Be Creative

Chapter 16: The Final Vote

Marinette was currently in her room, sitting in Luka's lap watching a film. After the events of the chess piece, the principle had called for the class to have a half day. It was one of his better ideas. To be honest, that isn't what bothered Marinette. What bothered her the most that while Alya didn't interview anymore people, she posted what she already had on her blog. What was interesting was that the comments had been turned off on the blog now. Either Alya was in denial of what was in the comments, or she didn't care.

"How do you think everyone is doing?" Luka asked as he took a handful of popcorn. He had been briefed about what happened and while he wasn't happy with any of them, he didn't wish harm on them.

"Okay I guess," Marinette mumbled.

"Uh oh, something is wrong. What is it my Melody? Is it Lila?" Luka asked as he held her hand.

"No, not her. It's just I overheard something the police said," Marinette said, hating herself for lying to him.

"What was it?" Luka asked curiously.

"Well, they said that the sentimonster was being controlled by someone in the school. But no one came forward. It's like they knew that they were going to be caught..." she said in concern.

"That is troubling," Luka said thoughtfully. "Should we change the subject? This seems to be distressing you."

"Yes, lets," Marinette said with a sigh. She felt Luka move slightly and then saw the light of his phone in the corner of her eyes.

"Well, we could talk about how amazing you are. Trending again," Luka said with a smile. Marinette blushed as he showed her the screen.

True to his word, all of the positive comments were flooding in. People were thanking her, posing in pictures with her messages on some paper and so much more. It warmed Marinette's heart but then she frowned. Luka must have sensed this, so he shifted his legs, making Marinette sit up.

"What is it?" he asked in concern.

"MDC is the one everyone loves. Not me. She's the one with the confidence and...well everything that I am not," Marinette said, her mind also thinking of her super alter ego. Luka took her hands in his and looked her straight in the eye.

"You are you. MDC is just a part of you. MDC is you Marinette. Your amazing qualities and skills are what people love about you. All you're using is a mask. People know you can't show yourself. But when you do, they'll still love you. But not as much as me," Luka stated, making tears appear in her eyes.

"Oh Luka," she said, leaning into kiss him but was then interrupted by a sharp cough. Both teens turned to see Morgana sitting in a chair looking bored.

"If you are quite finished," Morgana said as she tapped her tablet.

"You don't knock do you?" Luka asked with a frown.

"Your mother said I could go right in," Morgana said with a shrug.

"Of course, she did," Marinette said with a face palm. Dragging her hand down her face, she saw Morgana looking impatient. "So, what is it? You don't look happy."

"Quite the opposite," Morgana said. "I'm bursting with happiness."

"She's...joking right?" Luka asked carefully.

"Negative. Miss Tabloid has just given us even bigger ammunition," Morgana said. That made the pair sit up.

"What did she do?" Marinette asked with slight worry. After a few taps on the tablet, she held it up so they could both see, and the headline made their eyes pop.

MDC? Fashion Designer or Online Bully?

"Oh, for crying out loud," Luka said.