Power Rangers Jungle Fury, Lily, Theo
Title: Years to Catch Up On
Rating: G
Characters: Lily+Theo friendship
Summary: After the events of Dance the Night Away, Lily and Theo still have to talk to make things right.
Theo cornered Lily the second Casey went downstairs to take his turn closing out the pizza parlor. Every muscle in Lily’s body ached from the long hours of dance lessons punctuated by actual battle, and she had just about decided to collapse where she stood when she saw Theo approaching her, an uncharacteristically uncertain expression on his face.
“Look, Lily…” he began.
“Yeah, Theo?” she responded, when it seemed as if he was going to stop there. Theo’s mouth worked without any sound coming out, like he couldn’t find the right words. Lily wondered if she had ever seen Theo speechless before. “Theo?”
“Would you rather hang out with Casey than me?” he blurted.
“What?” Lily stared at Theo’s slowly reddening but mulishly determined face and realized that no, she had not misheard him. Frustration coupled with exhaustion bubbled up within her and emerged as anger. “Not this again!”
“Just the one question, Lily, and I swear I’ll never bring it up again. Just…please, I need to know.”
“Theo, what is this about?” Lily demanded. “I told you already today, you and Casey are both my friends!”
“I know that!” Theo looked pained. “But…if you had the choice…and you could only hang out with one of us, who would you choose?”
“I can’t believe this. I’m not even going to consider making that choice. This isn’t grade school, Theo; we’re allowed to have more than one friend!”
“Lily, I don’t want you to make that choice!” At her look of frank disbelief, he rushed on, “I don’t, really. I know how that sounded. I just…these last few days it feels like you’ve already made it. And you didn’t choose me.”
“What?” Lily began to feel like she was set on repeat.
“Look, maybe I’m overreacting. But you’re always playing around with him, you hardly left his side after that scorpion thing’s attack, and then today I thought you’d forgotten our lunch - thing - and I come up here to find you dancing for him, and-”
“Okay, Theo, I got it!” Lily responded, holding up a hand. But Theo was not one to let anyone else have the last word.
“I just feel like - I don’t know, like I’ve been replaced. And if you really would rather have Casey as your best friend, then - well, obviously I don’t like it, but I just need to know, okay?”
“Theo. Listen to me.” He quieted, but only reluctantly. “You will always be my best friend.” She took in his slightly disbelieving face and continued quickly. “You’ve been there for me every day since we joined the academy. That will never change.” She held up a hand, and this time succeeded in keeping Theo quiet. “But you have to be okay with the fact that Casey is my friend too. And he’d be yours, if you guys could stop treating me like a prized catnip mouse.”
“Lily, that’s not what I…”
“I know that’s not what you meant. But that’s certainly what it felt like. And I am sorry that you felt like I was replacing you. Casey’s so new at this, you know? I was just trying to help him feel a little less overwhelmed. I didn’t mean to leave you out. I’m sorry.” She studied his face, observing the softening lines. “Friends?” she asked, suddenly more hesitant than she had felt all day. The few seconds seemed like ages before Theo nodded, then smiled at her.
“Friends.”
Happiness and relief rushed over her all at once, and impulsively she reached out and hugged Theo hard. As always, he yelped and extracted himself instantly. “Personal space, Lily!”
“I know, I know.” As always, she made a mental note to ignore it, then linked arms with him as she dragged him towards RJ’s TV screens. She smiled as she felt him tense up, then relax against her. “Now, let’s see if any of RJ’s 1250 channels has anything decent to watch. We have years to catch up on!”
“Yeah, Lily. Years.”
Rating: G
Characters: Lily+Theo friendship
Summary: After the events of Dance the Night Away, Lily and Theo still have to talk to make things right.
Theo cornered Lily the second Casey went downstairs to take his turn closing out the pizza parlor. Every muscle in Lily’s body ached from the long hours of dance lessons punctuated by actual battle, and she had just about decided to collapse where she stood when she saw Theo approaching her, an uncharacteristically uncertain expression on his face.
“Look, Lily…” he began.
“Yeah, Theo?” she responded, when it seemed as if he was going to stop there. Theo’s mouth worked without any sound coming out, like he couldn’t find the right words. Lily wondered if she had ever seen Theo speechless before. “Theo?”
“Would you rather hang out with Casey than me?” he blurted.
“What?” Lily stared at Theo’s slowly reddening but mulishly determined face and realized that no, she had not misheard him. Frustration coupled with exhaustion bubbled up within her and emerged as anger. “Not this again!”
“Just the one question, Lily, and I swear I’ll never bring it up again. Just…please, I need to know.”
“Theo, what is this about?” Lily demanded. “I told you already today, you and Casey are both my friends!”
“I know that!” Theo looked pained. “But…if you had the choice…and you could only hang out with one of us, who would you choose?”
“I can’t believe this. I’m not even going to consider making that choice. This isn’t grade school, Theo; we’re allowed to have more than one friend!”
“Lily, I don’t want you to make that choice!” At her look of frank disbelief, he rushed on, “I don’t, really. I know how that sounded. I just…these last few days it feels like you’ve already made it. And you didn’t choose me.”
“What?” Lily began to feel like she was set on repeat.
“Look, maybe I’m overreacting. But you’re always playing around with him, you hardly left his side after that scorpion thing’s attack, and then today I thought you’d forgotten our lunch - thing - and I come up here to find you dancing for him, and-”
“Okay, Theo, I got it!” Lily responded, holding up a hand. But Theo was not one to let anyone else have the last word.
“I just feel like - I don’t know, like I’ve been replaced. And if you really would rather have Casey as your best friend, then - well, obviously I don’t like it, but I just need to know, okay?”
“Theo. Listen to me.” He quieted, but only reluctantly. “You will always be my best friend.” She took in his slightly disbelieving face and continued quickly. “You’ve been there for me every day since we joined the academy. That will never change.” She held up a hand, and this time succeeded in keeping Theo quiet. “But you have to be okay with the fact that Casey is my friend too. And he’d be yours, if you guys could stop treating me like a prized catnip mouse.”
“Lily, that’s not what I…”
“I know that’s not what you meant. But that’s certainly what it felt like. And I am sorry that you felt like I was replacing you. Casey’s so new at this, you know? I was just trying to help him feel a little less overwhelmed. I didn’t mean to leave you out. I’m sorry.” She studied his face, observing the softening lines. “Friends?” she asked, suddenly more hesitant than she had felt all day. The few seconds seemed like ages before Theo nodded, then smiled at her.
“Friends.”
Happiness and relief rushed over her all at once, and impulsively she reached out and hugged Theo hard. As always, he yelped and extracted himself instantly. “Personal space, Lily!”
“I know, I know.” As always, she made a mental note to ignore it, then linked arms with him as she dragged him towards RJ’s TV screens. She smiled as she felt him tense up, then relax against her. “Now, let’s see if any of RJ’s 1250 channels has anything decent to watch. We have years to catch up on!”
“Yeah, Lily. Years.”