princess // percy jackson

i. twenty - and here comes the stinger, in more ways than one

words : 7327

(another long one on today's special...enjoy...)

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forced to stay put while the officer continued further with investigating the broken window, the quartet found themselves back in the dining area, stuck sitting at their table.

percy had never thought he'd have to worry about getting arrested - at least before the age of fifteen - but here he was, anxiously tapping his foot against the floor as they waited for the officer to come back and report to them what becomes of the rest of their trip.

they had anticipated setbacks during this journey, but they never thought the biggest one that could be capable of putting a strict halt to the entire quest - would be a mortal police officer with no sense of logic. no train meant no los angeles, which meant no quest.

if this man came back and told them they'd have to be kicked off, they were doomed.

"so we're just killing time till we find out that guy's a werewolf or something, right?" percy scoffed, in disbelief over the situation they've found themselves in.

"i don't think he's a monster." annabeth shook her head, a grim look on her face.

percy looked towards alliah, who face was clouded over in concentration.

"what do you think, allie wan kenobi? is he a monster or not?"

"no," she said slowly. "but i don't...i don't think we're safe."

"well that's comforting." percy sighed. he knew it was part of the quest, but he was growing tired of running around like headless chickens, trying to survive monsters and whatever other ungodly creature was after them. "well, if he's not a monster, what's going on here? why would anyone tear our room apart?"

"maybe they were looking for something." grover pitched in.

"we don't have anything." percy reminded him of their current practically-homeless status.

"the people who think you stole zeus' master bolt might disagree." annabeth shrugged.

"still doesn't explain why they had to toss out my shit like that," alliah sulked sourly. "how am i supposed to walk around without a coat on, i'll freeze to death."

percy rose an eyebrow. "calm down, it's not winter."

alliah only pouted, suddenly feeling the urge to start whining. "but all my pretty clothes..."

now that he'd gotten to know the girl a little better outside of being constant foes, he could definitely now see how she fit in with the rest of her aphrodite siblings - they all shared one common trait; melodrama.

"look, they're not gonna find something we don't have." grover revolved back to the issue at hand. "either way, we aren't spending the day answering questions in the st. louis police station. we need to get out of this before we get delayed..."

annabeth gave a nod of approval, turning to alliah.

"maybe try to persuade him to let us free on this one, yeah?"

alliah agreed, rising to her feet. "i'll talk to him right now-"

before she could take another step however, the group's conversation seemed to attract an uninvited guest.

grover felt a tap on his shoulder. as he turned around to see who it was, he found himself feeling that strange familiar churn of his stomach - monsters. they were near.