Reckless. [TMNT 2012]

5. Halloween; Casey

Song: This Is Halloween – Marilyn Manson

A spooky house looms before me, casting shadows of dread over those waiting to get inside.  The gothic exterior and crumbling foundation reveal the instability of the structure.  Broken glass litters the ground around it.  Untrimmed bushes stretch out of control as they ascend the brick walls.  A cracked, dirty sidewalk paves the way.  None of these features would be inviting on a regular day.  But on Halloween, opinions get distorted.

  A line of victims await entry into the haunted house.  Chatter of fear and possible spooks contaminate the air.  Their eagerness is contagious, infecting me in a matter of seconds.  I find myself spinning around to face my companion, a bounce in my step.

  "You ready to scare your pants off and cry for your daddy?" I ask April with smirk.

  Her thin eyebrows shoot up into her bangs with an expression of surprise.  With her blue eyes sparkling humorously, she returns my leer.  "Only after you," she replies effortlessly.

  I expect to feel a familiar tug of emotion at her flirtatious response, but instead I feel nothing.  My mind automatically flickers to Nyleve, reminding me once again of her mysterious attitude and cold demeanor.  She had been so ruthless, yet so welcoming.  She played me like a record.  Still, that only inspires me to chase after her.

  Suddenly, a familiar set of figures approach April and I.  The first four are humanized, green turtles with colorful masks.  They carry gleaming weapons in sheathes and expressions of undeniable strength in their gazes. They're accompanied by a final associate, a large viper with jade slits for eyes.  She doesn't have any blades, but her sharp teeth are dangerous enough.

  "Bro!" I greet Raphael with a chest bump.  "Good to see you," I add, relieved that he is in good spirits.

  "You too, man," Raphael responds with a smirk.  The flash in his eyes tells me that he still feels a bit awkward around me, but that will fade with time.  Soon, we'll be back to the best buds that we've always been.  I can't wait for that day.

  Raphael picks up the conversation before it can die out.  "Gotta say, Jones.  I'm impressed you had the guts to come out on a night like this.  I figured you'd be too chicken to be around all these scary costumes," he sneers.

  The teasing in his voice causes a dark, amused look to spread across my face.  "At least I can get away from anything that scares me.  You'd be as slow as a turtle," I fire back with just as much mockery.

Raphael punches me hard in the arm, but I know it's a sign of friendship.

  "Where's Lucy?" April asks after examining the arrivals.  Her blue eyes are scanning the group expectantly.

  "She doesn't like Halloween," Michelangelo pipes up in his pre-pubescent voice.  "We found that out the hard way!"

  "'Hard way'?" I echo in confusion.  Lucy is the purest, most innocent teenager I have ever met.  Her mind never goes sideways and harmful words never escape her mouth.  What could they have done to someone like that?

  "Raph scared her with a clown mask," Leonardo explains with a sharp glance at his short brother.

  Raphael's face flushes.  "It was an accident," he defends himself.

  Donatello snorts.  "It was an accident that you hide in a closet, waited for Lucy to walked by, and leaped out at her?" he asks sarcastically.

  Raphael shoots Donatello a sharp glare, but quickly returns to silently blushing.

  I have to force myself to stifle any jokes.  Raphael's admiration of Lucy was painfully obvious.  When he was around her, he was like a New Yorker on the countryside- lost and astonished.  His attempts to act cool may fool the others, but not me.  I know how it feels to fall head-over-heels for someone, and Raphael is a victim of every symptom.