Chapter 6

Jon Snow Stark POV

I'm hanging out with Sam and Tormund today, I'm actually pretty excited about it. It's been a while since all the guys have gotten together, I think it'll be good for us. I'm getting ready when my phone rings. I see that it's Gendry, and for some reason I answer it even though I don't want to.

"Hello?" I say.

"Jon? What are you doing today?"

"I'm about to go meet with Sam and Tormund," I say. "We're hanging out today. Why?"

"Can I tag along?" He asks. "Arya and I broke up, and I could use some time with friends. I get if you don't want to see me, but I just thought I'd ask."

I sigh and think about it. I think he has a lot of nerve asking to hang out, but I also have a feeling Arya's the one who broke up with him. If he broke up with her, I don't think he'd be reaching out to see me.

"Fine," I say. "We're meeting here at my place in an hour."

"Thanks, see you then."

Sam and Tormund show up thirty minutes later, I needed some time with them before Gendry shows up.

"Hey man," Tormund says when he walks in. "It's good to see you, it's been a while."

"How are you?" I ask him as we walk up to my room.

"I'm good," he says. "Living it up, you know?" I chuckle, because I honestly don't know.

"Gendry's coming over today to hang out with us," I say. "I hope that's okay."

"He is?" Tormund asks, sounding surprised. "I mean, that's fine. I just thought you guys were still on the outs."

"I'm still not happy with him," I say. "But he and Arya broke up and to be honest, I kinda want to know what happened."

Sam knows Arya and Gendry were dating and that I wasn't happy about it, but he doesn't know many details.

"I still can't believe he did that," Sam says. "I thought Gendry would have more sense than to go after someone that young."

"Me too," I say. "I trusted him and now I have no idea what his motives were when he helped me with her, I have no idea how long he felt that way about her or when it started."

It feels good to vent about this, I haven't really told Tormund and Sam much about this situation. They may not fully understand, but at least they can listen to me. Gendry knocks on the door shortly after, Tormund lets him in and they come upstairs to my room.

"Hey, Jon," Gendry says when he walks in. "How's it going?" There's still clearly some tension between us, but I can tell he's trying to mend things and maybe I should too.

"I'm good," I say. "Are you okay?" Gendry sits on the bed that used to be Robb's.

He shrugs. "I suppose," he says. "Just a little sad."

"What happened with Arya?" Sam asks.

"She um…" he pauses and clears his throat. "She said she didn't want to hold me back now that I've graduated and am headed to trade school."

"Oh, because she's still in high school?" Tormund asks.

"Yeah," Gendry says. "She's only about to be a sophomore, so I think she felt like she was way behind me."

She is way behind him, God she's so young. Hearing him say all that just reminded me of how young she really is.

"Are you guys still friends or did it get bad when she dumped you?" Tormund asks.

"We're still friends," Gendry says. "I can't imagine not being friends with her, she's one of my best friends."

"I'm sorry, man," I say. "I know you guys really liked each other for a while."

I don't want to feel bad for him because he really messed things up with our friendship. I still hate what he did, but he seemed to be good to Arya by taking things slow and he does seem really broken up about this.

"Yeah," he says. "I loved her."

"What?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he says. "I told her I loved her a lot, and she never felt ready to say it back. That was another reason she broke it off, she felt bad and she felt like if she was ready to say it then it would've happened sooner."

Wow, that's a surprise to me. I knew he was into her, obviously. I had no idea he felt that strongly for her. I wonder how far they went. I know they didn't have sex, my parents wouldn't have allowed it and they would've called the police if that had happened.

I had no idea he was so enamored with Arya, I thought it was casual. It makes me actually feel bad for Gendry and think maybe he didn't have the awful intentions I thought he did. He definitely should've still stayed away from her, but it seems like he felt much more deeply for her than I originally thought.

Gendry Baratheon POV

I'm glad I'm sort of back in the group again, even though there is still tension between me and Jon. I missed hanging out with them.

"Do you guys want pizza?" Jon says. "I can order some."

"I'll order it," Sam says. "What do you guys want?"

"Meat lovers'," Tormund jumps in.

"Is that okay with everyone?" Sam asks. Everyone just agrees or nods.

"So Sam," I say after he orders the pizza. "How are Gilly and your son?"

"Wonderful," Sam says. "They're really doing well, I'm so happy. I was actually thinking of proposing to Gilly sometime soon."

"Holy shit, really?" Jon asks. "You didn't tell me that."

"I wanted to keep it on the down low if possible," Sam says. "But I already got the ring and everything, I'm just waiting for the right time."

"That's awesome," I say. "Congratulations, man."

"I think it's about time," Tormund says. "You guys already have a kid and everything."

"We were dealing with a lot with Sam's birth and adjusting to work, school, and the new apartment," Sam says. "I didn't want to add that into everything."

"That makes sense," Jon says. "I know it was a lot to handle."

"Definitely," Sam says. "I just hope she says yes when I do ask her."

"I don't see how she couldn't," I say. "You guys have been going out for a long time, I can't picture either of you with anyone else."

Sam smiles. "I'll let you guys know when it happens," he says. "When the moment's right, I'll do it."

"I'm sure Ygritte will freak when it happens," Tormund says. "She pretty much sees you guys as couple goals."

"That's sweet," Sam says, chuckling. "I know what she means, but I wouldn't wish the things we've gone through on anybody. It made us stronger, but that doesn't mean it wasn't hard."

I'm not sure what he means by that, but I don't pry since it seems like a touchy subject. I'm glad he's happy, even though we are young and it is a pretty big step. I can't imagine getting married right now and definitely not having kids, but it's still nice to see.

"How are things with Dany?" I ask Jon.

"It's going really good," he says. "I got into her school, and we've been looking at places to move into when the summer's over. We actually applied to move into a studio apartment, I just haven't heard back from the leasing office."

"That's awesome," I say. "I'm happy for you guys. I didn't know you were moving schools, but that's great if it's a better fit for you."

"She really wants to move away from where she's living," Jon says. "She was roommates with Cersei and Jaime Lannister, and that apparently got really toxic with how much Cersei drinks."

"Ew, yeah I bet," Tormund says. "They're massive freaks."

"Yeah, but they grew up together," Jon says. "That's part of it, but we definitely want to take the next step of moving in together."

"Well either way, that's awesome," I say. "I'm happy for you guys."

It does make me a little sad to see Jon and Sam so lucky in love when I thought I had found that and Arya didn't feel the same way. I know she wasn't ready to become super serious, but it still hurts that she couldn't reciprocate the feelings I had for her.

Samwell Tarly POV

I get home and Gilly is playing with Baby Sam on a blanket in the living room. They look so cute, it fills my heart with so much joy. I want to walk into this every day for the rest of my life.

"Hey, babe," I say, sitting next to her on the blanket and kissing her cheek. "How was your afternoon?"

"It was good," she says, handing me Baby Sam. "How were the boys?"

"They were good, we just played video games and ate some pizza."

"Sounds fun," Gilly says. "Sam and I just played and went for a little walk."

"Lovely," I say, sitting on the couch with Baby Sam. Gilly sits next to me. "I missed you guys."

"We missed you too," she says. "But I'm glad you got some time with friends. I don't know if you noticed, but Sam's face lit up when you came in."

"I noticed," I say. "It's the best thing for me to walk in to."

There's a pause of silence, we're both just very content with each other and with our son. I love her so much, and I definitely want to be with her for the rest of my life. I know I said I was waiting for the right moment to propose, but I'm starting to feel like now is just as good a time as any.

"Can you take him?" I ask her, referring to Baby Sam.

"Sure," she says. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I say, handing the baby to her. "I'll be right back."

I go into our room and into my bedside table where I keep the ring. It's buried under some other stuff in case Gilly were to open the drawer for any reason, at least she would have a hard time finding it. It's also in a box that isn't obvious as to what it's holding.

I go back into the living room and sit next to Gilly. "Gilly," I say. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you, I just haven't found the right time."

She changes positions to hold Baby Sam more comfortably. I can tell she's a little confused, and I've never been more nervous in my entire life.

"I want to be with you for the rest of my life, I decided that a lot time ago," I say. "We've been through so much, I've never met a stronger person than you. You're the best mother and partner I could ever hope to find."

I think she realizes where this is going. "Sam," she says. "What are you doing?"

"Please just let me finish, and then you can say whatever you want," I say. She just looks at me, and I get onto my knee. "I love you, and I want us to build a life together. Will you marry me?"

She tears up, she wipes her eyes with one hand as she's still holding the baby. "Sam," she says. "I really didn't expect this. Of course."

I put the ring onto her finger and come up to give her a kiss. We kiss and I sit next to her on the couch. "I'm so shocked," she says. "Why now?"

"I was telling the guys how much I love you and Sam, and how I was planning to propose but I just hadn't found the right time. I wanted to ask you now, I didn't want to wait."

She's still teary-eyed. "That's so sweet, Sam."

"We don't have to get married immediately," I say. "We can wait as long as you want, I just wanted to ask you."

"I want to see what wedding planning entails," she says. "Then we can figure everything out. It doesn't have to be anything big, but I may want our friends and your family there."

"Of course," I say. "Whatever you want to do that we can manage."

"I love you," she says. "Sorry, I'm just so shocked."

"I love you more."

We kiss and order takeout to celebrate, we'll tell people tomorrow that we're engaged. We spend the evening watching TV and playing with Baby Sam, and I couldn't be happier.