Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made.
Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:
No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - Prom Night - A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves
The girlfriend's parents were always scary, but these weren't his girlfriend's parents. Emma was upstairs getting ready for their first day since he had come back, and he was stuck in the living room, on the couch, with Gia and her parents.
He was terrified. Gia was tough – he knew that already. There was no forgetting that Gia Moran was considered the hottest and toughest girl in all of Harwood County. However, when it came to Emma, she was just a puppy compared to her parents.
A scared, adorable, harmless puppy.
But even puppies had teeth.
"Why are you sweating?" she asked, seeing the little beads of sweat on his forehead. Jordan shrugged his shoulder and tried to pretend the sweat wasn't there or at least that it wasn't as bad as it felt to him.
"I'm kind of warm," he tugged on the collar of his shirt. "It's not as warm upstate as it is down here."
"Sure," Gia raised an eyebrow and then she got up and left. Jordan couldn't believe it. Suddenly, he didn't feel anywhere near as safe as he did with Gia. Her parent's expression changed. They were completely different.
"So," Mr. Moran crossed his arms over his chest, "Let me get this straight, boy. My daughter comes to you, begging you remember her…"
Jordan tried to hide his confused frown. He remembered enough to know that Emma lived with the Morans. He remembered she had been taken into their home when her parents left her. He knew it had been a while since he had left. He knew Gia and Emma had been friends for a long time.
But daughter?
He didn't ask. He was the one being interrogated. He wasn't to interrogate.
Mr. Moran continued, "You tell her you know her, you like her, and then dump her. Now, you've come back, you say you know enough to remember her and want to continue the relationship you don't remember much about?"
"I… uh…"
"You know, boys don't have a good reputation around here," Mr. Moran said. "I'll be damned if anything happens to either of my girls. And if you've got anything to do with a single tear she sheds, I'm going to make you wish you never stepped foot in this town."
Jordan licked his lips. They and the rest of his mouth were dry. He was so nervous that he had water where he didn't need it and none where he did.
"I know it's not perfect," he said. "Believe me, sir, I wish I could remember more. But Emma's really important…"
"Yep."
"I don't have any intention to hurt her. I do like her a lot. A friend of ours, Troy, he… he gave me this picture," Jordan pulled out the picture from his pocket of himself and Emma, "The more time I spent away, the more I found myself staring at this picture. It's triggered something in my memories because I remember how much Emma means to me."
"We just want to be sure," Mrs. Moran said. Her voice was softer. Jordan wasn't sure if that scared him any less. It was dangerous in its own way. "The girls are finally in a good place. We want to keep it there. We don't think you're a bad guy, Jordan, but Emma's heart is still pretty bruised from everything that's happened in the last few months. She hasn't let you go, Jordan, not once. If this happens… you're going to have a lot of power over her."
"I won't abuse it," Jordan promised both the parents. "I really, really care about her. I know that and I know it's not enough, but it's a start. I came all this way to try and save what I messed up."
Mrs. Moran nodded then turned to her husband, "He was a good kid and Emma's no idiot."
"Neither is Gia."
"Emma was Gia's strength. We've got to trust her. He's being honest."
"Then why is he sweating?"
Jordan licked his lips again. He knew Gia had set him up with that question.
"You're scaring the poor boy."
"Are you ready?" it was Emma's voice. Finally, someone had come to help him. He got up from the couch and turned to see Emma was ready for their date in the park. He had to wonder what had taken her so long; he was sure Gia had something to do with it.
"Hold on, young man," Mr. Moran called. Emma groaned loudly at the delay.
"Joe, we're going to be late…"
"The park will be there is five minutes. I still have some questions…"
"He's fine! He'll have me home before curfew. He's got no bad intentions. C'mon, Jordan."
Emma tugged on his hand to lead him out, and Jordan made it obvious that she was taking him away by hesitating slightly. He didn't want to appear eager to leave, even though he was.
But then Emma had to put on her boots. Gia was waiting in the hallway and she was standing in front of the door. It seemed the line of protective Morans was never going to end. Jordan begin to wonder if they had a dog. What else could possibly get in his way?
To make matters worse, Gia was dressed for mountain boarding. She was covered from top to bottom in protective gear. And, Jordan knew she was a Power Ranger. She could kick his butt and if he was lucky enough to get a fist in, the protective gear would keep it from doing much damage – if any.
"You know I won't be going with you," Gia started. Emma looked up as she slipped on her boots.
"Gia…"
"But I will be watching," Gia said to Jordan, "You do anything, and I swear I'll…"
"You seriously need a new family hobby," Emma muttered as she pushed Gia away from the door, "Can't you three go torture Jake or some other innocent teenage boy?"
Gia looked over to her parents. The three of them smiled before they shook their heads and answered all at once.
"No."
Emma sighed. She turned to Jordan and grabbed his arm, "They rehearsed that and paid me twenty bucks to ask that question."
"Really?"
"Each," Emma pulled three twenty dollar bills out of her pocket and then grabbed his arm, "Dinner's on me."
She pulled Jordan out the door. Finally, he was free from the first date interrogation.
Inside the house, Mr. Moran wrapped his arms around his wife and his daughter once the door was closed. He gave them each a kiss on the cheek.
"We should do this more often."
"Family hobbies?" Gia laughed. "Or scaring Jordan? Please be the second…"
"Family hobbies," Mrs. Moran shot a very soft frown her daughter's way. Then she reached down and picked up her daughter's mountain board, "Are you actually going out?"
"Might as well. I'm all dressed up," Gia nodded. "I'll see if Jake wants to come along."
"You know," Mr. Moran smiled as he turned to his wife and then back to Gia, "Why don't you show your mother and I what mountain boarding actually is."
"I… yeah," Gia's smiled brightly. "I'm not that good yet."
"Doesn't matter. I want to see what all this fuss is about," Mrs. Moran said. "Just give us a minute to get ready and we'll drive up to the mountain."
Outside the house, just by the window at the very front, Emma pulled Jordan away and then smiled at him.
"See, they just want to scare you."
"I'm not convinced," Jordan peeked through the window again, "They were really, really scary."
"You don't remember why? They do have a pretty good reason?"
"They mentioned some stuff," Jordan shrugged his shoulders, "But I couldn't figure it out, and I don't remember anything about bad boyfriends."
"You're in for a shock. You've missed a lot, and not just because you've forgotten. A lot has happened since you left."
"I'm sure you'll fill me in," Jordan said with a smile before he leaned in and gave Emma a kiss. Then he took her arm and started to walk with her down the driveway. "So, dinner's on you?"
"On the Morans," Emma pat her pocket with the sixty dollars inside.
