The two of them stood together, facing each other but not quite looking at one other. Marinette waited for Adrien to say something, anything, to break the silence. Instead he just looked around nervously, scratching at his neck for a good minute.

"I thought you wanted to talk," she said finally, probably coming across a little more rudely than she intended.

"Yeah, of course," he said, snapping back to reality, "Let's find somewhere to talk."

"Not the park," Marinette said quickly. She had hardly been there at all since that night, and she definitely was not ready to go there with him.

"Right," Adrien looked scared out of his wits, "How about the Seine?"

Marinette nodded her consent and the two headed out, crossing the street and descending the stairs to the riverbank. There they sat down on a bench as the awkward silence returned.

"I'm not going to just sit here all day," Marinette said eventually. I might've once, but not anymore.

"I know," Adrien sighed, "I… just don't know… how to start."

"Start with why you went on a date with me," Marinette said, "when you were in love with someone else." She meant for it to sound accusatory, but she found her voice started quivering.

"Okay," Adrien sounded nervous, "There was this girl that I… I had a crush on. But I was starting to realize I didn't have a chance with her and… it was time to move on."

Adrien sounded honest enough, but there was definitely something he was hiding. Marinette bit back the desire to ask who it was, trying to convince herself it didn't matter.

"That was when you asked me out," Adrien went on, "and I realized that I l… Uh, like you, really like you, so I said yes."

Marinette felt her heart skip a beat as Adrien stuttered. Was he about to say he… he loves me?

"But then I kept thinking about La… Uh, the other girl on our date, so I thought I hadn't gotten over her yet. It felt dishonest to date you if I was still hung up on this other girl, and that's why…" he trailed off, his eyes downcast, regret evident in every line of his face.

He sounded honest enough. This explanation certainly made a lot more sense than Adrien secretly being cruel and heartless, and it fit better than any of the explanations Marinette had thought up. She realized then that Cat Noir was right when he said she shouldn't date him when she still had feelings for someone else. Apparently, that's what Adrien tried to do, and it didn't end well.

"I understand if you hate me now," Adrien went on, giving her a sideways glance, "You have every right to. Just know that I'm sorry, and that… I wish… that things weren't over between us." There was a brief pause between them as Adrien waited for a response and Marinette tried to digest this new information.

"I don't hate you," Marinette said softly after some consideration, "Not anymore at least. And I think I can forgive you, but…" She looked over and saw that he was watching her reaction, a spark of hope growing in his eyes.

"But I can't forget so easily!" she said, sounding frustrated. She stood up suddenly, taking a couple steps away, needing some space. "You hurt me, Adrien," she turned back to face him, "You really hurt me. I understand what happened now, but that's not something I can put behind me just like that."

The glimmer of hope was gone, replaced by despondency. She hated it. He really does care about me, she was realizing, but I still can't look at him without remembering my heartache! How can I ever consider dating him again?

"I'm sorry, Adrien," she said, still looking at him, trying to feel again the electric feeling of excitement that she used to get from that emerald-green stare, "I'm not ready yet."

Adrien looked down again, sighing, looking as broken and lost as Marinette felt. I wish I could get over this, Marinette found herself feeling angry at herself, even if it was unjustified, I still do have feelings for him, I can't lie to myself about it. And he loves me, too! But I just can't…

"Do you think," Adrien asked slowly, "That you ever will be?"

"I don't know," Marinette shook her head, tears forming in her eyes, "I…" She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she felt the need to be alone at that moment. Without another word, she ran up the stairs, leaving Adrien behind.