(Thank you to everyone who stayed this long! Welcome to the 50th chapter! I'll continue to do my best to make this story as entertaining as possible! Side note: I don't own ROTTMNT, except for the OCs I created. Enjoy!^-^)

November 1st.

First day of the new month. The day after Halloween. Back to the ol' grind. I carried Leo to my place. I haven't left his side since. I knew I had to go to school the next day. I hate the idea of leaving my unconscious friend behind, but I didn't want my parents to get a call from the principal about my absence. I was supposed to be on my best behavior. As the next day came around, I made Leo breakfast and wrote him a card along with a Peruvian lily from the garden. It was the least I could do. I even told Cuddles to make sure to give it to him before 12 (if he wakes up before then).

At school, I went through my day like any other average student. I kept thinking about hightailing it out of there, but I knew not to make a scene. Alex and the Sluts approached me as soon as they saw me. They kept asking questions about Leo's condition. I told them the slider was still asleep even after I went to school. Katie was close to strangling me if Lyds wasn't in her way. Thank God the bell rang, and we went our separate ways. The day dragged on until 12 pm. Dear Lord, I've never been so happy for Lunch period! My entire day was shitty as FUCK! I've been on edge the entire morning. It didn't even help that both teachers and students were looking at me like I was about to throw hands at anyone in my line of sight. No, that's not the case... I kept looking at my phone to see if I had any text messages from Leo praying that he was alright. I grew agitated seeing no response. I already had a quick plan in mind to sneak out of school and race to my manor when I received a text from Diana; she wanted my help in bringing in the library's new books. I thought about declining her offer and rushing over to Leo's side.

Man, do I sound like a Mother Hen or what?

Di offered to buy me lunch along with a free pass in case I become late for my afternoon classes. You gotta give her optimism. She makes a convincing argument. I decided why the fuck not and helped her.

I was walking side-by-side with my fake ex carrying a stack of books for the library while sneaking a few peeks on my phone for any updates.

"You know you could've said no if you had plans", Diana said after catching me taking another peek at my device. She carried a small stack.

I jolted, feeling a bit embarrassed for being caught red-handed. I guess I wasn't as sneaky as I thought. "No! No... I'm..." I cleared my throat. "I'm just checking something... let's keep going", I said, regripping the books as I put my phone away.

I felt her stare as we continued to walk through the halls. I tried to ignore her stares and the need to check my phone. "Do you want to talk about it? Is there an issue with you and Katie's cousin?"

I stopped to look at her in confusion. "What...?" Did Di think I broke up with Lee? To be fair, we haven't started dating or ever thought of that train of thought. Did we want to date each other? Two months as friends... did we want to start dating?

I vigorously shook my head. "No, it's not like that. I'm just expecting a text. Nothing serious." At least I hoped so. "You don't mind if I bolt after I finish, right? It won't be long."

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Di was skeptical. She's one of my exes who knows me.

"Yeah! I need to go check on something!" I reassured her, "Let's take a rain check in that lunch date. On me. Promise."

The girl's eyes gleamed through her glasses. "Alright. It's a date", she said with a smirk, "Only if you bring your "date" along. I need to see the lucky guy who's looking after you." she wanted to meet Leo. Should I? Was she as open-minded as the others? She went ahead as I still gave it some thought.

"I'll think about it", I replied, "Now let's get this shit to the library."

"Yeah, yeah." She passed by a hall until something collided with her; something purple. They both fell. I ran to her side.

"Di! Are you okay?" I helped her up. "Dude, watch where you're running! Someone could've gotten hurt!"

"I'm fine. There's no need for hostilities", she reassured me, "It was an accident. I should've been more aware."

The purple-hooded person was busy collecting the fallen books. "Goodness me! Pardon my excursion! I was too excited. These poor books don't deserve this treatment."

I squinted my eyes before I pinched my eyes with my index finger and thumb in frustration. "Oh, fuck me. Donnie, what are you doing here?"

The soft-shell turtle didn't acknowledge us since he was too busy dusting off the covers and making sure the books were still in good condition. "I've got a text message from April asking for my assistance. So, I leaped for the opportunity!" He finished grabbing all the books and stacked them in a neat pillar.

"That was nice of you. I hope you are aware of the trespassers. Despite our school's laidback atmosphere, the principal has a steady hand when it comes to rule-breaking", Diana informed Don.

"I shouldn't be long, fellow peer. Thank you for your concern..." Don finally turned around and spotted us. Well, he was staring at Diana. The girl beside me tilted her head studying the frozen turtle. "I... I... beep... beep... system processing... processing... processing... SYSTEM OVERLOAD!" The turtle's body started frantically twitching like it was amid a panic attack.

I was getting worried; so, I did the first thing that came to mind: pulling the hood over Donnie's head. "I'll take him to see the nurse! I'll call you on that date! Okaybye!" I dashed away pulling a frozen turtle. I pulled him to a boy's restroom. A skinny boy walked out and saw my glare; he ran out immediately. I pulled Donnie close who was still twitching. I splashed some water on his face. "Donatello! Wake up!" no use. I didn't like my next idea, but I had no choice. I repeatedly slapped him across his face. "Donatello! Pull! Yourself! Together!" A few slaps later, a chirp followed. I saw a dopey grin spreading across his cheeks. Another chirp followed. Whelp. Time to pull out the big guns. I pulled out my hand as knives extended through my fingers.

"Was that the Venus de Milo?" I stopped the sharp slap in midair. I raised my left eyebrow. "The Mona Lisa? No. She's more beautiful than any girl I've seen. Wait! She's more beautiful than Atomic Lass! No, wait! Nothing can compare to Atomic Lass! What am I saying? The one in the glasses is stunning beyond compare! But Atomic Lass-!" I covered his mouth as he splurged out nonsense.

Someone opened the door. It was another random dude. "Do you mind?!" I growled. They ran out crying. I huffed. Yep. Today was not my day. I felt a tapping on my hand. Donnie was staring at me indicating to release him. "You finally came back to Earth?" I asked, as I let go with my knives retracted.

"Scoff. I never left to begin", he replied, "I never had that reaction before. I don't like it. I had a panic attack. I never thought a human would be the cause."

I think Turtle Einstein was overthinking it. "Don. You were complimenting my ex before implying she was the cause of your panic attack."

"Ex, you say? Fake or real?" he asked. His drawn eyebrows were arched.

I rolled my eyes. "Does it matter?" Purple just gave me a blank stare. I sighed. "Listen. She's not a bad person. If anything, Di's chilled. Loves to read. Like A LOT. It's one of her hobbies. She always has a book in her hands, volunteers in libraries, and are you writing on a notepad?" I noticed Donnie was scribbling down on a small spiral notepad.

"I need to know if your ex is reliable. I'll look through her files to see if she has any criminal records or health history I should worry about."

"Why not - I don't know – talk to her? It worked out with Lee and the gang practically loved him." I saw Donnie's hand stop scribbling until he wrote something else. Huh. That was interesting.

"I wasted enough time talking to you. I need to find April", Donnie said, changing the subject. He stuffed his notepad and walked to the door.

"Do you even know where she is? Did you at least call her?" I asked.

Donnie turned to me with a smug grin. "Oh, ye of so little faith. I can pinpoint her exact location. Don't ask me how I have my ways." he walked through the door. I just stood there watching the purple-clad turtle. I hope he finishes his task before something happens.

I shook my head. It's going to be fine! Fine! Just fine! Don's the smartest turtle I've ever met (compared to my aunt) unless April's request involves robot building – NO! No, it's going to be fine... God, I can feel my roots turning grey. I REALLY didn't want to come to school today.

I felt a tap on my backside causing me to jump and grab the intruder's wrist. "Hey! Slow down Goth Boy it's me!" I looked at the hooded figure to see it was Leo – who was wearing his outfit the first time he came here – smiling but it was not their casual smile; it was a quivering one. I scared him. "Ha! After the shit we've seen, you're hardly terrifying."

"Whatever..." Then a thought occurred, "You're awake!" I pulled the slider close and spun around. For some reason, seeing Leo brightened my day. All my sour mood turned sweet within seconds. I didn't care if anyone saw us.

"Okay. Okay", Leo laughed at my action, "I should be unconscious more often if I get to see this side of you."

I stopped spinning as I laid him down. "Please don't joke like that. I was afraid you weren't awake since..."

"I know. I've met Light." I looked at him with wide eyes. He has? "Yeah... they're a piece of work I'll tell you that. Not my biggest fan."

"Someone who doesn't like you? Shocker." Leo scoffed at my sarcasm. I grabbed his hand, and we walked down the hall. "What happened, by the way? A text would've been nice. I was worried sick. I made you breakfast in case you woke up."

"I know. Cuddles brought it for me; that was sweet of you." He tightened his grip on my hand. "I wanted to call you, but I had to get home first to reassure my family. I had one helluva scolding from Pops for not getting his permission, but I got a slap on the wrist since I "slept over" at April's. Apparently, I'm still grounded."

"You're grounded? Again? Why?" I asked. Leo gave me a brief glance then he pulled his scarf up. "Was it because of me? I'll talk to your dad again. I'll even beg despite my pride."

Leo pulled me to a corner of another hallway. "Don't. It wasn't your fault. I wanted to sneak out. I wanted to see you. It was my choice. I knew I had to face consequences sooner or later. I will gladly do it all over again."

I sighed. "I shouldn't be surprised. It doesn't make me feel better though. It would've been nice to hear it from your twin."

Leo tilted his head. "What?"

"You didn't know? Don came here to help April with something. I hope that's all there is to it 'cause I cannot have any more stress than I can take."

"So that was why he was jumping around like he just won the award for World's Best Geek. Don might've said something like that, but I was too busy reading a comic book. Dee always wanted to go to school."

I raised an intrigued eyebrow. "He did? Interesting..."

"Why would that be interesting?"

"I'll tell ya later. Anyway, you said you were grounded. How did you manage to get here without being seen?"

"I ask Mikey to cover me in return that I'll do his chores for a week."

"Smooth. The gang missed you", I told him with a smile as I stuffed my hands in my jacket.

Leo pulled his arms back, swaying side to side. "Did you miss me, too?"

I walked over to him and pulled his hood over his eyes. "Don't get cute with me, Blue." My phone vibrated. I checked to see Alex's caller ID of him posing in a selfie. "Speak of the devil," I answered the call. "Hey, what's up? Guess who's here."

"Check the school message board!" Alex's voice bellowed through the line. They didn't sound happy. They didn't even ask.

"Oye! You trying to make me go deaf!" I yelled back.

"Don't get sassy with me! We have a Code Purple! I repeat: a Code Purple!"

I looked over at Leo who heard it from his end. "Wanna tell me what that means?"

"Just read the fucking message board! I'm gonna find April! Peace!" they hung up.

"Huh. Rude much", I said staring at my screen. Alex was never this upset unless it was dire.

"Is everything okay?" I looked at Leo. "Alex sounded... angry."

"I'm not sure", I answered honestly; I went to the school website, "They wanted me to check the message board. I never bother going there because of dumb news relating to campus events and whatnot. Sometimes people tend to post things on the front-page message board to start a gossip train. I don't bother 'cause it's stupid. Nothing to read on that shit." various links to classes. Weather reports. Club announcements. Boring.

Hold up! I scrolled back up. I saw a small link to a website which titled "New Dragon in Tech Club?!" There's no way the Purple Dragons gained a new member; they're too self-centered and cocky to recruit. They always believe they're smarter than the entire school put together. They wouldn't be caught dead in recruiting fresh meat, especially Kendra. I tapped the link. I skimmed through the short article. Apparently, a mysterious kid in a purple sweater wanted to join the tech club; therefore, they displayed their unique devices gaining their interest. I didn't like where this was going and had a vague idea who's the mysterious newcomer. There was a picture of Kendra and the new member with the purple satin jacket holding hands. There was a tag underneath: #NewPurpleDragon, #Kendra'sNewBoo, #PurplePowerCouple.

"What the fuck?!"

"What? What is it?"

I began running down the hall; unfortunately, the bell rang for class. "FUCK!"

"Merrill, what did you see?"

You know what? Fuck the classes! This was important! "We need to find your brother. Now."

"Why? Wanna clue me in."

"Donnie could be brainwashed or too stupid to realize what he's doing."

Leo went in front, tugging my jacket, and grabbing my attention. "WHAT is going on?!"

"Your brother is dating my ex! Donnie is dating Kendra!"

Leo grew stiff as he finally released me. Something flashed in my mind. A distant memory. Did he meet Kendra already? Before I dove deeper, the slider grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the hall. "Let's go find the happy couple. I have a few words to say."

"Which one?"

"To my twin, mostly, and a couple of wise words to your ex."

I'll handle Kendra. Just talk some sense into your brother. He doesn't know what he's getting into.

'You don't need to tell me twice.'