Chapter 9:
The Dance Part 1
"How much longer do we have to wait to attack these Power Brats?" Rita demanded, tapping her fingers against her crossed arms. She was pacing rapidly as Zedd watched her, sitting in his chair. He let out a frustrated breath as she continued. "We threw one monster at them and they tied him up like a knot! Then you send putties to their school for what? Stoney and that Harmony girl got rid of them easily. And now we're not doing anything! What plan is this?"
"Quiet, Motormouth! If you actually kept that trap shut long enough to listen to anyone but yourself you'll understand that my plan is in perfect motion," Zedd replied, his grip on his staff tightening slightly as he imagined it was Rita's neck.
"What brilliant plan is it, then?" Rita demanded.
"If you haven't noticed yet, Cone Ears, I have the Rangers doubting what we have planned next. They're close to turning against each other," Zedd said gleefully. "And while I have them where I want them I can continue my search."
"Your search for what, Boss?" Goldar asked in his gravelly voice.
"The ultimate weapon against the Power Rangers that should defeat them and this Earth once and for all!"
"While we wait 1000 more years for that I think I'll have some fun," Rita said, turning to her telescope.
"The Dance is here, finally!" Kim said happily, clasping her hands together at the sight of the Homecoming banner that hung up in the main entrance of the school the next day. She bounced on her toes in happiness, her eyes darting over the multicolored words that practically screamed excitement. "Ooh, I can't wait to pick up my dress after school. You guys have to see it, it's so rad!" She said, turning to Aisha and Trini.
"We can see it while I get my dress. I haven't picked it out yet," Aisha told her.
"What? You haven't picked out your dress yet!" Kim repeated, eyes wide with shock. "Well have no fear. You're asking the right person to help you out."
"I never asked," Aisha pointed out, laughing.
"Well, I'm coming and helping anyway," Kim said, giving her a little squeeze. "You too, if you haven't picked out your dress yet," she added, turning to Trini. "I can find you one so hot that it'll fog up Billy's glasses." She giggled.
Trini smiled. "Let's not go that far. Billy and I are just friends."
"Where have I heard that before?" Kim asked with a teasing grin. Trini looked at her in confusion. "That always seems to come out of your mouth whenever Jason's involved." Trini rolled her eyes and let out a sigh as Kim smiled. She could tell that the two liked each other, she knew they liked each other since Junior High, Every time she got a chance she made fun of Trini to try and provoke her into spilling about her crush but she's always denied it and it's been getting on Kim's nerves. She knows she's close to getting Trini to crack but the wait was unbearable for her. "I don't know why you're making this so hard."
"I don't know why you're stuck on a topic that's nonexistent," Trini shot back.
"I don't know, girl, he looks at you in a special way. Kinda like the way Tommy looks at Kim," Aisha said with a grin.
"Did somebody say my name?" Tommy asked, walking over to the girls. He swooped down. pressing a kiss to Kim's cheek, and gave her the flowers he had behind her back. "Morning, Beautiful."
"Oh Tommy, these are beautiful!" Kim gushed, returning his kiss and giving him a hug.
"So, about the dance tonight. I'll pick you up at 7?" He asked.
Kim blinked. "We're going together?"
Tommy's eyebrows lowered. "Of course."
"Well…" Kimberly messed with the petals on her flowers. "You didn't ask me so I didn't think we were going together. I agreed to go with Skull." She lowered her head and bit her lip to keep from smiling.
Tommy looked at her in confusion. "Skull? But…I thought…I didn't think I needed to ask you. I assumed we were going together anyway."
Kim couldn't stand hearing the sadness in his voice. She lifted her head, lightly hit him on the arm and laughed. "I was just kidding! There's no way I'd ever go to a dance with Skull! I was just teaching you a lesson for not asking me earlier." Tommy let out a sigh of relief. "Seven's fine," she clarified. "That will give my mom enough time to get her camera ready and to get over her tears of joy." They laughed.
"It's not like this is Prom," Aisha pointed out.
"Well, my mom was so into gymnastics when she was younger that she missed out on Homecoming and Prom," Kim explained.
"So that's why you got into gymnastics."
"Mhm. I saw pictures of my mom when she was younger and I always thought it was cool so I gave it a shot." She shrugged modestly, putting her flowers into her locker, and followed them to the homeroom class. She saw Rocky and Zack sitting in their chairs as she moved to sit in hers. Billy came into the room a few seconds after them with Adam in toe. A few minutes later Jason and Melody came into the room.
"Hey, where were you this morning? I stopped by to see if you needed a ride but your dad said you all ready left," Kim said as Melody sat down in her chair.
"I went running earlier then I stopped by the Youth Center to shower and then walked here," she replied, pulling her hair out of the ponytail. "I needed the time to try and run off my nerves."
"Nerves?" She repeated.
"Yeah, I have a History project due today that I'm worried about."
"What's the topic?" Aisha asked, leaning forward in her seat.
"Women and Martial Arts," Melody replied. "We got to choose topics and I chose that 'because I figured I'd be able to get your guys to help demonstrate some moves in class." She looked at them with wide eyes, silently begging them.
"No need for the Puppy Dog act, we're in," Kim said, lightly hitting her arm. "You'll get an easy A with our help."
"Thanks so much," Melody sighed. "That took a load off of my mind."
"So, who're you going to the dance with?" Trini asked.
"I'm not going," Melody replied. She jumped when Aisha, Kim, and Trini all let out sounds of surprise. She turned to look at them as if they were crazy. "It's just a dance, it's not like my world's going to end if I don't go. Besides, I don't like the idea of dressing up for hours on end when the only thing that's going to happen is my hair is going to fall back into its normal position and my makeup will be off in the first hour."
"But dances are so much fun!" Kim protested. "And you are a dancer."
"Or is it because you didn't get asked?" Aisha asked.
"It's ok if you didn't get asked; boys shouldn't dictate your life. You can come with us," Trini added.
"I never said I didn't get asked," Melody pointed out. She instantly regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. Kim, Aisha, and Trini hung onto those words like vultures circling a dead carcass in the desert.
"Who asked you?" Kim asked, eagerly. Melody stayed silent. "You might as well tell me. I'm going to figure it out soon anyway."
"Wait, Rocky asked you right?" Aisha questioned. "He kept telling me how he wanted to ask you but he was afraid you were going to laugh at him. He asked you, didn't he?"
"Uh, no," Melody said as she made a face. "Ugh, that'd be weird. No, Jason asked me."
"JASON!" Trini, Kim, and Aisha yelled in unison. Everyone's conversations stopped and they turned to look at the girls. Kim laughed nervously as she slumped in her seat. She caught Jason's eye and he lifted an eyebrow. She shrugged and mouthed 'we need to talk later'. He must've known what she wanted to talk about because he nodded and turned his attention back to Zack who was talking about his plans with Angela that night.
"Jason?" Aisha repeated. "When did this happen?"
"Does it matter? I didn't say yes," Melody muttered.
"So you said no?"
"I didn't say that either."
"What did you say?" Trini pressed.
"I said I'd think about it. Can we just drop it?" Melody demanded.
"No!" The girls replied.
"We're going to the mall after school. Come with us and we can talk about this some more," Kim urged.
"I don't like shopping," Melody replied. Geeze, these girls really don't know when to leave something alone. All Melody really wanted to do was go home and watch TV or maybe read and then go straight to sleep. She didn't want to deal with the inevitable drama that would surely come with the dance.
"You don't have to shop, just come with us," Kim begged. And we can convince you to get a dress while you're there… she thought gleefully. "It'll be fun; you haven't seen all of the cool things in the Mall yet."
Melody looked at Aisha. "I'm in a losing battle, aren't I?"
She nodded. "You can never win against Kim. We can go after stopping by Ernie's for a smoothie."
Melody sighed. "Fine."
"Yes!" Kim cheered and clasped her hands together.
Rocky yawned for the seventh time in five minutes. Last night was a nightmare for him. As soon as he got home after playing some basketball with Adam he was met by his mother yelling at him in Spanish. The only time she did that was when she was really upset at him, but he couldn't fathom why. Really, he was the one who had the right to be angry; he still hadn't forgiven her for keeping his letters. He had spent hours fighting against her but his words fell on death ears.
To make matters worse he had gotten a call from Adam telling him that Jason had asked Melody to the dance after all. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. They were just friends; she's told him that millions of times but still it messed with something in his head. So much that he couldn't get to sleep that well the night before and he was now suffering for it.
"roc….rocky….Rocky…ROCKY!"
Rocky jerked and shot his head up, shouting something incoherent. He then looked around and noticed that he and Adam were the only ones left in the classroom. Rubbing his eyes he let out another yawn and grabbed his backpack.
"What's going on, man? You've been out of it all morning," Adam commented as they walked into the hallway.
"I know, this lack of sleep's getting to me," Rocky muttered. "I didn't even finish breakfast this morning. I slept through it."
"Whoa. Rocky DeSantos slept through a meal?" Adam asked in shock. "Something must be on your mind. You still haven't talked to your mother, have you?" Rocky shook his head. "The only way this can be solved is if you talk to her."
"I don't want to worry about it tonight. I just want to get through the dance. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow," Rocky replied, spinning the dial on his locker and pulling it open.
Adam hesitated as he studied the side of his friend's face. Rocky's usually bright eyes were dull and unfocused. He was moving slowly and he wasn't his upbeat self. It was like a whole other Rocky was standing in his place, a battered and broken one, and it scared Adam. He put a hand on Rocky's shoulder. Rocky turned his head and looked at Adam. Without saying anything Adam said to Rocky that he was there for him. Rocky sighed and nodded.
"C'mon man, I'll buy you a Coke. Something tells me you're going to need the caffeine."
"Thanks man. I'll pay you back."
"Oh if I had a nickel every time I heard you say that…"
"What're we going to do now? Our last plan to lure the Power Rangers to us didn't exactly work, Bulkie," Skull commented as the two trudged down the school hallways.
"The brat got into the way, but don't worry I have another idea cooking, Skull," Bulk replied. "The Power Rangers don't hesitate to help out and protect us civilians. So why don't we bring some trouble to the dance? That will bring the Power Rangers to us and we can finally figure out their true identities!"
"Ohhhh!" Skull let out, chomping on a piece of gum. "But wait…where are we going to get a monster?"
"If we can't find one…we'll make one," Bulk replied with a grin.
Rocky took a bite out of his sandwich as he listened to Melody explain how her History presentation went but he wasn't really paying attention to her. His eyes were locked on Tommy and Jason who were using their lunch period to get another spar session in as Billy and Adam watched.
Rocky sighed and put down his sandwich. He couldn't concentrate on food, not when the Great Original Red Ranger was standing right in front of him. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched whenever he went fighting. Before he didn't mind the idea of being Jason's replacement but now that he was back he felt like he had to prove himself. But look what he had to fight against! Jason was a better fighter, calmer; he didn't run into situations or make a fool of himself like Rocky does. Rocky had to learn hard lessons while being a ranger. From the stories that he's heard about the Original team Jason all ready knew how to be a leader and a second-in-command, it came naturally to him. Rocky had to work for it. How could he compete with that?
"And I was thinking about chopping off my hair and dying my scalp green," Melody commented.
"You'd get the same effect if you just dyed your hair," Rocky said, snapping to attention.
"Something tells me you weren't really listening to me," Melody said in suspicion.
"I was," Rocky denied. She lifted an eyebrow. "That…part…" She rolled her eyes and he smiled a bit, stealing a French fry from his plate. "Sorry, I was thinking about the math test that stands between me and freedom."
"Prob and Stats?" Kim asked. He nodded. "You'll be fine. Billy took that class in sophomore year. He said it was a breeze."
"If you've forgotten Billy's a genius," Rocky said with an eye roll. "And I'm–"
"Not?" Melody interrupted.
"Thanks for that boost in self-esteem," he said sarcastically, lightly nudging her with his elbow. She smiled and stuck out her tongue and he returned the gesture. "I didn't get a chance to study and I never really got a good night's sleep either."
"What happened?" Aisha asked in concern.
"I got into a little fight with my mom, no big deal," he replied, shrugging. He could feel her eyes boring holes into his forehead. She was always able to read him really well; it was something that scared him so badly. He was never able to lie to her; she always knew when he was lying, even when he thought he had a good poker face.
"Why don't you just talk to her?" Trini asked.
"It's kinda complicated," Rocky replied. "Once you get her started it's hard to get her to stop." He sighed. "I'll be ok," he told them, noticing their looks of concern. "Things are just hectic 'cause of Homecoming and stuff. Once this weekend is over everything will be fine."
"I still can't believe Jason asked you," Aisha suddenly said to Melody, shaking her head a little. Rocky rolled his eyes, Here we go again.
"I know!" Zack's loud voice announced his arrival. He placed a foot on the bench next to Trini and leaned forward. "I figured my man would go for someone…" his voice trailed off when Melody raised her eyebrows at him. "I mean…he's asking a great girl!" He flashed a grin and she rolled her eyes.
"Are you going to go with him?" Rocky asked her, looking down at his plate.
"Still don't know," she replied. "I'm really not in the mood to go to this stupid dance but I know Kim won't leave me alone unless I do go."
"You got that right," Kim said with a little laugh. "You won't regret it. It'll be fun."
"You're still coming to the mall with us, right?" Trini asked.
"Yeah, but I can't go to Ernie's. I have to go home first to walk my dog but I'll meet you at the mall."
"You need a ride?" Rocky asked.
"No, J–"
"Let me guess, Jason's taking you," Rocky interrupted her, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"What's your problem?"
"I don't have one." Rocky stood abruptly as the others started to make their way to the table. "I gotta go; I need to study a bit more."
"Pebbles–"
"I'll see you later." They all watched as he stomped his way through the crowd of students to get inside. He actually yelled "Watch where you're going, will ya?" to a couple of students that he ran into on his way inside.
"What's going on with him?" Tommy asked.
"Hard to speculate, I'm afraid," Billy replied, adjusting his glasses. "Could be the pressures of a class. Could be some troubles at home. Could be the stress of being a Ranger finally getting to him."
"We shouldn't let him go off by himself," Aisha said.
"I'll go talk to him," Kim announced, standing, stopping Melody in her tracks. She noticed the look on Melody's face. "I need to go to the library anyway," she announced to them all. "I'll see you in class." She kissed Tommy on the cheek and rushed after Rocky. She rushed into the school building and looked around. Teachers and students moved about the hallway, making it harder for her to find him. She checked the cafeteria, the school's Greenhouse, and a few teachers' classrooms. She finally found him pacing in front of his locker, his hands clenched into fists. "Rocky." He jerked, startled at her calling his name. He stopped pacing and looked at her. "What was that all about?" She asked.
"What?" He questioned, feigning innocence.
Kim sighed. "Rocky, sit down," she ordered as she sat herself. Rocky hesitated but sat down as well, wrapping his arms around his knees. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on in that head of yours. Does Jason being back bother you that much?"
"It's not that he's back that bothers me," Rocky muttered, tilting his head back slightly so it was resting against the cool metal of the lockers. "It's the thought of how much he's done is what bothers me," he admitted. "I mean, he was the leader of the Original Team. He's level headed, doesn't jump into situations that brings the rest of the team down. He's patient and calm and…everything I'm not. He might as well take his powers back; he's a hell of a better fighter than I am."
"You stop right there, Rocky DeSantos," Kim said in a stern tone. "Stop comparing yourself to Jason, you two are nothing alike. Sure you share the same power and the same fixation on the color red–"Rocky let out a little laugh "–but that's where the similarities lie. True, Jason is calm and level-headed, but that's what martial arts have taught him. He takes training very seriously; it's close to his heart. Sometimes he's so dedicated to it he doesn't know how to have fun and it gets on my nerves. You, however, put fun first and responsibilities second–"
"Thanks for that," Rocky muttered sarcastically.
"I'm not done," Kim said with a laugh, hitting him on the arm. "You love life and your willingness to jump into anything shows that. You do like to have fun but you know when you have to be serious and take responsibility, that's what being a ranger taught you."
"Great, it taught me to be responsible and have fun. That's it," Rocky muttered.
"Rockyyyy. There's more to it than that. You also put people before yourself; you're even willing to help me on a project when you have a massive amount of homework to do yourself. You love to help out wherever you can, which is often. So what if you're not the leader of the team? That doesn't matter, you're still a vital part of the team and we need you. You're not Jason, stop comparing yourself to him. We don't compare you guys; you two have different strengths and weaknesses that help balance the team. Jason doesn't want his powers back; he told me himself, he thinks you're doing a very good job."
"Really?" Rocky's eyes lit up. "He said that?"
"Yes," Kim giggled. "Now, this little burst of anger, by any chance, does it have to do with him asking Melody to the dance."
"A little," he admitted. "It's just…I haven't seen her in so long and I figured she'd want to spend time together like we used to but now she's spending all of her time with him."
"They're just friends, Rocky. She's allowed to be friends with other people."
"I know…it's just…"
"You gotta let her go sometime. We graduate soon and you're going to have to leave her behind."
Rocky covered his ears. "Ugh, don't even talk to me about graduation! I don't even want to think about leaving."
"'Cause you're going to miss me, I know," Kim joked making Rocky laugh. "Are you all cheered up now, sour puss?"
"Not yet. I left my sandwich and I didn't eat breakfast," he commented rubbing his stomach.
"Is your mind always on food?"
"Of course not!" he paused. "Food's always on my mind."
Kim laughed.
"So what was with your freak out earlier today?" Melody asked, tilting her head to keep the phone by her neck. She reached down and scratched her dog behind the ears.
"Uh, just stress, that's all," Rocky replied on the other line.
"Really? 'Cause it seemed to me that you were, I don't know, bitter about something," she commented, grabbing a ball and throwing it. Her puppy chased after it and brought it back. "I have a feeling I know what it is, I just want to hear it come out of your mouth."
"Do I have to?" he whined like a little kid.
"Pebbles, I'm not dating Jason if that's what you're thinking. We're just friends, like I'm friends with Zack and Trini and Tommy and everyone else. Just 'cause he asked me to the dance doesn't mean I'm going to go. 'Sides, I always thought Homecoming was supposed to be in October, not September."
"What's another party before your sweet sixteen?"
"Pebbles, I told you I don't want a party!" She glanced at her watch. "I gotta go. Kim's gonna be here in five."
"I still can't believe you, Melody Nicole Williams, Queen of All Things Boyish, is going to the mall," Rocky chuckled.
"Hey, there's no need for the name calling. You–" Melody stopped when she heard a loud bang from downstairs. "Hold on." She put her phone down on the desk and pulled open the door. She rushed to the railing of the mini balcony and looked down. Her breath got caught in her throat when she saw her mother fall to the floor, hard. "Mom!" She yelled, running down the stairs. "I didn't know you were home. When did you get here?"
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs as if she got punched in the stomach. Her mother, Charlotte, scrambled to her feet. Melody's words fell on deaf ears as a crash sounded from the kitchen. Charlotte rushed into the direction of the kitchen.
"Lucas, stop this!" She heard Charlotte yell. "Lucas, no!"
A loud crash made Melody jump. She ran back up the stairs and grabbed her phone. "Rocky, listen, I'm going to have to call you back," she said breathlessly.
"Ok. Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. I gotta go!" She hung up the phone and ran back down stairs in time to see Lucas shove Charlotte to the ground. "Dad, what're you doing? Stop!" She yelled, rushing over to her parents. She grabbed Lucas's arm and tried to pull him away. He glanced at her and swung his arm out, shoving her into the wall. She let out a cry of pain when her back connected with the wall. Tears sprang to her eyes, partly from the pain and partly because of the fact that her dad had just hurt her.
She stared at her father in shock as he punched at the wall. Words of rage streamed out of his mouth, becoming one jumble of anger in her head. Faintly she could hear the honking of Kim's car. Melody glanced over at Charlotte who wiped the back of her mouth with her hand, a little spot of blood appearing on her otherwise milk, white skin.
"Go," Charlotte ordered. Melody couldn't move. "Go, honey. Leave; come back later when everything's settled down. Go!"
Melody jumped to her feet, grabbed her house key off the hook, and dashed out of the house. She looked back once as she ran down the stairs and met the girls in the driveway.
"Is everything ok? You look frazzled," Trini commented as Melody got into the backseat with Aisha.
"Everything's fine," Melody muttered. "Mom and Dad got into a little spat, that's all. They're, uh, making up right now." She made a face to make her act more believable and the other girls nodded in understanding as Kim backed out of the driveway.
"Ok, so the plan is to go by Pretty in Pink to get my dress and then we'll hit other storms to try and get dresses for Aisha and Trini," Kim called over the roaring wind. She glanced at Melody in the rearview mirror, silently begging with her eyes.
"Ok, ok, I'll go," Melody sighed. "Just stop looking at me like that."
"You mean it? You'll go?' Aisha asked excitedly.
"I guess. I'd rather not stay home with my parents," Melody responded.
"Great! We'll look for a dress for you as well. We can go straight to my house to get changed and meet up with the guys. You can borrow anything you need to. Ooh, this is going to be so exciting!" Kim cheered, throwing her arms into the air. She put her hands back onto the wheel when Trini gave her a stern look. "Wait, does this mean you're going to go with Jason?"
"Can we get the dress before I have to deal with that problem?" Melody sighed.
"Wait, why is it a problem?" Aisha questioned.
"Something tells me that Rocky won't be too happy knowing that I said yes to Jason."
"I talked to Rocky, everything's cleared up," Kim told her, looking in the rear-view mirror.
"Ok then. I guess I'm going with Jason." Melody tried to sound upbeat about it, she really did. She'd rather go to a dance at school with a friend than alone. She got what she wanted. She just couldn't erase the scene of horror from her mind and she didn't even think the dance would be able to put it in the backseat. What had made her father snap like that?
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review. Thanks!