Game of Thrones: Crossroads

Chapter 9 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

HarryPotterNut94: Yeah, he is pretty creepy in this; sadly he was doing what Myrcella feared he was doing at that time :( Glad you enjoyed the chapter tough :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Glad you like her, yeah, but of course, she has to put up with a creepy perv like Joffrey for a brother.
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, thought I'd show what life was like for the Baratheon's at home; glad you liked Myrcella, well, with Joffrey around she has a lot to put up with, she needs an outlet. Yeah, kinda shows how paranoid Cersei is however huh.
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Guest: Thanks, no problem.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Chapter 9

Gendry sighed heavily; it had been a whole month since Arya had deserted them. In that whole time, he had tried desperately to find out what was going on, to try and convince her to come back to the old group. But he had made no headway and Arya remained closed off to him, even Gendry was beginning to feel there was no hope. The one thing that kept him going was Shireen's determination, and her sorrow. Shireen's faith in Arya never wavered and she never stopped trying to convince Arya to re-join them. Every time Arya shot her down, sometimes quietly, sometimes, if her new 'friends' were around, brutally. This left Shireen in tears and Gendry trying desperately to pick up the pieces. Yet he noticed, unlike the rest of the populars, Arya never directly insulted Shireen. That he felt was a small cause for hope, hope that she wasn't completely caught up in their ridiculous way of looking at things. Right now however, things were still desperate for him; his nerves were still shot. In all this time he had to endure a few more visits from his father, plus a few close encounters at the club during which Arya was there with Sansa and their 'friends'. Just like right now, Gendry sat at the usual booth with Shireen, Lommy, Hot Pie, Devan, Myrcella and Dany. All of them could see Arya, sitting across the room with the rest of the populars, all of them talking, laughing and whispering. Except Arya who merely smiled lightly, nodded and drank.

Gendry shook his head; he was getting sick and tired of seeing Arya like this; but he had no real opportunity to confront her about it without her so called friends butting in. He also couldn't help but notice how much she was drinking; it wasn't good for her. He recalled the previous times he had seen her in this club, after the first time, he had tried to talk to her, but she ignored him. While mulling over this in his mind he noticed movement to his right. He turned his head and saw Shireen had stood up, he reached out and gently grasped her wrist.

"Shireen no, don't." He warned her carefully.

He couldn't believe Shireen was about to try again, at a time like this; Arya still had all those assholes surrounding her. It was like Shireen was planning on simply walking into the minefield.

Shireen looked at him desperately. "I can't leave her with them Gendry, we have to keep trying. She needs to see we've not given up on her, that we still want her back."

With that Shireen walked over and Gendry watched helplessly. He knew any attempt he made to try and aid Shireen would only make things worse. So all he could do was watch while Shireen tried again to convince Arya to return to them, or simply join them for a drink. Yet Arya refused her once again with the rest of the group, minus Arya and Sansa, shouting insults at her again. Finally Shireen turned away and returned to her friends, dejected.

Shireen fell heavily into her seat and buried her face in her hands.

"I don't understand it." She whispered tearfully. "I've lost my best friend…but why, what did I do wrong?"

Gendry looked at the others present, Dany, Lommy and Hot Pie were all shaking their heads. Devan looked grim while Myrcella spoke up.

"You've done nothing wrong Shireen; it's Arya that's at fault here, not you." She stated simply. "We'll work this out, somehow."

Gendry was fighting hard to control his frustration, he was really getting sick of this. It was then Dany provided an unintentional distraction; her phone rang and she checked it before quickly answering, but when she answered she took them all off guard. When she answered, she spoke Dothraki. With an apologetic smile to them she stood up and headed outside to make the call; still talking Dothraki to the speaker. Even Shireen forgot her sadness at this strange occurrence.

"What just happened?" She asked incredulously. "Since when did Dany learn to speak Dothraki?"

The others all shrugged, just as confused as she was.

After a pause Devan spoke. "The only person I know who can speak it is Coach Drogo."

The others nodded, likewise, Drogo, one of the P.E. teachers, was the only Dothraki they knew. While pondering this mystery it was clear to the others that Shireen was worn out from her confrontation with Arya; so Devan, who hadn't been drinking as he brought his car, offered to drive her home. She agreed gratefully and they both left, just after Dany came back.

The others turned their attention to Dany but she shook her head. It was clear she wasn't going to discuss her sudden use of the Dothraki language. All the same, Gendry had noticed that when she answered the phone, her face practically lit up. There was a brightness in her eyes that wasn't usually there when she spoke to the person on the phone. Finally however, as the night wore on and Gendry found himself getting well and truly drunk; he felt himself making a decision.

'I've had it with the soft touch…Look at what she did to Shireen.' His thoughts whirled, some coming through his head in barely coherent form. 'That does it, first chance I get I'm gonna tell Arya how it is, show her just what she's done.'

It was then he got his chance; for at that moment Arya detached herself from the group and headed for the club toilets. Gendry waited a short while before excusing himself and heading in the direction himself. In the toilet Arya splashed cold water on her face and quickly dried it before looking at herself in the mirror.

'C'mon Arya, keep it together…You have to do this remember, for Sansa.' She told herself.

Just then suddenly the door opened and Arya turned sharply, confronted by someone who definitely wasn't female, despite her being in the ladies toilet.

"Arya, we need to talk." Gendry said; there was no pleading, no desperation, only a deadly seriousness.

Arya however was in no mood for this, she squared her shoulders and glared; Gendry was taller and stronger than her but she never felt intimidated by him.

"Get out, leave me alone." She snarled. "Don't you see this is the ladies bathroom?"

She saw a wistful smile appear on Gendry's face as he stated. "You always said you weren't a lady."

Arya's scowl deepened. 'Damn him, why does he have to remember something like that dumb joke now.'

However then Gendry became serious again.

"What the hell is going on with you Arya, I don't want to hear any of this, it's for the best crap." He said, his voice was rougher than Arya had ever heard it. "Tell me what the fuck you are doing with them!?"

Arya rolled her eyes and replied as if it was obvious. "Drinking."

Gendry growled and shook his head at her deliberate sidestepping. "But why them!?"
"It's none of your business Gendry, leave me alone." She snapped, trying to push past him and leave the bathroom.

Gendry however shook his head, he wasn't done yet.

Arya managed to leave the toilet, but before she could head back to the main hall of the club Gendry grabbed her arm.

"It is my business when you're hurting my cousin and making her cry!"

She yanked her arm out of his grip and gave him a look of such ferocity he unconsciously took a step back. "Fuck You Gendry Waters. I'm not your problem anymore!"

With that she stormed away leaving Gendry even more frustrated than before; still he was getting nowhere.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.