Love Notes from a Secret Admirer
by
the real vampire
Disclaimer: The only thing of Power Rangers: SPD I own is a signed photograph of Matt Austin, that is why this is fanfiction. Or... I'm tricking you all because I do own them... mwahahahahaha... Yeah, I wish!
Summery: It's Valentines Day at SPD and love is in the air. Syd is receiving unsigned love notes, but just who is her secret admirer? And why is Sky acting so strangely?
Read, review, but most importantly, enjoy!
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“I hate Valentines Day!”
Elizabeth ‘Z’ Delago looked over in surprise at her blonde-haired roommate. Of all the people she knew, Sydney Drew, pink ranger and Princess of SPD, was the last person she would expect to hate Valentines Day.
“What?” Syd caught the expression on Z’s face.
“Why?” the yellow ranger asked.
“Because it sucks! I have never gotten a card or anything for it.” Syd pouted.
“Never?” There was an incredulous tone in Z’s voice.
“Well of course I get loads from my fans, but no real ones. Not from someone I could have a relationship with.” She flicked her hair, “That’s why it sucks.”
Z stared at her for a second before shaking her head. “I don’t believe you,” she said as she stood up.
“Where are you going?” the pink ranger asked, wondering what she had said to offend the brown haired girl.
“To the common room,” Z answered, but turned just before she got to the door. “For your information Syd, I’ve never had a Valentines Day card either. And when I say never I mean not ever ever; ‘real’ or not.” And with that she spun around and walked out.
Syd sighed and lay back on her bed, hugging Peanuts. She hadn’t been completely honest with Z when she had told her why she hated Valentines Day. The truth was, there was a certain somebody she wanted a card from. She had debated telling them, but as she was pretty sure Sky did not harbour secret feelings for her, decided against it as it might possibly damage the fragile balance of peace that the team had only just reached. And make herself look like an idiot in the process. No, it was better to let thing stay as they were, and hope that maybe one day, Sky would return her feelings.
Little did Syd know that somewhere, someone else was thinking exactly that same, but, unlike her, they were not going to let things stay as they were; they were going to make their feelings for her very, very clear very, very soon…
XxX
“Hey Z,” Jack greeted her as she entered the common room. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” she muttered as she threw herself down onto the chair beside him.
A knowing grin spread across his face, “Ah, le love,” he said in a dodgy French accent.
She gave him an evil look. “Don’t go there.”
He simply smiled and turned away. Before Z could start to question him, the door to the common room burst open and Bridge entered. The green ranger marched straight up to Z and held out a pale yellow envelope.
“Happy Valentines Day,” he said, proudly.
“For me?” Z stared at him.
Bridge blushed, “Yeah, I chose it myself.”
Jack stared at Bridge for a second before virtually exploding at him, “You’re not supposed to admit that you got it her!”
“But I did, get it her that is. I didn’t sign my name in it like you told me not too,” he defended himself.
Z, who had opened the card while Jack was berating Bridge, gave a snort of laughter.
“What did he write?” the red ranger asked in a resigned tone.
“To Z. Happy Valentines Day. Would you like to come out with me to dinner tonight? If you want to that is. You don’t have to, but I would like you to, if you have time. Yours secretly, your buttery green ranger friend.”
Bridge turned crimson, Z started laughing and Jack put his head in his hands. “I don’t think he’s quite got the hang of Valentines Day has he?” he complained.
Z stood up, a massive grin on her face, “I think it’s just wonderful,” she said and gave the embarrassed green ranger a kiss on the cheek. “I would love to have dinner with you tonight.”
Just then the doors opened and Sky entered. He didn’t say anything to the others, just raised his eyebrows at the looks on their faces, before sitting down. “I don’t want to know,” he said as Bridge opened his mouth.
Z, Bridge and Jack exchanged glances. The blue ranger didn’t seem to be in a good mood this morning.
XxX
Meanwhile, Syd was still in her room. She’d got up finally, got dressed and as she was doing her make-up her thoughts turned to Sky. They had been friends a long time, ever since she’d joined SPD, but she’d never had feelings for Sky until recently when the newly appointed blue-ranger had begun to thaw out a bit… Her musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Come in,” she called, concentrating fiercely on her mascara. But the door didn’t slide open.
Puzzled, she left her make-up and opened the door herself. There was no one outside, and the corridor was deserted. Just as she was about to go back inside, her foot nudged against something on the floor and she looked down to find a bunch of twelve pink roses lying there. Her mouth opened in a tiny ‘oh’ of surprise and she bent down to pick them up. As she did so, a small card fell out. Picking that up as well, she read the simple message written on it in neat, flowing hand: Syd, Be my Valentine?
It was unsigned. She turned it over, but the back was blank. Could it be Sky? Ever since Jack and Z had joined the team, Sky had begun to change. At first it was only subtle differences, but now it was clear that he wasn’t the stuck up, serious ‘by-the-book’ Cadet Tate that he had been. He was almost fun, but more than that, he was caring, so maybe this was something he would do…
A smile began to form at the corners of her mouth and she took the roses carefully into her room and put them in a jar of water. After arranging them to perfection she ran out of her room to the common room, hoping that the blue ranger would be there and admit that he was the one who had sent her the roses.
XxX
“Whoa, where’s the fire?” Jack asked as she came running through the door.
“I got a Valentines Day card, a proper one,” she exclaimed excitedly.
“Who’s it from? Bridge asked.
“I don’t know! That’s why it’s a proper one. It was left outside my room with twelve pink roses. See!” The others, apart from Sky, crowded in to have a look.
“I don’t recognise the writing,” Jack said, frowning in concentration.
“Me neither.” Z studied the card before turning to Bridge, “Can you like, read its aura and find out?”
Bridge shrugged and removed his glove, “I guess I can try.” He took the small card and concentrated. Nothing happened for a second and then his eyes widened.
“What? Who is it?” Syd asked, stealing a look at Sky. He was engrossed in a book and apparently oblivious to what was going on.
The green ranger shook his head, “I don’t know who it is, but they really like you Syd. The aura’s sort of deep blue, which stands for love.”
Syd sighed, “It was worth a try.”
“Wait, Sky sees a lot of cadets. Maybe he recognises the writing.” The four of them turned expectantly to the blue ranger.
He looked straight at Syd for a second, and she felt her knees go weak and her heart begin to race. Only when his eyes left her face and he came over to look at the card could she breathe again. Glancing about, Syd was relieved to find no one had noticed, even though she was sure she was being obvious. She had managed to hide her feelings so far, but for such an open person, Syd was finding it increasingly difficult.
Sky studied the small card for a moment, but shook his head. “Not a clue,” he said shortly. “And to be honest I don’t care. We should be more worried about Grumm than some love-stuck cadet.” With that, he turned and walked out of the common room.
Syd couldn’t prevent the disappointment well up as she watched the blue ranger leave. Z, seeing her expression, put her arm around the girl’s shoulders, “Don’t worry about him Syd. He’s been in a real mood this morning.”
“Yeah,” Bridge chipped in, “You’ll find out who this guy is I’m sure. He likes you so much, he won’t be able to keep away from you.”
Syd managed a smile, but she wasn’t worried about the guy who had sent her the card. “Thanks guys. I guess we’ve got a mission on our hands.”
But before they could come up with an action plan, Kat’s voice sounded over the speakers, “Rangers to the Command Centre.”
XxX
“Well that was easy,” Jack said as the rangers arrived back at SPD headquarters after apprehending another criminal.
“And now we can get back to the important matter of my secret admirer.” Syd smiled at the thought, and her eyes returned to the blue ranger.
“Whatever,” Sky muttered, pushing past them and disappearing down towards his room.
“What is with him today?” Z asked, but not even Bridge knew. As they all entered the common room, the green ranger removed his glove and waved his hand after the departing blue ranger and smiled at what was revealed.
“Who’s up for a game of light ball?” Jack asked.
“As long as you don’t hit Sam by mistake like last time,” Z muttered.
“I need to get my glove from my room,” Syd said. “I’ll be two seconds.” And with that she hurried away.
She entered her room and grabbed her light ball glove, trying to push thoughts of Sky out of her head. Why was he being so nasty today? Had she been wrong about him? Just as she was about to leave, she couldn’t resist checking herself in the mirror, and that was when she found the small pink card tucked into the frame. Puzzled, she removed it and, in the same neat handwriting was another message; You looked great out there today Syd. Still waiting for your answer though.
Light ball forgotten, she ran back to the common room to show the others. Bridge attempted to read the aura again, but came to the same conclusion as before.
“Ok, let’s think about this logically,” Jack said, looking at the two cards in front of him. “They know who you are. They must have seen today’s battle and they must have had time to put this in your room before you got back. Ring any bells?”
Z shook her head, “Someone who has access to the Command Centre… Boom?”
As they all laughed at that, Syd felt her hopes rise; Someone who saw me out there fighting today…could it be Sky?
“It’s not Boom’s writing.” Bridge confirmed it was not Kat’s hapless assistant, “Besides, he likes Kat…” he trailed off. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“We didn’t hear it,” Z said with a smirk.
“So who could it be?”
XxX
By lunchtime Syd, Jack, Z and Bridge had, after coming to a dead-end with Syd’s ‘love-notes’, gone back to Jack’s original plan of playing light ball. Sky had made a brief appearance but then had left again to do something in the Command Centre, much to Syd’s disappointment. In the end, Jack and Z had teamed up against Bridge and Syd and were beating them quite spectacularly. Then, to the pink and green rangers’ relief, a knock on the door interrupted the game.
“Come in?” Jack called.
The door slid open to reveal a nervous looking cadet, “Uh a message for Cadet Drew.”
Syd got up from where she lay sprawled on the floor after over reaching to try and catch the ball of light, “Message?”
“Uh yeah, this was left at the front desk for you,” the cadet said and held out a small pink card, similar to the two she had found earlier that morning.
The pink ranger took the proffered card and smiled at the cadet. “Thank you. Dismissed.” The cadet saluted and left. Only once he had gone did she turn the card over to read it. Good game Syd, but you need to relax your hand a bit more when you reach for the ball. Trust me, you’ll catch it better that way. Love xxx.
Syd looked up at the others in confusion, “Ok, this is getting weird.”
XxX
Unknown to the four rangers, a hidden watcher smiled to himself at their antics. His plan was working – now for the final part and final message…
XxX
Syd, will you be my Valentine? If your answer is yes, please meet me at 8pm this evening on the roof terrace of Sector B. All my love.
Syd stared at the message she had found pinned to her door when she returned to her room after training that afternoon. Speechlessly, she handed it to Z who was walking behind her.
“Let’s show the boys and see what they say,” the yellow ranger suggested.
The two girls went to the common room where Jack, Bridge and Sky were sprawled out across the chairs ‘chilling’. “I got another message,” Syd said, casually glancing at Sky as she handed the card to Jack. He and Bridge crowded in to see.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Bridge asked, “You going to meet this guy?”
“I don’t know.” Syd sighed, “I want to, but I don’t know what to expect. What if he turns out to be some idiot, or worse?” Good excuse Syd she thought. Even though it seemed foolish, she was still hoping Sky would turn around and ask her out or something.
Jack laughed and put his arm across her shoulders, “Syd, the guy has access to SPD; he’s not going to be some crazy person.”
Z raised her eyebrows, “Well they let you in didn’t they?” Ignoring the look of mock hurt on the red ranger’s face, she turned to the blonde girl, “Syd, I say go for it. If you’re worried, take your morpher. Then if it does go bad, you can call for back up. But seriously, Jack’s right, they’ve got access to SPD.”
Syd bit her lip and then turned to Sky, hoping against hope that he would say something to indicate that he liked her, “What do you think Sky?”
The blue ranger, who had remained silent until now, shrugged, “I don’t. It’s your choice Syd. If you want to meet this guy, go for it. I couldn’t care either way.” He stood up, “I’m going to grab a shower and then turn in. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Have fun.” And with that he walked out.
Syd felt her eyes fill with tears but managed to swallow back the lump in her throat. Luckily the others hadn’t noticed. Fine then, if he didn’t care then she was going to meet someone who obviously did…“I guess I should go and get ready then.”
“So you’re going?” Jack asked.
She forced a smile, “Why not? Come on Z, we’ve got some preening to do. See you boys later.” She grabbed Z by the arm and towed the yellow ranger out of the common room.
“Preening?” Z asked as they walked back to their dorm.
“Well you want to look nice for your date with Bridge tonight don’t you?” Syd said with a smirk. “Come on, let’s get you looking gorgeous.”
XxX
“It’ll be ok,” Z reassured Syd as she put the finishing touches to her outfit; a pale yellow 50’s dress with a matching hairband to keep her loose brown hair off her face. There was a tentative knock on the door and Z turned with a suddenly scared expression to Syd, “How do I look?” There was a hint of panic in her voice.
Now it was Syd’s turn to smile reassuringly, “You look beautiful”
Z managed to smile back and then opened the door. Judging by the expression on Bridge’s face as he saw his date, the pink ranger had been right. “You look…wow,” he said, mouth open.
Z smiled shyly. “You look good too,” she said, looking at him in his smart jeans, green t-shirt and black blazer.
“Ready?” he asked and held out his arm.
Putting her arm through his, Z nodded, “Let’s go. Good luck Syd,” she added as they walked out.
“Have fun guys,” Syd called after them, before returning her attention to the mirror. Make-up finished, she checked the time – 7:45. Ok, fifteen minutes to decide what to wear. Not a problem…
XxX
Twenty minutes later Syd looked at herself critically in the mirror, surrounded by piles of clothes from her discarded outfits. She had finally settled on a pair of pale blue jeans teamed with a black top that came to mid-thigh and a pink belt, topped off with back stilettos. Not bad. Making sure her morpher was tucked safely into her back pocket, and with one last glance at her reflection, she hurried out of her room and headed for Sector B. She arrived at the roof terrace at quarter past eight to find it deserted apart from a small table set for two. She walked forward to the table to find a single pink rose tied with a blue ribbon. About to pick it up, she jumped as a shockingly familiar voice behind her spoke.
“How did I know you’d be late?”
Syd spun around and gasped at who stood there, “You!”
Sky gave her a shy smile, “Yeah, me. Sorry if I disappointed you.”
“What? No, I’m not disappointed, really.” Syd’s voice came out a breathless rush. “I just…I mean, the way you were acting today… I thought you didn’t care.”
Sky’s expression softened, “I care about you more than you know,” he whispered.
Syd felt her heart skip a beat at the tone in his voice, but then her forehead furrowed in puzzlement, “I don’t understand. Your behaviour today… If you like me that much why pretend you had no interest in me?”
Sky took a deep breath, “I wanted to surprise you, properly surprise you, so I thought if I pretended I didn’t care about today, I would be the last person on your list of suspects. I had the perfect opportunity to do something special for you, so while you guys thought I was sulking or whatever I left you those notes.” He smiled, “I have to admit, it was quite funny watching you try and figure out who was sending you them.” He hesitated.
“What else?” Syd asked, sensing there was more to Sky’s story than he was letting on.
“I was scared you wouldn’t like me in the way I liked you. I didn’t want to make a public fool of myself, so this way I thought you could at least reject me in private.” He looked down at the floor.
Syd was stunned. She had never seen Sky so unsure of himself, so vulnerable, before. “Why do you assume I’m going to reject you?”
He looked up sharply at that, “Well because you’re this beautiful, smart, intelligent woman who could have any guy she wanted in the flash of an eye. You’re not going to want some dull guy like me.”
Syd, her heart racing, was quiet for a second before, “You think I’m beautiful Sky?” she asked.
“Of course I do. You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”
She blushed at that and then took in his black trousers and open-necked blue shirt, “You’re not too bad yourself. So… what are we eating?”
“Eating?”
“Well this table is set for two,” she said, picking up the rose left on the table and running the blue ribbon through her fingers, “And there is two of us.”
He laughed and pulled out a chair for her to sit down, before revealing a large cheese-and-tomato pizza. She raised an eyebrow and he smiled, “Well my lack of culinary skills is legendary and I think if I’d tried to get anything else it would have made people suspicious.”
“And a large pizza for one person isn’t suspicious?”
“I get hungry.”
Syd laughed, “It’s my favourite.”
“Well tuck in then!”
After they had finished eating, Sky got up and walked around to Syd, “Would you care for a dance?”
Syd looked about, “But there’s no music.”
He smiled, “So?” He held out a hand and Syd, with a smile, accepted.
Sky led her away from the table into a clear space, placed one hand around her waist and held her other hand. After a moment Syd took her free hand and hooked her arm around his neck. She giggled and blushed, looking away from him. Sky flashed a grin at her as they moved softly in the moonlight, dancing to the silent music. Syd bit her lip but couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face as Sky spun her away from him and then back into his arms. She looked up into his blue eyes and felt her heart skip a beat. Realisation struck her like lightening in the darkness – she had fallen for Sky. She had really liked him before this, but tonight she had seen another side to the blue ranger and had found herself drawn to him. Now, safe in his arms, she couldn’t imagine anything else. It just seemed so… natural.
Sky found himself staring back into Syd’s blue eyes and knew, in that one moment, that he loved her. Tentatively, he reached down and caught her lips in a breathtaking kiss. Breaking apart, the pink ranger rested her head on Sky’s shoulder. “Syd?” he whispered in her ear as nestled against him.
“Hm?”
“You never answered my question.” She looked up at him and he smiled, “Will you be my Valentine?”
Her face broke into a dazzling smile, “Yes,” she whispered back and kissed him firmly on the lips. He grinned and looked down at her as her head returned to his shoulder. They danced in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of just being so close to each other. “Sky?” Syd said at last, “I don’t think you’re dull at all.”
He stopped and held her back a little from him, “What?”
“Earlier, you said I would never want a dull guy like you. But I don’t think you’re dull at all. In fact, there is no one else I would want more. You know today, I was so upset because I really thought you didn’t care. I was hoping it was you that had sent me the notes, but then you were so uninterested and that hurt. I really like you Sky.” She paused, “I guess what I’m trying to ask you is, will you be more than my Valentine? That, after today is over, we’re still going to be together?”
Sky’s face lit up into a grin that made her knees go weak, “Oh Syd, of course.” He picked her up and spun her around, then lowered her down so their lips met in a kiss that left them both gasping.
Staring deep into Sky’s eyes, Syd knew she had made the right decision coming here tonight, even if she had thought the blue ranger didn’t care for her. Now she knew how wrong she had been and, held tightly in Sky’s warm embrace, it was the best Valentines Day she could have wished for.
The End.