A/N: So yes, I'm almost on the verge of finishing all my other fics, so I think I should start a new one! Hopefully I'd update regularly!
#1: The Tour Guide
Another regular evening at the SPD academy, about five pm, with the daily activities over, the Rangers had a bit of free time to relax. Sky Tate was absorbed in his SPD Manual, which he had read god knows how many times, and was still reading. Bridge Carson sat with a comic book, on a beanbag chair, his favorite task of the day, and the comic in his hand, was a story about the soldiers in World War Two, Sydney Drew, the pop princess checking her fellow pop stars' instagram accounts, and blogs, for celebrity gossip, Z Delgado sat on one of the two couches, looking about, not knowing what to do.
Jack had promised he'd take her out that day, well, not take out as in a date, but out for the NewTech City music festival, which was a week long fest that took place the first week of February. Today was the fourth day already, and Jack had been dilly dallying for the past three days, making excuses here and there, and then he had met that girl Ally a few days back, and spending all his time with her. Z felt left out. Today, yet again, Jack had cancelled.
It wasn't like Z couldn't go to the festival alone, it's just that she didn't want to, it seemed pathetic. Some of her favorite bands would be playing tonight, from the Chainsmokers to Panic! At the Disco. Z's choice of music was quite varied, she liked listening to emo songs, love songs, heartbreak songs, upbeat songs, sexy songs, pretty much anything in any language, even ones she didn't know, including German, French, Malaysian, Indian, and in languages she did know, namely English and Spanish. This particular music festival was the only thing that pleased her appetite of music.
She had never missed a festival in the history of them, i.e. since they had first begun in 2019. She had been going to them, without fail, for the past six years. But this year, it felt like she would surely miss it, and she felt super MAD at Jack for making this happen.
Could she ask one of the others to come with? She weighed her options, Bridge would go crazy with such a large crowd around him, and she'd end up trying to slip away while he ran around the whole place screaming crazy with his hands on his ears. That was a definite 'no'.
Syd? She'd insist on singing on the stage herself. Z could possibly not take that.
Sky? She didn't really know what he'd do, but she assumed that he'd just stand in a corner, and look bored, because that's what he did best.
BUT he was the one who agreed to go out for a walk last week, when AGAIN Jack had bailed on all of us, and well, she COULD drag him into a lot of things, like dancing with her in Syd's birthday party. If she could make him dance there, then why couldn't she drag him into the dance floor at the music festival? Of course, Sky could make Z smile, many a times, if he was in a good mood, he kept those around him in a better one. And who knew? She and Sky could find some music genre in common?
She decided it was the safest option.
"Hey" She approached him, and he looked up from his handbook, his eyes asking the question before his voice, "Hey?" he replied, "something up?"
"Yes" Z decided to cut to the chase, and he looked questioningly.
"I want to go to the NTC Music Festival, and you're coming with me." she said, authoritatively.
She watched in his eyes, as his brain processed the info, and he considered the proposition, and she half knew that he'd reject. He usually rejected all social events.
She wasn't surprised, when he hesitantly replied, "uhmm… No"
"Why not?" she asked, she was adamant.
"Because there are a lot of people there?" Sky said, looking away.
"Oh please! Don't give me Bridge's excuse" she said, and Bridge looked up from the other end of the common room, and Z shook her head at him, telling him that she hadn't called him, and then turned her attention back to Sky.
"What? I get uncomfortable" He said so blatantly, that Z could easily tell he was lying.
"Why are you lying?" she asked.
"Because I don't want to go" he said,
"And WHY is that?"
"Because I'm not a very… social person" She believed every word of that, "I won't know what to do or say, I'd make it awkward for you too"
"Come on Sky!" She still persisted, now all the more determined to take him with her, "it'll be fun! Just come out with me, and if you don't enjoy it, I'll drive you back myself"
He frowned, and then considered, and then FINALLY, smiled, "okay, but the tickets are on you" he said, raising his eyebrows, and he watched as a wide grin spread over Z's face.
"I'm driving" He didn't protest against that.
X-X-X
About two hours later, Sky Tate found himself among the screaming crowd in the grounds of one of the biggest spaces in NewTech City, as the great Brendon Urie sang the Ballad of Mona LIsa, and the crowd screamed along.
Z was also in the crowd, and Sky was surprised how everyone knew the lyrics to the whole song! One word in his head: Cult. He chuckled, and saw the look of pure joy on Z's face. He had known that Jack had been delaying this for a long while, and that Z had really wanted to come here, but couldn't and so, was upset. Seeing her cheerful mood here, made Sky feel nice, as if he had finally done something good with this wasteful day.
She caught him smiling at her, and turned to look at him, stopping her dancing, "what?" she asked, but didn't sound particularly stern, not with that goofy grin plastered all over her face.
"Nothing" he said, a little amused.
"Come on! Sky! Dance with me!" She said, taking his hands, and moving them so he was also bouncing a little with the beats of the song, by this time even he had understood one line of the song, "ooh oh ooohhoh Mona Lisa!" That was about all he knew, and Z chuckled, seeing his knowledge of the genre, and his perfectly ghastly singing voice.
"Never do that again"
"WHAT?" he asked, his voice unnaturally high pitched after singing that song, "never sing for me again" she said, bursting into laughter, pressing against his chest, a little too close.
"Oh I WILL sing!" he said, indignantly, and then in a banshee like scream, started singing, "OOOHHH OH OH OH OOH! MONA LISAAAAAAAAAAA" And Z knew that pretty much everyone around them was staring, but she didn't care. She was getting SKY TATE to have fun, and THAT, was a major achievement.
In fact, she herself was having a lot of fun. Though Jack did come to the Music Fest each year with her, he never did something this stupid just to make her embarrassed, or laugh, and it had it's own new flavor.
They danced for another couple of hours, and Sky continued to irritate her, with his weird interpretation of all the lyrics of all the songs, in fact, once there was a song, High Hopes, where Sky actually started singing, "Mama Sais, ARMPIT FUR ODDITIES!"
"SKY IT'S NOT THAT LYRICS!" Z said, turning redder than a tomato, then she corrected, "Mama Said, it's uphill for oddities!" the yellow ranger said, and Sky burst out laughing, and lost his balance, almost fell on Z, almost flattening her!
"SKY!"
"Hehe Sorry?" Sky said, chuckling, enjoying it thoroughly, "I should come out with you more often!" He remarked.
"I ask, you're the stuck up who doesn't ever have time" Z said, snarkily, and he, in reply, gripped her around the waist, from behind and lifted her up, off her feet. She squealed.
"PUT ME DOWN SKY!"
"Not before you apologize for calling me stuck up!" Sky said mischievously.
"I'm NOT apologizing for calling you something you ARE" Z said, and Sky started spinning her around, to irritate her even more, but she was secretly enjoying it too.
"Alright Sky, sorry for calling you a stuck up!" she said, then just as Sky put her down, she flicked his hair, "you're actually an idiot" and decided to run for it.
And with that and the hair flicking, Sky decided he had had enough, and started chasing after her through the crowd, and before they knew it, both of them were tumbling in a pile along the food court, and bursting into laughter.
"Wow! I did NOT expect that to happen!" Sky said, pulling out a few hot dog crumbs from his hair, and helping Z wipe some frosting off his face. They had actually 'bumped' into some food stalls getting mustard, and ketchup, and frosting and choco chips, and sundaes and bread crumbs, and doritos and about a hundred other countless food items on themselves.
"Ouchhhh" Z said, laughing, and holding her sides, they had been laughing so much that it stinged.
"You know what? Dru was right," she said and Sky looked surprised, "you ARE pretty wild and wacky!" Sky chuckled, "reputations are EARNED" He said, conceitedly.
Well, they couldn't get cleaned up until they got back to the academy, but brushing off as much as they could, the two decided to buy some real food.
They walked together, Z now, actually licking the frosting off a cupcake and not her face. Sky nibbled at the end of a hotdog, apparently the crumbs had stirred up quite an appetite.
"You know, I've never enjoyed a Music Festival so much," Z said, placing a hand on Sky's shoulder.
"Really?" He asked, she nodded,
"By the way, my favorite band is Chainsmokers…" Sky told her, and she looked at him wide eyed, "I LOVE them!" She exclaimed.
"I know, and I was kinda hoping to see them tonight" Sky admitted a little guiltily.
"Me too, but I saw the schedules changed a little, They're playing Saturday," Z explained. And Sky nodded in agreement.
"Would you like to come with me on Saturday?" Sky asked, wondering if she'd say no.
"Yeah! Sure" she said, and was surprised to see the size of his smile.
"Thanks! I had a ton of fun today. I haven't laughed this much since…" he paused to think, "wow I can't even remember the last time I laughed so much!" Sky said, grinning.
"Me neither. Coming with even Jack isn't this much fun" she said.
Still walking with the cupcake and hotdog in hand, they had left the music festival ground, and were now walking the streets of NewTech City.
"You know," Sky spoke, when they turned the corner, to a wide opening, that had a small monument erected, it was a silver tree, with golden leaves, and bronze fruits. It wasn't the size of an actual tree, in fact, it would come up around Z's waist, if not for that pedestal on which it stood on, "This tree was a gift from the people of Alandria when they first settled on Earth, as a 'Thank You' for welcoming them from open arms. This was back in 2017, I think" Sky said, exhibiting his knowledge of NewTech City, and the history of it.
"Oh Really?" Z said, looking up at him, amused, "You know SO MUCH about the city huh?" there was a hint of sarcasm, "what else do you know?"
"I know that this city was especially built during the period of 2002 to 2005, to accommodate the extra terrestrial immigrants on Earth." Sky smirked, "And I think I know pretty much everything about this City, almost as much as a tour guide would." Sky wriggled his eyebrows, conceitedly.
"That's impressive" Z said, smirking, "How about this, this Saturday, when we come to the music festival, after Chainsmokers, YOU take me sightseeing across NewTech City," she presented her proposition.
"Hmmm" He considered it with a fake pensive look, "I have to check my schedul- Aahh" He winked, grabbing Z's waist, and lifting her up again from behind, and spun her around, "I'm absolutely free!"
"PUT ME DOWN SKY!" Z squealed again, super annoyed.
This time, he did put her down, "So I now have a tour guide, to show me MY city?" Z giggled.
"Yes Ma'am, Schuyler Tate at your service" He grinned.
A/N: So? How was it? Review Plzzz!