Chapter 3

Sansa Stark POV

I'm taking Arya to the music store today, she's getting something for Gendry's birthday. We're stopping for some Starbucks on the way. "What do you want to get?" I ask Arya as we're waiting in the drive thru line.

"You're actually getting me something?" Arya asks.

"Of course," I say. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just didn't think you would," she says. "But I'll take a pineapple frozen lemonade."

We drive up to the speaker and I order our drinks. After we pay at the window, we head to the music store.

"What are you getting for Gendry again?" I ask Arya.

"He said he needed some guitar picks," she says. "I'm not great at gift giving or relationships in general, but I wanted to get him a little something for his birthday."

"That's sweet," I say. "Are things going better for you guys this time around?"

"I think so," she says. "He still seems wary about it, though."

"How so?"

"Well, he was telling me he almost didn't say yes to getting back together," Arya says. I'm shocked to hear that with how much Gendry loves her. "He said he didn't know if he wanted to because he had a hard time getting over me, and he didn't know if he could do the same thing again."

"Can I be honest?" I ask, she nods. "I get where he's coming from, you were pretty wishy-washy with him."

"I know," Arya says after a pause. "I guess I didn't realize how much that was actually hurting him."

"I don't mean to be a jerk about it," I say. "I just thought you were really aloof towards someone who loves you, and who you seemed to care about."

"I do really care about Gendry," she says. "I always will, I just didn't think I could be in a relationship and also be independent."

I get what she means. When I was her age, I was also a black and white thinker. I wasn't as stubborn as she is, but I definitely didn't see shades of grey and I didn't arrive at a middle ground easily.

"Well, I can't see him doing anything to keep you from that. If he does, you have my blessing to kick him to the curb."

She chuckles, and there's a long pause. "Have you told him you love him yet?" I eventually ask.

"No," she says. "But honestly, I think I might love him." That makes me so happy to hear, but I'm trying to hide my excitement.

"Then why don't you tell him that?" I ask.

"Because being vulnerable scares me," she says. "I don't want to get attached to someone."

"Well, you guys have already had sex," I say. "You should tell him if you love him, I'm sure he'd love to hear that from you."

"I know, I might," she says. "I'm just scared."

We go to the music store and Arya picks out the gift for Gendry. I stop and look at the Taylor Swift guitar books. If I ever did learn to play, I'd probably start with some of her songs. When Arya finishes, we head back to the car.

"Where did you tell mom you were going?" I ask her as we get into the car.

"I said I was hanging out with you," she says like it's obvious. "She knows we both left."

"Well what happens when I go home and you're not with me?"

"Can't you go hang out somewhere for a couple hours?" Arya asks me. I'm frustrated, I really wish she had run this by me before we left.

"Fine," I say. "But I'm going back home to get some homework. If mom is home, I'll just tell her you're waiting in the car."

"Okay," she says. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I say. "I really wish you had asked me about this first."

"I'm sorry," Arya says. "I really am, I just thought the plan was obvious."

We head to Gendry's place so I can drop her off. I would hang out there, but Myrcella isn't there so I'd just be sitting around. I want to support Arya's relationship because I like Gendry, but I wish she didn't just assume I would do anything she asks to help her sneak around.

Arya Stark POV

After getting Gendry's gift at the music store, Sansa drops me off at his apartment. "Thanks for helping me," I say. "Sorry I wasn't clear on the plan."

"It's fine," she says. "We just can't do it like this every time."

"I know," I say. "Thank you again."

"I'll be back in a couple hours," she says. "Have fun, be careful."

I chuckle. "Thank you," I say. "See you soon."

I walk up the stairs to his place and knock on the door. "Hey, babe," he says when he opens the door, and we hug. He picks me up slightly, he likes doing that. It reminds me that I'm short, but it's cute. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," I say, giving him a kiss. "Happy birthday, do you feel 19?"

We walk inside. "I don't know," he says. "I feel 16 sometimes, I feel 25 sometimes. It's weird."

"I'm not looking forward to that," I say as we walk into his room. "Being 15 is already extremely confusing, and it sounds like it's only going to get worse."

We sit on his bed. "It's not so bad," Gendry says. "In a way, I feel more sure of myself now than I ever did."

"I'm glad," I say. We start kissing and eventually lay down in bed. "Do you want anything special for your birthday?" I wink at him.

"I want to see what's in the bag you have there," he says, gesturing to the gift bag I set on the floor. "Is that for me?"

"Yeah," I say, sitting up and picking up the bag. He sits up too. "Open it." I hand him the bag and he takes the guitar picks out.

"Thank you," he says. "It means a lot that you remembered."

"It's no problem," I say. "I thought I should get you something, and I really wanted to."

"You're the best," he says, kissing me. He sets the picks on the nightstand and we start making out again. We eventually lay back down in the bed. "Do you want to?"

I just nod and we start fooling around, we eventually have sex. We're laying in bed and cuddling, but we aren't talking. I feel like this is the perfect time to say what I want to say.

"Gendry?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"I want to tell you something, but please don't make a big deal about it," I say. "Like seriously."

"I won't," he says. "What is it?"

"I mean it," I say. "Don't make a big deal about it."

"Okay, I promise."

"I love you," I say. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

There's a pause, he just smiles at me. For some reason, I'm worried he isn't going to say it back. "I love you too," he eventually says. "You know that."

"I know," I say. "But I'm finally ready to tell you that I love you too."

"I'm really glad," he says. "I was starting to think you never would."

"I wasn't sure when I would either, to be honest."

"Can I ask you something?" Gendry asks me after a pause.

"Sure."

"Why are you ready to tell me now?" He asks. "And why were you so hesitant to say it before?"

"I didn't really know what I was feeling, and I didn't want to say something like that if I wasn't sure that I meant it," I say. "I feel ready now, and I want to be honest so I don't lose you again."

We kiss. "You're not losing me."

We end up going to get a treat for Gendry's birthday since I still have some time before Sansa picks me up. We decide to go to a bakery for a brownie, that's what he wanted.

"Why didn't you decide to have a small party with your friends for your birthday?" I ask as we're waiting in line. "I know you said you might want to do that."

"It didn't work out with trade school and homework," he says. "Both Podrick and I got really busy, but we do want to have you guys over soon."

We sit down after ordering and start eating the brownie we decided to split. "How is trade school going, by the way?" I ask Gendry.

"I really enjoy it," he says. "I'm glad I decided to do that instead of a traditional college path, it definitely feels more right for me."

We finish up and then go back to his place, when we get there Sansa is pulling up. "I guess I have to go now," I say. "Bye, happy birthday. I love you."

"I Love you too," he says, giving me a kiss.

I get into the car with Sansa. "How was it?" She asks me as we start driving back.

"It was good," I say, taking a pause before I tell her what happened. "I told him I love him."

Sansa gasps. "Atta girl," she says. "Finally."

"Shut up," I say. "I'm glad I did, we don't have to talk about it."

Sansa chuckles. "Okay, fine."

I'm glad I finally said it, but I'm still uncomfortable with emotions like that. I think it was a good thing for me to say for Gendry and I's relationship, but I don't want to make a big deal about it.

Jon Snow Stark POV

Dany comes home from class one afternoon, I'm working on some homework. I was working in the library, but I wanted to come home and have a snack. "Hey," I say as she walks in. "How was class?"

"It was good," she says, sitting next to me. "How about you?"

"Pretty good," I say. "I already have a paper to work on, so I'm doing that."

"Am I bothering you?"

"No," I say. "I was just about to finish up and make some dinner."

"I had an idea I wanted to ask you about," Dany says as I close my laptop and stand up to go make myself some food. "It's just something I've been thinking about this week."

"What's up?"

"What if we went home for Labor Day weekend?" She asks. "Cersei wants to party with us Friday night, but we could leave Saturday and come back Monday."

"I don't see why not," I say. "Is there any reason why you want to do that?"

"I want to see my dad," she says. "And I'm not sure when we'll get a chance before Thanksgiving break."

"Okay," I say. "Let me go ask my dad before I forget since it's a little bit short notice."

"Of course," Dany says. "No problem."

I walk outside to give my dad a call and make sure he's okay with the plan. I don't see why he wouldn't be, but asking is always a good idea.

"Hello?" My dad asks when he answers.

"Hey dad, it's Jon," I say. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Dany and I wanted to come visit for Labor Day weekend," I say. "We wanted to come on Saturday and leave Monday, I just wanted to ask in case you guys were too busy. I can always stay with her if it's an inconvenience."

"Not at all," he says. "We would love for you to come visit, is there a reason why?"

"We just may not be able to come visit again until Thanksgiving break," I say. "She wants to see her dad."

"Yeah, no problem," he says. "We have that Monday off, and we have some time that weekend so that should be fine."

"Okay, thanks dad."

"Of course," he says. "Bye son."

I hang up and walk back inside. "What did your dad say?" Dany ask me.

"He said that works fine," I say. "We're all set, did you ask your dad?"

"I'll text him later and let him know I'm coming," she says. "I know he'll be fine with it."

"Okay," I say. We start making our food for dinner. "Did you ever hear back from that job?"

"Not yet," she says. "I hope I will soon, though. I'll call them if they don't reach out to me in the next couple days."

"Sounds good," I say. "I want to apply for the front desk job at the student center, they need people to check people in and stuff."

"That would be great," Dany says. "I hope we both get jobs soon."

"Me too," I say. "I'm glad we're at least looking into it."

"Yeah, me too," she says. "I'm nervous about working for the first time, but I know it'll be a good thing."

"I know we can do it," I say, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

I'm going to apply for the student center job tomorrow after my first class, hopefully I can hear back after Labor Day weekend. I think that would be a good job for me, and it wouldn't be too difficult of a starting point. That makes Labor Day weekend a good time for us to go visit, we can see our family before we get really busy.