Title: It Isn’t Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song “Cry” is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

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The following morning, after Syd's accident, the bubbly blond mulled around her room, grumbling slightly under her breath. She wandered over to her closet and started digging through her closet looking for something. Z was lying on her bed, headphones on watching her do this. Finally Syd threw her hands up in frustration and moved from the mess she'd created and back over to her bed. Z looked at her.

"Something the matter?" The dark haired female questioned. Syd nodded.

"Some of my stuff is gone." She whined.

“What? Your clothes?” Z asked. Syd shook her head. She sighed.

“I kind of……………..Threw some stuff out.”

“Then why are you searching this place like a madwoman?” Z asked. Syd shrugged.

“Thought maybe I left some stuff in the closet.” Syd said.

“What did you throw out?” Z asked. Syd looked at her bed. Z followed her gaze. Her eyes widened.

“You didn’t…..” Z said, trailing off. Syd looked down. “Peanuts?” Z asked. “Why?” Syd shrugged.

“I thought I was getting to old for all that stuff, so I threw it out.” Syd said. She sighed. “Now I’m totally regretting it.” Z sighed and got up from bed.

“Well, maybe the stuff is still in the dumpster.” Z suggested. Syd eyes lit up.

“Oh my god, I didn’t think of that!” Syd said. She ran out of the room. Z sighed and rolled her eyes, following her roommate. By the time Z got to the escalator to the lower level, Syd was already halfway down, rushing down the stairs. Z picked up her pace to catch up with her and once they were on the floor, Z jogged up to her friend so they reached the dumpster at the same time. Syd took a deep breath and lifted the lid of the dumpster with a relived smile on her face which faded as soon as she looked inside.

“What’s wrong?” Z asked.

“It’s empty.” Z pouted. Syd let the lid fall back in place as she numbly walked away. Z looked at her.

“Are you sure? Maybe your stuff shifted.” Z said. She opened the other side of the lid and saw that that to was empty. “The trash collectors must of come by already.” Z said softly. She sighed and closed the dumpster. She turned to her friend who was standing to the side, looking down. Z went over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Syd shook her head and looked at her friend.

"They're gone Z... And I'm never going to see Peanut again." She whispered before slowly walking away. Z sighed and walked with her, wishing there was a way she could help.

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Sky sat by his bed on the floor with a box in front of him. In it were Syd’s things that she had tried to throw out the other night. He deftly reached in and picked up one of the small stuffed animals from it. He remembered a while ago he had inquire about her collection of the small toys and she told them they were popular back in the late 20th century and were called Beanie Babies. She had gotten them from her grandmother. He ran his finger over the small toy when he heard the sounds of the door swishing open. Sky quickly dropped the toy in the box and shoved it under his bed before it could be seen. He looked over to see Bridge walk in. Bridge gave him a puzzled look.

“What are you doing on the floor?” He asked.

“Just got done doing some sit-ups.” Sky replied.

“But you’re not sweaty or anything.” Bridge countered. Sky got up to his feet.

“What’s with the 3rd degree?” Sky asked.

“What’s with avoiding the question?” Bridge replied. Sky rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, man.” Sky said. Sky stood and left the room that he shared with the green ranger and headed down to the rec room. He hoped that it would be empty so that he could get some quality reading time in. As he approached the room he noticed Syd and Z walking slowly down the hallway, Z's arm through around the shorter girls shoulders. Sky stopped and looked at them? "Syd? Z?" He questioned. The two girls looked up at him. Z's eyes darkened as the brooding blue ranger, where as Syd's were filled with hope.

"Sky!" The pink ranger cried. She ran over to him and stopped and looked at him. "Have you seen the box that I threw out last night?" She questioned. Sky nearly blanched.

“Uh, no, can’t say that I have.” He said. Sky wasn’t sure what made him lie, it just came out. He scratched the back of his head. “Did you check the dumpster?” He asked.

“We just came from there.” Z answered. Syd looked down and sighed.

“I guess it’s in the trash yard now. Well, sorry for bothering you.” She said softly. She walked past him and headed to her room. Z sighed and followed. Sky watched the blonde girl walk with her head down, looking utterly depressed.

“Syd, wait!” He called out. Syd and Z stopped and turned to him.

“Yes, Sky?” She asked. Sky stopped, unsure what to say. He cleared his throat.

“Uh, I took some trash out this morning before the garbage truck came by and I didn’t see the box in there.” He said. Both girls gave them puzzled looks. “Maybe someone took it out.” He said. Syd’s eyes lit up with hope.

“You think so?” She asked. “That’s great, I-“ Syd was cut off by her watch beeping. She looked at her watch. “Damn, I’ve got to go to the studio for some last minute touches on the album.” Syd sighed.

“Hey, why don’t you go ahead, and I’ll ask around, see if anyone knows anything.” Sky offered. Syd smiled.

“Thanks, Sky.” She said. Sky smiled.

"Anytime Syd." He replied. Syd grinned and hurried past him and down towards the vehicle bay. Z looked at the blue ranger in front of her.

"Someone's doing something nice. I take it your trying to redeem yourself for the other night?" She questioned. Sky looked at her.

"Z, what's your problem?" He asked, his face scrunching up a little. Z crossed her arms.

“You really have no idea, do you?” She asked. Sky rolled his eyes.

“No, I don’t!” He replied, exasperated. “I have no idea why you attacked me, I have no idea why for some reason I’m on your worst hated list. I mean, I thought we were all right…….Granted we’re not bosom buddies, but I thought we were like at least on somewhat good terms.” Sky sighed. Z looked at him. "We'd still be on good terms if you hadn't been such a jackass towards Syd!" Z snapped. Sky blinked and looked at her.

"That's what this is about? Because she ran into me, we fell and I caught her? What a stupid reason to be mad at me." He grumbled. Z looked at him.

"It's not WHAT happened, it's what you said to her!" She retorted. Sky gave her a dumbfounded look as he tried to recall what he had said. Z rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say that I’m pretty sure that she threw out her things because of it.” Z said. Sky looked at her. She turned to leave. Sky groaned and went over to her, he grabbed her arm and spun her around. Z snatched her arm away. On the other end of the corridor, Bridge was making his way to the rec room when he saw Sky grab Z’s arm. He stopped. Why are Sky and Z together……alone? He watched the two of them as they talked quietly. Sky was in between Bridge’s line of vision to Z, so he couldn’t see Z’s angry expression, which led to him seeing things differently. Are they………..together? Is that why Sky was so jumpy and secretive before? Is that why she attacked him the other night……did he piss her off? That’s just great…….Sky, the tall good-looking guy gets the girl…….Great, just great. Bridge sighed and turned around and left. While he had been watching, Sky and Z were talking quietly.

“Can you just tell me what I did wrong?” He asked sincerely. Z gave him a look that screamed ‘eat shit and die’. “Please, Z.” He begged.

“You made her feel like an immature little girl.” Z said. “You yelled at her and told her to grow up.” Z said. Sky’s face fell.

“……….I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“Yeah, well you did.” Z retorted. “Are we done?” She asked. She didn’t wait for him to respond before spinning on her heel and walking away. Sighing Sky turned on his heel and headed away from the hallway and back towards his room. Stopping a moment, he waited for the door to open before stepping into his room. He looked over at Bridge's bed and noticed that it was occupied by the green ranger hunched over slightly. Bridge's eyes slowly drifted upwards and narrowed at Sky.

"So when were you planning on telling me?" Bridge asked. Sky looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" He grumbled.

“You know what I’m talking about.” Bridge said. Sky looked at his friend.

“No, I don’t.” Sky said. Bridge got up and walked up to him.

“Whatever, man.” Bridge said, in a defeated tone. “You could’ve told me. I mean, if I knew you liked her, I wouldn’t have even bothered. It’s not like I would’ve had a chance.” Bridge walked past Sky. “I’m going to stay in Jack’s room for a while.” He said. Sky looked at him. Bridge likes Syd? Wait……How did he know I like her? He wondered as the green ranger walked to the door. Sky went over to Bridge.

“Look, man, I didn’t know you liked her too.” Sky said. “But you don’t have to worry about it. I mean, I’m pretty sure Jack’s the one that’s with her.” Bridge turned and faced him.

“What?” He asked, not expecting that.

“You mean you don’t see it? They’re always together. It’s obvious they’re a couple. Did you see how he was with her at training yesterday?” Sky said. He was referring to Jack picking Syd up and taking her off to the infirmary, but to Bridge, he thought he was referring to Jack insisting Z spar with him. Bridge looked down.

“You’re right.” He said. He sighed. He walked back to his bed and sat down, looking down at his hands. Sky sighed and went over to his friend and sat beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure they’re together?” Bridge asked. “I mean, I thought things were totally platonic between them, ya know?”

“So did I, at first.” Sky sighed. “I wish it wasn’t so, believe me.”

“I just can’t believe it.” Bridge said. He got to his feet and paced angrily around the room. “I can’t believe him! All this time, here I thought we were buds and he’s been playing kissy face with her behind my……….behind our backs!” Sky just sat back and let him spew out his feelings. He knew that Bridge, with his abilities, needed to let these emotions out or else they’d build up inside him and cause some serious damage. He understood what Bridge was feeling because he felt it himself. Bridge sighed and slumped against the wall. “I kind of thought maybe she might like me……But, why would anyone like dorky me? I was stupid to ever think Z would want me.” Sky nodded, feeling what he felt, then stopped.

“Wait, what?” He asked, confused. “You like Z?” Bridge looked at him.

“Yeah. And you do too………we’ve been talking about her for the past five minutes.” Bridge said, not getting his incredulous look. Sky looked down for a second and then burst into a fit of chuckles. Bridge shot him a look. “What’s so funny?” He asked. The chuckles evolved into full out laughter. Sky leaned forward and wiped at his eyes that were tearing up from laughing so hard. “We……..Just spent………….this whole conversation……talking about two different people.” Sky said between laughs.

“What?” Bridge asked. Sky slowly let his laughter subside and took a few breaths to calm down.

“I wasn’t talking about Z.” Sky said. Bridge looked at him.

“I’m confused….I thought you liked Z.”

“I thought you liked Syd.” Sky replied. “You like Z?” Sky asked, a little surprised.

“You like Syd?” Bridge replied in the same tone. Bridge thought for a second, taking this all in. “Okay, so I like Z, and you like Syd………who is Jack playing kissy face with?” He asked.

“Syd.” Sky said. Bridge let out a long sigh of relief. Sky gave him a look.

“Sorry.” Bridge said. “So, no one likes Z, right?” Bridge asked, making sure there was no competition for his own sake. Sky gave him a mean look.

“Well, who knows, Boom or Omega might think she’s a hottie.” Sky said snidely.

“Seriously, man.” Bridge pleaded.

“No. No one else is vying for your duplicating, violent psycho, at least not to my knowledge.” Sky said. Bridge gave a relieved smile.

“Great.” He went and sat on his bed next to Sky. The two were silent for a few minutes, taking everything in. “Just so you know, next time you call her a psycho, it’ll be my knee imbedded in your spine.” Bridge said. Sky chuckled.

“All right, sure thing Bridge.” He said.

“Serious. I could take you.” Bridge said.

“If you say so.” Sky said.

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Syd tiredly walked back into the academy and slouched over the railing as she stood on the escalator going up to the main floor. She had been at the studio much longer than she had originally expected. Stacy wanted her to do a few extra things and it had completely wiped the young megastar. She slowly trudged through the empty academy hallways and down towards the guys quarters. She slowed as she came to Bridge and Sky's room and gently rapped her knuckles on the door. She waited a moment before the door swished open and Sky's tall frame towered over her.

"Syd, your back." He commented. She nodded tiredly.

"Yeah, what time is it?" She asked, stifling a yawn. Sky smiled as she rubbed her eyes.

"It's a little after 9." He commented. He waved her into his room and she plopped down on his bed.

"Where's Bridge?" She asked as she leaned back and closed her eyes.

"He's with Z." Sky replied. Syd nodded.

"Oh, did you have any luck finding my stuff?" She asked. Sky shook his head.

"No Syd, I didn't. I'm sorry." He replied sincerely. Syd's eyes opened and she looked at him, her eyes were watering slightly.

"I wish I wouldn't have thrown it out." She whispered as a fear tears slipped down her cheeks. Sky moved over to her and sat on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into his chest, crying.

"I'm sorry Syd. I wish there was something I could do." He murmured. Syd shook her head.

"It's ok Sky, it's my fault." She replied. Sky took a deep breath.

"I bought you something." He told her. She looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "What'd you get me?" She asked, her eyes lighting up softly. He smiled.

"Close your eyes." He whispered as he moved from the bed and towards his closet. He opened it and reached in and grabbed Peanuts. Syd sat patiently on his bed, eyes closed.

"Alright, hold your hands out." He told her. She did so and he gently placed the stuffed elephant into them. "Open your eyes." He spoke gently. Her eyes slid open and stared at the old beaten up elephant in her hands. Syd inhaled sharply as she looked from Sky to her stuffed animal.

"Peanuts!" She cried hugging the animal. Sky smiled warmly at the way she looked. She looked like a mother who had just been reunited with her long lost child—grateful, happy. She was just shining. Syd tiredly looked at Sky. "Thank you, so much." She whispered as she wrapped her arms him and hugged him tightly. Sky smiled and wrapped his arms around the smaller girl. They stayed there for a moment before Sky went to pull away and noticed that Syd wasn't allowing him.

"Syd?" He asked gently. Syd shifted slightly in his arms and a small happy sigh escaped her lips. She'd fallen asleep. Smiling softly, Sky maneuvered himself off the bed and pulled back the covers of his bed with one hand and then gently placed the sleeping princess under the covers. Sky attempted to move away, but Syd's grip tightened around his neck. Sky undid his uniform jacket and slid it off before turning his lamp off and climbing into the bed with Syd. He laid on his back as Syd was curled up beside him, her head on his chest and her arms around his neck. Sky sighed as he ran his hand up and down her back and put his other hand under his head, resting on his arm. He couldn’t help smile a bit at the feel of Syd’s stuffed animal at his side as the item was squished between them. He raised his head and kissed her forehead gently, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. “I love you, Syd.” He whispered. Part of him hoped she might’ve heard that, but she was in a deep sleep. He sighed and laid back. A few minutes later, the door swished open as Bridge walked in. Bridge turned on the light and saw Syd and Sky together. Bridge opened his mouth to say something but Sky quickly put his finger to his lips in a shh motion.

‘What’s going on?’ Bridge mouthed.

‘I’ll tell you later.’ Sky replied. Bridge raised an eyebrow to which Sky shook his head, knowing that his friend was asking if something had happened between them. Bridge went and grabbed his nightclothes, opting to change in the bathroom instead of the room where a female was currently in. Sky watched him leave and laid back, letting the aroma that was Syd lull him into sleep.