Billy stood at the entered the large gym and paused. The crowd was huge, three or four times the size he was used to at the Youth Center. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Trini standing next to him. Jason was behind her.
"You ready, Bro?"
Billy nodded. "I think so. I mean, I've completed all the required preparatory training, as well as all the required reading, plus a bit of auxiliary text, but I must admit I'm still feeling a bit apprehensive about today's events."
Trini gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Don't be nervous," she said. "You are ready for this and you deserve it. You've done the work, just go out there and show the judges what you've learned."
"Yeah, man," Jason said. "You're ready. I wouldn't have recommended you for this belt if I didn't believe that."
Billy nodded knowing both of his friends were right. Jason smiled and strode out towards the mats where the next competition was about to begin. As they stepped around the crowd to wait for their turn to be called Billy spotted a familiar face. Tommy stood on the far side of the mat chatting with two of his students. They were younger, probably middle school age, as Tommy preferred to work with younger kids in his lessons, where as Jason taught a variety of ages.
Tommy saw them and waved. When he finished up with his students he walked over to them. Jason greeted him with an arm wrestle style handshake then turned to the others.
"I didn't know you were going for your green belt today? That's great, man."
"Thanks," Billy said. He immediately looked away from Tommy's smile. They hadn't talked much over the last two months. They were friends, teammates, but they weren't anything else anymore.
"I saw your kata practice last week," Tommy went on. "You're form has really improved."
Billy looked up at that. "You think so?"
"Absolutely. You're going to do great."
Billy couldn't help but smile. "Thanks!"
The announcer called the group to order and began announcing the rules of the test. He consulted a list and called the first candidate, which was Billy.
He felt Trini pat him on the back and Tommy stepped up, presumably to do the same, only he didn't. Instead Tommy gripped his shoulder and leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Good luck," he whispered before stepping away and rejoining his own students.
Billy stood frozen for all of a minute. It had been two months since Tommy had kissed him. They'd agreed after the dance to remain friends, but no more. Billy had forgiven Tommy for everything he'd done as the Evil Green Ranger, and he was more than grateful to have Tommy on the team, but he hadn't been ready to think about Tommy as anything more than a friend, not yet.
Plus, there was another reason Tommy's move shocked him. He'd overheard a conversation between Trini and Kimberly the week before: Tommy was with someone else.
"Billy! Go!"
Jason's voice snapped Billy from his thoughts. The Blue Ranger shook his head and walked out to the center of the mat. He took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts of Tommy and the other Rangers aside. They didn't matter right now. He was about to test for his Green Karate belt and he'd been working for months to get his far, he wasn't going to lose over a meaningless kiss. Using the techniques Jason and Trini had taught him about focus and concentration he brought his mind to the task at hand and proceeded to complete his test.
*****
"Way to go, Billy!"
Everyone raised their glasses over the table and clinked them together. Billy couldn't stop beaming. He'd passed his test with flying colors, literally. He'd been presented with his green rank belt at the end of the session and now he, Trini, Jason, and Tommy, whose young students had also passed their tests, were at a nearby ice cream shop celebrating.
It wasn't as good as the Juice Bar, but Jason had other students who were competing in later sessions so he couldn't leave, and since both Billy and Trini had come here in Jason's truck, they had all decided to celebrate there instead. He was sure they'd have another celebration with the entire gang tomorrow after school tomorrow at Ernie's but for now, this was the best he could have imagined.
"You did really great, Billy," Tommy said. "I'm proud of you."
"I can't believe I've progressed this far," Billy said. "When I set out to do martial arts I was sure I'd never get past the first phase much less be promoted so quickly."
Tommy's warm hand suddenly wrapped around his forearm. "You earn it," he said. "You worked really hard for that belt. You deserve it."
Billy felt the heat spread from his arm all the way up to his face and had to look away again. He took a deep breath and fought the sensation. Why was this happening now? Tommy didn't mean anything, he couldn't. Especially not in front of Jason and Trini.
Get a grip, he told himself. It doesn't mean anything.
He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't realize the conversation had continued without him until Trini said his name.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," he said woefully.
"I want to stay and watch the rest of the tournament with Jason. Do you want to stay or go home with Tommy?"
"I, uh, I can stay."
"You don't have to do that," Jason said. "Go home and relax. The rest of the tournament is mostly younger students anyway, you've seen all the more advanced demos already."
He braved a glance to Tommy who sat quietly next to him, a small inviting smile on his face. "It's not a problem, I have some homework to catch up on and I can drop you off on my way."
Billy quickly considered his options. On the one hand, Jason was right; he'd be immensely bored watching lower ranking students compete for the afternoon, on the other, his second option would mean spending an hour alone in a car with Tommy. He hadn't been alone with Tommy since the dance two months ago when they parted ways. And the way he was feeling, he wasn't sure if he could take that pressure.
"Go on, and go home," Trini said. "There's no point in you staying and being bored."
"What about you?" Billy said. "Don't you want to go home?"
"No, I think I'll stay here," Trini said in a soft tone and looked over at Jason. "I will have fun."
At first Billy didn't understand it, then something clicked. Trini was smiling…at Jason. He'd never noticed that before, but it was more than apparent now. Trini and Jason weren't offering him a way out of boredom, they were dismissing a third wheel.
"Okay, then," he responded. "That does seem the most logical solution to our conundrum."
He felt Tommy's hand clap on his back. "Great."
Jason drained the last of his milkshake in one gulp then stood up. "I should be getting back, my next student is on in a few minutes."
Trini stood too and Jason offered her his arm. She wrapped her small hand around his elbow and they walked out of the café together.
"You two have fun," Tommy called after them. The only response he got was Trini giving a half turn and waving just before they hit the door.
They second they were through it Tommy fell back in his chair and let out a laugh. "Can you believe those two?"
"Are they…? How long have…I am reading them right, aren't I?" Billy stuttered, still processing what he'd just seen.
"Oh, they've been dancing around it for weeks," Tommy answered. "Jason finally broke down and said something last night."
"How do you know all this?" Billy asked. He knew that Tommy and Jason were close, but he was shocked to learn that Tommy had access to secrets he didn't.
Tommy just shrugged. "Kim. She's been trying to set them up for I don't know how long. Jason talks to me a lot so I somehow got recruited as her spy. Guess it worked out for the best though."
"They do make a lovely couple," Billy agreed.
There were several moments of silence between them as Billy watched the closed door, idly playing with the remains of his milkshake.
"You ready to go?" Tommy asked. "No rush, I'm just asking."
Billy took a deep breath. One hour with a friend, that's it. "Yeah, we can go."
Tommy smiled again and they got up. They chatted casually about the tournament and martial arts practice as they walked the two blocks to the gym where the tournament was being held. When they reached the parking lot Billy automatically kept walking past the curb.
"I'm parked this way," Tommy said pointing in the direction he wanted to go. He led Billy through the parking lot until they reached his large red four by four. He unlocked the passenger's side door first and held it opened the door for Billy. Billy climbed in quickly, tactfully ignoring the hand Tommy held out to help him up. Then Tommy closed the door and ran around to the driver's seat and hopped in quickly.
"You ready to go?" he asked as he turned the engine over.
You're over thinking this! Just stop. Billy took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's go."
*****
Okay, little bit of a teaser beginning, but hey, that's what I do best! Really looking forward to continuing this story and I hope all of you out there enjoy it as much as you did the last one.
Also, on a personal note, I recently won first prize in an original short story contest. Details are on my profile. Please feel free to check it out!