Disclaimer: don't own Teen Titans. Or DC Comics.

Chapter 4

Gar took a bite of his fake steak, chewing moderately. The room was quiet because everyone had been eating in silence and Steve on the contrary was in one of his moods.

After finalizing the deals and such between Raven and the New Zealand chick he decided to skip work (which was a first), and go home since Rita had been worried sick about him.

And he wasn't expecting to come home, once have opened the door, to have Steve start yelling at him immediately.

There were a multiple of swear words pointed towards Gar but Rita immediately calmed her husband down.

"Steve," she said soothingly, "he can explain. It must've been pretty serious."

Therefore, Gar did explain but vaguely he did so.

No, that didn't satisfy his sergeant-like Father at all.

Now as he looked at his whole family who were eating in silence he looked down at his plate immediately when he saw that they were looking at him.

Rita had been looking at him with concern.

Steve, disappointment.

Larry, curiosity.

Cliff-not surprisingly-was smirking at him. Maybe because of his ridiculous looking outfit?

Gar shovelled a good size of mash potatoes in his mouth.

"Garfield, sweetie," Rita said slowly but in a gentle tone, "where were you all of last night. I called you multiple of times."

"I went back to work after I bought your yoga things. I'll bring them tomorrow, I-"

"Where is that hideous car of your's anyway?" Steve asked suspiciously, yet his tone didn't reveal suspicion. He had been waiting for Gar and hadn't heard him pulling in. He knew he'd arrived when he heard his foot steps.

Steve had good hearing.

Intuition?

"Kory has it."

"Really?" Cliff questioned, "I thought Kory couldn't drive. Remember, I tried teaching her how to drive and...you know the rest."

Gar shrugged. He really didn't want to answer Cliff because of all that meat he had in his mouth, and he was talking with his mouth full.

Eww!

"Garfield Mark Logan please give us an answer," Steve demanded.

Gar grinned and looked at his family. "Okay," he said, "I'll tell you. It's at my fianceé's. May I be excused now?"

Sure, he knew he was being extremely vague but he wasn't all too aware on how shocked the people at the dinner table were.

Rita started having a coughing fit because she'd taken at the moment a bite of her spicy buffalo rice. Steve swallowed loudly and started mumbling, his face turned a shade of red. Larry adjusted his glasses and took a sip of water before saying something sarcastic and witty, and lastly Cliff said, "I knew it. I knew it. I saw you on TV earlier today. You were with this dark haired girl."

Gar wanted to say something but Rita and Steve beat him to it.

"What channel?" Rita asked.

"Do you know what show?" Steve asked. "If you do, show immediately!""

Steve didn't shout. But his voice was yet, firm.

"Um," Cliff stood up setting his napkin down on his plate, "I recorded it. I could show you."

"Please," Rita insisted, "now."

Rita and Steve sat on the couch in the living room and Larry sat in an armchair, and Cliff sat in the recliner, and Gar with a miserable face expression was sitting on the floor.

As soon as Cliff selected 'play now' on the recordings list DC News! Appeared on the screen.

"Why were you watching TV on the styling channel?" Asked Larry smugly.

Cliff frowned. "Hey, I was flippin' through the channels. I saw Gar, and stopped at the channel. It ain't a crime is it, to see your little brother on TV, is it? Besides, it's a celebrity channel, or reality..I don't know."

Rita shushed them.

"Hello, DC News watchers," said a dark haired woman with a peachy-keen smile, "we've got some juicy news for you all today!"

Then after that was said the Asian woman beside her said, "Like who's dating Who? is teen idol Jason Todd in rehab? Did supermodel Donna Troy split from her fiancé? Did Nancy Drew star Barbara Gordon post a selfie on Twitter of her and junior playboy Richard Grayson? Did NFL player Victor Stone flip off the paparazzi? Lois and I will talk about it once we get back to you."

Then commercial.

Cliff then fast forward through the whole TV program until he got to the one part that was important.

"Okay," the dark haired woman with the maroon lipstick said, "you Prophecy Fans and fans of Raven Roth's work are in for a surprise. Rachel Roth was seen with a nice looking young man, and they appeared to have been shopping and taking a late night walk." It showed the pic Roy showed him earlier. "So there you have it, Raven Roth a best-selling author has recently been spotted walking with her boyfriend who looks to be just a normal guy. Even though rumours had sparked that Duel With the Dragon star Malchior and her were engaged. Those appeared to be false, because we all know America. He may be engaged to Angel. So there you have it people, Raven Roth is dating."

Before the topics switched a pic showed of Raven. Who was in a turtle neck, dawning a ghostly grin.

Then the topic turned to Victor Stone. A TMZ shot showing a dark skinned guy with a muscular build who has his middle finger up in a malice-like manner while walking on the sidewalk had just come out of a hotel.

"You know," said Gar shaking his head, "I went to high school with that guy. Man, hope fames not gettin' to his head."

"She's an author," said Steve as Cliff paused the television. "Tara is an author too, who wrote those adventure series."

"I have read Rachel Roth's work," commented Larry, "her narrative is quite intelligent."

"She's pretty," Rita added in.

"And is Tara," Steve added in.

"The Raven chick seems cute," Cliff stated.

"Does it really matter?" Gar asked calmly. "I'm over Tara, she's in the past. I'm engaged to Raven. I'm going to bed now."

He began to get up from the couch but Steve stopped him. "Gar, just because you're not over Tara yet doesn't mean-"

"Steve can you please not pull that card?" he sighed, "by all means respect, but can you just not mention...her?"

Steve crossed his arms. "Gar, how can I not bring her up. When you're engaged to her." He motioned to the screen.

"She has a name Steve, and Tara's the one who needs to get clean."

"We all know that Garfield, but when you love someone. Aren't you supposed to see them at their worst?"

"Not like that Steve."

"Well, son-"

"Steve, please. Let him go to bed," Rita interrupted, "He obviously looks tired. Can this wait until tomorrow?"

He nodded and looked away, not saying a word.

Cliff and Larry hadn't said a word.

"Here," said Gar picking up one of the signed copies of 'The End' "Can you at least read some of this? At least you'll know she has good quality writing."

Then-before anyone could stop him again-he immediately got up from the couch and left. Leaving out the front door.

-/-

Gar had pulled the sloppy jalopy into the driveway and got out walking to the front door sticking the key into the door knob walking inside the house.

Trying not to make any noise he walked to the kitchen to pack him some containers of leftover To-Stake(tofu-like stake meat), and after he'd do that he would go home to his apartment because he didn't like spending a night here. Especially the mood Steve was in, and the friction that was between Steve and him.

Besides, his room was smelly because of a dead mouse decaying under his bed.

The leftovers in his hand, he threw away the napkin he'd wiped the counter with. But what he saw in the trash can as he threw away the napkin made him feel lousy. It was a copy of The End he'd given Steve who'd apparently threw it away.

Having the food container in one hand he took the book from the can and held it between his forearm and side.

He then walked out of the house(locking the door too) and to his vehicle. Getting into the car, he set the food and book into the passengers seat and drove towards home.

As he drove he was smiling. Happy to have his car back because it'd been about to be Hell getting it back, Richard had stopped by Raven's again and he had to be extra careful and sneaky.

Gratefully though, he'd parked far away from Raven's house because before he'd parked it, Raven suggested he park it somewhere where not to raise suspicion and other reasons he'd forgotten. Maybe, it'd been about the photographer dude.

-/-

"Yes, I'm visiting Arella Roth. Room 209, right? Thank you."

Raven took out a pair of sun glasses and put them on. She didn't want to be recognised when she visited her mother at this mental hospital. It was already embarassing enough the whole world knows about her mothers breakdown.

"Mother, I'm here," she said walking into the plainly decorated room.

Arella didn't do anything. She still stared into space. Her eyes were glassy and her mouth was in a thin line. There was a bowl of carrots and ranch beside her on a nightstand.

Raven closed her eyes for a second before opening them and walking over to her mother and hugging her.

After the usual happened, which was trying multiple of times to get her mother to talk and make her eat she decided to grab the book that laid upon the nightstand and open to the page they left off.

Raven sat in an armchair next to the TV. She cleared her throat and began to read in a smooth rich tone.

"'No!' Had screamed the seven year old girl as she seen the world fall apart 'I can't be the destroyer of all of this!"

"But you can see quite well," the Demon said in a tone so evil there was no sign of him having a conscience worth gold. He began multiplying in great lengths of size and dignity. Fire beginning to worsen around the buildings. Therefore, the little girl began to cry. Tears dripping down her eyelids, her eyes big as saucers...

"He is a demon," Arella murmured. She sat back and closed her eyes rubbing the finger where a wedding ring use to be. "Your father is a demon..."

Raven gave her mother a hard patient stare before continuing to read, yet she didn't even start reading when her mother started humming a song. A song she was already tired of. So tired in fact that when her mother started humming THAT! song...she'd immediately leave.

Because even when she'd tell her mother to "please, stop humming that song." She would hum even louder as if that's what Raven wanted.

Maybe, she'd stay like she always wanted to, but her father had ruined it for her. Everything he'd said about that song. Pfft, yeah. Forget it.

Although her mothers voice had sounded beautiful like always.

-/-

Author's Note: Okay...if you reached this author's note you read the chapter.

Also, DC News! is kind of a homage or parody of E News! On the same channel Keeping Up with the Kardashians comes on.

I don't own any of those shows either.