Disclaimer: I own not own Miraculous Ladybug.
If you want more about my background on the past of Felix and Bridgette, look up my other fanfics: Little Help at Big Ben, Beat the Truth Out, and if you like M-Rated fics, A Werecat's Mate, Dreaded Night and Can'ts and Regrets.
Lila was a hit again and this time, she had help.
Her favourite (and only) Uncle Alfonso was visiting from Milan. He was a young man in his 20s, with golden eyes, rustic brown hair falling flat on his head in a straight style, a lean and slender figure and skin the colour of melting chocolate. He wore a swanky orange suit with a black shirt, shiny black loafers, and a gold necklace. He taught her everything she knew about 'charming' people. Her gullible class immediately fell under his spell as they did under Lila's. He even managed to charm Chloé into inviting him, his niece, and their class to her father's hotel for a free lunch. Marinette was not among them as she had a cousin visiting her, so no one was there to roll their eyes at Lila's fibs.
At the hotel, employees were rushing all around the place.
"What's going on, Chloe?" Adrien asked.
"Oh, I forgot. There's some kind of event going on, a reunion, I think. A lot of important people coming. I hear one of them is Crys-"
"Mamma Mia!" Alfonso exclaimed when he set his sights on the heart-shaped behind of a woman bending down.
He shoved the kids behind him, even his own niece, and swanned over to the woman, stroking his hair back down his neck, putting on a cheap version of Flynn Rider's smoulder.
"Daddy must must be a baker because that is a great set of buns."
As soon as he said that, the woman froze in her pose and the kids immediately reacted in disgust.
"Oh my god…"
"Gross!"
"Blench!"
"Did your uncle really said that?"
"That line is so old, it belongs in a museum."
Then, the woman bent up, revealing a petite yet curvaceous figure.
"Actually, my aunt and uncle are bakers." The woman retorted. She turned around, her face worn in a glare, and then she gasped when she saw him face to face.
"Alfonso!
Alfonso's smoulder quickly turned into a happy grin. "Bridgette! Bella! You look great!"
Bridgette, indeed, looked great. In fact, she was gorgeous.
Apart from her delicious body, she had luscious black hair shining light blue under the light, pale skin glowing like the moon at night, plump ruby-red lips, pale skin, and bright blue eyes as hypnotising as diamonds. She wore a stunning dress, coloured bright red and off her shoulders, paired with red high heels and gold hoop earrings.
She took a step back. "Alfonso...long time no see."
"Too long."
Alfonso stepped forward with a predatory grin. Bridgette took another step back.
"Uh, Lila, your uncle is kinda being a creep." Kim said.
"I figured that out when he used that awful pick-up line." Alix noted.
"He's just flirting." Lila assured.
"Flirting like a conman at a sleazy bar?" Nino remarked.
"What brings you to the city of love?" Alfonso asked Bridgette.
"I'm...visiting my cousin."
Alya tilted her glasses and squinted at Bridgette. "Is it me or does she look a lot like-"
"Where do you want these, Bridgette?"
A tall stack of pink boxes walked in, skinny legs stumbling around, trying not to fall from the weight.
"Careful, Marinette." Bridgette said, taking half of the boxes away, revealing a young girl greatly resembling her.
"Marinette?" Alya said, staring at her best friend in surprise.
Marinette stared back at them. "Guys?"
She was wearing a lovely aqua-green dress paired with yellow-gold flats, matching-coloured beaded bracelets on her wrists and her hair was down (much to Adrien's delight.)
"This is Mairnette, your missing classmate?" Alfonso asked.
"Wow, you and Bridgette look so alike!" Rose marvelled.
"Yeah, we're cousins." Marinette answered, setting down the rest of the boxes.
"What a coincidence!" Alfonso beamed at Bridgette. "Your cousin and my niece are friends!"
"Hardly." Marinette deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
Bridgette laid her hands on her little cousin's shoulders and pulled her in protectively, eyeing Alfonso warily. "So, uh, Alfonso, what are you doing here?"
"I'm visiting my brother's family. My sister-in-law is an ambassador. Say, since your cousin and my niece know each other, why don't we go and have coffee?"
"Uh, maybe some other time."
"Come on." Alfonso approached her.
Bridgette stepped back, pulling Marinette along and away from the man. "Please, no."
Alfonso either did not listen or chose to ignore the pleas, only reaching out at Bridgette, his hands like claws.
But then Marinette slapped his hands.
"OW!"
"She said no! Back off!" Marinette snapped.
Her friends, rather than impressed by her bravely, were appalled.
"Marinette!"
"You can't slap Lila's uncle like that!"
"Would you like it if someone touches you without your consent?" Bridgette countered, not happy with their attitudes.
"No…"
"Then there's nothing to complain about that. I do not want to be touched by you, Alfonso, and any physical contact you made otherwise is sexual harassment."
"Oh, come on! Every girl likes a touch from a handsome man. And I'm the best…"
"Uh, sir, She's right." Max said. "No girl wants a guy to touch her with her consent-"
"Oh, shut up, you little nerd! You don't know squat about girls! They always play hard to get, playing tricks on you! That's why you need to keep pressing forward!"
The kids all dropped their jaws and stared at him.
Then Ivan turned to Lila. "Lila, your uncle is a creep, an idiot AND a jerk!"
As promised, Alfonso got his hands on Bridgette, despite her protests.
"Get your hands off me!"
"Ah, you like it! You're just playing hard to-"
"HI-YAH!"
Bridgette's knee shot up against Alfonso's crotch hard, sending him into a whole new world of pain, and then she grasped his shirt and, with incredible strength to rival Ladybug, flipped him across the lobby, over the kids, and he landed on his back, painfully hard.
This time, the kids were amazed by what Alfonso got in return of harassing a Cheng.
"Whoa!"
"That was awesome!"
Bridgette smoothed down her dress, slightly wrinkled from delivering a swift kick to Alfonso's crown jewels. "All those years of practicing karate to get my black belt paid off."
"Lila's a black belt too!" Kim announced.
Lila grinned flashily with a hint of nervousness.
Bridgette raised a brow, looking right through her. "Alfonso, I already know you're a liar. Please don't tell me your niece has the same bad habit."
Alfonso immediately sprung up and to Bridgette's side, pain forgotten and back invading her personal space.
"No, she just has a terrible condition that makes her lie all the time!"
"Uncle!" Lila cried in outrage.
Her uncle ignored her. "You won't believe the stuff she made up! She lied about being Ladybug's best friend, saving Jagged Stone's kitten from a moving airplane and getting tinnitus, saving someone's eye out from a napkin, working with Prince Ali with his environment campaign, and getting her tonsils removed! Silly, right? Everything she ever told her friends, she made it up!"
"Uncle, I told you that stuff to praise me, not expose me!" Lila screamed, not realising she was exposing herself. "And I don't have a condition! I'm perfectly fine!"
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Hardly."
"Hold on, you mean you lied to me?" Alya accused Lila, followed by her classmates.
"To all of us?"
"About everything?"
"No, I didn't!"
"But you just said you don't have a lying disorder!"
"My uncle only lied just to flirt with Marinette's cousin!"
"Lila, shut up!" Alfonso said harshly before flashing an innocent grin at Bridgette. "She's very sick."
"Obviously." Marinette answered, swirling her finger next to her forehead.
"Shut up, Mari-trash!" Lila screamed, shocking everyone.
Including her uncle. "Lila! Apologise to miss Cheng now!"
Lila furiously shook her head. "No way!"
"My last name is Dupain-Cheng." Marinette corrected.
Bridgette hugged her cousin, stroking her pigtails with a thoughtful frown. "Interesting. Your niece even has the same attitude you had when you were faced with a certain someone you didn't like. I wonder if your niece is bullying my cousin to dominate her, like you used to do."
"Oh, she is." Marinette said blankly. "A total tyrant."
Now Alya was really angry at Lila. "You bullied my best friend?!"
"This is just typical teen drama!" Alfonso persisted. "You remember what we were like at their age?"
"Yeah, and you were so much worse." Bridgette answered dully.
"Bridgette?"
All heads turned to the source of the voice.
It was a young man, about the same age as Bridgette and Alfonso, standing tall and handsome, with perfect fair skin, angular facial features, and eyes that were swirling of brown, grey, and green, wearing a simple suit of a black turtle, matching slacks and a black leather jacket thrown over his shoulder. He looked like a taller, older version of-
"Felix!" Adrien cried as he jumped at the man, roping his arms around his wife abdomen.
The man, named Felix, smiled softly. He laid one hand on Adrien's back and used the other to pat the little boy's golden locks.
"Long time no see, little brother."
Needless to say, Adrien's friends were shocked by this second wave of surprises.
"Little brother?"
"You have a brother?"
"The resemblance is uncanny."
Felix let go of his little brother and looked up, his face changing to a different, deeper emotion when he saw…
"Bridgette."
"Felix."
The couple stared at each other, gazing into each other's eyes, silently sharing messages across the distance between them.
Then Alfonso cut in between them, glaring at Felix.
"Agreste."
Felix glared back. "Rossi."
"This is new." Ivan noted.
Alya couldn't believe what she was witnessing. She kept blinking and cleaning her glasses.
"I must be seeing things." She said.
"Why?" Alix asked.
"To me, it's like Marinette and Lila fighting over Adrien. But it's Felix and Alfonso fighting over Bridgette!"
"What?"
"There's a difference, but it's the same thing! Rossi vs Cheng vs Agreste, or Cheng vs Agrste vs Rossi, or-"
"Stop! You're confusing me!" Kim said, holding the sides of his head.
"It's gotta be a coincidence."
The glaring match was broken by Alfonso turning his back on Felix to smirk seductively at Bridgette.
"So, Bridgette, are you still-"
"Rich? Yes. Heiress to my family? Yes. Interested in you at all? No." She retorted, deflating Alfonso's cockiness.
Felix shoved Alfonso aside, possessing a much gentler smirk. "How about me?"
She looked at him, a smile twitching at her lips. "Maybe."
"Ow!"
Alfonso lunged form the side, hitting Felix hard in the face with his elbow.
"What is wrong with you now, Rossi?"
"I saw her first this time, Agreste! You had her in high school, now it's my turn!"
"Excuse me! I'm not a loaf a bread!" Bridgette cried, her hands balled up and placed on her hips, showing she was upset.
"But you're a fine pastry!" Alfonso insisted.
Felix, growling, pounded his fist on Alfonso's head. "Don't talk to her like that!"
"Don't talk to me like that! And watch the hair!"
Both men quickly engulfed in a catfight, rolling around and around in in their own personal fight cloud. The kids watching on had sweatdrops on the back of their heads, bewildered.
Bridgette groaned, slapping her hand on her forehead. "This is just like when we were in school together. Some things just refuse to change."
"Yo, Bridge! Feely!"
Just then, a brown-haired man in a blue suit and woman with long blonde hair in a braid and elegant black dress appeared.
"Claude! Allegra!" Bridgette exclaimed happily.
"Bridgey!" The woman hugged Brigdette. "It's so great to see you again!"
"It's great to see you too, Allie!"
"Come here, man!" The man in blue practically tackled Felix. The former got the latter in a headlock, ruffling his blonde locks.
"Stop it, you claud!"
"Ha! That insult never gets old!"
"Mari!" Allegra hugged Marinette and then let go to caress her face. "Wow, you have gotten so beautiful."
Marinette blushed but suddenly shrieked when Claude picked her up like a couple of grapes and squeezed the air out of her.
"Aw, you got so big! You were so little the last time I saw you!"
"Claude! Put my cousin down! You're freaking her out!" Bridgette demanded.
As ordered, Claude placed Marinette back on her two feet. She even felt dizzy from the height of him.
"I remember you being bigger than me!" She cracked.
"You're Allegra Bocciardo, the violinist!" Adrien gasped in amazement. "And Claude Decroux, the actor/mime artist!"
"That's right, little man." Claude flexed his muscles. But his eye bulged when he realised noting that Adrien greatly resembled Felix. "Whoa, man, Feely! He looks just like you!"
"We're brothers. Same appearances, different personalities." Felix answered.
"Thank god! The world doesn't need another sourpuss!"
Felix glowered at Claude.
"Hey, if you have a brother the same age as cute little Marinette, why didn't you mention him?" Allegra asked. "They could've have play dates."
Marinette froze, face burning, with the realisation she could've known Adrien in her childhood, that they could've been childhood sweethearts and that her cousin went to school with his older brother!
(And had a massive crush on said brother.)
"Because my father is a possessive control freak who treats his children like golden candlesticks never lit and put away in locked cupboards."
"If I ever met your father, I'll-"
Allegra trailed off when she finally noticed Alfonso at last. Claude noticed him as well.
"…Alfonso Rossi?"
Alfonso waved and smiled, both weakly. "Ciao?"
"BLOODY HELL!" Claude exclaimed.
"Yikes!" Kim yelped, he and his friends surprised by the outburst.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Allegra demanded angrily.
"I'm visiting my niece." Alfonso timidly explained.
"Well, you and your niece better get out of there before anyone else sees you. Especially Criss."
The warm colours of Alfonso's face washed away by the waters of fear.
"S-S-She's h-h-h-here?"
Claude laughed. "Yeah, man! And if she sees you, your butt is gonna be swimming in the Seine in a million pieces!"
"Who's Criss?" Mylene asked.
"She's just an ex-girlfriend." Alfonso said quickly. The tone of his high-pitched voice and expression creased in fear indicated more to the story.
"One of the many you duped!" Allegra corrected.
"This guy dated nearly every girl in our year at the same time!" Claude revealed.
The kids' jaws dropped.
"Really?"
"Yes! He's a dirty cheat!"
"So, leave!" Allegra pointed to the doors, glaring hard at Alfonso.
"No! We're staying!" Lila insisted.
"Lila, it's better we go." Alfonso hissed at his niece.
"Yo, what's going on out there?"
A dark-skinned man with a shaved head, a green suit and sparkling gold jewellery consisting of a watch, ring and an earring in his left earlobe appeared.
"Allan Gavroche!" Nino gasped, star struck by the appearance of his idol.
"Al!"
"Brie! Ally! Dudes!"
Bridgette, Allegra, and Claude took turns in hugging their old friend. Even Felix smiled as he shook hands with Allan.
Then a man of a similar age emerged from the hallway. He was a thin, fair-skinned man with bright pink hair and wearing a tuxedo jacket that looked like it had been painted by Jackson Pollock paired with brown board shorts and black conserves.
Alix dropped her jaw in shock.
"Alexander!"
"Hey, guys! Long time, no see!"
Alexander hugged the people he hadn't seen since graduation.
Right after Alexander, another young man appeared. This man had red hair as bright as a fire engine, long and kept in a loose ponytail, dreamy blue-green eyes and wearing a purple dress shirt and a blue suit consisting of jacket and trousers.
Nathaniel brushed his bangs aside to stare at the man.
"Neil!"
Neil smiled. "Bridgette. It's so good to see you again."
Bridgette hugged him, making Felix glower in jealousy.
Just then, another man practically hopped out of the same entrance, beaming with more happiness than Rose. He had blond hair in a pompadour, glittering green eyes, and wearing a lavender plaid shirt with a blooming red rose in his chest pocket and pink trousers.
Rose gasped.
"Oh my gosh! You guys!" He practically screamed.
"Russell!"
Russell hugged everyone, even Felix who was stiff in his grip.
And then after Russell came another man, this one with a child and a completely different appearance. He was pale-skinned, messy black hair, dark eyes and wherever he had skin showed, apart from his face, was covered with black tattoos, mostly of flowers. He wore a plain black suit. The child with him was an Asian boy of 10 years old with short black hair, pale skin and narrowed brown eyes, and wearing a floral-printed shirt with black pants.
Like Nathaniel, Juleka brushed back her bangs to stare in shock.
One thing about Russell and the tattooed man had the same gold wedding rings.
"Julian!"
Julian's somber face bared a smile, walking over with the child and hugged his friends.
"Who is this?" Allegra asked.
"This is our little boy, Sorrel. We just adopted him a year ago."
"Hello." Marinette greeted.
Sorrel gazed up at Marinette, his narrowed eyes widened, and his cheeks blushed.
After Julian, the first woman appeared. She was dark-skinned, with green eyes behind red glasses, black hair in a thick Afro, and wearing a dark-green blouse, a navy pencil skirt, dark-green heels, and a red choker.
Max took off his glasses, rubbed eyes, put his glasses back on and stared at the woman.
"Maisie!"
"Hello!"
Next came another man. He was fair-skinned with straight orange hair, freckles, dark-brown eyes behind silver glasses, and wore a neat navy suit with a green/purple plaid tie.
Sabrina blinked, put off her glasses then out them on, and blinked again.
"Hey, Sammy!"
"It's Samuel! Officer Samuel Rodgers now!" Samuel shouted.
And then came a couple with a small child in the woman's arms. The woman had a hugely muscular physique, white-blonde hair in simple short undercut, peach skin, and hard hazel-green eyes. Despite her menacing appearance, she looked absolutely stunning with purple eyeshadow, black lipstick, diamond earrings and a black dress bringing out her curves. In comparison, the man was tiny, petite with dark- blue eyes, blond dreadlocks, tanned skin while decked in a grey suit, fair skin. The small child with them was a little girl about 5 years old, with white-blonde hair in pigtails with pink bows, her skin a mix of peach and tan, hazel-green eyes and wearing a pretty white dress.
Both Ivan and Mylene gawked.
"Ivy! Miles!"
"Hi, everyone!"
"Oh my gosh, is this Poppy?" Allegra cooed. "Look at how big she's gotten!"
"Say hi, sweetie."
"Hi." Poppy said in a meek squeak, shyly hiding in her mother's embrace.
And finally, one last woman appeared. She was tall and slim, with olive skin, caramel-brown hair in a pouty ponytail and wore a red strapless jumpsuit with a long silvery necklace.
Kim gawked, dropping his jaw.
"Kimberly!"
"Kimmy!"
"Hey, guys!"
Kimberly hugged everyone she knew but when she reached Felix, she punched him in the arm.
"Ow!"
"Ha, ha! You know that's how I show affection."
"You never change."
"You haven-"
It was them that she, and everyone who arrived on the scene, finally noticed Alfonso.
"...Alfonso?"
For the second time, Alfonso winced and waved weakly. "Ciao?"
POW!
Kimberly swung a punch at Alfonso's face so hard, he flew across the hall to a wall.
"Whoa!"
"Wow!"
"What a right hook!"
"Nice job, Kimmy!"
"Uncle Alfonso!" Lila cried, rubbing to her uncle's aid.
Alfonso saw stars as his niece's pulled him up.
"What is wrong with you, woman?" He asked, getting his focus back.
"YOU!" Kimberly yelled, rubbing her fist, more than ready to hit him again.
"What the hell are you doing here? Did someone send him an invite? He's barred from all of our events!" Samuel demanded in a rush of angry words.
"Wait a minute! If this is a reunion, why wasn't Lila's uncle invited?" Sabrina asked.
"Because he was, and still is, a horrible person, kid!" Alexander explained hotly.
"Yeah! He's a bloody nightmare!" Maisie exclaimed.
"He'll turn our friendly reunion into a bloodbath like he did to the Valentine's Day Dance!" Miles stated.
"Maybe if Bridgette agreed to go out with me, I wouldn't have to spike the punch to loosen her up." Alfonso protested.
"Hey, don't blame Bridgette! She went out with you once and that was enough!" Allegra shouted.
"It was the worse date of my life." Bridgette deadpanned.
Once again, the younger kids were appalled by Alfonso's actions.
"You spiked the punch just to drug a girl?"
"Not cool, dude!"
"Look, Alfonso, you're petty and vengeful. A dangerous combination." Claude said, keeping up a stern tone and a glare. "When I questioned that you can't be a descendant of William Shakespeare, you blindfolded me, tied me up, took my clothes and left me naked on the school stage to be seen by everyone at the morning assembly!"
"How do you know it was him?" Kim asked.
"HE TOOK PICTURES FOR THE SCHOOL PAPER! AND HE WAS POSING IN THEM!"
All heads turned to Alfonso.
Again, he protested his appalling actions. "So, I overreacted. Big deal. I was only trying to make friends." Alfonso tried to shrug off.
"You weren't trying to make friends. You were trying to get minions." Allan stated firmly.
"Lying was one thing, but hurting other people is another. And you used both." Ivy said, shielding her daughter away from the man.
"You're just picking on me! Like, grow up!" Alfonso spat out.
"If this is Peter Pan, you're Captain Hook!" Alexander shouted.
"LEMME AT HIM! JULIAN, HOLD MY FLOWER, NOT ME!" Russell yelled, Julian holding him back.
Alfonso stepped back in fear.
"Calm down, honey. You're scaring Sorrel."
Sorrel just stared at his adoptive parents stoically. "My dads are weird. But a psycho-liar is weirder."
"This is ridiculous. It's been years since you've seen him. Are you really gonna let a petty high school grudge ruin your lives?" Lila questioned.
"Of course not. We just all know better than to trust Alfonso again." Neil said, arms crossed.
"Yeah! He tricked us, bullied us, used us, lied to us! Multiple times!" Alexander shouted, and then he whipped out an old photograph.
It was a photograph of the class from 10 years ago. The spot where Alfonso was was crossed out with red marker.
"That can't be true! Right?" Alya asked hopefully, looking up Disney-eyed at the uncle of the girl she and her friends trusted with all their hearts.
But Alfonso scoffed at the situation. "So, I fibbed a little and fell short on my promises. I was 16! It was too much pressure for a young boy…"
One by one, his old classmates unleashed their fury upon him.
"You destroyed every painting I owned because I didn't draw you flattering enough to your taste in one painting!" Neil cried.
"You had me do all your homework because of your 'rheumatism' from saving a village from flying flapjacks!" Maisie exclaimed.
"I blow off my big swimming tournament to baby you after you had your 'appendix removed'! In my lucky red swimsuit!" Kimberly shouted.
"I gave you my CD to give to your 'famous friends' and you sold it as your own! I got kicked out of my first club gig for 'plagiarism'!" Allan screamed.
"You said you saved the Queen's cockatoo from a moving train, and then I found out that crossing train tracks at any other place than a railroad crossing is considered trespassing and is ILLEGAL! And the Queen doesn't have a cockatoo! She has corgis! When I confronted you about it, you punched me in the stomach and threatened to break every bone in my body unless I keep quiet! You blackmailed me!" Samuel yelled.
"You said you taught Britney Spears how to dance and taught me your moves! You let me use your dance moves in a Skateboarding competition and I ended up being disqualified because those were illegal moves!" Alexander screeched.
"You convinced me to dump Miles for you when you were two-timing every other girl in our year!" Ivy yelled.
"You stole the love of my life and used her as a scapegoat for your cheating! You told everyone she was abusing you!" Miles roared.
"I gave you money for your charity with Princess Diana on animal rights and you spent it all on wheelies!" Russell screamed.
"You said you took guitar lessons from Elton John! You agreed to perform at a concert I was managing but you stood me up! I got fired! Later, you said you were held up by an exploding sewage hole!" Julian called out.
"Not only did you publicly humiliate me for questioning you, but you also hurt my best friends! Repeatedly! And you convinced me it was their fault!" Claude raged on.
"You had me bail you out with your absences because I was the headmaster's daughter! And you told me you knew Ladybird and Black Cat and I ended up losing my place as the editor of the school newspapers for publishing false news!" Allegra unleashed.
The younger kids, as well as being more shocked by the awful things Lila's uncle did to his class (much like the same things Lila was doing to them), were also curious by Allegra's last statement.
"Ladybird?"
"Black Cat?"
"Ok, I can't help but feel major déjà vu."
"Not to mention the so-called special treatment you gave me." Bridgette recalled. "The groping, the mind-tricking, the threatening…. I still have scars from your hands grabbing me. On places you shouldn't be touching in the first place!"
Felix tapped his finger on his chin, smirking with sweet satisfaction that Alfonso was getting pounded on.
"I wonder if father knew that the Lila Rossi who is modelling with you is related to the Alfonso Rossi that tried to get me expelled and almost ran over me." He wondered out loud.
"He did what!?" Adrien shrieked.
"Yes, when he wasn't screwing over everyone, he tried to ruin me. All because I didn't believe his stupid lies."
"I am not stupid!" Alfonso cried, scowling at Felix who simply smirked at him.
"Of course you weren't just stupid, you were also delusional and clouded by jealousy. Father probably ignored that fact if Lila proved to be useful."
"Useful? Like, she's a pawn?" Adrien asked innocently.
"To father, everyone is a pawn in his game."
"So, your uncle tried to kill Adrien's brother?" Nathaniel asked Lila.
"Good thing you found out now and not at your wedding." Kim joked.
"Not funny, you big monkey!" Lila shouted.
Alfonso continued to protest his innocence. "I was young! I was foolish!"
"Now he's covering it up like Lila does." Marinette observed, making her cousin and her friends laugh.
"Let's not forget the trouble you got Crystal in!" Claude added.
At once, Alfonso went rigid again, only this time he was pale-skinned and shivering with fear.
"Oh Yeah!" Samuel chuckled. "She never forgave you for that!"
"Did someone say my name?"
All heads turned around and the young class's jaws dropped.
Because there, strutting out like on a catwalk, was a glamorous woman. She had smooth caramel skin and copper-brown hair in a fluffy high-ponytail running down her back. Her face was largely hidden behind black sunglasses with gold accents and pink lens, a beauty mark on her cheek and full lips painted in a dusty tea-rose pink shade. Her figure was tall and voluptuous figure. She wore a bold magenta dress cut short past her hips, sleeveless and wide necked. Gold wedged-heels and a big flurry lavender-pink coat accessorised her dress, along with a gold bracelet with emeralds, a gold necklace, and big emerald earrings rimmed with gold. At the woman's side was a pretty, young girl about the same age as the young class. She had long hair in a mix of black, brown, and caramel, all in curly twisted box-braids, dark skin smooth to the touch, big pretty violet eyes, and grinning plum-coloured lips. Her thin, slender body donned a large lavender hoodie, black tight pants, white sneakers and a purple beanie on her head.
Every young teen stared at the woman, starstruck. Except for Juleka. Her eyes were fixated on the girl. Then the other kids exploded.
"OH MY GOD!"
"ITS CRYSTAL!"
Crystal flicked her hair and smirked.
"Yes, it is I. Now what is going o-"
The actress stopped talking when she caught a single glimpse of Alfonso. Crystal took off her sunglasses, revealing the same big violet eyes and smooth facial features as the young girl with her.
"Come here, Vanessa." Bridgette gently beckoned the girl over, which the girl named Vanessa did without question.
Crystal stared blankly at Alfonso, the man himself sweating and shaking.
"Hi, Crystal…" He whimpered.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
The actress's scream was not at all fake. It was truly filled with horror. The scream actually broke she people's eardrums, shattered glass, made cars to stop, dogs to howl and cats to hiss.
Eventually Crystal stopped screaming to glare at Alfonso. Only her glare was much more deadly, and she was breathing heavily like a wild animal. Then she took her coat, necklace, earrings, bracelet, and sunglasses, placing those items in the hands of Samuel and Allan, the two men at her side like obedient butlers.
With that done, she also took off one of her pricy shoes and, with a battle cry, lunged at Alfonso.
He screamed like a little girl.
"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING. HERE?!"Crystal shouted as she smacked him with her heel.
"Ow! I'm sorry! Ow! Please stop hitting me! Ow!"
The younger class stared on blankly while the older class cheered Crystal on.
"Go, Crissy!" Kimberly cried.
"Go, babe! Hit him! Go for the groin!" Allan exclaimed.
"Is that the guy who cheated on her and humiliated her on live TV?" Vanessa asked.
"Yep, Nessie." Claude answered.
Vanessa winced. "Oh..."
Adrien and Marinette were also bewildered by the scene.
"At least she's not using stilettos like last time…" Bridgette said.
"Brie, last time she found Alfonso was lying and cheating on her." Felix retorted.
Bridgette glanced over to him. "That nickname is so cheesy, Feely."
He glanced to her, flashing a smile.
"What in the world?"
Mayor Bourgeois arrived, looking surprised.
"What is going on here?"
"HIM!" Crystal stopped her assault on Alfonso and pointed her wedge at him. The Italian man was bruised and dishevelled. "This is a private and exclusive event, and he's crashing it! This is outrageous! Truly outrageous!"
"I'm not crashing it!" Alfonso cried. "I didn't even know you were here! It was my niece's idea! She demanded to come here! My brother and his wife spoiled her too much!"
"What?!" Lila roared, outraged.
"I don't care if it was her idea!" Crystal shouted. "I never want to see you again!"
"Don't you think you're overreacting, dear?" Mayor Bourgeois asked.
Just like when she saw Alfonso, Crystal froze.
Her old friend knew what that meant.
"Uh oh."
"Damn."
"He just had to say it."
"Crystal is the biggest drama Queen ever. Why do you think she became an actress and a good one at that?
"Crystal is a ticking time bomb in a dress. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock-"
"Stop it, Claude!"
"What, it's funny!"
"HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!?"
She delivered yet another award-winning, mind-scattering, nerve-wrecking yell.
"Honey, calm down. Take a deep breath." Allan advised.
Crystal did so, taking a deep breath. Her scowling face loosened up as she became much calmer, but she was still furious.
"Mayor Bourgeois, I demand that Mister Alfonso Rossi leaves your hotel or we do! We'll take the reunion to another hotel!"
"B-B-But you already paid for your reunion to be here! It's all set!"
"I demand a refund! I'm not spending another moment with him here!"
Surprising, a shouting Crystal was scarier than a screaming Crystal. Even Lila was leaning back, absolutely terrified of a raving Crystal.
"Oh, Daddy!"
Then Chloe stood in between her father and Crustal, smirking. She then spoke in a sugary-sweet voice.
"Mr Rossi should leave if he's making Ms Camberwell upset. She's a guest and it's not just her. Everyone at the reunion doesn't want him here. He's making everyone here uncomfortable with his presence. You don't want them to sue us for letting him stay, do you?"
She stared at her father with big puppy eyes.
"See? Your daughter can see my point!" Crystal exclaimed.
Unable to lose such an important clientele and his precious daughter, Mayor Bourgeois made his decision.
"Sir, please leave my hotel or I'll call the police to escort you."
ZOOM!
Alfonso ran out of the hotel in a streak of smoke without a single complaint.
"GO BACK TO ITALY AND STAY HERE!" Alexander yelled after the fleeing man. "Man, I hate that guy!"
Chloe glanced snidely at Lila. "Aren't you gonna go after your favourite uncle?"
Lila numbly walked out the doors after her uncle. Soon enough, the young class (except for Chloe, Sabrina, Marinette and Adrien) left the hotel.
But Adrien decided to join them.
"I'll be right back. I just to need to talk to the others."
His long-lost older brother frowned at him, disappointed. "I see public schooling hasn't improved your naivety, baby brother."
Adrien pouted and then left.
"Shouldn't you stop him or at least go after him?" Neil asked.
"With Alfonso there and his niece?" Felix answered. "Even the blind and the dead can witness the truth."
"Oh, I remember your fancy way of speaking." Neil retorted.
"Because I was born into wealth and reads a lot? There much be a reason."
"There's the sarcasm as well."
"But we barely met his niece. Maybe she's innocent." Maisie theorised.
"She's not innocent!" Marinette cried, capturing everyone's attention. "She has been doing the same things to my friends as her uncle did to you! And I'm her scrap goat! I'm Felix and Adrien is Bridgette!"
Allegra glanced at Bridgette and Felix, smirking teasingly.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." She said.
"They were on the same branch, Ally." Claude also teased.
"Oh, yeah, she is. But like you said, Lila was just so charming. We fell into her trap as you did with Alfonso."
"She's gonna get a sore butt from fall off her high pedestal!" Chloe crackled.
Marinette groaned, her anger rising to a growl. "I can't believe Lila got her awfulness from her uncle! I mean, she's the worst and she gets it from her uncle! The same guy who harassed you I'm school! They're definitely related! She's-"
Bridgette's hands laid on her shoulders, the older woman steering her towards the youngest Camberwell girl. The latter was smiling, brightening up her pretty face.
"Marinette, this is Vanessa. Crystal's precious little sister." Bridgette introduced. "I'm sure you two will be great friends."
"Hi." Vanessa greeted.
Thanks to that, Marinette calmed down and smiled. "Hello."
Bridgette smiled with pride, releasing her gentle hold off Marinette. "You girls go the ballroom and have fun."
The two girls walked side by side to the hall where the reunion was supposed to be held, talking animatedly. Sorrel followed suit at the heels of Mairnette like a lovesick puppy.
Russell was tearing up. "Our little bud is in love. He's blossoming…"
"He's 8." Julian deadpanned.
Then Alexander burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Neil asked.
"Bridgette's cousin! And Crystal's little sister! Together! Friends! Bridgette and Crystal hated each other!"
"No, Felix and Alfonso hated each other. Crystal and I have a mild friendship." Bridgette told him.
"Not to mention we never tried to kill each other." Crystal added, putting her shoe back on her feet.
"Mommy, daddy, why were you shouting at that man?" Poppy asked innocently.
"He was a very bad, dumb and silly man who doesn't take responsibility for his actions." Ivy answered sweetly.
"A good person doesn't hurt other and lie about it." Miles also chimed in.
Mother and daughter did an Eskimo kiss before the family walked away to the hall.
Crystal retrieved her accessories from Samuel and Allan. The two men glared at each other.
"Dude, she's off-limits. I got her first."
"I'm married now. It's a force of habit. And I still don't see what she sees in you."
"What's going on?" Sabrina asked.
"Back in school, Samuel and Allan both had a huge crush on Crystal." Neil told her.
"They did everything for her. Do her homework, get her lunch, carry her bags, even file her nails." Allegra said.
"Not to mention the fights they had over her." Maisie added.
"What did Crystal do?" Sabrina asked again.
"She just used them as her personal servants." Kimberly answered. "But now, Allan is engaged to her, and Samuel is married. I don't know how she's gonna handle them now."
"She's spoiled and dramatic but a loving person underneath." Maisie said.
"Yeah, as long as her sister is with her." Claude remarked.
WHACK!
Everyone turned their heads over to the source of the sound. Crystal had her shoe off again and she was growing upon Allan and Samuel, the two men rubbing their heads.
"If you two keep talking like I'm a mackerel, I'm gonna smack you so hard, you'll fly to Pluto!"
"Yes, dear."
"Yes, Ms Camberwell."
Crystal huffed as she put her shoe back on again. She swanned off, followed by her fiancé and former lover-boy, to the hall. But when she passed Chloé, she patted the blonde on her head without even sparing her a look.
"Thank you for your help, missy."
Chloé swooned. Getting complimented by Crystal, her long-time favourite actress and role model, was the best thing that ever happened to her, next to getting a selfie with Ladybug.
Overwhelmed with bliss, she fainted.
"Chloe!" Sabrina gasped.
Sabrina hooked her hands under Chloe's arms and hoisted her up, dragging her to the elevator on the way to Chloe's suite.
"Come on, guys! There's an all-you-can-eat buffet!"
"Dibs on having every cocktail sausage!"
"No fair! I want some!"
"You greedy pack of apes!"
"Don't you mean pack of wolves?"
"You know what I mean!"
"Race ya, Sammy!"
"It's OFFICER SAMUEL RODGERS!"
The remaining adults of the reunion dashed away to the hall, behaving like young schoolchildren again. All except for Bridgette and Felix. They stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to say after so many years apart.
Bridgette broke the ice first. "So…how have you been?"
"I'm fine. I'm writing books as well as reading them. Some bestsellers."
"Really? I didn't come across any 'Felix Agreste' in local bookshops.
"It's under a nom de plume. Thomas Black."
"You're Thomas Black? The mysterious author of Stuck in a Square? I love that book!"
"I based the main character on you. And us."
Bridgette blushed, which made him smirk.
"How about you?"
"Like Alfonso hoped, I'm still heir of my great family. And I became a chef. Even own my own restaurant in Hong Kong."
"Excellent."
The awkward silence came back. Bridgette looked away from Felix, the latter staring at her.
"Look, Bridgette, you were right to stand me up. I was giving you pity when you didn't want it."
That made Bridgette look at him. "It just hurts that all it took for you to notice me was my parents dying in a car crash. I mean, come on! A pity date! You're just as sheltered as your baby brother. I mean, why do you think it was a good idea to take me on a pity date? You didn't have to do that. All you had to do was give me your condolences."
"Oh, sure, now you tell me! No one told me! I had to figure everything on my own."
"Don't play the poor little rich boy card again! That may worked on me before but not now anymore!"
She glared at him, pouting with her cheeks puffed like a chipmunk. Much like when they were young.
He laughed, only hardening her glare.
"I missed you so much. I didn't even get to say goodbye at least."
She dropped her pout and defended her cheeks to just gawk at him, not sure how to answer him.
"….Your brother is an idiot for believing Alfonso's niece in the first place." She finally said.
Felix sighed. "I'm aware. Father sheltered him too much."
"Considering how controlling he is, that explains Adrien's naivety. Do you think we were too harsh on Alfonso back there?"
"Maybe, but it's understandable. Alfonso Rossi brings out the worse in people."
"The funny thing is that we could've forgiven him if he would just apologise."
Felix coughed out of shock. "Alfonso? Apologise? Not in a billion years. And his niece? If she's anything like her uncle, we just saved innocent lives by exposing her early before she runs away to Italy as Alfonso did, leaving her class to fix the mess she left."
"I suppose so…"
"You're too nice, Bridgette. And idiotic."
"Hey!"
"It's true. You're the one who told me to take the high road because his lies weren't hurting anyone. May I remind you of the time he actually broke my wrist?"
"May I remind you of the time I gave him a black eye for groping me? I didn't want to cause a big fight that could lead to nothing. Everyone else was believing him, I felt I was the only who knew the truth and I was scared he would turn everyone I trusted on me."
"He had us living in fear for two whole years. Luckily for you, I saw right through his crocodile tears."
Bridgette crossed her arms and frowned at him. "You sound mighty proud of yourself."
"I am. I was the only one who did something."
"I did do something! I took the high road!"
"High road? Really? That made him worse."
"I was 16! Not my proudest moment! I just wanted things to be fine."
"Hiding in the shadows wasn't your style. Well, Alfonso wasn't possessed so you had to take a different approach…"
Bridgette narrowed her eyes more. "You really are a smug bastard."
Felix smirked more at her. "Took you long enough to see it."
"I was blind sighted by my stupid crush on you."
"So, you still have it?"
Bridgette's glare dropped like a rock. "Are you flirting with me?"
"10 years too late, but yes I am."
A smile slowly formed on Bridgette's face. She and Felix were so engaged in each other's longing gaze, they weren't aware that they were walking towards each other, moving closer until their chests were touching, their heads leaning in, their lips inching closer…
SLAM!
The couple jerked apart, although Felix had his arms around Bridgette. They both turned their heads.
Adrien was standing at the hotel front doors, having been the one who throw them harshly open, with the sound of arguing outside.
"Adrien?" Bridgette asked.
"Lila is a bitch, and her uncle is a bastard! Where's Marinette? I need to see her! She's more than that!" Adrien said all at once in a rush.
"More than what? What happened?" Felix questioned.
"Well…"
A few minutes earlier…
"Well that was unexpected." Alya stated when she and her classmates stepped outside.
"I know!" Nino exclaimed, starry-eyed. "There was Allan Gavroche, Claude Decroux, Allegra Bocciardo, and Crystal!"
"And Kimberly Chase!" Kim cried, also starry-eyed.
"Who?"
"Kimberly Chase! She's a champion swimmer! Ondine and I are big fans of hers!"
"Ivy was there too! She's our favourite singer!" Mylene said as she held hands with Ivan.
"Not to mention Neil Hampson, the famous painter. I love his work!" Nathaniel gushed.
"And Alexander Cuthburt, 5-time champion skateboarder!" Alix cried.
"I meant it was unexpected because what happened with Lila's sexist, misogynistic, idiotic, lying, horrible uncle!" Alya blurted out.
"At least we know that Lila comes from a family of lying nutcases." Max deadpanned.
"Yo, man. What's the deal with your big brother?" Nino asked Adrien when the blonde boy came in after them.
"He left home years ago after a big fight with father." Adrien explained. "It was always hard to talk about him, so I didn't mention him anymore. Besides, he likes his privacy. I didn't even know he was here, no one told me. I doubt he could tell me. Father cut him out of the family and forbid me from ever contacting him."
"But you did meet him today."
"It was chance."
"This is all your fault!" Alfonso yelled to his precious niece.
Lila scoffed. "My fault? How is you getting your butt kicked my fault?"
"It was your idea to come to this hotel! And thanks to you, I lost any chance I had with Bridgette! And Crystal nearly killed me!"
"Eh, news flash, uncle, you had no chance with her at all! Why are you so into Lame-ette's cousin?"
"BECAUSE SHES THE ONE FOR ME! She's rich and beautiful and hot and rich and smoking hot and filthy rich AND she was the only girl I never had in high school!"
"Just get over her! There's a million girls in the world!"
"BUT THERES ONLY ONE BRIDGETTE CHENG! Have you forgotten what my father, your grandfather, used to tell us before he passed away peacefully?"
"Grandpa died of a heart attack during a tryst with his 20-year-old mistress in a seedy motel while tied to the bed."
"Like I said, he died peacefully! He said, A Rossi always deserves the best! And I deserve the best! And Bridgette is the best!"
"You can do better than her."
"No, I can't! Weren't you listening to me? She's the best! She's the one that got away, but she is also the heiress of one of the richest families in the world!"
Lila's class, for the umpteenth time, gasped in shock.
"What?"
"Dupain-Cheng is rich?"
"Marinette is rich?"
(Being a member of one of China's oldest and richest families was Mairnette's biggest secret, third to her secret crush on Adrien and secret superhero identity as Ladybug.)
"Yeah, the family has some weird code of honour, like you have to work before you get the money." Alfonso explained in a bored tone of live. "So, I worked to get Bridgette but you, mia nipote idiota, ruined it! This is the first time in 10 years I met her after fleeing, uh, transferring back to Italy. I could've made the perfect first impression, but you had to come along and ruin it!"
"Excuse me! It was my idea to come here! If it wasn't for me, you would never meet her again! Marinette was the one who set me up! She did all this just to ruin me!"
"Marinette? Bridgette's cousin? Ha! She's not a threat, you stupid girl! That brat is only half-Chinese. An illegitimate bastard and not entitled to the family fortune."
"Hey! Don't you dare talk about Mairnette like that!" Adrien shouted.
"Shut up, you little rat! You're just like your brother, sticking your pointy nose in other people's business!"
"Only when other people's business involves hurting my friends, which is what you and Lila are doing to me and Felix and everyone else!"
"He's just speaking the truth, Adrien." Lila remarked. "Marinette is a loser, always has and always been. Even her own family knows she is a worthless, half-breed bitch."
She said it so coolly and honestly, it shocked Adrien and their class.
At that moment, all of Adrien's naivety shattered into little pieces. And crumbled into dust. And then blown away by the wind.
"That's it, I'm leaving!"
"But Adrien! Stay!"
"No! It's oblivious I'm not welcome by your family. After all, Agrestes and Chengs don't get along withRossis."
Just as angry as he spoke, Adrien stormed away to the hotel, intending on telling his brother was right about the Rossis and tell Marinette she wasn't a worthless half-breed bastard, tell her that she was more, much more, that taking the high road was the worst idea he ever had.
Ironic that one Rossi doesn't like the Agrestes as much as another Rossi's doesn't like the Chengs.
Clearly mentally unable to acknowledge her faults, Lila turned to her uncle. "You moron! You ruined my chance with Adrien!"
Alfonso scoffed without a single care. "So what? The Agrestes are nothing but a bunch of stuck up, boring stick-in-the-muds. You can better than an Agreste. They're only rich because their daddy makes pretty dresses. Now the Chengs, they have blue blood since the Qin dynasty."
"I don't care if they rule China! The Chengs are nothing but boring, jealous goody-two-shoes! I rather be poorer than dirt than be related to Loser-ette!"
"Are you telling me that because of your petty jealousy, you refused to be friendly with the Cheng's bastard?"
"Hey, Marinette is not a bastard!" Alya shouted angrily.
Alfonso waved her off without lifting his scowling eyes from his equally troublesome niece. "Stay out of this! This is a family matter! As for you, you failed me! You failed our family! You're utterly, utterly, utterly WORTHLESS!"
"Me? Worthless? You're the one cheated on Bridgette and ruined your own chance of marrying her!"
"I never cheated on her! I could've but she played hard to get and she's rich! You don't cheat on that until she's dead!"
"Not my fault everyone else holds a grudge! I mean, it has been 10 years!"
"You have gone too far this time! After all my efforts, my sacrifices to bring this family up from the gutter you put us in!"
"Blah, blah, blah! You think you're so fantastic but you're not! You don't even have a job because you always mess up at work! You couldn't even last 10 seconds without stealing cash from the register!"
"Look who's talking, the girl who got kicked out of 6 countries in 2 years! You even got banned from Dublin!"
"Uh, which Rossi is really at fault?" Nino asked.
"I don't know, because their awful deeds came out at the same time." Ivan replied.
"Yeah, Alfonso exposed Lila and then his class exposed him." Nathaniel added.
"Juleka?" Rosa said, looking at her best friend with worry, tapping the goth girl on the shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Juleka was locked in a faraway daze, blissfully daydreaming about Vanessa.
"Guys, I think something is wrong with Juleka!"
"According to the evidence, I theorised that Juleka has a crush on someone she met at the item but who, I do not know." Max suggested.
…
…
…
"You guys wanna get ice cream?"
"Yeah."
"Sure."
"Some nice, cold brain freeze will cool my head after this crazy day."
With that, the remaining class walked away, Rose dragging Juleka, leaving the two relatives arguing.
After that fateful day, a lot had happened.
After years of estrangement, Felix and Bridgette finally started dating.
Adrien became happy of his brother being in his life again and dating Mairnette's cousin.
Marinette almost had a heart attack when she realised Adrien was practically her brother-in-law.
Adrien asked Marinette out at her bedside.
Marinette nearly had a heart attack again.
Lila got fired when Adrien reminded Gabriel who her uncle was.
Marinette and Vanessa started hanging out, becoming close friends quickly.
Alya became jealous of Vanessa's presence in Marinette's life.
To pacify Alya, Vanessa agreed to tell her about London's greatest mystery, Ladybird and Black Cat the secretive vigilantes, in exchange of information of her crush, Rena Rouge.
Alya went to the hospital for a near stroke.
All's well that ends well…
…
…
…
…
…
"Is it me or did that reunion remind you guys of ourselves?" Alya had asked for her hospital bed.
"I think you need more painkillers, babe." Nino suggested.
"Look! Crystal posted old pictures of herself and her class when they were in school!" Rose exclaimed excitedly, holding out her phone.
Everyone took a good look at Crystal's Instagram posts. The pictures were old quality from the 2000s/2010s but the kids in them were clear.
But Alya was especially interested in those pictures.
Alexander and Kimberly were racing against each other with their friends cheering them on, Alexander on his skateboard.
Felix was reading in the library.
Bridgette beamed at the camera while presenting a tray of cupcakes.
Allegra was crotched down on the ground of an alley, looking for a clue that could lead her to Ladybird and Black Cat. She was even looking through the lens of a magnifying glass and wearing a Sherlock Holmes hat.
Claude was either goofing around or doing a mime.
Allan was on a DJ mixer, spinning old-school records with big headphones around his neck.
Kimberly flexed her arms like Kim does.
Maisie was in the middle of building a small robot.
Neil accidentally threw his paintbrushes and pallet up when he realised someone was taking his picture while he was painting.
Russell ran down the hall, throwing flowers everywhere to everyone with a happy smile.
Alexander, Claude, Allan, Neil, Miles and Julian were having an everyday scene on the soccer field, but Julian's face was blocked by a flying pigeon.
Big, intimidating Ivy glared down at whoever was taking the photo.
Miles was hiding under a table while his class was prancing around in convincing Halloween costumes.
Crystal walked and stared at her reflection in her compact mirror. Behind her, Samuel and Allan carried her books.
Bridgette and Crystal glared at each other in a fierce staring match.
Crystal was posing for the camera, positioning like Chloé usually does.
Most of the class surrounded Alfonso as he made a charming lie. Over the picture, the words 'LIAR LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!' were stamped on.
And lastly, Bridgette was running up to Felix with a love letter in hand, hearts in her eyes. On the other hand, Felix had her back on her and scowling.
"Am I the only one seeing this? Seriously? I'm the one wearing glasses and I can see that Adrien's brother and his class parallel us!"
"Yet you fail to see that Lila was taking advantage of us." Alix retorted.
"So were you! Ow!" Alya shrieked when she pulled a muscle. "…Painkillers, please."
Alfonso's Italian line to Lila, 'mia nipote idiota', is 'my idiot niece.'
Reunion Cast List (not including Alfonso):
Bridgette Cheng. Marinette's cousin. Chinese. Chef and heiress to the Cheng Clan, a wealthy family in China.
Felix Agreste. Ex-heir of Agreste, disowned by his father. A writer under the name Thomas Black.
Allegra Bocciardo. Bridgette's best friend and the headmaster's daughter. A famous violinist. Her last name, Bocciardo, is from Niccolo Paganini, the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time in the 18th century. Bocciardo was his mother's maiden name.
Claude Decroux. A mime/actor. His last name, Decroux, is from Étienne Decroux, a French actor who created the art of mime.
Allan Gavroche. Record producer. Crystal's fiancé.
Alexander Cuthburt. Professional skateboarder.
Neil Hampson. Acclaimed painter.
Russell Lavender. Florist and Julian's husband.
Julian Carwardine. Tattoo artist and Russell's husband.
Sorrel Lavender-Carwardine. Russell's and Julian's adopted son.
Maisie Knightley. Mathematician.
Samuel Rodgers. Police officer.
Ivy Bermudez. Famous singer.
Miles Harper. Ivy's husband and agent.
Poppy Harper. Ivy's and Miles's daughter.
Kimberly Chase. Professional swimmer.
Crystal Elizabeth Victoria Camberwell. Eldest daughter of the mayor of London. Famous actress and Allan's fiancée.
Vanessa Jane Diana Camberwell. Crystal's younger half-sister and Marinette's new friend.