The Great Escape

AN: Thank you to RKO.I.F, Christal-R, TJ Sparkles, Melissa Cristina, Cena-Wilson-Crazy, xSomeKindaRush, CrazyWWEFreakJNH, WWEFan1990, Ashleymassarophan1, Deeelyndz, Chain Gang Princess, jojocheer28 and rory21 for reviewing the last chapter.

You guys are cool :)

Chapter Twelve – Back Off

EVE

"Rise and shine girly!"

To wake to Maria's smiling face – no matter how adorable it was – had not been at the top of Eve's to-do list. The brunette moaned in protest, the first noise to slip through her dry lips that early morning. Despite its warning, she still found an unforgettable urge to get up properly.

"Why are you so happy anyway?" Not that it's a surprise or anything, she added to her thoughts as she used all her strength to lift herself into an upright position.

"I'm meeting Randy for coffee before class. I've only told you, like, a million times!"

"Oh right...yeah, I remember now. I think you should go for decaf though, mkay?"

Swinging her bag onto her shoulder – and nearly hitting herself in the eye with the strap – the redhead cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"Oh...no reason."

"Alrighty then. So what's going on with you today?"

"Well I had planned to sleep in since I've only got a couple of lectures this afternoon but I guess," she then shot a knowing look in her best friend's direction, "that's not happening now."

Truth be told, the brunette didn't actually mind being up so early. Sure, an extra hour or two of sleep sounded like heaven, but she had plenty to do in the meanwhile. Studying was her number-one priority, of course, as she hadn't been able to concentrate in quite a while due to other problems.

"Aww I'm sorry," said Maria in response, but looked anything but. The grin on her face was indication enough that she was wrapped up in her happy bubble already. "Hey, I think Mickie said something about meeting for lunch today if we're all free. What do you think?"

Sure – an easy answer – was on the tip of her tongue. It really was. The thought of spending a little time with her girls, even if she would have to suffer Ashley's company, was a comforting one to her. Unfortunately, another thought replaced that one to cloud her once clear mind.

"You know, actually..." She began, tucking a loose curl out of her eyes and behind her ear, "I'm going to be really busy today. I've got studying to do and Matt said he would call at some point so—"

"Ooh, say no more! I'll be more than happy to leave you alone if it means you get to spend quality time with the boyfriend. Well not spend time obviously...but more...more...chat with him and, uh..."

"I get what you mean, Maria."

"Oh good – I had no idea where I was going with that line!" Once again, the hyper ball of energy was back. She raced around the room, nearly sending Eve into a dizzy spell until she located her at the open door. "I will see you later then. Don't forget to tell me the details of what he said!"

"Do I ever?" She smiled faintly at the closing door.

Now left alone, the Latina sighed weakly, tucking her arms around her knees as she glanced around the room. The only thing on her mind now was Matt, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

How can such a good thing be so hard to hold onto?

She was beginning to wonder whether it was worth having a boyfriend who lived so far away. Her friends had told her that maybe – just maybe – she would find herself far too emotional to cope with a relationship when she had so much to focus on. Of course, she had taken the words in with consideration, and even thought that herself at one time...

But he was Matt Hardy. He was the guy who had won her over on their first date by branching out and not taking her to a restaurant like some cliché guy. He'd taken her to the beach instead and they'd watched the stars together. That night was perfect, as were the ones that followed. They were inseperable, branded the perfect couple by others around them – well apart from Ashley, but she had always been bitter so she didn't count.

Their relationship was so perfect that when it came to their imminent separation, she spent her very last night with him. She was so in love with him...they didn't have to say it to one another; they just knew. That last night was very special for so many reasons, but the main was personal to her. Committed to him fully, Eve had lost her virginity to him.

She knew he was worth it and that he was the guy for her.

So why did she feel this way now?

Feeling a lump rise in her throat, the young adult slipped out of her bed and decided to do something productive with her day. She needed something to distract her from all of the memories and bad thoughts combined...someone to distract her.

Before thinking of Mickie, she thought of Mike.

And then cursed herself for doing so.

"What is wrong with you, girl?" She scolded herself as she slipped into the bathroom. "Maybe a shower will clear my mind."

So, after allowing the water to run for a while, she stripped off her pyjamas – a Charlie Brown pattern, no less, which Ashley constantly made fun of – and stepped into the shower. The water was both hot and comforting to her skin, and she closed her eyes, losing herself in the moment.

It seemed like everything was much simpler when she didn't have to think about anything or anyone.

If only life was that simple.

Eve was beginning to wonder why she wanted to go to college in the first place.

Surrounded by a large stack of books on her left side and her notepad and pen on her right, her study session in the library didn't seem to be going too well. Every time a promising theory came to mind to explain an answer, she always blanked out, leaving her unable to progress onto something a little more challenging.

To put it simply, she was far too caught up in recent events rather than what she was supposed to be focusing on. And, actually, another distraction was coming her way.

"Hey Eve, what's up?" Mickie smiled as she slid into the chair beside her friend, resting her handbag where there was a small space on the table.

"Trying to study but not getting very far," smiled the brunette weakly, "What about you?"

"Oh, I've got about ten minutes until my class starts so I thought I would wait here until then."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're lying."

"What—how do you know?"

"It's simple. Your nostrils flare when you fib about something."

"Really?" Mickie's eyes widened. She frowned a beat later, covering her nose. "That could be a problem with Phil." She finished in a muffled reply.

"Okay...so what's the reason you're really here? And for God's sake, take your hand away so I can hear you properly."

The petite brunette did just that and sighed in defeat. "Ash is over there. I can't leave her side until we're both safely in class."

"...Why?"

"Because she thinks she'll run into Adam. It's ridiculous, really...oh and she also thinks that everyone is talking about their date too. Ask her something and I swear she'll say the same thing every time. Look, she's coming now."

"I don't have anything to say."

"That doesn't matter. Just say something."

Eve, somewhat confused, turned her head, only to find the blonde stalking towards them. She had a look of frustration on her face but that wasn't anything new. Tired of Mickie's nudges every so often, she finally worked up the nerve to talk to her. "So Ash, is—"

"I HATED IT, OKAY?!" Ashley exclaimed all of a sudden, ignoring the looks she received from the other students and pulling Mickie to her feet. Turning to the brunette again, she glared. "He's a JERK and I'm NEVER going out with him again!"

And then they both left.

Amused, the brunette ducked her head to get back to her work. The sooner she could concentrate, the better. Unfortunately, that just wasn't going to happen...

"Uh, do you know your friend is a little mentally unstable?"

...But this time she wasn't exactly complaining.

A soft smile was already on her face as she glanced up to meet Mike's smirk. "Oh yeah, we all knew that. She actually has a good reason to be a psycho today though."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Oh please, like you haven't heard..."

"That's true too. Do you mind if I sit down?" After she offered him the seat next to hers, he grinned and took his place. "So you got me – Adam already bragged to me this morning. Apparently she couldn't get enough of him last night and—why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm not laughing at you...but she is gonna be so pissed off when she hears what he's been saying. I can't wait."

"So let me get this straight. You're happy because your friend is going to be angry?"

"Oh, no, we're not friends. Just acquaintances."

"Right." Mike laughed, leaning in a little closer to see her work. "So what are you doing – anything I should be working on too?"

For a moment, she simply stared at him. He was sitting so close to her that it was impossible not to. Clearly he was comfortable with their positions – come to think of it, she was too. He smelled good too. The cologne he was wearing was something she'd smelled before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

"...Eve?"

"Right," she coloured, but thankfully he didn't notice, "No, it's not really. This is for another class. Don't worry, Miz, you're safe."

"Wow, you actually said my name without rolling your eyes."

"Oh please." Now she rolled her eyes, albeit playfully. "I still think your nickname is as ridiculous as your mohawk."

With a boyish grin, she lifted a hand to run it through his hair. He simply laughed in response. Discussions about his "ridiculous" hair took place almost every day, and so they were both used to the playful behaviour.

Mike came to rest his arm around the back of her chair, but she didn't seem to notice as she pulled a heavy book towards her. "Alright. Now I really need to study."

"Is that a nice way of saying you want me to go?"

"If I wanted you to go, I would have said so already." She winked at him. A beat after doing so, she recoiled into a shyer version of herself. Where had that come from anyway? "But I do need to study."

"It's cool. Even if you wanted to be in my awesome presence – which I don't blame you for, by the way – I've got somewhere to be anyway. I'm meeting someone...and as a matter of fact, here she comes now."

She didn't appear to realize, but the brunette lifted her head at the mention of "she". It was an automatic response she wasn't ready for. As the surprise passed, she followed his gaze, wondering what he was so busy smiling at.

The next person to enter the conversation was undeniably British. "Miz, hi. Where have you been?"

"Where have I been?" He smirked, pulling her onto his lap. "I've been waiting for you but you obviously didn't look far enough to find me."

"More like the other way around. So, um, who's this?"

Mike, having forgotten his manners, shook his head. "Right sorry. This is the girl I was telling you about, remember? Eve, this is Layla...Layla, Eve."

Eve smiled kindly, but it faltered when she noticed the way the short student looked her up and down slowly, as if trying to suss her out.

"Nice to meet you." She managed, fighting the strange urge to dive across the table and take her down right then and there.

"You too. So you're the fabulous girl he talks about so much...I wonder why that is."

"I'm confused too," said Eve before she could stop her mouth, "Mike hasn't mentioned you. Not at all."

Even as they entered Bitch Headquarters, The Miz was oblivious to their glares. In typical guy fashion, he carried on as though the girls were the best of friends. "You two should hang out sometime – I bet you have a lot in common!"

They had one thing in sync, clearly, as they both rolled their eyes at his comment.

"Maybe." Layla nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with such a sensual desire that Eve found herself annoyed. "So you ready to get out of here?"

So you ready to get out of here? She echoed immaturely in her mind. Where does she think she's going anyway? We're stuck on campus with nowhere to go.

"Sure. Just wait here a minute while I go and get my book."

"You're actually reading? That's a first."

He grabbed Layla by the waist, moving her so he could rise to his feet. "Careful, I might just withdraw that offer to walk you to your class."

She simply giggled as he walked away. What shocked Eve was how she went from one mood to the other – no sooner had he disappeared, she turned, the smile on her face replaced with a glare.

"So..." The brunette began, too tired to start an argument she knew would come soon enough. "How do you know him?"

"How is that any of your business?"

"I'm just interested to know."

"Well, yeah, whatever," scoffed the girl, who was, in that moment, acting like a diva. "Just back off, okay?"

There was a moment of silence before she allowed herself to reply, "Excuse me?"

"He's mine – or he soon will be anyway – and I don't need you as a threat. You're not worth his time or attention so I don't know why you're even hanging around him."

"Okay, first of all, I'm not 'hanging around him', okay? He came over to sit by me because we're friends. Yes, friends...do you think you can handle that word?" Now in her element, Eve raised a finger. "Oh and thank you, thanks so much."

"For what?"

"Well I'm just so flattered that you think I'm a threat. Seriously, you act like you're all that so to consider me as competition...I'm truly flattered."

"You've got the bitch act down perfectly; you can't pretend to be Miss Innocent in all of this."

"Hey, I'm just being me – I'm not innocent but I'm not anything like you. If you have a problem with me then that's fine. I don't really care."

"Whatever." Layla smirked, straightening out her designer clothes. "When you're ready to admit you want my guy let me know."

She opened her mouth to retort, only to close it again. The war of words hadn't been won at all but the star of their conversation was making his way back to the table.

He seemed oblivious to the evident tension, and slung an arm around Layla. "Let's go then, don't want to be late."

"Bye Eve."

"See you around." She smiled back just as sweetly, and waited until they were both gone before she dropped the act. "Stupid bitch."

She wasn't quite sure what to make of her sudden hatred towards a student she hadn't even met before, but in that moment she wasn't looking for answers. She was too busy stressing about the added drama she just didn't need.

"Work, just work." Eve muttered to herself. With much more confidence, she lifted her pen to the paper...only to drop it when her text alert went off.

She knew exactly who it was.

Sorry, I know I said I would call but I've got a lot of things to today. Hope you're doing okay though and I'll call you when I have time. Matt x

The brunette texted back: Don't worry about it babe, I'm busy too. Studying and all that jazz. Speak to you soon. Eve xx

Halfway through pushing her phone back into her pocket, she was somewhat surprised to get another text from him.

Before I forget, I think I can drive up at the weekend to see you. It'd be awesome if you're free. Love you.

And she texted back: I'm definitely free. I'll let you know if that changes. Love you too. I miss you a lot. E xx

Then, finally, she was given a little peace when he didn't text her back. She slipped her phone back into the front pocket of her jeans and glanced to the white page of her notepad. Nothing was written on it apart from her name.

Right. My essay will be written on...

But she was no longer able to focus on her work. Had she been in the first place?

With too many thoughts swirling around in her mind, Eve hunched over the table, resting her head on her elbow. She was tired and exhausted – was this what it felt like in the first few weeks of college? If so, she only hoped things would get better for her instead of causing her stress.

Unfortunately, she already knew the answer was not in her favour.

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

Up next is Maria's chapter.