Disclaimer: I don't own ML.
Thanks to Shiranai Atsune, Blue Roselette, yellow 14 and charlee13 for your reviews :)
"No way," Nino says.
"It must be the apocalypse," Alya adds.
"Your father gave you a whole weekend off?" Marinette finishes. Honestly, their shock would probably be sad if Adrien wasn't on cloud nine right now.
"He did!" Adrien says. "According to Nathalie, he thought I deserved a free weekend "to give my brain a break so that I'm refreshed for my busy week". Which makes you wonder why he never did this before, but sure."
"That's it," Alya declares. "We're storming your home. Your dad's probably been akumatised again."
"That just makes this sadder, dude!" Nino says. "Implying that his old man has to be akumatised to be nice to him!"
"Let's just enjoy the moment now and call Ladybug and Chat Noir on Monday," Marinette says. Her mischievous grin settles in Adrien's gut, warm and fluttery like a swarm of ladybugs, and if it wasn't for the fact that he would utterly screw things up for himself as Chat Noir and because of the whole non-consensual thing, he'd sweep her into a kiss right now.
"You've got a free weekend?" says someone from behind them, who turns out to be Lila when Adrien spins around to see who it is. "That's awesome, Adrien!"
"Yeah –" Adrien jumps when Lila grabs his arm and rests her head on his shoulder. What is it with people and touching him like he's a piece of meat? "Um – can you – I mean –"
"Yes?" Lila flutters her eyelashes with a coy smile.
"He wants you to stop touching him," Marinette says bluntly.
"Does he really?" Lila says. "I'm sure Adrien would use his words if I was making him uncomfortable."
But Adrien can't use his words, unused to feeling like his body is his and that he can ask people to stay outside his personal space bubble, and he's starting to suspect that Lila knows this. There's just…something about her eyes. After years of surviving in the public sphere, with people looking to cut throats and make deals everywhere they turn, it's become somewhat of a sixth sense for Adrien to know when there's more to people than meets the eye. And although Lila's given off signs before, they've never been quite so blatant until now.
"So, since you've got a free weekend," Lila says, running her fingers down his arm. He shivers, but she seems to interpret that as a signal to keep going, because she leans right in so that their faces are barely inches apart. "Maybe we could get dinner together? I know this great little Italian place and the owners just adore me. Italian food with an Italian girl, mio sole."
Adrien swallows around the lump in his throat. So, Lila is interested in him. And it's not that there's anything wrong with her. She's just…not Marinette. "Uh –" he croaks, trying to wriggle out of her iron grip. "I just –" A hand appears on Lila's shoulder and tries to push her away from Adrien.
"Can you back up and give him room?" Marinette says.
"I think my arm's falling asleep," Adrien says, but Lila doesn't loosen her grip. If anything, she seems to tighten it.
"Dude, just tell her," Nino says.
"What do you say, Adrien?" Lila says, shifting so that she's a barrier between him and Marinette. "Does Saturday night at six work for you?"
"Lila, you're making him uncomfortable!" Marinette snaps. Although he can't see her, the protective heat in her voice seems to fill Adrien's body and surge through him as hot courage.
"Marinette's right," he says, trying to tug his arm free of Lila's grip. "Sorry, Lila, but you're really making me uncomfortable. And I can't go out with you because…I love someone else. I'd just be leading you on, and you're too good for someone to do that to you."
Lila's jaw drops. For a moment, staring into her olive eyes is like looking directly into the depths of Hell, making Adrien shiver like someone had just dropped a bucket of icy water straight on his head. Then his cheek's on fire as Lila pushes him away and slaps him straight across the face.
"Eww! How dare you try to do that to me?" she shrieks, loud enough that everyone in the courtyard turns to stare at the mess unfolding before them. "What kind of a girl do you take me for, Agreste?" She tosses her hair and storms off, straight over to a group of girls from Ms Mendeleiev's class, who immediately rush to console her as she covers her face.
"Well," Alya says. "That happened."
Adrien gulps and whips around to avoid the looks from half the girls in the courtyard and the whispers starting to fly around. This can't be happening. He wouldn't – he'd never – what if Lila – she can't –
"Hey." Warm hands grab his and squeeze. His vision narrows until all he can see are bluebell eyes, lit with the same protective fire that had been in their owner's voice just before. "It's okay, Adrien. Just breathe."
"What if she goes further with this?" Adrien croaks. "I would never – you know – but they don't – my father would be furious –"
"She won't go further than a few nasty rumours," Marinette says firmly. When Adrien's vision hazes out to show more than just her eyes, he sees that she's looking over her shoulder at Lila with a wrinkled nose. "She knows you've got us to back you up, so I highly doubt that she'd take that risk. Especially since no one ever believes legitimate victims when they come forward."
"I mean, she's got this funky hypnosis over everyone, but Mari's right, dude," Nino says. "She's got more to lose than to gain. Being queen bee in the school's way different to wrapping the adults around her finger."
"Not to mention that it would be a slap in the face to girls who've actually had this shit happen to them," Alya snorts. "Actually, not even just girls. Anyone."
"You think she cares about that?" Marinette says. Alya rolls her eyes.
"Oh, yeah, my mistake."
The last of the adrenaline drains out of Adrien, leaving him numb as fatigue overtakes every muscle in his body. "Thanks, guys," he forces out. "I don't know what I'd do without you three."
"Duh," Nino says. "That's what we're there for, dude."
The bell rings shortly after that, so they head to class, deliberately not looking at anyone as they do so. Marinette, Alya, and Nino even form a shield of sorts around Adrien, marching beside and in front of him and warding off people with glares until they reach Ms Bustier's classroom. Honestly, what did Adrien do to deserve them?
But even they can't protect him in the classroom. Although not everyone looks like they believe Lila, a few do, and that's still more than enough to cause panic to stir in his gut again and leave nausea simmering away.
"What you did was disgusting, Lila," Marinette says loudly, crossing her arms.
"M-Me?" Lila clasps her hands to her chest with wide eyes. "Marinette, how can you say that? I thought girls were supposed to stick together!"
"Oh, don't you dare go using other girls who've actually been assaulted," Alya growls. "That's low, especially when they're not believed for something that actually happened to them."
"We were right there. We heard and saw everything," Marinette adds. Nino stays silent, which is probably a wise move considering the subject matter and how Lila's made it a Girl Problem. "You were the one making Adrien uncomfortable. You grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go. And you were the one who started lying when he turned you down."
"You what?" Chloé says shrilly. "How dare you? My Adrikins would never treat anyone like that! He's so sickly sweet that he probably felt worse than you when he rejected you."
"Thanks, Chlo," Adrien says quietly. Chloé shoots him a small smile, with none of her usual smugness or nastiness, and tosses her ponytail. The message in her eyes is crystal clear: even if they're not technically friends right now, she's always got his back.
"His actual words were, "I love someone else. I'd just be leading you on, and you're too good for someone to do that to you"," Alya says. "He was upfront and said that he wasn't interested." She jabs a finger at Lila. "You don't get to go around and try to smear his reputation as some – some sort of petty revenge because the guy you like isn't into you. I want to be a journalist, remember? You know the damage you could do with your bullshit? Not even to Adrien, but to everyone else who's actually had this shit happen to them. You'll be the example people pull out when they say, "but people make this up!" even though, like, only a few accusations are fake. And we sure as hell aren't gonna let that happen."
Alya and Marinette cross their arms with twin glares, daring anyone else to speak up and refute them. But no one does. In fact, the few people supporting Lila seem to shift away, like they're realising the true ramifications of Alya's words.
"I understand why you'd defend Adrien," Lila says. "I mean, if I was crushing on him, I'd feel obligated to –"
"Except for the part where Alya's my girlfriend and she's never liked Adrien that way before, yet she stood up for him too," Nino says. "Quit trying to jab at Marinette for her crush, dude. And even if she was still after Adrien, she's not wrong."
Why do teachers have the worst timing? Just before Adrien can say something, to try and say that his friends are right, Ms Bustier arrives and calls the class to order. Her brow is furrowed as she no doubt senses the tension in the air, but she's never been one for facing conflict head-on, so she doesn't actually say anything about it as everyone heads for their seats.
"Thanks, guys," Adrien murmurs as Ms Bustier starts to write on the board.
"Hey, what are friends for?" Alya says.
"Marinette! Hey!"
Adrien freezes and ducks around the corner just as Marinette exits the girls' bathroom. Because that voice that had called her name? His. Except that the Adrien Agreste running to catch up with her from the direction of Ms Bustier's classroom is not him.
Great. An akuma. If not for the fact that the fake Adrien's already caught up with Marinette and this is his best chance to see what this akuma does, Adrien would be out there to desperately save Marinette from whoever this akuma is. But oh, it's so tempting. Leaving Marinette to the akuma's mercy makes every cell in his body scream in protest to protect her.
"Adrien? I thought you were waiting in the courtyard?" Marinette says.
"Oh, I know. But I just had to tell you this and it couldn't wait!"
Adrien whips out his phone and starts recording as the fake Adrien presses Marinette up against the wall with both arms on either side of her head. Her danger senses are clearly pinging, because she starts trying to duck out underneath his arms.
"You really think I was okay with your crush?" fake Adrien drawls. "That I didn't know? How could you not tell that the only reason I put up with it was because Alya would've kicked my butt?"
"Y-You're not Adrien," Marinette hisses. "Adrien would never be this cruel."
"I'm not Adrien. Right," the akuma drawls. With shaky hands, Adrien turns his phone towards himself to show his undoubtedly nauseous face, then turns it back to recording the fake Adrien with Marinette. There. Now no one can doubt that it's not him.
"You're so annoying," the akuma continues. "I swear, your voice makes me want to claw my ears out. And your goodie-two-shoes princess behaviour? Ugh, no one's that nice."
Marinette says nothing. Although she's glaring at the fake Adrien, it's clear to anyone who knows her that his words really are hitting a nerve deep inside her. It takes every scrap of willpower that Adrien has to not rush out there and punch his doppelganger in the face, only because he still doesn't know what this akuma's powers are, such as whether they're just a perfect copy like Copycat or whether there's something more to them.
Huh. Ladybug must really be rubbing off on him.
"I don't know who you are, but you're not Adrien," Marinette says. "If Adrien did have a problem with me, he wouldn't be this cruel if he told me. You have to be an akuma!"
The akuma snorts. Then he leans in and tries to kiss Marinette, but she growls and shoves him in the chest, although he doesn't budge. Okay. Enough is enough. Adrien ends his recording and quickly sends it to Alya so that she knows what's up.
"Hey!" he cries and dashes out to rip the fake Adrien away. Both Marinette and fake Adrien's eyes widen.
"I knew it!" Marinette kicks the fake Adrien away and this time, she succeeds in making him move. "You creep! Who the hell are you?"
"You're supposed to be in the courtyard!" fake Adrien says.
"Well, I recorded you. Everyone will know that you're just an akuma!" Adrien says triumphantly. Fake Adrien raises an eyebrow.
"Really?" he says. Before either Adrien or Marinette can react, fake Adrien yanks open a supply closet and throws Marinette inside by her upper arm. And of course Adrien plays right into the akuma's trap by brainlessly charging to save Marinette and getting shoved inside as well.
"Nice try," fake Adrien says. In the blink of an eye, he melts and shifts into a perfect copy of Marinette, whose evil grin is something Adrien hopes he never sees on the real Marinette's face because that thing could legitimately end the world. "But hey, maybe perfect princess Marinette is exactly who people will listen to…" She starts to tear up and sniffle. "W-When I say just how I was b-brutally attacked b-by Adrien!" The door slams shut, swallowing Adrien and Marinette in darkness.