Mysteries at Midnight

Discomfort

Marinette waited for everyone to leave the class before approaching Madame Bustier. The woman had noticed Marinette waiting and therefore took her time packing up her resources. The girl approached her, books tightly in her hand.

"Madame Bustier, I need to talk to you about Ladybug and Chat Noir," she said quietly and the woman nodded.

"I saw the video, I'm glad you've decided to compete," the woman said with a smile.

"W-well, Madame Bustier, that video had a second message in it. You see... Chat Noir and... Ladybug have been being stalked this week. Someone has been following them and taking videos and submitting them to the Ladyblog for Alya to post. Thankfully Alya has gone to Ladybug and Chat Noir about it and they have agreed to work together to protect their identities."

"Marinette, this is very serious. Do you know who it is?"

"Only their screen name, but we are doing all we can. This person actually found Ladybug last night, she was out with Nino, Adrien and Alya. From what we understand this person isn't working alone and is competing in competition."

"Well, I'm glad you've come to me, Marinette. The only logical thing to do is to take Ladybug and Chat Noir out of competition," the woman nodded and Marinette shook her head hurriedly.

"Madame Bustier, the reason I'm coming to you, is because this person has contacted me directly and told me to stay away from Ladybug and Chat Noir. Which means they don't want me to design for the dancers anymore."

"Well, if that's what they've asked, it seems perfectly logical for you to stay away from Ladybug and Chat Noir until this is all sorted."

"I agree, Madame Bustier," Marinette nodded and looked over her shoulder to make sure the class was indeed empty. "But I still want to keep being a part of this," she added quietly. "No matter what."

Madame Bustier sighed as she picked up her teaching resources and her keys.

"Marinette, are you really prepared to go through with this, no matter the cost?" the woman's eyes were fixed on Marinette's, the message clear.

Are you prepared to risk your identity?

"I have thought about it, a lot and I've decided that this is important to me," Marinette said quietly, her eyes shining with determination. "Ladybug is a part of me and I will not let her wither because someone thinks they can scare me into giving up."

Madame Bustier just smiled at her but then shook her head before speaking loudly.

"Well, Marinette, I'm sorry you feel that you can't continue to support Ladybug and Chat Noir. I know they appreciated your hard work for the ball, but I'm sure they will understand. À plus tard!" she called as she left and Marinette smiled to herself, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible.

Marinette left the class, heading to the café where she would meet with her friends, only to see Adrien being pulled away with Lila. She jogged over to them, putting a smile on her face.

"H-hey Lila, Adrien. Where are you guys off to?" she asked, trying to sound cheery.

"Oh, well, Adrien promised me a lunch date, so I'm holding him to his promise," Lila smiled back.

"Oh, okay," Marinette replied, trying not to let her disappointment show. Adrien gave her an apologetic look but she shook it off, putting her smile back on.

"I'll try to save you a bear claw for later then Adrien. See you in class," she said before forcing herself to walk in the other direction. She looked in her bag and frowned as she saw the bear claw she had brought for him sitting in a container on its own. It was silly, she chided. Lila had gotten the courage to ask Adrien to lunch and Marinette hadn't. And just because she had lunch with him every day, didn't mean she didn't want to go on a lunch date with him, she reasoned, it's just that Lila had the courage to ask... even though Adrien was supposed to be engaged to Chloé.