Author'sNote:Thank you griffinblackwood, MidnightMoonWarrior, XxLunerMoonxX, sg1robinson, TaricetheStyraurus, and anon for reviewing and praising the first chapter! This story is being betaed by the ever talented RebelPaisley, author of PRNS classics like AnyMoment, IntotheWoods, and WhatYouOwn. If you read the first chapter before it was betafied, then go back and re-read it. No, seriously, you will not regret doing so! And now, sorry for the delay and that this chapter is short, but here's chapter two…

The Geek and the Airhead

Chapter 2: The Recluse and the Friend

Dustin was Cam's best friend.

Well, okay, so Dustin was probably Cam's only friend. And… Dustin wasn't even sure that Cam knew the yellow ranger considered the super smart computer tech as his friend. He tried hard to make it obvious, like by being really helpful and handing Cam a wrench during this particular visit to Ninja Ops. Because… Cam built things and a wrench was a killer tool for fixing up bikes.

…That and Dustin really had no idea what all the other tools the tech had were or what they were used for. He had just found a toolbox during this visit to Ninja Ops, otherwise known as Camland, and he didn't recognize even half of the stuff that was in it. Was that a robotic fishing rod? A mechanical duster? Maybe a super powered back scratcher? That'd be awesome! He was going to have to totally convince Cam to let him borrow it. But, when he looked back at the mystery tool's owner to ask, Cam was staring at the wrench, then at him, then at the wrench. Finally, the tech set the tool down and started doing… whatever he did on his computer all the time. It was probably important, so Dustin just went back to reading his Power Rangers comics and eating chips. Sometimes friends just needed to be there for each other when they were needed and the brunette was willing to wait for that moment when he was needed by Cam.

As he read (or looked at the pictures) about the Power Rangers smacking down another villain, he noticed that Cam looked uncomfortable and kept fidgeting a lot. Well, a lot for Cam, who normally just sat there typing away. Maybe his butt hurt from sitting in that chair all day? It did look really uncomfortable. So, when Cam spun his chair around to stare at his new best friend, Dustin suggested, "I bet your butt is like really sore."

Cam stared at him like his hair was on fire or something, so he gestured toward the chair. "It looks uncomfortable, dude."

"My seat is fine," Cam replied, obviously just trying to put on a brave front for the whole uncomfortable chair disaster. "Don't you have parents you could be annoying right now with your page turning and constant crunching?"

Mouth full of chips, Dustin shook his head. "No one's home," he mumbled, chip crumbs flying everywhere. "Here, want some?" he asked, offering Cam the mostly empty bag.

The uncomfortable tech made a disgusted face, probably because there were only crumbs left. Next time Dustin would have to remember to bring two bags so he could share. After all, that's what friends did, they share. On second thought, he was probably going to need three bags… or more.

Those were some good chips.

"Hey, wouldn't it be awesome if we had some cool bikes like these?" Dustin asked, turning his comic to face the tech. In the picture, the Power Rangers were atop super powered bikes that were blasting laser beams at some bad guys.

"Motorcycles with lasers?" Cam asked, unable to hide his surprise. Being so smart, he knew awesome when he saw it. "As Power Rangers, you can move anywhere faster than a cycle and you have weapons already. I should know. I designed the biophasic integration."

"The…what?" Dustin asked.

"It's what allows you to pull a weapon seemingly from thin air," Cam explained, causing Dustin to nod. Yep, that was pretty awesome too. But they still needed laserbikes.

…Maybe they could even work on making them together. That'd totally be a real bonding friendship type thing.

"Are you going to clean up after yourself?" Cam asked, completely interrupting images of laserbikes dancing around the brunette's head.

Dustin followed the tech's gaze until he saw a pile of chip crumbs running down the front of his training outfit and spread out in a circle around his feet. "Dude, I'm sorry," he said, quickly kneeling and scooping the crumbs back into the bag. After he was done, he then ate the crumbs out of the bag.

A little dirt never hurt anyone, especially a ninja.

Cam looked like he might be about to say something, but instead he just turned back to his computer. At least his computer wasn't lonely. But maybe it was uncomfortable too.

"I know!" Dustin realized, temporarily forgetting the laserbikes and chips. "A pillow!"

This time Cam didn't bother turning around. His dedication to his computer was admirable. Dustin hoped to be at least as good a friend to Cam as the tech was to his computer.

One could always dream.

"It'd make your seat a lot more comfortable," Dustin explained. "I'll get you one!"

And, with that, Dustin, Cam's best and only friend, ran out of Camland in search of something to make the tech's butt all nice and comfy. And nothing was better than a tech with a comfy butt. Now, could he spare one of his pillows or would he have to get another? Shrugging to himself, he figured he might as well buy a few more. After all, you could never have too many pillows. It was like a rule or something, like never having too comfortable of a butt.

…And Dustin loved soft butts.

That, and laserbikes!

Cam didn't need five separate cameras in the corridor leading down into Ninja Ops to know that Dustin was descending the stairs. The earth ninja had hardly left him alone for a moment for the past two days and, besides that, the wavy haired brunette had about as much ninja stealth as a toddler with a sugar high, complete with twice the energy. In fact, Cam could hear Dustin literally… skipping over to his seat where he was trying (again, in vane) to focus on his work.

…Seriously, skipping? Cam shook his head at just how bizarre the brunette was.

"Dude, aren't you ever like not on your computer?" Dustin's voice asked as he approached.

Cam sighed involuntarily. "Actually, Dustin, I just finished tying the holographic simulation manifold into the mainframe and now I'm—"

"I meant, don't you ever notwork?" Dustin clarified, setting down two plastic bags.

Cam paused, thinking. Of course he took breaks to eat and sleep, though exactly when those things had last occurred was somewhat of a mystery at the moment because, as often was the case, he had been too caught up in his work to notice the passage of time. He'd even been too busy to update his daily progress notebook. So, instead he decided to shift the easily distracted brunette's attention to the two bags that were occupying a once perfectly uncluttered spot beside him. "Let me guess… pillows?" he hypothesized.

Dustin promptly smacked his forehead with one hand. Cam had the distinct feeling he did this a lot. "Dude, I totally forgot about the pillow! I just got so distracted."

That wasn't surprising, but then what was in the bags? Cam couldn't help but cringe as the thought of dirty laundry crossed his mind. It would figure that the messy haired brunette would somehow break his washing machine and come to Cam for help. At least he had brought the clothes and not the washer itself.

Cam was not going to fit washer repair into his schedule.

"See, I was about to get some pillows," Dustin explained, his hands moving around haphazardly, "when I thought about how you were too busy to get ice cream with us last time. So, I brought the ice cream to you!" Dustin finished, pulling out a small carton and a plastic spoon in a "tada" fashion.

Cam simply blinked at the brunette's dramatic flair, unimpressed.

Dustin grinned and continued, still filled with his usual nervous excitement. "I got you mint."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Why mint?"

"'Cause it's green," Dustin replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You choose flavors based on their… color?" Cam asked slowly.

Dustin nodded fervently. "You're like always in green, so I know it's totally your favorite color.

Cam looked down and, indeed, he was wearing green, but his clothes were chosen for practicality and comfort, not for their color. Still… did he really always wear green? He should start cataloging his wardrobe. "So, you assumed I would like a flavor that matches my shirt?" he prompted.

"Totally," Dustin agreed. "'Cause you know I'm always spilling on myself." He cocked his head to the side in thought…or, in an attempt to look like he was thinking. "But I also like banana and pineapple and lemon 'cause they taste good."

So there were banana, pineapple, and lemon flavors of ice cream? Cam was apparently out of the loop as far as ice cream flavors went. Perhaps he should research… He shook his head, recovering his focus. "Did it ever occur to you to ask me first?"

"That's why I got chocolate too," Dustin said, producing a carton of chocolate ice cream. "Who doesn't like chocolate?"

"Not everyone likes chocolate, Dustin," Cam pointed out.

Dustin just stared at him with a look like he'd said there was no Santa Claus. It wouldn't surprise Cam if the brunette did still believe in the jolly fat man.

"Plus, for all you know, I might be allergic to dairy," Cam continued, "or be lactose intolerant, which is not technically an allergy but an—"

"You can't have ice cream?" Dustin nearly shouted, giving him a look of shock and pity normally reserved for someone who had just been deemed paralyzed for life.

"I can eat ice cream," Cam assured him. "I was simply making a point."

"A point?" Dustin asked blankly.

"An example, a…" Cam began before quickly giving up. Really, what was the point? He settled for an exasperated groan instead.

"Oh, right," Dustin nodded before shaking his head, his hair flopping about wildly. "Aw, dude, you totally freaked me out there for a sec." He then proceeded to line up ice cream containers along the side of the keyboard in front of Cam.

Cam again groaned, covering his face slightly with one hand as if the offending containers would vanish. "There are electronic devices in here that are extremely sensitive," he pointed out.

…Though not as sensitive as Cam's nerves were becoming.

"And a frozen liquid is not—" Cam continued.

"Dude, chill," Dustin said, handing Cam a plastic spoon, which the tech took hesitantly. At least it wasn't a wrench. When the wavy haired brunette had handed him said tool earlier in the day, it had been very hard not to use it in a completely unintended manner, a manner that involved a lot of bludgeoning.

…lots and lots of bludgeoning.

"Dustin, I—" Cam began, but that's when it happened.

Dustin had just opened two of the three flavors of ice cream and was flailing his arms dangerously, as he often did when he was making a point, when one such crazy limb connected with the open cartons. "It's not like I'm gonna—" The earth ninja's words were drown out by the sound of containers of half melted ice cream splattering against the keyboard.

The effect was instantaneous. Before Cam could even react to the event, smoke flew from the keyboard, the lights flickered in the room, and the screen in front of him went blank.

"Did I…" Dustin mumbled. "Cam, I'm sorry." The brunette's hands sprang into action, trying to scoop the cold goop out of the keyboard and back into the respective cartons, but he only managed to rub the substance deeper into the keys.

Cam had tried to be patient with the "special needs" ranger, really he had, but not only was the tech not a ninja or a Power Ranger, but he wasn't Superman. He had his limit and this was it.

"This," Cam growled, "this is why you don't deserve to wear that uniform, let alone be a Power Ranger."

"Cam, I'm really sorry," the wannabe ninja whined. "I wanted to—"

"You can't even move like a ninja," Cam continued while reaching down to open a panel underneath the computer. "And yet, here you are, a ninja and a Power Ranger," he continued angrily, fanning smoke away from his face as he noticed a sticky brown substance ooze down an exposed circuit board. "And you're expected to save the world when you can't stop yourself from coming down here, interrupting my work every few hours, and completely ruining the technology that allows you to do your job? I'm amazed you haven't broken your morpher yet. Or have you?" He stopped his attempts to redirect the flow of melted ice cream to glare at the brunette.

"Come on, dude," Dustin whined. "Don't you think that's a little harsh? I said I'm sorry."

"Have you ever thought that you'rethe reason I'm too busy to go out?" Cam snapped, continuing to glare. "Dustin, why do you come down here when there's no training and no reason for you to be here?"

"I come here for you," the brunette replied slowly.

The tech might have been touched by the sincerity of the words had he not been so painfully aware of the motivation behind them. "If it's because you feel sorry for me because I don't have friends like you, then—"

"So, you don't have friends," Dustin interrupted, a familiar look in his golden brown eyes… pity.

Cam felt something constrict in his throat, so he turned back to the open panel. "Just get out."

"I can help—" Dustin began to protest.

"No, obviously you can't," Cam argued. "I'll clean the mess and make the repairs." He clutched his forehead, sighing. "It's going to be a long night."

"Cam…" Dustin pleaded, placing a hand gingerly on Cam's tensed shoulder.

A part of the green clad tech felt sorry for the earth ninja, but logically he knew that it was Dustin and his friends who doubled his workload when they became Power Rangers and the messy haired earth ninja himself who just tripled that workload. He had to do so much just so Dustin and his friends could play heroes and reward their "hard work" with ice cream. It was all so… infuriating.

He shook his shoulders, releasing Dustin's grip on him in the process. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of the sensation that made him wonder if he was lonely. If this was what "friendship" meant, he wanted no part of it.

"Just get out," he repeated, a finality in his tone that surprised even him.

After a few quiet protests, he heard the brunette shuffled about before leaving altogether.

Once Cam was certain he was alone, he sighed and turned to see that the cartons of ice cream had been left behind. He began to place the lids back onto the containers, starting with mint and then chocolate, when he decided to peer into the third, unopened container. Inside was a distinctly yellow hue.

The melted ice cream would mostly likely have to be thrown out, so he figured he might as well taste it before it went to waste. Picking up the plastic spoon, he dug into the soft, frigid surface and took a bite.

The taste was surprising, consisting of pineapple and coconut, possibly making it piña colada flavor. It was a unique, quirky flavor that excited his taste buds, but it was a little too wild for him. In a way, it reminded him of Dustin.

He immediately placed the lid back on the container.

Instead, he turned back to the carton of mint ice cream and began eating the familiar, predictable taste. Cam appreciated predictability.

That, and mint was his favorite flavor after all.

To be continued…