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Chapter 19: Snow
True to his word, Mikey, Leo and Noelle returned to her old uninhibited apartment later that evening. The atmosphere was morose, to say the least, as the blonde was filled with an unfathomable sadness that made the situation even more absolute. She stood in the kitchen for a while, police tape joined together across door frames and shattered windows; glass shards still scattered across the floor that crunched beneath each step she took. The dining table she'd sat at by herself for so long remained sideways near the toppled chairs, the ligenous legs cracked with jagged edges of wood.
"You okay?" Mikey asked as he softly squeezed his best friend's shoulder. He understood that returning back to the place where Noelle's life had turned upside down probably wasn't pleasant. He himself felt a little uncomfortable upon seeing the remnants of a struggle since he could only imagine just how terrified Savannah had been at the time of the attack. He just wanted the whole fight to be over so that maybe Noelle would be happier and more at ease. She could really use a parent right now, and Master Splinter wouldn't be able to fully fill that role no matter how much comfort and support he provided.
Noelle nonchalantly nodded and moved forward towards her previous room, stopping only at the entrance to her mom's office to peek into the disheveled space. "Just seeing all this again makes everything so surreal. I still can't believe she's gone," she quietly replied before swallowing the knot in her throat. It tore her up to see the piles of books discarded and flung all over the ground like they weren't important, and Savannah's ceramic coffee cup was still cracked with dried-up coffee staining the rim. "It probably isn't good to dwell on what already happened though."
"No, but it is a way to remind us of why we're fighting in the first place," Leo stated with a compassionate smile. "It'll be alright. Let's just grab your things and we can leave this behind until we find your mom again, okay?"
And so they did. Noelle came across some clothes she'd left behind, though there wasn't very much, but she was satisfied with what she did find to hold her off for a while. She didn't need a lot to make her happy, nor was she going to be able to go to school so it didn't matter if she was judged for wearing the same outfit twice in a week.
"Yeah, those Kraang won't even know what hit them by the time you're done. Kapow!" Mikey threw a fist forward and went about forming various poses, most of which consisted of him wiggling his entire body around like his was an octopus. "You'll go all booyakasha on them! Yeah boyyy!"
Noelle giggled, grateful that he and Leo had come along with her to help out. She enjoyed their company a lot, and she realized that they were right. Seeing how messed up the place was again really gave her a kick to fight and train harder. She didn't have to enjoy it, but if it meant bringing her mom home then she'd do anything to get her back.
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Noelle lay out on her bed with her legs crisscrossed in the air while she thoughtfully gnawed on the end of her pencil. An open math book that practically screamed 'headache' was enshrouded by scattered lined paper sprawled over with cluttered numbers and blotches of eraser marks. It was all gibberish to her, and if it wasn't for April sitting serenely on the bed beside her, she probably would have just let her face drop into the mattress in pure frustration.
"So all you do is multiply the three with the 'x' inside the parenthesis and add it to the value of 'y' in order to get the solution of 'z'," the redhead patiently explained while gesturing to each indicated part of the problem. She expertly entered the formula into her calculator, filling the air with little clicking sounds. "If done correctly, then you should get -12 as your answer."
Noelle analyzed the problem with her brows furrowed and eyes narrowed in focused concentration. She wasn't unintelligent by any means, but math was like a foreign language to her, not to mention that her being unable to go to school wasn't very helpful. Usually, seeing some sort of example for her to follow was enough to help her out a little, or at least point her in the right direction. Fortunately, April was a great tutor who managed to make all her explanations easy to comprehend, so it didn't take long for Noelle's face to light up when she realized just how to solve the seemingly difficult problem. Her pencil immediately went to work on multiplying the numbers and letters until she was left with the desired solution. Her eyes glowed with pride as she displayed her problem-solving skills to April like a child who had scribbled on a sheet with crayons. "Like this?"
"Yup, you got it! See, it's not too difficult. We can honestly call it quits today since this isn't due until next week." The redhead leaned back with her palms resting behind her skull as she relaxed against one of the pillows. "So, I was thinking that this year for Thanksgiving I might just bring the feast down here for all of us. From what I know, all the boys except for Donnie don't fully understand it, so they've never celebrated it before. That really sucks."
The blonde paused in the middle of slipping her work back into its proper folder and eyed her friend curiously. " I guess that does make some sense since they've only come up to the surface this year, right?" Her mouth suddenly gaped open as a dismal thought crossed her mind. "So, does that mean they haven't seen snow before?"
April shot right up from her resting position with mirrored disbelief on her face. " Oh my God, I think you're right! Well, we've definitely gotta change that."
Noelle shut her book as she considered an idea that had worked its way inside her head. She wondered what the turtles would think of the beautiful snowfall, but she most especially wanted to know how Mikey would feel. Her cheeks helplessly flushed as she pondered about how cheerful he might be, and resolved straight away that she absolutely needed to make it happen for him. From the way the sky had appeared two days ago she could only assume that snow would start its yearly descent at any moment, and she wanted him to see it. After all, she felt it was the least she could do after he and his family had saved her life, carried more of her clothes back from her mom's apartment, and taken her in without making her feel like she was a burden.
"So, what are you scheming?" the redhead teased with a smirk when she noticed how silent her friend had become. "Don't leave me in the dark."
Noelle nervously played with a thick strand of hair as her face grew even more red. "I was j-just thinking that I want to be there when Mikey sees snow for the first time. Is, uh, that strange at all?"
"Not at all!" April optimistically responded, eager to see just what sort of plan her friend had. "What are you thinking of doing?"
The blonde pulled her phone out of her pocket and accessed the internet to pull up what she had in mind while the redhead waited patiently. Once she found what she was looking for she held up the screen so April could get a better look. "I was wondering if perhaps you might want to go with me to get this? I feel like it would make things better."
April practically jumped off the bed to put on her shoes and jacket while donning a freckled dimpled grin. "Oh, you know I'm with you on this."
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Karai restlessly paced in her confined room, seething and enraged over what had transpired behind her back. Every item within reach had fallen victim to her sword except for her cot, all in a brief moment of uncontrolled rage. It was rare that she lost hold of her temper, but when she'd discovered that the Shredder had foolishly sent his idiotic henchmen to burn the girl alive, she'd been so livid that he had concealed her within the stone walls of her chambers.
"Stubborn," she spat out between clenched teeth,"absolutely stubborn."
The Shredder had no idea that he'd not only doomed himself and his daughter, but the rest of the planet as well. The Kraang didn't care about his petty revenge on Splinter and the turtles; they just wanted Noelle and her mom. It was almost laughable to even remotely conceive just how doomed they all were. Karai was trapped with bars on both her door and window, but she refused to allow herself to die without trying anything else.
She trudged over to her dented desk and roughly grabbed sheets of paper, tearing one of the material's corners in the process. With a grumble she reached for a pen and hastily sprawled across the parchment with determination twisted onto her lovely face. She refused to go down without a fight, and there was no way she would just allow herself to die as a helpless prisoner.
If there was one thing Karai wasn't, it was powerless.
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Mikey bounced up and down eagerly on his feet in the den as he anxiously waited for Noelle to return from her trip with April. They girls had left about an hour and a half ago and he and his brothers had a gift for Noelle that he couldn't wait for her to see. Donnie had been working on it secretly, but since April visited him constantly in the lab she knew about the surprise as well. Although he had been the one to put everything together, his brothers had brought him the needed materials and used April's access to the surface to bring back the desired supplies. Mikey was probably the one most ecstatic, but the others were also looking forward to seeing the look on their blonde friend's face when she returned.
"You're not going to make her get here faster by doing that," Raph grunted out as he swung another fist forward and collided his knuckles against the worn dummy. He took a deep breath and wiped the few sweat droplets off his forehead before cracking his fingers. "I get you're excited, but chill for a few bro."
"You can't tell me you're not at least a little bit eager," Leo challenged with a raise of his brow as he grinned. "We're all looking forward to surprising her."
"Here she comes!" the youngest turtle squeaked out in a jumpy manner.
Sure enough, Noelle and April were ambling through the turnstiles with plastic bags in their hands and engaged in a lively conversation that died down when they spotted the mischievous looking boys. The blonde tightened her grip on one of the bags protectively when she saw Mikey, but genuinely smiled when she saw him staring at her.
"Noelle, can you come help me with something?" Donnie's voice suddenly erupted from his lab, catching the silent girl off-guard. She couldn't imagine what use she would possibly be to him, but she'd provide assistance however she could.
"I'll take your stuff for you," April politely offered.
"Okay, thank you." Noelle handed her bags over to the redhead before proceeding over to the lab, wondering why the boys were following along behind her. Mikey was practically right next to her as he tried to keep his giggles silent. Raph poked his little brother in the face with a glare, warning him to be silent.
When they finally entered into the lab, she froze.
Donnie grinned from the front of his desk as he gestured proudly at a new easel compromised of melted metal, screws, and black plastic ledges. Beside it was a small table covered in art supplies. A hefty pack of pencils with varying hardness lay beside a package of kneaded erasers, colored pencils, paintbrushes, and basic paints. Leaning against the front of the table were two large canvasses and three sketchbooks.
Noelle felt like she couldn't breathe, but this time it was because she was so overwhelmed with joy and surprise. She felt her entire face go red as her hands covered her mouth and her eyes watered over the touching gifts that her friends had given to her. After her easel and art supplies were destroyed in the fire she'd felt like she lost a part of her soul. She'd relied on her art for so long that it felt like a part of her, so she'd felt a sense of heartache when they were lost to the cruel flames. Now that she had them back again, it was as if she was living again instead of being some sort of empty shell.
When she felt Mikey pull her into a hug, she titled her head so that her forehead was pressed against his upper plastron as she let out muffled sobs that had the group watching her with soft smiles. Even Raph walked over and patted her on the shoulder while April hugged her from the side and Mikey affectionately rubbed her head with a grin on his face.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Noelle whispered repeatedly when she finally lifted her head and stepped back, a wide smile on her wet face as she once again took in the sight of all her new art supplies.
"No problem, you deserve it," Leo responded, pleased with himself and his brothers. "It was actually Mikey's idea. He knew how much it meant to you."
The look Noelle gave Mikey made his heart feel like it was melting. Her eyes shimmered with affection and her smile was so tender and sweet that he swore he was about as red as Raph's mask. He swallowed to ease his dry throat before he shared another hug with her, basking in the pleasant aura radiating off of her.
Splinter regarded the touching scene from the lab's entrance, his heart light and yet hollow. The way his two students looked at each other greatly reminded him of how he and Tang Shen used to act when their feelings were developing, and he missed it everyday. He missed her everyday. The memories were wonderful though, and it did make him content to see one of his sons going through the same thing, though he never would have guessed that Mikey would be the next one after Donnie to fall. He knew Leo cared about Karai in a similar manner, but their relationship was a bit different than simply liking each other. Still, he was rather glad for Mikey, and was pleased that he'd come to care for such a kind-hearted person who actually appreciated the way he was.
When Mikey caught his Sensei watching him, he beamed at the fatherly rodent, who returned the smile. When Noelle stepped back, the young terrapin playfully poked her arm and widely grinned. "Hey, so let's go make a new picture! We can totally do that now, right?"
It took Noelle a moment to realize what he was referring to before she eagerly nodded her head, her heart bounding with happiness.
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The easel was set up in the corner of her room with art supplies bundled up methodically around it. Splinter had suggested placing some towels underneath the easel just in case there was a mess, which usually ended up somehow happening whenever Mikey was involved. Noelle longingly opened an orange and dark blue paint bottle to prepare for the painting while the freckled turtle observed her in amusement, thrilled that the blonde had been able to find a part of herself again. He was glad that he'd suggested the idea to his brothers when he did, otherwise she would have just continued with her half genuine smiles while being dragged around the lair. Even Ice Cream Kitty had her limits when it came to entertaining.
"This is going to be way better than last time!" Mikey cheerfully stated, his hands already extended out just as she began pouring orange across his palms. He clapped them together, spraying her in the face with orange specks, causing her to flinch in surprise.
"You're too kind," Noelle giggled, not even bothering to wipe the sprinkled paint off her face. She coated her hands so heavily in blue that her finger tips were dripping with azure blobs. She turned towards the paint palette and expectantly waited for him to go first like he had last time. It was amazing how terrified she'd been the first time they'd done this, but she'd come so far that now hanging out with him had become extremely familiar to her. She was just so relaxed around him.
"Ooh, let's do both of our hands at the same time!" Mikey suggested. "It'll be like one of those cool moments that people look back and treasure, only to find out that they are the real treasure instead." He blinked innocently with a smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're referring to."
"In the latest issue I read of the Barbarian King, this dude and his best bro go treasure hunting together but end up figuring out in the end that their friendship is much cooler than gold, and then they have this epic bro hug and it's just awesome."
"I see. That makes sense I suppose." Noelle flushed when he stood behind her so that each arm was on either side of her shoulders, making this moment feel far more intimate than during the first painting. When she felt his heart rhythmically beating against her back, she squeezed her eyes shut until they both stepped forward and placed their palms against the smooth canvas. The heat in her face felt uncontrollable when they pulled their hands back, her eyes opening to see the paint from their hands intertwining against each other on the board. She gradually turned around until she was face to face with him, and then pushed her fingertip over his snout.
"I was first this time."
It took Mikey a moment to realized what had happened before he chortled loudly and they both began dousing each other's faces again in blue and orange. Little splatters of colored liquid flew onto hair and skin as they continued to flick their fingers around in an attempt to target to each other with the liquid. They finally ended up on the ground, curled in on their stomachs as laughter continued to emit from their shaking forms, unaware that everybody in the lair could hear them.
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Leo turned the TV down, paused the game and raised a brow as he looked towards the direction of Noelle's room and shared an amused look with April. "So, do I even want to know?"
"Probably not," the red head replied with a smile from the couch, her eyes not leaving her laptop. "I think they are just working on a new painting."
"So did anybody else ever think that out of all of us Mikey would be the one to spend the most time with a girl, cause I sure didn't." Raph stuffed a chip in his mouth from his spot beside Leo. April just continued to smirk while the brothers exchanged an eye twitch at the laughter and proceeded to play their game.
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When the giggles finally died down Noelle grabbed an old towel and began rubbing the paint off of her. "I think we made an even bigger mess this time."
"Dude, you're probably right." Mikey grinned, his cheeks nearly concealed in blue. "You're, like, totally orange now."
"And you're practically turqoise," the blonde retaliated with a smile. When she noticed his confused expression she cleared her throat. "Turqoise is a blend of green and blue. The color is actually really pretty."
"Why thank you!" The reptile pretended to bat his eyelashes when he stood up and kicked a leg out to look more feminine. Noelle giggled again and shook her head before she handed the towel over. While Mikey cleaned himself up Noelle checked her phone and bit her lower lip.
"Hey, would you mind if we went to Central Park later? I was thinking we could go back to the hidden bridge."
His cerulean eyes sparkled at the idea of returning to the hidden spot. "Dude, we haven't been there in, like, forever! Sweet idea. When do you wanna go?"
"Oh, uh, is after dinner okay? I want to shower first." She gestured at her paint-splattered shirt, prompting a chortle from the turtle as he
"Sounds good to me."
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Noelle sat on her bed in clean clothes, her dried hair pulled back into its usual style. She had been staring at her phone's home screen for the past two minutes in hopes that her dad would contact her, but of course there was nothing from him. He hadn't left a voice mail or even sent a text to apologize for the way he'd acted towards her, and she should've known better than to think he would reach out to her, but false hope continued to haunt her thoughts that there was even a remote possibility that Felix would try to talk to her. Thanksgiving was only two days away, and it made her feel lonely to know that neither of her parents would be with her.
A gentle tapping on the door drew her attention away from the device. "Come in."
Surprisingly, it wasn't April or Mikey who opened the door, but Leo instead. He walked forward with his head bowed in some sort of apology and his fingers intertwined like a child who had been caught doing something. Noelle patiently waited for him to speak, unsure as to what had brought him to see her.
"Listen, I just want to apologize for how selfishly we acted after your dad's house burned down."
"But you didn-"
"Yes, we did." Leo took a deep breath, ashamed at what he was about to say. "My main concern at the time should've been your health, but I was just so insistent on clearing Karai's name that I didn't even put you into consideration. It wasn't until Mikey yelled at us about how scared he was of losing you that it really got me thinking about my behavior." He continued on as Noelle sat in stunned silence. "Everything he said was true, and yet even when he began to snap, he wasn't taken seriously. He said you were his best friend and the only person who didn't treat him as a joke, and he's right. Donnie, Raph and I have never fully appreciated just how intelligent he actually is, and it's shameful of me to act like that. I just wanted to thank you for being such a wonderful friend to him, and for making him so happy."
It was a lot for Noelle to take in. She was so touched that Mikey thought so highly of her that she really didn't know what to say. She knew she looked like a ridiculous tomato with a red face, but somehow that didn't bother her as much as it might've at some point. She was flattered and happy that Leo had taken the time to apologize and talk to her about what had happened.
"I understand why you wanted to clear Karai's name," Noelle began, causing the turtle to lift his head up. "I know I would do the same for Mikey, and Donnie and April probably would for each other. When you really care about somebody, you just see the good in them." She clicked her phone off with a sigh. "Like my dad. I love him, and even though I'm still really hurt by what he said, I still have hope that maybe he'll want to talk to me again because I don't believe he actually hates me."
"Of course he doesn't," Leo agreed. "I don't think anybody could hate you. You're a good person, Noelle."
The blonde flushed again. "Thank you, and I don't think Karai is the one who tried to hurt me. I think she is actually a good person too, just really confused right now."
Leo chuckled sadly, his eyes trailing off to the side. "Yeah, she is."
They fell into an awkward silence that had them both looking around to avoid eye contact, unsure of what else to say. A sudden crashing sound in the background followed by Raph yelling and Mikey laughing had both of them biting their lips to prevent laughter from erupting.
"So, I guess I should go see how dinner is going," Leo suggested with a grin. "Are we good?"
"Of course," Noelle replied with her own smile. She shook his extended hand and waved bye to him as he left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She glanced at her phone once more and slipped it into her pocket, no longer as concerned about her dad contacting her by Thanksgiving. She had to believe that everything would work out.
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Dinner consisted of spaghetti that Mikey had attempted to make with grotesque pizza slices and jelly beans, but after being reprimanded by his older hot-headed brother he toned it down to "boring" noodles. Thanks to April's help, garlic bread had been added to the mix, providing the otherwise abnormal family with an actual normal dinner.
Noelle was about to assist with washing dishes when April took the towel from her and gently nudged her out of the kitchen. "It's almost time. Go find Mikey."
Finding the freckled reptile hadn't been the least bit difficult. He was hanging off the couch with his nose practically glued to the pages of an open comic book he was engrossed in. When he heard footsteps approaching he glanced up with a wide grin, still hanging upside down.
"What's up? Ready to go?"
"Um, yes please." Noelle chided herself for sounding like a terrified little girl. She already had her coat on and her fingers shoved into her pockets so he wouldn't see how nervously they moved around, pinching pocket material and tips rubbing against each other. When he stood up and grabbed her wrist to pull her forward, she nearly tripped over her own two feet, which was met with an apologetic expression from him. She took a deep breath, and allowed herself to be guided behind him. What she didn't notice was the pleased smirk on April's face as the redhead stood in the kitchen entryway with a plate in one hand and towel in the other.
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The two snuck through the trees of Central Park as they made their way over to Noelle's secret spot to stay out of sight from prying eyes. The sky was completely concealed by curled grey clouds that blew a chilled breeze across the city of New York. Fortunately, the young turtle had his coat on, a gift of some sort from April's aunt for taking care of her niece. It was in his favorite color, as suggested by April herself, so he absolutely adored it, and Noelle was grateful that he had some sort of protection from the cold.
"Still looks super awesome!" the terrapin bellowed out with his arms up in the air. "Man, it's been a long time since we were here, huh?"
"Mmhmm." Noelle walked up beside him, her eyes anxiously searching the sky before her face split into a smile. "I still like the view."
[The Amazing Spider Man 2- We're Best Friends]
"Only the best ever!"he agreed as he turned away from the city skyline to look at his best friend, only to stop when he felt something small and wet fall on his nose. His brows furrowed together in confusion and his eyes widened when another wet dot touched his face. Suddenly, he noticed clusters of alabaster flakes falling around him. "What the..." he began, his eyes lifting up to the sky and lighting up in disbelief. His mouth opened when he saw whites dots peacefully descending from the clouds and landing softly on anything nearby. He extended his hand out without lowering his gaze, allowing more of the wet stuff to coat his finger tips and send a pleasant chill up his spine.
Noelle watched as he just looked around in childish wonderment, full of curiosity and brimming with delight. There was just something so magical about being part of his first snowfall that she couldn't help feeling a little invasive of it. She watched as he ran forward with his arms held out, hands extended to allow more of the snow to touch his fingertips. He was entranced by how perfectly it fell around him, the flakes thick and ivory with little puffed out edges he wanted to touch. When he turned to Noelle, still in a state of marvelous wonder, he almost didn't know what to say.
"I know you've never seen snow before, so I wanted to take you here tonight so you could see it," she began in her usual timid manner. She ignored the shaking of her arms as she reached into her coat and pulled out an orange hat and scarf, her lips curling up when she saw how he just glowed. "You've been so kind to me and I don't know if I could ever repay you for what you've done, but I wanted to show you how beautiful snow was. You've been in the sewers for so long that you've missed just how pretty winter can be, and I thought maybe you would like to wear these to help with the cold."
Still speechless, Mikey stepped forward and lowered his head so Noelle could wrap the scarf around his neck and place the hat onto his head. It was when he looked her right in the eyes that all his emotions came at bay. He began to laugh like a child, his eyes closed as he tilted his head back and allowed more of the snow to fall on his face and even his tongue. He twisted around and surprised the blonde by picking her up and twirling her around, both of them laughing and so lost in the joy of the moment that the near proximity didn't catch them off guard. Noelle pressed her forehead against his, cheeks pink from the cold and laughter.
When the spinning stopped and he set her down, his hand grabbed hers as he continued watching the amazing display before him. Noelle felt her face flush when she gazed up and watched Mikey, her fingers clasped around his tightly in a state of blissful serenity.
