The hall outside the counselor's office was infamous for how quiet it was. There was a rumor going around that it was tweaked by some crackpot building engineer to be soundproof, so any student waiting for a disciplinary meeting would be forced to sit there in complete silence.

So here Rey was, siting opposite the chocolate-soaked boy from the cafeteria as Ben Solo faced whatever discipline the school had in store for him this time. She rested the back of her head against the wall, swearing under her breath.

This was decidedly not how she imagined the start of her big year.

Hearing a sniff Rey looked at the boy, who was adjusting a blood-soaked wad of tissue jammed up his nose. It looked like he was going to be sporting a black eye as well. The tussle between him and Solo had gotten rather intense before the campus security bots were able to separate them.

"Are you feeling all right?" she asked.

"What, this?" The boy pointed at his nose and scoffed. "I've had worse."

Rey looked at his bruised face and his dirtied clothes, wondering what other kinds of trouble he was speaking of. And then, as if someone had flashed a light right in her face, she finally recognized him.

"Wait, I do know you. You're Finn Block, the new linebacker!"

Finn looked down at his jersey with a proud smile, despite its still fresh stains. "Yeah." The smile vanished however and he looked back up. "Hold on, do I know you?"

"We live on the same street. I'm at the apartment building, 992 Jakku Place. I've seen you around."

Holding out her hand excitedly she said, "I'm Rey, Rey Croft."

Finn took her hand and Rey tried not to squeal. Everyone knew Poe Dameron from the soccer team was the popular, stereotypical jock with an attitude. But after catching a glimpse of him next door last spring, Rey had always wanted to meet the "all-around good guy" of the football team, Finn Block. And now here she was, shaking hands with him.

Perhaps the year was looking up after all.

STAR WARS: DARK TIMES AT TYTHON HIGH

Episode II:

Rough Start

"I'm not going to sugarcoat things, my boy. This year will be quite difficult if your behavior does not improve.

We are all very disappointed."

Slouching in his chair and holding a bag of ice against a scrape on his forehead, Ben Solo listened to the elderly school counselor go on and on. It was nothing new. Ben was wasting his life, the old man told him, he had so much more potential than this.

"I thought you had put your grievances with Mr. Block and Mr. Dameron behind you. Surely a simple misunderstanding can't undo all of that?"

"A misunderstanding?" Ben sat up angrily. "He spilled a hot drink on me right in front of a stranger!"

Setting down his glasses and taking a death breath from his breathing aid, the counselor of Tython High raised his eyebrows at Ben.

"Yes, he did," Saw Gerrera answered. "But I've spoken with Finn already, and I understand this was an accident. Nothing more."

Ben crossed his arms and scowled. "And how do you know he wasn't lying?"

"I have made great progress in helping students open up and be honest," Gerrera said proudly, "With the help of my friend, Bor Gullet."

In the corner of the office a deep warbling drew Ben's attention, and his stomach turned as he glanced at the tentacled creature staring at him. At least, Ben thought it was looking at him. With its blank, milky white eyes it was hard to tell.

"You're joking right?"

"No," Gerrera said. "Matters of the truth between a student and their faculty are no joke."

Ben's face fell into his hands. "Mr. Gerrera, you're using a giant… octopus… thing to counsel students. I don't know who's got bigger issues, me or you!"

Gerrera's rather lopsided eyes bulged and he raised a finger emphatically. "Bor Gullet knows the truth! No lie is safe from us!"

Ben closed his eyes and sighed.

Great. As if things weren't bad enough, now the old man's about to have another episode.

He reached down to the desk between them and adjusted the tank supplying Gerrera with fresh air.

Lowering his hand Gerrera took a moment to compose himself, breathing in deeply. "Apologies, Ben. You know my feelings on honesty."

He set the breather down and added, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Ben allowed himself a smile. "So, detention, right?"

Gerrera's smiled back sadly. "Yes. I am afraid so."

Gerrera handed Ben a schedule detailing his planned detention; an entire school day assisting the school librarian, next Monday.

"We have already informed your parents. Finn will be joining you in detention that day, and you will both be supervised…"

Ben's eyes widened, and he nearly crushed the paper in his hand. "What?"

"Don't bother." Gerrera waved his hand curtly. "This involves you both, so you will both receive the same discipline for your actions. Besides, I thought you would be glad to know Finn is held as responsible for the fight as you."

Opening his mouth to say something and then closing it again, Ben let out a shaky breath, making no effort to hide his frustration. The last thing he wanted right now was to spend an entire day with Finn.

After wrestling with himself for a while Ben took a pen signed the bottom of the paper irritably. He had been around the block enough times at this point to get know there was no point in arguing with Gerrera, not now.

But his parents on the other hand…

That, he was not looking forward to.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Rey rapped her fingers against the handles on her bike, waiting for the traffic light to finally turn green. It was the middle of the afternoon, and after the insanity that was today she was ready to go back to her boring apartment and rest. She only hoped that, when she came back Monday, at least some of the cafeteria wouldn't recognize her.

Ben Solo would be smart to hope they didn't run into each other again. Because of his little tantrum, she had to miss class with the teacher she was looking forward to more than anyone.

Luke Skywalker.

There was a loud roar of an engine from her right. A sleek, razor-like speeder pulled up next to her, its red pinstriping mark giving its driver away before the window even rolled down.

"Oh, hey Galen. Hey Juno."

Galen Marek took off his sunglasses, smiling at her. Next to him in the passenger seat was his girlfriend Juno, who gave Rey a friendly wave.

"Hey," Galen said cheekily. "Heard your first week got pretty exciting!"

Rey's face reddened. "Oh, up yours! You got into some nice scrapes back in your day, if you'd like I can tell Juno a story about any one of them."

A recent college dropout-turned-racer, Galen gave a knowing smile to Juno. "How do you think I got her attention, Rey?" He looked back at Rey and added, "Look, I get it, it's embarrassing as all hell. But give it a few years, you'll look back and laugh."

"I wish I shared your optimism," Rey said bitterly.

Galen's face softened. It looked like he was realizing just how disappointed Rey really was.

"You're going to be okay," Juno said. "If you need to talk, just give me a ring. The restaurant at the end of Fifth and Ahch-To just reopened and they're serving the best burger I've ever had."

The light in front of them went green at last, and Rey revved up her bike.

"Thanks. If today was any sign of things to come, I might have to take you guys up on that offer."

Waving at the racer she drove off, reaching the highway soon after. Sliding into the speeder-bike lane she shifted her ride into full gear. A cruise all by herself never failed to clear her head, and as she watched the city skyline go by Rey smiled, ready to leave today's debacle behind.

It was well into the evening when Rey was sitting on her porch alone, sipping out of a can of Jawa Juice when her pocket commlink rang. She jumped, not expecting a call at this hour.

She pulled the device out and checked the name.

Ben Solo

"What the…" Rubbing her eyes Rey looked at the comlink again, wondering if she was seeing things. But no, sure enough it was Solo's name flashing in front of her.

Rey set it down on the table slowly. If he was calling to apologize, that was all fine, but she would rather talk to him about it in person.

There was a beep, and sure enough an image of Ben popped up as his message was recorded. He was running his hands through his hair awkwardly, and wearing the kind of look that clearly said 'I don't want to be doing this'.

"Hi, there. Now, first off I just wanted to let you know my folks gave me the directory to get this number. I didn't stalk you or anything…"

Something offscreen caused Ben to frown and wave his hand angrily. It was most likely "the folks", Rey realized as she chuckled. The poor bastard's parents were probably breathing down his neck as he was talking.

"Anyway, I wanted to apologize for what happened today. I don't know you, you don't know me, and I can't imagine I made a very good impression."

"No," Rey muttered to herself. "You really didn't."

"Whatever issues I've got with some of the other students here, I shouldn't be getting some stranger wrapped up in it. But I did, and I'm sorry."

Ben paused, his jaw working furiously.

"In case I run into you Monday, I don't want things to get awkward. So… Yeah. Sorry again, Rey. I hope you enjoy your weekend, or…"

His rolled his eyes, evidently at a loss for words.

Letting out a deep breath he said, "See you around," and the message ended.

Rey sat in silence, looking at the comlink. She wanted to believe the boy's message, but with how painfully stilted it was and the massive effort it was taking him to even say what he said Ben was not making it easy for her.

"I guess we'll find out," she said to herself and downed another gulp of her juice before switching on her T.V. and settled in for the weekend.

While it lasted.

Ben set his comlink down and looked up at his parents, waiting for them to lay it on him. His mouth was drawn in a thin line in embarrassment, and he mentally kicked himself for somehow managing to screw up a damn voicemail.

"Well…" Han Solo drawled. "That wasn't at all forced, now was it?"

"For crying out loud, Dad," Ben shot back, "What did you expect with the two of you just standing there?"

Leia looked almost entertained. But it went away quickly and she sat down face-to-face with Ben. "Now, I can guess you're probably a little tired after what happened today. And judging by that swelling head of yours you're already paying for it. So for tonight we're just going to let you think about it.

In the morning, however, we are going to sit down and have a serious talk about what to do going forward."

She stood up and walked away to check on dinner. When she was gone Ben's eyes drifted to the door to the garage. His thoughts moved to driving downtown, and perhaps a game of cards to take his mind off all this.

But Han quickly put all that to rest. "Oh ho, ho, I don't think so." Ben's spirits dropped as Han reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny object. A ring holding the keys to every one of their cars.

"No joy rides tonight, young man."

The two glared at each other, and Ben thought about saying something to his dad he would likely regret almost instantly.

But a strange feeling then washed over the room, some presence that caused Ben to, for a moment, lose his focus. He turned to the front door, and seconds later the bell rang.

"Oh, boy."

Han's brow furrowed at his son. "Oh boy, what?"

Ben got up and strode to the door, glancing at his mom. She was setting several plates down at the table for dinner.

Four plates.

Leia winked at Ben cheekily, confirming his fears.

"Really?"

"Yes," Leia said scoldingly. "Really. He called an hour ago. It's been a while since you two spent any quality time together, and damn it I'm going to do something about that."

Ben reached the door and reached out, hesitating before taking the handle. Boy, was this going to be an interesting evening. The door opened with a creak, and Ben looked up at the bearded, neatly dressed man smiling at him from the front porch.

"Evening, Ben."

"Hey, Uncle Luke."

Author's Note: Every angsty teen story has that wise, kindly older figure who ends up helping the teens to their feet.

Who was going to be that figure if not Luke? Star Wars is often referred to as a family drama by fans and creators, and I'm going to be exploiting that fully.

Going off the cameo of Galen Marek, AKA our beloved Starkiller from The Force Unleashed, I admit happily I will be including as many characters from Star Wars as I can in this little tale. Both from the old canon and the new.

Some more friendly than others, of course.

Next time, we'll get some personal time with Uncle Luke and his poor troubled nephew, and Rey's peaceful weekend will be interrupted by the joys and worries of a girls' night out.