A/N: My first fanfic! Woo-hoo! *throws confetti everywhere*

...*then sadly cleans up confetti before getting in trouble for making a mess*

Anyway, I'm really proud of myself for this; I finally got something done (albeit just a thousand-word one-shot) and posted it. I think it's pretty good, too, but I'll leave anyone who reads this to be the judge. But don't go easy on me just because it's my first post. Please R&R, and if I get enough good reviews to motivate me (stupid lazy lifestyle), I'll do some more one-shots. Enjoy!

PS: I do not own Pokemon Ranger, any of the characters, or Applebee's. (I wish I did, though. That would be cool.)

"Go away."

Keith stopped in his tracks. "...Excuse me?" he said uncertainly.

"Did I stutter? GO. AWAY."

Keith looked at the girl sitting on her bed. She was resting, trying to recover from the previous Mission. There had been a disturbance in the Chroma Ruins, involving a group of hikers, a landslide, and two very angry Bastiodon. Although the two Rangers had managed the capture, Kate's broke in the process, leaving Keith to (narrowly) finish the capture. She had left the scene as soon as the hikers were safe, and was silent for most of the day after. Now it was a few hours later, and Keith was growing more worried by the minute.

"C'mon, Kate. You've gotta talk to me at some point."

"I don't want to," she replied sternly. "I wanna be left alone." She sighed and laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Keith walked in cautiously and sat down near her on the bed. Surprisingly, she didn't object. "Kate, please, calm down," he said imploringly. "It's not the end of the world."

"You're not the one who broke their Styler – on a couple of Bastiodon!" she said. "That was a simple capture, and I failed." She turned away. "Epically," she added under her breath.

"Kate," Keith began, "first off, it wasn't that epic. It wasn't even epic at all. Second off, you're beating yourself up over this way too much. Trust me," he added, "breaking your Styler isn't a big deal. Especially after you get used to it."

Kate almost smiled. "What, like you have?"

Keith smirked. "Exactly. I've ended up needing you to bail me out on more than one occasion. You don't see me storming off like I just got cut from the cheerleading squad every time I screw up."

This time, Kate chuckled out loud.

"What's so funny?"

She turned to face him. "Nothing. Just me picturing you getting on a cheerleading squad." She smiled.

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny," Keith responded, unamused. "But you get my point, right? You shouldn't let the small things get to you, Kate."

Her face turned to stone again. "Small? This is hardly small, Keith. I'm a Top Ranger, and one of the best there is, and I broke my Styler on a couple of low-level Bastiodon. I'm slipping, Keith." Her eyed became unfocused, and she stared blankly upward. "I'm not the Ranger I used to be. I'm losing my touch, and there isn't anything I can do about it."

"Yes, there is, Kate."

She looked over at him, almost angrily. "Okay, Mr. 'I'm-Used-to-a-broken-Styler,' what, then?"

"Smile."

Kate stopped. "...What do you mean?"

This time, Keith chuckled. "What else is there to mean by it? You're too concerned with being the best, to the point where you're setting yourself up for failure. You need to relax. Chill out, and be happy for a change."

Kate seemed puzzled. "I don't understand. How can I just make myself happy?"

"There's tons of ways! Like going shopping, or reading a book, or just hanging out with your friends. Whatever it is you like to do, just make it happen. Trust me, it's a lot better being happy than it is being angry and depressed all the time."

"But it's not that easy, Keith!" Kate replied. "Everything I do – big or small – affects me in one way or another, and just shaking it off doesn't help! I don't get it..."

Keith was silent for a moment. "I think you're just too sensitive," he said finally. "You need to try to not let things get to you. Like I said, take some time to do what you like to do, and think about it when you're in a better mood."

"But, Keith," Kate began, sitting up, "if I could do that, I wouldn't be so worried about it. But what you said is true; I'm just too over-sensitive, and I don't know what to do about it."

Keith reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Kate, listen to me." His voice was soft, but firm, like a father trying to reprimand his child. "What you don't get is that it's impossible to know what you need to do to help something before that something happens. That's what makes life so unpredictable, is not knowing. But it's what you choose to do that makes all the difference. It's how you respond to an unfamiliar situation that decides whether or not you'll be happy with it. And the way you're responding right now isn't very helpful to anyone. You're angry and sad and depressed, all at the same time, and me..." He paused. " Well, I'm worried about you, Kate. I don't like to see you unhappy, and that's why I'm trying to help. I just want you to be happy, that's all."

She looked at him, and smiled a little. "Thanks," she said, and gave him a hug. "I feel a little better now."

He smiled back. "You're welcome." He stood up out of their hug and took her hand. "Now, c'mon! We're going out!"

Kate looked surprised. "Out? Out where?"

"Out to eat! I set us up reservations at Applebee's tonight. C'mon!"

"Wait, Applebee's? But I thought Sven and Wendy were going on a date there tonight."

Keith grinned. "They are. But they agreed to let us come along."

"Oh. Well, that was nice of them." Kate sounded content.

"Yeah, but there's just one catch..."

"Huh? What is it?"

Keith smiled again. "They only agreed to let us go on one condition: if I agreed that it would be a double-date, me and you, and Sven and Wendy."

Kate's eyes opened wide. "You what!? Why would you agree to that?"

"Well, they do serve some really good food there, and I figured it was worth it." Keith half-turned away. "Of course, if you don't want to go..."

Kate groaned. "Why do you always have to do stuff like this to me, Keith? I hate it when you mess with me."

They were both quiet for a little bit, Keith smiling at Kate's irritated face. After a few seconds of quiet, Keith said, "Well? Are you gonna come or not?"

Kate thought for a moment, clearly annoyed. Then, with a sigh, she said, "Alright, fine, I'll go with you. But you have to let me get dressed up. And you have to dress nice, too," she added.

"Aw, come on, Kate! I hate dressing up!"

"Hey, you're the one that said it; 'we're going on a double-date,' so I want my 'date' to look nice. Now go get dressed."

With a defeated sigh, Keith left the room. As he closed the door, Kate laughed softly.

Looks like I found something I like to do. Even if it is annoying Keith, she added to herself.

She smiled sincerely, for the first time all day, as she put on her formal outfit.

And this 'smiling' thing... it isn't so bad.

Alright, that's that. Thanks for reading, and again, please leave a comment!

Peace out,

-G3