Out With the Old, In With the New
Summary – It's time for a new year and the rangers want to ring it in, in style. Of course a sleepover is in order. Request/Gift for GenkiPlus
A/N: GenkiPlus and I talked about this idea for a while, maybe for about six months or so. There's some modern things mentioned in here in case anyone gets confused. Also because Zoey is here it's a bit of a crossover between our stories so Bay isn't the purple ranger. Hope you guys like it! ~Avalon
"Rocky, would you please just put your sleeping bag down somewhere? Boy, I'm about five seconds away from hurting you!" Aisha Campbell cried. She shook her head as Rocky DeSantos rubbed his chin and looked around the living room.
"Where you put your sleeping bag is important to the comfort you're going to experience later," Rocky explained. He looked around the room and then framed it, as if he were setting up to take a photo. "If you sleep on the couch, you get comfort, but the sleeping bag continues to twist around your legs. If you sleep in the chair you can recline, but you run the risk of sliding out of the chair."
"Then use cushion son the floor," Aisha insisted.
"Again, you'd have the issue of the sleeping bag twisting around our legs as you try to get comfortable."
Aisha rolled her eyes then gently jostled him on the shoulder. "Boy, just put your sleeping bag on the floor and stop bugging me." She walked around the living room, making sure everything was in its place. The food and soda was spread out and her mother and father were going to stay out of the way as much as possible, only checking in when her friends arrived and refilling food when needed.
She hadn't heard of many people that had barbecue and junk food at a sleepover but her dad insisted to fire up the grill. Plus, his food was amazing and she couldn't wait for everyone to dig in. The yellow ranger tapped her chin as she looked around the room; all the games were set up, she had enough shows set up on her DVR to figure out which one everyone would want to binge, and enough sugar sodas and sparkling cider to keep them up until midnight.
Yeah, it looked like this sleepover was going to be very successful.
"I think that's everything," She said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Everything looks great, Sha," Rocky said, after finally deciding—or Aisha forcing him—to put his sleeping bag on the ground closest to the table filled with snacks. "Tonight's going to be super fun." He leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips just as her father walked into the room and boomed, "I better start getting things on the grill. You think you could help me out, Rocky?"
Aisha rolled her eyes as Rocky immediately straightened and backed away from the yellow ranger with a cry of, "Yes, sir!" before scurrying to do as he was told.
Her father wasn't the sort of man that would intentionally scare any of her boyfriends, but having known Rocky for so long he took a sense of pleasure in making him nervous. Or as Aisha could tell, seeing if he would be a good fit for the family, they teased and made fun of each other all the time.
Finally, the doorbell rang and Aisha scurried to answer it. It was already starting to get dark outside, which meant the party was definitely going to get started. She flung open the door and found the rest of her friends waiting on the front porch and briefly wondered if they had all come by in the same car.
"Heyy!" Kimberly Hart spread her arms wide and wrapped them around Aisha. The two rocked back and forth as their friends gathered inside. "Thanks for inviting us all over! Tonight's going to be fun! Who else would have a New Year's Eve sleepover?"
"Girl, you have no idea!" Aisha replied. Then she got a good look at the pink ranger, closing the door behind her. "Where's your sleeping bag?"
"I've got it," Tommy Oliver said, voice muffled. Aisha turned around to find Tommy's arms laden down with a couple of bags and sleeping bags. He blew hard, blasting his hair out of his face, cheeks already starting to turn red from the effort. "Kim, you don't need so much stuff."
"Yeah, I said you could share my bed," Aisha added.
"That's all of her makeup, her games, and her clothes," Zoey Montgomery commented, shaking her head. Her eyebrow rose. "Even if it's just for one night."
"Hey, I need to be prepared," Kimberly defended herself. "Plus…" she elbowed Aisha in the ribs. "I figured a certain red ranger was going to be sharing your bed."
"Please." Aisha's eyes darted towards the French doors that led to the backyard. Her father and boyfriend were still engrossed in their conversation as her father laid a brisket on the grill. "Do you want all of us to be murdered? Because after my parents kill me and him, they'd go after the rest of you just for being witnesses." The two laughed and Aisha turned back to her friends. They gathered into the living room to set their things down. "Av, you're about to walk into the—"
"Ow!" Avalon Mitchell cried before Aisha could warn her. "Bloody hell!" She backed up a few steps, having banged her shin into the coffee table, not able to see over the two sleeping bags she held in her arms. With a huff, the orange ranger—who was also the shortest ranger, shorter than Kim by two inches-lowered her arms and huffed. "I told you I couldn't see," she said to her boyfriend with a pout.
Billy Cranston smiled back, his blue eyes flashing with amusement. "I know, I just thought it would be funny." He dropped his bag of games to the ground and took the stack of sleeping bags from her arms. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead as she continued to pout.
Aisha looked around the room. There were two people missing. "Where's Adam and Bailey?"
"Bay had another party she was going to tonight," Avalon explained of her little sister and the rangers' confidant and tech advisor along with Billy.
"And Adam said he had to get something from his house before he came over," Zoey added.
She pushed her hair back behind her ears and Aisha smiled as she noticed lines of color going up her arms. The newest addition of the power ranger team didn't have the same shopping for clothes bug that Kimberly, Aisha, and Avalon did but she certainly could buy and use make-up. There had been enough times since her arrival she had been pulled aside to ask about things at home as the lipstick and eye shadow swatches continued to be mistaken for bruises.
The doorbell rang and Aisha made a face as she hurried back to the door, opening it to find Adam Park on the doorstep. "Boy, you know you practically live here, you don't need to knock. Just come in." She playfully swatted him on the arm as he came into the room.
"But that's not polite," Adam quietly reminded her.
Aisha grinned and looped her arm through his before going back to the living room. "Okay, everyone's here! My dad's cooking some stuff out on the grill and we've got enough soda and candy to keep everyone up until midnight!" She clasped her hands together. "But once everything's done cooking then my parents will go away and we can really have some fun."
"Ad, you can't do that," Kimberly cried a few hours later, watching as her friend moved his thimble piece across the monopoly board.
The black ranger looked offended as he dropped his game piece back to the board. "Yes, I can! I'm going to the next railroad! You move completely around the board."
"No, you're supposed to go to the nearest one to you!"
"No, you don't."
"Yes, you do."
"Hey, guys, less arguing, more playing!" Zoey came to her boyfriend's defense. She stuck her straw into her mouth and finished off another soda can, adding it to the pile that was starting to form next to her.
Tommy gave her a look as he shifted through his property cards. "You're only saying that because you're winning."
"She's not winning yet," Billy pointed out. He had just as many property cards as the purple ranger but had been quiet about his winning so far. "There are plenty of properties that need to be taken, especially as Boardwalk is still left, and then we need to slowly and systematically bankrupt the rest of you."
"Good to know you were waiting for the rest of us to fail, Billy." Tommy chuckled. He waited for Adam and Kimberly to stop laughing, which didn't look like it was going to end anytime soon, then turned to Rocky and Avalon, who were staring at the TV screen. "Hey, Rock, you might want to get ready, your turn is coming up."
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "In a minute. Tyra's about to kick out Fatima."
"No way, mate," Avalon denied. "Ebony's going home."
Rocky snorted. "I don't think so. Her attitude might suck but Fatima has had a run of bad pictures." Then he realized everyone was staring at him and his face flushed. Turning away from the TV he brought his shoulders up by his ears. "I mean, my sisters love the show, even though Maria probably doesn't know what's going on. Isabella watches it every day and gets mad at me if I don't let her watch when I'm babysitting."
"Yeah, that's it," Tommy joked.
Rocky narrowed his eyes at Tommy. He eyed the long ponytail that flipped over his shoulder. "I mean, if anyone could be on this show, you could. You have the looks for it, and those eyelashes, man."
Everyone laughed as Tommy gave Rocky an exasperated look. Then coming to her boyfriend's defense Kimberly piped up to say, "What, you don't think I could be a model, Rocky?" She asked.
"In your own mind, maybe," Avalon commented. Kimberly made a sound of offense.
"Sorry to say, Kim, but you're too short," Zoey pointed out. She motioned towards the TV screen that was now showing some girl crying. Maybe she had lost? "This show has people 5'7 and over. You're just a smidge under that." She then turned and glared at Adam. "I saw that! Put that money back!"
"I landed on Free Parking," Adam defended himself.
"You can't do that!" Kimberly cried, jumping back into their squabble.
"All of you guys shut up," Aisha broke in. She grinned, bringing over a tray of cookies. "Because you're all going to lose anyway. Whose turn is it?" She picked up her money and property deeds and started to look over them herself. Her eyes widened when all hands darted out to grab the cookies she had finished baking, Rocky's hand coming back with most of the cookies.
Well, he did say he only came for the snacks, Aisha thought with a light shake of her head. Then she laughed, seeing his cheeks puff up with the cookies he had scarfed down.
The game continued to go around and around as the players slowly got kicked out. Rocky, Avalon, and Zoey who were the first ones to be kicked out, were huddled around the TV making comments on the episodes of America's Next Top Model that continued to fly by. Tommy, Adam, Kimberly, Billy, and Aisha were left in the game until Kimberly was suddenly bankrupt due to the numerous hotels Billy had on Illinois Avenue.
"That's the last time I try to help you, Billy," Kimberly said with a sniff as she handed over her properties.
Billy's eyebrow rose. "With what? I did all the work."
"I mean in life, I mean with your confidence. See if I try to help you again."
"Kim, I've known you forever. You're not capable of not helping people," Billy pointed out with a grin. He ducked his head out of the way as Kimberly then tried to attack him with a pillow.
Aisha laughed along with her friends. The night had been going very, very well. Especially now that they had a lot of soda and sugar in their system. Zoey was starting to become giggly as she always did when she was on a sugar-high, Rocky was yelling more than he had before, and everyone was laughing hysterically at absolutely nothing.
The next thing she knew, the game of Monopoly had turned sour; while the others played a plethora of card games; Poker, Go Fish, Phase 10, and Fluxx, Tommy, Billy, and Aisha were left playing Monopoly and they had turned back. Aisha watched in amusement as Tommy continued to become unhinged as the game went on and as he lost—which he clearly did from Aisha's point of view—he grabbed the edge of the board and flipped it over.
"Medic! I just got hit by a bloody car!" Avalon cried as the racecar piece struck her in the forehead.
"Quick, grab the sack of money!" Zoey added before dissolving into a fit of giggles. She leaned forward to hold her stomach and conked her head against Avalon, causing the two to burst out laughing.
That made the rest of the rangers start to laugh uproarisly as well until they were laying all over each other, holding their stomachs and wiping their eyes as tears fell. The hours continued to pass and when it came closer to midnight they all started to wind down.
"Okay, so this is something that me and my family do every year," Aisha said as there was a few minutes left to midnight. "We go around saying what our resolution is going to be. Because if you say it out loud, you have a witness to make sure you actually do it." She crossed her legs and placed a pillow in her lap. "I'll go first. I'll find a reason for gratitude every day. Even if it's something as small as being able to wake up."
"That's sweet, Aisha," Kimberly said to her. Aisha smiled.
"Yeah, I think that's something that all of us should strive to do," Tommy agreed. He flipped his ponytail over his shoulder. "Especially since a good monster could come down and end all of this in seconds."
"I don't think there's ever going to be a good monster, honestly," Adam said.
"Don't count them down until they're out," Billy reminded her.
"So?" Aisha pressed. "What about the rest of you guys?"
"Be there for my family," Rocky said without hesitation. "With our ranger duties I haven't been there so much. Mami's getting upset, and Isabella and the others are always asking when I'll do something with them. I want to let them know that I'm there for them as much as I am for Angel Grove." Aisha smiled and reached out, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.
He smiled back at her.
Rocky loved his family more than anything in the world and all of his friends knew there was nothing that would stand between him and them. A few burgers maybe, but not too much. Aisha laughed quietly at the thought, turning to Tommy as he spoke next.
"My resolution is to be a great friend," Tommy said. He looked a little bashful. "Not just a good leader. I know you guys are probably thinking 'you're already a good friend' or something like that. But…I want to be a better friend to you guys, to new people I meet. Angel Grove is the city of brotherly love—"
"—I thought that was Philadelphia," Zoey broke in, before being shushed.
"And I want everyone to know that," Tommy insisted.
Kimberly smiled and kissed him on the cheek. She reached over and squeezed her hand. "I was going to say the same thing, but since Tommy already took it, I'll say that I want to be more aware. To remind myself there's more to life than shopping and hanging out. If anyone needs my help I want to be there to help them, no matter what."
Avalon thought for a long moment before saying hers. Then the orange ranger smiled a little, running her fingers over the lightning bolt tattoo that sat on the inside of her left wrist. "My resolution is to be more open. I know I'm not the best person to get along with initially, but when I love I love hard, yeah? More people need to see that."
Then it was Zoey's turn. "To make the best out of a bad situation. Not that moving here was so bad, but there's still a lot I miss from home. Instead of sulking about it I'll make Angel Grove feel like home."
Billy was next. He was the one to take the most philosophical route. "To be healthier, mentally. A lot of what goes on in our lives, things we feel we can't explain or control is due to mental stress. I want to be of a sounder mind where it can help everyone."
"Especially if you're the one fixing the zords," Aisha teased him.
"Just as long as you get more sleep, too," Avalon pointed out, giving the blue ranger a pointed look. Although he was smiling, he rolled his eyes. "Better yet, give up coffee."
"I'll do that for lent."
Adam was last. While he thought about what he wanted to say he was quiet for the others. Aisha watched him, waiting for his response. Adam could be as quiet as he could be lively and that worked very well against hers and Rocky's boisterous personalities. Especially when they were all together.
"Mine is to face my fears and insecurities," Adam finally said. He leaned back, resting his hands against the ground. "Not just in ranger duties but in all areas of life. I want to actually live life rather than worry about what could happen."
Eagerly, Aisha leaned forward and picked up what looked like tootsie rolls and passed them out to her friends. "Okay, and then we crack these when it turns to midnight as well as blowing noise makers and everything. Come on! It's almost time!" Picking up the remote, she unmated the TV just as the announcer started their countdown.
"10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!"
Aisha cracked open her popper, releasing confetti to the air before picking up a noisemaker and swirled it over her head. All around her, her friends screamed and hollered as they watched the ball drop, signifying another year over and another one starting.
Aisha made sure to take pictures of everyone—and wouldn't have been surprised if Kimberly snuck a picture of her and Rocky kissing at midnight—so that she could post it to her social media page later.
She didn't want to forget it.
THE END