Well the three weeks promised update turned into three months... I apologise!!!!!! But the important thing is the update now right? This was going to all be one chapter, but it just kept growing, so you've got a morning and then an afternoon. Enjoy!!!
Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!!!! Your thoughts and input really do mean something to me! Keep 'em coming!
the real vampire
Day Three – Tuesday (morning)
Cadets' Hotel Room. 7:00am
When Sky opened his eyes that morning, it was to see Syd's face mere inches from his own. At some point in the night they had both rolled over to face each other, sleep breaking down the boundaries that held them apart while awake. He smiled as Syd moved slightly, still managing to look beautiful even without consciously realizing it. It was with some reluctance that he sat up to check the time and groaned as he saw that it was time to get up. Glancing across the room he was met with an amusing sight.
Bridge and Z, both very active sleepers and infamous bed-hogs, seemed to have reached an unconscious agreement during their sleep. Z lay curled up on her side, her back to Bridge, while the green ranger appeared to have coiled himself around her, one arm draped over her waist. The bedcover was barely covering him, but was wrapped tightly around Z who mumbled something incoherently in her sleep and snuggled deeper into Bridge's embrace.
Sky chuckled softly at the pair of them and next to him Syd stirred as she began to come round. Blinking her eyes open, she gave the blue ranger a puzzled look. He held a finger up to his lips, the universal gesture of silence, and indicated to her to take a look at Bridge and Z.
The pink ranger smiled as she saw the position they had got into and held a hand over her mouth to quiet the giggles that threatened to burst out. An idea suddenly coming to her, Syd reached down into her bag beside the bed and pulled out her camera. Sky raised his eyebrows and she mouthed a single word to him, "Blackmail." He grinned in response and gave her the thumbs up. Syd carefully eased herself up off the bed and maneuvered on soft tiptoes to get the best angle for the photo.
Jack by now was also awake, but after Sky had firmly gestured for him not to make a sound and to look at his teammates the red ranger had instantly understood what was happening.
Syd, now in position, held the camera up to eye-level and pressed the button. There was a flash of light and a click as the incriminating evidence was secured.
Bridge sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes open but his mind still clearly asleep, "The giraffes are evil!"
Jack, Sky and Syd all burst into uncontrollable fits of giggles as Bridge stared at them blankly, the panic on his face being replaced by confusion.
Z, awakened by the commotion, sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked foggily.
"Nothing," Jack wheezed, finally calming down. "It's time to get up."
"Oh," she said simply, sparing a glance at Bridge to see if the green ranger was as oblivious as she.
He clearly was. After looking around at the faces of his friends and deciding they were just being weird, he announced, "I'm hungry."
Outside Macy's. 9:00 am.
"I swear it opened at nine," Syd pouted as she stared at the closed doors of the department store in confusion.
"Sorry Syd," Jack said, studying the opening times posted nearby. "Not till ten apparently."
"Great, now what?" Z asked, a little sharply. She was still a bit miffed that the other three seemed to be laughing at her and Bridge for some reason and she had no idea why. It was infuriating.
The rangers had found a different diner to the one they'd gone to the morning before, but it hadn't been as nice. Still, they were all full after the breakfast, and the boys had finally given in to Z and Syd's, mainly Syd's, demands for retail therapy. They had got the subway to 34th Street and, after forcibly dragging Jack and Sky away from Madison Square Gardens, arrived at Macy's to find it was closed.
"No worries Z," Syd said, calming down as she gave the boys a sly look. "We'll just look in the other shops for an hour and then come back."
There were groans from the three male rangers and Jack muttered to Sky, "How long until we have to be at our seminar?"
"We have to be at the centre by twelve… three hours," Sky said in a voice that was slowly filling with dread. Three hours of shopping lay ahead of them. Three hours of being dragged around looking at clothes and shoes and make-up. Three hours of carrying Syd's bags while she debated between the light pink top or the bright pink top, but everyone knew she would end up buying both, yet she would still spend hours deciding… The panic began to rise.
Just then Bridge grinned, "Yay! Footlocker… can we go there?"
"Footlocker?"
"Where?"
The boys sensed a lifeline in their despair and grabbed at it, "Let's go."
"Hold it." Syd's voice stopped them in their tracks. "If we split up when and where are we meeting back up?"
Relief that she wasn't going to fight them on the matter was apparent on the boys' faces and Jack gave her question some serious thought as he glanced at the list of floors in Macy's. "How about eleven-fifteen at the North entrance?"
Everyone nodded, "Sounds fair."
Just as they parted to go their separate ways, Z, who had also looked at the floor list, grabbed Bridge's arm and said quietly, "Meet me at ten-thirty at the Ben&Jerry's café on the third floor." The green ranger held her gaze for a moment and nodded, before leaving to catch up with Jack and Sky who were already on their way to Footlocker.
Z turned away to find herself faced with a grinning Syd. "What's up with you?" she asked.
"I think the question should be what's up with you and Bridge?" the pink ranger said, then added airily, "You two looked pretty cozy in bed together this morning."
Z flushed and stammered, "N…nothing."
"Oh come on!" Syd raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Your face says it all."
"Ok, ok," Z gave in, knowing she would get no peace otherwise. "We, uh, we kissed."
Syd's face lit up with glee, "You never? That is so cute! Spill!"
Z groaned and as they walked into Old Navy to browse the clothes she proceeded to tell Syd about the events of yesterday on Ellis Island. Once she had finished, Syd still had a huge smile on her face, "So you two are together now?"
Z blushed, "I guess so. We haven't really talked about it."
"Well it's about time," Syd said breezily as she picked up and subsequently discarded a shirt. Seeing the confused look on the other woman's face she clarified herself, "I mean, you've both obviously liked each other for a while; it's about time you faced up to your feelings."
There was a slight wistful tone in the pink ranger's voice that Z couldn't help but pick up on. "So what's the deal with you and Sky?" she asked lightly.
The smile on Syd's face faded to a frown. "I don't know," she said slowly, contemplating her answer. "Sometimes I think Sky really likes me, but whenever I try to confront him about it, he acts all cold and disinterested. He's always avoiding the subject completely."
"And what are your feelings towards him?" the yellow ranger pressed.
Syd sighed, "I like him, a lot. Don't ask me why. He's so stuck up and by-the-book and yet at the same time he can be sweet and caring and sarcastic but funny…" she trailed off as Z started laughing. "What?"
The brown haired girl shook her head and smiled, "Nothing. What are you going to do about him?"
Syd bit her lip, "I'm not sure." A glint came into her eye, "But by the end of today I will find out his feelings towards me," she promised. "Ooh, look at that top…"
XxX
After spending an hour happily lost in Footlocker looking at the latest lightball equipment as well as the more traditional football and soccer gear, the three guys decided that since they were there, they might as well have a look in the men's department in Macy's.
It took them three tries to find the right section and in the confusion of escalators and clothes Bridge slipped away to find Z and the Ben&Jerry's, leaving Jack and Sky to wander. He was soon noticed as missing.
"Drat him," Sky muttered, after a quick search of the floor drew a blank.
"Don't panic," Jack said sensibly. "He's probably just gone to find something to eat. He'll turn up. Now… where's the shoe section? I need some new Converse." Spotting the sign he walked off.
Sky, now alone, roamed aimlessly around the clothes section. He had no real interest in buying anything, after all, most of his clothes had only been worn a few times as he practically lived in his uniform at the academy. Although, since his promotion to B-Squad and Jack and Z turning up, he had found he was being slowly forced out of his uniform more and more. What was it with Syd and Z that meant he had to wear civilian clothes even just around the base when off-duty? To be honest though, Sky didn't mind all that much. The SPD uniform, as much as it meant to him, was not the worlds most comfortable outfit and the fact that the girls took the time to notice and chide him about his clothes made Sky feel a bit special. Absently he picked up a blue shirt and was vaguely wondering if it would look good on him when a voice behind him made him jump.
"May I help you sir?"
Turning, Sky came face-to-face with a young man, neatly dressed in a smart suit with shiny shoes standing very close to him. "Um, no, thank you. I was just looking," the blue ranger told the sales assistant, stepping back slightly.
"Oh." The man smiled at him and took the shirt from Sky's hands, moving forward to hold it up against him. He eyed him critically before saying, "It suits you very much. Brings out the color in your eyes."
"Right," Sky said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. The sales assistant was standing very close, seemingly having no respect for personal space.
"You do have lovely eyes you know."
"Thank… excuse me?" the blue ranger stared at the man in puzzlement.
"Your eyes," the man said, still standing far too close, "They are very nice."
Sky shook himself slightly, "Umm, thanks, I guess." He tried to move back, but the clothes rail stuck into his back preventing him.
"You here for just a visit? Because if you're free later I know a great bar down in The Village."
Suddenly realization dawned on Sky like an icy bucket of water being dropped on his head. The neat shirt, well-spoken voice, the shiny shoes… the sales assistant was hitting on him! Panic rose as Sky thought desperately of how to get out of this situation without offending the man. "I, uh…"
"He's with me." Relief flooded through Sky as Jack's voice cut into the awkward silence.
"Yes I'm with… what?" He turned to look at the red ranger as the sales assistant stepped back, blushing. "N no," he stammered as the implications of what Jack has said sunk in, "I'm not with him, I mean, we're not…"
Jack grinned at the clearly embarrassed blue ranger and said, with a wink at the sales assistant, "Just ignore him. He's not quite out of the closet yet. Come on honey, we've got to find our friends." With that comment obviously aimed at Sky, the red ranger grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the department to the safety of the stairwell. Once they were clear, Jack began laughing. Sky stood there, arms folded, a murderous scowl on his face.
"Oh don't look at me like that," the red ranger wheezed.
"What the hell were you playing at?" Sky hissed, barely controlled anger in his voice.
"Chill bro." Jack held up his hands to pacify the blue ranger. "I was just getting you out of a potentially hazardous situation. You didn't want to hurt that poor man's feelings now did you? I spared you both from embarrassment and the only thing that got a little damaged was your pride, and you have enough of that not to miss a small bit! Now stop whining and let's go see what else this store has, apart from gay assistants."
Sky paused as he made sense of Jack's words. "Oh all right," he said, mollified, "I guess I owe you thanks and an apology," he admitted grudgingly.
"No worries," the other man said cheerfully.
The blue ranger's face darkened momentarily as he waved a finger in Jack's face, "Just don't you dare mention anything about this to the others."
Jack bit his lip to keep the grin off his face, "Never dreamed about it," he remarked innocently. Not until you brought it up anyway… "Come on," he said out loud, "How about a drink?"
XxX
Syd and Z meanwhile had found the woman's section of Macy's and, after finally looking at all the clothes she could ever want, the yellow ranger was relieved to see it was almost time to meet Bridge at the Ben&Jerry's shop.
"Hey Syd," she said, turning to her companion, "You mind if I head off?"
"Head off? Off where?" Syd asked, puzzled.
"I told Bridge I'd meet him for ice cream at ten-thirty," Z muttered, looking abashed. "Sorry."
"But if you go who's going to help me pick an outfit?" the pink ranger almost wailed.
Z groaned inwardly, "You're a big girl, I'm sure you can managed," she said, then grinned wickedly as a thought struck her, "If all else fails you can always ask Sky to help."
"Hmmm," Syd said thoughtfully, "You know, that's not a bad idea… Z? Z?" But the yellow ranger had slipped away as Syd had been preoccupied and was nowhere to be seen. The pink ranger shrugged, let Z go and meet Bridge; a very interesting idea had come to Syd and would need some careful planning before being put into action. Sky wouldn't know what had hit him… This was going to be fun!
XxX
"Mmm," Bridge moaned appreciatively as he dug into his cookie dough ice cream.
"Good?" Z asked, daintily taking a bite of her own
"Very," the green ranger said, then covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned. "I'm so sleepy," he added.
"Sleepy?" Z raised her eyebrows sceptically. "You were snoring! How can you be sleepy?"
Bridge wiped a hand across his mouth and leaned forward towards her across the table, "I had the strangest dream," he said. "It made me feel as if I hadn't slept."
"Oh really?" Z took another bite of her ice cream.
The green ranger gave her a serious nod, "About evil giraffes," he told her in a low voice without even the trace of a smile on his face.
The brown haired woman chocked on her cookie dough, "Evil giraffes?" she spluttered, laughing through her coughs. Eyes wide, Bridge nodded again. "So what happened?" she couldn't resist asking.
"Well…" Bridge chewed on a lump of cookie dough thoughtfully as his brow scrunched up as he tried to recall the dream. "I was walking down 5th Avenue and I was hungry, so I was heading for Central Park to get some butter for my toast, because I knew the trees there had butter on them. I met an elephant who reminded me of Piggy for some reason and then suddenly everyone was running away because these evil giraffes were coming, but I couldn't run because my feet were in those lead boots that divers wear. Then I could hear them coming and I was trying to run but I couldn't and then my feet came free and I had only my green socks on so I was running and they were behind me and they were getting closer and closer and then… poof!"
"Poof?" Z gasped, attempting to smother her giggles.
Bridge shrugged, "There was this like flash of light and then I woke up. "What?" he gave her a puzzled look as Z dissolved into hysterics.
"It wasn't funny, it was scary," he told her indignantly.
"Sorry," Z said, holding her aching ribs. "Come on, eat up your ice cream. We've got to meet the others soon."
North Exit of Macy's. 11:20am"Finally!" Sky exclaimed as Z and Bridge appeared. "Where's Syd?"
"What do you mean finally?" Z demanded. "We're only five minutes late."
"Actually we're only four minutes and forty-nine seconds late," Bridge chipped in, but fell silent at the unamused look Sky shot him.
"So where's Syd?" Jack asked.
"Um, she's not here?" Z said, knowing full well what the answer was. Sky gave her another look. Z sighed, "I don't know where she is. I left her up in the Woman's section on the second floor," she mumbled quickly.
"You left Syd alone in a shop? Are you crazy?" Sky was gobsmacked as the implications set in. "We'll never find her again!"
"Oh stop being so melodramatic," Z said, then raised her eyebrows, "Turn around."
"What?" the blue ranger looked at her as if she really had gone mad. "Come on Z, playing games isn't going to find Syd."
"Find me? Am I lost?" the pink ranger's voice sounded from behind him. "I'm not too late am I? I just had to buy this most adorable skirt I found… No one else bought anything?" she added, seemingly distressed by the groups lack of bags.
"I couldn't find the Converse I wanted," Jack said with a shrug.
"We had ice cream, but it got eaten," Bridge offered.
"Let's go," Sky said tetchily and made to usher them towards the exit.
Seeing the looks of annoyance flash across his teammates' faces at the blue ranger's actions, Jack decided on a little revenge, "But Sky, you haven't told them about your new friend," he said lightly.
Sky froze.
"What new friend?" Bridge asked curiously.
"Don't you dare, Jack…" Sky threatened, but the red ranger ignored him.
"Sky got hit on by a sales assistant."
The blue ranger turned pink. Syd, seeing this, felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. "She any nice?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Jack began laughing and, as the other three stared at him in puzzlement, he burst out, "It wasn't a she!"
As the three rangers joined Jack in laughing, Sky's face went flame-red, "Come on," he mumbled, trying to block out their mirth. "We're going to be late."
Still giggling, Bridge, Z and Syd headed for the exit but Sky grabbed Jack before her could follow. "You promised not to tell them."
The red ranger sighed and, still grinning, said, "Oh take the stick out of your arse Sky and learn how to laugh at yourself." With that he clapped him on the shoulder and walked out of Macy's on to the street.
The blue ranger stood there for a second before grinning. Even he had to admit, it had been pretty funny!
