Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy (Change in writers/ownership )

Chapter 2

A/N: So I saw that people actually read the first chapter, and I was BEYOND excited. I'm glad people are reading this because I honestly didn't expect anyone to find it. Thank u for taking a chance on my book, and I hope this gives u guys something to do while this whole lockdown thing is happening.

Stay safe, and thank u again for reading this. I hope you enjoy Chapter 2!

Lila's POV:

I was restless last night. I had a nightmare, and after I woke up, I couldn't go back to sleep. No matter how hard I tried. So, I spent the entire night planning how I'm going to reveal to everyone that every promise, every story, all the things I've said, are lies. This is always the best part. Watching my palace crumble before me, with all my followers still inside. I have a routine when it comes to this. 

My mom will say we're moving because of her job, I'll fake being sad because I'm leaving my "friends", and then I reak havoc upon the new city we've moved to. I'll get as many people as I can under my thumb, and then when its time to relocate again, I'll tell them everything they once thought of me was a lie. The complete devastation on their faces, their sickening guilt, the absolute panic, it's all chaos and torture. I positively love it.

I am a genius at deception, lying, trickery, and so on. But it's no fun if I have everyone suckered from the very beginning. So I lie. I fabricate an astounding life for myself, that ordinary people can't help but be drawn to. The ones who can resist, or the ones who see through the scenes I've painted, those people are my targets. They're smart enough and strong to be more than just pawns in my game. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is one of the few people who saw through my lies. I mean, Adrien knows I'm lying, but he didn't figure it out until Marinette crashed our date and called me out.

That's right, I know that Marinette's Ladybug, that Adrien is Chat Noir, that Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agrest, and that Mayura is Natalie. I mean honestly, they're all blind to not be able to see it. Ladybug and Marinette have the same hairstyle, same hair color, same eye color, same build, same skin tone, same height, same voice. Marinette never takes off her earrings, which look the same as Lasybug's but without color. She's also never been in the same place as Ladybug except once, and that day there were two Ladybugs.

It wasn't too difficult to figure out Adrien's Chat Noir, and since I've been working closely with both Hawk Moth and Mr. Agreste, it wasn't hard to make the connection. And because Mr. Agreste is Hawk Moth, Natalie was the only one who could be Mayura. I could tell everyone their identities but, I would benefit more if they weren't exposed. If Hawk Moth and Mayura were caught, creating distress, sadness, pain, anger, and all those other negative feelings wouldn't be near as fun. Plus, I can potentially use this information as leverage and blackmail them.

No one knows that I figured out all the heroes identities (yes, I figured out the temporary hero's identities too) and I intend to keep it that way. I have no use for such knowledge and I see no reason for why I should tell anyone secrets that were meant to stay unknown. That doesn't mean that I like any of them. 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my current victim. I told her I'd steal all of her friends, and I knew she didn't completely believe me or think I was capable. She was dead wrong. I took all the people she once counted on, and I ruined her reputation, but that wasn't all that I had planned. Marinette cares more about others' well being than her own, it's her weakness. I use my preys' weaknesses as my advantage. 

I know that it hurts her to see all her friends being controlled. I know she's wounded when no one believes her. I know she's in pain when her former friends, who she thought she could rely on, blamed everything on her. I know that she suffers when all she's trying to do is protect others, but she ends up being attacked by the ones she was attempting to save. I know it kills her inside when no one wants her around anymore. She knows the truth, but she's the only one to see through the lies.

I know what I'm doing to her, and it's all intentional. But Marinette is determined. Just because I hate her doesn't mean I can't acknowledge her strengths and her qualities, both good and bad. It's easier to defeat those who you understand. 

Like I said before, Marinette cares for everyone around her more than herself. So the best way to destroy her is to hurt others who are innocent. She keeps trying to save everyone, but when I'm the one causing distress, there's nothing she can do to save them. The people of Paris used to be caring and trusting, and I gave them reasons why they shouldn't be. I fed them lie after lie about how so and so did this, and these people did that. No one trusts anyone now. They all think that they were betrayed by those once close to them.

So Marinette was forced to sit and watch as her past friends, some of whom she's known since childhood, blame each other and cut ties with one another. They all use to be so close. Now everyone stays in their selective little groups. I, of course, don't have a group. I always just switch between them. They all think that I'm the only one they can trust. I know everything that's happening at all times. I am their confidant, their leader, the one they believe over everyone else. And I know that Marinette hates that everyone trusts me. After all, she knows the truth, and the truth is not pretty.

The fact that Marinette was in love with Adrien was just icing on the cake. The only reason I was persuing Adrien was that if I, the fake, lying, manipulative, torturer, ended up with Marinette's crush, she'd be devastated. After he realized I was lying, all my chances were gone. What really made my day, was when Adrien told her to take the high road and not out me. He has no idea how to handle a situation like this and is way more stupid than I thought. I'd say he's lost his backbone, but I doubt he was born with one. 

Marinette liking Adrien also gave me a reason for why she could go from sweet and innocent, to mean and doubtful. Jealousy can drive even the most level headed and sane of us, to do the most drastic and out of character things. I'm not stupid enough to use the whole, "Marinette is jealous of me" excuse more than once. Her classmates may be gullible, but outsiders would probably know that jealousy isn't something that would drive someone to do all the things I've claimed she's done. And it'd be almost impossible to fool someone who's met Marinette into believing that any of my claims were true if Marinette's motivation was envy.

I won't go too in-depth about my lies, because there's far too many of them to count. Let alone explain. So I move my focus back to the current task at hand. Successfully getting out of bed and getting ready for school. Yesterday my mom had told me we were moving again and that today was my last day of school here in Paris. That means I have and excuse to dress fabulously because it feels so much better to look good than to look like trash while you're crushing everyone's world.

Seeing as how it would be pointless to tell adults the truth and face consequences, I always just tell the class or classes that I've managed to fool. They know the truth, but no one else does, and I have ways of keeping them quiet. I know that someone can do an in-depth background check on me, so the fact that I'm a liar stays with me and my victims.

I also have already come clean to the class about how I had a "lying disorder" and that's why I claimed to know celebrities. I'm not stupid, I know Marinette has connections, as does some of the other mindless sheep in my class. So if I were to say I knew all of these famous people, it'd be obvious that it was a lie if people fact-checked. I don't want any lawsuits.

I heard my ringtone and felt my phone vibrate in my jacket pocket, so I took it out to see who was calling. It was my mom, so I answered. "Hey sweetie, I was just calling to see if you're on your way to school. I know you'd want to spend as much time with your friends before we move." I fake gagged thinking those idiots were my "friends". "Oh, thanks mom, and yeah, I'm heading to school right now."

"Alright honey, have a nice last day. I should be home by around 16:00. We have to finish packing and I'm gonna need your help." "Okay, I'll go straight home after school to get started." I sighed, I had reached the steps of the school. I may love the chaos I create, but it's tiring, and I didn't get any sleep. "Bye mom, I just reached school. I'll see you this afternoon." "Goodbye." I heard her hang up and I put my phone away.

I walked up the steps of Collège Françoise Dupont and headed to my first class. This is gonna be a long day.

A/n: Hi again, so I forgot to add this earlier, but I'll usually be updating this every Thursday. One week in between each update. I normally have chapters ready in advance, but ima just make u guys wait. Also, I'm not certain I'll update every Thursday, but it's most likely.

Adieu et au revoir mes amis! 😊