"Hey, Paris, it's your girl Alya! Coming at you live with a special interview with the one, the only, Ladybug!"

Alya sighed happily, rewatching the interview yet again that morning, legs kicking back and forth on her bed.

It had been a rough night - her akumatization had freaked out her parents, especially her older sister - but with an apology to Chloe, they agreed to at least give her back her phone so she could text her friends during her suspension.

It hadn't been all bad, though - having the whole house to herself was pretty nice. It was all strangely quiet with even her sisters gone, and after lounging in bed until noon, she was sitting on the couch in her pajamas with last night's interview on repeat over a plate of toast and eggs.

"Hi, Paris! As you know, I'm Ladybug - the one who's been catching butterflies," Ladybug had joked, her nerves belied by her friendly demeanor. "My partner isn't here, but I don't know if he'd be as keen to be on camera..."

Alya hummed a tune, taking another bite of toast. With enough pleading, her parents had allowed her to watch the news (though they had been heavily against it - she could venture a few guesses as to why).

The very first face she saw when turning to that channel was the Mayor, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief as he decried the previous day's events, hugging Chloe close as she put on a sad face for the camera. (She rolled her eyes - though Ladybug had her apologize, she still didn't feel so sorry. All of Paris knew what kind of girl she was, didn't they? No real harm had been done, right?)

"Paris won't stand for injustice," the Mayor was saying, drawing her attention away from the interview again, "Paris won't stand for tyranny. Last night's akuma was yet another reason we must take a stand and bring Hawkmoth to justice for his crimes against France. Already, I'm in talks with the president about..."

"...bad things happen to good people. I want the people of Paris to know that there is nothing to fear. Your emotions are real. Your feelings are real. Just because some guy with a few butterflies decides to use your pain against you, it doesn't mean you're a bad person for giving in. Everyone has their breaking point. Even me."

There was a knock at the door, making her accidentally drop her forkful of egg back onto the plate. Huffing a sigh, she set it aside and got up. "Hang on!"

Making her way to the door, she opened it, eyebrow raising in surprise at the faces of Marinette and Rose. "Oh. Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

"We got a day off, courtesy of the mayor," Rose answered, fiddling with her jacket sleeves. "Uh... are you okay?"

Alya blinked. "Me? I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, it's just... you were... y'know..." Gesturing uncomfortably, the blonde shrugged her shoulders loosely.

"We're here to deliver a message," Marinette cut in, giving Rose's hand a sympathetic squeeze. "Well, two, actually. Can we come in?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, c'mon in." Stepping aside, the girl raised a hand. "Sorry about the mess. I was eating breakfast."

"It's fine. Unless you wanted us to stay and chat, we were only going to be here a minute." Marinette paused in the hall and ran a thumb over the envelope she was holding. "So. First message. Given you were a victim of Hawkmoth - well, an akuma - Nurse Sissi wanted to invite you to join her akuma victim therapy group."

"There's a therapy group?" Alya echoed in surprise. "So that's where Nathanael and Sabrina have been disappearing to every so often."

Rose smiled a bit. "Aurore and Mireille talk about it a lot - since the year's started, I think it's really helped them emotionally deal with being used like that."

"Huh." Nodding slowly, the girl admitted, "That makes a lot of sense."

Marinette's smile faded. "Next... the bigger message." She hesitated for a moment, but finally held out the envelope.

As soon as Alya's eyes fell onto the item, a strange sinking dread formed in her gut. Where had she seen this envelope before...?

Slowly, she took it in her hand. Turning it over, her brow furrowed. It was held shut with a sticker, one of a white shield with a red outline.

She looked back up at her best friend, and the serious look on her face made the cogs turn.

"Is... this...?"

Marinette gestured with her chin. "Open it."

Nodding slowly, she slipped a nail under the sticker and pulled. Once the flap was free, she pulled out a piece of neatly-folded paper.

Mlle. Alya Cesaire, Your recent actions have been greatly displeasing to hear of. As a class representative, it's your duty to be an example for your peers. At this, you have failed. We are not giving you this to inform you of any decision to terminate your position as class deputy. However, we do want to warn you of one thing: Follow the rules, and you will be fine. Do not draw undue attention to yourself where you don't want it.

She read it once, twice, reread it with a furrowed brow for as long as it took for the words to sink in. Then, she looked up.

Rose was focused on the TV, a gentle frown on her face. Marinette was looking right at her, looking about as serious as she ever could.

"I got that on my doorstep this morning," she explained. "You hardly even need me to tell you who sent it... right?"

"You weren't kidding when you said the student council was... enigmatic," Alya replied quietly, scanning the letter again. Heaving a sigh, she inquired, "Why didn't they just give it to me?"

Marinette shrugged loosely. "All I can guess is that it would be too suspicious for any of them to just leave it at your doorstep. The council's identities are hidden for a reason."

"Namely, Chloe," Alya guessed.

"Not just her. Staff." Marinette's light frown darkened into a sour bitterness. "There have been incidents in the past that could not have been resolved cleanly had the council been known."

Alya paused in sweeping her eyes over the letter again to look up at her friends. Marinette's scowl had dipped down to sear the carpet and Rose had stiffened, fingers absentmindedly twirling in her short blonde hair.

The atmosphere weighed heavily on her shoulders, so tense that she puzzled her mind over what to say to break the uneasy silence. The TV was still droning on in the background, some speech that the president was making or something, and the Ladybug interview had long since ended.

Suddenly, all three jumped as the blonde's phone began ringing, a loud rock tune that Alya faintly recognized.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, it's Juleka," she stumbled over her own words with a rushed giggle as she fished out the electronic. "Excuse me!"

As she rushed out the door, shutting it a little too loudly behind herself (and meekly reopening and shutting it more quietly with a murmured apology), Marinette and Alya exchanged slightly bewildered glances.

Then, the girl huffed a laugh. "So, uh, Rose. She and Juleka... are they... y'know...?"

To her relief, this seemed to drag Marinette out of whatever contemplation she'd been in, because she cracked a smile. "No, not yet. I guess we're all just... waiting for one of them to work up the courage to confess."

The two shared a smile as they made their way to the living room. Alya settled down with her plate and the dark-haired girl sat beside her, peeking at her phone. "You've been watching the interview?"

"Nonstop." A beaming grin spread across her face, impossible to stop, and she took another bite of her now-cold breakfast as she picked it back up. "I can't stop watching it. I just can't believe that I actually got to talk to a hero! A real hero!" She grabbed her friend's shoulders and shook her a little in excitement. "It's like getting an autograph from Majestia! Majestia, Marinette!"

"Is she really that great?" She laughed goodnaturedly, resting her hands atop Alya's.

"Are you kidding? Paris seems to think so too. Have you seen the people talking about last night's attack on social media! I've never seen so many people making threads about why it was stupid people even thought Chloe was Ladybug in the first place!" Once the words had come out, she wilted a little. "Thinking back on it, I feel pretty stupid for believing it could be true."

"Hey, it wasn't totally your fault. I admit, it would be kinda strange if some heroes kept showing up, beating magic monsters, and leaving without a trace." Resting a hand atop Alya's shoulder, she smiled kindly. "Kind of like in comic books. I wouldn't believe it unless I'd seen it myself."

The brunette leaned her head against her friend's, lips pressed together. "But what if I was right?"

After a second of silence, she continued. "What if... what if it really had been Chloe? What if she had actually fooled everyone into thinking she was this... amazing person with the power to save?"

Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but after a thoughtful moment, closed it. Had she not been Ladybug... would she really have written her off?

Then, she replied, "... It would probably take a miracle for Chloe to change her tune overnight. I doubt even she would have acted like Ladybug if she had a Miraculous. The power would've gone to her head."

Huffing a tiny laugh, Alya nodded. "I guess you're right. I do feel bad for what I did..."

"Well, Chloe likes presents."

"Is that what it takes?" She finally sat up again, fixing her friend with a disbelieving stare. "What, you throw stuff at her and she stops being mad at you?"

The front door shut and Rose's footsteps got louder. Marinette's face grew exhausted as she approached. "Look, Alya... as much of a brat as she is... she didn't become like this by accident."

A frown dampened Rose's expression as she pieced together what they were talking about. "Who, Chloe? Yeah, her dad isn't very nice..."

"Her dad? But- but the guy's a total pushover!"

"That doesn't mean he's nice. Or good." Rose shook her head, hugging herself. "Whatever Chloe wants, she gets. It's how he keeps her from being upset at him. She knows now that if she acts out she gets in trouble, but... back in elementaire... that was how she got her dad to look at her."

Alya looked from one girl to the other. "Is... that the 'incident' you keep talking about? Rose, did she hurt you?"

The blonde's eyes were suspiciously shiny as she swallowed. "Y- yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Chloe went too far one day. That's all." Marinette's voice held an edge to it, a gleam of something resentful in her eyes as she glared at the floor. "That's why Miss Bustier got reassigned to collège and it's why Chloe stays far away from Rose and I. The principal knows that if she acts out, and more people complain, the mayor would get a lot of angry people calling for him to resign, and it might actually stick this time."

"I remember that protest," she breathed. "It was all over the news in my home town."

Rose nodded glumly, and her fingers went to her short, thin hair again. "Well, anyway, that was in the past. Let's talk about something happier! Like, uh... Christmas is coming up! We're doing a Secret Santa, right?"

"Oh! Yes, that's right!" Marinette brightened up and patted the couch. "I have the list ready to go for Mme. Bustier to go over on Monday. I'm really excited."

The bespectacled girl tilted her head. "You guys do Secret Santas here?"

"Well, not always. But Mme. Bustier thought it would be fun to try. Besides, we probably need something cheerful to distract from Hawkmoth right about now." She frowned. "December brings a lot of joy, but a lot of sadness. There will be a ton of akumas to fight, I just know it."

"Marinette, can I please, pleeeeeease get you to give me Juleka's name?" Rose clasped her hands together, a full pout on display.

"You know your puppy eyes won't work on me!" She laughed, gently shoving Rose by the shoulder. "You'll just have to wait until Monday~!"