"What do you mean she was pushed?!" Nino yelled in anger.

"Someone had pushed her in front of a car?" Nathaniel was physically shaking in anger.

"How do you know? How did Marinette know that?" Ivan wanted to understand it all. Why would someone injure another person, a minor no less?

"Apparently Marinette was there. She said that three people had seen her being pushed. But she didn't say who, only that… She… Knew…" Adrien felt faint. Would she really go so far as to almost kill another person because they disagreed? If he hadn't opened his eyes to the truth, would she have done the same to his princess?

He could feel anger rise the more he started to connect the dots. The boys noticed how he shifted to shaking in anger.

"Woah, calm down, dude!" Nino tried, "You need to calm down before you get akumatized."

Adrien knew he was right, but it was hard for him to do that, knowing that someone is hurting his friends.

"How can I calm down when I just figured out that she's trying to hurt our friends?" Adrien shouted.

"What are you talking about? Who?" Nathaniel tried to help Nino, but it seemed to only fuel his anger more.

"Who do you think? That… That BITCH!" he screamed as he slammed his fist into one of the lockers. The boys hadn't seen Adrien get this angry since… well, never.

"You don't mean…?" Ninos eyes shrunk as he realized who Adrien was talking about.

"Of course, I mean her! That manipulative lying bitch. If she hurts Marinette again she'll be sorry!"

"Wait, who? Don't you mean Catie?" Kim had a hard time following what was happening.

"No, I mean Marinette. She has had it out for her ever since she started. I don't even want to say her name." Adrien sat down again looking at his fists, trying to calm down. He took several deep breaths before he could think clearly again

"Who is he talking about, Nino?" Nathaniel asked, a little scared that Adrien would blow up again if he asked him.

"Lila."

"Lila? How could she hurt anyone?"
"Wasn't it Marinette who pushed her down the stairs?"

"I thought Marinette was jealous of her, but accusing her of this?"

"No, you don't understand." Adrien stood up, much calmer but still held a firm voice as he looked at each and everyone.

"Nino, what's he talking about?"

"Yesterday we… We came to realize that Lila had made a lot of lies. Dudes, even Alya have started to look into a lot of her stories, fact checking them. There is nothing to back up whatever Lila claims. Also, being pushed down the stairs would result in a lot more injuries than just a twisted knee." Nino looked at Kim, since Kim had his fair share of injuries from playing extreme sports.

"Are you saying… She's been lying to us?" Ivan asked, but felt embarrassed he even asked as Adrien blew up again.

"Yes! Oh my god! Are you blind? Jagged Stone is allergic to animal fur, why would he have a cat? And how could someone outrun a moving airplane taking off? Someone with arthritis doesn't have it 'acting up' at convenient times. I don't believe for a second that she has even traveled outside of France whenever she claims to be out on whatever she makes up she's doing! She's never even been to Achu!"

"Ho-How do you… Know that?" Nathaniel felt stupid, but had to ask.

"Catie lived there, remember? Dudes, I saw the photo. Her family, eating dinner with the royal family. Alya also looked that up, and there is no information anywhere about the supposed environmental work they were doing. And Catie confirmed it as well." Nino sighed.

"Was that true?" Kim felt even more stupid than the rest of the guys asking this, as they all looked at him with an annoyed look.

"Catie doesn't even like to talk about herself. Why would she suddenly say stuff like that?"

"Because she had a bad feeling about Lila from the start. At least, that is what Alya said she said." Nino looked over at Adrien, who seemed a lot calmer now.

"How could she tell?" Max genuinely was curious. If he as a genius couldn't figure it out, how could someone who hadn't even met her do it?

"Dude, hello? Have you seen her dad?" Nino almost laughed, Adrien chuckled with him.

"Yeah, he is kind of terrifying." Ivan couldn't help but chuckle as well. He felt ridiculous for being so blinded, but at least he had learned the truth now before it was too late. He was relieved that Mylene hadn't been the target. He shivered when he thought of what she would do if she had been.

"We should get back to class before Ms. Bustier gives us detention. We only have 4 minutes before the next class." Max looked at his watch. As much as he wanted to continue this conversation, he felt that this was not the time or place. Maybe they should meet up somewhere safe to discuss this further.

The boys agreed, and started to walk. Nino stayed behind with Adrien until he had calmed himself down enough to face that monster without killing her himself. If only he could cataclysm someone and get away with it.

—

Lila stood next to Ms. Bustier as the rest of the class arrived, crying as usual. She had run straight to their teacher to spin the accident during gym class so that at least the good-hearted teacher would believe her. She couldn't forget to make the gym-teacher look bad as well, since this stupid teacher would probably go to him for information as well.

When Adrien entered he could feel the anger rise again, but decided against pummeling her since he would get in trouble for it. He instead took his seat next to Nino and fisted his hands on his lap, keeping them controlled so they wouldn't get a mind of their own and hit Lila right where the volleyball hit. He snickered at the memory. He had looked over, for some reason lingering on Marinette, but then watched as Catie had smashed the ball, then followed Lilas scream and accusations. It was a shame her nose survived.

Once everyone was seated and looked confused at the teen standing next to their teacher, Ms. Bustier finally spoke.

"I was informed of an accident during gym class. Lila has told me her side of the story, but could the other party in the accident make themselves known and explain their take on what happened." She looked out over the heads and stopped at Catie.

Lila had told her that Catie had been rude before they started playing, taunting her and then hit Lila with the ball on purpose. She had also claimed that Catie had basically said it was her own fault for being hit, how she had wished it had hit harder so her nose would break. She did also state that Catie had been so rough when 'helping' her stand that her arthritis had started to act up, but since Catie had basically said Lila was faking it she didn't want to say anything in fear that the others would call her a faker too. Lila did also say that the apology Catie gave sounded fake, like she didn't mean it. That she just did that because she wanted to look good infront of everyone else. They had tried to take her side but shifted to Caties' side, making Lila feel alone during class. She had looked so much forward to finally being able to participate after being in pain for so long, and Catie had made her feel inferior. That she didn't belong.

Even though the teacher hadn't known Catie that long, it seemed highly unlikely given the transfer papers that every school had signed. Every school had left a note, sort of like a reference, stating that Catie had been a model student with good grades and bringing positivity to class every day. Even though she sometimes struggled with the language or the customs, she always asked for help when she didn't understand, or asked someone to show her how to do or say certain things as she seemed eager to learn. Whenever someone was sad, lonely or had tripped and fell, Catie had always been the first one to help them to feel better, putting smiles to their faces or getting them the help they needed.

Lilas' story was the opposite of what all those schools had written. It really seemed unlikely, but she didn't want to just disregard Lilas' feelings either. She really looked like she was hurting, which made this whole thing hard to tell what was what. She figured she had to gather further information.

Catie stood up and walked to the front, unfaced and ready to settle this once and for all. When she stood next to Ms. Bustier, she hadn't looked at Lila once. She turned to the class, took a deep breath before she turned to the teacher.

"It's true there was an accident. We played a game of Volleyball, and I got the ball and jumped to hit the ball over the net to score. Lila had stated that she had been scouted to play professionally, so I anticipated that Lila would know where I was aiming. Or at least have an inkling. But she jumped forward to block and as I hit the ball, her position unfortunately was too close as the ball hit her face and she fell on her butt on the floor."

A few giggles could be heard in class. Lila looked pissed. Why did she have to go into detail?

"I see. Please, continue."

"She accused me of doing it on purpose, but I simply explained where I was aiming, that it was an accident. Then I helped her to stand up and apologized, looking over her face and body and could determine there were no serious injuries on her."

"Did you pull her too hard? Lila claims her wrists started to hurt after you helped her up, but she was afraid to say anything since you had made a comment on her arthritis."

"I simply said that maybe she hadn't played so much since she had arthritis, as I haven't played much because I have EDS." To Caties' surprise, only Chloe and Sabrina sounded shocked to learn that Catie apparently had an illness. Although they sat at the sidelines when it happened. Also, Max had probably looked it up and told the guys. Whatever, it was out now. "If her wrists would've hurt because of the force I used, then I would most likely have dislocated my wrists. You've read my papers, and the whole class probably knows by now anyway so whatever." she shrugged.

Lila looked a little confused. "What the hell is EDS?"

"And what do you think she's referring to when she says you taunted her?"

"I believe she misunderstood, Ms. She looked at me while we were grouped up in our teams, and I noticed, so I gave her a friendly smile and waved. Rose saw me as she waved back."

Rose nodded in agreement. She didn't see anything bad with that gesture. Lila didn't know she had seen that, or that she had waved back. She had been too focused on her plan.

"I understand. But, Lila also claimed you would all take Caties' side on this and agree with her since Catie had made that comment about her arthritis?" Ms. Bustier almost cringed as she uttered those words. Why would the class who always stood up for her suddenly go against her?

"That's not true!" Alix jumped up from her seat.

"Why would you say that, Lila?" Rose asked with tears in her eyes.

Once again, Adrien bit his tongue and fisted his hands in his knees. Not only would she go after Catie, but now the whole class who had done nothing but help her and defend her.

"I-I-I heard the boys talking… They were saying I… Made it up that I was scouted. Because Catie said that." Lila had to bite her cheek as she paused so she wouldn't accidentally show the gloat she felt at the moment.

"Well, Catie made a fair point when she explained what happened to you." Max said in defense of the new girl. He did not like that somehow she had turned that incident into something this big, and accused everyone to be involved in what was an accident. If what Adrien and Nino said in the locker room was true, then he had an obligation to help them discredit her. Or at least make it harder for her to point fingers at someone she didn't like.

"What do you mean?" Ms. Bustier asked before she could stop herself.

"I just stated the fact that IF she had played professionally she would've anticipated my move, and would respond accordingly. Or that maybe she had forgotten how to play the game since she couldn't continue due to her arthritis." Catie said without batting an eye.

The class nodded in agreement. They had heard it all, so they couldn't really argue with her about that.

"You all believed her over me!" Lila started to cry into her hands again. Ms. Bustier put an arm around the girls' shoulders, but no one spoke up about it.

"Catie explained it was an accident, but apologized anyway. She even offered you a helping hand." Alya stated without hesitation. She couldn't let this go on for much longer, or anyone in the class would be at the risk of being akumatized. She just wanted this to end.

"Can I go and sit down in my seat again, or do you need me for something else?" Catie turned to look at the teacher, still avoiding looking at Lila since she seemed to misinterpret anything she did as something bad.

"I guess. Since it seems Lila may have misunderstood the incident we can put this behind us and move forward."

"But…" Lila didn't want to give in. There had to be something she could do.

"Again, I'm sorry that I hit you with the ball. It wasn't my intention to do so." Catie bowed at Lila, still avoiding eye contact. Giving a bow along with an apology was a sign of deep respect, and only gained Catie more credibility with the teacher. Lila gritted her teeth as Catie made her way up the stairs to her seat, while Lila made her way to sit next to Alya.

"Thanks for nothing." she muttered to the teen beside her, low enough that Alya didn't hear it.

Adrien, on the other hand, heard every word.

—

"You handled that like a pro." Alya said proudly of her new friend as they walked out of the school.

"Well…" Catie started but didn't finish it.

"You've been through something similar before, haven't you?" Marinette asked as she laid a hand on her shoulder.

Catie giggled. "Damn YOUR perception." she said, making Marinette giggle as well. Alya didn't understand what they were referring to, but figured it was some sort of inside joke. She and Marinette had plenty. Even Nino and she had their secret handshake. It wasn't uncommon to have something like that. She gave a warm smile to the girl.

"Yes, I have. In fact several times. Both in Brazil and in Germany."

"You've lived in Germany too?" Alya didn't know that.

"Yeah, well… We moved there when I was around 9 years old."

"How long did you stay there?" Alya asked, feeling like she found a new scoop.

"About two years. It was before we moved to Japan."

"I can't believe it. It's amazing how well traveled you are."

"Please, don't. Don't do that. I'm not special, remember? I want to be treated normally, nothing else. So please, stop that." Catie picked up on Alyas' tone. She started to sound like how she would talk about Lila before, and it made Catie feel sick.

Alya hadn't even noticed and looked ashamed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. But please, think about how you react or act around me, or how you talk to me or about me to someone. I don't want you to sound like that."

"Catherine Summers! Get over here right now!" her father barked the order once she became visible from outside the school. Catie looked confused, but then she saw Lila 'crying' in front of her father. "Great. Now what?"

She sighed as she waved at Marinette and Alya who had asked if they wanted to go with her to clear up whatever Lila had said, but she had declined since her dad didn't sound like he used to when she had done something wrong. She had picked up James' ability to understand and interpret voices. That's why she could tell so easily that Lila was faking or lying.

She could see Lila smirking at Catie as she got closer, but it faded and turned to confusion the closer she got.

"Why does she seem so calm?" Lila couldn't stop herself from thinking.

"Yes, sir?" Catie said as she looked up at her father, standing like a little soldier.

"This young lady told me something highly unlikely." he said, still authoritative, but not at all angry.

Lila flinched. He seemed to have believed her a minute ago.

"What did she say? Was it about an accident that happened during gym class?" Catie knew to keep it short, and to the point. No need to sugarcoat things with her dad.

"It was. Will you tell me what happened since I feel it is highly unlikely that you would injure someone on purpose." James was firm.

Lila knew then it had been a big mistake to take the risk. He hadn't bought her story at all. She seemed to have lost her touch, as no one would buy her story today. It infuriated her, but she knew she had to get out of there quickly, or he would find out that it was her who pushed Catie in front of the car. "How could I have been so reckless and stupid to think this would work?"

Catie told the story once again like she had done in the classroom. James nodded along and looked pleased when Catie had apologized, several times. He then looked at Lila, looking for a reaction. If you thought Catie was perceptive…

"Now, young lady. Will you please explain why you tried to twist the accident and get my daughter in trouble?" He crossed his arms and looked at Lila, not missing the flinch, the twitching or the trembling.

"I-I guess I just… M-M-Misunderstood. That's all." Lila nervously laughed, trying to back away. He had looked so stern with his daughter the other day. She thought she could've persuaded him into believing his daughter was a bully. How could she have read him so wrong?

James didn't buy that for a second. If it was a misunderstanding, why would she come up to him and put on this show of being a bullied girl? He had seen right through her fake sobbing before it even began. He shook his head.

"No. I believe you were trying to discredit my own daughter to me. Telling me she's a bully, that she intentionally injured you and taunted you. Did you know she has a diagnosis too? Something similar to your supposed arthritis?"

Lila wanted to protest but kept her mouth shut.

"Yes, supposed. I know what it looks like. You don't have arthritis in either your knees nor your wrists. You are full of shit and if you don't stop trying to hurt my daughter, I will go straight to the Italian Embassy and speak to your mother about this. You should feel lucky that I'm willing to give you a chance."

Catie bit her cheek to stop the proud smile she wanted to give her dad. Of course he would see right through her lies, she never doubted that for a millisecond. He had read the Ladyblog. He had discussed with Catie several times about how all of her claims were lies. He had even wanted Catie to write to Prince Ali to get him to confirm she's lying, but Catie refused. Instead he had taken it upon himself to ask the King and Queen. Of course they had debunked it.

"Oh, would you look at the time? I have to go! I have a… a photoshoot! That's right… See you Catie!" Lila ran away as fast as her legs could carry her. He had seen right through her, probably the minute she approached him. The anger had disappeared, but instead turned into horror. She didn't want to give up, but she really didn't have a choice. She had made the decision over and over again, that it was not worth it. But she didn't want to give up. She hated losing. But he knew that her mother worked at the embassy. He could easily get in contact with her mother. She had worked so hard to get her mother to believe everything she said. She couldn't have Catie or her dad destroying it. It would mean she was destroyed, and she would never admit defeat!

James watched as the terrified teen ran away. A smirk then started to appear, unnoticed by Catie as she had already taken a seat in his vehicle.

"I found you."

—