Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns all the rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. I am simply creating a work for enjoyment, and no copyright infringements are meant.

Rating: K+

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy this chapter :) We finally meet Percy!

Chapter 4

The temperature drops a good ten degrees, so while it's still insanely hot, it's at least bearable. Annabeth has the day off from school again since the air conditioning is still malfunctioning, so she heads out after lunch to go find out who the mystery person at the beach is.

She wears a swimsuit under a tank top and athletic shorts, puts a few supplies in a water-proof backpack, then begins the bike over to the hidden beach. After dragging her bike through the forest segment she pulls her hair up and begins walking across the sand with only her backpack to the cliffs.

As she gets closer she doesn't see the strange guy, but she decides to climb up and explore. Annabeth didn't bring rope, but as worn away as the cliff face is she decides to just free climb it. There's water underneath the cliffs that can catch her if she falls, so she shouldn't die if she makes a mistake and drops. Besides, she is in good shape and is pretty strong (she can thank her mom for her athletics).

Annabeth drops her backpack on the sand and swims over to where the cliffs arise from the water. She doesn't bother to take off her shorts or tank top; the sun is hot enough that they should dry soon enough.

She pulls herself out of the water by gripping holes on the side of the cliff with her hands tightly and slowly climbs up. There's a time when she grabs hold of the hole and it crumbles away, but she quickly swings over and pulls herself up on another one.

She scales the cliff about halfway up in decent time. There's an alcove a few feet ahead, and she's pretty sure that's the one she's seen the boy disappear in. She struggles for a few minutes on how to get onto the ledge, but soon she swings her limber legs up and over, her hands letting go of the cliff and grabbing new hand holds with a lightning fast reflex.

Annabeth stands and looks back over where she's climbed. She guesses she's about twenty feet up, maybe closer to thirty. She can see the whole of the beach from here, and it's a lovely view. Clear, crystal blue water laps gently against the beach and white sand lies in small bumps across the water under it disappears into the tree line. The trees are dark green and brown, and they cast cool shadowy shapes across the sand.

Then she turns and peers into the alcove. It's high enough for her to duck down and step through, but after a few seconds of walking in near darkness the ceiling opens up and an amazing sight almost takes her breath away.

There's a large hole that extends to the sky right in the middle of the large cave room, and it casts light through the entire area. Also in the middle in a hole through a small river stream empties down into. The stream of water comes from somewhere off to the right. Around the hole in the middle is a lot of space of rock, but it's not like those dirty caves you always see in movies. It's light and spacious, and it's all cleaned out. There are some blankets spread out on the side opposite the small water stream and other personal items, even including a lamp, some food, and a few comic books. It's almost like a little dwelling place, and it's so nice Annabeth doesn't want to disturb it. She wonders if this is where the strange boy lives, but then decides that it is at most a hang-out place. No one actually lives in caves.

There a few pictures hung up on the side of the cliff wall by the blankets, and Annabeth walks over to look at them. There's a woman with brown hair and warm eyes, and she's smiling sweetly at the camera, a blue birthday cake with six candles in her hand and a little black-haired boy at her side. He's staring at the cake with excitement.

Another picture shows a red-headed, extremely skinny and covered-in-acne boy with the black-haired boy, who's now older. He looks about twelve, and the two are laughing about some inside joke.

There's a picture with the black-haired boy and a red-headed girl. The girl has some gold paint flecks on her face and in her curly hair, and they're laughing together, sitting on the edge of a car by the beach. Annabeth wonders if it's an old girlfriend.

The last picture makes Annabeth feel intrusive. There's the woman with brown hair, though this time she's in her early twenties. A man has his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her from behind tightly. He looks like an older version of the black-haired boy, with matching black hair and tan skin. The two look so happy together, and Annabeth knows they must be his parents.

There's a noise at the front of the tunnel, and Annabeth realises the boy must be back. She looks around somewhere to frantically hide, then decides she might as well face him head on. No time like the present, right?

She steps forward away from his personal belongings and starts walking towards the front of the tunnel, her heart racing fast and her nerves high. She really didn't think this through. What is she going to say? What is she going to do?

The boy comes through, sees her, and his eyes grow wide. He looks…scared, like a deer in the headlights. Annabeth feels bad, realising how bad this must look from his perspective. First she came and stole his secret beach, then she entered what might be his home without his permission and when he had been gone.

She puts her hands out. "I'm—I'm sorry."

At the sound of her voice the boy turns and runs. She follows, knowing she might lose her only chance to talk to him. Now that she knows where he hangs out he'll probably move. She has to convince him she just wants to know who he is! She means him no harm.

He runs out onto the ledge of the cliff face, and Annabeth knows that unless he's a super fast climber he'll have to stop. Then she can talk to him and convince him that everything's alright.

He doesn't stop, though. He keeps running, and then he breaks into a graceful dive off of the ledge, cutting into the water smoothly and with barely a splash. He resurfaces as Annabeth tries to skid to a stop. She sees in his eyes that he believes she'll stop and take her time to climb down, and by then he can be gone. He thinks he's escaped.

And he would have, had Annabeth's feet not slipped as she tried to stop. She falls right off the edge of the cliff, and unlike him her fall doesn't end in a graceful glide into the water. Instead she hits her head on the cliff face and smacks into the water at an angle. Everything goes black for a few seconds, and when she opens her eyes again an awful throbbing has taken over everything.

She feels herself being pulled out of the water, though her vision is blurry and unfocused. She feels the grinding sand against her skin, and she forces her eyes open wide enough to see startling green eyes looking down at her, concerned. She feels herself drifting off, and sleep would be so nice right now, but she's smart enough to know that if she has a concussion she needs to stay awake. So Annabeth focuses on those bright eyes, using them as a reference so she stays somewhat alert.

The eyes disappear for a minute as the boy moves over. When his face comes back into her line of vision he has her phone in his hand and he's calling someone. Nine-One-One, probably.

Then she feels herself being picked up and carried away. The branches of the forest scratch against her arms a few seconds later, then the sunlight hits her skin and she's being set down on warm pavement.

Those green eyes lock on hers one more time. "I'm so sorry," the boy mouths, and then he's gone. Just like that. Disappeared as if he never existed.

The ambulance comes and locates her up, and she's picked up again, though it doesn't feel the same. She's taken to the doctor's office, checked out, and probed endlessly. She stares straight at the wall through it all, her brain still trying to process everything that had happened.

"You're okay," Will says, dropping his hand from where he had been checking her eyes. "You have a small concussion, but it could have been worse. Oh, and a nasty cut that might scar, but it shouldn't be too big or obvious." He frowns at her, and she finally looks up at him. "What were you even doing?"

Should she tell him the truth? But that would mean exposing the strange green-eyed boy and her hidden beach. She can't do that, not after all the trouble she's gone to keeping it a secret.

"I was riding my bike in the woods and I hit a large root and hit a tree," Annabeth lies. "Guess I have to be more careful next time."

Will doesn't look convinced, but he doesn't press. He's pretty chill like that. "Okay. Just stay inside and rest for a few days, okay? Take it easy. And please try to be more careful next time."

Annabeth's mom comes to pick her up, and she goes straight to bed once she gets home. She tries to sleep and get rest like Will had ordered, but she can't stop thinking about those green eyes.

Who is that boy? And why is she so obsessed over finding him?