"Calming His Storm" ~Book 1: Gathering Clouds~ (TMNT 2012 Fanfiction; RaphxOC )

Chapter 7: Surprised

Jamie turned in time to face a flash of fluorescent red hair before it tackled her in a hug.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's really you! Donnie texted me this morning that they had a crazy night and met someone who said they knew me. But I can't believe it really is you!"

April leaned back, arms extended to both of Jamie's now bruised shoulders. Jamie beamed back at the familiar face of her friend.

"Girl, how did you keep a secret like this from me? I could never!" Jamie exclaimed, laughing.

"Well, it's easier than you think. It's not really a secret that you can just tell and expect everyone to believe. Remember when Asher and Serina broke up last year? I told you the second she told me, but everyone saw that coming... this.... A little less believable..." She said, pushing back a strand of hair behind her ear.

Jamie nodded, still grinning and flushed with happiness from April's sudden appearance. Jamie couldn't believe her friend of three years had been wrapped up in this whole world for almost a year now.

April had been one of her first close friends at high school, helping her to navigate the scary halls since her parents weren't there to aid along the way. They were both juniors, as Jamie had skipped eighth grade and April had skipped seventh. Jamie had always assumed that they had bonded over being two of the youngest students in their class. She had noticed a slight distance in their friendship over the past year but had always presumed it had been because of her father's kidnapping. Little did she know it was because of all of this in the shadows.

"I hope I get an introduction at some point as well, April." A low voice said from behind.

Jamie peered around April to see the scariest girl that had ever existed. She looked about Jamie's age, but the eyeliner and the scowl could fool a person into thinking she was much older. She must've owned a loyalty card to some Metal Work Co. because she was carrying a fishnet bag that had metal armor protruding from it in all directions. It was slung over her shoulder casually as if it were a purse, and she leaned into her hip like it weighed nothing. She wore clothes of a modern Japanese style, loosely cropped jeans with a black, fitted crop t-shirt and thick, white tennis shoes that could probably dent a car. Her hair was black, like her aura, and she had a splash of red around her eyes in what Jamie hoped was eyeshadow.

The girl didn't wait for April to introduce her and stepped forward, making Jamie stumble back a bit.

"I'm Karai." She said, holding out her free hand.

Jamie tried to not be off-put by her forcefulness. She took the hand and shook it, forcing her expression to return to a cheerful demeanor.

"Jamie. Nice to meet you, even under such... weird circumstances. This may sound crazy, but I feel like I've seen you before..."

"I go to your school. It was a very... recent transfer."

Jamie glanced at April, who was standing next to Donnie, and got a look that said, "I'll tell you later". She gave a tiny nod back.

"Hey, Karai, good to see you made it back." Leo said, stepping up from behind Jamie. A red tint washed across Karai's face and she nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yeah, it was good visiting my Aunt. I haven't seen anyone from my family in so long... well, I'll talk to you about it later, Leo." She said, stopping herself midsentence when she glanced at Jamie.

"We had a pretty crazy night too, Karai!" Mikey said, having finally taken off his headphones to join the conversation. "Jamie saved Raph, all by herself."

"Did she now?" Karai said, her eyes looking almost like a cat's, gleaming with curiosity.

"Yeah! She helped his leg when he got hurt, and then helped us outside and then came down here with us and then slept on the couch all night and-"