Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Turtle.

Chapter 8: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Venus sat nervously in Don's room, watching him as he typed on his computer keyboard. Bored, Venus' eyes scanned across his room, noticing new things each time she did so. Her focus remained on the baby turtle, recently renamed by Mike, Turtle, in the fish tank for a while. 'At least it's name still has an 'l' for the second to last letter', Venus thought gloomily before her gaze wandered back over to Don. Donatello sighed with slight frustration and swiveled in his chair to look Venus in the eyes. "Okay. Why are you hiding?" Don finally asked.

"Hiding? I'm not hiding. I don't know what gave you that impression," Venus answered while ducking down when Raph passed by the train carriage window. Donatello simply rolled his eyes.

"You've been in here all day," he commented. Venus looked at him.

"So have you," she answered blankly.

"Yeah, but this is my room!" Don argued. Venus remained silent, suddenly fascinated with the cold floor. "So why are you hiding?" Don asked again with a softer tone.

"Well why are you hiding?" Venus retorted.

"Huh? What are you on about?"

"Just because this is your room, doesn't mean that you're not hiding also. Why do you sit in front of that computer all day?" Venus asked, throwing the focus of the conversation back onto him. Donatello went silent, not really wanting or knowing how to answer her question. The female turtle sighed, realising that she wasn't going to get an answer out of him. "I kissed Raphael," Venus whispered, eyes focused on the ground once again.

"Oh," Don uttered, not knowing how to react. "Well… obviously you're going to have to choose. I mean, don't keep leading either Raph or Leo on. The sooner you tell them the better," Donatello advised calmly.

"But how do I choose? I like them both for different reasons," Venus whispered. Donatello felt sorry for the female turtle when he saw her deeply confused expression.

"I can't answer that. Only you can. Maybe you should talk to someone else, like Splinter?" Donatello said softly.

"Well, I'm talking to you because… I don't really want to talk to anyone else about it," Venus admitted. Don gave her a confused look.

"Why?" Don asked, wondering why she trusted him more than Splinter and Mike.

"… I heard about your… personal preference," Venus said, unsure of how she should word it.

"Oh don't you start! I'm not gay!" Don groaned. "And who told you that?!"

"Raph."

"Well so much for making him a light saber!" Don murmured, wiping the task from the list of things to complete.

"So, you're not gay?" Venus questioned carefully. "Not that it's bad to be gay," she added, maintaining political correctness.

"No!" Don rebutted immediately. "Venus, I'll tell you why I hide in my room all day. I'll tell you why I have my computer on all of the time. They don't understand me. Heaven forbid that I like Pride and Prejudice, that I'm good at spray painting and that I don't like to fight! They just… I'm different. I'm just…" Don said angrily, slowly trailing off at the end. Venus gave him a supportive look, urging him to continue. "I guess I'm just too smart for my own good. Things were okay when I was little, but now… we've just slowly grown apart," Don confessed.

"You can just turn the computer off. Maybe you just need to be more sociable," Venus suggested.

"I can't. My family depends on me to be the brains, and being the brains means that I have to research, and researching means isolation. Ironically, they need me to be a damn hermit crab!" Donatello summarised. Venus was about to say something, but her attention was cut short when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Don? Is Ve… Hi Venus. I've been looking all over for you. Thought you might have gone to Central Park or something," Leo said, popping his head inside Don's train carriage. Venus simply gave him a smile, slightly disappointed that she couldn't continue her conversation with Donatello. The room fell silent as the three turtle stared at each other. Venus sighed and exited the room, knowing that Leo wouldn't leave without her.

"Would you like to go to the dojo? I have to practice some kata," Leo invited.

"Well actually, Don's fixed the Hummer, and I was wondering if you could give me another driving lesson," Venus asked sweetly. Leo's face turned white.

"Um… Well I don't really feel like driving right now," Leo feebly excused.

"But we always go to the dojo. I just wondered if we could do something different," Venus said with hope in her eyes. Leonardo looked at her awkwardly. Yet again Venus relented and sighed, knowing that Leo was going to be stubborn and remain firm on his decision.

The two turtles walked into the training area and went through their own katas. It only took a few minutes until Leonardo decided to talk to Venus; the real purpose in going to the dojo in the first place. He started talking about the usual things that he spoke about… ninjitsu. Venus listened to every word he said, taking in everything about him. He was a great person to talk to. She smiled when he smiled. She nodded when he nodded. She laughed when he laughed. Suddenly, a strange but untainted thought came into Venus' mind. 'Is there anything I disagree with him about? Or is he really perfect?'

Venus' eyebrows furrowed when this thought crossed her mind. Was it possible to have too much in common with someone? If she chose him, would she end up being like one of those annoying couples who think and do everything alike? But then again, she would never have an argument with him. Life would be quite peaceful with him. Quite perfect. But did she really want that? Or did she want a challenge? Did she want to be her own person? Did she want to bring something into the relationship, and compliment her partner?

Millions of thoughts whipped across her mind. 'Maybe Don was right. Maybe I should talk to Splinter about this.'

*****

The elderly rat sat in a lotus position, eyes closed, ready to slip into a meditative state of mind. His ears twitched when he heard someone enter his room. He opened one eye and spotted Venus standing patiently at his doorway. "You may come in," Splinter invited. He observed Venus' hesitant response to his welcoming gesture, but she eventually sat down in front of him. The two stared at each other; Splinter waited for her to speak.

"Master, I… I'm confused. Lately I have been learning more about Leonardo and Raphael. I know that I'm ready to find my soul mate, but I have no idea on who would be right for me. I feel that the longer I take to decide, the more I'm going to hurt one of them, yet I don't want to rush into things. I'd would really appreciate some guidance," Venus said softly, eyes to the floor.

"I have heard from my two sons about your growing sense of closeness," Splinter said.

"You did?" Venus questioned worriedly. The old rat nodded. "So you know what I did to both of them?" Venus asked, feeling guilty and ashamed of herself.

"When I heard their stories separately, I put two and two together," Splinter said with a stern voice, yet his eyes were filled with kindness and compassion. Venus' gaze returned to the cold floor in front of her. Splinter sighed, wanting to help. "Venus, you know that I cannot give you a correct answer. I can only advise you to think carefully about your feelings, and to try and predict what the future may hold for you. Remember the mistakes you learnt from the relationship you had with Michelangelo and make sure that you don't repeat them," Splinter cautioned her.

Venus slowly nodded her head, agreeing with what Splinter had said. "Thank you Splinter. I believe I have a lot of thinking and meditation ahead of me," Venus said softly, slowly standing to exit his room.

*****

Venus watched quietly as Leonardo polished his sword. His strong hands carefully caressed the blade with the help of a cloth. He looked up from what he was doing and smiled peacefully at her. Venus smiled back, although she was quite nervous. She listened intently as Leonardo began to speak about his goals and ambitions.

"Once I feel competent with my fighting skills, I plan on mastering some of the internal arts, like Master Splinter has," Leonardo said, halfway through a conversation.

"I could help you. I own some Shinobi scrolls that have been translated into English. They might be useful to you," Venus suggested.

"Really!? That would be great," Leo said enthusiastically. He gave her a small smile before leaning in to kiss her on the lips. Leonardo gave her a confused look when Venus backed away.

"Leo, this isn't going to work," Venus started. Leo's heart pumped faster, fearing what she was about to say.

"What do you mean?" he dared to ask.

"Leo, don't get me wrong. I love you, but… I want someone who can challenge my ideals. I have so much in common with you, but I feel that if I stay and advance this relationship, then I won't grow and develop as a person. I just… I don't know. I don't want to rush into things with you. I'll feel more comfortable if I waited, because I know that we get along well. I hope that this all makes sense to you," Venus explained. Her voice was slightly sad and tearful, as though part of her didn't want to say what she had just said.

Venus watched as a saddened expression engulfed Leonardo. Despite his crushed feelings, he nodded slowly, endlessly repeating her words through his mind. Venus sighed with relief and regret, but she needed to say what she was feeling. "Venus? How do you feel about Raphael?" Leo suddenly asked, his voice hinting on his jealousy.

"I don't know how I feel about him," Venus answered quietly. Leonardo remained silent. He wanted more than anything to tell Venus that Raph only wanted her for one thing, but he refrained from doing so, realising that she needed to make her own decisions.

"I'm sorry," Venus apologised softly. Leo remained still, comprehending and understanding what Venus had told him. The female turtle looked at him sadly, leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you next training session Leo," she whispered softly before she slowly departed the room.

Venus tried to hold back her tears. It had to be done. She walked over to the kitchen and drank a glass of milk, hoping that it's icy coldness would make her feel better, or at least make her feel calmer on the inside. Venus rinsed her glass and made her way over to her bedroom, only to find Raphael crawling around on the floor.

As soon as he noticed her weird looking gaze, Raphael jumped up to his feet. "Hi Venus," he started.

"Hey," Venus replied simply. Raphael observed her solemn expression.

"What's up?"

To be continued…

A/N: Next chapter is probably going to be the final one, depending on how I decide to break it up. I should have said this earlier, but for people who don't know much about Venus and the Next Mutation series, then there's a page dedicated to it on my website (address on author bio).

Also, I have a webpage called 'What Would You Do?' where it asks a question or scenario every month. This month's one is sort of based on this fanfic. The questions is: Out of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, who would you kill, who would you just remain friends with, who would you sleep with, and who would you marry? If you'd like to answer then either email or add it in the review. You can also add a reason for your choices if you'd like. It's just for fun!