I don't know why rereading The Lightning Thief got me back to working on this chapter, but it did.

Hungry Like The Wolf: Part Four

Amid the white noise of The Rampion — patrons eating and chatting, cooks in the back rattling pans or cookware sizzling, cars outside arriving or leaving, and the bell on the door ringing with each open and close — Cress and Thorne sit close to each other in their big booth. His arm was around her shoulders as her knees were up to her chest with a notebook displayed for them both to read about metabolic reactions. Well, she was reading about metabolic reactions because he was eating some of the potato skins he ordered as an appetizer.

Thorne looks over at Cress when she puts the notebook down on the spot beside her. She lowers her legs and reaches forwards to grab a cheese bun from the small basket they also ordered an appetizer. He watches as Cress doesn't even hesitate to shove the whole thing in her mouth whole. She isn't even chewing when she makes eye contact with Thorne who bursts out laughing at her puffed-out cheeks.

Cress tries to tell him to stop but her mouth is full. She forces herself to chew through the laughter wanting to force its way out. She could just spit the bun out but that's an insult to The Rampion's cheesy cheese buns.

"Stars, you're amazing," Thorne says. He tries to take a sip from his glass of ice but only gets a few drops in his mouth. Luckily, he ordered a soda to pass the time.

Cress finally finishes the roll in her mouth and reaches for another one. Instead of shoving it in her mouth which he expected, she holds it for a second, rotating it in her fingers as if it's a ball.

"I can't decide which bread roll I like best," Cress says.

"You ate the same bread," Thorne says. He pulls the breadbasket towards him and all the rolls look the same.

"This bread is sexy."

Thorne almost chokes on an ice cube. "The first time I hear you use that word and it's not for me. How many of those rolls could you fit in your mouth?"

Cress purses her lips, looking at the bread roll. Again, Thorne wishes that look was aimed at him but he wouldn't be able to stand again … worth it.

"I'm a tiny girl," Cress states. "That is my body weight in bread rolls. I'll die, which is a good way to go now that I think about it. I'd have to dislocate my jaw."

"Don't fill up on bread when there's still so much more food coming."

"Don't tell me what to do."

Cress pulls the breadbasket towards her, looking around the restaurant. Thorne isn't sure what she's doing until she dumps the entire bread basket into her backpack. He can't help but laugh, especially since he knows that Scarlet or any waiter here would let them take it home and give them a container.

When Cress turns to him, eyes sharpened, Thorne holds up a fork and looks at her through the prongs. He watches her alert expression turn confused, brows rising.

"What are you doing?" Cress asks.

"Wolf taught me this trick," Thorne says, moving the fork forwards and back for reference. "When he's mad at Scarlet, he would look at her through a fork and pretend she's in jail. It heals him spiritually. When he's over it, he would lower the fork and pretend he bailed her out."

Cress pauses. " … are you mad at me?"

Thorne lowers the fork for a minute and takes her hand, kissing it. It smells like Rampion bread. "Of course not. I could never be mad at you. I'm jealous you don't look at me like you look at bread."

Cress grins, cheeks reddening. Thorne raises and lowers the fork until Scarlet catches their attention. She was heading towards their table, probably to take their order, but slows her pace when she saw Thorne lifting a fork and looking at Cress through the prongs. Thorne turns around and looks at Scarlet through the fork. Holding that gaze, he gets it.

Even Thorne feels born again by the moment. He feels Cress hold his arm and hoist herself up to get a peek through the fork.

"This makes so much more sense," Thorne says.

Scarlet glares at him but turns when the bell at the diner's door rings. She turns and sees Wolf entering, looking at his phone. He just came from work given his gym uniform under his unzipped jacket. He takes off his headphones and shoves them in his pocket, noticing Scarlet glaring at him.

"Oh, spades, she knows," Thorne says, moving the fork so that Wolf is now in fork jail.

Thorne even sees Scarlet take a fork out of her apron pocket and holds it up. She closes one eye and looks at Wolf through it.

Wolf raises a brow before turning to see Thorne and Cress looking at him the same way.

"Whoops. Got him in trouble," Thorne says.

"Busted…" Cress sings as she picks up her fork to look at Thorne through. "This is kinda relaxing."

-o-

Cinder knocks as she walks into Kai's house since he unlocked the door when she texted that she was on her way. She calls out that she's here as she takes off her shoes and puts her bag and coat down.

She takes a breath and smells something nice, which shocked her since she knew Kai was cooking for the twins tonight. It seems like something creamy and cheesy which makes her mouth water. Suddenly, she's hungry.

Until she walks into the kitchen.

The smell didn't tell her any of this.

There's a boiling pot on the stove with spilled milk and pasta on the counter. Cheese powder is dusted everywhere, even on Kai's apron and hair. The twins sit patiently at the kitchen island and wave excitedly at Cinder as she takes in the chaotic cooking scene.

"You look amazing," Cinder says to Kai sarcastically. She watches her step as she walks into the kitchen. The last thing she wants is to step in something wet while in her socks. "What happened?"

"I was making Mac and cheese," Kai explains.

Cinder looks at the mess and the boiling water that only seemed to be water. "... Did any of it get into the pot?"

Kai shrugs. "I don't know if this right. I tested this recipe in my head."

Cinder laughs a little as she kisses his cheek. He tastes like cheese flavouring. "Aces, Kai … it's literally two ingredients. Maybe three at most."

In sync, the twins point at the swear jar. Cinder digs into her pockets and pulls out all the loose coins. She drops them on the kitchen island in a pile. The twins scoop up every last univ to put in the jar themselves.

"Everything in here is fine minus the big mess," Kai states.

"Glad that means fine."

Kai couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, and frankly neither could she.