A/N: 2nd updated chapter out of the five promised . Also the last of the fics that Starrah betaed for me. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable; that all belongs to someone else. No money is being made off of this.
"So, do you really think we'll do a good job?" Rocky asks the group as a whole, motioning to himself, Adam and Aisha. It seemed like only moments ago when the three of them had been watching at the sidelines. But now... but now they were Power Rangers. It seemed almost unreal. But it obviously wasn't; the cold, comforting weight of the communicator resting on his wrist assures him that this isn't some dream he's having.
"Oh, yeah," Kimberly tells him with a grin, sipping at her soda. "I think you guys are gonna do great," she adds, beaming. She's obviously very happy with Zordon's choice of replacements, even if she is sad that they were needed at all. She's going to miss Jason, Zack and Trini, but she knew they were going to do good work.
It doesn't hurt, either, that this is just furthering the matchmaker's plans quite a bit.
"I'm just glad we can help," Adam admits, shrugging and shifting where he's sitting on the floor beside the couch, shifting a little uncomfortably when his shoulder brushes Tommy's leg. Tommy, though, doesn't seem to notice, much to the annoyance of the two girls.
"You three are more than just a big help," the White Ranger admits, putting a hand on Adam's shoulder and making the girls still in anticipation. "You're part of the team now, bro."
Disappointed with the nickname her friend has just been given, Aisha glances at Kimberly with a lost expression. Kimberly frowns a moment before standing, leaving the den and heading into the kitchen. She smiles at her mother and her mother smiles back. The smile turns confused when Kimberly digs through the recycling bin until she comes up with an empty glass bottle.
"Kimberly, what are you doing?" Mrs. Hart asks, brow furrowing.
"Getting a bottle for spin the bottle," the teenager tells her mother matter-of-factly, not allowing the woman a chance to reply as she removes the label and rinses it out. "Hopefully this won't backfire," she mutters under her breath as she dries the bottle and leaves the kitchen. Her mother shakes her head, before returning to what she'd been doing a moment before.
"Hey, Kim, where'd you go?" Aisha calls as she reenters the room, shutting the door leading to the hallway behind her.
"To get a bottle," she says, setting it down on the coffee table before pushing the piece of furniture out of the way.
"For what?" Billy asks, brow furrowing as he quickly moves to help.
"Spin the bottle," she says with a grunt as she pushes it out of the way, leaving room for all of them to sit on the floor in a circle.
Aisha and Rocky share alarmed looks. "Uh, Kim, you sure that's such a good idea?" the dark skinned girl asks nervously even as she slides off the loveseat she and the new Red Ranger had been sitting on.
"I figure it's a good way to break the tension," the girl in pink says simply, blowing some hair out of her face as she sits down beside her yellow-clad friend.
"I dunno, Kimberly..." Tommy says slowly, uncomfortably, sliding off the couch to sit beside Adam, who is looking like he wants more than anything to bolt from the room. "You and Aisha are the only girls here, and no offense but wouldn't it be sort of strange for us guys to kiss each other?"
"I believe I have to concur with Tommy, Kimberly. The male to female ratio would make for a very uncomfortable situation, all things considered," Billy agrees, glancing at Adam.
"Uh, I think I'm gonna go, guys," Adam says suddenly while standing, glancing down at his watch. "It's late and I promised my mom I'd be home by 9."
Everyone glanced at each other, surprised and suddenly worried. "Adam, you okay?" Kimberly asks, pushing herself to her feet.
The Black Ranger shrugs noncommittally before beating a hasty retreat. Alarmed, the others glance at each other again before Aisha pushes herself to her feet, as well, and takes after him muttering a 'be right back' to Kimberly as she passes.
The Yellow Ranger finds her best friend just outside the front door, sitting on the front steps, looking down at his hands.
"Hey, Adam," she says softly as she sits down beside him. "You okay? You ran out pretty fast."
The dark haired teen hesitates a moment before turning worried eyes to his friend. "Do you think..." he hesitates before continuing, face twisting. "Do you think that Kimberly hates me or something?"
Taken aback, Aisha blinks at him before frowning. "She doesn't hate you," she tells him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He hesitates again before sighing in annoyance, mostly at himself. "You know, I didn't tell you or Rocky this, but after the triathlon a few weeks ago, Kimberly actually managed to get me to tell her that I liked her boyfriend." He runs a hand over his face, shaking his head. "I thought she'd forgotten until just now."
"Oh, Adam," Aisha sighs, put an arm around her friend and giving him a sideways hug. "She doesn't hate you and it wasn't intentional that she hurt your feelings. I think she was just trying to break the ice, give us all a good laugh." She grins suddenly, nudging him. "Could you imagine the look on Billy and Rocky's faces if one of them spun the bottle and it landed on the other?"
Adam blinks and lets out a startled laugh, shaking his head and rubbing his face again. "It would be priceless," he admits with another sigh. Then he looks serious. "Aisha, can you do me a favor?"
"Anytime," she says fiercely, removing her arm from around his shoulders and turning slightly to him, taking both of his slightly larger hands in her own. "You can ask anything of me, baby bear. Anytime."
"Don't let Kimberly tell the others about..." he trails off, giving her a meaningful look.
Aisha doesn't let him see her sadness as she squeezes his hands. "I won't. But you know, they may not care as much as you think they will," she tells him, adding the last softly, coaxingly, trying to get him out of the shell he's put himself in. It doesn't work as well as she'd hoped, but he gives her a smile and hugs her tightly.
"Maybe I'll be comfortable enough, one day. But for now, I just don't want..." he hesitates and sighs. "It's the first time in a long time that we've found others who actually want to be around us for more than five minutes." He gets an amused glint in his eyes as he smiles, fully now. "I think they've managed to overlook the weird parts."
Aisha laughs, patting him on the shoulder. When she's done, she lets out a sigh, turning serious again. "You wanna come back in?"
Her question earns a sigh and a shaken head. "Nah; I think it's best if I just go home. I don't think I could face the others right now," he tells her, looking apologetic.
Aisha nods in understanding before standing and giving him a hand up. "You take care of yourself, baby bear, and walk home carefully," she tells him, mothering him as she always does.
Amused, he gives her a brief hug. "Yeah, yeah; whatever you say, momma bear," he tells her in his usual amused tone, the one he saves for when she's mothering him like she is now. They're the same age, but she still treats him like her baby brother. It's amusing, comforting and annoying.
With a small wave, he heads off, hands in his pockets as he walks the two blocks home.
Once she can no longer see him, even with the few street lights along the road, she heads back inside, unsurprised to find everyone gathered near the front entrance, looking worried.
"Is Adam okay?" Kimberly asks, looking guilty.
"Yeah, he'll be fine," Aisha reassures her, shaking her head. "He just had a long day and it finally caught up to him," she explains, shrugging.
Tommy, looking worried, glances past Aisha at the door. "Maybe one of us should go talk to him?"
The other four glance at each other in surprise but Aisha shakes her head. "Nah; it's best just to leave him be for the time being," she tells them, waving her hand.
Kimberly sighs, shaking her head, still looking slightly guilty as she motions them back towards the den. "C'mon; we can at least talk for a little while longer," she tells them, shooting one last glance towards the door before following everyone back further into her house.
