The Miraculous Which Was Never Hers

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Slowly, Marinette whisked around to face her mother.

Eyes wide, unable to blink, breath hitched, she mumbled the word with an air of uncertain horror.

"...Lila?"

Her thread of thoughts was tangled beyond comparison.

The now friendly brunette, smiling and laughing amiably, bore fangs, those which came back to bite her in the most appalling way ever imagined.

But what if she was just jumping to conclusions? What if her characteristic overthinking led her to believe this? After all, Lila was her friend now. She wasn't like this.

At least not anymore.

...Right?

Her alarmed complexion was received by her mother in a wave of confused misinterpretation.

"Yes!" Sabine breathed, glad she remembered the name, "She's here to meet you! Should I let her in?"

"NO!" The reply came in an onslaught of unveiled sensitivities, almost instantly, as if she was barking back at her mother.

Her room could be the worst possible place for a credible villain to peek in. It was covered in theories, sheets, and open websites with the words, 'Shadowbug identity theories' flashing almost decoratively.

Tom's shocked stature with his brown, vaguely quivering mustache barely brought her back to her senses.

"I-I MEAN, NO BECAUSE—" She desperately strained her brain for excuses, having found none, she looked around frantically, "Because," she dragged the word, a miserable attempt to amass more time, glancing at her undisplayable dwelling, "The room's very untidy, isn't?" She pushed her parents out, attempting to close the trapdoor behind them, "We wouldn't want her to walk in on this! Tell her I'll be back, I'll go and have a change of clothes!"

Hesitantly, they agreed, with Tom leading Sabine back to where she presumed Lila was waiting.

Her heart rate increased by the second, thumping so loudly, it could be felt in her throat, perspiration beading down her forehead, and words caged in her violently throbbing throat.

She clumsily opened the water bottle, lying insignificantly on her table until now, and gulped down a large quantity of the same, desperately trying to calm her aching throat.

"M-Marinette...?" The same information clicked inside her kwami's head, the expression of shock and sympathy undisguised on his face.

'Let's not jump to conclusions.' She seemed to be making herself believe, 'It could be just a coincidence.' 

She chanted these words over and over again in an attempt of convincing herself. Although a part of her did fall for the unabating chants, the better part of herself still believed it as a circumstance more than likely to be above board.

Dubiously, she stole a glance at the brunette from her trapdoor. Her laugh rang out like bells as she seemed to wave aside some remark made by her mother.

She closed the door quickly, it making more sound than what Marinette liked.

It's funny how normal things seemed to affect her mind only when she was trying to be sneaky.

A playful memory of a little version of her, when she was around 10, making pizza rolls at 3 A.M., trying to lower the microwave voice as she was, ultimately, caught by her very furious mother beamed across her mind.

Ashamedly erasing her mind of such thoughts, she fixed her hair and face and took a deep breath.

She was going to confirm the truthfulness of her theory.