Hi, everyone! This marks my return to after an almost two-year hiatus. I used to write Inuyasha fics under a different name, but now that I'm all grown up I like Ben 10 Alien Force better. (Mwahaha, yes, I know that's very ironic.) This story is DEFINITELY Gwevin (as if there were any other option for me) with a few Julie/Ben moments as well. I'm trying my best to keep them in character, but let me know if you think I suck at it. I won't get mad. :)

By the way, all the chapters of this story will be named after awesome songs. Because I want them to be. Naming the correct artist of each song in your review will guarantee you a free imaginary cookie. As well as endless amounts of respect from me for knowing good music. :D

Love Her Madly

A Ben 10 Fanfiction by PRiNCeSS WiLDCaT

Chapter One:

Under Pressure

"You spurn my natural emotions

You make me feel like dirt and I'm hurt

And if I start a commotion

I run the risk of losing you and that's worse"

- The Buzzcocks


Kevin leaned against the side of his car with his arms crossed, staring dully into the schoolyard. It was 3:08 according to his watch, which meant he'd been waiting there for almost ten minutes. And if there was one thing he hated, it was waiting for people. Especially if waiting for them meant sitting out here in front of a fancy prep school, feeling the awkward stares from rich kids galore as they passed him on their way out. He increased the venom in his stare, spurring a few clean-cut freshmen to scurry out of his view, pointing at him and whispering nervously. They probably thought he was here to kill somebody, which he just might do if he had to sit out here another minute.

A flash of red hair in the sea of kids in front of him made him look up. There she was. About damn time.

She was walking with two other girls, her arms loaded with books, smiling quietly as her friends chattered about nothing. Her long red hair began to blow in a light breeze, and she instinctively tucked it behind her ear.

Kevin snapped back into reality and realized he was slipping off the car. He corrected his footing and pretended nothing had happened, cementing the idea with an extra glare at everyone around him.

"Gwen!" he yelled impatiently, arms still crossed.

She looked up and caught sight of him, and her slight smile widened into a grin. With a quick goodbye to her two friends, she walked up to the car, amid curious whispers and stares from the crowd of schoolmates around her. Everyone seemed to be wondering why the brilliant and beautiful Gwen Tennyson was associating herself with such a scary-looking guy.

"Where the hell were you?" Kevin demanded, his tone biting and unfriendly. He was in a bad mood and ready for a fight; whether it was physical or verbal was immaterial to him.

But Gwen's smile remained. "Sorry, I had to run to my locker after class let out."

She was refusing to take his bait, and that frustrated him all the more.

"Seems like you were really hurrying," he growled sarcastically, snatching her textbooks out of her hands and tucking them under one arm.

Gwen smirked up at him, putting one hand on her hip and cocking her head to the side playfully. "Have a bad day?" she teased.

Kevin looked away from her, frowning stubbornly. With that, he realized that almost everyone in the schoolyard had now noticed his presence, and most of the staring faces looked not a little disapprovingly at the rough-looking outsider.

"Let's get out of here," Gwen said pressingly, looking slightly nervous. She had noticed them too.

"Yeah." Kevin opened Gwen's door and let her in the car, then walked around to his side. Before getting in, he glanced over the preppy crowd once more, a triumphant smirk playing across his face.

The CD player in his car was playing Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance," and it was with another smirk that Kevin turned the volume all the way up to blasting as he pulled out of the school driveway and skidded off down the street.

Gwen glanced at him and shook her head with a sigh.

Kevin felt her look and scoffed. "What? Don't tell me you're embarrassed. You can't possibly be friends with any of those creeps."

"That's not the point, Kevin," she reached out and turned the volume back down to normal, "You're letting them get to you."

"I am not!" he protested, "They're just a bunch of snobby rich kids. Probably thought I was kidnapping you."

"Whatever. We're picking up Ben from soccer practice now, right?" That was her signal to end the conversation, and she turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.

"Apparently, Loverboy has a date with Julie, so he needs a ride to the park as well."

Gwen sighed and stared straight ahead with a faraway look in her eyes. Without averting her gaze, she reached out with her left hand and fumbled for the CD player volume, then cranked it up again. The car stereo began to scream out Judas Priest once again.

Kevin stared at her for a split second, a little surprised, then grinned to himself and returned his attention to the road.

Ben was on the phone as soon as he got in the car, soccer bag on his shoulder and grass all over his shirt. "Hey, Julie—yeah, I just got finished. So we'll meet at the park in about fifteen?"

Gwen turned to the backseat and raised an eyebrow, looking Ben up and down pointedly.

Ben got the message and stared down at himself. He was a sweaty mess. "Better make that thirty, I really need to shower."

"You know," Gwen said playfully when Ben hung up the phone, "I can't believe I still have to tell you to shower before a date. Have you learned nothing?"

Ben smirked at her. "It's not like you have any more dating experience than I do."

Low blow. Gwen's face turned sullen and Kevin winced slightly.

"That's not my fault," Gwen said bitterly, glaring at Kevin, who suddenly seemed very interested in keeping his eyes on the road.

"Not this again," he muttered, frowning. Gwen kept her narrowed eyes on his face all the way to Ben's house, and Kevin felt himself growing more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"I'll be about fifteen minutes or so," said Ben, getting out of the backseat, "You guys want to come in and wait?"

"No, that's okay. Go ahead." Gwen kept her eyes on Kevin. Ben shrugged and sped off into the house.

Kevin fought to keep from looking in Gwen's direction, drumming his fingers on the dashboard, fiddling with his keys, anything. She didn't move.

Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore.

"What?!" he snapped, turning to stare her in the face. She said nothing, just looked at him, her brilliant green eyes seeing right through him, through every facade he put up.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Kevin recovered and sat back in his seat. "You got something to say, say it and get it over with."

Gwen finally looked away with a scoff. "I was about to tell you the same thing." With that, she opened the car door and got out, taking extra care to slam it shut behind her.

"Hey!" Kevin yelled, glaring at her retreating back. She didn't turn around, just kept walking toward Ben's front door, but from the brisk way she was moving, Kevin knew she was royally pissed.

A few minutes later, Ben came back out and got in the car again, this time in the front seat. Kevin looked at him pointedly.

"Well? Where is she?"

"She's not coming," Ben said casually, tying his shoe, "She's going to walk home in a few minutes, after she cools down a bit. What did you do?"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Kevin protested in frustration, his face red with anger and embarassment, "She just got mad and stormed off all of a sudden!"

"Well, you must have done something," Ben said with a slight smirk, "because she was on the verge of tears, and Gwen never cries."

Kevin's glance shot back to the house. "She was crying?!"

"I said she was about to cry, not that she was," replied Ben, "Now can we go? Julie's waiting."

With a perplexed frown, Kevin started the car and sped off down the street. Gwen was about to cry over him? He had never viewed her as the type to take crap from anybody, and just now when he'd snapped at her, she didn't fight him back.

Did she really like him that much?

So, what do you guys think? Read & review, let me know if I should continue.

NEXT CHAPTER: I Predict A Riot!