Until I Heard You Sing

Chapter 2

Friday morning, Marinette was overwhelmed by the news that she had indeed won the design competition, not that it surprised her friends in the slightest. Her design had beat out several student interns and she was one of the youngest candidates considered in the final five designs.

"I trust you will do us at Gabriel proud Miss Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel's assistant Nathalie held up the tablet in front of Marinette and her class so that she could talk to Mr. Agreste directly. "I recall other occasions where you have won my competitions and Adrien has had nothing but the highest praise for your craftsmanship." Marinette couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks. She stole a glance over at Adrien who smiled at her with a nod before she turned back to the tablet.

"Thank you Mr. Agreste. I won't let you down."

After the call ended Nathalie took Marinette and Miss Bustier outside the classroom to discuss particulars and the class started chatting amongst themselves.

"It's hardly fair that someone should be able to cheat their way through to winning such a prestigious competition." All eyes in the room turned to look at Lila up the back.

"What do you mean cheat?" Alix queried, her sense of fair play being piqued.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it. She becomes close friends with the designers son, get into the inner circle and next thing she's winning competitions and having her name associated with the Gabriel brand."

"Excuse me Rossi." Chloe spat the words out. She well and truly had her back up as she stepped towards Lila, slamming her hand on the table. "My mother was on that judging panel. Are you daring to say that Audrey Bourgeois would be so unprofessional as to show bias, to a student designer no less?"

"It's been done before." Lila deadpanned. There was an audible gasp from several of the class members as the tension between the pair began heating up. "She's shown favouritism to Marinette before if I recall. Your just lucky Marinette was to stupid to accept your mother's offer to go to New York or..."

"Hold up there." Adrien interjected putting a calming hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Lila, there was no way the judging panel knew Marinette was the designer. The names are not attached to the entries to ensure anonymity and that the judging is fair and totally unbiased."

"But you knew Adrien." Lila was as smooth as silk, which was highly unnerving to the two blondes, her tone almost... seductive. "You saw the design before Marinette entered it. You could have said something to influence the decision." Lila was baiting him and Adrien knew it but he wasn't going to bite.

"I had nothing to do it Lila. Come on Chloe, she's not worth the effort." He tugged on her arm to follow him away. Chloe narrowed her eyes at Lila before turning to head back to her seat. Students were murmuring amongst themselves as Marinette and Miss. Bustier returned to the room.

"Did I miss something?" Marinette asked Alya, noticing a strange tension in the room. Something dark was clearly disturbing the emerald eyes of the boy sitting in front of her. Adrien knew Lila was an incredibly effective liar, and that she had it in for him ever since he turned down her advances, but it angered him more that she was trying to drag Marinette down too. Marinette had always supported and encouraged her classmates. She was determined and sometimes stubborn, by kind and sweet. Their everyday Ladybug he once told her. It wasn't the first time he had compared Marinette to his Lady. At times the similarity between them was uncanny. How amazing it would be if they were the same person but he quickly pushed that thought away - it wasn't really fair to draw the comparison. He only hoped that Lila poking at someone like Chloe would eventually backfire.

"I'll tell you later." Came Alya's hushed reply as Miss. Bustier began the lesson.

***
That night Marinette stood out on her balcony watching the lights of the Paris skyline, the bells of the nearby Notre Dame tolling the last of the night. Although the days were becoming warmer, the nights still held a certain chill. With a blanket wrapped around her arms, she sipped on her hot chocolate and listened to the sounds of the bells and the city streets below. Tomorrow she would start work on the dress after Chloe comes for measuring. Mr. Agreste's assistant Nathalie was having the fabrics delivered to her, but there were a few extras she wanted to add herself, including Chloe's special request which she asked for after class. Marinette had to laugh at it, but she was happy to do it. She was very excited for the project despite what Alya had told her about what went down in the classroom between Lila, Chloe and Adrien. She already knew Adrien saw through Lila and her lies, and now clearly Chloe did too. Marinette couldn't understand that if Chloe of all people could see Lila for what she really was, why couldn't everyone else? Would their classmates really believe she had somehow cheated because she was friends with Adrien? She let out a heavy sigh.