A/N Part the First: I don't own these characters, I just enjoy pulling them out and messing with them from time to time.

A/N Part the Second: This chapter is going to be a little different from the previous chapters. There was a fair amount of stuff left unfinished from 'Haven' that didn't quite fit in with how the chapter was going, and would make a nice contrast with the events of this chapter. Therefore, I decided to include the "fallout," as it were, with the next mini vignette as a counterpoint - these sections will alternate back and forth, with some happening in the past, and some happening in the present of the chapter. I believe I've set it up cohesively enough that it shouldn't be that hard to follow, so…enjoy!

PRESENT DAY I:

Bran Stark seemed to be having a terrible day.

The gym class was currently in the archery unit, and he couldn't seem to aim - his arrows weren't hitting the target, and he was getting frustrated.

After Coach gave the all-clear that there were no more arrows to be shot, Gendry walked up to the younger boy.

"What're you having trouble with?" He asked, grabbing an arrow as he spoke.

Bran frowned, "it won't go straight - I don't know where my arm should go."

"Try pulling the string all the way to your nose."

"But that doesn't feel right."

Gendry smiled. "It is, I promise. You just have to keep your elbow back while you do it."

The younger boy looked at him incredulously.

"Here, show me how what you're doing." Bran complied, and Gendry reached out and touched his elbow. "Bring it back like this," he made and adjustment, "and it should feel better because it's not putting as much pressure on the muscle."

Bran nodded his agreement, and Coach yelled out that they were going to shoot again. All the students picked up their new arrows, and began to shoot as Coach gave the order.

Gendry grinned as Bran hit one of the rings on the target for the first time that day, then paused by another student who was having trouble with their footing.

After this volley of arrows finished, and Coach made sure no one was shooting, the class ran out to grab their arrows. He started back over to Coach to discuss how things had gone that day, when he heard a voice call out his name.

"Gendry!"

AFTERMATH I:

Gendry did not want to be "that guy," but seriously felt as if he were running out of options.

Four weeks had passed, since what he referred to as "that night," and he finally felt as if he was prepared to try to attempt to start to smooth over the rubble that was left of his relationship with Arya.

He hoped.

Finally speaking with his parents openly after the months that had passed since he had add announced he had dropped out of college and then dropped out of their lives had been a very difficult eye-opener. For the first time he told someone about the snowball effect that had run through his college career.

Freshman year he had done fairly well in his classes, but sophomore year had been a different story. Coasting on his success his first year, he had spent more late nights with the guys and less time in the study lounge, and that had taken its toll. He also found that his physics classes were proving more difficult than he anticipated, which concerned him less than it should have. He shrugged it off, because , well, he had always been fine before, and who flunked a class, anyway?

Later that semester, as he dropped the class, he vowed to re-take it next semester and spend far much more time on his academic career. This was all well and good until he started his new classes, and, even with a different professor, he hadn't done well. This other physics class wasn't going that well either. His advisor had stopped to speak with him, so he started avoiding the hallway where his office was...and soon the entire building, as he felt too awkward to ask for help. Then…it all spiraled out of control.

At the end of the year, he received a letter that he was on academic probation, so if he didn't bring his grades up…it was over. He had a falling out with Robb when he discussed moving in with some of the guys next year, found a place of his own for the year, and pushed the issue from his mind.

By the time summer was over, he didn't know how to dig himself out, and decided that he was done. He didn't want to waste any more time failing when he could live his own life, and told his parents he was done with his education, then cut off all contact.

He came to regret that as soon as he realized what life on his own was like.

Coming clean to his parents about what had been happening was a terrible feeling, but had helped immensely. They said he could come live at home without rent, for one year, on the condition that he earn his room and board by helping around the house, and he "consider his future." Knowing this was the best option on the table at this point, he agreed and moved back home.

It was weird, to say the least.

That was how he ended up here, with several bags of mulch in the back of his car, staring at the doors of his old high school, waiting for a sixteen-year old to walk out, and trying not to feel like that one creepy guy who would always wait outside the doors.

"Gendry!" called a voice from behind him.

PRESENT DAY II:

"Arya!" he called back, waving. Coach saw who Gendry had called out to, and gestured that it was ok he hang back. Gendry jogged back to the fence, grinning.

"Having fun ordering around the little ones?" she asked, looking tanned and sweaty in her running clothes.

"The best time," he jested, shooting a glance back at the retreating class. "I don't think they'll ever best Robin Hood in an archery contest, but most of them are hitting the target instead of the grass fifteen feet behind the target now."

"Just be sure to use your power for good, not evil," she reminded him as she wiped her brow.

"Of course I will," he responded, as always.

Arya jokingly reminded him of this each time she saw him at the school with Coach the past few months, and soon it had turned into their own in-joke.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked, knowing he needed to go back in soon. "I thought you were helping your mom with the party?"

She groaned and tilted her head back dramatically. "I'm supposed to, but she's driving me crazy with preparations." Mimicking her mother, she continued. "All day it's been 'Arya, help me put up these streamers!' 'Arya, come taste this!' 'Get down here and help me with these centerpieces!' I couldn't take it any more!"

"I take it you snuck out and started running while she was out getting one more thing?"

The expression on her face said it all.

For the past few weeks, Catelyn Stark had been in a frenzy preparing for Arya's graduation party, as she had for her older siblings before her. Her party was set for two weeks after graduation so that "more people could come for longer." Arya tried to explain that no one stayed that long, and that when people said they would 'drop by' it meant they were never going to show up, so it was stupid to plan a date around them. Catelyn insisted they needed to, however, so kept to her original plan.

"Are you coming?"

If he hadn't been paying attention, Gendry might have entirely missed the note of hopeful anticipation in her voice, or the brief flash of nervousness on her face. Since he had been anticipating it (waiting for it) he caught it, and responded in a more serious manner than they had been speaking previously that he wouldn't miss it.

After a pause, she said that she should be getting back home, or there will be hell to pay from her mother, then set an easy pace as she ran back down the hill. Gendry paused for a moment to watch her retreat and smiled to himself, then turned back towards the school. As he stooped down to pick up a stray arrow someone had left behind, he reflected on his plan for tomorrow.

'No matter what happens, it'll be fine,' he mused to himself.

AFTERMATH II:

Gendry jumped guiltily as he heard his name, thinking first that he would be in trouble for being over-age in a school zone. Quickly he realized how stupid that would be, and turned to the sound of the voice.

Squinting into the sun, he saw Coach striding towards him, carrying a kickball under his arm.

"Hey Coach!" he answered, walking towards his former instructor.

"What are you doing back here? I thought you would be off at college now!"

"Er…uh…" Gendry awkwardly ran his hand over the back of his head. "I'm taking a break from school for a while, so…thought I'd come back and visit since I had the chance."

"Well, come on with me," he clapped Gendry on the back. "I was wondering how you were doing!"

With one last glance back at the doors, he followed to his familiar haunting grounds.

A few minutes later, they sat in the office that Gendry had been so proud to have keys to years before. Little had changed - the walls were the same greenish-gray color with an orange stripe near the ceiling, stuffing still poked out of the chair, and the same dents were still in the desk. All that appeared to have changed were some of the posters on the wall and a new trophy in the cabinet.

He had seen little of Coach the last few years, but had been quite close to him during high school. Over the years, as he had given Gendry more responsibilities, he had also been the one he went to with his problems, or when he needed advice.

"What have you been up to?" Coach asked, leaning back in the familiar chair. "What was it you were studying?"

"Physics for a while," Gendry replied, determined not to go into the story of why he was no longer doing so. "But for right now, I'm figuring out what I want to do and, in the meantime, helping with yard work back at home. Basically, indentured servitude."

The older man laughed at that, and they talked for a few minutes about how the various teams around the school had been doing, and the game that had won them the newest trophy in the display case. Finally, the moment he had been dreading and actively trying to avoid happened.

"So, what are you thinking of doing when you go back," Coach asked, leaning forward.

"I don't know," he confessed, looking at his hands. "My parents told me to play to my strengths, but…I'm not quite sure what that is right now."

The man behind the desk pondered this for a moment. "No matter what you decide, just make sure it's the right decision for you. As long as you know what you'll be happy doing, you're going to be just fine."

PRESENT DAY III:

Choosing how he was going to do this, he decided, may just be the death of him.

He didn't want to be too forward, especially with how poorly this aspect of their relationship had started. Her, at his apartment. The kiss, her leaving. Their talk, and the unspoken words between them after that. The line he didn't want to even toe, because he wasn't sure of his reaction, or how far he could control himself.

It had to be the right balance. Not too cloying, or she would hate it, but not too aloof, or it wouldn't get his meaning across.

He frowned at the overly-glittery card in his hand, with some sort of cutesy note in it. That wasn't right. Nothing he looked at was right. Arya, he was sure, didn't even like cards, so he didn't even know he went to that section of the store anyway.

Thinking about it, he wasn't even sure why he came to this store in the first place. A store that sold cutesy figurines that you would give to your grandma for Christmas was not a place he should have even thought of, but he was stuck.

Frowning again, he quickly exited the store and left behind the strong scent of candles. Pausing a few stores down, he paused and discretely sniffed at himself. 'I'm going to smell like butterscotch candles all day now.' Looking at his watch, he realized that he would have to get a move on and figure something out, or there would be another day lost, as his next class started in two hours.

Musing again on why he was having such difficulty with this, he headed out to his car, deciding to get some coffee and take a bit of time to think over what he would do. Without thinking about his destination, he ended up outside of the cafe that he and Arya had gone to a few years prior, when he took her on a "date."

Absently, he ordered a drink and sat at the small table in the corner of the cafe, as he accepted and rejected ideas that came into his head. Smiling, he again walked to the front counter where the girl behind the counter filling a container with coffee beans.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" he asked, looking beseechingly at her.

"What can I help with?" she responded, putting a lid on the container she had been filling.

"I'm not sure if you'll recognize her, but there's a girl that comes in her a lot for your smoothies, kinda short, brown hair, and she has a particular order-"

She grinned. "Extra mango, no raspberry?"

"Exactly. I was wondering if I could leave some money here as a credit, so the next time she comes in, she doesn't have to pay."

"I think I can make that happen," she said, meeting his eyes. "I'm opening every morning this week, so I can spread the word, and she's never gone longer than a week without one since I've been here."

"Great, uh..." Gendry glanced down at her name tag. "...Willa! Now, would it be possible to put a message on then when she comes in?"

Silently, she picked up a piece of paper and a pen and place it in his hand, deliberately making sure their hands made contact. "Write down what you want on it here."

Happily, he jotted down a short message on the paper and pushed it across the counter back to Willa, along with a bill from his wallet to cover the payment. She glanced at him and smiled again. "Maybe you should put down your number too, just in case something goes wrong..."

Glancing up, he saw her batting her eyelashes at him, lips curving into a smile, and realized why, exactly, she was asking for his number.

"No," he said quickly in response, firmly pushing the paper back to her. "I think it will all be just fine."

With a polite smile, he picked up his coffee again and walked to the door, whistling. Just before he exited, he paused and turned around.

"Actually, if I could bother you for one more thing?" he asked, glancing back.

The girl smiled and leaned on the counter towards him.

Minutes later, after he had gotten the information he wanted, he turned again and walked out the door

This was, he was sure, going to work out well. After class was out, he had a few stops to make.

AFTERMATH III:

The next week, he parked in front of the school again, steeling himself for the events to come.

Today, he was going to find Arya, find a way to make her talk to him, and get this all smoothed out. But first, he was going to talk to Coach and ask for help. Maybe he knew of some sort of job around the school he would be qualified for, just so he could get back on some sort of track. He had been thinking on this since he had bumped into him the week prior, and had come to a decision, of sorts.

Remembering that it should be the middle of seventh period, he knew that Coach should be behind the school, preparing for eight period gym class. This should give him enough time to work something out, then be back to his spot by the end of the school day...

Walking around the building, he spotted the figure he was looking for, putting cones up on the field behind the school. He crossed over, and as the older man noticed his presence, he raised the small orange cone in his hand as a greeting.

"What brings out back out here this fine day?" he asked, kicking the cone he had just set down into line.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something..." Gendry trailed off, not sure where to start.

"Help me out with this," he said, passing a bundle of cones to him, "and we'll go back in until my next class starts." Gesturing at the items he had placed in Gendry's hands, he pointed to his right. "Put two of them about forty feet that way and the other two about ten feet past. I'll finish up over here."

Nodding, he turned to his task, setting up as he was instructed. Maybe he could do this for a while, help out Coach again. Surely there was some sort of job in that?

With everything placed as it should be, he jogged back to where he began, and followed Coach as he began to walk back to the gym. As they entered the room, the familiar smell of basketballs and unwashed teenager wafted into his nose.

Soon, they arrived in the familiar office again, and they settled into chairs on either side of the desk.

"So," probed the older man, "you had a bone you wanted to pick with me?"

For a moment, he froze, unsure of how to start, then the words started flowing out.

"I wanted to see if there was maybe something here I could help you out with? Like for a job? I don't even know where to start, and I used to do a lot of things for you back when I was your student, so I was hoping maybe there was something here I could start with. I could help keep supplies straight, and be an extra set of hands for you during class, and-"

"Gendry," Coach stopped him, holding up his hand. "Do you really want to go back to doing what you did when you were in high school?"

"I want to do something,' he responded, looking down at the floor. "Show my parents that I'm making a new start."

Without speaking another word, Coach got up, walked around the desk, and sat in the second chair in front of his desk next to Gendry, and stared at him until he looked him in the eye.

"When I asked you your freshman year to help me out, it was because I needed help with some of the more routine, day-to-day things. But as time went on, I had you help out with a lot more, because I saw potential in you. I know you can do so much more than set up playing fields and follow orders. Now, I could talk to the principal and see if we could take you on, part-time, as an assistant, but, chances are, since you don't have the credentials and aren't a student anymore, that would happen."

Gendry's face fell at this, but Coach continued.

"The way I see it, though, we may be able to come to a different arrangement. Sometimes, students from the local community college come to shadow as part of their classes. I think, with your skill set, if you're a student, we could work out something where you could work here."

"But Coach...I don't even know what I would go back for...that's why I came to you in the first place." Gendry tried to hide his disappointment, but was having trouble doing so, and made as if to stand and exit.

Holding out a hand to stop him, the older man pulled a book from a shelf on the wall and placed it in Gendry's hands.

Looking down at the proffered tome, he saw it was a physical therapy guide book, Flipping it open, he paged to a full-color picture of the muscles of the human body.

"Now, I'm not positive, but I really think this is something you could be outstanding at. Whenever someone was injured, you seemed to know that they should and should not do to keep from being more injured, without having to ask. When you didn't know, you knew the right information to ask them for so you could come ask me or the nurse. That sort of knowledge and initiative goes a long way in this field."

As he paused, Gendry looked down again at the human form in the book on his lap. There was a passage that explained how the different muscle groups worked together, and how one being out of joint could effect the others around it. He thought there was a strange sort of beauty in how the body operated, if everything was in proper working order.

"It would be a lot of work, and study, and memorizing," the instructor said, gesturing to the book. "But if this is a field you would be interested in working in, and you start studying it, I believe I can make convince the principal to have you come in to assist me on a part-time basis, and I can help you study."

Nonplussed, Gendry started to stammer, but was stopped again.

"Take this book home with you, and think about if you would want to do this. Come back again in a week, and we'll talk. Same time?"

Nodding, Gendry smiled. Coach reach out and grasped his hand to shake it.

"I've got to head out for my next class now, but you think on that."

"Thank you!" Gendry called as the older man walked away.

He slowly walked out of the office and through the gym doors, staring down at the book and considering what Coach had told him. If he could really do this...something he found he actually enjoyed...then things might just work out for him.

Lost in thought as he was, he didn't notice the figure walking towards him, and collided into the smaller figure.

Reacting quickly, he stretched out his arm and grabbed the teetering figure, and panicked briefly when he saw a set of familiar gray eyes staring into his own.

"Arya?"

PRESENT DAY IV:

Saturday afternoon had arrived, and with it, Arya's graduation party. He had spent the past few days running through the events of tonight in his mind, and was certain he was ready.

Once more he check through the things he would need for the evening. Obligatory graduation card from his parents containing a check for the graduate? Check. Car keys? Check. Box containing everything else he would need for the night? Check.

With that, he grabbed the items he had just gone over and left the house, locking the door behind him, as his parents were out of town for the week, and hopped in the car. Immediately, his mind turned to everything that may screw up what he had planned. What if she had gone into the cafe since he had made his arrangement with the girl behind the counter? What if they forgot to put the message on the cup? What if she didn't do what he thought she would?

'The odds of anything like that happening are so low you shouldn't even worry about it. But in order for anything to go to plan at all, you have to be there. Stop psyching yourself out and get moving.'

Thanking his inner self for the pep talk, he started on his way.

Minutes later, he pulled up to the house and circled the block, looking for the closest parking spot on the street. Stowing the box under the passenger seat, he grabbed the card and walked up. The front door was open, and there were people milling around in the living room, so he joined them and scanned the room for the guest of honor.

With a start, he felt a hand clap on his back. "Gendry!" exclaimed the voice connected to the hand. "You made it!"

Turning, Gendry faced Robb and grinned. "If I missed it, your sister would never forgive me."

"Probably not," he said, glancing at the card in Gendry's hand. "Let me toss this in with the rest of them, and then we can head out back." Quickly he glanced around the room. "I've been trying to avoid Uncle Benjen all night, he's been trying to convince me that I should start a career in the military like Jon, and I can't seem to convince him that that won't work for me."

Covertly, Robb crossed the room, put the envelope in the basket with a sizable amount of others, and waved Gendry over to him.

"Uncle Benjen's talking to Mom in the kitchen, so if we sneak back now, we should make it!"

With a chuckle, Gendry made a show of looking around the corner and stealthily crossing the room, and followed his friend outside.

"Man," Robb said, cracking open a can of some sort of fizzy beverage from a cooler. "I'm glad you came. It's been a parade of teenagers through here since this started. I was starting to feel out of place. Mom insisted I be here for the entire thing, but didn't give me anything to do, and Sansa took over all the food prep stuff."

"Glad I could help out," he responded, grabbing a drink for himself. "It looks like your mom went to a lot of trouble for this, so it was the least I could do to come over and enjoy it."

"I'm not even sure Arya noticed half of this stuff," Robb continued, gesturing to the lights strung around the yard and trellises standing above tables filled with refreshments. "I think this is kinda lost on her."

Laughing again, Gendry agreed, and the two talked for a few minutes about what they had been doing the past few months – Robb had been finishing up his second-to-last semester as an undergrad and was thinking about what school to pursue his graduate work at, while Gendry went over his latest PT classes and the extra work he had been doing at the high school. Just as Robb had started telling a story about a girl that had come into class drunk with a sheet cake, a man who resembled the pictures Gendry had seen of Ned Stark walked up to them.

"Robb, I've been looking for you all afternoon!"

Gendry could tell from the expression on Robb's face that this must be his uncle Benjen, so subtly stepped back and headed off to another corner of the yard.

Once he deemed himself far enough away to avoid being drawn into the conversation that Robb was so dreading, he investigated the tables and their contents.

'These must be the centerpieces Arya was talking about,' he thought, picking up an elaborate-looking basket filled with silk flowers and paper cranes. He was pretty sure he could tell which ones Arya had made because, compared to the crisp folds that could only have been made by Catelyn Stark, the remaining ones were hastily folded and uneven.

Keeping on his trajectory from the awkward family conversation, Gendry stepped back into the house and glanced around. He had still not found Arya, and if he didn't, it would really put a damper on his plans for the night.

Absently, he glanced upstairs, then around the room, then realized what he had seen at the top of the stairs. It looked like the matriarch of the family had a hand in deciding what her youngest daughter would wear to the party, as he was positive Arya would not be wearing a sunflower-yellow dress with a matching bow in her hair.

"Arya," called Bran, who had appeared behind Gendry while he was distracted. "What's the hold up?" Grinning, he drew the attention of the rest of the room. "Why don't you come down and greet your guests?"

Shooting a death glare at her younger brother, Arya complied, stepping down the stairs awkwardly in matching yellow high heels into a throng of family members that had appeared, all of them congratulating her on her recent graduation. With her new found height, she caught a glimpse of Gendry in the corner and beamed at him.

After fighting her way through the crowd, attempting to receive compliments and answer questions about her future with good grace, Arya escaped from the group and made a beeline towards him.

"You came!" she said excitedly, grinning up at him.

"I told you," he said, smiling gently as he locked his gaze in with hers, "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

Impulsively, she reached and hugged him. Breathing in, he caught a faint whiff of cedar.

As she stepped back, she tottered a bit, and he reached out a hand to steady her.

"If you say one word about me looking 'unexpectedly good,'" she warned, putting air quotes around what a phrase that appeared to have been bandied about quite a bit already, "I will hurt you."

Nodding, Gendry replied in mock-serious tone, "You look terrible today."

"Thank you," she said with genuine relief. "Everyone seems to think I should look like this all of the time."

"No," he disagreed, "You should dress how you feel comfortable. And I think you're more of a running clothes type than a swishy yellow dress type."

"Sansa picked it out," she admitted, awkwardly smoothing down a bit of flounce. "Then Mom demanded I wear it once she saw me in it."

"Oh my darling Arya!" called a crazy-looking woman as she crossed the living room floor. "How wonderful you look! I must have a picture." With no more ceremony than that, she clutched Arya's arm and dragged her back to the stairs, and her captive looked back at him with an apology in her eyes.

Realizing he could not hope to get her back from the new entanglement of well-wishers, Gendry turned again to the yard and sought out Robb. He had managed to get away from his uncle, and was sitting in a chair with his feet up.

"I think in time he may give up," Robb said in greeting, with a small amount of hope in his voice. "I told him how excited I was about going to grad school, and that seemed to get to him a little bit."

"Good luck on that," Gendry replied, raising his can in a toast.

The two began talking again and were actually able to sustain a conversation without being interrupted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure in brilliant yellow enter the yard and be bombarded with yet another group of well-wishers. Each time she fell into conversation with someone she appeared to want to talk to, a new family member, neighbor, or friend of the family came up and interrupted that conversation.

After an hour, Robb suggested they head out to get a 'real drink' as soon as the party was over, feeling fairly certain he could sneak out without his mother noticing. He declined, citing that he had some plans tonight, and that he should really get going, but did ask one favor of his friend, with the promise that he would owe Robb a beer later, which he quickly agreed to.

Making his way across the yard, he managed to catch Arya during one of her brief reprieves, where she was trying to grab something to eat before being dragged off yet away.

Gendry reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. As she saw him, she dropped the fake smile she must have been using all night on interloping family members. "I think you're the first person tonight to come up to me that I wanted to talk to me!"

"Sad, it won't be for long…I've got to run…I've made some plans tonight, and I've got to get ready for that."

Frowning, she looked at him. "You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, I have something to prepare for…but I'll see you soon, ok?"

Again she pulled him into a hug, and he inhaled the cedar scent. Leaning down, he whispered "Congratulations," in her ear, then pulled back. Almost instantly, Arya was pulled into yet another conversation, this time with the twelfth-grade English teacher.

As he stepped out of the house, he smiled to himself. He had one stop left before he went to the park by the café, and then he had to get set up.

AFTERMATH IV:

"Sorry…" Arya murmured, stepping away while she avoided his gaze, and turned to walk past him.

"Arya, please…just please…let me explain."

Pausing for a moment, she stared at him. "Five minutes."

With that, she turned and walked out the doors behind them, pausing for a moment as she opened the door for him to follow. He complied, and walked after her to a picnic table at the edge of the school grounds, by the forest and away from the school.

As he looked at her in askance, she said "I have eighth period leave, so I'm not missing anything."

Nodding nervously, he sat down across from her and sat the book he was carrying down on the bench beside him, and she folded her arms. "So?" she prompted, pointedly not looking at him.

"Arya…I know that things didn't go well between us the last time we talked."

She made a derisive noise in response.

"But I want to explain to you where I'm coming from…where I was coming from."

He took her lack of response as a sort of encouragement to go on.

"When I said before…that you're too young…wasn't entirely the truth. I mean, you're sixteen, I'm twenty…you're so mature, but that's still not a good position to be in.

"You caught me by surprise that night. I…I didn't know what to do, what to say, how to react. I had never let myself think about you like that before, not really. And you were there, and I was afraid of taking advantage of you, of making you do something you weren't ready for, and I panicked."

"I was ready," she said pulling her legs to her chest and grasping her arms around them.

"Maybe you were at first," he responded gently, looking at her, though she was still averting her eyes. "But there are other things that could have happened, right then and there, that you may not have been prepared for." He felt his heart pound at the thought of what could have happened, and mentally shook himself to bring him to the present. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you…I was just doing the best I could think of to avoid that."

"You failed," she said bluntly, looking at him with her head propped on her knees.

"I know I did, Arya. I know. But…just try to see where I'm coming from. Until about two months ago, I was a college dropout, I didn't know where I was going to be in a month, much less a year. I was separated from my friends, my family, my best friend…and then there she comes, practically knocking down my door and demanding to be let back into my life. My life was a mess, and having you be part of that uncertainty was too much.

"It would have been too easy to go along with it, and use you to make me feel better for then, but it wouldn't have been fair to you, no matter how good it would have been that night. I care about you too much to let that happen. You don't have to understand what I did, but I want you to at least know."

They sat in silence for a moment, and Gendry let Arya digest what he had just said.

"And…where are you now?" she asked quietly, from her side of the table.

"I'm living back here with my parents…but I still don't know what I'm doing. I'm still a mess. I still don't know what I'll be doing in a year from now, or where I'll be."

"And if I said I still wanted to try?"

Gendry closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You have no idea how much I'd like to say yes. But I need to figure out my life before I throw you into the mix like…like that. But one day…if you would still want to…absolutely."

"So, am I just supposed to sit around and wait for this mystery day?" she asked, looking him dead in the eye for the first time since they had bumped into each other in the hallway. "Wait until you sort things out and you decide it's ok to let me in?"

"No…I don't want that for you. If you think I'm taking too long, if there's someone else, if you don't care anymore, that's your decision. I won't stop you. I won't ask you to wait for me, that's not fair. But, if, when I do know…when you're a little older…when I could be the person I want to be, for you…I'll let you know and let you make the decision. It's not the best, I know, but it's the best I have right now."

"What if I say no, right now? What will you do?"

"If you want me to go, completely stay out of your life, I'll do that," Gendry replied laying his hand on the table between them.

She hugged her knees closer, then let them go.

"I need time, I think. To think. But…I don't want you out of my life."

"Whatever you want."

"Just…give me some time." She reached out her hand and left it close to his, but not touching.

"I will."

With one more long look, she rose from the table and began to slowly walk towards the school.

"Gendry," she said over he shoulder as she stopped briefly. "Did you say I was…your best friend?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Next Tuesday, the café, at four. We can talk more then." Without another word, she turned back and continued walking.

Smiling faintly with relief, Gendry called after her, "I'll see you soon!"

It wasn't the perfect ending, but it wasn't the end, which was good.

PRESENT DAY V:

Gendry heaved a sigh of relief as he saw a familiar figure run up to the door of the café in the distance and come to a stop, bending over and breathing heavily with her hands on her knees. His deal with Robb had gone according to plan, and he must have convinced his mother that Arya be excused from cleaning up after the party, at least for an hour or two, and that he could help. Gendry knew he would end up owing his friend more than just a beer, but it would be worth it.

He hoped.

As Arya stepped into the shop, Gendry turned on the flashlights he had brought and aimed them at the sky, which provided just enough ambient light on the picnic blanket he had laid out to see by, and stepped back a few paces to view his handiwork. Laid out on the blanket was a wrapped present with a card and a small basket with some snacks in it.

Less than a minute later, he saw a now-puzzled female exit the café, staring at the cup in her hand. Uncertainly, she crossed the street to the park and followed the path to where he had set out the picnic, and stopped in her tracks when she arrived.

Gendry walked out to her from where he had been standing.

"I thought you could use a reprieve tonight, after your party today. And something to eat."

Wordlessly, she stepped onto the blanket and sat down.

"How did you know I would-" Arya questioned, confused.

"I may have engineered things a smidge," Gendry responded, settling himself next to her. "I got Robb to agree to convince your mother to let you go out after the party, instead of cleaning up…I owe him for that, since that's what he's doing tonight. And I knew that if I mentioned running even once at the party, you would probably just go ahead with that. Since this is one of your favorite places, I thought this would be the best bet."

Arya looked at him suspiciously.

"The girl at the counter didn't charge me for my smoothie, either…"

"Again me, if you hadn't guess from the note on the cup."

"And she gave me a terrible glare when she handed it to me."

"I was afraid that might happen."

"Why?"

He leaned forward, "I think she may be jealous of you."

"Why?" she asked, taking as sip.

"Open you present," Gendry responded, grinning and gesturing to the box in front of him.

Hesitatingly, she set down her drink and studied the package in front of her.

"It's not going to explode, you know."

With a devilish grin, she ripped the paper off and revealed the box it contained.

"…Did you just get me a blender as a graduation present? "

"You should also open this," he said, handing her the card that had been forgotten in her opening frenzy.

Ripping over the envelope, she pulled out a piece of laminated card stock. Written on it in Gendry's block writing was the recipe with exact proportions of the smoothie that Arya had just set down.

"I knew when you went off to school you wouldn't be able to stop by every week to get your favorite drink," he explained, "and I wanted to be sure you could have it wherever you were."

Arya sat and ran her hand over the card. "That's so sweet of you," she said in wonder. "I hadn't even thought of that."

Grinning, Gendry flipped open the basket he had filled with Arya's favorite foods and tossed a wrapped bagel sandwich her way.

"I also thought you may not have gotten the chance to eat all night, so I got you some snacks too."

With widened eyes, she tore the wrapper off of her sandwich prize and sunk her teeth in. After she had swallowed her first bite, she moaned," this is the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life."

As Arya devoured the first real food she had eaten in probably the last ten hours, Gendry pulled out the other treats he had brought onto the blanket, and explained he had a grill going nearby so they could have s'mores.

"This is the best graduation present ever," Arya said happily, lying down on the blanket to look at the stars. "Everything else today has been such a chore. This is the first time today someone did something for me, it feels like."

"I'm glad to hear I could help," he grinned, offering her some licorice and lying down next to her.

They talked for a few more minutes about whatever came to mind, then Arya asked if it was time for s'mores yet. In response, he got up and offered his hand to her in assistance. Taking it, their eyes met for a moment, which ended quickly when a dragonfly flew into Arya's face.

She was still complaining about the bug impact on her face while they were roasting marshmallows.

"…With absolutely no regard for anyone else!" she exclaimed, in the middle of a rant. "I mean, I'm sure I got the better end of the deal, since he was in a much bigger accident than me, but it was totally his fault, so I could sue!"

"You're going to sue a dragonfly?" Gendry asked incredulously as he slid his now-toasted marshmallow on the s'more he was making.

"Well, not really, but it's fun to imagine!" Grinning, she took her last bite and walked back to the blanket. 'I'm soooo stuffed," she announced as she collapsed once again onto her back.

He soon joined her on the blanket, and they both licked the melted chocolate from their fingers, then lay in silence together, staring into the sky.

"Arya," Gendry said suddenly.

"Gendry."

"Here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded note and handed it to her without further ado.

She unfolded the paper and studied the writing on it for a long minute. Inscribed on the paper in the same block handwriting as the recipe for her smoothie were the words 'If you want me - I'm yours.'

Slowly, Arya rolled to her side and propped herself on her shoulder, so she could look down at her companion.

"Gendry?"

Blue eyes tinged with nervousness slowly turned towards gray.

"Does this mean what I think it does?"

He nodded slightly from underneath her.

Without hesitating, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his. This time, he didn't stop her, and responded in kind, lacing his hand through the hair at the back of her head to bring her closer to him.

For just a few minutes, the world did not matter, and it was just the two of them, together for the first time.

A/N: Whew, that took a bit longer than I anticipated. Oddly, going out of town for the weekend then having your wisdom teeth removed will keep you from writing as much as you would like. Go figure!