I want to thank GoseiShinkenPink for reviewing. It really means a lot to me. I really hoped that this chapter will make a lot of people happy! Enjoy!
Mia wakes with a start to a giant crash. Her eyes snap open and she sits up with a jolt. She looks over at her clock and sees 10:30. In a rush she puts on her uniform and pulls her hair back into a ponytail. She flings open the door and sprints outside to the training yard where she sees Mike and Kevin sparring. She looks over and sees the stand that held the bokken, smashed. One more look into their eyes show that they are not just sparring. Mia picks up two bokken, one in each hand, and blocks both Kevin and Mike's attacks.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" she screams.
"He is the liar!" Kevin screams.
"No way, man!" Mike retorts, "I am an open book! You're the one who is lying!" Kevin roughly shoves Mia aside and returns to his duel with Mike. Infuriated, Mia steps in again, dodging several attacks, forces them both to take a step back.
"Knock it off you two! Don't you think this is what the night lock wanted? How do we even know he was telling the truth?" Mia asks, "Maybe he's the liar. If this is his plan, then you are walking yourselves right into his trap!"
Kevin shakes his head, "No, he was telling the truth. I could tell."
"At least you are right about that," Mike agrees. They both push Mia away this time, knocking her to the ground. Mike turns and looks at her more closely. Through squinted eyes he asks, "Was it you?"
"What?"
"Was it you who lied to us?" Mike demands. Before Mia can utter a word he pulls her to her feet.
Kevin pulls her ear close to his face and whispers through gritted teeth, "Answer him, Mia."
Shocked, Mia stutters, "I…I…I have never lied to either you guys." Kevin sighs and Mike releases her. She sinks down to the ground shaking. The whole time she sees Mike shoving her up against the locker back at grade school.
"She is right," Kevin murmurs, "It probably is just the nighlock messing with us."
"Yeah, that was stupid," Mike agrees. They look down at their trembling friend and get down on their knees.
Kevin puts his arm around Mia's shoulder and regretfully says, "I am so sorry, Mia. I am just scared."
"Yeah, me too," Mike adds, "We don't want to end up fighting for the wrong side, or find out that one of our closest friends is really plotting against us. We are too close, you know?" Mia numbly shakes her head. Mike says, "Lets get something to eat." Kevin and Mia share a smile at their friend's never ending pit he calls a stomach. The guys gently help her up and walk with her inside. Mia grabs a bowl of cereal, while Mike loots the leftover pizza from several nights ago, and Kevin prepares his salad.
"Cereal?" Kevin asks.
"For the record, I haven't eaten yet," she defends, "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"
"Ji told us that you were up all night sick and not to mess with you," Mike answers. Mia remembers her little trip with Emily the night before. Illness must have been Ji's coverup with the rest of the rangers.
Not wanting to contradict her alibi she says, "Yeah, I had a stomach bug. I feel a lot better now, but I probably was up past one, you know." The guys nod sympathetically. While they are munching on their meal, a curious red ranger walks in.
"Hey, Mia. Could I talk to you for a little bit?" he asks. Mia nods and walks out of the kitchen, cereal in hand. He leads her to his bedroom and he closes the door quietly. He sits down on the trunk in front of his bed and gestures for Mia to do the same on his desk chair. She sits and places her cereal bowl on his desk. He sits there for a minute and looks deeply into her eyes and smiles without saying a word.
Uncomfortable with the silence, Mia asks, "So, what did you need to talk about?"
He smiles and says, "You're amazing. You know that right? Emily, Ji, and I tried to get them to stop fighting for about thirty minutes, and then gave up. You just walk right out there and lay down the law. They listened to you."
Mia chuckles, "Granted that is after getting shoved down onto the ground."
"I ended up on my butt ten times, and they still didn't listen to me," Jayden replies. He smiles and holds both of her hands in his. He rubs small circles on top of hers with his thumbs. She does not know how to respond, so she just sits there smiling back at him. "I don't know how you do it, Mia, but you most definitely have a magic touch. I am so glad to have you on the team. I sure hope you know that." When he says this, Mia blushes and her grin widens.
"I'm not that great," she modestly replies.
"Well, I think you are," he says. He stands up and she follows suit. Still holding hands and still gazing deeply into each other's eyes, they stand there until Jayden slides his hands up her arms until they get to her shoulders. He slowly runs his hands down her back until they reach just above her waist and pulls her in close. Their heads nearly touch as Mia looks up at her leader. He awkwardly shifts his head a bit and then pulls her in closer for a hug. She rolls her eyes at the red ranger's innocence and rests her cheek on his neck. As she grips his shoulders, he massages her back with one hand and with the other he keeps her close. Mia relaxes and closes her eyes. They rock back and forth as if listening to some music that no one else can. Jayden turns her around so that her back is facing him and sits down in the desk chair. He sits her down on his lap and wraps his around her waist. Eyes still shut, she leans back so that her head is next to his.
Mia murmurs, "Weren't we supposed to be talking about something?"
He turns his head so that his lips are barely touching her ear and whispers, "We already did." Jayden begins to hum an off key melody as Mia begins to drift off to sleep in his arms.
A/N: Jia lovers, are you satisfied with the beginning of my little romance? I need to thank 2OwlsATweeting for aiding me with the one aspect of the story that I have always struggled with: Romance. Her direct ideas will be shown next chapter, but the lead up was in this one. I need you to tell me if this is on a good path or not. I am truly clueless about this stuff, so I need you to tell me if you like it or not. I can't write romance in this story without that crucial info. I really hope you liked it and please review!
