Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rey slouched deeper into the worn couch of the dorm common room, frustration evident in every line of her body. The evening had started as their usual hangout—just her closest friends decompressing after a long week of classes—but had quickly devolved into an impromptu intervention about her love life.

"Dating fucking sucks at college," Rey declared, throwing her hands up. "Nobody here knows how to fucking date. It's either hookups or nothing."

Rose's laughter rang out across the room. "Maybe I should set you up on some dates," she suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I know some decent people who aren't complete disasters."

Rey huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically. She loved Rose, but her friend's perpetual optimism about relationships sometimes grated on her nerves.

"Dating isn't so bad," Finn offered softly, just as Poe swooped down to plant a kiss on his cheek. They'd been together for a year now, and their relationship was annoyingly perfect.

"You two don't fucking count!" Rey protested, pointing an accusatory finger at them. "You're the exception, not the rule."

From the corner of the room, Ben Solo's deep voice cut in. "Maybe you're just going on dates with the wrong people."

Rey's head snapped toward him, irritation flaring instantly. Ben sat slightly apart from their group, as always—not quite in but not quite out either. He was Poe's classmate, a year ahead of her, and somehow had inserted himself into their circle despite Rey's reluctance.

"Shove it, Ben," she snapped. Who did he think he was, commenting on her love life? He barely qualified as a friend in her book—just an acquaintance she tolerated because of Poe.

Rose, ever the peacemaker, jumped in. "I actually agree with Ben," she said, ignoring Rey's betrayed expression. "You really just date absolute shmucks, Rey. I promise I'll find someone suitable for you."

Rey rolled her eyes again, harder this time. "Whatever."

Finn stretched and yawned dramatically. "We should head to bed," he said, lacing his fingers with Poe's. "Early class tomorrow, and this one insists on dragging me to the gym at ungodly hours."

"It's called discipline, babe," Poe said with a grin.

Rose stood too, gathering her things. "I'm exhausted. But I'll update you later on Operation Find Rey a Decent Date," she said with a wink.

Before Rey could protest, her friends had vanished, leaving her alone in the common room with Ben. The sudden silence was deafening.

Rey shifted uncomfortably on the couch, acutely aware of Ben's presence. She didn't understand why he bothered hanging out with them—with her. They'd never gotten along particularly well, with conversations often devolving into tense exchanges or awkward silence. Like now.

She stole a glance at him. He was looking at her with an expression she couldn't quite read—curious, maybe, or amused. It made her skin prickle with awareness.

"What?" she demanded.

Ben shrugged, his dark eyes still fixed on her. "Nothing. Just wondering why you're so defensive about dating."

Rey felt her walls instantly rise higher. "I'm not defensive. I'm realistic. There's a difference."

"Is there?" He raised an eyebrow, challenging her in that infuriating way of his.

Rey suddenly wished her friends hadn't abandoned her. Being alone with Ben always made her feel... unsettled. Like she was standing on shifting sand. She didn't want to examine why too closely—it was easier to keep him firmly in the "annoying acquaintance" category in her mind.

"You know what?" Rey said, gathering her things, "I don't need to justify my dating life to you, of all people."

As she stood to leave, Ben's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"I could take you."

Rey froze, slowly turning back toward him. "What?"

Ben shifted in his seat, but his gaze remained steady. "I could take you on a few dates."

A burst of laughter escaped Rey before she could stop it, but it died in her throat when she saw his expression. He was serious. Dead serious.

"Let me try again," Ben said, his deep voice softer now. "I'd like to take you out on a date, Rey. If you'd let me, I would like to show you dates can be normal and fun."

Rey narrowed her eyes, studying him with suspicion. Was this some kind of joke? But there was no hint of mockery in his face, just an earnestness that caught her off guard.

"No hook-ups?" she asked warily.

Ben chuckled, his lips quirking up at one corner. "Not unless you want to," he said with a wink that sent an unexpected shiver down her spine.

Rey rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the sudden flutter in her stomach. "Fine. Whatever. You're paying for everything, though."

Ben's eyebrows shot up in surprise, as if he hadn't actually expected her to agree. "Uhh, yeah, I don't mind."

Rey grabbed her stuff and walked toward the door, already questioning her sanity. "Alright, Solo, you're getting coffee for me tomorrow morning," she called over her shoulder.

"I'll be by the common room at seven then!" Ben yelled after her as she left.

Rey kept walking, refusing to look back. She huffed in annoyance at herself, unable to believe she'd actually accepted his proposal. What had she been thinking? This was Ben Solo—arrogant, frustrating, too-smart-for-his-own-good Ben. The same Ben who always seemed to be watching her with those intense eyes that made her feel exposed somehow.

And yet, she'd said yes. To a date. With Ben Solo.

She was clearly losing her mind.

Rey stomped down the hallway to her dorm room, slamming the door behind her out of pure habit. The air inside was stale with the smell of instant noodles and someone else’s laundry detergent. She dropped her backpack onto the desk with a thud and yanked her phone out, thumb hovering over Rose’s contact.

No. Fuck that. She was not about to admit to her best friend that she’d just signed herself up for a date—with Ben Solo. Not because of Rose’s endless matchmaking, not because of her own loneliness, but because Ben had looked her dead in the eyes and asked. Like it was no big deal, like he hadn’t spent the better part of the semester getting under her skin with his smug snarks and unreadable half-smiles.

This was clearly a mistake. Rey started to pace, retracing old scuffs in the linoleum, replaying the conversation on a loop. The way Ben had said “I could take you,” not as a taunt, but like an offer she could turn down if she wanted. There was nothing sleazy about it, nothing conniving. She hated that it made her brain short-circuit for a second.

A date. With Ben. Was it even a date if there's no guarantee of anything more than mutual irritation? Or was that exactly what made it a date?

She checked her phone twice: 6:58, then 7:00. No message from Ben. Rey waffled for a second, unsure if she should head to the common room or wait for him to hunt her down. She decided the best defense was a good offense and snatched her backpack off the floor.

Rey trudged toward the common room at 7 AM Sharp, blearily rubbing her eyes. She'd woken up just ten minutes earlier, suddenly remembering her "pretend" date with Ben and rushing to throw on clothes. She'd almost decided to ditch him entirely, but the promise of free coffee was too tempting to pass up.

Rey pulled on her favorite black hoodie and jeans she’d worn twice already this week. She made a half-assed attempt at mascara, then wiped it off again because she didn’t want Ben thinking she was trying. Not that he would notice. Probably.

Ben was already there waiting, looking annoyingly alert for such an early hour.

She hovered in the doorway, already regretting her life choices. Ben looked up, clocking her instantly, and did a weird half-smile that actually looked nervous for once.

"Good morning," he greeted.

Rey just grumbled something incoherent in response.

"Let's go grab that coffee then?" Ben suggested, seemingly unfazed by her morning grumpiness.

He drove them both to a coffee shop near campus, finding a parking spot just outside. Class didn't start until 9, and it was only 7:15—plenty of time. But when they entered the shop, Rey's face fell at the sight of the long line stretching nearly to the door.

"You've got to be kidding me," she grumbled, eyeing the crowd with disdain. "This is stupid."

Ben chuckled beside her. "You're not very patient, huh?"

"I need my morning coffee to tolerate mornings," Rey shrugged, crossing her arms. "Or people."

Since they were clearly going to be waiting a good twenty minutes, Ben attempted to start a conversation.

"So, how are your classes going this semester?"

Rey narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Why do you care?"

"Uhm, we're on a date, remember?" Ben replied, raising an eyebrow. "Usually on dates, you talk and get to know the person."

Rey shrugged, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "My dates don't really ask about my day. They just ask if I want to head back to their dorm."

"Yeah, there are those people too," Ben acknowledged with a slight frown.

Rey raised a brow, suddenly curious. "So you don't want to take me to your dorm?"

Ben chuckled, his eyes meeting hers with an intensity that made her stomach do an unexpected flip. "Like I said, only if you want me to. But I genuinely just want to ask how classes have been treating you."

Rey paused, studying his face for any sign that he was messing with her. Finding none, she finally answered, "I hate it. The essays are long and useless, and I get headaches typing them out."

"God, I know," Ben agreed enthusiastically. "Sometimes I feel like my vision is getting worse with how much I type."

"I'm pretty sure I might go cross-eyed by graduation," Rey nodded, a small smile breaking through her grumpy facade.

They chatted lightheartedly about classes for a solid fifteen minutes until they finally reached the front of the line. They both placed their orders—Rey asking for the largest, strongest brew they had—and Ben paid for them both without hesitation. They found a small table by the window to wait for their names to be called.

"Political science has to be the most useless required course ever," Rey complained, continuing their conversation. "When am I ever going to need to know the intricacies of congressional procedures?"

"It was probably my mother's favorite subject," Ben joked with a wry smile.

"Your mother?" Rey asked, realizing she knew almost nothing about Ben's family.

"She's a senator," Ben explained, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Politics is basically the family business."

"Oh," Rey said, genuinely surprised. There was clearly more to Ben Solo than she'd bothered to learn. "That explains a lot, actually."

"What about your family?" Ben asked, then immediately looked like he regretted the question when Rey's expression shuttered.

Before she could decide how much to share, the barista called their names, saving her from having to answer. They both grabbed their drinks, and as they headed toward the door, Rey glanced at Ben.

"Thanks for paying, by the way. I also got the largest one too," she admitted, lifting her enormous cup.

"No worries," Ben replied with a small smile.

He checked his watch—it was almost 8. "Want to head back to campus?"

She nodded, and they walked back to his car. The drive was quiet but surprisingly comfortable, with Rey sipping her coffee and occasionally glancing at Ben's profile when she thought he wasn't looking.

As he pulled into the student parking lot and found a spot, Ben turned to her before she could jump out.

"Good date?" he asked, a hint of nervousness breaking through his usually confident demeanor.

Rey hummed, pretending to think about it. "Maaaybe," she finally said, the corner of her mouth twitching.

He seemed to consider this. “I thought we’d walk. Maybe get breakfast close to campus if you’re hungry. Or just… talk.”

Rey glanced at him, expecting to find smugness, but his eyes were earnest, almost shy. It unsettled her more than any previous argument they’d ever had.

She took a breath. “Fine. But if this turns into a lecture on the philosophy of dating, I’m leaving you at the first crosswalk.”

Ben looked momentarily wounded, then grinned. “Noted. We’ll keep it shallow, then. Like a proper college romance.”

They walked in companionable silence, coffee cups in hand, the campus waking up around them. Rey tried to keep the mood light, tossing casual insults at Ben and pretending not to notice how easily he volleyed them back. When they reached the edge of campus, he gestured toward a tiny bakery she’d never noticed before.

“Best bagels in town,” he promised. “My treat.”

Rey eyed him suspiciously. “Is this your go-to move? Lure girls in with carbs?”

Ben laughed, actually laughed, and Rey felt a weird little spike of satisfaction. “Just you,” he said.

Inside, the bakery was warm and crowded with mismatched chairs. Ben ordered for both of them, remembering how Rey liked her bagels without asking. Rey wondered how he knew, then realized she’d probably complained about breakfast food at least five times in his presence. He listened, apparently.

They took a corner table, Ben awkwardly squeezing his long legs beneath it, and for a while, it was actually easy. They talked about professors, about horror movies versus documentaries, about why Rose’s latest DIY project had left the lounge smelling like acetone for a week. Every time Rey tried to steer the conversation toward something more biting, Ben sidestepped it with a joke or a genuine question about her. He was infuriatingly attentive, and she didn’t know how to navigate that.

When the bagels were gone and the coffee was cold, Ben leaned back and looked at her with a kind of open curiosity. “See? Date wasn’t so bad.”

Rey squinted at him. “It’s not over yet. You could still choke on a poppy seed and die. Plenty of ways to ruin it.”

He grinned, and for the first time, Rey let herself notice how good it looked on him. A real smile, soft at the edges.

He paid the bill without argument.

At the door, Ben hesitated. “Thanks for coming,” he said, and it sounded like he meant it.

Rey shrugged, but she couldn’t help smiling a bit. “Whatever. It was alright.”

He ducked his head, hands jammed in his pockets. “If you want, I could plan something better next time.”

She snorted. “We’ll see. Don’t push your luck, Solo.”

"Wanna get a lunch date sometime?" Ben asked, his dark eyes holding hers.

Rey took a deliberate sip of her lukewarm coffee, studying him over the rim of her cup. Something had shifted between them in the past hour—something she wasn't ready to examine too closely yet.

"Yeah," she finally said. "Let's grab lunch tomorrow."

She pushed the car door open and stepped out before he could respond, deliberately not looking back as she walked toward her first class. But she couldn't quite suppress the small smile that played at her lips, or the warmth that had settled in her chest that had nothing to do with her coffee.

Maybe dating at college didn't completely suck after all.

Chapter Text

The next day, Rey finished her morning class just before noon, her notebook inked with more doodles than notes. She didn't have another class until 2 PM, leaving her with a perfect lunch break window. She had a two-hour window before her next class, and for the first time in months, it felt like a gift rather than a period to be endured alone.

She made her way to the dorm's common room, half-expecting to find Ben there. Sure enough, Ben was perched on one of the wobbly stools near the window, his tall frame curled over a battered laptop plastered with philosophy department stickers and a faded band logo. He was typing furiously, brow furrowed in concentration, unreadable. She leaned in the threshold, watching him for a moment and wondering, idly, what he looked like when he didn’t know he was being watched.

She found the answer: softer, almost vulnerable, mouth set in a concentrated line. She cleared her throat.

He looked up as she entered, his expression immediately brightening.

"Hey, up for our lunch date?" he asked, closing his laptop.

"Yes, actually. I'm starving, are you?" Rey replied, surprising herself with how eager she sounded.

Ben chuckled and stood "Does a bear shit in the woods?”

Rey snorted, and let herself grin wider than she meant to. He stood, unplugged his laptop, and tucked it under his arm, gesturing for her to lead the way. When they reached his car, Rey tossed her books and bag into the backseat before sliding into the passenger seat. As she settled in, Ben reached over and gently poked her thigh.

"Seat belt, please," he said, his tone mock-serious.

Rey adjusted in her seat and pulled the belt across her body with an exaggerated eye roll. "Yes, father," she joked, clicking it into place.

It was only a five-minute drive, but it was long enough for Rey to notice things she hadn’t before—the way Ben hummed tunelessly to himself, the way he drummed the steering wheel at red lights. He drove with one hand, casual but alert, a posture of someone always ready for an emergency stop. Rey found herself staring at his profile, at the straightness of his nose, the way his hair fell over his forehead, the slight shadow of stubble along his jaw.

She pretended to check her phone instead.

They ended up at a small gyro shop just off campus that Rey had never noticed before in two years at school.

Ben ordered for them—two gyros, his with beef and hers with lamb.

Rather than eating inside the crowded shop, they took their food back to the car, where they sat in the parking lot, windows down to let in the crisp autumn breeze. Rey took a massive bite of her gyro, closing her eyes in appreciation as the flavors hit her taste buds.

"God, this lamb one is amazing," she mumbled around her mouthful.

"Told you," Ben said with a satisfied smile, taking a bite of his own. "Best gyros in town."

As they ate, they chatted easily about classes and roommates, sharing campus gossip and complaints about strict professors. Rey told a story about vomiting after a chili dog eating contest; Ben countered with a tale of getting food poisoning from gas station sushi. They laughed so hard at one point that Rey nearly snorted lamb out her nose.

When they finished their food, Ben started the car but didn't immediately drive away. Instead, he reached for his phone, shuffling through a playlist.

Rey, feeling suddenly bold, snatched the phone from his hand.

"Your music taste can't possibly be as good as mine," she declared, scrolling through his library.

She was surprised to see several overlapped with hers—old indie bands, some post-punk. before typing in some of her favorite songs and hit play.

As the first notes filled the car, they both nodded along,

Rey found herself occasionally singing a line or two under her breath ; Ben joined in, off-key and unapologetic. When she fumbled the lyrics to a chorus, he chimed in with the correct line, and they cracked up.

Time slipped away easily, and before she knew it, Ben was checking his watch and starting the engine. "You have class at two, right?"

Rey was surprised he'd remembered. "Yeah. Shit. I should go."

"I’ll get you there,"

The drive back to campus was comfortable, filled with the music she'd selected and occasional commentary from both of them. When Ben pulled into the parking lot and found a spot near her building, he turned to her with what was becoming a familiar question.

"So,.. Good date?"

Rey couldn't help the smirk that curved her lips. "It wasn't bad," she conceded, which they both knew meant she'd enjoyed it.

“So…” Ben seemed to hesitate before asking, "Do you... want to keep… going?"

Rey considered his question, feeling a strange flutter in her chest. She wasn't sure if he meant right now or in general—if he was asking about continuing whatever this thing between them was.

After a pause that stretched perhaps a moment too long, Ben clarified, "Maybe we can hit a movie?"

Relief and another emotion Rey wasn't ready to name washed over her. "Sure," she said, smiling genuinely now. "But I pick!"

Ben's laugh was warm and rich. "Yes, Of course!" his shoulders seemed to relax as if in relief.

Rey gathered her things and got out of the car, heading toward her 2 o'clock class with a lightness in her step she hadn't felt in a long time. What had started as a "pretend" date was turning into something she found herself genuinely looking forward to. She didn't see Ben watching her leave, a soft smile playing on his lips as she walked away.

The next day, Rey powered through her coursework with all the focus of someone determined to outrun dread. Essay after essay, she pounded at the keys, letting the drab wood of her dorm desk and the faint whir of her roommate's fan fade into the periphery. She was in that strange, over-caffeinated state where the world felt both hyperreal and oddly insubstantial, as if gravity itself had lightened its grip. When she finally closed her laptop, flexing the cramps from her fingers, the cursor blinked on the unfinished screen, an inescapable reminder of how much she still had left to do. She needed to move—or more honestly, she needed to distract herself from the knot of anticipation that had been building in her chest all afternoon.

She wandered out of her dorm room, the corridor humming with the muffled sounds of other students wrestling with their own existential anxieties. Rey scanned the common room as she entered, half-expecting (and, she admitted to herself, half-hoping) to see Ben hunched over his physics textbook or sprawled on the ratty orange sofa with headphones blaring something heavy and indecipherable. Instead, the space was deserted, only a distant television in the lounge playing a rerun of some reality show to no one in particular.

She paused, her momentum stalling, and then made a beeline for the communal fridge, hoping the sanctity of snack rituals might steady her nerves. She stood there for a long moment, staring at the contents—a wilted bag of baby carrots, a half-eaten burrito of uncertain vintage, a depressing row of string cheeses—before giving a little snort at her own indecision. The door closed with a soft vacuum pop.

"Tryna steal my yogurts?" a voice rumbled behind her, low and familiar enough to elicit a tiny, involuntary thrill.

Rey spun on her heel and found Ben leaning against the doorframe, hands stuffed in the pockets of his battered army jacket. He looked like he'd just come in from a rainstorm, his hair damp and curling at the edges, and there was a slightly wild, sleep-deprived cast to his eyes. But he was smiling—a lopsided, almost sheepish smile.

"I don't even like yogurt," she retorted, trying to sound dismissive, though she could feel her face heating up. She closed the fridge door with a little extra force and crossed her arms. "If you must know, I was scoping out the expired hummus situation."

Ben shrugged, unbothered. "It's all you. Only thing worse in there is the leftover Chinese from two weeks ago." He paused, his gaze softening. "Still up for the movies?"

Rey let the tension in her shoulders drop. "Uh, hell yes I am." She didn’t want to sound overeager, but she was acutely aware of how much she’d been looking forward to this. Her phone was already in her hand as she pulled up the showtimes, scrolling through the options with quick, decisive flicks of her thumb.

Ben watched her, amusement flickering across his face. "You pick," he said, "but I'm vetoing anything with talking animals. Except maybe sharks."

Rey snorted. "Sharks don't talk."

"Exactly," he said, victorious. "They're perfect."

It took her only a few minutes to settle on a horror film that had just been released, something with a dumb title and a trailer full of ominous violin screeches and lurid jump scares. When she flashed her phone screen at Ben, his eyebrows rose, but he didn’t protest.

Ten minutes later, they were in the parking lot, the evening air carrying the scent of wet concrete and distant cigarette smoke. Rey climbed into the passenger seat of Ben's ancient sedan, which smelled like coffee grounds and peppermint gum. The drive to the theater was full of the kind of easy, haphazard conversation that had started to define their interactions: complaints about professors, the idiocy of campus bureaucracy, the slow-motion car crash of their mutual friend Poe’s love life. It felt comfortable, almost domestic, and Rey found herself laughing more than she'd expected.

At the multiplex,he bought a large popcorn with extra butter on the popcorn as per Rey's "demands and two blue raspberry slushies, which he claimed was to provide "maximum sugar and minimum nutritional value." Rey rolled her eyes.

They settled into seats near the middle of the theater, positioned perfectly for optimal screen visibility and minimal kid-kicking-from-behind. The lights dimmed, and as the endless stream of previews rolled, Rey became aware of how close Ben was sitting. His knee kept bumping against hers, and his arm—long and angular—rested loosely on the armrest between them, his knuckles grazing her sleeve whenever he reached for more popcorn.

The movie began in the expected way: a cold open with a stringy-haired woman running through the woods, something unspeakable chasing her just out of frame. The soundtrack was a relentless onslaught of shrieking strings and rumbling bass, and Rey could feel the adrenaline ratcheting up even as she poked fun at the on-screen idiocy. Ben was a surprisingly calm movie companion, occasionally leaning over to whisper sarcastic commentary, his breath warm against her ear.

Half an hour in, a particularly nasty jump scare sent Rey jerking upright, a squeak escaping her before she could suppress it. Instinctively, she grabbed for the armrest—and latched onto Ben’s hand instead. Rey was sure her face was burning, but Ben just squeezed her fingers gently, anchoring her in the moment. She told herself she should let go, but the contact felt oddly grounding, so she didn't.

They stayed like that for the next twenty minutes—Rey’s small, tense hand cradled in Ben’s much larger one—until the climax of the movie, when the monster finally appeared in all its grotesque glory. Rey gripped his hand even tighter, and Ben made a show of wincing dramatically. She stifled a laugh, but the sound came out as a half-sob, half-giggle.

When the credits rolled, the house lights came up and the spell broke. Rey let go of Ben’s hand as if it had burned her, hastily brushing popcorn dust from her lap. Ben stretched, vertebrae popping audibly.

"That wasn't even scary," she claimed with a giggle, her earlier fear apparently forgotten.

"Oh, really?" Ben teased, nudging her shoulder with his. "So you just wanted to hold my hand, huh?"

"Nothing is scarier than your height, Solo." She had to tilt her head up to look at him, which only proved her point.

"Yeah, okay," he retorted

She stuck her tongue out at him, then realized with a brief pang of horror that it was stained an unnatural blue. Ben just laughed.

They lingered in the lobby for a few minutes, tossing their trash and arguing the relative merits of practical effects versus CGI gore. Rey was surprised at how easy it was—how the awkwardness she'd expected never really materialized. When they finally stepped back into the night, it was cold enough for Rey to wish she had brought a heavier jacket. Without thinking, Ben shrugged off his own and draped it over her shoulders, his fingertips brushing her neck. She opened her mouth to protest but closed it again, instead gripping the lapels and inhaling the faint scent of detergent and something earthy.

They walked to the car in companionable silence, the hush punctuated only by the crunch of gravel and the distant whoop of someone’s post-movie excitement. Once inside, the car warmed quickly, and Rey found herself reluctant for the evening to end.

The drive back to campus felt slower, as if both of them were drawing it out. Ben played a playlist that was all fuzzy guitars and mournful lyrics, and they sang along badly to the handful of songs they both knew. As they cruised past the empty athletic fields, Rey turned to look at him, catching him glancing back with a half-smile that was almost—almost—shy.

When they reached the dorms, Ben pulled into his usual spot but didn’t turn off the engine right away. There was a long, comfortable pause. Rey waited for him to say something, but he just tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, staring at the dashboard.

"Good date?" he finally asked, echoing the phrase they’d started using as a joke after their first non-date.

Rey rolled her eyes, but her smile gave her away. "It was okaaay," she replied, stretching the word out and poking his arm lightly. "Could’ve used more sharks."

"Next time," Ben promised solemnly. "All sharks, all the time."

"Deal," Rey said, she saw the faintest flush creep up Ben’s face.

Ben seemed to gather his courage before asking, "Wanna get dinner together, then?"

Rey pretended to think about it, though she already knew her answer. "Okay, but this time you can pick," she said with a smile and opening the car door.

"Night, Solo," she said, grabbing her bag and slipping out of the car.

As she walked back to her dorm, a warm feeling settled in her chest. These "pretend" dates were turning out to be pretty fun—definitely good reference material for real dates someday. And Ben... well, Ben was actually kind of fun when she gave him a chance.