"Operation Spots On, Claws Out"

It had been two hours since her call with Zhi had dropped. Alice had tried to contact Zhi again, but her phone was turned off and Alice was beginning to worry a bit. Remembering the silly panic-attack Zhi had the night before because of a misunderstanding with her pen pal was the only thing that was stopping her from calling the police and starting a search party right now. She would give Zhi two more hours (plenty of time for her to find her way to a hotel and a charger and a plug if the phone had run out of battery), but if she hadn't heard anything by then, Alice was going to call the police for sure.

The bell rang and Alice straightened her black dress in front of the mirror one last time before running to the door. Simon had asked her a few minutes ago if Lucie could come too, so she was able to manage not to look disappointed at seeing them both once she opened the door.

It was raining cats and dogs outside and, even though Lucie and Simon had come under an umbrella, their clothes were slightly wet.

"Hi!" Lucie squeaked happily.

"Hi!" repeated Simon smirking at Lucie's enthusiasm, as Plagg would have. "Let's go?"

"Hello!" Alice smiled. "Ah… Yes. I was wondering if you guys preferred to stay in today. The weather is so awful outside… and you look like you could use a towel."

Lucie gazed at Simon who shrugged. She looked at Alice with a huge smile and said "Sure!"

Alice smile widened as she invited them in.

Once they were inside, safe from the crazy storm, Lucie gave Alice a bone-crushing hug and Simon gave her a kiss in the cheek, making her blush darkly.

"SO, should we order a pizza?" suggested Alice once they reached the living room.

"YES! Oh my god! It's been so long since I ate pizza!" said Lucie excitedly.

Simon looked awfully distracted, though. "You can order anything you like. It can be pizza, as long as it doesn't have pineapple on it," he said as he sat on the couch.

"Okay," Alice agreed happily, giving her house phone to Lucie. "You call the pizza guy and I will fetch some towels for you." Lucie nodded with a huge smile and Alice ran out of the living room to go get some towels for her friends.

"Ah- Mushrooms and ham, good for you?" Alice heard Lucie ask Simon. "Maybe some olives? I'm fine with anything too, really."

When Alice came back, the pizza had been ordered. Lucie and Simon were having a hushed conversation and they stopped talking as soon as she entered the room, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"There you go," Alice said, giving a towel to each of them, which they thanked her for.

Alice felt very uneasy for some reason and decided to cut to the chase. Plus, she was worried sick about her best friend, alone without a phone in the crazy rain, so she sighed and said with more exasperation than she wanted to: "Okay, let's cut the crap. What's wrong?"

Simon and Lucie blinked at her, not really remembering her saying something like that before.

Lucie was the first to recover. She cleared her throat and quietly asked: "Zhi isn't here, is she?"

Alice narrowed her eyes. "No. She isn't."

"Good." Lucie looked relieved, which made Alice frown. That was her best friend she was talking about! Noticing Alice's face, Lucie quickly added: "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! But before we talk to her, if we decide to really talk to her, we need to talk to you first."

"Okay, you have my full attention now," replied Alice arching an eyebrow, not really sure if she wanted to know more.

Lucie took a breath and started: "What do you know about Zhi's 'friend'? The one we talked about last night?"

Alice frowned. "Hum… Nothing much, really," she didn't understand where this was going and why would they have anything to do with Zhi's personal life, but seeing how uncomfortable they both looked she decided to play along for now. "Actually…" she let out a sigh. "They kinda started talking because of me." Lucie and Simon looked surprised and she explained: "I advised Zhi Ruo to start dating civilians, since she hadn't had luck with celebrities, and kinda made her join a dating app." Lucie and Simon traded a meaningful look that she ignored. "It went very poorly in the beginning, and she was about to delete her account when he started talking to her. They soon started talking every day… Why are you looking at each other like that?" she asked frustrated at being left out from the silent dialogue they were having now in front of her.

"I'm so sorry, Alice," said Simon, looking awfully worried. "It's just… Ah! I don't even know how to start!"

"Alice," Lucie interrupted Simon, looking at her very seriously. "Adrien started talking with someone in a dating app a few months ago and we think she might be Zhi," she finished blatantly.

Alice frowned. "But… That's crazy! No. That's impossible! How- Why would you think that?"

"We only figured it out today. Actually, Simon figured it out," said Lucie, looking at him so that he could explain how.

"Oh, god. Adrien is going to kill us," he let out, then he shrugged and continued. "Alice, I know you are familiar with the X brand. You know why?"

Alice's eyes widened in recognition of the name and her face became slightly pale. "No," she admitted gulping.

"Because Adrien is the designer, and you've been trading emails with me about the two dresses you want to order." Simon sighed before an astonished Alice that was starting to put the pieces together. "I didn't tell you it was me because Adrien wants the brand designer to remain a secret, but now it's different," he said blatantly as he pulled out a magazine she hadn't noticed he had with him and flicked through it until he found what he was looking for. He laid the magazine opened on the coffee table so that Alice could see. "This magazine is two months old. I was in a client's waiting room with nothing to do and opened it by chance."

Alice had picked up the magazine and was clinging to it with both hands, not believing her ears and eyes.

"That dress right there"– he continued –"is one of a kind and Adrien created it for his 'friend'. Can you explain why Zhi Ruo is the one wearing it?"

In the magazine there was a picture of her and Zhi Ruo the night they watched Mulan in the public theatre. Zhi was wearing the beautiful dress her pen pal had made for her to wear at the premiere… If what they were saying about Adrien was true…

Alice gulped, understanding why they looked so nervous and why they wanted to talk to her in private, without Zhi. "Oh my god," she breathed out, not knowing what to do. Zhi was going to be heartbroken beyond repair.

"I know," answered Lucie, giggling nervously.

"You don't understand!" Alice turned to her, in shock and slightly panicking. "She is in love with him!"

Lucie and Simon gaped at Alice. They did NOT expect that in the slightest!

Before anyone said anything else, Alice's phone started to ring. She immediately answered.

"ZHI!?" she asked, not managing to control the panic in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay," Zhi answered. "My phone died when I was talking with you. Only now I found a charger. Sorry," she explained in a calming voice.

Alice wasn't freaking out because of that… but Zhi didn't have to know that for now. She managed to say: "Oh. What a relief…" and Zhi chuckled.

"Al, shouldn't you be on your date?" Zhi asked with concern in her voice.

Oh my god, I have to calm down. "Ah, yes…" Alice said shyly, glancing at Simon, and then at Lucie. "Well, I took your advice, actually. It's too stormy outside, so we decided to order pizza at my place."

"Oh…" Zhi said suggestively.

"Before you joke around, I'm here with Simon and Lucie!" Alice almost yelled at the phone, making Lucie giggle and Simon frown, missing the point.

"That's funny!" said Zhi giggling. "I'm here with Adrien."

What the...

Zhi Ruo was with Adrien?

Did they know too?

OH MY GOD!

"Al?"

Alice quickly pulled the phone out of her ear and put it on speakers so that Lucie and Simon could hear it too.

"Sorry!" Alice replied, looking at Simon and Lucie meaningfully. "I- How-? You're here with Adrien? Where's 'here'?"

Lucie's chin dropped and Simon's eyes almost popped out of their orbits.

"I'm at his place, with a twisted ankle and a scratched arm. It's actually a long story. I will tell you later," they heard Zhi say happily.

'Oh my god' mouthed Lucie, and Alice nodded, agreeing.

Remembering she hadn't answered, Alice let out an awkward "Okaaaaaay."

"You think they know?" whispered Simon.

"I don't know..." shrugged Alice who replied in the same whispering tone feeling completely lost.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your dinner, Al. Just go back. We can talk tomorrow. I'm okay," Zhi reassured.

"No, it's-it's fine. So… Ah… Have you heard from your friend again?"

Zhi sighed. "Not yet, no, but it's my fault. My Catphone is also dead, so I couldn't say anything to him. I'm charging it now. That reminds me that I promised I'd talk to him tonight, so I got to go. "

Well, there was their answer.

"Wait," Alice asked confused. "You're charging your Catphone at Adrien's house?"

"Yes, I'm charging my phone here-"

"Has he seen it?" Alice interrupted abruptly, while trading meaningful looks with Simon and Lucie who were following Zhi's every word.

"Ahm~ No. He's in the shower now," Zhi answered simply.

"Oh…"

"Al, you're acting very weird," Zhi said with a hint of a smile on her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! Ahm! The pizza guy is here! Got to go! Bye!" Alice replied quickly, finding an excuse to end the call as her breathing became uneven.

For a couple of minutes, they stood there, quiet, just thinking how crazy the whole situation was.

Simon was the first one to break the silence. "That was…"

"Enlightening?" finished Lucie.

"Oh my god," Alice repeated, letting herself fall on the nearest chair. "We have to tell them…" her eyes widened with fear. "Oh my god, how are we gonna tell them?"

"Calm down, Alice…" urged Simon, feeling Alice's stress but hiding it better. Adrien was his best friend and had fallen in love again with the girl that had crushed his heart several years ago. If they asked Simon, even if Zhi loved him like Alice had said, she didn't deserve a second chance with him. What she had done to him was just unforgivable. They could pretend nothing had happened for the sake of the group, but there was no way that girl was going to hurt Adrien again. Not if it depended on him.

Unknowingly, Alice was having the exact same thoughts. There was no way she was going to let Adrien near Zhi again.

"Well, I guess it's confirmed then," said Lucie, looking a little shaken. She didn't remember the facts and the only thing she was really worried about was how to fix this mess. "Maybe they can find a way back to each other?" she asked hopefully.

Alice and Simon responded fiercely at the same time:

"No way."

"Not in a million years."

They traded looks, more like glares, and the first to talk was Alice: "You're damn right. Zhi will never give a second chance to Adrien." She was aware that she might be ruining everything with Simon, but her best friend was worth more than a stupid crush.

Simon's eyes narrowed and he countered: "LOL, Zhi is the one who does not deserve a second chance! Not after what she did!"

Alice let out a strangled exclamation, outraged. "After what SHE did? Simon, get a grip! Adrien CHEATED on her! I witnessed it!"

"What! No, he didn't!" Simon replied offended.

"That you know of!"

"I know he didn't! He would have told me!"

"Yeah, right! And risk you to be on her side? Zhi even went to his place, asking for an explanation and he shut the door on her face! Don't you dare defend your little friend, Simon!"

Lucie was watching the fight in awe; she had never seen Simon or Alice fight with anyone… Like ever! They were the most rational and calm people she knew, and yet, here they were.

Simon was looking more annoyed by the minute. "Zhi was the one who broke up with him by text, Alice! By text! That's just wrong! Did you expect him to open up his arms when she came back running?" he shook his head, looking at Alice's disbelief. "Plus, the following week or so, he found her making out with some random dude! AND THEN THE LIST OF DUDES JUST KEPT GROWING! IT APPEARED ON THE PAPERS, FOR CHRIST!"

"By text? What the hell are you talking about?" laughed Alice in a scornful way. "Zhi was madly in love with Adrien back then! She would have never broken up with him! When I showed her the video of Adrien cheating, she wanted him to EXPLAIN! SHE WENT TO HIS HOUSE, SURE THAT IT HAD ALL BEEN A MISTAKE! AND HE SHUT THE DOOR ON HER FACE!"

Simon blinked at Alice, not used to seeing a fire like this in her. It would have been hot, if he wasn't the person getting yelled at. They were both standing, facing each other with a threatening posture, and none of them remembered getting up.

Realizing, by the look in Lucie's and Simon's astonished faces, that she had lost control for a bit, Alice took a deep breath and continued in a calmer voice. "Zhi did make out with a guy a week later or so. She was drunk and hurt. She wanted to pay Adrien back. It was childish, but it wasn't nearly as close to what Adrien did to her. And it was one time. After that, Zhi's double tried to ruin her image with the help of a shady paparazzi. That's why Zhi doesn't even consider using doubles anymore." Alice looked down, feeling her voice shaking with the memories of the dark phase Zhi had. "You have no idea what it did to her. She was never the same, and she never will be. The part of Zhi Ruo that trusted everyone and that gave second and third chances is gone. For good."

"Do you still have the video?" asked Simon, unsure and feeling guilty. Was he doubting his best friend by asking for it?

"I do. Somewhere in my computer," Alice responded, her voice still shaking.

Before Simon could reply, the bell door rang.

"I'll go!" Lucie said awkwardly, leaving them alone to go and fetch the pizza.

Simon cleared his throat. "Do you mind showing it to me?" he asked quietly.

"Sure. I will try to find it," Alice's eyes became watery. She hated this kind of confrontation and she hated that she couldn't control the adrenaline tears threatening to leave her eyes. She turned away from Simon. "Just let me go get it."

"Wait," Simon cut in and reached for Alice's hand. She turned to him confused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk to you like that," he apologized, brushing a falling tear off her cheek with his free hand.

Simon had a soft spot for girls crying. He just couldn't seem to stand it and Alice had forgotten about that… She should have covered it up better. She didn't want his pity.

"I'm sorry I yelled too…" Alice said, trying to hold a sob.

Simon, frowned and sighed, pulling her into his arms in a protective hug. Alice let out a sob and buried her face on his chest, crying. She didn't even know what was she crying about, but it was harder to stop now that it had started! It was quite ridiculous, really.

Alice's thoughts were rudely interrupted by Lucie's long whistle. A very funny way of letting them know she had returned – by the looks on her face – with the pizzas. Alice and Simon broke their embrace awkwardly.

"I'm gonna go fetch my computer, see if I can find the video," said Alice, making a move to leave the room.

Just as he had done before, Simon whisked her hand with his and said: "Let's eat first. Sounds like I need a full stomach to face a video like that."

Alice smiled sadly and nodded, sitting with him on the sofa while Lucie started to share pizza slices between them.

They sat and ate quietly, lost in thoughts.

"I think something doesn't smell good," Lucie said suddenly, wearing a frown.

"No matter what you say, cheese always smells divine!" disagreed Simon, waving his cheesy pizza in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

Alice giggled, but Lucie frown stayed on her face.

"No, seriously…" she insisted, looking at them, and putting her half eaten pizza down. "Both of you were telling very different break up stories… I mean, it's normal that the two people in a break up have a slightly different perspective of the story, but yours sounded like two completely different versions rather than the same one with different points of view."

Alice frowned as she considered Lucie's words. She was right… Alice looked at Simon as he reached the same conclusion.

"You're right," granted Simon.

Alice agreed with a nod, looking slightly shocked.

"I think we need to get to the bottom of this. Can you get me a pen and paper, Alice?" Lucie asked.

Alice nodded again and ran upstairs to retrieve a notebook, a pen and her computer. She gave the first two to Lucie and opened her laptop on an empty spot at the coffee table.

"Okay, I wanna hear both versions so we can compare them," Lucie asked drawing a table in the notebook with two columns. On top of one of them she wrote 'Zhi's version' and on the other 'Adrien's version'. "Let's start."

"So, one day, while you guys were shooting, Eloise came to me and asked me to follow her. I said no, because you know nothing good comes from following Eloise anywhere." Lucie and Simon smirked and nodded. Eloise Bonnaire, the actress that played Alya in Miraculous, was a bitch. There really was no other word to describe her properly. She was nothing like her character, really. Think of a mix of Chloe's resolve in obtaining whatever she wants with a dose of Lila's cunning and manipulative behavior and you've got Eloise Bonnaire. "But she pleaded, saying it was important, so I did follow her." Lucie and Simon exchanged a frown. As Alice had stated, nothing good could come from Eloise 'urgent' business. "She was the one that showed me the video of Adrien cheating, from the surveillance cameras. How she got it, I don't know. And I knew that she was trying to break up Zhi and Adrien back then, but that was a video of Adrien cheating on Zhi! It didn't matter to me what were the reasons Eloise had to share it with me… I couldn't just hide it from my best friend. I had to tell her…" Lucie was writing in the notebook furiously and Simon looked a little shaken up. "When I finally did tell her and showed it to her, Zhi didn't believe her eyes. She had to go to Adrien's that very moment and ask him. In her head, there had to be an explanation for all of it. He would never do that to her, but when she got there, he told her he didn't want to see her ever again and shut the door on her face."

"Adrien told me Zhi came knocking on his door after she sent him the text," said Simon. "He told me that he was so hurt and mad at her for breaking up with him by text, that he told her that he never wanted to see her again."

"There is our first match on both stories," commented Lucie happily.

"Yes, well, Adrien got over himself a few days later," continued Simon, looking down at his hands. "He thought he had reacted poorly, and that if Zhi had come knocking on his door, she deserved a chance to be heard. Only that when he found her, she was making out with some other dude. It crushed him."

"If it is any consolation to you, the night that happened I had to take Zhi home, while she cried with guilt for using a random innocent guy in the name of revenge. And she didn't even know that Adrien had been watching."

There was a pause where Alice's words hung in the air.

Lucie breathed in and said: "Okay, so, just as I thought and from what I can gather now after hearing both stories, the only parts that are corresponding are the breaking up." She looked at them waiting for something. Alice and Simon exchanged looks, not sure of what to say and then looked back at Lucie waiting for her explanation, confused. She sighed frustrated. "Oh, really?"

Alice started to blush embarrassed at not seeing whatever Lucie was seeing, and Simon narrowed his eyes threatening.

"Fiiiiine! I'll explain! Don't kill me!" Lucie laughed, rolling her eyes and avoiding eye contact with Simon. "So, considering Adrien was caught on tape cheating on Zhi, we can't rule out the possibility that the story he told you might be a lie until we confront him about it," admitted Lucie, glancing apologetically at Simon who looked ready to argue. She beat him to it: "I'm not saying he lied! I'm having trouble seeing Adrien making up a story and lying about something like this. The Adrien I know would never! But we have to consider it! I mean, there is a videotape as evidence of it, Simon."

It was Alice's turn to look apologetic. Lucie gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that none of this was her fault.

"Okay, let's say you're right. How do we know for sure?" Simon inquired apprehensively. "It's not like I want to go to my best friend and say 'Hi man, remember eight years ago when Zhi broke up with you by text? You didn't happen to make that up 'cuz you cheated on her and got caught on video, did you?'"

"Okay, hold your horses right there, Simon," Lucie said, motioning him to calm down. "I'm just saying we have to consider it, not that I believe it."

"But I've got the video!" said Alice, with a very weak voice, pointing at the computer.

"I know you do," Lucie smiled. "We will watch it in a bit," she reassured. "But don't forget that Adrien supposedly received a text from Zhi, too." Alice and Simon looked confused. "What if he really did receive it?"

"I'm telling you that Zhi would never–"

"And Adrien would never cheat on Zhi, Alice," Lucie cut in before Alice had the time to finish her sentence. "That's exactly my point."

Alice and Simon shared a perplexed look that almost made Lucie laugh. Almost.

Seeing Lucie's amusement, Simon asked sounding frustrated: "Could you be more specific? What's your point exactly?"

"My point is that, maybe, it was all a misunderstanding," Lucie concluded smiling widely. "Zhi would never break up with Adrien and Adrien would never break up with Zhi, or do anything to make her want to break up with him. This coming from the closest people to them: You. So… How did this happen? How did they break up? It was never going to happen if it depended on them..." Alice and Simon blinked and Lucie became exasperated: "Oh, come on! Keep up with me! What if Zhi never actually sent that message? But Adrien received it anyway? And what if Adrien never cheated on Zhi? But there's video proof that he did?"

"You're sounding insane, you know that right?" Alice asked blatantly.

"Too many Miraculous Ladybug movies," agreed Simon, making Alice giggle.

"I'm serious, guys!" persisted Lucie, placing her hands on her waist.

"There's a video of Adrien cheating," sighed Simon, looking more tired than ever. "I think that pretty much proves what he did."

"Or not!" gasped Alice, her eyes widening.

"What?" asked Simon, bewildered, while Lucie smiled triumphantly.

"Listen!" Alice turned to Simon. "She might be right!" she then turned to the computer, unlocked it and searched for the video on it, while she said: "Back in the day Zhi was accused of making out with a new guy every day. You said it so yourself: It was on the news!" she let out a small victory squeal when she finally found the video. She waved Lucie to come and watch it. "But it turned out it wasn't her. Well, in this video Adrien's face is barely visible. I would swear it was him, but it could have been his double." Once Lucie was able see the screen, Alice pressed 'play'.

It wasn't pretty. Alice hated that video with all her might. It started with Adrien cornering a girl with curly hair covering her shoulders, and then proceeding to snog her against the wall. It was almost pornographic.

"The technique Zhi's double used is definitely here," mumbled Alice looking disgusted.

Alice was right. You could never actually see Adrien's face. Not completely. There was a part when he tilted his head to give the girl more access to his mouth where you could see a bit of it, but there were no indicators – other than the snogging – that it wasn't him.

This person moved exactly like Adrien. No wonder, Alice hadn't thought twice about it…

"I've had enough," said Simon, looking like he was in pain, moving to stop the video.

"Wait!" asked Lucie before he stopped it. "Can you zoom the video on his face?" she asked Alice.

Alice nodded and did what Lucie asked. She returned to the part where there was a slight glance at his face and zoomed in, but there wasn't much to see anyway. The video was slightly old and from a vigilance camera. Alice and Lucie exchanged a disappointed look.

"It looks like Adrien," sighed Alice. "But it could also be his double, from this angle."

Lucie and Simon nodded. Simon looked relieved that he wasn't the only one thinking that.

"Okay, so we didn't find anything yet, but we need to," Lucie said energetically. "We have to get to the bottom of this. For the sake of the two of them!"

"But how?" asked Alice, looking a bit terrified again.

"First, we can't tell them anything. Not yet at least," Lucie warned.

"I agree," said Simon, and Alice looked like she could breathe again. She couldn't stand the thought of Zhi finding out her pen pal was Adrien before they had been able to fix this mess.

"Can you send us that video, Alice?" asked Lucie, frowning with concentration. Alice nodded promptly. "Homework, guys: re-watch that video as many times as needed until we find a clue. There must be something we are missing."

"Okay, but what if we don't find anything?" asked Simon raising an eyebrow. "They'll eventually figure it out! Zhi is in Adrien's house texting Chat for all we know! We are shooting Miraculous in less than two weeks. What happens when Zhi notices the X tag on the wardrobe? Or when Adrien sees her 'catphone-thingy'?"

"X tags?" asked Alice, curiously.

"Yes, the only way Thomas managed to get Adrien to participate in the movie as an actor was by offering him the Wardrobe Director position," explained Lucie.

Alice's chin dropped. "Wow! That's… Amazing! But Simon is right! What if Zhi sees the tag? Oh my god! They'll figure it out right away!"

"That's exactly my point!" Simon said, running his fingers through his hair, discouraged.

"So, we have a deadline," shrugged Lucie. "Don't look so panicky, both of you!" she chuckled. "We'll see what we can find and if we don't find any clue worth following by the time the shooting is due to start, we can simply make Adrien watch the video and see his reaction." Simon frowned at Lucie, and she smirked at him. "We can also ask Eloise if she saw anything else that day." It was Alice's turn to frown. "It's not likely that she will help much, but by then there won't be much we have to lose, right?"

"I guess…" Alice shrugged, looking at Simon with uncertainty.

"Let me just add something else to our homework tasks," Simon urged. "We can't let them find out that they are actually talking to each other again. If they do find out before we untangle this mess, it will definitely be the worst thing that can happen. Needless to say that no one else can know about what we're doing here. I think you should go home and make sure that they don't find out tonight, Lucie."

"This is so cool! I feel like a real spy!" Lucie laughed, walking away to fetch her jacket and wallet so that she could leave to check on Zhi and Adrien. She took one more bite of her half-eaten slice of pizza before cheerfully declaring "Operation 'Spots On, Claws Out' is officially on the move!"

Hope you liked the chapter! Let me know your thoughts? (Other words for "review, please, please, please?")

Sorry for the long wait! And even more sorry that it will continue! I have no clue when I will post again, but probably just around late September, early October, maybe. I know, it's sad. And it hurts to pause a story like this... leaving it kinda hanging. But I can't help it. Life is happening... I do promise I won't abandon this story, tho, so don't fret ^^

If you miss me and my posts, I suggest you try some other story written by me? Maybe a one-shot or, if you're up for some real twists and intricate plots, try "Spots Off, Claws Out"! I can't say it's the same kind of story as this one, but I promise you won't regret reading it! ^^Love you all*

AuriMoon