Wisdom Words

An AU

Thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them so much! Here is the third chapter, again in Tommy POV. I'll try to make something in Kim POV next time.

I took my time when I heading home from the Juice Bar. I had decided to leave the jeep and take a walk. I thought fresh air would do me good, perhaps helping me to forget about the incident. Geez, I always regretted my lame memory, but now, when all I wanted to do was just to have this bad memory erased from my mind, my brain refused to do so. I guessed the phrase Jason told me once was right. When you wanted something to happen, it wouldn't. It always happened the other way around and vice versa. Shortly, you couldn't always get what you wanted. So, here I was, walking along the sideways with cars passing me by, wallowing in self pity. Yeah, me, Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger of the Power Team. Well, not anymore because I had passed the power to Jason.

As if that was the only matter that's screwing with my head, I mused quietly. The power losting was bad enough, but it was worse to know that I couldn't help my friends. In other words, I was useless. I hated it so much. I have to admit aside from that feeling, there's the another one that kept playing around in my mind as well. I just couldn't help the tinge of envy that surfaced everytime I saw my friends go to the battle field, fighting whatever monster Rita created.

Being powerless was much bigger burden on my shoulders because I'd never able to stand watching one of my friends took a blow or almost dying in a battle. And all I could do just watching her from the viewing globe in the Command Center. You knew who I was talking about, right? Or do you need a name? Fine, the one I was particularly most concerned with was Kimberly Hart, the pink ranger, my former teammate, the gymnast aka the one I cared the most. If only I could tell her, or at least know what she thought about me.

I sighed hard as I walked, putting both of my hands inside my jeans pocket and stepping aside when two boys ran joyfully pass me. I knew I shouldn't get my hope so high. I meant, she was beautiful. Duh, somebody had to be blind not to notice that. To be honest, that was the first factor that attracted me to her all those times ago in AG Hallway. Plus the brilliant smile she always wore, not to mention how smart, caring and compassionate she was. Ok, ok, I better stopped now or I would talk about her all day. For the record, I was in love with her. She had stolen the new guy's heart since the moment he laid his eyes on her. So, that wasn't news, was it? I didn't think the others knew, but from the knowing smile Trini and Jason wore, they might have figured it out themselves. It might be my fault since I always seemed to lose my mind whenever she was around.

Did she like me? Was the feeling just onesided or was it mutual? I knew the answer I wanted , but I didn't know her feeling…yet. At least not until I could build up some courage to tell her how I felt. I didn't want to scare her or something like that. Well, at least she wasn't dating anyone at the moment.

She always did something that made my heart leap. But then again, she was kind to anyone. Damn this unresolved feelings! This was all brand new for me, the falling-in-love –head-over-heels thing. I wasn't a social guy before I moved here, not until Kim reached out her hands and hugged me into the group.

Unconsiously my feet had brought me to the park, the place where I always ended up whenever I wanted to be alone. All around me were children, their mothers and some loverbirds that were seemed too happy for their own good. It was too much for my mood and I just had to look away. Then it happened. I was struck speechless. I couldn't believe what I saw!

" Kim?" her name came out from my mouth softly. There she was, sitting on a bench not far from me. Man, how she took all my breath away… and she needed only to wear a simple pink shirt and shorts. She let her caramel locks down below her shoulder, just the way I liked it.

" Tommy?" she blinked and looked not much less surprised than I was. I grinned at her, mentally telling myself to play it cool. Don't scare the girl, you fool! Her smile greeted me and I moved closer to her.

" Hey, Kim, what are you doing here?" Hello… Public Park. Did you think you were the only one that had rights to be here?

" What are you doing here?" she asked back. God… I loved it when we started bantering like this.

" Just clearing up my mind," I shrugged sheepishly. Should I sit next to her, or should I proceed heading back home? Oh Man... I forgot that I had to help Dad with his bike! Thanks for the Oliver memory. Now I really didn't want to say this. " actually I'm heading home. I promised that I would help my father."

" Oh, okay," she nodded her head. Was that disappointment flashing in her eyes? " I think I'll go home in a while,"

" I could walk you home," I said. It was more like a statement than an offer. It wasn't new, sometimes she let me drive her home or pick her up in the morning. However, since school was just 10 minutes drive from her house, we didn't get to spend as much time as I'd like on those rides. So this would be something alright. It took about twenty minutes to walk to her house.

She hesitated for a sec then answered, " No, your father's waiting for you. Don't keep him waiting too long,"

" It's okay," I said quickly. " he'll understand. It's almost dark," I pointed my finger to the dark blue sky.

" Well, you see," she shifted uncomfortably on her seat and my heart beat faster. She didn't want to be with me! " actually I accidentally tripped over something and I think I sprained my ankle," she muttered somewhat embarrassedly. Her face turned a shade of pink. " that's why I'm sitting here,"

" Are you okay?" I asked in worry. She fell? Without realizing it, I had moved closer to her and was kneeling in front of her. When her soft brown eyes met mine, I realized our position and I tried to come up with something to avoid my embarassment from showing. " let me see it. Maybe I could help,"

"You must have a lot of experiences dealing with sprained ankle," she smiled half teasingly, which didn't make me feel any better. " since you're into the karate stuff. I mean, I know Jason does,"

Jason Lee Scott. The red ranger, the leader of the power rangers, my opponent in my first karate tournament in Angel Grove, and Kim's best friend. Oh yeah, I was jealous. Even though it looked like they weren't romantically involved, they seemed so close. He was like her big brother.

" Of course," I nodded, trying to kick the jealousy off my stomach. I reached my hand to touch her leg, but before doing it I looked up at Kim. " may I ?"

" Yeah," she lowered her voice and added, wincing slightly when I touched her ankle. " I thought of teleporting out but since I'm in an open place like this, I couldn't,"

I gently lifted her ankle, not wanting to hurt her. She put her hand on my shoulder and when she gave it a squeeze, I pulled my hands away.

" Did I hurt you?" I asked , concern coloring my voice.

" No," she shook her head fast. " I'm okay,"

Then my eyes moved north and captured the cut on her right knee which was slightly bleeding.

" Your knee!" I gasped and when she chuckled, I looked up at her in confusion. The sparks in her eyes made me feel embarrased all of the sudden. Okay, maybe I was overreacting.

" I'm okay, Tommy," she said with a smile. " it's just a cut actually,"

" Well, it could be infected," I said stubbornly. Man, I was sounding like my mother right now!

" You should go home," she reminded me softly. No, no,… I couldn't leave her like this. I knew Dad would understand. Well, he should.

" I'll go home, after I take you home," I said sternly with the tone she couldn't refuse. " I insist,"

Then her eyes softened and I stood up. She stared at me questioningly. I shrugged and said, "You can't walk with those feet. Let me carry you," Oh God, I couldn't believe what I was suggesting. It just flew out of my mouth. Well, if she didn't want me to, then I guessed I could head back to Juice Bar and get my jeep.

" Carry me?" She gasped, flabbergasted. Her eyes widened in surprised. " No, I mean…my house is like twenty minutes from here!" she said reasonably.

" It's okay," I assured her. If I still had the power, I could easily sneak us in a corner and teleport us out. But, I didn't have it, okay. Anyway, I liked the old fashioned much better. Not waiting for her response, I turned around and knelt down in front of her. " come on,"

" Well…,"

I grabbed her hands and put them on my shoulders. " It's okay, Kim. The faster we fix your legs, the better," Wait, wait, wait, Tommy. What did you just said? WE? For reference, there was no we.

" If you say so," then she circled her arms around my neck, making me shuddered from her touch. I slipped my arms under her legs and I stood up with her on my back. Man… I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Never, even in my wildest dreams, was there a moment where I thought I could carry her like this! Giving her a piggyback ride. When I had had her securely, I started walking. I could sense people staring at us. Hell, like I cared. Guilty as charge, I felt slightly happy. It might look ridiculous for high school students to do such childish thing as this, but this also made us look like a couple. A real couple.

" I'm sorry, Tommy," she said, her breath tickling the back of my neck. " I'll personally apologize to your father later,"

I broke into fits of laughter. " No apologize needed, Kim. You don't do anything wrong,"

She was silent for a while, then said, " Tommy?"

" Hmm?" I responed absently, I was starting to enjoy this too much.

" I don't weight too much, do I, Tommy?" she asked innocently. I almost laughed at her question.

" You wanna know the truth, Kim?" I teased her.

" Well, if the truth is not something good, I think you better come up with your alternative anwer," I knew she was smirking. God, have I said that I loved her? In case I forgot, I loved her. And I loved it when we bantering like this.

" You're so light," I answered.

" Is that your alternative answer?"

" What do you think?" I asked back.

" Well, I asked first,"

" No, that's the truth," and I wasn't joking. " you're lighter than any other person I've ever carried,"

" Oh, so you're often carrying girls like this?" she asked quietly, her word emphasizing at the word often. I didn't think I was imagining it. Great move, Tommy. Real great… Now she would think that you went around carrying girls whenever there's a chance.

" No, I mean, I was comparing you to my cousins," I stated again. The truth. I barely knew any girls closely like this for my entire 17 year old life. And besides, this was something that I reckoned as something intimate. I wouldn't do it with any girls.

" Maybe because I am short," she sighed longingly and I shook my head. I wouldn't call her short. That's too rude for my liking. I prefer the word petite because she was. I always thought that she would fit me perfectly when we're holding each other. I could rest my chin on her head. Of course, that's only my imagination.

" You're not short," I disagreed. " you're petite and I think that's cute," It took me about three seconds before I realized what I'd said. Wow, wow… that came totally unplanned. The cute comment, I meant. Really. I wished I said that when we were facing each other so I could see her expression when she heard that.

" Thanks," she murmured somewhat sheepishly and I released my breath that I didn't know I had been holding. Compared to someone tall and blonde with blue eyes, I much more prefer someone petite, dark colored eyes, complete with caramel tresses. Why did it seem to fit her descriptions the most? Well, it was because she was the one who I talked about. Then to add to my surprise, she leaned down and rested her head on my shoulder. The scent of her jasmine shampoo slowly wafted into my nose.

" Here we are," I tried to control my voice. " your home,"

" Thanks for taking me home, Tommy," she said sweetly when I put her down carefully, one of my arms still circling her waist to support her. This journey was far too short.

" Anytime," I grinned like an idiot. To avoid much more grinning, I glanced away and saw that her mother's car was not in the garage. " your mother is away?"

" Looks like it," she looked at her empty garage and shrugged.

" Will you be alright? I mean, don't you need help with that ankle?" I asked in one breath. If I was

already like this now, I couldn't figure how I would be if I was already her boyfriend. Maybe I would be one of those protective, possesive boyfriends. Hey, hey, HEY! Watch that thought, Oliver!

" I'll be fine," Kim smiled one of her megawatt smiles that could make my heart melt. " Thanks again, Tommy, I appreciate it so much," she stepped closer to me with a little difficulty and hugged me. Kimberly Hart was hugging me! I snapped myself and I returned the hug. This was the second time we hugged. The first time was the one she gave me to show her appreciation to me for fixing her float. Thanks to Bulk and Skull it only lasted for like 4 seconds.

The way she hooked her arms around my neck gave me hope that she might feel the same way about me. Or this was just a gesture to show her gratitude for me? No, this wasn't the time to think about all that. I kicked away the thought quickly and marvelled at the feel of her in my arms. It took all of my strength not to kiss her right now, right this second, in front of her door. After quite a long time, she finally pulled back and flashed me her smile.

" Bye, Tommy,"

" Kim," I called her when she opened her front door. She turned and faced me, waiting for me to speak. I rubbed the back of my neck and asked, "Could I pick you up tomorrow morning? You mustn't walk too much yet," actually it was just an excuse to spend time with her. But hey, I wasn't an egoistic person, I really couldn't let her walk with those legs.

" Okay, I'll be waiting for you,"

" Great, I'll be here on seven fifteen,"

" K'… Night Tommy,"

" Good night, Kim," the smile was still plastered on my face even after she had dissapeared from sight. I decended the stairs and walked to the direction of my house with so much better feeling. Thank God I decided to walk instead of driving home. I remembered the other thing Jason once told me. Sometimes the unexpected thing would happen when you're least thinking of it. He's right.

Thanks for reading!

: I realize that Tommy didn't do anything about Kim's ankle, it's just I didn't know a thing about sprained ankle so I didn't write anything about it.

: Please review, let me know what you think. No flame!