Ben and Erica Relationship

"*Because Erica Hale kissed me.*"
—Ben Ripley in *Spy School At Sea*
Defusing

**Berica** is the sexual pairing between protagonists Benjamin Ripley and Erica Hale. Erica is Ben's main love interest in *Spy School*, *Spy Camp*, *Evil Spy School*, *Spy Ski School*, *Spy School Secret Service*, *Spy School Revolution*, *Spy School At Sea,* and *Spy School Project X*. She is one of two love interests in *Spy School Goes South*, *Spy School British Invasion*, and *Spy School Revolution,* rivaled by Zen (Zoe Zibbell+Ben).

Ben is one of the few people that Erica trusts and they have a strong bond that formed during all the dangerous missions they have been in together. Erica has developed feelings stronger than friendship for Ben throughout the series, and it is clear that they both have lingering feelings for each other, which were presumably acted on and the two officially became a couple after the events of Spy School At Sea. In addition, the books usually end with Ben and Erica having some romantic moment together, which is described in the last sentence of the summaries below.

## Development

### ***Spy School***

Ben first met Erica upon arriving at *Spy School*, during his SACSA. Erica was assigned to assist him throughout this test and shape the events that took place. Ben was literally "swept off his feet" when meeting Erica, as she knocked him over and pinned him to the ground. When she took off her mask, Ben regarded her as the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life, replacing the spot that had previously been held by Elizabeth Pasternak. He also noted that she smelled of an intoxicating mix of gunpowder and lilacs, something that would continue to be brought up throughout the series. During the course of the book, Erica is willing to help Ben, and teams up with him. At the end of *Spy School*, she puts her arm around him after he knocks out Murray, which was a lot at the time considering she rarely communicated with other people, let alone commit physical contact.

### ***Spy Camp***

In *Spy Camp*, Erica gives Ben a tooth that she forcibly removed from Murray Hill's mouth as a birthday gift. Ben is rather shocked by the fact that he forgot his own birthday but Erica remembered. When Ben told Erica that he unplugged SPYDER's missile system, Erica gave a rare giggle and said "you're one of a kind, Ben". Ben then assists Erica by putting his arm around her, since she and Cyrus had been tortured by SPYDER.

### ***Evil Spy School***

In *Evil Spy School*, Ben saves Erica by pulling her out of a missile silo. As the missile was about to hit, Erica covers Ben to protect him and she holds his hand until they passed out. After the missile hit the Rec Center and the CIA took care of the situation, they briefly regain consciousness and Erica promises they could be equal partners on the next missions. They fall back asleep still holding hands.

### ***Spy Ski School***

In *Spy Ski School*, as the last seconds of the countdown of a nuclear bomb were ticking away, Erica kisses Ben, thinking it’s their last moment together. After the bomb doesn't blow up, she says that she would kill him if he told anyone about it, and she justifies that act by saying she kissed him to calm him down.

Erica also gets jealous after Jessica Shang hugs Ben back at her hotel. She glared at Jessica and gave her a dirty look after Jessica blew Ben a kiss before he got into the helicopter. Mike notices Erica's jealousy and tells Ben. However, Ben doesn't want to believe Mike, in case Mike is wrong.

### ***Spy School Secret Service***

In *Spy School* *Secret Service*, Erica is affected by a sedative that forces her to be honest. Ben took advantage of that and asked her if she liked him. She replied, "It's complicated." She elaborates further that even if they were in a normal school, it would have already been weird (age difference). Additionally, Erica's family is a big mess, with Cyrus being a manipulator, Alexander a liar, and her parents divorced. It is evident that Erica doesn't see personal connections as the best things in the world. She also worries that if she got too deep with Ben, their enemies would use it against them. It is also revealed that she has talked about Ben to her mom, Catherine, possibly even sharing what she truly thinks about him as Catherine points it out when she meets Ben for the first time.

### ***Spy School Goes South***

In *Spy School* *Goes South*, Erica is relieved to find out Ben is alive and shows annoyance when she sees Zoe and Ben holding hands, suggesting she is jealous of their relationship as with Ben and Jessica in *Spy Ski School*. When Erica was introducing everyone to Edna P. Farkle at the Farkle reunion, instead of introducing Ben as a cousin like the others, she willingly introduced him as a possible boyfriend.

Also, it is revealed that Ben is one of the three people in the world that has Erica's phone number, along with her grandfather and mother.

### ***Spy School British Invasion***

In *Spy School British Invasion*, Erica didn't open up much throughout the book, but that was mainly because it was full of action-packed scenes and she didn't really have time to talk about feelings with Ben. She, however, encouraged Ben at the motel when waiting for Mike's plan to work. She also said when she first met Ben, she thought he was the worst spy she had ever met but has proven her wrong and how useful team mates can be when she thought being a one-person army was better. She appears to have feelings for Ben but is very good at hiding them. Also, when they are running away from Joshua and his goons, Erica gets blinded and asks Ben to hold her hand to guide her.

### ***Spy School Revolution***

In *Spy School Revolution*, Ben and Erica's relationship is at an odd spot, but in some parts, she opens up a little bit more to him; claiming to "appreciate" Ben's help. Even her sister admitted that Erica talked about Ben three or four times compared to Erica only mentioning Joshua Hallal two times. She finally hugged Ben, fulfilling the promise she made in *Spy School*. Erica was close to kissing Ben the second time, but Chip interrupted them. When Ben broke his bones after defeating Croatoan, Erica claims she knows "exactly how to make [Ben] feel better" and Ben reports there seemed to be more in those words, which he believes is a sign the Erica was thinking about kissing Ben. There is no solid evidence of this though, because Secret Service agents arrived arresting the two, and Ben loses consciousness. At the end of the book, Erica claims that Ben is "as good as they get," which means that he is almost incorruptible. Erica also gets a bit jealous after Catherine mentions how the girls back at Ben's old school were heavily flirting with him. Erica questions Ben about this; Ben said he wasn't interested in them and after he said that, he wasn't sure but he thought that for the briefest moment a smile played across Erica's lips. When she asked, “Why not?” Ben replied, ”They're all too normal for me."

### ***Spy School At Sea***

In *Spy School At Sea,* Ben and Erica's relationship is in a awkward spot. Erica is trying to avoid Ben because she showed him affection in Spy School Revolution, while Ben states he is *also* trying to avoid Erica for the first time since they met. This is because Ben and Mike told Trixie, Erica's sister, who Erica is protective of, about how the Hale family had a longtime career of spying, though it was only a minor set back.

Erica shows notable affection towards Ben throughout the book, being worried for him in various situations. One such was when Mike saved him and they stayed on a island, owned by a drug dealer named El Diablo. Mike later tells Ben that Trixie told him that Erica was extremely upset, and that she even *cried,* which, coming from Erica, is surprising considering her habit of hiding her emotions. Ben later calls the ship, and Erica responds on the first ring, her voice notably sad, which Ben deduced as expecting good news yet also expecting none. After Ben explains his and Mike's predicament, and that he is alive, Erica is jubilant (along with her mother and father,) and when Ben explains how Murray and Dane tricked him, Erica angrily replies, "Murray and Dane?! I'll kill them...." showing that she is quite mad about them having attempted to kill Ben. While acting as Ben's "sister" she hugs him, though Ben notes she held on longer than he expected.

While interrogating Dane Brammage, she has a tendency to inflict more harm on Dane than necessary, perhaps suggesting a strong want for revenge against Dane for his involvement in Ben's near-death, though she settles with using hot sauce on him.

When she and Ben attempt to chase down Murray, she and him get into an intense argument, after Ben is forced to reveal that he was tricked by Trixie into revealing the Hale family secret. When Ben argues against Erica's belief that she does not make mistakes and is not perfect, she attempts to prove him wrong by landing a perfectly done acrobatic leap onto Murray's jet skis. However, a patch of pelican poop makes her slip and fall into the ocean. Ben considers saving her but decides against it due her "mission-first" mentality.

Ben notably redirects Erica from violence when the infiltrate the *Emperor of The Seas*' nuclear reactor, asking her to talk with the approaching engineers. It actually works, though Erica dramatized the situation by saying that the radiation from the reactor would result in the engineers' private parts falling off.

Then, after they finished the mission, Erica called Ben out to a balcony. Ben stalled because he thought it wouldn't be a great conversation, since the last one they had was an argument. Ben and Erica eventually go out on the balcony to the port side of the ship. Erica says she makes mistakes too and awkwardly admits she did make mistakes. She also admits that "You [Ben] might be the worst fighter I've ever met, but you're insanely smart, and if it wasn't for you, all the bad guys we've faced would have won several times over." She then asks if Trixie and Mike are dating, which, while Ben admits is really just texting, he confirms, noting that they also use pet names. When Erica asks to never use such a pet name with her, Ben is confused, and she admits that she had based her opinion about relationships on her parent's relationship. Though Ben consequently asks if she wants to be in a relationship with him, Erica says she is considering it, and they share a kiss as fireworks happen to go off shortly afterward.

### ***Spy School Project X***

In *Spy School Project X*, it was confirmed that Ben and Erica were dating, as he calls Erica his girlfriend. Ben mentions how their first date was just a walk to get some ice cream, but when Ben was buying a flower for her, Erica yells at the florist for operating without a license.

Throughout the book, Erica is constantly worried for Ben's safety while running away from Joshua Hallal with his friends and assassins chasing Ben. Whenever Sal reveals that whoever gets Ben first will get 20 million dollars, Ben's legs weaken in worry as Erica holds his hand for support, with worry in her eyes. When she and Ben are on top of the train, Erica mentions of how now that she has a relationship with him, she's alot more worried for Ben then herself. Ben then says how he's glad Erica's here with him, while she says the same thing, creating a romantic moment between them two.

Whenever the gang is on the plane going to Florida to locate Murray Hill, Erica is gloomy due to the fact that she failed at protecting Ben- twice and asked him to leave her alone. However, at the end of the flight, Ben decides to talk to Erica as he couldn't take it anymore. He says that everyone makes mistakes, but Erica denies that, saying that she doesn't make them. Ben says it's normal, as he messes up alot, making Erica accidentally insult him, though she apologizes. Erica starts stressing out, as she says she's starting to get inside her own head, thinking about what will happen if she messes up. Ben realizes this and holds her hand, reassuring her that won't happen. Whenever Erica asks how he knows, Ben replies, "Because you're Erica Hale."

After the mission is finished and Ben goes to watch the alligators in the pond, Erica joins and asks him if he was given his options to either continue being a Spy or not. When Ben asks how she got her confidence back, Erica says she didn't, and that she embraced that, knowing that she can rely on someone to help her out. Ben says he couldn't have succeeded without her, and Erica gives him a peck on his cheek, stating that's what makes the both of them make a good team, and that she would hate to break it up.

Erica also showed she was extremely comfortable with her relationship with Ben, as she holds his hand a lot of times, smiles at him, and doesn't get annoyed when someone mentions it.