DICLAIMER: You know the answer… *sigh*
First, I want to thank EVERYONE on leaving a review, not only on this story, but my MANY others too! THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH! Also, someone asked if I could finish another author's story... Sadly, I cannot. I don't have their permission to do so. I'm terribly sorry, dearest FF reader/writer. :(
Fears
The night was a bit chillier than usual, and Gwen hadn't prepared for it. Normally the weather was slightly cooler, but on the evening of her bachelorette affair, it seemed a little less than "par" for what she was sporting over her well toned curves.
She shivered under the small breeze that blew by her, as a dark green spaghetti strap from her dress, fell a mere centimeter from her shoulder, she peered down at the sudden movement from her knee length gown, forgetting why she was in the parking lot in the first place. Immediately fixing the strap, she brought her attention back up to the window of a small night club- glaring in awe and in nervousness towards the spot of where her best friend had taken her. The red head growled to herself in frustration, her brows furrowing in disappointment. "I," She began, swallowing the lump that had quickly developed inside of her throat. "I seriously don't think I can't do this, Julie." She gulped, turning at her friend, completely terrified.
The Asian girl simply giggled and grabbed Gwen's arm, just as she began to turn away; to run for the hills- to try and regain her only peace of tranquility; the comfort zone she longed to be in. "Nuh-uh." Julie smiled broadly, and continued. "You promised we'd do this. We need this. YOU need this."
Gwen only stood there, wide eyed, watching as the lights from the club flickered onto the pavement just below their feet; dancing in a horrible mocking fashion, almost as if it were taunting her, waiting for the humiliation to set in. Girls like her just didn't go into places like this. To Gwen, it was only asking for trouble that they didn't need to involve themselves in. 'It was always better to stay away; to avoid, and if possible, the common situations that revolved around the many drunken inhabitants that resided inside the night clubs'; well… in her opinion anyways.
Feeling the tug of her arm from Julie's firm grasp, the red head finally sighed in defeat. "Alright." She whispered, bringing a hand to her forehead, sighing heavily once again. "Just… If we have any signs of trouble-"
"We'll leave A.S.A.P." Julie finished, smiling even bigger. "Promise."
"Okay…" Was Gwen's small, but whimpering reply, as Julie dragged her inside, laughing with much delight and excitement, slowly making their way closer to the entrance of the night club.
Gwen could only laugh in return, uneasily.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Kevin sat on the couch in his one bedroom flat that sat above his garage, watching the television blankly. He didn't really know for sure with what was actually going on, even though he was facing the boob tube head on. His mind at the moment was already floating elsewhere.
Naturally, it was floating with the thoughts of Gwen, and Julie going out.
And naturally, Kevin absolutely hated it. Not that he didn't mind when Gwen and Julie spent their girl time together. He just knew the possibilities of what could happen with those types of gatherings. He knew what those kinds of guys' did to the unsuspecting women that would walk innocently inside the bars. He knew. But it's not like Gwen couldn't take care of her-
"I should've of went with 'em." Kevin mused to himself interrupting his own thoughts, grabbing his cool beer off from the end table that sat snuggly next to the sofa. The wall showing signs of being tarnished slightly from the small piece of wood with four legs. "At least I'd know that there wouldn't be any douche bags hittin' on Gwen."
"And what about Julie?" A familiar voice rang out into the room, to Kevin it was like nails to a chalk board, and without so much as skipping a single beat, the vocals continued on. "It's not like she's got grade A super powers like Gwen does to protect herself from the other drunken idiots out there."
Kevin huffed under his breath, taking in another swig from his Bud Light bottle. "And it's not like I invited you over t'my place for one of your off the wall play dates either, Ben." His voice dripping lightly with venom, as his eyes narrowed, landing once again upon the t.v. screen.
"Well, I figured you'd be in here wallowing in self pity all by yourself so, I kind of thought you could use the company." The hero smiled, as he closed the door to his best friend's flat; making his way over to sit himself next to Kevin on the couch, while holding a big brown bag of uncertainties.
Kevin arched a brow in curiosity, with his mouth hanging open, as if he were thinking to himself of whether or not he should brave the question by asking what was in the dark paper bag.
But Ben had seen the ex-con's expression, and caved into the man's wonderment immediately. "It's our man party stuff." He grinned smugly, dipping his ultimatirx hand into the brown carrier. "Totally good stuff too." he winked, fiddling with the items inside.
"Man party?" Kevin asked incredulously, setting his beer down a tad too harshly; the bottle making a clinking sound on contact with the table. "Who said I even wanted a 'man party' in the first place?" At this point, Kevin was sitting up from his slouching position, facing the young man, and glaring coldly at him.
"Com'on, Kev." Ben began to reason, his hand stopping in mid movement from inside the bag that he had brought over. "Anything is better than you sitting here wondering what, where, and how with Gwen and Julie." He was now arching his brow, and smiling at Kevin's hardened stare down. "Right?"
The older plumber grumbled under his breath, and pinched his nose with his thumb and forefinger out in frustration. "Whatever." He replied, deciding quietly that maybe his friend was right. He really needed the distraction, and he also knew that Ben tended to be harder to get rid of than the rodents that skipped along the hidden sewers down below, and by humoring his younger friend; would make his life tons easier in the long run."So… What's in that stupid paper bag of yours?" He finally spoke up, not really caring in the slightest.
At this, Ben's face lit up even further, and he fished out a DVD cartridge, holding it up proudly. "Sumo Slammers 5 'The Rise of Kinko's Empire'." He beamed; his voice lowering like a big cinema announcer's would have from all of those commercials you'd see advertizing about a new movie coming to a theater near you. Kevin's face though, at that same moment, wasted no time shaping into a crest fallen scowl.
"No way am I sittin' here watching that with you." The man griped defiantly, getting himself up from the couch. "I'd rather take my chances wallowing in my own 'self pity'". He air quoted rolling his eyes, heading towards the kitchen to grab another beer. "Anything at this point would be so much better than that crap."
"Give it a chance will ya?" Ben begged, hastily following his friend into the kitchen. "It's got the highest ratings with all of the critics, and they say that it definitely beats the first four movies-"
"No." was Kevin's short reply as he stuck his head into the refrigerator, moving things around trying to find that one alcoholic beverage he thought he still had. "I'd rather watch the weather channel."
"But you hate the weather channel." Ben grimaced, twisting his face up in confusion, wondering where Kevin was actually going with this conversation.
"Exactly." Kevin grinned, but looking slightly annoyed at the same time. Changing the subject quickly, the older man made an even better suggestion. "How 'bout we go to the nearest gas station and get some more beer. I'm out." He shrugged thoughtlessly, closing the refrigerator door in the process.
"Wow… Don't get too creative there, Kevin." Ben sarcastically replied in disappointment from how the man party night was going, the whole dreadful feeling smearing all over his face. "I mean, I had this whole night planned out, and all you wanna do is sit here, drink beer, and worry pointlessly about Gwen." He then raised his hands up into the air heatedly, his mood growing sour. "How is that any fun? Serioulsy!"
"It's fun for me, and I didn't ask for you to come here ya'know." Kevin folded his arms pointedly, leaning against the white ice box, seething at his friend in a knowing manner. "Now did I?"
"Not exactly, but if you'd just list-"
"-And so we're gonna do what "I" think is fun, right?"
"Yeah, but-"
"And it's my guys' night."
"I know, just-"
"End of story." Kevin interrupted for the third time, bringing a devious grin to his once angered features, waving his hand by dismissing Ben's idea of a good night all together. "You can always just go home. I'm better off bein' on my own tonight anyways."
"Nah…" Ben grumbled, walking after his friend, heading towards the front door. "In the end, I'd get totally bored, and start doing things that Julie would for sure yell at me later for…. I'd rather take my chances on getting into trouble with you instead."
They both laughed at that, and proceeded to get into Kevin's car, driving off, looking for the closest convenience store.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
"Gwen?" Julie called out into the club. She'd only been calling out to her friend for over ten minutes. Unsure as to where Gwen had been hiding. Well, if she were hiding in the first place. Julie wouldn't have put it past the young anodite, that's for sure. She knew that the plumber was uneasy about these things from the very beginning.
But how she could have let the girl out of her sight was beyond her. With the young red head's intoxicated state, would she be able to defend herself? Would she be wise enough to remember that she had glowing pink powers?
On that thought, the dark haired girl groaned out loud, slapping her forehead. "What kind of a friend am I?" she sulked to herself, shifting her eyes frantically to the left and then to the right, hoping she'd spot the familiar bright crimson mane of her best friend.
Everything was going fine until Gwen had gotten a few drinks in her, three at the most, and Julie was smart enough to know that when a certain person who doesn't drink on a daily basis, or for that matter, on an often basis can be quite the light weight when it comes to drinking liquor, even the situations they come in contact with just seem to make it worse; their judgments obviously clouded, and with Gwen, she was no exception to that rule.
Not to mention earlier in the night a shady character named Rob had surfaced, multiplying more of the so called drama into the mix; a man who never wanted to take the word "no" for an answer from the get go. After many attempts (and failing) of trying to take Gwendolyn home, he basically got to the point of deep aggravation, and he began to harass the poor inexperienced girl, causing Gwen to smack the creep hard on the cheek; also adding more to the drama of their evening- Gwen's now "possible" disappearance.
The night all together was not going so good.
Of course Julie didn't blame her for it. The guy seriously was being quite rude, and quite vulgar. He deserved what he got. Gwen could've done a lot worse to the man if she really wanted to, but held back for obvious reasons.
An hour had passed since the ordeal, and Julie had asked Gwen if she was really okay. Smiling gratefully at her friend's gesture, the book smart girl reassured the Asian beauty that she was indeed fine. Julie grinning back at her in return, finally felt at ease, and excused herself politely, and went to go order a fresh drink; never straying far from her company.
Or so she thought.
So here was Julie, walking around the darkest corners of the night club. Considering that the whole place was in a miraculous blaze of laser lights, and disco balls- this so called "darkness" was in fact pretty scarce. The only place left to hide really, was the girls' bathroom. Julie shrugged at this point- feeling that this was the place to where Gwen just had to be; she swiftly headed inside, investigating the many stalls within.
She needed to find her friend quickly, and to take her home. Otherwise, Kevin was going to kill her. Not really, but she frowned heavily none the less from such a thought, and had quickened her pace. Julie just had to locate Gwen.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Street lights continued to on pass by quickly, as Ben looked out the window, keeping a keen eye out for "Bob's Convenient Convenience Store". Kevin had said that it was difficult to spot in the dark sometimes, because the guy had a hard time keeping his sign lights aglow with "newer" bulbs.
"Sounds like a winner- this store of yours." Ben cringed, squinting his right eye at the ex-con. "Lemme guess. Argit said that it was a great place to get a 'better deal'."
Kevin continued to watch the road, not saying anything in response at first, his foot pushing harder on the gas when his ex best pal's name had been mentioned. Finally the older plumber snorted, "No."
"Okaaaaay." was Ben's confusing reply, "Then why do-"
"Because I know personally, that he has the better deals. He's pretty cheap most of the time." Kevin explained quickly, turning left at the green light, following straight on through onto another secluded street.
"Meaning he gives you what you want for free, as in- he's in debt to you, owing you countless, and countless of little favors." Ben grinned in understanding.
Kevin only chuckled at his friend's quipped observations, not saying another word about the subject. The older man had basically just confirmed the hero's own witty allegations.
Finally, the two men pulled into the unlit parking lot of Bob's store. Cutting off the engine, they stepped out, heading into the less than a "whole in the wall quick stop".
"Get whatever poison you want." Kevin smirked, as he maneuvered his way over to the beer's freezer section.
"Like what?" Ben asked a little unsure of himself. He was never really into the liquor or beer to begin with. Well… Daiquiris were sometimes okay. But surely Kevin would make fun of him for that one. By that guy's standards, daiquiris were a far cry from being called 'manly'.
"Anything." Kevin finally said, bending down to grab a six pack, closing the freezer door once he had what he wanted in his hands. Seeing the younger boy's face of uncertainty, he explained it even further. "As long as it isn't fruity and lady like? My treat."
"Oh ha ha, Kevin." Ben laughed sarcastically. "Like I'd be into all of that froo- froo junk anyways."
"Not what I heard," Kevin sing-song'd as he worked his way over to the counter, with store manager Bob smiling, recognizing the intergalactic plumber right away.
The hero just shook his head, and decided that he'd just split the beer with Kevin; if Kevin were even nice enough to share the liquid gold with him. Walking himself up to the counter as well to catch up to the older man, afraid of losing his only ride home, his cell phone suddenly began to beep; earning him an alarmed look from his comrade. He told Kevin not to worry about it, that it was just his cell, and that he'd simply take the call outside while the ex-con paid for his drinks, and to socialize a bit with the grey haired man behind the register. He guessed that his friend had some catching up to do, and at that moment, it really was no big deal. He promised he'd rip Kevin from the store if it was truly an emergency.
"Ben?" Came a voice from his hand held. It sounded frantic.
"Julie." Ben said with a smile anyways, hoping for the best. "How's the whole girls' night thing going?"
Silence fell upon his receiver, and his grin quickly faded, his voice heavy with seriousness. "Julie, is everything alright?" Now he was getting a little uneasy. Usually on a 'Gwen and Julie night out' there was always fun and excitement in her voice. But tonight, Julie was sounding a tad bit odd with him, almost out of character; a little too out of character for his liking.
"Julie?" Ben asked her name once more.
"Ben?" She sounded like she had been running- running for quite some time now.
"Where are you?" The younger plumber asked without a seconds' hesitation or thought.
"I'm just outside "Studio 74", in the parking lot, next to my car." She mustered up the energy to say. But she sounded worried now, and then it hit him like a rock when she asked, "Have you seen or heard from Gwen? I've been looking for her for about an hour now and-"
"Where did you last see her?" Ben jumped in, interrupting her. Studio 74 wasn't the best place to go and hang out. Gang members, drug dealers, and anything bad news hung around out there. He wasn't sure why Julie suggested such a spot in the first place, but at that moment it didn't matter, he needed to try and calm her down to get this big problem of theirs' resolved.
"I don't know!" She squealed into the phone, her voice desperate for some answers. "I left her only for a few minutes to get a drink. I came back only to find her gone! She left her purse at the table, I searched the girls' bathrooms, the whole club, everywhere, and I just can't-"
"Breath, Julie." Then the hero instructed, "Get into your car, and drive straight home; do whatever it takes to stay safe. I'll let you know if we find anything. Okay?"
"Okay." She responded, her demeanor a little more at ease. "Oh, and, Ben?"
"Yeah, Jules?" He gripped the phone tighter to his ear; wishing that he was with his wife and cousin, making sure that they were truly alright. It would seem that Kevin had been slightly correct for once. This whole bachelorette thing was a terrible idea. At least now it was.
"I love you." She whispered, tears threatening to fall. She felt so guilty about everything that had transpired only an hour ago. "Please be careful, Ben, and let me know when you find her."
"Love you to Jules, and don't worry, we'll find her, I promise."
"Find who?"
Ben's head shot up from its previous position, quickly snapping his phone shut. "Get in." He nodded towards the green challenger. "I'll explain on the way."
No other words were spoken as Kevin's car swiftly drifted from the store's lot.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
"Whattya mean she's 'missing'?" Kevin glared through his windshield, clenching his jaw tightly. His foot putting pressure on the gas pedal, making the car go far beyond what was considered the legal speeding limit. At this rate, they'd be at Studio 74 in less than five minutes. Normally it'd take them about thirty just to get to the other side of town, then about another ten minutes or so, just to go a few blocks more before hitting the infamous 74 club.
"Julie said that she went to go and get a drink only to find that Gwen wasn't at their table anymore. What's really weird is that she left her purse behind." Ben explained, his eyes never leaving the dashboard of Kevin's car. He was a little too worried and in thought to look anywhere else.
"She shouldn't have left Gwen alone." The ex-con growled out, running an aggravated hand through his midnight locks. "Specially since she was pretty much drunk in the first place." He took in a frustrating breath, and if it were possible, his car sped up ten folds as his foot slammed into the pedal even more- almost breaking through the undercarriage of his own vehicle.
"We'll find her." Ben said, as if he were trying to reassure himself from the matter at hand. "It wasn't Julie's fault."
"Sure it wasn't." Kevin hissed, turning on the curb sharply. A regular car would've done several back flips into the deep ditch that lied across the way. Kevin's ride however cut through those things like a sharp knife to a stick of butter-never faltering, or wavering from absolute perfection. Kevin made sure of it; with everything that he had built; past, present and in the future.
"It wasn't." Ben bit back defensively, his grip growing tighter around the door rest. "She made sure that Gwen was okay, and only left her to go get a drink. That's it. She was gone only for a few minutes, Kevin. Gwen's a big girl too, and can take care of herself."
"I know." Kevin sighed heavily, his frustrations with his friend slowly rising. "But explain to me how a person who's never really had a drop of liquor in her entire life- gets totally smashed off of just three drinks, is supposed to function and protect herself properly if and when a big problem arises. I mean, look who we deal with on a daily basis for cryin' out loud." *sigh* "It could be anybody and their Uncle that has their slimy hands on her."
"Kevin."
"Don't!" The older man shouted out, gripping the wheel of his green car tighter, his knuckles growing whiter, and whiter with each passing second. Taking in a slow, deep breath, Kevin finally calmed himself down a little and continued. "If she was left alone, who's to say that someone didn't come up behind her- knocking her out cold? Who's to say that when she got up just t'simply go to the bathroom she wasn't caught off guard. That her spidey senses weren't tingling, and her 'magical ora' or whatever she calls that stuff wasn't totally going haywire?"
"I get that- I'm not saying with what you've just said isn't possible, but we both know Gwen, and we both know no matter how bad it got she would always be smart enough to get out of it." Ben tried to reason with his comrade, keeping his tone level headed. Arguing wasn't going to change on what had happened that night. Accidents occur in ever day life, being heroes or not, they weren't excluded from such a game. "We have to put our full trust in her to come back to us safely every time something like this happens."
Kevin was just about to add to Ben's little endeavor when the ultimatrix bearer shouted out, "Kevin! Stop the car!"
The ex-con did as told, and skid the car to a dead halt on the road, the wheels squealing and echoing in the endless caverns of the empty streets and back alley ways. If the homeless were asleep, they sure as heck weren't in a deep slumber as of now.
Ben's eyes shined brightly in happiness upon seeing that his cousin was in fact safe and sound. There, sat Gwen on a bench, eating a small vanilla ice cream cone, with an ominous pink glow shining brightly from behind her.
"Told ya." Ben teased, pushing Kevin off balance slightly.
"Yeah, yeah." Kevin smiled in relief as he ran his way up to the crimson haired girl dressed in a gorgeous dark green baby doll dress. In the heat of the moonlight, his lady looked genuinely stunning. He couldn't help but grin maniacally at the sight.
"So… Who's your creepy, stalker friend tied to the tree over there?" Ben pointed out humorously; already knowing most of the possibilities, and reasons for why the man had been restrained to nature by the all mighty pink, and magenta sparkly stuff.
Gwen smiled smugly in achievement, and coyly announced, "Ben, Kevin? Meet Creepy Rob guy." Rob snarled at her mocking gestures, his mouth covered with manna at the moment, and he couldn't respond formally towards the red haired girl's companions. "Creepy Rob guy?" She turned, smiling ever so sweetly towards him,"Ben and Kevin."
Kevin's face suddenly became all too serious. "I take it this guy was givin' you a tough time, eh Gwen?" He asked as he walked over to the glowing pink tree. "Huh…" He rubbed his chin in thought as he stared down at his bride to be's stalker. "He's got good taste in women, I'll give 'em that."
Rob mumbled more vulgar innuendos under his breath, and Kevin chuckled. "But only a tool and a complete moron would think he'd ever have the slightest chance with her." He then absorbed the flag pole that stood next the creepers wooden jail cell. The man cried out in fear, watching as Kevin's whole arm got engulfed by solid grey metal. Rob's eyes began to roll into the back of his head, and he suddenly went limp.
Poor old Robert had fainted…
"That's twice now." Gwen sighed in frustration, her mood quickly changing to a fit of annoyance. "Seriously, Kevin, was that really necessary?"
"Not my fault he's too much of a wuss to handle it." Kevin grinned evilly towards his soon to be wife, and best friend. "If y'think you can dish it out like the big dogs- only to change your mind by not being able to stand up and handle the potential beat downs that usually come along with it? Expect to get it handed to you twice as hard in the end."
"Nice logic there, Kevin." Ben chimed in, rolling his eyes, and resting his hands upon both of his hips. Then in a quick passing glance, he swiftly moved his gaze towards his cousin, letting out a small grin. "And I thought you had too much to drink." He chuckled, putting Gwen right back into the spot light.
"So not true!" Gwen blushed a bit in embarrassment, chewing her finger nail tip nervously. "Well... Maybe just a little, but Rob over there killed that experience about an hour ago."
"Must be wicked awesome bein' a hotheaded, sexy anodite." Kevin smiled, wrapping his arms around his beloved, squeezing her ever so tightly, never wanting to let her go, even more so, after dealing with tonight's minor fiasco.
"Why, no hangover problems?" Ben chuckled towards his companions, as reached for his cell phone located in his jacket pocket so he could let Julie know that Gwen was indeed safe and sound.
"No." Kevin snorted with an amusing laugh. "Because I know she can kick major ass- drunk, sober or otherwise." He kissed her cheek with a sense of pride. "Now how many girls do you know can accomplish somethin' like that?"
"Just one at the moment." Ben laughed along with his friend. "Come on, guys. We've got a wedding to rest up, and plan for." He looked to his watch, as if it actually told the time and date- smiling ever so smugly. "Exactly one week from today, Kev. Imagine that."
Kevin's eyes almost fell from the depths of his own skull. "I'm sorry, what?"
Gwen hugged the raven haired man even tighter. "One Week."
"One week." Ben repeated, sounding ever so cheerfully. He loved to see the torture burning off of his best friend's face.
"One…. Week?" Kevin stuttered with his tongue, stumbling over his own two feet, trying to regain his footing quickly. "Not possible. I've got like- I dunno- a whole 'nother ten years or so, right?"
Ben laughed hysterically at his friend's expense as Gwen slapped the raven haired ex-con hard on the chest, causing him to cough out loud. "You are SO not getting out of this one, Kevin." Ben finally choked out, all three of them waiting to get into Kevin's car."Gwen's gonna make sure of it."
Kevin glared back hard, narrowing his eyes. "And I'm gonna make sure that you have to fly your way home instead." He finishes with a cocky smile.
The hero was about to laugh at Kevin's off handed joke when suddenly confusion had struck him completely by surprise. "Wait... What?" Ben asked as he watched the green challenger sped off into the night, tail lights leaving lingering bursts of dirt clouds just below his feet.
Kevin's joke was seriously getting old… But one day, Ben vowed to himself. One day he was going to get his revenge, and it was going to be glorious.
….Wedding or not, here he comes.
Whether or not Ben actually gets his revenge is up to him. Lol! Don't know if I'll throw something in there like that or not. We'll just have to wait and see how creative I get. XD Yep.. This chapter took me months to write. Sorry, dearest Fanfiction readers! Life has been CA-RAZY busy. I barely even have the time for my D.A. account.
Next chapter? Hm…. Should it be the wedding day? Or one chapter of absolute nonsense before the day or two of the wedding? Leave me a sweet little review and let me know! Regular reviews are just as beautiful too! Just y'know… Saying. Haha!
Thanks ever so much for reading!
The Spoon. :D