The Call (a TMNT fanfiction)

Chapter 15: Dates & Disappointment

I have changed my outfit three times, and I still don't think that I look casual enough. I definitely don't want Mikey to get any funny ideas about this date. I change my pants and then decide I am definitely in an outfit that screams, "This is a friend date!" I settle on some black sweatpants and a white long sleeve with the dirtiest tennis shoes that I have. No jewelry, no perfume, nothing. I love Mikey, but I don't want to give him anything to overanalyze. 

"Lexi, Mikey's here!" Mom calls. 

I grab my keys, phone, and wallet and meet Mikey in the living room. He stands there in his trench coat and hat, grinning at me.

I laugh. "I take it since you bothered to put on clothes, we're actually going inside?"

"For sure, dudette." He sniffs the air and motions to his nose dramatically. "I'd like to smell the glory before I eat it."

I laugh. "That's called torture." I say goodbye to my family and we make our way out of the apartment.

The sky is pale and there are piles of snow scattered around. The moment we step foot outside, I remember what real cold is. I'm completely under-dressed and realize I should've worn a heavier coat. 

"I'm freezing!" I exclaim, grabbing Mikey by the arm tightly. "RUN!" Together, we sprint through the apartment parking lot.

"Where are we running to?" Mikey shouts, as we cut through trees and bushes to get to the car as soon as possible.

"Shelter!" I cry, shivering violently and scanning the parking lot for the car. Mikey locates it before I do, and grabs my arm, dragging me towards it. As soon as I've opened the doors, we don't take a moment to hesitate before jumping in. We sit there for a few minutes catching our breaths, with the engine running.

Mikey begins to laugh. At first, I look at him like he's crazy. Then I realize how crazy we must've looked: the two of us linking arms and sprinting across a parking lot in broad-daylight.

I burst into laughter and soon enough we aren't just out of breath from running; we're also out of breath from laughing. 

Once I get the car moving, we both have tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. When it goes silent, that only lasts for a few moments before we start up again. I haven't laughed this hard in years.

"You tripped so many times," Mikey cries, smacking his knee. 

I stifle a laugh. "Stop it, I'm trying to drive." But the laugh doesn't stay back for long and soon enough, we're laughing almost as hard as we were when we first got in the car.

After our laughter dies down, we can actually heard what's being played on the radio. It's Katy Perry's song "Roar."

"Donnie's obsessed with this song," Mikey says, grinning. 

"What?" I ask, holding back another chuckle. "Donnie?"

Mikey smiles matter-of-factly. "Yup. He'd probably kill me if he knew I told you."

I smile. "It'll be our little secret."

"You wanna know something else?"

"Sure."

"Donnie kind of has a crush on Rose."

My mouth drops open, and I can't help but look over at Mikey to see if he's joking.  He's got a smile on his face, but he's clearly telling the truth.