mind over mask

one

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Friends are such a finicky thing for Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

But it's not her fault, not in the slightest.

She used to be class president, she used to be called "our every day ladybug," and she used to care.

That was years ago.

And how should I know?

I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

I'll spare you "I'm an ordinary girl" crap, because I'm not.

As Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I'm a nobody. But as Ladybug, I'm the protector of Paris. Each identity was a part of me, and I had done some pretty incredible things. I also had enough secrets and problems to last me several lifetimes.

I mean, it all started when I became Ladybug.

At first, I loved it. I still do. But I didn't have to be as responsible, I was still a kid. School was going well, I had good friends, and I was on top of the world.

Everything was perfect.

But as Hawkmoth stepped up, so did I. Everything in my life began to escalate. Even worse, Lila Rossi entered my life.

My ex-best friend, Alya Cesaire, betrayed me in the worst of ways, taking a stranger's words over my own. But who didn't believe Lila Rossi?

I could count the amount of people on one hand. In our senior class of high school, it was me, Chloe, and Adrien. And honestly, we were the unlikeliest of trios.

I used to be mortal enemies with Chloe as we both fought for Adrien's attention. But I realized it was a silly crush, and I got over him. He's not my type. Ironically, he had too much of a golden retriever personality for me. Adrien was a good friend, but he could never mean more to me.

Chloe on the other hand, we had never gotten along since practically birth. But when Lila came along, we weren't at each other's throats anymore. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We became best friends after Sabrina also left her to become one of Lila's sheeps.

Kagami and Luka didn't believe the liar either, but they had both graduated last year. Now, Luka was touring with his father, Jagged Stone, as his lead guitarist and back up vocalist. Kagami became a professional fencer, and traveled to world to gain her international status through tournaments. We barely saw them, much less at the same time.

But they weren't the only famous ones, remember?

Adrien was still a model for his father, and Chloe's father was still the mayor of Paris.

And I had worked diligently as a designer, when I wasn't in school or when I wasn't Ladybug.

I became MDC. World renowned and recognized fashion designer. MDC was another mask for me to use. According to the media outlets, MDC was anonymous, and many called her a recluse because she never attended any public events. Her work has been recognized by Audrey Bourgeois and Gabriel Agreste, without them knowing MDC's true identity, their kid's classmate.

But I preferred it this way, the anonymity gave a sense of comfort. Which meant that way my class wouldn't suck up to me after years of constant harassment and bullying telling me sweet, sickly lies so they would get free designs. Or, if they didn't believe that I was MDC, or they would call me a liar, an attention grabber, a fake.

Keeping secrets is the only way to stay safe.

Adrien and Chloe knew I was MDC, but honestly I thought it was kinda obvious because I made Adrien as hat once to model, and designed a cover for Jagged Stone before I even started my brand.