Hi, lovelys!

Hey (Guest) reviewed on "When no one else was" and asked me to continue on that. I'm sorry if I weren't clear enough, that is a one-shot and will not be continued. However, I also wanted to write a longer story. So this is it! It's a modern AU, where Westeros is a city, the kingdoms are parts of the city and so on. Arya is 17 and Gendry 22. I haven't really gotten a planning for this, I go with the floe. So I'm very open to suggestions if anyone want something included, review or PM me about it! Here however is "The beginning"!

Enjoy!

Chapter 1 – The beginning

Arya's POV

Arya sighed as she looked up upon the new house. It was still in the same city, which was probably the only good thing about it. She hated the neighborhood, she hated the new neighbors and she hated the house. Her family decided it was time to get a bigger house, so that everyone could have their own bedroom. Honestly, she could not argue with that, she was so sick of sharing a room with her sister. But still. Out of all the areas in Westeros, they had to choose this one. The posh part of town, King's landing.

The name tasted like bile in her mouth. You could really hear how snobbish the people hear would be. Arya missed Winterfell, her real home. As soon as her mother and father had decided this, she made a sacred vow to return there as soon as she finished college. But that wouldn't be until she was twenty four, and she was seventeen now. Still seven years to go…

"I think this will do quite nicely" her mother Catelyn said, breaking her out of her miserable thoughts. "Don't you, children?" Most of them agreed.

Arya had five siblings. Her big brothers Robb and Jon, big sister Sansa and little brothers Bran and Rickon. Robb had moved out like a year and a half ago, but still visited a lot, now he was helping her family with the move, along with his girlfriend Talisa.

"The truck with our new furniture is here so we should start to unload and put them together" her father Ned announced.

"I'll give you a hand with that, dad" Robb said and immediately ran up to their dad to help him with a heavy package.

They all started to help. The whole unloading part went well enough, but as soon as they started with the part of building, Arya understood that they would exclude her. Her mom, Sansa and Talisa hadn't even tried to help, instead they just walked from room to room discussing wall paint and decorating. But that wasn't anything for Arya, she wasn't the most girly girl you'd ever find. She always wore pants or shorts, even though the social code wanted her to wear skirts and dresses. To be honest, she didn't even think she owned a skirt.

Today she wore a pair of worn navy blue jeans, a loose t-shirt tucked in under a belt and a leather jacket.

"Why won't you let me help?" Arya asked angrily as her brothers clearly turned their backs towards her when she tried to engage.

"We've got it handled" Robb said.

"Or maybe you just don't want me to help because I'm a girl. That's a little sexist, you know."

"You're the one making assumptions now, Arya" Bran said.

"But if you just let me try I wouldn't have to" Arya retorted, the rage boiling.

"You can't swing a hammer to save your life" Robb said rather half heartedly as he was busy measuring something.

"True" Arya confessed. "But I'm just as strong as you! So with the right instructions, I bet I could build things just as good as you!"

"Okay!" Jon suddenly said, stopping the fight that was on its way to break out. "Arya. Here, take this list and go down to the hardware store and buy some stuff. Please?"

Arya stared at him with a look that said 'I would really enjoy beating the crap out of you' but snatched the list from Jon's hand and stormed off.

As soon as she got outside, Arya plugged in her headphones in her mobile and raised the volume of her music to shut the rest of the world for a few minutes. She walked through the streets of King's landing and could feel the way others looked at her, like she didn't belong here. And she didn't! They were damn right! If she had a choice, Arya would hop on the next bus home. True, King's landing and Winterfell did lie in the same city, but they were still on the other end of each other.

Arya ran a hand through her dark brown hair that just reached her shoulders as she walked inside 'Mott's hardware'. After taking a quick glance on the list Jon had given her, she started to roam the aisles without really paying attention.

Someone said something to her, but she couldn't hear. She pulled out her headphones.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I said, 'can I help you?'" the deep voice of a boy said.

Arya turned around and found herself slightly gawking. There before her, stood the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen. He looked to be in his early twenties, with thick black hair and piercing blue eyes that looked right at her. He was tall, a lot taller that her, and even though he was wearing a t-shirt and an apron, Arya could see how muscular his arms were. Arya opened her mouth to answer, but she didn't know what to say.

"Well?" a small smile played on his lips. Pink, playful lips.

"Uh yeah" Arya said, regaining her ability to speak. "My brother sent me here with a list." She handed the list to the boy who unfolded the paper and read it.

"Come with me" the boy said and started walking towards another aisle. Arya followed like a lost puppy. "Have you been here before?"

"No, I just moved here" Arya answered and received a basked from the boy to put all the goods in.

"From where, out of town?"

"No. Winterfell, actually."

"So you've never been to King's landing before?"

"No, never lived, only visited." Really? No again? Was 'no' the only word she could start a sentence with? Get a grip!

"The people here are pretty posh, aren't they?" the boy asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"Too posh" Arya responded with a slightly disgusted look on her face, but then she chuckled. And when she realized that the boy had done the same, their eyes met. Arya was the first to look away, her cheeks slightly pink.

"They really are. And oh, here's the last item on the list." He put a package of painting brushes in the basket she was holding and they made their way towards the check out.

Arya pulled her credit card from her phone case and paid with it. Just when she took the bag from the counter and turned to leave, the boy stopped her.

"I'm Gendry, by the way" he held out his hand for her.

"Arya" Arya answered and shook her small hand in his big one.

"Guess I'll see you around then… Arya."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

More thoughts than she could count crossed her mind on her way back to the family's new, dreadful house. Most of them saying how good Gendry looked and how his eyes were the perfect shade of blue, yet there were also thoughts, more realistic ones that told her that she was probably too young for him, that he most likely already had a girlfriend and he probably didn't see her as anything more than the new teenage girl from Winterfell.

Just like any time when she thought too much, she got frustrated. And when Arya got frustrated, it didn't take long before she got mad. One positive thing was the sweet smell of pizza that filled the air as she walked inside the new house. She knew instantly that it was her brothers that had ordered it, her mom would never order anything so unhealthy.

Arya tried to let the taste of pizza distract her, but Gendry insisted on popping up in her head to say hello and remind her of his existence.

When they had all eaten, Arya walked up the stairs to her new room, which only contained a mattress for her to sleep on since her dad and brothers hadn't finished with the furniture for the first floor yet.

Someone knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" Arya asked.

"It's me" she heard Sansa's voice say from outside the door.

"Alright, come in." Even though Arya was sick and tired of sharing a room with her sister, she still enjoyed her company when she wasn't being a girly pain in the ass.

"Hey" Sansa said. "Everything okay?"

"Besides the fact that I'm trapped in this house and posh joke for a part of Westeros, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know… You seemed quiet during dinner. More quiet than usual, I mean!" Arya laughed a little at the last comment, but didn't tell her who was occupying her thoughts.

"I'm fine, really. Just tired, is all…"

"Well then you'd better get some sleep, there's school tomorrow."

"I know…"

"Good. Good night!"

"Night."

Arya turned around on the mattress after her sister closed the door. Again, she put on loud music to focus on something else than a boy who was way out of her league. But little did it work, and when she finally did go to sleep, it wasn't comfortably.

Well… Good enough? Bad? Awful? Leave a review, pretty please! Hopefully I will update the story soon, but since I'm once again back to juggling two stories, we'll see! See ya! Review!