Hey, all! I know it's been a little while, but I'm back! I hope quarantine isn't too rough for you all- the county where I work is open, but I don't know when I'll actually be able to go back, so… I'm a graphic designer at a place that makes awards and plaques and stuff, so I guess no one needs an award at the moment. Lol. I'll get back to it eventually, I guess. Hopefully. I'm sure we're gonna get orders for plaques for doctors and nurses eventually. If any of you happen to be a doctor or nurse during this pandemic, then thank you for doing everything you can to help.
If anyone is wondering about my hand, the cyst is out, it wasn't cancerous or anything, I just have a really gnarly scar across the top of my wrist. I still have pain sometimes, and don't quite have all the movement back, but I'm in a lot LESS pain than I was before, and eventually that pain is gonna go away, so it's just a game of patience and stretching it out until it does.
Thank you so much to Disneyfan10, Nando the Animelover26, brankel1, Jimmyle311, A. A, and Alex B. Good for your comments on the last chapter. Let's go!
Sitting at a table at the Youth Center, Jamie desperately tried to work on her homework. Of course, Rocky and Adam sparing was a lot more interesting than math that she could barley do. And the crowd gathered around the two new Rangers was enough proof of that. Besides, math was never Jamie's strong suit, and she almost always needed Billy's help to explain the equations, especially once they decided to put the alphabet into it. That was just cruel, unusual punishment.
With a sigh, Jamie finally put her pencil down and crossed her arms over her notebook. Resting her chin upon her arms, the Silver Ranger watched Adam and Rocky spar. They were pretty evenly matched, which was to be expected, as they had trained together for years. They ducked, dodged, and blocked when it was needed, but also made sure that when they did hit, it wasn't nearly powerful enough to injure each other. They were both still getting used to their new powers, but were doing so with grace, although Rocky had already accidentally punched a hole through a punching pad.
Finally finishing, the two new Rangers grinned at each other, and slapped their hands together just as Jamie began packing up her stuff so she could get to soccer practice. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she joined Billy, just as he met up with Rocky and Adam.
"Hey, Billy," Rocky said, "Jamie."
"Hey Billy, you missed the demonstration," Adam said.
"I know, I'm sorry," the Blue Ranger said, "I had a meeting with the Vice-Versa Dance committee."
"You know, that's gonna be a blast," Rocky said.
"For you guys," Jamie said, "Asking guys out is hard."
"No it isn't," Rocky said. "It's easy. You just gotta walk up to the guy, ask him out, and if he says no, then just find another guy. But if he says yes, then yay, you're done. Besides, it's about time the girls had to ask the guys to a dance."
Jamie let out a chuckle and smiled. "Whatever you say, Rocky. I gotta get to soccer, I'll see you guys later," she said.
"Have fun," Billy said as they reached a table.
"Stay safe!" Adam called as she separated from them to head to the door. Jamie smiled brightly at him, and then left the Youth Center.
"Hey, you are you going with?" Adam asked, bringing the Red Ranger's attention to him.
"Jessica Peterson," he said with a smile. "I can't believe she asked me."
"What about you, Adam?" Billy asked.
"… I don't think I'm going."
"Why not?" Rocky asked, frowning.
"Well, no one's asked me. And I don't think anyone's going to," Adam replied.
"Don't feel bad, Adam," Billy said, "No one's invited me yet, either."
Adam felt better… Until a girl showed up.
"Hey, Billy," she said, sounding nervous.
"Laura, hey," Billy greeted.
"Um, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, twisting her hands.
"Certainly!" Billy looked back at his friends, "Will you guys excuse me for a minute?"
"Sure," Rocky said, and Billy left, Laura following him. And it was while he was gone, that two more girls walked into the Youth Center, looking for Bulk and Skull.
"Bulkikins!" one called.
"Skullsipoo!" the other said.
"We gotta get outta here, Skull!" Bulk exclaimed, the two bullies sitting at the table right next to them.
"Aw, come on Bulk, what's the matter?" Rocky teased.
"They want to ask us to the dance," Bulk said, sounding horrified. "We should go, Skull."
"Uh, yeah!" Skull agreed. "Wouldn't want to be late for detention, Mr. Kaplan, you know…"
With that, the two took off, the girls following them. One even stopped to grab a cookie off Bulk and Skull's table.
"Hey guys!" Billy exclaimed as he returned, "Laura just asked me to the dance!"
"Hey!" Rocky said happily.
"Looks like I'm the only one without a date," Adam said, sounding even more rejected. "Even Bulk and Skull are going, if those girls ever catch them."
"Don't worry, Adam, someone will ask you," Rocky said.
"I don't think Jamie's asked anyone, yet," Billy supplied.
"Jamie?" Adam asked, "Wouldn't that be weird, since we're teammates, and all?"
"Not at all," Billy said, "Freshman year, Jamie's boyfriend broke up with her right before homecoming, so I ended up taking her as friends. It was a lot of fun."
"Didn't you have your own date?" Rocky asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Nah," Billy said. "I wasn't quite as…. Confident, as I am now. Jamie, Kimberly, and Trini were the only girls I could talk to without stumbling over my words, so it was nice going to a dance with someone I could actually talk to. I could probably talk to her, suggest you as a possible date," he offered.
"No, don't do that," Adam declined. "Thank you, but no. I gotta get going. Later, guys." With that, the Black Ranger stood up, grabbed his bag, and left the Youth Center.
"See you," Billy said, looking over his shoulder as he left, before looking back at Rocky.
The next day at school, Jamie stood at her locker, staring at her reflection in the little mirror she had stuck to the inside of the door. Her curly hair looked okay for once, the top half pulled back into a clip, and she wore blue jean shorts and a light gray t-shirt.
"I don't know," she said as Kimberly crossed her arms. "Do you think it's weird?"
"Oh come on, Jamie, you've had a crush on him since you met him," Kimberly said. "Just ask him to the dance, what's the worst that could happen?"
"He could say no and then our entire friend group gets weird because I have a crush on my teammate who doesn't reciprocate?"
"I had a crush on my teammate and it worked out for me," the Pink Ranger pointed out.
"What worked out for you?" Kimberly turned and Jamie looked up as Tommy joined him, slinging an around Kimberly's shoulders.
"You worked out for her," Jamie said as she turned back to her locker. "I'm not gonna ask him, Kim, it'd be too weird if he said no. Besides, it's just a tiny crush, I'll get over it."
"If you're talking about Adam, I'm pretty sure he'd say yes to Rita at this point," Tommy said.
"Not helping," Kimberly said as Jamie groaned and laid her head back against the locker next to hers. "Jay, come on, he's just a guy."
"Easy for you to say, you and Tommy are like the perfect couple," she said, crossing her arms to press two textbooks to her chest.
Kimberly frowned, but before anything else could be said, Aiden spotted his sister and sped over.
"Jamie!" he called, "Guess what?!"
"What, Aiden?" Jamie asked tiredly, looking at her little brother with a raised brow.
"Carly Peterson asked me to the dance!"
"Congrats," Jamie said, and then looked back at Kimberly and Tommy, "Even my little brother has a date before me," she said.
"Well, you're the girl," Aiden said, "Why don't you ask that Adam kid you're always making googly eyes at?"
"I'm gonna smack you if you don't get outta here," Jamie threatened, and Aiden wisely retreated.
"Yo, Jamie, you ask anyone to the dance, yet?" Rocky called as he met up with them.
"I think I'm just gonna binge watch The Flash or something that night," she said, reaching into her locker to grab one last book before finally shutting it.
"Oh no you're not," the Red Ranger said. "Aisha's on a mission to make sure Adam goes to your soccer practice after school today so that you can ask him to the dance," he said.
"What? Rocky, why would Aisha be doing that?"
"Because I told her to," Rocky said. "Look, I've known Adam for years, and I know what he looks like when he has a crush. And according to Aisha, she "knows these things" and can tell you, too, have a crush. So just ask him after practice, I guarantee he'll say yes."
"And if he doesn't?" Jamie questioned.
"He will."
"Come on, Jamie, you could even just go as friends. Friendship is usually the first step to a relationship, anyways," Kimberly said, crossing her own arms.
Jamie groaned. "Fine! After soccer practice, I'll find Adam, and I'll ask him to the dance. You guys happy?" when her three friends all smiled and nodded, Jamie sighed. "I'm gonna be late for class, if you'll excuse me."
With that, Jamie walked away… Only to be joined by Rocky once he realized that the two of them had their next class together.
After school, Jamie was a bundle of nerves, and she was pretty sure her entire team could tell. After she let in three goals, Jamie sighed and was suddenly glad that this was just a practice. Besides, Adam was her friend, and at the very least, she could add the words "as friends" to her pitch if he seemed like he was going to say no. But according to Rocky, he had a crush on her, too, so maybe he would end up saying yes. With a shake of her head, Jamie cleared her thoughts, unaware that Adam was having similar ones.
"There she is," the Black Ranger said as he came up on the soccer practice. Jamie, as always, was in the goal, and he watched as three girls, one after another, kicked soccer balls towards the net. Jamie blocked the first, dove to block to the second, and then was up and diving to block the third so quickly that he was pretty sure he would have missed it had he blinked.
"All right. She's just a human being," he said to himself, trying to build up the confidence to go up to her. "A pretty… smart… athletic FEMALE human being. And my teammate. I can do this." But before he could, a horde of Putties showed up, forcing him to fight them, lest they go attack the soccer team. When he finally got back, though, the team was gone.
"Figures," he said, unaware that Jamie was sitting, waiting for Adam. He just couldn't see her. With a sigh, Adam returned to the Youth Center.
After about twenty-five minutes, Jamie checked her watch. If Adam was gonna show up, he would have by now, she was sure. So, with a sigh, Jamie got up and headed home to take a shower and change.
By the time she got the Youth Center, Kim was leaving.
"Hey, what happened after practice? I thought you were gonna ask Adam to the dance!" Kim exclaimed.
"I was, but I waited for almost half an hour and he didn't show up," she said. "I figured he got asked by someone else and went home. Why, did he say something?"
"Only that when he got there, you guys were all there, but then a bunch of Putties attacked him, and when he finally looked at the field again, you were gone," Kimberly said.
"But… I didn't even see him," Jamie said. "I waited around, but he never showed up. I… Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Kimberly said. "You waited for him?"
"Yeah. And I would have helped him if I had known there were Putties," Jamie said.
"I guess you somehow both just missed each other," Kimberly said. "But he's in the Youth Center, and no one's asked him, yet. Maybe try now?"
"Yeah, I think I will," Jamie said, gripping her backpack strap a little tighter. "Thanks, Kim."
"You'll be fine, Jay, just be the same you you always are, and he's sure to say yes."
Jamie smiled tightly, nodded, and headed in. Only what she found wasn't very encouraging.
Once again, everyone was gathered around the mats, and watching as a pretty Asian girl went through a kata. Adam and Aisha were watching, Adam with a big smile on his face. When the girl stopped, everyone started to clap for her, and then dispersed as the girl made her way to Adam and Aisha.
"Hi," the girl said, "Do you mind if I join you? I'm new in school, and I don't know many people yet." She said it only to Adam, paying Aisha no mind.
"Sure," Adam said as Jamie joined them. "I'm Adam, and this is Aisha, and Jamie."
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Jamie said. "I caught the end of your demo, you're really good."
"I'm Sabrina," the girl said, ignoring Jamie's statement and stepping forward, tossing her bag straight at Aisha. "It's nice to meet you, Adam. I understand that you're one of the best martial artists at Angel Grove High. Maybe you could show me a few moves?"
Adam grinned. "Sure."
The two walked off, only stopping when Aisha tossed Sabrina's bag back at her.
"Geeze, I manage to miss him after practice and he finds a new girl. So much for that crush Rocky said he had," Jamie said, crossing her arms. "And to think I even waited around for him."
"Adam said when he got back from fighting off some Putties, you were gone," Aisha said, still staring after the Black Ranger in disbelief.
"I waited for almost half an hour, I guess we were just in spots where we couldn't see each other. Either way, it looks like he found a date to the dance, and I'm gonna have a date with my main men, Netflix and a pint of ice cream," Jamie said. "Grant Gustan would never disappoint me."
"Aw, come on, Jay, you can still find a date," the Yellow Ranger soothed.
"The dance is in three days," Jamie reminded her. "There's no way there's a guy left in the school who doesn't have a date. Even my own little brother has a date. Face it, Aisha, I'm a failure of a girl."
"No you are not! Now come on, I think there's something fishy about that girl," Aisha said, grabbing Jamie's arm and dragging her abck to Adam when Sabrina finally walked away.
"Hello, Earth to Adam, come in, Adam," Aisha said, waving her hand in front of Adam's face as he stared after Sabrina with a stupid grin on his face.
"You okay there, Adam?" Jamie asked with a grin. Even though she was kind of hurt that he had moved on from her so quickly, as long as he was happy, she was happy. Besides, all she had on him was a tiny little crush. She didn't have a claim on him, and she never actually asked him to the dance, so she didn't even really have a right to be upset with him as it was.
Adam smiled back. "She's great, isn't she?" he asked.
"I'm not so sure about her," Aisha said, crossing her arms under her chest.
"Come on, give her a chance," Adam urged.
"Call it Girl Intuition, Adam. There's… something off, about her," Jamie added. "The way she totally ignored the two of us, she's a lady on a mission."
"Why don't you two come hiking with us tomorrow, and you can get to know each other better," Adam suggested, not wanting two of his friends and his potential date to the dance to be fighting.
Aisha and Jamie looked at each other, then, and Jamie raised her eyebrows. She was willing if Aisha was.
"All right," Aisha finally said. "We'll give her a chance."
"First impressions are wrong sometimes, so I'm in, too," Jamie said.
Adam's grin grew.
The next day after school, the three friends met up with Sabrina to go on a hike right outside of town.
"This is the way," Sabrina said, leading the hike, and accidentally hit Jamie's head with her arm, "Excuse me."
Catching up with Adam, Sabrina was quick to complain while Aisha made sure Jamie was alright. "Why'd you have to bring them along?" she asked.
"They're two of my best friends," Adam explained. "I just wanted you guys to get along."
"Well, don't hold your breath," Sabrina said, before taking the lead again.
Slowing down, Adam let Aisha and Jamie catch up with him, and frowned.
Soon enough, the group of four got to the top of a small hill, only for Goldar and a bunch of Putties to appear.
"Where are you going?!" the winged lion taunted as the Rangers got into defensive positions.
"Go hide over there, Sabrina!" Adam said. "Don't come out until we tell you to!"
Instead of doing that, though, Sabrina stepped forward.
"Thanks for the advice, Power Ranger, but I can take care of myself."
In a flash of light, Sabrina suddenly changed to a creature that Jamie was sure was probably created by Zedd.
"What's going on?!" Adam demanded. "Who are you?!"
"Scorpina! And I'm your worst nightmare!" the woman exclaimed with a laugh.
"I knew there was something I didn't like about you!" Aisha exclaimed. "I mean, besides your hair and your clothes!"
"I told you there was something off about her," Jamie added.
"I'm crushed," Scorpina said, distracting them just long enough for Goldar to shoot something at them that bound them to the tree behind them.
"Soon your friends will come to your rescue, and that will be the end of the Power Rangers!" Goldar laughed.
"I can't reach my morpher," Adam said, with Jamie to his left and Aisha to his right.
"I can't reach mine, either," Jamie said, glaring at Scorpina.
"Me either," Aisha said, before turning her head to face Scorpina. "Let us go, you witch!"
"It is now only a matter of time!" Goldar laughed, and the three bound Rangers looked at each other, worried.
Hours later, the three continued to struggle with all their might.
"Where are your friends?" Scorpina taunted, stalking back and forth in front of them. None of them answered her, instead trying desperately to escape.
"Hey, are you guys okay?!"
Adam and Jamie both looked, and saw their friends, morphed, running up the hill to them.
"So glad you could join us for our little farewell party!" Goldar exclaimed as his Putties reappeared behind him.
"Look out!" Billy shouted.
"Go for it, guys," Adam said.
"We'll be alright," Jamie added.
"Hang tight," Tommy said before turning to the enemy. "You guys handle the Putties, I'll take Goldar and Scorpina."
"Right, let's do it!" Rocky agreed, and the four morphed Rangers jumped into action.
"Your efforts are useless!" Goldar said.
The three bound to the tree were forced to watch as their friends took on the Putties, which luckily wasn't that hard of a thing to do. Putties weren't that strong, just a nuisance if you got enough of them in one spot. The Putties defeated, however, Billy quickly ran back to the tree.
"Billy, hurry!" Aisha exclaimed.
"Hang on, I'll have to use my Power Lance," holding out a hand, Billy willed his lance, which looked like a blue trident with smaller points, to appear in his hand. "Ready?" when his friends nodded, Billy swing his lance at the space between Adam and Jamie, sure of his aim. With a yell, the yellow beam that had been holding them to the tree disappeared, and Adam, Jamie, and Aisha were free.
"Alright!" Jamie exclaimed, finally jumping away from the tree.
"Way to go, guys!" Aisha added.
"Let's do it, girls," Adam said, looking at Jamie first and then Aisha.
"It's Morphin Time!" Aisha called, leading the call.
"Mastodon!"
"Megaladon!"
"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"
"You'll be sorry you messed with me, Scorpina!" Aisha exclaimed.
Both Scorpina and Goldar were sent to the ground, then, from a powerful kick from Tommy. "Party's over, Goldar!"
However, an orb from Zedd was sent down, then, exploding, and causing both Goldar and Scorpina to grow to much bigger sizes.
"Man! I was afraid this would happen," Tommy said as his team gathered behind him. "Zordon! We've got trouble, here!"
"I am aware of the situation, Tommy. Due to the combined strength of Goldar and Scorpina, White Tiger and Thunder Megazord may not be enough. I have instructed Alpha to boost the power output of the Thunder Ultrazord. Call on him, if you find it necessary," Zordon said.
"Right, Zordon," Tommy said. "Got it! Ready, guys?"
"Yeah!" the others agreed.
"We need Thunderzord Power, now!"
"Mastodon-Lion Thunderzord power!"
"Pterodactyl-Thunderbird Thunderzord power!"
"Megaladon-Orca Thunderzord Power!"
"Triceratops-Unicorn Thunderzord power!"
"Saber-Toothed Tiger-Griffin Thunderzord Power!"
"Tyrannosaurus-Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!"
"Tigerzord, Power Up!"
"Thunder Megazord, Battle-Ready!"
"Tigerzord, convert to Warrior Mode, now!"
With two Megazords, the fight started out in their favor, but Goldar and Scorpina were soon sending attacks at them that caused them to fall to the ground, so Tommy, feeling he had no other choice, called for the Thunder Ultrazord. The Thunder Ultrazord soon came together, combining all of the Zords as Torre surrounded them in protection, and they were able to shoot at Goldar and Scorpina, causing them to fall to the ground.
Deciding that they couldn't win this battle, Goldar and Scorpina both disappeared in a flash of light.
The battle was won… for now.
Two days later found Jamie sitting on her couch with a pint of ice cream and the fastest man alive on her television. She never did end up asking Adam to the dance, or anyone else for that matter. She was content to sit on her couch and watch an attractive man get struck by lightning and become faster than a speeding bullet while eating a pint of cookies and crème ice cream. Halfway through the pilot episode- Jamie had been waiting until there was a few seasons on Netflix so she could enjoy it for a few weeks- her doorbell rang. Ignoring it at first, Jamie stuck her spoon in her mouth and leaned back on the couch, only for the bell to ring again. Sighing, Jamie paused her show and got up to answer the door, spoon still in her mouth.
"What?" She asked as she opened it, only to frown when she found Kimberly and Aisha on the other side of her door. "What are you two doing here? The dance is tonight, don't you both have dates?"
"Well, yeah, but we can't go to the dance without our best friend," Kimberly said. Both girls were wearing cute dresses- Kimberly's pink and Aisha's yellow with a plaid pattern- and had their hair done. "Now come on, put the ice cream away and put this on." Grabbing the pint of ice cream out of Jamie's hand, and also taking the spoon, Kimberly shoved a bag into her hands instead.
"Wah-hey!" Jamie exclaimed, especially as Kimberly took a bite of her ice cream. "I don't even have a date, why would I go to the dance without one?"
"Because Rocky just texted me and said that Adam is there, and he, too, doesn't have a date," Aisha said.
"Guys, come on, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this didn't work the first time you tried to get us together," Jamie said.
"Oh come on, you don't even have to dance with him," Kimberly said, "Just stand next to him. And sway a little bit to the music." When Jamie gave her a dry look, she shoved Jamie back into her house. "Put that dress on, Jay, you're coming to the dance!"
"Fine!" Jamie exclaimed, taking the bag and going to the bathroom with it. When she came out of it, she was wearing the dress. It was a light gray, soft fabric with glitter all over it that made it sparkle. It was a halter dress, she'd noticed, and luckily had a bra built into it. She'd also taken her hair out of the messy bun it was in, but didn't really know what to do with it.
"Here," Kimberly said, as she rushed forward. Taking Jamie's hair into her hands, she wet it down a little bit, and then breaded the strands over Jamie's shoulder. Curls were hard to deal with, but Kimberly was better at doing Jamie's hair than Jamie herself was. "Perfect!" Kimberly exclaimed when she was done. "Now put the shoes that were in the bag on, and let's go!"
"Kim, where'd you get this?" Jamie dared to ask as she slipped on the flats that Kimberly had included with the dress.
"They were in my closet, and I'm pretty sure it looks a thousand times better on you, than it ever did on me. Now come on, we gotta go!"
Twenty minutes later, and two of the girls were in the Youth Center, standing on the sideline of the dance floor. Jamie was taking a moment to convince herself to actually go in. Adam stood next to Aisha, with Kimberly next to him, and Tommy standing next to his girlfriend. In the crowd of dancers, Rocky and Billy both were dancing with their dates.
It was clear, though, that Adam wasn't having a good time. He was upset, mostly with himself, that he had fallen for Scorpina's trap.
"Aw, cheer up, Adam. It could have gone a lot worse," Kimberly tried to sooth him.
"Yeah, you could be here with Scorpina," Tommy said.
Adam smiled. "Hey, as long as I got my friends, everything'll be cool," he said.
"Alright, man," Tommy said, stepping forward to slap Adam's hand in a high-five.
Finally going in, Jamie spotted Adam with the other three, took a deep breath, and walked over to him.
"Hey, Adam," she said, wringing her hands in front of her.
"Jamie, hey," Adam responded, "Where's your date?"
Jamie shrugged. "Never got the guts to ask anyone," she said.
Adam stared at her, a smile threatening to take over his face. She hadn't asked anyone else.
"Don't just stand there, ask her to dance!" Aisha hissed behind him. Jamie, hearing this, covered her mouth to hide a smile as she looked up at him.
"You wanna dance with me?" Adam asked, sounding very unsure of himself as he did so.
This time when Jamie smiled, she didn't hide it, and she nodded. "Yeah," she responded. "I'd love to."
Adam held out his arm, allowing Jamie to take it, and he led her out to the dancefloor. Kimberly, Aisha, and Tommy watched, and the two girls were grinning widely.
"I knew they'd work it out!" Kimberly exclaimed.
"It's just a dance, they're not together yet," Aisha said, although she was just as excited as Kimberly.
"Baby steps, Aisha, baby steps. They'll realize sooner or later that they're perfect for each other!" Kimberly exclaimed. "Oh, look!"
The two girls who had been after Bulk and Skull this whole time seemingly finally caught to them, and were dancing with the two bullies right in the middle of the dancefloor. All of the Rangers gathering around her, Kimberly couldn't help but to laugh at the sight, as did her friends.
Jamie looked up, then, meeting Adam's warm gaze. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, a blush covering her cheeks.