In which, Adira Lancaster falls in love with her rival, Percy Jackson
OR
he falls in love with her first, unknowingly.
She only seemed to think about a rivalry. Nothing else. Zilch. Nada. Zip.
-disclaimer- I do not own the Percy Jackson Books, or an...
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"This is bad," Annabeth muttered.
"You got that right," I mumbled.
We were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. We could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even I could read, it said:
MONSTER DONUT
A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate donuts. My favorite.
"This shouldn't be here," I whispered against my will. "It's wrong."
"What?" Percy asked. "It's a donut shop."
"Shhh!"
"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."
"He's a monster."
"Aw, c'mon, Adi. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."
"A chain," I agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get donuts? Right here in the middle of the woods? Plus, you of all people should know I have major trust issues."
Percy nodded his head, rolling his eyes.
"It could be a nest," Annabeth explained.
Tyson whimpered. I doubt he understood what Annabeth was saying any better than Percy did, but her and I's tone was probably making him nervous. He'd plowed through half a dozen donuts from his box and was getting powdered sugar all over his face.
"A nest for what?" Percy asked.
"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" I asked. "One day there's nothing and then the next day—boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four—exact replicas spreading across the country?"
"Um, no. Never thought about it."
"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"
I froze. I looked at the creature standing right behind him, and my eyes probably quadrupled in size.
"What?" Percy demanded. "They breed what?"
"No—sudden—moves," I said. My life practically depended on it. "Very, very, VERY slowly, turn around."
By the look on Percy's face, he'd seen it, somehow. Then he heard it: a scraping noise, like something large dragging its belly through the leaves.
