Hey everyone!
I know updates are fewer than before, but as usual, I’ve been really busy with
school! But don’t worry; I have every intention of finishing this fic. It’s
just that my school year is busier than I expected. I’m going to try and update
this fic every two – three weeks at the very latest!
Thanks to
everyone that is still sticking with me and reviewing every chapter. Your
patience means a lot!
Disclaimer: I
don’t own the Power Rangers, because if I did, Sky and Syd would’ve gotten
together a long time ago (winks)
Note: Someone
made an interesting comment in one of the reviews for the last chapter. I wrote
that Bridge had brown eyes, but its buttery stated that Bridge’s eyes
are blue. I went back and watched a couple of episodes on my dvds and indeed,
Bridge’s eyes are blue! So, for the sake of this story, let’s pretend that his
eyes are brown alright? (grins) Thanks its buttery for bringing
that to my attention!
xxx
You may be
deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you trust too
little. -Unknown
In the
sweetness of friendships, let there be tears and let there be laughter. Let
there be sharing of pleasures and pain. For in the dew of little things, the
heart finds its morning and is refreshed. -Unknown
xxx
He stared at
the moldy walls in shrouded darkness. His breathing was hard and he growled
with frustration. He should’ve seen this coming. He should’ve known that this
would’ve happened. Take one giant step forward, only to be pulled back two
steps. He had been so intent on revenge that he hadn’t been able to see the big
picture until it was too late.
Never had
Giovanni expected Larissa to make it to the
He thought
that it wouldn’t have matter if he didn’t stay around to make sure she was dead
before leaving. He thought that she would have definitely died shortly after he
left. He had been so giddy, so filled with triumph that he had missed one very
important detail.
Larissa had
been still alive when he had left.
And he knew
it.
He had been so
arrogant to believe that she wouldn’t be able to do anything. A big mistake on
his part. Somehow, that little bitch had managed to find her way to the Academy
and had given the others a warning. Well, maybe not a total warning. At the
moment, Larissa was still unconscious so she wasn’t able to tell anyone
anything.
Giovanni
slammed a fist against the wall in frustration and growled louder. His eyes
were bright with fury. He had made a mistake. His mistake. How could he
have been so... so stupid? And now, Caleb, Rosanna and all the others
would be staying inside the Academy. With security doubled around them, no
doubt. How the hell could he have over looked this fact? He should’ve made sure
Larissa was dead before leaving. He hated when things didn’t go according to
plan.
His eyes
darkened. No matter. He would think of another plan. He had come too far and
had gone to deep to stop now. He was going to get what he wanted, one way or
another.
xxx
Empty.
That was
exactly how she felt for the last few days.
Completely
empty.
Well, maybe
not completely empty. Just a deep sense of loss. And grief, extreme grief.
Rosanna Thompson had been through a lot in her life, but never had she dealt
with losing someone she was close too. And in this case, she had lost two
people that she had extremely cared about.
She stared at
the white walls around her and then at the bed from across her. She knew she
was being protected by staying at the
Instead, she
had spent her first night at SPD alone.
She wouldn’t
be alone for long though. Soon, Kathleen, Ian and Keegan were going to be
there. The three of them were due to arrive as soon as their work shift ended.
Jack had taken extra precaution; he and Commander Cruger would wait for each of
them, once their shifts were done and drive them back to the Academy.
Kathleen was
going to share the room with her once she arrived. Caleb was already sharing a
room with Jack. Ian and Keegan would occupy the room across from hers. Rosanna
drew her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She rested
her chin on her knees and sighed fitfully. There was a knock and Rosanna stared
at the doors, not sure what to expect. There was another knock.
“Come in,” she
called hesitantly.
Automatically,
the doors slid open and in walked a blonde girl. Rosanna stared at her, unsure
of what to say. She suddenly felt intimidated, like she wasn’t good enough to
be in this girl’s presence. Her mind flashed back to her time on the streets...
when she would pass by the convenience stand… the blonde girl that was standing
in front of her would be on all the magazine covers… beautiful, poised and
glamorous. What was her name again?
The blonde
smiled warmly at her and held out a breakfast tray that she was carrying.
Rosanna was so overwhelmed that she hadn’t noticed the food until it was in
front of her. She then shifted so that she was sitting cross-legged and
gingerly reached for the tray. Her hands shook a little as she set the tray on
her lap. “Thank you,” she didn’t know what else to say.
“You’re
welcome,” the blonde gave her another warm smile and Rosanna felt reassured
somewhat.
Carefully,
Rosanna reached for the fork that was lying on the tray and stuck it into a
piece of bacon and ate it.
“Is it
alright?”
She nodded.
Rosanna didn’t need to add that she had never tasted bacon as good as this
before. The truth hung unspoken in the air.
“I’m Syd,” the
girl introduced herself.
Now Rosanna
remembered her name. Syd. Sydney Drew. Singer, actress, Olympian, this girl
standing before had done amazing things. Things that Rosanna would never even
have a chance to do. Her mind flashed back to the time she was living on
the streets, a few years back… when she and Larissa had discussed a magazine
that Larissa had found lying on the ground that someone had discarded…
“Hey,
whatcha got there?” Rosanna asked as Larissa came into the factory, grinning.
“The latest
issue of MIO,” Larissa replied, holding out the magazine she had found. “I
found it on the ground. Someone must’ve dropped it.”
“Anything
interesting?”
“Yeah!”
Larissa excitedly flipped to the page she wanted and showed Rosanna the article.
“Did you know Sydney Drew just joined SPD?”
“Who’s
Sydney Drew?”
“She’s one
of the most popular singers out there right now! And she’s done so many
things,” Larissa continued to talk excitedly. “She won gold for diving in the
Olympics two years ago, and last year she was named one of the best actresses
under the age of eighteen. She’s like my idol!”
“Let me see
that,” Rosanna reached out for the magazine and studied the article in front of
her. “She’s pretty,” the redhead observed, feeling a pang of envy rush through
her. This girl had everything. “She probably has the perfect life.”
“I wish I
could be like her,” Larissa stared at the magazine wistfully.
Rosanna
didn’t say a thing. She stared at the magazine, also wishing that she could be
like Sydney Drew.
Rosanna
blinked and realized that she was still staring at Syd. The redhead blushed and
quickly looked down at the food in her lap. “I’m Rosanna,” she mumbled softly.
Syd smiled.
“That’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.”
There was an
awkward silence now, even Syd noticed it. The pink ranger stood still, unsure
of what to do. Finally, after a lot of internal debating, she decided to leave,
after making one last attempt at conversation. “Umm… we’re about to eat lunch
in the Common Room, would you like to join us? Or you can stay here, if you
want.”
Rosanna looked
up and saw the sincerity in Syd’s eyes, and bit her lip, still feeling shy.
Syd saw the
internal struggle and smiled. Rosanna did want to join; she just didn’t want to
feel out of place. “I think your friend Caleb is going to be there," she
said gently, "Last I heard, he was hanging out with Sky. I’m sure he’ll be
looking for you. And you can wait for Jack to come back with your other friends
too.”
Caleb? Rosanna’s heartbeat
rose. Well, if Caleb was going to be there, it wouldn’t be so bad. She wouldn’t
feel so out of place. And Z would be there too. She allowed a soft smile come
to her face and nodded shyly. “Okay.”
Sydney
grinned. “Great, come on!”
xxx
He stared at
the man in front of him, observing him quietly. He seemed like a nice guy,
Caleb realized as he watched Sky prepare the food at the counter. He could tell
that Sky was a hard worker and was someone that you could trust to remain loyal
to you. Briefly, he wondered why Sky was doing this. Treating him as if they
were equals. As if he hoped that they could become friends. Didn’t Sky
understand that people like him weren’t friends with people from the streets?
It was socially unacceptable. Caleb had long ago learned that he wouldn’t be accepted
by anyone. That he would remain an outcast, only accepted by others who had
been through what he had. But Sky, it seemed, either didn’t understand or
didn’t care. There was no pity in Sky’s eyes and Caleb couldn’t understand why.
When people looked at him, their eyes always showed pity.
Earlier, Jack
had asked Sky to show him around the Academy and the blue ranger had
immediately agreed. And thus, Caleb found himself being dragged all around the
building while Sky showed him excitedly where everything was. It seemed as if
Sky had made his life all about SPD, Caleb had observed. Now, he was sitting on
one of the stools at the counter top, watching as Sky spread out some
mayonnaise on a slice of bread.
“Would you
like tuna or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?”
Sky’s question
came from out of nowhere, startling Caleb out of his thoughts. He stared at the
blue ranger, unsure of how to respond and feeling a bit uncomfortable.
On the other
hand, Sky looked sheepish and didn’t seem to notice his reaction. Instead, the
blue ranger seemed to interpret his stare in a different way and shrugged. “I
know, I know. It’s original, right? I would cook something, but the stove seems
to be broken at the moment. And trust me, you really don't want to eat any of
the stuff the replicator makes, it's disgusting.”
“He's right
about one thing, the food from the replicator is disgusting, but the stove
should be working just fine. Boom fixed it this morning."
Startled,
Caleb turned at the sound of the new voice.
A blonde girl
walked in, wearing a uniform similar to the one Sky was wearing, only it was
edged in pink and had a skirt. His eyes lit up as he saw Rosanna walking in
behind her. He caught her eye and smiled when she headed straight for him. As
soon as Rosanna set the tray she was holding down onto the counter, he
immediately opened his arms and the two hugged. He looked down into her eyes
and saw the fear that he felt. And he immediately felt more at ease than he had
all day. He wasn’t alone…
Over the top
of Rosanna’s head, he observed Sky as the blonde girl greeted him. He watched
as she gave Sky a brief kiss on the lips and gave him a tight hug. His eyes
were softer, Caleb noticed. Okay, so maybe Sky’s life wasn’t revolved around
SPD as he had originally thought. It seemed like this girl had a pretty
important part in his life too. Caleb felt a pang of envy rush through him.
It seemed as
if Sky had everything. A happy family, a great job, and a wonderful
relationship with the girl he adored.
It must be
nice to be normal.
xxx
Content.
That was
exactly how she felt at that moment. Content.
Pure content.
It was as if
being with Bridge could take away every single bad thing in her life. She
hadn’t felt this safe in a very long time. It was almost as if he could
understand her without knowing anything. He just knew. That thought was
comforting but it also scared Z more than anything.
Z shook her
head, erasing all thoughts from her mind. She and Bridge were in the Command
Centre, the green ranger was lying on his back and fixing one of the consoles,
while she was just sitting nearby on a stool. She had no reason to be scared,
it was Bridge. She knew she could trust Bridge.
Was it strange
that she had suddenly noticed the color of Bridge’s eyes this morning? Was it
weird that she suddenly noticed that Bridge had very nice muscular arms?
Why had her heart rate gone up, when he had smiled at her? He sure had an
adorable smile…
“Can you hand
me that wrench?”
Bridge’s voice
interrupted her thoughts and she suddenly realized that she had been thinking
about him again. She blinked. “Huh?”
Bridge sat up
slightly and leaned on his elbows. He gave her a puppy dog expression that just
made her heart melt. Did he even know that he made that face all the time? “Can
you hand me that wrench?” he repeated.
“Oh.” She
quickly picked up the wrench and handed to him. "Here you go."
He flashed a
smile at her before leaning back down. “Thanks.”
He went back
to tinkering with the machine and Z continued to watch him. It was strange; she
had seen the boys working out in the gym before, but never had she noticed
their physique. For one thing, checking out Jack was just plain gross. Jack was
her brother, to put it simply. She’d rather gag and throw up before she said
that Jack’s form was hot. She shuddered, not in this lifetime, no thanks.
Checking out Sky was also another no no. Syd would skin her alive, if
she ever caught her staring at Sky. Not that she wanted to, anyway. Sky was
definitely not her type. He could be just as annoying as Jack, if not
more. Besides, the yellow ranger certainly did not want to be at the end of one
of the pink ranger’s iron fists. That was like asking for death to come early.
Though, Z grudgingly admitted to herself, Sky’s form was not at all bad. And
Bridge? Well, checking the green ranger out had never even crossed her mind.
Until now,
that is.
Z stared at
Bridge, suddenly noticing the green ranger in a new light. Bridge definitely
had a nice form, if one looked closely enough. His upper body was covered by
the console that he was working on, but she could see his arms working
steadily. It was funny how she had never noticed how muscular his arms were
before. When he was standing next to Sky, or Jack, he looked skinny, but once
you take a closer look, it was like wow.
Was it weird
that she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers over his bare arm and feel
his hard muscles?
Briefly, she
wondered what Bridge would look like without a shirt on… then shook her head
and blinked. She froze. What was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be having these
thoughts about Bridge… she shouldn’t be having these thoughts period!
She continued
to stare at Bridge, a bewildered look etched on her face and her heart pounding
a mile a minute. Questions that she had never thought to ask before were now running
through her mind.
xxx
Jack sat in
the passenger seat, next to Cruger as they waited for Keegan, Ian and Kathleen
to finish working. The red ranger fiddled with his morpher, internally debating
with his inner self on whether or not he should confide in somebody with his
secret. At first glance, it looked like Jack was perfectly fine, but a closer
glance at the red ranger’s face said otherwise.
He hadn’t
slept a full night since he had heard that Giovanni had broken out of prison.
Sometimes he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all, and other times he woke up in
the middle of the night, gasping for air. There were dark circles under his
eyes, indicating the exhaustion he felt from the sleepless nights and training.
He wasn’t his usual cheery self. Instead, he was withdrawn and quiet.
The others,
with the exception of Z (who was too caught up in her own pain to notice
anything), had noticed his dark moods, but assumed that he was grieving for
Oliver and Michelle or worrying about Larissa, who was still lying in a coma in
a hospital bed. Jack didn’t have the heart, or the energy, to tell them
otherwise, though Bridge could’ve figured it out if the green ranger really
wanted too. Fortunately, Bridge was too caught up with Z to notice.
Yes, he would
miss Michelle and Oliver, but their deaths hadn’t affected him the way it
affected Z. Unlike Z, Jack had never been close to them, but knew them well
enough to know that they had been kind-hearted people. He was sorry that they
had been brutally murdered by Giovanni. And Larissa, he was sorry for what had
happened to her too.
But, his
thoughts were more troublesome than that.
The red ranger
knew that Giovanni was after him, and that he was probably high on the list.
The others thought that Giovanni had a vendetta against him because he had
helped put the jerk in prison. Well –that was part of the reason. There was
also another part to it… a large part.
He knew
exactly why Giovanni was coming after him. He knew what Giovanni was after and
he knew that Giovanni knew that he knew where it was. For a moment, Jack
debated whether or not to tell Cruger what he knew, but then decided against
it. It wouldn’t do any good now and no one, except him, knew where it was. The
more people that knew his secret, the bigger the chance they had of becoming
Giovanni’s target. He would keep his mouth shut unless it was absolutely necessary
that he had to tell someone.
“Are you
alright, Jack?”
Thoughts
broken, Jack glanced next to him. Cruger was staring at him with a serious,
hardened expression and the red ranger involuntarily swallowed. He hated that
look. It made him feel as if the commander could see right through him. He took
a deep breath and nodded. “I’m fine, sir.”
The commander
gave him another stern gaze, one that told him that his response was
unbelieving. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me, Jack?”
Jack squirmed
a bit, feeling uncomfortable and he began fiddling with his morpher even more.
He shifted and avoided the commander’s expression by staring out of his window.
“No, sir.” Good, his voice sounded even. He could feel Cruger’s gaze on him and
he fought the urge to jump out of the vehicle and run away.
“Alright,
Jack. Just remember that you can always come to me if you need any help.”
The red ranger
couldn’t help but let out a tiny sigh of relief and gave Cruger a grateful
look. “Thank you, sir. I’ll remember that.”
Cruger nodded.
“Hey, Jack!”
The red ranger
shifted and looked out the window. There running towards him, was Kathleen,
looking especially pretty for her eighteen years, and following her, was her
older brother Ian, and Keegan. Jack sucked in a breath and quickly jumped out
of the jeep, plastering a wide smile on his face. He opened his arms and
greeted Kathleen was a warm hug, and then released her to shake both Ian and
Keegan’s hands.
“You guys
ready?”
“Ready more
than we’ll ever be,” Keegan replied.
“Come on,”
Jack gestured to the jeep where Cruger was waiting. “Let’s get you guys back to
the Academy.”
xxx
Note: Well,
that was the end of the chapter! Hopefully, the next chapter won’t take as
long, eh? I totally blame it on school… college is evil, I tell you, EVIL!
Anyway, I’ve been nominated for some awards! I just wanted to thank everyone
for nominating me, I’m flattered! (grins) Make sure you vote for your
favorite authors!