Dying Star (Power Rangers SPD - Bridge Carson)

~ ELNATH ~

Bridge took her hand and sat down on her bed. "Was that supposed to be a rejection? Because it kinda confuses me that you kissed me, and then told me to forget about it. And I thought I would be the one to kiss you first. But it was the other way around. I find that kinda ironic since you're the one that said a relationship wasn't what you were looking for. But then again, that was quite a while ago. And also-"

He stopped talking when he took notice of his rambling. "Sorry, I talk too much. But, was that a rejection?"

Astrid pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked down at the floor and let out an awkward sigh. "Yes." She frowned. "I'm sorry for kissing you. I didn't mean-"

"Then what was the reason for kissing me?" He asked.

Astrid awkwardly looked away. The kiss was still replaying in her head. Her face was flushed red and slightly warming up.

Bridge stood up and started walking towards her. Astrid stepped back as he got closer, but she ended up bumping into her desk. Bridge now stood right in front of Astrid, basically towering over her.

"I want a proper rejection."

His heartbeat was already beating pretty fast. But just thinking about their kiss made it go faster. He reached for her hand, gently squeezing it and rubbing the back of it. "I know that kiss wasn't just nothing to you. I like you, and you like me. But if you're going to reject me, I want an actual reason as to why we can't be together. I can't just let it go like this."

Astrid started to slightly cry. She wiped away her tears and looked at anything that wasn't Bridge. She looked down, her eyes then landing on their hands. Astrid did want to be with him. She had never felt this comfortable around someone before. But the thought of one day leaving him broke her heart.

Astrid rested her head on his chest and let out a tired sigh. She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. "Because I want you to be happy. I want you to have a happy future. And you're not going to get that with me by your side. I don't know how much time I have. We won't be able to tell when I'm going to leave you one day."

Astrid squeezed her eyes shut to try not to cry. Bridge could feel her hands starting to shake. It saddened him that she thought this way.

"Yes, I like you. But if we were to be together, I already know leaving is just going to hurt you. Even if it does end up breaking my heart, I want you to find someone else you can actually have a future with. Someone who you can spend the rest of your life with. Someone who you can actually trust and won't hurt you like I already have. Because I know I won't be able to do that for you."

Bridge brought his hands up to her face. He gently caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away any tears that he saw. It hurt to see her like this. He missed the old Astrid that used to make fun of him at whatever chance she got. Or the Astrid that got excited whenever she saw a cool new invention. Or the Astrid that got super happy over a small book. Would she have stayed like that if he had never confessed to her?

Her eyes were the same since the last time he saw them. Still so beautiful, but the color was very faded. But everything about her was still so mesmerizing.

"I don't care about what could happen in the near future. We don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow or the next week. The future is the last thing I think of when I'm with you. I think about how happy I am when I'm around you. I constantly worry when I'm not around you. And just looking at the smile you once had makes me feel crazy."

He looked down at the floor and frowned. It had been a while since he had seen her actually smile. "And I feel that it's my fault that it disappeared."

Astrid slowly lifted her hand to touch his face. She didn't want him to blame himself for how things turned out. Because she knew it was her own fault for how things turned out. "No, Bridge-"