Chapter Text
….and The Beginning
August 2001
“We can pay the first month’s rent,” the girl, Rey, insisted, her friend nodding along.
Interview after interview, Poe and Ben were consistently met with duds. Undergrad students who wanted to skirt on by with paying the bare minimum and had little sense of respect. A couple of older individuals, a new professor or two needing a place to crash until houses became available on the market. Then there were a couple of grad students who had more rules than Ben concerning their life style.
Poe and Ben were about to give up and go with the least terrible set of individuals and let them stay with them until the lease went up at the end of the year.
But then they came—two young adults, practically kids, came in with an application hastily filled and a wad of cash.
Hesitantly Poe picked up the wad, starting to count it. “This is the first month’s rent?”
“Like it says on the listing,” the girl said, her chin held high. Holding herself as though she were older and more experienced than her baby face lend to offer. “And we can pay our part—we both work and go to school.”
“You and every other applicant,” Ben muttered, eyeing her carefully. He picked up the form, frowning at the names listed despite hearing the two introduce themselves moments ago.
Poe scowled at him. “It’s great that you know you can but—”
“We can also cook,” the boy, Finn, interjected. “We can totally cook during the week if you guys can’t and—”
The girl nudged her friend silent, sending him a glaring look.
“Our point is we are low maintenance, we will do our share, and we can provide our half of rent every month,” Rey told them. “We just want a place to live since school starts back up soon and well, we need somewhere to sleep.”
Ben and Poe shared a glance. These kids were desperate, but they had the money and were willing to cook. It seemed like a bad idea from one angle and a decent one from another.
“Uh, give us a moment,” Poe announced, yanking Ben further into the apartment.
“What the hell—”
“I think we should let them move in,” he said before Ben could get in another word.
“Excuse me?” Ben peaked his head out of the hall, watching as Rey and Finn spoke quietly to each other, hunched in a huddle. He turned back to Poe, aghast. “They barely look like they are out of high school—”
“All the more reason.”
“No,” Ben shook his head, “I am not going to have teenagers in here who will only cause trouble.”
“Ben, they look like they need the help,” Poe stressed, “I don’t know if I can go to sleep tonight knowing they have nowhere else to go.”
“They didn’t say that specifically.”
“But they said it in so many words,” Poe shot back, arms crossed anxiously over his chest. “We got to help them.”
Huffing, Ben shoved the application to Poe chest. “No. That is my answer. I don’t want to deal with what ever trouble they might bring. We’ll talk about this later, I have to go to a department meeting.”
Annoyed with Poe martyr nature, Ben went off to grab his backpack and keys. Marching past the two kids, he frowned and did not spare a glance.
He couldn’t be like Poe and let every sad fool live in their apartment. One of them needed to be the hard-ass and apparently that was Ben.
One thing Ben didn’t account for was Poe pulling a fast one.
“They are already moved in,” Poe told him the moment Ben stepped back into the apartment that afternoon. “They are working on unpacking their room right now—”
“What the hell? We are supposed to decide together,” Ben hissed.
“Well it is my name on the lease—”
“And it is my family who has covered our utilities—”
“I just think it is best and I am not going to kick them out since they already gave me first month’s rent.”
The two stood off, glaring at one another as they silently came to terms with the situation—Ben was furious and Poe didn’t give a damn and would do whatever he pleased.
But also the man was Ben’s oldest friend and one who had a big heart despite his rather reckless and selfish tendencies. He wouldn’t say yes to anyone, and for some absurd reason he said yes to those kids.
“Fine, fuck it,” Ben grumbled, “but the moment something goes to shit, it’s on you. Not me.”
Poe was relieved at the news, however Ben did little else. He had work to do, a reading list to finish compiling, and make a call to him mother since he missed their usual call time due to the roommate interviews. Instead, he went to his room, ignoring the chatter coming from the bedroom across the hall.
He didn’t notice the girl watching him, with weary eyes matching his own.
Somewhere between ten and eleven at night, Ben realized he needed to eat. He couldn’t avoid the rest if the apartment forever; he did live there after all.
So checking the hall—all the doors were closed and the lights were shut off—Ben decided to venture out and make himself a bowl of cereal.
He shuffled to the kitchen, rubbing the lingering sleep in his eyes. When he flicked on the kitchen light, he nearly stumbled at the sight of her.
The girl. Rey.
She was sitting at the breakfast nook, a small book lap attached to her novel and a cup of tea sitting beside her. Her hair was piled on her head and she was dressed in worn, oversized pajama pants and t-shirt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ben breathed out, a yawn begging to come from his lips.
Rey blinked owlishly at him. “…um…reading.” She motioned to her book. “I have a hard time sleeping.”
“Me too,” he found himself agreeing.
Eyes darting between her and the cabinet, Ben realized he couldn’t necessarily kick her out of kitchen for some privacy when she was doing absolutely no harm. And Rey seemed harmless, sitting there reading and drinking tea, lost in her own world.
Setting aside his own aggravation—as it was with Poe and not her per say—Ben went about making himself a bowl of cereal. Pouring the Fruit Loops into a bowl, he felt Rey’s eyes on him. A quiet and curious pensiveness behind her bright hazel eyes.
“What?” he muttered as grabbed the milk.
“Nothing…” she said, only to continue staring.
“Do you…do you want a bowl?” he offered, still not understanding why she was just looking at him.
“No, I’m good. Thank you,” she mumbled, finally ducking back into her book.
Her paperback was a ratty old thing, falling apart at the seam. From the stickers stuck on the back, Ben realized it must have been a thrift find, or multiple thrift finds, as several price tags were faded and worn. Gentle hands held the novel together, along with a few staples and paperclips, tended with care and love.
She adored the novel by the looks of it. A comfort.
Squinting, he finally caught the title—Jane Eyre.
He had more than one copy of the classic, even a collectors edition.
Yet here was this girl, reading a old copy on its last leg. Reading the novel as though it were the best scrap on this Earth.
“Um…I have a copy of that book,” he nodded to her, “if you’d like to borrow it.”
She lifted her eyebrows at his stutter over ‘borrow’. “I’m fine.”
Just then the page she was reading fell out.
She huffed, sticking it back in. “It’s no big deal. Happens all the time.”
“Is it your favorite?” Ben asked, having an affinity to the classis as well.
“Yes,” she said simply. “I’ve read it…I’ve read it so much I’ve lost count,” she confessed.
“Where are you at?”
“Chapter fifteen,” she answered, closing her book slowly. “Rochester just told Jane about his love for Celine.”
“Right before the bedroom fire?”
“Right,” she hummed, a subtle grin on her lips. “You know the story well then?”
“I have written numerous papers on Jane Eyre,” Ben admitted, “you can call me an enthusiast.”
“Ah, I see…” she clicked off the little reading light, sparing a small glance at Ben. “I wouldn’t call myself an enthusiast but…” Rey shrugged, “It’s a story I always find myself going back to.”
“You relate to Jane?” Ben asked, his curiosity piqued. He rarely met someone who adored the story with the same sensitivity as himself.
“Well, I don’t see myself falling in love with a grumpy man with an illegitimate daughter,” she replied, “but I’m an orphan and Jane’s an orphan…and she’s figuring out her life for herself and I can only hope I can do that. Come from nothing and make something, become someone to somebody…” A flush came up her neck, she looking away as though realizing maybe she said too much.
“That’s…that’s great,” Ben said, finding his voice. “I mean, that’s what stories are supposed to do. Relate to us on some emotional level…I’m glad you found it with Jane,” he said quietly, looking between her and the book in her hand. “Please let my just loan you my copy—that looks like it is about to fall apart, and you should keep it but—but keep in a safe place. It’s important.”
She snorted, covering her mouth half a second late. “Fine, okay—go get your copy I guess, since you are so adamant on it.”
Sighing with relief, Ben left the kitchen to his room. Once finding his copy, he came back to the kitchen area, handing her the hardcover copy. Cautious and grateful, she accepted the book.
“When do you want me to give it back to you?”
“Whenever you’re done with it.”
She gave a half smirk—not quite a smile but something hoping to be. “Then you might never get it back.”
“That’s okay,” Ben said, spoon stirring his soggy cereal. “I have enough copies of the book. Missing one won’t kill me.”
“Right,” she said tersely, standing to put her cold tea in the sink. Turning back to face him, she nodded once. “Then I guess I’ll see you in the morning, roomie.”
“In the morning,” Ben echoed back with a polite salute. “Good night, Rey.”
Rey paused, looking back up at him, her eyes having a way of holding him still. “Good night, Ben.”
Little did they know it would be the first of a lifetime of good nights—the beginning of the rest of their lives together.