The Great Escape

AN: Thank you to AshMattXoXo, Thee Britty, Melissa Cristina, josey, Ashleymassarophan1, xSomeKindaObsession, RKO.I.F, Ignorance was Bliss, WWEFan1990, jojocheer28, Cena-Wilson-Crazy and TJ Sparkles for reviewing the last chapter.

You guys are amazing :)

Chapter Three – Crush

MARIA

As per usual, Maria Kanellis was in her own little bubble.

Delicate fingers picked at the photographs on her dresser, re-arranging them to their new perfect position. A triumphant smile lit up her face as she approved of the order, but her eyes drifted away from the sight as soon as a sudden noise distracted her.

"Ten minutes until we have to leave, Maria."

She nodded in response to Eve, who went back to curling her brunette locks, and turned back to her pictures. It was quite the task to calm down her racing heart; being a fragile person she just about suffered a heart attack at the slightest thing.

"So girly, you have to tell me," her roommate's voice drew her away from a picture of her and her sister, "do you have a crush?"

"On who?"

"On who?" Eve repeated with a scoff. "On Randy! Jeez, you know the guy we met earlier? I have to admit he's easy on the eyes."

"You sound like my mother when you say that."

"Oh sorry. Girl, he is one hot piece of—"

"Thank you, Eve," giggled the redhead as she perched herself on the edge of her bed. "But I wouldn't go as far as to say I have a crush...I mean, Randy's a good looking guy and all...he's not someone I wouldn't want to have a conversation with..." At the knowing look on her friend's face, she grinned. "Okay. I have a full-on crush."

"Well you'll probably be seeing a lot of each other soon. If I were you, I would make my move already."

"It's a good thing I'm not you then. Besides, I barely even know the guy! It's been a day; that's not enough time to develop a major crush on some guy...even if he is REALLY cute!"

"Aww, you've got it bad."

"Ugh, gag me."

Two heads shot to the conflicting voices, and they weren't surprised to find Mickie and Ashley standing at their open door. What was even less surprising was the dark scowl on the dirty-blonde girl's face.

"Hey, we thought we'd come by early." Mickie informed them. "Stressy pants over here wants to get a seat so she can—in her own words—get this over with sooner rather than later. But I know she's just secretly thrilled to start her courses tomorrow, aren't you Ashes?"

Ashley blinked.

"Okay." Maria laughed after a long and painful silence. "Let's get to the hall and find somewhere to sit."

She didn't want to admit it, but as she linked arms with Eve, she was feeling nervous. She was suddenly all too aware of the fact she would be an official college student as of tomorrow, but an excited energy ran through her all the same.

A light smile touched her lips as she lagged behind her friends in the journey it took to find the hall.

She was too busy having family on her mind and reminiscing about life back home. She was close with every member in her household, and while it was quite hard adjusting to her new surroundings, their words of encouragement had a positive enough effect on her.

She was ready.

Lost in her thoughts, the redhead barely noticed when Eve tugged on her shoulder to get her to sit down. In fact, the only person who distracted her was Randy, who waved to her from the other side of the room. She tried her best not to blush as she lifted a hand to wave back.

To her surprise, the orientation flew by and it wasn't until she was back in her room that she realized tomorrow would be a bigger deal than she expected. The goals set for them back in the hall, the proud speech of their college ratings and results...it was to be lived up to. Their college was a prestigious place, and she would be lying if she said she didn't feel privileged to be accepted into such a gathering.

Personally, Maria was looking forward to breaking a few records of her own. So after chatting excitedly to Eve for a little over twenty minutes, they both settled into their beds, and turned their lamps off for a shot at a good night's sleep.

The silence was strangely satisfying.

"Mom, I'll be perfectly fine."

Maria tried her best not to giggle as she listened to her mother's voice on the other end of the line, warning her about first day nerves and telling her just to "be herself". She intended to take the advice, but just to be nice, as she couldn't see herself becoming anyone else. She didn't know how to be anyone else.

Wedging her phone between her head and shoulder securely, she used both hands to grab her bag and pull the strap over her petite frame. "Yep, sure. I really do have to go now, but say hi to everyone from me and hopefully I'll see you soon."

She waited a moment for a response, smiled and then hung up. Her gaze lingered on her phone for a little while longer before she reluctantly slipped it into her back pocket and turned to face the mirror.

Highly interested in fashion, she liked to make sure she mixed and matched her clothes, calling the look "glam-rock". Not a lot of people recognized her style—nor did they care—but her hobby kept her happy, and so she didn't mind the small fact.

"A college student." She beamed proudly at her reflection. "I look like a college student."

Excitement wasn't even the word to describe how she felt inside; ecstatic maybe, as she was more than ready for the new challenge in her life. Maria's mind was creative at all times, imagining fairy-tale situations for every occasion—and the start of college was no exception.

Though today wasn't in her control, she'd imagined what it would be like perfectly. The phone call from home was already a given, as was the great mood she was in after receiving it. All that was left to be decided was the rest of the day, which she was sure would be great. And even if the day didn't go exactly to plan, she certainly wouldn't be disappointed. Just the fact she was in college was enough to put a smile on her face.

Out of her circle of friends, she was certainly the dreamer.

In fact, Mickie had once proclaimed how proud of her she was, as Maria never allowed anything to get her down. She looked at the optimistic side of things, choosing to believe any problem could be resolved over time given the right attitude.

Perhaps that was why she was always trying to get Ashley to open up. Even though her stubborn friend would do no such thing, she still held the glorious image of the day she would admit to her problems and seek help from those closest to her.

"Hey, sweetie." A soft voice pulled her from her distant gaze of the mirror. She could see her roommate's reflection behind hers, and smiled at the glass. "You're gonna knock 'em dead."

A few seconds later, the brunette had disappeared.

Maria simply grinned. Then she snapped back into work-mode and double-checked to make sure she had everything with her she could think of taking. Once she was sure, she offered the room one last look, and finally stepped out.

A refreshing gust of fresh air swept towards her as soon as she stepped out of the building and into the blinding sunshine, setting the perfect ambience to the morning. It seemed like the perfect morning to her; she only hoped it would get better.

Known to be fairly oblivious to certain things, it was no surprise when she failed to notice a particular someone follow her around, picking up her pace even when she fell behind in step.

Finally, she was made aware when the voice uttered, "Maria."

Startled, she whipped her head around, only to then find Jeff behind her and holding his hands up to his eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Well I was going to say wait up 'cause we have the same class, but I've just been partially blinded by your hair."

"Oh." She giggled innocently, patting him on the arm. "Sorry about that. My hair is a little out of control sometimes."

Pushing her bag round to her side, Maria pulled her hair back into a ponytail, her way of ensuring no more sudden whip-around injuries. The smile stayed on her face as they walked to their classroom together, but faded just a little when they finally reached.

It's okay, she thought to herself confidently enough, you're here to make friends too. Remember? It should be easy.

If people were willing then, yes, it would be easy to become friends with someone like Maria Kanellis. There was nothing to hate about her; to get annoyed by, maybe, but not hate.

The moment she spotted Randy, her smile brightened and she was secretly thrilled when he made a gesture to suggest they join her. Grabbing Jeff's wrist, who was busy checking out the room, she almost bounced over to the back of the room.

"Hey." He greeted her, leaning against the back of a desk coolly. "You look excited."

"Oh, I am...totally!" The idea to calm down that shot through her mind was looking very good right about now. The smile he offered in response, however, was enough for her to ignore it. "So this is Jeff." She practically shoved him into the circle of students. "He's my best friend's boyfriend's brother."

Randy raised an eyebrow. "Uh...wow, but hey, nice to meet you man."

"Likewise." Jeff nodded, shaking his head as he turned back to the girl who introduced him. "Maria, I swear you're going to be the death of me one day." But his mock-speech ended when he noticed another person walk through the door. "Oh there she is. See ya in a bit."

Maria followed his gaze as he walked away, and smiled lightly when she saw the dark-haired girl. Her name was Candice Michelle, and she was his girlfriend.

"Man, is that Candice?" Adam smirked as he appeared out of the blue. Leaning into Randy, he whispered in a not-so-subtle way, "Haven't seen her since her birthday party back on vacation, know what I mean?"

He and Mike bumped knuckles in a way Maria knew to be "boy-code" for a hug, but she was confused at their meaning this time. She risked a glance at Randy, who looked like he was stuck in an awkward situation and wanted to escape.

"Adam," he uttered eventually, "this is Maria, Jeff's friend."

The Canadian managed a look of guilt as his eyes flickered to her, but a moment later he was smirking again. "Hey, you're friends with that chick right?"

"Eve?"

"No, not her. Mike's into her."

Before the fact could sink in, she tried again. "Mickie?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "The blonde one."

"Oh, Ashley?"

"That's the one." He nodded and laughed. "She's gonna be so pissed that I know her name the next time I see her."

The guys here are weird was Maria's innocent thought as she twisted her lips.

She was unable to think of much more on the matter, as a distraction came in the form of a middle-aged man walking into the room. She assumed him to be their professor for the seminar, and couldn't help the excitement shooting through her as she absentmindedly picked the seat in front of Randy's.

This was the new chapter in her life; the turn of the page that brought on a new adventure...a new challenge. She was all for it.

There was a collection of at least fifteen students united in silence in the room, as their professor announced himself, and the importance of the class.

All the while, Maria was trying not to squeal in anticipation.

She was still fairly connected to her childish reactions, and the sudden urge to burst out into a quick round of Walking on Sunshine was almost too tempting to refuse. That wouldn't be a good first impression, however, and she leaned back in her seat instead.

It was a couple of minutes later that she had a...feeling. A certain feeling. She got a hunch that someone was watching her, and she risked the chance to turn around. Upon doing so, she met Randy's eyes, and then his smile.

Maria bit down on her bottom lip as she turned back to the front of the room. Oh yeah, this is going to be a good class...

"That was awesome." The redhead uttered lowly as she slipped out of the room with Jeff and Candice trailing after her. "I made it through the first class."

"Did you have any doubt that you wouldn't?" laughed her dark-haired friend, but her gaze soon focused on someone over her shoulder.

"I guess not," said Maria in response, choosing not to notice the suspicious behaviour. "So I'll see you guys later, okay?"

They both nodded and, after Jeff grabbed Candice by the waist and pulled her away, she was left alone. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she indulged in her small slice of perfection for the morning, and she pulled her new books closer to her with great pleasure.

"Later, Maria."

She turned to find Mike and Adam nodding to her, and she smiled back. She could get used to the new-friends thing; exactly what she wanted from the college experience.

The redhead discreetly pulled out a map from her bag, unfolded the crease and soon became involved in finding the next place she had to go to. Concentrating, she continued with her habit of biting down on her lip, and didn't even notice when she bit a little too hard.

Only the coppery taste slipping into her mouth warned her of her mistake, and by then she was being distracted by her new crush—yes, she could officially admit to the not-so-secret secret—walking out of the room to join her.

He looked so cool, so collected...so hot.

She was absolutely positive she would enjoy her time here.

"Maria, I want you to meet someone." Randy smiled as he pulled a beautiful blonde to his side suddenly. "This is my girlfriend, Michelle."

The only problem with always expecting the best out of situations was when something—or someone—let her down suddenly, the disappointment was so much harder to deal with. So for the first time, Maria was forced to hold up her smile as she shook hands with the girl standing opposite her.

So there's the next chapter. Please review :)

Coming up next is Mickie's chapter.