Chapter Text
Chapter One: Oops
Lila slammed the red, steel door in Marinette’s face, sending the poor girl stumbling backwards. Lila stared through the reinforced glass, smiling innocently at her confused classmate. The school had invested in better security, considering the frequent akuma attacks that occurred there, so there was no way that Marinette was getting through this door; once an alarm had gone off, it could only be opened by someone on the inside.
And that someone happened to be Lila.
Lila smirked and waved as Marinette pounded on the door, yelling.
“Sorry, dear. I can’t hear you through all this metal,” she taunted.
Marinette yelled again, and when Lila saw her wide eyes and pale face, she temporarily faltered.
“Go on, Ladybug. Transform if you’re so scared,” she said, but her voice had lost its mocking edge. “Don’t just stand there like an idiot! He’s coming!” She pointed through the glass at the latest villain, a man who’d somehow gained the ability to throw explosive plants. The power made no sense to Lila, but that wasn’t going to stop her from exposing Ladybug for her lies, just as Ladybug had exposed Lila.
Ladybug pretended to be a brave, kind hero, that cared about the people of Paris and always saved the day. Lila was the only one who knew that this was all a lie. She was the only one that knew that Ladybug wasn’t a hero, and was instead a clumsy pushover that destroyed everything in her path. Lila knew that Ladybug wasn’t always on top of things like she pretended to be, but instead was an irresponsible mess that was constantly late or missing from class. She wasn’t a star citizen; she was a selfish brat that allowed herself to be antagonized by Chloe and bickered with her constantly. Lila knew this, and she wanted the world to know it, too.
But seeing Marinette as frantic as she was now weakened Lila’s resolve.
“Fuck. What am I doing? She’s going to get killed out there!”
Lila pushed the lever on the door, but it didn’t open. She paused, eyes wide, then slammed herself against it.
Marinette whipped around when she saw Lila point. Her eyes locked on the Gardener (what a horrible name, Hawkmoth really wasn’t very creative) and Chat Noir, as the Gardener chased the hero into the courtyard where Marinette stood.
Marinette really shouldn’t have left her earrings at home.
But Alya had been so excited to give her these new ones, because, she’d complained, Marinette only wore the same, boring pair every day. Fearing her own clumsiness, Marinette had promised Tikki that she’d see her immediately after school as she removed the earrings and hid them away where no one would think to find them.
Now, Marinette was stranded, with no indestructible suit to protect her, and no way into the basement with the other students. Meanwhile, the villain threw exploding vegetables, and he and Chat Noir were battling in front of the only exit from the school.
What a wonderful situation.
Marinette took a deep breath to force herself to calm, clenching and unclenching her fists. She needed to find an exit point, and fast. She considered trying to slip past Chat Noir and the Gardener, but she eliminated that idea as soon as she’d thought it. There were too many stray bombs, and she wasn’t comfortable with how high the odds were that she’d get blown up. She glanced left, to the stairs. She could probably run up there and hide out, but once she was up there, she’d be cornered. If she needed to escape, she wouldn’t be able to. The only other thing she could think to do was taking cover in one of the lower level classrooms until she could escape out the front.
Marinette looked around, then sprinted for the nearest door, on her right.
“Watch out!” Chat Noir yelled, and Marinette ducked. She tripped and fell over as a bomb went flying over her head, sailing through the window of the classroom she had been seeking shelter in.
“Oops,” Marinette said, raising an arm to protect her face as the bomb went off inside the classroom.
Lila looked up from her phone when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes and removed an earbud, turning around to face the person that had felt the need to interrupt her favorite song.
“What?” she spat, glaring at the girl that stood in front of her.
The girl looked taken aback, her blue eyes widening in surprise at Lila’s venomous response. Lila looked her up and down, taking note of her lean, athletic frame, black pigtails, and big, blue eyes.
“Ladybug,” Lila commented offhandedly, smirking when Marinette faltered.
“E-excuse me?” Marinette stuttered, and Lila’s suspicions were confirmed.
“She has the same hairstyle as you. Do you look up to her or something?” she asked, so Marinette wouldn’t think that she was on to her.
“Oh,” the girl said with a smile. “No. I don’t. Anyways, uh… I’m Marinette. I know that you had a rough first day, so I was wondering if I could help give you a better first impression of the school?”
Lila looked her up and down again. This girl was, without a doubt, Ladybug. So why was she coming over to talk to Lila? Lila had made sure to tell her loudly and clearly that she would never become friends with her. She had embarrassed her in front of Adrien, and that wasn’t something that she was willing to let go after some stupid apology. Ladybug must feel guilty, she realized. Ladybug felt ashamed for humiliating Lila in front of her crush, and Lila thought that was hysterical.
“Are you asking to be friends?” Lila asked bluntly, cocking an eyebrow.
“I-I mean, I g-guess—”
“And w-w-why, exactly, would I want to be friends with you, Marinette? What do you have to o-o-offer me?” Lila demanded cruelly, mocking Marinette’s nervous stutter. “You have the fashion sense of a five-year-old and you seem like a total pushover. I don’t associate myself with people like you.”
Lila popped her headphone back in and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned her back on the red-faced girl, sadistically satisfied with the devastated expression on Marinette’s face.
Lila opened her eyes slowly, groaning. She lifted her head, rubbing her eyes as she scooted into an upright position. She blinked her eyes a few times and looked around, noticing that the red, metal door in front of her had been blown straight off its hinges. She patted herself down, checking for injuries, and sighed in relief when she found nothing but a few bruises.
She stood up, dusting off her pants, before freezing.
“Marinette!”
She dashed out of the hall, glancing over her shoulder as she did. The other students were still in the saferoom at the end, it appeared, because there was no one else in sight. She slipped and nearly fell when she took the turn too fast, searching through the rubble to try and see her classmate. The Gardener and Chat Noir were no longer fighting the courtyard in the center of the school, and appeared to have made their way outside. This was good, because it meant that Lila couldn’t get blown up.
After a moment, Lila spotted a hand sticking out from under some beams and rocks, and her stomach flipped.
Fuck. She hadn’t meant to kill the girl! She just wanted to scare her! She wanted to force Marinette to transform in front of her, so that she knew that Lila knew she was Ladybug!
Lila picked her way through the rubble, kneeling at her side. Marinette’s lower half was pinned under a large wooden beam, but she didn’t appear the be trapped otherwise. Lila checked her for a pulse, and felt a wave of relief when she found one. She bit her lip, then hooked her shoulder under the wooden beam. She pushed up with all her strength and used her legs to kick and roll Marinette out of the way. Then she dropped it, panting, and crawled over to Marinette.
She rolled her over and placed Marinette’s head in her lap, smacking her cheek.
“Marinette, wake up,” Lila said, smacking her face again.
Marinette’s face scrunched up and she grunted, turning her face away from Lila’s hand. She opened her eyes, locking them with Lila, then jerked up and out of Lila’s lap. She scrambled to her feet, swaying, and stumbling to the nearest wall for support. She grabbed her face and leaned over.
Lila opened her mouth to tell Marinette to lay down, since she probably had a concussion, but then realized that it was much more fun to watch her enemy stumble around like a baby deer.
Lila crossed her arms over her chest and stood up. She heard the door to the saferoom burst open and heard footsteps come barreling out as students came charging down the hallway. Mrs. Bustier must have gotten the all clear from the town that the akuma attack was over and let them out.
Naturally, Alya was the first to come bursting out, but it wasn’t for the reason that Lila first guessed, which was to see Ladybug.
“Marinette! Oh my god, there you are! I saw that you didn’t make it to the shelter and I was scared the akuma had hurt you!” she yelled, grabbing Marinette’s shoulders.
The black-haired girl looked up at Alya, then at Lila. She remained silent, until Mrs. Bustier stepped out into the courtyard, followed by the rest of the students.
“Mrs. Bustier, what happened?” she asked, and Alya scowled as she was ignored by her best friend.
“I’m not sure, Marinette. I didn’t quite see. I believe that you must have gotten caught up in the battle between Chat Noir and the akuma,” the teacher said, grabbing Marinette’s chin. “My goodness, you’re bleeding. Nino, can you run to the nurse’s office and grab a bandage for Marinette’s head? And see if you can find Adrien, while you’re at it.”
Nino ran off, and Marinette stepped back. “What’s an akuma? Who’s Chat Noir?” the girl asked, her voice panic-stricken.
“Wow, Marinette. I didn’t think you could get any dumber,” Chloe sneered, and Marinette shrank back.
That wasn’t how Marinette usually responded to Chloe… Lila frowned as Alya glared at the blonde.
“Shut up, Chloe! Don’t listen to her, Marinette. She’s just a spoiled brat,” Alya announced, putting her hand on Marinette’s shoulder.
Marinette yanked away from Alya, backing away from the crowd of students.
Chloe laughed. “Wow, Alya. It must hurt to be rejected by Marinette of all people.”
“Oh my god!” Lila yelled, eyes wide as the realization hit her. The entire class turned to face her, and she laughed in disbelief. “Marinette, do you know who Alya is?”
Marinette brushed her hair from her face. “S-should I?”