A/N: Again, we're so sorry it's taken us so long to get this story finished! We honestly didn't plan for this story to take this long to get completed (or to even be a chapter story in the first place). But we're almost done!
I actually wrote this chapter while on the monorail in Disney World and whenever I had a chance to pull out my pen and paper. So yeah, this chap was written in Disney during my vacation, so I'm not sure how good it is. (And I'm proud to say that I got an inspiration boost when I got the autograph and a pic taken w/ the SPD Red Ranger! Sure it was just some guy in the spandex costume, and sure I got a lot of odd looks from parents and their kids, but come on, it's Disney World and an SPD ranger, can you blame me?
Anyways, happy readings!
–Z–
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Chapter 3
"What do you think of this one, Z?" Syd lifted yet another dress off of one of the racks of clothing and held it out for the yellow ranger to examine.
"It's…pink."
"I know! Isn't it so cute?!"
"It's pink."
Syd scoffed. "Fine. If you don't appreciate my help and my excellent taste in fashion, then you can just wear your trashy dumpster boots and tacky punk clothes to the dance."
Z let out an exasperated sigh. "Syd, it's just not…I don't know…just not me."
"Well what is you?" Syd asked her friend impatiently.
Z stood up and weaved her way through the different racks of dresses. She'd occasionally pick one up to get a closer look at it, but nothing caught her eye. Until…
"Hey Syd, what do you think of this one?" Z held up a knee length dress made of a shimmering gold material.
The pink ranger came over to where Z was standing and examined the dress for a moment before looking up at Z with a beaming smile on her face.
"It's perfect! Let's get it." Syd grabbed the dress from Z and took a step towards the register desk before she was stopped by Z's outstretched arm.
"Hold on pinky," Z said. "How much is this going to cost?" She took the dress back from Syd and checked the price tag. Her eyes widened as she took in the numbers before her. "Whoa! Okay, let's keep looking." Z turned around to set the dress back on the rack.
"Let me see." Syd attempted to reach around the yellow ranger and take the dress from her, but Z blocked her.
"No, really Syd, I think we should keep searching." Z said, grabbing the pink ranger's arm and attempting to pull her away from the dress. To no avail though; Syd stayed rooted to the spot.
"Z," Syd said, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "We could scour ever store in every mall in Newtech City, but we wouldn't find another dress as perfect as this one. You love it, so let's get it."
"That's easy for you to say, Syd. If you see something you like, you can buy it without even needing to look at the price. But I can't do that." Z sighed "You know just as well as I do that SPD isn't the highest paying job in the world, and I'm living off of my paycheck. There is no way my budget can handle this."
Z slowly set the beautiful golden dress back on the rack, "So, I'm not getting it."
Syd frowned and looked from Z, to the dress, and back again. She could tell, by the way the yellow ranger looked at the dress so longingly, how much she wanted it. Then Syd's expression brightened as she got an idea.
"Well, you may not be getting it, but I am."
"What?"
"Hey, you said it yourself. If I see something I like, I get it without looking at the price. And I happen to know a certain who would love to wear this dress to a dance she's going to." Syd grabbed the dress off of the wrack
"No, Syd–"
"Z, there is no way I'm going to let you go to SPD's first ball wearing anything other than this." Syd said, brandishing the dress in Z's face.
"But Syd, I–"
"We're roomies Z. What you wear to this ball will reflect upon me. If you turn up wearing trash dumpster boots and camo print pants, people will think that I put no effort into helping you. I'll be considered a stuck up, self centered brat! And we can't have that, now can we?"
"Syd, I'm not letting you buy my dress. I can't pay you back, so there's no –"
"I never asked you to pay me back." Syd interrupted once again. "This is as much about me as it is about you. I have to uphold my image, so you have to look good."
"But–"
"Okay, if you insist on doing this the hard way, I'll make you an offer. I'll buy your dress for you, if you let me do your hair, nails, and makeup. Deal?" Syd extended a small, perfectly manicu towards Z.
Z stared in disbelief at the stubborn pink ranger, then laughed and grasped Syd's hand. "Deal."
Syd smiled brilliantly. "Great! Okay, lets go find a cute pair of heels for you and then we'll be ready to meet the boys…Oh my gosh! That is the most adorable pair of jeans ever!"
Z laughed as Syd went running off in the opposite direction. As she made her way to the shoe department, Z couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Sky. 'I have a feeling we won't be meeting up with the boys anytime soon.' Z thought to herself, before setting her mind on finding the perfect pair of shoes.
XxX
"Sky, did we have to come here?" Jack whined, as he and Bridge trailed behind the blue ranger like two reluctant children. They were both getting slightly annoyed at all of the tall men that kept looking down at them as they walked past.
"Where else am I supposed to get a tux tall enough to fit me?" Sky questioned, as he led them past a group of mannequins sporting formal attire –a sign in from of them reading 'For the Big Guys. 7 feet tall.'
"But Sky, none of the stuff here fits Jack and me." Bridge said. And to prove this point, he pulled a jacket off of a rack and slid his arms into it. The jacket was ridiculously too big for him –the sleeves reaching his knees, and the shoulders far broader than his own –it seemed to swallow him whole. Jack burst into fits of laughter at the sight of the green ranger.
Sky rolled his eyes and spun around to face his two younger –and shorter –teammates. "Of course none of this stuff fits you. The store is called 'Big and Tall', you two are neither. So why don't you wait over there like good little children while I get fitted for my suit. Then when I'm done, we can head over to 'Toddler Tux', or 'Tuxes for Tykes', where they have the kiddy sizes. And if you're really well-behaved, we might even stop and get you some ice cream on the way home. How does that sound?" Sky said, his voice dripping with pretend pleasure and undisguised sarcasm.
Jack and Bridge stared at Sky blankly for a long moment, but the silence was broken when Bridge raised his hand.
"Yes, Bridge?" Sky asked, in an annoyed tone.
"Can…Can I have mint chocolate chip, please?"
Jack and Sky both rolled their eyes.
"Whatever. I'm going to go get fitted before I lose my sanity. You guys can just wander for a bit till I get back, as it's obvious that neither of you are going to be able to get your own suits without my help."
Sky began to walk towards the fitting room, but then turned and motioned to Jack. The red ranger walked over to Sky, who drew him further away from the green ranger. Sky put a hand on Jack's shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. "If Bridge ends up lost, hurt, or damaged in any way, I'm holding you personally responsible. Got it?"
Jack grinned. "Got it."
"Good. Because if anything happens to him…"
"What? You'll kill me?" Jack asked sarcastically.
"No. Syd will kill you."
Jack laughed, but stopped quickly once he saw that Sky didn't have the slightest trace of a smile on his face.
"I'm serious. She's like a lion watching out for her cub when it comes to Bridge. She calls it the mothering instinct. And believe me; you do not want to see Syd's mothering instinct in action."
Jack gulped unconsciously. "Oh…great."
Sky grinned and gave Jack a hard thump on the back. "No pressure, right?"
Jack shook his head, but he was too distracted –thinking up ways that the pink ranger might seal his fate –to say anything.
"See you later, Jack." Sky chuckled slightly, and walked off towards the fitting room.
A few moments passed in silence as Jack stared distractedly at nothing, caught up in an imaginary scene of Syd stabbing him in the heart with a nail file. He shook his head slightly, trying to bring himself back into reality.
"Bye, Sky." He blurted out, now that the blue ranger's words had finally penetrated his mind. Jack looked around, wondering where Sky had gone. He stood uncomfortably alone in the store before realizing a horrific fact. "Oh no…Not again…" Jack looked around frantically, but there was no sign of the green ranger.
"Bridge?" Jack whimpered as thoughts of an angry pink ranger revolved around in his head.
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Well? What do you think? We've got one more mall scene to go, and then…the ball! Please leave a review!
Keep it Buttery!
–The Tate Twins–