The Great Escape

AN. Thank you to RKO.I.F, VolcomStoneBabe, HappySmiler, xHalosandwings, Chain Gang Princess, xTwistedxImperfectionx, rory21, Cena-Wilson-Crazy, xsostarstruck, Grits0205, John Cena's Field Hockey Star & TJ Sparkles for reviewing the last chapter.

Thanks very muchly :)

Chapter Twenty-Two – Love is a Losing Game

EVE

A lustful sigh escaped Eve's slightly open lips as she sat in the library, her eyes glued to the thin book she'd picked up just an hour ago from the 'classic' section. With each line she read, she fell even more in love with the male lead, earning herself, though of course she didn't realize, odd looks from students passing by each time she made this known with certain noises.

"My real purpose was to see you, and to judge," she repeated the bold words on the page, completely infatuated as she toyed with the silver chain around her neck, "If I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me. Oh Darcy, you're such a—"

"Is this Eve Torres I see with a book in her hand? Not only that, is she reading it?"

Under thick lashes, her eyes narrowed as they took in Maria's slender form. The redhead giggled innocently at the reaction and placed herself, and the things she was carrying, down at the table. She would've wasted breath asking what was going on if she didn't already know that it was going to be explained.

"Before you ask, somebody recommended this book to me via Facebook and I decided to come here and check it out." A beat later, she marked the page and then firmly closed the book. "I thought I should take a look at real love for once—the news of Adam and Candice was really beginning to depress me."

Her friend nodded gravely, her bottom lip forming into a slight pout as she thought of Jeff. Though it had only been a couple of days since the private—and shocking—admission, the truth had quickly spread around campus and the deceit was obvious enough for everyone to see.

"Poor Jeff," said Maria to distract them both for a moment. "And poor Ash. When she explained what she saw and then started crying again, I just knew. I just knew she'd really fallen for Adam."

She merely shrugged as she tapped the cover of her book. "This is why I've turned to Mr. Darcy. He's perfect in every way and reminds me that true love is still around."

"Hmm. I don't know if your brain is a little too fried after working too hard to read this book, but may I remind you that you have Matt—you remember him, right? Matt Hardy, the love of your life. That's living proof of perfection right there, girly."

The brunette chose to remark on the insult rather than the question that had followed it. "I think you're turning into another version of Ashley or something, you know. And that's something I could definitely do without."

She felt uncomfortable as she glanced away to take in the rest of her surroundings; the traces of her playful mood were now fading, being replaced by a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt even more ashamed of herself when she realized she was thinking about her boyfriend in such a negative light.

Now whenever Matt Hardy was on her mind, she only thought of him as a problem; he was thousands of miles away from her place of residence, inconvenient even for a long-distance relationship. She was now beginning to understand that she wouldn't get those warm embraces or cute kisses—things that she had so badly craved before—from him anytime she wanted. He was close in her heart by telephone and email, but things were much different in the reality of it all.

She now knew she was straying from the idea of being in a relationship with the Hardy Brother. Only time would well whether this was a good or bad thing.

Though she soon decided to return to Pride and Prejudice—particularly to Mr. Darcy's delectable ways—she couldn't help but to be captivated by her best friend's strange behaviour. She watched as Maria, usually so eager and full of life in her body language, stiffened as she took in a sight by the library door. Out of the way herself, she couldn't see what it was, but could just about imagine who the interruption could be.

The redhead continued to stare for about half a minute and then jumped suddenly, as if caught out, before she turned back to Eve's amused stare. "So...what were we talking about?"

She merely shook her head playfully. "You and Randy need to talk already."

The star of their discussion casually walked past their table a moment later, and looked to be making a big effort out of staring ahead of him. It wasn't Randy who held her utmost attention, though; it was the guy who walked beside him with an air of confidence. He, however, stared straight at her before he passed by completely.

Maria's stuttered responses provided her with an excuse to stand and cast a glance to where the boys were headed. She was happily excused from the table, but soon wished she hadn't been as she placed one foot in front of the other to join them.

It was time to sort this mess out once and for all.

"Excuse me," she interrupted the pair, her tone mixed with both fear and relief. She turned to Randy with a polite smile. "Do you mind if I borrow him quickly?"

Mike answered for his friend, patting him twice on the back before he followed the girl to find a place where they could talk privately. They both found themselves in a deserted area of the History section a minute later, staring at each other intensely.

"You've made up your mind with a few days to spare?" He questioned softly.

She took in those eyes of his, almost drowning in them, and forced herself to look away briefly. He always seemed to hold the ability—whether he intended to or not—to make her feel weak inside. "Yeah, I have," she cleared her throat. "I was thinking about you...and it all seemed to fall into place before my eyes."

He noticed the almost confused expression on her features and shrugged lightly; his heart was racing, beat by beat, with curious anticipation. "So what's your answer?"

Inhaling deeply, she placed a hand on his arm. "My answer...is kind of complicated. But I can promise you it's a real one."

"You better explain it to me then."

She prepared to do this. Eventually, she found the courage to speak. "I think you're a jerk, Miz. You gave me a harsh ultimatum because you wanted me all to yourself—you didn't seem to care how I would feel about making a decision like this. In fact you didn't even seem to care that I would be torn about this. You just looked me in the eye and told me to choose, plain and simple. You didn't take my feelings into account at all."

"This doesn't sound complicated at all," said Mike, intervening. There was no mistaking the bitter tone in his voice.

"But it is," she assured him. "Because I also realized how much I like you. This wouldn't be the case if I hadn't spend so much time agonizing over the decision I had to make. We share a deep connection, something I haven't found with any other guy before. Not even Matt. You make me feel happy, Mike. I've smiled so many times recently because of you. You make me feel special—"

In that moment he seized her, grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her towards him intimately. His lips crashed down onto hers just a moment later, and both felt the private romance of the moment pull them away from reality.

Forcing herself, she pressed her palms against his chest and pushed him away. Biting down on her swollen bottom lip, she stared up at him and said, "Which makes this...complicated."

Still breathless from their embrace, the blonde replied, "What's so complicated about this?"

"I like you, Miz. But the truth is I'm in love with Matt and you can't change that; no-one can. I think I was so lonely here without him that I used you for comfort."

"What?"

"I can't be with you. I like you a lot but—"

"I don't have to stand around and listen to this bullshit." Anger was his natural course of response as he shook his head and took a step back.

"Listen, we can still be—"

"Don't even say it." He warned. "You and I both know that's not possible."

He didn't say another word, though he looked like he wanted to, and Eve was left to watch as he stalked away from her. Unsurprisingly enough, the feeling of despair that had creeped up on her beforehand didn't disappear after she'd given him his answer.

It wasn't at all easy to forget about her earlier conflict with Mike, but Eve was determined to at least try as she finally arrived to the restaurant just outside of campus grounds, and rushed over to take the vacant seat between Adam and Maria. She was relieved—and slightly insulted—to find her absence hadn't been missed all that much for the past twenty minutes.

"Sorry I'm late," she whispered to Maria, pulling her away from her conversation with Michelle for a short moment. "I couldn't find the right outfit to wear. I know, superficial me."

This wasn't entirely true. Though she'd spent enough time looking through her wardrobe, her tardiness had been on account of her distant mood. For ten minutes she'd sat in front of the mirror, occasionally wiping away the tears that strayed from her eyes to her cheeks. She was simply thankful to be alone in such a desperate, vulnerable moment.

Hating herself for remembering the sad, lonely face that had stared back at her, she quickly turned to Adam in the hope that he, as the joker of the group, would provide her with some form of entertainment. She was soon to discover he could; her eyes settled on him a moment later, but he didn't notice this as he continued to stare at the blonde girl sitting opposite him.

Ashley looked uncomfortable, though she was unaware of the attention she was receiving, as she stirred the straw clockwise in her drink over and over again. She also looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there—understandable given the company.

"Hey," the brunette leaned in to whisper, finally tearing his attention away from the girl. "I know you're pretty much hated by the gang here but I just thought I'd let you know that I don't hate you."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"Not really." She shrugged. "I mean, I hate you for hurting her—that's the rules—but I'm not going to judge you for that thing with Candice. I mean, Jeff has practically moved on already from it."

"Good to know," he muttered. "You know, the only reason I was coming to this thing was because Mike was supposed to be here too. He bailed out at the last minute, of course. I don't know what's been up with him recently..."

He shook his head as he trailed off and then glanced cautiously in Ashley's direction once more. Eve followed his gaze, then glanced in-between the pair for another moment. "I think you should go for it."

"Sorry?"

"You've got nothing else to lose." She shrugged. "You should tell her how you feel."

Only now did he allow a lazy smirk to curve his lips. "What do you think I've been telling her all this time?"

As she looked up, Ashley only saw the irritatingly confident look on his slightly bruised face that she'd gotten used to in his presence; with her mood now, however, she found she couldn't handle her actions or the anger she felt inside, and chose to deal with the situation how she knew best.

With harsh actions.

The blonde didn't think twice as she curled her fingers around the glass of water in front of her and stood to her feet. Just as Adam turned to face her, she threw the liquid in his face, and then slammed the quarter-full cup back onto the table with a defiant energy. With one last glare, she stomped away.

"Personally," smiled Adam sarcastically as her turned to her, "I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm out of here."

A sigh slipped through her slightly parted lips as she turned to the remaining occupants of their table.

Her eyes swept over Michelle and Maria, to her right, first; the pair looked like ultimate BFFs as they chatted enigmatically, getting straight back into their conversation after the brief interruption from Ashley. She couldn't help the pang of jealousy she felt just watching them—they were growing closer and closer by the day, and try as she might, she couldn't help but to feel she was slowly being pushed away by her best friend.

Then she settled on the sight opposite her, the remaining two. She watched with interest, angling her head as she leaned back in her seat, while Ted and Mickie chatted to one another. The pair hadn't even turned to witness the previous event, and had instead paid attention to only each other.

She looks far more comfortable with him than Punk, she couldn't help but to note.

This was true. The brunette rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she leaned on the table, listening to Ted explain something about his daily routine. The hand he casually rested on the back of her chair wasn't missed by her either; their positions seemed all too intimate.

Once again, a pang of envy shot through her. Not for quietly losing a friendship, obviously, but for the reminder of how her and Matt had been before she'd moved here to attend college.

Figuring no-one would miss her for two minutes, she rose to her feet and made her way towards the exit of the restaurant. The cold night air raised goose bumps on her arms as she stepped outside, but she didn't allow this to deter her from staying out there for a little while longer.

After producing a cell phone from her pocket, she dialled in a number she knew off by heart and waited for an answer. When she got one just seconds later, her heart warmed in her chest. "Hey you," she smiled softly. "I'm glad you answered."

"I'm glad you called." Matt replied cheerfully enough. "Is there any reason you called?"

A shrug lifted her shoulders. "Not really," she told him as she spotted a bench mere feet away and headed towards it. "I just missed the sound of your voice, is all."

He chuckled down the line. "That's sweet—I miss everything about you, baby. It's hard being here without you." He admitted with a deep sigh. "Oh and everyone misses you, by the way. My Dad even misses the God-awful meals you used to make for us whenever you came by at the weekends."

The brunette couldn't help but to smile at the memories of those so-called God-awful meals. "I tried my best, didn't I? Anyway...I miss everyone back home too. It's so hard trying to focus on my work when all I can think of is you and my family. Dysfunctional as they are, I miss being around the house."

"I wish I could hug you right now and tell you everything will be okay. You're suffering badly, huh?"

"Well I definitely hate being homesick that's for sure." She sighed weakly. "Matt, it's too difficult being without you."

An uneasy silence followed this remark as both tried to think of something to say, something that would rule out this being true. Finally, he offered a response. "And to think we're struggling to be apart from each other now. We've got four years of this to contend with."

Four years.

The thought made her shudder in rejection to the idea. She'd already been through a turmoil of emotions just being away from her hometown for a couple of months—how was she supposed to survive another four years without him? She had the comfort of knowing her family would be there for her; through thick and thin, the Torres family always stuck together.

But she and Matt...they were different. Relationships changed over time, and she already knew hers had suffered enough. Matt Hardy was indeed the love of her life but it didn't change the fact she was going to lose him to the pressure of college—whether she wanted to admit it or not.

"Four years is an awfully long time, don't you think? I'll miss you too much, even if you do come home for holidays. It'll only remind me that you have to leave again."

Now feeling the cold, though she was unaware of whether this was to do with the weather or a reflection of her own mood, Eve sniffed. "Matt?" She said cautiously as her eyes looked for a distraction from her solemn tone and focused on the traffic zooming past her on the road. "...We're breaking up, aren't we?"

There was a long silence after this.

She stood up from the bench and turned, phone glued to her ear as she walked down the street. What she really felt like doing right now was having an early night; her stomach would protest to having no dinner, of course, but it wouldn't be the main issue. Not right now, anyway.

"Yes." He spoke the dreaded truth a few minutes later and sighed. "I'm sorry, Eve, I really am."

"Me too." She answered. Because the truth of it was this: they were supposed to have the relationship that could outstand anything remotely challenging, but this was only a make-believe solution. They both knew their time was coming to an end. "I love you, Matt."

"I love you too, baby."

Finding herself unable to chat for any longer, Eve hung up. She kept the phone pressed in her closed hand for a little while more as she followed the familiar direction back to campus.

Perhaps it was the shock but she didn't feel like crying about the break-up. She didn't feel like doing...anything.

All she felt was numb as she thought of her bed and how fitting it would be for her to slip inside of it and hide under the covers until the morning.

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

Up next is Maria's chapter.