A/N: If I owned Ninja Turtles, why would I be on as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly

Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast" – Celine Dion

--

It had been days since Hazel had visited the turtles- it was Saturday night, and she'd managed to become a complete nervous wreck. She couldn't eat much, and when she tried to draw, her focus went completely out the window. After filling a corner of her room with crumpled balls of paper, she sighed in frustration. Even her walls were making her mad- she'd gone out and bought bright turquoise paint to combat this, and had painted about a quarter of her wall space so far. Her parents had strongly opposed her ever painting her room, but if she looked at those mauve walls one more time, she would scream.

Not that anyone would hear her anyway.

She got up to paint some more, her stomach growling. Just as she made a few strokes of her large brush, she heard something tapping loudly at the window. She grumbled, putting the brush down and walking over to the window grumpily. She pushed the dusty curtains to the side, and jumped back in surprise. After catching her breath, she opened the window, letting her visitor crawl inside.

"You know I have a window, right Leo?" Hazel smiled, closing the window.

"Yes, well, your neighbors were outside." He nodded.

"Ah. Mind opening my door? It's going to smell like paint in here and maybe that'll help."

"Yeah, sure." He did as requested, and then there was silence.

"Hazel," Leo began, "Everyone's worried sick about you."

Yeah, she thought, that's why they've been visiting all the time.

"Raph won't tell us what happened- you're the only one who knows. Please, Hazel…"

"Leo, i-it's nothing. T-Trust me!" She started painting again, her strokes shaky.

"You ran out of there crying, Hazel. I'm not stupid." He rubbed the side of his head. "You can tell me. What'd he do?"

"I'm telling the truth, Leo, he didn't do anything!"

"I won't let him hurt you, Hazel, just tell me--" Hazel threw her paintbrush to the floor, the blue paint splattering over the newspapers she'd spread over her carpet. Her lips trembled.

"Why do you think I'd lie?! I'm not lying, Leo! You want to know why I ran? It wasn't because of something he said! I said what made me leave, okay? Stop blaming him for everything!" She crumpled her hands into fists, breath heavy.

"Hazel, I--"

"J-Just don't! Sorry to disappoint you!" She picked up her paintbrush again and began forcing the paint onto the walls. She paused, sighing.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. I-It's true, though."

"I see. Well, this has been… Enlightening."

"Yeah…" Hazel looked down at the paint-covered newspapers on her floor. Mysterious gang activity on the rise, the headline read. She shivered, then turned to Leo; she'd never seen him embarrassed before.

"I'd better go," he laughed nervously, "I need to make some apologies."

"See you." He opened the window and slipped out, making Hazel giggle. She watched him sneak away, then closed her window, the cold breeze almost refreshing.

Raph leaned back on his bed, staring at the dirty, cracked ceiling above him. There was nothing else to do- if he even got up to get a drink, Leo was lecturing him within seconds about something he didn't even know about. He himself had no idea, either. What was he supposed to do? He'd only known one human girl, and well, April had Casey… and at times, weird hair.

He knew that if he didn't go and talk to her, he'd never see her again- and he didn't want that, either. He didn't know what he wanted.

Raph had always envisioned he'd fall for someone… more like him. Misunderstood, an outcast… Oh wait, he thought. But at the same time, she was nothing like him. She was shy and quiet, a total pacifist… polite.

I should just go see her, he decided, to hell with Leo. He rolled off his bed and ambled to the door, but the knob turned before he could reach it.

"Hey," Leo sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about—" Raph let out a fake peal of laughter.

"Oh, that's a good one Leo! Tell me another!" He narrowed his eyes.

"Raph, be serious! I just went to Hazel's. She explained everything."

"Everything?"

"She didn't tell me whatever she said if that's what you mean."

"Good," he grumbled, grabbing his coat on the way out of his room.

Hazel still couldn't believe she'd yelled at someone. She chuckled to herself, trying to keep Apple from getting into the paint. Eventually, she just let her out of the room and closed the door, locking herself into the tomb of paint fumes.

She moaned in dread when she heard the doorbell. Dragging her feet the entire way, she pulled open the door and felt her heart nearly implode.

"Y'know, you should check who it is before you just open the door." Hazel stared at him.

"R-Raph… hi."

Meanwhile, Mikey stifled a giggle behind a bush, raising his head to peek in the window.

"We're dead if he finds us," Donnie reminded him, "We should go back."

"We're masters of stealth! No biggie!"

"D-Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm fine, thanks." It was a lie; his throat was as dry as the Sahara.

"Uh… Leo said you talked to him." Hazel giggled, turning red.

"I-it was more like yelling, really." He snorted.

"You yelled at him? I'm almost proud…"

"Well, he kept thinking you said something to me…" she scrunched up her nose. "Not the other way around."

"Er, yeah. That's what I wanted to talk about."

"Oh." Her stomach felt as if it were turning over. Here it comes, she thought, the moment that will make me cry like a little girl.

"I…" He paused, trying to think of the words without sounding like some sappy moron.

"I… Well…" He smirked, leaning in toward her ear, "Me too." Hazel's mind numbed; she stepped a little closer to him. Jeez, she told herself, it's like the weirdest romance movie ever.

"I-I've never done anything like this before…"

"Me neither, well… Obviously." He laughed, looking down at her. Hazel smiled, getting up on her tiptoes before kissing him softly; secretly worried her heart might fly out and knock out his teeth.

Mikey stared at Donnie for a long time, his mouth hanging open.

"Told you we should've went home."

--

AND NOW THE FLAMES COME POURING IN! Honestly though, I could care less. This chapter was so fun to write.

REVIEWS HAPPY. You know the drill. (: The plot will get completely different from here, I promise! It gets to the… real part.