A/N: Figured I would try something new. I'm still working on Idiot:Ben and My Monster, but I'm going to keep putting things out when the inspiration hits me. Don't worry; I will finish those stories, even if it takes a bit!

Obviously

Chapter 1: Oxygen

I sighed as I walked through the fair next to Rose, who had been chatting about something I wasn't paying any attention to. I didn't want to be at the county fair. I had better things to do. I could be reading. I could be tinkering. I could be doing anything else, but this. She had insisted that I come though. She said that I would have fun and that I could meet someone new. I didn't want to meet anyone new. I had her and Paige and that was good enough for me. I didn't really have time, nor energy, to keep up with many friends. I didn't have time to date. I didn't want to date. My life was simple, just how I liked it.

But Rose was insistent. And I came. Currently, we were waiting in line to get bands for unlimited rides. Again, something I had no interest in, but was being made to do it. I couldn't really complain though because Rose had offered to pay my way. Against my better judgment, I let her. However, that also meant that I silently agreed to her dragging me onto whatever rides she deemed fit. I heard a warm bath calling my name after all of this was over...

"Rose! Rey! Over here!" called Poe from the concession truck. I offered a small wave and an even smaller smile when I saw that he was in a group of friends. Rose's face lit up when she saw Finn making his way over to us. They'd been dating for about a year now and everything was going great. I was waiting for him to pop the question anytime now. Finn was followed by Jyn and Cassian, a married couple we met a few months back through Poe. Jyn and Cassian were pretty much the parents of the group, even though Poe was older than Cassian by a few years. They were definitely the more mature ones of the group, that was for sure. With them was someone I'd met before. Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Broody himself, Ben Solo.

It was a miracle that Poe convinced him to come in the first place. Ben hated social outings almost as much as I did. For me, it wasn't really the outings that I hated; it was more the places that everyone had decided to go. Ben... he just hated crowds, from what I understood. I hadn't really gotten to know him all that well. We exchanged pleasantries here and there and we were all in the same group chat, but Ben and I didn't really know each other; we just knew of each other. Still, he was part of the friend group. Cassian and Poe seemed to get along very well with him, so he couldn't be all that bad.

"Hey, guys. Took you long enough," Poe teased as Finn and Rose exchanged a chaste kiss and held hands. "Rey, you remember Ben, right?"

I nodded and smiled over at him briefly. He only nodded his greeting to me in return. "I remember. Good to see you again," I said with a small polite smile. He glanced over at me then averted his sight. I'd come to realize he wasn't much of a talker. And that was all right. He didn't need to be. Poe tried to constantly get him to say more, but whenever Ben did talk, it was to either stick up for someone being picked on or to put in an opinion he was asked for. He usually didn't talk first, but always responded when spoken to if he felt like it warranted a response. It was cute how he was so quiet, but I wondered why he was so introverted. Had he always been that way?

"Did Rose tell you what the plan was for tonight?" Poe asked with a mischievous grin. I only glanced over at my friend and saw a matching mischievous grin on her face before shaking my head in response. "Ok. Well, it's contest night. Everyone's on a team. There's a couple of categories to win in, so listen up. Either be the team with the most stuffed animals, the team with the most rides rode, or the team with the most money spent. Cassian and Jyn are on one team. Finn and Rose are on another. I'm with Zorii whenever she gets here, so that leaves Rey with Ben. Whichever team is the loser, meaning whoever doesn't get at least one category to win, or tie with, has to obey one wish from each person participating tonight. So, if you're really unlucky, you and your partner will have to do a total of six different wishes a piece."

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. "Poe, this is the worst contest you've come up with yet!" I protested.

Ben only glared over at Poe. "And if we refuse to play by your rules?"

Poe gave his cousin a grin. "Then you automatically forfeit along with your teammate and have to do the wishes anyway."

Ben glanced over at me. I could tell he really didn't want to do this, but he was asking me if I wanted to just give up straight away or if I wanted to at least try. I sighed softly and nodded at him. "We'll give it a shot at least. If we fail, at least we tried." Ben reluctantly nodded his consent, but didn't look thrilled. To be honest, neither was I. I knew that Poe would be relentless with his wish. Whoever lost would definitely be at the mercy of Poe. Zorii could possibly get him to lessen his punishment, but he would still be brutal with his wish. That's just how Poe was; go big or go home. And Poe always went big.

"Right then. It's settled." He looked at his watch on his wrist. "It's a little after five. We'll meet back here at eight, shall we?" Everyone nodded, myself included. "Game on!" he said as he dashed off, whipping out his cell to call for Zorii. I watched Rose and Finn saunter off with a giggle Rose on his arm. They were cute, but I knew Rose would want to go for the stuffed animals. Poe would probably be competing with Cassian for most money spent. That left me and Ben with riding the rides.

I looked up at him and saw him gazing out at the fair in front of us. "Should we try the rides?" he offered. I didn't know what to say so I just huffed with a small smile. "You don't seem like you'd enjoy a lot of stuffed animals, and I certainly don't want them. Nor do you seem like you want to spend a bunch of money. Frankly, neither do I. So the only logical option left-"

"Is most rides. Sounds good," I said as I looked around. "There's not a lot here, but we can definitely get a lot done if we go for the short and fast ones."

Ben hesitated, but nodded his consent. "We should get started then."

I smiled up at him and nodded. We walked through the fair, discussing the rides and observing each for a few seconds to see which ones would be our best bet. We decided that there was one that was quick and short. It was one that went around a circle track with ascents and descents and then changed directions to go backward suddenly. It looked like it also picked up speed halfway through, too. Ben and I looked at each other and I just knew he was thinking what I was: that was it. The ride itself only lasted a total of a couple of minutes. The line was short, too, so we could technically get on and off and back on again fairly quickly.

We stood in line silently, my hands in my pockets and he kept his hands in his hoody. He looked like one of those kids that kept their hood up in high school that wore dark colors and always had earbuds in to listen to music to tune out the world. That was Ben in a nutshell. At least to me. The line moved pretty quickly and before I knew it, we were sitting together in the same car, waiting for it to start. "Do you get motion sick?" he asked quietly, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

I shook my head. "Nope. You?"

He turned his head to look at me full on then. "You're joking," he said flatly. I gave him a grin and a shrug as the people came to tighten the bar across our waist. The car was somewhat small, but we still had a bit of space between us. I sat close to the inside of the track and Ben sat close to the outside, like we were both scared to touch each other. It was kind of funny. The ride started within a few moments and I realized it wasn't so bad. It was slow enough. I could, in all honesty, probably go to sleep to this ride if the music was so god-awfully loud and the kids weren't screaming as it picked up speed. The faster it got, the more I found myself gravitating toward Ben's side of the car. It was only when the car started to slow that I realized our hips were touching.

I looked up at him with a grin. "Fancy meeting you here," I teased.

He only grinned in return and rolled his eyes. "It's reversing." His tone held an implication that I would be flung back over to my side and that he would be the one joining me. I wasn't at all terrified at this threat/promise. I actually found it comforting. Especially since he was so warm. I'd underestimated the weather. It was much colder than I thought it would be. I only wore a thin jacket and jeans, but the weather was more like winter. I should have paid more attention to the news.

The ride continued to increase in speed, but I noticed that Ben held tight to his position where he was. He didn't drift into me as I had him; it was like he was worried about squishing me or something. I mean, he was larger than me, so he could probably squish me, but again, the thought didn't bother me since he was warm.

A little longer of reverse and the ride came to a halt. The bars released and everyone started to leave the ride. Ben pushed the bar up and hopped out of the car, glancing over at me to see if I was coming, too. I stood and walked behind him to leave the ride. Once we were back in the crowd, I sighed softly and crossed my arms over my chest. "That ride was boring..." I murmured more to myself. I didn't want to ride that one twenty more times.

"The other rides are longer, but if you want to mix it up, we can go on that one," he said as he pointed over to something called The Slingshot. I watched it for a moment and my eyes widened, my mouth dropping open on its own. I heard him snicker beside me. "Scared?"

I got my senses a few seconds later and shook my head. "No, I'm not. We could try that one. I just... don't like heights..." It was embarrassing to admit that, but I did. He didn't laugh at me though. I expected him to tease me till the cows came home, but he didn't.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," he said with a shrug.

"No... I'll be fine. Let's give it a shot." He looked down at me, as if assessing my bravery level, or my stubbornness level. I only gave him a small smile and nodded my head toward the ride. Before I lost my nerve, I walked to the line and waited as a group had been strapped in and swung like a pendulum, but also twisted like a top while swinging back and forth. My stomach flipped as I watched. This was going to be a nightmare...

"Last chance to find a different ride," he said to me over the crowd. I hadn't realized how close he was to my ear until I felt his warm breath on the top of it. I suppressed a shudder and shook my head. I looked up at him and he straightened next to me. "All right then."

A few minutes later, the ride was done. People stumbled out of the way, girls clinging to their boyfriends on the verge of tears, their hair messy and windblown in all directions. I swallowed hard, but led the way to the seats. I got into one of them and sighed as the harness came down over my shoulders. It was rigid, thankfully. One of those ones that was hard and sturdy to keep you pressed down into your seat to eliminate casualties. Ben took a seat directly next to me, strapped himself down and glanced over at me. I stared at him for a moment and saw him grin lopsidedly at me. That grin... was the best sight I'd seen all night. I gave him a small smile in return. He held out his hand to me. I just stared at it curiously. "If you get scared," he explained as the man walked around to all of us seated to make sure our restraints were done properly.

I gave him a small smile in return and nodded. "I think I'll be ok."

Ben nodded, but put his hand on my knee just in case. Anyone else would have found it inappropriate, but it was really comforting to know he was going to such lengths to make sure I was all right. The floor dropped out from under us and the breath left my lungs. No turning back now. Maybe holding his hand wasn't such a bad idea after all...

The ride started to twist and swing as I'd seen it before. Some girls were screaming. Some men were laughing. Some kids were kicking their feet to show how unafraid they were. I worked on steadying my breathing so I didn't pass out. It would be embarrassing for sure if I were to pass out right next to Ben. I risked a glance and saw his eyes glued on me. His hair flew in his face as he held my gaze. In his dark eyes, I saw concern, but also what looked like admiration. Like he was proud of me for facing my fears. It was only when the ride started to spin and swing faster that I slapped my hand down on his atop my leg. I gripped his hand tightly and he laced our fingers, giving me a small, but firm squeeze to let me know he was there. I pressed my lips into a thin line and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt my hair whip and swirl around my face.

The ride whipped us back down and I let out a short scream. I felt Ben's thumb gently rubbing the back of my hand comfortingly. I didn't hear anything else except the wind rushing by my ears. The gears in the machine. The whoosh as we sped through the air. The ride seemed so much shorter when we watched it on the ground; once we were in it, it felt like an eternity.

I tried as hard as I could to keep myself breathing normally. When I realized I was holding my breath, I forced an exhale and a steady inhale as my lungs screamed at me for air. My chest squeezed as panic started to grow with each spin and swing. Before I knew it, the ride had stopped and the harness was released. I couldn't move. I was stuck in the chair. "Rey?" My name ran in my ears as I sat there, focusing on breathing. "Rey," he called again. I forced my eyes open as Ben was pulling the harness up to its starting position and reaching for my other hand to help me down. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, so as not to draw attention to us.

I curtly shook my head, my eyes glued to his. I didn't know what I was thinking, but I threw my arms around his waist and held him tight. He stumbled back just a hair, but he wrapped his arms around me and held me for as long as I needed. I barely heard him mumbling to someone, the slightest vibration in his chest humming against my face. His hand went up and down my back, leaving warm trails in their wake. He rested his chin on my head as I let out a shaky breath. Why had I been so stupid to think I could do that? That was stupid and reckless and ignorant. I made a fool of myself, too! I was holding up the ride and inconveniencing Ben, who probably didn't like to be hugged, but here I was, my arms wrapped around him so tightly I was surprised the man could breathe.

"Let's go sit somewhere," he said gently. I could only nod against him. He made no move to disentangle me, and I was grateful. He only repositioned me so that his arms were around me as we walked, me at his side, face buried in his hoody. I trusted him to steer me properly. He gently gave me warnings as he guided me down and out of the ride area. Once we were away from everyone, I noticed that it was much quieter than before. I risked a glance, and I wish I hadn't.

"Ben, Rey, is she-"

"She's fine. Give her some space," he said, holding up his free arm to shield me from Poe and Zorii and Jyn and Cassian. I was grateful. I didn't hear much of the conversation. All I was focused on was the regret that I'd made a scene. That I'd inconvenienced Ben. That I'd given everyone the wrong idea. That Ben probably thought I was making a move on him; an unwanted move. The only word that would perfectly describe how I felt in this instant... was mortified.

I felt Ben's chest stop humming against my face, signaling that he was done talking. I assume he was explaining what happened to everyone. I wondered how he described it. 'She was stubborn and wanted to go on a ride she knew she would be scared of, only to be a dumpster fire of a wreck clinging to me like a lifeline?' 'She thought she could handle it, but figured out the hard way she couldn't and now we're here?' 'She thought she was strong, but she's weak?'

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his jacket. My own hot breath assaulted my face. When it cooled, I realized that thin lines were colder than the rest of my face. Had I been crying? When did I cry? Oh, no... did I snot on him!?

Ben gently rubbed my back and held me tight against him, bringing his face down to my ear so only I could hear. "Take your time," he whispered. "Take as long as you need." I sobbed softly, my body betraying me. My grip tightened on his hoody as I curled closer to him and clung desperately. "You were brave to face your fears, Rey. You did good," he said softly against my hair as I sniffled. His hands were so large on my back. He gently rubbed up and down comfortingly and I half-wondered how many times he'd had to comfort someone like this.

I immediately stopped that thought as I tried to pull myself together and get ahold of myself. I sniffled one last time and slowly pulled my face from his hoody. He hung his arm loosely around me and I risked a glance up at him. It was only then that I realized how close our faces were. I felt my cheeks redden at the proximity. This was a mistake. An awkward mistake that could cost me a friendship. He looked like he was struggling with himself. Then I noticed that he lifted his other hand to wipe away a tear from my cheek. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. His face, if I had to place the expression, was a gentle one. Like he was trying to put me at ease. But it was also mixed with concern.

As he wiped my other cheek, I offered a soft embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, Ben."

That was when his brows pulled together for the first time tonight. "For what?"

His voice reverberated in my chest, even though our chests weren't touching. I grew self-conscious as I thought about what I was apologizing for. "F-for putting you in this position..."

"And what position is that?"

I got the distinct feeling he was toying with me now. Just the tone of voice he took in that question made me glance up at him to see him fighting back a smirk. "For... throwing myself at you..." I said softly.

He snickered softly and pulled me closer for another embrace. "As far as I could tell, you were just cold from the ride." I risked a glance up at him as he held me and saw him smirking suggestively at me.

I gave him a small warm smile. He was trying to help me preserve my dignity. "Right," I said with a small laugh. I hugged him one last time before we both, mutually, pulled apart. I shyly looked at the time and groaned softly. "Ben, we lost an hour..." How did all of that take an hour!? Was I really melting down for that long!? It was already 6:30!

As I brought my vision up to him, a hoody was thrown against my face. I made a small sound and reached to pull it off my face, prepared to ask what he'd just done. "You're a bit under-dressed for the weather. Put it on," he said simply, crossing his arms over his chest.

I looked at him for a moment, seeing that he had a zip-up hoody on with long sleeves under it. I looked down at the hoody he'd thrown at me and realized he was wearing it a moment earlier. "But what about you?"

Ben shrugged. "I'm naturally hot-blooded. I stay warm all the time. Hurry up or we definitely will lose." I hesitantly put the hoody on and was instantly assaulted by his smell. And suddenly, I didn't care if we won or lost. He smelled damn good.