Chapter 5

Jon Snow Stark POV

Dany and I are touring the one-bedroom apartment today, it's the one she seemed to like a little more when we were looking at apartments online.

"So this place is one bedroom and one bath," the leasing person says as we're looking. "It has a nice porch, and room for a decent amount of decoration."

Dany is looking out the window in the kitchen when I walk up to her. "So what do you think?" I ask her.

"I like this place much more than the studio, which I figured would happen," Dany says. "Not just because of the size, it's also a lot nicer."

"Yeah, it's definitely a nicer place." I know this isn't in our budget as much, we'd definitely have to make more sacrifices.

"You guys think about it," the leasing office person says. "You can submit a formal application by the end of next week."

We thank her and head out. We're sitting in the car and I can tell Dany is deep in thought. "So what do you think?" I ask. "Should we keep looking? Most one-bedrooms are going to be a similar price to this one."

"I know," she says. "I just like this one a lot more."

"We'll be on a much tighter budget," I say. "We'll have to make a lot more sacrifices, but we could probably make it work."

"You're thinking we should do the studio, aren't you?" How does she know me so well?

"Honestly, yeah," I say. "It's closer to campus, and it would be a lot less stressful on our finances. We could save up to get a nicer place in the future."

She thinks about it, but doesn't respond. "Or we can keep looking," I say. "That's always an option."

"We should probably just do the studio," she says. "It's the best option."

"It doesn't seem like that's what you want," I say. "I still want you to be happy."

"That's sweet and all, and this is definitely the place I like more. I just think we should be thinking more long-term. We can always get a nicer place in the future."

"I agree," I say. "I think that would be the best option, thank you for compromising."

She shrugs. "It's a little disappointing," she says. "But I know the main thing that will make me happy is living with you and not with the Lannisters."

"I know," I say. "This is just a smarter decision. I'll submit the official application for the studio this week."

"Okay, sounds good."

I give her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

We head home. I can tell she's disappointed, but I do think this is the better option. Before we really got to know each other, I used to think Dany was just this spoiled rich girl who only cared about being pretty and popular. She's a lot more than that, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to see the best parts of her.

My favorite thing about Dany is her deep, unconditional love for her family and friends. She's always there for them, even when they may not deserve it. She's put up with Cersei for a lot longer than I feel most people would have, and she's always there for her dad. She was also there for Sansa, even when Sansa hated her. I just love her heart and her loyalty to the people she loves.

Arya Stark POV

Gendry is coming over tonight, but I'm honestly not looking forward to it as much as I was last time. I still love hanging out with him, but I'm not sure where our relationship can go now that he's graduated and I'm still just a sophomore. I also feel bad that he's said he loves me and I haven't said it back, I feel a pang of guilt in my heart every time he says it.

He sneaks up to the ledge and I open the window. "Hey," I say. He comes into my room and quietly shuts the window. "How's it going?"

"Better now," he says, kissing me. "I missed you a lot today."

"I missed you too," I say. We start making out and lay down on my bed. "Do you want to?"

"Yeah," he says. "But only if we can keep quiet."

"I can," I say. "The question is, can you?"

"I can," he says. "I really want you."

We fool around and end up having sex. It was definitely very hard to keep quiet, but I think we managed. I was hoping I'd change my mind about how I was feeling if we slept together, but I didn't. I still feel the same way, and I'm still questioning things. That isn't fair to him.

"Gendry?" I ask as we're cuddling in bed after sleeping together. "Can we talk about something?"

"Of course," he says. "What's up?"

"I don't know if we should keep dating," I say. "I've been thinking about it more."

He pauses. God, I hope I haven't upset him. "Why? Where is this coming from?"

"I feel bad that I haven't said I love you and you have," I say. "I don't want to say it if I don't mean it, but I also think I would've said it by now if I was going to get there."

"You know it doesn't bother me," he says. "I don't want you to say it if you aren't ready."

"I also don't want to hold you back," I say. "You're about to start trade school and begin your adult life, you shouldn't be with someone who's still in high school and not even close to graduating."

"Arya, come on," he says. "This came out of nowhere, you can't truly believe this."

I pause, because I do believe it. "I do, Gendry," I say. "I hope we can still be friends, I still really like you and have a lot of fun with you."

"Do you regret sleeping with me? You know we don't have to do that anymore."

"I don't regret that, I liked all that," I say. "I just don't think I feel the same way as you, and that's not fair to you."

He pauses and takes a deep breath. "Okay," he says. "And of course we can still be friends, I respect your wishes, even if it's not what I want and it's not how I was hoping things would go for us."

He sneaks out of the window, and I still look out to make sure he gets down okay. He looks back at me and gives me a sad smile, at least we didn't end things on horrible terms.

I didn't want to break his heart, but I know it's the right decision in the end. I feel like I would be holding him back, and I don't feel for him the way I know he feels for me. I never needed to stay with my first forever, and I'm glad we can at least stay friends.

Sansa Stark POV

I'm on my way home after the mock runway show. I'm really sad to be leaving, but I know it's time to come home.

"We were really proud of you watching you," my dad says. "We could tell you were having a lot of fun up there on stage."

"I really was," I say. "I even have some contacts for people in the industry."

"That's great," my mom says. "We're really glad you had fun there."

We get home and I head up to my room. Arya's laying on her bead and reading. "Sansa!" She says, running up and hugging me. "I missed you! We need to talk."

"Let me start unpacking first," I say, setting my suitcase on my bed and unzipping it. "What's up?"

"How was camp?" She lays on the edge of her bed on her stomach.

"It was so fun," I say, putting my dirty clothes in my hamper. "I have contacts in the industry now, and I got to do mock photoshoots and a mock runway show."

"That's awesome!" She says. "I missed you a lot, but I'm really glad you went. You'll have to show me the photos you took later."

"Me too, and I definitely will," I say. I keep putting away my clothes and other items I brought. "So what's up with you? You seemed a little out of sorts the last time we talked on the phone."

There's a long pause, I can tell she's nervous to tell me whatever it is she's about to tell me. "I broke up with Gendry," she finally says. I pause and look at her, I didn't expect her to say that.

"What? Why?"

"I felt like I was holing him back," she says. "He's about to start trade school, and I felt like he would want to date around when he got there."

"Well you don't know that," I say. "He really likes you, why would he be with you if he thought you were holding him back?"

"It's not just that," she says. "I felt bad every time he would say he loved me and I wouldn't say it back, I felt like I was stringing him along and I didn't want to do that."

"But didn't he say he was fine with that?"

"Yeah," Arya says. "But I know it disappointed him, even though he didn't say it. We're still friends, there's nothing bad between us."

"That's good," I say. "I'm sorry it didn't work out, though."

She shrugs. "It's okay," she says. "I know I made the right decision."

I trust her, but it still feels like it came out of nowhere. I know she needs to figure out who she is, but it sucks because I know Gendry really likes and loves her. I hope he can be friends with Jon again, it would really suck if he lost both of them.

I get why she didn't want to string him along, but I never felt like she was doing that. I always admired her maturity and her honesty to tell him rather than just saying she loved him without meaning it, which is what I feel like most girls her age would do.