I do not own Percy Jackson nor Heroes of Olympus, they belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Two - Carlos

He cautiously sat down again on the chair, eyeing her carefully. She seemed harmless but he wasn't about to let his guard down.

"Alyx, huh…?" he said quietly. "Where are you from?" She looked down.

"I don't know. I only know my name." She played with her shorts. "I woke up in a forest and only knew my name. Riptide was the only thing I had on me, as well as this dagger."

So he was right. He fidgeted, nodding.

"I see…" he muttered, going over and picking up her backpack. "Here you go." He handed it to her and then sat down. She opened it and pulled out the pen and dagger, sighing in relief and setting the items down.

"I ran out of supplies a week ago." She said, picking up the pen and rubbing the cap.

"What'd you do for money…?" he asked.

"I took jobs." She said, setting the pen on her lap. "Running errands, capturing criminals for the cops. I received this pack the last job I did, and that's when I had to start running."

"Running?"

"From monsters." She flicked her eyes up to him. "Like the giant you saw."

"Right." He muttered. "Well, I've been protected my whole life, so I wouldn't know what running into monsters is like." She tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm a demigod, but my smell has been masked." She perked up at the mention of being a demigod.

"You're a demigod too?" She asked. He nodded, narrowing his eyes.

"You're one?"

"Yeah." She frowned. "At least I think." She muttered.

"Oh." He scratched his head. "Well, come on. My mom wants to meet you." He stood. She stood as well, a bit shaky, holding her pen tightly. He felt jealousy creep up, and scowled at their height difference.

"What?" She asked, looking down at him.

"Nothing." He mumbled. They walked downstairs, where his mom was making dinner.

"Mom?" he asked. She turned, her eyes widening at Alyx next to him.

"Oh! You're awake!" She greeted. "Come sit!" They sat at the table and he noticed how fidgety she was getting. She looked around, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Is it just you two here?" she asked. His mom shook her head.

"No, my husband and daughter are on a trip." She turned the stove on low.

"Oh." Alyx looked at him then at her. "And you're demigods?" His mom nodded.

"Oh, yes." She pulled out her chair, sitting down and brushing her bangs away. "My husband is son of Hephaestus and I'm daughter of Aphrodite."

"Oh I see." She muttered. "That's why he's so cute." She smiled at him. His mom laughed.

"Yes, he gets the looks." She said, leaning into her hand. "What about you, dear?"

"Uh…" She fiddled with her pen. "I dunno. I know I'm a demigod, but I don't know who my parents are."

"I see…" She gestured to the pen. "And what's that?"

"Oh." She held it up. "This is Riptide." He saw his mom's eyes widen and her lips part, but she said nothing. Instead, she tilted her head like she was dumbfounded.

"Riptide?"

"Yeah." She uncapped it, making it sprout to the 3 foot blade. He saw her bite her lip, taking a breath and smiling.

"My husband will be so fascinated."

"Hephaestus is god of… forges, right?" She asked, scratching her head.

"Yes."

"I see… I'm sorry, I only know my name, so I can't remember much."

"That's okay." His mom patted her hand. "What's your name?"

"Alyx."

"Alyx." She repeated. "I like that name. I'm Silena Beckendorf."

"Nice to meet you." They shook hands. She capped Riptide and put it on the table, playing with her hair.

"I need a haircut…"

"I can give you one. I'm a hair stylist." She said. "Maybe after dinner?" Alyx inhaled, relaxing and licking her lips.

"Oh, sure. I'm so hungry…" His mom patted her head as she got up.

"I'm sure you are." She said. "My husband and daughter should be back in a few minutes."

"Where'd they go?"

"Just to the store."

"Oh, you made it sound like they went fishing." His mom laughed, a genuine, sweet laugh, and went back to stirring the noodles.

"So how old are you, Carlos?" She asked, leaning her hand into her chin.

"Seventeen."

"You will be seventeen, dear."

"Mom!"

"Oh?"

"February fourteenth." His mom said.

"M-Mom!"

"Valentine's day?" She asked, snickering. "An Aphrodite descendant born on the day of love."

"Shut up!" He whined, burying his face into his hands. She laughed, covering her mouth and smiling.

"Cute!" She grabbed his cheeks and squeezed. "Really cute at that." He turned red. He'd been hit on before, but something about her was different. It didn't feel like when the guys at school would do it; she did it like they were siblings.

"Mama! We're home!" He sighed when he heard his sister's sweet little voice. She came running in, carrying some bags, squeaking when she saw Alyx. His dad came in next.

"Who are you?" his dad asked as he spotted her. His dad was a big, buffy black man with short black curls like his own and brown eyes. He had scars and big arms from working in his shop all the time, and even in their teenager years he was huge.

"Did Carlos get a girlfriend?" Pearl giggled.

"No!" He said. Alyx laughed and gave the peace sign.

"I'm Alyx." She stood, making his dad's eyes widened.

"Whoa! You have a lot of tattoos!" Pearl giggled, grabbing her wrist and showing her SPQR tattoo. She then turned her hand over to reveal and trident on the back of her hand that he hadn't noticed.

"Are you a biker or something…?" his dad asked, eyeing her SPQR tattoo suspiciously.

"No, I woke up with these."

"Woke up?"

"I got amnesia." She tapped her forehead. "I only remember my name."

"I see…"

"Charlie, don't be suspicious."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are." His mom patted her shoulder. "Alyx, meet Charles, my husband and Pearl, my youngest daughter."

"So Carlos isn't the oldest…?" Alyx asked, confusion writing over her face now.

"No, gods, no."

"Hey!"

"He's the middle child." Pearl giggled. "Harper's in New York at college!" Pearl wrapped her arms around Alyx's waist, looking up at her. "You're really pretty!"

"Thank you." Alyx laughed, patting her head. He frowned. Pearl never liked anybody that quick, so this was very new. "You're pretty too." She fixed her ponytails, making her giggle.

"I am?" She asked, blushing brightly.

"Very." She poked her belly, like they'd known each other forever. "You're gonna be a gorgeous young lady in the future."

"I'm gonna be kind and pretty like Harper!" Pearl said.

"Harper's the oldest, right?" She looked up at his dad, who stared at her a bit disapprovingly.

"Yes." He replied gruffly.

"I see." She patted Pearl's head. "Oh, there goes my stomach." His mom laughed.

They served their plates and sat down, eating. He was trying to think of something to ask her, something that wouldn't sound stupid like 'Where are you from' when she spoke.

"Carlos mentioned something about masking the smell of demigods." Alyx asked, already halfway through her food. "How do you do that?"

"It was an invention by us." His dad said, still a bit suspicious. "Silena made the smell and I made the soap."

"Soap?" his mom smiled.

"It's scentless to demigods, but mortals can smell it." Carlos muttered.

"Ooh." Alyx said, taking another bite then swallowing. "What's it smell like?"

"Lavender, rose, apples, it has a few different scents." He said. She tapped her foot, getting up and getting some more.

"I see…" She mumbled, sitting back down. "How come you know that?" He turned red.

"I-I get hit on a lot at school." He mumbled, hoping she wouldn't hear him.

"Oh?" She laid her hand in her chin. "Must be rough."

"I had my butt squeezed today!" His dad slammed his fist on the table, making her and him jump.

"What?" He turned red, his eyes widening at what he just said. "By who?"

"J-Just a guy, Dad. It's fine, I told him off." His dad narrowed his eyes, frowning. Alyx frowned as well.

"I'm guessing you don't like me much?" she said, swirling her fork in her noodles.

"Well, I don't know you, and you suddenly appear in my home, and get along with my daughter just fine."

"Point taken." She said. "Don't worry, I'm not harmful." He narrowed his eyes.

"Dad, I found her in the park."

"You make it sound like you found a dog."

"Hey." His mom warned.

"She was a fighting a giant-"

"Laistrygonian." Alyx said.

"Yeah, that. She was fighting it in the park! You should've seen her! Jumping up and flipping, she was cool!"

"So you have fighting training?"

"Yeah." She rubbed the fork. "I don't know where from though."

"She was flipping all over the place!" He said excitedly. "She even grabbed me and lifted me into the air to protect me!"

"What…? You're strong enough to do that?" His dad looked at her with wide eyes. She sat down, chuckling.

"Yeah."

"Can you show us?" Pearl asked excitedly, grabbing her shirt and bouncing in her chair. Alyx laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Maybe later."

They finished eating, his dad going outside into his shop while his mom went to get her tools to cut Alyx's hair. He did the dishes, watching Alyx bounce Pearl on her lap.

"So you're really a demigod?" Pearl asked.

"Well, I think so." She replied. "I mean, I see monsters and I have a sword."

"What? You have a sword?!" Pearl asked, getting excited. Alyx laughed. "Show me!"

"Later, Pearl." She said, poking her nose. "I don't want your parents' getting heart attacks at a blade." Pearl pouted. He shut the dishwasher door, wiping up the counter and filling the pans with soapy water. Then he went and sat down next to her.

"So you carried Carlos to safety?" His face heated up.

"Yup!" His mom came down, holding her kit.

"Alright, come into the kitchen." Pearl hopped off Alyx's lap and skipped into the kitchen with her. ALyx sat down, his mom pulling the cape around and buttoning it. She pulled out the braid and opened her kit.

"What kind of cut do you want?" She asked, untying the braid.

"Um…" Alyx thought for a moment while her hair was being undone. He noticed her look at a picture of Thalia, daughter of Zeus.

"Like that." His mom nodded and began cutting.

It took a few minutes, but she was careful and precise. Her hair was curly, similar to his mom's but looser. To say the least, she was pretty.

"There you go." His mom said after she finished. She handed her a mirror.

"Perfect." Alyx said, running her fingers through it.

He examined his body in the mirror, frowning and pulling on a shirt, taking off his pillows to pull back the covers.

"Ohoho." He turned to see Alyx leaning in the doorway, a toothbrush in her mouth, her hair damp and dressed in a blue night shirt, a smirk on her face.

"H-Hey!" He grabbed a pillow, pressing it against his lower half. "There's such a thing called knocking!"

"I did knock."

"No, you didn't." She shrugged, patting his curls. "Night, Carlos. Thanks for saving me." She smiled and left before he could say anything.

Who was this girl…?

To Be Continued...