"A Perfect Sonnet"

Chapter Two

I had convinced Sydney to go on a walk with me. I needed to clear my head, but didn't favor spending any time alone. Syd seemed surprised when I asked her to accompany me, but she agreed to come along. I was leaning against a tree, lost in thought. Everything was completely silent for awhile, aside from the birds clamouring around us.

"Ever realize how beautiful the sunset is?" Syd broke through my thoughts, gazing dreamily at the sky above. I smiled, not taking my eyes off of her.

"Yeah. Beautiful." I shoved my hands into my pockets, the familiar blush returning to my cheeks. I couldn't deny it to myself any longer, I was severely attracted to Syd. She was slowly becoming my best friend, and I felt some sort of connection to her, though I wasn't exactly sure the extent of the connection.

"I like to get up and watch the sun rise. The way I figure it, less people see it rise, and that makes it more special. My mother always told me that the sun rose just for me. I believed her... It's a nice thought though, you know?" I said these words carefully, remembering. I felt Sydney's fingers curl around mine and a knot formed in my stomach.

"It is a nice thought. It's sweet your mom told you that." I turned to her, carefully brushing the stray strand of her hair out of her eyes. My breath got caught in my throught as her blue eyes burned into mine.

"Sorry to ruin the moment." I heard a voice say. I looked up in time to see a not-so-friendly looking monster standing in front of me. He was white, gold, and black, with something that looked like a target on his stomach. It was the monster they had fought once before, the one that had gotten away and never returned. He had ruined the moment, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Except fight.

"Oh it's okay. Just don't expect me to apologize when I ruin your face." Syd quipped, stepping forward. She roundhouse kicked him and I heard a crack as her foot made impact with his jaw. The monster fought back, taking out some kind of ray and shooting Syd with it. I tried to push her out of the way, but didn't get there in time. The ray blasted her, and she collapsed onto the ground. I rushed over to her, touching her face tenderly. She was unconcious. I stood, turning around and facing the monster. Okay, now he had pissed me off. I ran towards him, landing a few punches before he fought back, leaving me in a heap on the ground. I struggled to get up as the ugly monster grinned at me.

"Don't worry. Soon enough you're going to be getting exactly what you want!" He cackled, disappearing. I wondered what he could've meant by that? Feeling worried, I made my way over to Sydney. As I kneeled at her side, her eyes opened and with a groan, she gazed at me.

"What happened?" She asked, clutching her head in her hands. She was bound to have a terrible headache.

"I'm not sure. He hit you with some kind of..ray thing. He got away before I could get him, though. Let's get you back to the command center, okay?" I helped her up, and we walked silently back to the center. I kept thinking about what the monster had said. Could his words have possibly been related to whatever he'd hit Syd with?

--

Sydney smiled, opening her eyes and looking at me. She sat up, grabbing my hand in hers. I stiffened as I felt her fingertips graze my cheek. This wasn't like her. There was a strange look in her eyes, and I wasn't sure what it meant.

"You are gorgeous." She whispered, leaning forward and planting an unexpected kiss on my lips. I leaned into her, not thinking about what I was doing as I looped my arms around her neck. I kissed her back, and then pulled away when realization struck.

"What's wrong?" She asked me, frowning.

"This isn't you." I urged, disappointment lining my voice. I wanted this. I wanted this so much. But the circumstances weren't right. Damn the circumstances.

"What do you mean it isn't me?"

"It just isn't," I sighed. As much as I wanted this to happen, I knew it wasn't Sydney. It had to be that ray the monster shot at her. It made a lot of sense. Just as I was about to leave the room, the commander entered to check up on Syd. I turned to him, offering an explanation of what happened. "I think she was shot with a love ray, Commander. It made her fall in love with the first person she saw when she woke up." I told him, a sense of urgency in my voice. He looked surprised.

"That would mean..." His voice trailed off as he narrowed his eyes. "You. Why would someone want to make Syd fall in love with you? What purpose would it serve?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe a distraction or something, I don't know." I tried to hide my feelings from him, but it was no use. The commander wasn't completely oblivious. His hand felt heavy on my shoulder, almost as heavy as my heart. I could tell this wasn't going to be fun. I didn't want it to be like this. It wasn't real, it wasn't her free will. That's where the monster had been wrong. This wasn't what I'd wanted. Now, if only I could fight the instinct to take advantage of the situation.

---

"Syd and I got attacked last night." I told Jack. Before I could continue, I felt Sydney's hand on my thigh. She squeezed it, wiggling her eyebrows up and down suggestively.
"Question: why is Syd groping your leg?" He wore a look of amusement mixed with confusion.

"I was getting to that. The monster hit her with some kind of love ray or something. Now she won't leave me alone." Sydney gazed at me, starry-eyed. I wondered if it was the same way I looked at her.

"Which I'm sure you don't mind." Jack grinned, giving me a wink.

"Shut up. You don't know what you're..." I practically jumped out of my seat as Syd's hand traveled farther up my leg. "Syd - stop it." I pushed her away from me, my face a scarlet red. She stood, walking away huffily and leaving Jack & I here to finish our discussion. I'd apologize to love struck Sydney after I was done explaining things to Jack.

"Oh come on, Liz, like it isn't obvious." Jack reasoned. I hated it when he called me Liz, and he knew that. He had called me Liz when we were younger, even though I insisted on being called Z.

"Don't call me that. And I don't know what you're talking about." I argued stubbornly.

"I see the way you look at her." Jack shot back. Ah, was I that obvious?
"I look at her the same way I look at you." I answered defiantly, sticking out my lower lip in a moment of Syd-like poutiness. Jack laughed.

"You look at me like you're eyeing a big juicy steak? I think not," I frowned as he said this. "Z, I know you better than anyone else." He was right, and it irritated me. He really did know me better than anyone else. I told him everything. I'd come out to Jack long ago, when he had tried to hit on me. He hadn't believed me at first, but he became more comfortable with the idea in time. The other rangers didn't know I was a lesbian, and I still wasn't quite ready to tell them. I had no way to gauge what their reactions might possibly be, and was affraid they wouldn't accept it.

"God. You're right - is that what you want to hear? I have feelings for Syd, but this isn't what I want. She doesn't want this, it's only because of some stupid love spell. I don't even know why I like her anyway. She's prissy and blonde and stubborn. And she smells nice..." My voice trailed off. I'd better stop while I was ahead. "Point is, someone like her couldn't like someone like me."
"You never know, Liz." Jack answered thoughtfully.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Why a love ray? Why not an explodey death ray or something?" Jack questioned, serious again.

"...Because a love ray is wackier?" It was a legitimate question, one I didn't know the answer to.
"Yeah, granted. But still." Jack replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"It's monsters we're dealing with. They're not very bright." I reasoned, grinning.

---

"Wow, are you serious?" Bridge asked, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Care to um, demonstrate?" I rolled my eyes. He was a typical guy. All he was interested in was seeing us make out. Apparently he wasn't too interested in finding an antidote to this love spell thing.

"Maybe later." I replied sarcastically, gazing at Sydney. This was so weird. If I had absolutely no self control, I would've taken her right there. Part of me wanted to, but this wasn't the real Syd, and I knew it wouldn't be the same.

"I'm tired." Syd blurted out, yawning for good measure. I could tell she was faking, but went along with her plan. I didn't want to endure Bridge's harassment any longer. Besides, I actually was getting tired.

"So am I." I stood, heading out of the lobby and towards my room.

"Be careful tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Jack teased, standing in front of the door. I pushed him out of the way. He could be so annoying sometimes, like a little brother.

"Try your comedy routine somewhere else, Jack, cause I'm not in the mood for it right now."

I was glad to be back in the privacy of my own room. Today had been a long day, and exhaustion had just settled in. I jumped directly into my bed, turning off the light and closing my eyes. Minutes later as I was drifting off to sleep, I felt someone slip into bed with me. I knew it was Sydney, she was the only other person in the room. She pulled her arms around me, and I let my head rest on her chest. Pretending I was asleep, I listened to her heart beat. This was going to get very complicated if we didn't cure her soon.

Author's Note: Sorry for jumping around so much with what's going on, I just hate writing all of that transition, in-between stuff. I edited this a little, might edit it more later as well...thanks to my friend Ryland for pointing out a few things I should add or correct. Review if you read. Thanks.