Nicely insane

Chapter 8

He nodded, which surprised me a little, but also made me feel as if I was accomplishing something.

Third person p.o.v.

The days passed calmly. Nothing really happened, which was something to get used to. Was this what most people called... a normal life? Donny and Casey were in the shed most of the time, while Mikey sat in front of the television and Raph spent his time at Leo's side or outside training.

Life was easy... too easy. Aleck walked around almost lifelessly. He had no idea what to do with himself at this point and it had only been two months. He couldn't possibly spent his time like Mikey, or locked in the shed like Donney. And Raph still didn't trust him enough to let him train with him. He liked to spent time with April, but he couldn't keep bothering her just because he had no idea what to do with all this time on his hands. She liked to spent her time journaling or hanging out with the others, occassionaly spending time with Aleck as well. 

Thus whenever Raph wasn't in the bathroom, he snuck in so he could at least talk to someone about a few things, even if said person couldn't respond or probably even hear what he was talking about. But Aleck enjoyed... just talk about anything and everything without instantly being judged. He was still the son of Shredder after all, with an ugly mutation to the side of his face.

Aleck p.o.v.

I was sitting on the couch, reading a book I had found somewhere in the house, when we heard Raph's voice from upstairs. 'Guys! GUYS!' Mikey and Donnie ran upstairs. It would only mean one thing if his voice sounded so relieved and happy. I closed my book and put it aside as I looked at April and Casey who had stayed in the living room with me. 

It wasn't long before the four turtles came downstairs. It was a wholesome sight to see them reunited with their oldest brother. I gave the four of them space, which they clearly needed. Donnie was quick to check up on Leo's vitals to make sure he was alright, while the other caught him up on everything. The confusion on the turtle's face was clear. 'We've been here for three months? I was out for that long?' he asked, his voice still hoarse.
'We were worried sick about you. Raph barely slept', April answered, glancing over at Raphael who sat on the couch beside her, who quickly denied that claim. I couldn't keep down a smile at the scene. It was clear that all of them were close and I was the outsider. I couldn't blame them though. My father had done them a lot of harm. But that didn't stop me from at least trying to proof to them that I wasn't like him. 

'You are hurting our head, stop fucking thinking', I heard suddenly. The comment came from the mutation on my face, and had caught the attention of the others. My cheeks reddened in embarrassment. 'Shut up', I hissed quietly. Especially Leo was confused, this was the first time he had seen my face like this. 'Long story', Donnie assured him, so there would be no further comment made on it. I sighed deeply and nodded. 

Though, deep down, I wondered if Leo had heard it when I talked to him. It didn't seem like it, but I would never be sure. And why would he ever tell me? But if he had heard me, he now knew more about me than anyone else and a lot of Shredder's secrets on top of that. 
But now it also meant that I wouldn't be able to sneak away anymore to vent. I had to find another way to do so. Maybe I could follow April's example and start journaling as well. I could always buy a notebook in the local supermarket the next time we went or ask someone else to buy one for me.

April p.o.v.

Even though I was very concerned about Leo, I kept glancing over at Aleck, who seemed to be deep in thought again. There was something unfamiliar about his expression, but yet it was also at the tip of tongue at the same time. I had started to kind of trust him after the past few months, but not enough to fully let my guard down around him. Unlike Mikey who trusted everyone, even after everything we had gone through. Sometimes I wondered how it felt to be so carefree all the time. But then again the past couple of months had been exceptionally quiet.

I had sometimes listened in on the conversations he had had with Leo, even if they were only one-sided. It made me feel bad for him. Of course he was Shredder's son, but we never saw him until the time that Karai got mutated. We didn't even know he existed until then and even Splinter hadn't recognised him. I had seen the look of disbelief when he found out. 

As Donnie was giving Leo a suspicious looking medicin, I saw how Aleck stood up and went outside for a moment. It was dark outside already, so I wondered what he was planning to do. I eventually decided to sneak out as well to look for him, though my search wasn't long as he just sat on our usual bench. He was breathing calmly and had his eyes closed. It seemed like he just needed a breath of fresh air. 

It was chilly outside and I had goosebumps all over my arms, but I decided to sit down beside him. I had my arms wrapped around myself. His eyes opened as I sat down beside him. 'Are you alright? You left all of a sudden', I asked calmly. A soft smile played on his face and he nodded. 'Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I would give you all some space', he answered, looking back at the darkness in front of us. 'I've noticed that you've been lost in thoughts often lately, are you sure you're okay?'

Aleck let out a deep sigh and turned to look at me. 'I'm just not really used to everything yet. Everything is so... normal? And that's strange', he explained vaguely. I nodded, still understanding what he was talking about. Our lives had been normal for the past few months. 'And just thinking about everything happening at home, while we're here living like this... I don't know what to think about it. Does that make sense?' he asked. I nodded.

'It does. I feel the same way, though I try not to think about it as much. Do you... do you worry about anyone back in New York?' I asked. He nodded slowly, but seemed to be hesistating about his answer. 'You might not understand it, but I really miss Tiger Claw at the moment', he answered eventually, putting his trust in me to be open minded about the answer. Though I could feel my eyes widen in shock, I realised that I had to look at this from his point of view. He knew the tiger mutant in a different way than I did.

'Why is that?' I asked, feeling like I could get him to open up about himself and his experiences. We've talked before but it never went further then small talk. 'He was more of a father figure to me than anyone else. And I think I could really do with his advice right now', he answered.

'But... he threw you through a window... does that not make you angry?' I asked. He shook his head, yet before answering he took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. I had been shivering more than I realised. 'He apologised before throwing me inside. We have to keep everything a secret from my father. He can't know that Tiger Claw and I are close. Though, I don't agree with his extreme loyalty to my father, he's still always been there for me', he explained. I nodded, showing him that I was listening to his story. 

Judging by his tone of voice, I wondered if he felt relieved to open up about this to someone without being judged. I wrapped his jacket tighter around me as we talked... for a while actually. It felt nice to have a conversation like this, especially after everything that we had gone through.

But eventually, I yawned and Aleck insisted on taking me back inside so I could get some sleep. Though I resisted at first, he was very insistent and we walked back inside the house. I walked upstairs to my room, his jacket still around my shoulders. It was warm and smelled particularly nice. I put my arms through the sleeves and decided to go to sleep like that. 

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Hello! I added a little drawing of Aleck in this chapter. I know some people like to picture characters more via their own imagination, but I still thought it could be a nice adding. :)