Disclaimer: Don't own the ninja turtles, their affiliates, or anything. However, I do own lots of pretty shiny things.
-
Lona shut her eyes as she fell, only to feel something grab her arm and quickly stop her descent. She opened her eyes and looked up. Mikey had grabbed her.
When she was safely back on the rooftop, Lona fell into Mikey's arms, gasping for breath.
"Come on, let's go," Mikey said gently.
Lona pushed herself off him and went to follow- and froze. Lona stared at the ground hundreds of feet below them, paralyzed. She could vaguely hear Mikey's concerned voice calling her.
Lona couldn't move. She felt dizzy, her eyes locked on the ground, which seemed miles away. Suddenly Mikey's green head blocked her vision, and she could feel his hands on her shoulders.
"Lona, who do you see?" he asked.
"M-mikey," she answered.
"Good," he said, slowly moving her in a circle. "Concentrate on my voice …"
Lona could feel Mikey guiding her body around in a full circle so she was no longer facing the edge. Once she was completely facing away from it, Lona crumpled to the floor of the rooftop. She felt like her stomach was in her throat.
Lona was dimly aware of Mikey wrapping his arms around her. "Hey," he said softly. "It's okay. You're okay."
Lona looked up at him and gave him a watery smile before allowing him to pull her to her feet.
"I'm sorry," Mikey said guiltily. "I never should have made you make that jump."
Lona was quiet. Mikey gave her a worried look, and led the way to the stairs.
-
Mikey felt extremely guilty as he and Lona splashed their way through the dark tunnels of the sewers. He glanced at his companion, who looked pale, even in the bad lighting. She hadn't said a word since Mikey had led her off the rooftop.
Once they entered the lair, Lona darted into her room without a word. Mikey sighed and slumped against the couch.
"What's with her?" Leo asked, watching the door to Lona's room swing shut.
"I did something really stupid," Mikey said sadly.
Leo looked confused, and laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You wanna talk about it?" he asked. Mikey said nothing.
"C'mon, Mikey," Leo coaxed. "You know you'll have to tell Splinter, even if you don't want to tell me."
Mikey hadn't thought of that. Although he felt perfectly comfortable talking to his father, this was one mess up he would rather not tell him about.
"Why don't we sit?" Leo suggested, seeing Mikey about to spill.
Leo led Mikey into the kitchen, and sat down across from him at the wooden table.
"So what is this stupid thing you did?" Leo asked curiously.
"I could have seriously hurt her…" Mikey mumbled, more to himself than to Leonardo.
Leo sighed. Mikey never made any sense at first when he was seriously upset.
"Mikey, what happened?" Leo asked bluntly.
Mikey leaned forward and informed Leo of the events that had taken place on the rooftop. When he was finished, Leo frowned.
"Mikey, that wasn't exactly the brightest thing to do. You knew there was ice-"
"You don't think I know that, Leo!?" Mikey exploded. "You don't think I haven't kicked myself five billion times from that roof to here? She didn't want to and I forced her! I know she could have been hurt! I know!"
Leo said nothing, only stared at Mike.
Mikey cast his eyes down. "She probably hates me…."
Leo sighed. "Mikey, I'm sure she doesn't hate you. Why don't you just give her a little while alone, and then apologize?"
Mikey didn't answer. He pushed his chair back and retreated to his room as well.
-
Lona leaned against her bedstead, hugging her knees to her chest. That had been the scariest experience of her life. She knew Mikey would never, ever harm her on purpose, but Lona was beginning to wonder if having a serious relationship with Mikey was the right thing to do. Deep in thought, Lona didn't hear the soft knock at her door. After a few seconds, it opened, and Lona looked up. It was Don.
"Hey," he said. "Mind if I come in?"
Lona shook her head and scooted over on the bed.
"Mikey told us what happened," he said. "He thinks you're mad at him."
Lona sighed. She had been afraid of this. "Not mad…" she said. "Just a little freaked." She gave Don a small smile. "I'll be okay," she said. "I was just…thinking."
Don smiled back. "Thinking's always good. Well, when you're ready, we'll be out there."
Lona nodded, and as soon as Don left, Lona slid her journal out from under her bed and began scribbling furiously.
-
Lona winced as Don's bo smacked across her knuckles, causing already bruised fingers to protest.
Don sighed and stepped back, leaning his weapon against the wall. "Your hands are still too close together," he told her. "Keep them apart like I showed you, or I'll keep hitting your hands when you block."
Lona repositioned her hands, and Don attacked again. This time she successfully blocked him, with no more bruises.
"Good," he said, sliding his bo back into its place in his belt. "Let me see your hands."
Lona gave him her bruised and bloodied hands, and he examined them. "Not too bad," he analyzed. "Just don't let them get infected."
"Okay," Lona said, and went to put her own bo away, smiling at Mikey who had appeared in the doorway. "Hey!" she said.
"Hey," he said quietly.
Lona rolled her eyes and gave him a hug. "For the last time, I am not mad at you!" she said.
"Are you sure?" Mikey asked uncertainly.
"Sure I'm sure. Now will you stop moping around like some kind of….green walrus or something?"
Mikey laughed. "You got it."
-
Miss Jemina Parker was one of the best social workers in New York. Or at least, she thought so. When she caught sight of the brown-haired girl with the bruised hands, she knew she could help her.
"Excuse me, miss!" Miss Parker called, waving. The girl looked up, and looked around, as if she wasn't sure she was the one Miss Parker was calling.
"Yes you, the girl with the Star Wars tee! Could you come over here, darling?"
The girl made her way through the crowd of high school students. "Yeah?"
"I was wondering, how are things at home?"
The girl gave her a strange look. "Fine," she told her. "But I don't really spill my personal life to strangers." The girl walked off, and Miss Parker smiled to herself.
-
Lona shook her head as she walked into the school building. "That was weird…" she said to herself. And the lady had called her darling. Lona winced. She hated when people called her that.
Gathering her books from her locker, Lona was suddenly aware of a presence behind her.
"Hey Lona," a deep voice greeted her.
Lona rolled her eyes. "Hello Jared."
Jared came from behind her and leaned against the row of lockers, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "So, me and the guys were gonna go out Friday, and we were wonderin' if ya wanted to come."
Lona rolled her eyes again. Jared had been hitting on her since she started high school. He was the type of guy who thought just because he was good looking every girl should immediately want to date him.
"For the last time, Jared, I don't want to date you." She said calmly. "Besides. I'm seeing someone at the moment anyway."
Jared smirked. "Then how come I ain't seen him around here?"
Lona sighed. "He's um…home schooled." She scowled. "And my face is up here."
Jared glanced up from her chest. "Right. Home schooled. So. How about you and your guy come with us on Friday then? Double date?"
"He can't." Lona quickly answered. "He's uh…sick."
Jared sneered at her. "Just admit it. You don't have a boyfriend."
Lona sighed, and almost jumped for joy when the bell rang. "Whatever, Jared. Leave me alone." She disappeared into her classroom, leaving Jared in the hall.
Jared stared after her. "There's something weird about her…"
-
When the last bell of the day rang, Jared hid himself, and carefully watched Lona when she came out of the school.
He watched as she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked into the bushes, looking as if she were looking for something.
Jared knitted his brows together in confusion, and followed, being sure to stay hidden. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Lona pounce on andhug a giant….turtle??
Jared quickly fished his picture cell phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture. Grinning to himself, he ran off to his home to do some major planning.
-
Lona looked up from where she wastalking toMikey. "Did you hear something?" she asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Mikey said. "It was probably just a squirrel. No worries. Now come on, let's get home before Leo kills us."
Lona nodded and followed, unaware of what had just taken place. As she and Mikey entered the sewers, an engine around the corner spluttered to life.