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Sansa looked up at the old, decrepit house, her heart falling down, down, down into the pit of her stomach. The very air around it seemed to bend and shift the light away from it. As if the sun beams dared not tread on this unholy piece of land. Joffrey had his arm around her shoulders as he whispered in her ear, "Go on. Everyone in my crew has done it. I was the one who originally put the bell up there. If you want me to leave your brother alone, you have to do it, too. Just go up to the attic, and ring the bell. Once you do that, we'll know you're brave enough."
"Sansa, you don't have to do this," Robb hissed. "It's not worth it!"
"Meryn, shut him up." Joffrey turned back to Sansa as Meryn, Joff's bodyguard, punched Robb in the stomach. Sansa flinched at the sound. "Go on, dove. Make your father proud with that famous Stark bravery." He shoved her down the first few steps of the sidewalk leading up to the house.
"Just ring the bell?" she asked, taking timid steps forward.
"Just ring the bell," Joffrey said joyfully. She turned back to look at her bully. "Go on, then."
"It doesn't look haunted," she whispered to herself as she slowly made her way up the sidewalk, hoping that if she said it enough, she would believe it. The porch steps creaked under even her slight weight. Standing on the street, she had felt a slight breeze, but here on the porch, the air was as still as the dead. She gulped, and reached for the door. Once inside, she was shocked by what she saw. Yes, the inside was just as old and falling apart as the outside, but the antiques that decorated the place were marvelous! She shuffled forward carefully to inspect an old lamp. "This is a Manderly Smith!" she gasped, her fingers trembling as they grazed the small frog prince figure on the base of the lamp. Only four of these lamps were known to be in existence. This one would make five. Damnit, focus Sansa!
She looked around for a staircase. The one in the front room looked dangerous, and she hoped that maybe she could find a secondary staircase in the kitchen. If possible, that one looked even worse. She did find a heavy poker, one that she could use to test the flooring before stepping on it. Small comfort to not fall through the floor, I guess. She gloomily made her way back to the front room and steeled herself to ascend the rickety looking stairs. The banister, at least, was sturdy and she gripped it like her life depended on it. Maybe it does. She shuddered at the thought. More creaky noises filled the air as she walked up the steps. The second floor was surprisingly devoid of things. And it's so clean! Not like the dusty downstairs area. She walked along the hallway, the poker held tightly in her hand, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. It was still dark, and she felt like there was a presence in the house with her. There's no such thing as ghosts. But snarks and grumpkins are another matter! She heard a floorboard creak from the room just ahead of her. Oh gods, there is someone here and it's probably a serial killer and ohgodsohgodsohgods. She raised the poker, holding it above her head. Another creak, and a figure stepped out of the doorway. She squeezed her eyes shut, but was suddenly paralyzed with fear. Oh gods, even if it is a serial killer, I can't swing my arms down! I'm going to die a never-been-properly kissed-virgin!
"Whoa! Settle down there, girlie, might put someone's eye out with that," a deep voice said with a chuckle. Her eyes flew open.
"Mr. Blackwater?! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, surprised to see her next door neighbor. He chuckled again and pushed the poker down so that she was holding in by her side again.
"I could ask you the same thing," he said with a grin. "As for me, my boss is interested in this place, so we're here checking it out."
On cue, another voice chimed in, "Bronn, who are you talking to?"
"The elder Stark girl, sir. Seems to have wandered in off the street."
A short man popped his head around the door frame. "Why, Sansa Stark! It's been ages. How have you been?"
The fear was completely gone now. "Mr. Tyrion! You have no idea how glad I am to see that it's just you two. I'm...well, I've been better. Can you tell me how to get to the attic?"
Tyrion raised an eyebrow. "The attic? Oh, um, there should be a hatch in the ceiling somewhere. We were just about to go up there, once we finished inspecting this floor. Sansa, dear, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, um," she gulped, "Well, Joffrey said--"
"Ah, say no more. My dear nephew is an explanation of his own. Let me guess, you have to put a signal in the attic, proving you walked through the scary house alone?" Tyrion asked sympathetically.
She nodded. "A bell. There's a bell I'm supposed to ring."
"And if you don't?" Bronn asked.
"He has Robb, and he'll have Meryn and Boros beat him up, because Robb is running against Joffrey in the school council elections." Sansa had been surprised that Joffrey wanted the secretary position at all. "If I do this, then...he said he would leave Robb alone."
"Sansa, do you really believe that?" Tyrion asked gently. Sansa shook her head. "But what else can you do, right?" She nodded. "Ok. I'll help you with this, but if he does anything else, I want you to call me. Immediately. Got that?" She nodded again. "Ok, Bronn, let's help Little Lady Stark."
"As you wish, milord." Bronn started walking off down the hallway, muttering to himself. "Where is that git of an intern?"
"Let's check this way, shall we?" Tyrion asked her, indicating the opposite side of the hallway. She followed him, taking careful steps. The flooring looked a bit worse on this side than where they previously were. "How's school going otherwise?"
"It's going ok, though I'm having trouble in wood shop class." She looked in one of the rooms. It was stacked wall to wall with tables and chairs.
"Wood shop? Never would have pegged you for that elective. Oh, is that-- Nevermind, just a shadow." They turned a corner in the hallway.
"I was running late that day, it was the last elective available. It was that or interior design. Is that the hatch?" she asked, pointing to the ceiling.
"Can you reach it?"
Sansa stretched as far as she could, but the degraded cord was just out of reach. "No, maybe Mr. Blackwater could--" she stepped back to balance herself and heard the crack of the floorboard as she put her weight down. Unable to stop the downfall, she braced for impact, but felt only a soft thud as strong arms caught her.
"I've got you, little bird."
Sansa looked up into the grey eyes she had become so familiar with. "Sandor... I, um, thank you."
"No problem," he said as he helped her free her foot. She watched him, unable to take her eyes off him.
"Ahem. Young Clegane. Lady Stark." Tyrion coughed to remind them of his presence. Sansa flushed red and stepped away from Sandor as soon as she could, trying to clear her head. It always went fuzzy whenever he was around. She heard him growl, but she refused to meet his eyes. Get it together, Sansa. He's just a guy. A really awesome, fantastic guy that you really, really want to kiss. Ugh, I'm so screwed.
Tyrion eyed her carefully. "Well, Clegane, now that you're here, would you reach that cord? Carefully, the springs on it may have broken. Wouldn't want you to get a ladder in the face."
"Not like it could make it any worse," Sandor muttered, but took care when he pulled the hatch open and the ladder attached to it down. "There. One entrance to the attic."
"Thank you, Clegane. Go find Bronn and meet us up there." Tyrion said, his foot already on the ladder. "I'll lead the way, Sansa, dear."
Sansa watched Sandor stomp down the hallway, until he turned the corner. She sighed heavily. She never knew how to behave around him. She tried to act courteous, and he yelled at her. She tried subtle flirting, and he yelled at her. She did nothing and just enjoyed his company, and he ultimately ended up yelling at her. She was at her wits end, on the verge of giving up. Yeah, right. You're obsessed with him.
"Sansa? You ok?" Tyrion peered down at her from the attic. She went red again, embarrassed to have been caught ogling her classmate. Again. Twice in less than five minutes. Get a grip!
"Yeah, I'm ok. Coming up."
The attic had only one window on the opposite side of the house, a small bell sitting on the window sill. "There it is. Go on, I'll wait here for Bronn and Clegane." Tyrion sat to the side of the opening.
Sansa nodded. "I'll just be a moment." She walked across the attic, poking the floor boards with her poker. The attic was even darker than the rest of the the house combined, the only light coming from the window ahead.
Soon, she stood before the window. She could see Joffrey, Meryn and Robb standing on the street. Robb was being held in a vise-like grip by Meryn. She took a deep breath and reached for the bell.
A meaty hand grabbed her wrist harshly. "So you're the next victim? The stars are shining brightly on me tonight." Her blood ran cold as she turned and saw Boros Blount, licking his lips as he looked her up and down.
"Let me go," she demanded, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm not here alone."
"You mean Joff? Sweetheart, who do you think sent me up here? Now, we're going to have a little fun, before you go back downstairs." Boros grinned at her. "When he said to 'ring the bell', he meant I would be ringing your bell. Usually that consists of me or Meryn beating someone up, but in your case, it will be a lot more enjoyable. That bell there," he jutted his chin at the bell on the window sill, "it doesn't even have a knocker. Just some junk we found at his uncle's house."
"Well, that's good to know, but that's not what I meant." She dropped her eyes to the floor, then looked up at him, adding a quiver to her voice, "Oh gods, don't look behind you. He's here." Boros stared at her. She gave him her best scared face, widening her eyes. He frowned at her.
"You're trying to scare me. It's not going to work. I've hung out in this house for hours by myself. Hell, just today, I sat in that closet over there, for over an hour, waiting for today's prank. It's not haunted."
A voice growled behind Boros, "Then you shouldn't be worried about me."
His eyes bulged as his head whipped around to meet a fist to his face. Sansa barely stepped aside in time to avoid being squashed. "I told him not to turn around," she said, staring down at the pug faced boy. She looked up at Sandor, offering him a shy smile, "Thanks. Again."
"Any time, little bird," he said quietly. "Bring the damn bell. I'm going to need it when I get my hands on Joffrey."
"No need, Clegane. I can't have my favorite intern going to jail for assaulting my least favorite family member." Tyrion had made his way over to them. "I just spoke to Jaime. He and his partner are on their way to pick up Joffrey and his two henchmen. They will be charged with trespassing."
"Doesn't the owner need to be the one to do that?" asked Sansa.
"Of course, my dear, and I just happen to be the owner. As soon as I saw what was going on, and Clegane whisked in to rescue you, I called my broker and made the sale. If it lands Joffrey in jail for the night, I'd say it's a bargain. Plus, I was already leaning in favor of purchasing this place. It's got good bones." Tyrion smiled at the two of them. "Now, Clegane, go downstairs and watch for Jaime's squad car. Also, it seems Bronn got his leg stuck in the floorboards. Lend him a helping hand, would you? I'm sure Sansa and I can keep watch over this unconscious fellow."
"Of course, sir." He headed back towards the second floor, moving as silently as he had when he had snuck up on Boros.
Tyrion waited until he was out of sight before saying, "You know, Sansa dear, I always pegged you for an interior design elective. Just what made you decide to pick wood shop?"
Sansa turned to look out the window. In the distance, she could see a police car turning the corner. "It was recommended to me," she replied.
"By young Clegane?"
She nodded.
"I see. How long have you been in love with him?"
Sansa gave him a sad smile. "Since second grade, when he caught me after I fell off the monkey bars. He ended up scraping both his knees and one of his elbows to save me. He said I was the worst little bird if I couldn't even fly to save myself, but he didn't say it in a mean way. I gave him my desserts for two weeks after that. I didn't know how to say 'I Like You' at that age."
"You know how to say it now, don't you?"
"He doesn't want to hear it." She watched as Jaime got out of the car and handcuffed Joffrey while his partner got Meryn. Robb was pointing to the house, telling them something she couldn't hear. "He yells at me a lot now. I don't even know why half the time. The times I've tried flirting haven't ended well. I don't think I could bear it if I told him I liked him, and he ended up yelling at me. I'd rather just stay by his side." Bronn poked his head up through the opening.
"Oi! The lad still out?"
"Yes," Tyrion called back. "We're going to need some help getting him out of here."
"Ugh, fine. Clegane's leading the police up here. I guess I can do it." Bronn trudged up the steps. "But if he shat himself like that last bloke, I'm rolling him back over."
"I said I was sorry. I didn't even know until you pointed it out!" Tyrion said, exasperated.
Bronn kept mumbling to himself as he hoisted the unconscious teenager onto his shoulders. He headed back down the steps, knocking Boros' head against the edge of the hatch opening. "Whoops," she heard Bronn say, before doing it again. She giggled.
"Sansa," Tyrion said, "If you ask me, you should tell him. Or at least, maybe be a bit more aggressive in your courtship. Clegane, he's a great intern, and is one of the most intelligent, observant young man I've had the pleasure of knowing, but he can be a bit dense when it concerns love and romance. I once asked him to pick up flowers for my girlfriend, and he brought back white lilies." Sansa nearly choked on her laughter. Tyrion grinned and started for the stairs. "So you see, if you want to get through to him, you're going to need a battering ram."
She thought about it for a few moments. I need...a battering ram? She shook her head and followed Tyrion.
Once she was outside, she saw that Joffrey, Meryn and the still unconscious Boros were stuffed into the back seat of the Jaime's squad car. Jaime was speaking with his brother and Bronn, while Sandor and Robb stood back, leaning against the fence. Sandor noticed her first and waved her over.
"So what's happening exactly?" she asked as she slipped in close to Sandor, her arm touching his.
He looked down at her, but didn't mention it. "Joff and his croonies are being charged with trespassing. Robb was being held down by Meryn when Officer Jaime approached, so they're adding in unlawful detainment to his charges. You're the newest intern at Lions International and were helping us assess the property, so no charges can be filed against you. Joff can't say anything against you without admitting he forced you to go in there in the first place, which would be another charge to file against him."
Robb spoke, "Personally, I hope he tries it, but he's being annoyingly silent on the matter." He shrugged. "Oh well. Sansa, you're going to have to head back with Tyrion. Will you be ok?"
She looked up at Sandor, who was staring at the adults still deep in conversation. Turning back to Robb she said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you at home. Let Father know about this, but, um, don't tell Mother."
Robb smirked, "Just how stupid do you think I am? Later, little sis." He waved as he walked off.
"Tyrion and Bronn have to go down to the station with Jaime. I can give you a ride back, if you want," Sandor offered. He still wasn't looking at her. Battering ram...what the heck does that mean?
"Sure," she said. "I would appreciate that." She leaned in a little more. "Sandor?"
"Yeah?"
"Want to get dinner together?" she asked hopefully.
"I'm not that hungry, but I'll take you to go get something." He was still staring at the adults. Well, that was more of a timid knock, I suppose.
"No, I'm not that hungry either. It was just an idea." She thought a bit. "Wanna see a movie? Arya was talking about this new one that just came out. About a ninja cat searching for justice for the family he lost."
"Nah, not really in the movie watching mood. Maybe this weekend."
Sansa clenched her jaw. So much for that. I thought it would at least rate a resounding thud.
"Ok, we'll see you there, big brother!" Tyrion called out. He walked over to the two teenagers. "Ok, kiddos, we're going over to the police station to make the formal complaint. Here," he handed them each some money, "for today's pay. Go have some fun." Tyrion waved at them as he and Bronn walked away.
"Where is he going? Where is your car anyway?" Sansa asked.
"We parked around the corner, starting the inspection at the back of the property. It's no wonder you guys didn't know we were in there." Sandor pushed himself off the fence. "Let's get going then. I'll just take you home. We can catch the movie on Sunday."
Sansa stood rooted to the spot, her arms crossed over her chest. She was trying to think of something, anything. Battering ram, battering ram...what could he have meant?
"Little bird? You ok?"
She sighed heavily. "No. I keep trying to think of good dates, but nothing seems to be suitable."
"Dates? You're going to ask someone out?" Sansa looked over at him. He looked genuinely surprised.
She sighed again. "Well, yeah. How else am I supposed to do it?"
He snorted, "Wait for the guy to ask you out, duh. That's the usual way."
Sansa snapped. "But you never ask me out! At least not to something that doesn't include our friends. I swear, if I wasn't so in love with you, I'd punch you! Actually, that sounds like a great idea." She punched him as hard as she could and then stormed off in the opposite direction. "I'll find my own way home, thank you very much!"
She had rounded the corner when she heard heavy footsteps behind her. "Sansa!"
"Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now," she huffed.
"Damnit, Sansa, just stop!" He grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him.
"What?" she asked, still irritated.
"Did you mean that?" he asked.
"That punching you was a good idea? Yes, but now my knuckles hurt." She looked down at them, noticing they were slightly reddened. Mother is going to get mad at me if she notices.
"No, not that part. The other part." He looked a bit embarrassed. Sansa narrowed her eyes at him.
"What other part?"
"The part where...um, you said," he scratched the back of his head nervously, "when you said you love me."
Her eyes went wide. Did I say that? Crap, I think I did! "Oh, that. Yeah, I do. I've been waiting for you to ask me out for a while now. I've been trying to be more proactive about the entire thing, but you've been having none of it."
"Shit, Sansa, I had no idea, I swear. I thought you just saw me as, I don't know, like Robb or Jon. Like one of your brothers. I've been wanting to ask you out, too." He tugged at her hand. "So will you? Go out on a date with me?"
Oh! A battering ram! When I spoke without thinking. "I'd really like that."
Sandor grinned. "Come on, it's getting cold and my car is now two blocks away." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Hey, Sandor?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, before we go any further, would you, um, would you kiss me?"
"Kiss??"
Sansa blushed, "Yeah, I've been wanting to kiss you for two years now, and I don't want to take another step until you--" She found herself in his warm embrace, his lips pressed softly to hers. Wow. Now that's what I've been waiting for.
When they parted, he whispered, "Damn. That was as perfect as I imagined it."
She grinned. "Come on, you owe me a date. We can make out as part of it."
"Promise?"
"Definitely." She took a step and tripped over an uneven section of the sidewalk. Sandor caught her easily.
"Falling again for me already, little bird?" he rasped, laughter in his voice.
She snorted, "Well, if you're going to insist on catching me, I might as well." He grinned and caught her lips with his.