I hope I did not rush during this chapter.
Note: I have been working on a prequel to this, which is an AngelOC, you will see it soon enough.
Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, they belong to mirage, but I do own my OCs, and if you wish to borrow any of them, just let me know
A Message in Music: Chapter 2
Gotta keep moving!
Jessie ran panting towards the shop, after nearly being run over by several impatient taxi drivers, multiple encounters with the street venders, and of coarse the feeling that someone was following her like a lost puppy. She turned a corner, before pausing to catch her breath.
Damn it, why is that shop so far away from the school?
She could see the music shop a couple of stores down, and she felt a wave of relief. She began walking towards the door, trying to make herself look like she did not run the entire way there. She paused in front of the store, smiling slightly, before pushing the door open. The bell jingled, making the woman behind the counter send her a slight frown.
"You're late, Jess," she stated, her eyes flashing slightly, "what's the excuse this time?"
"Hey, you try running from my school to here in less then ten minutes," Jess pointed out, her cheeks red from running.
The woman suddenly let out a chuckle, "I was joking, Jessie, you're actually five minutes early, this time."
Jess gaped, before clamping her mouth shut. She sent the woman a glare before storming off to put on her smock. Grabbing the bright green smock off the rack, she put it on, tying it in the back loosely.
"You know what, this reminds me of the day several months ago when social services put you in my custody," the woman shook her head slightly, "frankly, I had no fuckin' idea that father of yours did that shit to ya."
As that was said Jess was grabbing some tools used to repair instruments and slipping them in the large pockets. She froze, glancing at the woman her eyes held a child like innocence, "You have no idea how bad it was."
"I'm ashamed to call 'im my brother," she shook her head, "Goin' ta those Georgia bars, and drinkin' the money ya need to survive dry, and all those hookers."
"I don't want to talk about it," Jess admitted quietly, "I just got outta that and I ain't gonna go back."
"Sweet heart," the woman shook her head, "ya have to talk about it, or it will kill ya."
"At least I have friends here that are completely honest with me, and truly care," Jessie shook her head, before finishing grabbing everything she needed, "and Aunt Amelia, could you please don't mention my dad."
"Why?" Amelia asked, blinking slightly.
"Because I still haven't forgiven what he made Mama do," she stated. The older woman sighed, before the baby monitor on the counter stared giving off a loud wail.
"Oh crud," the woman grabbed hold of it, "sweetie, I might be awhile, could you take over the shop until I get back, and if Marco gets back please tell 'im to come up to the apartment."
Jessie rolled her eyes, "Okay." Amelia sent the teen a warning look before leaving the room through a door located behind the counter. Jessie sighed, before walking behind the counter, bending down and grabbing a spray can of disinfectant, paper towels, and a flute case. She flipped the case open and pulled out a tiny screwdriver from her pocket, tightening any loose screws she found.
"Okay, gotta give it a lil' test run," she muttered to herself before putting it together and spraying the mouthpiece with the disinfectant. She brought it to her lips and began to play a couple of scales before nodding at the sound and feel of the instrument. She took it apart and sprayed the mouthpiece a second time, and putting it back in the case.
"One down, several more ta go," she muttered, crouching on her knees to put it under the counter.
The bell connected to the front entrance of the shop suddenly let out a ringing sound as a costumer walked through. She tried to stand up, bumping her head on the counter.
"Ouch!" she hissed between clenched teeth. She peaked from behind the counter and stared at the customer for a few moments. He was a short bulky figure wearing a grey beanie, a loose white jacket with a hood over his head, a pair of grey pants and a grey scarf wrapped around his neck.
Is this guy a robber or somethin'?
She tilted her head slightly, staring at him with blank chocolate brown eyes, "May I help ya, sir?"
"Uh, yes," she blinked at how mellow his voice was, "Do you happen to have anything Mozart on a tape or CD?"
"I can give ya both if ya want," she cracked a grin, shoving her hands in her smock pockets while rocking back and forth on her heals.
"That would be nice," he nodded, adjusting his scarf showing off his cream-colored gloves.
"I'll be back in a few," she stated before turning on her left heal and walking to the storage closet. She began searching in a box of un-opened tapes and CDs and pulled out one of each with 'Mozart' written in fancy letters on the cases. She returned to the counter and scanned the bar codes on the back of them.
She glanced at the prices on the screen, "That would be fifteen, thirty-six." He nodded pulling out a wrinkled twenty-dollar bill and handed it to her. She smiled slightly taking it from him and pulled out the correct change of four dollars and sixty-four cents, and his receipt with his CD and tape put in a plastic bag.
"Have a good day, and please come back as soon as ya can," she smiled sweetly as he took his belongings. He nodded slightly, a bit confused on her friendliness.
"Uh, sure," he nodded slightly, holding the bag in his hand.
She watched as he exited the shop, before leaning on the counter, muttering, "Nice Guy reminds me of the dudes back in good ol' Georgia, but he looks like he's dressed a lil' warm for March."
"Jess, telephone," she jumped when her aunt stated her name. She turned to Amelia who was holding a cordless phone in her right hand, and had a six-month-old, teething baby on her hip. She took the phone from her.
"Hello?" she watched as Amelia pulled out a playpen and opened it up behind the counter before setting the infant inside.
"Hey Jess, it's Angel," she grinned slightly hearing her friend's voice.
"Why are you calling?" she asked, leaning back on the counter, her elbows on the counter top, her left leg bent, and her right leg caused her to appear in a leaning position.
"Listen, my neighbor, Casey, won't let me go to the Zone with out two friends with me, so…"
"You're expecting me and Amy to come with ya?" Jessie tilted her head to the side, a slight smirk forming on her lips.
"Well…you're forgetting that Amy's grounded," Angel stated. Jessie's mouth dropped.
"Why are we going to the Zone anyways?" she suddenly blurted out. Amelia suddenly sent a questioning look to her niece.
"The owner offered to give us a gig at the joint, but knowing you, and my neighbor Casey, we would have the check the place out first," Angel stated in an irritated voice.
"Hold on," Jessie placed the speaking part of the phone on her left shoulder, "Aunt Amelia, Angel said someone has offered to give us a gig at the Zone. She and another one of my friends will be with me, so will it be okay?"
Amelia thought for a bit, before sighing and shaking her head, "Look, I donated a lot of music and equipment to that joint teenagers hang out at, just be careful, you'll never know who ya'll bump inta."
Jessie rolled her eyes, "Ya know I will."
"Be back by eleven thirty, and try not ta get inta trouble like ya did at the movies," the woman shook her head.
"Hey, that ticket guy was with holdin' receipts, I had ta to that!" the teen cried. The woman bursted out laughing on how quick the teenager defended herself verbally; after calming down for a few minutes she glanced at the playpen.
"I don't think I woulda survived without your support when I got custody of ya," the woman smiled gently. Jessie made a face, remembering the day her cousin was born, which happened to be the day she came to this city and put in her aunt's care.
Jessie blinked suddenly remembering her friend on the phone, "Sorry."
"You two always get caught up in the moment," Angel stated flatly on the other end, "And I heard everything. Jordan and I will be over there in fifteen minutes to make you look good enough to go into that club."
"But…"
"No, buts Jess, you know you need this, so don't argue!"
Jessie sighed, "Alright, see ya in a few."
"Bye."
"So, who's this other friend that's goin' with ya'll?" Amelia asked, brushing her brunette locks from her face.
"Jordan…"
"What in Sam Hills! Sweetie, ya better keep an eye on that girl, she's as delicate as a peach!" Amelia cried, throwing her arms in the air.
Jessie sighed, slouching, "Don't worry, I will."
"Good," Amelia stated, suddenly pointing her finger at the door to the apartment, "now get your lil' ass in motion and get in the shower so those girls will be able to fix ya up."
"Not you, too!" Jessie groaned, shaking her head. She lifted her hands in defeat, before opening the door to the staircase to the apartment above, and ran to the apartment, steamed and upset.
"And yer makin' 'er go with two of 'er skimpy lil' friends!" Raph cried the moment Don returned to the lair. He blinked in confusion as Raph and Casey were face to face in the center of the lair.
"Hey, at least she ain't goin' alone!" Casey yelled.
"But it's close to where those Purple Dragon scum-bags are drug dealin', what if they go an' start trandin' in there!" Raph hissed, before Leo suddenly interfered pulling the two best friends apart.
"Look, we were planning on going there undercover anyways to see if they are using the Zone for any illegal activity!" Leo growled, glaring at the two. Don sighed shaking his head.
The Zone was a place that the five knew would eventually be put under the Purple Dragons' watchful eyes the moment the teen club opened, especially in the area of the city it was located.
He blinked slightly, glancing around the room, only seeing two of his brothers, and Casey in the room, "Where's Mikey?"
"He said something about hiding," Leo stated, shrugging slightly, before grinning, "at least you're ready for tonight's mission."
Don fought the urge to roll his eyes, as he reached into the plastic bag. He grinned when he felt the tape under his fingers. Grabbing it, he pulled it out, and tossed it to Leo, "Think fast!"
Leo caught it, and looked it over. He blinked a couple of times, before a bitter look came over his features, "So this has got to do with why Mikey's hiding, does it?"
Don nodded.
"Excuse me," Leo stated, before storming off, fuming. Raph blinked, glancing at Don.
"What's in the bag?" he asked.
"Nothing that would intrigue you in the least, Raph," the brainy turtle cracked a grin, before walking off to his lab, at least not without pausing to hear the yelp that echoed through the lair.
Leo had found Mikey.
Jessie glared at herself in the mirror as Jordan played around with her wet hair, crunching it in her hair, causing curled waves to go through her hair. She hated the outfit they were making her wear, which was a tight, yet comfortable black shirt with Hello Kitty on the front dressed like a nerd/geek in TV standards with the words 'Nerd Lover' written in bold letters under the Hello Kitty, kitty. She was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans that flared as the reached the bottom, and she wore her black converses with pink around the trim.
"I look like a dork," she stated flatly.
"You look very nice, Jess," Jordan stated, finishing her last touch with a pair of bobby pins keeping her part back. Jessie turned and stared at her friend, noting that her hair was out of their usual pig-tailed braids, which caused soft waves to surround her heart shaped face; her glasses were sliding off the edge of her nose. Jordan quickly adjusted them, before wiping off invisible dust partials from her nice light green capris, and then she adjusted her light yellow shirt with a pink heart in the center. She glanced down at her light green and yellow ballerina flats as Jess stood up.
"You look nicer then I do, Jordan," Jessie winked. Jordan flushed, bringing her right hand to her mouth.
"I-I'm n-not th-that pre-pretty," the girl's muffled stutter was prevented when Jessie removed her hand from her mouth.
"You know that's a lie," Jessie grinned, before turning to Angel, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring at them. Angel and Jordan, and another group of their friends had been to the teen club a handful times, and Angel would always wear the same thing, which she supposedly 'claimed' wearing when she nearly joined the biggest and most dangerous street gang in New York City.
"So, are we going or not?" Angel tilted her head smiling brightly.
"It's now or never," Jessie stated, "which I'd prefer never."
Don stood uncomfortably in the corner of the club, adjusting the hood on his jacket. He ditched the scarf and gloves before leaving the lair, and replaced them with a pair of dark shades. He could feel the beats from the music through the floor and wall, and he tensed slightly whenever one to several teenaged girls would walk up to him and started chatting with him.
He did not want to be here.
Mikey casually made his way over to wear Don was standing, "Raph's seen a couple of PDs lurking around, we don't know what they're up to, but we'll shut them down soon."
Don stared at the tightly packed group of people dancing on the dance floor. He felt a very nervous feeling rose up in his stomach. He felt as if they were exposing themselves even if they were in disguise. He glanced over to see Casey standing at the entrance, his arms crossed.
"Don, Mikey!" the two suddenly snapped their heads to see Angel standing in front of them, "Casey didn't say you guys would be here."
"Umm, well, this was actually Leo's idea," a look of pain crossed over Mikey's face, and the younger mutant rubbed his head. Angel nodded slightly, a smile forming on her lips.
"Well, I just wanted to stop by and say hi before anything happens to cause us to head out," she stated, throwing a thumb over her shoulder.
"Angel! I need to talk to you," a girl with crunched hair walked over to the purple haired teen, a serious look on her face. Angel glanced at her before nodding slightly, before the two walked a small distance away and started talking about something.
"I wonder what they're talking about," Mikey suddenly stated. Don ignored him, staring at Angel's friend as they talked. Their body language seemed tense, as if they were disagreeing on the topic they were talking about.
"She's the girl from the music shop," he murmured to himself.
"Huh, what was that?" Mikey asked, glancing at Don.
Don shook his head, swatting him off, "Don't we have some work to do."
"Okay, Jess, why did you drag me over here?" Angel asked, her hands one her hips.
"I don't like this place," Jessie stated childishly. Angel blinked, staring at her friend as if she was insane.
"Excuse me?" Angel asked a slight frown on her lips.
"Listen, Angel, this is a fun place, but we can't give our début at a place like this!" Jessie shook her head, "I mean something just ain't right about this place!"
"This is a teen club, Jess, a TEEN club, we're perfectly safe," Angel stated. Jessie sighed, shaking her head.
"Listen, this could be the back up if we don't find another place in time," the southern girl stated, "because somethin' 'bout this place gives me the willies, ya know."
Angel nodded, "Alright."
"Jordan's goin' ta meet up with ya, I'm goin' ta head home," Jessie stated, smiling slightly.
"Jess, you just can't walk home by yourself," Angel stated, "I mean sure your place is a couple blocks away, but you could get hurt or even worse."
"I'll be okay, I did this all the time when I was stayin' in the city part of Atlanta with my cousin Tom for awhile," Jessie stated grinning, "besides, I can take care of myself."
Angel nodded slightly, a worried expression on her features, "Stay safe."
Jess sent her good friend on last grin, before turning on her heal and headed towards the exit.
Angel could just stand there wondering if it was a mistake to let her leave on her own.
PLEASE REVIEW!
Again, constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated, and if you want to flame, please message me the flame through PM rather then flaming the story itself. Thanks for those who have reviewed who have been reading this before the rewrite, and after the rewrite, so the next chapter will be dedicated to the reviewers!
SHOUT OUT:Madame-Cazone, thank you for being one of the greatest reviewers for this story, so I am look forward to seeing your rewritten version of TMNT: A Secret Friend, and I cannot wait to start rewriting our story that we've been working on together!
