Jake wasn't too sure where he could find Troy, so he searched the places he thought Troy visited most often after school hours. However, the red Ranger wasn't at Ernie's nor was he at the park for his training. Jake decided to grab his phone and text his red Ranger friend to see if they could met up somewhere.

The reply he got was strange.

"What are you doing in Panorama?" he asked himself before sending that question to Troy. He sat down on a bench and waited for an answer back. He rolled his eyes. "I was going to ask you to the dance."

"Aren't you into Gia?"

"As friends. I'm trying to get the whole team to go. Noah's agreed, and Gia's only going is everyone goes."

"And Emma?"

"Gia's talking to her. Please, dude. It'll be fun."

"Alright, I guess it can't hurt. I can't stay long, though. I have other plans that night."

"Thanks," Jake smiled as he put his phone away. He had convinced Noah and Troy to come which was one step closer to getting Gia to the party. He thought about going to her house to tell her the news, but decided it could wait. The dance wasn't for a couple more days and he wanted to honour his promise about letting her have some space. He would see her again several times before the day of the dance and he could tell her then.

He made sure his bag was secure on his shoulder and raced home. He hoped he could squeeze in a couple hours of practice on the local soccer field before it got dark outside.

-Megaforce-

"Well, he didn't run home crying," Emma muttered as she and Gia walked through the doors of Emma's house after a night out with Emma's date. Gia, upon hearing Emma had been asked to the dance by a boy from school, had insisted on meeting him before the dance. To put Gia's mind at ease, Emma had agreed, but the risk was high. As protective as Emma could be for Gia, Gia's protective sense was ten times stronger. Gia had always been strong, smart, and confident growing up, and before high school she never let the thoughts of others bring her down. In a sense, what other people thought of her wasn't her top concern. Emma was a little more affected by what people said about her behind her back.

She was also more open and trusting, which from time to time put her at risk for getting burned. Gia had made that mistake once and it had almost completely destroyed her. As Jake had put it, that one mistake had really messed her up. Gia refused to let Emma fall into that trap and so had to check out her dates for herself.

"Jordan seems like a nice guy," Gia shrugged her shoulders and walked to the kitchen to help herself to a glass of water.

"For lasting that long with you grilling him, he's got to be," Emma grumbled. "Why did I say yes to this?"

"Not sure," Gia chuckled. "But hey, no loss, right. Now you know he's not doing this for the wrong reasons."

"Yeah, I think I figured that out when you threatened to castrate him if he even thought about hurting me. You know, I can take care of myself, right?"

"Hey, you've threatened your fair share of guys too," Gia pointed out. She looked over to Emma with a little smirk, "Jake told me what you told him the other day."

"When?"

"He stayed with me at the hospital," Gia said, "There was some time before my parents got there, and we passed it by talking. If it makes you feel better, Noah did the same to me."

Emma picked up her bag and carried it to the kitchen table. She had a bit of homework she needed to finish and thought she would take advantage of having Gia over so they could study together. Gia picked up on the hint and went to the hallway to get her bag.

"I guess any guy that seems even remotely interested in us is going to have to jump through the ring of fire at some point," she said as Gia sat down next to her at the table.

"It's not like he didn't get anything out of it," Gia answered. "I paid for his smoothie. Now, biology…"

-Samurai-

Troy didn't usually make the trip from Harwood to Panorama, but since becoming a Ranger he had spent a lot of time thinking about the lessons he had taken at the Shiba's Dojo and had stopped by for a quick visit. The lessons Lauren and Jayden had taught him were very useful now that she was a Ranger, and he had gone by to see if they had anymore advice. He tried his best not to make it obvious that he was asking because he was the red Ranger, but he had shared his dreams with them before, and had to walk in with the assumption that they were suspicious about his identity. He didn't want to put them in danger.

They had been more helpful than Troy thought, and had been able to answer his questions perfectly, leaving Troy without a doubt in his mind that they knew what they were talking about. They gave him pointers for his technique and how to improve, and also gave him advice about teaching. By now, it was obvious Troy was the best when it came to martial arts and so he took it upon himself to teach the others. He was red Ranger and leader. When it came down to it, the team depended on him to lead them into battle and to keep them safe.

As Jayden had stated, a part of keeping them safe was keeping them strong and independent. Troy had to be able to trust that if something happened, his team could take care of themselves without his leadership.

Fortunately, Troy was confident they were already on that path. In his last battle, he had been left too weak to take control of the Megazord and was embarrassed to say he had to rest while Jake, Noah, Gia, and Emma fought. Gia had stepped up and confidently took on the role as temporary leader so Troy could take it easy. Jayden said it was a good that his team didn't need to rely on him.

Troy took that information with him when he left the dojo and wanted to share it with the others. He would train them so they could take care of themselves.

However, beneath all that was the foundation of the team. Jayden and Lauren had both emphasized this several time in Troy's short visit. Trust. Troy needed to trust his team, and his team needed to trust him.

Going to the dance would help with that trust. The more he got to know his teammates, the better he would be at leading them into battle and fighting alongside them. He needed to make more of an effort.

More importantly, his trip to Panorama taught him that spontaneous trips out of the city without alerting his friends and teammates weren't recommended. If he wanted his team to trust him and if he wanted to be able to lead and protect them properly he needed to be available to them twenty-four/seven.

But he would start tomorrow. Tonight, his trip had worn him out. He took the bus and headed straight home, but even as he tucked himself into bed to sleep, he kept his phone on and turned the ringer up. If his team needed him for anything, he would answer the call.

-Megaforce-

Spontaneous sleepovers weren't uncommon for the girls, especially when Emma's parents were out of town for days at a time. After finishing their homework, Emma invited Gia to spend the night. But when Emma woke up in the middle of the night, Gia wasn't beside her in bed. She sat up and looked around the room. The door was opened.

Emma slipped out of bed and walked quietly out of the room. She tip-toed down the hall. The house was so quiet; she was worried that Gia had left in the middle of the night. She listened carefully for any sounds that would tell her where Gia had gone.

The bathroom was empty so Emma walked down the stairs, trying not to make them creak. If Gia wasn't expecting her, she didn't want to startle her best friend.

"Gia?" she whispered quietly as her feet touched the cold floor. She turned to the kitchen to check for Gia there. Still no sign of the yellow Ranger.

"You're worrying me, Gia," Emma whispered a little louder this time and tried the living room.

It seemed Gia wasn't in the house. Emma grumbled, slipped on a pair of shoes and walked outside. She found Gia sitting on the porch steps. She sighed and sat down beside her.

"I hate it when you do that," she said. Gia shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Do you want a hug?"

Gia nodded her head and leaned into Emma. The pink Ranger responded by wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"We can talk to your parents about it. They should know."

"They won't get it," Gia answered. "I'll be okay."

"You sure?"

Gia nodded again.