Chapter Text
"REY! YOU LITTLE THIEF, GIVE ME MY HAT BACK!"
I laugh and skirt the corner in the courtyard and lay flat again the wall, watching Ben speed right passed me. He's huffing like an animal. I spin on my toes, shaking my head, and walk the opposite way. Dude has some serious issues, and bad taste in hats. I look it over and shrug, shoving it into my big shoulder bag.
Oh well. Mine now.
I dart around campus trying not to run into Ben again, looking for Finn. Our trio recently became a duo after Rose ditched us for that blonde and perfect Phasma chick. Go figure. We still see her at home but even that's turning into hardly anything. She's always busy. Sucks.
I find Finn alone, sitting on a table outside the drama class. I smirk. What a geek.
"Hey." I say, sliding in next to him. "Hungry?"
"Super starving." He sighs.
I nod and toss out Ben's hat to dig around my bag for snacks. Finn picks it up and puts it on his head.
"Whose hat is this?" He asks before going back to reading lines.
I fling out some chips and two cold grilled cheeses on the table, hiding my grin. "Ben Solo's."
Finn quickly rips it off his head and hides it under the table between his knees. His eyes dart behind me before he starts whisper-yelling at me. "Rey! Are you insane?! And you let me wear it on my head?! What if he saw me wearing this, Rey?! He'd kick my ass! You know he doesn't fuck around!" He looks around the empty campus again, scared, and I laugh and rip it away from him.
"Oh my god, relax." I set it over my hoodie and bob my head around, trying to make Finn laugh. "He's a chicken; he's not gonna do anything to you with me around. He knows I'll bite his face off."
I chomp obnoxiously for extra measure and Finn breaks into a small smile that he quickly loses. "You need to leave him alone. For real. He's scary."
I burst out laughing snatch my sandwich up, unwrapping the aluminum foil. "You think he's scary? You pussy." I nudge him with my elbow teasingly.
Finn takes a bite and chews slowly. "Yeah. I do. He's huge. He's best people up for less, and has a big group of friends that back him up. I can't believe he hasn't done anything to Rose yet."
I roll my eyes. "She's a girl, Finn. Nobody is gonna openly fight a girl. Especially not Rose. She is so widdleeee." I giggle.
Finn chuckles and nods, taking another bite. "Yeah, you're right. But he's just so big and scary, ya know? Like some big, dumb animal. King Kong. Maybe he wants to fuck Godzilla, I don't know."
We both giggle on each other's shoulders, gasping for air. Finn always kills me with the shit he says. I don't even know what it means. But he's a crack up. Finn hands off the shitty little MP3 player we all share and I put on some She Wants Revenge.
We finish our food, both silently wishing there was more but the house is strict and tight on food. I saved the 20$ I stole from Ben to ration out for McDonald's dinners for us for the week so we'll just have to wait. Fuckin' Plutt runs the house like a prison. He found my cookies last night and locked them in his room like the greedy asshole I figured he'd be. I don't get it... He gets money for fostering us. He's just greedy.
It's quiet for awhile while I listen to music and draw with a pen on my exposed leg that shows through the rips and holes in my jeans. Mostly stars and planets and ray guns. Finn reads his lines, reciting them aloud. Eventually he pats my shoulder and heads back into the drama room.
I stand up to throw away our trash that he left behind, singing along to the song in my ears. The music is blaring so loud I don't notice Ben in the shadows to my right until it's too late.
"I want to hold you close,
Skin pressed against me tight
Lie still, close your eyes girl
So lovely, it feels so righ—"
He grabs my arm and pulls me around the corner, into the dark so fast I stumble and I lose my balance and almost hit the ground. Ben catches me swiftly, squeezing a little too tight. I grab onto his hard, muscular forearm and yelp a little yelp in surprise.
"Holy shit, dude, be careful." I say as I take out a headphone from my ear.
Once I steady myself and realize what I'm doing and who is touching me, I retract my hand and rear it back to slap him in his stupid face. But he grabs it quickly and I stomp on his foot instead. He hisses in pain and lets me go – I almost run for it, but instead I decide to stay and talk some shit. I square my shoulders.
"Can you fuck off?! What is your deal?!" I jab his chest with my finger as hard as I can.
"I – ME?!" Ben's jaw drops open and his eyebrows almost hit his hairline.
I mock his shocked face, staring up and into his brown – no, hazel, with a blue ring around them – eyes and place my fists on my hips. "Yeah. YOU." I shift my jaw. "You've been nothing but mean to me for no fucking reason. I stay out of your way the best I can, but apparently your reign of the halls takes up every square inch, huh?"
Ben scoffs and runs his huge hand through his wavy, onyx hair. It's a nice contrast between his dark hair and fair complexion. He shakes his head, clearly aggravated. Good. Asshole.
"No, that's not even true." He says slowly, like I'm stupid. "I don't 'own' the school." He uses his fingers to make sarcastic quotations. "You're just being dramatic. As always." He grits his teeth and rolls his eyes. "I actually wanted to just ask you –"
I throw my hand up to shut him up. "I don't care. Just leave me alone."
I was just gonna walk away and leave him standing here, but for some reason I wanna keep bothering him. Getting under his skin. It's fun, and the longer I stare at him, the more I realize how much I like his facial features. Think I'll go home and sketch him tonight.
And then burn it on his beautifully manicured lawn. Jerk off.
"Oh my god. Why are you so difficult?" Ben growls and rubs the heels of his palms into his eyes angrily and blows out a long, unsteady sigh and I giggle. Dude needs some anger management classes, holy shit.
"Rey. I have a question for you." He hisses out slowly from between his clenched teeth.
My eyebrows furrow and I squint at him, crossing my arms. This oughtta be good. "Uh huh...."
I watch impatiently as he slowly but roughly runs his hands through his pretty hair. Stupid hair. He exhales through his nose and smiles at me and I involuntarily take a step back. Yikes. He really is huge, looks even bigger in that black and red Letterman jacket.
"Go. To Hux's party. With me. Friday." He says each syllable, chewing them around like they're rotten, but visibly relaxes a little, even smiles almost normally.
It takes a minute for my brain to process. Wait... My heart drops and my palms sweat instantly, though. Party ... With me? My stomach flutters anxiously. Does he like me or something? Is that why he's such a dick to me?
I almost smile – but then I'm angry. Pissed.
My lip curls and Ben stops smiling.
I snort humorlessly, shaking.
"Why? So you can drop pigs blood on me and the whole school can laugh at me? Fuck you." I spit at his feet when he tries to talk over me. "No! Who do you – why? Why would you even think I –" Angry tears burn my eyes and I clench my fists, shaking. "Fuck you! You're such - such a piece of shit! Leave me alone!"
Still, I don't run. I just fume and tremble and try my hardest not to cry.
Ben eventually reaches out to touch me. "Are you... crying? Why are you crying?" He whispers "Are you okay –?"
As soon as his finger brushes the exposed skin on my hand I stumble away from him and turn to run.
Not before I rip off one of his letters from his stupid Letterman jacket. Ben yells after me, I think he might even be chasing me but I don't turn to look. I don't care.
I run and run until I reach the end of the soccer field and hop over the fence and rush away, crying my eyes out. I hate him. I hate him so much. I hope he explodes in a fucking fire! I rub my knuckles into my eyes until it hurts while I wait for the dirty city bus home.
Thunder rumbles over head and I fix my hoodie to hide my face better. It's gonna rain tonight. I shiver sadly until I remember I have a few extra bucks for hot food. I smile a little. At least Ben Solo and his dumb, pretty hair is useful for one thing:
Or rather, plenty of things to steal.
I rub my nose with my sleeve and sniffle. Asshole.