Chapter 5
She put her camera in her backpack and said something to Udonna. The white sorceress nodded and Madison left. Vida walked up to Nick. "What did you say to her this time?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Nothing. I don't see why she has to be a big baby about everything," Nick muttered out loud. "She's not a big baby. She's just sensitive and she has feelings. She has feelings that you hurt all the time," Vida hissed angrily. "She was only trying to break the feud between you and her," Vida said. "Maddie is my sister, and I'm not going to let you or anyone else tease her, hurt her, or do anything that will break her heart," she snapped at Nick.
Nick suddenly felt guilty. He had been a bit unfair. He looked over to where Madison had left and he looked over to Vida who was walking back to the radio where she turned the radio of, but put her head phone on that way no one else could hear what she was listening to. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Madison, he thought. Standing up, she walked out of Rootcore, waving goodbye to Chip and Xander.
When he was out of Rootcore and in the forest, Clare came running up to him. "Nick! Thank goodness I found you," panted Clare. "What is it, Clare?" Nick asked, putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "It's Madison. She's… she's been attacked by one of the dark monsters. She needs your help," panted Clare. Nick's eyes widened. "Where is she?" he asked. Clare raced ahead, Nick following the sorceress in training. She led him to a part of the forest where Maddie was fighting a monster. She was pinned down by the monster and the monster was about to kill her with his giant razor sharp claw.
"No!" yelled Nick. He jumped in front of Madison before the monster could stab her and he cut of the monster's hand with his sword. The monster yelped in pain, and then vanished. He turned around to see Maddie, staring up at him with surprise. "You saved me," she said. Nick didn't say anything. Instead, he helped her up and Clare ran forward to help Madison. "Are you alright, Maddie?" asked Clare worriedly. "Yeah, Clare, I'm fine," she said. "I need to go back to Rootcore and tell the others," said Clare. "Can you escort her out, Nick?" asked Clare. The both opened their mouth to object, but Clare hurried off.
Nick began walking. Madison trailed behind. "Thank you," she said out of no where. "For what?" Nick asked. Madison rolled her eyes. "For saving me, you bone head," she snapped. "What else would I be thanking you for?" she said. Nick stopped and turned around to face her. "Why in the world would you go out there alone, anyways?" he asked. "Since when do I need to ask you when I can and can't leave?" she hissed. "You may be the leader of the rangers, but you're not the person who makes our decisions for us," she said. Nick looked down at her. "You're the most stubborn person I have ever met," he said. "Yeah, well you're not so great yourself," she muttered to him and he glared at her. She looked down at her hands. "Look, I just…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Thank you," she said again.
Nick looked surprised. "Um, y-you're welcome," he stammered. She looked down. "We should keep going," she said and took the lead. Soon they were out of the forest. When they were out, the two didn't say anything.
Maddie breathed a sigh and walked over to a tree. "Can you take care yourself now? I don't need to baby-sit you all the way to your house, do I?" he asked. Madison let out an irritated and exasperated sigh. "Must you always be such a jerk!" she yelled. "And no, I do not need you to baby-sit me because I'm not a baby. If you were smart, you'd know that," she spat, and then spun around and walked home.
Nick sighed. "Great," he muttered. "Maddie, wait!" he called after Madison. Maddie turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. She slowly started walking back up to him, her cheeks flushing red. "Look, I-I'm sorry," he stammered, feeling awkward saying that. Maddie nodded slowly, biting her lip. "I just… I don't know, maybe I'm not the guy that usually hangs out with girls like you," he said, trying to make it sound as nice as possible. "What's that supposed to mean? Girls like me?" she asked challenging. "Wait, no I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly.
"Madison, I-I guess I'll start trying to tolerate you," he said with a smile. "No madder how hard it is," he added teasingly. She rolled her eyes and punched him playfully. He smiled and so did she. Then she realized what was happening and she shook her head and then said, "I-I'm just going to leave." Nick blushed, obviously embarrassed as well. She smiled at him one more time. "Thanks, Nick," she said and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.
Nick was surprised, but after a few moments, he hugged her back. They broke apart and she had turned even redder than ever. Nick looked the same, and he then said goodbye and they went to their own houses.
Vida came home to see Maddie looking brighter than usual. "What's gotten into you?" asked Vida. "Did Nick ask you out or something?" she teased. Maddie's brown eyes filled with anger and fury. "No!" she spat. "Why would I go out with Nick?" she asked. Vida shrugged. "Okay, fine," she said. Maddie shook her head. "Nick and I promised that we would try to get along," she admitted, a smile growing on her face.
Vida's jaw dropped. "You're kidding," she said. Maddie groaned. "Why is that so hard to believe?" she asked. "Because the only words you have ever spoken of Nick is how rude and what a jerk he is," Vida said. "I know, but, he saved my life today," she whispered. "He what?" asked Vida. "He saved my life," she repeated. "When?" Vida inquired excitedly. "Well, when I left, one of those monsters attacked me, and then… he saved me," she said shyly in her innocent and sweet-looking shy ways. Vida gave her sister a teasing look. Maddie smiled and looked down.
"Aw, my sister's got a crush," said Vida. "No I don't! I just think we can be friends now," explained Maddie. "Sure," said Vida, completely unconvinced. Madison hit her sister with a pillow and soon the two had begun a pillow fight.