I just wanted to write some Christina/Orel. I don't really know much about how University works, and was too lazy to get specific :)

Enjoy :)

When Christina opened the acceptance letter, every emotion she could possibly feel poured out in silent tears.

As quickly as she could, she accepted.

She began packing her bags five days later. Every so often she stopped to thank God, through giddy laughter or uncontrollable sobbing. It no longer felt as if the walls of the house were closing in on her. She would be out of here in a few hours. It was all arranged. She had found a roommate, they would rent an apartment close to campus.

This was moving rather quickly. She had met the girl just a week ago, and would be moving in with her soon. She had been so desperate for a way out of her current situation, what if the one she was walking into wasn't much better?

Then suddenly she found herself curled up at the bottom of her closet. She didn't want to leave, this was all she'd known. She hadn't been outside of the town in years, and had never stepped foot outside of Statesota. She had never met the girl she would soon be living with, only talked to her online and over video chat. God, why did she do this? She wouldn't be able to survive the semester, she wouldn't have her family to fall back on when if she failed.

But she couldn't stay. Not for one more night.

Her phone pinged with a notification from her new friend roommate.

Her mother looked at her- really looked, for the first time in a long, long time- funny when she came downstairs hauling a suitcase, with her backpack on.

"Now, where do you think you're going, Christina Posabule?"

Christina took a deep breath, sent up a quick prayer, and said: "To university." She answered honestly, and it felt as if a little weight was taken off her chest. Even though keeping the secret was for her own safety, she still felt bad about lying to her parents.

Her mother was taken aback. Her father got up from the kitchen table, finally interested enough to abandon his drink for a while. "Excuse me, Tina, what did you just say?" He laughed as Christina cringed at the nickname. "University? My precious little girl wouldn't be caught dead in one of those liberal indoctrination camps."

Christina stayed quiet, not sure what to respond with. She knew what her father thought about college and further education. That she didn't need it. But for the first time in her life, she thought for herself and made a decision she wanted to make.

Her father's expression darkened. He saw the way his daughter's jaw was clenched, and her knuckles turned pale from gripping the suitcase handle. She was serious.

"Now, Art-" her mother reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. He smacked her hand away.

"Get off," he muttered, advancing on Christina instead. "Now, I don't know what kind of little prank you're trying to pull here, but-"

He was interrupted when the doorbell rang. There was tense silence for a few seconds. "Poppit, get that would you?" Art barked. Christina's mother scurried obediently to the door. Christina watched, heart hammering, as the door opened to reveal Lily Rice. The redheaded girl peeked around Christina's mom, and they saw each other in person for the first time. Lily grinned, the gap between her front teeth showing.

"Chrissy!" she exclaimed.

"Who is this?!" Art thundered, his face growing red as Lily's hair.

Without another word, Christina bolted. She pushed her mother aside, and slammed the door behind her. "Go go go!" she yelled, grabbing Lily's arm. They raced to the car, which Lily had left running. Lily popped open the back door and Christina tossed her suitcase in. Then she jumped in as well, pulling the door shut. Lily peeled out of the driveway. Both girls were soon laughing hysterically. Christina clambered into the front seat, wiping tears of relief and worry and fear from her eyes.

It was a few miles before their nervous laughter died down. Lily eased up on the gas, and they traveled at a more steady pace.

"So..." she said. Her voice sounded different and realer than it did over the phone. But at the same time, it was wonderfully familiar. "Nice to meet you in person."

"Nice to meet you in person too," Christina said, shyly. Lily seemed so much cooler than her.

"Your dad seemed really mad. You were right."

"You came to the door just in time. I didn't know what he was going to do next." Sinking lower in her seat, Christina watched as the two drove out of town. She was officially on her own. Her stomach turned. Was it against the Bible to run away from one's family? The real Bible, not just what her father said God would want. She had long since learned that her father twisted the truth about matters like these.

"I packed snacks, if you want some," Lily reached over and opened the glove compartment. "Help yourself, Chrissy."

Christina smiled.

She wasn't entirely on her own.

After Christina got past her initial shyness, living with Lily was really fun. She was helping a lot in Christina's relearning endeavors.

Since she'd learned that her town, her church, and her family had been mixing lies in with the truth, she had resolved to figure out what was real when she moved out. Hundreds of miles away form her father, her goal seemed more possible than ever.

Lily gave her insight into what a normal girl's life was, and how a normal girl acted and socialized. They could laugh and joke together, and set up their apartment. Christina was good at running a household, and had learned some penny pinching techniques from her mother. They would come in handy. Both now had student debts to pay off, and rent. They decorated their apartment together, and did grocery shopping. Since the apartment was small, they divided the one bedroom into two with a divider. Lily hung up band posters on her side.

Christina bought an old, used laptop. She had always used the old computers at the library back at home. She was never allowed to have one of her own. She technically wasn't supposed to have a cell phone either, but those were easier to hide. She set up a personal email account, separate from the one she used for college applications. This being her own personal computer, she could look up things that she wouldn't dare look up in the library, with Ms. Censordoll creeping around, checking over everyone's shoulders. Lily showed her that her email account could log her into many different sites, for videos and sharing photos, and almost anything.

It was so nice to have a friend.

They would talk and laugh and watch TV late at night, later than Christina was ever allowed by her parents to stay up. One night, Lily confess something to her.

"I don't like boys, I like girls. That's why my mom was going to kick me out. I moved out before she could though."

Christina was quiet. She had never met someone... homosexual... in real life before.

"My parents said that people... like that... go to hell," she whispered.

"Is that what you think?" Lili asked. She waited. Christina thought.

"I don't think so," she whispered. "That doesn't seem right. You're too nice to go to hell."

Liky smiled. Christina smiled back.

They applied for jobs within the first few days of moving. Lily became a barista, and earned quite a few tips with her winning smile. Christina found a job at a dog kennel. She took the dogs on walks, bathed them, and played with them. She would feel pangs of sadness in the beginning, a particularly small and shivery dog reminding her of a childhood pet she once had. Her father had drowned the cat.

But she tries not to think of that often. She was mostly happy there.

As she started to become adjusted to her new life, Christina quickly found herself in another new situation. She and Lily attended the orientation for new students together, and got their class schedules. As nervous as Christina was about the big campus, and all the new people, reading over the subjects she would study stirred a familiar back-to-school excitement. She organized her pencil case and notebooks in her backpack the night before her first class, checking at least three times that her alarm was set before finally attempting to get some sleep. She could hear Lily snoring on the other side of the room divider.

The blur of the past few weeks had finally slowed down. Now time seemed to crawl. Her dad's voice rung in her head. All you'll ever be good for is being an obedient wife. I have done my best to mould you into a good candidate for one, you will not let me down...

He wouldn't want her to be here.

Somehow, the thoughts didn't bother her as much as before.

Early the next morning, Christina pulled on a thin, pink, long sleeve shirt. The collar came right up to her neck, covering everything. Her red overalls went all the way down to her plain shoes. She looked in the mirror. She looked childish. On second thought, the headband could go. That was better.

She still had the nagging feeling that she was exposed. So she slipped on a jacket overtop. There. That would do.

She was one of the first to arrive at class, and chose a seat in the middle row, in the center. She had a nice view of the board, but wouldn't draw too much attention to herself. Perfect.

Christina sat down, pulling out one of her new notebooks and clicking one of her new pens experimentally. Then she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me miss, do you mind if I..."

She looked up into the eyes of a familiar face. The man paused, and they stared at each other. He looked slimmer, the baby fat was mostly gone from his cheeks. His hair had grown out a little. But it was him, there was no denying it. He squinted, then his expression brightened. He grinned, and Christina was caught off guard by how happy he was to see her.

"Christina? Is that you?"

"Orel?"