Noir Spots: Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty Two: Ocean’s Two and a Half
Elm trees left little room to hide behind.
Marinette learned that little tidbit through personal experience, and while that experience came with knowledge, she would have rather stayed ignorant.
Her perch on a branch was very uncomfortable—leaves poked her eyes and itched at her head, several small branches scratched at her arms.
It was worse for Chloé, who had apparently never climbed a tree before.
She sat on the same branch as Marinette, hugging the trunk of the tree like her life depended on it.
Getting out there hasn’t even been the hard part. The park was barely a street away, and know one seemed to care, or even notice, two teenagers ditching school. Mrs. Bustier didn’t see them as they walked behind her and climbed a tree. She wasn’t all that aware of her surroundings.
The walk to the park was nice and peaceful, orange and red autumn leaves fell around them, and Chloé and Marinette would try to catch them as they fell.
Marinette smiled at her friend, who knew Chloé Bourgeois would be afraid of heights? She had been fine as Queen Bee.
“Chloé?” Marinette whispered, careful to not let anyone but Chloé hear her. “Are you okay? I thought you liked heights.”
Chloé sucked in a breath and turned a little to peer at Marinette. “I’m not afraid! I just don’t like being in such an icky place!” She whisper-yelled.
That’s a load of bullshit, kid. Plagg cackled in her head.
Marinette smiled again, she was about to respond when she heard a noise of annoyance from below.
“It’s just so stupid that she said that! I can’t believe I used to be friends with someone like that! I need a dress and she just won’t make me one? What the hell!” Alya’s angry grumble came from below.
Marinette rolled her eyes, an attempt to cover the hurt from someone she once considered her best friend.
To get the twitch out of her eye, Marinette enacted her plan. She nodded to Chloé, who grinned like a shark. Marinette began to crawl down the tree, making sure she wasn’t seen.
Marinette knew everything about all her classmates, including that Alya always, always, sat down when she was on a call. She had spent weeks learning everything she possibly could about her classmates so that she would never do anything one of them would dislike. She had stopped after the Lila fiasco, and after a while that knowledge sat in her head to rot.
She didn’t think it would ever be useful, but now it finally was. Being obsessive over all her friends had finally paid off.
Chloé whipped out Alya’s phone and dialed quickly, she was smiling so much Marinette thought her smile might start to hurt.
One ring. Two rings. Three.
“Who the fuck is this?” Alya growled and sat down on the bench, crossing her legs and glaring at nothing.
“Did you never learn to answer the phone politely?” Chloé scoffed.
Marinette felt a smile tug at her lips.
She dropped to the ground without a sound and peaked behind the tree to watch Alya.
“Chloé? Why do you have my phone!” Alya asked—or rather, yelled.
She quickly quieted and hid her phone when Mrs. Bustier looked over.
Marinette crawled out from behind the tree. The bench Alya sat on was by the next tree over. She only had to crawl a few feet without anyone noticing her.
The only problem: that few feet was open space, and right next to where Kim and Alix were playing soccer.
She would need a distraction. if only she had her Lucky Charm. But she was still Ladybug, even if she wasn’t wearing the mask.
Right?
She scanned Kim’s posture. He was leaning on his right foot, Marinette knew he favored his left for kicking because of the sprain he had in his right the year before. Alix had dared him to jump from a tree and he landed on his leg, spraining it. Now, he was getting ready to kick.
The angle was steady, ready to kick between the two trash cans they were using as goals. Marinette knew Alix was easily distracted, she was there when Alix was diagnosed with ADHD. One small noise and she would change her position from prepared to preoccupied.
Marinette grabbed a rock from the ground, she waited just one moment…now!
Right as Kim kicked the ball, Marinette threw the rock at the one of the trash cans that made up Alix’s goal.
A loud clang was heard, distracting Alix. Kim kicked the ball directly into her head, where it bounced off and directly into Nino’s back. He fell forward onto Alya, who yelled out and fell from the bench. the weight of her boyfriend knocking her over and onto the ground. The phone flew from her hand.
In the chaos, Marinette darted forward and snatched it before it hit the grass.
Marinette heard a sharp laugh from Chloé’s hiding spot and grinned. The phone was in her grasp, all she had to do was delete the photo.
She couldn’t help the little cheer she let out.
The cheer that got her caught.
As it turned out, during her celebration, the chaos calmed down and Alya had started to search for her phone.
And found it in Marinette’s hand.
“Marinette!” Alya screamed. “Why do you have my phone? And how did you even get out here!”
Marinette fumbled, standing so she could be face to face with her former friend. “Uh, I walked.”
Alya’s face was turning the same shade as the grape jelly tarts her dad loved. “You know that’s not what I—“
“Oh, shut up, Cesaire.” Chloé’s voice flooded through the phone. She definitely didn’t sound as panicked as Marinette felt.
She hopped down from the tree and stalked forward , gracefully—like a panther.
“But you have my phone!” She shrieked.
“I thought I told you to leave your phones in the classroom, kids.” Mrs. Bustier said, walking over and towering over Alya.
Alya whipped around, “It’s not my fault! I was worried about leaving it there with Marinette! She once stole Adrien’s phone!”
Marinette turned bright red and clenched the phone a little tighter. She glanced at Adrien who was staring at her with an indecipherable expression on his face. She didn’t look at Chloé.
“Marinette,” Mrs. Bustier started. “Why do you have Alya’s phone?”
Marinette look up at her, was Mrs. Bustier always this tall?
“I was only picking it up so that I could give it back to her.” She whispered, attempting to sound pitiful and kind.
Mrs. Bustier nodded, hoping this meant Marinette was going back to her old ways. She didn’t ask why Chloé and Marinette were in the park instead of the classroom. They had probably just come down to apologize.
“Okay then. Marinette, you can give me Alya’s phone, I’m going to keep it for the rest of the day. . Alya, you have detention for breaking my rule.”
Did—did that just work? Tikki asked, her voice high and confused.
I have no fucking clue. But now Bustier has Alya’s phone. And my video.
Think, think, think, how do you get it back? Marinette thought to herself.
“Mrs. Bustier!” Chloé called out, stepping forward with a determined look on her face. “I think that Alya was taking pictures of Marinette and I in class. I never gave her permission and I’d like to be able to delete them myself. I’ll feel a lot safer that way.”
Marinette blinked a few times, maybe she was hearing things wrong. Alya hadn’t taken any pictures of them.
Marinette. Think about it. She’s helping. Tikki said.
Mrs. Bustier gasped. “Alya, why would you do such a thing?”
Alya spluttered, face turning even redder. “I didn’t—“
“I’m sorry to cause trouble, but I’m just worried about what she’s going to do with the pictures she took, what if it’s something bad?” Chloé sniffed and hugged herself.
Marinette couldn’t help but think she’d had practice with this kind of thing before.
“Oh, of course, Chloé!” Mrs. Bustier handed over the phone like it didn’t contain Marinette's biggest secret.
Chloé shot Marinette a triumphant look and handed her the phone once Mrs. Bustier returned to her bench.
Marinette deleted the video from the phone, then from the cloud. It was officially gone.
She deleted her number too.
—-
sorry it’s later than usually, I was feeling pretty idea blocked
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