Rewritten. Set to the music "Angry Johnny" by Poe. Dunno what prompted this. Enjoy. :]
It had been… interesting living with April ever since our home had been destroyed. To say it was hard was merely an understatement.
To think I used to complain about sharing a bathroom between my father and my brothers. Now I share it between a father, three messy brothers, and an equally messy woman. Not only do we have to watch out for the washcloth Mike let sit in the corner of the shower, allowing it to get freezing cold until one of us found it with our foot- we had to tip toe around razors, deal with clumps of red hair in the shower drain, and bras slung over the edges of couches.
Yeah, we're still getting used to that last one.
I guess I can't really complain, though, because it was amazingly nice of her to let us shack up with her, especially since April isn't much of a housekeeper and, well, four teenagers in one area for too long pretty much equals total destruction. Especially if you have a little brother like Mikey. He was practically going insane without a gaming system. Luckily he was able to salvage his GameDude from the wreckage.
It's been difficult for me, even, having to adjust to the new living arrangements. I miss my lab, even though it wasn't much. I need alone time. Don't get me wrong- I like being around my family, April, too, but I haven't tinkered with anything in months. I think I'm having inventing withdrawals; my hands need to do something! April caught me trying to disassemble the microwave a few months ago. She was pretty miffed at me, but I think all has been forgotten now.
What it all boils down to is: too many people in too small a place.
Even with the shop downstairs and the roof available, we've all managed to cross each others paths far too frequently. Even Leo and I are getting on each other's last nerves- and Leo and I hardly ever fight. Mostly all we fight about trivial, insignificant things- who takes the floor what night, and who has to rough it on the hard wood floor. Usually Raph vouches to sleep on the roof, so that clear's up a bit of room.
Master Splinter usually spends his time on the roof meditating, or tending to this mini-garden April provided him with, which is good, I guess. He really needs to clear his mind. He calls us up for brief lessons here and there, but for the most part, we've kind of put training on halt. I haven't really seen much of him lately. I'm sure even Master Splinter is tired of us by now, and he claims to be a never-ending well of patience and forgiveness.
"Having fun, Raph?" I ask teasingly, offering a coy smile.
He grunts and shrugs me off.
He's been trying to seem uninterested in anything, but he does a horrible job of it. I know he's staring intently at Jeri Ryan's breasts in that tight Borg bodysuit.
"See," Mikey calls over his shoulder, "even Raph can find something he likes about that crummy Star Trek show, Donnie."
"Can it," Raph grumbles, adjusting his position next to me on the couch.
I can't contain the smile on my face, so I turn to the screen, trying to keep from laughing.
A few seconds later I hear a very disgruntled, "Mikey!" from the bath room.
What follows is a crescendo of high pitched cackles as Raphael and I watch our younger brother tear out of the bathroom as if his life depends on it. He shoots off to the kitchen, where he begins to rifle through the fridge, idly humming and chuckling to myself. I wonder what he did to make April so mad.
Using Raph's shoulder for leverage, I somehow manage to get to my feet.
A twenty four hour marathon of STVoyager will do that to even the best of ninja.
I peek into the bathroom and find myself gawking at the most perfectly, towel-covered, heart-shaped ass I've ever seen in my entire life. I might have stopped breathing, but I'm too busy to check. Blinking I clear my throat, hoping to get her attention.
"Mikey, I told you- Oh, Donnie. Hi," April straightens out when she sees me and hands me a pair of black lacey underwear and a black skirt.
"Will you put these in the dryer for me? I'm running late."
I just kind of stare at the combination for a minute or two. In my mind, I'm standing here with the equivalent to the Biblical 'forbidden fruit' grasped firmly in my teenage hands, feeling my heart start to flutter and my head start to pound.
"Sure," I croak, after managing to find my voice.
I comply, of course, and backtrack it to the tiny washer and dryer. I chuck them in and put it on for about 10 minutes, long enough to get the winkles out.
April's been seeing Casey for a while now, which is great, I guess. I'm a little jealous, I'll admit, but I've kind of come to terms with everything. I'm a mutated turtle, she's... amazing. It just wouldn't work out. I try to be happy for her and Casey, and I am, really, but while I'm happy for them, I don't see why I can't continue to harbor my boyish crush on her. She likes how sweet I am, and sometimes rewards me with a soft squeeze of my hand, or a kiss on the cheek, and my knees will go to jelly but she just giggles anyway and tells me how silly I am.
April is a very pretty girl. She isn't a 'ringer' like Raph would say, but she's very sexy, in her own kind of way. She's got soft pink lips, and pale milky skin with a decent complexion. Deep, caring eyes. I think her eyes are her best feature. She doesn't wear her make up plastered on, and to be honest I actually prefer her at 7AM, shuffling around in her robe and bunny slippers, with her fiery, thick locks pulled back in a clumpy ponytail and last nights eyeliner smudged under her eyes.
I guess I'm kind of lucky, in some sort of twisted way. Since there's no chance of sexual attraction between her and well, any of us, she basically views us as brothers, and we view her as sister/mom. So even though I'm a bit embarrassed, I don't really find it particularly odd to see her in a towel, with one leg hoisted up on the side of the tub, attempting to shave her legs at the last minute. Even now, with her soaking hair wrapped in a towel, mascara smeared around eyes, and a somewhat foamy toothbrush sticking out of the corner of her mouth, I can't help but smile a little. She's perfect.
To me, April looks amazing no matter what. She's a lady, of course, but she's got this vibe about her I just can't get enough of, and it isn't just her physique that captivates me. She doesn't really care what anyone thinks, and voices her opinions when she sees fit. That isn't to say that she isn't intelligent and doesn't use logic, though. She's one of the smartest girls (okay, the only girl, but you get my point) that I know.
I feel the smile start to waver a bit as I watch a bead of water dribble down her shoulder blades, and get soaked up into the terrycloth towel wrapped tightly around her body.
She turns to face me and blinks curelessly, her mouth covered in a ring of toothpaste froth, giving me this goofy smile and bright eyes.
"Wh't?" She demands, pulling the frothy toothbrush from her mouth.
I just shrug a little bit and chuckle, watching her spit and begin to apply her make up.
In my mind, I'm every teenage girl's father suddenly, feeling a gaping hole starting to tear into me as I watch her apply her make up so carefully, knowing full well where she's going and who she's with and what she'll be doing. And it hurts.
I guess it's only natural, though. April was the first human--the first female we'd ever actually laid eyes on that wasn't some plastic bleach blonde bombshell on the TV. We often tease each other about having little crushes on her- but I wonder if any of them feel the way I do about her.
The other part of me I mentioned earlier just wants to beam in pride.
I watch her pull the towel off of her head and see thick tendrils of red cascade down her shoulders, the ends still dripping a little bit. She tussles her fingers through it softly, fluffing it here and there, and I know she's going to let it air dry. I love it when she does that.
In no time she's standing before us in that tight (but tasteful) black skirt, a pair of short, stumpy heels (I don't know how girls can walk in those things), a smart gray tank top and a black mini jacket. Her hair is left natural, some stands curling, some frizzing, some forming perfect Shirley Temple curls, some straight. Her make up is light and casual, and she looks amazing.
"Sch-wiiing!" Mikey points his index fingers to the ground and then lets them swing to the right, rocking his hips a little. Raph rolls his eyes and I follow suit, hoping he'd finally given that up. He grins, wagging his eye ridges up and down in approval at April's outfit.
"You look hot!" Raph manages, picking his jaw up off the floor. We all nod in agreement. There isn't much else to say. Who can top that?
Just then Leo and Master Splinter walk in, and they stop and give her the same kind of look we are.
"Whoa, April," Leo comes to a full stop, and blinks, obviously taken aback. "You going out tonight?"
She just nods and explains she has a date with Casey, who should have been here 5 minutes ago. Leo assures her he'll be here soon as he makes his way over to the couch, our Sensei stopping momentarily to take her hand and tell her she looks ravishing. She blushes. Now why didn't I think of that?
I don't think she even realizes how much she means to me, and I doubt I'll ever tell her. She wouldn't understand, it would just complicate things. But such is my life. I'm a mutated turtle. I'm ninja. I strike hard and fade into the night. No happily ever after for me.
But I'll be okay. I always am.
She opens the door and instantly beings to blush when she sees Casey, who looks pretty decent. No one will mistake him for Bigfoot tonight, I muse to myself. I watch him take her hand, and I see their lips meet. I feel this sinking feeling in my chest, probably my heart shattering into a thousand little pieces, but it's no big deal.
She turns around and waves good night to us, and I just wave back from somewhere outside my body.
As she closes the door I can't help but let my mind sarcastically play over the melody 'why must I be a teenager in love'.
Oh, ironic fate. You really are a wicked Jezebel, aren't you?