How You Get The Girl (Trimberly Version)

Eyes Open (Trini's Version)

As the days after defeating Rita Repulsa passed in Angel Grove, Trini found herself constantly wrestling with her emotions. The peace that had settled over the city allowed her the time to truly delve into her thoughts and reflect on everything that has happened so far-from moving to Angel Grove, being caught in and surviving an explosion and later finding her Yellow Power Coin, surviving a car crash unscathed, forcefully being thrown over a cliff and down an underground pool that is hiding a spaceship and learning she was chosen to be one of the Power Rangers, training, fighting an alien menace hellbent on destruction and revenge, and everything in between. Yet, no matter from which angle she reminisced, her thoughts always seemed to circle back to one Kimberly Ann Hart. The Pink Ranger had effortlessly become a core part of Trini's life, and it both thrilled and terrified her.

One afternoon, Trini sat in her room. There was no training to be had, no school-related activity to be done, no family responsibilities to take care of. It was just an afternoon all for herself with the sun casting a warm glow through the window. She held a photo of the Power Rangers, the team smiling brightly at the camera, that was taken during their celebratory campfire after defeating Rita. Her gaze lingered on Kimberly, her heart swelling with a mix of fondness and longing that shouldn't have caught her by surprise but did.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks-she was in love with her best friend. The fear that gripped Trini was suffocating. She feared ruining the delicate balance of their friendship, of losing the closeness they had developed. And, most of all, she feared Kimberly not feeling or swinging the same way; that she was just going to make a fool of herself if she confessed. The thought of rejection and loss made her stomach churn with anxiety. The "what ifs"-the consequence of being rejected, the fear of being laughed at, of what it could do to them, of being alone again-plagued her and made her feel like she was one step away from a full blown panic attack.

But she knew something has got to give-was bound to give-and knew she couldn't keep this to herself for much longer. Trini knew that the weight of her unspoken feelings would only continue to grow until it consumed her entirely; that it would spring forth unbidden one time without much of her control nor foresight, like a volcanic eruption that is both catastrophic and mesmerizing to watch; a force of uncontrollable nature. It was a terrifying prospect, and not one that was new to her. After all, it was one of the reasons-many, her mother would say-as to why she had been forced to move to Angel Grove in the first place, upending her life once again. And, even though she had sworn off ever feeling this way again, here she was, mind overtaken by thoughts of a girl. Her mom would definitely freak more than her coming to that realization if she finds out.

But, the thing about almost dying and of thinking about a future that would force them to be heroes once again should anyone threaten the peace they had fought to achieve had Trini realizing yet another thing: that life was, simply, too short to not dare and dream and want and hope and love.

Not long after that thought struck her did her phone pinged with a notification. She placed the photo she was holding down and replaced it with her phone that she took from her bedside table where she had left it to charge. Kim's name, and small profile photo, greeted her along with the message she sent. It was just a single line of text, but it was enough to make the cogs in her mind run on overtime.

"Hey Trini, can we talk? It's important," the message read.

Trini wonders if this was a sign from the universe. She wonders if it was a good sign or a bad omen. Was the universe pushing her to do it?

Taking a deep breath, she made a decision then. She would tell Kimberly how she felt, regardless of the outcome or what that "something important" Kim wanted to talk to her about was. She just hoped-prayed, really, to any god that might be listening-that it won't wreck their friendship.

She doesn't want to be dramatic-she never was-but she honestly felt she wouldn't be able to take if it does. She would rather be stuck in a crazy time loop fighting Rita again and again by herself than lose the one thing in her life that made everything better.

"I'll be there in a few," she texted back.

That evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Trini found herself standing outside Kimberly's house, looking up at her bedroom window. She took a moment to gather her courage before landing on the flat abutment near Kim's dormer window. Another deep intake of breath and she was knocking on the pane of her best friend's window. When Kimberly opened it with a smile gracing her lips, Trini felt her resolve falter for a moment.

"Hey, Trini," Kimberly greeted, her brown eyes a mixture of emotions that played too fast for the shorter girl to grasp. "I'm glad you came."

Trini took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest. "Well, you said it was important. And I...I also have something important I wanted to tell you. Don't think it could wait either."

Kimberly's smile faded for a moment. It made Trini feel guilt at being the cause of it. She stepped aside and invited Trini over the window saying, "Well then, come in."

As they settled in Kimberly's room, Trini felt the weight of her confession pressing down on her.

Kim quirked another smile that was bordering on playful, "So...should you go first, or should I?"

Trini knew that if she didn't go first, she would lose all resolve she had mustered and so she willed herself to volunteer to speak first. Whether Kim was surprised by that or not, she didn't show it. Her face was a mask of smile that Trini chose to interpret as encouraging.

She took another deep breath-which did nothing to calm the loud beating of her heart and the pounding in her ears-and met Kimberly's gaze, her voice steady but filled with vulnerability.

"Kim, I...There is something I've been struggling to admit to myself for a while now." She paused, her hands trembling slightly before she balled them into a fist. "And, I know I'm not one to mince words or say too much, so I'm just going to go ahead and just say it."

"Okay...?" there was a hint of confusion now on the taller girl's face despite her lingering smile. "Out with it then."

"I... I think I'm in love with you."