The Sun, the Moon and the Stars

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, that for sure.

:: Thank you for the reviews, guys. You'd made my day : ) Here is another chapter, I hope you like it. Enjoy!


Chapter twelve: Tonight I Wanna Cry

"Thanks," Tommy said after Viola pulled back. She grinned at him, making him feel uncomfortable under those crystal blue eyes. He blinked a few times, his eye still slightely stinging. He made a gesture to wipe his still slightly watering eye with the back of his hand, to which Vi quickly protested.

"You never know what you have touched with you hands," She adviced, mimicking Patty Oliver when she's disciplining her kids. Tommy couldn't help but grinning back. "So… How's Katerina?"

The tall brunet looked at his cousin, startled that she suddenly brought up the topic. "It's Kimberly actually,"

Vi adjusted her thin spaghetti strap that had slipped off her shoulders. "Whatev... Katerina, Katherine, Kimberly… I never thought that you and Aaron would compete for the same girl. For the second time. But of course, since she's officially your girlfriend, there's nothing that he can do,"

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, his voice raw. "And for the record, I never thought Sam as more than a friend. We're not like that," He didn't tell her that he barely ever spoke to Sam again nowadays.

Vi gave him a skeptical look but didn't pursue any further. "Aaron told me that Kim was a nice girl and all. I won't be so surprised if he has a crush on her," Vi paused. "Funny, she looks far more comfortable when she's with Aaron than with you. No offense,"

Tommy felt a ton of bricks fall over his head. He remembered about Kim's initial crush on his ex-bestfriend two years ago, but hadn't Kim got over it already? She was so upset about being toyed with by Aaron. But you saw it yourself, Tommy. Do you remember them passing notes in the class yesterday and the day after yesterday and so on? It's true that seeing Aaron so unguarded was such a rare moment. He always looked… normal when he's around her.

"Anyway, you do love my present, don't you, Tommy?" Viola changed the conversation to a lighter topic, her eyes boring at him.

"Uhm…, yeah, of course," Tommy nodded his head. She looked so hopeful that he didn't have any other choice to say whatever she wanted to hear. Vi had dashed into his room bright and early in the morning, not caring if he was only in his boxers. The bear she gave him was definitely the biggest stuffed animal he'd ever seen. He didn't have a clue as to how she managed to bring it home without him knowing. It was kind of hard to hide such an enormous fluffy bear. It was red. The bear. And he hated red. He ended up putting it on the floor next to his desk. At the second glance he realized that the bear reminded him so of one of his friends in school, Farkas Bulkmeyer, after doing ten laps in P.E. "Thank you,"

Satisfied, Viola tip-toed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "So, tonight-,"

"Actually," Tommy cut off, still reeling from the peck. It'd never felt this awkward when he was with Kim! And they're only pretending… He had known Viola for almost all his life. His eyes scanned the empty entrance hall, not wanting anyone to see the innocent peck. Alex had been teasing him to death that a loner suddenly got two hot chicks attached to his sides. He was too much. "I have to go someplace tonight," He said, not wanting to share some unnecessary info.

"Oh?" Vi said, her mouth gaped open. She bit her lips. "With Kimberly?"

"Yeah," For someone who'd never been in a relationship before, last night was probably the most romantic thing that ever happened to him. He shifted minutely in his place. Romantic? Now he sounded like a girl.

For a while Tommy thought Vi would protest and complain, but she didn't. "I understand. She should be your first priority. She's your girl after all,"

Is she?

--

"Hey, hey," Aaron said as he tried to balance the boxes in his arms. "Easy does it, Kim,"

Kim automatically released his arm, suddenly looking like a lost little kid. She was angry, but was she allowed to be angry? This started to get even more ridiculous. It's not like she liked Tommy!

If you didn't like him, you wouldn't walk to his house just to be the first one to congratulate him. A little voice in the back of her head said. "And if you did't like him, you certainly wouldn't even think to kiss him later tonight.

If there was still 'tonight'.

Kim released a frustated whimper. "I figured that she had something for Tommy,"

Aaron finally leaned down and put the boxes on the ground. It was never his nature to lie, so he simply shrugged and said, "Yes, she does,"

"But I don't know how Tommy feels about her," Kim continued, her eyes falling to her shoes.

"Oh, Tommy loves her," Aaron said and Kim's head snapped up. "Like a brother loves his cousin. Vi would've told me if there're any indications that spoke otherwise,"

"But he… he…," Kim swallowed hard, the image flashing in her mind.

"Maybe she's the one who initiated the kiss," Aaron remarked, giving her shoulder a squeeze. At her imploring eyes, a smirk crept up his face. "Vi can be outrageous sometimes,"

Still, Tommy didn't even push her away, Kim thought. Her heart was still burning and she nervously chewed her nails, a habit that she did everytime she's feeling nervous. For all she cared, Tommy could kiss any girl he wanted. Exhaling a depressed sigh, Kim looked up into Aaron's soothing eyes. She felt a bit embarrassed for losing it like that. But who wouldn't freak seeing your boy-, NOT your boyfriend, Kim!- seeing what she'd witnessed?

"Thanks," She murmured.

Aaron smiled and leaned in to tug her into a warm embrace. Her body went taut but she could feel that he only offering his sympathy and friendship. Kim wrapped her arms around him and returned his hug.

--

Tommy's jaw tightened at the sight in front of him. He had been meaning to pick Kimberly up, since she hadn't showed up. But there're she was, hugging with Aaron in the middle of a parking lot. How romantic.

Viola's early comment chimed in his ears. Was she right? Did Kim really like Aaron? He suddenly felt a strong urge to smash something.

His eyes turned darker and unusually cold. Tommy turned around. He had seen enough.

Hart residence, 04.55 P.M.

"Hey, is this Alex?" Kim said to the receiver, her fingers idly playing with a strand of her hair.

"Who is this?"

"It's Kimberly," The reason she chose Alex and not Jason was because she was certain that Jason would grill the information out of her. He knew about the bet, that silly argument between Tommy and her, and he was also the first person who planted the idea of Tommy falling for her into her head.

"Oh, hey, Kim! What's up?" Alex cheery tone only made Kim feel more somber. She lazily streched out on her stomach and laid her head on the pillow.

"You're going to meet Tommy later, right? He said something about doing a project with you and Jason in the library?" The petite gymnast recalled her conversation with Tommy days ago. He complained for having to do homework in his birtday.

"Yeah, that's right," Alex said and Kim heard him turning down the volume of his TV. "You want to come? We definitely could use some help. You know how awful we are with Biology," He joked.

Kim would laugh if only her mood wasn't so bad. "No, I just want you to tell Tommy that I can't make it tonight,"

"What's on tonight?"

"Just tell him that my father's coming to town. I have to accompany him," Kim answered. A little lie wouldn't hurt anybody. Her Dad just called her ten minutes earlier to check in and it gave her an idea. Of course, she couldn't tell Tommy directly; he probably would bombard her with endless questions. Although he really could care less about that now, Kim mused bitterly. Aaron had been really helpful. She appreciated his support, but still. Maybe Vi was really the one who made the first move, but Tommy didn't do anything about it. "Can you please tell Tommy?"

"Why don't you call him yourself?" Alex asked. "Are you both okay?"

Kim stifled a humorless laugh. The way Alex spoke almost made her believe that Tommy and she were really an item. "Yes,"

"Well, you don't sound so good,"

"I'm tired, nothing to worry about. Anyway, thanks, I gotta go," Kim was ready to end the phone call before she said something that she shouldn't say. "Bye, Alex,"

"Kimb-,"

Kim pressed the off button and put the cordless on the bedside table. It rang as soon as Kim's legs touched the carpeted floor. Chewing her lips, Kim hesitantly reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Kimberly? It's Trini,"

Kim laughed, rising to her feet. She got snack hungry and there was strawberry shortcake in the fridge. "I know it's you. I'll recognize your voice anywhere,"

"Do you have time? My mom asked me to pick up her things at the mall. Can you come with me?"

"Er… I don't know, I'm not really in the mood,"

"Okay, wait a minute. Is there something that I'm missing here?" The raven-haired girl questioned.

Kim sighed, grabbing a fork and walked to the kitchen table. She hadn't told Trini about what she saw this afternoon, and for some reasons, she's not sure she wanted to tell anyone about it. It's bad enough that Aaron was there when it happened. She appreciated his offer to go back inside and teach Tommy a lesson, but she really couldn't let him do that.

"No, I'm just tired. School went on forever today and my gymnastic practise was horrible," Kim took a bite of the frosty cake and she closed her eyes. It tasted so good! "Don't you think so? Especially Geometry. It felt like eons yet when you looked at the clock, not even ten minutes had passed,"

"I don't know… You sound… stressed?"

Kim swallowed the piece in her mouth and thought that her bestfriend could be right. She always ate everytime she felt troubled and well, she was eating right now. Her eyes fell to the half empty box of chocolate cookies laying on the counter. She put down her fork and licked her lips. She was not bothered by Tommy kissing Viola. "So, can you pick me up?"

Angel Grove Shopping Center

06.07 P.M.

"Well, bro, she called me and said she couldn't come tonight, whatever that means,"

"Why didn't she call me herself?"

"No idea, she sounded hurried, though. She said her father's coming so she'd have to be with him,"

"Cool, thanks, Alex,"

And with the news, Alex had dropped a bombshell on Tommy Oliver.

"Hello, anybody home?" Viola's eager hand waving in front of his face, breaking his daydream. Tommy grinned and looked down at the pouty blonde. It was quite a surprise when he found her waiting for him outside the AG library. As usual, she asked him to go with her to the mall. Alex and Jason both sent him a pity look before departing, leaving him with little choice. "Where were you?"

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking," Tommy replied, following his cousin walk to the third shop she visited since they'd got here, Stardust, which according to Zack was Kim's favorite place to shop. Maybe he would get lucky enough and find her standing in a skimpy bathing suit. He shook his head at the silly thought. You will have a very magnificent birthday, Tommy. Well, Kimberly was wrong. What's with her anyway? How could she break their date just like that? She didn't even tell him herself.

Viola took a flaming red halter top and walked to stand in front of the body-length mirror near the fitting room. "What do you think?"

"It's good," Tommy commented, not really paying attention to the dress since Vi never listened to anybody's opinions. "Vi… About what you said about Kim and Aaron. He really does like her, huh?" He successfully snagged her attention and she brought her hands down.

"You're still thinking about that?"

How could he not? Especially after seeing them hugging like a true couple! "Well…,"

"It doesn't really matter," Vi shrugged and put the top back on the rack. "She's your girlfriend. You're the one she loves, not him,"

"So he likes her," Tommy pushed on.

"Aaron said she used to develop a crush on him. Is that right?" At his silence manner, she knew it was. Tommy wondered if Viola also knew about Aaron's bet with his friends. "And now she's your girl. Funny how life can be, isn't it?"

Funny? He wouldn't call their situation funny. Tragic was more like it. He had hoped Vi would speak more, but she simply turned around and walked away. Tommy made no move to follow her, seeing where she was heading; the lingerie department. He needed to talk to Kim. He wasn't sure if her father was really visiting. She said he had a business arrangement in Boston.

--

"Are you sure you don't want to go inside?" Trini questioned with disbelief. Normally, Kimberly never turned down the opportunity to check out the latest outfit in Stardust. But well, Kim wasn't herself today. Trini had felt there was something that bothering her petite friend.

Kimberly glanced briefly at the store and shook her head no. "I'm not in the mood for clothes right now, Trini. How about going to Iceland? Its strawberry mint ice cream is to die for," She couldn't believe that she's eating again. That kiss was definitely nothing. NOTHING to worry about.

"Okay. Come on,"

-- 07. 45 P.M.

In the evening Kim lounged in her living room, absently flipping channels with the remote while her other hand holding a basket of ice cream. The house was so quiet and she hated it. Sometimes she hoped her mother wouldn't have left the town so often. They needed some mother-daughter quality times together. She hardly remembered the last time they both sitting and just talking.

After busying herself with a show about The Ancient China for five minutes, she finally gave up and turned off the television. Yesterday was perfect and today was simply suck. Kim lifted her feet and propped them on the table (something that she wouldn't dare doing when her mom was around) and closed her eyes, letting the sweet memories of yesterday flood back in.

Kim unconsciously swang their clasped hands back and forth as they walked closer to her house. She didn't want the trip to end. "So your mom gonna throw a big party for you?"

"Not a party, but she'll cook everything that I like," Tommy grinned that heart winning smile of his. "I don't like parties,"

"Jane must be so excited. Her beloved grandkid turns eighteen!" Kim teased and wiggled her eyebrows, inviting Tommy to join her laugh. After the merriment faded, a wistful expression came across her face. Her crest fallen face didn't go unnoticed by the tall martial artist.

"What is it?" He asked.

Kim smiled ruefully, ducking her head. "I just remember this one time. It's my thirteenth birthday and well, my mother forgot about it. I understand that she's so busy, but well...," She cried for good two days for that. At first she thought her mom was just pretending to forget and have a surprise for her only child. It turned out that she really didn't remember. When her father found out… She just gave her parents another reason to argue. Kim took a deep breath and jabbed Tommy's ribs playfully. He gave her a wounded puppy dog look. "So you mister, you better not forget about it. I mean, you don't have the best memory,"

Tommy pulled her hand and tucked her to his side, his arm now wrapping around her shoulders. "Just expect a deadly surprise when it comes,"

Kim beamed at him and received a reassuring squeeze in return. They stopped in front of her house and Kim noticed he hadn't let go of her hand yet. "So it's my humble home," She chuckled. "Thanks for walking me home,"

"Thanks for this," He touched the necklace around his neck. Tommy suddenly looked nervous, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Kimberly? I was wondering about that dinner I asked you,"

"Well, are you sure it's okay? I mean, with Vi around…,"

Tommy's face brightened noticably. "So you agree,"

"I didn't say that," Kim felt the need to follow his game a little.

"No, but you didn't say 'no' either," He shot back with a smug smile and Kim rolled her eyes. "I'll pick you up tomorrow. "Seven o'clock,"

"Okay. Do you mind telling me where are we going?"

"No," Tommy answered with a laugh. "But I promise you won't regret your decision,"

"Alright,"

When Tommy hauled her closer, she swore her heart stopped beating. He engulfed her in his strong arms and she was amazed at how amazing a simple hug could reduce her kness to jelly. Tommy waited until she went inside the house then took his leave.

Last night was magical. Today she had to see him kissing his cousin.

Viola had known him since they're both kids; they must've shared some special moments between them. And she'd only known him for like, less than six months.

Craning her head to look at the clock, Kim sighed hard. Maybe Tommy was having that dinner with Viola right now. Good for them. Kim's doe eyes locked at the phone on the table. She could call him, or not.

--

Tommy climbed out of his old, black jeep. He had tried several times called Kim's home but the line was always busy. Okay, as a matter of fact, he was worried about her. She's acting strangely today. Kim was fine at school but later she just vanished until he found her in Aaron's arms.

Tommy shoved his hands deep into his pocket, gathering his thoughts as he walked across Kim's fine garden. He would ask her. They could talk with cold heads and if she really wanted to end the agreement, they had to start thinking how they would tell Nana.

--

Kim stared at the phone in her hand. Perfect. Her phone picked this time to act up. Kim put it back on the table and stood on her feet. She could always go to his house and if he wasn't home, she could go back and finished the last basket of ice cream. The pink clad girl walked around the sofa and headed for her front door. Her hand had almost touched the doorknob when her insecurity came back, making her a little misty eyed.

Are you sure you want to go there? Are you ready for more heartache?

--

Tommy stood in front of Kim's door for long moments. What should he say? Since when did things get even more complex than before? His hand reached for the doorbell but Viola's comment echoed in his ears.

'Aaron's your friend. As long as you're happy, he'll be fine,'

If Kim really liked Aaron, then it shouldn't matter. Tommy felt like his heart was ready to explode. Sometimes his feeling for Kim could not be contained anymore and he just wanted to scream out to the world that he… That you what, Tommy? That you care for her? Like her more than a friend? Love her, perhaps?

Tommy turned around and walked back to his car before he did something crazy; something that he would regret. Then again, Kim's probably away with her Dad.

--

No. No more pain tonight.

Kim wiped at her eyes angrily and turned on her heels, walking back to the living room. Tonight was his night and she wouldn't ruin it. They would talk, but not today.

Oliver residence

8.12 P.M

"What are you doing here? I thought you went out with Kimberly," Viola asked as she descended the stairs. Her long hair was still wet and she had a green towel around her neck.

"Yeah, there has been a change of plan," Tommy chose his words carefully, feeling Vi regarding him with curiousity. As he walked passed her, she said softly,

"I hope she didn't back out of the contract,"

Tommy's body went rigid at the gentle exclamation. Viola chuckled and playfully slapped his chest with her damp towel.

"You should look at your face! It's okay. I won't tell a soul,"


:: I guess this is a bit angsty. I certainly didn't plan it to be this way, but well... It's a pretty long chapter and I'm tired, going to bed now. Thank you for reading and I hope you review, let me know what you think. No flame please. Thanks.

- Yuuri ; )