Rising Phoenix Dojo

March 22, 2000

3:20 PM

Ben almost broke the crash bar when he went out the front door of his school just 5 minutes after the bell rang, having dumped the stuff he didn't need for the night in his locker, and busted into a grin when he saw the minivan at the head of the line. He almost ran the rest of the way to the car, but it was only another 20 yards or so and it wasn't worth it. It was a sunny day and not too cold, even without his jacket, so he didn't need to rush. He smiled the last ten steps or so, like his Mom was, as he yanked open the door, threw his backpack in the back, and sat down. Closing the door, he said "Thanks for being at the head of the line, Mom!"

She pulled out of the line, saying "Seatbelt!" Then "Although I don't know why, you're going to be really early for your class. I hope you have something to do until it starts."

"Yeah, yeah", as he reached for and buckled the belt. "I'm hoping to catch Paul before class starts, I want to see if he can help me with some new stuff from Monday." He paused, then said "Gwen won't get there until too late, otherwise I'd be asking her.", just in time to answer Mom's unasked question.

"Paul? He's the boy that almost smacked you around after your test, right?" she teased with a grin. True to form, Ben couldn't help a small outburst "He did not! I was about to bust his chops when Sensei stopped the class!" They both knew that was an exaggeration, but that was really the only way to answer her challenge. "But yeah, that's the guy." Mom kept smiling.

They pulled up in front of the dojo, and Ben said "Bye Mom. See you after class." He retrieved his gym bag from the back, gave her a grin and closed the door, as she answered back "Me or your Dad, not sure which." The front side of the building shadowed out the weak afternoon sun, and it felt colder here than at school. He was regretting not having his jacket now, it'll be downright cold when class ends. Oh well.

He walked in the door and went back towards the locker rooms, scanning the room for Paul. Nope, not here yet, so he went in the boys locker and got changed and put some padding on the watch like usual. He was looking to the left as he went back into the mat area when he heard Paul's voice, "Hey Kermit!" Ben focused on him and grinned and shook his head a little at the name. Paul always seemed to have some new nickname for him.

"We gotta stop meeting like this, people are gonna start to talk! You look good in green, by the way!" Paul grinned back. "Since you're here this early, and serendipitously so am I, I'm guessing there's something on your mind?"

"Seren whatsis, now?" Paul liked to use strange words, but from the look on his face and tone of voice Ben could usually figure them out. Most of the time.

"Happy chance. What's up?"

"I was hoping you could help me with that new kick Sensei had me try on Monday. Looked like you had it down. Is that OK." Ben asked, and cringed a little, a part of him waiting for the put down the rest of him hoped wasn't coming.

Paul laughed. "Stop doing that! I told you I'd help if you asked. Sure. ... But isn't Gwen gonna help you still?"

"Yeah, she is, but she also suggested that I ask you. Said we need to work with other people in class so we don't get too used to each other." As he realized what that sounded like, he felt his face start to heat up. He could tell Paul saw it, but he didn't do anything besides smirk some.

"Did she now? Didn't mention it to me. Doesn't matter. Let me get changed, I'll be out in a sec."

While he waited, Ben thought back to when he practiced for his test with Gwen a week ago. They were doing a fast punch-block-counter punch drill, and he did it pretty well, if he did say so himself. Which he did, to her amused irritation. That was when she said he was too good at anticipating her moves, and suggested trying it with Paul, to get some different experience. "Not that I don't have any surprises left", she had said with a sly grin. They were facing each in ready stances while they were talking, when without warning she reached out with her right hand and firmly smacked his left cheek. It took him a few seconds to overcome his shock, and then growl out "Oh, it's on now, Dweeb!" in mock outrage. "Gotta keep up, Doofus!" she had smiled, and laughed as she gracefully spun away from his attempt to grab her wrist. That laugh...

"Yo, Short Stuff, come on back. You're working out with me now, not her!" Paul walked to a close spot on the mat and faced him. "I swear, if she ever sees that look on your face, you better have a good answer when she asks 'what are you thinking?' " He laughed, and Ben felt the heat in his cheeks again. And started laughing, too.

"All right, we have, like, forty minutes, so get your shit together. Show me what you remember."

It took all of fifteen for Ben to stumble through it full speed, go through it slowly with Paul critiquing and holding his flailing limbs in the right positions three or four times, and then have Ben do it again at full speed again a few times. On the first full speed try he slipped and fell flat on his butt, and Ben felt a flash of anger as he picked himself up. He expected to hear Paul's laugh, but the boy just gave him a determined look and said "Don't worry about it, go again." Ben got over his surprise and anger, and did it again without falling. The next couple kept improving, with some more encouragement, and after two more Paul grinned and said "That's it, you got it! Just start at half speed the next few times you do it so you remember what it feels like. ... Nicely done!"

Ben found himself grinning at the words, it always felt good when he got the hang of a tricky move. Even better when someone saw and acknowledged it. And it didn't matter that it wasn't his Dweeb, he knew she'd be happy and proud when he did get a chance to show her. He liked that it was Paul helping this time.

Paul said "You were on the verge of losing it after you fell, weren't you?" Ben made a half-hearted try to argue the point "No, I was just..." when Paul interrupted him with a small laugh. "Dude, yeah you were! I'm glad you got past it like that. Good on ya! I can see why Gwen likes to work with you. Beyond the other reasons, of course! You put in the work and listen."

Paul waited with a smirk and watched for Ben's reaction to the dig, but he just grimaced a little and said "Thanks!"

"So, if you want to do this in the future, call or text me first and make sure I'll be around. You can't always count on serendipity. Get your phone after class, I'll give you my number."

Ben knew he had never used his phone inside the dojo. With Gwen in the class, and either his parents or hers picking him up, not to mention Grandpa being anyplace but here, there wasn't anyone else to talk to. So he was a little puzzled when he asked "How do you know I have a phone?" It wasn't unheard of for a kid in his grade to have one, but it wasn't that common, either.

Paul shrugged and said "I've seen Gwen using one, not always talking with her parents or whoever. I figured the other end of text messages was you, especially the way she reacted when she got some grief about it one time."

"What? How?"

"Somehow the word got out that time about you missing karate by getting a detention for fighting at school. She got very, uh, defensive for you when someone suggestion that you must have started it. She said you were only reacting to a problem." Paul waited for an explanation again, and Ben didn't mind giving one this time.

"Yeah, a guy at school who's been riding me for years and was still pissed that I decked him last April when he sucker punched me. Cash, the dirtbag, tried to do it again, but he telegraphed his shot so bad I'd have had to be blind to miss it. I blocked it and punched him and put him on his ass." Ben smirked at that vision. "I gave him a bloody nose, but I didn't break it this time. On purpose. Anyway, his sidekick saw what I did and got a teacher. Even though I was completely set up, I got a DT, too."" Ben was still bitter about that, and he didn't mind letting it show with a dirty scowl. His parents predictably sided with the principal, barely even listening to his side. His Dweeb did, at least, taking some of the sting out of the unfairness of it all.

Paul listened to the tale with an empathetic grin and barked out a short laugh at the end, "Yeah, there's always some dipshit who thinks he knows martial arts and has to try and show you up. I've had a few situations like that, too, and caught a few detentions for it. Sensei understands as long as you're defending yourself, just don't let it happen very often. Like he keeps telling us, not having to fight is always better."

Paul got a funny look, like he was focusing on the far wall. "That explains her reaction, though."

"Huh?" Ben didn't get that.

Paul looked back at him. "Gwen was actually more than a little defensive. She was ready to square off with anyone who thought you really did start it. A couple of us had to talk her down before Sensei noticed. She was really pissed off!" Paul had a wicked grin at that memory.

Ben was amazed. "Wow. She did that for me?!"

"Yeah! Duh! Of course you don't know, though, you weren't here. Now you do. Nice to know someone has your back, huh? Ya lucky sod!" Not that Ben didn't know that, more than Paul could imagine. He was surprised at how good that story made him feel, though.

Except for how it didn't match up as much as it used to with Gwen's change towards him. Ben knew she'd always have his back, but that didn't change how he felt a little off with her. And that he felt weird because of it. He felt his grin fade at the realization, again, that he screwed up with her, and his face fell a little. For a second he felt like he did all that week, and he really didn't want to do it again. Without knowing why, he suddenly was afraid that he was hoping to be Paul's friend for no reason. Why would a guy in high school want to hang around with him?

He didn't want to find out the hard way that he was imagining things again. Figuring it was better to get it over with sooner than later, he asked gingerly "Can I ask you something?"

Paul heard the change in Ben's voice, and looked at him closely "Like you haven't been? Yeah, sure, what's on your mind, Squirt?"

"Don't get this wrong, I really appreciate you helping me with karate, and, well..." and he stopped and looked off past Paul. When the older boy just waited with a patient look, Ben forced out "... with me and my Dwee, uh, Gwen." He looked back at Paul. He started this, he better finish it.

"Why?" That was way harder to say than he expected. He kind of got how Gwen had trouble with conversations now.

"Why what?"

"Why are you taking the time with me? I mean, we hardly talked last year, and you know I don't go to your school. I barely know anyone from my school." Ben said quietly.

Paul took time before answering, and Ben got an awful feeling that he was about to be ridiculed out of the dojo.

Paul looked at the wall across the room. "Wasn't expecting that. Why does anyone act friendly to someone?" he mumbled like he was thinking out load, but then he focused on Ben again.

"I guess because you've been growing on me. When you started here I figured you for the worst kind of firstie - loud, obnoxious, certain that you already knew how to kick butt, didn't see why you weren't being treated like an advanced student. Pretty much a typical little prick that would be gone in a month." Ben's jaw dropped at that, then he ducked his head and blurted out "I wasn't like that..."

Paul cut him off with a soft laugh, "Yeah, you were so, dude! I heard you say as much to Gwen the first couple times you were here. You aren't exactly subtle, are you! But I saw you get over it and start to listen to Sensei, and her, and swallow whatever you thought you knew, and learn. And you kept at it, even when you got your ass handed to you."

"Don't even, you know you did! Hell, I did it more than once!" as Ben started to argue the point. Another laugh.

"You looked like you were going to explode there more than a few times, but you kept it together." After looking hard at the padding covering your watch, for some reason, he didn't say out loud, but Ben could see he was thinking it. "So I knew you had gotten serious. And, like I've said before, this whatever you want to call it with Gwen was hard to not notice." That got a shy grin out of Ben.

"When I went to you guy's party, it was pretty obvious it was really her's with you kind of added on. Don't freak, think about it, there were maybe six guys and thirty some odd girls. They weren't on your invite list. Right?"

Ben nodded in agreement, it was a little intimidating how lopsided the crowd was. Jamie had barely coped. "Yeah, I'm not one of the cool kids at school." he muttered. He couldn't help an eye roll, too. He was surprised at how Paul replied.

"Yeah, me neither. Hard to be one of 'em when you've only been in the neighborhood for a week before school starts." He shrugged. "So when I saw you straggle in after her and her posse from the parking lot, with that hang dog look, I figured you could use a friendly face. I kind of knew there was more going on than a randomly thrown slushball."

"That was a good shot, by the way. Perfect placement! Have some experience with that, have ya?" Paul finished with an admiring grin.

One that Ben returned. Then he couldn't stop himself from smiling wistfully at the memory of the hero snowball fight, and felt his cheeks flush over their gift exchange. "Yeah, the snow fall right before Christmas."

Paul broke into a full smile. "Look at you with that look! I'd pay money to hear that story." He glanced in the direction of the wall clock and grimaced. "Not now though, you got me talking right before class again. Let's get ready." He started to walk towards the mat where the rest of the class was gathering, with Ben in tow, when he stopped and turned.

"You know, we can practice other places than here." He waited for Ben to catch on.

"Like at the park or something?" he asked, a bit uncertainly.

"Nah, a little chilly still for my taste. You OK with me coming over?"

Ben got caught by surprise, again, but recovered quickly enough. "You mean like a Saturday or something?" Friday nights were pretty well covered for their movie nights, and sometimes Gwen would help him with homework on Sunday afternoons, but weekends would work.

Paul grinned "Yeah, we can practice, maybe hang out for a while. You strike me as a gamer. PlayStation or Nintendo?"

"PlayStation. Sumo Slammer."

Paul winced. "Ugh. Spare me from crappy games. Medal of Honor. At least the cartridge will work, I can show you what a quality game is like." Paul got a wicked grin before turning away from Ben's scandalized look, and walked toward the mat again.

Ben recovered enough to start walking too, and called to his friend's back "You wish! You're just afraid I'll kick your butt!" He grinned as Paul gave him a dismissive wave with his right hand, and they took their places on the mat, his next to his Dweeb like usual.

Gwen was smirking at hearing that exchange as they started to stretch, and said quietly "You two seem to be getting along pretty good. Have a good workout?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we did." he answered and smiled back.

Notes:

I've been reading Nate-Mihael's stories (for anyone who hasn't, he's on fanfiction dot net/u/1394735/Nate-Mihael; really great takes on Ben, Gwen and the whirlwinds around them), among others, and noticed the influence in my last chapter, so I figure I should acknowledge it out loud. That said, I'm also trying to not appropriate anyone else's style, so if you think I'm mixing things up too much feel free to call me on it. ;)