Chapter 10: Counseling Day

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

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter Ten! Nothing to be said here, so let's get right into the chapter!

Ben

April

So, my life was quickly becoming the worst life to live in existence. I had had it all. An insane gaming setup, a huge comic book collection, free to come and go as I wanted to. But now, all of that was gone. It was like I was a prisoner now. The thing that sucks most about all this is that I have nothing to distract me from my thoughts about Gwen now. It was truly and utterly depressing.

I had a pretty fun day ahead of me, I could already tell. After eating breakfast, I walked to school. Once I got to school, I went to my locker and dropped off all of my textbooks and stuff that I didn't need right away and then went to my first class.

I walked into the classroom and plunked my stuff down beside my desk and sat down. I wasn't sitting at my desk for even five minutes before it happened. Our teacher came up to me and put down a pass to the counseling center in front of me. I looked up at her.

"What?" I asked with confusion.

"Your counselor wants to see you, Ben." She said.

"Um, okay?" I asked as I got up. "I'll be back in time for class to start."

"No, take your stuff with you." She said.

"But I'm sure that I can…"

"Mr. Armstrong wants you to bring your stuff." She said. "That's all I know. Now go."

I was confused, but nevertheless, I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder and walked out of the classroom. I walked down the hall and towards the counseling center. It took me about five minutes to get there. I walked through the door to the counseling center and stopped in front of the reception desk.

"What's your name and what can I help you with?" the lady at the desk asked without looking up at me.

"My name is Ben Tennyson." I said. "I'm here to see my counselor, Mr. Armstrong."

"Second door on the left." The lady said, once again without looking up at me.

I walked past the reception area and towards the door to Mr. Armstrong's office. I knocked on his door and waited for him to open the door. Eventually he opened the door and invited me in.

"Ben, good to see you." He said. "Please, come on in."

Mr. Armstrong was African-American, trying not to sound like a racist, which I am not. He was taller than me and he had a short goatee, along with a buzz cut. I walked into his office and shut the door behind us, as he sat down in his chair at his desk. I grabbed one of the chairs that sat against the wall opposite of his desk, pulled it closer to his desk and sat down.

"So, why am I here?" I asked.

"You are here because you have to catch up on your English assignments." He said. "And there's not enough time for you to do that in one class period."

"But won't I be missing my other classes? And you know, getting behind in them, too?" I asked.

"That's just the way we prefer it." Mr. Armstrong said.

"But that doesn't make any sense." I protested.

"Well I'm sorry, but it's final." He said. "You've been pulled from all of your classes today. All of your teachers have been notified that you'll be absent and in here for the day."

I just looked down at the floor.

Great. That was just what I needed. More bullshit to get me behind in class.

"Ben?" he asked with confusion.

"What do I start with?" I asked, without looking up at him.

"Follow me." He said, as he got up and opened his door.

I picked up my bag and followed him out into the little common area that they had inside of the counseling center. The place had four computers and three tables, all with four or five chairs. I looked around the room, waiting for Mr. Armstrong to speak.

"This is where you'll be spending most of your time." He said. "Usually our office aids use the computers in their down time, when they're not running errands for us. But since you'll be here, I'm granting you access to one."

"This is where I'll spend most of my time? What do you mean?" I asked. "How long will I be here?"

"For the remainder of the week most likely." He said. "Why do you ask?"

There were three days, including today, left in the week.

"I'll be here today, tomorrow and Friday?" I asked. "Mr. Armstrong, I don't see how this will help me in my other classes."

Mr. Armstrong shrugged.

"Well, if you catch up on any current missing assignments in here and do any daily homework you get at home, which I'll get from your teachers for you, I'm sure you'll be caught up in no time." He said "Your mom wanted me to help you and this is what I could come up with. This is what I thought was best."

"So, my mom was in on this?" I asked. "How is this being helpful?"

"Like I said, I thought that this was the best course of action." He said.

"Well if I'm going to be in here all day, then what about lunch?" I asked.

"You can go to any lunch period that you wish to go to." He said.

"This is all pretty weird. You know, not going by my normal day-to-day schedule?" I asked. "Can I have a minute to think about it?"

"Well you're going to need all of the time you can get, so I don't think that's a great idea." He said.

"So, you think I should start now?" I asked. "Is that right?"

"Yes." He said as he nodded.

I sighed.

"Fine." I replied. "I'll sit down and get to work."

"Thank you." He said.

"No problem." I said as I placed my bag against the third station in the single row of four computers.

"Get busy but do keep in mind one thing." He said.

I looked up at him, waiting for him to speak.

"I'm going to let you work for a while, but I'll eventually ask you to come back into my office." He said. "I want to know why you're beginning to flunk all of a sudden."

I nodded.

"Okay." I said as I turned to the computer. "Yes, sir."

A Few Hours Later

It was nearing lunchtime and I was already getting bored. Even listening to my music on the YouTube app wasn't helping anymore. And as much as I hated to say it, I was about to get into trouble. I was working on assignments on the computer, while I waited for the prompt to skip an ad on the YouTube app.

"Hey, you're here to work, not watch movies." A female voice said.

I looked up to see one of the counselors, Ms. Hurt standing beside me.

"No Ma'am, I wasn't watching a movie. I'm listening to music on the YouTube app." I said. "There's an ad playing and I'm waiting for the prompt to skip it."

That didn't seem to help my case in the slightest.

"Oh, so now you're back-talking me?" she asked.

I was shocked that she even said that.

"Um, no Ma'am. I'm just trying to explain to you…" I started speaking just for her to interrupt me.

"Okay, I can accept students needing a warning to get back to work, but I can't accept back-talking." She said as she put out her open hand to me. "I'm going to need you to hand over your phone."

I looked at her with shock.

"No, I was just listening to music, Ma'am." I said. "I don't want any trouble."

"If you don't want any trouble, then I advise that you hand over your phone." She said.

I just stared at her, as she waited for me to hand over my phone. I finally let out a sigh.

"Fine." I said, as I handed her my phone, removing my earbuds first.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Ms. Hurt said before she walked back to her office.

"No problem." I said with sarcasm once she was in her office.

"Ben?" I heard Mr. Armstrong saying my name.

I looked over to at my counselor, whom was standing in the doorway of his office.

"Can we talk now?" he asked.

I nodded, got up from my chair and walked into his office. He closed the door behind me and gestured for me to sit down next to his desk. I sat down and waited for him to speak.

"So, I want to know a little bit more about why you are falling behind in your classes." He said. "Could you please tell me about that?"

I began to think to myself.

Was I really going to tell him about the whole Gwen situation? I mean, obviously I wouldn't mention her name or any of the choices I have. I'd just say that I'm having problems with a girl. Well, he is a counselor after all, so maybe he can help me.

I sighed as I looked up at him.

"Can you keep what I'm about to say between us, Mr. Armstrong?" I asked.

He looked at me with confusion.

"Well, if it has to do with anything you shouldn't be doing, like drinking or doing drugs, you do understand that I have to tell someone, right?" he asked.

"No, it's nothing like that." I said.

He looked at me, before nodding.

"Okay." He said. "What do you want to tell me?"

"You have to promise that you won't say anything to anyone." I said.

"Okay, Ben." He said. "I promise. Now what do you want to tell me?"

I let out a sigh before speaking.

"I'm, uh, having problems with a girl." I said. "I think that I like her and it's causing me to fall behind."

He looked at me.

"What's the problem about it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure if I want to let her know about my feelings or not." I said.

"Well, why won't you just ask her?" he asked.

"Because I'm not sure how she will react." I said.

"Well, you won't know unless you ask her, will you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Just ask her to a movie, ask her to a sports game or ask her to dinner." He said. "Just see what she thinks of you."

I nodded once again.

"Thanks." I said.

"Look, a lot of married couples will call themselves "high school sweethearts". Don't buy into that. I don't think it's wise for you to be looking for love while you're still in school." He said. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow dating in high school. You're here to learn, not decide if you like a person or if you don't. But that's not my choice, so do whatever you want to do."

I nodded once again.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"What?" I asked.

"What's her name?" he asked.

I stayed silent after he asked that.

"You don't want to tell me her name?" he asked after I stayed silent for a few seconds.

I said nothing still.

"Okay, I can respect that." He said.

"Um, can I go to lunch now?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Yes, the second lunch shift is ending in a few minutes." He said. "You can go once the third shift starts."

"Thanks, Mr. Armstrong." I said as I got up from the chair.

I walked out of his office and was about to go sit back down at my station until the next lunch shift started, but I stopped. I walked to Ms. Hurt's open door and looked in, to see her typing away on her computer keyboard. I stepped a little further into the room.

"Um, Ms. Hurt?" I asked.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked without looking up.

"Um, can I have my phone back, please?" I asked.

"No." she said without looking at me.

"Why?" I asked. "I'm going to lunch soon and I want to listen to music while I eat!"

"I don't care what you intend to do with your phone." She said. "You were back-talking me and I don't like it when someone does that."

"Well, I'm sorry that you thought I was back-talking Ms. Hurt, but I really wasn't!" I said. "I was just trying to explain myself!"

"See, you're doing it again." She said.

"Doing what?" I asked with confusion.

"Back-talking." She said.

I let out a sigh of anger.

"Can I just please have my phone back?" I asked.

"No." she said.

"Okay, Ms. Hurt. I'm sorry that I back-talked you." I said. "Can I have my phone back now?"

"No." she repeated herself.

"But why?" I asked. "I apologized!"

"I know." She said. "But it's a start."

"Can I please have my phone back?" I asked.

"No." she repeated herself once more.

I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around to see Mr. Armstrong standing behind me.

"Hey, Dee?" he asked, calling Ms. Hurt by her first name.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up.

"Just give Ben his phone back." He said. "All he wants is to listen to music at lunch and third shift starts in a minute. He doesn't have all day for this."

Ms. Hurt just looked at him.

"But Prince," she said, calling him by his first name. "If I give him back his phone, he won't learn his lesson!"

"Dee, I heard both conversations between you two." Mr. Armstrong said. "And it doesn't sound like he was backtalking at any point."

Ms. Hurt just looked at Mr. Armstrong once more, before letting out a sigh. She reached for one of the drawers on her desk and pulled it open. She reached inside and pulled out my phone. She handed my phone to me and I was about to take it, when she pulled it back. I just looked at her with surprise.

"I want to be sure that I'm being quite clear with you." She said. "I don't expect to see any funny business after this."

I looked at her with confusion.

"Okay, I'll rephrase that. I'm giving you back your phone, so you can "listen to music at lunch"." She said. "But when you get back, I better not see it out for the rest of the day. Are we clear?"

"How about tomorrow, then?" I asked.

"What about tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm going to be here all week." I said. "What about tomorrow? Can I have my phone out to listen to music in here tomorrow?"

Ms. Hurt just stared at me with annoyance and for a second, I was afraid that she was going to take my phone again. But then, she spoke.

"Let's just see how you get through the rest of the day." She said.

I reached for my phone, but she pulled it back once more.

"Wait." She said. "Are we clear?"

It was my turn to look at her with annoyance now. I took my phone from her hand.

"Crystal." I said as I did so.

I walked out of her office and at that moment the bell rang, signaling the end of second lunch shift. I was about to walk out of the counseling center, when Mr. Armstrong stopped me.

"Ben, wait." He said.

I turned around to look at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Remember what we talked about." He said. "Try something or don't. No one's going to make the choice regarding your problem for you."

I nodded in thanks.

"You can head out now." He said. "I'll let you go early after all of that nonsense with Dee."

"Thanks, Mr. Armstrong." I said, as I turned once again.

As I walked out of the counseling center, I began to think about the conversation that we had earlier.

Let's think for a minute. You had that conversation regarding Gwen with Mr. Armstrong. Now, you wouldn't have brought it up if you hadn't of that it was a serious problem. If it's causing you this much pain and to almost flunk out of school, then it must be the real thing.

I had accepted the given facts as a reality. I think that I was in love with Gwen.

So, that was the day. That was the day that I accepted the fact that I was in love with Gwen. And that wasn't something I was happy about. Later that afternoon, my parents would inform me about something that they had learned that day. But that would be a story for another day, as for now, this is where I cut the story off.

Author's Note:

* And that is it for this chapter!

* I'm going to skip the major details for this chapter and jump right to the main point that most readers would care the most about. At this point, Ben has pretty much accepted that he is in love with Gwen. This is the point that Ben will decide to take his options more seriously. And it also won't be much longer for them until the inevitably get together.

* Go ahead and sound off in reviews about anything I didn't mention, if you want. Anyway, I hope you guys did enjoy this chapter. I'm going to go though, so have a Bwen-tastic day and bye.

Review Responses

jasongd (Chapter Nine): And another great chapter congrats BWEN Forever

Thanks, Jason. Glad to see you're enjoying the story. Thanks for the review, as always.

Car45 (Chapter Nine): Tough choices. Of course we all know that number one is the best. Yes he does deserve some punishment for skipping school. He had a good reason but he can't tell them…But really how do you ground a kid with the Omnitrix on his wrist. As always, I'll be looking forward to the next chapter.

Yes, they are tough choices. Choice one is the best? Ben sure doesn't think so. To him, running away or just keeping his mouth shut is the best choice. I'll discuss that further in the next reader's review. Oh, Ben doesn't have the Omnitrix in this story. Cold Winter's Night takes place in it's own reality, where Ben never got the Omnitrix, where he and Gwen never became heroes. Anyway, I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the review, as always.

SimmerGirlXo (Chapter Nine): Omg I nearly had a heart attack when he said he needed rope …Phew wasn't for something bad so yayy kinda lol …Like dude #1 is the only option here …And why the heck is running away is an option ?Ughz when will they actually discuss all of this? Awesome story btwyou're doing a great job keep it upD …Cant wait for the next installment (hugs)

Yeah, it wasn't for anything bad. Once again, Ben isn't considering option one, here. Why is running away an option? Oh, boy. Um, put yourself into Ben's shoes for a second. If you fell for your cousin, like him, and you two already had an uneasy relationship, would you have the guts to confess?

Because I know that I wouldn't, knowing that a confession may just make the relationship worse and that's exactly what Ben is afraid of. It should be an obvious fact that Gwen returns his feelings, but he's completely oblivious to her feelings. So, he thinks that him confessing to Gwen will just make their relationship worse, so to him, confessing isn't even worth. Did I not explain that very well?

Please be honest and tell me if I didn't explain it well enough or at all. They'll discuss it within the next five chapters or so. I'm glad that you think it's an awesome story (though I don't agree half of the time) and it's cool that you think I'm doing a great job. Um, virtual hugs to you, I guess? Anyway, thanks for the review as always.

xhope14x (Chapter Nine): You know at first I thought i wouldn't like this story but you have pulled me in and now I can't wait for the next chapter keep up the good work mate.

Oh! Well, I'm glad that you like the story, despite your first impressions. Thanks for the review, as always.

He23t (Chapter Nine): Truthfully I was reading this story out of boredom, But then the plot revolving around Ben and Gwen tension and love for one another had me hooked.

Well, regardless of you reading the story out of boredom, I'm glad you found yourself hooked to it. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Ben's parents inform him that they know something. Ben confronts his counselor.