A/N: Wow, I've been working less today than I should've been. Well, here goes nothing. This one was to the song "Tonight". Lyrics can be interpreted in a hundred different ways, but I look at it this way. Kevin's POV, as always.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10.

Tonight

I've decided I'm going to do it tonight. Right here, right now. I won't put up with this crap anymore. Gwen and I both know it's over. We can't pretend like we're trying anymore. I don't want to split from her, but God, what else can we do? Where do we go from here? We've hit rock bottom, and there's no way we can pull out of it. It's over; we're through. Now the overall verdict of it just has to be voiced. I'm going to be the one to say it.

I'm not afraid to break up with Gwen. I never was. I just didn't want to have to deal with all the crying afterwards. Really, it's annoying when chicks cry. Mascara running down their faces, eyes getting blotchy. If they want to cry, they can find somewhere else. No one's ever gonna be crying on my shoulders.

She's on the other end of the phone babbling about a pie place she found last week that she wants to show me if I drive to her place on Saturday. She says her parents are even willing to let me sleep on the couch if I don't want to drive home again Saturday night. In that household, that's a seriously generous offer. They usually don't want me anywhere near Gwen.

"Hey," I say, interrupting her mindless garble of words that have no meaning to me. I try to keep my voice serious and calm. Part of me is shattering on the inside. This was the girl who I thought I would take with me to forever... "Gwen." I keep my tone mellow but somewhat sad. She'll get the point, won't she? I hope she does. I don't want to have to explain it through to her. I already hate the fact that I'm breaking up with my first real girlfriend over the phone, but I don't want to have to deal with the tears and the fact of actually driving there only to tell her that I don't want to see her anymore. There'd be too many tears that way. And it'd be a waste of my time.

There's a long pause 'cause she went quiet after I had spoken the first word. Gwen was never a dumb girl. She was smarter than most people I knew. She had the mind of a scholar, the heart of a hero, and the power that would make anyone cringe. She wasn't dumb. Not Gwendolyn Catherine Tennyson. "It's over, isn't it?"

Yeah, she knows. She picks up on my tone right away, determining that I was dealing the final blow. I stay quiet and then she sighs through the phone. "It was over this whole time, wasn't it?"

I'm not exactly sure how to answer it, so I do the best I can. She can't ask easy questions of me. That would be too simple. She asks questions I don't want to answer because I know the truth. I know the true answer to that; doesn't mean I wanna say it though. I'm not a chick, and I'm not the smartest man alive, but I know I wouldn't want to hear someone tell me that they don't love me anymore. I'm not dumb enough to say it outright to Gwen. I still care about her, just on a lesser level. "I can't do this distance," I tell her softly, trying to be gentle. I don't want to break her heart or anything. I do care. Just not enough to try anymore. I won't lie to myself and keep pretending like I love her. "I wanna be with you, but I can't. Not anymore."

Seriously, I think my heart is gonna explode in my chest. It's the scariest thing ever. It feels like I just broke my own heart. And I really don't think that's a good thing. Not that I'm a doctor or anything. I didn't wanna have to do that, but I'm not gonna try anymore. I don't want to lie to her and pretend like I'm busy as an excuse not to see her. I won't lie and try to be someone I'm not. No way. Not me.

There's a little sigh on the other end of the line. "Just friends now?" she asks, surrendering to my verdict. I can tell there's only the tiniest trace of sadness in her voice. I can tell she was pretty much feeling the same way. I can tell she's lonely. I can tell she's vulnerable. I can tell she's afraid. I know this just because of the way her voice is. That was how close we were. Now, I broke it off, I'm ready to be free, and we're done.

"Yeah," I confirm, trying to sound positive about it. We know we won't talk. We know we won't see each other again. We know this is just a formality more than anything. This is just the way things go. You gotta go through the motions. "Friends."

There's a long pause when I don't say anything and she doesn't say anything. The long silence is when things really settle in for me. I just broke up with the first girl I had ever loved. And I was free; but part of me missed her beautifully cunning smile and those jade eyes. There were things I'd miss, but the whole world had suddenly opened up again above my head. Tonight, I'd become a free man.

"So I'll see you around?" she questions, still going through the motions. It's merely another formality just to ensure that we weren't going to feel the need to hate each other. In reality, would we really see each other? Three hours away. Did she totally miss that concept?

Again, I answer, "Yeah." I won't answer "No 'cause I'm never gonna see you again" obviously, but I feel the need to at least maintain our friendship. That was where our relationship had started from. Friendship. And I couldn't burn all my bridges.

She was the one who said, "Bye." I repeat it right back to her before clicking off my cell phone and tossing it into my toolbox next to my wrenches and screwdrivers. The whole jumble of tools jangles when my phone hits it, but I don't really care. My tools are tough, and my phone's titanium. Doesn't matter to me if anything breaks.

"You alright?" asks the voice of Julie as she appears from behind me. She was hanging around in the back room, knowing what I was doing and decided not to interfere. She had just been quiet the whole time, minding her own business. But now her eyes are watching me intently, somewhat concerned but otherwise calm. Her hands are neatly folded together behind her back as she stares at me with those innocent brown eyes.

I lie. "Yeah." Because I feel kind of alone in the world. Tonight, I'm alone again. I walk alone. The freedom feels good, but part of me misses knowing that I'm a part of something and that someone is relying on me to take care of them and protect them. I liked knowing I was a part of something. Now I'm not a part of anything.

She knows I'm lying; Julie can read it on my face, I'm sure of it. Still, she doesn't say anything. She pretends like she believes me. So it takes her a moment, but she produces my Plumber's badge out of her jacket pocket. "I was checking the scanners and something weird came up on the North side. I wanted to let you finish on the phone before telling you." She holds the badge out to me, head ducked like she did something wrong.

I take my badge back and shove it in my back pocket. "Take your moped and grab Ship. You got the coordinates?" For some reason, the prospect of a fight automatically takes my mind off of Gwen. I pick myself up off the ground and start to brush the dust and metal shavings off my shirt and jeans.

"I have them," she confirms with a little nod and a quick smile. Julie's quickly moving towards where she leaves her helmet and parks her moped. She pulls on the helmet in a heartbeat and snaps it at her chin before kicking her foot over the seat. "Meet you there in ten minutes."

I'm stepping into my car after putting away most of my tools and kicking the box of 'em off to the side. I don't bother to grab my cell phone. "Ten," I agree.

She zips off on her little scooter, headed home to grab her Galvanic Mechomorph so she can have her armor to fight alongside of me with.

I drop into the driver's seat of my ride and look at the empty passenger seat and the empty backseat. It really is lonely. I may be a free man, but I'm a lonely free man. I've only got Julie for a friend. I respect her and all, but we're scarcely friends. So I slam the door shut and the brunt of this hits me. I really am all alone. I cut off the last of my ties. I rev the engine and pull out of the garage. I can do things on my own too. I don't need the Tennysons to help me survive.

A/N: I still like Kevlie! Reviews are much appreciated!

~Sky