Wild Uncharted Waters.

Chapter 3: Stay Away.

"Oh..uh..hey, April!" Leo hesitated, seeing April's disappointed look on her face. "Leo! Where did you go?" She became suspicious of him, and so he had no choice but to come up with a good lie, even if he knew he sucked at lying. "Okay uh...well, you see..."
"Alright Leo. Snap out of it! You tried to stray away from the ocean again, didn't you?"

Leo sighed, filled to the brim with regret. "Yeah, but please. Don't tell dad about this, I.. I just don't want him to worry too much about me. I'll be fine." Mayhem hid behind him, afraid of being scolded too, putting him even in more exposure. "Well, we'll have to see about that. But, please Leo. You gotta stop sneaking out like this! You even missed your cue during the performance today! Where were you anyway? Is it about being on land again?"

"Land?- Pssh, Land? I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Oh come on, Leo! I know what you're trying to do, and it's not working." April grabbed his arm, taking him back to the palace. "We've already agreed about this. People on land are foul creatures. Remember when one of them struck your shoulder with one of their harpoons?"

"It's fine now! Plus, you can't assume they're all bad just because only one struck me down! Chill out." April dragged him farther, "Well, if I were you, I'd still stay away from them. Especially with..you know. That situation."

"To tell you the truth, April, that's really how I became fascinated with them." Leo tried to smile, holding onto Mayhem. "But still, Leo it's for your own sake! You keep wandering off, missing practice, putting yourself in danger! Also, what's in that bag?"

"Stuff...stuff that you don't have to know about."
"Let me guess, you've been collecting land stuff. Again." Leo rolled eyes and scoffed, "Yeah yeah, whatever."
"Wait till your father hears about this."
"No! Please- April I know you can keep a secret, right?"
April felt hesitant, "Fine, I guess. Now this will be the last time you'll wander off like this again. From now on, please stay put. I don't want you getting hurt!"

"It's okay, April. I'll be fine. As long as I make it there and back safely." Leo began to swim ahead, leaving April in the dust.
As he arrived at the palace, he opened the door to his brothers looking disappointed. "Leo! Were you off looking for stuff again?" Donnie asked, tapping him on the shoulder. "Finally, you're back! You missed the performance!" Said Mikey, following up what Donnie said. "Leo... are you hurt?! Don't tell me you were off again." Raph grabbed his face. "Yeah yeah, guys. Don't worry about me."

"Let me guess, you were near the shipwrecks again, dear brother. In that case, did you bring some more parts for my inventions?" Donnie tried to get his attention, him probably being the least cautious of all the brothers. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Might have to find out yourself, Don." Leo laughed. "But dude! Today was your cue!" Mikey reminded him, Leo's smile slowly fading. He shook his head, "Alright, alright I know." Leo then headed towards his room, leaving the rest of them confused. "That was..." "Random." Donnie said to Mikey. "There's definitely something up with him. He better not be hooking up with other seafolk." Raph trembled, as he dropped his box filled with things from backstage.

"What makes you think he would do that? There are not enough data points to prove your theory."
"It's fine, Donnie. He's getting overprotective again." Mikey patted his shoulder, as Raph began to panic even more.

"I just want to ensure our brother is safe. That's all!"
Raph gulped. "He's fine!" Donnie responded as they got back to what they were doing.

"Imagine he hooked up with someone on land though, just a hunch." Mikey wondered, further enhancing Raph's chasm. "Stop making me worry, Mikey! I'm almost at my breaking point here!"

"We'll see about that." Said Donnie. "You'll never know."