I watched Ben closely as he drove along the road, following Kevin's black and green Camero. Ben's bright green eyes were fixated on the dark road he drove along and his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Elaina, our Elaina, was with Kevin and Gwen so that she could talk to Gwen about something that she wouldn't tell me about. And Necxi and Cody were in the car behind us. Not that I didn't enjoy their company, but I was glad they weren't with us. That way I could to Ben alone.

I gently touched his arm and I took it as a good sign that he didn't pull away. "Ben," I said, gently. The frown on his face deepened and his knuckles turned deathly white. I retracted my hand a bit, but I knew that I had to hold steady.

"Ben, I know you're upset, but-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I'm not upset Julie, just frustrated," he said, furrowing his brow so deeply that it looked like they were infinitely connected. He took a deep breath and his glare on the road softened somewhat. "I've been screwing up so much lately,' he added in a low voice.

"How so?" I asked, placing my hands in my lap. He sighed and pressed a button. A screen lit up and said 'Autopilot'. As he turned in his to face me, the car proceeded to drive itself.

"I just can't keep up with balancing my hero life with the life that I want anymore," he said, and he looked as though he were pained. "It's like it's getting ready to tip over on both sides and there's nothing I can do about it. I feel so completely helpless and that not something I usually feel unless the situation is dire. If I'm getting this feeling then it's bad, because, usually, my worries become real."

"Plenty of good things that you think of be come real too," I said, defending him from himself. "Not all of your thoughts are morbid and hopeless, Ben. There are plenty of good thoughts in your mind, that's what keeps you helping people and what makes you a good leader."

"It's not just being a leader that's on my mind Julie," Ben said as the car did a sharp right behind Kevin's car. He sounded very frustrated with me. "It's also my relationship with you and Elaina, my cousin, my two best friends and the rest of my family! I swear I think I might have a nervous breakdown or an aneurism, because I get so frustrated or angry or whatever! And tonight? Tonight didn't help at all! I just lost a good friend, maybe even a long time ago… and there wasn't a damn thing I could about it."

I could sense the hurt and pain in his voice, even when his voice had risen to a shout. Losing Elena had taken a toll on him. But something in his voice told me he's been through before.

"This hasn't been the first time this happened to you has it?" I asked, gently. His hard gaze on me softened and he looked away from me. Something told me that he wanted to cry.

"No, it hasn't," he whispered.

"Was it your grandpa?" I inquired (A/N; What? I like that word!).

"Partly yes, but partly no," Ben said, staring into his lap. After awhile he said, "It was Gwen."

My shock must've shown on my face, because he smiled at me a bit. "Yeah Gwen," he said, looking back his lap. "One day when I was 10, I set off an SDM signal in the Omnitrix. We had go to a planet called Xenon to find Azmuth. It was just me, Gwen, Tetrax (I'll explain later), and Myaxx. When we got there, we attacked first by a bunch of wild Wildvine (one of the aliens I had in the Omnitrix as a ten year old). One reached for me while my watch was charging and Gwen, knowing that she was risking herself for me, pushed me out of the way and it took her instead."

"We didn't get along back then, and just before we had reached Xenon we had had an argument about me being so selfish. When the Wildvine took her, my heart sank. It was as though I lost one of my best friends and I couldn't do anything about it. When it turned out she survived, I was so overjoyed that I hugged her, a person that I thought I'd hate for the rest of my life. The point is Julie, the way I felt then is how I feel now, only way worse."

By this point the had continued to drive the car manually again, just to have something to do. I felt so bad for asking him that question. He looked so pained when he answered me. "Ben, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I said quietly.

"It's alright Jules," he said, flashing me a cute smile. "Believe it or not, all that venting made me feel better. I'm so glad to have you and Elaina to listen to me Julie."

"We could talk about this more tomorrow, if you want," I said, as we pulled up next to my house.

He looked at me, smiling, and, "Yeah, yeah I'd like that."

A/N; Review and let me know if I should add another chapter! Bye-bye!