Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She felt like shit.

She was cold, her body hurt, her head was killing her and she could barely breath…

That was what she got for letting herself being carried along to the track and field’s party after their win on the inter uni tournament, just after she downed a cocktail of pills for the cold she was getting.

It was her sister Sansa who dragged her there, she remembers meeting her brothers Robb and Jon at the party and somehow Theon convinced her to do two tequila shots at some point of the night… on a weeknight and when she was coming down with a cold and she was paying the consequences now.

Why didn’t Sansa stop her? Her sister must’ve been making out with someone because Sansa never lets her do shots with Theon, it always brings trouble.

She doesn’t really remember much after just that Jon was introducing her to his friends from different teams. She had been talking to a cute guy at some point… he had blue eyes and was friends with Jon apparently. He was funny, abnormally tall, broad and part of one of the sports teams… but she was so sleepy that she couldn’t quite catch his name, she could ask Jon about him later anyways.

The last thing she remembers was being carried, placed on someplace soft and then covered to keep the cold away. Jon probably noticed she was sick and falling asleep so the most responsible thing was letting her crash at his dorm, which was in the same building the party was held, the high profile athlete’s dorms.

The drinks and the cold winter took the best of her and now she was miserable and had to attend her next class because the professor took assistance into consideration for the final grade.

She sat up, disoriented and concerned… The room was big and she noticed a university men’s track suit on the floor so yeah, it was probably Jon’s room because Robb’s had two beds as her older brothers shared his room with Theon.

Why does the football team have such nice rooms? Jon had a view to the gardens and much more space than hers… but the numerous times she had crashed at his place, his room it didn’t have a view to the back forest… or was she just noticing it? Her foggy brain was probably playing tricks on her.

She took a glance to the clock next to the bed and groaned, she had class in twenty minutes and she was feeling like shit. Looking for her phone she discovered the battery had died during the night and she was clueless of the whereabouts of her wallet or jacket… where did she leave it? It was Sansa’s, her sister was going to kill her.

As she got out of bed and the feeling of something odd happening just increased… did Jon decided to redecorate the room? Wasn’t the bed on the other side? She would ask him later, now she just needed to get up to wash her face, get a toilet paper roll for her runny nose, steal a jacket or a hoodie from Jon, again, and get to class.

She sported Jon’s varsity jacket on the floor by his desk and noticed the several sketches on it, when did Jon got so good at drawing? Was she so busy with classes that she never noticed it? Since when Jon started to sketch motors? She added it to the list of things she would ask later when she would call him after charging her phone.

She went to the bathroom, downed half the bottle of mouth wash, washed her face and tied her hair in ponytail and if she looked back to the window to notice it was starting to rain… fuck she would probably be dead by the end of the day or Sansa would have to take her to the university’s clinic when she’s burning up with fever at three in the morning, all thanks to Theon and his stupid tequila shots.

Trying to prevent the health catastrophe she went and opened Jon’s closet and now she was sure something was completely off because since when Jon owned clothes that weren’t black? Perhaps he was changing styles? Leaving behind his goth phase at last after meeting Ygritte? Whatever… she went and grabbed a long sleeve, and very thick, flannel shirt to put over her black tank top. It reached almost past her knees but it was cozy, she grabbed a navy blue scarf to put on and finally Jon’s varsity KLU jacket. Maybe he had decided to get one a size bigger because it was huge on her but it was warm and would help her survive the cold.

Looking back at the clock she decided she didn’t have much time now, grabbing a piece of paper she left a thank you note and told him that he could pick his stuff later at her dorm after he brings her some chicken noodle soup for her cold, peach tea and cough syrup.

She just hoped she could get to class and be able to get something for her cold at the nurse’s office before dying.

Chapter Text

She was still feeling like shit.

She was cold, shivering, speaking hurt and breathing was an extreme task with how congested her nose had gotten.

The bright side had been that she barely got in time to class, even when she fell asleep through most of it but the professor didn’t actually care since she had good grades and looked like a proper sick person did at the moment, with giant bags under her eyes, pale skin, red and runny nose and covered in layers of clothing.

Apart from that, she had been receiving glares and curious looks all mornings, especially from girls, occasionally from some guys, and she had no idea why. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that she was wearing the jacket from a male sports team which only girlfriends did… maybe they were Jon’s fans and she was now sporting his huge jacket with his name written on the back and they were probably thinking she was his girl or something. If they were true fans they’d know they were family, they may be cousins but they were raised as siblings so she was his little sister and his fan club should be aware of whom she was, after all she was present in all of his football matches with Sansa cheering him, Robb and Theon on.

She didn’t know if the jacked said Targaryen or Snow in the back at the moment, since apparently he had changed it for a bigger one, and Snow was his sports nickname that his last jacket had. Whatever, people could think what they want, she didn’t give a fuck at the moment and Ygritte, Jon’s girlfriend, wouldn’t care or listen to stupid gossips.

Since her cold had gotten worse she passed through the on campus nurse’s office but it was closed, so she couldn’t get something for it and she would just have to bear with it during her next class. Stupid lunch hour break! Thankfully her next class was history and she could sleep in the back of the room. If there was one thing she was serious about, it was her attendance record in class so missing class was not an option.

She would just have to wait lunch hour to be over to attend her next class. Her wallet was still missing and she wanted something warm to drink so she searched every pocket available on her jeans, shirt and jacket to see if she could find something, to her surprise there were 20 bucks on her brother’s jacket! Seems like Jon is buying her lunch today.

After an endless line and finding out there was no lemon honey tea available she settled for a simple citrusy type of tea and some crackers and made her way to an empty table away from the evil open windows and their cold air drafts. Maybe she could nap for the last twenty minutes of lunch hour…

Two minutes later someone sat next to her…

“so you must be her”

it was a guy’s voice… was he talking to her?

“Huh?” she lifter her eyes a bit, still resting her head in her arms.

“the girl people are talking about! I’m HotPie!”

She looked at the a chubby looking fellow, “excuse me?” she asked, surprising herself at how raspy her voice sounded. Did she do something embarrassing she didn’t remember last night?

“oh my god, is it her?” two girls joined the table… two very pretty girls. One of them was tall and sported a black pixie hairstyle while the other had long curly black hair, both had bright blue eyes that looked kind of familiar but she couldn’t quite grasp to whose eyes resembled.

“Hi!” one of them said to her.

“Hello”

“she must be her; she’s wearing his jacket” were they Jon’s fans? Apparently her brother’s popularity as star striker in the football team was huge on campus.

“yeah, it’s his” she took a sip of her tea, if the gods had any mercy on her these were nice fans and not the crazy types that would hate on her or stalk her too.

“Oh my god! Hi, I’m Mya and this is my sister Bella!” the short haired girl introduced herself and her sister.

“ammm nice to meet you?”

“What’s your name?” she wasn’t really up for questioning from this odd people, it was too painful speaking at the moment and her voice sounded horrible.

Clearing her throat, she answered “Arya”

“So how long has this been going on, huh?” the chubby guy asked her…

“what?”

“Oh boy! So the rumors were true!” a larger group of guys wearing varsity jackets similar to the one she had on now showed up, they seemed a bit familiar so they were probably at last night’s party.

“You are the mystery lady!” a tall guy wearing a bright green shirt under his jacket said “how did you manage to get him to lend you his jacket?”

“what? I took it as I always do” she had a cough fit after saying that and it was bad so she couldn’t understand why those girls were cooing.

“He must really like you! He never lets anyone take his jacket!” a skinny tall guy said.

“the lady seems to be still sick, are you feeling any better? the oldest fellow asked “I’m Beric by the way, we met last night” she recalled him, he was the track and field captain.

“Yeah, you seemed to be feeling unwell last night at the party” the chubby guy said “I think you were having a fever”

“I have a cold and class in fifteen minutes, so I probably should go…” she wanted to leave the weird group of fellows. Why were they talking to her so casually?

“Oh you went to class while sick, how did he manage to relate to such a responsible girl?”  a red head guy with a man bun laughed “probably why he’s been looking for you saying you were nowhere found when he showed up bringing you breakfast and something for your cold”

so Jon was out getting her food… she was going to make it up to him later or when she was feeling better.

“Oh, if you see him, please tell him to pick his stuff by my dorm later after class! My phone’s battery is dead so I can’t text him” she was getting up to leave still wondering why those two girls were cooing again all excited, what an odd pair of sisters.

“aw, she’s so cute and pretty” she heard one of the girls say before leaving the cafeteria.

“Also tell him to bring me what I asked him earlier! Don’t he dare forget about it!” she really wanted her spicy chicken noodle soup and peach tea” she yelled before exiting the cafeteria for good.

“That girl is pretty impressive! I like her!” the eldest guy, Beric, said laughing out loud.

What the hell was that all about?!

Chapter Text

She was still feeling like a piece of shit because the cold refused to leave her small body, but her day was almost over and she could go to rest in the warmth of her dorm room, under her coves with a giant mug of honey and ginger tea, while watching movies on Netflix and then taking the cold medicine she had gotten from the on campus’s nurse.

She was shivering slightly, but according to the nurse her fever was diminishing little by little and by tomorrow it could be gone if she took the necessary measures, which she was going to do after she did a small errand. The nurse was apparently a new one or a very nervous one since the woman pretty much kicked her out of the infirmary, apparently someone else was resting there as she heard someone coughing in the back of the infirmary. Perhaps she should’ve gone to the campus hospital, maybe they would’ve been a bit more considerate but it was further away and she didn’t want to walk that much and the infirmary was closer to her dorm.

Right now she was going to the library to take out a book she needed for an essay she was planning on working on during Sunday and she didn’t want to leave her dorm at all during the weekend so she ws doing it now before going into quarantine.

“Arya!” she turned after hearing someone calling her name to find Margaery, Sansa’s best friend, calling for her “Everyone is looking for you! Sansa is like super worried about you thinking you’re in the emergency room dying of sars or something like that and there’s been the whole chaos with the flu epidemic around campus and the lockdowns and all!” Marg laughed before punching her slightly on the shoulder “but from what I’ve been hearing all day you’re doing more than just fine even when you have caught a cold and something else!!” Margaery was looking at her from up and down probably judging how shitty she looked and Jon’s fashion sense.

“Yeah, I’ve survived until now, I’m heading to my room now” she had a cough attack in that moment, hoping it was enough to scare Margaery off because she wasn't really up for her weirdness and talk.

“Oh gods, go now before they quarantine you too! The best medicine for a cold is to snuggle up under a blanket with the hunk that is going to your room in a while, he’s been asking about you!” Marg giggled in the moment and she couldn’t understand what could possibly be funny about Jon asking about his sister or why would she snuggle with her brother in the first place but Marg had always been a bit weird “I want details when you’re feeling better!”

“Okay? I’m going” details about her recovery? So she can be ready when the virus gets her?

“Bye! Tell Sansa to call me to hang out later! So you can have some alone time” Margaery wiggled her eyebrows for some weird reason and then she left. People were acting really weird that day, weren’t they?

Anyways, she picked up her book and left for her dorm. She was counting the moments until she could rest peacefully…

“where the hell have you been?!” red fury greeted her when she entered the dorm.

Sansa and her shared a small dorm, it had a common living room area, a showerless bathroom that was way too small for two girls to share and two tiny bedrooms, but it was more private than a regular dorm and Jon and Robb occasionally crashed at their place whenever they did a sibling movie night.

“In class” she answered as Sansa ran up to her to place a hand at her forehead “I’ve been so worried about you! Thinking you have the same symptoms as Theon and you didn’t answer your phone! Your fever seems to be a bit under control”

“Theon?” did something happened to Theon?

“Yes! Last night, after you fell asleep on the couch and were taken the only room in that building that had a dehumidifier so you could sleep that fever off Theon started to feel sick! Today he wakes up burning in fever and Robb had to take him to the campus hospital! Their coach was apparently there since five more guys from the football team were emergency admitted with that horrible cold virus. The coach decided to take extreme measures and called a lockdown quarantine with all the healthy guys! Robb and Jon are in lock down because they’re playing tomorrow night the semifinal of the interuni championship!”

“What?! Since when? How?!” she coughed after her voice got that high worried pitch that made her vocal cords hurt.

“I hear it a moment ago, Robb called! I’m going to the hospital to get Theon some clothes as he’s staying the nigh and to check on him, Robb’s been calling you all day to see if you were as sick as Theon! Jon’s been asking for you and he’s sick with worry! He’s been in lock down since early morning and couldn't pick you up! their coach went up to his room to get him to the gym dorms with the rest of the team!”

“Wait, what??” was that the reason Jon wasn’t in his bedroom when she woke up? But she’d heard the coach barging in! He could’ve gotten in trouble for letting her stay the night in his room…

“Thank the gods you didn’t stay at Jon’s!” wait what…? She was about to ask Sansa what she meant but Sansa’s phone went off and her sister went to answer.

“Yes! She’s here! Finally! I’ll tell her to charge her phone, she’s sick but she doesn’t seem to be as bad as Theon, I think they have different types of colds!” there was a pause “Alright, I’m going to check on him and then I’ll be back to take care of Arya” her sister made another pause “What? Oh gods, really? You’re making a fuzz about it now? When your sister is sick, really?! you’re on lockdown and I’m going to see if your best friend is dying at the hospital! Would you please calm down! Geez, Robb you’re such a drama queen and the jealous brother act doesn’t suit you, really?! Just when you’re not there for the gossip you act that way, idiot. Be thankful I’m the only one responsible enough to get the flu shot!” her sister hanged up

“what the hell was that?” she asked Sansa, as she unzipped Jon’s jacket and turned around to look for her pajamas she had tossed over their couch the day before.

“Robb is going all…” Sansa stopped talking all of a sudden and when she turned around her sister was looking at her with curiosity “what are you wearing? You weren’t wearing that last night…”

“I woke up and put on something because I was cold…”

“Alright… seems like Robb and everyone else were right, no wonder Marg texted me…” Sansa sighed before letting out a resigned type of laugh “I’m checking up on Theon after I get some of his stuff from his dorm and when I come back I want to hear all about it”

“all about what?” she was loosening the scarf she was wearing and Sansa was looking at her with serious eyes.

“Don’t play dumb, Arya! You know what I’m talking about!” Sansa threw her a pillow “Anyways, I’m leaving to check on Theon, I’ll be back in a while and I’ll bring you something. Don’t die while I’m gone!” her sister left after that and she was alone with her cold and sickness.

She was taking of Jon’s jacket when it hit her! If Jon was on lock down who would bring her the spicy chicken soup and peach tea she’s been dreaming of since morning?! Aw, fuck her night was turning even sourer than before with only just her sickness. She sighed as she continued to change, only for Jon getting himself in quarantine and not getting her what she asked she would not sent his jacket to the cleaners before returning it. She took it off and remembered that it was a new jacket and she didn’t know what it said in the back that caused all the girls of his fan club to be jealous.

She turned it around and before she could read it there was a knock at her door, distracting her “sansa?” she asked thinking her sister had forgotten something, she turned back to read Jon’s jacket only find something it wasn’t expecting…

The jacket had no number and it didn’t say Snow, nor Targaryen, nor Stark nor anything she could’ve expected…

It said…

There was a knock again… “who is it?” she asked absent mindedly as she continued to read over and over the name on the back of the varsity jacket and it dawned on her…

Sansa said she didn’t stay at Jon’s

The room was different she woke up in that morning! it was a different set up and it had a different view and she gasped at the realisation…

The closet had clothing that wasn’t Jon’s style… she looked down to see the blue flannel shirt she put on this morning “OH MY GOD” she yelled

She’d been wearing someone elses’s clothing…

“shit…” lunch hour and the weird people that sat up with her and their weird questions made sense now… “oh shit!”…

She’d been wearing a jacket that said “Waters” in the back.

There was the knock again followed by someone speaking “Arya? Um, hi, are you in there? It's Gendry… Waters?” a deep voice came from the other side of the door.

Oh shit…

Chapter Text

“oh shit”

That’s what she muttered softly and this time her voice sounded like Panthera’s lead singer. There was a slight knock again and this time she panicked and went still like a statue because she couldn’t move but still, she was panicking on the inside because this was too embarrassing. She had worn the clothes of someone she didn’t know and she’d walked around on campus like that, people mistaking her for that guy’s girlfriend.

Again a slight knock “uhmm Arya?” that deep voice again called for her and she couldn’t move, perhaps he’d go away if he thought she wasn’t there, she was keeping her pose as a statue on the living room and trying not to breath, which was incredibly easy because it was hard to do anyway with her cold.

Two seconds passed when the door barged open and a red thunderbolt entered the room “oh my gods, Arya! Don’t make your friend wait outside! come in!” Sansa motioned the guy who was standing awkwardly outside with very wide and surprised eyes open “I forgot my wallet, thankfully noticed it early” she was still frozen in her place with her eyes wide open looking at the guy at the door and wanting the earth to open so she could get out of the place.

She remembered him from the night before, he was the cute blue eyed guy Jon introduced to her. And by cute it meant he was cute and hot with his incredibly big height, broad shoulder, thick brows that accentuated those blue eves even more and his disheveled black hair that was a bit too long. The guy was wearing just plain grey joggers a hoodie and seemed to be carrying a grocery bag on his left hand and he looked straight out of a fashion catalog… and he was the guy she had stolen his clothes… shit…

Last night they talked and he was funny and shy and made her feel a bit better even when her cold was taking the best out of her. Talking to him on the couch was the last thing she remembers before falling asleep… oh shit…

I’m leaving and would you please charge your freaking phone!” Sansa was on her way out “would you just come in?!” her sister grabbed the guys arm, yanked him inside, rounded him and crossed the door not without yelling “don’t do anything on the couch!” before closing the door.

This was beyond embarrassing…

They were still glued on the same spot for a while, no one moving an inch until he gulped, breathed and started to talk

“Are you feelin…”

“This is yours!” she moved the jacket she was holding in his direction, shaking it slightly.

“yes…?” he answered softly

“It’s not Jon’s!” her voice was supposed to be going into that high pitched tone it got whenever she freaked out but since she had a cold it was going weird and almost supersonic since it faded out at the end of the sentence.

“No…?” his voice held the same confusion his face showed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“oh gods!” she covered her face in embarrassment, she was sure she was flushing a whole new level of red. She could feel the heat rising on her face as the blush crept up her neck to, most certainly, the tips of her hair. Maybe the flushing had made her hair red like Robb and Sansa’s.

“Hey… don’t…”

“I didn’t wake up at Jon’s!” her voice was muffled by the infamous jacket…

“Uhmm no…? But…”

Her legs kind of gave out on her her, probably due to the embarrassment, as she ended up crouching on the floor, her face still covered “I stole your clothes!” she whined again, her voice sounding even raspier and her ears buzzing from the heat and blood rushing to her head

“oh..” she could feel him watching her as he spoke “it’s okay… but, hey…” he walked towards her slowly, probably terrified of her since she was probably, in his eyes, a batshit crazy psycho…

“I spend your money!” that realization couldn’t have hit her at any worst moment as she yelled into the jacket again.

“Arya…” his voice was soft and it made everything worst because she was having a full on meltdown in front of the cute guy she had stolen stuff from, the cute guy people think she was dating now.

“shit! People think you… me! Gods no!” she whined again and this time the buzz in her ears increased as the heat sensation was spreading to her whole body, except for her legs which were still numb ever since they gave out on her.

“Arya…” she could feel him close to her, probably wanting to ask his jacket back and she didn’t want to face him.

“Look, I just…” his voice was calm yet she didn’t want him to mention how crazy she was. The only thing she wanted more in the whole world at the moment was to return his things, pay him back and pretend this whole thing never happened in the first place!

“I’m sorry!” she said out loud to cut him off, finally lifting her face to find him just in front of her as if he was about to crouch down to her level. “Look, I’m soooo sorry!” in the matter of a second she had come up with a plan to offer to pay him the dry cleaners bill for all of what she had worn, pay him back with the stash of cash Sansa and her always kept in hand and to never show up in front of him again.

It was the perfect plan in her head and she was going to use it. So fighting against the weakness she felt in her legs and the enormous and ultra-noticeable blush she’d must be sporting at the moment. She lifted herself up as fast as she could and it was as if she had done it at a super high speed because her ears started ringing and the room started spinning and then there was not only one Gendry in front of her but two.

Then everything turned black.

Chapter Text

Blue.

She was gazing directly into a pair of blue eyes, a very close and bright blue eyes that were widely open and held concern.

Her mind was a bit foggy and the room was spinning a little and he was holding her, his right arm surrounding her and his big hand on her back supporting her weight and she felt a plastic bag hitting the back of her leg.

Apparently she fell down and he caught her mid fall. She came back to herself mid air as he caught her and now the reality of the situation was hitting her full force and embarrassment washed all over her, again. Would she ever catch a break with embarrassing things happening to her regarding this guy?

“Hi” really? Really? Her brain decided to salute instead of sharpening and embarrass her further?! She really wanted to die at the moment.

His eyes were too blue and bright, it reminded her of the ocean, but the deep part of the ocean, that specific blue that shines best when the sun hits the water. Alright… she should start pulling herself back together instead of thinking about the guy’s shade of blue that were his eyes.

“Hi” he answered back as he helped her stand again, still holding her by the arms as if he was making sure she wouldn’t fall again. Then he blushed a bit, his brows furrowing as if he was thinking hard about something “Are you alright? Do you want me to take you to the hospital? Call your sister to come back?”

He had a pained faced, as if he was thinking too hard and the world was spinning but not as bad as before so she took a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m fine, just got a bit dizzy” he was slowly letting her go and she missed the warmth of his hands “There’s no need to call Sansa. Probably it’s just because I’ve been up all day…” she really felt heavy and tired and realised that apart from the tea and crackers she had for lunch, she hadn’t had anything else so she slowly sat on the couch that was behind her.

“Have you eaten? Drank enough water? I brought what you asked for and also stuff to help you feel better about your cold” she watched him as he opened the plastic grocery bag he had been holding this whole time.

“Yeah! I’m fine! Really, there’s no need! Like…” she tried to shake her head to make him stop , which he didn’t, but it kind of made her more dizzy so she stopped resigned with shame, closed her eyes to pinch the space between her eyebrows.

“Can you please drink this?” she raised her eyes to find him standing in front of her was offering her a bottle of watermelon Gatorade “You’re dehydrated, I can tell and I don’t want you passing out on me again…” he had a tender look in his eyes and she just couldn’t help it because it must really suck that every time you see a certain person that person ends up passing out in front of you so she grabbed the bottle, took the cap off and had a sip.

It was incredible, she could feel every part of the liquid’s trail inside her body, she really was dehydrated. After drinking a quarter of the bottle’s content she stopped and sighed.

“Feels better, right?” he asked and she nodded in response. He ran his finger through his hair disheveling as a blush crept up his neck. “You should rehydrate yourself, otherwise it can be dangerous and you can end up fainting again… You always seem to pass out when I’m with you” his voice was sad, as if he was defeated.

“I’m sorry. It’s not on purpose, I swear!” she tried to ease him off. The first time they met she was sleepy and sick and had taken alcohol with some flu pills and a high fever, she was pretty much out of it but she remembered him to be concerned and funny while they talked on the couch at the dorm common room. He offered to get her brothers and that was the last she remembers from that night.

“may I sit down?” she nodded again as he placed the bag of contents on her coffee table and sat next to her on the couch letting out a long and exhausted sigh “Last night you looked pretty bad and I was worried you woke up worst, went to check up on you a couple times last night, but you were asleep and your fever had diminished a bit”

“oh…” she didn’t know he had looked up after her all night, now It was pretty much worst “I…  thank you! You didn’t have to look after me, my brothers…”

“It was pretty chaotic, last night” he chuckled softly “After I went to look for Robb and Jon so they could take you home, we found you asleep and taking you outside to your dorm could’ve been dangerous because it was so cold. Their coach is pretty hard on girls sleeping in their rooms and does surprise visits to check on the guys so I offered mine since it’s my own room and we have just finished competing, we won so we have a few weeks to be laid back, it was safe since there was no coach to do a surprise visit and ours is still pretty okay with it as long it doesn’t interfere with training”

That explained how she ended up in his room. Thankfully it happened that way, her brothers could’ve ended up in trouble and she got to sleep her cold off without risking pneumonia and only had her dignity broken into a hundred million pieces.

She sneezed in that moment, breaking the silence that had built between them.

“oh here” he grabbed one of the bags “got you tissues, some flu pills, cough drops and that tea you asked” she winced when he mentioned that.

“Gendry… amm there’s something I need to tell you” she began “You didn’t have to buy me anything, the note I left was meant for Jon. When I woke up I thought I was in Jon’s room for some reason”

“Oh…” he said, sitting back again “didn’t you read my note?” he turned to look at her.

“what note?”

“I left you a note on my night stand. There I explained why you were in my room and that I was going to get you with some breakfast Jon told me to buy for you. It also said you could borrow my clothes if you needed until you get back to your room…”

“oh…” so she wasn’t a complete embarrassment to herself. She’d just only had a meltdown in front of a cute guy, but at least she hadn’t stolen his clothes “still, I’m sorry if I caused you any troubles with your… friends”

“Yeah…” he rubbed the back of his neck “Heard you met again my track and field team… and my sisters. Don’t think much of them, it’s their fault for assuming things” he shrugged “It’s more embarrassing that you’ve had to meet them, they’re so… embarrassing as sisters”

“Wait…” something didn’t add up “You’re in the track and field team?” he nodded “But you don’t look like a runner…” he was big, broad and fit. Usually runners were leaner, not the type of body he had… which seemed to be quite nice in her opinion.

He smiled shyly “I’m in the track and field team but I’m not a runner. I’m a hammer thrower” he had a glint in his eyes that showed how proud he was of himself and his sport.

“Oh… wait… didn’t the school broke a record in that?” she remembered hearing about it somewhere.

“Yup, I broke the national record” he said casually “that’s why my dorm was available. We have a few days without training because we have finished a tourney and did well”. It all made sense now.

“Look, I know I didn’t have to buy you anything… but I did it anyways because I thought it would be nice and because you made me promise…” he started.

“I made you promise what?”

“Last night, when I went to check up on you one time you woke up and said that you wanted spicy chicken soup. You made me promise that I’d ask you on a date and buy you some so we could eat together” she was now covering her flushed face, whining and wanting to die “If it makes you feel any better I think you were fever talking, even when I was going to ask you out anyways”

She uncovered herself in surprise “you what?” he smiled. She had proven to be a mess of a girl and he still wanted to ask her out?

“Yeah… I mean, last night was fun, you were fun and I was planning on asking you out but you… passed out. So… I bought us soup” he was grabbing the bags again, pulling out containers of the Korean spicy chicken soup she liked so much “Jon told me this is the brand you like, so what do you say?”

This was so unusual, so so much that she didn’t know what to do or say but talking to him was nice and her stomach growled in hunger, making him laugh.

“I’ll bring the kettle” she declared, accepting his offer. He still made it known that she should stayed in her seat, him asking her where the kettle was to turn it on and boil some water for their instant noodles.

A couple of minutes in, both had finished their bowls and were just talking casually. He was nice, cute, funny and… just a very cool guy and she was interested. They had a lot of things in common, similar tastes in music and movies. She really liked him… and he was so cute, blushing tons and how his eyes glinted when he talked passionately about something like his engineering major or sports discipline. 

“I still owe you $20” she confessed, explaining what had happened to her earlier, making him laugh again “and I was thinking that…” she was interrupted as her dorm’s door bursted open.

“Oh my god ! Arya!” Margaery barged in “Would you just charge your phone instead of making out with your hot guy!” she saw Gendry blush slightly at that.

“Margaery what the hell?!” she exclaimed.

“Sansa’s been calling you to tell you that she’s staying the night at the clinic! Theon didn’t have the bug you all do, his fever and belly ache were because his appendix was about to burst! He’s going into surgery! Sansa was calling you to tell you and so you could prepare an overnight bag for her so I could pick it up!”

“Oh my gods!” she was up in a second, entering Sansa’s room with Margaery. Both grabbing a bag, placing a change of clothes, cellphone chargers and her bag with toiletry. Minutes after, Margaery was off saying her goodbyes with inappropriate comments that made Gendry blush harder and taking the mood with her, leaving them with certain awkwardness between them.

“Guess I should go, you need to rest” he walked to the door “I hope to see you around, Arya”

“Gendry, wait…” she made him turn back on his feet, his eyes holding certain hope “I still owe you $20”

There was certain disappointment in him “Oh. You don’t have to wo..

“I was thinking, what If I pay you by taking you out?” she said, smiling back at the sight of him smiling happily.

“I’d like that” he said “Can I have your number?” he offered her his phone, hers was charging now. She put her info in and handed it back.

“next Friday? Is that okay?”

“Yes!” he smiled “I’ll text you, okay?” she nodded as she walked him out of her dorm. He turned one last time as if he was making sure of something “It was nice, having dinner with you” he looked down, looking like a shy kid it was adorable. She couldn’t help it, because she raised herself on her tip toes to place a kiss on his cheek, surprising him.

“thank you for taking care of me, Gendry. Goodnight, take care and you better not catch a cold before Friday” she declared.

He was smiling broadly now, his face flushed “See you around, Arya. Take care and don’t go passing out on anyone else” he left waving goodbyes as she closed the door when he disappeared from the dorm aisle after he turned to the left on the corridor.

Perhaps catching a cold wasn’t so bad after all.