Jerk in Sheep's Clothing

Stripping Away Delusions

"I just don't know what to think, dude.", said Nino as he walked Adrien to fencing practice.  "I mean, I know Alya really cares about Mari, and she didn't really mean what she said.  She just gets lost in the heat of the moment.  She's impulsive like that.  But...that doesn't mean what she said wasn't mean.  I mean, she pretty much called Marinette a lovesick looney-toon."

Adrien sighed.  "I think the real problem is that Alya's also stubborn.  She doesn't like to admit she was wrong, about anything.  But what I'm really wondering is how Marinette got that video in the first place."

"Dude!  Isn't it obvious?!", exclaimed Nino.  "It was Henri!  He's had it in for Alya—for all of us—ever since he stole her seat, because we want to expose him to Mari!"

"But Nino...how did he even know Alya was bashing Marinette to begin with?", said Adrien.

Nino's face went neutral.

"I mean you saw the video.", Adrien explained.  "Her green-stained pants proved that it was after the paint can incident.  Marinette left the room with Henri.  I saw her leave the school with right after the incident.  And no one was in the room but Alya and Lila.  So how did Henri know what she was saying or where she was when she was saying it?  None of us knew."

Nino's eyes went wide as it sank in.  "Dude...you're right.  No one could have known what Alya said.  Well, except Lila."

Now it was Adrien's eyes that went wide.  "Lila?"

"Yeah, she was in the room, too.  She was the only other one there.  But it couldn't have been her, dude.  She and Alya are friends.  And even if if they weren't, Lila would never do something like that to anyone.  She's way too nice."

Adrien's brain started it wrack itself with doubts and suspicions.  His mind flashed back to the bathroom stall after Henri's first threat to stay away from Marinette, Plagg's words about Lila possibly having something to do with Marinette's blind trust in the new guy echoing in his ear.

Adrien thought back to the flicker of glee on Lila's face.  What if he hadn't imagined it?  What if she had leaked the video to Marinette to get her to cut ties with Alya?  If she had, then Plagg's theory about her not being so innocent made more sense.

"Are...Are you sure?"

Nino looked back at him, one brow raised.  "About what?"

"Are you sure that Lila couldn't have leaked the video?  I mean, like you said, she was the only other one in the room when it happened."

Nino groaned, to his surprise.  "Oh man, not you, too!  You're starting to sound like Marinette?"

Now Adrien was deeply invested.  "What do you mean?  How?!"

"Tell you later, dude.  Right now, we're here."

Adrien hadn't noticed that they had arrived at the fencing grounds, to engrossed in the conspiracy theory that was Lila Rossi and Henri LeRoi.  But right now, he would have to wait for more intel from Nino until practice ended.
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"Engarde!"

Sabers clinked together and swished through the air, each opponent locked in battle, not showing any weakness.  Nino sat on the benches, leaning forward, the intensity of the battle having him on the edge of his seat.

Just then, a thick, cold hand fell upon his shoulder, the touch hard and heartless.  Tensing up, Nino's eyes wandered beside him to see no other but Henri LeRoi himself, giving his signature cruel smirk.

"Hello, Lahiffe."

"You!  Dude, what are you doing here?"

"None of your beeswax, Scarecrow."  Henri loves calling Nino that name because of his thin, scrawny frame and spindly arms and legs.