Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Saban, I only have ideas and a laptop to write them
A/N: This is a PREQUEL to another story I wrote, called 'The Ghost of Me,' which is a Power Rangers/Harry Potter crossover. You don't need to read it to understand the story, but my intention is to write this in the same universe as that story.
A/N 2: The title of the story is a song title from the band Tenth Avenue North.
"By Your Side"
Chapter 3
*Scott Residence*
"I'm heading out to meet Tommy and the others and the youth center," Jason said, about to walk out the door.
"Jason!" Olivia Scott yelled from across the house, stopping him in his tracks. "Before you go, can you make sure that the Christmas lights work?"
"Christmas lights?" Jason asked.
"Yes," she said, trying to catch her breath a bit, trying to catch up to him. "Your Father put them up over the weekend while you were... what were you doing anyhow?"
"Homework," Jason said, which was a half-truth. He had been over at Tommy's trying to study for a test, but King Mondo kept them busy with two huge monster battles. "Since when does Dad put up Christmas lights?"
"He started last year, something about wanting more Christmas spirit, especially since we rarely get snow. He wanted to start a tradition of doing it right after Thanksgiving."
"Gotcha, I'll check em out. Tommy can live without me for a half hour."
*Youth Center*
"All right, you got one more set Tommy," Rocky said as the ranger teens and Billy surrounded the weight bench as Tommy finished up his workout.
"Sounds good to me!" Tommy said.
"Hey Tommy, you got a letter!" Kat said.
"It's from Kimberly," Billy said.
"Hey Adam," Tommy said with a smile. "Why don't you read it to me."
"Sure thing," he said, opening the letter. "Dear Tommy, I'm excited as the pan-globals come up, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"She's gonna do great," Rocky said.
"Yeah," Kat replied.
"What does the rest of it say?" Tommy asked as he continued to lift.
"Tommy, this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. I love you, you're like a brother to me. But, I've met someone. He's kind and caring, you would really like him."
"What?" Kat asked. Tommy immediately put the bar in place and snatched the letter from Adam's hands.
"All of this would be perfect if I weren't hurting you. I'm sorry Tommy, please forgive me. Kimberly."
The teens stood around Tommy as he sat stunned on the weight bench. Finally, Billy spoke up.
"Hey, you all right man?"
Tommy quickly got up and turned to face them, a tear beginning to run down his face. "Y...yeah. I... I gotta go." He sped across the youth center and left.
"Billy, we need to do something," Kat said. "Where would he go?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe the park. That's where he asked her out."
"We should go and make sure he's ok," Rocky said.
"How about Kat and I go, the rest of you guys stay here," Billy answered. "I don't want to overwhelm him. He's pretty private, I don't even know if the two of us are going to be helpful."
"All right," Tanya said. "Just let us know how we can help." Billy and Kat left without a word, leaving Adam, Rocky, and Tanya at the youth center. They went and sat down at 'their' table, when Jason entered the room about 15 minutes later.
"Hey, where's everyone else?" Jason asked.
"Uhh, well," Rocky started.
"Kim sent Tommy a letter to break up with him, and Billy and Kat went after him," Tanya said.
"Wait... what?" Jason stammered. "Kim. Our Kim? Broke up with Tommy? In a letter?"
"Yeah, it's wild," Adam said. "Tommy asked me to read it to him... I had no idea..."
"Hey man, it's not your fault," Rocky said.
"You said Billy and Kat went after him?" Jason asked.
"Yeah," Tanya replied. "Are you thinking about trying to catch up with them?"
"No... I'd be surprised if he talked with any of us for a while about this," he said. "I'm going to the power chamber."
"The power chamber?" Adam asked. "Why?"
"To see if Zordon will let me go see Kim," Jason replied. He ran out of the room, with the other three confused what he meant by that. I mean, surely he knew that he wasn't allowed to teleport there, didn't he?
*Power Chamber*
"Look Zordon, I know we're not allowed to use our powers for personal gain," Jason began to explain. "But I think I need to go see Kim in Florida, for the good of the team."
"WHY DO YOU SAY THIS, JASON?" Zordon's voice boomed.
"She broke up with Tommy, and she did it in a letter."
"THOUGH SADDENED FOR TOMMY, I DO NOT SEE THIS AS AN URGENT RANGER MATTER."
"But Zordon, this isn't like Kim. What if the machine empire or Zedd and Rita are using Kim to crush Tommy's spirits? What if this all part of a plan to destroy us from the inside out?"
"YOU'RE RIGHT GOLD RANGER. THIS DOESN'T SEEM LIKE OUR CRANE AT ALL. GO AT ONCE TO FLORIDA, AND FIND OUT IF SHE IS UNDER A SPELL."
"I'm on it," Jason said, and teleported out.
"Zordon," Alpha said. "You know that she's not under a spell, why did you let Jason go?"
"HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP KIM. THOUGH UNDER NO SPELL OF MAGIC, SHE SUFFERS FROM A TROUBLING SPELL OF DESPAIR."
*Kim's dorm room, Miami, FL*
'It feels so good to be kissed like this!' Kim thought to herself, as she continued her first ever full out make out session on her couch. Her lips parted from his, and she spoke while gasping for air. "Trevor, I love you so much."
"I love you too, baby," he said to her. Suddenly, her alarm went off.
"Oh man, I'm supposed to get back to the facility for our evening meetings. I'm sorry!"
"It's ok, there's plenty more that we can do later," Trevor said with s mischievious grin.
"Ha," Kim said, somewhat uneasily. "You are a really good kisser." She said, and then grabbed her stuff and walked out the door. She left the dorm building, and walked to the training facility (which took about five minutes.). She walked through the halls to get to her meeting room, where she saw Coach Gunther Schmidt along with her teammates.
"Kimberly, have a seat please..."
Outside the facility, Jason landed from his teleport. "I forgot it would be dark all ready over here," he said to himself, the cool night wind giving him goosebumps. He entered the facility and walked to the receptionist desk, which was currently empty. He looked on the counter to see if there was a bell or buzzer or something, and found a tiny silver one, and rang it twice.
"Just a minute!" A gruff, low male voice said from another part of the room. Jason gulped as the man, who might have had a foot on him, and inexplicably had muscles on his muscles, walked from the back of the receptionist area, clad in security gear. "Can I help you?"
'Yeah, don't tear me in half,' Jason thought. "I'm looking for one of the gymnasts here, a Ms. Kimberly Anne Hart."
"Ahhh, you must be Trevor," The man smiled. "That girl is has been beaming from ear to ear because of you!"
'Trevor?' Jason thought. "Actually," Jason began to correct him. "My name is Jason, I'm a friend of her's from high school. I happened to be in town and wanted to see if she was around."
The built security guard, who seemed much kinder than Jason initially anticipated, continued to greet him warmly. "Friend from school! Well any friend of Kimberly's is a friend of mine! I'm Officer Joseph King, but you can call me Joe!" He said excitedly, extending his hand to the Gold Ranger.
"Nice to meet you Joe," Jason said. "So, what do you do around here? You don't strike me as the type a guy who just watches the receptionist desk."
"Haha, no. I actually have been working security here for two months as part of my rehab back into the police force. I was shot in the line of duty, almost lost my life. When I recovered, they asked if I'd be willing to take this post, particularly since I look intimidating, and I can protect the little ladies who work out here. At first I was pretty down, I wanted to get back into real police work, but Kim and a couple of the other gymnasts were really kind to me. Now, I don't know if I want to leave, I love these girls, they're like the daughters I never had!"
"Well, Kim has always been a really caring person. And I'm glad she's got someone like you protecting her."
"Thanks."
"Jason!" The squeal came from the other side of the room, and was undoubtedly from the petite brunette that he had come to see. As he turned he was ambushed by his 'little sister.'
"You know, people need to breathe, even when they hug," Jason quipped, which elicited a slap on his arm.
"What are you doing here?" Kim asked.
"Chatting up a storm with Joe, here," he said, pointing to his new friend. "Well, that and looking for you, of course."
"You two look like you've got some catching up to do, it was nice meeting you Jason, take care of Kimberly while you're with her."
"Will do, Joe!" He said as the officer returned to the depths of the receptionist area. "He's a cool guy."
"Yeah, kind of like Ernie... except for the obvious differences."
"Right," he said with a grin.
"So what are you doing here? When did you get back from Geneva?"
"Well, it's a long story. Maybe we should go take a walk, grab coffee or something?"
As they walked to a local shop in town, Jason told Kim of his adventure home, and how he now serves with the rangers, and was back in school in Angel Grove. Once they got to the shop, they ordered drinks and sat down and continued conversation.
"Are Bulk and Skull still serving on the Junior Police Force, or did they go back to trying to find out who the rangers are?" Kim asked.
"Honestly, I don't know," Jason replied. "I haven't seen them much since I've been back. Only thing I know is Skull is a ridiculous piano player, and I only found out because they just had a talent show that he ended up performing in. He was the best one there!"
"Skull... playing the piano?"
"Weird, right?"
"Yeah." The conversation halted for a moment, and Jason began to notice tension in Kim, her patented biting of the lower lip obvious that there was some anxiety running amok inside her. "You're not here just because you're passing through... are you?"
"No... I'm not. Tommy got a letter today."
"Oh... good..."
"Who's Trevor?" Jason asked gently. "Joe mentioned his name, said that you were excited all the time because of him."
"He... he's my boyfriend," Kim confessed. "I'm in love with him."
"How long have you been dating?"
"Three days," she responded.
"Three days and you're in love?" Jason pressed, Kim was starting to look like she wanted to hide in a shell. "Look... I'm not here to judge you on your love life, nor am I here to fight on Tommy's behalf. He's my best friend, but you're my sister. To me, you come first. I wanted to come down because that letter just didn't seem like you."
"Didn't seem like me?" Kim asked, a hint of anger beginning to come through. "At least I sent a letter... Tommy's been so busy as of late, he didn't even tell me you were back. Maybe you should tell your best friend to give me a call once in a while, or write of love note, or something."
"Do you realize that, in spite of your new found love, you just asked for his communication in the present tense?"
"I still like the boy, Jase!" Kim nearly shouted, but caught herself in the moment of frustration, and lowered her voice. "But this... this is real. Trevor and I are real. He wants me, he makes sure that I feel loved, and he'll never turn his back on me like Tommy has."
"What are you talking about? How has Tommy turned his back?"
"I'm sure he has had a new pink ranger to fill in for me," Kim said suddenly.
"Wait... you think Kat..." now Jason felt a tinge of sadness.
"Uhhh, Kat has wanted Tommy ever since she arrived, and I bet she's with him right now. Notice how he's not even calling me to fight for me, notice how it's YOU, and not HIM, that came down to check in on me!" At this point, the rest of the patrons in the shop turned to look at Jason and Kim, the latter now feeling thoroughly embarrassed, blushing a deep shade of pink.
"Let's get out of here," Jason said, and he took her by the hand and they left. As they walked, Jason spoke again. "You ok?"
"Do I look ok?" She asked, stray tears running down her face. Jason paused, contemplating how to respond.
"Look, I don't know why he didn't come to see you," Jason responded. "I know he's intensely private, and you were his first girlfriend. I know this isn't an excuse, but he isn't the most intuitive or intelligent person in the world, especially when it comes to women." Kim managed a smile at that. "But, let me put it into perspective for you. You dumped him, and you didn't tell him why. All you told him was that you moved on to another person. Not only that, but you claim to love this new guy, but you're enraged in how Tommy has ignored you. I don't think you love Trevor at all, I think you're angry with Tommy, and you're trying to find a way to ease the pain rather than work through it."
"You're wrong, Jason." She said, but without confidence. "He loves me... and I..." Kim couldn't complete her thoughts, and she began to cry. Jason pulled her into a huge embrace, and she cried into his black t-shirt. After a couple of moments, they both heard a familiar six-toned chime. He let go of Kim, and answered his communicator.
"I read you, Zordon."
"JASON, YOU MUST RETURN. TOMMY AND KATHERINE ARE BEING ATTACKED BY THE MACHINE EMPIRE'S NEWEST MONSTER."
"Tommy and Katherine..." Kim muttered.
"I'm pretty sure Billy is with th..."
"Stop making excuses, and go save your best friend. I need to go back to my true love. Good bye Jason." Jason was stunned. Kim turned her back and started walking the other way, leaving Jason no other choice but to teleport back to Angel Grove.
*Oliver Residence*
It had been three days since Tommy received the letter, and it had been a very trying time for the Power Rangers leader. He and Jason hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk and, unfortunately, things went from bad to worse. He didn't understand why Kat pushed him so hard to date Heather. Then Mondo got in the way, multiple times, by sending more ridiculously stupid monsters, and then to top it all off, despite the fact that he danced with Kat, who is insanely gorgeous, it didn't help him when he woke again to the realization that he was no longer the boyfriend of Kimberly Anne Hart. Tommy was in desperate need of someone to listen, not someone to try and fix what was unfixable. Which was why Jason was the only one Tommy would invite over for the next week.
"How you holding up?" Jason asked, as he shut the bedroom door, and found a chair to sit in near Tommy's computer desk, while Tommy sat on the edge of his bed.
"Honestly... I want to lock myself up from the world," Tommy said seriously. "Everyone wanted to find a way to make me happy, but it's just going to take time. Kim meant a lot to me. Hell, she still does."
"I know bro," Jason said. "Have you thought about reaching out to her?"
"I called once, but she didn't pick up. I want to try again, I want to know what happened. But what do I say?"
"Well, you could tell her what you just told me. You want to know what happened between you. She'd probably tell you." There was silence for a moment.
"Zordon told me you went down to Florida. That you went to see her."
"Yeah, I did," Jason replied. "I wanted to make sure she was ok."
"And?"
"Honestly, I think you guys need to talk."
"What else?"
"Hey, you told me over the phone you didn't want anyone to fix your issues, just to listen."
"I know... I just... I guess I'm still in shellshock."
"I understand," Jason replied. At that point, Jason witnessed something he hadn't seen before... Tommy started to cry.
"I... I always thought I was going to marry her. I loved her so much, Jase. I would do anything to get her back."
"Then go after her."
"I can't..."
"And why not?"
"... I want her to be happy, above all else."
"And you think letting her go without a fight is how to make her happy?"
"I don't know, man!" Tommy shouted, and instantly regretted. As he sat on his bed, tears continuing to fall from his face. What started as a few tears turned into full-out sobbing, as Tommy just broke down. Jason moved to the bed and sat beside him, and just stayed there for him, placing ...his hand on his shoulder.
"Just let it out, bro."
To be continued...
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- Googz333