It was 1:54 pm. No doubt that the announcements would come on. I'm so hungry. Last night's event kept my mind busy the whole day and I didn't dare tell my family about it—especially Memphis. They would have been freaking out if I told them and Dad would have charge a case since he's a cop and Mom's a lawyer.

Beeeeep!

And there's the bell. "Good afternoon, students. Don't forget to come watch tonight's showcase. Plus, art club has been canceled for today and blah, blah, blah."

I glanced down at my sketchbook. Taking up most of the space were the silhouettes of my heroes, all four doing poses with their weapons. I sighed before closing my sketchbook, feeling a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see one of my best friends Lillian, or Lily for short.

Lily's a country girl who hid her accent like me, but she'll use it once in awhile for fun. She's a happy-go-lucky girl who never has a single bad thought—though, if you push her last button, she has a scary temper. She has shoulder length, straight, strawberry blond hair with side swept bangs. Her hazel eyes bubble with enthusiasm, as well as her bright colored clothes.

"NJ, what's wrong? You've been spaced out all day," she asked in concern.

Her voice broke my thoughts. I turned to her and flashed my fake but convincing smile that I use most of the time. "I'm fine, Lily."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Sugah, you know you could tell me anythin'," she said softly, letting her accent come out.

As much as I love Lily and hate lying to her, I couldn't tell her the truth. She would freak and scold me for not telling her. "I know, Lily. But I'm fine, trust me."

She pursed her lips before nodding, knowing I didn't want to discuss it anymore. "Okay, whatever you say."

"All bus riders are dismissed," the announcer lady said.

Lily and I rose from our seats, grabbing our book bags and trying to get around the sea of students. Once we got outside, we heard voices calling out our names. "Lily, Norma-Jean!"

Lily and I turned to see Penelope and Jeanette running towards us.

Those two are my two other best friends. Jeanette is a Hispanic with curly/wavy brown hair that ends mid-back and gray eyes. We call her the leader of the group because she keeps us under control when in a crisis. Plus, she has everything a leader could be: confident, brave, and cool under pressure. But she's not really uptight and loves to have a good time.

Penelope, or Penny for short, is the calmest in our group. She has so much patience that you didn't think was possible in a human. She's an Italian girl with short black hair that curls in the end and is a little past the shoulders with almond, mocha brown eyes. Although the calmest, she always has the last laugh—especially with our enemy, Kim.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Lily yelled.

Penny gave a cool smile and shrugged. "The sky." We all laughed (yes, we're corny like that). "Just playing. Nah, I just got out of dance."

"Yeah, we can tell with that cherry face," Lily joked.

Jeanette and I shook our heads with a smile before she turned to me. "Anyways, Norma, we came to ask if you wanted to go out with us tonight."

I mentally tensed. I was still kind of shaken up about last night and I was afraid that something would happen again. But then I looked on the positive side. Last night, I was alone—but this time, I have my friends. I guess I could go, so long I have my eyes and ears peeled. "Sure," I said with a single nod and smiled, "what time?"

"At 8:30. We'll come pick you up."

"Cool."

All of a sudden, a siren went off, making us momentarily deaf. We turned and saw one of the gym teachers, Mr. Smith, behind us with a bullhorn. "If you ladies are done with your love-fest, get your scrawny little butts on the bus!" he yelled.

"Yes, sir," Penny said before muttering, "bastard."

We all giggled before going our separate ways, except for me and Jeanette since we ride the same bus. We plopped down on the nearest empty seat. "So, we got any plans for tonight?" I asked.

Jeanette shook her head. "Not that I know of. Penny just asked me and I said yeah. I guess we're just gonna walk around and hang."

Suddenly, Kim came on the bus with mascara running down her face. She gave me a glare, but she gave the brunette an even nastier one. Jeanette gave her a smug look before Kim dashed to the back of the bus.

Kimberly, or Kim, McAddams is the "queen bee" of this school. She's your typical mean girl who's rich and popular. She has golden blond hair and ice blue eyes. People say she's always been jealous of me because she started harassing me after she heard me sing. Anyway, the girl got into this school because of her parents' money and she is completely talentless.

"What happened to Kim?" I asked. I don't care about her feelings, but if she's upset about something, I have to congratulate the person who did something horrible to her.

The Hispanic laughed. "Penny, that's what happened."

I smirked. "What'd she do?" I asked, referring to both Kim and Penny.

She tsked. "Kim started calling Penny a talentless faker and shit. After she finished ranting, Penny said, 'At least I don't look like a life size Barbie slut who got in here using her 'daddy's' money.'"

We both laughed before I spoke up. "Of course we both know she's crying for attention."

Jeanette rolled her gray eyes before looking into my blues. "Yep. Just to make Penny look like the bad guy."

I rolled my eyes too, saying, "Whatever." The bus jerked to a stop, and I got up from my seat. "Well, I'll see you tonight. Later."

"Later."

I walked down the steps of the bus quickly, since only 5 other students lived here. Luckily, my house was only a three minute walk. We're not exactly a rich family, but we're not poor either. I guess we're upper middle class 'cause, like I said before, Dad's a cop and Mom's a lawyer. Turning my backpack to grab my house key, I unlocked the door, tossing my book bag onto the seat next to the entrance. "Hello?" I asked, making my way towards the kitchen.

Red hair was sticking out of the pantry before Mom poked her head out, sapphire eyes filled with love and cerise lips curved into an endearing smile. She came out of the pantry to embrace me tightly, placing big, sloppy kisses on my face. "Bonjour, mon amour, how was zee school?"

I smiled. Mom must have gotten out early today. "Where's Memphis?" I asked, looking around.

Mom's face darkened with a scowl, crossing her arms in exasperation. "He got detention—again."

My shoulders slumped as I tossed my head back, rolling my eyes. "What'd he do this time?"

"Talked back to ze teacher."

This boy will never learn, will he? I bet my electric guitar that he's going to ask me to cover for him—again—while he sneaks out. As if reading my thoughts, Mom said, "Zat boy will never learn, no?"

I smiled at her. "Of course not, Ma."

We both laughed before Mom shot me a warm smile. "Do you have any homework, ma chérie?"

I shook my head. "Not today, Ma. Is it okay if I go out with friends tonight?"

"Of course, ma fille. I will call to check up on you."

I gave her a peck on the cheek before leaving the kitchen, stopping in the living room to stare at our recent family photo. I stood on the right and Memphis stood on the left, both of us flashing smiles. Dad was holding my shoulders and Mom was holding Memphis'. Everyone says I got my beauty from my mom. We both have crimson hair, a heart shaped face, an hourglass body, cerise lips, long eyelashes, and large, sapphire eyes. But I have my dad's features like my wavy hair, small nose, and small lips. And they say Memphis got his good looks from Dad, which is kind of true. They both have black hair, brown eyes, a muscular build, short hair, beauty marks, and chiseled faces. But he does have some of Mom's features, such as straight hair, thin lips, and medium sized noses.

I smiled at the picture of my family before rushing up the stairs and to my room, throwing myself on my bed. I never did put my sketchbook away so I opened it to the page where I drew the four boys who saved me. My main question was: who were they?


I was just lying in my bed on my back, lazily but harmoniously strumming my acoustic guitar.

Ding-Dong!

I blinked while I stopped playing. I glanced up at my wall clock to see it was 8:30. I gently placed my guitar in the corner of my room before zipping my converse boots up. I grabbed my "going out" bag and put my phone in my back pocket. While passing the rooms, I lightly turned Memphis' bedroom door knob—only to find it locked. I shook my head before making my way down the stairs. "Mom, Dad, I'm leaving now," I shouted.

"Okay, sweetheart," Dad replied from the living room, NFL on blast. "Make sure you have your phone!"

"Yes, Daddy," I said back, heading towards the door.

I grabbed the knob and pulled open the door, revealing my three friends. "Heeey~!" I said.

"Heeey~!" they yelled back, us laughing while I shut the door. It's always been a joke of ours to say "hey" like that because Kim and her fake friends talk like that (1).

We only walked a couple of blocks, talking, laughing and making fun of Kim. All of a sudden, I heard a "psst". I furrowed my eyebrows in annoyance as I glanced to the side. "Ugh, excuse me, guys." I ran back to the corner of the last block we passed and saw my brother.

"What do you want, Memphis?"

He whipped his head side to side. The New York night isn't as busy as it is during the day, so not a lot of people were out. "Do Mom and Dad know I'm out?"

"No, they think you just locked yourself in your room." He opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it. "And don't even think about asking me to cover for you. I love you, bro—but even I don't know an excuse of how you aren't in your room."

"Norma-Jean!" I heard Jeanette yell.

"Look, I gotta go. The only thing I have to say is: don't get caught."

He gave me a fist bump before shooting me an apprehensive look. "Thanks, I might need all the luck I can get."

I gave him a single nod before sprinting towards my friends. I skidded to a stop in front of them, giving them a goofy smile. "Sorry, guys, I had to deal with the idiot."

"What did he do this time?" Penny asked.

"The usual, Penny, got in trouble for getting a detention and, of course, he wants me to cover for him."

The raven haired girl sighed and shook her head with a smile. "Whatever. Let's get going now."

A loud squeal pierced the night air, and Jeanette covered her ear. "Ow, Lily, don't squeal in my ear!"

Lily gave her a sheepish smile and giggled nervously. "Sorry, Jeanette, but it's Kendall!"

I looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Hey, Kendall, what's up?"

The boy turned and smiled, making his way towards us. Kendall is one of our guy friends and is in my English class. He has dirty blond hair and green eyes. We've known him since middle school when we saved him from dating Kim.

"Hey, girls, how are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine," we answered before I smiled at him. "Kendall, it's been awhile."

Kendall furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Norma? We just hung out today in English."

"My point exactly!" I exclaimed cheerfully, spreading my arms. "Now, give me a hug!" Without giving him a chance to reply, I hugged him.

I felt him hesitantly put his hands on my back while I slowly and lightly moved my hand towards his back pocket. I pulled away and beamed at him with my hands behind my back. "O-kay, I'll, uh, see you guys later!" He waved and walked away, very confused.

I turned back to my friends, my smile still on my face and hands still hiding. "Alright, guys, dinner's on me."

Lily raised an eyebrow, although, I don't blame her. After we left my house, we thought about eating—but neither of us had any money. "But I thought you said you didn't have any—"

"I took his wallet," I said with a smirk, pulling out Kendall's wallet from behind my back. They all had on amused smiles while shaking their heads. I shrugged. "I'll pay him back the next time I see him. Now, let's go eat!"

Luckily, we didn't have to walk far because we only passed two apartment buildings before finding a pizza joint. We ordered a large pizza and four sodas. Half of the pizza was pepperoni, for me and Jeanette, and the other half was pineapple, for Penny and Lily.

"So, how'd you do in art class?" Lily asked me.

I was chewing on my slice of pepperoni pizza so I held up a finger, a gesture signaling for her to wait. After I swallowed, I answered her and shot a smile. "I passed, like always."

Jeanette rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Dance, art, instrument, and singing classes—what haven't you passed?"

"Science," Penny smiled.

"Hey!" I objected. A few seconds passed before I tossed my head slights to the side with a lazy grin. "Yeah, you're right."

We all laughed and killed the rest of our pizza. Kendall had 40 bucks in his wallet and the total for our food was $34.50. "Keep the change," I told the waiter once he came for the bill. He seemed like a year or two older than us.

"Thanks," he said half-heartedly. He looked up at me and did a double take, blushing and his eyes going wide like every guy does the first time they see me. "Uh…I mean, are you sure, miss? That's a little over than what I usually get." His cheeks flushed a little more when he realized he embarrassed himself in front of a gorgeous girl like me. I'm not cocky, but I know I'm pretty, and it's not wrong to state the truth.

"Aw, for such a handsome and muscular boy like you, you deserve more than what you're getting," I purred flirtatiously, smiling seductively as I gave him a wink. His blush deepened and he slowly backed away with the bill and cash, only to stumble on a chair since he kept his eyes on me the whole time. His face showed humiliation when he heard me giggle and ran inside the restaurant, completely flustered.

"Okay, why do that?" Jeanette asked with a slight laugh as we all slid out of our seats.

I shrugged with a smile. "It's just fun seeing guys like that. Hey, at least he wasn't cocky."

The brunette gave a quick half smile. "True," she agreed.

"NJ," Lily began, looking at her phone before looking at me, "I gotta go. If I don't finish my biology homework, I'm dead." As soon as she said that, she ran home.

Jeanette hissed when she realized how late it was. "Yeah, I have to go too. I have to practice that piano song Mr. Perry gave us. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" she said, shouting at the last part and waving because she already ran.

I tensed before looking at Penny, who was looking at her watch. "9:30. I better leave too. I have to practice my lines for acting class."

She was about to leave when I grabbed her wrist. Last night still traumatized me, and I'm really scared of staying by myself. "Uh, do you think it's cool if I come?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know, NJ…"

"Or I can spend the night at your house," I persisted, desperate to have a companion with me.

"It's a school night, NJ. I'm pretty sure my parents'll say no," Penny said, gently tugging my hand off her wrist. She took two steps forward before turning to me, shooting an apathetic look. "Give me back my watch," she said monotonously with her hand out.

I gave her an apologetic expression and returned her watch. Penny put it back on her wrist and raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, Norma, what's up?"

I remained silent, debating on whether or not I should tell her. I finally decided. "Nothing, go. I…I'm sorry."

She furrowed her eyebrows in concern before she left, me watching her retreating figure.

I tucked a piece of my bangs back into place and bit my lip. I looked around cautiously before I grabbed my bag and left. I walked three blocks and so far, everything was good, right?

Wrong.

Just as I finished walking the third block, gang members came out—all wearing leather jackets, ripped jeans, and they were in their late 20's, some of them holding pipes. Fear coursed through my veins as I gasped, grasping my hands. They started walking towards me and I walked backwards. Soon enough, my back was against the wall of a nearby building.

The one who I assumed was the leader smirked. "Well, well, looks like we have a good one here tonight," he said, putting his hands on either side of my head. He moved his hands down to my waist. "Now, if you'll be a good little girl, this will be quick and you won't get hurt," he threatened, pulling up the hem of my shirt.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled. "No!"

Suddenly, he was knocked to the ground and groaning. In front of me was a familiar figure holding a staff in a protective and fighting position. Again, I couldn't see him, but I gasped. "You," I whispered in amazement.

His gentle eyes locked with mine. "You're not hurt, right?"

"Barely, if it wasn't for you."

His eyes were then clouded with shyness, but our moment ended when the rest of the gang came towards us. "You shouldn't have done that," one of them growled.

My hero got back into position before two voices spoke up. "Don't do something that you'll regret."

"Or lose against."

My three other heroes came, holding their weapons in their hands. "Now, we can do this the easy way," the one with the sais began, "or my vote, the hard way."

The gang members held their place before charging towards them with their pipes.

It was chaos. The one with the blades was blocking hits from two of the hoodlums before giving them a low kick. The other with the sais swiftly dodged a punch before sticking his weapons into his opponents extended arms, flipping him into another member. The last one jumped up, twirling his nun-chucks and hitting a few of the members with them.

All of a sudden, I was picked up by the waist. I screamed and struggled when I found out it was the leader. One of my protectors was fighting as well, but stopped when his opponent fell and heard my scream. He ran towards us and swiftly jumped, suddenly in front of us than behind.

He held his bo-staff in front of the hoodlum. "Release her," he said darkly, which shocked me. Even though I hardly know him, it doesn't sound right. When we talked, he was gentle and shy—but here he was, completely furious with my captor. Does my safety really have that much of an impact on him (2)?

My captor laughed, and it was an annoying motion since I was over his shoulder. "Look at that. The prince wants to rescue his princess, but you can't save her if she's dead."

All three of us were standing near a dumpster, so the leader rapidly spun us and banged my head against the dumpster, hard. The last thing I saw was my hero charging towards us with his bo-staff tightly in his hands before darkness overcame me.


A/N: Today's my birthday, but I'm giving you all a present anyway :) Please alert me if any of the TMNT characters are OOC, I want to get them right.

1.) Get used to the cornyness of this groups' sense of humor, they're that lame XD

2.) I'm gonna base Donnie's love life on what I see of him. He seems like the kind who's shy around his crush (of course, the Donnie/April thing), yet protective of her (Monkey Brains).

Read, review, fav, alert, and vote on my poll.