Midnight Rules are Breaking

My Way

Guess who forgot to update. Whoops. Well that just means you get double chapters :)

There was an aura to coffeeshops that Rey could never shake. They had always evoked a sort of bone-deep contentment that left her feeling as though she just took a deep breath. Grey Days Coffee House was littered with comfy chairs and dim cozy lighting. Art from local artists were displayed on the wall space, some with little sticky notes underneath that displayed the price and artist for those who were interested in buying them.

It was one of Rey's favorite spots in the entire city.

She ordered and plopped down in one of the high backed leather chairs that sat in an alcove corner of the building, pulling out her phone. Her lock screen stared back at her. Rey was surprised that Ben wasn't already there. As per usual, she had run late to their scheduled meet up time, walking into the shop exactly fifteen minutes after ten. Her eyes hadn't stopped scanning the room for his hulking form until she stood before a pink-haired girl with a bright fake smile and ordered her chai tea.

It was a fifty-fifty chance he would have texted her the minute it took to get up and get her drink, but as she sat down Rey checked her phone again, hoping that maybe the phantom vibration was actually real.

Before she could work herself into a panic as to whether or not she got the wrong day—or an even worse yet likely more plausible option, that he simply didn't want to work with her— Ben appeared next to her.

He was wearing a dark henley that fit his muscled chest in the best way imaginable and a pair of dark jeans. He juggled a notebook, pen, water bottle, light sweater, and some kind of novel—<em>did Ben Solo</em> actually <em>read</em>— in one hand. Rey was wondering how he managed to keep it all tucked away under his arm while he placed his coffee down on the table between them.

"Well, you came prepared," Rey said as she stood up to grab his sweater before it fell to the old hardwood beneath them. Her fingers gently grazed the side of his shirt in her attempt to help him in his one-armed balancing extravaganza. Warmth crept up her arm in that tingly way she hadn't felt since middle school, that over-exaggerated girlish haze that erased all other thought, except boy, boy, boy.

A halfhearted laugh escaped his lips. Whether they were in response to Rey's comment or failed helpfulness she didn't know.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had trouble getting out of the house."

"Really?" Rey quipped. "I thought you were just getting back at me."

Ben shot her a confused look before he put two and two together. "Oh! No, no. Unlike some, I do generally arrive on time."

"Figures. I mean, Han frequents the bar at almost the exact same time every Friday, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess." She saw Ben's expression change at the mention of his father before adding, "It's no big deal though, seriously. I wasn't even here until fifteen after, anyway."

"And why does that not surprise me?"

Rey smiled. "That's okay, I have other traits that make up for my lack of timeliness."

"I'm sure you do."

Rey tore her eyes away from Ben's before she could fall too far into them. She didn't want to jump to conclusions and mistake what was surely just casual humor for a mischievous flirty glint. Instead, she pulled out her sketchbook, content to flip through its familiar pages than ponder over what may or may not be.