Chapter Seven: The Betrayal of Judas
xxx
Names. He had some names.
Raphael and Michelangelo.
And while he wasn't sure who they were, or what kind of parents would stick their children with those kinds of titles, he still had the names.
And that Raphael… that voice and the way Theresa had spoken to him, he was thinking that he was the one who had saved her. The one who was responsible for his blackened face and his soar and slow moving body.
"I won't let anything happen to you Theresa. Call the police."
That's what he had said over the phone. And he'd sounded so sure. What if he had know that he was listening to this touching conversation? What would he have said if he had know that right in the other room, standing in Theresa's kitchen, he had picked up the phone to listen to who she was calling.
He was surprised to find out that it wasn't the police she had called, that instead, when he'd picked up the line, he'd heard a skater type voice talking to her. Yelling at the top of his lungs, "Raph!Get up, it's Theresa! She's in trouble!"
And he'd sounded scared. Afraid that something was going to happen to her. What if he'd spoken then? Told them that he was just in the other room, and that they could listen while he killed her. It wouldn't have been so hard to jimmy that bathroom lock, he'd done it before, after all.
But no, they still sounded dangerous, and they were going to come over. He could use this information, somehow, and he wouldn't waste it all now. He would take his time. This was going to be fun, almost like a game.
He would use these people, whoever they were, and bring them into this game he'd started. They were pieces, figures to move around the board until he had them where he wanted them. He would take them apart, and in the end, they would be dead to.
And Theresa would have to wait, have to sit scared and alone until the day he finally came for her.
Let the games begin…
xxx
Theresa opened bleary eyes. Where was she? It looked a little like her apartment, from what she could make out, but it didn't feel like her bed. It felt like…
The couch.
Theresa groaned and hid her face in the arm rest. Breaking glass, the phone conversation with her parents, private investigators. It was all coming back to her now. Her life was beginning to feel like one morning flashback after another.
She needed coffee, or a shower. Actually, she needed both.
Kicking off the quilt that had tangled around her feet she stumbled off the couch, wincing as she stood. Her back was killing her.
'Note to self, try not to sleep on TV remotes…'
Her feet dragged to the adjoining kitchen, and she stopped just short of entering as she looked up.
Raphael smiled at her from the table, a steaming mug in front of him and an annoying look of being completely well rested.
"Coffee?" She asked, her voice still groggy.
Raphael looked down at his mug then shook his head, "Tea. I aint much of a coffee person…"
Theresa groaned and began shuffling down the hall. Ignoring him would be easier than talking this early. He was saying something to her, but she couldn't wrap her brain around what was coming out of his mouth. Something about the bathroom… It was too early to try and figure it out.
As she reached the bathroom door she flung it open without a thought, and there standing in front of her, was a very wet, very naked, Michelangelo.
He jumped as the door hit the wall and his eyes became as large as saucers.
"Holy shit!" he yelped, reaching over and practically tearing a towel off the rack, covering himself from the waist down.
"Uh… sorry…" Theresa stood there, looking at him like he was completely foreign, her eyes as wide as his.
"Don't you knock?" Michelangelo asked incredulously, his voice strained.
Theresa, her brain finally catching up with what her eyes had just seen, had the decency to blush.
"Oh God… okay, leaving now." She said, placing a hand over her face as she turned and made her way back down the hall.
Raphael, she realized, had been telling her not to go into the bathroom…
As she re-entered the kitchen, Raphael smirked at her. "See something you like?" he asked.
Theresa gaped at him, her eyes still wide. "He was naked!" she hissed.
Raphael laughed, "We're always naked…"
"No! No he was naked, like… I saw everything."
Raphael raised his eye ridges. "Everything… You mean…?"
Theresa nodded emphatically, "Yes I mean. He was just standing there, and it was… you know… there…"
Raphael made a face. "Ugh. Don't finish that. Mike's retarded…. Just…Uh."
Theresa looked at him, her eyes still wide "… That was… different. Yeah. Ummm… Is it always..." Theresa blushed. "Never mind…"
Raphael narrowed his eyes at her. "Is it always what?"
"Nothing! I'm going to make some coffee."
Raphael's slighted eyes followed her as she made her way to the kitchen.
It was then that Michelangelo made his entrance, still tying his bandanna at the back of his head.
"Sorry Theresa." He mumbled, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room as he took a seat across from his brother.
Raphael turned his narrowed eyes to Michelangelo.
"What the hell man?"
Michelangelo groaned, "Dude, I just stepped outta the shower. How was I supposed to know she was gonna walk in. I was sort of… air drying…"
There was the sound of a snort before it was muffled, and they both turned to look at Theresa. Her eyes were fixed on scooping the coffee into the filter, but she was biting her lip so hard it looked like she might draw blood.
Raphael shook his head and turned back to his little brother.
"Air drying… You do that too?"
Another choking snort could be heard from the kitchen and the two brothers only spared a cursory glance at her this time.
"Best way dude. Gotta get a breeze while you can…"
"Okay! Enough. Everyone stop… talking. I can't… Just stop." Theresa threw up her hands and walked quickly down the hall.
"I'll be in the bathroom." She said, her voice flat.
They waited until they heard the bathroom door slam shut before Michelangelo looked at Raphael.
"You think she air dries?" He asked, a slow smile spreading over his face.
"Shut up Mikey."
xxx
The trip to the station had been highly uneventful. Theresa, whose car was parked in the small lot behind the apartment complex, opted instead for walking.
"You said you had stealth, prove it. I walk a lot. I walk home, I walk to the court house, and sometimes I walk for no reason at all. So be stealthy, I want to see how this is going to work."
Raphael smirked and Michelangelo gave a light chuckle.
"Fine." Raphael had said, and he was gone in a flash, leaving her standing by herself in the alleyway outside her apartment as he and Michelangelo made their way to the roof.
Theresa had stood there a moment, looking at his barley noticeable figure above her.
"Show off." She'd mumbled, before turning and making her way down the side walk.
She hadn't seen them again for another two hours, no matter how hard she had searched the area. Theresa knew without a doubt that they were there though, prowling in the shadows.
She'd gone to the police station, feeling out of place in tennis shoes and jeans instead of her usual pant suits, and gave an official report to the two detectives taking on her case.
She wasn't stupid though. No matter now much they said they were on it, the NYPD was just too overworked. And an attorney complaining about a possible stalker, no matter how serious it was, took second place to homicides and kidnappings.
She was back in the alleyway by her apartment now, looking up at the roof for Raphael.
He landed silently behind her, and shook his head at her exposed back. Quietly, he reached his hand around her and clamped it over her mouth, pulling her against him.
Theresa immediately began to struggle, trying to scream through his closed hand.
"Shhh… its me. We really need to work on you self defense." He said in her ear, before releasing her and taking a step back.
Theresa turned to look at him, her face red.
"That was not funny." She said trough clenched teeth.
"It wasn't supposed to be." Raphael said simply, shrugging.
Theresa reached out and punched his arm.
"Ass."
"Ow! Hey, I was just trying to help you out!" He said, rubbing his shoulder.
"Yeah well, try to be a little less helpful. Where's Mikey?"
As if on cue, Michelangelo landed behind her. Theresa turned and looked at him, then looked quickly away. She hadn't quite forgotten about that mornings little episode.
"Okay… now what?" She asked, trying to keep the tension out of her voice.
"Now we go to the lair." Raphael answered, walking to the manhole.
"We're just leaving my window like that? I mean, saran wrap isn't going to keep a burglar from stealing my TV."
Theresa looked up at her apartment. Last night they had covered her exposed window with her spare Glad, and she wasn't thinking it would be a good idea to leave her dwelling for a long period of time.
"I don't exactly live in a great area… I could be cleaned out by morning…"
Michelangelo gave a toothy smile, "We could always take the TV." He said hopefully. He had been just as impressed by the flat screen as Raphael.
Raphael smiled but shook his head. "How we gonna fit it through the manhole genius?"
Michelangelo's face fell. "Oh, yeah."
"Not like it would have been an option anyway." Theresa mumbled.
Raphael sighed, "Lets go, I'll talk to Donny."
Theresa looked at him questioningly.
"He'll be able to do something about your window… I was thinkin' he could install some surveillance anyway. You can call a repair place from the lair, I think it'll be ok fer' a few hours." Raphael explained.
Theresa nodded, choosing not to fight him about surveillance. It wasn't like it would be forever.
"You know," she said, "the longer I know you, the more you really do sound like a private investigator."
She sighed, and Raphael glared at Michelangelo as he began to snicker.
"Okay, let's get out of here. I'll get cloths in the morning. I just want to get this over with…"
"Geez, the thought of staying with us is that bad?" Michelangelo said.
Theresa gave a small smile, "No offence, but I like being in my own place. The sooner that window gets fixed, the better."
Michelangelo reached down and lifted the manhole. "I understand that. I think it would be nice, living on my own."
He jumped down into the sewer and offered his hand to Theresa. She took it and maneuvered her way down the ladder, Raphael following behind her and closing the manhole.
"Really?" She asked as she stepped into the murky water.
Michelangelo nodded. "Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love living with my brothers, but sometimes… I dunno. I think, that after twenty four yeas, I deserve a little place of my own."
They walked side by side, and Raphael lagged behind and watched them, listening to the conversation with growing interest.
"That makes sense. Why don't you move out?"
Michelangelo laughed. "And go where? Not exactly like I can go and fill out an apartment application. And how would I pay for it? I love bein' a turtle, but it does have its limitations."
Theresa nodded and reached over to pat his shoulder. "It will all turn out right. You're an adult, no matter where you live, and one day you'll get to at least live like one."
She moved her hand off his shoulder, and Michelangelo smiled down at her.
"Maybe." He said quietly.
They walked in silence for a while, the sloshing around their ankles the only thing that could be heard.
"When did you move out?" Michelangelo finally asked, his voice cutting through the silence.
"When I was eighteen. I went to college right after I graduated and roomed with one of my girlfriends. That was actually one of the best times of my life. We partied, studied… we were pretty wild."
Michelangelo smiled down at her. "Not you, you're all… stuffy."
Theresa's mouth fell open. "I'm not stuffy!" She exclaimed.
Michelangelo grinned. "Well, maybe not stuffy. But you're pretty serious. All work and no play."
Theresa rolled her eyes. "I got all my playing done at an early age, trust me. And besides, my work is my play. I like being a lawyer. Isn't their something that you like doing? Something you know you could do for the rest of your life?"
Michelangelo shrugged noncommittally. "I dunno… skateboarding?"
Theresa laughed. "Go figure you're the skater type. That's not what I meant though. Isn't their something… Oh I don't know, something like a job. You know, a skill that you could do for the rest of your life?"
"Skateboarding's a skill." Michelangelo complained.
Theresa shook her head, still smiling. "I'm not saying it isn't. But you know what I mean."
Michelangelo looked down at her. "I'm ninja."
Suddenly they had stopped walking, and Raphael had to catch himself from running into them.
"So… do you want to do that for the rest of your life?" Theresa asked looking up at him seriously now.
Michelangelo looked thoughtful, his eye ridges knitted. "I guess… not."
Raphael's eyes widened at his brothers response. When Theresa had asked Michelangelo the question, it had been clear to him what the answer should be. His own answer was that of his brothers. Ninja, sia's, hidden in the darkness, that was his life. Raphael loved what he did, and thinking about not doing it had never even crossed his mind.
Apparently it wasn't the same for Michelangelo.
His brother had suddenly moved very close to Theresa. Reaching an arm around her, he pulled the pipe that caused the entrance of the lair to slide open.
"But what else am I gonna do." He said simply, before maneuvering around her and entering the subway.
Theresa looked over at Raphael. "By the look on your face, I'm guessing that was news to you."
Raphael clamped his mouth shut and blew out a quick shot of air through his nose.
"My brother," he said, walking to her and throwing an arm around her shoulder, "has talked more in the three days I've know you than he has in five months."
"I wasn't trying to piss him off." Theresa said, casting a worried glance inside the lair.
"You know, usually I'd say that Mikey pissed is an… oxymoron? I think that's the right word. But lately…"
The look on Theresa's face made him smile. "Don't worry," he continued. "He likes you, you saw him naked."
Raphael steered her into the subway and laughed as she began to blush.
Leonardo and Donatello were waiting for them.
With an arm still around Theresa's shoulders, Raphael gave them a cocky smile.
"Ladies?"
Leonardo rolled his eyes, looking pointedly at Raphael, then to Michelangelo, who was currently rummaging through the kitchen cupboards.
Raphael looked confused, until Leonardo said in exasperation, "It's Friday."
A look of dawning etched itself onto Raphael's face. "Oh. Yeah…Theresa is here for the night…"
"We could wait, do this later." Donatello said, looking hopeful.
Leonardo looked over at him, "You really think this should wait?"
"No." Raphael said certainly, before Donatello could answer.
Theresa looked between them all, stepping out of Raphael's arm. "Well, I think I'm going to go to the kitchen. Let me know when you decide… whatever it is you're deciding."
She walked to the kitchen quickly, standing next to Michelangelo. She could hear the other three brothers talking quietly in the living room, but it was nothing she could make out.
Michelangelo spared a quick glance at her before continuing his foraging.
"You know, they all think I'm stupid. Like I didn't know they were planning this big talk." Mikey said, focusing entirely on his quest for food.
Theresa looked up at him, "They're planning on talking to you?"
"Yeah. They think it's all some big secret, like they're springin' it on me or somethin'."
"They're not?"
Michelangelo laughed. "Hell no. You know, walls aren't exactly thick in this place, I do hear things."
Theresa raised here eyebrows at him.
"Well… maybe I had a little help. Amy did warn me that she thought they were up to something. Ah! Score!"
Michelangelo pulled out a box of fruit snacks, shaking them at her before taking a seat at the table. Theresa sat down across from him, looking over at the three turtles huddled in a circle in the living room.
"They are pretty obvious." She said, looking back at Michelangelo.
Michelangelo grinned and threw her a pack of Scooby Doo gummies.
"So, what do they want to talk to you about?" Theresa asked.
"I'm sure they want to talk about Jade." Michelangelo answered, making sure to avoid eye contact as he spoke.
Theresa nodded. "Your girlfriend. I hope you're not mad, Raph told me… a little."
Michelangelo looked up and gave her a sad smile. "Never mad at you kid."
He looked back down at the table, "Doesn't matter anyway." He muttered, popping a handful of the snacks in his mouth.
"Will you talk to them?" Theresa asked, watching him closely.
"I'd better. It's been long enough, I think. Besides, maybe after this they'll just leave me alone."
Michelangelo reached around and yanked off his bandanna, and Theresa though he looked more vulnerable by doing so. He seemed cheerless and old, much older than twenty four. But the eyes, the big, sad, blue eyes were the worst. Where they once might have looked innocent, they now seemed hardened. Like they had seen enough hurt, death, and anger, to last a lifetime.
Michelangelo looked at the woman across from him, and a bit of playfulness lit up in those heartrending eyes. He shot a look over at his brothers, who were wrapping up their conversation and making their way to the kitchen.
Michelangelo lowered his head towards Theresa and dropped his voice, a wicked smile covering his face.
"By the way," he whispered, "It really is that big all the time. It actually hurts after awhile…"
It took a moment for Theresa to realize that he must have heard and understood what she'd been reluctant to ask Raphael earlier that morning. But when she did understand his meaning, she shot out of her chair, her cheeks burning furiously. She looked at Raphael as he came to stand beside her, her eyes wide.
"I'll be in your room… just, umm. Whenever you're done, I'm there."
She turned and walked quickly to Raphael's partition, sliding the door shut behind her in a hurry.
Raphael glared at Michelangelo, "What did you say?"
Michelangelo immediately took on a look of innocents. "I didn't say anything! She just had a question I know for a fact she wanted answered."
Raphael smirked, "Please, no one wants to hear you brag… we got enough of it as kids."
Leonardo made a face, "Ugh, not that again. Please Mikey, try to keep conversation with guests appropriate. She's not another guy you can compare your… whatever. She's not Casey. Just shut up Mike."
"Why's everyone always tellin' me to shut up?" Michelangelo asked, looking at Donatello in mock hurt.
Donatello shrugged and said nothing, his face set.
Michelangelo saw the grim look and sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with. This intervention shouldn't last all day, I don't think."
Raphael growled. "I'm gonna kill Amy." He said, but with no real threat behind it.
All three brothers took a seat, surrounding Michelangelo.
"Alright, "Leonardo started, immediately switching his tone to concern. "The thing is, we're worried about you. You just haven't been the same since… well, you know."
"Jade. Her name is Jade, Leo. And she died. How do you expect me to act?" Michelangelo threw his leader a cynical look.
Raphael heaved a sigh. "We don't want ya to be normal or anything, it's just…You can talk, you know.
Leonardo took on a look of understanding, "I know you're in pain Mikey, but we miss our brother…"
Michelangelo growled low in his throat, "What the hell do you know about pain Leo? When have you even lost someone you loved?"
Raphael saw the look that crossed Leonardo face and was quick to intervene. "I know we can't relate but… just tell us how we can help… something."
Michelangelo was no longer smiling. He was looking steadily down at the scarred table, twisting his orange bandanna between his fingers. "You could leave me alone. Ever think of that? Maybe I don't wanna talk to you guys, maybe I don't know what to say. Donny's always shut up in his room and I don't see anyone trying to drag him out." He said, his voice agitated.
"Don's girlfriend didn't die Mikey." Leonardo said, annoyed.
Donatello, who had said nothing in the past minute that could be considered helpful, was suddenly out of his chair. "I'll make tea." He said quickly, moving to the oven and grabbing the kettle.
"Wasn't my girlfriend." Michelangelo was mumbling, his head downcast.
"I know but… you said you thought she was calling to get back together. That means something Mikey. Besides, we all know you loved her." Leonardo said, his voice shifting from aggravated to soothing.
Raphael was watching Donatello with narrowed eyes. He was nervous, pulling down the good china and making a loud clatter with every dish he brought from the cabinet. There was something, a piece of the puzzle, that Raphael suddenly realized he had missed.
"That's the thing." Michelangelo said miserably. "I'm not so sure. I think… I think she was seeing someone else."
There was a crash, and the tea cup Donatello had been holding was broken into tiny pieces on the floor.
"Sorry... slipped." He muttered, bending down to pick up the mess.
Everything suddenly clicked into place.
"What makes you think that?" Leo asked Michelangelo, his voice low.
"After I killed that guy, I waited until the police left and went back to her apartment." Michelangelo's voice was quiet and strained. "She… she had out two cups, like she'd been with someone before I got there. And there was a suitcase… She'd been packing."
There was silence, and while Leonardo was looking in sympathy at a near tears Michelangelo, Raphael stared pointedly at Donatello.
Finally, standing behind Michelangelo with a handful of broken china, the purple banded turtle met his brother's gaze.
Raphael cocked his head to the side, his face an mask of angry emotion.
'You.' He mouthed silently.
Donatello closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face, giving one single, slight nod.
Raphael looked back at the table and shook his head.
"Okay, enough for the day." He announced, and silenced Leonardo's protest with a cutting look.
"Mike, we'll talk later. Just, go do what you do."
Michelangelo acquiesced immediately, springing from his chair and heading to his room, his shoulders taut and his whole posture stiff.
Once he was shut safely behind his closed door, Raphael turned angry eyes to Donatello.
"Not now." Donatello said, his voice choked and tense.
Leonardo looked between the two. "Am I missing something?" He asked.
Donatello shook his head and dropped the glass in the trash can before walking purposely to his room.
Raphael stood and followed him, leaving Leonardo sitting by himself at the table.
Once they were both shut in Donatello's room, Raphael rounded on him.
There was an uncomfortable silence before Raphael hissed, "Jade Don? What the hell is wrong with you?"
It took everything in him not to yell, everything in him not to scream at the top of his lungs. This was bad, this was so very, very bad.
Donatello sat heavily on his bed, cradling his face in his hands. "I know okay." He answered, his voice muffled.
"What? You know what? That you were cheating? That you stole Mike's girlfriend? You've been keeping a pretty big secret Donny." Raphael's voice was an angry whisper.
"I didn't cheat." Came Donatello's voice as he lifted his head.
"How do you figure that?" Raphael bit out.
"Because… I didn't do anything with her when they were together. We just… talked. And then… I don't know, it changed. All the sudden I liked her, a lot. We had a lot in common. And she was fun and beautiful and… and Mikey's."
Raphael's jaw was working. "So how do we get from this, to banging Mike's girlfriend?"
Donatello shot up, standing inches from Raphael, his green face becoming slightly tinged with red.
"It wasn't like that! She was better than that." Donatello took a quick step back, trying to curb his emotion, his breathing heavy.
"So what was it like Don? I'm still not gettin' it." Raphael said through gritted teeth. He'd had quite enough of his brothers thinking they could say whatever they wanted to him.
Donatello sighed. "We… we realized that we liked each other more than friends. She was horrified. She hated to hurt Mikey, but…"
Donatello looked pleading. "I loved her Raph. It wasn't some fling. She called Mike to tell him. To… let him know what was going on."
"To let him down easy." Raphael said.
Donatello nodded, sitting back down on his bed with a heave and a thump.
"Yeah, I guess."
Raphael sighed. Maybe this wasn't too bad… Who was he kidding? Michelangelo was going to flip.
"She'd already broken up with him, and then we got together. It was a secret at first, neither of us could hurt Mikey like that, but… we couldn't stop seeing each other either. Trust me, we tried."
Donatello spoke, his voice soft. "She wanted him to get over her first, before we let anyone know. We knew we had to tell him though. She called to say she needed to talk to him and then…"
Donatello sucked in a ragged breath. "I begged her to let me stay. I told her we should tell him together. And she wouldn't hear it. She just kept saying that she was the one who had to do it, that it was her responsibility. And really, I was happy to go. I didn't want to be there when Mikey found out. I knew he'd see it as the ultimate betrayal. I just… If I had stayed…"
Donatello looked up at his brother, eyes watery. "She's dead because of me Raph. If I had just stayed. That guy… he had to of come minutes after I left. If I had been there, I could have stopped him, I could have protected her. I should have stayed."
Raphael looked at his brother, and culminating with his anger was an inexplicable pang of pity. Donatello had also been in grieving these last five months, he'd just had to hide it.
"I can't talk to you right now." Raphael said, looking away from Donny, a sickness building in his stomach.
He went to leave, but stopped short at the door. "You have to tell him Don. He has the right to know."
"I know. I've tried, I just don't know what to say."
Raphael couldn't help the look that crossed his face. "Try harder."
xxx
Raphael jumped in surprise when he entered his room and saw Theresa. He'd completely forgotten she was there.
She was sitting, crossed legged and bare foot on Raphael's bed, reading one of the magazines April had brought him months ago.
She looked up at him as he entered and smiled.
"How'd it go?" She asked.
Raphael looked at her, his face full of emotion (mostly anger), he hadn't gotten rid of on his way back from Donatello's room.
"Not good then." Theresa said, standing and walking to him, the magazine falling forgotten to the floor.
She stopped in front of him, her hands clasped in front of her. "You ok?" She asked.
Raphael took a deep breath before shaking his head. "Life just got a little more confusing. I can't tell you about it, not right now anyway."
Theresa gave him a small smile. "It's fine. Here, let's talk about something. Did you get to talk to Donatello yet? Did you ask him about my window?"
Raphael made a face, "Didn't really talk to Donny much." He said by way of answer, his voice laced with contempt.
Theresa bit her lip. "Okaaayy. So no talking about your brothers. Um, do you want to explain the porn hidden under your mattress?"
Raphael jerked his head up, then gave her a sly grin. "I don't keep my porn there thank you very much."
Theresa laughed. "There, you're smiling. Wanna watch a movie?"
Raphael had to hold back touching his face to see if he really was smiling.
"A movie is fine." Raphael said.
Theresa looked around his room. "Uh, no TV." She said, glancing up and down the subway car.
"It's in the living room. Mikey and Leo both have a TV, but I never bothered. It was always too much of a hassle to bribe Donny into fixing one." He said, shrugging.
"Ah, well. To the living room then." She said, going to open his door.
"Wait." He said, reaching out a hand and grabbing her shoulder.
Theresa looked up at him, her eyes suddenly darkening.
"Yes?" she asked softly.
"Let's just… wait. Lets talk or something. I don't really wanna go out there right now. Later we can watch a movie."
He let go of Theresa's arm, and she found herself nodding. "Yeah, ok."
She turned and walked back to his bed, bouncing down on it and re-crossing her legs.
Raphael took a seat in the chair at the end of his bed, looking at her thoughtfully.
"What?" she asked when she noticed his gaze, suddenly self conscious.
Raphael shook his head, "Nothin'. So, I did want to say sorry, I guess, for this morning."
Theresa looked at him in question. "This morning?"
Raphael gave her a furtive smirk. "With Mikey. Guess I shouldn't have been that worried. Here I thought you were gonna be mentally scared."
Theresa's eyes widened, "No, no. I am mentally scarred. That was… he's very… I don't really know how to take him. I mean, I like him. But he's so… moody. I mean, he's like a switch. One minute he's one way and the next, Bam!" Theresa clapped her hand together, "Watch out, cause now he gone all… bi-polar. …What?"
Raphael laughed a little bit. "You just explained me. I never though I'd see the day someone would say what you just did and not be talkin' bout me. Mikey never used to be like this. That playful side… you see it the most, actually. That's what he used ta' be like all the time."
Theresa looked doubtful, but asked, "Was he always so… I dunno. Cocky? Flirty?"
This time Raphael let out a loud bark of laughter. "Oh yeah. He thinks he's quite the ladies man. He's… sure of himself, I guess. Ever since he turned seventeen there was this big… thing. He's been like that ever since."
Theresa looked curious. "What kind of thing?"
Raphael gave her a lopsided grin. "If I tell you, you gotta keep it on the low. Leo never did find out."
Theresa's eyes lit up. "Ooohh, a secret. Tell me. I won't repeat it to a soul."
Raphael gave her a look, like he was thinking about it, before he began speaking.
"Alright. So when we turned seventeen, me, Don, and Mikey used to sneak out of the lair. Only not at night, in the middle of the day. We'd tell Leo we were exploring the sewer when really, we were goin' top side. Well, Mikey got the idea to follow these girls to their high school, and eventually, that's what we did everyday. We'd follow them, glance in on some of the classes, and then go watch the kids on their field. You know, track, football… cheerleading. Whatever."
Theresa snickered at this, imagining three teenaged turtles hiding under bleachers, watching the cheerleaders doing their routines.
Raphael gave a wry grin, "Only eventually, it got depressing. I mean, think about it. None of us could ever do that. These kid's hated school, and we ended up wanting that so bad."
Raphael sighed and continued, "After a while, Leo started hammering into us that we could never… you know… be with someone. Mind you, this is before he got laid, it was before any of us got laid. It drove Mikey crazy. He loved girls, it was all he talked about. And watchin' them everyday and then goin' home to get told that he couldn't have em', it wasn't a good combination."
Raphael's eyes were suddenly alight, and a big goofy grin plastered itself on his face. "So one day we're following these girls home, and Mikey looks at us, all serious, and says, 'I'm going and talking to one.'"
Theresa laughed, "Just like that, just says he's going to talk to one of the girls you've been shadowing for… how long?"
"Two months. And yeah, just outta the blue says, 'I'm talkin' to one and I'm gonna make her my girlfriend.' Now me and Don are worried, cuz that was a big rule breaker in Leo and Sensei's things-never-to-do-list. Never reveal yourself unless necessary. But Mikey wouldn't hear it, and he waited till the prettiest one was about to go in her house, and he walked right up to her."
Theresa's eyes were large and Raphael had to smile at her enthusiasm for the story.
"So, after she gets done freakin out, which took a good minute, Mike says he thinks she's hot and would she be his girlfriend. I think he mighta' even said please."
"No way. That's a load a crap." Theresa exclaimed.
"I swear." Raphael said.
Theresa smiled even bigger, "Did she go for it?"
Raphael shook his head, "Well here's the thing. She tells him she's got a boyfriend, some big football player. Now me and Don can hear all this, and we're thinkin' that Mike's done for now. He's shuffling his feet and looking all pathetic and apologizing'."
Raphael gave a rueful smile and sucked in his cheek with a smack, "Then this girl, this smoking hot blonde with a mini skirt to her ass, who I think all of us went home and fantasized about, she looks him up and down and says four words that made me and Don jealous for… I dunno. Years."
He looked at Theresa, and with a low voice said, "My parent's aren't home."
Theresa lost it. "She was a slut!" She cried, falling onto her back and clutching her stomach while she shook with laughter.
"Big time ho. So he goes in. Me and Don… the things we heard comin' from that house. She was… loud."
Theresa looked weary. "Loud? Loud is bad?"
"For us it was. We were already jealous enough, we didn't need to be hearin' some of the things she was yellin' out."
Theresa rolled her eyes but grinned. "So that's it, that's why he's so… I don't want to say cocky, that makes him sound shallow. But he's… confidant. I think that's a good word for him."
Raphael nodded. "That's it. He was hell to live with after that. He bragged all the firkin' time. He was the first to do what, me and Don at least, considered the most important. Forget ninjitsu and bushido and training exercises, he got the girl first. None of us realized it was a race until he'd won it."
Theresa looked him, her eyes alight. "So, who got second place?"
Raphael grimaced, "You know, second place is just the first loser."
Theresa laughed, "Ah, but its also second place. Just tell me."
Raphael spit the name out like acid. "Leo."
Theresa raised her brows, "I thought you said he-"
"Oh trust me, he felt guilty about it. I don't even think he realized he could want a woman like that. He came home all… dazed."
Theresa giggled, "Dazed huh? Who was she?"
Again Raphael made a sour face. "Stupid brat. She was the enemy. She was… you know, we all knew it was comin'. I just though Leo wouldn't step over the line. Toe it, maybe. Tread dangerously close, sure. But just jump right over it? Ignore the line completely? Not in a million years."
Theresa tried to hold back her smile, "Okay, So Mikey, then Leo, then…?"
Raphael looked at her and thought of lying. Finally he said, "Don."
Theresa couldn't help it, she was really smiling now. And she couldn't help but say, "So the best was last?"
Raphael rolled his eyes, "Hey, it wasn't funny. I was pissed. Don met some chick when we turned eighteen that was about as obsessed with science as he was. Never met her, I think her name was… Taylor. That was it. Leo met her, said she was pretty. Didn't last long though. You know how much I missed him by?"
It apparently it wasn't a question he meant her to answer, because he continued, "Two days. Two flippin' days!"
Theresa smirked, "Who was she?"
Raphael grinned now, wolfish. "Oh, she was great. Amber. Shoulder length brown hair, green eyes. She was sweet, real sweet. She moved when I turned nineteen though, went to Florida."
"Heartbroken?"
"Devastated." He answered a look of long forgotten emotion in his eyes.
"We saw each other again four months later and… I dunno. It was different. She went her way, I went mine."
Theresa laughed, "First love is the worst. And I waited longer than you did. I was nineteen, in college. It got to a point where I was thinking it would never happen. Then I met Riley. Athletic type, two years older, in law school. Daddy loved him."
Raphael snorted at that, remembering Theresa's father asking him if he was a lawyer.
"He was bad news though. Stuck around just long enough to talk me into it, then he was gone. And I mean literally gone too. Just finished and got up and left. Never called, never phoned. Men are assholes like that."
Raphael made a sound in the back of his throat. "Not all men. That's low. I don't think me, or any of my brothers, have ever done that. And if I ever got up and left, it was with the clear understanding that what me and whatever girl I was with were doing, was with no strings attached. Nothin' more."
Theresa cocked her head to the side, "you know some people might, at this point in the conversation, be amazed that as a turtle you could have one night stands, but…"
Raphael lifted his eye ridges, "But?"
"Well, I don't know. It seems likely, to me, that you would. I think that I would have been more shocked if you had said that you hadn't."
Raphael gave a small half smile. "Why's that?"
Theresa hesitated before answering. "It's just… your not some monster, like other people might think… your just… not a monster."
Raphael was leaning forward in his chair now, defiantly noticing the blush that had crept up on her cheeks. "I know I'm not a monster, but what do you think I am?"
Theresa hesitated once more, her eyes darting around the room. How had this potentially embarrassing conversation come about?
"You're a person. That is to say, you don't look like a person, but you are. Oh! Do you get what I mean?"
Raphael shook his head, pursing his lips to keep back laughter. "No, explain it to me."
Theresa expelled a breath of frustration. "You're just a person! Don't you get it? You're not a monster, your actually very… nice looking. You have all the qualities of a really decent human being, you're just a different species that's really, well, not all that different. You… you're the opposite of monster. You're…"
Raphael's smile had gone away now, and he was looking at her in a way that scared Theresa. There was an intensity in it, a depth she wasn't actually ready to handle just yet.
Suddenly she was out of the bed, dusting off her pants and looking anywhere but his face. "I think we should probably go. I should hit the streets, I need to talk to some people about my client."
Raphael nodded slowly, standing also. He opened the sliding door and stood to the side as she walked out of his room, her pace fast.
But as he followed, he couldn't help but think that she had said the one thing that could really get him in trouble. She had said, in more words than less, that he was normal. He didn't need that validation, he'd gotten over that a long time ago. But that she had just said it, without any preamble or reservations, was an entirely new experience for him. She had accepted him, and not in some gradual and ongoing way, but right from the beginning. She'd never even screamed or looked alarmed at the sight of him. She just… accepted.
As Raphael followed her out of the lair and top side he couldn't help but think that, against all odds, he'd gone and gotten himself into something he wasn't sure he could handle. Something he'd promised himself that he wouldn't fall for again, not since Mia. And Theresa was slowly wearing him down, getting inside of him and breaking away his walls like they were nothing more than fragile clay.
And he was afraid that deep down he didn't even care if she got in. That maybe he wanted her come inside and warm his heart. That maybe, he'd just opened the doors, and dammed the consequences. Maybe, just maybe, he needed the walls to come down.
Maybe he wanted them to.
xxx
Authors Note: Holy crap! That was a lot of dialogue.
You know, I read some peoples fan fiction and I think, "Wow, they've got it right. I can really picture all the guys talking just like that." And I can't help but wonder, is my writing style as such? Can you picture them all talking like this?
You know, the whole point of this story (or at least part of my intention), is to take each turtle and put him in a different perspective, in a different element. The most noticeable at the moment being Mikey. I hope, though, that through all of this they still seem like themselves, that they stay true to their character.
And if you can't tell, I've been on a Mikey kick lately, hence the whole naked thing, and him getting the big 'S' first. But the attention paid to him is crucial to the story.
Oh, and Donatello fans, please don't kill me. It was my plan from the beginning to have this happen, and now I'm feeling like such a heel. I love the guy, really I do, and he's going to have his moment in the spotlight, trust me. It's not like I had him do anything wrong… he was in love dammit!
Special thanks to Lola Hard. Lady, you rock in so many ways that the gift I'm typing you up might end up being a little more than one chapter. Maybe a three part installation to curb you Donny craving. :)
And new reviewers!! Oh, you guys are the best. I LOVE feedback. THANK YOU EVERYONE!
And my sister, Amber, is yelling at me, telling me that I have to say that she was Raph's first. Happy now brat?
