Together As Mutants (Book Six)

Chapter 7: December 12th

The air is cold tonight. Annalise heads to the skatepark, t-phone clutched in her gloved hand. Leading up to her big day, she was ecstatic that her birthday landed on a Saturday this year, but this whole day, she's been feeling a little blue.

She still doesn't have any friends at school other than Taylor, April, and Casey. There are a few classmates who she likes talking to, sure, but none of them are close enough to her to warrant inviting them over for a party.

She's tried to make friends, but it's hard. It's hard to hide the fact that her boyfriend is a mutant, that she's been inside the Internet, that she has lingering trauma from someone she thought was an imaginary friend. Casey, April, and Taylor understand her. The turtles understand her. Destiny and Sarina understand her.

And yet, even with all of those friends, she didn't plan a party, and she heard nothing from everyone else. Even her mom didn't plan anything aside from a special lunch and giving her a few gifts.

But, now, there's a text from Michelangelo telling her to meet him at the skatepark. It's making her jumpy with excitement.

"Boo!"

Annalise yelps and nearly slips on the icy pavement, but Michelangelo catches her. She sucks in deep breaths, heart pounding, then slowly looks up at him. He's hanging upside down from his kusarigama chain, which in turn is wrapped around a streetlamp.

"I...I thought I was meeting you at the park," she says.

He grins and leans forward, pecking her forehead. "I know, but I missed you! And I'm too excited to wait!"

She starts to smile. "Did you plan something?"

He winks. "You'll have to wait and see. Now..." He flips down and bows low, hand extended. "If you please, I will escort you, my empress, to your carriage."

"Oh, well thank you, dear emperor!"

The carriage is the go kart he got for his birthday. He drives down the street with her at his side, all smiles despite the cold wind whipping at their faces. When he pulls into the skatepark parking lot, Annalise's eyes widen a little at the sight of her mom standing with the rest of her friends.

"The birthday girl has arrived!" Michelangelo says as he sweeps his helmet off and swings it towards the sky.

Annalise grins as everyone cheers.

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"I'm so sorry for tricking you, Annalise," Leanne says as she pulls away from hugging her daughter. "Michael really wanted to surprise you."

Annalise giggles. No matter how many times she tells her mom to call Michelangelo "Mikey", she always slips back to calling him Michael. "It's okay, mom. I'm just...shocked. I didn't expect to see you here."

"I promise I won't stick around, uh...cramping your style or whatever it is you kids call it." She smiles, sheepish. "I just wanted to be here for the surprise."

Annalise gives her another squishy hug. "Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Happy birthday."

"Perhaps," Splinter interrupts, smiling down at the two, "we could go and have our own conversation. I would not mind the company."

Leanne blinks a few times, then smiles. "Oh...yes, that would be lovely."

The parents wander off together, side by side, and Annalise returns to her friends. Despite the cold December air and the snow on the ground, the others are having as much fun as they can. Leonardo and Raphael are having a skateboarding competition in front of their makeshift panel of judges: Donatello, Casey, and Michelangelo. Destiny, Taylor, and Sarina cheer them on.

Annalise slides into place next to Taylor, watching as Leonardo does a rather impressive flip.

"Hola," Taylor says. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Annalise returns. She fidgets a little. "Uh...are you allowed to be out this late?"

"I've been on my best behaviour and my officer knows where I am. I told him about the party." She stops only to turn, whistle, and holler something in Spanish as Raphael does a trick. "Ay! Go, bebe, go!"

"Oh, good," Annalise says, almost too quiet to hear.

The party continues.

By the end of it, they're all so warmed up from dancing and skateboarding that they hardly notice the chill. Annalise leans on Michelangelo's shoulder, their legs dangling off the edge of the half-pipe. She stifles a yawn and she feels Michelangelo's laugh roll through him.

"Tired?" he asks.

"Mhm," she mumbles. "Long day."

"Worth it, though?"

She nods, intertwining their hands between them. "Oh, yeah. Definitely. Best sweet sixteen ever." She gazes up at him, cheeks rosy. "Thank you, Mikeykinz."

"Anything for you, Lisey."

He turns his head enough to kiss her forehead and when he pulls away, he dazzles her with a smile brighter than the sun.