Ben 10 Fanfiction: Part One, Prologue

It was around midnight by the time Gwen and her family had said goodbye to everyone that was still there, driven to my house to pick up my things, and then driven to their place. As soon as we got through the door, her parents told us to get ready for bed, and lights out at twelve-thirty, since it was so late already. We were both wide awake, though, so we stayed up to talk quietly.

“You have a crush on Ben, don’t you?” Gwen asked, immediately after we’d settled into our sleeping bags (we’d been given permission to camp out in a tent in the backyard).

“How did I not see that one coming?” I said to myself, and then spoke directly to her. “You noticed when you came downstairs the second time, didn’t you?” I asked, remembering her look of realization from before.

“Yeah, I did,” she said. “I suspected that something was going on when I first saw you two together, and you proved me right with that hug. The look in your eyes made it completely obvious that your emotions were going haywire at that moment.”

“I couldn’t help myself!” I exclaimed, suddenly exasperated. “I can’t control my emotions as well as I wish I could! I won’t be surprised if Ben finds out soon enough. I’m such an open book.” I finished with a defeated sigh and let my shoulders droop. Gwen put her hand on my shoulder in an attempt to reassure me.

“You’re not used to feeling this way, are you?” she concluded.

“I’m not used to feeling anything so intensely!”

Gwen looked confused. “Surely you must have felt intensely about something before now! Haven’t you ever felt really happy or really sad before?”

I shook my head. “I never exactly grew up the way most children do,” I said. “If there ever was a time I’ve ever been really emotional like this, I can’t remember it now. Especially since Ben is the first real friend I’ve ever had.” I hated explaining stuff like this to people. I’d gone over the whole “I’ve never felt intensely about anything before now” thing with Ben – only excluding the part about my crush on him. I had gotten so happy about something that I couldn’t contain my energy; and, after I came back from a thirty-second sprint to the candy store and back, he’d asked me what the heck was up with me. I really hated making people feel bad for me – I mean, the attention is great and all, but in the end, everyone’s depressed. And I especially hated seeing Ben depressed.

Gwen suddenly knocked me over with an unexpected bear hug. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked!” she exclaimed. “No wonder you like Ben so much, though. Of course you would get a crush on your first friend, especially when that first friend of yours just happens to appear when you’re first entering puberty.”

I made an uncomfortable face. “Ugh! Can we please not talk about puberty? That always makes things awkward.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Gwen said. “So, what do you actually see in my cousin?”

“Well, he can be a total brat sometimes, but he always says sorry to me in the end. And he’s usually really nice to me. As for the few times he isn’t nice to me, it’s always for a good reason and I know he never means me any harm. He’s really funny, too, and I wouldn’t change him for the world.”

“Hmm,” Gwen contemplated. “It sounds like this might be a bit more than just a crush.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, panicking. It sounded like this was getting really out of hand.

“I mean that I think you’re on the verge of being in love with him.”

I couldn’t believe my ears! In love, at such a young age? I was sure it could happen, but I never thought it could happen to me. This really was getting out of hand.

“I know it sounds weird, but just hear me out,” Gwen continued. “In my opinion, a crush is something that blows over really quickly, and is simply a feeling of ‘just a bit more than friends’. It’s a really petty thing next to love. A crush would be more of a ‘hot lifeguard’ thing than actually liking the guy for his personality. Obviously, you really like Ben because he’s nice, funny, and he appreciates everything you do for him – not that that doesn’t sound weird to me at all.”

“But then why don’t we just say that I am in love with him?” I pressed on. “Why is it just ‘on the verge’?

“Because it’s too early for that. You haven’t known Ben long enough,” Gwen explained. “You’ve probably guessed that I don’t believe in love at first sight. I mean, doesn’t it seem a bit farfetched for someone to tell you they’re getting married and having kids after only the first date?”

“Well, when you put it that way, yes.”

“That’s why I say that you can’t really be in love with someone until you’ve known them for a bit longer, until you’re sure you could stand living with that person for the rest of your life. I’m not trying to say that you don’t love him as a friend, though, because I’m sure you do.”

“I value his life before my own,” I randomly stated, thinking she should know that before she made a bunch of conclusions about my feelings for Ben.

Gwen suddenly looked taken aback. “Well, that’s interesting. In that case, you most definitely love him as a friend, especially if you’d be willing to die for him. Although, maybe I was mistaken. You very well might be in love with him, but I can’t tell for sure at this point.”