The Great Escape

AN: Thank you to RKO.I.F, xTwistedxImperfectionx, Katie, xSomeKindaRush, xXRiaHardyOrtonXx, CrazyWWEFreakJNH, Crazysexycool, RandomlyAwsomer, Cena-Wilson-Crazy, Ashleymassarophan1, Melissa Cristina, jojocheer28, Chain Gang Princess, rory21, TJ Sparkles, justbornawsome and Crystal5996 for reviewing the last chapter.

Thanks very muchly :)

Chapter Fourteen – Punk Drunk?

MICKIE

During their stay on college grounds, the girls had realized there were a few things they would have to adapt to. Sleeping arrangements and being away from home were at the top of the list, but didn't surpass one rule in-particular.

And Mickie James was already struggling with the problem this morning, as she rushed around her room frantically, gathering all the things she needed for her first class of the day. This was, of course, to Ashley's amusement, who felt it was necessary to laugh from her comfy position in bed at the most inappropriate times.

"Notepad, notepad...where is it?" She muttered to herself in annoyance as she picked and then shoved everything on her desk aside. "How has this happened? Could have sworn I wasn't running late ten minutes ago..."

As her best friend let out a boastful and slow yawn just to show how easy she had it, Mickie had to roll her eyes.

There was only one reason Ashley was acting this way – despite her nature – and it was all to do with Adam Copeland. Stupid Adam Copeland who had to be caught out lying about his date with the girl who "had a thing for him". The truth was ultimately revealed – in front of his friends – when she overheard and did what she'd wanted to do for a long time; inflict pain on the Canadian. A hard slap to the right cheek had left the blonde happy ever since.

"Why don't you try over there – where your laptop is?"

"Yes, thank you, Ash but I think I would know if—" There was a brief pause as her eyes flickered over to her bed. "Well...there it is."

"Told you so."

The brunette didn't rise to the occasion – no matter how annoying the sing-song voice became – and hurriedly grabbed the item. After looking at her watch again, and almost gasping when the time was shown, she decided it was right to leave now.

It was almost a mission to race out of the building, into the blinding sunshine, and then find the right direction to travel in.

Once she arrived, Mickie was out of breath and more than aware of how foolish she looked, panting and puffing when everyone else was perfectly calm walking around.

"...What are you doing?"

Already breathless, she didn't have the energy to jump at the sudden voice addressing her – though she was somewhat freaked out. The mood passed, predictably enough, when she caught sight of Phil staring back at her with an amused look on his face; a familiar pose in their relationship.

When she just stood there embarrassed, he raised an eyebrow. "Mickie, are you still with me? What are you doing?"

"We have, like, two minutes until class starts! I had to rush to get here." At his change in expression, she whined, "What?"

"It's only twenty to – we have plenty of time. In fact I was just on my way to the library for a little while..."

"No, no, no." She persisted, pointing her watch in his face. "See? It's on the hour now exactly. And I remember I took a shower – at what I thought was a fairly reasonable time – and then checked the time, only to realize I took much longer than I thought."

"Mickie." The dark-haired guy chuckled. "There must be something wrong with your watch because behind you there's a clock and it says the real time."

She turned and sure enough the time read as twenty to the hour. As she faced Phil again, she couldn't help her look of confusion. "I know a watch can stop and make you think it's behind, but to go forward in time? That doesn't make any—oh wait, I know exactly what's happened."

"You do?"

"Yep. Just give me a minute, would you?" She muttered through gritted teeth and turned slightly. "I have to make a call."

Just a moment after dialling the number, someone answered, laughing unabashedly. "I wondered how long it would take you."

"Not funny, Ash. I can't believe you had me rush around like that!"

"It was just too tempting to refuse."

"You know, when I thought of how you hadn't played any pranks on me since we arrived here I was happy about it. Why start now? I know you're happy but damn—"

"It's all about the reaction, baby."

"I hate you."

"And there's the perfect one right there." The blonde laughed again.

"Carry on and I'll set you up on another date with Adam." At the scoff received, she smirked. "Don't think I won't – unless you're planning to share your little secret with the world, I see no problem in—"

"You suck."

"It's all about the reaction, baby." She quoted her best friend with laughter. A beat later, she had control of the situation. "But I suppose I owe you. Now I have twenty minutes to make out with Punk—"

"Er...who?"

"Punk, my nickname for Phil."

"Don't even want to know why, but okay. Have fun sucking face—urgh."

"You're so anti-love."

"You're not in love, Micks."

"No...but still, you're anti the idea anyway." She shrugged. "Anyway, I've got to go."

"Yeah, making out to do. Blah, blah, blah."

"See you later."

It took a moment for Mickie to realize – after that pointless conversation – that she still had company beside her. She blushed guiltily when she came across Phil's smirk, and tried not to run away from him as she remembered all she'd mentioned about him to Ashley.

"So do you wanna head to the library?" He asked politely to save her the embarrassment of explaining herself. "We've got fifteen minutes to study."

"Sure." She smiled, relieved and walked beside him.

"But you know," he then said, that famous smirk reappearing as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "If you do want to make out now, it's perfectly fine with me."

All in all it had been a good day for Mickie; despite the prank played by Ashley, she was in high spirits when she returned to her dorm room. The brunette leaned against the door after shutting it, without a care in the world, biting down on her lip and displaying a smile as a fresh memory of today floated into her mind.

Her classes had been great, but it wasn't her progress that was making her happy right now. If her friends were here with her now they would probably brand her as a school-girl at heart but thankfully they weren't, and she was allowed her childish moment.

Phil's lips were soft – definitely soft – but he kissed her with such passion that it bordered on rough loving. The pair had stuck to the plan in the library, acting like immature teenagers as they slipped towards the back and proceeded to grope each other in the most inappropriate fashion. It was fun, care-free, and resembling everything Mickie wasn't. Maybe that's why she enjoyed it so much.

So now she continued her day with a smile, collapsing onto her bed. She was slightly exhausted – despite her activities – and couldn't help but to go off into a daze. Not about Phil this time – surprisingly – but about her girls.

The four hadn't hung out all together for a while, she realized, and she hadn't seen Maria's bubbly face in a while. It was odd not to be so in touch with the redhead, as she often made it her mission to call.

Feeling a little deprived, she reached for her phone and dialled in the correct number. It took a while for the call to go through, but when it did, she could hardly hear a thing. "Er...Maria? Are you there?"

"Oh hey, Mickie. It's Eve."

"On Maria's phone?"

"Yes. Erm...there's sort of, kind of a problem," announced the Latina in a tone that worried her. "If you're able to, do you think you could come to our room?"

"Sure. What's wrong?"

"You'll soon find out. Don't worry, it's not really horrible...it's just...strange."

With this in mind, the brunette hung up and began on her way to the room. She was somewhat confused at the explanation, not quite knowing what to make of it, and was definitely concerned about what was going on.

When she arrived, she had a good reason to feel this way.

"I mean...why...why would anyone think of me that way?" Maria cried out as she lay on her bed, several used tissues surrounding her. "I don't understand. How can you hate someone you don't even know?"

"What is going on?" Mickie questioned as she moved in closer. "Eve?"

"There's been a rumour," sighed the student weakly, "and it's pretty much being stated as a fact."

"What rumour? I haven't heard anything."

"That's probably a good thing," sniffed the redhead. A beat later, she frowned. "And I know I shouldn't feel this way; I've never allowed a rumour to get to me before and I shouldn't now. But this is so horrible and people actually believe it. I got glared at this morning. Glared! I've never been glared at before—"

"Hold on a sec. What is this rumour? Is it that bad?"

But her distraught friend didn't have the energy in her to explain, and looked away, searching for a new pack of tissues.

Eve filled in for her. "Apparently she's having an affair with Jeff. I don't know where this came from – maybe because they hang out together so much? – but all I know is everyone is taking it to be true. So now she's painted as a whore when she's clearly not."

"Candice isn't even speaking to me anymore! She actually believes what's being said to me." Another sniff was heard. "I thought we were really close friends, but I suppose not..."

After taking all this information into account, Mickie moved forwards, perching herself on the edge of her bed. "I'm sure Candice just isn't reacting well – give her a while to calm down and then you girls can talk properly. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"It's not that just that." Maria sighed, as Eve rolled her eyes behind her back. She obviously knew what was coming next. "Michelle is being cautious around me – I just know it! She wouldn't even look at me properly this morning when I said hello to her. I think she thinks I'm going to steal Randy away from her. But I'm not like that, really!"

"We know that, but she doesn't know you well."

"And she's a bitch." The Latina of the trio muttered under her breath, causing the pair to turn to her. She widened her eyes in defence. "What – it's the truth!"

"Anyway," said Mickie, moving on. "What's a rumour? You know the truth don't you? You're not a whore and you're not like that."

"I know...but it just upsets me. And now it upsets me that I'm upset because I don't let petty things like this get me down."

"I know you don't. I think it just came as a bit of a shock to you."

"I just want to know who started the rumour. I can't think of a reason why I've upset someone enough for them to do this."

"It's just...what happens. There's no explanations; rumours are rumours, and they're spread without care," said Eve beside her. "People who've taken the time to spend time with you will know it's all a lie."

"Yeah. What you have to do is wipe away those tears and hold your head high. If you're not bothered about the rumours then everyone else will soon forget about it."

"I doubt it."

There were a few moments of silence – with an exception of sniffs – before the peace was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Mickie, sympathetic, handled it and answered to Michelle. "Oh...hi."

"Hey." The blonde smiled lightly. "Is it okay if I talk to Maria?"

"Actually she's a little upset at the moment."

"Oh I know – I wanted to talk to her about it. I feel really bad—"

"For what?" Eve cut her off sharply, but held back on narrowing her eyes for the full effect.

"Because she's so upset," said Michelle innocently as she stepped into the room. "I just want to make sure she's okay."

"It's okay girls." Maria finally spoke again, nodding to them. "I'd like to talk to Michelle anyway."

Both were wary but eventually left them to it, closing the door softly behind them. There was a strange silence that followed – as if they were trying to work out what was going on – before Mickie and Eve decided it was best to move onto another subject.

"So...how has your day been?"

A guilty smile curved her lips as she answered, "It was good – you know, the usual happened. How about yours?"

"It was okay, I suppose. Matt called – he's driving up here this weekend to see me."

"That's awesome. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." The curly-haired brunette smiled lightly. "So that's me sorted out. What are you planning to do? Oh wait, let me guess...study?"

"Am I that transparent?" She laughed. "Well I am going to study actually, but I'm also going to see Punk."

"Who's Punk?"

"Phil."

"Okay..." There was a moment of silence before the conversation continued. "Well – in that case – I'm happy for you. It's about time you got someone you deserved."

"What do you mean?"

"Well back in high school it seemed like you didn't have time for guys. You were always caught up in your school work and stuff. What I'm saying is it's nice to see you let your guard down."

"It was up?"

"Of course it was. You can't tell me you didn't recognize that about yourself – you cut off dating entirely."

Of course Mickie recognized it in herself; she simply didn't know it was seen by everyone around her too. Nevertheless, she was now content enough not to care for the details. Instead she said, "With Phil, it's different. He's just...great."

"Do you have a lot in common?"

She took a moment before answering. "I want to say yes...but I'm actually not sure." Her smile then dropped. "Come to think of it, I don't know that much about him."

"Oh..."

"But he is an amazing kisser," she giggled a few seconds later, "that I know for sure."

"Always a good thing."

The conversation flowed for a good while longer, but Mickie was somewhat reserved, as she thought about her relationship with Phil.

She thought they were getting closer as the days went by – it would definitely explain all the make out sessions – but now she was beginning to wonder if there was any substance there between them. She really didn't know all that much about him and was sure it was the same vice-versa.

This left her slightly upset. She'd finally allowed herself to relax with a guy, and it turned out the relationship was meaningless. A few kisses didn't amount to anything, did it? If they were to get to know each other on a deeper level would they still be together?

She was scared that knowing the real Phil would lead to a divide between them, and that was something she didn't want.

"...But you look really happy whenever you're around him." Eve grinned, bringing her away from her thoughts. "It's really cute."

The brunette was only just able to smile back. "Yeah...cute."

But seeds of doubt had been planted in her mind now, and she was beginning to wonder if some things seemed more real than they actually were.

So there's the next chapter – sorry for the long wait! Please review :)

Up next is the girls' chapter.