Chapter 7
Arya Stark POV
Gendry picked me up from school and we went for a smoke by the creek, which my parents obviously don't know. They know he picked me up, just nottl that we went for a smoke. It has been a while since we did that, and it was nice.
"I wish I could've come over tonight," I say as Gendry is driving me home from the creek. "It would've been nice to hang out and maybe fool around a little."
"It really would've," he says. "But I have some work to get done and I know it's getting late for you, your parents will be wondering where you are."
We pull up to my house and I grab my bag from the floor. "Bye," I say, kissing him. "I love you."
"I love you too," he says. "Have a good night."
When I walk into the house, my parents are in the living room. They're rarely just chilling in there since they're so busy all the time, usually they're in their room if they're not at work or dealing with any of us. I walk into the kitchen to get some dinner since everyone already ate.
"Hey Arya," my dad says. "How was tech?"
"It was good," I say. "Busy, but not too bad."
I walk out with a plate and start to head to my room when my dad stops me. "Arya," he says. I stop and look at him. "Can you come here?"
I walk over slowly and stand in front of my dad, he's sitting in an arm chair. "What's up?" I ask.
"What's that smell?" He asks me. Shit, I was hoping they wouldn't notice since they've never caught me smoking or noticed the smell before.
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
"You smell like cigarettes," he says. "Can you tell me why that is?"
"I don't know," I say. "I didn't smoke."
"Arya," my dad says. "Come on. I've been around for a while, you might as well tell me the truth."
"Tell your dad, Arya," my mom says. I turn to look at her. "Being honest is always best." That's definitely not true.
I turn back to my dad. "Okay, Gendry picked me up and he had been smoking," I say. "He doesn't usually, he's just been really stressed about trade school."
"You wouldn't smell this strongly of cigarettes if you were just in the car with someone who smoked a little," my dad says. "Let me smell your breath."
"No," I say. "That's weird."
"Arya," my mom says more sternly. "Please do what he asks."
"Okay fine," I say. "I took like one drag. It was gross and I'll never do it again, I'm sorry." I start heading towards the stairs when my dad stops me.
"Arya, that isn't acceptable and you know that," he says. "Smoking is so bad for you, and you're only 15. Plus, we don't appreciate you lying to us." He would flip out if he knew I had my first cigarette in 8th grade.
"So I have to tell you every time I try anything?"
"We already extend a lot of grace to you by letting you go out with Gendry," my dad says. "Maybe he's not such a good influence for you, he's 19 and you're 15."
"I agree with your father," my mom says. "You're grounded for smoking, and we'll need to have a serious talk about Gendry soon."
I start tearing up, and then I stomp up the stairs and slam the door so they don't see me crying. "Are you okay?" Sansa asks when I walk in, she's doing her homework.
"I'm grounded for smoking," I say as I sit on my bed and start eating. "Mom and dad could smell it, and now they think Gendry's a bad influence. They want us to have a talk about him."
"Arya, I'm so sorry," Sansa says. "I hope you can still date him."
"Me too," I say. "I love him." There's a long pause.
"How are things with you?" I ask Sansa to take my mind off what just happened. "We haven't talked much since school started."
"Things are fine, but being cheer captain is a lot of work," she says. "And I'm worried about Myrcella."
"Really, why?"
"She's going through some shit at home," Sansa says. "Apparently Joffrey's gotten worse, and now Tommen is starting to act like him."
"How has Joffrey gotten worse?"
"Making fun of Myrcella and Shireen more," she says. "Hitting them where it really hurts about Myrcella's body and Shireen's scar."
"I alway knew he was the worst," I say. "Even when you were dating him."
"Yeah, I wish I had seen it sooner," she says. "Everyone seemed to notice it before I did."
I know it's hard to see red flags when you're into someone, but it's not like we didn't warn her. Joffrey gave off icky vibes from the start, and we all tried to tell her. I feel bad for Myrcella that she has to live with him, I hope things get better for her soon. I never knew Tommen that well, but he always seemed like a decent guy and it sucks that he's learning from Joffrey.
I also hope I can still keep dating Gendry. If my parents say I can't, I'll find ways to sneak out and see him anyway. It'll just be easier if I don't have to do that. I feel like someone's always trying to get in the way of us whether it's Jon, my parents or even me. I finally feel comfortable being vulnerable with him and we even have Jon's approval, I wish we could just be happy.
Jon Snow Stark POV
I got the job at the student center. I'm glad about that, it'll be something else to distract me from what's been going on with my family. Dany gets home from studying at the library and we start watching a show after making dinner.
"When do you start your job?" I ask her as we're getting the show ready.
"Sunday," she says. "Me and Cersei both start training that day."
"Are you excited?"
"I am," she says. "I just don't want Cersei to embarass me."
"I get that," I say. "I start at the student center on Monday, I'll be working short shifts after my classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'll also be working a little on Sundays since they're open every day."
"That'll be great," Dany says. "Look at us adulting."
My phone rings, and I see it's my dad. I really don't want to talk to him. "Great," I say. "My dad is calling."
"I think you should answer," Dany says. "At least to see what he wants, it might be important."
"I guess so," I say. I feel better having Dany here with me, so I answer the phone. "Hey dad, what's up?"
"Jon, I'm so glad you answered," my dad says. "I've really missed talking to you, but I understand why you're mad at me."
"Did you want to tell me anything important?"
"Just that I'm sorry," he says. "I should've told you about your mom sooner."
"Yeah, you should've," I say. "I feel like I can't trust you like I used to be able to."
"I completely understand that," he says. "I wanted to promise you that there will be no more lies between us."
"Really?"
"Yes," he responds. "If you want to talk about your mom next time you're in town, we can. You're old enough to know the truth, and you deserve to know where you come from."
I pause, I really never expected him to say that since he's been so vague about my origin story my entire life. I honestly want to know everything now, but I do think it's a conversation that's better for in person.
"I'd like that," I say. "We can talk about it over Thanksgiving break."
"Thanks dad," I say. "I got a job at the student center on campus. I start on Monday."
"That's awesome," my dad says. "What will you be doing there?"
"Checking student IDs and checking people in," I say. "Nothing crazy, but it'll be a great on-campus job and they're willing to work around class schedules."
"That sounds awesome," my dad says. "And how's Dany?"
"She's good," I say. "She's starting a hostess job at a nearby restaurant with Cersei on Sunday."
"That's great," my dad says. "Thanks for the update, I'm glad we got to talk."
"Me too," I respond. "Bye, dad."
We hang up. "Do you think that went okay?" Dany asks.
"Yeah," I say. "I'm not sure how much of that you heard, but he's going to tell me more about my mom next time we see each other."
"Yeah, I heard that," Dany says. "Are you ready for that?"
"I think I am," I respond. "I know it'll be a lot to take in, but I want to know my history. I feel like I deserve to know."
"You do," she says. "And I'll be here to support you no matter what the truth is."
"Thank you," I say. "You're the best."
"I love you."
"I love you more."
We start watching our show, I'm glad my dad and I had this talk and I'm glad he's willing to be more open with me now. I love my dad, and I'm sure he's done everything he has with the best intentions. I just still wish things were different, I wish I didn't have to deal with all of this because of one mistake he made.
Podrick Payne POV
I'm in my room when I get a call from Myrcella. "Hey babe," I say when I answer. She's sniffling, I can tell she's been crying. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Joffrey is just being so awful," she says. "I know I need to not be a baby, but it's so upsetting."
"You're not a baby," I say. "You have a right to be upset, I just wish I could do more to help you."
"Me too," she says, still crying. "I just don't know what to do anymore."
"What is he saying?" I ask. "I want you to tell me if you can."
"He called me fat, but that's normal," she says. "He started making gross comments about our sex life, saying he can't believe you're willing to touch me and that you must be really desperate."
She keeps crying, I'm so angry. I just want to kill him. He has no right to say those things, Myrcella is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Even if she wasn't, he has no right to be this disgusting.
"Why don't you come over tonight?" I ask. "It's Friday night, you can stay here for 2 nights while we figure out a plan."
"My dad is out of town this weekend," she says. "Joffrey was going to have some friends over, which I wasn't looking forward to."
"Then you should definitely come over," I say. "I'm worried sick about you."
"But what about Shireen?"
"I understand if you want to stay for her," I say. "But I wish you would come over."
There's a long pause. I can tell she wants to come over, and I really think it would be better for her if she did. "I'll come over," she finally says. "I really need to get out of here."
"Good idea," I say. "I'll be there in 30 minutes."
We hang up and I walk out of my room. I walk over to Gendry's room and knock on his door. "Yeah?" He asks.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," he says. I open the door and stand in his doorway. "What's up?"
"I'm going to pick up Myrcella," I say. "She's going to stay here this weekend if that's okay."
"Yeah of course," Gendry says. "Is everything okay with her?"
"Not really," I say. "Joffrey and Tommen are being awful to her, and she can't stand it for much longer."
"Oh God," he says. "I hate that bastard."
"Me too," I say. "We're going to figure out a plan this weekend."
"Good idea," Gendry says. "She can stay as long as she wants."
"Thanks man," I say. "I'll be back."
I head out and drive to Myrcella's house. When I pull up, she's already waiting outside on the porch. She gets up and gets in the car after I pull up.
"Hey," I say. "You okay?"
"I'm better now," she says. "Sorry for putting all this on you."
"It's my job to take care of you," I say. "I'm more than happy to help."
We get back to my place and she immediately starts crying. "Oh, Cella," I say. "I hate seeing you like this."
"I just don't know what to do," she says. "I feel so broken."
"Don't worry," I say. "We'll figure out a plan, I promise."
"I feel so bad for leaving Shireen," she says. "She probably hates me."
"She doesn't, she loves you more than anything," I say. "Let's go inside so you can relax."
"Can we make some food?" She asks. "I haven't eaten all day." That breaks my heart, I'm holding back tears.
"Sure," I say. "Or we can go somewhere for food if you want."
"That's okay," she says. "I really don't want to go anywhere."
"Okay," I say. "Then let's just go inside."
"Thank you Pod," she says. "I really do love you so much, more than anything."
"I love you more," I say. "More than you'll ever know." I mean that, she'll never know how much I love her because I can't even articulate it myself.
We get out and walk into the apartment. I love her so much, seeing her like this honestly makes me want to die. I wish she could just stay with me forever, but I know it's more complicated than that. We'll figure out a plan together, I'm keeping her safe if it's the last thing I do.
A/N: Starting next week, updates will be less frequent since I'm starting a new job. I'll still be updating this fic, just not as often. Just wanted to let you guys know let me know what you thought of this chapter! :)