Over the next few days the rooftop turns into Raph's new refuge. Leo is starting training again and Donnie and Mikey insist on helping, too. Raph thinks that maybe the fact that he turned into some sort of a zombie when he overdid helping Leo last time has something to do with their persistence.

He's fine with it. Or so he's trying to tell himself. He'd prefer helping Leo. It'd give him less time to think, On the other hand, if he has less time thinking over the day, this would mean he'll spend his nights thinking. Which would lead into the return of zombie-Raph.

And it's nice up here on the roof. He can stare into the sky. And he can think.

Think about April. Think about how hard he's trying to hate her for what she's doing to Donnie. Think about how he keeps on failing.

No matter how much he hates that April is leading Donnie on, although she isn't sure about her feelings for him, the thing is, he gets it. In a way, at least. With all the things going on in her life - her father being mutated again, fleeing from the city she's lived for so long, not to mention all the other crap that happened - who could really blame her for wanting to have something normal in her life?

Yes, Raph gets it. He never admits it, but there are times when he wants to be normal, too.

It'd be a lot easier if she wouldn't be toying with Donnie's feelings, though. But still Raph gets it.

And as much as he wants to hate April for it, as much as he's trying to love her a little less for it, he can't. He just can't.

With a sigh Raph closes his eyes. Even staring into the sky is too much for him now. The color reminds him of a certain pair of blue eyes, and that's just not good. He can't get himself to leave the rooftop just yet, though, so he puts his arms over his eyes. The crook of his arms serves perfectly as some sort of a shield against the sky and his perfect blue color.

"Raph?" a voice asks, and now it's a good thing Raph has his arm over his face or the flinch the sound of this voice sends through his body would have been too visible.

He didn't expect April to come up here. Now. Again. Ever.

But there she is. He can feel her eyes on him. He knows that for sure because his skin starts prickling.

"What is it?" he replies, trying to sound so very annoyed. Not taking his arm off his face might help with that, too, he thinks.

"Do you have a moment?" April asks.

"For what?" he asks, and he's pleased that he can even raise the level of annoyance in his voice.

"Talking," April replies.

"I'm not much of a talker."

"I know," April says. "But I need to talk to you anyway."

Raph lets out a groan, puts his arm away from his face and sits up.

"Well, then," he says, adding a little sigh, "go ahead and talk to me."

From the corner of his eye he can see her smile a little as she climbs out of the window and enters the rooftop.

Nonono, I didn't say you can come closer! Raph thinks in panic, but he keeps the words down. He'd probably would yell at April if he said what's on his mind, and somehow, he doesn't want to do that.

So he endures it when April moves closer and sits down next to him. It makes his skin prickle even more. He enjoys it more than he wants to, and thus he hates it.

"So?" he asks, allowing himself to turn his head a little to look at her.

April, however, lowers her eyes as she hugs her knees.

"I talked to Donnie," she says.

"Okay," he replies. He isn't sure what else he should say, so he doesn't say anything, just waits for her to go on.

A few moments in silence pass and when he can't bear it any longer, he speaks up again.

"What did he say?"

April hugs her knees a little tighter. "He didn't like it, of course. At first, I mean. But when I explained that I need to figure out my feelings, his face lightened up. So there's a chance he might go back to making me presents and trying to flirt with me, but that's okay, I guess. I'll just do my best to not lead him on until I have this whole feelings-thing figured out."

Raph shrugs. "Sounds like a plan."

A few more moments in silence pass and Raph can see how April shrinks more into herself.

"It should be Donnie, right?" she asks. "If I ever fall for someone, it should be Donnie, right?"

Raph opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn't know what exactly, so he closes his mouth again.

And April probably didn't expect a reply anyway, because she goes on, "It has to be Donnie, right? I mean, without him, without his crush on me, you guys would have never rescued me and my dad that night. The Kraang would have gotten my DNA way sooner, and the earth would be terraformed by now. Without Donnie and his persistence to save us, the Kraang would have taken over the planet by now. Donnie deserves this, right?"

To that, Raph knows the answer.

"Yeah, he does."

All of a sudden April yanks her head up and looks directly into Raph's eyes.

"Then why am I falling for someone else?" April says, her voice a little louder so that it almost makes Raph jump.

He ponders over April's words for a moment. If she's going to choose Casey, he could understand that. Casey is the easier choice. He's human, too. And although he wouldn't like it, he for sure could forgive Casey one day. He's his best friend after all.

"Casey is…," he begins, but breaks off, not sure what to say.

"A womanizer and when he's flirting with me, he's doing it because he loves flirting. Which is fine. He still is a great guy and a good friend, but I am not talking about him."

Raph's eyes widen a bit in surprise. If she isn't talking about Casey, then who the heck could she be talking about?

"If you're talking about Leo, I'm sorry, April, but he has a thing for Karai," he says.

"I am not talking about Leo."

Raph quickly goes over the other options, although, there's only one left.

"Mikey? Really?" he calls out. "Come on, April! I am not sure Mikey is into that kind of stuff yet. He's still, well, Mikey."

"I am not talking about Mikey, either," April says, and something clicks in Raph's brain,

There is one other option besides Mikey left. And it's the only option Raph can not live with.

The panic rises in his chest again as he realizes how deeply exactly April is looking into his eyes, how she's leaning a little closer to him, how damn beautiful she's looking right now!

No, he can't take it. And he doesn't want to hear it. Not from her. Not ever.

"Raph?" April asks so gently, it sends a pleasant shiver down his spine. Which only makes him panic more.

"No!" he calls out as he jumps to his feet. "You can't be serious!"

Before he realizes what he's doing, he's taken a few steps back.

April gets to her feet, too.

"Raph, I-," she begins, but he doesn't let her finish.

"You can't be serious!" he calls out again before he retreats even more.

"But Raph-," she tries again, and again, he doesn't let her finish.

"Stay away from me!" he calls out.

All he knows now is that he has to get away. And fast. So he jumps down on the canopy of the porch, then down on the ground, and then he starts running.

"Raph!" he hears April call after him.

It only makes him run faster.