Marinette couldn't escape the guilt that lingered as she watched Lila walk away, hands clasped around her not-miraculous fox-tail necklace. Because even though Lila had tried to get close to Adrien, even though she had lied about herself and about Ladybug, it had been Ladybug who caused Lila's akumatization. It had been Marinette's fault that Hawkmoth had been able to send out yet another black butterfly and infect an innocent civilian. And while this wasn't the first time Marinette had been the cause of an akuma (Antibug and the Gamer she remembered well), it still hurt to know she had done that to someone. In a way, she felt as if she had helped Hawkmoth.

That was never a good feeling.

And so it was with determination to be amiable to Lila that Marinette went to school. She had never spoken to Lila as her civilian self. The only people who definitely knew that Lila had lied were Adrien and Marinette as Ladybug. While the other students theoretically had no idea, Lila was sure to avoid Adrien like the black plague after what had occurred. Marinette hurried her pace when she saw Alya's back and settled in step next to her.

"Have you heard?" Alya asked excitedly, looking down to grin at Marinette. "Even our super-cool and popular Italian transfer student has bad days." She pulled out her phone and opened up the Ladyblog. Marinette peered down at the screen to read the post title: "Fox Superheroine was Faux!" The post was accompanied with a blurred photo of the latest akuma, Volpina, standing high on the roof as she called out to the people below.

"Wow!" Marinette feigned surprise as she skimmed the post.

"I wonder what happened to her." Alya commented as she put her phone away. "I was really excited for another hero to put on the blog, too."

"Oh well." Marinette smiled sympathetically and patted her friend's shoulder. Suddenly Alya gasped.

"Speak of the devil! Volpina is right here." Alya exclaimed quietly and turned her head. Marinette followed her line of sight and saw Lila at the top of the stairs of the school entrance, standing next to Rose and some other girls from different classes. She didn't seem that upset considering yesterday's events, but Marinette wanted to follow through with her resolution.

"Hi!" She called out. "Lila, right?" Marinette smiled as Lila turned to look at her. Now that she was actually looking directly at Lila and seeking out an acquaintanceship, she realized that Lila was actually very pretty, and she looked really smart and well-rounded and fashionable. Kind of like a certain blond model she knew. Marinette shook off the thought and approached them. Rose waved in response and Lila nodded. "I'm Marinette; welcome to Paris!"

"Thank you, it's wonderful here." Lila responded politely, but she fixed Marinette with a curious stare. Suddenly the heroine felt a bit on edge, but she continued smiling nonetheless.

"I know we're in different classes, but if you have any questions, you can come to me. I hope we can be friends." She offered.

For some reason, a brief expression of confusion flickered on Lila's face, before smoothing into a pleasant smile. "You are too kind. Thank you so much."

"See you around!" Marinette said cheerfully, and Lila waved.

Marinette and Alya walked off into the school. Had Marinette glanced behind, she would have seen Lila's eyes following her.

"Hey, what was that about, Miss She-Can't-Have-My-Adrien?" Alya demanded once they were out of earshot, placing her hands on her hips. Marinette wasn't quite sure how to explain exactly why Lila wouldn't be pursuing Adrien anymore.

"Um." Marinette began. "I just think I need to stop judging people on whether they like Adrien." She laughed a little. "She's probably really nice, anyway." Hah.

Well, Marinette thought to herself, aside from being a liar. And a thief. And a pest.

Well.

Although, it seemed as if Lila had only done those things to make Adrien like her, which, while Marinette didn't support the method, she could understand the intention behind it. The allure of Adrien's love was too strong (just look at him, c'mon). Furthermore, she hadn't lied about anything else. All of her other claims about hanging out with famous people and such have turned out to be true, which is why her interview on the Ladyblog caused a ton of good traffic and positive comments. And everyone else at the school sans Chloe (and by default, Sabrina) seemed to like her.

But Lila had been looking at her strangely, earlier.

"Well, I'm going to need to talk to her some more so I can get more info on Ladybug." Alya grinned and glanced back towards Lila, who had mercifully stopped staring at Marinette. "They're friends, you know."

"You told me yesterday." Marinette reminded Alya, who chuckled. The two went to class, and Marinette pondered Lila's behavior. Sure, it would make sense she might act a little off-kilter, what with being akumatized yesterday, but it didn't really explain her behavior towards Marinette. In the end, she brushed it off and took out her notebook.

There were two opposing sides to Lila's thoughts right now. The first was that Marinette was one hundred percent absolutely Ladybug, her current greatest enemy, and that she should keep her distance for the rest of her life. It was glaringly obvious, the physical similarities between the two. The two shared the same hairstyle and color, the same exact body shape and height. Lila had seen beautiful bright blue eyes, the same exact eyes that had glared at her before and accused her of deception. And she had heard a sweet and kind voice, the sweetened version of the angry voice that had declared Lila a super-liar only yesterday. Marinette was totally Ladybug, and she wielded the knowledge that Lila had lied, that Lila was a disgrace. She could befriend Lila in a ruse to embarrass her. She could get close to Lila and find out her deepest and darkest secrets and spill them to the world. She was danger and she could ruin Lila's life.

The second side was that Marinette had been so friendly and sweet that there was no way she could be Ladybug. And that Marinette had been the only student to approach Lila and offer nothing but kindness. She didn't ask for any of Lila's connections, popularity, or anything else. While other students clamored for her stories of flying with Prince Ali in his private jet or talking to the famous director Steven Spielberg, or even having a song written about her by Jagged Stone, Marinette had come to her and offered friendship, seemingly with no strings attached. Lila's heart had actually skipped a beat. Maybe even two.

Sure, Ladybug had shown some signs of empathy when she apologized, but Lila's response (which she may or may not regret) probably erased what little compassion Ladybug had for her. Marinette may have all the looks to be Ladybug, but her personality was too different. It didn't match up. Maybe they were long lost twins. Or something.

Despite it all, Lila knew the most logical conclusion was that Marinette and Ladybug were one and the same. But she felt a small liking to Marinette that would not match up with her hatred of Ladybug. If they were the same person, why did she feel so differently about them? Also, how the heck did no one notice the similarities between them? Lila had combed through the entire Ladyblog prior to coming to France, and nearly every post asked about her identity. And she knew Alya was the creator of the blog, since she had given the false interview. To think she would not notice how her friend was the exact likeness of Ladybug…

Lila's thoughts were a mess. She didn't know what to think. Everything contradicted everything else. She knew Marinette was probably Ladybug, but there was also the chance that she wasn't. How likely was it that she would attend the same school as Paris's most adored hero? She was confused.

"When did I save you? Never!" Ladybug had jeered in front of Adrien.

"We'll never be friends!" Lila had said to Ladybug, before storming off.

"I hope we can be friends." Marinette had said to Lila, with a big smile.

The teacher saw Lila's head down on the desk, and wisely decided not to comment.

Marinette was on a mission. She was determined to make up for what she did, and she was determined to become friends with Lila. Thus it was during morning classes that she had a great idea.

"Alya." She whispered quietly to her friend. "Want to each lunch together at my house?" She asked.

"Definitely!" Alya gave her a thumbs up. Lunch at Marinette's was always great, since her house was literally a bakery and her parents were extremely good cooks. Not to say Alya's mom wasn't a good cook, but she didn't prepare as many desserts as the Dupain-Chengs. "I'll text my mom when class is over."

"And, you know," Marinette continued gleefully. "I could invite Lila over."

At that, Alya's eyes lit up. "And I can ask her some more about Ladybug! Super idea!" She grinned widely, before looking Marinette in the eye. "Why do you want to be friends with her so bad?"

Marinette coughed discreetly. She could tell Alya that it's because she may or may not have been a jerk as Ladybug to Lila, but that wasn't really the best thing to say.

"She's new! I think we should be nice." Marinette said, wincing on the inside at her white lie.

"Well, if you say so. And I think she's pretty cool, too." Alya agreed. Mme. Bustier coughed loudly and gave them pointed looks, and the two girls smiled sheepishly and went back to work.

Thankfully, the bell rang and and it was lunchtime.

Lila fled immediately. She had too many thoughts and all of them were focused on Marinette and Ladybug. Thanks to the French school system, lunch was close to two hours long and many people went home to eat, so Lila had plenty of time to relax. However, as Lila's parents were diplomats, they were frequently busy. As such, Lila had to eat at the school. Which meant she might have to interact with Marinette if she was also eating at the school. Or, she realized, she might have to interact with Adrien. Both were equally bad. The girl who was probably Ladybug and the boy she lied to.

Lila decided she could hide out in the library for a bit. Well-liked as she was, she didn't feeling like talking with people. Despite having the entire morning of classes to think, she still needed to sort out her feelings. Most people probably were eating down in the school courtyard or at home, so theoretically she would be alone.

So it was with grace and stealth that she climbed the stairs to the library, finding it mercifully devoid of people. Lila dropped her bag on the table in the center of the room and sat down to think, hands pressed to her temples.

Now that Lila's chances with Adrien were as nonexistent as her friendship with Ladybug, she had no other target at the school. No other person to pursue for friendship or love. She still sought a romantic relationship, or a strong friendship, at least. With her frequent moves, she never had the time to develop deep friendships or bonds. Thanks to her association with famous figures and internet popularity, she could form acquaintanceships fast. She could be the center of attention easily. But she never had the one best friend who was always there for her. She never had anyone who would ask how she was doing or text her late into the night.

Well, of course that had never bothered her. She was an independent, strong girl. But it wouldn't hurt to have a friend, or a significant other. That's part of the reason she had wanted to be with Adrien so badly. Not only was he a charming model, he was genuinely nice and seemed compassionate. But that option was gone now.

And it seemed the best candidate to fill that position was the girl who may or may not be the person who ruined her chances with Adrien in the first place.

Sometimes, Lila made obviously bad life decisions, such as when she lied to Adrien in an attempt to develop a relationship with him. That blew up in her face immediately afterwards (to be fair, she would probably move away in a couple of months yet again, and never see him for the rest of her life).

Lila was determined to not make another bad life decision. Her resolution was to stay far, far away from Ladybug, and thus she would stay as far away from Marinette as she possibly could.

We'll never be friends, she repeated to herself.

But if Marinette wasn't Ladybug, she was losing a potential friend. Everything hinged on Marinette being Ladybug.

I hate you, Ladybug, Lila chanted.

It was then the library door clicked open.

"The library?" Someone said.

"I think I saw her go in here." A voice replied quietly. Lila knew the owner of that voice. It belonged to both a Parisian superheroine and a friendly student. Lila turned her head, dreading every second of the motion.

"Hey, Lila! Want to eat lunch with us?" Marinette called out to her, a big, radiant grin on her face. Lila's heart dropped from her chest cavity right down to the soles of her feet.