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Chapter Four: Guilt

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! Hope you like it! Thank you so much for all the reviews! Please keep them coming, pretty please!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

After Antonio left, Ji rounded on Jayden. "Jayden," he sighed. "I have nothing more to say to you...except that I'm disappointed. Extremely disappointed. I thought you knew better than this. Why you've decided to hurt Antonio, I'll never know. Whatever is going on between you two, you need to figure it out."

Kevin came into the living room. "Hey, does anyone know why Antonio is running down the hall looking like he's being chased by nighlocks?"

Ji looked at Jayden. The red ranger rubbed his arm. "I may have...accidentally," he said emphasizing the word. "Grabbed his arm too hard and gave him more bruises."

Kevin stared at him for a minute. "What? Why would you do that?"

"I didn't mean to," Jayden protested. "It was an..."

"Yeah. I know. It was an accident. A lot of accidents seem to happen to him around you lately."

Jayden flinched. "Look I didn't mean..."

"That's not the point," Kevin said. "You've repeatedly abused him the past two days. He's terrified of you. But that's what you wanted, isn't it?. For him to be terrified to look you in the eyes so he's easier to control?"

"No!" Jayden said. "I would never want anything like that."

"Then why else are you treating him like this?"

Lauren came in, and Jayden could tell by the look on her face, she'd heard everything Kevin had said. "What did you do this time?"

Before Jayden could open his mouth Kevin said, "He grabbed Antonio's arm, knowing full well that Antonio is terrified of him, and gave him more bruises."

Lauren shook her head. She disappeared for a few minutes. When she came back, Jayden thought she was going to kill him. "You, my brother, are the world's biggest idiot."

"How..."

"Why you would even attempt to reason with him when you know he's terrified of you is beyond me."

"I just thought..."

"Obviously you weren't thinking. Kevin's right. You must want him to be terrified of you. It's the only explanation"

Jayden decided to stop talking. It was obvious they wouldn't listen to anything he said.

"You two," Ji said to Kevin and Lauren, "go to practice. You," he said looking at Jayden sharply. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you later." Jayden nodded and walked to his room. He didn't want Antonio to be terrified of him. He didn't want his friend to walk around scared to look at him. This was all messed up. He flopped down on his bed. He wished he could give himself a bruise.

Someone needs to throw me down a well. He sat up and looked at his hands. He clenched and unclenched his fists. How can I do stuff like this? How can I hurt my friend like this? He felt his guilt rise and fill him up. He felt like he was going to be sick.

He stayed in his room throughout the day. He only came out once to eat lunch. He could tell Lauren and Kevin had told the others what happened because Mike was giving him dirty looks, while Emily and Mia completely ignored him.

"Lauren," Ji said. "Will you go get Antonio?"

She nodded and left. Jayden tried to concentrate on his food, but he wasn't all that hungry. Lauren returned and sat down. "He's not coming."

"Why?" Mike asked.

"He says he'll only leave his room if Jayden is in his."

Jayden felt his throat get smaller. He stared at his plate, but he could feel the other rangers glaring at him in anger.

When he finished eating he was ordered back to his room by Ji. Is this what it feels like to be grounded? he wondered when he got there. He heard a door open and knew Antonio was going to eat. He sighed. The gold ranger was never going to trust him again. Ever. I really blew it this time. He sat on the floor and wondered if he could get someone to punch him. It probably wouldn't be that hard. Lauren would certainly do it, but she had control and would gladly point out Jayden was trying to solve his problems with fists.

Jayden wondered if Ji was going to punish him more. He'd already lost his morpher, the respect of his friends, and his best friend. He was pretty sure it could not get any worse than it was now.

Someone knocked on the door and Mike poked his head in. "It's dinner time." Jayden nodded and he left. The red ranger got up and went to go eat. As he sat down he noticed his friends were still giving him the silent treatment. He heard Lauren walking down the hall talking to someone. Jayden looked up as she came in and was shocked to see Antonio behind her. The gold ranger looked at the ground as he walked. He sat down next to Lauren cautiously, never looking at anyone.

As they ate the other samurai, besides Jayden, made an attempt to talk to Antonio. "What did you do all day?" Kevin asked.

"Practice symbols," Antonio muttered.

"By yourself?" Mia asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, of you need help one of us will give you a hand," Kevin said.

Antonio nodded. Jayden knew what he was thinking. He was usually the one who helped Antonio practice symbols, since they weren't exactly his strong suit.

"What else did you do?" Emily asked.

"Sat with Lauren for a little while," he answered.

"Aww," Mia said. Antonio smiled small smile. Jayden felt his spirits lift slightly. Seeing his friend happy, even if for just a moment made him happier.

"So basically," Mike said, "You spent the whole day training, with symbols, and sitting with your girlfriend. You need more hobbies."

Antonio smiled again, he looked up at Mike, then his smiled suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a look of fear, and he quickly looked at the table again. Mike was confused as to what just happened. He looked around and realized that he was sitting next to Jayden. He gave the red ranger a look of contempt and went back to eating. Jayden ate slower, his apatite decreasing little by little.

The other rangers did their best to try and engage Antonio in conversation, but he mostly just nodded, or gave them yes and no answers. Lauren kept the talking away from Jayden as best she could. She didn't want to upset Antonio anymore than he already was.

After dinner Jayden helped with the dishes. He washed them and Kevin was the one stuck drying them. The blue ranger never said a word the entire time. He focused on what he was doing, trying to avoid looking at Jayden.

"You know," Jayden said after an uncomfortable ten minutes, "you can't give me the silent treatment forever." Kevin put a plate away. "Look, I get you guys are mad at me. I'm mad at me. I feel bad enough about what happened without you guys making it worse. I feel awful about it. You have to believe me I do."

Kevin sighed and slammed a cup down. "It's not the point that you're sorry. It's not even the point that you did it."

"Then what is the point?" Jayden asked.

"The point is you broke his trust. He trusted you to never hurt him and you failed. The point is that you're his best friend and you are the only one who can't see how hurt he is. Your the only one who can't see what this is doing to him. This might come as a surprise to you, Jayden, but it's not all about you. Not everything is centered around you. This is about Antonio. This about you becoming everything he's afraid of." The blue ranger put the last dish away and stalked out.

Jayden stood there for a moment, wondering what had just happened. "Since when is he so protective of Antonio? That's my job, and Lauren's I guess." He walked back to his room. He saw Antonio's door was shut tight. He could hear Mike saying something and Antonio laughed. Jayden stopped in his tracks, and for a single moment he could pretend that everything was normal. He hadn't hit Antonio and everyone still had respect for him. But then the moment was gone and Jayden was left with his ever confusing and upsetting reality.