(A/N): It's been way too long since I've posted, I know. And this chapter isn't even very long! I'm terrible. I will admit, school is crazy, stress is high, but I will do my best to get the next few chapters going soon. Special thanks to all who read, follow, favorite, and review. You guys keep me going. :)

Chapter 14: An Offer

Mikey and Izzy sat together in the kitchen, positioned so that Leo and Hannah were just in their view.

"Ah, young love." Izzy sighed, dramatically placing a hand over her heart. They watched as the two sat by the TV, watching Space Heroes together.

"Wow, Leo actually found someone who likes the same dumb show as he does." Mikey pointed out. Izzy started bouncing around.

"It's a sign! They're meant to be together!" Mikey and Izzy quieted down a bit so they could watch the potential couple a little more closely.

Leo was incredibly uncomfortable. Usually he feels more relaxed while watching his favorite TV show. Yet, for some reason, he felt weird around Hannah. He couldn't quite tell why. And he couldn't stop looking at her. He was trying to be discreet about his glances; thank goodness Hannah was so intrigued by the show that she couldn't notice what he was doing. He let his eyes travel to her hair, which was pulled into a side braid. He watched as she mouthed certain quotes along with the show. Before Leo could realize it, the episode had ended. Hannah suddenly turned to look at him, and Leo almost had a heart attack. Ok, Leo, no more staring. You don't want to freak her out. He told himself.

"So…" Hannah began, trying to break the awkward silence that had developed. "What do you wanna do now? I would go and find Hazel, but she might be busy with somebody." Hannah and Leo laughed.

"It's absolutely hilarious how you were able to pick up on Hazel and Donnie's 'thing' without even seeing them interact. Hey, you even figured it out before they did! Those two have been dancing around this situation for weeks. It's embarrassing to watch." Leo commented, smiling. He was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable around Hannah, now that a conversation had started.

"You haven't known Hazel as long as I have, and trust me, it's been a rough road for her." Hannah laughed. "She's so logical and scientific that she actually believes that love doesn't exist… that it's simply a chemical reaction with hormones or something." She sighed, exasperated.

"Do you think love exists? I mean, besides a chemical reaction?" Leo blurted out. He regretted it as soon as he said it. Why would he just say something like that to a girl he just met? Thankfully, Hannah didn't flip out or anything.

"Well… yeah, I do. I believe that there's some sort of connection that forms between two people that isn't purely based on science and psychology. I think there's something more to it."

"Yeah. Me too, I think. Well, I'm a walking, talking turtle that hasn't had much human contact, so I guess I'm not the most experienced person. Guess I was just curious, that's all." Good save, Leo. "Hey, you wanna head over to the dojo? I was gonna do some training but you can tag along. At least until Hazel and Donnie are done with whatever they're doing." Hannah seemed interested in seeing the dojo, and for that, Leo was grateful. "C'mon, I'll show you the way."

Darn. Hazel said to herself. She had just eavesdropped on the end of the conversation between Hannah and Leo, and she didn't want to interrupt them, especially since Leo was doing a much better job at making Hannah feel welcome than Hazel could. She still felt a bit of tension between herself and her best friend, a kind of tension that would only go away with time. Well, now what? Hazel thought, feeling trapped. Obviously Hannah and Leo were out of the question. Mikey and Izzy were exchanging little kisses while they were playing videogames together on the couch. She definitely didn't want to join in on that one. And there was no way she wanted to interrupt Alex and Raph's make out session. That would result in a pretty good beating. Hazel sighed. Looks like there's only one place for me to go: the lab. Yay me.

Hazel re-entered Donnie's lab, feeling pretty embarrassed about the entire situation. She sat back down on his little couch and simply watched him work on various projects. Eventually, he turned and looked at her, removing his lab goggles and placing them on his desk.

"Hey Hazel, how's Hannah doing?" he asked her.

"Oh, uh, she and Leo were kind of… um… busy at the time, and so I just came back in here. That's all," she explained.

"Really? Leo and Hannah?" Donnie asked, seeming to be surprised.

"I know, right? Who knew, after a few hours, they're already hitting it off. Hannah's one of a kind, let me tell you."

"That's good for Leo. I'm glad he's found someone he really enjoys spending time with."

"Yeah…" Hazel trailed off, lost in thought. She kind of zoned out for a bit, as Donnie got back to work.

"Hey, Hazel?" Donnie asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah, Donnie, what's up?"

"Would you mind heating up these three test tubes over there? This test I'm running is getting a bit overwhelming."

"Yeah, why didn't you say something before?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if you really wanted to help. You've been acting a bit distant lately," Donnie pointed out shyly.

"I know Donnie, I'm sorry. Everything is just so weird for me right now, I'm just in some kind of phase I guess. I don't mean to take it out on you, I swear," Hazel promised.

"I know, I'm just worried about you, that's all." Donnie blushed. Hazel avoided his gaze, thanking the test tubes for her reasonable distraction. He's so sweet. Why can't you just accept your feelings, Hazel? Confront them! Said one side of Hazel's mind. The other side said: Obviously he's still under the influence of the mating season. Plus, you shouldn't get your hopes up by developing some kind of crush. No one's liked you before, so why would anyone like you now? Hazel wasn't sure which side was her logical one and which side was the crazy one. She decided not to find out. Soon, Mikey called everyone out for dinner: takeout from Murakami's.

The dinner table was even more crowded and hectic than usual. Hannah was overly excited, and Mikey and Izzy just reflected the excitement all around the table. Master Splinter was calmly answering Hannah's questions as well as simply enjoying his food. Naturally, Raph and Alex sported the same facial expression: the one that read something like 'I really don't want to be here, let me leave.' No one was shocked by this. And of course, Donnie was sitting awfully close to Hazel again. Whether it was because he liked sitting this close to her or if it was just because the table was extra crowded, Hazel had no idea. And she didn't plan on finding out, simply because the answer may have scared her.

Eventually, Hannah stood up to give some sort of announcement.

"I know this is a bit sudden, but my family owns a vacation home up in Maine. My mom lets me stay there whenever I feel stressed out, and she'd definitely let me have friends over. So I was wondering if you guys would like to come with me this weekend and stay at the house…" she finished, sitting down. Everyone glanced over at Master Splinter, pausing to wait for his response.

"I have just one question for you, Hannah." Master Splinter began. Hannah nodded, signaling for him to continue. "It is important that we keep our identities a secret, so how would my sons be able to go without being seen by your mother?"

"Oh, she won't be there, she's actually really sick right now and has been home for a few days, so she wouldn't want to come with me. And my dad works in Korea so he wouldn't be there either. The house has great security and it's also secluded in the forest, so random strangers would be less likely to walk by and see them. She's totally fine with me staying there as long as I call her every night to check in and text her throughout the day." Master Splinter seemed satisfied by this answer, so chatter immediately broke out among the friends at the table. Even Raph and Alex seemed interested! After a while, it was settled: the girls and the turtles would be sharing a weekend getaway in Maine. Master Splinter had decided to stay behind; he wasn't comfortable leaving the lair unattended for a while, since April was still on vacation with her father and wouldn't be able to house-sit. The turtles all rushed to their rooms to start packing. Hazel followed Donnie into his room, trying not to think about how his bed smelled like him-books with a hint of minty toothpaste-when she sat on it to help him pack his bags.

"Do you think I should bring my lab gear?" Donnie asked as he ran around his room, grabbing books and electronics that were scattered throughout the room.

"Sure, but just the necessities. We'll only be gone for like, three days anyway." Hazel replied.

"Right, right, you're right." He said, grabbing his laptop and shoving it into his bag.

"Sheesh, Donnie, we're leaving tomorrow morning, not in five minutes! You can sit down and breathe." Donnie instantly plopped down on the bed next to Hazel. He turned to look at her.

"Sorry, I'm just excited to be out of the lair for a while, you know? It's going to be great. Hannah is so nice to have offered to take us there."

"She's a great friend, and she's so welcoming to people she's barely met. I suck at that kind of thing." Hazel said, frowning.

"You don't suck at it, you're just not as strong in that area as she is. But you definitely make up for it in other aspects of life," Donnie stated.

"Thanks Donnie." She didn't know what else to say. She was glad he didn't just tell her she was good at everything, cause that would be an obvious lie. She sighed. "I should probably go home and start packing too. I wouldn't want to forget anything in the morning."

"Bye, Hazel, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Donnie." Hazel left the room and went to get her sisters and Hannah to go back to their apartment. Who knows what'll happen on this trip?