It's day 5 of Gwevin week, here's my third submission (credit to brooken-gwevin-weeks, who you can find on Tumblr)! The prompt I chose this time around is Internet/Childhood friends. I liked this prompt because I've had a lot of great penpals over the years, so I'm dedicating this story to the five of them.
This story is a collection of letters, please make sure to pay attention to the dates for an indication of time jumps.
AU Warning: This is a no powers/alien heritage AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 and characters. I also don't own the Percy Jackson series.
October 20th, 2006
Hello,
My name is Gwendolyn but my friends call me Gwen. I'm 11 years old and I'm a student in the 6th grade of my elementary school. We're currently learning how the postal system works and our homework is to send a letter to someone. All my classmates have chosen to send letters to their grandparents or to each other, which I think is too easy and not very imaginative. I've done some research and I've found that a local juvenile detention center offers a pen pal service for their youth. I thought it would show a lot more creativity to send a letter through the program rather than send it to my grandfather who lives in an old RV a couple of blocks from my house.
Since the penpals are assigned randomly, I thought I'd tell you a bit about myself. I love to read, my favorite series right now is Percy Jackson. Greek Mythology is very interesting. What's your favorite book? I also enjoy learning karate. I know if I keep training, I'll one day get my black belt. Do you have any hobbies? I live with my parents and my older brother, Ken. If you're interested, I can tell you about a trip I took across the United States with my grandfather and my annoying cousin, Ben.
I look forward to your reply,
Gwen
October 27th, 2006
Hey,
I'm Kevin and I'm 12 years old. Isn't it kind of stupid to learn how to write a letter? Nobody actually does that anymore unless they're really old. I don't like reading but karate sounds fun. I'm good at beating stuff up. I don't live with my parents anymore, but I have some friends here at the center. My best friend is named Argit. He's really cool and funny.
Also, did your parents have a meeting where they decided to give all their kids rhyming names?
I guess you can tell me about your trip, it sounds boring but not as boring as my life here.
Are you even going to answer me if your homework was just to send one letter...
Kevin
November 3rd, 2006
Hello Kevin,
Of course, I'll answer you and I'll continue sending you letters unless you don't want me to anymore? But I'd like for us to stay penpals and maybe one day become friends?
It's okay that you don't like reading. Karate is a lot of fun, but it's not always about just beating stuff up. I decided to learn it as self-defense and it's also a way to practice memorization and concentration.
At first, I didn't think my trip would be fun, my cousin and I don't get along. He's very immature for his age and he's really obsessed with this weird show called Sumo Slammers. My grandpa Max drove us all across the United States, we saw some really cool places like Niagara Falls and Mount Rushmore. My grandpa tried to feed us the weirdest things. For some reason, he thinks adding bugs to any and every recipe is fun. I know they contain protein, but I almost threw up when I picked up and took a bite out of what I thought was a chocolate chip cookie. And I lost track of the number of times the RV broke down (it's ancient). Ben and I nicknamed it the RustBucket. But I'm still glad I went on that trip, there were some fun moments and I guess my cousin isn't that bad, most of the time.
Have you ever traveled around the states? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I hope you have a good week,
Gwen
PS: You think our names are weird when your best friend is named Argit?
March 9th, 2007
Hey Gwen,
You'll never believe what Argit did today! We were in the cafeteria eating lunch and he started a food fight. What's even cooler is that he started it without even throwing a single piece of food! He convinced two other kids here that the other one had been saying things behind their backs. They got so angry that they started the food fight. So those two kids got in trouble, not Argit. It was so fun to watch.
You said in your last letter you had a test? Was it hard? Even in juvie, we still go to school but we often don't get stuff done. There's always someone interrupting the class and the teachers get really angry.
This is probably a weird question, but are you sure you still want to be friends with me? I know you don't have to send me letters anymore, you got an A+ on this stupid assignment. I know I'm not a good person, I don't deserve your friendship, so don't waste your time.
Kevin
March 16th, 2007
Hi Kevin,
I don't think you're a bad person, but I think you're being stupid right now. Everyone deserves friendship. I told you before, I want to send letters to you, I like it and I enjoy talking to you.
I know you must have done something illegal to end up in a juvenile detention center, but I think people can change. And if you're willing to change and learn from your mistakes, I don't think you're a bad person.
I've never been in a food fight at school, sounds gross. But I'm glad you had fun, I guess... Argit seems like he likes to cause trouble. Maybe you should be careful...
Your friend,
Gwen
July 20th, 2007
Hey Gwen,
Wow, Ben actually did that? And I thought I was dumb and obnoxious (am I using that word right?). He better apologize to you... Or else.
The new library the center has been wanting to build for the past year finally opened this week. There aren't many books. The government is too cheap and won't give us the money to buy books. It'll be donations only. I guess I'll try to find that Percy series you're always talking about since you think I'll like it so much. No promises, I don't like reading.
Kevin
September 14th, 2007
Dear Kevin,
I'm sorry it took me an extra week to answer your letter, the first week back at school has been really crazy. I thought changing schools would be scary, but I really like it. I'm in the same 7th-grade class as my best friend Emily so I'm really happy. I've heard rumors that the teachers here are really scary and mean but I don't think they are. My English teacher already gave us a list of all the books we'll be reading this year, which means I get to start reading them early. I'm so excited!
Speaking of books, Grandpa Max dropped off the box with all my used books at the post office the other week, so it should get to the center soon. I bought you an extra copy of the first Percy Jackson book (I couldn't part ways with my copy, I love it too much). Make sure to go find it in the library when it gets delivered. I highlighted my favorite parts in the book, that way if you don't feel like reading the whole book, you can just read those ones.
How was your visit with your mom last week? Did it go well? I know you were nervous about it being awkward like the last time she visited. I hope it went well and if you feel like it, tell me about it in your next letter!
Your friend,
Gwen
December 21st, 2007
Hey Gwen,
I know it's still early, but Merry Christmas! I hope you get all the books you wanted from your Christmas list.
I have some good news! Since the last visit with mom went really well, she told me she'd come and visit me during Christmas break! She said she had some exciting news to tell me.
Your friend,
Kevin
January 1st, 2008
Dear Kevin,
Happy New Year! I had a great time over the holidays. I baked and decorated some gingerbread cookies with Emily and her parents. Then Grandpa Max took Ben and me sledding. We made a ramp out of snow and competed to see who could jump higher. I won because I'm the lightest. And I got all the books I wanted for Christmas. I've already read one, it was really good.
How did the visit with your mom go? What was the exciting news she had to tell you?
School starts again on Monday, I'm sure you would disagree, but I'm excited to go back. In the meantime, I'm going to read as much as I can.
Your friend,
Gwen
January 31st, 2008
Dear Kevin,
It's been a while since I sent my last letter and you haven't replied back yet. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm worried about you. Is everything okay? Did Argit get into another fight and you got hurt trying to stop it? Or maybe you're sick? A lot of people at my school are sick with the flu right now. I hope you're okay, please write back to me as soon as you can.
Your friend,
Gwen
PS: I included a copy of the last letter I sent you, just in case it got lost in the mail when I sent it at the beginning of the month. Maybe that's why you haven't answered me back yet.
February 27th, 2008
Dear Kevin,
Another month has gone by and I still haven't received a letter from you. I don't think my letters are getting lost in the mail...
Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong? I'm really sorry if I said something that upset you, I promise I didn't mean to.
Are we okay? Are we still friends? Please answer me, even if you're mad at me, I just want to know if you're okay.
Your worried friend,
Gwen
May 25th, 2008
Hi Kevin,
I called the center you're at. I asked to talk to you or if they could just tell me if you're okay, but since I'm not family they wouldn't give me any personal information. But at least that phone call proved that you're still there, you haven't been released.
I haven't heard from you since December... I just don't understand... Why did you stop sending me letters? I keep rereading the letters you sent me over these past months and I can't figure out what I did wrong, but I'm still sorry. I really enjoy being your friend. I thought you liked being my friend too.
If you answer me back one of these days, I promise I'll reply. I want to fix this. But until then, I won't be sending you any more letters. It hurts too much.
Goodbye,
Gwen
September 9th, 2011
Hi Gwen,
I'm not sure if you remember me. I don't even know if you still live at this address or if you moved away. (I really hope you still live here because I don't know how else to find you, we never exchanged our last names and the detention center kept your last name private for security reasons).
I'm sorry I stopped answering your letters all those years ago. I didn't mean to hurt you, I wasn't thinking properly back then, I was being dumb. I thought if I stopped answering you would forget about me.
You asked me why I stopped answering your letters. It's because I was ashamed. Do you remember in the last letter I sent you, how I told you my mom was supposed to visit me over the Christmas holidays and that she had something to tell me? She arrived on Christmas Eve with a man. I knew him, his name is Harvey and he'd been my mom's on and off boyfriend ever since my father died. The only reason they had a rocky relationship was because of all the trouble I caused for my mom. She was always busy cleaning up my messes. I guess when I went to juvie, they got back together. She had come to tell me they were engaged. I flipped, I got mad at Harvey because I thought he was replacing my dad and stealing my mom away.
After the visit, I went to Argit. That was my first mistake. He told me he knew how to make me feel better. I knew he was probably just going to use me, but I let him. He convinced me to help him with his plan to escape juvie. I thought it was a good idea since I didn't want to be released to the custody of my mom after my sentence. I didn't want to go home with her and Harvey, so I decided the best thing to do was to run away.
Obviously, we didn't escape, we got caught and we were in big trouble. Argit was pissed, but I wasn't. I was embarrassed. Once I got my writing privileges back, I was still too embarrassed to tell you what happened. I had convinced myself you didn't deserve a friend like me, that I wasn't capable of change. I was convinced I was a bad person. I didn't realise this until later, but I was also scared to disappoint you. You had so much faith in me, even if we'd never met.
I know my apology is several years late. I only got out of juvie a couple of months ago and I've just now worked up the courage to send you this letter. But I needed you to know that I never stopped thinking about you. Not only because I felt bad about how things ended between us, but because I was a bigger jerk than Ben ever was to you. But because I also needed to thank you. You really were a good friend. Receiving that first letter from you on a random October day all those years ago gave me hope. I liked who you thought I could be and I liked being your friend.
If you do read this letter, it's okay if you don't want to answer me. I don't expect you to accept my apology. But I hope it answers your question about why I stopped writing and that you can at least know you were never to blame.
If there's a small chance you do forgive me, I'd still like to be penpals, if you want.
Hopefully still your friend,
Kevin
PS: I did eventually finish reading the Percy Jackson book you sent. It took me a year, but you were right, I liked it. You remind me a lot of Annabeth. Did I remind you of Percy? Is that why you thought I'd like it? I'll have to go to the library and get the rest of the books in that series.
September 16th, 2011
Dear Kevin,
I'll be honest. I was really surprised when I received your letter. I was convinced I would never hear from you ever again. I'm relieved to hear you didn't stop answering me because you were sick or injured.
I appreciate you taking the time to tell me what happened all those years ago. I can't say I wasn't hurt back then, but I can understand how you were feeling and why you did it. I forgive you. I'm just sad that you thought I would have been disappointed.
Do you remember all those years ago when you asked me if I thought you were a bad person and if I still wanted to be your friend? I had told you that as long as you wanted to change and if you learned from your mistakes, I didn't think you were a bad person. Everybody makes mistakes, including me. Deciding to escape was stupid and listening to Argit was even dumber, but the fact that you were embarrassed and ashamed by your actions tells me you had learned from your mistakes. I wouldn't have been angry, but I do agree that you were being as much of an idiot as Ben. (By the way, Ben has matured a lot in the past couple of years, we're actually friends now. Shocking, I know).
I'm happy to hear you've completed your sentence at the center. Congratulations! I'm really proud of you. How are things between you and your mom? I hope you were able to reconnect, I know how much you love her.
I couldn't help but notice on the envelope that you also live in Bellwood. Did you recently move here? Would you like to meet up next weekend? I'd love to get the chance to see you and hopefully reconnect. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about. If you're free and interested, I'll be at Mr. Smoothie at 2 pm next Saturday. I'll be waiting outside the restaurant at the nearby picnic tables. I hope to see you there.
Definitely still your friend,
Gwen Tennyson
PS: Learning that you read the book and actually loved it makes me so happy, you better be ready to talk about it when we see each other! I never thought about it, but yeah, you do remind me of Percy. I'm flattered you think I'm like Annabeth, she's a great character. Wait until you find out what happens between the two of them!
Can you spot all my references to stuff said or done in the show? For those who were wondering, in 2006 Gwen is 11 and Kevin is 12, in 2011, Gwen is now 15 and Kevin is 16 (so roughly the same ages they were in the original series and then in Alien Force).