Worth It

Chapter 32

At Françoise Dupont, the next day started like any other, with students bustling around, chatting and catching up before the bell rang. Nino and Alya found a quiet corner in the school courtyard, away from the bustling crowd. Nino approached his girlfriend.

"Hey, Alya, what's got you so excited this morning?" he asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

Alya's eyes were glued to her phone screen as she frantically scrolled through various news articles and social media posts. "You won't believe what happened last night, Nino! There's a new hero."

Nino leaned in, genuinely intrigued. "A new hero? Seriously?"

Alya nodded enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling. "Yes! It was hard to see the pictures clearly because of the darkness, but from what witnesses reported, this hero has some kind of cat theme going on. It's incredible!"

"Wait, Ladybug has recruited a new Chat Noir?"

Alya nodded, "yeah she must have,"

Nino couldn't help but chuckle at Alya's excitement as he sat down next to her, "Well, you're the queen of uncovering these things, Alya. Have you figured out anything about this new hero?"

Alya furrowed her brows, her fingers dancing across the screen as she continued her research. "Not yet, but I'm determined to find out more. I'm checking all the sources, looking for clues, and reaching out to eyewitnesses."

Nino sat down and put an arm around Alya's shoulder, "I wondered when Ladybug would start recruiting again. If she's found a new Chat Noir, who knows, maybe we'll be back in the game too,"

Alya gave him a small smile, "I hope so. I still wanna know why she had to take Trixx and Wayzz from us so suddenly..."

"Oh well, I'm sure we'll get an answer at some point. The news about the new Chat Noir is cool though. I didn't even notice that there was an akuma last night.

Alya snorted, "that's because you sleep like a log,"

"Who sleeps like a log?"

The couple turned towards Lila and Adrien who had just arrived.

"Nino does. He wasn't aware of the akuma last night until now. Did you two know that there's possibly a new Chat Noir too?"

Lila's brows rose in surprise and Adrien's eyes widened.

"T-there is?!" the blonde exclaimed. "A-are you... are you sure?"

Alya nodded, unaware of Adrien's connection to the former Chat Noir, "Yeah! It's all over social media,"

A pang of hurt welled up within him. A new Chat Noir? The thought of being replaced tore at him. He had hoped that one day, Ladybug would see her mistake in taking the miraculous away from him and give it back, admitting that she needed him and loved him.

"Oh yeah!" said Lila, "Ladybug had already told me all about that. I'm pretty sure they were going to make an official announcement to the city,"

Alya gasped, "Wait, have you met him already Lila?"

Lila shook her head, "No not yet. But Ladybug said she may introduce me to him. I'm not sure what his name is yet though,"

"You're so lucky. Getting the inside scoop before anyone else can. I bet he's strong,"

"Omg have you guys heard about the new chat Noir too!"

Some of the other classmates had come into the classroom overhearing the group's conversation.

"Hopefully he's better than the last Chat Noir. I can't believe it's been so long," said Mylene, "I've gotten so used to only seeing Ladybug, Ryuko and Honey Bee,"