Chapter 3

Lisa's POV

I gave the punching bag another kick, smiling slightly at the solid thump I heard, before getting a drink of water from my bottle.

It had been almost a month since I had met Leo. He had visited me at least once a week, but only for a few minutes each, he had said he had to go on "patrol" or something, so he hadn't been able to stay much longer than that. It annoyed me, although I wasn't sure why. He had grown to trust me, at least a little, and I him. I had come to like the turtle, maybe even enough to call him a friend.

I headed back to the punching bag, fixing my glove. I flexed my hands and started pounding on the bag. I started with my fists, boxer style, before settling into my ninjitsu, hitting and kicking with deadly accuracy. After about an hour of this I stopped, breathing heavily, and gulped the rest of my water, tossing the empty bottle into a trashcan on my way out. I headed to the park, walking quickly.

I reached the park and wandered over to my favorite place, in the branches of a large tree, a ways away from the main path. As I sat there hidden among the leaves I turned on my music, drowning out the outside world. My iPod had been a present from her, I don't know how she got it, but I was glad for the gift. There was no way I could afford it myself.

This was how I liked to spend my time, hidden away from the world, pretending my life was different, pretending I was free. The moments never lasted long, and I savored every minute of them.

My mind flashed back to one of Leo's visits.

We sat on the edge of the roof, looking out at the bright city lights. Leo was telling me a story about the first time he had seen the surface, how beautiful he had thought it was. He still thought it was beautiful, he said, but he would always remember that first time.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. Not the awkward silence like the first time we met, a comfortable silence. I liked that about Leo, he didn't need to fill the silence. He enjoyed it, like me.

I broke the silence. "Leo?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why did you follow me, that first time we met?"

"Oh, um, I'm not really sure," he fumbled. "I think it was probably the lack of activity that night."

I snorted. "You mean you followed me home because you were bored?"

He grinned sheepishly, "Yeah…"

"That has got to be the stupidest way to meet someone, stalking them because you're bored… But, I'm glad you did." I gave him a small smile.

He grinned back, "Me too".

I smiled at the memory. It was a strange, and somewhat stupid, way to meet someone. But really, Leo is a strange someone, I guess it made sense to meet him in a strange way.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground. My wrist was bent at a sharp angle, and my ankle was throbbing. I tried to get up but my ankle wouldn't hold any weight. "Ugh," I groaned. I tied my jacket around my ankle, hoping to give it some support, and stood, balancing on my left foot. I hobbled a few steps away from the tree, gasping in pain with every step. By the time I finally made it to a sidewalk the park was almost completely empty. I checked my watch. It was nearly eleven o'clock! My nap must've been longer than I thought. I sat down on a park bench with a sigh. Getting home was going to be a pain. After a few more minutes of rest I stood back up, wincing slightly. I walked slowly to the street, pausing a moment to get my bearings, before heading in the direction of my apartment.

After what seemed like hours (but in reality was only about twenty minutes) I finally reached my apartment building. I groaned when I saw the stairs, I was going to have to climb the stupid things all the way to my apartment, which was on the top floor. Curse New York's tall buildings. I wished I could afford to live in a better apartment, say, one with an elevator. I finally reached my home. With trembling fingers I unlocked the door. When I got inside I slammed and locked the door and collapsed on the couch, yelping when it sucked me in. With a glare at the broken couch I gingerly sat on the other side, propping my foot up on the arm.

I had been sitting there for about ten minutes when I heard a tap at my window. I hobbled over and shoved it open, wincing, I forgot about my hand. Leo stood on the fire escape. I greeted the turtle with a pained smile. He climbed in quickly.

"What happened to you? Are you all right? Should I call an ambulance?" He asked, worried.

I grimaced, "I fell out of a tree, yes, and no". I walked slowly back to the couch. "Could you grab the icepack?"

Leo opened the fridge and pulled out an icepack that didn't really deserve to be called an icepack. He raised an eye ridge at me."I don't think so," He said. "I'd rather call an ambulance. But…" He added when I glared at him. He stopped for a minute, pondering his idea. "I guess you'll just have to come with me."

"Wait, what?" I yelped as he picked me up. "Really, Leo, it's probably just a sprain, I'll be fine," I insisted. He didn't listen. "I don't get a say in this, do I?"

"Nope"

And then we were outside. He climbed down the fire escape into the alley, setting me down for a second so he could move the manhole cover. He then picked me back up and climbed into the sewer, cradling me in one arm while he moved the cover back in place.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To my place," he answered.

"Your place?" I questioned, "You have a place?"

"Yup, I live there with my brothers and sensei"

"You have brothers?"

"Yep, three of them."

I was quiet for a few minutes, processing this new information. "Are they… like you?"

"Yes."

"You're gonna need to do some explaining."

"All in good time", Leo chuckled.

After a few minutes later we came to a stop. Leo looked down at me. He looked worried.

"Well this will be… interesting," he muttered.

He set me down, but kept a hold of my arm, supporting me. We walked in. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. Three turtles stood there staring at me, I felt a little self-conscious, realizing how I must look, falling out of trees, and all that. "Hi." I said, breaking the silence.

"Who are you?" I winced at the anger in the turtle's voice. He had a red mask and a scowl on his face.

"I-I'm Lisa", I managed to get out.

I was then practically attacked by the turtle with an orange mask.

"Hi, I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey." He had a big smile on his face.

"H-hi," I said, a little surprised by the difference in the two boys tones. 'Mikey' then caught me in a bone-crushing hug. I gasped in pain and leaned on Leo a bit more, actually, a lot more. I could barely stand. I was exhausted, cold, and in pain. Leo seemed to notice this, because the next thing I knew I was in his arms again. He carried me into what looked like a lab, calling to one of his brothers, "Hey Donnie, could you get over here?"

I was laid down on a cot and soon the purple clad turtle was standing over me, a look of concern on his face. He looked at my ankle first, poking and prodding while I held in my cries of pain. He wrapped it in bandages, telling me to stay off of it for a while. Then he took a look at my arm. Luckily I had only sprained my wrist, and ankle, and nothing was broken. He got me a brace and told me to not use that either. I wasn't happy about it, I felt like a cripple, but I agreed.

"What happened?" I think his name was Donnie, asked while putting away the first aid kit he had been using.

"Oh, um, I fell out of a tree." I mumbled, somewhat embarrassed.

I heard a snort from the door. I turned to see the one turtle whose name I didn't know, the one with the red mask.

"Shut up Raph." That was Leo. I relaxed a little at the sight of a familiar face.

"Well, since I'm all fixed up I guess I'll just go now." I said with a fake smile on my face. I started to walk to the door but almost fell on my face. I would've, but someone caught me. I looked up into green eyes framed by a red mask. I blinked my own green eyes, opening my mouth to say something, but I didn't have time.

"Whoa there, maybe you should just sit down for a while." Donnie said, "You really shouldn't be putting pressure on that ankle".

"Oh, no, I'm fine, really." I winced inwardly; even I could tell how fake it sounded. I pushed away the hand supporting me. "Really guys, I'm fine," I repeated. I once again headed out the door, but was stopped when Leo blocked my path, his arms crossed over his plastron.

"You're not going anywhere. Donnie says you need to stay off that foot, so that's what you're going to do." And with those words he picked me up and sat me back down on the cot, despite my protests. I scowled at him. He grinned at me apologetically. I sighed, "Fine".

Leo looked relieved. Raph had an annoying smirk on his face. Donnie started talking about where I could stay until my ankle was well enough to walk on. When the other two boys were distracted by Donnie's chattering I jumped up and sprinted out the door, only to run into Mikey, sending us both sprawling on the ground. I cried out when I landed on my sprained wrist.

Leo came running out of the lab. "Lisa," he sighed with frustration. I just stared at the ground and pouted. I knew I was acting like a four year old, but I didn't care. Leo picked me up and carried me back into the lab, setting me down on the cot for the third time.

I was exhausted. I lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over my head, ignoring the talking turtles. I drifted off into sleep quickly.


Leo's POV

I looked over at the cot. Lisa had fallen asleep. I put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, motioning to the sleeping girl with my head when he looked at me. He nodded and we left the lab, closing the door behind us. Mikey was watching TV and Raph was reading a comic book, neither looked up when we sat down on the couch.

We were quiet for a few minutes until Raph finally asked, "So, what's with the chick?"

Mikey turned off the TV and I began my story.


Yay new chapter! I want to thank Eadlin for following, Melodig for favoriting, and Rebel Mutant for reviewing.

And I want to thank all you fabulous people for taking the time to read my little story.