Story Title: Red and Blue
Chapter Title: One Meeting
Author: Mathais
Rating: T
Fandom: Power Rangers
Warnings: Pre-slash
Pairings: Justin/Mack pre-slash
Summary: Two Rangers meet through the agency of a mutual friend.
List of 22: 9 ~ hallways
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the various Power Rangers series. Saban or Disney own either; I'm not sure of the legalities of the Disney-era shows.
Notes: Written for prsw22.
OoOoO
Mack sighed in irritation as he looked at his watch. Rose had asked him to meet her at school, but he'd been sitting in this hallway for a good half an hour with her nowhere in sight. He was so bored.
A guy in blue across from him looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow. "Waiting for someone?"
"Yeah," Mack huffed. "Rose Ortiz? She said she'd meet me at 3."
The guy snorted. "Her class doesn't end till 4." At the indignation which spread across Mack's face, a smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah, she'll be a while. How do you know Rose? She didn't tell me she a boyfriend."
Unwittingly, a blush crossed Mack's face as he yelped, "No, not a boyfriend! We, uh, worked together a year ago doing, uh—"
The guy's eyes widened. "Oh, OH! You're one of the Power Rangers from Operation Overdrive! Mackenzie Hartford, right?"
"Call me Mack," he said as he cleared his throat. "And you are?"
"Justin Stewart." The guy offered a surprisingly boyish grin. "Thanks for keeping Rose safe for me."
"No problem." Mack paused and then stared harder at Justin. "And, are you...?
Justin's eyes widened again, and he stumbled over his words in his rush to get them out. "No, no, no! We're working together on several robotics projects!" He shook his head wildly. "We're not together!"
"Oh," Mack stated as the two fell into an uncomfortable silence. Mack's eyes then caught sight of the book Justin held in his hand. "Is that Harry Potter?"
Justin's fingers twitched as if he was resisting the urge to do something to the book. "Uh, yeah," Justin ducked his head, using his long bangs to hide his sudden blush. "It's a... guilty pleasure."
"What'd you think of the last book then?"
"Deus ex machina," was Justin's quick and honest reply. "I felt that a lot of things came out of nowhere for that book."
"No way!" Mack shook his head, shock and appall coloring his voice. "I thought that it was very well written!"
"Then what about the Deathly Hollows? They weren't even mentioned in the previous books!" Justin countered.
"Well, yeah," Mack admitted, "but what Rowling did with—"
And then Justin moved across the corridor to sit next to Mack and continue their talk, voices growing louder and more vibrant as they got into the discussion. The pair argued their points with enthusiasm, wild gestures and pointed accusations drawing the stares of the innocent passersby. Both were so into it that by the time students began to file out into the hallway around them, they didn't even notice their passing.
Rose peeked out of the door's window, hoping she would find what she wanted. When she saw the two of them chatting animatedly, she grinned. Mack and Justin were two of the most important guys in her life, and she just wanted them to get along. So she hoped that Mack didn't mind that she called him there an hour early and took advantage of the fact that Justin would lounge outside of her classes to read when he could.
Happy with her success, Rose whistled a cheery tune as she packed up.