Chapter 12

Sansa Stark POV

It's the final day of camping, we decided to only stay for 2 nights. That makes sense, there isn't much to do here over the course of multiple days. I'm honestly glad it's a short trip, I didn't want to stay here for a long time.

My siblings and I are walking to the lake to go swimming. I wanted it to just be me and Arya, but of course everyone wants to come. Well, Jon doesn't really want to, but my dad told him to watch over us as if we can't take care of ourselves.

Bran runs up behind Rickon and lightly pushes him, acting like he's going to push him hard into the water. This scares Rickon and he trips, almost falling. "I knew I could get you," Bran says. "You really thought I was going to push you."

"No shit!" Rickon yells. I've never heard him use that word. "You literally did!"

"Barely," Bran says. "I just wanted to see if you'd jump."

"Well I did, asshole," Rickon says. "Are you happy?"

Bran starts laughing. "Rickon!" Jon says. "What is with the language?"

"All my friends talk like that," Rickon says. "It helps me express myself."

"Well you better not talk like that in front of mom and especially not dad," Jon says. "He'll beat your ass."

"Oh, so you can say it?" Rickon asks.

"I'm an adult," Jon says. "And even I don't talk like that around mom and dad."

"I know better than to say it around mom and dad," Rickon says. "I thought you'd be chill."

"Well, I guess I'm not," Jon says. He walks over to me and Arya. "I can't let them think they can get away with stuff when I'm in charge."

Arya chuckles. "Good," she says. "You'd never let us talk like that."

"Damn straight," Jon says. "Don't even think about it."

"How am I supposed to express myself?" Rickon yells.

"Find another way," Jon yells back. "You're 12, you don't need to be expressing yourself."

I get in the water and Arya joins me. "Bran and Rickon are becoming little terrors," I say. "I never thought I'd say this, but they were so much sweeter before this past year."

"That's really saying something," Arya says. "At least we can ignore them."

We start doing swimming races to different points in the lake, and of course Arya beats me every time. She's always been way more athletic than me, she's way more outdoorsy.

We get out of the lake after swimming for a while, and Jon is sitting with his feet in the water. "Are you not going to swim?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Maybe later," he says. "I'm not really feeling it right now."

"Are you okay?" Arya asks. "You're always brooding, but it seems worse."

"Yeah," I say. "You usually love to swim."

"I guess I just miss Dany," he says. "I'll be fine."

"You should stay with Dany forever," Arya says. "You guys are perfect."

Jon smiles. "That's the plan," he says. "That's definitely the plan." He gets up and gets into the lake to start swimming.

After swimming, Arya, Bran, Rickon and I go back to the campsite where mom and dad are. Jon wanted to stay and swim a little bit.

"Where's Jon?" My dad asks.

"He wanted to swim a little by himself," I say. "Bran and Rickon were annoying him when we got there, so I don't blame him."

"Oh really?" My dad asks. "Is that so?"

"Sansa!" Rickon yells. "You don't have to be such a tattletale."

"I swear," my dad says. "You boys are getting on my last nerve on this trip, this may have to be the last one we take for a while."

The boys start yelling in protest and arguing with each other, even though my I know my dad is bluffing and they should know that too. Even though he's bluffing, I wouldn't mind if this was the last trip we took as a family for a while.

Dad is getting ready to grill some dinner, he's making ribs. I realize I'm actually not anxious about eating ribs, and it feels like I'm actually making progress with my eating disorder issues. You don't notice it as much when it's gradual, but it seems like things are actually getting better for me in that regard.

Jon Snow Stark POV

We're roasting marshmallows this evening again, that's one thing I don't mind about camping. I'm getting everything out with my dad, and Rickon is kind of helping but mostly just standing around. I'm glad I finally got some time to myself, my brothers were really testing me.

"Why did you stay behind and swim more?" My dad asks me. "You know you were supposed to watch your siblings."

"Dad, Sansa is 17 and Rickon is 12," I say. "You don't trust them even a little to find their way back here? It was a very brief walk."

"The girls, yes," my dad says. "Bran and Rickon, definitely not. I'm surprised they came back in one piece."

I feel like my dad should do some self-reflection if he trusts his youngest kids this little, not blame it on me or put all of the responsibility on me. Whatever, I'm used to is at this point.

My dad sits down on a log and I hand him the stuff to roast marshmallows. He puts a marshmallow on a skewer, and I sit next to him. "Sorry I stayed behind," I say. "I just wanted some time to take a breather."

"It's okay," my dad says. "Maybe I need to trust the kids more." He definitely does.

Rickon sits down next to my dad on the other side of the log, he's always really loved him. My dad helps him put a marshmallow on a skewer and they start roasting.

"Why didn't Robb come?" Rickon asks. "We never see him anymore."

"He's married and has a son now," my dad says. "It would've been really hard for him to bring his new baby here."

"Well couldn't he stay with whats-her-name?" Bran asks.

"The baby?" My dad asks. "Robb already works and goes to school, he probably didn't want to leave them just for a trip."

"That's stupid," Bran says. "He can't even come and see us?"

"You'll understand one day," I say to him. "When you have a family."

"I'm not having kids," Bran says. "That sounds awful."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," my dad says. "But you can make your own decisions when you're older."

Sometimes I wonder if my dad regrets having kids, or at least regrets having this many kids. I know he wishes I was never born, even though he's never said that and he never will.

I'm in the tent we're sleeping in after dinner, I got put in a tent with Bran and Rickon while my parents got a tent to themselves. I'm texting Dany, and luckily Bran and Rickon are a little calmer. I think they've tired themselves out.

"What are you doing?" Bran asks me.

"Texting Daenerys," I say. "What are you doing?"

"Reading comics," Bran says. "How is Daenerys?"

"She's good," I say. "You'll probably see her when we get back."

"I like her," Rickon chimes in. "She's sweet, and she seems to make you happy."

"That's really nice of you to say," I say. "She definitely does."

"She makes you less of a jerk," Bran says. "You know, minus this trip."

"You should be careful," I say. "You haven't been very nice yourself, lately."

"Well, I learned it from you."

Of course he can't just let me and Rickon have a nice moment, that's how boys are around that age. With everything I've done for them (especially Bran), you think he'd be a little more appreciative.

I love my siblings, but I'm glad I don't have to be as responsible for them as I used to be. It'll be even less when I move in with Dany, and I just have to hold on to that.

Arya Stark POV

Sansa and I got our own tent this year. The original plan was for mom to stay in our tent with us, but she wanted to be with dad and they decided we were old enough. I'm honestly glad, I didn't want to be stuck in such a cramped space with my mom. I feel kind of bad for Jon, though. He got stuck in a tent with Bran and Rickon, I know that must be annoying for him.

"I'm so glad we're going home tomorrow," Sansa says. "I'm ready for this trip to be over."

"We've only been here two nights," I say. "We've taken trips that are way longer."

"Well those were nicer," Sansa says. "There isn't even much to do here besides hike and swim in a dirty ass lake."

"Careful," I say. "Watch your language. We wouldn't want Jon to hear you." Sansa laughs at that.

"I can't believe Rickon talked like that in front of Jon," Sansa says. "We never would've gotten away with that."

"Yeah," I say. "But I bet we were like that a few years ago."

"We never got violent with each other," she says. "I at least know that much."

"Well, that's what boys do. You and I both know that, and Jon should know it too. I'm sure he roughed around with Robb when they were younger."

"It seems like the outgrew that pretty quick," Sansa says. "I guess they're just more mature than the rest of us."

There's a pause. "Are you excited to be a senior this year?" I ask Sansa.

"Yes and no," she replies. "I'm honestly just nervous."

"Why?"

"This means I'm the most popular girl in school now, and that's a lot of pressure. I'm also not that excited about having to actually apply for colleges and figure out what I want to do."

"I mean, modeling could still work out," I say. "You may not need to go to college."

Sansa laughs. "I doubt I'm getting a modeling contract right out the gate," she says. "But we can only hope."

"I'm going to miss Gendry," I say. "Even though we're just friends, I'm going to miss hanging out with him and leaving tech to smoke every day."

"Are you still going to do tech?"

"Yeah, it's fun," I say. "I'm just going to miss him a lot."

"You still have me, Myrcella and HP," she says. "You can always hang out with us."

I smile at her. I like that she likes to hang out with me, even though sometimes it feels awkward for me like I'm just a kid tagging along.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you after you graduate," I say. "I'm really going to miss you."

"Well we have another year," she says. "Let's not worry about it until then."

That comforts me a little, and we fall asleep. It'll feel so weird having Sansa out of the house when she graduates, I've only ever known living with her. I'll have my own room, but that'll basically be the only positive part. I won't even be able to sneak Gendry in since we aren't together anymore.

It does make me feel a little better that she also doesn't know what she wants to do in life, and she's closer to graduating than I am. I feel like I should have it all figured out since I get asked about it so much. It's not fun having no idea what I want to do with my life, I hope I figure it all out sooner rather than later.

A/N: I know I said this will be a mini-installment, but it may be as long as all the others… I just have so many ideas! Let me know what you thought of this chapter :)