Hey guys, I'm back! I was gonna update this much earlier, but I came down with a very bad case of the stomach flu right before my computer decided to start acting up, so I wasn't able to get on to post. I'm okay now though and out with a new (very fast moving) chapter! Hope you like it!

Warning: This chapter contains slightly mature themes, if it bothers/offends you, feel free to skip!

Rowan was sitting in the corner of Downtown Cafe, sipping occasionally on his coffee while he read through this textbooks. It was the early evening, and even though he was invited to dinner with the others, he had decided to stay away and study, telling them he didn't have time to meet with them.

The others had believed him and didn't give him a hard time about it, though he did feel a bit bad about blowing them off. He never had many friends growing up since he was always busy with what his parents wanted him to do, so it was an adjustment to get used to always having plans with others.

In all honesty, it even made him uncomfortable sometimes given how open and friendly the others were with him, some being better than others. He was acquainted with Russ and friendly with David, Sofia, and Riley. The only two that really stuck out were Dylan and Topher.

On one hand was Dylan, who he was quite fond of and had connected with right away. Besides his friendship with her, he thought she was very pretty and had an interest in her, though they had just met so he wasn't trying to do anything with her at the moment.

Then there was Topher, who he knew also had an interest in Dylan, and was much more outspoken in that sense. He was clear in letting people know that he wanted her and he wasn't ashamed about it. Because of Rowan's feelings as well, Topher had taken a slight dislike of Rowan, and vise-versa.

Part of Rowan's dislike towards him, however, could be that he didn't want to deal with the drama someone like Topher could bring, but it could also be that he didn't think he truly liked Dylan, but just wanted her for a fun time.

He didn't think she deserved that, and was distrustful of Topher's intentions.

How he got so protective over a girl he barely knows, Rowan isn't sure, but he knows that he is and he wants to keep her happy. Perhaps it was because he hadn't met a girl like her before, or maybe it was because he just felt something there.

It doesn't really matter to him why, as long as everything was fine. He'd figure it out soon enough, that he was sure of.

Now that he had been thinking to himself about the others, Rowan regretted not going to dinner with them even more. He sighed and closed his book, rubbing a hand over his face when he heard the bell ring at the front door.

Looking up, he was surprised to see Riley walking in, her expression entirely unimpressed. She walked over to him and crossed her arms. "So, you're too busy to have dinner, huh?"

"Uhh..." Rowan blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just..."

"Look, I'm not here to give you shit for it," Riley sat down gracefully, giving him a coy look. "I actually escaped from dinner to invite you to a party tonight."

Rowan chuckled. "How'd you escape?"

"You know," Riley shrugged nonchalantly. "Told them I had to get ready for something. Dylan and Topher were doing the same, so I figured it wouldn't be that obvious."

He raised an eyebrow. "Dylan and Topher?"

She gave him a sly smirk. "You jealous?" Riley asked, catching him off guard. She laughed at his expression. "Don't worry, it's not like that. They're going too, but the others aren't really interested this weekend. The other guys are going.. I don't know, like fishing, or something, and Sofia and her brother are spending the weekend together."

"So, it's just the four of us," Rowan concluded. "For the whole weekend?"

"Well, you don't have to do it the whole weekend, but there are parties the whole weekend if you wanted to. We were just wondering if you wanted to come tonight," Riley explained. "Come on, Dylan's gonna be there, and she's not on a date with Topher."

"You don't need to tell me that." He said, looking shyly to the side.

Riley rolled her eyes. "Oh yes I do. Just come, alright? You'll have fun."

"Okay, sure." Rowan nodded, smiling at her as she gave him a clap on the shoulder and exited the cafe, before he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

- Cue Opening -

Later that night, Dylan was standing idly next to Riley, who was drinking and talking up a guy next to the bar. She was looking around to see if anyone she knew was there, since she felt a bit awkward being the third wheel to Riley, who was obviously trying to pick up someone to take home.

"Hey," A deep voice said from behind her, and she turned to see a man she had never met before. He was around her age and holding two drinks in hand, smirking seductively at her. "You know, I've never seen you around here before. I would recognize such a beautiful face."

Dylan gave him an amused look. "Oh yeah? Well, I've been here plenty of times since I started at HHU,"

"Well, I suppose we should get to know each other, given that we haven't met yet," He leaned against the bar, not letting go of his drinks. "I'm Foster."

"Dylan," She introduced herself, though it was clear she wasn't interested from her expression and tone of voice.

Foster chuckled, "Isn't that a guy's name?"

She shrugged, unimpressed. "Yeah, I guess. You can blame my mom for that, if you'd like."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, don't get mad on me, I was just joking, girl," He nudged her, before offering her one of his drinks. "You want one? It's from a secret stash in the back of some really good stuff."

"How dumb do you think I am?" Dylan crossed her arms, looking him up and down. "You think I'm just gonna take a drink for some strange guy I've never met before at a college party? That's how girls get roofied and raped. No thank you."

"If you don't even know me then how do you know I would do that?" Foster asked, giving her a look.

Dylan gave him a look back, "How do I know you wouldn't? Besides, I saw you and a few of your friends passing out drinks to a few girls earlier, and now I don't see them." She told him, watching his expression turn dark. "Yeah, now can you go? I'm waiting for someone,"

"Of course you are," Foster glared at her. "Though I don't know what any guy would want with a girl like you. You don't have anything besides looks,"

"My relationships are my business, but just to be clear, you don't even have looks," Dylan retorted. "Let alone personality or morals," She looked around, before turning back to Riley, who was still chatting up another guy. "Hey, do you know where Topher went?"

Riley shook her head, distractedly. "No, I haven't seen him."

Foster laughed, "Topher Allen? Oh, girl, you got played so hard. He's a total player with a different girl every night, including tonight. Good luck with that, bitch." He snorted as he walked away with his drinks, glaring at her.

She huffed impatiently, turning back to Riley. "What about Rowan?"

"Nope," Riley responded again, before leaning in to kiss the guy with her.

Dylan rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm gonna go walk to Rowan's apartment and see if he's there. Be right back." She said, leaving before Riley had time to respond, not that she was going to.

The white ranger made her way out of the party, tugging at the opposite ends of her dress to cover herself more than she was. She felt strangely exposed being alone now, especially in the dark of the night.

Not only that, but it was oddly quiet, and that unnerved her. She figured, given the size of the party, that there would be plenty of people mingling around outside. She was just glad that she didn't have to walk far to get to Rowan's apartment, since it was only down the street.

Approaching a nearby park, she took a deep breath as she began to walk down the dark path. It was the fastest way to get to Rowan, and Dylan wasn't in the mood to spend anymore time out in the open than she had to.

As she continued on the path, making sure to keep to herself, she quickly realized that she could hear footsteps fast approaching her from behind. Dylan began to reach into her small clutch purse for her phone when two large arms suddenly wrapped around her body and grabbed her.

She screamed in shock, struggling and kicking to get out of the man's grip.

"Let go of me!" Dylan cried, trying to grab at his hands, but he had their arms wrapped around her arms as well, making it difficult. "Let go!"

Thinking all of the ways this could go wrong, Dylan used her ability to make everything around them as cold as possible, hoping it would fend him off, though he hardly seemed phased. He began to drag her along with her, despite her struggles and loud protests.

It actually surprised her at how no one could hear her yelling, or that no one was coming if they could. She cursed to herself and didn't let up on her struggle, knowing that she would at least have a better chance by fighting back than not.

After having enough of her fighting back, the man yanked her to the side and threw her onto the ground, pinning her down. Dylan screamed again as he grabbed her by the face, forcing her to look at him. Once she did so, she spit in his face, making slam her on the concrete again, but she didn't let up on struggle.

"Hey!" An angry, booming voice yelled.

Before he could do anything further to her, he was punched hard in the face. The man looked up, only to be grabbed by the other figure and slammed into a nearby wall. It was strange, however, since the figure seemed to be concealed by the shadows until the man was slammed against the wall.

The man chuckled warily, holding his hands up in surrender. "Topher, come on, man. I was just having a little fun,"

Topher let him off of the wall for a moment, only to slam him back against it even harder. "Fuck you," He growled. "Get out of here, you piece of shit. If I ever see you touch a girl again, especially Dylan, I'll kill you."

He shoved the guy off, letting him stumble away in the opposite direction before turning back to Dylan, who was sitting on the ground, staring at him in shock. Topher immediately went over to her, offering her a hand up. She took it after a moment and continued to stare at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking her over. "Did he hurt you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dylan said, breathlessly. "Because of you. Topher, you saved me from.. god knows what he was gonna do." She launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

"Of course." He nodded, holding her tightly and pressing his chin on the top of her head. They remained like that for a few moments, before they pulled away and Dylan straightened herself out. "Where were you going anyway?"

Dylan looked the side awkwardly. "To go see where Rowan was," She admitted, seeing the look on his face. "Hey, don't be like that. You were with some random girl while I was third wheeling with Riley."

"What are you talking about?" Topher crossed his arms, looking genuinely hurt. "I was talking with some friends, not with a girl. I came to find you because I found out that Foster tried to come and offer you a drink, and I figured you were mad." He explained. "Good thing I did, right? And besides, even if I was, why would it matter to you if I was with a girl?"

She blushed in embarrassment. "It doesn't." She denied. "Why did you have a look on your face when I told you I was going to see Rowan?"

"Probably the same reason." Topher smirked a bit, looking her up and down.

"Don't give me that look, I am not going to admit to that," Dylan put her hands on her hips, defiantly.

Topher chuckled. "You know, it's funny. I've been figuring that Rowan was probably having a lot more luck with you than I was, but I can see that it's not the case."

"Well I did leave the party to find him, not you," Dylan pointed out. "Besides, there's a problem I have with you, Topher. I don't know if I trust your intentions, if I'm gonna be perfectly honest, and I'm not looking for another fling like the last one I had."

He pursed his lips, nodding. "Yeah, no I totally get it. You should get over to Rowan's. Do you want me to walk you the rest of the way, or are you good?"

Dylan frowned at his sudden shift in attitude. "I didn't..."

"No, Dylan, I get it. I'm not gonna make a big fuss over a girl I just met that obviously doesn't want me." Topher said defensively.

"Oh," She rubbed her arm guiltily, before nodding. "Okay, well, I guess I should just get over there. I think I'm fine from here out, but thanks anyway." Dylan went to touch his arm lightly, but he moved away from her and walked the other way, leaving her to walk the rest of the way alone and in silence.

When she finally made it to Rowan's apartment, she could see a light on from under the door. Making a face, Dylan rapped her knuckles on the door, waiting for a few moments until Rowan opened the door, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"I can explain," He offered as she walked into the room, raising an eyebrow at his books open at the table. "I wasn't..."

"Really? You were studying on a Friday night after you told Riley you would come out with us?" Dylan crossed her arms, perching herself one of his chairs. "That's sad."

Rowan gave her a sheepish look. "I needed to study." He defended himself, though he knew the argument was weak.

"No, you didn't. It's Friday, and you have all weekend to study." Dylan gave him a pointed look. "And if you really needed to, you could've said something instead of blowing us off."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

Dylan nodded. "You should be. I had to come all this way to look for you."

"Wait, you left the party to find me?" Rowan asked, smiling a bit. "Even with Riley and Topher there?"

"Riley left me to myself while she flirted with a guy," Dylan responded, looking a bit chagrined. "And Topher and I weren't spending time together anyways."

"Seriously?" He said, surprised. "I thought you two had a little thing going on."

She rolled her eyes. "You two are just pathetic." She chuckled, shaking her head. "All it is with you guys, 'Were you with Rowan?' or 'Were you with Topher?' What does it matter, anyways?"

Rowan shrugged. "I guess it just matters to me because I care about you." He responded, making her expression soften. "I mean, I don't know him that well, but he doesn't seem like the settling down type. I don't want you to get hurt."

Dylan smirked, "And I'd be better off with you?"

"Well," Rowan blushed shyly. "I never said that,"

"But you were thinking it," Dylan nudged him. "Either way, that's sweet that you care so much. I appreciate it. I've never really had a guy care so much before."

He shook his head, "I don't believe that."

"It's true." She replied. "Honestly, I've only really been a friend with benefits, not a girlfriend, even though he flirted with me constantly. I don't know if he cared like that, but I don't think he did."

Rowan put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, I do care, always - regardless of what happens."

Dylan looked him up and down, before standing up and kissing him lightly. "Thanks, Rowan. You're good to me," She put her hand on his, before he removed it from her shoulder. "So, are you gonna come to a party tomorrow, or what?"

"I guess I have to," Rowan laughed. "Or else you're gonna come find me again."

She gave him a simper. "I wouldn't mind it too much," She said coyly. "But, I'd rather have you come out to the party and find me, instead."

He watched her as she walked to the door and leaned against it. "I could do that." Rowan nodded. Dylan shot him a wink before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

- PRED -

The next evening, Riley and Dylan were in the bathroom together, getting ready for the party that night. The white ranger was slipping on a pair of tight pants and a small shirt, while the purple ranger was more focused on looking at herself in the mirror.

Riley wasn't nearly ready yet, barely slipping on risque lingerie over her undergarments before grabbing her dress to put it on.

"You really go all out, don't you?" Dylan smirked, gesturing to the lingerie.

She shrugged, returning the smirk. "I should always dress to impress, right?"

Dylan laughed. "I mean, I guess you're not wrong." She sobered and started fixing her makeup. "Hey, so Rowan's coming tonight,"

"Really? How do you know he's not gonna bail again?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I don't," Dylan sighed. "But, I really hope not. He needs to get out more, anyways."

"Well, I think I know why you want him to come," Riley nudged her playfully. "You like Rowan, don't you?"

She looked to the side, half-embarrassed and half-guiltily. "Honestly, I have no idea." Dylan said, looking back at her. "Rowan's a really, really nice guy, and he's there for me when I need him, but..."

"But then there's Topher?" Riley concluded.

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, there's Topher. He cares about me to a crazy amount, and everything I say means so much to him - he gets really happy when I say something nice to him and gets so hurt when I say something that's not so nice, or that he takes the wrong way. Not only that, but Topher tries to do a lot for me and gets offended when anyone insinuates that he's not good for me."

Riley pursed her lips and shook her head. "You see, this is why I don't date. No strings attached is the easiest way to go."

"Doesn't mean it's the best," Dylan pointed out. "I mean, a relationship is hard but it brings a lot of great things into your life, if you're with the right person."

The purple ranger made a face. "How could you ever be sure that the person you're with is the right one?"

"I don't know," Dylan responded, honestly. "I think sometimes you just know, and that's all there is to it. The people you love do crazy things, and some people aren't the right ones, but I do believe that everyone has someone that's a match for them."

"Maybe." Riley shrugged, not caring enough to argue back. "So, who are you gonna choose?"

"Choose? I don't know," She said, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "I barely know them yet."

Riley scoffed. "I've seen people get together in less and stay together for longer."

"Well, I guess I just haven't felt that spark, yet," Dylan replied. "Once I feel that spark with someone, I think I'll know that I want to be with them." She was quiet for a moment, before she spoke up again. "I kissed Rowan last night."

"What?!" Riley turned to her immediately, her face lit up. "You didn't tell me that!"

Dylan chuckled. "I didn't tell anybody, if it makes you feel any better."

She gaped at her. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Dylan answered. "He said something sweet and I gave him a little kiss. That's it."

Riley raised an eyebrow skeptically. "That's it? Really?"

"Yeah, actually." Dylan muttered. "If I'm being honest, I didn't feel that spark with him - not at all. I feel like I did when I was with my friend with benefits, actually."

"Ooh," Riley cringed. "That's not good on the scoreboard for him."

"I know, and I think it might be because I've already associated myself in my mind as his friend," Dylan explained. "Like, even if I'm good friends with a guy, if I have an interest in him, I always keep that in the back of my mind. I didn't do that for Rowan,"

She gave her a look. "Let me guess, because you were too focused on Topher."

Dylan looked down guiltily. "He's unconventional and surprisingly really sweet, under all of that snobby, rich boy stuff. I don't know, he just appeals to me in a way I can't explain."

"Good luck with that," Riley responded, without giving her advice. "So, are you almost ready to go?"

"Uh.. yeah, I think so." Dylan slipped her shoes on. "I'm ready when you are."

Riley gestured to the door. "Let's go then." She said, leading Dylan out of the room.

- PRED -

When they got to the party, they were surprised to see how lively it had gotten in such a short amount of time. It was already rather large and it was much more intense than most of the parties they had been to previously.

While Dylan looked a bit vexed at the prospect of being a part of this party, Riley's face lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"This is amazing!" Riley exclaimed over the loud music.

Dylan gave her a strange look. "Not exactly what I'd call it. Isn't it a little intense?"

"Not even close! I love this!" Riley yelled, quickly walking over to the bar to grab a drink and chat up the people around her, leaving Dylan alone.

"As usual," Dylan muttered to herself. "I'm the buzzkill that gets left all alone by the party queen herself." She looked around to see if anyone else she knew was there, and spotted Topher drinking in the corner, surprisingly by himself. Dylan walked up to him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, what are you doing over here?"

"Drinking away my sorrows, what's it to you?" Topher retorted. "Besides, I figured you'd be with your boyfriend by now."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I haven't seen Rowan yet."

"He's around here somewhere." Topher told her. "I swear the party didn't start until he walked in. The last time I saw him, he was doing body shots with some girls who were fawning over his accent."

"That's impossible." Dylan shook her head. That didn't sound like Rowan at all, but then again, she hadn't known him for all that long. "Are you sure its Rowan you're talking about? Or that you're not just lying to make me feel bad about him?"

Topher looked up at her from his seat, a look on his face that she had never seen before. His expression was very emotional, like he had been betrayed deeply. "Am I really such a bad person that I could only be lying if I say anything bad about golden boy Rowan?" He stood hastily, glaring at her. "Nice to know how you really feel."

Dylan opened her mouth to respond, but Topher stormed off before she could do so, looking after him and feeling irritated with herself. "Good going, Dylan." She rolled her eyes.

"Talking to yourself?" A voice called from behind her, and she turned to find Rowan walking downstairs with a girl trailing behind him, both of them slipping their clothes back on. "That's low. Maybe we should get a drink to calm you down."

She stared at him in shock, watching the girl hand him her number seductively before stalking away to the party. "Who's that?"

Rowan shrugged, stuffing the number in his pocket. "I don't know. Why? You jealous?"

The white ranger scoffed. "Excuse me?" She was taken aback by his behavior, and wasn't pleased at all by it.

"I'm sure you heard me." Rowan looked bored. "Anyways, are we gonna do this thing or what?"

Dylan crossed her arms. "Do what thing?"

"Ooh, she's crossing her arms. I'm so intimidated," Rowan chuckled, rolling his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about. We'll get a couple of drinks, get a room upstairs, and then act like it never happened in the morning, unless you wanted more."

"Okay, you're acting really dickish right now, Rowan. Can you stop, please?" Dylan said, feeling a bit hurt by his behavior.

He made a face. "Don't be so sensitive. I never get to do anything like this, and I really want to enjoy it. I mean, I enjoyed it with that other chick, but that doesn't mean I won't with you too."

"That's not gonna happen," Dylan said, with no room for argument.

"Come on," Rowan nudged her, and she moved away from his touch. "Look, let's just get a drink and we can discuss all of this."

She shook her head. "No thank you. We can discuss this later."

"Don't be so down about this." Rowan pressed. "You're acting like a prude."

"Hey," Topher suddenly interjected, coming between the two and standing in front of Dylan. He looked incredibly intimidating, especially at his incredibly tall stature that even out won Rowan's. "She said no, so why don't you leave her alone? You're just drunk, dude. Back off."

Rowan scoffed. "I'm not drunk, and you don't need to but into our conversation."

"Well, considering she doesn't want to talk to you, I wouldn't consider it much of a conversation." Topher responded, not moving from his spot.

"You're just upset because she likes me and not you," Rowan accused. "She doesn't trust you, or even like you, so why are you defending her?"

Topher rolled his eyes. "You don't know anything about us," He growled, his fists clenching. "So why don't you shut the hell up and get the fuck out of here?"

He smirked slyly. "She'll never like you, you know. Dylan cares about me, and you know how I know that? Because last night she left you to come over to my apartment to find me. After that, she kissed me. I bet she never did that to you. She did it to me because she's mine."

"Rowan, knock it off!" Dylan hissed from behind Topher, who was just getting angrier.

"Don't talk about her like she's some piece of property!" Topher sneered. "You don't deserve someone like her!"

"And you do?" Rowan asked lowly. "You're just some crazy rich boy that's obsessed with her!"

Suddenly, Topher's fist went flying towards Rowan's face, connected hard with his cheek and knocking him to the ground. Dylan shrieked in surprise at this, and watched as Rowan got back up and lunged at Topher, tackling him to the ground.

Rowan and Topher were practically wrestling on the ground, having broken a nearby table in their fall. Rowan threw a hard punch at his jaw, making Topher's lip split open and bleed freely. When some of the blood got in his mouth, Topher spit it up at his face and kicked him off, using the opportunity to stand up and wipe his mouth off, the adrenaline from the first punch wearing off.

The yellow ranger, however, wasn't done there. He rushed at Topher, shoving him into the wall and punching him a few more times.

"Stop it!" Dylan screamed over the loud music and cheers from the crowd that was surrounding them. "Now! Stop it!" She ran forward and attempted to pull them apart when she was accidentally shoved by one of the punches being thrown and fell onto a chair.

Instantly, everyone went silent and Topher immediately pushed the distracted Rowan off of him and moved over to her, pulling her off of the chair. "Are you alright?"

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, he barely touched me, and it wasn't on purpose anyways." She looked between the two and grabbed them both by the arms, dragging them towards the exit. "We are going outside, right now." She caught Riley's eye as the purple ranger was about to go upstairs and gestured for her to come with. Riley gave her a disappointed look and said something to the people she was going with, before complying with Dylan.

The four got outside, Dylan taking Topher over to one bench while Riley took Rowan to another. Dylan grimaced at the bruises forming on Topher's face, and put one of her hands over a bruise, using her ability effectively as an ice pack.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

He looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," He said quietly. Topher paused for a minute, before speaking up again. "Did you really kiss him?"

Dylan bit her lip guiltily. "Yes, I did." She admitted. "But I didn't feel anything about it, even though I thought I would."

"What's that mean?" Topher asked, eyes shining up at her.

She shrugged. "It means that I don't think me and Rowan are going anywhere, and not just because of tonight. I played it off last night to act like it was nothing out of the ordinary, but I doubt anything gonna happen."

Topher stared at her. "And?"

The white ranger gave him an emotional smile. "You defended me twice in two days without question, and you didn't ask me for anything in return." She leaned down and kissed him carefully, before pulling away. "I trust you. I'm sorry I didn't before."

"What now?" He asked, their faces close.

Dylan pulled away. "We see what happens." She told him. "That's all we can do, right?"

"Yeah, right." Topher nodded.

Meanwhile, Riley had gotten some ice from inside and had wrapped it in a napkin for Rowan, who was holding it to his cheek. She was regarding him with a bit of judgement, and also confusion. He looked up at her, noticing her gaze.

"I know I screwed up." Rowan said, dejectedly. "You don't have to tell me. I don't know what got ahold of me."

"Booze?" Riley suggested, but sighed when Rowan gave her a look. "Look, I don't know what happened in there either, so why don't you tell me what you do know, and we'll go from there,"

Rowan shook his head, "I guess I just got out of hand. I've never been able to go out like this before because my father was always pressuring be to stay back and study for school. He was all business and nothing else. I was always felt like I was just a project to him, so I always have gotten a little out of hand when I do things I'm not used to, like this."

She looked him up and down, before sitting down beside him. "I'm not good at this whole.. comforting people thing, but that fucking sucks that he treated you like that. Being held back is bullshit no one wants to deal with, and it's completely unfair. That still doesn't give you the right to be a crazy bitch, though."

"I'm aware of that." Rowan assured her. He ran a hand through his hair. "God, it's been two years and he still has such a hold over me. I can't believe it."

Riley reluctantly put a hand on his shoulder. "Just be careful about what you do, alright? That's all you can do. If you go to a party, just remember that you can do whatever you want now without rule, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't set some for yourself."

He looked at her, shocked that Riley, of all people, was comforting him so well. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it," She clapped him on the shoulder, the two glancing over at Topher and Dylan, who were talking as well. "She's probably not gonna want to talk to you right away, so just let her come to you." Riley paused, before turning back to him. "I'll talk to her for you, though. Put in a good word."

Rowan smiled softly at her. "Okay, thanks."

She nodded. "Like I said, don't worry about it." She smiled a bit back, before walking towards Dylan and Topher, leaving Rowan to himself.

Next time on Power Rangers Earth Defenders: After a news report names Sofia as the 'weakest link' of the team, she has a lapse in confidence during a fight.

Next Chapter Title: Firepower

So, I know that Rowan seemed very out of character during the party scene, but as said, it's because he's been held back from doing what he wants his entire life, and gets a little bit out of control when he can because he doesn't set those boundaries for himself, as he's been used to others doing for him.

Also, Dylan and Topher are not in a relationship, but this is all building up to it. At the beginning I wasn't sure of who I wanted her to be with, which is why I kept going back and forth with it, but I decided as I was writing this chapter that this is the way I want it to go. Sorry to those who wanted Rowan and Dylan instead, but don't worry, since I do have a different person in mind for him!

Now, onto more serious endeavors, I know I said that on my 5th anniversary I was going to not only post my 5th special chapter, but also my 10th story (I would also have posted my 9th just before then), but with the time I couldn't write while I was sick and had computer problems, I've since had to readjust my plan. I will be, without a doubt, posting my special chapter, but I do not think I'll be able to get my 10th story up by August 4th, since I have to finish PRGG first.

That being said, I will still be working just as hard to get as much as possible done, and I will, hopefully, be able to get at least a chapter of my 9th story out before then, and will get my 10th out within the next couple of months. I'm am so sorry for the inconvenience, but I will definitely be hard at work to get everything out to you guys as soon as I can! I hope you understand!

Sorry for this super long author's note! Here are the next five chapters!

Ep 9: Party Hard - Riley focused chapter.

Ep 10: Snob - Topher focused chapter.

Ep 11: Should've Been You - David focused chapter.

Ep 12: Perfect World - Rowan focused chapter.

Ep 13: Make Things Right - Russ focused chapter.

See you guys soon, and let me know if you liked it - I'd love to know what you thought!

© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley