Find My Way

Some things never change

Eliza let out a long breath as she looked herself over in the mirror. Her hair had nearly half a bottle of dry shampoo to combat the oils that built up over the last few days. She layered oils along the ends of her frizzy hair, giving the make-believe appearance of being put together. She wore a pair of boyfriend cut, holey jeans, a black tank top tucked into the waistband, and an oversized plaid shirt to cover up the scared bite mark on her shoulder. She decided against the sling, knowing it would only add to the overflowing questions her peers would have for her.

Despite the minimal effort, she felt disgusting. Her hair brushed against her neck and made it oily. It got in her face and made it feel layered with grease. She huffed and picked her tangled curls up and knotted them into a high, sloppy bun, then she secured it with a hair tie. The baby hairs around her face frayed out and made her look as though she was trapped in a wind storm. She pulled some strands out to frame her face and give the appearance of an intentional mess.

It worked, but just slightly.

She gave up on her looks as she grabbed the top handle of her bag and left her room with it. She trodded heavily down the stairs to see Happy making himself a pot of coffee in the kitchen. He startled and turned to see her. "You're leaving already?"

She shrugged as she moved toward the door. "I'm picking everyone up so we can go to school together for my first day back." She grabbed her keys from the entrance table.

"Eliza!" He stopped her.

She stalled with her hand on the door. She sighed and let her head fall back.

Happy walked up to her with a protein shake in hand. "Two meals," he reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah." She grabbed the protein shake and took a single sip from the straw to appease him. He seemed satisfied as he nodded. She took it with her and jingled the keys with her other hand. "I'm taking the four-door today."

"You're leaving me with your sport?"

She opened the door before looking back at him. "Try to enjoy it. You should feel like a rockstar in that thing."

He scoffed at her attempt at cheer. "All I can think about is the gas mileage and the wear and tear city driving will put on the brakes and transmission."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, yeah, I get it. Bye."

"Bye."

The four-door car was actually a Genesis G70, which was a sleek, gray car with fine angles along the doors and sides. It looked mean and fast, but it was reasonably spaced with a backseat big enough for three.

She threw her backpack in the passenger's side before taking off. The drive to Peter's was twenty minutes strictly because of morning traffic. He could swing to her condo in five minutes and perch on her balcony before she called him in. But, they weren't swinging anywhere. She was going back to school today after being back for nearly a month. She was already behind the curve- aside from being 5-years behind.

Peter was waiting for her on the sidewalk. She barely stopped the car before he opened the door and took her backpack to sit in its place. "You look nice."

Liar.

"Thanks."

She drove off, heading to Ned's next since he was the closest. MJ was currently staying with her mother- much to her chagrin- so she'd be closest to the school. Blaine lived furthest away on the outskirts of Queens, but she didn't mind the drive.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Eliza asked, then realized how forced it sounded. She sighed so hard that her shoulders fell. "Sorry, sorry, I just-" she chanced a glance his way to see him staring at her. "I don't know what to talk about anymore."