The boys had gotten into a routine of meeting up after school most days now, they'd either go get ice cream or if there was a movie on they'd go see it. Sometimes they'd just hang out, as you did. Today thought Adrien was going out with his mums after school leaving Luka to his own devices. Wanting to help out with Adrien's album though, he needed to get some new guitar strings to re-string his guitar for recording. So once school was out he took his bike down to the music store, locked it up at the rack outside and went in looking for the best strings he could get his hands on.

And of course, he had to take a look at all the other instruments too. All musicians did that, go into the store for one thing and spend hours looking at the build of a good drum kit.

Having grabbed the strings and a cool new guitar pick to add to the collection, he ended up in the strings section looking at all the bass guitars, electrics, acoustics and the like. There were some really nice ones on display, including a few flying Vs. He definitely didn't need any more guitars to add to his already big collection, but he did think maybe he could get one for Adrien next birthday. He was having fun learning it with Lukas help, it'd be nice for him to have his own guitar.

"Oh man that's totally Adrien's style..." he muttered, spotting a green and black electric.

Cat Noir colours, glittery finish too so it shined in the light. He took it from the stand to get a look at it, it was pretty expensive so if he wanted to gift it he'd have to save up.

He was wrapped up in the details of the guitar, thinking about ways he could modify it and make it more personalised to Adrien. The only thing that pulled him out of his trance was the sound of someone talking elsewhere in the shop.

It was such a familiar voice...

When he looked up and around to see who it was, he spotted her. He'd never actually met Lila in person before but he'd seen her plenty of times when picking up his sister from school. What was she doing here? As far as he knew she didn't do any music.

She seemed to be talking to the store clerk about something, so he just brushed it off and went back to the guitar.

Another store clerk came up to him, noticing him and the guitar.

"Hey, can I help you today?" She asked.

"Would I be able to plug this in to hear it?" Luka asked.

"Yeah of course, there's an amp right down there"

He took the chord, plugged it in and instinctively strummed the notes to one of the songs Adrien was working on with him. It sounded so good, it was such a well made guitar and the way it played was perfect for the kind of music Adrien made. This guitar had his name all over it.

"That's one of our favourite brands here, they're really good for that deep, gritty sound in instrumentals" the clerk explained.

"It sounds perfect for what I'm thinking of. I've been teaching my boyfriend guitar, he's been writing music for a while now but only on piano. This is perfect for his style of music" Luka explained.

"Those ones are particularly good all skill levels because they can be modified really easy as you get better. Strings are easy to replace, they tune well and barely ever break"

Luka almost wanted to keep it for himself it was such a good instrument. But this was for Adrien, he already had plenty of guitars. The price was what was holding him back though, it was expensive. Understandable for the quality, but damn. On his part time wage delivering food he couldn't afford it right away. He'd have to save.

"Do you guys do hold here?" He asked.

"We do, there's no time limit. Just as long as you contact us if anything comes up" the clerk replied.

"This is so perfect for him, I need to get it. Perfect present for next birthday too... I think I can pay it off after a few months, would that be ok?"

"Yeah that's totally fine. I'll wrap it up and put it out the back, you'll just have to sign some paperwork so we know not to sell it"

Taking the guitar to the counter, the clerk took it from him and exchanged it for the paperwork. It was simple stuff, just contact and payment details. As he was filling things out, just across the counter Lila was still talking to the other clerk. Now he was closer he could hear it better.

"I'm just a bit picky about my instruments you see, ever since I toured with Jagged stone I can't get enough of the best of the best" she said.

Toured with jagged stone? I think the fuck not. Luka of all people would know who was touring with his own father, the fact he'd never even spoken to Lila in person was proof enough she was lying.

"Oh wow, we're you in the band?" The clerk asked.

"Yeah I was backing guitarist, it's a bit hard to see me with all the flashing lights and smoke machines but I went all over Europe with him" Lila replied.

Lies. All lies. What was her motivation to lie about something like that? Fame?

"Weren't you the one who did some advertisement for the Agreste brand before everything went down?" The clerk asked.

"I did! They scouted me out through my work with jagged stone actually, they're all connected with each other as you can imagine" Lila replied.

Luka was loosing brain cells listing to this. He knew exactly how she weaselled her way into the company and it definitely wasn't from a show with his own dad that never happened. He knew she was a bit crazy thanks to Adrien and Marinette telling him but now he was hearing it for himself... damn.

"That was such a shit show what happened with Gabriel. I hope his kid is ok" the clerk said.

"He's doing alright, we go to school together so I see him often. I'm practically his therapist with how much he vents to me, but that's ok I understand it's a lot to go though" Lila replied.

Luka wasn't a confrontational person, so he didn't say anything. But fuck, this was annoying the shit out of him. She just lied about both his father and his boyfriend, how can she do that so casually?

Luckily he didn't have to listen and loose any more brain cells, as finished up the paperwork and bought the strings. Leaving the store he shot Emilie a message about the guitar to make sure they didn't accidentally double gift Adrien the same thing. He then got back on his bike and headed home. The whole way he couldn't stop thinking about what the hell he'd just overheard. He had a bad feeling about Lila, not just because of her literally harassing his boyfriend, but because of all the lies.

What the hell was she trying to do here? He didn't know it bugged him so much.

Meanwhile Adrien was out with Emilie and Nathalie shopping for the final touches to their house. They'd settled in by now, but wanted a few extra things to really finish it off. Mainly a hammock for the back yard and a bird house to attract some of the local wildlife. Emilie felt her phone buzz, and she picked it up to see the message from Luka. When Adrien was distracted she slipped her phone over to Nathalie to read it too.

Luka: hey so I just out a guitar on hold for Adrien's present. I know it's a while away by I need to save up so I'm starting now. Just so we don't accidentally get him the same thing, here's a picture. Keep it between us though :)
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Nathalie smiled, looking up at her girlfriend who also had an exited smile on her face.

"He's going to freak" she whispered.

"Oh I know, he's been so into learning guitar recently. Luka's such a sweetheart" Nathalie replied.

"Those two are almost as sappy as we are"

"Adrien takes after you on that part"

Quickly putting her phone away before Adrien noticed them gossiping, he walked back over with his choice of bird house.

"This one is so cute! It's like a tiny castle. And it can fit some of the bigger brides in it as well. I think we should put it in the back tree, we can use binoculars to watch from the balcony" Adrien explained.

"Good idea, that'll look so cute! I reckon we decorate it as well" Emilie replied.

"Duh we have to! The birds can't live in a boring house they need to just as glamorous as us"