#✎ ALYA CESAIRE ೃ༄ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blessedfatui · 2 years

Text

Alya should have known that she only had everyone’s best interest in mind, so why was she being chastised for not having any proof? Didn’t her word mean anything? Wasn’t her word good enough?

CLASS FIGHT (MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG)

✐ AUTHOR’S NOTES: this was based off the prompt and request by @broadwaycutie16; i tried to stay true to the script that you had set out, so please let me know if this is any good. not very good at writing marinette’s character

WORD COUNT: 4k

TW: marinette salt, lila salt, anti-class salt, toxic friends, chameleon spoilers, foul language m

Marinette has had enough with people not believing her and wanting to believe Lila over her. Fine, if they wanted to look like fools and get hurt, that was on them. She was done with all of them; she tried to warn them about Lila, but everyone was too enchanted by her lies to open their eyes. They would rather believe some girl they barely knew over Marinette—their everyday Ladybug and best friend!

After what transpired in class, Marinette blocked all her classmates and took down any and all pictures of them off of her social media and around her room. She asked her parents to allow her to transfer to online school and they agreed, saying that if she thought that was the best option for her, then they would support her decision.

She also told her parents that she was no longer friends with anyone in her class, so Tom and Sabine would tell any of Marinette’s old classmates that she wasn’t here or taking any visitors. It felt liberating: she didn’t have to hear about everyone gushing over Lila or watch them wait on her every request and command. No more listening to her gush and ramble on about obvious lies; just no more.

And Marinette was okay with that. She was okay with removing herself from the situation.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Marinette? Don’t you think you’re being a little rash?” Tikki asked once Marinette came back upstairs with a plate of cookies.

“I’m sure that I’m doing the right thing, Tikki,” Marinette assured, setting the plate down and sitting on the chaise. “I tried to tell everyone that Lila was lying but no one wanted to listen to me. Even Adrien knew that she was a liar and said that exposing her would be a bad idea. She threatened me, Tikki, and I almost got akumatized because of her.”

That was true. Marinette was almost akumatized twice because of Lila and she was tired of everyone not believing her. They should have believed her; Marinette would have no reason to lie to them, and yet they all would fawn and hush over Lila. It was ridiculous; it was like a stab to the back, and she hated how everyone was so willing to turn their back on her. How could they? How could they betray her when she needed them most?

It hurt so much to block them all but it was for the greater good. If they didn’t want to believe her or trust her word, Marinette would cut them out of her life and let them all drown in their foolishness. They would have to learn the hard way that Lila was nothing but a filthy liar.

Tikki sighed, not wanting to argue with her friend. “If you say so, Marinette. I just think you’re making a mistake because you’re mad,” she muttered, snatching one of the cookies off of the plate and enjoying her feast.

Marinette didn’t think she was in the wrong. She just wanted to warn her friends, that was all. If Lila was willing to hurt her, who knows what else that girl could have done to everyone else? It was already bad enough that Lila told Nathaniel and Marc that she knew several manga artists, told Nino that she could get him in contact with music producers, and then told Alya that she was best friends with Ladybug. It just made Marinette’s job as Ladybug harder because heaven knows that everyone would get hurt by those lies and they would end up getting akumatized.

“And done,” Marinette declared, blocking everyone in the group chat and leaving the chat shortly afterwards. It felt oddly relieving, not having to worry about everyone and being accused of witch-hunting—Marinette didn’t believe she was as she was the one that was threatened in the bathroom and everyone should have trusted her word over Lila’s. “I start online classes later this week and I’ll have more time to myself. I believe this is all for the best.”

“If that’s what you think, Marinette. I just think that you could explain everything better,” Tikki said.

Maybe this would be the best solution for Marinette.

A few months after starting her online classes, Marinette felt so much better. She didn’t have to worry about a liar and didn’t have to worry about defending herself. Her old friends tried to contact her and stop by the bakery to talk to Marinette, but her parents told them all that Marinette would not be seeing them anymore, and they should stop trying to contact her.

Naturally, they were all hurt by this statement, but understood and respected Marinette’s boundaries, so they never stopped by to try and contact her again. Marinette could sometimes hear them downstairs whenever they stopped by, but she always held herself up in her room to avoid any awkward interactions. How bizarre would it be to see your old friends and having an awkward conversation while your parents are working?

The only time Marinette left the bakery was to perform her duties as Ladybug (often, it was saving Lila from an akuma; despite being annoying, it was something that had to be done) or to have some time to herself without hearing the chatter from downstairs. She would spend her free time in the park, gathering ideas for any new fashion projects before leaving and finding a new location to draw inspiration from.

She’s had a few close calls, almost running into her old friends, but they never noticed her or acknowledged her presence when they passed by. That was a good sign, she supposed, but it was odd. They never looked in her direction, never stopped to even wave at her. They just continued with their day as if nothing happened; did Lila already poison their brains? Did they honestly believe her lies?

If they did, that was their fault. It was their fault that they didn’t believe Marinette. If they wanted to take Lila’s word over theirs, who was she to stop them? They weren’t her problem any more.

And she would return home, finishing her online homework and then using the rest of her time before bed to finish any projects she had started. Marinette had gotten so much more done, looking around her room to see the various dresses and accessories she had created during these few months. The only problem was that she had no more models since she stopped being friends with Mylene, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Alya.

Alya, her best friend. Marinette thought that Alya would be the one to stand by her side but no, Alya betrayed her too. She would rather believe a liar than her best friend; that tore Marinette to ribbons when Alya confronted her about always accusing Lila without any proof and quick to point the finger at Lila.

“I’m telling you that she’s lying, Alya! Why are you doubting me?” Marinette had asked her, biting her bottom lip as her fist trembled. “Do you like that I would lie to you?”

“Girl, I’m not saying you’re lying, but you have no proof that Lila is lying about anything. You’re so quick to point a finger without any proof. Anything bad happens to you and you’re so quick to believe it’s Lila,” Alya had argued back. “I love you, Mari, but this is getting ridiculous.”

“I’m being ridiculous!? What about you? You have no proof that Lila is telling the truth about anything, but you’re just going to believe her?”

Alya shrugged, folding her arms across her chest. “You’re right: I have no evidence that she’s telling the truth, but I’m not going around pointing my finger and accusing her for every bad thing that happens. If you’re going to keep this up, I don’t think I can continue being your friend.”

Marinette blinked, mouth dropping before she asked, “Are you serious? Alya, we’ve been friends for a year, and you’re going to believe her over me? I would have no reason to lie to you.”

“Lila is my friend too, Marinette. I don’t think she would have any reason to lie to me, either. Just because you don’t like her, doesn’t mean I don’t have to like her. Lila is pretty chill and I like talking with her,” Alya said, going to leave the bathroom. “I think you should really work on yourself before we talk again. This is healthy, Marinette.”

That day—it was a painful memory and the day Marinette decided to cut everyone off. Lila had everyone wrapped around her little finger and Marinette couldn’t take it. She couldn't take always being villainized and told to take the high road—none of them understood the burden she bore. She was only trying to protect them; Marinette didn’t want them to get hurt.

Ugh, dwelling on past memories wasn't going to help her or reverse the hands of time. There was no way to go back in time and fix everything without fucking up the timelines (it was a complicated lesson Marinette had to learn with Bunnyx and she really didn’t want to hurt her head anymore than she had). All she could do is move forward and learn from this whole ordeal.

Stepping onto the rooftop, Marinette made herself comfortable in the sun. It was a nice day and she thought she would take a break from her homework and draw some inspiration for her newest designs. She had been really inspired by Gabriel’s newest springline to try and create some spring dresses (maybe she could base them after Chat Noir and Ladybug if she could find the right material).

She already had her chair propped up and her sketch book in her lap, looking down at the Parisians walking along the streets and hanging out in the park. So far, nothing had caught her eye as Marinette tapped her pencil on the blank paper. Maybe she could leave the house and walk around the park to see what the fine people of Paris were doing.

“How do you feel about taking a little walk, Tikki?” Marinette asked her beloved kwami?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. You’ve hardly left the house, so this would be a nice treat,” Tikki voiced, following Marinette back inside.

She quickly dressed, tugging on a simple sweater and trading her cozy slippers for tennis shoes. Once her hair was done and applied a little makeup, Marinette slung her purse over her shoulder and watched Tikki zip inside. She giggled, climbing downstairs and grabbing fruit from the bowl. “I’m going for a walk, Mom! Call me if you need anything.”

“Please, be careful and have fun,” Sabine giggled, finishing up the dishes as Marinette zipped out of the bakery.

The sun felt so good on her skin. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any attacks and she could just enjoy the worth of the sun. Marinette let out a blissful sigh, walking with a bounce in her step. The park would be a good place to gather some inspiration for her dresses and springline. With that decided, she quickly made her way to the park.

Already, there were many kids playing. Some chased each other around, engaged in a stimulating game of Tag. Some children had brought their toys and shared with others, shrieking with pure excitement before they swapped toys and continued to engage in their little games. This would be great inspiration for a series of children’s clothes—perhaps Marinette could have Mannon try on some of her prototypes before she even thought about showing them off—

“Marinette?”

She looked over her shoulder, pivoting on her heel to see her old classmates and friends. They were all settled on a red plaid blankets—surprisingly, Chloe was there (honestly, it was a shocker that she hadn’t said anything snarky)—with small sandwiches in front of them and other assortments of fruit. She certainly wasn’t expecting this, but she would weasel her way out of this, especially since Lila—

Huh, Lila wasn’t with them? How odd.

“Hi, uh? I couldn’t help but notice that Lila wasn’t with you,” Marinette said, clearing her throat. “What happened? Is she sick again?”

Alya shook her head. “She transferred school. A few months ago, actually,” she explained.

“What was the reason?” Marinette asked.

“She’s a liar, dumbass,” Chloe spat, popping a strawberry into her mouth. “She got caught in a lie. When she was exposed for who she really was, the coward stopped showing up to school. A week later, Lila ran back to wherever she came from. Good riddance.”

Marinette opened her mouth but said nothing. She wet her bottom lip, rocking back and forth. So, they learned that Lila was a liar—that Marinette had been telling the truth this whole time. A small part of her wanted to say something snarky in return, but she forced that feeling down. Instead, she hummed, playing with her fingers as the group remained quietly, passing the fruit to each other.

Why weren’t they saying anything? Didn’t they owe her an apology? They should be begging for her forgiveness at this point; she wanted nothing but to help but no, they accused her of lying and being jealous of Lila.

Again, Marinette cleared her throat. “So?” she trailed off.

“So what?” Adrien asked gently.

“Why haven’t you guys apologized? I mean I was telling the truth,” she asked.

The students looked at each other and then back at Marinette. “Sorry,” is all they offered before going back to their fruit.

That—that was it? She was given a measly sorry? They weren’t begging and tripping over themselves to say how wrong they were for ever doubting her? This—this was wrong; everything about this was so wrong. Marinette was so annoyed. Why, she was practically seeing red at this point and she wanted to spit or just yell. That was all she got after they all turned their backs on her? It wasn’t far—Marinette deserves far better than this.

“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say to me?” Marinette said with a laugh, hands resting on her hips. “I told you all that she was lying and that’s all you can say to me? You all turned your back on me and let her hurt me and this is all you can muster up. I would have expected this from Chloe, but not all of you.”

Alya frowned, standing up to confront her ex-friend. “Yes, that’s all you get. Yeah, Lila was lying and we believed her over you,” she stated, folding her arms over her chest as her frown deepened. “But you cutting us off really showed us your true colors, Marinette. You’re an awful friend.”

“Excuse me? I’m the bad friend? You’re the one who turned your back on me—you all did—but I’m the bad one here?” Marinette sputtered.

“Yeah, you are. Lila was lying—that we didn’t know—but you had no proof that she was lying about anything. You accused her for everything that happened to you without any proof,” Alya said.

Rose nodded her head in agreement, playing with the stem of her apple. “That is true. We didn’t prefer Lila over you—she was new and we wanted to make her feel welcomed. She hadn’t done anything wrong to us and she seemed like a nice person. We were just returning the energy,” she spoke up, now tossing the apple from one hand to the other.

Sabrina nodded in agreement. “No one knew she was lying until she was exposed. We were just treating her with the same respect we would treat anyone else,” she said.

“Speak for yourself. I didn’t like her because of that ugly outfit she insisted on wearing,” Chloe snorted, stealing a strawberry from Nino’s plate.

Ignoring Chloe’s remark, Alya went on to say, “Lila—to our knowledge before—was just a nice girl with an adventurous life. She just needed a little more help and we were more than willing to do that.”

Marinette huffed, “But she faked a disability! She never had a problem with her wrist or her leg or her ears!”

“How were we supposed to know that, Marinette? It’s not our job to look up what she does or doesn’t have. It’s Miss Bustier’s job to look on her school file to see if those claims are true, not us,” Alya defended. “Plus, it’s not even your place to say what she does or doesn’t have. You’re not her doctor, Marinette.”

“What about me getting pushed to the back of the class, huh?”

Alya rubbed her temples with a deep sigh, then adjusted her glasses. “You were the last one to class and you accommodate others all the time; we didn’t think it would be such a big deal.” She stopped to clear her throat and wiping off her glasses. Once her glasses were back on, Alya continued, “If Lila really was disabled, would you have said no to her? Set aside your personal feelings for her, Marinette. Hell, what if Nino was disabled? Would you make a fuss if he needed to sit in the front and you had to sit in the back?”

Marinette stopped herself, taking a deep breath. No, she wouldn’t make a fuss if someone needed that seat; she would do the good thing and let them have the seat, but Lila wasn’t a good person. Lila manipulated them all, used them like toys.

Wetting her lips, Marinette argued, “It’s not fair that you all demanded proof that she was lying, but never asked her for proof. It makes you a hypocrite”

“Of course I was going to ask you for proof about Lila; you were making wild accusations about her. Every time she said anything good or how she did something fantastic, you were so quick to wave your finger and say she was lying,” Alya retorted. “Like I said: it didn’t seem like Lila was lying. She was telling stories about herself.”

“You’re really going to believe that she saved Jagged Stone’s kitten? That she’s Ladybug’s best friend—that she knows so many A-list celebrities?” Marinette questioned.

“Did you have any evidence that contradicted her claims?” Alya asked.

Marinette opened her mouth and then shut it, squeezing her fists. It was true that she didn’t have any proof, but Alya should have known that Marinette would never try to hurt anyone. Alya should have known that she only had everyone’s best interest in mind, so why was she being chastised for not having any proof? Didn’t her word mean anything? Wasn’t her word good enough?

Alya went on to, talking with her hands. “It just looked like you were trying to find any reason to embarrass the poor girl. She was innocent until proven guilty. Yeah, it turns out she was lying the whole time, but like I keep saying: you had no proof of that and it just looked like you were witch-hunting the whole time.”

Marinette was irritated, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment. Okay, so she didn’t have proof at the time that Lila was lying, but that didn’t mean anything. She thought that her friends would take her side and listen to her—they should have known that she never would have tried to hurt them (unlike Lila).

“Does my word mean anything to you guys? I’ve done nothing but keep everyone’s best interest in mind? You all even said it yourself,” Marinette stated quietly.

Alya raised an eyebrow, quiet for a brief second before it dawned on her. “You mean that comment about you being our everyday Ladybug?” she asked. When Marinette didn’t give an answer right away and proceeded to look at the ground, Alya slipped off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Are you saying that because you do favors for us, we’re just supposed to blindly listen to you?”

“I mean—when have I tried to hurt any of you? Why would I have any reason to lie?” Marinette pointed out. “Why would I lie about anyone? I thought you all would have believed me. We’ve all known each other longer than Lila has been in France.”

“Us being friends for a long time doesn’t automatically mean we all should hold you on a pedestal. So just because you say one person is lying—even if they seem kind and you have no evidence to back up your claims whatsoever—we’re just supposed to nod our heads and listen?” Alya asked. “It makes me wonder if you did those favors out of the kindness of your heart if you wanted to bribe us into following you blindly.”

Marinette flinched and chewed on her bottom lip. That last statement felt like a slap to the face but she kept quiet. None of the other classmates spoke up, but she knew that they all felt the same feeling. She felt their eyes on her as Alya just stared at her with that sad expression across her face; Marinette felt like crying at this point. It wasn’t fair—it wasn’t fair at all; everything she had done was to help her friends—ex-friends, she reminded herself.

“We realized that you transferring was a good thing,” Alya added quietly.

Damn, if that wasn’t a blow to the heart, then what was?

“What are you saying?” Marinette asked.

Alya shrugged, folding her arms over her chest. “You left because we didn’t take your side right away. You left because we liked talking to Lila and hanging out with you. Honestly, it just showed how much we really mattered to you,” she said bluntly. “Because we didn’t take your word the first time, we didn’t mean shit to you. The minute we didn’t take your word, you stopped being nice.”

“That’s not true!” Marinette argued.

“But it is true, Marinette!” Alya snapped back. “The minute I asked for any sort of evidence, you got all huffy and mad because we wanted proof that Lila was this horrible person you were making her out to be—without any proof, need I remind you? You dropped us all like we were worthless because we had our own opinions about her and they didn’t match yours, Marinette.”

Neither girl had said anything. No one from the class spoke up to cut the awkward silence—usually, Chloe would have opened her mouth to comment something snarky, but she was too transfixed on Alya giving Marinette a screening talking to. That and she knew that what she said wouldn’t contribute to the conversation and this was a conversation overdue.

Alya relaxed her body, finding herself too tensed up and letting her arms fall to the side. “Before you left, I was actually looking up stuff about Lila. I did value your word and your friendship, and I was going to give you a proper apology before you left,” she revealed.

“You were?” Marinette asked.

The reporter nodded, fixing her glasses. “I was going to talk to you about it, but you left without a word. I did care about you and you have gotten a proper apology if you bothered to stick around, but you didn’t. You don’t care about our opinions unless they match up with yours, it seems,” she said.

Marinette was quiet, opening her mouth and then shutting it. She had nothing to retort with, no words to defend herself as Alya sat back down on the plaid blanket with Nino. Marinette couldn’t think of anything to say and all she could do was stand there as Alya spoke up once more.

“If this is the person that you are—one that wants us to blindly follow and agree with you all the time and distrust anyone you say on a whim or bails on you friends the minute we share a different opinion than you, then we’re all better off without you,” Alya stated, taking the fruit bowl from Sabrina. “It was nice seeing you again, but don’t expect us to be crawling back to you if you think we’re going to roll over for you. We aren’t sheep.”

#marinette bashing #marinette salt #miraculous salt fic #miraculous critical #ml salt #lila salt #miraculous salt #✎ MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG ೃ༄#✎ ADRIEN AGRESTE ೃ༄#✎ CHLOE BOURGEOIS ೃ༄#✎ ALYA CESAIRE ೃ༄#✎ SABRINA RAINCOMPRIX ೃ༄

175 notes · View notes

blessedfatui · 2 years

Text

Without hesitation, Lila uploaded the photo and sent the snapshot to all of her contacts with the caption, “Guess who I saw at the Agreste manor this afternoon >3?”

A THOUSAND WORDS (MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG)

✐ AUTHOR’S NOTES: i am simply uploading these fics from ao3; i have so many what if fics that are just pure salt fics

WORD COUNT: 3k

TW: onichan spoilers, marinette salt, stalking, obsessive behavior, one-sided attraction

It was pure gold.

Lila unlocked her phone, snapping a picture of a desperate Marinette trying to scale the wall and laughing once the designer fell, trash cans falling with her. It was such a pathetic sight and Lila couldn’t help but taunt her, teasing the praised student for being so desperate and needy for Adrien’s loving glance.

“I could take a photo right now and post it online, but that would be too easy,” Lila lied, walking away with a spring in her step. She already sent out one photo with her and Adrien—mostly her kissing his cheek, so what was one more? Besides, it was Marinette’s own damn fault for being such a creep and making it way too easy to blackmail her.

Without hesitation, Lila uploaded the photo and sent the snapshot to all of her contacts with the caption, “Guess who I saw at the Agreste manor this afternoon >3?”

She smiled, pocketing her phone and making her way back home. Of course, Marinette would be furious once she saw the picture, but Lila didn’t care. It’s what that goody-goody got for sticking her nose in her business and trying to act like she’s a hero and she’s never told a lie before.

Lila did say that she was going to ruin Marinette’s life and she was going to make good on her promise.

Of course, Kagami had been furious that Lila kissed Adrien, and akumatized into a protective hero called Onichan, but it was ultimately Adrien that felt the most rage built up in the depths of his stomach. He didn’t know who he should be more mad at: Lila for lying to him and using him to get Kagami all riled up or Marinette who tried breaking into his house and for what? What even was the reason for her to do such a thing?

“Can you believe this, Plagg?” Adrien asked, showing the photo to his kwami.

“I can. Your friend has been doing this for a while,” Plagg said, devouring the wheel of cheese. “I thought you would have noticed by now. You’re not very good at reading people, are you?”

Adrien was quiet for a moment, blinking before looking down at his friend. “She has been what?” he said.

Plagg stuffed another slice of cheese in his mouth, realizing that he said too much. He swallowed the slice, hitting his chest with a nervous laugh. “Oh, would you look at the time. I think I’m going to take a nap right now. I’ll see you when I wake up—”

“Plagg, what has Marinette been doing? What do you mean by that?” Adrien questioned, holding up the photo for the destruction kwami to see.

“I’m feeling awfully tired after eating three wheels of delicious Camembert cheese,” Plagg yawned, trying to avoid the conversation and flying over to Adrien’s pillow.

Adrien frowned, joining Plagg on the bed. “Plagg, please tell me what Marinette has been doing,” he pleaded, setting down his phone. “I don’t want to be friends with someone who’s been stalking me, Plagg. Don’t keep this stuff from me,” he added quietly.

It was quiet and Plagg looked up at his young friend. There was a sudden hurt in his eyes and he looked lost. Plagg felt bad for Adrien but he didn’t want to tell his friend that the girl had grown close to was a crazy stalker who stole his trash, exposed a girl because the girl in question was trying to get closer to Adrien, and an assortment of other things. Adrien already had too much to deal with, but he didn’t deserve a shitty friend.

The god sighed, floating up to meet Adrien’s gaze. “Are you sure that you want to know everything Marinette has done?” Plagg asked gently.

Adrien nodded, “Yes.”

“That means you can’t get mad at me for what I’m about to tell you,” Plagg adds.

“I won’t. I just—I need to know because if she’s trying to break into my house, what else is she bound to do?”

Adrien had a fair point and a good reason to be worried about Marinette. Plagg sighed, getting cozy in the pillow and clearing his throat. “Alright, I’ll start from the beginning.”

When Marinette logged into her social media accounts, she paled. Lila had actually posted the picture of her trying to climb the wall to Adrien’s house and everyone in her class had seen it. She was a mess, screaming at her computer while trying to find a way to get the picture taken down. She tried reporting Lila’s account over and over again, but the staff were no help. According to the guidelines, there was nothing wrong with the photo itself, but Marinette was stressing out.

What if Adrien saw this? Maybe she could convince him that it wasn’t what it looked like? All Marinette wanted to do was protect him from that nasty witch, Lila. She just knew that she (Lila) had her darling under some horrible spell, and he wasn’t thinking clearly.

She whined, scrolling through the comments. Some of them were from strangers, being completely ruthless and calling her a stalker. Marinette was not a stalker; yes, she had Adrien’s entire schedule, knew where he was at any given time of the day, had followed him more than once outside of school, stolen his trash and his phone, but Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not a stalker. She only wanted to protect Marinette from those that wanted to use him like that horrible witch Lila and that brat Chloe.

“Oh, Tikki, what am I going to do?” she whined, looking over at her friend with pleading eyes. “What if Adrien sees this?”

“Just tell him the truth,” was Tikki’s reply. “I don’t want to be rude but I told you to let Adrien handle it, Marinette. He doesn’t need to be babied and he can protect himself—”

“No, he can’t! He let that—that liar in his house! Adrien doesn’t see that she’s just using him!” Marinette cut off, searching through the comments and the likes to see if Adrien had seen the photo already. So far, she found nothing attaching him to the photo so she let out a sigh of relief. That was a good sign; she could explain the whole situation to Adrien when they went to school tomorrow.

Of course, Chloe was in the comments, saying how she always knew Marinette was a hopeless romantic, but this took the fucking cake. Chloe’s words didn’t matter—no one’s word mattered to Marinette except for Adrien’s. Several accounts had tagged Adrien, but they received no response.

That was also a good sign, right?

She was absolutely wrong. There was a comment from Gabriel Agreste—well, more like the company account. Marinette felt her blood stop as she hesitantly clicked on the read more section, jaw dropping at what they had to say. No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening now!

Thank you all for tagging us to this photo. We will no longer be working or associating ourselves with Marinette Dupain-Cheng after this unfortunate situation. We shall be increasing security around the Agreste manor due to these circumstances and Adrien will be transferred to a different school in a week after revealing that he is uncomfortable with one of his former friends trying to invade his personal space and sneak into his home among other problematic things she has done in the past to gain his attention. We shall provide more information at the press conference schedule for this weekend and you may ask any questions you have there.

Marinette felt her heart sink and her body seized up. Adrien… was being transferred? Adrien was leaving ? No, no, no, no ! That couldn’t be right; he couldn’t possibly be leaving her! This has to be some sort of mistake, right?! There’s no way Adrien would possibly leave the school after begging his father to let him attend for years and years! It was his father controlling him again; it just had to be!

Immediately, Marinette tried to find Adrien’s account to message him. She gasped, finding that she was blocked and couldn’t contact him. Anxiety bubbled and brewed in her stomach as she backed away from her computer. No, no, no! Adrien couldn’t have blocked her! It was all Gabriel’s doing; he didn’t understand at all! Marinette was just trying to protect her beloved from a filthy, horrible liar that wanted to use him! She was protecting Adrien; she was keeping him safe!

She tried calling his phone, pacing around her room as she listened to the dial tone. “Come on, come on. Please answer,” Marinette quietly pleaded, chewing on her bottom lip. She needed to explain to Adrien that she wasn’t a creep—Marinette was only trying to protect Adrien. Lila was a horrible person and all she would do was fill his brain with utter nonsense and complete garbage.

We’re sorry. The number you are trying to reach has currently been disconnected—

Marinette hung up the phone, tugging on the bands in her hair. “This can’t be happening!” Marinette groaned, trying to call Adrien but the call wasn’t connecting and her texts were being blocked as well. Even on her alt accounts, Marinette was blocked from contacting or even following Adrien.

Kagami had even blocked Marinette as well.

Anxiety gripped her stomach as Marinette sank in her chair, chewing her bottom lip. What if Lila got to Adrien and Kagami and convinced them that she was a bad person? She didn’t want to lose Adrien or Kagami—well, she needed Kagami close so she could get closer to Adrien, but that was beside the point.

Marinette wasn’t expecting her parents to barge into her room. She yelped, dropping her phone and jumping up from her chair. Panic clenched her stomach as Tom and Sabine stared at their daughter, disappointment written all over their faces. She wet her bottom lip, trying to gather her words. “It’s—It’s not what it looks like,” she squeaked.

“Marinette, you were caught trying to break into that boy’s house. Honey, what in the world were you thinking?” Sabine chastised, shaking her head.

“I was only trying to protect him! I wasn’t trying to break into his house!” Marinette exclaimed. “Lila was lying and I had to tell Adrien!”

“By breaking into his house and trying to climb the wall? Marinette, that makes no sense,” Tom said, massaging his temples with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling before looking at his daughter again. “I understand that you care about this boy—Adrien—but trying to break into his house is not the answer. I don’t care what the reason is; a simple phone call or a text message would have been more than enough.”

They don't understand. They don’t understand my intentions at all! Marinette thought bitterly, squeezing her phone as she chewed on her bottom lip. Sure, her measures were a bit drastic but she did it for a good cause! Marinette was only trying to protect the one she loves! Everything she did was in the name of love!

Sabine spoke up after a brief moment of silence, clearing her throat. “Your father and I have decided to take away your devices and ground you,” she said quietly. “You are to come home after school—no hanging out with Alya or your other friends, and help in the bakery. You’ll be limited to only texting and calling me and your father when you get your phone in the morning and we’ll be taking your computer as well.”

Marinette’s jaw dropped. No, they can’t be doing this to her! She did nothing wrong; it was all Lila’s fault! If Lila hadn’t posted that picture, Marinette would be in this mess! The filthy liar was ruining her life and taking her beloved away from her!

“Mom, please! Don’t do this,” Marinette begged, watching with pleading eyes as her father crossed the room and began unhooking her computer from the wall. “It’s not what it looks like! Please believe me! I was only trying to protect Adrien from a nasty liar,” she sobbed.

“By trying to break into his house? Marinette, we raised you better than that,” Sabine cut off, holding her hand out for Marinette’s phone. “I don’t care what your reasoning is, Marinette. You shouldn’t have tried to break into his house. Now, hand me your phone and give me the password.”

Marinette sniffed, tears threatening to spill down her face as she looked to her father with those pleading eyes. She was practically begging Tom to say something, but he didn’t budge. He removed the cords and picked up the computer, cradling the device in his large arms. “You heard your mother, Marinette. Give her your phone and the password. We haven’t been good parents and look at where that got us.”

There was no point arguing with Sabine once her mind was made up. Marinette had no choice but to give up the password and her phone. Placing the device in Sabine’s awaiting palm, Marinette mumbled, “080420XX.”

“You can have your things back when you can improve your behavior,” Sabine said, letting Tom go down the stairs and then looking back at Marinette with disappointed eyes. “You will also give a formal apology to both Adrien and his father. I suggest you start working on your homework because once you’re done with that, you’re going to start helping in the bakery more often.”

“Yes, Mom,” Marinette sighed.

The return back to school was unpleasant. All eyes were in her the minute she stepped inside and Marinette could hear people whispering and mocking her. They were calling her a stalker but Marinette wasn’t a stalker—she was just trying to protect Adrien from that horrible witch. She gritted her teeth, gripping the straps of her backpack as she found Adrien.

Ah, perfect! She could explain her actions and tell Adrien that she wasn’t a crazy, love-obsessed stalker like everyone was making her out to be. Once she cleared her name, Adrien wouldn’t leave and the two could grow closer and she would be one step closer to making him hers.

“Adrien!” Marinette called, running towards him, trying to flag him down. Of course, he was with that brat, Chloe, but she could overlook that. She didn’t matter to Marinette; all she needed to do was talk to Adrien and sort out this messy affair. “Adrien! Can we talk please?” she asked.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at the designer, standing up and folding her arms across her chest. “Why would he want to talk to you, Stalker-nette? You’re lucky he hasn’t gotten a restraining order on you,” Chloe hissed, jabbing her nail into Marinette’s collarbone.

“Chloe, that’s enough. I can handle it,” Adrien said, squeezing Chloe’s shoulder and gently pulling her back. “If it’s not too much to ask, can you give us a little space? You can come back once we’re done.”

“You’re so lucky I care about Adrien,” Chloe spat, spinning on her heel and barking for Sabrina to entertain her.

Marinette was nervous. Her cheeks were flaming red as she tried to gather her thoughts. She coughed, hitting her chest before saying, “That picture isn’t what it looks like. I—uh—I wasn’t trying to break into your house.”

“Oh really? That’s exactly what it looks like,” was Adrien’s response.

“N-No, I would never do that! I—bleh—I was just trying to—uh—trying to get a better view of the flowers! Yeah, that’s what I was doing!” Marinette laughed, nervously scratching her neck.

Adrien frowned, shifting his weight. “We don’t have flowers near the front door,” he corrected. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were drawn in a tight line. He didn’t even give Marinette a chance to correct her lie as he continued speaking. “Marinette, I’m going to be blunt with you: I don’t want to be your friend anymore. I don’t want to be associated with you at all.”

Marinette felt her heart stop. Her mouth slightly opened as sweat trickled down the back of her neck. “W-What? Why? I haven’t done anything wrong,” she softly said with a whimper.

“You’ve been stalking me. You have my entire schedule, you stole my phone to delete a message. I don’t even want to know what else you’ve done, but this is unhealthy,” Adrien said, taking a step away from Marinette. “I’m flattered that you like me and all, but this is creepy, Marinette. You make me feel unsafe and I can’t be around someone who steals my things and is obsessed to the point they’re trying to break into my house.”

“I wasn’t trying to break into your house!” Marinette exclaimed, unable to fight the tears that spilled down her flushed cheeks. “I was trying to protect you from Lila! She was trying to turn you against me!” she sobbed pitifully.

Adrien blinked owlishly before laughing. “So let me get this straight: you followed me home and tried to break into my house because you thought Lila was going to turn you against me? Am I hearing this right?” he asked, irritation seeping into his voice.

“She’s a liar—you and both know she is and she’s already turned the class against me. I couldn’t—I can’t lose you too,” Marinette cried.

The model shook his head, disappointed with his former friend. “Marinette, I never would have turned against you. I was your friend until that photo was posted. Be honest: were you really trying to protect me or were you trying to keep Lila away because you know she likes me and you want me all to yourself?”

She hesitated but that was enough to confirm Adrien’s suspicions.

“I’m transferring schools after this. My father also wanted me to tell you that he no longer will allow you to design for him or associate himself with you after this. He’ll be mailing your hat back to you and he’ll be filing a restraining order against you,” Adrien stated.

Marinette was full-on sobbing at this point, begging Adrien to just listen and understand why she did what she did, but it was pointless. No matter how much Marinette blubbered and cried, Adrien refused to hear any of her excuses. He was slipping through her fingers—Marinette was losing Adrien and all she could do was watch.

She didn’t care that others were watching her. Marinette couldn’t lose her beloved—all she wanted to do was protect him from that horrible siren. She never meant to harm him. Sure, she overstepped her boundaries by learning his entire schedule and stealing his phone, collecting his trash, and whatnot, but it was all for the greater good.

Or that’s what she told herself.

“Also, please do not try to contact me at all after I leave this school. That means no alternative accounts or having Alya relay messages from you to me,” Adrien added.

Then, Adrien left without another word. He left with Chloe at his side and all Marinette could do was watch with tears spilling down her burning cheeks. He was slipping away—Adrien was walking out of her life forever; he had severed their ties of friendships.

He was gone and it was all because of a stupid picture. Marinette had lost Adrien for good and she knew she had no one else to blame but herself. She lost her close friends that day and she didn’t even blame them for wanting to leave her. Her parents enrolled her in counseling and she didn’t even bother fighting them in their decision.

“It’s for the best,” is what Tom and Sabine told her.

Her chances with Adrien and her dream of the perfect happily ever after was ruined and all because of one measly photo.

#miraculous critical #marinette salt #miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous salt fic #ml salt #marinette bashing #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #✎ MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG ೃ༄#✎ LILA ROSSI ೃ༄#✎ ADRIEN AGRESTE ೃ༄#✎ ALYA CESAIRE ೃ༄

99 notes · View notes