Merry Christmas everyone! This is my present to you! It's a story I've been working on for a while, the second part of A Turtle's Heart.
Now, if you have no clue what that title means, please go back to Divided for Favor and read that. This story is after it.
Hope you like it and your Christmas is AMAZING!
Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles. But I made them human in here.
Leo stands at the driver's door of his family's dark blue sedan. Donnie and Mikey are inside the car already. Mikey, one to put on drama, is shivering. "Where is he?" The blonde teen asks.
Donnie sighs, an almost inaudible whistle sound coming from the gap in his teeth. "He'll be coming, Mikey, stop shivering like that."
"B-But i-it-t's c-c-cold," Mikey says, starting to smile at his acting. Donnie facepalms at the comment. But his younger brother is right. Winter lays over New York like the rugs in the dojo. Wintery white snow can be seen in all directions and temperatures are constantly below thirty degrees fahrenheit.
Despite the cold, Leo still stands outside, leaving his door open. He looks at the door to their house. 'Come on Raph,' he says, 'get out here. We're going to be late.' After waiting for three irritating minutes, Leo turns his head away and starts to get in the car.
"There he is," Donnie breathes, a little chilled himself. Raph stomps out of the house. He has a red beanie on his head and a black winter jacket zipped to his neck. His backpack is not on his shoulders.
'Must have given the excuse again,' Leo presumes. Raph has been telling Master Yoshi, their father, that he leaves his backpack in the trunk of their car. Raph walks to the car, hiding some metal in his back pockets. His jacket is slipped over the handles. He gets in the front next to Leo. His door slams, whatever snow on top falling to the pavement.
Leo stares at his brother. Raph does not return the stare. He buckles his seatbelt and crosses his arms, glowering passively at the dashboard with his bright green eyes. Leo turns and looks at the wheel. He sighs to himself and starts the car. He drives out onto the street, heading to Mikey's school first.
The silence in the car is almost tangible. Even Mikey's 'extreme case of shivering' was no longer heard, even though the temperature of the car had dropped the moment Raph sat down. Leo pulls up to the curb at the middle school and Mikey gets out. He jogs to the doors, close to being late.
Leo starts out onto the street again. Donnie looks at the back of his immediately older brother's head and clears his throat. "So, Raph," he says, trying to make conversation, "Any chance you'll come in this time?"
Raph changes his stare for the first time to looking out the window. His slow breath fogs up the glass, distorting the freezing city outside. "Don't bet on it," he answers, just audible enough. Leo and Donnie don't say anything further.
He's been acting like this for weeks. It seems like Raph, and yet completely not like Raph to behave this way. Donnie pinches his tongue between his teeth in thought. 'What is it with him? Won't he tell us?'
Leo is having similar thoughts in the front. He takes careful glances at Raph, but the younger of the two doesn't seem to notice or care. Leo pulls into the student parking lot and takes the key out of ignition.
Raph gets out immediately and slams his door. He starts to walk away, in the opposite direction of the school. Leo groans. 'Not this again.' He steps out as well and walks after his brother. "Raph," Leo calls. Raph keeps on walking, his breath clearly visible in the air before him. "Raph!" He still doesn't listen, starting down the sidewalk with his shoulders hunched to the cold. Leo sighs, frustrated. Donnie stands by him, his backpack over his shoulder.
"..C'mon Leo," he says finally, "we're going to be late." Leo nods, still looking out where Raph disappeared. The two remaining lock the car and walk to the school. Leo opens the doors and is greeted by the warm air. Donnie shuffles in after him and throws his hood off of his head. Leo takes off his hat and walks down the hall. He sees a friendly face and goes right to her.
"Morning Chloe," Leo states. Chloe, his blonde haired brown eyed girlfriend, turns around. She smiles.
"Morning Leo." They hug, not caring who sees them. Chloe sees Donnie at his locker over Leo's shoulder. But what interests her who she does not see. "Where's Raph?" She asks. Leo sighs, walking to his locker. Chloe follows him. "Well?"
Leo shakes his head. "It isn't good," he admits, taking off his coat. Chloe's brow furrows.
"What is it with him?" She asks. Her words mimic what his family has also been thinking, only taking it to harsher levels. "He knows he can't just ditch school, yet does it anyway." She scoffs, looking at the neglected locker a couple groups down. "What a jerk."
"Hey," Leo says suddenly. He doesn't raise his voice, but he still shows that her last comment hurt him as well. "He's my brother you know."
"Yes," Chloe says, "But he isn't listening, to you or your father," she says, "Why don't you tell him? He deserves to know what his hot headed son is doing."
"I don't even know what that is," Leo says. He stops and takes a calming breath, "Raph, Raph's being Raph. He just needs to blow off some steam."
"It has been weeks," Chloe says, "weeks, Leo. How long does it take for Raph to blow off steam?" Chloe says, obviously annoyed. "Don won't be able to keep his brother's grades up for long," she adds, "Master Yoshi is going to find out."
"I know," Leo says, sighing yet again. "Just, don't worry about it, okay?" He takes hold of her hand, "He can take care of himself out there. He'll be fine." Chloe nods.
Donnie walks from his locker to his and Raph's first class. He sits down and finds both his homework and Raph's. Before standing up again, Donnie looks at the penmanship of the second paper. He is proud of himself, yet shamed at the fact that he had copied Raph's close-to-chicken-scratch writing style. He stands up and brings them both to the front of the room.
"Raph was unable to come to school, again?" The teacher asks. Donnie looks at his science nine teacher.
"That is correct," Donnie says, "But, I helped him with his homework." He slides the papers to the basket and walks back to his desk. 'You'd think after weeks of this, it wouldn't bother me anymore,' he chides. He takes out his science book, then remembers; they have a test.
Donnie can't take two tests. The last time, Raph managed to make it because Donnie reminded him before hand. But that was near the beginning of his strange behavior. As the teacher starts passing the tests out, Donnie takes out his t-phone.
=Test today. Need to be here= He types. The tall teen sends the message hoping that Raph receives it with a less tempered attitude.
Raph climbs up a fire escape to reach the flat rooftop. His phone vibrates so he takes it out. He sees Donnie's text. Groaning, he texts back =Don't care= and turns the phone off. He stores it away, walking to Casey Jones.
His friend has his gear on, hockey mask painted white, padding, and his winter clothes. His golf bag has hockey gear. "Who was that?" He asks. Raph takes his mask out of his pocket and ties it on.
"Nothing important," Raph answers. He pulls the hidden sais out and twirls them, "Ready?"
"You know it," Casey says, taking a hockey stick out. Casey and Raph have been skipping school. They patrol the city in the day time, looking for any criminals in need of a lesson. Raph enjoys it, because it is a good workout. They are out for the first few blocks before Casey starts up a conversation other than fighting. "Hey, I'm stoked you've been coming out here with me, I really am."
"So?" Raph asks, clobbering a man who had cornered a couple girls. They had fainted from shock, so he wasn't seen in the light. He comes back to his friend.
"I was just wondering," Casey says, "Why did you decide to skip school, for weeks in a row?" He says, stopping. "You never told me, dude."
"Does it matter? I'm here," Raph says, pushing past him. Casey stops him with a hand on his shoulder.
"If you are going against Master Splinter, then it is something important. So yes, it matters," Casey says forcefully. Raph looks at the concrete under his boots. He sighs, he needs to tell someone or nothing he does now matters. His whole demeanor changes, signalling to Casey that he had hit a weak point.
"..I still like her, Case," he says softly, "Like, a lot." Casey's eyes widen. Raph looks up, then his brow furrows over his green eyes. He pushes Casey away and starts to walk to the edge of the building.
"You know she's with Leo-"
"Of course I know!" Raph yells, turning around sharply. Casey shushes him. Even he knows that on patrol, there are times to be quiet. And in the neighborhood they are travelling through, a single sound carries a long way. "He's my brother and she is his girlfriend. But.." Raph groans, sitting his freezing butt on a heater. "It won't go away."
Casey sits next to him. "How does coming out here help?"
"I can't stand seeing them together," Raph says, "It physically hurts. Like a stab to the gut."
"You did give them the okay to date," Casey reminds him.
"Wanna tell me something I don't know?" Raph asks. He stands up. "I can't get her off my mind. I can't get over her. She's.." He motions with his hands, like he was choking someone, "strangling me whenever we are in the same room."
"Dude," Casey says, leaning against his hockey stick, "She doesn't even like you. Even better, she hates you."
"I know," Raph says, his anger coming through his grinding teeth, "That's what makes it even worse." The two stand there while Raph fumes inwardly. "Let's just," he breathes for a moment, a white puff coming out of his mouth, "get back ta what I don't have to think about, okay?"
Not starting on a good note, but that's how it goes. Raph's having a little trouble.
So? Will you want to keep reading? I'll have the next one up on Monday.
Until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to all-
Mikey: PIZZA!
Everyone: Mikey!