Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 Alien Force or any affiliated characters.

Ben was right, of course. After she'd blown off some steam and had a good night's rest, Gwen had forgotten how mad she was at Kevin. Ben met her at her front door and the two began walking to the mutant's house.

"That's weird." Gwen said as they neared his house. "He left the garage door open."

They entered through the open door and proceeded inside.

"The door to the house is unlocked too," Ben said as they pushed it and peered inside. "Kevin is usually a little more cautious than this… But it doesn't look like there was a struggle."

They twisted through the mess of boxes and alien-tech until they reached Kevin's room, shooting each other worried looks. Gwen pushed the door aside and slowly went in. Ben was about to follow but the girl let out a shriek and bolted from the room.

"He's naked!" her face was as red as her hair.

The brunette blushed a little too, stealing a look inside and seeing Kevin's pale butt. At least he was sleeping on his stomach.

"You go wake him up," Gwen commanded, keeping fifteen feet between her and the door.

"Me?" Ben stammered, "I don't want to see him naked anymore than you do!" his left eye twitched but thankfully his cousin didn't catch it.

"You have to! You're both boys! You both have boy… things!" she shielded her eyes and pointed to the door, "Just do it!"

The boy pouted but trudged into the room, slamming the door behind him. "Wake up, Kevin."

The raven made a snorking sound and lifted his head. "Uung… What time is it?" he asked as he rubbed his tender neck.

"Time to put on some clothes." Ben dug into a pile of what might have been clean clothing and tossed it onto the naked body. "You really did work all night on your car again, didn't you?"

The raven rolled over and stretched, making Ben blush as he secretly spied the hard muscles of his friend's abdomen.

"I can't remember what I did," Kevin pulled on his boxers and scratched his head. He tried to think back but suddenly his mind was interrupted by the strange urge to pick up his phone. "Hang on a sec," he told Ben as he reached over and grabbed his cell phone. He hit a number from speed-dial and waited while it rang.

"Who are you calling?" the smaller boy asked before he felt a vibration coming from his jeans. He dug into his pocket and looked at the screen on his green phone. "You're calling me…" He said with a sarcastic look on his face. Kevin didn't respond, only stared off into space as if it were the most important thing in the world. Ben wasn't sure what kind of joke this was, but he decided to play along and answer the call. "Hello?"

"What's up, Benji?"

Ben stared, "Nothing…. What's up with you?"

Kevin kept a perfectly straight face while he continued talking, "Nothing. I was just calling you like I always do."

"Okay…?"

"Okay. Good-bye then." The raven hung up the phone and turned to Ben. "What'd you say, Tennyson?"

"Are you feeling alright?" Ben asked, his left eyebrow raised high.

The raven rubbed his neck, "Except for the fact that I slept like a rock in a bad position, yeah I'm fine."

"You're sure?" Ben asked but before Kevin could answer, Gwen was calling at the door.

"Is he dressed yet?"

"Almost," both of them called at once. They shrugged and the raven pulled on his clothing.

She entered soon after and gave them both scrutinizing looks, "So, what are we going to do today?"

Ben shrugged, "I still want to go to the movies." He instantly regretted his choice as he saw Gwen's temper flair slightly.

"Yeah, Kevin," her voice was plotting. "Do you want to go to the movies?"

"Actually, I was thinking about cleaning up this place. It's a disaster."

Two pairs of green eyes widened and they shot each other bewildered looks.

"Cleaning…" Gwen's voice was doubtful and probing. "You're going to clean?"

"Yes," Kevin said as he started picking up random articles of clothing and sorting them. "Like I said, this place is a mess."

The two cousins sat back in terror as the tall body busied itself with chores.

"Where do you think the aliens hid the real Kevin?" Gwen whispered to Ben and he shook his head in disbelief.

"This is just too bazaar," he said in a low voice, "Oh my god. Did you see that? He's dusting… Kevin Levin is dusting."

"Do you think he's sick?"

"He does look kind of pale." Ben looked over the tall boy. His already pallid skin was far whiter than usual and his eyes looked tired.

"But he's got so much energy," Gwen said as the two moved their heads back and forth, watching the tall form bend and reach and twist.

"Keep an eye on him while I use the restroom," Ben said as he stood to his feet and made his way towards the bathroom. He locked the door and quickly did his business. After washing his hands, he grabbed the towel on the counter and dried them, pausing with repugnance to pluck off the hair that stuck to his skin. He looked down and noticed the hair was not Kevin's. It was lighter, thinner, probably a girl's hair. Ben froze. Did Kevin have a girl over last night? His green eyes widened as he looked around the bathroom, soon fixing on the shower and the shampoo bottle that lay leaking down the drain, possible evidence of a struggle.

"You almost done in there, Tennyson?" Kevin asked while he jiggled the locked knob, "I'd like to clean up, if you don't mind."

'I bet you would.' The brunette thought as he pulled open the door and shot the older teen a glare. "What's your big hurry? Afraid I might find something?"

Gwen curled her upper lip, just guessing what things Ben could find in Kevin's bathroom gave her an upset stomach.

"Nope," the raven hair pushed his way inside and grabbed more of the laundry that was scattered in the room. "Just want to start my laundry."

"Can I have a word with you- outside?" Ben asked as he grabbed the thick wrist making the other lose the stack of material in his arms. Kevin dragged his feet as Ben pulled him to the glass door, his dark eyes narrowing in the glare of the sunlight waiting outside.

The hero closed the door soundly behind them and turned to the taller boy that was covering his eyes from the sun. The raven hair felt the hot rays beating down on him and he rubbed his dry, stinging eyes. How did everything seem so bright?

"Who did you have over last night, Kevin?" Ben accused, folding his arms and looking at his elder.

"Who did I have over?" he repeated, shielding his eyes as he tried to look down at the brunette. "I didn't have anyone over."

Gwen opened the door and stuck her head out, "What's going on out here?"

"Nothing," Ben forced a smile and started back inside. He could deal with Kevin later; if Gwen found out, she would probably kill him where he stood.

The raven followed too, shrugging off the smaller boy's strange behavior and continuing his work with fervor.

*

By the time Kevin finished, it was well past sunset. He plopped down in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

Gwen walked around the now free space. Kevin had moved most of the boxes and alien items out to the garage. "Who knew?" she said with a smile, "there really was a house under all your junk."

"It's not junk," Kevin growled, feeling more like himself now that his horrid cleaning task was out of the way. Just what had possessed him to tidy up was a mystery but he sincerely hoped it never happened again. He was exhausted. "It's highly specialized and expensive alien tech. Cooper would mess himself if he got a peek at most of that stuff."

The tall one continued to grumble incoherently, slumping down in his chair and closing his weary eyes.

"He doesn't look so good," Ben said, as he brought his hand to Kevin's forehead. "He doesn't have a fever but he's all cold and clammy."

Gwen gave a concerned look, "should we take him to a doctor?"

"I'm fine," the raven growled, surprising the both of them with the fact that he was still awake. He was lying, though. His whole body felt awful.

"Maybe we should bring him some soup or something," the redhead whispered to her cousin, "will you stay and watch him?" Ben nodded and she grabbed her purse. "I'll be back soon."

So… I want to keep Bevin fans happy but I'm not sure what you all want. Reviews are meant to be helpful to writers by either telling them they need to improve certain things or by letting them know that their work is being enjoyed and they should keep it up. I'm becoming a little concerned because I have not been receiving reviews- is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should I keep writing this story or post what I have and leave it at that?

It's time for readers to post reviews! I need to know what you want! Even if you leave a mean review that tells me to stop writing, I need some sort of feedback!