"YEAH!" Finn cried out, pumping a triumphant fist above his head as the ping-pong ball sunk into Poe's remaining red Solo cup of Keystone Light.

The final round of beer pong had come down between Finn and Poe, each having one cup left on opposing sides of the 6-foot table after striking out the first nine. The showdown had dragged on for a good solid ten minutes, or so it seemed as Rey stood alongside Rose at the side of the table, ignoring the swell of bodies around them that had gathered to watch the intense match with eyes wide open. Just when it seemed there was going to be a victor the damn ball would skim right over the cup, bounce off the rim, or ricochet off the table to the rim and right on over the table's edge.

Now, finally, Finn had brought the prolonged suffering to an end.

"That was a fucking cheat!" Poe accused, having to raise his voice over the loud whoops and hollers from the surrounding bystanders that overshadowed the background music. "You were leaning!"

"Was not!" Finn affirmed, raising his voice back in defense. "At least not further than I was allowed to be."

Poe growled in annoyance, reaching for the cup that had declared him the official loser of the round and ridding the liquid content of the ball. "Yes, you did," he grumbled. "I call for a rematch."

"Just drink the damn cup, Dameron." Rose spoke out on behalf of Finn's defense, rolling her eyes. "I can vouch for Finn, he wasn't leaning. You're just a sore loser."

"Thank you, sweets." Finn replied, issuing Poe a goading grin. "See? The audience doesn't lie."

"Your girlfriend doesn't count."

"How about you quit being a pussy and just drink the damn beer?" Finn taunted. Snatching his cup from the table, he ambled to the other end to present Poe with the rest of the beer that he was expected to drink. "Here, you can enjoy mine while you're at it," he encouraged, slapping Poe's back with his free hand. "I'd hate to be a hog of all the good stuff."

Poe snorted wryly, which the small cluster of friends was able to hear as the larger crowd had tapered off since the excitement was over. "God, I hate this shit," he muttered with a grimace, gazing apprehensively into the cup that held the worst beverage produced by mankind.

"Is he always like this?" Rey asked, leaning over to Rose regarding Poe.

"Mmhmm," Rose hummed along with a humored look. "Yet he gets his buddies in college to buy the same garbage every time."

"You're supposed to buy the cheap shit for this game," Poe shot back, having taken a large gulp of beer seconds before. "There's no way I'm wasting perfectly good Bud Light on beer pong."

"It'd be a lot more bearable," Rose affirmed. "But if you're not going to do anything about it, then quit your bitching."

"What if a cup gets knocked over? That's a sad waste of the sacred nectar," Poe added prior to guzzling down the remaining content in his cup. Setting it aside on the table, he begrudgingly reached for the one that Finn had given him.

"Speaking of waste," Rose piped up, quirking a brow at Rey, "are you ever going to finish that?"

Rey's attention lowered to the nearly full bottle of Strawberry Hill flavor of Boone's Farm in her hand, dangling to the side over her arm that'd been crossed over the bare half of her torso. Rose's sister, Paige, had bought them each a bottle of the fruity wine cooler during a quick run to the local liquor store prior to Poe's party. Had it not been for Rose mentioning it, she probably would've forgotten the alcoholic beverage that she'd been nursing occasionally throughout the duration of the party.

Truthfully, Poe's party was the first after school event that Rey had ever been invited to by her peers throughout the duration of being in high school, to discover that she wasn't too much of a drinker. Not like her friends, at least, who all were consuming the alcoholic beverage like they'd been birthed and raised at a brewery drinking it from a bottle.

There were also other things that made the night not so enjoyable, like Rey discovering that she'd inadvertently accumulated a disliking for rowdy crowds. The party that was now being overrun by both Junior and Senior Varsity football teams, along with Mishawaka High's cheerleaders, surprisingly didn't start off that way.

Finn hadn't been exaggerating when he said that Poe's parties withheld tendencies to turn chaotic. What started out as a small gathering, with a dozen or so of Poe's closest friends, playing corn hole and beer pong had turned into a full-blown celebration event. Not long past 10:00 P.M. Poe received word from Junior Varsity's captain, Cassian Andor, that the Cavemen had a narrow victory against Mishawaka's long-time adversary Penn Kingsmen.

Alas, being in Poe's nearly 5,000 square foot suburban home suddenly felt like a shack when surrounded by approximately 50 drunken jocks and cheerleaders (including her friends) with Rey being the only one that was remotely sober.

Amidst the chaos Rey somehow found her thoughts drifting back to Ben, and the question that he'd asked her during their chat on messenger. She wondered what he was doing, and what she could possibly be doing with him had she just told Ben that her Friday plans were nearly the same as his. She resisted the urge her fingers were having from loading the Facebook Messenger app onto her phone just to send him a message – even if it was just to say 'hi.'

Rey shrugged, finally acknowledging Rose's question. "I'm just savoring the flavor," she quipped lightheartedly. "Have you even tasted yours?"

Rose held up her own fruity beverage, regarding the few ounces that remained at the bottom of the 25-ounce bottle. "Maybe, it's just so damn good!"

Rey chuckled. It really was a miracle that her very petite friend was still standing on her own two feet, though the slurring of Rose's words and the occasional wavering on her own two feet while standing still hadn't gone unnoticed.

"We could play a game of 'Never Have I Ever,'" Poe suggested, smirking at Rey. "It'll help me drink this shit down and you to get caught up to speed."

Rey scoffed. "How do you play?"

Rose gasped, like Rey had just openly admitted to having sold her soul to Hades himself. "You've never played 'Never Have I Ever'?"

Rey blinked, looking stupefied at Rose. "Is that bad?"

"Rose can be a bit dramatic when she's drunk," Finn teased, grabbing himself a bottle of Bud Light from the case on Poe's kitchen counter. "More so than what she can already be at times."

Rose gestured a middle finger at Finn. "Says the man who should be ready to start streaking in 3, 2, 1..."

"I'm actually not that drunk – yet."

Poe rolled his eyes, taking it upon himself to inform Rey the rules of the game. His inebriated mind found it appropriate to explain with an arm nonchalantly draped over her shoulders, making Rey distortedly scrunch her face and hug her arms tighter over her diaphragm.

Why couldn't he just stay where he was at and explain?

"You see –," Poe paused to hiccup, "one of us will say 'never have I ever' and will say something that we may have or haven't done. If you're guilty, then you take a drink. If you're not guilty, then you don't."

Rey nodded, shrugging her shoulders with enough exertion in hopes that Poe would draw his arm away from her. Unfortunately, he didn't: at least not right away. "Sure," she agreed apprehensively, "I'll play."

All were held in accord of playing the renowned drinking game, which they so vaguely admitted to their guilty pleasures by sipping their own designated beverages. Rose started off the game with an easy open-ended question about never having cried during a Pixar movie; which Rose, Rey and Finn begrudgingly took a swig from their drinks. The questions seemed to get dumber and easier as they went, asking things like 'never having missed a high five' or 'secretly wishing that they were a wizard at Hogwarts.'

Rey scrunched her nose, pondering a question after pleading guilty to two of the prior queries. "Never have I ever kissed a poster of a celebrity."

Rose, Rey and Finn proceeded to glug down more of their drink. Rey arched a quizzical brow at Finn, laughing. "You have kissed a poster?"

"Zoe Saldana," Finn confirmed unapologetically, wearing a dreamy expression.

Poe toasted his cup, agreeing. "Fuck yeah, she's hot. Anyways, never have I ever texted for four hours straight."

Rose gave Poe a wounded look. "Why did you have to call me out like that?"

Poe chuckled, hiccupping again.

"Never have I ever fallen asleep – and woken up somewhere else." Finn declared; glancing around the group to see that he was the only one guilty of doing such act.

"Have you ever considered tying yourself to a chair when you drink?" Rey asked, laughing at Finn. "You may end up in the next town over if you're not careful."

Everyone laughed at that.

"I swear to God I don't know why I do the crazy shit I do when I'm drunk," Finn explained, scoffing heavily.

"Okay, my turn," Rose stated frankly, casting a sly sideways glance at Rey. "Never – have I ever – flirted with someone more than 10 years older than me."

Rey's muscles stiffened at the implication of Rose's words. What all did Rose know? Or better yet, what didn't she know? The questions came pouring through her mind, attempting to ease the panic by telling herself that Hux hadn't noticed the tension between her and Ben, so why would it have been any different with Rose?

Seeing Rose and Poe take their unrepentant drinks, Rey felt the uprising dread subside, but refrained from following suit – just in case.

"Never have I ever been anywhere outside the country," Finn declared, looking at Poe.

Poe grimaced, seeing that he was the only one accountable of such act and took another long swig from his cup. "Smooth, Finn, using my mom who's an international pilot against me."

"You've been nursing that cup for too long. I'm just being a good friend and helping you out," Finn clarified, chuckling at Poe's glare.

"Well, I'll make it easy for the rest of us then, and finish this off. I'm getting bored," Poe announced, clearing his throat. "Never have I ever kissed someone of the opposite sex."

Everyone raised their cups to drink – everyone except for Rey; which it came as no surprise that Rose had been the first to notice her not raise her cup.

"Rey!" Rose cried in an amiable high-pitched squeal. "You've seriously never been kissed?"

Rey frowned and shifted on her feet, suddenly feeling uncomfortable that she had been willing enough to admit being the only person in the entire group that had never been kissed, or had ever come close to committing such act.

"It's not a big deal – right?" Rey asked, now feeling self-conscious about her decision as she gave a wary glance around the group.

"We could change that, you know," Poe mumbled out of the corner of his mouth before chugging down the remaining content in his cup.

Rey tried to pay no attention to Poe's comment. The mere thought of kissing him had been enough to make her skin crawl.

"We could play spin the bottle," Finn offered, wincing when Rose insisted on smacking his bicep with the back of her hand.

"Well, I think it's really sweet," Rose assured, glaring at Finn for a moment before turning to Rey. Smiling, she gave Rey a subtle wink. "Maybe this will be the year for you."

Scoffing, Rey rolled her lips in under her teeth, grazing the tip of her tongue over them in heavy thought. "Maybe," she agreed softly, hoping it to be enough for the subject to change.

Thankfully, the topic quickly changed as Finn announced another round of beer pong – this time with partners. Poe stayed behind, seeing the newfound opportunity of the prior company moving to the designated play area in the dining room to bring up the subject of kissing once again now that his friends were distracted with setting up the new round.

"About that kiss...," Poe suggested in a low voice, cocking a brow at Rey whilst setting the empty cup down on the counter top behind him.

Rey snorted, unwittingly tightening her grip around the neck of her bottle as Poe began to move closer. "With you, Poe – no, I'm sorry."

"Oh, come on, Rey." Poe implored, bringing a hand up to cup her jaw line. "Just one won't kill you will it?"

Rey swallowed thickly, keeping her eyes fixed on his as Poe cocked his head to make the official move. She waited, patiently on a baited breath before dumping the nearly full bottle of Boones Farm over his head. The tightness in her chest simmered with pride as she watched Poe gasp, lurching himself back from her in surprise.

"What the fuck was that for?" Poe bellowed, spitting out the beverage as it ran from his now drenched hair onto his face and lips.

"I would rather kiss a muskrat," Rey sneered, slamming down the empty bottle harder than necessary onto the counter before storming out of the kitchen.

Making her way to the front of the house, she ignored the quizzical glances of half-dazed and confused and agitated 'what the fucks' from guests as Rey pushed through the mass of jocks and cheerleaders. She needed air, something that could assist with freeing her thoughts from thinking anymore on a friend that just tried taking advantage of her. Tonight was supposed to have been a night of fun – with friends.

Now, Rey just wanted to go home.

But where was home? Her only ride here was already three sheets to the wind, and readying to engage in another round of beer pong. Rey didn't have that much to drink. She could be the somewhat designated driver and tell Rose what had just happened, and insist that they leave. But Rey didn't want to be considered the Debbie Downer of Rose's night; it wasn't her fault that Poe had been a selfish douche. And it had all started over something as stupid as a fucking kiss.

It wasn't until Rey had made it successfully outside into the cool evening when she felt her lungs finally breathe the air they'd been holding, not realizing she'd been harboring the breath whilst pushing through the bodies that reeked of stale beer and liquor from accidental spills. She expected to have at least been followed by someone to see if she was okay – by Rose or Finn or, hell, even Poe with an apology!

But there was no one, other than the vast amount of country air with the closest house being 2-acres apart from either side of Poe's residence. It wasn't a wonder that he had been able to get away with having such wild parties. It also made her realize that she'd never felt so alone whilst being within the vicinity of Mishawaka's entire athletic team.

Reaching for her phone that was tucked into her back pocket of her shorts, Rey considered calling her aunt, not realizing she had been shaking from nerves after the phone had been within her grasp. She'd told Maz that she was going to a friend's house, and was prepared to face the notion of having to admit the sort of gathering that it was. However, she had been spared again when she saw Maz's text message that had been sent roughly an hour ago.

– Aunt Maz 10:30 P.M. –
Rey, don't wait up for me.
Gotta stay over past normal shift

"Of fucking course," Rey sighed in defeat, though it wasn't unexpected that Maz would have to stay a few hours past her normal shift time.

Rey considered waiting out the remnants of the party outside, hoping that Rose would be ready to leave after this round of beer pong before the thought of contacting one person she least expected to consider getting a hold of crossed her thoughts. It was already 11:30, making her second guess the notion of messaging Ben before realizing that the Facebook Messenger app was being downloaded to her phone.

As she loaded up the app onto her screen Rey tried to reassure herself that the friendship between them was worth something so much more that he'd understand, hoping to help ease the worry of sounding like an insipid little school girl that couldn't handle her first high school party.

"God, I'm so lame," she chided, wearing a scowl whilst forcing herself to send the message before she could regret reaching out.

– Rey Kanata –
Are you busy?

Rey waited, staring at the screen as if it had the ability to project Ben to her location at the exact moment. Minutes began to slowly pass, making the hour draw closer to midnight before it became apparent that Ben wasn't going to answer her – at least not at this hour. She almost gave up hope that she was surely about to spend the rest of the evening miserable at the forsakened party before the three wavering dots at the bottom of her screen appeared.

Rey never thought she'd be so glad to see three little dots as she was then.

– Ben Solo –
Not at all
How's your evening?

– Rey Kanata –
Can you come get me?

There was a long pause: a period that went too far being drawn out as Rey thought she'd officially crossed the line. She was almost afraid to read the message that followed the next series of wavering dots.

– Ben Solo –
Are you okay?
Where are you?

Rey heaved a sigh in relief, smiling. Her head turned to consider the neighboring surroundings. It was dark, too dark to really make out any sort of landmarks or anything that would make it easy for Ben to find the house.

– Rey Kanata –
I'm standing outside of Poe's.
I don't know his address though.

– Ben Solo –
That's okay
Find a friend
I can sync your Facebook with contacts and find you that way
If that's okay?

– Rey Kanata –
Of course, please
I'm so sorry to bother you
I didn't know who else to get a hold of

– Ben Solo –
It's not a problem.
It may take me a little longer to get there
Are you okay though?

Rey smiled, regarding the fact that Ben had already asked her earlier and realized that she failed to give him a response.

– Rey Kanata –
I am now.

**

It virtually took a half hour from the moment Ben climbed into his classic red 1958 Chevy pick-up truck at his parents' ranch to the moment he found Rey, standing alongside a weed-infested ditch just outside a home that appeared to be too quiet and dark for a party home.

Catching sight of Rey's position, Ben immediately killed the headlights so to not intentionally blind her. He steered the vehicle to a designated stopping place alongside the road, roughly 20 feet from where Rey was standing. Judging by the weary turned relieved look on her face, he presumed that the evening hadn't gone as well as she'd initially planned.

Hugging her arms just above her flesh-exposed abdomen, Rey began walking towards him as Ben climbed out of the truck to meet her half-way. Ben immediately failed at catching sight of the bare and toned muscles of her stomach, hoping that it hadn't been entirely too noticeable that he had to blink when forcing his eyes to meet her face.

That was also before he begrudgingly noted the desirable fact that seeing her uncovered in a photo paled in comparison to the real thing in person.

"Rey," Ben exhaled a breath, shoving both hands into the front pockets of his jeans as he came to a halt before her.

"I'm so sorry," Rey exerted prior to feeling the need to explain further, craning her neck back enough to meet his concerned eyes. "I didn't know who else to call – or message, I guess."

"What happened?" Ben asked, frowning at her unease.

Rey took a breath, feeling she may as well provide him some sort of explanation as to why he'd willingly driven all this way just to pick her up from a high school party. "We were playing this stupid drinking game, kind of like truth or dare, and one of the things was me basically admitting to never having kissed anyone before," she explained, looking down at her feet that were being engulfed by weeds to ease her embarrassment. "And Poe declared that he be the one to do it."

Ben's heart went heavy, hearing her admission. He knew that Rey deserved better – much better. Had the circumstances between them been entirely different, he admitted in his thoughts to have wanted to be the one to give Rey her first kiss.

That, unfortunately, was only wishful thinking...

Ben drew in a breath prior to placing a comforting hand tentatively on her shoulder, encouraging Rey to revisit his apprehensive stare. "For what it's worth, he's a fool to believe that he could take whatever he wanted from you. And don't be ashamed, okay?"

Rey's frown slowly levitated into a smile. "Okay," she nodded, accepting his reassurance.

Ben held her stare, unaware of the few moments that passed from Rey agreeing, to him removing his hand from her shoulder. He silently accompanied her back to his truck, chivalrously opening the passenger door for her before settling into the driver's seat once again.

They fell into a short-lived companionable silence following Rey giving Ben the name and address to her apartment building. The sound of tires rolling over the asphalt on the road beneath them was all that could be heard for some time.

He pondered over the many topics that could be relatively useful for breaking the unwarranted silence. It was so much easier discussing a book with her in the allotted minute before class and chatting behind the safety of a digital device than it was practically nudging elbows with Rey in the confinement of his truck.

Ben shifted anxiously in his seat, blaming the discomfort on the wallet digging its way into his ass cheek prior to forcing himself to act like an adult. It occurred to him then, that he hadn't gotten the chance to shower after coming in from the horse barn that night.

"I'm sorry it took so long to get here," he admitted, clearing his throat shortly. "And for the fact that I probably smell like I've been rolling in a herd of livestock all week."

Rey scrunched her nose, giving a light chuckle. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"I wouldn't have been offended if you would've."

Rey pivoted in her seat to face him better, bringing a foot up under her to sit on whilst leaning her shoulder against the passenger door's window. "So, you weren't just sitting at home doing lesson plans?" She asked, scoffing and feeling guilty for having pried him away from his own plans to rescue her like a damsel in distress.

Ben stole a quick look in her direction, shaking his head to her query. "I was at my parents', actually."

Rey snorted, feeling more frustrated than before. "I'm so sorry. I should've just stuck the party out and waited for my friend that I went there with. It wasn't so bad outside the house."

"Stop apologizing," Ben assured gently. "I have to be back tomorrow anyways, so it's nothing that could've been held off for the night."

"You have  to be back?" Rey repeated, then immediately felt dumb for asking a question that should've been obvious answer-wise Ben was spending time with his family. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to keep prying."

"You're not," Ben replied with a grating tone after a short pause. He pondered over the few hopeless ways that wouldn't make the revelation sound more ridiculous than it would already be. He decided to just cut to the chase, considering the fact that Rey was seventeen he surely had nothing to lose with her at this point. "Kylo, my horse that I told you about, is a special needs horse. He was abused – pretty badly, before we got him. And dealing with a horse that suffers from post-traumatic stress isn't exactly the easiest when I'm the only one he's not an insufferable prick around."

Rey perked her brows, teetering between laughing at the fact that Ben called his own horse a prick and feeling sorry for the creature being held in discussion. "So, you go to him every weekend?"

Ben nodded, rolling his lips distortedly. "Every weekend," he confirmed with eyes remaining on the road ahead.

Rey considered him knowingly, cocking her head. "When we were talking last night, were you going to ask me to go with you?"

Ben swallowed and nodded, silently confirming the query. His eyes refrained from meeting hers, keeping his focus on the road as he turned onto the designated street where Rey's apartment was.

Rey drew her bottom lip with an incisor, knitting her brows. "What about tomorrow?"

Ben blinked once, twice, and certain that there was a third in there before his vision reverted from the road to see Rey was actually serious about going with him. "Are you sure? You really want to go?"

Rey nodded, smiling. "I do. Oh, you can pull in right here," she explained, gesturing to where her apartment was stationed from the parking lot.

Ben couldn't have been more grateful for that moment, considering he was beaming internally like a fucking kid that just landed his first date to prom. Still, he abstained from holding back the smile showing how ecstatic he was that Rey wanted to go with him to his parents' ranch. It would surely bring on an entirely new onslaught of nerves after she was gone, but it was a notion that Ben was willing to currently endure as he guided the truck in to park.

"I have to leave early," he warned, urging up the gear shift into park. "So I can pick you up about 7:30?"

Rey nodded, agreeing as her hand hovered over the door handle. "I can't wait," she confirmed with a smile. "Thank you for tonight, Ben. I'm truly grateful."

Ben mirrored her expression, eyes fixed on hers whilst keeping his right hand gripped tightly to the steering wheel – just in case. "Good night, Rey. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night," Rey affirmed quietly, pausing a moment prior to forcing herself to leave.

It wasn't until she had opened the door and exited his truck that Ben realized it felt different watching her leave this time. Perhaps, it was the fact that he'd gotten the chance to see her outside of school without hiding behind the teacher façade, or, maybe, it was the glance she gave him over her shoulder before disappearing through the stairwell door of the complex.