It's a normal day in Paris, the sun is shining, there are no akuma attacks, a perfect start for the day. Well unless you count the certain teenager still asleep and about to be late for school. No surprise there, it's the middle of the year and she is still late. Luckily her little kwami is about to wake her up.
"Marinette! Wake up! You're going to be late!" shouted Tikki the ladybug kwami to her chosen.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng woke up and sighed "What's the point, Tikki." She said sitting up "I'll have to deal with Lila's lies again while she bullies me."
Tikki looked at her chosen sympathetically "It will get better, but you need to show her that you can bounce back" she said trying perk her up.
Marinette smiled at her kwami and looked at her clock, "WHAAA! I'M SO LATE!" Marinette yelled while throwing on her clothes.
She ran downstairs and greeted her mom, "Good morning Maman, I need to go or else I'll be late" she said grabbing a paper bag that had food for her.
"Morning Marinette" Her mom greeted her "Wait, but it's 7:30 you won't be-" she started but her daughter was already out the door.
AT SCHOOL
Marinette ran into her classroom and went to her best friend who was talking with the boys in front of them. "
I'm here! I'm here" she said panting from her run.
"Wow dudette, you're not late for once" Nino said.
"Wait what?" Marinette said looking at the clock, it said 7:40. "But my clock said it was eight" she said puzzled
"Girl, girl, girl" her best friend Alya said walking up beside Nino and putting an arm around her boyfriend's shoulder. "I knew you would be late again unless I would help you, so I sped the arms of you clock last night before I left." she said smirking at her best friend.
"I'll need to change it back but thanks anyway." said Marinette smiling at her best friend.
"Anyways, I heard that there is a big announcement today." said Adrien, her crush.
"Ooh, I wonder what it is" said Alya looking excited.
"Hi guys!" said Lila putting a fake smile on.
"Hi Lila!" the blogger and DJ greeted.
"Hi Lila." The model and designer said with a little less enthusiasm.
"So, what are you guys talking about?" Lila said standing beside Adrien and locking arms with him.
"Oh, just about the announcement" said Adrien slipping out of her grasp.
"Hey, look here comes the teacher," said Marinette.
Lila gave her a quick glare as she walked back to her seat in the back.
The teacher came in and said "Good morning, as you have probably heard we have an announcement from our principal" she said and with that she turned on a projector of principal Damocles.
"Good morning class, So, since you all have been working hard lately it has come to my attention that we need a suggestion from the class representative for the school anniversary. Any type of party will do but we need an idea by the end of the week, that is all" the video ended, and class resumed.
All the while Marinette was thinking of an idea for the party. All kinds of ideas came to her head, but they just weren't right.
"I'm sure you'll think of something Marinette" said Lila "and if you want, I can help after all prince Ali gave me a bunch of ideas when I went abroad with him" she said modestly.
"Thanks, but I'm good" said Marinette rolling her eyes at the lie.
Lila shrugged and said "Suit yourself" before telling another one of her lie-filled stories.
Marinette went home still thinking.
Once she got to her room Tikki flew out of her purse "So what do you think about the party?" she asked.
"I don't know Tikki." Marinette sighed "They're counting on me for a good idea, but nothing seems right" she said.
"Well, it's time for patrol, you might get an idea there." Tikki said smiling
"Hopefully" Marinette said. After she transformed, she swung through the night meeting up with her partner in their usual spot.
"Hey, Milady" he said trying to sound charming.
"Hey Chat" she greeted back staring over the rooftops above. "Let's start patrol?" she asked turning to him.
"At your command Bugaboo" said Chat teasingly.
They took off watching for any sign of trouble then met back up.
"It's quiet tonight" Chat remarked
"Good thing" said Ladybug absently.
"I need to go Chat" she said, "Good night" and she swung off into the night.
She touched down at her balcony and de-transformed.
Tikki flew out and Marinette handed her a cookie to recharge and said "Well Tikki I'm still don't know about party ideas." She said sighing.
"What are you doing out here princess?" said Chat appearing behind her.
"AHHHHHH!" Marinette yelled turning around "Oh, it's only you kitty" she said calming down.
"You didn't answer my question" Chat Noir pointed out as he climbed on the railing of her balcony.
"OH, I was" she started racking her brain "Well um, I was… Looking for inspiration! Yeah, that's it" she said quickly.
"Oh, for what?" he asked.
"Um, For a party! A party for school" she said remembering her predicament.
"That's nice" Chat said remembering the announcement from when he was in civilian mode.
"No, it's not" Marinette sighed for the hundredth time today. "I don't have any ideas for the party and all my friends are counting on me." She spoke.
"Well, I wish I could help but I'm just a handsome cat with a mask." He said playing around.
"Mask" Marinette murmured.
"THAT'S IT!" she exclaimed happily
"What's it?" Chat said surprised by her sudden outburst. He got a hug instead of a reply though.
"Oh, thank you so much kitty" she said running down the stairs to her room to start a design for her dress.
Chat was stunned but then he smiled and said "Your welcome purr-incess" before jumping away.
THE NEXT DAY
After the last night visit from Chat noir, Marinette had thought of the perfect idea for a party: A Masquerade Ball. Sure, she couldn't go as Ladybug, but she had always wanted to design a black cat dress, she just never really had a reason to because unlike her normal designs, she couldn't just wear a cat dress for school. (Also, because it would be very embarrassing to explain why she had a Chat noir dress to Chat noir if he ever saw it).
She had just come from the principal's office to tell her idea. Principal Damocles had loved the idea and said he would already start preparing and that she could skip class to help out. She left smiling because she had gotten permission to announce to her class early if she wanted.
She had walked into the class to find Lila in tears and her classmates comforting her, (minus the model and the bully).
Once Adrien saw her walk in, he strode up to her and said, "Hi Marinette!"
"H-Hi Adrien" she stuttered "Why is Lila crying?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, don't act like you don't know Marinette!" Alya exclaimed marching up to her best friend.
"What's wrong Alya?" Marinette asked surprised by her friends' behavior.
"What's wrong?!, What's wrong is you threatened Lila and stole her idea for the big party" Alya replied angrily.
"WHAT!?" Marinette said.
"It was so hard to come up with the idea and stealing it wasn't necessary" said Lila sniffling "But why did you threaten me?" she asked faking even more tears.
Marinette growled, it took her so long to find an idea that was perfect and then she had to deal with this?!
The rest of the class tried to comfort Lila while glaring at Marinette.
"You know what?" Marinette said fed up "Since clearly, I can't have my life ruined I'm going to warn you one last time, Lila is a LIAR" she said.
The rest of the class rolled their eyes and Adrien leaned over and whispered "Remember, we can't expose her"
"Oh yeah" Marinette said turning around "Well I can't deal with anymore threats, I can't deal anymore accusations towards me, I Can't Deal with Anymore Lies" She snapped at him making him jump back.
"But Marinette" he said softly.
"NO Adrien" she said "I can't risk being akumatised. I CAN'T DODGE ANOTHER AKUMA!" she shouted with tears in her eyes.
The class was stunned, Marinette was almost akumatised? When?
Marinette stopped to glare at each of her classmates landing on Alya last. "If you ever figure out, she's a liar, note that I won't forgive a simple apology" she said before stomping out of the class to help with the decorations.
Alya was stunned, in all her time with Marinette she had never snapped at her much less her crush, Adrien. She felt like crying too, she lost her best friend, but she won't back down from helping Lila.
Lila walked up behind her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry this happened" she said in fake sympathy.
Alya sighed and quickly wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes "It's fine, but I'll need some time." She said dejectedly.
"Well, you know where to find me" Lila said skipping to her seat at the back.
Alya paused and watched her, "Wasn't she just in tears?" Alya thought "No, it's just Marinette getting to me" she thought before sitting in her seat with the seat beside empty.
She couldn't stop thinking about it though and at lunch she saw Marinette sitting alone until she was approached by Kagami who sat down beside her.
"What's wrong Alya?" Nino asked sitting beside her.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that" she sighed and said "I always sat with Mari and now Kagami is the one comforting her" she said scowling a bit.
"And also" she hesitated before continuing "Is it a bit weird that one minute, Lila was in tears and the next she skipped to her seat with a smile?" she asked her boyfriend.
Nino stopped to think "Actually, yeah that is a bit weird" Nino said, "and actually," he paused "I noticed that Lila changed which ear had her tinnitus when she pulls it as an excuse to sit in the front" he said looking at his girlfriend.
Alya had thoughtful look on her face and said "Oh yeah, she did change ears" she said remembering the times Lila explained her disability. "
Do you think Marinette knows something about this?" Nino asked.
Alya thought for a second "Maybe" she whispered. "But she" Alya started to say.
"Is mad at us" Nino finished.
"Look, we know the dudette, she is amazing, and we should ask her anyway to clear this up." Nino said.
"But" Alya tried again before remembering the glare that Marinette gave her, or at least tried to give her, instead of looking mad she looked so disappointed in Alya, and she didn't know why!
"C'mon Alya, look, she's leaving her lunch table" Nino pointed.
They heard a small alarm from Alya's phone, and she pulled it out to check.
"There's an akuma attack" she said slowly.
Nino looked at her, expecting her run out to film the battle for her blog. Instead Alya pocketed her phone and turned to Nino, "Marinette is way more important than my blog" she said answering his confused look.
"Okay then, let's go" Nino said, and they ran to catch up to Marinette.
They followed her to the locker room and were about to call out to her until they heard her talk to someone.
Alya got a glimpse of something flying and immediately pushed Nino behind the lockers and slapped a hand over his mouth. They peeked around the lockers and were shocked to see her with a kwami like the ones they once had except hers was red with black spots.
"It's so unfair Tikki!" Marinette said angrily.
"Calm down Marinette" said the kwami "I understand what you're going through though" she said angry as well, how dare they make her chosen feel like this!
"She's really done it" Marinette whispered so softly that they had to lean a little closer to hear her. "She turned all my friends against me, even Adrien" she said sinking into a bench and putting her head on her hands.
"What am I going to do?" she asked Tikki.
"I'm not sure Marinette" Tikki said.
After a moment's thinking the alarm for an akuma attack rang on her phone.
Marinette checked her phone and looked at Tikki with a small sigh. "Well, time to transform" she said "Tikki, Spots On!" she called.
After transforming she leapt out a window leaving Alya and Nino speechless as they sink to the floor.