EVERYBODY'S EVERYTHING | AV

[1] Chased by the law

The sirens blared, accompanied by the flashing lights, as she stuffed the last of her stuff into the bag settled at her feet. Her head shot up as she pulled the zip closed, staring at the police cruiser heading in her direction as she shouldered her bag. She pulled her hood over her head and the bandana over her nose. Then, she began running as fast as her legs could take her.

She opted for back alleys and people's back yards instead of the streets. She ran past Harry's, curving around a group of people as she went. She was just about to run right into the passenger side of a white BMW when she swerved to the side and slid over its hood. She landed clumsily on the other side of the car, her ears filled with the angry screams of the owner as well as the vehicle's horn blaring. They were still after her, closing in the longer she took to recover from her uncoordinated landing. She ran down the street, rounding a corner and not wasting a single second before jumping over a fence and into someone's back yard. She pushed herself into the corner and waited for the sirens to pass her by. The lights in one of the rooms turned on and a face appeared in the window. She waved at Dusty as he looked down at her. It wasn't the first time she ended up in his backyard, although he didn't exactly know it was her.

Once the police passed the house, she pulled herself back up onto the wall and jumped down into the street, bidding Dusty's backyard farewell. It was good while it lasted. She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked down the street calmly, not wanting to draw extra attention towards herself in case someone raised alarm. She rounded a corner, and then another corner, and that was when she realized she was fucked. She walked into an alleyway and instantly froze. She stood facing one of the eshays who ran with Chook. She turned around, making a run for it while she still could. Catching their attention was not something you wanted to do, especially late at night.

As she ran back the way she came, out of the corner of her eye she saw a hand reach out from the shadows. Before she could do anything to counter that move, the hand grabbed a hold of her bag and pulled. The momentum took her down to the concrete in a flash as her back hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her and digging a few of the spray paint cans into her back. She tried to catch a breath as a face appeared above hers. She made to get up, but Chook kicked her arm out from underneath her and she landed back on the ground, almost biting her tongue as her chin collided with the concrete.

"Look what we have here," he said, allowing her to turn onto her back so they can look at each other. He didn't know who he caught, the only thing visible were her eyes. The beanie covered her head and the bandana covered the bottom half of her face. And even if he knew who she was, she doubted he would recognize her just by her eyes. But someone did recognize her. Behind Chook stood Ca$h, and the look on his face was that of recognition. She winked at him before returning her attention back to Chook.

"And who are you running from, ey?" he asked, bending down slightly to get a closer look at the girl. He reached his hand towards her face to pull the bandana down and reveal her identity, but before he could do it, she brought her leg swinging and kicked him in the groin. He groaned and doubled over, the cigarette falling from between his lips. In one swift move, she grabbed Ca$h's arm for support and shot up. She ducked under another eshay's arms as he made to grab her and ran. She managed to out run them, partly because they gave up on chasing her after she jumped up onto a wall and began running on it like she was performing a stunt of some sorts. She dove into another backyard, and then a few more before she was sure they lost track of her completely.

She pulled herself up a tree and then onto the roof of her house. She grabbed onto the window frame and pushed the window open all the way. Then, she threw her bag onto the floor, hearing the soft clatter of the spray paint cans as they hit the floor. Following her bag, she lowered herself inside, keeping her movements as quiet as she could. Once both her feet were settled on the hardwood floor, she pushed the window closed and tore the beanie off her head. She pulled the bandana down and let herself finally take a proper deep breath. What an eventful night she'd had.

•••••

She was sitting on the railing - more like balancing, really - with her headphones on her ears and a strawberry sucker in her mouth. She was watching the students of Hartley High, searching for anyone she didn't recognize. There was always some new kid roaming around. And she was right. To her left was a confused looking guy, asking someone a question he never got the answer to as the stranger ignored his existence. She pulled her headphones down as he approached her.

"Hey, do you know where I can find the administration office?" he asked, looking up at her. New fish in the waters, she thought.

"Yeah, just keep going that way and it's on your left. Can't miss it," she answered, pointing him in the right direction as a relived smile graced his face.

"Thanks, I'm new if you couldn't already tell," he said, "I'm Malakai."

"Mickey," she introduced. "You better get going. Bell's gonna ring soon."

"Right, yeah. Thanks."

And with those few words and a smile, he was gone. She watched him go before turning her attention to the group walking in front of her. Amerie, Missy and Sasha. But they were missing one: Harper. Mickey wondered where they lost the blonde, but didn't question it much. She didn't really care. She saw Darren and Quinni - who waved at her excitedly - and she also saw Ca$h. He walked through the gate and gave her a quick nod before disappearing into the crowd.

"Oi, be careful," she heard a voice say from behind her, dripping with sarcasm. A hand collided with her back, giving her a good shove that made her temporarily lose her balance on the railing. She regained it and turned around to look at whoever had just pushed her. "Maybe you'll actually fall next time."

"Fuck you, Spider," she responded, flipping him the bird as he continued walking with Ant and Dusty by his side.

"You wish you could Mick," he responded, flipping her the bird right back. She rolled her eyes, dropping to the ground and grabbing her skateboard. She slung her bag across her shoulder, but her next move was interrupted by someone shouting.

"Oi, there's a fully gacked sex map in the old stairwell!"

At that, everyone began pushing through the crowd as the students of Hartley High made their way to the old stairwell. She followed along, ducking to avoid swinging elbows. When Mickey got there, she pushed through and ignored the insults hurtled at her as she elbowed her way to the front. She stood there, staring at the map and following the different lines and dots connecting different names. She took her phone out and snapped a few pictures, knowing that she wouldn't have enough time to study the actual thing before someone noticed the commotion in the stairwell.

She found her name, it was connected to Ant's by a line that she figured out to mean 'kissed' thanks to the key provided by whoever made the map. That was the only name she was connected to. Ant, on the other hand, was connected to Darren by a line that she noticed was a symbol for 'wristy'. Her eyes widened at that. There were a good few names featured on the map, but she didn't get to read them all before they were interrupted.

"Oi! What is going on here?"