Author's Note: Thank you griffin blackwood, megsjedi and Tarice the Styraurus for reviewing last chapter! Sorry for the delay! I know it's been forever, but this story is going somewhere! This chapter takes place during the second episode of series, the episode called "There's No I In Team." That's the one where Shane decides to try to go it alone and the rangers first get their Zords and this chapter sort of "fills in the blanks" so to speak. As always, this story is being beta-ed by the ever talented (and patient!) Rebel Paisley, author of PRNS classics like Any Moment Reprise and Into the Woods. And, yes, I will try to work on some of my other stories this summer too!

The Geek and the Airhead

Chapter 3: Success and Failure

Dustin was a failure.

There wasn't even a world for just how epic a failure he was. He was like... the grand canyon of failure or something like that. He rubbed his face as he and Tori made their way out of Ninja Ops. Warm bed, here I come, he thought.

His bed wouldn't care if he was a failure.

"Don't worry, he'll come around," Tori encouraged, patting the brunette's arm.

"He hates me," Dustin complained, kicking his foot on one of the steps.

Stupid steps. Walking to his bed was taking forever.

"Shane gets like this sometimes," she continued. "He just needs to get his head out of his—"

"Shane?" the earth ninja interrupted, pausing to glance at his friend.

"Yeah," she replied. "Who did you think I was talking about?"

Oh yeah, Shane. Jerkface.

Dustin half yawned and half groaned. He was so tired, tired of training and tired of being a failure, but Shane hadn't wanted to give up and wanted to keep trying this simulation where the three of them had been wandering through a desert while being tied together. All afternoon they had done nothing but fail and fail and fail. But the air ninja just couldn't accept failure, especially not grand canyon sized failure. But Dustin could.

He knew a losing battle when he saw one.

"Oh," Tori realized. "Your... project not cooperating?"

"My what?" he asked, continuing his battle with the unending steps.

"Cam," she clarified.

He nodded, sighing. "I ruined everything."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Dude, of course it's true!" he countered, throwing his arms in the air. "You notice he had to use his laptop to run that hologram thingy?"

"Yes, I noticed," she replied, confused.

"I crashed Ops," he confessed, cringing at the memory. "I just wanted to..." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "He doesn't think I deserve to be a Power Ranger or even a ninja and... and he's right."

Tori was silent for a moment before speaking up. "He was probably just upset."

"Duh," Dustin groaned. "'Cause I totally ruined everything."

He reached up, almost like he could pull the layer of failure off himself, but he couldn't.

Stupid stubborn failure.

His friend started to reach out for his arm, but he shook her off as the two emerged above ground.

"Cam needs space," he continued. "I'm gonna give him what he wants."

"Dustin," she tried to protest, but he was already gone.

If it was space Cam wanted, it was space he'd get. Dustin wouldn't bother him with his lame excuse for ninja skills. No, he'd be just like a real ninja.

And Cam would never even notice him.

Cam was a success.

And he wasn't too modest to revel in his own success. After all, it had taken three days to repair Ninja Ops back to its pre-Dustin functionality, which wasn't bad considering that he had also temporarily tied the systems and even the mainframe into the academy's laptop while simultaneously continuing his regular duties, as well as continuing his work on the Zords.

Currently, he was seated in front of Ninja Ops' main computer terminal, attempting to configure the Megazord integration using the three separate Zords. The reason for his newfound productivity was simple: The earth ninja responsible for the extra work in the first place had never once interrupted him.

Not once.

No, the now highly productive tech only saw the impulsive teen during training and, even then, Dustin never even so much as said hello. The earth ninja even went so far as to avoid eye contact every time Cam would glance his way. It was a startling contrast between the hyper Dustin who would greet him every few hours as though the two were long lost relatives newly reunited, to the Dustin who always looked down at his element beneath his feet.

Apparently, being stern with the earth ninja was the right approach, which was a relief, because, though Cam hated to admit it, he had felt a tinge of guilt over how he'd spoken to Dustin. Still, it had been necessary. The damage could have been far worse had Dustin continued his constant visits.

Now Cam was free to work uninterrupted without fear of losing his focus.

Though, somewhere in the back of his mind he missed how the interruptions broke up the monotony.

...The way, way back of his mind.

While he tried to make the massive Zord hydraulic system work, he decided to add a seat warmer to the Zords' cockpits. That was another thing floating around the back of his mind, something about pillows and soft seats.

For a moment, when his father entered the room, Cam almost thought it was Dustin and he felt something... disappointment, maybe?

Clearly he was overworked.

And why had he put seat warmers again?

"Have you been successful with the Megazord configuration yet, son?" Sensei asked as he approached atop his mobile habitat.

"Not yet," Cam admitted. "I just finished repairing the mess the yellow ranger made and so I haven't gotten very far."

"I am certain Dustin did not mean to spill the ice cream," Sensei commented as he hopped onto the nearby table to work on a puzzle.

"Of course he didn't 'mean to'," Cam agreed. "I'm sure he does a lot of things he doesn't 'mean to'."

"His heart is in the right place, Cameron," Sensei said, sliding a puzzle piece with his tiny staff.

His heart? Cam wasn't sure whether to groan or laugh. The heart was simply an organ that circulated oxygen through the body via the bloodstream, not some mystical gateway to the human soul.

He settled for a sigh. He felt so... alone sometimes, as though he were the only person with his level of intellect. Well, perhaps a doctor would know what a heart was, but he accepted this burden just as he accepted that he, the Sensei's only son, could not be a ninja or a Power Ranger and, despite his obviously superior technological knowledge, could not even pilot a Zord.

"Father, are you sure that it's wise to give Dustin the biggest Zord?" he decided to ask.

"Earth is the strongest element, far more solid and difficult to work with that either air or water," Sensei explained. "The Zord will be a challenge to control, but one I feel Dustin is up for."

"Right," Cam mumbled, picturing a massive metal lion smashing through downtown Blue Bay Harbor because Dustin didn't "mean to" let his joyride get out of hand.

"Cameron, this is the moment the Wind Ninja Academy has been preparing for," his father continued.

"I know," he grumbled, removing his glasses for a moment to rub his eyes.

As the guinea pig resumed his shuffling of puzzle pieces, Cam couldn't help but remember the constant sounds of crunching, page turning and fidgeting that Dustin had made. By contrast, Ninja Ops was so... quiet now.

Not that Cam was complaining.

As the tech returned his glasses to his face, he stared at the massive Lion Zord. Sure, it would be the most difficult to control, but it would also be the safest. It could take the most damage if something should go wrong.

And, knowing Dustin, something would go wrong.

Somehow, knowing the wavy-haired brunette would be safe made Cam feel a little at ease and he was able to continue his work, knowing that the least deserving ranger would still come back in once piece.

Dustin couldn't help but smile as he watched the expression on Cam's face when the three Power Rangers returned from their first Zord battle.

That's right, Zord battle.

They got Zords! And, not only that, but he had been the one to save the day, using his awesome new Lion Zord. And, even more awesome than their new Zords, was the look on Cam's face. He looked... happy.

Cam was happy.

It was like, "Stop the presses! Cam's smiling!" The yellow ranger couldn't help but offer the tech a high five after Sensei was done lecturing. Sure, he knew he told himself he was going to give the grumpy tech space, but he just felt too awesome not to share some of that with Cam.

And, after a little hesitation, Cam actually raised his hand, awkwardly, but still... he high fived him back!

Behind him, he could hear his friends laugh. It was nice to have everything back the way it should be. It just felt so... right.

"I'll admit that I was a little surprised," Cam began, failing horribly at trying to hide his smile, "but the Zords performed exceptionally."

"The Zords?" Tori prompted.

The tech sighed. "Well, yes, you three did far better than I had been expecting."

"In other words, we're awesome," Dustin translated.

"More or less," Cam agreed, shrugging.

"That's high praise from him," Shane chuckled.

Yeah, it was good to have everything work out. All that failure was a total buzzkill and Dustin was stoked about finally getting rid of it. Plus, the red ranger was back on board with the whole teamwork thing, which was a relief for Dustin, who was getting tired of feeling like a worthless loser.

"But were all those one liners really necessary?" Cam asked, trying to regain his serious composure.

"What one liners?" the three asked, confused.

Cam just sighed, turning back to his computer to work on some other secret project. Dustin couldn't wait to find out what the next surprise would be. The earth ninja loved surprises and the tech had the most awesome surprises!

"I knew you were up to something," he declared, patting Cam's shoulder fondly.

But, when Cam turned back from the screen, his expression had totally changed, a frown now on his face.

"Yes..." he began, slowly, "I was up to something. I was repairing the systems you damaged."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled, pulling his hand back. "I didn't—"

"Mean to?" Cam finished. "Yes, I know." He then returned to his work.

"Um, we're cool then?" Dustin asked tentatively.

The tech didn't say anything at first. But, after a moment, he grumbled, "If you'll excuse me, I have a few more tests to run."

Dustin stared at the back of Cam's head as he worked. He so wanted to see that smile on Cam's face again. It felt so... he wasn't sure what it was about the smile, but he liked it a lot.

"Come on, let's go celebrate," Shane called, grinning at the yellow ranger.

"Sure," Dustin mumbled. And, as he turned to go, he could have sworn he heard Cam let out an exasperated sigh.

But maybe that was just his imagination.

Cam had to admit that he was more than a little surprised by the success of the rangers' first Zord battle. Sure, there had been the foreseen obstacles and complications, but the three Power Rangers had worked through them as a team. And, most surprising of all, it had been Dustin who used his significantly larger Lion Zord to rescue his friends from Lothor's magnet-headed monster.

He had originally been so doubtful of the yellow ranger's abilities, but now he found himself rethinking that assessment. Dustin was obviously capable of using his powers at least somewhat competently.

And now he understood why the wavy-haired teen had been so withdrawn recently. Apparently, Shane had decided to try to save the world on his own. When that obviously failed, he admitted his mistake and the team was reunited. Cam had thought that Dustin had been avoiding him, but now it seemed far more likely that the yellow ranger had simply been upset over losing one of his two best friends. This was confirmed by the way the teen seemed to have completely forgotten about the repairs he had necessitated. It was perfectly understandable, considering that Shane was his friend and Cam was... not.

Still, a part of him felt hurt.

He tried to focus on the power discs he was working on, but the tech still couldn't stop himself from picturing the three friends sitting around celebrating what they thought of as their victory. He wondered if they even acknowledged him or his work on the Zords at all.

He doubted it.

No, they were probably just talking about how great they were. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before they remembered him enough to pity him and offer a chance to tag along. He would decline, of course. He had work to do and no time for pity. Appreciation, perhaps, but that was highly unlikely. Besides, he doubted they thought of him at all.

Though, a part of him hoped Dustin did.

There was nothing like team-inspired victory to lift the spirits.

Especially when it involved pizza.

Even Tori noticed this, as they chowed down at the local pizza joint after leaving Ninja Ops. "You seem to be in a better mood."

"Yeah," Dustin beamed, shoving a slice of Hawaiian pizza into his mouth.

"I guess it helps that someone realized he couldn't take on Lothor by himself," she continued, throwing a glare Shane's direction.

"Hey, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" the air ninja complained.

"A few more," Tori replied, though her smile suggested she wasn't still mad.

If only Cam was as forgiving as Tori.

"And thanks for saving our butts out there, dude," Shane congratulated.

"Yep, me and my awesome Lion Zord," Dustin nodded, smiling.

"Not as awesome as my Hawk Zord," Shane argued.

"You mean that Zord that was flailing helplessly out there, dude?" Dustin quipped.

"We are not starting this again," Tori moaned before changing the subject. "So, Dustin, does this mean you'll give project 'Befriend Cam' another chance?"

Dustin frowned mid-chew, thinking. "I don't know."

"Why not?" she asked, surprised.

"Maybe he realized Cam's just not a nice guy," Shane suggested as he devoured his meat lover's pizza.

"People can come around," Tori insisted, raising an eyebrow at the red ranger. "You did."

He shrugged. "I'm not Cam."

"I just make things worse," Dustin mumbled, setting down the slice of pizza. Suddenly he wasn't as hungry as he'd been only moments ago. "I thought I could... somehow like, make him stop being Scrooge."

"Scrooge?" Shane repeated.

"But I couldn't," Dustin finished.

"Dustin, we never gave up on you," Tori encouraged as she nibbled at her salad.

"That's true," Shane agreed, nodding with a full mouth. "And I seriously thought about it a few times." Tori shot him a glare, but he just threw up his arms in surrender. "Joking, joking," he assured her.

"But you guys know how to make friends," Dustin explained. "Shane, you have all your skater friends," he told the air ninja before turning to Tori, "and you introduced me to Kelly. Everybody likes you guys."

Shane did a slight snort laugh.

"Not everyone," Tori disagreed. "I'd be more inclined to say that everyone likes you, Dustin."

"Not Cam," Dustin corrected.

"Yeah, well..." Shane began, waving a hand as he chewed. "Maybe he doesn't like anyone. Why do you care so much about him not having any friends?"

Dustin frowned, thinking.

"I don't know," he admitted, looking between the two. "We're a team. Maybe he can be part of our team."

"The part that hides in Ninja Ops?" Shane suggested.

"Maybe," Dustin agreed.

"Tell you what," Tori said, glancing over to Shane. "We'll talk to him."

"We will?" the air ninja replied, staring at her.

"Yes, team leader, we will," she insisted, her famous "don't argue with me" look in full force.

"Yeah," Shane caved, "of course we will. It's not like he's some reclusive hermit who snaps at anyone who gets close," he added, glaring across the table at Tori.

She just glared right back at him.

"Thanks, guys," Dustin said, smiling at the two. "Oh, and you think you guys could give him something for me?" he remembered. He had wanted to sneak it in to surprise Cam, but he knew he just wasn't a good enough ninja not to be seen and bother the tech.

"Sure," Tori agreed easily.

"No problem," Shane added. "What are friends for?"

"Yeah," Dustin smiled, nodding along with his friends. He wanted this for Cam, this friendship thing. That's all he ever really wanted, for Cam to be their friend and to be happy.

But what did Cam want?

Cam had finished the power disc tests and was moving onto his next project when he heard footsteps descending down into Ninja Ops. It wasn't time for training, so he could think of only one reason for the visit. As expected, once Dustin had made up with Shane, his mood improved and now he felt the need to resume his regular visits. The tech wanted to grumble at the interruption, really he did. But a part of him couldn't help but feel that he had missed the crazy teen's antics. Dustin was quite the enigma, but the biggest enigma of all was why Cam couldn't seem to get the earth ninja out of his head.

But, to his surprise, as he turned in his seat, his eyes fell on Shane and Tori. He looked around, but the third ranger was nowhere to be seen.

"Aren't you missing someone?" he pointed out, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Nope, just us," Shane said, holding a bag in one hand.

"We wanted to... talk to you," Tori began, hesitantly.

Cam glanced between the two, for the first time realizing why they were there without Dustin. It was obviously to apologize for their friend's behavior. And... possibly even to congratulate him on the success of their Zords' performance during their battle. He couldn't help but let a small smile slip.

"Go ahead," he offered generously.

The two looked at each other before the air ninja decided to go first. "We want you to be part of our team."

The smile immediately vanished from the tech's face, replaced by a look of confusion.

"We wouldn't have been able to beat Lothor's goon without you," Tori pointed out.

"That's true," Cam agreed, allowing the smile to return.

"We also want to be your friends," Shane added.

The smile wavered.

"Just you two?" he asked hesitantly.

"Dustin thinks you're still mad at him," Shane explained.

Cam sighed, his smile again disappearing. "I have every reason to be upset with him."

"Friends forgive each other," Tori chimed in, smiling at the red ranger beside her.

The tech grimaced.

"I... do forgive him," he reluctantly admitted. And...it was true. He had forgiven the earth ninja. Though, he had to quickly add, "But that doesn't mean I'm his friend."

A smirk passed over Shane's face. "You know, Dustin had a lot of trouble making friends too."

"Gee, I wonder why," Cam heard himself mumble.

"You two have a lot more in common than you probably think," the air ninja continued.

Cam raised an eyebrow.

"You're both a little awkward when it comes to making new friends," Tori added.

"And you're both into technology," Shane offered. "He likes working with bikes and you like... computers."

"And Zords," Tori added, smiling.

At last, perhaps now there would be some appreciation.

"Did you see us in those things?" Shane declared, grinning. "We were seriously awesome."

...or not.

"I should point out that the Zords you have become so fond of were only ready when you needed them because I was able to focus on testing them without being interrupted every few minutes by Dustin," Cam explained. "So, for all our sakes, let's just continue as things are and I will make your technology work while you use it to have fun 'saving the day'." He finished with a slightly mocking tone before turning back to his computer and attempting to focus on his work.

"Cam," he heard Shane's voice protest. "You're part of our team and—"

"And this is my role," he stated matter-of-factly without turning around.

"But how do you expect to make friends if you cut yourself off from others down here?" Tori's voice begged.

He again sighed, shaking his head. "Why do I need to have friends?"

"Everyone likes company," she suggested.

He rolled his eyes. "No, not everyone likes company. I happen to enjoy being alone."

"You can't like being alone," Shane argued. "Look, I tried to do the whole on-my-own thing too and you saw how that turned out. You need friends, even if you don't think you do. You can't—"

Cam spun around in his chair and stared at the red ranger.

"What do you know about me?" he snapped. "Not everyone's the same. Some people actually like having enough peace and quiet to actually hear themselves think. But I guess that isn't a problem for you." He closed his mouth, immediately regretting his last words. They had been aimed more at the absent yellow ranger anyway.

Damn Dustin for worming his way into his mind and latching a hold there.

He watched as the two exchanged looks, Shane shaking his head. "You think you're so much smarter than us."

The tech was silent for a moment because... what could he say? It was true.

"You do, don't you?" Tori realized, looking at the red ranger.

"I... I simply feel that other students might have been better suited for the job," the tech tried to explain.

"Like you?" Shane asked, anger forming in his eyes.

"I was never an option," he admitted, cringing at the resentment he heard in his own voice. "But, yes, I would have been a better choice, but Lothor left us with only you three."

"Only us three losers," the air ninja growled.

"Cam, you're not saying—" Tori began.

"No... No, today you three proved you could—" the tech tried to explain. He really had been impressed with them. Surprised, yes, but still impressed.

"We know how you really feel," Shane interrupted. "You think we're just some ingrates who showed up late to class one day and Sensei had no choice but to make us Power Rangers."

Cam couldn't help but cringe as the air ninja seemed to be pulling thoughts straight out of the tech's head. He glanced at Tori, who opted to remain silent.

"You feel so superior, don't you?" the red ranger insisted. "And here we are messing up your perfect little world. Well, congratulations, because you won't have to worry about the three of us interrupting you again." He huffed in his anger, turning to his friend. "Let's go."

She looked at Cam, an almost... sad expression in her eyes, before following him.

Suddenly Shane paused, spinning in his tracks.

"I don't know what Dustin sees in you." He shook his head. "He's the one who wanted to be your friend in the first place. He likes you. It boggles my mind why, but he really cares about you." He looked down at the bag he had been holding when he first entered Ninja Ops. "And you don't care about anyone but yourself." He then tossed the bag Cam's direction.

The tech caught the bag, glancing down at it before raising his eyes to meet the red ranger's gaze.

"From Dustin," was all he said before the two were gone and Cam was once again alone.

In the silence that followed, Cam opened the bag and pulled out something fluffy.

It was a pillow, complete with a green pillow case.

He stared down at the gift and kept hearing Shane's words replaying in his head...

"He cares about you, but you don't care about anyone but yourself."

And, for some reason, those words hurt. Perhaps... because he knew they were true.

To be continued...

Author's Note: Awww, poor Cam and Dustin! It looks like everything's out in the open now! What will happen next? Oh, and now we know why Cam was running the simulation off his laptop at the beginning of the episode. Also, in the episode, Dustin mentions that his Zord has a seat warmer, so I had to reference that.