Title: "I Hate Poetry"
One-Shot

Written by: Shawn30

Summary: Tommy's latest English class assignment is driving him crazy. Good thing a certain Pink Ranger is around to inspire him.

Category: Romance/Humor

Rating: PG-13 at best

Timeline: Think 2 weeks post "White Light"

Authors Notes: Fluffy goodness just cause, lol.

Angel Grove High School

4th Period

Mrs. Copeland's English Writing class

Angel Grove, Ca

"... So our assignment is as follows," Mrs. Copeland revealed as she toured down the aisle of students while ensuring that all attention was focused on her and not elsewhere. The usual suspects were nodding off and required a gentle tap of her ruler to their shoulders. True to form though, Bulk required a little kick to the foot in order to wake him up. "You are to write a love poem of no less than twelve lines," her smile evenly matched the collective groan of the class. "It is due at the end of this period and you will read it before the entire class. I want you all to learn how to convey emotion through words. I want to engage your creativity. Your poem can be about the love of anything or anyone, so long as its school appropriate. For example, no poems on your love of girls breasts... I'm looking at you Skullovitch."

Skull blinked. "Boobs deserve love too."

"Don't make me hit you with this ruler."

As chuckles rang out, Tommy Oliver felt very hot in his chair. And not hot in a good way. Oh no, he felt hot as if he were in the hot seat. Hot as in sweat was on its way and soon would visit him. A nervous twitch shivered through him as he swallowed hard in the back of his throat, peering around the class in a desperate attempt to not feel like he was the only student worried about this assignment.

Some people, Trini for instance, were already writing away. She excelled at creative writing and would no doubt kick this assignments butt from here to Rita's palace. Zack seemed to not be having any trouble either. Words came so easy for him, especially if it had to do with girls. Billy appeared as lost as the White Ranger felt as he seemed to be deep in thought. And then there was Jason, who just looked his way and shook his head. He had nothing.

Chuck Norris didn't write poetry. Tommy and Jason silently conveyed that acceptance. Unfortunately for them, they had too.

Tommy knew deep down he was born to kick things. And he did that very well. He was sure there weren't many people in the world that kicked better than him. He was a expert at kicking. If there were a Masters degree offered by a university anywhere in America he knew he would get that degree faster than anyone not named Jason Lee Scott. But writing a romantic poem, not his style at all. He sucked at expressing emotion, and was forever grateful for a girlfriend who understood that and made sure they were moving forward because she took the reigns of their relationship and yelled 'Giddy up!"

Put him in front of a army of gross slime monsters and he was in his element. He could deal. Excel even. Put them all down for good and then go to the Juice Bar for smoothies and never think about them again. But place him in front of a class full of his fellow students having to read what was on his paper, cause it sure wouldn't be poetry by the time he was done, felt daunting.

And then there was Kimberly.

She was happily writing away, and then looked up and smiled so brightly at him. God, she was gorgeous. He was fairly certain her poem would be about him, and since everyone knew they were dating now and he did love her, his poem would no doubt now have to be about her.

And it was going to suck donkey balls.

In the history of things that sucked, he was certain his face would now be on the Mount Rushmore of sucktacular events.

"Dammit," he swore under his breath as everyone around him put pencil to paper. He knew if he could just whisper to his teacher, "You don't know this, but I help save the world each afternoon. I'm the leader of the Power Rangers and I would truly appreciate it if you let me out of this one writing assignment," everything would be alright.

Alas, Zordon's rules made it so that he couldn't do such a thing. But he wished he could.

Accepting of his fate, Tommy picked up his pencil and opened his notepad to a clean sheet of paper. OK, he could do this. It was just mind over matter. He needed to write a poem. Poetry needed to rhyme, right? Most of the time it did, unless it was one of those really deep poems he never understood.

Gritting his teeth, Tommy dove into his assignment. At least the subject was one he thought about all the time. Kim. Thinking of Kim... oh how much he liked her legs... her smile... her walking toward in tight jeans and short skirts... her walking away from him in tight jeans and short skirts... her workout attire... the way she kissed... the way she was so bendy... and soon his thoughts took a turn for the naughty as he quickly realized where he was.

Ahem, romantic poetry.

Looking up at the clock, his fretting over the assignment ate up twenty five minutes. So he gripped his pencil harder. And then three people around him set their pencils down as they were done. He began to sweat. And he hadn't written a single word yet.

Crap!

Deciding to simply dive right in, Tommy started to write.

'My dear, sweet girlfriend'

Shaking his head, clearly frustrated, he quickly erased that line. Terrible, just terrible.

'You are the wind beneath my Falcon Zord wings'

He quickly erased that too. The suckage was epic already.

'You make me feel like I'm worth a million dollars'

Wincing, Tommy's erased it as fast as he could. He worried that he didn't have a romantic bone in his body. This was bad. Real bad. And he would have to read it in front of the whole class too! Double crap!

So he tried again.

'I am happy when I see you I enjoy being with you I would do anything for you I love, love, love you'

Frowning, he worried it was perhaps the worst poem in history. He was sure at the very least it was top ten, dead or alive. Yeah, he was doomed.

'You are Pink and I am White We are alright You're out of sight Every day and every night.'

That made no sense at all. And as the clock ticked by, Tommy began to perspire. His foot nervously tapped at the floor, while his mind went blank. He tried to think of Kim and romance and poetry, but nothing came out. His mind was empty. All the while it seemed like everyone around him was working or finished.

Zack was already done.

Billy seemed to be onto something. Either that or he had a killer Poker face.

Jason looked as lost as Tommy felt. The Red Ranger was also born to kick things. It just wasn t fair that martial arts wasn't romantic.

As Kimberly swept by him, bending down for a quick cheek smooch that elicited a growl from Skull and a whistle from someone else, Tommy felt like he was in the pressure cooker. His sweetheart was as creative as they came, and he was sure her poem about him would be awesome like she was. She'd get up at the front of the class with that bubbly personality and killer smile and wow everyone.

And then he'd get up there and effectively shit the bed.

He almost wished he had Lord Zedd's phone number. This would be a great time for a Putty Attack. Or maybe a giant bear monster that steps on this side of the school with the English class. After it was fully evacuated mind you. But still.

That at least made him smile.

Tommy knew he just had to relax. He shut his mind off for a minute, shut his eyes, and then took a deep breath. The key was to treat this like a expert Kata. Just do it. Just be himself. His romantic poem was going to be about Kim, so all that he needed to do was focus on her and tune his worries out. Just make it to the best of his ability and apologize to her later for not being a poet.

At the very least most of the guys in class wouldn't laugh at him. They would be worried he might kick them. His kicking skill was never in question.

So those thoughts in mind, Tommy Oliver began to put pencil to paper. Lo and behold ten minutes later, a romantic poem was born.

As the class was winding down toward the end of the period, Mrs. Copeland decided that only the two right rows would read today, and the other two would go tomorrow.

The White Ranger hung his head as soon as he heard the news. He sat in one of those now unlucky rows. None of his friends did. Not even Bulk or Skull would have to read theirs today, a fact he was silently counting on to counter how bad his poem likely was. Apparently there was no getting out of this as he begrudgingly rose from his seat and walked toward the front of the room with the rest of the students that had to go today.

It felt like he was about to walk the plank on a pirate ship. This would likely be the most embarrassing moment of his entire life. Even worse than the day he did a spin kick in the hallway in front of his locker, split his jeans down to his inner thigh, and exposed his Winnie the Pooh boxers. They were a gag gift from his girlfriend, who howled in laughter to the point she almost needed Trini to hold her up. Jason noted he just about peed his pants.

As Tommy got in line, Jenn Jacobs went first. The bossy cheerleader with the long blonde hair and braces wrote her poem about her 'boyfriend,' Harry Kent. And if Harry Kent were her real boyfriend and not the boy she'd been stalking the last two months it probably would have been a pretty decent attempt. Alas, Harry was dating Pam "The Deep Throat" Chambers. And she didn't get that nickname cause she could sing. Ahem, moving right along.

Several students in front of him read their poems to varying degrees of success. Much laughter, groaning, and teasing could be heard as love was spoken of in poetic form.

And then the moment of truth arrived. Tommy followed Ben Foster, a boy who wrote his poem on the love of Batman: The Animated Series. The White Ranger took his place in front of the class, poem in hand. He wasn't really nervous, just Very! uncomfortable. Public speaking wasn't his forte. But the sooner he did this, the sooner it would be over with and he could get the heck out of here. So with all eyes on him, he began to speak. "My poem is called 'Back Flip of Love'."

It had dawned on him after draft number eleven that if his poem was going to be bad anyway, he could at least be sweet. Kim deserved something nice and if he had to be humiliated, then at least she might get something out of it. So he just went for it.

'My darling Crane, can I carry your books

Trying to be a gentleman, getting funny looks

But I don't care, I'm just being sweet

And taking a load off your cute little feet'

Every single guy in the room burst out laughing, with Skull howling in the back. The sheer amount of head-shaking in the room was likely a Guinness World Record. But then something funny happened. Not one girl made fun of him. In fact, you could see them scowling at the guys, and then offering him support with smiles. He kept going just in case he was reading things wrong.

'You're so talented, so outgoing and brave

You make sure I don't turn evil, and that I behave

I don't know how one person can do so much

You had my heart with the slightest touch'

OK, either he was on to something or every girl in the room was threatened by Kim to like this. And he wouldn't pout that past her. But as he saw Kim blushing, was beaming as well! He couldn't believe that this might actually work out in his favor. Only four lines to go.

'I am so happy we met, so happy you chose me

I'm a better man than I used to be

I hope you know this one thing, for it is true

You are my heart, and I love you'

Staring at the floor, it dawned on him that claps rang around the room. Even the jocks who were snickering understood if you had a hot girlfriend and she was smiling the way Kim was, you had done something right. Zack seemed very impressed, offering the thumbs up. Jason stared in mute shock, rolled his eyes, and then clapped. Billy saluted him. Trini seemed as if she had tears in her eyes. Bulk made a fart noise. Skull followed suit.

As Tommy stepped aside his eyes remained on Kim. She seemed so very pleased, smiling that killer smile of hers. She was very proud of him. At the end of the day hers was the only opinion that mattered. Yes, he knew his poem was sappy as pancake syrup and wouldn't win any poetry contests unless he was the only entry, but if it garnered him a passing grade and a hot make-out session tonight then he'd endure the guys heckling without a care in the world.

Exhaling at last now that the spotlight was no longer on him, Tommy moved off to the side as the remaining students took their turns. With the exception of two, they were all pretty terrible, though admittedly he was no literary expert. But he assumed his teacher wasn't searching for the worlds next great poet. She was trying to help them learn how to express themselves in a new way, and for a guy like him that struggled to do that, the assignment turned out to be a good idea. He figured he probably needed that. And since he was still making up things to Kim ever since he returned and took the mantle of the White Ranger, the poem was probably a good step in the right direction.

"Thank you to all those brave souls who shared their love with us," Mrs. Copeland applauded her students as the class clapped and laughed. "And to those of you with the rest of the day and evening to prepare, I expect even better poems tomorrow as you will have more time to work on them." Groans all around. "Be good. Class Dismissed.

Enjoying the darling expressions he was receiving from the classes female population, Tommy grabbed his book bag, noting that Kim was waiting for him by the door as the other teens filed out of class. Zack, Billy, and Trini all offered their congrats as they shuttled by. Bulk and Skull, not so much.

They told him it was the most lame poem ever.

"Bro, I hate you," Jason slapped his back while walking by. "My poem is going to suck ass. I don't even know what I'm going to write about yet. PS, you suck!"

"What can I say," Tommy was oh so pleased to reply as they approached the door. "I was inspired."

Jason growled just before Kim nudged him with her elbow. "Trini's pretty inspirational too," the Pink Ranger winked at him.

"Uhm..." A flushed, speechless Red Ranger was a thing to behold.

"Get outta here. I want to talk with my boyfriend alone," Kim politely ordered as Jason sped off, pleased to not have to answer why what she said got to him so much. "As for you, Handsome."

Tommy felt two small hands grab at the front of his shirt, swing him around until he was shoved against a locker, and then the softest lips in the world caressed his as Kim just kissed the living daylights out of him for two minutes straight. She didn't mind one bit that she had to stand on her tipi-toes the whole time.

When the sultry kiss ended his eyes were still shut and his mouth frozen in the kissing state. Was he dreaming? Kim's giggle broke him free of her spell as he quickly stood up straight again, kinda glowing in a non-evil way and grinning from ear to ear. His bashful side made him look away. "I take it you liked the poem?"

Gracing him at first with a flirtatious little head tilt, she ducked away when a faint blush tinged her cheeks. Ever since he returned he made it known she was his top priority, and them being a couple was what he wanted most. But when a guy stands up in front of all his guy friends and the entire class and reads you a love poem he wrote about you, what in the world was a girl supposed to do with that? "I didn't like it, I loved it," she replied, taking the spot beside him as they leaned against the lockers. "I'm shocked you wrote it about me."

Shrugging as if it were no big deal, Tommy tried to appear relaxed and confident. In reality his heart was still racing from their kiss. "I just figured if I was going to be laughed at I might as well do something that will make you smile."

That was sweet... Wait a second, was that too sweet?! Fixing him with a curious smirk, Kim questioned, "Are you sure you're my Tommy and not some new Green Ranger that's less homicidal and more romantic?"

"Nope. I'm just plain old Tommy." And then he quickly amended, "Your Tommy."

"He's pretty spectacular, you know."

That made his heart soar. "I hope you aren't holding out for another poem. I'm only good for one per year."

"Well that was a very good one. Thank you," she noted happily. It felt so good to have all that anxious energy, the doubts, and the veiled comments gone between them. They were finally together, everyone knew it, and that was that. "No one has ever written me a romantic poem before. It was beautiful."

"You're beautiful."

"I knew you were going to say that cause its so obvious."

"I keep it simple, Kim."

"I know. That's why I love you." Tugging his hand in hers, she affectionately drug him off the lockers and down the hall. "I'm so glad I didn't have to read my poem today."

"I'd love to hear it," Tommy teased in her ear.

Feeling he could probably ask for anything short of her virginity today, she reached in her book bag and handed him her note pad. And then began a mental countdown of three... two... one...

"THIS IS ABOUT THOSE NEW HEELS YOU BOUGHT LAST SATURDAY!" Tommy all but shouted incredulously, clearly flabbergasted.

Kim squeezed his hand, his gaze straight ahead. "I really love them. They are made of strappy victory."

Tommy could only shake his head as he tried to wrap his mind around this. "So when you thought about writing your love poem, your new heels was the first thing that came to mind?"

"Not really. The first thing that came to mind was gymnastics. And then my new leather mini-skirt. Oh, and shopping was up there too. I love shopping." She watched him stew quietly beside her as they walked down the hall. He was so cute when he was frustrated. He was of kind hot when he was evil, but she much preferred a non-evil boyfriend. "I tried to write about my Crane Zord too. But not much rhymes with Zord."

"I am so mad at you."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Why?"

"Cause when I thought of love I thought of you."

"As you should." When he scowled at her she swatted his shoulder. "Honey, I love you. But I am not going to write a poem about you. But what I will do is wear those sexy heels and that little leather mini-skirt I just bought, and then fly us someplace quiet in the mountains in my Crane Zord. And when we get there I will crawl into your lap and kiss you senseless. Now how does that sound?"

He tried so hard not to smile. "... pretty wonderful."

"Exactly." Kim stalled them at the staircase, and then pointed to the clock on the wall. "I have study hall right now, so i can be late. You have Algebra. So you need to run."

Realizing he was fifteen minutes late to class, Tommy groaned. "Crap!" Quickly he bent down to kiss once more. "I hate poetry. But I do so love you."

"Eh, you just want to have sex with me."

"God yes!"

"Go to class you nut." She smacked his behind to send him on his way. He was smiling and happy and so was she. And when he wasn't looking she stole the poem he wrote. She intended to keep it and read it in bed again tonight and maybe swoon a little.

Poetry wasn't so bad at all.

The End