Hey guys. It hasn't been that long since I last updated, and I feel pretty glad about that. I've gotten back into the swing of things, 'course college has just started, so I won't get ahead of myself. Well, enjoy this chapter.


Prologue: Part 3
Realization and Confusion

(2 weeks after battle)

Nia's P.O.V.

Kick. Smack. Dive. Before he could even blink, Mikey went down, landing flat on his shell. I ran forward and put my foot on his chest, keeping him down. His head fell back as his eyes spun around, his mouth hanging open.

"Yame!" Sensei called out. "Very good, Lavinia. Your speed has been increasing, keep it up. Michelangelo, you did very well, but you lost focus towards the end. You must work on that."

"Okay, Sensei…" Mikey grunted, sitting up and shuffling to sit next to the others, who were all kneeling in line.

"You have all been working well," Sensei told us seriously. "And I know that you are still celebrating after your outstanding victory against the Kraang, as you should. But, do not let your guard down too far. We still have a long journey ahead of us, full of trials from other foes."

"We know, Sensei," said Leo. "We know that Shredder and his goons are still out there, but you fought him greatly."

"You kicked his tail!" Raph said enthusiastically.

Sensei shook his head. "Do not dismiss the inevitable, my children. There is still more to come, and we must be prepared for it," he turned. "That is enough for today."

He continued forward until he went into his room, and slid the door shut. With that, the boys stood up and we all walked out of the dojo.

"Man, talk about buzzkill," said Mikey. "What a way to end training."

"He has a point Mikey," said Leo. "The Kraang may be gone, but Shredder is still out there, and he'll be coming for us as soon as he can."

"Yeah, but not anytime soon," said Raph. "Even if Sensei didn't win, he still knocked the hell out of him."

"Shredder's not exactly the type of person to lay off, though," I said. "We should still be careful."

Raph still didn't look convinced, but nodded. With that, everyone disbanded towards their desired destinations. Donnie went into his lab, Leo went into his room(probably to meditate some more), and Raph and Mikey went into the pit as Mikey grabbed both controllers.

"Raph, wanna play Mario Kart?"

"Again?"

"Please?"

"No way, man. I'm not dealing with your cheating shell again."

"You should probably listen to him, dude," I said, coming over to sit on the couch. "Last time you guys played Mario Kart, Raph got so mad he nearly threw you across the lair."

Raph folded his arms as he flopped onto the beanbag chair. "And I had to do extra training 'cause of it," he grumbled.

"You wanna play then, Nia?" Mikey asked hopefully. "I don't wanna play alone."

"Sure, why not?"

I sat down next to Mikey as he handed me the controller. We played for a good half hour, and it was fun enough. Honestly, I wasn't paying much attention to the playing the game- which I always loved playing with Mikey. I was too focused on what was going on while we were playing. Raph was still sitting in the beanbag, watching us play. At least, I thought he was watching us. But, I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. I wasn't looking at him, but I could feel him looking at me, and it gave me goosebumps.

"You're falling behind, Peach!" Mikey jeered, as his little green Yoshi passed up my Peach.

"Not for long," I assured him, trying to focus more on the game.

"You guys are weird," said Raph, and to my surprise he got up and landed next to me. "It's just a game."

"Not now, Raph!" Mikey said harshly, looking determined.

I saw Raph roll his eyes as he leaned forward a little bit. I gulped. He was a lot closer than before. What does that matter? I asked myself. My head was telling me to get a grip, but the hairs on the back of my neck were telling me that I was nervous as all hell.

The next thing I knew, Mikey was standing up and cheering loudly, waving his controller in the air.

"Aw yeah, Mikey for the win!"

I blinked, and saw that Mikey's character had indeed won.

"Too bad, Nia," Raph nudged me. "Guess you just weren't focused enough."

"Uh… yeah," I gulped. "I'll get him next time."

I'll admit, I was relieved when Angus and Vanessa finally came over to hang out. Focusing on them helped calm my nerves, which were going crazy for some reason. Plus, it gave me an excuse to move a little further away from Raph. I don't know why, but being far away from him helped me feel like my normal self. I hated this, though. I loved sitting next to my favorite hothead, but right now he was making feel strange and I didn't need to be acting weird in front of everyone because of it.

"So, have your parents decided on a name yet?" asked Leo, who was sitting next to me.

Angus, who was sitting between Raph and Donnie, shrugged. "Dunno yet. They might've already, but they haven't said anything about it. I think they might be waiting 'til she's born to tell."

"What do you think it'll be?" I asked.

"Well," Angus folded his arms. "They had this list of names hanging on the fridge a little while ago, and there were a couple that I liked. Maybe Bethany or Loral… I dunno. They were all really pretty though."

"Hey guys."

I looked up. April, who had just been in a meditation lesson with Master Splinter, walked over and sat down next to me on my other side.

"Hey, April," I said. "How was the lesson?"

"Oh, it was okay," she said. "Splinter says I need to focus a little more on… well, focusing."

I chuckled.

"Don't worry, April. It isn't as simple as it may seem," said Leo. "Meditation takes deep concentration; it took us years to be able to have enough focus to complete it."

"However, some of us are still having difficulties," I said, leaning over to smirk at Raph, who straightened up to stare at me.

"Excuse me, but I'm not nearly as bad as Mikey," said Raph. Then looked past me, then frowned as he said loudly, "Yah know, Mikey's probably the suckiest out of all of us!"

I raised my eyebrow and looked around. Mikey wasn't even looking this way, and showed no sign that he had even heard what Raph had said. He was just sitting on the floor, his wide eyes almost glossy as he stared up at Vanessa, who sat on the couch in front of him. She had been talking to him enthusiastically about the mosaic she had made for Angus' baby sister.

"You should've seen the looks on their faces, they just loved it!" she said happily. "They took it and put it up in the nursery right away! Oh, you should've seen it, the room looks so cute! It's perfect for the baby."

"I bet your art made it look even cuter," Mikey said dreamily, smiling up at her.

Vanessa giggled. I rolled my eyes as I turned to look at Raph, who was staring at his younger brother with a look of disbelief.

"The shell…?"

"Hey, you guys," Vanessa piped up. "Since we're all just sitting around here, why not have some fun?"

"Well, we haven't really done much today," said Donnie. "And we don't have much going on at the moment… why not?"

"I could use some fun after that lesson," said April.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

Vanessa grinned. "Have you guys heard of Hide and Clap?"

Leo and I glanced at each other before he asked, "Is it like Hide and Seek?"

"Very similar," Vanessa walked forward. "One person is the Seeker and everyone else has to hide from them, same old same old. But… the Seeker is blindfolded. They have to wander around the area looking for everyone else!"

She was beaming, but the rest of us, apart from Angus, were all confused.

"How are we supposed to find anyone if we're blindfolded?" asked Raph.

"That's why it's called Hide and Go Clap!" said Vanessa. "Every now and then, the Seeker will shout out "First clap!" Then, the other players all clap. The Seeker has to use this in order to find them. But, they only get three chances to get the players to clap."

"So, it's like Hide and Seek… with Marco Polo?" I asked.

"Exactly!" Vanessa said brightly.

"It's actually really fun," said Angus. "And pretty hilarious."

"So, what do you say?"

"I'm in!" said Mikey happily, jumping to his feet. "It sounds awesome!"

"Heck yeah," I said, standing up. "This sounds really cool! C'mon, guys!"

The others all looked at each other, and, shrugging, they all stood up.

"Alright, let's play," said Leo.


Man, I wish I had heard of this game when I was little. The guys and I would've had so much fun doing it. I mean, we're still having a blast now, of course. I don't know why, but it was cool and really funny playing this rather than just plain old Hide and Seek. Watching somebody walk right past you, trying with all your heart not to laugh, it was pretty fun.

"You're turn, Leo," said April, taking the white piece of cloth off of her eyes. She had just caught Leo, who had been hiding behind the TV.

"Alright, alright," he said. He took his own mask and turned it around so that the eyeholes were on the back of his head. "Okay, I can't see anything."

"Okay… start counting!" said Angus.

"1… 2… 3…"

I instantly went towards the exit by the turnstiles while everyone else scattered. Raph seemed to just disappear from the pit, Donnie went to the kitchen, April to the lab, Vanessa was sitting on the tire swing, and Mikey was crouched by the beanbag in the pit.

"8… 9… 10."

I quickly snuck over the turnstile and sat down, perfectly hidden.

"Okay… First clap!"

I heard everyone clap, and once they had I did too. I peeked over and saw Leo start to head towards Mikey, but then he changed course and headed out of the pit. I snorted and leaned back, waiting to clap again.

"Hey."

I turned. Angus was standing next to the turnstile.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Help yourself."

He quickly walked over and sat down next to me by the next stile over. He pulled his knees in, drumming his fingers on his legs.

"How's things going on outside of home?" I whispered.

"Oh, great," he said. "I've been getting some real practice done lately, I think I might be able to get a job at the music store, and… I'm in a band."

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm in a band," he said. He turned to look at me, and he had his usual perfect, white smile on, except it was much bigger. "I have been for about a few weeks now. Only Vanessa knows."

I gasped before quickly covering my mouth. "Oh my god, Angus that's amaz-"

"Second clap!" Leo called in the distance.

Angus and I clapped, and so did the others. I peeked out to make sure Leo wasn't coming our way before continuing.

"When did this happen? How?"

"A few weeks ago," he said. "This guy, Martin, he's one of my best friends. We had the same music class. Him, his cousin Joseph, and their friend Ace have been trying to get a band together. They pretty much do, and since I play really good guitar and can sing good, Martin recommended me for their band. None of them play guitar, so obviously I was a shoe in."

"Angus, that's great!" I said in an excited hushed voice. "Does anyone else know?"

"My parents," said Angus. "Obviously. We're waiting until there's an opportunity for us to play somewhere before exposing ourselves."

"What's the band's name, anyway?"

"We're, ah… still working on that one," Angus said sheepishly.

"Wow, that's incredible."

Angus smiled, but I could see that there was something else that was eating at him.

"What is it?" I asked.

He paused. "Well… see, the band has almost everything it needs. Ace is an awesome drummer, Joseph is great on the keyboard, Martin plays bass and I can play an electric. Plus, Martin and I can sing pretty good."

"Seems good to me."

Angus shook his head. "Not quite… See, the band only had four members, and, uh… the others were really hoping for five. So, we've been looking for someone else to be our main singer."

I raised my eyebrow. "And…?"

"Oh hell, ain't it obvious?" Angus said. "I'm talking about… you, Nia."

I stared at him. "What-"

"Third clap!" Leo shouted.

Angus' raised his hands to clap, but I reached forward and stopped him.

"Do you mean it?" I asked. "You… you and your friends want me in your band?"

Angus nodded. "Yeah. I told the guys that I knew somebody who was an awesome singer, and they said yes. Obviously, they wanna meet you first, and hear how good you can sing before making it official."

I gulped. "A-are you sure? I mean… I've never sung in front of anybody like that before. Hell, I get nervous just playing with you at the park."

"Trust me, you're the best for this," Angus said encouragingly. "I know you are."

"Well… what about the others?" I asked. "They don't even know me. Besides, they're all guys, right? Don't they want an all guys band or something?"

"I asked them if they were okay with a girl being in the band," said Angus. "Martin said, "Dude, we don't care if she's a 6ft talking lizard. If she can sing, she's in"."

I blinked at him, my mouth hanging open. Then, I felt it split into a grin as my heart began to swell up.

"Oh Angus, I-"

"AH-HA!"

Suddenly, something lunged over the turnstile and collided with me, sending me and the figure tumbling over until we almost fell off the ledge and into the train tracks. I landed on my back and looked up, and saw that it was Leo. He was sitting on top of me, a smile on his face.

"Got you!" he hollered. "You guys didn't clap the third time."

"Yes we did!" I retorted.

"No, we didn't," said Angus.

I turned my head to glare at him and he shrugged.

"Well, we didn't."

"So, you cheated!" Leo said accusingly.

"We did not!" I said, trying to shove him off. "Now, get off of me."

Leo laughed as he stood up. He offered his hand, and I took it as he helped me to my feet.

"Well, looks like I'm Seeker now," I said. "You guys go hide."

They both nodded and went to go hide with the others. I turned around and turned my mask so that I was completely blind. I stuffed my hands into my pockets as I began counting. I could hear the other's footsteps as they left to go hide. I sounded like Angus went somewhere near the dojo, and Leo might have gone by the bedrooms.

"... 9... 10! Here I come!" I slowly turned around. "First clap!"

I heard claps from all over the place. The closest one, however, seemed to be coming from the kitchen. Walking carefully with my arms held out, I slowly walked towards the path that I knew lead to the kitchen. My hands touched the curtains and I pulled them back. I walked around, reaching my hands out, hoping to touch someone. My hip suddenly hit the corner of the table and I gasped, wincing in pain as I grasped it.

"Damn it…"

I sighed, and decided that there was nobody in the kitchen. I walked out into the living room.

"Second clap!"

Again, a lot of claps echoed throughout the lair. I realized the closest one now was somewhere down the hall where the bedrooms were. I shuffled across the room until I reached the hall. I started to walk down, waving my arms slightly. Then, from my left, I heard a slight creek. I stopped. Somebody must have just stepped out of one of the bedrooms. I turned in the direction, and I could swear I could feel somebody standing there.

"Third clap."

I heard several claps come from out of the hallway. There was a pause. Then, someone clapped right in front of me.

I instantly leaped forward and grabbed them. We fell forward and there was a small bang as they hit something and we kept rolling. We must have hit the door and were rolling in the bedroom. We stopped rolling when I felt myself hit the wall and we fell into a mess.

"Jesus, Nia!"

Raph.

"Oh, sorry dude," I said, laughing. "But, c'mon, you're room? Really?"

"I didn't think you'd come back here!"

"I heard you clap!"

"Whatever!"

I reached forward and playfully shoved what felt like his chest. He grumbled and swatted my hand away. I did it again, and this time he grabbed my wrist and held it out to keep me from shoving him.

"Okay, now you're just being a sour puss," I said irritably.

Raph didn't respond. I could sense him sitting still in front of me, and I could feel his eyes on me.

"Raph?"

I reached my other hand up to turn my mask around so that I could see, but I felt Raph grab my wrist and he slowly lowered it. I felt my chest tighten as I tried to say something, but nothing would come out. I didn't know what to say anyway. I heard him shift around, and I thought I could feel him sitting a little closer towards me, still holding my wrists. His grip wasn't tight in the slightest, but knew I couldn't slip out even if I tried. My face suddenly felt very warm, and I began to worry if I was sweating a little bit. Wait, why was I suddenly worried about sweat on my face? Since when do I care?

"Guys?" Mikey called out from the hallway. "You cool? Did you break something?"

Raph released my hands and slowly moved away. I quickly reached up and turned my mask around in time to see him leaning his head out the door.

"We're all good. She caught me, so I'm it. You better go hide before I find you and smack you."

Mikey let out a squeak, and I heard him run off. Raph leaned back into the room and looked down at me.

"That goes for you, too," he said. "'Cause trust me, I won't go easy on you."

I wasn't paying much attention to him, even as he turned his mask around and walked out of the room. I was too focused on the fact that my hands felt surprisingly cold without him holding them.


Donnie's P.O.V.

"There there, Timothy," I soothed, shaking the food container above him. "Don't want you going hungry."

The food flakes floated down, and Timothy's mouth appendage floated up and caught them. I smiled at him as I set the food down and continued to clean off my work desk. I brushed off some dust and picked up a few papers, and I glanced down at the Kraang communication device. It's been weeks since I had that talk with Nia, and I've kept my promise to not stress over it. Of course, I still check it during the day, but I don't hover over it at night like did when we first stopped the invasion.

I walked around my desk and put the papers into a drawer just as the lab doors opened. I looked up and saw Nia standing there.

"Hey," I said. "What're you doing up? Everyone else has gone off to bed."

Nia didn't answer, but she just stood there looking at me. Then, she puffed out her chest and marched over to me.

"Donnie, I need your help with something," she said in a determined voice.

"Okay," I said, raising my eyebrow at her. "With what?"

"Let's just call it an experiment."

She walked around me and stopped at the other end of my desk. She turned and leapt up, sitting on the surface. I glanced at her curiously as I walked over to stand in front of her.

"Okay… what do you need?"

She bit her lip, then she held her hands out. "Hold my hands."

I blinked. "Hold your-?"

"I need to see something," she cut me off. "Please."

I frowned at her. "Alright…"

I reached up and gently grasped her hands. She held mine back a little tightly. For someone who trains every day without gloves or anything, she has surprisingly soft hands. Strong, but soft.

She stared down at our hands, as though expecting something to happen. But, nothing did. I just stood there, holding her hands.

"Is there something you're waiting for?" I asked.

Nia groaned, and her hands slipped out of mine.

"Unbelievable," she grumbled, but loud enough for me to hear. "Anyone else can hold my hands and I'm fine. But when he does it, oh no, my nerves have a freaking break down."

She walked a few feet away and she folded her arms, looking pretty upset. I looked at her as I walked forward.

"Nia, who are you talking about?" I asked.

Nia looked at me for a second, then her anger was replaced with a look of embarrassment, and she turned away.

"You'll laugh at me."

I frowned at her for a second, and then I realized…

"Nia, if this is what I think it is, then I swear to Darwin I will never, ever laugh at you."

Nia turned back towards me, still looking embarrassed. I walked forward and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on… what is it?"

She sighed. "I… I think I…" she gulped, and I felt her shudder. "I think I…"

But she muttered the last bit so that I couldn't hear her.

"What?"

"I said, I think I like…"

Again, she muttered.

"I didn't catch that."

Her hands suddenly came up so that they were covering her face, except her mouth.

"I like Raph."

I leaned my head back a little to stare at her. She didn't move, still keeping her face covered.

"So… like like, or…?"

My thoughts were confirmed as Nia let out a groan and reached up, pulling her hoodie down to cover her face. I gave her a sympathetic look as I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face me.

"Nia, look at me."

She shook her head violently. I sighed, then reached up and gently grabbed her wrists, pulling them down. I grabbed her hoodie and slowly pulled it off of her head. Her pale face was bright red as she stared down at the floor.

"I'm being silly, right?" she said quietly.

"If that's the case, then you're not the only silly one here."

Nia blinked, then she looked up at me, her mouth hanging open.

"I- I forgot," she said shortly.

"It's okay," I said.

Nia sighed, folding her arms.

"You already knew, didn't you?" she asked. "That night we talked, you knew."

"I had my suspicions," I admitted. "Though, I wasn't completely sure. That's why I told you to let it settle in for a few days."

Nia turned and leaned against my desk, looking at the ground. I could tell something was eating at her.

"Donnie," she said. "How did you know that you actually liked April?"

I felt my whole body stiffen and my face start to feel much warmer than before.

"W-well," I stuttered. "I mean… y-you were there when we m-met her, so…"

"No," Nia shook her head. "You didn't know her, you only knew what she looked like. April's really pretty, Donnie, anyone would be attracted to her. But… how did you know you liked her?"

I suddenly knew what she meant. Now, generally speaking, a person's looks can first grab the attention of any available suiter. Then, that suiter tends to like them more as they began to know their crush. Nia's situation obviously wasn't about looks; she grew up with Raph like the rest of us. Whatever she was feeling, it was based solely on feelings and feelings alone.

"Well… I got to know her," I said, leaning on the desk next to her. "I realized what a cool, nice, and decent person she is. She's certainly smart and knows how to handle her own, which are both great characteristics. And… sometimes she really knows how to make me laugh. Whenever I see her, I just can't help but smile. She's like a breath of fresh air to me."

I suddenly realized I was rambling and cleared my throat. I glanced over at Nia, and saw her looking at me intently.

"That's my reason, at least," I said.

Nia looked away. "It's funny," she said. "I've known him my whole life, and I've never felt this way until now."

"Happens all the time," I said. "Something happened that just changed your perspective, I suppose," I looked at her curiously. "So… how does he make you feel now?"

She bit her lip. "…Kinda like before, only… a bit more intense, I suppose? Every time he sits near me I start getting a little nervous, and if he touches me I get even more nervous. And that stupid smirk of his… ha, I used to laugh at him about it, now every time I see it my face just starts blushing. But… even beyond that, he's still this awesome guy that I grew up with, someone that I trust completely. He still makes me laugh and he still makes me smile… and I'm still happy to be around him. It's just… I guess I'm happier to be around him than I was before."

I grinned at her. Yep, she had it bad alright. Just like I did. She let out a small chuckle, then turned to smile up at me.

"We're just a big, goofy mess, aren't we?"

I grinned, then put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"You have no idea."

She sighed, leaning her head on my shoulder.