Mia
I was in my room with Emily. We were having a very serious conversation about my feelings for a certain Red Ranger. "Em, I'm just confused. I love him, you know better than anyone, I do. But he's so stubborn, and insistent, and reckless sometimes. He doesn't give a shit whether he's in peak physical condition or bleeding to death, he'd still take an entire army on to protect the team. And sometimes that's a great quality, but he could get himself killed! And then I would be miserable! And you guys too, but... y'know..."
"When did you fall in love with him?"
"That first day, when he rode up on his horse, I saw him and I thought, this is my Prince Charming. But if I went up to him and said, 'Jayden, I'm hopelessly in love with you,' he'd take my Samuraizer."
"But you'd have found love," she pointed out. "No! Not only would I no longer be a Ranger, but I wouldn't have Prince Charming either!" She looked at me pityingly. "I love you, Mia. But you can't tear yourself apart about the Red Ranger forever. You have to make a decision. Either you have to choose to tell him your feelings and accept the consequences, or you have to accept that he will never know and forget your feelings."
I walked out of the Shiba house with Emily right behind me to find Mike and Jayden facing off with practice swords. Jayden was right in front of me with his back to me, and Mike was on the opposite side, facing me. He saw me and his eyes widened. He mouthed something to Jayden, and he stiffened. He settled back into his stance, but it was a little different, a little more perfected. All of this I registered in a split second while still telling Emily about my crush. "He's just so stubborn. He'd never accept it." I was about to go on, but she interrupted. "Watch this fight and tell me if you still think that." I looked at her, curiosity piqued. I watched Jayden move around Mike, over him, attacking relentlessly. He used several moves I'd never seen. He attacked as if Mike were the Nighlok and we were all incapacitated. It made little sense to me, as Jayden never did this in training, only real battles. I stared at him confusedly as he struck Mike with his sword, ending the battle, and turned around. He started when he saw Emily, but made eye contact with me and smiled, looking completely unsurprised that I was there. He walked past me and into the house. Em looked at me smugly. I was simply confused. I started ranting, completely unaware of Mike listening to every word we said. "That makes no sense. The last few weeks, whenever I entered a room, he left it or ignored me. And he hasn't spoken to me for anything other than serious Ranger business either. So why is he so happy to see me?" Emily grabbed my shoulders and practically shook me. "Face it, Mia. He loves you as much as you love him. So go tell him about your goddamn feelings!" I stood up and said, "Ok. I'll do it."
Emily
As I watched her retreating back, Mike came up behind me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my hairline. I pulled away from him and gave him a fist. He bumped it with his own and we exchanged a grin.