Rey didn't know what had overcome her.
Of course, the viability of winning prom queen had been in the forefront of her very mind since the beginning of that damn bet.
But that had been before. Before she had met Ben and this entire shit storm had gone down.
But here she was, the official prom queen of Coruscant High School for 2023 and frozen in place, unprepared for that result in the slightest.
Slowly, instead of walking straight to the stage, Rey turned to her left towards Jessika. Around Rey, her fellow peers gave her questioning looks, curious about what she was doing.
Once at her destination, Rey opened up her clutch, unlocking her phone and Instagram app before handing it to her knowing best friend.
This had been previously discussed with Jess, if this scenario did occur and seeing as it had, her friend knew exactly what to do.
Rey then pivoted, finallymaking her way up to the stage to receive this damn crown, ready to make the speech of a lifetime.
The wooden stairs creaked beneath her thrifted heels, as Rey arrived, the clicking of her heels the only sound in that moment.
She gave Mrs Kryze a small smile as the petite woman handed her the crown, a cheap plasticy thing probably from the dollar store and that was when it hit Rey ten-fold.
This whole prom queen thing was absolute bullshit, it had been bullshit the entire time, but she had been too preoccupied to see that.
Rey had ruined her relationship with Ben over this stupid fucking crown and she knew what was required of her.
Shuffling over to the microphone with her crown in hand, Rey shot a glance at Jess, nodding as her best friend pressed record on Rey's phone.
Mr Skywalker had moved aside giving Rey full reign of the mic as the slim brunette took in a deep breath, addressing the crowd before her.
"Hi everyone, I'm sure by now you all probably know who I am. I'm captain of the volleyball team, seemingly the perfect student with perfect grades and clothes but that's a lie, all of it."
Everybody was staring at her, but Rey needed to keep going.
"I've been lying to not only you, but also to myself. I was so caught up in becoming who I thought I wanted to be, but I was wrong, I was really really wrong" Rey's words were shaky as she continued.
"I have a single mother, I am adopted and I have never been financially well off in my entire life. But that's not all, so obsessed with my image and who I thought I was, I made a bet, a god awful bet which was by far the worst thing I could have done."
Rey felt her eyes dampen as she still clutched that damn tiara.
"I was given six weeks to turn someone into prom king and in the process, he completely changed how I view myself and who I have become. Not only that, but I experienced falling in love for the first time. And then he found out about the bet."
By now, tears were streaking down Rey's face, mascara be damned.
"And he won't talk to me, understandably so. Now I'm here, with everything I thought I could have wanted, attention, perfection, the title of prom queen, but I stand here before you realising how wrong I was about everything. How stupid this crown is in my hand; how superficial I have been and how awful of a person I was. Don't get me wrong, I would never change the time I spent with him, I just wish I didn't have to lose him in the process."
That was it. Rey had done it.
Stepping back from the microphone, now looking like a full-blown disaster, Rey handed her crown back over to Mrs Kryze her hazel eyes downcast as she quickly walked down the stairs and through the gathering of her peers, their smirks and whispering accompanying her exit.
Only when Rey finally exited the gymnasium door and it had slammed behind her, did she let out a sigh of relief.
That was something she never would have been brave enough to do a mere six weeks ago, but she had finally done it, she had finally said her piece and that was it, the end of the old Rey.
And she couldn't be happier.
Rey's first move was to leave the school.
Coruscant High School's Prom no longer interested her and so here she was running down the street barefoot, soaked to the literal bone, dangling her heels in one hand.
Of course, Rey hadn't thought to check the weather for that evening, that was a foresight clearly too smart for her and now she was the epitome of a fucking drowned rat, the entirety of her ensemble now ruined.
But surprisingly that didn't deter her in the slightest if anything, it spurred her on.
Only one more streetRey told herself.
The brunette was on a mission, nothing could or would stop her when she finallyreached the correct street.
Rey continued her pace up to the iron entrance, damp floral starting to flood her senses.
Quickly she slipped her shoes back on as she pushed open the gate.
Rey stepped inside, water trickling out of the stone fountain in tandem with the current rainstorm as water pelted down onto the footpath.
The garden was still incredibly gorgeous, even amid the circumstances and that was when she noticed a figure in the distance standing just behind the bench.
It was a male with broad-shoulders and her heart thumped in her chest at the possibility of who it could be.
Slowly Rey walked towards him, hazel orbs locking onto his familiar brown ones and in that moment, it was just the two of them, the weather long forgotten.
In a trance, the brunette girl edged past the bench, coming face to face with the man. He was the love of her life and she had to tell him now. She stared at him in disbelief, his black tuxedo perfectly moulded to him, particularly now in the torrential rain, dark hair completely drenched but he had never looked better.
Rey felt his gaze drop, taking in every inch of her, a small smirk on his handsome features when his eyes finally returned to hers after his leisurely scan.
He was here, standing herein a tux nonetheless and now was the time Rey had been waiting for.
"Ben, I've thought about what to say to you so many times" the man watched her intently, a kind of intense she had come to associate with only him. It unnerved Rey just a little but she couldn't chicken out of this, not anymore.
"I am sorry, so sorry that I made that stupid, superficial, horrible bet, that I hurt you beyond despair and that I dragged you into this mess. I understand if you don't forgive me, God knows I wouldn't forgive me if I were you". Her hazel orbs bore into his dark chocolate ones, hoping he understood how truly apologetic she was as she persevered on.
"I lied to both you and to myself about what I thought I wanted and now here I am, standing before you in a literal rainstorm, having never looked worst, ready to change, promising you and promising myself that I will be better".
Ben's plush lips parted and Rey started to feel her throat constrict as she kept going, too afraid of an impending rejection.
"I am genuinely so sorry Ben. But what I am not sorry about is how I feel for you. Not once have I faked how I feel about you. You drive me crazy Ben, but I can't continue without you knowing that I am in love with you. I needed to tell you even if you don't feel the same".
There was a moment of silence and Rey awkwardly ran her hands down her sopping dress, the ball was now in his court and all she could do was hope or cry.
"Rey, I'm not perfect, far from it but do you know what you've done? You've made me want to be better, a better person".
Rey stared at Ben, his words sudden and unexpected as his low timbre voice went on.
"I always knew there was more to you than you let on, but only when we really got to know each other did I see how you are a damn fighter Rey, you never give up and you inspire me each and every day." He swallowed, before returning to his speech, while Rey continued to gawk at him in utter disbelief.
"It's not to say that hearing about that bet didn't absolutely break me. Rey it really did. I thought I was finally getting something good from the universe. Someone I never would have dreamed would want to spend time with me was willingly doing so, someone as gorgeous and kind and intelligent as you. But it was a bet"
"Ben, I'm so sor-" Rey interjected, before Ben cut her off "despite that small fact, I will never forget the past six weeks I have spent with you"
That shut Rey right up, he didn't sound angry or upset, he even sounded forgiving?
Ben continued on "I will never forget how you brought my out of my shell, how you changed my life and how I fell head over heels in love with you in such a short amount of time".
Rey's jaw dropped at that. She hadn't even entertained the notion that Ben reciprocated her feelings, mainly because it seemed so fucking farfetched.
But he did return her feelings and he forgave her?
Without giving it much thought, Rey wrapped her arms around Ben's torso, sobs wracking her body in utter disbelief and gratitude as she murmured into his chest "I thought I had lost you".
The teenage boy was taken aback for a second before returning the hug, comprehending the words she had mumbled.
Gently moving her away from him, Ben was serious as he looked down at the emotional brunette girl "Rey I can promise you, you never did, not even for a second"
At his reassurance, Rey gave him a triumphant but shaky smile "you know I love you right?"
"I do" Ben nodded sincerely "and I love you just as much, even more".
"Highly unlikely" Rey grinned before she stood up on her tiptoes, dragging his face down to her before finally bringing their mouths together in a searing kiss.
Their mouths worked in perfect harmony with each other. It was everything Rey had dreamed of and so much more.
And for the first time in years or maybe ever Rey Kanata finally felt like she belonged.
Author's Note:
Hi everyone,
Here's the final chapter (we just have the epilogue now to go!)
I really hope you enjoyed it and found it to be a satisfying finish for these two - they only deserve the best after all :)
A big thank you to anyone who is still remotely interested in this fic, I really really appreciate you!
I aim to have the epilogue up before the end of 2023, so I can enter the new year with new projects ;)
Well, until next time... (which wont be long at all )