AN: Ok so, I have updated due to writers block but I am now setting a day to upload. I will upload new chapters of this story on Thursdays and any other fics I will update on other days. I'm always apologise for not updating sooner but as long as you guys know that I do feel bad when I don't update hopefully its all good. Anyway on with this chapter! Good news is this and the next few chapters won't be as heavy and full of angst like the others! Yay!

Ben had always wanted a girlfriend, but he didn't know that. When his mother was home, she would read him stories about the hero saving the fair maiden and how they lived happily ever after. Ben always wondered how long ever after even was, was it forever or was it simply anything from a month to year? His favourite story had always been Alice in Wonderland, and it still was. When Ben was toddler, he used to imagine he was in Wonderland, drinking tea with the mad hatter. He had no worries when he was in Wonderland, no cares about the real world, just drinking tea and hoping Alice might join him one day. Ben always wanted to meet a girl like Alice, curious and sweet and everything in between. He never found Alice, but then again he never really found Wonderland.

That was until he met Rey.

Rey was more than Alice, she was Wonderland. When Ben was with Rey, he had no worries about the real world, only about her. She was vibrant and colourful, but had a dark and mysterious side. Rey made Ben ashamed of ever being involved with something like The First Order, she made him anger at the way he felt. He didn't want to love and need someone.

Need.

Ben needed Rey.

And he had given up on being mad about it.

Ben had enlisted the help of Phasma to help him plan a meal for him and Rey. After all it was Rey's birthday and he had to act like he didn't know for the entire day. He was already nervous about the whole thing and Rey was to be home soon. She had gone out with Finn and Poe to go shopping for the boys to get her a birthday present.

"Okay, when you're ready to have dinner, just shove the spaghetti in the microwave for 3 minutes" Phasma said spooning the spaghetti into two plastic tubs.

"Right I'll do that, anything else you think I should do?" Ben said untying the apron from around his waist. He wasn't good at this whole romantic thing and Phasma probably wasn't a professor in romance either but she was his best shot for advice.

"Take a shower, gel back your hair, tidy up this living room and for the love of god, wear a suit" Phasma sighed whilst handing Ben a tube of hair gel and a comb.

"I don't own a suit" Ben said feeling slightly foolish.

"Don't worry I got you covered, Morea's boyfriend had one" Phasma yelled as she sprinted out the door.

Morea is Anosie's older sister, who happens to have a rather rocky relationship with Ben. That was probably more Bens fault than her own after he punched one of her boyfriends for making a rather crude comment about Anosie.

Phasma appeared back in the room as quick as she had left, with a black suit in hand.

"Thanks" Ben mumbled. He was not looking forward to wearing a suit when he usually wore a pair of skinny jeans.

"Oh and one other thing" Phasma said patting Ben on the back "Try not to get her pregnant"

"I hate you" Ben said trying not to look too embarrassed at the rather ludicrous.

"No you don't" Phasma yelled as she began her decent of the buildings stairs.

Ben was beginning to regret the idea of having a slightly posh dinner in the apartment, when an idea struck him: why have it in the apartment?

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Rey loved her new dress more than she probably should. She had tried on hundreds of dresses and hated nearly all of them. Rey had never had a dress before and she wanted her first one to be perfect. She didn't want pink, frilly or skin tight anything. So she eventually settled on a red dress that had black embroidery of flowers at the neck and hem. Poe had convinced her that it was definitely the best choice after he told her that the way the dress flows out from the black waistband made her look like some kind of Disney princess. Poe also told her it would impress him. She had denied the fact that she wanted to impress him or even try to impress anyone. Although it did come to Rey's mind that black and red just happened to be Ben's favourite colours. Though Rey wasn't extremely happy with Ben currently, they were roommates and he didn't even remember her birthday.

Rey clambered up the stairs to her apartment, completely tired from all the modelling she had to do for Poe and Finn, so they could critique every dress she tried on. She had just had a conversation with Anosie who seemed awful smug about something, but never mentioned what that something happened to be. Though she did mention that she stopped by to see Ben but that he wasn't in right now, which was odd since usually he told her if he planned on going anywhere, due to Rey's tendency to freak out if people left with no explanation, for obvious reasons.

Rey dumped the bag from "Bella's Boutique" down on her bed and walked over to the kitchen when she noticed a piece of paper lying on the counter. She grabbed the piece of paper begining to panic slightly, worst case scenarios floating around in her head.

First Order?

Car crash?

First Order?

Arrested?

First Order?

The piece of paper wasn't a police report or ransom note, it simply read:

Rey,

Please be ready for a slightly nicer dinner than we usually or at least a dinner that is posh but affordable. I'll come to pick you up at 7.

Maybe you could wear the dress Poe told me about?

-Ben

PS: You didn't really think I forgot your birthday did you?

Rey could hold back her squeal as she danced around the apartment before heading towards the bathroom.