I really have nothing to say except these too kind of did their own thing no matter what I wanted. Next will be Ben and Gwen. The tree gave me an idea. :) Again, you can see this as whatever you want. I'm trying to do character interaction studies ie friendship fics. Set after "In Charm's Way"

I do not own Ben 10 or any of the characters.


Gwen&Kevin

"Should she have had to?" The look the brunette gave him would have made his stomach turn even if his words hadn't. Despite how much they made fun of him for his poor speeches, Ben sure knew how to get his point across when the moment called for it. With fierce, angry eyes glaring at him, Kevin turned back to the water, watching the dark water lap up against the shore. Normally he would have had a comeback to that, God knew how often he and the younger teen verbally abused each other, but the day had left him too drained to find enjoyment out of tearing the Omnitrix-wielder apart. A few seconds of tense silence passed between the boys before Ben gave in with a heavy sigh. "Just fix it, alright?"

It was more of a command than a question, but the ex-con let it slide. He could hear the fifteen year-old fiddling with the Omnitrix around his wrist before green light illuminated the beach. There was a raspy huff and the sound of wings as whatever alien the boy had changed into lifted into the air. The sudden rush of air and small sonic boom identified it as Jetray. It wasn't until all signs of the young hero vanished that Kevin started to walk back to the parking lot. A good, long drive was what he needed right now.

His engine roared to life and rubber squealed across the asphalt. There was still a good half hour of open, ocean-side highway between him and Bellwood. With water on one side and the beginnings of the desert on the other, the green Challenger ate up the miles. Thankfully the police force didn't patrol the area too much which allowed him to let the engine go all out. Heavy metal blasted from the speakers and made the whole frame of the car shake with each bass note. This was how he thought though. The feel of powerful machinery beneath him and music blocking out the outside world let him go over the day's events.

How was I supposed to know?! It's not like she ever told me! His internal rant soon lost its ferocity though as Ben's question continued to nag at him. No matter how he tried to look at it or manipulate the facts, the brunette was right, damn him. He should have known Gwen would do everything she could to try and fix things even if it wasn't her fault. That was just how she was, damn her. Why couldn't they make it easy for him to be mad at them? It would make this whole not-relationship-thing he had with Gwen and the dying rivalry he had with Ben easier to deal with.

Bellwood finally came into view and he let the car's momentum bring him into the tight streets. He had every intention of going home, but he found his hands automatically turning down the road that would lead to Gwen's neighborhood. No! He didn't want to go see her right now. He didn't want to see any of them right now. If he saw her he might... With a suppressed scream of rage, he slammed on the brake. Crossing his arms over the top of the steering wheel and resting his head on them, he breathed in deeply through his nose. Why? Why did she always make him like this? Things had always been so much simpler before he met the two cousins.

With a defeated sigh, Kevin continued down the road, turning onto Gwen's road and stopping several houses down. The car door slammed louder than he had planned but no one was around to notice. It couldn't be more than eleven o'clock but the night was already chilly. Glancing down the street, he could instantly pick out the redhead's house from the others though they were all the regular suburb cookie-cutter type. How often had he been there since he had joined the Tennysons? It was almost like a second home to him now. Something was off though. A single light shone in the dark night: upstairs, second window to the right by the big oak.

Gwen's room.

Guilt hit him like a Highbreed's punch. All the anger and frustration disappeared as he tried to keep from smashing his head into the roof of his car. Once again, he had hurt her because he had done something... stupid. Ben had been right, scary a thought as that was. He was a giant, rock-faced jerk.

Pushing off his car, he jogged across the street and through several yards. Ben had talked about using this route as a kid when they used to sneak out. He never thought he would have a reason to use it. Scratch that, he just never thought it would be because of something as uncool as this. Swallowing his pride, he grabbed onto the lowest branch and pulled himself up. For once, he was glad for his mutation. Otherwise, he would probably be a mess from all the sticks and leaves that poked and prodded him on his way up. A convenient limb got him close enough to knock on the glass, praying the thin branch could hold his weight.

Gwen came just as it started to sag beneath him. When she saw who it was, she crossed her arms over her chest and quirked an eyebrow. Not opening the window, she frowned. "What?"

"Uh," the branch was started to creak under him, "look, Gwen. Can we talk?" He hoped his voice wasn't too distorted by the glass and his anxiety. The fall wouldn't cause any serious damage, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt. The red eyebrow arched higher and the frown deepened.

"What else do we have to talk about?" Great, now really wasn't the time for her to show her temper.

"Please?" For a moment he forgot about the painful drop below him and looked into her eyes. The vibrant green the Tennyson family shared was rimmed in red and watery. Wonderful, that was another ton of guilt added on. With a frustrated sigh, she relented and opened the window.

"Fine! Just be quiet. If my dad finds you up here..." she let the threat hang and Kevin winced. Careful to not make too much noise, Kevin gracefully hopped in through the window. Gwen had returned to her desk and marked her page in a book so old it was a mystery what was holding it together. Magic, Kevin concluded as he saw the fancy writing that could only be Latin across the page. The redhead turned in her chair and glared at him."What do you want?"

Suddenly, all the fear of messing up and having her hate him came back from the old days and his tongue refused to form words. "Uh..." Gwen rolled her eyes and returned to her book. "Wait! I...I shouldn't have said what I did earlier. It was stupid."

"Yup." Green eyes scrutinized his face as he felt anger bubble up inside him. He should have known this wasn't going to be easy, it never was after all. They were both too prideful. Despite his best efforts, Kevin couldn't keep the retort under control.

"Hey. It's not all my fault! Or did you forget the crazy, revenge-bent, psycho-witch that attacked us? Besides, you're not exactly perfect either, alright? This wouldn't have happened if you had just told me what you were doing!" Red flooded his vision and blood pounded in his ears. The anger didn't cloud her reaction however. Gwen twisted out of her seat with reflexes honed from years of battle and closed the distance between them, her face a vivid shade of red.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all my fault for thinking I could trust you to believe in me! I can't believe you!" With an angry huff, she twisted around and paced before him, her eyes promising death if he so much as moved. "You have no idea, do you? I've been using all of my free time to read through these stupid books again and again just to help you! My grades have been dropping, my friends think I'm ignoring them, I dropped out of karate, and my parents think I need therapy just because I've been trying to help you, and you don't even bother to notice! You know what? I don't care anymore! Go ahead! Live like that for the rest of your life!" The book on the desk clattered to the floor as she thrust her hand at it and used her mana to take her anger out on it. The action didn't seem to satisfy her however, and the next moment her fist slammed into his cheek like a wrecking ball. He stumbled sideways at the blow but refused to rub the offended area and show her just how much it hurt. His pride didn't need to take any more hits thank you very much. The punch seemed to take the fight out of the redhead though as she slumped into her chair and stared blankly at him. The ex-criminal stared at her for several minutes before she sighed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you. It's just..." she took a deep breath and he finally realized how exhausted she really was. "Would you really rather trust a complete stranger than me?" He winced at the not-too-subtle accusation. Great, even more guilt.

"I'm sorry." The words felt like fire as they passed through his lips. Apologizing had never been his forte. He had never really had anyone to apologize to before, but the redhead had made it her mission to give him a very thorough and painful lesson on humility. A little weight lifted off his shoulders as some of the light came back into the Anodite's eyes. "I should have believed you. I just... I just..." Words escaped him and he was left floundering like an idiot. Gwen took mercy on him and nodded.

"I know. I guess we're both idiots aren't we?" Kevin chuckled lightly as the room's atmosphere lightened. The moment was ruined as a yawn threatened to break the redhead's jaw. Worry furrowed the sixteen year-old's brow as he took her wrist and led her over to the bed. She resisted feebly, but her body overrode any protest her mind gave. He wrapped her in the blankets and smiled as she shifted around to get comfortable.

"Get some sleep. Ben wanted to go check out that ridge we found last week tomorrow." Gwen winced and sighed.

"Joy. With our luck it will be full of flesh-eating maggots or something." Her tone was light and joking which made him smile. She flopped over and faced the wall. When Kevin didn't leave, she glared over her shoulder. "I can't exactly sleep with you sitting there!" Kevin chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What? Don't you trust me," he mocked and grinned back at her.

"Nope, Creep." She settled back into the mattress and was asleep before the older teen could get back out the window. He shook his head and climbed back down the tree and back to his car, feeling more energetic than he had when he had arrived. Things were... well they weren't prefect but they weren't horrible either, a kind of strange relationship limbo between them. Just like it had always been with them. It wasn't exactly helping him with his emotions. With a sigh, Kevin slammed the car door shut and felt the engine rumble to life. Why were girls so confusing?