A/N: Okay. This is the prequel to 'It Will Rain'. I was supposed to write this right after 'Intricate Tapestry', before I wrote anything else but I'm blessed with a deliciously random mind.
I want to apologize to all the anonymous reviewers out there who have read my work. It has just recently come to my attention that my profile was not set up to accept your reviews. Believe me, this was not on purpose! I cherish every review. I would especially love to know what The Cretin thinks of my work if that individual ever reads any of it.
On a side note, almost all the older writers to this fandom have at one point or another received an anonymous review from someone called EchoEchoGirl or SoNoEcho. She just started writing her own stuff and it is really good. This isn't self serving. Not only has this girl never reviewed any of my stuff- She's never read it! I know her because I have seen her reviews for other writers and saw that she had intelligent input. Anyone who reads this should really check her stuff out. It is always good to help out a fledgling writer.
Disclaimer: Ben 10 and Kevin Levin belong to MOA. I'm only borrowing them. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. Please, nobody sue!
Hope you Enjoy!
There are certain things you come to expect when your best friend is an ex-con and not entirely on the right side of the law even at the present time.
One learns to brush it off when shady, shifty characters that no one would want to encounter in a dark alley and who are complete strangers to you, feel absolutely no qualms in approaching you to heatedly, inquire about said individual's whereabouts.
It even becomes second nature to lie to them in an effort to protect that person. Even when in the back of one's mind the desire to know what their best friend could possibly have done to that kind of element to gain their enraged attention, becomes torturous. Although, one knows the teen well enough to conjure multiple scenarios and trespasses, the kid could have wrought upon the miscreants to gain this kind of notoriety.
The disappearing for a couple of days without a call, until worry drives one to call his mother, has become commonplace. Ben's never fully understood why the Osmosian's mother never seems worried about her teenager's whereabouts. Even her nonchalant acceptance of her son's insane habits has become second nature to the brunette. For that matter, it doesn't even faze him anymore that his own cousin pays little mind to her boyfriend's aberrations.
Lord knows, wondering how he always possesses copious amounts of currency, when he is supposedly a mechanic, has certainly made for a fascinatingly redundant occurrence.
Above all, however, three things are never happenstance when it comes to having Kevin Ethan Levin for a best friend where Benjamin Kirby Tennyson is concerned. The man is always going to insult him- just for his deviant pleasure; he is always going to be there if he truly needs him and he is unfailingly, going to find some twisted way of outdoing himself in surprising him- be it in a positive or negative way.
Ninety percent of the time, it was decidedly not positively.
In spite of knowing all these mostly negative realities about the dangerous and sometimes, volatile seventeen year old; Ben found himself unable to say 'no' when said teen offered to go away on a guys only weekend road trip.
The brilliant thing was that Kevin had purposefully been very obscure about the details of their destination and the younger teenager had still acquiesced to going within a second of him asking.
Hence, the wielder of the Ultimatrix sat in the co-pilot seat of the Rustbucket III, looking at the clouds dash by as he assessed his own psyche and contemplated a very serious, existentialistic question.
'Am I stupid?'
Of course, his unmitigated self-love forbade him from answering that question completely earnestly. Therefore, he resigned himself to let out a defeated breath and turn narrowed, hateful emerald eyes on the Osmosian pilot. "You said we were going on a road trip, Kevin. The sky is not a 'road'. Where are we going?"
The Osmosian was merciful enough not to turn the obscenely condescending smirk that spread across his visage on the younger teenager. For all he tried, however, he couldn't keep the mocking tone out of his voice as he spoke. "Really perceptive of you, Tennyson! And technically, we did go on a road trip", he couldn't help turning that insulting smile on the brunette, now, "We drove my car all the way to the base and into the cargo bay, didn't we?"
Ben clawed at his face roughly in frustration. Seriously. Was he stupid? Why did he trust anything this lunatic said? He snapped furiously at the older boy. "I'm freaking missing school for this, Man! I thought we were going to hit the open road! Take in some sites, get in some trouble- maybe go to Vegas-"
Kevin's abrupt explosion of laughter cut him off there. The raven-haired teen turned his head fully to regard him, wiping at unbidden tears. "What am I supposed to do with you in Vegas, Dude? You're sixteen and you look fourteen. There is no bouncer in that entire town that'll let you in anywhere remotely fun, regardless how good I can make a fake I.D.! Never mind the fact that half the world can recognize you and wouldn't give us a moment's peace in a place like that!" The moment he finished speaking, he'd succumb to renewed laughter.
The brunette was not put off by the argument. He leveled an icy glare at the older teen and deadpanned, "I can wear an I.D. mask, Kevin." He was nowhere near as daft as he pretended to be.
Kevin sobered at the insurmountable and honestly, unexpected logic in that short assertion. He hated when the Universe went topsy-turvy on him and Ben actually became coherent. It was so unnatural. He leveled a menacing glare at his best friend. "You're a good kid. There's nothing for you but corruption in that town. I'm not taking you to Vegas, Ben. That's final!" He turned his onyx eyes back to the task of maneuvering them in for a landing.
The younger teen crossed his arms obstinately and mumbled, "They have a super cool roller coaster on top of a sky scraper there!"
Kevin didn't bother turning to him to reply, preferring to pay attention to where he was setting down the ship. "Not only can you not ride a roller coaster for three days straight- but you can fly, Dude! That is way better than a roller coaster! We both know that, first-hand. Besides, if I take you there, you'll get curious about all the other stuff. Then, Gwen kills me for demoralizing you and it's my fault that Julie dumps your dumb butt." The older teen accentuated the last part of the statement with a pointed look at the brunette, un-strapping from his seat and getting up to leave the cockpit.
Ben quickly did the same and followed, curiosity evident on his face. "Why would Julie break up with me for going to Vegas?"
Kevin just chuckled sadistically at the boy's naïveté in response.
To Kevin's credit, he'd promised a road trip and they were certainly on the road. However, what they were doing on the road in the middle of Cambridge, Massachusetts was beyond Ben.
The wielder of the Ultimatrix was currently staring out the passenger window distractedly at the beautiful Victorian homes. This was no Vegas, but it was certainly nice scenery.
In what seemed almost sudden to the younger teen, the houses seemed to disappear and they were on a bridge distended over a river. He ventured a look forward and saw that they seemed to be heading for a humongous compound that resembled something out of an ancient Greek myth. Honestly, the place looked like a Greek acropolis.
As they ventured closer, the brunette was able to make out the rather inconspicuous and proportionately understated moniker on the outer fringes of the imposing structure.
'Massachusetts Institute of Technology'
Emerald eyes instantly turned to the driver of the vehicle, questioning and suspicious simultaneously. "What are we doing at M.I.T., Kevin?"
That infuriating smirk found its way to the Osmosian's features once more. "Well, you're here for moral support. I'm here to talk to an admissions counselor."
The brunette remained completely bewildered. "You flew thousands of miles and dragged me along to check out a college?"
The omnipresent smirk grew as Kevin parked and turned off the vehicle, turning slightly demented obsidian eyes on his flustered best friend. His reply was curt. "Yup!" Then he exited the vehicle, going around back and rummaging through the trunk.
Ben came around to meet the Osmosian as he was closing the trunk. He held a shoe box under his left arm and was looking down at his smart phone. The brunette's curiosity got the better of him. "What's with the box?"
The older teenager didn't look up from what he was apparently texting one-handedly on his cell phone as he responded distractedly, while simultaneously walking towards a beautiful open courtyard in front of the enormous learning institution. "You'll see."
Knowing his friend was unlikely to supply any more information on the subject until he was predisposed, the wielder of the Ultimatrix decided to distract himself during the unexpectedly long walk to the building by examining the sculptures that decorated the entire courtyard. They were abstract and looked like something out of an especially high fever-induced nightmare. "Those are totally gnarly!" He couldn't help point out to the still-distracted raven-haired teen.
The aforementioned looked up at the sculpture his friend was gesturing at with his head and scoffed mockingly. "Yeah! Looks like something your mom would come up with after making 'brownies'!"
Ben stopped his progress towards the building instantly to glare furiously insulted daggers at the older teen. "Kevin! My parents aren't hippies! Why does everyone think my parents are hippies? That's not cool!"
The older teen sent an honestly attritional smile at him. "Sorry, Tennyson. But, you gotta admit, there's something a little weird about parents who prefer their kid calling them by their first name instead of Mom and Dad. Not to mention that whole free love vibe I get whenever I'm over at your place…"
"My folks are friendly, Kevin, and they believe it's healthy to have a family structure devoid of titles," when the Osmosian started chuckling to himself and walked away, he rolled his eyes and dashed to catch up "Okay… so their parenting is unorthodox, but jumping from there to them being reefer smoking hippies is a little far-fetched! Your mom doesn't bother raising you half the time, yet I don't go around making insinuations about it being because she's on crack!"
The look Kevin sent him at that statement, made him retreat two steps away from him. Sometimes, he really wished he had a time machine so that he could go back and better asses the crap that flew out of his mouth. He could literally see the fight for the self-control required not to respond with violence, flit across the Osmosian's eyes. Fortunately, he also saw the equanimity take dominance. "Okay, you know what? I started this, so I can't really pound you for that. But, if you ever insult my mother again- you are going to eat lawn, Tennyson!"
With that, he entered the building, followed by a very stoic brunette sixteen year old. Upon entering, it took all of thirty seconds of walking towards the elevator for the first shriek to resound through the air. "Oh my God! It's Ben Ten!"
Both teenagers swung horrified grimaces in the direction of that first scream and then jerked in the direction of the next three that chorused it, before Kevin forcibly grabbed Ben by the elbow and shoved him in the elevator, almost forcing the doors shut on one poor girl's foot.
They both reclined against the elevator wall and looked at each other as it ascended- shocked fear, mirrored on their expressions. The Osmosian spoke first. "Alrighty, then! That was unexpected!"
The brunette's demeanor morphed to one of arrogant detachment. "I didn't think college girls even knew me! This is great!"
The older teen's response was a scathingly dirty look. He looked at his phone again as the elevator doors opened to the admissions office and texted something again.
They walked up to the receptionist's desk. She was a somewhat attractive twenty something year old beach blonde with thick glasses and a kind smile. She looked up from typing something into her computer the moment she noticed them. "Hello, how may I assist you?"
The moment Kevin smirked at her, a blush covered her pale cheeks and the Osmosian knew he had her wrapped around his little finger. "Hello… I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name…"
The blush actually moved down her neck at his continued smirking and she stuttered to remember what her parents had deemed fit to appropriate her. Ben rolled his eyes. "S-Sophia."
Kevin leaned on her desk. "Sophia… Hello. I'm Kevin. This is Ben. I'm here to purge a rather nasty virus that has infected Mr. Connolly's personal computer." Ben narrowed his emerald eyes at his best friend. 'Oh, no!'
She unwittingly pulled her light hazel eyes out of the trance the older teen had managed to put them under, long enough to peruse the schedule on her screen briefly. Then, her gaze shifted back to connect with his, almost afraid of what she had to say. "I-I'm s-sorry but Mr. Connolly hasn't reported-"
The door at the end of the hall flew open violently and an exasperated middle-aged, chestnut-haired man came huffing out. "For God's sake, Sophia! You can't toss a rock five feet in this place without hitting a geek and I manage to end up with a useless computer! Can you please get someone from tech support up here, before Ben Tennyson and his friend get here to see me?"
The poor blonde's eyes shot from her boss to the raven-haired boy leaning on her desk before her so quickly, she could have gotten vertigo. The wielder of the Ultimatrix just swore inwardly and smirked at his friend's ingenuity. He never knew how he pulled these things off.
The Osmosian winked at her before regarding the older man. "Hello Mr. Connolly. This is Ben Tennyson," he gestured at Ben behind him with his thumb.
The man's eyes could have bulged out of his head. "Mr. Tennyson! My apologies! It is such an honor to meet you!" He came forward to shake the brunette's hand with such enthusiasm he would have done damage…had he not had the strength of a twelve year old girl, that is. "Please, come into my office," he turned a sobered, commanding expression on his receptionist, "Sophia, I want someone up here to look at my computer as soon as my guest departs!" Then, he put an arm around Ben's shoulder and led him to his office.
The receptionist immediately picked up her phone to call for a technician, when a large hand clamped down on hers and she looked up to see that beautiful smile on that flawless rugged face belonging to the boy she only knew as Kevin. He lifted an index finger to his lips and winked at her again.
She smiled at him and nodded. Her eyes fell to the curve of his jeans-clad derriere as he sauntered off after her boss and Ben 10. In her opinion, the teenagers could keep the scrawny Savior of the Universe. That was so much better!
Once they were inside the registrar's office, Ben could have killed his so-called best friend for exposing him to this psychopath. This man was worse than any fan girl he'd ever met. It was honestly unbelievable he was actually heterosexual! Is this how he gushed over Sumo Slammers? God, he hoped not! After fifteen minutes of recapping every one of his battles and asking him to sign almost everything the guy had on his desk, the man was finally satisfied enough to ask a non-Ben related question. "So, what are you fine gentlemen here to see me about today?"
The brunette turned exhausted, openly homicidal, emerald eyes on the older teen, who'd been stifling laughter into his hand for the full fifteen minutes this maniac had gone on his fan girl trip. Said teenager now cleared his throat and regarded the admissions counselor. "I sent in an application to attend here and wanted to discuss it with you."
The man sobered and regarded the teen briefly before looking at his computer, then back again. "I'm sorry, but I seem to be having some technical difficulties at the moment. I couldn't see your submission file even if I wanted to."
The Osmosian smirked cryptically in response, typing something into his phone. "Oh yeah! Sorry about that. Go ahead." He gestured toward the computer.
Mr. Connolly glanced at his screen again and narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "Our database is monitored for hacking by the F.B.I., Mr. Levin. Are you aware, the U.S. Government now has a file on you?"
Both teens laughed hysterically at this, which caused the older man's head to snap up at them. "Yeah. We sorta saved a colonel from having his entire family massacred by a disgruntled alien and we saved two F.B.I. agents and the city of San Francisco from a gigantic pile of talking trash…I'm pretty sure the F.B.I. had a file on me long before today, Mr. Connolly."
The man's eyes widened at the realization of just who this teenager sitting before him was. He'd seen Ben Tennyson's team in action on the television before. He knew that a redheaded young woman and a dark-haired teenage boy always accompanied him on his adventures. He never thought he'd actually be fortunate enough to meet either of them, though. He quickly looked down to continue reading the young man's submission excitedly. His face fell, however, once he read something particularly negative.
He looked up to lock eyes with the raven-haired teen, disappointment evident in his voice. "It would be a personal honor to have you attend here, Mr. Levin. However, you have to understand how difficult it is to be accepted. We get submissions from all over the world, from children who are certifiable geniuses. You can't seriously expect to get into a school like this one, without having even completed middle school. The level of academics taught here is far beyond anything on a mere G.E.D. exam. I cannot give you a position that would be better filled by someone more deserving."
Sadness and guilt immediately filtered into Ben at hearing those words. It was partially his fault that Kevin spent so much of his childhood in the Null Void; he was unable to attend school like a normal kid. Those emotions quickly morphed into indignation at the unfairness of his friend being judged unworthy without so much as an opportunity to prove himself. He rose from his seat, pointing a finger heatedly at the registrar. "Listen here, Mr. Connolly-" He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked down on his best friend.
The raven-haired teenager was shaking his head at him with an easy smile. "It's alright, Ben. I got this."
The younger teenager plopped himself back down on the chair with a petulant huff and crossed his arms, glaring at the older man.
Kevin sent a grateful smile at him before turning his attention back to the admissions counselor, who seemed genuinely hurt that his idol was angry with him. He felt bad for the guy. He typed something into his phone quickly, before placing the shoebox on the desk and taking off the cover. He removed a flat, ovular, plastic pad- roughly six inches long and four inches wide- from inside and regarded the older man. "I agree with you that I should prove my worthiness to attend here, sir. Do you know what this is?" He proceeded to press an invisible button on the pad and it extended to roughly twelve inches and started hovering.
The admissions counselor couldn't help but look at the little gadget impressed. However, he had to keep his tone level as he spoke. "You can not use alien technology to get into this school, Mr. Levin."
Ben's curiosity had been piqued the second Kevin had produced the shoe box out of his trunk, so seeing this little hovering pad had him literally jumping out of his seat. "Dude! Is that a hover board?"
The Osmosian didn't want to be rude to his friend, but he had more pressing matters at hand. He responded to Mr. Connolly's remark. "This isn't alien tech. This is my own design- made and powered only with earthbound materials. If you look on your screen, you'll find the specs to it in simple mathematical language."
The older man instantly set to reading the specs while the brunette physically started jumping in his seat. "Dude! Seriously! You made a freaking hover board! How does it work?" He reached for it and put his palm on it. He found that the pad moved in whatever direction his hand went. "God! This is the coolest thing ever! You could make millions off of this!"
"Actually, according to what I'm reading here, no he couldn't." Mr. Connolly interrupted Ben, looking pointedly at Kevin. "You are seriously willing to give this school this patent in exchange for coming here? This is worth exponentially, more than four year's tuition, even including room and board, son- heck, even if we were to set you up in a mansion! Not to mention, the mathematics you used to program this thing…" He rubbed his forehead with one hand in confusion. "How do you have such a grasp of this level of physics when you never even went to middle school? Why do you even want to attend this school?"
All mirth was gone from the older teen's expression when he replied. "All you need to know is that it's important to me to come here. As for the education, I need the flexibility to take whatever classes I want whenever I want, so that I can still be a full-time Plumber. I don't want to be penalized for having to miss exams, when I have to go off to save the world with Ben. I don't want to stay on campus, so I need you to set me up with an apartment in Cambridge. I don't want a roommate. M.I.T. can have the patent and the specs as soon as I get all of this in writing." The moment he finished his statement, the older man's computer screen blinked to its screen saver and the information on the hover board was gone.
The admissions counselor was smiling at the dark teenager, now. The more acquainted he became with this boy- the more he liked him. He saw no reason to deny him acceptance. He was offering the school what was probably the greatest technological advancement since they developed radar here. Yes. He could certainly see potential for this youth. "Very well, Mr. Levin. I will have Sophia type all of this up for you into an acceptance letter before you leave. Will you be attending in the fall?"
The Osmosian smiled wickedly. "Nope. I need to come next year."
Unbidden, the older man's eyebrow quirked upward and he felt compelled to ask, "Why in the world would you go through all this trouble to wait over a year to attend?"
Kevin shrugged and chuckled cryptically, baffling both his best friend and the registrar. "My reasons are my own." Came his simple statement in response.
The older man decided not to delve into it further. He'd dealt with enough technologically and artistically gifted individuals in his day to know they were all dementedly nuanced. Trying to figure them out was impossible. He just typed the email to his secretary, requesting that she type up the acceptance letter for the strange young man.
As the two teens emerged into the lobby from the stairwell, (Sophia had given them the helpful tidbit that the stairs would be more deserted than the elevator for an imperceptible escape) they made a quick dash for the exterior of the building.
Once they were outside and a safe distance from the building, Ben just had to ask, "Okay, Dude. Why did you just give up the chance to make millions of dollars… legally? You never give up money! Why did you just enlist here? Moreover, why can't you come here for a year?"
The raven-haired teen scrutinized the brunette beside him before answering. "I need you to keep everything we did today a secret from Gwen, Tennyson."
Ben stopped walking and crossed his arms. He waited for Kevin to stop and turn to him, before narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him. He loved his cousin too much to deceive her on his behalf if he was considering jilting her. He was his best friend, but she was blood. He wasn't going to betray her for him. "What are you doing, Kevin? I swear if you hurt her, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
Confusion flitted briefly across the older teen's demeanor- then umbrage, which was as fleeting as the confusion. He actually started to laugh. "Wow! You have an over-active imagination, Dude! What are you figuring, exactly? That I'm coming here to be with my other girlfriend or something? You think I'm stupid enough to bring you here if that were what I was planning? Give credit where it's due, Man! You just witnessed a way better con job out of me than that!" He turned and started making his way for the parking lot again, still chortling.
Ben speed walked to sidle up to him. He felt slightly guilty for thinking the worse of him, but he was still curious about the subterfuge. "Why do I have to keep this from Gwen, then?"
The Osmosian looked ahead as he responded solemnly. "She got into Harvard, Ben. It's a few miles from here. I found the acceptance letter a couple of weeks ago."
They reached the car and got in. Ben could tell the raven-haired teen was debating telling him the rest. He finally turned to lock eyes with him. "She hasn't told me about going away yet, but I don't want her to leave me behind. I want to be ready for her when she tells me she's coming here. I want to be able to offer to come with her if she'll have me… I love her, Ben."
The declaration didn't surprise the younger teen. Anyone who spent any amount of time around his cousin and his best friend knew how the guy felt about her. What did surprise him were the lengths he'd gone to for her today. I mean, he'd given up millions of dollars in exchange for a chance to spend four years of his life close to her! He felt compelled to ask the next question. "Are you asking her to marry you, Kevin?"
The older teen jolted as if he'd thrown ice water on him. "What? No! I'm seventeen! She's sixteen! In the future for sure, but not now!"
The brunette laughed uncontrollably at his reaction. He was able to get out the obvious once he caught his breath. "That's actually a 'yes', Dude!"
The Osmosian let out an irritated breath and started the car. "Whatever, Tennyson. You're a moron!"
Ben graced him with an infuriatingly smug smile. "I'm a moron that knows you want to marry my cousin." He commented in a mocking, singsong intonation. Then, his face made an impressive impact with the passenger side window, the instant he looked away- courtesy of a maniacally laughing Osmosian.
When the brunette regained consciousness, he was strapped to the co-pilot seat aboard the Rustbucket III and sported a lump on the side of his face. He groaned, which gained a snort from the pilot, who was un-strapped and staring at him. "Waky, waky, Sleeping Beauty! Dude! You'd think you could take a blow better than that!"
Oh, this jerk was asking for it! The younger teen actually found his hand hovering over his Ultimatrix as he retorted. "Yeah! It takes a lot of balls to sucker punch a guy, Kevin! How about you try it now that I'm actually facing you!"
The older teen just smiled sweetly at him. "Nah. The moment's passed. Guess where I'm taking you next as a reward for helping me get into M.I.T.?"
Ben hated this guy so much. He hated that he had knocked him unconscious for absolutely no reason. He hated the way he was pretending it never happened. Most of all, he hated how he wanted so much to know where he was taking them. God! He hated his best friend! "Okay Kevin, before I turn into Humongasaur and kill you, where are you taking me?"
Kevin just smiled maniacally, getting up and heading out of the cockpit with their bags. He vociferated a command back to him as a response. "Get out here if you wanna find out!"
The wielder of the Ultimatrix huffed an exasperated breath and ran out of the cockpit, through the cargo hold and down the ramp at a speed, anyone would find impressive. He really wanted to get his hands on his infuriating companion. So much so that he failed to notice, they'd left the car inside the ship.
Once he reached the bottom of the ramp, he found the Osmosian putting their bags into a white shuttle bus with a large distinctive brand painted on its side in bright colors. The older teenager turned to his friend and had to laugh at the size his eyes were able to achieve. "Yes, Ben. You're going to Walt Disney World!"
The Savior of the Universe's response was letting out the un-manliest squeal ever known to man.
Fin!
A/N: I've decided to make this interesting. If I get at least ten reviews for this and five people both review that it is a good idea and favorite this story... I will write a short drabble about Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Julie going with their parents on vacation to Walt Disney World. I live in Florida. I know that place like the back of my hand, so this is not difficult for me. It's up to you readers to let me know if you want to read it. By the way, anonymous reviews count.
Please Review!