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Donnie stood in his lab, working on his tech. But for once, he wasn’t really paying attention to his work.
All he could think about was April.
For days, she’d been talking about a date she had with one of her classmates tonight. Your typical dinner and a movie. Donnie hadn’t asked for any more details than that, but now he found himself wondering about it. Were they holding hands? Kissing? Going further than that?
He pushed those thoughts away hastily. It was none of his business. He didn’t even care. Why should he care?
Logic told him that he should be happy for her. April was his best friend. She was happy with this boy. So as her best friend, Donnie should be happy, too. And yet, he felt a deep sense of…annoyance? Was that it? That didn’t make sense. April had told him all about the boy in question, and he seemed nice enough. Donnie had no reason to hold any ill will toward him.
Donnie bristled as someone rapped on the door of his lab. He knew that uncontrolled and unrhythmic clamor had to be Mikey. He tried not to sound annoyed as he said, “Come in.”
Mikey walked in. “Hey, Donnie. What are you up to?”
Donnie lifted his goggles and rubbed his eyes. “I’m just fixing up my bō staff.” Truth be told, it didn’t need any repairs, but by Tesla, he needed something to take his mind off of everything.
Mikey noticed the tension in his stance. He was gripping the drill so tightly, Mikey thought it might break. “Uh, are you okay, bro?”
“Fine,” Donnie said curtly. “Just…processing.”
“Processing what?”
Normally, he’d lie and say something tech-related, both to add realism to the lie and to bore Mikey away from the conversation. But for some reason, some part of him wanted to talk about this, and Mikey was the perfect turtle to talk to. For whatever reason, he understood that which Donnie did not: emotions.
He looked at the ground. “April’sdatewiththatboy,” he mumbled.
“Huh?”
“April’s date. I keep thinking about it,” he admitted.
Mikey gasped.
“What?”
“You’re jealous!” Mikey exclaimed.
That gave him pause. He supposed that was the best way to describe the feeling, but he still didn’t understand it. It was like when she’d gone to Witchtown for her project, and he spent the entire day feeling like she should have gone to him first. Why did he feel that way now? There was nothing he could offer her in the boyfriend department.
“And why would I be jealous?” He tried to sound dismissive of the very idea, but he secretly hoped his brother could explain it to him.
“Well, obviously, ‘cause she’s your best friend and this guy is taking her away from you,” Mikey said. “And maybe you like her too?”
“She’s my friend, of course I like her. What do you—” Donnie stopped as he realized what Mikey meant. “Nonsense! I’ve known her for years, and I’ve never felt like that before.”
“Well, you’ve never had a reason to. She’s never had a real boyfriend,” Mikey pointed out. “And being a teenager does weird things to your brain. Weird things.”
That was true. Hormones were known to make people—and mutant turtles, he supposed—feel irrational, extreme, stupid feelings. Relief washed over him at this realization. “So it’s purely a chemical reaction.”
“I guess so,” Mikey said with a shrug. “Doesn’t mean it’s not real, though.” He squealed and leaned forward excitedly. “So, do you like her? Do you luv her? Does she give you butterflies?”
“Scoff. No,” Donnie retorted. He was just being territorial, since she was his best friend. He was just upset about this for his own ego, right? He didn’t actually want to be with April romantically, did he?
For some reason, he found himself thinking about all the things he liked about her. Her soulful, sparkling eyes. Her laugh that always made him buzz from head to toe, especially when he got to be the one to make her laugh (he was the funny one, after all). Her fiery spirit, her bravery, her ability to tolerate his stubbornness and quirks...He realized with horror that she did give him metaphorical butterflies in his stomach, and he could see a future with her and no one else.
Mikey squealed again at the horrified look on Donnie’s face. “You ARE in love with her! I knew it!”
“This is an unprecedented disaster,” Donnie groaned. “April would kill me if she found out. Not literally, but…” He paused. “Maybe literally.”
There was another knock at the door. Rhythmic, gentle, mindful of his sensory needs. It had to be April.
“Come in,” he called, hoping she couldn’t hear the nervous tremor in his voice.
April walked in. “Hey, guys.”
Donnie nervously played with the drill, shifting it from one hand to the other. “How—how did it go?”
“Oh, yeah. Good. Fine.” She rubbed the back of her neck, pointedly not looking him in the eye. “Hey, can I talk to Mikey for a minute? Elsewhere?”
“Me?!” Mikey cried, delighted. “Okay!”
“Oh,” Donnie said, a little disappointed she hadn’t come to talk to him. But also a bit relieved. He didn’t think he could face her right now. “Yeah. Sure.”
She left. Donnie grabbed Mikey’s arm with one of his robotic spider arms. “Do NOT tell her about any of this. Or I swear by Newton’s laws of motion, I will use my fist to exert bone-breaking force on your face!”
“Okay, okay! I won’t tell her. Jeez.”
April paced around the kitchen, biting her nails. Mikey walked in. “What’s up?”
“This is awful!” she moaned, pulling at her curls. “I ruined everything!”
“So…the date didn’t go well?” Mikey guessed.
“The date itself went fine. We went to a nice restaurant and saw a Jupiter Jim movie, and took a nice walk in the park.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem? The whole time, I found myself wishing it was…well…Donnie. Even when we kissed.” She cringed hearing herself say it out loud.
Mikey gasped.
She covered her face, mortified. “What am I even doing, telling you this? It’s so embarrassing…”
“Why are you telling me this?”
She shrugged, drawing spirals on the table with her finger. “I needed to tell someone. I obviously can’t tell Donnie. And Raph and Leo would just laugh at me. I figured you’d take it seriously.” She sighed. “Why Donnie? He’s no Prince Charming. He’s so stubborn, and egotistical, and—and smart, and secretly sweet in his own way, and completely, beautifully unlike anyone else I’ve ever met…” She groaned in frustration and slammed her fists on the table.
Mikey approached her cautiously. “Maybe you should tell him.”
“NO! Are you crazy?!” April yelled. “He’d freak the freak out! Emotions scare him. Our friendship would be over for good.” She held her head in her hands.
“Maybe not,” Mikey said. “You won’t know unless you try.”
“NO!” April snapped. “He must NEVER find out! You can NEVER tell him! Promise me, Mikey!”
He hesitated. If only they knew…and he could be the one to tell them. He held the future of their relationship in his three-fingered hands. Maybe at their wedding, they’d tell the story of how he brought them together, and they’d thank him for helping them get over their own stupid selves, and everyone would applaud him. Maybe he’d even get to be the best man. He could see it now…
Suddenly, April was in his face. “PROMISE ME!”
“Okay, I promise!”
“Good.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I should go.” She left.
Mikey frowned. He couldn’t just sit by and let this epic love go to waste. But he didn’t want to break his promise, either.
He would just need to creatively hint at it, then. He could do that. Dr. Delicate Touch was the master of subtlety.
He sprinted down the hall to Donnie’s lab. “HEY, DONNIE!”