A/N: First Power Rangers story, go! I will readily admit that I don't know much about Power Rangers, so please bear with me. Feel free to point out any mistakes! I got help from my friend, StarSlingerSnitch, with this. In her story, So Cold By Fire (a great read, just so you know, so if you want to read it….) Mike went off to college. So off he goes on a bus.
Mike shifted on his bus seat, once again leaning his head against the window. His eyes slipped close but sleep was still evading him. With a sigh he sat back up, straightening his luggage beside him. He had a fairly small amount, considering that spring was turning to summer. He would be staying with a friend and had the entire summer to procure any necessary supplies for college. The rest was for enjoyment.
Enjoyment… Mike mused over the word. The green ranger was a person who did what he liked and didn't care about the consequences, a rebel if you will. He seemed unshakable but he wasn't.
Looking out the window, Mike considered the green leaves. The green grass. Green everywhere, standing alone by itself. It was a painful jab that it mirrored his current situation. The green ranger would be traveling to college where everyone would assume that he would party and have the time of his life, taking his studies seriously but not seriously enough to distract from finding friends, maybe even a girlfriend.
In truth, Mike was more lonely than ever.
Gazing out the window again, in the middle of nowhere with nothing but rolling farmland, Mike pondered the root of his loneliness as of late. It was all summed up in one word: Emily.
More than a word, it was a name, a name with a sea of memories and feelings attached to it. Emily was the name of that girl, that beautiful, sweet, ever-kind, naïve and innocent and supporting girl, the one who had Mike had fallen for upon seeing her.
She was clumsy and had low self-esteem; she cared for everyone and brightened up Mike's day. Emily evoked a protective feeling in Mike. Even though she was the powerful yellow Samurai ranger, who had taken on Nighlok and even Master Xandred, and lived to tell the tale, he couldn't help but want to hold her close.
And not only in the physical sense, but mentally too. They were close, too close. Every day with her Mike had spared a passing glance, or maybe a slight stare (his love for the yellow ranger was as innocent as she was, before you question it) that was always followed by a slight wondering if they would ever be together.
Because she had been the sun, the new autumn leaves, enveloping his life in hues of yellow.
Then there was Jayden.
Jayden, the high and mighty red Samurai ranger. He was the leader who Mike's personality had bounced off upon. Brooding, occasionally moody, serious. He was the leader and thus was brave and courageous. Oh, they'd had so much fun together.
In a way, Mike had wanted to be leader. He'd brought himself up as the second unofficial leader of the team. Even though their personalities clashed, Mike respected Jayden. He'd even admired him, a little bit.
But there was that way that he'd look at Emily, and the way she'd looked back at him, that frustrated Mike. He could tell, everyone could tell, the depth of love the two had for each other. Even if it had taken the two forever to get it out, there had always been love there.
Mike had always wanted to beat Jayden. Not out of resentment or a grudge of any sort, just his natural instinct to come out on top.
But it was evident he didn't win against Jayden after all. Not in any way, looks or personality or measure of skill when it came to be a ranger. And definitely not when it came to Emily.
Another glance out the window told Mike they were slowly leaving the farmland- the farm, that was where Emily grew up- and heading into more urban areas. He had been lucky to find a bus that would take him to the city he wanted, although he'd have to get off soon.
Watching the farmland slip away, Mike was held onto the last reminder of Emily. Not that he'd ever be rid of thinking of her, but the farmland slowly fading away was a nice metaphor for the way Emily had gone to Jayden. Mike didn't blame either of them. He was happy to see both Emily and Jayden so content, a kind of happiness that ripped at his heart and his mind.
The bus halted. Knowing this was his stop, Mike rose, pulling his luggage with him, and climbed off the bus, having already paid his fare. His feet hit the hard ground and he was walking away from the bus stop just as the bus pulled away in a cloud of noxious fumes that couldn't be good for the environment.
The bus turned down another road, while Mike's carried on straight ahead. The bus stop had been at the outskirts of the city, so he had only awhile to walk before he reached the next one. Panorama City really was far away from his destination.
Surrounded by the solitary green, Mike's thought changed as he walked. His focus left the unobtainable yellow and what a perfect, untouchable pair she made with red and moved on to his own stupidity. His own stupidity for falling in love again.
Her name was Lauren. As if having one ranger to compete with wasn't enough, Mike had to contend with Jayden's sister. Admittedly, he had at first doubted just how good Lauren was. Then they sparred in practice and Mike saw, or felt, firsthand, that thinking that Lauren was a bad fighter was like eating Mia's food and saying it was delicious. It was impossible.
Then again, Lauren had done just that, making her probably one of the most remarkable people Mike had ever known.
Lauren's personality was different from Emily's, more leader-like. She shared this attribute with her brother. She was brave and wild, with more bold character traits. Mike couldn't understand how he fell in love again, but he did.
This time he thought he had a chance. She was kind to him, and they were friends. Like him and Emily- and that was doomed. So he lost hope. Mike had learned his lesson. So he wasn't oblivious to Antonio and Lauren's relationship.
Lauren and Antonio became a couple. Lauren was gone. At least this time around Mike had tried. A quick rose thrust in her direction days before leaving, trying ineloquently to get the point across. It was too late. Antonio and Lauren were too far along. The fallen red rose petals, the red Lauren's face and his as well when he realized just how late he was- it clumped together all surrounded him in shades of red.
Antonio was Mike's partner in crime. He was much more laid-back than Kevin (of course, that didn't stop him and Mike from being exceptionally good friends) and he and Mike had been very close friends as the one to make everyone laugh (Antonio) or the troublemaker (Mike) of the rangers.
Mike continued to trek through the city as the buildings grew larger. The trees grew less and less, the lonely green surrounding him disappearing. Pulling his luggage along, Mike was carrying a whole different load with him as well- all the memories he had made.
He'd made friends, fought monsters- and, if one insists on a moral, he had learned lessons as well. Mike had his heart broken twice, which was actually must be record or something.
Mike halted at the next bus stop. It wouldn't be long before the bus was there. Distancing himself from Panorama City physically didn't help with distancing himself from it mentally. But knowing both Lauren and Emily would be happy with who they were with comforted him. A bitter comfort, but he trusted Jayden and Antonio to take care of both of them. Mike wasn't philosophical and would normally laugh at people depicting true love, but he figured they were right when it came to true love being able to let go and make the object of their affections happy.
The seasons would go on, the color of the leaves would change, and Mike wouldn't be nursing his heartache forever.
The bright yellow would be accompanied by the darker red. The light gold would spiral down along with the pale red. The green would hang on to the branches as long as they could before dropping.
And as he saw his bus approaching, taking him to another destination, Mike was certain that while walking under the bright canopy of red and yellow and gold, it wouldn't take too much for him to smile.
Wow, how cheesy can I get…please, read and review! :D