Of course, Trini wasn't fine and of course her friends noticed.

There was no way they couldn't notice. As good of friends they were; encouraging, supportive, and compassionate, they were all also pretty nosy with what was going on in each other's lives. They met up before school as they always did, and talked about their plans for the weekend—another movie night, a trip to the beach, maybe going to the carnival. And Trini could only sit aside and try not to think about the new adjustment period her life was going into. But the more she tried not to think about it, the more she thought about it. Not even a moment of mediation worked, it was stuck there.

At least her friends were gracious enough not to ask about it until lunch. Well, more like bombard her with it. She could tell from the way they were quiet that they were waiting for her to sit down. And Zack's staring daggers at her didn't help much.

The moment Trini sat down with her tray of food, Kimberly leaned towards her. She laced her fingers together, rested her elbows on the table, and fluttered her eyelashes in the way she always did when she had some sort of gossip to talk about. The Pink Ranger waited for Trini to get settled before she aid, "So, spill it, Trini."

Trini looked back at her, startled. She blinked for a few moments before asking, "I'm sorry?"

"What's gotten you so down, girl?" Zack asked. He nudged Trini on the shoulder. "You've done nothing but mope around all day."

"It's school," Avalon pointed out. "I think all of us have the right to mope if we want to." She brushed her long, dark hair behind her ear. "Otherwise, I have to agree, Sunny. I reckon you've been a lot quieter than I've ever seen you."

Trini made a face. She rested her chin in her hand, drummed the fingers of her free one on the table. What was she supposed to say? Guess what, I'm getting married? I have a fiancé? I don't even know who this guy is and I'm expected to spend the rest of my life with him? That was the easy part, honestly. The hard part was wondering how they would react to it. Their cultures were very different than the culture that she and her family exhibited within their home and their community. She led more than a double life from being Trini Kwan and Trini the power ranger.

She was also working on how to be Trini the American and Trini the 'perfect Vietnamese daughter'. If her parents knew anything about her being a ranger, which she honestly wouldn't be surprised if were starting to wonder, that would be harder for her to deal with. Explaining that she donned a spandex suit and wielded powers and put her life on the line every day. That was a million times better than…this.

"Hey, if it's something that's really private, we won't ask you again," Jason said, as empathetic as ever. That made Trini smile. He always so understanding. Actually, it made her feel a little better about the situation. "We're just worried about you."

"Yeah, if there's anything we can help you with, we're here," Tommy agreed.

Trini nodded. She picked up her fork and started to poke at the food on her plate. The cafeteria food was never that bad, but today it seemed as unappetizing as it ever had been. She knew it was her own perception. Because she was keeping things quiet, it was harder for her to feel at peace with everything around her. Finally, Trini took in a deep breath and said, almost timidly, "I guess I have something to tell you guys. Something big."

"That you were the one who ate Billy's stash of candy back at the Command Center?" Avalon asked. The Blue Ranger glared at her and she discreetly pointed her finger over at Kimberly, who kicked her. "Ow!" Avalon grabbed her shin, rubbing the spot she had been kicked and scowled.

"No, it's more serious than that," Trini said. She pushed her tray of food aside. "Well…I went home yesterday and my mom and dad had something serious to tell me…" She sucked in a deep breath. Just do it now, Trini. Rip off the bandage. "They…told me that…they found me a husband."

Kimberly smiled. "Do you know how many times my mom's told me that? Every time she goes to the beauty shop she talks to one of the stylists and says 'oh, Linda's got a son who's excited to meet you'."

"Isn't that just a Thursday for you?" Avalon asked. She received another kick. Kimberly tried to kick her twice, actually. But this time Avalon moved her leg out of the way and the tip of Kimberly's shoe slammed into the metal support of the bench, making her squeal in pain.

"Yeah, Kim's mom still isn't too happy that we're dating," Tommy agreed.

Billy's eyebrows came together in concern. "Still?"

"Don't get me wrong, she likes that Kim's happy, but she thinks that we're getting too serious for each other and that high school isn't the time to devote everything to a boyfriend or girlfriend. And that we should focus more on our studies."

"Well, she seems to study you a lot, so…" Zack said. He laughed, making the rest of the table laugh as well. Except Jason. He sat up straight, keeping his eyes on Trini.

"Hold on, guys, Trini's trying to tell us something."

She flashed him a smile of thanks but said, "Don't worry about it, Jase. I really needed the laugh. I haven't really laughed since they told me."

"Wait, so you were telling the truth?" Zack asked. "They found you a fiancé? A husband?"

Trini nodded.

"Like a real, husband?" Kimberly pressed.

Trini nodded again.

Billy spoke up. "Arranged marriages are common within the Vietnamese culture. Though I have to say I'm surprised." He looked over at his friend, now mimicking the expression that Jason had, eyebrows lowered in concern. "I didn't think it was something too prevalent here in the United States. You're saying that your mother and father have found someone for you to be arranged to be married to?"

"Yes," Trini said.

"To a complete stranger?" Kimberly practically screeched.

"He's not a stranger," Trini said. That was probably the only part of the whole thing she wasn't so weirded out by. "He's an old family friend. His name's Khoa. I used to hang out and play with him all the time. But then we went to different schools and lost touch for a while. But I guess our parents continued to talk to each other. They think we're a good match to be married."

"Okay," Avalon said slowly. "So…" She paused. It was the first time that Trini had seen her at a loss for words. She was trying to figure out what to say, or at least was completely stumped by what was going on. Trini understood. It was still hard for her to wrap her head around the idea that she would be getting married whenever her parents decided. Maybe even right after high school.

"So, what does this mean?" Tommy finally asked. "Why did they decide to make you do an arranged marriage?'

"It doesn't sound like anything you knew about," Billy added. "Or else you would've mentioned it before and I can't remember you ever saying anything about being engaged."

"They sprung it on me last night," Trini said. "Apparently my parents and his parents have been talking about this for a long time. But they never mentioned it to me. They said they wanted to take care of everything and for me to trust that they'd figure out who was the best person for me." She then decided to explain everything else, feeling vulnerable about the whole thing. She didn't really, truly realize how she felt about it. "My parents are a product of an arranged marriage and I don't doubt that they love each other. I know they do. It's just not something I ever say for myself."

"What if you don't like him?" Zack asked.

"We'll 'make it work'," Trini said.

"What if you get a divorce?"

Trini paused. She wasn't sure how to say it without it sounding weird. "In our culture, they don't really believe in divorce. You have to work through your problems and follow your husband as your life moves on."

"But—"

"One of the biggest reasons my mom and dad think this is best for me is because of the financial gain from it," Trini said. She held up her hands to the look of disbelief she received in response. "They own a lot of the nail salons around here and they own a very popular restaurant. With that money…I could go to college without having to worry about pay. They say that our love will have to grow, that I have to work to make my relationship work. That it'll give stability to both of our families."

"So this is all about their money?" Kimberly asked.

"That's fucked up," Avalon said bluntly.

Trini smiled. That was what she wanted to hear. So she knew it wasn't just her. It was messed up. But it seemed that her parents and Khoa didn't understand her reservations about the entire situation. Well, Khoa had listened a little, he said he understood her reservations of everything and he had given some good points of his side of the situation. She couldn't fault him if an arranged marriage was what he truly wanted. But, it couldn't be with her. She needed to figure out how to get it to stop, but right now, talking to her friends was the best thing she could do.

Well, if they talked.

Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Billy, and Avalon were all saying something. But Jason was sitting quietly, staring at her. She would've worried that he had become frozen if it weren't for his continuous blinking at the right time. Then, finally, he turned his head and went back to his plate of food, looking pensive. Trini frowned. She expected him to say something. He was one of her oldest friends and was more opinionated than others knew. She expected something, anything, but he stayed quiet.

Zack, on the other hand, wasn't quiet at all. He bobbed his head back and forth, stating things he saw that could be a good and bad thing about the whole situation. On one hand, she wasn't going to get the experience of finding someone and falling in love, on the other hand, she had to admit the money was a big thing. On one hand, her parents did know her well enough to pick out someone good, on the other hand she was stuck if they weren't in love.

And over and over while everyone gave their two cents.

Trini sat back and listened. A weight was lifted off her chest when telling her friends but she couldn't quite let go of the disappointment and sadness. Zack was right, of course, he was listing everything she thought about the whole thing and…part of her felt selfish. After the Nguyen's had left, her parents asked what she thought about Khoa and their arrangement.

"I don't know what to think," Trini admitted. "I haven't seen him in a long time and now we're expected to get married and…I just think if I had some more time—"

"We don't have time, Trini," Mr. Kwan interrupted. "This needs to be announced as soon as possible. You will to be married right after high school or even after your first year of college, whichever is the most feasible for the families."

Trini gasped in surprise. "What?"

"Yes, the sooner this merger happens, the better for our families."

"You just threw this whole arranged marriage thing on me and now you expect me to get married right after high school? That's not…that's not nearly enough time to get to know Khoa or his parents or…"

Mrs. Kwan took a step towards her daughter. She reached out and framed her face with her hands. Her mother looked very dainty and conservative, but she was strong. Trini could feel her mother's strength as her hands held onto her face, keeping her daughter to look directly at her. "Trini, this is something that you have to trust us with. We've given a lot of our lives, sacrificed a lot of our time for you. Now it's your turn to do something for us. This is the only thing we're asking of you."

If only you knew how much of a tall order it is, Trini had thought. She spent most of her days fighting off the toughest of monsters, working hard to get a good education, put her life on the line every day for her parents. But she couldn't tell them that. And because she couldn't tell them…they'd never know and would still have it to hold over her head.

She was stuck and she knew it.

The conversation topic quickly changed to the football game the night before, Tommy was never really one to hold serious conversations that weren't about ranger duties very welly. He became nervous every time anyone mentioned the words 'we have to talk' or 'can we talk?'. Then again, Kimberly did find a sort of entertainment with starting off not so serious conversations that way. She always had, even before getting together with Tommy. Trini tried to warn her about it but Kimberly did seem to think different shades of pink clashing were very important conversations to have.

The rest of the school day went on as well as it normally did, yet there was something that still really bothered Trini. The whole dating thing. Because…well…she had been gearing up to tell Jason how she felt about him. How she felt they were closer than friends and to figure out what was going on between them. Or maybe she had been the only one to feel it?

In short, Trini was shy. She was shy in her relationship with Richie, unable to look at him without blushing and bashfully looking away when caught. Unable to create a simple sentence when he was around, making Kimberly be the one to primarily talk to him. Even when they were studying together—which would've been better if they could do more than smile at each other—she wasn't sure what to say. They managed a relationship as short as it had lasted and were still pretty good friends.

But she wanted something more than that. Wanted something real like that Tommy and Kimberly had. Wanted to be with someone and enjoy everything about them. How could she do that with anyone that couldn't know about her Power Ranger secret?

Finally, the school day ended. Trini packed up her bookbag and headed to her locker. She only had a few minutes before she was needed in the student center to do another day of her mentoring program. Students milled back and forth, racing off to their after-school sports and activities. Trini strolled to her locker, finding Jason at his.

"Hi," she greeted him.

Jason turned and smiled at her. "Hey Trini, how's it going? How was home ec?"

"Could've been better," Trini admitted.

"I thought you liked the class."

"I did, before I realized that it was actually going to help me be the 'perfect housewife'," she said, using air quotes around the words. Jason nodded and turned back to his locker. Trini cleared her throat. "So, uh, I couldn't help but notice that you were really quiet at lunch today. You know…with my announcement and everything."

"I didn't know what to say," Jason admitted.

"You always know what to say."

Now Jason smiled once more. He closed his locker and stepped back to face her. "I don't always know what to say," he defended himself. "Especially not with something like this. Honestly, Trini, I didn't say anything because I didn't know if what I had to say would offend you."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't know if this whole fiancé thing was something you wanted, so I waited to see what you had to say. And…well, it's obvious it's not really something you're into. Whenever you're talking about something you really enjoy, something you believe in, you get this light about you. When you were talking about Khoa, it was like you were sucking a lemon."

Trini laughed at his joke, making him laugh as well. "What do you think about the whole thing?"

"Well, I can't tell you how to feel, but personally? I don't like the idea." Jason shrugged. "I don't think anyone should have any control over someone else's life nor should they make decisions for them."

"But they're my parents," Trini pointed out.

"And they always will be. But at some point, they have to realize that you're your own person. You're not a little girl that they can make decisions for." Jason took a step back. "I'm sorry, I'm being a little forward with this."

"No!" Trini placed her hand on his arm. She smiled warmly at him. "I like getting your input on things like this, Jase. You make it easier for me to wrap my head around things and figure things out. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Jason looked at his watch and started to pack his backpack faster. "I have to get going or I'll be late for football practice. Do you still need a ride home?"

"Yes, that'd be great. I can wait until your practice is over. I have a meeting with the Mentor Committee anyway." Trini hurried to pack her own bag then slammed her locker door shut. "I'll see you later." She turned on her heel and hurried to the student center. "Hi," she greeted her mentee, sitting down at the table. "Sorry, I'm late."

"It's okay," Ian Hernandez murmured in reply.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long."

"Not too long," Ian said.

Trini set her backpack down and turned back to Ian. She pushed her hair behind her ears. "What's up? How was your day?"

"It was fine."

He didn't say much more than that. And it was okay with Trini. Ian wasn't someone who spoke a lot and when he did, it was when he really had something on his mind. He couldn't be rushed.

Trini understood how that felt.

A couple of hours later it was time to go home. Trini packed everything away and spoke for a moment with Marge about what was to be expected with their next meeting then walked out the front of the school to meet up with Jason. So far, they hadn't been called in to help with anything ranger related, and at a certain part of the day if it didn't happen it wasn't going to.

Thank God, she needed a bit of a break.

She found Jason sitting on the front steps of the school, reading a book with the spine bent all the way back—in the way that would've driven Billy crazy—and walked over to him. She reached over and quickly slammed her hands down onto his shoulders, growling at the same time. But Jason hardly flinched.

He turned the page in his book and said, "Hey, Trini," as if noting out of the ordinary had happened.

Trini pouted. "You weren't scared?"

"Actually, I heard you coming," Jason replied. He closed his book and leaned up to look at her. "So, I had plenty of time to prepare. You're not as light on your feet as you think. You might want to take a page from your ranger powers and learn how to be a tiger." He laughed when Trini cuffed him over the head then moved to sit beside him. "How was your meeting?"

"It was great," Trini said. And she meant it. Even if she couldn't get so much out of Ian this time. But as long as he talked a little, it was a success to her. "How was practice?"

"Does this bruise mean anything to you?" He motioned to the swelling of his cheekbone.

Trini gasped and leaned forward to inspect it closer. "What happened? Don't you wear helmets during practice?"

"Normally, we do. But Zack was trying to show off for some of the cheerleaders and threw the football for me to catch without looking. Unfortunately, that's exactly when I decided to take off my helmet."

"Ooh." Trini reached out and gently ran her thumb over the skin. It didn't look too bad but definitely needed some ice. Jason winced and leaned back from her touch, grasping her wrist as he did so. He lowered their hands. "Sorry, did that hurt?"

He smirked. "Just a little."

"Trini?"

Hearing her name called, Trini turned to find Khoa strolling to a stop down the sidewalk. He frowned, eyes flickering from her to Jason then back to her. "Khoa." Trini stood up, brushing off the seat of her pants. "What are you doing here?"

Khoa glanced down at his attire; his school uniform with the top button undone and his tie loosened. "I got off school and decided to come see you. So we could talk some more." He walked closer to the two and looked at Jason once more. His face still held a flat expression, Jason looked back at him curiously.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Trini laid her hand on Jason's shoulder and used her free one to gesture between the two. "Khoa, this is my friend, Jason. Jason, this is Khoa."

Jason held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Khoa."

Khoa finally smiled, reaching out his hand to shake Jason's. "It's nice to meet you, too, Jason. I've heard a lot about you."

Trini looked back and forth between the two as their handshake ended. Jason continued to smile, as friendly as ever. But Khoa, she noticed. Had gone right back to frowning.

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! Not only have I been working on my Avalon series with New Beginning (recently updated with chapter 40), and my Bailey series with Headstrong, but I've also been out of town at a funeral for a short while. So, thank you all for being so patient with me while I got things in order and took some time to myself. I hope this chapter was enough for you to enjoy after my lengthy absence.

Also, for those wondering, I haven't decided if this is still set during early seasons of MMPR or if Jason, Zack, and Trini stayed long enough to get the ninja powers. I'll figure it out soon. Also, things pick up in the next chapter though you can see here that Khoa isn't on the up and up…if the story summary didn't already tell you that. Lol.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited and alerted so far. I'm glad you're enjoying the second story to the series so far. The next update will come soon.

~Av