"Do me a favor, Mikey. Stop caring."
}{}{}{}{}{
She did not say that. April insisted to herself. The phrase was getting old after three days, having become a mantra when it came to thoughts of Emma. But word had gotten back to her about what Emma had said to Mikey- and then had gone back to the Purple Dragon-infested booze fest!
But isn't this what you expected? April's guilt asked her. She sprung up off of the couch, where she had meant to rest her eyes, and marched back into Donnie's lab. It was the weekend, so she had come down for a couple days to help the guys out with the groundwork for the Shred-Down, as Mikey had dubbed it. Leo, Raph, Casey, and Mikey were currently out patrolling the city, but she and Donnie had stayed behind to work on their Shredder spider web. It was a pin-up of Shredder's whole empire, from one end of Donnie's wall to the other. Donnie was scanning it as April came up behind him. Master Splinter was beside his son, holding up the tray of tea that he was never without. And lecturing about the break that Donatello needed.
"Something's wrong here." April said it aloud.
"I'm sorry." Donnie threw up his hands from the chaotic board. "I ran out of black yarn and had to substitute with red!"
"No, not that." April waved the web away. "Emma's behavior is bugging me."
"Oh." Donnie settled. Master Splinter turned and they both waited to hear her thoughts. April didn't like the look that Master Splinter was giving her and she fought not to huff. "I mean, this' what we expected of her, right? For her to prove herself untrustworthy or disloyal."
"It would seem." Master Splinter nodded. "But you sound troubled for one who's supposed to be right."
Again, no huffing. "Because, Emma's been labeled with this her whole life. Because of her dad, her brother, everybody assumes she's cut from the same cloth. But she's survived all that; that's who she is. Why would she buckle this time?"
"Hmm." Master Splinter placed the tray down, a hand on his whiskers. Like he hadn't thought about this beforehand. Donnie on the other hand, was tapping his fingers together. "Well April, everyone has a breaking point. And it could have something to do with the fact that we're mutants. Rejection from creatures as well as humans could've been the thing that has Emma thinking 'No one's ever going to see me different'. It's rather ironic, on our end, anyway."
April considered that a moment. "I can't just… I need to do something!"
"Like talking to her." Master Splinter sipped from his cup. "I've heard this method brings good results."
"Are you going to be badgering me about this the entire conversation?" April about stamped her foot at him. Another sip, then Splinter shrugged. "Quite possibly. I am learning that sarcasm is perfected with practice."
"Donnie," April looked back at Donatello, teeth clenched. "Can you look up the number for Emma's mom?"
It was rhetoric of course. April pulled out her phone and Don had the number twenty seconds later. She dialed as Splinter walked past with a satisfied smile. Donnie watched her, intrigued, as April's phone rung.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. De- Tomes." April corrected herself. "This's April O'Neil. I-" Oh, how to put this? "Have you spoken to Emma lately?"
There was a pause. "Any calls she's sent, I put through to voicemail. Nothing of what she does is of consequence to me right now."
"Really?" April started. "I mean…"
"Miss O'Neil," Mrs. Tomes cut in icily. "Do not misread my cold nature, but my husband is in jail and you and my daughter helped to put him there. Relations between Emma and myself shall be our business, but as for you, never call here again."
And click.
April dropped her phone to her side. "That explains a lot."
"I heard." Donnie dropped his head. "Kinda sounds like, Emma's all alone."
Everyone has a breaking point. April rethought his words.
There was a ruckus that echoed up towards them and the Battle Shell rumbled and hissed into the garage port of the lair. Raph and Casey jumped out of the back, Leo and Mikey from the front. They all looked like they carried ten extra pounds. April stepped out to meet them, only to have Mikey bypass her and straight-shoot for his room. Donnie glanced after him. "He's taking the stairs."
"And he didn't hit on me." April couldn't help feeling dejected somehow.
"My competition's gone soft." Casey muttered, a hand touching the small of her back. April resisted blushing.
"Guys what happened?" Donnie looked up as Raph and Leo joined their circle.
"We were right, he was wrong." Raph leaned on a pipe, arms folded. "Again."
"Raph." Casey sighed, removing his mask and golf bag.
April eyed Leo, gauging his expression. "What's up?"
Leo rubbed his forehead. "We went to see about a rumored meet between Hun, the Purple Dragons, and the Foot. They might've been combining forces… we got eyes and ears in on 'em…"
"Emma was there." Raph cut to the chase.
"Emma was there?" April repeated.
"Like, 'there' there?" Donnie's jaw slacked open.
"Sipping sake with the whole lot." Raph shook his head. "We had to drag the knucklehead back before he gave away our position."
Oh Mikey… April looked down at the phone still in her hand. She might as well have been holding a stick of rhubarb; that was how weird and surreal this whole business felt.
"I called it from the start." Raph went on. Leo glared at him. "You didn't have to be all in Mikey's face about it though. It's called sensitivity."
"Let's at least be grateful that she wasn't talking about us." Casey added, pushing his hair back.
"Guys, we can't be sure…" Donnie spoke up. "I mean, circumstances put Emma in a pretty dark place, but… she'll bounce back. People like her always do."
They all eyed him in surprise. Donnie gave them a sheepish shrug. "I should've mentioned it sooner, but I don't think Emma's like that. She's too strong-willed to be an underling to anybody, let alone Shredder."
"But she's wild enough to try it." Raph hinted.
"Everybody's always got two paths that they can take." Casey glanced at April. "What'd you think, April?"
April didn't have an answer. Not one that would cheer any of them up anyway.
}{}{}{}{
Raph was awake and he wasn't sure why. With all the late nights that they had been pulling, Master Splinter had become lenient in letting them sleep in. But it wasn't yet 7am and and Raph rolled down off his bunk. This is bogus, but might as well as lift some weights.
Their rooms broke off into different chambers above what they had dubbed the living room- and the dining room- and Epic Water Slide Room. Raph vaulted out of his now, watched his home spin from ceiling to floor and landed on the railing beside the rushing channel of water. He hopped over it and somersaulted up to his favorite ripped and taped bag. He threw the first punch and the bag threw the weight back at him, like an actual attacker would. Better simulation, as Donnie would say.
Raph was all set to throw the second reverse punch, when the sight in his right peripheral stopped him. It was Mikey. Doing push ups?... In front of a pizza box, propped on the edge of Master Splinter's meditation circle.
Am I still sleeping? Raph thought to slap himself. No. There's no pink cockroaches scuttling around.
"Mikey?" Raph stepped over to get a better look at his brother huffing away. "What're you…"
"Emma…" Mikey breathed out as he leveled up. "And I… made a bet… most push-ups.. before… eat… pizza." He picked up his pace. "57… 58…"
Raph stared at him for three more push ups. Then Mikey filled the silence again. "I'm… setting… the bar. She… won't… beat… me…"
"Gimme a break." Raph grabbed the pizza box, intent on pitching it.
"Hey!" Mikey fumbled on his last push up and jumped to his feet.
"What is wrong with you, huh?" Raph spat, beginning to turn.
"Put that back!" Mikey leaned forward to catch his breath. "Now I lost my number. Then again, I've only ever seen Emma do 20-"
"Mikey," Raph shook his head at him. "Trust me, Emma's not gonna care. She's with Shredder now! Or the Purple Dragons or whoever, but obviously she's not on our side anymore. Or are you forgetting the brush off she gave you the other night? And the drinking buddies she was getting cozy with last night?"
Mikey eyed him a second before protesting. "She's angry, Raph. But once she's over it, I wanna be ready to rub this pizza in her face. Well, not literally, but… though that would be kinda cute."
"I'm two seconds away from rubbing this pie in your face." Raph warned him. "Bro, you've gotta let this go."
Mikey snickered. "That rythmed."
"Idiot!" Raph finally exploded, batting him aside his bald green head. "Start facing facts, would'cha! Emma's made her choice and you need to move on."
Mikey glared, holding his head. "Give me my pizza."
"No." Raph told him; more out of principle then anything else.
"Raph." Mikey made a sudden jump. "Gimmie!"
"Not until-" Raph didn't get to finish because Mikey was swooping down, knocking Raph's feet clean off the floor. Raph watched the ceiling for a second before rebounding. Mikey had his hands on the box, but Raph's swift kick in the plastron sent Mikey back and the box above them both. The brothers leapt for it; Raph punched, Mikey blocked, each cussing the other out. Then Mikey had the box again. Only to have Raph twist his free arm behind his shell.
"Give it up, little bro." Raph hissed at him through his smirk.
Mikey's response was a quick snap back, sending his skull into Raph's nose. The scent of blood let Raph know that he broke the cartilage and he let go of Mikey's arm in shock. He touched the moist opening of his nose, staring agape at Mikey. His annoyance was gone, and there was anger.
"Why?" Mikey demanded, squeezing the pizza box. "Why can't you and Leo just give Emma a chance?"
Raph narrowed his eyes. "Why're you so hung up on this chick? Answer me that."
Mikey didn't.
"April's family," Raph said, wiping the blood away. "And if Casey and her are gonna hook up, that'll make him family too. But Emma? There must be some special reason for you to be naïve enough…"
Mikey spun the pizza box at him then. Raph barely caught it
"Maybe it's because Emma doesn't see me as naïve." Mikey clenched his fists. "She doesn't see me as dumb either. Or bone-headed, or any of the millions of other comments I take from you guys everyday. Have you ever heard her say it, even once?"
Raph's mind went back. Well, now that he mentions it…
"I get that I'm not smart." Mikey sighed, some of the tension releasing. "I'm cool with that, really. I'm a goofball, you're a hothead, Donnie's a techno geek, and Leo needs to take a chill pill. But Emma doesn't hold it against me, or think less of me because I'm a little slow."
A little? Raph continued to stare at Mikey, speechless. "That… Mikey, we don't think that! What're you a-"
He halted the term 'moron', but Mikey got the picture. "Call me names all you want, I don't care. That's just part of family. But you all act like I'm lacking something. Emma doesn't."
Raph snorted through the blood still coming from his nostrils. Why was he studying his feet? Why feel ashamed about something he hadn't had a clue about?
"Never look down on your brother's sensitivity." Master Splinter had scolded him some years ago, when a sparring match had gotten out of hand. "It heightens him to aspects of an enemy you, Leonardo, or Donatello would not think of. His open heart could very well be the key to victory in a great battle. Just as your brute strength will prove invaluable at times."
This was beside the point! Still…
"I…" Raph swallowed the crawling nausea that apologizing always gave him. "I'm sorry if I take it too far sometimes. I don't always mean it. But, Mikey, don't cha ever think that Emma's been playing you this whole time."
"She wasn't." Mikey didn't even blink.
Raph couldn't guess what went on in Mikey's head, beneath the layers of pizza and video game victories. But he could draw a pretty easy conclusion. Pretty girl, pretty eyes, pretty smile and a pretty laugh at Mikey's bad jokes and impressions. All Raph saw though, was a girl whose family had had ties with Shredder for years, and who had played along with the Purple Dragons. And even after almost two years, those ties kept coming back up. And they were just supposed to place blind trust in Emma, in spite of all that? No thanks.
Raph turned away from Mikey before he mentioned. "We can't all be as trusting as you, Mikey."
Mikey's feet shuffled. "Couldn't hurt you to try, could it?"
As long as Shredder was involved, it could.
}{}{}{}{}{}{}{
April thought he didn't know about it, but he did. The spare key was kept behind a loose corner of molding around the door. She wouldn't mind… they were meeting here after her work anyway. Vern would be dropping her off soon and she'd open her door to find…
"Oh, Emma." Casey paused, one foot through the threshold. The redhead looked up from the magazine she'd been reading on the couch. He hadn't seen her since spotting her at that warehouse, one hand on a bottle of sake and the other around the shoulders of an upper-level Purple Dragon. And there was that expression again… a coolness and was, frankly, too cool to be believed. The exact opposite of Casey as he stepped farther in. "What're you doing here?"
"Upholding my end of the lease?" Emma cocked her head and stood. Casey looked away at the plunging mint green V-neck she was wearing. Since when did she expose so much? Boy, it didn't take much to peel back the layers.
"Would've thought April had kicked you out." Casey stated, deciding to leave the door open. If he kicked her out, it'd win him some points with April; show her that he could take care of things.
"Excuse me." Emma laid the magazine down, not much denial in her voice. Casey was close to fuming. "How was the sake?"
Emma's eyes widened ever-so-slightly; then she licked her bottom lip. "Smooth as silk."
"Get out." Casey stepped aside, pointing out into the hall. "And for April's sake, don't come back."
Emma made no move to leave; fine, Casey would carry her out and dump her down the front steps!
"You must be serious about marrying her if you're already trying to control her life." Emma quirked a brow at him. Casey's head about snapped back. "Well now I'm sorry that I ever mentioned it to you."
"Don't be sorry," Emma walked up, grabbing her jean jacket off the hallway hooks. "Heaven forbid somebody be sorry for me."
Even her sarcasm doesn't sound the same. Casey thought sadly. This sucks.
"If I may offer some advise though," Emma stopped as she was about to pass Casey. "I wouldn't tie myself down so quickly. And not to someone who'd stifle your fun and obviously has trust issues."
"That's one biased opinion." Casey told her, edging closer to the wall. "Bye."
Emma came in closer. "That any way to send a girl off?"
Huh? Casey backed up again… only there was nowhere to back up to. "Well what do you su-"
Emma's lips didn't let him finish.
WHEW! Did that chapter pack a punch or what? Seriously, let me know because I'm paranoid about my ability to juggle various viewpoints!
