Power Rangers In Space, Heather Ray [rooftoppers .TXT] 📗

How can I say this enough? Thank you to everyone that has kept up with all my books! You all are awesome! When I started adapting my fanfiction to these books, I was just doing it in order to introduce the Power Rangers to a new generation and to also help reluctant young readers to find a new love for reading. But I have found out that with each new book there is resounding success! Thank you all so much!

It's Brandy's song from her album "Never Say Never."

Carlos (the narrator in this fic)

, Ashley, and the gang belong to Saban Brands. I'll warn you now… this song isn't too happy. And so, neither is the fanfic. You have been warned.

I'm sure I'm not the first to suffer from unrequited love. You know, when one person loves someone, but that someone doesn't love him back? Actually, this isn't even the first time it's happened to me. I mean, I've had crushes on plenty of girls in my time, and only rarely does it work out that she has some feelings for me in return. It's kinda amazing, when you think about it, how relationships play out. I mean, what are the chances that the one you love will love you back? That the one you choose has actually chosen you? That's what makes romance such a mystery to me. That's why I wasn't really too upset when the girls I had crushes on didn't feel the same.

But that was before I met Ashley Hammond.

Have you ever loved somebody so much
It makes you cry?
Have you ever needed something so hard
You can't sleep at night?
Have ever tried to find the words
But they don't come out right?
Have you ever?
Have you ever?

Now, the old rules don't make sense anymore. The former logic offers little comfort. The difference is simple: this isn't just some schoolboy crush. Believe me, I tried to pass it off as just that. I tried to tell myself that there are other fish in the sea, and that I'd get over her. What's one crush among a dozen?

Well, in this case, it's the only one that matters.

I can say, without the slightest hint of uncertainty, that I love Ashley. I mean, I really love her. It's more than a queasy feeling when I'm alone with her. It's… like I can't picture my life without her in it. I've only known her for a year or so, but that's all it takes. I can't imagine not seeing her sweet, slightly mischievous smile, huge, expressive brown eyes, or full, golden-brown hair. The ring of her laughter gives me a warm feeling, and it's enough to make a shy guy like me make a fool of himself trying to be a clown, just to hear it. Her love of life in infectious… I don't know how many times she's literally dragged me around Angel Grove to see a new movie, go to a carnival, or something like that. Her willpower is admirable too. She refuses to give up on anything. When she took shop in school, she was determined to master auto-mechanics, despite the fact that she was the only girl in the class. She wouldn't accept failure… and she never has failed yet. She always gets what she wants.

But I guess there's one thing she got that she didn't want. My heart.

Have you ever been in love
Been in love so bad
You'd do anything to make them understand?
Have you ever had someone steal your heart away?
You'd give anything to make them feel the same,
Have you ever searched for words to get you in their heart
But you don't know what to say?
And you don't know where to start?

No, it's not speculation. It's the truth. I wouldn't be so crushed if I didn't know for sure that nothing will ever happen between us. She told me so. Well, not in so many words, but the point was made.

A few weeks ago, I felt brave enough to confront her about our relationship. It wasn't long after her grandmother came to town, and Ashley pretended that I was her boyfriend. To put it mildly, I was stunned and excited at the same time that she'd pick me to play the part. I couldn't get it off my mind in the days that followed. I kept wondering… was this some kind of hint she was trying to give me? Did she really love me like that? Why'd she pick me, instead of TJ or Andros? Why'd she pretend at all that she had a boyfriend? After all, if Ashley didn't already have someone in mind, what would be so wrong with having a blind date?

So, I built up the courage to ask her out. It was just her and me on the Megaship, while TJ and Cassie dragged Andros to a baseball game, to introduce him to America's favorite pastime. Ashley couldn't stand baseball, and politely refused to go. I saw my opportunity, and declined as well.

Finally, we were alone.

So, I knocked on her door.

"Come in, Carlos," she called. I realized I was the only other person on the ship, so I shouldn't have been surprised that she knew it was me. But for some reason, it still unsettled me a bit… like she could read my mind or something.

Anyway, I opened the door, and walked into her bedroom. She was lying on her bed on her stomach, reading some romance novel she picked up from the mall last time she went. She smiled up at me when I came in, and I could feel my knees buckle.

"What's up?" she asked, laying a glittery yellow bookmark on the page she ended on.

"I… uh… I was wondering…"

Great. I was stammering! It was Ashley, the person I know on this team better than anyone else, and I couldn't feel my arms, my knees were weak, and I couldn't utter a complete sentence! I prayed I didn't sound as pathetic as I felt.

Ashley watched me patiently, an amused grin on her face. She wasn't laughing at me, though. That was a good sign. "Try this," she recommended, sitting up on her bed, "take a deep breath, collect your thoughts, and then spit it out. It works for me when I can't find the right words."

I nodded, and took a deep breath. My God, I felt like the biggest idiot to ever breathe oxygen. But no matter what, I couldn't turn back. I just couldn't.

"I was wondering that since it's just you and me tonight if you'd like to go get something to eat on Earth," I spat out in one breath. That's when the tension set in. Typically, that would be a perfectly harmless question. Ashley and I go to the Surf Spot, or some place similar, all the time. She wouldn't have suspected a thing… if only I didn't show such nervousness. That made my true question as clear as crystal. She could tell what I really wanted to know, just by the flushed expression on my face.

I really didn't like the quiet that followed. Each passing second felt like an hour. I realized the longer it took for Ashley to answer me, the worse off it looked for the two of us as a couple. It felt like I could have destroyed an army of Quantrons single-handedly in half the time it took Ashley to open her mouth!

"Sit down, Carlos," she said quietly, patting her bed beside her. I felt stiff, but somehow I managed to get to the bed and sit down