A/N: Yeah, my entire life is getting more complicated by the millisecond. Does that make it easier to write these? not really... no. Does it make it harder? not really... yes.
But that's exam time for you. It's supposed to be complicated, even though we all hate that it is. No one is out there making it easier for us.
Also, boys.
Stupid boys. Ugh.
Okay! On to reviews.
Ginger! Thanks for another great review! C: and of course I'll be willing to write for whoever you find has a problem. I need the practice! XD bring it onnnnnnnn. And thanks again for the inspiration. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: you're a saviour.
I'm so glad I have a regular. And sorry for the wait, guys.
On to the story!
ENOJOY!
Reni was really angry.
Donnie could tell by the way she slammed the door on her way into the house, and by the sound her shoes made when she kicked them off into the wall. To him, it screamed "get out of Reni's way, she's raging."
"I can't believe she blew me off!" she exclaimed when she burst into the kitchen and threw her bag down on one of the hand-me-down wooden chairs.
Donnie immediately knew what had happened, of course. Reni and her cousin Rayla had planned to go to the café today in celebration of two of them finishing her math course early. They had planned this weeks ago, and Reni had been really excited. The café was a treat for everybody around here; the food was delicious, but devilishly expensive.
"Hanging out with her new 'friends,'" she grumbled. The way she said friends was mocking and condescending, and her face scrunched up in apparent disgust. This confused Donnie, because only a few weeks ago, Reni and her cousin had been tighter than Mikey and video games. The purple-clad turtle decided to risk his skin and spoke up.
"New friends? What do you mean?"
Reni groaned and slid into her seat at the table. She rolled her eyes before starting dramatically, "Well, first she started hanging out with this guy she met at a party a while ago. He's into drugs, and drinking, and smoking. You name it, he's snorted or smoked it. Or injected it." She shuddered. Needles were an ordeal for her. "But anyway, he got her into cigarettes when he took her to another party with his friends the weekend after. It got worse from there." Reni sat back in her chair and waited for Donnie, who had been making coffee and a sandwich before she had burst in, to sit down before starting up again.
Crossing her pale arms, she continued. "The Monday after that party, she didn't come to school. She was skipping with that same guy and his crowd. She didn't come Tuesday, either. Still with that guy! And you know what he did?"
The question was rhetorical, and Donnie had the feeling he knew where this was going. He just kept quiet while Reni answered, despite not being asked to tell him.
"He got her into weed!" she shouted and flung her arms into the air. Donnie almost had to duck as the French in her came out and she started talking with her hands. It wasn't close to anything a normal person would do. Honestly, she reminded him of a mix of Mikey and Raph right now: Mikey's flailing arms, and Raph's short-fused temper.
She carried on, almost to herself, while he was thinking. "She knows it's bad for her. I bet she even remembers when we talked bout how smoking is disgusting! How we thought we'd never do drugs. And now she's out scampering around with who I think is now her boyfriend smoking weed and cigarettes."
Reni's voice started to rise in volume, even more than it had been rising before. "I mean, what's he gonna get her into next? Crack, meth, heroin? I'm seven hundred percent done with it!"
She slumped back into her chair, exhausted from everything. Donnie was silent. For once he wasn't exactly sure of what to say in the situation. Reni sighed once more. "I just want Rayla back. I want my Rayla back. The Rayla that used to swing with me in the backyard, and play hopscotch on the driveway. She used to be my best friend, but she isn't the same anymore."
It was about this time that the dark-haired girl started to tear up. She and Rayla had been friends from before they were even born, it seemed. Since they were cousins, it made sense. The two of them had grown up together, practically spending every moment with each other and had had each others backs when things got rough. Having this sudden separation from her once-best friend must have been devastating. Donnie imagined it being akin to all of a sudden having Mikey go off and do drugs with a group of people he didn't know or trust. Although, it might be worse for them all if it was Leo.
He knew that Leo had enough pressure on his shoulders to maybe consider going that direction, but he doubted it would ever happen. Honour was Leo's whole drive. He made it a point to do the right thing.
It had been quiet in the kitchen for a few moments before either of them made a noise.
"Donnie?" she nearly whimpered, covering her face with her hands and placing her head on the table.
The genius, who hadn't touched either his coffee or his sandwich, scootched forward and laid his rather large hand on her shoulder as he said soothingly, "Yes, Reni?"
"You're smart. How do I get her back?" she sniffled softly, the sound of her voice muffled by the table and her hands. Her palms were wet with salty tears, and her eyes, he knew, were beginning to get red.
Quickly, the tech genius got up from his chair and went to her. He pulled her toward him in a comforting embrace, and started petting her head. "Hey, shhh, it's okay."
Honestly, he had no idea what to say right then, but he knew it wasn't okay. He didn't really know how it felt to have someone close to you change into a completely different person. Sure, there was Timothy, but "The Pulverizer" had never really been classified as close to Don in his way of thinking. Timothy turning into a goo blob, and then into what Mikey had dubbed "Mutagen Man," wasn't what Donnie would consider a heartbreaking change in any respect. He couldn't say, "All you have to do is put Rayla in a glass jar until you figure out a way to cure her." Obviously, that wouldn't blow over well. He decided to just respond to "You're smart," instead.
He let out a shallow breath. "I'm smart, but not that kind of smart. I do the nuclear physics and the genetic engineering. I don't really know how to get people back. Or get people at all." Thoughts a certain redhead in New York passed briefly through his head, followed by thoughts of Reni. Damn, he nearly screamed at himself. I just suck at feelings, emotions, and people. He steadied his thoughts before continuing, "But whenever I feel like things are out of my control, I know I can always talk to Master Splinter. He's always so wise, and even when he doesn't know what to do, he always says something that helps you come up with your own way to work things out."
Reni curled into her good friend's plastron, her head tucked neatly into the curve of his shoulder. The girl wasn't really big, compared to the six-foot-oh terrapin. She fit nicely. Donnie felt like it was right, and he pulled her a little closer.
"So you're saying," she croaked, "that I should go talk to Sensei."
"No, I'm saying that you should talk to your dad. Or your mom. You could even just talk to Rayla's parents about it, and see if they know anything about her doing... What she's doing."
The girl shuffled a bit. "Oh." She let out a long and shaky sigh. "Talking to Master Splinter would be easier," she confessed.
Donatello chuckled softly. "A lot of things are easier than doing the right thing. But doing the right thing is always better."
"You got that from Master Splinter, didn't you?" she asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"Yeah, most of it." He smiled, patting her hair.
She smiled tentatively and wrapped her arms around her green friend, giving him a quick hug before letting go and getting up. Straightening her shirt, she said, "Well, I guess I better get my bike and head over to Auntie's."
Donnie stood beside her and caught her hand as she turned. "Good luck," he said when she looked back.
Reni squeezed his hand. "Thanks."
((A/N: SORRY BUT DEMONS JUST CAME ON THE RADIO AND I THOUGHT I SHOULD LET YOU ALL KNOW. GAHHHHH IM GONNA CRY I LOVE THIS SONG. LIKE DAMN SON. This song gives the biggest feels.))
The dark-haired girl leaned her bike against the house of her relatives and took a deep breath. She prepared herself for all the possible reactions of her aunt and uncle. Knowing them, it could range from angry that Reni would even suggest such a thing to sobbing because their little girl wasn't who they thought she was. Reni hoped neither of those is what they would do.
She climbed the steps to the front door and knocked. Usually, she just walked right in, but this time she felt like she should be... Respectful? That wasn't exactly it. But it would do for now.
It wasn't long before a petite woman answered the door. "Renée!" she greeted cheerily. "So great to see you. Come on in."
"Hi, Auntie," Reni replied as she crossed the threshold into the kitchen.
"It's too bad you just missed your cousin," the woman continued, hardly missing a beat. She pulled a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. Handing it to her niece, she continued, "She left with your uncle only twenty minutes ago. You could wait here for her. They should be back shortly."
"Well, I really kinda came here to talk to you," Reni said carefully, sitting down on one of the chairs at the breakfast table.
Her aunt cast a swift glance at her as she filled her own cup with water. "What about, Hun?"
Reni rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "It's... About Rayla. She's doing some not-too-good things."
"What do you mean?" The face of her aunt looked stricken.
"I mean, like, she's doing drugs and stuff with this guy she hangs out with. Actually, this group of people." A pause. "I'm worried for her. She doesn't act the same anymore and doesn't want to hang out. She's constantly with those other people. I don't even know what to do."
Her aunt walked slowly toward her and sat in the chair next to Reni at the table. "When did this start happening?" she asked in a voice Reni thought was too calm.
"A month ago? I don't know. It wasn't drugs at first, it was just hanging out, but then they took her to a party and..." She was cut off by the sound of a car in the driveway.
"That would be them," her aunt said with chill. "Hun, would you like to stay, or would you prefer to leave while we discuss what you just told me?"
Reni looked at her hands; they were shaking. "I-I think I'd better go."
Her aunt nodded. "Go out the back, then." She put her hand on her niece's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Thank you, Hun. I'll see you soon. Tell your mum I say hello."
Reni turned to hug her aunt. "I will," she promised.
Quietly, the girl exited the house. She ducked under the windows to retrieve her bike from the front of the house, and returned home.
Reni got a lot of angry texts from her cousin that night. A few were so harsh as to make her cry, but Donnie was her constant companion. Along with Leo, he reassured her that although Rayla was mad now, she'll thank Reni later for getting her out of a hole that was starting to get deep.
Reni believed things would get better. How could she not, when she had someone like Donnie to keep her on the right path?
A/N: Well, guys. That's been one eventful chapter. Remember to send me all your ideas and such. I'm running low on inspiration XD
RnR errybody! :D
