If her plan was going to work, it would need to be perfect. Of course, for that to happen, Lila needed to know just what was going on between Adrien and Marinette Dupain-Cheng… And for that to happen, Lila mused, she'd have to do some digging.
Ugh, I hate getting my hands dirty.
Lila played with one of the ponytails draped over her shoulders as she mulled her thoughts over, wondering what the best way to approach her next course of action was as she perused her phone. Asking Adrien or Marinette directly was of course out of the question; Adrien was loyal to an annoying fault, and that idiot baker's daughter would just stumble over herself so badly that Lila would die of old age before getting any pertinent information.
Alya, perhaps? No… Her loyalty to Dupain-Cheng was stronger even than her desire to gossip, despite how hard the girl worked to pair her friend up with Adrien. Lila scoffed in irritation, scrolling through her contact's list. Aside from that, Alya's increasing nosiness had been getting on Lila's nerves of late, and Lila was sure that the blogger was growing increasingly wary of Lila's… Embellishments.
Frustrated, Lila kicked herself away from her desk and stood, prowling her way over to her window and flicking the blinds open just enough to peer outside.
It was a good thing she had, it seemed. Below, she could just make out Adrien and Marinette walking down the street, side by side. Where were they coming from? Lila wondered, glancing back the way they had come in a futile attempt to see anything recognizable. Of course, she saw nothing and growled to herself in further frustration.
Returning her gaze to the pair, she bristled when she noticed Adrien slip his hand into Marinette's, her olive-green eyes narrowing further when she saw that instead of jumping away and stammering some lame excuse as Lila had expected, Marinette merely smiled, her blush still present but significantly less disastrous than usual, and kept her hand where it was.
What was going on? Lila fumed, resisting the urge to storm out of her apartment and rip that useless girl away from Adrien herself. Last week she couldn't even look at him without turning into a blubbering mess and now she's casually walking down the street holding his hand!
Deciding that enough was enough, Lila grabbed her keys and made her way out of her apartment, being sure to tail the pair from a safe distance while she watched. It was disgusting, seeing them smiling and laughing as if they were an actual couple; as if they hadn't been awkwardly side-stepping one another for the past four years.
Marinette laughed at something Adrien said, and the sound made Lila see red. It wasn't her usual forced, overly-giddy laugh, but the pure, happy laugh that truly meant she was suddenly comfortable around the blonde. She even shoved at his shoulder, and said something back to him that made him grin and blush! How dare she! Lila snarled to herself and skirted around a side-street, one that she knew would let her out in front of their path. If she was going to act, it would need to be now, damn anybody who got in her way!
Sure enough, she came out onto the main street a block or so ahead of Adrien and Marinette, who were still so lost in their own little world that they hadn't noticed her. Ugh, she wrinkled her nose in momentary disgust, but then smoothed her features into a warm smile and donned a façade of innocent interest.
"Adrien! Marinette!" She called, extending one hand above her head in a wave and raising herself onto her toes slightly as if to be seen above the crowd. The two stopped and their responses, though similar, were still worlds apart. Adrien had always been kind to her, and although he was wary of her, he still donned his usual polite smile and raised his hand in a wave. Marinette on the other hand, oh, Lila knew there was no getting through to her. Ever since Lila had attempted to expel her from Françoise Dupont, Marinette had made sure that she was never alone with Lila again, and frankly, Lila had commended her for it.
Marinette had tightened her hold on Adrien's arm and her eyes had gone from sparkling and happy to icy in the time it took for her to make eye-contact with Lila, the smile slipping from her face in the same amount of time. To his credit, Adrien seemed to notice, and squeezed her hand in reassurance, murmuring something to her that Lila couldn't hear, though it didn't seem to do much to relax the girl. Heh, it's because she knows better. Lila smirked to herself.
"It's so amazing running into you two here!" Lila preened, approaching them within a few steps and not missing how Marinette tensed more. "How have you been? We haven't seen much of each other since moving onto Lycee! Oh!" She widened her eyes and brought her hands up to her mouth as if only having just seen the intimacy of their handhold. "Oh my goodness, Marinette! Are you and Adrien on a date? " She was pleased to see the blush that cascaded over the other girl's face, but Adrien simply adjusted his hold and tilted his head to the side.
"What would you like, Lila?" He asked, sidestepping the question with a fencer's grace. Lila tossed her hair behind her shoulder and looked up at him, smiling flirtatiously.
"I noticed that there was a new café open on Rue de Marseilles, you should join me!" She purred, sending a smirk over at Marinette even as she reached up to fix Adrien's shirt collar, listening with delight as she heard Marinette's indignant gasp. Before she could say another word, though, or even before Marinette could interject, Adrien used his free hand to catch hers and replace it firmly at her side, shaking his head.
"Sorry, Lila, but Marinette and I already have plans," He said, moving his hand from Marinette's to wrap his arm around her waist instead. This incited an excited, embarrassed squeak from the noirette and caused Lila to narrow her eyes. "But hey, thanks for the suggestion, we'll be sure to check it out next time we're in the 10th Arrondissement, right Marinette?"
"Y-yeah," Marinette stammered, much closer to her usual stumbling self than she'd been only minutes before. "Thanks, Lila." Recovering herself somewhat, she leaned into Adrien and put her head on his shoulder, "we'll see you at school, kay?"
Then they walked away. They walked away from her as if she didn't matter. As if Lila meant nothing to them, and oh, how that mistake would cost them.
Adrien Agreste, I am done playing nice with you. Lila fumed, her rage seething off of her in waves. You've gone too far, you've rejected the wrong girl.
You're going to regret ever having met Marinette Dupain-Cheng.