Just me trying to make a Christmas story in honor of the holidays. Sorry if it's not very good, but I tried. I hope you like it!
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'We've never even BEEN to New York!! Why the hell are we here?! Why couldn't we stay in Florida?! I at least have my cousins there!!' Victoria thought grumpily as she pulled the coat on tighter.
She'd never voice her objections, it wasn't her way. She stayed silent, bottling it up until she started snapping at the smallest of things.
Her brother was equally quiet, drawing in his large sketchpad.
Victoria held a GameBoy Advanced SP in her hands, Pokemon Yellow on the screen.
Her Weiner dog, Cookie, had finally settled down on her brother's lap as her mom drove through the snow.
'It's colder here than in Chicago!!' Victoria thought bitterly, shivering slightly.
'And I thought we moved because it was too cold!'
The car was parked outside an apartment building, and Victoria sat up straight, brushing her dark brown hair away as she unbuckled and opened the door.
The wind was cold and sharp, and she hid her dog, nice and warm, in her coat before jumping out, closing the door after grabbing her bag of movies, game systems, and games.
Sure, not all of them were hers, but she needed entertainment!
With that bag over her shoulder, she turned to help her mom and brother get the other bags before heading into the building. It was nice and warm, and her flushed cheeks soon felt like they were burning.
After putting her stuff in the apartment, and putting down her laptop and games, she watched her dog like a hawk.
If she turned around for two minutes, she'd find five puddles of piss when she turned back.
"Victoria, take Cookie out!"
"But it's cold outside, mom!" Victoria whined, still sitting down.
"I'm not gonna clean the floor our first night here!"
Victoria sighed, grabbing her cell and putting it in her pocket before grabbing the leash.
Her dog ran to her like she was holding a chunk of steak, and lashed it on to her collar.
Once outside, she only glared at the snowy concrete as her dog sniffed around.
'Damn dog and her bladder problems…'
She looked at the sky, her dark brown eyes looking at the faded stars.
'I remember when I could see all the stars…'
She felt a tug on the leash, and turned to see Cookie had pulled free of her leash and ran down an alley.
'Damn dog!'
Victoria ran to the entrance, and sighed.
"Come on, baby! Come on over! Get your little butt over here, ya silly puppy!"
She heard the small dog knock something over, and didn't want to enter the darkness.
"If you don't get yer butt over here RIGHT now, I'm gonna smack yer nose so hard yer gonna wonder if it's still attached to yer snout!"
Her dogs barking made her heart stop, and she tensed.
'She only barks when she sees a stranger…'
There was a snarl, a muted curse, and Cookie ran out of the shadows and practically jumped into Victoria's arms.
There was blood on her muzzle, and Victoria backed away from the alley.
'Thanks, Cookie!' She thought sarcastically.
'You HAD to bite someone, didn't you?'
"Hey! Give me the mutt!" She heard a male voice snarl, and she moved farther away.
'I don't think so!!'
A hand came out and grabbed her arm, and Cookie snarled as she was dragged into the alley.
"Let me go!!" She shouted, struggling to free herself as Cookie tried to bite the man again.
"Then give me the mutt!"
"BITE ME!!!"
The slap sent her into a wall, but she shielded her dog from the cold stone. She kicked out with her feet, hitting the guy in the groin, and scrambled away.
He grabbed her ankle, squeezing it so tight she felt sure it would bruise, and tried to kick him away with the other.
"Man, you shouldn't pick on a girl!" A voice said from the shadows, and she nearly relaxed as the man was knocked unconscious.
Cookie whimpered, wiggling out of her arms, and was soon whimpering and sniffing and licking someone in the darkness.
"Cookie…" Victoria muttered, when a surfer voice she almost swore she found familiar, said, "Isn't she cute? Look at her!"
Cookie barked happily as she was lifted up.
"…Put the dog down, Mikey…" She heard an exasperated voice whisper back.
Victoria stood up, limping slightly, and heard a whine.
"AWWWW…Come on, Leo! She's cute!"
"She belongs to someone, Mikey!"
"But she's CUTE!"
"She BELONGS to SOMEONE ELSE!"
"Who are you?"
Both froze, and turned to the questioning dark eyes of the fourteen year old girl.
"Oh…hey…" Mikey greeted sheepishly, waiting for a scream or yell or, perhaps, a punch.
But he was surprised when she only smiled.
"Right back at cha."
"…No screams? No yelling? No 'What the hell are you?'"
"Nope." She said with a joking smile.
"…Are you sane?"
"Yes…why wouldn't I be?" She questioned with a cute tilt of the head.
"…Are you blind?"
"No…"
"Giant mutant turtles…does this ring a bell in the 'Weird' division of your brain?"
"Nope."
"…Weird…"
"Who are YOU talking about?" She retorted, hands on her hips.
Cookie's tail was wagging like crazy, and she licked the face of whoever was holding her.
"She's adorable!"
Victoria grinned, nodding.
"Mikey…" She heard a stern voice say from deeper in the shadows, and the orange-banded turtle turned slightly.
"Awww…Leo…"
Victoria winced, her ankle throbbing with pain, and Cookie whimpered sympathetically.
"Whoa!"
She felt an arm wrap around her waist, holding her up as her knees buckled.
"My ankle…" She choked out, trying not to cry.
Mikey gave the puppy-dog eyes to his brother in the shadows, and she heard a sigh.
"Give her here…"
Mikey grinned, and helped her over to the older turtle. She didn't object about being picked up, and actually tried to get closer as they reached the rooftops.
She only wrinkled her nose slightly when they entered the sewers a few minutes later.
She seemed to shrink when two pairs of eyes looked up as the front door opened.
"Hey, guys!! A dog!!"
Cookie seemed as happy as Mikey, and Raph groaned.
"Where'd ya find a dog, shell fer brains?"
"She's MY dog…" Victoria stated softly, looking at the ground.
"…Fearless, have ya lost yer mind?"
"What? Am I vicious fire-breathing dragon or something?" Victoria retorted indignantly.
"What's going on out here?" Don questioned as he peeked out of his lab.
"She hurt her ankle, Don. Can you take care of it?"
"Sure…bring her in…"
She relaxed as she was put down on a table, and looked at her ankle.
'Swelling…BRILLIANT…'
Don came closer, probably expecting her to flinch when he tried to touch her ankle, but she just relaxed.
"It doesn't seem too bad…" He noted, bringing out some bandages.
"Just try not to walk on it…" He advised.
Victoria nodded, and heard something break outside.
"Uh oh…" She muttered.
"MIKEY!!!!"
Victoria tried to stand, balancing on her good leg, and limped out. Cookie hid behind her legs as Raph chased Mikey, and Victoria sighed.
'Should've known…'
Then she saw a puddle, Mikey heading right towards it.
"Mikey, don't!!!"
He jumped over it in a moment…Raph wasn't so lucky…
Victoria closed her eyes as she heard him skid and smack into the wall.
"Baby, what did I tell you about pissing in other people's houses." She scolded, smacking her dog's nose lightly.
"I'm gonna kill that dog…"
She picked up Cookie, hugging her to her chest.
"She doesn't know any better…"
"I'm still gonna kill her."
"She's an adorable little puppy that doesn't deserve such a thing…" She said, using the puppy-dog eyes.
"Come on, Raph! It's Christmas Eve!" Mikey joined in, standing beside her.
Even COOKIE was giving him the puppy-dog eyes!
"…Fine…" He grumbled, and Victoria smiled.
"Thanks! I'll clean it up!"
"Oh no you don't!!"
She was stopped by a purple-banded turtle catching hold of the hood of her coat.
"I told you not to walk on that ankle!"
"I can do it on one foot! And she's my dog! I should clean up after her before somebody else makes a dent in the wall!"
"YOU just sit on the couch and I'LL clean it up."
"But you're busy and I don't want to make you…"
"It's okay, now SIT."
Even Cookie sat down on the couch…
HALLELUJAH!!! IT'S A MIRACLE!!!
Mikey sat down on the couch, and reached for a Wiimote.
"You have a Nintendo Wii, too?"
"Yep! It was kinda hard to get…"
"My brother tried to get it the first day, but they were sold out, so he just bought one off a cousin's friend, I think…"
She shrugged slightly.
"I still love the thing. Like 'Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess', but I'm not too good at that one…"
"You have Twilight Princess?!"
She smiled at Mikey's enthusiasm.
"It's my brothers, but yeah. He's beat the game already, but me and my cousins are still on the temples."
"I've wanted that game so bad!! Can I see it? Just once?"
"Well…If I were to try and stand, I might get a wooden stick to the head…"
"I'll get it, then!"
"Okay, I guess…I think it's in my laptop bag with the Wii…"
"YAY!!!!"
And off he went, looking like a green and orange blur.
"…He really likes that game, doesn't he?"
"Yep."
She jumped, and turned to see a smirking Raph.
"Well thanks for the heart attack! I think it shortened my life!" She said with over-dramatic sarcasm.
"Really? Then I'm getting better at this…"
"Ha-Ha-Ha…I almost forgot to laugh…"
She found the remote, and smiled.
'YES!! I won't miss 'CSI'!!'
She turned on the TV, going to channel 44, and settled down as the autopsy started.
"…You seriously watch this?"
"Every day but Saturday?"
He gave her a questioning look.
"It's not on Saturdays."
He nodded, sitting next to her as they started talking about the bruises and other wounds visible on the body.
"COD?"
She smiled, nearly laughing.
"It means 'Cause Of Death'."
"Oh…"
"…Is Raph seriously watching something besides wrestling? With a GIRL, no less…"
Both turned to a smiling Don, but Victoria only blushed lightly, turning back to the show as Raph glared.
Cookie seemed happy, soon making her way onto Raph's lap and getting comfortable.
"…She won't pee on you, if that's what you're thinking…she won't do ANYTHING if people are watching…it's a relief, actually…"
"I'M BACK!!!!"
Victoria jumped a second time, but only because of the volume, and banged her ankle against the table.
She mumbled curses as she pulled her ankle closer, trying not to hit somebody.
"…Didn't think ya knew those words."
"It's something you pick up in Miami…" She answered as Mikey jumped over the back of the couch, laptop bag and Wii bag in his arms.
"Be careful with the laptop! It's shitty enough as it is!"
She held the bag close, and opened it.
"…Let's see…Here it is!"
Mikey was overjoyed as she pulled out the game, and ran to put it in.
"But my show!!"
The call fell on deaf ears, and she just shook her head slightly. She just took out her laptop, turning it on, and opened some stories before checking her e-mail.
"You write?"
She jumped again, nearly dropping her laptop, and turned her head to see Leo.
"Yeah…I write a little…"
"Then what are all those stories?"
She looked at the screen, seeing her 'Stories' folder was still open on the screen, showing all thirty-four stories, and smiled sheepishly.
"Oh…those…um…stories?"
"That's what I thought. Stories about what?"
"Um…anime…they're fanfictions…"
"I've heard of those."
She smiled appreciatively at Donnie as he came up.
"It's basically someone's own take on a show they like, sometimes adding in characters, putting them in different worlds, or just changing it up to make it funny."
"Yeah." Victoria stated, looking through her stories.
"…You have a lot for TMNT…"
She blushed, saying, "I really like the show and the movies…I liked them as a kid, so I thought I'd write for them…"
"COOL!! I'm in there?! LET ME SEE!!!"
Victoria moved her laptop out of the way of Mikey's flying tackle, and he flew over her and ate the floor.
"I don't think so."
"PLEASE?!"
"…Puppy-dog eyes don't work on me anymore. Ask Cookie."
"AWWWWWWW…How does that not work?"
"It stopped working when I got the job to clean up after the dog with the bladder problem."
That's when Victoria noticed the laptop wasn't on her lap anymore…
"HEY!!! GIVE IT BACK!!!" She whined, trying to get it back from Raph, who was reading it and using only one hand to keep her away.
"COME ON!!!! GIVE IT BACK!!!! DON'T BE MEAN!!!!"
"Raph…give it back…"
"But it's just getting good…"
The tension in the air alerted to an argument, and Victoria thought it best to just back down.
"…Fine…you can read…but no laughing!"
"Why would I laugh? This is good stuff."
"…It must be good if Raph's admitting it…" Don stated, reading over his larger brothers shoulder.
"Or he's trying to get on her good side and get a kiss." Mikey joked.
"OW!!!"
Raph looked up, seeing she'd punched Mikey's arm, her cheeks red.
"Didn't think you could punch that hard…" He commented as Don took the laptop from him carefully, still reading.
"I didn't think I hit that hard, either…but it's good to know I can…"
She smiled, but saw how the spot was getting red.
She felt guilty, and said, "I didn't mean to hit ya so hard…"
She put a hand on it, seeing him flinch ever so slightly. She kissed it, making him blush.
"Does it feel better?" She asked with a joking smile.
"It's fine…"
She didn't notice the glare Raph was sending at his youngest brother before Cookie tried to lick his face.
Mikey paused the game, and sat next to her on the couch.
"So…what were you doing in an alley on Christmas Eve?"
"Taking this dog out so she wouldn't pee in the new apartment…"
"New? You moved?"
"Yeah…I used to live in Chicago, then we moved to Miami, and NOW we moved to New York…"
"Why all the moving?"
"I don't even know…at first, my mom said it was too cold in Chicago and that we were being lazy…we moved to Miami, and then my mom said it was too hot and we were being even MORE lazy…she hasn't said anything about New York, but I'll just wait for the bomb…"
"…Didn't you say you had a brother?"
"Yeah, a big brother."
"Really? What's he like?"
"Jose is kinda like all of you put together, I guess. He's like Don in the sense that he's smart and likes to lock himself in his room. He's like Leo where he can be serious and tries to make me do better in my schoolwork. He's like Mikey, here."
She gave him a light noogie.
"Because he's a master of video games and likes to tell jokes."
"How's he like Raph? Does he hit you?"
"Not really…I guess he's like Raph because he's kinda protective…I remember when I was in first grade…me and my brother were waiting with some other kids at the bus stop, and a kid my brothers age started picking on me…my brother beat the shit out of him, but he got in trouble…"
She shrugged.
"But he's still the best big brother I know…don't tell him I said that, though…"
"You've never had to live with these three, then."
"I'd have to say I haven't." She agreed, smiling.
Don then came in.
"You're brothers name is Jose?"
"That's his middle name, actually. His name is really Alberto, but that's my dad's name, too."
Don thought another moment.
"I don't think anyone's told me your name yet. Leo and Mikey haven't exactly said anything."
"Oh, sorry…I must've forgotten…my names Victoria."
She jumped when she heard music turn on, and turned to see Leo now had the laptop, going through her music.
It was on 'Love Song' by Sarah Bareilles.
"A specific reason you're going through my music?" She asked, looking up at him from her spot on the couch.
"Just curious."
She rolled her eyes slightly, hearing what seemed like a door opening.
"What is with all the noise, my sons?"
She looked towards the voice, and they really expected her to scream or faint.
Instead…
"I'm sorry if we disturbed you…it wasn't my intention." She said respectfully.
"Its fine, child…"
He looked at Leo, who gave Don the laptop before explaining everything.
"…Maybe I should head home…I wouldn't want to intrude…"
"Nonsense, young one. It is no trouble."
"If you're sure…" She said uncertainly.
"You're not going anywhere with that ankle, anyway." Don added in.
"Could I get a new one?" She joked.
Mikey jumped up.
"Then she'll get to meet April and Casey!"
"…Watch out, Vic…Something might break on ya…" Raph warned.
She nodded, taking his word for it, and looked at Cookie.
"Maybe someone should take her back to the apartment…so my mom just thinks I locked myself in my room…"
Mikey nodded, relieving his brother of the dog, and left happily.
"…I guess we just wait then, huh?"
The three remaining turtles shrugged, and Raph said, "It might not be that boring…"
Let's just say that was the first Christmas in four years that Victoria promised she'd never forget…
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Sorry I ended it like that, but I need to head to a Christmas Eve party with my family. I may write more stories like this, but I'm not sure…and NO, I've never moved to New York…but everything else besides the turtles is true…trust me…-.-…anyway…Merry Christmas!!!
