#chameleon:PWT

[927roses-and-stuff]

Chameleon: Paving the Way to the Truth: Ch 4

Oops, it’s already the start of a new school year and I haven’t updated yet. I’m sorry! However, I hope everyone’s adjusting well to the new school year, especially first years in any new school. Anyways, this will be a direct continuation from Lila’s Interlude but from Marinette’s POV. Btw, do you guys like those? I asked because there’s (spoilers) a similar one coming up for Alya and a few other characters that I had planned (story-relevant, I swear!), and wanted to see the responses to that.XD.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read, comment on, give kudos to, and bookmark this story. It means so much to me  that there are people enjoying this story. 

As per requested, I’m tagging @ml-cartoons for updates. If you want to be tagged also, just let me know!

Anyways, hope you enjoy reading!

P.S. Bustier’s class is totally that class that goes off topic all the time when unsupervised. Poor Marinette has the task of trying to get everyone organized.

P.P.S. I totally did not plan the Adrien VS Alya thing by the way. It just...ended up happening. Would Adrien even have this conversation in canon? Well, it’s my fic so he totally is.

P.P.P.S. I just gave up on keeping track of Lila’s canon lies and just focused on making her over dramatic and into reverse psychology as possible.

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“You want me to what-?” Marinette asked, flabbergasted. She had arrived just minutes before class started and was immediately bombarded with Rose’s barrage of questions. Marinette glanced at Juleka who nodded and smiled supportively.

“Oh, please, Marinette!” Rose pleaded, leaning closely to her face. “We should have another class event now that Lila’s back!” 

Marinette stepped backward awkwardly. Her eyes shifted to Lila at the front who seemed to pop up at the mention of her name.

“Oh, Rose, I already told you. It’s alright. Marinette seems to have a lot on her plate as class president,” she said, pouting slightly. “Though, it would be a lot of fun.” Lila slouched further in her seat, looking to the world like the perfect picture of dejection.

Marinette gulped, unsure of how to respond. She glanced around at all her other classmates whose attentions were now directed at them.

She turned back to Rose. “Well, if it’s on the weekend, I guess we could organize another trip to,” she gulped, the words almost choking her. “welcome Lila back….”

Rose squealed excitedly, and hugged Marinette strongly. “Oh, thank you so much, Marinette! If you need any help, we’re at your service!” 

Marinette felt like she couldn’t breathe and only grunted in response.

When Rose finally released her, she managed to wheeze out, “We’ll talk more about it after class.” 

Discomfort settled within her chest though, once Rose headed back to her seat with Juleka. Her discomfort increased when Lila smirked as Marinette passed by her desk.

Marinette wasn’t dumb; a class trip sounded innocent enough until she put Lila into the equation. Of course, Rose was friendly and kind enough to suggest such an idea for anyone, but why would Lila want to rely on Marinette, of all people, to plan something she was capable of doing herself? Something wasn’t quite right and her suspicions bothered her throughout the lesson.

There had to be another reason. There had to be something else.

...Right? 

____________________________________________________________________________

For the first time, classes seemed to move too quickly. By the time her last class -Physics- ended, Marinette was not prepared at all. She felt fortunate enough that she would only be talking to a small portion of the class before making the announcement at a later date. However, she was unprepared for the crowd that showed up when she returned to Mme Bustier’s class.

Everyone was there. 

Marinette froze. What were they doing there? How did they even hear about this? Did Rose spread the word that quickly? Or, Marinette glanced quickly at Lila who was innocuously scrolling through her phone. Did she…?

Her questions were soon answered when Rose bounded towards her like an endless ball of energy. “Hi, Marinette! I hope you don’t mind, but I told everyone to come so they can talk about what we should do too!” 

Marinette tried giving her a wide smile. “That’s great, Rose…!” She winced at the way her voice cracked.

This was not good. At all. After the Heroes’ Day fiasco, she dreaded being unprepared even more, which she totally was at the moment! She had no plans! She didn’t even care enough about Lila to care about this event in the first place! 

Marinette scanned the room, noting her classmate’s curious and expectant faces.

But, right now, she was Marinette, the class president.

And unfortunately, she had a role to play.

She headed to the chalkboard and wrote the words: ‘CLASS TRIP’ in loopy writing. She motioned for Alya to come up to the front with her. Alya obliged.

“Girl, what exactly are you doing? Rose came to us at lunch while you were gone and told us to come here for a trip, to welcome Lila back,” she whispered furiously. “Are you nuts?”

Marinette whispered back, “It’s not exactly my fault! Rose asked and I just couldn’t say no!” 

Alya sighed. “Well, I hope you have a plan.”

Marinette gulped. “Not yet, but hopefully one will pop up soon.”

That was all she said before returning to address the class, a sense of déjà-vu overwhelming her. 

“Hi, guys!” She greeted. “So, Rose came up with an idea that we should organize a class event to welcome Lila back in the class!” 

Marinette forced herself to stay quiet when Lila stood, bowing to the class and exclaiming “Oh, thank you!” and “You shouldn’t have!” in response to the class’ polite applause.

Marinette was inclined to agree. They shouldn’t have. She glanced over to the left side of the room hoping for Chloe to make a scene, but it seemed that her and Sabrina were the only ones who didn’t bother to show up.

Marinette mentally scowled. Great. 

Once their attention returned to the front, she continued, “Anyways, we should first plan when everyone will be free to attend. Any ideas?” 

Max was the first to speak up. “What about this weekend? According to all the lesson plans that Markov retrieved from the teachers, we should not have a lot of assignments this week, which means we won’t have to stress about it over the weekend.” 

Marinette nodded and wrote the date. She turned their attention back to the class. “Any other ideas?” 

Her heart picked up when Adrien raised his hand in the air. 

“Adrien?”

“Well, I can’t come this weekend because of a shoot, but I was wondering if after school Friday would be an okay date.”

Marinette felt a pang of pity for Adrien. Of course, out of all of them, he would be the busiest. She vaguely remembered that weekends were his usual shoots so it wouldn’t interfere with his schoolwork.

Unfortunately, Lila barged in before she could say anything.

“But, isn’t it a bit unfair that we have to spend less time together if we move it to after school? I mean, of course, we want you to be there, it’s just…,”

As Lila trailed off, Adrien’s shoulders slumped. Their other classmates shifted awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. Adrien’s lack of involvement in the class was normal enough that some of their classmates thought that Adrien missing out would be more normal than not.

Marinette frowned. She knew Lila was going to go after Adrien, but she had half hoped that she would be easier on him. Instead she seemed to have dropped any affection she had for him. She was about to speak on Adrien’s behalf, but Nino interrupted her,

“How can you say that? Adrien should be able to come if he wants to! He’s also our friend.”

Lila blinked in surprise. Marinette rolled her eyes. Did Lila expect their classmates to turn on each other every time, based on her words alone? 

“Nino’s right,” Marinette spoke, regaining their attention. “We should make sure that everyone who wants to come is available on the day of the trip. So far, we have this Friday as a potential day. Any other ideas?” 

She wrote the date down before anyone could protest. When she turned to the front again, she spotted Adrien’s grateful smile, and sent a small one of her own.

Rose raised her hand. “I really like the idea of having a picnic again!” 

“Yeah, that was pretty fun!” Nathaneal added.

Marinette nodded and wrote down ‘Picnic’ under an ‘Events’ column. “Alright, any other ideas?” 

“We could go looking for André’s ice cream. ...At least, I’d like to try it…” Juleka said, glancing at the blonde beside her. 

Marinette smiled hesitantly, not really wanting to visit André again after the events of Glaciator. She glanced at Alya who perked up at the idea. 

“Good idea, Juleka! I’m sure there’s other people in the class who haven’t tried it either!” Alya snatched another piece of chalk and excitedly scribbled down ‘André’s Ice Cream~’ before Marinette could protest.

Alix grumbled loudly. “Do we have to? The last time I went, he only gave me vanilla because he said he couldn’t sense the right match for me yet!” 

“Don’t blame André for you loveless life, Alix!” Kim taunted. 

Alix stood from her seat and yelled, “YEAH? The only time you get kissed is when footballs get thrown at your face, meathead!”

Kim huffed. “Don’t be jealous that football is my one true love, shortie.” 

Alix scoffed. She crossed her arms and glared at KIm. “Seems like your true love isn’t getting you anywhere, considering you suck!” 

Kim growled and rose from his seat. “Is that a bet, you pink-haired maniac?”

“You couldn’t beat me if you tried!”

“Please, I can beat you with-!”

“STOP!” Marinette shouted, having walked in between the two as they were arguing. She turned to face Alix who had been storming across to Kim. “If you don’t want Andre’s ice cream, we can always go somewhere else. And you!” She exclaimed, turning to Kim. 

“What? I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kim exclaimed and stepped backwards. 

Marinette sighed deeply. “Make bets on your own time, Kim. We don’t have a lot of time before Mr. Damocles has to kick us out and we don’t even have enough details yet to start gathering materials or making an actual plan.”

Kim lowered his head. “Sorry, Marinette.”

Marinette smiled softly. “It’s fine. Besides,” she mused, tapping her chin. “A  football match sounds fun, right everyone?”  

The classmates shared nods of agreement at the thought of a friendly match. Not everyone was athletic, but playing with everyone was bound to be fun, regardless. Alya added ‘Football match’ on the list. Marinette returned to the front and from there, it was smooth sailing with the arrangements. In the end, even Marinette felt excited at the thought of hanging out with her class again. The events column was full of fun events from an informal photoshoot to a boat ride on the Seine to lighting sparklers in the evening. She wasn’t too sure if they would be able to do everything mentioned on the list, but it was worth it to see everyone so excited. 

“So,” Marinette clapped her hands together. “We should split what each person is bringing so everyone gets to do their fair share. “

“Well, I’ve heard that your parent’s bakery has really good food,” Lila piped up. “I’m not sure if it can match up to my uncle’s own five-star confectionery in Italy, but I wouldn’t mind giving it a try.”

“Marinette’s parents do make a lot of delicious treats,” Kim trailed. 

“Yeah,” Mylène spoke softly. “And they try their best to make them really healthy too.” 

“I agree,” Max said. “I remember they gave me freshly baked shortcake that they modified because I was mildly allergic to the cake I wanted to try.”

As her classmates started talking about the quality of her parent’s food, Marinette’s shoulders tightened and her stomach cramped. While it was great that her parents’ food was beloved by her classmates, they did have a business to run, and couldn’t drop everything to prepare food for Marinette’s class every time they needed food. Which meant Marinette would have to prepare everything again, and that already proved a bad idea. But, she couldn’t find it in herself to say no. Why couldn’t she do it? She was a superhero! Not to mention, how good would it feel to prove to Lila that she could take any challenge she threw her way?

While Marinette struggled internally, Alya glanced at her, already knowing that she would volunteer to cater the event, unless someone said something. Remembering her panicked state on Heroes’ Day, Alya decided to step in before things got out of hand and Marinette was drowning in baking responsibilities for the rest of the week. 

“Hey, guys!” She shouted. The class silenced quickly and turned towards her, including Marinette who looked shocked. “Of course, we want to eat Tom and Sabine’s food, but we can’t keep relying on only them for food. If everyone wants a picnic, then everyone has to contribute.”

“But couldn’t the best bakery in Paris make accommodations for her daughter’s friends?” Lila asked. 

Alya frowned, and glanced at Marinette whose fists were clenched. “That’s not the point, Lila. We shouldn’t take advantage of their kindness like that.”

Lila gasped softly and put her hand over her chest. “Of course, Alya, you’re right. And Marinette, you’re already so busy too. I mean, it’s fine if you and your family are incapable of getting provisions for us. I just got so excited because  I was really looking forward to it. Weren’t you telling me how excited you were too, Rose, Juleka?”

Rose looked up nervously and stammered, “Well, if it’s going to bother Marinette, we really shouldn’t-”

“But you were excited, weren’t you?”

“Well, yes, but Marinette, you shouldn’t force yourself to-!”

Juleka merely nodded along with Rose’s statements and muttered an “It’s okay, dude.” Other people in the class like Mylène and Nathaneal began to reassure Marinette that she really didn’t have to do anything, until the class was once again filled with chatter.

Marinette wasn’t patient enough for this. She knew what Lila was doing and Marinette should really restrain herself. It was unreasonable and she knew it was a trap. But she couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing her classmates and the noise was getting to her. She couldn’t think clearly, their apologies clouding her already crowded head, and she couldn’t breathe properly, and before she knew it, words stumbled out of her mouth,

“It’s fine. I’ll do it.” 

Before anyone could say anything she had started writing her name besides the words “Snacks.” She could feel Alya’s, Nino’s and Adrien’s stares on her as she tried to level her gaze on her messy handwriting. 

The chalk screeched against the chalkboard loudly when Lila piped up, 

“Thank you, Marinette! We’re all looking forward to it.” 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Marinette, are you insane?!” Alya exclaimed as she paced up and down her room. 

After the meeting finished, Alya practically dragged Marinette, Nino, and Adrien to Marinette’s house. Alya had been furiously questioning Marinette and her decisions, claiming that she was putting unneeded pressure on herself, and falling into whatever traps Lila laid out for her. 

“I know,” Marinette stressed. “It’s just that everyone else wanted it too and I couldn’t say no to all of them.” 

Alya stopped pacing and gave her a sympathetic look. “I know, but you’ve got to stop putting yourself in these situations. Do you even have time to prepare all of that?” 

Marinette slumped down and placed her head in her hands. 

Alya only frowned. 

“I mean,” Adrien stood up. “We could always help her out.” 

“Adrien, you barely have time for yourself,” Nino pointed out. “How are you planning on doing that?” 

Adrien frowned. “Well, what about you two? We all promised to be here for each other, right?” 

Alya’s frown deepened. “Of course! But that’s not the problem. Marinette needs to stop trying to please everyone around her.” 

“You can’t exactly decide what to do for her,” Adrien said, taking a step towards her. 

“And what would you know, Agreste? You guys are the one who told us she has it out for Marinette! Why aren’t you more concerned about what Lila’s planning?”

“Of course, I care! That’s why I’m saying we should help her!”

“And we will, but you can’t deny that Marinette’s trying too hard to reach everyone’s expectations of her-  like, like she doesn’t have other stuff to do. This wasn’t even her idea in the first place!” 

Nino stood up and put himself in between the two. “Look, you fighting isn’t doing anything. We still haven’t started our plan and Lila’s already causing problems. We should ask Marinette what she thinks we should do.”

The three swirled their heads to look towards her. Marinette stared at them blankly, having just calmed down. What did they expect her to say? The last thing she wanted was them fighting each other because of her decision, but it wasn’t exactly something she could back out of. 

She sighed deeply. 

“Alya, thanks for looking out for me. But I’ve got to do this; I promised Rose that I would get the class together, and I promised the class to provide food. Though, I would appreciate your help, if you’re willing.” She gave the redhead a tiny smile. 

Alya softened and returned her smile. “That’s always been the plan, right?”

“Thank you.” She turned to the two boys beside her. “And you guys?

Nino dipped his cap towards her. “Of course, dude. Besides, cooking with you guys sounds fun.”

Adrien grinned. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” 

Marinette smiled. “See? With you guys around, everything will be fine.” 

She stood up and gathered them in a group hug.

However, a part of her dwelled on Alya’s arguments. She knew that she was right about her playing into Lila’s manipulations. 

And a part of her already dreaded for what Lila had in plan for her. 

[927roses-and-stuff]

The only good thing about Miracle Queen is that it put me in a writing mood

Because my fic stopped following canon after Chameleon 😂😂

[927roses-and-stuff]

Chameleon: Paving the Way to the Truth: Lila’s Interlude

A/N: Exam season is just starting so here’s a little ficlet I did in my spare time. Call this Chapter 3.5. This will continue in Chapter 4 after exams. Anyways, whoever has exams, I wish you good luck!

This chapter also functions as a deeper study into Lila’s personality.

Anyways, hope you enjoy reading!

P.S. Do you know how hard it is to make the class believe Lila’s lies without making them look stupid?

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Lila Rossi never did anything halfway. Every ounce of her will and determination is poured into every task, into every lie, into everything. She was a perfectionist to a fault, and she would let nothing get in her way.

Not even the little snitch, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an annoying little bug that she couldn’t figure out. As far as Lila  knew, she had never even talked to Marinette on her initial first day. Yet, she had caught onto all of her lies since then quicker than even the class’ supposed genius, Max Kanté. It bothered her that someone could so easily look past her fabrications. It bothered her that she couldn’t figure out why. Lila had never encountered anyone so infuriating, so stubborn, and yet, her intelligence and stubbornness would be admirable if it wasn’t blocking Lila from her goals.

Lila sighed deeply. It didn’t matter anyhow. Lila still had the rest of the class under her thumb. Realistically, what could Marinette do to her without incriminating herself?

There was no need to worry.

But, as mentioned previously, Lila left no stone unturned.

Lila approached Rose and Juleka at the courtyard, greeting them cheerfully. It was a shame, Lila often thought. The two girls were friendly enough, however, she doubted they would be friends if she hadn’t told the little blonde that she knew Prince Ali of Achu.

Of course, she only knew the boy through her mother’s work as a diplomat and she didn’t remember ever having spoken to him before. But, the lie wasn’t necessarily hurting anyone, and even if it could, Lila made sure that she would come out spotless.

“Hey Lila!” Rose greeted. “I hope you’re okay after yesterday. I know you said that Ladybug helped you with your tinnitus, but I was worried about if you were actually alright and-“

Rose stopped when Juleka placed a hand on her shoulder. She giggled. “Whoops. I’m ranting again. But are you really okay?”

Lila smothered the spike of anger she felt at Ladybug’s name and smiled. “Of course! Ladybug is my best friend, and Paris’ heroine! I appreciate your concern though.”

And she really did. Even if the tinnitus was a lie, she couldn’t help but be warmed by their worries.

Rose giggled again. “Oh, no problem! Speaking of yesterday, I know you weren’t there but Marinette apologized to the class about how she acted. Has she talked to you yet?”

Lila bit her lip. And there was the pest again.

“No, actually. When I talked to her after lunch she seemed very angry so I left. I got so scared,” Lila said, jutting out her bottom lip into a pout and scrunching her eyebrows. “I really don’t want to fight over a boy.”

Rose deflated, her eyes downcast. “Oh, that’s too bad. Usually Marinette’s really nice, She’s class president, you know.”

Lila raised an eyebrow. “Is she?”

Juleka nodded. “She ran against Chloe this year.”

Rose perked up again. Lila wondered if she was capable of negativity.

“Yes!” Rose chirped. “And she’s done so much for all of us this year. She lets us have beanbags and play music in the library!”

“She broke the curse.”

“She also helped out Nath and Marc with their comic!”

“She stands up to Chloe.”

“And she even organized a picnic for us on Heroes’ Day!”

Lila’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect Marinette to have this much influence. Lila mentally sighed. It was unfortunate she had this influential person as her enemy. No matter. She had underestimated her once; she would make sure to not repeat the same mistake.

“Oh, wow!” Lila exclaimed. “It seems like you’ve all gotten so close. I wish I could’ve been there,” she lamented, shifting her weight from one side to another for additional effect.

Rose frowned and looked at Juleka before turning back to her. “Well, I’m sure we can ask Marinette to ask if we can plan another event.”

Juleka nodded.

Lila’s eyes widened and she grabbed Rose’s forearms and leaned in. She looked at Rose through her bangs. “Do you really think so? What if the rest of the class doesn’t want to? What if it burdens Marinette?”

Rose slid her arms out of her grip and held her hands softly. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. And Marinette is really capable. Even when she’s absent or late half the time, she always comes up on top!”

Lila mentally grinned. Well, that was certainly interesting.

Outwardly, she smiled shyly. “Well, if you’re sure.”

“I am!” Rose exclaimed. “Let’s go to class and ask now!”

Thus, Lila was dragged by Rose up the stairs with Juleka trailing behind them.

Lila watched the petite blonde’s determined expression. She had caught her off guard for a moment. Her kindness seemed unreal. However, Lila thought darkly, kindness made her easy to manipulate. And manipulation was Lila’s key to the top.

And Lila would do anything to get there.

[927roses-and-stuff]

Reblogging just to say I added links to the next chapter above. 

Chameleon: Paving the Way to the Truth

First  Next  Fanfic Disclaimer: Miraculous Ladybug belongs to Thomas Astruc and the ZAG team.

SEASON THREE SPOILERS DUDES

This oneshot is based off of this post by @bananagreste where Marinette tells Adrien about Lila’s threats.

Basically, it’s inspired by an intense amount of saltiness for Adrien-Mr.-Moral-Compass-Agreste’s approach in handling conflicts. (Like come on, where’s that spunk that let you run away from home to go to school? Or is he only active when it’s running away from conflicts?)

P.S. I really love Lila’s voice actress but like, not her.

P.P.S. It’s also very dramatic, I know. But it’s also a salt fic about 14 year old teen drama. What did you honestly expect?

Hope you enjoy!

Keep reading

[927roses-and-stuff]

Reblogging again to say that the next chapter is up if anyone is interested ~

Chameleon: Paving the Way to the Truth- Ch 02

Hey guys! So, I’ve decided to continue as I have so many ideas on how to expose Lila, and other subplots and characterization I could play with as I go along. Also, you guys have been asking for me to continue, and I would be lying if I said that didn’t motivate me.

SO thank you so much. <3

Also, I’m trying to experiment with switching POVs a bit more often to make the chapters a bit longer (like I said, I take more of a direct approach), and wanted to know what you guys think!

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Miraculous Ladybug belongs to Thomas Astruc and the ZAG team.

SEASON THREE SPOILERS DUDES

P.S. At the time I’m writing this, I’m only on the first scene with Lila and I’m already so done with her. (That’s why it’s so short)

P.P.S. Petty Adrien makes an appearance and for once, it’s not because of Ladybug!

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