CHAPTER 2!
kinda boring i realised to myself, coz this chapters got less bxk, more gwen, and i dont really like gwen a lot...! but this chapter is rather important so, what the heck; occassionally, we all like to love te ppl we hate!
DISCLAMIER : I don't own Ben Ten Alien Force or its characters!
Ok: now on to the story...!
Camping 2 : The Truths Revealed(the sequel)
Chapter two : Gwen is wonder struck
That day, Gwen was completely pensive; with her head in the clouds, thinking deep about Kevin's philosophy of her sadistic attempt of trying to rip Ben and Kevin apart.
"You have no one to love; and no one to love you back", Kevin had said, and his words reverberated in her head like Echo-Echo's Sonic Doom. She felt the weight and dept of the wise words, and immediately a pang of self-pity warmed her from top to toe.
Julie noticed her best friend to be unusually quiet that day, with a grave thoughtful expression spread across her pretty face and green eyes. When it was around afternoon, and after they all had their camping-lunch, Julie approached Gwen, who sat in the lake wearing her blue bikini, waist high in the water, her arms resting on the bank.
"Gwen?" Julie whispered, slipping in to the water beside her, not quite caring that she had thereby soaked her cute little tube-top and jeans shorts.
Gwen turned to her, as if she hadn't noticed the Asian slip in beside her. "Hey, Julie. Whats up?"
"That was what I was coming to ask you!" Julie smiled, concern rippled in her brown eyes, "You seem really serious today? Aren't you having fun camping?"
Gwen smiled good naturedly at the horizon; a smile which hid the aura of sadness enveloping her heart, "Yeah, I'm having fun,...no I'm not serious or anything. Who told you that?"
Julie looked at her bluntly, "I'm not a fool to be blind at the way you look right now!"
Gwen turned to her, green eyes fastened on to the brown pair, "Well,..." she sighed, "I was just thinking about Kevin and me."
"Oh...!" Julie's smile widened, "Is that why you're being so serious? You want to marry him?!"
"Gyaah!" Gwen visibly gawked at the idea, her face sporting the most stupid look ever to be found on someone as intelligent as her. She almost choked on her own saliva!
"Hell, no!" she snapped, "Urgh!"
In a split second, an image formed in her head; one of Kevin in a tuxedo, going down on one knee afore Ben, who gasped when the raven offered a diamond ring enclosed in a blue velvet box, and spoke in a prince's voice, Will you marry me, babe?
Gwen gawked again.
"What are you thinking of NOW? Something gross, by the way your face goes, I presume?" Julie grinned. Gwen shook her head as if to release water in her ears, "Yeah...you got that right."
Julie went into a burst of sweet laughter, and Gwen could not help but want to join her. When the laughter finally subsided, Julie sighed, "You know, you're my best friend; and best friends tell each other stuff that bothers them. So, if there's anything you want to get off your chest, I'll be glad to share it!"
Gwen's lips parted a bit in awe, as she stammered, "Sure", and hearing thus, the cheerful Asian chirped, "How about some volleyball in the water?!"
"Sounds great!" Gwen spoke, and watched the soaked raven gracefully slip out of the lake and run off to the Rust Bucket. As Gwen continued gazing at the horizon which was what she had been doing before Julie came over to talk, she realised that maybe she should inform Julie about her break-up with Kevin; only about the break-up, not the part where he attached himself to Ben. Then maybe she would be released from this grief that fogged her insides. Slowly maybe, Gwen might add that Ben was gay...
The anodite's thoughts scattered as Julie reappeared with the bright, yellow-and-blue ball, and a great, big smile.
Evening that same day.
Kevin gazed at the anodite who sat alone on a boulder on the bank of the lake. Julie had gone to the Rust Bucket for the loo, leaving Gwen alone, hugging her knees, eyes on the horizon, obviously deep in thought.
Frowning in thought himself, he muttered, "Maybe her moodiness has got to do something with what I told her today in the morning..."
"What did you tell her in the morning?" came Ben's voice. Turning, Kevin saw the brunette with two sodas in his hands. Offering one to his best-buddy, Ben quirked an eyebrow at the melancholic scene of Gwen sitting alone on the boulder. He repeated his question and added a "Well?" to emphasise.
Kevin spoke, or rather pouted, as he stared down at the can in his hand, "Some harsh stuff. She was really getting on my nerves for a bit. You see, last night, Julie caught us sleeping together when she was on her way to the Rust Bucket to pee. Thankfully, Gwen woke up too, and wiped out her memory of that scene, and put her back to sleep. Today morning, she got all bitchy at me, and I slammed at her what I thought of her attitude against me and you. And now I sorta feel like I had said too much to her."
"Julie almost found out?!" Ben squeaked, at which Kevin jumped and hissed, "She'ill find out NOW if you don't quit shrieking!"
Ben looked concerned at his cousin. Kevin noticed the look on his face and said, "She'll snap out of it soon, Tennyson! I guess I finally knocked some sense into her!"
Ben shrugged, "I don't like Gwen being hurt though. Hope she recovers from it sooner or later!"
That night...
Gwen stared up at the stars, not quite counting them but not ignoring them either. Possibly, the thoughts that had been bothering her had left her when Julie spent time with her. It was purposeful aim; Julie spent the whole day cheering Gwen out of her moody thoughts. And now, as Gwen lay in her sleeping bag staring up at the bluish black night sky, the sour thoughts attacked her again. Frowning a little, she sighed. She remembered more words that Kevin had spoken to her:
…You are alone, Gwen. You're inwardly lonely…
…try finding out some person who loves you…
"Gwen? You're not asleep?" came a soft voice, startling Gwen out of her reverie.
"Julie! You weren't sleeping either?"
"No. Admittedly, I'm not really all that sleepy!"
"Me neither."
There was a pause, the silence was buzzing irritably in their ears, till Julie broke it, "Gwen…if you're still bothered about stuff, then I really want to know more about it; maybe I can help you overcome it!"
Gwen's green eyes betrayed her amusement in Julie's curiosity. Nonetheless, Gwen gave out a sigh and said, "Well, alright, but don't blame me if you get bored!"
"Never!" smiled the Asian, peering intently at the anodite who continued, "Well, um…Kevin and I, we're SO not getting along. We broke up a few weeks ago."
Julie's eyes went wide, "But, you guys were all - "
"Yea, we guys were all lovey-dovey in your presence, because we didn't want it to be obvious that's all. Kevin is a nice guy, sure; but we don't actually have the identical principles of anything at all. Besides, he's…not my type." Her face went a little red when she imagined Kevin with his tongue buried in Ben's mouth.
"Oh…"
"Breaking up with him is not my problem. Its just that I feel kinda horrible. Im all alone now, I feel like no one wants me anymore. I'm just an intelligent, nerdy, data girl; always smart and clever, yet no one really likes me… I guess it must be my personality. Is my personality flawed?"
"I don't think so", answered Julie, her face serious, "I suppose you have the makings of a special person, always wanting to help others, but also prove you worth."
"Really?" she smiled taking it as a joke, "What sort of a person is that?!"
Julie smiled, "I mean it, Gwen; you are special."
Gwen blinked at her, "Thanks…!"
"And its not like my relationship is a dream-like paradise!"
Gwen raised an eyebrow, "You mean, you and Ben…?"
The Asian nodded, "Ben is cute; he is very determined, and stupid at times; he is fun and grave at times; he's a great friend, yes…but there's no spark between us. I tried my best to try and work something magical between us during this camping atmosphere, but somehow, our feelings are not romantically connected. Ben is not my lover type, I guess. That leaves us both hanging on the edge of a cliff, huh?!"
"True", Gwen mused, and Julie added, "So we all get along like friends, and not as couples."
There was silence again, which Gwen interrupted, "A person once told me that I should try and find someone who loves me. Maybe I should stop trying to like people, and let them like me first?"
"Maybe you should", Julie nodded.
Gwen chuckled out of the blue, "You're always agreeing to me, Julie! Don't you disagree anything at all!?"
Julie raised both her eyebrows, "How can I disagree with anything you say, if there is nothing to be disagreed?"
Gwen smiled in reply, and Julie returned it. They lay like that for a while, in their respective sleeping bags, lying on their sides, facing each other. Gwen could smell that oddly alluring scent of peaches that always surrounded Julie at close quarters. Maybe it's some shower gel she uses, that makes her skin glow as it does, and smell as it does; or maybe it's just her Japanese origins.
Gwen gave out a relieved sigh, "You know, after talking to you about all this, I feel a whole lot better!" and then her face went a little glum, "But that still does not give me options on how to get rid of this rotten loneliness…I really need to find someone who loves me beyond my intellect or looks. And I have been wrong many times with my choices; like Kevin, and Mike. I wonder if I'll ever find anyone who will love me like I want to be loved."
Julie gazed at her, "Maybe you are not opening your eyes enough…? Maybe the person is just round the corner…or closer than you think?"
Julie was only giving suggestions in innocence. But Gwen, she saw something; she gazed into the brown eyes and saw something.
She finally opened her eyes enough…
The next morning.
Kevin stretched as he sat up. Yawning like a bear, he looked about himself, and saw that he had beat the alarm clock successfully again. Calmly fishing the strewn clothes, he made himself and Ben presentable in fifteen minutes, and lay back into his sleeping bag.
After half an hour, the alarm rang off, waking them all.
Ben and Julie, as usual, walked together to the Rust Bucket, talking and laughing, to brush their teeth and for toilet purposes. This left Kevin standing preparedly at the dividing bush wall for an anodite who would soon grimace at him in disgust.
Imagine Kevin's surprise, when a pleasant faced Gwen greeted him with a sleepy "G'morning, Kevin." The raven watched in awe as she stretched and yawned, taking a deep breath of the fresh morning.
Kevin could not believe his eyes; Gwen was actually smiling!
"What?" asked Gwen calmly, her green eyes sparkling lively and cheerful. Kevin gaped a little, "You're not mad at me? No grimaces? No sticking out tongue? No dirty remarks? No lectures reminding me how gross Ben and I are?"
"Nope. Just a good morning to my dearest ex-boyfriend", she beamed sleepily, and added, "So what's new?"
Kevin blinked awkwardly at her, and pointed out, "Your hair's a worse mess than usual."
Gwen looked up, as if she could see her whole head, and chuckled as she ran her fingers through her tousled red hair, smiling, "Thanks for notifying!"
Kevin was absolutely out of words now. "Did you hit you head somewhere? Or are you running a fever?" he even put out his hand and pressed the back of his calloused palm to Gwen's pale forehead.
"I'm absolutely fine, Kevin! In fact, I'm feeling great!" she brushed away the heavy palm.
"Woah, its freaky how you have changed in a matter of hours!"
"Change is a good thing, right?" and to Kevin's surprise, she blushed , "We all change into what we really are, eventually."
"Ok, now you're not making any sense. You're acting cocky, and talking cocky. We need to take you to the doctor!"
Gwen laughed the comment off, and waved to him as she walked away, but she suddenly paused, and turned around. Walking back to Kevin, she smiled again, and before Kevin could recoil in surprise, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on his left cheek. Pulling back, she spoke in a whisper into his ear, "That's for the amazing advise you gave me last morning."
Kevin stammered, "S-s-sure..uh…" in confusion of the gesture from the person who till yesterday had searched for means to put him in the grave for sleeping with her cousin!
He watched, rather silenced, as Gwen calmly made her way to the Rust Bucket.
Kevin's memory was something not many knew to be extraordinary. And using the same, he blinked to himself, "Thats odd; Gwen smelt of…peaches… ?"
End Of Chapter
sigh another chapter posted! :)
mores coming! In the next chapters!
Reviews are welcome!