Spoilers: References to "Lovestruck Rangers".

Author's Note: Posted to fanfiction.net. Trip's not particularly lucky in love (but then, neither am I), and I had to wonder if he could really connect with a twenty-first century human.

The First Date
by Selma McCrory
copyright 2001

Trip leaned on the window in the clock tower and stared out on the city in front of him. He could hear the others moving around behind him, but he couldn't afford to pay much attention to them.

In a few hours, he'd be meeting his date. He'd asked Wes which papers were reputable, and once his teammate had told him, he'd found the larger of the two and gone to the counter to make his request. Soon, to his delight, he'd found his personals ad in the paper.

The others didn't know that he'd done that. He was afraid Jen would yell at him about it, and he didn't want to annoy her. Besides, with the attitude Wes exhibited towards personal classifieds, Lucas was sure to catch on and tease Trip mercilessly about his love life.

But that mutant with the love spell had only reminded Trip that he was lonely. He had nobody really to talk to besides his teammates. So he set out to remedy that. Finally he'd found someone, a female someone, who seemed to share the same interests as he did. Sure, tech was backwards in this time, but that was okay. He'd feel better about himself for doing this.

"What are you thinking about?" Katie asked from behind him.

"Nothing," he responded, aware that he was lying, and relishing for once the fact he was able to lie without stuttering or giving himself away. It was a bad habit to be shed, of course, but for the moment it felt good to keep something away from the others.

One simply didn't *lie* on his home planet. Non-telepaths had no idea how it was when thoughts were so open and secrets were non-existant. There was no reason to lie and therefore nobody did. For humans it was natural. They couldn't read each other so they couldn't tell how people truly felt.

Take Wes and Jen, for example, the only true couple of the team. It seemed to him that they were in love with each other, but neither would admit that. Was Jen in love with Wes, or did he just remind her of Alex? It was impolite to read minds here so he hadn't tried to find out.

On the other hand, it was pretty clear Wes was head-over-heels for Jen. Everybody but Jen seemed to know that, and she would have as well if she'd bothered to look.

Someday those two might clear things up. Or not.

Katie gave him a gentle hug from behind, and then he heard her footsteps echo away from him. If there was anybody here besides him with empathic talent, it was her. She seemed to know things when nobody else did.

But they'd long ago discovered that there was no spark, no chemistry between them. They were relegated to the position of "good friends" and nothing more.

Maybe he'd find love in the twenty-first century. Of course, he was aware that he'd have to break it off when they captured Ransik and prepared to go home. Jen would leave Wes behind, Lucas would have to break his many dates' hearts, and Trip, if he was lucky in love, would have to leave someone behind as well.

He had to try, though. With all that had happened, why shouldn't he be lucky enough to fall in love?

* * *

Jen had approved his "day off", even though she had no idea why he was doing so. It hadn't been hard to convince her, actually. He wasn't big on going into the city, except as work called him. With his green hair sticking out under his hat, people of this century looked at him weirdly.

He hoped that his date wouldn't run away screaming when she saw it. That wouldn't help him any and then he'd have to go back to the tower in a bad mood. And then everybody would want to know what had happened.

No, he wouldn't let that happen. He got on his bike and sped towards town, heading for the place she had named in their last phone call. Trip hoped that the fact that they were meeting at a bookstore was a good thing.

Finally, he reached the area outside the bookstore, walking his bicycle up to the bicycle rack and securing it before taking a seat outside. He'd beat her to this place. For the life of him, he couldn't remember if he'd told her what he was wearing. She told him her general dress, though, so he kept an eye out for her.

Even though he was watching carefully, he found himself totally surprised when she walked up to him. "Trip?" she asked.

"I'mmm Trip," he responded.

"Hi, I'm Aerin," the girl told him. Trip stared at her for a moment before getting up and shaking her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

She was perhaps nineteen, with long blond hair in a ponytail reaching down her back. "Pleased to meet you," Trip said, remembering what little he did about courting in this time. "You want to go inside?"

Aerin smiled broadly. "Sure. Mind if we stop at the computer books?"

* * *

Aerin walked into the computer books like someone who's spotted a source of water after a long drought. Trip followed her, unsure of what to say if she asked what his favorite books were. The Rangers' reading tastes meant that they had about forty zillion Readers' Digest hardcovers, and Trip just didn't have a clear favorite. She'd suggested the place, and he'd been happy to comply. He'd looked at a few of the computer books out of curiosity, but how to deal with the computers of this era wasn't something he was intensely interested in.

"I wish I could afford most of these," Aerin said, as she pushed another book into its former location. "They're just so expensive, don't you agree?"

Trip nodded, looking at the price tag of the books. From his limited knowledge of this time, the books were indeed expensive. She'd picked one more book out, firmly grasping it.

"Hey, where's your favorite section. I'd guess it's not computers."

"I like puttering around with things," he responded, wishing he could tell her was kind of stuff he was into, but even he knew that telling the truth was not a good idea. Either she'd get greedy or she'd disbelieve him, just as Wes had when Jen had told the truth about them.

"Not that big a reader, then?"

He shrugged. "We have books." He'd read most of them.

"Hm, I would have thought you'd be big on Science Fiction," she said. "You're not?"

"Not really," he responded. He'd found what little science fiction he'd read to be laughworthy. "I like non-fiction mostly, but I read all sorts of stuff. I like reading about people, real people, more than anything else."

"Oh, biography!" Aerin exclaimed. "I know what you mean. Unless you're into true crime?"

"Not really," he said. He made an internal note to stop by the store again when Aerin wasn't around. "True Crime" sounded interesting.

"Then let's hit biography, and find what else you might like," Aerin told him.

* * *

A long while later, and a few dollars shorter, Trip followed Aerin into a cafe, where he ordered a latte, not sure what it was, and Aerin ordered a milkshake. As he waited, he looked at one of the books Aerin had recommended to him and hoped Wes could explain what Molly Ivins was talking about. Aerin was also glancing through one of hers, which seemed to be an illustrated book called "Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell".

They had their drinks, chatting about various random things, or at least Aerin did. Trip mostly nodded and smiled ad agreed, having little knowledge of what Aerin talked about. When they were finished, Aerin smiled and held out her hand. "It was great meeting you, Trip. Talk sometime?"

"Okay," he said, grateful that the date was at an end. It had been pleasant enough, but he didn't want to spend much time with her. He had just not understood many of the things she had talked about. Maybe it would be best if he didn't try to date anymore.

Getting his bicycle unlocked, he headed towards home.

-end