Summary:
Marinette comes back home after a very long and terrible day and finds all the girls in her room…including Lila. Apparently Alya decided to set up an “intervention.” Pushed past her mental limits, Marinette demands Lila leave, stating that she can do so of her own accord or be dragged out by her hair. After Lila leaves, Marinette completely reams Alya out for letting Lila into her room and violating her boundaries, and the other girls for going along with this stunt. She states in no uncertain terms that she will never like Lila, they will never be friends, and if they ever pull a stunt like this again, their friendship is over. Alya tries to protest but Marinette’s parents intervene and tell them to leave. Apparently they had been under the impression that they had Marinette’s permission to be there, but that clearly wasn’t the case.
Marinette’s heart sank as she pushed her bedroom door open to find all her friends and..Lila. The last person she wanted to see right now.
She froze in the doorway, unable to hide her surprise and discomfort. The sight of Lila, sitting comfortably amongst her friends, was the last thing she wanted to deal with after a terrible day.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “Why are you all in my room?” Marinette surely doesn’t recall inviting any of them to her room. They couldn’t even be called friends because of how distant they were. “Hm?” Her gaze shifted from one person to another, silently demanding an explanation. Her eye lingered on Lila a little longer than intended before she looked away.
Alya decided to speak up. “We’re all here because we want to talk to you about your relationship with Lila.”
“My relationship with Lila,” Marinette repeated coldly. “And what, pray tell, is there to talk about?” She crossed her arms over her chest, her patience running thin.
Alya stepped forward, her expression earnest as she addressed Marinette. “You see, Marinette, we've been noticing that your interactions with Lila have been...well, less than pleasant.” Alya glanced around the room, looking at each of the girls for support before continuing. “We're worried about how things are between you two. You surely don’t want to ruin a potentially good friendship over a boy, right? We thought maybe it's time we all sat down and talked about it.”
Marinette's jaw clenched as she listened to Alya, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Talk it out?” Marinette clenched her teeth. “Alya, what the hell…” She muttered under her breath. “I want her out.”
“Marinette, we're just trying to help!” Rose reasoned, her voice tinged with a hint of pleading.
Myléne looked nervous. “We thought by talking about it, we could resolve any issues between you and Lila.”
“Marinette, we just want to-“
But Marinette cut her off, her voice growing more firm. “No, I don't want this. I don't want her here. I want her out!”
The girls were clearly shocked by Marinette’s outburst.
Lila sniffled, her eyes welling up with tears. “All I want is to be friends.” She said, her voice trembling slightly. “I don't understand why Marinette dislikes me so much.”
“Oh, here we go,” Marinette snarked, rolling her eyes. “Crocodile tears now, how convincing. Spare me the act.”
Alya shot Marinette a glare. “Marinette, you can't just accuse Lila of lying all the time! It's unfair and unkind. I refuse to sit here and allow you to treat her so poorly!”
Something inside of Marinette snapped. “I didn't invite any of you here!” She shouted. “I didn't ask for this intervention! You all barged into my room and brought Lila with you, knowing damn well I don't like her!” Her breath came in quick, angry gasps as she pointed a finger at the door, her face flushed with anger. “Lila, get the hell out of my room and house!”
Lila, playing the victim, let out a sob, her tears drying up almost immediately. “I-I just wanted to apologize-“ She began, her voice dripping with false remorse.
Marinette's voice grew sharp and dangerous as she stepped closer to Lila. “Lila, if you don't leave in the next three seconds, I will personally drag you out of my house by your goddamn hair. And I am not bluffing.”
“Marinette, don’t-“
Without a word, Lila turned on her heels and rushed out of the room, the sound of her footsteps fading away as she hurried out the bakery.
As Lila made her hasty exit, Marinette immediately turned on Alya, her eyes blazing with anger. “Alya, how could you bring Lila into my room like this?” She demanded, her voice filled with indignation. “All of you know I don’t like her, and you all violated my boundaries! I told you countless times I won’t be friends with Lila, but you still decided to do this stupid intervention. Will this make it easier to understand? I don’t like Lila and we’ll never be friends.”
Alix, who had remained relatively silent up until this point, shuffled her feet uncomfortably. “Marinette, I... I know you don't like Lila, but we just thought that-“
Marinette cut her off with a sharp gesture, her eyes narrowing. “No buts,” Shr interrupted. “I warned you. I trusted you all, and you betrayed that trust. I won't forgive or forget this so easily. We've been friends for years, but I won't tolerate such disrespect.”
Juleka shifted uncomfortably under Marinette's fierce gaze, her face growing somber. “We just thought…Maybe if we could all talk it out…” She trailed off, realizing how poorly this intervention had gone. “W-We didn't want you two to keep fighting.”
Marinette paused for a moment, letting her words sink in before continuing. “If any of you ever try something like this again, where you disregard my boundaries and emotions then our friendship is over. No exceptions, no excuses.”
Alya took a deep breath, preparing to protest, but their argument was interrupted by the sound of voices coming from the trapdoor.
Tom and Sabine suddenly appeared, having overheard the conversation, and looked rather concerned.
“Girls,” Tom said, his voice stern but gentle. “Is everything alright in here?”
Sabine looked around the room, her eyes landing on Marinette, who stood with her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face. “What’s going on?” She glanced at the girls. “Marinette didn’t invite you here?”
Marinette shook her head vehemently, her eyes flashing with anger. “No, I didn't invite them. They came in without my permission.”
Sabine looked at the girls with a stern expression, her disappointment obvious. “If Marinette didn't give you permission to be here, then you need to leave right now.” She said, her voice leaving no room for argument.
The girls exchanged uncomfortable glances, realizing that they had made a grave error.
Alya slowly stood up, her eyes downcast. The other girls followed suit, each of them appearing guilty and embarrassed as they looked sheepishly at Sabine and Tom.
There was an awkward tension in the air.
Once the girls left, Marinette looked at her parents.
“Thank you so much. I really…wouldn’t be able to deal with them right now.”
