Chapter 2

Arya Stark POV

I'm hanging out at Gendry's place, my mom thinks I'm at tech. I just tell her that I have tech one extra day than I actually do since she really doesn't want me hanging out at Gendry's apartment alone or even with Podrick here.

"You're birthday is coming up, right?" I ask him as we're chilling in his bed and listening to music.

"Yeah," he responds. "In just a few days."

"What do you want for it?"

He pauses. "I honestly haven't thought about it," he says. "Just to hang out with you would be enough." He runs his fingers through my hair.

"That's sweet," I say. "But I do want to get you something, even if it's something small."

"I need some new guitar picks," he says. "That would be great."

"Noted," I say. "If you want to do anything for your birthday, let me know."

"Going on a hike might be fun," he says. "It is pretty hot, though. So we'll see."

"I wouldn't mind that," I say. "That would be a fun thing to do."

"I don't really want to do much, honestly," he says. "Maybe we can hang out with Sansa, Podrick and Myrcella. I'll ask Podrick what he thinks about that."

"That sounds good, too," I say. "I'm really glad we're back together and you decided to give me another chance."

"I almost didn't," he says. "I thought about saying no when you called me."

"Really? Why?"

"Well I was surprised you called me to begin with," he says. "When you dumped me, I though that was it for us romantically."

"Why?" I ask. "You know I've always been attracted to you."

"I guess," he says. "But when you dumped me, you seemed set in your decision."

"I was," I say. "But I changed my mind."

There's a pause, I guess this is a little awkward to talk about for us. "Why did you decide to call me?"

"I was at an antique shop with my mom and Sansa," I say. "I saw these old pictures, and they reminded me of us. I felt like we would've found each other no matter the situation, and I didn't want to let go of what we had. I wanted to at least try to give it another go."

"Why did you call it off in the first place?" He asks. "I thought we had something real."

I sigh. "I didn't want to be tied down to a relationship," I say. "I told you that."

"I know," he says. "I guess part of me just thought it was something I did."

"It wasn't," I say. "It never was. And you didn't answer my question, why did you think about saying no when I called you and asked if we could try again?"

He sighs and takes a pause. "I didn't think I could handle losing you again," he says. "I didn't want to say yes if you were going to do the same thing again, you really hurt me."

"I'm sorry Gendry, and I'm glad you gave me another chance. I mean that."

"I'm glad I did too," he says, kissing my forehead. "I love you."

I smile at him. "I can't say what will happen in the future, but I know I'm willing to work hard on us this time," I say. "I'm sorry I didn't realize what I had until it was gone."

We kiss and end up sleeping together before I leave. I definitely enjoy that, but I'm also glad we had a serious talk. I'm glad he told me about his concerns, he definitely didn't have to be as nice about it as he was. I definitely deserved a little bit of tough love with the way I treated him before.

I'm not ready to say I love you yet, that hasn't changed. I hope he doesn't pressure me too much to say it or ask me about it, I'm just not ready yet. I see it as a serious thing, and I want to really mean it. I'm not letting go of him so easily this time, though. That's for sure.

Gendry Baratheon POV

Arya leaves, and Podrick is still in his room with Myrcella. I'm glad they're still happy and I'm glad she has a place here to get away from her family, but I've heard some things from his room that I definitely don't want to hear from my cousin.

She leaves later in the evening, and I walk out to where Podrick is on the couch. They eventually came out of his room to watch a movie. I sit next to Podrick, he's on his laptop. "Hey," I say. "Myrcella went home?"

"Yeah," he says. "She has to go home eventually, I just feel bad."

"Me too," I say. "You know she can be here as much as she wants, right?"

"Yeah, I know," he says. "I just don't want her to get in trouble with her dad, even though he doesn't seem to notice her much when he doesn't have a reason to get onto her."

"That does seem like a really tough house to live in," I say. "I know I never liked being around my uncle Robert much growing up."

"She doesn't like to spend too much time away from her sister," Podrick says. "Joffrey is definitely a dick to her, but he's worse to Shireen."

"I know," I say. "Shireen is the sweetest little girl. No one deserves to be treated the way they do, but she and Myrcella are two people who deserve it the least."

"I agree," Pod says. "I'm so in love with Myrcella, I want to stop all this for her."

That's really sweet, it's honestly adorable how much he loves her. "Do you think you'll marry her?" I ask Podrick after a pause.

"Definitely," he says without missing a beat. "I have no doubt that I will."

I didn't expect him to answer that question so quickly. "You seem so sure," I say. "I thought it would take you longer to think about that."

"Nah," he says. "I've known for a long time, she's the one."

"That's really sweet," I say. "I'm happy for you guys, you both deserve it."

"Do you think Arya is the one?" Podrick asks me.

I just nod. "Yeah," I say. "I think so, but don't tell her I said that."

"You think it'll scare her off?"

"It might," I say. "I know she knows I love her, but she still hasn't said it back to me."

"Does that bother you?"

"A little," I say. "But I don't want to push her to move to fast. I already lost her once, I don't want to lose her again if I can help it."

"I can tell you really love her," Podrick says. "I'm sorry she hasn't shown you the same feelings."

I shrug. "It is what it is," I say. "I really love her spirit and how independent she is, I wouldn't change that about her. It can get frustrating, though. I just want to be with her."

"Does Jon know you guys are back together?"

"I haven't told him, and I don't think she has," I say. "I hope he wouldn't be as angry this time, we're on better terms and he knows how much I care about her."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up about that," Podrick says. "You know how Jon is."

"Yeah, I do," I say. "Luckily I don't really care what he thinks."

"By the way," Podrick says. "I heard a little bit of what was going on between you and Arya before she left, you may want to tell her to quiet down next time."

"She has a hard time with that," I say, chuckling. "Plus, I hear you and Myrcella sometimes and I don't say anything."

Podrick blushes. "Well, you should," he says. "I would've liked to know." We laugh about that, even though it is a little awkward.

I'm really glad I live on my own, and I love living with Podrick. He's my best friend, besides Arya. I really do mean it when I say Myrcella can be here as much as she wants, I wouldn't mind if she and Arya moved in here. I know that isn't something that can happen, but I'd be open to it.

I also mean it when I say I don't care what Jon thinks about my relationship with Arya. He's made his feelings on it clear, and I'm fine with my decision on it. I love Arya, and nothing is changing that. I know she'll say it to me when she's ready, I just hope that happens sooner rather than later.

Daenerys Targaryen POV

I'm probably going to get a job soon now that I live on my own. I feel kind of behind because I've never had a job. I always thought it was nice that I didn't need one in high school, but now I just feel like I should learn how to be in a working environment.

I walk into a restaurant within walking distance of my apartment, I feel like that wouldn't be a bad place to start. They hire a lot of students, so they'd probably be willing to work with my class schedule.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The girl working at the bar asks when I walk up.

"Are you guys hiring?" I ask. "I've been wanting to look for a job since I'm back on campus now."

"Yeah," she says. "Are you a student?"

"Yeah," I say. "I'm in my second year."

"That's awesome!" She says. "Yeah, we are hiring for some positions. If you go to our website, there should be a section to apply."

"Okay, awesome," I say. "I'll do that when I get home, I just wanted to come in and ask first."

"I'm glad you did," she says. "I'm an assistant manager, so I'll definitely pass the message along. What's your name?"

"I'm Dany. Well it's Daenerys, but you can call me Dany."

"Nice to meet you, Dany," she says. "Call us if you have any issues applying for the job online. Our website can be finnicky sometimes."

"Okay, sounds good," I say. "Thanks for the information."

"No problem."

I go back to the apartment, Jon is in class so he's not there. I immediately get on the computer and find the restaurant's website, it's not hard to find the section where I can apply. As I'm submitting an application, my phone rings and I see that it's Cersei.

"Hello?" I say, picking up.

"Hey, what's up?" She asks.

"I'm applying for a job at the seafood place by campus," I say. "I figured I should get a job now that Jon and I are paying rent."

"You didn't have a job when you lived with us."

"Should I have gotten one?"

"No, I'm just messing with you," Cersei says. "If Jaime and I didn't have to pay rent, you certainly didn't have to."

"They have some hostess positions available," I say. "You should apply too."

"Why would I do that?"

"It wouldn't kill you to know what it's like to have a job," I say. "Even if you don't need it, you can save up money. It would be good for you."

"You think?" She asks after a pause. I hope I didn't offend her.

"Yeah," I say. "I want to be more responsible, plus it would be fun if we worked at the same place."

There's a long pause. "I'll think about it," she says. "I don't really see the point, but I guess you aren't wrong."

"I'll send you the link to apply for if you decide to do it," I say. "Let me know if you do."

"Okay," she says. "Are you still down to party with us this weekend?"

"Probably," I say. "I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Alright," she says. "I'll talk to you later then."

"Okay, bye."

I hang up and finish up my application. I hope she does apply, it would be good for her to know what working a job is like. I know she doesn't want to work in a restaurant or anything like that and she'd rather focus on getting a journalism job, but she really hasn't had to do much for herself.

Neither have I, and I want to change that. I had to learn a routine and how to take care of myself, but I never had to work for my own money. When I would volunteer with the homeless, I saw people in worse situations than me that worked five times as hard. I want to be more than just a rich girl with my dad's money, and Cersei should too.

Cersei Lannister POV

I don't love the idea of getting a job, I've never needed one. I probably won't apply, but I know Dany would want me to. We'll see, I feel like I shouldn't work a restaurant job if I don't have to. That may sound conceited, but I truly believe it.

I'm on my computer on the couch when Jaime walks in from class. "Hey," he says, sitting on the couch next to me and kissing my cheek. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," I say. "Just working on a story, how was class?"

"It was fine," he says. "I had some lunch with Tyrion."

"Is he doing okay?"

"Yeah," Jaime says after a pause. "I'm surprised you care."

"I just thought I'd ask," I say. "Never mind I guess."

"No, I'm glad you cared enough to ask," he says. "Sorry. He's doing well."

There's a pause as I keep typing. "Dany's applying for a job at that seafood bar place down the street," I eventually say. "She wants me to apply to, she sent me the link."

There's a pause, I can tell he didn't expect me to say that. "I think you should," he says. "That might be a good idea."

"You think?" I ask. "It's not like we need to work."

"It might be good for you," he says. "Get you into more of a routine and being more responsible."

"Why does everyone think I'm so irresponsible? Dany said the same thing."

"I didn't say that," Jaime says. "I just think it wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Are you going to get a job?"

"Probably not," he says. "And you don't have to, I'm just giving you my input."

I sigh, taking a deep breath. "I'll think about it," I say. "If I do get a job, working with Dany would be the best way to do it."

"Maybe it can help mend your friendship with her," he says. "I know you guys have grown apart, maybe this would help."

"How do you think it would?"

"She wasn't happy with how much you were partying," Jaime says. "You don't have to stop that, but maybe if you show that you guys can work together she'll forget about all that drama."

"Maybe you're right," I say. "I'll definitely think about it."

We make some dinner and end up sleeping together. I do miss Dany, but it's nice that Jaime and I don't have to hide and sneak around in our own place. That was kind of the whole reason we wanted to live together in the first place.

I probably will apply for this job. Jaime has a point, it might help me and Dany mend our friendship a little bit. Plus, having some extra money is never a bad thing. I want to show her I can be responsible, also. Not that I need to prove anything to her, but it's still something I want to show her and my family I can do.