Chapter One: Diagnosis: Daddy Issues ft. Fucked Up

"You're just a girl with daddy issues."

The words lingered on to her, leaving her in a blank state.

Earlier she had confessed her feelings to her college professor, Professor Solo and to her surprise, she was brutally rejected. Rey didn't understand why he rejected her in such a manner - she waited until the semester was over and confessed in a private setting. She waited for the right time to make sure he wasn't conflicted with distributing grades and she was reasonable with him.

Rey didn't understand at all.

You don't like me. You're just a girl with daddy issues.

It hurt hearing it come from his mouth. Did she have daddy issues? The thought never occurred to her. Sure she never had a father figure and mainly dated older guys but that didn't mean anything - did it?

She sighed and sunk her head into the coolness of the counter table. She even waited for the next semester - she sworn she felt something from him. She wasn't a teacher's pet or anything - she just liked to participate in all her classes. She liked talking to him after class. Rey found any excuse to speak to him whether it was a homework question or red herring homework questions that led to long conversations.

He seemed pleased whenever she stayed behind a bit after class or whenever she had 'no place' to go during her lunch hour. They would have lunch together in his classroom, just him and her.

He didn't even let her down nicely as she had hoped. Instead he gave her a to the point response: That would be inappropriate. You're confused. You don't like me. You're just a girl with daddy issues.

It made her feel small. Inferior.

It had been four days since she had told him and to her dismay she couldn't shake it off.

He was rude when he told her. He didn't even have the heart to let her down gently - to give her the talk about how she was a nice girl and will find someone else better for her.

Was there something wrong with her?

She knew that she was young but was there something else besides her age that set him off?

It's only been a few days in to the new semester and she's already having a hard time. One, she was rejected. Two, she was getting used to her new professors. Three she's gathering up ways to pay for her textbooks and software programs. Four she kept on getting scheduled for work on the hours she had classes - she needed to talk to her manager about that. And Five, instead of being with her friends, she was at a bar by herself.

She wasn't drinking or anything. She's here for the food and the atmosphere.

"Bad day?" a voice asked from a distance.

Rey lifted her head and saw a man sitting across from her. He was four seats away from her with two empty glasses in front of him. His dark hair was disheveled, covering his face at all angles and his clothes were wrinkled as if he had slept in them. Rey wondered if he was drunk.

"Is there ever a good day?" she asked back.

The man shook his head and laughed. He sounded somewhat sober.

Somewhat.

A small smile curved upon her lips. "Bad day?" she asked then. She's not sure if she should scoot close to him or not and so she stays in her spot.

"I was supposed to see my family today - some family dinner but I decided not to go."

"Why not?" she hollered.

No one really cares that they're having a conversation from a distance. The bar is already loud.

The man shrugged and blew a lock of hair from his face. She sees a bit of his features then, it's just an eye but it's dark brown. "I hate being looked down by my parents. It's fucking annoying. I'm grown ass man but they still have the need and want to dictate my life even though I moved out years ago and have a stable job."

Rey nodded. She related to that, very much so. She had a string of foster parents, none which she ever met to their high standards. "You're not alone," she lets out a small chuckle. "My foster parents - or a collection of them, are all like that."

"A collection?"

"Yeah. I never had permanent foster parents. I went back and forth to different ones. I tried being what they want me to be but the end I wasn't good enough and so I was always transferred to another foster parent."

"Oh that sounds nice though. You weren't entitled to them."

She snorted. There was something about him, something welcoming. "What's wrong with your parents? What do they want from you?"

"They want me to go back to school and get some degree because apparently what I do isn't a job."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a fitness trainer. I make a decent living - not a shit ton but I'm manage. I have enough to pay for everything - that should be enough. I have a phone and a fridge and a washer and dryer that should be good for them."

Rey laughed. She definitely knew what he was going through. Her friends gave her slack saying that cup of noodles weren't a meal but at least she was making it out on her own instead of relying on her parents' funding. "That's more than enough."

He grinned back at the sight of her laughing. "Are you with friends?"

"No."

"Boyfriend?"

"No. Don't have one but I want one," she said.

He laughed and scooted closer to her. "Do you at least have a good drink?"

"No. I'm too young for one." At the moment she had half a sandwich and half a coke.

He was about to scoot to the last seat to her but he stops himself. "You're at least eighteen right?" he asked in a questionable tone.

Rey laughed. "Yes. I got here somehow didn't I?"

He sat down next her in relief. "Good then. If you want I can buy you one."

She shook her head. "No -

"You should at least try one before you're twenty one. It tastes different," he flicked his hair.

Rey was about to laugh until she saw his face. Her smile faded and her eyes went wide. He looked like Ben. Exactly. Well not exactly, his hair was two inches longer and unruly. He had facial hair, sharper features, darker eyes, and was dressed in a relaxed attire. Ben was clean shaven, with slicked back hair and glasses, and wore button ups and slacks. "You look like a professor I had last semester. Professor Solo," she stated. She said it quietly, uncertain if he was a different person or not.

He blinked. "Oh you had Ben as a teacher last semester?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she sucked in some breath. It was so strange how things suddenly became uncomfortable. There was a shift in body weight, a coldness in the mood. "Are you guys brothers?" she asked slowly. It was a stupid question to ask but she couldn't help it.

"Yeah. Twins to be exact," he said simply, indifferent to the information. "Did you like him?"

Her cheeks went red. "Like him as a teacher? Yeah I did. He's really nice - hes' a good teacher," she emphasized the teacher part. "Do you live around here?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I live twenty miles away. I was supposed to have dinner at his house but I decided to go here. It's more comforting here."

It made sense for Ben to live by the university and it made sense how his brother ended up in a bar that was three miles away from school.

"What's your name?" she asked then.

"Kylo."

"Nice to meet you Kylo," she said, immediately reaching for his hand. She gives him a firm handshake to be polite and also out of curiosity. He feels different than Ben. He's built differently as well, he was muscular while Ben was lean. His skin is tanner than Ben's, most likely because Ben spent most of his time in a classroom.

"What's your name - wait let me try to guess," he smirked. He examined her, scratching his chin. "You're very attentive and ask a lot of questions. You're friendly. And you have green flecks in your eyes- you're Rey."

She froze for a moment and then blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Am I correct?"

"Yeah - does he talk to you about me?" The last part was oddly specific. No one noticed that she had green in her eyes unless they really looked at her. She restrained herself, hiding her excitement.

Kylo stiffened from the sound of her voice. She sounds interested but not in him. "From time to time he talks about students he really likes. He doesn't really say anything else besides that. He's very private." That was true. His brother was a very private person who rarely discussed about his work. "He talks about other students too like some girl named Delilah and some other girl named Kristen and oh some guy named Robert and Drake," he added. He wanted to make sure Rey didn't think that Ben thought otherwise because Ben wasn't the type of person. Ben wasn't interested in his female students - or young girls for that matter. Ben kept things professional and preferred women his age.

To Kylo he couldn't care less. If he liked someone, he liked someone (as long as the person was of age) while Ben wanted a girl to at least be old enough to buy herself a drink. Kylo functioned on emotion while Ben functioned on logic.

"That's nice," she responded back. She relaxed then, reminding herself that Ben wasn't interested either way. "Are you close with your brother?"

Kylo bit his lip. She's trying to be casual with asking about his brother but he could see right through her. "Yes and no? We're polar opposites," he gives her a straight answer.

Rey nodded. Kylo spoke boldly and freely while Ben spoke quietly and was reserved.

"We fight a lot as brothers go. We're close but it's hard when your parents want you to be like your perfect brother."

"I don't think he's perfect," she said the second she a frown developing. It was true though. When she had Ben some days he was in a bad mood and would show it and also he liked things in a certain way.

Kylo gave her a look. "He went to Stanford and graduated top of his class at nineteen while I barely passed high school."

"Well just because you look alike doesn't mean you have to do the same things," she countered, comforting him almost.

He raised his eyebrow and sighed. "Tell that to my parents."

They talked for a long time until she felt her phone buzzed. "One second," she said as she pulled out her phone. 10:30 pm. She has a nine o'clock class tomorrow and it's going to take her at least an hour to get home. "I have to go - I have class tomorrow -

"Can I walk you to your car?" he said without a second thought.

"I don't have a car - I take the bus."

"Can I walk you there then?"

"Can I see you tomorrow tonight? At the bar?" his eyes lowered to hers, keeping her in place of his eyes.

She bit her lip. She didn't think about it - seeing him again. Rey looked around. There's no one around them. "I don't think it's a good idea," she admitted. It was true. It wasn't.

Kylo blinked. "I thought we were getting along though -

"We did - I really had a nice time - but I kind of -

"You had a crush on Ben," he finished her sentence.

She turned red.

He smirked at her then. He barely knew her but everything was written on her face. "I figured by the way your eyes lit up when you talked about him or when I mentioned him."

She wanted to tell him that she was still sorting out her feelings but she was afraid. "I think it would be too weird." That was an understatement. It would fucked up to see Kylo again. Having daddy issues seemed so harmless compared to seeing the twin brother of the teacher you had a crush on. She's not sure if she's comfortable around him because of his personality or because he looks like Ben. "You look like him and I don't know what I'm feeling." That part was true.

"You're going to have the same problem at twenty eight trust me."

She couldn't help but to laugh.

He smiled at her fondly. There was something about her that made him look at her kindly. "Remember what you said, we look alike but it doesn't mean anything. Let's just try it out for a bit? If it gets too weird we'll stop."

She thought for a moment. The bus was coming along and she had to act right away. "Alright," she said. "Tomorrow?"

Kylo flashed her a mischievous grin. "Tomorrow."

He leaves once Rey steps into the bus.

Kylo reached for his phone and checked the time. He should probably head home as well - he had a twenty mile drive. There's twenty texts that he had missed along with sixteen missed calls. He groaned. He knew what it was about.

He ignored the messages from his parents and went to the message his brother had sent.

Message one: Where are you? It's been an hour. Are you coming?

Message two: You could have at least called. Mom's upset. She's been trying to call you. You better pick up the phone.

Kylo frowned and gathered all his will to call Ben. He loves his brother - he swears he does except that Kylo can't even stand being in the same room with him. It was infuriating to be in the same room with him and being compared to. Kylo was the disappointing son, the son that didn't amount to anything. He loves his brother - he swears he does but it's complicated. It's always complicated with them. He knows he fucked up - he knows that his family misses him but he couldn't stand feeling the pain. He's already depressed as it is. He's not as smart as his brother or successful in anything. He's not as level headed or patient and he drinks and smokes more than he should.

"Hey," he began.

"Mom and dad left two hours ago," Ben said calmly. He doesn't sound angry but Kylo knows him. Ben is holding it in. He knows deep inside that Ben is pissed off. "You could have at least called," he's straight to the point.

"I know - sorry - I got sidetracked."

Ben sighed. "I know you and dad don't get along but he misses you. Mom misses you too." He sounded tired.

"I know -

"You and dad haven't seen each other in five years," Ben stated the truth. "I know you and dad don't get along but he's getting older," his voice went low, almost shaking. "He's not going to be here forever."

Kylo's heart skipped a beat.

"He's still going to be in town for a couple of days. You should stop by at his hotel. He's staying at -

"I can't." He promised to see Rey tomorrow and he had forgotten to ask for her number. He could go to the bartender and have the bartender tell Rey to come back another day but Kylo wasn't sure if Rey would want to see him after that. "I'll see him the day after tomorrow."

"Why not tomorrow?" Ben sounded annoyed.

"It's complicated. You wouldn't understand -

"Stop making excuses," he snapped.

"What difference does it make if I see him the day after tomorrow? I'll still see him."

"The difference is that you haven't seen him in five years and you should want to see him. If you care about him you should want to see him right away."

"I do care for him."

"You have a funny way of showing it. You have grow up sometime."

Kylo gripped onto his phone. "You're such a tightass. Everything has to be your fucking way. Can't you for once go with the flow and let people make their own decisions? I do love him. Don't act like you're the only one that gives a damn," he shouted. "I'll see him the day after tomorrow. That's that." He hangs up right away and went inside his car and drove off.

He's quiet during the drive, contemplating on what to do. He hated it when his brother guilt tripped him and made him feel even shittier. He has two options running in his mind. One, cut the date short and see his dad alone and two, have a short date with her and ask if her to come along with him.

to be continued