𝐭𝐦𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐱 𝐊𝐢𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Requested by @Max_The_FluffyDragon

Title: Goodnight

I'd always been alone for as long as I could remember. I was wandering down the street in the middle of the winter- which wasn't too bad considering it was New York- but it was still extremely cold; especially for a kid wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Anyways, I was getting to the quiet part of town where there were a lot of brick apartments, and as I looked up at them, I wondered what it was like to sleep in a comfortable bed instead of on a pile of old newspapers. I wondered what it was like to eat real food instead of leftovers I found behind restaurants in their garbage.

The only one that ever helped me was the blind man at the noodle shop, but he only gave me food; he wasn't well off enough to take in a kid. Although sometimes, he let me sleep in the restaurant too, which was nice.

I wondered if I was loved, would I have a brother? A sister? A dad? Or, even a m-

My thoughts were cut off by an exclamation of surprise from one of the windows in the building. I snapped my head up and saw a redhead girl looking at me with surprised blue eyes.

"Hey!" I heard her shout down at me. Immediately, I took off running, but smacked myself when I ran into the alleyway and was blocked off by another building. Hurriedly, I turned around but was stopped by a figure standing in the mouth of the alleyway. The girl was leaning down, arms out and legs apart, as if ready to tackle me if I tried to run.

What a psycho.

"What do you want?" I screamed, idiotically trying to climb the wall without turning my back to her. She stood up and held something out to me, holding her other arm behind her back. I hesitantly took a few steps towards her, grabbing the thing out of her hand and running back to the wall. "Why did you give me this?" I demanded, throwing the jacket around my shoulders. Immediately upon sliding it up my arms, I realized how warm it was. She must've just recently taken it off.

"Why are you hiding your arm?" I wondered, stuffing my freezing hands into the coat pockets. The girl seemed to remember and brought her hand out to reveal a sandwich wrapped in a paper-towel. I immediately smelled the turkey and tomato, mouth watering at the crispy-looking lettuce. "Is that for me?" I whispered, holding my arms out like a child wanting something they felt they needed; in my case, I did.

"Yes, but only if you come with me to my house," the girl said, pulling her arm away slightly. Alarms went off in my head, so I shook my head. The girl tilted hers and looked down at the sandwich, where my gaze still lingered, "I'll give you all the food you want."

"Deal." I facepalmed at how readily I agreed. The girl giggled and motioned for me to follow her as she turned and walked down the alleyway. I groaned and followed her. I was going to die.

++++++++++

Immediately upon stepping foot into the apartment and closing the door behind me, I noticed how cozy the small piece of the building was. The walls were painted a sad beige color, but the rest of the room looked as if April tried to incorporate as much color as possible into the painfully boring room. The fireplace ledge was covered with candles, all lit, and the recessed bookshelves on either side of the also-lit fireplace were covered with books, so full it looked like some of them were about to fall to the wooden floor. There was a dark blue sofa with white pillows in the middle of the room, a white couch beside the blue one, a red a yellow rug between the seats, and a wooden table half-on the rug. A simple blue bowl sat on the table. It was empty.

Overall, it was a warm and comfy apartment, but I still had my doubts about the girl as she brought me several more sandwiches on a plate, along with a tall glass of what looked like tea. She threw herself down on the white couch as I hovered above the blue one, holding the plate and drink in my tight grasp.

"You can sit down. I'm not going to kidnap you or anything. I just want to help you," the girl spoke as she gestured to the chair behind me. Sitting down, I looked at her as I began scarfing down the food. I was grateful to her for not watching me like a weirdo as I pigged out and finally stretched, a little more comfortable.

"What's your name?" she asked and I let out a little burp. Smiling sheepishly, I grinned and sat up a little as I reached for the tea.

"(Y/n) (L/n). You?"

"I'm April O'Neil," she held her arm out and I took it as we slowly shook hands. Dod, this girl had some long fingers.

"So, why are you helping me?" I finally asked again and she sighed as she looked out the window that showed other buildings and a sliver of the now-dark sky. I'd been here longer than I thought.

"Because I wanted to. I looked out the window and saw a little girl standing in the alley looking like she wanted to be inside the building, so I made her small wish come true. I know it sounds stereotypical, but I saw a little bit of myself when I looked at you."

"Yeah, that is a little stereotypical. Thank you anyways, but I should be off now. I don't want to overstay my welcome," I stood up and began taking off April's jacket, hoping to find a place to sleep quick. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, April was leaping off the couch and bounding over to a small door down a hallway I hadn't noticed before.

"Nonsense. You're going to spend the night. No buts about it; only yours on that couch," she threw me a few blankets and a fluffy pillow, already setting up a bed. I wasn't going to be stupid and say no, so I plopped down and allowed her to draw the blankets up to my chin. "You comfy?" she whispered, turning off the light. I nodded and closed my eyes, saying partings for the night as April tiptoed away.

++++++++++

I stared at the time, 1:07 in the morning, as I shivered on the couch. 

It wasn't necessarily cold in the room- the fireplace was still burning bright- but I was so lonely. Sleeping in a new place, no matter how nice, was making me nervous. I didn't know where April was, and I wanted to be with her.

Making a split-second decision, I stood up and dragged myself to April's room, opening the door and stepping inside. Softly closing the barrier, I glanced around and immediately noticed her form. There was a small light on in the corner, softly bathing the room with a cool glow that allowed me to easily make my way over to April's bed. Shimmying my way onto the frame, I laid down with my back to April and threw the blanket over myself. Just as I was about to go back to sleep, I felt a shift behind me as April rolled over and propped herself up on her arm.

"(Y/n)? Are you okay?" without turning around, I subconsciously snuggled closer to her and nodded. In response she petted my hair and laid back down. When I was sure she was asleep, I closed my eyes and smiled.

"Goodnight, mom," I whispered, slowly falling asleep. I didn't know it but April was still awake. At my voice, she smiled largely and snuggled closer to me, whispering a comforting sentence that would've made me cry tears of joy if I'd heard it.

"Goodnight, sweetie."