The Dark Side

~1~

"Excuse me," Ten-year-old Neri'el Aspenstra said softly to the boy in front of her.

He didn't move and she stretched a hand out to poke him. Her slender finger gently pushed the cloth material of his robe as she spoke again.

"Excuse me."

The boy stiffened at her touch and whipped around to look at her. His brown eyes were dark and angry. Wavy black hair crested his forehead and grazed his shoulders. His padawan braid was hidden within his ebony hair but Neri'el could see the faint brown strip hiding in the cloud of darkness.

"Do you mind?" he hissed.

Neri'el stepped back in shock at his angry tone but quickly regained her composure.

"No," she shot back.

"Too bad because I do. Now go away," the boy snarled before turning back to his lunch.

"Why?" Neri'el asked.

She had seen this boy before. He always sat alone at lunch in the shade of the temple. Almost as if he were hiding.

"I'm not hiding."

Neri'el started in surprise. Her green eyes widened in shock before turning angry.

"You read my mind?" she hissed.

"Obviously," the boy said rolling his eyes.

Neri'el glared at him.

"Don't do it again," she snarled.

"I do what I want," the boy sniffed as he picked up a piece of Wompa meat off his plate and stuffed it in his mouth.

Neri'el rolled her eyes.

'No wonder no one sits with this kid.'

"I'm not a child," the boy snarled standing up and towering over her.

"You're sure acting like one," Neri'el replied in irritation, taking no heed of the boy's height, "Quit reading my mind!"

The boy's face contorted with rage as he glared at her. She glared right back. He was tall for a twelve-year-old but so was Neri'el. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the boy sat back down.

"Please just go away," he muttered.

Neri'el crossed her arms defiantly and sat down in front of him.

"No. You're lonely-don't even try to deny it-so why don't you come sit with me and the other younglings?"

The boy rolled his eyes again.

"I'm not moving," he stated coldly.

Neri'el sighed and stood back up.

"Fine."

She turned on her heel and walked away. The boy watched her retreating back before turning his attention back to his lunch.

'Of course she left. That's what they all do. No one ever stays', the boy thought angrily.

The boy shook his head to clear his thoughts and picked up a roll and began tearing it apart into bite sized chunks.

His parents are always too busy. They didn't respond to his letters or notes or holocalls. They didn't care. They just shipped him off to a stupid school with a pat on the back telling him to keep his nose clean. If he was lucky they'd send him a note once a year asking if he made any new friends.

The boy snorted.

Friends. Who needed them anyway? The other Jedi boys were all idiots. Arrogant ones at that. Always twirling their lightsabers around seeing if the girls were watching. Not even trying to get better. Not straining to give their all. Not ending every day with moans of pain. Not waking up at dawn to get a few extra hours of training in before classes started. Not feeling pounding pain with every step from their aching muscles.

No, he would not make any friends here. Friends were worthless. They would just betray him in the end.

The loud noise of a tray being slammed down beside him, jerked the boy out of his dark thoughts.

The pretty girl from earlier smirked down at him as she sat in front of him.

'Wait pretty?'

"If you won't get up off your lazy butt then I'll just have to sit with you," The girl decided in a cheerful tone.

The boy for once didn't roll his eyes and smiled slightly.

"Fine."

They sat quietly for a while. The only sounds were of the pair chewing. Finally the boy broke the silence.

"So, do you have a name?"

The golden haired girl smiled.

"Neri'el Aspenstra. You?"

"Ben, Ben Solo."

AN-
And here, we, GO! Again!
I'm republishing this story yet again! Hopefully going to fix the errors and make it nice!

Anyhow, I hope you like it! And feel free to comment your thoughts! I'm excited to hear them!!!

As some of you may be able to tell, I'm not starting with the plot of The Force Awakens. This story is a lot of my own concoction with Star Wars characters mixed in.

I'm really excited for people to read this so let me know what you're thinking!