Author's Notes: Stupid plot bunnies distracting me from NaNoWriMo… This idea as well as another idea hit me after I finished watching "In Charm's Way", so I naturally had to write it down. That episode tested the Gwevin relationship harshly… I'm still upset about how things turned out though I love the drama and I'm looking forwards to see how things turn out. We all know that things can't always be happy or perfect…

Did anyone else feel like smacking Kevin or just yelling at him to shut up this episode? I know I did. Though I did feel like hugging him when that kid at the beach called him a monster. Anyway, I'll leave my thoughts of "In Charm's Way" for more proper discussion places and let the story begin!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10, never will. I also don't own the quote at the beginning.

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"I want to say I'm sorry, I want you to know I care,
I want to say I'm blind for seeing something that wasn't there.
I should have been more trusting and listened to my heart,
Cause you're the only thing I need and it's tearing me apart."

~Anonymous

82. Can You Hear Me?

A week had passed since Charmcaster had returned and lost. Since then, Gwen hadn't gone on any patrols if Kevin was there. She avoided doing anything where Kevin was involved no matter how hard her cousin tried to convince her to come along to help them. Eventually he had decided that there was nothing he could do (at least for the moment) and he had slowly pulled himself out of their problem.

A week had passed since she had last gone on their patrols, but today she was seated in the passenger seat of Kevin's Dodge Challenger.

They had just finished the mission and Kevin was driving them home. Despite a few attempts from Ben to try and start some light conversation (all of which were shot down or ignored), the car was incredibly quiet. From his vantage point in the backseat, Ben could see Kevin shooting constant glances of regret at Gwen while Gwen just continued to stare out the window.

"Hey Kevin, can you pull over?" Ben asked, the silence between the duo finally causing him to snap.

"Why?" Kevin grumbled, his car rolling to a halt as he spoke.

"I almost forgot that I needed to meet up with Julie today." Ben smiled. Maybe this plan wouldn't work, maybe it would, but it couldn't hurt to try. Right? "I'll just turn into Jetray and fly to her house. See you two later."

Ben slipped out of the car. He would've liked to stay behind and watch the two to make sure nothing disastrous occurred. However, they would've noticed him if he followed them and he was certain that they just needed time alone to work things out. He just hoped that he was making the right choice to help them recover their relationship.

As the boy became Jetray and flew off, Kevin pushed down on the gas. The car began to move again, quickly gaining speed.

Meanwhile Kevin cast another glance at Gwen. The girl was sitting straight up, her head turned to watch the scenery go past her window. She never looked at him, not that Kevin could blame her.

After the conversation with Ben about the incident, Kevin had been feeling great regret over the whole thing. His words to Gwen at the beach and then at the planetarium were unforgivable. He had been angry, he hadn't been thinking, he had assumed things, and he had forgotten how wonderful Gwen really was. He had forgotten everything and he had destroyed their relationship. Of course she had every right to hate him.

Still… He couldn't just let their relationship die forever. He knew he had to do something to at least get her to talk to him once more. Maybe he didn't deserve her after being a monster and a jerk, but he would do anything to be able to talk to her once more and to not have her hate him. No, Kevin Levin was definitely not going to let this thing keep them apart.

"Do you want something to eat before you get home?" Kevin finally decided to challenge the silence. He didn't know what he could say. A regular apology didn't seem sincere enough even if every word of it was true. There needed to be actions to back up that apology.

Gwen didn't look over at him, just shook her head for no.

Not willing to give up, Kevin continued onwards, "You did a good job fighting those aliens." The words sounded awkward even to him as they tumbled out of his mouth.

This time Gwen did reply with words, but they were far from pleasant. "Good to know that I can do something right."

Kevin pressed his lips tightly together, thinking back to what he had said on the beach. "You don't know how to do much of anything." He regretted every single word that had poured out of his mouth at that time. Why couldn't he do anything right?

"Look Gwen, I'm sorry I ever said that. I—"

"Stop."

Kevin blinked at Gwen's simple command before going on anyway, "I didn't mean—"

Gwen turned to glare at Kevin. Her green eyes stared at him, harder than he had ever seen her look at him before.

"I don't want to talk." Her words were sharp.

"We're never going to solve anything if we don't." Kevin was trying very hard to stay rational. Losing it again would only makes things worse and that was the last thing he needed to do. "I wanted to say that—"

"Shut up!" Gwen yelled at him, just as Kevin finished his sentence,

"—I'm sorry."

They both stared at each other, the car standing in an idle position on the road (thankfully it was night and there weren't any other cars on the road). Gwen glanced out the window before saying,

"Drive."

Seeing as she wasn't yelling at him, only commanding him in a stony voice, Kevin decided it was as good a time as any to continue talking.

"Gwen, I didn't want to hurt you and I'm sorry I ever did." He was sure was starting on what would grow into a ramble, but at the moment, he didn't care.

"Kevin." He stopped talking. "Shut up."

"But Gwen, I—"

"Shut up."

"But I want to fix things. I want to tell you that—"

"Shut up.

"I'm not going to shut up until you listen to me."

"Then stop driving."

Kevin glanced at her, blinking in surprise. "What?"

Gwen sighed. "Just do it."

Hoping that she was finally going to let him talk, Kevin pulled to a stop by the pavement. He opened his mouth to try to explain to her how remorseful he really was of the situation and how he should've assumed that she would help him because she wasn't the type of person to be possessive, but he had no time for that as Gwen opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Kevin asked, confusion clouding his face.

"Home." Her short, direct reply did not settle Kevin's confusion.

"But I'm driving you home."

"Not anymore. I don't want to talk to you, so I'm walking." She stepped out of the car before slamming the door shut. He watched her walking along for a few moments, blinking in shock at how things had gone. He had a feeling that he had just made things a whole lot worse.

Pushing down on the gas lightly, Kevin's car crept over to Gwen, slowly keeping pace with her. He opened the window of the passenger seat and shouted out of it,

"Gwen, stop. You shouldn't walk home on your own."

"I can take care of myself." Gwen continued walking, her gaze directed straight ahead of her and not at the boy.

"Do you really want to ignore me for the rest of your life?" Kevin asked.

"Maybe." She answered back to him.

"Can't we at least try to talk?"

This time Gwen's answer wasn't quite as immediate. She pondered over it before shaking her head.

"I don't want to talk right now," Kevin's spirits plummeted and he began to mentally scold himself for messing up the best thing that had ever happened to him, "But maybe one day, I'll listen." With that, Gwen picked up her pace to pull ahead of the creeping vehicle.

Kevin knew following Gwen wasn't a smart idea, so instead he stopped his car, his mind beginning to spin. Sure, she wasn't willing to talk to him now, but she had said there was a possibility that they could talk later. It would take a lot of work, but maybe there was a chance he could make things right again.

Maybe, just maybe, but he just knew that things weren't going to be easy. Not at all.

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A/N: This turned out a lot differently than I originally imagined it to be, but I still like it. I don't think things are going to be fixed in the blink of an eye or in one conversation, so I tried to show that with this fanfic. It's splitting away from canon since I'm certain they'll have something else to have the two fix their relationship. I hope this wasn't too depressing as I was going for a hopeful end. The title can be interpreted however you wish though I chose it because Kevin's trying to get Gwen to hear him out. Review and tell me what you think!

Twilight Phantom Dragon