NOT DUMB
AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER
Takes place directly after "All About Beevil". I thought it was interesting that even though Shane and Tori are both Dustin's best friends, it was only Tori who tore into Marah. Plus, in "Sensei Switcheroo", it seemed to me that Kelly was looking at Dustin funny when his dad came in, and it gave me an idea. Mentions of abuse. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon, though Ninja Storm was property of Disney.
Tori walked to the one place she knew she'd find Dustin: the track. Even though he had seemed to bounce back to his normal cheerful self, she knew he was still hurting over Marah's comment. When she got to the track, she saw him riding over the course furiously. She bit her lip when she saw how erratic his steering was, but didn't call out to him. He needed this. She knew that. Suddenly, the bike hit something and Dustin went flying.
"Dustin!" Tori gasped and ran to him. The boy moaned and sat up. "Are you okay?" she asked as he removed his helmet.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just acted stupid by not watching what I was doing," he answered.
"Hey, I don't want to hear that kind of talk from you," she chided.
"Why not? It's what everyone thinks, right? Stupid, dumb, Dustin. Airheaded Dustin. I hardly ever do anything right," he spat out throwing his helmet to the side.
"Hey! Don't you dare let that kind of thinking back in! You're not dumb!" she said sharply. Oooooh! I could kill her for making him think like this again! she seethed.
"Oh, no? Tell that to Cam!" Dustin spat out.
"Cam can be a jerk. He doesn't know anything about you," Tori responded. "None of them do," she added.
"You do," Dustin said softly.
"That's right. I do. I know how empathetic you are. How sweet, kind and honest," Tori continued. His eyes dropped but she propped his chin up with a finger. "I know you consider your uncle your father because of everything that happened," she said.
"Tor-" he began.
"I know that you hate that you can't always piece things together because the sequence becomes jumbled. I know how you still worry that someone's gonna find about your scars and think of you differently. I know that you have a hard time letting people-especially adults-in because the man who was supposed to love and protect you beat the tar out of you and treated you like dirt," she finished.
"Sometimes I think that he wouldn't have done it if I had just been…better," Dustin admitted. Tori drew him into a hug.
"That's just not true. You're the best guy anyone could ask for. It's not your fault that your dad's power issues messed your head up."
"I hate it. It makes me feel dumb."
"Well, you're not. And I will fight anyone who says otherwise." Dustin wrapped his arms around Tori and let himself be comforted by her embrace.
THE END