The power was always there, always coursing just beneath the surface, and she only dared dip into it when it was most necessary. Twice it had consumed her, twice she felt the possibilities her lineage could provide. Her mind had always been her most powerful weapon but it was never more true than when the mana overtook her. Nothing was out of question. She merely thought and it became reality. It was very thrilling, but it was also incredibly frightening. She had never lost control, never lost enough not to bring herself back from the brink at least. That didn't mean the temptation did not lurk.
"Good call getting Grandma out here." Ben said as a sloppy mess of wheat germ smoothy dribbled down his chin. "Sunny was getting annoying." He wiped the spilled drink from his lips, but failed to notice a few splotches that had landed on his jacket. Gwen neglected to mention them, intently sipping on her lemonade. She stared out over the parking lot of the Mr. Smoothy's while rubbing a sore spot on her upper thigh where a piece of rubble had fallen. The bruise hadn't formed yet, but she was sure it would bloom by morning. That was the least of her problems. Her back was killing her from being throwing against, and through, so many cement walls. She was paying dearly for her cousin's impromptu visit. Kevin, focused on his hamburger, reached out and patted her between the shoulder blades.
"Yeah, great job." He affirmed through a mouthful of food. Gwen winced.
"Thanks." She muttered.
"Did you see how quickly she caught her? And Antonio? Why can't you do that?" Ben continued. He easily lobbed his empty cup into a nearby garbage can, then turned all of his attention to Gwen. She shrugged and looked down into the wood grain pattern of their table. She was sure she could have done something similar, if she had wanted.
"Seriously, she was kicking your butt." Kevin joined in. Gwen shot him a rather sour look.
"Thanks." She repeated, this time with a bit more venom. He raised his hands in the air defensively.
"What? It's true."
"Give her a break, Kevin. Sunny's always been an Anodite. Gwen only found out about them recently." Ben said, trying to help. His excuses didn't make her feel better. She finished what remained of her lemonade and tossed it towards the same garbage can where Ben had thrown his moments earlier. The cup hit the rim, rolled, and then landed with a hollow sound on the pavement. Sighing, Gwen shot out a tentacle of mana, grabbed the cup, then placed it in the can.
"I didn't want to hurt her. She's still my cousin." She averted her gaze back out of the parking lot, remembering Ben's words to her when they had fought over Kevin's life months before. He told her she didn't win because she cared about hurting him. That was partly the truth. She had been reluctant to use too much of her mana, knowing she would need it against her mutated boyfriend. She also knew her emotions were raging and she wouldn't be focused enough to resist the Anodite energy. If she transformed, there would be no guarantee she'd be able to transform back.
"Come on, Gwen, she was beating you up. The least you could have done was knock her out, or something." She wheeled on her boyfriend with every intention of yelling at him, screaming at him if need be, but the words she wanted to say didn't come out. She couldn't even articulate them in her head. Instead, Gwen glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. Kevin blankly stared back at her, popping the last bite of his burger into his mouth. When her dour look didn't seem to be having any effect, she surrendered and stood up from the bench.
Kevin had many flaws, some of which she felt justified in pointing out to him. Hypocrisy, however, had never been one of them, until now. He could inadvertently berate her for showing signs of weakness all he wanted, but he couldn't argue that he himself had never fallen victim to his own shortcomings. He had let his emotions get the better of him plenty of times in the past, sometimes to the detriment of both her and Ben. She refused to let herself be so affected, and he started asking questions.
"Where are you going?" Ben asked.
"I'm walking home. Its been a long night." Her watch read quarter to 10. At least she'd be getting home before one in the morning this time. The thought of a fluffy pillow and mattress after a relaxing bath propelled her forward.
"Don't do that. Let me drive you home." Kevin called after her. Gwen merely waved a hand in dismissal at his half-hearted offer.
"Enjoy your smoothy." She grumbled weakly.
The only thing that could have made the night better was waiting for her at the door when she arrived home. Gwen swallowed back an exasperated moan when her mother appeared on the porch, arms crossed, and waited patiently for her daughter to make her way up the walkway.
"Where is your cousin?" Natalie asked smoothly, her eyebrows raised in mock curiosity.
"On her way home, I would imagine."
"Oh? And why is that?" She continued, allowing Gwen to shuffle past her into the house, then following on her heels. Gwen sighed, plopping down on the couch. This was probably going to be a long conversation.
"She jumped out of the window with Antonio! I couldn't stop her, so I called Grandma Verdona to come and get her." Natalie began to wring her hands and pace in front of Gwen slouched on the cushions. She watched her mother with tired eyes. "I'm sorry, Mom. I tried, but she was -"
"I know she was a bit headstrong, but you've handled worse, haven't you? Now I have to try and explain to her parents why she's being returned a whole month earlier than expected. I'll never live this one down." She groused under her breath. Gwen shifted a bit, her current posture hurting the injuries on her back. Natalie spotted her daughter's discomfort. She bent over and lifted away a stray strand of her hair, observing a long scratch on her forehead. "Did Sunny do that to you?" Gwen remained silent. Suddenly, her mother took on a whole new demeanor. Her jaw clenched shut and she stalked out of the room. A few minutes later, her voice drifted out of the kitchen. It started out pleasant, exchanging hellos with the person on the other line, then turned distinctively angrier as she began to recount Sunny's attack on Gwen. Gwen took the opportunity to sneak upstairs.
It was a nice surprise not to be totally on the hook for Sunny's return to her parents, but there was also a small seed of embarrassment that accompanied the relief. Her mother had been right; she'd handled worse. She should have been able to subdue her Anodite cousin and bring her back home sans Antonio. But she didn't. She let someone else do the job for her and had only bumps, bruises, and gashes to show for it. The sore spot on her thigh still throbbed, but not as badly as her back. As much as her physical injuries bothered her, the wounds she felt most acutely were the ones nobody saw.
She made it to her bedroom and softly closed the door behind her, shutting out her mother's ever-loudening voice. It took all of her willpower not to slide down to the floor and start crying. It was the only strength she felt she had left, the ability to not just break down at every little speed bump. Her mother frowned upon her when she 'glowed', and yet she expected her to be able to break out the big guns at the drop of a hat. Kevin wanted her to be able to blow anyone who challenged her to the moon, but he didn't want her to try and tame her Anodite form. He had flipped out at her when she revealed how she had scared off Zombozo and made her promise not to ever do it again.
And then there were the more personal insults that Sunny had leveled at her, not just the taunts about being weak. Gwen did not like to think of herself as a goody-goody. Yes, she was involved in a lot of different academic clubs at school, and yes, she nearly had a perfect grade point average, but she was capable of being a normal teenager. She sneaked out at night and smuggled Kevin into her bedroom in the early morning hours. She had even driven Ben's car ten miles over the speed limit down the highway. Why did her behavior have to be bad in order to be cool? Or to impress her boyfriend? She remembered the way Kevin had seemingly responded to Sunny's cheesy compliments and brash shows of power. Did he actually find such blathering attractive? It didn't help that she couldn't answer her cousin when she inquired about the nature of their relationship.
'Does Kevin ever say romantic things to me? No. Does he have to?' Gwen griped inwardly. She hung her head in her hands and shakily sighed. Kevin was not the kind of boy to do such things and it had never bothered her before. He had, in fact, done so many unromantic things that she stopped noticing. He was who he was and she accepted it. But Sunny had brought to Gwen's attention a point that had never been more than a small, easily ignorable voice in the back of her mind. And she hated her for it.
Even through the wooden door, Gwen could hear her mother's shrill voice. No doubt she was engaging in an all out battle with Sunny's parents about the actions of their daughter. Gwen shook her head. That bath was calling her name.
"You had to go and say something, didn't you?" Ben leveled an accusatory look at Kevin as Gwen disappeared around the corner of the Mr. Smoothy's. Kevin didn't seem the least bit affected. He stood with a dismissive shrug and pulled the car keys from his pocket.
"What did I have to go and say?" He asked monotonously. Ben rolled his eyes. The two headed towards Kevin's car, parked a few feet away. The older teen nonchalantly swung the key ring around his long index finger. He didn't seem bothered, but his eyes were distant. Ben jumped upon his friend's distracted nature.
"Gwen was holding her own just fine."
"No. She wasn't." Kevin replied simply. He pressed a button on his key ring and the locks on the car doors audibly popped open. Ben stooped over the top of the car. He quirked an eyebrow at Kevin, who stopped opening his door when he saw he was being watched. "What?" He asked testily.
"You made her feel bad." Ben told him bluntly.
"No, I didn't."
"You did. Gwen won't say anything, but I know what you and Sunny said bothered her." Finally, something clicked. Kevin looked around quickly, before motioning for Ben to get into the car. He obliged. A few moments after they had shut the doors, Kevin jammed the keys in the ignition. His wrist flicked, as if he was about to start the car, but then his hand fell away.
"We've talked about this before. I know Gwen can take care of herself, but she's holding back." Kevin stated. He looked out over the dash, his paw-like hands resting on the top of the steering wheel. He sputtered a moment, trying to find his words. "I mean, I told her once that I thought it was a bad idea to do the whole 'energy being' thing, but we don't know what it'll do to her. Look at Sunny! She was, like, all over the place and out of control! She's powerful enough as she is, she doesn't have to change. She shouldn't have to." By the time he stopped talking, he was out of breath. He turned to Ben with a worried look. It was apparent he was looking for approval, but Ben only chewed on his lip and turned to face his window.
"You should probably go and talk to her." Was his only answer.
"What do I say? 'Sorry for pointing out you got your butt handed to you by your cousin'?" Kevin snapped.
"No. You apologize for not being clear about what you meant tonight. Telling me all of this stuff isn't going to help, you know. I'm not Gwen." Ben told him plainly. The two boys regarded each other in the darkness of the car interior. For a moment, Ben thought Kevin might be deciding whether or not he wanted to punch his lights out, but finally, he turned back to the steering wheel with a heavy sigh.
"Fine. I'll drop you off first."
It was hard to observe the blue and purple smudges on her back in a handheld mirror, but just craning her neck to see it in the vanity mirror above the sink wasn't working. Feeling slightly more refreshed from the bath, Gwen had decided to try and survey the damage, but it was no easy task. She narrowed her eyes as she instead began to feel around her spine, noticing each spot that felt more tender than others. It would be wise to sleep with an ice pack tonight.
"Gwen? Are you done?" A knock echoed through the small space.
"Yeah, Mom. I'll be right out." She gingerly began to towel herself off, lightly patting the more sensitive areas. Her back was left to its own devices. It was uncomfortable when she first shrugged on her pajama top, but her weariness quickly made her forget the way the thin fabric stuck to her skin. She slipped into her jogging pants, hung her towel on the rack, and opened the door. Natalie was waiting for her on the other side. Her forehead was creased with worry, but she smiled down at Gwen lovingly.
"Are you okay, Gwennie?"
"Yes." She answered simply. "We're not feuding with Sunny's parents are we?" At the mention of her cousin, her mother's face turned dark. Gwen almost wished she hadn't asked.
"That girl is never coming back here again. It's one thing to do a favor for her parents, but its an entirely other thing to make excuses for a violent delinquent. I'm sorry I made you have to deal with her." Natalie enveloped Gwen in a tight hug and Gwen had to bite her lip in order to keep from crying out. Thankfully, her mother remained oblivious. She turned away from her upon letting her go.
"Frank! Can I talk to you for a minute?" Natalie disappeared around the corner, leaving Gwen to turn off the lights in the bathroom and head back upstairs to her bedroom. Her parents could be heard in the kitchen, talking quietly. Their conversation seemed to be going better than the previous one held there. Gwen didn't pay particular attention. She walked into the blissful silence of her room, shut the door, and prepared to fall onto her mattress when suddenly her window slid open. Nobody entered immediately. Her curtains swayed gently before a thin, pale arm slid through them and a dark haired girl slipped inside.
"Sunny?" She asked incredulously. Sure enough, her cousin straightened, dusting off her black skirt. Her blue eyes narrowed as she looked up.
"Don't sound so happy to see me."
"You're supposed to be on your way back home. How did you get away from Grandma?" Gwen said coldly. She pressed herself against her door, a repeat of what she had done earlier. Sunny sneered at her.
"It doesn't matter. I will go home, but not yet." Her demeanor softened, but only slightly. She plunked herself down on Gwen's bed and began to idly play with the hem of her shirt. "Can we talk please?" Gwen was incredibly skeptical. A few hours ago, Sunny had thrown her around like a rag doll. Now she wanted to have a chat? Her dark-haired cousin rolled her eyes and patted the bed more forcefully. Finally, Gwen relented. She kept her guard up, sitting down on the opposite side.
"What do you want?"
"We used to have a lot of fun when we were kids." Sunny began. She smiled gently, then turned serious. "I was excited to come and visit you, no matter what I said or did. I've missed you." Gwen watched her carefully. She seemed genuine enough. And it was true. They had been very close as girls, until Sunny and her parents moved away. At the time, Gwen's parents couldn't tell her just how far. It didn't hurt for very long, since Ben's family moved to Bellwood that same year. Playing with Ben had been a lot different, but it did fill a void. In fact, it had been so engrossing that Gwen had forgot Sunny ever existed.
"Yeah, we did have a lot of fun."
"Until you got boring." Sunny teased. Gwen's head shot up and she opened her mouth to retort. Before she could, Sunny covered it with her own hand. "Don't argue. You know its true. You got boring and I...Well, I got crazy." At the last part, her face fell and she let her hand drop from Gwen's mouth. The two girls sat in total silence. A lot about both of them had changed, and it was hard to reconcile the paths each had taken.
Sunny was right. Gwen couldn't argue against her accusation. She toyed with the fabric of her jogging pants trying to think of something to say, but could think of nothing. Kevin's words repeated themselves over in her head. Not only was she boring, she wasn't fighting at her best. She had been distracted, and a bit emotional, but in the end, it was no excuse. Maybe if she hadn't been so focused on studying robot heads she could have had a little more fun with her cousin. Maybe if she hadn't been so worried about walking a straight line, she could have won a little respect in the process. Her back smarted but an idea had popped into her head and she couldn't shake it.
"Sunny?" Her cousin looked up at her. "I'll make you a deal. We both have something the other one needs, right?" Sunny didn't seem convinced.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'll teach you how to be boring if you teach me how to be crazy." Sunny pondered Gwen's proposition.
"How are we going to do that? I'm being sent home, remember?" Gwen smirked.
"I'm sure we can figure something out."
a/n: I do have an idea of where this story will go. I'm expecting to write only one or two more chapters, so it'll be short. In the meantime, yes, there is an update coming to Cyclical AND to Little Lessons. This was just something I concocted in the meantime after watching 'Girl Trouble'. Really, I wanted Gwen to kick SO MUCH $$ in that episode. *sigh* As always, enjoy!