Be Creative

Chapter 8: Countdown

Thank you everyone for voting and I am amazed to see this story at No.1 for lilarossi! Enjoy! 

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It was now late at night. Marinette, aka, also known as Ladybug, was sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower. She was content on patrol, for the first time in a long while. All of this Lila takedown stuff was so good but at the same time, it made her relax a lot. And tomorrow was the red-carpet event that Lila had bragged so much about. Claiming that she was going to wear an MDC original, that she was like a sister and that Gabriel was listening to Lila's suggestions about fashion. Gabriel was a cold-hearted guy but even he had enough common sense not to listen to someone who knew nothing about fashion. Morgana had requested that she'd give instructions to Jagged, Penny and Clara, which they happily agreed to. Having been informed on what Lila was claiming about them, they had gotten extremely angry. They were a part of the play for the big night too. She couldn't wait.

"Hey M'lady," a familiar voice said.

"Hey Chat," Ladybug said cheerfully as she saw her partner sit next to her. She noticed how rundown he looked.

"So, any akumas?" he asked.

"Nope, nothing. What's the matter Kitty? You seem down," Ladybug said in concern.

"You don't want to hear about my problems," Chat said as he crossed his legs.

"Sure, I do. I'm your partner!" Ladybug said with a warm smile, which Chat returned, only briefly.

"Well, there's this girl I know. She's frequently under pressure by her friends to be nice to this other girl. I agree with them. The other girl just wants to fit in," Chat said, making Ladybug frown.

"So, you're harassing her?" Ladybug asked, making Chat look at her in alarm.

"No! I would never do that! It's just that if she was nice and took the..." Chat started but Ladybug held her hand up.

"Chat if you say high road..." Ladybug said quietly.

"What's wrong with the highroad?" Chat asked. He seemed genuinely confused and Ladybug couldn't decide if she was annoyed at him or pitied him.

"Chat... if someone was forcing you to do something that you didn't like, would you do it? Even if it cost you friendships, trust, or your mental health?" Ladybug asked.

"Well...no. but I just thought that everything would be over by now," Chat said, his ears flattening.

"Life isn't that simple. People argue. People get hurt. Look at the villains we fight. Look at Chloè. She realised how much she was hurting people and after what happened with Fu... she's really gone to change. Do you know why?" Ladybug asked gently.

"Because she realised..." Chat trailed off.

"She needed to change. The first step to realising that you have a problem, is admitting it. Some bullies realise this, but they don't want to change because they are so far gone, and they enjoy causing misery. It seems that this girl is enjoying this girl's misery. I'm really sorry to say this Chat, but it seems like those friends aren't really her friends and you're just encouraging the behaviour," Ladybug said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked so close to crying.

"I...I had no idea. I never knew it could be that bad. She'll never forgive me. I've lost a great friend. She'd defend me...but when she needed me..." Chat said, covering his face with his hands.

"She might. She might not. But if you really value her as a friend...then all you can do is try," Ladybug said kindly.

"You always know what to say," Chat said, wiping his eyes, his familiar smile returning.