Hey everyone! This is one of the first fan fictions that I have ever written, so please have some pity on me! I'm not studying English Lit., Journalism, Creative Writing, etc. I'm currently getting my degree in a polar opposite field, but I use writing as a way to express all of the chaos that is going on inside of my head. Well, before this becomes drawn out, I do not own Star Wars (however, that would be pretty badass...).

FYI: I understand that I am not the best writer in the world, and I hope by writing stories such as this, my writing will improve over time. English is my first language, and starting in sixth grade through the rest of middle and high school, I was placed in AP English classes. I like to think I'm a pretty decent writer, but I understand there is still so much more to learn. I hope y'all can understand if I sound a bit rusty!

For the sake of this story, Rey is 16 and Ben is 18. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear it.

Okay, it's time to get onto the story. Sit back, relax, grab yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, and enjoy!

Oh, and all of this is from Rey's point of view. It might change in the future, dunno yet. I'll see how it goes.

Tuesday, October 10, 1939.

That was the day I met him.

It was a relatively grim day throughout the city of Chicago. Clouds aimlessly draped themselves over the landscape. It was one of those mornings where it looked like it was going to rain, but the clouds just would not allow it. Crimson, yellow, and orange leaves dotted the ground. With each gentle breeze, the leaves were pushed gracefully into the sky until they made themselves a home safely on the ground until the next gust of wind came along.

On this day, like any other day, I could be found sitting in a desk at school listening to teachers nag on about equations and subjects that would never aid me in my adult life. Half the time, I thought I was just wasting my life away in school learning about useless things such as geometry because I would never become an engineer or an architect.

It was around half past one when I found myself, yet again, sitting at a desk in my least favorite class, chemistry. Not going to lie, I wish that I had a more riveting class to end my school day with. Thankfully, one of my best friends, Kaydel, sat next to me during these 45 minutes of pure torture. I watched outside the window as the sun relentlessly tried to peek through the autumn gray clouds.

All of a sudden, a small note appeared on my desk and snapped me out of my daydreaming.

"Did you hear?" it said written in Kaydel's loopy cursive. I was always so jealous of how beautiful her handwriting was.

"Hear what?" I wrote on the back of the piece of paper before flicking it onto her desk.

"There's going to be a rumble tonight between us and Central. Do you want to go?"

I looked at her surprised, although I shouldn't have been.

Both of our schools had a very long tradition of strongly disliking each other.

Actually, it was more of a love-hate kind of relationship. Each winter, both of our schools would hold an annual bake sale. The proceeds would go to the local food pantry for those who were still recovering from the economic crisis that occurred nearly a decade prior.

At each bake sale, the students, parents, and faculty were civil with each other for the entire weekend. But once the cookies, cakes, and pastries vanished from the tables, so did our hostilities toward each other.

The Friday before last was the homecoming football game between our two schools and it seems like some people did not like the outcome.

"Sure, I have nothing else to do tonight." I wrote back and handed it to her.

She nodded and then went back to paying attention to the board. Again, my gaze drifted back to the leaves outside of the window.

The rumble was set to take place at eight o'clock later that night. After school, Kaydel and I walked home together like we always did. As we strode along, we talked about the same petty gossip that everyone else was talking about during the day at the school. But the rumble was the main topic of our conversation.

For my high school, there was only one person suitable for the rumble against Central. His name was Zekk Novin, Kaydel's boyfriend. Zekk was built like a freight train, and was six foot one inches tall. Not only was he the size of a bus, but he had an attitude to match his immense size.

Well, at least everyone at school thought so.

But Kaydel and I both knew he could be a real softie at times, especially during that certain time of the month when Kaydel transformed from a sweet and cuddley teddy bear, and into a Tasmanian devil. He would often bring her flowers or chocolates to cheer her up, which always seemed to brighten her day. Although it was quite adorable, I could not help but roll my eyes. Sometimes, deep down, I wished I had someone of my own who would bring me sweets when I was feeling under the weather. But once I began those thoughts, I quickly chased them away.

Zekk is the most skilled and talented player on our football team and has a history of being a force to be reckoned with. Currently, he is one of the best players within the state of Illinois, and many colleges have began to take notice in the newly rising star. Zekk and Kaydel have been steady for around two years now and it was obvious they would eventually marry each other since they are two peas in a pod.

And then there was me, feeling as though I was the only person on the planet that was single. Of course, I didn't always mind this. Boys meant drama. And that was one thing I didn't like.

Drama.

After the normal ten minute walk back to my house, I gave Kaydel a quick hug before parting ways with her. From there, I slowly made my way up the steps to the front door and proceeded to open it before walking into the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Good afternoon, my beautiful Rey! How was your day?" Ahsoka beamed with a wide pearly white smile while I turned the corner into the kitchen. She was starting to prep for dinner, like she did around this time every single day.

"It was fine, just an average day of misery," I smiled back as I grabbed an apple off the kitchen counter and washed it off in the sink.

"You always have a way of making it seem more dreadful than it actually was."

"What can I say? It's my speciality." I chuckled a bit before taking a bite of my apple, "I have to go finish a paper for my English class that is due on Friday."

"Alright, have fun with that."

"Oh, it's going to be a blast." I replied with a wink before heading up to my room and settling down at the typewriter.

Around half past seven, Kaydel came over to pick me up. The temperature had drastically decreased over the course of the day and was hovering just above freezing. Before heading out the door, I put on one of my favorite knitted scarves that Ahsoka had made for me several winters ago, mittens, and my newest burgundy plush coat which had just been delivered from a Sears catalog.

Kaydel and I walked a couple of blocks until we found the alley the rumble was taking place in. People from both schools were crammed into the narrow passageway. This alley in particular was different from others within the area. It was completely out of the view of the main streets, a hint that people did not want the police getting involved this time.

Since Kaydel's boyfriend was the posterboy of our school, we were able to make our way towards the front of the crowd. After what seemed to be an eternity, we were able to ease our way towards the opening of the crowd. Even though the temperature was around thirty five degrees, Zekk had his shirt off to show off his immense muscles to intimidate his opponent. He was standing near other members of the football team, obviously planning a strategy of some sorts.

Kaydel looked at me nervously and then at Zekk.

"He's going to be fine. Don't worry Kaydel." I whispered in her ear and smiled.

She nodded reassuringly and grabbed my hand.

On the other side of the alley was an individual I had never seen before in my life. He was around the same height as Zekk and was of similar build, but slightly leaner. He was surrounded by individuals who were wearing Central letterman jackets in what seemed to be like a pep talk. Once the talk was over, they patted his shoulder while he took off his shirt before turning around. He handed the shirt off to one of the other football players before walking into the circle.

My eyes widened a bit at the new view in front of me. The man was certainly different from others I had seen in my life. His ears and nose were bigger than normal, and his face was framed by thick, dark hair. But what caught me were his eyes, two brown orbs that glistened in the moonlight. Somehow once all of these characteristics were put together, he was actually pretty good looking. I was instantly intrigued.

Once I sprung back into reality, I elbowed Kaydel, "Who's that fighting for Central?"

"Oh him? That's Ben Solo." she replied.

"Never heard of him."

She looked quite surprised, "You've never heard of Ben Solo? Every girl within the city of Chicago has heard of Ben Solo."

I shrugged, "Well I guess I'm one of those girls who has never heard of him before."

"Let it stay that way," she quickly replied without going any further.

Right at eight o'clock sharp, one of the football players from our school walked into the middle of the circle between Zekk and Ben.

"I want this to be a clean fight. No funny business. Got it?" he said while looking back and forth at both of them.

Both Zekk and Ben nodded before touching fists. Then, each of them stepped back a few yards. They began to circle each other like vultures around a fresh kill, waiting to see who would strike first.

Kaydel squeezed my hand while the first punch was thrown.

Zekk's fist landed right on Ben's nose.

A few seconds later, a trickle of blood started to flow down his face. Ben wiped his hand against his nose, looked down at it, and shook his head.

"You're going to regret that," he huffed to Zekk, with a new found rage in his eyes. He moved forward quickly, sending a punch into the side of Zekk's head. Zekk stumbled back a bit, and Ben took this opportunity and grabbed Zekk's shoulders. As soon as he got a considerable grip, Ben began to knee Zekk in the stomach.

The crowd began to roar with excitement.

Pure horror stretched over Kaydel's face. I squeezed her hand because I too was nervous about the potential outcome.

Zekk tried his best to get Ben off of him, but Ben would not be easily persuaded. After a few moments, Zekk was able to shake him off. He wiped the blood from his brow and spat onto the ground.

A smile sneaked its way across Ben's face.

"You're doing an awful job trying to impress your lady friend over there, Zekkie."

Laughter filled the other side of the alley.

Zekk clenched his fist, turning his knuckles white, "How dare you bring her into this, Solo."

"Aww… Did I hurt your feelings?" Ben questioned with the same smile written all over his features.

Before Ben could say more, Zekk threw a punch which found a home on the side of Ben's temple. Shaken a bit, Ben was able to recover within several moments.

They continued to circle each other.

Even in the cold, each of them had sweat raining down from their foreheads.

Ben's slicked back hair began to drape itself in front of his eyes. Even so, he intently kept his gaze upon Zekk.

In a split second, Ben threw a fake out punch which Zekk fell for. With what seemed like the power of twenty men, Ben quickly jabbed three left and right hooks into the side of Zekk's face until he collapsed.

Zekk laid on the cold ground, coughing up blood because of a newly broken tooth and punctured lip. Members of our football team rushed over to him while members of Central's team pulled Ben away from the nearly unconscious man. Zekk continued to lay there, trying his best to catch his breath. After what seemed like several minutes, Zekk was able to compose himself, and stood up uneasily.

He made his way over to Ben and reached out with his hand.

"I gotta hand it to ya, I didn't know you had it in ya, Solo," Zekk stated while Ben grabbed ahold of his hand. Zekk quickly moved Ben closer to him so that his ear was near his mouth, "But don't ever bring a woman into this again. Do you understand?" Zekk snapped with a raspy voice before bringing his green eyes on Ben's.

Ben looked into his, shook his hand, and nodded, "Fine by me, Zekkie. Just because your school won its first game against us in eight years does not mean that you can run your mouths all over the city insulting us. Remember that next time one of you decides to flap your gums."

Zekk nodded in agreeance and let go of Ben's hand. He turned around and inched back over to his fellow teammates. A concerned Kaydel followed in pursuit.

I stood off to the side, because I was all too familiar with being the third wheel when Kaydel and Zekk were with each other. The sky had begun to clear up, and the moon was starting to shine down onto the damp ground. But the same freezing cold air lingered.

I crossed my arms and puffed myself up in an attempt to stay warm. Just as I did when I was little, I let some air escape from my mouth, and watched as the air turned into a fine cloud of mist.

While waiting for Kaydel to finish up with Zekk, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Ben had turned around once putting his shirt back on and was heading towards my direction. I looked around my peripheral vision, and noticed I was the only individual in the direction that he was heading. Before I could react, his towering height was standing in front of me.

He smiled down at me with a crooked grin, "Hello. I don't believe that we've ever had the privilege of meeting each other. My name is Ben."

"I know your name, Ben Solo..." I said while looking up into his dark colored eyes.

A minuscule moment of silence stretched between us.

"I believe this is the time in which you tell me your name," He stated with a slight sarcastic tone in his voice.

I tried to keep my composure, "My name is Rey."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rey," he responded while blood continued to drip down from his nose.

I laughed under my breath and held out a handkerchief, "And to you as well. You do realize that your nose is bleeding right?"

He snickered somewhat and nodded while grabbing the cloth before pressing it to his considerably large nose, "Yes, Miss Rey, I'm aware. Quite frankly, I believe it's broken. I can barely breathe out of my left nostril."

"Well... Ben Solo, it must be your lucky day. I've taken a few classes on first aid, and can pop that right back into it's place. It would at least save you a trip to the hospital."

"Okay… I guess I'll have to trust you," He answered while glancing over at his friends and then back down at me. From there, he proceeded to lower his face down to my level. I could hear the roar of laughter from members of the Central football team from across the way.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt too much..." I chimed while placing my fingers over the handkerchief and his nose, "Ready? One.. two…" and before I said three, my fingers cracked his nose back into its correct position.

Ben let out a low grunt and gritted his teeth while drawing in a sharp breath.

"Maybe a heads up next time? And I thought you said it wasn't going to hurt."

I smirked, "Oops… I guess I lied."

He continued to hold the handkerchief up to his nose to catch the remaining blood and proceeded to look down into my eyes.

"How about you and I go out sometime?" he coaxed with an obvious grin underneath the once white and now burgundy colored cloth.

"And what makes you think that I would ever want to go on a date with you?"

"Because I saw you nearly pass out as soon as I turned around without my shirt on," he emphasized while removing the handkerchief from his face and wiping away the remaining caked on blood before putting the cloth into his back pocket.

"And your point is?" I retorted, starting to get ever so slightly annoyed by his presence.

"My point is... I'll pick you up Saturday evening, at six. Sound good?"

I couldn't help but let out a laugh, "What a line, do you use that on all of the girls?"

"Only the feisty ones." He winked and smiled, "I'll see you Saturday, Miss Rey."

"Oh you will?" I scoffed.

"Mhm. I definitely will." His deep-voice was laced with utter self-confidence.

This man. I could already tell he was going to be difficult to deal with.

"I think you're forgetting something," He stated while wrapping his arms together.

"And what is that?"

"Your address."

I rolled my eyes and let out a defeated sigh while reaching into my clutch and bringing out an old wad of paper. From there, I scribbled my address onto the wrinkled sliver of parcement before handing it over to him.

I narrowed my eyes up at him, "Happy now?"

His eyes lit up, and for a second I thought he was playing me before responding, "Words cannot even begin to describe the pure joy that is radiating throughout my entire being."

"You should become a poet."

He instantly lit up, "Really?"

"No."

I pressed my lips together before grinning and releasing a belly laugh.

Now his eyes narrowed on me before a substantial laugh escaped from his mouth.

After a moment he looked down at the piece of paper and then back at me, "Remember, Saturday evening. Six sharp."

And before I could respond, Ben started heading towards his pack of Neanderthals, also commonly known as high school football players.

I looked back over at him. He had put his letterman jacket back on and was getting ready to leave. As he began to walk away, he looked back over his shoulder and smiled with the same crooked grin. I returned the favor while my face began to flush.

At the same moment, Kaydel came over to me.

"Did someone catch your eye Rey? You're as bright as a tomato!" she laughed.

I nodded and smiled.

"Who's the lucky man?" she asked.

"I'm sure you could take a guess."

"Rey, I swear if it's Ben Solo…"

I nodded again.

"For God sakes Rey! What did he say to you?"

A shy smile spread across my face, "He asked me on a date."

"For the love of everything that's Holy you have to be joking." Kaydel hissed while rolling her eyes.

"What?! What's wrong with him? He seems like a pretty nice fellow."

"A nice fellow? I don't believe that word is even in Ben's vocabulary," she proceeded to grab my shoulders while looking into my eyes, "Don't get yourself involved with Ben Solo"

"Why?"

"Because he's bad news. Please, for once, don't be as stubborn as a bull and listen to me."

"I'll take your thoughts into consideration Kaydel. There's no need to worry about me" I beckoned while hugging her.

She hugged me back.

I checked my watch.

"I should be heading back home. Ahsoka will be wondering where I am, I'll see you tomorrow at school."

She nodded and started making her way back towards Zekk.

I began my way back to my house, which happened to only be a few streets over. As I walked, there was only one thing on my mind and his name was Ben Solo. My stomach was full of butterflies with the thought of having a date a few days away, but I could not help but wonder.

Why was Kaydel warning me about him?

Why did he have a reputation around the area that we lived in yet I had never heard of him before?

As I got ready for bed, thoughts raced through my mind about the events of the day. Trying to push them aside, as I laid down and brought the sheets up to my chin, the only thing that came to me was the encounter with Ben. While drifting away, I smiled, knowing that I would be able to see him again in a few days.

Phew! The first chapter is over. Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please let me know! I need some momentum to keep going, so any bit of encouragement will help! :)