Chapter 13: Connecting and Reconnecting

"What am I going to do? My career is over! I don't even think I can sing anymore!" Kylee wailed in the empty Cyberspace. Because the crazy, youth-sucking Donkeyvac was running all over town, no one was willing to take their chances and all decided to run home before their youth was gone. Sadly, they didn't know that Haley had secured the building about a thousand different ways for about a thousand different things. When you are in the business of the unexpected, you have to prepare for anything. Unfortunately, Kira hadn't prepared for the dramatic super star who had been like this for the past hour. No matter what she or Haley could do, nothing could calm the great Kylee Styles.

"Everything is going to be okay," Kira said for the hundredth time. "Someone is going to reverse this, this, whatever it is that you have, and everything will be okay."
"And when will that be Little Miss Perfect?" Kylee screeched. "I have a show to do tonight and if I'm not on it, then not only will my fans be disappointed, but my CD sales will go down, and I won't be able to get back on the show for months!"

"Oh, the horrors of not being on one TV show when there are a million others out there," Haley playful cried from behind the counter. She was keeping an eye on the boys while they were out fighting the mutant from her laptop. With all of the cameras she had installed in the city, no matter where they went, she would always be able to find them.

"It's not funny!" Kylee screeched again. "This show either makes or breaks artists. New Kids on the Block went on it when they were just beginning their career and suddenly they were the next best thing in the eighties! Ever hear of Natalia Wood? No? That's because her appearance on the show was absolutely hideous. Her interview was one of the worst interviews I've ever seen in my entire life. It's no wonder why she never truly released an album." She chugged the icy water sitting on the table in front of her before she continued her rant. "If I am not on this show tonight, there will be no more Kylee Styles. I have waited months to get on and if I'm not, I'm done for. If my interview sucks, I'm done for. If my song sucks, then I'm done for. I have been preparing for this thing way too long to just have to cancel because some idiot thinks it would be hilarious to see everyone extremely old looking. I mean, I must look at least forty!"

Kira looked over and saw Haley roll her eyes and pretend to sob while Kylee was ranting. A beeping sound filled the room and Kira saw that it was her Dino Gem bracelet. The gem in the center was glowing a slight orange light which meant Conner was calling her.

"Kylee, I'm really sorry, but I have to go," Kira said as she stood up.

"Wh...Where are you going? You can't leave me here all by myself. You're my friend, Kira!" Kylee said as she tried to guilt trip Kira. But that wasn't going to work.

"Kylee, I'm sorry, but I have to go," she apologized.
"What about that thing that's running around? What if he gets you?"
"I'll be fine," Kira said as she made her way to the door. "Haley, play this for her while I'm gone, will you? It'll help her out. And keep a close eye on her, make sure she doesn't go anywhere." She handed the woman a CD and ran out the door.

While Ethan and Dr. O where battling the Tyrannodrones the Donkeyvac had let loose, Conner ran after the offending villain and trapped him in an alleyway. "It's over, Donkeyvac. Give it up," he said in his best cop voice. Man, I've always wanted to say that, Conner thought.

The mutant laughed, "That's what you think!" and aimed a laser gun right at Conner's heart. A deafening sound filled the air and Conner tried to cover his ears to block out the noise. He opened his eyes and saw the Donkeyvac being blown against the wall, the laser gun flying out of his hand, and yellow sound waves bouncing off of the walls. There was only one person who could do something like that.

When the deafening sound was over, a hand reached down to pull him up off the ground. Conner stood up and looked at his yellow-dressed smirking savior. "Now we're even."

"How about next time you warn a guy?" he asked and she blushed. Conner noticed that the Donkeyvac was beginning to recover from the blow and Kira was unmorphed. He nodded and her bracelet transformed into her morpher.

"Dino Thunder Power Up! Ha!" A bright yellow light flashed and suddenly the yellow ranger was standing next to her leader. She took a defensive stance, getting ready to fight the mutant of Mesogog who had taken the youth of her old best friend. (No pun intended.)

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look at Conner who simply pointed behind him. Kira looked and saw Dr. Oliver and Ethan running towards them. "Z-Rex blaster?" he asked. She nodded and smiled underneath her mask, knowing Conner would never see it.

"Man, that was one weird day," Conner commented.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked. "Everyday is weird when you are a...well, you know."
"Yeah, there was that, but Kira actually knows someone whose famous and nothing like her. C'mon, knowing the two personalities, there is no way you would have believed that those two used to be friends," Conner said. "Those two are like night and day."

"Yeah, too bad we didn't get a chance to see them together," Ethan agreed.

"What are you two talking about?" Dr. Oliver asked as he sat down at the boys' table. Kira came up a few moments later and stood between Ethan and Conner.

"Oh, nothing, just how happy we are that all of the hot chicks have their youth back," the jock said with a smirk on his face. Knowing he was getting a swift hit on the head, he quickly winked at Kira to let her know he was kidding. She smiled back but hit him anyways.

"You are such an a—" she started to say before she remembered who was in their presence.

Tommy dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Go ahead and say it. It's after school hours, you guys fought a mutant, and quite frankly, I would hit him too if I wasn't going to be in trouble with the law." The singer smiled and hit the jock on the back of the head, not as hard as she usually did, but enough so he could still complain about how the girl was abusing the guy.
"I have to get on stage," Kira said when she heard her band mates calling.

"Good luck!" the table of boys shouted as she walked away from them.

"So, what's the deal Conner?" Ethan asked as soon as the yellow ranger was out of earshot.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You and Kira suddenly getting a little flirty," Ethan said. "What happened in that alleyway before Dr. O and I showed up?"
"Nothing, she just kinda saved me," he mumbled, hoping they wouldn't asked him to say it again.

"What was that?" Dr. O joked, wanting to get in on torturing the red ranger. "You know, this is just like class, Conner. You need to speak up; I'm old and my hearing is going out."

"I said, she kinda saved me," Conner said a little bit louder this time. "I was about to get killed by a laser gun and she used her supersonic scream to save me. Happy?"

"Very much so, yes," Ethan smirked. "Oh, quiet, the show's about to start. Especially since Conner wants to give his savior his full attention. You just can't keep your eyes off of her, huh, Conner?"

"Shut up!" he hissed as the house lights dimmed. "And no, I prefer girls who wear make up and just because she saved me once doesn't mean any of you two wouldn't have done the same."

"Feisty, just like the chick who saved him," Ethan nagged.
"Will you two shut up?" some kid said from the next table over. "I'm trying to listen."

They weren't going to apologize, but when Tommy shot them a death glare, they said "Sorry" and turned their attention back to the show.
"Hey everyone! Thanks for coming out tonight. We're going to start tonight's show off with a song I wrote a couple of years ago with my best friend. I hope you like it." A few chords filled the air as she began to sing:

Best friends
They come and go depending on your highs and your lows
My best friend decided not to be there when I needed her the most
I thought you'd be there for me
Then why did you lie to me
Using me to get what you want?
Then I couldn't believe it happened
No, I couldn't understand

Kira nodded her head along to the beat and relaxed when she saw Conner smiling brightly at her. He liked the song, she could tell. She took a breath to start the next verse but the voice coming out wasn't her own, but she knew it like her own. It was Kylee Styles'.

True love walked out the door
Couldn't take it no more
True love
It broke my heart
You make my whole life sore
He said he'd be my baby
Then why did he betray me?
Temptation got to his head
Then I left him, yeah
And this is what I said

It feels like it's gonna be okay
(It's gonna be okay)
It feels right
It just feels that way
(It just feels that way
It feels like
It'll be a better day
Cause I believe that in the end
Good things are coming my way

The song ended and Cyberspace erupted in applause. Kira had forgotten now nice it was to sing a duet with someone whose voice was a complete compliment to her own. They started another song and another, until Kira's set list was over with and the entire crowd was on their feet applauding the duo. She looked over at the pop star and smiled when she smiled back. It was just like old times, singing with her best friend and their band in their garages, always hoping someone would call to give them a chance to play. Except now everyone called Kylee because they always wanted her to sing and Kira was considered a regular at Cyberspace and was expected to be there. She didn't have a record deal like Kylee, nor did she have her posters hanging in someone's room, and maybe, just maybe, that was perfectly alright with her right now. She had more important things to do at the moment.

Kylee stepped off of the stage and was swarmed by her adoring fans. Kira placed her guitar gently in its holder and sat down on the edge, sipping from her water bottle. She saw Conner walking towards her and joined her on the stage. "Why aren't you over there with the rest of them, mooning over Kylee?" she asked.

"Because, I'm sitting next to the real star of the show," he said with a smile. "Besides, your fan club is a whole lot better than hers. Your concerts are free, your music is really good, and you're just a real person."
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Conner?" she laughed. The boy shrugged as he took the water bottle out of her hands and took a sip.

"Believe it or not, I'm the real Conner McKnight. Residential soccer superstar and the most popular guy at school who happens to have made some fairly unlikely friends in a fairly unlikely situation." He handed her water back and wiped the remaining liquid off of his mouth with the back of his hand. "And before you continue to worry your pretty little head, I wanted to say I'm sorry for not believing in you."

"It's okay," Kira said. "I honestly didn't expect you to. Nobody would believe that Kylee Styles and Kira Ford used to be BFFs and sang in a garage together back in the day."

"True."
Kira waited a moment before asked, "What did you mean in the mall when you said 'She's so...and you're so'?"
"Uh...nothing. It was nothing." The yellow ranger glared until he gave in. "I just meant that people, and I mean me, want her because she seems so untouchable. Is that not why people strive to be famous? But you, you are just real. You put your soul into every single word you sing when you write a song and just put true emotion behind every song you sing. Kylee can't do that. Her songs are nothing but words people put on paper for her to sing. She's generic. But you are unique. That's why you're so attractive." Kira blushed and Conner realized what he said. "And when I say attractive, I mean attractive as in people like listening to your music instead of that other stuff. You're real and that's why all of these people come to your show every Friday, sometimes Saturday, nights."
"All of these people came to see Kylee," she said bitterly.

"No, they didn't it," he said. "Ethan and I were talking just as the show was about to start and some guy told us to shut up before Kylee even appeared. These people really like you Kira, and I don't know if you noticed or not, but the numbers have been growing each and every week."

"They have, haven't they?" she smiled. "People really do like me."

"Yeah, but they are going to have to get in line for the Kira Ford Fan Club."
"Why's that?" she asked.

"Because there are only three spots and they are currently filled by three Power Rangers."

Hey guys! I just realized that I completely forgot to upload this chapter before the next one which is why the next couple of chapters are going to be reuploaded. You know, I'm disappointed that none of you guys caught this mistake! Didn't you guy want to know what happened after the end of chapter 12? You silly people;) Don't worry, I'll be uploading this week's chapter next.

Until next chapter,
Writingaddict169