Revelations of the Heart

Corsages and Confusion.

Aella Jones, 16 years old.
New York, New York 2017
The next two weeks passed quickly. Raphael kept up his end of the deal, giving me more leniency, though I suspected that the conversation I had overheard with Splinter was distracting him anyway. I still didn't know what it was about, and I didn't mention it to the others, but he had been moodier than usual. The nightmares had gotten more frequent, almost every night now, and I had begun to have migraines pretty regularly. Even with my freedom, I usually went to school and straight to the lair after, which Nicole wasn't thrilled about. She was always talking about Homecoming lately. We had decided to go with each other as dates, and I had already found my dress by accident when April and I were shopping for her wedding dress. Nicole, however, was indecisive and a procrastinator. Every day she showed me pictures of a new dress and talked about some boy that had the audacity to ask her to the dance. It turns out she was a lesbian, the boy she went to the movies with two weeks ago was her cousin's friend, and he was fishing for info on Shayla the whole night. All of this didn't stop boys from hoping they had a shot with her. She was gorgeous, and totally badass, and I envied her. Guys didn't line up to ask me out, and the one that did had been scared witless by Raphael. I didn't really want, much less need, a boyfriend, with everything I had going on, but the principle was still there. I was still just a teenage girl, and I wanted to feel pretty sometimes, to feel wanted. But it didn't matter. Being wanted didn't have a place in my plan for the future anyway. I didn't need somebody that close to me, that I needed to worry about before myself. Casey and April came home right on schedule at the end of the month, tired and tanned and full of stories about ridiculous Hawaiian tourists. I hadn't realized how much I missed Casey until he was back. I clung to him that first day like I was a little kid again, and he allowed it. They treated the boys and Splinter to Murakami's after dark as a thank you for taking care of me, and then the three of us went to the loft for the night, and the boys went home. Things got back to semi normal in all of our lives. We finally started getting the odd letter from Leo, saying that he was fine, and getting in tune with himself and nature, and helping the locals however he could. The boys continued training, though since the Shredder's disappearance the city had been quiet. They started patrolling less, occasionally interrupting the odd Purple Dragon during a mugging, and I could tell they were getting restless. April and Casey threw themselves into their marriage and their respective jobs. With the alien invasion three years ago under their belts, Casey was on the fast track to making Detective and April started getting out of petty news and into bigger things. And I had my babysitting and training with Splinter, on top of preparing for the SATs, which Donnie was more than happy to help with. Mikey wasn't thrilled that I had less time to spend with him but he took it like a champ, wielding snacks and making me take breaks. And before I knew it it was Homecoming night. April curled my hair and pinned it back in a bump, before spraying half a can of Rave on my head. I did my own light makeup, just mascara and lipgloss, and then it was time for the dress. I had picked it to match the colored streaks in my hair, so it was a beautiful emerald color, knee length with thin shoulder straps and a lace-up back. I slipped it on and let April tie the bottom, before running back upstairs to get my shoes, a pair of dark green heels with an ankle strap. When I turned to get my clutch and wrap from the bed, I saw a clear box and a note. It was a beautiful corsage that matched my dress, and the note sinply said 'I hope you have fun tonight. You deserve it.' I smiled. Casey must have left it before he went to work. I would thank him later. When I got back downstairs, very carefully, Mikey was waiting with April. He smiled bigger than I had ever seen and said, 'Wee woo! Somebody call the po po cause it has GOT to be illegal to look this good.' I laughed and handed April the corsage to put on my wrist. 'Who gave you this? I thought you didn't have a date.' 'It was just on my bed. I bet Casey bought it to surprise me. There was a note.' A strange look passed over her face, but it was gone before I could question her. She laughed, 'Yeah, I'm sure. Are you excited?' I took a deep breath and said, 'Yeah. Totally. Nicole should be here any minute, so I'm gonna go wait outside.' She kissed my cheek. 'Ok. Have fun. Be careful. Oh and 10 pm, no later. Casey wanted me to remind you.' I rolled my eyes. 'Yes ma'am. Bye Mikey.' 'See ya Angelcakes. The bros are waiting on me so I gotta go, but I hope you have fun. Take lots of pictures, maybe of that hottie Nicole?' Laughing I said, 'I make no promises Mikey.' I walked out just in time for Nicole to pull up in her dad's old Datsun. When I got in she said 'Nice corsage. Where'd you get it?' I smiled. 'Pretty sure it was Casey. He had to go to work so he probably felt bad.' She was beautiful, with her blonde hair curled into waves and natural makeup. Her dress was sequined navy blue, knee length and fitted, with one thick shoulder strap. It matched her personality perfectly. I suddenly felt a shiver run down my spine, like we were being watched. 'Let's get this party on the road shall we?', I said quickly, and we headed to the school. The night passed quickly, with Nicole and I sticking close for most of the dance. A couple of guys that went stag cut in, but we didn't entertain them for long, instead coming back together. When we were tired of dancing and socializing we left, intent on getting some greasy food and riding out the clock until 10 in front of the loft, since she didn't have a curfew. When we pulled up, however, Casey's car was in front of the apartment, a Jeep he had bought after the aliens totaled the SRT. I excused myself, telling Nic that Casey wouldn't be home yet unless it was important, and ran up the steps with my heels in my hand. Inside, on the floor beside the door, one big duffel bag sat packed. I dropped my heels beside it and started taking the pins out of my hair. 'Casey! April? What's with the bag?' 'They're going on a short trip.' I twisted around seeing Raphael leaning on the window by the fire escape. 'Shit Raph, you scared me. What are you doing here? Where's the others?' Casey came out of his and April's "bedroom" which was really just a partition that separated their space from the common area. 'Raph was just the first one to pick up when we called. He's gonna take you to the lair after you get changed. April and I have to go to Jersey for a day.' April came out of the bedroom then with another small bag. 'You might want to sit down before he tells you why. I didn't.' She said, rubbing a spot on the back of her head. I did as she said. 'Casey, what's going on?' He blew out a breath before sitting beside me. 'So you remember Gabrielle?' I nodded, getting more confused. 'So she had a kid, two days ago, and named me as the father on the birth certificate. She died last night in the hospital from complications during the birth and her parents spent all day today tracking me down since she never told them about me apparently.' I was speechless. April saw the look on my face and patted me on the shoulder. 'I was just as confused, but I've had two hours to get used to it. We didn't want to ruin your night so we waited until you got home. We're just going to straighten things out, since obviously this baby isn't your brother's. We'll be back late tomorrow and you're gonna stay with the boys tonight.' Casey kissed me on the head. 'Be good, ok? We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks again Raph. Take care of her.' He picked up the bags and they left. As soon as the door closed Raph said, 'Get changed and pack a bag. I'll be waiting outside,' and climbed back out the window. He was still moody even after Leo started writing, and he had been taking it out on everyone. I'm not even sure he knew he was doing it, but his tone hurt sometimes so I avoided him as much as I could when I hung out in the lair. I quickly changed into pjs and packed a bag with my outfit for the next day and hygiene products, and then I locked up and went out the front door. I waited in the alley for a couple of minutes before Raph came down and opened the manhole. I went down first and he followed. I got a sudden sense of Deja Vu from the night I had disobeyed him. I shook off the feeling and sped up to get behind him. We entered the lair and Mikey jumped off the couch. 'Hey Ells, you can take the bed tonight. I changed the sheets and everything.' I opened my mouth to reply but Raph beat me to it. 'She's staying in my room. You guys stay up at all hours being loud and I want my sleep tonight.' Then he walked off down the hall. 'Dude, what's his damage?' Mikey asked. 'I have no idea, but I'm gonna head to bed, since I've got school in the morning.' He sat back on the couch, throwing a 'goodnight' over his shoulder. I went into Raph's room and dropped my bag on the bed. Down the hall I heard Post Malone playing in Leo's room. Oh, but me and Mikey were loud. Rolling my eyes I pulled back the covers and got into bed, holding a pillow over my ears.

Raphael, same night.
I watched her again that night, both in the car before the dance and after, when she came home. I was so relieved to find out she was going to the dance with that friend of hers and not some boy, but when she came out to get in the car I wanted to strangle Casey for letting her go in the first place, and April for helping her pick out that dress. She looked amazing, and so excited that she practically glowed. And she was wearing the corsage that I bought for her. She wouldn't know it was me, but it was good enough for me that she liked it. All of that was enough to drive me crazy, but when she walked in, barefoot, with her makeup smudged from sweat and shaking her hair out, I wanted to kiss her. The feeling was so strong it scared me, and I put a wall up. I couldn't forget who she was, or what was best for both of us. She was amazing, and she had a plan for her life that couldn't involve me. I needed to get over whatever those feelings were and move on, no matter how much it hurt.