After his date with Yumi, everything had gone great. And then, all at once, Adam's world came crashing down.

The destruction of the power coins. The deaging of the world as they searched for a new power. Then things were going find, thanks to the Aquatarian Rangers. They'd found the Zeo Crystals, they had everything under control.

Then, in an explosion of fire and rock, the Command Center was gone.

The message from Adam to Yumi was brief. It was the only thing Billy could do for him; without the Command Center to maintain and guard the portals to the Nexus, and under attack from foes old and new, he was cut off.

yumi

got some major trouble. its really bad here, but we wil do our best. dont worry. ill come back as soon as possible.

if i cant i want you to know that i love you. and im sorry.

adam

Through his PINpoint it was sent, and then upon agreement of them all, the PINpoint was smashed to ensure no one could use it for harm if they didn't survive.

The armies of the Machine Empire had arrived.

To: Yumi Bishop
Subject: Hey

Body:

hey, yumi. im on the school computer so i have to be fast. can i meet you in the nexus soon? i dont have a lot of free time right now, sorry.

- Adam

 Being alone with Tommy tended to be a surreal experience. Without the distraction of the rest of the team, it was far too easy for Adam to notice certain details about Tommy. His hair, his hands, his smile. He'd let his mind wander, once or twice, to wonder what it would feel like to kiss him.

The thought in itself was harmless, he'd come to think. This was a crush that he'd had for awhile, and probably would continue to have, but he was happy with Yumi. Very happy with Yumi. It wasn't going to stop him from noticing other people, male or female, but he knew where he was and what he wanted. 

(Well, sorta. Hormones aside.)

"Why haven't you introduced your girlfriend to your parents yet?" Tommy didn't even bother to look up from the car engine he was examining. "You've been going out for awhile. Kim's starting to complain about it."

"But... the Nexus..."

"You'll need a cover story. That's not to hard, right?"

"I - have you met my parents?"

"Briefly." Tommy looked up then. From the look in his eyes, Adam could tell he didn't understand.

"What if things go wrong?" he asked weakly.

"Then you've got the Rangers to help out. Honestly, Adam, you can save the world, but you can't introduce your girlfriend to your very nice parents? We all know how much you like Yumi. How fair is it if your parents will never know that?"

Adam had to admit that it wasn't.

"Then don't hesitate anymore, man. You know I'm right."

And like that, Adam found himself in the Nexus. He could call her, and he would call her, but for right now he was going to see if he could run into her first. You know, all casual-like. How bad could it be?

Pretty bad, ohgod.

 So. They had admitted they liked each other. That was a good thing.

Now it was time to go on a real date.

That was the problem. All he had to do was pick up the phone and call. Sounded simple enough. Right?

Right.

(In the end, it was Tommy who walked in, heard Adam stammer about it for five minutes, dialed the number and gave the phone to Adam, and then walked back out quite calmly. But those were needless details.)

More importantly, the phone was ringing and he really hoped that Yumi would pick up. He couldn't possibly ask Tommy to redial for him, he had some pride intact.

Adam had seen Yumi's world, and now it was time to return the favor. He waited at the sign, trying not to pace. He felt... nervous for some reason. Why would he feel nervous? It wasn't like he didn't know Yumi, or something. This was just hanging out.

It was nowhere near a date, and he wouldn't allow his mind to even touch the subject.

((Anyone trying to reach Adam can contact him here!))

Maybe I do need some time on my own. The Nexus seems pretty good for that, and meeting new people. It's still a little strange, though. Alpha says there's nothing that seems dangerous about it, although he and Zordon didn't seem thrilled that I've visited more than once. I like talking with Kaa, though. I've never met anyone quite like him before.

They're the only ones who know. The last thing I need is Rocky hanging over my shoulder asking about the cute girls I've met. If we haven't been best friends for so long, I'd wonder about him at times.

He'd especially bug me about that Yumi girl. She was really nice, and I wouldn't mind talking to her again, but I don't have time for things like that. Maybe when I'm in college, I will. He'd bug me about her being pretty. She was pretty, but I wish Rocky would realize that personality counts more. If I was interested. Which I'm not.

I wonder what she meant by 'X-Man.' It can't mean what I think it means.

Can it?

Adam's trip to the Nexus had finally quieted most of the guilt he had been carrying with him. Adding that to finally being able to finish his homework, some thank you notes to relatives, and even being able to take a nap without being interrupted once by Zedd's goons, and he was feeling much better.

Just as he was cleaning up, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" he called to his parents upstairs. He opened the door a crack... and blinking, opened it more. "Aisha? Kimberly?"

"Surprise!" His friends held up a pair of skates.  

"These are for you!" Aisha chirped. "It's time for some skating."

"Um, well... Sure." Flustered, Adam let his friends drag him out the door and off to have some fun. It was long overdue.

Today had not been a good day. Adam stumbled to the bathroom, pale and shaking, and finally threw up. He felt a little better after that.

His parents were out. The answering machine was beeping; he pressed the button automatically.

"Hey, Adam? This is Tommy. We've got to talk, man."

"There's nothing to talk about," Adam muttered, going through his fridge. Nothing looked edible, but he didn't feel like eating anyway.

"We really worried about you. All of us. I'd rather talk about it in person... just hang in there, okay? Rocky and I are going to stop by around four."

Adam glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes 'til four. Forget about it; he didn't want to talk. Not to his friends anyway. Picking up his jacket, he walked out the back door. The answer machine kept playing in the background.

"Just don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault..."