W.R. Winters: Well...at least it wasn't six months this time.
Starskulls: Yeah, three months is a definite improvement!
W.R. Winters: And hopefully the time between updates continues to grow shorter and shorter, we shall see. But in others news, the New York Special recently aired, what did everyone think of it?
Starskulls: *shrugs* i thought it was meh, didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. I really didn't like most of the American heroes, way too preachy.
W.R. Winters: I enjoyed it, mostly for the new information about the miraculous and some of the miraculous powers. Honestly I could've lived without the Love Square being brought up every five minutes and Alya's behavior was really something I couldn't approve of or get behind. She's trying to move on from her crush on Adrien and you're literally making things worse for her. At least Nino's main priority was to get Adrien to loosen up and enjoy his time in New York.
Starskulls: Yeah, but enough about the special let's get on with the chapter we have for you guys today! This is one we've been wanting to write for a while.
W.R. Winters: Indeed, no spoilers, but this is where things really start to pick up. So we'll stop talking and let you get to reading.
-*X*x*X*-
Recap of the last chapter: Things in Paris have changed drastically. Due to the demands of the citizens, Andre Bourgeois is no longer Mayor of Paris and has been removed from office. With her daddy having no more power to protector, Chloe has been suspended and is no longer the Queen B of the school. What's more was that she would be serving a sentence of community service as a way to give back to the city. The school was throwing a party to celebrate how things had changed for the better. Lila tried to separate herself from the party as she was expecting a call from Gabriel Agreste and what he needed her to do next. However she ran into Andrew who offered her a chance to join him for some research in the library. And when stuck between a choice of helping Gabriel Agreste and helping her chances of getting with Adrien or hanging out with her friend...she chose the latter. At the library, after a small accident caused by the unfortunate placement of a stack of books on the ground, Lila and Andrew found themself in a scenario that lead to them kissing. Kissing that probably would've continued if not for the sudden appearance of Izzy.
CHAPTER 8: Business and Betrayal
Well this was a situation Andrew thought he'd never find himself in. He was in a library covered in books and…a girl. An actual girl. Good heavens what was the world doing to him?! Lila seemed to feel the same way, but he was pretty sure his cheeks matched her ones.
"What did we just do?!" Lila almost shrieked.
"I don't know!" Andrew spluttered. Then for no apparent through no fault of their own, their lips locked again. It was only for a millisecond, but this caused them both to yell again.
"Stop it!" Lila said as she attempted to get up but slipped on the open page books on the floor. Footprints from Lila's thick soles started to rip, tear and stain the books as she tried to scramble up to get her balance back.
"You're ruining the books!" Andrew said as he tried to get up. It was unsuccessful and then pair ended up falling on each other again. Andrew was quite fearful that Grizz would be crushed. Then again, being thousands of years old, he had probably slept through a lot worse.
"Yeah that's the main issue here!" Lila snapped as she managed to get up, practically kneeing Andrew in the…well in the place that would make any man squeal. Andrew was not one to squeal but a loud yell and a wheeze escaped his mouth and he caved his body in with pain.
"This can't get any worse…" Andrew wheezed as he rolled onto his side slightly, his hands protecting himself discreetly. Heck, forget discreetly, he was in more pain than an akuma could cause him. Oh man he just jinxed himself.
"Yes, it can," Lila said in dismay. Andrew titled his head over and to his horror, saw Izzy standing there with her phone in one hand and a drink in the other hand.
There was a long pause. Lila and Andrew were frozen in their current positions. Izzy slowly raised her drink to her mouth and slurped the straw. The phone didn't move. Her expression was blank. There was no wind. No sound. It felt as if everything was in slow-motion. It even felt as if the earth itself had halted.
Finally, the silence broke.
"Well uh…if you guys wanted to continue this then I would have suggested another room. Maybe the art closet?" Izzy said with an odd look in her eye. "The art sheets would make a nice…"
"Shut up!" Andrew said as Lila threw a book at her.
Izzy shifted her head to the side slightly as the book sailed past her. Izzy could hear the small giggles of Jinxx in her tutu ruffles. She shifted slightly on her feet as a warning to quieten down. The giggling went down, but she knew Jinxx was biting her tongue to hold in her laughter.
"It's not what it looks like!" Lila said as she then waved her arms about.
"Oh, I think the footage would disagree," Izzy stated as she stopped the filming and put her phone away.
"Please don't post that!" Andrew begged as he got to his knees and took in deep breaths.
"Breath in through your nose, out through your mouth," Izzy said. Andrew did as he was instructed, and while it still hurt, the pain eased a bit better.
"For goodness sake, can we focus please?!" Lila practically shrieked. Thankfully the librarian was on her break, otherwise there'd be hell to pay. Izzy chuckled.
"Relax, I'm just going to have it for when I'm depressed. Seeing you get kneed in the nuts isn't a common occurrence you know," Izzy stated, "And I'm sure this is a moment you lovebirds are gonna want to remember," she added with a giggle.
"Thank you…I guess," Andrew said as he got up.
Lila blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Izzy to respond like that. Now that she thought about it, Izzy had been quite observant when Lila was mentioning her 'friendship' to Andrew. Perhaps she had been too biased against Izzy. Then again if she was in Izzy's position, she knew for a fact that she would have posted it. That made her feel slightly ashamed.
"Are you sure?" Lila asked, giving Izzy a secret look.
"Relax, I'm not Alya. I believe that pictures should be there for three reasons. One for memories, two for funnies and three for celebratory reasons," Izzy said, "I say this one falls into all three,"
"Well, thank you…I appreciate it," Lila said with an honest nod.
"To be quite honest, it was rather funny to see you lose your hair like that. It's also not a common occurrence," Izzy said with a snicker.
"You're pushing your luck," Lila said with a frown and her arms folded.
"No more than you pushing each other's lips on each other," Izzy retorted, making the pair blush again before fanning themselves.
"Oh, knock it off!" Lila said, turning away from Izzy and Andrew and folding her arms. She was doing her best not to show how much she was flustered but that was not going too well.
Noting that Lila had her back towards them, she looked over at Andrew, who was now looking slightly less red and pale, and made a motion with her eyeballs.
"Well uh when you're ready Andrew, I'd like to have a word outside please," Izzy said, making a swift turn out of the library.
Andrew finally got to his feet and started to clear up the books, "Okay I'm just going to put these backs and then I'm going to pop outside for a bit. Then we can get to business," Andrew said, and his blush returned when he realized how that could be interpreted.
"Business?" Lila asked with a raised eyebrow. Andrew frantically waved his hands in the air before spluttering to himself and rushing outside after Izzy.
"Not that kind of business!" Andrew yelled on his way out.
Izzy leant against the wall a little to the left of the door. She unintentionally found herself squeezing the cup of her drink but exhaled deeply. Jinxx looked up at her worriedly but Izzy sent her a smile to assure her. That was something she didn't expect to see. Initially she thought it was funny, hence the phone. Would she post it? Of course not, she would keep her word. But the mental image would stick in her head for a while.
It was so…unusual. She didn't know what this emotion was. It didn't feel like the ugly monster known as jealously. it wasn't anger… nor was it sadness… it was more on the confusing end of the spectrum.
The snapping of the latch of the door makes her turn slightly to see Andrew coming out.
He shook his hands and took a few deep breaths before attempting to gain his usual calm mood. Izzy watched him in amusement. One of her favourite things to watch Andrew do was calm himself down. It was like watching a mime.
"Relax…breathe…I am an adult," Andrew said, making Izzy smirk.
"You're an idiot," she called, practically making him jump out of his skin.
He even made a karate motion with his hands, only to be met with Izzy's grinning face. He scowled as he adjusted his hat and walked over to her. Quite frankly his brain was still trying to process what happened and he didn't need this teasing. Izzy would tease him to the ends of the earth for this.
"Alright enough," Andrew said as he folded his arms. Izzy still looked pretty gleeful.
"Aw what's wrong," Izzy said, then randomly pulling out a picture of a pail and holding it up. "You seem a little…pail."
Cue the long pause.
"You suck," Andrew said through gritted teeth.
"That's mean! I thought I was…the loaf of your life?" Izzy said as she pulled out another
picture; only this one was a picture of bread. Tick marks appeared on the sides of Andrew's temples.
"Izzy…" he seethed.
"Yeesh okay. I mean what happened in there?" Izzy said, still holding the cards, much to Andrew's annoyance. He adjusted his hat and looked around before responding.
"Yeah, I know, I didn't know what I was doing. I kinda fell and things just got out of hand," Andrew said and as Izzy was about to speak, Andrew narrowed his eyes. "I swear, if you make a pun about hands…"
"I wouldn't do that!" Izzy said in mock hurt.
"Good," Andrew said in relief. Izzy then put on an innocent look as she slowly pulled out one final picture.
"I know, I mean when I walked in there…it looked like it was getting steamy," she said as she saw Andrew's eye twitch at the sight of the steamed dumpling.
"That's it!" Andrew yelled, causing Izzy to screech with laughter as she took off down the hall, with Andrew hot on her tail, waving his paint brush about.
Back with Lila, she let out a sigh as she finished clearing up the books off the floor. She stacked them back in their original places, but even doing all these tasks, it didn't get rid of the hot blush going across her cheeks.
That was such a surprise kiss! And what the most curious part was that Andrew didn't even pull away. In fact, he kissed her more. Did that mean that he liked her too? Wait when did she even think that? Did she like him? He was a book worm. But…could he be her book worm?
She clutched her hand to her chest as she felt it tighten and the possibility of Andrew being her actual boyfriend. No lies or anything. And now that she was friendly…of sorts…with Izzy, there wouldn't be any issues. But while she didn't mind Izzy, they were friends with Marinette. Ugh she always had a sour spot for that pastry girl. But maybe, just maybe!
Something could change.
"All I have to do is just be honest," Lila said with a small smile.
She noted the time and realised that Andrew and Izzy had been a while. Surely, they wouldn't mind if she popped in to say something. Of course not! They were her friends. Her actual friends! Putting the last book back, she took off out of the library and looked around the open corridor.
Huh they weren't there. Well, if she knew them, they would either be at the park, since Andrew loved to paint there for inspiration, or the science lab where Izzy made her peculiar science pranks. With a content smile, she took off in the direction of the lab.
Lila was walking with a big smile on her face, which weirded out some students as she walked by. Usually if she had a face like that on then people usually expected a lie. Not this time. Lila was just…content. She was making progress; she was doing well in classes and she had a somewhat friend in Izzy. And then there was Andrew.
While she was not one to blurt out feelings, she was completely aware on how her heart was starting to speed up ever so slightly when she was around him. Her confidence grew with each step she took towards the lab. However, she heard the loud voice of Izzy just as she entered the classroom. She paused and looked around.
No one was in here.
Lila was confused, but then she realized that the back room was the most likely place they'd be. Slowly she tip-toed towards the door and indeed, Izzy's loud voice rang out.
"Oh, lighten up, it was only for fun," Izzy said.
"I don't appreciate your puns and I swear, if you say anything else…" Andrew warned, causing her to snicker.
"Or what, you'll paint me to death?" Izzy stated. There was a long pause and Lila knew he was pouting at this point.
"You suck," he muttered. Lila almost laughed at his lack of quick-witted responses.
"Anwyay! So, what did you want to talk about?" Izzy asked.
"What do you mean? You called me?" Andrew said in confusion.
"No, you text me last night. You wanted to talk about Lila," Izzy said. Lila was surprised at this but even more so when she didn't hear Izzy vomit at her name. but more importantly, Andrew wanted to talk about her?
"Ah of course yes. So, you are aware of her recent changes yes?" Andrew asked.
"Yes, I am. Noted in classes and recent akuma events," Izzy said as Lila heard the scuffle of paper. She was slightly annoyed at this. She had been taking notes on her?!
"I didn't ask for notes," Andrew said awkwardly.
"I know. But I know you want to see progress when you're not around," Izzy said. There was a pause as Lila heard Andrew going through the papers and heard him muttering praises under his breath. She felt her cheeks warm up at this.
"Wow this is great," Andrew said.
"I know. Alya should stick that in her blog," Izzy said with a laugh.
Andrew scowled, "This blog is what fueled everything. Alya needs to tone it down with her labels," Andrew stated. Lila was then surprised when Izzy let out an annoyed huff and scoff at Andrew.
"Sure, the guy who came up with the nickname 'Lie-talian', thinks it's not okay to give labels. Ironic that you're the one that ended up becoming her boyfriend,"
Lila felt her heart stop. Andrew…was the one who came up with that name? The name that she had been constantly bullied for? That slandered her? That was spray painted on her locker? That featured her in a blog with over a thousand views? More importantly, it was the name that had changed her and broken her.
Tears started to prick in her eyes, but a sense of betrayal and rage filled her mind. Her fists clenched and gritted her teeth and she started to pant in order to keep her screams in. The fact that it had come from someone who she had trusted, opened up to and spent time with enough for her to start developing feelings?
With a choked sob, Lila fled the room.
Izzy titled her head as she thought she heard something and shook it off. She looked back at Andrew who had a huge look of guilt on his face. It was true. When he had heard of Lila's lies for the first time, he had jokingly said it to Izzy who had found it funny. In turn, other people heard this, and it had started to spread around the school like wildfire, eventually making its way to the internet where there was no place to hide. He was going to tell Lila, but he had no idea how to bring it up.
"Okay yes I did, but I said it as a joke! I didn't think it would turn into this, I never would've wanted it to spread if i knew how much pain it would cause her," Andrew said, making gestures with his hands.
Izzy raised an eyebrow and pretended to look shocked, "You mean that you didn't think a nickname wouldn't stick to someone for like in high school where nicknames, gossip and slander are the foundations of social lives, that is shocking," Izzy said with such a sarcastic tone, it made him nauseous.
"Which is why I wanted to help me organise a surprise party!" Andrew said lightly.
"You think a party will fix this?" she asked.
"No, but it's a way to show her that people appreciate her being honest now," Andrew said. Izzy sighed and nodded.
"Alright I'll help. But only cause you're my friend. And to clarify, you're doing this to show her that you like her honesty?" Izzy said with a small smirk. Andrew didn't pick up the hint.
"Yes, why else?" Andrew asked. Izzy laughed as she pulled out her tablet.
"I'll tell you later you, I swear you can be as clueless as Adrien," She said, "Alright, let's get to work then," Izzy said as she opened a clean page.
Lila didn't know where she was going, and she didn't care. She just needed to get far far away from the school, far away from her classmates, from from her 'friends', far from...him.
Lila tore through the crowds as she had run down the street, not bearing to look anyone in the eye anymore. She was done. She didn't care what people thought anymore.
As she turned and ran down streets she had never gone down before, clouds started to gather, and rain started to fall. The rain masking her tears as they flowed down her cheeks like waterfalls. Her sobs only continued as she tripped over and fell in the middle of a quiet street.
She looked down and saw her reflection in the puddle underneath her. Had she really been so stupid to think that they actually cared about her?
Andrew and Izzy were the ones that called her out, Andrew came up with that nickname, Izzy must've been mocking her cause she could see she was falling for Andrew. Ever since she was called out, Andrew and Lila had been hanging out with Adrien, Marinette, Nino, and Alya...they must've been on it too. This was all just a game for them, a sick twisted game that they had been building up for some kind of grand finale.
That must've been what Andrew wanted to talk to Izzy about, they must've been planning to humiliate her in some grand spectacle.
"I hate them…I hate them all!" Lila screamed as she slammed her fists onto the road, making a large splash.
The window whirred open, shedding light onto a pleased looking Hawkmoth. He had sensed that Lila was holding something back for a while and now. Something that had been festering in the back of her mind for weeks even months. And thanks to some newly discovered information, those emotions had blown into something quite staggering.
"Sticks and stones may break bones, but words are such devastating weapons. From the right mouth a single sentence can tear even the strongest person down. A perfect emotional turmoil from someone who feels betrayed. A perfect target for my akuma," Hawkmoth said as he turned a white butterfly into a terrifying cracked insect of evil.
He released it as it then headed for the window, "Fly away my little Akuma, and bring back the darkness buried deep within," he said, an the akuma then flew out the window and into the rainy Paris sky.
The akuma flew completely unbothered by the rain, it was on a mission. It was heading right towards the sobbing Italian girl and was about to fuse with the earring on Lila's left ear.
What happened next was something that no one could have predicted, not even Hawkmoth.
The akuma hovered inches away from the earring, but then turned around and flew away like a bat out of hell, almost as if it was…scared of something.
Then as it flew away, the magic went away and it turned back to white.
"What?! I can still feel the emotions, but what happened to me Akuma?"
Then suddenly Hawkmoth de-transformed back into Gabriel, Nooroo flying out of the broach and hid behind his master.
"What is it Nooroo?!" Gabriel asked, surprisingly not angry. Instead it was a mixture of confusion and concern. Nooroo always had to obey him even if he didn't want to. But the fact that Nooroo had dropped his powers and forced him out of a transformation against his wished, it clearly showed that something wasn't right.
"Master…it's out there…it's calling…it's evil…" Nooroo said while trembling. Gabriel looked at the kwami and then out of the window with a thoughtful gaze.
The brunette continued to sob, completely unaware of the events that had just occurred.
"Lila…"
Lila lifted her head and looked around. No one had followed her, and the street was practically empty, "Hello?" she called out as she got to her feet, sniffing and wiping her nose.
"Oh, Lila..."
The voice sounded...odd. It was silky smooth, but not in a pleasant way. It was ominous and covered her skin in goosebumps. What was more was that somehow she was hearing the voice in her ears and in her mind. Almost like when Hawkmoth would speak to her. But the voice wasn't Hawkmoth's, the voice made her curious.
"Lila… Come find me, Lila…"
Lila looked around and her eye caught sight of a shop that she hadn't noticed before. It seemed to be where the voice was coming from.
She quickly headed over to look in the shop's large glass window, it was an old antique shop. It didn't seem anything special. Typical old junk that was older then her, some of the stuff may have even been older than her mom.
But then… her eye caught hold of something. She needed to squint her eyes to get a better look at it. It was covered with a layer of dust, but she could just barely make out an ancient looking red symbol on the box...she had seen that symbol somewhere before.
Her eyes widened as it clicked in her mind where she had seen that symbol before, it was the same symbol she had seen on the cover of Gabriel Agreste's book, "No way…" she breathed.
Looking in the display window, her eyes travelled to the shelves behind it and balanced in the middle of a shelf between some old vases…was a small eight-sided box.
A Miracle Box.
-*X*x*X*-
Starskulls: *playing on keys* Dun. DUN. DUUUUNNNNNNNNNNN!
W.R. Winters: How did you get an organ in here?
Starskulls: I have my methods.
W.R. Winters: Alright then, so hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. This is pretty much the first big twist of the story. Will there be more? Of course, this is a story after all and its nowhere close to being done.
Starskulls: Yep, Lila hates everyone again. Balance is restored!
W.R. Winters: *rolls his eyes* Let's just get to the review responses.
animegamefanatic
well at least some events never happened, like Mari being expelled.
Couldn't Chloe be jailed for the train incident? Though I hope Andre and Chloe are miserable...i got a feeling the hotel isn't doing well after what happened and people are making chloe's job harder with community service.
At least Lila's improving. Somewhat; hopefully she'll give Marinette a proper apology.
Starskulls: Well, given the events of this chapter I wouldn't hold out on hope for that apology. Ooo I hadn't thought of that, yeah its very likely that the hotel is losing business because of this too. As it should! They're rich, they can handle losing business for a while. And yes there are certain canon events that won't happen in our story, the events of the Ladybug-Sentimonster episode are one of them.
W.R. Winters: Technically she could've been jailed, but at the time I didn't do any research about whether had juvinile detention centers, and plus Andre could easily have bailed her out. So we went with community service instead. And yes i'm sure there are people that will make it harder for her, not too much harder though. We wouldn't want her to become akumatized and cause more damage.
DragoonSensei
A very nice chapter.
The shipper in me is real at war whit this one.
For one I Love redemtion romance it is always well build and very rewarding.
But I want a happy Izzy and a happy Andrew. If Lila gets Andrew then Izzy will be lonely!
Starskulls: Well, with how things went here I'm sure that the war is over! you don't have to worry about Izzy being alone anymore!... Well I don't know how your shipper brain will react to this chapter. Let us know!
W.R. Winters: We're glad you enjoyed the laster chapter and that it got the shipper inside you thinking, Like my co-author said I'm curious on how the events of this chapter have influence the shipper inside you.
KagamiPINKAgreste
Happy birthday Starskulls. I do hope it's great for you. Yeah Wolfie worked on this for awhile. I'm thrilled him delivered it for you're b-day. Glad you could tell it was me. Yeah felt it was time to change my User Name. Especially considering my Adrigami heart as an author hit me.
ON TO MY REVIEW: Really - The people had been suffering at the hands of the Bourgeois family for too long, and what lead to the akumatization of Sorsurreal was the straw that broke the camel's back. - Damn took you people long enough. Bourgeois lose their unfair power/authority? *HISS-TERICAL LAUGHTER* If I'm dreaming DON'T wake me up. Finally people grow some brains. I vote you have Armand D'Argencourt ('Darkblade' - Season 1) try his hand at his political right.
Awww. . . Sabrina no. It's NOT you're fault. Even if you tried, you wouldn't have been able to help Cholé out this mess. You have always deserved better than that spoiled, selfish, rude, unappreciative brat. Izzy brilliant thinking letting Sabrina hang out with you and Andrew. Tho wait 3 smartest? You're forgetting Adrien and Max in that category.
Izzy take it slow with Sabrina. Don't be rude. - Whatever magic Andrew was working on Lila was definitely working.- That's simple Izzy, MLP: Friendship is Magic. Really Izzy played matchmaker for Andrew, I'm NOT suprised just scared. Seriously her science crazed pranks are freaky, romantic coupling HELL NO! PEOPLE HIT THE FLOOR! Nice Lila told Andrew the truth it's easier than lying. Tho yes Lila is clever and sharp in that department. *Wink*
The flashback was pinkish purrfect. - Annual Friendship Day Celebrity Scavenger Hunt - so LOVE 'Ikari Gozen' Alya and Wayhem had won. - Andrew really wasn't much of a talker - I can respect that when it's some stranger. But someone familiar I definitely CAN'T! Lila he's first question isn't bad. It's tiny ice breaker. I myself normally start with that one. OR maybe Would You Rather?
Wait. . . - sheltered kid by choice, I didn't hang out with other much cause I preferred to stay inside and read. - huh that sounds exactly like myself. *Sweet Smile* Yet I'm never bored. EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY?! *FAINTS* That stupid Ladybug, SHE'S NOT A GODDESS! NO MENTION OF AN EGYPTIAN KITTY NOIR! 'The Pharaoh' was damn annoying. Thomas Astruc seriously doesn't respect him! Samething happens to me in library, LOVE the place but if you're not careful BAM Lila was right. Andrew tripped on her lips. *Dancing Happily* OH MY PINK IZZY IS CLOSE! DAMN IT!
Starskulls: Well, before i get to your review. A massive thanks for the birthday wishes, your support, and these large reviews! On to your review. Yes it is a dream come true for that family to finally get what was coming to them! And we didn't forget Adrien and Max, Izzy said that she and Sabrina were the smartest 'girls' in school. So Adrien and Max don't really have a place in that category. Even though I didn't personally like them, I'm glad you enjoyed the ship moments.
W.R. Winters: We haven't made a decision on who will replace Mayor Bourgeois, but we will consider your suggestion, but considering Darkblade's motives for wanting to be Mayor I'm not sure if he would be the best pick...Don't worry Pink, what they were researching in the library wasn't Ladybug's Egyptian holder. Though it is something important, keep that in mind. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and I'm eager to see your thoughts on the most recent events.
W.R. Winters: And that's the last of them, only three... Slightly disappointing, but we still appreciate everyone that left a review.
Starskulls: And hopefully more people leave reviews cause now people really have something to review about! Lila has found a Miracle Box, which means that Lila has found a lost Miraculous! Everyone leave your guesses/theories about what kind of miraculous she found! Whoever gets the closest gets an extra special cupcake!
W.R. Winters: Hopefully the next chapter takes less than three months so we can continue to decrease the time between updates, but until then leaves your thoughts, feelings, and theories in your reviews.
Starskulls: Hopefully we see you guys in less than three months!
W.R. Winters: This is W.R. Winters and Starskulls, signing off.