Glancing in the mirror, I smiled, feeling happier about my appearance now that I had showered, brushed my teeth, and put on another outfit.
My little talk with Cici had done me good because she was right. Why was I worrying about this? Not every person I meet is going to be a psycho killer.
The odds of the same thing happening are slim, especially since Billy and Stu are gone now.
I bit my lip as my worry continued to climb. No matter how much I trusted Mickey, my old anxieties would never truly leave me.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I sigh before picking up the phone and dialing a number I'd forced myself to memorize. After a few rings, a cheerful voice answered, "Hi Sue!" I greeted with a wide smile.
"Oh Kat, how are you, sweetheart" tears sprung into my eyes just from hearing her voice. Sue had been my safe place for so long that hearing her was enough to make me feel better.
"I'm uh, I'm okay," I say with a short stutter, but I knew Sue would hear straight through my lies.
"Let's try that again with the lying. Hi Kat, how are you doing?" Her sarcasm was much needed, I think between her, Cici, and Mickey, I would be set for life.
Those three are my people.
"I'm having some trouble. Boy trouble. Also, Sidney trouble, but that's nothing new to me" hopefully, we wouldn't have to talk about my sister. That's not what I need advice on.
A joking 'ooooh' came through the phone as my face heated up. "Boy trouble, huh? Tell me all about him, and I'll see if he's good enough for my girl".
My stomach tightened at her words. My girl, that's how she thought of me. "Kat? Are you still there?".
Sniffing, I wiped a stray tear. "Yeah, I'm here. His name is Mickey, he's a film student like me" I gushed to her all the details I already knew about Mickey and how we're together all the time.
"Sounds like he's sweet on you for sure. So what's the problem?" Sue asked, sounding confused.
"I just don't want history to repeat itself, Sue, and what if I'm not ready for another boyfriend. What if-" a sigh cut me off from my rambling. I could already feel myself spiraling.
"You can't live your life on what if's, my darling. The way you talk about that boy is enough for me to say I think you're ready, and if I understand the situation, I think he might like you too-" my cheeks go pink just at those words.
"-just go spend some time with him, let it be what it will be. If you want to be with him, then do it, Kiddo, it's that simple. If you don't, then you'll have a good friend out of it".
Sue made it all seem so simple, and it probably was. My past trauma forced me to believe I was always in danger. Blow situations out of proportion is what I do now.
Everyone's a suspect, not innocent until proven guilty.
"Okay. Yeah, okay, I can do that," I muttered, standing up with the phone. "Thanks, Sue. I owe you one."
"No, you don't. You'll never owe me anything. I'm always here for you. Hopefully, I'll see you soon, and you can bring your new boyfriend to come meet me" I grinned at Sue's words as we both said our goodbyes.
Placing the phone back down, I grabbed my bag and slipped my boots on. Now I was feeling a lot better. The conversation with Cici was good, but nothing would beat how Sue made me feel - she was the closest thing I'd get to a mother.
Slipping out of the dorm, the closer I got to the dining hall, the more anxious I became. "You're nervous," I whispered to myself, unable to walk through the doors to the hall. "Why are you so nervous again."
Glancing through the windows, I saw the packed room, and my stomach burst into tiny little butterflies at the thought of seeing Mickey. "Well, that's new," I mumbled aloud.
"What's new?"
Sighing heavily, I just shrugged at the question "Nothing," I said dismissively before turning back to the hall, trying to see if I could spot that familiar face that turned my stomach to fluttering insects.
Wait...
My eyes suddenly widened when I realized what had just happened and who was behind me. "Mickey!" I exclaimed when I glanced back at Mickey, who was smirking at me.
"So.." he started as I nervously laughed. This was awkward. Why was it so awkward? Maybe because the last time I saw him, I literally ran out of his dorm room and left him yelling after me.
"I'm sorry-" we both said in unison like a bad cliche rom-com, kind of like the ones Cici forces me to watch as she sobs into my shoulder.
"Ugh, cliché" I grimace in disgust as Mickey and I both smiled at each other. Frowning for a moment, I realized that he had apologized too. "Wait, why are you sorry?".
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "Well, I obviously did something wrong to make you run off."
Giving him a sad smile, I shook my head. "No, it's not you. It was me-" I told him as he looked at me with raised eyebrows "-and I just realized that's the worst line ever."
I smiled uneasily as I began to wring my hands again, remembering my talk with Cici and Sue. "I'm just going through something right now, and waking up in your room was a bit disorientating."
Mickey gave a small chuckle as I embarrassingly stumbled over my words. "Listen, I get it, okay, just don't run next time" he put his hand on my arm when I nodded, pushing myself into his chest.
"Lunch?" I gave him puppy eyes; Mickey smiled widely as he nodded and held his arm out for me to walk in front of him.
Turning, I looked through the doors to our usual spot and groaned, seeing our friends already sitting and talking to each other. I really didn't want to deal with my sister's bitching right now.
"What's up?" Following my gaze, Mickey looked through the glance when I made no move to enter the dining hall. "Ah, I see. Come on," he grabbed my hand, linking our fingers, and pulled me back outside.
Trying to force down a blush, I realized that figuring out my feelings might come to bite me in the ass if Mickey saw me blushing every time he came near me now.
"Where are we going?" I asked but made no move to stop him from pulling me towards his car.
Mickey unlocked the car and got in. I followed in suit, still having no idea what was going on but trusting him to not lead me astray. "You obviously don't want to deal with Sid, and I want to spend some time with you."
Geez, even his words were starting to affect me now.
Glancing out the window as Mickey drove, I grinned when we pulled into a familiar food chain "McDonald's?" I giggled when he opened my door for me.
Mickey through his arm over my shoulder as we walked inside, the smell of fast food and salt was in the air, and I loved it.
Pulling me over to a table in the corner, I smiled as I sat across from him, and it almost reminded me of the last time I saw Roman, except I was going to leave here sad.
"Yeah, romantic, right?" the sly wink sent me into laughter as he leaned forward. "Okay, tell me what you want. It's on me. You can't say I don't know how to treat a lady".
Giving him my usual order, I watched him walk away, purposely shaking his hips when he saw me watching. I don't think I had stopped smiling once since meeting him.
Sue was right; whether or not we get into a relationship, I hoped to still have this with Mickey. Now I know how to smile again; I didn't want to lose it.
A tray was placed on the table as the smell of the food drifted up my nose. "Wow, is that smile for me or the food" Mickey jokes as he drops into the booth with me.
"Obviously, just for the food," I say, making him snort as he passes my order. I jumped, feeling his hands tickling my ribs. "Oh no, don't start that again, mister!".
Stealing one of my fries, he shoved it in his mouth before putting his hands up in the air in a surrender motion.
Giving him a jokingly glare after he stole another fry, I unwrapped my straw and blew the wrapper into his face. He stopped eating in surprise before grabbing his straw with a look of deviance.
"No!" I yelled with laughter, using the tray as a shield when he blew through the straw.
"Such a child," He muttered jokingly as we both started to eat our food properly. I noticed him giving me a few looks every now and then before smiling softly to himself.
Finishing up our food, Mickey gives a small sigh. "Okay, I'm gonna be honest here. I like you a lot-." I dropped the fry I was about to eat as he admitted his feelings.
"-It's okay if you're not ready for that. I just want you to know I won't hurt you," He continued as I felt my stomach flutter like earlier, and here I thought I'd be the one to admit liking him.
Feeling him brush my hair from my face and giving me probably the only serious look I'd ever seen on him, I realized he was telling the truth. "Wow" I was in too much shock to say to him that I actually felt the same way.
Mickey's hand rested on my chin, lifting my head to look at him. "How about we start slow? We can do this again as a real date and see where it takes us?" He said as he played with a strand of my hair.
Smirking at him, I lean in closer. "So you're telling me this wasn't a real date? I thought you knew how to treat a lady" I flirted as his eyes widened at my tone.
A teasing smile appeared on his lips as he leaned in close enough that I could feel his nose graze mine. "Oh baby, if we were on a real date, you'd know it."
"Please don't tell me you're one of those try-hard to impress kind of guys," I laughed as his head tilted with a questioning look. "Just buy me food and take me to a horror film, and I'm yours."
Mickey seems to like my answer when he tickles my sides with a laugh. "Does that mean you've been mine all along? I buy you food all the time, and we've watched more movies than I can count".
I tried to argue with him but couldn't through the tears and laughter. The teenagers at the till were looking over at us and whispering to each other.
"Say you're mine," Mickey taunts while I try my best to grab at his hands, "say it-" he trailed the word off as he pushed me deeper into the booth with a toying grin.
"Okay! Okay, I'm yours" I let a shriek of laughter before Mickey stopped his tickling. He was leaning over me a little as I breathed heavily. He knew that my ribs were my weak spot.
"I'm glad we could agree on that," He mumbled as a small smile turned at the corner of his mouth before he gently placed his lips on mine.