"You gonna come with us, or are ya gonna stay here?"

"No no, I'll come. But, Halloween isn't tonight. It's in a couple of days."

"So?"

Ben huffed. He and Kevin were arguing over what was gonna happen for Halloween. Who was going with who, where, and when. It was a mess.

"Kevin, I'm going with you and Gwen because she asked me to," Ben said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm well aware," Kevin said with the same attitude as Ben.

"Fine. Tomorrow, I'll drive to your neighborhood since I know you'll be picking up Gwen."

"Yeah yeah."

When Ben woke up the next morning, his throat was sore and he felt warm. He didn't dare say anything to Sandra or Carl or they'd keep him home. For once, he actually wanted to go to school (which was a miracle in of itself). He only hoped nothing would happen that he'd need his Omnitrix.

~!~

School was hell for Ben. He got heat flashes every couple of minutes, his head was pounding, and he felt like he was gonna throw up. He didn't, of course, but the thought was there. The fifteen-year-old kept going through the school doors knowing Gwen was long gone. He started his car when he placed his head on the top of the steering wheel, relishing at the coolness of the wheel and his hand. He didn't know how long he was like that for, but he jumped when his phone rang.

"Ben! Where are you?! You said you'd be here!" Kevin shouted through the receiver.

"O-oh! Sorry, I got stuck in... Traffic," Ben finished lamely.

"Liar. There isn't any traffic. Where are you?"

Ben didn't answer and simply hung up before he began to drive. First, he went home to drop his stuff off. His nausea ebbed a little, but it didn't go away. Sighing, he popped an ibuprofen in his mouth and swallowed it dry. Wincing when it irritated his already achy throat, he hopped back into his car and drove to Kevin's garage.

~!~

The drive felt like forever, but Ben eventually got to Kevin's house. He parked his car and carefully got out of the car.

"What did you need me for?" Ben asked. His stomach felt like it was trembling, but not from hunger.

"You promised you'd come over," Kevin said in a 'duh' tone.

Ben rolled his eyes and let Kevin rant about... Well, he didn't know since he wasn't paying attention.

~!~

When Ben woke up Halloween morning, he almost vomited when he rolled out of bed. He also felt extremely dizzy. Since it was a Friday, Gwen came over to go to school with Ben.

"Ready to go?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. You wanna drive?" Ben questioned.

"Me?"

"You're the only one in the room."

"Are you feeling okay, Ben?"

"I'm fine! I just felt like letting you drive today. Is that so bad?"

"No..."

Ben tossed her his keys and carefully walked out as to not fall over. This was going to be a long day, he thought.

~!~

By the end of the day, all Ben wanted to do was lay down and rest. Gwen drove to Kevin's house (they had put their costumes in the car that morning, although Ben didn't remember doing that). Ben almost fell asleep but didn't as they got to the ruffian's house.

"Uh, why is Gwen driving your car I built you?" Kevin asked. He winced when Gwen glared at him. "Not that that's an issue, of course," Gwen nodded in approval.

"I asked her to?" Ben replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right."

Ben rolled his eyes but bit his lip when his vision darkened.

~!~

He didn't remember much of what happened next, but when Ben woke up, he was laying on the couch with his head on Kevin's lap. Gwen's idea, he figured.

"Thank god," Kevin breathed out so soft Ben wasn't sure he imagined it. "You with me this time?"

Ben blinked not trusting his voice before nodding hesitantly.

"Gwen went home last night. You gave us quite a scare."

"W-" Ben coughed harshly. "What... Happened?"

"You passed out. You'd come around every once in a while, but you'd be really out of it. It's November 3rd."

Ben blinked. He'd been out that long?

"You were running a high fever. Threw up a couple of times too."

"I don't remember any of it."

"I don't doubt that. So, you wanna tell me what happened before you fainted on us?"

"A couple of days ago, I woke up dizzy and felt hot. I got worse on Halloween."

"Inner ear infection. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to burden you or Gwen."

Kevin sighed and helped the younger man sit up. Ben laid his head on Kevin's shoulder as he still felt a bit dizzy.

"Ben, you don't have to hide stuff like that," Kevin said. "Especially not with me or Gwen. You know we go to you when we need help, so why didn't you come to us?"

Ben shrugged as his eyes began to feel heavy.

"Go back to sleep. Gwen or I'll be there when you wake up again. Just promise you won't do it again."

"No promises," Ben said in a slurred sing-song voice before drifting off again.

But he had to admit. It was really, really weird to wake up with his head on Gwen's lap and Kevin sitting in front of him. Ah well, it was the spooky season after all.