Author's Note: Here I am. Apologizes for the long wait, but writing Marinette's explanation of Lila's lies to the Phantom Thieves took longer than expected. To be honest, it was a pain writing everything that had happened between Marinette and Lila, along with the Phantom Thieves' reactions to such incompetence morons the adults and classmates are in Marinette's life. Anyway, please enjoy and Happy Mother's Day.
It didn't take long for Marinette and the rest of the group to arrive shortly after Ren and Yusuke finished their discussion regarding a Super Liar. Apologizes were made if they had kept the two boys waiting, but the boys brushed it off as it wasn't important. To their relief, the restaurant wasn't crowded, and they were able to find a nice spot close to the window displaying a pleasant view of a dark, moonlit sky reflecting over the ripples of the calm, serene ocean.
Friendly words, playful jokes or plans on what to do tomorrow were exchanged. "Why don't we go to Honolulu Zoo?" Ann suggested, gushing at the idea. "I want to see some cute animals!"
Ryuji scoffed. "No way. Why don't we go hiking up the Diamond Head?"
"Because it's a long walk and my legs will ache if we climb a mountain!"
They only had two days left before going back to Japan, so it was a difficult decision to make, because both of their ideas do sound intriguing. "Alright, why don't we decide on it after dinner? We've got plenty of time." Makoto was quick to intervene before the two blonds start arguing.
Yusuke knew he shouldn't, but he wanted to cut to the chase and tell the others about Lila's threat. It's going to be awkward bringing up the confrontation in the lobby, that is if Marinette wants to talk about it. One look from Ren, who silently gave his support and encouragement, was enough for the artist to start gently tapping his glass with a fork. "Excuse me. Can I have your attention, my friends?"
Everyone at the table turned to look at him, whilst Ryuji spoke first. "What's up? You want to make a speech?"
Ann's smirk goes back and forth between the two bluenettes. "Oooh, I get it! Are you going to propose to Marinette?"
Instantly, Marinette's face glows bright red. "Whaaaa!?"
"Propose? No, that's not it." Though briefly stunned by Ann's joke, Yusuke's expression grew serious. "There is something I'd like to tell all of you... it involves a girl named Lila Rossi."
Everyone at the table frowned, half of them irritated and the other half confused.
Marinette tensed. This is not good. What did Lila do this time? Oh no. Did she tell a lie to convince Yusuke that she's a terrible monster? Is he going to accuse her of something Lila claimed she did?
"Her!? Why are you bringing up that bitch right now?" Of course, Ryuji didn't want to talk about her, given what he had seen that witch had done to Marinette.
Noticing Marinette's reaction and before his friends could begin fiercely demanding an explanation, Yusuke quickly corrected himself. "No need to worry. I'm already aware of her wicked nature. That's because I've witnessed it up close."
"What do you mean 'up close?'" Makoto questioned.
"I was waiting for all of you in the lobby when..." And so, Yusuke repeated the confrontation between him and Lila, which had occurred in the lobby whilst he waited for them. How she tried to flirt with him and portray Marinette as a heartless bully, until she made a complete turnaround when Yusuke refused to believe her absurd claims, gloating how she made Marinette's life a living hell and promised to destroy his reputation if he doesn't drop Marinette as a model and choose her instead.
As she listened, Marinette felt the color in her face drain and go white. Lila is going too far, this time targeting one of her new friends, simply for asking her to be a model for art. Okay, she was instantly relieved to realize Yusuke never believed Lila's manipulations in the first place. And Yusuke is very handsome, so any girl would jump at the chance to be a model. But for Lila to corner and viciously pressurize him, promising to ruin his life if he says no, was unforgivable. Deep down, she began to suspect this is her fault. If Marinette had turned down his request, Yusuke wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess. And now with Lila targeting him, who knows what she'll do to this poor boy.
"What the eff!" An infuriated scowl crossed Ryuji' features. "You're telling me that little psycho tried to frame Marinette as a bad guy, then threatened you when you refused to believe her!? Argh!"
"She even got you expelled too!?" Ren felt his body jerk slightly as if a bolt of lightning struck him.
Though she was very good at concealing her rage, it was plainly obvious for her wrath to be visibly seen Makoto's fiery red irises. If she thought Chloe was bad enough, then that Lila girl definitely takes the cake. She and Ren did witness her bullying Marinette that one night. How can someone so young be so evil?
"That little... Grrr! I wish I could strangle her!" Ann growled, biting her lower lip. Then, a look of concern flashed in her eyes. "Wait! Did she try to hurt you, Yusuke?"
Yusuke smiled, calmly brushing off her fears. "Worry not, Ann. I'm perfectly fine." It was then he observed how strangely quiet Marinette had become, especially the guilt-stricken pain on her face. "Marinette, are you okay?" His words brought her attention back to him. "I apologize for bringing it up and I understand if you don't wish to discuss it, but from what she said, I cannot let this slide."
"But Lila did imply she's going to manipulate your class against you somehow," Marinette cut in with a dreaded frown. "If she's done it to me, then she'll have no problem doing the same thing to you! And if anyone should apologize, it should be me..." she sighed, sadly. "Lila has it out for me, and you're getting caught in the middle of it. I'm sorry, Yusuke. Perhaps if I had turned down your offer-"
"Stop it." Yusuke didn't want to hear it. She has nothing to apologize for, never did anything wrong. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a soft and tender smile. "You're not at fault here. Lila is the one to blame."
"But... what if... Lila will try to..."
"We will keep our eyes and ears open, should she try to pull something," Ren added. "Besides, Miss Kawakami and our classmates aren't as ignorant as yours when Lila tried to lie her way out of punishment with a fake disease. So, there's no way a Kosei teacher and students would-"
"Hold on!" Did Yusuke hear his friend correctly? Or was he just hearing things? His brain processed what Ren recently said. "What's this about a fake disease?"
"Oh yeah, you weren't here when it happened. It was last night..." Now it was Ren's turn to explain the events of yesterday, when he and Makoto had caught Lila harassing Marinette and injured the poor girl's arm. Both of their classes got involved; Lila's group of supporters instantly took her side with no questions asked, Miss Kawakami verbally tearing Miss Bustier and her students to shreds for not only not investigating the incident properly, but for believing a crazy excuse like this rare disease which forces Lila to lie about her behavior, accusing them of taking drugs.
Yusuke stared incredulously at his friends, then back at Marinette in brief silence. "You're telling me they actually believe such a ridiculous paper-thin lie, just like that?"
"I'm afraid so," Marinette admitted.
He grasped the temples of his forehead, feeling a little headache coming on and wondering how absurd those French people really are. "Is there anyone who is at least sensible enough to not fall for those ludicrous fairy tales?"
"There is my best friend, Zoe Lee. She's not in my class, but she's stuck by me when everybody else abandoned me. Adrien knows too, except..." she hesitated, "he betrayed me for Lila."
The group's eyes widened in disbelief. A few of them, given what they've been through regarding betrayal, somebody having the audacity to betray Marinette to protect Lila isn't hard to imagine. Ann voiced everyone's thoughts aloud, "Say what!?"
"Who is this Adrien dude?" Ryuji asked.
"A boy in my class, blond hair and green eyes," Marinette described, should her friends ever encounter him. "He's the son of Gabriel Agreste."
"Gabriel Agreste? Oh, I've heard of him!" Ann's eyes lit up, recognizing the name. "He's the CEO of a very popular fashion brand. I think I saw his son's face in some magazines or looked it up online before."
"Yep, that's him. Anyway, Adrien is in my class. Although, I kind of had this big crush on him in the past. Despite his siding with Lila, I still had feelings for him," she blushed, until it ended when she cringed with a pained frown. "But now I wish I never did."
"But why would Adrien betray you? Did Lila persuade him somehow?"
"Adrien just likes to see the good in people, especially the bad ones. You see, Chloe was his only friend since childhood." Ignoring the group's surprised reactions, Marinette continued, "Even though he has witnessed her toxic behavior multiple times, Adrien never intervenes to protect me or my classmates. All he ever did was make excuses for her. And now with Lila in the picture, Adrien is under the delusion that her lies are harmless, told me to stay quiet and-"
"Is he for real!? He doesn't know JACK SHIT those lies ARE harmful!" Ryuji shouted furiously, causing some onlookers to stare at him.
Glaring, Ann smacked his arm to tone down the volume and be mindful that they're in a public place. "Be quiet! Do you want to get us thrown out?" The ex-track runner calmed down and mumbled an apology.
A waitress had come over, but not to scold them for being loud. Just to take their orders. The gang eventually selected what they wanted to eat or drink, and the woman left when she had finished.
"Okay, time out! I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here and missing the point," Makoto cut in. "We know Lila is a malicious liar, and not a very good one, if people actually used common sense, they would realize there's no such thing as a lying disease, but what I'd like to know is when all of this started." She looked expectantly at her companion. "Marinette, how exactly did you find out she's a liar?"
"It's a long story." Hesitating, Marinette remained quiet for a moment. She hated talking about every single horrible thing Lila has done to her. It brought back terrible memories.
As if reading her mind, the student council president's gaze softened. "I know it's not easy to talk about it, but the more you keep it bottled up, it will only get worse. We want to help you, Marinette. Nobody here will judge you."
Feeling the tiny paws of Tikki and Kaalki poking at her side, Marinette discreetly noticed the looks of encouragement on the faces of the two kwamis peeking through her purse slightly ajar. Marinette took a deep breath and exhaled softly. "All right..." she began. "It all started when Lila first came to my school. Everyone was talking about the accomplishments of a new girl named Lila Rossi, and how amazing it was that this Lila person has been in Prince Ali's private jet and Jagged Stone wrote a song for her."
"Wait a second!" Ryuji cut her off, not rudely. "Are you talking about THE Jagged Stone? The rockstar?" Though confused, the girl nodded, and his face beamed enthusiastically. "I practically a fan of his music! It's so cool!"
"Other than that, you said Lila made a claim that Jagged wrote a song for her." There was something wrong with that part of the story which Makoto greatly disliked. "A claim like that could land Mr. Stone into very serious trouble with the law. If it was actually true, he could face the danger of being accused of pedophilia," she reasoned, behaving in a manner similar to her sister's prosecutor traits. "Even if it was proved to be a false statement, a scandal like that could destroy his reputation. He could sue Lila for libel or slander, which could get her into trouble with the law."
"Oh, goodness..." Marinette gasped. She never thought about that. If that happened to her honorary uncle... Wait, what about her alter ego, Ladybug? "Well, I know that he wrote a song for Ladybug, but nobody knows her age."
"Even so, that's completely different. It still doesn't excuse the fact that what Lila said will only ruin Jagged Stone's career."
"And I've personally worked with Jagged Stone before, did some commissions for him too. He's never said anything to me regarding a teenage girl named Lila."
"FOR REAL!?" Simultaneously, Ann and Ryuji leaned forward, stunned yet also amazed that someone as talented as Marinette has actually made commissions for a famous celebrity.
"You truly do have an impressive gift for designing," Yusuke complimented warmly. The smiles on Ren's and Makoto's faces said they believe the same thing.
Marinette blushed. "Thank you." Now to get back to the story. "Well, after hearing those stories, I asked Alya about her. You know Alya is my... eh, was my best friend. She's a journalist and she's the one who created the Ladyblog. She showed me an interview that she had done with Lila claiming to be Ladybug's BFF. I got suspicious about that, so I asked Alya if Lila was really telling the truth, and she said, 'A good reporter always checks her sources.'"
"And did she?" Makoto questioned, sensing where this was going.
"No, it was obvious she never did. Who the heck in their right mind would post such a dumb story on the world wide web? It's like Lila is basically saying, 'I'm an official target for Hawkmoth now, but I don't care! I want people to adore me!' Everyone in my class believes it, but nobody bothers to question it."
The Japanese kids exchanged one incredulous glance to each other, until Yusuke broke the silence, "Someone who spreads a false rumor such as that just speaks volumes of what kind of person Lila is. Someone who wants to be the center of attention and will lie to do it."
"Guess that makes her a narcissist," Ren chimed in. He had seen his fair share of dirtbags who happened to be total narcissists ever since he had become a Phantom Thief.
"There's also the fact that such a fabrication is incredibly dangerous," Ann added. "Hawkmoth could use it to put Lila or her family in danger. Even if it was proven false, it won't stop him from endangering them to draw out Ladybug."
"No offense, Mari, but Alya is not exactly what I call journalist material. Posting a story full of crap online is just stupid!" As he spoke, Ryuji's face hardened, thinking back to the confrontation last night. How can a girl like that, one who used to be Marinette's best friend and want to be a journalist, abandon her for some brat who tells false stories?
"I know. Anyway, after watching that video, I got suspicious, like I mentioned already. Who is this new kid telling everyone she's Ladybug's BFF? And I've never heard of this Lila girl until recently. When I finally saw her, I've never seen her before, but she was talking, no, flirting with Adrien..." Hesitating, Marinette cringed, worried if they will dismiss her, should she reveal her actions involved her obsession with Adrien, just like Alya and Nino did once.
With a gentle pat on the shoulder, Yusuke urged, "Go on." The look in his eyes encouraged her to keep going.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Marinette said, "I already told you guys about how I had this huge crush on Adrien, and I feared what would happen if he fell for Lila. Back then, I was crazy attracted to Adrien, but I always panicked whenever I tried to confess to him, and I couldn't say the correct words without looking like an idiot. On top of that, I would get jealous of any girl who tries to flirt with him. Alya and the girls in my class would often get together to concoct these hair-brained schemes in order to help me confess, or to make sure no other girl gets too close to him. It made me do insane things in the name of love... things I'm not proud of."
"You shouldn't fret over it," Yusuke soothed, rubbing her shoulder. "I have done things that I'm not proud of, either." He gestured toward his friends. "We all have. But learning to admit one's fault and outgrow it is what makes us human." Everyone else nodded, silently acknowledging the artist's words rang true.
Instant relief for Marinette. His words and their kind faces eased her heart. Nobody dismissed her, because they listened to her without judging her due to an old crush. "Well, in the library, I saw the two of them looking through a book that belongs to Adrien's father. From what I soon learned, it's an old book about superheroes. She then repeated the same lie she told Alya about her 'friendship' with Ladybug and that caught Adrien's interest, offering to talk more about it later in the park. But she secretly stole his book when he had to leave for fencing practice, that's when she found a page about a fox hero, and she somehow found it very intriguing. When she left, I still followed her. She stopped by a jewelry store, went in, and came out with a new fox-tailed necklace she just purchased. She still had the book with her when she got to the park, so to get rid of the evidence to make sure Adrien doesn't know, she threw it in the trash."
"She did WHAT!?" Ren shouted in disbelief. The reactions of his friends mirrored the same as his.
"Yep, she's willing to go too far to make her stories believable. I knew how special that book must be to Adrien, and I just had to get it back. I didn't want to get caught, so I waited, but I caught onto more parts of their conversation. Lila claimed that not only did Ladybug become her best friend because she saved her life, but they had something in common - they're both superheroes and Lila is a descendant of a vixen hero called Volpina!" Marinette's tone dripped of sarcasm. "Lila boasted how Volpina was one of the most important superheroes in the world, even more so than Ladybug. She said Ladybug doesn't even make the top ten, even though she claimed they're best friends not just three seconds ago! That's when she showed him the necklace, the one she just bought from the jewelry store, claiming it's a Miraculous her beloved grandmother had given it to her."
"No way! She actually said those things?" Ann shook her head, her fingers gripping the temples of her forehead. "And he believed her? It should've been obvious to Adrien that she was straight up lying to his face!"
"Yeah, well, I was really furious when Lila said that. However, Ladybug saved me the trouble of telling her off, because she did it herself. She appeared out of nowhere and yelled at Lila, not the least happy when she heard of their so-called friendship and everything else. She made it very clear that she never saved Lila's life and they're not best friends. When Adrien questioned if she wasn't the descendant of a superhero, Ladybug smirked and said she was more like a super liar."
"She's right about that!" Ryuji happily agreed. "That bitch is a real super liar."
"I'm glad you think so. But after Ladybug called her out, Lila shouted back, 'How dare you!' and ran off, acting like everything she did was Ladybug's fault." That part, Marinette knew she did react harshly and wished she had handled it better.
"Just a minute!" Yusuke exclaimed. "Did Adrien ever scold Lila for lying after Ladybug exposed her?"
"Well, no..." Marinette admitted. "He lectured Ladybug instead. She just said how much she hates liars. Remember what I told you about how he wants to see the good in people?"
"Yes, you have. Such a naive mindset would allow callous people to take advantage of him, and that's exactly what Lila had done." The artist's expression shifts to guiltily disappointment. "I was once that way when I had lived under Madarame's tutelage. He had done the same thing to me; except I turned a blind eye because I saw him as a father figure."
When she heard that familiar name and what the boy recently said, realization dawned upon Marinette when she mentally put two and two together. "You're talking about Madarame, that same phony artist who got busted by the Phantom Thieves?" That also meant... Oh, God. "You were his foster son!? And he treated you so badly! That jerk!" She shook her head. Bad Marinette. Poor choice of words. "Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up!"
"It's all right, Marinette," Yusuke said softly. "I've learned to accept that man is nothing more than a despicable fiend who wears the skin of an artist. I thank you for your heartfelt concern, though."
After that, Marinette resumed her story. "After the three of them left the park, I retrieved the book out of the garbage bin and took it home to clean it. Fortunately, there was nothing damaged or gross in the pages. I was going to return it to Adrien, until I heard Lila got akumatized into Volpina, a fox-themed akuma who could trick people to believe she's a superhero and create illusions. I don't know the details, but Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to defeat her." She hated lying to cover her alter-ego, but she's gotta keep the secret. "The next day, Lila disappeared from school and Adrien's dad had pulled him out of school as a punishment because he had lost the book."
"WHAT!?" Everyone at the table stared at her, stunned.
"Pulling a kid out of school is too extreme of a punishment," Makoto theorized. "Didn't your school try to stop him?"
"Nope! Adults who are wealthy aristocrats or CEOs, especially the mayor, are practically allowed to do whatever they please, mostly because they have the authority to either destroy someone's reputation, get them fired or sue them."
Once again, the group unleashed a collective groan of disgust, along with sharing infuriated glares. Is every adult who lives a rich life a total asshole? Are the teachers at her school a bunch of worthless cowards? The answers to those questions were painstakingly obvious: yes.
"I'd also like to mention that Mr. Agreste is..." Marinette paused for a second, "an incredibly strict, overprotective man who controls Adrien's actions and schedule. He had changed drastically following the disappearance of his wife. I went to the Agreste manor and returned the book, but I never told Mr. Agreste that Lila stole it, so I kind of took the blame." Before the incredulous Japanese kids could ask why she would do that, she put up a hand to stop them and explained, "I know I should've told the truth, but I felt bad for Lila when she got humiliated and akumatized. Now that I look back, if I could fix things, I would've exposed her to Mr. Agreste."
"All right, so you wanted to try being nicer to her," Ren understood. "You didn't know her really well and you wanted to give her a chance."
"That's right, and after that, Adrien was allowed to return to school. As I said before, Lila disappeared ever since the Volpina incident, never came back to school for months. It was on Heroes' Day when she FaceTimed the whole class claiming that she's out 'traveling' with her mother to the Kingdom of Achu and helping Prince Ali with his charity work to help the environment. But I knew she was lying, because if you looked close enough, she was just posing in front of a measly poster. Sad thing is nobody believed me when I tried to tell them this, assuming I was only jealous because of Adrien."
"They seriously said THAT to you!?" Ryuji exclaimed in disbelief. "C'mon, they should know better that jealousy has nothing to do with you calling out her bullshit."
"Hold on!" Yusuke cut in. "I remember seeing an incident on the news regarding Achu. Prince Ali was trying to help unfortunate orphans, nothing was said about saving the environment. While it's good to help protect our earth, such a fabrication could have persuaded people to donate to a charity that doesn't exist. Has it not crossed people's minds that Prince Ali could be accused of charity fraud? If it were disproven, he too could sue Lila for slander and libel."
Oh, damn. Marinette froze. "I'll confess that thought never crossed my mind. But what you said actually makes sense, Yusuke." Her face turns red, embarrassed for not realizing that as well.
There was something else wrong with this story which caught Makoto's attention. According to Marinette, Lila had disappeared for months, said to be traveling in Achu with her mother. If so, did nobody at school think of contacting the girl's mother? If she asks, Makoto had a bad feeling what the answer would obviously be. "Uh, Marinette, when Lila left school and made that FaceTime chat, did she ever leave an absence slip or parental note explaining the reason for her disappearance? Or did your homeroom teacher or principal try calling her mother?"
"Not really, no." Marinette's confirmation proved the student council president's suspicion correct.
Just like Makoto, everyone else reacted incredulously. This whole thing was becoming ridiculous. If they thought Shujin's teachers were pathetic (with the exception of the great Kawakami), then Dupont's teachers are the absolute worse.
"Bad enough they let Chloe get away with it, but now they practically never fact-check whatever nonsense Lila says to them or what she's doing." Groaning, Ren facepalmed, feeling a headache coming.
"Yeah, I get what you're saying," Marinette sighed, though relieved to know they're more people like her who understand how dull it is to have incompetent teachers in their lives. "Anyway, when Lila finally came back to school..." Marinette cringed. Here comes the part she dreaded. "The seats were changed without my knowledge, and an open seat was close to Adrien. I asked Alya if this was arranged just so I could sit next to my crush, she said no. I found out that it was for Lila because she claimed to have tinnitus in her ear, after getting it from running onto an airport tarmac saving Jagged Stone's kitten."
"Seriously, a cat!?" Ryuji exclaimed, shocked. "The dude owns a crocodile, it's basically all over the news and on the internet! And if she had tinnitus, she should be deaf!"
"If it were true, I doubt any airport would carelessly allow an escaped pet or stray animal, much less a child, to wander onto a tarmac," Makoto theorized. "Airports are very strict with their security these days." That brought up another question. "Now what about your teacher? Did Miss Bustier ever ask for medical notes to confirm Lila's claims?"
"Never did." Marinette frowned. "Everyone in my class believed her, including my teacher."
Oh, good grief! What the hell is wrong with those people? The Phantom Thieves began either aggressively grumbling or massaging their foreheads, headaches approaching or wondering if the intelligence level of the teachers and students has been damaged as a result of drugs.
Marinette caught on to what they said but didn't argue. "I guess everyone's intelligence level drops whenever Lila opens her mouth. Maybe Lila is the drug everyone is taking." That was meant to be a joke and, fortunately, everyone chuckled in agreement. "Anyway, I was told I need to move to the back. But I knew that she was lying and made it up so she could next to Adrien, who I noticed, didn't like the idea of sitting next to her at all. But does he protest? No, he doesn't! When I tried to point this out, Miss Bustier asked me if I had a hearing problem as well."
"Perhaps your teacher is the one with the hearing problem, considering she doesn't listen to you at all," Ann grumbled, and others voiced their agreement.
"Maybe so..." Marinette had to admit that statement doesn't sound farfetched. "Well, I told her my hearing is just fine, and Lila garnered sympathy for herself by turning on the waterworks to make me look like a bad guy in front of everyone. Adrien never defended me, and neither did Alya, because all she cared about was sitting next to her boyfriend, Nino. I had no choice but to sit in the back. At lunchtime, I watched people carry her lunch trays and other things because Lila claimed her wrist was sprained with whatever nonsense she told them. I tried to tell Alya and Nino how I know she's a liar, but because it involved my interest in Adrien, neither of them wanted to listen because it wasn't helping my case."
"But they should've listened to you and give you the benefit of a doubt!" Ryuji argued.
"I get that, but I'll admit my crazy crush on Adrien didn't help at all," Marinette sighed. "Alya demanded if I have proof, even though she never had proof from the start. I did something stupid and tried to disprove the lie by chucking a napkin at Lila, which she easily caught. I grilled her about it, asking if her wrist was feeling better, and that's when she painted me as the bad guy for hurting her. Made up a stupid story that she saw a man in India getting his eye gouged out by a napkin once! And Max, who sat next to her, is supposed to be the smartest kid in class. He wears glasses, but he believed her and thanked Lila for saving his eye. But not before Markov, his little robot friend, confirmed that napkins do gorge out eyeballs, even though he's a working A.I."
Okay, now this was getting crazier for the Phantom Thieves by the second. Napkins gorging out eyeballs is just insane! Not only that but a boy who is supposed to be a smarty-pants actually believed something that stupid. Even his robot believes that crap? Perhaps this Markov was either low on batteries or just designed to be dumb.
"Everyone got mad at me for hurting Lila even more and never gave me the chance to explain myself. I ran out of the cafeteria and hid in the bathroom because I was so frustrated that every time I tried to call Lila out, she twists the situation to play the victim card, and everyone sees me as the villain. I started to cry, but I had to calm down because I knew negative emotions could draw in an akuma. That's when Lila followed after me, and she tried to play nice and 'make peace,' said she'd even help me out with Adrien. I refused, of course, and told her off, saying I wasn't going to fall for her lies. And she..."
"She revealed her true colors, didn't she?" Yusuke deduced correctly, remembering what the wench had told him earlier. "Said she only tells people what they wanted to hear."
"Bingo!" Marinette confirmed, suddenly looking distressed. "Lila is fine with me not being friends with her, but said I'll never get close to Adrien, in or out of school, then cornered me against the wall with this evil grin on her face, giving me the choice to either become her friend, or I would lose everything and everyone, said that I have until the end of the day to make my choice. After she left, I was nearly akumatized. I managed to shoo it away, but it got Lila instead and a whole lot of trouble ensured, but she got away with as usual!"
The Phantom Thieves' minds reeled with horror at the sheer magnitude of the threat Lila made towards Marinette. Just like how Yusuke described when he got cornered and threatened by that tramp. Neither of them could fathom how someone close to their age can be so cruel and evil. To make the promise of misery and harm to this sweet girl without a shred of remorse, simply for not falling for her lies is a petty, selfish motive.
"Well, after the akuma incident was dealt with, I wanted to call out Lila when she claimed her tinnitus was in her right ear when she said this morning it was in her left ear. But Adrien stopped me, and asked if calling her out was really a good idea and making the bad guys suffer doesn't redeem them. He said, 'as long as the two of us know that she's a liar, does it really matter?' While I knew what he said was wrong, but my crush for him blinded me, so I didn't tell him Lila threatened me in the bathroom and let him talk me into taking the high road by stayed quiet, so that Lila can lie herself into a corner she won't escape from."
"Marinette, it DOES matter that the two of you know she's a liar!" Ann exclaimed in a rage, though she wasn't as loud as Ryuji was. "By telling you to keep quiet and let her get away with it, Adrien is practically enabling her! You said it before that he let Chloe do whatever she damn-well pleases because of their childhood friendship, and now with Lila in the picture, despite knowing what she's like but doing nothing, he's made it perfectly clear that he values her feelings more than yours."
Marinette frowned, sadly. "I... I know. But like I said before, my crush for him blinded me, and I didn't want to disappoint him. Anyway, the seats in our class went back to how they were before, and Lila got sent to the back instead. But she confronted me again, promising to make good on her threat and now we were at war. At first, I believed in my friends, and they would soon realize on their own that Lila is a malicious liar, but I perhaps I never knew them at all..." She took a breath, exhaling softly, knowing the worst part of the story is coming.
"What happened?" Ren gently prodded.
"It's when she got me expelled..." she sniffled, feeling the tears prick the brims of her eyes. Oh, how she hated to think back to that awful day. But, crying right now won't help. She needed to let them know. "It was only after my class and I had finished a test when I got called out by Miss Bustier, due to receiving an 'anonymous tip' that I stole the answer sheets and cheated. Obviously, I never did, so I had no problem allowing her to search my bag. And guess what? She found the answer sheets in my bag. I knew it was Lila, because she began to mock me when she accused me, which I tried to disprove, but Miss Bustier scolded me for accusing people without proof."
"Even though she's the one accusing you without proof?" Yusuke's disgust was clearly shown.
"Exactly! At first, my friends tried to defend me, but it wasn't enough. Miss Bustier sent us both to the principal's office. Lila gloated at what she's going to do next before casually walking down the stairs, curled up and started wailing crocodile tears about me pushing her. She never got examined by the nurse, but Principal Damocles took it upon himself to bandage her leg."
"Are you serious?" Ren gawked, unable to register what he's hearing.
"Does your principal have any medical training at all?" Makoto questioned, and when the answer came as an obvious no, she rolled her eyes and facepalmed.
This was very alarming to the Japanese kids. This principal and miss Bustier never bothered to get Lila medical attention which could have easily disproved her faking her nasty fall? Just how dense are those adults? This is severe negligence.
"Next, my parents got called to the school, but not Lila's mother. Mr. Damocles didn't want to disturb her because she's a diplomat who's always 'too busy' with embassy work to be bothered by a phone call, is what Lila told him."
"Say what?" Makoto's eyes widened; disbelief shone in her eyes. "It's a common procedure for the parents of both kids to be present for incidents like this! But it's absurd that they're taking everything Lila says at face value." She thought for a moment, until realization dawned on her. "Unless Lila doesn't want her mother to find out what she's been doing. If her mother was there, she could've easily disproven of Lila's fabrications."
Marinette nodded. That's what she thought as well when Lila made sure nobody tried to contact her mother. "The final nail on the coffin is when Lila started accusing me of bullying her ever since she returned to school from her 'lovely trip to Achu to help Prince Ali with his charity work' and stole her family heirloom necklace too. Soon, the principal and my parents gathered together the entire class and Miss Bustier with them to the locker room-"
"Just a minute!" Makoto cut in, totally stunned. "You're telling me that you're principal willingly allowed the entire class and your teacher to accompany him, you and Lila to the locker room!? And your parents gave their approval to let that man make a public spectacle of the accusations against you!?" Seriously, no school should be doing this sort of thing.
"That's right, and might I add that when Lila joined us, she was clearly fine, walking like normal. But nobody cared, since everyone was so eager to see the 'proof' of my stealing from their 'beloved angel.' Let me tell you this: there are no locks on those lockers, and anyone could have, and has, gotten into my locker despite my multiple requests to have it fixed that I've submitted have gone ignored. Because Lila's necklace was found in the locker and now everyone thinks I stole it earlier. I tried to plead my case, but Principal Damocles didn't even allow me a chance to defend myself before he publicly expelled me in front of my entire class, my teacher and my parents! All of a sudden, a whole swarm of scarlet akumas appeared out of the blue, and I was nearly akumatized, and there was a thought that, which I admit, I really did want to kill Lila for what she had done to me. However, for some strange reason, Hawkmoth suddenly ceased the transformation and the akumas abruptly vanished."
In a brief moment of silence, the Phantom Thieves stared at her in shocked horror and disbelief. Infuriated scowls etched on their faces - scowls that would definitely scare off the people who unfairly condemned Marinette in the locker room on that day, if they were there.
Ren and Yusuke never said a word, their expressions could only be described as a storm caused by their wrath, if they had caused storm, they would make sure those traitors drowned. Ann and Ryuji sat frozen stiff with looks of enraged disbelief, mentally imagining themselves getting revenge; the panther-themed thief using her whip to knock some sense into those jerks or the pirate-themed thief delivering a huge bolt of lightning to blast them into oblivion.
Questions swirled around inside Makoto's head, frustration rising and secretly wishing she had performed her Fist of Justice on everyone in the locker room on that day. She knows she shouldn't think such thoughts, but her emotions were getting the better of her.
Why wasn't the principal fired sooner for not conducting a private, proper investigation before passing judgement on an innocent girl?
Is the mayor practically pulling strings, illegally, to make sure Chloe's enabler kept his job?
Why did Miss Bustier take the whole class with her when no teacher is allowed to do this?
How can Marinette's parents allow their daughter to be publicly humiliated on the spot like that?
Witnessing the reactions of her friends, Marinette drew back, a little terrified. Feeling some movement in her purse, she discreetly stole a glance at her two kwamis; their reactions matched that of their guardian at the sudden change in the Japanese kids' behaviors. Seeing new people get angry on Marinette's behalf was nice to know because they truly cared, but also utterly fearful.
"It's like they have decided that everyone who has turned on Marinette has chosen death..." Tikki mumbled to Kaalki, who nodded silently.
Afterward, Marinette cleared her throat and nervously tried to calm everyone down, hoping neither of them blow a fuse and go after Lila on her behalf. "Uhh, guys... can you try not to think about going on a warpath right now?"
Realizing their scary faces were frightening the poor girl, the Phantom Thieves quickly calmed themselves down and apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you like, but it's just..." Makoto spoke up on everyone's behalf, "what happened to you... you didn't deserve to be treated like that and we kind of had vengeful thoughts regarding the people who treated you so badly."
Marinette smiled appreciatively at the girl's apology and kindness. "Thank you. Well, Alya did try to investigate on my behalf, but she insisted Lila had nothing to do with my frame-up and didn't believe me. The rest of the class just turned their backs on me... so did Adrien, because he never called me. My parents never tried to believe me and had me work in our family bakery until I find a new school." She could still remember the saddened looks of disappointment on her parents' faces when they told her this and her pleas for innocence completely dismissed.
"You'd think they'd try to help their own daughter after what those idiots did to her? But nooo!" Ryuji growled. "They barely know Lila and decide to trust her word without question!"
"I know, it's a pain! Well, the next day, for some strange reason, my expulsion got reversed because Lila suddenly claims she has a 'rare disease' that makes her unable to control the things she says. Pretty sure she mentioned it to you guys last night when you confronted her."
Everyone nodded with an eyeroll, except for Yusuke, who was already told of this earlier.
"Lila had no proof to back up her claims, but Principal Damocles and my parents believe it. Shortly after I got home, I was shocked to see on TV the story of Gabriel Agreste's newest muse who recently joined his company and is working as a co-model alongside Adrien - Lila Rossi. My parents were quite happy for her, to which my mother said something like, 'in spite of her disease, she gets to follow her dream.' I couldn't believe it! It's like Lila is literally saying 'Suck it up, Marinette. I've won.'"
The Phantom Thieves' eyes blazed with fury. What the hell!? All of a sudden, the bitch gets a modeling job on the day after she got Marinette expelled? Now THAT sounds suspicious. Though being a liar, she must've persuaded Gabriel to hire her somehow. And Adrien, the boy who knew the truth, has not once spoken up in Marinette's defense and is still enabling Lila's actions.
However, the common knowledge that adults willingly and blindly believe Lila's story of the fake disease was starting give them headaches. For example, Yusuke massaged his forehead and said, "My apologizes, Marinette, but I suspect the theory of drugs involved could be the reason behind the idiocy of those so-called adults."
"Me too!" Ann wasn't hesitant to agree. "I mean, a lying disease!? Who the hell in their right minds would believe something so stupid!?"
"Not even Adrien stood up for you, just left you to the wolves so he can keep taking his shitty high road and protect the super liar!" Ryuji grumbled through gritted teeth. "Pisses me off just thinking about it."
While Marinette hated to let anyone badmouth her loved ones, she couldn't disagree. They were correct. The hotel manager, Miss Kawakami and those Japanese students do have a fair reason to suspect drugs are why her friends, her parents, her teacher and the principal blindly believe Lila's insanely pathetic fabrications.
"Not only that, but the term 'muse' is being used for an underage girl by a grown man like Gabriel..." Makoto stated professionally. "If the public, nor do your parents, don't care how inappropriate, creepy and sexual that sounds, it just screams volumes at how completely insane they are! If it were real, Gabriel could get labeled a pedophile. And THAT is a hard title to get rid of. I'm honestly shocked that Lila's mother nor Child Protection Services haven't investigated him for supposed pedophilia when that announcement was first made." He stole a hard glance at Marinette. "Have they?"
Though stunned by what she said and understood what she said rings true, Marinette shook her head sadly. "Nope."
"Oh, God!" Listening to this just made Makoto want to punch something.
"I mean, after everything Lila has done to me, nobody cared about how I felt! Not my friends! Not my parents! Not even Adrien!" Marinette snarled, almost similar in manner to a cat, which would've made Chat Noir impressed. "But I still have Zoe... she's the only friend I have left in that sorry excuse for a school!"
Those last words made Ren and Ann jump slightly. Yep, the blonde had said the exact same thing back when she confided in Ren regarding Kamoshida's sexually harassing her and Shiho left to suffer in the aftermath. Seeing the girl's face in front of them beginning to mentally crack due to frustration and her eyes glassy with oncoming tears broke their hearts.
"Lila was their new class princess, and most likely princess to all of Paris now that she's a famous model, so of course they would believe her, ignoring the fact I had helped them a lot in the past." Marinette's voice grew increasingly stressed and broken. "Ever since then, things haven't been the same. I started avoiding my friends, especially whenever Lila was around. I don't spend time with my parents anymore. My feelings for Adrien died when I realized what a coward he is, it's obvious his true friends are the bullies!" It was this point she could no longer hide the tears as they rained down her cheeks like two mini-waterfalls. "Argh, I've had enough of this! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
For the first time in who knows how long, she was letting it all out: pain. The pain of betrayal and heartbreak. The pain which she had been forced to conceal for France's sake. No akumas around in attempt to brainwash her, either.
Nobody said a word at the table, waiting patiently for Marinette to finish crying out her feelings. When she was done, Ren kindly offered her a napkin for her to dry her eyes. She accepted it, whispered a small thank you before wiping her face.
"Marinette, listen to me..." the boy's voice carried a traced mixture of gentle and firm, "you're not alone. Each of us have gone through the same hell as you have. Even when we fought back against injustice, society was quick to label us as abnormalities or troublemakers, mostly because of some selfish bastard's manipulations. Each of us have suffered alone, when we were in our darkest hour. When we met, we bonded after we realized how similar we all are. We kept moving forward and kept on standing up for ourselves, refusing to let society's whims and disdain hold us back. And even though we won't see you again when this trip is over, we will continue to support and help you, no matter how far apart we are. It's time you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, start moving forward and fighting for yourself. "