Hello, everyone!

It has been a long, long while since I have been on Fanfiction. I had a fun idea that I want to explore- so here I am! I hope you enjoy this first chapter and please, let me know your thoughts and if you would like me to continue!

xoxo, WrittenDayDreams

Chapter One:

"You're all doing a wonderful job. Now, as we make the transition from cat pose into tabletop position, remember to let your breath lead you. Breathe deep into your belly and let your shoulders drop with each breath out as you release any stress you have been holding in."

I let out a long audible breath to demonstrate.

"When you're ready, move from tabletop to downward facing dog. Take the time to concentrate on how this feels for you. From here, walk your feet up to the top of the mat and slowly roll up from your spine. Make sure you are drawing up from your center and keeping your belly button drawn in towards your spine as you make your way up to mountain position. Lengthen your spine and ground all four corners of your feet. Palms together as you bring your chin to chest for a beautiful mind-body connection as we end this session with a loving and meaningful - Namaste."

The room fills with fifteen or so whispered "Namastes," and I take a look around at my first class. Most of them are the other yoga instructors from the Resistance yoga studio- Finn, Poe, and Rose. My cheeks flush at the feeling of gratitude that I have in sharing this experience with them and at how great it feels to have them here supporting me. It feels foreign to me, but I want to hold on to the feeling and keep it close to me forever.

Rose walks up to me, beaming, "That was amazing, Rey. Are you sure you haven't done this before? You're a natural. It's like you've got some sort of invisible force leading you or something. It feels like you've been doing this for years."

The corners of my mouth twitch up. Rose is such a sweetheart and always has such positive things to say.

"Thank you. It was so kind of you all to be here."

Poe slings his yoga mat over his shoulder and walks over with Finn close behind him.

"Great job, Rey. I told you you'd be a perfect fit here. We're heading back up to the apartment, but we should go and get some drinks a bit later to celebrate. Your first time leading a class is a big accomplishment." Poe holds his fist towards me, and I tap mine against his trying not to get teary-eyed.

The other yogis put their now clean borrowed mats into the corner of the studio for the next class and say "thank you" as they pass me into the lobby. The smell of cinnamon from the Yogi tea that is constantly brewing in the lobby warms me up and makes me feel safe and alive.

Without Finn, I didn't even know where I would be right now. I was absolutely sure that I wouldn't be in a place that felt so sure and right. In fact, never before had I felt the way that I feel now. Like I have a place that I just fit into.

Just a few weeks ago, I had been living in my car trying to track down my parents who had left when I was young with no success. My foster parents made it very clear to me that when I graduated high school, I would no longer have a place in their house. I don't hold any grudges against them- they did dress me and feed me for ten years, and with the amount of other foster kids that were consistently coming and going, they really did need the space that my vacancy would allow for. They never abused me or anything like that, but there was also never any love in that house. I felt a pang in my chest at the other happy families that everyone else at my high school seemed to take for granted. When I was hungry, I had food, and I had a bed to sleep in and that was that.

Anyways- I was at a low point and was looking for what food was still sealed and edible in the dumpster when a beautiful orange and white pit bull came bounding towards me with his tail wagging.

"Hi, good boy."

I held my hand out for him to sniff and he licked it. I stooped down to see that he had a collar and got a big lick on the face which caused me to laugh.

"Who do you belong to?"

I turned over the dog tag and read out his name.

"BB-8… What an interesting name. Okay BB, let's see-"

I read the address on the tag and the phone number underneath. Sliding my beat-up flip phone out of my back pocket and dialing it in.

A deep voice answered on the other line.

"Hello?"

I scratched BB behind his ears and he rolled over to show me his belly. What a sweetheart!

"Hi- I'm calling because your dog BB-"

A sigh of relief let loose on the other phone.

"Oh. Thank God- You found BB-8? Poe! Someone's got him! Where are you? We can come to you."

For this, I was grateful. I was almost out of gas and had no way of getting more. My measly savings had shriveled up into nothing a week ago, and it was challenging to get a decent job without a home address. I used my car sparingly- only to move to another part of the city when the tow truck pulled up to move it due to complaints from neighbors or businesses or the like.

I read out the address of the coffee shop I was parked in front of now.

"Great, we'll be right there," the man replied.

I shoved my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and saw a sealed bag of bagels in the dumpster out of the corner of my eye. A couple of them were starting to mold, but the great majority of them looked perfect.

"Score!" I said out loud, ripping the package open and tossing the molding ones back into the trash.

I looked down at the cute dog sniffing around beneath me.

"I got breakfast," I said to him.

He looked up at me with his chocolate brown eyes and wide mouth open in a smile. His tongue lolled out to the side. My heart melted. I had always wanted a dog but had never been allowed one.

"C'mon BB-" he followed me to my car and I opened a door. Sitting on the seat with my legs hanging out onto the sidewalk and chowing down on a bagel. I scratched behind his ears with my free hand, amazed at how well behaved he was.

A pair of guys came walking around the corner holding hands; a well dressed black man wearing a nice brown leather jacket and a shorter man with messy brown hair and aviators. Their clothing, while stylish, was well worn.

The man in the brown leather jacket locked eyes with me, and a smile tugged at his face as he quickened his pace and led the shorter man behind him.

"BB?" he questioned, and the dog sprinted up and jumped on him, licking his face. The man's shoulders visibly dropped as he let out a deep laugh.

The other man stepped out from behind him and held out his hand for me to shake. I wiped the bagel crumbs on my pants and took his hand.

"Hi, I'm Poe and this is Finn. Thank you so so much for giving us the call about BB-8. We have been looking tirelessly for him for a week and we thought for sure he was a goner."

I smiled, "No problem at all- honestly. I'm so happy I could help-"

My sentence drifted off as a tow truck rounded the corner. Perfect fucking timing.

"Aw, shit." I muttered under my breath.

Poe's eyebrows knit together. "Everything okay?"

"Um, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to move my car before it gets towed. So-"

Poe and Finn both looked into my car at the makeshift bed of comforters in the back seat. Understanding showed in Poe's eyes, and shame flooded my face red at the unwanted assessment. I shot up, closing the passenger door, and ran around to throw myself into the driver's seat. I had to twist the key several times before the old engine started up. Poe and Finn hopped into the car and dread filled my gut.

"Give us a lift to our place and you can stay parked in front of there for a while," Poe said from the passenger seat.

I took a deep breath and shrugged.

"Alright"- it wasn't like I had any better plan.

They took me in, and for that, I would forever be grateful. The couch inside the little apartment above the Yoga studio felt like a luxury mattress after sleeping on my lumpy backseat for weeks and being able to have an actual shower and shave my legs felt amazing after washing up in random bathroom sinks.

While I still had a lot to learn about Yoga, Rose, Finn, and Poe had spent the last two weeks training me for hours as I sat in on their classes until I felt comfortable enough to run a very basic beginner class. It felt good to be able to help out at the non-profit in exchange for a place to stay. It felt good to finally have a place to call home.