My home felt foreign to me.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I made some food and played games for the rest of the day, sinking into the fantasy world, trying to distract my mind. When that didn't work, I put my headphones on and blasted music as I cleaned, my usual cure for when I was obsessing. Once I cleaned everything that I possibly could, it was late. Trying to sleep would probably be the worst thing to do, so I sat on my couch and tried to pick something to watch on TV.

It was then that an annoying beeping sound filled my ears. I immediately flew over to my purse and pulled out the T-phone, praying that it was the source of the noise. It was. I flipped it open and a message popped up on the screen: Open your window.

The sender was "R".

I ran into my room, unlatched the lock, and pushed the window pane up. A cool breeze hit my face, and I stuck my head out into the darkness, trying to see if Raphael was there. I didn't see anything move, so I went back to the phone to try and send a reply. I hadn't even typed out the first word before I heard a thud behind me and I turned around to see him standing there.

"Hi." I said, suddenly feeling shy. "You're free."

"Sorry 'bout that. I hope Mikey and Donnie didn't annoy you too much." Raphael replied.

"They didn't annoy me at all!" I said quickly. "I had a good time hanging out with them. I kicked Mikey's ass at Killer Instinct."

Raphael chuckled, giving me an appreciative look. "Good."

"Did everything go okay in the uh, the Hashi?" I asked, hoping that I was pronouncing it right.

He shrugged, and I could tell that something was bothering him. I waited for him to continue, not wanting to pressure him into talking to me if he didn't want to.

"Leo and I are different. It's hard for things to be okay with him, unless of course, things are exactly the way that he wants them. Then it's all great." He added bitterly.

"I hope I didn't contribute to the uh, problem... He didn't seem too thrilled about me finding out about all of you."

"Nah, that was all on me. He's just mad because something big happened without him knowing about it right away. He takes his role as the leader too seriously." Raphael explained, and I noticed the way he said "leader", like he was angry about it.

"Who says he is the leader?" I asked.

"Splinter." Raphael sighed. I could tell there wasn't any resentment towards his father over this choice, only frustration.

"And you want to be the leader instead?"

"No. I just want Leo to stop thinkin' he can control me."

I could see that this conversation was making Raphael get worked up again, his tone getting lower and lower as we talked. He had a temper, and it seemed like Leonardo knew how to push all the buttons in order to get him to explode. It felt like a good time to change the subject, but before I could, he was already backing away to leave.

"I gotta go. I've already been gone longer than I should have. Donnie showed you how to find us?" Raphael asked, already halfway out the window.

"Yeah." I said sadly, wanting nothing more than to go with him.

"Good."

That was all he said before vanishing. I stood there and stared at the open window, not minding the cold air that was blowing in. It seemed like he was always leaving - like he was afraid to stay for any longer than a few minutes. I was so fascinated about every aspect of Raphael and his brothers. I wondered if they was just as curious about me...

I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

Yeah, right.

Like they'd ever be as enthralled with me as I was with them. I really wasn't that interesting. I was shy, quiet, an introvert. Humans barely even wanted to get to know me, so why would I expect any different from the brothers?