AN: At the moment this is the only Anthology chapter planned to be from a third character's perspective. This begins with a reference back to "Running out of Time."
Responses to Reviews of "A Jagged Consult":
To anonymousfriend27: Wait… Adrien didn't actually throw anyone out a window! Regarding the last chapter, it's not that Jagged Stone was being weird; more like things were less than relaxing at Agreste after M. Janet's interruption; Marinette just couldn't place that yet since they've only interacted a couple times so far (we're still early in Janet's tenure at Agreste). And the necklaces are evidence of non-miraculous magic already existing in this universe.
To The Keeper of Worlds: Pretty much!
Responses to Reviews of "A Jagged Ride" chapter 6:
To anonymousfriend27: That was definitely a fun team-up to write! Especially at the end when Anansi gives the other her (somewhat grudging) respect. I'm considering other possible team-up stories (including some with different characters) in the future, so let me know if you want to see any more with these three!
Lila zeroed in on Adrien the moment she saw him walk through the school door without that self-righteous girlfriend of his, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, dangling from his arm. She didn't know why Adrien was arriving alone, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity to talk to him. She'd missed enough chances with him during the week when he and Marinette had broken up.
It still rankled her. She had tried to talk to Adrien every day that week, only to have someone block her each time. First that foreign icicle, Kagami, had dropped her fencing sword just as they walked past each other, so that Lila had tripped over it. She had apologized profusely, of course – so profusely that Adrien was out of sight by the time Lila extricated herself from Kagami's clutches. Then there was the time Kagami actually held out her foot and tripped Lila! When Lila had reported the incident to M. Damocles, however, Chloe of all people had insisted that Kagami was on the opposite side of the school helping her study for their math test! A story that her half-witted lackey Sabrina of course backed up. A couple days later, Lila had tried to get out of the classroom quickly enough to catch Adrien between classes. However, her bag had burst open the moment she stood up. Lila had no idea how she had done it, but the smirk Chloe sent her way was enough to convince her that she was somehow responsible!
And then she'd lost her chance because, almost overnight, Adrien and Marinette became inseparable once more. It was as if nothing had changed between them – nothing, and everything. Lila couldn't even take satisfaction in Marinette's bout of depression during that week; she still had no idea what caused the breakup, but it certainly wasn't anything she had done!
So when Adrien entered the school alone for the first time in weeks, Lila seized the chance.
"Adrien!" she called, fixing a saccharine smile on her face. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been so long since we caught up! How are you?"
"I'm fine, Lila, thanks," he responded politely before trying to slip past her.
Lila sidestepped to block his way. "It's simply wonderful to see you and Marinette resolved your differences! She's so much happier when you're around; I'm sure it helps keep her… condition… under control."
"Excuse me?" Adrien narrowed his eyes at her.
Lila covered her mouth with both hands, widening her eyes. "Oh! But I thought you knew! She didn't really hide the symptoms all that well last year… But there are treatments, at least. It must be so hard on you, for her to flip on you so suddenly, and then turn again, just like that."
Lila gasped in surprise as Adrien closed the distance between them, eyes narrowing even further into tiny slits. In spite of herself she flinched at the hard set to his jaw, the ominous glare he leveled at her. His hands at his sides squeezed into tight, white-knuckled fists that trembled slightly from the fury emanating from him. Clearly he had inherited something from Papa Hawk Moth… Lila backed away as Adrien advanced, only to find herself trapped on feeling the cold surface of the wall behind her back. She still couldn't get a read on Adrien this year. Last year, she'd known exactly how far she could push him, and exactly how far he would push back, knowing that if he ever stepped a toe out of line his father might get involved. This new emancipated Adrien whose father was in prison? Who knew how far he might push back, without the threat of his father looming over him?
Adrien unclenched one fist and put his hand on the wall next to Lila's head, fixing her with a wrathful glare. "I'm going to tell you once, Lila," he ground out. "Leave Marinette alone. I tried to give you a chance last year, but I am not going to stand for your manipulations this year. If you even think about hurting her with your lies, the gloves come off. And you will not like what happens if they do," he finished darkly, slamming his fist into the wall next to her for emphasis. Then he turned on his heel and stormed off toward their first class.
Alone once more, Lila let out a shaky breath. She loathed the weakness she had displayed in front of him. She had lost control of the situation somewhere, and Adrien had taken full advantage of it. And then he had seen a crack in her armor. Before the stupid heroes (the word still rankled her) had defeated Hawk Moth over the summer, she'd known there was always a way out of any risky situation: someone's emotions would spike, Hawk Moth would send an Akuma, and she could escape in the confusion. Or, if the opportunity presented itself, she might grab that Akuma's power for herself. Without Hawk Moth, however, she had lost access to that power and control; all she had to work with anymore was her tongue, seeding lies and turning others against each other and against her enemies. Today, Adrien had seen right through her manipulation, and she despised him for it.
Well, we will see about that. Lila quickly ran into the nearby bathroom. She splashed a little water on her face, smearing her makeup slightly, but not so much that it would be instantly noticeable. She ran a hand through her hair to pull a few strands out of place. A few tears, and her eyes were red as though she had been crying for days. Finally she looked down at her shirt and grimaced. To really sell this story, she would need more than just some makeup and hair. If she was going to be rid of Adrien for good, she needed her shirt. At least it's one from last year, she grumbled, grabbing the shirt and pulling it. The fabric stretched in just the right places. And with a little bit more tugging, the collar tore slightly. Looking back into the mirror, she was finally satisfied with her appearance. Five minutes, and Agreste won't know what hit him.
A moment later, Lila was stumbling into the classroom, sniffling back tears that threatened to fall. "Mme Raulet," she whispered, giving the words just enough of a hitch, "I-I don't feel well. I-I think I need–"
"What happened?" Mme Raulet looked over her hair and smeared makeup and rushed to her, surprise in her eyes.
"I-I shouldn't – Please? I'm afraid!" Lila covered her face with her hands.
"Who did this?" Mme Raulet put her hand on Lila's shoulder.
Lila sighed and hesitated for a beat, as though the admission took every ounce of courage she possessed. "It… it was Adrien." There was a gasp. "He threatened me, ten minutes ago, before school started. I was in the bathroom, trying to clean up, but…" Lila stopped talking and sobbed as Mme Raulet put a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, no, Lila!" Kim said, his eyebrows shooting up. Excellent, she thought, only for her mind to go blank as he continued. "Don't tell us that your illness is acting up again!"
Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "… What?"
"You know," Ivan added, "the illness that makes you lie."
"But I'm telling the truth!"
"Dude," Nino said, furrowing his brow, "this isn't funny. Adrien couldn't have threatened you when you say he did. He was down at the park with us skateboarding. We had to run to make it to class on time just now."
"It's okay, Lila," Mme Raulet said. "I don't know how this happened, but perhaps your illness was more severe than we thought, to relapse again. Why don't you go and take your seat?"
Lila fumed as she stomped up the stairs to her desk, pretending that each step was Kim's face she was squashing to grind that stupid smirk into the dirt. She fumed through the next couple classes until lunch rolled around and all of her classmates gathered to eat together in the dining hall. Nino had his phone out and was showing everyone something. Lila didn't pay attention at first, but her ears perked up when she heard who they were talking about.
"I'm telling you," Nino said, grinning from ear to ear, "it sounds like that concert was absolutely the bomb! They're saying this was Jagged Stone's best concert ever!"
"And do you see that outfit he's wearing?" Rose commented. "It's absolutely gorgeous!"
"It is super cute!" Lila agreed, leaning into the conversation and smiling. "He showed it to me before he left for the tour but swore me to secrecy. He said he was only showing it to me as a thank you for introducing him to the designer."
"Really?" Juleka asked. "That's amazing! Who was this designer?"
"You know," Lila evaded, "they really like to keep their work anonymous, so I probably shouldn't say. But they've done all kinds of work for other bands and stuff! We're really great friends! Sometimes they even invite me along to the after parties!"
"That's so cool, Lila! I can't believe you're friends with Marinette!" Mylène gushed from the other end of the table.
Lila's heart stopped. "I'm sorry? No, Jagged told me he was going with someone else…"
Adrien grinned, hugging a blushing Marinette closer to himself. "No, this one was designed by Marinette. He even shouted her out during an interview a couple weeks ago before he left for Egypt. He said she's the only designer he's used in the last year and a half!"
It took every ounce of self-control Lila had left not to slam her forehead into the table. "I'm… I think I'm just tired, you guys," she finally said, loathing every word. "I must have misheard him. I guess it's just my busy schedule finally catching up to me. I'm still feeling a little jetlagged from last week. It was a busy trip to America. First I was walking in the March for Human Rights with Dan Afflin – you know, the actor? He was so grateful to me for being there! And then I went to testify at the U.N. against climate change. I've been in something of a fog the last couple of days."
When Lila looked around the table she saw a couple of people nodding sympathetically. Alya, however, had her brow furrowed and her phone in her hand. "You say you saw Dan Afflin at that march last week?" she asked.
"Yeah, of course!" Lila nodded. "We were leading the march, and he told me he was nervous about giving his speech at the Lincoln Memorial so I told him to just think of it like his latest acting role, the one that got him the Oscar."
"He is quite the talented actor," Alya observed, turning her phone around to show them a series of pictures. "But I don't think he's half as good an actor as this march is, pretending to be the Australian outback! According to his Instagram, he's been in Australia for the last month shooting his next movie. And during that march he was right here, riding a kangaroo!"
"And the United Nations has not met in 3 months," Max supplied. "Therefore I conclude that the likelihood that you testified before them during the specified timeframe is less than 2%."
Lila schooled her features, fought back the humiliated blush threatening to spread over her face, and stood from the table. "I'm sorry," she finally managed to say, "I think my mother is calling. We have a conference call with Prince Ali this afternoon to start another orphanage, and she needs my support."
Lila grabbed her bag and turned away, but not fast enough to avoid hearing the sharp increase in volume as she left. How could everything have gone so wrong, so fast? Before the summer, the class had been eating out of the palm of her hand, and she had nearly succeeded in isolating and ostracizing that pest Marinette. Even Marinette's best friend Alya – both Lila's the next-greatest threat thanks to her nosiness, and her greatest possible ally thanks to her blog – had been practically in Lila's pocket before the summer break. She had handed Hawk Moth excellent Akuma fodder, and he had rewarded her with great power – and, apparently, the opportunity to get close to his son.
And then Hawk Moth had been unmasked and arrested. Now the Butterfly Miraculous had a new holder, one who would never grant Lila the power and control she craved. Her greatest ally was gone, and as if that wasn't enough, her classmates completely turned their backs on her. Somehow, it's all Marinette's fault, she grumbled. If she wasn't so humiliated, she might even have admired the other girl's ability to completely outmaneuver her – without having said a word all day.
The game's not over, Lila promised herself. That self-important prude may have won this battle, but the war is far from over. Destroying Marinette and her friends at school may have failed for now, but there are other possibilities. I'll just have to be more… subtle.
AN: If you can't tell why the class stopped buying Lila's lies, look back at which characters were calling her out or blocking her and what they all have in common within the "Mind Games"-verse.
