Okay, I need a teeny bit of help. I need opinions on whether or not I should add a boy into the mix. I'm not sure if it would be a romantic relationship as much as just being one of Kayla's friends, but I just need help deciding if I should or not.

Kayla flicked her head, trying to get her bangs out of her eyes as she ate a peanut butter sandwich at the kitchen table. She glanced over and saw Mikey playing Call of Duty and for an instant she wished she could play, too.

But she couldn't, technically for two reasons.

For one, she was grounded. Again. Yeah, even though it was summer vacation she still managed to get grounded for something school-related. Her report card came in the mail a couple weeks ago and Don was NOT happy with her grades. She barely passed Biology and History with very low C's.

Her grades were one thing she always used to be proud of, Don made sure of it. But lately she just didn't care enough to work hard in school like she used to. So Don grounded her for a two week period. For some reason Master Splinter put Don in charge of her lately, probably to help teach him how to handle his siblings with Leo gone.

The second reason was a little harder to explain. She just felt like she couldn't. She wasn't sure why. She couldn't put a finger on it. If she had to guess, it was probably because she felt like she needed to grow up. Not that she was too old to play video games with her brother, she just felt like she needed to be more responsible, for her family's sake as well as her own. Like she needed to be able to take care of herself because she couldn't trust anyone to take care of her.

Kayla looked up as Don came in with his laptop, placed it on the table and sat across from her.

"Hey, Kayla, do you want to have a sleepover tonight?" he asked.

Kayla looked at him in confusion. "Um, what?"

"Do you want to invite Alana and Katie over for a sleepover? You haven't hung out with them since you were grounded. You can invite them over tonight."

"I thought I was grounded." Kayla reminded him as she finished her sandwich.

"You were, but I'll let you off a couple days early. So, what do you say?" Don asked.

"Why?" Kayla asked suspiciously.

Don shrugged. "Cause you've been…pretty well behaved lately. Do you want to or not?"

Kayla washed her plate to try and stall as she thought about it. It's not like she didn't like her friends anymore, quite the opposite actually. She loved being around them. They always made her feel accepted. But she also had her vigilante job at night. Would she be able to do it with her friends over?

"Kayla?" Don asked, checking that she heard him.

"Um…" Kayla tried to stall some more as she quickly thought over her options. She hadn't seen her friends since the last day of school. And she's not the only vigilante in New York. The Nightwatcher handled things alone before she showed up, maybe he could handle one night. It's not like he ever acknowledged her work anyway, they'd only crossed paths once and all he did was look down at her before brushing past her and leaving.

Kayla sighed as she made her decision. "Okay, thanks Don." she answered with a small smile.

Later that night Kayla lead her friends through the sliding brick entrance and into the large subway station. Don looked up from his laptop in the kitchen where he was drinking coffee.

"Hey, Alana, Katie." he greeted them as they passed.

"Hi, Don." they answered as they entered Kayla's bedroom. They sat on her bed and took off their shoes, placing their bags on the floor. Kayla sat on her computer chair, her knees up with her legs crossed at the ankles.

"So, what have you two been doing so far this summer?" Kayla asked curiously.

Katie shrugged. "Not much so far, but my parents and I are going on a week long trip to Arizona next month. I'm so excited I've been counting down the days since before school got out." Katie grinned from ear to ear as she bounced slightly in excitement.

Alana looked at her incredulously. "'Not much so far'? Seriously?" Katie looked at her in confusion, but after a moment her face lit up and she burst out laughing. Alana crossed her arms and looked away from her cousin shaking her head.

Kayla laughed slightly. "Am I missing something?"

Alana turned back to her, looking slightly peeved. "Yeah. Last week Katie and her parents came over to my family's apartment for dinner. Her, me, and my older brother were messing around in the hallway…and they both pushed me. Down. The. Stairs."

Katie burst out laughing again and Kayla had to cover her mouth to keep from doing the same. Alana glared at her and pointed at her threateningly.

"Don't you dare laugh or, so help me, I will walk out there and ask Mikey to tell me about the most embarrassing moment in your childhood."

Kayla bit her lips together and forced herself to stop laughing, that was the last thing she needed. Katie noticed.

"Oh, is there something you don't want Mikey spilling?" she asked teasingly.

Kayla couldn't help but grin. "I don't know, but knowing him he probably remembers something I don't."

Alana and Katie couldn't help but laugh. Out of the corner of her eye Alana saw something and looked over. The smile left her face and she went quiet. Kayla followed her eyes and immediately wished she didn't. Alana was staring at the bulletin board of Leo's letters and pictures. Over the past several months Kayla had trained herself not to even look at that part of her room, knowing full well she'd regret it when the emotions came over her. She looked away and studied her hand holding her other wrist.

"Has he written to you lately?" Katie asked quietly.

Kayla snorted a cruel laugh and shook her head. "He wrote once about a month after spring break, but I didn't even open it. I threw it away. Hasn't written since."

"Did you write back?" Alana asked gently.

Kayla glared at the floor, not meeting her friends' eyes. "No."

"Kayla, he's your brother." Alana pointed out gently. "Can't you at least try and forgive him?"

Kayla slowly lifted her head to glare at her friend. At first glance her eyes seemed to hold extreme anger and hatred, but as Alana looked deep into her friend's eyes she could see the pain and fear there, too. Fear to let anyone in and fear to trust. She had to look away. Seeing her best friend like this was torture.

There was a few moments of awkward silence before Mikey called from the kitchen, "Chili's ready!"

The three girls got up and Kayla held the door for them to go out first.

"You mean we're actually eating something that isn't pizza?" Katie asked in mock surprise.

Kayla laughed. "Yeah. I managed to persuade Mikey by challenging his cooking skills." the three friends laughed as they entered the kitchen. Mikey passed each of them a bowl and Kayla lead them into the TV area to sit on the couch and eat. Mikey sat on the floor, turning on the TV to watch the news.

"Well, look who's here." a rough voice remarked as Kayla felt a three-fingered hand ruffle her hair.

"Raph!" Kayla shouted, using her free hand to smooth her hair down.

Katie turned around to look up at him. "Hey, I haven't seen you in forever! Hi!"

Raph nodded a greeting to her. "Sup." he glanced between his sister and her friends. "You been keeping' her outta trouble? We haven't got any calls from da school since that one." Katie and Alana smiled as they nodded while Kayla rolled her eyes and looked away. Raph smirked at her before continuing, "I don't s'pose either a you know the guy she threw food at?"

Kayla's head whipped around with wide eyes as she stared at her brother. She looked at her friends and shook her head slightly. They acknowledged her and turned back around awkwardly and kept silent while Kayla glared up at her hotheaded brother. Raph narrowed his golden brown eyes at her, slightly annoyed that he still didn't know the name.

"Will you guys be quiet? The news is on." Mikey interrupted their stare down with an annoyed voice. Kayla turned around and looked at the big flat screen television.

After watching a fifteen minute long special about New York's vigilantes Don finally forced Mikey to turn the TV off.

"I'm kinda glad there's a girl vigilante out there. It proves girls can do just as much as guys." Katie smirked at Alana and Kayla couldn't help but smile to herself as Katie continued, "Plus, this Shadow Archer seems awesome. And no one's even got a good look at her. Kinda reminds me of you guys."

Raph scoffed. "Careful, some of us here might take offence ta that." Kayla bit her tongue to keep quiet.

"Wouldn't it be epic if the Shadow Archer and the Nightwatcher got into this HUGE fight?" Mikey asked excitedly. "It would be like Batman vs. Catwoman."

Kayla arched an eyebrow at him. "In what universe is Shadow Archer anything like Catwoman? Wasn't she a criminal?"

"Well, when you think about it vigilantes are breaking the law." Don put in.

Kayla shook her head and sighed. "Whatever."

"Besides, weren't they supposed at be lovers or somethin'?" Raph put in. "That's just sick. Nightwatcher's probably nearly in his twenties or somethin', while this Archer chick's probably just a kid."

Mikey rolled his eyes. "You two are reading too far into this, I was just putting it out there for an example."

Raph and Kayla looked at each other, each with narrowed eyes. Kayla didn't know why Raph was so into defending the Nightwatcher, but she knew if she continued this conversation someone was bound to get suspicious of her defending the Shadow Archer. Better to just drop it now.

"Ok, whatever." she grumbled as she crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch.

Later that night Kayla couldn't help but glance at the clock. It was going on ten thirty. On a normal night she would've been heading out pretty close to now, or she would've been out already. Right now she was chilling on the recliner while Alana and Katie were on the couch, they were watching TV. Some old cartoons were on.

Seeing movement in the shadows Kayla glanced her eyes over without moving her head. Her friends wouldn't see it because they hadn't had the lifetime's worth of training to notice things like that. She could tell it was one of her brothers sneaking to the entrance, but he was staying well hidden.

She narrowed her eyes to try and see him better, but it was pitch black. As the entrance way silently opened light from the TV caught him near the waist, making something glint. A metallic shine. Like a sai…