A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update! My Transformers fic, unfortunately, seems to be my main priority most of the time as far as fics go. But it's almost done, so then this one will take its place. (;

"'Cause a dream's no crime
Not once upon a time
Once upon a time in New York City" –Huey Lewis

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As Hazel had expected, her cousins were being little terrors, as usual. Her aunt had left her a twenty-dollar bill on the table as she put the cushions back in the couch after the three tiny monsters had used them for a fort.

Hazel snatched the money and shoved it into her jeans pocket. She'd been saving for a while to buy new glasses, and now she had enough. It was three o'clock- she had time if she took the bus.

She disliked taking the bus, but she liked shopping. Entering the eyeglass store, she grinned, knowing exactly what she wanted. She bought the same pair of frames she'd gotten last time, before she broke them. Hazel liked the boxy black-plastic frames, and she had money to spare.

By the time she got home, it was dark. Her mom left a note saying she'd be going to a friend's party and not to wait up. Perfect, she thought, pulling her sweater back on heading outside. Making sure there was no one in sight, she slipped down the manhole.

"Hello?" Hazel asked. Raphael turned around, grunting.

"Oh, it's you."

"I-I'm sorry, is it a bad time? I'll leave—"

"I was just gonna go meet the others at April and Casey's. They were talking about you meetin' 'em anyway." He walked over to the phone and picked it up, dialing a string of numbers.

"Hey April. I'll be right over, I'm bringin'—Oh, Mikey told you about her. See ya." Hazel blushed, looking over at him.

"W-Who am I meeting, exactly?"

"Friends." He grabbed a worn-out brown trench coat and a dark fedora, giving her a strange look. She didn't notice, she was looking at the ground. Compared to him, she was short. Slightly pudgy around the waist and hips, but her posture told him she was insecure about it. She looked up from her feet, toward him. Her new glasses were already slightly askew, and her bushy ginger hair- it reminded him of how April's used to be- was tied back into equally lopsided pigtails.

"S-So how far is it?" she blurted, her eyes darting away from his.

"Couple blocks," he shrugged, shuffling over to the exit. "Come on." She hurried after him, back out the way she came. She watched carefully for her parents' cars, not wanting to get in trouble.

"Relax, okay? Nobody's gonna find you."

"S-Sorry…" The rest of the walk was silent. A tall, thin woman with red hair answered the door.

"I can't believe you still wear that old thing, Raph. You're Hazel, right? Come in." It was strange to see the turtles in a normal house. Shyly, Hazel sat down in the first empty spot she saw, beside Donatello; Raphael sat beside Casey, who had a dumb grin on his face.

"Guess what?" Mikey had an equally wide grin. "Casey and April are getting married!" Raph stared at Casey, who nodded.

"I knew it," His smirk seemed fake to Hazel.

"Umm… Congratulations!" Hazel smiled shyly.

"Thanks," April smiled, glancing at her ring, "But we've got bad news as well. You know how the Foot's been pretty quiet since the incident with Winters? Well…" April grimaced. "They've gone from hiring teenagers to hiring middle class workers with more experience… At increased pay."

"Wouldn't that be nice," muttered Casey, getting a punch to the shoulder from Raph for it.

"Have you heard anything about that, Hazel?" April asked curiously. Hazel shook her head truthfully.

"Not yet, but… My parents might have, I-I can ask later." April smiled warmly at the newcomer.

"That'd be great."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Raph crossed his arms, "We don't need extra help." Hazel scooted back in her seat, flustered.

"Raph," warned Leo, "She's just trying to help."

"How's she going to help?!" Raph yelled. "'Oh Mommy, did a ninja ask you to join them today? Oh, my giant turtle friends wanted ta know!'"

Hazel's eyes welled up with tears, so she lowered her head to try and mask it as the drops sunk into her jeans. She didn't even know why she was so offended. Bullies had said things much worse to her and barely left a mark.

Rubbing her eyes, she lifted her head again, her face red. Donnie sighed.

"Raph, you've gotta stop doing that. It's not healthy, and Hazel was only—" But Raph had already taken off.

"I-I'm sorry," sniffed Hazel. "It wasn't my business."

"He's not like that all the time!" assured Mikey, "Just… Most of the time."

"He'll warm up to you," sighed April. The silence made Hazel nervous.

"M-Maybe I should get going."

"Here, in that case I'll come with you. It's not safe for you to travel alone." Leo stood up, and the other two remaining brothers exchanged glances. They both knew he was just going to try and confront Raph after Hazel went home.

"I-It was very nice to meet you," smiled Hazel toward the only other humans there before she left with Leo.

"I apologize for Raph's rudeness," sighed Leo once they were underground.

"I-It's okay, really! I-I can see his point…"

"Well, I'll talk to him about his behavior," Leo grumbled. "He's so immature."

"He… He just sounds suspicious of me. I can see where he's coming from. I-I'm sure its very stressful to have to hide… A-And if someone who found you told…" Hazel looked worried, and Leo smiled.

"We're quite able to get away from people when we have to. At the same time, he isn't careful enough about that sometimes…"

"Oh."

"Are you all right?"

"I-I just don't like talking about other people behind their back, you know?"

"That's smart," came Raph's voice as he walked toward them. "Still trying to turn everyone against me, Leo?"

"I'd say you do a good job of it on your own." Hazel frowned, her hands shaking.

"P-Please don't fight," she pleaded, "I-I don't want to turn against anyone, and I-I'm not going to." She tried to smile, but got a strange look on her face.

"I'm taking her home. Do what you want."

"Maybe I'll just come along." Hazel could almost feel the tension between the brothers getting worse with every step in the darkness.

When Hazel got home, she was relieved to find no one there. She sat down at the kitchen table with a half-ripe banana, and then froze. On the table was a stack of money she'd never seen before, nothing else was moved or disturbed from its original place. Then, there was a loud creak from upstairs.

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Oh wow, suspense! Thanks for reading, and sorry it took so long to update. Please review! I love you guys (: