Revelations of the Heart

Second glances.

Raphael, 18 years old

New York, New York 2017

Today is mine and my brothers' 18th birthday. It doesn't mean much to me, but apparently 18 is a big deal for humans. Mikey had gotten ahold of April and Casey and begged them to help him throw a party to celebrate, and they had obliged. They would be coming over later with pizza and sodas and cake and ice cream. We had known April for three years (technically a lot longer, but that's a long story), and Casey for one. They along with another human, Vern Fenwick, had helped us save the world on two separate occasions and had become the closest thing my family could call friends. I walked into the common area of the lair and saw Mikey rearranging the three couches closer to make a larger empty space. Donnie came from the direction of his lab with a small helium tank and a package of multicolored balloons. Mikey pushed the last couch into place and looked up. 'Yo Raph, can you go get all the spare blankets and pillows from the closet?'. Rolling my eyes I headed towards the dojo which doubled as storage space. Leo was sitting cross legged in the center of the floor lightly meditating. He looked up when I walked in. 'Are they here yet?' 'Nah, Mikey wants blankets' I replied picking up a stack. 'He's really wound up about tonight. Grab those pillows for me.' He, shockingly, did as I asked, and followed me. 'He loves having human friends, and I think what the commissioner said last year about people accepting us if they knew we saved them really got in his head. He took you LITERALLY shattering our last hope to be normal against the wall better than I expected but I think he still wonders sometimes, you know?' I did know, better than he thought. In the past year I had replayed that scenario over again so many times I lost count. At the time, I had been totally confident in my decision. We were different, so what? We had a duty that fate had laid in our laps, a chance to make the horrible things done in that lab so many years ago into something honorable. We would save the world, and make our sensei proud, because it was the right thing to do. But then, later that same night, fate dropped a wrench into the cogs of my thought process in the form of Aella Jones. She was the 15 year old baby sister of April's now boyfriend Casey, and she was accidentally made aware of our existence when she walked into the private awards ceremony the NYPD held for us after we stopped the Kraang from opening a portal over New York. She got startled, tripped, and fell off the building. I saved her, and she looked at me like I had two heads. Not fear, or disgust. Shock, confusion, and then embarrassement. She blushed, and I remember feeling something I'd never felt before, something that to this day I couldn't place. Since then she had made me feel a whole lot of other things. April and Casey were over several times a week, and as a result Aella was too, sometimes on her own. She had really hit it off with Mikey in a childish way I didn't understand, Donnie tutored her and satisfied the general curiosity of her growing mind, and Leonardo had become something of a mentor to her. I was the only one who hadn't found my place with her. She frustrated me, she confused me, and on the other hand she put this warm feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't figure out. I shook my head to clear it, dropped the blankets on one of the couches and fell back onto another. Just then the scent of fresh pizza hit my nostrils and I looked at the entrance to the lair. Casey came in, a stack in his arms, April right after with two thick brown paper bags that I assumed held ice cream. Aella came a few steps behind with her backpack over one shoulder, a duffle over the other, and a large cake balanced in her hands. She was wearing black leggings tucked into knee high converse and a red hoodie. I started to jump up to help her, but Mikey rounded the corner, yelled 'Angelcakes!', and took the cake from her, ruffling her hair affectionately. She walked closer, putting her bags on the third couch and making quick eye contact with me. She said a quiet 'hey', and walked into the kitchen to join the others. I cleared my throat and followed. A few hours later everyone had had their fill of cake and pizza and had settled into various places around the lair. Splinter had retired to his room to meditate and April had an early shift so she went home. Transformers was on the tv, and there was popcorn scattered everywhere. Aella had begged to stay, hence the duffel bag, which meant Casey was reluctant to leave. He trusted us with Aella's life but she was still his baby sis, and she and Mikey were a little too close for his liking. Everybody, including April, had tried to convince him there was nothing to worry about but he wouldn't hear it. He was sitting on the floor next to me and he was clutching the bowl in his hands like it was Mikey's neck. Turns out Casey and I were a lot alike, and I had gotten pretty good at at reading his moods. He was watching the tv intently while sneaking glances at Mikey and Aella on the couch across from us. Aella had ditched her shoes and was sitting on the arm propped against him, watching the movie. There was absolutely nothing suggestive about how they were sitting and I knocked Casey's shoulder to let him know he wasn't being subtle. He looked at me and I said 'You can go home Case. Nothing is going to happen. You know that. Mikey has the brain of a 13 year old.' He shook his head and scoffed. 'Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. I remember the one thing on my mind at that age.' I grinned. 'Go Casey. Spend some quality time with April. We got her.' I held a fist up, and he paused before bumping it. 'You got me on speed dial, right?' I nodded. He got to his feet and walked over to Aella. He hugged her, kissed her on the head, and left, waving to the rest of us over his shoulder. I saw Donnie glance at his watch, stretch his arms over his head and get up, saying goodnight and heading to his room. Leo followed suit a few minutes later, which left me, Mikey, and Aella fighting sleep, and she was losing. She was yawning every few minutes by the time the credits rolled on the screen. I got to my feet and started cleaning up, taking bowls and cans to the kitchen. When I came back Aella was standing, wrapped in a blanket and holding her duffel bag, arguing with Mikey about who was gonna sleep on the floor in his room. They did this every time she spent the night. Before I realized what I was doing, I cleared my throat, startling her. 'Aella can stay in my room this time. I was gonna watch another movie out here, and I'll probably just fall asleep. Besides, I've seen your room. I don't know why she ever chooses to stay in there. And you snore.' They both looked at me like I had grown a second head, and I quickly said 'Or not, totally up to you guys. Whatever.' Her eyes widened and she said 'No, that would actually be awesome. I have some reading to do for school tomorrow and I know someone,' looking pointedly at Mikey, 'won't be able to keep from distracting me.' Mikey threw his hands up. 'Hey it's cool with me. Just means I don't have to clean tonight. I'll see you guys in the morning then.' He yawned and headed to his room. Aella packed up her laptop and followed me down the hall to mine. Pushing aside the thick red blanket at the entrance, I waved her in. 'Make yourself at home. A plug is over there by the bed, there's an extra blanket and pillow in the closet, and there's a radio over there. I guess I'll see you in the morning, yeah?' She looked up at me and said, 'Yeah, thanks a lot. Goodnight Raphael.' 'Night.' I ducked out and leaned against the wall right outside, heart pounding. What the hell? What had possessed me to just offer up my room like that? I walked back into the common area and laid down on the couch, rubbing a hand over my eyes. I was suddenly not in the mood for another movie.