A loud clang in the kitchen sounded and woke Rey up from her restless sleep. She could practically feel the bags under her eyes as she rolled over in her bundle of sheets to look at the clock.

6:30

It was way too early to be up at this time! Who was even messing around in the kitchen? Rey let her thoughts float around as she covered her head with a pillow. She was slowly drifting back to sleep when another obnoxious noise occurred. Her eyes pealed open when she realized she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again.

Rey groggily walked into the kitchen to find Rose cooking something on the stove.

"No! Go back to your room! This was supposed to be a surprise, so you could stay in bed for breakfast." Rose huffed defeatedly because her plan had been compromised.

"It's too late now, and I'm starv—," She was cut off by her growling stomach. Rose laughed as Rey grabbed a piece of bacon off of the plate that was prepared on a tray to be taken to her room. The plate also carried some toast and an open spot for the scrambled eggs that Rose was making. She picked up the plate and plopped down on the couch with three steps inside their small apartment.

Rose had turned the local news on earlier, so it was no surprise when the reporter announced the wreck on Kessel Road that involved Rey Johnson and Kylo Ren.

"You crashed into Kylo Ren?! THE Kylo Ren? I didn't even recognize him in the hospital room. Oh my - I can't believe I was even in the same room as him. Why did no one tell me? Someone had to have recognized him." Rose rambled as she skipped over to pile the eggs onto Rey's plate from the pan. Rey was utterly confused.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean THE Kylo Ren? He acted just like a normal guy." Her stomach fluttered at his name, and she secretly scolded herself for the reaction.

"He's only the richest Chief HR officer in Chicago! He basically runs the First Order Engineering Company. They're our biggest competition over at the Resistance and are know for doing whatever it takes to gain customers."

Rey understood electrical engineering because it was her minor, but what stood out to her was Kylo's job. That's what she wanted to do, and it seemed he had done it. She figured she would try to talk to him about it later while discussing the terms of the wreck. Rey felt the need to scold herself again. She was thinking about him in more ways than just to work out the wreck, and she needed to stop. The only way to do that was to call him about the wreck and get this over with.

• • •

Buzz Buzz

Buzz Buzz Buzz

What was that noise? It hurt his head as he got out of bed to find the source. Kylo didn't look long before he found his phone and answered the call.

"Hello?" His voice was filled with evidence that he had just been asleep.

"Is.. Is this Kylo Ren?"

"This is he. May I help you at..." He looked at the clock irritated, "7:00 in the morning?" Normally he would get up around 6:00 and go for a run, but staying up late last night had ruined any chance of that happening this morning.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't even think of it being this early." Kylo recalled the same apology from the night before, and his mood instantly brightened at knowing it was Rey that called him. "I just wanted to call to talk about last night."

"Oh, yes, of course. You seem to apologize a lot to me." Kylo regretted ever opening his mouth when her timid voice responded.

"I don't mean to. I guess I seem to mess up a lot around you." His heart dropped at her tone of sadness and self hatred. It often mirrored his own and that intrigued him even more about this woman. "Anyways, would you rather meet up and discuss this in person, or is on the phone okay?"

"We can meet up!" Kylo cringed at the urgency that could be heard as he spoke. "Any place in particular?"

He swore his heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing her again.

• • •

"Um- there's an old coffee place called Alderaan downtown. We could meet there at 7:45 because I have to go to the salvage yard later today to check on the condition of my car." Rey didn't want to hang up this soon. She promised herself that she would stop what ever she was feeling, but there was no harm in just talking. Right? "Unless you can't do that, then I'm open to suggestions."

"No, that sounds good. I'll meet you there at 7:45."

"Okay, it was nice talking with you."

Then the phone hung up.

Rey felt doubt creep into her brain. Maybe she just imagined their connection in the hospital. Maybe it was just a one way attraction. She sighed when she started to convince herself that any chance of being with Kylo was purely of her imagination. Look at her. She had barely talked to the man, and she was already feeling more lonely than if they had a relationship fallout. It had bad news written all over it.

• • •

"Where are you going?" Rose had a slight edge to her voice because she believed her friend needed to rest until later that day.

"I called Kylo, and we decided to meet up to talk about the the repercussions of the crash."

"Where are you meeting?"

"Rose, we're just going to Alderaan. It's no big deal, don't worry." Rose's eyes went wide.

"He's taking you to Alderaan? That's a coffee shop! A place people go on dates! Rey he's technically taking you on a date!" This time it was Rey's turn to be surprised.

"Woah, what? It's truly not a date, strictly business. Also, I suggested Alderaan."

"You suggested Alderaan? Do YOU want to take HIM on a date?" Rose asked incredulously.

"No! We're only meeting there to talk about the wreck nothing more."

"You keep saying that, but what I'm hearing is someone wants to take someone on a date." Rey groaned. Sometimes, this girl was unbearable, but she loved her all the same.

"Rose, you know I love you, but you're taking this to be a little more dramatic than it is. You're my best friend, and I would tell you if I had any feelings for anyone. Even if it was this guy I literally crashed into and barely know."

"Okay, okay. I believe you. Did you say best friend? As in number one? Finn will never hear the end of this." Rey smiled weakly. She knew mentioning that would distract Rose from the fact that she was lying about telling her feelings. Rose didn't seem to notice. As much as she hated lying to her friend, it somehow felt necessary to protect her feelings because she had already released too many for Kylo.