"So what's your story?" Mikey asked, after a while of pointless talking back and forth between the two of them.

Emilynn stopped short. "Uh," She said slowly, "Y-you first."

"Hmm." Mikey said. "My story." He took a while to consider. "Well, I don't know. There's not much to say, really. Just us guys. Doing guy stuff. Pretty lame." He cleared his throat.

"Oh, come on." Emilynn whined. "There has to be something."

"Nope. Nothing but lame, lame, and lame." The bed surged as Mikey flopped over with a huge breath. "Your turn."

Emilynn's tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth. "Sorry, buddy. My story's too lame to tell you."

There was a childish whine from Mikey's side of the bed. "Hey, no fair!" He cried.

"It is too fair!" Emilynn replied.

"Is not!"

"I'm not telling you mine unless I can hear yours." Emilynn said firmly, crossing her arms.

Mikey groaned loudly. Emilynn just shook her head, which Mikey responded to by groaning even louder.

"Do you need a sippy cup for all of that whine?" Emilynn asked.

"Wine's not good for children." Mikey stated.

"Then cut it out."

"Never!" He shouted.

"Mikey." Emilynn scolded, laughing.

"I'm a man." Mikey said.

"I can tell."

Mikey's only response was more whining noises, louder than before.

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door."Mikey, what the hell is going on in there?!"

"Oop." Emilynn squeaked, covering her mouth instinctively.

"Uh, nothing." Mikey said sheepishly.

"Are you talking to yourself?"

"...No."

The door rattled. "Mikey, why is this locked?!" His brother said.

"I'm... working on Christmas presents." Mikey said quickly.

"Christmas was last month, Mike."

"Next year's Christmas!" Mikey said. "It's gonna be huge."

The person behind the door sighed. "My little brother's a loony." He muttered to himself.

"Trust me, Raph!" Mikey called. "Huge!"

"Yeah, yeah." Raph muttered. His voice faded quickly. Once it seemed the cost was clear, Emilynn burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Mikey asked.

"Christmas presents?" Emilynn gasped, before cracking up again.

"I was put on the spot, alright?" Mikey griped. Emilynn snorted, and Mikey scoffed. "Like you could have done any better." Emilynn ignored him, falling over onto the bed with laughter. The slope of the bed caused by the difference in the weight of the two of them resulted in her suddenly slipping down the bed and bumping into something warm. She yelped, jumping up and scrambling back to her spot on the mattress. Then suddenly with a crash, she toppled off of the bed entirely.

She lay on the floor in a daze. Blindfolds.

"Woah, Dudette, are you alright down there?" She heard the bed move again, and then it was Mikey's turn to burst out laughing. Immediately, Emilynn could feel her face starting to burn. She tried to right herself. It proved difficult to do while she was unable to see anything.

"I got you, I got you." Mikey said, still laughing. Then his large hands were on her wrists, wrapping completely around them with ease. He lifted her back onto the bed. "Did I scare you?" Mikey asked her. "Was it because I smell bad?"

"N-n.." Emilynn was too embarrassed to reply. Her face felt like it was on fire.

"Did you hit your head or something?" He asked. She felt a soft touch on the top of her head. She realized that her hat seemed to have fallen off of her during her tumble. Her hair was slowly falling around her face. She could only imagine the mess it must be. "Oh no." Mikey gasped silently. He rubbed the top of her head lightly. "It's definitely broken. I broke you." His hand left her head. "Okay. I need you to tell me your name. Got that? Your. Name."

"Mikey." Emilynn muttered. Mikey gasped dramatically.

"This is worse than I thought." He said. "We have to get you to the hospital." The bed rocked as he moved. Then he wailed. "What if you're dying?!" He cried. "Don't die on me, Lynn!" He shouted.

"Mikey! Shh!" Emilynn scolded. "I'm fine, jeez."

Mikey took a deep breath. "Oh thank goodness." Then, "Are you sure?"

Emilynn nodded. "Yes, Mikey."

"No death?"

"Nope."

"No broken bones?"

Emilynn squeezed her arms, then her legs. "Nope."

"Bruises? Scrapes?"

"Mikey, I said I'm fine." Emilynn laughed.

"Whew." Mikey breathed. "That's a relief." Then he started laughing again.

"What is it?" Emilynn asked.

"I'm just remembering your face." He said. "When you were on the floor." He laughed harder. Emilynn groaned and flopped over onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. She was sure this time not to let herself roll.

"Aw, come on, Lynn." He said. "It was funny."

She shook her head.

"Awe, someone's embarrassed." Mikey cooed. Emilynn groaned again, curling into a ball. "You know, it's kinda super cute when you do that." Mikey said. Emilynn's face burned. He laughed. "Yes. That whole face thing. You're like a tomato." He paused before adding: "An adorable tomato."

Emilynn said nothing. She hid her face further in her own arms.

"Lynn?"

She didn't reply.

"Oh, I see. The silent treatment." Emilynn turned her face further into the bed. "Fine," Mikey said with a small laugh. "Be that way."

There was a long silence.

"Hey, Lynn?" Mikey finally said. She didn't reply. "I'm sorry I called you an adorable tomato."

When she still said nothing, he groaned. "Come on, Lynn, talk to me. I can hear myself think. And like, I'm super annoying. It sucks." She felt a soft touch on her shoulder. She shook her head from behind her arms. "Please?" Mikey asked. "Pretty please?" She shook her head again. "I'll do anything."

"Anything?" Emilynn mumbled.

"Scout's honor." Mikey swore.

Emilynn uncurled her body and sat up.

"Let me see you." She said.

"Ah." Mikey breathed. "Can't do that."

"Hey, you swore." Emilynn cried.

"Did not."

"What about scout's honor?!"

"My fingers were crossed."

"No fair!"

"Is too! I kept 'em crossed, so it doesn't count. That's the rules."

"I'm taking the blindfold off."

"Lynn, don't-"

Emilynn tore off the blindfold. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she gasped.

"Where'd you go?!" She demanded.

The bed she sat on was a dull orange color, much like the blanket she was given back in her "home." The two pillows were a similarly dull orange and a tattered looking gray. The floor all around the bed was littered with all sorts of wrappers and bottles from various different random snack foods and drinks. Only some of them were empty. There had to be at least five pizza boxes laying around. At the foot of the bed sat a stuffed panda bear. But Mikey was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay. You got me. The secret's out. I'm... invisible." Mikey's voice said from right beside her ear. She twirled around, but there was no one there. Behind his bed was a collage of posters.

"How are you...?" Emilynn muttered. She quickly looked back around the room. Empty.

"Can you put the blindfold back on now?" Mikey's voice asked, this time from above her. She looked up, but all she saw was a series of large pipes running in every direction across the ceiling.

Someone needs a better plumber.

"Oh, I get it." Emilynn said. "I'm just insane." She fell backwards onto the bed with a sigh. She felt strange in someone else's bed, but, having none of her own, it felt unbelievably nice to be in a bed at all. She couldn't help but close her eyes.

Mikey laughed from somewhere to her side. "Tired, much?" He asked. "You are aware that it's about noon, right?"

"You try sleeping on concrete for five years straight." Emilynn muttered, not even bothering to open her eyes. "The snow doesn't help much, either." She added with a yawn.

Mikey made a noise that Emilynn couldn't really put a meaning to. "I bet that sucks." He said. Emilynn was surprised by how forlorn he sounded. She nodded slowly, suddenly exhausted.

"Mhm." She mumbled. She rolled over onto her side with a content sigh, clutching a spare pillow to her chest out of old habit. She didn't even mind that they weren't hers anymore.

"Hey, Lynn?" Mikey asked, softly.

"Hm?"

"Sweet dreams."

What is that supposed to mean? Emilynn thought hazily.

A truck horn blasted Emilynn's eardrums and she rocketed upwards with a shriek. Her eyes flung open, and met concrete. Her head swam.

"Wha...?" She looked around only to all too soon recognize the familiar alleyway that she resented calling home. Her heart sank. It was almost as though the whole adventure with Mikey had never happened. Had it?

She looked around once again. Her backpack was tucked beside her in the same place she had always kept it. She was wrapped tightly in the same worn blanket she had fallen asleep in the day before. The sky was still bright, but not as. It had to be around six. In these short winter days it was about time for the sun to start heading down. A cold wind blew by, raising goose bumps on her arms. She looked down, to see that they were wrapped tightly around a gray pillow. She gasped, holding it up. As she did so, a small paper fell out from the pillowcase. She picked it up, to see the crazy handwriting that she was getting so used to.

You snore in your sleep. It's super funny.

Emilynn stared at the note. I snore? She felt a blush creeping onto her face at the thought of Mikey seeing her while she slept. She could only imagine how horrible it must have been. She was even more embarrassed at the thought that she had fallen asleep in the first place. In his bed. What was I doing?

Her embarrassed stream of thoughts were interrupted as her stomach suddenly rumbled, causing her to realize how hungry she was. She sighed, before she remembered that she actually had money for once, thanks to Mikey. She squirmed out of her slightly damp blanket and crawled out of her makeshift home. She turned back and bundled her blanket into the smallest ball she could manage and shoved it into a corner, making it invisible from the streets. She grabbed her bag and headed with it towards the street, not daring the risk of leaving it alone.

The street was surprisingly empty, but she couldn't put a name on why. At this time, usually these streets were roaring with activity. With a pizza shop on one side and an arcade on the other, the mouth to Emilynn's alley was usually swamped with people going in and out of both places by now. She didn't let it faze her. She walked into the pizza place, only stopping for a brief bathroom break. Afterwards she walked to the guy standing at the counter. He gave her a once-over with his eyes, but seemed uninterested any farther than that.

"What can I get you?" He asked. He sounded bored.

"Two slices." Emilynn said, pointing at the nearest pizza. Cheese. "Please." She added. He nodded and grabbed a plate, sliding them onto it. Emilynn pushed a five at him. "Keep the change." She told him.

He pushed forward the plate and took the five. "Hey, thanks." He mumbled. Emilynn gave him the friendliest smile she could manage as she took her food.

"You too." She said. He just nodded, putting the money in the register then turning and heading into the kitchen as she walked to a table. She sat in the same booth that she had last time. Right as she slid into it, the bell on the door chimed. She looked up to see the same two teenagers that had been at the pizza place the last time she was there. April and Kasey, if she recalled correctly.

"Looks like there is people alive tonight, after all." April said to Kasey upon seeing Emilynn. Apparently they too noticed the 'deadness' around them as well. As his eyes met Emilynn, a huge grin spread across Kasey's face.

"Hey, it's Shorty!" He called, waving at her like a loon. She waved back at him with an awkward smile.

"Kasey, would you leave the poor girl alone?" April said, rolling her eyes. She made a face at Emilynn that read somewhere between the lines of 'sorry about him' and 'kill me now.' Emilynn laughed, giving her an understanding nod.

"What?" Kasey said, sound offended. "She's my buddy." To prove his point, he marched over and slid into the booth seat across from her. April just groaned, before looking at Emilynn.

"Can you handle him?" She asked, pointing at Kasey. Emilynn looked at the boy in question, who leaned back into the seat with a wide grin upon being mentioned.

"I think so." She said, with a nod. April flashed a quick thumbs up before heading to the counter. Kasey leaned in close to Emilynn, keeping a close watch on April while doing so.

"Hey. Between you and me," He whispered, never meeting her eyes, "what's your name again?"

Emilynn couldn't help but roll her eyes as well. Suddenly she was attracting all of the goons. Kasey risked a quick look at Emilynn's face, raising his eyebrows.

"Lynn." She whispered back, deciding to play along. She opted for Mikey's name for her, as it was her new favorite.

"Ah, gotcha." Kasey whispered. He then sat back once again, laying his arms on the back of the booth to either side of him. "Lynn!" He called out, seemingly addressing the ceiling. "My great pal, Lynn." He watched April again, frowning to himself when she ignored him. He looked back at Emilynn.

"Actually, I think I prefer calling you Tiny." He said.

"I thought it was Shorty?" Emilynn asked, raising an eyebrow. He stuck his bottom lip out, looking at her pointedly.

"I'm pretty sure it's both, in your case." He said. Emilynn laughed, but instinctively angled her body inward into a less noticeable pose. Kasey stretched his legs out with a grunt. They kicked Emilynn's.

"Oh, sorry." He said, drawing them back a bit. "I seem to have a habit of banging into you."

Emilynn laughed, less awkwardly now. "It's okay, it happens a lot."

"Really?" Kasey asked, leaning toward her again. "How so?"

Emilynn shrugged. "Walking alone in huge crowds... people usually don't even notice I'm there. I get run into a lot."

Kasey took a moment to visualize her words, sticking a thumbnail in his mouth. Slowly, a grin spread across his face. "You're like a pinball." He laughed at himself. Apparently he was enjoying the image going through his head.

April returned then, with a box of pizza. She slid in next to Kasey.

"Just one?" Emilynn asked, nodding at the box.

"Mhm." April said. "Just us today. The guys are taking on a new dare: No pizza for a week."

The way she said 'the guys' reminded Emilynn of Mikey and his house of brothers. She wondered if they liked pizza. She guessed yes. It was pizza, after all.

Kasey laughed. "They can't do it."

"Probably not." April agreed. "But you know how competitive some of them can get."

"Some of them." Kasey said, making quotations in the air with his fingers. April gave him a non-serious glare. Kasey bared his teeth -or the giant hole in them- at April in response.

Then the two of them seemed to remember Emilynn was sitting there. They both turned face to face her, stopping their competition of faces. April cleared her throat.

"So I talked to the guy up there." April said, changing the subject. "I asked him why the place was so deserted today. He said that this whole street is blocked off on both ends."

"You didn't notice that coming in?" Emilynn asked. A short laughed escaped Kasey.

"Oh, we didn't come from the streets." He said. "Ah!" He hissed with a small jump. Emilynn could not see what the cause of his pain was, but she did notice the glare that April was giving him, completely serious this time. April then turned to Emilynn with a wide smile, as though nothing had happened.

"We've been staying with someone who lives on this street." She explained. Emilynn nodded slowly, confused by the sudden behavior swings.

"Wonder why they kept the pizza place open, then." Kasey said, watching April again. April frowned.

"That's a good point, actually." She said, seeming perplexed. Then her eyes went wide. She looked at Kasey, then back at Emilynn. "We need to go." She said suddenly. She stood up fast, knocking into the table. It shook wildly. She didn't seem to notice. She grabbed Kasey's arm, tugging him from his seat.

"What?" Kasey cried. "What is it?"

"Something's wrong." April said. She gave Kasey an urgent look, tapping a finger against her head. Kasey got out of the booth quickly, then looked back at Emilynn.

"What about Tiny?" He asked.

"Leave her!" April said, hurrying to the door.

"We can't!" Kasey said. April stopped momentarily and looked back at the two of them, seeming to realize Kasey's point. She sighed, obviously frustrated.

"You're right. Bring her. But hurry." She ran out the door without waiting for either of them. Emilynn had gotten out of the booth by now, and Kasey grabbed her sleeve, pulling her after him.

"What's happening?" She asked.

"No time to explain." Kasey said. "Just trust us."

Out of instinct, Emilynn didn't. But she wasn't given any opportunities to argue. Kasey dragged her out of the restaurant without even waiting for a response. They barged through the doors into the street, which was now dark. April was gone.

"April!" Kasey yelled. There was no response. "Damn." He whispered. He grabbed Emilynn again. "Come on." He said, taking off running. Emilynn stumbled after him, struggling to keep up. At the end of the street, a huge truck was parked in the middle of the road, blocking all of the cars. There was a small mob of angry people surrounding it. Apparently the road block hadn't really been agreed upon by the civilians of New York. Emilynn heard someone claim they were calling the police.

Suddenly a group of black-clad people spilled out of the back of the truck. There was a collective gasp from the mob. When the group in black turned around, Emilynn saw why. Each was holding a very dangerous looking weapon. Their black outfits were actually full suits. Ninjas, Emilynn's mind recognized.

A strangled gasp struggled to come out of Emilynn's throat. She stopped in her tracks. Kasey didn't seem to notice.

"Hey!" He shouted at them. "I know you took April! Give her back!" He stepped towards them. For the first time Emilynn realized he had a small bag on his back, full of what look like an arrangement of sports tools. From this, Kasey drew a heavy looking golf club as he started towards the ninja men. They turned to him.

Stop. Emilynn thought. There's too many. As she thought this, more men seemed to materialize from nowhere, all drawing their weapons. They were closing in on Kasey. He seemed to realize he was outnumbered. He looked back at Emilynn, who was frozen solid. He yanked something from his pocket and threw it at her. It clattered to the ground.

"Call the first number on there!" He yelled. "Tell them I need help!" As he said this, the cloud of ninja men surrounded him, blocking her view of him. It seemed that the small mob of people had realized that something out of their league was happening, as they had all vanished.

Emilynn forced herself to move. She couldn't tell if she was breathing or not, but she somehow managed to grab the odd-shaped phone that Kasey had tossed her off of the ground. With shaking fingers, she managed to call the first number, as Kasey had instructed. It rang only once.

"Kasey, you should really call off that pizza dare thing. Mike's going totally wacko. And I mean, like, more than usual. The guy's been moaning all day and if he doesn't shut his trap soon I think I'm gonna pound him into the Earth's inner core."

Emilynn's head swam. She struggled for words.

"Kasey?" The person from the phone asked.

"Help." Emilynn choked out.

"Wait, who is this?" The phone shrilled. "What's going on?"

Emilynn's eyes flickered up to the dark group of fighters that she had thought she would never have to see again. Their name was still permanently etched to the back of her skull. She could feel her legs giving out beneath her.

"The Foot." She whispered. Then everything went black.

Hey everyone. The Gracilynn is back. With another cliffhanger. Dun dun dun. There's been a lot of dialogue in these past few chapters, and I really hope that I've been capturing the character's personalities correctly. What do you think? Advice is always great. Reviews on pretty much anything make me so happy so please if you have the time and willpower feel free to leave one for me to make my day. Thank you all so so much for reading and supporting, as always. I've been able to talk to quite a few of you and you all seem like such great people, so that's really nice. Please stick around, because it does mean a lot. Well. More juicy stuff next chapter, I promise. Byee c: