Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by these rights should be assumed to be purely the creation of the author.

Rating: T May be some mildly adult themes.

A/N: A second Megaforce fic. I'm not diving into the new season yet, it isn't airing here, and episodes are hard to come by, so expect chapters/stories to be episodic. Hope you enjoy it.

Gia came into Ernie's Brainfreeze, finding Emma already sitting, doing some homework. The Pink Ranger always spent most of her time studying either in the school, or at the ice-cream bar. Gia knew that Emma's parents worked long hours, and were constantly on different shift patterns. She didn't really like being at home alone, finding it too quiet, and so she usually only went home at the end of each night to get ready for the following school day.

Gia came across, finding herself smiling as she saw her. She took a seat opposite her, putting her backpack down.

"You're not starting without me are you?" Gia asked her playfully. "You know that Japanese is my worst subject."

"Yeah, you'd get a B+ instead of an A, that would be tragic." Emma teased her with a little smile, brushing some hair behind her ear. Gia couldn't help staring at her for a moment. Emma had been her best friend since they were in kindergarten, but over time Gia noticed something about their friendship changing. She started noticing a lot about Emma that she wasn't sure she should. Emma just looked back at her. "Um...what?"

"You...you did something different with your hair didn't you?" Gia asked her.

"I got a new shampoo, extract of coconut." Emma replied with a shrug. "Why?"

"It...It's nice." Gia told her. "You'll have to tell me where you got it."

Just then, a black rucksack landed by Gia's chair. The Yellow Ranger just rolled her eyes as she saw it. A moment later, Noah plomped himself down on the couch next to Emma. If he was there, then it was only a matter of time before...

"Hey there ladies." Jake announced as he arrived, placing a hand on Gia's shoulder. "I just got paid, how about a round of smoothies on me?"

"Make mine a raspberry." Emma told him.

"Orange." Noah announced. "You know, I think I'll help you with that."

As they left, Gia felt her heart start beating again. She liked the guys, or at very least, she trusted them. She knew that now they were Rangers, now that they had a duty to protect the world, they all had each others' backs. If she was honest, before the Gosei abduction thing, she wouldn't have been able to pick Noah out of a line-up, and Jake...she only knew him as some kind of jock that half the school thought was a God just because he could kick a ball into a net. She still didn't really see what the big deal was, it was basic physics. With enough time to prepare, she had every confidence she could do what Jake could on the field.

Still, since then, they'd all started to hang out more. A LOT more. Noah and Jake were pretty much everywhere she looked now, and she couldn't get away from them. She was dimly aware for a while that Jake liked her, but that wasn't exactly new to her. Half the guys in school wanted her just because she was the Golden Fleece, the unobtainable goal. She was the hottest girl in school, and yet no-one was with her. It was why she turned down about four offers a day, and had been suspended for a week two years previously when one guy that didn't take no for an answer ended up singing a few octaves higher.

"Seriously?" Gia asked her. "You invited the chuckle brothers?"

"They kind of invited themselves." Emma told her. "Besides, they're not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Gia asked her. Seriously, Jake's only about half a step away from presenting his tail feathers!"

"Huh?" Emma asked her.

"You know, like a peacock?" She asked. "God, why won't he just get the message?"

"Maybe he needs it to be spelled out for him?" Emma suggested. "Besides, what's the big deal? He's cute, he's a good guy. What's the worst that could happ..."

"I am NOT dating Jake, even as a sympathy date!" Gia put down abruptly. She noticed Emma's reaction to that, and felt her heart skipping a few beats. She knew how she felt, she knew why she held her breath for a moment any time she saw Emma, but she was always afraid around her. She didn't want to risk Emma finding out how she felt about her. She didn't want her to turn away, to lose the one person in the world she'd trust with anything because of her own stupid emotions. She just shook her head. "Look, I'm not into him, and I never will be. Trust me on that."

"OK, message received loud and clear." Emma stated. "I guess you haven't said that to Jake though."

"When I have to trust the guy to partner up with me in the battlefield?" Gia asked her. "For God's sake Emma, when we form up the Megazord, I have to trust him to be careful when his Zord shoves its tail up my Zord's ass! At 80 miles an hour! Of course I haven't told him!"

"Alright, alright just...keep your hair on." Emma told her. "They said they wanted to study, and I thought that maybe we could help them out."

Gia just groaned and slumped down in her chair. An afternoon with Jake throwing cheesy come-on lines at her while Noah ended up in yet ANOTHER debate with Emma about the value of technology over nature did not sound like a fun afternoon. Not that she had any interest in the guy, but she thought that finding Troy and training with him was sounding like a good option right now. Even the guy that barely spoke to anyone sounded like more fun than hanging out with the snake guy.

"Fine." Gia groaned.

"Alright, just...watch my books for a second." Emma told her, getting up. "I have to go."

Gia watched Emma leave, and found her heart racing yet again. Emma had always been a tomboy, often besting all the guys on the BMX courses. It was only the fact she wore too much pink, and spent too much time telling them off for throwing their drinks cans anywhere BUT the recycling bins that stopped her being part of that crowd. Still, it had a marked effect on her body. There was a part of Gia that really wished she wouldn't wear those tight, short, pink jean shorts she had a habit of wearing, but there was also a part of her that was thankful any time that she did.

She pulled out her tablet, and started writing some stuff down. She kept a journal, something she'd done since she was a little girl, and she told it everything. She knew there were some things she'd never be able to say aloud, so she treated it as something that would never judge her, never leave her. She chewed her lip nervously as she typed in her thoughts. It was only as a shadow blocked the light on the screen that she locked the tablet and turned to see who had arrived, expecting Jake or Noah. Instead, it was...well...she didn't really know who he was.

"Hey Gia." He began. "I noticed you..."

"I'm kind of in the middle of something." Gia told him. "Um...sorry, who are you again?"

"Dean." He introduced himself, pointing to his name embroidered into his letterman jacket. "Dean Stockwell."

"Dean?" She asked. "As in the basketball player?"

"Baseball." He corrected her with a chuckle. Despite being the Queen of the school, Gia really didn't spend much time on extra-curricular activities. She'd heard his name, but clearly had no idea who he was.

Dean wasn't a bad looking guy, she had to admit that. He was a little taller than her, and was a pretty big kid, with shoulders that looked like he could hit a home-run with a wrecking ball. He was wearing a Harwood Letterman jacket and black jeans. He ran his hand through his thick, black hair.

"Listen, if you're busy now, we can always do something this weekend..."

"I'm busy then too." Gia told him. "Look, with all due respect, I'm flattered, but..."

"You're blowing me off?" He asked her. "You're blowing ME off? Do you know how many girls in the school would kill to get a date with me?"

"Well, how about you ask one of them then?" Gia said rather coldly. Dean placed a hand on her shoulder, which Gia just glared at.

"You're the hottest girl in school." He told her. "I'm the hottest guy. It's natural..."

"Get your hand off me." Gia warned him.

"I'll do whatever..."

"I said; get your hand off me!" Gia reiterated. "Otherwise, I'll break something, and believe me, it WILL be something you'll miss."

Just then, her morpher bleeped. Gia was almost relieved to hear the bleep. Although it meant the city was under attack, it also called an abrupt end to the whole scene. Jake, Noah and Emma all appeared.

"Gia, we..."

"Yeah, I know." Gia told them as they hurriedly collected their belongings. "See you around Dean."

With that, she snatched up her backpack, but failed to notice as her tablet fell out, sliding across the floor. Dean saw it and picked it up, beginning to go after her, but before he knew it, Gia had disappeared. He was about to hand it in to Ernie, to keep behind the counter when a thought occurred to him. This was Gia's tablet. She was always typing up something on it. She had turned him down when any other girl in the school would have had a heart attack if he asked them out. Maybe there was something in there that would give him some idea what she was into, give him some idea what to say or do to get lucky with her.

He sat down, and cursed his luck as he saw that it was locked. He tried Gia's name, but that didn't work. He knew she wore a lot of Yellow, so he tried that...still no luck.

"Ernie, can I get an energy shake?" He asked. "I've got some work to do."

The following day, Emma was collecting her books when Gia came to her locker, frightening her. The Yellow Ranger's lighting-fast reactions allowed her to catch the books Emma had dropped yet again.

"You're such a klutz." Gia commented, handing Emma her books. She saw how Emma accepted them gratefully. "It's pretty adorable."

"Well, I'm glad you think so." Emma muttered. "Anyway, where did you disappear to after the battle?"

"I lost my tablet." Gia told her. "I had it at Ernie's but I couldn't find it after the battle."

"You probably left it at Ernie's." Emma suggested. Gia just glared at her.

"Don't you think I thought of that?" Gia asked her. "I went and asked, but no one handed it in! Since dad was laid off, there isn't much money to go around, my parents will freak!"

"You had insurance right?" Emma asked her. Gia just nodded. "Then what's the big deal?"

"All my files were on it!" Gia told her. "All my assignments and..."

"I'll help you get caught back up." Emma assured her, stroking her shoulder gently. Gia felt herself relax at her touch. When Emma touched her, when she looked at her, when she was around, she was willing to believe anything. Emma could convince her of anything. When she was around, the whole world just seemed to make sense, and it felt like everything would be alright. If Emma said so, she just felt in her heart that everything would be fine. "It sucks having to type all that stuff up again, but I'll get you there. You know I will."

"Thanks Emma." Gia answered as the Pink Ranger closed over her locker and headed for her first class. Gia just watched her go, finding herself breathless once again. She didn't even notice as someone came along behind her.

"I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her walking away." A male voice said in her ear. Gia pulled away, spinning around and finding Dean standing behind her. "Not as much as you though. You're definitely better."

"OK, that might work with some of the girls, but seriously, clear out." Gia snapped. "I have stuff to do..."

"Like talk about our date this weekend?" Dean asked her. Gia just let out a small laugh.

"What? Are you brain damaged?" She asked him. "I'm not into you! Can't you get that through your skull?"

"I really think you'll reconsider." He told her. "It's like I said, you're the hottest girl in school, and I'm the hottest guy. It's nature. We'll be the power couple of senior year."

"OK, how many times do I need to say, I'm not interested?" Gia asked him. Dean just took off his sunglasses and looked her in the eyes.

"I think you'll change your mind." He told her, pulling out her tablet. Her eyes widened as she saw it. "Recognise this?"

Gia snatched it off him; grateful to get it back, but Dean just continued to give her a cocky little grin.

"It took a while you know, to figure out the password?" He told her. "I tried your name, your favourite colour, everything I could think of...I'd never have guessed what it was until I got it. Emma?"

Gia felt her heart freezing as he said that. It was indeed her password. She just turned on him angrily.

"You've been through..."

"You know, you have a lot of interesting stuff on there." Dean interrupted her. "Stuff that is pretty...illuminating. I have to say, the pictures, the stuff you wrote in your journal...it's all pretty hot stuff."

"You read my journal?" She yelled. He just laughed.

"Yeah, and I can pretty much guess why your password is Emma." He told her. "Got to admit, I was surprised at first, but suddenly a lot of things started to make sense. A lot of the little things I've noticed about you just kind of fell into place."

Gia felt like she was going to be sick. She did write a lot of stuff in her journal, stuff she'd never intended anyone to ever see. Knowing that Dean had read it made her feel ill, knowing that now someone knew. She looked up to him.

"Now, what do you suppose would happen if people found out exactly how 'adorable' you find it when Emma gets all klutzy when she's nervous?" He asked her. "What do you think would happen to all those girls that look up to you, who envy you if they knew exactly what you think about when you see her in those little shorts she's so fond of?"

Gia was frozen to the spot as he came around behind her. He made a little explosion sound as he put an arm around her.

"Little Ms. Perfect, the smartest girl in school, the one every girl wants to be...all gone in a second once they realise you're nothing more than a closeted, little..."

"Alright Dean, that's enough!" Gia roared as she spun around ramming him against the lockers. She held a hand to his throat.

"I'd reconsider if I were you." He said calmly. "After all, your tablet was such interesting reading; I just HAD to copy it to a flash drive."

"You...you did what?" Gia asked, her lip quivering in terror as she realised what he had said. He had a copy of everything she had written in her tablet. All her deepest, most intimate thoughts, things she didn't even share with Emma. As tears came to her eyes, and she backed away, he just smirked and came over to her.

"Like I said, you're the hottest girl in school. Being with you...well...that'll make my stock that much higher." He told her. "So, are you still busy this weekend, or do I post everything on that flash drive on the Harwood Social Hub site that nerdy little friend of yours set up?"

Gia couldn't control her tears. This was a nightmare come true for her. She knew how she felt, and she had accepted what she was when she was 13, but that didn't mean others would do the same. Emma, her best friend, had no idea that she wanted more from her. All the girls that wished to see her fall; just because she was Ms. Perfect would have a field day if it was revealed that she wasn't normal. Her friends...they'd only become her friends recently. They were friends with who they THOUGHT she was. How could she take the chance that they would turn her away, that they would refuse to trust her once they realised that she had lied to them all along about who she was?

"I'll take that as a yes." Dean said coldly as he brushed past her. "Saturday at 8. Meet me at the food court in the mall. There's a great movie I want to see."

As he left, Gia fell back against the lockers, her strength leaving her, and wept. Dean now held his finger over the detonator that would cause her whole life to self-destruct, and there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was go along with it, and hope he kept up his end of the bargain.