A Secret Crush

Chapter 3

Donnie's P.O.V:

We were driving in silence back to the lair, so I decided to break the silence. "So, you thinking about telling me what happened?" I asked.

"No, not thinking about that," responded Mikey.

Mikey looked like he was day dreaming about something. Or maybe... someone.

"Well, I'm gonna find out anyway, so you might as well tell me now. Think of this as practice for telling everyone else in the family," I reminded.

Mikey groaned. "Fine. I was skating the rooftops because I was trying to clear my mind like Master Splinter always says. That's when I saw Kraang being all weird and sneaky, so I followed them into a warehouse. They were working on a mini portal and were about to activate it until I jumped in and stopped them. But they were able to beat me. If Slash and Leatherhead hadn't come, I don't know what they would've done to me." 

A few things had caught my attention. "Wait, you mean to tell me you went into a warehouse full of Kraang? Alone!?" 

"Um, I sent a distress call like you always told me to incase of emergencies. I wasn't going to fight them, but like I said, they were about to activate the mini portal and you guys wouldn't have made it in time," Mikey paused, "Wait a second, didn't you guys get my distress call? Why would I need to explain anything if the distress call was sent?"

I gulped. "Uh, well, I um, I don't know..."

"What do you mean you don't know?" snapped Mikey.

"Look, maybe something was off with your phone and the distress call never went through," I said.

I looked behind me to see Mikey had his arms crossed and looked unconvinced, but he nodded and shook it off. I turned to face the road. Truth be told, I did get the distress call. I don't think Leo and Raph got it though, since they didn't tell me. Their phones were probably off when the call went out.  But when I got the distress call, I didn't think it was too big of an emergency, so I sent the signal to Leatherhead and Slash so that they could check on him. And I wanted to send Leatherhead in hopes he and Mikey could get closer. I honestly find the two so cute together, so I'm doing whatever I can to help LH.

"Another thing is concerning me. Why is it called the 'mini portal?' Your names are way better than that," I said.

"I didn't name it. The Kraang did," Mikey answered. 

We were approaching the alley way with the secret floor passage. I pressed a button and the floor opened up. I drove into it and pressed the button again, closing the passage behind us. "Are you okay though?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mikey replied.

I smirked. I had an idea. "You know, you're lucky Slash and Leatherhead were there to save you."

"I know. I'm really grateful for them," said Mikey.

"Tell me, who was the better fighter?" I asked.

"Leatherhead."

'Yes!' I thought, 'He's taking the bait.'

I cleared my thought. "So, what DO you think of Leatherhead?"

I turned my head slightly so I could see the train tracks and Mikey at the same time. "Oh, um, well, he's a good guy, erm, alligator," said Mikey will uncertainty in his voice, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, you know. LH is awesome. I'm glad we have him as an ally. But do you ever think of him more than an ally?" I asked.

Mikey turned his head so I couldn't see his reaction. "Yeah. He's like a best friend."

There was a moment of silence. "Hey, we're almost home. Let's just stop talking about this. I have enough to explain to everyone else," said Mikey.

"Okay," I said.

But I was basically screaming internally. 'Dang, mission fail. Unknown if Mikey has the same feelings as LH. I'll get an answer next time.'

And with that, we parked in front of the lair. We both got out to meet a chilled Raph, an annoyed Leo, and a worried Splinter waiting at the entrance.

"Where have you been?" asked Splinter.

"Do you know what time it is?" asked Leo.

"Seriously Mikey? You couldn't include me in the rule breaking?" asked Raph.

We all looked at Raph. Raph only smirked in response. "Let's go inside, I wanna sit down," said Mikey.

I groaned. "Agreed."

We all went into the main lair and sat down on the couches. The TV was on playing the news. The news channel was talking about an explosion that happened in an abandoned warehouse. "Master Splinter, I was fighting Kraang in that warehouse right there," said Mikey pointing at the TV. 

"Leo, it's like midnight right now. We normally stay out for longer," said Mikey, "and Raph, sorry bro, if I knew, I would've called you in so that we could break rules together."

"Aw, thanks baby bro," joked Raph.

"Okay okay, stop. This only raises more questions. You were fighting the Kraang?" asked Leo.

-----------------

And after a long talk, everything Mikey told me, he told the rest of the family. "So does that mean I'm off the hook?" Mikey asked. 

We all looked at Master Splinter. "If you ask me, I say he should be punished a little bit," said Leo.

My eyes widened. "Leo?! What the heck!" exclaimed Mikey.

Leo didn't face us but instead faced Master Splinter. "He shouldn't have been out to begin with. He could've gotten hurt and he needs to understand that. Even if it mean punishing him," reasoned Leo.

"What the... Leo, did you not hear a word I said? I STOPPED the KRAANG from ACTIVATING a DANGEROUS-looking machine by MYSELF!" yelled Mikey with emphasis. Then he muttered, "With help from Leatherhead and Slash but that's not the point."

Leo didn't respond. Splinter was just stroking his beard. "Hmm, Michelangelo, you weren't supposed to be out at the time. No exceptions. Even if you weren't there, the Mighty Mutanimals obviously would've found it regardless of you being there. So really, there was no point."

'Oh crap,' I thought, 'that's not true. If Mikey hadn't been there, then he would've never sent the distress call; I wouldn't have received it; I wouldn't have sent the call the Slash; they wouldn't have found that warehouse at all! But I can't say anything. How would that look? I ignored a distress call even though I'm the one who created it and said always use it? I'm sorry Mikey, you're just gonna have to take one for the B team.'

Mikey clenched his fists. "So therefore, you will be grounded and can't leave the lair for a week. Unless it's for missions."

"What?! B-but I can't stay down here. I'll die of boredom!" cried Mikey.

"Michelangelo, I can assure you, you'll be fine," said Splinter.

And with that, Splinter walked off to his dojo. We all looked at Leo.

"Leo, what the shell was that?" asked Raph.

"It doesn't concern you Raphael," said Leo as he crossed his arms.

"You're right, it doesn't. But I want to know anyway," retorted Raph.

Leo stayed silent again. "You know what? Let's go guys," said Mikey, "let him give off the silent treatment."

And with that, we all left Leo and headed inside the lair. I saw Mikey enter his room, Raph enter the kitchen, and I entered my lab.

End of Chapter 3