TW: homophobic language

Teleporting into the Command Center, Billy saw that he was the last to arrive. All eyes immediately dropped to him. Jason stepped forward, concern etched onto his face, but before he could say anything, Alpha interrupted.

"Ai-yai-yai! Rangers, so glad to see you all!" Alpha's robotic voice came through light and excited, if a robot's voice could sound as such. "We called you all here to discuss the plan for next week in case of any monster attacks!"

"Yes, rangers, we know that you are approaching your Spring Break, and we wanted to know if we should prepare for any absences?" Zordon asked, not knowing that the rangers had previously discussed this earlier that week.

Without taking his eyes off of Billy, Jason responded, "We all talked about that a couple days ago. None of us have plans to leave town, except for Billy." Kimberly had walked around the others to stand by Billy, looking at him with an expression that told him they were gonna have to talk after this. The blonde avoided her gaze.

"I leave tomorrow to stay in the mountains with my dad." Billy shared with the Sage, avoiding the looks of his friends and keeping his attention forward, "I will have my communicator with me, just in case you all need me, though."

Zordon seemed to nod at this information. "Thank you for being prepared, Billy. Hopefully the next week will be a quiet one, so you can all get the rest you need." He especially seemed to be staring down the genius, oftentimes having to beg him to leave the Command Center. Billy would spend many late nights in the zord bay, even on school nights, and Zordon knew that that would have been exactly what he did all during Spring Break if given the chance.

"As for the rest of you," Zordon continued, "Be vigilant during your break, but try to spend some time rejuvenating yourselves. You have all worked so hard these last few months. Alpha and I wanted to be sure you were attempting to care for yourselves as much as you care for this world."

"Thanks, Z, we appreciate it!" Zack exclaimed, through an arm around Jason and Tommy. "I know we are gonna be hittin' up the beach, getting some ice cream, and checkin' out the hot visitors, right, fellas?"

Tommy grimaced, taking an anxious glance at Kim, hoping she knew Zack was simply being Zack and not actually implying that Tommy would even think about flirting with any girls besides her. Kim simply smiled at them, no worry gracing her features. Jason also held an expression of disdain at Zack's words. He was still staring at Billy, clearly worried for his friend.

Billy's expression remained blank. He glanced at his watch and said, "Thank you for your concern, Zordon. I need to be going back home now; my father will be anxious for my arrival." He started to pull his communicator up to teleport when Jason and Kim both reached out for him.

"Billy, wait!" Kim grabbed his arm. "What happened earlier?"

"Yeah, man," Jason followed after her, "you never let Bulk get to you like that." He also reached out to touch Billy, but the younger boy stepped away, also out of Kim's touch. He struggled to look at either of his close friends, afraid they would know the truth. He let his hair fall into his face and he began to fidget with his communicator.

"I've just had a long day, Jase." He finally muttered, "I guess I need this vacation after all." He managed to look up at his friends, gave a small, barely believed smile, and then teleported away before anything more could be said.

The others looked between each other, an uneasy feeling settling in the air. Tommy, finally, broke the ice by saying, "Something tells me that was more than just a stressful day at school."

Jason rolled his eyes, grunting in agreement. He thought back to the interaction at the juice bar. He hadn't even realized that Billy had bolted until Kimberly called his name and Skull disappeared. He had been so angry at Bulk, who had never said something like that to Billy before.

Jason knew that Billy was pretty closed off about any discussion of sexuality. Zack had tried talking him into dates before, just as he had with Jason, and, just like Jason, he always managed to get out of it. Jason knew his reasons for avoiding the dating scene. What was Billy's? He had figured that Billy just wanted to focus on his science, like Jason did with his karate. There wasn't time for dating, not only with his hobbies, but with being a Power Ranger. Kim was lucky to be with Tommy - Zack was just good at juggling. Even Trini didn't really take an interest in dating.

Just because Billy was more peculiar than say him or Zack doesn't mean he's gay. And even if he was, Jason had no problem with that. He just wanted Billy to be happy, whether that was with a guy or a girl. Although, actually imagining Billy going on a date, walking hand in hand with someone else, even possibly kissing someone - it left an odd feeling in Jason's gut that he absolutely did not want to think too much about.

After Billy had left, Bulk continued to talk shit about him. "Aw, I must have offended the little queer!" He had howled with laughter, and only stopped when he realized Skull had disappeared. He did continue to target Jason, pushing the burly boy, mocking him, calling him Billy's boyfriend. That's when the others had stepped in, stopping Bulk's advances. The larger boy seemed to deflate, pushing passed the others and walking away. Must not have been as much fun without his shadow.

Breaking the red ranger from his thoughts, Trini spoke up, "I hope this next week is good for him. I think he could use some rest and some time with his father." She looked quizzically at Jason as she asked, "Has he ever gone on vacation before?"

Jason shook his head. "I don't think so. His dad works nonstop. The most of a vacation he's ever had is going out of town with my family for a weekend trip to the museums or theme parks." The answer was what everyone expected.

"Well," Trini continued gently, "I hope Bulk's insults don't keep him from having fun." They all knew of Billy's ability to hold a grudge and internalize his troubles. As long as he was thinking, he was worrying.

"What the hell was that anyway?" Zack exclaimed, "He's always been a jerk, but he's never been a complete asshole like that!" He paced as he spoke.

Kim placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Billy will be fine, Zack. Other kids pick on Billy just like that. Bulk's just following the latest nasty bullying trend or whatever."

Bulk wasn't ever one to try and fit in with others. He and Skull almost seemed to thrive on standing out, ready to step up and face any criticism or opposition they may receive. Why they pick on Billy, Jason couldn't tell. There were a lot of kids to target, but Billy was the favorite, and the fact that he was friends with Jason seemed to set Bulk off even more ever since middle school.

Bulk and Jason knew each other as kids, were even kind of friends, and then Skull came into the picture and Bulk became even nastier. Jason wasn't having it, wanted to be more than a bully. Then he met Billy through Kimberly and they clicked in a way like no other for Jason. Billy was just special to him, and Bulk and Skull's targeting of him sets a fire in Jason like no other

Jason stared at the spot where Billy had stood, anxiety settling in his stomach. Something was wrong, and Jason had a gut feeling that screamed at him to keep Billy close. Too bad he would be leaving the next morning and be hours away from the safety of the rangers.

Jason was ready for spring break to be over with already.

A/N

A bit of a shorter chapter, but that is just because of an appropriate scene ending that presented itself haha. Next up will be the start of vacation, and perhaps a look into Rita's palace? What evil plot might be brewing up on the moon? Ooo hoo hoo! I'm eager to continue this story and I do hope everyone is enjoying reading it :)

May the Power protect you,

Estel