Nino had been miserable for several days now. He and Alya had just broken up. He had realized that Lila was lying about everything and tried to warn Alya. After all, Alya had been posting Lila’s lies on her blog without fact-checking. That could ruin Alya’s credibility and really damage her chances of becoming a journalist. He had pulled Alya aside after school one day to warn her privately. “Alya, you need to hear this. Lila has been lying to you; to all of us. You should pull down those interviews with her from your blog, they could hurt your reputation.” Alya got an irritated look on her face, “Nino, did Marinette get to you? Lila wouldn’t lie to us; we are all friends. How could you accuse Lila without any proof?” Nino, admittedly, got a little defensive at this comment, “What do you mean what proof do I have? What proof do you have that she is telling the truth? Proof is a two-way street, and you are a journalist. Where are your sources?” To say the conversation devolved from there would be an understatement. It ended with the young couple breaking up and more than a few tears being shed on both sides.
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For the next several days after the confrontation, Nino was miserable. He was taking the break up pretty hard. Eventually, his friends got tired of seeing him mope. Adrien, and Marinette invite him to a music festival that weekend, hoping it might get Nino out of his funk. They knew he had really wanted to go to this festival, and that he was a fan of several of the artists that were playing there. But when they got there, while Nino was enjoying himself, he couldn’t help but feel like a third wheel. Marinette was having a hard time hiding her crush, and Adrien was still being dense, but it felt like Nino had crashed a date. So, he made an excuse to the two and wondered off on his own. It was then that he met Emilia. They were both listening to the same person’s set and just started talking. The end of the festival felt like it came too quickly, but soon it was the end of the day and everyone had to leave. Nino and Emilia ended up exchanging phone numbers and promising to talk soon. Nino left the festival a lot happier than when he arrived.
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Over the next several days, Nino’s mood continued to improve. He was constantly smiling and seemed to be much happier. He and Emilia had been texting everyday since the festival and had grown quite close. They were constantly texting, and anytime his phone went off with another text notification, his smile grew wider. This did not escape the class’ notice and they started hounding him for details. “Who is she?” “Where did you meet?” “What is she like?” Nino was very tight lipped about the whole thing. He did tell them that her name was Emilia and that she was very kind and really like music too. The class kept pestering him until one day he told them, “Since you dudes keep bugging me, me and Emilia are going on our first date.” Most of the class, except for Alya and Lila, got really excited hearing that. Alya was unhappy that her ex already had a new date, and Lila was ‘supporting her bestie’. The class pressed Nino for details and he revealed, “We are going to that little café near the Louvre at 3pm next Saturday.” The class was very happy for Nino and kept talking with him for the rest of the day.
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Adrien and Marinette were very excited for their friend. They also wanted to make sure that the date goes smoothly. They thought the best way to know how the date goes, is to be there themselves. They spent the rest of the week coming up with their plan. When Saturday came, Adrien and Marinette arrived at the café about ten minutes after Nino or Emilia sat down, and slipped into booth so that Nino had his back to them. They were far enough away that they hoped the couple wouldn’t notice them, but close enough that they could still hear what they were saying. What Adrien and Marinette hadn’t anticipated was the arrival of Luka. Luka walked into the café and immediately noticed Marinette and Adrien trying to be discrete. He walked over to their booth, and Marinette immediately dragged him down into the booth. She quietly explained the situation to Luka, and he decided to stay for the rest of the date as well.
