EVERYBODY'S EVERYTHING | AV

[1] Welcome Back to Hartley High

"Fuck you, Molly!" Mickey screamed, flipping the little blond both of her middle fingers, the strap of her bag hanging off her wrist and her stuff littered all over the floor around her. It wasn't the first time she got into her stuff, nor the first time she stole from her. Evidently the one beating Mick gave her didn't teach her the lesson she hoped it would.

"Fuck you, too, Mikayala," she responded, putting mocking emphasis on her full name.

"You wanna taste the bottom of my fucking shoe? Don't try me, I will make you bite the curb outside of this fucking building!"

"Girls!"

Mick shoved her stuff into her bag and ignored everyone around her. She'd been living in a haze since that day, going through the motions and hoping that it would end soon. It hadn't. She was still here. And she was still miserable.

Mick's been looking for every escape she could find from this place. She would run away, sleep in the park or walk all night, ducking behind dumpsters or into alleyways when she saw someone she recognised. She had the cops called on her by the women who ran the home when she didn't make it back two nights in a row. She was dragged to the home in the back of a cop car.

Mickey had had no contact with the outside world apart from Tyler. She hadn't spoken to Amerie, to Ant, to anyone. Her phone was dead and no one had any way of contacting her, of knowing what happened. So, she was all alone, living in a haze.

Until today.

Today was the first day of the new term, meaning a brand new distraction. Mickey pulled her hood over her head and left the building, jumping down the bottom few stairs and turning down the street. The walk to Hartley from the group home was long, but she didn't mind it. She made it through the main gate and stood there for a second, looking around.

All this time she'd been looking for distractions and had convinced herself going back to school was the best one of them all. But now that she stood there, she wasn't so sure she was as ready to be here as she thought she was. Maybe it was a bad idea? She scanned the crowd of students milling around and her eyes landed on a familiar blonde. Mickey and Spider made eye contact, a knowing look passing between them before the realisation hit her.

Wherever Spider was, Ant wasn't too far behind. And she wasn't ready to see him yet. She didn't know what to say to him, how to apologise for ghosting him for weeks just after she agreed to be his girlfriend. Mick could only hope that Spider wouldn't tell him - if he hasn't already - about what he saw. She didn't want anyone to know. She could handle it alone, she always has and she always will.

Mickey decided she needed to get out of the crowd, so turning her head to the ground and hiding herself from prying eyes, she made her way into the building and through the hallways. She reached her destination and sat down against the wall underneath the stairs, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall. The last time she was under these exact stairs, it was just right after she went off on Harper and  Ca$h...

"Oh, my god. Ca$h," she said to herself, covering her mouth with her hand and feeling a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She was so self-involved that she forgot about her best friend. He was in jail, probably tried to call her multiple times and she'd ghosted him entirely.

Mick heard footsteps and was surprised to see Malakai approaching her. She wiped the stray tears from her eyes before he could see them. 

"Malakai, hello," she said. 

"What? No silly name?"

"Nah, I ran out," she said, flashing him a smile. "Hey, uh. Do you have a charger, by any chance?"