Chapter One
Starkiller
Rey stared in shock at her laptop screen. The cursor was blinking patiently back at her.
Anonymous239524: I'm a sissy who likes to be dominated.
She blushed fiercely and quickly clicked to end the chat. This was stupid. She didn't know why she was on a chat site anyway. Didn't that scream desperate and just give an open invite for trolls to torment her? So far she had gone through three chats.
The first person had said "Hi asl" to which she had replied "Hi" back, then went to Google what asl meant. Evidently, it stood for age/sex/location, but by the time she had switched tabs back over to the chat site, the person had messaged "what's wrong with you that can't answer a simple question?" and logged out of their chat. It was just as well, she didn't want to get into that right at the beginning.
The second chat had seemed promising for a minute. They were messaging back and forth about their interests, but then he asked her what she was wearing and what she looked like. Rey didn't want to go there with him, so she clicked for a new chat and got that lovely sentence right away from Anonymous239524 in return.
She sighed, contemplating her life decisions. Things had been different since her best friend Finn had gotten engaged to Rose. She was very happy for them and she truly liked Rose, but now they spent all of their time together and Rey was left out. Normally, she would have Poe, her other best friend, to make up for it but lately his job had been keeping him out of the country. He was a pilot for Resistance Airlines and while she was stuck in Coruscant he was galavanting off to exotic locations like the Jakku dessert and the snowy expanse of Hoth. Always meeting and charming the local women as he went.
She was honestly just lonely and bored. She felt the suffocating grip of abandonment slowly creeping in to her flat. Darkening the rooms and making the air feel dead. She had wrapped herself in a blanket, made a cup of tea, and settled at her laptop for some entertainment. She had surfed through various social media platforms, seeing what Poe was up to and scrolling past tons of tagged photos of Finn and Rose together.
On a whim she had searched for chat rooms for friends and clicked on the first one she saw. She let it generate a random user name, Anonymous599343 and hoped for the best. Obviously, that was in vain. It appeared no one was actually looking for friendship, just sexual banter and who knew what else. She figured she'd give it one more go before calling it a very early Friday night and crawling into bed to watch Netflix.
She clicked to start a new chat and waited to see what the internet gods had for her this time. Someone with the username Starkiller. This should be interesting. The first non-anonymous name so far. She waited to see how this conversation would start as she sipped on her tea.
Starkiller: ... What?
Starkiller: Don't you have anything to say?
Starkiller: What are you doing on here then?
Anonymous599343: I don't know. What are YOU doing on here?
Starkiller: Looking to kill some time.
Anonymous599343: And bullying people from the start of the conversation is the way you like to do that?
Starkiller: I find it to be the most entertaining option.
Rey huffed. She was right. Nothing but a bunch of perverts and trolls in chat rooms. Still, this was the farthest she had gotten with someone and she was curious how far it would go before it turned weird.
Anonymous599343: You sound like a brilliantly swell person.
Starkiller: That's usually not the adjective used to describe me.
Anonymous599343: I'm sure. I was being sarcastic.
Starkiller: I know. I was being facetious.
Anonymous599343: Are you always this unpleasant?
Starkiller: ...
Starkiller: Yes.
Starkiller: So tell me, why are you here?
Rey took a sip of tea. It was warm and traced a pleasant track down her insides as she swallowed. She decided to be honest.
Anonymous599343: I was bored and I felt... lonely.
Anonymous599343: But I didn't want to be bothered by a bunch of bloody perverts and sarcastic trolls like you!
Starkiller: ...
Starkiller: So are you saying you came on a chat site to make friends?
Rey huffed again and sat up straighter, letting the blanket fall off her shoulders. This guy, she assumed it was a guy for some reason, was getting on her nerves. Even through the impersonal font with no emojis, she could tell he was making fun of her.
Anonymous599343: So what if I was?
Starkiller: You are very naïve.
Starkiller: Why didn't you just go out to a bar to find people? You know, real people that you could see, in a setting where the laws of manners are better applied?
Anonymous599343: I don't know! I just didn't feel like going out!
Starkiller: Let me guess... you are a 40 something year old woman, recently divorced, with only her cats left to keep her company?
Rey guiltily glanced over at her cat Chewie who was lounging on the arm of the couch.
Anonymous599343: No. You're totally wrong.
Anonymous599343: And you're rude.
Starkiller: I thought we already established that I'm not a nice person?
Starkiller: So, how was I wrong?
Rey bit her lip. Despite her annoyance, she was actually enjoying the banter. She decided to continue to be honest, despite her brain telling her not to give away info to weird strangers on the internet.
Anonymous599343: Okay. I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you about myself, but you have to tell me about yourself in return. AND you have to PROMISE you will be telling the truth.
Starkiller: You really are naïve.
Starkiller: ...
Starkiller: You have a deal.
Anonymous599343: You'd better tell me the truth or I'm logging off this chat. I'll be able to tell if you aren't.
Starkiller: I very much doubt that.
Rey rolled her eyes and took another sip of tea. It was getting cold now. She glanced at the clock and was surprised by the amount of time that had passed. Here goes nothing.
Anonymous599343: I am 22. NOT divorced. Or married. I actually do have a cat though.
Starkiller: ... Are you a woman?
Anonymous599343: Yes.
Anonymous599343: Your turn.
Starkiller: I am 32. I am a man. I am not married or divorced. I don't like cats.
Starkiller: ...
Starkiller: So, do I pass your truth test?
Anonymous599343: What is your name?
Starkiller: You didn't tell me yours.
Anonymous599323: I asked you first.
Starkiller: ...
She watched the screen and downed the last of her tea. He had been floundering for over a minute now. It looked like he was typing and then erasing and then typing again.
Anonymous599323: Well?
Starkiller: Kylo.
Anonymous599323: I'm Rey.
She felt the sudden need to log off the chat right there. It felt stupid to just give her name out to someone she didn't know, couldn't see, didn't trust. But, for some reason, she sort of did trust him. She felt like he was telling the truth, even though she couldn't say how she knew.
Starkiller: So, did I pass your truth test?
Anonymous599323: ... Yes. I think so.
Starkiller: You are very naïve.
Anonymous599323: I believe you've said that already. Several times in fact. You need a new line.
Starkiller: You are adorably naïve.
Rey felt a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth.
Anonymous599323: Why don't you like cats?
Starkiller: They are sneaky bastards with sharp claws. I don't trust them.
Anonymous599323: That sounds like your perfect kind of company.
Starkiller: Touché.
Starkiller: What is your favorite color?
Anonymous599323: What?
Starkiller: Does that sentence actually confuse you?
Anonymous599323: Why do you want to know? We're not five.
Starkiller: I thought we were asking questions and telling the truth. And I want to know.
Anonymous599323: Fine. It's blue. What's yours?
Starkiller: Black.
Anonymous599323: I should have known.
Starkiller: What is your favorite food?
Anonymous599323: Any kind of pasta. And breadsticks.
Starkiller: So, carbs?
Anonymous599323: No judging! What's your favorite food?
Starkiller: Whether or not we could judge was not in the rules. I like spicy foods.
Anonymous599323: I don't think that's specific enough.
Starkiller: You just said pasta. That was very broad!
Anonymous599323: Fine! Butternut squash ravioli. And breadsticks.
Starkiller: Spicy Thai basil noodles.
Anonymous599323: Mmmm, that sounds delicious.
Rey's stomach growled. She contemplated running into the kitchen for a snack.
Starkiller: Have you ever had them before?
Anonymous599323: No, I don't think I've ever had Thai before.
Starkiller: Never??
Anonymous599323: No, never.
Starkiller: You have to remedy that.
Anonymous599323: Maybe I will. I'd have to see if there is a restaurant near me.
Starkiller: Where do you live?
Anonymous599323: Nice try.
Starkiller: What? I thought we were being honest.
Anonymous599323: We are, but I'm not going to just tell a strange man where I live. What if you are a murderer?
Starkiller: I'll tell you where I live if you tell me.
Anonymous599323: I don't care where you live!
Starkiller: ... What if I want to see you?
Anonymous599323: If you wanted to see a real person you should have gone to a bar, right?
Starkiller: ...
Anonymous599323: Are you a murderer? Remember, truth rules apply.
Starkiller: I have to go.
Rey blinked at this sudden turn. She really didn't want him to go. She was having fun and enjoying their conversation.
Starkiller: Do you want to chat tomorrow?
Anonymous599323: Yes.
Starkiller: Good night, Rey.
And he was gone.
—————————
Kylo ran his fingers through his dark hair and let out a long breath. He really didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do. He also didn't want to end his conversation with Rey, the witty and innocent girl he had been talking to. So why had he? Probably because he was self destructive. Maybe even because he had been a little scared, not that he wanted to admit that, even to himself. But especially because her last question, even though it was asked in jest, was dredging up a part of his past that he couldn't let himself think about.
He rolled off the couch where he had been laying and tucked his phone into the pocket of his jeans. He went to the kitchen and poured himself another glass of scotch from the still open bottle on the counter. He replayed their conversation in his mind as he drank the whole glass, relishing the slight burn as the liquid went down.
He walked to the window and looked out across the city of Coruscant, the night sky had a strange orange glow because of all the lights from the skyscrapers and electric billboards. All the light pollution made it impossible to see the stars. He wondered where Rey was.
He had been on the chat site to kill time. That was true, but he was also looking for a fight to pick. He was bored and lonely, just as Rey said she had been. However, true to Kylo fashion he couldn't express that in a healthy way, could he? He had jumped from chat room to chat room being a troll for fun.
He gave a low chuckle and not for the first time tonight. Rey had been right. Only trolls and perverts to be found in chat rooms. It had been a while since he had found anything humorous. It had been a while since anyone had held his attention. He regretted ending their conversation so suddenly. What he really wanted to do was continue to ask her questions and learn more about this girl, who had somehow breathed life into him from across the internet.
He hoped that she really did want to talk tomorrow and that he hadn't blown it. Hopefully, she wouldn't forget him overnight. Kylo glanced out the window a final time, looking up at the moon and it's clean, bright whiteness.
"Goodnight, Rey." He said in a low whisper.