A/N: Hello, Increasing Paranoia a.k.a. CnfzdPsychosis here. So, new story uploaded with spoilers for the episode Idol. Hope you enjoy!

Dru watched from the sidelines as the rangers enjoyed their day off. He knew it wouldn't be as peaceful later, he still had a job to do, after all, but he could enjoy the scene unfolding before him until then. He watched, in particular, the scene unfolding between his friend and the boy that had replaced him as his roommate.

"Farkle!" Sky shouted, laughing at the dismay evident on the green ranger's face.

"Darn, and I almost beat you!" Bridge pouted. Sky laughed again, throwing a comforting arm around the younger boy.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," he quipped. Bridge stuck his tongue out.

"I'm hungry. Want some buttery toast?" Dru did not understand why the green ranger wiggled his fingers, but it must have been pretty normal because Sky just shook his head and the younger ranger ran off to get something to eat. Sky shook his head again in amusement and joined Dru against the wall.

"I don't recall you ever being this friendly or sociable when I was here." Dru stated, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Sky shrugged, not wanting to answer and explain why he had changed so drastically. He didn't think Dru would exactly be happy to hear that the blue ranger had fallen in love the ranger that had replaced Dru.

"You've been gone a while." Dru snorted derisively.

"Apparently long enough for him to make you fall in love with him." Sky shot a sideways look at his friend. He thought he had been doing a well enough job of keeping that little secret under wraps. But Dru knew him better than anyone else, with an exception where Bridge was concerned. But Bridge had always been the exception where Sky was concerned.

"What?" The other ranger laughed.

"Bridge. You're in love with him. I just don't get it. I've known you longer," Dru stated, frustrated. Sky smiled thinly, obviously tired of the conversation. He wasn't going to explain to Dru that he never had a chance. He sure as hell wasn't going to tell Dru why he loved Bridge; why he was never going to tell Bridge.

"Knowing someone longer doesn't mean knowing them better." The laugh that escaped from him was bitter, and Sky's shock was almost amusing.

"Trust me, Schuyler, I know that better than anyone." The use of his full name had not escaped the blue ranger, but Dru was already gone. Running the conversation through his head, Sky walked in the opposite direction trying to figure out just how correct Jack had been in deciding that Dru needed to be reevaluated.

"You're conflicted." It was a statement of fact and an offer to listen all in one. Sky sighed, throwing the book he had been staring at to the side. It wasn't like he was really getting anywhere in it considering he had been staring at the same page for the last half-hour.

"Something's up with Dru." Bridge nodded.

"I know." Sky shifted on his bed, turning to face in the direction of his roommate.

"You know?" Sky could hear the incredulousness in his voice. His grip on the edge of the bed tightened and he was sure that his knuckles were turning white. Anger rose, but he wasn't sure who he was mad at—Bridge for suspecting and saying nothing or himself for taking so damn long to realize that Dru had changed.

"Something's not right with his aura."

"And you decide to bring it up now?" Bridge leveled a gaze in his direction, a shadow of hurt flickering through his eyes.

"Would you have believed me before?" Sky paused, knowing full well how often they had doubted the green ranger's powers. And every time Bridge had been right. A modern day Cassandra. It was a bitter thought, but Sky saw it as befitting. He quickly cut off that train of thought, not wanting Bridge to meet the same fate.

"Yes." A surprised yet pleased expression flitted across the green ranger's face, and he grinned apologetically at the blond.

"Sorry. You just seemed so excited to see him again; I didn't want to ruin that by telling you that I thought something was wrong." Sky smiled, a sign that the younger ranger was off the hook.

"Yeah, well… You're not the only one that thinks something's wrong. Jack thought it was odd, too." Bridge shifted, raising himself off of his bed only to flop across Sky's.

"So?" he prodded, propping himself up on one elbow as he stared up at the older ranger. "What are you going to do?" Sky sighed again, shifting to flop down next to his roommate.

"Not much that can be done. Jack's already suspicious, me confirming those suspicions isn't going to change much. Besides, nothing can really be done until Cruger gets back. So, we'll just have to be careful until we have something concrete to go on."

Unfortunately, it was then that the SPD alarm decided to go off and the rangers quickly responded.

Sky seethed as he faced what used to be his best friend. He didn't know what Dru had been promised for his betrayal—power? money?—whatever it was, Sky hoped it was worth it.

"Why? You were the best ranger. You set all the records. What could you possibly get out of helping Gruum?" Dru—no—Giganus snorted.

"I'm not working for Gruum. It was Broodwing who showed me the truth. Shortly after I was transferred to the Nebula Academy, my squad and I were sent out on a mission. I was supposed to lead the team, but the pathetic excuse for back-up disappeared and I was captured. This isn't about sides, Schuyler, it's about revenge. Revenge on the rangers that left me to die, and the commanders that sent me. Cruger's just the first."

"Dru-" Sky began, desperately trying to think of something that would bring the former ranger back from the brink of insanity.

"Answer me something," he interrupted, causing Sky to pause. "What makes him so special?"

"What?" The middle of a battle and he's asking me about my love life?

"What makes him so special? The fact that despite the negative he's seen, he's still so innocent? Or the fact that he follows you around like a puppy dog? Is it because you know that he'll do whatever you tell him to?" Sky grit his teeth. He knew Dru was trying to bait him and he refused to give him the satisfaction. He stood his ground and kept silent. Dru smirked and the sight of it boiled the blue ranger's blood. "He's just another pound of flesh then."

"Shut up!" Sky lunged, skillfully wielding his Deltamax Striker despite his anger. It was a critical hit, knocking the alien form of the ex-ranger back several steps, and in a last effort to salvage his murderous plan, Giganus grew. "Shit," he cursed. Grabbing his morpher, Sky called in for back up. They were going to need the Delta Squad Megazord.

Sky collapsed on the bed, physically and emotionally exhausted. The rangers had seen him talking to Dru during the fight, had seen—figuratively, if not literally—Sky's hackles raised, and they wanted to know what had happened. Sky sure as hell wasn't about to tell them. Not even Jack's attempt to unfairly use his position as leader of the team was going to drag that little piece of information out of the blue ranger.

The only good news of the day was that Dru was arrested and Cruger had only been wounded. So why did Sky feel hollow?

Flopping onto his stomach, he reached out blindly to turn off the light.

"Sky?" The voice was tentative, and Sky suppressed the urge to snap at the younger ranger.

"I'm not telling you what Dru and I talked about."

"That wasn't what I was going to ask." It was barely a whisper but it still made Sky feel like a jerk. Giving up on trying to get to sleep he turned the light back on and rolled onto his side.

"What's up?"

"Are you okay?" Leave it to Bridge to wonder about his mental health at eleven-thirty at night.

"I'm fine." And okay, it was a blatant lie, but he was tired and cranky and he really didn't want to get into a discussion about emotions when he was nigh close to having a breakdown.

"Liar," Bridge whispered, smiling. Sky smirked, a short laugh following. It wasn't really any good trying to lie to an empath.

"Honest, Bridge. I'm okay." He paused, trying to stay awake enough to collect his thoughts. "No, I'm not okay, I'm pissed. I'm pissed at Dru for deflecting, I'm pissed at myself for not realizing that something was off sooner. And I'm pissed at Dru for what he had the nerve to say about you, for what-"

"He said something about me?" Bridge interrupted, and Sky paused in the middle of his rant. Shit. This is why we didn't want to talk at midnight.

"Well, um…" The blue ranger floundered, and Bridge lowered his head onto his knees. Even without the power of empathy Sky knew that Bridge was hurt. "Shit, Bridge." He sat next to the green ranger, a comforting arm snaking around his back.

"What did he say?" Sky sighed.

"He didn't say anything bad about you, Bridge."

"What did he say?" he pressed. Sky withdrew his arm, leaning up against the wall.

"He asked me why you were so important."

"And that made you angry?" Sky shook his head.

"No, what made me angry was what came after it. He wasn't insulting you per se, but the way he said it… It was like he was making you out to be some kind of play thing." Bridge tilted his head, a tight smile letting the older boy know that the tiny piece of information did not make it hurt any less.

"So you defended my honor?" It was meant to be a joke, Sky was sure, but the tone was a little too flat. Sky said nothing, standing to move back over to his bed. The green ranger watched him lay back down, thoughts flying through his head at a million miles an hour. "Sky?" The ranger cracked his eyes open, blinking blearily at his friend. "Why would Dru say mean things about me just to get to you?" That certainly woke the blue ranger up.

"Because he knew you were my best friend," he covered smoothly. Bridge stared at him a little longer and Sky fought the urge to fidget beneath that knowing gaze. His heart pounded a little faster and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Sky watched as the green ranger bit his bottom lip, still not quite sure whether the blue ranger was telling the truth but unwilling to use his unfair advantage to find out. His mouth opened, and Sky mentally braced himself for whatever was coming next.

"We should get some sleep." Sky swallowed hard, nodding his agreement. Lying down, he drew the covers over him before reaching out to switch off the light. Settling himself onto his back, he couldn't quite keep the grin off his face at Bridge's final word of the night. "Liar."

~End. Press the lovely Review button. ~