Rock Your World -1

'The person you are trying to reach has a voicemail that is full... Please try your call again later.' It was the umpteenth time he had tried calling his childhood friend since he arrived at the airport. With a grunt he sat back down and crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed in a mix of annoyance and fatigue. He was hungry and very tired after his long flight from Japan. "I should've known this bone-head would pull one like this." He was waiting on his best friend Casey who was supposed to pick him up. 

He zippered his jacket up and shifted to try and get comfortable on the hard bench, when his phone began to ring. He brought up the device slowly to look at the screen. Even though he was anxious to get out of there, he sure as shell wasn't going to act like it. "Urgh..." The caller ID showed that it wasn't Casey who was calling... It was his brother, Donatello. Rolling his eyes, he swiped the screen to answer the call. "Yeah?"

"So it WAS true..." Donnie's voice was calm and even. "Let me guess... You have been waiting on Casey for hours, haven't you...?" Raphael didn't answer, just gave out a low growl. "Hmm, I figured that was the case..." Raph's eyes snapped open as he noticed that the voice in the auricular echoed from behind him. He turned his head slowly to find Donatello standing there, holding his phone in his hand. 

Raph rolled his eyes and grunted. "Yo..." It wasn't that he didn't want to see Donnie, on the contrary he was very fond of his brother. They had always been very close, but the way things had been left before he left for Japan had put the siblings at odds. "Did Case call ya?" 

"He had a last minute hockey practice session and couldn't get out of it..." Donnie looked different than what Raphael remembered. He had always thought of his brother to be the geekiest of all geeks. Donnie was smart. Very smart. He had always worn simple clothing; khakis, button ups... That kind of stuff. But the Donatello standing in front of him looked sharp and edgy. He was sporting a pair of ripped up, dark wash jeans, a fitted, purple, V-neck t-shirt with an unbuttoned vest over it. His chocolate-brown eyes accentuated by the purple blush around his face. 

Raphael stood up, swinging his duffelbag over his shoulder. He was much taller than his brother. He had always portrayed his 'bad-boy' attitude flawlessly, cocking his head to the side, the corner of his lip went up. "Well, will ya look at this... Donnie boy is looking handsome and shit." 

Donnie smiled. "Come on, tough guy. My car is waiting outside."

'His car'... With those words it all came back to Raphael. The reason why him and Don had fought before he left for Japan. His frown scrunched up as he followed his brother. Suddenly, he heard a woman's screech. "Oh my god! It IS him!!! It's Donnie!!! From TMNT!!!" He saw Donatello's shoulders tense up, his olive-green skin going a couple of shades lighter.

"Oh shell... Come on, Raphael!" Donnie started to run towards the exit. Raph sighed, but quickly realized it was not just a couple of girls trying to reach his bro, but a hoard of frantic women. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he darted after his brother. As soon as his foot stepped outside, he saw Donnie waving him in from the passenger door of a black luxury car. Rolling his eyes, Raph darted in the backseat of he car, closing the door just in time before the female fans reached them, their screams hysterical as they tried to get Donatello's attention. Donnie let out a deep breath that he had probably been holding in since he started his escape. Don started to turn to face Raph when his face went completely red. Raphael followed his gaze to his window, spotting a pair of flattened boobs rubbing against the glass. He couldn't hold his laughter. His bro might have turned into a famous pop-rock star, but Donnie would always be Donnie... 

"So... Let me guess... Fans?" Raphael asked.

"Gee... What gave THAT away?" Donnie rubbed the back of his head bashfully, turning a kind grin to his brother, who now seemed more relaxed than moments before when they had met. "I'm sorry, Raph... I didn't mean to put you through that... But Casey called so last minute I didn't really have time to grab a disguise or anything."

"Last minute? I've been at that airport for over two hours! If I had ta wait longer to avoid them crazy chicks I wouldn't have really minded, ya know!" Raph set his duffel down and started to unzip his leather jacket. Under it he was wearing a simple white, fitted t-shirt which accentuated his well defined biceps. 

"Well, I'm sorry, but I am the one with the time crunch. I have rehearsal in fifteen minutes." He looked at the driver, giving a nod to emphasize that they would be cutting it really close unless he stepped on it. The hound-dog humanoid took the hint and accelerated. 

"Say what? No!" Raphael's mouth opened up in protest. "I am NOT going to your stupid practice! Just drop me off anywhere. I'll manage."

"Come on, Raphael. Casey said he would come get you at the studio. Can't you bear with it for once?" Donnie's voice wasn't argumentative. He was trying his best to keep his tone calm and kind, trying to get his brother to finally accept his choice of joining the band instead of going with him to Japan on the scholarship they had worked so hard to get... together. 

Raphael crossed his arms and turned his gaze from his gentle brother. He couldn't ever really deny Donnie anything when he asked nicely. "Fine... But don't except me ta clap for ya."

Donnie smiled. "Thanks, bro. Plus, I wanna introduce you to the guys!" Raph felt a chill go down his back. He had met one of them before... The loud, obnoxious one who had 'discovered' Donnie at the karaoke bar. This was going to be beyond annoying for him. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful. Donnie asked short questions about Raph's stay abroad, keeping them away from scholastic-related topics. Raph answered them shortly, commenting on the weather, the nightlife, the annoying flight back... Before they knew it, the car came to a stop in front of a two story building. Donnie thanked the driver and let himself out of the car. Raph sighed and followed, holding his duffel in one hand and his jacket in the other. Don approached the building's entrance, and as he did, the door swung open. The person on the other side, a tall, muscular turtle, almost as tall as Raphael was. He recognized him right away as the obnoxious guy from the karaoke bar. Raph rolled his eyes. 

"Yo, Donnie! Hurry up inside, dude! Leo is about to have a fit about you being late!" This turtle looked to be younger than Raph and Don. He was wearing an orange hoodie and light-blue jeans. Atop his head sat a black fitted cap with its lip facing upwards a bit, revealing baby-blue eyes surrounded by an orange blush color on his skin. 

"Sorry, Mikey. Something important came up." Donnie pointed at his brother behind him. 

Mikey's mouth opened in a wide toothy smile. Raph couldn't help but think to himself that the guy was pretty handsome... for an obnoxious loud mouth. "Hello there! A friend of Donnie is a friend of moi! I'm Michelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey!"

"This is my brother, Raphael. He just got back from Japan." Donnie hurried inside as he spoke, turning sharply to take the stairs to the second floor. 

"Japan, huh? Sounds interesting... Maybe we can talk more about it later over a couple of drinks...?" 

"You are not old enough to drink yet, Michelangelo." A stoic voice resonated from the top of the stairs. Looking up, Raphael noticed another turtle standing cross-armed, looking down on the rest of them. He wore a navy-blue button-up shirt and dark-gray cargo pants. The hazel of his eyes accentuated by the blue blush that painted his strong facial features. He looked shorter than the rest, but his muscles were well sculpted. Raph noticed his jaw was hanging while he was looking at the guy. His breath hitched when he spotted the sexy silver ring at the corner of his bottom lip. He thought to himself this guy was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen... 

"Hey, Leo... This is my broth-"

"Introductions later, Donatello. We are waisting time and money. Practice started eight minutes ago." Leo turned on his heel without acknowledging Raphael's existence, and that ignited a small fire in the short-tempered turtle's head. He brushed away the thought of this stuck-up jerk being remotely good looking, and followed his brother into the room. 

Donnie guided him to a seating area where a pair of chairs sat next to a dirty-looking loveseat. He obviously went for one of the chairs. "Sorry, Raph, just wait here while practice is in session. And please, whatever you do, do not make any noise..." Raphael noticed the tension on his brother's body. This 'Leo' guy seemed to have a tight hold on his bandmates. 

Raphael noticed a pile of magazines laying on a small coffee table, and picked one out that had motorcycles on its cover page. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he thought was going to be the worst moment of his life. His eyes lifted from the pages as he saw Donnie pull over the strap of a purple, pearl finished bass guitar. He made a mental note to tease Donnie on how he looked like  he was gonna shit his pants from his nerves. Then he saw Michelangelo jump swiftly behind the drum set, twirling the drumsticks effortlessly in his hands, that cocky grin never leaving his face. Then, he saw Leonardo; he lifted a beautiful double pedal classic white and blue vintage electric guitar. As much as he hated himself for it, his heart skipped a beat. 

Leonardo's eyes found Raphael's golden orbs, but as quick as they locked with each other's, they both looked away. Raphael felt warm blood rising to his head, taking a deep breath he looked at Leo once more, his breath catching in his throat when he noticed Leonardo was looking at him, a light grin curling his pierced lip. Raph immediately shifted his attention back to his magazine. He could feel his cheeks going as red as his facial markings. 

"Ok, guys. Let's start with 'All that's left' to warm up... Mikey, give us the beat." It was obvious Leo was the leader of the group. 

Mikey clapped his drumsticks a steady three times before he started to beat on his drums. It was a rather slow tune. Donnie joined in with his bass guitar. Leonardo closed his eyes as he tapped his foot on the floor to the beat. Then, his eyes suddenly opened and his fingers went to those carefully tempered strings. The melody quickened to a fast electrifying tune. Raph unconsciously set the magazine on his lap as his body leaned forward. He held his breath when he heard Leo sing... 

Leonardo's voice was deep but not too low. As he sang words of heartbreak and troubles, Raphael's eyes locked onto those sexy forest-green lips. The beat slowed for the chorus and Donnie joined into the lyrics. Raph couldn't help but notice how his brother's voice sounded well polished, and more elegant than how he remembered it. Then, the beat accelerated again, bringing Leo to perform a guitar solo which sent a throb down Raphael's gut. Leo's face, as he played his guitar, was that of someone who was making love to someone else. His frown was tight, his eyes hooded, his teeth bitting lightly his lower lip. Raph could see his skin glisten with a light coat of sweat... And then he smelled it. Leo's sweet scent filled his nostrils. Raph suppressed a churr from coming up his throat. He sat back nonchalantly and slowly brought one hand up to lightly cover his mouth. He continued to watch the group perform, feeling an increasing tightness bulging under his tail. As much as he tried to focus on his brother or even the obnoxious Michelangelo, his eyes always seemed to gravitate towards the passionate Leonardo. 

Suddenly, a loud, alarm sounding ringtone broke through the music, making Leonardo tense his hand so hard that one of his guitar strings snapped, hitting his finger sharply. He let out a hiss as he swatted his hand a couple of times before bringing his finger to eye level before bringing it to his mouth. Raphael swallowed hard, realizing what had happened. The blue turtle turned a narrowed gaze to the larger terrapin. "I-I'm so sorry, man! I didn't think I would get a call..." Raph rushed to find his phone in one of his jacket pockets. 

"Don. Escort him to the downstairs waiting area." Leo's voice sank into Raph like a dagger, washing away everything else he had been feeling moments before. 

"Sorry, bro... But we have an important show coming up and can't afford to miss any practice time." Donnie's face looked flustered, and Raph couldn't help but feel the anger rising to his head; seeing his mellow brother act like a pussy because some guy felt entitled to order him around was not something he was willing to take lightly. 

"Hey! Big shot! Your beef is with me, leave my brother out of yer nag session." Raph's voice bounced against the acoustic walls, making it rumble louder. Leo lifted a brow as he crossed his arms against his chest. "I can walk myself out. Wouldn't want ya ta lose any precious practice time. I already cost ya eight fucking minutes, didn't I?"

"Twelve." Leonardo spoke through gritted teeth. 

Raphael growled, throwing a cheeky grin at Leonardo. "Well, put it on my tab."

Leo's shoulders twitched up lightly, enough for Raphael to notice it and know he had triumphantly hit a nerve. And with that win, he turned on his heel and grabbed his belongings before stomping to the door. He turned his face lightly to address his brother. "Yo, Don, call me when ya get out. I wanna catch up with ya."

His chest filled as he saw the sincere smile that painted Donnie's face, and with that satisfaction he left the building. 

When he walked out, he heard a familiar honk from a car. Turning his head he smiled when he spotted Casey's beat up, piece of shit Jeep Wrangler that his dad had given him senior year of high school. "Yo, Raphie! Ya got fat, ya shell brain!" 

Raph threw his duffel at his life long friend as he chuckled his way into the passenger seat. "Shat ap, ya meat head! I'm fucking hungry 'cause of waitin' for yer ass! Hurry ap 'n' feed me, or I'll tell April ya banged that Jap chick when ya came ta visit me for Spring Break..." 

Casey's grin flattened into a thin line, and with a low growl he started his car and did a burn-out as he sped off. "Your fault ya got me shit faced, you jerkoff... Thought we agreed to never speak of that again."

With a loud laugh, Raphael slapped the back of his friend's shoulder hard. Finally he could relax a bit and enjoy being back home in sweet, stinky New York City.