Yeah, this will be a shorter chapter, and it is only Raph and Brandy. The purpose is to just create some friction between them, (not negative friction,) that way I can slide right into the next part of my idea. (Y'all will just have to wait and find out! HAHAHAHA!) There hasn't been much fighting or actual action in this, but it's coming. PATIENCE, YOU MONKEYS! FairDrea...thank you for you ideas for my story. I really appreciate it. ^_^ Raphael laid in his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling of his room cloaked in darkness. Arms folded behind his head, Raph ran millions of thoughts through his troubled mind. 'Donny seems to have learned something new about the new kid,' Raph thought to himself, referring to Brandy. 'I wish I could know. But he won't let a word out. And it wouldn't do me no good askin' Brandy...I don't think she'd trust me. But that's the problem, isn't it?' Raph shifted in his bed, turning on his side and laying on his folded arm. 'I'm too scary to trust.' Raph's eyes became fiery with disdain. People just needed to learn to leave each other alone, not bother with what troubles them and just leave trust out of it. If everyone kept to themselves, no one would have any problems to deal with but their own. Raph's muscles relaxed under his skin as he tried to calm himself and think about something else besides his point of view on humanity. Raph grew tired of trying to think, and decided he'd rather try to get some shut-eye. He hadn't slept much in a while. As he turned to the little nightstand near his bed to take a sip of the water he had placed there earlier, he was irritated to learn he had drunken it all. "Dammit," Raph grumbled. "Now I gotta get up and get more. God damn." Raph sat up and turned on his light, snatching the cup and heading towards his door. 'Maybe I should clean up my language,' Raph briefly considered. After a while, he dismissed the idea. 'Nah. Having a dirty mouth only emphasizes my passionate asshole side. Heh.' Raph stepped out of his room and looked to either side, making sure no one was up. If anyone would be up, it would probably be Donatello. Donny had a habit of staying up to ungodly hours researching on random stuff. "Probably looks at porn. Lucky bastard," Raph joked to himself. He was feeling a bit better after all. Before he turned towards the kitchen, he noticed a light coming from Brandy's room. 'Wonder what she's doing up,' Raph thought. 'Kid's gotta get SOME sleep.' Raph stopped to go through what he just thought. 'Like I'm a good example.' Raph strutted over to her room in pure curiosity. Although being one to normally mind his own, he couldn't help the fact that he was fairly interested that someone was up at the same time he was. Maybe he could talk to her or something...satisfy his boredom. Raph stepped up to the door, peeking in since it was cracked. He couldn't very well see Brandy, and knocked a little. No answer. Raph shrugged, figuring if he got slapped for something he'd at least get some sort of action. He smiled to himself. 'Yeah right, Raph. You may like action, but not THAT type of action. You're no pervert, no matter how much you like to joke about it,' he thought to himself in humor. Raph took a breath in, and pushed open the door. Brandy heard the door open and she gasped, her bed shirt high over her head. She had been trying to put it on the second Raph opened it. Having no bra to call her own, she was aware of her state and screamed a muffled scream, flying down on the bed. "Raphael!?" she called out from under her shirt. "May I help you?" Raph's eyes were big as baseballs. His cheeks were redder than his mask, which was unusual for his skin color, and he turned his head downwards. "I- I'm sorry, Brandy. I knocked, but you didn't answer. Umm, I just wanted...I dunno....just wanna...damn..." Raph stuttered in such a way that made him angry at himself. Brandy wriggled under the covers, shifting inside them as she fixed her shirt. After she was done, she poked her head out from under them and looked at Raph. Her hair was tossed and wild, her horns poking out of the tangled mess. To Raph, she looked kinda cute. "I guess it's okay. As long as it was an accident."

"Believe me, it was," Raph stammered. "I was just wondering why you were up so late." "Don't worry about it. I just have a hard time getting to bed early." "Likewise." Brandy smiled. "Obviously." She crawled out of her bed and sat down, patting the empty spot next to her. "Have a seat, dude." Raph looked at her curiously, sitting next to her rather stiffly. "Did you just say 'dude'?" Brandy smiled shyly. "Yeah. Isn't that what you four always say?" "Well, yeah, but--" "I thought maybe I would fit in more if I learned some of your daily vocabulary." Raph smiled to himself. 'She's so innocent,' Raph thought in amusement. His face, for a brief moment, grew dark. 'She'd never be able to handle the world of males on her own like that. Poor kid.' "So anyway," Brandy suddenly chirped, shifting to where her legs were tucked under her. She couldn't help but hear Raph's thought, and became nervous. She wondered what he knew that made him so dark, so mysterious, so angry. She wondered what he had experienced to make him so fearful, yet so defensive. She pushed these wonders aside to talk to him further. "What're ya up to?" "Staying up at late hours talkin' to a goat." Brandy laughed at the joke, and lightly punched his arm. "Well I'm staying up at late hours talking to a huge turtle." "So ya got some spunk in ya, huh?" "Yep." Brandy's face suddenly grew curious, then she smiled again. "I like the way you talk." Raph looked at her like she was slightly loony. "The way I talk? What about it?" "It sounds different from everyone else. You say words differently." "My accent?" "Yeah! That!" Raph laughed and ruffled Brandy's hair. "Yep. Well, to me, Donny and Leo and all them got an accent. I talk normal to myself, but it sounds like even YOU have an accent." "No I don't. You have an accent." "See?" "See what?" "I have an accent to you because you're not used to hearin' me talk like this. You think your way of talkin' is normal." "Huh?" "Whatever. How about this...we both have accents. We're two people from two different countries or somethin', and we just met. No one else is here but us, so we can't compare. So we both have accents and we're in awe to hear it." Brandy giggled. "Okay." She paused, and there was silence between them. "What kind is it?" "The countries?" "No. What kind of accent is it?" "Uhh...Brooklyn." "Never been there." Raph laughed a little. "Wouldn't imagine you've been anywhere, really." "I guess that's true."

Raph looked down at his hands, which were still holding his empty glass. He remembered why he was up in the first place, and he suddenly said, "Hey I was gettin' up to get a drink of water. Wanna go raid the fridge and get some midnight goodies?"

Brandy giggled, nodding. 'He's kinda fun when he's comfortable,' she thought. 'But I know he won't be like this tomorrow morning.' Brandy and Raph walked out of the subway car that was Brandy's room, and walked out towards the kitchen. Brandy followed close behind Raph, a little scared for the darkness of the night down in the sewers. Raph's silhouette was large and intimidating, but she felt safe behind him. "So how old did you say you were?" "I didn't say in the first place, but I suppose I'll tell you now." "Smart-ass." "Heee. Yeah, anyway, I'm sixteen." "Sixteen, eh? You don't act it at all. I'd say you were like...twelve." Raph pulled open the fridge and looked inside. "Want anything?" "Hot cocoa." "Oh I bet you do," Raph grumbled, making sure to make it sound like a joke. "But I don't think that would be found in the fridge. Do you want me to make you some?" "Yes please!" Brandy answered, her hands coming up to her mouth in little fists. The sleeves of the large purple T-shirt were way past her elbows, so when the sleeves folded back as her arms lifted, Raph noticed how skinny she looked with that monster on. "Okay. I'm gonna get a Pepsi. Want one?" "Just cocoa." Raph shut the refrigerator door, pulling out his Pepsi. As he prepared her cocoa, he asked, "Want some popcorn or somethin'?" When Brandy nodded politely, Raph continued to make her cocoa while he thought. 'I can't believe I'm so comfortable with her. C'mon, Raph. Are ya sick or somethin'?' Brandy sat at the table, awaiting her "server" to serve her. Her hazel blue eyes watched Raph the entire time, and she was tempting to dig into him and learn more about him. 'No,' she told herself. 'I'll leave that for him. If he wants to tell me, he'll tell me.' During Brandy's thinking, Raph had set the mug of cocoa in front of her with a tower of messy whipped cream. Brandy looked at it with that familiar excitement. "Sorry for the artwork," Raph said shortly. "I'm not as good as Donny is." It didn't take Raph long to realize that Brandy must've not cared in the least...the tower of whipped cream was already far from gone. "And also, I added some extra melted butter to the popcorn. Hope that doesn't bother ya." "How could it when I have never even tried it yet?" Raph smiled. He nodded, and watched her dig in with joy. 'Yeah...how can she be bothered when she doesn't know what it's like?' he thought. His face grew sad. 'What I'm like.' Raph watched Brandy in content, grateful to have at least found a simple friend.