Chapter 3

Ben's p.o.v

Kevin was gone when I opened my eyes. My clothes were lying on a chair. I slowly got out of bed to change. Kevin was probably in the kitchen. Did he remember the kiss and if he did, did he regret it? What did I think about it? Did I like it? Did I hate it? I didn't know. I was confused. I took a deep breath and went to the kitchen. I was right. Kevin was there. He looked up when I came into the room.

"Good morning." He said with what looked like a nervous smile. For some reason I couldn't look into his eyes.

"Uhm… Good morning." I answered. He finally averted his gaze.

"Make yourself a sandwich if you're hungry." He said and rose from the chair.

"I'm not hungry." I said and it became quiet. Kevin walked past me. I turned around.

"Hey Kevin! I… uh… Never mind." I said and hurried past him to the hall. I quickly put on my shoes and opened the door.

"Ben…" Kevin said somewhere behind me.

"See you later Kevin." I said and ran out the door or at least as much running as I could with the crutches. I didn't stop until I got to a park. I sat down on a bench and sighed.

"I just fled, didn't I?" I mumbled to myself. I guess I panicked. What was I supposed to say to him anyway?

Kevin's p.o.v

I was still staring at the door. Ben had run away. Did he hate me that much? He didn't even scream at me. Was I to take that as a bad sign? It had been ten minutes since he had left. It wasn't a good idea to leave him alone so I went out the door and locked it behind me.

"Kevin? Where are you going?" Gwen's voice said. She was standing behind me.

"I'm looking for Ben. He ran away." I answered her and began to walk. She followed me.

"Ran away? What did you do?" She asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I kissed him and didn't stop even though he tried to push me away." I said and wondered where the hell Ben had gone. Gwen sighed.

"You're an idiot. That's not how you ask someone out. How did he react?" She asked. I cleared my throat.

"Uhm… I don't know. I kind of fell asleep, but this morning he acted kind of shy I guess." I answered. She shook her head.

"I bet he doesn't know how to behave around you or what to say to you at the moment." She said with a small laugh.

"You might actually have a chance on him."

"A chance! Gwen, if he didn't need those crutches he would have run and I really mean run." I said. She patted me on my back.

"I think you're exaggerating. I would take it as a good sign if he became shy instead of angry." She said. I sighed. We were passing by a park when I saw Ben.

"There he is."

Ben's p.o.v

"Ben!" Gwen's voice yelled. I looked up and saw both her and Kevin. I had finally relaxed, but I tensed again when I saw him. Why did he have to appear so soon? Gwen walked over to me and sat down beside me.

"I heard what happened. Did you like it?" She said. I stared at her, feeling my cheeks growing hotter.

"What? Gwen!" I exclaimed. She leaned closer and looked me straight into the eyes.

"Answer the question Ben." She said.

"I… He's a guy! It's…"

"Answer the question." She repeated.

"And it's not a…" I continued.

"Ben." She said and gave me a stern look.

"I don't know! I'm confused!" I exclaimed. She smiled. I hate when she puts pressure on me.

"But it doesn't seem like you disliked it. You would have been angry if you did." She said. I looked at her.

"I guess… But it doesn't mean that I liked it." I said. She laughed.

"I know, but it's okay if you did like it. You would make a nice couple." I felt embarrassed by her words.

"Stop it Gwen. I don't want any kind of relationship right now." I said and rose from my seat. She followed my example.

"But I'd like to see you with someone." She said and surprised me with her next move. She used her powers to push me right into Kevin's arms.

"Eh?" I stared at him and he stared at me. We both turned to Gwen at the same time.

"Gwen!" We exclaimed at the same time. She just picked up my crutches and started to run back to Kevin's house. It became quiet, awfully quiet.

"So… She stole your crutches…"

"So she did." Quiet again. Kevin scratched his neck before he kneeled down.

"Here. I'll give you a piggyback ride." He said. I sighed. Might as well let him.

He helped me to his living room. Gwen was already sitting in the couch, waiting for us.

"I see it's going well for you boys." She said with a smile. Both Kevin and I glared at her. He sat me down beside her.

"Not thanks to you." Kevin said. I nodded. I totally agreed with him. The way back to his house had been really embarrassing, probably for both of us. Gwen laughed quietly.

"You can thank me later. I actually came to talk to you about the snake men. I looked it up and they are giant cobra like snakes with human arms. They can take on normal human forms, but will always keep a snake trait. They come from a planet called Sigarcus. Their bite is really poisonous and their planet holds a lot of the most poisonous plants in the universe." She said. I nodded slowly.

"I guess you went to the plumbers to get the information, but why would they want to kill me? I haven't done anything." I said. Gwen nodded.

"Exactly, but didn't Samantha tell you anything when she tried to kill you on the highway?" She asked. I thought back.

"Yes, she said it was because of something I will do." I said. Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Something you will do? Are they seriously trying to kill you for something you haven't done and might never do?" He asked. "That's bullshit!"

"Maybe to you, but apparently not to them." Gwen said.

And once again I was alone with Kevin. Why did Gwen feel the need to torture me like this? We were watching TV. It was some kind of drama, but it was really boring. I could see Kevin look at me out of the corner of my eye. I felt the need to be alone, to get away from his gaze.

"I'll just go get a glass of water." I mumbled and grabbed my crutches to walk towards the kitchen. I opened one of the cupboards and reached for a glass. Two hands, on either side of my head, suddenly closed the cupboard and stayed there. I froze.

"Ben." It was Kevin's voice. I became nervous again. What did he want? He grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around. I stared at him, eyes wide. He looked calm, but I doubted that he was. I ducked and crawled away from him. I didn't want to talk about what I thought he was going to say. I managed to get out of the kitchen before he caught me. He lifted me up and carried me into the bedroom. He then threw me on the bed, straddled me and pinned my hands above my head.

"There. Now you can't flee." Kevin said. I stared at him.

"What are you doing? Let go!" I exclaimed and tried to get my hands free, but he was stronger.

"Ben. What do you think about me?" He asked. I blushed. I knew what he really meant, but I decided to play stupid.

"I like you. You're my best friend." I said. He glared at me.

"You know that I'm asking you if you like me in the romance way." He said. Oh, it seemed like Kevin had snapped.

"I-I don't know!" I stuttered.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Kevin asked.

"When I say I don't know then I mean that I really don't know! You're making me confused!" I exclaimed.

"I'm making you confused eh? Do I make your heart beat faster? Do I make you nervous and unable to speak when I'm close?" He asked. His face coming closer with each word.

"Y-yes!" I stuttered. He grinned and closed the distance between us. His lips captured mine in a gentle kiss. I screwed my eyes shut, not knowing how I should react. He let go of one of my hands to gently caress my cheek. He broke the kiss and looked at me.

"You're in love with me." He whispered into my ear before he got off me and left the room. I stared at the ceiling, breathing faster than normal. I… loved Kevin?

Kevin was out repairing his car. I was still lying in bed, trying to figure out what had happened and if Kevin was right. My heart did beat faster when Kevin was near, but it did when I was fighting too and I had been fighting Kevin in the past. That could explain my heart. I always got nervous when I had a test and being with Kevin was like a subject I was bad at. I couldn't understand Kevin. That could explain my nervousness, but the part where I became unable to speak correctly and the fact that I felt light-headed when he kissed me had no explanation. Was I really in love with him? The thought made me think about the kiss again. Did I like it? I had to admit that it had felt kind of nice. Okay, so I liked the kiss or both of them. Did that mean that I liked Kevin? Maybe I could give it a try? What was the worst that could happen? That this was one of Kevin's ways to tease me and go too far with it? It could be. I didn't want that. I was still upset with my ex-girlfriend. Our relationship had ended when I found out that she dated three other guys at the same time as she dated me. I didn't want to be hurt like that again. If this was Kevin's new way of teasing me then it would be a big mistake to start dating him.

"Ben, are you awake?" It was Kevin's voice. I yawned and slowly sat up.

"Mhm…" I said and looked at him. He smiled and shook his head.

"Gwen called. She said to meet her in town tomorrow." He said. I nodded slowly. Kevin cleared his throat.

"And… uh… I'm wondering if maybe you would consider going out with me." He said. I looked at him and then sighed.

"Kevin, if this is one sick way of teasing me then…" Kevin suddenly stood beside the bed.

"No! It isn't! I really do love you. I know it's probably out of character to say that, but it's true." He said, sounding so desperate that I was starting to believe him.

"Okay? I thought that you liked a girl." I said and raised an eyebrow. Kevin shook his head.

"No, I just played along since you assumed that it was a girl and I didn't really know if I would ever tell you." He said.

"Okay. If that's really how you feel then I'm willing to try going out with you." I said and felt my cheeks growing warm. Kevin's face lit up.

"Really? Oh, you won't regret it! I would never do anything to hurt you! Badly at least…" He said with a happy smile and hugged me. I suddenly got the feeling that I would come to regret my decision, but quickly dismissed it.

"Just don't say anything to Gwen. She would kill me with all her embarrassing comments." I said. Kevin nodded.

"Agreed." He said and then gently kissed my cheek.

"Shall we go to bed? We have to be in town early tomorrow."

"Good morning boys." Gwen said as we sat down beside her on the bench.

"Good morning." I answered and yawned. Kevin didn't say anything. Gwen smiled.

"So what did you guys do last night?" She asked. It somehow felt like she knew. Kevin and I looked at each other and then I cleared my throat.

"We watched TV. Some boring show." I said. Gwen raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else about it. Kevin broke the silence.

"So what did you want? You wouldn't call us out here this early if it wasn't important." He said. Gwen sighed.

"What? Can't I just call to hang out with you?" She didn't get an answer and she sighed again.

"You're right. I have something important to say. I've done some more research and I've found several snake men around Ben's house. It seems that they really want him dead. It would be wise if he stayed at your place Kevin." She explained. I didn't really like the fact that she talked about me as if I really wasn't there. Kevin grinned.

"No problem. I can protect the princess." He said. I glared at him.

"I've told you to stop calling me that!" I exclaimed. He just laughed. Gwen gave us a weird look.

We were about to head back to Kevin's car when Gwen stopped me.

"Ben, can I talk to you for a second?" She asked. I gave her a questioning look.

"Sure. What is it?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Kevin confessed to you, didn't he?" She asked, her eyes sparkling. I blushed.

"W-what? N-no, he didn't." I said and avoided her gaze. She laughed.

"Oh yes, he did. I can see it. It's written all over your face." She said. I covered my face with my hands.

"It's not." I said, feeling embarrassed.

"What did you answer him? Did you say yes?" She asked. What was I supposed to say? She grabbed my wrists and pried my hands away from my face.

"You said yes, didn't you? That's what that blush is telling me at least." She said.

"I didn't really say yes. I said that we could… try going out." I mumbled, hoping for Kevin to come to my rescue, but that bastard was of course sitting in his car, smirking at my suffering. Gwen smiled.

"Give me details Ben." She said. I really didn't want to do that. I turned my head towards Kevin's car and gave him a glare that told him that he would suffer if he didn't help me. He grinned and poked his head out of the window.

"Gwen! Let go of Ben! We need to go!" He yelled. Gwen sighed and let go. I sighed with relief. I was saved from a terrible fate.