Those Eyes: Rise!Leo X OC
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Warnings ⚠️: strong language, angst, jaded OC, brief mentions of addiction
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Back at my apartment, I ignored Leo’s phone calls and texts.
I didn’t even look at them. They’d only make me feel worse.
Instead, I slipped on a gray sweatshirt and black sweatpants with black and white Dunks. I needed to relieve some stress, and I didn’t care how.
I held the Frozen-themed PEZ in my hand and clenched my fist around it.
Back home again, the first thing I noticed was the lights being on when I would never leave my apartment like that.
When I opened the door, there stood The Lieutenant, The Brute, and a strange man with horns that I’ve never seen before all conversing.
I froze, my heart practically pounding out of my chest. “What the fuck?”
The Lieutenant turned to me and scowled as he pointed at me. “That’s her.”
The strange man focused on me and I suddenly felt intimidated by his cold stare. “Yokai…”
My stomach churned uncontrollably and I felt myself take a step back. “What the hell is going on here, Lieutenant? Brute?”
But neither one of them came to my defense as the taller man approached me and placed his heavy hand on my shoulder.
“Like my other failed experiments, you are destined for greater things than what you are. You don’t know the power you hold, but I can show you, child.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not destined for anything.”
“We both know that’s a lie.” The air settled uncomfortably between us. “It’s a lie you’ve been telling yourself since you can remember, isn’t it?”
“What…” I breathed in disbelief.
His eyes fell on the gold ring around my neck, then back up to my gaze. “I can tell you what happened to your parents and what you are… but you have to come with me.”
My lips parted as I took in everything the man was saying. I stood there in shock, not sure whether I believe him or not.
“I promise it will be worth it.” He reassured as he held out his hand to me.
Leo groaned, wincing as he laid on his bed, his abs quivering in pain. He knew he should’ve laid off the teasing sooner, but he couldn’t help himself. He reminisced about her soft gaze she gave him earlier in her kitchen.
God, she was so hot. How’d he get so lucky?
The sensation of his stomach growling also sort of hurt, but he couldn’t deny himself the slice of pizza he’d been saving in the kitchen.
Downstairs, Raph and Mikey were in the laughing and talking about some comic book they’d both gotten into. When Mikey saw Leo, he smiled.
“Heeeyyy, lover boy!” He chimed and Leo grimaced.
“Ugh, can you guys give it a rest already?” The blue clad turtle complained as he opened the fridge. “You’re starting to sound jealous.”
Mikey looked up at Raph and they both laughed.
Leo had undergone two full weeks of torment since his brothers found out that him and Lala were dating. He just hoped that his father didn’t find out.
“Oh, hey, dad! Did you know Leo has a girlfriend?” Mikey ironically asked as Splinter entered the kitchen.
Leo quickly spun around. “Mik—”
“Oh?” Splinter raised an eyebrow as he looked at his guilty son. “And how long has this been a thing?”
“For the last time, she’s not my girlfriend!”
Raph scoffed, but didn’t say anything.
“This is a dream come true!” The rat man exclaimed, embracing his son. “At least I’ll be able to marry one of you off.”
Leo’s breath caught in his throat as his father mentioned marriage. “Mar—” He coughed. “Ughh, I have to get out of here.”
He grabbed his pizza slice and retreated before anyone else could say anything.
The blue turtle frowned as his phone kept going to voicemail. He stared at his unanswered text messages and sighed. Where was she? Why wasn’t she answering?
He felt like he shouldn’t worry, but he did. He had to make sure she was okay.
He dropped down the fire escape and peaked inside her apartment. All the lights were off, but the sun illuminated the interior. There were boxes all around with various labels on them: “Kitchen”, “Living Room”, “Storage” and so on.
The turtle eagerly rapped against the window and waited.
Lala soon emerged from the hallway leading to her bedroom. When she saw Leo, her expression was unreadable. Worry shot through the turtle as he urged her to let him in.
She sighed and shook her head before nearing the window and unlocking it. Strangely, she didn’t open it like she always did. She just turned back towards the hallway to her room.
Leo cautiously slid open the window and entered her apartment. He followed her into her bedroom where she was packing all her books into a small box.
“Hey… what’s goin’ on?” The turtle tried to hide the discontent in his voice.
“Are you… moving? Why didn’t you tell me?” Leo tilted his head. “And you haven’t been answering your phone.”
The girl sighed again as she taped the box shut and lifted it off the ground. She went to slide past Leo, but instead of moving, he grabbed the other end of the box.
When she looked up at him, she couldn’t stand the determined yet melancholy expression on his face.
“La’… why are you ignoring me?”
“I’m not. I let you in, didn’t I?” The girl snapped.
Leo looked at her incredulously. “Are you being serious right now? What’s wrong? What happened?”
She tried to push past him, but he didn’t budge. “Leo—”
“Did I do something wrong?” The sadness in his voice sent a pang of guilt through the female ninja.
“What? No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why are you acting so weird?” His hand slid along the bottom of the box just enough to caress her own. He pulled her closer, examining her features for an answer. “Why are you shutting me out?”
Lala turned her gaze upwards to meet the turtle’s eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but soon realized that she didn’t even know what to say. She just wished that he didn’t get so curious and come to her apartment. His presence just further complicated things.
Fear settled in the pit of Leo’s stomach. “I thought we were… getting closer. Now you’re trying to move away from me… and you didn’t even tell me.”
“I really thought you liked me. Cuz I still like you.”
The girl lamented as more guilt swirled uncomfortably in her chest. “Leo, I do like you. I just… I have to leave.”
“But why?” He asked persistently.
“I… The Foot found someone to help me master my powers.” She admitted.
Leo blinked. “Really? Who?”
“I can’t tell you that, Leo.” She replied sharply and finally pushed past him into the living room.
He quickly followed behind her. “How long are you gonna be gone for?”
The girl shrugged and set the box on top of another. “I don’t know. They never told me. Probably a while.”
“So you really were about to leave without telling me anything? Is that why you weren’t answering your phone?”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Leo. Is this 20 fucking questions?”
“Why are you being so difficult?” The turtle threw his hands in the air before crossing them tightly across his plastron. “I don’t get it.”
Lala clenched her fists at her side, trying to fight off tears. “You are the one making this difficult! You shouldn’t have come here. Now I feel like a piece of shit.”
“Well, maybe if you just talked to me, you wouldn’t feel like a piece of shit.” Leo suggested.
But the girl shook her head. “I’ve felt like shit all my life. Talking has only made me feel worse. Like right now. I feel… worse.”
She watched his expression turn from one of care and worry to irritation. “Well, I’m sorry I made you feel like a piece of shit for ghosting me.”
It angered her that he was right. Tears began to form in her eyes as the lump in her throat grew. She wanted to tell him everything, but even some parts of what Draxum had told her hadn’t fully sank in yet.
The female ninja stomped over to the kitchen and began wrapping a mug in a large sheet a paper. “If you came over here to scold me, you can just leave.”
“Wha—scold you? I came because I was worried!” Leo’s voice raised as his annoyance grew. “We text every day and then you just stopped all of the sudden. Wouldn’t you feel the same way if I did that to you? Or is it only okay when you drop off the face of the Earth?”
Lala spun around angrily. “Well, I’m right here, aren’t I?!”
“Just stop, Leo. Go away!”
His exasperation began to fade. “What?”
A tormenting silence fell on the both of them. Lala had stopped her task, frozen in place. She hadn’t really wanted space from Leo. She wanted space from the pain and fear that the conversation with Draxum dug up from the past.
The wounds that never healed, infecting her body with indecision.
She knew she needed to figure her shit out, and she didn’t want to hurt Leo any more than she already had.
“Well—how much?” The turtle’s shoulders slumped.
“A lot right now.” The girl hugged her waist, her back to Leo. “I’m sorry.”
It was Leo’s turn to be speechless. After a while, he stammered.
“But… we were okay just yesterday. Things weren’t perfect but we—”
“Well things are different now.” Lala’s voice shook.
He was in disbelief. She couldn’t be serious right now. They had just gotten so close and now she was throwing him away like trash on the sidewalk.
She didn’t reply. She didn’t even look at him.
“Okay… I see how it is…” Leo trudged over to the window and opened it. “I won’t bother you anymore. Bye, Lala.”
Once he left, the girl closed and locked the window. She crumbled to the ground as the tears kept flowing and she choked on her sobs.
It didn’t have to end like this…
