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Valentine's Day, in Rey's humble opinion, is the worst of all the superficial holidays (followed shortly after by Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all other family related holidays). Her friends all assumed it was because she was single, but honestly that wasn't the case. Honest. It definitely was not because she had spent the last six Valentine's Day alone. It definitely was not because her two best friends had recently gotten married and therefore left her alone to wallow. And it definitely was not because she had been cheated on seven years ago on Valentine's Day. Of course not.
There was, of course, one plus side to Valentine's Day, and that was the day after Valentine's Day. A day second only to the first of November. A day where the normally ridiculous overpriced bags of candy suddenly became attainable. A day where one could splurge on the fifteen dollar, heart shaped box of truffles for the low price of seven fifty. A day made for those who yearned for a diabetic coma the day before, but couldn’t bring themselves to dish out the cash. Valentine's Day clearance day. A long held tradition in the house, Rey went out the morning of February fifteenth and stocked up on candy. Her, Poe, Finn, Rose, and Jess would gather around the spread later that night and feast while watching bad romance movies and taking shots of tequila.
"Okay guys I'm heading out!" Rey said tugging on her sneakers and grabbing a few reusable bags from the drawer they were housed.
"Have fun Rey!" Finn called from his spot on the couch next to Poe.
"Make sure you get enough candy and liquor to sustain all of us!" Poe said smirking at Jess, "Especially little miss 'tequila tastes like water' over here."
"Oh shut it!" Rose said playfully socking Poe in the face with a couch cushion, "Jess does just fine with her liquor!"
"Yeah!" Said Jess handing Rey a twenty dollar bill, "Grab some beer though, just in case" She finished her sentence with a wink and playfully shoved Rey out the door.
Cut to a few moments later when Rey found herself standing in front of the massive candy selection at her local Target. The selection was far more intense than previous years and Rey found herself overwhelmed by all the options.
"Best to just ask what everyone wants," Rey thought to herself, shooting a quick text to the group chat. Her phone dinged quickly in succession. By the time everyone was through answering Rey had a short list of M&Ms, Starburst, Milky Ways, Snickers, and her personal favorite Skittles. Reaching in front of her, she grabbed everyone's candy before taking a few steps back to survey the racks in search of Skittles. Spotting one lone bag on the top shelf, she began stretching on her tiptoes.
Suddenly a man in black jeans and red t-shirt appeared next to her. Snickering slightly at the sight of her attempts to reach the bag, he began to reach above her head.
"On God I will physically fight you if you even consider touching that last bag of Skittles." She said, attempting to reach even higher than before.
"Well considering you can't even reach the second shelf of this rack, I think my chances at leaving unscathed are pretty high." The man said, snagging the bag from the shelf just as her fingertips grazed the corner of the plastic.
"Dude! What the hell, I was here first!" Rey said, aggressively blowing a strand of hair out her face.
"Dude!" He said mocking her incredulous tone, "I don't really care!"
"You're a real piece of work you know that?" Rey said stepping closer to the stranger.
"So I've been told" He replied grabbing a bag of Milk Duds from the bottom shelf, "Multiple times."
"Milk Duds?" Rey scoffed, "What are you ninety?"
"They're a comfort candy" He said reaching over to place a gaudy red hat on her head, "There now you look much better!"
Reaching up and grabbing the hat she threw it to the ground beside her before continuing their conversation. "What do you need comfort for anyway? Girlfriend get you the wrong Fall Out Boy CD?"
Grabbing Rey's basket and his own with one hand, the man led her further down the clearance aisle. "Firstly, I don't have a girlfriend, hence the Valentine's Day comfort foods." Reaching over, he grabbed a bag of Lifesaver gummies and tossed them into his basket. "Secondly, I'm much more of a Panic! man myself".
"Ah, so you hate Valentine's Day as much as I do then?" Rey asked holding up a small red teddy bear and making a gag face at it while leaning against one of the shelving units.
"Oh yeah! The last five years or so have been absolute trash." The man replied leaning next to her, their shoulders brushing.
"Worst Valentine's Day memory, go!" Rey said gently leaning against the man's side.
"Absolute worst?" The man said thinking out loud. "The year my girlfriend left me the morning of Valentine's Day, and then my dog died that same night."
"Ouch that is bad." Rey said sliding to the floor, "I can do one better though."
"I doubt it but try me" The man answered, opening a bag of jelly beans and digging in while sitting next to her, "Don't worry I'll pay for these."
"Fiance cheated on me the night of Valentine's Day after proposing to me that same afternoon" She answered, reaching out for a handful of jelly beans.
"My parents fought every year on Valentine's Day because my dad always forgot to celebrate." The stranger retorted smugly looking at Rey as if he had bested her.
"Oh you had parents?" She smirked at him while popping a jelly bean into his mouth. "My parents abandoned me as a child, I grew up in foster care."
"At least you grew up", The man said looking deadpan at Rey his arm behind her back, "I was born this tall."
Laughing she leaned further into the strangers side before regaining her composure. "Okay, okay truce you win." She extended her hand for a congratulatory shake.
"Ben Solo" He said reaching out to gently shake her hand.
"Rey Kenobi" She answered, smiling at him. After a few moments, she broke the eye contact, flushing and looking down.
"I should probably get going" Ben said squeezing the hand the Rey was still holding.
Laughing awkwardly, she retracted her hand from his and stood up. "I should get going too, my friends are probably wondering what's taking me so long."
"So.." He said scratching the back of his neck, "You mentioned friends, but what about a boyfriend?"
Smiling she shook her head no. "I haven't had a boyfriend in years. Or a girlfriend. Or any partner for that matter."
"In that case, would you maybe want to get dinner tonight?" He replied looking at her hopefully.
"I'm actually busy tonight." She replied, speaking faster at the crestfallen look on his face. "I just have this 'I hate Valentine's Day' tradition with my friends. You're welcome to come if you like!"
"Will there be candy?" Ben said stepping closer to her.
"Oh yeah, loads." She answered smiling up at him.
"And perhaps, alcohol?" He replied losely wrapping an arm around her waist.
"An abundance if you show up early enough." She said placing a hand on his chest.
"And final question." He said pulling her flush against him. "Will I get the opportunity to kiss you later, if I stay long enough?"
"Hmm" Rey laughed pretending to think while toying with the hair on the back Ben's neck, "We could probably arrange that."
"Excellent!" Ben answered pulling away and grabbing his basket. "Text me the address!" He called as he began to walk to the checkout line.
"Tease!" Rey called out looking at his fading back. "I don't even have your number!"
"Check your back pocket!" He shouted over his shoulder before leaving her line of sight.
Reaching back Rey pulled out a business card for "Ben Solo: Professional Photographer available for all events (except Valentine's Day shoots)". Laughing she gathered her things and started heading towards the self-checkout, smiling when she saw the bag of Skittles nestled among her other candies.