After her eventful weekend babysitting Rayla, followed by a training session with Chat Noir and Master Fu Sunday night, Marinette was grateful to manage a full night's sleep. But all good things must come to an end, and Marinette's surprisingly akuma-free night's sleep was over when her alarm went off the next morning. Fortunately for Marinette, she woke up on the second alarm ring for once, sitting up in her bed with a yawn after turning it off.

"Good morning, Tikki. How'd you sleep?" Marinette happily greeted her kwami, letting her arms rise into the air as she stretched out of her post-sleep stiffness.

"Very well since there wasn't an akuma attacking last night." Tikki chirped, rubbing any leftover sleep from her eyes while still lying on her little bed on the shelf above her holder's bed. "How about you? This is the first time you've woken up on the first alarm." the red kwami remarked, a rueful smile gracing her face.

"Same here, actually. Usually, it's harder to wake up in the mornings, but I feel fully rested." Marinette announced, her bubbly demeanor practically pouring out of her.

"That's great Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed, happy to see Marinette so chipper.

"Thanks Tikki. And here's to hoping my day goes well, too." Marinette said as she pushed her covers off of her, eager to start the day.

"Marinette! Breakfast's ready!" her mother called from downstairs.

"Coming, Mom!" Marinette replied, getting up from her bed and heading to her trap door to go downstairs as her mother requested. But as soon as Sabine saw her daughter wide-eyed and awake, she was left surprised. "Morning, Mom!" the designer greeted her mom as she walked over to her, kissing the baffled Sabine's cheek.

"Uh, good morning, honey." Sabine answered in an unsure tone, watching as Marinette walked over to the table and sat down for breakfast. "Seems like you had a good night's sleep. You never come down the first time I call you after your alarm goes off." she observed, intrigued by her daughter's sudden punctuality.

"Just had a very restful night last night. Nothing more." Marinette replied before she started eating breakfast, slightly amused by her mom's skepticism.

"Really? So there isn't anything exciting going to happen in school that could have prompted your early rise?" Sabine asked Marinette, gently probing to find out if there was any reason for the girl's early rise out of bed.

"No, Mom. There won't be anything exciting happening at school. I just slept very well." Marinette assured her mother, followed by taking another bite of her meal.

"Oookay. But I'm still a little wary of you being early for once." Sabine admitted as she walked over to the sink, starting to do the dishes sitting inside.

"Eh, fair enough." Marinette replied.

With her mom pacified, Marinette finished eating her breakfast and quickly washed the dishes before going up to her room to get changed for the day. Now dressed in her daily attire and packing her bag, Marinette headed back downstairs while Tikki quickly hid in her purse. Once she reached the bottom, Marinette quickly went over to the dining table and kissed her mom goodbye just as the light-color-eyed woman sat down for her morning cup of tea.

"See you tonight, Mom. Love you!" Marinette farewelled, turning to head over to the door.

"Have a good day, honey!" Sabine responded, smiling as she watched Marinette open the door and look back at her.

"You too, Mom!" Marinette called back, closing the door behind her and letting it click into place before heading down to the ground floor. Despite the laid-back pace Marinette had while going down the stairs, she still made it down to the bakery in record time and entered the kitchen through the back door. In doing so, she passed by her father while he was kneading a batch of bread dough.

"Are you heading to school, sweetie?" Tom asked his daughter, looking up from his kneading to greet her as she walked to the front counter.

"Yep. Hoping to get in earlier for once." Marinette replied, grabbing a disposable rag from underneath the counter to clean it before any customers came in.

"That's my little girl!" Tom praised, followed by his gaze going off to the side and spotting a box of macarons sitting next to him. "Oh! Before I forget, I've perfected a new macaron recipe and set some aside for your class." the teddy bear of a burly man announced, wiping his hands of any flour or dough while Marinette finished with the counter.

"Oooh! What flavor are they?" Marinette squealed, throwing the rag into the waste bin near the door as she walked back to her father.

"Blackberry Lavender with Lemon filling. It took a while to make sure the lemon wouldn't overpower the whole treat." Tom admitted as he grabbed the box and held it out to his daughter, bashfully rubbing his neck when he explained why it took so long to make the new treats.

"Mmm, sounds delicious! I can't wait for my classmates to try them!" Marinette cheered, taking the box from her dad. "Thanks, Papa! I'll see you after school!" the pigtailed girl farewelled, leaning over the prep table to kiss Tom's cheek before heading to the front door.

"Love you, Marinette! Have a good day!" Tom called out, smiling as he watched Marinette head off for school.

"I will, Dad! Love you, too!" Marinette happily replied as she opened the door, waving to her dad before walking through the door and leaving the bakery.

Now outside of her home, Marinette started her trek to school, ending up having no trouble getting there unlike the last time she brought macarons to school. But after walking up the school's front steps and entering through the front door, she found no one was there yet. The trend continued when Marinette climbed up the stairs to her classroom, finding it empty like the rest of the school.

"Huh, looks like you're so early that you got here before anyone else!" Tikki observed, poking her head out from Marinette's purse to look around.

"Figures it would be one extreme to the other in terms of my attendance." Marinette remarked ruefully, a cynical huff escaping her as she took in her surroundings. "But at least I don't have to worry about racing just as the bell rings." the red-tipped-haired girl added as she headed to sit down in her chair, looking on the bright side as she set the box of macarons in front of her before checking the time.

"Looks like it's still a good 45 minutes before class starts. Plenty of time to work on some of the derby hat designs I discarded." Marinette commented, opening her bag to get out her sketchbook from within.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about those." Tikki admitted, watching her holder as she worked.

"Eh, I've just been too busy. And since Toby's 'Geode Hat' is almost done, I know I'll be itching to work on something else afterwards. What better way than improving perfectly good designs?" Marinette asked her kwami, knowing that the embodiment of creation would be all for it.

"Sounds good to me!" Tikki cheered as she flew out of Marinette's purse to sit on the girl's shoulder, eager to watch her holder work while keeping an eye out for any more early arrivals.

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Due to Marinette being so early, she easily slipped into her designing frenzy while waiting for her classmates to arrive and for class to start. It wasn't until the last five minutes before class started that one of her classmates finally arrived, which had Tikki flying back into her purse before they entered the room. Upon feeling Tikki's presence leaving her shoulder, Marinette was snapped out of her frenzy and closed her sketchbook just in time to see Lila coming through the door.

"Hey there, Lila." Marinette greeted Lila, prompting the Italian girl to look up from the floor and see her.

"Oh. Hello, Marinette. I didn't expect you to be here so early." Lila admitted, intrigued by Marinette's sudden punctuality like her mom was.

"Eh, had a good night's sleep for once." Marinette replied, putting her sketchbook back into her bag now that one of her classmates was there.

"Good for you." Lila replied in a bored tone, not very interested in learning the answer before seeing the box of macarons on Marinette's desk. "What do you have there?" the olive-eyed girl asked, an eyebrow cocked at the box in question.

"Macarons for the class. My papa perfected a new recipe and gave me some to share with the others." Marinette explained, opening the box and holding it out to her. "Care to try one?" the designer asked, hoping that Lila would be open to the offer.

"Hmm, why not." Lila said before taking one of the macarons and biting into it, her face immediately lighting up in delight when it met her taste buds.

"I take it that you like it?" Marinette asked, steepling her fingers and letting her chin rest on her hands as she smiled at Lila; who quickly schooled her face to hide her enjoyment of the treat.

"It's not as delicious as the many fancy desserts I've had on my travels... but it's acceptable." Lila announced before heading up to her seat in the back, leaving Marinette staring at her in perplexion.

'Oookay. That was an unnecessary lie.' Marinette thought to herself before seeing the rest of the class starting to come in, triggering Alya's eyes to widen when she saw her best friend sitting in her chair.

"As I live and breathe, Marinette is here before all of us!" Alya gawked, causing everyone's eyes to widen when they landed on Marinette, shocked to see her before the bell even rang. "Are you feeling okay, gurl?" the reporter asked her bestie, a concerned look appearing on her features as she took in Marinette's presence.

"I'm fine, Alya. I just had a good night's sleep and came in early." Marinette assured Alya, a fond eye roll following her words. "Jesus, can't I come into school early and not get stared at like I'm a body-snatching alien?" the pigtailed girl questioned her classmates, not understanding why everyone was taking her punctuality so weirdly.

"Not when you usually arrive to class so late, dudette." Nino remarked with a smirk, immediately shutting down Marinette's argument to the contrary.

"Well, if that's how it is, then I guess you guys don't want any of the surprises that I brought in today." Marinette lightly threatened, turning away from her class with a faux pout and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Surprise? What surprise?" Kim yelped excitedly, his eyes lighting up as he pushed Max and Alix out of the way and scrambled up to the front of Marinette's desk.

"Oh, just my Papa perfecting a new recipe and giving me a box to share with you guys." Marinette said as she turned to face the excited Kim with a smile, followed by her holding out the box to her classmates. "Blackberry lavender macarons with lemon filling, anyone?" the red-tipped-haired girl asked her classmates, smiling at them as she offered the treats to them.

"Heck yeah!!!" Alix exclaimed as she pushed past Kim, taking the first one before he could and prompting the class; sans Chloé, to immediately swarm over the box. After the 'macaron sharks' finished their frenzie and took one each from the box, it left only four extras behind.

"These are so good, Marinette! They're officially my second favorite flavor." Adrien praised the midnight-haired girl, which left Marinette intrigued instead of flustered like everyone expected her to be.

"What's your favorite then?" Marinette asked, hoping to learn a more personal detail about her crush without needing to use sneaky methods to do so.

"Passion Fruit." Adrien stated, taking another bite from the treat while his four immediate friends looked at him funny.

"Ewww!" Nino yelped in disgust. "No offense, my dude, but passionfruit ​​macarons are terrible! Not even Marinette's parents can change my mind on that!" the DJ announced, popping the last bit of his macaron into his mouth with ease.

"Oh don't be such a baby, Nino. They aren't that bad." Alya chided the boy, fondly smiling at Nino's overreaction to the aforementioned treat. "But I have to agree with Nino, passionfruit definitely isn't my favorite macaron flavor either." the reporter admitted before she finished her macaron, finding herself agreeing with Nino on the matter regardless of his reaction.

"They do have a point, Adrien. I can say with certainty that Passionfruit is the worst seller in my family's bakery." Marinette concurred, looking back on how well that flavor usually went in her family's bakery.

"Eh, to each their own. At least I know that I'll be able to get my favorites at your family's bakery, Marinette." Adrien said, shrugging his shoulders when hearing his friend's opinions and recounting with passion fruit macarons before finishing his treat.

"Better yet, I could always bring you some at least once a week." Marinette bashfully offered, closing the box as she rubbed the back of her neck. "If you want me to, that is." the designer added with a matching smile, causing Adrien to light up at her proposal.

"That would be great! Thanks, Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed, coming up to Marinette's side and pulling her into a hug.

"Y-y-you're w-w-w-w-welcome, Adrien." Marinette stammered in surprise, managing to tentatively hug him back. But amid their hug, Marinette looked to the back of the class and saw Lila rolling her eyes at her, leaving her feeling less happy about being hugged by Adrien before Ms Bustier entered the room.

"Good morning class." Ms Bustier greeted her students, her work bag slung over her shoulder as she faced them.

"Good morning, Ms Bustier!" the entire class replied, smiling at their teacher.

"Now while I'm sure you all have a good reason why you all haven't gotten into your seats yet, class is about to start. So I think it would be best for you to sit down before the bell rings." Ms Bustier suggested to her students, prompting the class to agree and go to their seats while the ginger-haired woman saw the remaining macarons in the box Marinette brought with her. "Oooh, could I please have one too, Marinette? They look so good." the teacher asked, bringing a smile to Marinette's face at the request from her instructor.

"Help yourself, Ms Bustier." Marinette replied as she held the box out to her teacher, letting her take two of the remaining treats inside.

"Thank you, Marinette." Ms Bustier thanked her pupil, happy to have some of the early morning surprise Marinette brought with her.

"My pleasure, Ms." Marinette happily chirped, watching as Ms Bustier walked over to her desk before chancing another look at Lila behind her, who was still sending her an unamused look.

"So, how did your new babysitting gig over the weekend go? I'm eager to hear how this Rayla character played you like a fiddle... much like a certain five-year-old you frequently look after." Alya asked her bestie as she sat in her seat next to her, hoping to grab Marinette's attention away from Lila when she saw her stare at the girl in the back.

"It went really well, actually. Rayla was a total sweetheart and was truly an absolute angel." Marinette reported, turning away from looking at Lila just as the boys sat down in their seats in the row in front of the girls.

"And by 'absolute angel', you mean total nightmare like you were forewarned?" Alya questioned, thinking that Marinette was holding information from her about how her weekend actually went.

"No, she was surprisingly very well-behaved. So much so that I'm now her permanent babysitter." Marinette assured her best friend, a small smirk on her lips due to Alya's gentle prodding.

"Awesome, girl! I'm so proud of you!" Alya exclaimed, hugging her best friend when hearing of her new job opportunity. "And how much did you get paid, if you don't mind me asking?" the bespeckled girl asked, pulling back from the hug and resting her chin on her propped-up arm while smirking at her best friend.

"300 euros. A bit too much if you ask me." Marinette replied, causing Alya's eyes to bulge out of her sockets when hearing her answer.

"Seriously? That much? Dang! Maybe I could fill in for you if you can't make it once." Alya remarked, impressed by the pay Marinette received as she let her arm fall to rest on the desk while turning to look at the board in front of the class.

"Hmm mmm, that sounds great." Marinette half-heartedly agreed, turning to look back at Lila again just as she got her books out of her bag. But upon hearing Marinette's distracted tone, Alya turned her attention back onto her friend.

"You okay, Marinette? You've been looking over at Lila a lot this morning from what I've seen." Alya asked with a raised eyebrow, concerned about Marinette's peculiar behavior towards Lila.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking about Lila's reaction to the macarons." Marinette replied, going with the first thing that came into her head as an excuse.

"But she didn't get one... did she?" Alya questioned, looking at Marinette with a critical eye at her statement.

"She came in before you guys did and I gave her one." Marinette answered, shrugging her shoulders as she spoke.

"And what? She didn't like it?" Alya continued to probe, hoping to learn why Marinette was so hung up on Lila at the moment.

"No, she liked it. But it looked like she was holding back from admitting it." Marinette replied as she took one of the last macarons from her box, discreetly taking the last one to give to Tikki hiding in her purse.

"Why would she do that?" Alya wondered.

"I don't know. But I feel like that's not the only thing she's hiding." Marinette noted, her fingers flying to her chin in thought.

"Whatcha girls talking about?" Nino asked the girls, both he and Adrien turning to look at them in curiosity.

"Oh, Marinette's harping on Lila having a weird reaction to her macarons." Alya said, answering Nino's question and surprising the boys... Adrien especially.

"It's not exactly that, but yes." Marinette confirmed, clearing up any confusion. "Not only that, she's admittedly piqued my interest regarding her behavior since coming here." the pigtailed girl added, further intriguing the boys about her concerns.

"How so?" Adrien asked.

"Well, she was rather chatty on her first day, talking about all of her exploits and all that. But now she's as quiet as a mouse and barely talking to anyone." Marinette explained, taking the now empty pastry box from her desk and putting it into her bag to throw away later. "It's rather strange for someone who presents herself as self-confident." the red-tipped-haired girl noted, putting her bag back under her desk before looking back at her friends.

"Maybe she's still getting used to being here? I know that it's taken me a while to get used to attending public school." Adrien suggested, now going with the 'Wondering What's Going On With Lila' train.

"Yeah, but not everyone's been homeschooled since they were a kid like you, dude. Maybe she's actually more private than we were led to believe." Nino recommended, providing a non 'rich kid' perspective to the mix.

"In any case, I feel like she's deliberately keeping everyone at an arm's length away from her and it's rubbing me the wrong way." Marinette admitted, letting her arms rest on the desk as she leaned over to be closer to the group.

"Well, if anyone can break through her walls, it's you Marinette." Adrien remarked, causing Marinette to blush at the praise and tuck a stray hair behind her ear. "But you might want to be careful. Lila might not be as open to your friendship as you think." the green-eyed model warned, abruptly pulling Marinette out from her little drift into LA LA Land.

"I appreciate the concern, Adrien, but I can handle myself." Marinette assured Adrien, leaving him to sigh in relent at her stubbornness.

"I do not doubt that. But that doesn't stop me from worrying about one of my closest friends." Adrien said, looking off to the side in concern for his friend while Nino and Alya stared at him weirdly.

"You're never worrying about me that much." Nino remarked, curious as to why Adrien was being so protective of Marinette over them.

"Well, you tend to be more careful than Marinette here." Adrien replied, only to quickly turn to Marinette when realizing how he had sounded. "No offense, of course." the model rapidly amended, bringing a smile to Marinette's face at his worry about offending her.

"None taken. I'm aware that I tend to get carried away at times." Marinette said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "But don't worry, I promise I'll be careful." the designer promised, bringing a small smile to Adrien at her words.

"In that case, I wish you luck." Adrien replied to Marinette, hoping that she would be successful in her endeavor.

"Thanks, Adrien. Something tells me I might need it." Marinette observed, causing Adrien's smile at her to become a bit bigger before he and Nino turned back to face the front of the room. But now that the boys were not focusing on the girls, Alya looked at her best friend with an ecstatic smile.

"Did you just talk to Adrien without stuttering the whole time?" Alya quietly asked her best friend, which made Marinette realize that she was right seconds later.

"Oh my god, I did!! I didn't even realize I was!" Marinette squealed at the same volume, turning to face Alya with excitement bursting through the figurative seams of her face.

"Oooh, I'm so proud of you girl!! Looks like today really is your lucky day!" Alya congratulated, clasping hers and Marinette's hands in her joint elation for her friend.

"Looks like it is!" Marinette agreed before she and Alya let their hands go and turned to face the front, the bell ringing just as Ms Bustier came to stand in front of her desk like always. 'Let's hope it keeps going for the rest of the day." the pigtailed girl thought, her eyebrows furrowing in contemplation while focusing on her teacher.

"Alright class, let's first start today off with our usual morning practice." Ms Bustier began, prompting the class to quiet down and listen to her intently. "Now, who would like to volunteer to start us off?" the ginger-haired woman questioned the class, hoping for them to step up.

"Oh! How about me and Chloé, Ms?" Rose joyfully requested, rising from her seat and letting her hand rise above her.

"Wonderful idea, Rose!" Ms Bustier replied, allowing Rose to get up from her seat and grab a suddenly miffed Chloé from her seat along the way.

"Wait a minute, I didn't agree to this!" Chloé yelped as she was pulled to the front, soon finding herself going along with the morning ritual while Marinette looked back at Lila again, her brain going a thousand miles a minute to come up with a plan.

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(Time Skip)

For the next two hours after classes started, Marinette was sitting on pins and needles in wait for a chance to have a proper conversation with Lila. Granted, art class had provided a fun distraction from that since Lila was more relaxed in that period than she was at the start of the day. But now that morning break arrived, the designer decided to use the time as her moment to finally talk to the Italian girl, spotting her sitting alone on one of the benches along the sides of the quad.

"Are you sure that befriending Lila is a good idea, Marinette?" Tikki asked her holder, poking her head out of Marinette's purse after making sure they were alone.

"Of course I am, Tikki! Why wouldn't it be?" Marinette questioned her kwami, looking down at Tikki with an inquiring stare

"Well, she seems to not like Ladybug after being turned into Volpina, remember?" Tikki reminded Marinette, making the girl wince.

"I do. But she doesn't know that I'm... you-know-who." Marinette pointed out, whispering the last bit in case someone passed by.

"Exactly! Don't you think it's a little devious to befriend a girl in your civilian self when you chewed her out as Ladybug?" Tikki questioned the girl, her eyes filled with concern at the idea her holder was proposing.

"Maybe a little. On the other hand, I feel like part of the reason why she's so quiet is because of that." Marinette admitted, re-averting her gaze to Lila sitting in the quad below.

"Guilt isn't a good reason to befriend someone." Tikki chided, drawing Marinette's attention back to her.

"I know. But I want to make things right, regardless." Marinette said, knowing that Tikki had a point. "Besides, how else am I going to do that when Ladybug can't be close to anyone other than her partner and the Trollhunter?" the red-tipped-haired girl rhetorically asked her little friend, leaving Tikki at a loss for words for a moment.

"Okay, you have a point. But please be careful with what you say. I don't know how you'll be able to explain why you want to befriend her without a jumbled-up excuse of how you're not Ladybug." Tikki warned, unsure of how this upcoming talk between her owner and former adversary would go.

"I appreciate the warning, Tikki. And like I promised Adrien, I will be careful." Marinette reassured her kwami, followed by her turning to look back at Lila once again. "Now let's do this." the designer announced, clasping her hands together in anticipation before she started heading down to the quad. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Marinette quickly walked over to Lila, who was on her phone while eating an apple unaware of the approaching girl.

"Hey again, Lila." Marinette greeted the Italian girl, causing Lila to look up from her phone and finally see her.

"You again?" Lila said, followed by a tired sigh. "What do you want, now? Is this because of the macaron earlier?" the olive-eyed girl asked, putting her phone into her bag as she broadly addressed Marinette.

"Sort of." Marinette replied, prompting Lila to look at her in intrigue. "Mind if I sit?" the pigtailed girl asked, knowing that Lila was now hooked on learning more.

"Go ahead. I get the feeling you will even if I say 'no'." Lila wearily replied, her eyes rolling as she scooted over to free up some room.

"Thanks." Marinette said, quickly sitting beside Lila before she had a chance to back out of hearing the designer out.

"So why are you here with me and not with your friends?" Lila asked, still looking at Marinette with a broad stare as she waited for her answer.

"I saw you sitting here and thought you were lonely." Marinette replied, setting her bag onto the floor next to her feet.

"Seeing as I chose to sit alone, I would think that's not the case." Lila remarked before turning to face Marinette, staring her down with a glare. "So tell me the truth. Why did you really decide to sit with me?" the Italian girl interrogated, crossing her right leg over her left and propping her arm on her knee to playfully rest her chin on it.

"Okay, fine. I thought you could use a friend." Marinette admitted, earning a perturbed look from Lila upon her confession.

"Why... would you think that?" Lila hesitantly questioned Marinette, not expecting her reason for approaching her.

"Well, you were very chatty on the first day of school when talking about your exploits, but then you haven't talked to anyone else." Marinette recalled, listing off Lila's actions on her fingers. "It was... a little weird, to be honest." the red-headed girl nervously remarked, earning another stare from Lila.

"Oh, so you think I'm lonely and weird just because I haven't talked to anyone?" Lila questioned with a narrowed stare, unnerving Marinette a bit with her query.

"That's not what I meant. What I'm trying to say is that I can understand wanting to be alone, but the way you've been acting is a little unusual." Marinette elaborated, surprising Lila with how good her point was.

"Okay, I'll give you that." Lila relented, letting her body revert to how it was before she asked her first probing question. "But that doesn't mean I want a friend." the olive-eyed girl added as she turned her attention away from Marinette, missing the look of perplexion that crossed her features.

"Why not? Everyone needs a friend." Marinette stated, scooching a little closer to Lila.

"Let's just say that I don't have much luck in keeping them. But why are you so keen on being mine?" Lila continued to prob Marinette, turning her stare back at Marinette in slight annoyance.

"Well, the thing is..." Marinette began, only to trail off when trying to think of a proper explanation. "I was interested in the stories I heard the others say about you and I wanted to get to know you better?" the designer nervously explained, finally having a plausible explanation. But it seemed to do the opposite of appeasing Lila's questioning and had her eying Marinette in disdain, followed by a tired sigh.

"Alright, I'm going to stop you right there. I know you know I was lying on my first day of school." Lila said, completely blindsiding Marinette at how fast Lila figured out her... fib.

"Wait... what!? How the heck did you know?" Marinette gawked, looking at Lila with wide eyes as she tried to comprehend what just happened.

"Let's just say I'm..." Lila began, smirking as she leaned in close into Marinette's personal space. "... very good at reading people when it comes to them believing my lies." the Italian finished, leaving Marinette blushing at their proximity and her lidded eyes.

"Oh... that's... really cool." Marinette stammered out, leaning back a little from Lila due to her uncertainty about her current predicament.

"Also, you're not as sneaky as you might think yourself to be. I saw you tailing me when I went out to meet up with Adrien." Lila stated as she finally backed up from Marinette, resuming her previous sitting position while Marinette kept staring at her in surprise.

"Ah, I see." Marinette said, taking in the new information. 'Note to self: ask Draal to help me improve my skills in sneaking around.' the pigtailed girl internally noted, keeping that in mind for later before focusing on the conversation again.

"Okay, you know I followed you. But that doesn't mean I know you were lying." Marinette remarked, still hoping to save face with Lila on her... less than ideal habits.

"That would be the case if I didn't see you hiding behind the trash can next to the bench Adrien and I were sitting on. So I have to assume you've seen Ladybug chewing me out." Lila rebutted, immediately leaving Marinette unable to come up with an argument.

"Yes. Yes, I did. That's exactly right." Marinette tensely agreed while her gaze drifted to the side, deciding to just roll with the excuse given to her instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. But despite her choppy response, Lila was still sending a cheeky stare at Marinette.

"Huh, you're very intriguing, Marinette." Lila remarked with a smirk, making Marinette stare at her in worry.

"What makes you say that?" Marinette asked.

"If you know that I lied, why haven't you tried outing me and trying so hard to befriend me? You don't strike me as the type to support liars." Lila observed, her right hand going to her chin in thought.

"I don't, I'll give you that one." Marinette relented, shrugging her shoulders at Lila's remark. "And call me crazy, but I think if I tried to tell the others, they wouldn't be so quick to believe me." the red-tipped-haired girl added, earning an amused smirk from Lila at her claim.

"You seem confident in that claim." Lila stated, her amused eyebrow cocking at Marinette as she spoke.

"Let's just say that when it comes to counting on my classmates to help someone who's being bullied, they tend to leave the bullied to fend for themselves." Marinette replied, leaning to rest her elbows on her knees as she recalled the previous school year.

"And from the sounds of it, you're speaking from experience." Lila noted, hitting the nail right on the head.

"You could say that." Marinette tiredly breathed out, looking off to the side with a pout.

"Why tell me that if I can use that against you?" Lila asked, now staring at Marinette with slight concern about how easily she admitted to her classmate's gullibility.

"It's called giving someone the benefit of the doubt. I don't expect you to understand that when you seem to not feel guilty when lying to my friends." Marinette replied, sitting up as she turned to send a pointed stare at Lila.

"Oooh, the little kitten has claws. I didn't expect you to be so blunt." Lila praised in a softly mocking tone, smirking at Marinette for being so out of the character model she assumed she was.

"Eh, I've gotten a little more self-confident this year." Marinette replied, reclining on the bench and letting her hands go to rest behind her head.

"It shows. I'll admit, I didn't think you'd be so intriguing." Lila admitted, her fingers thrumming on the bench as she continued to look at Marinette with an intrigued smirk.

"Does that mean you might be open to being friends?" Marinette asked, a smile appearing on her face at the possibility.

"Oh, absolutely not. Me being friends with a goody two shoes like you would not be ideal for me." Lila replied while she started packing her bag, her denial of Marinette's offer causing the designer's face to drop in disappointment.

"But you just said I intrigued you." Marinette stated, not understanding why Lila was still being standoffish.

"That doesn't mean I think you're worth the trouble. Who's to say you won't drop me when it suits you?" Lila questioned as she continued with her bag, all while Marinette stared at her in disbelief.

"In what part of the conversation we just had... would make you believe that?" Marinette asked Lila ​​incredulously, not understanding how she came to that conclusion.

"Call it self-preservation. I like to be a few steps ahead." Lila replied, standing up from the bench with her bag slung over her shoulders.

"That's a lonely way to live, you know." Marinette stated, looking at Lila with concern.

"Well, it's how I've had to live." Lila said, a sad look in her eyes before shaking it off and focusing on Marinette again. "See you around, Gatto Curioso(Curious Cat)." the olive-eyed girl farewelled, walking away from the bench and leaving Marinette behind.

"She could have at least given me a better nickname." Marinette muttered in frustration, crossing her arms over her chest while looking off to the side.

"That's what you got out of that conversation!? Not that Lila seems to want to be left alone?" Tikki questioned her holder, poking her head out of the purse as she looked up at Marinette incredulously.

"No, I got that. But with the way she talked about it, it seemed like she'd been burned by a past friend." Marinette said, revealing that she still intended to befriend Lila despite being brushed off by the Italian girl.

"Or maybe she's just not keen on making friends." Tikki argued. "Marinette, maybe you should leave things well enough alone." the red kwami added, trying to get her holder to drop the matter for fear of her unintentional deception being discovered by Lila. And with how perceptive Lila proved herself to be, that would happen sooner rather than later.

"No way, Tikki! I've already made up my mind to become Lila's friend, and I fully intend to do so. I'm not giving up after one brush-off!" Marinette fired back, her stubbornness now coming into play after hearing Tikki's argument. "One way or another, I will break through her walls!" the designer declared, jumping up from the bench in her excitement seconds before the bell rang across the school.

"Oh, boy." Tikki sighed, knowing that there wouldn't be any stopping her holder when she had her mind made up.

"We'll talk more about this later Tikki. I better get to Science class before Ms Mendeleiev has an excuse to give me detention." Marinette said as she grabbed her bag, racing to her next class before she was late.

'I just hope you know what you're doing, Marinette.' Tikki thought to herself as she ducked back into Marinette's purse, trying to trust her owner's judgment.

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From that point on, Marinette was even more eager to befriend Lila. But Lila had also taken to avoiding her from then on too, hoping to dissuade Marinette from keeping up her constant attempts. Unfortunately for Lila, she forgot her lunch at home and had to eat in the cafeteria, giving Marinette the opening she needed... if Mr Pigeon didn't get akumatized again. Having no other choice, Marinette abandoned her lunchtime attempt with Lila and headed off to fight the most ridiculous akuma to date.

The fight ended up lasting longer than either hero expected it to. It took over three hours to defeat Mr Pigeon after he decided to bomb the whole city with bird poop, which left Ladybug and Chat Noir pulling out stray civilians from the large droppings. By the time Mr Pigeon was defeated for the 30th time, the school day was over and the two heroes went back home, going back to school only to get their bags. After that, Marinette was left to wait a while to meet up with Draal for their Monday training session, which wasn't too long after she finished her homework. But even while she changed into her training attire, Marinette's mind was still hung up on trying to connect with Lila and came up empty. With no new ideas, the pigtailed girl asked one of the wisest people... well, technically Troll, she knew if they knew what to do.

Now that she decided to ask Draal for advice, Marinette was all the more eager to head down to their sewer training arena and meet up with him. After Marinette made sure that her duffle bag was packed and put her rope dart inside alongside Tikki, she snuck down the steps to the side door of the building and left. Following that, she went to the alleyway next to her house and entered the sewer system with ease before climbing the ladder down to the abandoned ventilation shaft. Once she entered the training area, Marinette saw that she and Tikki were the first ones there, smiling to have beat the usually punctual Draal to their meet-up. Fortunately for her, she and Tikki didn't have to wait long for the crystal-backed Troll to arrive after sitting down near the pile of rubble serving as their rest spot, seeing him come through the other exit.

"Looks like I'm the one early for once, Draal!" Marinette greeted her trainer, causing Draal to look at her in surprise while a bag was slung over his shoulder.

"It appears so, Little Ladybug. What's brought about this sudden being on time?" Draal cheekily questioned the human, smiling at her punctuality.

"Woke up on time for once and it snowballed from there." Marinette explained, rising from her seat to approach Draal.

"Let us hope that it continues from here on out." Draal said... only for the three occupants of the secret arena to stare at each other blankly and burst out laughing seconds later.

"Yeah, like that would actually happen!! You know I'm notorious for being late to most things!" Marinette managed to say during their laughter, knowing that she wouldn't be that lucky.

"Yes, I'm aware. Even I didn't think that would ever happen." Draal admitted with a lingering chuckle, smiling at their teasing of the Ladybug Miraculous Holder.

"At least you're being honest." Marinette said with a fond roll of her eyes, smirking at the critique.

"In any case, we should take advantage of you being on time and get started." Draal declared, finally schooling himself to resume his usual state of professionalism.

"I agree." Marinette replied, now coming to stand next to Draal after their laughter.

"But before I forget, your brother asked me to give these to you." Draal said before he let his bag drop to the floor, opening it up to take out a large number of books from within. At the sight of the books, Marinette gasped in delight.

"More volumes of a Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore! I was wondering when Jim would send over the ones he finished." Marinette squealed as she took the books from Draal, causing her to see some of the numbers on the book spines. "Ooooh! Volumes 5-10! Blinky said that they have more information about the Troll Miraculous holders." the red-tipped-haired girl gushed when seeing the first half of the books, excited to start reading them as soon as possible.

"They do indeed and are very accurate. Quite a good read." Draal remarked, happy to see Marinette excited to learn more about her predecessors.

"You can read?" Marinette questioned Draal, staring at him in surprise upon the discovery.

"Yes, I can." Draal replied, sending a deadpanned look to his human pupil.

"No offense, but you don't strike me as the type to read." Marinette remarked, walking back to their resting spot to put the 10 books Draal gave her into her bag. "Then again, these volumes are about your mom and the Trolls she worked with, so it makes sense." the designer mused aloud, Draal coming towards her as she worked.

"Hmm, fair enough." Draal noted as he walked over to the rest area, seeing she had a point.

"Alright, now that the books are safe, can we start our training now? I need to ask you for some advice." Marinette said as she took her rope dart out from her bag, turning to the crystal-backed Troll to get ready to train.

"What kind of advice?" Draal asked as he reached their rest area, grabbing his spear from his bag before setting it down next to Marinette's duffle.

"It's kind of a long story." Marinette admitted as she looked up at Draal, rubbing the back of her neck in nervousness.

"Well, you're going to have to fight and talk. My best advice tends to appear when I'm training." Draal advised as they walked to the center of their training area, the two of them soon standing at the ready.

"Works for me!" Marinette declared before she leapt into action, letting her rope dart out as she jumped into the air and swung it as she did. But before she can hit Draal, he blocks her advance with his spear.

"So what do you need help with?" Draal asked, pushing Marinette away from him and forcing the girl to land a few feet away from her sparring partner.

"There's this girl in my class named Lila. I think I've mentioned her before, right?" Marinette inquired of her teacher, swinging her rope dart's counterweight above her head before swinging it at Draal.

"The girl that was akumatized into Volpina, correct?" Draal recalled as he held out his spear to let the counterweight wrap around the pole part, recognising one of Marinette's go-to moves.

"Yeah, that's her." Marinette confirmed, pulling back on her rope dart in the hopes of getting it unstuck from Draal's spear.

"Then why are you asking for advice? From what I remember you telling me, she doesn't seem like the type to waste time over." Draal stated as he pulled back on Marinette's rope dart, pulling her into the air in the process.

"SHE'S BEEN QUIET LATELY, SO I THOUGHT TO BEFRIEND HER!" Marinette yelled as she flew through the air, managing to free her rope dart from Draal's spear too. "But she's not exactly very open to the idea." the pigtailed girl elaborated as she threw her dagger at the wall, letting it bury itself into the stone before she let herself fall along the rope and stop at the counterweight.

"And the reason why you are asking for my advice is because...?" Draal probed as he turned to face Marinette, watching as she sailed through the air and landed safely on the ground, pulling her weapon free from the wall afterwards.

"Before you became friends with me and Jim, did you have any friends already?" Marinette asked as she ran up to Draal, jumping to land on his chest and front-kicking him in the chin before flipping back from him while Draal stumbled back.

"Not as many as you'd expect. With my parents being who they were, making true friends was not as simple as you'd think." Draal said as he caught himself from falling, spotting Marinette landing on the ground across from him.

"Good point. But you must have some idea of how to befriend former advisors. You did so with me and Jim so easily." Marinette countered, getting ready to attack again with a spin of the dagger part of her weapon.

"I might have some experience, yes." Draal replied, spinning his spear and taking a run at Marinette this time. "But why are you so keen on befriending this girl?" the large blue Troll questioned as he stabbed his spear at Marinette, who dodged it like she had done so with Adrien in her fencing tryout.

"I was the reason why Lila got akumatized, so I feel like I need to make amends with her." Marinette explained as she used the rope of her rope dart to wrap it around Draal's arm, pulling it close towards her.

"That was when you were Ladybug, and she doesn't know you are the one to chew her out." Draal countered, surprised when Marinette's move almost let her grab his spear from his hand. "Guilt isn't a good reason to befriend someone." the crystal-backed Troll chided Marinette as he pulled his spear away from her, quickly knocking her to the ground and pinning her.

"I know that. But it's more than just feeling guilty." Marinette fired back as she managed to get her legs underneath Draal's stomach, bucking him back from her and freeing herself. "Lila's so closed off compared to how she was on the first day of school." the red-tipped-haired girl went on as she scrambled to her feet, spinning her rope darts counterweight behind her in preparation for another attack.

"Normally, I would be happy that she is not lying to my class. But she's now too quiet because of what I did to her as Ladybug." Marinette continued to regale, watching as Draal recovered from her earlier move. "The fact that I'm the reason why she's keeping to herself is only part of the reasons why I'm trying so hard to befriend her." the designer stated as she swung her counterweight at Draal as he came at her, hitting him in the gut and making him double over in pain.

"And... the other... reasons?" Draal wheezed out, recovering from the hit before going to attack her again.

"I know what it's like to be lonely after someone hurts you so personally." Marinette admitted as runs up to Draal, quickly grabbing his arm to the ground and taking his spear before he could use it again. "Especially when I took it as far as I did." the pigtailed girl added as she twirled away from Draal, throwing her rope dart at him and tying his arms up.

"After thinking about my actions, I found that I was acting a lot like Chloé when I chewed her out." Marinette reflected as she sweepkicked Draal, knocking him to the ground and raising his acquired spear to his throat. "Sure, I can argue for setting the record straight about my non-existent connection to Lila at the time. But that doesn't make how I treated her right." the red-tipped-haired girl concluded as she let Draal go, winning the first round between them.

"I can relate. It's how I felt after losing the duel against your brother." Draal admitted as he stood up to his full height, Marinette giving him back his spear afterwards.

"And you managed to befriend us quite quickly. So why isn't it working with Lila?" Marinette wondered, hoping he would have the answer.

"It might have to do with the possibility that Lila isn't as open as you and Jim." Draal theorized, leaving Marinette silent as he continued. "Everyone is and acts different from each other from what I've seen, and it can lead them to take certain events any way that suits them. That being said, it's best to just let them decide when to open up to those willing to be there for them." the large blue Troll explained, causing Marinette to scrutinizingly stare at him.

"Meaning?" Marinette questioned, not quite seeing the point Draal was trying to make.

"She'll come to you if and when she's ready to befriend someone. You just have to be patient and set aside your personal feelings on the matter." Draal clarified, prompting his pupil to nod at the thought of the idea her friend was giving her. "It's worth it in the end." the crystal-backed Troll stated, sealing the deal.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her all day, Draal!" Tikki exclaimed from her perch on the pile of rubble in the resting area, finishing off one of her many cookies.

"Really, Tikki? Do you have to say 'I told you so', right this minute?" Marinette asked her kwami, both she and Draal looking at Tikki with different looks from the other... one with annoyance and the other with amusement.

"Yes, because me and now Draal have given you the same advice. Maybe now you might take it." Tikki lectured her holder, sending a knowing smirk at Marinette.

"Okay, fair enough." Marinette relented, shaking her head at how smug her kwami was being. "But in all seriousness, I see what you two mean. I'll apologize to Lila for coming out so strong and lay off on the befriending." the designer announced, leaving both Troll and kwami to smile at her statement.

"That sounds like a reasonable idea. Let us hope it ends up working out in your favor." Draal said, liking that Marinette was listening to his and Tikki's joint advice

"I'm hoping it does too, Draal. I'm hoping it does too." Marinette said, smiling up at her friend with a hopeful look in her eyes. "But in the meantime, why don't we try that fight again? I think I could have done a few things a bit differently." the pigtailed girl noted, rolling her shoulder to loosen them out before said second attempt.

"Yes, several actually." Draal remarked, earning a pointed glare from Marinette.

"Must you be so critical?" Marinette questioned, rolling her eyes at his bluntness

"You're the one who wanted me to train you. This is how I do it." Draal stated, proceeding to stretch his arms across his chest as he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just teasing." Marinette said, brushing off the criticism in favor of focusing on their sparing."Now let's tee off. I'm itching to retry that move I did with my rope dart earlier. Maybe I could use it again in a fight if I get it down." the red-tipped-haired girl teased as she checked her weapon, making sure it was ready for another round.

"Be careful. I might use that against you." Draal fired back, smirking at their little rapport.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. How else am I supposed to get better?" Marinette rhetorically questioned Draal, who chuckled at her in amusement as they got ready to face off again.

"Indeed." Draal replied as the two stood at the ready, eager to face off once again.

"By the way, do you think you could help me with my stealth skills at a later date?" Marinette quickly asked Draal, suddenly remembering Lila's observation of her sneaking around as she brandished the dagger of her rope dart, counterweight spinning behind her once more.

"It would be my pleasure!" Draal declared with a spin of his spear, followed by the two of them leaping back into action.