Okay, I'm obsessed with Secret Life. Another missing scene I thought would be interesting to speculate on. It's after Ben finds Amy at school after the game. I started wondering where they might have gone to eat and what might have happened and thought I'd try to write my own version of what could have happened.

And yes, I realize it's strange to have every restaurant or fast food place in town full, even after a football game, but…pretend there're lots of people in town and not very many restaurants. It just worked a little better to not use a restaurant with what I wanted to do. Of course, it took me a while (not to mention a new idea that had me changing part of the story) to figure out exactly what I wanted to happen, but… I'm weird that way. My brain gives me strange ideas sometimes, and I try them. If this idea doesn't work out so well, maybe I'll do two versions of it to see which I like better.

As they walked toward his dad's car, Ben tried to come up with a clever comment that might get Amy to forgive him for his stupidity, but nothing came.

Instead, he walked silently beside her, opening and closing the car door for her as usual, but not sitting as closely to her as he normally did.

After a few minutes of driving, Mr. Boykewich commented, "You two sure are quiet. Everything okay?"

"Yes," both teens answered simultaneously, glancing at each other and then staring out their respective windows.

Mr. Boykewich drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and declared, "That marching band routine is pretty great…"

He glanced in the rearview mirror, quirking an eyebrow when Ben caught his gaze, and Ben chimed in quickly, "Yeah, very impressive."

"Ben's always loved snowflakes, haven't you, kiddo?"

"Oh, yeah," Ben caught on, looking at Amy, who looked almost intrigued. "In fact, I loved them so much when I was little that I made paper snowflakes during the summer and pretended it was snowing."

He grinned and chuckled nervously, then beamed when Amy's giggle seemed sincere.

"Yeah, my mom would always help me cut out snowflakes and pretend that it was December. She even gave me little presents to make it feel more like Christmas," Ben continued, but his face fell and he looked down at his hands when he realized who he was talking about.

Mr. Boykewich sighed and then changed the subject with, "I'm sure all that marching and French horn playing made you pretty hungry, huh?"

Glancing at Ben sympathetically, Amy halfheartedly agreed, "Uh, yeah."

"I was, uh, driving around town trying to find a place that wasn't too crowded so we wouldn't have to wait too long to eat, but I think every place in town is full. I think everybody in the area decided to go out to eat after the game. We could sit and wait a half hour or longer to order food somewhere, or we could find something at home… It's completely up to you."

He glanced over his shoulder at Amy, who shrugged and looked over at Ben.

"Sure, your house is fine…"

Ben's gaze snapped back to Amy's and he asked, "Really? You're sure?"

Amy gave him a confused look and answered, "Well, I am pretty hungry…I don't think I really want to wait an hour to eat. And aren't teenage boys supposed to eat a lot?"

Ben faked an insulted expression and exclaimed, "I resent that!"

Amy laughed at him. "So you're not hungry?"

"Well, sure I'm hungry, but that doesn't mean I'm going to eat a lot."

"You might," Amy pressed.

"If I was really hungry, yes, I would probably eat what you would consider 'a lot'," Ben conceded, adding quickly, "But I'm not that hungry right now."

"Okay, enough with the bickering. We have arrived at the Boykewich Sausage Palace, and I expect you both to be on your best behaviors in such a fine establishment," Mr. Boykewich declared as he parked the car. He got out, opened Ben's door, and led the way into the house.

As his father closed the door and headed to the kitchen mumbling something about finding food, Ben assumed the role of tour guide and led Amy through the house, making various comments about different rooms.

When they passed a closed door at the end of the tour, Amy asked, "What's in here?"

Ben's previously cheery disposition disappeared, giving way to a quieter, more serious one that Amy had only seen when he'd mentioned his mom.

"I'm sorry. It's really none of my business. You don't have to tell me…" she apologized, turning back the way they'd come.

"No, it's fine," Ben said, and Amy turned around to look at him as he explained, "It's my mom's crafting room. Dad and I don't go in there much anymore, but I think Mom would want us to…I'll show you where she spent all her free time…"

He looked at the door, and Amy could see the pain in his eyes. Gently, she put a hand on his arm as he reached for the door and she told him, "I don't need to—"

Ben looked her in the eye, drew a shaky breath, and interrupted, "But I do."

With that, he opened the door and pulled Amy into his mother's special room, the walls covered with crafts and quilts, and Amy gasped.

Some of the crafts were apparently inspirational pieces, because Mrs. Boykewich had tacked reminders of who the original artist or seller was and had included pictures of the places she'd gotten them.

Several of the pieces had pictures of Ben, his father, and the woman Amy took to be Ben's mother. Amy traced her fingers along what looked to be the most recent of the family photos and looked at Ben.

"This is your mother?"

"Yep, that's her." Ben smiled from his spot leaning against the doorjamb.

"She's beautiful," Amy whispered, noting the family resemblances. She smiled as she proclaimed, "You have her eyes."

She looked at Ben, who was blushing as well as smiling, and added softly, "And her smile."

Ben's blush deepened and Amy smiled nervously at him and looked away, blinking when she noticed something on the wall a few inches from Ben's head. She walked toward it, then smiled at Ben.

"One of your snowflakes?"

Ben moved so he was standing behind Amy and chuckled, "Well, what do you know? It is."

Amy looked at the picture of Ben tacked next to the snowflake and commented, "Oh, you were cute…"

She turned around to look at him and found herself stuck between Ben and the wall, his hands on either side of her shoulders.

"Uh," she started, but Ben interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'were'?" Ben demanded, though his grin was joking. He leaned closer to her, and Amy stuttered, "Okay, you're still…kinda cute…"

Ben leaned in a little closer and narrowed his eyes.

That was all it took for Amy to concede, "All right, you're cuter now than you were then."

This time, Ben's grin was wide and made Amy smile, too.

Suddenly, Mr. Boykewich's voice was right next to their ears, coughing, "Ben."

Ben pulled his head away from Amy's and raised an eyebrow at his father. "Dad."

"Benjamin Randolph Boykewich, you'd best be careful or you're grounded—which includes seeing Amy."

That got Ben's attention. In seconds, he'd pulled Amy away from the wall and was heading out into the hallway, passing a very angry Sausage King.

"What?" he asked, grinning.

"Ben." His father's voice was stern and his expression matched it.

"All right," Ben sighed, grabbing Amy's hand and heading back toward the kitchen, mumbling good-naturedly, "Parents."

"Benjamin," his father warned, "you are dangerously close to being grounded indefinitely. I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you want to spend more time with your girlfriend."

Ben kept his mouth shut and Amy smiled sympathetically.

When they reached the kitchen, Amy's jaw dropped.

"Wow, that's a lot of food."

"It ain't just for you two. I'm hungry, too," Mr. Boykewich grinned, taking a seat at the table and motioning for Ben and Amy to sit, too.

They did, with Ben across from Amy and his father on one side between them.

"All right, kiddos, dig in," The Sausage King declared, pulling a plate of—what else?—sausage next to his plate and putting several links on it, then passed it to Amy, who took a few and passed the plate ((Spotty cow, Disney Channel!!)) to Ben.

The routine continued with plates of corn dogs, chicken wings ((Heh. Couldn't resist)), and a bowl of salad. Amy had second helpings of all three, though she asked rather sheepishly.

When they had finished eating, Mr. Boykewich set the dishes in the sink and proclaimed, "All right, time to get Amy home."

"Do we have to?" Ben whined with an almost-grin on his face.

"Yes, we do. As much as you would love to keep her, if we don't get her home before midnight—"

"I'll turn into a pumpkin?" Amy supplied skeptically.

"As a matter of fact, you might, Cinderella. Now go hope in the car, will ya?"

As Ben grabbed Amy's bag and the duo headed for the door, Mr. Boykewich called after them, "And don't you even think about pulling anything while I'm grabbing my keys, Benjamin, or you're grounded!"

"Relax, Pop," Ben laughed. "I know what the consequence is, and it's one I don't want to face. But could you hurry up? Amy's parents are probably wondering where she is, and she might blame you for that."

"No I wouldn't!" Amy stammered as Mr. Boykewich reached the front door and herded them to the car.

This time, Ben scooted closer than usual to Amy, despite his father's warning glance, and simply smiled at The Sausage King, who rolled his eyes and pulled out of the driveway.

During the drive to the Juergens' house, Ben and Amy chatted, and Mr. Boykewich added his opinion at times, too.

When they stopped outside Amy's house, Ben got out and opened her door and walked partway up the sidewalk with her, aware that his dad was watching them closely.

Before he could say anything, Amy quirked an eyebrow curiously and asked, "Randolph?"

Ben laughed. "Yeah. My grandfather's name."

"I see…" Amy said, looking down at the ground and then back at him. "I had fun. Thanks for inviting me—and showing me your mom's special room."

"Nah, no big deal," Ben informed her, shaking his head.

"No, Ben, it was a very big deal," Amy assured him. "I'm glad you showed it to me."

Ben's gaze softened. "Okay, maybe it was a big deal. But Mom would've wanted somebody to see it… Maybe Dad and I will start using it again…"

He looked at Amy and kissed her cheek. "Good night, Amy."

Amy smiled. "'Night, Randolph."

Been narrowed his gaze playfully and stated, "Only you, Juergens. Don't tell anybody."

Once more, the horn sounded, and Ben walked over to the car, waving at Amy as she headed inside. Sliding into the passenger seat, Ben grinned at his frowning father and asked, "What?"

The Sausage King grunted and pulled away from the curb, not saying anything for the rest of the ride. It was only when Ben headed for his bedroom that he spoke.

"Benjamin."

Ben turned around. "Dad. Something wrong?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You came very close to being grounded."

"I did," Ben agreed calmly.

"Just…don't go overboard, all right?"

"Over board? Dad, I have no intention of forcing Amy to do anything she doesn't want to do, and I certainly wouldn't try to disappoint you. I'd be grounded for life."

"Yeah, you would. Take it slow, all right?" his dad requested seriously.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it, Sausage King."

Ben didn't wait for a response as he closed the door behind him, and Mr. Boykewich sighed, looking at the last photo taken of his wife, murmuring, "You'd know what to tell him…"

From the safety of his room, Ben heard his dad's comment and plopped down on his bed, sighing, "She would."

He glanced over at the picture that his father had taken of Ben and his mom a few months before she'd died and whispered, "Good night, Mom."

Hey, it's my fic. I can do what I want with the characters, right? This one just kinda…spiraled on me… o.O I had more written, but I decided to not use it.

And hey, he could be a Benjamin. Randolph was totally random, but I thought it kinda fit. xD

And I'm gonna assume that Ben's house isn't too far from Amy's, just because.

They might not be completely in-character, and I apologize for that.

EDIT (July 25, 2008): Finished it on July 25th, 2008, at 1889 words. Decided to change it to be not so…strange in the crafting room and Amy's house and such.

I'm sure half of you have already seen these, but for a picture of young Ben (Kenny), try http : / / www . imdb . com / media / rm2706280448 / nm1552976 Very cute, but I do think he looks a little cuter now. xP