Chapter Text
Monday.
Lexa couldn’t wait for this day to be over, even though it was only 8:55am. The issue wasn’t the fact it was Monday, she hated every day of the week equally, but last night was especially devoid of sleep. The entire night had been filled with tossing, turning and trying her hardest to tune out the miserable thoughts she really didn’t want in her head.
She slouched down in the seat in her car, still not ready to start her shift as psychologically, this was when the day o officially started for her. She had been parked at the side of ‘Woods’ gas station for the past 20 minutes. The gas station was founded and maintained by her father and grandfather and had now been in their family for 40 years. Now that both men were no longer alive, the ownership was transferred to a begrudging Lexa and in a rare feat, an enthusiastic Anya.
Anya is Lexa’s older and overprotective sister. Lexa’s shy and awkward personality made her a target for bullies, or people taking advantage of her throughout her life, so Anya was there to scare the bullies away and ensure Lexa’s comfort and safety.
Being her older sister and closest friend, Anya was well aware of Lexa’s mental health issues and could sometimes mother her. Today was not one of those days. First came the squeak, then the crackling sound of the forecourt speaker before the booming announcement came through: “Could the ray of sunshine parked at the side drag her skinny ass in to the building?! I repeat, could the ray of sunshine during a blistering drought drag their skinny, lazy carcass in to the building…….NOW!”
With a groan, Lexa exited the car and slammed the door shut. She walked round the side of the gas station shop and strode past the window with her middle finger raised for Anya’s benefit.
In lieu of saying “hello” or “good morning”, Anya greeted Lexa with the following: “For fuck sake Lexa, you are the only person I know who can arrive 25 minutes early for a shift, but still manage to JUST make it on time”.
“Good morning to you too An” Lexa grunted as she brushed past Anya on her way to the staff room to hang up her coat and bag. Hearing Anya rabbit on without actually listening to a word she was saying, Lexa stared down at her black hi-top Vans, transfixed at the checkerboard pattern that adorned the sides.
“LEXA!! Have you been listening to a word I have been saying?!”, sighing Lexa replied “well I was trying not to, but some words still got in”. Snarling, Anya barked “I was saying the forecourt is dead, so I am going to deposit yesterday’s takings at the bank.”
After humming “ok”, Lexa paused, then furrowed her eyebrows “Hang on - isn’t the gas tanker coming this morning???? You want me to deal with that AND man the till??? Would you like me to shove a broom up my ass and sweep the floor while I clean the windows too??”
Smirking, Anya retorted “you are needing to take a stick out of your ass Lexa, not stick one up it!” Lexa glared while Anya continued “You won’t be alone, you’ll have Raven with you.”
Placing her right hand on her hip and pinching her nose with her left hand, Lexa groaned “That’s even worse than being alone! She’s too much for anytime of the day, let alone first thing in the morning An! Can’t I go to the bank instead?”
“Unfortunately that isn’t an option Lex” replied Anya. “The company that delivers gas told me they will only deal with you from now on, after I had an, erm, slight disagreement with one of their drivers”.
“Uuuurgh, that was less of a disagreement and more you abusing a poor man trying to do his job” Lexa groaned. “Uh I think not! We were slammed that day and he was taking his sweet time and taking up most of the forecourt with his tanker” Anya replied.
With widened eyes and raised eyebrows, Lexa let out a laugh and exclaimed “Be that as it may, did you need to tell him to move his ‘fat hairy ass’ as he was costing you money?”. Picking up her coat and purse, Anya glanced over with a raised brow and said “I was wrong when I said that Lex, he wasn’t just costing me money, he was costing US money”. Rolling her eyes, Lexa replied “Whatever An, get to the bank and hurry back.”
“Won’t do” Anya answered as she strutted out the shop door. With the forecourt still not showing any sign of life or vehicle, Lexa made her way back to the staff room and took her book from her purse. She had just parked her ass on a chair when she heard a cheery voice shout “WHAT’S UP LEXA?! IT’s RAVEN HERE”.
“No shit” grumbled Lexa, just as Raven made her way through the staff room door. “What did you say Lex?” asked the eternally over enthusiastic Latina. “Oh, uh, I was just saying hello” stammered Lexa as she quickly lowered her head to avoid making eye contact.”
“My heap of shit car broke down when I was leaving the house this morning, so I didn’t have the time to look at it. Fortunately my saint of a friend Clarke gave me a lift. She’s in the shop just now.” At the word “she”, Lexa’s head snapped up, less out of interest and more out of surprise. When she heard the name Clarke, she had wrongly assumed it was a male Raven was talking about.
Sensing the normally reticent girl’s piqued curiosity, Raven smiled warmly at Lexa and said “Come on out and meet her”. Feeling an immediate sense of dread, Lexa’s eyes widened and she wanted to say ‘no’, but felt that would be too rude, so stuttered “Uh, umm, yeah, s-sure” instead.
Raven led the way out of the staff room with a nervous Lexa behind her. Looking at her the checkerboard design on the sides of her Vans whilst Raven chatted with her friend, Lexa was brought of out her trance at the sound of a husky voice stating “Hi, I am Clarke”.
Looking up, Lexa came face to face with a fresh faced blonde who’s genuine smile radiated through her ocean blue eyes.
“Hi, I’m Lexa.”