Fame: Makes a Man Think Things Over

Halloween

On Halloween night, I was preparing to leave for a small gathering of friends. It was a costume party, of course. My friend, Gwennie, a real Star One nut, already claimed Kira of Jakku, Kylo Ren's love interest, but I didn't begrudge her that role, since she adored the films so much. I dressed as Shield Maiden Eowyn from Lord of the Rings with a long dusky blue gown, a fake sword and scabbard strapped to my hips, and a gold circlet set in my hair. I didn't feel like wearing a long blonde wig, so I added some wave to my own brown hair for fun. I was fairly pleased with the look, though I wished I could wear armor for the night, since Eowyn was a mighty warrior.

I opened my door just in time to see a huge Kylo Ren with fist raised, ready to knock. I took a step back and almost fell. The apparition reached out quickly and steadied me with a black-gloved hand.

"Oops," it intoned in its modulated helmet voice. I thought that was a bit out of character.

"Uh, hi," I squeaked, staring at the monster in front of me.

It pulled off its helmet. Ben's head emerged. "Hi," he said. "Where are we going trick or treating? My car is in the garage. I can drive us there."

"Well..." I said.

"You look nice," he interrupted. "A warrior princess?"

"Thank you. Trick or treating. Sure," I said, trying to figure out what to do with this giant individual in front of me. I did not recall making any firm plans with him for Halloween. He had gotten a text message while finishing his coffee and left my apartment immediately after with a quick nod and thanks.

What to do with Ben Solo... Take him to Gwennie's party? Bad idea, the party had people who might mob him. Especially Gwennie herself. She was just like kind of nuts.

Take him to a neighborhood? A better idea, for sure. "Okay," I said. "Let's go to a neighborhood and do some walking around."

"Sure," he agreed. He took a step back to let me exit.

"Be right back," I said. "Come on in for a second."

And then Kylo Fucking Ren stood in my apartment like a docile kitten, while I made a desperate, whispered phone call from my bedroom saying I was going to be late.

"What's going on?" Gwennie asked over the music in the background.

"Can't explain now. I have to go. Everything is all right. Later." I hung up on her and turned the phone to silent.

I headed back out to the living room. "I'm going to see if my grandfather is around. He lives in a neighborhood with a lot of kids and usually hands out candy. Would you like to meet him and walk around Mott Park? It's about a half hour north of here."

"That sounds good," he said.

My grandfather was indeed home. I told him that I was bringing a friend to meet him. He sounded very intrigued and made all kinds of speculative humming noises.

After I hung up, I said to Ben, "Okay, listen, we are not going to tell him who you are. I don't think he will recognize you at all."

Ben raised his eyebrows at me. "You don't think so? Has he seen the movies?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

"I have to take off this helmet to meet him, so I guess we'll see."

In the elevator on the way to the garage, Ben pulled off a black glove and pushed his long hair back out of his face. He bounced on his heels. "Hey, you know, I am kind of geeked about this whole thing."