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Blissfully unaware, Marinette took her steps toward her school. Everything seemed in place. From the Parisians going about with their respective schedules, the birds humming their own tunes, to the billboards with a particular blonde model posing to advertise every other product.

Her peripheral vision comprehended all this, and yet her body told itself to halt in her position the moment her gaze processed the scowls Kim and Alix were giving her. *What?*

She wasn't wearing anything odd, was she? Was it her hair? Marinette scrambled in her mind for a possible explanation on why her good friends, or people she considered to be good friends at least, were glaring at her. She was, well, confused.

"You know, I don't understand how someone can be so selfish," said Alix the moment she brushed passed her.

What the hell?

Kim added, "She's kind and she hasn't done anything wrong. How could you hurt someone who didn't even do anything to you?" 

"Guys?" Her eyebrows knitted together. "What are you even saying? I didn't hurt anyone."

What was going on? 

"Yeah right, like we would believe you." Kim scoffed, crossing his arms. 

"Sorry, Marinette. We can't be friends with a liar," Alix remarked before the two of them walked away, having said their piece and expressed their frustration. 

*They* were frustrated? The fucking nerve!

She didn't want to say that though. Even so, Marinette couldn't understand anything that was going on; it was all so unclear. There was someone behind this, and she knew it. She wanted to know what was happening as soon as possible. The first person that came to Marinette's mind, was Alya. Yes, she could ask her. She should know what was going on. Marinette *could trust her*.

She walked up the stairs, and each step her nervousness increased, her stomach churned. She was anxious and very uncomfortable being stared at. She was the center of attention, but in a manner not most would like.

People who were once her friends had eyes that appeared to peer into her soul and nit-pick at each and every flaw she had. Then mumbles that weren't so quiet dug into her ears, 'What a terrible person', or 'How did she have the audacity to say and do that to her'.

Who exactly was her?

As she went further inside, her eyes met Lila's figure. She was covering her eyes and sitting at a bench. And it was *painful to know* how fake it looked. Her body was shaking almost in an exaggerated way, and her cries felt only tiring to listen to. And once Marinette saw who was beside her, she saw Chloè Bourgeois, was comforting her.

Ah. So it's a set up.

Lila stopped crying and wiped away her fake tears. When she was absolutely certain that no one was looking, she went up to Marinette, whilst Chloè was sitting at the bench, crossing her legs and arms. "What is going on?!" Marinette fumed, her blood boiling.

Lila's eyes glimmered with mischief, before turning all innocent-like. "Whatever do you mean Marinette?" she asked like she didn't know what the other was saying.

"Why is everyone mad at me?" Marinette fought her own fist to prevent it from punching the other square in the face

She laughed, a cackle akin to a devil. "Play detective and find out." She sneered. "A little birdie told me you went on a date with Adrien, and if you ever go near him again, I'll make your life a living hell," she warned. She flipped her hair and walked back to Chloè.

Marinette approached Alya to truly clear the queue of questions lined up in her head. She and Nino flinched, as if they had seen a ghost. "Guys, I'm really confused, why was Lila crying? And why does everyone seem to hate me?" she questioned, puzzled. They were doing the same as the others did, looking at her like she was some sort of monster. 

"Marinette, I don't know if I can believe you, or if we can believe you," said Alya in a stern voice. 

"What do you mean? Alya, I don't understand what's going on, please believe me..." she pleaded, hating that she was the one having to beg for her best friend's trust.

Alya's angry look turned almost pitiful. But then she shook her head. "Don't play dumb Marinette, drop the 'Pretending to be innocent' act already." Nino began furrowing his eyebrows at her.

"Are you really telling the truth?" Alya seemed like she secretly wanted her to say yes. However, it was different to a best friend who could have, should have, and would have taken the side of her best friend without an ounce of hesitation.

"Alya. Come on. Whatever you think I did, do you really think I'm capable of doing it? For what reason? If it's that bad, aren't I the type of person to be aware of the consequences?" Marinette raved, frustration laced in her tone. 

Nino's face turned regretful, mirroring Alya's expression. "Okay, I don't fully believe you yet dudette, but I'll try to."

"Same here." Alya agreed. After a moment of silence, they looked at one another and Alya unlocked her phone, showing Marinette a picture. But it wasn't just any picture.

It was a photoshopped picture, of Marinette kicking Lila, and her, kneeling down covering her eyes. There was a voice recording as well, a voice that sounded *too much*, scarily, like her own, that screamed degrading things to Lila.

Even if she hated to, she couldn't blame the school for believing Lila over her. Especially because of the voice message. Marinette could barely fathom the lengths Lila would go through just to make her life miserable.

Even Rose, Max and Juleka, Ivan and Mylene were angry, in short, her entirety of friends hated her. She saw that it was Chloè that sent it to everyone in school.

Typical Chloè.

She's never going to change...

"They set me up. I don't know what shitty voice actor she hired, but I'll prove it's not me," said Marinette firmly.

"But how do you explain you always running off?" Alya folded her arms in suspicion. 

Marinette knew she was lying through her teeth, but it was for a good cause. "I told you that already, I help my parents at the bakery. There are special orders, huge orders are really unexpected, you know," she fibbed, rubbing her nape. "What else would I be doing?" 

"Oh I don't know, beating Lila up and saying a lot of offensive words to her?" Nino bared his teeth. 

"Guys! I told you, I didn't do anything. You know I hate her guts, but I would never hurt anyone like that, not even her," she defended, scratching her scalp stressfully.

"Alright, but you're gonna have to prove it sooner or later," replied Alya.

The school bell rang. Marinette dashed to Miss. Bustier's classroom. She could still sense the anger of her classmates. She sat in her seat, clutching her backpack protectively. Thank goodness Alya sat beside her; she was relieved. 

Adrien and Nino followed inside. Adrien looked as gorgeous and as perfect as usual.
 
Wait, what if he hates me too?!

He and Nino sat down in front of her and Alya. Adrien wasn't glaring at me, nor did he notice others being mad at me yet. He was just as ignorant as she was before she came in the school. Marinette let out a relieved sigh knowing Adrien hadn't heard of it yet. A notification was coming from Adrien's phone. 

She prayed that it wasn't Chloè, unlucky her, it was.

His facial expression contorted into confusion rather than shock. Even so, right at that moment, Marinette felt a pang of simple sadness. She hoped to the Gods that Adrien wouldn't believe any of it. She didn't hear what he was saying to Nino, so naturally, Marinette eavesdropped. Subtly, of course.  

"Marinette said it was photoshop. Me and Alya want to believe her though." She heard Nino say to Adrien. 

"Don't tell me you guys believe this?" He smirked, and it was an uncanny sight. "Marinette? Insulting her *this much*? Come on. You know how Lila is a complete liar." He scoffed. She was relieved at least someone believed her.

And it was Adrien! She wanted to squeal.

"Whatever you say dude," said Nino, shrugging as he chuckled a little. Adrien looked behind from his seat and made eye contact with her. WIth the sudden interaction, Marinette's cheeks warmed up and she smiled nervously. He smiled back, and turned back to his best friend.

Her gaze shifting to her right, there Lila and Chloè were, sitting beside each other and giggling, being surrounded by people. "And then me and Ladybug became best friends ever since! Too bad she wasn't there when Marinette beat me up," said Lila. As if it was a joke. As if it was no big deal.

Her acting makes me want to throw up my guts.

Everyone that surrounded her glared at her once again while Marinette shot them a 'What?' look.

With that, the blunette wondered where Sabrina could be. Marinette looked around and saw her at the back, sitting beside no one, looking miserable and alone. She felt bad for her. Reluctantly, Marinette went up off of her seat and went towards Sabrina.

Thankfully, no one was paying attention to her, as Alya was checking her views on the Ladyblog while Adrien and Nino were engrossed in conversation. No one was glaring at her either, as thhey seemed busy believing Lila and her lies.

"Sabrina?" She tried to get her attention. "Are you okay?" 

As she closed her agape mouth, she muttered, "I'm sorry..." Marinette raised an eyebrow, urging her to explain. "I helped them, I was the one that photoshopped the picture. I'm sorry, I was just worried I would lose my only friend," she confessed, and it was spilling out of her mouth like a waterfall.

"What?!" Marinette whisper-shouted. Sabrina nodded guiltily and bowed her head down in shame. "Thank you, for telling me Sabrina, but you know you don't have to be friends with Chloé right? You already have one friend.

"You have me," she said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You mean it?" Sabrina's eyes glimmered with hope. "You're really selfless. I hope you know that." She instinctively locked Marinette in a grateful hug, eliciting a contented sigh from the other.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, family problems," said Ms. Bustier hurriedly, walking into the classroom. 

"Good morning Ms. Bustier." Everyone, including me, greeted lousily. 

"Okay, let's start with attendance."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Marinette headed to her locker to get the book for Ms. Mendeleiev's class. While opening her locker and taking it, she heard a conversation and followed the sound of the people talking.

"Did Sabrina bring the red paint?" She overheard Lila ask. 

"How am I supposed to know?" Chloè retorted. 

Lila grunted exasperatingly. "Chloè, your gonna ruin our plan!" 

"Ugh, what were we talking about again?" Chloè questioned, filing her nails with a nail file. Lila groaned. 

Marinette took the opportunity and got her phone from her backpack, pressing record.

"You remember? The plan to ruin Marinette's reputation, finding out her embarrassing secrets, pour her hair with red paint, and for me to have Adrien? Hello? Do you have amnesia?" Lila explained. 

"What do you mean for you to have Adrien?!" Chloè responded, more vexed than ever.

"You, for you to have Adrien," Lila corrected with a roll of her eyes. "But if it weren't for your foolish and completely useless assistant, Sabrina, we would have embarrassed Marinette already!" Lila hissed. 

Marinette tried to restrain herself from lashing out and continued recording, her hands shaking in anger.

"Hey! Sabrina isn't utterly useless, and she isn't foolish either, she's my friend!" Chloè threw her nail file away, finally paying attention.

"Whatever, but our plan is kind of working, everyone seems to dislike her now." Lila sighed in relief. Marinette didn't want to believe it, but Chloè didn't seem to enjoy her suffering as much as Lila did. In fact, she looked slightly guilty, almost like Sabrina did.

To avoid the risk of getting caught, she stopped recording and ran to Ms. Mandeleiev's classroom early. Sbe knew Alya and Nino would be there by now, so she ran to where they were sat. 

"I...h-have...proof...!" Marinette told them in between pants, resting her hands on her knees, and trying to catch her breath. Alya and Nino looked at each other in disbelief and took the phone from her, before playing the video.

After watching the video, they sat there, looking at her, apologizing with their eyes. 

"Marinette, we're so sorry." Alya hugged Marinette, apologizing sincerely. "I should have believed you from the start."

Marinette sighed. "I didn't like that you sided with someone you barely knew rather than me. To *think* I would do such horrible things? I'll forgive you in the future. But I can't right now." She patted her back. 

"We'll make it up to you." Nino promised. They all smiled.

The bell rang, Miss. Mendeleiev came in, and Marinette sat in her seat. With that, their class began.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

It was lunch break. Adrien made his way to the cafeteria. He saw Marinette, Alya, and Nino there. He approached the three of them. He found it strange that the three of them were already hanging out again, when a few hours ago Nino was in disbelief of Marinette's innocence.

He sat down beside Nino. "Hey guys, did I miss anything?" Adrien asked them. 

"Oh, hey dude, Marinette showed us proof, and we apologized for doubting her," Nino explained simply. 

"We'd stop being friends if I were Marinette," he joked, his words followed by Nino's protests and the girls' laughter.

"Thank you for believing me Adrien, really." A pink hue painted her cheeks.

"It's no problem Marinette," Adrien responded jovially. Sabrina approached their table and after Marinette explained what happened earlier, the five of them started talking and asking questions to the orange-haired girl.

While the five of them were having a bright and cheery conversation, Marinette's previous group of friends, specifically Kim, Ivan, Alix, Max, Rose, Mylene and Juleka were confused about why the five of them acted like Marinette didn't do anything to Lila. 

So they all approached the five. "What are you guys doing with Marinette?" asked Ivan, causing Marinette to sigh. 

"I know guys. I believed it too. But don't make the same mistake I did. Marinette is supposed to be our friend, and you guys would believe those two rather than Marinette?" Alya snapped, defending Marinette. 

"But the pictu—" Rose was interrupted by the voices of Lila and Chloè in the video that Alya was currently showing them.

After watching the video, everyone apologized to Marinette for not believing her, and calling her selfish and terrible. "At least you guys apologized. We're all good," Marinette replied with a soft grin. 

They all went in for a group hug. After, they all sat down. "Hey, guys, check this out!" Alya got everyone's attention. She was playing a video of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting Luminex that Nadja and the camera crew were recording yesterday.

Every one sat beside Alya and they all looked at her phone. 

"Woah, look at Ladybug go!" Kim exclaimed. 

"She's so cool!" Alix punched the air excitedly. 

"I one hundred percent agree." Max held a finger up. 

"Awesome..." said Juleka.

Marinette blushed, and so did Adrien, as he was reminded of his Lady. The camera panned to Chat Noir using his Cataclysm on the akumatized object on Luminex and Marinette turned a darker shade of red. Adrien noticed this, and smirked.

In a few minutes, the video had ended, and Marinette was still as red as a tomato. 

"Ladybug was so cool!" Rose complimented the superheroine. 

Mylene commented right after, "The way she trapped the villain with her magic yoyo was so awesome." Marinette was secretly thanking them in her mind for all the sweet comments about her. 

But what about her Chat Noir?

"Hey guys, the way Chat Noir used his Cataclysm, cool right?" Marinette voiced out, a little pink from the mention of the superhero. It was as though Adrien's ears perked up, and he looked at Marinette like she was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. 

"But isn't he just Ladybug's sidekick?" Adrien smirked, milking the compliments shamelessly.

"Yeah Marinette, what do you find so interesting in Chat Noir?" Sabrina added.

"Sidekick?! Chat Noir is most definitely not a sidekick, and he's just as amazing as Ladybug"—she placed both of her hands on the table as if it would help her focus—"the both of them are partners, and Ladybug is not better than him, both of them are equally strong and wonderful. Plus, without Chat Noir, Ladybug wouldn't be able to purify one single Akuma. So you guys should credit him as much as you credit Ladybug," Marinette defended matter-of-factly. 

She left everyone speechless, especially Adrien. This was the second time she had said such nice things to him. "Mari, I am *sorry* for not giving Chat Noir as much credit," she paused for effect, exaggerating her apology, "but girl, the way you are defending him, it's as if you're in love with him." Alya smirked. 

"Ooohhh..." Everyone jeered teasingly while Adrien was patiently waiting for her answer.

"Uhh, dudette? Are you okay?" Nino asked the flushed Marinette. Alya realized what was going on. 

"Oooh, so you do like him!" Alya teased, nudging her. 

"W-what? A-Alya! You know who I like!" Marinette blurt out unintentionally. Adrien blushed. Everyone went silent. Everybody knew Marinette liked Adrien, only, they didn't know that Adrien was, in fact, aware of how Marinette felt about him. 

"Uhh, I-I meant to say, you know I don't like anyone!" Marinette saved herself last-minute, doing an awkward hand gesture. 

"Hahaha...right..." said Alya nervously, not wanting her best friend's secret to be exposed. 

All of them continued talking, and they had a great time. Adrien couldn't wait to fulfill his promise, and visit his princess. Meanwhile, on another table, there was a furious girl and the other one, painting her nails.

"She's dead." Lila growled. Chloè wasn't quite paying attention. She may have been painting her nails at the moment, but she was also deep in thought about someone who was once her best friend, silently regretting mean things she had done to her. She had always treated her like a slave. Chloè glanced at the table where Sabrina was giggling along with her new friends, and she frowned sadly. 

All of a sudden, Lila slammed her hand on the table and stood up, which startled Chloè a bit. Everyone on the other table, was leaving, except for Marinette. Lila saw that she was talking to something in her bag. But she shrugged it off and thought that Marinette was probably just being crazy.

Marinette saw Lila coming towards her. Immediately, she stopped talking to Tikki and zipped her backpack up. Marinette stood up and Lila pushed her to the ground. "Hey! What is wrong with you?!" Marinette tried to stand back up again.

Marinette rubbed her back, restraining herself from shouting because of the scorching pain. "Can't you behave?! I told you not to touch my man!"

"I never even went near him! Don't you think you've done enough to me?!" Marinette retorted, outraged. 

"There are consequences to your actions, Dupain-Cheng," Lila snarled. Since Marinette didn't have enough time to defend herself, she winced and moved her head in another direction ready to feel the agonizing pain. Lila was about to kick Marinette in full force, when her leg came to a stop. 

Strangely, Marinette couldn't feel the pain of Lila's kick, she opened her eyes and saw that Lila's foot was held by someone, but that someone wasn't Alya, Nino, and not even Adrien. 

It was none other than...

Chloè Bourgeois... 

A/N: Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate it <3

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Have a nice Day/Afternoon/Night...!

~3277 words~