A/N: They… They… They killed… Elena… They killed Elena… Holy chizz, they killed Elena… I am so pissed off right now. Out of all Ben's potential and actual girlfriends, Elena was definitely my favorite… And they just killed her… Fudge, I hate that! Dangit. Takin' away all the good story lines… Anyways, swarm's back. Yay. But Elena's dead. Boo. Way to make me annoyed…

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Holding It All Together

"She was tryin' to kill us," pointed out Kevin solemnly. "Do you want us to die or do you want to lose your girl? Take your pick." His eyes narrowed a bit in his friend's direction.

Ben's glare was as fierce as Kevin's, but neither were directly malicious. "You don't know what it's like. She saved my life by dying, Kevin. Do you not understand that? You guys could've taken on the swarm! You did it before!" The brunette teenager was still trying to get over the loss.

Some part of him hated Elena for trying to take Julie and Gwen and Kevin away from him so that nothing stood between her having him. But some part of him knew that she wanted him as much as he had wanted her in all those years of being apart. Being on the same team builds bonds that last a lifetime. And maybe even beyond life.

He wanted to know which to pick for Kevin. His friends and family or the girl he had spent so much time away from. She was just as important to him as they were, wasn't she? She was as much a part of his heart as Julie ever could've been. Elena had the skill, the ambition, the drive. She had everything that Ben wanted in a girl. Julie was great, yeah. She was smart, beautiful, not to mention amazing at sports, but they couldn't always connect. They were on different levels: schoolgirl and universal hero. Two entirely different things. Elena was just someone he could relate to a bit more.

Maybe that's why he missed her so much now that she was gone. He'd missed her all the years before, but now it was like there was a hole in his heart. It was like someone had driven a dagger into his chest and twisted it around to maximize the pain. It hurts so bad to know that he had lost someone who had once been so close to him… It was almost like watching Grandpa Max sacrifice himself to kill the Highbreed production plant… The pain was so excruciating before and it was about the same now.

"I've had people die for me," retorted Kevin darkly, picking a pickle out of his burger. Since the whole 'Big Chill has babies' thing, he hadn't eaten a pickle. Now they were just creepy to him. "Kwarrel."

Ben shrugged off almost anything Kevin said anymore. Now that his best friend was always siding with the team's redhead, Ben felt more alone than ever. With Eunice and Elena… They had sided with him… They had treated him right… Now he was falling out with Julie… Ben wasn't sure where he could go anymore. He was on a little island, all alone. So secluded, so neglected…

"Besides, girls don't matter a whole lot. Look at you and Julie." For some reason, Kevin felt like he was getting a lot better at the romance thing. He was holding up pretty good with Gwen, wasn't he? "You're doin' alright. Don't need Elena or Eunice or Nocture. You're holdin' up real good and that's all you need."

Ben snorted as he sipped his smoothie that the two had snagged before sitting around back of Burger Shack to have their guy time. They had been having way too much girl drama lately and they decided that once or twice a week, it would be just the two of them for guy time. Too much of Gwen and they both went bonkers. "I see Julie once a week. Maybe. Sometimes, I see her like once a month." He ran his finger along the rim of the cup that he had in his hand. "I'm just tired of either being on the brink of a breakup or pretty much in the middle of one."

"Then just give up."

Ben wasn't even sure he'd heard Kevin right. Four little words that were so blunt it was like they hadn't even been said. "What?"

"Give up."

Two words and Ben still wasn't completely sure he understood what the Osmosian was saying. He heaved a sigh and said, "You lost me."

Kevin leaned a little bit over the table, putting his burger down on the tray that he had with him. "Okay, look, you're havin' some serious trouble right now with the ladies. And it's not like it's going to get better any time soon, right?"

Ben nodded, trying to get all this information before Kevin totally forgot what they were talking about. He had a tendency to do that. "Right," answered the bearer of the Ultimatrix tentatively.

"So just stop dating. I mean, you're not doin' so hot, so just quit for now. Pick it up again when you have time between beatin' up bad guys and fightin' aliens." Kevin picked a few sesame seeds off the bun of his burger. "The reason you don't have time is because of all that stuff so wait until it settles down a little bit and then try to get back to a normal life."

"But Julie-"

"Would totally understand." Kevin eyed his friend, clearly aware that Ben was uncertain of this whole plan. "If she likes you as much as she says she does, she'll wait for you." He picked up the soda he had gotten from the building they sat behind, the darkness a mask for the two to keep hidden behind. "And if she doesn't, you'll know that you need someone more your speed."

A groan came from Ben; he leaned back in his chair and slung one arm over the back of it while letting one hand run across his face. "This is so complicated."

"No," said Kevin with a devilish grin. "Women are complicated."

Ben just wished things were easier. He wished that he could get Kevin and Gwen to understand his girl trouble instead of being wrapped up in each other. Kevin generally understood, but he wasn't the best at giving advice and Gwen was biased because she was Julie's friend. Elena had never been a problem. Both Gwen and Kevin hated her, so Ben figured she was pretty safe to go to for anything. That was why he had still felt so connected to her after all that time of being so far apart. She was always there for him and she never had an opinion that would take one side of an argument or another because she had no prior knowledge of any of it. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" asked Kevin after gulping down a bite of burger.

"Keep everything together with Gwen and still manage to be a Plumber and still hold a job at the garage and yet have time to be with your mom. How do you do that?" Ben was still amazed at how Kevin, after all the crap he'd been through, was still getting away with a pretty normal life. The brunette teenager was almost jealous.

"Gwen and Plumber business and the garage kind of all go hand in hand." Kevin twirled the little straw of his soda, spinning it around and around and around with one finger. "I see my mom enough because I live with her. You see your parents enough. And your problem is school, but that's something you're not about to get out of. Everything else kinda is."

"So you say I should dump dating until I can figure out how to manage everything?" asked Ben, trying to make this plan clearer in his head. He didn't want to dump Julie, but, surprisingly enough, Kevin was right; if she cared enough, she would wait. And if not…

Kevin nodded sullenly before peeling another pickle off his burger. "It'll be the only way you can keep things goin' with Julie without completely wreckin' it all."

"So by dumping Julie, I'll be keeping Julie." Ben had to be sure that Kevin was being completely serious here. It wasn't very often that Kevin was serious.

The Osmosian answered with one word. "Yup."

"Is your brain still okay? Had any electricity lately?"

Kevin slugged Ben's shoulder in the darkness that covered the two. "I'm doin' just fine. You, on the other hand, need to hold it all together."

Ben took a sip of his smoothie silently. He hated it when Kevin was right. But maybe things like that were for the best. If Kevin could hold onto Gwen, then maybe his advice would help Ben hold onto Julie.

A/N: The end got a little rough, I know, but I had to shower right in the middle of a sentence, so it turned out just a tad bit awkward. Sorry! Review please!

~Sky