10:25 PM
Rey hated parties. She hated the loud music. She hated the drunk frat boys. She hated the smell of alcohol. She had only ever been to two parties: one in her junior year of high school and one during freshman orientation at Resistance University. She hated both.
At this point, Finn, Poe, and Rose Tico had disappeared into the crowd. She sat alone on a couch, drumming her fingers on the plastic cup of water. poe had called someone twenty minutes ago to give them a ride, but the guy still hadn't shown.
"He's got really curly black hair and a I-Hate-Everything look. You'll know when you see him." Poe had told her.
"I could just call triple A and get my car started." She had argued.
"You can do it in morning." Poe said before running back off into the crowd.
She sighed, kept her eyes glued to the door. After a few moments, she stood up to find Poe.
11:00 PM
Ben checked the address Poe had texted him and then the house number. It had to be the one. He could hear the music from the car and there were drunk college students scattered across the lawn. Ben rolled his eyes and got out of his car. He made his way up to the door, glancing at the drunk students on the lawn, shouting and making out and tossing their plastic cups on the grass.
He knocked on the door before opening and was greeted by the screams of drunk frat boys and shrieks of sorority girls as they danced to the music. Ben sighed. This was going to be interesting.
11:20 PM
Rey had searched almost the entire house, no sign of Poe. She had passed Finn taking Rose back to her dorm. He had offered to give her a ride. No matter how much she wanted, Rey stayed back to wait for Poe.
"Heyo, you've reached Poe Dameron! Leave a message and I'll get back to you later! Byeeee!" Poe's voicemail rang through.
"Poe, where the hell did you go?" She hissed, looking around. "Call or text me when you get this."
She walked towards the door, bumping into a tall man. "Watch where you're going." Rey mumbled and kept walking.
11:35 PM
Ben's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, seeing a text from Poe.
From, poe dameron
Sorry, i'm a little hung up with a hot guy and bottle of tequila. Can u find my friend rey? She has these weird three buns. Thnx, i'll be riggggghhhhttttt out
"Goddammit Poe." Ben mumbled and stuffed his phone away. "Rey," he said to himself. Come to think of it, the girl who had run into him a few minutes ago had three buns. It looked like she was heading outside. Ben sighed and turned around, walking towards the door. "You owe me one, Poe."
11:36 PM
Rey plopped down on a lawn chair by the bonfire. She had plugged her headphones in to drown out the sounds of party, humming along to the music. It was quiet, until-
"What the hell?" She shouted when someone tapped her shoulder, whipping her head around, and her fist unintentionally. It collided with the person's jaw.
"What the fuck-"
"Shit I'm sorry." She said, standing up and pulling her earbuds out. "What do you want."
"Are you Rey?" He asked. "I'm Ben, Poe's friend."
Rey's face paled. She punched her only ride out of here. Poe was gonna be pissed. "Actually, yeah, I am. Do you know where he is? I'm ready to get out of here."
"He texted me and said that he was, um, occupied." Ben said.
Rey rolled her eyes. "Of course he is." She turned and sat back down. "Do you want to sit? He'll probably be a while." She offered, gesturing to the empty lawn chair next to her.
11:38 PM
Ben looked around for a moment before shrugging and sitting next to her. Neither of them said anything for a little bit, Rey watching the fire and Ben staring at the ground.
"What are you majoring in?" He finally asked her. Rey blinked.
"Photography." She said. "You?"
"Music business. I'm minoring in engineering." He responded.
"What do you play?" She asked.
"I sing, and I play a little guitar." Ben said.
"I swear his dick was like, bigger than her ass!" A drunk frat boy on the other side of the lawn shouted and his buddies hooted in laughter. Rey and Ben both glanced over in disgust.
"I hate parties." Rey grumbled. "I'm only here because Poe needed a ride."
"Same. The last party I went to was in high school." He frowned at them before turning around. "I'm just ready for college to be over."
"Are you a senior?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know what you're going to do?"
Ben shrugged. He was either going to live the rest of his life working for Snoke or depend on his guitar. "I already have a job office from the headmaster's law firm. But I don't know."
Rey nodded. "That's good."
"Yeah, I guess." He said, the shrugged.
11:40 PM
Rey watched Ben carefully. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe Poe had shown her a picture with him in it before. When Poe had said that he called a friend, she expected a rowdy athlete like her roommates' friends. But he wasn't. He was quiet and she liked that.
"What are you going to do after college?" He asked.
Rey paused and took a drink. "I don't know. Probably wander around the world with my camera. I've never really left New York before." She said. "I want to see the world."
A chilly breeze blew, and Rey shivered, moving her chair closer to the fire. She heard the chair creak as Ben did the same. His brown eyes were glowing from the fire. He looked over at her, both of them freezing.
Then his phone buzzed and the moment was gone.
Ben dug his phone out and Rey cleared her throat, looking at her feet, embarrassed.
"It's Poe." He said before answering. "Where are you?"
"Is this Ben?" A strange voice said on the other line. Rey watched Ben frown.
"Yes, who is this?"
"He just started crying out of nowhere and passed out for a few seconds? I don't know what's going on. We're in the bedroom on the second floor."
Ben shot Rey a questioning glance. She rolled her eyes. That was definitely her roommate. He hung up and had a confused and concerned look on his face.
"Don't ask." She said as she stood up. They walked back into the house, dodging drunk students on their way to the bedroom.
Sure enough, Poe had face planted on the floor without a shirt on. The boy, Oscar sat on the bed. "He just started crying and then passed out?" He said, clearly confused.
"We'll handle it, thanks." Rey grumbled and walked over to where Poe lay.
"Tell him to call me sometime!" Oscar said as he left.
"Can you grab his shirt?" She called over to Ben. He handed it to her.
"Come on, Poe, wake up." She sighed, shaking his shoulder. Poe whined.
"I was having a good time!" He complained and rolled onto his side.
"Poe, you passed out. Come on, Ben's here."
"Benny?" Poe sat up, looked over at Ben. "You look terrible." He said.
Ben rolled his eyes. "You do too. Come on, buddy." He walked over to help him stand up.
"I'm tired." Poe yawned.
"You can go to bed when we get home." Rey said. Poe was quiet. He let Ben and Rey walk him out of the house. Poe practically dove into the backseat of Ben's car.
11:45 PM
Ben started his car and cranked up the heat. Rey had turned around to help Poe buckle up before sliding back into the passenger seat. "How far to your dorm?" He asked.
"It's on the other side of campus. Do you know where D'Qar Hall is?" She asked.
Ben nodded. He knew the campus like the back of his hand.
It was a quiet ride, Poe falling asleep at some point and Rey staring out the window, rock music playing softly in the background.
Ten minutes later, they reached the tall building. He unlocked the door and looked over at Rey.
"You need any help getting him in?" He asked.
She shook his head. "I think I got him. Our other roommate is home if I need any help." She opened her door and smiled at him. "Thanks Ben, it was nice meeting you."
He echoed a "you too". Rey half helped, half carried Poe up the first few steps and Ben felt an odd feeling well up. It burst and his head snapped up and he unrolled the window.
"Can I write a song for you Rey?" He called. She looked back at him, confused. He swallowed. "I write songs. Can I write one for you?"
He could barely see her smile.
"Sure! Have a good day, Ben!" Rey called back and walked into the building.
Ben slumped back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. "Hey there, Rey." He hummed and smiled to himself. He smiled all the way back to his parent's house.
a/n: thanks for all the amazing feedback! i hope you enjoyed this!