AN: I've been gone for quite a while. Thanks, finals. But I'm back and full of new/old ideas. I don't particularly like this fic, but I couldn't shake this idea and I had to write it so voila. Read and review, please.
Thalia finally got around to Iris messaging them early one Thursday morning. It was mid-October. Both Percy and Annabeth would have to be in school soon, Thalia knew. Lucky for her she caught them both in Percy's kitchen.
"Thalia!" Annabeth exclaimed when she saw her. "Percy look it's-"
"Thalia," he finished grinning. "How've you been?"
"Oh you know," she replied. "Same old, same old. Monsters, recruits, monsters, Apollo's been hanging around an awful lot which Artemis isn't too fond of. But actually, I was calling to confirm our dinner plans."
"What dinner plans?" Annabeth asked.
"Le Parker Meridien, Percy promised," Thalia replied. "Granted it was delayed some- you know when your boyfriend up and disappeared." She gave him a pointed look.
"You say that like it's my fault," he protested. Thalia shrugged.
"I'm just saying, poof Percy's gone, poof my brother's back…yet another war…What happened first?"
"Ha-ha," Percy replied blandly.
"Anyway," Thalia said returning to the original purpose of her call. "I'm in town… how's tomorrow night?"
"It's perfect," Annabeth replied immediately.
"Seven?" Percy asked. Thalia nodded.
"See you at seven, try not to disappear again." Then she waved her hand through the mist and disappeared before Percy could think of a clever retort.
Percy and Annabeth didn't arrive at seven. Or seven thirty. Or eight.
"Oh honey," the waitress said. "I'm so sorry, being stood up is the worst." Thalia smiled back at her.
"Luckily for me," she replied. "That's not a problem that I'm ever going to have to deal with." The waitress crinkled her eyebrows in confusion, but gave Thalia a small smile and walked away.
Percy and Annabeth arrived at 8:30, more than a little disoriented. Annabeth sat down running her fingers through the tangles of her wet hair and Percy sat beside her trying to examine a cut on her arm without her noticing.
"What happened to you two?" The waitress asked frowning. Beat up wet high school students weren't her usual customers.
"Monsters," Percy answered nodding solemnly. Annabeth glared at him. The woman rolled her eyes and handed them menus. Once she was gone Annabeth stood up and hugged Thalia.
"Sorry we're late," she said. "Hellhounds- Four of them- then we had to go back to our houses and take a couple of quick showers and change.
"All in a day's work," Thalia replied.
"More like all in an hours work," Percy grumbled. "Still think your adventures have been crazier than ours?"
"You have no idea," Thalia said laughing. Then she crinkled her eyes as she smiled even wider.
"What?" Percy asked.
"Nothing," Thalia said. "Last summer it was 'mine' now its 'ours'- it's cute, that's all."
"It was always ours," Percy said smiling at Annabeth, she smiled back.
"So," the waitress said reappearing. "What can I get for you all?"
"Cheeseburgers," they said in unison.
"Okay," she said backing away with a smile. "Three cheeseburgers coming up."
"It really is good to see you, Thalia," Annabeth said a few seconds later. We need to meet up more often.
"We do," she replied with a smile. "But we're all so busy that it's so difficult."
"So, then," Thalia said laughing. "Phoebe put an arrow in the things snout and-and-" she dissolved into giggles and couldn't continue. Percy and Annabeth shared a bemused look and continued to eat their burgers while they waited for her to calm down and continue. "And it burst into flames with Aaron still on its back. And most of the girls are cheering because he's a dude and he's being thrown around like a rag doll, but I feel sort of bad for the guy so..."
Once again she dissolved into a fit of giggles. "So I-"
"Ahh," a shrill voice screamed. "Lion!"
It wasn't a lion.
Percy, to be quite honest, didn't know what it was, but neither Thalia nor Annabeth looked very pleased by its presence so he was guessing whatever it was, it wasn't here for the ravioli.
"Great," Annabeth muttered. "We are never going to be allowed back in here."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Percy responded.
"Maybe we can lure it out of here?" Thalia suggested weakly. The monster turned and bounded off toward the kitchen. Percy frowned.
"Why is it going in there?" he asked.
"It's not here for us," Annabeth replied.
"Well that's good then," Percy said.
"No." Thalia shook her head. "It's not." And the three of them took off running.
Turns out the head cook, 28 year old Walter Samson, happened to be the son of Hermes. A son of Hermes who had made it to adult hood without any knowledge of his godly parenthood or any knowledge of monsters and the truth about Greek mythology. That is until three powerful demigods, two of which were really, really smelly, by demigod standards, walked into his restaurant and lead a monster even Annabeth couldn't identify through the front door. Oops.
"And don't any of you come back!" the waiter said shoving all three demigods out the front door.
"We just need to speak to Mr. Samson," Annabeth replied desperately. "We'll be quick."
"You're banned!" the waiter snapped back. "All of you! Banned!"
"Sir, it's not my fault my dog followed me out to dinner with my girlfriend and cousin," Percy tried.
"Banned!" he shouted before storming back inside. Once he was gone, Percy turned to give Thalia a glare.
"What?"
"Didn't think that might have been a good time to use the mist?"
"To do what? Convince him that were three sous chefs? Or that he really enjoys rampant dogs destroying his restaurant?"
"All I'm saying is-"
"Guys," Annabeth called warily.
"What are you saying?"
"Guys."
"I'm saying-"
"Guys!"
"What?" Percy and Thalia snapped together. Annabeth pointed. There was Mr. Samson, cowering by the back door. The one that the three demigods have been shoved out of minutes earlier.
"Uh… hello," he said quietly. "Do any of you want to tell me what just happened in there?"
"Come with us," Annabeth said smiling. "There's someone you should probably meet."
AN: I'm not too fond of this myself, but like I said I really couldn't shake the idea. I don't think it's abysmal, so maybe you'll like it. Review, please.