"So, you wanted to speak with me?" James turned his attention to Alya.

She jumped, but gathered herself and summoned her journalist persona.

"Yes. I wanted to discuss what we should do about Lila." She said matter-of-factly.

"What is there to discuss? I've found the one who is guilty of trying to murder my daughter and she will be punished for it." James looked uninterested.

"Well… You see, she has been spreading a lot of lies at school and…" Alya began but was cut off.

James raised his hand to stop her. He knew all too well about it. He had heard the other students talk about her when he was waiting for Catherine. He didn't like what he heard, and felt it ridiculous that anyone would believe anything she said.

"What does that have to do with me?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Well… We tried to ask Catie to debunk some of the things she lied about, but Catie refused. We kind of wanted you to convince her to do it."

James was silent. So his own daughter didn't want to help with revealing a criminal.

Somehow, Marinette could sense what he was thinking and quickly added, "It's not that she doesn't want to help. It's just that she told us she's not comfortable talking about herself."

"I see. Well, she is an introverted person." James nodded to her statement.

"She told me many times that she hates talking about herself, as she doesn't like to be seen as someone like… Like Lila." Marinette added, defending her new friend.

"I can understand that. It's not easy being the daughter of a general after all."

"She has talked about some things, and even showed pictures. We even had to do a search in class to shut Lila up when she tried to say that Catie faked it all." Alya added.

James nodded again. Still silent. It made them all uncomfortable.

"And how do you suggest that my daughter help with debunking that criminal, without getting hurt? It appears that Catherine had made a few points during their first conversation, and that was when the criminal tried to murder my child." James wanted Catherine to be safe, but also help. "And as you know, Catherine has a diagnosis that makes life difficult already. Why should she put herself in more danger?"

"We… Didn't think of it that way." Alya felt ashamed. How could they not have thought of that possibility.

"If I may, sir?" Adrien spoke up, but waited to get the generals' approval to speak. "How about we get Ladybug and Chat Noir to help protect her?"

James grimached at the mention of the "superheroes" in town. But waited to hear him out.

"If they can help guard her whenever they can, she could take the opportunity to debunk some things. I know there already is doubt spreading throughout school, but we just need to convince them all that she's a pathological liar."

Once again, James was silent as he contemplated what the young man had said. If they knew of his daughters' whereabouts, it could work. He had witnessed what they could do first hand. But could he trust two teens that already have so much on their plates?

"And how would we get them to do that?"

"Don't you have contact with them regularly?" Adrien asked.

James raised a curious eyebrow. How did he know that classified information? Unless…?

He also noticed how Marinette jumped at the young man's words. How would she know that as well? The other two looked confused, they had no idea what he was talking about. So they can't be involved, not for now anyway.

He decided to play dumb and let the man speak.

"I mean… It would make sense, right?" Adrien laughed nervously while looking at his friends. Did he slip up?

"I guess." Alya appeared to be deep in thought.

James smirked. That was all he needed.

"If these… superheroes…" James paused before he said that, looking straight at the blond boy. It still was difficult to admit it. "If they can guarantee the safety of my daughter to and from school, then I guess I can try to get her to help. But she is quite stubborn as you might have noticed. She's still mad about the gym teacher laughing at her for wanting to participate." James couldn't help but let a little chuckle out while he remembered how red in the face Catherine was when she told him. He had of course agreed with the teacher, which only made her more angry.

"If they can, do you think she will agree?" Alya was the one who asked.

"I can most certainly try. But if she doesn't want to stand out, then I can't force her." James shook his head. His daughter was as stubborn as he was.

"I want to know something." Marinette took her courage and asked, but waited for James to give her the nod of approval. "How will you get Lila convicted? I mean, do you have evidence? It has always been my problem that whenever I called her out she would lie her way out of it while pointing out I don't have any evidence to prove she's lying."

James scoffed. "It's easy. Do you really think a mere teenager can lie her way out of several witnesses statements? People who don't even know her? Or the fact that everything she says can be fact checked online?" He looked at Alya.

Alya knew this, and had managed to fact check almost everything that appeared on the ladyblog. She was hesitant to delete it all, as it could be used as evidence in court. But she hated that the liar had taken over the site.

"And most of my family's whereabouts can be confirmed by an online search. Since you have searched Catherine up during class, I suppose you've found a few articles? You'll find even more if you search up General Summers."

Before anyone could say anything else, three knocks on the door were heard.

"Dinner's ready", Catie said through the door. She knew better than to just open the door while her dad was having a meeting.

"Excellent timing. You have to stay for dinner. My wife is an excellent cook."

—

Once everyone was seated around their large dining table, Katrina and Catie appeared with bowls.

"I hope you like it. It's Catie's favorite. Ever since we moved to Vietnam, she's been addicted to Pho." Katrina said once she had given out the food and sat down.

Catie looked embarrassed, as her friends looked at her in shock.

"You've lived in Vietnam?" Alya couldn't help herself asking with a raised voice.

"You didn't tell them?" Katrina looked at her daughter.

Catie could only shake her head.

"Why? Are you embarrassed of us?" Katrina asked, shocked.

"Honey, you know how Catherine is. She's a private person. Would you go around talking about things that you don't want to?" James looked at his wife, defending their daughter.

"You don't have to force yourself to tell us if you don't want to." Marinette reassured while putting a comforting hand on Catie's shoulder.

"Thank you. I just… Don't want to sound like I'm bragging, you know?"

"Oh sweetie, it's not bragging. It's an experience." Katrina mirrored Marinettes' action.

"I never wanted this experience anyway." Catie thought to herself. She knew not to question her dads work in front of him. He couldn't help his deployment anymore than she wanted him to.

"I think it sounds amazing. Will you tell us about it someday?" Alya chimed in, trying to sound positive. Catie gave them a small smile, feeling grateful that they wouldn't question her about it. Instead they would wait for her to be ready to talk about it herself.

"Now, dig in before the dinner gets cold." Katrina ordered, and everyone obliged.

—

Catie was not happy when she arrived at school the next day. She still was annoyed at her dad for not letting her be a part of whatever conversation he had with HER friends. Whatever. Maybe she could ask them about it later?

She quickly spotted Alya and Marinette by the entrance and quickly made her way to them. But she was disappointed when they didn't want to share their conversation. Instead they asked her to talk to her dad to know what they talked about.

Talking to her dad was pointless. He would only push her to talk about herself more, trying to convince her to open up to her friends. He knew she hated doing that, so why would he even ask that of her?

Without waiting for the boys, the three girls went inside the school grounds. As they walked, they could hear whispers about Lila. Someone had dug up that Prince Ali didn't do charity work for the environment. Another shared that they couldn't find anything about Jagged Stone's cat. All morning before class, they could hear whispers and talking, all the while a few looked at Catie and whispered about the things they found about her. They managed to find the articles about her in both Japan and Brazil, as well as a few other things. She had been tagged in pictures with people all around the world it seemed, but they didn't dare to ask. If she hadn't brought it up, it was clear that she didn't want to talk about it.

Even as the class was ongoing, Catie couldn't escape the whispers. She was getting really annoyed at this, and for the first time, probably ever, she used her diagnosis as an excuse. She asked the teacher if she could go and lie down in the nurses office, and without waiting for a response she walked off.

Catie however didn't go to the nurses office. She went outside, sat herself down on the stairs outside the entrance and looked up at the clouds passing by. She took a few deep breaths and could feel herself calm down.

"I knew this day would come. But I didn't think it would come so soon."

—

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked Catie as they sat down in the cafeteria for lunch.

"Yeah, I guess. I was just overwhelmed with hearing people talk about me. I don't like that at all." Catie sighed.

"But you didn't tell them. They found out on their own. Which is a good thing, because then we don't have to convince people so much." Alya tried to comfort.

"Still, they are talking about me. And I don't like that. It makes me feel uncomfortable." Catie sank in her chair as more students passed and started to whisper as they saw her.

"I know what you mean." Adrien said, "It was like that for me at first and then it slowed down, but I was used to it before that so I guess it's not really the same." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Catie gave a soft smile. "Thank you. Although it's not the same, it's not really that different I guess."

The longer the conversation went on, the group of friends could understand what Catie's father meant. She was indeed stubborn, and very private. She didn't share more than necessary or what she felt comfortable with. They also noticed how she downplayed everything, as a few students had walked up to her and asked about things they found. She would laugh nervously, but answer the questions with how it was nothing special.

It took a toll, they could see that. Maybe that was the reason she didn't want to be in the classroom before.

Alya decided that it was time to change the subject.

"So… How are things going with Luka?"

Catie sprayed her water over the table, not prepared for that question. She coughed, making several tables turn to look at her.

"Wait, you and Luka?" Adrien still wasn't aware of it. Even though he was there, he hadn't noticed.

"What things?" Catie managed to finally said between coughs.

"Have you talked to him since the band practice?" Alya winked at her.

"How? He doesn't even have my number." Catie admitted. Luka had given his number to her, but she had been so embarrassed that she forgot to give hers to him.

"Really? Is it okay if I give it to him?" It was Marinette's turn to wink at the red-faced teen.

"What? No!" Catie protested.

"What's the issue? You don't like Luka?" Alya leaned in on Catie, making her lean back.

"It's… No… I…" Catie didn't know what to say. She became a stuttering mess. She didn't know what to think, or if she was allowed to think that.

Nino and Adrien didn't say a word. They leaned back and let the girls take the lead on this, since the rest of the lunch didn't feel as awkward as it did just a few moments before.

Catie tried to excuse herself several times, but was somehow held back every time. Before the bell rang, even Juleka had been involved. The girl squad of their class (minus Chloe and Sabrina) were standing next to their table. Catie was more than relieved when the school bell rang, signaling the start of the next class. She bolted out of the cafeteria, not angry or sad, but shy. They had been on point with everything.

She liked him. She enjoyed spending time with him. She thought about him more than she wanted to admit. It was just the fact that she might move again, that held her back.

At least she had next band practice to look forward to.

—

A week later, a familiar but unwelcome face appeared again.

Catie thought she had fled the country after her attempt to convince her dad that she was a bully. But, something was different. This time, there was no bravada, no 'hear me, see me'. She stayed quiet, no bragging. It was almost like she was trying to hide amongst her peers.

Maybe her mother had finally caught up with her lies?

Without thinking, Catie took courage and approached the liar and greeted her in Japanese.

Lila stood there, blinking before she greeted back in Japanese. At least she had practiced that much.

But when Catie continued to talk in Japanese, Lila became more uncomfortable. She excused herself, blaming how she was tired because they arrived home late last night.

Catie didn't buy that. But, she let the liar go since it would look really bad for her.

"I thought you weren't comfortable exposing yourself?" Alya came up once Lila had disappeared.

"I don't, and I didn't. Everyone knows I lived there and I remember you telling me that Lila spoke Japanese, and that I would greet her."

"How come you just thought of that now?" Marinette asked, as she had followed Alya.

"Well I…" Catie trailed off and looked down. Why was it so hard to talk about that? They knew, so why? Catie took one big breath before she spoke again.

"I was talking on the phone with a friend in Japan during the weekend. I just felt like talking some more."

"So that's why I couldn't get a hold of you." Marinette smiled. She wanted to invite her out, but it seemed like everytime she called she would only hear the beeps of a busy call.

"Yeah, but as I said, I was going to greet Lila in Japanese. And since I was in the mood, I did."

"And? What did you find?" Alya pushed for an answer. She didn't have to though.

Catie scoffed, and spoke loud enough that others could hear her. "She can greet in Japanese, but that's about it. Still, everyone can say hello and goodbye if they look it up. No doubt Lila thought about that. But the longer I spoke to her, the more I could see she didn't understand a thing I said." Catie crossed her arms. She wanted to keep planting seeds in the other students. And, since the cat was out of the bag that she was almost fluent in that language, what harm could it do? People were already talking about her anyway.

With that, Catie walked off. Marinette and Alya fistbumped behind the girls' back. Maybe her father had started to get through to her?

Catie wanted to speak German to the liar to see if she really had been there. But she couldn't remember if she told anyone except Marinette about her living there, so she opted out of it. At least it was known that she lived in Japan. As long as she used what now had become public knowledge, then she felt it was okay.

—

"Welcome back Lila. I see you're seated at the back of the class. I figure your tinnitus is better?" Ms. Bustier greeted the teen back. That had been a short trip.

"Thank you. It's fine for now. I hope I didn't miss too much when I was gone." Lila said in a silenced voice, not loud and proud like she used to. They could see that Lila was uncomfortable, and like she didn't want to be there. But no one came to her rescue.

"This lesson will be about…"

Catie's phone buzzed, making everyone look at her in class.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to put it on silent mode." Catie scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

Since the school knew her fathers work, they didn't bother with her turning the phone off in case of an emergency. But they had been adamant that it should be on silent mode so as not to disturb anyone else. Ms. Bustier gave a soft smile and went on with the lesson.

Catie looked at her phone, and raised an eyebrow when she noticed it was the group chat she had with Marinette, Alya and Nino. They still hadn't asked Adrien if he wanted to join for some reason.

Alya: Any1 thinks Lie-la is acting weird?

Nino: Now that you mention it.

Alya: Its like shes a different person.

Catie: I think it's because she came back before she was ready.

Marinette: What do you mean?

Alya: Yeah, wdym?

Catie thought a little before she typed her answer. It made sense.

Catie: She's been in hiding. Now she appears, but not all bragging and stuff. She's not prepared to be here.

Nino: Prepared? Like she didnt have a plan or somthng.

Catie: Something like that, yes.

Alya: Then maybe shes an easier target?

Marinette: Never underestimate Lila.

Catie: I agree with Mari.

Before anyone could type anything else, Adrien walked through the door. He excused himself and took a seat next to Nino, a little relieved and happy to see that Marinette sat behind him once again. Although he noticed the liar at the top.

Nino showed him the conversation they were currently having near the seat, mouthing that he will add him to the conversation as well. Adrien nodded and picked out his phone.

Nino: Dudes I finally got Adrien to join.

Alya: Finally! U was supposed to do that a long time ago.

Adrien: Hello. Let me just read through your convo.

Catie: Take your time.

It took him longer than he expected, since there had been a lot of back and forth between everyone. He didn't know what they meant by acting differently, so he had to ask.

Adrien: What do you mean she's acting weird?

Alya: U missed it. Catie can fill u in.

Catie: I'll fill you in at recess. Ms. Bustier is looking at you.

The quartet jumped at the same time, making Catie hold back a giggle. Their conversation died out for now.

Catie however, glanced over a few times at Lila during class. Discreetly of course. She noticed how the girl was fixated on Marinette and Alya, not listening to the class at all. Even when Adrien had arrived, she didn't let her eyes go anywhere else.

Catie shot one last message in their group chat before she put her phone away.

Catie: Mari and Alya, be careful. Someone is trying to kill you with their eyes.