Well, after a long time of…doing nothing, I finally updated. First off, let me just give a big thank you to zerowolfgirl who really got me motivated, went out and spread the word about this (what she and others call 'amazing') story. I can't wait to see the reviews that come in for this chapter.
But first, I need to thank some people: Calliope Mused, hoshi-ko88, RobinXStar (three times) Fan, NeveremoresAngel, Snea, Sweet Nymph, Tameranian Raven, Chibi Scooby, They-Call-Me-Orange and Sorceress of Demon Otters.
And I would also like to thank the one person who truly thinks this story sucks and I quote her review, "And you thought my story was bad! Have you even read yours before?"
Yes, Jinx the Sorceress…thank you for being so wrong! And confirming my doubts that you a bitter and volatile tempered girl.
So without further ado…here is chapter seven.
PS: Garfield and Raven get naked together in this chapter!
Chapter Seven: Preparation
For the past couple of hours that Tuesday afternoon, Garfield had been pushing himself the extra mile to show Bruce that he had the determination, the stamina and above all, the desire to be able to participate in this Thursday's boxing event at JC High. When practice was done for the day, Garfield sat in the changing room in thought. While Cyborg and Robin got undressed from the sweat-coated clothing, Garfield sat and had his thoughts on Bruce and what he thought of him.
"Yo, BB," called Cy as he wrapped his towel around himself. "As good as you are, you still need to think about your smell, you know?"
"Am I that good?" he asked the both of them.
Robin shrugged and rubbed a bruised shoulder blade that he had received while sparring with Cyborg. "Well…you're better than when you came in here, that's for sure."
"Am I good enough for Thursday though?" he wanted to know.
"That's up to you," said Robin. "I mean, I know that earlier Bruce definitely didn't want you in that ring with an opponent but…well you were pretty good on the speed bag today."
"'Cept for when you started rotating your fists in a wheel and you whacked yourself in the chin," Cyborg added.
"Oh, one time I did that," Garfield quickly retorted. "One time."
"Like, if you want to," said Robin as he moved towards the shower, "just say to Bruce, 'I want to be in the Thursday show at the school because I think I'm ready.'"
"Will it work?" asked Garfield as he started to pull off his t-shirt. He was having difficulty as the shirt has stuck to his coated chest.
"I don't know," said Robin as he threw off the towel and headed into the shower, instantly turning on the desired hot water.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," said Cyborg, "I'm going to join him-and I hope you do to cause if you don't I'm calling you Reek Boy from now on. Damn, you might want to pick up a stronger deodorant."
Bruce Wayne sat behind the front desk while checking out a floor pan of Jump City High School's gym/auditorium. While he had often had done the same thing every year at the gym, he always wanted to make sure that he could fit his ring perfectly inside so that every spectator could see every hook and jab.
"May I speak with you?" Garfield's voice asked. Bruce recognized it instantly, having worked with eh teen for a little more than a month now.
He looked up and with a friendly tone, replied, "Of course. Would you prefer it here or in the office?"
"Here," Garfield answered instantly. "Look, I really respect your opinion and no matter what you say, I still will but I just wanna go to you first."
"What is it?"
Taking a deep breath, Garfield let out in one quick breath, "Am I good enough for the Thursday show?"
Bruce looked at him like he was peering into his soul.
"Yes," he replied.
Garfield let his jaw drop.
"I would have come to you sooner," continued Bruce, "however I didn't want you to think that this was something you had to do. I'm sorry."
A chuckle escaped from Garfield's mouth. "No, that's cool. I'm cool. But am I gonna be able to qualify?"
Bruce nodded. "I think Walkerton mentioned having one fighter that needed matching up. His name is Adonis. You're about his stats. Just stick to your training and…I'll save this for the fight."
Garfield extended his hand for Bruce to shake.
He took it. "Good luck, Beast Boy."
Just as Garfield was about to exit the club, Bruce called him back. In his hands was a digital camera. "Don't smile," said Bruce. He took the picture and then looked it over on the digital screen. "Good. Do you have your birth certificate on you?"
Garfield pulled out his wallet and carefully handed Bruce a tattered old piece of paper. "What do you need it for?" he asked.
"Nothing important," said Bruce. "I'll give it back to you Thursday after the fight."
The next day, Garfield, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven sat in the hallway, eating their lunch.
"I was thinking," said Raven, "like you know on Friday, when we exchange all our gifts and that…why don't we go see a movie afterwards?"
"An excellent idea," chirped Starfire. "Which one should we see?"
"How about The Aviator?" suggested Cyborg.
"Finding Neverland," exclaimed Starfire. "It truly looks like a wonderful, happy film."
"You realize those last four words just ruined your chances," Cyborg told her.
"What about the new Eastwood movie?" suggested Robin.
"I don't wanna see a cop movie before Christmas," argued Raven.
"It's not a cop movie," corrected Garfield. "I saw the trailer for it last night on TV. It's a boxing movie."
Those words caught the attention of the other three. Though the all knew that they were not so obsessed with the sport to the point where they slept with their cup and gloves on, it was always interesting to see how Hollywood would interpret the Sweet Science.
"What's it called?" asked Cyborg.
"Million Dollar Baby," answered Robin.
Cyborg stifled a laugh.
Raven raised an eyebrow.
Starfire blinked and then said, "Was that not the TV show about the bionic man?"
"That's the Six Million Dollar Man," Garfield corrected again. "Million Dollar Baby is supposed to be good."
"Fine," said Raven. "I'll go, but if Clint Eastwood shouts for Adrian at the end of the movie, I'm wanting a refund."
"It's about a female boxer," stated Robin.
Raven's eyes went up. "Never mind then."
"Victor Stone to the front office," boomed the PA system all over the school. "You have an urgent phone call."
Cyborg groaned. "Just when I was gonna eat my pudding," he grumbled.
"Victor," called Garfield in a high-pitched voice, "it's your mummy. I forgot to tell you tonight is bath night and I got a new washcloth to wash your bum."
The group laughed at Garfield's imitation.
Cyborg shook his head from side to side and gave a sarcastic laughter.
"You guys finish Christmas shopping?" Robin asked of the three.
Starfire nodded. "I should note that you will all be pleasantly surprised by what awaits you." She giggled just at the thought.
"Oh, Raven," said Robin. "I hope you don't mind me telling you early, but I got you one of those nice Precious Moments figurines that you love so much."
"If you did," she warned in her monotone voice, "that'll be the last thing you see until you wake up from your coma." She took a bite of her sandwich and added, "Plus, I'll castrate you in your sleep."
There was a stomping sound from the stairwell and a second later, the teens found that the sound came from the winter boots of an angry Victor "Cyborg" Stone.
"Let's go," he said. "Road trip."
"What?" frowned Garfield. "We can't leave school…lunch is done in, like, ten minutes."
"Cy, what's going on?" asked Robin.
"Revenge," growled Cyborg.
"How are we gonna leave school?" asked Raven.
"I got a plan," said Cyborg. "BB, shake!"
The secretary in the main office was busy reading the CNN website when a large black teen entered the office, looking like he was in danger.
"You gotta help me," he panted. He pointed outside to the group of three students, surrounding another student who was on the ground, convulsing.
"What's happened?" asked the secretary.
"He's diabetic," explained the teen. "He needs a refill of his medicine. We need to take him to the hospital."
"All right," said the secretary. "I'd call an ambulance but the snowstorm is making things very difficult. Will you be careful on the roads?"
"I will, ma'am," nodded the teen. He gave the name of his friends and exited quickly
The teens reached Cyborg's car while the rest of school were exiting theirs and heading inside the building. Luckily for the teens they wore the appropriate clothing as they entered the vehicle.
"Nice cover story," commented Robin as he closed the passenger door.
"Cyborg, please," Starfire pleaded as she buckled the seatbelt, "tell us what is the matter?"
"Mammoth," spat Cyborg as he sped out of the parking lot.
"Why am I in the bitch seat?" Garfield asked from the back. He was in the middle seat, between Raven and Starfire.
"You're the new guy," explained Raven. "Until someone else joins the club, you're the bitch."
"Whatever," he said in retort. "But who's Mammoth?"
"Sorta like my rival," explained Cyborg. "We've each one two fights against each other, we're about the same size but we hate each other."
"What did he do?" asked Robin.
"He shouted it over the phone," Cyborg answered with gritted teeth.
Garfield knitted his brow. "Shouted what?"
"It," came the reply through gritted teeth.
Robin turned around in his seat. "You know the word that you don't say to a guy like Cy."
Garfield thought about it for a second and then said, "Oh," so he wouldn't look ignorant. Then he really thought about and said, "Oh! Tha-that…bastard! I'm gonna kick his ass!"
Cyborg looked back at his friend and then chuckled. "Wow," he said. "I'm glad he didn't call you that, BB. No, man, this is my fight. I'm just gonna get back at him."
"How?" asked Starfire. "I must say, that if you resort to violence…the results could be disastrous."
Cyborg looked at her through the rearview mirror with a smile.
"Trust me. We should be at Walkerton in about twenty."
Walkerton High School had a much better student parking lot then JC High did simply because they had more money for the purpose.
The five teens stood in the hallway, near the office. In Starfire's hand was her makeup bag.
Cyborg tugged at his hooded sweatshirt and pulled it off, revealing his wifebeater and strong torso.
"What are you gonna do?" asked Garfield.
"Watch and learn, mi amigo," he replied. "Star, lipstick."
She retrieved her beauty item and carefully applied it to his lips so that he had a heavy layer.
"Dude, you're starting to look like a total chick," commented Garfield. "Minus all the…features."
"That's the point," said Cyborg as he pinched his nipples as hard as he could so that they would stand erect.
"Hm," said Robin, "I spy with my little eye…one straight guy pretending to be a queer guy."
Cyborg flashed a thin smile. "Oh, you stop," he spoke with a voice that gave him the stereotypical homosexual accent. "Now, if you'll excuse…I have work to do." He turned around and after giving himself a quick smack on the ass, he strutted into the office (AN: Yea, he struts).
The four other teens listened closely, hearing every word that came out of Cyborg's mouth.
"Hello," he said cheerfully to the secretary, "I need to see Ryan Mammot."
"Well," the secretary responded with a bit of puzzlement in her voice. Clearly she was looking Cyborg over and trying to wonder why a person would be wearing a just a wife beater in these frigid temperatures, "I think Mr. Mammot is in class right now. But I can leave a message and send it up to him."
"Oh, you're so nice," said Cyborg. "OK, can you tell him that Victor-the fella he met about a week ago? Tell him that Victor went to the clinic today, and I found out that I have, um, herpes simplex 10, and I think Ryan should go check himself out with his physician to make sure everything is fine before things start falling off on the man."
Garfield was on the verge of wetting his pants due to excess-and muffled-laughter.
The secretary also sounded equally stunned by this, but not in an amusing way like Garfield and the others had found it.
"Um…perhaps you better tell him yourself. Wait outside the office and I'll have him meet you there."
"Thank you," called Cyborg as he left the office. He shut the door behind him and quickly wiped the lipstick off his mouth while at the same time pulling his hooded sweatshirt back on.
A minute later a large white male, about the same size of Cyborg came down the stairs and his face dropped when he saw who was waiting for him. Ryan Mammot had lengthy hair and a stubble and wore clothes that looked too small on him.
"What a Mongoloid," said Garfield in disgust.
"The hell are you doing here?" Mammoth asked.
"Oh, I'm here to see you," said Cyborg replied confidently. "See, I gotta problem with you, Mammoth. Now, if you wanted to make a jab at me over the phone, that's cool, but to use that word, that word, on me…" Cyborg shook his head. "That ain't gonna stand."
He drew his fist back and struck Mammoth in the face. Mammoth was down and holding his jaw.
"God damn nigger," he cursed and drove his leg between Cyborg's, hitting his two best friends (AN: I'm not talking about Robin and BB).
Cyborg gave a short, sharp scream and staggered to the side.
Hell no! thought Garfield. It was an animal had been unleashed from his cage. With the speed and agility of a leopard, he darted towards the now standing Mammoth and delivered and uppercut that drove him off his feet and back on the ground.
He moved towards Cyborg and pulled his friend up.
"How're you?" he asked with a smile.
"Fine," replied Cyborg though he was now walking like a duck.
As they left, the secretary looked outside and saw the now-standing-again Mammoth, rubbing his chin.
"Did he hit you?" she asked.
"Yea," grunted Mammoth.
"Was it because you gave him the herpes?"
"Damn, BB," commented Cyborg as the teens drove back to JC High, "you really let go on him. I mean…he's pretty tough and you just whaled on him."
Garfield shrugged and rubbed his sore knuckles. "I don't know what happened," he said softly. "I just…got mad."
"You released your…inner beast," analyzed Starfire.
"Remind me never to make you that mad," advised Robin.
As Garfield waited for the bus that would take him within close range of his apartment, Cyborg and Robin were giving him pointers for tomorrow's fight.
"Don't be afraid," said Robin.
"Don't show you're afraid if you are," said Cyborg.
"Eat a good meal, since you don't gotta make weight for this fight."
"Get plenty of sleep. We don't need you fallin' over just because you're tired."
"Visualize how you want the fight to go down."
Cyborg was about to say something but then stopped and whispered something in Robin's ear. While Robin's face was initially an insightful one it quickly turned to one of disgust.
"Oh, no," gasped Robin. "No…you wanna tell him that?"
"Oh," said Cyborg. "Well…I was kinda hopin' you would."
Garfield was a bit puzzled. "Why don't you both tell me," he suggested.
"OK," said Robin. "Uh…well, you have certain needs," began Robin.
"Human needs," added Cyborg.
"And…sometimes you gotta give into them," finished Robin.
"You don't want me to overeat?" guessed Garfield.
Robin and Cyborg cringed. "Uh…no."
"What is it?"
"Well," Robin tried again, "you're a guy…"
"Is that an observation or a lucky guess?" asked Garfield.
"Shut up," chuckled Cyborg.
"And…guys…we like girls and when we don't have a girl…we like to think about them and…" Robin was clearly having a hard time with this. "And sometimes when we think about them…we get…happy. Or excited..."
"Oh, for God's sake," spat Cyborg. "Don'tfreakin' masturbate!"
Passer byers gave the trio an odd look and then continued on.
"W-what?" asked Garfield.
"Don't…jerk off," said Robin. "It takes out your legs. We shoulda told you this sooner…but we didn't know if you were gonna fight or not and then…well know you know."
"Uh…" Garfield was speechless. "Like…how long should I hold out for next time?"
"Try a week," said Cyborg.
"I do five days," said Robin.
As the bus pulled up and the doors opened, Garfield felt that he had entered an episode of Seinfeld.
Garfield had finished fifty pushups in his room when his mother called him from the kitchen. He stepped out of his room and into the kitchen where his mother handed him the phone.
"It's Raven," she said.
Raven, he thought, how unexpected…again.
He took the phone and spoke into the receiver. "Hey, Raven."
"Hi, Garfield," she said. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Oh, yea," said Garfield. "I'm fighting some guy named Adonis or something."
"Cool," said Raven with sincerity. "Uh, Garfield what kinda movies do you like? Like, what genre?"
"Comedy mostly," he replied.
"OK…what did you get me for Christmas?"
Garfield chuckled. "I can't tell you."
"Can I get a hint?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"It's solid," replied Garfield. Before he could allow Raven to chew his head off for such a worthless clue, he hung up the phone. "Oh, I'm good," he said to himself.
For some reason Garfield was back at the club. After a heavy workout he was relaxing his muscles and letting the hot water of the shower just relax him. And while he knew it was a dream, he decided just to let it pass.
Maybe it's one of those where I'm naked but nobody notices, he thought.
"Hi there," a voice said behind him.
Garfield turned around and saw Raven standing in front of him, observing his naked body. He made an effort to cover himself from her gaze.
Raven wore a simple white towel around her body, covering her body up like a one-piece bathing suit.
"It's all right," she assured him as she stepped into the showers. She pushed him up against the wall and kissed him while her body and towel became soaked. "You let me look, and I'll let you look." Her hands moved towards Garfield's and moved them away from his gentiles.
Take it off, thought Garfield.
"I should get out of these wet clothes," said Raven as she moved towards the seam on her towel. "Or I'll catch a cold."
The towel fell to the floor and Garfield stared at her beautiful naked body. He pulled Raven towards her and gave her a passionate kiss. One hand held her head while the other explored her body.
It was then that he heard the sound. It started like the beeping of a pager and then it escalated, and before Garfield could do anything else he found himself waking up.
At 6AM, Garfield awoke to his alarm clock and in a rather angry mood. He looked at his alarm clock and pounded it with his fist, shutting off the alarm sequence. He pulled off the covers and saw that he carried an easily visible erection through his boxers. And while the normal option would be to…deal with it, Garfield remembered the advice his friends had given him.
"Oh, shit," he muttered. He got up to the bathroom and filled a cup up with cold water. Closing his eyes and wincing, trying to expect the discomfort to come, he pulled the waistband of his boxers forward and poured the water down on his crotch.
"Aahhh," he groaned. He let the waistband snap back against his skin. "Good job, Gar," he told himself. "Nothing like sex dreams about Raven to get you started in the day."
To Be Continued…
OK, there you have it, all the reviews really helped me get motivated enough to write the next chapter and hopefully more will inspire me even further.
