A/N: Thank you Intersky, MR97, and Rose Tiger for the reviews on the last two chapters! I'm glad you guys like this... but ease up on Alya!
If we're talking about your typical high school setting, then the situation in this story is very possible. People, particularly teenagers, have their own reputations to preserve, and most of the time, they'll go to great lengths to do so. Even betraying friends comes easier if you think everyone else is doing it. Just because everyone in Françoise Dupont claims to believe Lila doesn't mean they actually do.
Some of them do believe her, though, so don't be fooled.
What I'm trying to say is, just wait and see. Just like with Nino from the last fic, we don't know what's going on with every individual. Yet.
Enjoy the chapter!
(Also, updates may be a bit slow, but I'll try not to go longer than two weeks without updating.)
Adrien/Cat Noir P.O.V.
It's instant.
For a moment, her hesitation worried me. Did Marinette want to talk to me, or even see me? Or was I wrong about her maybe… possibly… missing me?
But now she's hugging me tightly, whispering, "I'm so glad you came," and I know at this moment, instantly, that she's missed me. She's missed me just as much as I've missed her, even… and that's amazing. It feels amazing. And I haven't felt this way in months.
However, as she pulls back with a flush staining her cheeks, she studies me and frowns. "You look different."
"Um…" I bite my lip. "Good different or bad different?"
"I'm not sure." Marinette glances away. "I- I have to bring everyone to the dorms, but can we talk? Does everyone know… that you're on my side?"
"I'm pretty much an outcast, so it makes no difference," I reply. Wrong answer; her head snaps up, and she grabs my shoulder.
"What do you mean? What- what are you talking about?" She shakes her head. "Non… you were so popular before. You can't be serious!"
"It's not a big deal-"
"Of course it is!" She groans. "I didn't want anything to change because of me- you know that! Was it because of me?"
Seeing as we've been out here longer than we should, she shakes her head, trying to focus. "Look… can we talk later? I just want to understand why-"
"Marinette." I take a deep breath. "There's nothing to understand, d'accord? I'm fine."
I know the frantic, overwhelmed state she's starting to revert to… and I don't like it, because I was sure from the moment I saw her that she had gotten past that. If I'm stressing her out, then it's starting all over again, and I can't just ruin her new life. This was exactly what I was afraid of.
"I'll see you inside," I tell her, my voice having fallen into a mumble as I turn to walk away. She starts to speak, but then falls silent, and I don't dare to look back.
A safe distance away, Plagg pokes his head out of my pocket and rolls his eyes. "Right off the bat, you guys are having issues."
"Plagg, be quiet!" Tikki hisses from my other pocket, irritated with him ruining her dreamy little moment. He goes quiet, and she snaps right back into it. "Oh, it's been so long since we've seen Marinette… did you see those studs she was wearing? Maybe she misses my Miraculous… do you think she misses being Ladybug?"
"Of course she does!" Plagg grumbles.
"I'm not so sure." I sigh. "It stressed her out so much… she seemed so at ease before we started talking- I'm sure she's glad for the freedom." Casting a sideways look at Tikki, I add, "And you know she can't be Ladybug anymore for various reasons."
She deflates a little, ducking back into my pocket with an "I know."
"Anyways," Plagg grumbles, "why did you have to start the trouble?"
"I did not!"
"You were all, oh, I'm an outcast so don't worry about me, I'm lonely all the time and have no friends, the opposite of why I came to school in the first place. It's fine." Plagg's high-pitched mocking tone makes me grind my teeth and walk faster. "Kid, we get it. You're lonely, and clearly, there's nothing anyone can do about it. But Marinette could have been spared the news!"
"I'm sorry, okay? It was a bad time to make a quip! How long could I hide all these changes from her now that we're all here at her school?" I fold my arms. "I don't even want to talk about it."
"Be that way all you want, but you know it's true," he scolds. "Back me up, Tikki."
"I'm not backing you up. You're just making things worse," she retorts without even coming out again.
"Quiet down; we're getting near people." I swallow hard as I step into the grand foyer of the school- my eyes widen at the enormous building, the ceiling stretching upward into a dome, painted with decorative swirls. The entire class is gathered in front of a woman who must be the headmistress, so I join Nino off to the side.
"How'd it go with Mari?" he whispered, only to see her walk in behind me. I turn away, but I can already tell she's looking at me with concern. "Hm, d'accord. Not well."
"She already knows that everyone treats me like an outsider," I sigh. "And naturally, she got worried."
"Dude, why did you bring it up?"
"It was an accident."
He shakes his head with a heavy sigh. "Well, good luck convincing her not to obsess over that. But, since we're here, I say we put Operation Bring Mari Back to Paris into action."
"When did we make that an operation?" I protest. "I told you, I think she's happier here. You'll see how she acts soon enough, and it'll make all the difference."
"And if she does want to come home?"
"Then…" I cautiously glance back at her. Marinette is waiting for the ridiculously long historical speech being recited to be over with like the rest of us. Even if she wasn't happy here, how could I selfishly try to bring her back to Paris? It's too dangerous for her there, and if she got hurt by one of Shadow Moth's extra-powerful supervillains, I would never forgive myself.
"I still don't think it's a good idea, for safety purposes," I mumble. "But I'll think about it."
"Merci." He turns back to listen, and then quietly groans. "I don't remember this being so long last time I went to a tournament."
"You went to one before?"
"Yeah. I went to see how the film competitions went- wait, do you think they're having one this year?" His eyes widen. "If they are, forget Paris; our film has a chance of making it through the nationals! The whole country could see how awesome it is!"
"That's a really good idea." A thought suddenly occurs to me, something I hadn't considered before. "Do you think Marinette is competing?"
"Depends on what categories there are. We'll find out later… oh, finally," Nino sighs as the headmistress finishes the speech. "That took forever!"
"And I missed half of it because I was outside, and the other half because we were talking. What was that even about?" I question.
"Nothing much."
"And now a few students have volunteered to show you all to your guest dorms and give you a tour, so I'll turn you over to Marinette…" The woman, previously enthusiastic, faltered at this. "Ah… a moment, please." She motions quickly to Marinette, who, from the back, hurries up to her. Our teachers are off to the side with the other staff, and most of them… are staring at Marinette with a darker look in their eyes than the students.
They're off to the side, but I'm close enough to hear them whispering. "...I'm sorry, Marinette, I must have overlooked the connection before," the headmistress whispers to her.
"It- it's all right, really," Marinette replies, her voice going soft. "I can handle them."
"The teachers from the school are already on edge, and they may pull out if they feel… you are untrustworthy. Nothing we say would convince them otherwise."
"If they pull out, isn't it their loss?"
"It's a bad look for our school, too," the woman starts, "not to mention we don't want them treating you badly for things they believe you did. You're innocent here, if anywhere, and if they think for a moment that things are going wrong for them, they could blame it on you."
"I can just lie low." Marinette winces. "Maybe… I'll just not compete?"
"It might be best." The headmistress pauses. "It might even be better if you leave Zoé to give them the tour and take over all the volunteer responsibilities. If you aren't involved-"
"I do want to help out!" she protests. "Please give me a chance to stay on their good side. Who knows, maybe… I can even change their minds. It's been six months, madame. I'd really like a chance."
"If you need to pull out at any time, Marinette, you know you can…"
"Bien sûr." Marinette nods, and the headmistress, albeit reluctant, allows her to approach our group.
"Everyone… if I could get your attention, please?" It has already gone silent, so she looks around, shifting awkwardly. "I'm going to take you to put your things away and get settled, and then my friend and I will show you around."
Silence. She glances over at Nino and me for a moment, and then lifts her head and tries to assert herself. "Follow me."
And we all do. Because, like it or not, everyone has to do as she tells them while she's in charge, and she's doing a good job of telling them so far.
Nino and I are in a room together, and it's actually amazing how many guest dorms there are- enough for us to all sleep two to a room with there still being a few to spare. The teachers are in a different wing, too, which is something that everyone is happy about.
Naturally, everyone is conspiring as they look through the list posted by the dorms. I can hear it in the whispers, the quiet conversations, the indications, and silent eye rolls and glares tossed in Marinette's direction as she stands off to the side, waiting.
"Let's just not come out," someone mumbles. "Stay in the rooms, come late to the welcoming ceremony, and then blame it on you-know-who…"
"Keep an eye on her," I catch Alix mumble to the rest of the girls who she usually hangs out with, excluding Lila. "We don't want her doing anything to Lila or any of us. Who knows what she might pull on us?"
"If she even tries something, I think it's in all of our best interests if you stop her," Max tells Kim, folding his arms.
Lila can't hide her smirk from me, nor can I hide my glare from her as we pass by. Her own eyes narrow when she sees my expression, and she passes by without a further word or glance. But that's… not a good thing if she knows I'm against her. It's never a good thing.
It doesn't take long for me to get settled, and before long, I'm out in the hallway again, jogging down to meet Marinette, who is still standing off to the side. She winces when she sees me, glancing around to make sure we're alone. "Can you explain what you meant when you said you were 'pretty much an outcast'?"
"I mean…" I swallow. "It didn't exactly go by unnoticed when I stopped your blackmailer…."
"How did everyone find out?" She closes her eyes briefly, rubbing her temples in a familiar motion that she used to when stressed. "Adrien, I told you this wasn't a good idea back when you did it…."
"Only Lila found out, actually. At least… it's my guess. But there's no way Alya told her, because she hasn't bothered Nino. There's no way she even knows he was involved." I glance over my shoulder briefly, wondering if I should voice my opinion on Alya in terms of how she gets along with Lila. "She must have felt the need to get me out of her way."
"What did she do?"
"Well… naturally, we had to do elections again for class representatives." I can't stop my voice from going quiet. "I ran against Lila."
"You ran?" Her eyes widen, and for a moment, Marinette seems to forget the stress that I can tell is overtaking her. "Really? That's amazing!" Then her bluebell eyes cloud over, and she steps back. "What happened?"
"I don't know what she told them, but everyone ignored my speech. Not to mention… that I know my ideas were more specific and beneficial, but I wasn't given a second thought." I grit my teeth. "Lila won by a unanimous vote, and no one has told me why they ignored my speech. No one has really… talked to me since."
She's silent for a moment, glancing downward as she thinks this over. "Did… Alya run as her vice?"
"Non." At her surprised expression, I admit, "She did at first, but she pulled out, and Mylène took her place after. I don't know why. Come to think of it, she hasn't really been too close to Lila lately."
Marinette sighs, obviously not giving Alya's position a second thought anymore. "Well, she couldn't have spread anything around, so it must have been Lila. She hasn't… threatened you?"
"Bien sûr que pas. I wouldn't let her… I mean, not that you did- I just mean-"
"I get it." Marinette shrugs slightly, her gaze crossing down the hall as Nino steps out and heads down to join us. "I should have done something about it when I had the chance. It's fine now."
There's a brief pause, but then she glances up, the stress starting to fade. "You aren't entirely alone, are you? You and Nino are still friends, right?"
"Bien sûr," Nino answers for me as he comes up to us. "And Adrien's not totally alone, either. Chloe and Sabrina still hang out with him, not to mention Kagami."
"That's good." Marinette may or may not stiffen at the mention of Kagami- I'm not so sure they were friends when she left, but if Kagami has no thoughts on what happened to Marinette (nothing she's told me, anyways), then I don't think they really were friends.
She swallows hard. "But are you okay, Adrien? I never wanted to cause you to lose friends… are things still okay even though…."
"I'm fine." I meet her eyes. "I still have friends, and people still talk to me… not often, but it's not like I have no friends anymore. Everyone I have is enough."
Nino knows I'm lying; I can see it in his eyes as he narrows his gaze at me over Marinette's shoulder. But she doesn't see it, and thank goodness, she visibly relaxes, the tension and stress starting to fade. "I'm glad. How have things been, other than that?"
It's not long before it feels normal again; we can all talk without worrying about some pressing matter, or anyone listening. Nino fills her in on the movie we've been working on, and I discuss how things have been even with so little friends. It's not hard to make it seem like it's normal, because I'm used to it now. Six months, and a lifetime without any friends, have made it relatively easy to pretend I'm fine alone.
Deep down, I know I shouldn't really be lying to her about this. The whole shift in the school that left me an outcast hasn't been easy. It's made me feel too self-conscious, and after so long without making friends, losing them just feels… awful. Like everything is going back to how it used to be, for the worse.
But am I going to stress Marinette out about this? No way.
She tells us about how things are here- what Nino doesn't already know, of course- and describes that she's made some friends here, too. Naturally, she's only had six months to get used to this, and vacations have taken up time for her to meet people, but Nino and I can both tell how happy she is.
"I don't think I've told you about Zoé," Marinette tells me after some ten minutes, that beautiful smile gracing her lips, one I've really, really missed. "She's actually supposed to be here helping me out- ah, there…." She motions down the hall to where a blonde girl is approaching, in the same uniform Marinette is wearing. As she comes closer, I study her and can't help but wonder why she looks so familiar… like she bears a resemblance to someone I know…
"Sorry, I got caught up helping someone with decor, and then I had to talk with the headmistress- did everyone get here okay? Did they give you a hard time? The headmistress told me everything." The girl, Zoé, pauses to catch her breath and then glances over at us. "Hi, I'm Zoé."
"Enchanté," Nino offers, reaching out to shake her head. "I'm Nino, and this is Adrien. I've heard a lot about you from Mari."
Marinette flushes slightly at this. "Everything's fine. You're back at a good time… everyone should be done by now!" She calls this down the hallway in case anyone is listening, but we're still the only ones out here.
"They're going to stall," I sigh. "Want me to talk to them?"
She starts to nod, but then stops. "If you think they'll listen…."
I don't answer that. But I know better than anyone how well they'll listen to me. Nino sighs heavily. "I'll go, but just give them a few more minutes. Maybe some of them will come out on their own."
As though on cue, one door opens, and two girls emerge; just Chloe and Sabrina, though. However, the moment Chloe and Zoé lock eyes, the room seems to grow cold.
"You!" Chloe storms forward, pointing an accusatory finger in Zoé's face.
"You." Zoé sighs heavily, like releasing the weight of a thousand pounds in one breath. In irritation.
"Wait…" Marinette glances between them, seeming to put it together faster than the rest of us. "Zoé, when you mentioned a half-sister, you didn't mean…."
"Yeah," she replies, at the same time that Chloe protests, "No!"
There's a beat of silence before Chloe snaps, "We are not sisters."
"This again?" Zoé sighs. "Seriously, Chloe?"
Seeing our confusion, she suddenly looks uncomfortable, grabbing Chloe's arm and backing up. "We'll be right back," she quickly tells us before pulling Chloe around the corner as she struggles and mutters something angrily at Zoé.
"What was that about?" Nino questions as Sabrina, looking just as confused, joins us.
"Half-sisters?" I glance over at the corner, but there's no sight of either of them; maybe Chloe actually gave in. "Knowing the Bourgeois family for so long, I thought I'd know about this, but I had no idea either."
"I've been Chloe's confidante for years, and I haven't ever heard about this myself," Sabrina confesses.
"Well…" Marinette sucks in a tight breath. "Zoé had told me before that her mother had remarried after her parent's divorce…." She glances back to where Zoé and Chloe went for a moment. "She never mentioned who her mother was in particular… or her stepfather. Only that she had a half-sister who hated her, and that was about it. This is news to me."
"Why wouldn't they mention any of this?" I question. "I guess I understand that if Chloe doesn't like her, it would make sense, but why not Zoé?"
"She probably knew I would know who Chloe was." Marinette sighs. "Hope they sort it out. I feel like there's going to be bigger issues during the tournament."
"Do you plan on competing?" Nino questions, lighting up; she shrugs half-heartedly. "I know our schools are competing against each other, but this could still be fun. We're considering the movie production competition if they offer it this year."
"Vraiment?" I can see Marinette's interest sparking; she was hugely invested in Nino's last movie. "Did you try to submit something for the annual city challenge this time around?"
Nino glances at Sabrina and me, and we all share a knowing smile. "We were planning on it before we heard about the tournament." He shifts into his proud director mode, throwing an arm around each of us. "Sabrina is our lead villain, and Adrien's been helping me with script writing."
"And minor roles," Sabrina adds with a tiny smirk; I flush slightly, knowing that it's undeniable I'm not playing my typical role. Sabrina and Chloe both tried to convince me to take a larger role… Come to think of it, even some others did. Kagami encouraged me to when I mentioned it at fencing practice, and all of Kitty Section- as distant as they've become- tried to get me to take a bigger part.
Marinette glances briefly at me, and the smile falters from her face for a moment. "Wish I could have seen it…." She recovers quickly, and I release a sigh of relief at the notion that she might just forget about it altogether. "So you could just re-run the movie here, then?"
"I'm not sure yet," Nino admits; both Sabrina and I glance at him in surprise. "I mean, it would be easy to reshoot something that everyone knows, but I'm looking for something fresh now that we're here. I might alter the script."
"Well, I'm rooting for you." Marinette giggles to herself. "I mean, people shouldn't get too upset about that. You guys are excellent, and I can't wait to see your movie."
"Are you competing in anything?" Sabrina asks.
"Maybe." Marinette's gaze trails down the hall. "I'm volunteering to organize most of the inter-competition events during the tournament, so I might be busy." She sighs, checking the time. "I've waited long enough. Nino, Sabrina, could you guys…."
"We're on it," Nino affirms, shooting me a glance as he and Sabrina head off to get people out of their rooms. That glance tells me that he still wants me to tell her the truth about all this.
Of course, I want Marinette back in Paris, but at what cost? Shadow Moth would target her immediately if he found out she was back, not to mention the press, and I don't know what would be more dangerous. Even if, deep down, I want my partner back, I know it won't work out when she still needs time to recover from what happened with the peacock Miraculous.
And that would be if I could prove Lila to be a liar, and it didn't work last time. Somehow, it didn't work. There's too many factors to think about.
We're standing in silence, and I can feel Marinette's gaze on me. I don't look up; I can't. I managed to convince her that I'm not as much of an outcast as I really am back in Paris, and I want it to stay that way. My feelings don't matter so long as I can keep her from stressing over me. I've seen what it can do to her.
"Is there more you wanted to tell me?" Marinette hesitantly speaks up, startling me; were my thoughts so obvious? I shake my head and turn slightly, reminding myself that I can't do this again. I can't even tell her my true feelings now because the last time I saw her, she had fallen in love with Cat Noir, who couldn't possibly be compared to Adrien. I can't just tell her who I am and risk increasing the danger she may be in.
Seeing that I'm not going to say anymore, she changes the subject and casually asks, "So, how is Cat Noir?"
I nearly choke. "What? I- I don't know; I don't know him-"
She glances back at me with a perplexed look crossing her features. "I mean… I was just wondering, in general, how things have gone for him since I left. Does he have a new partner yet?"
I quickly realize that she was just asking what I knew from the civilian point of view. Yet I believed she had somehow figured out my identity- that would be a nightmare. "Oh, um- you're better off asking Nino about that. I'm not really sure; I haven't paid much attention…."
"D'accord." Her response is quick, awkward, and she flushes and looks away, making me wonder… is that something I do when asking about her from Nino? That… that face, that look of disappointment when there's nothing new, nothing to ease my mind?
Could that help me find out if she's still in love with me?
I swallow hard, becoming aware that I've been doing this so much, my throat has gone really dry. We're still standing in silence in the still-empty hall, but the tension is broken yet again when Marinette suddenly blurts out, "You must have seen him recently, at least. Right? Is he doing okay?"
She's pleading now, to my surprise; Marinette must be desperate to know. So I clear my throat and admit, "He's doing well enough, I guess. He's not really struggling in any way."
"Does he have a new partner?"
"No, just temporary help- I mean, from what Nino told me, of course." I shift over slightly, trying to catch Marinette's gaze as she looks away… are her cheeks flushed? "He's not really himself, though. He's really changed."
I can feel both kwamis moving in my pocket, trying to tell me to stop, not to go into this. But I can't help it; who could know better what's going on with Cat Noir than Cat Noir himself?
"In what way?" Marinette whispers.
"His costume changed, for one. But that's not really it. He seems more listless than he was when you were in Paris; he doesn't carry the same attitude and energy he had before. I guess his life changed when you left, too."
That's the most honest report of how Cat Noir is doing that anyone can get, because it came straight from my soul. Everything I've been pushing down, hiding away... in a way, I've just told Marinette everything she needs to know. Which isn't a good thing.
She closes her eyes; I can see that telling her this hasn't made things any better, and guilt starts to crawl through my insides as I realize I may have just made her oncoming stress worse. "I wish I could talk to him," she whispers. "Mon dieu, I missed you all so much, but… it's different with Cat Noir. We were best friends… and I admit, we probably spent more time together than I did with anyone else."
"He misses you, too," I whisper without thinking. Marinette hardly seems to recognize my words; she's so lost in thought.
It takes her a moment to get her head together again; she suddenly looks up at me again, guilt crossing her features. "Sorry for that," Marinette whispers, looking away. "I shouldn't have gone so far. I- I should go find Zoé. I'll see you in a bit. And… thanks for listening."
"Bien sûr…" She's already leaving, and I sigh heavily and lean against the wall, wishing that I could get my head straight. Having Marinette back in Paris is still so dangerous for her, for me, for everyone, but…
I'm starting to wonder if that's a risk worth taking.