The Salt Files: Additional Cases (MLB)

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Juleka's eyes widened as she looked at Alya. The girl had the audacity to look down in shame. Juleka got up and walked out of the room, but not before stopping in front of Alya. "Was it worth it? Are you satisfied enough for your project now?" Alya's eyes widened as the goth girl gave her the iciest glare and walked out of the room.

Juleka never came back either. Ms. Bustier came in saying she was called out for being sick. Alya knew the truth, but the friendship was something she had to sacrifice. Once everything is together, everything would be alright again. This will all be worth it in the end.

At least, that's what Alya kept telling herself.

😈😈😈

Lila kept switching targets after that. She figured if one quiet person was going to stand up to her, she has to silence the other ones as well. She went after Nath next, but not directly. No, she went to lengths where she knew it would hurt them.

She went after Marc.

And after she got through with him, he ended up with a broken list and a request from Lila to mind his business. When Nath found out, he confronted her immediately, not caring who was watching. But she just laughed it off and played the victim, claiming that he was taking his anger out on her as an innocent bystander. Alya backed her up, which earned her another glare and possible friend loss, but she ignored it.

Next was Mylene and Ivan. The duo were noticing a pattern, but weren't going to confront in a crowd. They decided to do it privately, but after an event they were going to attend. Alya suspected something was up and told Lila that those two seemed suspicious, but Lila played it off with being shook up with the class drama and to not worry about it.

Later on, Mylene was quieter and her mood was more dimmed as Ivan held her. Apparently their items for their charity event were destroyed just before the event, so they couldn't contribute like they wanted to. Their group said it was alright and that they already did enough, but that didn't help their guilt. They decided they would contribute more next time and take extra precautions with their projects. But it was still suspicious to the others.

By now Adrien had returned from a modeling gig in London with his cousin, not knowing of all the class drama. Marinette pulled him away immediately and filled him in, knowing he had no time to check his phone over his break. As soon as Marinette was done filling him in on everything, he took a breath and said:

"We need to take her down."

"Actually, I think someone else is going to solve the situation for us." Adrien raised his eyebrow. Marinette shrugged. "Juleka mentioned awhile ago that Alya started paying closer attention to Lila, which makes me think she knows that she's lying."

"Why don't we just confront her?"

"Aren't you the one who wanted to remain out of it? Lies don't hurt anyone, remember?" Adrien winced, not realizing then how bad things had gotten.

"Okay, what do you suggest?"

"Nothing." His jaw flew open.

"W-what do you mean nothing? You bring up all this information and then say we plan to do nothing?!"

"Well that's what you were gonna do anyways. Besides, Alya's been ruining herself while doing this project." Adrien went quiet, urging her to continue. "At every new target, Alya hasn't tried to hide that she's the one responsible. She has betrayed the trust of several people, and trust is a very fragile thing. Even though she's doing this to expose the lies, that doesn't mean she would regret anything. That also means she won't offer any apologies. On top of that, she never told anyone what she was planning, which is why this would all feel genuine." Marinette took a breath. "And with the abundance of this information, I think she did the same thing to me too. And I know I wouldn't forgive her easily, if I ever do. And honestly, I don't think I will."