A/N: This entire chapter takes place in Orlando, Florida. This chapter also happens to be the back story for my character, Audrey, the before she moved to Angel Grove part.
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. I do, however, own Audrey, Mallory and Alana.
Chapter One: Bad News
Evans Home, Orlando, FL
Audrey Julianne Evans sat on her bed, leaning with her back against the wall. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail and draped over her shoulder. In her hands, she held her sociology textbook and she was studying for her final. She sighed as her pink fingernails flipped through the pages of the book. Her parents had just told her earlier that evening that they would be moving. She had a couple more months before the move took place, but she didn't want to go.
"Closing on the new house is August 25th." Robert Evans had told his daughter.
"What?" Audrey asked in shock. "You mean I won't be here for my birthday?"
Mr. Evans shook his head. "I'm sorry, dear."
Audrey felt like she was going to scream. She wanted so badly to stay. All of her friends were here in Orlando and she was going all the way to some town in California, Angel Grove, she thought she heard her parents say. She sighed and tossed the book onto her bed. She stood up and walked to her door and down the stairs. "Dad?" She called.
"Yes, dear?" Mr. Evans called from his study.
"I was thinking about it, and you know Mallory and Alana, well they were looking for a third roommate." She said, wondering if her father would catch on.
"Most certainly not, young lady." Her father said. "You are sixteen years old, you're way too young to be moving out."
Audrey sighed. "I mean, given the circumstances..." She said. "That way, I could finish my senior year here instead of moving right before senior year hits."
Mr. Evans shook his head. "I'm sorry, Audrey, but we can't allow you to do that. You're going to have to move with us."
Audrey pouted and went back to her room. "This sucks so much." She said to the room around her. She was literally leaving everyone and everything she knew and she didn't have a choice at all.
Kimberly's Studio
Kimberly Hart was sitting in her office, looking over new registration forms. The phone rang, she sighed, she didn't really feel like talking to anyone. She wanted to get her work finished so she could go home. She turned and picked up the phone. "Kimberly Hart's Gymnastics Studio, this is Kimberly."
"Kim? It's Kat."
Wow, that was a shocker. She had kept in touch with Katherine Hillard, but she hadn't expected her to call her here. "Hey Kat, what's up?" She listened as Kat told her the story about coming back, only to find she didn't really feel she belonged there anymore. She needed to go to Australia, but a friend had given her the pink ninjetti power coin back.
"What does all of this have to do with calling me?" Kimberly asked her, confused. She had a feeling she knew, but she couldn't.
"I need you to come back and take my place." Kat told her. "As soon as you can."
"Kat, I can't." Kimberly told her. She sighed. "I can't be a ranger anymore."
Kat was shocked, had something happened to Kimberly? "Why not?" She asked her.
Kimberly explained to Kat that she had passed her powers on to another.
Kat sighed, defeated. She had to go home, but she needed someone to take her place. She trusted no one more than her predecessor to the power.
Kimberly thought about it for a moment. Her powers had definitely taken a toll on her body and she didn't want to go through passing them on on her deathbed again, but maybe it would work. "Kat, pass your powers to me when I get there."
Kat sounded hopeful. "Really? You'll come?"
"Yeah, I'll come." After the phone call ended, Kimberly called the airport and made arrangements for a flight the next morning. The next phone call would be harder. She dialed the number.
"Meyers residence." Said a masculine voice.
"Frank, can I speak to Dana, please?"
"Yes, ma'am." Came the answer.
A feminine voice came on a little while later. "This is Dana."
"Hey Dana, it's Kim."
"What's up?" Dana asked. "Are you still at the studio?" She wondered if Kim needed help with something.
"I'm moving back home tomorrow." Kimberly told her. "I need you to take over in my absense."
Dana asked a few questions, but Kimberly refused her answers.
Evans Home
"This sucks so much." Audrey pouted on the phone to her best friends Mallory and Alana. Mallory Parker and her little sister Alana were on speaker phone with Audrey in their new apartment. As soon as Mallory turned eighteen, both girls moved out of the Parker home on their own.
"I know." Alana answered. "What are we going to do without you?"
"We aren't!" Mallory said. "We just can't. You can't leave us Audrey." She, too, was bordering on pouting.
"Have you asked your parents about moving in with us?" Alana asked as though she had just had a great idea.
Audrey nodded sadly, knowing the girls couldn't see her. "Yeah, I did. Dad said no." She sighed and turned on her back, she was lying on the bed on her cell phone.
"Why? Alana's sixteen and our parents finally agreed." Mallory said, sounding desperate. Her best friend for life couldn't just move across the country. She wasn't going to let it happen.
"That's your parents, Mal, not mine. Mine think I have to live with them until I'm eighteen." Alana said, sighing. "Unfortunately, I won't be eighteen until after I start college, meaning I can't even come back to Orlando for college."
"You're kidding!" Alana exclaimed. "Your parents will force you to stay in hell just because you'll turn eighteen in college?"
Alana sighed. "Yes, they will."
"That's bordering on child abuse!" Mallory exclaimed. She knew it wasn't, but she valued having her choice of college and only decided to stay in Orlando because of her sister and her best friend, who wasn't even going to be there anymore.
Audrey couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think the police would agree with that." She stood up and looked out the window toward the empty driveway. Her parents had said they would be home by now. However, it was just like them to not be there when they said.
"I'm really going to miss you, Audrey." Alana said, now the third person in the conversation pouting.
"I know, I'm gonna miss you too, 'Lana, and Mally as well." Audrey sighed, sitting at her desk.
"You know I'll miss you too, love." Mallory answered.
Audrey glanced at her clock again. She had a few errands to run before gymnastics class and it looked like she would be walking. "I gotta go guys. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, we'll come by after your class." Mallory answered. "Later Audrey."
"Bye Audrey." Alana echoed.
"Bye guys." Audrey said, ending the call and tossing her phone into her gym bag. "If they can't keep promises, why can't I just stay here?" She muttered as she locked the door and began walking.
Kimberly's Studio
Kimberly still wouldn't tell Dana a thing about where she was going or why. Dana found it odd that Kimberly never talked about home. She knew Kimberly had a love there once, but that was a painful subject for her. It seemed to Dana that after all of these years, Kimberly had never quite gotten over this guy. Was that why she was going home? Because of him? She continued helping Kim pack her things from the office so Dana could move in. It was their hope that Dana could be moved in before the classes began arriving. Kimberly wanted to be gone, especially before her best student got in. How would she tell Audrey she was leaving like this?
"Are you going to keep in touch, Kim?" Dana asked, hopefully. She and Kim had become pretty good friends.
"I don't know any information right now." Kim said, blankly. "I know where to find you though." She smiled weakly at her friend.
Dana thought it seemed odd that Kimberly seemed to not be thrilled about going. She could almost feel Kimberly's pain. She still wasn't over the mystery man and it pained her that she might run into him.
"Kim?" Dana asked, placing a gentle, friendly hand on her friend and bosses shoulder. "Do you need to talk?" Dana was very curious about the man who had Kimberly's heart. Could he still feel the same way? Dana's guess was that Kimberly assumed not. What happened?
Kimberly shook her head, then shook Dana'a hand off her shoulder. "I'm fine. I'm just going to miss this place." She said softly. That was partially true. She loved her students and her work here. It was going to be hard to let go, which was why she wanted to get this finished before her students came in. The other part was that she wasn't sure how she would react to being back in Angel Grove. Who would she see? Would they have missed her? Would she run into Tommy? Would he hate her. She shook her head as tears slowly came to her eyes. The thought of Tommy Oliver hating her was too painful. Can I say I didn't deserve it? She thought to herself. She had broken his heart. She wrote the letter, a lie, breaking up with him. Now if she ran into him, she would have to face it. Would there be as much pain in his face that was in her heart right now? Or would he have gotten over it and her? Did Tommy get married?
Dana saw the tears. She knew something was wrong, but Kimberly wasn't talking and she wasn't going to press. She had to admit though, she was worried about Kimberly. Was this move really a good idea?
Parker Sisters' Home
"We've got to move!" Mallory exclaimed to Alana.
Alana looked at her sister, confused. "Where?" She asked her, not catching on to what Mallory was saying.
"California. Angel Grove." She smiled.
Alana shook her head. "Mom and dad would say no." She said, sadly. She knew they were really unsure about Alana moving in with Mal in the same city, moving her across country would be worse.
Mallory ran her fingers through her short, recently dyed blonde hair. "We can't just stay here. I'll miss her too much." She said, pouting.
"I will too, but do you really see mom and dad going along with it?" Alana asked. She was a dreamer, but she couldn't get her hopes up, not this time.
Mallory shrugged. "It's worth a shot." She said. "Mom and dad know I'm responsible and I can get you to be responsible. They also know you listen to me more than you do them."
Alana nodded. This was true. She did respond to Mallory more than her own parents. "I guess we could try..." She said finally.
Mallory smiled. She loved how she could convince her sister to do just about anything. They all win this time though, if they can get their parents to agree.
Alana smiled too, she was starting to dream now. Mom, dad, please don't tear my hopes apart. She thought silently, as she imagined moving to this town to be near her friend.
"Don't say anything to Audrey about it though, just in case it doesn't work. We have a few months to try to talk mom and dad into it." Mallory said.
Alana nodded. That was true, time was on their side, for now, anyway. "I wish Mr. and Mrs. Evans gave Audrey the freedom mom and dad gave us, then she could at least stay here."
Mallory sighed. "I know, 'Lana. I know."
Kimberly's Studio
It wasn't like Audrey Evans was ever given a choice though. The only choice she was ever given was between gymnastics and figure skating, she chose the former and didn't regret it. However she lived what the others called a priveledged life, but she didn't see the priveledge in being rich. It cause more strain on her than her friends understood.
That was Audrey, the poor little rich girl. No one understood her, no one cared to try. Her parents were the most guilty of this. They were so involved in giving her a priveledged life, that they didn't care about the small things. The things that said "we love you, Audrey" or "we care."
As Audrey walked up to the gymnastics studio, she thought about what it would do to Kimberly to see her star pupil leave. She walked in and went into the locker room to change.
"Hey Ally." One of the girls said. "Did you hear Kim left?"
This grabbed Audrey's attention. "Left where?" She asked Brittany.
Brittany glanced at the intruder in the conversation. "Oh hey, Aud." She said, then she shrugged. "No clue, I just heard she went home."
"Is she coming back?" Audrey asked her.
"Doesn't sound like it. Dana's moving into her office now."
Audrey walked out of the room and headed toward Kim's office. Brittany was right, Dana was moving her things in. "Where did Kim go?" Audrey asked her.
Dana looked in sympathy at Audrey, she knew thta Kim and Audrey shared a bond. "She moved back home."
"What?" Audrey asked. This was insane. She ran out of the building, leaving her gym bag in the locker room. How could Kim have left without a word to Audrey? It didn't seem like her.
As Audrey got home, she wondered where 'home' actually was for Kim. She knew she wasn't originally from Orlando, or even Florida, but where?
She tried to recall the few short conversations she had with Kim. Nothing about her home or her past had come up. It didn't matter though, Audrey was stuck going to Angel Grove. Whereever Kim was, Audrey would probably never see her again.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, hopefully the others will be longer and better. Anyway, R/R please! I should be posting chapter 2 today as well, I just need to get it finished.
