Marinette had been meaning to have a talk to with Lila about her behavior. But somehow, for some reason, Lila seemed a little less like she was acting out a role and a little more like she was being herself. Perhaps Tikki's discussion with Lila had had something to do with it.

Many weeks had passed since that mall date, and it had been a sort of happy blur. Marinette didn't confront Alya about being in the mall despite cancelling, and could come up with the reason on her own. There was no way she was supposed to know about that, anyway, and she didn't want to put her identity at risk. But after that, she and Lila had gone on more dates and gotten closer. She'd hung out with Adrien and Nino some more (and had witnessed none other than Nathanaël beginning to draw Adrien a lot in his sketchbook), and she kept fighting akuma as Ladybug. Even Lila, despite what Marinette had said earlier, would still occasionally help out in battle when necessary.

But no matter how much Marinette scolded her for doing so, she couldn't help but love how they were fighting evil together. How Lila was becoming so much more than the pretentious and popular transfer student that she had been in the very beginning.

Marinette was happy until she realized something was off.

Lila was happy until her parents were talking about her again.

"We can't keep doing this to her. Lila needs a stable home to live in." She said.

"She was the one who wanted to come with us!" He answered, agitated. "We've been through this enough times!"

"She needs to go back to a boarding school." She fell back into her chair, massaging her temples. "We're not there for her enough."

"Our daughter is perfectly capable of this life." He replied stubbornly.

Of course, they didn't know that said daughter was just outside of the room, pressed against the wall and hearing every word. Lila supposed it was only a matter of time until something like this happened.

"It's not healthy!" She snapped, and Lila flinched from the volume of her voice. She felt her body heat up uncomfortably. Shame, Lila could tell. She felt her heart beat in her ears as her skin prickled all over. Lila suddenly felt her head begin to pound as she slid down the wall, hands pressed to her temples. The air felt thick in her throat as the thoughts began.

I'm causing them trouble.

I'm a nuisance.

They don't deserve a daughter like me.

Then her parent's voices were getting louder and Lila stood up to hurry away. Her legs moved on autopilot, carrying her away from the argument and to the safety of her bedroom as blood thrummed through her veins. This wasn't the first time Lila had heard this from her parents, and it likely wouldn't be the last.

In the past she tried to say something to stop it.

"You don't have the worry about it, Mom. I can handle it, I promise." Lila tried to say. But when her mother turned her eyes on her, all Lila could see was a sort of betrayal in her eyes. That Lila was doing something wrong by agreeing with her father and not her mother.

Lila closed the door of her bedroom, feeling weak as she sank to the floor. Slowly the temperature eased, but the ache in her head lingered and the lump in her throat didn't move.

Stop.

Lila stared blankly at the ground.

You can't let this get to you. You can't be weak.

Lila squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head on a knee, exhaling slowly.

You'll be fine. You can deal with it.

She thought about her phone, tucked away in her pocket. She thought of texting Marinette, or of her grandmother. Or maybe Alya or Nino. Maybe even Adrien.

What does it say about you if you can't deal with your problems on your own? Everyone has problems. You can't burden them with your own. A voice whispered in Lila's head.

I'm not weak. Lila thought, curling her fingers into a fist. I'm not.

Are you sure?

It was only in occasional moments that Marinette noticed Lila was acting a little bit strange. Sometimes Marinette would be chatting happily with the gang, and she would reach out under the table to lightly touch Lila's hand. But Lila would should no sign of having noticed. Marinette would turn to look at Lila, but Lila would look like she was a thousand miles away.

"Are you okay?" Marinette would ask.

"Of course. I'm fine." Lila would snap back to reality, all traces of her previous uncharacteristic absentmindedness gone. Marinette noticed that Lila was getting better at lying around her again, too. The times when Lila would get embarrassed or bashful were getting scarcer. The moments when Lila's facade would fall and reveal the shy girl beneath were no more.

The Lila of the very beginning was back. Marinette felt like she was dating a fake.

But despite this change, life still progressed as normal. Marinette went to school, fought akuma, went out with her friends. She went on dates with Lila, she helped out at the bakery, she did her chores.

Marinette wondered if perhaps Lila stopped liking her. Maybe Lila didn't feel anymore affection towards her, and she was just fulfilling the role she currently had. That's why Marinette no longer saw the Lila she had come to adore. Because Lila didn't want to show her real self to someone she didn't like.

"Lila's probably having some problems of her own." Tikki said when Marinette confessed her worries. "Maybe her parents are fighting or something like that."

Marinette resolved to try and offer Lila her help.

Lila could tell the fights were becoming more frequent. Her parents spoke less and less unless they were arguing, and they rarely said anything to her. Sometimes Lila returned to the thought of her grandmother.

"You can always talk to me." Silvia had said to her, with kind eyes and a warm hug.

But Lila wasn't sure how much she wanted to talk about this. Lila was a strong girl. She didn't have problems; she didn't need to talk about anything to anyone. She could handle things on her own. Lila wasn't weak. She didn't need any help.

I'm fine, Lila had to Marinette. She kept saying it to herself now.

Then Tikki was in her thoughts.

Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?

"Are you sure you're alright?" Marinette asked, and Lila blinked.

She, Marinette, and the rest of the gang were together up on the Eiffel Tower. It was almost sundown, and Alya was keeping a sharp eye out for any Ladybug or Chat Noir activity. The day before, Alya had realized that a lot of superhero action went on near the tower, and convinced her friends that it would be a good idea to hang out on the viewing platform for a night.

"Yea," Lila replied, flashing Marinette a convincing smile. She wondered where her acting ability had gone during her first days with Marinette; now she was trying harder and succeeding at hiding her family problems from the girl. Marinette held Lila's gaze, and Lila matched it, although she felt a little uncomfortable.

"Would you tell me if something was wrong?" Marinette tried, squeezing Lila's hand.

"Of course I would, Mari." Lila returned, and squeezed back. And then her breath hitched.

"You don't have to lie about that kind of stuff." Marinette had said once before.

I lied to her.

You lied because you don't want to burden her. It's okay. This lie is okay.

I lied to her.

You had to do it.

"You know you can talk to me about anything." Marinette continued.

"I know."

Marinette managed a smile at Lila, and Lila suddenly realized she didn't know if it was fake or not. And then Marinette slid her hand out of Lila's and brought them around Lila's waist, resting her head gently against Lila's shoulder. Lila's mouth dried and then her blood was pulsing in her ears again. There was a rush in her head as her temperature went up, and she felt feverish. I lied to her.

Lila never felt like this when she lied in the past.

"I would, too." Marinette said, and Lila wondered if she was supposed to feel like she was doing something wrong. Like she was dirty inside. Like her hands were stained with something that would never wash off. Lila flexed her fingers, desperately wanting to be alone.

Marinette sighed in relief in the embrace. She wasn't certain if Lila was lying, but her words were so full of certainty and confidence that she was content to believe them for the moment. She moved back from the hug and took Lila's hand again, happy that she could hold it, and she looked around to see what her friends were up to.

Nino and Alya were leaning on the railing, looking out at the sunset. Brilliant orange light illuminated Alya as she tossed her hair back, laughing together with Nino. To the other side of Marinette and Lila, Adrien was talking with- Nathanaël? Marinette blinked, and realized that Nathanaël was showing Adrien a piece of paper. He must have drawn Adrien, Marinette thought, and giggled a little bit. Nathanaël might have developed a new crush.

"I think Nathanaël has a crush on Adrien." She whispered to Lila, who turned to look.

Adrien patted Nathanaël on the shoulder, his other hand holding the sketch. Marinette could see that there was a slight tinge of red to the tips of Nathanaël's ears.

"I think you're right." Lila said back, and Marinette felt like Lila was wearing the most genuine smile she had seen that day.

For the rest of that night, Marinette put aside her worries and thought that her life had reached a stage of perfection.