AN: Whoa, long time in the making with this story. I had the idea, made a trailer for it on youtube, and then was worried I couldn't make the story live up to the trailer. However, here's my long awaited angsty, dramatic Shane/Dustin. PLEASE REVIEW! If I seem desperate, I am. Please?

By The Way

Dustin Brooks was a very well adjusted teenager. Or at least, that's the phrase his mother used when she was trying to justify him to his grandma.

In all reality, Dustin's mom knew absolutely nothing about him. She had no idea he was a ninja at a secret ninja academy. She had no idea he was a power ranger. She had no idea that almost everyone he knew was either a ninja or an evil space alien out to take over the world. His mom had no idea that he risked his life every day.

His mom had absolutely no idea he was gay.

Yeah, his mom really didn't know him at all.

Dustin was okay with that. He loved his mom and his family and his life. He had great friends, a great job, and yeah, okay, maybe being a ranger wasn't exactly what the comic books made it sound like, but it still kicked ass.

Of course, the fact that he was constantly hiding something from everyone, no matter what it was, was a little hard on him. His family didn't know anything about him. His friends knew more than most, but they were still pretty clueless. It was like no matter who he talked to he had to lie about something.

And it was really getting old.

As Dustin ran to catch the bus to Storm Chargers, he tried to balance out his life in his head. It was hard, trying to remember what he told who. Some people thought he was scatterbrained, and he couldn't really blame them. But hey, how was he supposed to keep up with all the mundane details when he was juggling all the important ones?

He snagged the bus just before it would have pulled off and took a seat to catch his breath. There was a kid playing on the seat next to him, and he was eyeing Dustin strangely. It was funny; Dustin could remember being that young. Most people said they remembered it in a fuzzy sort of way, and couldn't believe some of the things they'd done. But Dustin remembered it all very clearly, and to tell the truth he didn't feel much different all grown up than he had when he was that younger.

He gave the young boy a bright smile and offered him a hand for a high five. The kid grinned shyly and smacked his hand happily before letting out a giggle.

And then his mother pulled him away from Dustin and set him on her other side with a harsh word. The older woman gave him a scathing look, and he knew what she was thinking: homo.

Dustin didn't understand. How could total strangers see things in him that the people closest to him couldn't?

Or maybe they did, and just didn't say it. Maybe they all knew, but thought he didn't. If that was the case, then they were a lot stupider than they made fun of him for being.

Dustin hopped off the bus with a nod to the driver and ran into Storm Chargers. He checked in with his time card and let Kelly know he was there, said goodbye to Joanne as she got off the morning shift, and began stalking the shelves. It wouldn't be long before Tori and Shane showed up to hang out with him, and then Blake and Hunter would come and start their shifts, and then Cam would call and there would probably be some random monster that they'd all have to defeat.

Yeah, it was just another great day in the life.


"Dude, the new Pro-tech 250 top end is so much better than the Kawasaki!"

"Man, you put one in your bike and I will whoop you with my Kawasaki."

Dustin listened to Blake and Hunter's argument with a grin. That was the best thing about working at Storm Chargers; they got to try out the new parts that came in, and then they got to debate which ones were better.

"I don't really care which top end is better." Tori interrupted the brothers. "What I want to know is when are you guys going to start doing something other than standing around? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Since when do you channel Kelly?" Hunter wanted to know. Tori smacked him good naturedly.

"What about me?" Kelly asked as she walked up behind Hunter. Dustin sniggered.

"Oh, hey Kel. We were just, uh…" Hunter stuttered.

"Not working?" Kelly finished for him with a grin. "I noticed. Get back to the stock room." She ordered. Hunter grumbled and did as he was told. Blake stood laughing at him, saw the look on Kelly's face, and followed his brother. "Dustin, has the delivery guy shown up yet?"

"Not yet, Kelly. I swear I will let you know, like, the second he shows up." Dustin promised his boss. Kelly sighed and shot him a smile as she headed back over to help some other customer.

"Why's Kelly so worried about the delivery guy?" Shane asked as he came around back to sit behind Dustin on his usual perch.

"I don't know. She's been asking a bunch though. And it isn't like he's bringing anything special." Dustin thought a minute, trying to remember what Kelly had ordered. "Not that I can remember anyway."

Tori was leaning against the counter facing them, and she rolled her eyes with a smile. "Dustin, does the same guy always deliver to Storm Chargers?"

"Yeah. His name is… uh, Aaron I think. Once or twice a week. Why?" Dustin asked her, confused.

Tori was grinning happily. "I know why Kelly's excited about the delivery."

Shane and Dustin shared a brief look, just to make sure they were both equally confused.

"Why?" Shane asked curiously.

"Because Kelly likes him." Tori said happily. Dustin gave her a look, and then began laughing.

"You think Kelly likes the delivery guy?" Dustin asked her. He noticed Shane was laughing too.

Tori looked a bit peeved. "Isn't it obvious? Come one, D, you can't really be that blind."

"I'm not blind. And hey, if I'm blind then so is Shane." Dustin fired back.

"Hey!" Shane tossed a rag at him. Dustin smiled at his best friend.

"You just wait. I will prove to you that she likes him." Tori stated confidently.

"How, exactly?" Shane asked her.

Tori's new favorite expression was a smirk Dustin was sure she'd picked up from Cam. "Tell tale signs."

So they waited another 20 minutes for the delivery guy, arguing on and off about why or why not Kelly would have a crush on the delivery guy. It was two against one, as it often was in their group of friends, but Tori was pretty good at holding her own. She kind of had to be in order to be their friend.

Finally, the delivery guy arrived, and rather than sign for the packages himself he went to get Kelly to tell her he was here. She smiled brightly, checked her reflection in a hubcap hanging on the wall, and went to greet him.

"Did she check her hair or teeth before she came back?" Tori wanted to know as he returned to their observation post at the register.

"Yeah, actually." Dustin glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

"That's sign number one. Now see how she's trying to look casual with one hand in her pocket and one kind of covering her neck as she tilts it to flirt with him?"

"No way…" Shane was wrinkling his nose as Tori pointed out her signs.

"And now she's doing the cute little "Oops I dropped the pen" act." Tori said smugly as Kelly dropped the pen and bent over shyly. "And he is totally checking out her butt, which was the goal, actually."

"Dude, is it even possible she's right?" Dustin asked Shane above Tori's head. Shane just gave him a lopsided smile.

"And finally we have the hand graze as she hands him back the clipboard, and the shy giggle…" Tori described all this about 2 seconds before it happened. Bit unnerving, really. "And he leaves with a wave, and then they both look back. Oh yeah, she's totally into him."

"How do you do that?" Shane wanted to know as Tori finished.

"I'm a girl. Girls can tell." Tori reasoned.

Dustin glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. How much could girls really tell?

"Do girls plan this?" Shane continued. "Or is there some kind of secret code you keep from us?"

Tori laughed. "Oh, there's a code all right. And you're never gonna know about it."

"I'll pay you for your secrets!" Shane pleaded dramatically.

Tori shot Dustin an indulgent look before answering. "With what money? Cause Dustin is the only on of us working, and your just a broke skater. Hey Dustin, wanna pay me for my secrets?" Tori teased.

"Or want to lend me some money?" Shane asked before Dustin could answer.

He laughed at them. "No, and no. Anything I need to know I can just, you know, figure out on my own." He tossed a rag at Shane. "Get a job, you bum!"

Maybe girls couldn't tell as much as they claimed.

Still, he wondered if his friends saw him through a filter. He'd known them for so long that they just accepted his single-mindedness, his weird habits. He kind of wished they didn't. But then, maybe it was better this way. He loved his friends. And they loved him. So what if they didn't know everything about him? They loved him anyway.

He hoped.

"Did you do this to poor, unsuspecting Blake?" Shane was asking Tori. Tori blushed.

"He did it back." She defended. "You all know you have a guy code too!"

Shane and Dustin traded a look. "We do?" Dustin asked him. Shane winked. "Oh, yeah, we do!"

"Of course we do! I'll trade some secrets with you." Shane offered. Tori rolled her eyes.

"If you had any, you wouldn't need mine!" Tori told him.

"What about secrets?" Blake asked as he and Hunter rejoined them.

"Nothing!" Tori said loudly as Shane went to tell Blake what they'd just been discussing. Tori smacked a hand over Shane's mouth, which he fought like crazy. Somehow, Shane managed to drag Tori the counter as she tried desperately to stifle him, and they made quite a thump as they hit the ground behind the counter.

"Dustin! I'll hold, you tickle!" Shane shouted up at him through a laugh. Dustin laughed as Tori shrieked.

"Blake, help!" She shouted girlishly. Shane obviously saw that for what it was.

"Oh, that's low." He commented happily.

"I don't know, Tor. I think you can take him!" Hunter shouted over the counter. Blake, on the other hand, was rushing around the counter with a grin.

"Some help you are!" Tori laughed back.

"Okay, grab her feet! We're just gonna have to torture those secrets out of her!" Shane grinned up at Dustin devilishly.

Dustin was going to help him when all of their morphers chimed. The laughing stopped abruptly, and Tori struggled to catch her breath as Blake helped her up. She smiled at him gratefully, and Shane rolled his eyes. Dustin couldn't help but grin.

"Go for Shane." Shane mumbled into his morpher as the others surrounded him from passerby's.

"There's a monster at the power plant. I'll meet you there." Cam's voice came over the morpher and Shane nodded.

"Right." He cut the link and they all headed for the door.

Yeah, it was just another great day in the life.