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Holding her schoolbag and an apple, Arya walked into her room finding her sister sitting upon her bed turning the pages of a book.
“Why are you in my room? You have one of your own, you know.” Arya sat down at her desk dumping her schoolbag on the floor besides it.
“Oh, yes I know,” Sansa said, not moving her eyes from the pages of the book, “I figured it would be nice with a change of environment.”
Arya took a bite out of the apple she'd brought with her. It was crispy and sweet. The sisters sat in silence, one reading a book and the other one eating an apple. Arya finished her apple and decided that she was tired of the silence.
“What book are you reading? Anything good?”
“Yes,” Sansa said, turning the page of her book. “I really like the descriptions of me in it.”
Arya felt the blood in her veins turn to ice. Was Sansa reading what Arya thought she was reading? No, it wasn't possible.
“What?” Was all Arya managed to say, her throat dry as a piece of paper.
“I said that I like the way you describe me in this,” Sansa looked up meeting Arya's eyes. “You make me sound like such a bitch, and I really appreciate the list of the top five things about me that makes you want to vomit. Lovely, just lovely.”
“STOP READING MY DIARY!” Arya screamed as she leaped from her chair towards the bed. “You have no right to read it! It's mine and it's PRIVATE!”
Sansa quickly jumped to the other side of the bed, clutching Arya's diary against her chest. Arya crawled across the bed trying to get to Sansa, but she ran around the bed, leaving them on the opposite side of it.
“What more did I like about it? You know, you've written loads about Gendry in this!” Sansa flipped through the pages of the diary. “How much you like his smile, how he makes you feel all bubbly inside, but how he's Gendry and how wrong that is! How you want to-”
Arya couldn't take it anymore, it was humiliating standing there having Sansa read her most secret feelings out loud. Arya jumped on to the bed and with a giant leap, threw herself at her sister, bringing Sansa down with her, knocking the diary out of Sansa's hands.
“Why were you reading my diary? It's private, you shouldn't be reading it!” Arya screamed as they wrestled on the floor of her room, hitting and pulling at each other's hair.
“It's not my fault that you left it open on your bed! I came in here to borrow your hairbrush and there it was. All open to the world, begging to be read!” Sansa voice was shrill as she explained herself.
“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!” Arya managed to get the upper hand in the situation, forcing Sansa on her back and straddling her waist.
“You should be happy it was me and not Robb or Jon who found it,” Sansa continued, “I'm sure they would be delighted to read about how you wish to touch Gend-”
“SHUT UP!” Arya screamed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?” Their father stood in the doorway his voice as cold as ice. “Arya get of your sister, Sansa stop pulling at Arya's shirt!”
The sisters untangled and reluctantly got up. They stood turned away from each other two meters apart, neither of them willing to look upon the others face.
“Now, can you tell me what it was that made you want to claw each other's eyes out?” Ned asked with a polite, calm voice.
“SHE READ MY DIARY!” Arya screamed, tears of frustration and humiliation in her eyes.
“SHE WROTE NASTY STUFF ABOUT ME IN HER DIARY!” Sansa shouted at the same time.
In less than a second the sisters were at it again, punching and cursing at one another. This time Ned stepped in, standing between them, pulling his daughters apart with one hand on their shoulders.
“QUIET!” Both Arya and Sansa closed their mouths.
“What's going on in here?” Robb stood in the doorway, an amused smile on his lips. “Is it that time of the month again for both of you?” He said with a laugh.
“SHUT UP!” His sisters yelled in union.
“Robb, this is not the time for jokes, go!” At Ned's word Robb shrugged and left the room.
“Arya, what happened?” Ned asked, turning to his youngest daughter.
“Sansa was reading my diary,” Hot tears left her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, sniffing Arya continued. “And she's not allowed to do that. It's PRIVATE!”
“She wrote that she wished that I was adopted so that it would prove that we're not related by blood!” Sansa interrupted, there were tears rolling down her cheeks as well.
“Yes, and they're not meant for your eyes, since it was written in her diary Sansa!” Ned said. “Now go to your room, you both need to calm down, and we can settle this later. I'm pretty sure the neighbors would like some peace and quiet.”
With an annoyed groan Sansa left the room, leaving Arya alone with her father. He gave Arya a pat on the shoulder.
“You should be nicer to her; she's your sister Arya.” When she started to protest, Ned patted her on the shoulder again. “Try to calm down now.”
When he left the room, Arya could swear she heard him mutter “Daughters” under his breath.
Arya didn't feel like eating dinner later that day. All she wanted to do was to lie in bed and maybe, possibly, get swallowed by the ground and disappear from the face of the earth. She couldn't stand knowing that Sansa had read what she'd written in her diary. There were things in there that she'd only written to get them of her mind, and that she would deny with all her heart if someone ever asked her about it. And now Sansa knew them. The fact that Sansa had read what she'd written about Gendry made her feel so ashamed it felt like she would throw up. Arya pulled the covers up over her head.
There was a soft knock on the door. Arya threw her covers from her head with a grunt.
“I already told you, I'm not hungry mom!” She said.
The door opened and to Arya's surprise it wasn't her mother. It was Sansa. Just when Arya was about to open her mouth and tell her sister to go somewhere very warm, Sansa put on of her hands up and spoke.
“Look, I know you don't want to see me but I came to apologize. Can I come in?” Sensing Arya's hesitation, she continued. “I brought lemon cakes, thought you might be hungry.”
Arya's stomach rumbled as if it could sense the presence of lemon cakes.
“Okay, but only for a little while. And just because you brought cakes!” Arya waved her sister inside. “And close the door!”
Sansa closed the door and pulled a plate filled with lemon cakes from behind her back. She stepped towards Arya's bed.
“I just made them, so they're fresh from the oven.” Sansa held the plate out to Arya and Arya grabbed it without hesitation. Sansa sat at the foot of the bed her hands in her lap, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
“I'm sorry I read your diary. I shouldn't have.” Sansa looked up from her lap and looked Arya in the eyes. “It was wrong, and I'd no right. I'm so sorry.”
Arya didn't want to forgive her sister; she was far too humiliated and ashamed. Dodging her sister's eyes, Arya stared at the covers of the bed. “You shouldn't have, so why did you? I mean, it doesn't take long to realize that you're reading a diary and not a normal book. Didn't the handwriting give you a clue?”
“I don't- I don't have a good excuse. I just-” Sansa stopped and took a lemon cake from the plate. She picked at the cake with her fingers, but she didn't take a bite. “I picked up your diary to move it, thinking it was a normal book, but then I saw my name. It didn't take long to realize it was your diary, but I saw my name and it made me so curious. I wanted to know what you'd written about me and if you dislike me as much as you say you do, but it turns out you dislike me even more than I thought. You despise me and you don't even want me as your sister.”
Sansa took a bite out of the lemon cake and wiped the tears that had fallen on her cheek with the back of her hand. Arya swallowed. What was she supposed to say? Her anger had been replaced with shame, but the humiliation still lingered. “Sansa I don't despise you-”
“Yes you do!” Sansa interrupted. “Why else would you've written so mean things about me? You don't write things like that about Jon or Bran!”
“It's different with them. I don't have the same kind of relationship with them as I do with you.” Arya started, how was she going to explain this? “I didn't mean the things that I wrote. It's just that I feel so wrong compared to you.” Sansa stared at her as if Arya had grown a third ear.
“Do you know that all my teachers compare me to you? It's all Sansa this, Sansa that, your sister did this, your sister wrote that. I hate it!” Arya felt the tears in her eyes. She took a lemon cake, stuffed it in her mouth and continued while she chewed. “I've so many expectations to live up to, expectations that exist because of you. My perfect older sister.” Arya's tears were now streaming from her eyes like small rivers. “And sometimes it makes me so mad! And that's when I write in that thing.”
“I didn't know you felt that way.” Sansa said slowly, a crease between her eyebrows.
“Well I do.” Arya stuffed another lemon cake in her mouth and she was so busy chewing and wiping her tears from her eyes that she almost didn't notice when her sister left her place at the foot of the bed to move to sit besides her, leaning against the headboard.
“You know I love you Arya, even if you talk while you chew and spit cake crumbs all over your bed.” Arya let out a little laugh. “And mom and dad do to. And they don't expect you to become me. We're sisters, but we're still two different persons. Even if those boring ancient teachers of ours can't understand it.”
“I love you too Sansa” Arya had to wipe away tears again. “Oh gods, I can't stop crying! What's wrong with me? I hate crying!”
“Maybe Robb was right and it's that time of the month again.” Arya gave Sansa a playful punch on the shoulder.
“Do you want to stay a while?” Arya asked. “I mean, I can't eat all these lemon cakes on my own.”
Sansa seemed happy by her offer and smiled. She pulled the covers closer around them and took another lemon cake. Sighing she said, “I really love lemon cakes, there's nothing that tastes better!”
Arya looked at her sister and she got this strange feeling in her chest, as if they would always find their way back to each other, no matter what they'd fight about. “I only write in my diary when I'm angry. You need to know that all I wrote, I wrote when I was angry.”
“Angry or sexually frustrated.” Sansa said with a big smile as she licked crumbs from her fingertips. “Considering what you wrote about Gendry I would say that you're definitely sexually frustrated!”
Arya smacked her sister on the head with a pillow. Sansa snatched the pillow away and threw it on the bed. “I can't believe you read that. That's so humiliating!” Arya covered her face with her hands. “Oh god, oh god!”
“Here, take another lemon cake.” Sansa held out a cake. “We must talk about this. I can't believe my little sister is in love!”
“I'm not in love!” Arya reluctantly took the cake.
“Yes you are.”
“No, I'm NOT! I'm just- I'm confused.” Arya let out a sigh. “It's Gendry. He's stupid!”
“That's right, it's Gendry!” Sansa beamed with happiness. “That's what makes it even better! My sister is in love-“Arya started to protest, “-sorry, confused with Gendry! You have to talk about this with me!”
“Only if you never, ever, mention it to someone else. It stays between you and me. Pinky swear!” Arya held out her little finger and Sansa shook it.
“I swear. I won't tell anyone else.” Sansa's face was serious but her mouth soon broke into a grin. “Now, tell me, when did you realize that you're confused with Gendry?”
Arya lay down in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Sansa placed the plate with the few lemon cakes further down the bed, and lay down opposite her younger sister.
“I don't know. It wasn't a specific moment, it just crept up on me without a warning.” Arya said with a low voice.
“And? How does it feel?” Sansa urged with a smile.
“Stupid and strange. It's Gendry and I'm not supposed to like him that way. His smile shouldn't affect me the way it does. And when he touches me-“
“WOAH! TOUCHING?”
“Not like that Sansa! GOD! Touching like you would touch a friend, a clap on the shoulder or a good morning hug. It's like I don't want him to be near me but I still don't want him to let go. I mean, I wouldn't mind if he instead just hugged me all day long.”
“Sexually frustrated, indeed!” Sansa said laughing.
“Stop it! I'm serious! I like like Gendry.” Arya looked anguished.
“So, why don't you tell him? He might feel the same way.” Sansa said.
“We've been friends for a really long time now, and it might spoil things. And I don't want that. I repeat; it's Gendry. He's stupid.”
“You're both stupid. You do realize that you and Gendry are perfect for each other?” Sansa turned her head and looked at her sister. “I've never seen anyone else who can handle all your energy without going mad. And your constant bickering is so cute.”
Not knowing what to say, Arya attacked her sister, but not in the same way as earlier that day. No, she attacked Sansa and tickled her waist causing her sister to giggle loudly.
Ned Stark walked down the hallway towards his youngest daughter's room. He figured he should check up on her and see how she's doing. Arya hadn't been down to eat dinner and he was getting worried. Ned Stark was not the kind of man who let his children go to bed hungry. When he got closer to the door he heard voices and laughter. He opened the door slowly only to see his two daughters lying in bed laughing with eyes red from crying. Beside the bed was an empty plate with only a few crumbs on it.
“I can't believe what I'm seeing. Is that really Arya and Sansa Stark getting along?” He asked. His daughters stopped giggling and turned to look at their father.
“Yes it is,” Sansa said and Arya smiled along with her.
“Then I'll leave you alone.” Ned closed the door behind him and as he walked away he decided that he would never understand teenage girls. “Daughters” he muttered under his breath.