A Lesson to Learn

Chapter 7

He silently mourned the chance to comfort Rey further, but was secretly proud that his Little One was so strong - not allowing herself to be phased in the moment by some creep. Kylo was jostled from his musings when he felt Rey's small hand on his arm as she muttered to him, "Okay, yes. Let's go, Kylo. I told you I'd teach you and take you under my wing, and we're gonna start right the fuck now. We're gonna meet Rose, and Finn, and Poe and we're gonna have fun and I'm gonna forget this shit ever happened."

Kylo obediently followed, still a bit bewildered and feeling a bit of whiplash from the quick change in emotions and the new direction of the night. He shook off his disorientation with a discreet smile, turning his thoughts instead to all the ways he could help his Rey forget Anakin and enjoy the rest of her night.

***

Kylo spotted Rey's friends up ahead, recognizing them from the times they'd cycled through her house in the past week, standing by the funnel cake stand. Rey had briefly mentioned that Poe had texted her earlier to inform her they'd wait for them by the food so they could walk through the haunted houses and newly set up scare zones together. She also let Kylo know in a more commanding tone that under no circumstances was he to bring up the "incident". The story they had settled on was that Anakin had gone home sick from a bad taco mixing with the alcohol and that she had run into Kylo on her way to them. That was fine with him, the less he had to think about the offensive bastard the better.

Rey waved over to her friends with a cheerful acknowledgement, still pulling Kylo's large frame along. Poe looked up and raised a brow at the comical sight of his petite sister dragging a dark haired giant along with her, venturing to comment as they approached, "Um. Hey, Rey! Uh... who's your new friend? Where's Anakin?"

She waved off his questioning nonchalantly, "Oh, he had to go home. We didn't even make it to the art tents before he doubled over into a trash can. I told him to leave and wandered through the shops before they closed where I ran into Kylo here. He was alone so I told him he could join. It's his first time so we gotta make it good, guys."

Rey introduced the bemused group of friends to Kylo, who nodded at each of them in turn with a curt greeting. She noticed he seemed a bit less relaxed around them than he had before when it was just them together. She wondered if he was feeling more reserved now that they weren't alone anymore, thinking back to his somewhat awkward profile picture. Cute.

"Three's a party so our new group of five must be a blowout. Shall we go get in line for a house before they all get really long?" Rose chimed in after the introductions, hoping to move them along. "The houses this year are haunted graveyards, iconic monsters, abandoned fairgrounds, and a neon party-ish one - radiation spill. I think the maze is demons and hell if we want to start there instead."

Kylo had to hold in a snort, coughing a bit at the maze's theme. Can't wait to see that. I wonder what unbearable trope they'll go with this time - the horns, the wings or that idiotic tail? He saw Rey give him a glance and he shrugged in response. "Let's start with the one furthest away since there will be less of a line because people always start near the entrance and the food." Rey suggested.

The band set off towards a path lit with jack-o-lantern's, prompting Finn to go on a tangent about how great all the designs for the competition were and how he thought that the werewolf portrait was way better than the witches hovering over the cauldron that won. "Personally, the details of the fur was what got me. I don't know why you guys even bothered voting for anything else," he droned on with a huff. By his side, Poe linked their arms together and patted Finn's hand in an attempt to soothe him, trying in vain to hide his entertainment at Finn's frustrated ramblings.