No really, I'm okay. I'm also a great liar.

wholesome hazel cuddles with her girlfriend on a balcony hammock

Before I know it, May's made its way to the present.

May has always been my favorite month. Full of flowers and early sunrises and late sunsets and warm days. When you can hear the crickets chirp and leave the windows open at night.

And when it rains, it's warm out and you don't face the risk of hypothermia. Late spring rain showers are the best.

It's the first of the month when I venture out onto the cute little balcony that Annabelle apparently has attached to her apartment. When I asked why I was never informed of its existence, she just shrugged her freckled shoulders and returned to her book.

I grab Annabelle's fuzzy galaxy blanket and wrap it over my head. I giggle, thinking of Dan.

The warm, humid May morning air hits me as I slide the glass door open and step out. There's a little hammock hanging there, and I immediately nestle myself into it. Then I pull out my phone and start playing Blurryface. We Don't Believe What's On TV comes on, and I kind of melt into the fabric and the rhythm.

I had a pretty stressful day, what with exams and all, along with a double shift at the ice cream shop.

It's gotten better, though. Just being around Annabelle is therapeutic, and it's a comforting kind of day. The late afternoon sunlight looks saturated in the heavy air, and it smells fresh out.

I look down at the main street and people-watch. When someone interesting-looking catches my eye, I make up a story about them in my mind. The woman whose wedding was crashed by two dragons (who stole the cake and made her change out of her dress); the little kid who saw a ghost who made him let go of his balloon; the old man who was secretly a hobbit-wizard hybrid who was analyzing the world's cleverest demise so he could prevent it.

I think a lot when I'm relaxing. Fortunately, it's never about things that will stress me out. It's pretty convenient.

The sun's started going down by the time Annabelle finally steps out to join me, in her soft pink robe and bunny slippers. I'm pretty sleepy, but I feel her lay down and her arms slip around me.

She's stretched out a leg to reach the floor, slowly rocking the hammock in the hopes of keeping me asleep. It's working. The rhythmic movement of everything is lulling me into a hazy mood.

We wake up together, some time in the really early morning.

I yawn widely and stretch my body out, then slip out of the hammock and stand up.

Annabelle makes a noise of protest and flops her arm at me. "No ... now I'm cold."

"I can make breakfast. What do you want?"

"Pancakes ... pistachios in mine, please, sweetheart," she mumbles into the hammock.

I slide the door open and retreat into the cool, dry air. I mumble and dance along to A Change Of Heart as I mix the batter. Once it's cooking, I poke pistachios into half of the pancakes and flip them over with supreme pancake-flipping talent.

She's fallen back asleep when I'm finished, so I shove a fresh one under her nose and watch her face shift, then watch her eyes shoot open.

I drop the pancake on her chest as I crack up, clutching my stomach. She tips her head forward and takes the pancake in her mouth, chewing it up.

"Mmm," she says thickly, "good pancake."

I sit down with a pancake of my own in my hand, lifting her feet up and then placing them on my lap.

"Where were you yesterday?" she asks.

"I was with Jacob. He needed to study, and he had poundcake at his room. Alex was there."

"Who's Alex?"

"His roommate."

"What's he like?"

I shrug. Alex was nice. He didn't make much of an impression on me. And I'm usually pretty good at judging what my relationship with people will be when I meet them. I have a feeling we'll be acquaintances, but really nothing more. We didn't exchange numbers or anything. We just didn't click, like I did with Rose, Jenna, or Jacob. Especially not like Annabelle.

He hardly got any of my references, and I don't think Jacob's puns (which are pure gold) were funny to him, which means that us trying to hang out would be just awkward.

Now that I think about it, that visit was quite uncomfortable. If we don't immediately click, I have a really hard time being myself. (It's weird, I know. Luckily, my close friends understand this, and are willing to help when I don't feel so good about a conversation. They are actually the best.)

I tell Annabelle this.

"Well, Haze, you don't have to like everyone you meet. And you like to have really close friendships, right?" I nod. "Well, then, if he's not someone you want to spend time with then don't spend time with him. I could be wrong, but it didn't sound like he was all that interesting to you. And it's definitely not good if it was uncomfortable. You deserve to be yourself. Don't be with people who don't let you."

I nod again, slowly, processing what she's saying. And then I pull her into a hug. "Thanks," I say into her shoulder. And then I get up, brush the crumbs off my hoodie, and head inside. "I'm gonna take a shower," I inform her.

"M'kay."

I head back inside again and into the bathroom, where I start the water and let the steam waft through the air. When it's the right temperature, I step under the stream.

Annabelle's soap smells like lemongrass, just like she does. It's a little muted by the sleepy scent that also surrounds her, but it's familiar and relaxing.

When I'm done, I step out and dry myself. I wrap a towel around myself to sneak out and put my clothes in the laundry basket, then get some of Annabelle's clothes.

I take a pair of overalls and a pink shirt. I have to roll up the cuffs of the overalls because they're too big. But apart from that, they're comfortable.

I put my hair into pigtails and then start a load of laundry. Annabelle's come back inside and she's reading another book.

It's a calm Sunday. My favorite kind.

a/n: i wrote this while watching dan's liveshow so that's what the wholesome howell thing is about

also Rose420421 i miss you :(

(editing) for clarification that no one needed/asked for: i had a really icky feeling about the whole alex thing, so i added more stuff because i felt like he was completely irrelevant and i didn't like him as a character and i don't want him to be a part of hazel's story (i feel like an overprotective parent)