What?! What could he possibly want to talk about at her apartment? Couldn't they just meet somewhere instead?

Unless, of course, you feel uncomfortable with that.

KR

His second text emboldened her at the opportunity to prove him wrong, even though there was nothing to prove. She sent the address.

I'll be right over.

KR

Now? I'm not even home yet, I'm still on the bus.

RJ

Low blow. I still feel bad for earlier and leaving you to take it. And yes, now.

KR

Rey hadn't meant to make him feel guilty, but he didn't seem genuinely mad at her, so she brushed it off.

Sorry. If you get there before me, Rose should be there and can let you in, or if you don't want to do that you can meet me outside.

RJ

Sounds good.

KR

The bus ride was short after they stopped texting, and she walked from the bus stop to the apartment complex.

There he was. Kylo Ren was leaned up against the wall by the entrance waiting for her. He still wore the dark jeans and black T-shirt from the cafe and looked absolutely gorgeous.

Rey gaped slightly at him and felt a heat rush somewhere below her navel. He looked up and leaned away from the wall to stand straight and greet her. She beat him to it and decided to give him a hard time.

"So you wanted to make it up to me? It was quite rude how you just left me on my own." She made a dramatic gesture of placing her hand over her heart and couldn't stop the grin that formed on her face. Kylo sensed the playfulness and smiled in response, but only after his cheeks turned red from the guilt trip.

"'There is no need to make it up to me. I wrecked your car, so I think I can handle having to take the bus.' Your words not mine." Kylo pitched his voice higher to try to sound like Rey, and she erupted in a fit of giggles. Any awkwardness that could have been there was tucked away to let the lighthearted conversation show through. She guided Kylo up the stairs to the door of her apartment and pulled out the set of keys from her pocket. As she inserted the key, Kylo gently touched Rey's arm.

"In all seriousness, Rey, it was completely rude of me to leave you by yourself."

Rey rolled her eyes in a playful manner because she was not willing to give up the joking mood yet. "Yes, it was." Kylo's mouth fell open at the bluntness of her reply, but he quickly recovered at seeing the smile that tugged at her lips.

"You're just giving me a hard time, aren't you."

"Of course I am! What else would I do?" She heard him sigh and let out a small laugh when she turned the key and opened the door.

Labored breathing filled the room, and Rey cautiously entered at the sound. She held the door open for Kylo and looked for the source of the sound.

Rey called out to her roommate. "Rose?" The sound came from Rose's room, and Rey obliviously pushed open the door. The action was met with regret immediately at seeing Rose and Finn together, and she squealed and slammed the door shut. She heard Rose and Finn laughing while she hurried towards the living room with a blush blooming across her cheeks. How could they just casually brush that off? Rey just walked in on them, and their first reaction was to laugh? It didn't make sense, but they never made any sense anyway.

"What was that?" Rey whipped her head around towards Kylo and almost forgot he was there. She probably wouldn't have remembered if he didn't say anything because the scars in her brain of what she shouldn't have seen were setting in place.

"Nothing! We need to leave!" Rey choked out the words and didn't recognize the shrill voice that came from her lips. She grabbed Kylo's hand and practically dragged him from the apartment. As soon as they were outside, she closed her eyes, flung the door shut, and pressed her back against it. She took a few deep

breaths and finally opened her eyes. Kylo had an amused look on his face, and that caused the blood to rush to her face again. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to wipe the image from her mind. When she thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, Kylo opened his mouth to speak.

"Were they...?" The question was open ended, but Rey knew that Kylo already knew the answer.

"Yes!" She opened her eyes and snapped back at him miserably. "I was only gone for around two hours, and they already..." Rey couldn't even finish the sentence before a fresh wave of embarrassment washed over her. She tried to put her hands over her face, but Kylo just laughed in response. He laughed as hard as she'd ever seen anybody laugh before. He gently removed her hands from her face. Rey looked up at him incredulously. "Are you... laughing?!" Kylo laughed even harder. "I can't believe you're laughing. I just had one of the most scarring things happen to me, in possibly my entire life." His laugh was getting to her, and she ended up laughing along with him at the situation they had ended up in.

When the laughter finally died down, Rey and Kylo caught eye contact. It was so very similar to the first time they had seen each other in the hospital, but this time they were filled with mirth. Kylo decided to make the first move. "So, Rey Johnson, can I take you to.." he glanced at his watch - 9:30 - "an early lunch to make up for my impolite behavior?" Rey was agreeable to anything in her current mood.

"I would like nothing more."