Hello all! I know I said my other story was just going to be a one shot, but I got so many reviews asking for more that I just couldn't help myself. Anyways, what that means is that I'm going to be posting at least one other short story along with this one.
This story takes place about two years before the other one. I don't know exactly how the time line goes, so basically I treat each season as a year. This one takes place not long after Rocky, Adam, and Aisha get the ranger powers. Good? Okay, moving on…
Anyway, that's about it. I don't know when I'll get the other one posted, but I will eventually. That one will take place not long after Burgers, Love, and Addiction, that way I've covered my before and after bases.
And to all you readers out there (Feline-Feral, Sparxxa, Melly, Sanquinedarkness666, Daphnebandweeie, PinkStranger, Dany Cmar, Psycho Tangerine, Sreym, Yuri Ameno, Nomadff7, CamFan4Ever, PunkPinkPower, and Lttlelola ), you're reviews make my day. Really. I love you all, and you make my writing worthwhile. THANK YOU ALL!
Three main comments here.
1. Dany Cmar – Eeep! I love your stories! For you to review mine… Wow! And I can't wait until you get another one posted Dany. Cmar's already contributed to my reading pleasure, now it's your turn.
2. CamFan4Ever - #faints# Oh. My. God. YOU thought my story was good. I must be in heaven. You write so many awesome stories… Now let's see if I can fit my head through the door after that ego boost.
3. Lttlelola – Wow. Another amazing writer reviewing my story? I never expected it to get such reviews. By the way, I absolutely love The Christmas List. You must post more!
Okay. Yeah, that's all I've got. On to the much requested "Incident."
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That Incident Back Sophomore Year…
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"Aisha, come on! We're going to miss the beginning of the movie!" Rocky called loudly. He bounced impatiently in her hallway as he waited for her.
Shaking his head, Adam muttered, "How are you even going to sit through the movie? I told you, you shouldn't have drunk those three Mountain Dews."
Glancing at his best friend, he sighed. "You know I know hate missing the previews."
The sound of frantic scrambling was heard only seconds before the pretty black girl came racing down the stairs. "Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys!" The look on her face was one of embarrassment. "My English teacher gave me a three page paper that's due tomorrow! I have to get it done. You guys will have to see the movie without me."
Rocky visibly deflated. "Aww man!"
Adam spoke up from beside him. "You think you'll be able to go tomorrow?" It was understood that everything depended on whether or not a monster attacked, because if they had other things to do… Such as rangering, then well… It couldn't be helped.
She shrugged as she shook her head. "I don't know. Look, it's not that big of a deal. You guys go ahead and see the movie. If it's any good, we can see it again later. If not… we can go see a different one."
Rocky and Adam glanced at each other. "Are you sure?" Rocky asked.
"Yeah, go ahead." A slight smile flickered across her face. "If you boys think you can keep your hands off each other."
Both boys sighed. While Aisha was the only person who knew of their sexual preferences, she also knew that neither boy had ever even entertained the notion of dating, but still seemed like she was waiting for it to happen.
"Aisha…"
"I'm just kidding!" she said defensively. "Now go on. You don't want to miss the beginning of the movie and I have to do my paper."
A blood-curdling scream ripped through the theater, causing everyone to jump. Adam flinched and grabbed Rocky's arm and even Rocky paled. Being a ranger was no walk in the park, but it was nowhere near as bad as what Hollywood special effects artists could come up with. Rita and Zedd's monsters simply blew up, not anything like the gore in these movies.
Adam swallowed hard as he watched the movie; he had never been much for horror movies. Fighting monsters hell bent on destroying Earth was one thing, this… He definitely preferred monsters. Plus, he could hardly stand knowing that something was going to happen, but not being able to do anything about it. Sometimes, he really hated being the sensitive one.
Rocky couldn't help but notice that Adam was still attached to his arm and he glanced down. He found himself noticing that Adam looked cute when he was scared, but just as quickly, he found himself dismissing that thought. Adam was just… Adam. That was all he'd ever been, so why was he noticing this now? He never had before, which was weird when he thought about it. How had he not noticed those dark, soulful eyes…?
Eyes that were currently staring at him, he realized with a start. Adam's almond eyes were wide in the darkness and they were glittering slightly as the light from the movie screen reflected in them. And for the first time – or at least the first time he acknowledged it – Rocky found himself inexplicably drawn to the smaller teenager.
Adam gave Rocky a questioning look, trying to figure out the expression in his friend's eyes. He'd never seen it before and it sent a strange jolt straight through him.
Rocky couldn't help it. The way Adam was looking at him was just too much. He leaned down and kissed his best friend gently. The weird feeling that had formed in the pit of his stomach multiplied, and for some reason, he couldn't quite bring himself to pull away from the Korean boy. In fact, he found himself really, really not wanting to pull away. Only… Something in the back of his mind was telling him that there would be trouble – big trouble – if he didn't.
Quite suddenly though, Adam's hand slipped up behind his head, holding him close and effectively ending any thoughts Rocky had of pulling away… And just about all his thoughts about anything else too, for that matter. Everything except the younger teenager he was kissing.
Rather abruptly, the movie ceased to be important. In fact, it was about the last thing on either boy's mind. Even Adam couldn't deny that, suddenly, the only thing he wanted was Rocky. Anything that his brain could have come up with to convince him to stop what was happening was instantly banished into the back recesses of his mind when he felt Rocky playfully nip at his throat. That was it. He was gone…
Even after the movie was over, neither boy was able to fully focus on reality. Everything just seemed so… warm and fuzzy. Driving home just gave them more time to spend with each other, though the concentration necessary for driving meant they couldn't continue their previous activities.
When they pulled up to Adam's house, the Korean boy started to get out but Rocky stopped him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back for a kiss, one that lasted as long as they could possibly manage before the need for air reasserted itself.
"See you tomorrow," Rocky whispered, forehead resting against Adam's.
"Yeah," Adam breathed in agreement. Quickly placing another kiss on Rocky's lips, he reluctantly pulled away.
Rocky watched him go inside, unable to focus on anything else. Even as he finished the drive home, everything seemed to be in this weird, distorted fog. He couldn't bring himself to even look at his homework and he collapsed on his bed, still on his natural high, and fell asleep.
Waking up rather suddenly to the sound of his blaring radio alarm, Rocky nearly fell out of bed. He groaned softly and rubbed his eyes. Considering that he was not a morning person, he was in a surprisingly good mood, though, for the life of him, he couldn't really remember why. That was no surprise, he thought to himself. He couldn't begin to count the number of times his mother had commented on his forgetfulness. He smiled slightly. At least he wasn't as bad as a certain white ranger on their team.
As he changed for school, he struggled to remember why he was happy. He had seen a movie… Had it really been that good? He was surprised to find that he honestly didn't remember the movie either.
Despite the early hour, he forced to brain to start working as he tried to remember the previous day. He had seen a movie with Adam; that much he did recall. Aisha had been busy so she hadn't gone. He remembered the first thirty minutes or so of the movie, but after that… And suddenly everything snapped into place.
Abruptly, his good mood was gone, replaced by utter horror. What had he done!
Realizing with a start that he had probably just destroyed the most important friendship in his life, Rocky barely suppressed his urge to bash his head into the wall repeatedly. How could he have done that to Adam? He didn't remember the other protesting, but still… Adam had always just silently gone along with the things Rocky did, even when he didn't really want to. They hadn't even talked about what had happened, not that Rocky really wanted to.
Moaning quietly, he buried his face in his hands. How could he have been so stupid? And how was he going to avoid having to deal with Adam?
"Adam, I'm not telling you again. Get out of bed now, or you're going to be late for school."
Managing to force himself out of his highly lethargic state, he called out in an only partially groggy voice, "Okay mom, I'm up."
He thought he heard some muttering along the lines of "It's about time" but he tuned it out, smiling slightly as he remembered his dream. Granted, it would never happen in real life – it was impossible – but it was still a good dream nonetheless.
Walking into the bathroom, hr just happened to glance at the mirror. He nearly passed out as he caught a look at his reflection.
Instantly, his hand shot up, clamping down on his neck. Taking several deep, calming breaths, he forced himself to relax then slowly moved his hand. Okay, he wasn't crazy. He did have a hickey.
'Oh God, it wasn't a dream,' he thought wildly to himself, hand back over the mark on his neck. 'Not good, not good. So not good. Man, it's going to be fun trying to explain this.'
Sighing in resignation, he began to desperately try to figure out how in the world he was going to both hide the hickey and avoid Rocky. Suddenly, the day didn't look quite so good.
"And I'm not letting you out until you work this crap out!" Aisha yelled as she slammed the door and locked it in the faces of two surprised teenagers.
Rocky and Adam stood in one of Ernie's storage closets, staring at the door. Aisha had not been happy with their attempts to avoid each other. That had been painfully clear when she had grabbed first Rocky then Adam, drug both boys across the room – in full sight of everyone there – and locked them in the closet they were currently in.
Rocky sighed and glanced at Adam quickly. The Korean boy had avoided him all day. Well, at least he thought Adam had avoided him, though it could have been that he had just been amazing successful at avoiding him. Despite that, he hadn't failed to notice the black turtleneck Adam was wearing. Thank God it was winter, or there was no way that could have been managed without suspicion.
"I don't hear talking," Aisha's voice came rather suddenly from the other side of the door. "I'm not leaving until you guys start, so unless you plan on sleeping in there tonight, I suggest you get to talking."
This time it was Adam who sighed. To Rocky's surprise, he then started talking. "Rocky, look… About yesterday –"
"It never should have happened." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Rocky winced. "I didn't mean it like that," he said, seeing the look on Adam's face. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his best friend.
Adam stood there, blinking his dark eyes. He couldn't help but wonder about the meaning of Rocky's comment. While he agreed that yes, they had made a mistake, he certainly wouldn't have put in such terms. It was all too easy to feel due to the quick way Rocky had said that. He forced down the pain that had formed so quickly inside of himself, refusing to let the other boy know how much that comment had bothered him.
Rocky glanced down uncomfortably. As much as he enjoyed talking, he hated this conversation. "Adam… What happened yesterday… God, I've had problems thinking of anything else… But today… Today's been one of the worst days of my life."
Slowly, Adam nodded in agreement. "I hated not knowing how things stood between us. I thought…" He shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know…"
"It's not worth it," Rocky said, unusually quiet. "Our friendship isn't worth it." Even as he said it, some part of him disagreed; he wanted what had happened yesterday to happen again. He wanted to be able to have Adam as more than just his best friend… But he knew that Adam was simply interested in protecting their friendship.
Adam felt that already slightly aching part of his heart clench even tighter. If Rocky didn't think it was worth it… "Our friendship is the most important thing," he agreed reluctantly. He needed Rocky, but if the best he was going to get was his friendship… He would just have to live with that. As long as he at least had that, he'd be okay.
"Yeah… So… We stay friends… Just friends… No matter what happens between us…" Rocky said. He wanted more than that, but he couldn't risk it. Couldn't force Adam into it. Their friendship was too important. To have to spend another day like today… He wouldn't be able to stand it.
"So… Everything's back to normal between us, right?" Adam asked. He wasn't sure how long it would take to forget about what had happened the day before but he had a feeling that "several years" wouldn't quite cover it.
"Yeah. We're cool."
Adam turned to the door to tell Aisha that she could let them out, but Rocky stopped him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "Hey uh… Thanks… For going to the movies with me yesterday… And for not freaking out… Well, at least not any more than I did…" Rocky said quietly, fighting down the urge to kiss Adam again. That was how all this crap had started in the first place.
A slight smile actually found its way to Adam's face. "Hey, you're my best friend. If I didn't go to keep you out of trouble, who would?"
"Hey!" Rocky exclaimed indignantly. He playfully pushed Adam.
The door opened abruptly and Aisha stepped in just in time to see Adam stumble backwards slightly. "Oh come off it. Hands to yourselves, boys."
The two teenagers glanced at each other, suppressing any traces of guilt. If only she knew…
"So since you guys are talking again… How was the movie? You guys up for seeing that again or should we see a different one?"
Rocky was the one who answered. "We can see that one again." He didn't add what he was thinking. 'Since we didn't actually see it the first time.' Even as he said that though, he couldn't help but watch Adam. 'God, if only I could tell you how much you mean to me without screwing up our friendship…' But they had agreed to just be friends. And that's what they would stay. That was what mattered most.
The same time Rocky was watching him, Adam was doing the best he could to hide that he was watching Rocky. Rocky had been the one who had suggested they remain just friends, so he had to respect that. But… After the events of the day before… He didn't wanted to stay just friends… He wanted to feel Rocky's lips on his, to feel Rocky's body against him again… He wanted Rocky to love him like that again. But if being friends was the best he was going to get… Well, he knew that having Rocky as his best friend was better than not having him at all. So "just friends" was all they would be…
Just friends…
End
Let's everyone say it at once. Awwww. Aren't communication problems the worst? I hate them… So it's only natural that I inflict them upon these helpless characters. Poor them.