- Lisztomania , Johnny Lawrence -

I

Athena hated her father.

She hated the way he made everything about himself. How he could be so selfish. The way he packed up everything and moved them across the globe. The way she looked even slightly related to him made her feel ill.

She hated every single, little thing about him.

He was currently driving them from the airport in Los Angeles, california, the windows were rolled down letting the cool wind drift in and wrap itself like a blanket around athena, she hated this.

Her walkman had rotated the majority of her good cassette tapes by now, so she was listening to her "loud" songs on repeat, hoping to drown out her father's whistling and the roar of the cars nearby. Her eyes were closed, arms crossed and hugging her tight, the words of the music drowning her thoughts.

But the moment that i first laid eyes on him,

All alone,

On the edge of,  seventeen

Just like the white winged dove

Sings a song, sounds like she's singing

I said ooh, baby, ooh, said ohh..

Just like the white winged dove

Sings a song, sounds like she's singing

I said ooh, baby, ooh, said ohh..

The car came to a stop, and the engine's rumble became quiet. Her father, Peter, got out of the car, leaving Athena to grab her bags and haul them to their new place by herself. As she looked out the windshield, she saw a red brick home, with open windows and a pathway leading from the driveway. It would have to make do. She thought as she pulled off her walkman, standing up from the car to stretch her legs.

The sound of the front door opening and a woman's laughter made Athena look up in curiosity. A red-headed lady ran out and into the arms of her father. She hated this.

As the pair talked, she stowed her bags in her arms from the boot of the car, dragging most of them up the small hill of a driveway.

"Athena" her father called her over. With a small frown on her face, she complied, just to get it over and done with. "This is Susan" he introduced his new girlfriend, who had a bright smile on her face. She was around 5'9, and her hair barely passed her shoulders. She looked as if she was about to explode with happiness, her face full of light. "It's great to finally meet you Athena, i've heard lots about you"

Susans hand reached forward to shake Athenas, but as she realised her arms were full, she offered to carry some of her stuff for her. "I'm okay, thank you though."

Athena tried her best to make a grateful smile, and Susan called for her daughter to come and show her where her room is. A few moments passed before a young girl, who looked around the age of fourteen, trudged out of the red-bricked home. She had long red hair, much like her mothers, and a slight frown as the sun glared into her eyes. Her face was full of freckles, Athena noticed, as she got closer and used her hand to cover her eyes from the brightness.

"This is Max, my daughter, she will show you to your new room" Susan's voice was enthusiastic, patting Max on her back as she obliged, forcing a smile and showing her the way. Once they were further enough away from the parents and inside the house, Athena spoke up.

"I'm Athena" she introduced herself, looking expectantly at the young girl.

"I know." The blonde let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the pair made it to her bedroom.  The room was small, but it would make do, max was quiet and glanced every so often up at her.

"Have you always lived in California?" asked Athena, purely just trying to kill the silence and start a conversation as she set down the bags that felt as if they were stretching her arms beyond.

"Majority of my life was spent here, but 2 years ago I moved to Indiana, mum said it was dangerous, so we had to come back here." Her response was short and quick, but she felt warmhearted that Max was opening up.

"I've always lived in Australia, in the same house, but moving here was a big change" she looked softly at the young girl, who showed a ghost of a smile back at her. At Least they had something in common to make Athena's time spent here worthwhile.

Max left to let her unpack the boxes that stared grimly at her, her walkman back on as Athena rummaged and organised her decor. 

—

Time had passed quicker than she had realised, and it was already mid afternoon. They had landed in Los Angeles just before lunch, and a short drive from the airport, they reached Reseda at 1:30.  Athena had just finished unpacking all of her belongings, her room finally feeling like it was hers. She spun around and admired her work before remembering how much she misses Australia.

She made the choice to see and look around the town, maybe locate the beach. Perhaps the sunsets look almost as good as they did in the sunshine coast? She walked through the dimly lit hallway, her feet lightly tread on the floorboards.  It certainly wasn't as hot as it was back home, but it was warm enough to wear jeans and a top without a jacket or sleeves.

"I'm heading out!" she called, not waiting for a reason before getting out of there as fast as she could. She didn't want to spend any more moments near her father, or his new girlfriend. Her daughter was okay, but the red bricked house just felt so suffocating, the only escape for her was music. Even then it was merely enough, Athena decided she still hated it here, even though her new little sister made it almost worthwhile.

--

a/n!!

pretty crappy update, but more are on the way i promise, and athena meets johnny next chapter!

Thank you for sticking and reading this story,

Love Luceyswiftey xx