The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side – Chapter 2

SUMMARY: In which Robb Stark is a frustrated high school junior forced to re-take Planning, and Dacey Mormont is his hot teacher. Also features a class full of misfits who aren't really misfits. Robb/Dacey. Margaery/Quentyn. Arya/Gendry. Loras/Renly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was going to be much longer, but I didn't really want to drag it out. Plus, I want to focus on A-Team right now and the thirty billion oneshots I'm currently working on (well, more like 6, but whatever).

DISCLAIMER: Don't own.

Loras took a drag from his cigarette as he stretched out on the uncomfortable aluminum bleachers. "You're so into this teacher of yours."

"I know, right." Margaery snorted, waving away the smoke.

"No, I'm not." Robb said to Loras. "And what the hell are you even doing here?" He asked Margaery.

"What?" Margaery looked offended. "You mean I can't help charity cases who will never ever get any if I don't intervene?"

"I'm going to ignore that insult and focus on the fact that you just encouraged me to hook up with Dacey Mormont."

Margaery quirked a perfectly arched brow. "I never said it had to be Dacey," she purred. "You came to that conclusion all on your own."

"Shut up!" Robb sputtered.

"Oh, stop with your bickering," said Loras irritably. "It's enough that I have to deal with Robb's perpetual angst. I don't need you adding to it, Margaery. Stop teasing him. And Robb, don't be so sensitive. I was only joking."

"When did you become so bitter?" Robb stared down his best friend. "Normally you enjoy watching her tear me a new one."

"Treat him delicately." Margaery examined her cuticles almost apathetically, but her eyes were fixed on her twin. "He just broke up with Renly."

"But you two always break up!"

"He's never cheated on me before." Loras exhaled a plume of smoke. Even his curls had lost their luster.

"Cheated?" It was then that Robb noticed Loras was wearing plaid, something he'd sworn off in the ninth grade.

"Surprising, I know."

"Do you know for sure?" Margaery moved closer to her brother, placing a hand on his arm. Her voice sounded genuinely concerned, a rare tone for her.

"I have photographic evidence." Loras stared into his cup of organic coffee, his expression grim.

"How did you get that?"

"It's all over the internet."

"Show me." Margaery extended her hand to her brother. He passed his phone to her.

"It's Renly. He's making out with some curly-haired skank at some party," said Loras.

"Loras," Margaery tilted her head, "that's you."

Robb looked over. "It is!"

"What?" Loras tossed his empty coffee cup away from him and moved over to where Margaery was sitting.

"It's you," Margaery said, handing the phone back. "I'd recognize those curls anywhere."

"Oh my drowned god," said Loras. "You mean to say I broke up with Renly for no reason?"

"It wasn't for no reason," said Robb. "You broke up with him because you thought he was cheating on you, when in reality, you mistook yourself for a girl."

"That doesn't make it any better, Robb." Loras stood up, brushing invisible crumbs off his pants. "I've got to find Renly." Without another word, he swung his backpack onto his shoulder and ran down the bleacher steps, taking two at a time.

"He sure is eager," said Robb, trying to break the quickly forming silence between him and Margaery.

"Of course he is," said Margaery. "You know how much he loves Renly."

"Speaking of relationships, how're you and Sansa?" Robb asked, referring to one of his younger sisters who'd started dating Margaery earlier that year.

"You mean Sansa didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Margaery rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "We broke up."

"You and Sansa did what?" Robb didn't quite believe his own ears. He'd always thought that Margaery and Sansa made a good—if slightly terrifying—couple. "Did you cheat on her?" He asked accusingly, his older brother instincts coming into play.

"Ew, no." Margaery shot him a disgusted glare. "Do you not talk to your own sister, or something?"

"I do!"

"Robb," said Margaery, deadpan. "You didn't even know Gendry is Arya's boyfriend or that Sansa and I broke up months ago."

"Did you cheat on her?" Robb's voice grew serious.

Margaery sighed. "Sansa's on some independence kick right now. She wants to find herself before 'finding true love' or something like that."

"So, who're you dating now?"

"I'm not dating anyone," said Margaery, inspecting her fingernails.

"Not even Quentyn Martell?"

Margaery froze. "Did he tell you?" Her gaze was furious. "When I get my hands on that little prick, I am going to strangle him."

"In more ways than one, apparently."

"Shut your mouth. We're not dating."

"So you're friends with benefits, then."

Margaery didn't answer, so Robb took her silence as confirmation. Still, he couldn't quite wrap his head around the idea of mild-mannered Quentyn Martell willingly spending his spare time with the likes of Margaery Tyrell.

"Do you miss Sansa?"

"I suppose I do but—hang on." Margaery eyed him suspiciously. "I can't stand you. Why am I telling you this?"

Robb shrugged. "My natural charisma?"

Margaery picked up Loras' empty coffee cup and chucked it at Robb who managed to avoid the trajectory.

"I thought we were having a heart-to-heart!"

"I don't think I like you that much, Stark."

"And for homework, I'll expect you to write up a draft of a cover letter, to be handed in along with your resume. Any questions?" Dacey asked the class, marker poised in the air.

Quentyn raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"What if some of us already have a cover letter?"

Dacey sighed. "Then you can hand that in, all on its own. Mr. Stark?"

Robb was jerked out of his daydream, as Dacey walked over to his two-person desk which he was the only occupant of. "What?" He asked, semi-groggily.

"Can I help you with something?" Dacey asked sarcastically. "Maybe my class isn't interesting enough for you?"

Robb blushed red to the roots of his already auburn hair. "N-nothing," he stammered, trying not to make eye contact with Dacey.

"Let's keep it that way."

Margaery snorted rather inelegantly.

Robb turned around in his seat and glared at her. She only rolled her eyes, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Some of it smacked Quentyn in the face.

Robb shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting outside Mr. Lannister's science class. Loras would be out any second.

"Waiting for Loras?" Margaery said, sauntering over to where Robb stood.

"I always wait for him. He's my ride home."

Margaery's lips quirked into a sardonic smile. "Loras didn't go to class, today."

"What?"

"He skipped class. So did Renly. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're at Renly's place right now. I'm also pretty sure they're—"

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," said Robb. He began walking down the hall away from Margaery. Maybe, if Gendry was around, he could catch a ride from him, provided that he was giving Arya a ride home.

"Hey!" Margaery followed him, taking large steps to match his pace. "I wasn't done talking."

"Well, I'm done listening."

"That's not very nice of you, Mr. Stark. I wonder what Dacey would think if she knew you were this moody all the time."

Robb froze. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said crisply, trying to emulate Sansa's cool nature in the face of disaster.

"I think you do," said Margaery, stepping in front of Robb with a smirk on her face. "I think you do know."

"Go away, Margaery." He tried to wave her away.

She laughed. "No way, lover-boy. You have a crush on our planning teacher!"

"Don't say it so loud!" Robb felt like stomping his feet. "What if someone hears you?"

"So you admit it?"

"I admit what?"

"That you like Dacey Mormont?"

Robb glared at Margaery. "You better not tell anyone, you horrid cow."

"I'd take offense to that," Margaery said, "but then I realized I don't particularly care."

"Don't tell!"

Margaery huffed dramatically. "Fine," she conceded, "but you're no fun to tease, anyways. You'd probably just sulk or something." Then, she started giggling.

"What're you laughing about?"

Margaery didn't answer. Her giggles turned to full-blown laughter. Soon, she was practically hunched over and had to lean a nearby locker.

"What's so funny?" Robb asked, feeling somewhat offended.

"You're such a dweeb," said Margaery, as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. "I never took you for someone who goes for the 'forbidden love' kind of relationship."

"Shut up." Robb said.

Margaery just chuckled at his pout.

"Margaery tells me you want to hook up with your teacher."

Robb dropped his juice box. "She told you what?"

"We're twins," said Loras. "We don't keep secrets from each other."

"But it wasn't her secret to tell!"

"Plus you're my best friend," Loras reasoned. "I would've found out eventually."

Robb crossed his arms. "No, you wouldn't have. I'm very good with keeping secrets."

Loras scoffed, sounding frighteningly like Margaery. "No, you're not." He discreetly elbowed a kid next to him whose lunch was teetering dangerously close to the edge of the lunch tables. Loras lowered his voice. "That one time in the fourth grade, you told everyone that Margaery had lice after I specifically said not to tell."

"You remember that?"

"Why do you think Margaery's always so mean to you?"

Robb blinked confusedly. "You mean she's actually holding a grudge against me because of that?"

"I wouldn't say it's a grudge," said Loras, idly picking the ham off his sandwich. "More of a mild dislike."

"Mild dislike?" Robb echoed. "Loras, she hates me."

"Don't be silly!" Margaery appeared from out of nowhere, plopping herself in-between the whispering pair. She placed a hand on Robb's arm. "I would support you in each and every one of your endeavours."

"Really." Robb looked skeptical.

"Really," Margaery confirmed. "Which is why I think you should confess your feelings to Dacey."

Loras' eyes widened. "See, Robb? Margaery doesn't hate you. She's encouraging you to get with your teacher!"

Robb flinched. "Could you say that any louder?" He hissed.

"Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in the world is paying attention to you at any given second," Margaery said.

"And we're back to normal," said Robb. After a beat of silence, he asked, "Do you really think I should confess to her?"

Margaery's beautiful face lit up with a smile. "Of course!"

Robb looked to Loras for support. "If that's what's going to make you happy, go for it."

"Are you sure?"

Margaery huffed dramatically. "Robb, the only reason why I was able to date your sister was because I took a leap of faith and confessed."

Loras nodded. "Same with me. I was worried that Renly wasn't even attracted to other men."

"You were worried that Renly wasn't gay?" Margaery asked, disbelieving.

"That's beside the point." Loras brushed away Margaery's comment. "I'm starting to agree with my sister. You should confess, Robb."

"But you guys confessed to other students," reasoned Robb. "I'm confessing to a teacher."

"You never know what kind of kinky shit other people are into," said Margaery, her tone blasé. "Your sister is a testament to that."

"I don't exactly need to hear a blow-by-blow account of your previous relationship with my sister."

"Speaking of blow, Quentyn—"

"Margaery." Robb put up a hand to silence her. "I'm trying to eat."

Margaery rolled her eyes. "Prude."

Robb opened his mouth to retort with an equally insulting name, but the bell rang, cutting him off.

"Time for class." Margaery eased herself out of the mosh-pit that was the crowded lunch table. "Hey, lover-boy. My next class is in the same direction as yours. Walk me."

Loras smirked and together, he and Margaery made a frightening duo. "I know I'm more than ready for class with Renly."

Robb looked from Loras and Margaery. Once again, he was questioning his choice in company. "I suppose so."

"Great," crowed Margaery, grabbing Robb by the arm. "See you later, Loras!"

Loras waved a hand in kind, a funny little smile on his face.

The bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. Robb immediately jumped to his feet, cramming his loose leaf paper into his mess of a binder.

"Good luck," Margaery taunted, sliding by him gracefully. "I'll see you later."

Robb rolled his eyes. On the outside, he was the picture of confidence, but on the inside, he was a nervous wreck. He'd never confessed to anyone in his entire life. The last person he'd dated—a soft-spoken girl by the name of Jeyne Westerling—was a result of a blind date, thanks to his sister Sansa.

"Bye, Robb." Gendry waved at him.

"Bye," Robb said. "Say hello to Arya for me."

Gendry nodded. "Will do."

Robb watched Dacey Mormont slowly gather her things. She seemed happy for a change, a small smile gracing her attractive face.

"Robb?" Quentyn had somehow snuck up behind him.

"Hm?"

"Err…my sister's throwing a party this weekend and I was wondering if you'd be available to come?" Quentyn was the kind of person who phrased nearly everything as a question. Robb wondered how Margaery put up with him. "That is, if you want to? You don't have to come. My sister said to invite my friends so I figured I'd ask you, Gendry, and Margaery."

Robb pretended to check his empty social calendar. "Looks like I'll be free this weekend. Yeah, I'd love to come."

Quentyn smiled. "Sounds good. I'll text you the address." Heaving his heavy backpack over his shoulder, he walked out the door. "See you on Saturday, then!"

Now, it was just the two of them. With great hesitation, Robb walked up to Dacey's desk. "Dacey?"

She hardly looked up from her bag. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Could I speak to you for a second?"

"Make it snappy."

Robb opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come out. "I…er...just wanted to ask—well not really ask. Actually, I sort of wanted to say, but I don't know if 'say' is the right word to use?"

Dacey finally looked up, staring the red-faced Robb in the eye. "If this is about your marks, you're doing fine. As long as you continue to do the homework, you won't fail."

"Oh," said Robb. "Well, this isn't really about the homework…"

"Then, what is it about?"

Robb took a deep breath. "These are for you!" He held out the box of chocolates he'd bought the other day with Margarey and Loras. The box was in the shape of a heart and decorated with a shiny pink ribbon.

Dacey blinked slowly, taking the box from Robb's shaking hands. "I'm sorry, Robb. I'm already spoken for."

"Oh."

"But I do appreciate the sentiment. It is rather flattering that you find me attractive enough to buy chocolates for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Let's keep this a secret between us, shall we?" Asked Dacey with a secretive smile. "I wouldn't want to ruin the relationship between us as of now and I'm sure my partner wouldn't be too pleased to hear that she has competition."

"Your partner?"

"Yes," said Dacey. "I believe her brother's an acquaintance of yours. You wouldn't happen to know an Asha Greyjoy, would you?"

"She's already has a girlfriend?" Margaery asked through gasping laughter.

"Yeah," said a dejected Robb. "This sucks. I shouldn't have even tried."

"But you did," said Margaery, in complete seriousness. "You tried and you got rejected. But so what?"

"So, it's embarrassing!"

"So?" Margaery picked at her cuticles. "You confessed, she said no. Move on. You're young and good-looking and when you're not being a total asshole, you can be a really great guy. I'm sure that between Loras and me, we can find you someone."

"You really think I'm good-looking?"

"I say all those nice things about you and that's the thing you choose to focus on," murmured Margaery. "Yes, Robb, you are good-looking. I'm positive that there's at least one lucky girl out there who's going to get to date you."

If Margaery was any other girl, Robb might have kissed her. However, Margaery was Margaery and not at all the kind of girl Robb envisioned himself dating.

"You're being nice today. I feel suspicious."

"What?" Margaery grinned. "I can't be nice to one of my friends?"

"You feel bad for me, don't you."

Margaery didn't respond right away.

Robb rolled his eyes playfully.

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of pity."

-the end- (but not really)

"Robb?" Quentyn asked over the din. "Have you met my sister? Robb, this is Arianne. Arianne, Robb." Quentyn motioned to the beautiful girl next to him who moved forward and held out her hand for Robb to shake.

"I'm Arianne," she said, smiling.

"Robb." He couldn't help but to blush furiously.

"Glad you could make it," said Arianne. "Pity we never met before. I've heard so much about you from Quentyn and his girlfriend."

At the mention of 'girlfriend', Robb turned to Quentyn with raised eyebrows. Quentyn cocked his head and gave an uncharacteristic smirk reminiscent of Margaery.

"I wish we'd been introduced earlier," said Robb. "I hear you throw fantastic parties."

"Would you like a tour of the place?" Arianne asked coyly, holding out her arm for Robb to take.

"I would love a tour," said Robb confidently.

The pair waved goodbye to Quentyn and walked away, talking animatedly and barely paying attention to their surroundings. After making sure they couldn't see him, Quentyn fist-pumped the air. Margaery so owed him twenty bucks for this.

-the (actual) end-

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