My Crush's Evil Cousin (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

The New Kid

Marinette rushed up the steps of Françoise Dupont High School, late once again. Her breath came in puffs, and she wanted to stop to prevent herself from throwing up, but she couldn't. If she was late again, she would be given detention, and how would she explain that to her parents?

Hey Mom and Dad, I was late to school because I slept in because I was up all night listening to the kwamis in the Miracle Box perform a musical they wrote themselves.

Yeah right. She'd be grounded for sure, and that would make sneaking out to defend Paris even more difficult.

One of Mari's pink slippers hit the step at an awkward angle, and she felt herself tilting to the side. Her arms pinwheeled, trying to catch herself, and a screech came out of her mouth.

Arms came under her and caught her mid-fall, preventing her from smacking the back of her head against the cement. Marinette tilted her head back to look at who had caught her, seeing blond hair and green eyes staring at her, one eyebrow cocked.

Mari's face heated, and the familiar flustered sensation came over her. Quickly, she pulled herself from Adrien's arm, scratching the back of her head with jerky movements.

"Oh uh—Hi, Adrien. Th-thanks for . . . uh . . . falling for me—I mean, I fell for you—I mean . . ." She stopped, sure her face was a brighter red than a stoplight.

Adrien rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. Marinette's eyes followed the motion, and she noticed with a start he was wearing different clothes than he normally did. He was wearing a black suit over a white long-sleeved shirt, which was very un-Adrien of him.

"I'm not Adrien," he said, his tone flat and expressionless. "I am Felix Graham de Vanily."

Marinette straightened, her face cooling off. "You're Adrien's cousin. The one who pretended to be him."

Felix shrugged, not looking the slightest bit guilty. "Yeah, that's me."

Marinette scowled, her normally good nature quickly evaporating. This was the creep that had put Adrien in harm's way. He had even tried to kiss her as Ladybug while pretending to be Adrien. He was despicable.

"What are you doing here?" Marinette asked, crossing her arms over her chest. It felt weird to get angry at him as he looked exactly like Adrien, but it was warranted.

"My mother thought it would be best if I joined my cousin in school." He scowled. "We're staying in the Bourgeois' hotel until my uncle gets our rooms ready in his mansion."

Marinette made a face, and, to her surprise, Felix chuckled. "Exactly. Chloe is a brat," he said, which was exactly what she had been thinking.

"She is," Marinette agreed, finding herself smiling before she could stop herself. She shook her head, trying to pull her thoughts together. He was an enemy. He was a threat to Adrien. She wouldn't allow what happened last time to happen again.

"Listen." Marinette stepped forward, trying to seem intimidating even though she was much shorter than him. "You better not pull any antics like you did last time, or you will regret it."

Felix burst out laughing in her face, and Marinette frowned, her opinion of him sinking lower than it had been already. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow once he was done laughing.

"You don't wanna find out," she snarled. They stood so close she could feel his breath drifting past her face, and she kept her face in an angry mask.

Felix stared at her for a long moment before smiling, a grin full of teeth that surprised Marinette so much she dropped her angry mask. Adrien hardly ever smiled like that.