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Marinette watches Adrien in amazement as he struts confidently along the pool edge. She knows he's a model, but he could become an actor instead. He's really good at it, and she's not saying that just because she loves him. He strolls like he owns the set, completely comfortable with a small smile on his lips.
"The water looks great," he says before sighing quietly in sadness, a longing look as he turns to stare at the pool. She knows that Nino is watching every single move with his camera. As agreed by their friends, they want to make another film. The last one didn't exactly end up being very good, "Too bad I have this stupid curse. If only there were a way to reunite with my love."
Marinette can see Nino's thumbs up before he cuts it off.
"Already that's a wrap!" He laughs as the others scurry around to fix things, "Dude! I didn't know you're so good at this!"
"Well, I always loved watching my maman do her acting," Adrien grins back before rubbing his head sheepishly, "And I'm not that good, really."
"Boy, you are so biased against yourself," Alya grins at him before looking at her clipboard, "You are pretty good at this. Even had me feeling like you are an actual cursed-to-live-on-land merman. And you had Marinette staring in awe..."
"Really?" Adrien asks with soft eyes.
"Of course," she grins before holding her hands together, "I was completely hooked."
"Well, I'd certainly hope my love would be hooked," the blond winks playfully before nodding confidently, "She's gonna come rescue her damsel-in-distress, after all."
"Not with that attitude," she teases before bopping his nose playfully, "But I do think I can arrange something..."
"You guys are just so sweet together!" Rose yelps before grinning.
"Yeah," Juleka agrees quietly, a little grin on her face.
"We were all engaged with your performance!" Mylene cheers, "You did really good, Adrien!"
"Awww...thanks, guys," the other grins happily before laughing, "You're all making this really fun. So what else we got to film today?"
"Well, Marinette here has to do some water scenes along with the others," Nino nods seriously, "And that should be it for today. We know you don't want to get all wet today, man."
"Yeah, not a good idea," Adrien grins, "I do have a prosthetic leg that is used for swimming but I'm not wearing it right now..."
"We got you, bro," Nino smiles before looking thoughtful, "One last scene? I suddenly got an idea I want to try out that's not in the script."
"It better not be a kiss," Alya rolls her eyes fondly, "Remember how that went last time?"
"Relax, we don't have Chloe here to ruin the moment anyway," he waves off her concerns before grinning widely, "It's not a kiss though. Dude, I need you to act like you're starting to notice a portal forming in the bottom of the pool over there. Make sure to be confused and surprised."
"Got it," Adrien smirks before putting both thumbs up, taking his place. They all move away from the area, helping out with the equipment and directing, making sure to be quiet as possible.
"Action!"
Adrien sighs morosely at the water before turning towards the camera, getting up to leave. They all share a confused glance before letting him improvise. At the last second, the blond pauses with a confused look before twisting around.
"What the-" He rushes to the edge of the pool, leaning over to see what could be on the other side. He gasps a moment later before calling out, "Is-Isla?"
Nino fist bumps before he's about to call it off so they can move on. But just as he's ready to call out, someone appears from the left, walking right by Adrien. As soon as Marinette sees who it is, she tightens her grip on her coffee cup.
Lila.
What is that snake doing here!?!
"You're going to need an Isla in a second, Adrien," Lila scowls before glaring at him, "You ruined everything I had working for me. Good luck telling your father how you ruined your leg."
All of them can hear her perfectly clear through the mic on Adrien's shirt. They're all worried and confused before her hand flies out, hitting Adrien's chest. Normally this wouldn't do much. But the model is standing with his balance too close to the pool. With a startled yelp, he hits the water.
Time practically freezes as they stare in shock at the whole situation.
Adrien thrashes in the deep water, breaking the surface with a small noise like a strangled yowl. He looks like a drowned cat, hair plastered to his face and eyes wide with fright as he treads water. It's clear that the water is a big impediment for his limb. He breathes heavily.
"Whoops, I guess my hand slipped..." Lila flips her hair before smirking devilishly.
Marinette sees red.
No one hurts her Kitty. No one.
"Hold my coffee, Alya," she says in an angry whisper, not even giving her best friend a chance to say anything, before marching over to the smug jerk. Not giving her any hint of approaching her, the raven-haired girl kicks her foot right into the small of the liar's back.
With a loud screech, Lila topples in a few yards away from a very stunned blond. Emerald eyes glance at her before he bursts out laughing, coming to the edge, holding onto it to stay afloat.
"Whoops," Marinette stares straight at the drenched girl with narrowed eyes as she smirks. The brunette's makeup is starting to smear and she looks pissed, "I guess my foot slipped. Geez, I'm such a klutz, Lila! I didn't even see you there!"
"You little..." Lila hisses before swimming to the edge, heaving herself out of the liquid, "You did that on purpose. Just wait until I tel-"
"Tell who?" Marinette demands as she stands up for herself and her Chaton. She is done with her. She's dealt with Chloe's rotten bullying so she can shut Lila down here too, "Who are you going to tattle on me to? We're not at school, Lila. And none of our classmates believe your lies anymore. In fact, we all saw just how much of a jerk you are."
Lila follows her finger to the crowd of stunned friends. They slowly look angry, especially Nino and Alya. Lila pales in surprise before glaring at Marinette and Adrien.
"I will go to Gabriel Agreste," she threatens, "Tell him about what horrible friends he's got. How I just happened to see Marinette Dupain-cheng shove his son into the pool unprovoked. Oh no! Adrien could have been hurt so badly! He should be protected from such horrible influences!"
"Go ahead, Lila," Alya scowls as she steps closer to them, anger radiating from her, "Go ahead..."
Lila snarls at the girl before clenching her fists, huffing before rushing out of the room. The only thing they hear is the movements of the water and the door slamming shut.
"I...I could use some help out," Adrien admits after a moment, "I'm good at a lot of physical activities but getting in and out of the pool is a completely different story..."
Marinette nods before she grabs his arm. Nino runs up, helping with his other side as they heave him onto the side. Adrien lies there for a minute, just relaxing against them with closed eyes before he scowls, sitting up.
"Now I'm going to have to clean my leg out with water and really dry it out and hope it doesn't rust. Chlorinated water is bad for the parts. This one isn't waterproof despite being a basic all-in-one model," the blond sighs tiredly before frowning deeper. He practically turns white as panic slams into him, "Oh no! Father's going to be so angry. He told me not to do anything reckless like this. Now he's going pull me out of school again and lock me up and-"
Wow. Marinette did not know her partner could freak out so badly. And she also grows annoyed and angry because his father is a real dick. Adrien's basically having a panic attack over having gotten his limb wet. He shouldn't have to be afraid.
"Dude! It wasn't your fault!" Nino interrupts, holding onto his best friend's shoulders, "You weren't planning on taking a dive in. You told us at least three times. You would have been fine if Lila hadn't shoved you in."
"Yeah, but he's going to believe her," he says softly before latching onto his prosthetic leg, "She's his favorite."
"Then we'll just have to all go to him and tell him exactly what happened," Marinette speaks up, "And we'll make him listen. We're your friends. We love you."
"You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for..." He grins with wet eyes before sighing, "But father won't accept that. He's...well..."
An abusive jerk.
"Then we show him the video," Alya says with a determined expression, "And if he doesn't believe you after that, we're kidnapping you so you can live with us."
"Guys," Adrien chuckles warmly before rubbing his eyes, "Thanks."
"Get cleaned up in the showers," Nino grins at him, "We'll keep working on the film. Marinette can help you out. I need everyone else for the next scenes anyway."
"Got it," Adrien salutes him before standing up, cringing as he steps with his left, "Feels so gross. So wet."
"Come on, you baby," Marinette teases him before leading him to the side rooms. She knows he's not a fan of being introduced to a body of water unexpectedly. Plus, cat instincts, "Let's get it cleaned up."
"Sounds good, M'Lady."
🐱🐞🐱🐞🐱🐞
Adrien sighs as he rests against the bench. Everyone gathers around him as his phone rings for the third time, waiting to see what happens.
He takes the call, putting it on his speaker so everyone can hear.
"Adrien, where are you?"
"Hey, father," Adrien frowns, "Still at the pool like I told you I would be. Class project."
"I heard from someone else that it's not a school project," his father's voice is hard and cold, mostly emotionless. Adrien is used to it, but his friends are not. They shoot each other frustrated looks that the blond pretends not to see, "And that one of your so-called friends pushed you into the pool. Your bodyguard will be there to pick you up soon."
"Marinette didn't push me in."
"Excuse me?" His father sounds unsettled by the fact that he spoke up before he returns to his detached ways, "I never said anything about who did it."
"Lila's lying to you, father," Adrien says with clenched fists, "She's the one who pushed me into the pool. I wasn't going to go in until she shoved me in."
"I heard a completely different story altogether," the other man responds with a bored tone, "And I don't appreciate you protecting your so-called friends."
"Father-"
"No, you're coming home as soon as the Gorilla gets there," his father snaps, "Your so-called friends are clearly a bad influence on you. In fact, I think I should remove you from that toxic school-"
Adrien feels fright strike through him. This is exactly what he feared would happen. He'll be homeschooled again and won't be able to see any of his friends. And sneaking away to help his Lady will get even more difficult. He can kiss his limited freedom goodbye.
Not having much to lose, he blurts out the first thing he can think of.
"Lila's been sexually harassing me."
Everything goes way too silent. Adrien can see his friends looking at him in shock. His father is stunned too, so much so that Adrien starts to think he's already hung up and he just blurted that out to a dead line.
"Excuse me?" His father speaks up after a moment, sounding completely thrown, "What did you say?"
"I said that Lila's been sexually harassing me," Adrien admits before shifting uncomfortably. He doesn't like talking about this in front of everyone. But they're his friends. They'll have his back, "Pretty much ever since she came to my school."
"How so?" He sounds serious.
"She touches me without my permission, and doesn't stop even when I tell her not to and that it makes me uncomfortable," Adrien frowns before holding onto his metal ankle, a way to ground himself, "She grabs my arm and sits way too close and she doesn't follow Vincent's instructions, so she's always attached to me during photoshoots, even after I ask her to quit it."
"I see..." His father sounds thoughtful for a moment before he asks, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"Because you never listen to me," Adrien says with an angry hiss, balling his fist. Marinette holds onto his other in silent support, "I can't tell you anything without an appointment for a week out. And when I do, you tell me that I'm exaggerating or that I'm being too emotional. And despite the fact that you say you want to protect me, you're not. I never said anything about it because I thought I had to deal with it. That guys can't be harassed by girls. No one ever told me otherwise, even though I've modeled for years now. My "so-called" friends are the ones who taught me that isn't okay. So who is really a bad influence on me?"
"...I see," His father says after a moment before sighing, "I'm guessing you also have proof."
"With all respect, sir," Nino speaks up, always the best friend. Adrien smiles. He knows how much his father scares the other yet he wants to bravely help Adrien out, "We caught the whole encounter on video. Lila pushed my dude into the water on purpose just to ruin his life. I can send it to Natalie."
"You...do that," his father agrees before sighing, "Adrien, stay with your friends for now until I sort this out. I'll see you at home at 9 p.m. sharp."
Adrien's eyes widen in shock before he grins. He shares a glance with his Lady, who nods with a small smile.
"Okay, thank you, father," Adrien says softly, "I'll have supper with Marinette's family."
"Good," his father responds, sounding strange, "I uhhh...I love you, son."
"I love you too, father," Adrien grins before he hangs up. As soon as the call clicks off, he's swarmed into a group hug from all of his friends, "I love you guys too. You're all the best."