A/N: This story is somewhat of an offshoot of the drabble I wrote for bengwen014's drabble collection. I know, it's quite short; but this was a random idea I had, and I couldn't feel at peace with myself unless I put it up here. XD

Because...

Gwen lay back on her bed, her hands under her head, staring up at the ceiling.

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"Hey Gwen… Kevin here."

"Yeah, Kevin. What?"

"Gwen…I was just thinking…would you like to spend tomorrow with me? We could go somewhere…uh… special, y'know…and…"

"Wait wait…hold on. We – as in, you and me?"

"Yeah."

"And Ben?"

"Ben? You really want him to tag along with us?"

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The call had ended abruptly been disconnected, probably due to some signal problem. Yeah, Gwen had thought wryly, it's not often that Kevin goes to hang out with his pals at some 'habitable' place.

But in spite of the conversation having ended nearly two hours ago, Gwen could still hear Kevin's voice ringing in her ears.

"Ben? You really want him to along with us?"

Tag along...

Gwen shifted a bit. Was that really the impression she had been giving to Kevin all these days? That the two of them were meant to be together, and Ben was just tagging along? Tagging along?

"Of course not!" she argued fiercely to herself. "How could I give the impression that I didn't want Ben to be around us? He's the person I want to be around me – and with me – the most! Not Kevin! Ben's done so many things for me in the past, and he continues to do so till today! He's saved my life innumerable times in the past! So what if now I've acquired powers to protect myself? Ben's still my hero, isn't he? Then how could I ever think of replacing Kevin with him? How could Kevin ever think that he could replace Ben? That he could take Ben's place? Ben...my cousin...my hero..."

Gwen slowly sat up, her mouth forming in a determined line. As much as she didn't hate Kevin as she used to in the past, she didn't want Kevin to live under the false impression that Ben meant nothing to her.

Because Ben meant everything to her…

She picked up her cell phone, and dialed Kevin's number. He received the call at about the seventh or eighth ring.

"Hey, Gwen. Sorry I couldn't call you back earlier. Actually I –"

"I don't need any explanations," replied Gwen, a bit stiffly.

Apparently, Kevin failed to notice the stiffness in her voice. Or even if he did, he didn't show it. "Uh, ok. So...did you think about...er...what I told you earlier?"

"What did you tell me earlier?"

"You know...you and me...together..."

Gwen gritted her teeth. She felt a sudden anger rising up within her. But snapping at Kevin outwardly wasn't what she'd set out to do. She swallowed her aggravation, and continued.

"Yeah, I did think about it."

"And so?"

Gwen could swear she heard conceit in Kevin's voice. "So...I just wanted to tell you that Ben and me are going out tomorrow...together."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Oh... I mean, you sure?"

"I wouldn't be telling it to you if I wasn't sure."

"I see. But..."

"Yes?"

"What about me?"

This was the moment Gwen had been waiting for all along. A small smile worked itself up onto Gwen's lips.

"You? You really want to tag along with us?"