*(y/n)'s POV*

We finally arrived at the grocery store called 'Norman's Market'. It's small, but it has good affordable prices for groceries and meat quality than any other grocery store in North Pass. "Alright. We're here." I said, as I got out of the car, went around to the passenger side, and helped BB-8 out of the front seat.

"Will you three hurry up? We're trying to get out of here!" I heard General Hux say. "Uh, we're getting these seatbelts unbuckled and you can be patient for once, General Hugs." Poe said back, with a chuckle at the end. "Stop calling me that! It's Hux! Hux, you Resistance fool!" General Hux yelled back. "It does sound like 'Hugs' and it sounds like you never had one in your life." Finn chipped in. "You enjoy getting involved in these do you?" Kylo asked Finn, sarcastically. "Kind of like what you're doing right now?" Rey pointed out.

'They'll never stop, will they?' I thought to myself, and sighed, in annoyance and frustration. I opened the passenger door and said, "I hate to break to up the argument, once again, but I'm getting very impatient than you are General Hux. Now get out of the car and let's get some groceries and your supplies." They all didn't even move an inch when I pointed my finger at them. "Without any conflicts." I added, firmly, and, then, the Resistance trio exited out the car first. I folded the back seat and Kylo and General Hux stepped out. Once everyone was out of the car, they all followed me inside.

I grabbed a cart and took out my grocery list, while everyone was following behind me. "What exactly do you all need for supplies when you leave?" I asked, while skimming through my grocery list. "Nothing much really." Rey answered. "We'll definitely need some water, granola, and stored food." Poe said, winking at Rey. She smiled and turned her head slightly away so no one wouldn't see her blushing. But I could clearly see the blush on her cheeks plain as day. "Are you okay with canned foods? It's kind of like how you say 'stored foods'." I asked. "Whatever is here, we'll take it." Finn responded.

"How about you two? What do you need?" I asked. "We don't need anything. We don't eat junk food." General Hux sneered, and crossed his arms. Honestly, I was getting sick and tired of his attitude towards me and always trying to start a conflict. I don't know what he has against me, but he certainly didn't have the right to do that. Even Rey, Finn, and Poe glared at him.

"You didn't need to be that way towards (y/n), General Hux. She just asked you a question and she's doing a lot for us. Show some respect." Kylo said, firmly, while he was sticking up for me. I looked at him and he gave me a small smile as if he didn't want the trio to see it and he gave me a wink. I quickly nodded back in response and turned away so I could hide my blushing cheeks. It was very kind of him to stick up for me; besides my mother and also Ma, no one has ever stuck up for me like what Kylo did.

Afterwards, General Hux said back, stiffly, "I don't know what we need. Any ideas, Supreme Leader?" "Perhaps we should get the same things Rey and the others will get." Kylo responded. "Well, sounds good. If any of you need to add something else while we're here, please let me know and how much too so that way I know if I'm in my budget." I said. "Of credits?" Finn questioned. "Credits? Oh. No. No, money wise. Don't tell me you all don't use money in your world." I said. They all shook their heads. "Interesting. Well, now you all know that we use money on Earth. Anyway, let's get your supplies and, then, we'll get food for dinner tonight." I said, as I pushed the cart through the store, with the others following me.

***

Searching for what both groups were getting for their supplies was pretty easy and there were no complaints and definitely no problems, surprisingly. Although, with my back facing them, I had a feeling they were glaring at each other and wanted to fight so badly without me knowing, but they knew that they couldn't do it, especially when we were in public.

I got each of them two pounds of granola in a bag, two gallons of water, and assorted canned foods. It took a while to figure out what they wanted and how much they needed, but it worked out fine. Also, with Poe's permission, I got two bottles of car oil for BB-8 after I explained that he enjoyed it.

"Well, it looks like you all got everything that you need for supplies and none of you didn't argue or complain about it." I mentioned. "Well, we did it because we're in a public place and we didn't want to embarrass you, (y/n)." Finn explained. I looked up at him and questioned, sarcastically, "Oh, so because we're in public you don't want to cause chaos? But once you all are alone with me, it's okay to cause chaos?" He and the others looked at me as if they were caught red handed. But I let out a laugh because I wanted to see their reactions and it worked, surprisingly. "I'm totally kidding, you guys. Don't worry. You all are doing great so far without having any problems. Now let's go get some groceries for dinner." I said, and, then, I pushed the cart and both groups followed me.

When we got to the pasta aisle, I grabbed a couple boxes of spaghetti noodles and two jars of marinara sauce. Then, I turned to the opposite shelf to grab the Parmesan cheese, but there was no more on the shelf in front of me and the rest of them were on the very top shelf. "There's no more Parmesan and I can't reach one of those on the top shelf." I said. "Here. Let me help you." Kylo stepped in and reached for the Parmesan, thanks to his towering height, and handed it to me.

At the same time, I barely brushed my fingers against his gloved hand and it made me blush for some reason. The next thing I did was gasp, quietly, and look up at him, where I ended up staring into his dark brown eyes. "Thank you, Kylo. Thank goodness I have you." I said, as I continued to stare into his eyes.

But, then, I snapped back into reality once I realized what I had said when he stared at me, with furrowed eyebrows, and the others looked at me weird. I blushed in embarrassment when I tried to come up with an answer. "I—I meant that I'm glad that I have you for your height because you know, I'm short and you're tall and—and—I'm gonna go look for something else on my list." I said, and, then, I pushed the cart as fast as I could, with BB-8 rolling beside me, as I could feel my face getting hotter by the second after that awkward moment. I must've been red as a tomato.

*Kylo's POV*

After (y/n) walked away after that awkward moment, I turned and looked at everybody, including General Hux, who were all staring at me weird. "What? I offered to help her." I tried to explain. The three walked past me, still looking at me weird, while General Hux remained behind with his arms crossed. "What is it, General Hux?" I asked. "It has come to my attention that the Earthling girl is somehow fascinated with you, Ren." I rolled my eyes and responded back, "She didn't mean to say that and she has a name if you recall." "I'm sure it was. But don't let her fascinations tempt you as we've got a mission and the First Order to be loyal to, including you with your role as Supreme Leader." He said, and, then, he walked past me, stiffly but firmly.

I stood in my spot for a few seconds thinking about what just happened not too long ago. All I did was help (y/n) get that food item off the top shelf for her and that was it. Yet somehow, I was being stared weirdly by General Hux and the others as if I did for a different reason.

Honestly, I did do it not just to help (y/n), but to also test out her reaction to see if she had feelings of interest towards me. The way she stared at my dark brown eyes, her fingers lightly brushing against my gloved hand, her face turning into a shade of pink, and what she awkwardly said towards me was exactly what I had expected, even when I was secretly reading her mind in her car earlier. She was attracted to me and was feeling as if she was interested in me.

But, and I hate to admit it, General Hux was right. I needed to focus on our mission and be loyal to the First Order, especially my responsibilities as Supreme Leader, and not let (y/n)'s temptations distract me from doing so. Yet, no matter how hard I try to be loyal to the First Order and to the Dark Side, I still can't get (y/n) out of my mind and I, for some reason, didn't want to leave her when General Hux and I leave later on in the evening.

I, suddenly, snapped out of my thoughts and caught up with (y/n) the others, trying to forget about what happened earlier and my thoughts about (y/n).

*(y/n)'s POV*

After that awkward moment earlier, I focused back on what I was doing and I headed over to the corner of the market where the meat shop was located, along with the produce section. "Alright. I'm gonna get some ground beef to make for the meatballs. If you all want to help out, that would be great. Rey, you, Poe, and Finn can get some lettuce and other vegetables for the salad." I assigned them, pointing to the direction where the vegetables were. "General Hux, you and—where's Kylo?" I began to say, but, then, I noticed that Kylo was missing. But, then, he finally showed up. "Sorry. I got side tracked." Kylo briefly explained. "Uh huh. Anyway, Kylo, you and General Hux will go over there and pick out five different types of salad dressings." I assigned them.

"Do any of you have questions?" "How will do we know which ones are the salad dressings?" Kylo asked. "Easy. They're in that small refrigerator by the produce over there in the corner and they will be labeled with different kinds of dressings, like blue cheese, Caesar, thousand island, honey mustard, Italian, vinaigrette, and other ones. Choose whatever five you both choose and I won't complain." I responded. "And how much will you need for vegetables?" Rey asked. "Just two lettuces, one carrot, one cucumber, and one tomato. There'll be signs over there so that way you guys will know what they are." I answered.

Afterwards, each group headed over to where I assigned them to, while BB-8 followed me to the meat shop. I asked the employee for two pounds of ground beef to make for the meatballs. BB-8 beeped something to me and I giggled. "I have to say I'm very impressed on how they're doing so far, BB-8." I told him and the little droid beeped, cheerfully, making me giggle again.

As soon as the employee finished packing the ground beef and handed it to me, I turned around to meet up with everyone when I almost run into Professor Calloway who had a briefcase that opened on the side in his hand, unexpectedly. "Oh, my gosh! Professor Calloway, I am so sorry! I didn't know you were right there." I exclaimed. "Oh, there's no need to apologize, Miss (y/l/n). It was my fault anyway. I saw you standing here and I didn't want to scare you. How are you doing today?" He asked. "I'm doing great." I answered. "Well, that's excellent. Who are those people that you're with? I saw you talking to them and I've never seen them before on campus." "Oh. They're just...long distance friends of mine. They came to spend time with me during graduation week." I lied. "How very generous of them." He commented.

Then, he looked down at BB-8. "Ah. It's the little droid from the other day. He seems to take a liking to you. He's like a pet to you of some sort." He said. "I wouldn't consider him as a pet. He's my friend." I said. "Your friend, huh? Interesting. Anyway, if you're not busy, my offer still stands if you would like to bring this droid down to my office. Is that possible to do so?" Professor Calloway asked. "Possible to do what?" I heard Poe say right next to me.

"To check out the droid. I've never seen or heard of droid before until recently when I saw your friend with it the other day, so I was wanting to check it out. No harm to it." Professor Calloway answered. Poe was about to say something, but I told him, "Don't worry, Poe. I'll handle it." Then, I turned back to Professor Calloway and responded back, "As much I respect your work of observation, especially in the field of science and theories, Professor, I don't think that won't be necessary for you to check out BB-8, especially since he's a very unique, delicate little droid." BB-8 beeped as if he was confused what I was saying, but thankfully, Poe shushed him.

After I said that, Professor Calloway seemed, once again, disappointed. But, then, he inhaled, sharply, and exhaled with a smile on his face. "Alright, then. That's quite understandable. As delicate as a droid can be, I completely understand. However, my offer still stands if you change your mind. Well, then, I must be off. I've got...important matters to attend to." He said, while he snapped his briefcase shut. "I will be sure to post your final grade sometime tomorrow evening. Good day, Miss (y/l/n)." He added, and, then, he walked off.

"Who was that man you were talking to, (y/n)?" Rey asked, while she, Finn, Kylo, and General Hux appeared with the needed food items as requested in their hands. "That was Dr. Vincent Calloway, my Earth Science Professor from school." I answered. "What did he want with BB-8?" Finn questioned. "He wanted to take a look at BB-8. But I couldn't let him do that. Who knows what he would to the droid? Experiment or take him apart or something." I said.

"He did seem rather odd." Poe commented. "He is odd and really weird. All he ever talks about in class is believing that aliens, other planets and galaxies, and other living beings exist further away in outer space." "Which is true." General Hux said. "But he doesn't need to know that. His main goal in life is to become rich and famous once he presents his discovery that'll never come." I mentioned. "Seems rather suspicious to me." Kylo said, eyeballing the direction where Professor Calloway had left a little bit ago. "I wouldn't say that, Kylo, since he doesn't have any proof at all and he doesn't know about all of you." I told him.

"Anyway, since we got everything that we need, let's get all these items checked out." I said, with everyone nodding their heads in response. Then, I pushed the cart towards the direction of where the checkout line was.