Division
Title: Division
Characters: Gwen, Kevin
Warnings: None
Summary: “Kevin, I want you to stop jerking me and Ben around.”
Notes: The amount of Gwen-hate on this community makes me sad. As I mentioned before, I like Gwen, just not when she’s in the middle of drooling over Kevin. Besides, like it or hate it, in the show Kevin does show interest in Gwen as well as Ben.
Disclaimer: Ben 10: Alien Force belongs to Man of Action.
Gwen had asked him to meet her alone at a diner a few blocks away from her house. Kevin had been baffled by the request since she’d looked so serious, not teasing, not plotting, no nothing to indicate what the meeting might be about. But she was quiet after they ordered their food, staring out the window with her chin on her palm as they waited for the waitress to deliver their meals.
Kevin sipped his cola, his lips frowning around the straw. Whatever it was, he wished she’d just get on with it.
Just as he was about to prompt her, she said, “Can you do me a favor?”
“Shoot.”
She paused as if considering her words. Then her green eyes met his via his reflection in the window. “Kevin, I want you to stop jerking me and Ben around.”
His lips parted just enough to let the straw slip back further into his glass. He sat up straighter. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
Her reflection showed her eyes closing. “You keep sending mixed signals about who you’d rather date, and I’m tired of it.”
He narrowed his eyes, pressing a hand against his chest for emphasis as he demanded, “When have I ever sent mixed signals? And who said I’d want to date Ben in the first place?”
She snorted, reopening her eyes and turning her head just enough to look at him in her peripheral vision. “The dance.”
Kevin crossed his arms. “Okay, you lost me.”
“When we showed up at the dance, you were nervous, excited, and doing your best to be as charming as possible. I tricked you into it, but you really wanted our date to go well. But when you were talking about Ben giving you advice, your face just lit up. And you were sorta freaking out when I told you Big Chill might’ve gone rogue.”
“I was-I mean, c’mon, I wasn’t trying to-”
“I know you weren’t trying to do anything, Kevin, but you did it anyway.” Gwen ran her fingers through her hair before folding her arms neatly on the tabletop. “In any case, I’m kind of sick of it. If you want me, stop sending out signals that you want Ben. And vice versa. You can’t have both.”
Their food arrived, cutting off conversation. They ate in silence as Kevin mentally chewed over his own actions.
His memory conjured several incidents in which he behaved much the same: Comforting Gwen as they tried to figure out a way to get Ben out of the Null Void and then lavishing attention on the brunette when they got him back; rushing in to save Gwen when she and Ben had tried to come to his rescue from the Plumber’s Helpers and then starting to freak out when the two morons had thrown Ben into the Null Void Projector; Paradox, Alien X, every single adventure he’d gone on with them.
He groaned softly, setting his burger back down on his plate, staring down at the partially-eaten food. The redhead ignored this, continuing to eat her own burger. She was probably just giving him time to think things over.
The mutant rubbed at his temple as he tried to think things through. On the one hand, there was Gwen. She’d certainly gone through the “ugly duckling, beautiful swan” type of transformation. She’d aged wonderfully, no longer the awkward girl he’d seen before he’d entered the Null Void. She also was incredibly intelligent. Arm candy with brains. Any guy would be begging for her to give them the time of day. She was more than an acceptable choice by society’s standards, and he would’ve been happy to have her on his arm for anything.
On the other hand…
He caught a glimpse of a green eye, instantly imagining Ben’s face around it. Ben was also a good-looking choice. Not as smart intellectually as his cousin, but his intuition was usually right on the money. Plus he and Kevin had history: The brunette had been his friend then his enemy and then his friend again while Gwen had simply gone from “enemy’s cousin” to friend.
However, the brunette was male, the same as Kevin. Most of society had an awful habit of looking down their noses at same sex couples. While not overly concerned about the more violent members of that group, after being on the outside for so long, the black-haired teen wanted to belong even just a little bit.
He pushed his plate away and buried his face in his hands, trying to stop the whirling thoughts. He felt the bright green pair of eyes studying him. For a moment, he imagined that it was both her and her cousin watching him to see who he was going to hurt.
He didn’t know how long he sat like that until hearing Gwen get up. He released his face to see her placing a few bills on the table.
He opened his mouth to blurt out whom he’d choose, but his tongue refused to work. He didn’t know.
“Let me know when you decide, okay?” she requested as if sensing his dilemma.
She left him, not so much as glancing back.
He sat there for another hour or two, staring at his partially-eaten meal. When he finally left, he still didn’t have a clue.
Characters: Gwen, Kevin
Warnings: None
Summary: “Kevin, I want you to stop jerking me and Ben around.”
Notes: The amount of Gwen-hate on this community makes me sad. As I mentioned before, I like Gwen, just not when she’s in the middle of drooling over Kevin. Besides, like it or hate it, in the show Kevin does show interest in Gwen as well as Ben.
Disclaimer: Ben 10: Alien Force belongs to Man of Action.
Gwen had asked him to meet her alone at a diner a few blocks away from her house. Kevin had been baffled by the request since she’d looked so serious, not teasing, not plotting, no nothing to indicate what the meeting might be about. But she was quiet after they ordered their food, staring out the window with her chin on her palm as they waited for the waitress to deliver their meals.
Kevin sipped his cola, his lips frowning around the straw. Whatever it was, he wished she’d just get on with it.
Just as he was about to prompt her, she said, “Can you do me a favor?”
“Shoot.”
She paused as if considering her words. Then her green eyes met his via his reflection in the window. “Kevin, I want you to stop jerking me and Ben around.”
His lips parted just enough to let the straw slip back further into his glass. He sat up straighter. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
Her reflection showed her eyes closing. “You keep sending mixed signals about who you’d rather date, and I’m tired of it.”
He narrowed his eyes, pressing a hand against his chest for emphasis as he demanded, “When have I ever sent mixed signals? And who said I’d want to date Ben in the first place?”
She snorted, reopening her eyes and turning her head just enough to look at him in her peripheral vision. “The dance.”
Kevin crossed his arms. “Okay, you lost me.”
“When we showed up at the dance, you were nervous, excited, and doing your best to be as charming as possible. I tricked you into it, but you really wanted our date to go well. But when you were talking about Ben giving you advice, your face just lit up. And you were sorta freaking out when I told you Big Chill might’ve gone rogue.”
“I was-I mean, c’mon, I wasn’t trying to-”
“I know you weren’t trying to do anything, Kevin, but you did it anyway.” Gwen ran her fingers through her hair before folding her arms neatly on the tabletop. “In any case, I’m kind of sick of it. If you want me, stop sending out signals that you want Ben. And vice versa. You can’t have both.”
Their food arrived, cutting off conversation. They ate in silence as Kevin mentally chewed over his own actions.
His memory conjured several incidents in which he behaved much the same: Comforting Gwen as they tried to figure out a way to get Ben out of the Null Void and then lavishing attention on the brunette when they got him back; rushing in to save Gwen when she and Ben had tried to come to his rescue from the Plumber’s Helpers and then starting to freak out when the two morons had thrown Ben into the Null Void Projector; Paradox, Alien X, every single adventure he’d gone on with them.
He groaned softly, setting his burger back down on his plate, staring down at the partially-eaten food. The redhead ignored this, continuing to eat her own burger. She was probably just giving him time to think things over.
The mutant rubbed at his temple as he tried to think things through. On the one hand, there was Gwen. She’d certainly gone through the “ugly duckling, beautiful swan” type of transformation. She’d aged wonderfully, no longer the awkward girl he’d seen before he’d entered the Null Void. She also was incredibly intelligent. Arm candy with brains. Any guy would be begging for her to give them the time of day. She was more than an acceptable choice by society’s standards, and he would’ve been happy to have her on his arm for anything.
On the other hand…
He caught a glimpse of a green eye, instantly imagining Ben’s face around it. Ben was also a good-looking choice. Not as smart intellectually as his cousin, but his intuition was usually right on the money. Plus he and Kevin had history: The brunette had been his friend then his enemy and then his friend again while Gwen had simply gone from “enemy’s cousin” to friend.
However, the brunette was male, the same as Kevin. Most of society had an awful habit of looking down their noses at same sex couples. While not overly concerned about the more violent members of that group, after being on the outside for so long, the black-haired teen wanted to belong even just a little bit.
He pushed his plate away and buried his face in his hands, trying to stop the whirling thoughts. He felt the bright green pair of eyes studying him. For a moment, he imagined that it was both her and her cousin watching him to see who he was going to hurt.
He didn’t know how long he sat like that until hearing Gwen get up. He released his face to see her placing a few bills on the table.
He opened his mouth to blurt out whom he’d choose, but his tongue refused to work. He didn’t know.
“Let me know when you decide, okay?” she requested as if sensing his dilemma.
She left him, not so much as glancing back.
He sat there for another hour or two, staring at his partially-eaten meal. When he finally left, he still didn’t have a clue.