Disclaimer: Seeing as Wattpad only has two ratings, I find it necessary to put this at the beginning of every chapter. This story is rated teen. Basically, if you can see PG-13 movies without your parents permission then you'll most likely be old enough to read this story.So please, don't message me saying this story is inappropriate for me/ my child. You have been warned.  That being said, enjoy this chapter!

"Why would he still continue to hide if he was going to tell us he would reveal?"

"He may not be ready yet! Or he thought he was ready, but chickened out!" Marinette Dupain-Cheng fumed.

"Let me leave you with this. You were all tricked by him before when he promised a reveal. Who's to say that he's not still tricking us? I guess we'll never know since he won't come out of his mask."

"You're one to talk 'worshipping masks' look at yourself Hawkmoth! We're not the only ones wearing masks! Where's your reveal? How dare you talk about Chat like this you-." A hand clamped down over Marinette's cutting off her insults.

"Calm down, Marinette." Tikki fretted as she used her other hand to pause the video. Mari groaned.

"Do you promise to compose yourself?" The young publisher asked her client. Marinette nodded and Tikki let go.

"Sorry Tikki, but how could Hawkmoth talk about Chat Noir like that?" It was early in the morning and Marinette and Tikki were sitting in the former's living room to discuss Hawkmoth's video. Tikki had watched it the night prior and had called Marinette immediately to set up a meeting ASAP. She had gotten there the next morning to find that the young author hadn't seen the video yet.

"It's just another tabloid, Tikki. The only difference is that this one is pairing Chat Noir and I together for whatever reason." Marinette had told her, confused why her publisher was so alarmed by this. To her surprise, Tikki had shook her head vigorously.

"This is not just another tabloid, Marinette." She had replied and now they were watching the report together. Said report had pissed off Mari and Tikki needed her to calm down.

"That photo has got to be a fake and shouldn't his sales be private? I should reach out to him, as Ladybug of course, to make sure he's okay. Oh the poor guy. I can't imagine what's going to happen to his videos. I wonder who he's feeling about this right now. Will he be okay Tikki?" Marinette looked so distraught, Tikki wanted to cheer her up right away.

"I-." She started but got caught off.

"He'll be okay, he has to be okay. But what if he won't be okay?" Marinette stood up from her couch and started to pace around the room.

"Why did Hawkmoth only attack Chat? Why not me? It should've been me, how will he handle it?" Marinette sat back down and looked at Tikki forlorn. "Is there anything we can do?" Tikki put her hand on Mari's hand, trying to comfort her before what would come back.

"While your concern for Chat is admirable, we have bigger problems." Marinette looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" Tikki nervously tucked a piece of curly dyed candy hair behind a charcoal ear. Her purple eyes distraught.

"You never finished the video. That was Chat's portion, your request about being attacked by Hawkmoth is about to come true. Just watch." Marinette gulped as she pressed the play button on the video.

"But Chat Noir isn't the only one who's guilty. There's another celebrity who's loved just as much as Chat and hides behind a mask of her own, Ladybug. Everyone thinks that Ladybug is incredibly innocent, right? Her only fault is the cliffhangers she leaves readers on, but she's supposedly a kind-hearted and compassionate person. Well, just check out this clip from an interview that took place last week." A photo of Ladybug's response to her opinions on Lila appeared on screen.

"As I quote, 'Lila Ross is a sham. She's a true disgrace to both the writing and journalist world. She's a pathetic liar. Stop reading her articles immediately.' Does that sound innocent, people of Paris? Ladybug is even more unknown than Chat Noir. She may sound kind in interviews, but don't let that illusion cover your eyes. She showed her true colors here and you're worshiping her." Another photo appeared on screen, Ladybug's book and merchandise sales.

"Statistics show that on average, not including books, people have at least 10 pieces of Ladybug merchandise in their household."

"How?" Marinette sputtered. Tikki just shook her head and smiled sadly.

"He got Chat's merchandise sales, too. I have no idea how it happened."

"As for her books, it's an average of three a household and she's only published five books! Of course she'd have an ego! People of Paris, Ladybug think it's appropriate to ridicule this young author because you have shown her the power she holds. It starts with this young girl whose done nothing wrong, but before we know it, Ladybug herself will be the only person safe from her tyranny." Marinette's jaw dropped, flabbergasted.

"Wha-bu-huh?" She sputtered, having lost the ability to speak in full sentences.

"But! Put her in her place, show her she doesn't have the power to rule over you all and we can end her tyranny. Now you can call me a fake, a phony, but I'm not wrong. You worship Ladybug and Chat Noir, deny it all you want, but you know that you'd be nothing without these idols." He stared straight at the camera. His harsh blue eyes seemingly boring into Marinette's soul, or so it seemed. "Prove me wrong Paris, I dare you." Then the video disappeared.

"Tikki..."

"Yes Marinette?"

"What are we going to do? I don't have social media, only an email that will probably fill up with hate mail." As if on cue, Marinette felt a buzz in her pocket. Sighing, she pulled out her phone. Sure enough it was a hate message.

"I don't know Marinette, but I'm sure we'll think of something! In the meantime, you as Marinette, should continue as normal, after all this video is hurting Ladybug's reputation, not Marinette's. No one can know your identity, especially now."

"Not even my parents?" Marinette asked.

"Not even your parents." Tikki responded.

Marinette's parents didn't know that she was Ladybug. She hadn't intended it to be a secret forever, but she had decided to write under an alias when she thought she was entering a harmless school competition, but she had gotten the email addresses wrong and had accidentally sent her entry to Tikki instead. Tikki had loved the work and asked if she could publish it. Marinette had, of course, said yes planning to tell her parents shortly after that, and then Ladybug became Paris' #1 best-selling author. Now, after being Ladybug for a little over two years, her parents still didn't know about the only secret she kept. But, Marinette could deal with the consequences of keeping her secret from her parents later, she had more pressing matters to deal with now.

"I understand, Tikki." Tikki stood and hugged Mari.

"I have to go now, but I'll be sure to keep in touch." Marinette showed Tikki out the door and then headed up to her room to get ready for work.

She pulled her midnight blue locks up into a bun and got dressed in her normal work outfit. A puffed-sleeved white blouse with pink flowers strung together by a black vine at the cuffs and a pink skirt that went down to the black ankle boots Marinette wore. Marinette always wore black earrings, a black necklace, and a black bracelet to accent the vine that strung the pink flowers on the blouse together.

Of course this wasn't the exact work uniform Slice of Paradise required. For waitresses only a white puff-sleeved blouse and a long skirt was required, the rest of it was up to the waitress herself. The owner and boss wanted to have variety in the outfits to represent the variety of food Slice of Paradise serves. Marinette had made hers and had given Alya a matching one, only with red flowers and a green vine instead of pink and black.

Fifteen minutes later, she entered the cafe on Pierre's Row using a side entrance that was employees only.

"Hey girl!" Alya waved at her as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hi." The cafe was yet to open and Marinette didn't necessarily be there for opening, but ever since she got in trouble with her boss a few weeks ago, she was trying tirelessly to get back in his good graces.

"You're here early today." Alya commented. Marinette was normally late, even to her regular scheduled shifts, so the fact that she was here before her shift even began was abnormal.

"Anything to get back on M Damocles good side."

"I still believe he blamed you for what happened with Lila. At least she got what she deserved. Go Ladybug, right?"

"Go Ladybug." Marinette replied weakly. Alya picked up on her best friend's lack of enthusiasm. Say what you want about her punctuality, but Marinette had a firm belief in justice.

"You alright girl?" Alya asked, her eyebrows knitting in concern. Marinette didn't want to lie to Alya, but Tikki's warnings flashed through her head.

'No one can know your identity, especially now.' She had said, sighing wishing that she could tell the whole truth, she replied to Alya's question.

"Yeah, yeah, just tried. I'm not used to being here this early." It wasn't exactly a lie, just not the whole truth. She was always late to her job due to oversleeping. She couldn't help it, once she got to writing or designing passionately, she wouldn't stop until 2 or 3 am.

"Uh-huh." Alya looked at her skeptically. Marinette could tell that Alya didn't believe her and she needed to change the subject quickly. Luckily, there was one subject that never failed to get Alya talking.

"Speaking of Ladybug, have you seen Hawkmoth's video yet?" Marinette inquired. Alya's mood went from skeptical to annoyed as soon as the word Hawkmoth left Marinette's mouth.

"Unfortunately." Alya crossed her arms.

"What, uh, what are your opinions on it?" Marinette knew that Alya was a huge Ladybug fan, but Hawkmoth was very convincing, even Marinette, who was Ladybug herself, had a hard time not seeing reason in his words.

"Like I explained to Adrien and Nino earlier, it's a load of bullcrap, but not a lot of people will see it that way."

"Oh, so you were with Nino this morning?" Marinette smirked. Alya's blush suddenly became evident on her cheeks.

"He promised to show me his office." Alya's voice was shy, for once.

"Is that so? What did you guys do while he was, ahem, 'showing you his office'?" Mari slyly asked. Alya's cheeks exploded. It wasn't often Marinette got to see her fellow waitress lose her composure, and she was loving every minute of it.

'Serves her right.' Mari thought, smirking. 'She teases me all the time, payback is long overdue.'

"Marinette!" Alya scolded her and Mari let out a laugh.

"Relax, Alya, I'm only teasing."

"Hmph." Came the reply. Feeling somewhat guilty about her friend's discomfort, Marinette decided to change subjects.

"So, you got to meet Adrien?"

"Yeah! He seemed really nice! I told him that we need to all hang out together sometime."

"Oh, you did?" Mari asked nervously.

"Definitely!"

"Well, uh, that may not work out, you know with the bakery and here." Marinette told her. 'Not to mention being Ladybug.'

"Mlle Césaire, it's time to open." Their boss, M Damocles came striding into the restaurant. "Mlle Dupain-Cheng, what a pleasant surprise to see that you are here this early!" Mari broke out into a huge grin, glad she pleased her boss.

"Of course, sir." Alya went out and unlocked the door and changed the sign from "Sorry, we're closed." to "Come in! We're open." She then headed to the receptionist desk, seeing as it was her shift.

Marinette knew that Alya's heart belonged in publishing, but that didn't mean she wasn't passionate about her work. Alya worked full-time at Slice of Paradise, staying for at least 9-10 of the 15 hours the cafe was open on most weekdays. Mari couldn't understand how that girl could do it. Of course, she wasn't also a famous Parisian author who now had a reporter trying to destroy her reputation.

Marinette frowned, remembering how Hawkmoth had painted her and Chat Noir as villains. She couldn't shake the feeling that Lila had something to do with it all. She had come up in the report after all.

Mari wondered what Chat Noir was thinking about all of this. If he was just as worried about her as she was about him. Not that it mattered. She didn't care if he was pacing the floor, wondering if he could help out Ladybug in anyway. She didn't care if he was concerned on his behalf, if he was trying to figure out a way to help her, to protect her. She didn't care if those dazzling green eyes were focused on a screen sending out an email to her, checking up on her. It didn't matter to Marinette if he hadn't stopped thinking about Ladybug since the moment he watched the video. Nope! Not to Marinette Dupain-Cheng!

Marinette sighed to herself. Even if he was sometimes annoying, she was worried about Chat Noir. Most of his fans liked him for his looks and his puns, not so much his content. Ladybug, on the other hand, became famous before anyone even knew what she looked like, much less her persona. Mari knew that they would both suffer from this, but Chat's fans would take less convincing to leave than Ladybug's. Luckily for Hawkmoth, Ladybug was less known than Chat. While Chat's personality shown through on every video, it was hard to see who Ladybug was besides the rare interview and she always kept her answers rather vague.

The consequences seemed to even out. Chat Noir was more known, but he had the fans that would take less convincing. Ladybug was an unknown, but her fans seemed to enjoy her writings, despite knowing very little about her.

"Mari!" Alya's call broke her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see that a large family had just walked in. 'Can you get these guys? Please?' Alya's eyes begged her.

Marinette smiled and walked over to Alya to grab a handful of menus and then lead them to a large table, reserved for groups like them.

"Here's where you will be sitting." Marinette set their table. Then another group walked in for Mari to handle and then another and then another.

'Good, this is good.' She thought to herself as she led her tenth party to a table. 'Get your mind off things. Focus on work, don't focus on Hawkmoth, or Chat, or the fact that your email is filling up with tons of hate mail.' Marinette had turned off her mail notifications as soon as she headed off to work. She had checked it one last time and saw that there were over 2,000 new emails right before she went into the cafe. She had scrolled down a little ways to confirm her suspicions. They all were hate mail. She hadn't bothered to check her email after that.

Even though the day was busy, busier than a normal work day, her mind still strayed to Chat Noir. She thought about how worried he must be. What if he relied on his videos for money? How could Hawkmoth do that? Chat seemed like the type of person who wouldn't want to offend anyone, how could he have gotten on Hawkmoth's bad side? She sighed to herself as she walked back to the kitchen to give the orders to M Damocles.

"Hello and Welcome to Slice of Paradise!" Alya greeted the next group.

'A waitresses work is never done.' She thought to herself. Throughout the day she kept on trying to find a good moment to reach out to Chat, but has been failing miserably so far. It was as if the universe was just conspiring against her.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, her shift ended. Alya's shift, however, would not be over for another half an hour, so to pass the time she decided to go to the coffee shop across the street.

After changing from her work outfit to a baby pink turtleneck with exposed shoulders and black leggings, she stepped into Coffee and Cream and took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the coffee grinds and pastries. The baby blue walls and mahogany tables with black steel bar-stools were a comforting sight to Marinette.

"Hi Mari!" A voice greeted her as she walked in. A boy with bright red hair and equally bright blue eyes was standing behind the counter.

"Hey Nathaniel." She stepped up to the counter, and opened up her purse to get out her Coffee and Cream members card.

"The usual?" He questioned. She nodded.

"You know it!" She was a regular at the coffee shop, often coming in after her shift to write or design. Nathaniel's schedule seemed to line up with hers, so he was often behind the counter whenever she entered the cafe. She stepped up to pay as he got out a strawberry danish from the glass case.

She then sat down in a large black chair with a mahogany table in front, right by the counter where you picked up your order. Mari pulled out her phone and decided to clear out her email. She'd have to start doing it daily if everyone thought it would be proper to send her their opinion on Hawkmoth. She was surprised to see that some emails were asking her if she were okay or claiming that they would always read her books, no matter what Hawkmoth claimed.

"Mari?" Nathaniel had her drink in his hand. She smiled up at him and grabbed the cup.

"Thanks Nath!" She said. She took a long drink as she continued to scroll and delete emails.

Her mind strayed back to Chat again. What type of whiplash was he experiencing? Was his email as full as hers? Probably not. His email wasn't the best way to reach out to him.

Nevertheless, Marinette planned to send out an email to him the second she was through with cleaning out hers. She just needed to figure out what she was going to say. It would be the first time they'd talked with each other and first impressions were very important.

Marinette was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't see it and once she did, she couldn't believe it was there. She read it again and again and again just for good measure making sure it wasn't a trick of the light or her over-active imagination. But no, there it was sitting in her inbox.

Taking a deep breath and summoning all of her courage she pressed on the banner.

To anyone else in the coffee shop, she would appear normal, but Marinette Dupain-Cheng was anything but. After all, no normal girl in Paris would get an email from a certain cat-themed chef asking for help.