The Miraculous Adventures of Alya Cesaire

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Next Day

Alya's Perspective

'Ok, so that late night research session maybe was not the best idea,' Alya thought as she waited outside of school for Marinette. She had two cups of coffee in her hand, one for Marinette, who always needs coffee this early in the morning, and one for herself, because while putting together all that information against Lila was worthwhile, she wouldn't be able to stay awake in class at this rate.

She heard a fake laugh from around the corner and shivered, knowing that it was Lila. She wished that she could just quit being friends with her, but she and Nino agreed that she needed to keep up the facade that she was her friend so that they could get as much evidence against her as possible. Lila rounded the corner, talking to Rose and Juleka, mostly Rose, about whatever it was they were discussing.

"Good morning Alya!" Lila chirped, far too chipper for that early in the morning. "What happened yesterday? You just ran off." Lila questioned. Alya had to grit her teeth to stop herself from yelling at Lila.

"It's all fine. I just remembered that Nora had a match, so I had to babysit my sisters, but I totally forgot, so I had to rush home," Alya said, lying through her teeth. Lila sighed.

"Oh good. I thought you were upset with me," Lila said, feigning relief. "I was worried whether you were going to tell someone my secre-oops," Lila giggled. Rose gasped.

"Don't worry, Lila," Alya said, making sure to sound reassuring. "I would never tell anyone what you told me. Your secret is safe with me." By now, Rose was practically bouncing with anticipation, and even Juleka's interest was peaked. Lila looked over to them.

"Can you guys keep a secret?" she asked, biting her lip as she tried to feign nervousness. Rose quickly nodded, and Juleka made a small noise of consent.

"I'm Rena Rouge," Lila told them. Rose gasped and put her hands over her mouth, while Juleka froze in shock. Lila's eyes narrowed. That was clearly not the reaction that she had expected.

"But Lila," Rose whispered. "What if Shadowmoth akumatizes us again? Then he will know your secret identity, and he will try to hurt you and your family, and then us, and then he will try to take your Miraculous, and then-," Rose was hyperventilating at this point, clearly terrified for her friend. Juleka pulled her into a hug, trying to calm her down. Alya did her best to look scared, thinking about what would happen if her or Nino got akumatized and revealed their own identities.

"Oh my god, she's right, Lila!" Alya said. "If you or one of us gets akumatized, we could reveal who you are to Shadowmoth, and then everything would go to shit!"

'I mean, it's not wrong,' Alya thought. 'If me or Nino get akumatized, we might accidentally tell him who we are, and then we wouldn't be able to wield our Miraculous any more.' Alya looked at Lila, watching her eyes as she tried to come up with her next lie.

"Uh, Ladybug told me that I could tell you. She knew that it was killing me not to have my best friends know who I really am," Lila said, doing her absolute best to look sad and upset. Alya had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She never noticed how extra Lila was until she knew that she was lying. But before she could come up with a response, Lila spotted Adrien.

"Oh, Adrien!" she yelled, making her way over to him. Alya, Rose, and Juleka all watched her walk away, before turning back to each other.

"Um, guys," Juleka said.

"Yeah Juleka?" Alya answered, curious as to what Juleka's response to that terrible display would be.

"If Lila is really Rena Rouge, do you actually think that Ladybug would let her reveal her identity to us like that?" Juleka asked, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear for once.