Jerk in Sheep's Clothing

Con Artist

Marinette huffed as she entered the woman's bathroom. She couldn't believe the nerve Alya and Nino had. Instead of apologizing to Henri, they tried to take blame off themselves by painting him as a jerk, to make what they did seem less bad than it was, like he deserved it.

Afterwards, she flushed and exited the stall to was her hands. As the water ran over her hands, a nasty voice jerked her out of her thoughts.

"I saw what happened back there." She looked up at the bathroom mirror. In it's reflection, she could see Lila Rossi leaning back against the stall doors behind her, her arms folded over her chest. "Wow...they really have it out for your boyfriend, don't they?"

Marinette scowled, not bothering to turn around to face her, only meeting her eyes in the mirror. "Buzz off, Lila. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

"After that little scene? I'm not surprised.", said Lila, shrugging her shoulders. "Must be awful for Henri. Everyone ganging up on him...but I don't think I need to tell you that. You know firsthand, don't you?"

Marinette was silent as she lathered her hands.

Lila smirked. "Seriously, Marinette...I don't know why you still bother with those guys."

"They're my friends."

"Are they? Are they really?"

Marinette finally spun around to shoot Lila a dirty look. "Since when are you so concerned with how people treat me and my boyfriend?! It's your fault, anyway! All my friends have been acting differently ever since you came back and started manipulating them! You changed them!"

The smile slipped off Lila's face, and her stare turned deadly. "Did I, Marinette? Did I change your friends? Or did I just bring out their real selves?"

Marinette's bluebell eyes narrowed at her enemy. "What?"

Lila sashayed to the sink next to her, her victim's eyes following her. "I've been to a lot of schools, Marinette.", she said smoothly, turning on the faucet. "That's what happens when your mom works as a diplomat. I've pulled the same con at every one. And every school I've been to has someone like you there. Someone who sees through my lies and tries to call me out.

"So naturally, I have to discredit them to save my reputation. Spread rumors about them, poison people's minds against them, frame them for stealing, cheating or lying, until they're totally alone. Some crowds are harder than others. Some take weeks, maybe months to turn against my enemy."

Lila chuckled like a supervillain as she washed her hands. "But this school...everyone jumped on the 'Marinette is a bully' bandwagon the second I pulled it out front. All it took was a few promises of celeb connections and crocodile tears, and the whole class turned on you like a pack of rabid wolves!"

She turned off the water and shook the wetness from her hands. "It was just too easy...way easier than any other crowds I've worked with. Usually, I have to sweat and toil and dream up some real nasty lies to separate people from their friends. But with your friends, I hardly had to lift a finger."

She took a paper towel and dried her hands off. "Think about it, Marinette. I've been to a dozen schools, turned at least fifty people against their friends...and your classmates were my easiest and fastest job! What does that tell you about them? About their sense of loyalty?"

Marinette was dead silent, staring at Lila hollowly. The Italian girl smiled deviously as she threw the paper into the waste bin. "Face it, Marinette. The problem isn't that I've changed your friends."

She walked over to her and spoke into her ear. "It's that after all this time...they've finally shown you their true colors."

And with that, Lila strutted out the bathroom, leaving Marinette alone in the empty washrooms, her words echoing in her mind.
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Arts club was so-so. Everyone minded their own projects. Alix graffitied her wall, Marc and Nathaniel worked on their comic book, Rose and Juleka dreamt up lyrics for Kitty Section's next big hit, and Marinette, of course, was sketching some new fashion designs, with Henri looking over her shoulder. Nothing out of the ordinary.