A Case of Mistaken Ewww...
by Rob Morris
All Ben knew at first was that Julie wasn't speaking to him, and that this once, he was certain of his innocence.
Then, unbelievably, he learned from Kevin that Julie had, after speaking privately with Gwen, shoved her over and left Gwen's home. Upon arriving, he pointed at Kevin.
"You go to Julie. You demand an apology. Unless Gwen disfigured her, you push past until she does."
Since Kevin was in a mood to do just that, he acquiesced and left while Ben attended to the cousin who, for affection and for when she entered the world, may as well have been a twin sister as well.
"I really don't get it, Ben. She said you were on your best behavior, so it wasn't anything like that. We-were talking."
"Girl stuff about girls, or girl stuff about guys? C'mon, Gwen. She can be a bit of a mine field, but getting this upset, even with me, is usually not in her."
Gwen was about to counter Ben, perhaps typically, but in fact Julie had done something wholly irrational but also not violent enough to suggest possession, so she conceded the point and moved on.
"Mine field is right. It was guys. We were talking first real kisses-Ben-"
He waved his arm.
"Not stupid enough to go there, and I know it wasn't me, so just keep going, edited for her privacy and my not getting yelled at."
Gwen nodded.
"Well, she never got to say her first. I said mine. I said, how it was this stupid boy I hung around with endlessly, and how it just happened when we were bored out of our minds, and it was nicer than we thought, and how we backed off like immediately. Then-she's shoving me over and stalking off. I scanned her for any unknowns, but nothing came up."
Ben had already known Gwen's story. He had been there. But his confusion remained.
"Why would Julie care about you and Larry DeWitt?"