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mysteryofren · 4 years

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More Than Enough

Part 9 of So Happy Together

part 8

Note: theres a song that kind of inspired the name and closing lines. it always reminds me of friendship and how important it is. its called all that we get by first aid kit. give it a listen if you wanna get the vibe this chapters giving off!

The next morning was much the same. You woke up. Got ready, and headed for your first class. On your way to the first period of the day, you ran into Hux and Phasma. Phasma gave you a big smile and waved you over. You jogged across the lawn holding your skirt down so nobody got an unnecessary show. Once you reached them they both said hello and asked you to walk with them.

“Y/N i was wondering if we could sit together first period. Last night reminded me of how much I love being around you!”

“Ummm, of course, I forgot how much we clicked too, i feel like I haven't been a very good friend.”

“I can assure you i've been just as bad. I never reached out to you much either.” she said gently, placing her hand on your shoulder as you all started walking.

“I can testify that Phas, is indeed, a bad friend.” Hux teased. It was weird seeing him so relaxed, you figured it was a perk of being his friend. Ever since that morning at the diner you always saw a less serious version of him. Once you had reached the building where your first classes were held, Hux announced that he would have to be on his way to reach his class. You all said goodbye as you continued walking with Phasma. Once you stepped through the building doors you saw Ben leaning against a wall. Someone was with him, but not just anyone. It was Rey, you should've known she would have dug her claws in quick. He turned over to you when his smile dropped. You gave him a small wave when he said something to Rey then walked away. She looked over at you and began charging towards you.

Phasma had noticed the change of your facial expression. You could tell she was about to ask you something when you felt something ram into you. You fell back and dropped your bag, all its contents spilling out. You looked up and saw Rey looking down at you.

“I see you're still a clumsy little shit, guess some things never change, huh?” you watched as smiled, turned and walked away.

Phasma bent down to help you gather your things, “she's still a bitch to you after all these years? Some things never change I guess.”

You could tell she was making fun of what she had said, but you were too hurt by Ben to focus on your cousin. Once everything was in your bag phasma stood, and held out her hand to help you up. You took it and stood up. While you fixed your skirt the bell had gone off. Great now you were late on top of everything. You both ran to your class and the professor had been waiting outside.

“Ladies, might I ask why you're late.” Miss Sloane was intense, she almost scared you. Before you had a chance to answer phasma spoke up.

“I'm sorry professor Sloane. The hall was crowded and we bumped into someone and our things fell. It won't happen again. I promise.” who would've thought that she was charismatic. You saw Sloane turn towards you.

“This is your first tardy in the 3 years youve been in my class. I won't count it this time.” she stepped out of the doorway allowing you both to enter. You rushed to the back table where there were two empty spots and sat. you went the whole class not speaking, trying to avoid further trouble. Near the end of class everyone had finished up early, and Sloane had decided to give everyone free time. That's when phasma asked the dreaded question.

“So. What happened out there? That guy looked at you and your whole mood changed.”

You leaned closer to her so nobody could hear your conversation. “That was Ben solo.”

“I don't see how that's relevant to you looking like your soul had been crushed.”

You took the time to give her a brief summary of the situation. She gave you a sad look when you told her about the kiss, and how he was your first kiss.

“Oh honey. That sounds so beautiful, why do you think he's acting like this all of a sudden?”

“I don't know, but it hurts. He seemed like he really liked me. What sucks is I have to see his brother a lot, and he knows about it. What do i do if he asks about me and him again?”

Her face twisted and she looked thoughtful for a second. “Is his brother Matt?”

“Yes.” you replied.

“Now that i think about it. I see it. Anyways, if he asks, tell him the truth, maybe he can tell you what is going on.”

The bell rang dismissing you to your next class. You slowly got up, not wanting to go back out. In fact you wanted nothing more than to go back to your dorm. Hell, part of you wanted to run to your grandfathers. Your perfect attendance kept you from it though. As you walked out she invited you to sit with her and Hux at lunch. You told her about the project with Matt and she informed you that he sat with them anyways. You never noticed who hung out with who until now. You reluctantly agreed, and you two went your separate ways. You went to your next class, which was one you hated. You had somehow gotten into calculus. You have no clue how you sucked at math, but the worst part was you had it with Rey.

You walked in and noticed you had gotten there before her. You took a spot in the back, hoping to be ignored by her. Soon everyone had arrived, but her. You had a moment of relief, before the door opened. She walked in and after her came Ben. Perfect. Professor Windu asked about the man behind her and she had informed him that he had been moved into the class. The professor welcomed him and asked him to introduce himself. When he stood at the front of the room he looked around. You tried putting your head down, but you knew he had seen you.

“Uhh, im Ben. Ben Solo. This is actually my last year in school, so it's kinda pointless for my parents to move me here, but here I am,” you looked up and you had looked him right in the eyes. “Guess it could be worse though.” you remembered those words. He said those exact words to you. It could be worse. It felt almost dirty hearing him say it again in front of a crowd.

He kept his eyes locked on yours as he took his seat next to Rey. you hated this. You hated it with everything in you. This was going to be excruciating. Not only did you have to be in a room with someone who made you absolutely miserable, but you had to watch as she threw herself all over the guy you liked. You tried your best to stay focused, but it was hard.

Once more you heard the bell and you waited until Ben and Rey had walked out before moving towards the door. A couple more periods went by and eventually it was your lunch period. You made your way towards the cafeteria waiting for someone from your group to arrive so they could show you where they sit. After a while you decide to text Matt and ask about where they sit. Once you were told you made your way over. On your way there you came face to face with Rey, and what a surprise, Ben. she made a face at you before bumping into you again. You looked at Ben with sadness in your eyes. All he did was shake his head and follow after Rey. You watched as they sat with her friends. Poe, Finn, and Rose. you had known them well. You all were friends at one point, but in this school it was all about money. The more money you had the cooler you were. To put it in polite your parents were filthy rich. They could sell their business’ and there would be enough money to last until your kids were in their teens. There were a few things about it though. You didn't like that social system, and you didn't like flaunting your wealth. Rey on the other hand. Her mother, your father's sister, had married super rich. A Palpatine. They were old money, not new money like your family. Rey loved letting people know she was richer than them. It was like a personality trait to her.

You walked over to where Matt, Phasma, and Hux were sitting. You tried your best to forget about the whole day and focus on your project, and friends. You couldn't help but look over at Ben every now and then. He looked sad. Meanwhile everyone around him was talking, almost ignoring him. You decided to try and reach out. Just to gauge if there was still something there. You sent a text to him asking if he was alright. You hit sent and watched carefully. You watched as he took his phone out and read the message. He looked up at you with his phone still in his hands. Looking you dead in the eyes he put his phone back in his pocket, and jumped into the conversation that everyone at his table was having. Okay. that hurt. That hurt more than anything, more than seeing him with rey in the hall. More than him being rude that first day. This was a new hurt. This. This was a heartbreak. You felt the tears welling up before you were pulled out of your thoughts when Hux had put his hand on your shoulder.

“You alright?” you looked up to see your friends watching you as tears fell down your face. Phasma looked at where you had been looking. She looked right at Ben with a look of anger on her face.

You quickly gathered your things. “I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, i've gotta go.”

Your run out, having to pass by Ben's table made you cry harder, but you didn't care who saw. You ran straight for your dorm tears streaming down your face as you went. As soon as you got there you ran in throwing yourself on your bed. your body wracked with an onslaught of sobs. You cried hard, and you cried loud. If you could guess it wasn't just because of Ben, it was the pain of being ignored by someone else. You're always ignored by the people you want most, and you were growing weary of it. You had only ever wanted your parents attention. Ben was the only other person where you desperately wanted his attention. He had given it to you so easily, and just as quickly he had taken it back. You eventually cried yourself to sleep.

You woke up to the sound of knocking at your door. You weren't sure how much time had passed, but you got up and opened the door. Matt stood there looking down at you. You never noticed how tall he was until now. He walked past you into your room, and sat on the bed. You looked at the clock in the hall. Your last period was supposed to be starting now, why was he here?

“You left lunch pretty quick. You were so upset I was positive you weren't coming to class so I thought I'd come check up on you.” he said with a soft voice.

“Why? You're gonna get in trouble for skipping.”

“I know we don't know each other too well, but I like you, you’re so cool, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

You stayed silent. Trying to find an excuse so you wouldn't have to tell him about his brother.

“Phas told me about Ben. he's an ass trust me Y/N nobody knows that better than me.” you walked over to sit next to him. As soon as you sat down you started sobbing again. He put his arm around you and let you cry. It was a while before he had said anything.

“Look, i can see how it would be weird to talk about it with me. I'm willing to listen though, if you want to sit in silence and cry, I'll let you do that too, but just know me, Phas, and Hux are all here for you.“ you hugged him and he awkwardly hugged you back.

“Do you think it was something I did?” you asked him.

“No. for sure no. If anything something probably happened, and he got scared. For as tough as he acts he runs at the first sight of emotions.” you laughed.

You sat up wiping the tears off your face. “I don't know why, I just feel so heartbroken over this. I've never felt this way about anyone.”

“Trust me I get the feeling. You never knew this, but I've had a crush on Elaine since like 3rd grade. I told her about it and she rejected me. She wanted to focus on school. I understood, but it hurt like hell still. She agreed to not bring it up to anyone because of how embarrassed i was.”

“How'd you deal with it?”

“I didn't have a lot of friends, but the few I did I kinda just hung out with them. It distracted me. I had them so everything was okay.”

You nodded and took in his advice. You had him. You had Phasma, and Hux. most importantly you had Elaine. You haven't been friends with them long, but a part of you knew that Hux, Phasma, and Matt loved you. You knew without a doubt that Elaine loved and adored you. You knew they would be there. You knew they'd help. Most importantly you knew it would be alright and that one day the pain that Ben Solo had caused you would all be a distant memory. All because you had them. What if this was all that you get? Now that you think about it. That was enough. That was more than enough.

#bensoloxreader #ben solo fanfiction #teen!ben solo #ben solo #ben solo x reader #star wars tfa #star wars au #star wars fanfiction #star wars #star wars tros #star wars x reader #teen!reader #reader insert #kenobi!reader #captain phasma #matt the radar technician #armitage hux

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

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A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

Sometimes even the best-prepared households get knocked sideways, financially speaking. Illness, unemployment, divorce, a car accident that triggers a lawsuit these and other situations can quickly put a hurt on the budget. In such times a personal loan or one of several types of home equity loans can provide a little breathing room until you rebuild your finances. As noted, money woes are sometimes the result of plain old bad luck (illness, job loss). However, sometimes were our own worst enemies: We buy too much, we save too little, we plan not at all. You cant get ahead that way. And you cant keep borrowing your way out of trouble. A loan wont help you unless you fix the following issues. 1. Not having a budget The simplest way to wind up in debt is to spend without thinking. Stop, then, and think for a moment about what you would like to have happen five years from now: buying a home, starting a business, getting married, traveling? When you create a budget, youre not just allocating your dollars youre enabling your dreams. An easy way to do it is the 50/30/20 budget: Spend no more than 50% of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving (including retirement planning and an emergency fund). Plenty of budgeting apps exist as well (some are even free). 2. Not tracking spending You cant plug budget leaks unless you know where they are. Track your spending for a month, using pen and paper or a budgeting app. The cumulative effect could be eye-opening. For example, a relatives ex-husband was shocked shocked! to realize that spending $8 a day on fast food added up to $240 a month. His wife had made more money than he did, and their commingled finances made it easy for him to swipe a card and think no more of it. Heres hoping that your own habits arent quite that clueless. But even those of us who think were doing pretty well could be surprised by the cumulative impact of certain habits: beef jerky and a soda every time we pay for gasoline, daily iTunes downloads, $20 a week on scratch tickets. Add up the opportunity cost of those non-essentials, and ask yourself if you could do better. (Spoiler alert: You probably can.) 3. Keeping up with the Joneses Just because next-door neighbor bought the priciest riding mower on the market doesnt mean you have to ditch your trusty Snapper. When your coworker talks about all the activities her kid participates in, you dont have to sign your own tots up for horseback riding and soccer camp. You should not let other people determine your clothing, dcor, automobile, or anything else. Its no ones business that you bought a fixer-upper, that you drive your car until the wheels fall off, that your idea of nightlife is to read a new library book once the kids are in bed. Remember: The Joneses may be up to their hairlines in debt. They might be focused on keeping up, too with the minimum payments, that is. 4. Wanting your kids to have things you didnt Theres nothing wrong with this! Except when there is. Obviously you want your children to be well-fed, reasonably well-dressed, and housed comfortably. You might also want to give them treats and opportunities you never had, such as vacation trips, a big allowance, loads of extracurricular activities, and fully funded education plans. But dont let this noble impulse bust your budget. Just because your kid wants snowboarding lessons, a new smartphone every year, and a car of their own at age 16 doesnt mean you have to give these things. Staying out of debt and funding your retirement should take precedence over granting every whim. At the very least they should have some skin in the game: doing additional chores to help save up for a big-ticket item, say, or mowing lawns or babysitting for extra pocket money. Besides, we arent doing our kids any favors when we give them everything they want. Setting the bar too high now could mean setting them up for problems later on. Specifically, when they move out on their own theyll want to keep living in the style to which we have accustomed them and if their salaries dont allow for that, theyll wind up in debt. 5. Automatic upgrades Whats wrong with your old smartphone or car or whatever? If you bought it relatively recently and it still works, whats with the rush to replace? If you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, or trade in your vehicle every few years, or replace anything else before it really needs replacing, ask yourself why. Because your co-workers do? Because some commercial made you want a new car? Because you dont know why, but you really, really want to anyway? Think about the opportunity cost of that cash. Then think about the way you want to live, and whether or not you want other people making decisions about your money. 6. Shopping mindlessly If you dont need anything, stay out of the mall. Going shopping with friends puts you in a position to find something you suddenly cant live without, or something that looks so cute on you or would be so cool in your house or so useful in the garage. Except that you were doing just fine without that item until you saw it. Ditto online shopping: Dont cruise your favorite retailers websites unless you have a specific reason to do so. Better yet, undo the one-click function and remove stored credit card info from all sites where youve shopped in the past. Bonus frugal points if you change your online passwords to something that has personal significance, such as WeDDingDAy8192020, or 19YEarsLEftonMORTgage, or EARLYretire2028 these little reminders of where your dollars could be going instead might help you from overbuying. 7. Always buying retail Why automatically pay full price? Instead of heading straight to the shopping center when you need (or want) something, consider these options instead: Thrift shops: Some are junky, but others are great. Its like a treasure hunt. (Pro tip: Find out if there are senior discounts or other special deals. For example, a secondhand store my daughter likes offers 50 percent off every Monday.)Consignment stores: Like thrift shops, except theyre more discriminating about whats accepted.Flash sales: While online shopping should be approached with caution, sometimes a sale really is too good to pass up. Hold yourself to limits, though: Just because those slacks are a great deal doesnt mean you need to buy a pair in every color.OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist: Sometimes people want (or need) to get rid of furniture, tools, bikes or automobiles without the hassle of a yard sale. Caution is required, but you can get some darned good deals this way.Newspaper classified ads: Yes, really. A guy I know recently bought a pickup truck (necessary for his job) from a newspaper ad, spending many thousands less than he would have paid at a dealership.Freecyle: You might be surprised at whats being given away, no strings attached. Ive seen beautiful furniture, clothing, bicycles, toys, books, and other useful stuff offered up.Yard sales: Another treasure hunt. Ive seen items still in the shrink-wrap at these sales. Its a great place to buy baby stuff, including newborn-sized clothing that seems never to have been worn.Buy Nothing Facebook groups: Last month my partner and I just picked up an almost-new Weber grill. Some of the other things Ive seen lately: baby stuff, solid wood table, sewing machine, board games, computer desk, cookware, and tons of childrens clothes. All of it is free.8. Overdoing it on special occasions Are holidays and birthdays completely over the top? Maybe its time to tone it down. When they become extravaganzas of gift-giving, we cheapen the meaning and also set the bar higher and higher. A kid who gets tons of presents is unlikely to appreciate each one fully and more to the point, he develops a sense of entitlement. As for birthday parties, when did they start resembling mini-coronations? Even one-year-olds are having party rooms reserved, decorations put up, and gift registries established. Really? Think of all the money thats spent and quickly forgotten. Now think what those dollars could have done for a childs education fund or your own retirement. Celebrate joyously, but celebrate sensibly. 9. Overbuying for grandchildren While waiting in line at a crafts store, I met a woman who developed the bad habit of having small gifts waiting for her granddaughters whenever they visited and they visited a lot. The woman was fretting visibly as she looked over the items in the stores dollar section. What do you buy for someone who already has everything? she asked me. After hearing her story, I felt very sad not just for her but also for the kids. A visit to grandmas house had become an exercise in acquisition. The first thing they do upon crossing the threshold is to ask what theyre getting. (Does anyone else find that quite sad?) Expectations are made, not born. If youve gotten into the habit of treats and more treats, scale back. Replace them with activities and gifts of time. The kids who are used to getting stuff will gradually become used to not getting stuff and when occasionally you do treat them, it will mean a lot more. Again, the money you save could go toward their education funds or toward shoring up your own budget. You cant finance retirement. 10. Giving more than you can afford Charity is a noble impulse. But giving to the American Red Cross or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be done after youve taken care of business. Specifically, after youve built an emergency fund, started saving for retirement, and taken care of any consumer debt. Put on your own oxygen mask first, financially speaking. Award-winning journalist and veteran personal finance writerDonna Freedmanis the author of Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or the Long Haul and Your Playbook for Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition. Read more: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/loans/blog/a-loan-wont-solve-your-money-woes-if-you-dont-fix-these-10-financial-issues-first/

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

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A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

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