send me on my way | wicked

blake, as a self made rule, did not have many friends to call her own. she thought most people were arrogant, greedy, and brainless, or a combination of the three. in her lifetime, blake had only four friends. her stuffed dalmatian, bill, and her two friends from the orphanage: etta and alex. though she still had bill, blake could no longer call etta and alex her friends. they were miles and miles away, and though they were on the same continent, blake was positively sure they were all seeing a different sky. her sky was dark and airless, ready to crush her. etta’s was also dark, but that was because the demigod had caused her friend to go blind. and alex? blake wasn’t sure what alex’s sky looked like, but she was pretty sure it was full of loathing. she felt sorry for them, but it ultimately taught her a lesson: friends are useless and worthless. so she didn’t have any. however, this one demigod was persistent on getting to know her. blake didn’t know why. she wasn’t a very interesting person. just cruel and judgemental and fierce. but that damn aphrodite boy just had to insist on hanging out today, and it was either that or her assigned dish duty at the mess hall. hanging out with a fellow drinker didn’t sound so bad. she didn’t know where they were going, but she hoped it wasn’t someplace stupid. 

she stood in front of her mirror and evaluated her outfit, a slight frown on her face. a grey v-neck, black pants, black boots, black accessories, and a black leather jacket. gods, blake hoped they weren’t going to be outside the entire day. that would freaking suck ass. everything in her closet was mostly monochrome, because colour was for happy people with fiends, and this particular demigod wasn’t one of those people. blake rubbed her eyes, hating how bloodshot they were. the green was infiltrated by red, making her look like a goddamn christmas ornament. so much for trying to get a good night’s sleep. she played with her hair for a bit, trying to get the perfect devil-may-care-but-i-sure-as-hell-don’t look, until her sister came and got her. blake grabbed her purse and headed out to see atticus. when he greeted her, she merely waved in response, not having time for her morning coffee. 

“the zoo, huh? well, at least it’s not a freaking kiddie park.” blake said, walking beside him easily. she noticed how careful atticus was about his outfit, while she merely threw on wrinkled clothes from the previous week and barely combed her hair. she sat beside him in the taxi, breathing in the stale smell of cigarette smoke and looking at the faded throw up stains on the musty brown leather seats. the demigod crossed her legs and her arms, scrunching up her face. could this moron really not get better accommodations? “‘m fine. hungover as shit, but… you know… fine. you?” 

boys that saw blake for the first time usually did one of two things. either they tucked their tail in between their legs and ran for the hills, frightened because the girl could probably snap their necks in an instant if they said something wrong (she could, but that wasn’t the point). or they tried to hit on her. those guys were the sleezballs that blake had been told to stay away from. zeus had probably impersonated one of those sleezballs to get kylie pregnant, so blake found them all to be dirty pigs with nothing to gain and nothing to lose. even if he didn’t show signs of running away or trying to get her in bed, blake was sure atticus was one of those people. the only boy who had ever proved her wrong, had broken her stereotypes was alex, and he was nothing more than a friend. so the girl wanted to humour atticus for now, see what kind of game he wanted to play. and she’d play along for a little while until it got boring, and then she’d break it off. blake knew she wasn’t doing atticus any favours and that in the end she’d just hurt him more than help him, but this was a game for her. just a fun game where she couldn’t lose. the odds were always in blake grey’s favour now that she was at camp. 

to pass the time, the demigod clacked her fake acrylic nails against the car door, making a little beat that went well with the bouncing of the old taxi and the pounding of blood in her head. “it’s alright, british guy. i’ve lived 18 years. long enough to realise this shit ain’t gonna get any better. freaking relax about transportation.” blake didn’t need atticus to feel bad about his mistake. and she was right. if there was one thing the americans couldn’t get through their thick skulls, it was how to treat a human being. the demigod blinked, which made her headache diminish for a second, but it came right back. she didn’t drink enough to pass out last night, but enough to give her a mild headache. blake didn’t turn to atticus as she shook her head. “i don’t need any tylenol, but thanks for offering.” he seemed genuinely concerned, or some other feeling blake had never been on the receiving - or giving - end of. she felt kind of bad for ignoring him, but she didn’t know how to start a conversation in this shitty taxi. so blake waited, continually tapping her nails on the peeling brown paint of the door. soon the city came into view, and a couple minutes later they arrived at the zoo. blake got out, found the sun was too bright for her liking, and slid her dark framed sunglasses over her eyes. it was hot, and at nine in the morning, blake knew it could only get hotter. she hated herself for wearing black, but it couldn’t be helped.

she waited for atticus to stand beside her. “so, mr. peachy, you picked a place with screaming children, wild animals, and smells that will want to make you throw up?” she nodded, and then smiled a tiny bit before making it disappear. “good choice.” blake walked up to the ticket booth, paying for her own ticket. she didn’t like owing people, because then she was in debt, which meant they could hold things against her. and this also wasn’t a date, which meant that if atticus did pay, it would be more like one. blake grey didn’t do dates. she did late night drinking and trips to the zoos.