A/N: I'm uploading this at two in the morning, so it's technically Wednesday. After that last update, I was planning on updating again on Friday so I could keep the update day the same, but it completely slipped my mind. So screw it. Wednesday's the new update day.
"Did you actually manage to eat before you left the house this time?"
Gwen smiled before moving her locker door out of the way to make eye contact with Emily, who was giving her a knowing look.
"There was nothing stopping me this time, so yes. I did. My mom made breakfast for us," she said with a laugh.
"Good. Your parents are great cooks, so I get to keep this bagel," Emily said before biting into the item in question. Then she peeked around her friend as well as she could. "You said 'us,' so I can only assume Ben was with you during this breakfast. Where is he?"
"He decided to take the scenic route. I just teleported over here," Gwen said, taking several books out of her locker.
"It's unbelievable you can say something like that so casually," Emily said, leaning back in her wheelchair. "I'm kinda jealous I can't just go wherever I want in an instant. Sounds like a real time saver."
"I could always take you with me if you're ever that curious," Gwen offered as she put her books in her bag.
"No thanks. I wouldn't want to waste your time. Still, I bet it's fun being all magic," Emily said with a smile.
"You have no idea. Speaking of Ben, I really wanted to talk to you about him," Gwen said, pulling her bag over her shoulder.
"Same here. It's actually kind of important," Emily said, looking towards her locker.
"Really? Well, you go first then," Gwen offered. But before Emily could say a further word, the teenager in question was walking towards them.
"How are you fine ladies doing this morning?" Ben said, carrying his backpack by one strap.
"You're in a good mood this morning," Emily noted.
"I'm really not. I'm just being polite. These past couple of weeks have been awful, and school has done nothing but make it worse," Ben said, dialing his locker combination with an eased practice. The locker next to Gwen's was open, so he got that when he asked for it.
"I thought Gwen was exaggerating when she said you thought school was the was the worst thing ever," Emily said.
"I'm hardly ever exaggerating when it comes to him. Speaking of which, can you give us two seconds, Ben? Girl talk," Gwen said.
"Sure. I'll just meet you in class," Ben said as he put his book in his backpack. But he made sure to give his cousin a encouraging look that she nodded at.
"What was that all about?" Emily asked.
"It relates to what I was going to tell you. But if you want to tell yours first, by all means," Gwen offered.
"Let's hear yours first. It can't possibly be crazier than what I'd have to say," Emily said with a laugh, causing Gwen to rub the back of her neck awkwardly.
"Well... I have a boyfriend," she said, making Emily's eyes widen in surprise.
"How long? And why didn't you tell me?" she said, looking up at her friend with a surprised expression.
"Going on almost two years now." If it was somehow possible, Emily's eyes got even wider. "And I didn't tell you because things were complicated before. We're just now deciding to let this information get out into the open, and you're one of the first people I wanted to tell."
"Well the fact that it's hush-hush information makes me feel a little better. Must be some guy if he managed to hook you, huh?" Emily said with a wide smile, and Gwen couldn't help the warm smile that broke free on her face.
"Yeah. He is," she said before her nervousness returned. "But at the same time, that's where this all gets really complicated."
"Complicated?" Emily asked.
"I'm dating Ben. As in, my cousin Ben," Gwen admitted.
There. Everyone on her end that she felt needed to hear the news from her had been crossed off the list.
Though Gwen got more nervous when saw Emily slump back in her wheelchair, completely silent with a blank look on her face. The blank look soon flashed was soon replaced with a bit of disappointment.
"That... explains why you took such a long time telling anyone," Emily said, sounding stunned.
"Had it not been for that Jennifer girl, it probably would've taken me a lot longer to stop wanting to hide it, if I'm being honest," Gwen said before giving her friend a hesitant look. "This is gonna be weird. I can tell."
"Yeah. It kind of is. I mean, I guess it makes sense in some weird way. Besides me, Ben was the only one you hung around. And... now that I think about it, you two always hung around each more than anyone I know. Plus you're always touching and teasing each other..." Emily trailed.
"Yeah. But now we're done hiding. I have to say, it feels great to tell you finally," Gwen said with a smile and an exhale of relief. "Now... what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"It's nothing," Emily mumbled, causing Gwen to tilt her head.
"Really? But you said..." Gwen was interrupted by the bell, and Emily wheeled away without a word. "Dammit. Of course it can't just end at raw shock."
"Didn't go good, huh?" Ben said with a sympathetic look.
"Look, I get that it's weird that I'm dating my cousin, but we've been friends ever since we were kids. And I know for a fact it would've been worse if she heard about it from the internet or something just as dumb," Gwen said, stabbing at her lunch with all the fury of a punch from Fourarms.
"She just needs time to adjust to the idea. She'll come around. After all, she'd be dumb to miss out on having someone like you as a friend. And Emily isn't dumb," Ben assured her.
"Yeah. But sometimes logic just doesn't win when it comes to stuff like this," Gwen said, despondently taking a bite of her food.
"Hey now. None of this," Ben said, putting an arm on her shoulder. "She'll come around."
"One way or another she'll prove how good of a friend she is," Gwen said in a hard tone, and Ben had stop himself from swearing out loud. He hated seeing her upset.
"Hey." Gwen grabbed his hand and pulled their joined hands on the table. "Don't worry about her. No matter what anyone else says, I'm not changing my mind about us."
"I never thought you would. I just don't like seeing you upset," Ben told her.
"Sadly, it's flatout unavoidable sometimes. But with the bad, there is good. I get to be with you and not feel I have to be secretive. It's a really nice feeling," Gwen said.
"Same here. But you may not be the only one who'll be upset today. Man, I hope it goes better when I tell Julie," Ben said, opening his carton of milk and drinking out of it. "I only see her every once in a while, but still..."
"...you're not that lucky," Gwen finished for him.
"Not at all. Still..." Ben frowned at about the same time Gwen did, and both of them turned around to see Emily was watching them.
"Um... Gwen?" she asked hesitantly.
"I can step back if you want me to," Ben offered.
"I'm just going to tell you anyway. There's no point in interrupting your lunch," Gwen said, her eyes locked solely only on Emily as Ben nodded. The other girl took that as a not so subtle hint that whatever she wanted to say could be said in front of Ben.
"Right. Sorry about earlier. I needed to think," Emily said, wheeling around the table.
"About what? " Gwen asked.
"Well, it's not just the fact that this is... different," Emily said delicately. Both cousins raised their eyebrows at the statement. "I kind of wanted to ask Ben out."
"Really?" Ben asked, his eyebrows raising even higher in surprise. "I don't take you as the type to like someone just because they're famous."
"I'm far from your run of the mill fangirl, so you're right about that. I actually do like you. I finally got to see for myself why Gwen talked about you so much when you transferred here, and there's a lot of great things about you that any girl would like. I just thought I'd ask you out and see how that went," Emily admitted with a hesitant smile.
"So that's what you wanted to talk to me about today, huh?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah. I wanted your opinion on the subject. But now I see that... yeah," Emily finished awkwardly.
"Don't worry. You're not missing much," Gwen said, snickering the moment she received an elbow in the side from that comment.
Emily snorted in disbelief. "Please. He must be majorly worth it if you're dating him despite the obvious and your dating history."
Ben snickered while Gwen shook her head in disbelief.
"You know. Somehow I knew you'd bring that up," she said, making Emily smile. Then the smile turned into one more nervous.
"So... are we good?" she asked.
"Yeah. We're good," Gwen said with a reassuring smile.
"And... kiss each other," Ben said with a smirk.
That earned him a hard elbow in his side from Gwen, and he only cackled from the blow. That earned him some odd looks, but he didn't pay them any mind.
Gwen looked to Emily with a desperate look on her face, jerking a thumb at her boyfriend.
"You see what I have to deal with?" she asked.
"I'm sure I can guess," Emily said in an amused tone. "You know, when you minus the general problem, you two really do make a cute couple."
"Cute?" Ben and Gwen questioned at the same time, looking similarly displeased at the adjective.
"You're practically reading each other minds and are looking all couple-y without even trying. Yes cute," Emily said with a grin.
"You know, you've recovered from this shock fairly fast," Ben pointed out.
"It's honestly not that hard. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. It's weird, but at the same time given how long I've hung around you two, and seen the way you interact... it makes sense in the weirdest way possible if that makes sense," Emily said with a shrug. "Like seriously. If Gwen hung around any guy in this school the way she hangs out with you, I'd be ribbing her for not already asking him out."
"And I'd want to knock you upside your head for it, but only because you'd have a point," Gwen said with a laugh as the bell rung. "That's our cue."
"I've got chemistry. I'll see you ladies later. Glad to see you're still with us Emily," Ben said, giving Gwen a kiss on the cheek and giving Emily a two fingered salute before walking away.
Emily coughed loudly to get Gwen's attention, who had looked in Ben's direction to wave him off.
"What?" Gwen asked.
"You do realize you two practically have hearts in your eyes when you look at each other, right? I never thought I'd see the day - you being this into a guy. My, you're practically a girl now," Emily teased as the Anodite got to her feet.
"You, shut up," Gwen warned with a finger point. But a nervous smile crossed her face soon after. "You sure there isn't going to be any awkwardness with you... you know, wanting to ask Ben out and all?"
"Hey, it wasn't like I was a fangirl or seriously in love with him. I mean, it's disappointing, but he's just a guy who's taken. That happens all the time, and I've got better things to do than to mope," Emily said with a shrug.
"Can you tell that sensible piece of information to most of the teenage girl population that's obsessed with him?" Gwen asked.
"I could, but there's a high chance it's not going to do anything," Emily said with a chuckle, making Gwen shake her head in a disappointed fashion.
"Hey tennis champ," Ben said while leaning on the wall next to Julie's house.
"Ben!" Julie said happily before walking up to give him a hug. "It's great to see you."
"Same. Been busy lately, so it's been a while since I've seen you," Ben told her.
"With alien work, school, or Jennifer Nocturne?" Julie asked with a raised brow.
"Mostly the first two and some of the third one," Ben admitted.
"So it's true with they say? You're actually dating her?" Julie asked.
"No, I'm not interested," Ben said with a shake of the head.
"Really? You're not interested in a good looking movie star?" Julie questioned with raised brows.
"I have reasons for it. But that doesn't matter right now. There's something I need to talk to you about," Ben told her.
"You want to come inside?" Julie offered, gesturing towards the door.
"Yeah. Preferably before we get swarmed," Ben said, moving aside to let her unlock the door.
"Ben?" Bruce Yamamoto questioned the moment they walked in.
"Hey Bruce. Hope you're not trying to hit someone else in the nuts for a win again," Ben said with a smirk.
"You actually did that?" Julie questioned, raising her eyebrows.
"One time. I... really didn't want to get beat," Bruce admitted, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion.
"And then proceeded to get beat anyway with a nice bruise," Ben said, tapping his nose with a smirk. "No worries though. It's all in the past."
"What brings you by anyway? Aren't you always busy?" Bruce asked.
"Usually. But I had something to tell Julie," Ben said, jerking his head in her direction.
"Privately," Julie said right as her brother was about to take a bite of his sandwich.
"Fine," Bruce said before giving Ben a piercing look. "Behave, you two."
"I'm not about to do anything funny, so you can cut the big brother crap," Ben said with a flat look.
"Well, way to ruin the image, Tennyson," Bruce said, making Ben grin as he walked out of the room.
"So... what is it that you needed to talk about?" Julie asked, taking a seat on the couch.
"It... There's no way to say this with any kind of grace, so... promise not to freak out," Ben said, cringing slightly.
"You're not about to tell me you're dying, are you?" Julie asked with apprehension in her tone.
"Nothing that drastic. It's just... You already know Gwen? My cousin?" Ben asked.
"Yeah..." Julie trailed.
"I've been dating her. For almost two years now," Ben said, fiddling with his hands for a bit.
Silence. Utter silence. Julie tilted her head at him as if he had said it in a language she didn't understand before blinking suddenly.
"You're joking, right?" were the first words that came out of her mouth.
"No, I'm not. I mean, I could always show you proof, but... somehow, I don't think you would want to see that," Ben said.
"You're dating your cousin?" Julie asked, the words coming out in a much more hoarse tone.
"Yeah. I felt I owed you that much to tell you," Ben said.
"Owed me?" Julie repeated.
"Would you have felt better if you found in the paper, wouldn't have believed it, and would've had to call me up to confirm it?" Ben questioned.
"No, it... is this the other part of that partially you mentioned?" Julie questioned, sounding baffled.
"Yeah. That's actually the extent of it," Ben said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, I don't expect anyone else to understand, but I love her."
"You... you..." Julie trailed before standing to her feet and pacing back and forth. She gave him a sideways look as if unsure what she was feeling before beginning to pace again.
"Julie?" Ben questioned.
"Ben... Just go," Julie said, waving a hand towards him. "I need to be alone."
"I'm sorry. I..." Julie gave him a glare, and he went ahead and took this as his opportunity to leave.
"That could not have gone worse," Ben said, putting both of his hands over his face as he sat down on the couch.
"You ok, Ben?" Sandra asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I told Julie that Gwen was my girlfriend a few minutes ago," Ben said, making both of his parents whistle.
"I don't envy ever having that conversation with a girl who probably liked me," Carl said as Ben looked up.
"At least you and mom weren't related. You two were friends before you started dating, right?" Ben asked, causing his father to nod. "Could you imagine telling mom while you were in high school that you didn't want to date her because you loved your cousin?"
"Even if we weren't dating, I'd likely flip out in ways I didn't even know I was capable of," Sandra said before rubbing a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder. "What happened sweetie?"
"I headed her off just as she got out of school. Since I got out of school a half hour sooner than she did, I just met her at her house before she got there. And while we were there, I told her Gwen was my girlfriend."
"She... didn't really respond at first. She asked a few questions, and then she was just lost for words. I could tell it really bothered her. I didn't like causing that feeling, but it needed to said. She said she needed to be alone, and I'm going to respect that," Ben said before sighing. "I really don't know what's going through her head right now."
"I'm going to hazard a guess and say she probably feels equal parts hurt and baffled. Maybe even disgusted. I can only guess that this girl liked you at some point?" Sandra asked.
"She asked me out a while back, but..." Ben immediately felt defensive once his mom sighed in a disappointed fashion. "Freshman year mom! I thought she had gotten over it by now! I just thought we were just friends at that point!"
"It's never that simple. Sometimes, depending on the person, they never get over it. You may not always flaunt it, but you're an amazing person Ben. And girls tend to like guys like you. So even if Julie didn't still like you, there's still the fact that you rejected her, but fell in love with your cousin," Sandra told him.
"That's true," Ben said with a sigh as he leaned back. "I guess it is a lot to process when you break it down like that."
"Give it some time. She could still come around," Carl said.
"I've had to make peace with the fact that I would never see her again when I told her. It's a lot harder to be disappointed that way," Ben said. "So if she does come around, it'll be nothing but good news."
"Do you doubt her so much?" Sandra said with a frown.
"Gwen's been friends with Emily since they were kids, and even she realized she might not ever be friends with her again because of this. If we think they'll come around, and they don't, it'll only hurt more. It's not entirely their fault - it's just the way things are. The way people generally see this," Ben said before looking away. "Can we just not talk about this anymore?"
"Ok. I'm sorry I brought it up," Sandra said with an apologetic look.
"It's ok. Besides, this is me doing what makes me happy in the long run. Even if things don't turn out the way that I want them to, I'll always have her," Ben said, and both parents gave their son a soft smile.
"Ah, to be in love. Can make you just as brave as well as stupid sometimes," Carl said.
"You can attest to doing plenty of stupid things," Sandra told him with a knowing look.
"She would argue otherwise, but your partner punching out a doctor so that you can be there when your wife gives birth is not stupid," Carl said.
"Until the charges come in," Ben said in a dry tone.
"I'm glad you at least have some sense," Sandra told her son.
"Then at least tell me you have a policy on when some other guy tries to move in on Gwen," Carl said with a raised brow.
"Well, yeah. In those cases, all bets are off. But I'm not about to punch out an orderly because they're just doing their job," Ben said.
"Thank you," Sandra agreed.
"Unless she specifically wants me in there. Then I make no guarantees," Ben said, causing to Carl to look at his wife with a smile that was slightly smug.
"Is that right? Well, guess who was asking for me before I punched said orderly out," he said.
"I swear, the men in this family are entirely too reckless," Sandra said with a shake of the head.
"Oh come mom. You gotta admit it's at least a little sweet," Ben said.
"Initially, yes. Not so much when you find out your husband was arrested and you were ready to go home and put your newborn to bed," Sandra said with an eyeroll.
"Wait, the guy actually pressed charges?" Ben asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Apparently, I wasn't the first guy who did something like that. And when I did it, it was the last of his patience for letting it slide," Carl said with a laugh.
"Yikes. Well, at the very least, I wouldn't have to punch anyone out. Given how I can do this," Ben said, raising a glowing hand.
"And plus with the fame, I doubt anyone will press charges on you for it. It's perfect," Carl said.
"Tennyson men. I swear..." Sandra said, raising her hands in the air before walking into the kitchen. Carl and Ben looked at each other before laughing.
"Well, I'm glad to see you take after me in some aspects," Carl said with a wide smile.
"Well, they say like father, like son. Still, it's nice to find out that this kind of recklessness is hereditary," Ben said.
"I'm sure if you ask your Grandpa Max about it, he'll have some stories to tell as well," Carl said.
"I may have to ask him about it one day," Ben said before getting to his feet. "I'm gonna go see Gwen. Let her know her know that she may be cursed to live out intense bouts of jealousy."
"She's going to argue until the end with you on that," Carl said in an amused tone.
"I know," Ben said before walking out of the house. Once he did, Carl sat back on the couch with a feeling of satisfaction. Even if it was temporary, at least he got his son's mind off things.
A/N: Yeah, to be honest, I'm not good at all with utilizing Julie at all in this story. And I feel like this is a scene that I had to write because... come on. Let's face it, if Julie liked Ben only to lose to his cousin and find that out via newspaper, there would be a reaction. Julie is Ben's only normal human friend just like Emily is Gwen's, only she gets more screen time because they all attend the same school.
So Emily's scenes come together more naturally as opposed to Julie, who I have to actively think up a reason to include. So this'll be the last you see of her for a while.
Also, as I'm sure as other people have noticed by now, I like involving the parents more in both Gwen and Ben's lives. In the regular show, they were mostly plot devices instead of... you know. People they could go to for advice or even just to get something off their chest. It doesn't always have to be Gwen, Kevin or Max.
