Cardigan by Taylor Swift
Vintage tee, brand new phone / High heels on cobblestones /When you are young, they assume you know nothing / Sequin smile, black lipstick /Sensual politics / When you are young, they assume you know nothing
But I knew you / Dancin' in your Levi's / Drunk under a streetlight, I / I knew you / Hand under my sweatshirt / Baby, kiss it better, I
And when I felt like I was an old cardigan / Under someone's bed / You put me on and said I was your favorite
A friend to all is a friend to none / Chase two girls, lose the one / When you are young, they assume you know nothing
But I knew you / Playing hide-and-seek and / Giving me your weekends, I / I knew you / Your heartbeat on the High Line / Once in twenty lifetimes, I
And when I felt like I was an old cardigan / Under someone's bed / You put me on and said I was your favorite
To kiss in cars and downtown bars / Was all we needed / You drew stars around my scars / But now I'm bleedin'
'Cause I knew you / Steppin' on the last train / Marked me like a bloodstain, I / I knew you / Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy, I / I knew you / Leavin' like a father / Running like water, I / And when you are young, they assume you know nothing
But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss / I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs / The smell of smoke would hang around this long / 'Cause I knew everything when I was young / I knew I'd curse you for the longest time / Chasin' shadows in the grocery line / I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired / And you'd be standin' in my front porch light / And I knew you'd come back to me / You'd come back to me / And you'd come back to me / And you'd come back
And when I felt like I was an old cardigan / Under someone's bed / You put me on and said I was your favorite
"Jon!"
His breath hitched in his throat at the sound of his name. The melodic voice that called it was a familiar one, even though he hadn't heard it in a few years. Wading through the coffee shop customers as they also waited for their drinks, Jon made his way to the pick-up counter.
And there she was, standing there with her gorgeous red hair and shining blue eyes. Sansa didn't seem surprised to see him; she wore an easy, yet sheepish, smile.
"Sansa?" Jon managed to croak.
"Hi, Jon."
"How - How are you?" It was all he could manage to get out.
"I'm doing well. But we're pretty slammed back here and I need to finish getting the next few drinks out. My shift ends in fifteen minutes. Would you mind sticking around until then? We could catch up a little?" Her voice was sweet and her eyes unsure of his answer.
"Sure. I'll just find a seat," Jon replied, still trying to catch his bearings.
"Okay!" Her relief was obvious.
Grabbing his coffee and finding one of the last few empty tables, Jon took a seat and his nerves crashed into him.
Sansa was his ex. Kind of. Sort of. He never really knew what to call her. For the summer after she graduated high school, they were near inseparable. From dates and parties to amusement parks, beach trips, and pool days, they were always together.
Jon wasn't stupid. He knew whatever they had couldn't last very long. Sansa was going to an out of state university once summer was over. What he didn't expect was the sudden drop in communication shortly after she moved there.
It wasn't the most serious relationship he ever had - if you could even call it a relationship. But ever since she left, she lingered with him. The memories of her kisses felt like a ghostly whisper on his lips. She was the one to always make him wonder what could have been - what if he tried harder to keep contact, what if he just told her how he truly felt about her instead of just playing it cool? The what-ifs haunted him just as much as the memory of her lips.
Wanting more time to collect himself and think of things to say, Jon didn't receive it. Sansa was suddenly pulling out the chair across from him and plopping herself down in it. "Hi. Thanks for waiting for me," she smiled. She was out of her apron now, the cardigan she donned perfectly matched her eyes.
"No worries. I was just going to head home after grabbing a coffee anyways," Jon replied, trying to relax his smile. Nerves seemed to ping pong throughout his body now that she was in front of him again.
"So how are you doing?" Sansa asked, taking a sip from her cup and raising her brow.
"Not too bad. Busy with work but can't complain. When did you get back into town?" It was the question he'd been wanting to know since the moment he heard her voice. How could this have been a surprise to him? How could Robb or Arya not have brought it up at least once?
"About a month ago. I kinda asked the family to keep it a secret while I slowly transitioned to moving back here. I was actually going to be calling you soon to catch up. But then I saw you ordering your drink and it couldn't be better timing!"
"Why'd you decide to move back here?" Jon asked, trying to cooly lean back and take a drink.
"After I graduated, I thought I wanted to stay around that area. I was wrong. I realized I just wanted to come back home. I missed it too much. Missed my family. Missed everyone."
Jon thought he saw her eyes shyly flicker up towards him before they darted back down to her coffee. "I'm sure your mom must be happy you've moved back. Are you staying with them?"
"Yup. Living with the parents for now. But Arya and I have been talking about renting a place together. We're going to start looking around next week!"
"You guys aren't going to kill each other, are you?" Jon laughed.
"No! I think we've both grown up enough to get along. Well, hopefully," Sansa shrugged with a smile. Her eyes dropped back down to her cup and she opened her mouth to say something before she quickly closed it again. After huffing out a breath, her bright blue eyes met his again. "Jon, I just want to apologize for how things kind of ended when I left for school."
"Sansa, there's no need to apologize. You didn't owe me anything."
"Yes, there is. I could have handled things much better than I had. I thought I needed to live the quintessential 'college life'. But I was young. And thought I knew what I was doing. I just stopped talking to you once I got busy there. I could have, at the very least, talked to you about it."
"Again, Sansa, you didn't owe me anything. Sure, I was pretty confused. But you don't need to apologize. We've all been young at some point and thought we knew everything. I've never held it against you." Sansa's smile was radiant. It warmed him more than his hot coffee ever could. "So what's your plan now that you're back? Other than finding a place with Arya. Which is something I never thought I'd say about you."
Sansa laughed. "I know. Dad and Robb have a bet on how long we'll last living together. Actually, Arya brought me to this coffee shop shortly after I moved back here. She said this is your go-to place and it had grown on her. I saw they were hiring so I jumped at it and started a few days ago. Figured I should make some money while I search for a job in the marketing realm."
"Pretty good plan." Jon realized his nerves had subsided just as they were finishing their coffees. He was hoping he could spend some more time with her but his smile faltered a little when he saw her check the time.
"Hmmm, I've gotta get going. I promised Mom I'd visit Aunt Lysa with her today. Are you busy this coming Saturday, by any chance?"
"I don't believe so. Nothing important at least."
"Come to the pumpkin patch with us. I'm basically making the whole family go and then we're going to carve them afterward. We'd love it if you'd join us!"
"Count me in," Jon replied. His wishful thinking that Sansa wanted him around made him smile bigger than he intended. He had to remind himself to not get too eager, this probably didn't mean anything special at all, he often joins in on the Stark family occasions.
"Good," Sansa said with a firm nod and smile as she rose to her feet. "And I'll be here, working around this time, for the rest of the week. Just FYI. In case you need a coffee fix or something." Her cute, nervous smile returned for a moment as Jon stood up. "Okay. Bye, Jon! It was so good seeing you again!" Sansa's arms wrapped around his neck. The hug was quick, but just enough time for his arm to snake around her back and for him to feel the once-familiar body pressed against his.