A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the positive feedback, really wasn't expecting that on this story!

This chapter's a bit short because I originally had it as one mega-long chapter, but the length was just ridiculous, so I split it where I thought would be best. That's why it ends a bit awkwardly. The next chapter will be the other half of this one haha

Hope you enjoy ;)

Disclaimer: Do you honestly think that they'd let a teenager make a TV series? Use your brains, guys

It had been three days and Mikey was getting good at his routine. Turns out they all wake up at different times, so lying about breakfast was easy. It was the exercising that wasn't, so he usually had to do it when Raph was watching TV or taking a shower so he wouldn't get interrupted. He also had to be quiet so Leo, Donnie and Splinter wouldn't hear him and wonder what he was doing. He could already tell he was losing weight – he weighed himself every night and wrote it down – but it wasn't enough and he knew it. Leo did morning katas quite often, and sometimes forgot to have breakfast. How was what Mikey was doing any different except for the fact that did it every day? No, he needed something else, something better than just exercising, and he knew just where to find out what to do.

He waited until he could hear Donnie in the shower, and crept to the living area to check if Raph and Leo were still watching TV. They were. He smiled to himself and tiptoed to Donnie and Leo's room, making a beeline for Donnie's laptop and turning it on, muting the sound as soon as the screen lit up. Once it was loaded, he went onto the internet and searched for ways to lose weight. There were so many entries, but they were all about exercising and eating healthily. He already did that! He scrolled down more and more until he was at the bottom of the browser, when a website caught his eye. He clicked on it and read the introduction. From what he could tell, it was a blog a girl had written about getting thin. She was only two years older than him – the same age as Donnie and Raph – and seemed to be quite experienced.

He read about her techniques, and found that she used the same routine as him, except for the fact that he did more exercise and she skipped more meals. Mikey had wanted to skip other meals, but he couldn't for fear of his brothers getting suspicious, so he had to stick with just skipping breakfast. He was about to exit the page when a paragraph caught his eye. It was all about what to do if you can't skip meals.

What's purging? Mikey thought to himself, frowning. His eyes widened as he read more. Purging was making yourself sick by sticking two fingers down your throat. Mikey made a face. It sounded disgusting, but the girl on the website said that it wasn't as bad as it sounds, and that you get used to it.

Mikey desperately wanted to be thin like his brothers, but he knew that he wouldn't have the guts to actually make himself be sick. He hated doing it when he was actually ill, so for now, he'd have to just settle with his routine.

Mikey collapsed on his front, breathing heavily. He'd been working out nonstop for an hour, and he was exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached, but he'd read on that girl's blog that this was a good thing.

He thought back to what she had said; 'Keep on going until you collapse. That's when you know you've done it right.' And smiled; he was well on his way now! His brothers could be proud of him, and soon Mikey would have no worries. He could be just as good as his siblings – maybe even better! When people saw how thin he was, they'd be envious. They'd ask him how he did it; they'd ask him how he was so strong, how he had so much self control.

He got up off the floor and walked over to the long mirror, turning to the side and lifting up his top. His stomach wasn't nearly as big as it had been before, and Mikey grinned, although it soon faded when he reached down and pinched the remaining fat. If I can pinch it, then I can lose it, he thought, and sucked in. He didn't get very far until he reached the limit of as far in as he could go – that's where he needed to be. Once he got there, he would stop. No problem and everyone would be happy.

Mikey hugged himself in glee – he was finally doing it. He was finally being his own person, just like Leo was the leader, Raph was the muscle, and Donnie was the brains.

Mikey was well on his way to perfection.

"Did you have breakfast Mikey?" Leo asked the next day, cutting the crust off of his little brother's jam sandwich.

"Yeah," Mikey lied.

"You sure? Your bowl wasn't with the washing up."

"I ate from the packet." Mikey swiftly replied. He was getting good at lying to his brothers about eating; it came naturally.

"Oh, okay. Try to pour yourself a bowl next time Mikey."

"Sure Leo," Mikey walked over to the couch and watched TV with Donnie and Raph, waiting for Leo to call for them to come to lunch. When he did, Donnie and Raph got up immediately. Mikey followed reluctantly, but he tried not to show it.

"I'm starving!" declared Raph, grabbing his plate off the side and sitting down at the table.

"Same here" agreed Donnie, seating himself next to Raph with his plate.

Mikey smiled at Leo as he handed him his plate and the two sat in the seats opposite Raph and Donnie. Mikey looked at his food and internally grimaced. He'd heard that some people could tell you exactly how many calories were in every piece of food. Mikey wanted to do that – it would be great to know how many calories you were putting into your body, so you could get the bare minimum. None's better than the bare minimum. He thought back to the girl's blog and what she had said about purging. It can't be that bad...can it? She didn't say it was bad, she just said it was uncomfortable. So do it. Mikey looked at his food and took his first bite, well aware that the others were already halfway through and he hadn't even started. Internally beating himself up with every bite he took, he managed to finish the sandwich just after his brothers, but his still felt terrible about it. I have to be stronger. He thought. I can't just give in to a sandwich!

"Mikey!" Raph's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he plastered a smile onto his face before looking at his brother.

"Yeah Raph?" he asked.

"We've been talking to you!" said Raph in annoyance.

"You have?" asked Mikey, mentally kicking himself for getting so lost in his thoughts. That would definitely make his brothers suspicious.

"Yeah, are you okay? You looked like you were in really deep thought for a minute there" said Donnie.

"Careful Donnie, it might be his first time" said Raph, and Mikey stuck out his tongue, kicking his older brother in the shin. "Ow!"

"Didn't you like your sandwich?" asked Leo, frowning.

"What?" said Mikey. "No no I did, it was great, thanks bro!"

"Oh, okay. You just looked like you were disgusted when you were eating it, that's all."

No! Mikey thought. They can't be finding out already! I have to change the subject quick! "So," he said. "What were you talking to me about when I was all zoned out?" he asked, trying to be as casual as possible.

"The party April's having!" said Raph, clearly excited. "It's tomorrow, but it's just casual so don't worry about getting all dressed up or anything."

"It's at seven, and we're gonna have pizza and stuff there so don't worry about dinner either." added Donnie.

Pizza? Mikey thought. He wasn't sure how many calories were in a slice of pizza, but he was sure there were a lot. "Yeah, that sound great!" he lied. Of course he was looking forward to the party – he was the resident party animal after all, but he couldn't eat that many calories! Maybe I could purge them? No! He couldn't do that...could he? Everyone would be busy with the party and no one would notice him like they would if he were at home. All he needed to do was to bring some spray to get rid of the smell of sick and he could get away with it...couldn't he? I can do this.

"Mikey!" Mikey looked up and saw Leo looking at him in concern. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah!" said Mikey. "Just excited for the party!"

"Well, if you say so..."

Mikey's stomach rumbled as he took the plate from Leo and he cringed. He'd been keeping tabs on his weight every day, and the numbers he'd been writing down just didn't seem to drop fast enough. Knowing that skipping breakfast and doing regular exercise just wasn't enough, Mikey smiled up at Leo sheepishly, who had let out a laugh at the sound of his younger brother's stomach.

"Looks like someone's hungry today," Leo said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I am!" said Mikey, forcing enthusiasm into his voice.

"As always," said Raph with a smirk as he walked back to the kitchen with his empty plate.

"Yeah," said Mikey, plastering on a grin. "You know me – I love my food!" as long as it stays on the outside.

"Well, at least you're not brooding like you were yesterday. That's Leo's thing."

Mikey kept the grin even as his brothers walked away, and only let it fall when they were out of sight. He approached the bin and opened it, tipping in the contents of his plate, before grabbing some kitchen towels to cover up the discarded food.

Thanks for giving me the boost I needed, Raph. Thought Mikey. If you hadn't, I might have carried on thinking that there was nothing wrong with me.

Mikey jumped up off of the floor and dived for his phone, checking the timer on it. Three seconds better than last time. Mikey sighed happily and rolled onto his back. He had recently started to time himself to see how much he could really push himself in his workouts, and it was working.

The only thing that worried him was that his brothers and father were beginning to notice his lack of energy. They were starting to pick up on little things like how much slower he was and how he couldn't seem to concentrate – more so than usual. Mikey put his slowness and lack of energy down to having excess fat weighing him down, unlike his brothers. It could also be because of the working out he did every night. It exhausted him, although it would all be over soon anyway, once Mikey had his weight under control.

Yeah, everything would be fine.