nobodyfamousposts:

It was all Kim’s fault.

After the Chameleon battle, Marinette had been fully willing and able to finally out Lila for the rotten liar she was. But Adrien stepped in and stopped her. Despite knowing the truth, he saw fit to protect Lila and encouraged Marinette to take the high road in some sad hope that Lila may at some point decide to become a better person on her own.

Marinette truly doubted it, but she’d let the boy dream.

Still, it had been the end of the school day. Things had…sort of worked out. The seats were changed back, at least, and she got to sit next to Alya and behind Adrien again. Alya had even reassured her that she wouldn’t let her sit alone, so it seemed she was still in her corner.

But after school let out and Lila’s declaration of “war”, Marinette was uncertain. Given the lengths Lila had gone to previously to get to Adrien specifically—stealing his book, buying the necklace, claiming to be the Fox hero…it showed the girl could be crafty and that she was fully willing to go to extremes to get her way. And that was all out of the desire for Adrien to LIKE her.

What would she do to someone she wanted to get rid of?

Marinette had brushed off Lila’s threat at the time, but truthfully, she was worried. And given how quickly everyone had jumped on her over something as simple as not wanting to be moved from her seat when she really didn’t need to be, it seemed she had just cause to be worried.

What would Lila do? How far would she go? How much would it take for Lila to successfully turn everyone against her?

Marinette wanted to believe the best in her classmates, but none of them—not a single one of them had even really listened to her.

Though…maybe it had to do with her method?

But how could she convince them of the truth? Or at least get them to doubt Lila? Even if it’s a little, just as long as it’s enough to not automatically believe her if she tried to spin some false story about Marinette?

She puzzled over this. Uncertain. Worried. And feeling guilty because she knew she should trust her friends more than that…

Even if they hadn’t trusted her.

It was in this state that Kim happened upon her.

Kim, for his boisterousness, was more insightful than people gave him credit for. The incident at the zoo notwithstanding. Or the incident with Chloe. Or the other incident with Odine.

…shut up.

Regardless, Kim saw Marinette standing in front of the school and looking rather put out. Which naturally gave him concern.

“Hey, Marinette! You okay?”

She jumped at the call and turned to face him. “Yeah! I’m…I’m fine!”

Yeah, he didn’t need to be Max’s level of genius to see that was a lie.

Kim rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. “Look, I wanted to apologize.”

She blinked up at him in surprise.

“I know things got a little rough today with Lila’s return and all.” He explained. “It wasn’t cool how you were the only one who didn’t really get to pick where you got to sit. And looking back, we kind of pressured you into it.”

He placed both hands on her shoulders.

“I want you to know that I’ll listen if you need anything.”

She smiled at that and he couldn’t help the grin in response.

“Thanks, Kim. That means a lot to hear.”

“No sweat!” He assured her. “Lila is cool and all, but you’re the best thing that’s happened to the class. No matter what she says, you’re still amazing and you need to remember that.”

She gave a huff, seeming both touched while also frustrated. “I just don’t know what to do. I know she’s lying. I can even prove it. But it’s like everyone automatically believes her no matter what she says.”

He didn’t know about that. And while he wasn’t sure that Lila was being dishonest, it was clear that Marinette believed she was. And he couldn’t bring himself to assume it was simply about Adrien.

Kim may not be the brightest banana, but he sure as heck noticed the wary look the blond was sending the Italian girl whenever she got too close.

“I don’t know if she’s telling the truth or not.” Kim admitted. “But if she is, you of all people would be able to prove it.”

She frowned, uncertain.

He grinned. “Cheer up! If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re always able to rise to the challenge, whatever it may be.”

It was that word.

That one word that sparked an idea.

And an idea that would change everything.

_________________________

The next day, Marinette approached Alya and Nino yet again in an attempt to convince them of Lila’s lies.

Only this time, she had a plan.

“Look, we already fixed everything from yesterday. There’s no need to be upset with her anymore.” Alya insisted.

“Yeah, can’t we just be friends?” Nino beseeched.

Not while Lila was waiting in the wings to do who knows what.

“I’m telling you, she’s a liar!”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Girl, really! Just let it go.”

“No!” Marinette shouted, surprising everyone but herself most of all.

However…

She couldn’t back down now.

Her eyes narrowed and she stared down the other two with sheer determination.

“If you really think Lila is telling the truth…if you are really going to believe her over me…” She took a breath.

“Prove it!”

Both Alya and Nino’s eyes widened.

“What?!”

Marinette glanced back and forth between the two, her gaze steely. “You said you believe in her. That you absolutely trust her, right?”

Alya frowned, but nodded. “Of course!”

Nino seemed uncertain, but nodded in agreement with his girlfriend.

“Then prove it.” She repeated. 

If there was one weakness that all of the students in Bustier’s class shared, it was an inability to refuse a direct challenge. It was the reason why Kim’s dares had gone on so long and gotten so out of hand to the point it took a direct challenge from Alix to dare him to stop just to get a reprieve.

They were unable to resist accepting any sort of dare or bet. Especially if they were sure they would win.

Though how true that surety actually was might be up for question…

“How much would you say you trust her?” Marinette asked them.

Alya balked, though remained steadfast. “I put her on my blog, so of course I trust her. I’d stake my blog’s reputation on it.”

Nino laughed, albeit a bit nervously as he wondered just what Marinette was getting at. “I’d bet my hat on her.”

The girl in question placed both hands on the desk, shifting her weight and leaning forward towards the couple. “Then I’ll make a bet with you.”

Nino balked. “Hold on! I thought dares were Kim’s thing?” And that they weren’t going to happen anymore since he lost that race with Alix…

That didn’t seem to deter her though.

“Well, if you’re certain that Lila is telling the truth, then it shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” Marinette asked with a smile.

It was the sort of smile smart people knew to back away from.

Alya and Nino were smart, but they were also teenagers and prone to disregarding sense.

“So what’s the bet then?” Alya asked. “It’s clearly about Lila, right?”

Marinette nodded. “And to prove once and for all whether she’s telling the truth or not.”

“We’re in.” Alya stated.

Nino gaped at his girlfriend. “What?!”

She shrugged at him. “If it’ll get Marinette to get over her hangups and let us all hang out together, then I’ll do it.” She turned back to her friend. “What’s the dare?”

“Simple enough.” Marinette replied. “We’ll each have the rest of today to collect evidence. Then when we meet up again tomorrow, we’ll present what we find. You bring anything you can find that backs any of Lila’s claims while I’ll be bringing anything on my end that disproves them. We’ll each present the evidence to see wether Lila is telling the truth or not. If more evidence comes out in her favor, then we’ll all accept she’s telling the truth. And if more evidence comes out against her, we’ll all accept she’s lying.” She smiled politely. “Does that sound fair?”

“Sure.” Alya agreed with a grin. “And when I win, you’ll apologize to Lila for accusing her.”

“Now hang on…” Nino started, only to be cut off.

“If I lose,” Marinette agreed. “I’ll apologize to Lila for calling her a liar and even bring a cake for the entire class as an apology.”

She raised a finger. “In fact, I’ll sweeten the deal. Alya, if it turns out I’m wrong, I’ll make you a dress free of charge. And Nino, I’ll bring you free pastries every day for a month. Because that’s how sure I am that Lila is a liar.”

Nino perked up at that. “Well, if you’re offering…”

Alya smirked. “If it turns out you’re right, I’ll remove Lila’s video from my blog.”

Marinette looked unimpressed. “But you would do that anyway if you knew it was false.”

Alya growled and slammed her hand on the table. “Fine! Then just to prove how much I believe Lila, I’ll replace it with another video of me doing something silly. Your choice of what.”

That made Marinette’s eyes widen. She hadn’t planned it to go that far. “Um…you sure about that?”

“Yes.”

She winced. “You…really may want to pick something else.”

The other girl shook her head in clear refusal. “That’s just to show my faith. And besides, don’t you want some payback for those instagram pics?”

Well, not that Marinette was going to say anything or let it influence her bet, but…

“If you’re sure. But I’ll let you just get me a roll of fabric of my choice as a second option.”

“I won’t need it!”

Both girls then turned to Nino, expectantly. The boy took a breath. “Okay. Um…well, if I’m wrong about Lila, then you can have my hat.”

Marinette frowned at that.

“Are you sure you want to do that? That’s kind of permanent.”

“Nah, I trust Lila. And I know the two of you would be great friends if you gave her a chance. Just like me and Adrien.”

It was clear that Marinette was trying very, very hard not to make a face.

“But tell you what, I trust her enough that you can take my hat and design me something else to wear however you want. I’ll wear it for a month. How’s that?”

Marinette gaped. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

Nino shrugged. “If I’m standing where I am, I’m going to stand fully. Besides, you won’t make me wear anything too crazy, right?”

Silence.

Nino started to sweat.

“Right?”

“Deal then!” Marinette chirped. “We’ll meet up tomorrow to see what we’ve found. Good luck!” And with that, she practically skipped out of the room.

“Hey wait! Mari, come on!”

_________________________

The next day, several strange things happened.

Nino arrived to school looking nervous.

Alya arrived looking smug.

Marinette arrived to school with a briefcase full of papers that had Nino looking much more nervous and Alya looking decidedly less smug.

“Are you sure you don’t just want to buy me a new roll of fabric?”

“No. Just leave me with my dignity.”

“Nino, you okay?”

“Just…just let me have two more minutes…”

Nobody knew what was going on between the three. Except for Kim. He was apparently the judge of their little contest and clearly thought the whole thing was hilarious.

When he wasn’t laughing outright, he was making cryptic and slightly disturbing comments about Marinette being his “apprentice”. No one else understood what he was talking about, and they weren’t sure they wanted to.

At the end of the day, Marinette left the school in a downright chipper mood and with Nino’s hat in hand.

Three days later, Nino was wearing a new hat entirely covered in hot pink sequins and glitter while a video of Alya performing “I’m a Little Teapot” was trending online.