Ashley rolled over in bed and sighed. She couldn't sleep.
"Deca, what time is it."
"It it one fifty-nine in Angel Grove," Deca replied, her red light flickering as she spoke.
Ashley lay in bed for several minutes. It had been difficult for her to sleep on the Megaship. Finally, she gave up trying to sleep and decided to wander around the Megaship for awhile. Everything was dark and quiet as she crept down the halls, not wanting to wake anyone else. She saw someone in the bridge.
"Andros?" Ashley asked softly. "Is that you?"
Andros jumped, his heart pounding. How long had she been there? How much had she seen? He didn't want to explain about Karone. Not now, not ever.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, giving her an icy glare.
"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I decided to walk around. I didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't," he snapped. "Go back to bed."
Ashley didn't leave.
"Were you watching a movie?" she asked. "I heard voices."
"No," he said shortly, slipping the small disc back into his locket. "I wasn't."
Ashley looked at him nervously.
"What?"
"Now might not be a good time to ask you, but I was wondering if, um-" She broke off, her face turning pink.
"Wondering what?" Andros asked, his glare growing colder.
"I was wondering if you could teach me telekinisis," Ashley muttered, staring at the floor. "I wanted to ask you before, but I was afraid you'd say no."
"And asking me at two in the morning was supposed to make me more inclined to say yes?"
"I'm sorry," Ashley muttered. "I'll go. I didn't mean to bother you."
As she turned around, Andros thought he saw tears in her eyes and felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn't fair for him to take his hurt out on her. Besides, he could use a distraction. He groaned. "I didn't say no."
"Really?" Ashley's whole face lit up when she smiled. He had never noticed how beautiful she was.
"Yes," he said. "I'll teach you. Or at least I'll try."
"Could you start now?" she asked eagerly. "Unless you want to sleep."
It didn't take Andros long to decide against spending the night trying to sleep through nightmarish dreams. "Come on," he said, leading her back to his room. Ashley sat on his bed and he hesistated for a moment before joining her.
"Telekinisis is all about your mind," he said, looking at her doubtfully. "Most Earth humans aren't strong enough."
"What do I do?" Ashley asked.
"Here," Andros said, rummaging through his drawers until he found an object light enough for her to work with. "Try with this telekinisis ball. It's like the one I learned with." He reached over and took her arm, straightening it so that her palm was only a few inches from his own hand. "You want to make this move from my hand to yours. I'm holding it up for you. Make it move by thinking at it."
Ashley screwed her face up in concentration. Nothing happened for several minutes, but then the ball shook slightly. Andros nearly dropped it in surprise. He hadn't really expected her to be able to do anything.
"Did anything happen?" Ashley asked him.
"You made it move a little," Andros said, smiling at her tentatively. "That was good."
"I really did it?" Ashley's face was flushed with pride.
Andros nodded. "That was the hard part. Most people can't feel with their minds like that. Once you feel it, you can make it move. It's like you're pulling it, but with your mind instead of your hands. Think at it to move."
Ashley stared at the ball so intently that Andros knew that she'd forgotten where she was and everything else but moving that ball. "Relax," he told her, and she jumped visibly.
"Why won't it move?" she wailed. "I can feel it there, but it won't come!"
"You can't learn it all in one night," Andros told her, surprised to realize that he felt her frustration. "It takes time, and a lot of practice."
"I know it does, but it feels so close ," Ashley said. "If I could just reach a little bit farther. . ."
"Be careful," Andros warned, folding up the telekinisis ball. His back was to her as he stood up to put it away. "You don't want to strain your mind. You're just learning. Go slow."
"Are you sorry you gave us our morphers?" Ashley asked suddenly, and Andros turned to stare at her.
"What?"
"I didn't say anything," Ashley said, alarmed by his persistent stare.
"I just heard you," Andros said. "You were asking me if I was sorry I gave you your morphers."
Ashley's eyes widened. "I didn't say that."
"But I heard you."
"I was thinking it."
"What?" Andros said, staring at her. "You were thinking it? And I heard you?"
"You're the one who knows about this kind of stuff," Ashley said. "But I guess so."
Andros closed his eyes for a moment. There had only been two people that he had ever been able to hear telepathically. They had been the two people that he loved most in the world: his sister and his best friend. At best, Ashley was a cheap replacement for them.
"I heard that," Ashley said softly, and Andros groaned. He opened his eyes to see Ashley struggling not to cry.
"I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly. "Please don't cry."
Ashley blinked furiously, but a few tears trickled down her cheeks anyway. "Then what did you mean?"
"Did you only hear that last part?" Andros asked. When she nodded, he hesitated. "There were only two people that I could ever hear before. They're gone now."
"Are they dead?" Ashley asked.
He nodded. "They're as good as dead." He paused. "I-I'm sorry-" He stopped, unsure of what to say.
Ashley nodded, brushing tears off her face. "I know. It's okay."
Andros nodded. He had a strong suspicion that it wasn't okay, and thought it would be a good idea to change the subject. "Here, I want you to keep this," he said, handing her the telekinisis ball. "If you want, I can teach you a little every night."
"You'd do that?" Ashley asked. "I thought you hated me."
"What?"
"If I didn't say it, I'd be thinking it," Ashley said, and Andros smiled a little.
"I don't hate you," he said. "Any of you. And I don't regret giving you your morphers. I never have."
Then why do you avoid us? Ashley thought, only realizing what she was doing when Andros winced.
"Sorry," she said, her face turning red. "Can you teach me how to control that too?"
He nodded. "Ashley?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't mean to avoid you guys," he said, unable to look her in the eye. "I'm just not used to having other people around."
"I know," Ashley said. She grinned. "But we're your friends wether you like it or not."
He tried unsuccessfully to keep back a rueful smile. Ashley yawned, and Andros realized how tired he was.
"I think I can sleep now," Ashley said, and Andros nodded reluctantly , not wanting her to leave.
"Good night," he said.
"'Night," she replied, leaving the room. Andros stared at the door for a long time after she left before turning off the lights. He didn't sleep that night.
