Light - Self-Confidence Part 2

Alright, here's 2nd part of Self-Confidence.

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Summary from the last chapter

Madison believes that she doesn't really contribute to the team while Nick has trouble confessing to Madison. After Madison defeats Magma, her confidence is restored. Eventually, Nick asks why she felt that unsure of herself; she responds with "you".

Light - Self-Confidence Part 2

"Normal"

'thoughts'

The word "You" made Nick confused and sad. His crush thought he didn't like her. He feels too dejected to say anything.

However, Madison thinks back what had happened last night.

Flashback

Last Night

Madison had just left Rootcore. She had just helped Nick realize his dad was a good man. She reflected more about Nick's parents.

'So Nick is practically expected to kick butt. His dad's known as a great hero. His mom's a powerful sorceress. It's good that we have him on the team. He is the strongest one out of us all.' She sighs. 'Man, I just had to fall for him.'

'I wonder if he pays attention to me. What have I done as a ranger?' As she ponders that question, she couldn't think of anything about her accomplishments. 'Nothing I guess. Nick got Catastros and has defeated monsters by himself. I always need help defeating them. We all save people.'

She sighs. 'Nick probably wouldn't pay special attention to me if I didn't do anything special as a ranger.'

'Come on Madison, there has to be something special you did as a ranger.' She thinks harder. 'Well, I talk to people and help them out.'

A voice within her speaks out, 'But that's more like a friend. Anyone could do that. Friends don't save the world; rangers do.' She sighs again, deciding to talk to Vida when she gets home. Hopefully, Vida would help out.

End Flashback

Seeing his surprised and confused look, she explains. "You have amazing parents who kick butt. You're the leader which should be expected considering your parents. You are the best ranger out of all of us. When I compare myself to the rest of the rangers, they've kicked more butt than I do. I talked to Vida last night. She tried telling me otherwise, but it didn't convince me." 'Vida also said other things but I'm not saying any of it.' She looks the other way, slightly embarassed.

Relieved, Nick stares at her, processing what was said and what wasn't said. His adopted sister had given him advice about that regarding girls. His adopted sister also mentioned that a girl is comforted by what a guy says from his heart. 'She shouldn't think less of herself. She's not exactly an action hero, but her shy encouragement has kept me and the team going.' He scoots closer.

"Listen Maddy" He gets nervous, not knowing exactly what to say to ease her. Madison looks attentitively, mesmerized by how much she liked it when he said her name. He continues, "You just beat a monster by yourself. You're like an action hero now. However, even if you didn't beat the monster, your contribution to the team has always been there."

Noticing her puzzled look, he adds, "I mentioned earlier that you helped Jenji. It's your considerate side that contributes to the team. We wouldn't have Jenji now if it weren't for you."

She adds, "Well I noticed because everyone else had left me for Fireheart burping before. Only you caught me for that exercise. It kind of felt like deja vu. I looked around that time and I saw Jenji. It's how I would have acted." [1] 'Now that I mention it, it was nice being in his arms.'

He blushes and momentarily looks away, 'I wasn't going to let my crush fall like that. Nice to see she remembers.' He remembers how comfortable it felt to hold her in his arms. Recomposing himself, he says, "Well, what about me?"

Madison looks surprised and nervous about the implications of that question.

'Ok that sounded like a Freudian slip.' He continues quickly, "You helped inspire me to stay and become a ranger. You trusted me a stranger at that time. If I'm so awesome, doesn't that make the person who inspired me awesome too. She's responsible for that."

Madison rolls her eyes and replies, "Don't get a big head now." After that sentence though, she smiles, feeling comfortable with him around again and no longer insecure about herself.

"Says the girl who said I am the team." He beams back.

"Hey. That was before my insecurities." She looks around the scenery, trying to find Vida, Chip, and Xander, but no avail. She decides to continue sitting there, enjoying Nick's presence.

Remembering his uncertainty and a thought earlier, Nick gulps.

'I guess we have these moments. It's hard not to think that she could be feeling the same thing that I do.'

'And now that she has her confidence back, it's ok to tell her. Alright, if she can stand up to a monster we couldn't hurt, I can do this. I guess I should be more sure of myself just like Maddy.'

He clears his throat and faces toward her. "You know Madison," he whispers.

"Yes Nick?" She asks. She looks at him, fully paying attention to him. What Nick had just said sounded different and really important. Her thoughts kept racing at the possibility of what was going to happen next while her heart began to beat faster.

He inches a little closer and says "Your encouragement is important to the team. It's important to me." He says the last part a little bit quieter.

Inwardly, she's ecstatic, realizing her crush paid attention to her. "Really?" She inches closer to study his face to tell if he's telling the truth,

He takes a deep breath. He looks at her, analyzing her and deciding to go for it. "Yeah. It's why I -" He pauses a bit and looks at Madison who leans forward as if to hear him better. His body instinctively acts. He closes his eyes and leans toward her lips.

Madison notices. Before processing what was going on, she follows Nick's actions by closing her eyes.

Some thoughts begin to register in Nick's brain. 'You should confess first before kissing her.'

Another thought countered back, 'I smell peppermint. Is she close enough to want to kiss me back?'

"Hey guys! Toby needs us back at work! He needs to tell us something." Chip's voice echoed through the park.

That voice made them open their eyes, and they both turn away from each other. Their thoughts began to come back to them.

Madison was a little scared. 'I was about to kiss Nick. Wait a minute, he wanted to kiss me first.' The last bit makes her smile and made her less worried. 'Seems like my feelings are returned.' She looks at Nick.

Nick was a little sad and angry. 'Damn you Chip! Why did you have to ruin that? I think she was about to kiss me back.' Remembering his lack of confession and noticing the awkward silence, he continues "Well, Maddy. As I was saying, it's why I -"

"Hey, boyfriend and girlfriend. Let's get going back to work!" Vida yelled, smirking at them both.

They both turn around and saw Vida and her smirk. They both blush and are as red as a certain ranger outfit.

'Uh what? We're not a couple. That would be nice.' He daydreams at the last thought. He also notices that both he and Madison didn' deny it even though they didn't even talk about that.

'Dang it sis. Have you been watching this entire time?' Madison gives a look that asks her sister the question. She saw Vida's smile that screamed yes and told you so. Madison shakes her head and mentally curses the sister connection she has. However, she begins to chuckle lightly at the earlier conversation she had last night with Vida. Vida was right all along.

Flashback

"I'm serious, Maddy. You shouldn't think any less of yourself. Besides, Nick pays attention to you even if you think you haven't been the hero." Vida says passionately.

"I think you're just being nice to me. And who said this was about Nick?" Madison looks a little worried about her crush being revealed.

"Finally, you admit to me you like Nick." Vida gives a breath of relief.

"What? No I don't." The blue ranger quickly denies. She begins playing with her hair.

"You're biting your lower lip and twirling your hair. You do that when you're nervous. Also, you want Nick to pay attention to you. You didn't deny that."

She surrenders. "Ok, fine. So I like Nick."

"Good to know that for sure now. I'm pretty sure Xander, Toby, Udonna, Clare, and Daggeron have an idea too. Toby actually asked me after he had hired Nick. I realized it after you kissed Daggeron and looked sad about it. Xander had suspicions since the whole fiasco when we thought Nick stole money from the store. Chip hasn't mentioned anything to me, but I don't think he would be surprised."

"Is it that obvious?" The sister looks away, never considering the others would tell about her secret crush.

"Yes, but not to Nick. His is less obvious but it's there." Vida adds in.

"Wait you think he likes me? Why would he like someone like me?" She never considered it possible to be mutual.

Vida rolls her eyes. "Because you're awesome sis. Besides, you're like his best friend. The rest of us didn't even know he was adopted. But you knew that and his red blanket he kept as a baby. Trust me, that's blackmail material that a guy like Nick doesn't give easily. I'm serious, if he tells you that kind of stuff to you, he probably likes you." Vida hopes that convinces her; otherwise, she was going to play Cupid with the rangers.

Madison wants to believe her but thinks better of it. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. But let's get real here." She looks at Vida with disbelief.

"Fine, don't believe me then. But try talking to Nick. He seems to help you better than I can. Maybe you'll find out the truth." Vida shakes her head.

Madison nods but doesn't believe it. She wonders what Nick would say.

End Flashback

'Guess I'll listen more to what my sister says next time.' She couldn't help but smile now knowing that the object of her affections returned her feelings. Although he didn't say it yet, she was sure of it now. She remembers what had just happened between them.

"It's why I -"

Then the almost kiss.

She smiles. It was pretty safe to assume the last part Nick was going to say, at the very least, I like you. Also, just recently, He didn't deny about being her boyfriend even though they weren't close to dating.

'I guess we'll talk more about this later like we always do. This time, away from everyone else. It's more fitting that way.' She remembers the numerous of private conversations they had.

Nick stands there unsure what to do now. He could go back to confessing his feelings toward Madison, but he keeps getting interrupted now. He wanted to be clear to Madison about how he felt. However, there was work that needed to be done. He feels a hand on his shoulder and sees Madison pointing toward the gang.

She whispers, "Let's go." She smiles at him. Nick smiles back, knowing that her smile meant they'll talk about this when they get the chance.

He thinks 'I guess she does like me after all. ' As she begins heading over to the gang, a thought occurs to him. 'I guess seeing you be courageous today gave me the courage to try to tell you.' He soons follows.

As they head over, they both wonder when they would get a chance to talk this over and hopefully take a step further in their relationship.

Episode Finish

Yep, I've been planning this for a while. Just had a hard time writing it out.

So it's not a direct confession. But, they both notice that they wanted to kiss each other. They're not officially boyfriend girlfriend yet.

[1] This scene is actually in the beginning part of the episode Long Ago. In the original episode, the rangers let Madison fall after FireHeart comes in the room.

I didn't write the changed part but I figured why not make a minor change. I also think if Nick is aware of his crush, he wouldn't let her fall.

Please leave a review and questions.

Hunter comes up next. I expect some of you guys have been waiting for that chapter. It's another interesting major development.