lover ≫ percy jackson

v. a windy city

Lake Michigan loomed in the horizon as the demigods arrived on the outskirts of metropolitan Chicago.

"Can we get a hotdog?" Percy asked from the backseat. "Or pizza? I've never had authentic deep dish pizza."

"Percy, we're not here for food," Annabeth said. "It's a miracle we've even made it as far west as Chicago without any problems. There's probably a bunch of monsters in this city, so let's just focus on getting out as fast as we can."

"I know we're not here specifically for food, but we do have to eat sometime," Percy said. "The sandwiches we packed ran out back in Philly."

"What do you mean they ran out in Philly?" Annabeth said, turning around in her seat. "We packed enough for at least three days."

"We got hungry," Grover said, shrugging.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stop," Esme said. "It would be nice to walk around a bit."

Annabeth sighed. "Well, I've always wanted to see the Bean ..."

"See?" Percy grinned and leaned forward to squeeze Annabeth's shoulders. "It was a great idea."

"Well, I think it's up to Lorelai," Annabeth said, turning to look at the daughter of Aphrodite. "It's her quest, after all."

Lorelai was hungry, but she was also concerned about stopping for too long. In a city as big as Chicago, there was doomed to be a large monster population. Things had been going well for so long that she was beginning to worry.

Then again, she'd also never seen the Bean, and the thought of pizza made her mouth water.

"Two hour stop, max?" She suggested. "I have my glasses, so I'll keep an eye out. We can drive to the Bean, look around, grab some pizza, and then hit the road again."

"Hades yeah!" Percy cheered as he and Grover high-fived over Lorelai, who sat between them.

"Can you find us a good place to stop, Esme?" Lorelai asked, meeting Esme's brown eyes in the rearview mirror.

"You bet, blondie," Esme replied with a smirk, causing a deep blush to settle in on Lorelai's cheeks.

The demigods found a parking structure about a block away from the Bean and Millenium Park. They left the van, stretching out their legs, grabbed their backpacks and headed into the city, searching for a place to eat.

They passed coffee shops and stationary stores, a Chinese buffet and a Mexican bakery. As they trudged on for what felt like blocks, Lorelai was beginning to worry. Her sunglasses were on, and everyone around them remained orange. Where were all the monsters? They should have seen at least one already, even a friendly one, like a satyr.

"Where is the pizza?" Grover complained., his false feet dragging on the cement.

"I guess I assumed Chicago would be like New York," Percy sighed. "Pizza on every corner."

"We could ask someone," Esme suggested, causing the entire group to stop in place. Percy and Lorelai, as the resident New Yorkers, both let out a large laugh.

"Why would we do that?" Percy asked. "You don't ask people things on the street. That's crazy."

"This is the midwest," Esme said. "People are actually nice here."

"Asking people," Percy mumbled, shaking his head.

"Oh come on, you're being ridiculous, Percy," Annabeth scoffed.

"Fine," Percy frowned, crossing his arms. "If you two are so confident, go ask someone. Find us a pizza place."

Esme chuckled and turned to Annabeth. "Okay, Jackson, we will."