School has been complete hell. I'm just glad that I'll be able to update before next month. Hopefully I'll get more time to write this summer. I hope y'all enjoy this. Please leave me reviews, it helps with my motivation to continue this story. Thank you!

She wore that dress like it was a Saturday

Pretty as a summer rose picked in the morning

And he held her hand like it was a mystery

One he couldn't quite believe

Just walking with him

They were high up on a hill

Something to say, and daylight to kill

Time slipped away, the way that it will

Jack and Jill by Katie Herzig

Leia stays for a week.

And Rey has to admit that she has kind of fallen in love with her.

Perhaps it's because she's never had a strong female figure to look up to, or maybe it's just Leia. Maybe she's just easy to love.

She strong and independent without ever being mean or cold. She holds Rey's hand when they walk down a busy street and gives her a goodnight kiss every night. She's warm and funny and at times brutually honest like her son. Even Luke is livelier around her. Less concern with his simplistic view in life and ready to enjoy it instead. As the days pass, Leia somehow looks more beautiful. The stress melts away from her face and the sadness is kept at bay. Even Ben can't help but enjoy spending time with her before she leaves. Rey can tell, despite his antagonisms, that Ben loves his mother dearly.

They go around town visiting cute antiques stores and cafes. Leia and Luke buy her a bunch of new clothes that Rey doesn't need. Nice blouses and shorts in different colors, although Rey tries her best to get muted colors that wouldn't draw attention. Leia even buys her some swimsuits and Rey feels uncomfortably shy looking at them around Luke and Ben.

"I really don't need much. You don't have to keep buying me stuff," Rey tells them embarrassed by all the attention. She really didn't deserve it, and she didn't want them wasting money on her.

"Well, you can't keep wearing rags," Ben untactfully says out loud.

Leia shakes her head at him and looks like she's about to scold him in the middle of the store.

Rey is angered by his comment, although she knows it's true. She didn't have much at the orphanage and it shows. But still, Rey decides to get back at him.

"Hmmm…you're right. But you can't keep wearing black clothes and jeans all summer long. You'll get a heat stroke. I think we should get him a new wardrobe for the summer. Don't you think?" Rey asks Leia innocently.

Ben's mouth hangs open as his mother agrees with Rey.

"Wait…What? Mom, no! I don't want to go shopping!" Ben whines like a child or a whiny teenager.

Lei huffs in annoyance.

"I told you to pack for the beach and all you've brought are jeans and t-shirts," She tells him exasperated, "I knew I should've packed for you."

"I'm not a child!" Ben exclaims offended.

"Then maybe you should stop acting like one," Rey tells him honestly.

Ben looks like he's about to say something nasty in return, but at the last minute he shuts his mouth.

"Touché," he says instead.

Luke and Leia laugh at him and his face turns red. Rey gives him a smile. They could both suffer together at least.

They end up spending all day looking at different stores and wasting so much money that it makes Rey's head dizzy. Leia and Ben seem unfazed by it. Luke gives her a comforting smile letting her know that it's okay. By the end, Ben still picks out a bunch of dark colors but his clothing are more attuned for warm weather. Meanwhile, Rey comes out with a whole new wardrobe and she has never felt so lucky in her life. This kind of thing never happened to people like her.

Maybe in movies, but not in real life.

They spend their afternoons and nights on the beach. The sand sticks to everything that Rey wears but she doesn't mind. Sometimes they make a fire and eat dinner outside. Leia and Luke tell funny stories from their youths and Luke even tells her some stories about her grandfather. Rey sits enthralled and shoves food into her mouth. She doesn't think she has ever eaten so much in her life.

It's the height of vacation season and there's tourists everywhere they go, so they remain in Luke's private little shore. The rest of beaches are crowded and Rey longs for summer to be over so that she can enjoy the town in peace. However, once summer is over Ben would have to leave and Rey find herself disliking that idea less and less with each passing day.

Rey finds herself connecting to the strange teen in ways that she never dreamed possible.

It was strange how Rey always sought out his presence. Strange how she actually enjoyed spending time with him, well, when he didn't act like a jerk.

Ben is not an easy person to get along with.

He hates mornings and going to crowded stores and streets. He complains about everything he hates and sometimes Rey wants to shut him up. Put a tape over his mouth and only let him speak when he has something nice to stay.

She hates it when he goads his uncle or mother into a fight when he's in a bad mood. Yet, somehow she can see through all his bullshit. She can see how hurt he is by his absent father and how he struggles to control his anger and how much he hates himself for not being what his parents expect him to be. And Ben can see her too. The ugly parts of herself that she tries to hide and he accepts them.

Rey knows she shouldn't, but she can't help but laugh at his sarcastic comments. Can't help loving his smile, especially when it isn't cruel. Can't help staring at him when he looks away from her. Can't help wanting to memorize every single hue of his brown eyes.

She's only twelve years old, but she knows what a crush is. But a "crush" is such a small, insignificant word to her, so she refuses to think of him as a crush. He's just different. Rey doesn't want to question it. She just likes it when he's close and happy.

Leia and Luke are ecstatic by the easy friendship Ben and Rey forge.

They were surprised at first, when they returned from the beach the first night after Ben had stormed out and Rey had followed. Ben was calm and remorseful for almost throwing a fit at the sound of his father's name. He had apologized and Leia had looked at him like he had grown a second head. Luke looked at Rey and his eyes seemed to ask her, how did you manage that? Rey only smiled at him.

For the first time in a long time, Rey wanted to let these people in. Maybe they would never truly be her family, but she was so tired of her loneliness. She was so tired of pushing everyone away. She wondered if Ben felt the same way.

Time flies by too quickly for Rey's liking, and suddenly its Leia's last day before she gets on a plane leaves them. Ben is somber and extra snarky. Luke is sad but trying to make the most of the time they have left. Rey doesn't want her to leave, but she's glad that Ben will stay for a while longer. It was comforting to have someone closer to her age, even if she sometimes felt too young and naïve around him.

On Leia's last night, they sit around a campfire while roasting marshmallows. Ben teaches Rey how to make a s'more. He makes sure she doesn't burn herself while his mother laughs at something Luke says. Rey has never felt so happy.

Leia leaves the next morning and Ben locks himself in the guest room that he had been sleeping in for the rest of the day. By night time Rey has had enough of his wallowing and demands that he comes have dinner with her and Luke. Ben glares down at her, but begrudgingly follows her to the kitchen.

The next day Ben wakes her up early in the morning and Rey is amazed that he's coherent.

"Come on, wake up," he says shaking her lightly.

Rey groans and drags her blanket over her face in defiance.

Ben's fingers poke her sides until she gets up reluctantly.

"Why are you awake? It's too early for vampires to be up," Rey teases him.

Ben rolls his eyes at her lame joke.

"I'm going to teach you how to swim today," he says seriously.

Rey stares at him in surprise.

She had gone out to the water with him and Leia on mornings while Luke mediated, but she had never gone too far.

She didn't really think he had noticed that she would stay on the shallow end or would chose to sunbathe while they went swimming.

"I don't know…Shouldn't we go with Luke?" she asks.

"He went grocery shopping, and it's not like I'll let you drown. Don't you trust me?" he asks with a smirk on his face.

"I do," Rey says immediately and she's confused by it. She had only met him a week ago, yet she did trust him. Way more than she should.

"Are you too scared to?" Ben teases.

She knows that he's baiting her. Trying to dare her into facing one of her fears, yet it ends up working.

"No, I'm not! Let me get dressed and we'll go right now," she tells him defiantly. She rips her comforter of her body and starts to get up.

"Good. You can't live right next to the ocean and not know how to swim. I'll leave a note telling Luke where we are, for when he comes back," Ben says as he leaves her bedroom.

He pauses at her doorway, staring at her.

"Oh and nice PJ's," he say before he leaves her.

Rey suddenly realizes that it was the first time he had been in her room. And that her hair is probably a horrible, frizzy mess. And that she's wearing pajamas that Luke had gotten her with cute pink bunnies everywhere. Rey groans in embarrassment and hates that she feels so self-conscious. She never used to care about what she looked like before. But since she's met Ben, she thinks way too much.

She puts on a new swimsuit that Leia helped pick out and puts on a large shirt over it, along with some shorts.

They meet outside.

Ben's sporting black swimming trunks, like always, and a blue shirt. He sprays sunscreen all over himself. His pale skin is not used to the weather, and Rey often teases him for not being able to handle it. She was used to the sun's heat from back in Jakku, the town where the orphanage was located. She's thankful that there's a beautiful blue ocean to look at, instead of a hot, muggy wasteland.

Unlike her, Ben looks out of place and awkward in such a sunny, beautiful place. Rey finds it comical.

They walk towards the ocean, Rey takes off her shorts but leaves her shirt on, it's big enough to cover all of her and make her feel less exposed. Ben doesn't mind showing his skin and takes his shirt off. He's so pale and lean and Rey feels the familiar heat rush to her face and tries her hardest to keep her eyes away from him. She almost wants to tell him to put it back on, but she doesn't want him to know how much he affects her.

They reach the shore and Rey shivers as the cold water reaches her thighs, Ben doesn't mind the cold and jumps right in.

"Do we have to go far?" Rey asks as the water reaches her chest.

She's slightly panicked now. The realization of what they're about to do hitting her. She didn't know she had a fear of drowning until she stepped foot into the ocean. Sensing her rising panic and for once not being an asshole about it. Ben tells her they can stay at the shallow end for now.

"Alright, let's get started. Han taught me how to swim by throwing me into a pool," he recalls bitterly, "but let's go slowly."

Rey imagines a small Ben flailing around helplessly in a pool and her heart almost aches.

"Sorry," she says weakly.

"It's fine, Mom took over afterwards and made Han stay away," he says casually like it isn't a big deal, but Rey knows it does.

"First you need to feel comfortable floating." He instructs her.

"And what if I don't float? What if I sink?" she asks nervously.

Ben laughs at her and stops when he sees her glare.

"Sorry, but of course you can float. And if you start to sink or freak out, I'll be right here to catch you."

Rey saw nothing but sincerity in his dark eyes and she was once again astonished by her trust in him.

He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Okay. How do I start?" she asked determined to succeed.

"Let's start by having you float on you back. I'll keep my hands under you to help you," Ben said.

Rey took a deep breath and got closer to him.

Soon she was on her back floating with the slow waves. Ben's hands lightly touching her back. She could almost feel him through her thin shirt. The thought of his skin on hers gave her goosebumps. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing and not on how close Ben was.

"Look at that, you're a natural," said Ben.

Rey opened her eyes and watched him step away from her as she continued to float. She felt slightly disappointed at the distance, but she had to admit, floating in the water with the sun shining down on her was bliss.

Ben smiled down at her.

A small, but content smile that made Rey feel warm, almost like the sunshine on her skin.

From there, Ben had her sink her head down a couple times to get used to being underwater. Then she was floating on her stomach with her hands on his shoulders as she practiced kicking her feet as he walked through the water. Rey blushed at her hands on his bare skin. She wanted to kick herself for being so sensitive, but she focused on kicking her feet instead.

She was so distracted by her predicament that she didn't notice when Ben had started walking further into the sea, not until he started swimming with her hands still on his shoulders.

Panicking, she threw her arms around his neck, almost choking him. Her whole body pressed against his back as he kept her afloat. Her feet no longer found the ground. She might have felt embarrassed by climbing onto his back like a monkey, but she was too frazzled to care.

"What the hell are you doing!" she yelled at him.

"Calm down. I just want you to get used to the feeling. And you were doing well, you could probably swim if you wanted. But for now just hold on to me and practice what I taught you."

"Fine," grumbled Rey, "but warn me next time."

Ben rolled his eyes at her.

They stayed there for what felt like an hour but was probably less.

"We can come back tomorrow and you'll swim without my help," Ben told her as they made their way back to Luke's.

"It's too soon," Rey complained, although she wasn't mad at him.

"You'll be fine. And if you start to drown, I might be kind enough to save you," said Ben arrogantly, as if she should be grateful to him.

"I don't need to be saved," Rey pushed him and as he made an angry noise she ran from him towards the house laughing. He chased her, but she had already made it inside.

By the end of the week, Rey could swim without any help from Ben.

Ben was proud of her and Rey was happy to face her fears.

"Thank you," Rey told him one Sunday morning while they were making breakfast.

Normally Luke would make them breakfast while Rey made a grumpy Ben wake up, but on Sundays Luke went to the small church in town and stayed there till noon or later.

He ordered Ben to feed her and take care of her while he was away. Ben accepted while Rey complained that she could take care of herself.

"Just don't burn the house down while I'm not here," Luke half-jokingly said as he left that morning.

Rey ordered Ben to make her pancakes and Ben couldn't say no to her.

Ben was mixing ingredients while Rey sat on the counter and pretended to help. She really just stared at him as he struggled to figure out how much of the ingredients he needed. Rey figured this was the first time he was cooking something in his life and she enjoyed watching him fumble around.

Eventually, she gave him some tips and instructions so that he wouldn't ruin breakfast.

And then she thanked him.

"For what?" Ben questioned her as he dropped the pancake mix into the pan.

"For helping me learn to swim and for everything else," Rey admitted.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked confused.

Rey shrugged, feeing shy suddenly.

"I was pretty miserable before you got here," she admitted, "I never thought I'd actually be happy here."

Ben looked at her for a second too long then said, "So you're saying I make you happy."

Rey blushed and immediately regretted speaking.

"No I'm saying you make me less miserable," she stuttered out.

Ben laughed.

"It's okay. You make me happy too, kid." He said fondly.

Rey frowned, even though her heart lit up at his words.

"I am not a kid," she grumbled, "Oh and your pancakes are burning," she told him smugly.

"Shit!" Ben shouted.

Rey laughed at his incompetence.

"Next time, I'll do it, kid." she told him teasingly as he cleaned away the burned mess.

They eventually finished with enough unburned pancakes to eat, even though they were too thin. Rey thought they could do better next time.

Rey was so happy that there would be a next time.

Darkness falls without a sound

They come tumbling down,

Tumbling after, tumbling after