Hey guys, I'm back. I've gotten the next part up. The Prologue is nearly done, and soon season 2 will be up and running. I've been busy lately, but I've been working on these whenever I can. I'm gonna try to work more on my 2 Dragon stories next before I write again for this one. Hope you enjoy.


Prologue: Part 4
Scary Nerves

(3 weeks after battle)

To say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement. I was really nervous, but I wasn't exactly freaking out either. I guess that was a good thing. It wouldn't do much good if I was flipping out. I needed to show that I could handle being put under pressure.

"We're almost there," said Angus.

A week earlier, Angus had told me that if I really wanted a spot in his band, I would have to show his friends what I had. Apparently his friend, Ace, his father owned the local cinema, and the group was able to use the place for themselves afterhours. They did all of that just so that they could see me. It made me even more nervous.

Angus had offered to take me in his truck that evening. The guys, April, and Vanessa all decided to wait back at the lair. I could still feel them patting me on the back and hearing them tell me good luck. I gripped my seatbelt and prayed that I didn't have to come home and tell them that I didn't make it.

"Here we are."

Angus parked the car and I took off my seatbelt. As he reached in the back to grab his guitar case, I looked up at the cinema. I've never actually been inside it before. I haven't really had a chance to go inside since first coming up to the surface. Angus locked his truck as we walked up to the large doors. He stepped forward and opened the door for me.

"Ladies first."

I rolled my eyes as I walked in. the place was huge, with rugged red carpet leading to multiple snack areas, a café bar, and a mini arcade area. That's when I noticed somebody in said arcade area, sitting by a station that looked like a racing game.

"One of your friends?" I asked, pointing to the guy.

"Oh yeah, that's Ace," said Angus. "C'mon, I'll introduce yah."

Angus and I walked together towards the arcade. The boy at the racing game leaned from side the side, spinning the fake tire all over the place. There was a loud bang, and it looked like the car on his screen exploded.

"Damn!" he yelled in a rough voice.

"Hey, Ace," Angus said.

"Oh, 'sup Angus?"

Ace stood up and turned to face us. A tall, black boy who appeared to be Agnus' age, Ace looked like a nice guy. He was dressed in black, cargo pants, and a loose, red tank top. As he waved at us, I saw that he had tattoo of what looked like a bird on his right forearm.

"Hey, man," Angus walked forward, raising his fist and bumping it with Ace.

"Yah late man, I was about to call you," Ace said; his voice was still rough, but somehow pleasant. He noticed me and asked, "Who's this?"

"Ace, this is Nia," Angus put an arm around my shoulder. "She's the girl I talk to y'all about last time."

"Oh, yeah," Ace smiled. "'Sup?"

"Hey," I said. "Nice to see you."

"Yeah, cool. Hey, the others are waiting in theater 3."

"Great, let's go," said Angus.

We all walked into theater 3, and the whole room was nearly dark except for a few lights. Down at the bottom of the seats, I could see two heads poking up. They were leaned towards each other, muttering lowly. Ace whistled loudly, and both boys turned. They both stood up and walked towards us as we walked down the stairs.

"Joseph," Ace said, pointing to the one on the right, "Martin," he added, pointing to the one on the left.

Martin and Joseph were cousins, so it was obvious that they might look similar, but it was still striking. Tall, muscular, and very pale, the both of them. Joseph had large, dark blue eyes, and dark brown hair that stuck up from underneath his maroon beanie. He wore brown skinny jeans with holes at the knees, and a black tank top with a yin and yang symbol on the front. He seemed to have what looked like a mandala tattoo on his right shoulder, and it looked like he had a tiny scorpion tattooed onto his left wrist. He had small, but noticeable gages in this ears, and one piercing on his left eyebrow.

Martin had small, forest green eyes and dark brown hair that fell in front of his eyes. He wore black, tight shorts, and a long-sleeved pink shirt. His ears were pierced as well, both of which had black stars in them, and he had a silver hoop in the center of his nose. He also had a tattoo on his left wrist; a vase pouring out water.

"Yo, they're here," Ace said, running down to stand beside the two boys.

"We can see that," Martin said in a husky voice that made me blink. "We were wondering when you were gonna show up."

"We got super bored," said Joseph, folding his arms. His voice was low and smoky, it made me shiver.

"Well, excuse me, but I had to pick a certain someone up," Angus put a hand on my back and pushed me forward towards his friends. "Guys, this is Nia."

I gulped, stuffing my hands into my hoodie pockets. Why was I suddenly so nervous? I was fine before.

"Um… hi," I said as confidently as I could.

"Oh, so it's you then?" Joseph grinned, taking a step closer towards me.

"I guess."

"Hm… You said that she was talented, Angus, but you failed to mention how cute she was."

Joseph gave me a smirk that made my ears feel warm. But I kept cool, and raised an eyebrow.

"You're certainly charming."

"Pay him no mind," said Martin. "Joseph flirts with literally everyone, you're not the first."

"Hey man, don't tell her that," Joseph said harshly.

Martin rolled his eyes and walked over to me. "Don't worry, we're not too concerned with your looks. We focus more on talent than anything."

"I'd like to think so," I told him.

"So, you guys got something to show us?"

Angus nodded.

"Okay, go on."

Martin, Joseph and Ace all went down to sit on the last row of theater seats. I suddenly felt extremely nervous again, and I suddenly grabbed Angus by the sleeve of his blue flannel. He turned to look at me, recognized the nervousness in my face, and quickly grabbed my hand.

"Relax, just breath," he said. "Listen, I know these guys. Even if they don't like what you got, they won't be jerks about it. Besides, they're gonna love yah."

I nodded. He smiled at me before turning and walking towards the front of the theater. I gulped and followed him over. I sat in one of the tall chairs as he got his red guitar out. He sat up on his chair as he took a moment to tune his instrument. I was glad of this. It gave me a minute breath, which felt very hard at the moment.

"Just relax," said Martin calmingly. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Have not worries," Joseph winked at me. "If you're as talented as you are pretty, you'll be great."

Ace leaned back in his chair and just said, "Surprise us."

I grinned at them. Though Ace seemed a man of few words, and Martin and Joseph seemed intimidating, they were all clearly genuine. Angus nudged me with his foot, and I looked at him and nodded. He began to play, and at the same time, I began to sing.

It started out as a feeling…
Which then grew into a hope…
Which then turned into a… quite thought…
Which then turned into a quiet word…

I looked past the others as I took a deep breath. I felt awkward looking at them.

And then that word grew louder and louder…
'Til it was a battle cry…
I'll come back… when you call me…
No need to say goodbye…

It felt like they were all staring, but I ignored it and continued to sing.

Just because everything's changing…
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before…
All you can do is try to know who your friends are…
As you head off to the war…

Pick a star on the dark horizon…
And follow the light…
You'll come back… when it's over…
No need to say goodbye…

You'll come back… when it's over…
No need to say goodbye…

As Angus played the instrumental break, I became conscious of the deep feeling inside my stomach. Even though I was still nervous, there was something invigorating about playing in front of other people- people that I didn't know personally. I wonder how it would feel to play in front of a full crowd?

Now we're back to the beginning…
It's just the feeling and no one knows yet…
But just because they can't feel it too…
Doesn't mean that you have to forget…

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger…
'Til they're before your eyes…
You'll come back… when they call you…
No need to say goodbye…

You'll come back… when they call you…
No need to say goodbye…

I inhaled deeply to catch my breath, and with all the courage I could muster, I looked down at the others. I wasn't sure what I would see, but I sure didn't expect to see them all staring wide-eyed with their jaws hanging open.

"Holy-" Joseph muttered, but Martin elbowed him in the side before he could finish that statement.

"Damn…" breathed Ace.

Martin sighed as he stood up, arms folded, and walked over to us. I bit my lip as I stared at him; his green eyes seemed darker up close. He looked at me for a second, then over at Angus.

"You told us she had talent, dude."

It felt as though a fist had tightened up in my stomach as I gripped my seat. But suddenly, Martin beamed over at me.

"But, you didn't tell us she had more talent than every girl in school combined."

My stomach untightened as I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Angus laughed.

"I told y'all she was good."

"Good? Try pretty damn incredible!" Joseph leaped to his feet enthusiastically. "Beautiful and talented. God bless New York!"

I giggled. Ace stood up and walked over to stand with the other two.

"I think it's safe to say you made it," he said.

"Damn right, she did," said Martin.

I felt my face heat up as I smiled at them all. I could tell that they weren't just trying to be nice, and that they're comments were completely legit. That alone made me very happy.

"Now… all we gotta do is come up with a good name," said Joseph. "Which we're still having trouble with, aren't we?"

"We're working on it," Martin huffed.

"What have you come up with so far?" I asked.

"Well, we want something that depicts us as we are," Martin explained. "As cliché as it sounds, we want something that fits our personality- cool, chill friends who are opened with everybody and love music."

"Yeah yeah, what he said," Joseph said, slinging an arm over Martin's shoulder. "But, we also need something that fits with the kind of music we play. We have a bunch of covers and some originals in mind, so…"

"What kind of covers?"

"Any covers, really," said Ace. "We just add a bit of a different tune to it."

I bit my lip as I thought about it. It seemed to me that they were a kind of alternative music band, so that could be used. But, what else?

"Poly Elegance…" Joseph said as he stared off into space.

"We'll leave your relationship situation out of this, thanks," Martin said casually. "Though, I think I liked the Elegance part. So… maybe…"

"Inside Elegance…"

I realized too late that I had spoken out loud when I saw everyone else staring at me. I gulped.

"Sorry," I said shortly. "Just thinking out loud."

"No no," Martin said quickly. "I liked it. It's got a ring to it."

"Sounds cool," Joseph grinned. "I'm sure you've got a lot of cool things swimming around in that brain of yours."

Ace nodded. "Sounds nice."

"I think you're in," Angus whispered in my ear as the other three conversed over the name suggestion.


"Where have you been?"

It was a bit later than expected. Angus and I had been invited out to get smoothies with the others after my little audition. They had discussed my name for about the next hour before finally agreeing to it. To be honest, 'Inside Elegance' just kind of popped into my head, I hadn't exactly meant for it to be on purpose. But, now that I had actually thought over it, it sounded pretty catchy. No wonder the boys loved it.

We ended up getting back at the lair much later than planned. It was almost 8, and we had planned to get back at 7, at the latest. It wasn't that too big of a deal I suppose, but I still felt bad for arriving late. Plus, Vanessa and Mikey had gone through the trouble to plan a movie night for all of us. Kind of like a sleepover. Everyone was excited, especially since none of us had even seen the movie before. It was some kind of horror movie called 'Annabelle', and Vanessa assured us all that it was topnotch horror material. Everyone was already prepared by the time we got back. The guys were in nothing but their masks and elbow and knee pads, and April was dressed in her yellow long-sleeve shirt and white, flower-print pajama pants.

"Sorry, little brother," I said, walking over and giving Mikey a hug from behind. "We got held up. Got an offer for smoothies and couldn't refuse."

"Aw!" Mikey wined. "You went and got smoothies, and didn't get any for me?!"

Donnie, who was sitting next to Mikey, covered his mouth and shoved him aside.

"So, how'd the audition go?" asked Leo.

"Yeah, what happened?" asked April.

I felt my mouth curl into a wide grin before I could stop it.

"I made it."

"Wow!"

"Awesome!"

"Alright!" Raph cheered. "Way to go, Nia!"

I instantly felt my face blush. "Thanks."

There was a loud squeak as something collided with me and hugged me tightly from behind. I knew instantly it was Vanessa.

"Ooh, congrats, Nia!"

I laughed as I turned to look at her. She was wearing a snug, neon green shirt that was hanging over her right shoulder, and was so long it nearly covered her dark blue shorts. She was also carrying a huge tube of what was obviously popcorn.

"Y'all weren't gonna start without us, were yah?" Angus asked suspiciously.

"Ah… no, of course not," Vanessa glanced around, not looking at either of us.

"Ness was getting impatient," Mikey giggled.

Vanessa pouted her lips at him, annoyed. I laugh.

"Just give me a second to get my PJ's," I told her.

She nodded. I turned and walked off to my room. I found my little white shorts, and dug around in my drawer until I found a light blue, spaghetti-strap tank top. Seemed good enough. I quickly changed before going back out to the lair, where everyone was in the pit.

Angus was already wearing sweatpants and a white tank top, so all he had to do was take off his flannel. He was sitting beside Leo, who was sitting in the beanbag chair. Donnie and April were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, and I couldn't help but smile. Mikey was laying on his own pillow in front of the TV while Vanessa worked on getting the movie started. It was obvious that they would be sitting next to each other. I was very surprised, however, when I saw Raph was sitting all by himself on the couch.

I felt my cheeks start to burn for a completely different reason than any other time today. I gulped, then strode forward toward the pit. I made my decision as I stepped down and sat next to Raph, sitting crisscross on the couch.

"Hey."

Raph whipped his head around to look at me. He seemed very surprised.

"Hey."

I quickly looked away when I felt that I couldn't look anymore. Luckily, Vanessa had finally gotten the movie started.

"Okay!" she scooted back and laid belly down onto her own pillow next to Mikey. "Prepare for scares!"

All in all, the movie was great, and it certainly had the scare factor down. There were a couple of times, even in the beginning, where some part made my heart stop. Nothing had made anybody scream yet though. I was always on the edge of my seat by the middle of it.

"Nia! Popcorn!" Mikey hissed.

I quickly took another piece before handing the bowl off to him. Curiously, I glanced over at Raph. He didn't look bored, but his arm hanging over the edge of the couch and his head laying in his hand would suggest that he wasn't exactly terrified yet. I looked back over at the TV to continue watching the movie.

"What do yah reckon? Think it's legit?"

I turned my head in surprise to stare at Raph, who was now looking at me. But, before I could answer, Mikey had snapped.

"Raph! No talking during the movie!"

Raph turned to glare daggers at the back of his brother's head. I grinned slightly at him.

"Well," I whispered, and he turned to stare at me. "I know that there actually is a doll called Annabelle that this movie is based off, though, nobody actually knows how it got possessed. Plus, just because a movie says it's based on real events, doesn't necessarily mean it is. I think it's possible, though."

Raph seemed to grin appreciatively for a moment, then he smirked as he whispered back.

"Tch. It's all a rouse, if you ask me."

"You don't believe in paranormal stuff?"

"Eh, I haven't seen it for myself, so I guess not."

I rolled my eyes.

"Nah, really. I mean, what's the point of getting scared of something that might not even be real?"

"What if it was real? What would you do?"

"I'd do the exact opposite of what these dumbasses are doing."

I quickly covered my mouth as I went into a fit of giggles.

"I mean it!" Raph continued in a hushed voice. "All these scary, paranormal movies are all the same. Stuff starts to move around, you hear voices, someone sees a demon in the mirror, but the poor sucker just stays! If I was them, I'd pack my stuff and leave the first time a door closed on me."

This time I can't help it, and I end up laughing out loud. Raph stares at me and starts laughing too.

"GUYS!" Mikey cried. "Movie. On. Shush!"

"Sorry, Mikey," I said as calmly as I could.

He made an 'I'm watching you' gesture to both of us before turning back towards the TV. Vanessa giggled and patted his head. I looked over at Raph, smirking as I whispered,

"So, you're saying you're not scared of this movie, Raph?"

"Nah. You?"

"What if I am?"

"Aww, need me to hold your hand?"

"Pfft! You wish!"

He and I grinned at each other for a moment before turning back towards the TV. For some reason, I felt my hand fall down and rest beside my leg. As I watched the movie, I glanced over at Raph. He still had his head resting in his hand, and his other laying in his lap. He seemed to be purposely looking away from me, but I ignored it and looked back at the TV. A moment later I felt something nudge my fingers. I noticed it, but didn't say anything. Then, to my surprise, I felt something warm cover up my hand. I didn't need to look to know what it was, but I glanced down anyway. Was I surprised? Yes. Did I mind? Well…

Though I was sure he was looking at me, I kept my eyes glued to the screen as I slowly and gently gripped Raph's hand back. I could almost see him smiling, and that alone calmed my nerves a bit.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Mikey said enthusiastically as he whipped around to look at all of us, and mine and Raph's hands instantly retracted back to our laps.

"I know!" said Vanessa. "I've seen it five times, and it still gives me the shivers!"

"Nice pick, Vanessa," said April. "It made me jump so many times."

"Are you all having fun?"

I turned to see that Master Splinter had come out of the dojo and was standing behind us.

"Everything's fine, Sensei," said Leo.

Sensei nodded. "Yes. But, it is started to get late. You should all start sleeping very soon. Good night, children."

"Goodnight, Sensei," the boys, April and I all said, while Vanessa and Angus said "Goodnight." Splinter nodded and tuned, walking towards the dojo.

"Welp, if we're gonna be sleeping, we're gonna need some blankets," Vanessa stood up and stepped out of the pit. "And some pillows, too. I'll go get them."

"I'll come with you!" Mikey said, jumping up and joining Vanessa.

"I'll take care of this mess," Leo picked up the empty popcorn bowls and walked out towards the kitchen.

"I gotta call my mom," said Angus. "Wanna make sure she knows I'm okay."

He stepped out and went out towards the hallways. At that moment there was a loud beeping sound, and April took out her T-Phone.

"Aw man, my phone's almost dead," she whined. "And I left my charger back home."

"I've got plenty of spare chargers in the lab if you need one," Donnie said quickly.

April beamed. "Yes, thank you!"

They both stood up and walked off into Donnie's lab. It wasn't until the lab doors closed that I realized that Raph and I were the only ones left in the pit. A wave of sudden awareness came over me. I wondered if he felt it too. I cleared by throat before turning to face him.

"There were a lot of jump scares in there, Raph," I said slyly. "Sure it didn't scare you? I could've sworn I saw you flinch a few times."

Raph scoffed. "The only thing that's flinching here are your eyes, 'cause I didn't get scared."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he turned to face me. "And look who's talking. You jumped at least 4 times."

"At least I'm tough enough to admit it."

"Heh, whatever."

I grinned at him and he grinned back. As we continued to look at each other I became conscious of how close we were actually sitting next to each other. I felt myself start to blush as I glanced down, still grinning. A second later, I felt his hand on my cheek, slowly pulling my face up. My grin started to fade as I stared up at him, my heart pounding against my chest. He looked more calm than usual, yet still frustrated. He seemed to be debating what to do next, and was having trouble deciding.

I gulped and opened my mouth to ask him if he was alright, but before I could say anything Raph leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I felt myself stiffen, not in discomfort, but in surprise. A kiss on my forehead felt so much more tender than a kiss on the cheek. He leaned back, and stared down at me, his neon green eyes pouring into mine.

There was a creaking sound, and I glanced over to see the lab doors starting to open back up. Raph grinned at me before pulling his hand away and turning forward. I resisted the sudden urge to grab his hand and pull it back, and I curled up in my spot on the couch.

The rest of the evening went by without any other instances, and while the others slept peacefully in the pit, I remained awake well into the night, thinking of all that had happened.