Hey guys! So, someone PMed me (who reads both of my stories) and asked me why I teased a different yellow ranger for this story in a chapter of Animal Guardians, and I figured anybody who reads both probably noticed that and might think that was on accident, so here is my response to that: you'll see what happens. I can't say why, but that was not a mistake.
Speaking of said character, this chapter marks her first appearance in this story, though this isn't her official introduction, which will be soon.
Bella is portrayed by Naya Rivera
Dani is portrayed by Cierra Ramirez
Mari sighed as she sat down at the bleachers in the morning. She was early for school, and practice for that matter. Almost no one else was at school, but she didn't mind. She would much rather be in a place where she at least had a chance to see someone else to hang out with than be at the command center, where everyone was too busy to hang out, and there weren't even any neighbors around.
Yeah, she knew she could've invited someone over or tried to make a time to hang out with Eliza or Mason, but it was hard to find someone who wanted to. In all honesty, the only people she would even consider were any of the other rangers, but they all had their own places, and Mari didn't want to bother them by asking them to come over. They were probably busy. Especially October, who was the prime candidate for that.
No one else really wanted to hang out. Mari didn't know why, but it made her feel isolated and lonely, even with the massive amount of people at the school. It was hard to fit in, and Mari didn't want to pretend to be something else just so people would like her.
Then, she heard footsteps on the loud bleachers. She looked up to see Luca, who frowned at her.
"What're you doing here?" He asked, sitting down next to her after she gestured beside her with a smile. "I didn't know you got here this early."
Mari shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it's just boring at the command center. Eliza, Mason, and Liela are pretty much always busy, and there's no one else around. What about you? Why are you here so early?"
Luca chuckled, pulling out his sketchbook. "I always get here this early. It's nice to draw in a quiet environment. Plus, I love mornings - they're so peaceful."
She looked off, looking at the sun, which wasn't fully up in the sky yet. "Yeah, it is really peaceful. Good place to think."
"Totally," He nodded. "Even though it's school." He muttered, opening up his sketchbook.
Mari peeked over, and watched him flip through the pictures. Half of them were pictures drawn of the environment, and the other half of them were portraits of people, but all of them were very well done. "Wow, you're an amazing drawer, Luca. I didn't know you could do work like that."
He shrugged awkwardly. "Really? I was just sketching, you know? No big deal."
"Are you kidding? You should show these to people. Ooh, you could get people to pay you to draw things for them!" Mari exclaimed. "You're really good."
Luca smiled. "I don't know if I'm that good. I mean..."
"Stop," Mari grabbed him by the shoulders. "You are a really great artist. Don't be shy about that talent."
"Thanks," Luca rubbed the back of his neck, still a bit sheepish. "So, what kind of stuff do you do? I mean, you've never really said what you like to do or what you're talented at."
Mari looked away a bit uncomfortably. She didn't really think she was that good at anything. Looking through the team, she already knew that Aiden could sing, October could play the piano, and Luca could draw. Ryder she wasn't really sure about, but then again he was really good at football, being the quarterback for the last two out of three years he has been in high school.
What was she good at? She didn't have the best grades, barely made the cheer squad, and was basically the weak link on the team. 5th in command out of 5 rangers. Only in charge if she was alone, which she assumed she never will be.
She shrugged and faked a smile. "Umm.. I like makeup and shopping," She said, trying to give the impression that she was okay with that statement.
He laughed. "Is that all you do? I mean, there's more, right?"
Mari frowned at him. "Would there be something wrong if I that was it?"
"Well, no, but those aren't talents," Luca shrugged. "You must have some talent. You can't just be bad at everything.
- Cue Opening -
- Flashback -
Eight year old Mari walked into dance class nervously. It was her first session with her teacher, and she was a bit surprised to see all of the class there, ranging from toddlers to teenagers.
"Marissa," Her teacher guided her to put her things down and took her to side, where the people her age were standing. "It's great to see you." She turned to address the whole class. "Students, this is Marissa, and she will be in our class from now on."
The other students made shrugs and didn't seem to care all too much. Standing next to her was eight year old Danielle Perez, Brent's twin sister and known as Dani, as well as nine year old Isabella Brown.
Isabella, better known as Bella, pulled Dani towards her and whispered something in her ear while looking at Mari. She pretended not to notice, especially when the girls began to laugh.
The teacher advised them to begin stretching on the bar while she looked over the lesson plan. The students all lined up at the bar they were suited for, according to their ages and heights, and put their feet up to stretch. Mari was on the end of the bar, looking around to see how the other girls were doing it. Catching on, she put her leg up and did what the others did.
One of the things she noticed, however, was that all of the girls were talking to their friends and gossiping while they did so, many of them smiling and laughing. Mari stretched sadly, noting how she was alone.
Then again, she didn't know anybody here, so it wasn't completely her fault that no one was engaging with her. She saw Bella and Dani next to her, and smiled when Bella saw her. She waved, and Bella gave her a strange look.
"What do you want, newbie?" Bella sneered, glaring at her. "We don't need any new people here to take up the spots we need to get to the competition." Mari frowned as Dani and Bella laughed at her. She turned away, deciding to stretch the other leg while holding back her upset. Unfortunately, there was a mirror in front of her, allowing Bella to see everything she did, including wiping at her eyes. She laughed again. "Wow, look at the baby cry," She smirked. "That's pretty sad. Your first day, and already crying."
Mari tried to ignore her, sitting on the floor and stretching more when the teacher came out and instructed their dances for the day. Because she was new, the teacher showed her just what to do before moving on to help others.
"Great work, Isabella," She heard the teacher complimenting her. "You're one of the best students here."
Frowning deeply, Mari decided to try the next moves already, one of which included her to get up onto her toes with her ballet slippers, and eventually without them once she got good enough, but she decided to do it anyways. Getting up on her toes, she tried to lift up higher, but her toes weren't strong enough and she fell to the ground, making an audible THUD and attracting the attention of those near her.
Bella and Dani laughed at her fall, while Mari had tears in her eyes. "Come on, Marissa, you can't just be bad at everything!" She looked back at them, Bella of which seemed pleased with her fall, before running over to grab her things and run out of the class, where her stepmother was waiting for her.
-End of Flashback-
Mari frowned at Luca, hurt that he thought that. "I..." Thankfully she was cut off when Alice came walking down the bleachers, greeting the two.
"Hey, babe," Luca kissed her as she sat down. "Mari and I were talking about my art,"
Alice smiled. "It's really good, isn't it?" She asked Mari, who nodded with a frown. "He's amazing," She leaned into him as he wrapped an arm around her. "Oh, October went to get changed for practice, so you probably should too."
Mari checked the time, and was surprised to see how late it was. Practice was going to start any minute. "Oh, yeah. Thanks."
She got up and walked past them, and up the bleachers. She noticed Mel also walking into the locker rooms, who bumped a few girls on the way in. Mari sighed and entered the room, walking over to her locker, which was next to October's. The pink ranger already had her pants on, and was working on putting her shirt on when she noticed her.
"Hey, Mari," She smiled. "When did you get here?"
Mari shrugged. "A while ago," She looked past October as she took out her clothes, and frowned as she saw the girl's volleyball team in the room. "Hey, why is the volleyball team here?"
October looked back and turned back to her with a strange look on her face. "I don't know. I think their putting their things away for today's game. They have to leave during 5th period so it's probably easier to put their stuff away now and get it later so they don't have to carry it around all day."
Mari found herself distracted as she put her shirt on. Looking through the team, she could see two prominent figures standing there - Bella Brown, and Dani Perez. She knew they went to Sol Valley High, but she hadn't really talked to them or seen them much since she was young.
The two were standing against the lockers, obviously gossiping. Dani was a short girl, only about 5'1 with tan skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. She wore a white crop top, black shorts, and converse. Bella, meanwhile, was 5'5 with tan skin, long brown hair, big brown eyes and a beautiful face. She had a much more classy style, wearing a yellow peplum top, white skinny jeans, and tan high-heeled booties. She also had an expensive, white tote bag.
As people began exiting the locker rooms, Bella and Dani began to walk out past the two, and Bella smirked when she saw Mari. She whispered something in Dani's ear and the two laughed. Mari tried to ignore them but Bella purposefully bumped into her, causing her to fall as she didn't expect that.
"Excuse me," October grabbed Bella's shoulder and spun her around. "Why the hell did you just do that?"
Bella feigned innocence. "What did I do?"
October rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You and I both know that you bumped into her on purpose. What's your problem?"
She scoffed. "Just because your friend is clumsy and stupid, doesn't mean that I did anything. I mean, come on, her whole personality consists of a classic stupid girl. It's just plain logic."
"It's just plain bitchy," October narrowed her eyes at her. "You don't know anything."
Bella shrugged. "That's your opinion,"
Before October could say anything else, Bella escaped the locker room with Dani by her side. She shook her head as she pulled Mari up, who had tears in her eyes. "Hey, don't listen to them," October told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Mari shrugged it off. "I'm serious."
Mari almost glared up at her. "Really? So, what other personality traits to I have?" October opened her mouth to respond, but Mari cut her off. "Don't worry, I know what you think. It doesn't matter, anymore. That's what everybody thinks, so don't beat yourself up too much,"
Having been dressed already, Mari shut her locker and exited the locker room, trying to find a place to be alone. However, October was hot on her trail.
"Mari, stop," October called after her, jogging a bit to catch up with her when they felt their lockets get hot against their chests. "Mari," October hissed. "We have to g..." October was cut off when the two made it outside to see the attack down on the field. Aiden, Ryder, and Luca were already fight against the footsoldiers, which wasn't too hard of a job, however, there were tons.
Many of the people in the area scattered, Alice directing them to safety while attempting to stay out of the battle.
The two watched for a moment, before October saw Aiden get hit from behind and fall into a group of them. "No!" October exclaimed, running towards the bleachers and leaping down from the top of them to the bottom. Mari then watched alone, in amazement, how October did.
After jumping down, October ran into the group and jump kicked a Titan down. She grabbed another by it's arm and flipped it over her head. See them closing in on Aiden, she ran over and pulled one away, getting into the group. Grabbing the spear of the one she pulled away, October held it up as she blocked the others from coming down on her. She spun the spear around gracefully, knocking all of them down before helping Aiden up.
"You okay?" She asked, looking him over.
He quickly kissed her forehead. "Thanks to you,"
Meanwhile, Ryder flipped over one who attempted to behead him with it's spear and kicked it down in the process. He grabbed the body of that Titan and threw it into another group nearby, throwing them all to the ground.
Luca grabbed a spear that came at his chest and pushed it back before using it to flip the Titan to the ground. He kept the spear in hand and stabbed one that got close to him, before chucking the body at another.
He glanced over to October and Aiden while he continued to fight off his own group of Titans. The two were going at the Titans as a team, blocking each other from back attacks and making sure each other were safe at all times. While they did so, they were constantly looking over at each other, and assuring each other that they were fine to the other.
They made a very good couple, and it almost made Luca doubt sometimes how he and Alice were doing. Not that they weren't doing good, but it just made him insecure to see a couple like Aiden and October.
Mari, meanwhile, ran down the bleachers and through the gate onto the football field. She punched a Titan and angrily kicked another. She fought hard, and was very obviously angry and trying to prove herself against the others.
Being considered the weakest link, Mari had a bit of need to prove herself at times. She tried not to let it show, but now she didn't care. She wasn't how people saw her, and she knew it.
People saw her as a stupid person because of how much she cared about her appearance. She may not have had the best grades in the world, but the lowest grade she usually ever got was a C, and most of the time that didn't happen.
People saw her as vain, again, because of how much she cared about her appearance. In all honesty, it was more because of how deeply insecure she was about her looks, and how she was worried people wouldn't like the way she looked if she didn't do what she did. Society and social media puts a lot of pressure on people about how they should look, and Mari was a victim of giving into the pressure.
People saw her as weak because of how feminine she was. There was nothing wrong with how feminine she was, and it didn't mean she was weak.
She wasn't any of those things. She was strong, and a power ranger. She could do more than most of the people that judged her.
Speaking of the people that judged her, Mari was shocked to look over and see Bella and Dani fighting off a few Titans of their own who were inching up the bleachers. She frowned - the fact that they were fighting back was bizarre.
Bella was actually doing pretty well, in fact. She kicked a Titan down the bleachers with her stiletto heel, causing it to fly down instantly. She ducked under the swing of a spear, and punched it down as well.
Dani, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well. She was farther down the bleachers, closer to the official battle site, and was thrown over the fence between the bleachers and football field into the battle.
Alice, who was helping people get to safety, saw her and cursed under her breath. She knew how dangerous it was to get that close to a battle, but Dani was doing pretty bad against them. Sighing, she ran down the other section of the bleachers and through the gate. She ran over to Dani and helped her up, before rushing her towards the exit.
Dani ran ahead of her, but Alice, who was behind her, was spotted by a Titan. Before anyone could react, a Titan rammed into her and threw her towards the steps, where she hit her head very audibly and didn't move.
The rangers all looked over in shock.
"Alice!" October and Luca yelled, breaking away to run over there.
Luca made it over quickly but October was grabbed by a nearby Titan and thrown back to the floor. She growled and kicked it away before jumping to her feet just as more approached her.
"Get out of my way!" October sneered, punching one back.
Fighting off the ones in front of her, she failed to notice one behind her who swung his spear at her like a staff and caught her chest, knocking her to the ground and winding her. She kicked back once more, but this Titan hit her foot back with his own and kicked her in the side.
"October!" Aiden flipped over his own group and kicked the Titan down. He grabbed the spear from the Titan and used it to fight off the other ones around them before he knelt down next to October as she held her side in pain.
Nearby, Mari and Ryder were finishing off their own Titans and ran over, panting and exhausted. Aiden, despite October's protests, lifted her up as she winced again. They heard sirens coming.
"There are ambulances coming," Mari pointed out.
Aiden nodded, looking towards October. "You need to get checked out."
"No, I'm fine." October protested, though was still holding onto her side in pain. "Alice is hurt, we have to help her."
"Yeah, well, you're hurt too," He looked up at Ryder. "Tell her."
"Unfortunately, I agree with Aiden," Ryder muttered, giving Aiden a look while he said that. He still wasn't happy about the two getting together, but he wasn't about to complain at the moment. "You should get checked out."
Luca, meanwhile, picked Alice up and held her against him. She was unconscious, and bleeding heavily from her head. He put his hand against her wound, trying to stem the blood flow as he looked over at the rangers. Aiden had already picked up October similarly from the ground and was holding her very protectively. He watched as the red ranger kissed his girlfriend on the head and then walked up the stairs to get her to a better location.
Luca was about to do the same when he saw paramedics rushing towards him. They all began talking very fast to each other and snatched Alice from his hands, leaving him alone with Alice's blood over him.
He walked up to steps to where Mari was standing as they watched Aiden and Ryder both convince the paramedics to let them ride to the hospital with October.
"Aren't you going with Alice?" Mari looked up at him.
Luca sighed. "Her injury is pretty bad. I don't think they want me to ride with her in that state."
Mari nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry,"
He shrugged with pursed lips. "You shouldn't apologize for something you can't do anything about." He said bitterly. "Besides, you're not exactly the type to feel sorry for others, even if you didn't do anything wrong. You just do things without caring about the consequences, don't you?"
Luca walked off as Mari stared after him, hurt by his statements. "Screw you," She muttered under her breath, fighting back the tears that so easily came lately.
- PRGG -
At the hospital, Aiden and Ryder awkwardly stood next to each other next to the bed that October was sitting on, while she got examined by a female doctor. The doctor had her lift up her shirt just below her bra to look at the damage. She prodded the area lightly, and October cringed.
"I'm fine, right?" She asked.
The doctor wrote something down. "Better than you could be. Just a few bruised ribs, but you're lucky they didn't break. Just take some ibuprofen and rest a bit, and you should be fine." She turned back to Ryder and Aiden, who looked uncomfortable standing so close to each other, though it was a small area and they had no choice. "Who are you?"
"Aiden, her boyfriend," Aiden spoke up, smiling awkwardly.
Ryder rolled his eyes. "I'm her brother, Ryder. I'll make sure she gets home and does what she needs."
The doctor nodded, and turned back to October. "You should be able to leave now. You're lucky you have these two, they obviously care a lot about you."
October smiled and chuckled. "I know. Thank you so much," The doctor smiled back at her before walking off to tend to other patients, while October turned to the two and shook her head. "You two look very uncomfortable."
"Do we?" Ryder asked. "Cause I'm not if Aiden isn't."
Aiden gave him a strange look. "What do you mean? I never said I was uncomfortable." He then walked over to October and gave her his hand to get off of the bed. "You gonna go check on Alice?"
October nodded. "Yeah. I really hope she's alright,"
As she walked off in search of Luca, Aiden watched after her. Ryder scoffed at him. "What?" Aiden asked, frowning. "Do you have a problem?"
Ryder shrugged nonchalantly. "I never said I had a problem," He mocked.
Aiden rolled his eyes as Ryder walked in front of him and began to walk away. "Ryder, what..." He grabbed his arm to stop him, in which Ryder immediately reacted to. He ripped his own arm out of his grasp and pulled Aiden's arm behind his back. Doctors nearby that noticed what was going on began to call security.
"Don't touch me," Ryder warned. "And stop whatever you think you're doing with my sister. I don't trust you one bit,"
"Get off of him," He heard a voice behind him and turned in time to see security grab him off of Aiden.
Ryder struggled to get out of the burly guard's arms, as he was holding him back while another guard looked over Aiden, who looked back at him. Ryder glared at him as he felt a prick in his arm and saw Aiden stare in shock.
"Wha..." He suddenly felt sluggish and turned to see a doctor next to him with a shot in hand. Suddenly, everything went black.
Aiden watched the doctor inject Ryder with a sedative with wide eyes. He saw the green ranger quickly slow down his movements before falling unconscious in the guard's arm.
"Holy shit," Aiden whispered, startled by what just happened. "Why did you that?" He asked the doctor, who looked at him strangely as October, who had heard the commotion as she walked away, returned to the room, and, in shock, stood back and watched.
"This young man attacked you. I sedated him to keep him calm," The doctor explained, as if it was obvious. "When he wakes, we will have an officer here to handle this."
Aiden glared at him. "It wasn't like that. It was just a simple dispute. He's unhappy and doesn't trust me because I'm dating his sister. That's all. It wasn't going to go anywhere further. We don't need an officer involved."
The doctor eyed him warily. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Aiden nodded, stepping away from the security guard next to him.
The doctor sighed, and gestured to a stretcher nearby for the guard still supporting Ryder. "Take him to a recovery room." The guard did as he was told, and the room began to pan out, except for Aiden, who was shocked to see October standing nearby, looking at him with a look he couldn't decipher.
"October, I am so sorry," He walked towards her, talking quickly. "I don't know what happened. We were talking and he said something and he tried to go somewhere so I tried to stop him and talk it through but he got really pissed and..." He was cut off when October launched herself into his arms. Shocked, he slowly wrapped his arms around her. "You're not mad?"
She shook her head into his chest. "No," She said. "I know how Ryder can be, and you just saved us. If an officer got involved in whatever happened, Ryder wouldn't be living with me anymore. You saved my family, and I know you didn't mean to start whatever happened. Ryder's just really aggressive."
Aiden kissed her head. "I still feel like I need to make this right. I don't know what to do."
October pulled away and looked up at him. "Honestly, I don't think there's anything you can do. That's just how Ryder is, and if he doesn't trust you with me, that's his problem, not ours. We just have to be who we can, keep doing what we do, and let Ryder figure for himself. Trust me, I've tried way too many times to do what you're doing and it hasn't worked yet."
Aiden looked her over and nodded with a pondering look on his face. "Okay, you're probably right. Besides, it's not like he's gonna find anything to give him a reason not to trust me - I would never do something like that to you."
"I trust you," October smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "I should probably find out where they're taking him. When he comes back to reality, I'll, at least, try to talk to him. You should go see if you can find Luca or Mari."
"Alright, I'll go see what's going on,"
- PRGG -
Luca sat in an uncomfortable chair in Alice's room, as they listened quietly to her dad talking to the doctor outside. She had a pretty severe concussion and the doctors stitched up the gash in her head. She really felt lucky it wasn't anything worse, because the impact was quite hard and the doctors were even worried that she could have internal bleeding in her brain.
Luca, meanwhile, looked over at her in the very dimly lit room. Due to her concussion, the lights had been turned down very low, but not so low that the two couldn't see each other.
Alice noticed him staring, and looked over at him. "What?"
"I..." He shrugged. "I don't know. It's not that important - you should take it easy and rest."
She raised an eyebrow at him and rolled her eyes. "Luca, just tell me what's going on."
Luca sighed. "I just don't feel like I'm that good of a boyfriend to you. I mean, I'm a power ranger and I let you get hurt."
"You didn't let me get hurt. You were fighting off the other monsters and saving people. You were busy, and it's not your fault that you didn't catch it in time. Nobody, including me, saw that coming." She put her hand on his, which was resting on the side of the bed. "Don't beat yourself up."
"Well, it's not just that," He muttered. "I see how other couples, like Aiden and October, act. They just seem so much better off than we do."
"Luca, they're probably in the honeymoon phase, if anything," Alice chuckled. "We been together for.. what's coming up to be year. We still love each other, and we still do the things they do. It's just different for us because we've already done so much together that it's not as exciting as the first time. Not that it's not still exciting, but it's not the same. If we had just gotten together or were doing new things, it would be different. Sol Valley just isn't big enough, and is too expensive to do all of the things we want to do."
Luca looked at her for reassurance. "You're sure?"
She smiled. "Of course. Now, come here and give me a kiss because I'm cute, and then we can watch some TV."
He laughed and kissed her on the lips before sitting back down in his chair and scooting up beside her.
- PRGG -
October was the first thing Ryder saw when he came to, and he was really confused. She looked pretty upset, and he didn't seem to be in any place of recognition. He frowned groggily up at her.
"What's up?" He slurred. "Where are we?"
October crossed her arms. "The hospital. You remember what happened?"
He thought back on it through his foggy mind, and, after a few moments, vaguely remembered what happened. "Yeah, your boyfriend's a douche."
She rolled her eyes. "Actually, my brother's a douche."
"Harsh," Ryder mumbled, still pretty foggy from the sedative. "I'm just trying to protect you. I don't want him to hurt you cause I know how he is."
October sighed. She couldn't be necessarily mad at that explanation. "You don't have to worry about that, because you only know how he used to be, not how he is now, but I do, and I trust him. Besides that, you have no right to interfere in my love life, especially this way. You know, if Aiden didn't say anything, they would've called the cops on you, and you know what's gonna come of that."
"I don't care," Ryder shook his head tiredly. "I don't trust him at all, especially not with dating you. When he hurts you, I'm going to hurt him."
"If and I don't think he will," October said confidently. "I trust Aiden more than most people, and I know it'll end up great."
Ryder stared at her for a moment. "Just remember what I said, O. Besides, you think he's changed so much, but some people don't change."
"Aiden isn't 'some people,'" October told him. "He has changed, and I know it."
- PRGG -
Meanwhile, Mari sat in the waiting room, not necessarily knowing what to do. She didn't know where anyone but Luca went off to, and she wasn't looking to make friends with him at the moment.
She could definitely understand him lashing out because of the high pressure in the situation, but, not only was he completely out of line, he also wasn't the type of person to do something like that. Luca tended to be calm and kind, and if he was ever not, it usually wasn't on purpose.
Mari looked up when she heard footsteps, and saw Aiden walk in. He spotted her as well and walked over to sit next to her.
"Where's Luca?" He asked, looking around.
She gestured vaguely down the hall. "He's with Alice. She's fine besides the concussion and stitches." She said.
Aiden seemed to notice something was off about the yellow ranger, and frowned. "Is everything okay, Mari?"
Mari looked over at him. "Is it that obvious?"
"Sort of," Aiden nodded. "What's going on?"
She sighed. "I don't know.. I guess I just feel like nobody sees me for who I really am, you know? I'm not just some popular, rich, stupid, girly-girl like everyone thinks I am. I lost all of my money, I've never been popular, and I'm not stupid. Also, just because I'm girly, doesn't mean that I'm not tough too. People would really be surprised if they knew the real me."
Aiden pursed his lips. "I know what you mean. I feel like, even though I've changed, people still don't see me as a nice guy. I'm still the douche Aiden who nobody actually likes, but pretend to like anyway."
"Yeah, I hate people like that. I used to think I had so many friends, but when I started to really hang out with you guys, I realized that all of the people I thought were my friends weren't. They never asked where I was or texted me, and they don't even talk to me anymore. They just look over at me like I'm less than them." Mari told him.
"You're not less than them," Aiden assured her. "You never will be less than them. People like that aren't worth your time, and they'll never understand what it's like to be a genuine person. They'll always look down on all of real people, so they can dignify how fake they are. Don't let them get to you like that. You shouldn't care about what others think of you, because, at the end of the day, all you're gonna have if yourself."
"But that's so lonely," Mari rubbed her arm as she looked at the floor. "I hate feeling lonely. It's the worst feeling in the world."
Aiden shrugged. "Sometimes, you just have to embrace being lonely, especially because, sometimes, there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, you could always take that alone time to discover yourself. Maybe, once you get to know yourself, you might not feel as lonely. It's just like they say, 'sometimes, you have to be your own friend.'" He smiled at her. "But, just so you know, you don't have to feel lonely with us. Me, October, Ryder, and Luca - we'll be here for you when you need it. Don't feel like you have to hide from us." His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he check it. "I have to go see October, but you should think about it. I'll talk to you later,"
Mari watched Aiden leave and thought about what he said. Maybe she could be her own friend, and, if she needed another, she had the others to count on. She smiled to herself a bit.
You know what, he's right. I don't need all of those fake people, and I don't need their opinions. I'm me - the real me - and that's what matters.
Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of the Galaxy: Mel is caught cheating on Ryder, and October decides it's time to confront her once and for all. Meanwhile, with Alice in the hospital, Luca uses his time to make it up to Mari for what he said, all while Mari tries to help a strange woman find her ex-husband, who cheated on her while they were married.
Next chapter title: Cheater, Cheater
Here's the next chapter, and sorry if it's a bit screwed up near the lower half - I was writing that on one hour of sleep. Either way, I really liked the emotion in this chapter, as I can relate to Mari's struggle and I wanted to make her more in depth than just a very girly, and somewhat rude person.
I hope you liked it anyways, though, and there's also a new poll in my bio, if you'd like to check that out, I'd be very appreciative!
© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley