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"There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk."
Guy Gavriel Kay
"Um, what are you doing here?" he asked sheepishly.
"I'm here with my friends," she replied, eyes practically digging a laser through him.
Garfield nodded nervously, "Me too. Heh."
Silence. What was he supposed to do? Perhaps apologize? But apologize for what? He truly believed it hadn't been his fault. Maybe if she apologized first. Or perhaps he could just walk past her, lock himself in the restroom, and just never come out. No, that would be a dumb decision.
"Gar," she snapped him out of his ridiculous ideas. "Now that we're here… I guess I should take a moment to apologize."
He raised both eyebrows, thoroughly shocked that Raven out of all people would actually apologize. "Apologize?"
"I treated you unfairly. I was frustrated, and I wasn't sure what I was saying. But that doesn't excuse my behavior. I shouldn't have brought up your girlfriend. It was a low blow, and I did it out of impulse. Since I presume we won't see each other again after this, I just wanted to tell you that."
He nodded as she spoke, somewhat shocked yet touched by her apology. He smiled, "It's alright. I say things I shouldn't all the time."
They both awkwardly chuckled and another awkward pause followed it. "So we really won't see each other again?" he asked, unsure of what brought him to say it. Way to go. Now you're certainly going to scare her away.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we do see each other…" she shrugged and crossed her arms. "That's way too many run-ins in barely a month."
"They are," he nodded, eyes tracing the sparkle in her own carefully, falling deeply into her enchantress-like charm. How did she manage to do this to him? "But I don't mind." He stepped closer, and she didn't do anything to stop him.
"I don't think I mind either," she admitted, her tone inciting something inside him in the span of a second.
They shouldn't have done it. He wasn't sure what drove him to do it. Vic had warned him. It was supposed to be a normal guy's night out. He wasn't supposed to run into her. But now that he had, he couldn't help but feel the same intense attraction he'd felt in that elevator, driven toward her like she was magnetic. And the worst part was that she didn't stop him, even though she knew she should have.
By the time they'd locked themselves in the girl's bathroom behind her, his belt was already on the ground, and their lips crashed furiously against each other, both giving into their desires. It wasn't supposed to happen. The thought was practically on repeat inside his head even as his eager hand slipped inside her pants.
Her moans were enough to encourage him, further driving them into their crazed lust. And even after he whispered, "We shouldn't be doing this," into her ear, they didn't stop, too far into their primal inclinations to think logically.
"We shouldn't," she managed in between her sighs.
He couldn't thank the woman who decided to knock on the door enough for snapping them out of their trance.
Raven's panic-stricken expression was enough to make him jerk back and hurriedly pull up his pants.
"Anybody in there?" the woman asked.
"Yes," Raven managed as she zipped up her own pants and fixed her shirt. "In a second."
"How do I get out?" Garfield whisper-yelled in a panic.
Raven breathed out, running both hands through her hair and pacing in front of him. "We'll just have to walk out like normal."
"Normal!? She'll know!"
"What other option do you have?"
Garfield sighed and nodded.
Raven proceeded to open the door with a face of shame, and they practically walked out with their tails between their legs. The old woman glared daggers at them, her face full of disgust, but fortunately, she didn't rat them out.
"That shouldn't have happened," Raven finally replied as they were out.
"No, it shouldn't have," he agreed.
"But it did."
"What do we do now?"
"Gar?" Vic's voice came from behind them, and his eyes were almost comically wide as he noticed Raven's presence. "Uh, hi, Raven." He locked eyes with Garfield, his expression loud and clear: what was the first thing I told you not to do?
"Victor," she acknowledged him. Then she looked in between them before declaring, "I have to go back to my friends."
When she left, Victor punched Garfield in the arm harshly. "What the hell, Gar? I thought I was clear with my conditions!"
"You were. Nothing happened. I swear!" he replied.
"Could you at least buckle your belt," he muttered so no one would hear them.
Garfield's eyes widened as he reached down and realized Victor was correct. He quickly did as told. "Look, dude, we ran into each other. I didn't even know she was here!"
"And then your belt mysteriously ended up unbuckled."
"Okay, let me rephrase that. Nothing happened because we were interrupted, and it snapped us out of it."
"You guys are acting like fucking hormonal teenagers! I thought you were on bad terms!?"
"She apologized," he peeped.
"And that's enough to make you get into her pants? And her to you!?"
Garfield stared at the ground like a scolded child. "I'm sorry."
"Dude, you don't have to apologize to me," he sighed. "I'm just trying to look out for you. Gar. I don't want you to fall into another bad episode."
"I know," Gar ran a frustrated hand through his locks. "I know you are. I won't let it happen. I promise."
"So if you run into her again, what are you going to do?"
"I won't have sex with her…"
Victor looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Okay. Let's go back before the guys wonder where we've gone. And for God's sake wash your hands or put on some hand sanitizer or something."
When they reached the table, Roy instantly apologized, "Sorry if I offended you, man. You know I have a big mouth."
"I said don't worry about it. I just…" he locked eyes with Victor. "I ran into someone."
"Speaking of running into people…" Wally murmured.
Gar furrowed his eyebrows and followed his line of sight until…
"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," Karen's unmistakable voice called out. Though there were a few girls by her, the only person Gar registered at that moment was Raven who's eyes were desperately trying to look everywhere but at him. "What brings you guys here?"
"Trying to cheer my boy Gar up after sleeping with some heartless bitch," Roy shrugged.
Victor almost choked on his drink while Gar inwardly cringed, so bad his face got red and he stared down at his plate.
Karen arched an eyebrow and glanced at Gar. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aw, trouble in paradise? Who's the girl? I might know her, and I can make sure to warn everyone. I don't know how any girl could be so cold toward you, Gar. You're one of the few good ones." She sent a glare toward Roy.
"Hey!" Roy protested while Wally laughed.
"The glare is for you too, Wally."
"But I'm a gentleman!"
Gar looked up momentarily at Karen who was too busy arguing with the guys. He could see Raven from his peripheral vision shifting uncomfortably in her spot and looking away. His mouth opened several times, but he couldn't find the words to say.
"She's not important right now," Victor managed to deescalate the situation. "What matters is Gar needs a break from girls, so we're trying to help him feel better." He patted his back reassuringly.
"Aw," Karen glanced back at her friends. "You know what? I have a fantastic idea!"
"And that is…?" Victor raised an eyebrow.
"A party obviously! Kory, you and Dick have a humongous place. Do you think he'd mind if we all hang out there?"
"Um, I'm not sure," Kory murmured unconfidently. "Dick isn't the most social person, especially with people he doesn't know but…" she glanced at Gar and smiled a little. "I'll try to convince him."
"Perfect!" Karen squealed. "Drinks are on me, boys!"
"Um, Karen…" Victor tried to interrupt her, but she placed a finger over his lips to quiet him.
"Don't say anything more! Meet at Kory's house at nine tonight. I'll promise it'll cheer you up, Gar!"
Then she walked off like nothing, Raven, Kory, and another girl he didn't recognize (Karen was immensely popular everywhere she went) trailing behind.
"Welp, Bee is crazy," Wally took a sip of his drink.
"No kidding," Roy added.
Gar took a few fries and basically shoved the handful into his mouth.
"You good, Gar? I can call Karen and tell her to call the party off if you're uncomfortable with it… From the looks of it, Raven might be there," Victor whispered quietly enough for only Gar to hear as Roy and Wally were now busy flirting with the waitress who'd brought over another order of fries.
"No, I'm okay. If she's friends with Karen, it means we might see her more often too, so I have to get used to being around her."
Victor seemed hesitant, but despite having bad judgment at times, he trusted Gar not to commit the same mistake twice. "Okay."
"Karen, I don't think it's a good idea for me to stay for that party…" Raven tried to explain as Karen continued to do her hair. Currently, they were in Kory and Dick's room giving Raven a small makeover (all part of Karen's big plan to make Raven feel better).
"No excuses, Raven! I refuse to let you coop yourself up in your sad and lonely apartment for the weekend."
"But-"
"Nu-uh!" she exclaimed, pulling her hair and causing Raven to wince from the pain.
"If Raven doesn't want to stay, she doesn't have to Bee," Kory added while she moved on to her other hand to continue painting her nails. "She has just gotten over a broken heart and another-"
Raven cleared her throat, and Kory quickly quieted down.
Karen froze and narrowed her eyes, looking in between them. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Kory feigned ignorance.
"Don't act dumb Kory. That thing you two just did!"
Kory bit her lip, looked down at Raven's hand and avoided Karen's stare.
"Look, Karen, what Kory means to say is that besides Wally, we both barely know your friends. It would be rather uncomfortable to invite them over here, don't you think?"
Kory seemed like she wanted to protest, but she let Raven take care of the situation.
Karen continued braiding the side of Raven's scalp, "They're some of my closest friends, Raven. I promise they're no trouble. Gar, especially, is one of the sweetest guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I also think it would do you good to meet more people. So if I'm introducing you to them, it's for a good reason. I think you guys could get along really well." She stopped and let out a sigh. "I'm just trying to help you. I was the one who introduced you to… you know who, and I feel somewhat guilty after everything that happened. But if you really don't want to stay, I won't force you too."
Raven bit her lip, now somewhat hesitant about leaving. She knew Karen had good intentions. However, neither Kory nor Karen had any idea about her background with Gar. Sure, Kory knew she'd slept with a guy, but she didn't know him by face or name. Karen didn't even know she'd had a one-night-stand at all. For all she knew, Raven was still getting over Malchior.
She contemplated it for a moment. She doubted Gar wanted to make the situation any more awkward considering he didn't even call her out at the restaurant. Perhaps they could start over again, and they could put everything behind them. She had a feeling they'd see each other more often now that she knew Karen was good friends with him. So if nobody knew about their past besides them, what was the harm?
"Fine. I'll stay," Raven sighed. "But if I feel uncomfortable, I'm going to leave."
"Guess what I've got!" Jade burst into the room with a few bags in hand and a smile as wide as Chesire cat's.
"What is it?" Kory was in the process of finishing Raven's hand and putting it under the fan to dry.
"We're going to drink good tonight, ladies!" she placed the bags on the ground and took out an impressive amount of bottles of alcohol of all brands (most expensive) to show off.
"Woo!" Karen cheered. "This is going to be a great party!"
Jade laid back on Kory's bed and watched as they continued to work on Raven through the mirror. "This takes me back to our good ol' college days," she chuckled. "I feel like a teenage girl again."
"Girl, calm down, it's been two years since we graduated," Karen rolled her eyes. "You act as if it was decades ago. We're not old at all."
Kory giggled. "It's been a wonderful two years!"
"You're just saying that because you met the love of your life and got engaged." Jade rolled her eyes.
"We're not all as lucky as you, Kory," Karen added, though with a playful tone. "Speaking of Dick, did you tell him he was having guests today?"
Kory froze, eyes suddenly wide. "Oops… It completely slipped my mind!"
"Well, you better do that right now. You know how Dick is about-"
Coincidentally, the door opened and Dick strolled right in while fixing his tie. He seemed a little confused once he realized what was going on. "Um… What did I just walk into?"
"Speak of the devil," Karen laughed. "Hey, Dick! How was work?"
"Uh… It was okay?"
"Dick, I need to, um, talk to you." Kory walked to the door and opened it to signal him through.
Dick, still looking extremely confused, followed her out.
"Well, you're all done!" Karen grinned.
Raven examined her hair in the mirror. Surprisingly, it looked good on her. She smiled at Karen, "Thank you, I really like it."
"Only the best for one of my best friends," she replied and sat back on the bed. "Wow, I really do feel like a teenage girl."
"I'm going to head to the restroom. I'll be right back," Raven announced, not that it mattered considering the two girls were already blabbing about old memories and all.
Once Raven exited the room, she headed toward the restroom which was past the living room. Unfortunately, it was where Dick and Kory were now engaged in a full-blown argument.
"It's Bee, Kory! Why couldn't you have just refused and told her to find some other place!"
"I felt bad for her friend. I just thought it wouldn't be that big of a bother to you." Kory looked like a scolded puppy.
Dick sighed, pacing in front of her like he usually did when he was contemplating something. "Kory you have such a huge heart, but it doesn't mean you have to be the one to help everyone, you know?"
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I can go tell her to cancel it right now. I just thought… I thought it'd also help Raven."
Dick stopped and seemingly calmed down. "No, it's fine. It's already set up… But next time, please just give me a heads up?"
Kory's beam lit up the whole room, and she looked like she almost asphyxiated Dick with her tackle-hug. That's when he noticed Raven at the edge of the hallway door.
"Raven," he acknowledged as Kory pulled away.
"Dick said yes!" she announced. "I'm going to go tell the girls!" Then she ran off.
Raven chuckled and shook her head. "Kory always has a way with words with you, Dick."
"You have no idea." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly with an awkward laugh.
Before Raven could say anything else, the doorbell interrupted her. Dick walked over to the front door, and Raven followed behind, realizing it was about to be nine. When Dick opened the door, she almost felt her heart stop when the realization hit her.
"Um, Wally is back there with my friends trying to carry something in. He told me to knock," Gar told him. Then his eyes grew extremely wide as they caught sight of Raven behind him.
Dick furrowed his eyebrows and looked in between them, "Say… Aren't you Raven's new boyfriend?"
"NO!" both Raven and Gar exclaimed at the same time.
"Boyfriend?" she heard Kory ask from behind them. Both Raven and Gar had the expression of a deer in the headlights as they stared at the couple. Kory crossed her arms, eyebrows furrowed and clearly awaiting an explanation.
Yep, this was going to be a fun night.
Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
A/N: So my first semester of college was so hectic, I didn't write a single word throughout. I'm sorry guys. The good thing is I'm on Winter Break so hopefully, I'll get some updates in! Thank you for being so patient, and I hope you enjoyed! Also, reviews really encourage me and make me happy, so if you could spare some time in giving your thoughts, critiques, or anything, I would appreciate it with all my heart!
victoriagp2222: Thank you so much! I'm hoping to one day have as many views for my original stories as my fanfictions, even though it's definitely a bigger challenge.
Sanzojoe: Haha, it's starting to get old but there might be one or two more sprinkled in there! Mostly though, from here on out, it will probably just be them setting them up ;)