"Raiya!" Olivia's cheerful, sing-songy voice roused me from my sleep, making me groan and turn over.

"Liiiiv," I complained, "I was having a good dream."

"What was it about?" Her voice was right outside my closed door. I scrunched my face up, trying to recall it.

"Can't remember. But it was so good!" I whined, pressing my face into a pillow.

"Well you better make yourself look presentable. Andy's gonna be here in fifteen minutes and you're meeting him wether you're decent or not." That was all she needed to say for me to jump to my feet and race about my room to get ready.

I was going to the lair as soon as they were gone, but the last thing I needed was Liv's future husband thinking I was a slob, so I grudgingly decided that I should dress less like a homeless person today. Green camo-print leggings and a fitting white tank-top was at last decided upon. I took my hair from it's braid and ran a brush through it, satisfied with the auburn waves it created.

"Raiya!" Olivia called.

"Chill out, I'm coming!" I yelled, brushing mascara onto my nonexistent eyelashes. I grabbed a black leather jacket from my closet and pulled it on as I left my room.

"Oh my god, you're going to a museum not the Yule ball," I laughed, seeing Olivia hurrying around the kitchen cleaning like a madwoman.

"I'm overdressed!?" She shrieked, looking down at herself in a panic.

She wore a dark purple halter dress that came to just below her knees and her hair was twisted up into a fancy bun I had no idea she was capable of doing.

"Uhm, yeah. By a lot. When's he going to be here again?" She glanced at the oven, which displayed the time, and I thought she was going to have a stroke.

"Two minutes!"

"Okay, come on, we have to fix this or else he'll think you're expecting a proposal." I hurried into her room and threw the closet door open, searching for something more casual.

"Would that be such a bad thing, though?" She asked innocently.

"Yes!" I cried, grabbing a pair of skinny, light wash jeans. "Put these on." She took the pants from my hand and did as she was told.

"You know, this is usually supposed to be the other way around." I laughed, sifting through her nicer selection of tops. She snorted.

"Yeah, too bad you don't have a man so I can persuade you out of wearing a hoodie to one of your dates." I grinned and threw a pastel pink long-sleeve shirt at her.

"Put that on too, I'll find a necklace." There was a knock on the apartment door just as I selected a long, thin, silver chain that held a heart locket strung on it.

"Shoot, here! Take it take it take it!" I dropped the necklace into her palm and raced into the kitchen to pretend clean. Olivia ran out behind me and fixed her rushed appearance a little before opening the door with a big smile.

"Hey!"

"Hey, Liv. You look awesome!"

Hell yeah she does, kudos to me! I rolled my eyes when she giggled, then said,

"Thanks. Come on in, I want you to meet my sister." I heard the door close softly.

"Raiy?" She called. I dried my hands on a dishtowel and left the kitchen to meet them near the doorway. Andy was only a few inches taller than Olivia, with coffee skin and close-cropped black hair. Thankfully, he wasn't dressed too formally in jeans and a light blue button-up shirt.

"Andy, this is my younger sister, Raiya. Raiy, this is Andy."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." He held his hand out, a big smile on his face. I returned the smile and shook his hand.

"You too, Liv hasn't stopped talking about you since you guys met," I said. He grinned over at her.

"Really?" Her face turned a bright red and she stuttered over an excuse.

"Uh...n–no, that's–"

"Liv, I don't think I've heard you talk that much since what'shisname got you that rose in grade eight." Andy chuckled.

"Looks like I have some competition then, huh?"

"Oh for sure, watch out for any guys by the name of Jason."

"Oh I know a Jason! What was his last name?"

"I think -"

"OKAY. I think that's enough for now, thank you so much Raiya, but we have to go." Liv shot me an annoyed look that I returned with a grin.

"See ya later!"

"It was nice meeting you, Raiya!" Andy called, laughing as Olivia shut the door behind them.

Oh she is so going to kill me later for that, but I just couldn't resist! I had a quick breakfast of toast before grabbing my art supplies and climbing out the window in my room. I clicked on my tracker as I descended the fire escape into the alley to wait for one of turtles.

"Raiya." I jumped and held back a scream, then turned to the sewer entrance.

"Raph!?" I hissed in disbelief. How'd he get here so fast!?

"Get over here." He shoved the panel out of the way and climbed back down. I hurried in after him and he replaced the grate as soon as I was in.

"How'd you get here so fast?" I asked, stuffing the tracker into my jacket pocket.

"I was already here waiting for you," he snorted. "I'm not the Flash, you know." I rolled my eyes as we walked down the tunnel.

"I know. But... why're you waiting for me? And how long have you been here?" Raph shrugged.

"Not very long." But I could see right through him,

"That has to be the worst lie I've ever heard." I grinned up at him, but he was busy ogling me.

Oh my god!

"Raph!" I punched his arm. "Stop it!" He didn't seem the least bit guilty and only grinned crookedly, making my heart skip a beat and double it's pace.

"Why? You're cute when you blush." He laughed when my cheeks heated even more.

"Oh, so it's cute when my face is redder than my hair?" I snapped, but was unable to a convey even a smidgen of anger.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "It is." I crossed my arms in a pout, which only succeeded in furthering his amusement.

"Did you bring your whole desk with you?" He joked, poking my backpack.

"Shut up," I laughed, swinging my bag so it hit his arm. "I only brought the essentials."

"Which are...?" He prompted, raising a brow.

"Graphite pencils, coloured pencils, erasers, blenders and my sketchbook," I explained.

"That's a lot of essentials," he pointed out.

Is he kidding? His expression told me he wasn't. He must be.

"Well, what did you expect? A pack of Crayola crayons?" I snorted.

"Yeah." He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Are you kidding me!? You thought I could draw something with only a few Kindergarten-quality crayons!?" I demanded, horrified by the ridiculously high expectation.

"Well, yeah. Can't you?"

Such naïveté.

"No!" I cried incredulously. Who the hell can draw a decent eye with Crayola crayons!?

"Why not?" He asked, utterly confused.

"Because they're awful quality! Blending them is basically Mission: Impossible." I'd had this exact discussion with Olivia before and told her the same thing, and she'd given me the same dumbfounded expression as Raphael.

"How can pencil crayons be bad quality? Aren't they all the same?"

"No! Good art pencils feel nicer to draw with. It's smoother and softer and easier to blend and they have much better color." I knew it was a hopeless cause; trying to make a non-artist understand that different pencil qualities are actually a thing.

"That makes no sense," he mumbled. My eyes lit up with an idea.

"Can you fight with wooden sai?" I asked smugly. He scoffed.

"No."

"Exactly! That's what it's like to draw with Crayola." He frowned and opened his mouth to argue but found nothing to say in his favour. I grinned up at him triumphantly.

"I can't believe you just compared crayons to sai," he muttered, but I just shrugged happily.

"Well, I am full of surprises." He murmured something in a low voice.

"What?" I questioned, unable to discern his words. For a nanosecond, Raphael's eyes widened in horror. Though he was swift to recollect himself and mask it with an eye roll.

"Nothing," he said. But I knew what I saw, and I saw that sudden fear you experience when you realize that everyone within a twenty foot radius can hear you singing to a song playing through your headphones. And I could not be told I'd seen otherwise, because I'd seen that kind of fear a lot in New York City.

"Nothing my ass," I snapped. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything," he protested weakly.

"You are so bad at lying." I shook my head. When he neglected to say anything, I tried to shove him into the slimy wall of the sewer tunnel but only succeeded in making him stumble a bit and chuckle at my wasted attempt.

"Come on," I whined. "Just tell me."

"All I said was that you're crazy." Raph admitted.

"Oh," it took a few moments for the meaning of his words to sink in, "hey!" He laughed when I shoved him again.

"That took you a while to pick up on."

"Go away," I laughed, dropping my hands into the pockets of my jacket.

We walked in a comfortable silence only interrupted by the echoes of inconsistent drips of water and the occasional patter of probably rat paws in shallow sewage. Any indications of the comings and goings above us were nonexistent. The noises of vehicles in traffic, chatting voices and hurried footsteps were trapped above the layer of cement separating this world from theirs. My world. Our world. I couldn't help but feel like I'd at last found my place. That I discovered where I belonged, where I fit in. Everything just felt right, even the mutant beside me.

I bit my lip to keep myself from grinning so big I'd break my face. Raphael noticed my odd expression and looked down at me in amusement.

"What?" Everything. Nothing. Everything and nothing.

I shrugged. "Just happy." That definitely qualifies as the understatement of the year. He shook his head with a chuckle.

"You're weird."

"Yeah," I smiled happily. "I know."

AN: Writing this reminded me of the first time I went to the US and the first time I heard someone pronounce crayon like cray-un, which I thought was super weird because everyone I know in Canada says it like cray-on. I just, idk, I thought it was really weird and I still can't get over it. Americans are strange lol.

Someone in my school had a duck in their backpack today and someone put it on Snapchat so the principal and counsellors were running around, pulling kids out of class and asking them if they had the duck ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so I guess Canada can be pretty strange too lmao.

ANYWAYS I had lots of fun writing this chapter and I hope you guys like it :) Tbh wasn't sure how to describe Andy's hair (or lack thereof) lol

I can't send any messages to reply to the comments my guest readers make so just letting all you guys know that I'm super grateful and I love ya!

So to reply to I Am Lord Voldimort's question: yes she does and it's gonna be awesome! I'm super excited! Buuuut I have it planned for around the beginning of the second book. Sorry that you'll have to wait so long, but it'll be worth it! I also love your reviews and really appreciate hearing from you :D thanks!