Continuity: This part takes place the day after "Island of Illusion, part II."

The Green Finish on the Portrait
Part III: Accentuated Edges
by MegaSilver

"Ha!" said Tommy, finishing his dance in a Karate pose.

"Nice one!" Zack snickered. "Man, you picked this up way faster than Jason!"

Tommy shrugged. "Well, you started off teaching me plain old break dancing and all I could think of was how a Karate move would slide in and combine." He rolled his eyes, chuckling. "I guess I ought to find some other hobbies, huh?"

"Hey, you know what's funny? I had the same thing happen—only me, it was, I grew up with my cousins teaching me hip-hop dancing, and when I started taking Karate when I was eleven, every class the first few weeks I'd have to do extra sit-ups because I kept dancing. It's like, I could only see dance moves underneath all the techniques! Then, after I moved up to my purple belt, it hit me: maybe that was what was missing in the world! So that's when I invented the Hip-Hop Kido." He glanced up at the clock. "Hey, you ready to go meet the guys over at Billy's?"

It was Friday night, and the team was planning on a little fiesta to mark the weekend. Hopefully Rita would stay quiet.

"I gotta say, that was pretty fun," remarked Tommy as the pair headed out of the Juice Bar and onto the streets. "Plus, with the music, you get a sort of rhythm and it just synthesizes your concentration with the environment in a way I've just never felt before." Tommy thought that might be a good thing, but a part of him wondered if it would make him lazy and unfocused if he got too used to having such a metronomic support.

"Yeah, and you know what's really cool? If you ever manage to teach a girl how to Hip Hop Kido, you can practice dancing with her pretending like it's just sparring—and then you ask her to the dance!"

Tommy laughed. His thoughts wandered off for a moment as he contemplated whether that would ever work on Kimberly…

Zack must have seen the twinkle in Tommy's eye, because he continued, "So, three weeks before the harvest festival dance… if I can get Kimberly trained in one week, will that give you enough time to work up the courage to ask her?"

Tommy flinched a little, surprised at how clearly Zack had read his mind. "Whoa… ah… umm… I don't… I… I hadn't… I mean, I don't know… I-I hadn't thought about…"

"Aww, c'mon, man." Zack slapped Tommy on the shoulder. "I haven't known you that long, but this is totally not like you, stammering like this! C'mon, it's obvious there's something between you two."

"Y-you think so?" Tommy kept hoping and thinking there was, but he was definitely new to the dating game.

"Yeah, man! Look, all I can say is this: if Angela looked at me flirted with me the way Kim looks at you and flirts with you, I wouldn't be having pizza tonight with y'all: I'd be sipping shakes with my girl!"

Tommy chuckled a little, unsure of what to say. "Wow."

"So this dance, I'm tellin' you… it's not really much of a 'date' thing like Homecoming or any of that, but still a few couples. No reason not to ask her—and no reason not to make this your first move!"

Tommy took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You guess?"

"You're right! All right?"

"I know I'm right!" Zack bounced his eyebrows. "So, you gonna do it?"

"Yes."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Ask Kimberly to the dance."

"When are you gonna ask her?"

"Umm…" Tommy had definitely been caught off guard. "Uh, weren't you gonna teach her Hip-Hop Kido first?" As soon as he said it he felt stupid.

"Dude, that was a joke! That's not the kind of dance she'll want to dance with you!"

"I know!" Tommy couldn't restrain himself from showing a constant, embarrassed grin. "But look, I can't just ask her this weekend; we're all gonna be together. Let's just stay cool for a few days, relax."

"All right, but you gotta get your guard back up soon as we hit school again on Monday!" Zack advised.

"Understood." Tommy exhaled, relieved to have resigned himself to procrastinating for a couple of days. Still, there was one thing he wanted to make sure of first. "You don't think she'd be going with Jason or Billy, though, do you?"

"Jase? Billy? Nah, no way! Definitely not." Zack paused for a moment. "She did like Jason a bit, at the beginning of eighth grade, but he wasn't really into dating just yet and nothing ever came out of it. Billy, though…" Zack nodded. "I think Billy kind of likes her, but he'll never admit it."

"Why not?"

"Too shy. Plus I think he sees her as one of those alpha-female types and he has it in his mind that he'll never have a chance with a girl like her."

Tommy pressed on. "Think he's right?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't know. I kind of think Billy sells himself a bit short, but Kim definitely doesn't think of Billy as having a crush on her. You know they've known each other since elementary school, too—I think she still kind of sees him as the little boy who was her one guy friend among the girls back then. Maybe if they both went away and got back together years later…" Zack's voice trailed off. "But nah, for all practical intents and purposes, no way she'll be dating Jason or Billy. Look, the iron's hot for you—it's right there for you to strike it!"

"I know! We said that already!"

"Yeah, but you can't forget, man! Let me put it this way: I won't let you forget."

Tommy nodded as they approached the driveway of Billy's house. "Thanks."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Zack offered a hand, and they slapped palms and shook with mighty force. "So, we talk your game plan on Monday?"

"Monday."

"Monday." Zack was insistent.

Tommy sighed contentedly as they waved to the girls approaching in the distance. "Monday." Nothing had gone at all like he had expected since the move to Angel Grove. But all of it had been grander than he could ever have imagined.

As they all entered their friend's house now, Tommy wondered just how this incredible story would continue to unfold.

THE END

Author's Note: Well, I know this was a lot shorter than the others, but I don't think Tommy's friendship was ever quite so profound into-the-soul with Zack as it became with Kimberly and with Jason. Plus, in terms of the stories to reveal to Tommy, those two had already told him most of what was interesting. And no, I'm not going to write chapters with such discussions between Tommy and Billy or between Tommy and Trini, because he does not seem to have ever been particularly close to either of them (eventually he and Billy would be closer, but almost strictly in the capacity of the Power Team) and I can't see such conversations taking place. In an alternate timeline or in the far future, perhaps, but those are not the aims of these little pieces.

In any case, thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! This particular story is very meaningful for me—I've injected a lot of my own experiences and emotions with faith, family and friends into the characters here and I hope some of you will find it speaks to you, as well.