Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all characters therein belong to Disney.

Note: Continuation of "Denial"

Summary: Chip's uncle is out of town, leaving Chip alone in the house……teen+guardian out of town+a friend like Xander equals PARTY! The party is underway when Madison is forced to face the very thing she's been so busy denying.

2nd note: Sorry for the extreme length……the muses just grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go, lol.

3rd note: Put in some Chip/Vida-ness in there for you guys as well. :-D

Game

After Chip, Vida, Nick and Madison finished setting the house up for the party, the four of them just sat in the living room, awaiting the crowd. Vida had emptied out the numerous bags of snacks she and Madison had brought into bowls and set them about the house.

"I can't believe I let Xander talk me into this……….And he didn't even show up to help," Chip groaned. Vida rolled her eyes.

"Chip, will you stop griping about that? Yeah, it sucks that you let Xander talk you into doing this, but what done is done, no amount of living in the past is going to change that," Chip frowned and slumped back on the couch. Vida sighed and patted her friend's arm. "It'll be fun," she told him. Madison got up and went to the table where she and Vida had set up the drinks and grabbed a plastic cup. Nick got up and followed her. Madison was a little surprised when she saw his hand reach around her as he grabbed a plastic cup.

"Sorry," he said as he poured himself some soda.

"Its okay," she told him. After Nick poured himself the soda, he held the bottle out to her, indicating he'd pour her some. Madison smiled and held her cup out. Back on the couch, Chip and Vida watched as Nick tipped the bottle and filled Madison's cup, both very amused.

"Never fear all, Xander is here!" Came a voice from the foyer as the front door opened and closed. Everyone rolled their eyes.

---

Within an hour, nearly half of the student body showed up at Chip's house. The only thing that kept the living room from being a madhouse was the fact that many were in the basement enjoying the music. Xander was sitting on one of the couches with two girls, trying to put "Plan Xander" into effect. By the sounds of the two giggling girls, it seemed to be working. Chip was running about the house, making sure no one stained the carpet or broke the windows. Vida was downstairs tending to the music. Nick was wandering about the party, engaging in idle chit chat with other guests and Madison was walking about, helping Chip by being a dutiful hostess—refilling the snack bowls, offering to refresh people's drinks. At one point during the party, Madison found herself refilling the pretzel bowl. She cast her gaze across the living room and saw Nick leaning against the wall. He caught her gaze and gave her a big smile which Madison returned.

"Nick, there you are!" Came a voice, causing both teens to break their eye contact and look at the source of the voice. There stood Andrea Gravaldi, a classmate of theirs who had made her interest in Nick pretty well known to all. She made Leelee's advances to Nick seem demure and shy.

"Andrea…….hey……" Nick replied, trying to keep his cringe hidden.

"How are you?" She asked, situating herself against the wall in a way that her body was pressed up against his. Madison watched them. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous as she watched Andrea flip her curly red hair over her shoulder flirtatiously.

"Great……just great……." Nick said. He sighed and looked over Andrea's shoulder, catching Madison's gaze again. 'Help me' he mouthed to her. Madison couldn't help smile at that, realizing that Nick had no intention of giving into Andrea's advances. She set down the bag of pretzels and made her way over to them.

"So, Nick, want to dance?" Andrea asked.

"Uh…." Nick said, trying to think of a nice way to turn her down, he gave a sigh of relief when he saw Madison come up to them.

"Hey Nick, want to dance?" Madison said. Andrea glared at Madison.

"Excuse me; do you not see me standing here?" She snapped.

"Uh, sorry Andrea, I sort of already promised Madison a dance," he said quickly, stepping away from her. Andrea frowned as her glare intensified.

"Whatever," she spat out as she walked away. Madison and Nick looked at each other and laughed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said. Madison giggled.

"No problem," she said. The two of them stood there staring at each other for a while.

"Whoo!" Someone yelled as a bunch of party attendants rushed about the living room, playing what looked like a game of football with one of the throw pillows. One of the players bumped into Madison, knocking her into Nick.

"Whoa," she muttered as her hands instinctively went to Nick's shoulders to steady herself. Nick grabbed a hold of her waist as he felt her fall against him. Madison slowly looked up at Nick as he helped her regain her balance. "Thanks.." she said softly. Nick nodded.

"No problem," he said. He blinked and looked over to the group that had rushed past them. He saw Chip trying to get them to stop. "I should probably go help Chip," Nick said. Madison nodded.

"Yeah, I should get back to refilling the snack bowls," Madison said. She slowly pulled her hands off his shoulders as Nick let go of her waist. "So, I guess I'll see you around," she said. Nick nodded. Madison turned around and went back to the snack table. After a while, Chip, with Nick's help, was able to calm down the rowdy jocks and order was restored to the party.

"Thanks, Nick," Chip said. Nick smiled at his friend.

"No problem man," he said. He looked over Chip's head and scanned the living room.

"Looking for someone?" Chip asked.

"Uh no……Just wondering where Madison went off to," Nick said. Chip smirked. Really, now? He thought to himself.

"I think she went downstairs," Chip told him. Nick looked at him.

"Thanks, man," Nick said as he made his way to the basement. Chip laughed and shook his head.

"So obvious," he muttered. His thought was cut off by the sound of something breaking in the distance. He looked over and saw that someone had knocked over one of the ceramic knick knacks he had forgotten to put away. "HEY!" He exclaimed as he went over to the culprit.

----

As Nick entered the basement, he was greeted by the heavy pulsating beats coming from Vida's equipment. He saw couples dancing together to the music, some dancing innocently and some grinding together and holding each other so close, it was hard to say where one person began and the other ended. Nick scanned the room and smiled at the sight of Madison. She was standing near the equipment, swaying to the music. She put her arms in the air and closed her eyes as she rocked to the beat that her sister was providing. Nick was mesmerized by her movements. Without realizing it, he felt himself walking towards her, sidestepping the dancing people. He finally reached her and simply stood there, watching her. Vida caught sight of this and simply smiled at how oblivious Madison was.

"How about that dance?" Nick finally said close to Madison's ear. Madison jumped a bit and spun around.

"Nick! You scared me!" She exclaimed.

"Sorry," he said. "So, dance?" He asked. Madison stared at him.

"Oh…….I thought………..I mean………..Andrea………I……" she stopped and took a deep breath. "Sure," she said. Nick smiled and took her hand, leading her to a spot on the dance floor. Vida grinned at the sight of this as she shut off the heavy dance music and put on a slow song. Madison eyes widened as she cast a look at her sister. 'I'm going to kill you!' Madison mouthed to her. Vida's grin only got bigger as she gave her an innocent shrug.

"You okay?" Nick asked. Madison looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Nick took hold of her waist as Madison put her arms around his shoulders. They slowly swayed to the music together. Nick gazed down at her. Madison couldn't bring herself to look at him. Her nervous feelings made her look down at their unmoving feet.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nick asked.

"Mmmhmm, I'm fine……." Madison assured him. As the song continued, Nick's hands went around her waist, pulling her closer to him. This surprised her as she looked up at him with wide eyes before she just let herself sink into the moment. She got closer to him and rested her head against his chest. The song played on for a few more minutes with the two of them gripped in its spell. Soon, much too soon for either of their liking, the song ended and Vida turned the dance music back on. Madison slowly lifted her head off of Nick's chest. The two of the stared into each others eyes for a while.

"Maddie……I……" Nick began, his breath tickling Madison's lips.

"Yeah?" Madison asked. Before Nick could respond, he felt a hand clamp down on his arm and tug him backwards. Madison and Nick blinked and looked over to see Andrea standing there with an expectant look on her face.

"My turn, right?" She asked. Madison and Nick looked at each other. Nick looked back at Andrea.

"I………"

"Good," she said with a smile that reached both her ears. She practically shoved Madison away from Nick. Madison stumbled backwards as Andrea hooked her arm around Nick's neck and began dancing with him, her hips grinding into his. Nick, still reeling from his moment with Madison and the fast change of partners was slow to react to this as he just stood there and let Andrea move into him. Madison cast a look over at Vida before quickly leaving the basement.

"Maddie!" Vida called out to her, even though she knew there's no way Madison would hear her over the loud music. Vida let the song play on as she left the basement in search of her sister. Vida came out to the living room where she found Xander and Chip arguing.

"Why the heck did you have to tell so many people?" Chip yelled at Xander.

"I don't get why you're getting so upset, mate, I've just elevated your social status."

"I was perfectly fine with my social status!" Chip yelled.

"Hey!" Vida yelled, barging into the argument before either could say something they'd regret later.

"What?" Chip and Xander both yelled at her, both in the grips of their argument. "Uh, sorry," Chip quickly amended.

"Yeah, sorry, V," Xander said. "What's up?"

"Have you guys seen Maddie?"

"Yeah, she wanted to go to the bathroom but the line was too long, so I let her go use the one upstairs," Chip said. The 2nd story of the house had been deemed off limits for the party, since that's where his uncle's bedroom was, but of course, Chip made an exception for Madison.

"Thanks," Vida said before going upstairs. Vida stood in the dark upstairs hallway, trying to navigate herself through it to find her sister. She finally saw a sliver of light coming from a partially opened doorway. She walked towards the light and walked through the door where she saw Madison sitting on the edge of a bathtub with her head down, small whimpering whining sobs coming from her mouth. "Oh, Maddie," Vida whispered, closing the door behind her. She sat on the toilet seat next to Madison and put a hand on her sister's leg.

"I'm fine…….I just…….My ears hurt from the loud music," Madison said, lying unsuccessfully.

"No, Madison, you're not fine," Vida said. She sighed and pulled her sister into a hug. "I'm sorry," she told her.

"I thought maybe………..maybe he might……" Madison began, her voice trailing off. Vida rubbed her back.

"I know, I know," she said. Madison sobbed against Vida's shoulder for a long while as Vida whispered comforting words to her.

----

After a few hours, the party had begun to calm down as people started to leave since the music had died down because of Vida comforting her sister in the bathroom. Nick had managed to ditch Andrea and was now simply playing referee between Chip and Xander, who were still arguing.

"Guys, come on, you've been friends for years. Don't let something like this come between you two," Nick sighed.

"Don't look at me, he's the one taking advantage of me and my house," Chip spat out. Xander stared at Chip with wide eyes.

"Taking advantage of you? Chip, don't tell me you honestly think that," Xander asked, horrified that Chip would think such a thing.

"Well, do you see this party going on at your house?" Chip asked. Xander sighed.

"You're right," he said. "I'm sorry," he said. He shrugged. "My reckless teenager brain just flared up at the mention of your uncle going away for the weekend," he put a hand on Chip's shoulder. "I promise, I'll help you clean up after everyone's gone." Chip raised an eyebrow.

"Help?" Chip asked.

"……Okay, I promise I'll do all the cleaning…" Xander amended. Chip laughed and nodded, all was forgiven.

"Damn," Nick muttered as he caught sight of Andrea searching the room for him. He gave Chip a pleading look. "Man, please tell me there's someway I can hide from her," he begged.

"I got it covered," Xander said, taking Nick by the arm and leading him away. Chip watched as Xander took Nick to Chip's room and had him go into the room before shutting the door and standing near it nonchalantly, obviously playing Nick's look out.

"Hey, Chip," came a voice. Chip turned around to see Vida standing behind him.

"Hey," he said.

"Do you think my stuff will be safe here for the night? Maddie's not feeling too great so we're just going to head home,"

"What's wrong with her? Was it the dip? I KNEW that guacamole smelled weird," Chip said, afraid he had somehow poisoned his friend, not to mention the party guests. Vida laughed.

"No, no, the guacamole is fine. It's……..A little hard to explain," Chip gave her a look that pleaded for her to tell him. He was worried about Madison. Vida took a deep breath and told him about what had happened in the basement. Chip looked at her.

"But…Nick doesn't like Andrea," he told her.

"He doesn't?"

"Well, if he did, then him hiding from her in my room is just plain weird……well, weirder." Vida laughed.

"So, what do we do?" She asked. Chip dawned a thoughtful expression.

"That depends,"

"On?"

"How desperate we are to get these two together," Chip said.

"What are you thinking, Chip Thorn?" She asked.

"Remember the summer before eighth grade?" He asked.

----

"Vida, I really want to just go home," Madison pleaded as Vida led her down the stairs to the living room.

"I know, Mads, but Chip practically begged me to stay. He really wants us all to stick around until all the crazies depart," she said. Madison sighed.

"Okay," she said. The two of them sat down in the living room. Little did Madison know that Vida and Chip had formed a plan……It wasn't a very good plan, in Vida's mind. Actually it had several characteristics of a very stupid plan, but it was better than nothing. Chip had informed Xander of the goings on in hopes of having another person involved who could run interference with Andrea. Xander also had thought the idea lived in the realm of the stupid, but seeing as he had just gotten on good terms with Chip, he wasn't about to risk hurting his friend's feelings. After a while, the few remaining party guests congregated in the living room. Xander was able to get Nick out Chip's room and the two of them, including Chip, joined everyone else in the living room. By the time Nick got to the living room, most of the couches and seats were occupied, so he simply sat on the floor. Vida, Chip and Xander all shared a look as Chip sat on one of the armchairs and Xander went to the drink table.

"Anyone up for some spin the bottle?" Xander asked as he returned with a bottle of Pepsi that still had about 1/3 of liquid left in it.

"What?" Nick asked, a little surprised.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Xander cajoled. The other guests seemed to be okay with this as they all voiced their agreements.

"Wow, I haven't played this since I was thirteen," Madison muttered. She tilted her head to the side as the memory became clear in her mind. "Vida, remember when you and Chip had to kiss?" She said, giggling at the memory. The two of them looked so awkward together. Chip had yet to go through a grow spurt and Vida was already rather tall so she practically towered over the young red haired boy, not to mention the fact that it had been both of their first kiss.

"Chip and Vida kissing, really?" Xander asked, intrigued.

"It was just a game," Vida snapped lightly, seriously beginning to wonder why she agreed to this plan.

"Oooh, spin the bottle, fun" Came Andrea's voice as she walked into the living room. Madison's smile disappeared as she looked down. Andrea made her way to sit on the floor next to Nick.

"Uh, Andrea, here," Chip said, standing up quickly, trying to give her his seat.

"Oh, no that's fine," she said as she went to sit down. Chip grabbed her arm.

"Really, I insist," Chip urged.

"Okay………Fine……." She said as she went to sit in the newly vacant arm chair. "Weirdo," she muttered. Chip rolled his eyes. Nice girl, he thought sarcastically as he sat down on the floor.

"All right then," Xander said as he set the bottle in the middle of the circle that had formed and gave it a spin, officially starting the game. The game went on for a while with everyone whooping and laughing whenever people had to kiss. About twenty minutes into the game Susan Lords had just finished kissing Xander when it was her turn to spin the bottle. It landed on Chip and the two kissed. Chip then took his turn and was surprised to see it land on Vida. Everyone laughed uproariously at that.

"I'm suddenly having a flashback to the age of thirteen," Vida joked as the two joined for a kiss. Unlike the simple peck Chip and Susan shared, the kiss lasted a little longer before the two separated. Once it ended, Vida cleared her throat. "Well, that was different," she muttered. Chip simply sat down on the couch as Vida took her turn at the bottle. The game went on. "When exactly is your plan going to take effect? I mean, unless your plan was to see how many girls Xander could kiss in the period of one game, it isn't working," Vida whispered to Chip.

"I was thinking of general probability," Chip replied. "I mean, I thought the bottle would've landed on one of them by now,"

"Just so you know, this was a stupid plan," Vida said. Chip rolled his eyes.

"Looks like it's my turn again," Xander announced. He gave the bottle a spin. "And the next lucky lady is……." His voice trailed off as the bottle pointed at Nick. "…….Nick?"

"Uh, sorry man, I just like you as a friend," Nick laughed.

"Ha-ha," Xander said dryly.

"Your lips need a rest anyway, Bly," one of the party guest joked.

"Yeah, let's just let Nick go," another said. Xander shrugged.

"Fine by me," he said. Nick rolled his eyes and gave the bottle a spin.

"My plan is not a stupid plan," Chip whispered to Vida as the bottle began to rotate around the room.

"We'll see," Vida replied. The bottle slowed to a stop as it neared Andrea. Andrea grinned as she saw this. "And that is evidence of a stupid plan," Vida hissed. Madison saw the bottle about to stop on Andrea. Watching Nick and Andrea kiss was something she just couldn't do. Madison's eyes narrowed as she focused on the liquid inside the bottle. The liquid shifted against the side of the bottle, forcing the plastic thing to continue its rotation, causing Andrea to frown. Vida's eyes widened and she leaned towards Madison.

"I saw that," she whispered to her sister.

"Saw what?" Madison asked. Vida chuckled and sat back on the couch. The bottle finally came to a stop in front of Madison. "Oh," she breathed out. All she had cared about was keeping the bottle from pointing at Andrea. She never thought the bottle would point to her. Nick stared at Madison for a long while, surprised the bottle had actually landed on her.

"Well? Are you just going to sit there all night?" Xander urged. Nick closed his eyes and slowly got up from his spot on the floor.

"I think there's something wrong with that bottle," Andrea muttered. Nick walked over to where Madison sat on the couch and gently took hold of her hand, guiding her to her feet. Madison stood up in front of him, feeling nervous and awkward. Nick cupped her face with his hands. Madison closed her eyes as Nick drew closer to her. Nick is about to kiss me…………..I'm about to be kissed by Nick…………..Because of a stupid bottle………that I tampered with………..in front of everyone…………. Madison's insides began to churn as she realized that this was not how she wanted Nick to kiss her.

"I can't," she said just as Nick's lips were about to connect with hers. Madison opened her eyes and gently pulled Nick's hands off her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered before practically sprinting out of the house.

"Maddie...wait……" Nick called after her as he followed.

"Stupid plan, very stupid plan!" Vida hissed at Chip.

-------

Madison walked out of Chip's house and stopped, realizing that Vida was the one who had the keys to the car and she had no intention of going back inside that house. Madison sighed and walked to Chip's backyard. She groaned as she flopped down on one of the swings located in the back yard. She remembered playing on the swing set with Chip and Vida when they were kids. To this day, she still found it funny that Chip's uncle had yet to dismember it. Then again, she thought to herself, this is Chip we're talking about. Madison sighed and gripped the chains of the swing as she started to pump herself on it, trying to do anything she could to forget about her embarrassing moment. She focused on the ground moving beneath her and let her mind wander.

Nick walked out of Chip's house and looked around the front yard, searching for Madison. He heard the squeaking of a swing coming from the backyard and made his way there, hoping she hadn't gone too far and was just sitting in the backyard. Nick's hopes were confirmed as he saw her swinging back and forth, the moonlight illuminating her. He walked over to the swing set and simply stood nearby as she seemed to be oblivious to him.

"Maddie?" He asked. Madison had indeed been oblivious to him as his voice startled her. Her foot jammed into the ground, stopping the swing short and causing her body to lurch forward. Madison shrieked as she hit the ground. "Oh my god, Madison," Nick fretted as he quickly went to her side. Madison groaned and pushed herself up to a sitting position. What am I, cosmically cursed! She thought to herself. Nick kneeled beside her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Mmmhmm," she said. "Just…….unbelievably embarrassed," she muttered.

"I'm really sorry," Nick said. Madison sighed as she pushed herself up to her feet and dusted the dirt off of her jeans. Nick stood up as well and helped her by gently sweeping at the dirt on her shirt. "I seem to have a penchant for startling you tonight, huh?"

"Yeah," Madison said. Nick and Madison stood there for a while.

"Listen, about before-" Madison began
"About Andrea-" Nick began, their voices overlapping. They paused and chuckled softly.

"You first," Nick said.

"No, no, you go ahead," she said.

"Well, I just wanted to apologize for Andrea shoving you like that before. She shouldn't have done that……….And I shouldn't have let her get away with it,"

"It's……Its okay," Madison said.

"I just……didn't want you to think I thought that was okay or anything,"

"I know," Madison nodded.

"What were you going to say?" Nick asked. Madison shook her head.

"It's nothing," she said.

"Maddie!" Came Vida's voice from the front yard. "Maddie, where are you?"

"I should go," Madison said.

"Right," Nick said. "Uh, wait," he said. Madison looked at him. He wanted to say something, anything to make her stay, unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything. His solution came when he spotted something on her cheek.

"What?" She asked.

"You've got some dirt on your cheek," he said.

"Oh, man, I do?" Madison groaned as she wiped at her cheek. "Did I get it?"

"No," he said with a slightly amused tone. "Here, let me get it," he said. He cupped her face with his hand and moved his thumb against her cheek in a circular motion, wiping the dirt away. Although, even after the dirt was gone and his hand stopped going in circles, he still kept his hand on her cheek.

"Thanks," Madison said. She stared up into his eyes.

"No problem," he said. The two of them stood there, staring into each others eyes.

"Nick?" Madison asked, feeling a little unsure as to what was happening. Instead of replying, Nick swooped in and captured her lips with his. Madison's eyes drifted shut as she responded to the kiss, moaning gently as Nick's tongue traced her lips. She felt like an idiot just standing there with her arms at her sides as Nick kissed her, but she didn't know what to do so she just stood there as the kiss continued. After a while, Nick released her from the kiss. Madison stared up at him.

"Sorry," he muttered as he let go of her cheek and looked down. Madison couldn't help smile briefly as she pressed her lips together, enjoying the lingering taste of Nick's lips.

"No….Uh……That………That was nice……" She said.

"Really?" He asked. "I just thought……..you know, with you rushing out………."

"I just…………….felt a little nervous," she admitted. "And……….it was just a little weird……you know, with everyone there……" She said, blushing a bit. Nick smiled.

"So, would it be okay if I kissed you again?" He asked. Madison bit her lower lip and nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be okay," she said. Nick got closer to her and put his arms around her waist. Madison put her arms around his neck as the two joined for another kiss.

Not too far from the couple, Chip and Vida stood at the edge of the backyard, watching the two of them.

"Okay, it was a good plan," Vida told Chip. Chip chuckled and put a friendly arm around her shoulders as the two of them left the backyard to give the newly formed couple some privacy.

END