"You're a fucking hypocrite."
The words tumbled out of Marinette's lips before she could bit her tongue. She couldn't help it! She was absolutely furious at the lack of support from her so called friends. Her blood simmered at the thought of Alya – the girl who taught her to stand up for herself and the inspiration for Marinette to take the Ladybug mantle – was not only reducing Marinette's righteous anger about Lila's lies to petty jealousy over a boy of all things, but was telling her to check her sources.
Yeah, because Alya always checked hers. Didn't she?
Alya jumped back slightly, startled by Marinette's angry retort, but her surprise instantly melted into anger as her eyes sparked with irritation and her mouth twisted into a wordless snarl.
Nino, however, sunk low into his seat and looked as if he would rather be anywhere else but here.
"I beg your pardon?! " Alya hissed out crossly. "What did you just call me?!"
"You heard me!" Marinette said heatedly as she crossed her arms. "You're a fucking hypocrite! Check your sources Marinette," she mocked "because that's what you did wasn't it? I mean when Lila told you Ladybug saved her life you interviewed around for other witnesses to collaborate her story, checked for a police report to confirm an incident took place, and found other footage to back her version of events before you posted your interview, right?!"
Alya said nothing because they both knew the truth that she didn't.
They both knew Alya had no patience whatsoever to verify any sort of fact that she posted on her blog. Everything was live streamed or immediately posted without hesitation, and hours later Alya might give context in a article to support it but it definitely didn't have any confirmation from the police or Ladybug and Chat Noir or other witnesses.
Alya never checked her sources, she was too busy chasing after the next story or theorising who Ladybug could be underneath the mask to be bothered with all the fiddly bits of journalism.
"And today you Googled Jagged Stone to verify Lila's claims, did you not?" Marinette carried on. She unable to stop now that the dam was open and the words were pouring out her mouth like a flood of anger, spite, hurt, and irritation. "I mean you checked that Jagged had other pets than his crocodile and that a song called Lila was in his repertoire or a legal case about him writing a song for – what I can only assume was – a twelve or thirteen year old, right?"
Alya merely stared back with a stony expression. She was clearly unwilling to admit that Marinette was right but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to contradict Marinette either.
"Of course not," Marinette snorted derisively. "This is just like the time you thought Chloe was Ladybug."
This forced a reaction out of Alya as a offended look spread across her face and she jerked back disgustedly.
"Oi!" Alya protested furiously. "I did investigate that claim! That's how I got suspended and Akumatised, remember?!" she finished in a mocking mimicry of Marinette's own pointed questioning.
"You didn't investigate you snooped through her locker!" Marinette snapped. "Instead of doing the sensible thing like, oh I don't know, double checking your own fricking blog for all those clips of Ladybug rescuing Chloe starting with Stoneheart, remember?!"
Alya's mouth snapped closed as her cheeks flushed bright red that almost matched her own hair. She clearly hadn't thought of checking her own blog whatsoever. Even now with hindsight she thought her methods of investigating were the right way to go about journalism instead of more ethical and, not to mention, legal options.
This only served to irritate Marinette further.
She's been lectured repeatedly for being stubborn but she clearly had nothing on Alya who could be the Queen of Stubbornness if she put her mind to it.
The insult that anyone could think that Chloe could be Marinette in any shape or form still burned away at Marinette with an indignation she hadn't thought possible.
Is everyone in Paris just blind, deaf, and stupid?! She thought despairingly to herself.
Apparently the answer was yes.
And with that in mind, Marinette tackled the most insulting thing about Alya's dismissive attitude towards Marinette's claims of Lila being a liar.
"I shouldn't be surprised because you clearly can't be bothered to check your own memory," Marinette said through gritted teeth. "I thought I have established repeatedly that Adrien's happiness means more to me than my own."
She refused to let the sob that clogged up her throat to have any voice. This wasn't about her non-existent love life with Adrien. It was never about her feelings for Adrien Agreste whatsoever. That's partly why she was so cross with Alya because she apparently thinks Marinette only did things with Adrien in mind. It was so incredibly insulting that Marinette half wanted to point out that Alya might have been so ready to swap seats with the rest of the class just to sit with her boyfriend instead of helping the 'poor helpless disabled girl' that was apparently Lila.
"It was why I chose to support him on his date with Kagami who, by the way, is more of a threat to any potential romantic relationship I could have with him because Adrien genuinely actually likes her," Marinette said scathingly, "Unlike Lila who makes him more uncomfortable than Chloe. So bravo," she clapped her hands once as sarcastically as she possibly could, "excellent observations skills there investigative reporter."
Alya actually had the decency to finally look down at the table in shame at this. Marinette hoped that she was now remembering that tough and difficult conversation where Marinette was the one to tell Alya it was time to try let her feelings for Adrien go and not the other way round. Marinette also couldn't help but spitefully hope that Alya felt guilty for her thoughtless accusations.
"My problem with Lila, if you actually bothered to ask instead of leaping to a conclusion, is that she's a liar," Marinette said firmly, "You could do your research like a real reporter by asking Nino why I don't like liars."
Because Nino had stood by and watched Chloe lie, slander, and manipulate the truth in order to torment Marinette for the entire year leading up to meeting Alya and Adrien. He knew the full extent of how Marinette had suffered because of liars and did nothing to help her.
Much like he was doing now.
Which would open up a whole new can of worms of distress and hurt that Marinette didn't particularly want to open up again.
Nino looked petrified at the mention of his name and instantly jumped back away from both Alya and Marinette as he held his hands out defensively.
"Dude!" He cried out fearfully."Don't drag me into this!"
Marinette inwardly scoffed at that.
Some hero he turned out to be if he couldn't take one angry girl's ranting and raving against injustice. It's not like Marinette had transformed and used her yo-yo to beat him and Alya back into their senses yet.
Marinette settled for a scornful look down at the boy before she turned her glare back at Alya who had all but shrank back with regret and shame.
"So my point is that if you are going to get on your high horse," Marinette leaned in to accentuate the significance of her point as much as possible, "practise what you preach."
And on that note Marinette left the canteen with her head held up high feeling freer and lighter for the first time in months.
Now to take her own advice and practise what she preaches herself...
Lila had no idea what's going to hit her.
