"Well, here we are." Donnie says with a slight smile. April's standing on the stairs in front of the house, facing him. The corners of her mouth lit up. "Yeah. Thanks for, you know, walking me home." The rain pelts on her face.
"You don't have to thank me for that. I just want you to be safe. I-I mean we." He stutters at the end of his sentence. "I know and I appreciate that, Donnie. I really do." She tells him. They smile at eachother, both looking away awkwardly.
"O-ok. I better get going before I end up as a wet towel." Wet towel? Donnie's slapping himself in his thoughts. Why does his brain always stops working when he's around her?
"Yeah. Well, see you tomorrow then. Good night." She responds. He salutes and turns around, leaving in the dark alley.
Looking around the corner, he checks if it's clear. A few dumpsters. A cat's licking it's paw. Nothing special. He enters the alley and continues to walk.
In the middle of the alley, he hears something drop on the floor. A can maybe. He spins around, reaching for his bõ-staff. Waiting. Probably it was just the cat.
Yet, he's walking backwards with his weapon in his hands, ready to attack, searching for something or someone who could attack him.
His eyes glance over to the cat that's still cleaning itself. Weird. Maybe it could be a homeless guy. Or Purple Dragons.
A hand's touching his shoulder from behind. He spins around, strikes out with his staff but stops immediately.
"Casey!?" Donnie shrieks. "Some ninja you are." He sighs in relief and places his staff back on his back. "What are you doing out so late? It's 1am."
"What were you doing at April's at 1am?" Casey asks him, crossing his arms. Donnie feels the heat in his cheeks and hopes that Casey can't see it. "I walked her home. As every friday night."
"Yea. You do that very often. Too often, in my opinion." Casey's stepping in front of him. Donnie begins breathing faster and takes a step back.
"R-right. I would love to continue this, but I gotta get h-" Casey cuts him off with a pinch in his shoulder. Donnie hisses in pain and he's looking in Casey's eyes.
"Look at you. You're even crying when I just do that." He laughs sarcastically. Then his frown returns and Casey tightens his grip, making Donnie's knees get weak.
"You gonna listen closely now, ya hear me?" Casey snaps at Donnie. Donnie wants to reach for his staff with his other hand but Casey graps his wrist, dragging his finger nails into his skin.
"I said, ya hear me?" Casey says with anger. Donnie only nods and keeps his eyes shut. "I just make this quick, Don. You're the genius after all, so that won't be a problem for you, would it?" Donnie suppresses a cry of pain as his fist tightens more around his shoulder. "Answer me!" Without success. He whimpers quietly and nods once more. Casey's laughing at him again.
"You're going to stay away from her." He finally says in an unsympathetic, mean voice. "And don't you dare tell anybody about who did this to you. Or else..." He's kicking him in the stomach.
Donnie gulps but nods that he got his point. Casey's smirking at him. "This is our little secret, Don. We never had this conversation." Donnie just wants to punch him in the face. Beat his ass. But he's defenceless. He has to play by his rules. "...What conversation?" Donnie asks. Casey's smirking and releases him.
Donnie's falling to his knees and rubs his wrist. When he looks up, Casey's gone. He continues to sit like that a few minutes. Enjoying the rain on his skin. Then, he makes his way to the lair.
Raphael's waiting. Waiting for Donnie. One of them has to make sure that the genius comes back. Leo and Mikey are in bed already. No surprise. They have training tomorrow. Sitting on the kitchen table, Raph's staring at the clock. Following the sweep hand with his eyes. He doesn't recognize the annoying clock noise anymore.
He should be home by now, Raphael sighs. He's standing up, walking over to the fridge. The light blinds him; he helds one hand over his eyes. With an open eye he searches for something to drink. But the only thing he can find is pizza. He groans and shuts the door. Typical.
He's hearing a noise from the living room. Speak of the devil, he smirks. He makes his way to the living room.
''Yo, Donnie. What took you so l-'' He stops talking when he notices a bruised and beat up Donatello. Donnie gasps in surprise and looks him in the eyes. His hand's squeezing his shoulder. It takes a few seconds until Raphael's walking towards him. ''I c-can explain.'' Donnie whispers.
''What happened to you? Who did this?'' Raph says with rising anger. Suddenly standing in front of him, he grabs Donnie's wrist to take a look at his shoulder. Donnie frowns and he releases his wrist, seeing that it's also bruised.
''It's not as bad as it looks.'' ''You're not answering my question!''
Donnie's taking a breath to say something, but nothing comes out. He needs a good explanation. He should have thought about something on his way home. ''There was...'' he begins, avoiding Raphael's face. ''...a homeless guy. In the alley.'' Raph raises an eyebrow and Donnie's feeling his mouth go dry. Shit.
''He was... drunk.'' Donnie's eyes lay on Raph's face. He's standing there with crossed arms. Donnie's pressing his lips together. Hoping that Raphael believes him. He couldn't tell him the truth. Especially Raphael. Casey would murder him.
Raph keeps staring at him. It's obvious that he doesn't trust Donnie. But it's also obvious that Donnie won't tell him the truth. ''Do you need umm, any help with... you know...'' He's pointing at Donnie's shoulder with his eyes. ''Oh! No, no. I'm alright.'' Donnie chuckles nervously.
Raphael nods. His eyes never leaving his. "Ok then." Raph glares once more on Donnie's shoulder. "Don't stay up too long."
With that, Raphael was gone. Donnie sighs in relief but regrets it immediately. He hisses quietly and places a hand back on his bruised shoulder.
Ice would help. Yeah. He needs ice. He makes his way to the kitchen.
Standing in front of the open fridge, he notices a strong smell of pizza. Mikey. He grabs a cooling back and shuts the door. He whimpers when he places it on his shoulder.
But it feels good. He sits down on a chair and closes his eyes. His breath slows down. His heartrate sinks. Psh. A homeless guy. Good going, Don. Splinter's never going to believe him. Neither his brothers. Hell, Raphael knows already and it's for 100 percent sure, he doesn't believe him either.
Donnie sighs and lays his head on the table. He's feeling really tired. He first recognizes that now. He should go to bed but he doesn't want to get up.
Slowly he closes his eyes, not able to keep them open anymore. He can't think about these things right now. And to be honest, he doesn't want to either.