Chapter Text
Chapter 1: evermore
"And I was catching my breath, staring out an open window, catching my death, and I couldn't be sure. I had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for evermore."
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Marinette smoothed her gray blazer in front of the mirror, picking at loose threads, and adjusting her hair for the dozenth time. A worried crease set over her brows and refused to leave, threatening to become a permanent part of her face.
It had been two weeks since Lila came back from her “trip,” and things hadn’t gotten better. Everyone was so enamored by her—she practically had them at her beck and call. Fake illnesses, even faker travel stories, Lila had Francoise-Dupont wrapped around her finger, and she was taking all of Marinette’s friends one-by-one.
Marinette had almost been akumatized over Lila once, and she couldn’t afford to do it again. The private art academy across town had seemed promising enough. Maybe she could hone her talents and become a world-famous designer, then everyone would forget about Lila. It was a nice daydream anyway. She had to justify leaving everyone behind somehow.
School, her new school that was, didn’t start for thirty more minute, but waiting only ate at her nerves, so she fidgeted to pass the time. Would her friends even notice she was gone? That was absurd—of course they would notice! She was their friend after all, or so she’d thought. Their ‘everyday Ladybug’ as they’d said, but look how far that got her. When push came to shove, they all turned on her when someone more interesting came along, so maybe they weren’t really her friends after all. None of it mattered now anyway. She was off to a new school, and she would make new friends—ones that didn’t abandon her for a liar.
“Why does your new school get to tell you what to wear?” Tikki floated up from her small purse.
Marinette ripped her gaze away from the mirror, a small smile curling on her lips as they settled on her kwami. “Because it’s a private school,” she explained, pacing over to retrieve a pair of plain, brown boots from the box on her desk. “Everyone wears the same thing.”
“I like your old clothes better,” Tikki said with a pout.
“I can still wear them when I’m not at school. Besides, this isn’t so bad,” Marinette said as if to convince herself.
Truthfully, she agreed with Tikki. The uniform was drab and ugly, but it gave her peace of mind. Lila’s constant barrage of lies was slowly eating her alive, and it wouldn’t have been much longer before Marinette snapped if she carried on that way. Letting Hawkmoth akumatize her was a luxury that Marinette couldn’t afford. If negative emotions ever overcame her, then Paris would fall. She always had to stay positive, so removing herself from a stressful situation was for the best, even if it meant leaving all of her friends behind. They hadn’t been very friendly to her lately anyway.
How could everyone be so blind? It wasn’t fair that Marinette had to be the one to leave, but there wasn’t much she could do to save them now. Lila was too good at bending the truth. Every time Marinette tried to expose her, Lila always spun it back on her, and after that threat…
She shook her head to clear it. Leaving was the right choice. It would hurt for a while, but one day she’d move on and be happy again. More importantly, Paris would be safe. A good hero always listened to her head, even if her heart was hurting. So she swallowed her feelings and smoothed her skirt again.
Although she hated it, the uniform was clean and untampered—a fresh start just like her new school. A chance to start over. A chance to get away. Her old clothes harbored too many painful memories of a life that was no longer hers. Marinette had traded in her bright colors for muted grays and quietly tucked away old memories to make room for the new.
“Are you really sure about this, Marinette?” Tikki placed a small hand over Marinette’s folded in her lap. “You’re leaving behind all of your friends. Alya, Nino, Adrien.”
“Well, you didn’t see the looks on their faces, Tikki. They all like Lila better than me, and I can’t prove she’s a liar without revealing that I’m Ladybug,” Marinette said. “Protecting Paris is more important than some girl fooling my friends.”
“Marinette-”
“I’m fine,” she said with more bite than she intended. She took a deep breath and stood up. “Come on. We should go.”
Her parents were waiting down in the bakery when Marinette slumped through the back door. Most of the morning rush had past, and her dad was already prepping baguettes for the afternoon. He set down his bread peel as she entered and scooped her into a tight hug, planting a kiss on her cheek. Her mom followed suit when he put her down, holding her close.
“I know this is hard for you, sweetie, but you’ll make new friends. I just know you will,” she said. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, Mama, Papa,” Marinette said softly. She pressed a kiss to her mother’s cheek before heading out the door. “See you tonight.”
Marinette took a deep breath, resisting the urge to steal a glance at her old school. Fighting back tears, she squared her shoulders and headed to the subway without looking back.
♪♫♪ cardigan ♪♫♪
"A friend to all is a friend to none. Chase two girls, lose the one. When you are young, they assume you know nothing."
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It was a typical day at Francoise-Dupont. Students chatted about homework and TV shows on the way to class; teachers sipped coffee that was still too hot as they prepared for another day of wondering which of their students would be akumatized for failing a maths test. No one seemed to notice Marinette’s absence. She often ran late, so most of her classmates didn’t bat an eye until Mlle. Bustier entered the room with a solemn expression.
“Okay, class, settle down.” Her voice lacked its usual enthusiasm. “Before we get started, I have some sad news for everyone. Today we will be deciding on a new class representative because Marinette has transferred to a new school.”
The class fell silent, horrified and confused expressions spreading across every face—even Chloe quirked a brow. Only one student wore a satisfied smirk at the news.
“So she just left without saying goodbye?” Alya glanced at her lock screen—a picture of the two of them smiling together.
“Are you sure, Mlle. Bustier?” Adrien asked. “That doesn’t seem very like her.”
“I received the news from Principal Damocles this morning. Her paperwork was finalized yesterday afternoon.” Mlle. Bustier nodded.
“But I was going to show her my latest scrapbook project!” Rose hugged a pink binder to her chest.
“I wonder why she didn’t tell any of us,” Mylene said.
“Maybe you all aren’t really her friends after all,” Lila spoke up from the back. “Wouldn’t a real friend have told you she was leaving?”
“Maybe there was a reason she didn’t mentioned it. Maybe it happened so suddenly, and she didn’t have time to tell us.” Alya rationalized.
“Or maybe she’s not the girl you thought she was,” Lila said. “I know it’s hard to hear, but let’s look at the facts. I think she only wanted the attention. She was always being mean to me and questioning me ever since I came here. She couldn’t stand the competition, so she left.”
“Marinette isn’t like that,” Alya said.
Lila clasped her hands together neatly on the desk. “It’s also unlike her to be mean to someone or to leave without saying good-bye, isn’t it?” she asked pointedly. “From an outsider’s perspective, maybe you all don’t know her as well as you thought you did. There are a lot of people in the world who put on a mask in front of others.”
Several faces in the room fell, and Mlle. Bustier cleared her throat. “Who would like to volunteer to run for class representative?” she asked with painful reluctance.
Chloe shifted in her seat, puffing her chest out. “Well, seeing as there is a need, I suppose I could reclaim my title that was so rudely stolen from me.”
“Maybe Lila should run,” Nino suggested, and everyone turned around to look at her expectantly.
“Yeah, you would make an awesome class representative,” Nathaniel echoed.
Lila suppressed an eye roll and turned on the humility. “I don’t know…my parents travel a lot, so I would hate to be elected and then not be able to fulfill my duties.”
“I could be your deputy and take care of things while you’re gone.” Alya offered.
“That’s so nice of you, Alya, but are you sure you don’t want to run for representative yourself?” Lila asked.
“I don’t really have time since I have to run my blog, but I’d be happy to help you out like I did Marinette.” Alya shrugged.
“Well, if it’s what everyone wants, I suppose I could run,” Lila said humbly.
“Wonderful! Thank you, Lila.” Mlle. Bustier let out a relieved sigh, and Chloe sank down in her seat with a scowl, arms folded over her chest grumpily.
Across the aisle, Adrien shook his head with a quiet sigh. The empty desk behind him weighed heavily on his shoulders throughout the lesson, and all the while his hands fiddled with a small pink charm in his lap.
♪♫♪ exile ♪♫♪
“You were my town, now I’m in exile seeing you out. I think I’ve seen this film before, so I’m leaving out the side door.”
---
Marinette’s new school was bigger than her last, the castle of a building towering over her, a tiny ant by comparison. Several students shuffled out of limos and expensive town cars, designer handbags draped carelessly over matching gray blazers. Marinette was the only one to approach from the subway, singling her out as an anomaly among her new peers. Things were already much different here.
Her new classmates carried themselves with a sense of self-importance she usually only saw out of Chloe. It was a confidence that only money could buy, a sense of carelessness that developed when your biggest struggles in life came from deciding what color to paint your private jet. Even the air was different. Marinette should have expected as much from a private art school for rich socialites—yet another thing to remind her of how much she didn’t belong. Nevertheless, she trudged on, slipping by unnoticed as she found her way to her new class.
Students were chatting casually with each other in groups, and Marinette pictured similar scenes in Mlle. Bustier’s classroom that had never daunted her like this did. None of these faces were familiar or welcoming. They paid her no mind as she stood awkwardly at the front of the room, twisting the hem of her blazer in knots with one hand. A sinking feeling weighed her stomach, leaving her to question if this was a bad idea after all, but their teacher entered the room and offered her the first smile she’d received all day.
“You must be Marinette, right?” he asked.
She relaxed, relieved that at least her teacher didn’t seem stuck up. “Yes.”
“Welcome to our school. I’m Mr. Mercier.” He extended a hand for her to shake. “Don’t be intimidated by the groups—most of my students are very friendly. I’m sure you’ll make friends quickly.”
“Thank you.” She turned to face the front as Mr. Mercier clapped his hands.
“Alright, class, settle down and find your seats,” he said. “We have a new student joining us today. Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, so please help her find her way today.” He pointed to an empty seat in the middle. “You can sit next to Eliott, just be sure he doesn’t talk your ear off.”
A boy with dark skin and bouncy, curly hair flashed her a devilish grin and extended a hand as she took her seat. “I’m Eliott, aspiring actor and the boy of your dreams.” He waggled his eyebrows.
The girl with short brown hair behind them reached over and swatted his arm. “Don’t take him seriously, he’s trying to stay in character for his performance later,” she whispered. “My name’s Macy by the way.”
“Marinette.”
“Sit with us at lunch, okay?” Macy said.
“Yes, I’d like to know more about my soulmate.” Eliott lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of her knuckles.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep him in line.” Macy rolled her eyes. She pinched the base of his neck hard until he turned to face the front with a soft yelp.
Marinette bit back a smile as she retrieved her tablet from her bag and tuned into the lesson. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. Eliott reminded her of a certain mischievous feline with his playful quirks and flirtatious smiles. Hopefully, he didn’t have an affinity for terrible puns.
“That’s the library,” Macy said between classes, pointing to a large wooden door. “Down that hall is the chemistry lab, and upstairs on the left is the cafeteria.”
“Thanks for showing me around.” Marinette rubbed the starchy fabric of her blazer. She already missed her old clothes.
“No problem! Moving to a new school must be really scary, so I know I’d want someone to show me around.” Macy beamed.
“So, what prompted you to change schools in the middle of the year?” Eliott asked.
“Um...” Marinette averted her gaze. “I just thought that change would be good for me, that’s all.”
“Whatever the reason, I am happy that fate has brought us together.” He bowed before her.
Macy shoved him playfully. “I apologize for Eliott. We’ve known each other since we were little, so I’m used to him, but there’s really no way to explain him.” She shot him a teasing glare. “He’s harmless though.”
“He certainly reminds me of someone I know.” Marinette pressed her lips together to hide her smirk.
“And for that I feel very sorry for you.” Eliott chuckled as they rounded the corner into their literature class.
“Can you not stand so close to my desk? I don’t want you breathing my air,” a tall girl with long red hair barked at another boy as they entered. She waved her hands in a ‘shoo’ motion.
The small boy curled his shoulders and slinked off to a desk at the back of the room as his aggressor and several friends laughed. Eliott and Macy exchanged tense looks before motioning for Marinette to sit at the other end of the room too.
“Who are they?” Marinette asked.
“No one worth knowing,” Macy grunted.
“Their families have been rich for generations, so they think they’re better than everyone. The redhead’s name is Gabrielle and the big dude sitting next to her is her boyfriend Thomas. He plays lacrosse, and his family owns a castle out in the country,” Eliott explained. “The other three are just their shadows. They follow them everywhere just for the perks because they can bribe the smart kids to do their homework.”
“Sounds a lot like someone I know,” Marinette said.
“Every school has at least one it seems.” Macy rolled her eyes. “Just ignore them.”
Marinette glanced back at the boy with his face buried in his arms, heart sinking, but she turned to face the front as their teacher began her lesson.
Her next class was art—something Marinette actually looked forward to. After spending the day in all gray, she was dying to design something colorful. The art room was much more sophisticated than she was used to, and she missed the lingering scent of spray paint from one of Alix’s projects. A large and intricately detailed sculpture of Ladybug in the center of the room caught her eye, and she stared with her jaw open until their art teacher spoke up from behind her.
“Do you like it?” she asked.
Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin, stirring up mocking laughter from Gabrielle and her posse. “I- uh, yes, it’s amazing,” she said lamely.
“Thank you. I put many long hours of work into it, so I’m glad that someone appreciates it.” She offered Marinette a smile that melted her nerves.
“I’m sure if Ladybug saw it, she would love it too,” Marinette said before taking her seat at a table with Eliott and Macy.
“What a freak.” Gabrielle laughed from her table, purposefully loud enough for Marinette to hear. Chloe used to do the same thing all the time, but that didn’t stop her cheeks from burning.
“Just ignore her,” Macy said.
“Today we will be presenting the projects we’ve been working on for the past couple weeks. Marinette, you can just sit back and enjoy everyone’s contributions for today,” the teacher said with a wink. “Who would like to go first?”
A hush fell over the room before Macy raised her hand. “I will, Mme. Pierre.”
“Thank you, Macy.” She gestured to the front of the room before stepping aside.
“For my project I wrote a song about my friends.” Macy clasped her hands together before drawing in a breath and starting to sing.
Marinette’s jaw dropped for the second time since entering the art room. Utterly entranced through the whole performance, Marinette only came too again when Eliott closed her jaw, and she clapped with everyone else.
“You were incredible!” she whispered when Macy sat back down.
“My throat is a little sore today, so it could have been better.” Macy shrugged, even though her voice couldn’t possibly have sounded more angelic.
“Macy wants to be a professional singer, so she’s been taking voice lessons since she was little.” Eliott nudged her with his elbow. “She’s just being modest.”
“Eliott, since you’re so talkative, would you care to go next?” Mme. Pierre asked.
He winked at Marinette as he stood up and took his place at the front of the room. “I will be performing a scene from my favorite play.” He cleared his throat and dove straight into his act.
Marinette’s blush crept up her neck as he trained his eyes on her, spilling out profound declarations of love and adoration with the most tender smile she’d ever seen. She almost believed it was real until Eliott took a bow, and she was reminded that he was acting.
As she soon discovered, everyone at this school was exceptionally talented. All of her remaining classmates presented paintings, sculptures, makeup, songs, and even dance routines each seemingly more impressive than the last—unsurprising for an elite art institute. She worried that maybe she wasn’t cut out for this school after all.
“Thank you everyone,” Mme. Pierre said once they finished. “Marinette, I know you are new here, but what medium do you prefer?”
“I, uh, like to design clothes.” She curled her shoulders as if it were the least impressive skill in the room.
“Hey, I think I’ve heard your name before…” One student piped up.
“Yeah, didn’t you design a hat for Adrien Agreste in his most recent fashion show?” One of Gabrielle’s posse spoke up excitedly.
“Well, I won a contest at my old school, and-”
“I heard that Gabriel Agreste himself was the one who selected the winner,” another student said.
“Well, yeah, he did-” Her voice trailed off as several of her classmates gasped in awe, and a hushed chatter broke out around her.
“Didn’t you also design an album cover for Jagged Stone?”
“I heard your great uncle is a world-famous chef!”
“You’re Adrien’s girlfriend, right?”
“I-” Marinette drawled as the bell rang, signaling lunch, and everyone stood up to leave.
“Is all that stuff really true, Marinette?” Eliott asked as they walked to the cafeteria, the remaining traces of his flirtatious demeanor fading now that his scene was over.
“Yeah, I guess it is…”
“Wait, so you are dating Adrien Agreste?” Macy gasped.
“I- what? He’s just, well, I would love-” She shook herself. “All of them are true except that one. Adrien is just a friend.” Former friend rather, but Marinette would spare them the details.
“But you do know him?”
“Yeah, he was in my class,” Marinette said.
Macy erupted into a squealing fit. “Oh, can you pretty please introduce me? We can all hang out on my yacht this weekend!”
“You have a yacht?” Marinette quirked a brow.
“You don’t?” Eliott chuckled, sobering when she winced. “Wait, you really don’t?”
“I can get you one for your birthday if you want one,” Macy offered. How much money did these people have?
“I’m starting to think I really don’t belong here.” Marinette rubbed the back of her neck.
“What? How come?” Macy asked.
“Because everyone here is filthy rich and super talented, and they all speak 4 languages, and I’m just…ordinary,” she said.
Macy and Eliott exchanged incredulous looks.
“Your great uncle is a world-famous chef,” Eliott said pointedly.
“Yeah, and your designs have been praised by the king of fashion himself and Jagged Stone,” Macy added.
“Not to mention you’re friends with Adrien Agreste and Chloe Bourgeois.”
“Ehh…” Marinette waved her hand at that last one.
“I think you belong here just fine, Marinette,” Eliott assured her. “They wouldn’t have admitted you if you weren’t good enough.”
Her cheeks warmed, though her flattery was short-lived when Gabrielle’s voice erupted from the middle of the cafeteria.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said move,” she growled at the boy from the art room.
“What’s that girl’s problem?” Marinette asked.
“She’s got a lot of money and a power-complex.” Eliott sighed, grabbing a tray. “Best to just ignore her and stay out of her way.”
“But they’re picking on that poor boy.”
“Better him than you. Trust me,” Macy said. “Come on, our chefs are making crème brûlée for dessert. Let’s get some before they run out.”
Marinette’s jaw clenched as they took his lunch, seething when he cowered before them. She remembered what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that kind of torment, and she wasn’t going to stand by and watch someone else experience it.
“Where are you going? Marinette, just don’t- ah!” Macy and Eliott tried to call her back as she stormed over to the group causing a scene.
“Why don’t you go eat your lunch in the trash where you belong?” Gabrielle snapped her fingers. “Thomas, can you help him find his way?”
Thomas cracked his knuckles and lifted the boy from his seat, but before he made it far, Marinette slapped her tray on the table.
“Thanks for saving the table,” she said with a smile. The cafeteria fell silent, and everyone stared at her, dumbstruck.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Gabrielle snarled.
“Having lunch,” Marinette replied simply, taking a bite of bread.
“Look, you’re new here, so you might not understand how this works, but this is our table,” Gabrielle said slowly.
“But this is where I always sit,” the boy said.
“Yeah, well now we want to sit here.” Thomas held him off the ground by the collar.
“What’s the big deal? There are plenty of other empty seats available.” Marinette gestured to an adjacent table. “Why don’t you sit over there?”
“Because we want this one!” Gabrielle slammed her palm on the table.
“Why? Because it’s so much better than all the other tables or because you just like to throw your weight around?” Gabrielle’s jaw clenched in response, so Marinette stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve dealt with brats like you before. You might be used to walking over everyone else here, but hi, I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I’m not gonna stand for it, so you can take your power-trip and sit it somewhere else.”
Gabrielle held her glare, and Marinette jutted her chin at Thomas.
“Put him down.”
The cafeteria fell into stunned silence as Marinette sat down and took a bite of her apple. A few students began to clap, their applause escalating until the whole room was cheering. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and snapped for Thomas to comply before they retreated to another table. Macy and Eliott sat beside her with equally awed gapes.
“Okay, I think I’m in love with you for real now,” Eliott said.
“Thank you for saving me.” The small boy straightened his coat. “They dump me in the trash about three times a week.”
“Not anymore.” Marinette assured him, gesturing to the seat across from her. “Sit and eat with us.”
“O-Okay.” He sat down obediently and lowered his gaze to his tray.
“What’s your name?” Marinette asked.
“Martin Michel…”
“Nice to meet you, Martin. I’m Marinette.” She smiled sweetly.
“How did you stand up to her like that?” Macy asked. “I would have been terrified, but you sounded so confident.”
“Well, a friend of mine once told me that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.” Her face fell. “An old friend anyway.”
“I like that,” Macy said before a devilish grin spread across her lips. “So, is Adrien as cute in person as he is in photos?”
“Cuter.” Marinette sighed dreamily. “And he’s super nice.”
“You are so lucky!”
“Here they go.” Eliott rolled his eyes.
More of her new classmates introduced themselves, complimenting her designs and praising her courage in the cafeteria throughout the day, and she finally felt like she was settling in. Gabrielle shot her the occasional glare, but Marinette paid her no mind. She’d dealt with worse. Everything seemed to be falling into place until she arrived back home to see a familiar blond boy waiting outside her door.
“Adrien?” Her heart tightened into a knot as he turned to her with a somber expression.
“Hey, Marinette. Can we talk?”