Shout outs to mysuperlexy43vr, Son of Whitebeard, RPM Shadow, brankel1, nekotea13, ae11021, and the guest reviewers. Thanks for the reviews and continued support!

Also, my beta has been on hiatus, so I'm in need of another one. PM me if interested.


"Aww, your cute 'friend' isn't coming with us?"

Kimberly decided to go on a run with Ashley this morning rather than hang out with Jason, who coincidentally, was the friend Ashley was referring to. Kimberly did not like how she said "friend" in air quotes.

"No, we do have our own lives, you know," Kimberly huffed as they ran down the street near a park.

"Yeah, but he is such a hunk!" Ashley wiggled her eyebrows.

Ugh. That was one thing about having a good-looking friend. She had to fend off the fawning girls.

"Oh," Ashley continued, "I see that look. It's the 'back off he's mine, but not yet' look." They turned the block.

"No, I just…I've known Jason like all my life, that's all." Kimberly did not want to say that Jason was like her brother. Describing a guy as her brother seemed taboo after Tommy.

"And you've never dated? You already look cute together. I see him come by the gym every Friday, and you leave with him. It's like you're dating already!"

Kimberly shook her head so her short ponytail whipped against her temple. "No, it's not like that."

"I bet he's great in bed."

Images of a sweaty, shirtless Jason came uninvited into Kimberly's brain.

"I can't think of him like that." Her response was sharper than intended.

Ashley looked over at Kimberly. "Why? Because you don't want him to be your rebound?"

It had been a while since she thought about Tommy, and thinking about him did not hurt as much as it used to. It was too soon to think about dating again, though.

"Something like that. It's complicated."

"Doesn't seem complicated to me. He's hot, you're hot, he's not a jerk, and you know him pretty well…what?"

Kimberly stopped and walked up to the curb. She developed a stitch in her side—probably from all the talking.

"It wouldn't be right. Jason and Tommy were best friends in high school."

Ashley stretched her arms above her head. "So? Where is Tommy now? In California. Jason is still here with you in Florida. That's saying something."

Kimberly thought about that many times. Of all the places Jason could have gone, he chose to stay in Florida. She knew that people would put them together, but Kimberly did not want to think about that. It was too messy.

"Maybe he likes you. Have you thought about that? Maybe he's waiting for you." Ashley smirked as Kimberly made a face. "What? I've noticed the death glares he gives Dave and Peter."

Kimberly hated it when Ashley put emphasis on random words. "I don't want things to get awkward between us. And we've both been through a lot, it's not the right time."

"Fine. You wait all you want. If I were you, I would have slept with him already. I don't know how you can ignore such a catch."

"Why don't you date him, then?" Kimberly was getting miffed now.

Ashley took off jogging, leaving Kimberly to catch up. "Maybe I will," she threw over her shoulder.

"You're impossible!"

OooooO

Kimberly tried not to think about Jason, but she could not. Everyone always assumed that she and Jason were a couple, and she was tired of it. But what could she do? She could not spend less time with him now, he would know something was up. Plus, she liked having him around sort of to herself, without Power Ranger obligations or boyfriend/girlfriend drama.

If Jason did have a girlfriend, she did not want to know. Kimberly shuddered.

She turned her thoughts to Trini. Jason was supposed to call her last night. She wondered how their talk went.

That is, if he called her. Kimberly felt bad. She sort of threw him under the bus when she told him to call Trini without any real explanation. She just hated it when there were misunderstandings between her friends. Jason and Trini were two very important people in her life, so naturally, she felt obligated to watch over their friendship.

She thought back to her last recent conversation with the former yellow ranger.

OooooO

"It seems like you and Jason are having a lot of fun. I wish I was there with you guys," Trini lamented over the phone.

"I know. I miss you lots, Tri. Is there any chance you'll be able to visit over the summer?" Kimberly asked hopefully.

"I think I can manage a few days. I'll let you know."

"You better! Otherwise, I'll have to go over there just to scold you," Kimberly laughed aloud.

"Would that be so bad? You'd be able to visit your mom, too, if you came." Trini was always the reasonable one.

Kimberly had already thought of that and did not like that idea. "Yeah, I've had enough of my mom for a while though."

"It's just a thought. Anyway, expect me sometime in June. It depends on when the last case proceedings end."

"Sweet. I'm glad you're having fun over there."

"Me? I have piles of papers to go through every day! You and Jason just sit out on the beach all day and relive high school," Trini joked.

"Yeah, and we work hard at it, too."

Trini paused before replying. "Hey, do you think Jason will ever go back to California?"

Kimberly thought for a moment. She had not thought that far into her own future, let alone Jason's. "I'm not sure. I know he has another year and a half of school, but he could transfer if he really wanted to. Why?"

"I don't know. He seems to be liking it in Florida, but it would be nice to hear it from him. He hasn't responded to any of my emails or calls."

The answer surprised Kimberly. She thought Jason had talked to both Trini and Zack by now.

"When was the last time you talked?"

"We haven't talked since he left."

"Wait," Kimberly gaped, "what? So for like 6 months? Ugh, that pigheaded—"

"No, Kim, it's okay!" Trini rushed to her friend's defense. "He was pretty subdued in the few months before he left the Conference. Zack and I knew he was going through something, but I didn't bring it up to you because you…were also going through things."

Kimberly puffed out a breath and heard static through the earpiece. She could not deny that she was going through a lot at the time.

"Jase still hasn't talked to you yet, though? That's so weird."

"Yeah, I thought so, too. He's talked to Zack."

Kimberly could hear the frown on Trini's face. "Jason probably thought he only had to call one of you in Europe." She shook her head. How could he not know that Trini would feel left out?

"Yeah, probably. We were really worried about him, Kim. I'm glad he's got you."

OooooO

There it was again. That vague suggestion that she and Jason were a thing. Or was Kimberly reading too much into it?

She and Jason were close, it was true. She was beginning to think that they were too close.

Maybe she subconsciously urged Jason to get in touch with Trini to get him to branch out. Kimberly was not tired of having Jason around, but…it was weird that he did not talk to Trini like she did. Right?

As far as she could tell, Jason did not talk to many other people. He hardly talked about his classmates or how classes were going. He talked to Zack, but probably not a lot.

It's about time that brooding brute opened up, she assured herself. Kimberly was branching out and hanging out with more of her gymnastics friends, and if she was doing it, so would Jason. She could feel herself starting a new chapter in her life—she was getting over Tommy and gymnastics was less stressful. Things were starting to look up, and she was not going to have other people ruin it by telling confusing her friendship with Jason. There was no room for that.

Kimberly glanced at the clock. It was nearly dinner time, and she usually had dinner with Jason. She mentally cursed herself. She could already feel awkwardness when she thought of Jason.

No! I will not let things get awkward!

She walked over to the phone, composing herself as she picked it up. It's just Jason, jeez, calm down.

After dialing his number, she heard his deep hello on the other end and instantly, the awkwardness melted away.

"Hey, Jase. What do you want to do for dinner?"

Yeah, she was overthinking it.