Chapter 27: The Party
I Don't Own Ben 10 or Any of the Respective Characters, The Rights Belong to Man of Action Studios and Cartoon Network
Author's Note:
* Hello and welcome to Chapter 27!
* Anyone who read the first story may remember that this chapter where Ben and Gwen ultimately confessed to one another. Well, this is the point where the story will begin to radically diverge from its source material. That's all I will say about it.
* Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll leave you to it.
Ben
Saturday, May 12th, 2018
The Tennyson House
We had just gotten back home from the graduation ceremony. Mom and Dad sat for a while, but after half an hour or so, they started packing their bags. I was currently standing in the corner of the living room as they were carrying their bags to the door. Mom turned to look back at me.
"Are you sure that you want us to go?" she asked. "We can stay if you don't want to be left alone for the night!"
I shook my head.
"Mom, I'll be okay." I said in a reassuring tone. "You guys can go have some one on one time, I know you don't get to go to dinner together very often anymore, so just go. I'll be fine and I'm not going anywhere."
"Oh, alright. You'll go to Kevin's party?"
"I'll go soon after you guys leave."
That's not true. I don't even know if I'm going. I just have too much to think about right now. And none of them are good thoughts.
"You have both of our cell numbers in case of an emergency?"
"Mom…"
"What about the first aid kit?"
I was about to speak again, but thankfully it seemed like Dad shared my pain here.
"Sandra, he's an adult. He's not going to do anything stupid while we're away for one night. He'll be just fine."
Mom let out a sigh as she nodded.
"I know, I know. You may be an adult now, but you'll always be my baby."
She set her bag down on the floor and walked over to me, embracing me in a hug upon reaching me.
"Just promise me that you'll be safe and we'll go."
I nodded even though she wouldn't be able to see it.
"I promise, Mom."
She parted from the hug and I did the same. She then handed me a small card, like a business card.
"Here's the hotel's number in case you need anything and we don't answer our phones. We should be home by noon tomorrow."
"Okay."
I looked over the business card and saw that it appeared to just be a pretty standard hotel and casino. I looked back up at them as Mom picked her bag back up and walked out the door, while Dad approached me.
"Congratulations, buddy." He said as he patted me on the shoulder.
"Thanks."
He then turned and I followed him as he walked out the door. I remained on the front step as they both got into the car. They pulled out of the driveway and honked, while I waved the whole time (Mom rolled down her window and called out a "Bye, sweetheart!") and took off. Once they were gone, I walked back into the empty house, shut the door before locking it and then walked to my bedroom. Now finally being all by myself, I didn't know what to do. Obviously my issues regarding Gwen had sprang back up and they couldn't have picked a worse time to do it. I sat down on my bed and reflected on the list of options that I had tried writing about a month ago.
My first choice is to just ignore these "feelings", if they're even real. I can just lock them up tight and forget about them, allowing me to live a normal life. But what if they do turn out to be real? Then I'll eventually explode like an over-pressured soda bottle. Not good for anyone involved, least of all me.
My second choice is to just tell Gwen about my "feelings". Not a great option, really. Because what if she doesn't share your "feelings"? Then it's game over for you. She'll never want to see you again and what are the odds that she doesn't tell the rest of the family? To say that you'd become the black sheep of the family would be the understatement of the year.
And my third choice is… to just run away. Admittedly, this isn't the best choice, either. But if these "feelings" turn out not to be real, then some time away should put them to rest. It might hurt my family. Gwen may think I left because I didn't like being around her or Mom and Dad may think that they weren't good parents. But this may be my only way out if I wish to continue living my life normally.
Just then, the sensation of my phone vibrating in my pocket interrupted my thoughts. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID to see that it was Gwen.
Speak of the God damn devil.
I answered the phone as I put it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey!" she greeted me in her usual cheery tone of voice. "Where are you? What are you doing right now?"
"Um, I'm at home, all by myself. Mom and Dad went out for the night."
"Kevin's throwing a party at his house tonight. You're going, aren't you?"
I scratched the back of my neck as I thought about what to say.
"Um, I didn't intend to. Part of me just wants to be alone with my thoughts tonight."
"But why? Don't you want to come? Kevin has been bragging about his parties all week."
"Trust me, all of Kevin's parties are ones for the book. But I have to sit this one out. I have a lot of thinking to do."
"You can't! You should be celebrating with the rest of us! Whatever is so important can wait until tomorrow!"
I tried to interject but she didn't let me.
"Look, I can't make you do anything, so just do whatever you want. Just think about it. Maybe I'll see you there?"
And before I could say anything, she hung up. I slipped my phone back into my pocket with a sigh.
Why do you have to make this more difficult than it needs to be? Well, I guess I kinda have to go now, don't I?
A Couple of Hours Later
Kevin's House
I decided to go to the party, even though I didn't want to. I ended up chilling in Kevin's basement with him, Ken, J.T. and Cash. We all took turns playing each other in pool and all of them were drinking, even Ken, the so-called responsible older brother. I was the only one in the group who wasn't drinking anything. Call me a boy scout if you will, but I personally thought that a hero's job was never over, therefore I had to stay as aware as I could at all times. Of course, that didn't stop the rest of them, though.
"I'm going back upstairs for a couple more beers." Kevin announced. "Any of you guys want any?"
To no surprise, every one of my friends replied with their own variation of yes. Even Ken.
"You really need to loosen up, Ben. One beer ain't gonna hurt ya."
"What I need is to stay sober in case one of you does something stupid."
Kevin shook his head as he walked up the basement stairs.
"We'll make a real man out of you one day."
Gwen
I had arrived a little late to Kevin's party, but I eventually did get there. I walked into his house to see it full of fresh high school graduates, most of whom I didn't recognize. Bonie M's Rasputin, the current song they had on the radio in his living room, blared from the speakers with intensity (Ra-Ra-Rasputin!).
I scanned the big room for Ben, my brother, Kevin or anyone else I would recognize, but saw no one of the sort. So, I walked into the kitchen and almost immediately saw Kevin closing the refrigerator door, with about five cans of beer in his arms. As soon as he saw me, a toothy grin appeared on his face.
"Hey, Gwen!" he greeted me. "You made it!"
"Hi, Kevin." I greeted him with an obligatory smile. "Have you see Ben or my brother?"
"Yeah, we're all downstairs playing pool!"
"Great. Thanks."
I was about to walk past him toward the basement door, but he cut me off.
"Hold on just a second, Gwen. Do you mind if I speak to you in private?"
Where is this going?
I turned to look back at him.
"You and I don't know each other very well. Would you at all be interested in going out together to a movie or something? Just the two of us?"
I felt my cheeks heat up and not for a good reason.
Really? I practically just broke up with the school's biggest jock and someone else is already barking up this tree?
I got straight to the point and made sure that he understood me without any issue.
"Sorry, you're a nice guy and all, but you're not my type."
This time I walked past him without allowing him a chance to say anything else. I walked down the stairs and was immediately greeted by Ben, my brother and their friends.
"Hey, there's my little sister!" Ken exclaimed in much more enthusiastic tone than usual.
I sighed as I rolled my eyes.
"You're drunk, Ken."
He chuckled.
"Not that drunk, sis. I've only had a couple."
I disregarded what he said and moved past him toward Ben.
"Hey." I said as I pulled him into a hug. "What's going on?"
I expected him to hug me back, but to my surprise, as soon as I wrapped my arms around him, his entire body stiffened up like a board.
"Um, n—nothing is up! Everything is completely normal! Why do you ask?"
I pulled away from him and looked at him, now feeling even more confused.
"Are you okay? Why are you acting so strange? You hardly said more than three words to me at the ceremony today!"
"Yeah, I'm fine! I just don't have anything to say." He then walked past me as if to cut off any chance of a conversation. "J.T., rack 'em up! Let's play!"
I got in front of him before either he or J.T. could do anything else.
"Come on, I just got here! Play me!"
I didn't give him an opportunity to protest. I grabbed the rack before J.T. could and started to rack up the balls. I tried not to look up at Ben until I had the balls completely racked up and I grabbed a nearby pool cue to get ready. I topped my pool cue with chalk and looked up to see him finally nod at me, as if to accept my challenge.
He tossed me the white cue ball, which I caught effortlessly with one hand. I put it down on the pool table and got ready to strike it. He was trying to hide something. Or he didn't want to talk about something. And one way or another, I was going to get him to talk to me tonight.
Ben
Later That Night
About an hour or so after sundown, the six of us went out to Kevin's backyard where he started a bonfire in his firepit. We all sat around it, just making idle conversation with each other. I had noticed that after he came back down the stairs, Kevin didn't touch another beer, not for a while, anyway. He started along drinking again and once more, everyone was drinking. Well, besides Gwen and I, anyway. Kevin once again tried to get me to drink to my annoyance.
"Just one drink, Ben, and I'll leave you alone!" he said as he held his open can of beer right in front of my mouth.
"Come on man, get that shit out of my face!"
Everyone laughed, even him and Gwen, who probably didn't understand my preference to avoid alcohol. The laughter eventually died down and everyone went quiet. At this time, I looked up to Kevin's deck that attached to the second floor of the house, with a set of stairs leading to the ground and another deck level on the ground. Brad was standing up on the second level of the deck, surveying the backyard.
"Who invited him?" I whispered to Kevin. "What is he doing here?"
"The party was open-invite. He probably just walked right in the front door, like everyone else."
At this point, Brad saw all of us and began making his way down the stairs in our direction.
"And you're just going to let him come here after all the trouble he caused?"
No one had time to say anything else as Brad approached us. When he reached us, he disregarded all of us except for Gwen.
"Gwen, I've come for you." He said.
I turned to look at Gwen who was already looking away from Brad with a noticeable grimace on her face. Apparently Brad didn't get the message, as he persisted further.
"Gwen, I want a second chance with you!"
I wasn't going to sit here and listen to this any longer, so I got up to face Brad.
"Come on, man, you can see that she doesn't want to talk to you. Leave her alone!"
He completely ignored what I said to him.
"I want a second chance with her!"
I decided to just try and keep a cool head, it would be better for everyone if I didn't lose my temper and if I didn't say anything snarky to him.
"Cool! But she doesn't want to see or talk to you, so kick rocks, you're killing the vibe of the party here!"
"You're not listening to me! I want her to be with me!"
"Dude, why don't you just drop the jock act? Go to college! Study hard, get yourself a degree, a decent job and start treating other people with respect. Just prove that your worthy of someone like her!"
It's almost as if what I said to him just went through one ear and out of the other.
"But I don't want someone like her! I want her and I want her now!"
Thankfully and to my surprise, Kevin stood up and take control of the situation from me.
"Man, do whatever you want, but get the fuck out of my party! Come on, let's go."
And then he physically followed Brad to escort him away from us and off of his property. Once both of them had left, I turned to look at Gwen.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded before eventually turning to look back at me.
"Yeah. Thanks for trying to get him to leave me alone."
"Of course."
At this point, I felt her hand gently brush mine and on instinct, I pulled my hand away and turned to look away from her as I felt my cheeks beginning to heat up. Before she could say anything, I felt someone tap me on my shoulder. I looked over to Cash.
"What?" I asked.
He pointed out across the yard.
"Isn't that—?"
I turned to look in the direction that he was pointing and saw what he had noticed. I saw my ex-girlfriend, Julie, standing on the other side of the yard. And she was staring right at me. In the past I had been miserable after she had broken up with me, but in recent weeks, just the thought of her made me angry. And I was just beginning to fume right now.
"Who's that?" Gwen whispered to me.
"My ex." I replied in an annoyed tone.
She was just standing there, staring at me and doing nothing else. Well, that was until she slowly cupped her hands over her mouth, before calling out an insult.
"Stupid jerk!"
For one reason or another, hearing her say that made all of the anger within me explode outward like an over-pressurized carbonated drink. I immediately got up and sprinted in her direction. And upon her seeing this, she turned and began to run in the opposite direction.
"Hey! Get back here!"
I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what I intended to do once I caught up to her. Ultimately, that wouldn't end up mattering very much. While I was running in her direction, I tripped over a rock that I hadn't seen sitting in the grass, causing me to dive headfirst for the ground. I managed to turn myself as I fell and ended up hitting the ground with my side, which definitely didn't feel good.
But that was the least of my concerns. I felt a burning pain in my ankle as I had tripped over the rock. It hurt, like a lot. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what I had just done to myself. I laid there, writhing in agony as I groaned with discomfort. As I laid there, I caught a glimpse of Gwen standing over me. I half expected her to be looking down at me with confusion and possible judgement. However, while she was looking at me as if she were judging me, I did see a faint glimmer of concern in her emerald green eyes.
Gwen
Sometime Later
Ben ended up rolling his ankle when he tripped over that rock. I found his outburst to be pretty unreasonable and maybe even a bit stupid, but at the same time, I didn't understand what he was experiencing. That understanding would come much later. It was decided pretty quickly that I would have to take him back home. Ken and I would return to retrieve his car later after the party.
With Ken's help, we carried Ben to my car and got him into my passenger seat. I told him to hold tight and that I would be right back to say goodbye to his friends and that I'd see them around. However, on my way back through the kitchen, Kevin once again stopped me. I prepared myself for him once again to ask me out, but to my surprise, that didn't happen.
"Hey, I want to apologize if I came off a bit strong earlier." He said. "I wasn't—"
I was a bit impatient and just wanted to get Ben home, so even if it were rude to do so, I interrupted him.
"It's okay. Listen, I really don't have time for this. I have to get Ben home. So, I'll see you later."
I tried to walk past him, but he gently grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I was about to turn and tell him off like I had told Brad off when he had tried that, but I didn't get the chance to.
"Gwen, please don't go yet. Just let me explain myself."
I turned to look at him with a slight curiosity.
Brad would never have been apologetic and spoken in this tone with me. Maybe I should hear him out.
"Okay. Go ahead."
He let go of my hand and sighed.
"I promise that it wasn't with romantic intent, okay? It's just that Ben and I have been friends since the second grade, so I know almost everything about him! But I don't know anything about you. I like you and would like to get to know you better, if only for it to feel less awkward when all of us get together."
"Okay."
He must have been discouraged by my response as he sighed again.
"If you don't like me, then fine. We don't have to be friends. I just don't want to make things awkward with Ben if you and I don't at all click."
I appreciated his honesty, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to get to know him better or not. And it had nothing to do with how much I liked or disliked him.
"Thanks, Kevin. I'll think about it."
Then I walked past him without another word.
Ben
Sometime Later
The Tennyson House
After I rolled my ankle from tripping over that rock, Gwen decided that she would take me home. She helped me out of the passenger seat and then helped me toward the door, with my arm stretched over and resting on her opposite shoulder to better balance myself. We walked through the front door and she turned on the lights in the living room, only to see where she was going.
"Here will be fine." I said as I gestured to the couch.
To my surprise, she refused.
"Nope. You're going straight to your bedroom to get some rest."
She then turned us to the left and began forcing us in the direction of my room. She guided me through my door and sat me down on my bed.
"There." She replied in a slightly friendlier tone. "Now stay there and take off your shoes and the sock on your left foot. I'll go find an ACE bandage to wrap your ankle."
"Okay."
"And I'll grab a couple of throw pillows from the living room to elevate your foot with."
"Okay."
She then left the room, leaving me to do as she told me to. I then leaned back against the wall that my bed was pressed against and waited for her to come back. After thirty seconds or so, she returned with an ACE bandage in one hand and two throw pillows in the other. She placed the pillows at the end of the bed and gestured for me to put my foot up, so I did. She then lowered herself to the floor so that she could better see what she would be doing. As she began wrapping my ankle, she visibly grimaced.
"You should clip your toenails, Doofus."
I looked away from her as I felt my cheeks heat up for some reason.
"Sorry." Was all I replied.
She barely murmured a reply and was silent after that until she finished her work about thirty seconds later, when I once again looked back at her. She stood back up.
"Okay, sleep with your foot elevated and ice it for a bit in the morning. You should be fine."
"Alright, thanks. Where did you learn to do that, anyway?"
She smirked at me.
"Well, while some of us were making googly eyes at Asian tennis stars, the rest of us were paying attention in health class. What did you see in her, dude?"
Just the reference of my ex was enough to make me scowl.
"Do we really have to talk about this?"
Instead of answering my question, to my surprise the look on her face completely changed and I could tell that she was actually being judgmental now.
"I can't believe that you got yourself hurt over a girl. I know that you were upset over her for a while a few months ago, but what did she do to you in the first place?"
The memories came back instantly. Well, they actually never left, but they were now fresh in my mind. The pain came back, the anger. I turned my head to look away from her with a frown on my face. I was not having this conversation. Not now, not ever.
"I don't want to talk about it." I simply replied.
"Okay, then."
I didn't say anything in return and a moment of silence passed between us after that, before she eventually cleared her throat and spoke again.
"I'm going to leave and let you get some rest. Call me in the morning if you need anything."
"Okay. Thank you."
"Of course."
I thought a saw some kind of other look on her face, but before I could try and get a read on her, she turned and left my room, shutting off the light so I wouldn't have to get up. She left the house without a word and a click coming from the living room told me that she had locked the door behind her. I let out a sigh as I sat up, despite what she had told me to do.
All I wanted to do was avoid her tonight. But she just had to insist on me coming to Kevin's party tonight. She isn't going to make this easy for me. If I stayed in Bellwood, then she would continue wanting to hang out now that school is out and that will make my situation worse. I… I think my only choice is to leave Bellwood for a while, just long enough for me to shake these feelings.
I got up from my bed and hopped on one foot over to the light switch. After turning my light back on, I made my way to my desk and grabbed a notebook and pencil. I then returned to my bed, put my foot back up and opened the notebook to begin writing.
Dear Gwen,
I have to go. I'm leaving Bellwood. I know that I've been avoiding you as of late, so I don't want you to think that this choice is because of you. It's not. It's really because of me. I shouldn't be telling you this, but I think I've fallen for you. It's not right and I know it. I'm hoping that if I leave for a while that my feelings will cease.
I won't subject you to my feelings, I won't make you come to terms with them. I won't drag you down with me. I love you too much to do that. I just…
I didn't realize what was happening until the first tear fell from my eyes and blotted the page. I had been so focused on what I was writing that I hadn't realized I had started to cry. I tossed the notebook and pen across the room as my tears flowed freely. I got up once again on both feet, despite how much it hurt and shut off the light in a hurry.
I then dove back onto the bed, put by foot back up and pressed my face into a pillow, where I began to cry into it. I didn't even know why I was crying. But one thing was clear to me: these "feelings" had the potential to ruin my life. And unless I left to give them enough time to pass, then they would come to ruin my life.
Author's Note:
* And that's it for this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed!
* So, you guys may have noticed that a certain, risqué scene from the original was missing here. Yeah, that was intentional. The whole point of that scene from the original was them accepting their feelings for each other and well, if I do that here, then I don't have much of a story left to tell. Most of the characters don't have the time to develop the way I want them to and I don't want this to be a short story. So, unfortunately, the whole "them getting together" part will just have to wait. Sorry if that bugs anyone, but I tend to think that this story will be more interesting than the original because of this.
* Anyway, what did you think of the scenes with Brad and Julie? What do you think the scene with Julie and the later scene of Gwen questioning Ben about it is alluding to? I know that some people may take issue with how I've written Julie in this story, but Julie isn't an OS character, she's from Alien Force and Ultimate Alien and I'm not adapting those stories. I just want to say that the way I write any character in this story does not reflect on the canon versions of these characters and they aren't meant to go against how any of you may view these characters in your heads. So, I apologize in advance if I end up offending anyone with my takes on the characters or events that will unfold over the course of the story.
* Oh, and that moment with Kevin and Gwen in this chapter? DON'T read too much into it. There will be no Kevin x Gwen in this story, even if I may hint to them becoming more close with one another. I will come out and be honest here: the scene where Kevin "asks out" Gwen just for her to immediately shoot the idea down is meant to be my middle finger to the Gwevin community. While I respect you guys and your opinions, that doesn't mean that I have to like or agree with this pairing. It's not going to happen here and it'll never happen in this story, period.
* Well, then, as always, please post a review or send me a PM if you have any opinions on the story. I'm always interested to hear what you think. Anyway, that's going to do it for me, so have a great rest of your day and bye.
Review Responses
adriandragonus (Chapter 26): When i read that it won't be long until the story diverge from the original canon, i was like "WOOHOOOO!". The story got more and more interesting! I bet that ben's panic attack would look like nothing compared to if (or when) Vilgax comes to earth and threaten his loved ones (especially gwen!).
Thanks, Adrian. Well, I hope that the story will be getting more interesting following this. Well, Ben may or may not have a couple more intensive panic attacks in the far future, that's all I will say about that. Thanks for the review, as always.
cherrypie990 (Chapter 26): Ben definitely needs a confidant cause he needs to release some tension and get some advice. Grandpa Max would be fit for the job, but no idea where he is. Either way, high school is over now and its time to go into college. Wonder how the rest of it plays out from here.
Thanks, Cherry. Yes, Ben does need a confidant to talk to and you are correct, Grandpa Max would be a perfect fit for that job. In almost every fanfic that I've read with him in it, he's the most supportive of Ben and Gwen's relationship and unlike the rest of the family in most incarnations, he seems to see past the whole "incest issue", I won't try to word it any other way. And I feel that the canon version of Grandpa Max would also be this way. Yes, high school is over now, but we're not immediately going to college. Now it's time for summer break! As for how the rest of it will play out from here, it'll be something, that's for sure. Thanks for the review, as always.
erasenpai946 (Chapter 1): I always found it strange that of the entire series, the girl that matches best and has chemistry with Ben is exactly his cousin (who honestly for me is not an obstacle for them to be together, I have a brother who is married to his cousin and no one in the family cared about that ) (it seems like the creators did this on purpose) anyway I love Ben and Gwen together I'm looking forward to how the evolution of how cousins/friends to a man and woman who love each other will unfold
Thanks, Era. Well, I've heard on several different occasions that Ben and Gwen were not initially related in the early version of OS (I'm talking about the early in-production version) and that they were just classmates. They weren't even meant to go on the summer road trip together and then they changed it to so that they were related and the rest is history, as they say. I'm not sure I agree with you when you say that it seems like the creators did it on purpose, I can't think that they'd want this.
Interesting that you have a brother who married his cousin and that your whole family is just fine with it. I feel like that most people would not be welcome to the idea of cousins marrying each other, but what do I know? My perception isn't always correct. Well, go ahead and stick around for the rest of the story, I hope that you'll come to enjoy what I've cooked up and what I will cook up with this story in the future. Thanks for the review, as always.
erasenpai946 (Chapter 6): I hope Gwen's mother isn't so annoying in this story, in most BenxGwen stories the whole family accepts her well, but she always treats Ben as if he were the worst man in the universe to marry Gwen.
Thanks, Era. Actually, we won't be seeing a lot of either of their parents in this story. I don't want to focus on their families as much as I'd like to focus on their ongoing relationship, Ben's relationship with his friends as things continue to progress and Ben's super hero activities. So, while the rest of the family is very much present, I don't plan for them to play that much of a critical role. So, I apologize in advance if that doesn't sound interesting to you. Thanks for the review, as always.
erasenpai946 (Chapter 21): love triangle? what a bad idea
Thanks, Era. No, not a love triangle. I'll go over this a little bit more in your next entry, as that's where you expressed more of your opinion on this whole thing. Thanks for the review, as always.
erasenpai946 (Chapter 26): Honestly, Ben is very annoying, pushing Gwen away whenever she tries to get close to him, he will only push her away from him like that, But I think that she should find out about Ben being the Alien hero, so it could be like in the animation she would start helping Ben, and this would consequently make them get closer (like with Gwen taking care of Ben 10's injuries). But the story is very good (as I said Ben is a little annoying always pushing Gwen away, poor thing, he could be more loving with her).
PS: I'm glad Brad stayed in the past, if there was going to be a love triangle (which I hope there isn't, I hate love triangles, all the Bwen stories have this trick, and Ben alone already makes it difficult for him and Gwen to start their romantic relationship lol) I think it would be more interesting if it was with Julie who is an important character and not an imbecile (which doesn't even make sense for Gwen to have accepted to have something with him since the guy is an idiot). Anyway, I look forward to the next chapters.
Thanks, Era. I'm sorry that you think my iteration of Ben can be annoying, I'm not trying to write him to come off that way. I wrote him this way because I'm honestly kind of tired of all the stories where the different interpretations of these characters end up together and everyone just accepts it. I wanted it to be more realistic and these are not normal feelings that Ben should have for his cousin because in real life, they aren't normal feelings.
Or at least to me, they aren't. He's not pushing her away for the sake of pushing her away, he's legitimately terrified of what the outcome could be. So, I apologize if you don't like that I'm taking the realistic route with this issue, but its how I've decided to write it. Gwen will probably find out his identity eventually, but it may be longer than most readers are comfortable with.
There was never going to be a real love triangle between Ben, Gwen and Brad. I didn't want to push that too far and it was honestly more of a device to push Gwen closer to accepting her feelings for Ben. Julie will also come to be an important character, but once again, it may not be in a fashion that all of the readers will like. But with all of that out of the way, I thank for saying that you're enjoying the story regardless of all this. Thanks for the review, as always.
Next Chapter: Ben decides to leave Bellwood for an indeterminate amount of time. His mother tries her best to convince him otherwise. He and Gwen share an emotional goodbye.