Rey's earliest memories of her parents were faint. They were like little pieces that didn't quite fit together to make a bigger picture. She would day dream sometimes; would stare out into space during school or lay in bed late at night, her eyes fixated on her ceiling and she always imagined the same scenario. Her parents would show up. They would come back into her life as abruptly as they had left, swoop in with their apologies and excuses and all would be well. Whether they showed up in the middle of math class, or came knocking on the front door in the middle of the night. The location of this day dream changed, but everything else remained the same. Her parents would come back for her.

One day.

Some days, especially those first few days that Rey had spent on her own, it was the only the promise of her parents coming back that kept her going. It was the fuel she needed when her belly growled with hunger and her whole body seemed to hurt; seemed to scream at her to stop and give up.

Rey had physically assaulted a police officer in a matter of moments, after they had found her digging around a junkyard when she was five. She was dirty. Her hair was stringy with grease, her clothes baggy and covered in filth, and she was nothing but skin and bones. Most kids would of just given up and cried. Most kids would of willingly gone anywhere with the promise of help and a hot meal. Not Rey. She fought back. Scrappy, they had called her. A spitfire.

But it was hard to find a five year old spitfire a place to live.

When her parents couldn't be located, Rey had ended up in various foster homes within a quick succession. Then, as fate would have it, she ended up with Maz.

It was not love at first sight, that much was true. There was no trust. Rey had tried to run away numerous times. There had been plenty of fights and arguments, both between Rey and her new guardian, Rey and the other children. It was a hostile first few months and then…. Well, even Rey isn't sure what changed. But something clicked and eventually Rey just stopped trying to resist. She still thought of her parents. Still imagined them showing up one day with endless excuses and the promise of a better life. But also became easier to accept life with Maz and the other kids that were in her care.

They lived in a sleepy beach town not too far from where Rey had been initially found. During the off season the population dropped to under 6,000. It was sort of living in a ghost town. Shops closed up, and houses remained uninhabited for months on end and the warm, sunny weather was swapped out for gray skies and cold temperatures. All the locals fell into the monotonous routine, biding time until the end of May when the beaches and streets would become crowded once again with tourists, usually around the same time when the temperatures would skyrocket and the sky would turn once again, bright blue.

Rey lived for summers. Summer meant freedom. It meant feeling the hot sun on your skin, spending hours laying out and watching her complexion tan and more freckles form. Summer meant catching late night movies at the drive in with her best friends, or spontaneously going out for ice cream after dinner. It meant swimming in the ocean until your body ached in the best way from being tossed and thrown about in the waves. Summer meant being on her own schedule. When she was little that meant going to bed later and getting to race around town on her bike. As she got older, it meant school was swapped out for shifts at the local diner, where okay her boss Mr. Plutt was sort of an ass but the tips were decent and best yet, the money was her own. She could spend it where she saw fit. Or at least spend the portion that Maz didn't make her put into her savings account.

Summer also meant seeing him.

It had all started when Rey was seven. It was memorial day weekend. The unofficially official signal that summer was about to start. She was sitting out on the front porch, licking away at a blue popsicle, which was beginning to melt despite the somewhat overcast skies. Her hands were sticky, and she kept dragging her palms along her jean shorts, constantly trying to wipe the feeling away.

A moving truck was parked across the street, a couple men wearing tee shirts and jeans unloading various boxes and pieces of furniture. This wasn't an unusual sight to see. Constantly houses were being sold, or long term renters would bring their own things for extended stays. Rey always loved to watch people move. She felt like a spy; like someone trying to figure out the answer to a riddle, and the only clues being the belongings that were unloaded from whatever vehicle they had arrived in. In fact, Rey couldn't even remember if she ever even saw anyone in that house before today, which made her mission that much more exciting.

It was a large house. Probably the biggest on the street. It was as white as paper, with a dark gray roof and a long, wrap around porch that seemed to go on for miles. It towered over the other houses too, standing tall and proud with three stories, which of course didn't include the widow's walk that was perched on top of the roof. But it wasn't just it's grand stature. No. This house had a history about it. It wasn't one of those sleek and modern looking new builds that seemed to be always popping up where tiny, shingle sided shacks had once sat. No, this house has withstand the test of time, and now apparently was getting a new lease on life with some new occupants.

She was so busy watching the movers, that Rey didn't even notice when the family arrived. In fact, between trying to eat her popsicle and watching the show before her, she didn't notice anyone apart from the moving men.

"Hey!"

The voice was sharp. It jolted Rey out of her daydreaming, her eyes instantly narrowing in annoyance. She turned her head, seeing a tall boy a few feet away. He had dark hair and prominent features. The corner of his lips were curled down into a deep set frown. He was older than her. Probably fourteen, maybe fifteen? He had on a black tee shirt and jeans despite the warm summer heat that was just beginning to set in.

Rey of course had no problem giving back exactly what he had given. She scowled back, trying to match his annoyance and anger. It must of looked pretty ridiculous, like a small dog trying to appear tough, because it caused his face to relax, slowly morphing from irritation into confusion. She watched as his dark brown eyes took her in; her tee shirt stained and her melting popsicle only half eaten and coating her hand in a layer of blue goo.

"What?" Rey finally found her voice as she moved to slowly stand up and once again wiping her sticky hand along her denim clad thigh.

The boy seemed to hesitate, but it was fleeting and brief. He gave a roll of his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "If you would take a fucking picture it would last longer." Came his retort, his voice clipped and to the point, but it was tone was also quiet, like he was used to muttering smart responses under his breath. As if it was his first instinct to do.

Now it was Rey's turn to roll her eyes. She promptly gave him the finger, a gesture that felt bold and beyond her years because, well it probably was. Rey didn't even really understand the gravity of the gesture either. It had just been something one of the other boys living in the house had seen in a late night movie that he had started to use during fights and squabbles. It was done in pure reflex; the only comeback that seemed to be worthy on such short notice, especially to a much older teenage boy that had no problem slipping the word 'fuck' into a conversation with a little kid. If you could even call this a conversation.

Either way, it worked.

The older boy paused, a look of shock momentarily appearing on his face before a smirk twitched at his lips. "What's your name, kid?"

"Rey." She paused, suddenly feeling slightly shy and very aware of the frantically melting popsicle that she was clutching tightly. She paused before adding, "What's yours?"

"Ben."

And with that, Rey's life would never be the same again.

A/N: welcome and thank you for getting through the first chapter of hopefully many. it's been years (literally probably about 13-14) since i last wrote any sort of fanfiction. i've been reading so much reylo the last few months, and needed a creative outlet, so here we go. i have no idea how many chapters this will turn into, but i'm hoping at least ten.

thanks again, and i can't wait to hear what you guys think! please drop a comment below and let me know your thoughts/feelings/whatever you feel like!