Chapter 10: How NOT To Cope With Anger

I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters

A/N: Hello and welcome to chapter ten! So, for the last couple chapters, Ben has been an emotional mess. And it's not going to get any better anytime soon. This chapter is probably the turning point for Ben. And he also might come to realize that the Omnitrix is making him a much darker person that he originally sought out to be. So, I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far. But anyway, let's get into it!

Ben

The Next Morning...

It was about nine in the morning and I was still hitting the bag, while listening to Come Together, by the Beatles' very own John Lennon. I hadn't even gotten any sleep last night. It was pretty much just me hitting the bag all night.

Had I stopped thinking about Gwen? Not at all. I couldn't get her out of my head. I still couldn't figure out what the hell that thing was that I had seen in the mirror. I had also gone through ten of the Cokes, all ten empty cans sitting on counter, near all the cupboards and stuff.

Late last night, I took off my shirt, since it was getting so hot in here. I had also since taken off the alien watch, since I wasn't using it and put it on the table. I was punching the bag pretty hard, when I heard the door unlock. I walked over to the cd player and lowered the volume a little.

The door opened, and I saw Gwen standing in the doorway. Kind of relieved it wasn't one of my friends, I walked back over to the bag and started punching it again.

I heard Gwen step into the Club House.

"How many have you had?" Gwen asked.

I looked to what she saw. The ten empty Coca-Cola cans on the counter.

"Not enough. How'd you find me?" I asked, as I kept punching the bag.

"I found index cards with several addresses written down in a filing cabinet in your mom and dad's room." Gwen said, as I heard her walk further into the Club House.

"You shouldn't be snooping around my house." I said, as I continued punching the bag. "How'd you get in?"

"Spare key under the mat?" Gwen asked, as she looked around. "So, this is the club house?"

"What do you think?" I asked. "What are you even doing here?"

"You didn't come home last night. I've been worried." Gwen said.

"Don't be. Now, why are you here?" I asked.

"We need to talk." Gwen said.

"We don't have to talk about shit!" I exclaimed, as I went back to punching the bag.

"Ben, I-" Gwen began to speak, but I cut her off.

"Let me stop you there!" I exclaimed, punching the bag with huge amounts of force. "I worked up so much courage to kiss you last night! And you can't even repay me with the feelings I wanted! You can't respect my feelings or the courage I worked up to kiss you!"

"I respect you. More than you would ever know." Gwen said.

"Yeah right." I replied.

"No Ben, really!" Gwen exclaimed. "You need to listen to me! I respect for having that courage! I just don't return your feelings!"

I looked at her, saying nothing.

"Ben, I really don't think that you are in love with me." Gwen said. "You just wish that yo-"

She was about to say those damned seven words and I lost it.

"No!" I exclaimed, punching the bag so hard, that it flew off of it's chain. Gwen jumped with shock and fright as I did this. "You don't say that! You can't say those seven words!

Gwen looked confused. "What words? You just wish t-" she began to speak, but I cut her off.

"Yes! Those words!" I exclaimed, as I kicked the downed punching bag.

"Okay. What's the significance behind those seven words?" she asked.

I walked over to the counter and sat down on one of the bar stools, my forehead sweating from the anger and workout I was experiencing.

"Before you came back into my life, there was another young lady. Kai Greene." I said.

"What happened with her?" Gwen asked.

"We broke up, just out of the blue. We had dated for several months, when she just cut it off." I said. "I was confused then, but I wasn't emotionally devastated yet."

"What happened?" she asked.

"The next day, I saw her walking and holding hands with another guy. When she was alone, I went to ask her if we could give our relationship one more try." I said. "And she said: "You just wish that you were him." God damn it, I hate those words!"

"I'm sorry. Truly." Gwen said.

I looked up at her, as I teared up.

"Don't ever be sorry, Gwen." I said. "After what you did to me, you don't deserve to feel sorry or my forgiveness."

"But, I am sorry." Gwen said.

"Nah. You ain't sorry." I replied, as I went to the fridge.

I opened the fridge and grabbed a Coke, cracking it open. I sighed, as I though about the reaction from Gwen, when I would say what I had on my mind. I took a drink and let out a sigh of relief.

"Go home Gwen." I said.

"Okay." she said. "I'll see you later when you get back."

"No, no." I said, as I got up to look at her. "You misunderstand Gwen. Go home."

Gwen looked confused. "What?" she asked.

"I need you and your stuff out of my house by the time I get back." I said, turning back around. "I just can't live under the same roof with you after what happened."

Gwen said nothing.

"If it matters Gwen, I wasn't lying. And I'm not in denial, Gwen. I really do love you." I said.

Gwen said nothing again.

"Gwen?" I asked, as I turned around.

She was gone, door wide open.

"Shit." I said, as I walked over and kicked the punching bag again.

Two And A Half Hours Later...

"Gwen, I'm home!" I exclaimed, as I walked in through the front door.

Gwen didn't answer as I closed the door behind me.

"Gwen?" I asked.

Something was wrong. The house was eerily silent. She wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. I walked down the hall to where her room was. I knocked on her door.

"Gwen?" I asked, as I knocked.

She didn't answer. And as much as I respected her privacy, I checked the knob, finding it unlocked. I opened the door and found myself in shock. She wasn't in her room either. And her bed was made, along with all of her things gone.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." I said, as I walked to my room.

I walked into my room and grabbed my lab key.

"Gwen!" I called, as I sprinted down the hallway.

I sprinted down the basement stairs, calling her name the whole way. I turned on all the lights in the basement, not seeing Gwen anywhere.

I ran to the lab door, unlocked and opened it. I flicked on the light to the lab, not surprised that Gwen wasn't in here either. And I think I knew where she was.

"She did what I said." I replied, as I stood there, as I dropped my key.

I was beginning to cry and I let it happen.

Happy now? Your little outburst trashed whatever bit of happiness you had.

"She did what I said!" I screamed, as I ran over to one of the tables and pushed the microscope off in a fit of rage.

"She did what I said!" I screamed again, as I cleared the table of all the papers.

I flipped the table over, letting out a scream as I did. I grabbed the tape recorder and threw it acroos the room. I grabbed the glass container that held all of my tapes, picked it up and let out a scream of fury as I threw it to the other side of the room. It smashed against the wall, ruining the container but maybe leaving the tapes intact.

Ten minutes and a completely destroyed lab later, I sitting against the wall, tears streaming down my cheeks. The floor was covered in lab papers, the filing cabinet tipped over, the room was a mass.

Eventually, I got up, turned the lights out and walked out of the basement and back up the stairs. I walked into the kitchen to get a drink, after my grade A outburst, when I noticed something. There was a note on the table. I picked it up and began to read it. There was a phone number on it and underneath that:

Ben, I'm sorry it had to come to this. If you ever need anything or want to apologize, don't hesitate to call me. - Gwen

My phone was on the couch, in the living room. I ran for it, tripped and hit my head on the tile floor. I ignored the pain in my head and got back up. I ran for my phone and grabbed it. I opened the number pad and dialed the phone number that was on the note. It started to ring and after five or six rings it went to voice mail.

"Gwen Tennyson, please leave a message." the recording said.

After the beep I spoke.

"Come back! I'm sorry about what I said earlier, okay? I didn't mean what I said! Please, come back Gwen! I'm sorry! I don't think I can be alone! I need you here! Please, just come back! Just come back." I exclaimed, as I continued to cry.

After that, I sent the message. In a fit of anger and sadness, I tossed my phone to the couch and sat down, leaning against it.

"Just come back." I said.

"Ben." I heard a voice.

I looked up, to see Gwen standing in the doorway, with the front door open. I hadn't locked it. I couldn't sum up the courage to speak. I now noticed that she had her phone in her hand.

Had she heard my message, as I was speaking it?

"Ben, just calm down." she said, as she smiled. "Calm down. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

A/N: So, what did you think of the chapter? I know I had already posted another today, but I wanted to do another and I had one ready to go. In case you are wondering if Gwen as actually there at the end, and if Ben was just hallucinating, no. She was there. She was actually there. Just because she's back doesn't mean that Ben is stable, mentally anyway. He's not completely sane and over time, his mental health will decline even more, until he and Gwen finally get together, whenever that'll be. I'd like to mention that Kevin 11 will be coming to the story here pretty soon. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this one and, I'll see you in the next one.