Welcome to my first Ninja Storm fic. Well actually, it wasn't my first written-that one is a little longer and probably a little more confusing. But this is the first one that I'm semi-confident in posting, so please be gentle with me.

Disclaimer: Jordan is mine, everything else is Saban/Disney's.

Watching

I watched him pretend that everything was sunny in his world. I watched him pretend to have bounced back with the help of the discovery that he hadn't been wrong to trust the bike guy. I watched him turn away the other's concern with a well-executed blond moment. But I knew that Marah's betrayal had cut deep. I knew that Shane had been right when he said that Dustin was into her. I knew that no matter how many times Hunter and Blake tried to tell him not to blame himself, the Yellow Ranger hadn't believed a word they said. And I knew that however much I despised the girl for hurting him, I would have to find a way to convince him that he had been right to want to trust her.

I hiked deep into the forest where the computer said his morpher was and came into a clearing that was beautiful--and empty. I sighed softly.

"Dustin." I called out gently.

The only response I had was the soft twittering of birds and the sound of water nearby.

"Dustin, please don't hide from me. I just want to talk. I know you're tired of being mothered and I respect that. I just want to tell you something."

There was still no sign of him and I sighed softly, taking a deep breath and hoping that he could hear me and I wasn't just talking to myself.

"You aren't the fool here Dustin. She is, for turning down your friendship, your trust--your love. If she can't see how precious a chance you gave her, then she doesn't deserve you. She has no idea how lucky she was to have you. There will be others who..." my voice cracked and I cursed my emotions, hoping that if he was here, he wouldn't notice the falter of my voice. "...who will." I finished as strongly as I could.

I was beginning to feel stupid for talking to thin air, so I turned to leave, only to find myself face to face with my quarry. I shrieked in surprise before I could help myself and stumbled backwards, losing my balance to land flat on my back on the forest floor.

"Don't do that!" I yelled out of frustration.

Dustin grinned sheepishly, reaching down to give me a hand up. "Sorry."

I took his hand and let him help me to my feet, brushing the leaves and dirt off my rear. "I'm glad I'm not a girl that minds getting dirty, because you'd drive me insane." I muttered.

Then I looked up to find him staring at me. I opened my mouth to ask him why and closed it again when he reached up and took a leaf out of my hair, letting it drop slowly.

"Thanks." I said, cursing under my breath at the breathlessness of my voice.

"Anytime." Dustin replied softly.

A long silence stretched between us until I couldn't stand the awkwardness anymore and gestured to his leaf-and-dirt-covered appearance.

"You obviously really want to be alone, what with the phasing and all. I'll just..."

Dustin put a gentle hand on my shoulder, stopping me. "You don't have to. I thought you were one of the others, trying to cheer me up again."

I shrugged awkwardly. "It hurts. Nothing anyone can say or do is going to make it better. Only time can."

He looked at me for a long moment, looking thoughtful. "You're the only one that doesn't think I'm dumb for trusting her in the first place."

I ignored the bitterness I felt at the mention of the evil ninja. "You trust people Dustin. It's who you are. You can still see the good in people. I love that about you. And I don't ever want to see that change, because you wouldn't be Dustin anymore. You'd be just another cynic in a world that has far too many as it is." I said quietly.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For believing in me. For caring. Though I kinda got the impression that you didn't like me very much."

I wanted to laugh at the irony of that sentence but didn't. "It isn't that I don't like you Dustin. We just don't have very much in common. I'm better with computers than people and you're better with people than computers."

"So is Cam."

"Yes, but Cam is also a Ranger. You two can relate in that way. I can't imagine what that's like. If worst comes to worst, you two can talk about that. I know nothing about motocross and I didn't get the impression that you were interested in technical things."

"That may be true Jordan, but I bet we could find something we both know something about if we tried."

I smiled as something occurred to me. "Dustin?"

"Yeah?"

"You haven't said 'dude' once since we've been talking. I always knew you weren't the airhead you choose to pretend to be."

He blushed. "Don't let that get around. I have a reputation at stake here."

I laughed. "Your secret's safe with me. But I hope you know that you don't have to act that way around me."

Dustin looked thoughtful. "I do. Maybe it's because you were the only one who didn't judge me for what happened, but I really feel like I can be myself around you. Thank you for that."

It was my turn to blush--only slightly, thank God. "What are friends for?" I said tentatively.

He smiled--a real smile, not a goofy grin. "I'd like that. That is if you wouldn't mind hanging out with a space case."

I laughed softly. "You Dustin, are anything but a space case...although I don't pretend to understand the motocross thing."

Dustin laughed and slung an arm over my shoulder. "I could say the same about your thing for all things technical." He pointed out, leading me out of the clearing and toward Ops.

=============

"Amazing."

I looked up and twitched an eyebrow at Cam. "What's amazing?"

"Dustin hasn't uttered one airheaded comment all day. He must not be feeling well."

I chuckled. "He's not that bad."

"Around you perhaps. Sometimes it's all I can do to keep from strangling him."

I just shook my head in amusement. It never failed to amaze me, how his own friends couldn't read past his valley-girl act. It was so obvious, at least to me, how fake it was and had been so from the moment I met him. Now I merely had proof. For example, while his vocabulary might be limited to 'dude', 'bro', 'chick', and 'like' when he was around the others, when it was just the two of us, he never ceased to amaze me with the breadth of his true vocabulary.

Which, much to my surprise and delight, came from reading nearly everything he could get his hands on--though he guarded that secret fiercely, only ordering his books and magazines online. I had only found out about it when he quoted one of my favorite novels and expressed such a delight in the fact that we liked the same author that he didn't hesitate to reveal that it wasn't the only author we had in common. Now I chose the books I bought with him in mind, because he never failed to ask to borrow them when I was through reading them.

"Jordan?"

"Yeah Dustin?" I asked absently.

"Have you eaten?"

I shook my head, keeping my eyes on the screen. "Not since this morning."

"Jordan." He sighed in exasperation.

"What?" I shot back in irritation.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

I glanced over at the clock. "Well let's see, the little hand is on the nine and the big hand is on the seven..." I began sarcastically.

Dustin ignored my sarcasm. "It's past nine-thirty at night Jordan. That means that you haven't eaten in nearly twelve hours. This is the third time this week. You can't keep doing this to yourself Jordan. You have to eat like everyone else."

"Yes Mom." I drawled sarcastically, turning my attention back to the screen.

I figured he'd be satisfied with getting his lecture in and that would be the end of it. Imagine my surprise when I was bodily picked up from the chair and swung over a black-leather clad shoulder.

"Have you lost your mind?" I snapped angrily.

"If you're going to act like a child, you're going to be treated like one."

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open in shock. "Waldo Dustin Brooks, put me down right now."

"I warned you Jordan. If you can't take care of yourself properly, I'll do it for you."

"Dustin." I warned.

"Dustin, put her down." Sensei said firmly.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the intervention, sending the guinea pig a grateful look when Dustin obeyed without question, setting me on my feet.

"However, Dustin is correct. You must learn to take better care of yourself Jordan. The computer will still be here tomorrow. Go home. Eat. Regain your energy. Come back tomorrow."

I sighed in defeat. "Yes Sensei."

Under the watchful gaze of both guinea pig and earth ninja, I shut down the program I had been working on and straightened the area around the computer. Then I let Dustin lead me out of Ops and streak me back to town.

"Dustin?" I asked quietly as we walked to my apartment.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Dustin stopped at the entrance to my building, turning to face me. "I worry about you Jordan. Please try to not let this happen so much."

"I'll try." I promised. "I just get so caught up..."

"I know. But no amount of work is worth your health Jordan. You're going to burn out or worse. I don't want to see that happen."

"I know. I don't mean to lose track of time. I really don't. I just hate to sit around my apartment doing nothing all evening."

"Then don't. Let's do something at night. Just the two of us. We could go to movies, or play miniature golf, or bowl, or rent movies, or play board games…"

I blinked in surprise. "You'd give up your nights just to hang out with me?"

"I like hanging out with you. I wouldn't be giving up anything. I'd be gaining more time with you."

I had to fight to keep the hope from rising. "That's very sweet Dustin, but I couldn't…"

"Hey, I want to. Either way, I'm not going to let you spend nights all alone in Ops."

I knew by the look in his eyes that it was useless to argue with him. Few knew it, but Dustin Brooks could out stubborn the other four male Rangers put together.

===========

"Hey Dustin, you want to check out that new movie at the multiplex?" Hunter asked a few weeks later after a battle.

"Can't dude. I already made plans."

I saw the other Rangers exchange a concerned glance in the reflection on the computer screen. "Dustin, I know you're still bummed out about..." Tori began gently.

I was going to scream if I heard that girl's name one more time, so I breathed a silent sigh of relief when Dustin interrupted her.

"No, I'm not. I promised someone that I'd come over tonight."

"Who?" Shane asked curiously.

"A friend."

They exchanged another look. "Would this friend happen to be female?" Blake asked with a grin.

"Yes."

I winced inwardly, knowing what that would provoke. I was right. "A date? I'll be damned." Hunter laughed.

"It's not a date." Dustin sighed.

Cam chuckled. "You are a guy, she is a girl, and you are going to her home. I believe that is the definition of the word 'date'."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "She's just a friend okay?"

I felt a sharp pang at the words, even though I knew they were true.

"Uh huh, sure." Blake laughed.

"I'm serious dude. It isn't like that."

My hands faltered on the keyboard. Would they leave it alone already? Must they rub it in?

"We believe you." Shane chuckled. "I wish I had a friend to visit tonight..."

The teasing went on for a few more minutes until I couldn't take it anymore. "Dustin." I said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"You might as well go to the movie with them. I don't feel up to putting the Cycles through their paces tonight."

"You sure?"

"Go have fun. You can help me some other time."

I had to keep my voice as quiet as possible to mask the emotion in it. I really had been looking forward to our almost nightly visit. But I couldn't stand to be reminded that I was nothing more than a friend to him any more right now or I'd say something stupid, like that I didn't want to be just a friend.

Blake sounded sheepish. "Sorry man. You try to help Jordan out and we give you a hard time for it."

"Yeah, that really wasn't very cool of us." Shane admitted. "Sorry guys."

I shrugged. "You didn't know."

Tori still sounded guilty. "Well since you aren't going to work tonight, why don't you come with us?"

Cam snorted in amusement. "I highly doubt Jordan would be interested in attending a horror film."

I frowned. What gave Cam the right to think that he knew what I would or would not be interested in?

"You know what? I think I'll take you up on that. A trip to the movies sounds good after the past few weeks." I said as I turned around in the chair, smirking in satisfaction at the surprise on Cam's face.

Dustin caught my eye and grinned mischievously at me. "What was that Cam?"

The Green Ranger threw his hands up. "Just when I think I know the girl, she does this to me."

"That's what you get for thinking that you know everything Cam." Hunter chuckled.

I rolled my eyes as he got into an argument about whether or not he was like that, but couldn't help laughing with the others. Yes, a movie with the young defenders of Earth sounded just fine.

Okay, I'm sure all of you are probably getting ready to laugh me off FF.net with how I decided to give Dustin more depth than just an airheaded motocross rider, but please remember that this is only my opinion of who Dustin Brooks might be underneath the dumb comments and valley accent. I was just tired of him having such a rep for being just the comic relief and token dumb jock. I choose to believe that he's a lot smarter than people give him credit for, and that a heart of gold isn't the only good point he has. People have many reasons for wearing a mask to hide their feelings, and I believe that not everyone is exactly what they seem to be.

Anyway, I'm not sure whether or not I want to go any further with this story or just make it a one-shot, so please consider dropping me a line with your opinion on whether or not this is worth continuing. And if anyone wants to see the mini-epic that was my first NS story, let me know and I'll consider posting it. Unless you guys gang up on me and order me back to my old-school PR writing. Lol.