AN: I'm back, bitches! Who missed me? Who missed Mystic Resonance? Welcome to Act 2! Enjoy!
~Lady Ai~
"Hey! It's Neon Leon! Leave a message and I'll get back to you eventually! Peace!" I growled at the voicemail. Damn it, Lee! Pick up your phone! It's been five days! How long are you going to give me the cold shoulder? Since we escaped the twisted world of Beauty and the Beast, I had a gut feeling Lee was hiding something from me. His eyes barely looked my way in the short span of time we got back. I know for a fact that I didn't do anything!
At least I think I did... or didn't? Ugh! I swear every time we cross one bridge there's another one ricketier and more broken than the last. What the fuck is going through that slider's head?
"¡Mariana! ¿Por qué me evitas? ¡¿No ves cuánto te quiero?!" (Mariana! Why are you avoiding me? Can't you see how much I love you?!")
"Alejandro... no podemos estar juntos... te mereces a alguien más digno que yo... Puedes tener a quien quieras." ("Alejandro... we cannot be together... you deserve someone worthy than me... You can have anyone you want.")
"¡Pero yo te elegí a ti! ¡Tú eres mi verdadero amor!" ("But I chose you! You are my true love!")
My eyebrow twitched at the sound of my giant television on the novelas channel in the living room. Jesus Christ! Why can't I have a nice day where I can stay inside and wallow in self-pity?
I was already in the living room trying to call my best friend if he wanted to hang out or some other shit. Hell, I was willing to watch every Lou Jitsu movie. If it makes him happy, I'll swallow my pride for Lee.
If he FUCKING picks up! At this point, I was convinced Leo blocked my number.
"Alejandro, take the hint! She doesn't want to be with you!" A certain unwanted houseguest was munching on my foreign chips. "Guy's got a pretty face, but the lights aren't on upstairs. I almost feel sorry for the guy."
Slap me with a cock.
I extended my hand to grab the remote control to turn the television and shut the entire system down reverting back to its regular bookshelf display. God, I missed my prosthetics.
"Hey! I was watching that!" Warren yelled at my action. "How else am I going to figure out if Alejandro will ever find love again?"
"Gee. I don't know", I sarcastically replied with my signature sarcastic eyeroll, "Why don't you figure it out at your place since I know you have your own TV to watch? Not binge-watching my TV and eating my snacks. Who let you in any way? Didn't I tell you I'll kill you the next time you step foot here?"
"Your living room is like being in a cinema theatre but free! You have hundreds of channels and streams to my heart's desire! Don't take that away from me!" The worm slithered on top of the couch and begged. "You have a better entertainment system!"
"Doesn't explain who let you in. I don't need an extra set of mouth."
"You have a fangirling, talking rabbit and you let her stay!"
"Unlike you, she's more helpful than a small, talking mutant worm."
As if knowing I was talking about her, Mrs. Cuddles entered the living room with a basket full of clothes. "Master, I finished your laundry!" she skipped, gleefully.
"See," I said, pointing to the happy bunny, "She's proving how useful she can be." I grabbed a shirt but frowned. "Cuddles... why is my white V-neck pink?"
"... it was supposed to be white?" she asked with an innocent head tilt.
"Oh, yeah. She's a big help", Warren said with sarcasm.
"Shut up. She's a better help than you", I told the lazy worm, "At least she's making herself useful. All you're doing is breaking and entering, using up my electric bill, and stuffing your face like a fatass."
"Yay! Master said Cuddles is useful! Cuddles won't let you down!"
"Are you kidding me?" The worm jumped furiously in protest. "All that dumb rabbit did was ruin your clothes!"
"I would rather she ruined my clothes than have her flood the laundry room. Again", I defended, reminiscing about Cuddles's first attempt at washing clothes. I had to call the repairman to fix the washer. On the bright side, I didn't have to buy a new one. The bad news was the repairman's bill to fix the machine and clear the small flood. It was a fucking nightmare.
"And for your information, I did help", the worm hollered. "Who was the one who got us out of that looping fairytale nightmare? That's right! ME!" I clicked my tongue while adding an eyeroll. I was wondering when he's going to pull his trump card. "Who wrote your wedding day as a happy ending? Oh, wait. Also me!" I knew my face was heating up as I diverted my eyes elsewhere. Damn that penis bug. I didn't expect him to pull the wedding scene on me. After the escape and Leo made a hasty retreat, I kept thinking back to our wedding. Me and Leo both exchanged vows in front of a crowd... he said he loved me... he loved me... was he serious? No! Warren wrote the scene. He had control over our actions and our speech.
"W-well!" I hated how I started with a stutter. "You were holding the book! You wrote everything before it happened. You got me and Lee under your control. You wrote what we were going to say! Do you expect praise after putting us in an awkward position? News flash, former anchorman, you're not my wingman."
I looked over at Warren who had a huge grin on his tiny face. "Oh, I didn't do no such thing."
I blinked. What? No way. "Bullshit! You had the book and wrote down the happy ending! You scripted it like it's some sort of romantic movie!" I argued, pointing at him angrily.
"How naive teenagers are becoming these days", he said with the audacity to shrug my way. I clenched my fist. Don't push it, Warren. Worms are easy to kill. Don't get ahead of yourself just because you saved us. "I'll explain as simple as I can. Yes, I had the book and yes, I set the stage and the atmosphere with the book's help, but I didn't write your monologue. And the book didn't either. You and your turtle toy improvised. As much as I want to take ALL the credit, I have to give credit where credit is due. The true heroes are you two. But I did lend a helping hand... along with Long Ears." My clenched fist loosened. There must be a blue moon tonight because the rarest occasion happened. I was speechless. Not insult. No rebuttal. No comeback. Everything I wanted to say got stuck in my throat. I just stood there with my mouth gaping open like a fish out of water. I gaped with wide eyes and my fingers twitched every second. "Hm. What have we heard? Nothing to say? Turtle bit your tongue? Here you are denying it, but deep down you know what you were doing. You know I'm right."
Everything we said wasn't scripted? We exchanged vows? Actual vows? At a wedding? So... when I said I like Leo... and Leo said he loves me...? The way my friend said those three words... No tensed shoulders. No strained smile. He WAS relieved that day because it was a genuine confession!
HOLY SHIT!
"Master, your face is bright red!"
I knew Cuddles was telling the truth and Warren's grin got even bigger. And me, still standing in the same spot in shock, realization, and embarrassment.
My phone rang, bringing me out of my stupefied trance. I checked the caller ID to see Alex's icon. Alex, I love you, you fashion queen. "Cuddles, you're in charge of the TV until I get back." I threw my television remote after opening the shelf. "Put something decent to watch. If you put a crappy movie or TV show, I'll stuff you in a trunk and dump it in the river."
"Yes sir!"
I ignored Warren's annoyed protest as I walked over to the front door and went out for some privacy; I made sure the door was shut before answering.
"Yo, what's up", I answered, trying to return to my regular behavior.
"I can't believe my luck!" Alex howled through the speaker.
"What're you bitchin' now, bitch?"
"The sluts canceled!"
I blinked. What nonsense were they spouting? "Care to elaborate."
"The turtles invited us to watch some skating competition live from the other side of the planet. Well, Leany Beany said you were under the weather. So, your invite was revoked." That explained why I hadn't heard anything regarding an invite or not hearing any event whatsoever. Leo is literally avoiding me, and I don't even know why! Every time we made progress in our dilemma, there was another issue we had to resolve. I hate communicating.
I sighed. "Even if I was, Leo would've mentioned it to me." I might've growled a bit. I seriously need to talk to him.
"Why do I feel like there's no communication between you two?"
"So. What are you doing?"
"Finishing another piece which I'm going to wear tonight. Now, Merrill. Back to my question."
"Seriously? The one time you haven't called me a nickname. I was getting attached to Merry Bear."
"Merrill. Enough. You forgot I can multitask. I feel like your diversion is something you recently learned from a certain turtle."
"Maybe I should hang up and block your number."
"We both know you're desperate for some advice. Let me set my needles down and sit on my rainbow beanbag."
"Fuck you, puta."
"Yes, yes, I'm fabulous. Spill the tea, darling." I hate them, but I did need help. With a heavy, tired sigh, I told Alex of the recent adventure I had. I told them the many resets, a new enemy who was an unexpected ally and an ally who was an unexpected villain, I was almost married to that fuckface, me and Lee defeated that same fuckface with the power of DEEZ NUTS! - I mean the power of friendship, and we ended up getting married. After my explanation, it was silent on the other end. I was about to say something until I was met with a shrill noise popping my eardrums. "Shit! I wished I was deaf because if I had hearing aids, I could shut them off."
"I can't believe Leany Beany finally confessed."
Wait, what? "You knew?!"
"To be fair, it was as plain as day. Don't blame me if you were too clueless to see the signs. Or rather, you did see them yet chose to ignore them. I'm starting to see why you are in a clearer picture."
"Watch it, Alex. You're skating on thin ice", I threatened with a growl.
"I'll take my chances", they said, offhandedly. "What are you going to do?"
My anger simmered. "What do you mean?"
"Hello! NYC calling in Ramirez! Leonardo confessed his heart out to you! Are you going to respond or talk to him? What are you going to do? For gay sake, you're married!"
"Technically, we didn't exchange rings therefore we're not exactly married."
"You two idiots exchange vows. That's an everlasting bond. Rings are for display. It would be legit if you two kissed."
"...we did..."
"... … … you're an idiot. I'll say it again. You. Are. MARRIED! You need to talk to Leonardo of where you and he stand."
I rolled my eyes. Some advice. Like I didn't try talking to him! "Oh, gee. Like I didn't think of that. Leo wouldn't accept my calls. He blocked me!"
"Gucci, please give me strength. If calling him doesn't work, switch tactics. I'll guide you to his home, but you're on your own when we get there. Just... don't force it... Leonardo is likely as embarrassed and confused as you. Possibly more embarrassed if I were in his shell."
"Right... I can be calm. Calm and patient."
"Also... let's not bring up your marriage to his family. You're trying to build a bridge, not burn it."
"Believe it or not I'd rather not be on Los Tortugas' blacklist."
I'm gonna talk to him.
I just need a plan on how I'm gonna achieve that.
~Lady Ai~
Merrill left so many messages. I don't know what to do. Maybe ignoring him wasn't the best option. I panicked okay! I might lose myself if I talked to him! Seriously, I told him I love him! Me – a fourteen-year-old mutant turtle – falling for a sixteen-year-old Goth - I mean, emo!
I buried my face in my pillow and thrashed my arms and legs around. I hate this! Okay, Leon, pull yourself together! The gang is coming over for Japan's skate competition. I didn't bother calling Merrill because one, distancing myself from him is crucial to get my bearings straight and two, my dad hates him and three, Merrill hates skating; or rather, he can't skate in general. Anyway, he wouldn't be interested in this anyway! It won't be a big deal!
Alright! Tomorrow I'll unblock his number and call him tomorrow!
After the finals!
If we're going back as friends, we need a fresh start. I need to do something nice. Something that says "I'm sorry for ignoring you! Can we be friends again?"
…
…
…yeah... I wouldn't want to be friends with me either.
A quick call! No! A text with a cute emoji! Yeah, that would work! Something funny and cute. Ooh, a gif! A gif that says how sorry I am.
I reached over to my charging phone, but I stopped. What if he... he... mentioned my confession? No. Just lie; deny it! It was on the spur of the moment! We were controlled by the book! We couldn't control what we said!
My mind was running a marathon again. I need to recollect my thoughts.
I walked out of my room watching my brothers prepping for the event. Raph brought a long table from somewhere. Donnie hovered around the skating area with his tablet in hand. Mikey was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. We were getting ready for the Skating Finals live. I made sure to charge my phone to the max! I'm not missing anything! Nothing will bring me down!
I'm not going to lose focus!
Nothing is going to stop me from seeing my girl Sydney take the W!
"Evening, boys! The cavalry has arrived!" Right on cue walked in Alex who wore a rainbow long-sleeved shirt, a light blue sleeveless jean jacket, light blue ripped jeans, and rainbow sneakers; his blonde hair was tied to a twisted high ponytail; he wore one skateboard earring on his right ear. "The sluts raincheck for April's sleepover. Bad for them. So I brought the next best thing!" My heart dropped seeing Merrill walk beside him.
"Hey, Alex!" My big brother greeted him with a big smile. "Love the outfit. You look great!"
"I know!"
"But I thought Merrill wasn't coming over. Leo said he wasn't feeling well." I gulped. I told my brothers Merrill wasn't coming over because I told them he was sick. I caught Merrill's single visible gaze. I wanted to hide in my shell.
With a smirk, he said, "Feeling much better. Had to stay in bed and stay hydrated. I felt as good as new the next day. I called Alex so I could do a surprise visit. And here I am, tortugas. Bask in my glory."
Raph scoffed. "Not much to bask in, Goth Boy. Hey, Leo! Guess who's here!"
I gave my emo friend a smile and a wave. He returned it, but his emotions were very clear through our mind link. He's pissed.
'We need to talk.'
Shit. I'm screwed.