Meeting You || Ethan Nakamura/ OMC

Chapter 18

|| The Night We Met by Lord Huron ||

Ethan had been commanded to go with Prometheus to visit the enemy, and he couldn't say no even if he wanted to stay with Aleks.

Ethan was still following his orders and trying to make everything work out. He still cared and wanted to help, even if the fear still haunted him.

"Hey, Ethan." Percy said. "You're looking good."

Ethan glared at him. He knew Percy meant about his smashed nose.

The meeting continued with Ethan not paying much attention. He just wanted to get out of there.

He could see that Percy looked at him from time to time, but he didn't bother to look back.

"How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas's daughter. We are not enemies. Don't let the worst happen." Percy pleaded. "We offer you peace."

Percy looked at Ethan.

"You must hate this."

Ethan looked at him.

"I don't know what you mean."

"If we took this deal, you wouldn't get revenge. You wouldn't get to kill us all. Isn't that what you want?"

Ethans good eye flared.

"All I want is respect, Jackson. The gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes cabin because I'm not important? Not even recognized?"

"Your mom's the goddess of revenge." Percy told Ethan. "Should we respect that?"

"Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them down."

"Which is why she took your eye?"

"It was payment." He growled. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day I would tip the balance of power. I would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."

"Great mom."

"At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts—good or evil."

"Yeah." Percy said. "So I saved your life, and you repaid me by raising Kronos. That's fair."

Ethan grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Prometheus stopped him.

"Now, now." the Titan said. "We're on a diplomatic mission."

Prometheus and Percy kept talking without Ethan in the conversation, and when they finally left, ​​Ethan gave Percy one last hateful look. Then the truce party turned and strolled up the lane through Central Park, arriving at the camp: Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium.

Ethan walked through the camp once again, wondering where he would find Aleks right now.

As he walked, Ethan tried to remember everything that had happened during the battle, trying to remember what everything looked like, everything that happened, and how much all the injuries had hurt people during the fight, including what he did to Annabeth, and how injured Aleks was too.

Ethan walked towards one of the campfires, and Aleks was there.,

"Aleks." Ethan murmured. "Can I sit with you?"

The boy seemed to be so alone and depressed right now, so Ethan wanted to sit right beside him and show that even if he still felt guilty and angry right now... Ethan still cared for him.