Chapter Text
A black screen fades away. Damian sits in a standard black suit, his hair and suit looking as if he was heading off to a gala with his father in the back row of his old high school homeroom. The room is darkened as light shines through the windows. Marinette’s voice comes through the speaker first.
“You can call me the devil in disguise. I don't care call me anything you like.”
The scene changes to show Marinette sitting in a red tulle ball gown in the back row of the classroom, where she was once banished, looking out the window. This room is darkened, light shining in from the outside as well.
“I can see my redemption in your eyes. From my fool's paradise.”
Marinette sighs before standing up. The camera continues up before stopping to watch Marinette walk down the steps to the courtyard of her high school, her dress skirt looking haphazardly cut across the bottom to show Marinette wearing sneakers. It is shown that the bottom of the stairs is full of people who look like they are all yelling at Marinette and pointing their fingers at her. Damian’s voice comes over the speaker.
“Troubles falling like the rain. You're looking to me, but I won't take the blame.”
The scene changes again to see Damian standing at a trophy case, his hair looking like he has run his fingers through it multiple times and his tie missing, the top button is undone. On the other side of the glass is shown many pictures of his family members doing different things when they attended Gotham Academy.
“Lightning sometimes strikes the same. Suppose some things never change.”
The screen flips to the two young adults standing back and back in what looks to be a completely black room. Circling them as they stand back to back, Damian in his old school uniform and Marinette in what she wore during high school. You can see them sing together as their voices come through the speaker.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, all I know. All I know!”
Just Marinette sings as the scene changes.
“You can call me the devil in disguise. I don't care call me anything you like.”
Damian looks enraged before he slams his fist through the trophy case glass. Following the raining shards as it starts to rain over Marinette and the other people in the courtyard with her.
“I can see my redemption in your eyes. From my fool's paradise.”
Marinette walks out of the school and looks to the Eifle Tower. Circling to her back before Marinette takes off running. The camera rises above the buildings, following Marinette’s path overhead as Damian sings.
“Don't forgive me when I fail. 'Cause everything I touch just turns to pain.”
The scene goes from watching Marinette overhead to watching Damian overhead. The camera lowers to show Damian without his suit jacket, he glares to his side, and the camera pans to show the entrance of Crime Alley.
“I don't struggle either way. Suppose some things never change.”
The screen flips back to the two young adults in the black room, their backs to each other, but they are now sitting on the floor. Marinette’s head is leaned back as she stares at the ceiling while Damian’s face is hidden. Both are now wearing red button-up shirts and black slacks. Their voices are heard coming through the speakers.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, all I know. All I know!”
Damian is now seen waiting in an elevator with his arms crossed, and the shirt’s sleeves rolled up to show his forearms. Just Marinette’s voice comes through the speaker.
“You can call me the devil in disguise. I don't care, call me anything you like. I can see my redemption in your eyes. From my fool's paradise.”
Marinette is shown walking up a flight of stairs from the background it is to be assumed that it is the Eifle Tower stairs that Marinette is climbing. She is drenched, and as it is still pouring rain, she has a suit jacket to wear. The sleeves of the jacket rolled up to show her forearms. Watching Marinette sing as she climbs the stairs.
“You can call me the devil who got lost. I don't care, no matter what the cost. 'Cause I know I'll forever pay the price. For my fool's paradise.”
The screen switches back to the two young adults in the black room, this time facing each other.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.”
The camera pans up a building showing the logo for Wayne Enterprises reaching the top to show Damian, who looks like he is a king looking out on his kingdom. Damian sings as he closes his eyes.
“Trouble, take me home tonight.”
Watching Marinette get to the top of the Eiffel Tower and walk to the guard rail, she grips the railing so hard her knuckles turn white, Marinette sings out with her eyes shut.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.”
Damian turns his back to Gotham letting it be his background, staring up at the sky now, singing.
“Troubles just a part of my life.”
We now are watching Marinette getting up on the guard rail of the Eiffel Tower while standing on the guard rails she turns around with the camera having the background be the whole of Paris, while singing.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.”
Damian turns back around to face Gotham once more.
“Oh, trouble, take me home tonight.”
Fading back to the two young adults in the black room. As Damian and Marinette sing, Damian reaches his hand up to cup the side of Marinette’s face.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.”
Marinette sings as she leans backward and falls off the guard rail.
“All I know.”
The camera focuses on her hand stretched up as she falls, stopping abruptly as another hand catches her. The camera pans up to Damian as he sings while pulling up Marinette.
“All I know!”
The camera pans around the two as they sing together on the top of Wayne Enterprises.
“You can call me the devil in disguise. I don't care, call me anything you like. I can see my redemption in your eyes. From my fool's paradise.”
It switches to them back in the black room, now wearing the same clothing as at the start of the video. Now with a multitude of dark silhouettes behind them.
“You can call me the devil who got lost. I don't care, no matter what the cost. 'Cause I know I'll forever pay the price. For my fool's paradise.”
Back to the top of Wayne Enterprises, Marinette is led by Damian to the roof door she stops and looks directly at the camera.
“'Cause I know I'll forever pay the price. For my fool's paradise.”
We watch the door swing close, the screen goes black.
The black fades away to show a studio audience clapping and cheering. The camera that was focused on the audience turns to show three people sitting in pristine white chairs. One female on the right is the famous female talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres. Across from her are sitting the two individuals from the music video that just played.
“Wow! I have to ask, who directed that? That was a masterpiece!” Ellen looks excited at the duo sitting across from her. Marinette wearing a red sundress with the sleeves coming down to show her shoulders, and Damian a white polo shirt with red linen pants.
“It was one of my old classmates, he is the director who has recently done music videos with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale.” Marinette beams one of her thousand-watt smiles and looks equally excited as Ellen.
“I was hesitant to reach out to Nino Lahiffe, the only reason Marinette convinced me to do so was that he is extremely talented and it didn’t hurt that both Mr. Stone and Ms. Nightingale had raving reviews for Mr. Lahiffe,” Damian added as he lounged in his seat next to Marinette.
“Oh, while I want to get into why you didn’t want to reach out to Nino Lahiffe, that is unfortunately our show.” The crowd groans and Ellen chuckles while motioning her hands down. “I know these two are an extremely beautiful couple, you just don’t want to look away. That’s why you can find them on YouTube and at the upcoming VMAs for Video of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Direction.” Ellen stands up at the same time Marinette and Damian do, the three shake hands. “Thank you so much for coming and joining us today, Marinette and Damian. And hey,” Ellen addresses the camera and the audience behind it, “thanks for watching me today.”
Just as the outro music starts to play a tv remote is thrown through the center of the tv, effectively breaking it.
“That was supposed to be me!” Lila screams at the broken TV. Alya scoffs from the end of their shared couch.
“Yeah, well you haven’t had any modeling or acting gigs for over a year now. Why would Ellen reach out to a B-Lister that hasn’t been seen in a year, not even on her own social?” Alya asks without looking up from her laptop, where she is writing another article for the gossip rag she works for.
“Because I got pregnant, or did you forget those three months of me throwing up?” Lila raves while standing up to pace in front of the broken TV.
“Sorry that I forgot, but you gave up that kid like months ago.” Alya signed out of her laptop before closing it and looking at Lila. “Why haven’t you gotten back out there? Your career is not to grow unless you start going back to those auditions.”
“I know that you don’t have to remind me!” Lila raged at the only person who still willingly chose to be in her presence. “Look, I have one that I have to get to in the next hour. Can you just make sure to drag that witch through the mud?”
“Can’t.” Alya raised a hand to stop Lila from whatever tantrum she was about to have. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that the last time I submitted an article that drug either one of them through the mud the chief almost fired me. With you not getting any jobs, my job is the only one that is paying for all of this.” Alya gestured around the apartment. “So start pulling in money again and I can pull career risky moves like that again. To show the world who Marinette is.”
“Right, sorry. Just seeing that bully live the life that I deserved, that I worked hard for. It just boils me right to my core.”
“I know Lila. But for us the honest and righteous people of the world to get back at the ones like Marinette, we have to stay above them. We have to keep doing right, keep doing the things that they only claim to do. In the meantime, until I can post their dirty laundry, I’ll be heavily researching the two of them.” Alya stands up with her laptop and heads to the door. Placing her laptop in her messenger bag, Alya turns to Lila one last time. “You keep doing the right stuff and Marinette’s little hollow kingdom will fall. I promise.”
“You are the best of friends Alya. I don’t know what I would do without you by my side.” Lila smiles in relief before pulling Alya into a hug.
“Girl, I got you.” Alya smiles at Lila before grabbing her messenger bag and leaving the apartment.
“Now, I just need Marinette to slip up. She will, one day.” Lila glares at the broken TV before grabbing her clutch from the coffee table in front of the TV and leaving the apartment as well.