Promises: You're the Only Reason I'm not Letting Go

By: ParamoreXO

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone for reading/reviewing/adding me to your favorites! I don't know how much longer I will continue this Fanfic, so if you have any more requests or ideas to add, please go ahead and let me know! Thanks, I appreciate all your input! Enjoy! :)

I eyed the digital display of Kevin's speed, his foot pressed all the way down on the pedal. Unsurprisingly, he was right at twenty miles over the speed limit. The beast-like roar of the car's engine drowned out the wind that swept my hair back, splashing into my face. I could see the distant glow of city lights up ahead as the torn up road became more and more stable to drive on and less rugged. Gripping Kevin's hand firmly, I pulled my head from the edge of the window and rolled it up. "Kevin, do you think Ben's okay?" I gave him a hopeful, wide-eyed look as the words I'd been dreading to ask for the past ten minutes slipped from my freshly glossed lips.

Looking over at me, Kevin took one hand off the wheel and brushed a strand of hair off my lips that had been stuck. I closed my eyes at his warm, tender touch, savoring it. "He knows how to defend himself pretty well. He also has the Omnitrix, which can come in handy. Whatever the reason that he's possibly being thrown into the Null Void is, I bet he can find his way around it."

"Glad you think so. I just can't stop wondering why someone wanted to attack us using Ben as bait. I mean, it makes sense, we obviously fell for it, but it had to be a plumber. The alert came from your badge!" Kevin squeezed my hand tightly, "Whoever decided to betray the plumber's is pretty stupid. They don't know who they're messing with!"

The way the moonlight was making his eyes sparkle put me in a trance. "Gosh, I love him!" I smiled giddily at the thought. "Yeah… I just hope he's okay."

"I tried getting a hold of him on his plumber's badge but he wouldn't answer. He wasn't on radar, either." I blinked at his words, "What?"

He shrugged, "Maybe he broke it? It's not hard to believe that."

Gazing back out the window, I dropped Kevin's hand, "Yeah, maybe." Colorful, summer vegetation began dwindling down as buildings flew into view; most of them were closed considering it was one thirty-three in the morning. Man, my parents were going to kill me. "Do you think you could…tell me about the Null Void?" I winced, sensing Kevin tense from behind me. "Please," I spun around, looking Kevin dead on in the eyes. I wanted to break our gaze and look away the instant I saw all the hurt pooling those glassy pits of emotion. That attractive, teasing glint was definitely gone now. Well, okay, he was still attractive but he was not tempting me anymore that I was for sure.

He turned towards the road again, brows knitted together in frustration and concentration. "Why do you want to know, Gwen? It's not exactly something I want you to hear."

"I know…" I stayed silent for a moment, considering my words. I knew I had to be careful with this subject. "When two people really love each other, they don't just tell each other everything. They let the other person feel it, too, so they can understand how it truly felt." Leaning over, I placed a light kiss on his soft, warm cheek. "I don't want you to shut it out…or shut me out." My lips grazed over his earlobe as I whispered this. Pulling back, I giggled as I realized the pink print from my gloss-coated lips was still on his dimpled cheek.

Catching my eyes with his once again, I saw the compassion smoldering fire behind their tinted glass. "I could never shut you out, Gwen. Ever. I'd die." I smiled as his hand slipped into mine again and gave it a playful squeeze. "That's all I'm asking."

His thumb soothed over my palm, "How about after we save Ben, I'll tell you?"

I stared, shocked. "Is that a promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

XOXOXO

My heart dropped once I realized all the lights in my cousin's house were lit up like it was Christmas. It was the middle of summer, so I knew a Holiday celebration wasn't the cause. Besides, Uncle Carl and Aunt Sandra never stay up this late. Kevin must have sensed the dread digging a deeper hole into my stomach because he was rubbing my back, something he always did to comfort me. "Maybe he threw a party?"

I snorted, "Right, that's why we're the only car on the street. Makes sense." My words were proven wrong, however, as we drove closer. Three squad cars were parked on the curb in front of the two story complex, along with my dad's convertible claiming a spot in the driveway, "Oh no…"

Pulling up right in front of Ben's house for the umpteenth time, Kevin pulled out his keys and got out, not hesitating to open my door for me. As the damp grass tumbled beneath our feet, I could feel my insides twisting with each approaching step. I spotted Ben's bike lying before the porch, tires worn down from his countless hours of pedaling. "Maybe he's home, after all?"

The instant Kevin's finger pulled away from the chiming doorbell the wooden door flew open, revealing an exhausted looking Aunt Sandra. "Gwen! Kevin!" She dove at us from her spot in the doorframe, wrapping us up in her arms and pulling us into a hug. I felt a tear slide down onto my neck, not sure what to do. "Oh, you're all right! They didn't take you two!" Sniffling and red eyed, she spun around, "LILI! FRANK! THEY'RE ALIVE!"

I could hear my parents scramble to the door, pushing aside my sobbing aunt, followed by Uncle Carl. They all had the same distressed look painted upon their aging faces, bags forming under their dry eyes. My mom was about to plunge into a hug but stopped short, taking note of Kevin's muscular arm wrapped around my waist. He didn't drop it, though, not even when my father glared suggestively at him. If he hadn't been holding me up, I think my knees would've buckled. My Aunt's words kept bouncing around my skull "They didn't take you two!" and "They're alive!" What about Ben?

"Where have you two been?!" I cringed at the edge in my mom's shrill tone, soaked in acid-like venom. "I let you two go off and you're gone for THE WHOLE ENTIRE DAY doing God knows what!"

Just as she was about to rant off, Kevin quickly cut in, "Mrs. Tennyson, I'm really sorry but Gwen and I were…out at the beach and lost track of time. Her cell phone got wet and was ruined so we couldn't check how late it was. We also ran into some, um, unexpected visitors."

"I would think you two would have expected DNAliens by now," I jumped as a voice boomed behind me, whirling around alongside Kevin. As my eyes met a familiar, warm pair of sky blue eyes, my heart began to slow down and beat less frantically. "Grandpa Max!" I rushed at him, out of Kevin's cozy hold on me, and threw my arms around the big man. Smiling, I realized this was just like hugging an oversized teddy bear. "What are you doing here?"

I dropped my arms to my sides, standing next to Kevin again and grabbing his hand. I blushed when he raised an eyebrow at my actions but blew an inward sigh of relief that he shrugged it off, "Word gets around the alien world fast. I heard you, Ben, and Kevin had been abducted so I decided to get a confirmation on that."

Kevin turned towards Ben's parents, "Is Ben here, too? We came here to check."

Aunt Sandra broke into hysterics again, burying her face into my Uncle's shoulder. Hurriedly, he led her inside, the rest of us following suit. "I'm sorry, Kevin, but we haven't heard from him since three hours ago," My mom spoke up, staring at our happily intertwined hands with uncertainty. "Julie is out looking for him, though. She was pretty upset when she heard the news that he was missing."

Picking up Ben's aura from his bike that I'd left outside moments ago, I searched for him, that familiar pink fog misting over my vision. The image of the old warehouse flashed into view, then the overgrown field containing it. He wasn't there anymore, though, his trace wasn't strong enough. I moved on, hurtling past the blurry countryside. Images that had once swirled into one another started to slow down, molding into shape. Towering over me was an old farmhouse, fields cropped in the odd formations DNAliens tend to leave behind. His presence was stronger, but I couldn't sense him enough. Continuing on, colors raced all around me until I found myself staring at a lonely, half deteriorated structure. It reminded me of an ancient church, vast stone walls crumbling inward, large probably once beautiful stained glass windows were shattered, shards sticking out at odd ends in their circular frame. It seemed vaguely familiar… like I'd been there before. Then I realized I had. On that one fateful night from what seemed like forever ago…

"Got him," I said, sucking myself back in to reality. Everyone besides Grandpa Max and Kevin were staring at me oddly, a little terrified. I'd forgotten they weren't so used to my powers yet. I turned to Kevin and searched his eyes pleadingly, "Remember when you had that last tech deal with the Forever Knights? Then Ben and I came in and stopped it?"

He gave me a confused look, "Yeah, why?"

"Ben's in that old church where they were stashing their illegal weapons. I'm sure of it." I could feel a meaty hand fall lightly on my shoulder. Spinning around, I saw the look of ambiguity spread across Grandpa Max's wrinkling skin like butter. "Are you? Even Verdona's traces weren't always correct."

I blinked, allowing myself to go back to the ancient church. He was all over it, like him in any convenient store; he had to touch everything. "He's there, I can feel it."

As Kevin bravely slipped his arms around my waist from behind and held me in front of my parents, I could hear my Aunt whisper through gasps for air, "Are her eyes supposed to glow like that?" Sometimes I wonder how I'm even related to these people.

A/N: Maybe this chapter didn't explain too much, but the real action is about to start! Also, sorry if it felt like there wasn't too much fluff. Heck, the two are standing in front of Gwen's parents, I'm not gonna make them do too much there. So, I promise to make up for it in later chapters! ;) Stay tuned for more!