In Between Love and Hate

Author's Note: Oh yes. I'm back. First of all, I would like to apologize for not updating and keeping you all guys waiting for the next chapter. But please... Please try to understand my situation. I'm still a student and I'm always struggling with our school activities. We were tasked to conduct researches and thesis in all our subjects. And for our Journalism subject, we made a magazine that will serve as our final project for the entire school year - and I was the Editor in Chief. Big task, right? We have spent sleepless nights trying to finish them, and thankfully, we finally did. But all throughout those times, God knows how much I wanted to take up the pen again and update this story, but I just can't. I hope you guys would understand.

Dedication: To 'Guest', this is for you. This story is also for those people whose reviews made me happy. :) And, err, to the person who always makes me smile.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. James Cameron does. All I have is my pen and little notebook wherein I write every story that my imagination creates, no matter how it sucks.

Chapter Five:

Miles crossed his muscled arms the moment he caught sight of Grace. She looked a little exhausted. Even from a distance, he could see that her eyes are a bit cloudy, almost sleepy, and she moved so slowly.

Uncrossing his arms, he tucked his hands on the either sides of his pockets and walked his way towards her, a smile suddenly flashing on his handsome face. He walked a little slower, catching up with her movements as she gently glided along the cemented road. He saw her smile, too.

When he reached her, he couldn't help but gauge her expression. She was indeed very tired, but her pretty features were still evident on her face even at that tired state. Miles scratched his head as he thought of words to say. "Hey," he finally managed to choke out.

Grace smiled at him again, flashing her pearly-white teeth against those perfectly billowed lips. "Hi," she replied, her tired state evident on her weary voice. "What are you doing here..?"

"I wanted to..." he coughed to clear his voice. "Invite you to dinner," Miles deeply stared into her brown eyes. "But I can see that you're exhausted. Maybe some other time will do,"

She frowned. "No, no... It's okay. I'm not that tired. I just had a hard day at work. But I'm perfectly fine,"

"Well, okay then," he smiled, and then started to walk towards his car with Grace billowing beside him. He slowed his pace for her to catch up. "Where do you want to eat?"

"There's a near fast-food restaurant there..." Grace pointed east. "The food tastes really good in that place,"

"Sure. Wherever you want, your wish is my command," he paused, bowing before her in a very formal way, making Grace chuckle.

"Stop it, you look stupid..." Grace chuckled again, making Miles smile. "Bowing doesn't suit you. You are not a prince nor do you look like one,"

"And why is that?"

"Because you are very far from being a prince. A prince is well... Charming, elegant in a handsome way. And besides, you're a soldier. You hold and fire a riffle, whereas the prince holds a rose."

Miles just smirked. The two continued walking until they reached his car. As a gentleman would do, he rose on his feet and opened the door for her, allowing her to enter.

Grace blushed. "T-thanks.." slowly, she slipped into his car and sat on the leather seat. The insides of his car smells like... Him. And she's starting to faint! His scent has an incredible power that drives her crazy. It smells like an expensive perfume, aftershave, and a little bit of him.

Miles slipped into the driver's seat and turned the car into ignition. Before he finally drove the car, he turned his face to look at Grace, and he caught her staring at him with those tantalizing brown eyes she had. He smiled at her, and she nervously smiled back.

For the rest of the trip and even until they finished dinner, Grace rarely spoke. She was very tired, indeed. But being in the company of Miles made her feel somewhat relieved and relaxed. He was so kind to her and he was also the gentleman she'd always dreamed of encountering. He opened the doors for her and he set himself aside to assure her needs first. He also pulled the chair for her to sit on, one gentleman quality that is quite rare nowadays, considering the time and year they're in.

After a blissful dinner, she felt so full that she accepted Miles' offer to walk around first before they finally went home. They left his car at the diner's parking lot and walked along the bright, lighted streets; their shoulders touching, fingers grazing, and conversing while walking.

Upon walking along the city streets, Grace noticed that Miles' eyes never left her face. He was simply staring at her with his blue irises focused on her every move and smile. "What are you... Staring at...?"

Miles cleared his throat before answering. Hell, he was caught dead. "Nothing... You're just so beautiful," Grace laughed. "Stop, it's not funny,"

"I'm not kidding. I've already said that to you before, right...?" his tone was all serious. "Ever had a boyfriend?"

She grasped that for a second. How she wanted to tell him, 'Yes! I have! You!' But she couldn't. She was still afraid of how he would react if he discovered that they were... Childhood friends... Or sweethearts... Whatever. Now's not the time, she thought. "No, I haven't. Got no time for it,"

"I found that hard to believe for someone as beautiful as you are,"

She chuckled, her eyebrows furrowed. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Maybe," Miles uttered, tucking his hands on his pants' pockets.

They walked silently for a minute; Grace was counting every breath and steps she take, uneasiness is flooding her soul now that all that's audible is silence. Suddenly, Miles ran ahead of her, a huge smile playing on his lips.

He headed off to a flower shop where an old man was already closing the shop. "Hey Mr.! Wait!" Miles yelped, grabbing the man's attention.

"What is it, son?"

"I'd like to buy a red rose... If it's okay? Just one stem. I'd like to give it to..." Miles turned around and pointed at Grace. "her,"

A huge, goofy smirk lit up the old man's already wrinkled face. "Oh... Wait a sec," he whispered.

The old man headed inside the shop, and Miles waited patiently. He threw a quick glance at Grace, who had her arms crossed before her, her face unreadable.

Seconds later, the old man returned with a fresh red rose on his hands, a huge grin on was plastered on his face. "Here you go, son,"

Miles took the delicate flower from his wrinkled hand and immediately paid the old man with a bill. "Thank you," he said, and then ran back to Grace, leaving the old man smirking as he followed Miles' trail.

As Miles ran his way back to her, he couldn't help but smile like an absurd little boy who's starting to have hormonal changes. He could hear his own heartbeats pounding on his ears, cold beads of sweat are now trickling down his forehead. He must be crazy, he thought. "But it feels right," he mouthed.

When he reached her, he smiled one of his roguish smiles and offered the red rose to her. Miles deeply stared at her eyes to gauge her expression, but he found it utterly useless, as if she has a barrier that prevented him from reading her, from identifying the different emotions that can wash through her.

But when Grace smiled and took the rose, a sudden splash of relief washed through him. "What's this for...?" she placed the flower under her nose, inhaling the wonderful scent.

"Earlier, you told me that I don't look like a prince- because I hold a gun, not a rose," he sighed and turned his back. "I can be a prince too, you know. I can be whatever you want me to be. I will do anything to make you happy,"

Silence.

The shift of the ever-cold wind added to the tension that engulfed them. Grace couldn't speak, he couldn't think of words to say and she was still calculating his words on her science-maniac brain. She just found herself contented staring at his back.

She may be inexperienced when it comes to love, but she's not an idiot. She knew his words meant something... Or she just thought she knew, but she really doesn't know.

After a minute or two, Grace decided to break the silence by chuckling. She sat on the nearest bench and nervously spoke. "I don't... like picked flowers. Because I believe picking them would have a negative effect to the environment- bees and butterflies would not have nectar to get from,"

Shocked, Miles spun around to face her, his face was all cold but his eyes were somewhat widened. "Why did you say that?"

"Because I'm a biologist?" she questioned with sarcasm. "Caring for the environment has already been a part of me,"

"Oh," he muttered, and then sighed. Miles walked his way to the near bench and sat with her. "Grace..."

"Yeah?"

Miles stared at her with curious eyes, a thought now forming within his head. She reminds him of... Her. The little girl he had fallen in love with when he was but a young boy. Grace hated picked flowers because she believed that it would just have a negative effect to the environment - the same thing that the little girl told him before.

Could it be...

"You're tired. I think we'd better go home now. Come on," With that, he stood up and walked his way back to where his car was parked, with Grace billowing behind him. His mind was consumed with certain possibilities that were so hard to fathom.

The clinking of metal and the sound of humming insects were the only audible sound in the stale darkness of the night.

And yeah, his heartbeats, each bringing a loud thud in both his ears.

Miles Quaritch sat on his bed, alone, a cold look plastered on his face as he fixed the barrel of his gun. His thoughts are somewhat consuming him, his head an ocean of dawned curiosity.

He was 29 years old and played a prominent role as a brave Marine. He was handsome, that much the eye can see, and as if the number of his women would not prove that. He was brave, too. He had saved a lot of lives, his wise tactics and muscled biceps would always prove that. Miles did his work, and he did it well.

But for the first time in his whole life, he is feeling a little uncertain of things.

He clicked the barrel in place and spun it, making sure that it moved fluidly. He shot a few rounds into the air, watching the movements of the steel gun with his blue eyes, savoring the feeling of being so in control of a weapon of destruction.

He'd always wanted power, dominance in all possible areas of weakness. What he would not trade for power and control? He would trade anything to have his own marionettes. And he knew that a gun would give him that power she'd always wanted.

With a hard thug and chuckle on his own foolish thoughts, Miles put down the gun on his side table and opened one of its cabinets, sliding his right hand to find something.

And ah, he found a circular thing; a small ring with a blue sapphire adorned on it and an engraved note.

'Per sempre nei nostril cuori' it says.

It was the ring his father and mother gave to him, a treasure that he would give to his future wife someday. It was a priced heirloom that circulated in the past generations of his family that were only given to the first male child. And he will one day pass it to his son.

He was just a kid when his father gave the ring to him- it was a day before his parents both died. He said that one day, he's gonna find his true love and would give the ring to her as symbol that he would love her forever.

But even before the right age came for him to marry, he knew he already found the one; the little girl with brown eyes and red hair.

He didn't break their promise - that every year, they would meet at that exact same place where they had planted those trees. He came there every year, every midsummer. And during those times, he made sure that he carried the ring with him, hoping that he could give it to her.

But she never came. Not even a single strand of red hair was there. She was the only girl he'd ever loved so deeply and yet she still broke his heart. He held on to that promise, but she didn't. 'Women should not always say that men are deceiving, that they are cheaters and unfaithful. We can also be hurt, we can hold on to promises and we can also love deeply,' Miles thought as he stared at the ring mellowed on his finger.

He still loved her so much. After all those years, his feelings for her never changed. Hence, it still deepened. The impact she had made in his life was way deeper than the deepest crater on the silvery moon, and still greater than Mars' Mt. Olympus.

He'd been with many women before but she was different. She has a good heart. Red hair... Brown eyes... And a soul devoted to nature.

And that's just when a person suddenly panged his mind.

Red hair and brown eyes- he remembered seeing them just a while ago. 'Grace...'

He was aware that he already has feelings for Grace, and he wanted to take it further, turn it into something more. God, he loves her. He had loved her ever since they first met in that mall weeks ago. He knows it's all too fast but, that's just what his heart is telling him. He's already inlove with her.

But he's also in love with his little girl.

Could it be possible that he is in love with two people at the same time..? Or could his small theory could be right?

He has a theory that kept bugging him for hours. Grace and his little girl - they have similar characteristics, not only in the physical aspects but even in their attitudes and beliefs as well. The two of them could just be one person. If his theory is correct, then he can conclude that fate really had its own ways.

With a sigh, Miles closed his eyes and buried his face on his pillow. His mind was so complicated right now, he wanted to rest. Maybe he should call it a night.

But before he could, he grabbed his phone and created a message. 'Goodnight, beautiful.' And then sent it to Grace.

Slowly, Miles' eyelids folded and soon he was snoring himself in sleep.

Hey, hey! :D Tell me what your thoughts are about this. Again, I'm so sorry if my update was late. But I'm free now! Summer vacation here in our place is coming and I'll make sure that updates will be fast. Tensions are now arising in this story, especially between the two main characters. And by the way, I'm so glad that I got to explore Miles' thoughts in this chapter. It's a total change, I mean; it's always about Grace, right? It's time to spice things up! :D

Anyway! Please review. Share your thoughts, but please no harsh words. I love hearing your thoughts about this and reviews make me happy! :)