Chapter Text
Marinette sat at a stone table in a park, doodling aimless little designs. For once, she was relaxed. She’d be a lot more relaxed lately... since she...
“Marinette!” The said girl froze, her whole body turning to ice.
Behind her was Alya and the girls.
“Is it true?! You really transferred?!”
“Without telling us?!”
“How could you?!”
“You really are a bully!”
“We never should have trusted you!”
All of them were yelling at her at once, and Marinette felt panic building in her throat. It was happening all over again, oh god. She thought got away, but they were back, they were back, they were going to drag her back, they were going to force her to be class rep and make them things and call her names and be an example be an example be an example—
“HEY!” A familiar voice screamed, and Marinette whipped her head to the source, and felt the coldness recede, just a little. “What the hell are you doing to her?!”
“B-Bella!” Marinette was out of her seat in an instant, into the safety of her girlfriend’s arms. Though her hands were occupied, Bella hugged her to the best of her abilities.
“It’s alright, tesoro, I’ve got you.” The Italian whispered. She guided Marinette back to the table, set their drinks down, and then immediately grabbed Sabrina’s wrist, which was trying to grab Marinette’s sketchbook. Sabrina yelped in pain and dropped it. “No you don’t, bitch. Think I’m blind like your stupid teacher?! What the hell are you assholes here for, huh?!” There was nothing scarier than a fiery Italian on the warpath, and most the girls were smart enough to shrink back in cowardice. Unfortunately, Alya Cessaire had never in her life known when to stop, and she certainly didn’t now.
“And who are you?!” The blogger bit back.
Bella wasn’t deterred. “I’m Bella Allegri, the creator and author of the Trash or Treasure column.”
Rose squeaked, going completely pale. Sabrina looked like she was about to faint.
“And who are you? Wait! I already know!!” Bella gave a shark-like grin.
“You! You’re that satire writer, right? The Ladyblah or whatever?” Bella pointed at Alya with a perfectly manicured nail. “You ever pull your head out your ass? Ha! I might be the only one that knows that you aren’t supposed to be satire. But if you looked up your blog on google and clicked on something besides your own bullshit, you’d see that I really am one in a million. Still, how was anyone supposed to know that you were serious? Ahaha~” She laughs cruelly, and Alya’s resolve starts to crumble.
Bella continues in a mocking imitation of Alya before the Ladyblogger can try to redeem her smashed ego. “Oh wow Paris!! Ladybug’s identity revealed! She’s actually the same person as the girl she’s been rescued by several times, including the very first battle!’ ‘Hey Paris, I know that we’re all in mortal danger, but do you wanna see these pictures we took of the heroes without their consent and posted without their consent?! Ladynoir forever!!’ ‘Oh em gee, Paris!! Ladybug’s best friend just revealed herself, so I’m gonna broadcast her identity to ALL OF PARIS, just in case Hawk Moth didn’t already know!!’” Bella cackled.
Alya’s world was crumbling beneath her feet, and it was only with these words that she saw that her world was made of sand, and it was only held up by her own bullheadedness.
“Y-you don’t have to be rude!” Rose called.
Bella turned to her, and Rose shrunk. “What was that, perfume girl? Seriously, you stink. You spritz it, not marinate in it. You’re a girl, not a raw chicken, no matter how much you run around with your head cut off. You want the best for everyone or some bullshit. But you’re perfectly willing to throw away your best friend if it means you can marry into royalty! For as much as you called my girl a gold digger, you’re a total hypocrite!”
Rose looked close to tears, not just because it was harsh, but because she knew that all of this... it was true. But she’d never thought about it. That was her mistake, wasn’t it? Not thinking.
“B-but... Juleka...” She whispered.
“And you.” Bella turned to Sabrina, who stood stock still, frozen by the delighted vengeance in her voice.
“You’re the policeman’s daughter, right? Sarah? Sasha? I mean, it doesn’t matter, since you don’t really have an identity. You cling to other people so you can ride to fame, so I usually just refer to you as ‘that one human leech in the akuma class’ and people know who I’m talking about. Who even are you? You’re just some nobody background girl. You disgust me, especially since you apparently read my column.”
Bella looked at Mylene. She sighs in irritation. “Why are you here? Why do you even interact with these people? You don’t do half the things they do, so you can’t be that bad... and yet. You’re still here. You know better. You know that if you cut yourself off from these people, you’d be happier. But you don’t. Because you’re a coward.”
By the time Bella was done, all four girls looked like they wanted to cry. In fact, the only one who wasn’t openly sobbing was Alya, who still looked like she was processing her words, pale in terror.
“In conclusion! You’re a joke. You’re a hypocrite. You’re a leech. And you’re a coward. I can’t stand girls like you. You act so sweet, but only as long as people bend over backwards for you. And maybe you’ve got away with it! But you made a mistake. You got greedy. You wanted more. You disregarded the truth so you could have imaginary connections to fame and fortune.” Bella sits down with Marinette, who has already blocked out her old classmates, and was drawing once again, a pair of headphones on her head while she sipped at her tea.
“Well guess what? I’m here to give you a reality check. I’m rude. I’m bossy. Maybe I go too far sometimes. But at least I try to be decent. What’s your excuse?” She grinned. “Now, shoo. I’m trying to have a date with my girlfriend.”