GO GO POWER RANGERS:
IF LIFE WERE LIKE PARIS
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
(Based on events from BOOM STUDIOS' Go Go Power Rangers#15)
As the Ferris wheel graced the sky, the rush of the chilled evening air rushed through Kimberly's hair. She let out a blistering yell of jubilation.
Skull watched on, slightly uneasy.
There was a spark in Kimberly's eyes that conveyed to him a sense of conflicted emotion hidden behind the surface of what appeared to be euphoria.
His every instinct told him to avoid it, to enjoy the divine opportunity that had been presented to him. Kimberly had agreed to a date with him, this was his reality and fantasy all in one.
He wanted to resist the circumstances that had blazed the trail for the realisation of this fine summer evening, he didn't want to spoil the mood for himself or for his date.
Still, he could not help but feel all this had fallen into his lap far too easily, and that Kimberly was paying the price for it.
Kimberly let out another yell of elation as the wheel made another turn and the butterflies in her stomach rose.
"Kim, will you pipe down, people will think I'm trying something funny" he cautioned.
"I've never had this much fun on a date" Kimberly remarked.
"You mentioned this. Several times" Skull replied, looking down at the crowd below hoping nobody was looking up at where they were sitting and thinking odd things.
"Have you been on a date as good as this?" Kimberly asked.
"Not with a girl of any kind" Skull said.
"Oh yeah, Bulk. Misery sure does love company right?" Kimberly said.
Skull's head sank a little; Kimberly placed her right hand on his.
"Hey, it's a joke, for what it's worth, you're not the misery I was talking about" she said.
Skull looked at her with earnest sincerity in his glistening eyes. He graced her hand with tender strokes of his fingers.
He didn't want to say what was springing to his mind next, his pride was on the line, he did not desire that his evening be spoiled, but he saw the readiness in Kimberly's expression as she leaned a little further forward, preparing herself for a meaningful move that could change her life for better or worse depending on how long Skull could keep his concerns bottled.
Finally, Skull could not contain himself.
"Are you OK?" he asked
Kimberly reeled back.
"Eugene, don't do this, not now, not tonight" she said, almost pleading.
Skull's face turned to stone, he knew what this was all for now, and he was not about to stand for it.
"When I asked you out, I knew it was a long shot, because you're...well...you, and I'm the guy who adds a little chaos to the misery I accompany, but...I guess I should have checked my ego at the door before I took your own on board. This is still all about Matt"
Kimberly looked at the stars as the wheel briefly paused; she wandered whether she could catch sight of a falling one so she could wish upon it and set everything right.
"Matt and I are over Skull. There's no turning back"
"That's what I hated hearing from my mom" Skull said.
"Your mom?" Kimberly said
"When my dad left us" he admitted.
Kimberly gasped.
"My god Eugene, I didn't know" she said.
Skull turned his gaze away from her and looked towards the heavens himself. Kimberly could hear faint sniffling as emotion washed over her date.
"How could you? The only things I've opened up to your friends lately have been heavily shaken cans of cola so I could spray them in your pitch perfect faces. All of that? Yeah, a total escape" he revealed.
"Hey, look at me" Kimberly said.
Skull turned his head, his face raw with an embarrassed hint of red and tiny tears.
"Let me fix this for you, let me make it all worthwhile" she said
"I can't let you kiss me Kimmy, I've dreamed about this for such a long time, but my mom...she said exactly what you said about Matt in regards to my dad, all the time...and it triggered me. I worshipped my parents together Kim, I thought nothing could tear them apart, and I told myself, I told her, that there was never truly a way to shatter the bond they had together, even when things went bad they'd never stop loving one another"
Kimberly put one arm over his shoulder and gently rested her head on his.
"When my parents fight, the house is a war zone, and the one that suffers the most is me. I'm a product of their love, but sometimes I feel like it's their love for me that sets them upon each other. I ask mom sometimes if life would be like Paris without me. You know what she said?"
Skull was curious.
"Go on" he said.
"Life without me is to be without life" she said.
Kimberly gripped both of Skull's cheeks gently with her hands and pulled his lips closer to hers.
"Let this happen Eugene, for this moment, this isn't about me and Matt, this isn't about your parents or mine, or how much they mean to either of us, this is about our worth to each other. I have had a fabulous time tonight, and I want you to know how worthy you are of spending that time with me, let me show you what it'd be like if life were like Paris"
Their lips pressed together, perfectly timed with the launch of a thousand fireworks igniting behind them.
Skull's apprehensions melted away, Kimberly's insecurities over Matt evaporated. All that mattered was here and now in one another's company.
And in one another's company, life was simply Paris.