Snooping Rangers
The blue and green rangers had started losing their morale rapidly. They were making this poetry ordeal a much bigger deal than it was supposed to be. Antonio's thundering snores taunted them to sink into sleep as the seconds passed by as minutes and the minutes evolved into hours. Jayden joined them shortly afterwards, persuading them to turn in for the night and go back to their contemplations the next day. As they attempted to enter the Shiba house with heads faced down and hearts heavy with disappointment, a voice startled them.
"Attraction is a funny thing."
The boys stopped. It was Lauren's voice.
On the other side of the front door, Mia and Emily glanced at Lauren for a brief moment. Lauren, however, widened her smile when she noticed the boys' footsteps suddenly stop after getting so close to the door. She vaguely heard the porch creaking tensely from the boys' weight.
Yep, they were eavesdropping.
"Why do you say that?"
Mia's voice, Kevin noted.
Lauren sighed, keeping her eyes on the door. She raised her voice purposely. "You never know when you'll fall for a guy."
Mike stopped Kevin and Jayden from setting their feet inside the house and pulled the blue and red rangers to the side. "Girl talk," he whispered.
As much as Mia's voice caught Kevin's attention, the blue ranger sighed wearily. "No, Mike, we're not going to-"
"Oh be quiet, Kev. This is our chance for some inspiration."
Jayden tried his best to hide his smirk. "It's not polite to eavesdrop."
"Who said I was polite?" Mike remarked quietly.
Though Kevin definitely didn't feel comfortable in overhearing the girls, he felt a part of him telling him to stay put and possibly listen to what the pink ranger has to say. What if she talked about him?
"I've always had a question for the two of you," Lauren said to the girls.
Mia played with her fingers, trying to seem dismissive of the idea. Emily's curls fell naturally over her face and blocked her blushing cheeks. Kevin and Mike, meanwhile, straightened up and leaned close to the door.
"How did you two fall for them?"
Mike and Kevin felt chills running down their spines. Jayden couldn't help leaning against the door, trying to hear as well. Mia and Emily grew tense and gave each other brief looks of curiosity.
"My brother doesn't hide anything from me," the female red told the girls smilingly. "He didn't hide your love stories, either."
The blue and green glanced at Jayden. The leader grinned in fake innocence and a slight degree of mockery.
"This isn't right guys," Kevin began as he started walking away to the other side of the house. "I don't see the point-"
"Mia, how did you fall for Kevin?" The female red glanced back at the door, raising her voice again. "Is he really that good looking?"
The blue samurai halted in his tracks. Lauren glanced at the front door, noticing the guys' fidgeting grow still.
"I mean, for almost two years- starting from the moment he first tasted your cooking- he had been lying to you with the others about your cooking. I heard it was his idea to hide the truth from you in the first place."
It didn't even take Kevin a second to immediately rub his ear against the door to hear more. His eyes grew as wide as the globe.
Jayden covered his smile with his hand. Perfect timing, sis, he thought.
Mia hugged her knees to her chest and shrugged. "When I found out… I honestly didn't see anything wrong with it. I thought it was really sweet."
Kevin's lips curved upward.
"Sweet? He has been deceiving you all this time." She couldn't resist speaking louder. "Any girl would want someone who tells her the truth than someone who makes her a fool in front of others."
Emily felt nervous and slightly guilty. She was one of those who played along, too. Kevin's smile melted.
Mike snickered at the poor blue. "She got you good, Kevvy."
Jayden cleared his throat. I guess my sister's being too harsh.
"I never felt like a fool," Mia said lightheartedly. "You know… when I first realized how everyone felt about my cooking… I felt like I was the most loved person on the planet. It was really sweet how everyone tried to hide it from me since I was really sensitive."
Kevin's eyes softened.
"It was especially sweet how Kevin complained the least about my cooking and tried my cooking the most. I feel bad for him." She laughed. "I must have tortured him with my experiments."
Kevin chuckled, pressing his ear closer to the door.
"So, I'm going to the culinary academy in two weeks. That way, I can cook something nice for him for once."
Kevin smiled more widely and proudly this time. He felt invincible and jeered at Mike for his previous comment.
"You know," Mia's eyes sparkled as she spoke, "Kevin may think I'm sensitive. But I know he's sensitive, too, when it comes to expressing his feelings."
"But he's definitely naïve," Lauren said. "He still acts like he is dignified and has nothing to do with the romance going on in the Shiba house. It's obvious he likes you in a much different way than he likes the team."
The blue samurai turned away, twiddling with his thumbs. The girls were right, after all.
"And as far as looks go…" Mia blushed when she remembered the first time she met him and how he thought she was the red ranger. "He's…easy on the eyes…"
His cheeks grew warm. Mike nudged him teasingly. Jayden folded his arms, enjoying the guys' reactions.
"Oooh," Emily smiled. "Maybe a little too easy, Mia?"
The pink ranger's face turned the shade of her ranger color.
"It's not like you're off the hook, either, Emily," Lauren said. "Mia may have a reason, but what I don't understand is how you even felt that way about Mike to begin with."
Mike frowned. "Don't tell me she's rooting for me next."
Emily pushed back her curls nervously. "I-"
"It's not easy for a girl to like someone who comments on her weakness really rashly. You know, that whole Negatron incident?"
Mike's expression was horrified. "I'm not rash-mmph!"
"Quiet!" Kevin said, placing his hand over Mike's mouth to silence his yells.
Lauren had to try her best to contain her amusement. She could practically imagine Mike squirming in frustration. "Well, Emily? How was Mike attractive?"
"Ah, Mike," Jayden said, placing one arm over the green ranger's shoulders. "Let's see how you're justified."
Mike glanced at the leader. "You're having way too much Jayden."
"I know."
The yellow ranger smiled widely. "Mike may have been a little curious-"
"Rash, you mean."
Again the green ranger squirmed. "I wasn't rash," he murmured.
"But in all seriousness… he was right." The yellow ranger shrugged. "He was the first person other than my sister that I actually talked to about my childhood."
That certainly made Mike feel special.
"And it's hard not to like Mike," Emily added. "He's funny, fun to be around, and hardworking when he needs to be."
The green leaned his head against Kevin's shoulder and sighed dreamily.
"I don't know about all of this." Lauren playfully rolled her eyes. "But I can tell both of you seem confident."
"It's hard not to trust someone like Kevin," Mia stated. "Only we would know how many times we dreamed of having our normal lives again."
"And even though Mike seems to be much of a rebel, he's really not that bad. Plus, it's obvious that he likes me."
Mike rubbed the back of his neck and hid his bashful expression by pretending to be occupied by something on the ground.
"And I do admit it..." the yellow ranger blushed like crazy. "He's quite attractive."
Mike tried not to feel gushy. Kevin simply laughed.
Jayden noticed the boys' struggles to remain quiet for a little longer and cleared his throat sternly. "Let's go guys. It's already getting late."
"But they're not done yet," Mike said, leaning further against the door. "What if…"
As fate would have it, the door suddenly flew open by Mike's weight. The green ranger yelped and tumbled downward next to the girls, Kevin following suit from the shock. Mia, Lauren, and Emily shrieked simultaneously as Kevin tried to hide himself from Mia's view. Jayden facepalmed but couldn't help giving his sister a smirk.
"That was a truly graceful entrance," Lauren said sarcastically. "These are your men, ladies. The one day Mentor's not home and they decide to sneak up on us."
Mia and Emily were flustered as it is, but they grew even more agitated as the boys laughed nervously.
"Looks like you guys were quite inspired," Jayden told the boys mischievously.
Mike glanced at Kevin wearily. "We have a lot of explaining to do, don't we?"
"No doubt about it."
