lila's revenge

Chapter 26

Emma's pov;

I watch as the trio make their way into the locker room and stand up with a sigh. Lila requested I kept an eye on them, and whilst I don't particularly like Lila, at least she tried to befriend me. It's rather ironic that she did now that I think about it. She must have heard from Lucy that we don't get on. I know she also dislikes Lucy, it's not hard, she's just so irritating and a goody-two-shoes, of course she befriended Marinette. And those friends of hers seem relaxed but if you mess with one of them they all come at you. Not that their pathetic attempt of a threat had any impact of me, but I was surprised they even responded. Lila also knows how much Lucy's friends mean to her, so by testing that bond, it would lead to a rather perfect akuma.

My phone chimed, knocking me out of my thoughts as I pushed the locker room door open.

Lila: update?

Scanning the room and poking my head around the bathroom door, I realised they weren't there. Strange. I definitely saw them come in here.

Emma: watching them now. ugh they're so annoying.

Sure I lied, but Lila would be mad if I'd already lost them. She'd only been gone for about half an hour now, and the news of Marinette's disappearance was still unknown to most of the school, alongside Paris' population. Lila seems to think a lot of people will freak out, but realistically who will actually care? I mean she's just one stupid girl in a small part of Paris. People have better things to do than waste their time looking for her. Regardless, I said I'd look over Marinette's weirdo bunch of friends to ensure they didn't get too close to Lila and Marinette's temporary home. Granted, I had already lost them, but it's not like they'd find Marinette on the off chance. You have to be looking for it specifically to even spot the place, I missed it the first time I went, despite using google maps for directions. It was light and airy when I went there, but speaking to Lila, I heard she's made some slight changes to the atmosphere of the house.

I turn my phone onto camera, just to double check my hair was in the perfect place, and saw a leather clad boy peeking around the side of the window. Turning to look, there was no one there, causing me to rub my eyes and walk closer to the ledge. There was nothing there - strange. I check the bathroom stalls one last time before walking out and heading back to the bench I was sitting on before. 

A few minutes later all three of them walk out of the locker room causing me to stare in surprise. They all seem rather satisfied with themselves and Chloe waves in my general direction when she spots me watching. I don't know why they're so pleased with themselves, but at least now I'm able to keep an eye on them again. I wonder if Lila ever replied to my insulting message? I reach into my pocket where my phone is always kept and my hand comes into contact with nothing. Turning the lining inside out I check my other pockets before looking blankly at the floor. What am I gonna do? Everything is on that phone, my conversations with Lila, my private data, even my conversations with.... Standing up I stalk back into the locker room and check at the window ledge. It's not there either. Where on earth did I put it?? With a sigh I trail back to the bench and start to rummage through my bag. Almost immediately, my fingers latch around the cold smartphone, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Lila did never reply, but after that close call, I'm not too bothered. Looking over where the friends had been before, they had walked off, causing me to grumble at my bag before hurrying after them in the direction of the classrooms.

Lucy's pov;

"As a superhero, I must say I don't condone stealing, but due to the current circumstances I feel like it is my duty to say, good job." Adrien grins at me as we sit down in the library seats.

"As a better superhero, known as Queen Bee by the way, I 10000% condone the stealing of anyone's belongings if they are a friend of Lila." Chloe comments, giving me a wink before leaning over to look at my phone.

Adrien had transformed to distract Emma, whilst I took the phone out of her pocket, and Chloe guarded the lockers to prevent any disturbances. Of course we couldn't go through everything in the short time we had, so we prioritised the conversation with Lila. Taking photos of their chat, we quickly got through it and snuck the phone back into her awaiting bag as she was looking for her phone elsewhere. Rather an excellent plan if I'm honest.

I click through to my recent photos and we read their conversation. Unfortunately, the location is never revealed, however Emma definitely knows where it is. I'm assuming Lila is moving Marinette somewhere more secure soon, considering their messages. That means we don't have long to work out where she is. On the bright side, Lila has a family dinner with me tonight, meaning she has to work around that. And knowing how much our mothers like to talk, that's a good few hours to distract her.

"Hey guys, whatcha looking at?" Flora asks, walking in with her Latin textbook. She had just finished her class, and Elizabeth would probably be finishing soon too. 

I glance at Adrien and he's watching me carefully. I don't like keeping secrets from my friends, but judging from the look Adrien just gave me, he wants me to keep it between us. Considering that it's not really my secret, I decide to keep it a secret.

"Oh it's nothing Flora." I say, looking at her with an apologetic smile. She looks kind of hurt, and stands beside Chloe's chair awkwardly.

"Oh...um okay. I'm gonna go work on some homework." Flora replies, avoiding my eyes.

"Sure!" Adrien comments, moving over to make space for Flora to pull up a chair.

"Ah.. no it's okay. I'd rather work someplace else, that's more quiet." she says quietly, waving before walking away with her head hung low.

"Is she okay?" Chloe asks me, as my eyes follow her over to another table.

"I don't know... she hates secrets." I mutter, drawing my attention back to Chloe and Adrien. They look at me sympathetically, before turning their attention back to the text messages. Watching the library doors open, a conflicted looking Elizabeth enters, glancing at me before facing the floor and walking directly over to Flora. She sits down and their heads move closer together as they start to talk quietly to each other.

I place my head in my arms and zone out of the conversation. I can feel Chloe watching me, but make no effort to speak or even look involved.

Shortly afterwards, both Elizabeth and Flora leave, only throwing me a glance for a second before turning to face forwards and shutting the door behind them.

Adrien stands up to leave and I lift my gaze to spot him watching me. 

"I'm not meant to do this, but considering that Ladybug is out of action, it kind of falls to me." he says quietly and I nod back in confusion. He beckons for me to follow him and I follow, waving to Chloe before exiting the library.

"Where are we going?" I ask when we've left the school building.

"To a friends." He replies, not turning to look at me. He checks his watch before picking up the pace slightly.

"What time is it?" I ask, cursing myself for sounding so needy.

"4:30." he says curtly, before pushing the door of a familiar building open.