Just So You Know by bBsya-aJa

A/N: A one-piece songfic to Jesse McCartney's 'Just So You Know'. A chorus has been left out due to unnecessary repetition. Enjoy!

I shouldn't love you but I want to
I just can't turn away

It was a love triangle that Hunter knew had never happened before in the history of Power Rangers. But he couldn't help it, even though he knew his was a pathetic one-sided love while his brother's own feelings for Tori was returned, however unsure and weak it was.

I shouldn't see you but I can't move
I can't look away

Seeing her; just looking at her, drove him crazy every time. It paralyzed his every muscle, every nerve so that he was frozen to the spot and yet his heart quickened to a pace near impossible for a normal human being.

I shouldn't love you but I want to
I just can't turn away

No, he shouldn't have loved her but it was difficult not to have any kind of more-than-friends feelings for her. Even Dustin had admitted to having a slight crush on the blonde Ranger despite their frequent arguments.

I shouldn't see you but I can't move
I can't look away

Blake had trusted him with taking care of Tori for him while he rode for Factory Blue for two years before he would decide if he wanted to renew his contract. Before that, he promised to come back to Blue Bay Harbour to check up on things and see if Tori still wanted him. Having sudden feelings for her was uncalled for.

And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not
'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop
Just so you know
This feeling's taking control of me

The 'feeling' he knew he was supposed to stop didn't and he didn't try more than twice at ending it. Being near her and having himself as her new confidante, her link to Blake while he was away was euphoric and addictive enough that he almost didn't mind if she would kick him aside once Blake came back. It was the point of no return and Hunter knew it: he just didn't mind not returning.

And I can't help it
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now

But he did let Blake win. Hunter, being the good, sacrificing older brother as he had always been, gave up a fight he never started.

I've tried my best to let go of you
But I don't want to
I just gotta say it all
Before I go
Just so you know

He had tried to leave once, just tried to run away from his life, Tori, Blake, Blue Bay Harbour, his team… Tori. He turned and tossed in his sleep the night he realized he had a little something more for her.

It's getting hard to be around you
There's so much I can't say

Trying to speak to her was more difficult than Hunter could have imagined. Not only did his throat get stuck but it took him a lifetime to pick his words right and by then, the moment would have passed and he kept his tongue. Even Blake started to get apprehensive as his behaviour began to change; avoiding the rest of the Ninja Rangers though he would never have suspected that it had something to do with Tori.

Do you want me to hide the feelings
And look the other way

It wasn't just Blake as time passed; Tori started to notice the way he would tense up whenever her eyes even so much as looked in his direction. As for conversations between the team, Hunter would rarely speak except when he was with the guys only.

And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not
'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop

His feelings for her had gotten in the middle of things; he worried constantly when they were fighting the monsters Lothor had sent. Every blow she had taken had had twice an effect on his heart. He ached to think of how much better off Tori would have been if she had not been caught up in the middle of this mess along with her fellow Rangers. He wished she was normal; then maybe they would have never met and his life wouldn't be so screwed.

This emptiness is killing me
And I'm wondering why I've waited so long

Why did he wait for Blake to announce his feelings first? Would he have been on the receiving end of Tori's affection if he had proclaimed his affection for her before Blake had? Or would it have been no different anyway because Tori had always, always been interested in his younger brother?

Looking back I realize
It was always there just never spoken

Yes, his chance had always been there; he had just never taken it. Blake had; he had taken the initiative and it made him the winner he was now; grand champion of the International Motocross Competition, the apple of Factory Blue's eye – and Tori's – and now about to be married to the love of his life.

I'm waiting here...been waiting here.

Maybe it is a good thing I waited, Hunter thought. Tori's happy, Blake's happy. Heck, Shane, Dustin, Cam and Sensei are happy. If I had gotten to Tori first… so many things would change. I guess my part in this love story ends today.

Just so you know
This feeling's taking control of me
And I can't help it
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now
Thought you should know
I've tried my best to let go of you
But I don't want to
I just gotta say it all
Before I go

Just so you know…

-

Hunter stared at the familiar landscape before him though the clear window. Blue Bay Harbour. He was here; he was really here. And today the fate of three warriors would be determined; two of them would say their 'I do's' and the last one would just look on in misery and despair. Hunter pressed his lips together as a tear escaped him and he swore not to let his brother see him like this. He had come home to witness Blake's Big Day and he would not ruin it with tears and regrets.

As Tori, radiant and indescribably beautiful in her wedding gown, walked down the aisle with Mr. Hanson by her side, Hunter felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder gently. He turned to see Sensei Watanabe, understanding and compassion dawning in his kind eyes.

"Your sacrifice, although unknown to Blake and Tori, Hunter, is much appreciated." Sensei told him later on.

Hunter only choked back a sob. "I just wish she'd known." He gasped out before giving in to his sorrow.

Just so you know…

THE END