Don't confuse
Baby you're gonna lose
Your own game
Change me
And replace the envying
To forget your love

"Plug In Baby" by Muse

In retrospect, Rey vastly preferred Valentine's Day when she was eight.

Now, as a middle schooler, everyone suddenly takes it so seriously.

She walks towards her science class with her hands shoved into the pockets of her hoodie, watching a seventh-grade couple make moon eyes at each other by the lockers. The girl is clutching a giant teddy bear in her arms, smiling stupidly up at the boy. Rey is fairly positive this same girl had a different boyfriend a month ago.

A girl in her pre-algebra class nearly runs Rey over in her rush to get to the girl's bathroom, sobbing hysterically about some guy named Justin. Rey finally slides into her seat next to Finn in a few minutes later, slamming her massive binder on top of her desk with more force then necessary.

"Everything okay over there?" Finn asks, twirling his pencil between his fingers.

"Uh huh. Just grossed out by all the PDA out there." She jabs a finger toward the classroom door leading out to the hallway, and Finn grins at her.

"Right? If I see one more couple making out in front of my locker I'm gonna lose it."

Rey nods in agreement and disgust as she pulls out her completed homework. She doodles a little in the top corner as the warning bell rings.

Finn slips a valentine onto the corner of her desk. She freezes, eyes flicking from it to Finn's face. "You didn't."

He shrugs, pulling out his own finished homework. "They're funny."

She picks it up and opens it. Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, grins up at her on shiny, metallic paper. It says Wallaby my Valentine?

Rey giggles, rolling her eyes at Finn and flicking an eraser at his face.

Finn gives Rose one that has a picture of Steve Irwin and a crocodile on it, saying We make a good team. Rose spends the entirety of the bus ride home comparing it to the one he'd given Rey.

"Yours is more romantic," she points out for the umpteenth time, holding both valentines up in front of her, eyes narrowed. She sighs and slumps a little. "I mean, he gave you one asking if you'd be his Valentine. Mine just says we're friends."

Rey is growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute. "I don't think that's what he's trying—"

"You two do sit next to each other in class, and I've noticed that he's more willing to talk to you instead of me."

"That's not true!" Rey protests, trying and failing to pull the valentine Finn had given her out of Rose's hand. "He likes you fine! You two are friends. We're all friends."

"He likes you more then me," Rose argues softly, leaning her head against the window and looking as if she wants to cry. "I just know it."

"They're supposed to be funny," Rey counters desperately, but her reassurances are falling on deaf ears. Rose tucks her own valentine into the pocket of her jeans and then hands Rey back hers. Rose then crosses her arms over her chest, pouting.

Rey supposes Finn does talk to her more. But that's only because she sits next to him in science. And at lunch too. And sometimes he finds her in between classes and walks with her down the hallways. But they always just talk about cartoons or pizza.

Although, now that she thinks about it, she doesn't see Finn going out of his way to chat with Rose nearly as much. She feels a blush beginning to form on her cheeks. No, there's no way Finn could possible like her like that. She'd burped in his face once!

There's no way. No possible way.

She glances back down at the valentine he'd given her.

Yeah. No way.

It's a Tuesday, and Rey marches into the painting classroom at the studio, shoulders squared. She takes up her usual stool and easel and starts to pull supplies out of her ratty, hole ridden backpack.

She ignores Ben when he slips into the stool next to her. She ignores him when he clears his throat, loudly, multiple times. She ignores him when he waves a hand in front of her face. She even ignores him when he gently tugs on a lock of hair that's fallen out of her ponytail.

"For the love of god!"

Rey and the rest of the class jumps at Ben's sudden outburst. She can't help but peer at him at this, and the look of sheer exasperation on his face is almost comical. "For the love of fucking god, will you please stop acting like I'm not here?!"

Rey and the rest of the class stare at him, but Ben's eyes never leave her face.

Finally she sniffs haughtily and starts to mix colors, a deep frown forming on her mouth. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was still cool enough to talk to now that you have Jessika."

He blinks. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"You missed two Fridays in a row," she snaps with a huff, trying and failing to picture what she wants to paint on her empty canvas. "After you pinky swore."

Ben winces a little, and she realizes that he hasn't even bothered to get out his own paints yet. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry about that, kid."

"That's nice."

Ben looks like he might actually explode. She watches him out of the corner of her eye as he runs his fingers through his hair multiple times. He heaves a great big sigh. "I got you something," he mumbles, tips of his ears turning red.

Her curiosity piques, despite herself. Rey lowers her paintbrush and finally turns to fully face him. "Really?"

Ben nods. "Yep. I did."

"What is it?"

He shrugs one shoulder. "I'll show it to you after class…if you're nice."

Rey's eyes immediately narrow. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"No."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Okay. Yeah."

She turns pack to her canvas. "I'll think about it."

But she thinks she's fully forgiven him about half an hour later, when she subtly flicks paint on him for the third time and he doesn't bat an eye.

When class is over she follows him out to his car, bouncing from one foot to the other in excitement. She wonders, briefly, if he got her a valentine like Finn did. But no. Ben would never give a valentine to her.

He pops open his trunk and rummages around for a moment before pulling out a large plastic bag and tossing it to her. She nearly drops it in her scramble to catch it, eyes widening as she opens it. Inside is a brand new backpack, a really nice one with about a billion pockets. Plus, it's huge, so she can easily fit all of her stuff inside. It still has the tags on it and everything.

"You like it?" Ben asks, slamming the trunk shut and leaning back against his car.

Rey barely manages a nod, genuinely speechless. She surges forward and flings her arms around his waist. "Thanks Ben," she says, voice muffled against his shirt. She feels him tug on her ponytail and she pulls back, craning her neck to look up at him. He's giving her a half smile.

"You're welcome, kid. Sorry I've been such a shit friend lately."

Rey waves away the apology, already busy moving her things from her old, barely-holding-it together backpack to her new one. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't let it happen again, shithead."

He laughs, and gently prods at her leg with his foot. "Come on. I'm hungry and we've still got a half hour before Maz picks you up."

Ben drives them to McDonald's, cranking the stereo up and singing at top volume to the song emanating from the speakers. He actually has a decent voice, although of course Rey would never tell him so.

"Is this new? I don't think I've heard it before." Rey has to shout to be heard over the thumping bass, and a second later Ben is turning down the volume just enough to answer her.

"Came out last year. It's a fantastic CD. I'll let you borrow it."

Rey nods casually, but beams on the inside. Ben won't even let Poe touch his CDs.

He buys her a Happy Meal despite her protests that she's not a kid anymore, and they eat their dinner in the parking lot, listening to song after song.

"You know," Rey says around several fries stuffed in her mouth, "I thought you'd be with Jessika tonight."

He swallows some soda and gives her a confused look. "Why?"

Rey blinks slowly at him. "Um. Because it's Valentine's Day."

She watches as horror slowly dawns on Ben Solo's face. "It is?"

"Wow. You're a terrible boyfriend."

When Maz asks her why she's in such a great mood on the drive home later, Rey just holds her new backpack close and smiles.

A/N:

And we're back! I ended up not finishing my piece for the Reylo Valentine Anthology until last night, about two hours before it was due. Talk about cutting it close! O.o

Once again, thank you all so much for your lovely comments on the last chapter! I absolutely love reading what y'all have to say. All the speculation on where this fic is going is so much fun for me to read. A couple of y'all are right on the money ;) Anyway, one more chapter for 2002. Someone is turning 21…

If you liked let me know!