18Sorry there hasn't been an update in a while, my account glitched out so I couldn't receive this chapter from IrishDreamer. I think I got my account fixed so I hope this chapter actually posts. Hope you enjoy, once again sorry. Bug Out.
"I can't believe she left!"
"Alya, she said she'll be back on the weekends unless she's busy."
"How can she leave me? Leave us?"
"It's a good school for her." "We were getting back together!" "You make it sound like you were dating."
"She's gone for good!"
"Alya, calm down!"
"I lost my best friend! If only I never listen to that lying piece of-"
"ALYA!"
Marinette ended up deciding to go to Olympe. For the past week, Alya was freaking out about it, irritating her friends.
"Martinette made the right decision. We know her, she'll balance her new life with us." Adrien assured.
Alya quieted down but she was still worried.
The first Friday after Marinette left, she came back.
And with a friend.
"Marinette!" Alya exclaimed when she saw her dear friend standing outside the school at the end of the day.
Alya flew down the steps but stopped when she saw Marinette's new friend.
A girl with long hair in a mix of black, brown and caramel, all in curly twisted box-braids, dark skin smooth to the touch, big pretty violet eyes, and grinning plum-coloured lips. Her thin, slender body donned a large lavender hoodie, black tight pants, white sneakers and a purple beanie on her head.
"Guys, this is my new friend and roommate, Vanessa. She's a dancing student at Olympe."
"Hello." Vanessa greeted in a British accent.
Everyone greeted back to her. Well, almost everyone.
Juleka froze to the spot, her eyes wide as bowls. She felt as if she was struck by lightning once she landed eyes on Vanessa. Her heart throbbed, her heartstring tugged, she fell deaf to the world yet she clearly heard a melody ringing in her ears. Light music with a beat that people can dance to.
Vanessa shook hands with each and every one of Marinette's past classmates, and then came onto Juleka at the end. When the girl in purple moved, Juleka imagined her moving in slow motion, her hair flying about, a soft purple background with white sparkles around. As she stared at her, the most beautiful girl she has ever seen, Juleka was washed with strong feelings she never felt before.
"Hello?" Vanessa said, sounding confused by Juleka's strangeness toward her.
Juleka opened her mouth but words of gibberish fell out and her face twitched in weird expressions to match.
weird expressions to match. And then she ran off, leaving Vanessa bewildered.
"…I don't think she likes me." Vanessa remarked.
Rose, Alix, and Mylene chased after their friend, finding her taking deep breaths behind a wall.
"Juleka! Are you ok?" Rose asked her best friend worriedly.
"I am such an idiot!" Juleka wailed. "She graced us with her saintly presence for she is a princess who came out of her castle for a day of mingling with us commoners but I humiliated myself, I got possessed by anxiety soaring down on me and I was forced to flee, so now she thinks I loathe her!"
Her friends were surprised to hear her give a loud and long rant.
"She just said hello to you." Mylene pointed out.
"OH her voice! Every word she said is a gift from Heaven, an angel of justice, soaring down to strike mortals of malice, a goddess of dedicated worship!"
"Why are you talking like Marinette? You know, when she's talking about Adr-" Rose halted her questions when she came onto a realisation, a big smile blooming as a result. "Oh my God, you're in love with Vanessa! This is great!"
Alix scoffed. "Great? How? Marinette couldn't string two words to Adrien, how is Juleka acting the same with Vanessa great?"
Mylene said nothing as she waved her hand in front of Juleka's face, the latter staring at Vanessa with a lovestruck grin and goo-goo eyes.
"Hey, Marinette, I was wondering if we could have a sleepover tonight?" Alya suggested to Marinette. "We can catch up, watch your favourite movies-"
"I can't, Alya, I promise to show Vanessa around. She's been stuck in Olympe ever since she arrived in Paris 5 months ago, and I have to catch up on my costume design homework."
"For the whole weekend?"
"Yeah, sorry."
Alya clenched her teeth, getting jealous that Vanessa can sleep over at Marinette's house for the whole weekend while she couldn't get one night.
Her anger rose higher when she saw the girl who possessed Marinette's time talking to her boyfriend.
"So you're a dancing student at Olympe?" Nino inquired.
"Yep! Give me a song and I'll move to the groove!"
"I just made a new song."
"Cool! I love a challenge! Just play it and I'll dance."
Nino played his new song on his phone, turning up the volume. Vanessa twitched her limbs, getting the rhythm, gradually starting to dance. All eyes on her, she simply danced her heart out, moving like a robot on the dance floor. Without shame, she took off her beanie and hoodie, revealing a purple sports bra and continued her amazing dancing, tossing her clothing to Marinette.
Juleka had no shame in drooling over Vanessa dancing (and stripping.)
Vanessa switched her robot dance to doing flexes and acrobatics that would make people suspect her of secretly Ladybug. She flipped, she ran, she skidded, she spinned, she wowed her audience.
"She's awesome!" Nino complimented, unknowing making Alya growl.
Not everyone.
Vanessa suddenly leapt, spun in midair, and landed perfectly on the ground on her back in a catlike position without a broken bone or muscle injury.
"OH MY GOD!"
"AWESOME!"
Vanessa reached up and Marinette pulled her up, handing her back her hoodie and beanie. Immediately, Vanessa was surrounded by adoring fans.
"That was AMAZING!"
"I only seen dancers like you on YouTube!"
The dancer smile humbly. "Thanks, mate. Marinette said I'm just almost as good as Ladybird."
Everyone got confused. "Ladybird?"
"Bug! Its Lady-bug!" Marinette corrected.
"I'm British, we call them Ladybirds!" Vanessa retorted, grinning. Then her phone rang, playing a HipHop beat. She took her lavender phone from her hoodie's pocket but frowned at the caller ID. "Oh Buddha."
"What?"
"I gotta take this."
Vanessa walked away, hiding beside the school's stairway before she answered the call.
"Yes, dad?"
A man's voice roared from her phone. "Vanessa Jane Diana Camberwell, I received word that you are outside of your private school!"
"Dad, I'm perfectly fine! I'm staying with my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My new roommate, remember?"
"The fashion designing student?"
"No, the bomb-making one."
"Don't sass me, young lady."
"Marinette is a good person, she's the best friend I ever had. Her parents are good people. I will send you their number if you want to talk to them."
"I will. I know you will disobey me if I tell you to go back to Olympe so please just stay with Marinette and return on Sunday?"
"I will. Love you, daddy!"
"I love you too, my little caterpillar."
Her father hung up. Vanessa sighed of relief.
"Vanessa Jane Diana Camberwell?"
Vanessa jumped and turned, finding everyone staring at her.
"Uh…"
"I know that name!" Chloé cried. "You're the daughter of Mayor Lulworth Camberwell of London! And you're the half-sister to Crystal, the movie star!"
"That's probably a coincidence." Alya said.
"No, I'm really am related to the Camberwell family. The mayor's my dad and Crystal is my older sister." Vanessa confessed.
Almost everyone burst into excitement.
"Oh my God!"
"That's not true." Alya kept saying.
"You want me to call my dad again? My sister? I got the pictures to prove it."
Vanessa displayed photos on her phone to curious eyes.
"Wow, you even met President Obama!"
"I'm surprised you didn't know. My father is the mayor of London. He has to meet the world's official leaders after they were elected, families included."
"You went to Fiji, the Bahamas, and Greece!"
"You're supposed to go exotic places for holidays. Anywhere but home.
"You were in Missus Edwards' music videos!"
"Her recorder producer is my sister's boyfriend."
"You obviously photoshopped those images!" Alya accused. Even with the proof in her face, she was blind to it.
"Alya, what is with you today?" Chloe demanded. "Marinette is back and she has a famous friend! Be happy for her and us!"
"She could be lying!"
"She has proof! Pictures, interviews, phone numbers and calls! She was on the photo shoots with her sister! She even starred in a few music videos! Heck, even her sister's boyfriend is a record producer."
"Allan Gavroche!" Nino pipped up. The man was his idol.
Almost immediately, the kids bombarded Vanessa with requests to introduce them to her famous connections but she outright refused them.
"I am not a cow for milking. Quit being so greedy. My full name always comes up and I get beggars gnawing at my feet for favours! You have no idea how much of a burden I have."
"Yeah, I do. Try being Gabriel Agreste's son." Adrien said. "I never told anyone before but it is annoying to have people clinging onto you just for show."
"I know, right?"
Vanessa got along with Adrien over the strict lives they shared but then Alya got in between them.
"Hands off him! He's Marinette's and Nino is mine!" Alya shouted at Vanessa who just stared at her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Alya!" Marinette pulled Alya back. "Alya, why are you acting so jealous?"
"Jealous? I am not jealous! I'm just warning you she's not to be trusted! Next thing you know, she's claiming to be Ladybug!"
"I doubt that. Vanessa couldn't even say her name right. And she's black, Ladybug is white."
"She could argue that superheroes will go through great lengths to hide their true identities! She could steal Nino away from me like she did with you!"
"Vanessa is gay! She likes girls, not boys! She's not stealing Nino, she's being nice to him, she's friendly! She likes to dance and he likes making music, they get along great! And she didn't steal me away from you, you did that yourself! I tried to warn you about Lila and you said I was being jealous. Now you're acting on your words by acting jealous about Vanessa. Vanessa is a wonderful person, she's not like Chloé and definitely not like Lila."
"I am not jealous!"
"Then we're obviously not meant to be friends. You couldn't seen the truth if it's standing right in front of you. I honestly thought you and Vanessa get along great. Guess I was wrong big time. Vanessa, lets go home."
Marinette stormed off to the bakery, dragging Vanessa and leaving Alya guilty.
"I gotta make this right." She said.
