Finally! A new chapter to this story. I actually started this chapter a couple weeks ago when I vacationed in Indiana and then never touched it again until last night. So... I actually despise this particular episode "New Friend, Old Enemy." I hated how Chris Bradford treated Mikey and I hated him as a character. Though now that I think about it, there wasn't much character development with Bradford as the series went on. We see character development with Fishface, Tiger Claw, even Shredder, but not Bradford?

Anyway, going back into the past for this chapter was actually really fun. April's just about my age, though I'd be about a year older than her. So my incorporating the "Cupid Shuffle" and reminiscing about high school and about Christina Grimmie made me smile. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "TMNT," nor do I own Cupid's "Cupid Shuffle" nor Lifehouse's "You and Me."

October 15, 2012

I had been studying for a biology exam for a couple of hours now. Just when my brain was just about fried, I heard knocking on my window. I turned and saw the shadow of a turtle through the curtains. I got up and opened them, a smile coming to my face.

"Donnie! Hey!"

"Hey, April."

I studied him for a moment. He had a half-hearted smile.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, look," Donnie continued. "You know how Mikey tried to befriend Chris Bradford?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it didn't go well. Mikey unfriended him on Facebook, but he isn't in his right mind. Since you know how to handle emotion, can you help cheer him up?"

"Sure! But I'll need to be back in an hour."

He grinned, clasping his hands together.

"An hour is all we need. Thank you!"

I followed Donnie out of my apartment, over the rooftops, and eventually down into the sewers.

"You know, I should find you four trenchcoats one of these days so you can blend in," I suggested.

He gave me an odd look.

"Why trenchcoats?"

"They can disguise you really well. They'd cover up your body and your shell."

"But what about our hands?" Donnie asked. "And our feet? And our faces? April, I'm sorry, but we cannot be seen in public. End of story."

I shrugged after I got off the ladder.

"It was an idea."

"So, how's your homework going?"

"Pretty well, actually!" I answered with a grin. "I was studying for a biology test when you knocked. Thank goodness, I can deal with biology. Science is easily my best subject."

"Your dad was a big influence on you, huh?"

"Definitely. Who is yours?"

Donnie rubbed his neck.

"Goodness! It's hard to name just one. Splinter's always encouraged me to follow my passion. Leo helps me strive to be a better person. Raph inspires me to care about my family. And Mikey, while sometimes annoying, inspires me to just sit back and relax sometimes."

I smiled as we entered the sewers. I suddenly felt motivated to get to know Donnie's brothers better. But tonight, I was going to start with Michelangelo.

We entered the lair where I saw Leonardo and Raphael watching a cartoon. Leo had this geeky smile on his face while Raph looked annoyed.

"Where's he at, Donnie?" I asked him.

"He's in his room. Come on."

I followed him to Mikey's room and he knocked.

"You can come in if you want."

Donnie and I glanced at each other with frowns on our faces as he opened the door. Mikey lied on the bed on his stomach, looking glum. I took a look around the room first. I had a piratey feel as the headboard was the helm of an old ship.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" I asked him.

"Raph was right," Mikey said with gloom. "I could never be friends with another human."

"Raph is wrong, Mikey," I assured him with confidence. "These things... just take time. You have me, and I promise I will always have your back. When we find my dad, I'm sure he won't mind being your friend."

"Who was your first friend, April?"

I chuckled.

"Don't laugh, but her name was December. She was my first friend when I moved to the city. We did everything together. We went to the park. We went to the movies with my dad and her mom. We even went to the beaches in New Jersey and Connecticut."

"Did she like snow?" Mikey asked.

"She loved the snow. And she loved Christmas."

"What's Christmas?"

I gasped.

"You've never celebrated Christmas?" I asked with shock.

"April, our sensei is Japanese," Donnie chimed. "Christmas is not a holiday celebrated in Japan."

I shook my head.

"All of you are missing out on the best holiday ever! I've got to teach you what Christmas is sometime. And Mikey, I have a feeling you are going to love Christmas."

"I'm intrigued myself," Donnie said. "What is Christmas?"

I smiled, feeling silly that I was feeling the Christmas spirit when Halloween hadn't even happened yet.

"Christmas is a time when we decorate our houses in pretty lights, make gingerbread houses, have a pine tree with ribbon, lights, and ornaments, and we exchange presents."

"Ooh!" Mikey exclaimed. "I wanna make the gingerbread house!"

I giggled.

"Later, Mikey. But Donnie mentioned you were feeling down. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Well..."

Mikey hesitated before blushing in embarrassment.

"I thought Chris Bradford would be my friend. I had pizza with him. He taught me his secret move. But it was all so that I would reveal Splinter's location. And it wasn't fair!"

Mikey slammed his fist on the bed.

"Obviously, you all are safe," I replied.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Donnie asked. "Splinter revealed that Bradford was one of Shredder's students. Clearly, Shredder is going to know about us."

"Well, then we need to stay alert. Right, Mikey?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just feeling down, and I feel stupid for believing someone like Chris Bradford would be my friend."

I was deep in thought.

"Chris Bradford does not sound like the kind of guy you want as a friend, Mikey. A true friend will care about you and the things you like, not go along with you just to get information."

Mikey gave me a small smile.

"Like my brothers? And like you?"

"Exactly."

Donnie and I glanced at each other and smiled together. I turned back to Mikey and attempted to turn this conversation in a positive direction.

"Well, I know you love pizza. What else do you like to do?"

Mikey immediately grinned.

"TV, video games, ninja-ing, cats."

"I'd be happy to watch TV and play video games with you."

I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Can we go play right now?" Mikey asked eagerly.

"Let's maybe wait for Leo and Raph to finish their show first," I suggested. "If you want to be a good friend, then you need to be considerate of their feelings."

Mikey gave me a confused look.

"Put everyone else first," Donnie clarified. "Listen to how they feel, even if Space Heroes is terrible."

"Just pretend to enjoy it?"

"Exactly!" I replied.

"Well, then, April, what do you like to do?"

I froze, wondering how to answer that question without feeling awkward.

"Well, I like to listen to music, I like to dance-"

"Me too!" Mikey excitedly interrupted me. "Ooh! I have an idea!"

Mikey suddenly grabbed my hand and led me into the living room.

"DANCE-OFF!" Mikey screamed excitedly.

Leo and Raph exchanged glances.

"I'd rather see this than another stupid Space Heroes episode," Raph spoke.

"Okay, what is a dance-off?" Leo asked. "And doesn't dancing involve music?"

"I have just the thing," I replied, taking out my phone.

I found the Cupid Shuffle and started to play it. Before I could start to demonstrate the dance, Mikey came up with his own dance moves. We cheered him on as the first verse played.

"Okay, okay, guys!" I yelled. "There's a way to do this dance. Now, watch me."

"To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right. To the left, to the left, to the left, to the left. Now kick, now kick, now kick, now kick. Now walk it by yourself."

I shimmied ninety degrees to my right.

"Oh, I get it!" Donnie said enthusiastically, joining me in the dance.

"Down, down, do your dance, do your dance."

Donnie and I danced in synchronization with smiles on our faces and our eyes closed. We kicked out, then we turned to the right. Mikey joined in the dance, dancing in front of me. I saw Leo grinning in my peripheral vision and he then joined in.

"Raph, you know you wanna join us!" Leo taunted him.

At first, Raph just sat there watching us with a pet turtle on his shoulder as the second verse played. Raph then gave a one-shoulder shrug, set his pet turtle down, and joined us. By the time that happened, Mikey was in front of me. Donnie was behind me. Leo was on my right, and then Raph was on my left.

Each of us had our own groove as we followed the footsteps. I shimmied with my footsteps. Donnie incorporated the robot. Leo danced with his shoulders. Raph moved his arms in circles depending on the direction we were going. Lastly, Mikey was being Mikey, moving his entire body with him.

"So, who's winning the dance-off?" Leo yelled.

We all grinned at each other.

"Mikey!" we all shouted happily.

We were now in the last stretch of the song. Mikey was on my right; Donnie was on my left; Raph was in front; and Leo was behind me. We rotated one more time to the right and found myself behind Donnie. I could not help but blush as I watched him dance.

"Down, down, do your dance, do your dance. Down, down, do your dance, do your dance. Down, down, do your dance, do your dance. Down, down, do your dance, do your dance. We got a brand new style, y'all."

The five of us cheered and laughed.

"You guys, for real?" Mikey asked. "You all are the best friends I could ever ask for."

"Aww," Raph said with a smile.

I glanced at my phone and gasped.

"Donnie! I have to go! My hour's almost over!"

"Wait, April!" Mikey yelled.

"Yes, Mikey?"

"You are the bestest friend anyone could ever have," he said with a smile. "Thanks for cheering me up."

"Anytime, Mikey."

Donnie and I left the lair and headed back to my apartment.

"You were great in there," Donnie said.

"So were you! Your dancing is amazing."

Donnie blushed, rubbing his neck.

"Thanks, but I was actually talking about our talk with Mikey. How did you know talking about his likes would help?"

"Because it's what my dad used to cheer me up."

"Well, there's gotta be other things you like besides music and dancing," Donnie suggested.

I laughed.

"I love to read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys," I confessed. "And all my favorite shows are mystery shows, like Rizzoli & Isles or Criminal Minds, though that one's more intense."

"Ah! So you like to solve a good mystery, huh? Is that why you're so eager to help us?"

"Yes. My dad has been kidnapped. I wanna know who these creeps are."

Donnie let out a sigh and turned to face me.

"April, when I said that this was our fight, I meant that with every ounce of my body. Please do not risk your life to prove yourself. You've already proven yourself to me with your spirit and adversity. That's more than enough."

We finally made it back to my apartment.

"Listen, Donnie. Thank you for being my friend."

"Thank you for being mine," he replied. "We should dance again sometime."

"Speaking of which, can I confide something in you?'

"Oh! Uh, sure! What's up?"

"I usually go to the homecoming dance at school. But I didn't go this year."

"What's a homecoming dance?" Donnie asked.

"It's this big thing in high school where those who graduated from that school come back for a weekend to celebrate all they had achieved. But we're the ones with the dance. Anyway, the Cupid Shuffle is usually a dance that is done there."

"Is that why you introduced it to us tonight?"

"Yes. But, like I said, I didn't go this year. I didn't feel like going because I had lost my dad the week before. I decided to study instead and help you guys."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with you not going to the homecoming dance," Donnie replied. "It was a choice you made, and it's understanding why you made that choice. But you shouldn't let your dad's kidnapping keep you down. I'd be devastated if I lost Master Splinter one day. But I'd still live my life. I'd still do the things I love and be with the people I love. You should do the same."

I smiled.

"Donnie, would you dance with me?"

I blushed and immediately thought I was crazy.

"Wait, never mind. That was a stupid question-"

"I'd love to."

I blinked three times. He said yes?

"O-okay. Umm... well, we need a song."

I skimmed through my phone and found a song that suited us. I put my phone in my back pocket.

"Umm, April, I've never danced in that way before."

I smiled at him.

"I'll teach you. Put your right arm on my left shoulder. And then you're going to hold my right hand."

I felt butterflies in my stomach as our hands touched. His hands were huge compared to mine! But somehow, it felt right as we started to sway.

"What day is it, and in what month? This clock never seemed so alive. I can't keep up, and I can't back down. I've been losing so much time. 'Cause it's you and me, and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose. And it's you and me, and all of the people. And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you."

"This is a good song," Donnie spoke. "What's it called?"

"You and Me. Lifehouse is the artist. My dad introduced them to me when I was a kid. This is one of my favorite songs."

"So Lifehouse is your favorite music artist?"

"Actually, it's Christina Grimmie," I answered. "She's an emerging artist. She's mostly known for her covers on YouTube, but her voice is amazing! My favorite song from her so far is Liar, Liar. But her cover of Just A Dream is incredible!"

"I'll have to listen to her sometime. YouTube, you said? What is YouTube?"

"Geez, Donnie, do you live under a rock? It's a website full of videos. But anyway, Christina uploads a new cover every Thursday and I listen to it as I do my homework."

"Does she do rock music?"

"Sometimes? I've never been good at identifying the different genres of music. I take it rock is your favorite?"

"Yes! I'll listen to rock all day."

We gazed into each other's eyes.

"There's something about you now that I can't quite figure out. Everything she does is beautiful. Everything she does is right."

I blushed and suddenly let go of him, hoping that I didn't give him the wrong idea.

"I need to get back inside," I said. "I need to get ready for bed so I can get to school early."

"Oh, right! Tomorrow's Tuesday. Well, then, I'll see you later, April. And thanks again for helping Mikey."

"You're welcome. See you later, Donnie."

I paused the music and went back inside as he leapt to another building. I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and then got into bed. I turned down the volume before pushing play again. As the chorus played for the last time, my mind was swarming with questions.

What does Donnie see in me? Why was he so eager to dance with me? Why was I hoping he would dance with me in the first place? Why was I crushing on a giant talking turtle? Was I really crushing on a turtle of all things? Why has my life become so strange?

"Stop it, April," I said out loud. "Donnie's just a friend. And that is all he can be."

I stopped the music and went to sleep, hoping that school tomorrow would be interesting, for a change.