Author's Note: Don't you just hate it when writer's block rears its ugly head once again? Well, now I'm back, and I'm going to try and keep writer's block at bay from now on. Anyway, April is getting suspicious of Donnie's trips outside the lair, and believes they aren't to the junkyard. Will Casey agree with her, or will he try and talk some sense into her? What will our human allies find? Well, read and find out!

Chapter 12: Clever Little Sneaks

"Gap-tooth seems like he's in a better mood. He's still not hanging around here much, though."

"Casey, stop calling him that. Have you taken a look at your teeth lately?"

"Hey, I consider that a battle scar…his is what happens when you don't get braces. You know what I'm sayin'?"

April could only roll her eyes and try to suppress a scoff. Though she wouldn't say it outright, Casey had a point concerning Donatello. He seemed to be in better spirits, and acted happier whenever she helped him out with the retromutagen or when he helped her with trig. Still…lately she wondered if it was really her presence that made him happy now.

She had a feeling that Donnie crushed on her; he failed to hide it several times, and the night involving Metalhead gave her the first clue. She found it cute but a little creepy…not like she wanted to date him or anything. However, with the Kraang/Foot mess going on and just Donnie's kindness towards her and drive to cure her father…she couldn't exactly tell him what she felt about him. As for Casey…well, she couldn't exactly make up her mind either; it wasn't like she knew him for years.

As the two teens watched television in the central part of the lair, Donatello waltzed out of the lab, twirling his Bo staff and putting it in the holder on his shell while letting out a small whistle. He noticed April and Casey, giving a small wave and a smile to the former, before announcing, "I'm going to the junkyard! Be back later!"

"Careful out there, Donnie!" Leo called back from the dojo.

"Bring us a piece of cheesecake!" Mikey added in from the kitchen.

Donatello rolled his eyes before jumping over the turnstiles and heading out of the lair. Did Mikey have to really suggest he go out to the junkyard and get cheesecake? He started to believe that his brother was getting addicted to cheesecake as much as he was already to pizza. But he had some spare cash tucked away in his belt…maybe he could don a disguise, stop by the bakery, and pick up a packaged slice just to shut him up. Of course, the creamy dessert did sound very tasty right now.

He didn't stick around long enough to see April abruptly stand up from her seat on the couch and walk towards the turnstiles, which prompted Casey to get up and follow suit, only he didn't know what was going on. The hockey player furrowed his brow as he asked in a whisper, "What're you doing, Red?"

"Casey…we have to find out where Donnie's going all the time." April whispered back, narrowing her blue eyes at the tunnels of the sewer and subway. "I don't think he's just going to the junkyard. He's hardly home anymore, and he barely talks to me."

"The guy's probably goin' through a phase or somethin'." Casey retorted, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "What could he possibly have ta hide from you?"

I bet it has everything to do with that girl.

As much as she hated thinking that, she couldn't stop the thought circulating inside her mind. It just had to be that girl she saw in Donnie's memories; what other reason besides the junkyard would he have to go out so often? April didn't know what the turtle told that other girl…but she wondered if he blabbed all the negative stuff about her. No, that wouldn't be like Donnie at all. Still, she couldn't help but want to figure out exactly what the relationship was between Donnie and…HER.

"I don't think it's a phase, Casey." April replied, though it seemed forced. "He's been acting different ever since he just came back to the lair. I mean, he's all but stopped working on the retromutagen! I have to know why!"

The vigilante suddenly held his hands up. "Whoa, Red, calm down. Look, okay, we'll tail Donnie fer a while and see what he's doin'. If he's goin' to th' junkyard like he said, then we back off." He flipped his mask down over his face and continued, "I'm telling ya, it's just a phase."

Grabbing her tessen, April kept a stoic face. However, in her eyes swam so many emotions; namely doubt about Casey's words, fear of the truth, and frustration towards Donnie. When she saw him, she knew she couldn't just jump out and confront him about his recent behavior. She just had to either confirm or deny her suspicions.

"…I certainly hope you're right, Casey."

"I didn't expect to find so many hubcaps. Too small for the Shellraiser, though. Maybe I can do something with this computer motherboard."

Donatello didn't care that he was the only one at the junkyard, and some studies suggested talking to yourself was perfectly fine. It certainly helped to distract him from all that was his nonstop-thinking. Now here he was finding equipment to customize the Shellraiser and more supplies to cook up the anticipated, perfected batch of retromutagen. Maybe he could even find some parts to rebuild Metalhead's body…maybe a better container for Timothy's frozen body…

"Gah! I can't go around acting sad and somber!" Donnie shouted, clutching his head with one hand. "I won't be able to get any work done! First and foremost, I have to cure April's dad! Then maybe she'll…"

The genius turtle stopped himself right there as he picked up a set of chemistry tongs. Honestly, he thought over the issue for days concerning his motivation for wanting to cure April's dad, and his conversations with Cheyloe made him question himself even more. He really didn't want to admit it, but his initial motivation for wanting to de-mutate Mr. O'Neil was just to win April's romantic interest and make her be friends with him again; it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart. The first situation to give him a harsh dose of reality was the incident with Mutagen Man. Especially Master Splinter's lesson beforehand…

You can't make someone like you.

Then he remembered what Cheyloe told him concerning love from her personal standpoint: love at first sight is a load of crock. He always told himself that his affection towards April wasn't a mere crush; it had to be love! But now…now he wondered if it was all nothing more than a silly crush; one that would burn out after enough time. He remembered telling Leo similar things concerning Karai, and now he saw himself as a hypocrite. Needless to say…love sucked.

"…I actually wonder if Chey can give me some advice on how to get over someone." Donnie mused bitterly, running his fingers over a broken miniature stage light. "Maybe Raph's right…maybe I should just give up on whatever miniscule chance I have with April."

What the turtle wasn't aware of, unless he used his ninjitsu teachings right then, were the two spies watching him from behind a busted-down Pinto. If they had arrived a moment earlier, they would've caught the tail-end of his personal monologue; for him it was a good thing. One of the spies peered their blue eyes over the shattered passenger window and saw the purple-masked turtle examining a few metal pieces before putting them in his duffel-bag.

"See Red?" Casey began, pointing in Donnie's direction. "He's collecting junk and that's it. Now can we head back to th' lair?"

April fixated her eyes on Donatello rummaging through more scrap metal before letting out a heavy sigh. "…Maybe you're right, Casey. Okay, let's get back before he knows we're here."

As the redhead and raven-haired boy got up to leave, they heard music begin to play followed by the turtle letting out a yelp of pain. April immediately recognized the music as Donnie's T-Phone, and looking back, she saw him holding his bleeding hand. There on the ground was a piece of sharp metal with some blood on it; the T-Phone going off must've scared him into cutting his hand. She kept watching the wincing turtle slowly pull out his phone and answer it.

"H-Hello?" Donnie greeted, hiding the pain in his voice. "Oh, hey, what's up? Huh? You need me to come over and pick up something? Yeah, I've got time. All right, be over in a jiffy. Bye!"

Once the turtle placed his T-Phone back in his belt, he grabbed a cloth from his bag and held it over the cut before gathering the junk he chose and heading out of the junkyard. April watched carefully, her eyes narrowing as Donnie's short phone conversation replayed in her mind. "We have to keep following him."

"Why? He was probably talking to one of the bros!" Casey argued, clearly showing he was sick of playing stalker. "Let's just go back before he beats us!"

"You don't understand, Casey!" The redhead shot back defiantly. "I think he's got some secret friend he doesn't want us to know about! I have to know who she is!"

"Red, you're just-wait…did you say 'she'?" The vigilante asked as a smug smirk appeared on his lips, the gap of missing teeth flashing through. "Don't tell me you're jealous, Red. Afraid Don's got the hots for someone else?"

"N-No! I am NOT jealous, Casey!" April shot back before punching her friend in the arm. "Just come on!"

Donnie let a hiss of pain slip when he accidentally bumped his hand against the balcony railing, aggravating the cut in his skin. Honestly, why'd he have to get cut tonight? He needed to remember to turn down the volume on his phone next time, or put it on vibrate or whatever. But that wasn't important right now…right now he had to pick up a package and pick it up now. Crossing his arms, he lifted his head towards the sky as he waited at the door; not that he was in a hurry. Finally, he heard footsteps and the door click open.

"So I heard that I'm to receive a delicate package at this residence, ma'am?" He asked, failing to hide a smile and the humor in his voice.

"Hello to you too, compadre." Cheyloe joked back, presenting the purple-masked turtle with a Tupperware container filled with something that smelled warm and sweet. "Anna and I had the idea to make you guys a batch of seven-layer cookies. Well, Kaitlyn actually made them since she doesn't trust us around the stove. None of you are allergic to coconut, are you?"

"No, we're good with coconut." Donnie replied, opening the container and taking a whiff of the morsels. "Whoa, these smell good! I'll have to make sure Mikey doesn't eat all of 'em."

As the brunette let out a laugh, she suddenly noticed the stained cloth wrapped around the turtle's hand. She reached out and pulled it back to expose the deep cut, gasping, "What happened to your hand?"

Donnie winced, pulling his hand back towards his plastron. "Oh, I-I just cut it on some scrap metal. It's no big deal; happens all the time!"

"No big deal? Donnie, you don't know what was on that metal before it cut you!" Cheyloe argued, taking his hand and leading him inside. "It won't bother me at all to clean that wound, so take a moment to sit down while I get the first-aid kit ready!"

As the turtle felt himself be pulled into the apartment, once again, he wasn't aware of the eyes watching him a few rooftops away. Watching from a water tower, April felt her heart drop into her stomach as she watched her friend disappear into the apartment. Her powers didn't lie…Donnie had a new friend, one he didn't trust her enough to tell about. She couldn't exactly understand why Donnie wouldn't trust her enough to say he made a friend in his absence…and she figured this was where Donnie was when he went missing.

"Whoa, who's that chick?" Casey inquired after letting out a whistle. "And why'd Donnie go in 'er crib?"

"Donnie's been lying to us about where he's going." April concluded, her voice masking barely-contained anger. "And he never even bothered to tell anyone where he was while he was gone…he had us all thinking he was dead! All over some girl! I bet he's in there living it up while everyone else is thinking the worst!"

Still, April already had a hint of this from when she peeked into Donatello's memories, but actually seeing her friend with this other person felt like a slap in the face. If he was at another human's apartment during his absence, why didn't he bother calling any of his family members? It didn't matter that his T-Phone broke from what she heard; he still should've contacted them!

"Chill out, April!" Casey reprimanded, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets. "Maybe he had a reason for not telling anybody. I mean, when I first got there it seemed like things between him and the bros were strained, and you were pretty mad at him for a while concerning your dad. What if he was afraid of making things worse?"

April opened her mouth to retort, but suddenly closed it when she thought of Casey's words. She remembered the times the others teased Donnie, one time being when he got attacked by Dr. Rockwell. And she overheard Raph telling the genius turtle that he was 'sadorable'. And of course her outburst with her dad's mutation…did Donnie really feel like he couldn't tell them anything? Did he seriously feel like he basically had to walk on eggshells with her? It almost sounded like her temper was just as bad as Raph's, a thought she found herself embarrassed by.

Still…this didn't mean Donnie was going to be let off the hook.

The redhead's attention shifted when she saw Donnie and the brunette exiting the apartment, a fresh bandage on the turtle's hand and the Tupperware container in the other. She could see them talking about something before they hugged each other and Donnie leapt to the roof of the building. That was a signal for her and Casey to head back to the lair before he did, or at least try and beat him there.

"Hey wait a minute…" Casey stated as they began going towards the lair. "I've seen that chick before… When my sister broke her wrist from falling off her bike, she was one of the nurses working that day at the hospital. So if ya can't talk ta Donnie, how about ya talk ta HER?"

"Casey, I can't just pop into the hospital and say to her 'oh hi, I see you know my mutant turtle friend'! I don't even know what her name is; I couldn't pick it up from Donnie's memories!"

"Well then, just wait fer Donnie ta be ready ta tell ya!" The vigilante shot back. "If he finds out we spied on 'im, that won't exactly help him trust ya more, or even me!"

April found herself scoffing, almost missing the fire escape. "And exactly how long am I supposed to wait, Casey!? He'll probably keep her secret as long as he's still alive!"

Casey grunted as he hopped to the pavement. "You don't know that! Have a little more faith in Donnie!"

The redhead let out a growl, finally deciding that arguing about it anymore was just pointless. She honestly felt like cornering Donnie in his lab and confronting him about his 'friend', but it would make it seem like she was a wife confronting her husband about an affair. She didn't even feel that way towards the turtle! At the same time, if she confronted Donnie about it, then that would shatter any trust he had in her. If she confronted him, that would tell him that she spied on him, and possibly tell him that she read his mind.

Why couldn't things be simple?

"Whoa, cookies!?" Michelangelo beamed. "Aw man, Chey's the best!"

"Mikey, don't even think about eating all of 'em!" Raph growled as he shoved his youngest brother away from the cookies.

"Hey, let me have some!" Leo whined, reaching for one of the desired morsels.

Donatello managed to sneak a couple of cookies before his brothers started fighting over the treats, and he looked in time to see Master Splinter whack the others with his cane over their squabbling. That and the rat wanted to secure his own seven-layer cookie. Letting out a small chuckle, he put one cookie into his mouth as he made his way to the lab to get back to work. A little sugar rush would help in his need to finish the retromutagen, since they were low on coffee. But as Donnie opened the doors to his lab, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to yelp and almost drop the cookie. When he turned around to see who scared him, he saw…

"April?" He asked, pulling the treat from his mouth. "Uh, what's up?"

"Hey Donnie." April greeted quickly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Uh...how's the retromutagen coming along?"

The purple-masked turtle let out a sigh, taking a bite out of one of his cookies. "So-so. I don't have a lot of mutagen left to experiment with, so I'm trying to make these next results count. If one of them proves to be it, then we can finally get your dad back once and for all."

"Donnie…you've been working really hard lately." The redhead stated, wringing her hands out of anxiety as she locked eyes with her friend. "Listen…I'm really sorry for putting pressure on you about it."

"N-No, no, don't apologize!" The genius turtle insisted while waving his hands in front of her. "No pressure at all! I just know that making a retromutagen is top priority right now!"

"Donnie, don't lie." April reprimanded. "Raph told me you've barely slept and that you've been depressed. I also wanted to say…I'm sorry if you've felt like you've had to walk on eggshells around me. If something happens that I get mad at you guys, I won't end our friendship, no matter how petty or how serious it is."

Donnie felt floored by April's words; how did she know he felt this way? It had to be those Kraang powers of hers, but he wasn't totally sure. Actually, he was surprised that she didn't ask about the cookies yet, but maybe she overlooked them to talk to her. Her words were nice, but they didn't completely alleviate his fears…and he still didn't want to tell her about Cheyloe. Thinking of his friend suddenly brought an idea to mind. While the brunette patched him up, he spoke about the trouble he had with the retromutagen and his findings on April's DNA. Then the suggestion Chey made about finding a way to connect the two suddenly made sense…

"Hey, April…I think I know something that might help with the retromutagen." Donnie suggested, biting into the cookie once again. "I know this may seem strange, but I'll need to take a blood sample."

"A blood sample?" The redhead repeated. "You think my DNA will help with the retromutagen? Well…if it'll help my dad, then okay. But don't rush or push yourself anymore, okay? The last thing I want to see is my best friend burnt-out over me."

The purple-masked turtle offered a small smile at her plea. "I can't make any promises April…but I'm willing to give it a try."

"By the way…where did you get those cookies?"