Kylo had to lean down to step through her small doorframe. He put a hand on it, swinging himself through and looking around the room with a curious eye. It seemed larger than it probably was because of the windows, open and wide, the warm yellow fabric of the curtains pulled back and tied with a piece of what looked like twine.
A small, floral patterned couch sat under one of the windows, threadbare but sturdy. Near it, a small coffee table, the blue paint faded, groaned under the weight of a stack of textbooks, some literature, some suspiciously science-y. Kylo guessed she must have a roommate.
The room opened into a kitchen, with cheerful tiling and a modest dining table. A small bunch of wildflowers sat on the counter next to the sink, which was empty save for a bowl and a spoon. The cabinets were a terribly drab shade of brown compared to the random splashes of color in the room; a pink towel draped over the arm of the oven door, a postcard with a picture of the ocean on the fridge, a yellow bowl in the middle of the table filled with fruit.
Rey walked in ahead of him, kicking her shoes off by the coffee table and using her toes to nudge the socks off as well. Her bare feet made soft slapping noises as she walked across the tile, headed towards the kitchen table. Kylo watched her, smiling. She lifted up onto her toes and reached over a chair to set her books down. The edge of her shirt climbed up towards the waistband of her pants, almost uncovering a sliver of skin, but in the end leaving her still modest.
She let her feet drop flat against the floor, and Kylo hastily averted his eyes to the fruit bowl.
"Are you…hungry?" Rey asked, lingering by fruit on the table once she noticed him looking at it. She picked up an orange, eyes steady on him despite the lovely pink blush staining her cheeks. He couldn't help thinking that Rey would make an excellent subject for a painting. Her features were delicate and firm, almost…orderly, the arch of her eyebrows pointing towards the straight slope of her small nose, which fit neatly into the soft curve of her mouth while the corners of her lips reached up to her cheekbones. Her hair fell in soft waves around her face, brown and warm. His fingers itched to pull out his pencil and sketchbook, to document this symmetry.
He was staring at her, he realized, and he cleared his throat, looking down at the books in his hands and walking towards her. Her face seemed curious, still pink.
"I'm…I'm okay." he said, carefully piling the books in his hands next to the ones she'd placed on the table. He took a long look at the ruined painting before resting it carefully next to them. He readjusted the bag over his shoulder and then placed it on one of the chairs.
"Are you sure? It's just an orange. I can share." Her eyes were mirthful.
He looked at her a long moment, thinking, and then finally reached for the orange. Their fingers brushed and he tried to ignore the burning that the small contact caused at the back of his neck. He peeled the orange carefully, keeping it in one piece.
"Thank you." he said, his voice quiet. Rey smiled and leaned her hips back against the chair.
The soft snick of a door opening made them both turn their heads.
"Hey Phasma!" Rey said, pushing off of the chair and waltzing towards her. Kylo watched Rey, her every movement a practice in unrefined strength and while still managing to be gentle and non-threatening.
Phasma smiled gently and gestured towards Kylo. "Who is this?" she said.
Kylo shifted, folding his hands in front of him, hunching his shoulders. "I'm Kylo Ren." he said.
"He walked me home after I ruined his painting and spilled all of his stuff." Rey said.
Phasma laughed, throwing her head back, the blonde silk of her short hair tossing across her forehead.
"Were you in the art building again?" Phasma said, giving Rey a stern look. "Were you looking for—"
Rey made a high-pitched shrieking noise, cutting Phasma off before she could finish. Phasma only looked confused for a moment, and then her eyes flew back to Kylo. He felt uncomfortable as Phasma stared at him, and then her eyes widened.
"He's—oh, Rey." Phasma said.
"Hey didn't you have, like, anything else to be doing right now?" Rey said, her face bright pink and she wouldn't look at Kylo.
He knew then, that she'd been studying in the art building for the atmosphere, but also somehow for him. He was equal parts flattered and perplexed.
"I'll just get my lunch and go back into my room. You two have fun!" Phasma said, giving Rey a not-so-subtle wink on her way back to her room from the fridge.
There was an awkward moment of silence in which Kylo was unsure about whether or not to make eye contact with Rey. She stood next to the table, a chair between them, and reached out a finger to trace the edge of the ruined canvas.
"What will you do?" she said. Her eyes flickered up to meet his. Her voice was quiet.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"It's ruined. You don't have time to redo it. It's your final project."
"It's only half finished. I'm sure I'll figure something else out."
"Who is she?" Rey asked, and Kylo watched her look down at the rough outline of the woman's face.
"She's my mother." he said. His eyes closed and he sighed, heavy and sad.
"Oh no!" Rey said, and she buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Kylo." she said.
"I'd say it wasn't your fault," Kylo said, and Rey looked up, her face pinched with surprise, or maybe embarrassment, "but it really was. How long have you been watching me?"
"I—I wasn't watching you!"
He raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Rey didn't speak either, and they stared at each other, Rey's cheeks flushed.
"Fine! I've been watching you for a few weeks. I started studying in the art building because I wanted to get away from all the…lit majors."
"But aren't you a lit major?" he said.
"Yeah. But I want to write. Apparently that's a silly thing to aspire to in a place where we all study authors and the best of the best literature out there." Rey sighed.
Kylo nodded. "So. Why did you start watching me?"
"Have you ever thought about maybe bringing a bag for all of your," she waved her hand in his direction, "art crap? Because a big, tall guy carrying all of his stuff in his arms is actually pretty eye-catching."
"So now it's my fault that you knocked all of my stuff out of my arms?" Kylo said, the smirk on his face somehow managing to make him look boyish and impish at the same time.
"No! No, that's not what I meant." Rey said, closing her eyes and rubbing her nose with the pads of her fingers. "I'm so sorry for that."
"It's…well, I'm not going to say it's not a big deal, because—it is. But I'll figure something out." Kylo closed his eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd had to redo a project; his temper had been the downfall of many nearly-finished works.
"Can't you just reuse your reference photos or sketches or whatever?" she said.
Kylo laughed, a short, harsh sound. "Well, actually. I did most of the ground work in person, so I didn't take a reference photo. I prefer not to, if I can manage it. Having the figure in front of me is better."
"So….you can't redo it." Rey said.
"Um. Not really." Kylo said, looking down at the painting, tracing the spots where her fingers had been. A thought burned in his mind, and he was suddenly overcome by burning nervousness. "But I'm surrounded by art students who need favors and models. I'm sure one of them could be persuaded to give me a hand. Unless…."
"Unless what? Will you have time?" she said.
"If I hurry."
Rey nodded. He thought for a moment, feeling shy and unsure.
"Unless….you'd be willing to help me." He refused to look at her, instead retracing the edges of the painting.
"Help you…..how?" she said.
"You could….sit for me. If you have the time, of course." Kylo chanced a glance up at her. She was pink again.
"Of course!" she said. "If that's what you need, of course I'll help you. I'm the one who got you into this mess."
"To be fair, I probably should invest in a bag." Kylo said, grinning at her. His shoulders relaxed and he let his fingers trail off the edge of the painting.
"While I agree with that statement, I still feel I should help you. And offer you the use of my bag until you can find a replacement." she gestured towards her bag, full of his supplies.
"Honestly, I should just find you a new bag—this one has all that turpentine spilled all over it, so it'll smell awful probably forever. But I will graciously accept your help. Although I should get started as soon as possible." Kylo said. "Like, in the next couple of days."
Rey bit her lip, looking at the pile of her books on the table. "I hate to ask—but can we work something out so that I can read while you're painting? I have all of my midterms in the next couple of weeks."
"Uh—yeah. I'm sure I can figure something out for you. Let me think about some poses and settings and….I can get back to you about it."
Rey nodded and walked over to the counter next to the fridge, pulling a small pad and pen out of the top drawer and scribbling on it as she walked back to him.
"I'd bet you don't believe in cell phones, since you obviously don't believe in simplifying your life at all," she looked up at him, a sweet smile on her face, "so here's my cell phone number."
She ripped the paper away from the pad and held it out to him. He studied it and reached out for it, letting his long fingers fold around hers as grasped it, relishing in the way her eyes widened just a little bit. Once he'd taken it, he folded it up, crisp and sharp, and put it in his back pocket next to his cell phone.
He wished he could sit here among her bright colors and cheery smiles forever. There was a spot right next to the window that would probably have just the perfect light for sketching, and he wondered if the door beyond it led to her bedroom. Above the chair in the corner near her door, a clock ticked away, and Kylo cursed himself for staying so much longer than he'd planned.
"I should probably get back to class." he said.
A small frown flitted across her face before she nodded and smiled. "Of course! I've made you so late for class. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." Kylo said, running his fingers over the strap of the bag before slinging it over his shoulder and picking up his painting. A pang of sadness hit him as he looked at the ruined surface.
At least he'd been able to gain a new friend.
Kylo wasn't overly fond of people and usually preferred to be alone. It was easier that way—he often painted all day and into the odd hours of the night, forgot to eat, couldn't sleep, and made a ridiculous mess of his room throwing things around looking for a certain paintbrush or a rag. His mood sometimes required a specific type (and volume) of music, and his roommate had, a while ago, left a package on his bed, a pair of old-school noise-blocking headphones. Now when he painted he did so with his hair trapped back behind them, music blaring as loud as he liked directly into his ears.
Kylo knew he was the stereotypical moody artist, and for that reason he usually shied away from getting close to others.
But Rey, with her golden-green eyes and the soft glow of her smile…he found himself intrigued.
He walked across the room, wrapping a hand around her doorknob and turning to smile at her again.
"I'll call you later? Probably tonight. I've got to talk to my professor before I decide anything."
Rey nodded. "I'll be here."
He opened the door, reaching up a hand again to keep his head from knocking into the door frame and turned to take one more look at her, her slouchy jeans, faded t-shirt, and bare feet making her the picture of everything welcoming and lovely he'd ever known.
He nodded at her and left, closing the door behind him. The click of the latch was deafening in the dim, quiet hallway.