Percy & Annabeth

Wednesday Night

Annabeth's POV

It was rare when I didn't know what I was doing, but this whole "New World journey and ending up at strawberry picking camp" thing was one of those times. It was just a blurt-out moment when I told this girl Katie that we needed jobs. Instinct, really. Then it was just luck that this place turned out to be a camp with actual beds and running water and stuff. To be honest, I was thinking this whole time that I'd be sleeping in a poorly made pile of dirt until I died.

Percy was acting weird about it. While Thalia and I awed at the vast land and the architecturally amazing cabins that we were actually allowed to stay in, Percy kept to himself all day. We were given clothes that advertized the fields to wear for now. Percy and I both got an orange shirt like the one Katie was wearing, and we also each got a pair of jeans. I had never worn real pants before. But again, Percy didn't say much. Katie said we could use today to rest and tour around, get used to things here. As soon as she said this, Percy marched to his cabin and didn't come out until dinner.

I, on the other hand, went to the camp's library. I had always loved books and literature and basically just anything that I could learn from. I nearly tripped over my own feet when I saw how big the shelves were. It would take even me years to read everything that was here.

A horn blew and another worker informed me that it meant dinner was being served. On my way over, I stopped at Percy's cabin and knocked on the door."Percy?" I called. "It's time for dinner."

Someone groaned from inside and marched to the door. "Not hungry," he mumbled. Percy's hair and clothes were even more disheveled than usual and he looked pretty pale.

I sighed. "Babe, what's wrong? You've been down all day."

"Nothing," he said. "I'm just tired."

Even though it was against the basic rules of the camp, I opened the screen door and stepped inside. I got really close to him and wrapped my arms around his waist so he couldn't go anywhere. After a few seconds of staring at him eye-to-eye, I said, "You're lying."

His head dropped. "I've never been a good liar."

"Come on, Perce, what's up? We found an amazing place to live and we're away from all the fighting at home. What's to be sad about?"

"The fact that we're away from home," he mumbled.

I gave him a look. "Are you homesick?"

"No, no, nothing like that." He looked as though he was searching for words. "It's just that, I mean, we wouldn't have even had to come here in the first place if it wasn't for me. I never wanted you to have to go through this."

"You're not being fair to yourself, Percy," I said sternly. "This was on both of us; our family's too. The reality is that we're here and we're making the best of it, right?"

He shrugged. "I guess so."

I stood up on my tiptoes and pecked his lips. "Don't worry," I assured. "We're here, we're safe, and we're happy," I gave him a squeeze. Somewhere inside me shifted, and I had to repeat my own words in my head until I believed them. "Right?"

It took a little bit to tear the frown off of his face, but finally he did and squeezed me back. "You're right."

"Always am," I smirked. Percy gave me half a smile, still looking like he had everything in the world to be guilty about. I guess I couldn't really blame him—I had had that feeling ever since my mother's party. Percy's banishment was my fault too. I decided to change the subject. "So are you actually not hungry? Because even though I've only known you for a week and a half, I know that's a lie."