And here we have my version of the Ladybug episode. Since obviously we don’t have Ladybug, the sentimonster isn’t here and I couldn’t call them ‘Bugette’ so the sentimonster is known as Sentis (Senti-Anatis). Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this. It was rather interesting to write and definitely sets the feeling for the next half of 'season 4’. Part of this is the build up to Truth which will be the season finale. I should warn you now though. It’s gonna get worst before it gets better. There’s literally gonna be one chapter that won’t be too serious but chapters 70-80 will be rough for our favorite bug boy and will be a test of character for him. Anyway, the next chapter will be the long awaited Lady Blanche. I’m very excited to write this chapter and as it has been and will be with this story, it will differ slightly from canon. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter and enjoyed how I’ve worked into this universe :D Also I changed Lila’s reason at the end. I always hated how she claims this 'rare’ disease causes her to lie so I’ve worked in what I hope is a more realistic chapter and hopefully in the snippets as well as some future chapters, we will learn where she learnt her lying habits and learn more about her character. For a heads up, I won’t be giving her a 'tragic’ background as I feel like that wouldn’t work with her. Also the reason why Hawkmoth is called Sphinx in Lila’s phone is so no one realizes it’s him if they saw it. Sphinx Moths are another name for Hawkmoths.
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Chapter Sixty-Nine: Anatis (½)
~Lila’s Household~
Lila sighed to herself as she turned the page on her magazines. She smirked as she came across a recent fashion piece with her own photos. She had done a number of photo-shoots since joining Gabriel as an official model and she had to admit, she liked it. It was such easy money. All she had to do was wear the latest designs and pose in front of a camera. She even got to keep some of the clothes as part of the contract and she earnt €4000 roughly each month. Of course, she wasn’t earning the same level of paid as Adrien or the other 'faces’ of Gabriel as she was fairly new to the company but for once, she certainly wasn’t complaining and Ms Sancoeur had explained that as she got more experience, she would earn more money and that she was also one of the models who is paid more due to be a 'face’ of Gabriel. Each 'face’ had their own clothing area that they modelled. Adrien, being the most popular face, had more than one but that made sense. Lila’s area was everyday clothing for teenagers but she was hoping to take over as the model for Teen Evening Wear as she would get to model with Adrien that way. She just needed the position to open up or find a way to get it open. Maybe she could convince Mr Agreste that the current model is a bad influence on Adrien. After all that is her second job. She was to make sure that Adrien didn’t have any bad influences in his life, which was especially hard thanks to him dating Kagami and how the majority of the class acted around her. It wasn’t that they completely ignored her. No, she would rather that because then she could focus her attention on making them feel bad for neglecting her and use it to convince others that she was been bullied by them. Oh, no… what they were doing was much worse. They just treated her as normal and took her words with a grain of salt, thanks to Anatis. Marinette and Juleka, she expected it from. She wouldn’t care if it was just the two of them because she could make their lives hell by simply turning their classmates against them and she had tried but every time she accused either girl of something, everyone including Miss Bustier asked for proof or they had a way to disprove her claims, forcing her to retract her comments and either lie to cover it up or admit that she was lying for attention again. Miss Bustier had even insisted on her seeing the school therapist. Luckily, she got out of that by using the fact that her father had her seeing some crackpot for it. However, Mr Agreste didn’t seem to mind so much. Besides, it didn’t matter where she stood with the class because she could still easily fulfill the requirements of her third job as Hawkmoth’s ally. You didn’t need people to like you to sow seeds of discord. Lila was smart in her own way. Sure, she wasn’t great at Maths or some Academic but she was crafty and if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was to manipulate people. She didn’t need them to like her. She just needed them to listen to her and that was something even Marinette did because as much as she didn’t want to, Marinette and the others in her class had good hearts, meaning they would try and prove to others that Lila was a liar. Good hearts were easy to manipulate. As the old saying goes 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ and her classmates were the type to have good intentions and wear their hearts on their sleeves. She closed the magazine and put it down before getting up to head to the fridge. She took out juice and poured herself a glass as her phone vibrated, making her cock an eyebrow and walk over to it. She unlocked it and opened the text she had received, causing her to smirk.
Sphinx: Be at the Park asap. I have a job for you.
L: I’m on my way
Lila closed the chat box as she grabbed her jacket and put it on before grabbing her keys and her favourite book. She locked the door behind her and walked to the park, taking a seat on the bench closest to the road and far from anyone in the park before opening her book and reading it as she waited. A few seconds later, a car pulled behind her.
“What’s the job?” She asked, not looking up from the book.
“I need you to put your skills to use at your school,” He stated, making her raise an eyebrow. “There’s a target in your school who has been on my radar for some time. I have good reason to believe that this target would not only be the akuma that could defeat Anatis and Lady Noir but could be a catalyst which allow me to use my scarlet akumas again,”
“I see, Sir,” She replied, smirking. “Does this mean I get to be Miracle Queen again?”
“Not this time, my dear,” He replied, making her frown. “Oh, don’t take it the wrong way, Miss Rossi. You are an excellent and powerful akuma but you’re just as powerful without powers. Why grant you the ability to control people when you could simply bend them to your will with your actions and words?”
“Very well,” She smirked. “Who’s the target?”
“Luka Couffaine,” He replied, making her frown. “I am more than aware of the restraining order he has against you but for this to succeed, I don’t need you to actually go near him. I just need you to create a situation that will allow me to akumatized him and possibly others,”
“Doesn’t he have fits when you try?” She asked, rolling her eyes. There was no way that was true. He’s probably just faking them. “I mean I wouldn’t want you to hu-”
“Save the pretence, Miss Rossi,” He stated, making her go quiet. “It doesn’t matter if he does as long as the akumatization is successful. As for what happens to him after… well, I couldn’t care less about that,”
“I see,” She replied, nodding. “Rest assured, Sir. It will be done,”
“Excellent. You will be well rewarded for this,” He replied, causing her to hear the window being closed and the car to drive off. She closed her book and put it away before getting up and leaving.
~A Few Days Later~
Lila turned the page on her book as she sat in her usual spot in the park, waiting for the car to pull so she could report her progress. So far, she made a plan that would paint Luka in a bad light if believed, even though the chances were slim but that’s was the best part. Even if it wasn’t believed, it would anger him, his friend and in particular Marinette and give Hawkmoth the opportunity to akumatized Luka. In fact, it would actually be better if it wasn’t believed as the emotions would be more devastating. Anger is good but righteous rage is better plus it would finally show the world that Luka Couffaine is not perfect at all. She paused as she heard a car pull up behind her.
“I thought I ordered you to put your skills to use,” Hawkmoth’s voice stated, making her frown a little. He sounded annoyed.
“My plan is taking a little longer than expected, Sir. The school has been taking extra precautions with their security,” She replied, frowning. She was going to do exactly the same plan she used on Marinette that caused her to become Princess Justice. Only this time, Luka will be her target. The only difference is that she might not be able to claim that Luka pushed her down the stairs but if she sees a chance to do that, she will be doing so but framing him the same way she framed Marinette wouldn’t just make him vulnerable to akumas but Marinette and her classmates too. However, since Anatis’ appearance, the school had been working on their security and a zero tolerance on bullying. They had been making sure they investigated each case correctly as well, making it a lot hard to frame people for bullying her. Her plan to frame Luka was risky but she didn’t care about that. She only cared about the reward. “Will you keep your promise if I succeed?”
“I always honour my commitments,” Hawkmoth stated, making her smirk. “As long as you honour yours,”
“Of course I will,” She smirked as the window closed up. She closed her book and took out her phone. It was reaching the last half an hour of break. She would have to be careful with her plan as it required her not been seen nor caught by cameras. She knew the school had to have proof so she had done her research. Mrs Mendeleiev’s class been having a test on physics this afternoon so she needed to get the answer key for it. The best time to do would that would be now since the teachers would be in their lounge. The good thing was there would be no CCTV in the classroom as it was allowed to be in there without a justified reason. The difficult part would be getting it into Luka’s bag but he tended to leave it in the locker room while he was in class. She glanced around as she walked through the gate. Most of the students were still on their lunch break so she made her way up the stairs and headed to Mrs Mendeleive’s classroom, looking at her watch as she did. She glanced around as she did before trying the door. To her annoyance, it was locked but that wasn’t as much of an issue as it would be for a normal person. She glanced around once more, making sure no one was around before taking out a couple of pins from her hair and using them to pick the lock. She smirked as she felt it click before slipping inside and closing the door behind her. She walked over to the desk and opened the draws, going through them until she found papers. She read over them, making sure they were in fact correct before she slipped them into her own bag and closed the draw. She walked over to the door and left, using her pins to re-lock the door before she headed towards Miss Bustier’s classroom, satisfied that the first part of her plan had gone off without a hitch. All she had to do was plant the answers on him and plant her necklace in his locker. She would do that tomorrow morning as she had a therapy session schedule in the morning at 10am. The school was already informed about it and planting them on him tomorrow meant it gave time for Mrs Mendeleiev to become suspicious of her class. It was perfect.
“Hey, you look happy, girl,” Alya smiled, making her smirk back.
“Oh, it’s because of my job,” She smiled, making Alya raise an eyebrow. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m a model at Gabriel now. It’s been so busy I must of forgotten to tell you,”
“That’s awesome,” Alya grinned, making Lila smile. “Do you get to model with Adrien?”
“Not yet but as long as I keep up my good work, I should be able to at some point,” She replied, noticing Adrien rolling his eyes. “It is so much fun,”
“I bet,” Alya grinned as Marinette came in. “Oh, you could model for Marinette!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” She gasped, hoping Marinette either calls her a liar or is harsh towards her. “But I could give her a few pointers,”
“That’s nice of you, Lila but I already have models and modelling for a different company is probably against your contract,” She stated, making Lila frown. She was expecting Marinette to call her a liar yet she hadn’t. “Congratulations on the job though. I saw your photoshoot in the latest issue of Chic,”
“Oh, thank you,” Lila replied in a sweet tone but both her and Marinette knew it was false. “Well, if you do need help and it doesn’t break my contract, you can call me. I would love to help you,”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Marinette stated, taking her seat next to Alya, who leaned over and whispered something. Lila gritted her teeth when no one was looking before turning her attention to the lesson.
~The Next Day~
Lila smirked to herself as she walked down the stairs after being excused from class. She was on her way to her 'therapist’ so she would be out of school for an hour but it was the perfect chance to frame Luka. She had overheard Miss Bustier talking to Mrs Mendeleiev about the stolen papers this morning, along with the rest of the school. To ensure her plan worked and she had time to do what she needed to do, she learnt Luka’s lesson plan. Right now, he was in the gym and as such had left his bag in his locker, giving her the perfect opportunity to plant the answer key. And if anyone got suspicious of her… well, she had a perfect reason to be in the locker room. The locker room itself had no cameras as it was illegal to have them in due to minors possibly changing their clothes in there for Gym or other reasons but there was a camera at the entrance so if they looked over it and saw her enter, she had a reason as to why she would be in there. It would have been better if the camera wasn’t there like the last time but she’ll work with what she had. She entered the room and headed to her locker before taking out her bag and moving across to Luka’s locker. It was a pin coded lock but she had watched from afar and had learned his code. She glanced around before opening it and removing the lock. She smirked as she opened it and took out his bag. She unzipped it and placed the folded up answers in there, making sure to put it in the pocket inside to make it look hidden but have it visible enough for someone to notice if they looked inside. She rezipped it up and placed it back in it’s exact place before closing the locker. She made sure the door was locked again. Satisfied, she left the room and headed outside to her father’s parked car. She greeted her father and got in before they drove off. She took out her phone as he listened to the radio, opening up the chat between her and Hawkmoth.
L: Get ready. My plan has been set in motion.
S: Excellent
She smiled before going onto the school’s website and typing a message on it before posting it.
Anonymous: Hi, I’m really concerned about something I saw yesterday. I didn’t think much about it until I heard that some test answers were missing. I saw a student acting really odd on the break yesterday. He seemed to be looking in his bag a lot. Not sure of his name but he has dyed blue hair and has a guitar case. It might be nothing but I’m concerned. Hope this helps.
The best part was Luka was looking in his bag a lot yesterday, like something was in there. She knew it wasn’t the answer key as she hadn’t even stolen it at that point but she wasn’t the only person who had seen it. It was perfect.
~After Break~
Luka hummed lightly to himself as he wrote down the notes he was taking. His bag was now next to him, having been taken out of his locker after Gym yet he remained unaware of Lila’s plans. As far as he knew, his bag hadn’t been tampered with and he wasn’t about to be accused of cheating on the test. He hoped he had done well yesterday but that was as far as his thoughts regarding it went since it was only a small one that wouldn’t really affect his grade. The class was waiting for Mrs Mendeleiev to return after she had been called out of the class by Mr Damocles. The door opened and she came back in. Luka frowned as she didn’t look happy at all and weirdly enough, Mr Haprele followed.
“Class, I have to attend to a serious matter. Please do these worksheets that Mr Haprele is handing out,” She stated as he began to hand them out before she looked towards Luka, making him frown. “Mr Couffaine, could you come with me please? Bring your bag please,”
“Sure…” He muttered, concerned as he grabbed it. He got up and walked over, following her out of the room. “Am I in trouble?”
“You are aware that the answer key to the test yesterday was stolen, correct?” She asked, making him nod. He heard from Aurora. “There was an anonymous comment on the school website that suggests you were the one who took it and that you may have stolen from other students,”
“What?!” He gasped, stopping. She turned and looked at him. “But I didn’t. I don’t steal,”
“While I’m inclined to agree, I must investigate these claims as protocol requires it,” She stated as they headed into an empty classroom. They walked over to the desk, causing her to gesture towards it. “Please put your bag on the table,”
He did as told, taking it out and opening it for Mrs Mendeleiev to search it before he stepped back. He held his breath as she searched before she pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and read it, revealing the answer key. He looked at it in shock.
“I swear I didn’t-”
“This is very serious, Mr Couffaine,” She stated in a calm voice. “I must get the principal immediately,”
“But I’m innocent!” He gasped, making her look at him. “I didn’t take the answer key I swear!”
“Mr Couffaine, I understand but we still have to investigate this,” She stated, making him frown. “You’ve been accused of having an answer key for a test and it has been found in your bag. I have to inform Mr Damocles and we will have to call in your mother,”
“But I didn’t do it!” He argued, tears in his eyes. “Please believe me,”
“I want to…” She admitted before looking down at the sheet in her hand. “But the evidence does suggest otherwise, which is why we must do this by the book,”
He looked at her with a broken expression before she led him out of the locker room. He followed her with his shoulders slumped, following her to the principal’s office. Within minutes, his mother had been called and was arguing his case inside the office while he waited outside. Tikki pressed her paw against his chest, letting him know that she was there but things were about to get worse. A few minutes later, Lila walked up the stairs, heading back to Miss Bustier’s class after returning from her therapy session. Unknown to him, she had put the next part of her plan in action. Since she had to return to the locker room to return her things there, she had taken the chance to slip her necklace into his locker, making sure it was well hidden so they would have to search for it. Now she just needed to get them back in the locker room.
“Oh my gosh, are you ok, Luka?” She asked, making him grit his teeth. “You look upset. Wait… why are you outside the principal’s office? Are you in trouble?”
“Leave me alone,” He growled, folding his arms and looking away from her as her smile turned to a smirk.
“Of course, you are,” She stated, making him blink. “I heard you stole the answer key. Strange, you’re normally so well behaved,”
“You…” He gasped before narrowing his eyes. “It was you who gave the anonymous tip and you who put the answers in my bag. You broke into my locker!”
“Wasn’t hard,” She muttered, shrugging so only he could hear it. “I swore I’d make your life a living hell. Let’s see how you get out of this one,”
Luka frowned as he noticed her walk towards the edge before she smirked at him and turned to walk down the stairs. Realising what she intended to do, he jumped up as she walked down some of the stairs before she smirked at him. He gasped as she missed her footing, causing her to fall down the last three steps. She cried out as she did, causing the doors to the principal’s office to open. Luka spun around as Lila cried that he had pushed her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Mrs Mendeleiev! Get the nurse!” Mr Damocles declared before turning to Luka and pointed to the door to his office. “Inside my office now!”
Luka flinched at the raised voice, instinctively stepping back.
“I didn’t push her!” He gasped. “Why would I?!”
“B-Because he hates me!” She sobbed, making him blink. “I just tried to be his friend!”
“Liar!” His mother declared, causing everyone to look at him. “That child has assaulted my boy before! She is a menace and if you believe for one second he would do something like this then you are crazy! Check the CCTV for crying out loud before you condemn my lad!”
Lila had to hide her smirk as her plan was coming together nicely.
“Of course, I shall,” Mr Damocles declared, turning to walk back in. The nurse came and checked on Lila, helping her to the office as Luka sat in with his mother by his side. Mr Damocles phoned Mr Rossi straight away before checking over the CCTV as they waited for her father to come in, frowning as he did. Once her father was there, he turned back to Lila. “Miss Rossi, it appears that Mr Couffaine did not push you. That you walked down the stairs and fell down three of them. Why did you declare it was Mr Couffaine when it was clear it wasn’t?”
“B-Because I thought it was…” She gasped, crying as her father rubbed her back. “Luka has just been so mean to me and all I’ve done is try to be his friend. He even stole my necklace off me!”
“I didn’t do anything!” Luka declared, getting a glare of Mr Rossi as the captain. “Ma, I swear I haven’t done anything at all. I didn’t steal the answer key, I didn’t try to hurt Lila and I didn’t steal anything from her! Why would I?! I don’t want anything to do with her! That’s why I have a restraining order on her!”
“My bambino wouldn’t lie about something so serious,” Mr Rossi declared, making Anarka roll her eyes.
“And my lad wouldn’t steal or hurt anyone!” She declared before gesturing to Lila. “And why should I believe this scallywag?! She’s accusing him without proof,”
“Oh, I have proof,” She replied, making everyone look at her. “Check his locker,”
“Excuse me?!” Anarka gasped, as everyone looked at her. “Why would you suggest that?! That makes it seem like you put it there yourself!”
“I’m just saying if he’s innocent then there would be nothing in his locker,” Lila replied, looking down before she looked up at Luka. “You have nothing to hide right, Luka?”
Luka gritted his teeth as Lila stared at him, waiting for his reply. It was obvious at this point that she had planted the evidence in his locker, leaving him in a catch 22. If he turned around and refused to let them look in his locker, it would look bad for him. They had already found the test answers in his bag and it would make him look more guilty if he said no but if he said yes and they found something in his locker, he would look just as guilty. He knew that’s what she wanted. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.
“Fine,” He stated, making everyone look at him. “Look in my locker. I have nothing to hide,”
“Very well,” Mr Damocles declared, getting up. The families and Mrs Mendeleiev followed him out of the office and to the locker room, with Mr Rossi helping Lila walk. They walked into the locker room, causing the students in there to look over. In particular, Marinette looked extremely worried, making both Mr Damocles and Mrs Mendeleiev think about how similar the situation was. The students watched as Luka came to a stop in front of his locker, looking straight at Mr Damocles, who cleared his throat. “Open your locker please,”
Luka turned and opened it, causing a white box to fall out as soon as he did. It landed on the floor, causing a fox tail pendant to fall out, making the students and the teachers looked at it in shock.
“My pendent,” Lila gasped, reaching for it and picking it up as her father glared at Luka.
“This is unacceptable,” He declared angrily. “I demand this boy to be arrested and expelled!”
“Wait!” Marinette gasped, rushing over. She looked at Mr Damocles with a desperate look. “Mr Damocles, you can’t expel him! Luka didn’t do anything! Lila is framing him, just like she framed me!”
“Marinette, how could you say that?” Lila gasped, tears in her eyes. “I know I made a mistake but that was Chloe-”
“I didn’t tell you anything,” Chloe replied, walking over. “Marinette is right. You legally can’t expel Luka. Only the board has that kind of power and if you even think about it, I’ll call my daddy,”
“Miss Bourgeois, there is no need to get the mayor involved,” Mr Damocles gasped nervously. “I am not going to expel Mr Couffaine,”
“What?!” Mr Rossi shouted, making everyone glare at him. “The evidence is right there! He is a good for nothing thief!”
“Don’t you dare call my son that, you stuck up bigot!”
“Mr Rossi. Ms Couffaine,” Mr Damocles gasped, holding up his hands. “Please, calm down-”
“That’s Captain Couffaine!” Anarka declared. “And I won’t calm down while my son is wrongly accused!”
“Captain, please. We will follow the rules in this situation to find the truth,” He gasped, making them both look at him. “The rules state that the accused must be suspended until the case can be fully investigated,”
“Suspended?!” Anarka gasped, clearly annoyed. The class looked just as annoyed and were shouting out in Luka’s defense. Alya, on the other, looked shell shocked and devastated. Unbeknownst to anyone else, she was realising Lila was not the perfect person she thought she was. It was one thing to lie about small things but to lie that Luka had stolen from her when he came across as one of the kindest persons she had met was on a different level. Not just that but Lila had to have planted the 'evidence’ in his locker to make it look that way. “How can you suspend my boy when he has done nothing wrong?!”
“Yeah!” Rose gasped, making the teachers look at her. “Luka won’t hurt or steal from anyone!”
“He’s a good person!” Ivan piped as Mylene nodded furiously. “He’s friends with Anatis for crying out loud!”
“Students, please,” Mr Damocles declared, holding his hands up as Mrs Mendeleiev frowned. “That’s enough. Demeter, if you could help me,”
“I don’t think Mr Couffaine did what he was accused of,” She stated, making everyone blink. “But school rules are school rules and as such must be followed. I’m sorry, Mr Couffaine but we must do this by the book,”
“I… I understand,” Luka sighed as Lila smirked. Marinette gasped and looked close to crying while the rest of the students had looks of disbelief and anger on their faces. Luka took a deep breath before looking at Lila. “The truth will come out one way or another,”
With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk towards the door with his head held high.
~Hawkmoth’s Lair~
“Ah, yes. This was worth the wait,” Hawkmoth declared as his butterflies flew around him. Behind him Nathalie stood, though her expression was unsure. She had tried to convince him to go a different way but he hadn’t listened. Part of her was unsure about this plan, mostly because of how the boy had reacted the previous time they had tried to get him but Hawkmoth was certain that this was the time they would succeed. “The downfall of Luka Couffaine brings about the despair of those who love him. Knowing their friend and loved one is wrong accused has opened a chasm of negativity,”
He closed his eyes, smirking as he did.
“I can feel the huge waves of negative emotions coming from this injustice and not just from the witnesses,” He declared, smirking. “Luka Couffaine may be putting on a brave face but he is hurt by the turn of events nevertheless, making him perfect prey once again for my akumas,”
“Are you sure this is a good idea sir?” Nathalie asked as he held out his hand. “While I agree he could make an excellent akuma, what if he reacts the same way he did before?”
“He won’t,” He declared, confidently as he charged up the butterfly that had landed on his hand. “I know we’ll succeed this time and he’ll bring us the miraculous… Now are you ready? I can’t do this without you, Nathalie. I need you,”
“O-Of course, Sir,” She blushed, ignoring her previous concerns. She took a deep breath and looked up at him as he walked over to her. “More than ever,”
“Good,” He smiled, placing the akuma into her tablet. “Catalyst, I’m returning to you the power to transform me into Scarlet Moth,”
She accepted the akuma, turning her back into Catalyst before placing her hand on his cane, charging it up with red energy.
“From now on, you are the almighty Scarlet Moth,” She declared, causing a red light to flow up from his legs, changing his outfit into a red version. Scarlet Moth grinned, spinning his cane around.
“Thanks to you, I can release as many akumas as I desire!” He declared, tapping the butterflies with his cane. They turned into red versions of the akumas, making him smirk. He continued to change them until all of the butterflies in his lair had become Scarlet Akumas. Satisfied, he held his arms out. “Ah! Fly away, my little akumas! Find Luka Couffaine and his friends and evilize them all!!”
With that, the scarlet akumas flew out the window and made a beeline for the school.
~Back at the School~
Luka sighed as he walked over to the door and opened it but as soon as he did, the swarm of Scarlet akumas fluttered at them, causing everyone to panic. Luka instinctively covered his face with his arms, causing one of the akumas to fuse with his leather bracelet as others flew to his classmates. One entered his mother’s ring while another entered Rose’s shoe and Juleka’s glove. Luka gripped his head as he tried to fight the influence he could feel, stepping back as the other scarlet akumas entered other people’s items, turning the majority of the students into their akumatized self. In the corner of his eye, he saw one fluttering towards Marinette and entering her purse.
“N-No!” Luka gasped, gripping his head as the buzzing noise started but it wasn’t as intense as the previous time. He gripped his head.
Luka, can you hear me? Finni’s voice stated, making him nod in response. He just hoped Hawkmoth couldn’t hear him. Listen to me. I can’t just push the akuma out like I normally do. It’s more powerful than the normal type and everyone is connected. If I try to expel it, I could seriously injure everyone here. You need to try and expel it yourself…
Luka nodded to show that he understood before trying to push back on the connection.
“Oh?” Hawkmoth smirked as he felt Luka mentally pushing back. The buzzing was still there and he had no idea of what Finni just told Luka but he could feel Luka’s mental strength and it was a lot stronger than he originally thought. “You’re trying to resist the akuma?”
“I d-don’t need your help!” Luka gasped out, making Hawkmoth smirk. Only someone with a strong will could be a brilliant akuma. “I w-won’t let you influence me!”
“Well, that simply won’t do,” Scarlet Moth stated in reply, frowning as he could feel the connection with Luka breaking. It shocked him but the boy was actually pushing the akuma from him. Not just that but it felt like the akuma had been purified, which was impossible. Luka pushed back even more, causing the akuma to be forced out of his bracelet, losing it’s red and turning back into a normal butterfly. Luka sucked in a deep breath as those who hadn’t been caught by the akumas stared at him in shock. Before they could celebrate this victory, one of the remaining Scarlet Akumas fluttered over to Luka and re-entered his bracelet, opening up the connection again. Luka froze in fear and exhaustion as he felt Scarlet Moth back in his mind. “Impressive, young man but you can’t get rid of me that easily,”
“G-Get out of m-my head!” Luka gasped back, trying to push the akuma out of his bracelet again but he was drained from doing it already and Scarlet Moth wasn’t about to lose another.
“Ah, now there’s no need for that trick again,” Scarlet Moth replied as some of the remaining scarlet akumas fluttered over to him. “I have waited too long to akumatized you, Couffaine! I’m not about to stop now! Now you may be able to resist one of my akumas but I doubt you can resist all of them,”
“D-Don’t!” Luka gasped, realising what he intended to do but it was too late. One of the spare scarlet akumas entered his ring, strengthened the connection even more but it also caused pain, causing Luka to grip his head as he cried out in pain. “Y-You do-don’t know what you’re doing!”
“I’m making the most powerful akuma I’ve ever had,” Scarlet Moth replied as another one entered his other bracelet. He let out a howl of pain as he gripped his head hard. His eyes began to flicker between silver and blue as he tightened his hands, digging his fingernails into his scalp as blood began to trickle out of his nose. He knew he needed to force the akumas out but he didn’t have the strength too… but he had to. He could hear those who were not akumatized, trying to encourage him not to give in but he wasn’t sure who hadn’t been akumatized and who had. “Even now you’re still resisting,”
“I… w-won’t…” He gasped, pain numbing his senses. “I… c-can’t…”
“Such stubbornness,” Scarlet Moth sighed as another akuma entered his third bracelet. Almost instantly, Luka let out a scream of pain as his arms dropped to his side and his head slumped over, making those who hadn’t been akumatized gasp and step back as he looked up. A cruel expression had appeared on his face, complete with a psychotic grin that didn’t suit him. His nose was bleeding like he had been punched in it and he looked deranged as he stared with the butterfly mask around his eyes. The whole scene sent a shiver down everyone’s spine including Lila. Even Scarlet Moth felt a chill in the air, much like when he had akumatized Meishi. Not that he heeded it. Instead he smirked in triumph. “At last! Truth, I am Scarlet Moth. Since the innocent is no longer to believed, I’m giving you the power to expose the truth,”
Luka!! Don’t give in to him!! Fin gasped as Hawkmoth addressed the others, clearly unaware of the spiritual connection he still had with Luka. Luka!!!
“As you, my desperate loyal ones, I give you to Truth to serve his loyal army in his quest for the truth. In return, all I ask is for Anatis and Lady Noir’s miraculous… do we have a deal?” Marinette reached for her ring and Luka instinctively reached for his earrings but before he could, the buzzing noise came back full force, cutting off the connection to Scarlet Moth. It caused him to almost gain control over himself again, though it didn’t seem quite real or that he was fully in his body.
Finni? He thought in a dazed state.
I’m sorry, Luka! Finni’s voice echoed. I know I said that I could hurt everyone but I can’t let you fall into the hands of evil! Please forgive me!
What..? Why..?
Clean Slate!
~Hawkmoth’s Lair~
“Truth?” Scarlet Moth asked, wondering why his minion wasn’t answering. Catalyst also looked worried but before Hawkmoth could answer again, a wave of power suddenly hit them, causing him to get a headache and Catalyst to start coughing. He gasped and dropped his transformation rushing over to her as she sunk to the floor, coughing.
“Nathalie!” He gasped, picking her up and completely abandoning his plan. In that moment, he didn’t care that he was close to akumatizing Luka and nearly seizing the miraculous. Instead, he was focusing on Nathalie, bringing her upstairs and calling for a doctor to check her over. The miraculous could wait for now.
~Back at School~
Clean Slate! A burst of light and energy appeared, swiping across everyone and freeing them from the akumas, causing them to groan in pain as they felt like they had been hit over the head. A few of them even threw up. However, the wave didn’t purify the akumas. The students who hadn’t been akumatized moved in front of the ones who had and protected them from the scarlet akumas that were looking for a victim before they lost their red and turned back into normal butterflies, leaving the students confused. However, the situation wasn’t over yet. Within seconds of the butterflies losing their red, Luka’s eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor as his body shook, much to the horror of everyone there.
“Luka!” Juleka screamed, rushing over with Marinette and Rose before they tried to help him as Lila stared. She hadn’t believed it to be true until this second as there was no way he was faking. Blood was rushing his nose as his body shook violently. It was much more violent than the previous time Marinette had seen, causing her to panic. She stepped back in fear as she watched. “What do we do?!”
“I don’t know!” Rose gasped as the Captain rushed over. Marinette took a deep breath before kneeling down and held Luka’s head, trying to stop him from hitting it but everyone else seemed to be panicking. Mr Damocles looked horrified, along with the other teachers. Mrs Mendeleiev rushed over and helped Marinette hold his head still as Rose fluttered around, scared.
“Miss Lillivant, please be still,” Mrs Mendeleiev stated before turning to Marinette, who was trying to remain calm. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, I need you to keep calm and help me move him into the recovery position. Can someone phone an ambulance while we do that?”
“Already on it, Miss!” Aurora gasped, looking up from her phone. Mrs Mendeleiev nodded and with Marinette’s help, they moved Luka onto his side. Aurora moved over a few minutes later, now off the phone. She also had taken off her hoodie and folded it up. She knelt down and placed it under Luka’s head as his movements began to slow. Marinette gave her a look. “The ambulance is on it’s way and it’s best to make sure he doesn’t hit his head. Is his airway clear? He could choke if they’re not,”
“R-Right,” Marinette replied as the butterflies that were once the akumas fluttered around him, almost like they felt bad for causing this. Marinette made sure he was breathing ok as Aurora got up and tended to Rose and Juleka, helping them to calm down. Marinette hummed softly as she stroked his hair as the seizure calmed down. A few minutes later, the paramedics came in and checked over him before moving him onto a stretcher and out to the waiting ambulance. Juleka and the Captain went with him as Marinette hugged Rose, who was crying. Aurora came back over, causing Marinette to look at her. “H-How did you know about the head thing and to keep his airways clear?”
“It’s basic first aid when it comes to seizures,” She muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. “Epilepsy runs in my family so we’re all trained to deal with it. I have it as does my cousin and father but I didn’t know akumas could trigger it,”
“According to the doctors, they can’t,” Marinette frowned before hissing as her head hurt. She wanted to check on Luka but she also needed to have a word with Plagg. After all, she nearly gave up her ring. She wanted to make sure he still thought she was worthy to be Lady Noir, even if she felt for Lila’s plan. Speaking of Lila, her father cleared his throat, making everyone look at him.
“Well, I hope you’re still going to investigate that delinquent!” He demanded, making everyone glare at him. “That child stole-”
“He just had a seizure after almost being possessed by Hawkmoth and you still think we should care about what Lie-la said?!” Felix growled, making everyone look at him. “Anyone in their right mind would know that brat is lying through her teeth again! Or did you miss that she framed someone else in the exact same way?!”
“I didn’t!” Lila cried, making everyone look at her. “I swear Chloe told me otherwise! She’s the one who’s lying!”
“And Luka having your necklace in his locker?” Alya asked, making everyone look at her. She looked hurt and broken. “Everyone here knows that Luka isn’t a thief. He has never acted out before nor broken the rules yet he 'stole’ your necklace?”
“Yes!” She gasped. “You have to believe me, Alya. I’m telling the truth,”
“Just like the time you told me that Adrien is dating you when he’s been with Kagami for the majority of the year? Or better yet what about the time when you told my siblings that you invented a highly popular game or that you saved Jagged Stone’s cat on an airport runway?” She asked, causing her father to look at her as Lila looked at her shocked. “Tell me, Lila… if Luka stole it and put it in his locker… how did you know it was there?”
“Because I saw him!” She gasped, thinking she had won. “He took it from my bag and placed it in his locker,”
“So you admit you stalked him and broke the terms of the restraining order?” Alya asked, making everyone gasped and Lila looked at her like a gaping fish before she denied it. “There’s only two ways you could know. In one way, you stalked him and in the other, you framed him. Either way, I don’t want to be friends with someone like that,”
“You can’t stop being my friend!” Lila gasped, making Alya look at her. “I made you who you are! You wouldn’t be half as popular as you are with myinterviews!”
“Marinette and Anatis were right about you,” Alya gasped as Lila’s father looked at her. “You’re crazy. And for the record, my blog has become more popular since I got rid of those interviews and focused on the real subject at hand,”
“What interviews?” Mr Rossi asked before Lila turned to him.
“Oh, Alya was just asking me what I think of the heroes of Paris!” She gasped, clearly not wanting her father to know. “You know-”
“She claimed to be dating Anatis and Lady Noir’s best friend,” Alya stated, making everyone look at her. “I removed them from the blog but I have copies if you want to see them,”
Everyone thought it would be easy like that but sadly that wasn’t the case. Instead of saying yes, Mr Rossi puffed out his chest in anger.
“My little angel wouldn’t do anything of the sort and those so-called lies she told you? How do I know you didn’t just make them up to support that delinquent and his nuisance of a family?!” He gasped, surprising everyone. “Come, Lila,”
Lila smirked at everyone and left with her father, causing Mr Damocles to pinch his nose and sigh.
“So it’s clear that Luka didn’t do what she accused him of, right?” Marinette gasped, making him look at him.
“We still must investigate but yes, I would say so,”
~Agreste Manor~
“Once again, Mr Agreste, make sure she gets lots of rest,” The doctor stated, following the Gorilla out of the house after Gabriel had thanked her. He frowned and walked back in the room where Nathalie was resting. He frowned as she opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” She muttered, making him frown even more. They had been so close but something interfered. That wave of energy. Just what was it? “Perhaps you could still take advantage of the chaos Lila created,”
“No, the plan is pointless without you,” He stated, causing her to agree and try to get up but he stopped her, making her look at him. “No… There will be no more Catalyst or Mayura. I warned you. Using a broken miracle ends up weakening its user. It’s wounds are becoming your wounds,”
“I don’t care,” She gasped, looking at him. “I want to help you,”
“Not at that cost. Never at that cost again,” He declared, making her look at the portrait of Emile. “Now rest. I’ll just have to find a way to get that boy again. Lila can provide us with another chance at some point,”
With that, he turned and walked out of the room, heading to his office. He locked the door behind him, frowning as he did.
“Nooroo, what was that energy?” He asked, making the kwami look at him but before he could answer, a deep cough got his attention. He turned around and faced himself face to face with a bald man dressed in monk garb. Nooroo gasped and bowed to him. “Who are you?! How did you get in here?”
“Silence,” He stated, turning to Nooroo. “Nooroo, formally introduce me to your master,”
“Y-Yes, Grand Mage,” He muttered, making Gabriel’s eyes widen. Surely, this wasn’t the mage he was looking for? He seemed different to what he imagined. Somehow darker. Nooroo faced him. “Master, this is Su Han, the Celestial Guardian of the Miraculous,”
“And why are you here in my home?” He asked, turning to him. “Should you not be helping out the heroes?”
“Nooroo, leave us,” He ordered instead of answering him, making Nooroo fly out. Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Order secrets. Kwamis must not know. As for the heroes, I have no interest in them for I seek someone much more powerful,”
“And who might that be?” He asked, glaring at the man.
“The next Celestial Guardian,” He replied, making Gabriel raise an eyebrow. “I believe you are familiar with the legend of Hao Feng, the mage who created the miraculous?”
“Yes, I am,” Gabriel stated. “It is said he is reborn and every celestial guardian is one of his new lives… but you are not, are you?”
“Very observant,” He replied, making Gabriel narrow his eyes. “It is true that while I am the current one, the title did not always belong to me. It was bestowed on me when the previous guardian, Feng’s last incarnation, was murdered. I have come to Paris to find his new incarnation and to do so I wish for your help,”
“And why would you want that?” Gabriel asked, crossing his arms. “I am a villain after all,”
“Oh, I’m no saint myself,” He replied, only this time it was two voices. It sent a shiver down his spine as the man’s eyes turned black for a second before turning back to their normal colour. “I wish to hold onto the title and if I am to do so then I must find Feng’s incarnation before the Spring Festival and claim his power as my own. If I fail then I will lose the title and it will be transferred to the new incarnation. If you help me locate the mage, I will show you the secrets of the miraculous and help you acquire Anatis and Lady Noir’s miraculous. As a token of trust, I will teach you how to fix the broken miraculous that you have. Do we have a deal?”
Gabriel smirked and stepped forward, holding out his hand.
“It will be my pleasure to work with you, Grand Mage,” He replied, shaking his hand. “So how do we fix it?”
“There is a ritual but it will require some time as I’ll need to collect the material needed,” He replied, turning on his heel. “Once I have collected the material, I will instruct you on how to fix it so you may use it to its full potential,”
“I look forward to it, Grand Mage,” Gabriel replied as the monk headed to the window and jumped out. “An excellent turn of events. Right, Nooroo?”
“Yes, Master,”
~A Few Days Later at the Hospital~
Marinette hummed to herself as she made her way to Luka’s room with a new blanket she had stress knitted. As usual, the hospital had no idea what happened other than that it was the akumas again. Herself and the other students who got possessed suffered with migraines, which was odd in itself but what made it odder is she was sure she heard a voice that wasn’t Hawkmoth in her mind. She didn’t remember what it said or much else really but she did remember that it sounded gentle and after she heard it, the akumas were expelled. She wanted to find out if anyone else had heard but she was also not sure if she should. Maybe she was just going mad. She had asked Plagg about it but he had no idea what she might have heard. He did suggest that she bring it up to Anatis but she decided not to as it might tip him off about who she is. Though she could ask him on Marinette’s behalf. Of course, that would have to wait until she saw him again. He hadn’t turned up for patrol but Tikki had come and visited her to let her know that he was on the spirit plane, doing mage training and that he would be back in a few days. Apparently, time was different in that plane and the training was unexpected. She also mentioned that Anatis was keeping an eye on things in case he was needed but so far, Hawkmoth hadn’t attacked just yet. He tended not to after a failure but he didn’t go by his usual pattern as he normally did when it came to a large scale attack. It could be that he’s changing his tactics or that he was targeting one person but it concerned her. However, those thoughts were driven out of her head when she heard shouting, making her frown and rush to Luka’s room. She knocked on the door and entered when she heard Luka say come in.
“Is everything ok?” She asked as she came in. She was happy to see Luka away but she could also see that he looked visibly stressed. She frowned and walked over to him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Instantly, she noticed he felt a little better but the tension was still high in the room. The Captain was stood by the window, looking upset. “Luka? Captain?”
“Ma wants me to move from Paris,” Luka stated, making her look at the Captain, who sighed. “She and Jagged think I should go with him on a tour or move to one of his places in a different city,”
“Because of the akumatization?” Marinette asked, concerned. Luka pulled her over to him and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.
“That and because of the suspension,” He replied, making her frown. Technically, he was still suspended from school. “She’s got it into her head that it would be good for me,”
“Lad, things have gotten complicated,” The Captain sighed, turning to them. “Not only has this Lila girl got it in for you but Hawkmoth himself has targeted you three times. I can’t just sit there and do nothing!”
“Oh but sending me away is the solution?!” Luka gasped, clearly annoyed. “I’ve already told you the answer is no!”
“Luka, please! You’ll be safer this way,” The Captain begged, making Marinette surprised. She had never seen the captain beg before. “Hawkmoth won’t be able to get to you if you’re not in Paris. You’ll be safe and I know you’ll be upset about leaving Marinette and your friends behind but a fresh start could-”
“I said no already!” Luka growled and for a second, both the captain and Marinette swore they felt the air shift. Luka closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself. “You’ve always said that running away is for cowards and I get we’ve left difficult situations in the past but this is not the solution for this,”
“Luka-”
“Your argument is that it would be safer for me if I left because Hawkmoth wouldn’t follow right?” He stated, looking at her. She nodded. “And what if he did? There would be no Anatis or Lady Noir to help me and no one would know that I have a strange reaction to the akumas so what if he did follow me and used one to possess me again and I have a seizure, only this time there’s no heroes or people who know what the cause is. That could be the end of me and we both know that,”
“Luka, Hawkmoth isn’t-”
“He was in New York and Shanghai at the exact same time I was,” He pointed out, making her stop and look at him in shock. “I’m not saying that he followed me but we know he’s not against travelling to get what he wants and he’s not the type to give up. I mean he has tried three times. There is no solid proof that if I move away that I’ll be safe. If anything, I’d say I’ll be putting myself at more risk then if I stay. We have Anatis, Lady Noir and their entire team of superheroes. I trust that if I get possessed or end up as Hawkmoth’s target that they’ll protect me plus don’t forget I need to be around for Issac’s court case. I’m not moving away and that’s final so please respect my wishes,”
“Luka,” She replied but before he could answer, he began to cough. He groaned and leaned against the pillow, making both Marinette and the Captain frown as he breathed in, clearly drained still. The Captain bit her lip before sighing. “You’re right. It would just be running away and a Couffaine doesn’t run from danger. We face it head on… but I still want you to be careful. Maybe you could ask Anatis to find a way to protect you from akumas?”
“Sure, Ma,” He muttered, making her nod as he opened his eyes. “I’m sorry for shouting. It just felt like you weren’t listening to me and that you had already made your mind up,”
“I kind of had,” She admitted, making him frown. “Both me and Jagged had but I see now that we didn’t really think how it would actually affect you or if it was what you actually wanted so I’m sorry too. We’ll find a way to protect you from akumas and Hawkmoth,”
She walked over and gave him a kiss on his head, making him smile before she gave them both a grin and a salute as she headed out of the room. Luka let out a sigh and turned to Marinette, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I’m sorry that you had to see me arguing with ma,” He muttered, looking to the side ashamed. “I hate arguing but she can just be so stubborn sometimes,”
“Hmm, looks you might have taken after her,” She giggled, moving closer to him. He playfully rolled his eyes, making her grin. “Don’t worry. I like that stubbornness and that roguish charm you have,”
“Hmm… well, I am kind of a pirate,” He grinned, making her laugh. “So what’s in the bag, Melody?”
“Oh, I ended up stress knitting and made a blanket so I thought maybe you could have it?” She mumbled, taking it out. Luka smiled brightly, looking a lot better before hugging her. “I’m glad you’re ok. It was really scary seeing you like that again,”
“It was scary going through it,” He admitted before sighing. “And I still need to find a way to prove I didn’t do what Lila accused me off,”
“Well, the good news is we have a new ally against her,” She replied as he snuggled into the blanket, making her coo at how cute he was before he looked up at her. “Alya finally saw the light and has officially disowned Lila as a friend.She said that once you come back to school, she wants to apologise and she’s also trying to prove that Lila did in fact frame you but Lila has been clever with her tracks. However, what concerns me is the timing of the scarlet akumas,”
“Yeah, it was too well timed,” He mumbled, making her nod before he tried to get up. “Maybe we should flag down the heroes-”
“Hey, rest,” She gasped, pushing him down. “I already had that idea and I passed it onto Lady Noir. She said she would talk to Anatis about it,”
“Alright,” He yawned, clearly tired. “Sorry,”
“It’s ok,” She smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek before she got up. “I’m gonna let you rest because you’re clearly knackered so sleep and put my blanket to go use,”
“Get rest too,” He stated, making her blush at how he knew. “Your song is quieter than usual, Melody so no more stress knitting. Get some sleep,”
“I will,” She replied with a smile that had a promise hidden in it. “Love you, Lu,”
“Love you too, Melodie,” He replied, yawning again. She waved and left, causing him to sigh a little. He missed her already but he held the blanket around him as Tikki flew out. “I manage to convince Ma not to send me away,”
“That’s good,” She replied, nodding as she floated over. “But maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea. We could use the horse mir-”
“No, it would be bad,” He replied, making her frown. “When I found out last night that Ma was going to do it, I channeled Feng’s magic to see if it could work as I was considering it but what I saw was bad. In the vision, Hawkmoth got the earrings and found out I was Anatis. He then took me prisoner with the intention of luring out Lady Noir. I cut the vision short before I could see if he succeed,”
“I see,” Tikki nodded, grimly. “Then we best make sure that you don’t move away but what do we do about Lila?”
“I’m not sure just yet,” He admitted, running his fingers through his hair. Tikki frowned a little so he gently cupped her in his hands. “Hey, don’t pout. We’ll work out something… but there is something else I want to run by you,”
“What is it?” She asked, looking up at him. He bit his lip in a nervous manner. “Luka?”
“I want to tell Marinette that I’m Anatis,” He stated, making her look at him like he was insane. Maybe he was. “I know it’s risky but I trust Marinette a lot. She’s on my books to give a miraculous or at least, she would be if I could find her during the akumas,”
“Luka, it’s great you trust Marinette so much but you know it’s forbidden and risky,” Tikki stated, making him frown. “Hawkmoth is still at large and if he found out she knew, he would use her against you so why do you want to tell her?”
Luka looked down as he frowned.
“He nearly akumatized me for real today. Finni actually had to use his full ability to push out the akumas and I nearly gave Hawkmoth the earrings,” He admitted before he looked at her. “That’s never happened before. Finni is normally about to cut the connection and force them to leave without using 'Clear Slate’ but Hawkmoth was too strong today. He used his scarlet akumas. He nearly won, Tikki and we don’t have much of a contingency plan, apart from Creation but that is supposed to be a hail mary and last resort… if we can get the earrings away from me before I’m controlled or akumatized then we don’t have to use that and if we fail then we have Creation to fall back on. If Marinette knows I’m Anatis and I get akumatized then she can grab the earrings and take over as a temporary Ladybug hero,”
“Your reasons are understandable but it would still be putting Marinette at risk,” Tikki sighed, making him frown. “So please reconsider,”
“Because it’s forbidden?” He asked, frowning but she shook her head.
“No because I know you love Marinette and would blame yourself if she got hurt by Hawkmoth,” She stated, surprising him before he sighed. He knew she was right.
“Alright, I’ll reconsider,” He stated, making her nod before he yawned. “I think it’s also time for me to get some rest,”
“Ok,” Tikki nodded, kissing his temple as he closed his eyes and curled up in Marinette’s blanket. “Sleep well, Luka,”
I’d say I’m sorry for these, but angst hurts and I’m a writer so well hurting people is my job.
-“You came back. After a year, you came back. But you’re not the person I knew. Not, you’re nothing like them.”
-“You always think it’s about you, don’t you? That you’re the only one who has issues? That the world revolves around you? Let me give you a reality check - these mirrors don’t get broken on their own. The alcohol doesn’t disappear on it’s one. And, trust me, the pills don’t just walk away by themselves.”
-“I…I never told you, did I? That day. I was going to tell you we were finally going to be okay. You could be okay. I could be okay. Then we found you…Passed out, bloody beaten…And now we’re here. You know, they said you should’ve died. It’s a miracle you’re alive. But is it really? When I’m talking to you, but you can’t hear me? I’m talking to a hospital bed, practically.”
-“I was never the one to figure it out. Figure out how to be okay. You were always the the one to figure it out. You’re okay, and I’m not. I always was the family disappointment. I’m sorry, more than you’ll ever know.”
-“I thought you were finally alright. You told me you were finally alright, with a smile on your face. Then you disappeared. So did the pills.”
-“You know what? There’s a damn reason you were never the first choice! You were never the first choice, because you never learned how to shut the Hell up and figure out your place! And, trust me, there’s a damn reason nobody ever went looking for you when you left!”
-“Did you think you could just walk in here like that? Like everything’s fine? You screwed up everything, and you damn well know it. How about you fucking leave? Before I make you.”
-“I…I don’t know what to say. I know I can’t replace her. I know I can’t. But could you at least pretend you give a shit for them? For these kids, who look up to you? They look up to you and all you do is sit on your ass and pout!”
-“Please, please don’t leave me. I don’t know what I’d do…”
“You’d stay the same. Don’t act like you care. I know you’re lying. Again.”
-”Since you’re a fucking liar, I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t walk out this damn door and not come back. Give me one reason you’re worth my time.”
-”You don’t - you don’t understand. I know you’re lying right now. I was the one who found you. Passed out. It was two fucking weeks after the last time I saw you. You don’t care whether you live or die, do you?”
