The Great Escape
AN: Thank you to Katie, Christal-R, RKO.I.F, WWEFan1990, Cena-Wilson-Crazy, Ashleymassarophan1, xSomeKindaRush, Melissa Cristina, CrazyWWEFreakJNH, jojocheer28, Deeelyndz, TJ Sparkles, PinkyGirl95, JeffxMaria, rory21 and Chain Gang Princess for reviewing the last chapter.
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Chapter Nine – The Love Game
MICKIE
Never had Mickie James been so frustrated in all her life.
This very morning surpassed any other hair-tearing, scream-urging moment in the past. In fact, her mood exceeded expectations as she sat alone in the cafeteria, an apple on her right side and an iPod on her left.
In the way of showing her mood her fingernails had been bitten down to impressively short stubs and she hadn't bothered, for once, to tie her hair back. It was still to be decided whether the hair style would work for her; with light brunette curls falling in front of her face every so often, it only added to her annoyance.
It was times like these that she wished she'd never created the stupid weekly music challenge with her brother. After all, it had started so simply with her making a comment—just a measly comment—on a new band around that he liked and he, in return, challenging her to find a better song.
It was her pride and his ego that kept them in the game together for all these years and now they invented new categories for it.
This week's song, however, was supposed to be an easy find. She felt that an inspirational song shouldn't be so hard to find...but it was, and terribly so. All she'd heard recently was popular rap songs and dance anthems about shaking booties—hardly inspiring lyrics.
"Here's the girl of the moment."
In the middle of staring tiredly at the wooden table, Mickie hadn't expected an interruption, and therefore, jumped a mile at the noise. She was greeted with laughter as Christian and Chris sat down opposite her, their trays filled with all kinds of junk food.
"Like I keep telling you," continued Christian, slapping his buddy on the shoulder while unloading his tray, "this girl is going to be legendary."
"Wait. Why am I the girl of the moment?"
"Because your friend, Maria," began Chris, clearly trying to hide the smile on his face, "not only told us your name, but she told us how your date with Phil went."
"What?"
The other blonde smirked. "Yep. So Mickie James, just how are you not hiding in shame after the embarrassment you faced?"
She tried not to grit her teeth as the image of her innocent red-headed friend came to mind. While Maria was an amazing friend, she sometimes had the occasional slip-up as a result of her bubbly nature. Now seemed to be one of those times.
"What reason would I have to be embarrassed?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could, but the laughter that came from them a moment later made her frown. Childishly, she whined, "What?"
"Phil told us what happened already."
Her eyes narrowed. "What did he tell you? Please inform me since, obviously, I'm the only one who doesn't know my own shame."
Chris chuckled. "It's nothing, really. He could just tell how nervous you were...that, and you were practically hissing at Eve for advice on boys."
"Oh...my...God. He heard that?"
"Maria heard that, and she was involved in a conversation with a super hot guy." The other two in the conversation gave him knowing looks and he sighed. "Maria's words, not mine. You know what I mean..."
Mickie giggled. "Lucky for you, Chris, we do." But it was just a moment later that she remembered her troubles and slumped forwards. "Oh, what am I going to do? He's going to think I'm a loser...my brother will too. This is such a nightmare."
"Is your brother particularly interested in your love life?"
"No, of course not. That's something he prefers to stay out of." She commented. "We've just got this music challenge going on and I have to find a really inspirational song before Sunday otherwise I lose. Oh actually, I was hoping for your help on that."
Confused, Chris pointed to himself. "Me?"
"I don't see any other Chris around—yes, you. Do you remember when I went through the songs on your iPod and told you how awesome your taste in music was? Well...I'm going to need your help finding a song now."
"Oh...sure, I guess I can help."
"Cool! So—"
Mickie didn't get to finish her sentence as she was interrupted, not by Christian like she expected, but by another blonde Canadian.
Adam Copeland looked completely at home as he set his tray down on the table loudly and then did the same with his backside to the seat next to the brunette. "Mornin' everyone." He greeted in a voice laced with sleep.
A unison of "hey" was chanted back.
It took the new arrival a moment to realize who he was sitting beside, but when he figured it out, his face lit up. "You're Ashley's friend right?"
"Best friend actually; Mickie James."
"Awesome."
"...Awesome?" She echoed uncertainly.
His smirk, one that was becoming a little more familiar to her now, widened. "Since you ladies are so close, you know all about her right? She's stubborn, she's demanding, she's independent, she's stubborn, she's ridiculously hard to have a conversation with, she's stubborn...did I mention she's stubborn?"
"You might have once or twice...but what's your point?"
"Well clearly as you're friends—good job putting up with her, by the way—you could ask a favour from her...or maybe make her if she doesn't agree."
"And what kind of favour are we talking about here?"
"Getting her to go on a date," he paused to smirk again, "with yours truly."
There was just a few seconds of silence before the three surrounding him burst out into an unkind round of laughter.
It was Mickie who recovered first, though she dabbed at her watering eyes as she turned to face him. "I'm sorry but have you seen the way she acts around you? I don't know how I would get her to go on a date with you."
His face looked like it had been stung by a bee. "Thanks for the support. Surely there has to be something—a secret, maybe—to force her into going out with me."
"That's manipulative," she gasped, "...and I've got the perfect secret!" A beat later, she added, "But why put her through torture? Why should I?"
"Because believe it or not, I like her."
"Wow." Christian remarked. "Mickie, he really does like her."
Mickie didn't want to know how her friend came to that conclusion, but—strangely—believed him. "Well fine. I'll see what I can do."
"You're awesome, Mickie James."
"I know, I know." She rolled her eyes as the guys went on to talk about the latest and greatest sports car.
The library always had a calming effect on Mickie. Whenever she was stressed out, whether it was about something important or the smallest of things, she could always get lost in the world of books.
A faint smile touched her lips as she browsed the non-fiction section. She wasn't looking for something in particular but if something was to grab her attention, she would waste little time to check it out.
She was in that mood; the one so familiar that Eve, who had accompanied the brunette up the flight of stairs to this place, had given up on trying to usher her away. It was plain and simple: when she had something on her mind, she would spend hours distracted by shiny new books.
So while Eve wished she'd never planned to meet up with her friend, Mickie was content as she slipped into the next aisle.
Her fingers scanned across the various titles, and she stopped every so often, her interest peaked by a few of them. But it wasn't until her hand was about to brush against another that she stopped completely, rather in shock.
"Oh, I'm so..." Her apology was cut short when she cocked her head to the side, twisting her lips in thought. A moment later, she said, "Wait...I know that tattoo. I'm sure I do."
The owner of the Drug Free knuckle tattoos smirked down at her. "I should think so too."
She slowly looked up...and found her 'nightmare' to be true. At the sudden realization of who the stranger was, she sucked in a breath. "Oh right, of course...I...uhm..."
"Still real talkative huh?" Phil chuckled as he leaned against the shelf, a couple of books tucked under his arm. "So what's up?"
"Oh. Me?" She squeaked, and he laughed again. "Right...well...uhm..."
Alright, Mickie. You're a smart and mature woman; Eve said so and it's gotta be true. Impress him. That's all you have to do. You can do it...and oh my God, he's been standing there and staring at me all this time. Say something! Anything!
"I love your tattoos."
...
Anything but that.
"Alright. Well...thanks." His smile turned into another smirk. When he flicked back his jet black hair, she almost melted. Luckily he distracted her by saying, "So you never really answered my question."
I wonder if he'd let me touch his hair.
"Mickie?"
It looks so...touchable. And soft. Definitely soft.
"...Hello?"
A hand waved in front of her, snapping her out of her train of thought. Guiltily she blushed, but was able to say, "Oh right. So...um...what's up with me? Well I'm just..." Oh God, what am I doing? "Oh, I'm just scanning through the books, seeing if there's anything I would be interested in."
"And is there?"
She eyed him up and down. Oh definitely. "Nope...not really."
"Okay. Well I'm about to head out now—I'll see you later?"
"Of course."
He offered a smile and turned away, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to watch him leave. Not without giving something a little more than an incoherent stutter to him. "Hey Phil..."
He looked back, a light smile on his face. "Yeah?"
"About the other night," she uneasily began, playing with her fingers, "did I seem a little...distant to you?"
"When we went out?" After she nodded, he shrugged. "A little bit." And then a smirk curved his lips. "But I heard what your problem was."
"You did?"
"It was hard not to...I heard you asking Eve for advice."
"Oh...wonderful." She muttered and any trace of a smile disappeared from her face. She straightened out and turned on her heel. "I'll see you around."
Her plan was to get out of there as quickly as she could and somehow avoid Phil for a long while after that—which, of course, wasn't possible but she was willing to try.
Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't find out if the plan would have worked or not, as she felt a hand brush against her arm, pulling her back.
"Hey," he interrupted, smiling, "I know you're shy around me, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's actually really cute."
And then she did something that was not so shy.
"Cute? I'm just cute? Well that's kind of...I don't know if it's a compliment or an insult actually."
"Trust me; it's a compliment."
A wink later, Phil disappeared.
A smile worthy of a love-struck fool graced her features and it wasn't until Eve made her way over that she snapped out of her gaze of the empty aisle.
"He called me cute." Mickie muttered as the brunette led her out by the arm. With a large grin, she repeated, "He called me cute."
"That's great," said Eve, fighting a smirk, "but Micks, do you think you'll be able to speak in full sentences the next time you see him?"
"I'm working on it." She grinned, somehow oblivious to the offense intended by her friend. "Aww, wow...he called me cute."
Mumbles of the same sentence—often including the words cute and no way—spilled through her mouth all the way back to her dorm room. It wasn't until she collapsed onto her bed that she realized she hadn't finished looking through the section of books...but after her run-in with Punk, she didn't particularly care.
"So Maria's beating herself up about this whole Randy thing. She's insane, I'm telling you. She had some crazy notion that she's making Michelle feel out of place because of how much time she's spending with her boyfriend. I think we're just a day away from the girl calling herself a bunny boiler."
"That's Maria for you," laughed the brunette, "but I wouldn't worry about her...you know why? Because Phil called me cute!"
Eve rolled her eyes in response.
"Oh come on. Be happy for me! I know it's hard for you and Matt to be apart but—"
"No, no..." The Latina cut her off, waving a hand about. She looked pretty adamant as she continued, "Matt and I are just fine. I talked to him last night on the phone—he misses me and he's going to find the time to come and see me soon. Isn't that great?"
"Yeah that's great...but if it is, why aren't you bouncing around the place?"
"Oh. I..."
But she was cut off as the door swung open, and Ashley sauntered inside.
Mickie was suspicious of Eve but tried not to focus on her troubles too much, and allowed her gaze to focus in on her best friend. "Hey Ash. How was your day?"
"Oh, oh, oh. How was my day? How was my day?!" The dirty-blonde girl's eyes narrowed considerably, and both were suddenly feeling a little afraid. "I swear, I'm stuck in this one class with a bunch of morons. Like, imagine having to sit in front of a group of girls who have nothing better to talk about than make-up and their boyfriends. It's like I'm still in high school and trust me, I don't want to be reminded of that place! Is there nothing better to talk about than guys? Or make-up even? But especially guys...what's the big deal? We're young and us girls should appreciate what we've got before fussing about stupid men, who, I bet, are just out to fuck things up for us."
Both Mickie and Eve blinked.
"Oh and if that isn't enough..."
"Okay!" A nervous giggle escaped Mickie's lips as she jumped from her seat. "I've got something to tell you...and you might not like it."
"I don't see how today can get any worse personally," scoffed the blonde as she collapsed onto her bed, shoving Eve down to the end. "Bring it on, I say."
"Alright. Well here's the thing. I've set you up on a date." As Ashley slowly rose, she swallowed. Before all her nerve lost her, she added, "and it's with Adam."
"You...WHAT?!"
"And you have to go because he really does like you. He says so, Christian says so..."
"Hell no," the girl protested as she swung her feet to the floor. Just in case she planned to step forward, Mickie grabbed her bag for protection. She had a pretty good swing in her, she was sure. "That is ridiculous. There is nothing that will make me go on a date with that jerk."
"Well actually," said Mickie a little breathlessly as she climbed onto her bed to escape the grasp of her approaching friend, "there is one thing. I mean, I don't want it to come to this...but I'll be sure to tell everyone if you don't go out on a date with him."
"What are you talking about?"
She hopped from bed to bed, ignoring Eve's amused look at her struggle. She was beginning to wonder whether Adam was worth all this trouble. "Okay, yes; I think you do know what secret I'm on about."
A particularly knowing look was shot in her best friend's direction.
Ashley squinted her eyes...and the realization hit her a moment later. Now her eyes widened. "No, no, no!"
"I'll do it, Ash. I'm really sorry, but he does like you. It's just one date anyway."
"Just one?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Eventually the blonde let out a sigh of defeat, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine—just one date though!"
"Yes!" Mickie bounded towards her for a hug but at the look on her face she thought against it wisely. Instead she toned down her smile. "Thanks, Ash."
"You're a bitch." She scowled.
Now she grinned. "So you've told me a million times before."
"So..." Eve began cautiously. "What's the secret?"
Ashley pointed towards the door. "Get out!"
"Touchy," sang the brunette, but headed that way anyway, "I'll check in with Maria then. See you for dinner later."
As soon as she was gone, Mickie collapsed back onto her bed. A triumphant smile curved her lips, but it had little to do with her victory over Ashley, and forcing her to go on date with the "jerk".
Now she was simply thinking about Phil. She was thinking about his tattoos, his smirk, his wink...she was utterly lost in her thoughts of him.
"Please don't tell me a guy put that smile there," muttered Ashley as she passed by to use her laptop.
"Oh yeah, Ash," she giggled just to spite her, "this was definitely a guy's work."
So there's the next chapter. Please review :)
Up next is the girls' chapter.