Here's the final set-up chapter before we get to the good stuff. In other news, this story is over a year old! Thanks for being there, guys. You're all awesome beyond words.

Searing Hurt Pt. 3

Leo

Leo sighed, pulling the shellraiser to the side of a dusty gravel road and smoothing out a crumpled road map on the steering wheel. He'd taken a left on Wandering Acres lane, right? Or was he supposed to have gone down that squiggly side road? Wait… Leo flipped the map over, then sideways. Crap! He'd been holding the stupid thing upside down. Which meant he was on… he was on… Rocktile road? Or Cherokee path? Or…

Leo let out a strangled cry, crumpling the paper between his fists and hurling the useless piece of junk across the shellraiser. It ricocheted off a sleeping Mikey's forehead and bounced into April's lap. Leo let out a slow breath as he slumped in his seat and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm his tired nerves.

It had only taken five minutes on the phone with Leo and then Donnie for April's aunt to proclaim them 'fine young men' and that yes, of course April could come. So they'd all crammed their supplies (and themselves) into the shellraiser and had set off across the state of New York to April's farmhouse.

At first it had been easy going with normal, clearly-labeled roads and April watching over his shoulder to help with directions. But after a couple hours, everyone but Leo had drifted off, leaving him alone to try and figure out where to go on gravel roads and tiny paths that cut their way through the otherwise undisturbed forest. The paths grew smaller and more winding at every moment. To make matters worse, night had fallen, leaving only the Shellraiser's headlights to show the way.

Leo lifted his head and glanced over at Ara, who was peacefully curled up on the floor of the Shellraiser, her head propped up on a substitute pillow… Mikey's foot. (Leo was pretty sure that violated the health standards of at least sixteen countries, but never mind.) She was even prettier than normal when she was sleeping, with all the worry and hurt she had gathered during her lifetime cleared from her face, and that cute way she… Leo! Leo mentally slapped himself. She probably didn't even like him.

Leo had had a crush on Ara ever since he had cautiously turned over her unconscious form after she fell through that stupid hole in the ceiling. It had grown from there until he was falling head over heels for her, but he'd never been able to confess it. It was obvious that his brothers had readily offered her a place in their tightly-knit family as a friend and sister, and she had silently and gratefully accepted. But of all the affectionate words Leo associated with Ara, sister just wasn't one of them.

And then there was Karai. Leo wasn't really sure why he had been so attracted to her. Of course she was skilled and pretty, but there was something else that he just couldn't put his finger on. She was just so reckless, passive… free. She did whatever she wanted, whenever. After months of the constant pressure of leadership, she was exactly what he wanted—needed, even. Still, she'd only been a crush. Ara was so much more. He'd tried to explain that to her, but she had rushed out. And when he'd started to give it another go, she'd told him the only reason she was angry about Karai was that she didn't like the foot. Talk about crushed hopes.

Leo shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to get his family to the farmhouse, which wasn't happening at this point. With a sigh, he lugged himself out of the driver's seat and crossed the shellraiser, then gently shook April's shoulder. "Wha? Oh, Leo…" April sat up, groggily rubbing her eyes. "What—what is it? Are we-" April yawned, stretching out her arms. "Are we there yet?"

Leo shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I got a little lost, so…"

"On it." April stumbled across the shellraiser and sleepily plopped herself into the driver's seat, squinting at the navigation screens. "Oh!" she started the engine and turned the shellraiser around, driving back down the path and crossing over to another one at a fork.

"You know where we are?" Leo questioned, peering over her shoulder.

"Yup. We used to come up here every summer, so I know the area like the back of my hand. We'll be there in five minutes, tops."

"Cool." Leo leaned forward and peered at the navigation screens, trying to discern shapes within the eerily dark forest surrounding them. After a few moments, his eyes began straying back to Ara. He was in the middle of wondering if she was warm enough without a blanket when April spoke, breaking his train of thought.

"She likes you, you know."

"She—wait, what?"

"Ara. She likes you. I'm only saying this because I'm tired of you two walking around like a couple of lovesick puppies."

Leo's stomach did an impressive back flip as his heart kicked into overdrive. "How can you be sure? What if—?"

"Oh, I know these things." April tapped her temple jokingly. "It could be my unique mental energy or, y'know, the fact that I have two eyes. Look, Leo, all I'm saying is that you should give things with Ara a try. You guys would be cute."

Leo released an unintelligible burst of flustered babble as he spun around to make sure no one else in the shellraiser was awake. After a quick glance, he turned back to April and hissed, "Keep it down, will you? What if she hears?"

"Okay, okay, don't shoot the messenger," April conceded with a gentle laugh and the shake of her head. There was silence for a minute or two as Leo rolled the concept around in his head, something like excited hope building in his chest. After a bit, April glanced back at him, then said, "Hey Romeo, you might want to stop grinning like you discovered a bonus season of Space Heroes and wake up the guys." April killed the engine as the shellraiser eased to a halt. "We're here."