Chapter 59

TW: Bulimia behavior in this chapter

Arya Stark POV

Today is my 13th birthday. It feels so good to be a teenager, I think I've been counting down to this day since I was 9. I'm waiting for Jon and Sansa to pick me up from school after one of my club meetings, and then my mom is taking me and Sansa roller skating. It may sound lame, but doing that honestly sounds better to me than having a big party. Jon pulls up with Sansa and Sam, and I can tell there's balloons in the car.

"Happy birthday, Arya!" Sansa says when I get in. She hands me a balloon.

"Thank you Sansa," I reply. "Jon, are you and the boys coming roller skating with us?"

"No, the boys have sports," he says. "But we are picking up Gendry on the way home. He and I are hanging out tonight." I don't know why that makes me nervous. We pick him up and I scooch to the middle so he can sit by the window. It's kinda cramped, but I don't mind.

"What's all this?" Gendry asks, referring to the balloons.

"It's my birthday," I respond. "I'm 13."

"Happy birthday," he replies, high fiving me.

"Thank you," I say. "How old are you again?"

"I'm 16," he says. "But I'm a sophomore, I just have an early birthday."

"Oh okay." I was just curious, he's younger than I thought he was. I assumed he was at least Jon's age, maybe even a senior. For some reason, that makes me happy that he's closer to my age than I expected.

…

We get to the roller rink and Sansa and I are putting on our skates. "How long has it been since you've done this?" I ask her.

"Probably last summer, I think," she replies. "I'm definitely going to be a little rusty."

I take her hand and we start rollerskating. I'm definitely better at it than she is, so I'm going to keep holding her hand for a while. She looks happy, I feel like this is the happiest she's been in a while. I'm not sure what all is going on with Sansa, but I don't want us to grow apart.

"Arya," Sansa says to me as we're skating. "Why did you ask Gendry how old he was today?"

"I was just curious," I respond. "I know he can drive, but I thought he was a senior."

"I can tell you like him," she says, smiling. "You may be in denial, but you like him."

I think she's right, but I'm not going to admit it that easily. "Am I not allowed to ask someone a question?"

"Arya, it's okay. I'm not making fun of you. This is normal, I won't tell anyone."

I pause while doing a spin in my skates. I know Sansa isn't making fun of me, but I still don't want to be some girl who's obsessed with boys and only cares about looking pretty for them. "Okay, maybe a little," I say. "He's really cute and we get along well. But if you tell anyone, especially Jon, I'll gouge your eyes out."

Sansa just laughs. "He is really cute," she says. "I'll never make fun of you in a serious way, Arya." I feel like I got really lucky in the sibling department. 4 brothers and only one sister, but she's the best one I could ask for.

Sansa Stark POV

Arya wants to go to The Cheesecake Factory afterwards, which stresses me out because of how fattening it is. We head straight there once we finish up at the roller rink. At least they have salad, that makes me feel better.

I order water and a salad, and even that seems like a lot of food. I eat some of the salad, and then I just shift the rest of it around to make my mom think I've eaten more. The waiters come out and sing happy birthday to Arya, she looks so happy. They wrote 13 in chocolate sauce on her plate, I envy that she doesn't worry about food like I do. I hope she never picks up the habits that I have.

The waiters put a slice of strawberry cheesecake in front of me, which means my mom ordered me one without asking me. "Mom," I say. "I didn't want any cake, I'm full."

"We're celebrating," my mom says. "I know that one's your favorite." I wish she had at least ordered me the lower calorie one. I end up eating most of it by the time the check comes, which stresses me out to no end.

"Arya, are you excited to do your first fencing competition this summer?" I ask her.

"Yes, definitely," she responds, immediately lighting up. "I wish I could have started sooner, it's stupid that there's an age requirement."

"Well it's just because it can be dangerous," my mom says. "But I know you'll do well. I can tell you're one of the best when I watch parts of your practice." That makes Arya smile. I wish I had passions like Arya does, it feels like the only thing I'm good at is looking pretty and being there to please a guy.

When we get back to the house, Arya sits in the living room with the boys, mom and dad while Jon is upstairs with his friends. I'm relieved that everyone is making noise downstairs, so I can sneak up to the bathroom. I get up there, close the door and turn on the sink and the fan. I want to have as much background noise going on as possible. I haven't purged since Valentine's Day, but I've been feeling more and more worthless since Ramsay and I broke up. I don't know why, he made me feel like shit.

After a couple tries I got most of the cheesecake up. It sucks that it takes a couple tries, it makes me feel like a failure. I flush the toilet, wash my hands and go out of the bathroom. I peek at Jon's room, the door is closed and I can hear talking and music. That's good, they probably couldn't hear me. I go downstairs to watch Arya open presents like nothing happened, I feel infinitely more relieved.

Jon Snow Stark POV

"Daenerys asked me to go to prom with her next week," I say to Sam and Gendry while we're hanging out in my room after I give Arya her present. "I said yes, even though it's not really my thing."

"Wow, really?" Sam asks me. "I kinda wish I could go with Gilly."

"You can take her next year," I reply. "I'm just going because it's important to Dany."

There's a pause. "Did you sleep with her?" Gendry asks.

I just nod. "How was it?" Sam asks.

"Dude, come on," I respond. "You have a girlfriend, be cool."

"I think we've all dreamt of sleeping with Daenerys Targaryen at some point," Gendry says. "It's crazy that you got to."

"And Gilly and I haven't yet, so I want to know," Sam interjects.

"Why haven't you?" I ask.

"She's very standoffish when it comes to physical contact," Sam responds. "I want to take it as slow as she needs, but I'm still curious. I want to make her feel comfortable, but I don't know how because she won't tell me why she's so standoffish about it."

"Give it time," Gendry says. "She's young, she just needs to get comfortable I'm sure."

"I'm trying to be understanding," Sam replies. "I just hope she'll open up to me more soon."

"So how was she?" Gendry asks after a long pause.

"She was amazing," I say, referring to Daenerys. "Obviously she's gorgeous, but we just click really well. I love hanging out with her and spending time with her, I think that makes the sex better."

"You're so sappy," Gendry says, playfully shoving me.

"How are things for you in the girls department?" I ask Gendry.

"I'm just not focused on that right now, you know that," Gendry responds. "I've always been kind of a loner."

I obviously relate to that, but Gendry's always been a mystery to me. He's a good looking guy, but for some reason girls just don't gravitate towards him. I have a feeling when he finds the right girl he's going to fall in love the deepest and be the happiest out of all of us, it just might take him longer.