Arya

The last two days had been very challenging for her. Gendry and Jaqen were making things tough for her. They were both pursuing her aggressively. Well aggressively for her. To everyone else it was not enough. She paced in her room thinking about what to do. Gendry asked her to go out to dinner with him before he went and played with his band at the party that night. Jaqen had asked her to go to a gallery opening on Saturday night. They both claimed that they just wanted to go out with her as friends, but she knew that they wanted more.

She decided to call Jon. She didn't care that it was ten thirty at night but he would know what to do.

"Jon I need your advice."

"Little Wolf do you know what time it is? I have a test to do tomorrow. I really need to be studying." Jon said sounding wary.

"I am sorry Jon, but I don't know who else to call." She sounded deflated and sad.

"Is it more boy problems?" Jon asked.

"Um, yes." She whispered.

"What happened now? Is there a fourth guy trying to get you?"

"No. I am down an admirer. Aegon and Myrcella are dating. But I still have two guys still after me. And the part that I need advice about is that they both asked me out for this weekend. They said that they only wanted to go out as friends, but I know that they want more. Should I say no to both or no to one and yes to the other?" She was talking so fast that she didn't even stop to take a breath.

"Say yes to both. They said that you would only be going out as friends, so say yes to both of them and if you have a good time with one of them more then the other ask that one out to be your steady guy." Jon said. He was calm and rational about it.

"So I just go out with them both, just like that. I couldn't do that." Arya protested.

"You can. Normal people do it all the time. It is called dating Little Wolf. It is all a part of getting older." Jon laughed.

"Then I don't want to grow up." She huffed.

"Tough shit sis. It is happening and there is nothing that you can do to stop it." Jon said.

"So I am supposed to date both of them? But isn't that cheating? Won't they get mad?"

"Just be opened with Jaqen and Gendry. If they really like you they will understand. Just don't agree to be anyones girlfriend, because then that would be cheating. You are a smart girl Little Wolf; you will know what is right for you. Just take your time to decide who you want. Do you have any idea which one of these Argonauts that you like better?" Jon asked.

"Gendry is funny. We have a lot in common. He is the best person to work on a car with. He makes me laugh and we joke around a lot. When I kissed him there was something there. He is someone that I can talk to and we get along great. Jaqen is so different. He is so artistic and he helps me do better with my work. He is sensitive and makes me feel like I don't have to be so tough all the time. And he is so passionate about things. I don't know what to do Jon." She said.

"You sure know how to pick them Arya. They couldn't sound more different." Jon laughed. "It seems to me that if they were one person he would be perfect for you. Since they are two different guys you do have a problem. I have to get to studying Little Wolf. But if you need anything I am here for you."

"Okay. Go study. I love you big brother."

"I love you to Little Wolf."

She turned off the phone and went back to her desk. She was still unsure of what to do, but she figured that Jon had never given her bad advice before, so she would go with it.

She went to her contact list on her phone and scrolled down her list. She found who she was looking for.

So do you still want to have dinner Friday? –Arya

Yeah. Um, hell yes it is. So do you want to go to a Thai place that I know? Or sushi? Do you like either of them? –Gendry

Arya giggled at how eager that he sounded. It was too cute. Completely different from the Gendry that she knew at school.

Thai is fine. Want to meet at six? –Arya

How about seven? I can pick you up at your house. –Gendry

He wanted to come here and pick her up? That sounded more like a real date and she did not want it to be a real date. Did it mean that she had to dress up? What if he tried to hold her hand or kiss her?

Um sure you can pick me up. You can meet my dad!

He didn't reply right away and Arya couldn't help but smile. She had figured that the idea of meeting her dad would cool him down some and she was right.

Sure, we can do that. –Gendry

Okay. See you tomorrow then we have major sanding to do on the project. –Arya

Oh crap we do. Well shit. I hate sanding. I am an engine and how a car works kind of a guy, not a body man… Well not a car body at least. –Gendry

Okay you stupid creep. You think about bodies and I am going to go to bed now. -Arya

Night, sleep well. –Gendry

You too. –Arya

"Well that was easy." She mumbled to herself.

"What was easy? Hey do you have a red scoop neck long sleeved shirt that I can borrow? I can't find mine and I have a skirt that I need one to wear with it." Sansa asked walking into Aryas room.

"Yeah I have one. It is hanging up in my closet, go ahead and take it." Arya said.

"What was easy? You didn't say." Sansa asked again.

"I said that I would go to dinner with a friend on Friday. That is all." Arya said with a shrug.

"That is nice. You need to go out." Sansa said grabbing the shirt and walking out of the room.

Arya sat down on the bed and looked at her phone and decided to text Jaqen next.

Is the invitation to go to the opening still on the table? –Arya

Oh Lovely Girl. Everything is opened to you. –Jaqen

Ha not everything. But I would like to see the opening. What time is it at on Saturday? –Arya

Five. –Jaqen

Where is it at? Do you want to meet there or someplace else? –Arya

Do you know the 50's themed burger place? –Jaqen

Yeah I do. Want to meet there? –Arya

That would be good. How about at 4:30? –Jaqen

That sounds very nice. I will see you tomorrow in class. –Arya

She had done it. Arya Stark was going to go on two dates in the same weekend. Jon had better be right. She hoped that this helped her decide who she liked more.

Sandor

He was at the Red Keep doing Jofferys homework for him. He was writing a paper for Jofferys English class on All Quite on the Western Front. Joffery was on his computer talking to someone over IM. Sandor was sick of hearing Joffery laughing and commenting on what he and whoever he was talking to were saying.

"This girl here says that she puts out. I like the sound of that." Joffery cackled.

Sandor cracked his knuckles. He was going to punch the little worm in the face. He was talking to a girl when he was supposed to be Sansa's boyfriend.

"I think I am going to meet her on Friday. See if she is true to her word." Joffery said.

"What about Sansa? Aren't you taking her to the after party Friday?" Sandor asked.

"Shit I forgot about that. I can still go with her, tell this girl Ros to meet me at the party and go off somewhere with her while Sansa is occupied. She is so stupid that she won't even know what is going on." Joffery scoffed. "Are you done with that paper yet?"

"Almost. I just have the last paragraph to write." Sandor said.

He went back to the paper and couldn't concentrate on what he had to write. So he just put some bullshit in. He knew that the paper was not going to get an A like Joffery wanted, but Sandor didn't give a shit about what the worm wanted. He just had to get out of there before he thrashed the worm for thinking about cheating on Sansa.

"So on Friday will you keep Sansa busy while I go and have some fun?" Joffery asked.

Sandor did not say a word. He just finished writing the paper. He saw Joffery finally turn away from the computer and look at Sandor for the first time. He saw Jofferys nostrils flaring and he knew that ignoring him was not helping. But he did not want to say anything to him at the moment.

"I cannot hear you dog? Are you going to look after her while I have my fun?" He demanded, his voice high pitched and whining.

"Whatever. I am finished with your damn paper. I am going home now. See you tomorrow."

"I do not like how long it took you to answer me Dog. Next time I ask you a question I want an immediate answer." Joffery threatened.

Sandor knew that Joffery would not do anything to him, but he would take it out on someone else. There was nothing that he could really do, but he knew that he had to say something.

"Sorry I was finishing your paper and I was not going to say anything until I was done writing it for you. You do want a passing grade on the paper right?" Sandor asked.

"Of course I do. How else am I going to get into Yale without your brain?" Joffery demanded.

Sandor went out of the room and got into his car. He drove home fast and was surprised that he didn't crash. He went into his father's liquor cabinet and pulled out some whiskey. He filled a tumbler half way up and took it with him up to his room. He had experienced how Joffery handled his girlfriends and how he always cheated on them before. But to his mind there was something special about Sansa and he could not imagine how even a worm like Joffery could abuse the relationship with her.

He took a sip of the whiskey and went over to his computer to do some homework. He was usually not a drinker during the week and only indulged when he was with Joffery at parties, but after spending time with Joffery there was something that drove him to it that night. What he had felt when he had heard Joffery say he was going to cheat on Sansa was enough to make him see red. He had wanted to call Sansa and tell her that her sweet boyfriend was a dirt bag. But he didn't do that.

What he did do was draft Myrcella an e-mail. He did it because she had tried to talk to him about getting Sansa to break up with her brother. She knew Joffery better then anyone.

Hey Myrcella, I was with your brother doing his homework and I heard him talking about screwing some girl at Blackwater. With Sansa being there as well. I don't usually feel bad for the girls that he cheats on, but I know Sansa. She is to nice of a person let something like this happen to her. Is there a way that you could talk to her sister? If you tell her about him, she could warn Sansa and that would stop Sansa from making a mistake of bring with your brother. If you think of a way to do this before Friday let me know. I will help any way that I can to save this poor girl from the crazy depraved mind of your brother.

Sandor.

He sat back looking at his computer. His hand was on the mouse and he was hesitating on if he should send it or not. He knew that he should, Sansa Stark was his friend. They talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company. They talked about their classes and their common interests. But there was something holding him back from sending the email. He was not able to send it. He did not want to be the one to burst her fairy tale bubble.

He saved the email, thinking that he could edit it later and send it again if something happened, but he couldn't do it tonight. It was to rash, to impulsive and he was not that kind of person, except when Sansa was involved.

He downed the rest of his drink and went to turn off the computer. He walked over to his book shelf and pulled out a tattered copy of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. He hunkered down in his bed and started to read. He had to get to sleep soon and the booze was not working to take the edge off his anger and the book was not making him sleepy. He put the book on his nightstand and switched off the light. He had to get to sleep it was late and there was nothing he could do tonight about his moral issue that had been tearing an ever growing whole in his heart.

Bran

He did not like theater anymore. He had memorized his lines and did his costume and makeup all properly. But when he got up on the stage he choked. He could not say his lines and they had completely gone out the window. He had just stood there and he felt like a fish opening and closing his mouth.

He had stood there on that stage and felt like a complete fool. Renly had called him off the stage and told that he could try again at the end of the week. He had tried rationalizing what was going on with what his mind was doing to him. He had never been one to freeze before. He was not used to failing.

So he went home that day and rehearsed and practiced until he was blue in the face. He was not going to choke the next time.

He got to school the next day and sat in the audience and watched six of his classmates perform. Meera did her performance and she looked amazing as the queen of the fairies. Bran sat there and watched how easy it was for her to stand there in the spotlight and become someone different. He tried to watch what she was doing, how she lost herself in the acting. But there was nothing that he saw that she did that was different then what he knew how to do.

"That will be our last performance of the day. The rest of you can go tomorrow. I know that there are ten minutes left in class, but we are done for the day. Go do whatever you want, as long as it is not illegal or breaks school rules." Renly said from the front row of the audience.

Bran walked over to where Renly was sitting.

"Renly I would like to go first tomorrow if that is okay with you. I don't think that I can go last." Bran said.

"I am sorry Bran but we need to have the people go who have not already performed. You have to go last." Renly said as he sat taking notes.

Bran walked away and went back to where his friends were sitting. He did not want to go last. He was known that he was probably just going to choke again going last.

"Did you convince him to let you go first?" Jojen asked as he sat down next to him.

"No. I have to go last. It is not something that I want to do. But I have to go last because I choked yesterday." He ran his hand over his face.

"That sucks man. That is not something that I would want to do. I am glad that I have gotten my performance all done with. I was meaning to ask you, was that a tear in your eye while I gave my speech? I think that I was convincing in trying to raise the hearts of the troops before they marched into battle." Jojen joked.

"No but you were very good. I believed that you were the king." Bran said with a smile. His friend has a great sense of humor, but it was a little dry and slightly hard to follow.

"Who knows I might be a king." Jojen laughed.

Bran opened his history book and started reading the chapter that they were going to be going over that day. It was all review for him. It was early world history and Bran had read up on it months ago. He thought that Kings Landing was going to challenge him. So far the only class that he had that did that was theater.

The bell rang and they started to file out of class. He was thinking about Sansa and all of a sudden he saw her in his head. She was standing by a fire crying and there were people walking by her ignoring her. A shadow was behind her looming over her. Joffery walked over to her and pulled her to him savagely wiping the tears from her face. It looked like they were talking but he heard no words. The shadow surrounding Sansa turned into an angry hell hound trying to get between his sister and Joffery.

He was dizzy and felt like he was going to be sick. Meera and Jojen were on either side of him holding his arms and looking concerned.

"Bran are you okay?" Meera said.

"I think that you telling me how you "see" things is starting to get to me." Bran said.

"What did you see Bran? What is going to happen?" Jojen demanded.

"I saw my sister Sansa. I saw her crying." Brans voice was shaken.

"Is that all? Bran you can tell us. It might be important." Meera said.

"She was crying and Joffery was there. There was a shadow around her, but it tried to get between her and Joffery. It turned into a hell hound. They were talking but I couldn't hear what they were saying." Bran said.

"Do you think that will come true?" Meera asked her brother.

"Well his sister is dating Joffery. Odds are that she is in for heartache." Jojen said.

"I need to get more sleep or eat something. I must be going crazy." Bran muttered to himself as the Reeds lead him to their class.

"What about the hound?" Meera asked.

"Think about it. Who is Jofferys right hand man? The Hound. It couldn't be clearer." Jojen said.

"You cannot be serious. This is not real. It was a hallucination that is all. Sleep denervation. Something like that." Bran shot back.

"You can be in denial all you want Bran, but I think that we both know that you had a vision." Meera said.

Myrcella

She had never been happier then she had in the last four days. She and Aegon were happy with each other. They laughed a lot and he made her feel safe. She talked about the life with her family. She told them him that her brother hits her when he cannot find someone else to victimize. When she had told Aegon about what her brother did to her he said that he was going to kill the little bastard for hurting her. Part of her was very worried that he would really do that to him, the other part was happy that he was willing to stand up to Joffery for her.

She was not able to see much of him after school due to her dance classes and his band rehearsals. But they talked all the time. And at school they were with each other as much as they could be. They walked with each other between classes, they had lunch with other, and they spent half an hour before her dance classes together. He even drove her to dance classes on his bike. She had to admit that part of the reason that she had started to like him was that bike of his.

She had not told her parents yet about him, but she had told her uncle Renly. He had seen her holding hands in the hall on Tuesday. He had pulled her out of her math class to have a 'friendly little chat' with her.

She had walked to his closet of an office off the theater and sat down in one of the chairs smashed in it.

"So are you going to tell me that you have a boyfriend or am I going to pretend that you do not have one and I will just think that I did not see you holding some boys hand?" He asked her right off.

"I guess I do have a boyfriend. Do you pull Joffery out of class every time he gets a new girlfriend?" She wanted to know.

"No I don't, but I don't care about him like I do you. You are my niece, almost like a little sister. I mean who took you to your first dance recital?" He asked.

"It was you. You gave me the biggest bouquet of roses for a five year old that I have ever known." She smiled and looked him in the eye. "Why the sudden interest in my love life?"

"Because it went from nonexistent to active." Renly said.

She just sat there and smiled at her uncle and did not know what to say.

"Has he tried anything?" He asked.

"We hold hands, talk on the phone and I go on rides with him on his bike." She said.

"Well that is good. I am glad that you found someone. How much have you told him about what happens at your house?"

"I haven't told him about my parents. But I have told him about Joffery. He said he wanted to smash his face in." She smiled again as she talked to her uncle.

"He needs a good thrashing. You should let Aegon at it. He has some pretty strong looking friends. I am sure that they can take him." Renly joked.

Myrcella and Renly giggled together.

"Okay. I just want you to be safe and know that I am here for you if you need anything. Now get back to class. I shouldn't have pulled you out in the first place." Renly said.

On Wednesday at lunch they sat eating in the cafeteria and the group was laughing at what Arya was telling them about what happened in the shop and the sanding that they were doing on the car.

"I was sanding the bottom part of the driver's side of the door and there was Gendry with the electric sander on the hood of the car. He was sanding away when Thoros came walking over and tapped him on the shoulder. Let me tell you if the car wasn't getting all the paint taken off and smoothed out it would need it to be now. And I never would have guessed that this big strong manly guy could scream like a little girl." She laughed and the rest of the table did as well.

Myrcella watched as Gendry gave Arya a playful shrug and she shrugged him back. Arya had called and told her that she was going to dinner with Gendry on Friday and to an art thing with Jaqen the next day. She didn't know what Gendry was going to do when he found out Arya was going on a date with another guy the next day, but that was her business.

Myrcella was holding Aegons hand when Joffery came over to their table.

"So this is the little shit that is dating my sister. And you did think that you could just fuck her without asking me first?" Joffery demanded getting in Aegon's face.

"No it is none of your business that she has a boyfriend. And we are not fucking. You should leave her alone. There are people here and they are watching. Walk away Joffery." Aegon said trying to keep his voice even. Myrcella was gripping his hand and was trying not to crush his hand.

"You should not talk like that to me boy. Bad things will happen if you do." Joffery threatened.

"There is nothing that you could do to me. I know how to take care of myself and I fight back, not like your usual victims." Aegon spat at him.

Joffery looked at Myrcella and she knew that he was going to use her as a punching bag when they get home from school.

"If you touch her it will be the last thing that you do" Aegon threatened reading Jofferys mind.

Myrcellas heart was pounding and she was starting to sweat. This was not going to end up good.

"She is my sister and I can do what I want. And what I want is for you to stay the hell away from my sister you filthy piece of trash." Joffery said getting more into Aegons face with every word.

"You need to back the fuck away before I demolish that face of yours. I am not kidding. Because unlike you I learned to fight like a real man and not by beating up girls and little kids or having other people fight for me." Aegon seethed.

Joffery snapped back and Myrcella knew that her brother was ready to strike. His hand flew back and he went to slap Aegon. He released Myrcellas hand and stood up and punched Joffery on the face. There was a crunching sound and blood started gushing from his nose.

"Hound get him. Beat the shit out of that little dick" Joffery screeched.

There were teachers between Joffery and Aegon, everyone at Myrcellas table or standing close to them were taken out of the cafeteria to be questioned. She walked with Aegon tears streaming down her face out of the cafeteria down the halls to an empty class room.

Renly came running over to her and put his arms around his niece. He looked at Aegon and had a small smile on his face.

"Good job kid. I hoped that you messed up that pretty face of his." Renly said giving Aegon a squeeze on the arm.

"Is he going to get in trouble? It was not his fault. He was protecting me, and Joffery was going to hit one of us. Honest uncle Renly. He was going to do something to hurt us." Myrcella cried. "We have witnesses."

"So does he Myrcella. And I bet that he and his friends are going to say that I hit him just for the hell of it. It is okay sweetheart. Everything will be okay." Aegon said.

Myrcella knew that it was not going to be okay. Nothing was. Joffery just had to mess with her happiness and destroy it. That was what he did. He took what you liked most and poisoned it.