Chapter 3: Stuck Together

Arya typed furiously at the library computer. She searched for the required Economics textbook, which was obviously entitled: Economics. The class will be meeting again tomorrow and she haven't studied anything. Her father offered to buy her the textbook but she shrugged it off, clearly showing him her disinterest over the subject. The book call number finally popped on the screen.

Economics

Author: xxx

Call number: AGR 113 2014

Copies remaining: 1

She took out a pen and scribbled the numbers and letters on her palm. After which she proceeded to look for the book on the shelves.

The school library looked liked an organized jungle to Arya. Because of her height, she would easily be covered by the shelves. She cringed at the fact that she was inside it. She spent her first year in college without even setting foot inside the library, and now on her second year, she's here. She promised herself that she would graduate without studying in the lib, but clearly, that would not happen.

Arya let out a frustrated sigh. Where the hell is that book. She glanced at the now smuged call number in her hands. Finally, she found the row of shelves. She smiled happily as she traced her fingers on the books in search for the Economic text book.

She searched the bottom portion of the shelves, then the middle. Finally, her eyes lay on the same call number she had on her hands. It was on the very top of the shelf. Great, she thought. Arya wasn't really gifted with height. Her siblings would often tease her about it. Her younger brother Bran, who was barely a teenager, was taller than her by far. Arya tiptoed to reach the book. She grunted as she struggled to reach the base with her fingers. The book was beginning to lean towards her when large hands grabbed it from above.

Arya spun around and glared at the person who took it.

"I'll be borrowing this." He said.

Arya winced at the familiar figure. Messy black hair, deep voice, (now clean) white shirt and emphasized pectoral muscles. She didn't even bother to look at his face. "Waters!" She shouted.

Gendry chuckled as he heard several people made the 'shhhh' sound.

"Give me that! I found it first!" Arya whispered angrily as she tried to take the book from Gendry's hands.

"But I took it first." He teased. "It's not my fault you can't reach it." He raised his hands as Arya struggled to reach the book.

Gendry was about six feet tall and Arya stood a foot lower. Of course, no matter how she struggled, she wouldn't be able to grab the book from him. Seeing the disadvantage, Arya turned to something she could actually reach. Gendry made a loud grunt as Arya's foot landed on one of his knees. The pain made him let go of the book which landed on top of Arya's head. Gendry glared at her with sheer determination, ready to take back what was his.

In a matter of seconds, Gendry launched his attack. But Arya was quick and clever. Before he could grab the book, she placed it on her chest. The perks of being a girl, Arya grinned at Gendry.

"Hey, no fair." Gendry scratched his head.

"What, you want it? Come and get it." Arya teased as she pushed the book closer to her breasts.

Gendry frowned at her.

"Stark - 1, Waters - 0." Arya made a one hand crotch chop before she spun around and left Gendry.

The library was now filled with students. Arya searched for a spot. In the corner, there was a table for one person. She brisked walked towards the table fearing that someone else might take it. She sat down and placed the book on the table. She scanned the pages and looked for the assigned reading, chapters one to three. She made a loud sigh and started to look for chapter one. Arya haven't even started reading when a shadow blocked her light source. She glanced at her side and saw Gendry pull an empty chair and sat beside her. He signaled her to move. But she didn't. "Table's only for one." She grinned and stared back at the text book.

Gendry sat silently for a while. At the corner of her eyes, he could see him glancing at the text but would immediately let out a frustrated sigh. Finally, Gendry stood up. Stark - 2, Waters - 0, Arya smiled at herself. But instead of leaving, Gendry lifted Arya's chair while she's sitting on it and placed her near the edge of the table. Arya's eyes widened in shock. She froze in her seat until Gendy placed her down. He then positioned himself comfortably beside her. "Two people can fit 'em, if positioned correctly." He smiled.

"Stark -1, Waters -1." Gendry teased. Arya pouted and stared at the book. She hasn't really began on reading anything yet. She just looked at random words that seemed important. Adam Smith, laissze faire and of course the definition of economics. She glanced at Gendry, he wasn't reading either. He was ransacking his back pack. He took out a pen, a yellow paper, then a notebook and placed them on the desk. For a while, he dug deeper inside his bag. Finally, he took out a small case and wore his eye glasses.

Arya stared at him for a while. It would be stupid of her not to think that Gendry was not an attractive human being. For one, his eyes are beautiful. If he would permit it, Arya would gladly stare at them all day. He had a firm jawline that complemented the shape of his face. Aside from this, he was tall, and his body was fit, muscular in fact. Arya wondered if Gendry had a six pack. His voice was deep but gentle to the ears. That's what she observed on the days they had contact.

Today, he looked the same attractive Gendry, but he smells nicer now. When Arya first met him, he smelled like an auto repair shop. Now, he smells like uhh... soap. Duh, Arya. She mentally slapped herself. But this, this pair of glasses. What the hell? Why did the Lord create faces that look so good on glasses? It wasn't nerdy at all. It made him look adorable. She wanted to pinch his face. Overall he looked...

"So gorgeous..." Arya whispered.

"Hmm..?" Gendry said as he looked at her curiously. He was already busy taking down notes when Arya spoke.

Arya was taken by surprise by her own words. Did she just say that out loud?!

"Your handwriting..." She said nonchalantly. "It's gorgeous." Arya felt her heart race in her chest. Was that even a good save? Who would call a handwriting gorgeous?

Gendry adjusted his glasses. "Thanks." He smiled at her, surprised by the compliment.

Oh shit, thank God he's stupid. Arya sighed in relief. For a while, both of them sat silently. Arya continued to curse at herself. She couldn't believe that she sounded like her older sister.

"Aren't you taking down notes?" Gendry said not leaving his glance at his notebook.

"No pen and paper." She shrugged.

Gendry stopped writing and tore a piece of yellow paper and gave it to Arya. He grabbed his bag and searched for an extra pen.

"Wait!" Arya grabbed her bag. "I think I have a pen here somewhere." She searched her gym bag. Finally, she made a wide smile when she felt something thin and hard on her fingers. "Ha!" She proudly showed Gendry her pen.

"That is not a pen and it's not even sharpened... Ang how long has that been in there?" He raised his eyebrows. Arya looked at what she was holding. It was a pencil. The tip was broken, dirt stains surrounded the eraser. Arys made a sour face as she realized how filthy the pencil was.

"Here, use this." Gendry offered her a pen.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

"Seriously, what kind of student are you?" Gendry said.

"The bad kind." Both of them laughed at that.

Arya haven't filled half of her yellow paper when she started to get bored. She looked at Gendry who was focused on what he was doing. It was like she wasn't even there. His eyes moving slowly from left to right from reading, then glacing down to write whatever it is he read. His sheer determination made him look stubborn. Arya decided to continue to write for a few more minutes.

Not long after, she felt her eyes begin to feel heavy. Was it because she's not used to studying or was it because the library was so quiet? Either way, she yawned at her seat and slumped her head on the desk. Gendry did not bother to irritate her. He continued to take down notes.

Arya woke up on the vibrating movement of her phone. She cussed at herself and checked the time displayed on her cell phone. She squinted as the light blinded her eyes. Below the time, several messages from his brother Robb were there. "Shit," she mumbled. She had been sleeping for hours and Robb was almost near her school. Arya remembered that she was with Gendry but he wasn't there anymore. Instead, she felt a small post it attached to her forehead.

"Photocopied my notes for you. Didn't bother to wake you up." It said.

"P.s. Return the book on the shelf. Haha"

Arya scowled at the last message. He was teasing her again. She looked for the notes Gendry was talking about. Several pages of paper were neatly stapled on top of her desk. "Thanks." She mumbled to herself before leaving the library.

The next day, Arya arrived to her classroom earlier than expected. She sat at the hallway clutching Gendry's notes while munching some brownies her mother baked for them.

She was down to her last brownie when Gendry squat in front of her.

"Ahhh." He pointed at his mouth to signal Arya to feed him. Arya ignored him as she devoured the brownie, making Gendry frown.

"Thanks for this." She waved the papers on her hand while chewing on her snack.

Gendry shrugged. "I almost didn't finish it, you were snoring like a boar."

Arya eyes widened. "I do not snore!" She glared.

"Yes you do. Very loudly, in fact."

Suddenly, a flush of embarassment crept through Arya's cheeks. She turned so red that Gendry couldn't help but notice it.

"Are you blushing?" A rhetorical question.

"No!" She looked away from him.

"Yes you are!" Gendry teased. He lifed his hands and cupped them on Arya's face. "Let me see." He grinned.

Arya froze at his touch but managed to look away. His hands were warm which made her flush more.

"You're so cute." He pushed his hands further on Arya's cheeks and began to shake her head.

"Stop teasing me, stupid!" Arya smacked his hands.

Gendry laughed again.

It was not long before a security guard unlocked the doors of their classroom. Gendry and Arya stood up and made their way inside.

"Gendry!" Someone called him which made Gendry spun around.

"Loras! 'Sup man?" Gendry gave him a high five.

Arya glanced at the boy Gendry was talking to. He had blond curly hair. His face was relatively smaller than Gendry's which made it look feminine. He was wearing a hawaiian themed polo shirt and and skinny shorts.

"I brought my car to your shop yesterday." He said. "You weren't there, it was so awkward with Mr. Mott." Loras shook his head.

"Sorry, my foster father's weird sometimes." He chuckled.

Both men laughed at the inside joke they were having. "I'll go check on it later. See you!" Gendry waved at Loras before he followed Arya to the classroom.

The two of them sat on their respective seats. Last time, Yoren said their seating arrangements would be permanent for the rest of the semester. So basically, Arya is stuck with Gendry for the rest of the semester whether she liked it or not.

"So, you're a mechanic too?" Arya asked curiously.

"You were evesdropping on conversations of men?" He teased.

"Both of you were loud, stupid." She rolled her eyes. Arya slumped on her seat and crossed her arms. Why did she bother to ask?

Did she want to know more? She wanted to know more. Arya frowned at the sudden realization. Admittedly, she is intruiged with Gendry and she hated it. There were lots of times when Arya had chances to get to know other people from her school, but she did not care. She did not want to know anything about them because she's not interested. But Gendry was different, she wanted to know more about him. She pouted at the thought of it.

Gendry noticed the angered look on her face. "Hey," he said softly as he lightly tapped Arya's arm. "I was just teasing." He looked at her apologetically.

She thought of her reply as she glanced at him.

'I'm not mad.' She wanted to say.

'Stop staring.' That can be an alternative.

'Don't make that face.' Not a good thing to say.

'Stop making that puppy fucking dog eyes because it's making me feel guilty!' Definitely a no-no.

"My foster father..." Gendry started before Arya could even relay her thoughts. "He was the mechanic. But since he was getting old, he needed help to run the business. So when I'm not in school, I go there and help."

"So that's why you smell like grease." Arya grinned at him. She was happy that she got to know this information.

This time, Gendry turned red in embarrassment. "Re..really?" He grabbed the collar of his shirt and smelled it.

"Not now, stupid." Arya smiled menacingly as she saw Gendry flush. She placed her hands on his face and squeezed his cheeks hard.

"You're so cute." She said in a low voice, mimicking him from a while ago.

Gendry's eyes widened. He did not even dare to look away. His face turned crimson, like a tomato with blue eyes. He nervously removed Arya's hands from his face. "Please don't tease me." He mumbled.

Arya laughed loudly as she smacked Gendry's back. "Right back at you, sucker!"

Gendry grunted at the pain on his back. For a small person, she definitely can hit hard. He was busily rubbing his back when a person knocked on the opened classroom doors to call their attention.

"Hi guys, Professor Yoren has an emergency meeting with the some important people today, so he won't be coming to class." The lady said.

Arya along with their other classmates cheered loudly.

"But," the lady continued. "He expects you to read until chapter six and that will be discussed next meeting."

"Also," she grabbed a piece of paper and posted it on the door. "As an additional requirement, you guys will be paired and you need to make a paper on a topic of your choice. Yoren would discuss this further but in the mean time, you should get to know your partners." She pointed at the paper and left.

Arya immediately stood up. Being the one closet to the door. She was the first person to look for her name. She hated working with anyone else, especially when it comes to school work. Gendry rose and followed her.

She scanned for her name. Finally, she found it.

Stark, Arya - Waters, Gendry

The fuck? She turned her back on the paper, stared at Gendry and headed back to her seat.

Both of them slumped at their desks silently.

"Have you done any paper related to economics before?" She asked.

"I'm an architect."

"Why are you here then?"

"Elective."

"So nothing, no economics background whatsoever?"

"Nope."

"What do we do?"

He shrugged.

"Are we fucked?"

"So fucked."

Author's note: kindly review. :)