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Chapter Text

Marinette is cursed. She has to be. Anything that could possibly go wrong around her did , and it was often in the most humiliating ways possible.

Was it not bad enough that she had no friends? That she spent lunches either at home or sitting miserably in the corner of the cafeteria? Or how she seemed to be the favorite target of one Chloe Bourgeois and her schemes? And then, to top it off, how resident Golden Girl Lila Rossi spread rumors about said incidents, as if to further humiliate her?

Apparently not. None of it is ever enough for the Terror Twins. If it ever had been, none of them would have exposed her crush on Adrien Agreste in the middle of a class presentation.

“ ...And it’s said that the Evil Eye is created out of envy and jealousy .” Lila’s gaze falls upon Marinette, before raising a hand against her forehead in a dramatic fashion, “So how could you do it, Marinette? Why would you curse me like this?”

It takes her a moment as to what has been said, “W-What are you talking about?”

“Marinette, I know you also have Italian heritage, and thus are aware of the effects of using the Evil Eye,” Lila starts to sob. Crocodile tears, as per usual, but no one else ever seems to notice that. “Lately, things of mine started to go missing. Homework assignments, my diary, and most importantly, a necklace I inherited from my deceased grandmother! And then, when I tested to see if I cursed, I was horrified to see that it was true! I knew it had to be you!”

Biting his lip, Adrien meekly raises his hand, “Don’t you think that’s a bit of a stretch? I know it’s unfortunate timing, but we can’t go around blaming Marinette, especially in a crowded place like this.”

“Oh, Adrikins, I know that little witch has you under her spell, but trust me, this is all for the best,” Chloe says, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you’re nothing but a weirdo and a stalker, thinking you can get away with cursing us and making Adrien love you . You think your love for him is so special? Please. I’ve known him since we were kids !”

“Now, girls -”

“It’s true, Ms. Bustier,” Lila pleads, “How can Marinette expect to be loved by anyone when all she does is curse and ruin everyone else?”

Marinette had been too shocked to say anything. She hoped against hope that maybe someone, maybe Ms. Bustier would speak up and argue in her defense. But that too had been foolish. Her teacher only makes a feeble attempt to calm the girls down, and gestures for them to speak to her after class, never once regarding Marinette with concern.

No one ever says anything .

And so, she now finds herself in the girl’s bathroom, tears constantly streaming down her face, and trying her best to muffle her own sobs. All she wanted in that moment was to disappear, and leave this cruel place, where people like Lila and Chloe got to do whatever they wanted, and she had no power to do anything to stop it.

She does not notice the butterfly that phases through the stall and makes contact with her.

“ H-Hey… are you okay? ”

Gasping, she looks around the stall, before realizing she locked herself in. Slowly, she draws the door open, but finds no one else inside of the room, before closing the door again.

“ I’m sorry I scared you. I’m kind of talking to you in your head. I’m really new to this, so…”

“You’re inside of my head?” she gapes, trying to speak as quietly as possible. “How are you doing that?”

“ Didn’t you see the butterfly?”

She shakes her head no.

“ Uh, well, I kind of sent one out because I heard your song.”

“My.... song ?”

“ Yeah, well, it’s like this… everyone has a song that plays in their heart, right? Like…. It describes them . I can hear those .” The stranger pauses. “ I know it’s weird and- ”

“No, I get it. That actually sounds wonderful. I’ve never had anyone say that about me,” she sighs, “They just call me weird and obsessive.”

“I’m sorry. If you want, you can vent about it.”

And so she does, venting even as a storm of more tears floods her face. But by the end, she’s felt better than she has in the longest time.

“It’s just frustrating,” she huffs, “No matter what happens, even if it’s a new year, even when I have reason to believe things will stop, it’s always ruined by Chloe or Lila! Nothing ever changes around here, and we all just have to bear the brunt of it,” she drops her head in her lap. “It’s not fair.”

“... What if we can change things ?”

Her eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

“ I don’t only have the power to talk to you like this. I can give you powers of your own. Powers to get revenge against those who humiliated you like that.”

Revenge? Unpleasant images flash in her head. As much as she hated Chloe and Lila, she didn’t want to physically harm anyone. “I don’t want to attack anyone though. I just want them to stop hurting others.”

“I agree. I don’t wanna lay hands on anyone either. We can be sneaky while still making sure they get what they deserve. It’s time we took back power from them.”

She nods, feeling much more comfortable with this angle. “I can work with being sneaky. Let’s do this.”

“ Okay, then by the power of Psyche, I grant you the power to curse those around you as you set forth. Go ahead and cast your judgment, Bewitched .”

Chapter Text

Following the transformation, Bewitched takes a moment to regard her new outfit. A white, button up shirt, similar to what an office worker might wear. One of the sleeves is rolled up to her arm, while the other hangs loose at her wrist. A pair of black shorts are paired with lacy, knee-high socks and a pair of platform boots. Despite the starkness of her outfit, there are a variety of accessories. Chunky bracelets with spikes, two rings on the same finger, a choker with a ripped heart on it, a mini witch hat sitting atop her head and black nail polish.

Curiously, her pigtails are undone, leaving her hair down and a bit messy. She can’t help but fidget with it a bit. 

“ I hope I got it right. Admittedly, I’m not super in touch with fashion or design, so I kind of tried to guess based on your vibes, but we can always fix it if you want .”

“I think it’s fine for now. It’s a bit different from my normal style, but sometimes, change is good,” she says, studying herself in the mirror. “Although…”

“ What is it? ”

She touches the necklace charm. “It’s strange that you knew about me being cursed. Were you there in the classroom with me when that whole thing happened?”

“ No. When my butterfly connected with you, I could feel the resentment swirling in your heart. It was the one word I heard screaming in your soul. I thought maybe you’d want to use that against them, give them a taste of their own medicine? But if I can redo it if it hurts you too much. I shouldn’t have made such an assumption in the first place…”

She shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. Let’s give them what they asked for.”

Without having to see his face, Bewitched feels Psyche smile in agreement.

--

Though the rush and enhanced senses that come from her new form exhilarate her, Bewitched finds herself taking very calculated, careful steps throughout the school. It is now lunch hour, and with that, Chloe has gone home, no doubt to enjoy a colorful and over the top meal prepared for her by her chefs. That would give Bewitched time to test her powers and come up with the perfect curse for her.

That left Lila.

Lila, who sits at her lunch table, chatting away about VIP tickets to the next Jagged Stone concert, and the chance to be in a music video with Clara Nightingale. At the former, Bewitched swore she heard a low hiss in her head.

“Not impressed either?”

“ Even from here I can hear her heart’s song. It’s like trying to mix nails on a chalkboard and a jammed blender over a record scratching.”

A part of her finds it comforting that someone else got a bad feel off of Lila. For the longest time, she thought there was something wrong with her . Everyone loved Lila, and Lila loved the attention. Her stories started with simple, white lies that threw Marinette for a loop, but weren’t damning enough to really argue with.

Then they started escalating. What started as trips to beautiful but relatively obscure places in Italy turned into dinners and parties with world class celebrities. Lila didn’t just eat really good food, she had famous chefs prepare entire meals for her. She didn’t just happen to see Prince Ali at the airport, he invited her family onto his private jet.

Sitting next to her is Alya Cesaire, a transfer student who has only been with them for a month. Alya had been… fine. While she was somehow friends with Lila, she made it clear that she could not stand Chloe, so Marinette was somewhat torn about her. All she really knew was that Alya came into the classroom talking with Lila, like they had been best friends for years, only stopping to yell at Chloe for berating her. Alya invited Marinette to sit in the seat right near her and Lila, to which Marinette agreed, only to be ignored by the two. 

She didn’t think Alya did it intentionally, but from the way Lila always interrupted or took attention away from Marinette, Marinette knew she hadn’t been wanted there.

Still, it’s refreshing to see Alya look rather miffed at her table, arms crossed and frown apparent.

“Alya, you look like you’re upset about something,” Lila says, tilting her head, “Did you have a bad meal? I can get someone to bring us takeout.”

“Look, I know you and Marinette don’t exactly get along, and what she did to you wasn’t cool,” Alya says, “But I think you took things a bit too far with that presentation. Especially since you teamed up with Chloe of all people.”

Lila’s face contorts slightly; it’s difficult to see if you’re not trained. But Marinette recognizes that lower corner of her mouth fighting itself from an angry frown. 

“Oh, Alya. I didn’t want to partner with Chloe and do that. But when I heard about the lengths she went to hurt me and get Adrien’s attention? I mean, she broke into his room and copied his schedule so she could stalk him! That’s really dangerous!”

Anger stabs her in the chest. It’s not enough for her to embarrass her in class and use her feelings for Adrien, she has to spread rumors too? Any shred of doubt turns into complete conviction over her plans.

All she has to do is point at Lila, her fingers shaped like a gun, while close enough to shoot a red blast at her. Thankfully, she’s hanging out by a window, hiding her from the view of the two, and giving her a clear shot at the liar. Once hit, Marinette would then dictate the curse and lift it as she saw fit.

The red energy charges up in the tips of her fingers. Giving herself a three second countdown, Marinette fires the beam at Lila. It’s a confirmed hit, as a red energy radiates around her, much to Alya’s confusion.

“Lila Rossi,” she hisses under her breath, “You seem to have a golden tongue, always having a story and words to impress people. Now you have people convinced that you’re cursed because of me,” she smirks, “Then so be it. Hence forth, you will be compelled to tell the truth, and only the truth. After all. Fact is stranger than fiction.”

The red aura dissipates, forming a symbol that cannot be seen underneath Lila’s bangs. She blinks, before returning her attention to Alya.

“Is that really true?” Alya gapes, “She stalks Adrien?”

Now for the moment of truth…

“Obviously not ,” Lila retorts, “I just made that up to make her look bad.” Both of them gasp at what had just been said. “W-Wait, I didn’t mean for you to hear that!”

“Obviously not ,” Alya repeats mockingly, “I can’t believe you! So you set this whole thing up with Chloe just to make Marinette look bad?”

“I had to! She was the only one who saw through my lies!” Now frustrated, Lila began grabbing at some loose napkins, looking as though she wanted to stuff them in her mouth.

"So all this time, you were making everything up?" Alya growls, "I can't believe you! I trusted you, and this is how you treat me?"

“And what are you going to do? Expose me?” she laughs, “If you do that, I’ll completely humiliate you too!”

“I think you’ve done enough of that,” Alya remarks back, starting to walk away, 

Pleased with the results, Bewitched starts to walk away, until she sees a sleek, black limo pull up to the front of the school. I don’t think I’m quite finished yet.

Positioning herself just beneath the stairwell, just below where Sabrina is, she waits for Chloe to open the limo door, and groans as she hears a lengthy string of commands being flung here and there.

“...And this had better not interfere with my hair appointment at four o’clock! And another thing-”

“Gee, I sure would hate to inconvenience that important thing going on in her life.” Her comment is met with a brief chuckle. Pointing her fingers towards Chloe, she releases another blast, and like Lila, Chloe is completely still, surrounded by the red aura. “Chloe Bourgeois. You pay no mind to how you treat others and the sort of attention they receive because of it, while thriving off the attention paid to you. Well, now it’s your turn to pay up. Your curse is that no one will be able to see or interact with you during the period of time that I deem fit.” 

The last thing left to do was to leave a note on Ms. Bustier’s desk, as well as the nurse’s office, claiming her intentions to go home for the rest of the day. Once she returned to normal, she would return home and explain everything to her parents that a text couldn’t cover. But for now, she’d watch her results briefly inconvenienced Chloe.

The bell rings and everyone pours into the classroom, Chloe being the last to settle into her seat. Alya notably takes a seat far away from Lila, stewing in her misery. Ms. Bustier takes a moment to scan the room, noticing the missing Marinette and Chloe. Her eyes land on the note before sighing.

“Alright, it seems that Marinette went home after the last lecture, but does anyone know where Chloe is?”

“Um, hello ,” she scoffs, waving her hands, “I’m right here! How could you not notice me?”

“I, um, I’m not really sure,” Sabrina frowns, “I thought I saw her coming back in her limo, but then she disappeared. She last mentioned something about a hair appointment…”

Alix rolls her eyes. “She probably ditched class to fit it in at the last minute. If only we could all just drop school for our own mere whims.”

“What are you losers talking about?” Chloe scowls, “This isn’t funny! I’m right here ! Even I know to at least come up with an excuse when ditching school for my hair !”

“Alas, we don’t all have access to daddy’s money,” Nathaniel chimes in, turning a page in his sketch book. “Nor daddy’s political influence.”

“Ugh, this is absolutely ridiculous!” Chloe screeches, storming out of the classroom and into the halls. Bewitched follows her to the locker room, where she starts kicking and making a bunch of noise. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?”

From the corner of her eye, she notices Ms. Mendeleiev approach the door. As she turns the knob to look inside, it’s at that moment that Bewitched chooses to lift the curse. Chloe, unknowingly in plain view of her teacher, continues to kick the lockers as much as she can.

“Just what do you think you’re doing, Ms. Bourgeois?”

The stupefied look on Chloe’s face, as well as her sputtering excuses for an explanation are enough to satisfy Bewitched. She climbs out the window, allowing the butterfly to go free, and retreats home. 

--

A little while later, another butterfly comes to her, and she hears Psyche’s voice yet again. She can’t help the laughing that ensues from her balcony. “This isn’t like me at all! But did you see the look on Chloe’s face?”

The cutest series of chuckles erupted in her head. She swears she’s never heard anything so sweet. “ It’s not nice of me to be so spiteful. But Chloe Bourgeois also bullies my sister, so I can’t say I feel very sorry for her.”

“Your sister?” she asks, “She must be in my class then.”

“ Yes. I’m glad she has at least one real friend in there. I know she talks fondly about that Lila girl, but ,” he shudders again, “ I knew something had to be off about her. It’s not ideal, but at least the two of them can watch each other’s backs.”

Admittedly, Marinette can’t help but hyperfixate over the friends bit. How nice it must have been to have someone that had your back. She had been pretty happy when Alya stood up for her against Lila, but without the effects of Bewitched, how much longer would it be until Lila got everyone back under her finger yet again? The only one she felt she could trust was Psyche, and she didn’t even know what he looked like.

“Friends, huh?”

She hears him hesitate. “ I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’d be relieved if I were in your shoes. I just can’t help but be a little jealous,” she sighs, “I’ve never had anyone who quite got me like you have. Tell me… will I ever hear from you again?”

“ Of course!” He sounds almost scared at the idea of disappointing her, and she’s dumbfounded to feel that. Was it him sharing his feelings through their psychic bond? She would have to ask him someday, but she wanted that to be the day they met eye to eye. “ Your song is one of the clearest sounds I’ve heard in this entire city. There’s nothing else like it. As long as you’ll let me, I’ll keep reaching out to you .”

“I want more than that,” she admits softly. “I want to see you. Can we meet?”

Once again, from the other side of their psychic bond, she hears him smile. “ Yes. I was just thinking the same thing .”

Chapter Text

“ When I was alone, you came around. When I was down, you pulled me through. And there's nothing that I wouldn't do for you .” - Michelle Branch, You Set Me Free

--

October 16, 2015

The high from getting her revenge on both Lila and Chloe has died down, leaving Marinette only to contemplate her fate upon encountering Adrien at school today. Being so caught up in her own feelings, the misery of having to even know Chloe and Lila, and the rush of meeting Psyche, she completely forgot that Adrien didn’t even give a response to the reveal of her feelings.

Then again, it’s not like I really confessed to him , she thinks to herself glumly.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” her mother asks, popping open the trapdoor, “Are you feeling any better?"

“Um, actually,” she shakes her head, “I know that we have holiday break coming up starting tomorrow, but I just don’t think I can handle going into school today.”

Her mom nods, casting a sad smile in her direction. It’s the smile that’s cast in response to the unspoken “ Chloe ?” question. Without having to say anything about it further, she says, “I suppose starting your break a day earlier won’t hurt. But maybe you can help us later? We have a new delivery person coming in, and he’s supposed to be around your age. He might feel more comfortable if he meets you.

Or he could think I’m a big weirdo, just like everyone else . She sighs. It can’t get any worse than it did yesterday. Unless it turns out that Adrien turns out to be the new delivery person! Maybe his family lost their fortune overnight, and he had no choice but to turn to a part-time job to keep his family afloat! Or maybe he’s in on some sort of twisted revenge prank on Chloe’s behalf because she found out about me and Psyche somehow! Maybe Lila told her some sort of story that-

“Marinette?”

“Huh?” she gasps, “Oh, I think the delivery person is fine! I mean , I’m fine with the delivery person! Talking to them, I mean.”

Her mother laughs. “I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you told him both those things. But let’s keep it professional, sweetie.”

“R-Right!”

She pats Marinette’s head and then her cheek, giving her a hopeful smile. “Your father and I have already met him. He’s a perfectly nice young man.”

That didn’t lower down the list of possible suspects in her mind, and leaves her only to worry more. And such a worrying thought only continues to fester in the back of her mind as she goes on to finish her homework from the previous day, and work on some designs while she has some downtime. 

Finally, it’s well into the afternoon, and the door to the bakery swings open. A boy with blue hair strolls in, taking off his bright yellow helmet. 

“I’m Luka,” he says, shaking her head. It takes her a moment that she shakes a little too firmly and for a bit longer than necessary, to which he just smiles and laughs.

"M-Marinette. That's me." Caught off guard by how flustered she is, she quickly asks, “Do you go to school around here? You seem familiar.”

“Actually, I start at College Francois-Dupont after break,” he says, looking down the street, “I have a sister that goes there, and I know a couple of people as well. I’m supposed to be in class with them.”

“Oh, so we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, won’t we? I mean, if you don’t mind…” Her eyes widen when she realizes that he actually heard that. No matter how hard he rides that bike, it’ll never be faster than my cursed motor mouth. Why did I say that?

“I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“Oh, well that’s nice to hear,” Sabine says, as she enters the room, “I’m assuming you’ve met our daughter, Marinette, then?”

“Yeah, we were just talking about school,” he replies, “I’m supposed to be starting at College Francois-Dupont after the break is over.”

“Is that so? Well then, feel free to come here for your lunch breaks, if you like. Anyway,” she plops a basket down on the counter in front of him, “We’ve already got your first order ready to go. It’s for an elderly couple that live near the Seine,” she hands him a piece of paper with their names and address.

“I know them, so I don’t think I’ll be long,” he says, studying the paper.

“Don’t worry about rushing. They’re understanding if you’re a bit late. Just be careful on your way over.”

“Yes, Mrs. Cheng,” he says, taking the box outside and loading it up on his bike. “I’ll see you around, Marinette.”

And just as quickly as he had arrived, Luka is off on his bike, riding through the streets of Paris. A smile spreads across Marinette’s face as his farewell rings through her head.

What an interesting guy .

--

While he’s out on deliveries for the most part, Marinette finds herself drawn into conversations with Luka when there’s downtime. He shares brief snippets of his experience with homeschooling, and then listens to her go on about how she enjoys designing. He seems especially interested when she goes into the creative process, and doesn’t mind her rambling. He’s far more to the point with his words, but she’s just as fascinated to hear him talk.

About two days after meeting Luka, Marinette learns why he seems so familiar.

It’s a nice day in fall. Not too hot, and not too chilly. His shift is almost over for the day, and she decides to go out and do some sketching. Of what, she’s not sure, and where she’ll go, she doesn’t know that either. Perhaps she’ll just wander around, or go to the Trocadero again until inspiration strikes.

As she’s walking out, she realizes that he has a guitar case on his back. That would explain why it had been sitting in the kitchen for several hours that day (she thought it might have been her grandmother’s from her more rebellious days).

“Are you in a band?” she asks.

“I wish,” he sighs, “I’m thinking about starting one with my sister, but I need to find other people that she feels confident playing with. She’s on the shy side and thinks she’ll just fade into the background.”

“Why? What instrument would your sister be playing?”

“She plays bass, and I play,” he takes the guitar out and strums a couple of notes. “Call the matching instruments a twin thing, I guess.”

Marinette laughs, “So you’re looking for a vocalist and a drum player, right? Does your sister know anyone who’d be interested?”

Luka hums to himself. “Maybe. I think she’s just afraid of approaching them. I don’t know them too well, myself, but since I’m joining her class, that will change soon.”

Part of her is tempted to ask him whose class he’s supposed to be in, but then she starts worrying about coming off as weird and clingy. Like she’s staking a claim to him only after two days of meeting! Surely, he’d come to resent her if they were in the same class from all the time she monopolized from him, talking . Why would he want to waste more time on her at school of all places! He was probably only being kind because she was his boss’ daughter.

Or what if he didn’t end up in the same class as her? Then she’d get her hopes up over nothing, and he’d probably find some other, cooler group of friends to hang out with. 

“Hey, you okay there?” he asks, tapping her shoulder, “You seem kinda distracted.”

“Oh, uh, just had a bad thought- er, yes, I was distracted.”

He nods. “I get those too. You know, they say a bike ride around Paris in the fall is good for those,” he pats the back of his bike, “You wanna join me?”

The words are out of her mouth before she can even process them. “ Yes . I-I mean, sure, I’d like that. Let me just grab a helmet.”

Five minutes later, they’re out in the streets of Paris, and the rest of the world whooshes right by them. Other bicyclists ride toward the park, children run around without a care in the world, and groups of couples team up to find Andre, the legendary ice cream maker. She closes her eyes for a moment, imagining herself on a date with Adrien, and receiving complimenting ice creams that reflect one another. 

Then she imagines his face contorting in disgust. “This flavor doesn’t look right. I was hoping for lemon or orange, like Chloe or Lila. I don’t want a Marinette ice cream.” A vespa pulls up, with both girls honking for him to pop on, “Goodbye, weirdo stalker. I’m going to ride off into the sunset with my real soulmates.”

She shudders at the daydream turned nightmare, to the point where her grip tightens, and she nearly startles Luka.

He starts to slow down a bit as they approach the Seine, and the neighborhood of houseboats that are parked. Marinette never bothered much with coming down here before and now she kicks herself for never having thought of it. Most of the boats are simple in their design and decor, but plenty use lots of lush greenery and plants, and pops of color to make the living quarters more lively.

They stop just before the ramp of one of the boats, and she takes it as her cue to get off. She follows him to the base of the ramp.

“You can come onboard if you want. I’m just going to see if my sister wants to jam for a bit in the park.”

“O-Oh, okay,” she says, following him up the ramp. He gestures for her to wait on the deck while he heads to his room to find his sister. Moments later, someone walks out while carrying a guitar case, and takes a seat in a lawn chair.

Much to her surprise, she spots a familiar looking girl with purple streaks in her hair, pulled back into a messy ponytail. On her left arm is a single, fingerless glove, showing off black and purple nails. There’s a skull in the middle of her white muscle tee, paired with black denim shorts and plain stockings. A pair of boots sit off to her side, waiting to be put on. 

“ Juleka ?” she gasps, “Oh, wow, I didn’t realize you and Luka were twins.”

“It never really came up in conversation,” she mumbles, “And I’ve only really invited Rose and Ivan over. Though seeing you here explains why my brother seemed so excited about working for the bakery.”

“Huh?”

“Well, ever since he started working, he would come home and talk about the baker’s daughter and how cool she was. Then he mentioned that you went to our school, and I thought it might have been you, but I wasn’t sure. 

He...he talked about me to her? I wonder what he might have said. Maybe he ended up confirming her suspicions about me being Adrien’s weirdo stalker or something!

“By the way,” she asks, “Um, are you okay? I mean, after what happened with Chloe and Lila…?”

For a moment, she can’t breathe or think. She curses her easily readable expressions, because she sees Juleka light up with concern. Forcing a laugh, she says, “Right. That. Yeah, I, uh, kinda just stayed home to take it easy. I just…” she sighs, “I did really like him, but I’ve never been able to muster up the words and just tell him. But I guess that cat is out of the bag.”

Juleka hums, patting her on the shoulder. “To be honest, I’m not entirely surprised either one of them did something like that,” she says, “Both of them talk about him and the dates they’d want to go on if they could get through to his father. And no offense, but pretty much everyone caught on to the fact that you liked him too. Except for him, sadly enough.”

The mention of Lila throws Marinette off. “Wait, Chloe I get, but you’re not surprised by Lila?”

She shakes her head. “I was never really close with Lila. While I thought she and her stories were cool, she always cut me off in conversations and never seemed interested in what I had to say. Then, the other day at lunch, I heard her and Alya got into a fight. Alya says that Lila admitted to lying about the incident with Adrien. Pretty messed up, if you ask me.”

Something about the way Juleka talks about it makes Marinette happier than she really should be. All she can think now is that maybe people were starting to see Lila for who she truly was. It’s a bit early to be this optimistic, but I’ll work with what I can get.

Luka comes back up, his guitar still swung over his back, and walking a spare bike out over the deck, “I told you I’d find it. And look, you already have your shoes ready to go.”

Juleka sticks out her tongue, smirking. “Maybe you won this fight, but I’m still going to beat you to the park.” 

Marinette blinks, looking between the two of them. Her best guess is that there’s some sort of competition taking place between them, and that this wouldn’t stop even after they arrived at wherever they were headed.

(This would indeed be confirmed later after arriving at the park, where their race would end in a draw, and Luka would then suggest whoever played the song that Marinette liked the most would win. In the end, Marinette couldn’t decide, and it ended in another draw, but seeing Juleka’s embarrassed expression upon being praised gave Marinette the idea that this was a win for everyone. And possibly a scheme concocted by her twin).

--

The afternoon at the park had been pleasant enough, between the music the Couffaines made, and the ideas that came to mind for Marinette to sketch. Hours later, she returns home for dinner and then retreats to her room to look over the sketches. Not long after, she’s pleasantly surprised by a visit from a butterfly. 

“ Hello again. ”

“Hey, Psyche,” she says, leaning her face into her hands, “I was hoping to hear from you again.”

He laughs nervously, and Marinette wonders if he’s blushing. She’s not sure why that idea came to mind. “ Has someone else been causing you problems ?”

“Oh, nothing like that,” she smiles, “I just… I wanted to thank you. No one’s ever really had my back like that before.”

“ I should be thanking you. I’m not really used to these powers. Truthfully, I was afraid of reaching out to a stranger for help but when I found you, I just knew I could trust you somehow.”

“How did you know?”

“ There’s something in the melody of your song ,” he hums, “ It’s not really something I can describe.”

Now it’s her turn to be flustered. She worries that he might be able to see her expression somehow, and tease her for it. But if he notices anything off about her, he doesn’t comment on it.

“S-So, you said you were testing your powers, right?” she asks, quickly changing the subject, “Did you recently discover them?”

“ Something like that ,” he pauses, “ I guess you could say that they aren’t really my powers. I’m just borrowing them, if that makes sense. ”

“Someone is giving you powers to give other people powers?”

“ I know it’s weird, but essentially, yes .”

They must be an incredibly powerful person then , Marinette ponders to herself. In any other circumstances, she might not have believed such an odd statement, but she had seen and experienced for herself the sort of things Psyche was capable of doing. And if this is what Psyche is capable of doing as a beginner, what would he be able to do if he mastered these powers ?

“Um, Psyche? Am I the only person you’ve transformed?”

“… Yes. You’re the only one I tried reaching out to, and the only one I’ve trusted enough with these powers. Maybe it’s smarter to test these powers out on other people, but…”

Once again, there’s that odd feeling in her chest that makes her think he’s flustered over his words, blushing and babbling on in hopes of hitting the right words. 

“Well, if it’s okay with you, I can help you test the limits of your powers,” 

“ That would be great, actually. Although, you don’t have to feel obligated to do so.”

She laughs. How could such a thing feel like an obligation to her?? When she became Bewitched, she felt free from all the humiliation and pain from rejection. No longer bound to the whims of Chloe and Lila, and the consequences that came from those whims. She isn’t sure how she knows, but she knows that Psyche understands that feeling perfectly well.

“I want to do it. Besides, you said we’d be able to change my appearance, right? We can just focus on testing that.”

“ Okay. Focus on the details we’re changing, Bewitched, and return as one of Psyche’s Punishers.”

The feeling overcomes her again, her hair breaking out of their pigtails and converting into a low ponytail that hangs over her shoulder. That’s not the only change she notices about them either; her jet black hair turns to navy blue. Her shorts change into a black tulle skirt, and she now wears tights with little crescent moons embroidered into them. Looking down, the heartbroken necklace is now a silver star, and she notices as she cups it, the bottom half glowing in the darkness of her palm. Striding over to the mirror, she only notices one other significant change - her eyes changing from gray to icy blue.

“Perfect,” she mutters, “No one will recognize me. Not that anyone knows about me or you, but, it’s just a safety precaution.”

“ Yes, that’s probably for the best. We’d be better off if certain people didn’t know about these powers.” He pauses, as though contemplating something. “Certain people who already have power and just want to accumulate more for its own sake, and then ruin the lives of everyone else.”

She’s not sure if she was meant to hear that, but she can’t help the soft, “Psyche,” that falls from her mouth. He’s still for a moment, silently contemplating before sighing.

“ I… don’t want anything bad to happen to you because of me ,” he finally says, “ If someone has to get hurt, it should be me. ”

“That won’t happen,” she says, “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Especially not with this power,” she says, as her fingertips glow pink, “Yes, it worked.”

“ The power not only to curse enemies, but to make allies ,” he nods, “ They’ll be able to protect you where I can’t. I’m relieved, I have to admit. ”

Bewitched can’t help but laugh. “Look at us. Getting worried over pulling a few pranks,” but just as quickly as her smile arrived, it leaves yet again, slowly and agonizingly. Maybe fate will just get mad at me for denying my part and punish me for trying to disobey. This shouldn’t feel right, and yet…

She pushes the thought aside for now, smirking. “I think it’s time to test these powers.”

Tiptoeing down the stairs, she notices her parents sitting on the couch, having finished nightly chores and settled down to enjoy a night of tv. It seems that tonight, they’ve decided to watch a classic black and white film from the thirties. Bewitched isn’t sure what sort of film it’s supposed to be, only that it’s American based on the subtitles and iconography. 

Her father is much easier to zap due to his height, even when sitting down, compared to her mother who is only a touch taller than herself. The moment the pink light connects with him, she sees little pink ears pop out from the top of his head.

“Change the channel, but make it look like an accident,” she demands in a low whisper. Her father twitches slightly, but then resumes staring at the TV, as though nothing had happened. “I said , change the channel, but make it look like an accident.” This time, he merely blinks. “Maybe I need to get closer.” Slowly she crawls behind the couch, trying to make herself as small as possible. Staring at the back of her father’s head, she repeats, “Change the channel, but make it look like an accident.”

This time, she catches him leaning slightly to the left, away from his wife, and hearing the TV suddenly let out a bloody scream. She’s certain from the sound that they’ve landed on a horror movie of sorts, and she’s almost scared enough for the transformation to come undone. Her father straightens up, as though he could also feel Bewitched’s surprise.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I forgot I had the remote in my hand.”

“I told you to just put it on the tray,” her mother chides playfully, taking it away from him, “That thing never gets put to good use.”

“Heh, you’re right. Sorry, dear.”

Okay, so that worked , she comments to herself. What else can I get him to do? Pursing her lips, her eyes fly over to the fridge, and then she concentrates on the back of his head again. “Go to the fridge and grab something small to eat. Bring it back with you to the couch, and then put it aside, claiming you aren’t hungry.”

Tom emerges from the couch and clamors over to the kitchen. Staring into the fridge for a minute, he finally reaches in and pulls a cup of pudding, before returning to his seat, plopping down, and placing the pudding cup on the tv tray next to him.

So it seems that I have to be awfully close to my intended ally for them to listen to my commands, she remarks to herself, 

Psyche had been awfully quiet during the entire scenario, which makes Bewitched worry. What if he thought it wasn’t good enough, or was too weak? Maybe she was too awkward, not clever enough or-

“ Please, don’t fret, Bewitched. It’s just that I… there’s something I need to meditate on. I’m sorry, please enjoy the rest of your night.”

Before she knows it, the butterfly leaves her, and she returns to plain Marinette. She lets out a soft sigh, nearly forgetting that she is still in the living room where her parents are, and that they almost hear her.

I wish he would have at least waited to undo the transformation until I left the room , she groans internally, How was I quieter when I was wearing platform shoes ?

How she is able to make it to her room without alerting her parents to her presence is beyond her, but she certainly won’t complain.

--

“He said he wasn’t feeling well, sweetie,” her mother says, “He sounded pretty worried on the phone.”

“Oh.” It takes her a moment to realize just how crumpled up her expression is, with the way her shoulders slump and she avoids looking at her mother. Even when she becomes aware, she doesn’t have it in her to hide how she feels.

“Why don’t you bring him something to eat, and maybe some tea?” her mom offers, “I’ve got plenty of chamomile, and that’s supposed to help with stress. And I don’t think I’ve seen him try any of our pastries since he started working. Might just need a gentle nudge towards something he might like.”

Her eyes light up and she smiles. “That sounds great, mom! I’ll go bring it to him.”

In only a few moments, she’s out the door with a bag of goodies and some tea bags, and en route to the Couffaines’ houseboat. Sure enough, Juleka stands on the deck, looking out over the water, when she catches Marinette standing at the ramp. Smiling, she waves and gestures for her to come up.

“Hey, Juleka. I heard Luka wasn’t feeling well, so I brought a little something that would hopefully make him feel better.”

“Oh, he should be below deck. Said he needed to hear the sound of the waves or something,” Juleka murmurs, “Oh, sweet, is that food from the bakery?”

“Uh, yeah, I brought the two of you a little something.”

She pulls out the spare croissant and hands it to Juleka, before making her way down the ladder below deck. At the end of the hallway, there’s a door that’s slightly ajar and has a faint white glow coming out of it. Nudging the door, she’s a bit in awe of what she sees; a figure in purple stands in the middle of the floor, surrounded by butterflies and tons of greenery. She’s not sure how all these plants are able to grow without any sunlight, until she sees the sun lamps in the corner of the room.

She doesn’t intend to fall slightly against the door and to the floor, but she nearly trips over a plant. The figure turns around and gasps at being caught.

As the glowing butterflies float around him, and he gazes back at her with similar awe, she studies his form; a white button-up shirt layered underneath a vest, purple and gray. Butterfly wings are embroidered at the opening flaps. His black jeans are ripped at the knees, and sitting across his face are a thick pair of black glasses that don’t look to actually have any lenses in them.

She can hardly let out a soft utterance.

“ Luka ?

Chapter Text

They can only regard each other in complete and utter shock, as the realizations of what has been going on sinks into their minds. The butterflies around them continue to flit about, ignorant to the exchange, or perhaps to remind the two of them that the world around them continued on despite them feeling as though it weren’t. As Marinette continues to study his form, however, she finds it difficult to break free from his gaze.

“Nooroo, wings fall.”

Any doubt of Psyche and Luka being one in the same completely disappears before, as Luka reverts to his normal streetwear, and shade of blue. A purple, butterfly-looking creature flies outside of a brooch that she hadn’t noticed before - pinned right underneath his collar. The only thing that does not change is his expression.

“We should really talk.”

--

It’s only moments later that they are settled at a coffee table on the main deck, with a bowl of berries, the treats from the bakery, and a pot of tea fresh and ready for them. As her mother predicted, the camomille, or at least the scent, has a rather soothing and calming aroma to it.

Neither one of them had touched their drinks.

“Were you going to tell me?” she finally asks. She hopes it doesn’t sound cruel, but she also can’t help but want to know.

He sighs. “I… when we had that conversation last night, I meant what I said about not wanting you to get hurt because of me. But I didn’t fully explain why I thought you could get hurt.” He looks over to the floating purple butterfly, allowing him to land in his palm. “This is Nooroo. He’s a kwami, and the one who lends me his power.”

The little purple being bows his head toward Marinette, “It’s, um, nice to finally meet you.”

Marinette looks on in awe, “You’re a kwami?”

He nods, “I’m one of many ancient beings that can grant powers to humans when they wield our miraculouses,” he flies over to the brooch that hangs from Luka’s hoodie, “This is my miraculous, the one of the butterfly. It’s as Luka said; it allows us to give you the powers of Bewitched.”

It takes her a moment to realize that she’s reaching forth to touch the brooch, and when she does, she withdraws. Seeing a smile and nod in confirmation from Luka, she again leans in to inspect it. “Incredible. And there are more of you out there?”

Again, the kwami nods, but his head droops a little. “But I have no idea where they were. Around two hundred years ago, I believe, there was a major conflict over the Miracle box, where all 19 of us were kept. The Guardian of our box was confronted by one of the regular holders, and that holder ended up stealing a few of us, along with the codex. I was one of them. I know my companion, Duusu, was one too, because we were sold and traded around as a pair for many years, but I don’t know about the others.”

Her jaw drops a bit, and she feels the urge to reach out and pat poor Nooroo. Marinette never had much in the way of friends, but she loved her parents and nonna Gina to bits. If she had ever been torn away from them just as Nooroo had his companions, it would still pale in comparison to the number of years spent away from them.

Luka is the one to comfort him, patting the top of his head, and humming. He takes one of the berries from the bowl and hands it to him. Nooroo looks at it inquisitively before taking gentle bites.  

“I’m not really sure how Nooroo ended up with me, other than it involving my parents. My mom is known for making a mess of the boat, and one day, I just happened to find the box for his miraculous floating about. That’s when he told me everything.” He reaches underneath the couch to pull something out, “The only thing we have to go on regarding the other miraculouses is this book that I found with him,” he says, laying a book out on the table. The page it lands on shows another person using the butterfly miraculous, and judging by their purple suit, Marinette judged it to be a user from Victorian England. “I don’t really know what any of the pages are saying, and Nooroo says he and the other kwamis aren’t allowed to know what’s in there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this language before.”

Her eyes linger over the characters and symbols, trying to piece together from memory if it’s anything similar to the Cantonese her mother taught her years ago as a child. From the way it’s written, she judges the language to be somewhat related to Cantonese, but written as though it were some secret code. “I’m not sure if I can entirely decode this either. It looks familiar, but there are nuances to the characters I can’t parse.”

He frowns. “Whoever wrote it really wanted to keep their secrets. These miraculouses must be pretty powerful, and must be protected from falling into the wrong hands.” He closes the book, moving himself closer to Marinette. “I do want to return Nooroo to his companions and family. But admittedly, I… have a selfish desire of my own, one that I need his power to see through. One that I didn’t want you to get involved with because I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me. Once I realized you were really Bewitched, I recalled the butterfly because you were getting in too deep.”

So he wasn’t mad at her. Rather, he was mad at himself. She can’t help but have her eyes water at that, and she instantly dabs away at them. Seeing this, he hands her a napkin.

“I’m sorry. I’ve upset you over this.”

She shakes her head. “Luka. I meant what I said about protecting you. If there’s something that’s really that dangerous that you don’t want me getting into it, then why do you think going alone would be better?

He pauses. “It wouldn’t be. But…” Finally, he picks up his tea cup and takes a gentle sip. “My father was never present in my life. I thought that maybe he abandoned my family because he didn’t want us, but I only learned recently that the truth is a bit more complicated than that. He’s a musician. A pretty famous one at that. But he landed himself one of the crappiest producers you could find, and signed to his label, Bob Roth Records.”

Marinette is vaguely familiar with the name. There was a reality show on Kids+ TV that allowed aspiring musicians and bands to compete against each other in hopes of winning a chance to sign with that label. Last season’s winner went by the name Vivica, then 17 years old, who was looking to release her debut album this month. If she recalls correctly, the next season is supposed to correlate with that release.

Several of the artists and bands went onto other Kids+ TV programs to perform at the end of a segment or do interviews with the various hosts. 

She could only think of a couple of adult artists that could have been signed to the label. Most of the ones that appeared on TV were as young as her, and most were likely no older than Vivica, now 18.

Before she can get too far with her thinking, Luka continues. “Apparently, my dad wasn’t the type to ‘finish reading the contracts for fine print’ sort of person. Don’t think Mom was either, but she wisened up over time. Of course, between that and all the blackmail Bob Roth had on my parents, he had no choice but to stay and do as he wanted.

“That was around the time my mom became pregnant with me and Jules. Once my dad got news of that, he started pushing her away and did everything to make her mad. They never got married, so they didn’t have to worry about divorce, but my mom didn’t have much saved up. My dad secretly tried to send child support without Bob Roth knowing, but I guess he found out.”

“What makes you say that?”

“His son , XY, confronted me about it.” He grits his teeth, his nails sinking into a pillow. “Sorry. But if I have to recall that conversation with him , again, I’m going to scream.” He pauses, before groaning, “I asked my mom about it, and she confirmed it.”

“Wait, why would XY confront you about your father?” Marinette asks, “I mean, he couldn’t have known who you were, so why-”

“My only guess is that Bob Roth figured it out at some point and told his son. But him confronting me wasn’t about me. XY hated my father because he gained a lot of respect from music critics and fans alike. XY was still new to the scene, had a lot to prove, and wasn’t getting nearly the same attention. But once he hit number one, he came over to our house and rubbed it in our faces that our dad only got number two.”

That triggers a memory from Marinette, albeit a small one. She was babysitting Manon one weekend, and of course, Kids+ was on. Alec Cataldi had been announcing record sales, with XY hitting number one, and just below him had been none other than...

“Wait. So your dad is… Jagged Stone ?”

He closes his eyes and nods. “I know it’s difficult to accept, but along with Nooroo’s miraculous and the codex, there was this letter that was signed ‘ Christopher Harris .’ His legal name. I thought it too good to be true, but then I showed it to him, and based on his expression and the way he answered my questions… there was no mistaking it.”

Well, that explains why he would need Nooroo’s power to deal with all that. And also… they lock gazes for a moment. I know for sure now that he understands why it means to feel powerless.

“So, you want to save your father from the label?”

“Not just him, if possible, but at least him. Then he could be free to play music as he wanted, and maybe…” he pauses, “I… have mixed feelings when it comes to him. I wish he could have been in my life. I love my mom and my sister. But that… that monster took away my chance of knowing what it would have been like to have him in my life, before I was even born.”

She hums, thinking about how cruel life could be. That a girl like Chloe Bourgeois was rich and influential, and only thought how to make others miserable, and herself happy. How Lila Rossi befriended others with lies and used the same lies to make Marinette’s life worse. 

But what saddens her is the understanding that, despite how it was all labeled “high school behavior,” it would continue to follow her throughout her life. Adults were just as capable of being cruel and hurting others, and Bob Roth was proof of that.

People like that cannot be trusted with power. And so, we’ll claim our own and take away theirs . And I help him make sure no one else has to go through that again .

She reaches out to touch his shoulder. “Luka. I was so happy when that butterfly found me, because I realized someone out there understood me. So I’ll say it again: I want to help you.” She holds her hand out. “Partners?”

He seems a bit baffled at first, as if he couldn’t have imagined her saying anything of the sort. But he takes her hand anyway.

“Partners.”

Chapter Text

October 30, 2015

Once again, Marinette finds herself cursing her luck.

Just as she was getting used to not seeing anyone from school. Just when she was forgetting all about what happened before the break. Just when she thought she had a few more days to hide from the rest of her class.

Hi Marinette. Hope you’ve been well! Nino was hoping to shoot a movie for a big festival, and he wants the class to star in it and help with production! I heard you’re a really creative person, so maybe you could help with direction of the script, and whatnot? Can’t wait to see you today! - Alya

Collapsing on her bed, she screams into her pillow. “I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go! Ughhhhh.” She can only imagine the horrible and cruel things Chloe and Lila had in mind for her. 

And what’s with Alya expecting me to come? She has an awful lot of nerve. Marinette scowls, staring straight up at the ceiling. Perhaps she just felt bad about everything regarding Lila, and hoped that paying attention to Marinette would somehow rectify things? She’s not sure, but she’s sure if she ends up going, she’ll find out the hard way.

Her phone pings, receiving a text. She smiles at seeing Luka’s name pop up and his message.

L: Hey, are you going to go to this movie shoot thing for class? Jules asked me to come and help with the soundtrack or something.

M: I really don’t want to. But if you go, I’ll tag along.

L: Are you sure? I don’t want you to force yourself into an awkward situation just because of me.

M: I can survive an awkward situation if you’re there. Pushy crewmates, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about.

L: Well, we can always leave and then crash the set ;)

M: Hmmm sounds tempting. I’ll see you there soon. ^.^

--

She can’t decide if she can’t get to the school quick enough to see Luka, or if she wants to drag her feet the entire time, hoping that most people will enter the classroom, and not notice her when she gets inside right away. 

M: Where are you?

She texts him the moment she steps foot on school ground, not wanting to mess around and wait for a potential attack or unprompted questioning. Questions of “Are you okay?” and “What happened to you?” had haunted her during the entirety of break, and she was still not ready to face them now. She’s so lost in thought, she barely catches her phone pinging with a new notification.

L: In the courtyard with trusted company. ;)

She sighs and dashes inside. Sure enough, she gets a few curious looks, but she’s determined to let nothing come in between her and the sanctuary Luka offers.

Her feet, on the other hand, have other ideas. Before she knows it, she stumbles as she takes a step, and finds herself ready to plant face first into the ground.

Crap, crap, crap-

She awaits for the painful, bruise-inducing fall, but instead finds herself hoisted back up to her feet.

“Are you alright?”

Looking up, she’s caught off-guard to actually see Luka. In her school. With her other classmates. Laughing nervously, she stands up completely straight and playing with her hair.

“I’m fine now. Er, I’m fine. Just fine,” she stares down at her feet for a moment, before meeting his gaze again, “Um, thanks for coming today.”

“It was worth the trip.”

“Oh, hey, Marinette. You’ve already met Luka?” Rose asks excitedly, looking between the two of them, and then to Juleka.

“Yeah, he works at my parent’s bakery now. He’s pretty reliable.”

Ivan nods. “Good to see that someone else sees it too.”

“Yeah, but will his reliability be enough to power us through this day?” Juleka retorts, going through her makeup bag. “Especially if Chloe is here. Ugh, do I have to waste my bronzer on her?”

“We’ll cross that bridge if we have to,” Luka assures her, “Besides, there’s no guarantee she’ll get the leading role. Or any for that matter.”

Juleka rolls her eyes. “She’ll get what she wants like she always does. The universe isn’t allowed to function otherwise.”  

Marinette looks back over to Luka, shooting him a sly smile, which he returns. 

“I have a feeling that karma will be working against her today,” he says, making his way toward the classroom. Marinette follows him, leaving the trio with burning curiosity toward the meaning of his statement. When they’re far away enough from them, he whispers, “So, just what exactly should I expect from the Queen herself?”

“Her pastimes include name-dropping celebrities, and threatening to call ‘daddy’ if things don’t go her way,” Marinette lists off, her eyes darting about the hall, “Sabrina does anything she asks her to.”

“ Hey , that’s not true!”

Marinette gasps, unwittingly latching onto Luka’s arm as Sabrina appears, disgruntled and huffing at the accusation. Not even mere moments later, she’s joined by an annoyed looking Chloe. She groans and says, “Great, I had our entrance all planned out, and you had to ruin it by staking a claim to dignity, now of all times,” rolling her eyes, she stares at Luka, “So you’re the new student? You’re pretty cute, but ditch those clothes. It looks like you got them out of a garbage can. Also, I wouldn’t hang around Dupain-Cheng . She’s a living bad luck magnet.”

At first, Luka doesn’t say anything, only meeting Chloe’s gaze with a still, stoic gaze of his own. Studying it, she realized it was the gaze of someone who was planning to take Chloe down a few pegs.

“I’m sure you’re mistaken. You see, I’ve had nothing but good luck ever since meeting Marinette here,” he says, patting her shoulder, “And you can trash my clothes all you like, but I’m warning you not to do the same to my friends.” 

This earns him a sneer. “Or what? You think you’re so cool, trying to intimidate me? I’ll have you know, I’m the Mayor’s daughter, and I’ll do as I please.”

The two of them look at each other, barely fighting back a snort, and instead sighing. For now, it’s all they can do to keep from giving away their secret or lashing out at Chloe. But the possibilities of retribution flood their mind, and they look to each other all-knowingly.

--

Thirty minutes later, everyone has gathered into the classroom, and is debriefed on the script. Apparently, no one received the script the day prior, and everyone besides Nino and Alya were clueless on what the story was supposed to be. The only saving grace was that Lila apparently decided the movie wasn’t worth crashing.

“Look, we’re just gonna have to wing it,” Nino says, handing out scripts to everyone,

“Ugh, I hate a lack of professionalism,” Chloe retorts, tossing her hair over her shoulder, “So are we just going to jump into my first scene, or what?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, we haven’t even cast anybody yet,” Nino responds, pulling out the list of characters, “At least let me tell you who the characters are before you start fighting over parts.”

Chloe settles down with a harumph, allowing Nino to summarize the plot of the movie, and pitch who he’d think would be perfect for the starring roles of his film.

“The female lead starts off with a mousy kind of presence,” Nino explains, “She’s afraid of the monster. And she never really stops being afraid. But she comes to look fear straight in the face, and is able to walk away at the end. The male lead is a more traditional hero. Smart, brave, good-looking. Knowing that, I know the perfect pair to cast.”

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Chloe casts a smirk toward the rest of the class. “Naturally, Adrikins and I were born to be in the limelight, so of course I-”

“Mylene and Adrien!”

Adrien simply smiles at the announcement, thanking Nino and promising to do his best for the sake of the class. Mylene is far more shocked, though she has a hopeful smile, especially as she looks over at Alix. She returns the gesture with a thumbs up.

“ What ?” Chloe squawks, “ Her ? She’s not star material! You’re going to make us lose if you pick her for the starring role, especially when I’m right here !”

“Dudette, would you chill? I made you the understudy, okay?”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine this ending well,” Marinette mutters under her breath. Having the displeasure of knowing Chloe for so long, she knew exactly what the wannabe starlet would be plotting. It’s enough of a blow to her ego to be an understudy, but to Mylene ? Possibly the only person in the class quieter and more afraid than either herself or Juleka? 

“I’m glad you noticed,” Alya says, making Marinette jump. “Chloe doesn’t have it in her to be the star of this kind of movie, don’t you think?”

Marinette shifts awkwardly, looking about the room. “Y-Yeah, I mean Alix would probably make a better back-up.”

“Oh? You’re not interested in the leading role yourself?”

She shakes her head. “I’m more of a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kinda gal, you know?”

“Oh, like a mastermind, right? Maybe you can concoct a plan to put Chloe in her place, then.”

Biting her lip, she looks away. The idea is certainly tempting , and she had plenty of justification to do such a thing. However, the look Alya gives her makes Marinette feel like she’s coming close to setting off a trap. She notices Juleka and Luka in the corner, setting up the make-up while waiting to be debriefed. 

“So Marinette,” Juleka teases, as she prepares her brushes for Mylene’s face, “Are you going to concoct a plan to put Chloe in her place?”

“Ugh, not you too,” Marinette sighs, “Seriously, why am I the only one being asked to do that?”

“I mean, I’ll help,” Luka offers with a smile.

“Hey, don’t encourage them!”

Juleka laughs, dabbing her powder and prepping Mylene’s face, “Maybe our movie should be the revenge against the popular girl. Then Chloe can’t complain when people get their vengeance because it’s just a character.”

“No, you know she’d find a way to complain about it,” Marinette sighs.

A moment of silence falls upon them, with Juleka mostly focused on Mylene. For her part, the new starlet remains quiet, averting everyone’s gaze. Her hands remain at her side, balled into fists. Marinette wonders if she should ask if she’s nervous, but then counters that thought; maybe that would make her more nervous?

Maybe once things get going, her nerves will be calmed , she thinks to herself hopefully.

–

“Cut!” Nino sighs, punching his eyebrows, “Mylene, we can’t hear your lines. You need to speak up, dudette.”

“S-sorry,” she mumbles, looking away from him.

“This is utterly ridiculous!” Chloe interrupts, “You expect this scaredy cat to be a romantic lead with my Adrikins? Especially when there’s a kissing scene coming up?”

Marinette’s eyes widen, just as someone - Mylene, she realizes - spits out her drink. Glancing over the room, she also sees that Alya is less than impressed. Nino gulps nervously as Alya glares at him.

“You tampered with my script?”

“It was just a minor change!”

The two begin squabbling, arguing over the preservation of intent vs improving artistic merit. Or something. Marinette is admittedly not very invested, and finds her attention instead drifting over to Mylene, who seems very nervous.

“Are you okay?”

She shakes her head no, tears practically filling her eyes, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this!” Before anyone can say anything else, she dashes out of the room.

“Mylene!”

Chloe scoffs, “Good riddance. It’s about time the real star of the show took the stage. Goth Girl,” she demands, turning to Juleka, “I need my makeup done, stat !”

Juleka frowns. “No way. I’m not wasting my good stuff on you.”

“What was that ?” She yells, “You dare speak to me like that?” Juleka gulps, but holds her glare. Luka walks over to her side, arms crossed, and mirroring her expression. But this is Chloe, so it doesn’t deter her in the slightest. Instead, she smirks in response, and swats the table where Juleka, Rose, and Marinette keep their stuff. Juleka’s makeup falls on the ground, with at least one or two palettes cracking. Some of the powder spills on the floor, and a brush goes flying to the other side of the room.

Chloe smirks, as if proud of herself. “Do you see what happens when you go against me?”

Marinette bites back a scowl, and glancing over at Luka beside her, she can tell he’s doing the same. When their gazes meet, it’s clear that they both have the same thought in mind. 

“I’m going home,” Marinette yells, “I didn’t come here to witness you ruin everyone’s day, Chloe! I get more than enough of that during school!” She runs out, nearly slamming the door. Behind her, she can hear Luka checking on Juleka. Some time passes before he runs out the door to follow her.

“What do you think?” She asks, as they make it down the hallway, “Was that enough to convince them?”

He smiles. “They didn’t think much else of it. I think it’s time for Psyche and Bewitched to star in their first feature film.”

—

There’s an absolute wicked sense of delight Bewitched feels as she returns to gallivanting the school hallways in this form. No having to look over her shoulders for any sign of Chloe or Lila. No shrinking in on herself as she is engulfed by a sense of no purpose. No feelings of loneliness to serve as her only company.

It’s not about power to her - it’s about being able to walk in the school and exist. To exist and be anything other than miserable.

The door to the classroom is ajar, meaning that it’s easy for her to slip in, though she cautiously regards where everyone in the room stands before doing so. Juleka, Rose, and Ivan all clean up the products on the floor. Chloe is too busy doing her makeup to have a care, with Sabrina at her side to obey her every whim. Alya and Nino are still arguing, as if they hadn’t witnessed anything unfold with Chloe or Mylene. Everyone else stands around, chatting about this or that.

Bewitched sneaks in, trying to get a good listen to their conversations. 

“Hey, I’m worried about Mylene,” Ivan admits to the two, “She was really looking forward to shooting the film, and then Chloe had to ruin everything.”

“Why don’t you go check on her?”

He twitches uneasily. “I don’t know about that… I might just end up bothering her…”

Firing up the pink light in her hand, Bewitched aims towards Ivan and hits him. “Ivan Bruel. Your friends are right. You should check up on Mylene. You should also ask them to join you later.”

Ivan blinks, the pink light fading away. “Alright. I’ll go look. When you guys are done, can you give me a hand?”

“Sure!” Rose says brightly, “We shouldn’t be much longer!”

Bewitched smiles as the two hurry to finish cleaning, so they can follow Ivan. As glad as she is that they’ll have a reprieve from dealing with Chloe, she’s more glad that Mylene will have someone to check in with her. She recalls all too well what it felt like to have no one on her side.

There are two more objectives remaining - Chloe, of course, is the biggest problem in the room, but there’s also still Alya and Nino, bickering like there was no tomorrow. Sighing, she fires up the red beam, shooting both of them.

“Alya Cesaire and Nino Lahiffe. Both of you are too stubborn to pay mind to anything other than your own thoughts. Thus, until the two of you can come to a compromise, you will not be able to voice any of your thoughts.”

The energy dissipates, and suddenly, the room becomes a lot quieter. It takes a moment for the bickering duo to realize that neither one of them is actually saying anything. She’s sure if they could yell, that everyone in Paris could hear them.

Their arms start flailing, and they both point to each other’s foreheads - a drawing of a single finger held to someone’s lips glows red on both of them, something that Bewitched is now noticing for the first time. She doesn’t recall seeing something like that for Lila or Chloe.

“What are those things?” She murmurs, hoping Psyche can hear her.

“ The nature of their curse requires them knowing about it,” Psyche offers, “ That’s why those marks appeared. You wanted them to know so they could change their ways.”

She nods understandingly. Still, she has to wonder how much sway she has over these powers, or how much more they could evolve.

That was something to ponder for later. There is still one last target to contend with, blonde and oblivious to everything around her that did not focus on her. She was spritzing herself with an overpriced perfume bottle, pretending to run lines with Adrien. 

“You know Chloe, what you did wasn’t very nice,” Adrien says, crossing his arms as if trying to stand firm. It was hard to tell what his expression was, but his voice was somewhat shaky. “We’re trying to help our friends make a movie and you’re going out of your way to sabotage everyone.”

Chloe scoffs, “Come on, Adrikins. As the song of a famous actress, you have to know just how difficult the process can be if you don’t have a discerning eye and attitude. If they think people won’t be demanding in the industry, they have a rude awakening awaiting them.”

Adrien pauses, as if to consider it. “But we’re not in the industry. We’re making a movie for fun.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t toughen them up!”

Bully them, more like it , Bewitched scowls. Without further hesitation, she blasts Chloe with the red light. “Chloe Bourgeois. You wish to have the spotlight on you at every waking moment. So be it. Allow everyone to witness every flub and mistake you make on camera, only to be criticized as you have criticized others.”

This time, no curse mark forms on Chloe’s head. This time, sabotage is the goal. Besides, she already risked revealing her hand to Nino and Alya, who were now frantically typing back and forth on their phones, trying to figure out what was happening. 

“It’s showtime,” she says to herself with a wicked grin.

–

It appears that Nino and Alya have come to some sort of agreement, as Nino is able to get everyone ready for the kissing scene. It seems that Alya relented into keeping it, although she does not look particularly happy about it.

Perhaps you’ll change your mind after seeing how it plays out .

“Agent Smith, it's too dangerous! We must evacuate!”

“I'm not scared of that Horrificator thingy, Officer Whatever-your-name-is, now kiss me!”

Chloe leans forward to kiss Adrien, but magically, as he leans away, she topples over and hits the floor, face first.

“Cut!” Nino yells hesitantly, still worried he won’t be heard. When it’s clear that he is, he continues, “Chloe, did you even read the script? You had lines to help you build up to that part!”

“Ex- cuse me !” Chloe objects, “No one cares about that mushy stuff! I’m the star here, so I know what I’m talking about!”

“Enough,” Adrien sighs, “Chloe, please just read the part so we can continue filming. We’re already on a time crunch as it is.”

Chloe harumphs back, but nods. “Fine. I’ll do whatever you need of me, Adrikins.”

Nino sighs but also relents. “Horrificator, take 2!”

“Agent Smith, it's too dangerous! We must evacuate!”

This time, instead of saying her lines, Chloe lets out a horrifying series of screeches, that sounds more like a bleating goat than a human detective.

“ Cut!” Nino yells, more infuriated than ever, “Chloe, what was that ?”

“What are you yelling about now ?” She screams, “I said my ridiculous lines!”

“Oh yeah?” Alya asks, playing back the footage. Sure enough, Adrien can be heard saying his line clearly, but the goat noises are the only thing to come from Chloe’s mouth. Hearing them, Chloe shrieks in absolute disgust.

“Which one of you losers edited that to make me sound bad?” she snaps, “Do you think this is funny?”

“No one edited it!” Nino yells back, “ You did all of that!”

“That’s ridiculous ! I said all of my lines perfectly!”

“No, what’s ridiculous is your attitude!” Alya retorts back, now standing next to Nino, “We have enough on our plate as it is, and you’re just making things worse! If this is how you’re going to be, then maybe we should just kick you off the movie!”

“Wait, guys,” Adrien sighs, still regarding Chloe with a hard luck, “You know what they say. Third time’s the charm.”

“Dude-” Nino objects.

“Just… humor me, okay? If it doesn’t work out, we’ll figure something else out,” he says, before turning to Chloe, “Come on, Chloe. Take this seriously. This really means a lot to Nino and Alya.”

“Of course, Adrikins. You know I’d never let you down.”

Yeah, you’ll just let everyone else around you down . 

Nino grimly regards the pair for a moment, sighing. At this point, it seems Alya has put aside her own issues with Nino, now patting him on his shoulder. He sighs, regarding her far more gently, and relents. “Horrificator, take 3.”

“Agent Smith, it's too dangerous! We must evacuate!”

“As if, you-”

A long series of expletives falls from her mouth, ones that even Bewitched did not dare to listen to. Goodness gratuitous, who taught her all of these words ? At this point, Nino is absolutely steaming, almost as if ready to announce that he was quitting.  

But this time, it’s Alya that calls out, “Chloe, this is seriously messed up of you! If you’re going to keep pulling this, then you’re done! We are not using you in this film!”

“You can’t fire me!” Chloe yells back, “I’m the mayor’s daughter, I’m the one who-”

Unfortunately for Chloe, Bewitched has struck Kim with her beam, commanding him to remove Chloe from the premises. It is only then that Bewitched lifts her curse on Chloe. This even earns him a few rounds of applause from Alix and Max, who had been making commentary the entire time. Sabrina, completely confused by what’s happening, darts out the door behind the pair.

Sighing, Nino pinches the bridge of his nose. “What do we do now? We’re really on a time crunch now, and without a lead, we’re not going to be able to finish this.”

“Hey, Alix, would you fill in?” Alya asks.

“I’m not kissing Adrien,” she says flatly, “No offense, but I’m not into that mushy stuff.”

“Maybe we should take a break?” Adrien offers gently, “Perhaps Mylene or Marinette have calmed down enough by now and can take over?”

“If they haven’t left the school already,” Alya remarks, “I’ll see if I can reach either one of them so we can get this show back on the road.”

Taking that as her cue, Bewitched makes her way out of the door.

–

After returning to normal, the first thing Luka and Marinette do is shoot each other all knowing looks. Perhaps they’re being a bit too smug, considering the circumstances, but could one really be too smug when it came to Chloe?

“Safe to say, I don’t think she’ll be upstaging anyone for a while,” Luka assures her, feeding a sleepy Nooroo a berry, “I heard Ivan and Mylene head out. Sounded like she needed some air.”

“I don’t blame her,” Marinette sighs, checking her messages. Sure enough, she has a new unread from Alya.

A: heyyyy. chloe just got kicked from set for sabotaging everything. would either of u b willing 2 come back and shoot with us?

Within a few seconds, Mylene responds.

My: I’m sorry, but I was not a fan of the energy in that room. I know you guys are on a deadline, but I don’t think I can mentally handle helping.

Marinette sighs. “I guess that just leaves me.”

“Marinette?”

“Alya wants to know if I can take over Chloe’s part…” she bites her lip, “But I don’t know if I want to. But if I don’t, I’d be letting everyone down.”

“They can’t get someone else to play the part?”

“Well, Mylene wasn’t happy with the energy in the room… not that I can blame her. And I know Alix refuses to because…” she blushes as she recalls the reason. Though she refuses to state it, Luka nods understandingly.

“If you could get them to cut that part, would you do it?” He asks gently.

Slowly, she nods. “Yeah. I think that’s more manageable. I just…”

“I’ll go with you,” he volunteers, “Strength in numbers, after all.”

Smiling, she takes the lead, confidently strolling down the hall. A sense of purpose overtakes her, as she imagines herself asking for the scene to be cut.

And then she imagines Adrien’s disappointed face. And Nino clicking his tongue. “Can’t do that dudette. You know you gotta kiss my boy.”

“Come on, Marinette. Girl up and kiss Adrien,” Alya adds.

“Kiss him, Marinette!” She hears the rest of the class chant. Suddenly, she looks around and everyone is there.

Everyone except Luka.

When she reaches the door, she hesitates. Does she flee? Does she go in? What if everyone went back to arguing? What if-?

Luka starts humming a tune, breaking her from her thoughts. It’s an awfully melancholic tune, but it calms her nerves. She looks back over to him, and he regards her with a smile.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… nervous.”

He places a hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. “Do you need a minute?”

She takes in a deep breath. You’re not doing this on your own anymore. Luka has your back. And if they don’t agree you can back down. Alya didn’t want the kiss in the script in the first place. When she’s assured herself, she nods, and the two of them walk in the door.

“Marinette! You’re back!” Alya says, grabbing her by her hands. “Please tell me you’ll take over the role! We kicked Chloe out and-”

“Yeah, she was an absolute bust,” Nino adds, almost nervously, “But we know that you wouldn’t screw around like she did.”

Marinette bites her lip, looking nervously back to Luka. He gives her a nod. “I’ll do it, but under one condition.”

—

The rest of the shoot goes by without a hitch. Nino agrees to cut the kiss, and Marinette is able to memorize her lines to finish the movie. All that’s left is for post-production, sound-mixing, editing, and all the various things left to the rest of the class. Even Luka is recruited by Nino for some input on the sounds, leaving Marinette to her thoughts for the afternoon.

One thing weighs on her mind; Mylene. She had been looking forward to acting in the movie, even though it was a horror one. Even though Marinette technically took the part from Chloe, she really felt like she robbed it from Mylene. If there was some way she could make it up to her, Marinette would absolutely do whatever it took.

She is too deep in her thoughts to stop herself from bumping into Adrien, who appears to have been waiting for her with a nervous smile.

“Hey, Marinette.”

“A-Adrien!” she practically shrieks. Inside, she recoils. Does her voice always sound like that around him? “Wh-What are you doing?”

“Oh, it’s just… I was surprised that you asked for the kiss scene to be cut. I was just wondering why? I thought you liked me.”

A twinge of guilt boils in her. “O-Oh, it’s not that. I-It’s just… I didn’t want the first time I kiss you to be, um, when there was an audience. That sort of thing… I think it’s better when it’s just you and the person you like.”

“Oh,” he says, curling his lips. The smile never fades from his face, only making her nervousness grow. “We could… always try now, since nobody’s watching.”

She blinks. “You mean… really?”

He nods, standing a little closer, and she realizes just how small she is in comparison to him. Perhaps the high of Bewitched finally wore off, because the nervousness kicked in, and it was at least ten times worse now.

Before either one of them can say anything else, Adrien leans in and meets her lips. It’s not slow at all, and she’s barely given a second to reciprocate the gesture before he pulls away. Almost as if he’s afraid to get caught or to linger.

Did he even want to do this?

“I’ll see you later, Marinette!” He says, running off with a smile. Awkwardly, she waves back, not sure how else to respond. Before anything else can unfold, she decides to head off campus for real this time. 

–

It’s evening, and somewhere along the Seine, she knows that Luka can sense her confusion and melancholy. However, he knew when to leave well enough alone, and that she would open up when she was ready. Instead, he only sends the butterfly as a reminder.

I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it. Even if it’s never.

Chapter Text

“I know that we are young, and I know that you may love me. But I just can’t be with you like this anymore.” - Alejandro by Lady Gaga

October 31, 2015

The kiss has not left Marinette’s thoughts, even as she tries to preoccupy herself with other activities; applying for lycee, designing new pieces, working on her fashion design Instagram account… even her homework is a welcome reprieve at this point.

Still, none of it can free her mind of the lingering thought, or how unsatisfied Marinette felt with the kiss. Wasn’t it supposed to be everything she dreamed of? Why wasn’t she head over heels, or giggling at every waking moment? Had she done something wrong?

Sighing, she retreats from her room and heads down the stairs for a snack and a drink of water. Her mother is relaxing at the kitchen table, reading a book while drinking a cup of tea. “Hi, Marinette. You seemed really busy up there. Have you been working on your applications?”

Marinette bites her lip guiltily. “Trying to. Among other things. I just can’t seem to focus.”

“Is something wrong?”

She bites her lip. Was it okay to call something she thought would be right “wrong”? Hadn’t this been what she wanted?

“Well it’s… a friend . They, um, they kissed the person that they really like, after so long. They weren’t expecting it, but they also have been wanting it for so long. But… it wasn’t anything like they expected it to be. It felt almost… disappointing ?”

Her mother nods, pouring the tea into the cup and passing it to her. “Do you remember the first time you tried to ride a bicycle?”’

Marinette frowns, looking back confused. “Huh?”

Her mother smiles, “You used to tell me all the time that when you would finally learn to ride a bike, you would beat your father in a race, and do all sorts of tricks on it. When you first sat on the bike, however, you found it rather difficult to balance and sit on the seat. Your father spent a lot of time consoling you and encouraging you to get back up. You never did learn any tricks or beat him in a race, but you did learn to ride. So let me ask you; was it anything like you thought it would be?”

She shakes her head. “No, I guess not.”

Her mother nods her head in approval, taking a sip of her tea. “Love is a lot like that too. It’s something you learn about as you go, and you have to be patient. You’re not always going to get it right. Fairy tales are nice, but they don’t give you the full picture.”

Marinette takes a look into her cup, lifting it up to take a sip. She allows the steam to hit her face, calming her nerves slightly. “So… does that mean they’re not meant to be together?”

“I wouldn’t look at it like that. No single couple, no matter how good they are together, gets everything right, Marinette. Especially if it’s their first relationship. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doomed to fail either.”

She frowns but nods. She’s not really sure what to make of that. Was there any hope for her and Adrien? Or were they doomed to fail? Her mother means well, but her words don’t provide any clarity to Marinette for what to expect next.

Especially with the end of break approaching, and her not having a plan to talk to Adrien about it upon returning to school. 

“Marinette?”

She nearly spills her tea, jumping in her seat, before forcing a smile. “Oh, sorry, mom! I just, uh, kinda got lost in thought! I’m sure my friend will figure it out soon!”

“Well, I don’t think she needs to figure it out that soon,” Sabine says assuringly, “But I’m certain the answers she’s looking for will come when they are ready.”

When I’m ready ? But how long will that be ?

With the solemn thought in her mind, Marinette retreats to her room, hoping and failing to drown the words out and resume her normal routine.

–

November 2, 2015

As she makes her way onto school grounds, Marinette gets the odd feeling that it has been weeks since she set foot in Francois-Dupont. Her anxiety levels shoot up as she considers the real possibility of encountering Adrien and having to talk about the kiss. Suddenly, she feels just as lost and confused as she did before talking to her mother about it.

She looks around the school, trying to see if she’s anywhere in Adrien’s line of sight. If he hasn’t spotted her yet, maybe she can make a break for it.

Before she can get to far, she feels a sudden thud and topples over. Quickly scrambling to her feet, she gaps when she realizes who it is. “Oh, Mylene, I’m so sorry!”

“Hey, Marinette. It’s fine.”

“I’m also really sorry about the movie! I hope I didn’t step on your toes or anything! It’s just that everyone was trying to finish the movie and I-”

Mylene shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it. I just had a bad reaction to being called a baby,” she admits, looking at the ground, “You know I’ve been scared of monsters and scary movies since, well, forever, so I don’t think that helped things.”

Marinette smiles back, the anxious energy in her chest finally calming. “I don’t blame you.”

“I’m glad that they listened to you and took the kiss back out,” Mylene continues, “I would have felt bad if I did end up going through with it. I know it’s just a film, but I didn’t want to get in the way of you and Adrien.”

You and Adrien . Something about it doesn’t feel… right . Marinette isn’t quite sure what it is, but it makes her feel guilty in a way. Biting her lip, she nods her head. “It’s fine. We’re not a couple, and everyone really only knows because of Chloe and Lila.”

“Speaking of which,” Mylene hums, looking around, “I heard Chloe isn’t pleased that we still submitted the film without her. She overheard Nino planning a late birthday party for Adrien, so she’s decided to one-up him.”

“How so?”

Mylene shakes her head. “I’m not sure, honestly. She only got as far as threatening Nino’s party before she turned tail and left.”

Marinette frowns. That wasn’t Chloe’s typical style. Usually, she would brag about a few details here and there to catch everyone’s interest. Perhaps she had something a bit more elaborate in mind then if she wasn’t leaping at the chance to show off right away.

“Morning,” Luka says, approaching the two and breaking Marinette from dwelling in her thoughts, “I finally made it for the big day.”

“Oh, you’re Juleka’s brother,” Mylene says, giving him a wave, “I’m Mylene. I don’t really think we met last time.”

“Yeah, that was pretty hectic,” he says, returning the greeting, “I’m Luka. I’ll be joining your class starting today.”

Mylene gets a curious look in her eye, before slyly looking over to Marinette. “Finally found yourself someone to share a table with, Marinette?”

Nervously, she laughs and scratches the back of her head. “I mean if he doesn’t mind…”

He smiles back, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, “There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

Soon enough, the bell rings and everyone moves to the classroom. Marinette retreats to her seat in the back, and watches as everyone files in. Luka stays up front to do his obligatory introductions to the class. Other than an all-knowing smile from Juleka and welcoming glances from Ivan and Rose, not much happens, and Luka is able to take his seat next to Marinette.

“Ms. Bustier, before we start, I have an actually important announcement to make,” Chloe remarks, standing up in front of everyone.

“Oh, um, I suppose that’s fine.”

“ Thank you, Ms. Bustier,” Chloe says with a satisfied grin. “I just wanted everyone to know that you all have the privilege of being invited to my home for Adrien’s birthday party. I know, I’m so great, aren’t I? Anyway, you better be there for him, because I invited you there for his sake.”

“ Ahem, ” Nino clears his throat. This earns him an eyeroll.

“ Ugh , fine. We’ll also be having music entertainment and whatever. DJ boy insisted on me telling you. But don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of good music too!”

Nino barely bites back a scowl, but says nothing in return. With a satisfied smirk, Chloe takes her seat at the front, happily chatting away with Sabrina and eyeing Adrien every so often.

“My first day here, and I’m already invited to a party,” Luka chuckles, “You thinking of going?”

Instinctively, she responds, “I don’t know… this just seems like the perfect opportunity for Chloe to get back at me, you know?”

A different blonde flashes in her mind, and Marinette goes cold. If she went to his birthday party, would that mean anything to him? Would he try to make it official with her? She never considered the possibility of actually becoming Adrien’s girlfriend. Before break, she would have been lucky if he had even glanced in her direction. Now, she can’t stop thinking about their awkward kiss and how she should actually avoid going to his party.

But truthfully, a part of Marinette wants to go to the party. She wants to wear a cute outfit she designed, and dance with her friends, and eat really good rich people food that she might not ever get the chance to taste again. 

Luka give her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Would you go if we left after an hour? Wish Adrien a happy birthday, and talk to some friends?” he offered.

A lot could go wrong in just an hour , she thinks solemnly. And yet, a little bit of hope resonates in her. If she stuck with Luka, he’d have her back. Juleka would be able to wallow in misery with her. Rose might go out of her way to show her something to cheer her up. And Ivan would be an assuring presence in the midst of chaos.  

“I… yeah . That could work.”