Falling in Love Isn't as Easy as You'd Think

CHAPTER TWO: Sharing not-so-Secret Secrets

You're so entitled, Leo." Leo falls into a dark room, hastily looking around. Donnie's voice echoes behind him.
"What makes you think you're better than everyone else?" Leo turns around to see Donnie, his arms crossed. Leo tries to speak, but no words come out. I don't! I don't think I'm better than everyone else! Leo trips over his feet, falling to the ground. Donnie towers over him.
"You're useless, Leo. You were always useless." Donnie thumps his bo staff on the floor, mere centimeters away from impaling Leo's core.
"All you think about is yourself, Leo. You don't care about anyone else." Leo tries to yell for help, but he still can't seem to speak.
"Nobody would cry if you killed yourself, Leo." Leo tries to get away, but he feels paralyzed, unable to move. That's not true! That's not true! Leo screams silently. He sees Usagi crouch down next to him, looking at him with anger and disgust in his eyes.
Usagi lifts Leo's chin up, pulling him closer. "Nobody loves you, Leo." Tears start falling from his eyes. You're wrong! You're all wrong!
"Not even me. I never loved you, Leo." Usagi tilts his head slightly. "You're disgusting for thinking I feel that way for you." Leo starts sobbing, giving up on trying to contradict them. What if he's right? What if both of them are right? What if-

October 16, 5:52 PM

Leo's eyes burst open, his chest heaving as he starts to hyperventilate. The familiar pain in his shell starts again, and his vision goes blurry when thoughts of Donnie and Usagi flood his mind.

"You're useless, Leo. You were always useless."

"You're useless, Leo. You were always useless."

"You're useless, Leo."

"You're useless."

"You're useless."

"You're useless."

"You're use-"

"NO!" Leo screams. "I'm not useless! I'm not useless!" He repeats, rocking back and forth with his knees tucked in. He claws at his neck and the back of his head, waiting for his shell pain and headache to stop. He tries to use breathing techniques that Usagi gave him to calm himself down, but they never work. So he gives up. After a few minutes of sobbing and hyperventilating, he hears soft footsteps grow louder.

"Leo?"

Leo's head shoots up. It's Usagi. Leo stares at him with bloodshot eyes, his face soaked with tears. His breathing settles at the sight of him. "S-Sagi.." Leo chokes out. He turns away, embarrassed. "Sorry."
"Leo! Leo, what's wrong?" Usagi approaches him. "Can I touch you? Is that alright?" Leo nods slightly, so Usagi rubs his shell for a bit before hugging him. "Leo, it's alright. I'm here." He saw one of Leo's brothers, Raph, walk near his room and give him a look of concern, but Usagi smiles reassuringly. He's got this. "You can talk to me." He tilts Leo's head so their eyes lock. Leo wipes the tears from his face with his wrists and motions Usagi to sit on his bed.
"I just-" Leo stutters. "I had th-this really b-bad dream. I-I know it's stupid, but-"
"No!" Usagi interrupts him. "No, it's not stupid, Leo. You're my closest friend. Tell me what happened." He places his hand on top of Leo's, their faces flushing a little. "Please?" Leo swallows and nods.
"Well," Leo takes a deep breath. "I've been having this- this nightmare for a r-really long time now, and you and- and my brothers- they- they just-" Leo chokes up again.
"Take your time, Leo. I'm listening." Usagi tells him. Leo can't help but smile at his words. He takes another deep breath and continues.
"Last night, it was different from all those other times I had that nightmare. It was like I was- I was stuck to the ground and I couldn't scream or talk or anything," He pauses. "And- and you guys were- were-" He starts to cry harder.
"It's okay, Leo. I'm here." Usagi hugs Leo for a good minute before Leo pulls away and starts talking again. "You told me that- that nobody loved me, and- and that I- I was- I was useless," He takes another deep breath and calms down a bit. "I- I know it's all in my- my head but, I don't know, it just- just hit really, really hard." He hears a sniffle coming from Usagi and looks up at him. "Dude, are you- are you crying?" Leo asks him, cracking a smile. Usagi sniffles again.
"What?! No, it- it's just raining!" He vigorously rubs his eyes dry. Leo laughs, but stops as soon as Usagi looks at him with worried eyes. "Leo."
"Yeah?" Leo responds, bewildered at the sudden change in tone.
"Please- please, believe me when I say this," Usagi grips both of Leo's hands tightly. "You. Are not. Useless." Leo nods. "Your brothers? I know them, and I know that they would never, never think that you're useless. I don't either! You're the most brave, strong, and funny person I've ever met," Usagi looks up at Leo. "And- and more people love you than you think."
"Thanks, Sagi." Leo hugs him, digging his head into his shoulder.
Usagi tries to lift Leo up, but after a couple tries he realizes Leo fell asleep in his arms. He bites back a laugh, but remembers that Leo's probably going through the wringer right about now, so he just holds him for a few more minutes. A few more minutes turned into a lot more minutes, and Usagi was drifting off when he hears his loud ringtone against the calm quiet of Leo's room. He gasps, quickly outstretching his arm to grab his phone, but it was just out of reach. He finally fumbles it into his hands, and looks at the screen. It was his auntie. He winces, pressing the call button and holding the phone to his ear.
"Where are you, Yuichi?! You said you'd only be gone for an hour! Are you dead? Are you hungry?" Usagi listens to her rambling and sighs in relief to see Leo still conked out.
"I'm fine, Auntie, just at Leo's." He looks at Leo again. "But I'll probably be gone for a while, cause, uhh, it's a long story! I'll tell you about it when I get back, bye!" He presses the end call button and yawns, cherishing this moment between the two of them. It's like they were pulled straight out of a movie. Or a badly written fanfiction. Same-same.
After a bit of scrolling on his phone, Usagi realizes he's parched. He hadn't had anything to drink all day, so some water would really hit the spot right now. He picks up Leo and sets him down on his bed, draping a blanket over him. He walks out of his room, walking to their cabinets to find a sizable glass when he sees Raph looking up from a book at him
"Usagi! Is- is Leo doin' alright? He seemed pretty, uh-" Raph rubs the back of his neck.
"He's fine, I promise. I took care of it." Usagi smiles proudly to himself.
"I'm glad you can take care of him, Usagi. You'll make a good partner."
Usagi raises an eyebrow. "Are you... implying something?" His face warms up a bit.
"No, no, I would never." He grins smugly, opening the book again and flipping through the pages.
Usagi stirs uncomfortably, fidgeting with his hands when Raph notices.
"Got anything to say, big man?"
"I-I-" Usagi breaks. "I think I might have a crush on Leo!" It takes a few seconds to let it sink in when Usagi interrupts it by blurting, "And- and don't call me that!" Usagi runs back to Leo's room when Raph smiles.
"Casey owes me 20 bucks now."