Chapter 13: Giving It All Back

"Grandpa!" The two stunned cousins cried in unison. Their hearts began to beat frantically - begging to be released from the imprisonment of the human body. Sweat started to form on the top of their heads and a few drops trickled down their shocked faces. Never in their lives had they felt so nervous or been in such a fragile moment. Everything they would say had to be said carefully and planned.

Gwen closed her eyes - hoping that everything before her was just a mere dream. I kissed Ben! She said in her mind with disbelief. I kissed that annoying freak of a cousin of mine. My lips...mine...they touched his. What was I thinking! No matter how many times she tried to deny everything, Gwen regretted absolutely nothing. There was no longer any doubt in her thoughts or what she had done. It was all exactly how she wanted it.

"W-what are you doing here?" Ben asked Max with obvious hesitation.

Their grandfather held his arms up in a still shrug. "What," he said innocently, "I can't be in my own RV?"

His obvious obliviousness was making both Gwen and Ben feel awkward. Max was playing dumb - and it was direly getting to them. Ben knew there was no going back. He allowed himself to be pulled into a poisonous situation, and trying to get himself out would only numb the pain. Gwen had shown him that she held feelings for him, and he was ready to accept them. No matter what.

"Alright," Ben started, "you got us. Now what are you going to do?" His voice faded towards the end of his sentence. He knew their would be consequences, and they would probably be back in Bellwood in the next couple of days - never to go on another summer vacation.

The setting was tense. Nobody spoke for a long while. Max stood in the doorway - leaning against the frame that connected the back room to the front of the Rustbucket. His gaze continuously switched from Ben to Gwen. Finally, his eyes looked towards the window on the side of the vehicle - into the blue-black nighted sky.

"I know exactly what I have to do here." Max said to his grandchildren firmly. His voice shattered both Ben and Gwen's hearts. They were sure they knew what was coming. "But do you two know what I'm going to do?"

The two adolescents swallowed with fear and uneasiness. There was no way out of the pit they fell into. Feelings that could not be helped had brought them there. It was no one's fault. There is no way anyone can control who they fall in love with.

"Sit down." Max finally commanded them. The three sat at the bench-and-table setup. Ben sat next to Gwen across from their grandfather. "I want to let you two know that I'm not blind."

Gwen, confused, looked at him oddly. "We know that, Grandpa."

"Are you sure?" Max asked questionably. "Because I could see this coming a mile away."

"What coming?" Ben broke in. Before the elderly man could respond to the question, Ben quickly retorted to himself. "Wait...wait...we don't have time for this! Hex is out there right now, and he's probably planning something to take the Charms of Bezel away from Gwen!"

"Hex?" Max asked. Now it was his turn to be confused. "Right now he isn't our problem."

"What are you talking about? He's going to come here any second if I don't do anything. He's probably on his way right now!" Ben shouted and stood up to leave.

"Sit down, Benjamin!" Max used a loud and stern voice. Gwen slouched down further in the soft bench. She had never heard her grandfather speak like that before.

Ben, reluctantly, sat back down in the seat. Max then took a deep breath and then exhaled - releasing all of the sudden stress he built up and some from his earlier confrontation with his grandchildren.

Out of no where, he began speaking his mind. "You two...should know that what you did a minute ago is just wrong in most people's minds."

Gwen was taking his words harshly. She was flooded with guilt and almost wanted to cry. But it wasn't her fault, why should she be punished for something that she was powerless to stop? This just isn't fair! She screamed in her head.

"But I'm not most people."

Suddenly, Ben and Gwen both turned their full attention to the white-haired man sitting across from them. They were both utterly puzzled by what he meant by his recent confession.

"I knew this would happen eventually." Max shook his head, smiling hysterically while letting out faint laughs.

"What do you mean 'you knew this would happen'?" Ben asked.

"You two were just so protective of the other. You're constant teasing was an obvious sign that you wanted each other's attention."

Gwen felt an odd churn in her stomach. A tingling sensation of truth was spread throughout them both. Ben and Gwen both knew why they teased and taunted the other, but neither of them had ever stopped to think about it.

"And...from all of this," Max continued, "I just wanted to let you two know that...I'm not going to get in the way. I-I know what it feels like...to have someone to care for and who cares about you." The older man couldn't believe he was having this conversation with anyone. "Because, I felt the same way when I met your grandmother. She was the light in my dark life...she changed who I was."

Max seemed to be getting lost in his own memories. He was no longer focused on the two adolescents that sat across from him. His eyes were darting from different objects in the RV - as if they were moving from place to place.

"My friend...my best friend...Phil. He changed the day I told him what happened when Verdona came to see me one night while I was camping alone. He told me I was crazy, that I was dumb, for falling in love with an alien. But I couldn't help it. She was just so perfect, and everything was so right." He took a deep breath - a few hiccups escaped his throat - and continued. "I just don't want you two to have to go through that. Phil was wrong to do what he did, and I'm not going to do that to you guys. You two have brought joy to my life. This summer has been amazing. I wouldn't even think of going back to change it."

The fragile moment that they thought would be upon just wasn't there. Everything was so soft and comforting - nothing seemed to be out of place. Ben slid his hand across the padded booth-like seat and laced it into Gwen's. She clenched his tightly and closed her eyes. It was a free feeling, and it was exactly what she wanted.

In that moment, the windows on the Rustbucket were shattered by a magenta magicka. A thunderous laugh echoed throughout the air.

"Hex..." Ben said solemnly.

Max's head shot up in surprise. "Ben I-I'm sorry. I thought you were trying to make up an excuse to leave."

Ben smiled. "I'm glad you didn't believe me." Lifting his arm up, the Omnitrix flashed into his eyesight; but before he was able to decide on an alien, Gwen's arm blocked his point of impact.

"We never get to hang out." She said.

The green-eyed boy smiled at her. "One day. I promise." He then let his lips guide him to her forehead where he planted a light kiss. The orange-haired girl's face lit up. Everything feels so right... Bliss was put into Gwen's mind - it was calming and peaceful, which reminded her of someone.

In a flash of green light, Ben was gone and Stink Fly was in his place.

"Gotta fly!"

The hot water ran down the young girl's tanned skin. Her hair glistened in the steaming liquid. In the reflection of the shower mirror, her blue eyes sparkled like the ocean water during a sunny morning.

Turning a metal valve in a specific direction, the running water quickly died down until it was no longer coming from the shower head. After letting some of the water drip from her body, she grabbed a plaster-white towel off of a nearby rack and began to dry the rest of her body.

Once all of the liquid was displaced from hair and body, she stepped out of the tub-like shower and began to dress herself. Simply, she wore a pair of underwear and a midnight-blue dress which ran down to her knees. Her dark brown hair and blue eyes were flashing in sync with the little jewels that ran vertically down her dress.

The condo that she lived in was silent, and she adored the solitude of not having anyone around. Most of the time, her parents were gone at work or just getting drunk at a bar. She was usually left to fend for herself. That was exactly how she learned to be calm. If she were like any other typical twelve-year-old girl then she would have gone mad by now.

Suddenly, outside the front door that let into a hallway of the large building, the young girl heard the sound of whirling wind come and go - almost in an instant.

That's weird. There shouldn't be a draft anywhere out there.

Out of curiosity, the brunette girl strode softly and steadily towards the front door - putting one foot in front of the other. This walking style allowed her to move quietly and comfortably without disturbing anything around her. She learned how to do so by reading a book on Native American hunters.

When she arrived at the door that led outward into the condo's hallway and then into the reception area, she turned the knob and opened it. Nobody was in front of her, but there was a bouquet of flowers and a letter below her feet. Picking them up, she saw that they were orange and green flowers. Opening the card, she read aloud,

"You were the thing that helped us realize what we knew but could not say,

You helped us speak without words,

You lit the torch for us to follow in darkness,

Thank you."