For a moment, the girl and the mutant just stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to continue the conversation. In Raphael's mind, he felt a bit bad for the girl. Depression was no joke, and April with her jealous filled taunts did not seem to help matters. His thoughts were scattered when the (h/c) haired girl cleared her throat, looking over at Raphael with a smile that did not seem to reflect the pain in her eyes. "I..." She drifted off, tilting her head downward as strands of hair brushed her sickly face.
"You want to head home, huh? I don't blame you- it's been a hectic day," Raphael agreed, grabbing the ribbons of his tattered bandanna and twisting them between his fingers. A few rooms over, in the lab, he could hear Donatello trying to escape the grasp of April. Raph wasn't sure why she had even showed up on this particular day, with school, being an orphan, and working two part time jobs- you would think that she would not have enough time to heckle the confused purple masked nerd- and yet, here she was.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do," (Y/n) paused to chuckle dryly, wiping some stray tears from the corner of her eye that she hadn't noticed were spilling. "I just want to go under my bed covers, listen to really depressing music, and fall asleep..." Her voice drifted off as she started blankly at the wall ahead of her.
Raphael raised an imaginary eyebrow. Now, he was no Donatello, but he was sure that when she talked about falling asleep, she wasn't planning on waking up in the morning. Raph glanced nervously. at the door of the lab, rubbing the nape of his neck as his feet shifted side to side. He knew he shouldn't let her go home alone. He may have just met her, but something in him wanted to protect her. She was like Mikey, she had that sort of younger sibling feeling that made him want to hug her and tell her that everything was alright. She was so small, and looked as if she kept standing, she would collapse from the weight of the world that she seemed to carry on her shoulders.
Raphael sighed as he let his arms fall to his side, looking up at the ceiling. Why did this fall to him? Why was he supposed to be the one to escort her home and make sure she didn't do anything stupid along the way? Leonardo was the gentleman, Mikey was the one who could make her laugh, and Donnie was the one who had saved her. All he wanted was a drink. "Look- I should-" Raphael was cut off by a voice calling and a certain person falling down the stairs.
Raphael turned to see his brother, Donatello, sprawled on the floor, his limbs a tangled mess. He once again turned to glare at the ceiling, asking God why he had been given such a dork of a brother. He heard a snort come from behind him, only to see (Y/n) covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking, as tears, tears from holding in laughter, spilled down her cheeks. She couldn't help herself, as a sudden jolt of laughter escaped her lips and she hugged herself, laughing until she lost her breath. Raphael only rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. Turned out that (Y/n) was a pretty big dork herself.
Donatello stood up, a playful glare on his face as he rubbed his elbow, walking over to the two. "What happened to Ape?" Inquired the red masked turtle, (Y/n) wiping tears from her eyes as giggles escaped her mouth.
"I... May have tied her to a chair," Donnie answered sheepishly, giving his brother a half shrug.
"Kinky," Mused Raph as he suddenly nudged (Y/n) froward with one of his broad shoulders. She stumbled forward from the sudden push, huffing, her face still red from her laughter attack. It had been a while since she had laughed, really laughed, not just a snort of air from her nose. "Well, since you offered," Raph continued, clamping a hand on (Y/n)'s shoulders. "You can take (Y/n) home!"
Donatello opened his mouth, raising a finger to somehow make a excuse that the reason that he had tied April to a chair, and fallen down the stairs, possibly spraining his wrist, was not because he wanted to walk the new girl home. Raphael grinned at his brother, giving him a thumbs up as he ran off. "Bye (Y/n)!" Called the hot headed mutant, rushing into his room and slamming the door shut.
"Bye Raph," (Y/n) called, turning to wave goodbye. She didn't want to face purple masked mutant at this moment. She had to be escorted home? Was this some kind of gentleman code for suicidal women?
Donatello cleared his throat, rubbing his arm as he gave her a small smile. "So," Mumbled the mutant.
"So," (Y/n) shot back, pushing her hair from her sticky warm face, licking her chapped lips. "We should go then." She smoothed out her shirt. Her mind still held the heavy clouds of those depressing thoughts, they were a part of her. They followed her daily. Sure, some days were better than others... but when she was alone, they consumed her. They wrapped around her, squeezing the small amount of life that she held onto out of her. She was being suffocated slowly, and nothing could be done. (Y/n) was not going to get better, she had accepted that years ago. The only reason she hadn't ended it sooner was because of her mother.
Oh, her mother. The woman that had fought against her daughters dark thoughts with her love, before her mind had been cruelly taken by the drugs in her system. She hadn't understood depression, parents never really seemed to understand, but her mom? She had known that all her daughter needed was her love and support. (Y/n) hadn't killed herself because she had known that her mother would be sad and alone. Her mother may have abused her but it wasn't her fault- her boyfriends took advantage of her, taking her money. Ms. (L/n) had changed drastically from the woman she had been years ago, if she had been told that she was one of the main factors that led her daughter to standing on that rooftop with the intention to end her life- she would have never believed it. Her mind was slowly fleeting her, ever since her husband had left her only a few years earlier. With her mind abandoning her came the abuse, all verbal, never physical. Her mother needed someone to vent to, to lash at, (Y/n) just happened to be the victim of said abuse.
And that box, that little rectangular box that seemed to contain Hell upon Earth. (Y/n) called it her mother's Pandora Box, whenever she saw another shipment at the front door, or on the windowsill, she threw it away. She had once destroyed it, but the blue green liquid had burned a hole through the floor, absolutely terrifying the teenager. (Y/n) found it easier to throw it in the trash can, ignoring the cries of the rats and pigeons in these dumps that came into contact with these liquids and seemed to morph. She wasn't sure what this new drug was, but what it did to animals was enough to terrify her. (Y/n) hoped that there wasn't another shipment at home- all she wanted to do was go to sleep stricken with anger and sadness that she had had the confidence to kill herself, and had not managed to. She was not in the mood to deal with her abusive drug addict of a mother.
"Hey, Hey (Y/n)?" Asked Donatello, waving a hand in her face as she was taken from her deep thoughts into reality. She blinked for a moment, looking upward at the mutant. She hadn't noticed how tall he actually was until this moment, he was a giant, a mountain in turtle form.
"Sorry, I was just thinking." (Y/n) smiled apologetically.
"It's fine, I do that all the time." Chuckled the mutant before holding out his elbow for the teenager to take.
(Y/n) raised her eyebrows as she looked upon the face of Donnie and then to his elbow. "Um?"
Donatello's cheeks flushed crimson as he shrugged. "Your legs look like they're about go out so I thought..." His voice faltered as that exact moment (Y/n)'s knees buckled, her hands flying forward to grab his arm. Her face flushed red in embarrassment as she linked her arm with his elbow.
"Thank you- I didn't even notice," Sighed (Y/n), rubbing one of her red cheeks as she willed them to go back to their normal color.
"It's fine. Now, where do you live?" He politely inquired as he started to walk, (Y/n) taking careful steps as she leaned heavily on him. She felt exhausted from the day's events, rubbing the sleep out of her bloodshot eyes. She knew she needed a good night's rest, but knew that it would never arrive. Her mind was so clouded that every night seemed to be the perfect time to contemplate life, school, her abusive mother, all of the emotions that festered inside of her.
"Um..." (Y/n) pursed her lips as she took careful steps up the stairs that led to the sewer tunnels. She paused as Donatello simply stepped over the turnstiles. He stopped to help her go over the security measures that, for some reason, they hadn't removed.
(Y/n) yelped as her leg caught on the metal turnstile, as she fell face forward into Donatello's outstretched arms. The side of her face pressed against his plastron as he grabbed her arms and steadied her, a laugh escaping his lips. "Who's the clumsy one now?" He teased as (Y/n) couldn't help but smile.
"Shut up," Muttered the exhausted teen, slowly pushing herself away from his chest. who knew that a cold blooded reptile's embrace could feel so... Warm, and inviting?
(Y/n) looked both ways, as they stood on the tracks of the subway, she hadn't seem to notice that Donnie stared at her, his face an emotion that couldn't be easily deciphered. "Um," She rubbed her face as she narrowed her eyes, turning to look over at Donnie. "I live East Tremont, on Lafontaine avenue," (Y/n) recalled, biting her thumb. School was out for winter break, and not once had she let the apartment she was living in. At times, it was difficult to recall what apartment complex she lived in.
Donatello's eyes seemed to widen as his mouth opened for a moment, before closing. "In, in the Bronx?" His voice seemed to be on the brink of disgust.
For what seemed to be like the third time that day, (Y/n)'s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, as she clasped her hands behind her back. "Yeah," She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "It's a pretty bad neighborhood."
"A pretty-" Donatello spluttered, tugging at his mask tails. "A pretty bad neighborhood? There is so much theft! And, and murder! That's where all of the drug deals go down, and do you know how many women and men we have to save every night from being assaulted?" He seemed to become hysterical, his hand mannerism's becoming more and more exaggerated.
(Y/n) looked upward at Donatello and smiled, smiled as her eyes seemed to become duller from the memories of what happened in her neighborhood. "I know, but hey, its home." She reached out her elbow for Donnie to link his arm, the same sad smile on her face.
Donatello opened his mouth to protest but only sighed, his broad, god like sculpted shoulders slumping. He linked his arm with her's as he lead her down one of the sewer tunnels that head north, towards the main area of the Bronx. "Well," Exhaled Donnie, rubbing a hand over his face. "At least you don't live in the sewers." He grinned down at her, showing off the unique gap in between his front teeth.
(Y/n)'s uplifted laugh bounced off the walls of the tunnels as she leaned her head against his strong forearm. "Yeah," She chuckled. "I'm going to need a bath once I get home."
"Better use a lot of baking soda and white vinegar to wash out the smell, the chemical components fight against the odor. The acetic acid and baking soda combine to strip away and neutralize the smell." Sighed Donnie, a smile still curling the corners of his lips upward as he explained the components and the science behind this natural cleanser.
(Y/n) snorted as she brushed a few strands from her face. "That would help if i actually owned any of those things." Mumbled the teen.
Donatello looked over at the girl that leaned against him, and he finally noticed that she was, well, poor. She wore an over sized black sweater, one covered in stains that seemed to be months old. Her hair seemed to droop from the amount of naturals oils that accumulated from not being washed in days. Acne dotted her forehead and the sides of her temple, with her shoes scrubbed clean, but the signs of years of wear and tear still evident. Add her depression into the equation, and shew looked like a mess. He wasn't at all surprised that she had attempted suicide, anyone living in those circumstances would attempt to also. At least she still managed to smell like cherry blossoms.
Donatello reached over to place his hand over the two malnourished ones that gripped his forearm like a lifeline, squeezing her hands. "You'll be fine," He quietly told her as they continued their trek down the tunnels, Donnie mentally counting the amount of manholes they passed, only one hundred and seventy one to go.
(Y/n) looked up at Donnie, a grim look on her face, her eyes dull, her lips cracked and peeling from the bitter cold of January. "How can you be so sure?"
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Michelangelo heard loud thumping coming from the lab as he left the kitchen, cheeto dust covering his mouth. He approached the lab slowly, slowly pushing more cheeto puffs into his mouth, chewing loudly. If there was some kind of mutant monster in the lab smacking around his brothers, he at least wanted to make sure that he filled his stomach before throwing hands. He bounced up the steps, humming a tune as he balled up the cheeto bag and threw it on the floor. He would pick it up later, he assured himself as he kicked open the door. "SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME- oh hey April!" Smiled Mikey, waving at the red headed girl that was strapped to a chair with a chain, lying on her side, her face pressed against the floor. He heard April mumble something, but he couldn't really hear her due to the fact that her face was smooshed against the concrete.
"Oops, sorry," Grinned the freckled mutant as he grabbed the back of the chair and yeeted it upward. April breathed heavily, hair sticking out of her ponytail as her headband was pushed over her forehead, in front of her face.
"Where's... Donnie?" She gasped out, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Oh, Don-Don? He left with the new dudette to take her back to her apartment." Mikey hummed as he attempted to wiggle around the chains wrapped around her- they were pretty tight.
Raphael lay on his bed, flipping through a motorcycle magazine, a beer bottle balanced on his plastron. A scream was heard from the lab as Raph simply rolled his eyes. He sat up with a sigh, cradling his bottle of alcohol as he slid off the bed and walked out of the room. He looked upon the scene before him, April tumbling down the stairs, still strapped to a chair, screaming her head off about god knows what, as Mikey ran after her, also yelling. Raphael stepped back into his room and locked the door. This was none of his business, and Raphael Hamato was no snitch.
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"I'm alone, and I always will be."
~(Y/n) (L/n)