The following year was amazing, Gally had moved into the hut with you and it was like a dream. You had been teased mercilessly, and even though everyone knew you were together, they couldn’t help but flirt with you sometimes just to get under Gally’s skin. You loved when he got possessive so you didn’t mind at all, knowing when you were alone, he would be yours. The guys didn’t get why you liked him, but they saw that you were good for each other and were happy. It didn't affect anyone’s work too much, except when Gally would get protective and try to interfere with your jobs, but you would have to calmly, and lovingly, remind him you would be okay. Most of the time that worked and when it didn’t he would either do the job himself or be around you the entire time. You secretly loved him being around and had to explain to the other guys that it was okay. Soon everyone accepted it, or at least didn’t say too much because Gally would fight anyone who he thought was challenging him - even if they weren’t. The guys liked having you around because you got more than one of them out of a fight with your boyfriend. The year was amazing. Then a new Greenie showed up. Thomas.
You liked him well enough but he and your boyfriend didn’t get along at all. You and Newt tried to talk sense to both of them but you both realized quickly that they would never see eye to eye. He quickly climbed the ranks and you saw that he was an asset, but your boyfriend was stuck in his ways. The traditions and consistency were what got him through the day. Kept him going. He didn’t like change. This was the one thing you couldn't agree on. And it led to more than one fight.
“Baby, he is helping.”
“But he is breaking every rule!”
“And he is getting punished for it.”
“Not enough!”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, I have had a tough time with him. We used to have rules for a reason. Now he can just break them and barely get reprimanded? I get that Newt likes him but come on!”
“That isn’t fair you’re right, but he is helping Minho and I truly believe he is the one who will help us find a way out of here.”
“You want to leave?” He asked incredulously.
“You don’t?” You asked with equal shock.
“The glade is safe. We have everything we need here.”
“Until we don’t. What happens if they don’t send supplies? What happens if we run out of food? Or shelter? What if the grievers somehow get through the maze?”
“That won’t happen.”
“What if it does?”
“How do we know that the outside world is any better?”
“We don’t Gally. But something is out there. And I am sick of being a lab rat. They are playing with us and you know it. I’d at least like to know why.”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we are okay.”
“What happens if we are not okay? What then? Having another plan isn’t a bad thing.”
“We are staying here so it doesn’t matter.”
“I honestly can’t believe you right now, Gally. I need a moment.” You turned to leave your shared hut but he blocked your path.
“No, don’t leave. Are you going to talk to Thomas?”
“Why would it matter? You don’t have to be jealous of him for the thousandth time, Gally.” That was another argument you had. You never liked Thomas that way, in fact he irritated you a lot of the time but he was your friend. And Gally hated that.
“I just don’t understand how you can be friends with him.”
“And the other boys still don’t understand why I am with you.” You countered.
“And why are you with me?” He questioned moving impossibly closer.
“Because I love you.” You half shouted, half stated like it was the most obvious thing. He let out a long sigh, rubbing a hand over his face.
“I just can’t believe that you do. I know you do. I just don’t know how I got so lucky. I don’t deserve you. I love you so much. If I ever lost you I don’t know what I would do.” He pulled you into him by your waist.
“I can’t imagine ever not being with you baby. But thankfully we don’t ever have to know what that’s like.” He pulled you in for a long hug. You always felt the most safe and secure in his arms. It didn’t matter what was going on, as long as he was with you, you could survive anything. Little did you know what was coming…..
Fic Summary: In a new world and new life, Rey and Ben Solo, attend the same University and same class. They are drawn towards one another for reasons unknown and it's when they happen to touch that a part of themselves is revealed, from another life, another galaxy...
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"I loved it, Rey." Rose sighed happily, placing one hand on her heart. "The concept of reincarnation, reconnecting two people again and again in different lives, is poetic."
"Like poetry, it rhymes," Jacen added. He looked at his laptop then back at Rey. "You don't make it so obvious that Kylo and Kira keep finding each other. I like there's a mist of mystery through the dialogue and how they communicate with each other. It's pretty cool." He gives her two thumbs up.
Rey smiled, grateful for the feedback. It had been three weeks since their first course and the group had done incredibly well in communicating with each other and constructively giving criticism.
"Where did you come up with this, Rey?" Ben asked, holding his hard copy of Rey's short story in his hands. He moved his mouth one side then to the other.
Rey smiled at Ben, still wondering what those two images of him meant the first day she met him. She didn't even know if he saw what she saw. She had only seen his look of confusion after they touched that made her think he saw something, but if he did, he never brought it up.
She looked down at her copy of her short story then looked back up, immediately being drawn to Ben's dark eyes as she said, "It's hard to explain," she looked away, trying to figure out how to explain something she was still trying to understand herself. "It came to me in a dream recently--these two being drawn to one another. I was skeptical of reincarnation, but now writing this, I believe I'm more open to the possibility." Rey shrugged as she looked back at Ben, seeing his intrigue.
Ben still thought of the two images he saw of Rey. He wanted to ask her if she perhaps cosplayed as some character, seeing her hairstyle was the same in those images. Hearing Rey's skepticism though, he nodded, running his fingers through his hair, bringing him back. He said, "I'm usually a skeptic on something like this too, but your writing is very convincing and made me want them to recognize the truth instead of the ambiguity at the end." He shrugged then gave her a half-smile. "Just what I felt after finishing it."
"That's a good point," Rose said.
"Yeah, I think I would have liked that type ending too." Jacen looked at Ben and nodded.
Rey raised her brows, writing the suggestion on her copy. "That's good! Thank you for your honesty, Ben." She gave him a bright smile. "I admit I wasn't sure how to close this but hmm..." She scrunched her nose at him, which made him tilt his head as if trying to study her. She liked his stare on her. "It's something to consider," she finished.
Later, as they put their desks back in place, Rey noticed Ben was looking at her as if he was trying to figure something out. She smirked, "Yes?"
Ben smiled, "No, it was just—You look different and I..." His eyes widened, realizing, "You changed your hair! You're not wearing it in your triple bun hairstyle." He sighed, relieved he figured it out; it was bugging him all night.
Rey's heart skipped a beat. He noticed. "Oh, yeah." She briefly touched her ponytail. "Just thought I'd try something new." She shrugged.
"Looks nice," he said in an almost husky tone.
Rey's stomach did a flip just the way he said that. She tilted her head and noticed a change. "And you, you're not wearing just black."
Ben briefly looked at his gray sweater then back at Rey, shrugging. "Yeah, just something new."She noticed.
Looking impressed, Rey said, "Looks...good on you," she said before quickly turning to retrieve her backpack from the floor.
It was Ben's time to smirk as he followed her out to the hallway.
Since their second class, Rey and Ben had made it a habit of walking together to Green Milk. They always found something to talk about. They would make it in time so that when they arrived, she would get ready for work, and he usually stayed in the coffee house for a little while, ordering a warm drink and dessert.
Rey sighed, "I love smelling the night-blooming jasmine as we walk out of the building. It's like waiting for us or something."
Ben chuckled. "It is a soothing scent, reminds me of Naboo." He and Rey walked side by side. He looked down at Rey, seeing her have a smile on her face. It made him smile too. "My grandmother had a garden made outside my bedroom so whenever I stayed over I could walk outside or even open the window and the different floral smells would immediately make me calm and at peace, night-blooming jasmine one of them."
"That's lovely." Rey looked up at Ben. "And thank you again for your feedback. I read your other remarks online before class started and I think I'm going to change the ending."
"I can't wait to read it," Ben said. He was hesitant in asking but said anyway, "I do have a question to ask."
She raised her brows. "What is it?"
"How did you get the name, Kylo?"
"Oh!" Rey didn't expect that question. She looked at Ben and truthfully said, "It came to me as I was outlining the story, and thought it was pretty unique."
Ben nodded. "Ah. It is unique—I used to go by that name in middle and high school." He looked at Rey, meeting her stare and rolled his eyes. "I was in a phase, I guess."
Rey laughed. "Like teenage rebellion?"
"Something like that. I made up Kylo by combining my last name, Solo, and my middle name, Skywalker."
Rey's eyes widened. "Huh, what a strange coincidence."
"Indeed."
Rey looked up at Ben again, admiring his tallness; that about him made her have butterflies in her stomach, she didn't know why. She could say his large frame made her feel protected but it wasn't that—It was something else, attraction. She knew since the first day they met she was developing something for him. She hadn't been in a relationship before, so flirting or anything like that was still new to Rey. She felt at ease with Ben, talking about any subject, and then there were times she wanted to just run her fingers through his hair and trace his adorable full lips before—She shook her head. What was she thinking! He could already be in a relationship or pursuing someone. But she had to admit he never mentioned anyone else so... Rey looked ahead, smiling.
She was curious about something and asked, "So, you were skeptic on reincarnation as well?"
Ben shrugged. "Well, yeah, but I have to admit it's interesting to think about past lives--people reconnecting again. I mean maybe you and I have met before in a past life?" He stopped walking, making Rey stop.
He looked down at Rey as if he could see a part of herself that she didn't even know. His mouth parted and it was as if he was going to say something--But he closed his mouth, winked his left eye, and bluntly said, "Or not."
Rey scoffed. "You ass!" He laughed, making her even more annoyed. She was going to push him when a kid on a skateboard made a sharp turn around the corner, almost running right into them.
In seconds, Ben grabbed Rey and pulled her to him, falling to the ground. The kid rolled by and yelled, "Sorry!"
Ben was sitting down, legs open with Rey in between them on her knees, facing him, her hands on his shoulders. Their faces were close. All one of them had to do was move two inches and their lips would have touched.
They were both catching their breath as they stared into each other's eyes, seeing different and same visions, and hearing the same voices, their voices. It was like they were in a trance.
"You are a monster," Rey was heard saying.
Ben couldn't look away from Rey's eyes as he saw her in the same sand-colored costume from before, and she had what looked like a gun and was shooting at him? Red lightning bolts came out of the gun as she kept running away from him and he was following her in a forest. He felt hot, wearing something over his face as he heard something unsteady. He looked down briefly and saw a laser sword like what Rey had but a red color and it was static looking.
"Yes, I am," Ben said.
Rey's breathing was fast as she stared into Ben's brown eyes, almost a caramel color. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to. She saw black robes, from head to toe, like the costume Ben wore in the snowy forest, but he had a dark-colored mask on; it was horrific. He had a sword of some sort; it looked like some energy in the shape of a sword; it had a hilt and looked static. All she wanted to do was run, but she shot at him with what looked like a gun?
"You're not alone," Ben said in a soft tone.
Ben saw just Rey. He couldn't see where she was. She looked to be in a different costume but still wore her hair up. With the blue laser sword's light, he saw her face, her beautiful face. She looked stunned at first, seeing him, then her expression changed to relief. She stared at him as if talking to him, blinking both of her eyes with the slightest nod as if they agreed on something.
"Neither are you," Rey said, softly.
Rey couldn't see where he was, but Ben was looking intently at her as if relieved to finally see her. His hair was the same, perfectly placed. He looked as if he was just in a fight and trying to catch his breath. His bottom lip drew blood and there was blood on his left cheekbone. She was concerned and wanted to know if he was okay. He then nodded at her as if they agreed on something; she didn't know what.
Rey moved her hands away from Ben's shoulders and placed them on her thighs.
"Rey?" Ben whispered.
She looked down at her jeans and started to look up slowly, meeting his stare. His mouth was parted, his brows furrowed, and he looked at her in confusion again.
"Are you okay?" He asked. He kept staring at her, wanting to say more.
"Ben, I have something I need to tell you," Rey said.
He just nodded, moving his mouth before he said, "Same."
