pocket when he says that it's clear. "Do we have to transform?" Plagg yawns. "I think you'd look good in heels."
"No Camembert for a week."
"Fine."
"PLAGG, TRANSFORM ME!" Adrien screams as he throws his arm forward. After transforming into Chat Noir, he leaps out of the washroom, ready for battle. He's crouching over the rails, and listens in to what Reflekta is telling who he believes is still Chloe.
"You won't get rid of me by locking me in the washroom this time," Reflekta grins.
"Juleka!" Chat Noir gasps. The hero jumps between Reflekta and Chloe, stopping the villain from making an attack against his childhood friend. "Juleka, stop!"
"I'm not the Juleka nobody notices anymore," Reflekta says with a dash of pain in her voice. "I'm Reflekta now! And there's no way anyone can miss me!" Reflekta aims her bracelet at Chat Noir and grins, "I'm sure you'd love your new image, Chat Noir."
"No thanks, I prefer the one I've got," Chat Noir says, twirling his staff in front of him.
"Are you sure? Ask Ladybug," Reflekta says with a smirk. "I'm sure she loves her new look."
"You zapped her?!" Chat Noir asks.
"Yes, and she looks much better. I hate bugs," Reflekta says. "And I hate cats too."
Reflekta proceeds to shoot beams at Chat Noir, who dodges each one with a spin of his staff. He jumps off the second floor and runs around the open courtyard, dodging and deflecting each beam thrown his way. Chat Noir tries to fight her off, but with each attack he makes, Reflekta deflects with a zap of her bracelet.
"Soon, like everyone else, you'll look just like me," Reflekta cackles. Chat Noir tries to strike her, but Reflekta grabs his arm. "But first, I'm going to take your ring…"
"If you want to go through him," a voice behind Reflekta says. "You're going to have to go through us first." The akumatized victim and Chat Noir turn their heads to see an army of Reflekta's standing with their arms akimbo, glaring daggers at the villain.
"Ladybug…?" Chat Noir asks, and the Reflekta standing at the very front nods her head at him with a smile on her face.
Reflekted-Ladybug points at the villain. "Catch her!"
The hoard of Reflekted students charge at her, but Reflekta dodges them by jumping over their heads. When she makes it to the end, Reflekta cackles, "You're no match for me, Chat Noir! It'll be over for you soon! You'll see!" She escapes by jumping over the school's walls, and when she's out of sight, the students all rush to Chat Noir.
"Are you going to help us, Chat Noir?" one student asks.
"We want our faces back!" another cries.
"Don't worry, I'll figure it out," Chat Noir says.
"You're not doing it alone, Chat," says a familiar voice. Chat Noir turns around to find a Reflekta standing behind him with a sheepish smile on her face.
"My Lady?" Chat Noir asks (and somewhere in the crowd, he swore he heard Alya cry LadyNoir! followed by the sound of a camera starting a recording). Before he could say anything else, Reflekted-Ladybug grabs Chat Noir's hand and runs off to speak with him in private.
"Um… surprise?" Ladybug laughs nervously.
"You fell, didn't you," Chat Noir says in such a monotone it hardly sounds like a question. "And then she zapped you."
"No," Ladybug growls. "I was in the middle of using my Lucky Charm to try to break open the door, when she zapped me. You better hurry because I really want my face back."
"Why? You look better this way than your usual self."
"I will take one of my heels and shove it down your throat," Ladybug says flatly. "You should thank me for getting you out of that tight spot."
"For your information, I didn't need your help," Chat Noir says stubbornly. "I could've solved it all on my own."
"You're welcome," Ladybug rolls her eyes. "Look, my powers were taken away when she zapped me, so it's all up to you."
"Sweet. A free tally mark yet again," Chat Noir grins.
"Remind me who just saved you a minute ago?" Ladybug scowls.
"Yeah, yeah," Chat Noir smirks. "Anyways, I have to go find Reflekta. You'll just slow me down." He's about to leave, when Ladybug suddenly grabs his arm.
"Maybe, but you know, sometimes I do have ideas," Ladybug says.
"That's a first."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing."
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Ladybug rolls her eyes. "Taking down Reflekta isn't a good idea unless you want to look like her too."
Chat Noir's ears perk up. "That gives me an idea…" he grins. He pulls Ladybug close to him (failing to see the redness on her cheeks when he did so), and pole-vaults them over the school's walls.
"Wh-where are we headed?" Ladybug stammers.
"To the TV Station," Chat Noir grins. "I've got a plan."
"And you want me to help?" Ladybug asks, eyes sparkling.
"No, I just want you to watch me win."
Ladybug smiles. "Yeah, alright, you stupid cat."
"People of Paris! Reflekta is not invincible. You can help me—all you have to do is put on a disguise, then I'll be able to spot the real Reflekta and bring her down. I'm relying on you all!"
"And… cut!"
Chat Noir walks off the stage and over to Ladybug, who has her fist out for him to bump. He brushes it off just to spite her, and Ladybug instead throws her fist at him. Chat Noir narrowly dodges her hit, laughing at the grimace on her face.
"Sorry, but isn't your plan a bit complicated?" Ladybug asks.
"Oh, Ladybug. Always so clueless," Chat Noir teases. "This isn't my real plan. The real plan is, now that Reflekta knows that we're at the TV station, she'll come right here to get us."
"Oh, smart," Ladybug nods.
After minutes of waiting and hiding, the door of the station slams open, and Reflekta walks into the room, looking around. Chat Noir pulls a sneak attack, throwing his staff at her, thus knocking her off her feet.
"The akuma's in her bracelet! Go for it!" Chat Noir screams, and Ladybug comes sprinting at Reflekta. She swipes the villain's bracelet off and throws it at Chat Noir, who catches it flawlessly. He throws the mirror on the floor, smashing it, but no butterfly emerges from it. "What the? It's not the real bracelet!"
Reflekta's cackles echoes throughout the room, making Chat Noir and Ladybug look around in confusion.
"I'm sorry!" the fake Reflekta cries. "She promised that she'd changed me back if I tricked you!"
"Mayor Bourgeois?!" Ladybug cries. "You can't be serious!"
"I'm sorry!" the mayor cries. Chat Noir shakes his head in disappointment—he's just like Chloe. So selfish. Only thinking of himself.
A beam of light is zapped in their direction, and Ladybug jumps in front of Chat Noir to prevent him from transforming into a Reflekta. Ladybug smiles at him when he makes a look a surprise, and tells him, "You've always been the one taking the blow for me. I thought that it's time I return the favor."
Chat Noir smiles. "Thanks, Ladybug."
"I've been changed already, so her zaps have no impact on me," Ladybug says. "Go capture that akuma!"
Chat Noir nods. "CATACLYSM!" he screams, and the familiar dark glow appears on his hand. The hero sprints over to the light switch and slams his hand on it, causing the entire room to black out. Through his night vision, Chat Noir can see three Reflekta's walking around with their arms extended to prevent themselves from smashing into something.
Chat Noir pokes one of the Reflekta's with his staff, and the first one lets out a manly cry (Mayor Bourgeois, he notes). The second one threatens, "Do that one more time and you'll be sorry once this is all over." (His Lady, he notes). This leaves the third and last one, which is obviously the real akumatized victim.
He runs over to the villain and trips her with his staff, who reacts by zapping beams of light in every direction. Chat Noir deflects each attack with a twirl of his staff, and when he's close enough, he knocks Reflekta's bracelet out of her hand with his weapon.
"You made it too easy," Chat Noir smirks. "You zapped the hero without night vision."
Chat Noir drops the bracelet and crushes it with a stomp of his foot, and a black butterfly flutters out of the broken item. Chat Noir paints a butterfly white as clouds, and watches it fly away in the distance.
"MIRACULOUS CHAT!" Chat Noir exclaims, hitting the end of his staff against the floor. Magic dust swirls all over the place, and the room is lit up once again. A black and violet cloud envelops Reflekta, turning her back into Juleka, and the dust swirls around the two other Reflekta's, revealing Ladybug and Mayor Bourgeois.
Ladybug walks over to her rival and gives him a thumbs up. "Good job, Chat," she says.
"Like always," Chat Noir says with a cocky grin.
"Wh-where am I?" Juleka asks, clutching the sides of her head.
"You didn't use your Lucky Charm today, so you can take her back to school," Chat Noir says, looking down at his beeping ring. "That's one more point for me on the tally board."
"I know, I know," Ladybug says.
He turns to Juleka and grins, "Why don't you go get that picture taken?" Juleka shyly nods her head after being spoken to by her favorite superhero. Chat Noir then turns to his rival. "I'll see you later, Ladybug," he says, giving her a two-finger salute.
"See you, Chat Noir," Ladybug grins, escorting Juleka and Mayor Bourgeois out of the building.
Chat Noir escapes to the roof of the building and hops from roof to roof until he makes it to his school. He hides behind a tree at the park nearby, and his transformation wears off to reveal Adrien. He starts walking towards the school with Plagg lying in his inner breast pocket.
"You know what, Plagg?" Adrien asks, taking the memory card out of the pocket of his pants. "I shouldn't have stolen this. You were right. For once."
"Of course I—excuse me?" Plagg asks, mouth dropping open. "Wow. That's the last time I help you."
Laughing, Adrien enters the school building and walks over to the photographer, who's just about to snap a picture of the current class. "Excuse me?" Adrien says, catching the photographer's attention. The blond holds up the memory card. "I think you dropped this."
The photographer looks down at his camera to see it blinking, indicating that its memory card is missing. "Ah, thank you!" he exclaims, taking the card.
"I know you're very busy, but one of our classmates weren't in the photo you took. Is there any way we could do it again?" Adrien asks.
"Well, I'm running late with everything that's been going on…" the man says. "I'm not sure if it will be possible…"
"I understand, but could we do it after you're finished here at the school," Adrien says. "We could set up at the park next door." Seeing the professional's uneasiness, Adrien says, "I remember you, you know."
"You…" the photographer's eyes widen. "You're Adrien Agreste, right? You remember someone such as myself?"
"Of course," Adrien nods. "Any time you're scheduled as my photographer for my photoshoot, I get really happy. I'm always satisfied with your work."
"Well, when you put it that way…" he grins. "Why not?"
"Alright, ready?"
The students of Mme Bustier's class are the park near École Francoise-Dupont, ready to take their class picture. Everyone is present—except for Chloe and Sabrina. They claim that they aren't interested in being in the picture.
From left to right, Nino, Rose, Juleka, Max and Alix are sitting on the bench. Standing up behind them are (from left to right once again) Ivan, Nathanael, Adrien, Marinette, Alya and Kim. Juleka is the one shining as she sits at the very center, and she flashes her brightest smile at the camera.
"Good idea, Adrien," Marinette whispers to him. "I really admire you for doing all this for Juleka."
"I know you do, klutz," Adrien jokes, his cheeks painted pink. "I'm just that admirable."
Marinette scowls. "Forget I said anything, jerk."
Adrien looks down at her and laughs, and Marinette only rolls her eyes in response, but Adrien doesn't miss the smile that spreads on her face when she thinks he isn't looking.
"Three, two, one," the photographer says. "Say cheese!"
"Cheese!"
Snap!
The picture is taken, and everyone huddles around the professional to see the results. Nothing is covering Juleka's face in the picture, and her smile far outshines everyone else's.
"The curse is broken!" Rose exclaims at the sight of her best friend's face.
"Thank you, Adrien," Juleka says. And Adrien flashes her a pearly-white grin.
The entire class proceeds to take several other pictures just for fun, which will be sent to each one of them (if they kept it a secret from their principal, of course).
The first picture is of Rose, Juleka and Marinette making funny faces.
The second picture is of Juleka standing in the middle of Adrien, Nino and Kim, who are mimicking the signature pose from Charlie's Angels.
The third picture is of Juleka in the very center, surrounded by her classmates, who have their fingers pointing at her.
While everyone is laughing and talking about other poses they should do, Adrien is looking through the rest of the pictures, stopping at one that has his eyes widening.
Everyone is looking at the camera except for Marinette.
She's looking at him.
end card
A/N: Ladybug was the one who got Reflekted! I hope you guys liked the change! Next chapter is Pixelator, and I have one question for all of you: ARE YOU READY FOR THE LADRIEN? It's going to be the first time Adrien and Ladybug actually interact with each other in Who Needs Love? I'm really excited to write it. c:
Shout-out to the sweet SophiaCrutchfeild for making a playlist for this fanfic! I really appreciate it, thank you so much! :') The link is on my profile, but in case it doesn't work, you can find it on 8tracks. Just add /sophiacrutchfeild/who-needs-love-1 at the end of the link! Thank you to all those who added this story to their favorites and alerts, and thank you to all those who reviewed! I love you all!
Thank you for reading!
Akuma Capture:
Ladybug: 11
Chat Noir: 12
Next Episode: Pixelator