This is inspired by Chapter 5: Sansa from justadram's A City of Fortune and Failure. I have asked for her permission to write this, and she has very kindly and graciously granted it. Only this chapter is inspired by her work; the following will come exclusive from my crazy mind and the story has nothing to do with ACOFAF. By the way, I strongly recommend that fic.

The title is taken from the Def Leppard song (because it's awesome and I suck at coming up with titles myself).

This fic is unbeta'd and English isn't my native language, so try to excuse any mistakes and enjoy!


Fortunately she had had something to eat before the pre-parting in Loras's flat. Otherwise she would be teetering on her high heels now, for a certainty.

When she became friends with Margaery at college, it didn't take long for her to notice the picture of her roommate's absolutely gorgeous older brother on Facebook and on Instagram. It was kind of love at first sight, in an internet sort of way. She cyber stalked him a little (she never told Margaery), seeing what kind of music he liked, which books were his favourite, and of course what sort of girls he was friends with. Soon she began to daydream what it would be like if she dated him. They could marry, and she and Margaery would truly be sisters.

However, when she first met Loras, she was so nervous that she could barely form a sentence.

It got better eventually. Loras always had a smile on his beautiful face, and he was friendly and flirtatious, which made him easy to talk to. She never asked Margaery what her brother had thought of her on their first encounter; she had been so silly, such a stupid little dork.

Not anymore.

Now she could actually walk arm in arm with him and have a proper conversation with him at the same time. Which is exactly what they did when they got out of the cab. Margaery was texting someone, so she got no part in their conversation. Sansa didn't mind; that way all of Loras's attention was on her.

It almost caused her physical pain when Loras let go of her and went to talk to the bouncer. She looked at the building before her. It was black with its name spelled in red neon, like blood. King's Landing had been the talk of the town when it first opened its doors to the citizens of New York. Everyone knew it and everyone wanted to be there. And now Sansa was there.

The bouncer pulled back the door, his body still half blocking it - he was a big man. Loras had to slide by with Margaery shimmying in behind him, her hips swaying in an almost provocative way. Sansa knew that many men would offer to buy her a drink that night. Margaery was oh so beautiful and she charmed everyone.

The Tyrell siblings did not look back to make sure that she was following them. It's not that they didn't care about her, Sansa knew that they did; it's just that they were set on pursuing their pleasure and they never let a moment go to waste. Sometimes Sansa felt overwhelmed and lost, but she would never ask them to slow the pace with which they lived their lives. She loved her friends just as they were.

She hurried to follow them, not wanting to be alone outside of the club.

She stepped forward, but the bouncer held out his arm, so her chest bumped into his thick forearm. She let out a gasp.

"Careful, little bird," the bouncer rasped.

She looked at him. One side of his face was burned, the skin red and covered in scars. She could even see a hint of bone on his jaw where his flesh had been seared off. She gulped at the horror before her.

He grinned down at her, more a baring of his teeth than a real smile. He didn't pull back, so she took a step back. A shiver went through her.

"I'm with them," she said nervously, twittering like the bird he had named her to be. She would not leave. She would not run and hail a cab or perhaps run all the way to her flat in her panic. She was finally in King's Landing and she would not let a rude, scary bouncer make her go away. Courtesy is a lady's armour, her kind mother always told her, so she smiled at the bouncer and ignored the ruin of his face. "Will you let me through, please?" she asked.

His grin widened, and for a moment Sansa feared that cracks would appear on his face and she would see the rotten skull that lay beneath. Fortunately, life was not one of the horror movies that her brother Bran loved so much.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," the man said sarcastically and lowered his arm.

She almost ran, slipping through the open door and not looking at the bouncer. She had seen enough of him.

The crowd of the club closed in around her. The music throbbed in her ears and in her chest. The lights almost blinded her. It was perfect.

The bouncer was forgotten.

She squeezed through gaps in the crowd and, in what felt like a century later, managed to get to the bar. There she found Margaery with two Cosmopolitans, one in each hand. She offered the one drink to Sansa.

"Thanks," Sansa said. She appreciated her friend's gesture; she might have left Sansa behind, but she cared about her enough to order one of her favourite cocktails for her. Smiling, she took a delicate sip, whereas Margaery swallowed half of her drink.

The music was so loud that they had to whisper in each other's ears. Sansa was so excited to be there that she wouldn't mind going deaf.

"Do you like it?" Margaery asked.

"Yes, it's amazing!" Sansa looked around until she spotted Loras; he was so handsome that he was hard to miss. It was also hard for her to miss that his head was bent in towards a dark-haired man around his age. "Who is Lors talking to?"

Margaery looked at her brother and smiled. Sansa thought that the smile was mystical and had a meaning secret to her. "That's Renly. He's a friend and one of the club's backers." She looked at Sansa and winked. "I told you we'd have no problem getting in, darling."

Sansa smiled and decided to move her blue eyes over to the crowded dance floor. She didn't want to appear as too interested or desperate. She had no idea if she was doing a good job at it.

She spent the rest of the night dancing with Margaery and drinking with Margaery. Loras never left Renly's side in order to join them, but the more she drank the more unimportant that became. All that mattered were Margaery's arms around her, the writhing bodies around them, the music, the lights, and the sweet alcohol running down her throat. As long as she had that, she could forget all about her problems, and Loras who would never be hers, and that horrible bouncer.