Dustin Brooks ran restless fingers through his hair, making the raven strands stand on end. He made a face at himself at the mirror and flattened it until he was satisfied with how it looked. Then he cleared his throat. "Hey, Jade," he said. "Jade, hi." He adopted a gangsta pose and yelled, "Whassup homie?"
"What are you doing?"
He jumped and turned around to face Blake and Hunter Bradley, who stared at him skeptically."Don't do that!" he exclaimed. "You guys nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry," Blake shrugged. He squinted at his friend. "Dude, what are you doing?"
"Nothing man," Dustin didn't want to admit that the Jade that he was talking about--as if there were any other--was Jade Thomas, Tori Hanson's estranged cousin from Los Angeles. He had a huge crush on the girl and was planning on asking her out soon.
Hunter made a derisive noise. "Practicing," he teased, a wicked grin forming on his face, "for when he asks out Jade."
The Bradley brothers hooted with laughter while Dustin blushed a deep scarlet. "Come on dude," he protested. "Can you blame me?"
"Whatever man," Blake managed to choke in between chuckles. "I don't think you're exactly her type, you know?"
"No way," he replied. But even as he spoke, he doubted. The girl in question was intense. Having lost her parents a few years ago, she hesitated getting close to anyone and usually hid behind a mask of bravado and sarcasm. But no one ever said that the Yellow Wind Ranger gave up too easily. "You guys'll see. I'm asking her out today!" he emphasized his point by banging his fist on the counter, which only made the Bradley brothers laugh even harder. He opened his mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by the door slamming shut and a person's angry footsteps.
Jade walked into the store and flipped her long auburn hair over one shoulder as she stared angrily at her cousin. "I already told you Tori," she roared. "I'm not going out with any of your surfer buddies!"
Tori blew at her bangs. "Look," she said, trying to calm down her raging cousin. "I just wanted you to get socialized. You know, like...go on a date or something. Just relax."
Jade chuckled, but there was no humor in her laughter. "You of all people know that I can't relax," she answered with a raised eyebrow. She had very little time to spend on frivolities. Now that she had sided up with the Wind and Thunder ninjas, she had two evil space ninjas who wanted her dead instead of just one.
The girl sighed and squeezed her cousin's shoulder. "The effort was appreciated," she said. "I just really don't think I fit in with you happy lot. I'll be at Ops if anyone needs me." She wiggled her fingers and left the shop.
Dustin stared after her his mouth hanging slightly open. When he saw the smirks on the Bradley brothers' faces, he held up his hands. "Dudes," he warned. "Not a word."