Megin Levin's POV

Chapter 2

Before I could go off again, I saw Kevin catch Gwen's eye. Seeing what would obviously happen in the next few minutes, I backed off, giving them some privacy. Though I regretted it as Ben came over to me, and part of me thought that maybe watching Kevin make out with his girlfriend wasn't such a bad idea.

I quickly crouched down and became very interested in my shoelace when he got to me.

"Hey, Megin." He said, sitting on the ground next to me. I shook my hair out of my eyes in response. "I didn't think you were coming." he said, once more not getting more than a shrug. "But thanks though, if you hadn't come along when you did, I'd be alien bait."

"Kevin said there would be a lot of aliens, and I needed some sparring practice." I muttered. Ben sighed.

"Look, Meg-" he started but was cut off by someone else calling him.

"Ben!" Julie Yamamoto called from ten yards away. She came up, flouncing in her tight, white, extra-short, tennis skirt, and she threw her arms around him. I had to turn away, thankful that I had skipped out on breakfast.

Julie. How could I describe Julie? Girls like her were partly why I hated coming back to school. I mean, maybe she was sweet, I guess. The kind of sweet that made your teeth itch. She was always around, coming to a fight then being completely useless, hanging off Ben…

I didn't like Julie. That was all to be said.

"Uh, hey Julie, you okay?" Ben asked, carefully pulling her arms from there death-hold on his neck.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. That was amazing!" I could practically quote her every word, sense she said that same damn thing every time we won. I swear to God she would say it was so amazing! if he blew his nose. They were perfect together though, I guess. Ben was such an ego maniac and Julie stroked and fed his ego like a fat cat. Ugh, they disgusted me.

"Kevin!" I yelled over my shoulder. I looked back just in time to see his and Gwen pull away from each other. God, I was surrounded my hormone-driven teenagers!

"Are we done here?" I snapped at him, striding back over to them, not able to get far enough from Ben and Julie. Kevin laughed a little, apparently still euphoric from his little go-round with Gwen.

"Put the claws away Meggie, we're going. Anyway, don't get frustrated with me when you're just jealous."

My hand twitched a little and he jumped as a spark flew out of my finger tips to the middle of his nose.

"Okay, okay!" He said, backing off. Gwen gave him a look, and came up to me.

"Come on, you can burn off your steam at training. Then maybe some meditating?" I nodded, trying to get a hold on myself. I couldn't let Ben get me so riled up. But he was just so damn—

I cut off my own thought before any more frustrated tension could build in my body. "Right, let's go. Please." They nodded and we piled into Kevin's am-ma-zing car. I inhaled the sweet car scent deeply, and calmed down like, fifty percent.

I loved this car. So much.

I looked out the window and saw Ben and Julie say an oh-so-tearful goodbye (that's sarcasm for you innocent ones), and Julie looked a little pissed off, pounding her small fist uselessly on Ben's chest.

"Ooh, trouble in paradise?" I asked, to no one in particular.

"Yeah, Ben says she's been getting a little clingy." Gwen said from the front seat. Kevin smirked over his shoulder.

"Not that you care though, right?" I gave him a death glare as Ben climbed in beside me. Thankfully, it was a roomy backseat, so I could scoot as far away from him as possible. When I did so, he just sighed tiredly and left it alone.

Sure, for awhile after I came home, I liked Ben. A lot. Yes, in that way. And we were really good friends, and we hung out all the time. But that was before he deformed my brother, and then, to top it off, he didn't even have the decency to feel bad about it! And now, I didn't see anything in him. Not his soft dark brown hair, not the slight bulge of his muscles when he tensed up, ready to fight, not the graceful angle of his nose, and not, definitely not, his deep, deep, soul-searching, beautiful, emerald green eyes…

Nope. Not a thing did I see.

We soon arrived at the plumbers' headquarters, but it looked like an old car garage. After a series of secret hallways and elevators, we were soon in the training center.

Minutes later, Gwen and I came out of the locker room, me in a black spandex tank top and dark green short-shorts, her in the same top (but in white) and blue Capri sweat-pants. The guys were in another part of the gym, sparring, and Kevin winning.

"C'mon Ben, you can do—" Kev was cut off as Ben caught him under the chin.

Gwen turned and faced me.

"Okay, I know you're really pent up right now, and that's good fuel for fighting, but you can't let it control you. You have to channel your anger, balance it, and then focus it." She instructed, and then we began. It was easy once I began to visualize every punching bag and wooden board as Ben's face. But then, out of nowhere, Gwen simply reached out and knocked me off balance. I toppled over, landing squarely on my butt. She looked down to me, raising her eyebrow. "Guess who wasn't focused?" I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Sorry." She rolled her eyes.

"Come on, let's spar." I nodded and grabbed my black boxing gloves. Somewhere in the back of the room, Kevin and Ben were still at it. I ignored them, concentrating on Gwen. I was in total survival mode, and nothing could stop me until I won. Suddenly, my back hit Ben's, and before I knew it, I was fighting with him.

I ducked, I blocked, and best of all, I kicked. Hard.

At first, it was pretty evenly matched. We would both get a few good hits in, but it was mostly blocking, until all of my fury at Ben boiled under my skin, making my hands and legs move faster, and I started to force him back, turning him on the defense. I hated this boy. This boy hurt my older brother, the one person I counted on the most. He hurt me, and he was arrogant, and snobby, and cynical, and worst of all he didn't care! I swept my leg under his and knocked him to the ground. Coming up in one movement, I placed a knee on his chest, my left hand on his throat, and my right hand coiled back, ready to spring. I paused, realizing that my cheeks were wet. I had been crying. Instead of throwing the right hook like I had meant to, I froze, my arm still in the air. I stared into Ben's eyes, who apprehensive and cautious, and then his expression softened and he just looked at me like I was at him.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but then I became faintly aware that Kevin and Gwen were still in there with us. I shook my head, trying to shed the fog that had suddenly clouded my mind. I realized that the muscles in my arm was beginning to cramp from being tensed too long. I loosened my fist, slapped Ben so hard it snapped his head to the side, and then got up and ran out of the gym.