Disclaimer: Neither Power Rangers nor "The OC" belong to me.
A/N: Y'all told me I should go for it, so here is the first chapter of the "Guy Talk, Girl Talk" and "Be My Girl Tonight" sequel, "Guy of My Dreams".
Hope you enjoy the final and most provocative story yet in the trilogy!
Chapter One: The Stranger
(Takes place the day after the epilogue to "Be My Girl Tonight")
"Syd, I can finish up running this C-Squad training session, if you need some extra time to get ready for your evening with Sky tonight," offered Bridge, well aware of the pink ranger's longtime crush on their team leader.
"It's not like Sky and I are going on a date of anything," pouted Syd before brightening. "At least yet! All he asked is if I wanted to watch a movie with him, since we both happen to have the night off."
"Which means, since you are Sydney Drew, you will still need tons of extra time to pick out an outfit, do your makeup, put those rolley things in your hair," began Bridge. "Don't worry! I've got things with C-Squad under control here."
"Thanks, Bridgey!" squeezed Syd, giving him a quick hug. "You're the best."
"Yeah, let's just hope Sky doesn't spend the entire night worrying over who the new green ranger will be," said Bridge. "Doggie said he's going to make the announcement any day now."
"I'm heard," said Syd. "So, what are you and your girlfriend up to tonight?"
"Well since the rest of us don't have the evening off, Cruger said Z could help me in the lab," replied Bridge, blushing slightly at the name of his significant other.
"You really think Z's really going to go for spending time in the lab, even if it is with you?" asked Syd, raising a doubtful eyebrow as she remembered her roommate saying she found lab work as appealing as Zord bay cleanup.
But Syd saw that Bridge had not heard her last comment as he had already started running C-Squad through a series of spinning kick drills. Since Bridge and Z had officially coupled up shortly after Jack's departure from SPD, the pink ranger and Sky had been spending more and more time together. Syd checked her watch, her heart fluttering when she saw she had a little less than an hour till her big, not-quite movie date with Sky. Still looking down at the time, Syd nearly missed being run over by a young boy on his bike.
"Be careful Sam, I mean, Cadet McFayden!" Syd quickly corrected herself, wondering what Sky would think if she was caught speaking so informally during training.
"Sorry!" Sam called back from the bike B-Squad had given him shortly after he joined the Academy.
"Uhhh Sam, when I said I wanted C-Squad to put the peddle to the metal and practice spinning kicks, I didn't mean it literally," Syd heard a worried-sounding Bridge say as Sam hurled himself horizontal mid-air and launched his legs outward over his bike.
Stopping in her path back to Academy, Syd stood for a moments and watched Sam with a huge grin on her face. The twelve-year-old from the streets had come a long way from acting as Grumm's accomplice to now being one of the most promising cadets on C-Squad. All the rangers, especially Z with whom Sam was particularly close, had a soft spot for the boy they would get to watch grow up to be the Omega Ranger.
Suddenly, Syd realized that Sam was being watched… literally. Her vivid, ocean-blue eyes narrowed in on a stranger in baggy jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, whose head followed the path of Sam on his bike. She saw that while the broad-shouldered stranger was wearing an army-style necklace with dog tags, there was no sign of a SPD guest pass badge. Syd didn't need Sky – the walking SPD Rule Book – to remind her that anyone found trespassing on the SPD premises was to be seen as a security threat and thus immediately be arrested. The stranger seemed so engrossed by the boy's kicking display on the bike that Syd felt she would be able to sneak up and apprehend the trespasser from behind.
"Gotcha!" shouted Syd, grabbing both the stranger's arms and expecting to easily be able to slide on the handcuffs.
Syd immediately knew how wrong she was. She realized that the loose-fitting clothing was actually hiding underneath an athletic and muscular man. With the stranger's back still to her, the suspect flipped away her arms and moved to deliver a quick kick to her stomach. Syd expertly blocked his attack with her hands and retaliated by connection her leg with his chin. Stumbling backwards, the stranger readied himself into attack position again, but a smart sidestep kick from Syd sent him sprawling back on the ground. Syd saw that her opponent knew he was outmatched, but once again, the stranger's next move took her by surprise.
She gasped as the stranger pointed a finger, and seconds later, a trio of trash cans magically flew into the air. Syd spun around confused as the plastic bins of garbage swirled around her. Then, she noticed that the stranger, still pointing at the trash cans, had slowly started to move away from her.
"Oh no you don't!" called out Syd angrily as she reached for the pack of metals she always carried around her waist. "Fist of Iron!" she shouted, activating her mutant powers.
Her hand now transformed into the dark-tinted mental, Syd swung her fist across the three garbage containers, which immediately went flying in various directions and sending the smelly contents inside spilling all over the street. Syd next deactivated her mutant powers and ran at the stranger. The pink ranger saw he was fast, but she wasn't about to let her SPD training go to waste due to some garbage stunt. Bounding over the top of the trash containers, Syd flew through the air and landed in front of the stranger. His surprise only furthered Syd's advantage as one final roundhouse kick from the pink ranger sent her opponent to the ground in absolute defeat.
"Wow, a girl who's pretty and can pack a punch," joked her opponent as his hood came flying off upon his impact with the ground. "You're definitely my type."
Not only did the stranger's teasing tone take Syd by surprised, but she was also stunned as she found herself starring into the brightest emerald eyes she had ever seen. With his hood removed, Syd noticed that while the stranger was no Sky, though certainly around the red ranger's same age, the trespasser was not only athletic, but definitely cute as well. He kind of reminded her of that Ryan character from that show she loved, "The OC," except with more auburn-colored hair and less sleepy facial features.
"And I gotta say that turning your fist to metal trick you can do is pretty hot as well!" the stranger said enthusiastically.
"As much as I like compliments, flattery won't get you out of the fact that you're trespassing on SPD grounds," shot back Syd in a business-like tone. "Sir…"
"Ryan," cut in the stranger. "Please call me Ryan."
"Wow!" said Syd in fascination, for a second forgathering the task at hand. "You're name is Ryan, and you even look like the character Ryan from 'The OC'?"
"Yeah, I get that a lot," said Ryan, grinning back Syd sheepishly. "Well before you arrest me, can I at least show how sorry I am by cleaning up the mess I made?"
As Ryan flicked his finger into the air, Syd mouth dropped as she saw the trash cans once again take flight. Waving his hand like he was conducting an orchestra, all the garbage lined up. Syd never thought that garbage could look adorable, but even she couldn't help but coo as the pieces of trash hopped one-by-one in orderly fashion back into the bins. For a final touch, Ryan made the garbage cans march back over to stand up against the wall. Realizing she had now seen him manipulate objects more than once, Syd's head was whirling as she put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"You're a mutant," whispered Syd in fascinated shock. "But if you have civilian powers that means your parents must have worked at SPD with Kat Manx on our morphers and…"
"Please, I know I was trespassing SPD property, but I had a reason…" began Ryan.
At that moment, the dog tag necklace Ryan was wearing snapped and made a loud metal clank as it hit the pavement. Both he and Syd immediately bent down to pick up the necklace. Syd was quicker however, snatching the piece and preparing to hand it back to Ryan. Yet her eyes widened in surprise as she unintentionally caught a glimpse of the writing on the dog tag.
"McFayden," gasped Syd. "Ryan McFayden?"
"Yes," said Ryan somewhat nervously. "I came to SPD to look for my…"
"Brother?" cut in Syd, still shocked. "You're Sam's brother???"
A/N: And we're just getting started, y'all! Coming up, find out what Bridge and Z have been up to during their first month as a couple, plus how Sky has been handling their relationship. Also, the announcement of the new green ranger is close at hand! Who will it be? Stay tuned for the next chapter of "Guy of My Dreams"!
(Also, I don't know Sam's real last name from the SPD series. If anyone does, please feel free to drop me a line.)