Jerk in Sheep's Clothing

Trapped

For thirty seconds after Henri had made his exit, Adrien felt numb. His back was pressed up against the wall as he heaved heavy breaths, feeling like all the wind had been knocked right out of him. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He couldn't remember going into one of the stalls, or sitting on the toilet. All he knew was that one second, he was on the wall, and the next, he was locked in, trying in vain to catch his breath, feeling as if his entire body was about to fall apart at the seams.

Plagg quickly flew out and looked at his chosen, his wide eyes, the shaky way he breathed, how he was fighting to keep it together. This was an anxiety attack if the black kwami had ever seen one. And being alive for almost all of existence, he had seen plenty.

"Kid, calm down.", he said, trying to soothe his shaken holder. No matter how many holders he went through, this part of the job never got any easier. "Its gonna be okay..."

"No, Plagg!", burst out Adrien, his eyes becoming wet. "Its not gonna be okay! He's gonna turn Marinette against me!"

"Adrien, that won't happen!", said Plagg. "You said so yourself, Marinette's your friend! She wouldn't believe some petty liar over you!" "But she doesn't know he's a liar!", Adrien reminded him. "You heard him! If he can convince her that the rest of the class is out to get him, who's to say he can't do the same to me?!"

Adrien held his head in his hands. "Plagg, what I am gonna do?! If I lose Marinette, I'll...I'll die!"

Plagg gave him a strange look.

"Okay, maybe not literally, but I'll die on the inside!"

He tried in vain to catch his breath.  "How did this happen, Plagg?!  How did that two-faced snake weasel his way into Marinette's heart?  How did he gain so much influence over her that she believes that our whole class is out to get him?!"

Plagg looked about, seeming a tad nervous.  "Well...I don't know if its just a hunch, but...something tells me its got something to do with that Lila chick."

Adrien raised his head to look at him.  "Lila?  What does she have to do with this?"

Plagg looked back at his holder.  "She said so herself, the class has been kinda cold to her lately.  I don't think you've noticed, since you've got a lot on your plate, what with dealing with akumas and keeping up with the lifestyle your dad puts you through, all while staying on top of your schoolwork so he doesn't pull you out of public school...but the other kids have been kinda distant towards her since that Rossi girl came back."

Adrien thought back carefully to the weeks at school in between Lila's return and Henri's transfer.  In his mind's eye, he started to see the tension play out as the memories replayed in his head like a movie.  The strained smiles, the thick air between both parties, the somewhat cold demeanor between Marinette and her friends.  He had not payed it any mind at the time, because he hadn't thought it of it as anything serious.  After all, this was Marinette!  Their everyday Ladybug!  The sweetest, kindest, most likable girl ever known!  Nothing could sour her friends on her...right?

But the dots were slowly starting to connect.  This would explain why Marinette was so dead-set on exposing Lila the day she came back.  It wasn't just about the seat.  It was about more.  But if that had been true, why hadn't she told him so?  Than again, they weren't that close.  These thoughts haunted Adrien.

He looked back at Plagg with fear in his eyes.  "Plagg...did I make a mistake?  Not outing Lila?"

Plagg shook his head.  "I dunno, kiddo.  All I know is that, there's no way Marinette would fall under such manipulation under normal circumstances.  So something wonky must be afoot.  I think you should start looking closer.  I don't think everything is what it seems."

Adrien stiffened.  Now he felt even worse.  He had only allowed Lila to continue lying because he thought her lies were doing no harm.  But what if they had been?  That would mean he had been letting her get away with hurting Marinette.  He had allowed one of his best friends to get hurt.  The very thought made him feel rotten.
-----------------
When Adrien returned to class, he saw Nino sitting in his usual seat.  He looked for Marinette, but she was nowhere to be seen.  Neither was Henri.  Probably not a good sign.  As he slid behind his desk, he noticed Alya standing by the doorway, brown eyes sad as she waited.

Moments later, in came Marinette, helping Henri limp into the room.  She looked up to see Alya standing there and shot her a frosty glare.  Ivan and Kim ran up to stand behind Alya as she gave a sheepish look at their class representative.

"Marinette...can we talk about what happened earlier?"

Marinette quirked one brow.  "That depends.  Are you guys gonna apologize to Henri for what you did?"

"We didn't do anything!", cried Kim in frustration.  "He's the one who faking being hurt to get you on his side!"

"Yeah!", said Ivan.  "He lied about me, then Kim!"

Alya shot her friend a pleading look.  "Marinette, you've gotta believe me!  I would never tell lies about someone!  Especially if you really liked them!  I'm your best friend!"

Marinette shook her head.  "I wish I could believe that, Alya."

If she had slapped Alya right in the face, the Creole girl could not have looked more shocked and wounded.

Marinette looked away, helping Henri towards the stairs.  "You can have your seat back.", she said, still not looking at Alya.  "Henri and I will sit in the back.  Its more comfortable there, anyway.  Besides, I want to sit with my boyfriend.  You'd understand that, wouldn't you?"

Everyone watched sadly as Marinette helped her boyfriend up the stairs, not looking any of them in the face.  She helped him into his seat and slipped off her bag, rummaging through it.  While her head was turned, Henri took the opportunity to grin nastily at the class.  Ivan growled loudly, causing Marinette look at him with wide eyes.

"Ivan, what are you doing?"

A whimper came from Henri, and she looked back to see him staring back at Ivan with glassy, wounded-deer eyes.

Mari whipped her head back at the taller boy and narrowed her eyes at him.  "Ivan!  That was so mean!"

"But...But...", Ivan stammered, unsure of what to say that could relieve the tension between him and Marinette.

Marinette turned to her boyfriend and stroked his arm to console him.  "Its okay.  Just ignore them.  They're just being jerks."

Adrien's heart sank.  With his acting skills, his charisma, and the sway he seemed to have on her, Henri was truly a promising threat to Marinette's friendships with the rest of them.