Over the next couple days, there were, fortunately, no akuma attacks. Whatever had gotten into Hawk Moth's head sending all those akumas, he must've calmed down a bit. It was better that way. It gave Marinette less time to be distracted by Cat Noir's presence, and more time to think about his words.
She found herself constantly mulling over their conversation and couldn't help but feel frustrated by it. He was trying, somehow, to mend her relationship with someone he probably hardly knew instead of accepting her love, even though that's what he wanted all along. At the same time, she felt that he was right. She did need to resolve her issues with Adrien before she could really move on, so she could be sure she was motivated by love and not by sorrow and desperation.
Anytime she tried to imagine a conversation with Adrien, though, her attitude soured again. She tried again and again to conjure up a justification for his actions, but was just drawing a blank. No reason she could think of satisfied her, and some only made her angrier. That morning, as she mulled over this inevitable encounter, wondering if or when it would even happen, she got her answer.
First day of school next week, a student came in that didn't look familiar at first. Despite the warm weather, he wore a grey hoodie with the hood up, covering most of his face. He looked like he was trying to be inconspicuous, despite the conspicuous nature of his mode of dress, as he moved to take the seat in front of her. Even before he sat, though, she had seen a few stray, blond hairs poking out and the hint of green eyes. Adrien.
Her first thought on seeing him back at school was anger. As much as she wanted to give him a chance, putting behind her the way he made her feel that night was not easy. Seeing him now stirred up all those negative feelings anew, despite how much she had prepared herself to accept an apology. She wished for him to hurt like she hurt, even though she knew it was wrong. But if he's back in school, she reasoned, there's a chance I can talk to him, and I can finally move on.
Adrien took a deep breath before reentering his classroom. Nathalie was not doing any better, so he was back at school this week. It was the only opportunity he would have to talk to Marinette, but he was worried about how she would react to seeing him again. Sitting right in front of her with how she was feeling was probably distracting and he had no desire to cause her any more problems than he already had. So, in order to try and reduce the impact of his presence, he was wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up.
It was a warm day and he was sweating buckets as he walked in, but he persisted in keeping the hood up and his head down. Marinette was already there, watching him enter, but he avoided making any eye contact with her. He did see a brief flash of recognition, and a spark of anger, but he quickly turned away. As much as he wanted to look at her, he knew it wasn't time yet. He had to wait, as hard as it was.
Marinette wasn't the only one watching him, he realized. Mylène and Alix were already there and both seemed to have noticed him, as well as Rose and Juleka at the back. All four of them were staring daggers at them. Their glares were so intense he was almost worried they would actually attack him. Marinette must've told them, he realized, suddenly feeling the heat of their anger as sweat rolled down his forehead, this will be harder than I realized…
Still, it was his only opportunity. Whatever it took, he would repair his relationship with Marinette. They were meant to be together, he could feel it, now he just had to make it happen. Then we can finally move forward together.