A Little Bit of Bad Luck

Ch 28: The Girl Who Kissed Chat Noir

********************************************

Marinette got ahold of the local news and set up an interview with them. She needed to clear the air so Hawk Moth didn't think he could use her as leverage. Unbeknownst to her, the spell was only broken by love, and Hawk Moth knew this. The message he sent out last night worried her.

She needed to stop Chloé from joining sides with him. Chloé had looked sleep-deprived lately, and Marinette wondered if she was experiencing the nightmares. In her nightmare, Chloé was with them, and her memories were extracted, too. She must be suffering the same.

"Marinette, are you sure this interview is a good idea?" Tikki asked, nervously floating around her room.

"I'm not sure, but the last thing I need is people thinking I'm Chat's girlfriend! That would put more suspicion on me being Ladybug," Marinette explained her questionable reasoning.

"I suppose," Tikki said, but she still didn't feel comfortable about this. She wondered just how much Hawk Moth understood his powers.

Marinette's clock read four p.m. and she needed to leave now or she was going to be late. She grabbed her bag as Tikki jumped into it and headed for the news station.

Félix texted her Good luck, and she held her phone to her chest. She shook her head to clear her lovesick thoughts and focused on clearing her name.

When she arrived at the station, they led her to a green room. She watched the live broadcast as they boasted about this breaking interview with The Girl Who Kissed Chat Noir. Marinette groaned and prepared herself for the onslaught of questions.

The doors opened and an employee motioned her to come on stage. They hooked a microphone to her shirt and pushed her out.

"Here is Marinette! The girl who kissed Chat Noir!" Nadja, the host, sang.

Marinette sat down in an uncomfortable chair, and the blaring lights made her begin to sweat. She gave a small wave to the live audience.

"So Marinette, you claim that you didn't kiss Chat Noir out of love, but to save him?" Nadja asked her.

"Yes, he was under a spell and I kissed him to break the spell," Marinette replied.

"But this spell can only be broken by true love."

"That is only a speculation."

"What does Chat have to say about the picture?"

"I haven't talked to him about it."

"Well let's get him on stage then!"

Marinette flinched. She didn't think Félix would do something like this to her. A poorly constructed Chat Noir lookalike stubbled out on stage.

Marinette stood up abruptly. "How low can you get!" She pointed toward the awkward man in extremely tight leather. "That is not Chat Noir."

The crowd gasped.

"W-what? This is the real Chat Noir," Nadja said. She was losing the crowd.

Marinette crossed her arms. "This is ridiculous."

Nadja prodded her. "So you must know him well if you can tell the difference between the real Chat Noir and a fake?"