1.

It had started with the yearly Secret Santa gift exchange at François Dupont. Ms. Bustier's class had drawn names out of a hat earlier that month and planned and prepared for the party that was currently in full swing. Le Grand Paris was cozily decked out in all sorts of festive decor. The students were circled around holding mugs off hot coca and eating off plates stacked high with Christmas goodies. Nearby was the tree, and the stack of presents underneath gradually grew smaller as Alya passed them to their intended recipients.

Once everyone had received their gifts, it was time to open them. One by one, each present lost its wrapping paper, and one by one each students admired what was given, a chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" accompanying each discovery.

It was now Adrien's turn. Marinette watched in eager anticipation as he tore open the paper of the squishy package, eagerly awaiting what lay inside. A light blue winter cap lay inside with a matching pair of gloves. He delicately ran his hand over the soft fabric. "Wow," he breathed. "It's so soft."

"Looks like it'll be warm, too," Alya stated.

He merely nodded his head. Marinette grinned to herself. He likes it! Score!

Eventually, everyone had opened their presents, and the class began to figure out who everyone's Secret Santa was.

And that's when it happened.

Lila (who had yet to cause any grief that night) sauntered up to Adrien and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Adrien! Did you like my gift?" She looked up at him and batted her eyes.

Marinette seethed. How dare that little witch try to take credit for my hard work?

Adrien looked doubtful. "Your gift?"

Lila nodded. "The hat and gloves. I made them especially for you. It was difficult considering the arthritis in my wrists, but I figured you deserved something special."

Marinette was seeing red. Right as she was about to march over there and put Lila in her place, a high-pitched, snobby laugh filled the room.

All eyes turned to Chloé. "You made it? Puh-lease. The only thing you're good at making up are lies."

Alya huffed. "Chloé, not you too. Lila-"

Chloé scoffed. "Is a liar. Adrikins, let me see your gift real quick?"

Adrien shrugged and gave it to her.

She examined the clothing in her hand before grinning viciously. "Just as I thought. Anyone with eyes could see the hat and gloves match the scarf Adrien wears. It was obviously Dupain-Cheng's gift."

Marinette froze. Adrien froze. Lila froze.

"T-the scarf?" Lila asked, face pale.

Chloé rolled her eyes. "Yes. The one Adrien thinks is from his dad."

Marinette stared at the floor, not willing to meet Adrien's eyes. He knew that she had made the scarf now. He knew she didn't tell him the truth. He thought he had gotten it from his dad, and now that happiness he felt was now ruined.

"Marinette? You made it?"

Marinette lifted met his gaze sheepishly. "Yeah... I did." She hesitated. "You're not mad, are you?"

Adrien grinned. "Of course not. Not at you anyway."

Chloé scoffed again. "Why would he be mad at you? If there's anyone who he should be mad at right now, it's Lila and his dad for stealing credit for your work."

Lila fumed. "Are you calling me a liar? Marinette is the one lying! I made that gift for him! I don't know why you're being so mean, Chloé."

Chloé rolled her eyes. "Let me tell you something I learned a long time ago. Marinette always signs her work." Chloé held up the hat. "See this stitching? If you look closely, you can see her name. And there's a similar pattern on Adrien's scarf."

Adrien blinked. "There is? I never noticed it."

Chloé giggled. "Adrikins, you are a lot of things, but observant you are not."

Murmurs started filling the room. Lila gaped at Chloé, for once at a loss for words. Alya frowned. "Lila, why would you do something like this? It's not like you to lie."

Adrien sighed. "Yeah, it is actually. Has been for a long time, and I'm tired of it. I tried to be nice to you, Lila, to convince you to tell the truth, but you don't listen. And I already warned you not to keep away from Marinette. Well, the truth's coming out now."

Lila started to cry. "What proof? How can you accuse me of being dishonest?"

"How about the fact that you're not friends with Ladybug, for starters."

Alya frowned. "How do you know?"

Adrien glared at her. "Because on Lila's first day here, we were in the park together, and Ladybug showed up. She was clearly mad, and she called Lila out for lying about being her best friend. Lila stormed off. I asked Ladybug why she was so harsh, and she said she hates lies, especially ones about herself."

"I could've told you that," Chloé said. "I can also tell you that Jagged Stone is a frequent customer here at Le Grand Paris, and I have learned that he has never had a pet that wasn't a reptile. He's allergic to animal fur. He never had a kitten that Lila could save from an airplane and give her tinnitus."

"Tinnitus which kept switching ears and was magically cured by Ladybug's cure, despite the fact that it doesn't fix things not relating to the akuma attacks," Marinette chimed in. "Need we go on?"

Lila was seething. A black butterfly floated nearby.

"Akuma!" Kim yelled. Everyone started to flee. Lila grinned and swiped it out of the air, placing it on one of her hair ties.

"Nope! Not today!" Marinette ran over, snatched the hair tie, and snapped it in two, before grabbing a cup and plate from a nearby table and trapping the akuma inside.

Hours later, after the party had wound down and Marinette was sufficiently apologized to and praised for heroics, Ladybug and Cat Noir were meeting for patrol.

"Hey, LB, I was thinking." Cat started.

"Ooh, that's dangerous." Ladybug teased, a smirk on her face.

Cat glared. "Ha ha. Anyway, I know you said we couldn't use Multimouse again because I know her identity, but she really deserves it. She prevented a possible akuma today by breaking the object and trapping it while she was only a civilian. Could we bring her back sometime?"

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "How do you know about that? I showed up to purify the akuma, but you weren't there."

Cat shrugged. It was all over social media. Also, it was posted on the Ladyblog. Stop changing the subject, would you consider bringing her back occasionally? I mean, I know Ryuko's identity, and we still use her."

Ladybug paused. "I'll... think about it."

The next time a reserve hero was brought in, it was not Multimouse. However, Chloé was thrilled to be Queen Bee once more.