"Don't be amused, it's just the news! A tabloid reporter has somehow managed to get inside Chloe's apartments. The reporter has been arrested and is already set for trial tomorrow, while Chloe Bourgeois is yet to even be put on trial. The mayor is claiming that since Ladybug and Chat Noir are vigilantes, their testimonies do not count unless they unmask. We will keep you updated on the story."

Marinette sighed, closing the news tab and checking over her website. Wayzz rested on her shoulder, keeping watch while Tikki was in the Miracle Box. "The mayor is clearly hoping for a checkmate. Chat Noir and you can't reveal your identities to the public, meaning if he convinces the law enforcement, Chloe gets away with her crimes!"

"Don't worry Wayzz. Even if he manages to keep her from getting arrested, everyone in Paris saw what she did. Justice will always find its mark." She smiled scrolling through her website, checking the various pages for errors as Wayzz watched with interest. "I am relieved to finally have this ready though. When Alya quit helping to spend time with Lila, I thought I would never finish it. Now I can launch it in time to give Jagged the link and he can attach it to his announcement tonight."

"I am worried about your friend though. If she remains caught up in lies, she is going to get hurt when the truth comes out."

"You have a point, Wayzz, but she has refused to listen to me at every turn. My only hope is that we can discredit Lila before more damage is done. Hopefully today, Jagged will give me a mini-interview after our design meeting." Her eyes widened, "The design meeting!"

A very frantic Marinette rushed about her work station as Wayzz zipped over to her, surprised by her speed. "Guardian, stop and calm yourself. Deep breaths and count to ten." Marinette nodded, calming herself before going back to gather the designs, neatly placing them in her binder.

"Marinette! Adrien is here!" Once again, the young guardian was in a panic, searching through her closet for something to wear. Wayzz groaned, zipping off to the miracle box to retrieve Tikki to deal with this mess. Teenagers were not his specialty.

Adrien

He spent the entire evening being teased by Plagg. He was also starting to wonder if Marinette actually remembered seeing Plagg and pretended to not remember it. That was when it hit him like a brick: Marinette was Multimouse, who used his miraculous meaning she met and worked with Plagg. Now that his four brain cells were on a roll, he realized no one besides the guardian has interacted with all the kwamis as Marinette had. Wait, does that mean she played him and then been playing him ever since?

Plagg laughed so hard when he heard Adrien voice this out loud that he dropped his cheese. Marinette was playing his boy alright, but she has played him plenty of times before. If Adrien has seen her sassy side as Marinette, he would have been over Ladybug and smitten with Marinette. Not to mention the freaking miracle box is in her bedroom.

Now Adrien was freaking out internally that Marinette knows that he knows of her crush on him as he entered the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Sabine looked up from setting up the front display, smiling at the shy kind boy approaching. Marinette had been on cloud nine since he first visited last week and she seemed to never be coming down. "Good morning Adrien!"

"Good morning Mrs. Cheng. Is Marinette ready?" Adrien asks, hands fiddling nervously.

Her smile grew wider, "She is just stairs, you come up and wait in the kitchen." Adrien may not have a lot of brain cells but he knew something was up. She led him up the stairs, then called up the next set of stairs, "Marinette, Adrien is here!" Next thing Adrien knew, there was a full plate of food shoved in his face. He opened his mouth to politely decline when Sabine cut him off. "You can either accept it now or explain to Marinette why you didn't accept food that she asked her mother to have ready for you." With that, Adrien immediately thanked her and started to eat the food. As Sabine started to head back down into the bakery, she looked back one last time, smiling at how quickly he changed his mind to avoid Marinette's wrath.

Marinette finally settled on a design she liked, based on her Multimouse costume. Collecting her binder, she double-checked for all the designs before heading down to the kitchen. To her delight, Adrien was eating the breakfast she asked her mom to have ready for him. As she sat down next to him and opened up her binder, she saw his jaw drop as he noticed her outfit. She was definitely baiting him with the Multimouse themed outfit. Marinette was clever that way. She wore a professional style button-up shirt with a matching skirt. The color scheme was dominated by light-dark greys, with pink lining along both. Her hair was up in two buns just like her costume, tied with grey and pink ties.

He realized she caught him staring and was smirking at him, "Better close that mouth before the food falls out." He did so, cheeks burning red as he looked down at his plate. She decided to spare him further teasing, pulling out her designs.

Adrien swallowed his food, "I managed to convince Thomas Astruc to give us an interview. He said we can stop by anytime after lunch."

"That's perfect. We can go after my meeting with Jagged Stone," she beamed, picking a few sheets to pull out. "So here are the drawings for his tour outfits, some for a specific concert, others that are made for a certain song." She put a few in front of him, careful to keep them far enough away to avoid getting food spilled on them. She then pulled out a few more designs, "These are for merch, both tours themed and album themed."

Adrien looked at the designs, always surprised when it came to Marinette's creativity. "These are great Mari, I want to buy one!" Marinette blushed, muttering that she could make him one instead as she smiled at the table. Adrien frowned, "Or you can let me buy one and then I have the pleasure of supporting your career." Marinette tried to stutter out an excuse, but Adrien stopped her, "No offense, but you are too nice for your own good. That's why we organized that class picnic for you. But I think it's time for you to stop with the free stuff for everyone. The matching outfits Alya and Nino ask you for, then banners and the baked goods for events. Even after we discredit Lila, you should tone it down. Ask for something in return. Before the class picnic, what was the last thing our class has ever done anything for you without asking or you asked them for a favor? And your birthday party does not count."

Marinette hesitated. She couldn't think of a time that had happened, but she didn't want to say that to Adrien. She always wanted to make her friends happy and be liked. "But their my friends, they always have my back?"

Adrien frowned, this was one bubble he didn't want to burst. "Mari, remember when Lila convinced everyone to change seats and all of them got angry when you asked to be back in your seat? Or when Lila accused you of cheating, stealing, and pushing her down the stairs? I was the only one who believed you that are innocent and worked to prove it." Marinette nodded, remembering both scenarios. Lila had a very serious hold over everyone else, she was a born actress. "Even after everything you have done for them, whether you were asked or not, they turned on you and ignored me." He gave her that soft compassionate look that made her heart flutter. "So maybe the next time they ask you to make or do something, make it a commission. Don't let them use you after what they all did. So when I want a Jagged Stone shirt, I will buy one to support my friend."

Marinette looked down, cheeks flushed. She wondered how he would feel about the chest full of presents for his birthdays, Christmas, and even just to be kind. That would probably shock him. "But what if I want to?"

He smiled at her, making her melt despite her newfound confidence. "Marinette, let's be real, even if you want to make me a shirt, it will cost you a lot more than me. So if you do so, I will just have to guess the price on my own. And you should know us rich people like to guess way too high." His smile changed to a smirk as she glared at him, a pout forming. He remembered how much she was bothered when he paid for her, pouting just like she is now.

Defeated, Marinette hung her head. "Fine, but I am still gonna keep making presents for your birthday. Everyone else can shove it for now." She panicked, realizing she hinted that she had made him a present for his birthday. Praying that he didn't pick up on her hint, she glanced at him.

Adrien was simply smiling at her. "Deal."

Alix

As she worked on her essay, the short girl glanced up when Ms. Bustier had her back turned to glared at the back of Lila's head. The previous days had rubbed her the wrong way, but today was the worst. Lila had managed to convince Ms. Bustier that she is mentally and physically unable to write an essay. Alix never saw a note or heard of Lila's mom meeting with the teachers or Ms. Bustier. It was clearly all lies, but everyone ate it all up no questions asked, just swooning over her in concern. Did Marinette feel like this every day?

Marinette and Adrien

They arrived at Bob Roth Records, Penny meeting them at the front and guided them to Jagged Stone's recording studio. Jagged sat at his desk, guitar in his lap while Fang slept next to him. His head jerked up as they entered, a huge smile lights up his face, "Marinette, my favorite Rockin roller! How's my favorite niece doing?"

Marinette lit up, "Busy, but I am excited to show you the designs I made for your tour." Adrien noticed both Jagged and Penny edged closer, both eager to see what Marinette had come up with. "Let's start with your tour outfits. I noted your different locations and times, so I made this set to keep you comfortable despite different climates. These outfits were inspired by certain songs, but can go with all of them, fitting your rocking roll style."

Penny admired the drawings while Jagged jumped out of his chair, sending it crashing into the wall. "Rock and Roll! These designs are rocking, I can already see myself rocking the stage in these. I'll take them all!"

Marinette's eyes were wide, she expected some of her designs to be taken, but not all of them. Penny smiled at her, "Jagged is pretty excited to have you doing the design work. Bob Roth is trying to get some Italian designer in to do the job, so Jagged figured he kills two birds with one stone. Get designs that he loves and flip off Bob Roth."

Adrien grinned as Marinette blushed a the hidden complement. "I also have some designs for merch as well, shirts, hats, and hoodies." Jagged poured his eyes over everything, excited as a kid in a candy store. Working with Penny, they made arrangements for production and payment. Marinette had a deal with a local fabricator through Jagged, she will simply just need to agree on a commission for her designs.

Once that was all settled, Jagged looked over at Marinette and Adrien, "I don't want to forget, I got backstage passes for the concerts in France for you, one for you and one for your boyfriend?" Adrien felt his face heat up, not sure how to reply,

Marinette smiled, a blush of her own growing. "Thanks, Jagged! We are just friends though. Adrien is here taking a week off. His dad doesn't know, so he is hiding with me all week."

Jagged smirked, remembering the Adrien wall inside Marinette's room all too well. "Anyone rebelling against authority has my respect. Just don't get caught, the stick up your father's rear seems to go further in than out."

Penny elbowed him sharply as Marinette asked him, "I have the web address for my website. I was wondering if you could link it in on your new album release announcement? Also, could you do a little interview for us?"

Jagged smiled, "Of course, anything for my favorite niece!"

"Short of a felony hopefully," Penny muttered, still smiling at Jagged's eagerness.

That person we all love to hate, and some traitors

Lila grinned at Alya, "I almost forgot to tell you guys. Jagged Stone loved the album design so much that he asked me to do his entire tour outfit designs. This is going to boost my fashion career so much!"

Alya grinned, "Girl, I am so excited for you. New boyfriend, new career opportunities! We should do an interview right after school today!"

Lila grinned, false smiling through the lunch, accepting praise all her victims. Alix listened in on them, then proceeded to vomit.

Marinette and Adrien

They exited Thomas Astruc's office, getting the interview they needed. "We got some pretty solid evidence against Lila built up. Now, all we have to do is show it to the principal and teachers. They call her mom and she will spill the beans that Lila has never really left Paris. I mean when she called us on Heroes Day, Volpina showed up so she had to have been in Paris that day."

Adrien nodded, remembering that day grimly. It was the second-worst day for him and Ladybug by far, losing all their part-time holders and Master Fu. "How do you think the class will react?"

"A lot of them had really dedicated themselves to her, but Alya has the most to lose. She posted videos of Lila talking about how she and Ladybug are best friends, citing Lila as a reliable source. If we get her exposed as publicly as we intend to, Alya's reputation is going down the drain. She might even blame us for it."

"We don't need her. She turned her back on you, her best friend who has always been there for her, for someone who she just met and never fact-checked. I say this because I care about you Marinette, but I think Alya is just interested in getting views and only cares for herself. Even Nino hasn't been listening to me."

Marinette looked at her feet, "I never admitted this to anyone, but before this school year I never had any friends. Chloe would bully me and everyone else turned a blind eye. Then I met Alya and she made me feel so much better, helping me stand up for myself. Then everyone seemed to want to be my friend. I worked so hard to please them, becoming the class rep, baking treats for them, birthday presents, it was all to show them my worth. When Lila showed up, I felt like I would lose all of that, so I worked double to keep their friendships."

"One, I didn't get a present from you and I think you are the most awesome person I know short of superheroes. Two, if they are only your friend for the perks, then they don't deserve your friendship." Marinette remained silent, thinking about the scarf that he thought was from his father. How happy he was. She could never take that from him. Adrien's next suggestion jerked her out of her thoughts, "Maybe you should transfer, even if the class learns the truth. There is this Art school my father keeps trying to get me to transfer to, where they have fashion, modeling and acting classes. I could leverage a deal with him to get you a scholarship? You would love it there and it's a fresh start."

Marinette bit her lip, "That would be nice, but are you sure? I mean you went to school to escape your father's controlling nature and this is something he wants, not you."

"As long as you are going there with me, it will be worth it. So is that a yes?" Marinette could only nod, speechless. "Awesome! When father gets back, I'll talk to him about it."

Alix and Max

"Is this legal?"

Alix glared at Max as he opened his computer. "You have a robot that can hack government systems and you are worried about this?"

"It just seems like an invasion of privacy. That's all." Max typed away at the keyboard, command codes Alix didn't understand running across the screen. "Okay when Lila called us on Heroes day, she was…" Max trailed off, confused by the results. "Her mom's apartment in Paris? That makes no sense."

Alix shook her head, "No, it makes perfect sense. Marinette was right all along and we didn't listen."

Adrien

He sat in front of his computer, backing up the interview videos they had obtained. Something Marinette had said earlier stuck with him. "Fine, but I am still gonna keep making presents for your birthday." As if she had done so before. Adrien even commented that he never got a birthday present from her and she looked away.

As his two brain cells overworked themselves, Adrien went to his dresser and pulled his favorite blue scarf out of the top drawer. Carefully examining it, every stitching and pattern, he found what he was looking for. Embroidered in a little pattern on the end was 'Love Marinette'.