As soon as Mikey entered his house questions were being thrown at his head. He had expected this though.
"Who did that to you, Mikey?" Donnie asked him.
"Yeah, who could've beaten our baby brother up so badly?" Leo asked as he rubbed his finger gently against Mikey's black eye.
"Did you fight back?" Raph asked. Of course Raph would ask such a question.
Mikey sighed. Here goes nothing. "The foot found me at school. I tried to fight back, but there were too many of them."
"Mikey, I don't believe that for a second. There is no way that Footbots could've done that much damage to you. Just tell us what actually happened." Leo said.
At that moment all Mikey wanted to do was curl up into Leo's chest, tell him why he looked the way he did, and beg him not to leave. But all of those were way out of reach. Besides, Leo had already passed the tests to be in the military. All he had to do now was graduate and train with the generals and other soldiers.
"I can't." Mikey finally said.
His brothers stared in shock. Mike never was one to keep many secrets. Why now? "Why can't you?" Raph asked rather angrily.
Mikey stood up and began to walk up the stairs of his house. "Because I'm trying to protect you all." He said simply and did not utter one other word. His brothers ran after him, yelling, screaming, and threatening him, but Mikey acted like he didn't acknowledge them.
He shut his door and locked it. He was surprised his father hadn't conviscated the lock after his mother died, but he never thought to question it until now. He sat on his bed and stared into oblivion. His blonde bangs fell into his eyes, but he didn't try to swipe them away. He didn't move except to breathe and blink.
He kept thinking about what he was about to do. Was this really a good idea? People all over the world do it, but...look where they end up. Six feet under. But people claim it takes away pain. Maybe it does?
Does it? He hadn't the slightest idea.
His phone buzzed.
You'd think by now that our dear Michelangelo had learned his lesson from the first two times.
He hadn't.
He looked at his phone and tears sprung into his eyes.
'You lived our beating? What ashame. I was hoping to wake up and find a Hamato Michelangelo dead letter in the paper. Just remember, you are not allowed to tell anyone, or we will find your brothers. And we will kill them.'
Mikey threw his phone. His phone had started some of the major destruction. Keith was most of his problem. But Keith had a little rat pack who did everything he commanded. They'd kill him on the spot if told to do so. Not like they care any way.
Suddenly, Michelangelo felt cold. He felt fearless. He felt...emotionless. He felt no pain, no sadness, no fear, madness, anger, confusion, fear. It was all just...gone. He grabbed his back pack and foraged for his pencil pouch. He opened the small orange bag and rummaged for his new beauty. He found them.
Scissors.
He places the sharp blades against his bare skin on his right arm and presses. He presses hard and applies a great amount of pressure to the blade that was dangerously close to his veins. He did this two more timess and stopped when he saw three beautiful cuts aligned on his arm.
He smiled.
He didn't regret this feeling. This feeling felt...wonderous. It felt...amazing. It made HIM feel...joyous. How could something so wrong be so right? Soon, the wonder, the amazement, the joy fled and was replaced with shock.
How could he do such a dishonorable thing? He was a monster now. He belonged in the gallows if there was such a thing anymore. He felt so helpless that he had resulted in harming himself. Why it was proposturous. Blasphemy. Idiotic.
Yet, he could not forget the feeling he had had before shock. He covered the cuts with his sleeve and decided to go back out with his brothers. Perhaps Leo would take them all to the park. He had been trying to do such things with his brothers considering he'd be gone for a long while.
He walked down the stairs of his two story home and saw all of his brothers sitting in the living room. Yet they hadn't acknowledged him yet. Overhearing his name, Mikey decided to hide behind a wall and listen to what his brothers were saying.
"What did he mean when he said he was trying to protect us?" Donnie asked.
"I don't know, but I'm sure he's just being overdramatic." Raph said.
"But what could have beaten him up so badly? I can't be the only one who doesn't believe his Footbot story." Leo explained.
"Trust me, no one believes his Footbot story. He's too strong to get beat up by them. I dunno, maybe I should rethink going overseas."
"Leo, that's what you've been wanting to do ever since you saw and heard about 9/11. You can't just quit because of a family matter. Raph and I can help Mikey through whatever he's going through. This is your dream, Leo. And I don't think Mikey wants you to stay behind because of him."
Leo sighed. "I know, I know. It's just that...he seems so...different now. Like...something's bothering him...
but he won't tell us what it is."
Mikey could feel tears sting his eyes. He was holding his brother back from doing something he loved.
"Yeah, and we'll figure it out. Look it's November, the last Thanksgiving we're gonna have with you for a while. We should just focus on having you here with us." Raph said.
Leo sighed. "I'm just starting to wonder if I am doing the right thing. Maybe I should stay here. I feel like I've seen, or better yet felt, Mikey's behaviour from somewhere. I just can't remember where."
"Leo, we're going to get his problem solved and if you stay behind, when we do get his problem resolved,
you're going to regret not going overseas doing what you want." Donnie preached.
Leo sighed. "You guys are right. It was just a crazy thought."
Mikey's breath hitched. He could have just prevented his brother from going overseas and possibly get killed. But he didn't. He couldn't. Because it was what Leo wanted to do. He couldn't take that away from his brother.
A tear escaped from his eye and cascaded down his face. He was going to lose one brother and gain one bully. That's how his life worked. When he lost something important in his life he gains a bully. And at the end of Leo's graduation wouldn't be any acception.
He ran back up to his room to find a new message.
'Meet us in the hallways at 2:00pm on the dot. If not your brothers get it.'
Mikey had a stone cold stare in his eyes. He looked at the wall opposite of him. Anything to keep his brothers safe. He'd take a gun to the head to keep them safe. Which, in this case, he very much may.
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Mikey was once again walking through the hallways. But this time he expected the bullies. He met them at his locker. They all grinned at him. He noticed they had sharp teeth. At the front of the pack was Keith himself. He peered at Mikey through his brown bangs. The same brown hair as Leo's. He stared Mikey down with cold green eyes. Almost like Raph's, but Raph had emerald green eyes.
"I see we've left a bit of a mark on ya." Mikey peered down at his casted left arm. Yeah, they had.
Keith kicked Mikey in the chest sending Mikey flying back into a locker. He slid down the locker in pain with his back pressed against the lockers. Keith walked over to him and knealt in front of him. He put his finger under Mikey's chin to force Mikey to look him in the eyes.
"I hope you liked that because we're just getting started." Mikey looked at Keith in confusion but saw him empty his pockets. A knife, a lighter, and a whip. Mikey shook his head.
"Please, stop." Mikey pleaded. Keith took the knife in his hand as David, a toehead boy with brown eyes,
took the lighter. Alex, a redhead with green eyes, took the whip in hand. They struck.
Keith cut Mikey's arms and legs AS David started burning his cheek, arms and legs, and Alex began to strike him with a whip. It lasted all of five minutes, but to Mikey it lasted an eternity.
They picked Mikey up roughly by the arms and thrusted him into an open locker and slammed the door shut.
"Don't tell ANYONE! Or your brothers will be our next victim!" With that the boys ran off leaving a sobbing Mikey behind. He clenched his eyes shut tight as tears spilled from them. His arms hurt, his legs hurt, his face hurt, everything hurt! It was bad enough that he had already had a broken arm. Now this?
He stared out of the small openings in the locker watching as an occasional student or teacher walk past. Yet, he remained silent. He'd have to wait until someone noticed him.
Or else, his brothers would get it.
I thought you guys deserved an early chapter. I may update this story again later in the day, but I'm not promising anything. Keep a look out though. Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know. Your opinion matters. :)