Sorry it took a while for chapter 2 to come, I wanted to upload it right after chapter 1, but I went to sleep over at my cousins house for a few days and I couldn't take my laptop. Anyway, it's here now!
I forgot to mention that Kevin's outfit is the same as in Ben 10, with the torn shirt and everything. Gwen's outfit is different though and if you wanna see it, go back to chapter 1.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10.
"Wait, he seriously thought your uncle was Bigfoot?" Julie asked between laughs. Gwen laughed with her while reaching out and grabbing another handful of popcorn. She was surprised at how easily she and Julie bonded in such a short amount of time. As soon as she got back from lunch with Luke, they instantly began exchanging stories. Time seemed to fly by as they talked that Gwen didn't realize that it was already nighttime. "Hey," Julie suddenly asked, "how was your date anyway?"
Gwen felt her cheeks heat up and decided to play dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Oh come on, I saw that goofy grin on your face as soon as you walked in."
Gwen smiled sheepishly while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Alright, but just for the record, it wasn't a date. We just had lunch." Julie smirked and raised a delicate eyebrow. Gwen quickly defended herself. "Seriously, it was only lunch!"
Julie chuckled. "I was only teasing. But, seeing your reaction, I bet you wished it was a date." Gwen's blushing face was enough of an answer for her. "So, who was the lucky guy?"
"His name is Luke Primas," she answered with a dreamy smile plastered on her face.
"Primas? You like the son of the headmistress?" Julie said, taken-aback. "Wow, you sure like to take risks."
"Wait, his mom is the headmistress?" Gwen echoed, not believing her ears. She suddenly remembered reading something about the headmistress a while ago when looking up facts about the school. How could I not notice their last names are the same? Okay…it's no big deal. I mean, I'm not a trouble-maker or anything so it shouldn't really be risky. Who knows, maybe his mom is really nice and will like me? "It's no big deal Julie. So what if she's the headmistress? I'm sure she'll like me."
Julie smirked slyly. "So you do want to date him? Why else would you want his mom to like you?"
Gwen laughed and tossed her pillow at Julie, hitting her right in the face. "Alright genius," she said sarcastically. "We should be getting some sleep; school starts tomorrow."
Gwen sat quietly in the corner of the classroom, listening to the teacher intently and jotting down notes as he spoke. First period; Mass Communications. It was definitely an interesting class, for the teacher was very eccentric and rarely stopped moving. Gwen had a feeling he had ADD or something along those lines. The classroom door suddenly opened and a smile lit up Gwen's face when she saw who walked in.
"Luke? Your late," the teacher said with a frown. "Just because your mom's the headmistress doesn't mean you get special treatment. Now take a seat."
Luke scanned the room for a seat and his eyes halted at the desk beside Gwen. He grinned and made his way towards her. He didn't say anything as he sat down, only because the teacher was keeping an eye on him. Gwen continued to take down notes and tried her best to ignore him, although she wanted nothing more than to talk to him. She was surprised when a folded paper landed on her desk. Luke had no facial expression, so Gwen, while puzzled, opened the note.
Hey what's up?
Gwen raised an eyebrow, but began scribbling down an answer.
Why are you talking to me?
Luke chuckled lightly and wrote back to her.
Your new here and let's just say that I'm the welcome committee.
I think you did a pretty good job welcoming me yesterday at lunch.
Well, I didn't think it had to stop there.
Still trying to flirt I see.
Is it working?
You're annoying.
Ouch, that's cold.
Sorry, I have a habit of saying exactly what's on my mind.
That's an attractive quality.
I thought we were done with the flirting?
Who said we were done?
Luke smirked and Gwen couldn't help the smile that graced her lips. It was at that moment that the teacher finally noticed them, and Gwen quickly hid the paper inside her notebook. Luke chuckled from beside her and Gwen sent him a playful glare. They didn't pass notes for the rest of the period; the teacher seemed to be getting suspicious of them and kept sneaking glancing between the two. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
"Thanks for almost getting me in trouble on my first day," Gwen said, sarcasm lacing her voice while gathering her stuff.
"Not my fault you can't obey the rules," he replied jokingly, receiving a light smack on the arm from her. Gwen rolled her eyes while making her way out of the classroom. Luke quickly caught up with her and walked by her side. "And you're following me, because?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't flatter yourself, my class is this way."
Luke's crooked smile made it look as though he was smirking and being cocky, but Gwen knew he was just teasing her. She came to a halt in-front of a classroom. "Whatever," she shrugged. "I guess I'll see you later than."
"How about lunch?" he asked, trying not to get sucked into the crowd of kids that were making their way toward their destination.
Gwen frowned. "I can't. I promised Julie I'd have lunch with her." Gwen didn't miss the disappointment that shined in his eyes and almost told him that she'd be happy to blow Julie off. "I'm really sorry," she added.
Luke waved his hand in the air, as if literally blowing her words away. "I get it; you got your own friends. I guess I'll see you around then."
"Yeah, see ya." Gwen smiled and waved him goodbye as he walked away. She pursed her lips when he didn't smile back and only left her staring at his retreating back. What's with him? she wondered, then decided to shrug it off and headed into the classroom just as the late bell rang. She was tired but luckily, it was last period.
As soon as she entered the room, she caught sight of Julie smiling while beckoning her to take the seat on her right.
Just as she made her way toward Julie, someone had blocked her way. Gwen raised an eyebrow and was even more confused when she saw the scowl that was on the girls face. The girl had long jet-black hair that was tied into a high ponytail and matching dark eyes. She wore an army-green skirt that went well with her black knee-length boots and a black t-shirt that hugged her body perfectly, showing off all her curves.
"Um…can I help you?" Gwen asked, not knowing what else to say.
"Listen," she said in a voice that seemed to aim for kind, but Gwen could almost feel the hostility it radiated. "I know you're new here, so I'll be nice and tell you that you should stay away from Luke."
Gwen almost laughed and stared at the girl like she had grown another head. After a moment of silence, she said, "I see you like to get right to the point."
The girl smiled, but Gwen could see that it was forced. "I'm doing you a favor here. Luke's not the prince charming he makes himself to be. You should watch your back when around him, unless you wanna get hurt."
"Okay…and why are you telling me this?"
The girl opened her mouth to reply but something seemed to shut her up as she looked over Gwen's shoulder. Gwen raised a delicate eyebrow as the girl suddenly began backing away. "Whatever, just don't forget what I said," she sneered as she went back to her seat, her kind-persona crumbling, showing her true colors. Gwen was beyond confused and was about to confront the girl when a voice spoke up.
"You're Gwen Tennyson, am I right?"
Gwen turned around and gaped at the sight before her. The woman was beyond beautiful. She had long silky black hair and bright blue eyes that shimmered in the light. The way she held her body was almost god-like; graceful and elegant, yet powerful and strong. Her eyes held many secrets behind them and told Gwen that she held many wisdom and experiences. She smiled and Gwen smiled back almost instinctively.
"Yeah, that's me," she replied, the smile not leaving its place. She then frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not in trouble am I?"
The women laughed. It sounded like music to Gwen's ears. "No, I just wish to talk to you. Let's go into my office, shall we?"
"What about class? Shouldn't my teacher know?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," she replied, already beginning to head out the door. "He can't exactly tell me 'no' and pull you back. After all, I am the headmistress of this school."
Gwen sat comfortably on the leather chair, her eyes continuing to scan the headmistress's magnificent office. Rows upon rows of books surrounded her, each one filled with knowledge of the past. The mahogany colored walls contrasted with the black desk that rested in-front of her but seemed to put the room together well.
The headmistress smiled at her from across the desk, hands folded perfectly on it. "As I said before, you are not in trouble," she said. "I just wished to welcome you to my school personally."
"Why me though?" Gwen couldn't help but ask. She hoped she didn't sound rude, after all, she should be honored that the headmistress even considered talking to her over hundreds of other students. But she was a cautious girl and was suspicious to the woman's intentions.
"Why not you? You were the top student at your old school and have expectational potential."
Gwen blinked back in shock. "Wow...really?" she asked, but quickly caught herself, seeing the headmistress giggle. "I mean, it's awesome that you feel that way Mrs. Primas and I'm very honored to be in your school."
"Please, call me Estella."
"Estella," Gwen echoed, liking the way her name rolled off her tongue. "Anyway, I guess I should be heading to class."
Just as Gwen stood up, Estella spoke, "Wait a minute; I would like to talk to you about Scarlet."
"Scarlet?" Gwen questioned while sitting back down. "Who's that?"
"The girl you were talking to before I interrupted. It looked as though you two were arguing about something. Has she been causing you problems?"
Gwen shrugged. "Not really. I barely know the girl."
Estella nodded, a frown plastered on her face. "What exactly did she say to you?" There was a cold flatness in her voice that made Gwen feel odd.
Gwen was confused and wanted to ask her what she had against Scarlet. She had only been with each of them for a short amount of time, but could already tell that there were tensions between the two. She remembered the worried and almost scared look on Scarlet's face when she saw Estella.
"Um…" Gwen wasn't sure why she was hesitating. She barely knew Scarlet, but she didn't want to make what she had said to her a big deal. "She just…welcomed me into the school. Nothing to fuss over."
Was that anger that Gwen saw flash through Estella's eyes? No, she must have imagined it-or at least she would have believed she'd imagined it had her gut not told her otherwise. Gwen smiled and, trying to clear the tension in the air, said, "Don't worry. I can take care of myself and I won't let Scarlet bother me-if she tries to bother me."
"Oh, I am certain that you can take care of yourself." Estella was back to being kind and caring again. "But that doesn't mean that I can't worry about my student. If anything, I wish that you would come to me and tell me yourself whenever you have a problem."
Gwen let her eyes widened before regaining her composure. "That's really nice of you," she muttered, embarrassed. "I don't know what to say."
Estella smiled and Gwen felt her heart swell. "It's my job to make sure each and every one of my students are being properly treated." She suddenly smirked and looked both sides before whispering, "Between you and me, I do have favorites."
Gwen laughed. "Your secret is safe with me."
"Bye Gwen, talk to me whenever you feel like. My door is always opened for you."
Smiling to herself, Gwen exited the room and made her way down the flight of stairs, her thoughts lost in Estella. She was just…amazing. Besides Julie, Gwen hadn't really connected with anyone in this school, there was just nobody she felt comfortable enough sharing things with. But she felt different with Estella. Even though it had only been a short amount of time, Gwen felt as though she could spill her guts out to her and she'd understand.
Maybe it's because she's the headmistress and knows how to handle kids? Whatever the reason, Estella had helped perked Gwen up after her abnormal experience with Scarlet. She frowned while making her way out the door and through the courtyard. She didn't know what Scarlet's problem was, but she would try her best to avoid that girl.
What did she say about Luke? That I shouldn't trust him? Gwen thought to herself, trying to figure out the meaning behind her words. Why can't I trust him? I mean…I know I've only been in this school for a day, but Luke seems nice and I like talking to him. Hmm, she's probably just jealous. Yeah…that's probably it.
Somewhere, deep down in her gut, Gwen felt as though she should take Scarlet seriously. But she decided to ignore it and continued to make her way towards the girls-dorm. She suddenly froze, hearing a rustling noise that came from the forest to her left. She held her breath, trying to listen for it and making sure she hadn't imagined it. Nothing. She shrugged and began walking again.
The rustling came again and with it, a silhouette went flashing by the forest in a blur. Gwen looked from the forest and back to the school, debating whether or not to follow it. If she follows it, she could get herself in danger and in trouble with the school (it was almost dark and students were required to stay indoors during night). If she pretends she didn't hear it, whatever went by could be harmful and put everyone in danger.
Damn…why do I have to be so cautious and caring for others well-being? she groaned in her mind while making her choice and heading into the forest. Oh that's right, I come from a family of plumbers; it's in my genes. She carefully made her way through the forest, not really sure where she was going. She just went forward, hoping that whatever she saw would be an animal and she could leave.
As she got deeper into the forest, the sound of voices entered Gwen's ears and she picked up her pace. Her eyes caught sight of a clearing up ahead and, once she reached it, she hid behind a tree. The voices were clearer now and she peered around the tree, scanning the area.
Gwen raised an eyebrow when seeing who occupied the clearing. They were a group of guys dressed like…knights? Okay, I've seen weird stuff before, but this is just ridiculous. Her eyes averted to something small in-front of the group of knights. The small thing looked like a humanoid porcupine/rat/opossum hybrid. He wore a black T-shirt with a brown jacket and jeans. He had large yellow eyes and black spikes for hair.
"So, is it a deal?" The small creature said while smirking slyly.
The knights glanced at each other before one stepped out and spoke for all, "You give us what we want and we will pay you greatly. But, I don't exactly see weapons here."
"Hey, don't worry; my partner should be here any minute with the supplies."
Just as the words escaped his mouth, there was a rustling sound and out from the shadows appeared a figure. It was carrying two large crates in its arms. Gwen squinted her eyes, making sure what she saw was really there. Whoever was carrying the crates, had arms of what looked be steel.
"Nice job, Kev," the small creature said, obviously pleased. "You never cease to amaze me with your power."
"You're just trying to suck up to me to make up for what you did before," a voice from behind the crates replied. Gwen's eyebrows furrowed as a sense of familiarity engulfed her. That voice…why does it sound so familiar?
Her question was answered as the crates were placed down onto the ground and his face was revealed. Gwen's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, mouth hanging open in utter shock. Standing not too far away from her, was the boy who tried to kill not only Ben, but her, countless times.
Kevin Levin.
