Disclaimer: If I owned TMNT, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it...

A/N I am really sorry it took me so long to update. =( Anyway, to answer a question by one of my reviewers, I wasn't planning on turning this into a romance, but I did have a lot in mind for a brother/sister type friendship between Raph and Angel. I hope that's okay with you. And, despite the chapter name , this has nothing to do with "The girl with the Dragon tattoo." Just wanted to be clear on that. I hadn't even heard of it until my dad saw me starting this chapter and said he hoped it had nothing to do with that... Anyway, thank you to anyone who opened up onto this little story and decided to read it. It means a lot.

Angel's hair flew out behind her like two streamers as she sprinted down the dark alleyway. Even as she ran, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

There always had to be that one alley with the hopelessly unbearable stench, worse than normal.

The toe of her sneaker caught on some of the debris lying strewn throughout the alley and she stumbled forward, catching herself against the alley wall. Stopping there, she leaned back deciding to catch her breath.

Her eyes traveled through her surroundings, taking in every lingering shadow. With a sigh, she tilted her head up, staring at the stars that shone up above all the old apartments that had fallen into disrepair. Each one flickered and twinkled like hundreds of tiny lanterns, contrasting with the dark void of space.

She tore her eyes away and lowered her head.

Feet hit the cement several yards away from her with a barely audible thud and she pushed herself away from the wall, readying herself in a fighting stance.

"Whoa, ease up, Angel." The Asian boy stepped forward, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace.

Angel dropped her fists. "TY?" she cried, feeling growing outrage. "You following me or something? How many more people I know am I going to run into in one night?" Her arms crossed themselves across her chest as she frowned at him. "Is my brother suddenly gonna appear next to you?"

Ty stuck his hands into the pockets of his ratty jeans and formed his lips into the self-assured smirk she remembered... and hated.

"Nah, it's just me. Relax already!" He grinned wider, not answering the question about following her, and leaned nonchalantly against the wall, the way Angel had been before he showed up.

He shifted his position and Angel's gaze landed on the dragon now tattooed on his upper arm. "So you're a dragon, now?" she asked. A tiny hint of a smirk formed on her face and she tossed her hair back. "I always thought you were too much of a wimp to pass the initiation."

"Looks like I proved you wrong, Angel," he said softly, straightening up, all traces of that arrogant smile wiped completely from his expression. Angel glared at him.

"Just tell me what you want, Ty," she said, feeling impatient. "I'm not going to listen to you gloating."

"Okay, look." He moved a strand of jet black hair out of his eyes. "I just want to know what happened. Why'd you leave the Purple Dragons?" He narrowed his eyes. "We were almost friends. I think we were. Then you left."

"I took the advice of a friend and quit," Angel snapped. She looked pointedly to the purple dragon that might as well have been done in fluorescent ink since it seemed so obvious, so there, even in the dark and at a distance of six feet. "You should have done the same while you were still able!"

She stopped, realizing how much she sounded like Casey.

Casey.

Casey, who'd nearly died trying to get her out of the Purple Dragons initiations.

Casey, who she'd just left standing clueless with Raphael... equally clueless.

Talk about gratitude, her inner voice jeered accusingly. You get 'em involved in you own mess, avoid 'em for weeks and get irritated when he acts like a good friend.

Even the excuse that she hadn't asked him to get involved, had even told him not to, which wasn't really an excuse, didn't make things any better.

She noticed Ty looking at her curiously, as if he knew there was something on her mind bothering her.

She hoped the expression cleared from her face, because she didn't want Ty wondering.

"You were stupid to go through with it," she scoffed, feeling slightly disoriented. "You can't get a second chance to back out now."

The look in his eyes showed the same arrogance Angel had recognized and despised even when the two of them had tolerated each other enough to be considered friends. "I don't want a second chance." His tone was laced with the sickening tone of self-assurance. "The choice I made was the best one for me." A crooked grin formed on his face as he admired the tattoo that curled like a snake on his upper arm.

"Right. I told you I didn't want to hear you gloat. Wrap this up or I'm leaving, whether you've said what you've wanted to or not." Angel felt disgust well up inside her as she spoke and forced herself to swallow it back down.

"I thought we were talking about what I wanted to say." Ty smirked and tilted his head so that a strand of longish hair fell across his forehead. Angel's mouth molded into a thin line of disapproval and he straightened his face morphing into an uncharacteristic frown. "I saw who you were talking to tonight, Angel and..."

"You were following me," Angel seethed, balling her hands into fists. "Just stay away from me freak!" She took a step away from him and hissed when his hand enclosed around here wrist.

"Angel, stop! Just listen!" he began. Angel spun, twisting her arm away from him and kicking him in the chest.

With a gasp, Ty skidded backwards and nearly lost his footing, barely regaining it before he wound up colliding with a dumpster.

"Are you crazy?" he growled through clenched teeth, looking furiously at her. "Actually let me finish a sentence before you pummel me!" He advanced a step closer, stopping when Angel put her fists up. "Yeah I was following you, but there's a reason I'm trying to talk now. Why do you think I was at your grandma's house earlier?" Angel didn't answer and Ty took it as encouragement. "I'm not following you because I want to. I was told to. Some of the other Purple Dragons are, well, leave it at that they're not happy."

Ty sighed and for a moment Angel realized he was lacking his normal demeanor. There was none of that smugness she had come to believe was customary for him radiating from him. The arrogant glint in his eyes had been replaced by something that she couldn't put a name to.

She felt tempted to leave. To forget about him and the Purple Dragons, but she couldn't.

Angel could feel a lump of unease form inside her stomach and she hated the sudden accusations of cowardice that sprang up inside her mind.

She crossed her arms. "Why are you telling me this, Ty?" she challenged. "I thought you were one of the Purple Dragons and all now."

He looked at her sharply and the old personality was back in his eyes. "I get it, Angel. You don't want anything to do with me or the Purple Dragons, but I'm not as bad as you seem to think I am!"

Angel crossed her arms. "Maybe you're right and I am wrong about you, Ty," she held one of her clenched fists up, "but I don't need you following me! And I especially don't need you thinking you need to protect me from anything!"

Ty wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and looked at her darkly. "I wouldn't be calling me a freak if I were you, Angel. Not when you're friends with who you are."

"Is that a threat? You think I'm scared of you?"

"I might," Ty whispered. His steady gaze left her face for a moment before he met her eyes again and he backed away. "If I didn't know you better."

...

Ty felt the air being forced out of his lungs as he was slammed against the floor. His much stronger opponent yanked his arm painfully behind his back and sat astride him in victory.

The watching Purple Dragons chuckled in amusement.

His ears growing red with embarrassment, he lift his face enough to seek out the one face that might hold something other than scorn on it.

He spotted Angel standing slightly apart from the others, her hands covering her mouth. He almost smiled at the appearance of sympathy from one of the onlookers... until he realized her shoulders were shaking with the laughter she was trying hard to suppress.

His face grew hot and he kept his eyes lowered to the floor as the larger Purple Dragon released the hold he had on his arm and assisted him to his feet.

The unexpected smack on his back almost sent him sprawling forward and that was one more humiliation that he didn't need.

To his surprise, the victor was almost friendly. "Good match, kid, but I beat ya. Try to remember that before you pick another fight." Not bothering to move aside, the heavier man brushed Ty aside as he ambled past him to go join his buddies, nearly jolting Ty for the second time in twelve seconds.

"Excuse you," Ty muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling the ends of his longish hair brush his fingertips.

Slowly, he climbed out of the ring, deliberately ignoring Angel.

Glaring at nothing and feeling the full weight of his stung pride resting on his shoulders, he moved away from the other gang members and stood by himself, brooding.

A fist punched him in the arm, right above his elbow, and he grabbed it instinctively, feeling more than a little aggravated. "Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot, feeling sure there was going to be a bruise there in the morning.

What the heck?

"You nuts or something, trying to pick a fight with Two Ton like that?" Angel asked in a tone that was both incredulous and amused. "Ya shoulda known the guy would cream ya. He's like an... eighteen wheeler or something." She stood beside him, trying to make light of the situation, but it did little to smooth Ty's ruffled feathers.

Still, he was surprised that she had voluntarily come to talk with him.

Ty snorted and looked away from her, his stung pride a greater force than his desire for friendship, fingering the band that held his hair back from his face.

He found that wearing it like that was helpful and comfortable; it didn't get in his way too much, but he couldn't keep himself from playing with it like a child... or worse... like a girl.

"Don't be such a baby, Ty," Angel teased, sounding just the teeniest bit annoyed. "They may have laughed at you, but they're probably impressed you had the guts to take on Two Ton."

Ty perked up the way a terrier did when it heard its owner get the dog food out. "Really?"

Angel barked a laugh at Ty's eagerness. "Sure, but then, they could also be laughing about the shrimp that tried to take on the shark."

"Thanks a lot," Ty muttered, sarcastically. The sunlight reflected off her purple hair, shining down through the warehouse's skylights and giving it an odd sheen.

She turned to walk away. "Don't take it personally," she called over her shoulder, smirking.

Don't take it personally. The last words echoed in his mind and he gritted his teeth in annoyance.

…..

The icy wind tore around Ty's face, pulling, tugging at his hair, trying to whip it around his face. The ever-present smell of salt in the air wafted into his nostrils and he sighed as he fiddled nervously with the hem of his shirt.

He glanced around, making sure there was no one around.

There wasn't.

He let his breath out in a shaky sigh... he hadn't even realized he'd been holding it.

"What are you doing here, Squirt?"

Ty bristled, raising his shoulders up in the same way that a cat arches its back. "What is it, Vang?" he muttered, turning around. He'd already proven himself in the initiation. He was getting sick of being treated like an underling.

"I already told you what it was." Vang crossed his arms and the moon glinted off his green hair and causing the scenery behind him to suddenly be illuminated.

Ty let all his breath out through his nose. "You playing sentry or something while the others make off with the goods?" he questioned. "I know what you guys are doing here."

Vang smirked. "And you've come here to help prove yourself? You know what you were supposed to do."

"I already proved myself," Ty ground out through clenched teeth. He had a sudden thought. Something he had decided to keep to himself, but…

He looked Vang straight in the eye. "And I did find something out."

A/N Acknowledgements to my friends Purplehood and Cassandromeda for helping me with this writing.