"I'm not saying I don't believe you. I'm just saying that you might have imagined it all. It's not uncommon for people to see 'God' when they flat line. It might be what happened to you." Ben argued. "I wasn't imagining it!" I yelled. We had been arguing about this for the last ten minutes. Kevin sighed heavily and intervened, taking my hand. "I believe you Gwen. And Tennyson, if you want to keep your arms then you will stop arguing over this." He threatened, glaring at Ben. "Fine." Ben grumbled. I beamed at Kevin, and he gave me a light grin back. "Where are we going anyway?" Ben asked from the backseat. "We're going to drop you off at home and then we're going to Mr. Smoothie." Kevin mocked. I laughed when Ben started to whine like a toddler. "Gwen what do you think? Should we take him?" Kevin looked at me, trying not to laugh. I couldn't hold it in, between Ben's two-year old voice and Kevin's smiling face, I had to start laughing. Before long, the whole car was full of the sound of our laughs. By the time we pulled up to Mr. Smoothie, I had tears of laughter rolling down my face. "I'll go in and order our usual," Ben offered. "Thanks." I choked out between my laughter. It took a couple seconds for my laughter to subside and then it was quiet in the car. I looked over at Kevin and he was staring out the window distractedly. "Something wrong?" I asked, concerned. Kevin plus quiet and thoughtful equals bad things. He looked at me and smiled lightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Kevin. Really, what is it?" I pressed. "It's nothing." He smiled. "It's not nothing! If it were nothing you would have made some snarky comment about Ben and mocked him. Then, you would have looked me in the eye and told me you loved the way I laugh. And I would laugh like I always do and you would have kissed me sweetly. Then, that kiss would turn into more and Ben would freak out when he saw us making out in the backseat of your car. Then, you would have threatened him and he would have taken the smoothies and walked back to the building while we laughed. That's how it always works, and you're screwing up the cycle with whatever's wrong. So, would you please stop lying and let me help you with whatever it is that's so hard for you to tell me about." He just stared at me in shock and I looked steadily back at him. "It's nothing." He said, looking down. "Fine." I retorted calmly. I opened the door and started walking towards my house. Ben came out of the building and asked me what was wrong. "It's nothing. You can tell Kevin I said that." I told him, my face blank of emotion. While I was walking away I heard Ben yell, "What did you do this time you IDIOT?" if I wasn't so angry, I would have laughed at the way Kevin was going to KILL him for using that tone.
I flopped down on my bed and closed my eyes in exhaustion. "Gwen? Darling, is that you?" My mom called from her room. "Yeah. I'm just going to get some sleep okay? I have to take my medicine and do my treatment in about 2 hours." I yelled back. "Okay…you need anything?" she asked. "Kevin". I mumbled under my breath. "What was that?" she asked, appearing at my door. "Nothing. Thanks though." I responded. She gave me a kiss on the forehead and closed the door behind her as she exited the room. "God, I know you're there. I just wanted to say that I'm still happy with my decision. Even though this life is going to be hard, thank you for letting me have a second chance at it. Please, watch over Kevin and keep him safe. He needs you now more than ever. Amen." With that, I drifted into a deep sleep.
"Gwen! Gwen! Wake up!" Someone was shaking me and I was about to shoot them when I realized it was Ben. "Ben? What the hell are you doing in my room?" I groaned. "We need to go! Distress call! Let's move!" He yelled. I was instantly a little more awake, but I could feel the ache in my bones from being so tired. "I'm coming." I moaned softly. I swayed and moved toward my door. "Whoa there!" Ben called, catching me before I fell down the stairs. "Maybe you should stay here." Ben suggested. I was about to argue when I felt my head start to spin. "Ok." I choked out. I felt him lift me and carry me back to my bed before sprinting down and out of the house. I said a quick prayer and fell back into my peace-less slumber.
"You should have seen us! We were awesome!" I heard Ben shout downstairs. What time is it? I wondered. I sat up and groaned loudly when I realized that I was going to be late taking my medicine and doing my treatment in the training room. "Crap." I muttered, pulling a hair brush through my hair. I was heading down the stairs and heard Ben and Kevin talking to my parents. "-it was the most fun I've ever had on a mission." Ben was saying…that hurt. "Yeah, and there was no one was there to ruin the fun at the end by being all responsible." Kevin responded…that hurt worse. I decided to make my presence known before they made me feel worse. I cleared my throat loudly and they both froze, looking at me. "I'm glad you both had so much fun." I told them calmly. I grabbed the keys to my dad's car and walked out the door; slamming it in their horrified faces. I started up the car with tears in my eyes and realized I had forgotten my medicine in the fridge. I banged my hand on the wheel and started to cry. "Dammit!" I screamed. I had to go back in there and get the medicine, or I wouldn't be able to function with all the pain. Just as I was about to go back in, I heard the door open and my mother walked out, her face solemn, carrying my medicine. I rolled down my window, took it from her hand gently, and as she stepped back…I sped off.
I closed my eyes and sat on the cool concrete of the training room floor. I took a deep breath and focused my manna into my head. When I felt it all up there, I pulled some down and shot the targets in front of me. At the same time, the manna in my head was healing me. It hurt like hell and was even harder to do than I had previously thought. I continued this exercise until I was all but fainting from exhaustion. "This sucks." I groaned. "I know." I heard Kevin's voice behind me and I groaned even louder. I didn't have the energy to deal with him right now. I was so tired. "Before you say anything, I just want to say that I didn't mean anything I said back there." He started. I sighed and tried to make my body continue to focus as I talked to him. "It's okay that you feel like that. I know I'm not as much fun…especially since I got sick…I'm not trying to fool myself. And I know that I'm not spending as much time with you. It's only because of the treatment and the medicine that makes me so tired. I know that's not much of an excuse, but it's the only one I've got." I tried to explain. My focus was waning and I totally lost it as he grabbed me and kissed me. "It's not an excuse. It's reality. And I love you more now than I ever have." He murmured against my lips. "Mmmmnnnn" I mumbled. "Shh." He soothed me, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist. "Gross guys!" Ben yelled from the top of the stairs. I smiled against Kevin's lips before pulling away from the kiss. "Are we okay here then?" Ben asked. I looked from him to Kevin and back. I smiled and nodded slightly and then shot them both with a small bolt of manna. "Now…we're okay." I smirked.
"How can you drink that CRAP?" Kevin yelled, exasperated. "Kevin! Language!" I reprimanded. WE were sitting in the parking lot of Mr. Smoothie, and Ben was having an egg and salami smoothie. "Sorry." He muttered. Ben made a whipping sound from the backseat. "That's it Tennyson!" Kevin shouted, turning around and lunging at Ben. I was going to let him whoop Ben's butt…but I felt something coming closer, and it wasn't good. "Guys stop." I said, trying to focus on the large amount of dark manna. They don't heed my warning, and keep fighting and yelling. "Guys, please. I need to focus." I begged a little louder. But they didn't even seem to hear me. "Guys! Something's wrong! I need to focus to be able to see what it…" I was cut off by the roof being ripped off the car as I was thrown into a wall. "Oww!" I groaned. "Gwen!" I heard my name being called, and I immediately jumped up…ignoring the sharp pain in my ankle. "I'm okay! Don't worry about it!" I yelled back. I scanned the area to see Charmcaster with the Forever Knights again. "Do you guys ever get tired of getting your butts kicked?" I yelled up to her. She chuckled, and one of the knights answered, "No!" I waited for a moment for him to realize what he just said. I almost SAW him blush under his helmet. "Whatever. What's the master plan this time Charmcaster?" I asked sarcastically. She grinned from ear to ear and whistled loudly. "Let me introduce you to the new member of my team…come on out Sunny!" I froze. Sunny? My anodite cousin? No…