Author's Note: Here's the newest chapter. I wanted to throw in some new characters for Marinette to have as a support group before she meets the Phantom Thieves. Eloise, Gavin and Kristopher are based on the Quantic Kids from an old, unused concept of Ladybug and Chat Noir, originally called Melodie, Gavaroche, and Kid Mime. They're not superheroes, just so you know. I also changed Eloise's (Melodie's) blonde hair color to red and blue eyes to green because there are too many blonde or blue-eyed characters in Miraculous Ladybug.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng waited patiently at the airport lounge, waiting to board. She was engaged in private, friendly chat with her friends. No, not with her friends from Miss Bustier's class, but three new kids she had befriended after they transferred to Francois Dupont last week.
Eloise Piper; Cute girl with long scarlet red hair tied in a single braid and forest green eyes. Wore a white shirt with a purple vest, dark purple skirt and white dress shoes. She hit it off well with Marinette at first sight, bonding over their love of fashion and their dislike of injustice. She stood up for Marinette on the first day of her transfer, telling off Chloe for purposely tripping the poor girl and ever since then, Elosie had become very close with Marinette.
Gavin Rochefort; Dark skin, dark brown hair and golden-brown eyes. Wore a green jacket with a white collar, dark gray pants, green slip-on shoes, and a green flat cap with a white horizontal stripe towards the top and with a white bill. He tried to flirt with Marinette the first time he met her, only to get turned down when she made it clear she's in a relationship with Luka. Gavin made no complaints afterward and accepted it.
Kristopher Michaux; Very attractive, cocoa brown hair with bangs swept to the right-side angle and blue eyes. Wore a V-neck white and blue striped T-shirt, white on the top and blue on the bottom with a darker blue shirt underneath, dark blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers. He was the only kid to attend Miss Bustier's class, whilst the other two attended Mrs. Escoffier's homeroom.
All four of them brought carry-on bags or luggage as they stood together, totally excited. A trip to Hawaii is just what they need to get away from akumas for a while. Even Marinette needed a break most of all, knowing she had been pushing herself hard, but with school and Ladybug duties, along with the added responsibility of being the Guardian, she was glad to receive some time to relax in her life. At first, she worried because she'd be far away from Paris and if an akuma happens and she's not there to stop it... Tiki had calmed her down, reminding her she has the horse miraculous to teleport back to Paris whenever she wants.
From the start, Kristopher, Eloise and Gavin had sworn themselves to become Marinette's support group. It started on that day...
Marinette shook her head out of that memory. Don't think about that now. She shivered. If it wasn't for Eloise and the boys, she wouldn't be standing here today. Because of that particular incident, her new friends had discovered her secret as Paris' superhero, Ladybug.
After she poured her heart out to them, things became a routine: they would protect Marinette from Chloe's bullying. Cover for her anytime she needed to sneak off and transform to fight an akuma. Other times, they'd also defend her whenever Lila tried to frame her for something she didn't do. Even though defending Marinette has landed them in detention or suspension, courtesy of a certain liar and a spoiled brat, they never abandoned her.
It had taken all of Marinette's strength to keep calm and avoid being akumatized every time Lila made her life miserable or her loved ones scolding her for being unfair to Lila. Though not on friendly terms with her friends and family, things aren't antagonistic between her and everyone else as Marinette still kept things calm and neutral between her and them. While there are times when Marinette has good moments with them, the pain of their dismissal of her feelings or accusing her without proof still lingers.
She grew disappointed in Adrien for not exposing Lila because of his high road advice, which Gavin said that advice was garbage. But she remembered his father, Gabriel, had raised his son to obey the rules without question or else face the consequences. In the end, she can't blame Adrien due to his upbringing, no matter how cruel it was.
And when it comes to Marinette's sycophant friends, as Gavin nicknamed them, the trio merely tolerated their presence for the bluenette's sake, despite developing a grudge against them. Why are people so narrow-minded whenever that vixen runs her mouth? It's like Lila's a real disease, spreading infectious lies to poison braincells and nobody bothers to question what she says without doing proper research or apologizing to Marinette.
Though Marinette appreciated her their concern, she didn't like anyone badmouthing her friends and family as selfish jerks or gullible lemmings, trying to give the trio the perspective of how people see Lila. As much as she hated to admit it, the Rossi witch had a valid point - people believe what they want to believe. She did believe her at first when that witch first showed up, but she saw through those lies because her most infamous fabrication is being besties with Ladybug - who was secretly Marinette. But did people really want to believe what a horrid girl she is every time she calls Lila out, despite knowing her far longer than Lila? Did her feelings really mean nothing to them?
As for Chloe, after the events of Miracle Queen, she had gone back to her old, evil self. It's bad enough she always bullied Marinette and her friends for a long time, but the fact that since her father is the mayor, so many adults allow her to always get away with everything she does. Now one would think after she willingly teamed up with Hawkmoth, Chloe would finally get the punishment of a lifetime for what she had done. But no, the spoiled brat was allowed to get away with her crimes because her father and the police refused to do anything to punish her. While most of the police wanted her arrested, the mayor did everything in his power to prevent that by threatening to fire them.
It was driving Marinette crazy. For a while, she desperately held on to the hope that someday, Lila will be exposed for the rotten liar she is. Chloe will face the consequences of her bullying. All of her friends and family will finally acknowledge how wrong they are and apologize. And the adults who turned a blind eye will suffer their karma.
"Oh, wow! You seriously know the owner of the hotel we are staying at?" Alya asked, surprised at what the Italian brat told her. Most of the class surrounded her as she told another one of her stupid lies.
Lila nodded, milking in the attention. "Yes! I stayed there on one of my travels! While I was there, I discovered a robbery was being planned by the staff. I caught the evidence on my phone and sent it to my mother so she can alert the owner, but I got captured and was tied to a chair. Those robbers were going to kill me after they completed the heist, but the police arrived just in time and the bad guys were arrested. As a reward, the owner said the next time I visited, I could stay there free of charge."
"Oh, Lila! That was so brave of you!" Rose awed. And as always, the class praised the Italian brat and Miss Bustier calling her a hero.
Marinette rolled her eyes, irritated. "Tch! Another one of her lies."
"I wish I could hit her with a truck," Gavin whispered.
"Do that and you could get arrested," Kristopher scolded, although thoughts of strangling the Italian raced through his mind. Those people really are gullible and naively stupid.
"Betcha when we get down there, the hotel owner will disprove of anything she says and sue her," Eloise snickered. If that happens, she'll bring popcorn.
"Everyone!" Mrs. Escoffier, a woman close to Miss Bustier's age with short pixie black hair and dressed in a grey tailored suit, clapped her hands to get the attention of her and her co-worker's students. "Form a line! We're about to give you your tickets!"
The students lined up, one by one, to get their tickets and board the plane. The seating was all right. Marinette got a window seat with Kristopher and Alix. Eloise and Gavin got a place together with another classmate of theirs. So, everything seemed fine as far as Marinette was concerned.
"I bet it's going to be awesome!" Eloise cheered from behind. "I've never been to Hawaii before, so this will be a once in a lifetime experience."
"I want to go surfing when we get there!" Gavin imitated a surfer riding on a board. "Oh, and let's not forget the foreign ladies in sexy bikinis! I want to see how they look..." his smirk seemed to resemble a pervy high schooler, "...up close and personal!"
"Seriously...?" Both girls groaned in union, which eventually turned to snickering when Alix abruptly gave him a light punch in the face.
"Eh, I heard we'll be going to Diamond Head when we get there," Kristopher abruptly changed the subject. "I saw some pictures online and the hiking trail is going to be rough if we can climb thousands of steps to reach the top."
"Why do they call it Diamond Head anyway?" Alix asked curiously. "Aren't diamonds a local product in Hawaii?"
"I've checked online," Marinette said. "Back in the late 1700s, Western traders and explorers mistook the calcite crystals in the rocks on the slop of the crater for diamonds. Thus, which is why people call it Diamond Head to this day."
"What are you? Queen of random facts?"
"I always look up stuff to do my research."
"Yeah, not like some people..." Eloise mumbled under her breath, not hiding a cold frown when she looked back at a certain reporter publishing another one of Lila's fairy tales on her blog after the liar herself rambled on about saving koalas from a wildfire in Australia. "Doesn't Alya know the meaning of fact checking before she publishes something stupid online? One of these days, it's going to get her into a lot of trouble."
She had grown to dislike the reporter because of that, along with Alya's constant dismissal of Marinette's negative feelings toward Lila, it wasn't making Alya look good in Eloise's perception. Marinette winced at the redhead's bitter words. When she had introduced them, Eloise tolerated Alya's presence for her friend's sake. But whenever she questioned the things Lila said, Alya would just tell her to take whatever Marinette said with a grain of salt because she tends to exaggerate. Eloise refused, throwing the reporter's own words back in face regarding Lila. Tensions would rise between the two of them, forcing Marinette or the others to break it up.
"Did you say something?" Alix looked at her, suspiciously.
Kristopher quickly intervenes to change the subject. "The hotel we'll be staying in is located in Waikiki. There are plenty of shops and restaurants we can visit. We might as well look up recommended places to visit as well. Oh! And we need to make sure they're cheap too."
"And we should do something more Hawaii-like when we get down there," Eloise suggested. "Like hula dancing?"
Gavin rapidly shakes his head. "Nuh-uh! I ain't wearing a hula skirt!"
"Who said you'd have to wear a hula skirt?"
Alix began to snicker. "I'd get a kick out of that one."
Then she, Marinette, and Kristopher burst out laughing at the thought of Gavin wearing a hula skirt and coconut shells on his chest. It would be funny if that happened.
A message was announced from one of the flight attendants, reminding everyone there is no direct flight from Paris to Hawaii, meaning they will have to take a different one from Japan. Though the French students murmured in disappointment, Miss Bustier and Mrs. Escoffier reassured them they will staying the night in a hotel nearby when they land.
"Oh, that's just great!" Gavin complained sarcastically. "First time we're visiting Japan and it's only a rest stop."
"Don't worry, it's only temporary," Marinette assured him. "Besides, I know how to speak and read Japanese. Kagami taught me. If you have trouble understanding the language, you can use me for a translator." Clicking the two sections of her seatbelt together, she relaxed into the back of the chair and braced herself for the long twelve-hour flight ahead.