Fairest Of Them All (Miraculous Ladybug)

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"Marinette, please calm down! It'll work out just fine. Gabriel and Nathalie will be there with you including Felix and I! You'll only have to be together professionally." Sabine said as she tried to calm her daughter down.

After the dinner, Marinette let out her bottled up emotions once they both got inside the house. Needless to say, she simply couldn't stand working for Lila.

"I guess..." Marinette groaned. She wanted to think about this in the morning though. So she decided to get a little snack for the kwamis and greeted her parents goodnight.

"Tonight was such a disaster Mullo! First of all, I'm working for Adrien's dad which is great! But turns out I also have to work with Lila of all people!" She ranted.

"You have to take it easy Marinette. Hawkmoth could akumatize you!" Wayzz exclaimed. She sighed and stopped ranting when all of a sudden, she gets a notification from her phone.

Felix Graham de Vanily

— Good evening Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I wanted to apologize for not
     informing you that Lila would be working in the Agreste company.
     I only found out about this information now and I would've told you
     sooner if I knew.

thank you for the apology. you weren't really at fault though.
but how exactly did you get my number? 

I asked your crush.

Marinette climbed up to her bed, wondering how to respond to this. She wanted to be a little more playful. But she thought it would make things too awkward. She thought about it for a while and finally came up with a response.

woah woah woah. adrien? my crush?
is it really that obvious?

What do you think would happen if
I showed this message
to Gabriel or Adrien?

- A message has been deleted -

- Felix Graham de Vanilly sent you a picture -

She took a look at the picture out of curiosity. And then immediately, her face fills with embarrassment.

you  screenshotted my message?! what kind of person
are you?! >:0

I was joking Marinette. I don't really care
about my cousin.

- Marinette Dupain-Cheng sent you a picture -

two can play that game felix! >:D

You wouldn't dare.

i guess you know what it feels like now.

Marinette didn't catch herself smiling while she was having this conversation until one of the kwamis pointed it out. "Looks like someone's in love!" Trixx mentioned. "Me? Felix? No way. I don't like him at all! I'm never dating him." Marinette stated. "Never say never!" Marinette was slightly annoyed but shrugged the little fox off.

Felix Graham de Vanilly

i'm going to sleep now felix. thank you for recommending me to gabriel again!
it really means a lot to me.

It was nothing Marinette. I only did it because of the offer I gave you.

still felix! it means a lot to me. thank you. :D

No problem Marinette. I'll see you tomorrow.
Sleep well. :)

- Marinette Dupain-Cheng reacted with a 💙 -

Felix couldn't help but smile at their conversation. He kept scrolling and re-reading their conversations again and again. Adrien notices this and proceeds to tease him.

"Looks like somebody has a crush!" his cousin teased in a childish sing-song voice.

"And you don't notice when somebody has a crush on youu!" Felix mocked in the same childish tone. Adrien knew which person he was referring to and responds.

"Marinette? She's just a friend!" Adrien replies.

Felix thought about what he said to Marinette about not showing his cousin the screenshot. He wanted to share it to see what would happen. But he decided not to and be a respectful person.

"What are you doing here in the hallways anyway?" Felix questioned. "Well I went down here to eat some leftover dessert from the dinner." Adrien responded.

"Alright then. Goodnight Adrien." He says as he walks to his room.

-

"Good morning Marinette! I'm surprised you're not late this time." Adrien greeted.

Marinette could barely make up a sentence so she just waved to him instead. She proceeds to walk up to her seat only to be blocked by by Mylene and Alya.

"Excuse me please." Marinette requested but it was no use.

"Not so fast Dupain-Cheng. What you did to Lila the other night was completely unacceptable." Mylene stated.

"Alright, what did I do this time?" Marinette asked in annoyance.

"Don't act dumb! We know you insulted Lila and threatened her to stay away from you. Can't you both at least get along in a work environment?" Alya added.

Adrien stood up, ready to defend Marinette. "Look Alya, I don't think Marinette would-" Adrien was cut off by Alya.

"So you're calling Lila a liar? She almost got her akumatized!" She said as she pointed at Marinette.

"Cesaire." Everyone was shocked by the strangely familiar voice and looked behind them. Felix was giving Alya a cold glare and she could barely say a word. He stands up and walks toward her.

"Do you have any proper evidence for this Ms. Cesaire?" Felix asks in annoyance.

"Well not yet... but Lila was crying to us in a video call last night! Plus, Marinette always does things like these to Lila." Alya defended. But he didn't buy into it.

"Well, I was with Marinette the whole time Cesaire. And I never saw her lay a single finger on Lila. Let alone speak to her outside the dining room. Adrien's bodyguard and assistant can confirm this information. So what else do you have?" Felix stated.

Lila quickly came up with another lie to save herself. "I'm sorry! It must be this lying disease acting up again." She states. She gains the sympathy of almost the whole class. Felix however, wasn't buying into it.

"A lying disease?" Felix asks trying not to laugh.

"Yes. It's a really rare condition and they haven't found a cure for it. I've been suffering from this for years now." She stated. Lila was getting nervous at that point.

"So if you have this so called 'lying disease', then why are you in my uncle's company as a model and influencer?" Felix asks in amusement. He wanted to see how long this would go on. Marinette touches Felix's shoulder signaling him to stop but before Lila could respond, they were interrupted by the bell.