The Great Escape

AN: Thank you to jojocheer28, Thee Britty, Melissa Cristina, WWEFan1990, Christal-R, AshMattXoXo, Cena-Wilson-Crazy, xSomeKindaRush, RKO.I.F, TJ Sparkles, Ashleymassarophan1, JeffxMaria. and rory21 for reviewing the last chapter.

You guys are super amazing! :D

Chapter Four – Just Like a Tattoo

MICKIE

Currently listening to: You Get What You Give – New Radicals.

Haha, beat that bro!

Hey Mom and Dad!

I know you don't like me to start my emails like that—all non official and stuff—but at least the idiot known as my brother will quit being impatient and stop peering over your shoulder now. Am I right? Well even if I'm not, tell him to find a better feel-good song than that! I'm SO winning this week's music challenge!

So anyway, I know you asked how college was going a couple hundred times (just kidding, love you) so here's the answer: it's awesome! I know it's only been a couple of days but I'm having a blast. This place is WAY better than high school and I feel like my opinion actually matters around here. I've had a few seminars with Ash and Eve—unfortunately none with Maria—so I guess that's pretty cool.

Oh and speaking of Ash, she says hi...well no, that's a lie. But if she wasn't too busy sulking about her own problems then she would totally be saying hello. You know how she is.

Eve's got herself invited to a party on Friday night...a sort of welcoming party, I think. Either way I'll be going...and there's nothing you can do about it. Na na na na na! You're both rolling your eyes now, aren't ya? Sorry, but I'll be really responsible, I promise. I know you both trust me; hopefully that's enough for you.

I should go now. I'm going to grab some lunch with the girls and then head to my afternoon classes. I love you, Mickie x

Fairly content, the brunette pressed the send button and leaned back comfortably in her seat. A soft smile curved her lips as she watched the screen change, and then brightened when she swivelled around in her seat to face her best friend's bed.

Finding Ashley with her head down in her books, she smiled. "Hey study-girl, you ready to go out for lunch?"

"Why? Have you finished your email?" The dirty-blonde girl replied, tapping her pen against her chin as she tried to work out a problem.

"Yep—I told the rents you said hi. Have you written to yours yet?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to?" She pondered, trying to quell the feeling of worry she reserved for her best friend at all times. "I know you haven't since we got here."

"It's only been a few days. I'll do it...at some point." Finally, Ashley snapped her book shut and offered an entirely fake smile. "Alright, let's go. I need a break from Sociology."

"Well okay. As long as you do get round to calling them or something."

All she got in response was a nod, and she couldn't help but to feel concerned as she watched her hurriedly get ready for their outing. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from caring about her troubled friend. Her stubborn attitude was sometimes a good thing, but mostly bad—especially in this case.

Nor could she stop herself from caring for Eve or Maria, who both had their problems whether they knew it or not. She looked out for the Latina because of her partying habits—as a lightweight, she was one to look out for—while she watched over the redhead simply because of her naivety.

In fact, Mickie spent so much time being the "mother" to everyone else, she barely thought about herself. Her problems weren't at all significant when she had other things and people to worry about.

Besides, she felt she was aware of her less-than-hectic life.

"Ready?"

Crashing back into reality, the brunette stood up, quickly pressing the button to turn off her computer. "I'm ready, Ashes."

And finally her overprotective nature was dropped as she linked arms with her best friend and left their room.

Mickie loved her classes.

Just knowing that she was placed with a bunch of intellectuals—instead of the jocks and brainless cheerleaders back in high school—was fantastic enough, but this was really something else. She found herself anticipating her lessons, and not just because of first-week excitement.

Something had changed.

Out of nowhere, a newer, much more confident version of herself had been revealed. She was no longer afraid to voice her opinion on an important matter and nor did she care if her answer came to be one so different from the rest. She was perfectly content to make mistakes—to create a new response—just so she could get her point across.

Mature really wasn't the word to describe their class discussions; it was so much more than that, as far as she was concerned.

She wasn't going to lie; if told to tell the truth, she would have no problem saying she loved people to know she was smart. In fact, back home she was always telling the guys who asked her out—an approximate of three; one of whom was a jock for a dare—that their IQ level couldn't possibly keep up with hers. Harsh, but it got her point across—that and she didn't want to date them in the first place.

So, yes, she was both mature and smart. Ashley was always saying "You know, you're already grown up. When you were ten, you were already twenty in your mind. So now you're probably about...thirty. How are you enjoying it?" and while it was said in a jokey way, it was most definitely true. She couldn't help her personality; her soft yet sharp side made her who she was.

Mickie had a feeling it was partly from an influence on her parents' part. Her mother was caring and sweet while her father was strict and priority-based. She liked to think she was a mixture of both.

And while she knew who she was—or better yet, what she was—nothing could compare to this. This chapter of her life was meant for her, she knew.

Along with the page turn came a new bunch of friends. Mickie, being just a little insecure despite herself, hadn't expected to gel so well with everyone else. She'd walked into the place expecting it to be the exact same as high school but, while there were bitchy types around, most were friendly.

But friendly wouldn't even begin to describe the guys who sat behind her, and had apparently taken a liking to her.

"And here she comes again."

She tried not to grin as she spotted two familiar boys already in their seats.

"We've known each other for only a day, but you've brightened the next already."

"Oh, God, where did you get that one from?" Now she grinned. A flash of blonde hair passed her as she took her seat. In a moment, he was perched on her desk and she fought hard not to roll her eyes, "So have you figured out what my name is yet, Christian?"

"Now you're just mocking me." Christian smirked. "Using my name and then asking for yours?" He turned to his friend, who hadn't moved from the seat behind Mickie. "Chris, I think we're going to like this one. She's like Trish, you know? In that stubborn sense anyway..."

"Hey, I have no idea what you're talking about here," she cut him off, glancing in-between the pair, "but it's not my fault that you wanted to play the name game with me. I came in yesterday perfectly willing to introduce myself but you—"

"Wanted to guess your name, I know. Of all the times not to listen to what someone was saying, why didn't I listen for your name when the prof was confirming us?"

She merely smirked. "Keep on guessing."

"Yep." Chris spoke at last, matching her smirk easily. He turned to his friend again. "She's definitely as stubborn as Trish."

"Who is this Trish person you're talking about anyway?"

"Only the most awesome chick to be friends with on the planet," bragged Christian, returning to his seat and forcing her to turn to them. "We both had a thing for her once...but, eh, it didn't quite turn out right."

"Seriously?"

"You wanna know more?" When Mickie nodded, Chris smirked again. "We'll let you know when you tell us your name."

Perfectly comfortable in their presence, she stuck her tongue out at them. "You'll never know now."

A smile graced her features as she turned to face the front again, widening when she heard Chris mutter "Oh, she's good". Apparently she was—despite only knowing them for a day, and not even knowing them properly, they were as good as friends in their status.

For her, that meant a lot.

The playful moods settled quite a bit when their professor made his entry a couple of minutes later, but right on time. He seemed pleased to see them all already dedicated to arriving within the correct time-frame, and Mickie grinned. She had a feeling this particular class was going to rock.

In the middle of scribbling notes down, she failed to notice when another being made their presence known, and was only made aware when a knock came to the door. The students were momentarily distracted by the interruption, but soon returned to their work.

Everyone except for Mickie.

In fact, she was rather intrigued as she took in the appearance of the guy at the door. A hoodie covered his top half, baggy jeans the lower; it was his jet-black hair, however, that caught her attention. In just the right moment, she caught him whip his hair as he turned his head to the front of the class.

With only one commercial in her mind, all she could think was, Whoa...he's totally worth it.

"I was told you were expecting me." He spoke a moment later to the teacher, the faintest of smiles on his face. "I came in a day late."

As the information processed with the professor, Mickie bit down on her pen. She was still looking at him, wondering what it was about him that seemed so...interesting. On first impressions, he seemed like a bit of a punk, and that wasn't usually her type. Ashley's maybe, but never hers.

After the professor stepped out, the—clearly—new student was left to loiter, and he glanced around the room upon doing so. Unfortunately for Mickie, he caught her gaze before she could look away. Now an amused smile curved his lips. "Can I help you?"

Noting how the students in the class all turned to face her, the rare blush crept to her cheeks. "Oh, um..." She trailed off, wondering what to say, only to be captured by the tattoos travelling from his arms down to his wrists. "Nice tattoos...yeah, that's it."

"Right..."

Then she was forced to turn away from him. She made a mental note to pat herself on the shoulder—directly after hitting herself—for wearing her hair down, as she was able to hide behind her brunette locks.

"This girl is going to be legendary." Christian made the matter worse, and the sound of a hand slapping against another was heard. Clearly his friend agreed. "I like her already."

That was all she needed to hear, and she sunk down into her seat.

Apparently with the confident version of herself came a side-order of geek, and she'd just ordered another helping of it.

Mickie was fairly surprised to find Eve and Maria waiting for her when she returned to her room later on in the day. Better yet, she was surprised to find them gathered on her bed and with a great collection of clothing surrounding them.

"Have I missed something?" She laughed as she placed her books on her dresser, walking towards them. "You do know the pair of you have your own room right?"

"Don't be silly," giggled Maria as she bounced to her feet. "Of course we know! We're here because we want your opinion on what we should wear on Friday night. The party is only a couple of days away, you know—"

"Really? Oh, I wasn't aware." She joked, but nudged her friend in the side. "So don't tell me Eve has given you the party-bug too. It wouldn't surprise me."

The brunette mocked a gasp. "I did no such thing!" After calming, her smile dropped. "Actually she came to me and said she wanted to get all dressed up and have a good time so it has nothing to do with me. If you ask me, I think she wants to forget about her little problem."

"What problem does she have?"

"Hello!" The redhead exclaimed, waving frantically. "I am still in the room, you know! And I don't have a problem. I never did."

But Eve ignored her. "Our lovely gal has been crushed. Randy has a girlfriend."

"The guy you like? Aww," she sympathized, offering a little side-hug, "no worries, Maria, life goes on."

"I do know that for myself thanks. Besides, it was just a crush in the first place—I can't hurt if I never really developed feelings for him right?" She beamed triumphantly when neither said a thing, returning to her bubbly self. "Now, okay, the dress or the skirt and this really cute top?"

"Uh...the dress, I suppose." Mickie supplied with a shrug.

In all honesty, she didn't know a whole lot about fashion, and often left it to Maria as she was obsessed with the subject. The only thing she was obsessed about was...well, everything, if she really thought about it.

Getting Ashley to open up, curing her incredibly bad moments, and not thinking about guys. The last was a tricky task, but she managed it well.

At least she thought she did.

"You've got that smile on your face!" Eve suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "It's that I saw a guy I liked today smile. Come on, spill."

She raised an eyebrow, first at Maria and then towards her clearly deluded friend. "I have that sort of smile?"

"Everyone does. Now, come on, don't change the subject. Who is he? And no, I won't leave you alone until you tell me..."

The brunette bit down on her bottom lip as she glanced in-between the two. Despite her rule of not letting the girls know of her love issues, it was time for a change. She did like this guy, after all, even if she'd embarrassed herself in their first official meeting. "Okay. So he's new apparently, a day late or something...and his name is Phil—"

Only Mickie didn't get to finish her story as Ashley made her presence known, shoving the door open and bursting into the room. She looked a little red in the face, but out of annoyance rather than breath. "Alright. Who the hell told that jerk my name?!"

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

And there you have it; all four girls profiles. Anyone have a favourite so far or is it still too early? I know it's too early for me to decide anyway, haha. Oh and just because I've introduced some of the guys, you shouldn't think the pairing is set in stone. Mkay? Just keep that in mind.