"Oooh…watch out for the mistletoe," Kimberly called as Thomas walked into the Juice Bar and he looked up to see what was hanging above his head. He hastily moved through the doorway and then walked over to take the stool next to her. "You know- there's lots of girls here that are vying to catch you under it."
"Not interested," Thomas said as she studied him. Over the last four months, he had never mentioned a girlfriend, but she had also never asked him about it. She just felt like it was something that was off limits.
"So you have a girlfriend?" Kimberly asked as Thomas shook his head no and she gave him a confused look. Surely there was someone he was interested in if he wasn't interested in seeing if anyone wanted him. "Then why does that bother you that girls like you?"
"There's only one person I'm interested in and I…I haven't told her yet," Thomas replied as he met her eyes for a moment, but then quickly looked away. She watched as the blush crept up his neck, but she decided against pushing it. Thomas even telling her that he liked someone was huge for him. Every bit of information that she got out of him was hard earned, but she realized that she was one of the few people he was even letting in a bit.
"Lucky girl," Ernie said as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. It was so obvious to everyone else how much they liked each other, he didn't know why they were fighting it. Well, he could guess why Thomas was fighting it, but he had no idea why Kimberly might be. "Frankly though, there's a lot of guys here that want to catch you under it too."
"Yeah…no," Kimberly whispered as Thomas watched her stiffen and she looked away from him. Something in her actions let him know that something had happened. She glanced back at him and gave him a forced smile and he just nodded. She hadn't push him and he wasn't going to push her. "Can I get that to go?"
"You two going to the park again?" Ernie asked as Kimberly nodded and Ernie then made them two to go drinks. They each grabbed a drink and headed back towards the mistletoe laden doorway. Ernie watched as they fell into sync and he hid his smile. He was not going to call them out on it if they walked through at the same time, but he knew the teens definitely would.
"Mistletoe!" Skull yelled as Kimberly and Thomas looked up. Thomas looked over at Kimberly who was frozen in place and he knew that this wasn't a normal reaction. What had happened to her? Bulk and Skull walked over and he glared at the both of them. "Smoochy, smoochy."
"If he's not going to kiss you, I will," Bulk offered as Kimberly glared at him. She glanced up at Thomas and then quickly looked away. She started to take a step away, but Bulk completely blocked her way.
"Let me go," Kimberly whispered as Skull and Bulk crowded around her. Thomas was able to get between her and Bulk, but Skull still hovered around her.
"Back off," Thomas said and Bulk held his hands up as Thomas glared back at Skull.
"Ah, ah, ah, kiss," Skull said as Thomas had grabbed her hand to pull her towards the exit. Before Thomas thought it through, he leaned over and kissed her cheek and then quickly maneuvered her out of the Juice Bar. She walked along, numbly, next to him and he felt his concern spike even more. He walked them back to their favorite spot before he stopped and then tilted her chin up to where she would look at him. It was then that he saw the barely contained tears.
"Kimmie, what is it?" Thomas asked as she shook her head and then hastily wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry, it was the only way I could think of getting you out of there."
"No, Tommy, you have nothing to be sorry for I…" Kimberly trailed off as her face crumbled and he pulled her into a tight hug. He didn't know what else to do and he racked his brain to think of what he had seen comfort other women. He couldn't think of much, so he just ran his hands up and down her back and hoped it was enough.
"You don't have to tell me, but I'll listen if you want," Thomas said as she continued to cling to him, but he felt her nod against his chest. She slowly pulled away from him and stared at the ground. "Kimmie."
"You're the second Power Ranger cadet that I've met. You're nothing like the other guy….but he…" Kimberly continued to stare at the ground. "He didn't understand what 'no' meant."
Thomas felt a chill run down his spine and he clenched his jaw. He really hoped that this wasn't in the way that he was thinking. He felt anger boil through him and he knew that if it was- that cadet would have to answer to him.
"Ernie walked in and stopped him…but it was so close and…I…" Kimberly trailed off as she looked up at him and saw how angry Thomas was. She took a step away, but when he looked down at her, his face immediately softened. She was not who he was mad with, but she had a feeling he might know who the other ranger was. "Thank you for getting me out of there."
"What's his name?" Thomas asked as Kimberly looked up at him and she, for the first time, felt fear for Griffin. Something about the way Thomas looked let her know that he would make sure that Griffin never had the chance to even attempt that again.
"It's not a big…" Kimberly trailed off as he gave her a firm look and she glanced away. "Griffin."
"Kimberly- it is a big deal. He should have never…he shouldn't have even gotten close if you told him no," Thomas said as he grabbed both of her hands and he watched the relief flood into her. "I'm sorry if kissing you on the cheek…"
"No…I feel safe with you…I just…the last guy who kissed me…" Kimberly trailed off as the tears spilled over again.
"You didn't want him to," Thomas finished as she nodded while looking down at the ground. He gently tilted her head up to where he could lock eyes with her again. "If I ever cross a line, ever even get close to one- all you have to say is no, I promise I'll stop."
"I know. I've known that since I met you," Kimberly said as she pulled away from him and then dug out the blanket she had in her bookbag. They set it up on the ground before sitting next to each other against the tree. She quietly sipped on her hot chocolate and Thomas plotted what he could do to Griffin that wouldn't get him kicked out of the Academy.
"Uncle Theo- I have a question," Thomas said as he walked up to him at the end of combatives class. "Is there anyway I can get a chance to train with the Upper Academy?"
"You're already training with the current rangers- I'm not sure that you'd find any challenge with the Upper Academy," Theo said as Thomas gave him a steely look and Theo felt his stomach clench. Thomas knew what had happened. Somehow, Kimberly had trusted him enough to tell him and Thomas wanted to make a point. "You know."
"Yeah," Thomas stated as Theo let out a sigh. Thomas had never been one to seek out violence, but in this case he just might and it would get him kicked out of the Academy if he did. If he beat Griffin's ass in combatives, no one would blink an eye. Actually, most people would think that it was about time. "So how?"
"You'll severely injure him," Theo said as Thomas weighed the likelihood of that in his mind and just nodded. He would severely injure him, but that was the point. "Thomas…I can't condone it."
"He nearly raped her and he's still here. How the fuck does that make sense?" Thomas growled and Theo gave him a shocked look, but he didn't admonish him. Thomas had a point. They had all wanted to kick him out, but Mitchell had insisted that he be allowed to finish out his time. "You agree."
"Yeah, I do. I'll see what I can do, but I need you to promise you won't go seek him out while I figure this out," Theo said as Thomas gave him a terse nod. Thomas then jogged out of the gymnasium to go catch up with his classmates and Theo let out a sigh. He walked over to his office and quickly dialed Amelia. "Hey Ames, we've got a problem. He knows."
"This is going to be awesome- we get to train with the Upper Academy and these guys are in their final year," Jason said as the excitement rippled off of him. Ever since he had watched Thomas train with the Power Rangers, he had thrown himself into training. He had seen some of the places he needed to improve and this was a chance to do that. He glanced over at Thomas and saw that he was glaring daggers at one of the Upper Academy cadets. "Dude- do you want him to come after you?"
"That's exactly the point. Enjoy your training," Thomas said as Rocky and Jason exchanged a glance. They rarely saw Thomas in true fight mode. They had actually only ever seen it once in training and that had been when Jason pushed him on the very first day. The handful of cadets in their year that had been picked for this were the elite in their class. They had been told that these Upper Academy cadets were also the elite.
"Okay- I'm going to pair each of you up based on skills, fighting styles, and overall technique. I expect each of you to learn a bit from each other," Theo said as he walked between the two groups and he saw how cocky the Upper Academy cadets were. The lower academy cadets were nervous, except for Thomas. Thomas was poised to make a point. "Normal sparring rules will apply. Tap out before you pass out."
"Hi- I'm Griffin," Griffin said with a warm smile as he extended a hand to Thomas and he gave it a quick shake. "You're a Trueheart. Must feel like you have to prove a point, sorry, but I'm not going to be an easy fight."
"And neither am I," Thomas stated as Theo blew the whistle and the first round of sparring began.
"Has Thomas had to tap out at all today?" Trini asked as she stood up after being put in another submission hold and she watched as everyone shook their heads. They had been going at it for 30 minutes and most of them had been trading rounds back and forth. It spoke to how much having Thomas in their class had improved all of their fighting. "Jesus…is he trying to hurt him?"
"I don't know," Zach whispered as Griffin landed a solid punch and in turn Thomas sent him flying into the padded wall. "Anyone else feel like he's making a point?"
"Good," Chelsea said as they all looked over at her. "He shouldn't even be here anymore after the stunt he pulled with that future prophet."
"Chels…not in front of them," Tanner said as she looked over at him and glared. "We're not supposed to talk about it."
"And that is bull shit too," Chelsea retorted as Griffin dove at Thomas' knees, knocking him to the ground for the first time. What happened next shocked all of them, as Thomas bucked Griffin off of him and then slammed Griffin's face into the ground. He then pinned him again as Griffin desperately tried to escape.
"You don't like when you're the one being held against your will, do you?" Thomas whispered in his ear as Griffin stared back at him. How did he know? Blood poured out of Griffin's nose, but he still didn't tap out as Thomas cranked further on his arm and he tried to throw him off again. Thomas patiently settled into the submission hold and Griffin's attempts became more and more erratic. He reached to tap Thomas's thigh, but Thomas cranked on his arm a little harder before they all heard a distinct pop and Griffin then was able to tap out. "You ever do that to her or anyone again and this is the least I will do to you."
"Up you go Griffin, we need to get you to the infirmary," Theo said as Thomas wiped his bloody knuckles against his gi and continued to glare at Griffin. Griffin hastily looked away as Theo helped him across the gymnasium. "Training dismissed. Thomas- if you don't mind cleaning up."
"Sure," Thomas said as the cadets watched him and then the Upper Academy cadets quickly moved to help him. "I've got it."
"We owe you one," Chelsea said as she took the mop from him and she looked at the ground before looking back up at him. "She wasn't the only one. She was just the one that got him kicked out of the Power Ranger training. None of us were…we couldn't…"
"I don't know what you're talking about. He just didn't tap out in time," Thomas said as he met her gaze and she nodded. It was the first time she had ever seen a Trueheart stand up against something like this and it gave her hope that things would get better, but they might just have to wait until he was in charge.
AN: Apparently I'm about 6 weeks off on Christmas in two stories...oooops.
AN2: I don't know how much longer FFN is going to hold it together. If you're unaware- there have been all sorts of problems from blank pages showing up to all of our stats being down for about two months. I do intend to publish on here until the site dies- but I want to make sure that my readers are aware that my stories are also on AO3 under the same penname- BrookeSHodges. Just in case the day comes and this website becomes completely unusable- I am trying to let my readers know where else they can find me if they want to keep reading.