Ben took one step forward, groaning as the normal bright green light engulfed him, but a not-so-normal pounding headache pushed through. He though he was going to throw up; and he felt so weak.
"Ben! Are you okay?" Gwen pants, exhausted after the recent battle with some unknown aliens.
Ben groaned again, sliding to his knees on the pavement.
"Yo, Tenison!" Kevin shouts from the other side of the deserted parking lot. He then sees Ben's state and runs over, taping Gwen, who is now crouched next to Ben, on the shoulder.
"Is he okay?"
"I'm fine," Ben argues, starting to stand up. "I just felt a little sick for a moment there... That's all."
"You sure? You got really pale for a second there," Gwen says, double checking Ben's reasoning.
"Yeah. I feel better already," Ben exhales, putting his hand on his cousin's shoulder to steady himself, then lets go.
"'K guys, I've got to fix my car; stupid aliens!" Kevin curses as he looks at his goop-covered green muscle car. "I'll drop you guys off at your far-apart-from-each-other homes," Kevin sighs, rolling his eyes and thinks, "What a waste of gas money!"
The gang gets into Kevin's car, his seemingly only joy in life, and head off to Ben's house to drop him off first, Kevin wanting to spend more time with his on-again-off-again girlfriend.
So, Gwen," Kevin offers, trying to break the eerie silence, "have any, um, tests in school this week?"
"Why do you even care?"
"Just trying to make conversation." An awkward silence fills the air between the two.
"Why don't you go to school Kevin?" Gwen ponders after a few minutes.
"I passed the GED!" Kevin argued. "With a sixty-two percent," he murmured to himself.
"Hm," Gwen nodded, disbelievingly.
"I did!"
"Okay, okay, I believe you!" Gwen throws her arms into the air.
As Kevin pulls up on the curb next to Gwen's house, he whispers, "Goodnight baby," into her ear.
"'Night Kev." Gwen walks up to her front door, waving at Kevin as he drives away into the night to his secluded garage.