A/N: Given the craziness in the world right, I decided to throw myself into some writing and editing. Thank you guys for the support, hope you enjoy this next chapter :)
Summary: Rey is the frontwoman of the ever growing popular Co-Ed group With The Resistance and Kylo Ren is an actor who has taken Hollywood by storm. One chance meeting, some drinks and wedding bells will change their lives forever.
Chapter Two
As sunlight streamed in through the curtains, Rey groaned into her pillow. The pounding of her head was the first thing she became aware of, the second was the light streaming through curtains of the window. Slowly she tried to open her eyes, the pain tripled as the light reached her gaze and she was forced to close them once again. While the pain wasn't unbearable, she was grateful that she didn't feel nauseous, though she imagined there was a chance it would show as she became more aware of senses and sleep fell away.
A sigh left her, at least she wouldn't have to go to rehearsals so she could in theory just stay in bed for the day. Rey began to turn on her side, moving the pillow slightly away when she saw a flash of black hair. Startled, she froze in her spot on the bed. Moving the pillow away and opening her eyes more, she spotted the actor she had met the previous night, Kylo Ren, lying in bed next to her, without a shirt on.
Rey quickly assessed herself and found she was still dressed, though in what exactly she couldn't be sure. It seemed to be more of a white bathing suit cover dress than anything. She searched her memories, trying to recall what on earth happened last night, but her recollection ended at the start of their night she assumed. When he had asked to join her for some drinks, then she caught some snippets of them walking around, but otherwise she had no idea. A quiet groan left the man before her, he turned over onto his back.
"Oh God," he said, eyes still closed.
"How much did we drink," Rey asked aloud, her voice thick from sleep.
Kylo jerked in his place, his snapped open only to shut quickly again due to the light. Rey couldn't fight the amused smile that grew, he must not have realized she was still here. As he recovered from the attack of sunlight, she glanced around the room to see some bottles of alcohol around. Some were empty and others were half full. At least it didn't appear they went that crazy. However as he thought about it a little more, he realized they likely did go a bit too crazy.
"A good morning I guess is in order," Kylo said as he slowly opened his eyes to look at her.
"You guess? Well I suppose since we're both still here." Rey glanced around to see this wasn't her place. The walls were a midnight blue, almost dark enough to be black, but the light allowed Rey to see the barely blue tint. The curtains were a crimson red, though they appeared faded. Beneath her were black and white sheets, a thick black comforter over her and covering Kylo Ren.
"Or I guess since I'm still here," Rey amended, a quiet sigh left her, "I need a shower."
Kylo pointed to the right, "Shower's right there, knock yourself out."
Rey muttered a thanks before getting from the bed. She gathered her forgotten dance bag and decided she would bring the whole thing into the bathroom with her, maybe she would leave with some shred of dignity. As Kylo watched Rey get herself together, he tried to piece together everything that had, had happened last night, only to come up with a few flashes of them at the bar, a different bar, walking in a forest or partk. Nothing about them coming back to his place. Though he supposed it wasn't the worst thing that could happen, he imagined that he could have been doing a lot of worse things than hanging out with a musician.
The sound of the shower turning on behind the closed door broke him out of his thoughts. He figured he would shower once she was gone. Part of him hoped she wouldn't just disappear after this, he was certain they had a lot of fun together last night. More fun than he had in some time now. Kylo rose from his laying down position on the bed and walked over to the mirror on the wall to get a look at himself. His black hair was messy, a near rat's nest if he was being honest with himself and his eyes a little blood shot. He was wearing black slacks, but they were of a nicer qaulity than some throw on pants. Kylo ran his hand over his face, but stopped when he caught a glint of light on his hand.
Curiosity took over, he looked to his left hand to see a gold wedding band around his finger, but he didn't have it yesterday and he wasn't married. A sharp image of him laughing as he spun Rey around the previous night entered his mind, but it vanished before the rest of it could play out. The door to the bathroom slammed open revealing Rey, she was still dressed in the white cover up, but her hair was soping wet to show she had been in the shower for a moment. She held up her left hand to showcase a wedding ring on her left ring finger, a look of horror on her face. Kylo wasn't sure if she said something snarky or gentle.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we're married," Kylo said simply.
He watched Rey's face turn red, "How? We can't be married."
Kylo Ren glanced at the floor to see the paper that said otherwise. As he looked at it, Rey saw it as well and quick as she could grabbed it off the ground. He watched as her eyes widened in shock to see what he already knew, they were married. How exactly it had happened, Kylo still wasn't sure as his memory of the previous night refused to make itself clear in his mind. Rather the more he tried to grasp it, the further away it went adding to his own frustrations.
Rey glared at him, then averted her eyes, "Do you have a shirt or something to put on?"
Kylo barely held back a snicker.
A mix between a growl and sigh left her as she looked back at him, "What exactly happened last night? We couldn't have had that much to drink. This, I can't believe this happened."
Kylo made a click sound, "Well you better believe it Mrs Ren."
A look of disgust flashed across her face, "This is no time to be funny."
"Surely you must find some humor in the situation," Kylo remarked dryly, "Besides, adding a bit of humor keeps me from losing my temper."
Rey scoffed as she stared at the paper, "Of course it does."
Kylo opened his mouth to retort, but the words died on his tongue when he heard a sniffle, followed by a muffled cry. Slowly she took a seat on the bed, as if gravity was working overtime on her and she could no longer fight it. Her shoulders were hunched over, she was shaking her head slightly still not processing what's happened. While he wasn't quite sure how this would affect her reputation or public image, he was certain it couldn't hurt him that badly.
The image Kylo Ren presented was one of the more controlled calibers, he didn't do much, only every couple of months would article talk of his endeavors. This mostly because he didn't do quite enough to keep the masses entertained. The only real entertainment news to come from him was that when he wasn't his in complete control self, he was filled with anger and difficult to work with. Some actors had confirmed that though Phasma was able to save him a little face when his outburst came to the headlines. Anger management problems that he was working on therapy, which was a lie because he refused to go see a therapist.
This story would be refreshing change from his outburst and less than pleasant stories the paparazzi had run with in the past. Though he had to wonder just what would happen to her. That was when a little guilt hit him. He didn't know much about the group she was in, only that it was an incredible underdog and received a lot of scrutiny by the public eye because of the unorthodoxlyness of the group. Boy bands were popular, girl bands not so much and putting them together, well they hardly made waves. Though With the Resistance seemed to be making a lot of positive noise, he wondered if this would hurt their public image and that's why she was so upset. He knew he should say something to her, but he didn't know the first thing about how to comfort someone.
"It will blow over I'm sure, it's nothing," he decided to say.
She didn't look at him, but her tone was angry, "It isn't nothing! This is a disaster, I shouldn't have had drinks with you."
Kylo felt his irritation rise, "Are you saying it's my fault that this happened?"
"No," Rey said, she still didn't look at him, "I'm saying we're both stupid and we were both drunk and shouldn't have been drinking. I can't believe this has happened!"
Rey stood up from her spot on the bed, the certificate falling tot he ground forgotten as she raked her fingers through her tangled damp hair. Of all the things that could have happened to her, this had never been in her wildest dreams. This was certainly not how she planned for things to go in her life or when it came to who she would marry.
The certificate said that some wedding officiate had given them the wedding at around two this morning in Belvedere Castle. It hadn't been done by a priest or anything, but she wasn't religious so that didn't matter. She was married, the certificate showed it and there was no way this could be swept under a rug to never see the light of day. What was she going to do? How was she supposed to tell her friends she had gotten drunk off her ass and married the actor, Kylo Ren? She didn't even want to think what her godmother would say about all this.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, she didn't bother to get rid of them as she was facing away from Kylo so it wasn't like he could see them. However as his name flickered in her mind, she did notice on the certificate that there was a second name on the sheet next to Kylo Ren. A part of her wanted to ask, but she decided not at this second.
"Rey, are you alright," he asked despite knowing she wasn't.
Rey took a shuddering breath, as she faced him she wiped her tears, "I'm not alright. Uh- What are we going to do?"
Kylo Ren sighed, he looked at his phone on the nightstand before looking back at her, "In this time of crisis, who would be your best friend?"
"My publicist," Rey answered with a knowing look, "Qi'ra hopefully won't end me, but… Oh God, Dryden might kill me-"
She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as her phone rang. Quickly, Rey made her way over to it to see it was her manager which was a little or really a lot worse than it being her publicist. With the Resistance had its own publicist and that was exactly who she needed. Qi'ra was their publicist and a brilliant one. However she figured she may not hear from Qi'ra right away, which was a blessing and a curse. Dryden was calling her and Rey felt dread fill her stomach, this would not end too well for her. Steeling herself, she answered.
"Dryden," she said trying to smile, "What can I do for you?"
Dryden: You can give me an explanation as to what on earth happened last night. Have you seen Entertainment news this morning?
Rey visibly swallowed, "No, why?"
Dryden: Turn it on, right now.
Rey looked at Kylo and said to him, "Where's your TV? We need to get Entertainment news on now."
Kylo visibly paled at those words, but nodded nonetheless. The actor moved away from his spot to go to the living space to get the TV on. He could barely make out the other voice on the phone yelling at Rey for still being with the man. The TV came on and he found the channel despite the shaking of his fingers as he pushed the buttons.
There on the screen was a blurred picture of the two of them dressed in haphazard wedding attire. It was blurry and low quality, but it was still obvious just exactly who the picture was of. Kylo clenched his hands into fists, he wanted to break something, he wanted to flip the coffee table, smash it to pieces. He couldn't though, not when someone else he didn't know was present. To distract himself from going into a fit, he went to one of his drawers and shuffled around a bit too harshly to find a shirt to put on for her sake.
"Please stop yelling," Rey begged as she sunk onto the bed in the bedroom.
Dryden: Have you spoken to Qi'ra yet? What about your mates?
Rey sighed, "None of the above."
Dryden: I'm going to call Qi'ra, get her opinion on the matter. Where are you?
"I believe his apartment," Rey said, she eyed Kylo as he appeared in the doorway with a navy t-shirt on. Rey couldn't ignore the slight disappointment and large relief at that.
Kylo nodded to show she was right, this was one of his apartments. Having spent a good part of his life here, he had this apartment, well technically the 9th floor of apartments, for personal use. Whether it be for work or he needed somewhere to be in the city, this was the palace for him and guests if he had any, though he seldom did.
Dryden: Of bloody course, but I suppose that'll do. You need to stay there, do not leave that place. No telling if there are any press nearby. Do not answer that door for anyone except myself, Qi'ra or his people.
Kylo nodded once again as he picked up his vibrating phone, "I imagine my publicist will say the same thing."
Rey took a breath, "It would be the best thing to do. I'll remain here."
Dryden: Good, now I have some phone calls to make as do you. And you will send me the address so that myself and Qi'ra can get over to you as quickly as possible. Maybe we can start drawing up some plans on how to handle this storm. I'll call you back soon.
"Dryden," Rey said before he could hang up, "I'm sorry."
Dryden: I know. It's not alright and I know you didn't mean for this to happen. Don't worry Rey, we'll figure this out.
Rey nodded to herself as Dryden ended their call. Phone in hand, she could see the missed calls and text messages from her bandmates, Qi'ra and from her godmother, that was one she really needed to avoid. Qi'ra would likely be speaking with Dryden in the coming minutes, so she looked at her bandmates and tried to think who would be best one for her to speak to.
Finn would be angry with her, he was not a fan of Kylo Reb in the least. Poe wasn't fond of the guy either, but he was also more likely to get into situations like this and could have some good advice. Jannah was pretty level headed and would be a anchor. Rose was best for comfort and understanding while also not sugarcoating or hiding.
Finn's picture came to life on her phone, she supposed the universe had chosen. As Rey answered her phone, she glanced out the door to see Kylo on the phone as well. Likely with his Publicist. Though Rey shouldn't really eavesdrop, she just was curious. Especially when she heard the voice of a woman scream through the phone. If not for the swirl of negative emotions, she would have laughed. Kylo certainly wouldn't have appreciated it.
"Phasma, would you please calm down," Kylo said exasperated.
Phasma was always in control of her emotions, rarely losing her temper like himself. But at this moment, his publicist was too furious to keep her cool or watch her language.
Phasma: I will not CALM DOWN! You absolute f—king idiot! Drunk off your ass and you get hitched. You get hitched dressed in whatever the hell outfit that is I see on the news.
Kylo couldn't hide a grimace, "At least I got some press."
Phasma: This is not what I meant by getting more publicity and you know it. If my job didn't depend on it, I'd let you drown.
Kylo's grin was pleasant enough, "Warms my non existing heart. Care to enlighten me on the plan?"
Phasma: You and what's her name, Rey? Whatever, you both stay your asses in that apartment until I arrive and give me her publicist numbers so we can all start corroborating a story and fix this. I'll be there in an hour.
With that, Phasma hung up the phone leaving Kylo to stand there in his living room. Phasma could be a bit of a hard ass, but she was brilliant at her job and a loyal friend, even if she didn't want to admit. A heavy breath left him as he took a seat on his black leather couch. His brown eyes glanced at the television to see Entertainment news was still talking about his escapades with Rey. Maybe this would turn out to be a very good thing, or maybe it would turn out to be their worst nightmare. Whatever the case, he could only hope for something nice and pleasant to come from this.
A part of him worried that perhaps he was thinking of this too lightly. The paparazzi would have a field day with this, Kylo believed he could spin this into his favor, but when it came to the other involved he wasn't entirely sure. From what he could hear from her conversation, she didn't sound angry. Her tone was more defeated and if he was being honest, he was certain she sounded afraid.
The paparazzi had the power to make or break someone, he hoped that as this played out that it would help more than harm. He rose from his sitting position to wander to the door frame leading to his bedroom where Rey was standing in front of the window, one arm wrapped around her stomach while the other held the phone to her ear.
"I know Finn, it was- is crazy," Rey said softly, sounding worse for wear, "Please tell Poe to calm down, I can hear him screaming."
There was a pause.
"No, you can't do that. None of us need to add murder to the headlines," Rey remarked dryly.
Another pause, a little longer.
"Qi'ra and Dryden are the best in this business, they'll figure this out," Rey said, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than the others.
A short pause this time.
"Okay, I'll try to see you soon," Rey said, she waited a moment more, "I love you guys too."
With that Rey lowered her arm and set the phone on the window sill, her eyes focused down at the passing cars and people moving about. If not for the craziness, she imagined she would have woken up in Teedo's apartment, the two would have caught up some more and maybe gotten breakfast before she went off to do her own thing. Shaking her head, she took a seat on the bed and tried to ground herself in what was happening. There were so many possible outcomes that this could take, she would have to deal with it and hope for the best. She felt the bed dip slightly as Kylo took a seat beside her, but she said nothing to him. What was she supposed to say?
"It's okay," he told her softly, "I feel it too."
At this Rey turned her head to look at him fully, she tilted her head up slightly. His side profile gave her a clear view of the scar along his face, a thin line that started at the bottom and went up his nose. Midnight hair fell over his ears, though she noticed that his ears were just a little bit bigger than she originally thought before. Of course she'd keep that to herself.
"I feel alone," she told him.
"You're not alone," Kylo said looking at her.
"Neither are you," was her only reply.
A silence settled over the two of them, both wrapped up in their own thoughts of the hours events and wondering what the coming days would bring. With any luck, something good would come of it. It would have been expected for the silence to be uncomfortable and tense, yet it was the most comfortable either had felt in a long time it seemed. A series of knocks on the front door however broke their moments of solace.