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“Um… Hello?”
Marinette hadn’t recognized the number, and at first was going to let it go to voicemail. If it was someone who really wanted to get in touch with her, she’d get back to them when she wasn’t quite so busy. Between her duties as the hero of Paris and a collège student not to mention a part-time assistant in her parents’ bakery, she hadn’t found as much free time as most teenagers got.
But something was telling her to get the phone, and she sighed hoping it wasn’t just another scam call. She’d had way too many of those and with all of the scam call rings operating in the city she was amazed someone hadn’t been akumatized out of sheer frustration. But her gut was telling her this wasn’t that, and lately it’d been pretty spot on -no pun intended, she certainly wasn’t going to be turning into Cat!- in regards to a lot of things pertaining to important matters. Ladybugs were associated with luck, though Marinette liked to think listening to her instincts helped her make her own luck actually.
“Excuse me…? I don’t… Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met,” Marinette said, to the unfamiliar voice at the other end of the line who certainly seemed to know her name. “Are you sure you don’t have the wrong number? I’m sure there’s a bunch of Marinettes in Paris.”
She quickly found out that no, the caller didn’t have the wrong girl at all.
“...Pardon? Did you say…?” Marinette said, falling back on her chaise in shock. “But I thought that she…”
She nodded.
“No, no, I understand perfectly,” Marinette said. “Run that one by me again? So… why me? Why not her mom? Doesn’t she work for the Italian embassy? Her phone number should be posted on their website right?”
She nodded.
“...but, if… if her emergency contact is me… I… Sorry, this is just a bit to take in,” Marinette said, to the voice at the other end of the line. “She and I… we’re not exactly what’d you call the best of friends, if we’re being delicate about it.”
That was a bit of an understatement if there ever was one, Lila hated her. Well, she hated Ladybug, but Marinette got the feeling that Lila wasn’t particularly fond of her either.
“What hospital…? Hold on, let me write this down… No, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Marinette said, with a nod trying to hold back a sigh of resignation. “I’d rather be there to tell you all of this in person, honestly.”
She ran down the stairs.
“Mom, I’m going out!” she said, knowing she could have easily just zipped out the roof as Ladybug but she honestly didn’t know how long she’d be gone. That gut feeling told her this would probably be a long day. “A…”
She paused, friend certainly wasn’t right when she was talking about Lila.
“A classmate, she’s in the hospital and apparently I’m the emergency contact,” and she looked at her mother’s face. “I’m as shocked as you, it’s Lila. She’s not even one of my friends, I barely know her-”
She forced back a grumble of ‘and I really don’t want to…’ from escaping past her lips. “-but apparently she chose me of all people as her contact.”
“Well, you do have a way of keeping on top of personal responsibilities and that includes knowing all of the medical details of your classmates. Lila probably figured you were the best person to remember all of this,” her mother said. “Do you need me to drive you there, or are you taking the bus?”
“Let’s just say I know a fast way across town,” Marinette said with a wink and she was only a few minutes out the door and ducking into an alleyway before she was crying out: “Spots on!”
------
Her head was spinning as she landed through a window in an empty room, dropping the transformation. Finding the nearest doctor, Marinette explained who she was and was guided to Lila’s room.
“Medical history-wise, she’s had a bit of everything,” Marinette explained to the nurse overseeing the Italian. Well, Italian as far as Marinette knew at any rate, she wasn’t sure if that was even true by this point. Frankly, she wouldn’t put it past the girl to lie about her nationality to seem more ‘exotic’ she supposed. “Tinnitus in both of her ears, Sfairesphobia, allergy to direct sunlight, allergy to fish, allergy to nuts and raisins, allergy to bright colors, colorblindness, Von Willebrand disease, Pica, Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, Stoneman Syndrome, total blindness in her right eye, near blindness in her left eye, the inability to do any really strenuous activity, Fish Odor Syndrome, Alien Hand Syndrome, and oh hell there’s probably a couple others I’ve forgotten off the top of my head but I’ve got written down on my phone somewhere.”
She saw the look the nurse was giving her, and if this wasn’t so serious and Marinette was a bit crueler she probably would have laughed. It did sound like complete and utter crap, and probably was because nobody was that sickly. If Lila had even half of the stuff she claimed to have, she was a medical marvel to even be alive this long. She’d probably looked up some of these disease names and thought they all sounded exotic and only barely looked how they worked. One of these days, Marinette knew Lila would find herself caught in a lie and that was half of the reason she’d written down all of the supposed medical conditions the girl had.
“That’s what she’s got listed on file,” Marinette said. “Like I said, there’s probably a few more I haven’t been able to remember off the top of my head. Truth be told, I think the one you should really be concerned about is her mythomania.”
“Pathlogical lying,” the nurse said. “That seems…” she paused. “Somehow more likely.”
“I’d recommend you contact her mom if you want her real medical history.”
“We tried, she’s out of the country,” the nurse said as she guided Marinette over to sit down next to Lila, who was fast asleep in a hospital bed. When Marinette gave her a Look, the nurse said: “We contacted the embassy itself, she really is out of the country for the next week. I guess her daughter lied to her, made her think she was responsible enough to be home alone.”
Marinette facepalmed. “...my mother wouldn’t believe that for a minute, if Lila and I’s lives were switched! There is no way I’d be able to be trusted with my parents bakery if my parents had to go out of the country for a week, and I’m my homeroom’s class president . How gullible is Mrs Rossi?”
“Apparently,” the nurse deadpanned. “Very.”
When the nurse left them alone, Marinette looked at Lila and sighed.
“Please tell me you’re faking being unconscious,” she said. “I’d hope you heard all of that, because it’ll save me the trouble of explaining it to you later. The hospital staff isn’t as gullible as Francois Dupont’s staff.”
Lila sighed. “...yeah, I’ve been resting with my eyes shut for the past few minutes. You’re such a goody two shoes, Dupain-Cheng. You had to blow the whistle on me, didn't you?”
“Well, this is a hospital. You can only be treated once the doctors know what’s actually wrong with you,” Marinette deadpanned. “Sadly, I don’t think being a lying witch really qualifies as a disease. It just qualifies you as a very pathetic person willing to do anything for sympathy.”
“People hear, what they want to hear, Dupain-Cheng,” Lila said, with a smug smile that made Marinette just roll her eyes at. “Simple as that.”
“I notice you don’t have your usual hairstyle,” Marinette said, looking at Lila and seeing her hair cropped into a pixie cut. It wasn’t brown either. It was black. “Going for a new look? I always thought those sausages hanging from your head were hilariously ugly and didn’t suit you at all. You’d be a lot prettier without them.”
Lila scowled.
“You’d also be a lot prettier if you smiled more,” Marinette drawled. “Of course, I suppose I’m asking you too much given I’ve also asked you to tell the truth and even something as simple as that… Well, you haven’t been shown much inclination to do that either.”
“It gets easier,” Lila said.
“What, lying?” Marinette snorted. “I thought so, given you seem to do it as easily as most people find breathing. Well, at least we’re being honest today.”
“Yeah, well, don’t look so smug Dupain-Cheng.”
“I’ll try not to,” Marinette replied. “That’s your thing, remember? You practice it in the mirror when you get up every morning?”
Lila muttered something under her breath in Italian.
“So you do know some Italian, and given I’ve heard some of those words from my Nonna when she thinks I can’t overhear her… I’m starting to believe you actually are from Italy,” Marinette said. “Your accent is impeccable, so is your pronunciation.”
“Of course it is! Why the hell would you think I’d lie about that!” Lila said. “I’m very proud to come from Italy! I was born in Rome! Why the hell would you think-”
“Well, let’s review the facts,” Marinette said, her voice again a perfect deadpan.
“Save it. Spare me,” Lila said. “I’m also half-Japanese, for the record.”
“Forgive me if I don’t take those words at face value,” Marinette said. “Or… any of why I’m here. Please don’t tell me your ultimate plan here was to fake landing on your face, breaking your leg and end up with a dozen sympathy cards and me your slave while you recover?”
“Well… no…” Lila said. “Honestly, none of this was actually planned. Thanks for the idea though.”
Marinette winced when she looked at Lila’s leg, seeing it unnaturally twisted. “...well, as much as I’d love to take shots at you for falling and breaking your leg, I’m not Chloe. I have some standards. You should try it sometime, maybe you’ll actually be appreciated instead of having to play everything about yourself for sympathy.”
“I suppose if I had planned this, which you know I didn’t, it would have been a dumb plan,” LIla said. “You’re entirely correct, if I’m being honest-”
“Oh, ha! Now there’s a first!”
“Har har,” Lila said, sarcastically. “But as I was saying, you pretty much ruined any credibility I have with the hospital staff so I can’t fake my various conditions.”
“They would have worked out half of them were crap anyway, with all the tests they would have put you through.”
“True,” Lila said. “So yeah, again, if I’d come up with that plan, it would have been a pretty dumb one. …say, you don’t think they have tofu, do you?”
“Tofu? Why?”
“I’m hungry.”
“For tofu?”
“I love tofu!”
“...sorry?”
“I said, I love tofu,” Lila said, this time less fervently. “Can you go get me some?”
“I’m not your maid, Lila. I was honestly going to head home.”
“Oh, I assume you’re going to zip away on your yoyo?” Lila said with a deliciously evil smirk, looking like the cat who got the canary. “I won’t tell the press, if that’s what you’re thinking. No, this is way too much fun to hold over you. Why ruin a good thing while I have it? Even if, well, even if it would be entirely easy to say I saw Ladybug zip by, land on the same floor as she flew in through a hospital window and then you show up to help me.”
She chuckled and Marinette felt like she was going to be ill. Her identity, deduced by Lila of all people. She really should have just ignored that phone call.
“Well, as you know, Ladybug, people-” Lila had enjoyed stressing her name far too much, Marinette thought as she ground her teeth together. “-tend to believe a lot of what I say. I’ve got that sort of charisma, I guess. So I guess I get you as my personal slave after all.”
“...Fine, I’ll get you your tofu.”
What Marinette was not expecting however, was Lila’s reaction once she returned with the tofu. The Italian sat up straight with a furry black tail appearing and moving in such a way that couldn’t be faked even as fox ears rose up from under her hair.
Marinette’s shoulders slumped and she sighed in resignation. “...sure, you’re a kitsune. A literal trickster spirit, yeah wow that seems to check out doesn’t it? No wonder you’re supernaturally good at lying, and at pushing crap. You’re magically gifted at doing it.”
-----
“You know-”
“Save it,” Marinette said, as she helped Lila up the steps of Francois-Dupont. Her voice was barely higher than a whisper, as she hissed out: “Maybe I’ll get lucky and you’ll fall on your head again, and get amnesia.”
“Honestly, it’s not so bad,” Lila said, wearing her wig again even if Marinette personally thought she looked prettier without it on. “Look at this way, you’ll become more popular than ever with your classmates, helping me around school while my leg heals.”
“I’m surprised you’re going along with this, can’t you use magic to y’know heal yourself?” Marinette said, helping her inside.
“Okay, 1, my magic is useful for illusions and things like that.”
“Yeah, things like that. Things like lying to people,” Marinette said trying not to roll her eyes. “I guess you could make people think you’re magically healed up, but I guess there’s some lies even you can’t tell. Some fibs are too big even for you.”
“Secondly,” Lila said. “Having you as my personal… heh, say, attendant is honestly much better. Sure, I’ll have to wait until my leg heals the natural way either way, but well, having Paris’ heroine as my assistant is nothing short of a godsend.”
“Careful, the gods don’t like to be mocked,” Marinette drawled. “I’ve met the embodiment of bad luck, you’re well overdue some of that.”
The two pretended to look friendly to one another as their classmates started to arrive through the front doors.
“Marinette, you’re actually…” Alya said, blinking. “Wow, you’re early. Not just on time, but early. And Lila, oh wow… I heard you fell, but… I’m so sorry, I didn’t hear until I got home last night from my cousins in Martinique.”
She smiled at Marinette.
“I’m proud of you girl, managing to put your issues with Lila aside to help her get to class,” she said. “Maybe you two can be friends after all!”
Marinette pretended not to be horrified by the idea and gave her best warm smile. “Maybe you’re right, maybe we can after all. Lila does need my help right now, after all.”
“I’m so happy that maybe, just maybe I’ll get a new best friend out of this,” Lila grinned. “Marinette, well she isn’t so bad from what you guys keep saying. Maybe I can finally get to know her and figure out why she apparently hates me. Maybe we can finally reach a bit of an understanding.”
And as she smiled, at Marinette, the girl wondered if this was somehow karma for causing her original akumatization at the beginning of the school year.
-----
“Doesn’t it ever get exhausting?” Marinette had asked her, later that week, even as Lila used her crutches to hobble to their next class. “Lying all the time, and keeping all your stories straight? Why haven’t you ever tried being honest?”
“What’s the point, by now?” the Italian-Japanese girl said with a click of her tongue. “If I fess up, if I start telling the truth, people will hate me. Your class will hate me for lying to them all this time.”
“Sure, they will,” Marinette said and Lila sighed.
“Way to be encouraging,” Lila said, in reply and with a deadpan tone. “I thought you were supposed to be the optimistic upbeat one.”
“At first,” Marinette said. “Then, after being angry, and more importantly disappointed with you they’ll try and reach out and get to know the real you.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from personal experience, of course I doubt you’ve ever kept up a long string of lies for more than five seconds,” Lila said before pausing. “...but then again, considering your double life…”
She chuckled.
“I’m actually impressed, once I put aside hating you. I have to admit, even if I thought you were as equally as irritatingly nice as Ladybug, I didn’t peg you actually to be her,” the fox said, the shadow of her tail flicking back and forth on a wall. “You managed to have everyone fooled, even me. Does Cat know?”
“No, he doesn’t. It’s safer that way,” Marinette said. “And yo… Hold on! I’m not talking about my double life with you!”
“Sure seems like you are, right now actually,” Lila said.
“Anyways, no I’m not speaking from personal experience. But if you paid attention to anything besides yourself for five minutes,” Marinette said, easily slipping into her usual Ladybug snarkiness around the fox girl. “You’d have seen how everyone embraced Sabrina with open arms as a member of the class once she finally broke free of Chloe.”
“Sabrina didn’t lie to the class, she didn’t do anything wrong besides find herself helping the wrong person,” Lila said, with a sigh. If Marinette didn’t know better, she’d have sworn she heard a trace of longing in the other girl’s voice. “I, on the other hand…”
She almost looked sad for a moment, though Marinette wasn’t sure if it was another one of the girl’s tricks. The fox could fake emotions fairly well, and even as good as Marinette was with judging someone’s character well she couldn’t entirely be 100% sure what Lila was really feeling. The downside of being very good at lying, supernaturally even, it made it impossible for anyone to tell what you were really thinking or feeling. Marinette supposed she could feel sorry for her, in a way. Nobody ever saw the real Lila.
Maybe not even her, right now.
Nobody had probably seen the real Lila in a very long time.
It was actually kinda pitiable. As much as Marinette hated to even think about it for more than five minutes, she did pity Lila. It must be hard, she said, realizing too late she was saying this aloud, living life as a lie.
“...it’s easier than you might think,” Lila said, though frankly, Marinette couldn’t say she believed her by this point. Ironically, Lila lied about everything, even to herself.
How sad.
“...if you say so, Lila,” Marinette said to herself, sadly. “If that’s what you want to continue believing.”
-----
“...how do you find this so easy?” Lila said, looking at her homework as the two sat in a quiet corner of the Bibliotheque Richelieu-Louvois. Tall arched ceilings were above them, and plenty of light found its way illuminating various corners in soft warm rays. “I’m serious, how do you humans find math so easy?”
“You’re… what, an ancient fox spirit and you still haven’t grasped math?”
“I’m only 16,” Lila said. “Not in fox years, in your years. I’m only a little bit older than you.”
Marinette raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“Honest!”
Marinette sent her a Look. “From you, the word ‘honest’ holds very little meaning by this point. You being honest is a complete oxymoron.”
“...all the same, I still don’t understand math at all,” Lila said, her crutches sat aside. “I just… whenever I look at my math homework, it’s… Oh, it’s like looking at a foreign language. None of this makes any sense to me. It’s all but literal Greek to me!”
“Well, the ancient Greeks did invent parts of modern-day math as we know it so you’re not too far off,” Marinette said. “I’m not great with math either, I’m not like one of those Asian airhead stereotypes but-”
“No, you’re not Kim,” Lila said with a giggle and Marinette couldn’t help herself, she giggled back. “-but you were about to say you know enough, right?”
“Yeah, and…” Marinette paused. “As much as I want to believe you saying you’re terrible at math and it makes no sense to you, you’ll have to understand why I don’t.”
“Look in my eyes,” Lila said. “Look at them, does this look like the face of a liar?”
Marinette resisted the urge to give her yet another Look as she deadpanned: “...well, considering who I’m talking to…”
But she looked at Lila anyway, and saw a face of actual genuine distress when the fox girl looked at her math homework.
“...ironic, the one genuine medical condition I do have and, it’s… affecting my ability to actually ask for help,” Lila admitted, sadly. “...I see now why you’re saying I should just be upfront, and be honest. I suppose, in some areas, it would help to be a little more honest some of the time.”
Marinette gaped at her.
“Stop looking like a fish, okay? I won’t repeat myself either, you were right and I was wrong,” Lila said. “I actually do admit that being honest some of the time probably would help me. And I am being honest when I say I don’t understand anything about my math homework.”
Marinette didn’t know why but she pulled Lila in for a hug, wrapping an arm around her side and tugging her closer. She heard the girl gasp and saw her eyes widen.
“...wow that,” Lila blinked. “That actually feels nice. I can see why the rest of the girls are always hugging you…”
“Alya gives better hugs, if you want me to compare them.”
“No, you’re way too modest,” Lila said, her cheeks slightly pinker than usual. “Between the two of you, I think your hugs are actually a little better than hers.”
“...thanks, I guess…” Marinette said, unable to believe she’d heard the girl compliment her. Like actually legitimately compliment her.
“I… you’re welcome,” Lila said, before looking back at her math homework with a face of genuine frustration.
“Have you ever considered getting tested for dyscalculia?” Marinette asked and when Lila looked at her. “It’s like dyslexia, but for numbers.”
“I know what it is, Dupain-Cheng. But in what world would you think people would actually believe me if I had it? I could say I think I have it, to the people supposed to test me but, there’s no guarantee that they’d actually believe me and test me for it.”
“Most people,” she told her. “You said it yourself, Lila. Most people tend to believe a lot of what you say, given your apparent natural charisma.”
“Or animal magnetism,” Lila said and Marinette really did snort this time. The Italian then sighed, the fox tapping a finger against the wooden table. “...but, well, and yes I understand the irony here, I’m not sure people would believe me about this medical condition.”
“You never know until you try, Lila.”
And Lila gave what Marinette was shocked to see was an actual smile before it turned sadder. “...if you say so. You’ve spent your whole life lying about who you are, what you are, and you’ll be amazed when it eventually starts catching up with you. Chances are I have mythomania on my medical file now. I don’t think anyone would believe me if I said I had real medical conditions now.”
“Well…” Marinette said. “If it helps, I’ll be the first person who does believe you.”
Lila’s expression turns more grateful, her smile warmer devoid of its usual menace. The shadow of her tail wagging happily like a dog’s was visible on the floor and on a bookcase behind them as she said: “My name’s not really Lila by the way.”
She paused to note the look on Marinette’s face.
“I know, you’re not surprised at all. My name’s always been on the nose for what I am.”
“What is it then? What’s your real name?”
“Cerise,” and Marinette would be the first to admit that was a far prettier name. “My name is Cerise.”
------
As it turned out, once Cerise had said one true thing about herself, the rest started to come out little by little. Yes, she was actually 16 and yes she had trouble understanding math, but other things as well. Such as loving the opera and loving escape rooms. Little things like that which humanized the fox girl for lack of a better word. Now Marinette wouldn’t really forgive and forget about everything she’d done but… well, what was the point of hating this girl for the rest of her life?
In fact, as much as Marinette had hated to admit it at first, there was a gentle flutter in her heart when she started thinking about Cerise these days. The 14-year-old had tried denying it at first, but eventually just flat out laughed at the irony. Her attitude towards Cerise had gone from hating her to almost loving her. Certainly, she was definitely nursing a bit of a crush on the fox because why not? If there was a Kwami related to romance, they probably found this incredibly entertaining.
Marinette, much less so. She honestly found it a little bit infuriating.
Her face felt warm, as the two met up at the school entrance as always. At first, Marinette had only done it to help Cerise to their first class together but now it was actually starting to become something she looked forwards to. Even if realizing it was rather annoying.
Of all of the girls she could start nursing a crush on, it had to be this girl. Oh well, she supposed it could have been worse. It could have been Chloe, she supposed.
Helping the Italian fox up the stairs like always, she immediately turned away so that Cerise couldn’t see the blush rapidly rising up her face.
Alya however, definitely did at some point during the day. “...well, I told you that you two probably had plenty in common, and there was room for Lila in your life!"
Cerise, Marinette mentally corrected her.
“So, you’ve gone from hating her to wanting to hug her tight, right? See? You should listen to me more often, girl,” Alya said. “I know my bestie, and I know what would make her happy and I sorta suspected jealousy was half of the reason why you didn’t get along with her. Not just jealousy for Adrien but-”
“...Please, Alya… don’t,” Marinette sighed. “I’ve barely begun accepting the fact that I have a crush on Lila.”
“Well, it’s good that you’re admitting it!” Alya said. “Admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving that problem, y’know.”
“...you sound like she’s actually a problem to be solved,” Marinette said, with an unsure expression.
“Well, sure, she is. The problem, of course, is stealing her heart. Now, obviously, you’ve managed to unlock it. Now you just have to steal it.”
Ironically, Marinette thought she knew the answer. “...I think,” she said, the irony almost hilarious. “I just have to be truthful with her.”
Alya clapped her hard on the back and approvingly, only said: “That’s my girl.”
Easier said than done.
“Cerise, I…” Marinette said, having invited Cerise over and wondering if this would be easier if she had the mask on. Confidence always seemed to be something she had in abundance as Ladybug. “...I… I… uh…”
“I, uh, you too,” the fox said, not with her usual smug smirk but a happy smile before closing the gap between them.
As they kissed, Marinette felt the girl’s tail wrap around her as the vixen pulled her close. Her leg had healed meaning she didn’t have trouble standing as they kissed. Cerise let out a sigh of contentment, pulling away.
“...well, that was surprisingly easy,” Marinette admitted.
“It was!” Lila said, her tail flicking back and forth happily. “I guess you were right, honesty is the best policy apparently. All you had to do was be honest with me, and honest with your feelings.”
“...yeah, I don’t need to hear this from you of all people, Lila. I-”
“-just want another kiss?” Cerise grinned before leaning forwards. “Alright, if you say so…”
Okay, that hadn’t been what Marinette wanted but she wasn’t going to complain. Oh, what the hell.
Honestly, this probably wasn’t going to be something she was going to regret. Ironically, Lila’s last scheme had ended up working out pretty well for the two of them. She hadn’t exactly lied about her injury, but she’d most definitely lied about the reason she apparently wanted Marinette next to her.
“...okay, I admit it,” Cerise said at PE the next day. “That whole thing about putting you as my emergency contact, I didn’t do it because I wanted to be funny. I… some part of me, well some part of me genuinely trusted you.”
Marinette, having been knocked out of the game, -if admittedly somewhat on purpose just so she could see her girlfriend- raised an eyebrow. “Even if it meant your whole tower of lies coming crashing down all around you?”
“Maybe some part of me was tired of living a lie all the time. Maybe some part of me,” Cerise said. “Maybe it wanted to finally be honest with someone, who refused to take any of my crap. I guess even I don’t know the real reason. I can’t exactly be honest, because that would require me knowing the answer.”
“I think you do know the answer,” Marinette said, lacing their fingers together as the Italian’s head rested on her shoulder. “I think you were right, I think you wanted to finally tell someone all about the real you.”
“Maybe, I-” Cerisa started before yelling out: “DUCK!”
She reacted, keeping a stray dodgeball from knocking her girlfriend from the bleachers.
“...hey, Lila, how did you even…” Alya stopped and stared at the girl. “I thought you were all but blind?”
“Dude,” Nino said, somewhat disgustedly. “...don’t tell me you lied about that. I thought you were terrified of balls as well.”
“Good hearing?” Lila blinked. “...plus, I was more terrified of the ball smacking into my girlfriend, knocking her off the bleachers and making her bust her head open. Maybe I decided to be brave.”
She could tell nobody believed her.
Marinette turned to look at her. “Maybe it’s time we do this properly? Introductions, then!”
“...yeah, introductions…” Cerise sighed. “...Hi, my name’s Cerise Naoi. And I… have been lying to you forever since I got here… Right, Marinette’s right. We should do this properly.”
Marinette had faith in her class, in her friends. A part of her, despite knowing things would be a little rough for a bit, had that same gut feeling that eventually everything would be just fine.
fin