The Salt Files (MLB)

The Path You Chose

"Lila may have lied but you chose to listen to them. You could have chosen to look up her claims, you could have chosen to ask the source, you could have even chosen to trust me and believe me!"

Or

Marinette is fed up when Alya doesn't take responsibility in bullying when Lila is exposed.

Alya sat in shock at recent events. Lila was just exposed as a liar in front of their class, and was dragged out by her mother and police officers in handcuffs. Apparenly she was charged by various things, including sexual assault, multiple forms of bullying, theft, and trauncy. All Alya could think about was that Marinette was right.

Holy shit. Marinette was right.

Alya whipped her head around the classroom, looking for the girl. But all she saw were the heartbroken faces of classmates. Rose was crying into her hands, mourning that she lost a good friend and even lost her girlfriend Juleka because of the liar. Alix sat fuming that she was gullible enough to believe everything Lila said, along with Max groaning about the napkin incident. Even Mrs. Bustier seemed distraught.

But what the blogger noticed the most was that no one else was really affected. Kim and Nino practically shrugged it off and were texting people. Mylene and Ivan weren't hurt that Lila lied about charities to them. Chloe and Sabrina were just talking and doing their nails. Even Adrien didn't care. In fact, he looked relieved. Alya didn't understand.

She got up, slamming her hands on the table. "What gives?" She asks, looking around the room.

"What do you mean, Alya?" Mrs. Bustier asked, still processing everything.

"I mean, Lila was exposed, Marinette was right, and no one seems to be taking it hard?" There were a chorus of no's, along with Rose's sniffles. "Where even is she?"

"She left after the police came in." Nino said. "You were too busy defending your 'best friend' that you didn't notice her slip out." Alya felt a pang of guilt in her gut, but washed it out with anger.

"Well, we gotta go find her! And tell her we're sorry." Adrien looked at her, and boy did he look done.

"Sorry?" He repeated coldly. His voice silenced everyone in the room. "I let her down just as much as you guys did, but I made it up with actions, not useless words." 

"How did you let her down, Adrien?" Caline asked. Adrien sighed.

"I knew Lila was lying-"

"You knew and didn't say anything?!" Alya screeched like a banshee.

"You claimed you were her best friend, yet you were one of the first to betray her! Don't come after me like you aren't to blame." The model silenced the blogger as he continued to talk. "Besides, if you didn't believe her, why would you have believed me?" A knock at the door interuppted the conversation. It was a woman and a man, both with papers in hand and stern looks on their faces.

"Good day, students. I am Mrs. Brown, I'm from the School Board. I'm here to inform you that Mrs. Bustier is no longer your teacher, based on how she handled the recent development. Your principal will also be replaced." The man cleared his throat.

"And I am Mr. Martin, the lawyer for the Dupain-Chengs." He went around and placed lawsuit papers on Alya's and the teacher's desk. He listed out everything they were being sued for while both sat in shock.

How did the day come to this?

✨✨✨

Marinette returned the next day with some pep in her step. She finally got rid of Lila, she's making everyone who wronged her pay, and now she won't have to worry about someone sabotaging her 24/7. 

She walked into the school with some whispers around her. Most people were talking about how Marinette handled the bullying and harassment, and others were bad-mouthing Lila. Not that she would do anything about it. It's not her problem anymore.

Marinette walked in front of her classroom and stopped. There were a range of possibilities that could happen, but Marinette was choosing to think about the good outcomes. She took a breathe, and walked in.

The classmates that were on her side smiled and waved at her, wishing her a good morning. Rose couldn't look her in the eye, disappointed in herself. Marinette gave her a sad smile anyways, which Rose saw and returned. Rose never did anything to her, just ignored her. So she had a chance of being forgiven one day. 

Adrien and Nino greeted her warmly with an invitation to a gaming sleepover at Chloe's. While they went over the details, Alya showed up. Suddenly, all her rage and negativity from yesterday came back.

"Marinette! Why did you just leave without saying anything?" The girl huffed. Marinette raised her eyebrow.

"Well you were so focused on Lila, I didn't think it would matter if I told you or not. Besides, I got you your proof that Lila was lying. Remember? The sources you never had?" Another pang of guilt. But Alya was stubborn. She truly didn't see herself in the wrong.

"I didn't know Lila was lying! Plus, she never had any reason to lie to us in the first place! It's not my fault." Marinette fumed. She was surprised an akuma didn't show up.

"Lila may have lied but you chose to listen to them. You could have chosen to look up her claims, you could have chosen to ask the source, you could have even chosen to trust me and believe me!" A pause to breathe. "But you didn't. You just left me, like I didn't even matter to you. You chose your path, and I chose mine." The bell rang, ending their conversation. The new teacher came in and made sure to keep them focused on the assignments.

And if Alya kept looking back begging for forgiveness, Marinette didn't bat an eye.

I hate when I get a random story idea and I can write it in a day but I get an idea awhile ago and it takes me like weeks to even write it💀

1000 words