Ben woke up to the smell of eggs. He sat up in bed and stretched out his body, flexing his arms. He ran his fingers through his wavy black shoulder-length hair (which was one of his favorite physical qualities, he'd grown it out to his desired length over the summer, much to his mother's disapproval) and stood up. Ben threw on a Panic! at the Disco t-shirt (which Rey had made him wear after she got it at their concert, Ben had hardly heard any of their songs), yesterday's jeans (which Rey had very kindly washed and ironed for him, God bless her soul) and combed his hair in the mirror.
He went into the kitchen to see Rey with her back to the stove, a spatula in her hand. She didn't even turn around, but she said, "Morning, Benny!" She looked around to smile at him and she carried over a plate with an omelette on it to the table, setting it down. "I made yours with bacon on it, I remember you said you liked it."
Damn, Ben hadn't eaten omelettes (or bacon, for that matter) since he early summer and he was thankful that Rey remembered he liked it. He'd even forgotten he'd liked it. Ben went over to Rey and hugged her. "What would I do without you?"
"Crash and burn, probably. Now eat up. We both need to be in class by 8:30... we have half an hour."
Rey went back into the kitchen to get her omelette, and Ben started eating his. So damn good. He was lucky that Rey would cook for him and herself, he pitied the other college freshmen that would be living off Instant Noodle for breakfast, lunch and dinner by the end of the trimester. Almost like she read his mind, Rey called to Ben from the kitchen, "But it's your turn to cook tonight, don't forget!"
*******
Around 5 minutes later, Ben and Rey said goodbye and departed from each other, Rey going to the science building and Ben to the math one.
Ben had no first-day jitters, surprisingly to him, and the day passed on quickly and smoothly. The teachers basically introduced themselves and read through the syllabus, just like in high school. Ben, being the attentive student he wanted to be, paid attention to all of his teachers (even the ones who were boring as hell). He walked to Chipotle a couple blocks away from campus for lunch, after 5th period.
Ben came back to school campus and made his way to the English building. Freshman literature; English was always a class Ben enjoyed. He went into the building and found the room number, stepping inside. A woman with a tight bun in her hair looked up at him from the desk, smiled (forceful-looking, Ben thought) and welcomed him. Ben nodded and took at look at the assigned seating chart on her desk (even in college, they still had assigned seating charts?!). He walked over to a desk in the middle of the back row, right next to a dude looking down at his phone. Ben sat down and looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
The dude had dark brown skin and darker brown hair, but his eyes were a light-ish chocolate-y color. Ben wanted to introduce himself, but the bell for class rang. Ben watched the rest of the students. The guy powered off his phone and shifted his body to put it in his back pocket, glancing at Ben for a second before looking to the front of the classroom.
The professor began to talk for a minute, and then the guy turned around in his seat and faced Ben. "Is that a Panic! at the Disco shirt?" He asked, whispering so the professor wouldn't hear.
Ben looked down at his shirt; he'd forgotten what he was wearing. "Yeah, I believe." He whispered back. "My cousin got it for me."
"Oh, cool! You listen to them?"
"No, I've heard, like, 2 of their songs on the radio or something. My cousin's a huge fan. She went to their concert in the summer."
"Same! And dude, you gotta listen to their music. They're freaking amazing! Like their new album... I literally can't-" The guy laughed softly and looked down at the ground for a second, then back up at Ben. He outstretched his hand for Ben to shake. "I'm Finn, by the way."
"Ben." Ben shook Finn's hand, and they both turned back to the professor.
Class ended 50 minutes later. Finn turned to Ben while he was packing up and asked him, "What class do you have next?"
"Drama, thank god." Ben hauled his backpack onto his shoulders and walked out he classroom with Finn. "It's my major, so I'm excited for it."
"Nice. My major is creative writing. I think it's in the same building as drama, lemme walk with you there."
Ben and Finn walked out of the English building and onto the sidewalk. Finn asked Ben about how he decided on drama as a major.
"Well, let me start out by stating the obvious: I want to be an actor when I'm older. I also want to go to graduate school for it. My mom hated my decision to become an actor, but there was nothing she could do about it seeing as to I'm a legal adult now. How about you?"
"I don't know... I write short stories in my free time and I've been taking journalism classes since the beginning of middle school and I enjoyed them so I decided, 'Why not go to college for it?', so I did. I kinda want to be a writer, but I'm not sure of it yet." Finn and Ben went inside the creative classes building.
"My half-cousin, he's a junior here, told me Professor Snoke teaches the drama classes. He has a creative writing class 1st period, but he has most of the drama classes. I hear he's strict but an overall nice guy."
"Good to know. Hey thanks, Finn, talk to you later." Ben waved goodbye and walked into the drama classroom.
The drama "classroom" was a gorgeous theatre, which was very huge and had a great technical setup backstage (Ben could see backstage, two guys were pushing a rolling cart). Ben noticed a smaller room with a sign saying, "Drama Kids Come Inside" so he went in.
The room was set up like a classroom, and a tired-looking skinny old man sat upfront of the classroom, peering at the other students. He nodded at Ben on his way in and Ben found an open seat at the east edge of the classroom. He sat down as the bell rang.
The man introduced himself as Professor Snoke and told the class some things about himself (he'd been married twice, he has 3 cats and he worked as a stage manager in New York). Ben half-listened, feeling tired from the first day of college, causing him to crave some of Rey's peppermint tea.
Ben considered himself a pretty good actor, which was most of the reason he made drama his major. He was good at improv, script, Shakespeare, drama- Ben felt very confident in his acting. But no matter how much experience Ben had in acting, nothing could have prepared him for what happened to him next.
"Class, I'd like you to meet your TA, or teacher assistant, Brendol Hux." As if on cue, an average height, 19-ish looking guy came into the classroom from the stage area. Snoke continued speaking. "Brendol is a junior here. He'll be taking over the class when I'm gone..." Snoke was still talking, but Ben had zoned him out. He continued to look at Brendol.
Hux was sharp-looking from head to toe. He was shorter than Ben, judging how he looked from a couple yards in front of Ben. He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart. Brendol was wearing a green hoodie (which really brought out his eyes, which were bright green as Ben could see from across the room), black jeans and white slip-ons. Brendol caught Ben's gaze and Ben pretended to look away.
Hux had straight, gelled red hair that parted down the middle, not one hair out of place. Ben wished he could see more of him but Brendol was too far away. Brendol began to speak. "Hello everyone, I'm happy to see some new faces. Professor Snoke has already told you guys a lot about me and my acting experience, and I have nothing to add. But I'll just summarize it: I moved here from Surrey, England for college. I'm 20, this is my 2nd year being a TA for Professor Snoke. I've been in 16 plays and my other hobbies include drawing and outdoor cardio. I won a 5K in the fastest time this summer. And again, I'm really excited to be helping you guys become better actors!" Hux's voice was clipped and he had an English accent (Ben didn't know what type of English accent... Cockney maybe? He absentmindedly watched Downton Abbey with Rey in their free time). He sounded charming, calm and respectful. Ben liked it.
Snoke gave the class their first assignment: name the different types of theatre (5 +) along with an ultimate question- why do people do theatre? Ben tore his eyes off Hux and took out a piece of paper to write on. He named 3 different types, then got stuck on the last 2. He went over to Snoke to ask him about the different types of theatre but Snoke said, "If I just told you the answer, it wouldn't be an assignment, would it? Ask Brendol to help you."
Ben saw Hux perk up after hearing his name and he went over to Snoke's desk. "Sir, I heard my name?" Hux asked with that fantastic accent of his.
"This young man wants help with his homework." Snoke said, not looking up form his computer. Hux looked at Ben in the eye, making Ben's skin crawl with nervous happiness. "Should we go back to your desk?" Hux asked Ben calmly.
"Oh! Yeah..." Ben said sheepishly, laughing softly as he led Hux to his desk. Dammit, Ben, Ben thought. Chill out, what are you even thinking? What are you feeling?!
Ben sat down in his seat and Brendol pulled up a rolling chair. Ben watched as he got one from the back of the room. Not surprisingly, Ben thought Hux had a nice ass.
Hux pulled up a chair and sat next to Ben, resting his hands on his lap. "What can I do you for again?" Hux smiled and Ben's pores raised with nervousness.
"Oh. Um... types of theatre? I got 3, I need 5."
"Oh, easy. Let's see..." Hux tilted his head to look at Ben's paper. "So you've got drama, improv, Shakespearean, the last 2 are comedy and tragedy. Most people think that they're a type of Shakespeare theatre but they're not. They're on their own. And the answer to the last question, why do we do theatre, it's because it's fun. That's all Snoke wants to hear really, I took this class my freshman year and I still remember that."
"Wow, thanks!" Ben quickly wrote what Brendol said on his paper and glanced at Brendol. "Um, sir? Mr. Hux? What do I call you, do you prefer either of those names?"
Hux chuckled, his laugh was deep but light at the same time. It was a fascinating juxtaposition, and it made Ben laugh as well, despite not knowing what Hux was laughing at. Ben focused on Hux's freckles and the way his nose crinkled as he laughed, and Ben felt his pale skin start to blush. Hux said, "Oh, ha. Neither of those names suit me to be honest. I prefer just Brendol. I don't really consider myself an authority, I hate labels." But Ben would continue to call him Hux in his mind, because he just felt it suited him better. He would call him Brendol out loud. Hux laughed again, and he looked at Ben in the eyes. Ben had finally gotten the close-up of Hux he'd wanted: Hux had long golden eyelashes and a light spray of freckles across his nose from cheek to cheek. He had a birthmark on the left side of his neck. Hux smiled once more at Ben before getting up and pushing the chair to the back of the classroom again. Ben went to go turn in his paper early.
As Ben walked to the front of the classroom to Snoke's desk, thinking about his interaction with Hux, he heard Hux's voice from the back of the classroom say, "Hey, what's your name again?"
Ben turned around to see Hux looking at him inquisitively. "Ben, Ben Solo." Ben introduced himself, feeling a lot less nervous.
Hux nodded and smiled a 3rd time at Ben, and Ben smiled back, laughing nervously and running his fingers through the front of his hair. A student tapped on Hux and he looked down at her, kneeling down next to her as she spoke to him. Ben turned around and put his paper on the collection pile on Snoke's desk.
*******
"My 7th period teacher is so rude. She doesn't even teach that well. I mean, who references algebra in an advanced business calculus class. And who gives an assignment in the first day?" Rey scoffed as she turned back to her desk, scribbling away at her homework. She and Ben had been talking about their first days (they had no classes together) and were comparing teachers.
"I have Snoke for 7th. Nice guy, kinda strict, likes getting things done promptly and by the rules. He has a TA."
Rey turned back at Ben, watching him fiddle with a Rubik's cube half-heartedly. "Yeah, so do most teachers." Rey said, sniffing.
"Yeah, I know but this ones different," Ben started, not thinking about where he was going. "Name's Brendol Hux, he's 20, he's done several plays, I forgot how many, and he's really respectful and charming and helpful. He's..." Ben stopped talking when he realized what he was saying. He caught himself, took a breath and said, "...nice."
Rey whipped her head around at Ben, smirking and raising an eyebrow. Ben looked up from the cube and looked at Rey. "What're you giving me that look for?" He asked.
"He's respectful. He's helpful. He's starting quote, charming, end quote. But yet he's just nice at the same time. Only nice."
"What are you hinting at?"
Rey raised both eyebrows, putting her hands in the air as mock surrender. "I don't know, Ben. I remember this summer you told me you were questioning your sexuality and you did break up with Ellen at the end of high school and-"
"Rey!" Ben hissed. "Shush! Oh my god, anyone could hear you!"
"Benny, please. These walls are soundproof, and besides, no one would have a clue what we're talking about. All I'm saying is that I feel like this Brendol guy might be your first... crush... since Ellen and you might have the chance this year to find out if you're gay or not-"
"I'm not mad, Rey, but let me make one thing clear with you. I'm not gay. I'm questioning if I'm straight or bisexual. That's half the reason I broke it off with Ellen, I wanted to explore my sexuality. Ellen was also really attatchy as well. I do agree with you though, Hux could be a potential love interest, but not a crush or anything, we're not in the 2nd grade."
Rey looked at Ben for a while, then slowly smiled. "Or anything." She said slyly.
Ben groaned. "Shut up!" He yelled, tossing a pillow at Rey as she ran into the bathroom, giggling.
"I'm going in the shower first!" She yelled, her footsteps retreating.
Ben cat-stretched and sprawled himself across his bed. He thought of his ex-girlfriend, Ellen, whom he'd dated for 2 years. She'd really helped him with his parents' divorce and Ben's mother liked her a lot. But Ellen took their relationship for granted, and started to abuse her power in it. She'd get mad if Ben was late for dates or too busy to make any, and Ben hated that she thought she had so much entitlement, so he ended it with her. It had hurt him too, he'd really enjoyed the relationship while it lasted and he really liked Ellen. But after a while, he started feeling numb to Ellen's kisses and touches, and he felt like he needed to check his sexuality. He knew he had to be somewhat straight: Ben knew he liked girls, Ellen had confirmed that for him. They never had sex, but Ben knew enough to know that he wouldn't stop liking girls. He just wanted to know if he liked guys as well, or girls alone.
Then along came Hux and Ben felt himself (God forgive him for saying this) falling for his appearance and personality. Ben knew that Hux would be the one that would help him really confirm his sexuality. And he started to fall asleep with that mysterious, but optimistic thought.
Or, he would've fallen asleep of it weren't for the loud sound of Rey singing in the shower. Ben groaned, burying his head further in the pillow to block it out. Rey could rap well (Ben convinced her to enter a rapping contest at school in elementary school, she won 3rd place), but she couldn't sing at all.
Ben could still hear her singing even when the pillows were over his ears. He recognized the song: a love song from a British TV show they watched over the summer. Not Downton Abbey, the show was more modern day. Ben had forgotten the name of it.
He listened to the lyrics, "Knock, knock, who's there? Could this be love that's calling? The door is always open wide!"
Ben remembered the lyrics and sang along, as quietly as he could, "Knock, knock, who's there? Now as the night is falling, take off your coat and come inside!" Ben suddenly realized what he was singing, scoffing and shaking his head. He smiled to himself, thinking about Hux one last time for the night and fell asleep.