A/N: Okay, seeing as it is my 18th birthday this wednesday, I'd thought I'd give you all a preview of the new editied chapter 2 I have been working on for a while. Now, unfortunely writing is going to be taking a backseat for a while. I'm still going to be writing when I can, but updates are going to be rare. I have also taken on two new projects, KittyAbz story and readergirl96's story: Gone. These will also be updated by me sometime.
Also If you have time, check out my DeviantArt page, I'm not a good artist but I do try. The username is: Sammyantha221.
To ETRNL4L, please take care of yourself my dear! Get recovered and then start doing what you want.
Another morning broke over the land, the bright sun rising into to the clear blue sky, its warm rays sweeping over the once winter bound land and bringing nature to life. Spring had finally begun and it couldn't come at a better time.
Shifting in her sleep, Julie felt the strong arms she was cocooned in wrap themselves tighter around her slender body. A sigh of content left her soft pink lips as she snuggled in deeper to her boyfriend chest, its gentle rise and fall lulling her back into slumber.
It was 15 minutes later when she was jolted awake by the blaring sound of her alarm clock radio as it belted out her favourite station. Groaning, she stuck her arm out in the direction of said device and began to grope around wildly in an attempt to shut the blasted thing off. After randomly hitting several things off her bedside table as she tried to blindly turn off the clock, her hand finally struck her target, silencing the radio and once again letting peace settle in the small room.
Closing her eyes, Julie got ready to fall back into the wonderful dream she was having before she was so rudely interrupted, when a low chuckle reverberated through her human pillow and a hand came up to gently run it's calloused fingers through her soft, ebony locks.
"Morning princess" Ben whispered into her ear, enjoying the small shiver that erupted down his girlfriends body as his breath tickled her skin.
"Mornin'" She mumbled, her slurred voice muffled by the boy's black, cotton shirt.
Another low chuckle rumbled through his chest at the girl's lackadaisical response. She never was much of a morning person…
"Are we going to be getting up anytime soon?" He questioned tauntingly, a knowing smile playing on his lips as he gently ghosted his hand up her side till he reached what he had dubbed as her "Tickle Spot".
"Maybe, depends if I feel like it. I might just stay in bed all day and use you as a human pillow" She joked, her arms clinging to him tightly she tried to drift back off to sleep.
The brunette let out a fake, shocked gasp "Why, is the great Julie Yamamoto, who hasn't missed a single day of school, thinking about skipping class? I guess Daddy was right, I am a bad influence!" he teased.
He felt her smile against his chest, a small giggle making its way from were she was pressed tightly against his body "Well, I'm sure one day couldn't hurt. I mean, who needs to find out how the body keeps itself at a regular temperature in different habitats when you can test the theory on your own personal radiator?" she weakly defended, trying to hide her face in his chest so she wouldn't have to move.
"Or…" he mused, his face morphing into one of mockingly deep thought "I could tickle you till you move…"
At the mention of the dreaded 'T' word, the ebony's head shot up from its position, her frightened hazel eyes locking with her boyfriends emerald ones that were sparkling with mirth.
"You wouldn't dare…" she trailed off, eyes narrowing as she studied her boyfriends evil lopsided smirk.
"Try me" He playfully growled and immediately began to let his fingers roam over her sensitive sides. Letting out a squeak of fear, she desperately tried to move away from the boys wiggling fingers. But it was to no avail, using his superior strength and quick reflexes; he grabbed her by the waist and threw her back down on the bed, her body making a soft thump as she hit the mattress.
"Ben, no don't!" She tried to plead, but it fell on deaf ears as he straddled her and began to ruthlessly tickle the life out of her. Erupting into uncontrollable fits of laughter, Julie kept up with her attempt to get away from her boyfriend torturous fingers, desperately trying to push him off. But being much heavier than the Japanese-American, it was a fruitless effort.
The ebony's cheeks flushed as she gasped for air, her cackling laughter mingling with the heartfelt laughter of the brunette as he continued to tickle her into submission.
"Are we going to get up" He chuckled, his fingers moving away from her sides so she could answer.
"Okay, Okay I'll get up!" she gasped out, her chest heaving as she drew in air to her burning lungs.
"I can't hear you…" he teased and once again ran his wiggling fingers down her sides, causing a loud cackle to escape the girl's throat.
"I'm getting up! I'm getting up!" she cried out in-between bouts of infectious laughter.
Relenting, he looked down at the girl underneath him. Her usually soft pale cheeks tinted pink from laughter, deep hazel eyes glittering like the clear midnight sky, hair fanned out behind her like a flowing river of ebony. It was stingingly clear to Ben, that she was probably the most breath-taking, beautiful thing he had seen. No goddess could ever hold a candle to what lay underneath him, for she was the epitome of perfection.
Placing his hands either side of her head, the brunette leant down to rub noses, his lips brushing tantalizingly close to hers.
"You're so beautifully perfect" he breathed against her lips, sending a pleasurable shiver down the girl's petite form. Julie let her eyes begin to slide shut as she immersed herself in the feel of her boyfriends body pressed so closely to her own. Parting her lips she leaned up slightly to capture his soft lips in a quick kiss.
The feel of his lips against her's set something off in Ben. Without a thought, he meshed his lips against her's in a fiery kiss. Responding eagerly, the ebony wrapped her thin arms around the heroes' strong neck, effectively crushing him to her. Feeling slightly bold, Julie snaked her tongue in his mouth, starting of a war for dominance she had no chance of winning.
Minutes felt like second to the pair as they lost themselves to their senses. Both drinking up as much as each other before they were forced to part and go back to being drawn apart by their hobbies. Cracking one emerald eye open to glance at the clock that lay on the wooden bedside table to his left, he almost chocked on his own spit. Realising they only had half an hour left to get ready for school; he regrettably tried to pull himself away from his girlfriends tantalizing lips that moved against his in a way he couldn't begin to describe.
Unfortunately for him, the small ebony wasn't ready to let him go that easily. Every time he would try to pull away, she would pull him in closer, pressing her body to his in way's that made his head spin. Letting out a feral growl against her lips, he slowly slid his hands down her sides.
"If she's going to play dirty…"
With a short jab of his index finger, he poked her in her side, causing her to let out a squeal of surprise and spring out from underneath him. Heartfelt chuckles immediately sprung from the brunette's slightly bruised lips at the sight of his girlfriend. Whirling round to face him, Julie sent her boyfriend an annoyed glare whilst brushing a few strands of ebony that had fallen and were obscuring her vision.
"Way to kill the moment there, Ben" she huffed and moved to get off the large double bed. Quelling his laughter, Ben snaked his arms around her waist, effectively blocking her attempts to move away. Pulling her into his chest, he trailed kissed up her neck until her reached her ear, earning a pleasured moan from the ebony.
"Time to get ready for school" He whispered, a grin spreading to his lips when he heard the girl in his arms groan in disappointment.
"I don't want to go to school" she whined in a child like manner, causing the male teen to let out a husky chuckle.
"You may not want to, but dear old Mommy and Daddy won't be too happy that their perfect little Julie skipped class because she wanted to spend time rolling in bed with Ben Tennyson: Teenage alien menace." He teased.
Letting out a defeated huff and letting her shoulders slump, the tennis player grumbled out an angry "Fine!" before reluctantly peeling herself out of her boyfriend's secure and comforting grip. Setting her feet onto the carpeted floor below, she started her trek to the en-suite bathroom.
Ben watched as Julie made her way to the bathroom, the swing of her curvy hips sending him into a dream like state. He never had figured out how he had managed to sweep her off those perfect little feet. But whatever way he had, he never regretted a single moment of it.
Pulling himself from the springy mattress, he winced at the small burning sensation that shot through his side. Rolling up his shirt, he spotted the wound he had acquired the night before, the flesh around the incision red raw and the wound itself weeping slightly as it tried to heal. Dried blood had crusted around the edge making it hard to spot what was the cut and what was skin.
He'd forgotten about that…
Quickly tugging down his shirt, he cast a quick glance toward where he had last seen a flash of ebony disappear behind the ivory wooden door. Seeing that the door was still firmly shut and the sound of running water could be heard, he let out a sigh of relief and turned his gaze back to the floor.
After a quick search for his pants that he had discarded after practically being forced to stay the night, he snatched them up from the floor, another twinge of burning pain blooming from his side at the sudden movement. Grunting in annoyance at his body's inadequacy of handling such minuscule wounds, he pulled on his pants and slipped his sock clad feet into his worn black and white converses.
Practically leaping from the bed, he lifted his left arm, his side protesting once again at the small movement and selected the correct alien. Slamming his palm down, he was bathed in a green light as his body shifted and groaned as his human body morphed into one of a male Necrofriggian. Hissing out the creature's name, he turned intangible and disappeared through the window.
Pulling up at the school gates, Ben felt the ever present ache in his side worsen. Upon arriving home, he had discovered the wound had become infected and had reopened slightly. Luckily, some of the heavy painkillers that Gwen had forced him to take were still his system, so he hadn't noticed it much while he was a Julie's. But now it had started to wear off, leaving a painful cramping sensation to ripple through his side at any sudden and active movement.
Turning off the engine with a simple flick of his wrist, he slumped tiredly in his seat. How long could he carry on like this? Pretending everything was okay, acting like the injuries he sustained meant nothing. He had to lie to his girlfriend, his family. What kind o hero was he if he had to lie to he people who had helped him get to were he was today?
"Ben? Are you okay?"
Snapping his head towards the sound of the voice, his green eyes settled on Julie, who was sat in the passenger seat, her soft features showing her deep concern for her boyfriend who seemed so tired and lost, nothing like the hyperactive and bright teen that she knew and adored.
"Oh yeah. I'm fine, just thinking that's all" He reassured his lip quirking up into a small smirk.
Letting a smirk settle on her lips, the tennis player used her quick wit to turn his words against him. "Don't think too hard. Y'know what Kevin always says will happen if you try and exert yourself"
The joke had its desired effect, making the hero chuckle "Yeah, I know. Although, Kev can't talk. He has the same problem. You should have seen him try to figure out how to use the new washing machine his mother brought him. Man that was better than TV!" Both teens erupted into laughter at the images the memory provoked. Somewhere in the distance the familiar sound of the school bell tolled, dragging the two out their laughter and bringing them back into the realm of reality. Stepping out the car, they both headed towards the large two-storey white buildings were they received their education.
Thankfully for the teenage hero, the day didn't drag on too much. The first three periods which consisted of Math, English Literature and World History, seemed to fly by with only a few protests from the cut on his side.
Walking out of his World History class, he headed down the long plain white hallway which had numerous lockers lining its walls to meet Julie. A smile graced his lips as he spotted the flash of ebony by were his locker was situated. Picking up his pace, he weaved his way through the mass of students to get to her.
So preoccupied was he with trying to get to his girlfriend, he missed the group of jocks that were rushing down the hall until one forcefully pushed him out their way in a one man stampede to get to the football field.
Ben slammed into the metal lockers with a loud crash, a groan escaping his lips as a paralysing pain blossomed from his side. He held his side as he slid to the floor. His legs no longer able to hold his body as uncontrollable pain burned through his nervous system like lava. His head spun and vision blurred as his chest heaved to draw in oxygen. Something wet and warm seeped through his fingers as he held his lesion and he barely was able to register that it may just be blood.
"Ben!"
Hearing the panicked cry, he turned unfocused emerald rings to his girlfriend who was rushing down the hall desperate get to her fallen boyfriend. Reaching him, her concerned chocolate eyes immediately spotted the large patch of blood that seeped through his cotton shirt, staining the white material a deep shade of crimson. Letting out a gasp, she quickly inspected him for any other injuries.
"Ben? Ben can you hear me?" She shook him gently, trying to get his attention. Flickering his eyes to her concerned face, he let a weak smile tug at his pale lips.
"Well this was certainly unexpected huh?" he joked, earning a glare from the ebony. Just then another spasm of pain racked is body, causing him to double over. He let out a groan of agony and clutched as his side, desperately wishing for it to dissipate.
Seeing her boyfriend's distress, the tennis player deduced it would be better to get him up of the floor and out of school before trying to sort out the wound. It briefly crossed her mind that se should go and grab the school nurse, but she dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. If Ben's parents found out he had been injured and was having to take time out of school, they would ban him from Plumber duties till he was fit enough to do both. Which although she agreed with them, she also knew that alien sightings and attacks had been at a high these past few weeks and with Ben out the picture, Gwen and Kevin wouldn't be able to cope on their own.
Dropping her pink backpack on the floor, she removed her pink sweatshirt and tied it around his torso to try and staunch the blood the blood flow. Then, wrapping his arm round his shoulders and hers round his back, she helped him up of the floor. The brunette's face twisted into a pained grimace at the pain that shot through his system from the movement.
Slowly they began to make their way down the hallway toward the large double doors that led out to the car park. A few students sent the pair a questioning look as they hobbled by, but they were all but ignored by Julie who concentrated on getting her wounded boyfriend out of this place and back to his.
It wasn't long before they reached the double doors, but the effort had left the brunette panting and sweating profusely. Taking a quick look at where his injury was, she noted that blood had started seeping through her jacket. Picking up her pace, she ushered the boy forward, offering words of comfort when a groan of pain would escape his lips, or he would ask for a break.
When they reached the green and black vehicle, Julie gently eased him into the passenger seat. After making sure he was secure, she made her way to the driver's side. Luckily, she had passed her driving test a year before, with help from Ben. Only problem was, she hadn't driven something as powerful as his car since he had begun teaching her. She hoped she could remember all she had taught her.
The drive to the brunette's house was somewhat smooth, with Julie only making a few minor mistakes. Pulling up the curb, she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and checked the boy beside her. There was a medium sized patch of blood soaked through her jacket which showed the bleeding had slowed to some extent. Sweat lined his brow, his eyes were foggy and unfocused and his breath short and raspy. Julie could tell he was in a bad state, but she wondered how he had managed to deteriorate so rapidly. He had been fine this morning, or so she thought. But maybe he had just been putting on a brave face. It wouldn't be the first time that he'd hidden his wounds from battles, playing them off if they were merely chicken scratches. To say it worried her would be a gross understatement. She was terrified that one day he was going to just ignore the pain and the injury and end up causing himself irreparable damage or getting himself killed because he was to weak to fight. It was bad enough he was fighting aliens, knowing he could possibly be fighting them while he was injured made her want to keep him from ever using the watch. A lone tear broke through her lashes and rolled down her cheek, her chest caving in with the thought of losing the stubborn headed, egotistical and childish teen that had stolen her heart. So many times he had come close; sometimes it had been just too close. Scrubbing the tear from her face, she took a deep calming breath to compose herself. Ben needed her now. If she didn't act fast she really would lose him. Leaping from the driver's seat, she scrambled round to the passenger side. Flinging the door open, she undid the boy's seat belt and gently helped him out the car. The teenage hero was unsteady on his legs due to the pain that racked his nervous system and had to lean against his girlfriend heavily for support. The usually short trip to his front door felt like a mile as he forced his body to move through its agonising protests. Once inside, the Asian-American led the brunette down the short hallway to his bedroom. Kicking open the door, she manuvered her way through the ever growing mess to his bed. Setting him down, she scurried of to his bathroom to grab the emergency first aid kit he kept for when a battle turned particularly nasty. She was almost certain Gwen and Kevin also had invested in one, they always seemed to be the ones that came back bruised and scratched. Shaking herself out of her musings, she made her way back to her boyfriend who lay on his bed, one hand clutching his side while the other covered his face as he let out a groan of agony. "It's okay Ben" she soothed "I'll clean it and make sure it's fine."
"I'm fine, I promise. You don't need to do this" he weakly protested and attempted to sit up. He was immediately stopped by Julie who placed both hands on his chest and pushed him back down onto the bed. "No Ben. For once admit your hurt and let me take care of you. If I don't sort that out your either going to die from blood loss or an infection will set in" She told him sternly, muddy brown eyes daring him to say otherwise.
Seeing his girlfriend was determined and he had no chance of winning this fight, he relented. Laying back down, he grit his teeth ready for the searing pain he knew was about to come.
Peeling off her now blood stained jumper, she placed it underneath the gash just in case it started bleeding again. Rolling up his cotton shirt, she had to resist the urge to gasp. The wound looked horrible. It was deep and was weeping blood and puss, a sign it was infected. The skin around it was red raw and was obviously irritated from the infection.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she got to work on trying to sort out the mess that was her boyfriend's side. Julie thanked her lucky stars she had taken the first aid class back when she was 16. The knowledge she had learned had come in handy more than once when ever boyfriend and his team mates had taken one two many beatings from their enemies. Although, she doubted her tutor would have known that she was going to be using it for more than just scrapes and bruises. With a cotton swap and some antiseptic she began the delicate task of cleaning the wound and the excess blood that had dried along his side. Ben was being a good patient, with only a few hisses of pain escaping his parted lips. But the ebony could tell he was struggling with the pain. His eyes were screwed tightly shut and his face twisted into one of agony as sweat poured down his pale face, mingling with the tears that had managed to seep through his closed lids. It tore at her heart to see him like this. So weak and in so much pain. Tears burned at the back of her vision as she kept her eyes trained on what she was doing. Her heart lodged in her throat as she uncovered more and more of the septic legion that marred the Ultimatrix wielders side. I occurred to her that he'd kept it hidden it from her. It was obvious that this hadn't happened today since the infection had been able to spread to most of the incision. But why? She knew that he would sometimes hurt. More than once she'd had to rush over to patch him up. A cry of agony cut through her musing, scaring her enough to make her jump slightly and snap her gaze towards her boyfriends face. Noting his distress, she gripped his hand in her own and used her free hand to brush away his caramel bangs from his sweaty forehead. "I'm sorry, it's okay. I know it hurts, but you've managed to get it infected" she told him soothingly. He turned his head to look at her. His green eyes were fogged with pain, tears running freely down his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, his voice choked and raspy "Sorry." Julie turned her head away, unable to look at him as rage began to bubble in her veins. It was too late to say sorry. Sorry wasn't going to heal the wound on his side; it wasn't going to ease the fears that gripped her soul. Sorry didn't mean anything unless you meant it. Pulling her hand away from his, Julie continued her work, pushing away her feelings and concentrating on the work in hand. Now was not the time to get emotional. Once she felt that the gash was clean enough, she removed the stitching kit from the first aid box. After sterilising the needle, she gently grabbed each side of the wound with her index finger and thumbs and slowly began to push them together to make it easier for her to stitch it up. The motion caused the green eyed boy to let out a pained cry. He fisted the sheets beneath him as he made a pitiful whimper through his gritted teeth.
Working swiftly, she stitched the incision with skills that rivalled that of a surgeon. As she worked, the cries from the hero seem to silence. Taking a quick glance up, she discovered the poor boy had passed out. The burning pain from his side too much to handle in his weakened state. Finishing off, she snipped off the excess thread. Placing the needle back, she grabbed the gauze and bandages.
It didn't take long to wrap up the now closed wound. Tying off the two ends of the bandage; she removed her blood stained jumper from underneath him and packed away the medial supplies. Looking over at were she had placed her jumper; she let out a disappointed sigh. She had loved that jumper; it was lovely pastel blue with a tiger decoration stitched up the side. It had actually been a present from Ben, coincidently enough because he'd managed to ruin her pink one. She could feel a trend coming on here…
Picking up the now unusable piece of clothing, she headed back to the en-suite bathroom. Dropping her jacket in the sink, she placed the first aid kit back in its special hiding place behind the toilet (Sandra never dared enter the boy's bathroom, let alone wonder what was behind the toilet). Grabbing a, somewhat clean, hand towel, she wetted it slightly before heading back out to her unconscious patient.
Walking over, she quietly sat beside him, her thumb gently caressing his pale cheek as he slept peacefully. No matter how angry she got at him or how much of a jerk he could be, she could never leave him. He had become too much of her to just walk away.
Brushing away his soft caramel bangs from his forehead, she placed a soft kiss to his sweaty forehead. It wasn't his fault he got injured, he was trying to keep Bellwood and the world safe. She only wished that he would tell her, instead of having to watch him suffer in pain like now. Lying and brushing it off as nothing made her feel as if he didn't trust her enough to tell her, that she wasn't important enough to know about the battles he fought.
Placing the damp towel across she burning forehead, she sat quietly, running her fingers through his soft caramel locks as she watched him sleep. All thoughts of school or aliens flew from her mind as she studied her boyfriends face. Since that first time at the soccer pitch, she had known he was something special. No one else made her heart flutter and her body react in such way like he did. Once simple kiss could leave her speechless for minutes as she processed the soft feel of his lips against her own.