Duty to protect

Normalcy

Marinette's version of normal was very different to anyone else's. Her normal involved life threatening situations on a day to day basis.

She already hated how far away she was from her family. The Dupain-cheng's personalities matched perfectly with her extra cheery personality.

The mission given by her father was to 'be herself'. From what she knew, he thought her cheery self was herself. So she continued to maintain that cover.

The first step she wanted to take was make as many friends as possible. She didn't have to like them. She didn't have to care. All she needed was a number to show her father that she was capable.

When she arrived in the classroom and introduced herself, she never mentioned a surname. It was known that she was only a ward for the Dupain-Cheng's and not officially adopted. She refused to give her real name.

She watched everyone's reactions to her, she and Damien became extremely good at reading people.

A blonde girl in the front was eyeing her in an odd way. From what Marinette could tell she was looking at her clothing. She knew it was worth a lot, a Wayne has to look good. She was the only Wayne to have never been caught on camera so she should not have been recognised.

She was present at galas but no one there would have ever been at one right...?

The blond girl's jaw dropped and Marinette watched her closely.

Ah yes she does remember her.

She had been at galas with her mother before. She was the one she had been herself around. They were both sat to the side, Marinette didn't want Wayne spotlight and the blonde girl was bored and didn't really have a place.

Whenever she came to galas they would sit and talk casually, she never learned her name.

She knew hers. Her full name.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at her with a warning stare.

The girl shut her mouth.

"Chloe it's rude to stare." The teacher sighed. So that was her name.

Marinette glided up to her seat next to a pink-haired girl, her name was Alix.

Alix poked her. In the shoulder then the cheek. "Woah..."

"What?" She smiled and looked at her.

"You're like... You don't look like a real person!"

Marinette tilted her head "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not bad! You just... You're so... Perfect. You look drawn not real. How much make up you wearin?" She asked, leaning closer.

"Um I'm not wearing any..."

"No way! You should totally be a model!" Alix declared.

"Um no thank you." She said, talk about a way to get the media on your back.

Plus she doubted her scars would be as admired.

Either way, by the end of the day, Marinette's cheery personality earned the hearts of the class.

Friends? Tick.

On her way home, Marinette was stopped by the blond girl, Chloe.

"Wayne." She said simply in a stupidly high voice while pointing at her.

"Bourgeois." She crossed her arms. She felt no need to be cheery, this girl only knew her as herself anyway.

"What are you doing here?! And what the hell was with that cheery act!?" She whispered, dragging her back to the grande Paris hotel.

"My father believes me to be too attached to my brother. So he sent me to live with his caterers, family friends. The cheery act is because that is how my family perceive me and it is the easiest way to make friends, therefore not cause my father any worry."

Chloe stared at her.

"Staring is a bad habit bourgeoise." Marinette frowned

Chloe spluttered and let out a not so subtle shriek. "I forgot how infuriating you can be."

"You're the one who always chose to sit next to me. There are never shortage of chairs at a Wayne gala." Marinette crossed her arms.

"Well sometimes you're nice and sometimes you're too blunt for your own good." The blond huffed as they entered her room.

"I speak my mind to those I know cannot hurt me. I was nice when I first met you because I did not know enough to know how capable you were of hurting me. Now I know that you are never to be a threat, I speak only truth." Marinette explained, sitting down on Chloe's bed.

"Ugh... Whatever, now that you're here Wayne, I cannot allow you to associate with the idiots in our class." She looked down at her.

"I don't have to like them I just need them to like me so I do not cause my father any worry."

"Well as I am your only friend that you actually like, and you are... You around me, I should warn you that they hate me so if you hang out with me you'd be in trouble in that department." She rolled her eyes.

Marinette hummed in thought "Then help me maintain my cover."

"How do you plan on that?"

"Be a bully." Marinette stated plainly.

"Excuse me?!" Chloe guffawed.

"Bully me, we'll trade remarks and neither of our school reputations are ruined. I do not care for people. I do not care for friends. I have my family. All I wish is for my family not to worry. If I have friends, they will have no need to worry." Marinette explained.

"What am I going to insult!? You're perfect! You're one of the richest kids on earth, you're hot and beautiful, stupidly smart... Seriously your grades are perfect and your clothes are more expensive than mine! I can't insult that!"

"Then insult my 'unknown' background. They do not know that you know who I am. So pretend you do not. Make random assumptions and base insults around that. And the baker girl not adopted but ward thing." Marinette explained cooly.

"I can't insult you though! It's like insulting royalty! If your father finds out then my entire family is screwed!"

"No because my father trusts my judgement in most cases."

Chloe grumbled"fine but only because you asked"

From then onward, they kept up a convincing act.

Marinette gained popularity from standing up to the school bully and she and Chloe spent time together outside of school in secret.

Marinette didn't want to stand out, that wasn't her aim. Her aim was to make friends. So she purposely stuck herself in the average level in class at everything. She became the lovable ball of cheer.

It wasn't her. But her father wanted her to make friends and this was how she knew to.