"I think it's kind of sweet."
"It feels pushy," Mia shook her head and sighed before she turned to her mirror to check her hair again. Emily rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way," she said. "He's probably happy there's no pressure… Well, not for the whole asking you out part anymore. Now he's just got to worry about the first date."
"And I've got to worry too," Mia bit the inside of her cheek and pulled her hair up. She turned to Emily, "What do you think?"
"Definitely," Emily nodded. She held out her hand, where an assortment of colourful elastics was sitting in her palm, waiting to be chosen by Mia. The pink Ranger grabbed the blue elastic and put it in her hair. Emily chuckled. That was automatic. Mia was dressed mainly in pink, but, of course, there had to be a hint of blue somewhere in her wardrobe. "So where is he taking you?"
"We got permission from Mentor Ji to go down to Ocean Bluff to try out that pizza place Mike suggested."
"You're going with a suggestion from Mike for your first date?" Emily asked.
"Why not?" Mia shrugged, "It's not like he actually suggested it for our first date. We just know it's out there and we decided to try it out. You know nothing too fancy, nothing to casual."
Mia then turned back to face Emily, "Besides, I figured you would be the last personal to think of Mike as non-romantic."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't think Kevin and I saw you up in that tree?" Mia chuckled. "I don't know about Mike, but you look like you were stuck by cupid's arrow. It's kind of cute."
"If you guys keep calling me cute I'm going to take it as an insult," Emily pouted. "I'm a Power Ranger. I can't be cute. Have you ever seen cute scare off a monster?"
"I guess not," Mia laughed. She held her hand out and Emily handed her a hair clip. While the Pink Ranger finished with her hair, Emily looked at her.
"So… you know how I feel… when you saw Mike, did you see…"
"I don't know, Em," Mia shrugged. "Does it really matter, though? There's, like, two and a half years between you guys, almost three. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but are you sure that's the best thing to wish for right now?"
Emily sighed, "I guess not. It's just… well… you know how I feel. I can't not feel this way."
"I understand that," Mia nodded her head, "but… don't let yourself believe in something that might not be true. Anyways, Mike doesn't exactly strike me as a one woman guy. We don't want to see you getting hurt."
"So you're saying it's okay to have a crush, but I should start looking at guys closer to my age?" Emily asked, "Like that Spike kid from the park?"
"Okay… maybe not ice-cream kid," Mia laughed, "But you're first priority shouldn't be to fall in love. Not just yet. You're still a kid. Enjoy it!"
"Easy for you to say. I bet you were dating a lot of guys when you were my age."
"Not a lot," Mia frowned, "I dated a few… they all wound up hurting me. I don't want to see you going through that… and I don't want to see you losing a friend because Mike doesn't turn out to be the guy you think he is. He's a great guy, honestly. I wish him well and I hope he's happy. And, if he's the guy for you… you know… fate will step in. But stick to doing what you do best."
"If you tell me that's being cute I'm going to ruin your date with Kevin," Emily glared at her sister-figure. Mia laughed.
"I was going to say it was keeping Mike in line, but you can throw that in there," Mia chuckled and pinched Emily's cheek, "Thanks for helping me get ready."
"Have fun on your date," Emily nodded, "And watch your back. I don't take kindly to people who call me cute."
"Weird kid."
Mia and Emily turned to the door where Kevin was leaning against the frame with a small bouquet of flowers. He presented them to Mia.
"Nothing fancy," he told her with a smile, "But I figured I better get you something seeing as it is a first date."
"They're beautiful, Kevin," Mia grinned and smelled the flowers. Emily got up from her bed and walked over. She took the flowers from Mia and pushed the couple out of her room.
"I'll put them in water and leave them beside your bed for when you get home," she assured Mia, "Go have fun. The sooner you get out of here, the less time I'll have to come up with a plan to ruin this non-romantic first date."
"I'll have her home by midnight," Kevin teased as he took Mia's hand. Emily rolled her eyes as she walked them to the door. She closed it behind them and turned to the kitchen to find a vase to put the flowers in.
As she searched through the cupboards, Jayden stepped in, looking for a snack.
"Are they gone?" he asked her.
Emily had her head inside the cupboard and didn't realise Jayden had come into the room. When she heard his voice she jumped and hit her head on the top of the cupboard. She pulled herself out and stood up.
"Yeah," she rubbed her head with her palm and nodded, "I promised Mia I would take care of the flowers."
"There's a vase up here," Jayden said with a chuckle. He opened a cupboard over the counter and reached to the very top shelf to pull a vase down. He filled it with water before setting it on the counter. Emily stuck the flowers inside and organised them mindless.
Jayden didn't have to be a mind reader to know there was something going on in Emily's head. As he walked to the fridge, he tried to get a conversation going.
"I guess Mia was excited for the date," he said, "Kevin was pretty nervous. It's weird. You guys never stop talking, and yet he spent the entire afternoon worrying about what he was going to talk to Mia about."
"Dating is kind of weird that way," Emily nodded, "Or… so I've been told. I remember when Serena came home from her first date. She said it started off awkward, but in the end, it was amazing."
"I wouldn't know either," Jayden shrugged and pulled out some sushi that had been leftover from lunch, "I've never actually dated a girl."
"You haven't?" Emily asked. She would have assumed a man like Jayden would have at least been dating at some point in his life. While Mike had been the one to catch her eye, Emily wasn't blind. Jayden was hot. It was a surprise he didn't have girls lining up at the academy.
"I've been too busy," Jayden nodded. "Anyways, dating is overrated. For me at least. Don't get me wrong, you and Mia are both beautiful… I just haven't felt the attraction."
Emily blushed, "Uh… thanks."
"I mean it," Jayden smiled, "I'm not encouraging you to abandon your duties and search for a nice guy, but I'm pretty sure you could have anyone you wanted."
"People don't date cute," Emily muttered. "Cute is kiddish."
"I hate to break it to you, Emily," Jayden laughed, "But around here, you are a kid."
Emily pouted, "Thanks."
"There's nothing wrong with it," Jayden smiled, "You're the youngest. That's it. Kevin, Mia and I… we just see you as a cute… little sister, I guess. That's what we mean. Not everyone really sees you as cute."
"You're in the deep end now, Jayden."
"I don't date, nor do I fall in love, but I do believe that there is someone out there for everyone. Whether it's romantically, or just in a best friends forever kind of way. That someone is going to be able to see you for who you really are. They'll see beyond what's outside and they'll know and understand you. The best part: all that will come without trying. It just happens."
"Like Kevin and Mia?"
"They've only known each other for a few months, but why not? They might have just clicked. Only they will know."
Emily touched the flowers again and sighed. Big kids were confusing. First, they told her to wait because she was too young, and now they were telling her that only she could judge when love struck.
"Thanks, Jayden, you made me realise something."
"What's that?" Jayden asked.
"I may be the youngest, but at least I'm not confusing. You, Mia and Kevin… you all need to have weekly meetings or something so you can get your messages straight."
Emily picked up the flowers and walked back to her and Mia's bedroom to put them away like she promised. As she walked off, Jayden shook his head.
"What?"
-Samurai-
Kevin pulled up to the restaurant and stopped the car. He had borrowed Jayden's car for the night. He didn't have his own just yet, and he wasn't about to use public transit or borrow Mentor Ji's motorcycle. Thankfully, Jayden was supportive, and as long as Kevin made sure to fill up the gas tank and bring the care home in one piece, Kevin and Mia could do almost anything they wanted, and go anywhere they wanted.
Mia unbuckled her seat belt and looked up at the restaurant sign, "Jungle Karma Pizza really does have a jungle theme."
"We should have bet with money," Kevin chuckled as he stepped out of the car, "I could have earned twenty bucks and we could have bought dessert."
"I thought it would be some kind of wild Buddhist or Hindu theme."
"Buddhist pizza?" Kevin asked. He took Mia's hand and walked her to the door. Mia shrugged.
"I guess not."
The couple were greeted and led to their table by a bumbling waitress who took their drink order and promised the waiter would be coming soon. They were handed menus and left to dine.
Kevin searched through the menu. He didn't know what he wanted, but he wasn't truly searching for anything to eat. He was too busy trying to come up with something to say.
He knew this was going to happen. He had talked to Mia hundreds of times, but never like this. It was just the two of them. He assumed Mia didn't want to talk about the others while they were on a date, just like he assumed she didn't want to talk about the Ranger life. He figured that, like him, Mia would want to talk about more personal stuff. He just had no idea where to start.
"Mike was right," Mia chuckled, "They do put bananas on pizza. And here I thought I had some crazy cooking ideas."
"We could share that… if you feel like having pizza for dinner again," Kevin offered, "Or… at the back, there's some other stuff… you know."
Mia nodded her head, "Yeah, I don't think I could do pizza two nights in a row."
She bit her lip and looked down at the menu. She didn't know what else to do. She was so nervous. She wanted to get this right. She had been on other dates before, with a few other guys. Normally conversation was rather easy. Small talk led into personal conversation, jokes could be shared, and at the end of the night, she would part ways with her date and hoped he called her back if he left a good impression.
But with Kevin it was different. There were already butterflies in her stomach, he was already a friend, and at the end of the night, no matter how the date turned out, the furthest they would end up would be in two different rooms. There was a lot of pressure.
Finally, the waiter arrived with their drinks.
"How are you guys doing today?" he asked. Mia and Kevin both put their menus down and he set the drinks down on the table for them.
"We're good," Kevin smiled, "but we're not quite ready to order… well, um… I'm not."
"Neither am I," Mia nodded.
The waiter smirked, "I don't mean to be rude… but is this a first date?"
"How did you know?" Mia asked.
"I saw you guys flipping through the menus and recognised it right off the bat," the waiter said. "I've been where you guys are. You started off as friends, am I right?"
"Yeah, you're good," Kevin nodded.
"I tried dating my best friend… both of them, actually," the waiter said. "I remember feeling exactly the way you both feel right now, both times. Trust me, you guys already know the other one likes you, so just relax, have a look at the menu, laugh at the chef's crazy creations, and I'll be back in a minute to take your order. If you need me before that, my name's Theo."
"Thanks, Theo," Kevin smirked. Theo smiled back and turned to leave the couple for a moment, hoping he had helped them with their silence blues.
Mia couldn't help but laugh as Theo walked off. She was impressed with his deduction skills.
"He's good," she pointed out. Kevin nodded his head.
"Very good. Do you think it worked out with one of his best friends?" he asked Mia. "Do you think friends can date?"
"Well… he said they were his best friends," Mia pointed out. "You are a really good friend, but I don't think we've reached best friend status yet."
"You think we stand a chance?"
"If I didn't, would I be sitting here with you looking at meals like… Noodle Fury Frenzy? What kind of restaurant is this?"
"It's definitely interesting," Kevin laughed. "No offense, but I think whoever came up with these crazy recipes is scarier than you when you're alone in the kitchen."
"You haven't met my mother, then," Mia laughed, "Haven't you ever wondered where I got my cooking skills from?"
"Don't tell me it's genetic…"
"Mom, grandma, great-grandma… why do you think I had no idea my food tasted horrible. I grew up on burnt toast and overcooked chicken."
"I do not want to be in your shoes," Kevin smiled, "My mother was amazing in the kitchen."
"But you had to watch out," Mia smirked, "You couldn't eat before going swimming, right?"
"Not unless you want to cramp up in the water. It could get pretty bad, believe me. I normally ate right after practice, though. Swimming works up an appetite, and I can't be eating before and after practice or I would be eating all day."
"Well, once you teach me to cook then I can make you your favourite meals and they can be ready after you get out of the water. You know, once we go back to our normal lives."
"Sounds amazing," Kevin smiled.
-Samurai-
"C'mon, Jayden, that's three times! Aren't you supposed to be the best Ranger out of all of us? You know, the Great Red Guy! Captain Amazing! The star of the show! The man with the moves and the cool weapons."
Jayden tossed his controller to the side, "In real life, maybe. Video games are definitely not my forte."
Mike turned off the game console and looked at the Red Ranger, "Well, at least now I can say I kicked your ass. Not many people have that honour."
"You would be surprised," Jayden said. "What is winning without losing?"
"A game that's been rigged," Mike shrugged, "or a kid game… you know, the kind where parents tell the kids that there are no losers when everyone has fun."
"You know what I mean," Jayden laughed. He cracked his knuckles. He didn't know playing video games would give his fingers such a workout. There was definitely a technique to winning in the virtual world. If he ever needed someone who was good with his fingers, he would know to talk to Mike.
He glanced at the clock and saw it was getting late. He shot Mike a look, "Maybe we should head off to bed. Mentor's going to have us all up early tomorrow for training."
"Serious?" Mike grumbled, "I thought I would be able to sleep in again tomorrow."
"Expect the unex…" Jayden was interrupted mid-sentence by the gap sensor. He and Mike both turned and watched as it flashed. They didn't have to stand there staring for long before Mentor and Emily rushed in.
"Seriously, tonight of all nights?" Emily sighed, "We're down two Rangers! It's going to take Kevin and Mia forever to get back here?"
"As far as I can tell it's just Moogers," Mentor assured Emily. "You three are more than capable of handling them on your own."
"There's got to be something more," Jayden frowned. It just seemed weird that there would only be Moogers attacking the city. Normally, Master Xandred would send out some kind of Nighlok to accompany them. He walked over to the table and pulled up the map. "The Moogers are by the abandoned warehouse."
"Abandoned… as in there's nobody around?" Mike asked.
"No, the other definition of abandoned," Emily laughed.
"They must be after something in the warehouse," Mentor Ji said. "You three must go after them and stop them before they get it. If a Nighlok enters the city, I will alert Kevin and Mia."
"No sense ruining their date, right?" Mike nodded.
"They should be headed home soon anyways," Emily said. "Kevin said they would be home by midnight."
"I'll send them after you once they have returned," Mentor Ji promised. "For now, the three of you will have to take on the Moogers on your own."