Marinette's POV:

            Marinette watches her sister, Bridgette and Luka walk away together. She can not understand how Luka could betray her again.  Only this time it is for her twin sister.  Also, she recalls how he insists that he can be with her because he claims Adrien loves her.

           She sits in the sand and cries once more.  She feels like a horrible person.  How could she have been so wrong?  Why did she think Luka would want to be with her again?  She sees a pink object poking out of the dirt. She picks it up and brushes it off with her thumb.

         "What is this anyway?" She asks herself.

         She looks at more and sees some pink beads on the cord along with the pink seashell. She thinks wow this is a pretty necklace. She wonders who is this for and who could have made it?  She notices there is a small M on the jewelry as well, then flips it over to read the inscription.

       The inscription on the back inside part of the shell pendant on the necklace reads as follows:

            To: Marinette  Dupain-Cheng

           You are the  one who makes me feel something,

           I never  thought would be possible,

        so  I hope you will take this as a token

       of my love,

      for you.

    Sincerely,

    Adrien Agreste

Ps. I will love you and treat you better than anyone else.

        Marinette finishes reading the words and gasps. It is then she knows everyone spoke the truth and did their best to try to keep her from breaking Adrien's heart. She knows now she should never have kissed Luka.  Let alone in front of the blonde-haired boy, it was too cruel even for her. She holds the necklace in her hands but feels unworthy of the words it contains.

      She takes it with her to her towel, wipes the rest of the sand off with a wet wipe, then places it inside her beach bag. She is not sure what else to do with it for now. She can not wear it.  

       Bridgette's POV:

        Bridgette is ashamed of her sister's actions. She can not believe Marinette has the nerve to kiss Luka when he agrees to go out with her, not Marinette.  Let alone that she would be so mean as to rube it in everyone's faces. She feels sorry for Adrien who saw it all and ran off in tears.  It is not his fault he loves someone who does feel the same way about him.

       "Luka, did you like the kiss, Marinette gave you?"  Bridgette asks.

          Bridgette notices he does not answer right away.  "Well, did you?" She asks once more.

             She feels Luka squeeze her hand as she smiles at him.

       Luka's  POV:

       "Bridgette if she had kissed me years ago when we were dating it might have meant something then, but now I would have to say no," Luka answers.

        " I mean I have had many girlfriends since she and I broke up, but I have no feelings left for her," Luka remarks.

         Luka smiles at Bridgette as he squeezes her hand.  He is glad she decides to give him a chance despite everything that has taken place.  

        "Bridgette the only girl I want to be with right now is you," Luka says. He knows he has said this over the years to previous girlfriends, but somehow this time it is different.

         Luka senses she wonders about how true he is to her, so he hugs her.  Then, says, "So, does this mean you want to go out with me?"  

          Bridgette answers, "Yes, I would love too, Luka."

        "Well, then, I am glad," Luka responds.

     Luka's cousin  Katharine "Katie" POV:

         She is surprised to find out Luka was the jerk to break Marinette's heart years ago. She is also rather disappointed that Marinette thought she could win her cousin back that easily. She wishes the girl would have more respect for Adrien than this.  

       She feels sorry for Adrien whose heart must have been broken multiple times by Marinette.  She sighs unsure how to fix things for them.  It is not like she has any good ideas up her sleeves.

      "Luka, I think you should have been more careful," Katie says.

      "All I am saying cousin is that you should have made sure it was clear to Marinette you did not want her back," Katie remarks.

       "Katie, I tried to but she cut me off by kissing me.  It was not something I wanted since I happy with Bridgette now," Luka tells her.

       "Okay, well then, I sure hope Adrien manages to be alright," Katie says.

       "Me too cousin, me too," Luka replies.

       Tom and Sabine's  POV:

         Marinette's father and mother can not believe what just took place. First their daughter, Marinette sees Adrien and flirts with him. She even goes so far as to tease him about a possible kiss.  Then, they see Adrien think about kissing her but respect her enough not too. They see Marinette kiss, Luka, for no real reason and the other boy falls apart at the seams.  They see Marinette sit under the shade tree and place what looks like the disregarded item in her bag.

        "Marinette, you should have toyed with Adrien's feelings," Sabine says.

       "Your mother is right, child," Tom says.

        "We know things did not end well with Luka, but that was no reason to kiss him,"  Sabine remarks.

        "I agree that it was a bit too far for you to kiss Luka right after an almost kiss with Adrien," Tom blurts out.

        Tom and Sabine both go on about how much they can see Adrien loves her.  Then, they discuss how unfair it is to him for her to flirt with him than just shove him to the side once she sees her ex-boyfriend, Luka.  

       "It was horrible for you to treat him this way," Tom retorts.

        "Marinette, I think you need to apologize to Adrien," Sabine adds.

        Adrien's POV:

           Adrien checks his watch and sees it is closer to lunchtime than he thought. He sighs as he reapplies some sunscreen, and puts his t-shirt back on to wear with his swimming trunks. He puts on sunglasses so that the redness from his tears will not be noticed much.  He grabs up his stuff for the picnic, along with the beach towel, and heads out to the door. This time he takes a radio with him too.

        He arrives at the meeting area a few minutes early. He sees Bridgette and Luka as they flirt with each other.  He notices that Tom and Sabine are not far off along with Luka's cousin, Katharine who tells everyone to call her Katie.  Then, he sees Marinette the only girl he wishes to forget, but can not seem too.

        "Hi, I am here," Adrien says. 

        "Hi, Adrien," everyone replies.

        *Author's note: Marinette's response is rather quiet so that he almost does not hear her.  Adrien glances at her in the hopes to find some proof that she feels the least bit remorseful.  He struggles to keep it together.

            "It is nice to see you again," Adrien remarks.

              Adrien watches as the group sits down and he does the same. He sees Tom and Sabine say something to Marinette. Then sees her pout.  He thinks man even when she sulks she is positively stunning.

             Narrator's POV:

               The blessing is said by Tom. Then, Tom passes around the food he and Sabine brought for the picnic while Marinette hands out the napkins and silverware.  Luka hands out drinks from the cooler.  Adrien passes around the food he brought, Bridgette passes around the potato salad, and Katie passes out the dessert.

                Once everyone has a bit of everything on his or her plate, along with a drink, napkins and so on they find a place to relax.  Tom sits with Sabine under the shade of a palm tree with Bridgette and Luka under the same tree a few inches apart from the other couple.

               Katie sits alone under another tree.  Then, Marinette joins her.  Adrien hesitates unsure where to sit.  He smiles when Katie waves him over but frowns when he sees the bluenette.   He sits under the tree across from Marinette, but nowhere near Katie.

              Everyone eats in the silence of the place.  It seems that there are fewer beachgoers this year for the Fourth of July than last year.  

                 Once everyone finishes the meal, Adrien turns on his radio, Tom and Sabine dance, Bridgette dances with Luka since he did ask her nicely, Katie goes for a solo walk, and Adrien is left alone under a palm tree with his crush.  The same crush who crushed him many times, but who is counting.

               Adrien's  POV:

                 "Why do not you just go too?" Adrien asks.

                    Adrien looks away from her as he speaks. He does not need any pity, least of all hers. He wishes the bluenette would walk away, but she does not.

                 He scowls as he looks up to see her sitting across from him as she was during the meal. He thinks the whole situation to be rather awkward after what took place this morning.  He cannot quite figure her out.

                "Marinette, just leave me.   I know you do not want to have anything to do with the likes of me.  I am just a pest," He blurts out.

                Adrien sees her stand up, but instead of walking away she holds out a hand to him. He looks at her in confusion.  "What do you expect me to do?" Adrien asks sadly.

                 Marinette's POV:

                  "The song is my favorite, so let us dance," Marinette says.

                    Marinette sees him shake his head, so she grabs his hands with hers. She is not about to take no for an answer. She pulls so that now he stands up with her. She begins to dance and like it or not he dances with her.  

                    At some point, a slow song comes on and the wind blows off the sunglasses. Marinette sees the evidence that the man who dances with her now was crying earlier that day. She knows she is to blame as he did cry over her.   

                 "Here, let me help you get the sunglasses," Marinette says. She starts to run away.

                   Marinette feels strong arms hold her close as she bends down and grabs the sunglasses off the ground. She cleans them off then holds them out to him.

                       "Here good as new," She remarks.

                   Adrien's POV:

                 Adrien lets go of her again then reaches out for the sunglasses. As he takes them he feels their hands brush close as they did earlier.  He puts the shades on knowing very well they can not cover up the emotional pain he goes through knowing Marinette hates him.

                  "Thanks, Miss, have we met?" Adrien asks softly.

                   Adrien sees her give him a puzzled look, so he smirks, and places something in her hand.  "I believe this is yours,"  He remarks.

               He watches as she takes the small broken shell.  He sees her place it inside the pocket to her dress.   He blushes when he recalls how the dress falls just below her knees and how much it matches her bluebell eyes.  

                    "Mari, I want you to be happy,"  Adrien says sadly.

                    Adrien feels tears reach his eyes grateful to have his sunglasses back in place. He reaches up, tucks a stray hair behind her ear, and puts a hand on her cheek. He wishes she would pull away.  He falls harder for her when she stands still.

                   He uses his thumb from his other hand to gently trace a line from her cheek to her chin, to her other cheek, around the edge of her ears, and back to her lips.  He rubes her lips gently with his finger and hears himself sigh.

                  "I-I  c-can't do this, M-Mari,"  Adrien whispers as he removes his thumb, then slowly takes his other hand off her cheek.

                He turns around and walks away.  He feels as if he will never be whole again. How can he when the one he loves despises him with all her heart?   How can he when he can not help, but love her?   How can he when he refuses to move on because his love for her is too strong to forget?  

                 Find out more in Marinette's Fourth of July in America part 10

                   Anyway, that is it for this part, so hopefully, you can enjoy this update.  No copycats allowed. -Summer Cheng

                  bye, bye little owlets!

               -Summer out!