Disclaimer: See the last I don't know three chapters.

Feelings Revealed

Chapter IV: Embarrassment

Once Sky and Bridge had left the mall, Z was ready to go too. Actually scratch that. Eat first. Leave later. Since Sky and Bridge had left the mall, it was now safe for Syd and Z to eat at the food court. Syd and Z had already ordered their food and were seated at one of the tables in the food court eating their lunch.

"Gross! I can't believe you are eating a hamburger Z! Do you know how much fat and calories are in that thing?" Syd remarked.

Z was too busy stuffing her face to pay much attention to the pink ranger. Z may be a girl, but she could still stuff her face with the best of them. As a matter of fact, when the five rangers would eat together in the cafeteria at the Academy, it was routine for Jack and Z to engage in a competition to see who could finish eating first.

"Whatever Syd. I just want to hurry up and finish so I can get back. The only reason I came with you to spy on Bridge and Sky was because I was curious as to what they would be doing here in the first place. Now that I've seen them, I have no reason to stay here," Z said with a mouth full of hamburger.

Syd was repulsed by Z's manners or lack thereof. She couldn't believe Z was stuffing her face in public. How she eats in the cafeteria at the Academy is one thing, but when she is in public, it is expected that she be proper and civilized in regards to her eating habits. Syd was afraid of being seen with Z while she was eating like a pig, so she picked up her salad and water and moved to another table.

"Why are you moving to another table Syd? Am I grossing you out?" Z asked.

Syd was trying her best to ignore Z and not give anyone the idea that she knew her. However, that plan went awry when Z had accidentally spit half chewed bits of hamburger bun, hamburger, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on Syd's face while she was talking. Syd immediately wiped her face with a napkin and had a clear look of disgust on her face.

"Eww! Gosh Z, hasn't anyone ever taught you that it's bad manners to talk with food in your mouth?" Syd asked still irritated at receiving a shower of hamburger compliments of Z.

Z laughed at Syd. Well, at least as best as she could manage with two cheeks full of food that is. Z got up out of her chair and threw her trash away since she had finished eating and made like she was going to leave the food court without Syd. Syd saw this and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not finished eating yet! Were you just going to leave me here by myself? Besides, I still have to shop for some new clothes since we have yet to do that!" Syd whined.

Z rolled her eyes. Z wasn't exactly the type of girl who enjoyed shopping at the mall for the latest fashion trends for hours. Everyone at the Academy knew that Syd loved her shopping.

"Like I told you before Syd, the only reason I tagged along was because I wanted to see what Bridge and Sky were up to. Now that I have, there's really no more reason for me to be here, so I'm going back to the Academy," Z replied freeing herself from Syd's grip and leaving the food court.

Syd realized that she and Z had driven to the mall together, so if Z was leaving, Syd would not have a ride back to the Academy. That would mean she would have to call someone at the Academy to come and pick her up. That probably wouldn't turn out great because then that person would more than likely ask what she was doing at the mall. Syd wasn't terribly good at lying as it was, so even though her being at the mall may be believable, her telling whoever came to pick her up might not be so believable. That's not what worried Syd the most though.

"You can't go back now! If you do, then Sky and Bridge will know that we were spying on them! It's safer for you to wait a little while and then go back. That way they won't have any reason to be suspicious," Syd said.

Z couldn't believe that was Syd's reason for not wanting her to leave. From what Syd told her, Bridge saw Syd spying on him and Sky anyways. Sure there would probably be a confrontation once she and Syd got back to the Academy, but was that really worse than spending hours in a mall with Syd watching her run to the fitting room to try on every single piece of apparel that she thought was cute? Against her better judgment, Z decided to stay with Syd because after all, she was her ride back to the Academy and even though she may be sneaky, Z wasn't mean.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back at the Academy, Bridge was knocking on the door to the room that he and Sky shared. The first thing Sky had done once he and Bridge arrived back at the Academy was run to his room. Ever since then, Sky had locked himself in his room.

"Sky, it's me Bridge. Come on open up! Hey, this is my room too you know!" Bridge shouted.

Jack happened to be passing by when he heard shouting. Curiosity got the best of him and he decided to investigate and see what all the shouting was about.

"Hey Bridge, what's going on here?" Jack asked.

Bridge hesitated answering Jack's question. Bridge wondered whether or not he should tell Jack what had happened at the mall. Sky was already embarrassed enough to last him an entire lifetime, but if he found out that Bridge had gone around telling people what happened, well Sky would not be a happy camper.

"Are you asking me as a friend? Or maybe you are asking me as a teammate? Perhaps instead you are asking me as my superior? I mean with the whole your being a red ranger thing and all, you are my superior. Could it be that you are asking me as…" Bridge started to ask before Jack interrupted him.

"Bridge!" Jack shouted ruining Bridge's train of thought.

Bridge hated it when people interrupted his train of thought. Of course not that he'd ever do anything about it since he wasn't exactly the confrontational type. Still though, there was usually a point that Bridge was trying to make behind all his seemingly endless chatter. However, the amount of people who listened to Bridge long enough for him to make his said point were few and far between.

"Sky locked himself in the room and won't let me in," Bridge answered.

Jack knocked on the door, but like Bridge, he received no answer. Jack was deep in thought trying to come up with some way to open the door. A smile appeared on Jack's face when he came up with a plan B. He phased through the door just in time to see Sky come out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Geez Jack! Have you ever heard of knocking?" Sky yelled surprised at the sudden arrival of the red ranger.

Jack wondered what he and Bridge had been doing for the past several minutes was called if not knocking. Jack reasoned that Sky must not have heard them knocking because he was in the shower.

"Usually when a door is closed, it's closed for a reason!" Sky continued.

If Jack didn't know any better, he'd say that Sky was uncomfortable getting dressed in front of other people. He didn't understand why though because after all Jack and Sky are both guys. Now if a girl had barged in on Sky half naked with nothing on except a towel around his waist, then he could understand why Sky would be uncomfortable.

"Yeah well this is Bridge's room too. Ever since he got back, you locked him out of the room. Besides, if you're so worried about someone barging in on you when you're not dressed, why don't you just close the bathroom door?" Jack retorted.

Sky unlocked the door to the room, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed into the bathroom locking the bathroom door behind him. If he couldn't manage locking himself in his room, then he'd settle for locking himself in the bathroom instead. Jack left the room and noticed that Bridge wasn't waiting outside anymore. He wondered where Bridge could've possibly gone to now.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bridge was busy meeting with one of the staff writers for the Academy newspaper who also happened to be a member of C-Squad.

"I have an interesting idea for a story that you could write about and submit to the paper," Bridge said.

The C-Squad cadet looked at Bridge curious to hear what this story was about. He was a good writer, but his problem was that he had a hard time putting the ideas that he had in his head on paper.

"I need you to write this story and have it submitted so that it will be in tomorrow's edition of the Academy newspaper," Bridge said.

The C-Squad cadet looked at Bridge with a confused look on his face. He didn't understand what story could be so urgent that it needed to be done and in tomorrow's paper.

Bridge thought back to the events that had happened at the mall. "Ok, so this is what happened…"

To Be Continued…

A/N: There you go. I got another chapter up. I'm sorry if this chapter is a little on the short side. I figured it was better than no update at all. Hopefully I didn't let any of you down with this chapter. I tried to make it as good as the preceding chapters, but the question remains whether or not I succeeded. Blake-Tori88, Brandon B, Crimson Mystery, and BloomingViolets, thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter. I was pleasantly surprised when my review count jumped from 4 to 8 after last chapter. I'm still a rookie, so I'll take whatever amount of reviews I can get. Don't worry about when you review. I'm just glad that you review. Crimson Mystery, I know what you mean. There are so many Sky/Syd, Sky/Z, and Jack/Z fics out there especially the first two. Why should Jack and Sky be the only ones who get the girl? Anyways, I don't have a beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know. I consider myself good at spelling, but even I make mistakes from time to time. To anyone reading this story, I'd love to know what you think. No flames please. I'm not exactly the most self-confident individual, so the last thing I need is someone telling me how much my story sucks.