Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

                                                                Monday

Hailey of all people hated the thought of living with someone. Sure, she was used to having her mom around, but it was her mom. Now she was in college and was going to get a randomly assigned roommate, which was a dreadful feeling to say the least.

Joey, Hailey’s best friend, was a couple years older than her and the rest of their friends, meaning that the entire band got to hear unhinged college stories from her time at university. In each tale, there always seemed to be an ongoing antagonist, Joey’s roommate Tammy. 

Whether it be eating all Joey’s snacks, or having her terrible boyfriend over late into the night, Tammy always managed to make everyone miserable. Joey tried many times to change roommates, but the staff could find no fault in the two-faced roommate, and she was stuck with her the entire semester. That’s what Hailey feared, a terrible, no good, awful, roommate. 

Hailey’s phone buzzed in her pocket, cutting off her thoughts as she fumbled to pull it out. A notification popped up at the top of her screen, and she clicked on it as quickly as possible. 

An email read the following; Dear Miss Elsh, we are pleased to inform you that your roommate has been selected, ( Student 626, Freshman) Donatello Hamoto will be informed the location of your shared dormitory. If there are any issues with the pairing or your dormitory, please contact one of the school complaint lines or a teacher. 

  Hailey sighed, wondering if it made her feel better or worse, and continued to pack her bags. Putting in thing after thing, she realized that some were simply clothing, but some were priceless childhood artifacts. It would be scary to be out on her own, but also very freeing, it would finally be her life and now she could do whatever she wanted to with it. 

 Leaving her deep inner monologue unfinished, Hailey decided that a background check on her roommate was the best way to put her mind at ease, little did she know, it would ensue a new level of chaos which she was not prepared for.

                                                              
                                                                  Tuesday

Donnie had never wanted to leave the sewers, it was a perfectly fine living situation, and at times when it faltered, he could fix it. He roughly shoved the last box into the back of his new, definitely not stolen, car. 

In retrospect, he could have picked a different college, one closer to home would have been more ideal. But Skyline had sounded so… big , and professional. It was very prestigious, and big, and professional, so- theoretically- it would cater to Donnie’s needs best. 

Accepting this fact as he slammed the trunk closed, Donnie ran out of the rain and down into the sewer to kiss his lab goodbye, and reluctantly hug his brothers, assuring both that he would be back at the end of the week for his last free weekend.

   Leo was the last to come up for a hug, his face difficult to read as he gave a soft smile for once, his hug felt more real than usual, tight and full rather than a quick half-hug. 

  He turned his head as he let go, before putting on a happy face and weakly teasing his twin “ Have fun at college you nerd,” Leo’s smile faltered for a moment “ make sure to come and visit me, ok?” 

  Donnie knew Leo was going to need reassurance “ Come here you big baby, I’m not even that far, and I promise to visit you or whatever” 

  He patted his clingy brother’s back in another hug, hearing his twin sniffle almost broke him, but he just cradled Leo to his best ability. 

  The two pulled away, Leo frantically rubbing tears out of his eyes as Donnie blinked away his own “ Twins?” Leo held out his fist 

  “ Twins.” Donnie bumped it before putting on his cloaking broach, transforming into his human form

  Earlier that month, he had been working hard at his own form of a cloaking broach, obviously putting a Donnie spin on the design and making it into a working watch. Though magic was still a frustratingly confusing concept for Donnie, the thing he tried to focus on was his new body.

It being… somewhat attractive, he was quite pleased with how it captured his essence, his favorite feature being his fabulous eyebrows. Donnie’s cloaking broach took on an Asian ethnicity, meaning pale rosy skin and silky black hair, the only very defining thing about it being some blotchy darker spots where his markings used to be. The rest of him was satisfactory enough , as being in shape made up for other disappointments.

Just that week Donnie had finished his cloaking broach, pleased with its capabilities and slightly used to the lack of weight on his back, he had started packing his things. 

He had also been informed of his match that week, a fellow freshman named Hailey Elsher. Donnie already decided that friends weren’t an option, as he would look like a normal human, he might run into people that would be less than enthusiastic about his true form. 

It also might have had something to do with the fact that he didn’t want to make any friends. 

Checking the address once more, He headed out on his new adventure, used- and again, not stolen, Raph- car tooling down the wet road.

                                                             Monday

  Hailey was freaking out. Freaking out . Her roommate-to-be couldn’t be found on any social media platforms. None. She seriously couldn’t find anything on this guy, it was like he didn’t even exist, and she had searched everywhere from TikTok to Facebook. No results.  

  “ Well that’s not concerning…” Hailey mumbled to herself, closing her tabs and shutting her laptop

   It was fineeee , maybe he was just super against the social? She exhaled, telling herself that was the reason he had no traceable life. 

  Getting back on track, Hailey finished packing, three sad looking boxes and two duffle bags held the entirety of her possessions. She scanned her room, feeling her past thoughts creeping in. Looking at all the empty shelves, her naked mattress, even the spider web in the top left corner of the room, this room had been her life for the past nineteen years. 

What a thought that was, leaving her place, the only thing anyone ever really has control of as a kid is your room, and Hailey was leaving it. When it comes down to it, everyone misses home when they leave for the first time, it’s your childhood. Not that Hailey’s childhood was all that great. 

She blinked away the small tears that had managed to collect in her eyes, letting the good memories sift through her brain, it had finally dawned on her that being a kid was no more. After a moment, Hailey seemed to accept that fact with grace, a peaceful surrender if you will.

 I wonder if my roommate is a murderer… Do murderers have good childhoods? 

Hailey huffed in frustration, lacing her fingers into her thick hair and trying not to pull it out. It intruded on her every other thought, so she did the only thing she could think to do. She pulled out her phone and dialed Joey’s number, putting it to her ear as it rang. 

“ Yelloww?” Joey’s familiar Aussie voice filled her ear 

“ Hey, I’m kinda freaking out, I need you to tell me everything is going to be ok” Hailey’s own voice cracked back 

“ Ok… what happened?” She started 

Hailey went over the entirety of her situation, from her initial fear, to Donatello not showing up on any social media. It felt good just to tell someone, she couldn’t be the only person who could see how crazy this was.

“ I won’t deny it, that’s shady as hell, but I’m not sure we should jump to conclusions, because I really don’t think he’s going to murder you” She laughed a little at the last part. 

“ I was just suggesting ” Hailey grumbled over the phone “ but I think you're right… he’s probably just some hippy hermit or something”

“ Yeah! Like me” Joey joked, Hailey hearing a loud clatter in the background before she had the chance to laugh 

“ Shit- gotta go, call me if you're getting stabbed to death!” 

 “ I will,” Hailey said simply, and then she was alone again.

                                                                   Tuesday

  Donnie shuffled to the door, the first box in his arms as he attempted to make his fingers work and unlock the door, it was too cold for this . As fate would have it, Donnie’s first semester was starting with the normal school year, meaning that the temperature was getting colder everyday.   

  He had finally opened the door and kicked it the rest of the way open, Donnie marched in and up the stairs and to the room of his choosing. By sheer luck, the roommate he was assigned to had somehow managed to get one of the larger dorms, meaning they had a second floor with separate rooms, along with a bigger first floor which held the kitchen and living room. 

Donnie didn’t bother to look at the other room, he just continued his walk to the one farthest from the stairs, planning to be out of the way and covenant to the person he would be living with. As Donnie opened the door it gave a moan, he stepped slowly into the new space, but it didn’t take long to see everything that was to be seen and he gave a sigh as he placed down his box.

“ How could I have expected more from the public school system, infrastructure is but a joke to them” He said aloud, his lone voice echoing off the bare walls.

“ You can say that again” Someone responded, startling him as he turned to find a female figure leaned against the doorway 

“ How long- when did you-“ Donnie stuttered, then cleared his throat “ Are you Hailey Elsh?” 

“ Yup, and your Donatello I assume?” Hailey held out her hand like she would for any other greeting 

“ Yes.” He stared at her outstretched hand for a minute, only to put one of own his hands to his hip and stare at it some more.

“…Now if you don’t mind I have some unpacking to do, I suggest you do the same” He gave a flat look before turning back to his single box, pretending to be occupied and uninterested.

Hailey looked as though she had been shot by her closest friend, and she stood stunned for a moment before leaving the room, almost limping like a wounded animal. 

Was she really that awkward and off putting? Maybe he really was a psychopath…

She brushed her thoughts to the side, focusing on setting up her new bedroom until it was perfect. She was done just before dinner, and she knew the next responsibility she would have to take care of was feeding herself. Hailey decided to go on her first grocery trip, as she was feeling all mature and such.

Before she left, she at least had the decency to inform Donatello and ask if he wanted anything “ Hey,” she knocked on his door and it creaked open, showing her the impressive interior, everything bathed in a purple tint coming from the LEDs he had stuck to the ceiling “ I’m going to the store to get some stuff, want anything?” 

“ Left home without everything you needed? Rookie mistake…” Donatello shook his head, not bothering to even turn and look at her

 “ I’m getting food, dumbass” Hailey deadpanned, her comment making him acknowledge her presence and stand to face her, if she didn’t know any better, she almost thought she saw the faintest blush on his face “ Now what do you want?” 

  “ Just some frozen pizza, whatever kind, I’ll pay you back once I get my first check” He mumbled.

  “ Wow, left home without enough money for a frozen pizza, rookie mistake” With that she had turned and marched out the dorm, feeling accomplished in her snappy comment.

No one had ever had the guts to talk back to him except his family… 

Donnie blinked a couple times, feeling incredibly humbled, only for an overwhelming sense of pettiness to drown it entirely.

So that’s how she wants to play it? Then let’s play.

Donnie then returned to the task of his room, finishing it quickly and aggressively because of the lack of people to hear him huffing about leaving his lab behind. He even had time to slightly improve upon the rest of the house, (as he saw how depressing it was before), and even put up the small tv he had made in the living room 

Hailey burst through the door while he was in the middle of building a shelf for the downstairs, bags of groceries hung on her like ornaments on a Christmas tree. 

Donnie couldn’t help but spit a comment as she walked past “ You really couldn’t have taken two trips?” 

“ You really couldn’t have helped me?” Hailey shot back “ Besides, I wouldn’t have wanted you to get your royal ass cold, the temperature really dropped” she shrugged off the bags, starting to put away the cold things. 

She pulled out the requested frozen pizza “ Hey egomaniac, how do you plan to pay off your debt?” She held out the box as Donnie glanced over for clarity on the specific debt 

“ I told you,” He grumbled “ I’ll pay you when I get my first check”

“ Yeah, but what are you getting a check for, dummy?” Hailey had put away the pizza and moved on to the other groceries.

“ Tech support,” Donnie said bluntly. What did it matter to her?

“ Wow, how did I not guess, Mr. people person” Hailey snubbed, a shit-eating grin plastered across her face “ How are you ever going to contain your overly friendly personality?” 

“ I can be nice,” He went back to building the shelf “ To people who don’t annoy the crap out of me” Hailey’s expression changed from spiteful amusement to a less than readable expression.

She stopped mocking him after that, rushing to put away the rest of the food and quietly making her way upstairs. Donnie pretended not to notice, because it was supposed to be a victory for him, getting her to stop talking being the prize. 

But he couldn’t stop himself from wondering what happened. He knew he hit a nerve, but what nerve did he hit exactly? What insecurity had he uncovered? He came to the conclusion that it wasn’t that important, and if he needed to, he could probably find it again just as easily. He definitely wasn’t going to nitpick her even more just to figure it out, nope! Definitely not.

Chapter Text

Wesaday 

Donnie stumbled into the kitchen blindly, refusing to fully open his eyes before he had a mug of coffee in hand. Groping around the counters he finally found the coffee maker where he had plugged it in the day before, as half done jobs aren’t his thing, the pot was already filled with piping hot coffee. 

He sighed to himself, satisfied for once that he overthought things, he grabbed a mug from one of the boxes Hailey had yet to unpack and filled it to the top. Donnie’s peaceful moment was interrupted just minutes later as his piece-of-work roommate entered the room, following his actions and pouring herself a mug of coffee, then leaning against the opposite counter to give him a glare.

“ I guess you can have some of my coffee…” Donnie mumbled 

“ Well you didn’t ask to use my mug so, I think it’s a fair trade” Hailey hissed back

Donnie should have expected a response, but her bluntness still took him back as it did yesterday.

“ So, what’s with the whole grease ball look?” She gestured to his general area, as if she found it hard to even give him a glance “If your trying to show your personality through your clothes, I think you got it spot on” 

He was still in his sleepwear, the flannel patterned purple pants covered with grease stains from many work filled nights. He had also been unprepared for the disadvantages a human body would entail, including dirty hair that he had yet to wash.

“ At least I did something productive last night… unlike you” he half heartedly eyed the box full of kitchen stuff on the ground beside him. 

“ Oh please, you’d better get used to it, because I’m not looking to do you any favors” Hailey closed her eyes, seemingly taking in the smell of her hot coffee.

“ I- you can’t just-” Donnie stuttered, his composition long gone as he angrily huffed about the box on the floor.

“ Oh dear! Spare me your rath Donatello,” Hailey draped her arm dramatically over her forehead “ For I am a only a lowly maid to be of your service” 

“ Just!-” Donnie slammed his mug down on the counter, stomping out of the kitchen and making his way to the stairs.

“ Don’t disrespect my mug you dick!” Hailey shouted chasing after him “ What is your deal!” 

“You act like you have the right to do and say whatever you want, what makes you think you're so special!?” She screeched, following him up the staircase as he ran from her.

“ You don’t have the right to judge me, you don’t even know me!” She shouted as he slammed his bedroom door, immediately locking it and sitting down on his bed with a creak.

“ Fine, you want to play it like that?” Donnie could hear Hailey’s foot tapping right outside of his door, but soon he heard her footsteps fade as she walked away. 

He shook his head, trying to get rid of all the noise around him and trying to hear again all at once. 

Hailey tried to catch her breath, but it seemed impossible with how quickly she was hyperventilating, her lungs burned for air and her head throbbed at the pure frustration running through her veins.

She picked up the abused mug from the counter, a small crack now in the bottom of it and leaking the fluids from inside it.

“ That son of a bitch…” she muttered, pouring out the cup into the sink and giving it a quick rinse, every muscle in her body tense except for the gentle hands that held the- now broken- memory.

She sniffled.

“ Dammit Tim.” She sobbed quietly “ I don’t have the friggin time to grieve you right now” 

Hailey wiped her face quickly, refusing to fall apart right before orientation, she hugged the mug to her chest as she stepped lightly to her room. Not wanting to be late, she opted to just slip on a hoodie and her favorite pair of sneakers. Quickly throwing her keys and notepad into her bag, she zipped up the backpack and practically ran down the stairs, less than enthusiastic to confront her problems at the moment.

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It’s ok. It's great. 

You're fine. You’re great.

She’s right.

But that doesn’t mean she gets to say stuff like that.

She was just doing what you do.

Oh.

Do I make her feel this way?

Oh no. 

Am I supposed to care?

Donnie had practically scratched his arms raw by the time he came back around. Disoriented as he regained control, he looked down to the sore spots on his forearm catching a glance of his watch as he went to inspect them, he was quick to leap up and forget the ordeal. Scrambling around his room, he searched helplessly for his backpack, and found it waiting for him by the bedroom door. In one swift movement he had grabbed the purple bag and was out of the room, rapidly searching for his set of keys. He was sure he had left them by the door, but they had seemingly disappeared.

Quickly ( but begrudgingly) giving up the search, he persisted out the door, a strong wind immediately working against him and sending a chill up his spine. A pencil case fell out of the back of his unzipped bag, as he turned to get it, a large gust of wind made him lose his balance. Before he could catch himself, he had already face planted into the concrete, a belittling experience for everyone who had experienced it before. 

  Tears tugged at Donnie’s eyes as he got up, today was already a mess and it wasn’t even eleven am! 

 He scooped up the abandoned pens and pencils with one hand, using the other to rub his newly scrapped up nose, and shoved them back into his backpack before making sure to zip it up. He was quick to get back up, the fact that he was about to be late still in the front of his mind, he continued to jog against the wind in the unreachable fantasy that he could make it in time. 

  Only moments later, the unfamiliar campus came into view, even sooner Donnie was caught entangled in it and trying to find the building he was meant to be in. 

  He pulled off to the side where he saw a young woman who seemed to work at the cafe behind her “ Excuse me, do you know where freshmen are supposed to go for orientation?” 

  “ Wake up late, huh?” She chuckled looking Donnie up and down before pointing to a building that was slightly larger than the others “ All the freshmen are taking orientation in that lecture hall” 

  Donnie followed where her gaze had been, realizing he was still in the old graphic T-shirt and pajama pants that Hailey had made fun of. “ Ah, I see how it could come off as that- thank you for the directions!” 

  With that he was back to running, just noticing how his slippers made a scuffing sound as he rushed towards the entrance. He pulled the door open as slowly as he could, it creaked more the slower he went, the sound echoing on the walls as (at least) a hundred heads turned to look at the late peer.

  Donnie squirmed from the attention, veering to the side and quietly taking a seat, he took a glance to his left and found the person next to him scooting farther away with a judgmental look on their face. To his relief, the lecture had already resumed and everyone’s attention had turned back to the director, who was rambling on about campus rules. 

An abrupt sneeze coated his elbow in blood and he groaned quietly at crimson inconvenience. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see a friendly looking girl, her hand outstretched and offering a tissue.

“ Thank you! ” He whispered, knowing that the desperation on his face must have shone through.

“ No problem” she grinned, turning back to the lecture

  Donnie tuned in every once and awhile, but he knew he didn’t need to, as he had practically memorized the regulations online. His mind kept going back to the terrible moments he had experienced that morning, taunting him with the task of figuring out which one was the most humbling. He ended up zoning out for the rest of orientation, which, to his disbelief, had lasted almost three hours, making him wonder if he had missed something important. 

  The other students were starting to get up and leave, giving Donnie the cue to do the same, he started to grab the things he had gotten out to look busy, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It felt clammy and he didn’t like it, he turned to face the person who had dared touch him, and was surprised to see the girl from earlier looking at him in empathy.

“ I just wanted to make sure you were ok, I’m mean your nose was ok that is-” her hand was still on his shoulder, Donnie wanted to pull away, but he knew he couldn’t

“ Oh- yeah I just tripped on the way here, it’s been a rough morning” Donnie sighed, at least it felt better to admit it to someone. 

“ Ok, uh-” she pulled away her hand “ Sorry! I forgot some people don’t like being touched and-” 

“ No that’s fine, I mean I don’t but- thank you for the tissue” He rubbed the back of his head.

“ No worries, uh, see you around I guess” She gave an awkward wave, hiking her back pack up as she went to leave.

“ Wait! What’s your name?” Donnie caught her arm.

“ Perri” She blushed, a warm smile spread on her face.

“ Cool, I’m Donnie” He let go and put a hand to his chest.

“ See you around Donnie” She finally opened the door, all the other students being long gone. 

“ See you around…” he grumbled to himself as the large entrance clicked shut.

He could almost hear Leo’s voice echo in his mind.

No friends my ass.

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“ Oh- yeah I just tripped on the way here, it’s been a rough morning” Donatello huffed.

Hailey stared at him from across the room, a glare barely hidden under her features. Some people would say she was being nosey, but it wasn’t her fault that he just happened to be within hearing range.

Hailey stood puzzled at her own feelings, yet the fact of why they were happening was crystal clear. The fear of being annoying and unlikeable had rooted itself in her conscience many years ago, and it had nagged at her everyday sense then.

Once upon a time, Hailey was part of a happy family that loved each other very much, or that’s what it looked like at least. Then something changed, Hailey’s mom began to go blind. 

At first it was very subtle, making it harder to read labels and such, which resulted in the requirement of glasses. For a while the glasses seemed to work, but things started to go down hill quickly after that. One white cane, a golden retriever, and a rocking collection of sunglasses later, Hailey’s dad was done.

There wasn’t any proper goodbye, no ‘ See you later’, no hug, nothing. He had just left. Now, she couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen him, he simply left, and never came back. 

Even though her mom had tried to comfort her, telling her that her father had left because he was incapable of doing something that seemed hard, Hailey had always blamed herself for not being good enough or doing something wrong.

That’s when it all started, the overbearing clinginess, the constant strive to be better, and the unbearable fear that everyone she knew would just get fed up and leave. 

But why did she care if that asshole found her annoying? 

 Hailey glared over at the ongoing conversation once more, she definitely hated him , and there was no doubt that he felt the same. But it almost felt… unfair that someone else could succeed at getting along with him and she couldn’t. It made her feel incredibly stupid, but the jealousy was still rooted deep in her conscience, making it hard to deny. 

What did that stranger even do so much differently than she had?

She huffed with frustration and threw her bag aggressively over her shoulder, grumbling all the way to the cafe to avoid the dorm. As she entered, the smell of fresh coffee drowned her senses, taking her back to the present.

An expensive latte was sure to fix this. 

As Hailey shuffled up towards the counter to place her order, she was greeted by a young woman who had silky brown hair, held up in a tight and perfect looking bun. Her hazel eyes complemented the light green glasses she wore, a small name tag attached to her apron reading “ Lyra ”.

 “ Hello! What can I get for you?” The girl cheeped, fake enthusiasm carefully hidden in her words

Hailey gave an empathetic smile, remembering all the terrible retail jobs she had to trudge through, then going on to order her self-pity latte and took a seat to wait for her drink. 

That barista somehow felt… important?

Despite the allusion that being away from the dorm would help her confusing emotions, Hailey couldn’t stop herself from asking pointless questions, and quickly became frustrated again.

“ Hello? Excuse me, ma’am?” A voice pulled her out of her pout as she found the same barista holding her drink at the pick-up counter 

“ Sorry- “ Hailey sprung up from her waiting spot and marched over to the memory jolter “ Thank you” she sighed, taking the latte from her

Lyra shook her head “ No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted you so deep in thought” she flashed a polite smile.

“ That’s ok… I just remembered something, but I’m not sure what…” Hailey muttered the last part “ Anyways thanks again, have a good afternoon” 

She then awkwardly retreated from the small cafe, thoughts still buzzing in her skull. She had no choice but to head back to the dorm, as she had run out of distractions that actually distracted her. One last notion snuck its way to the front of her mind as she began her march home.

Why did that barista feel so… weird?