Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sansa Stark looked into the mirror at her perfectly made up eyelids before grabbing a tissue. She smudged her eye shadow and the liner just a touch, hoping to achieve the right amount of smokiness as ABBA played over the radio in the background.

‘Friday night and the lights are low

Looking out for a place to go…’

Young and sweet and out on her own at last, she applied her red lip stick and puckered up in the mirror. She brushed out her long auburn hair and decided to wear it down tonight. Dressed in her violet Boho skirt and cream-colored crocheted tank top, Sansa slipped on her sandals just as Jeyne opened her bedroom door without knocking.

“Jerk Off has arrived,” her friend grumbled, fiddling with one clasp of her denim overalls.

Sansa frowned and picked up her straw bag, throwing in her sunglasses and a scarf. “Don’t call him Jerk Off.”

“But he is. I won’t call him that to his face at least.”

Sansa sighed and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t wait up.”

“Ugh…please tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”

“Stop dipping in my kool-aid.” Jeyne crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. “We’re not, okay? You know I’m not like that. This is only our third date.”

“And last date?”

“We’ll see,” she groaned. “He seemed so promising at first.”

“Lots of them do,” Jeyne said while rolling her eyes. “But you look beautiful…like a princess.”

Sansa snorted back a laugh. “Thank you.”

“But Joffrey’s a toad. No amount of kissing will turn him into a prince.”

She didn’t want to admit that her friend might be right. So, she ignored the comment and said, “We’re going to a party in Malibu so we’ll probably not be back until late.”

“Yeah, okay. Call me if you need anything, Sansa…like for me to introduce his face to my fist.”

Sansa laughed, bid her friend good-bye and walked into the living room of the apartment they shared expecting to see her date. But he wasn’t there. She could hear him though. Or rather, she could hear his Stingray rumbling outside in the parking lot.

He didn’t even come to the door?

It was only their third date and he hadn’t even bothered to come to the door. Sansa drew a deep breath at the little spark of annoyance she felt and greeted the familiar stab of disappointment instead. Weren’t there any decent men around here?

Joffrey had seemed so dreamy with his blonde locks and emerald green eyes when he’d kept coming into the record store where she worked part time. When he’d asked her out, she’d been ecstatic. He was handsome and appeared to be genuinely into her then. But by their second date, the shine was already starting to wear thin. He was not the handsome prince she’d imagined.

She’d read somewhere that your guy’s kisses shouldn’t leave you sated, they should leave you wanting more. She figured the fact that she felt a gnawing desire to run away whenever Joffrey kissed her was probably a bad sign.

Let’s see how tonight goes. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

The Vette’s rumbling V8 matched Sansa’s tummy as she climbed into the passenger seat. Joffrey was wearing a crimson and gold paisley shirt and raised his Wayfarer’s to look her up and down. His eyes lingered on her exposed shoulders and chest but he only sniffed by way of comment. He’d made mention of her wardrobe on their last date.

“This is Southern California, Sansa. You don’t have to dress like Laura Ingles from Portland,” he’d chortled. “Aw, don’t look like that. I’m joking.”

That probably should’ve been our very last date, she thought with a sigh.

But, she’d been shocked and embarrassed even if he’d claimed he wasn’t serious. She’d always considered herself quite stylish but she supposed most of her clothes were a bit modest for Santa Monica.

“So where exactly is this party?” she asked after enduring a sloppy kiss and telling herself she could endure tonight. And break it off tomorrow. She was dreadfully nervous at the thought of a scene and it put her ill at ease. She was beginning to think there was something about Joffrey that didn’t particularly put a girl at ease in general.

“It’s at Oberyn Martell’s mansion,” he said smugly.

“Oberyn Martell? The singer?!”

“Yeah. He’s an old acquaintance of my mother’s.”

“He’s quite a big name on the disco scene, isn’t he?” she asked, wanting to show Joffrey that she was up on the music industry that she hoped to catch a break in.

“Yeah…among other things,” he smirked.

She wanted to ask what that meant but by then Joffrey was approaching the Santa Monica Freeway. She grabbed her sunglasses and put the scarf over her hair in an attempt to keep it from being so windblown as he tore up the pavement heading west towards the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jon Snow huffed into the phone. “I was trying to finish something I was working on but I’m coming.”

He looked over at his music and guitar. Part of him would rather stay home tonight and finish the song he’d started writing. He’d had a dream last night about a girl…one he’d never met. The image was sort of fuzzy once he woke up but she’d had red hair and blue eyes and they’d taken a walk together under the stars. Never one to ignore the muse when it came to music, Jon had started composing a melody on his guitar and scribbling a few words down on and off all day.

“Okay, Rhae. I’m getting dressed. Tell Uncle Oberyn I’ll be there, alright?” He reached for his black vest and pants but the cord wouldn’t stretch any further. “I’ll catch you on the flip side,” he said before hanging up.

He yanked on his white, long-sleeved henley and pants before slipping on a black vest. He ran his fingers half-heartedly through his curls in an attempt to tame them before giving up on that and grabbed the keys to his ’68 Charger. The Eagles were singing ‘Hotel California’ when he started the engine and headed towards his uncle’s place.

‘On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air…’

Oberyn wasn’t really his uncle. He was his father’s ex-brother-in-law but while Jon refused to call his father anything but Rhaegar, Oberyn had been Uncle Oberyn since Jon was a kid. His mother’s short-lived affair with her boss had resulted in Jon’s birth and Rhaegar and Elia’s scandalous divorce but the Martells had always treated Jon and his mother like family. Jon loved them…even if they were a bit different.

Oberyn’s acting career before he’d decided to try his hand at becoming a singer was just one example. The Red Viper had been a famous porn star before he’d started crooning love songs for the Top 40 crowd. He’d kept his hand in the other business though. He’d just moved behind the camera a few years back. ‘Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken’ was his latest release in the Dornishman’s Wife series.

Jon arrived at the rambling stucco and glass rancher just as the party was starting up. His half-sister Rhae was putting out the chips and dips, looking lovely in a striped wrap dress and heels.

“No girl?” she asked by way of a greeting.

“No girl,” he shrugged, annoyed at the way he could feel his cheeks getting hot. His sister was far too invested in his love life…or lack of.

“Well, that could change tonight,” Rhae snickered.

“How so? Wait. Is this one of Oberyn’s special parties?” he whispered.

“Just for the ones who want to participate.”

“Holy shit,” he muttered.

“Where are your keys?”

“In my pants pocket.”

“You might want to keep them there unless you’re interested in taking a bored housewife home.”

“God, no!” he shuddered.

Oberyn and Ellaria enjoyed what some might call an open relationship. Swingers would be another term one could use. And occasionally, Oberyn had been known to host key parties. Male guests would toss their car keys into a bowl together and, at the end of the evening, their wives or girlfriends would fish out a random pair and go home with to whomever said keys belonged.

Jon did not judge his uncle for his lifestyle but he would never participate in it either. He’d seen first-hand the ways his mother had struggled because of one bad choice when it came to love. And, he’d much rather meet the kind of girl he could bring home to meet her eventually than have meaningless sex with someone else’s lover.

“Jon!” the man himself shouted a minute later. Oberyn crossed the room with his patented swagger that made Jon worry he might someday have trouble with his hips. Wearing tight black slacks with flared bottoms and a purple silk button-up with a pointed collar, Oberyn sauntered his way across the room with a cat-like grin gracing his moustached face. “I’m so glad you have come tonight. I’ve been talking to the most exquisite blonde. She’s new in the business and…”

“Which business?” Jon asked skeptically. He could tell by Oberyn’s smirk which business and said, “No, thanks. I’m going to find a beer to keep me company.”

Dodging the array of bean bags that had been thrown out to offer more seating, Jon passed through a rapidly growing crowd towards the kitchen. Luckily, it was blissfully empty at the moment.

He heard the opening strains of Pilot’s hit playing and wondered how soon he could make an escape. He’d rather go back home and write about the red-haired girl in his dream than talk to Oberyn’s exquisite blonde. Maybe he’d dream about her again.

He opened the Frigidair and pulled out a beer. When he straightened and turned, he thought he might have been having a hallucination. Had he fallen asleep on his feet? He wasn’t sure how else to explain the vision standing right in front of him.

'Oh ho ho it’s magic, you know,

Never believe it’s not so

It’s magic, you know,

Never believe it’s not so…'

“Hey,” the vision spoke. Or was she his dream girl come to life? “Could I ask you to grab me two sodas?” Momentarily lost in her blue eyes, Jon stood there staring far too long…with his mouth hanging open. “Unless that’s a problem…” she added. He gave his head a subtle shake. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I, um…” Get it together, Space Cadet. “I’m soda. I mean…shit. Uh, sorry.” He drew a deep breath. “I’m fine and I’ll get you two sodas.” He rolled his eyes at himself as she started to giggle.

“I’m Sansa…Sansa Stark,” she said, holding out her hand.

“I’m Jon Snow,” he replied, shaking her hand.

“Are you friends with Oberyn and Ellaria’s?” he asked, cringing slightly. She looked like a princess. Or an angel. And, while devilish thoughts were creeping into his head, he really hoped she wasn’t a starlet in one of Oberyn’s pictures.

“Oh, no. My date brought me here,” she answered.

Jon’s grimace became a full-fledged frown before he remembered his manners. Of course, a girl like her would have a date. But why did she appear to be grimacing too when she said it?

“Well, here you go,” he said, handing over the sodas and figuring he’d seen the last of her. I’ll just go home and hope you visit me in my dreams.

‘Dream on

Dream on

Dream on

Dream until your dreams come true…’

She didn’t seem in a hurry to go though. She sat down at the little table in the breakfast nook and opened her soda. They were still alone in the kitchen. She might have come with a date but there wasn’t anything that said he couldn’t talk to her, right?

“Sorry,” she said with a shrug when she realized he was staring at her. “I don’t know anyone else here and I kind of thought I might…”

“Hide out for a bit?” he laughed. She nodded and he joined her at the table. “Yeah, I’m the same way honestly. So, are you from around here?”

“No, I’m a Freshman at USM.”

“So you’re eighteen…nineteen?” Please be eighteen, he thought. He was twenty-two and not about to mess around with an underage girl, no matter how beautiful she was.

“I’m eighteen. My roommate and I moved down here from Portland a couple of months ago.”

“No shi…I mean, really?! My mom’s from Oregon…Salem. We lived up there for a few years when I was a kid.”

“Oh, far out,” she smiled.

“I liked it. My mom moved back there last year.”

“I miss it,” she said wistfully. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like it here alright. It’s just a different scene.” He nodded. “So, what do you do?”

“Me? I’m trying to get into music.  But not disco. I play the guitar and write music. At least I’m trying to.”

“Oh, that’s great. I want to be a singer actually,” she admitted. Suddenly, Jon really wanted to hear her sing but knew it’d be weird if he asked. She glanced around the spacious avocado-green kitchen and nervously swept her fire-kissed hair back out of her face. “I feel like a sore thumb here.”

You don’t remotely look like one. “How come?”

“Everybody’s kind of got this…way, you know? I’ve never been to a house like this…or a party like this. It makes me realize how naïve I am. I told my parents I wanted to find myself but I really just feel sort of lost.” She bit her lip and looked down at the table. “I’m sorry. That’s a bit heavy to lay on someone you just met.”

“No. You’re perfectly fine. I get what you’re saying but I have a feeling you already know who you are. You just wanted a bit of adventure.”

“I guess,” she smiled. “My friend and I came down here hoping to get discovered while we take some classes and do a bit of local theater but so far, no luck. My date said his mom knows Mr. Martell but I’m not sure how well.”

“Oh, really?” Jon smirked. Oberyn knew lots of people. That didn’t necessarily mean he cared for them.

“How do you know the Martells?”

“He’s my uncle.”

Her pretty blue eyes got wider. “So, is he helping you with your career?”

“He’s offered but I prefer to do it myself.”

She nodded as if she understood and he liked her all the better. A lot of people didn’t get why he wouldn’t let his famous uncle open doors for him but he wanted any success he had to be something he’d achieved rather than something that was handed to him.

“Technically, he’s not my uncle. Well, it’s complicated.” He didn’t ordinarily like to get into his interesting family dynamics but she was sweet and easy to talk to. And gorgeous.

But before he could say anymore, some blonde guy burst into the kitchen. “What are you doing in here?” he asked…rather rudely in Jon’s opinion.

“I was, uh…getting you a soda.”

“A soda?”

“You said you wanted Coke.”

“Coke…yeah, I said that,” he snickered. “You’re a regular little goodie two-shoes, aren’t you?” He proceeded to pat her on the head.

Sansa bristled and Jon couldn’t blame her. In less than a minute, Jon had decided this guy was a complete dick. There was no way he was friends with Oberyn, no matter who his mom was. And while Jon knew several people here probably liked to party with the powder, he suspected Sansa wouldn’t at all. He happened to agree with her.

Her eyes flashed angrily for a moment and Jon would’ve liked to see her tear him a new one. But instead, she shot a winning smile his way and said, “Joffrey, this is Jon. He’s Oberyn’s nephew and been keeping me company.”

Joffrey the Jerk gave the merest nod and said, “Hey, man. Come on, Sansa. The party’s not in the kitchen.”

“It was lovely meeting you, Jon,” she said reluctantly before she rose to follow her date.

Jon took a long sip of his beer after they left. He hadn’t liked that guy one bit and not just because he was on a date with Sansa. Sure, he might’ve been a little jealous but there was something about Joffrey that didn’t sit well. She was young and sweet, away from home and new to this scene. Maybe it was ridiculous considering they’d just met but he felt the strangest pull to keep an eye on her…from a distance at least. He wouldn’t be a weirdo and follow her around all night. He’d just be watching.

Jon set down his drink and decided he’d spent enough time hiding in the kitchen, too.

Sansa spent the next two hours listening to strangers carry on over things that didn’t matter one bit to her. Oberyn Martell and his lady Ellaria were polite but they obviously belonged to a far different crowd than her parents back in Portland. She thought of home with a sigh. She missed her parents and her siblings. Sometimes, she wondered if her dreams of making it big in music were really worth all this.

She also wished Joffrey had never found her in the kitchen. Meeting Jon, however briefly, had been the best part of the evening thus far. He was handsome. She liked his soft, dark curls and full, firm lips. But even better, he was kind, the sort of guy she wished she was here with.

She hadn’t spied him since the kitchen and wondered if he’d left. She couldn’t blame him if he had but it would’ve been sweet to see him again. She’d even considered searching for him or asking their host about him but Joffrey had been unusually attentive since finding her with Jon. However, it wasn’t a courteous or caring sort of attention so much as she felt as if she were being shown off or put on display.

At the moment, she was alone though as Joffrey said he needed to get something. She carefully edged her way through the crowd hoping to find Jon. Unfortunately, she only found Joffrey again.

“Here, I got this for you. Try it,” Joffrey said, offering her a cocktail. It was blue. She hadn’t a clue what it was and she wasn’t much of a drinker.

“I wasn’t really planning on…”

“Come on,” he said more insistently, pressing it into her hands. “It’ll loosen you up a bit.”

Sansa supposed she might come off a bit awkward given her discomfort with the crowd. She’d tried her best to be courteous and friendly though. Others seemed to be responding to her well and she didn’t think she needed loosening up. She planned to refuse the offered drink again.

But then she didn’t have to...

Without warning, someone ran into her, knocking the drink from her hand.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” a man’s voice said as she saw the blue drink go flying and soak a section of shag carpet. She felt warm hands grasp her wrists before she could stumble and looked up into the lovely dark eyes she’d been hoping to see again.

“You fucking spaz! Why’d you do that?!” Joffrey shouted angrily. Sansa was too pleased to find it was Jon who’d knocked the drink out of her hand to pay much attention to Joffrey’s reaction.

“You alright?” he asked kindly as he released her wrists.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said…a bit breathlessly.

“Sorry. I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going,” Jon said, turning to Joffrey. It was an innocuous sort of thing to say but Jon did not look remotely sorry. He looked furious as he stared at Joffrey with a steely look in his grey eyes. His jaw was clenched and there was a noticeable tension between the two guys.

Like a light bulb had been flipped on, Sansa’s suspicions were raised. She’d heard stories, stories about girls at parties having stuff slipped into their drinks.

But Joffrey’s flash of temper faded quickly and when he said, “No problem, man. I’ll get you something else if you like, Sansa,” she supposed she was reading too much into things.

“I’d like a soda.” I’d like to leave…not necessarily with you, she thought as she observed Jon watching Joffrey walk away.

Part of her felt guilty for being overwhelmingly happy at the chance to speak with Jon again when she was here with another guy but she figured a third (and final) date with Joffrey didn’t equal a committed relationship or anything.

She turned towards Jon with a bright smile, hoping to come up with something stunning to say…something that might get him to stay and talk with her again. But he was frowning and still staring after Joffrey.

“Jon?”

“Excuse me,” he said gruffly and strode away.

Sansa felt a million times more disappointed now that she had earlier when Joffrey had picked her up without coming to the door. Was romance and courtesy just a fairy tale down here? Or anywhere?

Downcast and confused, Sansa sought a wall to decorate all by herself as she waited non-too-eagerly for her date to return. It was a few minutes later when Joffrey came back. He did not come bearing a soda and looked decidedly ruffled.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Fine,” he barked at her. “It’s about time to get out of here anyway.”

Before she could say anything else, their host made an appearance. Oberyn had a charming smile as he held up a burnished copper bowl. “The party’s not over yet but Ellaria and I wanted to make sure we got around to everyone in case some wanted to slip away early,” he purred with a wink.

Oberyn held the bowl in front of her and Joffrey’s mouth twisted into a smirk. Sansa peered curiously inside. It was filled with various sets of keys. Sansa looked at Joffrey uncertainly. Was she supposed to find his keys? She hadn’t really ever paid any attention to them.

“Which ones are they?” she asked Joffrey.

He said nothing. He only looked amused.

However, Oberyn said, “Choose any keys you like, lovely girl.”

Her cheeks flamed in mortification as she realized what he meant. She’d heard of this sort of thing as well. She’d thought it was a myth.

“I’m, uh…Joffrey, what are you…”

“At least this way I won’t be stuck taking home a girl who’s knees are superglued together,” Joffrey said cruelly. “Go on, Sansa. Pick a set of keys. You’ll get a ride home with someone…maybe even your knight in shining armor.”

Sansa’s eyes began to well up with tears. She cursed herself for being so hurt by an asshole like him. He didn’t deserve her tears. He was too nightmarishly awful for words. But it cut her to the quick to be embarrassed this way and to have missed a chance with Jon over this guy.

She’d have to call Jeyne to drive all this way to pick her up. She’d called him a toad earlier. She could only imagine what her friend would call him now.

Joffrey was still giving her that awful smirk.

But, Oberyn’s face morphed from polite confusion to anger. “You put your keys in the bowl without her consent?!” he began indignantly. “Get the fuck out of my house, you little shit! Sansa, I’ll make sure you have a ride…”

What happened next was completely unexpected…and yet not. Maybe he really was a knight in shining armor. Or a prince.

Jon had appeared by her side once more. “You son of a bitch!” he snarled before he hauled off and decked Joffrey. One punch and he was down, crying on the floor about his mother and cradling his jaw. No one around them looked remotely sorry for him. Sansa certainly wasn’t.

“I’ll drive her home,” she heard Jon tell Oberyn before she felt his hand take hers gently. “That is…may I drive you home?”

She blinked back her tears and swallowed hard. “You may,” she replied. “Never call me or come near me again,” she told Joffrey before she let Jon guide her outside.

He’d followed Joffrey down a long hallway in an attempt to confirm what he suspected. He was already talking to a shady guy Jon had seen earlier and slipping him some cash. It didn’t prove anything but it had been enough to make Jon snap.

He had barreled right past the dealer and pinned Joffrey to the wall by his throat. “Whatever games you’re playing, they stop right now,” he’d growled.

Joffrey had been gasping, his eyes full of fear. He’d heard Rhae come up behind him, begging him to stop as he squeezed tighter. Never before had he lost his cool like that.

“Jon…please stop!” his sister had said. Realizing he couldn’t very well choke the guy to death no matter what he suspected him of, he’d let go.

“I could have you charged with assault!” Joffrey had wheezed as he’d massaged his throat.

“I could see you charged with something worse!” Jon had shouted back. He didn’t have any evidence other than what Joffrey might have just bought and the stained carpet in the living room but the threat had been enough to frighten Joffrey from saying anything else. “She’s a sweet girl. I think it’s time you drove her home…or I will,” he’d said heavily as the rush of angry aggression left him. What would Sansa think of him attacking her date when he had no proof of a damn thing?

Joffrey had looked around at the gathering of curious on-lookers and said, “Chill out, Smokey. I haven’t done a thing to her. And we’re leaving anyway. This party’s a snooze.”

Rhae, wondering what the hell had got into her kid brother, had prevented him from following Joffrey right away. But when he’d made his way back to Sansa and witnessed the rest, he’d lost it all over again.

And now, here he was alone with the beautiful girl he’d been watching from a distance all night and he hadn’t the foggiest notion of what to say.

She had her arms folded together, hugging herself, as she followed him down the long driveway to his car. He kept casting glances over his shoulder, looking back to see if she’d disappeared like the girl in his dream had upon waking. But she was still there and there was still a hint of tears in her eyes. He hated that. He wondered how long she’d dated Joffrey and how serious it had been. He wouldn’t pry though. She’d been through enough.

“Um…this is me,” he said as they reached his black Charger. He opened the passenger side door for her and heard her hitched breath. She looked like she might really cry now.

She didn’t though. She just said, “Thank you, Jon” and climbed in. When he got behind the wheel, she said, “I hope I didn’t ruin your plans for tonight.”

“I didn’t have any plans.”

“Well, you’re stuck driving me home. I’m sorry if I kept you from, you know…taking someone else home.”

His eyes widened as he caught her drift. “No, no! I wasn’t…I don’t do that sort of thing. My keys have been in my pocket all night.”

“Oh.” She inhaled sharply. Her voice broke when she said, “Of course, they have. I’m sorry I assumed you were…”

“No, it’s okay. I can understand why you might…”

He trailed off as she started to cry softly. He wished he could comfort her but didn’t want to seem like a creep. He settled on reaching for her hand. He was relieved when she accepted it.

“Where am I headed?” he asked a few minutes later when she’d stopped crying and he’d started the engine. The radio was playing.

‘Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face

And stars fill my dreams

I’m a traveler of both time and space

To be where I have been…’

He started to turn it off when she stopped him. “No, don’t. My brother loves Led Zeppelin. I like this song.”

“Me, too.”

She started giving him directions as he pulled onto the road. Turned out, she didn’t live that far from him.

“Wait…you work at the record store on Montana?”

“Yeah.”

“I just…I think I saw you in there once a few weeks ago.”

He had. He was sure of it now. He remembered the beautiful redhead who’d been waiting on another customer as he'd tried to decide if he wanted to make a purchase just to have a chance to talk to her. He’d chickened out and left. She was that girl…and the girl from his dream. He’d never thought much about fate and whether it existed or not until tonight. He was sure now. It was like magic.

They drove down the highway talking in the dark as the radio played song after song. He even got to hear her sing. She didn’t sound a bit like Elton John but her voice was heavenly all the same.

‘Hold me closer, tiny dancer

Count the headlights on the highway

Lay me down in sheets of linen

You had a busy day today…’

As they got closer to Santa Monica, she grew more serious again. “That was our third date and I was already thinking it would be our last before we even reached the party. But I didn’t realize…”

“What an asshole he was.”

“No,” she laughed. “I guess I’m just a foolish…”

“Don’t,” he interrupted. He wasn’t going to let her beat herself up.

“I feel it.”

“Well, you shouldn’t. Guys can come across one way, lure you in by being nice and then turn out to be the opposite. That goes for some girls, too. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right. Thank you, Jon. Thanks for taking me home and for everything earlier. I guess I am grateful to Joffrey for something.”

“Yeah?” he asked with a grin.

“I wouldn’t have met you if he hadn’t drug me to that party.”

“Well, I guess he was good for something then because I’m definitely grateful to have met you.”

An evening that had gone from promising to awful wound up becoming the best night of Sansa’s young life. It was magical.

Jon didn’t end up driving her home right away. As they got closer to home, her stomach grumbled loudly. He raised his eyebrows and chuckled. She admitted she’d never had any dinner.

“I was too nervous to eat.” I’m not nervous now though. There was a giddy little excitement thrumming through her but it wasn’t the same as earlier.

“I know a place we can go,” he smiled. “It’s nothing fancy.”

“I don’t need fancy.”

An hour later, they were strolling along the Santa Monica Pier under the lights with the stars shining up above. He’d dug his denim jacket out of his trunk for her against the falling nighttime temperatures before he’d bought them hot dogs from one of the local vendors.

Now, they were holding hands and stealing shy glances at one another as they continued talking. She could hear strains of Stevie Wonder crooning from a nearby shop with its doors propped open.

‘I feel like this is the beginning,

Though I’ve loved you for a million years…’

She decided to take it as a sign, if she’d still needed one, that something worthwhile had come out of this night. Something very worthwhile.

When he drove her home afterwards, he darted around to open her door again...like a gentleman.  She already knew he'd be someone she’d be proud to introduce to her parents.

They were both quiet as he walked her up to her door. He was studying his boots and she was flushed. She dug her keys out of her bag. She wanted to see him again. She worried if inviting him in would seem too forward.

“So, um…” He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and looked up at her. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

“I am,” she said in a great rush.

“Would you wanna go out with me then? I’d love to take you out.”

“I’d love to go out with you.” His eyes crinkled up adorably with his smile but he was still standing there with his hands in his pockets. He’d had to work up the nerve to ask. She could be brave, too. “I had a great time with you tonight, Jon,” she said before she leaned towards him.

Her hands grasped his vest as she pressed her lips to his. She felt his hands at her waist, lightly holding onto her as he kissed her back.

Unexpectedly, the apartment door flew open. Sansa gasped and jumped back from Jon who was startled as well. Her dear friend was standing there in her pajamas with a bowl of Captain Crunch in her hands. She quickly went from scowling at them to a look of complete astonishment.

“Oh, shit,” Jeyne squeaked. “I’m sorry, Sansa!”

They both laughed and she grasped Jon’s hand again. “Jeyne, this is Jon.” She wasn’t mad at her friend. She’d been right about Joffrey and she had her best interests at heart. “We met tonight at that party. He drove me home. Jon, this is my friend and roommate Jeyne.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jeyne,” Jon said as he shook her hand.

“Yeah, uh…wow.” Sansa giggled at the way her friend’s eyes boggled. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m gonna go back inside now.”

Alone again, they eagerly kissed again...and again.

“So is seven okay tomorrow?” he asked when they pulled apart at last.

“Yes,” she sighed. She wanted more kisses. But it was late and there was always tomorrow night.

She watched him walk back to his car. They waved to each other before he pulled away and then she headed inside.

Jeyne was sitting on the couch, still eating her cereal. “You are a princess,” her friend said.

“I am, am I?”

“Yep. You left with a toad and came back with a prince.”

Sansa couldn’t argue with that sentiment at all. It was true.