*I do not own MLB or its characters. If I did, Lila would be in a lot of pain.

Over the past few weeks since Marinette had come back to class, she couldn't help but notice that Lila seemed to be up to something new. For one, the Italian girl hadn't been bothering her as much as before. There was still the occasional quip and barb thrown in her direction, but nothing compared to what she had been doing before. She wanted to write it off to the deal Adrien had made with the girl, the blonde had confessed the truth to her after the photoshoot and promised her that he would never let things get that out of hand ever again. But something just didn't seem right.

Lila was sticking to a single story about a party that she was planning on an island south of Venice over the long weekend next month. She was going on and on about it being a private island, with beautiful scenery and a rich history. Her mother was setting it up for a bunch of politicians, and all of the celebrities Lila knew were coming. A five-star chef would be there to make everyone the most amazing food. Many of the musicians she knew were planning to do jam-sessions, so there would be live music. The way she described it, it was going to be the biggest private event that Lila had ever been involved with.

Marinette and Adrien kept keen ears pointed in her direction, more than they normally would. Something about this particular story seemed different from her usual lies. It didn't sit well with either of them

They could admit, the Italian was smoother with this lie than she was with any other she had spouted since joining their class. She had started mentioning the party a little here and there, then the different celebrities, then the hotel and bringing in the chef. How expensive it all was and how her mother was planning everything. Then, the following week, Lila dropped a bomb that had almost the entire class squealing and scrambling.

"You won't believe it! Mama said that I could invite all my friends to come to the party so I'll have more people my age to talk to!" Lila gushed as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Seriously! That's awesome, girl!" Alya cheered excitedly.

"But I have to be up front with all of you about something, and I want you to know that if I had my way I would never ask, but my mom insisted." Lila's expression quickly turned uncertain as she looked around at her 'friends' before taking a breath and continuing. "Whoever wants to come, has to take care of their own travel and pay €300 up front for the food and accommodations. I really wish I didn't have to say that, but there was nothing I could do to change her mind."

"That's completely understandable, dudette." Nino grinned as she slung his arm around Alya's shoulders. "But still, for two nights in a swanky hotel and all our meals handled, that's a total steal. When would you need the money?"

Lila's face lit up again saying that she would need the money at least a week before the party so her mother could book enough rooms and make sure there would be enough food. Mylene asked if they needed their parents to escort them, and Lila promised to get them the needed forms to travel. She also asked Alya not to post anything about this on her blog, as this was supposed to be a private thing with a lot of big-name people and they couldn't risk word getting out. The journalist readily agreed but made Lila promise that she would be allowed to post pictures after the weekend was over, which Lila readily agreed.

Marinette and Adrien looked on with worry as their classmates began making plans for the weekend in a few weeks. After class let out for the day, Adrien convinced his body guard that he needed to study with Marinette for an upcoming test. Since the man liked the girl, her parents, and had a soft spot for their bakery's salted caramel scones; he allowed it. Up in her room, the two teens set their homework aside and jumped on Marinette's computer to see what was going on with the Italian.

"What do you think she's up to?" Adrien asked her.

"Not sure, but it's strange that she kept saying how I shouldn't ask for money when I do commissions, then turns around and asks for €300 per person." She says, looking up private islands near Venice. "I mean, she has to know that she can't just ask for money from everyone and then not follow through since she would have to give all of their money back."

"Agreed, she could try and say that the money was non-refundable, but I don't think they would accept that."

She hummed in agreement before pulling up a map. "The only private island I can find close by is Isola Santa Christina, but that's North-East of Venice, not South. And I checked the availability for that weekend, and it's not reserved. The only island South of Venice that could be considered 'private' is Poveglia."

The blonde's brow shot up when he heard the name. "Isn't that the haunted island that's been closed off to tourists for a long time?"

"Since the 1960s, when the mental asylum closed." She nodded, as she continued to read. "And before that, it was where they sent people dying of plague and other diseases to die and be buried. It says right here, there's over 160,000 people buried there in 'plague pits' and it's nearly impossible to walk five meters without walking over someone's remains."

Adrien's lip curled in disgust as he read the information and history of the island over the French-Asian girl's shoulder. "Well, she did say that the island was private, historic and had a view. And the island does have a lot of history and it's private."

"And there was a plan to turn the old asylum into a luxury hotel a few years back, but that fell through."

They continued reading the different articles on different islands around Venice, but none of them seemed to fit. Adrien agreed that Lila wouldn't be so sloppy with her lies to invite everyone to a weekend party and then have to give everyone their money back… but what if she never had to see anyone again?

"Do you mind if I look something up really quick?"

"Did you think of something?" She asked while standing from her desk chair so he could take a look.

"It's just a hunch," he muttered, his fingers quickly typing at the keys. "I think you're right, Lila wouldn't ask for money if she was just going to have to turn around and give it back, even if she used the 'deposit' excuse to keep part of it for herself. That can only mean that something else is going on."

It took a few minutes, but he found what he was looking for on the Italian Embassy's website and twitter page. Different people wishing Ambassador Rossi a fond goodbye before she transfers back to Italy before the holiday weekend. "She's not coming back," he said between gritted teeth while Marinette looked over his shoulder.

"I want to say that I can't believe Lila would do something like this, but she purposely got me expelled, almost got me akumatized, and almost caused another Scarlet Moth incident. Stealing from people she won't see again is well within the boundaries of what she can do."

Adrien turned the chair to look Marinette in the eyes. "What should we do? We tried the high road, that was a mistake and I'm still kicking myself for saying that, but we can't just sit back and let all of them get scammed for €300."

"It will be more than that," worry evident in her voice. "It will be the €300, whatever they have to spend on their tickets there and back, and whatever money they'll spend on someplace to stay while they're there, if they stay in Venice."

"We have to try," Adrien said, just as determined when he forced Lila to lie to get Marinette back into school. "Maybe if we talk to everyone, one person at a time and explain what we found, we might be able to convince them to look into things a little deeper and figure it out themselves."

Marinette hesitated. "They didn't believe me before, why would they believe me now?"

"Because I'll be with you every step of the way to show them that it's not just you, I promise."

~oOo~

Adrien kept his promise, he stayed with Marinette as they pulled their classmates aside to show them what they found. Nathaniel, Juleka, Rose and Chloe seemed to really listen to them and agreed that it seemed a little too good to be true. The others were more hesitant to listen and turned their questions to Lila, who was quick to spin her lies about the comments on Twitter being taken out of context, that her mother's coworkers were only saying goodbye for the weekend. Then she turned on the fake tears and accused them of spreading rumors and lies when she was just trying to do something nice for her friends. That resulted in the majority of the class shunning Marinette and Adrien for the weeks leading up to the holiday.

Nearly the entire class gave Lila €300 each before the deadline she had set. Adrien and Marinette had been 'uninvited' to the party; Chloe scoffed and said that she wasn't about to waste her time with a bunch of people she didn't even like; and Nathaniel, Juleka, and Rose all claimed that they couldn't afford it. Lila was leaving school a couple days before the weekend to "help her mom prepare for the party" but gave everyone instructions on which dock to meet at for the boat to pick them up and ferry them to the island.

Friday morning, the two of them tried again, practically pleading with their friends not to go, that it had all been a scam. This was met with a lot of harsh words, insults, and Alya declaring that she could no longer be friends with someone as vindictive and jealous as Marinette. That left the girl in tears, but the four that stayed behind were quick to comfort her and took her back to her house after school for a movie night. After the others left, Marinette sent a quick email, hoping for a positive response.

The movie night was followed by a jam-session on Saturday at Juleka and Luka's place. It was a blast to have Adrien on the keyboard with Kitty Section again, it was a little difficult without a drummer but it was still fun. When Marinette got home, she was relieved to see a response to her email waiting for her and read it before she went to bed.

They had a picnic in the park on Sunday, along with Marc, where Adrien was having a photoshoot so he could sit and eat with them during his breaks. The photographer liked the natural energy and look of the group so much that he took multiple pictures of the three couples, as Vincent put it. There was another email waiting for her when she got home, she read that one twice and rewrote her response three times before sending it.

On Monday, the six of them hung out at the bakery with Tom showing Marinette's friends how to make the perfect croissant and the best way to pipe frosting onto cupcakes. They had a blast and ended up having a frosting fight at one point, which ended with a large round of giggles and Adrien striking a victory pose since he had gotten hit with the least amount of frosting. Everyone had a great time and went home with the goodies they'd made. The final response in Marinette's email put a smile on her face, knowing that she had done the right thing.

~oOo~

Tuesday morning and the five of them weren't sure what to expect. They had decided to go with a united front and met at the Dupain-Cheng bakery so they would go to school together. Sabine gladly handed all of them fresh pastries before they left and wished them luck. Marinette's parents had been made aware of Lila's deceit and how she had likely scammed their classmates out of a lot of money. Hearing this, the two bakers had been making multiple calls to the Board of Governors about their daughter's expulsion and other incidents that Adrien had brought up that had to do with Lila. From what they had heard, it was likely that their school, M. Damocles, and Mme. Bustier would be under heavy scrutiny very soon.

Entering the classroom, none of them were prepared for the dead silence from the rest of the class. Everyone looked to be experiencing different levels of confusion, anger, and absolute exhaustion. Everyone except Chloe, who looked smug as she grinned at everyone in the room. When the five of them came in, her smile grew as she looked directly at Alya. "So, how was your weekend on that private island in Venice? Was it as fabulous as Lie~la said it would be?"

Mylene, Sabrina, and Kim all started crying; Nino ducked his head to hide behind his hat, Max's head dropped to the desk with a thunk, and Alya's fists clenched so hard that her nails cut into her palms. But it was Alex that had the most colorful reaction as she slammed her hands on the table and practically screamed.

"Shut up, you blonde shrew! Grrr! I swear, if I ever see that liar again, I will hit her over her head with my skates until she apologizes." Her eyes turned to Marinette and Adrien, still angry but with a bit of self-loathing. "You were right. We all waited on that dock all day until the police came and took us to the station. We had to spend the night in the police station and wait for our parents to come get us. Alya tried to argue that it was just a private party and even pointed out the island that bitch said it would be on. But no~, that island was closed to the public and has been for 50 years!"

"We tried to tell you," Adrien said hesitantly when Alix stopped ranting to breathe.

"Dude, I don't think I've ever seen my parents so mad," Nino said, barely lifting his head to look at his friend. "They're talking to a lawyer about what they can do, but the law dude said that the most they can do is file charges against Lila for the scam and that none of use are likely to get any of the money back."

"My parents grounded me until the lawsuit is settled or I pay back all the money they spent on coming to get me," Ivan told them, his large shoulders drooping almost half-way down his back.

"By my calculations, that is unlikely to happen," Max said, not even bothering to lift his face from his desk. "When taking into account the amount of money that she took from each of us, that she had us go to Venice of our own accord, the fact that her mother is an ambassador and therefore bestowed Lila with diplomatic immunity for her actions; there is not much the law can do."

Unable to help herself, Marinette turned to look at Adrien as a small smile graced her lips. Adrien gave her a bigger smile that confused everyone, even Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka. "You should tell them."

"Tell us what?" Alya asked, not sure if she could deal with any more surprises for the rest of the school year.

"Well, after Adrien and I figured out what Lila was up to, we recorded one of the times she bragged about the trip and how much money she was getting from you. I emailed the video, your names, the dock where she told you to go, and all the other information to Ambassador Rossi on Friday night to let her know what was going on."

All of their jaws dropped as Marinette continued to speak. "I don't think she believed me at first; but then she got a report about a bunch of unaccompanied minors from her daughter's school being detained in Venice and that she had apparently allowed them into the country. She was shocked and confused that any of you got through customs without an adult, but then Ambassador Rossi noticed a stack of documents were missing and figured Lila must have taken them and forged her signature to make the scam more believable. I talked to her again last night; she's forcing Lila to plead guilty to fraud and forgery, any charges that the Italian government was going to file against you are being dropped, and she's clearing out Lila's savings to pay the money back to your parents."

Now the entire class was crying tears of joy and relief. They knew that they'd messed up when it came to Marinette and Adrien, Alya especially towards her best friend. But they were more than willing to work their butts off to make it right, no matter how rough the road ahead of them might be.

AN: This was another Tumblr prompt that I found and just ran with it. The prompt itself was based on the Fyre Festival Disaster that happened in 2017 where 5,000 people were scammed out of thousands of dollars per ticket for what was supposed to be a luxury music festival. I didn't take the story to quite that scale since most middle schoolers don't have that kind of cash.

I wasn't going to have that last part where Marinette confesses that she had been in contact with Mme. Rossi, but I really wanted our girl to show the class that she wasn't trying to be vindictive or jealous. That she'd had their backs the whole time, because that's what real friends do. Hope you all enjoyed this story. Warm-Fuzzies and please review!