Love Never Lost

New Friend, Old Enemy: Part 3

Brooke's POV:

The next day, now that the sun's gone down, the five of us are standing on a rooftop overlooking where we stood the night before. Donnie, Leo, & I are at the edge, while Mikey & Raph are at the center of the roof. Ever since his meeting with Chris Bradford, Mikey can't stop talking about the guy and everything that happened that night.

Leo: "They must have been watching us here. The perfect place to stage an ambush."

Donnie: "It wasn't very fair, was it?"

Leo puts quite a lot of emphasis in his next words as he glances to Donnie before turning back to face the alley.

Leo: "It's not about fairness. It's about victory."

Donnie puts up his hands in defense.

Donnie: "Ok, I'm sorry."

I put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

Me: "Don't mind him, D. Master Splinter was very emphatic about Leo's understanding of his most recent lesson. That being what he just said."

Donnie nods in understanding as we both turn to face Raph & Mikey, annoyance evident on Raph's face at the outspokenness of our little brother.

Mikey: "And then, and then Chris Bradford put on his hakama. Man, that guy can rock a hakama."

Raph: "Yeah, maybe he'll wear it again when he takes you to the prom."

I laugh as I send Raph a playful smirk, while giving the both of them a half-hearted scolding.

Me: "Boys, play nice."

Raph turns to me with a sly smirk before he & I turn our attention back to Mikey as he continues with his fanatic recollection of the night before.

Mikey: "And then after that, he..."

Before he can finish, Raph rolls his eyes, his smirk replaced with a frown.

Raph: "Oh, enough! You've been going on about this for 3 hours."

Mikey: "Ooh, someone sounds jealous. You just can't admit that you were the 'R' word. Wrong."

Donnie & Leo sigh, Raph scoffs,  while I hiss through my teeth, sympathetic towards Mikey's weakened defense against Raph's comment.

Raph: "I'm not wrong."

Mikey: "Oh, yeah? If you don't wanna talk about my friend..."

He leaps towards Donnie & Leo as he puts his arms around their shoulders.

Mikey: "I've got 3 other siblings who do."

The two brothers take Mikey's hand off each of their shoulders in disagreement.

Leo: "Actually, I'd rather talk about anything else."

Donnie raises his index finger in the air to make a point.

Donnie: "Like the concept of the silent 'W', perhaps?"

Mikey looks to me with a hopeful look.

Mikey: "Queen B?"

I feel a pang in my heart. I hate to disappoint my brothers, Mikey especially. The fact that he's using his special nickname for me makes it that much harder for me to disagree with him. I guess Raph noticed this, because he walks to me as he puts an arm around my shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze in reassurance. I give him a quick smile before turning to Mikey with an apologetic look.

Me: "Sorry, Mikey, but I'm with them. Every conversation has its limits, no matter the subject. Maybe some other time?"

Mikey gives a slight smile as he nods, putting my thoughts at ease. He then turns to walk away.

Mikey: "I get it. Thanks, sis. As for the rest of you, I'll just go talk to a guy who likes to talk about Chris Bradford more than anyone else. Chris Bradford."

{Time skip}

Raph & I are side-by-side as we lean against the tree in the middle of the dojo. Meanwhile, Leo & Donnie are stood on the other side of the dojo with looks of amazement as Mikey stands before them with a physical and verbal demonstration of 'The Death Dragon'. I smile at their excitement, while Raph keeps a straight face throughout everything. I turn to him with a nudge, and a pleading smile. He turns to me with a smile as he gets the idea. I want him to be more supportive of his little brother's new adventure. He then turns his gaze back to the others, the smile never leaving his face.

Mikey: "And then he kicks, twists, and sweeps the leg. Ha! The Death Dragon."

Leo: "That was amazing."

Me: "Nice moves, Mikey."

Donnie: "Yeah, it's devastatingly effective and complex."

Raph leans his head against my shoulder, looking up at me with a pleading smile. I roll my eyes with a smirk, knowing what he's up to. There's a sarcastic comment he needs to get out of his system. I nod in confirmation.

Me: "Fine, get it off your chest."

He nods his head before giving me a quick kiss in gratitude, causing my smile to grow wide. He then turns to the others with a sly smirk.

Raph: "And yet even Mikey could learn it."

Mikey: "Thank you. Hey!"

Suddenly, the laptop dings from across the room. Mikey rushes to it in excitement, hoping that it's a message from his new friend, which it is.

Mikey: "It's Rad Brad!"

He turns to us with a cocky grin.

Mikey: "That's my little name for him. Like how 'Queen B' is my little name for you, Brookster."

I giggle at the new nickname as I walk over to him with a ruffle of his non-existent hair.

Me: "And I'm sure he's as honored to have one of your infamous nicknames as I am, little brother."

He smiles brightly at me before turning back to the computer screen.

Mikey: "He wants to get together for a little B-ball. Can't wait to find out what the 'B' stands for."

He turns to the computer screen once again, types in a reply, and speeds off to meet up with Bradford.

Leo: "You're going now?"

Mikey: "Sorry, dudes, human friend stuff. You know how it is. Oh, wait. No, you don't."

The others turn to me, expecting me to be upset at his remark. I shrug my shoulders as I turn back to the dojo's entrance with a smile.

Me: "He's excited & happy. What's so bad about that?"

Raph smiles as he walks to me, his arms wrapped around my form as he nuzzles his head into my shoulder.

Raph: "You're a good sister."

Donnie & Leo: "Agreed."

I turn to the three of them with a smile.

Me: "Thanks, guys. Now, who wants to see if they have what it takes to master 'The Death Dragon'?"

They all give me mischievous grins as Raph walks to spar with Leo, and I go to spar with Donnie.

TO BE CONTINUED