CHAPTER 8
Alya let out a relieved sigh and stepped quietly towards her best friend. "Ladybug?" she said cautiously, not wanting to scare the spotted hero off.
"Al-Rena!? RENA! Um how was the party? I-I mean what are you doing here?" Ladybug stuttered. "Actually, you know what! Maybe I should just go" she muttered, grabbing her yoyo.
"NO, WAIT, DON'T" Rena yelled, louder than she intended. Her best friend froze in silence and Rena cringed at her volume.
She took a deep breath and sat down beside the hero. "I'm just here to talk" Rena told her and waited for her best friend to be ready to speak.
Marinette only stared at her before giving a hiccup sigh. "THIS IS A MESS RENA!" she cried with her head in her hands.
"I messed up! I should've known that even accidentally I could transform! I should've watched my words! It's literally magic!" She groaned.
"Girl, you're way too hard on yourself" was Rena's comment before making Ladybug face her.
"What Paris doesn't know is that you're a teenager!" she said, "We should be relaxing instead of the times you have to defeat akumas!" Rena said throwing her hands up. "We already have Lila and Chloe! Honestly, we superheroes deserve a break" she commented making Ladybug giggle before Rena quieted down.
"Seriously, Ladybug, don't worry about the party! You have me, Ni- I mean Carapace and Chat noir!" Rena exclaimed.
Ladybug started to tear up when Rena assured her, "We've got your back, and we understand if you mess up because we do too! All the time!" said Rena. "We might be superheroes, but we aren't perfect"
Ladybug was now sniffling as she threw her arms around the fox hero. "You really are a true best friend" Ladybug sniffed.
Rena was a bit surprised but gently hugged her back. "I'm right here bestie" she replied.
When they pulled back, they were smiling in content and made their way to Marinette's house.
"So, Mari, what should we do about Adrien?" Alya asked once they de-transformed and changed out of their costumes.
Marinette was pacing, but stopped when Alya spoke, "Wait, that was…A-Adrien!?" she stuttered in shock.
"Oh whoops, forgot you didn't know" Alya admitted sheepishly.
Marinette paused her panicking long enough to give Alya a look, "Why didn't you tell me!?" she exclaimed.
"Hey! Don't look at me like that! I couldn't help but give my girl some alone time with her crush" Alya replied in a sweet tone.
Marinette wasn't done panicking, "I transformed…IN FRONT OF ADRIEN!?" she shrieked in terror.
Alya laughed nervously from her bed, "You also danced with him"
Marinette's eyes turned dreamy for a minute before breaking down again, "I danced with him and RUINED THE NIGHT!" she cried before collapsing beside Alya on her bed, face down.
Alya pat her head sympathetically, "Want me to take care of him?" she suggested slyly.
Marinette managed a giggle before lifting her head. "No thanks Alya"
Alya chuckled back, "Well then let's look at the facts" she advised, standing from the bed and faced Marinette.
"No one else saw but me and Nino, you got out before he could question you and I doubt he's figured out who you are" she counted.
"You think?" Marinette asked at the last fact.
Alya gave her a look, "Sorry girl, I hate to say it but you both are kind of oblivious" she said apologetically before straightening. "Unless someone tipped him off, then I doubt he knows"
"HEY!" Marinette protested, "How am I oblivious!?" she asked with her hands on her hips.
Alya was glad she got up off her bed but said, "You didn't know he was Adrien until I told you" She teased lightly.
"W-wait! But how would I know that!?" Marinette stuttered defensively.
Alya chuckled, "Oblivious" she turned around and pushed up her glasses.
Marinette sighed but gave a smile before turning to business. "Well, what if your saying is true, then my identity might still be safe" she said in relief
"I just need a convincing alibi" she paced murmuring to herself.
"How 'bout the bakery was suddenly busy, so you had to stay and help?" Alya asked.
"No! he would see right through that since the bakery was closed!" Marinette replied.
"Okay…how about your costume went missing and you couldn't make another in time" Alya proposed.
"That won't work either, principal Damocles hinted I would be there so there's no way Adrien wouldn't catch that" Marinette answered in despair.
Alya rolled her eyes, "So what do you think would be a good excuse?" she asked playfully.
Marinette continued to pace until she straightened with an idea, "I could tell him I felt sick and had to stay in the bathroom!" she exclaimed, "I mean if I knew it was Adrien, I'm sure I would've actually thrown up which would've ruined his amazing outfit! I bet he got his father to make it because he can be such a dreamy charmer, I mean not to everyone of course but-"
Alya held her head in a hand as Marinette continued to ramble about Adrien. "Girl, girl, girl," Alya sighed but was glad her best friend was starting to act more like herself
The next day, Marinette was feeling much better, so it caught her off guard when she heard rumor about Lila.
"Yeah! Did you see her!" she overheard Mylene say to her used to be girlfriends.
"Who?" Juleka asked quietly.
"That girl who danced with Adrien was Lila!" Alix answered, "Her cat costume rocked!"
"Wait WHAT!?" Marinette mentally exclaimed, "But I thought…"
"I know right!" Rose replied, snapping Marinette out of her thoughts, "I saw her in that costume and barely recognized her! She looked adorable!"
"Aw, thank you Rose!" A new voice piped up and everyone turned to see Lila at the front.
Marinette rolled her eyes as Lila continued, "I got a new seamstress to make it for me! I can't tell you her name since she prefers to let her work speak but she might be the next big thing. That dress she created made me look amazing!" she said with a fake grin while Marinette growled at her.
Meanwhile outside the classroom, Nino was rushing to meet Adrien at the front.
"DUDE, Dude! I'm hoping you didn't hear!" Nino almost tackled his best friend.
"Hear what Nino?" Adrien asked.
"Lila said that she's the cat girl you danced with!" Nino replied hurriedly.
"WHAT!?" Adrien exclaimed as Nino pulled him to their classroom.
"But that girl was Ladybug! Does that mean…" he trailed off and Nino paused to look at him.
"You don't actually think Lila is Ladybug, do you?" Nino asked nervously.
Adrien shook his head after a bit, "She can't be, we caught her as Volpina" he remembered when the brunette was akumatised.
Nino let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness dude, I thought you'd believe her for a second. Alya's are already there to help Marinette."
"Wow, have more faith in me Nino" Adrien joked and threw an arm around Nino as they walked to the stairs. "Hope princess is okay"
At the same time, Alya who just came in, saw Marinette glaring at Lila who was still at the front.
"I heard" she held up her hand as Marinette was about to speak. "I bumped into Nino when he was headed to the front and rushed here as fast as I could" she said setting down her stuff.
Marinette stared at her gratefully but couldn't help but tear up a little. Alya noticed and gave her a hug, much to the displeasure of Lila.
The blogger was Lila's publicity, without her, there would be no interviews or public admiration.
"Maybe this is safer" Lila thought to herself, "I still have the other interviews, at least if she takes them down there's less chance of getting caught" she tried to assure herself.
Still, as she stared at the 2 best friends hugging, she felt it being harder and harder to keep her smile on as everyone complimented her.
"We'll see about that Lila" Marinette had told her before calmly walking past.
Lila's fury had almost reached its point. She had promised to take all her friends including Adrien. But somehow Alya and Nino no longer worshipped her, and Adrien had danced with another girl.
Which was why she had told everyone her next lie. That she was the cat girl Adrien danced with. Not only could Adrien possibly believe her but probably everyone noticed the mysterious cat girl.
It was hard to miss a gloomy Adrien with a Ladybug mask in his hands as he and his fox friend walked out. Once Lila saw, she raced back into the party and spread the news of Adrien masked as Ladybug and Lila Rossi dancing with him.
"But I saw a black cat girl dance with him, throughout the entire night" A boy with a goat mask had piped up.
"Don't you get it? That was Lila!" Volpina had answered.
While she hadn't meant to, she had seemed really pushy and arrogant to the goat masked boy as well as anyone who she came to tell her story. By the end of the dance, everyone believed the story but went out of their way to avoid Volpina.
That's why she left early. That's why she continued this lie. She knew that without any of her lies, people would treat her just like this. Rumors, insults, gossip, all those things negatively happening to her.
Still, when it was time to leave, everyone was buzzing about the cat girl and Adrien, causing Lila to keep the smirk on her face as she strutted home.
"No matter what happens Marinette" Lila thought to herself, as she watched the 2 friends greet the DJ and model who just came in, "I am going to win, and you'll be sorry you didn't want to be my friend!"