Standard disclaimer, because, if I owned them, Dustin with one of the other rangers would be canon, not fanon.
Red Competition
"Are they at it again?" Tori asked Dustin and Blake when she walked into Ninja Ops. "Don't they ever get tired?"
Blake winced as Shane met the ground hard after Hunter flipped him. "You guys don't know Hunter. He won't stop at anything unless he knows he the best. Tiring out isn't even an option."
"In that case...when do you think they'll stop? You know, who do you think will win?" Tori asked.
"Dude, I don't think they'll ever stop," Dustin replied in awe. He grimaced when Shane sent Hunter flying with a roundhouse kick to the chest, then shifted his head slightly in Blake's direction, eyes never leaving the spectacle. "You don't know Shane, then, either, dude," Dustin sighed. "He's, like, just so stubborn. He won't give up unless—" the three rangers momentarily looked away and winced when both the Red and Crimson rangers were sent to the floor after punching each other on the face, "—he knows he's...the...best..." Dustin trailed off, as both rangers started to circle each other.
"I'm starting to think that this could get ugly," murmured Tori, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Then she looked around and noticed that no one else was with them, that it was just the five rangers. "Um...hey, you guys, where's Sensei or Cam? Some one needs to be here to pull them apart."
She waited for Blake and Dustin to turn around and answer her, but when Blake only answered that he didn't know, Tori grew impatient. "Dustin!"
Dustin jumped and turned shifted his head slightly towards Tori, a sign that he was listening. "What? Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, but it's, like, watching a train wreck. You just...can't...stop...watching."
"Dustin!" Tori exclaimed.
"What? Oh, yeah...uh...yeah, Cam said he, like, had to go out and get something and that Sensei was out meditating," Dustin answered, never taking his eyes off the brutality.
"Huh...let me get this straight," Tori said with a slight smirk on her face. "Cam left not only Hunter and Shane, but you," she poked his back, "alone with the supercomputer? Excuse me if I don't believe you."
This was enough to shock Dustin out of his awe. "Hey! I'm not that bad," he answered. Tori could have sworn he was pouting. "And, no, Shane and I came here together. Blake and Captain Tall, Dark and Brooding came by a little later."
If it was possible, the smirk on Tori's face got even bigger. "So you...uh...came here with Shane...together?"
Blake's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Um...yeah...isn't that what he just said?" he asked, gesturing to Dustin who looked a little flushed, and was shooting her dirty looks and icy glares.
"Dude, you okay?" asked Blake. "You look a little red...and hot."
Tori laughed quietly when Dustin immediately turned three shades of red, and Blake's eyebrows just furrowed more. She nearly bawled out loud when she noticed that Shane had heard—and registered—the comment, too, and paused to look at Blake then Dustin—and, for some reason, Hunter did too—before deciding he was okay before continuing with his sparring.
"Yeah...uh...I just need some..." Dustin trailed off, busily looking for... "Water!" he exclaimed and started to eagerly drink, nearly chugging the water.
Tori's smile turned evil and pretended to address Blake when she kept looking at the Yellow ranger. "Well, yeah, I know, it's just that...uh..." she paused to giggle, "...Shane and Dustin have been...ahem...disappearing on me for a while."
Tori smile when Dustin almost choked with the water.
"Tori, can I see you outside for, like, a while?" he asked, death glares already boring holes into Tori's oblivious gaze as he began to stand up. Tori had to bite her lip to stop from laughing...again.
"Yeah, sure!" she said, a little too brightly, then turning to Blake. "Uh, we'll be right back."
She then took Dustin's hand, as he helped her to stand up. Blake's eyebrows scrunched up even more, but he decided that watching his brother and Shane beating the crap out of each other was more fun to watch then wondering what Tori's double meaning was.
Outside, Dustin was still fuming as Tori finally let out all the laughter that she'd been bottling up since she first started teasing him. When she finally stopped, she noticed that Dustin was not happy, and that threatened to send her into yet another laughing fit.
"Yeah, dude, that was, like, so...cruel," Dustin said, his hands strangling the air to emphasize his point.
"Oh, just lighten up, Dustin. I was just playing," Tori said, amusement still in her voice. "It's not like Blake suspects anything anyway."
Dustin visibly deflated in front of Tori and she was reminded of just how knew this all was to him, how much like a little kid seeing school for the first time or like a puppy who felt bad because it didn't know what it was supposed to do. "Yeah, I know, it's just that...I don't want to risk anyone else finding out, especially not Blake and Hunter," he said despondently, eyes glazing over, looking past her and at the tree-fenced field behind her. "I just...I just I don't want to risk splitting up the team, now, especially since, you know, they just barely, finally joined."
"Yeah, I know," Tori said, feeling bad because she didn't take into consideration what might have happened had Dustin not stopped her. She rubbed his arm up and down. "I'm sorry. I'll be careful. I just...I just couldn't help myself," Tori said amusement creeping back into her voice, which was obviously the right thing to say because Dustin smiled and did an affectionate eye roll.
"Oh, yeah, hey," she said finally remember what it was that she came to Ninja Ops for. "You never did tell me how you're date was." Dustin groaned, but Tori just ignored it. "It's been four days and I'm still waiting to hear it."
Dustin chuckled a little. "And with good reason," he said, as he pointed to the entrance of Ninja Ops.
Tori smiled and gave him a slight shove as his laughing began to die down. "Well? Out with it, then!"
"Okay, okay! No need to get violent!" he said, putting his hands up in a disarmed manner. "I guess it all started at..."
[Flashback]
Dustin was rummaging crazily through his closet looking for something nice, meaning decent, meaning clean, meaning, not used for more than three times since it was last washed, to wear for his date in, approximately...crap!...thirty minutes!
Selecting a dark yellow, short sleeved button down, with a bright yellow undershirt, some dark blue jeans, that happened to fit just right, and black leather boots, throwing them on his ever-unmade bed, Dustin raced to his bathroom to clean up. After finally getting rid of the dirt that just seemed to love him and getting dressed, he half attempted to tame his wild curls with gel, only to make it both curly and stuck. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone speak behind him just as he sighed, lowered his arms, and slump his shoulders and in defeat.
"If you ask me," think it looks fine," he heard her say. "Great, even. I wonder who's it for..." she trailed off, eyebrows waggling suggestively, a knowing smile playing across her lips.
She was beautiful, and only slightly shorter than him. She had the same dark, curly hair, but her eyes were light green, almost like ice green, if ice could be green. It reminded him of his mother.
"It's not for anybody, Mare," he said, feigning exasperation, but he could tell he was showing signs of anxiety.
In other words, he was dead, and she knew it.
"You suck at lying, Wally," she said, letting herself into the bathroom and jumping up to rather large counter. "Now, tell big sis the nasty lil' secret before I have to resort to using your first name," she said, mock seriousness on her face. "'Cause I'll do it. And it won't be pretty."
Dustin shifted. He suddenly found his shoes interesting for a while before he turned back to his sister. Sighing, a hopeful, and pained, look on his face, he spoke in a quiet tone, "Promise me that you won't tell anyone. Like, anyone at all."
She visibly perked and made a scout's honor sign with her fingers. "On my name as Marian Ava blah blah blah Brookes, I promise never to tell anyone what you're about to tell me..." she paused as he relaxed and opened his mouth, "...as long as I find it boring enough and actually not want to tell my friends."
He glared at her.
"Okaaay...maybe, then?"
He shot daggers.
"Okay, maybe not," she huffed. "Happy now?"
"Very," he said smugly...until he realized he had to tell her his secret now.
Damn.
Suddenly he found his shoes to be very interesting again.
What was he doing again?
"Hello? Dustin? I know you like spacing out, but this isn't one of the times that you can," she said, mock haughtily. "I mean, you are talking to me."
Oh, yeah.
"Oh, yeah," he said. "Um...you can't freak out on me," he said calmly, hands in the air in a disarmed position. "I, kinda...well...I kinda got a date..." he said sheepishly.
"Well, I can see that—" she began before he cut her off.
"NO!" he yelled. "No...it's just that...well...it's with...Shane," he mumbled, waiting for any sign of her hearing him...you know, breaking of mirrors, glasses thrown across the room, that sort of thing.
"Excuse me?" she asked strangely.
"It's...it's...it's Shane," he said, finally gathering enough courage to say it while looking at her.
She stared at him.
"Mare? Are you there?" he asked, hand waving in front of her eyes, until she got annoyed and batted his hands away. She gave him an exasperated sigh and stared at him.
"Is that it?" she asked. "That's the big secret?" she huffed as she jumped off the counter and turned to him, mumbling, "waste of a promise."
Dustin's mind did a recap. Huh?
"Huh?"
Her exasperated sigh would have been audible in, at least, the neighboring three states. "That's hardly a secret, Wally. The poor guy's only been making googly eyes at you since you were, like, a freshmen," she stated plainly, rolling her eyes. "I bet he probably didn't even know it," stated smugly. "In fact, I bet he liked from even before that, and you were just too blind to see it."
Okay...what?
"Okay, what?" he asked innocently, then his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait...you're not mad?"
"Mad?" she asked, surprised. "Why would I...oh," she sighed. "You're my brother and I love you, but let's face it...you read like a book," she said, grabbing his cheeks and peering into his eyes. "If you wore your heart on your sleeve anymore, it'd fall off." Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked away to mumble something. "Although, I would have thought that you would have hooked up with that other guy you hang out with. Hun...Han...Hay..."
Dustin blinked. "What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind," she mumbled. "Um, so...where's he taking you?" she asked, changing the subject, and dragging him out to his room.
"Oh...I don't know," he said, following her, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion.
She winced. "Ooooh. Bad idea. You're always supposed to tell a person where you're going, to make sure they don't embarrass themselves by over- or under-dressing."
He chuckled nervously. "It's Shane. He's probably got this, like, whole thing scheduled to, like, accommodate us and stuff."
"Since when did you use words like 'accommodate?' And, when exactly—" she asked as they both heard the doorbell ring.
"Uh, that's me," he said nervously. "Do you think I look okay?"
"Yeah, you look great," she said, smiling sadly. "Dustin?" she asked his back, and waited for him to turn around. "Just...just make sure he treats you right, okay?"
Dustin shifted on his feet slightly. "Okay."
Marian thought about what she wanted to say, and bit her lip in a nervous manner. "It's just that...with that other...'friend' of yours—Mar, Mac, M- something—I just want to make sure that you'll be alright."
Dustin froze, his voice barely above a whisper. "You...you knew about him?"
Mare could feel the sharp remark in the back of her throat, but something in those brown eyes told her not to. She nodded.
Dustin looked like he had been kicked in the stomach and had to grab onto the wall behind him. But...he had been so careful. He hid anything that could leave behind evidence; the lube, the foil rappers...his skin. A voice shocked him out of his reverie.
"Master Brooks," it said in an unsatisfactory tone. "Mr. Clarke is here to see you."
"Thank you, Laura," he said, smiling nervously as she stepped out of his room. He looked at his sister and attempted a warm smile. She winced at its falsity, and he asked the question that he had wanted to ask since she told him she wasn't surprised.
"Does anyone else...does Mom or Dad...do they..." he tried.
"Know?" she finished with a sympathetic tone. "No. They don't know...about anything."
Dustin sighed, even if he didn't know whether it was in relief or exhaustion. "Uh...I just...I wanted to say thanks..." he started.
"You don't have to," she replied. "I love you and always will. You have my support," she said soothingly, hugging him, then suddenly brightening up. "Now, go on. You don't want to keep Loverboy waiting."
Dustin flustered a little. "Uh...um...Thanks."
"Don't mention it," she said as she pushed him out of his room. "Don't worry about Mom and Dad. I'll take care of any questions they ask."
"Hey," he heard Shane say as he came down the stairs. "What took you so long?"
"Nothing," he answered, smiling slightly. "I just had to make sure of something."
"Good," Shane answered, brightly, opening the door. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, just let me grab my jacket."
As they walked towards the car, Shane muttered something.
"You look...great."
Dustin cheeks colored slightly. "Uh...thanks. You, too." He nearly laughed as Shane rushed in front of him. "I can open my own door, you know."
Shane smiled brightly. "I know. You just shouldn't have to."
Dustin really blushed. Shane's smile only got, if possible, brighter. Usually, he wasn't so into the flirting, but...there was just something about how it threw Dustin off in such an amusing way, he just couldn't help it.
"So...uh...where are we going?" Dustin asked, shocking Shane from his staring.
Shane chuckled softly. "It's a surprise."
[Pause Flashback]
"Wait, so Mary knew about you and Shane?" Tori asked, shocked. "Wow."
"I know! I was, like...like, totally thrown off," he said, remembering his shock.
Tori recovered first. "So where did he take you? Did you have a good time?"
Dustin groaned. "Oh...you could say that...in the end, maybe."
[Hey there. I redid this chapter, because I thought it was too short. Um...the next chapter, if you can't tell, will be Dustin and Shane's date, with Tori and Dustin's opinions running amok here and there.
Shout outs to Camfan4ever, CaliforniaChick, and CrimsonHurricane.
Hope you liked this rewrite/post.
Thanks. Bye]
Red Competition
"Are they at it again?" Tori asked Dustin and Blake when she walked into Ninja Ops. "Don't they ever get tired?"
Blake winced as Shane met the ground hard after Hunter flipped him. "You guys don't know Hunter. He won't stop at anything unless he knows he the best. Tiring out isn't even an option."
"In that case...when do you think they'll stop? You know, who do you think will win?" Tori asked.
"Dude, I don't think they'll ever stop," Dustin replied in awe. He grimaced when Shane sent Hunter flying with a roundhouse kick to the chest, then shifted his head slightly in Blake's direction, eyes never leaving the spectacle. "You don't know Shane, then, either, dude," Dustin sighed. "He's, like, just so stubborn. He won't give up unless—" the three rangers momentarily looked away and winced when both the Red and Crimson rangers were sent to the floor after punching each other on the face, "—he knows he's...the...best..." Dustin trailed off, as both rangers started to circle each other.
"I'm starting to think that this could get ugly," murmured Tori, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Then she looked around and noticed that no one else was with them, that it was just the five rangers. "Um...hey, you guys, where's Sensei or Cam? Some one needs to be here to pull them apart."
She waited for Blake and Dustin to turn around and answer her, but when Blake only answered that he didn't know, Tori grew impatient. "Dustin!"
Dustin jumped and turned shifted his head slightly towards Tori, a sign that he was listening. "What? Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, but it's, like, watching a train wreck. You just...can't...stop...watching."
"Dustin!" Tori exclaimed.
"What? Oh, yeah...uh...yeah, Cam said he, like, had to go out and get something and that Sensei was out meditating," Dustin answered, never taking his eyes off the brutality.
"Huh...let me get this straight," Tori said with a slight smirk on her face. "Cam left not only Hunter and Shane, but you," she poked his back, "alone with the supercomputer? Excuse me if I don't believe you."
This was enough to shock Dustin out of his awe. "Hey! I'm not that bad," he answered. Tori could have sworn he was pouting. "And, no, Shane and I came here together. Blake and Captain Tall, Dark and Brooding came by a little later."
If it was possible, the smirk on Tori's face got even bigger. "So you...uh...came here with Shane...together?"
Blake's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Um...yeah...isn't that what he just said?" he asked, gesturing to Dustin who looked a little flushed, and was shooting her dirty looks and icy glares.
"Dude, you okay?" asked Blake. "You look a little red...and hot."
Tori laughed quietly when Dustin immediately turned three shades of red, and Blake's eyebrows just furrowed more. She nearly bawled out loud when she noticed that Shane had heard—and registered—the comment, too, and paused to look at Blake then Dustin—and, for some reason, Hunter did too—before deciding he was okay before continuing with his sparring.
"Yeah...uh...I just need some..." Dustin trailed off, busily looking for... "Water!" he exclaimed and started to eagerly drink, nearly chugging the water.
Tori's smile turned evil and pretended to address Blake when she kept looking at the Yellow ranger. "Well, yeah, I know, it's just that...uh..." she paused to giggle, "...Shane and Dustin have been...ahem...disappearing on me for a while."
Tori smile when Dustin almost choked with the water.
"Tori, can I see you outside for, like, a while?" he asked, death glares already boring holes into Tori's oblivious gaze as he began to stand up. Tori had to bite her lip to stop from laughing...again.
"Yeah, sure!" she said, a little too brightly, then turning to Blake. "Uh, we'll be right back."
She then took Dustin's hand, as he helped her to stand up. Blake's eyebrows scrunched up even more, but he decided that watching his brother and Shane beating the crap out of each other was more fun to watch then wondering what Tori's double meaning was.
Outside, Dustin was still fuming as Tori finally let out all the laughter that she'd been bottling up since she first started teasing him. When she finally stopped, she noticed that Dustin was not happy, and that threatened to send her into yet another laughing fit.
"Yeah, dude, that was, like, so...cruel," Dustin said, his hands strangling the air to emphasize his point.
"Oh, just lighten up, Dustin. I was just playing," Tori said, amusement still in her voice. "It's not like Blake suspects anything anyway."
Dustin visibly deflated in front of Tori and she was reminded of just how knew this all was to him, how much like a little kid seeing school for the first time or like a puppy who felt bad because it didn't know what it was supposed to do. "Yeah, I know, it's just that...I don't want to risk anyone else finding out, especially not Blake and Hunter," he said despondently, eyes glazing over, looking past her and at the tree-fenced field behind her. "I just...I just I don't want to risk splitting up the team, now, especially since, you know, they just barely, finally joined."
"Yeah, I know," Tori said, feeling bad because she didn't take into consideration what might have happened had Dustin not stopped her. She rubbed his arm up and down. "I'm sorry. I'll be careful. I just...I just couldn't help myself," Tori said amusement creeping back into her voice, which was obviously the right thing to say because Dustin smiled and did an affectionate eye roll.
"Oh, yeah, hey," she said finally remember what it was that she came to Ninja Ops for. "You never did tell me how you're date was." Dustin groaned, but Tori just ignored it. "It's been four days and I'm still waiting to hear it."
Dustin chuckled a little. "And with good reason," he said, as he pointed to the entrance of Ninja Ops.
Tori smiled and gave him a slight shove as his laughing began to die down. "Well? Out with it, then!"
"Okay, okay! No need to get violent!" he said, putting his hands up in a disarmed manner. "I guess it all started at..."
[Flashback]
Dustin was rummaging crazily through his closet looking for something nice, meaning decent, meaning clean, meaning, not used for more than three times since it was last washed, to wear for his date in, approximately...crap!...thirty minutes!
Selecting a dark yellow, short sleeved button down, with a bright yellow undershirt, some dark blue jeans, that happened to fit just right, and black leather boots, throwing them on his ever-unmade bed, Dustin raced to his bathroom to clean up. After finally getting rid of the dirt that just seemed to love him and getting dressed, he half attempted to tame his wild curls with gel, only to make it both curly and stuck. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone speak behind him just as he sighed, lowered his arms, and slump his shoulders and in defeat.
"If you ask me," think it looks fine," he heard her say. "Great, even. I wonder who's it for..." she trailed off, eyebrows waggling suggestively, a knowing smile playing across her lips.
She was beautiful, and only slightly shorter than him. She had the same dark, curly hair, but her eyes were light green, almost like ice green, if ice could be green. It reminded him of his mother.
"It's not for anybody, Mare," he said, feigning exasperation, but he could tell he was showing signs of anxiety.
In other words, he was dead, and she knew it.
"You suck at lying, Wally," she said, letting herself into the bathroom and jumping up to rather large counter. "Now, tell big sis the nasty lil' secret before I have to resort to using your first name," she said, mock seriousness on her face. "'Cause I'll do it. And it won't be pretty."
Dustin shifted. He suddenly found his shoes interesting for a while before he turned back to his sister. Sighing, a hopeful, and pained, look on his face, he spoke in a quiet tone, "Promise me that you won't tell anyone. Like, anyone at all."
She visibly perked and made a scout's honor sign with her fingers. "On my name as Marian Ava blah blah blah Brookes, I promise never to tell anyone what you're about to tell me..." she paused as he relaxed and opened his mouth, "...as long as I find it boring enough and actually not want to tell my friends."
He glared at her.
"Okaaay...maybe, then?"
He shot daggers.
"Okay, maybe not," she huffed. "Happy now?"
"Very," he said smugly...until he realized he had to tell her his secret now.
Damn.
Suddenly he found his shoes to be very interesting again.
What was he doing again?
"Hello? Dustin? I know you like spacing out, but this isn't one of the times that you can," she said, mock haughtily. "I mean, you are talking to me."
Oh, yeah.
"Oh, yeah," he said. "Um...you can't freak out on me," he said calmly, hands in the air in a disarmed position. "I, kinda...well...I kinda got a date..." he said sheepishly.
"Well, I can see that—" she began before he cut her off.
"NO!" he yelled. "No...it's just that...well...it's with...Shane," he mumbled, waiting for any sign of her hearing him...you know, breaking of mirrors, glasses thrown across the room, that sort of thing.
"Excuse me?" she asked strangely.
"It's...it's...it's Shane," he said, finally gathering enough courage to say it while looking at her.
She stared at him.
"Mare? Are you there?" he asked, hand waving in front of her eyes, until she got annoyed and batted his hands away. She gave him an exasperated sigh and stared at him.
"Is that it?" she asked. "That's the big secret?" she huffed as she jumped off the counter and turned to him, mumbling, "waste of a promise."
Dustin's mind did a recap. Huh?
"Huh?"
Her exasperated sigh would have been audible in, at least, the neighboring three states. "That's hardly a secret, Wally. The poor guy's only been making googly eyes at you since you were, like, a freshmen," she stated plainly, rolling her eyes. "I bet he probably didn't even know it," stated smugly. "In fact, I bet he liked from even before that, and you were just too blind to see it."
Okay...what?
"Okay, what?" he asked innocently, then his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait...you're not mad?"
"Mad?" she asked, surprised. "Why would I...oh," she sighed. "You're my brother and I love you, but let's face it...you read like a book," she said, grabbing his cheeks and peering into his eyes. "If you wore your heart on your sleeve anymore, it'd fall off." Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked away to mumble something. "Although, I would have thought that you would have hooked up with that other guy you hang out with. Hun...Han...Hay..."
Dustin blinked. "What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind," she mumbled. "Um, so...where's he taking you?" she asked, changing the subject, and dragging him out to his room.
"Oh...I don't know," he said, following her, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion.
She winced. "Ooooh. Bad idea. You're always supposed to tell a person where you're going, to make sure they don't embarrass themselves by over- or under-dressing."
He chuckled nervously. "It's Shane. He's probably got this, like, whole thing scheduled to, like, accommodate us and stuff."
"Since when did you use words like 'accommodate?' And, when exactly—" she asked as they both heard the doorbell ring.
"Uh, that's me," he said nervously. "Do you think I look okay?"
"Yeah, you look great," she said, smiling sadly. "Dustin?" she asked his back, and waited for him to turn around. "Just...just make sure he treats you right, okay?"
Dustin shifted on his feet slightly. "Okay."
Marian thought about what she wanted to say, and bit her lip in a nervous manner. "It's just that...with that other...'friend' of yours—Mar, Mac, M- something—I just want to make sure that you'll be alright."
Dustin froze, his voice barely above a whisper. "You...you knew about him?"
Mare could feel the sharp remark in the back of her throat, but something in those brown eyes told her not to. She nodded.
Dustin looked like he had been kicked in the stomach and had to grab onto the wall behind him. But...he had been so careful. He hid anything that could leave behind evidence; the lube, the foil rappers...his skin. A voice shocked him out of his reverie.
"Master Brooks," it said in an unsatisfactory tone. "Mr. Clarke is here to see you."
"Thank you, Laura," he said, smiling nervously as she stepped out of his room. He looked at his sister and attempted a warm smile. She winced at its falsity, and he asked the question that he had wanted to ask since she told him she wasn't surprised.
"Does anyone else...does Mom or Dad...do they..." he tried.
"Know?" she finished with a sympathetic tone. "No. They don't know...about anything."
Dustin sighed, even if he didn't know whether it was in relief or exhaustion. "Uh...I just...I wanted to say thanks..." he started.
"You don't have to," she replied. "I love you and always will. You have my support," she said soothingly, hugging him, then suddenly brightening up. "Now, go on. You don't want to keep Loverboy waiting."
Dustin flustered a little. "Uh...um...Thanks."
"Don't mention it," she said as she pushed him out of his room. "Don't worry about Mom and Dad. I'll take care of any questions they ask."
"Hey," he heard Shane say as he came down the stairs. "What took you so long?"
"Nothing," he answered, smiling slightly. "I just had to make sure of something."
"Good," Shane answered, brightly, opening the door. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, just let me grab my jacket."
As they walked towards the car, Shane muttered something.
"You look...great."
Dustin cheeks colored slightly. "Uh...thanks. You, too." He nearly laughed as Shane rushed in front of him. "I can open my own door, you know."
Shane smiled brightly. "I know. You just shouldn't have to."
Dustin really blushed. Shane's smile only got, if possible, brighter. Usually, he wasn't so into the flirting, but...there was just something about how it threw Dustin off in such an amusing way, he just couldn't help it.
"So...uh...where are we going?" Dustin asked, shocking Shane from his staring.
Shane chuckled softly. "It's a surprise."
[Pause Flashback]
"Wait, so Mary knew about you and Shane?" Tori asked, shocked. "Wow."
"I know! I was, like...like, totally thrown off," he said, remembering his shock.
Tori recovered first. "So where did he take you? Did you have a good time?"
Dustin groaned. "Oh...you could say that...in the end, maybe."
[Hey there. I redid this chapter, because I thought it was too short. Um...the next chapter, if you can't tell, will be Dustin and Shane's date, with Tori and Dustin's opinions running amok here and there.
Shout outs to Camfan4ever, CaliforniaChick, and CrimsonHurricane.
Hope you liked this rewrite/post.
Thanks. Bye]