Game of Thrones: Crossroads

Chapter 23 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, they're pretty cool, hope you liked the irony of Ned Dayne being the one to form the bet :)
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)
rubini25: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, thought it would make a nice twist; as for Robert; well he has treated them poorly, mostly Alyssa; yeah, things are getting more intense, well, not yet, but things will soon come to a head :)

Now onto the story.

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

Chapter 23

Arya was back at school, fuming; still, despite her best efforts, she was unable to convince Sansa and so, was still stuck with the Populars. She mused silently over the discoveries she had made during her time with them, trying to think of something she could use in order to give Sansa a way out.

'The problem is; the hold they have over her, Margaery and her cousins know about what she did…She's afraid if she breaks up with Joffrey and leaves them, they'll tell not only Joffrey, but everybody else and she'll be all alone.' She pondered quietly. 'Compared to all that; the fact that Joffrey is cheating on her with Margaery isn't that devastating…She probably already knows too. They're only keeping her as part of the group because she's a Stark.'

Arya sighed; even the knowledge she had that Joffrey was also cheating on Margaery with Ros would be meaningless in comparison to what Margaery could reveal about Sansa. She needed something more, something really controversial. She was broken out of her thoughts by the sounds of laughter from across the room. She looked over and grimaced she saw her old friends, laughing at something together.

'I could have been over there, laughing with them, I…I miss them.' She thought sadly before shaking her head. 'Stay focused Arya, saving Sansa's your priority just now; accept the sacrifices you have to make, it's for the greater good after all.'

Just because she told herself that, didn't make it easier however.

As she tried to ignore the laughter of her former friends she found herself, regretfully, overhearing what Ros and Bella were saying.

"Can you believe her, she still has the nerve to show up here." Ros was saying. "I'm surprised they haven't been caught yet."

Arya knew right away they were talking about Daenerys and the rumour she was secretly dating Coach Drogo.

Bella laughed and then replied. "How far do you think they've gone, think they've done it yet? I heard Dothraki like to take their women from behind, like they're riding a horse."

Both girls snickered at that. Arya grit her teeth; relieved that Aegon wasn't here yet; she knew he would likely have some sharp replies about that. The last thing she wanted right now, this early in the morning was to deal with something like that. As if on cue, she looked up and spotted Aegon approaching; deciding it would be best to intercede she got up quickly. Before long she was sitting talking with Aegon and Sansa, the topics of conversation were random but she didn't mind. Although she wished Aegon wouldn't stand so close, or keep trying to touch her, his flirting didn't help either.

She sighed inwardly as she reflected. 'I really need to find a nice way of telling him I'm not interested, I'd hate to lose him as a friend, he's just mixed up with the wrong group. Maybe when this is all fixed I can find some way to get him to join Dany and the others.'

She stopped that train of thought, not wanting to think about them just not, especially not Gendry; for some reason she found that thinking about him hurt.

Gendry meanwhile was in what he felt was a very awkward situation. He was sitting with Myrcella, Shireen and Daenerys; the rest of the guys hadn't shown up yet, apart from Edric none of them were even at school yet. This meant he was sitting, overhearing Dany talking on her phone, not in Dothraki this time he noted, and also overhearing Myrcella and Shireen discussing Myrcella's date with Trystane the previous weekend. Apparently they had indeed gone all the way at last and slept together; not something Gendry particularly wanted to hear about for various reasons. He glanced over at Arya and his worries intensified as he remembered the bet his friends had made with him. He felt terrible about it, he felt disgusted at himself, using his love for Arya as part of some stupid bet.

'I swore I would never be like dad, yet this sounds like the sort of thing he would do.' Gendry admonished himself.

But, there was one bright side about it; it gave him the drive he felt he needed to finally act. The deadline meant he would force himself to ensure that things worked, even if Arya didn't return his feelings, he would feel better if the revelation came directly from him and not the rest of the guys. It was at that moment the rest of the guys appeared and joined the group. Gendry smiled lightly and prepared himself for another day.

By the end of the day he was still no nearer figuring out a way to deal with the bet. It turned out the guys had decided to up the ante and he had to not only confess the truth, but somehow convince the girl to be his girlfriend too. Now things were a lot harder; while there were a few ways he could think of that might work, none of them appealed to him, they were morally wrong and just thinking about them made him feel terrible. However he found momentary relief from his worries in an unexpected although welcome distraction. As he pulled into the driveway, Edric spotted and pointed out a car that was parked there. They both recognized it instantly as Lyle Stone's car. Smiling they got out the car and heading inside to see their future brother-in-law. Inside they found, perhaps due to their mother's absence, Mya and Lyle on the couch engaged in a game of tonsil hockey. They both shared amused glances before Gendry cleared his throat. They sprang apart, standing up, both blushing; yet also smiling.

"Hey guys, um…Lyle just dropped by for a visit." Mya offered as an explanation.

Gendry laughed and replied jokingly. "So I see. Nice to see you again."

The two shook hands; that was one worry Mya didn't have, even when they had just been dating, her brothers never seemed to have a problem with Lyle. Lyle Stone was the same age as Mya with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was just as muscular as Gendry, but slightly shorter. It wasn't much later that Alyssa arrived home and welcomed Lyle and soon the family all got to talking; mostly about the wedding plans and so, for a while, Gendry found he was able to put his concerns about his feelings for Arya to one side, allowing him a chance to relax.

End of chapter, just some musing from our main couple about their current situation, next chapter should see the focus on someone else however and be rather interesting, anyway, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please :)