Of Glitter and Gold

Chapter 4

Damian walks out of the school pissed off, people laughing as he passes them- a glare only seeming to amuse the imbeciles further. He walks to Alfred, his pseudo grandfather, friend, and butler, who has the door to the back seat of the car open.

The older gentleman is wearing his usual three piece suit and pocket watch with shined shoes and a calm but attentive look on his face, when the man sees Damian he goes to the trunk and grabs towels, setting one up for him to sit on.

"Interesting day at school, Master Damian?" The old man asks, eyeing the angry boy as he throws his book bag onto a second towel.

"One could say so." Damian glares at Dupain-Cheng as she walks past, she smiles and turns towards him. Her hair was loose, and messy from earlier, but still neat, her blazer in one hand and semi-clear water bottle in the other.

"Boy, it was hot today wasn't it, Mr. Wayne? By the way, love the new look." The girl holds a dangerously amused look in her eye as she nods approvingly. Damian gives her a glare but she doesn't flinch.

Not only is Marinette not affected by the glare, she laughs. It's the amusement in her eyes, it spreads from her bright irises to her brow as another giggle escapes her lips. Dupain-Cheng tries to smother her laughter but it doesn't work.

"Don't worry, you'll have one of your own soon enough." Damian slams the door shut in frustration, he really kicked over a hornets nest. When Damian looks through the tinted window he sees Alfred speaking to her. Traitor.

// Flashback, 8 hours ago //

Marinette lets out a cruel chuckle as she puts the solution into a water bottle, placing it in her bag next to two carefully taped packs. Marinette's been planning and preparing her revenge for the last week, ever since Damian thought it would be funny to copy her notes upside down and backwards and swap them out for her own.

Marinette puts her backpack on and heads to school, waving good morning to some of the regulars walking in the direction of the bakery. She muses at her inevitable victory

Fortunately for Marinette, no one knows about this prank. Unfortunately for Damian, everyone would hear about this. After all, Lady Luck is on her side.

The students and faculty of Gotham Academy know something is coming, their arguments in class increasing in frequency and intensity. Teachers have gotten used to it and shut them down before detention is necessary but as time goes on their obvious hatred for each other only grows. Sure, the girl is sweet as sugar but she holds nothing back when it comes to dealing with the spoiled Wayne heir.

Allison approaches Marinette when the Parisian first walks onto the school grounds, the bluenette has yet to settle into a friend group- still hopping from table to table in lunch, friend group to friend group. Everyone either wants to be her, be her best friend, date her, or didn't care which. No one is safe from Marinette fever- except Damian Wayne who seems to hate her to the point that he's actively rude to her instead of snobbishly ignoring her existence like the rest of the students.

Of course, Marinette isn't one to just take it. She fights back every time he insults her, corrects her, and even chides him for his rudeness towards others. She's like a hero to the students of Gotham Academy, the true fourth Wayne- a bright, smart, sociable person filling the void at the top of the social food chain that Damian left empty.

"Hey, Marinette! What's up?" Marinette smiles in greeting, not stopping- she motions for Allison to walk with her.

"Nothing really, I just want to drop off some pastries for the custodians. Did you know Michelle is pregnant?! It's wonderful isn't it?" Marinette answers, walking towards where the janitors usually meet in the mornings. Allison follows Marinette and watches as she talks to the custodians.