Hate That I Love You

000

"Ako ba yung tinutukoy mo do'n sa post mo, Janette?"

Bigla akong lumingon sa nagsabi no'n. Walang iba kung hindi si Aiden.

Ang gwap-

Erase! Erase! Hindi dapat natin iniisip 'yan.

Hindi ko na lang siya pinansin at pinagpatuloy ang naudlot na usapan namin ni Tylli.

"Ah! Ganiyan na ba ngayon ang mga famous? Hindi namamansin?" Mas lumapit pa ito sa upuan ko.

Inirapan ko siya kahit hindi niya naman ito nakita. Napatawa na lang si Ty nang makita niya kung ano ang ginawa ko.

"Crush mo ako 'no?" tanong nito.

"Aiden, umalis ka nga! Hindi mo ba nakikita na nagchi-chika kami rito?" Pagtataboy ni Tylli sa kaniya.

"Uy! Si Janette, crush ako!" sigaw nito.

"Hoy! Napaka-feeling mo naman!" masama ko siyang tinignan. "Ikaw lang ba ng ang may surname na nagsisimula sa C, ha?"

"Oh, easy lang! Baka mamaya i-post mo ulit ako," sabi nito.

"Whatever, Aiden," I said. Only this time, I didn't hide that I rolled my eyes.

Argh! He is so annoying yet so attractive. I could stare at him forever.

All this time, I thought he was this guy who always jokes around—always not taking everything seriously, but I was wrong. Really wrong.

I blamed him for not doing his part as my partner in a school project. We weren't able to pass our work because of him!

Tinanong ko siya kung bakit wala kaming naipasa at pabalang niya pa akong sinasagot na kesyo nakalimutan daw niya, tinamad siya, blah blah.

I got so mad at him, and you couldn't blame me. Our grade for the midterms rides on that one project.

Inako niya ang kasalanan niya at sinabihan pa ang teacher namin na kahit sa grade niya na lang daw mag deduct ng points at huwag na sa akin. I was thankful, though, that he said that.

However, when I knew the actual reason why it happened, I felt so guilty.

He lost his wallet that contained the flash drive where he saved our work and also his month-long allowance.

I mean, why didn't he just say it directly to me? Ayaw ba niya na kaawaan ko siya? Maiintindihan ko naman.

"So, crush mo nga talaga?" tanong ni Suzy.

"Oo na nga 'di ba? Unli ka lang, beh?" sagot ko.

Napatawa ito sa sagot ko. Kanina pa kasi ako nito tinatanong kung totoong crush ko si Aiden. Umamin na ako't lahat-lahat, ayaw pa rin maniwala. She thought I really hated him.

Can't I say 'the more you hate, the more you love'?

"Oh, okay na? You've just confirmed the chismis that Josh told you." Suzy said out of nowhere. Who the heck is she talking to?!

My eyes widened when I realized something. She was on a call with Aiden! What the fudge?! And he heard my confession. Oh my gosh!

Alexa, play 'Traitor' by Olivia Rodrigo.

"Suzy! Oh my gosh! You're a traitor!" I stood up immediately from my seat. "Oh gosh! Magpapakain na lang ako sa lupa ngayon!" dagdag na sabi ko.

"I'm sorry, beh. Si Joshua talaga ang nag-chismis kay Aiden. I think Tylli told Joshua, then Josh relayed the chismis to Aiden, and Aiden asked me to confirm it in exchange for a complete Jane Austen books collection," she said as she ended the call.