Authors note: thanks to all those who have followed me and given me loads of support-special thanks to MrunuL16 for being the first to give me support.
Thank youuu so much to JoeBob for reviewing my work, you all are literally my motivation.
Thatgirlwithacat- yes don't worry I have a rough plan but I've already planned out most of my key events
Finnwhitehead07-percy will be introduced in a while, I first wanted to just introduce our main character and his personality, also to set up the base for character development :)
Chapter 2:
Ethans pov
Flashback 5 years ago
I was playing with my tiny toy cars in my backyard when I heard peals of laughter behind me. I made a feeble attempt to try and hide my cars behind me as I turned around. A girl roughly my age was rolling around the ground and having a fit of laughter; she was in hysterics. I flushed at the thought of her walking in to see me making a bunch of stupid car noises. I patiently waited for her to pull herself together and introduce herself to me
"Annabeth Chase", she held out her hand with a lopsided grin on her face.
"uhh...Ethan...Green", I took her hand. Unsure what to do I lifted her hand to my lips and gave it a quick peck. She snatched her hand away, staring at me judgmentally, "what are you doing?".
"I... umm...you gave me your hand, didn't you?"
"you're supposed to shake it, not kiss it".
"oh, sorry"
She had a smirk on her face; her inquisitive, large, grey eyes glanced to the toy cars which had fallen to the ground. "what were you doing", she asked curiously, she didn't seem demeaning, she seemed genuinely curious, her eyes were wide and attentive, as if she was soaking in all the information around her, even though she was my age I got the impression that she was intelligent beyond her years.
"the more important question, is why are you in my backyard?" I jokingly asked.
"I'm your new neighbor", she blushed in embarrassment, "your mom let me in".
That was the first and last time I had met Annabeth Chase.
Line break
"Annabeth?"
I look into those beautiful grey eyes; I'd never truly realized how stunning they were before. Her eyes are a startling grey which seem out of place with her Californian features. They are speckled with glowing silver and patches of black; her eyes seem to pierce my soul and read me like an open book. my heart skips a beat. She stares at me for a few moments before she lets out a low laugh. A playful glint dances in her eyes as she recalls, "you're the one who kissed my hand instead of shaking it". She throws her head back and laughed, her cheeks turn into a beautiful rosy color. My heart pounds in my chest, her laugh hasn't changed a bit; she hasn't changed a bit. A burning sense of pride settles in my chest; I am the one who made her laugh. I smirk to myself inwardly.
As math ends, I glance at her, she is quickly packing her bags, I wonder if she has somewhere to be. it doesn't make a difference she'd definitely come with me. I mean where else would she need to be, she doesn't even have any friends here.
Before I can overthink the matter, I eagerly tap her on her shoulder, I notice how she flinches but she turns around to face me anyways. I grin, "wanna sit with me and my friends during lunch today?"
Line break
Annabeths pov
I stare at the picture that is stuck into my planner. I hate to admit that I actually miss him. After Thalias death all I had left was Luke. He'd told me that we are family, I trusted him. I scowl. I always knew he hated the gods and, in all honesty, he had every right to, it's almost as if the gods wanted us to hate them. I didn't expect him to betray us... for my sake at least... was our whole friendship just a lie? I had been a fool to trust Luke, he's beyond saving, he's already in the clutches of Kronos. I know I can't do anything about it now but I can't help but wonder if anything I could've done would have made a difference. Maybe if I had just talked to him...
I try to keep my mind blank; I'd been down this path way too many times I refuse to do this again. Especially not today, I am not going to shed tears for someone who clearly doesn't care about me. I aggressively rip the picture of Luke out and throw it in the trash. At least I have someone; I remember my quest with Percy and I smile. It's not like I don't have friends, I mean sure I have Grover but with Percy... it's different.
As I am leaving the house, a picture of me and Percy, pinned against the fridge grabbed my attention. I snag it off the fridge and place it in my planner. I try my best to calm my nerves as I head to school, today's the first day of grade 7; in fact, it's my first day at school in nearly 5 years.
Despite being a new kid, I walk into school standing tall and holding my head up high; a mask of confidence on my face. I can barely tolerate the insufferable teaching; they may as well have skipped college for all the garbage they seemed to be vomiting. They made it difficult for me to be nice to them, but there was more to getting a good grade than being smart.
I sit down for my second lesson, math, I don't have any friends yet but that doesn't bother me too much. Friends are people you can be honest with and I don't see how I'd ever be able to accomplish a relationship with that much meaning with a mortal. I don't want to lie to my friends even if their mortal, that'd be unfair; to me and to them. I mean I'd have to literally lie about the past 5 years of my life, if someone recognizes me what would I say?... I ran off to live in a magical camp at the age of 7. I doubt people would react well to that. I try to imagine what they'd make of me running away when I was 7 only to appear 5 years later...lying is difficult...it'd be less conspicuous for me to avoid people all together. I know it's lonely but I came to school to learn anyway. I am interrupted from my thoughts by someones gaze. Someone's watching me; I'm sure of it. I turn around to find myself looking into somebodies' eyes.
A boy my age is staring back at me. He has muddy brown eyes and an oval face, his skin is pale and he has dull, blonde hair. He is tall and gangly in build but seems relatively sporty. I analyze his reaction to seeing my face carefully, he seems to recognize me, he even remembers my name. He seemed familiar... ah ha, I remembered him. Ethan Green. I laugh as I remember, "you're the one who kissed my hand instead of shaking it". I immediately peg him as soft and innocent; maybe trustworthy.
As soon as our math teacher dismisses the class, I cram my books into my bag; I thought maybe I could find a private place and iris message Percy. Unfortunately, before I could even get out of my seat Ethan invites me to sit with him and his friends during lunch. I bite my lip to prevent myself from letting out a sigh; maybe he feels bad for me. I walk beside him as he makes his way toward the cafeteria. He coughs pointedly, I realize that the silence had been getting awkward. I am comfortable in silence but I don't want to make him feel bad so I rack my brain for something to say before he can ask the dreaded question- "I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Ethan Green". Of course, I remember, what kind of daughter of Athena would I be otherwise.
Ethans pov:
The silence is unbearable, she's probably too shy to say anything. I doubt she remembers my name; it's been such a long time she's probably forgotten.
"I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Ethan Green", I pause before continuing "where have you been all this time?"
"I remember your name ", She hesitates before answering ,"I ran away from home".
She remembers my name, my heart glows. Wait, what she ran away...I didn't expect those words to come out of her mouth, I've always thought of her as innocent and timid. "why?"
She purses her lips, "home wasn't great".
I got the hint. I decided to lay off.
I direct her toward the table where my friends were sitting and take my place at the edge of the table, she sits right opposite me.
"Hey!", Harper yells while munching on her food, "who's the new kid"
Annabeth smiles, "Annabeth Chase", she waves. "nice to meet you".
"great to see that Ethan made a friend, I'm Harper, that's Celeste, that's Joshua and the quiet dude is Liam", she gestures to each friend respectively.
Annabeth, Harper and Liam seem to be getting along well, they talk and joke around. Before I lose my chance to speak, I quickly say my part. "me and Annabeth met for the first time 5 years ago", I inform them smugly, "when she became my neighbor".
Liam frowned, "how come you never bothered to mention her?". He says it almost accusingly.
"she ran away, that was the first and last time I met her". I shoot back.
Liam raises his eyebrows and looks over at Annabeth who has a poker face. Ah good. She doesn't seem mad.
"badass, I know", I nod my head toward her.
When I look over at her she is looking at the ground. I can't tell what her facial expression is but I'm sure she's blushing; I tend to have that effect on girls.
Line break
It has been nearly a week since I'd met Annabeth and she has warmed up to me. We only have 5 lessons together in a week but I make sure I spend every single minute I can with her.
As our last lesson ended, I stroll over to Annabeth, "do you wanna come over to my house for a study session today".
Annabeth smiles, "sure I'll invite Liam, Joshua, harper and Celeste".
I nod my head in agreement but I had hoped that it could just be the two of us. I walk out of school and hop into my mom's car.
"so, honey, did you do anything fun at school today?", she steers the wheel to the left.
My mom's nice, she's basic and easily manipulated, I don't have a close relationship with my parents but they're pretty lenient with me so I guess it's fine.
I roll my eyes, " no... my friends are going to be coming home today for a study session".
"Ok, that's fine", she says, even though I didn't ask for her permission. She turns the music all the way up and blasts Elvis Presley songs, humming and tapping along to the beat. Pure torture for me. She parks the Mercedes next to our other car and waits for me to get out before locking it.
me and Annabeth aren't neighbors anymore, but her house is still pretty close to mine. My family is on the wealthier side, we own a spacious, cream toned villa and have a decent sized pool in the backyard. I am an only child so I'm pretty much left to my devices throughout the whole day.
I hear the doorbell ring at around 3 in the afternoon. I quickly get out of my room and jog down the steps, three at a time; I inhale deeply. I put a wide smile on my face prepared to see Annabeth but when I open the door, I am greeted by Liam. My smile falters. I step to the side to let him enter, and slam the door shut. I moved here three months back and my friends had only been here once before despite this my house still surprises Liam. His mouth forms into an "O" as he looks around my living room. we have renovated it since the last time he was here. Our grey leather couches face the large tv, which is hung up on the wall and our dining table is behind the couches.
"wanna go to my room or-" Liam cuts me off before I could finish my sentence.
"I'll sit here", he says calmly.
I feel infuriated, who does he think he is, he doesn't behave like this when other people are around. We sit in silence until the next person arrives. Celeste arrives next. Great, now I'd be left out in my own house. I try joining their conversation multiple times but I just give up. I don't care for what they were speaking about that much either ways.
Annabeth is the last to arrive. She is wearing a grey tank top and denim shorts that show off her tanned skin and athletic figure. My jaw drops. I quickly close my mouth before I start drooling. As she came closer and closer, I could see why she had been late. Perched on her back is a knapsack which looks like it's stuffed with rocks.
She waves at us, "why are you guys staring at me like that?".
Joshua laughs "I knew that you love studying", he shakes his head, "but this".
"you could've just gotten a computer or something", Celeste suggests
"why didn't I think of that", Annabeth mutters sarcastically.
and here I was thinking she was the smarter one.
I try convincing Annabeth to stay later since she reached late as well.
"C'mon, please Annie, for me!" I beg
She looks at me dangerously, "I don't like nicknames, don't call me that".
"oh, sorry"
"I'd stay for longer but my dad wouldn't want me to come home alone"
"I don't mind dropping you!"
She hesitates before she finally gives in. "ok, ok I'll stay".
"great, do you need to call your dad to let him know or something?"
" NO,no,no... that's ok"
I am startled by her reaction but I didn't over think it. I hoped that we got to talk but instead she is focused in her work and because I have nothing to do, I just admire her. She has golden locks of hair like a princess and vulnerable and weak. She makes me feel strong. She occasionally asks me questions but she never looks away from her work.
Suddenly she yelps, "ahh, I'm late, my dad's going to be worried".
I blush hard, thankfully she doesn't notice I've been staring at her this whole time. I jump into action and call my mom and within seconds we're in the car driving to Annabeths house. When we reach Annabeth leans toward me, I hug her. She jumps back. I am confused... I mean she hugged me first... then I realize that she'd been trying to open the door. I turned red and jumped out of the car and held the door open for her. That was so embarrassing, ugh. I get back into the car and turn around to see whether she'd turn back to look at me like they do in the movies. But she seemed hell bent on getting to her door as fast as possible. I sighed.
One thing I know for sure is that Annabeth Chase has feelings for me and is playing hard to get. Well... you know what they say... no pain no gain.
Authors note: sorry I know it was kind of wordy but I just need to give the readers an idea of the characters personality.
Also don't worry these won't be one of those fanfics where Annabeth's is a weakling, it's just ethans perspective so don't worry.
Also, for the next chapter I will be speaking in past tense instead of present because that's easier and quicker and would probably provide better results
If u have any advice for the plot or constructive criticism on my writing please feel free to review.
Ps. I have all the pjo books except lighting thief and sea of minsters so if anyone could tell me where Annabeth went to school or even which state during those times id really appreciate it.
Thank youuu
Please reviewww
