Getting to Know You

Jake had been looking forward to the weekend for ages.

His older brother, Kyle, was coming home for the weekend and their parents were going out on Friday. This would leave the two Holling brothers to grab a burger and watch the highly anticipated Harwood vs. Reefside soccer game together.

After school, the Black Snake said good-bye to his fellow Rangers and made his way home. He was hoping that maybe he could talk Kyle into playing a game of soccer in the park the next day. Maybe he'd even invite Noah and Troy along. That would be pretty fun.

A smile broke out on Jake's face when he turned onto his block and saw that his brother's car was already parked in the driveway. He hurried home.

"Is that my favorite little brother?" Kyle's voice called as Jake stepped into the house. Kyle poked his head out of the kitchen. A grin nearly identical to Jake's was plastered on the older boy's face.

Jake crossed to Kyle and they exchanged their typical one-armed hug. "So how's it going, little bro? Still tearing it up on the field?"

The Black Ranger thought of his other extracurricular activities. "Not as much as I'd like to," he answered truthfully.

His brother made a face. "That's too bad," Kyle remarked. "We'll have to get a game in while I'm home."

The Snake Ranger grinned. "I was thinking the same thing."

The pair of Holling brothers settled in at the table to catch up. Kyle was enjoying his classes and had a new girlfriend. Jake wished he could tell his older brother about the fact that he was a Ranger, but that was, of course, against the rules. Jake offered up a few anecdotes about school that seemed kind of lame in comparison to his Ranger adventures.

When they ran out of things to talk about, they headed into the living room and switched on the TV. The Holling parents arrived home from work and once they were done greeting their oldest son, they began getting ready for their evening out. Eventually, Jake headed upstairs to change out of his school clothes. He made sure that he had both his phone and his morpher before heading back down to the rest of his family.

His parents were just finishing getting ready for their night. As always, his mom was fixing his dad's tie despite his loud protests. When it hung the way she wanted it, she smiled in triumph. "What would you do without me?" she asked smugly.

"I would have starved years ago," his dad replied. He leaned down to peck her cheek.

Kyle opened the hall closet and slipped into his jacket. "I don't know about that," the oldest Holling boy said. "We did finally successfully teach you to use the microwave."

The Hollings shared a good laugh. This was nothing short of typical for them. Theirs was a pretty happy family. His parents had been high school sweethearts who were still happy after 30 years. It got a little embarrassing at times but deep down Jake knew he'd never trade them for anything.

"You boys behave yourselves," his mom said. She kissed both of their cheeks and strode out the door.

"Listen to your mother," his dad added. He took out his wallet and slipped Kyle a twenty dollar bill. He winked and then followed after his wife.

Kyle grinned at him. Jake readily returned the smile. "Ready to go?" the Black Ranger asked.

"Yep." The pair of brothers made sure all the lights were off and the door was locked before piling into Kyle's car. He turned the radio to the local sports station so they could listen to the pre-game show.

They arrived at Score, their favorites sports bar and grill. The place was already pretty crowded, but that didn't bother Jake at all. He firmly believed in the saying, "the more the merrier."

Score was a place that allowed patrons to seat themselves. The oldest Holling brother led the way to the good corner of the restaurant where they would get a good view of the game no matter what table they sat at.

As Jake followed after his brother, he saw someone that he never would have expected to see. Gia was getting to her feet at one of the booths. She opened a small yellow purse and slipped a few bills onto the table. Then she turned away, finding herself face to face with Jake. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Hey, Gia. What are you doing here?"

"Eating," the Yellow Tiger replied shortly. "As much as I might dislike the atmosphere –" she waved a hand around at the other patrons, who were cheering as the Harwood Hurricanes won the coin toss and got possession of the ball – "but they make really good burgers."

Kyle turned around then to see what the holdup was. "Gia, this is my brother," Jake said quickly. Gia glanced over her shoulder at the older boy. He came back to greet her properly, sticking out his hand.

"Kyle Holling," he said.

"Gia Moran," the Tiger Ranger replied. She clasped his hand briefly and flashed him the famously charming Gia Moran smile. Jake noticed that her smile didn't quite meet her eyes, however. "I really have to go," the blonde girl added. "Nice to meet you, Kyle."

Jake waved at his crush as she brushed past him towards the door. When she had gone, the Snake fell back into step behind his older brother.

Kyle was grinning at him as they settled in on opposite sides of the booth. "You're so into her."

His brother knew him well. Jake did not even attempt to deny his crush on his blonde teammate. "Sometimes she blows me off, and sometimes it seems like she might be warming up to me." The Black Ranger remembered his Yellow counterpart accepting his offer to go to Ernie's and how she had smiled at him. It figured that Ranger business had gotten in the way of that.

A waitress appeared to take their drink orders and leave them menus. Jake looked his over while Kyle regarded him thoughtfully. "You should listen to what she has to say," he suggested. "Learn about things that interest her. Be a good friend."

The Black Ranger considered this. He had to admit that although he spent a lot of time pursuing Gia, he really didn't know a lot about her. She never seemed to talk about her hobbies and interests. Jake made a note to follow his brother's advice the first chance he got.

Jake grinned again. "Thanks, Kyle." His brother really did have the whole "wise beyond his years" thing down. Jake was certain that Kyle knew what he was talking about.

"Don't mention it," Kyle insisted. He focused on the TV screen above Jake's head. The Black Snake turned his own attention to the screen opposite him. Both Holling brothers groaned when Conner McKnight of the Reefside Raptors got past their goalie and scored.

The waitress came back to take their orders. They watched the game while they waited, cheering when the Hurricanes tied up the score. When the waitress arrived with their food, Jake automatically reached for the ketchup, which was up against the wall. As he did this, he happened to glace out the window.

Gia was sitting alone on a bench across the street from the restaurant. She was all by herself. He couldn't see her face very well, but from what he could see she looked a little lost and confused. Jake had never seen his Yellow Ranger look that way before.

As he ate his dinner, he kept glancing over at Gia. He was worried about her. Jake could hardly concentrate on his meal or what was happening in the game. When he didn't react to the Hurricanes taking the lead in the game, Kyle looked over at him quizzically.

"What's up with you, Jake?" he asked. "You're not even paying attention. If you weren't into coming tonight, you should have said so."

"It's not that," Jake replied. He looked over to where the blonde girl still sat. "She's not usually like that," he explained. "I'm worried."

Kyle nodded. "Ah," he said sagely. "Well, why don't you go be her friend instead of just staring at her?"

That was probably a good idea. Jake smiled at his brother as he got to his feet. "When did you get to be so smart?" the Black Ranger teased. Kyle just rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the game.

Jake pushed open the restaurant door. Gia was still sitting on the bench. She looked as if she were deep in thought. Jake hesitated for a moment. Maybe he shouldn't bother her. Maybe he should just leave the Tiger to it.

'No,' he told himself firmly. 'You have to at least try. Do what Kyle said. Be Gia's friend.'

"Hi," the Black Snake greeted his teammate as he drew closer to where she sat. The blonde girl's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. She didn't exactly look pleased to see him. Jake saw Gia suck in a deep breath and square her shoulders.

The Tiger gave him a hard look. "You don't need to worry about me being out here alone. I can take care of myself, Jake," Gia told him firmly. She made a shooing motion with her hand.

But Jake still didn't feel right leaving his teammate out by herself when clearly there was something troubling her. He frowned and made his way closer. "You look like you could use someone to talk to," the boy remarked.

Gia's face was still steely. "I could call Emma or something," Jake amended quickly. "You could talk to her. It doesn't have to be me. I just…I don't like seeing you so lost."

The Yellow Ranger folded her arms across her chest. "Emma's on a date with our fearless leader," Gia informed him.

Jake felt a smile creep over his face. "Troy finally got it together, huh?" the Black Ranger asked as he settled in next to Gia on the bench.

"Evidently," Gia responded.

"I'm sure Emma would want to know," Jake wheedled.

The blonde girl let out a sigh. "I know that if I called her, Emma would come running. But she's been waiting for Troy to notice her since he showed up spouting nonsense about how humans can do anything if we work together. I can't ruin this for her."

Jake hid a smile. He thought it was pretty nice of Gia not to ruin Emma's date. But like Kyle had said, he also wanted to show the Yellow Ranger that he could be a friend to her. Friends listened to each other's problems, or they at least kept each other company when the other didn't feel like talking.

The Tiger Ranger just stared at him. "You aren't leaving until I tell you what's wrong, are you?"

"Or until you're ready to come home. Whichever comes first," Jake said. He grinned at her.

"If you tell anyone what I'm about to say, I will break every bone in your body." The Black Snake nodded to show that he understood his Yellow counterpart's threat. Gia sighed again. "My mom's been putting a lot of pressure on me about college. She wants me to be a doctor. Every time I see her, she only wants to talk about pros and cons of different schools, and how she can't wait to tell everyone her daughter is a doctor…only I'm not so sure that's what I want to do with my life."

Jake was certain that he had never heard the Tiger admit to being unsure of anything. He couldn't imagine his own mother trying to force him to go to a certain school so he could be what she wanted him to be. Both of his parents had always encouraged he and Kyle to follow their own paths and pursue their own dreams. And they'd always been there for him, too. They were at every soccer match, every parent night at school, and they'd always helped him with his problems. Knowing what he now knew about Gia's mom, Jake felt extra grateful for his family.

"So what do you think you might want to do?" the Black Ranger asked.

"I never really thought about it before I became a Ranger. I always thought I'd just follow my mom's plans for me. But now that I'm a Ranger…I like helping people for the sake of it, you know? So I think I'd like to be a social worker." Gia looked away. "But to my mom, that's not good enough for her daughter. She expects a lot of me."

Jake thought about how focused Gia always was on her schoolwork. He thought about how he knew her extracurriculars were the kind that would look good on her transcripts, such as being on the debate team and student council. No matter that the Yellow Ranger did, she did it well.

"What does your dad think about all of this?" Jake questioned in a quiet tone.

The Yellow Ranger looked back at him. "My dad is a whole different story," she answered. "He's been divorced from Mom since I was 10. When they were in court, he fought for custody but he didn't win. He didn't like how much pressure she was putting on me even then. They fought a lot. My parents still fight a lot, actually. My dad thinks Mom's too hard on me. And now Dad is remarried and my stepmom's having a baby soon. Rebecca, my stepmom, asked me to be in the delivery room. My mom's trying to forbid me from going. That's what we fought about tonight. And then I just needed some space, so I came here."

"And you want to be there?" Jake questioned, clarifying.

"Well," Gia began, "the baby is going to be my little sister. I think it would only be right. Rebecca's really sweet. She's always treated me like a daughter, not a stepdaughter. With her, it's never about colleges and how I should be pre-med when I get there. She kinda just lets me…be me. So naturally, my mother is threatened by her. I think she's just bitter."

Jake mused over his blonde teammate's words. He really felt bad for the object of his affections. He didn't really have any words of comfort for the Yellow Ranger. Jake knew his own family was about as picturesque as it got. The Snake was pretty sure that if he did try to comfort her, he'd just end up sticking his foot in his mouth. So he did the smart thing and said nothing. Instead, Jake reached over to Gia and gave her a shoulder a squeeze.

She looked at him again. Her expression could only be described as grateful. Jake knew he made the right choice by staying quiet.

The two Land Rangers remained silent for awhile longer. Eventually, Gia stood up again. "I guess I should get going if I want to make curfew," the Yellow Tiger said to him.

Jake scrambled up from his seat. "I could drive you," he offered. He was pretty sure he could convince his brother to let him borrow the car.

Gia shook her head, her blonde curls swinging from side to side. "That's a nice offer and all, but that would just cause more problems. I'm not supposed to date, and I know that's the conclusion my mom will jump to."

The Black Ranger frowned. "And you're just going to keep letting her dictate your life?" he demanded. "That doesn't seem like you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything. I'm not letting her run my life. It's just easier to live by her rules until I can be on my own. I've made up my mind about college already and I know it's not going to be what she wants. So until then, I just want things to be as smooth as possible."

"Won't that cause more problems in the long run?" Jake asked, arching an eyebrow. "You should have a talk with your mom. A serious one, about how she makes you feel pressured and how you don't want to be a doctor. Make her understand that that's not the right choice for you."

"I've tried that. Dad and Rebecca have, too. And I know my mom loves me and just wants what's best. Her rules aren't so bad."

He wasn't convinced. "You can try again," Jake told her gently. "What you want to do with your life is good. She should be proud of you," he added. "If you need moral support, say the word and I'm there. Promise?"

Gia sighed again. "Okay. I'll try again. Promise," she answered. "I have to go. Goodnight, Jake." She turned on her heel and strode away.

Jake watched her until she was out of sight. He let out a sigh of his own. He wished there was something else he could do for his crush. Her mom sounded pretty domineering.

Kyle came out of the restaurant and joined him. He nodded in the direction Gia had gone in. "Is your friend okay?" Kyle asked.

The Black Ranger shook his head. "Not really," he said sadly. But then Jake thought about the promise Gia had made to him about turning to him if she needed support in dealing with her mom. He smiled. "But I have a feeling that she will be."