Disclaimer: PR belongs to Disney.
Feelings Revealed
Chapter VIII: The Day Is Finally Here
It was the morning of Valentine's Day. Syd and Z hadn't managed to get too much sleep because they were so excited for Valentine's Day to come. Now it has. The two female rangers threw the covers off them and all but darted out the door to their bedroom after having gathered a clean uniform, socks, and such.
"I can't believe it. Valentine's Day is finally here!" Syd squealed.
Z rolled her eyes at her roommate's enthusiasm, but inwardly, she was just as excited as Syd was that today was Valentine's Day. After all, if things went as planned, today would mark the beginning of a new relationship between her and Jack.
"Easy Syd, the day's not going anywhere," Z called out to Syd as she raced to the common bathroom.
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Bridge was sitting on his bed holding a copy of the Academy paper in his hands. He was scanning through the various articles searching for something. His eyes stopped on a particular article that he had been searching for. There it was, the article Bridge wanted in today's paper.
Here's what it read:
Syd, you and I have been through so much together, and you have always been by my side. The ups and downs, smiles and frowns I could not forget even if I tried. Know that you can count on me and I on you to be there when it counts. No matter the problem, big or small, our friendship knows no bounds. I have but one question to ask you, and whatever you answer is fine. Syd, what I'm trying to say is will you be my valentine?
"Hey Sky, look my article got published!" Bridge said excitedly all but shoving the newspaper in Sky's face.
Sky scanned the lines of the article. After finishing the article, Sky lowered the paper to see Bridge looking at him like 'Well, what do you think?'
"That was so sweet of you Bridge. Syd will love it I'm sure," Sky said.
The look in Bridge's eyes though told a completely different story. He had never had a girlfriend before because most girls found him to be too weird for them. With this article though, Bridge was taking a huge risk.
"Yeah, but what if she doesn't? What if this just messes things up? I don't want to jeopardize my friendship with Syd. Maybe writing this article wasn't such a great idea after all. How could I be so stupid? I must be kidding myself to even consider the idea of Syd being interested in a guy like me." Bridge said while his eyes started to water.
Sky placed a hand on Bridge's shoulder. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself Bridge. I don't ever want to hear you call yourself stupid again, ok? You're not stupid Bridge. Nobody thinks you are, especially not Syd." Sky said reassuringly.
Bridge gave Sky a smile of gratitude. His smile was quickly replaced by a frown as Bridge realized something. "The presents. I forgot to wrap the presents," Bridge said.
Bridge stood up, but was just as soon sat back down by Sky.
"Don't sweat it. I'll take care of it Bridge. Just sit there and relax. Everything's going to be fine buddy," Sky said.
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Syd and Z had both finished showering, and were back in their room. Syd had picked up a copy of the Academy newspaper on the way back from the common bathroom. She came across a particular article that caused her to gasp and drop the newspaper.
"What is it Syd?" Z asked confused as to what would cause her to react in such fashion.
"Paper…article…Bridge…valentine…" was all Syd managed to say.
Z picked up the paper from the floor and looked for the article Syd was referring to. After scanning through several articles, and flipping a few pages, Z spotted the article that had Syd so flustered. She read the article through once. Her eyes widened. She had to read the article a second time to make sure she had read it right the first time.
"Well, well, well. It seems you were right about Bridge after all. I guess congratulations are in order Syd," Z said.
Syd managed to regain her composure. Syd's suspicions about Bridge were true. That would explain why he was so shy around her last night in the parking facility. That would explain why Bridge had asked her if anyone asked her to be their valentine. It all started to come together now.
"That was so romantic! I suspected it was Bridge who got me the flowers at the mall. This though…this is just…wow!" Syd said.
Z nodded her head in agreement. Truth be told, she was quite proud of their green ranger. Z had no idea Bridge could be so bold as to pull something like this. Sure Syd and Bridge would be somewhat of an odd couple. There's Syd, who's the S.P.D. princess. Then there's Bridge who is the epitome of eccentricity. Yet somehow they seemed right for one another. After all, sometimes the best of couples start off as the best of friends.
"So, what are you going to say to him?" Z asked.
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"There. How does that look Bridge?" Sky asked showing him the wrapped presents.
Bridge just nodded his head yes. So many thoughts were racing through his mind that it was hard to sort them out. Despite Sky attempting to reassure him, Bridge still had his doubts.
Sky noticed this as well. "Listen Bridge. You can do this. I know you can. I mean come on. If you can write such a genuinely sweet article for the paper, then you can do this." Sky said.
Bridge gave Sky a look that said otherwise. "Maybe you should just give Syd the presents. I don't think I can go through with this," Bridge said.
Sky's heart went out to Bridge. He had watched Bridge go through a rollercoaster of emotions this morning from excitement to doubt. He hated seeing Bridge like this. It wasn't often that Bridge was anything but happy.
"I can't do that Bridge. You know I can't. They're your presents. More than likely, Syd's already read your article by now anyhow. I'll tell you what I can do though. If you want me to, I'll go with you when you give them to her and be sort of like your wingman." Sky said.
Bridge frowned. "See, that's why I can't do it Sky. Syd probably has read the article by now, and the fact that she hasn't stopped by tells me what her answer is!" Bridge replied.
Sky sighed. No matter how hard he tried, Bridge wasn't going to budge. Nothing he has said seemed to have gotten through to Bridge. "You don't know that Bridge. I know it's hard, but try not to think worst case scenario, ok?" Sky said.
"You don't know! You don't know a thing Sky! You didn't ask anyone to be your valentine!" Bridge shouted surprising both Sky and himself.
Sky silently left the room with his head hanging low. Bridge knew that Sky was only trying to help. He didn't mean to yell at Sky. He definitely didn't mean to remind Sky of the fact that he doesn't have a valentine. There was no question, Bridge didn't need to take off his glove and scan Sky's aura. He knew his words hurt Sky and was afraid of how much damage his words had done.
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"Happy Valentine's Day!" Z said to Jack in the cafeteria.
Jack got out of his chair and embraced Z in a hug. "Happy Valentine's Day to you too!" Jack responded.
"Mind if I join you?" Z asked.
"I thought you'd never ask," Jack replied kissing Z on the forehead.
Z took a seat next to Jack. She slowly slid Jack's plate of food in front of her and began eating from it.
Jack snickered. "You just think you're so cute, don't you?" Jack asked.
"Well yeah that too, but I'm mostly just hungry," Z said with a mouthful of food.
Jack laughed at Z's answer. "Hey Z, remember how you told me that Bridge was going to ask Syd to be his valentine? Well, I was reading the paper this morning when I came across an article." Jack said.
Z swallowed her food and then said, "Mm-hmm. I couldn't believe it either. Isn't that such a sweet gesture though?" Z asked.
"Yeah," Jack replied.
"Hey, why didn't you write an article in the paper asking me to be your valentine?" Z asked.
A smile appeared on Jack's face. "Who said I was going to ask you to be my valentine?" Jack said jokingly.
Z scoffed. "Oh please Jack. It's so obvious. You told me not to make any plans tonight." Z reminded Jack.
"From that you got I was going to ask you to be my valentine?" Jack replied.
Z nodded her head yes.
"Well, what would you say if I did ask you, hypothetically of course?" Jack asked.
Z took a moment to think about it, which worried Jack. "I'd love to, hypothetically of course," Z answered.
Jack and Z both shared a laugh. Jack breathed a sigh of relief afterwards. At least the two of them were on the same board about taking their relationship to the next level. That was one less thing Jack had to worry about.
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There was a knock on Syd's door. Syd looked up to see Sky standing there.
"Hey Sky, what's up?" Syd asked.
"Can I come in?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, of course," Syd answered.
Sky took a seat on the bed next to Syd. Something was wrong though. Syd could see it in Sky's eyes.
"Are you ok?" Syd asked.
"I'm not here to talk about me ok? I'm here to talk about Bridge," Sky answered.
"Oh," was all Syd could reply.
"Look, Bridge is in his room beating himself up thinking he's not good enough for you. I just don't want you to hurt him," Sky said.
Syd put her hands on Sky's shoulders. "Don't worry Sky. I'm not going to hurt him. Really though, what's bothering you? Don't try to act like nothing's wrong because I know better." Syd said.
"I appreciate the concern Syd, but it's not really that big of a deal. Bridge just said some things to me, but it's ok. I understand. He's a nervous wreck, so I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," Sky answered.
Syd sighed. Typical of Sky. Never wanting to admit that he needs help, much less accept it when it's offered. "Hey Sky, I was thinking of having Bridge and I tag along with Jack and Z and make it a double date, but only if that's ok with you. I don't want you to feel like we're leaving you out or anything like that," Syd said.
"No, no. That's ok. You guys go on ahead. I don't celebrate Valentine's Day anyways, so I'll be fine," Sky replied.
Syd got off of her bed. "Okay, well I better tell Bridge the good news before he beats himself up anymore," Syd said.
A/N: I know it's been awhile, but I finally got around to updating this. Read & review please. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but not flames.