Here are the last of my "Duped" drabbles.
Next up is...*looks up*
Oh. Oh lord.
I'm going to cry. It's another "teamwork" episode. *shudders*
Girlfriend Advice
He doesn’t think about the statement, said so jokingly and casually, until roughly an hour later. By then, Kevin’s found more food and has to question the curious look on Ben’s face through a mouthful of corn dog.
“What?”
“Why would that be weird?” Ben asks.
“Why would what be weird?” Kevin asks in return, swallowing his food.
“Asking you for girlfriend advice.”
Kevin blinks. “You’re…you’re kiddin’ me, right?”
“Um…no? You’re dating Gwen, right? Why would it be weird?”
“I’m not dating Gwen, though,” Kevin answers, and when Ben opens his mouth to question it, he continues, “I still like you, remember? D’you seriously think Gwen’s gonna date somebody that likes someone else?”
It takes a few seconds for that to sink in. By the time it does, Ben’s face is so hot that Kevin probably could’ve reheated his corn dog on it. All he musters in response is a very soft, “Oh.”
“Yeah. We done now?”
Slowly, Ben nods and Kevin walks away. They don’t talk about it again.
The Control-Freak
“I dunno why you bother,” Kevin says after they’re out of Ben’s hearing distance. “Why does it matter so much to you whether their relationship runs into the ground?”
“Because Julie is my friend,” Gwen replies matter-of-factly.
“So tell her to dump his ass,” Kevin says, just as bluntly.
Gwen scoffs. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Kevin wonders for a moment if it’s too dangerous to answer that, decides yes, and then does so anyway. “Yes. Yes I would.” It takes another moment for something else to dawn on him. “…you wouldn’t, though, would you?”
Gwen stops. “It’s not like that, Kevin.” She sighs. “It’s…we didn’t work out, and…I just don’t want the same thing to happen to them.” She looks at Kevin, and his disapproving look hasn’t gone away. “I should just butt out, shouldn’t I?”
“Yeah. Yeah you should. Besides,” he adds, determined to inject a little humor into the situation, “how’m I supposed to make a move on him if he’s still dating Julie?”
In spite of herself, Gwen smiles. Just a bit. “Kevin Ethan Levin, you are just…”
“Sensitive” Ben
He hated all of them.
Not that he would ever voice this out loud…being Ben Tennyson came with a few complications that prevented that, even if he was only one piece of the puzzle. And Ben Tennyson was a public figure…he had to be nice.
“You’re a smart guy. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for that.” Haha, hell no, you’re stupid. Check your grades sometime.
“I think you’re kind of a dope.”
That makes you a dope, too, asshole.
He put his counterparts out of his mind for the moment-he wasn’t terribly fond of them. He wasn’t overly fond of a lot of things. Including himself. What was so great about him, anyway? Sometimes he wished he could just show everybody what a total loser he was and they would all just…go away.
Well…maybe he could.
If he could get his nerdy side out of the way for a day…if his arrogant self stayed here with Julie…
“She’s been so nice to us, after all…”
And then, maybe, if he screwed everything up with Kevin…maybe he could drive everyone away before he and his other selves joined again. Maybe he could be all alone by the time everything was done.
It would be perfect.
Bad Night
Usually, Kevin would have loved this, the chance to spend an entire evening with Ben. And he’d been pretty happy about it when Ben first suggested it, even if the hero had been acting a little weird. He was still kind of happy about it while he was driving up to the museum, even if Ben was staring at him the whole time (it was kind of creepy, sure, but still).
But this…this was probably going to kill him.
Why was Ben dredging up all their past problems? Their conflicts? Every time Kevin was the slightest bit moody about something? Why? Why? Why?
“…and of course, we haven’t even begun to unpack the team’s interpersonal dynamics…”
Oh, God, he was doing this on purpose, wasn’t he? That innocent baby-deer look was just a ruse, a trick to make Kevin think he actually meant this touchy-feely junk. And talking about Gwen?
What are you punishing me for? Whatever I did, I’m sorry; I’ll never do it again!
But he couldn’t say it out loud-he was afraid Ben would come at him with something like, “What do you mean, Kevin? I’m just trying to be sensitive to your feelings.” And then the torture would resume.
If he survived this somehow, he was totally going to get payback.
P.S. "Sensitive" Ben was a passive-aggressive little shit, and no one can tell me he was the nice one.
Oh. Oh lord.
I'm going to cry. It's another "teamwork" episode. *shudders*
Girlfriend Advice
He doesn’t think about the statement, said so jokingly and casually, until roughly an hour later. By then, Kevin’s found more food and has to question the curious look on Ben’s face through a mouthful of corn dog.
“What?”
“Why would that be weird?” Ben asks.
“Why would what be weird?” Kevin asks in return, swallowing his food.
“Asking you for girlfriend advice.”
Kevin blinks. “You’re…you’re kiddin’ me, right?”
“Um…no? You’re dating Gwen, right? Why would it be weird?”
“I’m not dating Gwen, though,” Kevin answers, and when Ben opens his mouth to question it, he continues, “I still like you, remember? D’you seriously think Gwen’s gonna date somebody that likes someone else?”
It takes a few seconds for that to sink in. By the time it does, Ben’s face is so hot that Kevin probably could’ve reheated his corn dog on it. All he musters in response is a very soft, “Oh.”
“Yeah. We done now?”
Slowly, Ben nods and Kevin walks away. They don’t talk about it again.
The Control-Freak
“I dunno why you bother,” Kevin says after they’re out of Ben’s hearing distance. “Why does it matter so much to you whether their relationship runs into the ground?”
“Because Julie is my friend,” Gwen replies matter-of-factly.
“So tell her to dump his ass,” Kevin says, just as bluntly.
Gwen scoffs. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Kevin wonders for a moment if it’s too dangerous to answer that, decides yes, and then does so anyway. “Yes. Yes I would.” It takes another moment for something else to dawn on him. “…you wouldn’t, though, would you?”
Gwen stops. “It’s not like that, Kevin.” She sighs. “It’s…we didn’t work out, and…I just don’t want the same thing to happen to them.” She looks at Kevin, and his disapproving look hasn’t gone away. “I should just butt out, shouldn’t I?”
“Yeah. Yeah you should. Besides,” he adds, determined to inject a little humor into the situation, “how’m I supposed to make a move on him if he’s still dating Julie?”
In spite of herself, Gwen smiles. Just a bit. “Kevin Ethan Levin, you are just…”
“Sensitive” Ben
He hated all of them.
Not that he would ever voice this out loud…being Ben Tennyson came with a few complications that prevented that, even if he was only one piece of the puzzle. And Ben Tennyson was a public figure…he had to be nice.
“You’re a smart guy. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for that.” Haha, hell no, you’re stupid. Check your grades sometime.
“I think you’re kind of a dope.”
That makes you a dope, too, asshole.
He put his counterparts out of his mind for the moment-he wasn’t terribly fond of them. He wasn’t overly fond of a lot of things. Including himself. What was so great about him, anyway? Sometimes he wished he could just show everybody what a total loser he was and they would all just…go away.
Well…maybe he could.
If he could get his nerdy side out of the way for a day…if his arrogant self stayed here with Julie…
“She’s been so nice to us, after all…”
And then, maybe, if he screwed everything up with Kevin…maybe he could drive everyone away before he and his other selves joined again. Maybe he could be all alone by the time everything was done.
It would be perfect.
Bad Night
Usually, Kevin would have loved this, the chance to spend an entire evening with Ben. And he’d been pretty happy about it when Ben first suggested it, even if the hero had been acting a little weird. He was still kind of happy about it while he was driving up to the museum, even if Ben was staring at him the whole time (it was kind of creepy, sure, but still).
But this…this was probably going to kill him.
Why was Ben dredging up all their past problems? Their conflicts? Every time Kevin was the slightest bit moody about something? Why? Why? Why?
“…and of course, we haven’t even begun to unpack the team’s interpersonal dynamics…”
Oh, God, he was doing this on purpose, wasn’t he? That innocent baby-deer look was just a ruse, a trick to make Kevin think he actually meant this touchy-feely junk. And talking about Gwen?
What are you punishing me for? Whatever I did, I’m sorry; I’ll never do it again!
But he couldn’t say it out loud-he was afraid Ben would come at him with something like, “What do you mean, Kevin? I’m just trying to be sensitive to your feelings.” And then the torture would resume.
If he survived this somehow, he was totally going to get payback.
P.S. "Sensitive" Ben was a passive-aggressive little shit, and no one can tell me he was the nice one.