Marinette's P. O. V

Back at the hangout-

"I WAS TALKING TO HIM!"

I stopped talking to Adrien and faced Lila, confusion and shock filling my face. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, but at the same time, I wondered why Lila had looked and sounded so mad. Why did it matter that I was now talking to Adrien? Why did she have to shout out those words and catch everyone's attention?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. It's just that, I was still in the middle of asking him my questions and you just pulled him over to ask him about cats!" Right there and then, I wasn't sure if Lila meant her apology at all. There was something written all over her face, something I didn't quite understand. That something had showed up ever since Adrien had offered her an Euro to buy her lunch. Was it perhaps. . .?

"I'm sorry, Lila." Although I said that, I wasn't sure if I meant it either. Did I have to apologize? Was it really my fault that Adrien chose to reply to my questions?

"No, I should be the one apologizing. That was so rude of me." Lila spoke in a squeaky voice. She then stood up from her seat, excusing herself, and she started walking away. I started asking myself whether I should follow her or just stay in my seat. I could see from the corner of my eyes that Adrien was looking over at me, as if he wanted to ask whether I was okay, yet didn't know how to. Finally not being able to take it due to how embarrassed I was, I stood up and started following Lila.

Maybe I had felt guilt and that was why I followed Lila, or maybe it was because I considered her as my bestest friend. I wasn't so sure, but one thing for sure, I wanted to know the reason why she had seemed so mad. Lila had always been telling me to stay true to her, to tell her whatever troubles me, whatever I have in mind, or whatever secrets I have, and every single time, I always kept to my words of never lying to her. But ever since she and Adrien got on good terms, I started to realize that there was something she was keeping from me. Whenever I was alone with Adrien, and she would show up and see us together, she would look mad at first, but then try to cover it up with a smile.

Could it be possible that she may have. . . that she may have possibly liked Adrien as more than a friend? I don't know why, but just thinking that made me sick to my stomach. It didn't make sense to me at first, but now things were starting to clear up. Lila had a crush on Adrien and was always mad whenever I was together with him. She. . . she was mad at me!

I entered the ladies bathroom, where Lila stood in front of the sink, washing her hands. She looked up once she heard me come in, and she immediately changed her calm face into a more upset one. She muttered my name, showing she was still a bit upset with me. I stood by the door, wishing she'd quit staring at me and just give me answers. But that didn't happen. Instead, Lila bent over towards the sink again and splattered her face with water.

"Why were you so mad?"

"Why do you care?!"

"Why shouldn't I care?!" I snapped. I'd never yelled at Lila, though sometimes she made me mad. I'd always been calm whenever I was around her, especially with the fact that she was having a tough time with her father and my parents told me to be easy on her. I had always listened to my parents, did whatever Lila wanted just at long as it was okay, helped her whenever she needed help. She never got along with people she met so I was her only friend. Then I had introduced her to my other friends, and she didn't seem to mind them a bit. When she had complained to me that Alya had made fun of her scar and called her an unwanted child after Alya told me that Lila had faked her scar, I got mad, and I had taken Lila's side. I had to admit that I took some time, trying to figure out whether Alya was right or not. I had asked myself, why would Lila fake a scar to fool me? Then I had also asked myself, why would Alya lie to me?! Later on when I got too confused, I decided to forget about it.

"You would make fun of me if I told you," Lila sniffed, and that's when I noticed that she was on the verge of tears. I walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her as best as I could, like I'd always done whenever she looked down. Lila took in a deep breath, before she slid down to the floor, taking a seat.

"When I first saw Adrien, I tried to convince myself that he wasn't like Chloe. Chloe was such an ignorant, selfish brat, and Adrien looked so different. I actually have to admit that I started to like him before I met him, maybe it was because of his looks, or the way he always seemed to help people whenever he came across those who needed help.  . but when I heard him defend Chloe countless of times, I started to realize that Chloe had brainwashed him into believing she was a good person, so I tried staying away from Adrien as much as possible." She stared down at the floor as she spoke, as if afraid of making eye contact with me. "I promise I didn't mean to insult him whenever I did, but I was really hurt when he insulted me, so I came to believe that he was a bad person.

"But then he did what he did. He gave me that money and explained himself, and I started to like him again. This time it wasn't just because of his looks, but because I started to see that he actually had a kind heart, a totally different person from Chloe." Lila finally lifted her head and looked me in the eyes. "So there! That's the thing, Marinette. I like Adrien, but I can't help feeling bothered because I think you like him too. You've been really getting closer to him, and I understand that he's closer to you than he is with me, which is why I'm trying to know more about him. Which is why I'm trying to. . . get him to like me back."

Even though I already knew this, I was still a bit shocked with every words she had said. She didn't just like Adrien, but she also saw me as a rival, which was why she was constantly upset with me whenever I was with Adrien. I tried to choose my next words wisely, but that brought me to remember something my parents had told me before.

"Marinette, we've tried talking to her but she wouldn't tell us anything. She told us not to report her father, and she keeps saying that he did nothing to her, but seeing all these scars on her body, it's obvious that someone is hurting her and the only one close to her is her father, her only family member. Marinette, she'll only talk to you, so make sure you don't upset her. The poor girl has been through so much, so it's best that we keep her happy at all times. Do you think you can do this for us, Marinette?"

I clenched my fists a little, looking away from Lila. "I. . .promise you that I do not like Adrien as more than that."

"What?"

"I. . .said. . . I don't like Adrien, so whenever you see us together, it's not what you think. We're just friends, and I'm sure he sees me as a friend as well. Nothing else. So, Lila. . ." I forced the words to come out, though I wasn't sure if I even meant any of them. "You can go after him, it's fine. You don't have to see me as a rival. You don't have to be upset with me."

I wasn't sure on what to expect, but the next thing I knew, Lila had her arms wrapped around me. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Marinette. I'm so glad I have such an amazing friend like you, honestly. I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"It's fine."

Lila pulled away from the hug, gave me one last giant smile, before walking out of the bathroom. I let out a sigh, not sure on what to think now, but I turned around anyway and followed her out.

The others seemed to have been talking about something when Lila and I walked out of the bathroom and headed towards them, but they instantly shut up once they saw us coming. I asked myself if it was okay to sit beside Adrien like I had before I went to talk to Lila, but finally deciding that Lila wouldn't mind, I took my seat right next to him. He looked curious to know about what we had been talking about, and I was honestly curious as to what he was talking about with Alya, Nino and Nathaniel, but I didn't bother asking. Instead, I just looked down at the table, staring at my paper, but not saying anything.

"Marinette, Lila will be joining us for lunch and dinner everyday from now on. How cool is that? I know you two girls have gotten closer to each other as days pass, and I do hope that you two continue to be the bestest of friends." Mom walked closer to me and whispered in my ear. "Good, Marinette. You're doing a good job. Lila has become happier and happier these past few days, and it's all thanks to you. You're a huge help, Marinette."

I nodded over to her with a wide smile on my face, happy that I was helping a girl out in trouble. I then walked over to the bathroom, where Lila was inside. Without thinking, I opened the door and walked inside, which was really stupid because she could have been using the toilet or something like that. But that wasn't it. Her shirt was being lifted off, and she was staring at the huge wound at the side of her stomach. Seeing the wound made me sick to my stomach, but I didn't say anything. I couldn't, and I ended up leaving the bathroom.

I let out a sigh, but Lila's voice suddenly got my heart pounding. "Can you walk with me to get a new drink? I would go alone, but I actually haven't been in this restaurant before and I don't really like walking around new places alone. Please. Pretty please?" She was asking Adrien, I knew that after he looked over at me, like he wanted me to give him an answer. I still didn't say anything, so he had turned back, looked at Lila and given her an answer I had hoped he wouldn't give. "Yeah. . .yeah, sure."

I didn't say anything as I heard them walking away to get a new drink. "Marinette, are you okay?" Hearing Nathaniel ask me that, I looked up at him, but just nodded my head anyway without saying anything.

"Hey, look. What are they doing?" Nino suddenly said and pointed over to where Adrien and Lila were standing. I looked over as well, though I instantly regretted doing so, seeing that it was Adrien and Lila hugging. Well actually, it looked more like Lila was hugging him, while a group of people stared and whispered.

I looked back down at the table when I saw the two of them were coming back. Adrien arrived first, took his seat and Alya immediately spoke to him, "She did it on purpose, She hugged you like that in public just to have everyone talk about you two. She probably actually has a crush on you." Maybe she didn't know I was listening to what she was saying, but I agreed with her words anyway. I knew Lila had done it on purpose. It looked to me like she was absolutely serious about getting Adrien to like her, though I realized. . . she was doing it the wrong way.

And then it had happened before I could even have time to stop it, or move away. Adrien had leaned in closed and kissed me. I was confused, and when I saw Lila staring at us with budged out eyes, I wanted to pull away and possibly slap Adrien for doing what he did, but. . . I couldn't bring myself to doing that. And then he had whispered to me, "please play along." I don't know what suddenly got over me, and although Lila was still watching, I still did what I did. Bringing Adrien closer to me, I pecked his cheek, before moving away. I could see a satisfied look on Adrien's face, and I wanted to know why he was satisfied.

Did he really do that because he liked me?. . . or is it because he wanted to clear out the misunderstanding between him and Lila?

"Please play along."

I looked down, knowing that he'd only done it because people misunderstood him and Lila. He had told me to play along after all. Oh my goodness-

How long am I going to keep pretending that I don't like him?