Song: Where I Belong - Simple Plan, State Champs, We The Kings

   "What exactly are we doing, Mikey?" I ask as I watch the teenage turtle remove perishables from the refrigerator.

   "Making pizzas!" He spreads the items across the island in no particular order, then he opens the freezer.

   I do a double take and realize there is ice cream in the freezer. But it isn't ordinary ice cream; it's in the shape of a cat. And the cat is meowing.

   I am mesmerized by what I see, and I can't find the words to question it until Michelangelo closes the freezer, cutting off my view. "What was that?" I ask, shaking my head to clear it.

   "Oh, her?" Michelangelo opens the freezer door again and grind. "Her name is Ice Cream Kitty!"

   I blink a few times. "Yeah, I could have guessed that," I finally say, still utterly confused.

   Michelangelo unboxes two small pizzas and sets them out on the island. I help him unwrap the toppings. As I do so, I listen to him humming a strange tune. It sounds familiar...

   "Are you humming Shake It Off?" I giggle.

   "Yeah, dudette!" Michelangelo gives me a cheery smile. "It's my jam!"

   "I didn't even think you guys knew about that kind of music," I admit.

   "Oh, I know all the cool artists!" Michelangelo bubbles. He pulls out his T-Phone and starts pressing buttons. "Donnie fixed my phone so I can rock out to any tunes that I want! Watch."

   He taps the screen one last time and Shake It Off starts playing.  Michelangelo starts wiggling his butt as he sets the device down. He sings along, his feet tapping to the beat.

   I smile like an idiot as I begin placing toppings on my frozen pizza. It hasn't been the same without having Michelangelo's randomness around. It's like I've found a missing part of me.

   As I drop a sausage piece onto the pizza, I feel Michelangelo slip behind me. He put his face close the side of my head and sings loudly in my ear:

   "But I keep cruisin'! Can't stop, won't stop groovin'!"

   I giggle and shove him away, but he grabs my hand and tugs me back to him. The orange-clad turtle continues singing as he twirls me around. Surprised, I stumble over his feet and fall into his plastron.

   "Whoa!" Michelangelo chuckles as he helps me regain my balance. "You ok, dudette? Maybe the Mikester's moves are too extreme for you."

   "Oh, please!" I scoff playfully. "I invented the word-" Just as I prepare my comeback, I trip, smacking into his chest again.

   "-the word 'clumsy'?" he finishes my remark, helping me once more.

   I laugh and punch his arm gently. "Maybe."

   "I thought ballerinas were supposed to be, like, smooth and stuff," the turtle teases.

   My smile is so large that I am certain I look ridiculous. I pat his cheek as I reply, "I thought the same about ninjas."

   "Hey!" he protests. "I am totally smooth! Watch!"

   Before I know what's happening, I'm spinning again. I go in one circle, then two. And another one. Four, five, six...

   Then, I stop.

   I'm leaned back in Michelangelo's arms. He is an inch from my face, his eyes fixated on mine, and his hands squeezing my arms.

   I gape at him. "What was that?" I ask, breathless from astonishment.

   He grins, his happy little teeth showing. "No idea! Er- I mean, like a turtle do, brah!" he exclaims, seeming quite proud of himself.

   After I recover from my near-heart attack, I remove myself from his grasp. My arms feel cold as they leave the warmth of his hands. I return to decorating my pizza, mimicking Michelangelo's dance moves in the process.

   The rest of the night consists of hilarious dancing, pizza overdose, and terrible puns. I am sure our laughter carries throughout the lair, but if we disturb anyone, they give no sign of it. We continue on with our shenanigans until sunrise.

   I am tired from my trip to the turtle's place, but my excitement of being reunited with my best friend keeps me fueled. I get so caught up that I actually forget the real reason I'm here.

   Michelangelo seems to feel the same, because out of all of our conversations in the past, he has never talked this long. He catches me up on everything I missed, plus some details I could do without. Still, I am engrossed in his story-telling, because I missed his voice so much. Talking over the phone was so different from listening to him in real life.

   By morning, we are passed out in his bedroom. We snooze the day away, until a loud knocking brings us out of Dream Land.

   "Wake up, lazybones!" I recognize Donatello's voice on the other side of the door. "It's not winter yet, so no hibernating!"

   I rub the sleep from my eyes and look around. I'm lying on the floor with several action figures surrounding me. I am using a stack of comic books as a pillow.

   I roll over. To my shock, Michelangelo is dangling off of his bed, his face only a few inches from mine. I accidentally release a startled squeak.

   The noise wakes Michelangelo. "Hmm?" he groans, rolling over.

   "No! Mikey, don't-" I begin to warn him, but it's too late. He topples off of his bed and crashes to the floor.

   The turtle sits up abruptly, his eyes wide and alert. "I'm awake!" he gasps. Then he realizes where he is and relaxes. "Hi, Lizzy!" he says, without a glimpse of morning grumpiness.

"Morning, Mikey," I greet him through a yawn. I stretch my stiff limbs and glance around the room again. Taking in a second view reveals it's a wreck.

Instantly, I feel guilty. "Did we make this mess?" I ask as I put the comics on his nightstand.

"Mess? What mess?" Michelangelo questions in surprise. "My room hasn't been this clean in years!" The turtle picks up a toothbrush off of the floor. "I was looking for this! It's my Limited-Edition Space Heroes electric toothbrush! Can you believe I found something like this practically unused?!"

Practically unused? "No, not at all," I reply, trying not to laugh. His obliviousness is comical sometimes.

However, I change the subject in case he decides to start brushing his teeth with it. That would just be disgusting.

"I think Donnie wants us out there," I point out.

"Oh, ok!" The turtle exclaims cheerfully. "Let's go!"

Not having a choose since he grabs my wrist, I follow him out into the main room. Leonardo is leaned over the pinball machine and Raphael sits quietly on the sofa. Donatello fiddles with his T-Phone, but quits once we catch his eye.

"Morning!" The purple-clad turtle greets us. "Sleep well?"

Michelangelo and I exchange secretive glances. "Absolutely," I finally answer.

"Don't assume we didn't hear you guys," Leonardo says as his fingers tackle the pinball machine. "You guys were louder than Casey when he's watching a hockey game!"

"Hey!" Casey's voice rings throughout the room. He is standing at the entrance to the lair, looking more confident than he did yesterday.

"Someone has to tell the players what they're doing wrong," the teenage boy defends himself as he walks over to us. "Like, for example, you need to flick this lever twice instead of once," he instructs the blue-clad turtle, tapping the pinball machine.

Leonardo does what he's told. It works, because his score goes soaring as the pinball bounces around the board.

"Yes!" The turtle shouts, throwing an excited fist in the air. "New high score!"

"So," Leonardo begins as he clears the excitement from his throat. "Did you take out Bebop and Rocksteady by yourself?" He eyes Casey with a hint of teasing.

Casey would normally flip at his mockery, but for some reason, he doesn't. He just shrugs, looking bored. "They went away without a fight," he answers.

Leonardo is shocked. "What?"

"Yep." Casey shrugs again, pushing the blue-clad turtle away from the pinball machine. "My turn."

Donatello instantly has a suspicious look on his face. "That doesn't make sense. Unless..." He taps his chin thoughtfully. "Unless they had something more important to attend to."

"They must be up to something," Leonardo speculates while frowning.

"I don't know about that," Donatello disagrees. "Or at least, I don't want to admit that they are. I'd look into it before jumping to conclusions. If you need me, I'll be in my lab," he adds, before he leaves the main room.

I glance at Michelangelo and Casey. They missed the conversation, as they are lost in their competitive pinball game. Raphael doesn't give any indication that he had heard either, because he is lost in his magazine.

I shake my head and turn away, nearly jumping out of my skin when I almost collide with Leonardo. I didn't hear him come up behind me.

The blue-clad turtle blinks guiltily. "Sorry," he apologizes with embarrassment.

"It's ok," I sigh with relief as my heart calms down. "I've just forgotten what it's like to be around ninjas."

He smiles slightly. "Want me to remind you by going on a walk?"

I return the smile as excitement takes me over. Walks with Leonardo are always interesting, whether something good or bad happens. It'll be nice to chat with him again, especially since he isn't acting weird around me anymore.

"Sure!" I agree.

He leads me out of the lair, and I can't deny an adrenaline rush as I follow.