Chapter 40 – Crossed Wires
Dino Mansion
"Alright so over here you have the recharge rack where all the Energems are kept", Kiera said to a very attentive Matt Griffin. After his disastrous introduction a few days ago, the grey ranger thought it would be best to try and build some bridges with his new team mates. Earlier that morning he had tested a few of his powers and learned how to summon different Energems during a fight. More importantly for Matt, it gave him a chance to spend some time with his younger brother. The green ranger had volunteered to help with the induction, assisted in parts by the pink ranger.
The atmosphere in the Griffin household had been a little frosty but Matt felt that Riley was slowly warming up to the idea of having his older brother as a team mate. Yesterday was their first proper conversation of the week, admittedly it only consisted of a few words but it was progress.
In the corner of the lab, Riley and Shelby were watching Matt learn all out the systems. The green ranger laughed when Matt tried to use the computer, "He doesn't really know how to work a computer".
"Are you sure he's only nineteen?" Shelby asked.
"Sometimes I wonder myself", Riley sighed, "I swear he was born middle aged". The pair chuckled as Kiera scolded him for pressing the wrong key on the keyboard, "How he made it through High School is beyond me", Riley added.
"So have you talked to him about being a ranger?" the pink ranger replied.
Riley shrugged, "We haven't really found the time yet".
"Is that Riley-speak for I haven't actually brought it up in conversation?" Shelby stared at the green ranger who looked nervously at the floor, "Yeah that's what I thought", she added.
"Alright so I've been annoyed with him", Riley threw his hands up in the air, "I've spent most of my life hearing how Matt was the perfect son. Being a ranger was the one thing I could say that I did better than him", he snorted, "not anymore".
"Riley that's ridiculous", Shelby began, "this isn't some kind of competition. Plus we'd all know that I'd win a best ranger contest", she tried to joke but Riley just stared back emotionlessly at her. "Seriously just talk to him, what's the worst that could happen?"
The pair heard a cry of frustration from the purple ranger on the other side of room, "Looks like there's no time like the present", the green ranger sighed. He crossed the floor until he reached Kiera and Matt, "Having fun over here?" he asked.
"Kiera doesn't understand how I can live without a smart phone", Matt groaned.
"And I told him that it's 2015 and we don't use pigeon post anymore", Kiera shot back.
"Tell you what, I'll save you from having to listen to Mr Nineteenth Century here", Riley replied, "I need a quick word with my brother". Kiera nodded and walked over to the pink ranger, grumbling all the way.
"Thanks for saving me bro", Matt whispered, "I felt a little out of my depth".
"Don't mention it", Riley began, "even some of her technobabble can sail over our heads". The brothers descended into silence for a few moments before Riley continued, "Look Matt, I'm sorry for how I've been acting".
"Worried I was going to steal your thunder?" Matt asked, "I could hear you from the other side of the lab". Riley sighed and nodded sadly, "Riley I'm not here to overshadow you or make this some stupid inter-sibling contest. Sometimes I don't even know how I got mixed up in all of this".
"Because the spirit of some long dead dinosaur chose us to save the world whilst wearing spandex", Riley deadpanned, drawing a laugh from his older brother, "sounds ridiculous when someone puts it like that".
"I'll say", Matt smiled, "so are we good?" Riley nodded and the two brothers embraced warmly.
Over the other side of the lab, the two girls smiled at the scene in front of them, "Aww isn't that cute", Shelby said to the purple ranger.
"Well us teens need to stick together", Kiera replied, "maybe we could form our own sub team or something".
The girls continued to watch the Griffin brothers for a few moments until Shelby said, "Not seeing Chase today?"
Kiera blushed, "No why would I?"
"Come on Kier, I know you're crazy about him", Shelby began, "I'd only wish you'd just ask him out, it's getting old watching you two dance around each other". The black and purple ranger's had been flirting constantly with each other but still hadn't established a proper relationship.
"I don't know how to", the purple ranger groaned, "this is the first boy I've really liked in that way. Although Chase isn't really a boy is he?" she laughed.
"Did someone just mention our favourite black ranger?" Riley called out, "he told me to mention that he was meeting someone called Christina and he'd be back later this evening".
"Never heard him mention anyone called Christina before", Shelby thought out loud, "but then again we all know what Chase's is like". There was a thud as Kiera slipped off the table she had been sitting on, "Oh Kiera, I didn't mean it like that".
Kiera though wasn't listening, instead she walked towards the doors, "Shelby I need your help with something and I need to borrow some decent clothes", with a flash, she teleported out of the lab.
The pink ranger spun her head around, "Thanks a lot Riley, you had to open your big mouth".
"I wasn't the one who reminded her about the womanizing habits of her crush", Riley shrugged.
Shelby didn't have a response to that, instead she swore under her breath and left the lab in search of Kiera.
Downtown Hunston Valley
Chase was sitting outside an expensive restaurant with his visitor for the day. The woman in question, Christina, was a tall blonde haired woman who was roughly his age. She was dressed in a fashionable outfit of dark skinny jeans, ankle boots and a colourful printed top. As the pair laughed at a shared joke, they were unaware that someone was spying on them.
On the opposite side of the plaza, Kiera and Shelby were hiding behind a plastic tree that decorated the large paved area, "See look what I'm competing with", Kiera cried, "someone straight from the pages of a magazine and here I am dressed in this pile of rags".
"Hey that's my skirt your talking about", Shelby protested. The purple ranger had borrowed a loose fitting black skirt that hung down to her knees. She teamed this up with a white vest top, a purple checked shirt and a pair of Converse trainers, "Personally I think you look good, you could start a trend in nerd chic", the pink ranger chuckled.
"But that's not what Chase likes", Kiera sighed and slumped against the wall.
"You've really never had a crush before have you?" Shelby sighed, "first thing to remember is never change yourself for someone else. They need to like you for what you are, not what you think they want".
The purple ranger nodded and took a few deep breathes, "Alright this is good I'm learning all the time. What else do you have to teach me?"
Shelby shrugged, "I dunno, you can't learn this stuff from a book or a computer". She paused for a moment before adding, "Just be bold and confident, that always seems to work well".
"Alright that's just what I'll do", Kiera replied with conviction and began walking across the plaza.
"I didn't mean right now", Shelby called out to the purple ranger, "damn it she's going to be the death of me".
Back at the restaurant, Chase and Christina had no idea what was about to hit them, "Sounds like you had a good time that night", the woman smiled as she poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle on the table.
"Well out motto in the unit was never leave a man behind, even if he's been superglued to something", he joked. He was about to take a drink when he noticed a shadow over the table, "Kiera", Chase began, "and Shelby, what have I done to deserve this pleasure?"
"Chase I like you a lot", Kiera blurted out, "and I'm not leaving here until you agree to go out with me".
The black ranger looked uncomfortably at Christina and then towards Shelby. The pink ranger cringed at the scene in front of her, "Erm I'm not sure this is best time to talk about this Kiera", Chase replied.
"Why, will it spoil your date?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
The tension was broken by a loud laugh from Christina, "You think that I'm on a date with butthead here", she pointed at Chase.
"Way to boost my ego here Chris", the black replied said out the corner of his mouth.
"I've know Chase since we were both seven years old", Christina continued, "I'd rather be on a date with one of my brothers".
"I-I don't understand", Kiera stammered, her face turning bright red.
Chase sighed, "Guys this is Christina McKenzie, old of my old friends. She was passing through on the way to her parents for Christmas". He paused for a minute and pulled out some dog tags and a photograph, "She was also Jeremy's fiancée and I wanted to return these to her".
There was silence for a moment before Kiera slowly backed away from the table. She bolted from the plaza with tears running down her face. "Guys I am so sorry", Shelby began, "this is all my fault and partially Riley's".
"He told you I was meeting Christina didn't he", Chase replied and the pink ranger nodded, "and then you might have joked about my bad reputation with the opposite sex", Shelby nodded again.
"That was the girl you've been talking about nonstop for the last few months?" Christina asked the black ranger, "wow this has suddenly gotten very awkward".
"Look I'm sorry", Shelby said, "I'll talk to her, just go back to enjoying your meal". Shelby moved away from the restaurant but Kiera had disappeared. The pink ranger cursed again, how had she gotten mixed up in all of this?
Dino Mansion
Shelby eventually tracked Kiera down to the Dino Mansion. She had locked herself in her room and refused to speak to anyone. She even threatened Jason with painful consequences if he dared to open the door. So they did as she asked and left her alone; that was three hours ago.
Kiera lay on her bed with her legs curled up towards her chest, still wearing the borrowed skirt. In her arms was a battered teddy that her Aunt Kim had brought for her first Christmas on Earth. The purple ranger had never felt so embarrassed in her life, not only had she jumped to conclusions about Chase, she had also openly declared her feelings for him. On top of them, she had done it in full of the general public at a restaurant. That was one place she wouldn't be able to visit ever again.
The head of the teddy was still damp but Kiera had stopped crying a while ago. She was positive that she had cried herself dry, all because of a stupid error of judgement. She would be lucky if Chase ever spoke to her again. "Kiera?" Chase's voice called out from the other side of the door. He knocked the door softly, "Kiera I know you're in there".
"Go away Chase", she wiped her eyes, "I don't want to see anyone".
There was a pause before Chase replied, "Alright, you leave me no choice". Several thoughts ran through Kiera's head, was the black ranger going to break the door down or simply shoot out the lock with his Dinovolver. Her answer came moments later when the lock clicked and the door swung open. Chase was crouched down with a couple of paperclips in his hand, "Watched too much MacGyver as a kid", he shrugged and closed the door behind him.
He took a seat on her bed and looked at the purple ranger for a few moments, "I've met Marines with less balls that you", he finally said.
Kiera looked at him quizzically, "I didn't expect that to be your opening statement".
Chase laughed, "Full of surprises me", he paused briefly, "basically what you did today was the equivalent of running up to enemy lines totally unprotected and opening fire".
"Not what other girls would've done though", she sniffed.
"And that's exactly why I like you Kiera", Chase replied. "You don't play mind games like some other girls might do. There's no bullshit with you and that's an attractive quality".
The purple ranger's heart paused for a moment, "Did you just say attractive?"
"Sure did", Chase gave her a small smile, "I've been deliberately playing every slow with you Kiera. I knew that you didn't have a lot of experience with this kind of stuff".
She nudged him with her foot, "I won't tell anyone, I don't want to spoil your reputation".
"Perhaps I need to change my reputation", Chase shrugged, "that's what got us into so much trouble today".
"But if it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to do this", Kiera suddenly lurched forward, threw her arms around Chase's neck and kissed him firmly on the lips. They stayed still for a few moments before the purple ranger pulled back, "Wow, that was everything I expected it to be", she gasped.
"I'm happy to hear that", Chase smiled, "one day we'll be able to look back on this day and laugh", he snorted, "I know Chris had a good laugh at my expense".
"I'm sorry I ruined your lunch with your friend", she apologised.
"Don't mention it", he pulled her closer so her head was resting on his chest, "she really liked you, so much so that she helped me choose your Christmas present".
"Ooh what is it?" Kiera asked.
"You've only got two days to wait", Chase replied, "now what do you say to getting some payback on Riley and Shelby?" Kiera gave him an evil smile before grasping him by the hand and dragging him to his feet. On the way out of her room she gave him one more kiss before bouncing down the hallway. For Kiera Cranston, Christmas really had come early.