A Lesson to Learn

Chapter 6

<Rey>: It would be my honor to educate you in all things fun, Kylo. A fall festival has pumpkin carving competitions, haunted mazes, apple and pumpkin picking, great food, etc. You should really check it out if you have the time.

Kylo let out a small laugh, knowing that Rey was texting from her room and wouldn't be able to hear him (Chewie on the other hand gave a quizzical whine in his direction but then laid back down on his bed). If Rey really knew what haunted places and monsters looked like, he wasn't sure she'd be calling them "fun". That didn't matter, though. All that mattered is that Rey was going to have a good time with her friends tonight and that she wanted to "educate him in all things fun" and take him "under her wing". These notions set Kylo's heart soaring and racing. Except for the fact that he was painfully aware of who was attending the fall festival today with her. Anakin.

Maybe he would check out this fall festival - in person. He had already decided he would tag along unseen to protect Rey from the gross man who had made his intentions all too clear to Kylo (not that he knew anything about Kylo's mind reading abilities) - but maybe Kylo could appear in person now and casually run into Rey and her merry group of friends. Kylo mulled it over for another 0.5 seconds before he replied, Maybe I'll make some time today... Who knows, we might even finally run into each other?

***

Rey gripped her pillow even tighter as she read Kylo's new message. Of course she was delighted that Kylo seemed eager to meet her. However, of course it had to be during a time where Anakin was also going to be present. Rey squeezed the poor stuffed cushion in frustration over her situation thinking, if only Poe had kept his big mouth shut.

She couldn't wait to meet Kylo and couldn't keep the grin off her face as she thought about it, but she also didn't want him to be put off that she was there with another man, especially when (as of now) her sights were much more firmly set on Kylo. What if he finds me and decides he's not interested when he sees Anakin? Or what if Poe makes some dumb joke and he thinks Anakin's my boyfriend or something and that I'm just leading him on?

As Rey thought about these possible scenarios she became increasingly anxious. There was nothing she could say back to his text that wouldn't seem rude or dismissive if she tried to convince him not to show up today, and that was the last thing she wanted. Rey ended up sending what she thought was a good enough effort to persuade him not to go - a promise of a later, yet eventual, meet up: Yeah, maybe! It's always so busy around this time of year and I don't know if you want to be around Rose and haunted houses... She's a bit melodramatic... But either way I think we should set up a movie night or something soon. If you don't know about fall festivals and PSLs then I think we might have to catch up on some season favorites like "Beetlejuice" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" for your homework ;)

Rey would just have to find a way to avoid running into Kylo if he was at the fall festival, but more than anything she hoped that the temptation of a double feature movie night was enough to sway him from finding her tonight.

***

Kylo would have been more taken aback by Rey's response if she hadn't hinted that she did want to hang out with him, albeit not necessarily today. He wondered if his newest pain in the ass, Anakin, was to blame. Was she trying to avoid them running into each other because she wanted to be uninterrupted and alone with Anakin or because she didn't want him to know that she was talking to several people at once? Kylo was tempted to snatch the answer from Rey's thoughts in the other room, but he had too much respect for her to do that. He did feel uneasy at the idea that the former was to blame for her somewhat avoidant answer.