Okay. So here it goes.
It has been a very long time since I have written anything for FF. I do mean a long time. We're talking a ten plus year break guys so hang in there.
This is an 'M' Rated piece of fiction. I do Not own any part of the Star Wars universe no matter how much I wish I did. There might be so OOC moments and as I don't have a Beta, I apologize for spelling and grammatical errors. This is AU. It is also reylo with a long slow burn. But I promise it will be worth it in the end.
"Come on, Rey." A sigh followed the statement. A sigh of frustration. Afterall, it's been ages since she's left the safety of her laptop. That must be what authors do, seek refuge in their writing, afraid to face the world of the living.
"You have to save at some point. Why not just make that saving point sooner rather than later?" A second voice commented on her endeavors. Five months. That's the deadline she had. An Aspiring author, Rey had five months left to fulfill her contract at Force Print Books. If she didn't meet the deadline, it meant the end of her dreams: the end of the line. There was no going back. No one else would take her manuscript: she had one chance to make it and this was it. She wasn't going to be distracted. Her best friends were doing their best to take the pressure off: invite her to club openings, game night at the apartment, and even the random concert that might happen to come to town. Perhaps they knew that she was lonely, only her words typed on a screen kept her company these days.
Finn Storm and Poe Dameron had been her friends as long as she could remember. She came up with them through grade school and encouraged her when she was fumbling around for a scholarship. Her former guardian, Unkar Plutt, would have never helped her achieve any part of her small dream. Writing. It offered her an escape from the clutches of every day discordance. The world wasn't perfect. Terrorist attacks happened daily in different countries, and the toll was beginning to show. More and more young men and women were being shipped off to war, hoping to bring balance to the hate and hypocrisy running rampant. Yet here she was. Unlisted and typing on a laptop that is several years old. Her best friends offering advice to relax, giving her the option to turn in for the night. Sadly, they did not know the struggle she faced. Finn Storm, a civil engineer, knew more about building structures than he knew about fantasy. No matter how much support he provided, he would never be able to understand the pressure she was under. Completion. That's what she needed to provide. Poe was a little more understanding, but it did not change his overall goals of distracting her. A Café in one hand and the other on the keyboard, Rey ignored her closest friends, hoping to finish the chapter by the end of the day.
She had worked her ass off in school to gain the opportunity to write, Let alone for a company as prestigious as Force Print. Glancing at her friends for a brief minute, Rey turned back to her cup of Café. It did wonders to her mindset, giving her an amazing advantage against writers block. She had been wrestling with writers block for months, hoping to find inspiration in the relationships around her being.
So here she was, listening to her two best friends bitch and complain as she continued to fight off the writer's block. It had been two months and she couldn't seem to finish off this chapter.
Fifteen more to go. Fifteen. She was never going to make her deadline on time. Two pairs of eyes stared her down over the back of her laptop. She sighed, knowing there was no winning the battle against the two men. She was done for the day. Pressing the save button, she then began the shut down sequence for her laptop.
Rey closed her laptop, unzipping the laptop carrier in the same breath. Her time for writing today was over. Stubborn fools. Did they not know what was at stake for her? Her entire future Was riding on her ability to complete fifteen more chapters.
"Okay, you have my attention. What's up?" She sighed, resigning herself to an evening of stupid activities with her friends.
"We know that you really want to finish this chapter but it's game night, and Kaydel has invited over a friend from her college days." Poe smiled, hoping that this information of being set up wouldn't scare her away for the evening. It had been too long since they had all hung out together. Rey was almost always declining game night.
"And what does this have to do with me?" quipped Rey, her right eyebrow rising slightly. Of course. Of course, they were trying to set her up. Finn had Rose. Poe had Kaydel. She had her laptop.
"If you were to join us…" Poe began. Finn hurriedly jumped in to finish his best friends' sentence, "then we would have even teams to play twister."
Rey blinked, not sure she was hearing her friends correctly. "You want me to be okay with being set up with a date for essentially a couples game night, drink, and play team twister?"
"Yes." Both men shifted their stances.
Rey turned back to her laptop case, mulling over the offer. She had been so focused on completing her novel that she hadn't seen her friends in a while. Perhaps a night of fun is exactly what was needed for her to move forward with her writing.
Reluctantly, Rey raised her gaze to two pairs of brown eyes, both holding hope in their gazes as they looked at her. "okay."
"YES!" cried Finn. "Okay, were beginning at 8, peanut. Wear something cute!" Both men gave her a quick hug and quickly left the coffee shop. Watching their forms run out into the street, Rey wondered what she had just signed up for. Stealing herself, she gathered up her items, waved good bye to the barista, and began to make her way back to her small studio apartment a couple blocks from the coffee shop.
Pulling on her jacket, she kept walking as she began to dig the headphones out of her pocket, her feet carrying her without seeing where she was going. She had walked this route everyday for months. Takodana Coffee was a little slice of heaven in her stressful world. The owner, Maz Kenata, had become a quick friend and offering advice on her novel whenever she needed it. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the body that she had just walked into. Bumping into the person was embarrassing enough but raising her eyes she saw just who she had bumped into.
An amused pair of dark brown eyes looked down at her. Strong arms crossed over a broad chest, wavy black hair brushed the man's shoulders. Rey blushed looking down at the ground before muttering a quick apology and quickly walking around said man. She didn't see him turn to look at her retreating form as she walked away. A smirk graced the man's face before he to, turned back to walking on his path.
Rey had seen him before in the coffee shop. He was always dressed casually, jeans and plain t-shirt armed with a laptop, and a coffee much like she was whenever she was at the shop. He didn't ever say a word to her, nor she to him. She had her corner and he had his. She had always figured he was some sort of company head. When he was at the shop, he always seemed to go between doing something on his laptop and answering his phone. She remembered how his voice, quiet yet powerful, made her shudder, heat taking over her body. She didn't know his name but somehow, she found she would love for him to know hers. Shaking her head, she entered her building, climbing flights of stairs before coming to her door. Number D8. This was indeed her. Digging out her keys, she swung her door open, sighing as she took in her messy apartment. Finished manuscript pages graced her low coffee table and side tables. Coffee cups littered her counter, and night stand. A Simple studio apartment. Small, but as she didn't have a lot of money it served its purpose. The only treasures in her apartment were photos of her friends and her extensive book collection. Four book cases were situated against what was the living room wall. Every shelf was complete with books, some resting on top of others. Making her way to the bookcase, Rey slide her pointer finger across a shelf at chest height on the second book case.
These were her favorite. Running her finger along the spine of each book, she smiled. Her favorite author, her favorite story. It was epic. Star-crossed lovers from a different galaxy, one good the other evil, both constantly trying to turn the other to each other's cause while simultaneously teaming up in some of the novels to defeat the bigger foes that its mastermind created. K. Ren. Her absolute favorite author. His writing managed to give her an escape in her teen years, when Plutt's abuse would border on breaking her mind and spirit. She loved this story, in fact his most recent novel was currently sitting on her pillow. She was rereading it. It was this author that has inspired Rey to begin writing in the first place and like him, she hoped that with a finished manuscript, she would be published by Force Print. Maybe even meet him, since he too, was published through Force Print.
A small smile graced her lips as she began to get ready for the evening. She would endure the blind date and twister just so she could come home and lose herself in a book.
Ben Solo smirked at the retreating figure, not saying a word as she had muttered a quick apology. He had seen her many times in the coffee shop, which was his current destination. Shaking his head, he continued into the shop, sitting down in his usual spot. He didn't have to order his coffee at the bar, normally Maz would come greet her nephew with his usual order. She wasn't one to disappoint. Looking across the room, he saw his aunt carrying to cups to his table. At a little over four feet in height, he dwarfed her. Sitting down did nothing to even the playing field.
"You're late today." Maz noted as she set his cup in front of him. He merely nodded in thanks before picking up the cup and taking a sip. Excellent as always.
"Slept in today." He offered nothing more than that. His time was his own. At nearly thirty years old, he hasn't had to offer an explanation to his time management in quite some time. "I see she left early."
Maz hummed in response, taking a sip of her own cup. "Her friends came to bug her for a while. They pestered her for a little before she finally put away her laptop."
Ben took another sip, grinding his teeth out of habit as he thought of a response. It was a bad habit. "She's still stuck?"
"yes."
Looking towards her corner, Ben could envision her typing on her laptop and sipping on a cup of coffee. "I wonder why…"
"You know why."
"Deadlines are hard, Maz."
Maz glared at him. He was published younger than most. "You could give her some advice. She is, after all, hoping to publish through Force Print."
"She has to do it on her own. Any help from another will make her stress more once the second deadline comes. You know this. I don't know why you bug me about this every time I come into the shop." He took another sip. His aunt disproved of his sitting back. The young woman was going to have to do it on her own, no matter how much he would like to help her. No one knew of his work. Published at 18, he left home shortly after. His books had put him through college even though his parents had offered to pay. Growing up the son of a Senator and a Famous Racecar driver had earned him earfuls regarding his right to be anywhere. Add his weird looks on top of it all, and he was relentlessly bullied through grade school. A nose slightly angular and too large ears, paired with intense eyes, lanky body and sharp mind had ruined his child hood. His father was always off at the races and his mother never seemed to be there for him. His uncle Chewie had really been there for him where his own parents hadn't. As such, Ben had become fiercely independent at a young age. Sure, he grew up with money, but he wanted to make a name for himself. He had begun to fill out in college. The gym helped. His hair grew out hiding his ears, and slowly he looked more intimidating than awkward.
"It's not like she knows who you are, Ben. You don't have to tell her just offer some words of encouragement." Maz huffed. Her nephew was stubborn. He inherited that trait from both of his parents.
"No one knows Kylo Ren. I don't do signings. I don't tour. And having me offer advice would have her asking questions about how I know anything about a deadline. My pen name is the one thing that offers me anonymity and I would like to keep it that way." Ben sighed, leaning back in the chair, taking another sip of his coffee. "I've seen one of my books on the table when she works. She's a fan. Sadly, Ben Solo would disappoint her if she looks up toe Kylo Ren."
"You don't know that…" Maz began, her eyes wary as she looked over her nephew.
"Yes, I do." His reply was quiet, almost hard for her to hear. The silence that came between the two of the them was deafening. Eyes locked daring the other to look away first. Ben broke the gaze looking back down at his coffee.
"Well, anyhow…" Maz finished her coffee, standing as she took the cup off the table. "I've read the beginnings of her manuscript. She's talented, though Her words are laced with pain. Perhaps you aren't so different from her; Both of you looking for an escape from the outside world. A Fantasy."
Walking away from her nephew, Maz glanced back once to see his dark eyes puzzled as he finished his coffee. He was thinking about her. It wasn't the first time Maz had seen the far away look on his face. Ben had often pondered the other author. Her chestnut hair came to her shoulders, her hazel eyes were bright and intelligent. Her frame, while smaller, was not lacking. Ben was sure that she had curves underneath the slightly larger clothes she wore. She was an enigma to him. He always looked forward to seeing her in the shop, her light radiating from her as she worked, expressions crossing her face. It made him wonder what could a woman, who seemed to radiate warmth and hope, have hiding that was so dark? Shaking his head, he stood putting the empty coffee up on the bar. The barista, Jessika nodded at him before taking the cup away. Turning around, he began to head out to a dinner with his parents, the first dinner they have had together in years. He just couldn't seem to get the author out of his head.
Please don't hate me. I know the chapter is long and I think each chapter will be about this length. Feel free to leave comments. Love it or Hate it. I just had this idea for a while and I finally decided to try and put it to pen.
I hope to put another chapter up in a week. So weekly updates. Don't worry. They will interact soon.