Athénaïs's P.O.V.-

Raphael's demeanour immediately changed the moment we arrived at the festival grounds. He carefully set me down on my feet and while I straightened out my dress, he stared around the corner at the crowd apprehensively. We landed in an alleyway not far from the entrance. Once ready, I guided the now very quiet and nervous turtle out into the street, into full view of everyone. His anxiety was understandable; he's probably been taught his whole life to avoid humans, and now he was walking among them.

We went up to the front gate where a man in a booth was waiting. Raphael stood noticeably back a few feet, awkwardly shuffling his fingers and glancing around while I paid. Then we headed inside, the turtle's eyes growing unsteady. Sensing his distress, my hand reached up to reassuringly pat the back of his shell. He stiffened, blinking down to me where he met my kind smile. "You're doing great," I told him in a faint voice. He didn't verbally reply, instead turning his head from me back to the crowd. No one paid attention to us, which was in large part to the way everyone else was dressed. True to my word, this was in fact, a costume event. Lots of people were dressed up; some more than others. Raphael hadn't uttered a word until someone hollered over to him in a gleeful tone.

"Hey, man! Nice costume!" Some guy in a California, surfer-dude get-up waved at him. Raphael froze, his mouth agape like he'd been found out. As tactfully as possible, I leaned in towards his ear to whisper: "say "thank you"." "T-Thanks!" He instantly followed my instruction in much too frantic a response. Lucky for us, surfer-dude didn't seem to notice and left after one more grin. My turtle escort let out a sigh of relief and I looked at him.

"Remember, Raphael; everyone thinks you're wearing a costume. You have to act like you are." "S-Sure! Erm…. how do I do that?" He peered down at me; I'd never seen so much vulnerability in his face before. Wanting to be as comforting as I could, I merely met his frightened expression with another brilliant smile. "Just be yourself; everything will be alright. Now, what do you want to do first?"

It took less than an hour for Raphael to finally relax and start enjoying himself. That started when I brought him to the food vendors. This drip of drool gathered in the corner of the mouth as he was assaulted by the plethora of delicious smells. Chinese noodles, various meats on a stick, cotton candy, turkey legs, loaded sundaes, and lots and lots of fried foods. Initially Raphael wasn't keen on my spending too much just so he could try everything, despite the overwhelming temptations. But he relented after I convinced him that money was no object tonight. I had made Daddy aware that I was going to said festival tonight and he made sure I had ample funds for the occasion.

Consequently, the preceding hour was spent gorging on every type of fair food conceivable. Well, Raphael gorged. I admittedly have a small stomach and can't binge to save my life. As such, I only ate a few things, and took the opportunity to try a bunch of American foods I'd never had before. Raphael did the exact opposite, trying lots of European cuisine. Belgium waffles, Dutch stroopwafels, English fish and chips- with curry sauce, of course-, German sausage, Spanish donuts, etc. I was astonished a turtle could eat that much and not explode. Meanwhile, I partook in something called a caramel apple- it's like a candied apple but with caramel. From the moment I tried it, I loved it; absolutely loved it! The rest of my food intake was consumed by these delights, and a bucket of mini donuts for good measure.

I finished off with a charcoal-favoured ice cream and Raphael with a plate of bacon and cheese perogies. I knew he was getting more confident to being out and about when he then announced that he wanted to take a break from eating to go on some rides. Fine by me. Since this was his first time riding… well, anything, I let him pick which he'd like to go on first. Of course, he had to choose the roller-coaster.

"Raphael? Isn't it a little bit… fast?" "I know! That's what I like 'bout it!" "Mmhmm….." The massive line wasn't moving very fast. I pondered how he would handle such a punishing ride after eating so much. Nonetheless I could see how thrilled he was to quote "ride his first ever roller-coaster". First ride indeed; I don't think he had any clue what he was in for. Neither did I for that matter.

"Next!" The car came in and everyone loaded off. Raphael thought it would be exciting to sit at the very front. Spoiler- it was not. I was wobbly taking my seat next to him. "What? You afraid?" He flashed me a mocking smirk. "N-No, I just haven't ridden on a roller-coaster in a while." "Whatever you say," his eyes rolled; he could hardly contain the glee in his expression. The ride operator checked our safety guards and we were off.

Our first ride together was… something else. While I had trouble standing with my noodle legs after two rounds, Raphael thought of ten different rides he'd like to try. Next was the log ride, which was a harsh follow-up to the roller-coaster. After that I begged Raphael for something lighter for our next round. I chose the teacups, which I found very amusing. My turtle companion, however, was bored out of his shell until he realized he could spin the cups very, very fast. I wanted a break from fast rides all together after that swirling nightmare.

The bumper cars were an interesting experience. Raphael had great fun repeatedly bumping into my car; I struggled to hit him or anyone back thanks to my lacklustre driving skills. He had no issue crashing into me, but I noticed that the moment anybody else did, they'd become his new target. This one boy kept ramming into me really hard, much to his delight. Well Raphael was having none of that and practically bumped him off the track. I inwardly rolled my eyes, though I was smiling. Oh, I see; so he can knock me all he wants, but the moment someone else gives me a go… I found it sweet in a way, or at least I did until he hit me for the millionth time in a row.

The last ride we got in line for was the Ferris wheel. It was my idea- anything not to go on the roller coaster again. Raphael seemed into it at first, but as we got closer to the front of the line, his disposition began to shift. He suddenly got quieter and more fidgety. At first I wondered if he was afraid of heights, but then remembered the roller coaster is almost as tall as the Ferris wheel. It didn't hit me what was wrong until we were actually on the ride.

The operator motioned us forward and sat us down on one bench. I couldn't help but see how far from me Raphael was sitting; he was so close to his edge that he was almost pressed up against it. Meanwhile I sat down on my side of the bench in a casual fashion. The safety bar was lowered, and the ride commenced. As we went up and down, I kept catching the turtle's eyes doing their upmost to avoid me. I suddenly caught onto what was happening when we started downwards in full view of other uh, ahem "couples" also on the ride.

They were using the opportunity to cuddle and sit cosily with each other. The ladies wrapped their arms around their partners' necks during the drops. Boy, were they grinning ear to ear. I glanced over to the bashful Raphael and it all clicked. Oh… oh! This is a typically romantic ride. My cheeks were blushing a tad now. I get it…. Neither of us said anything the whole time; we didn't even look at one another much. But…. A smile crept across my lips. Maybe it's a good thing; I wouldn't want to give him the wrong idea. Plus, I get the feeling…. he'd actually get friendly….. holding my hand.

Raphael's P.O.V.-

Whoa! I'd never had such a night in all my life! Tons of mouth-watering food, fun rides, cool music, and best of all, no one shrieking and calling me a green, mutant freak. Oh yeah, and I guess the company wasn't bad either….

Being out here with Athénaïs nerve-rackingly easy. She spoke with such effortlessness. I almost got the impression that she was protecting me, in her own way. This idea didn't bruise my pride as I'd imagine, because she did thus so indirectly, so sneakily. It was all in the way she presented herself, with such ardent and unwavering kindness. Gentleness was stronger than severity, when it came from her. And I stood by, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me? Why was it this easy?

I'm pretty sure Athénaïs was enjoying herself. She wasn't a food-vacuum like me, but I made sure she ate enough. I stood by while she spoke to some of the vendors in German; she seemed to like speaking in German more than English. At first, she'd order for me, but I soon got to the point where I was confident to order for myself. It helped that no one questioned me about my "costume" or anything personal. They treated me like any other human- if that's not ironic enough.

After going on all the rides, including that super awkward and uncomfortable Ferris wheel, I announced that I was hungry again. "You want more food?!" Athénaïs gasped like she's never met a teenage boy before. This time I wanted to go for the spicy food, which only became more fun once she proclaimed that she couldn't eat spicy food- like at all. Oh man, did I have fun teasing and taunting her with hot peppers after that. I finally got her to take the world's tiniest bite of my fire alarm chicken wings. Her eyes watered and she shot me a monstrous glare. I laughed my butt off while she went to get herself a drink. What a wuss!

My joy didn't last too long, however. Some guy came out of nowhere over to where Athénaïs was getting a lemonade. It was slightly amusing in the beginning because she frowned and squirmed a bit, clearly unhappy with his unexpected arrival. I gotta admit, it was entertaining to see her wriggle. But all that went down the drain the second he took one step too close towards her. She backed up a bit in obvious distress as he grinned down at her possessively. My body went from passively observing to moving without conscious realization before he could get nearer to her.

"Seriously though, why haven't you been answering my texts? I would have brought you tonight if I knew you wanted to come," this asshat had the gull to say. My teeth clenched as I let out a growl rapidly approaching Athénaïs's side. Both of them blinked over to me; Athénaïs with reprieve and the jerk with distain. He shot me a vicious glower.

"Hey, pal. I'm busy here," mystery bastard hissed at me. Athénaïs immediately stepped in, not wanting a fight to break out I'm sure. "Raphael, this is a boy from my school: Craig Hollander," she introduced him; I immediately noticed that her tone was strained. Craig- what kind of stupid name is that? Stupid name for a stupid guy, I guess. Wait a minute….. "She's really popular with the guys at school." Oh, so he wants to play it like that, does he? My hands balled into unconscious, mad fists.

Craig glared back at me with equal venom. "Who's this?" He asked her, not taking his vicious eyes off me. "A friend," my arms folded in a threatening fashion. "Raphael and I came to the festival together," Athénaïs clarified. Craig's face went from confused to angry in a matter of seconds. His eyes shot back over to Athénaïs enraged. "Wait, is this why you shot me down in the cafeteria the other day?" His hand rose up accusingly in my direction. She frowned with intent. "I already told you I'm not interested, Craig. It shouldn't matter if Raphael has anything to do with my decision or not." "Does he, though?! Did you say "no" because you already have a boyfriend?" Craig's voice was raising.

My heart skipped a beat. There they go again, suggesting that I could be Athénaïs's…. that. It felt like all pent-up venting from the previous night flooded up to the surface, and I couldn't hold it in this time. "I'm not her boyfriend!" This resulted in me shouting much louder than anticipated. Again, they both turned to me in surprise; well, surprise initially. But this totally backfired in my face when a mischievous grin rolled across his stupid face. His slimy arm wrapped across Athénaïs's shoulder, making her eyes grow huge in horror. I felt my own heartrate increase as I glared at him with such hatred. This asshole! Didn't he know that Athénaïs didn't like to be touched so casually like that? And it suddenly dawned on me that I'd beat the crap out of him if he ever saw her in her pyjamas. Oh! Oh….

"So you're still on the market then?" "Let go of me, Craig." "Come on, Athénaïs; let's ride the Ferris wheel. You owe me that much at least. We can heh, get real close, if you know what I mean." He said that and I was overcome with the urge to rip him away from her. Athénaïs looked absolutely horrified and I knew I had to do something and fast. She didn't react when I summoned up all my courage and extended my hand out. It took everything I had to reach over and take her little hand in mine. Good god! My eyes widened the moment my fingers wrapped around her palm. Were her hands small and dainty! She had like princess hands, if that makes any sense. Seriously, did she just waltz out of a Disney movie or something? Well, the dress might suggest so….

What I just described happened in a matter of seconds, and in the blink of an eye I pulled Athénaïs away from Craig and towards me. She was blushing the cutest shade of beet red… I mean the most embarrassing shade red! But Craig…. If looks could kill, I'd have died right there and then. "What do you think you're doing?" He growled lowly at me. It again took all my will power not to clock him right in the face there and then. Instead I turned around and dragged Athénaïs along behind me. "Come on, Austria. We're going," I said, not looking back at her red face.

"Hey! Athénaïs, get back here! You're really gonna go off with him? What are you supposed to be anyway? A giant-ass lizard?" I knew he was speaking to me with his last two questions. "He's a turtle, Craig," Athénaïs shot back. But I didn't even want her talking to him; I just picked up the pace and kept my grip firm on her hand. Nugh! Once again, this is all Athénaïs's fault. I would have slugged him if she wasn't such a lady. It didn't feel right hitting people- even idiots- in front of her. See? Entirely her fault!

Thankfully, the rest of the night went without incident. Athénaïs was strangely shy after that whole run-in with "Craig". She apologized profusely, rubbing her hand as she did so. "Would you stop saying sorry?! You can't help morons like that fawning all over you…. Not that I get why they do that!" I quickly added on. She'd nod and I knew I was safe.

At around eleven o'clock, we decided to call it a night. I carried her all the way home, being extra-careful of her white dress. We landed on the fire escape and Athénaïs climbed into her room. I waited until her window was locked and light was off before starting for home. But before I actually left, I jumped to a nearby rooftop where I could still see her window. It was dark inside, and I couldn't see her anymore. While watching the place, my left hand ran over my right; just like how Athénaïs did with hers earlier. I sat there and reflected on the night's events.

I had a good time- there's no denying that. But it's just…. did I expect to have a good time? I mean I didn't hate hanging out with Athénaïs, but I didn't know it could be like this. For the longest time, I was sure I had a place and it wasn't with humans. Yes, my brothers and I had a place, and we're the only ones in it… I didn't know any other way to live.

But with Athénaïs….. She treats me like a human or anything. Sometimes even I forget I'm a mutant when I'm with her. But then I have to ask myself: does that make me happy? No, course not…. That would make me feel like I'm some pet who needs company….. It's not as if I felt alone and she makes me feel less-alone. It's not like that at all… My eyes crept back to her window a bit hopefully. It's true, I'm not alone….. And it's kinda nice not to be alone. That still doesn't explain why she's so incredibly easy to be around.

Somehow without my ever noticing it, it felt so natural…. having Athénaïs near.