124SURPRIZE!
*Any one who hasn't read the first story, The Interesting Life of Lavinia, please read that first before reading this.
I'm talking to you, Guest who called my character a Mary Sue*
The Secret Life of Lavinia
Prologue: Part 1
Victory Tastes Sweet
I'm not sure exactly how long I slept. It could've been 8 minutes, could've been 8 hours. All I know is that I seemed to have closed my eyes for only a few moments before they were open again. My whole body felt surprisingly stiff. Well, maybe it wasn't that surprising, considering what all it went through yesterday. Infiltrating TCRI, fighting a bunch of Kraang droids, and nearly getting blown up with the Technodrome might do that to you. Still, I didn't want to get up just yet; my bed has never felt so comfortable in my life. I managed to tilt my head up enough until I could see the clock on my side table. It showed that it was just passed 10am. I can't remember the last time I've slept in that much; it felt pretty great.
Groaning slightly, I slowly sat up in my bed, yawning as I stretched. I managed to pull my covers off as I got out of bed. I looked down and saw that I was still wearing Angus'- or rather, my- green flannel. Deciding it was best to change out of it, I walked over to my dresser and swapped my flannel for a pale, purple muscle shirt.
After changing, I shuffled out of my room and walked through the hallway. All the other bedrooms doors where closed; the boys must still be asleep. I continued walking until I reached the bathroom. It wasn't huge, but it was large enough to hold a shower, a toilet, and a long counter with two sinks. There was usually enough room for me and the boys to get done without any complaints. As I entered the bathroom, I was surprised to see Leo standing in front of one of the sinks, currently brushing his teeth. He was only wearing his elbow and knee pads, and his blue mask hung around his neck. He turned as I walked in.
"Hey Nia," he said, his mouth full of toothpaste.
"Hey," I walked past him and stopped at the other sink. "Did you sleep alright?"
Leo shrugged before spitting in the sink. "Not bad. You?"
"Are you kidding? I'm stiff as board."
Leo chuckled as he wiped his face off with a towel.
"Well, we all took a beating yesterday. No surprise there."
I turned the faucet onto the cold water. I cupped my hands underneath and splashed my face. The cold water woke me up a little more.
"Anyone else up?" I asked as I washed my face.
"Splinter's meditating in his room, the others are still in bed," Leo turned to look at me. "How're you feeling?"
I looked up at him as I started to dry my face with a towel. The look in his eyes told me exactly what he meant, and I didn't mind at all.
"I'm okay. You?"
"Yeah."
There was an awkward silence, broken only by the still running faucet in front of me. Then, the bathroom door banged open, and Mikey stood there, completely awake. He also only had his elbow and knee pads on, but he was wearing his orange mask.
"Ooh! You're up!" he said, running up to me. "Good! We got work to do!"
"Wha-?"
Before I could even ask, Mikey had grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bathroom. I was able to see the confused look on Leo's face before he was out of sight.
"Mikey, what is it?" I asked as he dragged me across the living room. "What's going on?"
"Breakfast!"
I blinked. Mikey continued to drag me until we had entered the kitchen. He then released me as he stood in front of me, his eyes wide as he beamed at me.
"Today's our first day of celebrating our awesome win!" he said, punching a fist into the air. "We're gonna make victory pancakes!"
I raised my eyebrows. "What're victory pancakes?"
"I don't know, but we're about to find out!"
He ran up behind me and pushed me forward towards the counter. He sped past me and instantly came back with a large bowl. He placed it down in front of us, and stood there, bouncing on his toes. I looked at him, and he looked at me with excitement in his eyes. It was clear that this was something he was dying to do with me. Mikey usually makes everything by himself, so I don't usually get to cook with him. But, it seemed like it would be fun. I smiled as I took out a hair tie and began putting my hair up in a low ponytail.
"Well, we oughta get to cooking then," I said. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving, and we don't want anyone else waking up hungry."
Mikey smiled. "You're right!" he said happily.
"So," I opened a drawer and took out a wooden spoon. "How many should we make?"
"Enough to feed us for eternity!" Mikey cried, jumping up and throwing his arms out.
"So about 20 or so," I said plainly, as though he didn't just make a ridiculous outburst.
The next 30 minutes were spent with us making the actual pancakes. Mikey was very enthusiastic and playful throughout the whole thing, and I couldn't help but join in. It was so fun making something with him. Halfway through, Mikey started to think I wasn't being playful enough and began throwing flour at me. Of course, I threw some flour right back at him. By the end of it we were both messy; our faces, hands and chests were covered in flour and pancake dough. Neither of us cared though, we were having too much fun to care about how much flour we had on our cheeks.
"Are the pans set?" I asked as I continued stirring the batter.
"Hot and ready," said Mikey, hovering over two large pans on the stove.
"So," I brought the bowl over on the counter next to him. "What exactly are you planning on putting in these victory pancakes?"
"Oh, right!" Mikey giggled. "Check this out!"
He sped past me and reached underneath the cupboard, making lots of banging noises. After a few moments he popped back up, holding a very unique combination of ingredients in his hands.
"Mini marshmallows and sprinkles!" he said brightly.
I stared at him as he stood there, holding the two items tightly.
"Mikey, have you ever made pancakes with these before?" I asked.
"No."
"Then, are you sure it's a good idea to test them out now?"
"C'mon, Nia! It'll be perfect!" Mikey begged.
"Well…"
"I even got rainbow sprinkles," Mikey sang, waving the large bottle in front of me. "Same ones you like on your pizza!"
I eyed the rainbow filled bottle lovingly. I did like those little things. I looked from the bottle to Mikey's adorably excited face, and I caved in.
"I can never say no to you," I sighed.
Mikey squealed. "Yes!"
I smiled as we began to finally make Mikey's special 'victory pancakes'. Though odd, I had to admit, they did look pretty tasty. They certainly smelled nice, that's for sure.
"Dude, the guys are gonna love this!" Mikey said happily as I placed three more finished pancakes to the pile on the big plate.
"I'm sure they will," I said as I looked back at the last few in the pans. "After all, they liked your pizza noodle soup, didn't they?"
"Yep! And they'll like this, too. Oh, hey Raph!"
I whipped around. Raph had just walked in through the kitchen curtains. I felt my grip on the spatula tighten immensely.
"Sup," he said, and he looked up at me. "Hey, Nia."
I gulped, then said shortly, "Hi."
Raph looked at my face, squinted at me, then started chuckling.
"What?"
"You mean… you don't know?" he asked, still chuckling.
I frowned. "Don't know what?"
"Nia, you're covered in flour."
I placed a hand on my cheek, felt something soft on it, and I suddenly remembered that I was covered from head to foot in flour. I gasped, turning away from Raph. I raised my hands and brushed off as much flour as possible.
"Whatcha making?" I heard Raph ask.
"Breakfast," I said without thinking.
He rolled his eyes. "I know that. What're you making for breakfast?"
"Oh," I muttered, feeling very stupid. "They're… they're, um…"
"Victory pancakes!" Mikey said, bouncing forward and placing the plate full of pancakes on the table. "You know that, dudette!"
"Yeah," I said quickly, remembering. "Yeah, victory pancakes. You know, for winning the battle yesterday and all. It was Mikey's idea."
"Cool. So, what's in them?"
"Oh, um…" I gestured to the plate. "Mini marshmallows and… and sprinkles…"
Raph raised his eyebrows, staring at the pancakes. Then, he looked up at me.
"Let me guess, they were Mikey's idea, too?"
I nodded.
"These better not suck, Mikey."
"Have a little faith, dude!" Mikey said, appalled.
At that moment, the curtains opened again. Leo, Donnie, and Master Splinter all walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, my children," Sensei said warmly.
"Morning, Sensei," Mikey, Raph and I said in unison.
"What're you guys making?" asked Donnie as he walked over to the fridge.
"Nia and Mikey are making pancakes," said Raph.
"Victory pancakes!" Mikey yelled happily for what felt like the millionth time.
Sensei walked over towards me and Mikey. He looked at us both, eyes slightly narrow.
"My, what happened to you two?" he asked, pretending to look surprised. "It looks like you made quite the mess with the batter."
"Huh?" Mikey said, confused.
I nudged his shoulder and gestured around his face. He raised his hand and it was covered in flour when he lowered it.
"Oh, ha ha ha, right…" he mumbled.
Sensei raised his hands, holding two large hand towels. We both took them and began cleaning our faces. I heard sniggering, and I glanced over at the others to see them smirking at us.
"Shut up," I said harshly, walking back over to the stove.
Sensei turned and went to sit on his end of the table. As he did, he looked at the plate full of pancakes, and raised his eyebrows.
"Interesting combination you two came up with," he said to Mikey and I.
"It was Mikey's idea," I told him. "Pretty normal compared to what he usually makes, if you ask me."
"But, why marshmallows and sprinkles?" Leo said, poking the huge tower of pancakes cautiously.
"I guess 'cause it's never been made before," I placed the last three pancakes on a separate plate. "I don't think anyone's ever had this kind of combination, but I'm sure it tastes good."
"Keep in mind, Nia," said Donnie as he placed the milk jug on the counter. "This is Mikey we're talking about; the same guy who thought making a pizza milkshake would be a good idea."
Mikey glared at his brother as I rolled my eyes.
"Well, we won't know until we try it. Here."
I shoved the plate into Donnie's hands, who took it, surprised. I turned around without saying a word and grabbed the rest of the plates, bringing them over to the table. Leo went over to the milk jug and started pouring a glass for everyone. Within a few minutes, we were all sitting at the table, plates full of pancakes in front of us.
"The moment of truth!" Mikey said, picking up one of his pancakes with his hands. "Victory!"
And without any hesitation, he took a huge bite out of it. A second later he beamed.
"It's amazing!" he cried.
I chuckled, but the guys shook their head, looking at their plates with caution. I don't blame them. Mikey had a habit of finding even the most disgusting things edible, so his word wasn't exactly reassuring.
"Well, if you guys are gonna be babies about it," I said, picking up a pancake.
"Hey!" Raph snapped.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, go on then, tough guy. Take a bite."
Raph glared at me for a moment, then glared at his plate. He let out an irritated noise, snatched up a pancake, and took a bite out of it. For a moment, he sat there, chewing. Then…
"It's… not bad," he said lowly, sounding more surprised than anything.
"Well, good enough for me," I said.
I looked my pancake for a moment before taking a bit. It was a little chewier thanks to the marshmallows, but it was really good.
The boys seemed convinced, and they started to eat as well. Everyone, even Sensei, loved the pancakes. They all loved them so much that by the end of breakfast, there was only a few left. Nobody had the room to fit any more in their stomachs, so I put the rest in a package.
"Wait, I can fit a few more in," Mikey groaned, letting out a loud burp.
"I think you've had enough, dude," I said. "So have the rest of you."
"That was a great breakfast," said Sensei. "And, I am sure that you will all be happy to know that, under the circumstances, there will be no training today."
At this, we all started to whoop and holler happily. I clapped excitedly before calming down beginning to pick up the plates.
"Mikey, help me clean up."
"What? But, Nia-"
"You helped make this mess, you help clean it up."
"Aww, man!" Mikey whined, but he stood up from his seat and started to pick up the rest as well.
Sensei and the boys all began to stand up and leave, except for Raph, who was still in his seat.
"Gotta admit, I didn't think these were gonna be that good," he said, popping the last bit of pancake into his mouth. "Not bad, guys."
"Told you it'd be awesome!" said Mikey.
Raph rolled his eyes as he stood up from his chair, then he looked directly at me. It was at that moment that I realized I had been staring at him the whole time. My forehead started to feel warm, and I quickly turned away, picking up the plates. I caught Raph looking at me out the corner of my eye, then he turned and left the kitchen.
"C'mon, Nia!" said Mikey. "I'm not washing these all by myself!"
"Thanks for helping me look after Timothy, Nia," said Donnie. "It's nice to actually get some help with him."
"No problem," I said.
While Donnie was busy working a screwdriver on one corner of the mechanical tank, I was busy cleaning the glass. Timothy seemed to just make infinite amounts of goo, and it always spilled over and made a mess. None of the others liked helping Donnie on a regular basis to begin with, so you can guess how much they'd like to help him now. So, even though it was totally gross, I was happy to help Donnie out.
I soaked the rag in the bucket of water again and scrubbed the glass. You know, it wouldn't kill the others to help out a little. Leo could probably help me clean, Mikey at the very least could keep us entertained with his corny jokes, Raph could…
I felt my mind start to wonder as I thought of Raph, and as it did, it landed on the memory of last night. Not on our long talk, oh no; it landed on what happened after the talk. I suddenly started to think about when he had kissed my cheek. It was so confusing. I mean, the guys have kissed my cheek before- mostly when we were little- but Raph never did, ever. So, why did he last night? Was it because he was so overjoyed that we had all made it back alive? Was he just happy about the promise I made him? Perhaps, but that still doesn't seem like enough to me. Why do I care so much? I asked myself. The guys have given me friendly kisses before, why does it matter so much that Raph finally did, too?
"Nia!"
I snapped my head up and looked at Donnie. He had apparently been saying my name several times, and I hadn't been paying attention.
"I- What?" I stammered.
"You've been cleaning the same spot for the past 5 minutes," said Donnie. "Are you okay?"
"What?" I repeated. "Oh, um… Yeah, I'm fine."
Donnie frowned. "Why don't we take a break?" he suggested.
I shrugged. "Sure."
Donnie set his wrench into his toolbox and I dropped my rag in the bucket. We both turned and headed towards the exit, but Donnie put a hand on my shoulder.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"Donnie," I said confidently. "I swear, I'm fine! No worries."
Donnie looked at me for a few moments, his eyes studying me. Then, he gave a small nod, and continued on. I sighed quietly as I followed him. I felt my T-Phone buzz and took it out. It was a text message from Vanessa.
Hey girl! How's it going?
I quickly messaged back.
It's okay. You?
Pretty good! Me and Angus are hanging out at my friend Charlie's place. You wanna come?
I thought about it. I'd love to hang out with Vanessa and Angus, and it would be nice to see Charlie again. But, we were still trying to get everything back to normal here. It would probably be better to just stay here this time.
No, not today. I kinda wanna just stay home now.
It's cool, I get it.
I grinned.
Hey, Nia! I bet I can get you to say red.
I chuckled.
You're on.
What color is the sky?
Blue.
Ha! I knew I could get you to say it!
No you didn't, you said red.
AHA!
I stared down at the text message before I started to laugh.
I can't sleep. No matter how hard I try I just can't, my body won't let me. Glancing at my clock, I saw that it was a little past 1am. I sighed irritably as I got out of bed and walked out of my room. I made sure to tiptoe quietly past the bedrooms as I walked down the hallway. I walked towards the kitchen, thinking maybe some tea would help me relax.
I pushed open the curtains and peeked inside. No one was in there. I sighed thankfully as I went over to the cupboard and took out a pot. I hummed quietly as I filled it with water and put it on the stove. Now, I love drinking green tea with Sensei, but if I had to choose which kind of tea was my favorite, it would have to be honey herbal tea. It was so good and it was great for calming my nerves.
I waited for about 10 minutes before the pot started to squeak. I took it off the burner and set it off to the side before grabbing the tea box and a mug, setting them on the counter. Then, I heard a small knocking from behind me. I turned. Donnie was standing there, his hand on the doorframe.
"Hey," he said.
I stared at him. "Donnie, it 1 in the morning. What're you still doing up?"
"I've been busy," he said, walking forward and sitting at the table. "Working on some stuff. Why are you up?"
I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. Want some tea?"
"Sure."
I reached up in the cupboard and grabbed another mug. Donnie remained silent as I made our tea, but I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. I ignored this and brought over his mug.
"Thanks," he said, taking it from me.
I nodded as I sat next to him. For a little bit, we just sat there in silence, drinking our tea. Then, I decided to ask him.
"So, why are you really up this late, Donnie?" I asked him.
He looked up at me over his mug as he drank. Then he set it down gently.
"Well… I have been working on some stuff," he said. "You know, fixing up Metalhead, making sure Timothy is okay. But, that's not all I've been doing."
"Yeah?" I egged him on.
Donnie tapped his finger on the table, considering his words.
"I've been keeping track of the Kraang communication device."
I raised my eyebrow. "That giant golf ball? Why?"
"Because…" Donnie sighed. "I'm… I'm scared that it might go off again, while we're asleep. That, somehow, the Kraang might come back and start up the invasion again. I just… wanna be there in case it happens so that nothing bad happens to us in our sleep, you know?"
I took a sip of my tea. "Donnie, nothing bad is gonna happen. We stopped the Kraang, we trashed the Technodrome. Hell, that thing is at the bottom of the East River right now, I highly doubt anything is gonna happen."
Donnie still looked worried. I leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder
"Trust me, Donnie, if they do come back, we'll be ready for them," I assured him. "Just promise me you'll get some sleep and not stress over this."
Donnie looked up at me, and nodded. I grinned as I leaned back in my seat.
"Well, I've told you my story," Donnie said, turning to face me. "So, how about you tell me yours."
"What're you talking about?"
"I'm talking about why you're out here and not in bed."
I gripped my mug a little tighter as I stared at him.
"Come on, Nia, you can tell me," he said. "Is there anything on your mind?"
My mind quickly went back to last night with Raph. I gulped and nodded.
"Anything bad?"
I had to think about that for a moment. I know that this whole thing shouldn't be a big deal, but the way it was making me feel made it seem like it was. So, did I think it was bad for Raph to kiss me? No, of course not. I'm just a little confused as to why he did it.
"No," I said. "I don't think so."
Donnie gestured for me to continue.
"It's…" I let out a laugh. "I'm probably just being stupid. You don't need to worry about it, it's okay."
I took a long gulp from my mug, not looking at Donnie. But, I could tell he was looking at me.
"Nia, even if it is stupid, I'll still listen," he said. "It's okay."
I looked over at him, saw the sincerity in his small brown eyes, and I gave in.
"Okay," I bit my bottom lip. "Well… before I went to sleep yesterday, Raph came into my room."
And I told Donnie about the conversation I had with Raph. I told him everything up until I got to the part where he kissed my cheek. I was just considering not telling him, but something about my expression must have given me away, because Donnie was looking at me curiously.
"And?" he asked. "What happened then?"
My stomach felt like it had millions of worms swimming around inside it. Why was I this nervous about it? I took a deep breath.
"He kissed me."
For a moment, Donnie stared at me, his face expressionless. Then, he blinked several times.
"He… what?"
"On the cheek," I added.
Donnie glanced around, tapping his fingers against his mug. I sat there, fiddling with my fingers, waiting for a response.
"Do you think it was bad that he…?"
I shook my head. "No, I don't."
"So, why has it been on your mind all day then?"
"How do you know it's been on my mind all day?" I asked quickly, and defensively.
"Well, you've been kinda off all day," Donnie admitted. "I assumed it might've been because of what happened with the invasion and all, but that's clearly not it," he tilted his head as he looked at me. "So, why does it bother you so much?"
I sighed, folding my arms on the table surface.
"It doesn't bother me at all," I confessed. "Not in the slightest. It's just… a bit surprising, that's all. We've hugged before, but he's never been that affectionate. Mind you, he's not really that affectionate with anyone."
I gave a small laugh to break some of the tension building up. It didn't exactly work, but it helped me a little. I kept myself from groaning as I picked my mug up and drank some of my tea again. As I looked over at Donnie, I saw he was looking at me with strange curiosity.
"Can I… ask you something?" he asked.
I nodded.
"How exactly did you feel when it happened? Besides surprised, I mean."
I glanced around, trying to remember exactly how I felt; it wasn't hard.
"I kinda tensed up for some reason," I told him. "And my stomach felt weird, like it was full, but empty at the same time."
"And afterward," he said. "Once he left your room, how'd you feel?"
"My hands were kinda tingly, and my stomach kinda bubbly," I groaned. "I know, it sounds weird…"
"No," Donnie said quickly. "It isn't weird at all."
I looked over at him. "Well, I answered you questions. What do you think it is, braniac?"
Donnie glanced around, clearly in thought. For a moment, I thought I saw his eyes widen in realization, but it was gone before I could see properly. Then, he stood up and walked around the table.
"Why don't you just let it settle in for a few days," he said as he set his mug next to the sink. "See what happens later. If, after a day or two, it isn't bugging you anymore, don't worry about it."
I raised an eyebrow. "Um, okay."
Donnie nodded, thanked me for the tea, and began to leave the kitchen.
"Hey, Donnie?"
He stopped walking and looked at me.
"Could we just keep this between us?" I asked. "I mean, this isn't really a big deal, and I don't want the other two to think I worried over something stupid or anything."
Donnie nodded. "No problem. Goodnight, Nia."
And he left me in the kitchen. I thought about everything that he said as I sipped on my tea.
