Love and Hate

May's POV

I sighed.

I have always been asking myself. 'What kind of mess did you get yourself into this time Maybelle Maple?' And every damn time I would just realize that my life is one enormous mess to start with.

So there is no use trying to squirm my way out of these little crevices within the big mess of my life when at the end of the tunnel is just more and more tunnel.

Whatever I do, no matter how hard I try, I will always end up being in trouble whether I like it or not.

And surely my misfortune would be of someone's grand entertainment somehow. I mean where on Earth could someone find another human individual that has befallen to the same ridiculous path as I have? It's surprising that I haven't totally gotten cray-cray over the things that have happened.

"You really fell for that?" He gave himself another mouthful of laughter. Despite it was slowly starting to get on my nerves, I was also starting to get worried because it might give him a stroke.

"Well, I do love my Grandpa so I became very scared." I answered honestly, remembering how I pathetically fell into Grandpa's trap like some helpless lab rat. "Yeah, I guess you could say he completely tricked me."

Well-freaking-played Grandpa. Well-freaking-played.

"I'm sorry for laughing Mrs. Hayden." He took a handkerchief and wiped his tears. "Colonel Marco Maple sure does know how to play his cards still very well."

I shifted a little on my seat.

"I don't think your grandfather has mentioned to you before, but we're old time buddies together with Carlos Hayden." He smiled, placing his handkerchief back to his pocket.

I pondered. I do believe Mom mentioning the university's principal being closely acquainted with Grandpa sometime in the past.

"He called me the other week and invited me to your marriage. I believe you saw me?" He heaved himself another chuckle, but a little bit friendlier this time.

He was invited?! For real!?

How could Mom fail to notify me of such a very CRUCIALLY important guest?!

"Aw men." I groaned and felt my head. "Sorry Mr Wattson but I didn't know."

"I guess I can understand that." He smiled again. "You wouldn't notice anyone with the way you'd kept your head low all the time would you?"

An apologetic chuckle seeped from my lips.

"Let me just say sorry on your grandfather's behalf Mrs Maple." Mr Wattson surprisingly bowed in apology.

I was taken aback by his sudden actions. Weren't we just talking about how I'm gonna be expelled out of this university? And how miserable my life have become and how I was about to commit seppuku tonight?

"I..I, uhm i..it's o..o..okay Mr Wattson." I stammered. "I get that a lot from Grandpa." I gave myself another sheepish laugh.

"Indeed your grandfather has played a cruel fate on you, even though it's a little bit interesting though." He said thoughtfully. "You and Andrew must be really someone important to him."

"You know Andrew Hayden sir?" I asked, quite surprised.

"Of course!" He replied enthusiastically. "But enough of this. The real reason I called you here is to lighten up this load for you." He showed me another warm smile. "I thought you would be worried about breaking the rules by being married."

"What's that again Mr Wattson?" I looked up at him, somehow sensing that I avoided trouble this time. I sensed the blinding ray of hope shimmering behind Mr Wattson.

"But knowing that you weren't even aware of it, you know, breaking one of the major rules then I shouldn't have called you here in the first place." He chuckled. "You are definitely not expelled."

"YEEEEEEY!" I stood up from my chair and jumped delightedly. "I thought I was just living a life purely on bad luck, bad parenting and bad jokes!"

"Calm down now Mrs Hayden." He called out, still chuckling. "Your grandfather called me yesterday to let you off the hook, but I would not expel you whether he would have called me or not." He reached out his hand to shake.

"You know I can't expel one of my most outstanding student here."

"Thank you so much, Mr Wattson!" I said before grabbing his hand to a shake.

"Good luck on your studies for your final term Mrs Hayden." We broke off the handshake.

I turned back around and headed towards the door. "Thank you again Mr Wattson! I'll do my best." I replied, reaching the door handle. "And uhm, by the way Mr Wattson, uhm could you not tell anyone that I'm married already?" I added. "I would like to keep it a secret until graduation at least."

He gave himself another mouthful of laughter. "Sure Ms Maple." He replied happily. "I'll be happy to keep it a secret."

With that, I finally closed the door behind me, but not without saying my final thanks.

After that little chat with the principal that initially made me want to write a suicide note tonight, my class schedule went smoothly just like the usual. I wrote down important notes since I was planning to place higher than tenth by the end of this semester.

Both Dawn and Misty were still pretty busy chit chatting throughout the whole class period. Dawn asked me during lunch what had happened with me at the principal's office and I only answered that the principal was an old friend of my Grandpa and he just called me to ask how my grandfather was doing.

I knew it was a very pathetic lie considering why the school intercom must be used, but I did try my best to sound as casual and truthful as I could. At least it was still partially true. They are my friends after all and they deserve half of the truth. Thankfully Dawn was contented with that not-that-life-ruining-and-rumor-prone information I just said and she didn't bother to ask more, though Misty just shrugged as if it was just natural for me to be called to the faculty or the principal's office for being troublesome.

As I have introduced Ash before, Misty Waterflower is also a close childhood friend of mine. She's one red-headed feisty girl. I find her relationship with Ash quite amusing, the way how she asks him to go out with her and Ash being himself just understands it shallowly by taking her just outside the school premises.

I swear to god Ash's denseness is far beyond help.

I envy Misty because she gets to spend a lot of time with Ash despite things not going the way she wants them to go. Ever since Drew left, I felt sad feeling like a third wheel between them.

Misty's also part of the university's swimming team, by the way, she swims really well!

Dawn Berlitz is another close bluenette friend of mine. But unlike Misty, I met her when I started my high school. There was this incident two years ago when I was called by my Literature teacher to the faculty office for passing my requirements late, and I saw her there as well being scolded for exactly the same reason. Ever since that fateful day, we have been really good friends.

She's like my twin!

Though she really has to do better in her studies if she wants Paul to notice her, she rarely gets an A, mostly just C's. She thinks that I may not have noticed her, but even Misty could tell that she likes him. Just like any of those other girls who preferred the cool and cold types.

Which I can never understand. What could be likeable in someone who is nothing but a bastard and a douchebag?

Aside from the two of them, there's also Leaf Greene, another close brunette friend of mine. Just like Dawn, we became close friends at the start of my high school. Amazingly, she has both Misty's feistiness and Dawn's friskiness. She's not the type that slacks at her studies so I don't know why she would be absent on the first day of the school's second semester.

Without even bothering, the first day of school already ended.

"I'll be going ahead now May! Misty!" I heard Dawn as she quickly grabbed her bag and skipped all the way to the door out of the room. "Bye bye!"

I was slowly placing my things back to my bag, purposely of course. I planned to let them both leave first, and Leaf being absent made it easier for me.

I couldn't let them know that I have to take a different path going home. How I wish it would be the home where I was kicked out from but sadly it's not, but the home where am currently forced to stay.

The key word there is 'FORCED'.

I am really serious about placing higher than tenth by the end of this term, and by all means I have to successfully endure more distractions that have recently surfaced within this even more depressingly troublesome life.

Even MORE distractions. Just exactly what I asked for. Ugh.

For one I have to keep my marriage status locked and sealed in the darkest. I pray to dear ole God up there to help me keep it a secret as long as I can. I mean I wouldn't even mind burning in hell for all eternity in the afterlife just so I could keep this a secret as long as I am alive.

Even though they're my closest friends, there are just some things you have to keep to yourself and no one else.

You tell them your darkest secret one day, and by the next, you'd hear it broadcasted on the television news.

Then next there's that Sick Pervert, I don't know how I will be able to handle such a ginormous distraction like him back at the apartment. He is stuck in my mind like drugs. And I can't just lock myself inside my room all the time. And also that stunt he just did this morning. It annoyingly kept on painting my cheeks cherry red. He's crazy! Crazy!

As soon as Misty waved goodbye to me and went to her daily after-class swimming meeting, I placed the last notebook neatly in my bag. I wrapped my green scarf around my neck and grabbed my bag as well.

The sun was starting to set as it colored the sky a beautiful light orange hue. I tightened my scarf a bit and cautiously left the school gate towards the opposite way of my usual road leading home. I was able to return to the apartment just before nightfall. I felt for the light switch before entering and closing in the door behind me.

Drew isn't home yet, which is good news for me. I am still a little bit angry at him for what he did this morning, and seeing his playfully annoying smirk would bring nothing but one big irritation.

"He really is one big heck of a distraction." I talked to myself and entered my room. "I'll place higher this time nonetheless." I pumped my fist hard and watered the bed with the things from my bag. I quickly changed into my casual red shirt and black shorts before randomly taking out one of my books. "Guess I'll start with Chemistry."

When I was done reading the first chapter of the book, I didn't notice that much time have already passed. It was already 7:30 PM! I stood up and stretched my body.

I heard a knock on my door.

"May?" I heard a familiar voice that made a vein appear in my head. "I know I disobeyed about that three meters away from your room thingy, but I'll have you know that the three meters you banned me from entering included more than half of the living room." He said thoughtfully.

"Go away." I answered in a boring voice hardly mine.

"I am just kidding May, I actually bought you food." He knocked again. "Please open up, there's also something I need to tell you."

"Focus May, focus. You can't let that annoying house plant get the better of you, no matter what he says it only brings nothing but naught and chaos. You need to place higher than tenth this time." I closed my eyes and kept on reminding myself. "You have to do better than this!"

"I'm studying." I answered, with brand new stronger unwavering determination. "Don't bother me Sick Pervert!"

"You're still mad about tha-"

"YES!" I immediately cut him off.

"Look, I'm really sorry about that okay?" He pleaded.

I scrunched my forehead and trying to ignore him. I took out another textbook. "Next will be Algebra." I grabbed a pencil. "Time to sharpen my problem-solving skills."

"Fine then, I'll be leaving the food here." He finally gave up. "Promise me to eat it before 8 okay?"

I focused on the equations in front me, trying very hard in ignoring him.

"Please don't get sick." I heard him walk away. "It worries me."

Failing. Can. Not. Focus. Anymore.

I facepalmed. I'm a complete failure! I've never met something or someone so annoyingly distracting in my life!

I was doing a pretty good job ignoring him at first until that last sentence he said.

How the heck does he gets the better of me all the time?

I sighed and went to the door. I opened it slowly.

And I was certainly surprise to see him still standing there, just when I thought he would have walked away and hopefully sulk over his room for doing that perverted stunt he did to me this morning.

Not only that he was just standing, he was smirking!

"I knew you'd eventually open the door for me." He playfully sneered. "I'm just way too irresistible for you to ignore."

BAM!

For the second, wait make that third, time of the day I was able to slam a door hard again hoping that it wouldn't break, Mom sure picked a good apartment.

"Stupid Lettuce!" I screamed in deep frustration. "I told you to go away!"

He is totally out of his mind!

I totally regretted saying something very stupid to him yesterday. He took care of me, fed me and everything then he suddenly turns into one sick perverted egotistically immature narcissist.

Is he bipolar? Who does he think he is playing with my feelings like that?!

"I can't study with this!"

I angrily swept my things off of my bed and laid down. I concentrated hard on making myself fall asleep forcefully.

I don't care missing dinner, for I deeply believe in the powers of hibernation.

"I can't deal with him anymore! And if I have to be asleep just to keep my thoughts away from him every now and then, then its sleep or die trying."

I gripped my pillow tightly. All of my mumbled jumbled emotions were starting to riot inside me.

I hate the way how he can easily sway me and my feelings around.

I hate that he takes care of me.

I hate that I was even sad when he left or how I was very glad that he came back.

I hate the way how I have always been captivated by his emerald eyes.

I hate the way that I somehow like this crazily romantic situation being under a single roof with him.

I hate the way how I liked it when I held his biceps earlier.

I hate the way how I wish he would have restrained and held me more.

I hate the way how I come to like him despite everything he did was make me hate him more.

And most of all.

"I think you just made me love you cabbage-brain."

I hate why I even managed to say that!

And thankfully, my eyes drooped down in exhaustion. I felt my hands slowly releasing its much-tightened grip on my pillow.

My consciousness started to falter as I embraced the comfort of sleep with hopefully no certain Perverted Lettuce in it.

Hopefully.