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"He never knew a single second could be expanded into something timeless and so archaic. It shook him to his core – there were no words for it."

Dianna Hardy, The Sands Of Time

Silence.

An awkward silence filled the room, the sheer weight of it making Garfield feel like he was about to collapse right then and there. But that would only have been more awkward. Garfield had never been one to enjoy silence. As a child, his ADD constantly had him moving, jumping, talking, anything but standing awkwardly in a silent room with three people he barely knew (even though he knew Raven's other, ahem, assets very well).

"So… Um, I'm just going to..." He pointed his thumb backward and started to step away.

"Not so fast!" Raven exclaimed, her intimidating, stern tone making him stand up straight and wide-eyed like she was an army general or something. "Kory," she simply stated, and Garlied glanced at the red-haired beauty who'd been the queen of the engagement party some time prior. "This is Garfield."

"Gar," he muttered, but Raven didn't bother to listen.

"He was the guy I mentioned earlier," she explained, keeping her tone cool and collected. Then she turned to Richard, her glare nearly burning a laser through him. "We are not dating."

"Oh!" Kory chuckled. "Silly me! Of course, this is Gar! Karen said your name back at the restaurant!" She enthusiastically offered a hand, and he followed her lead, almost getting his hand ripped out by the girl's surprisingly strong grip.

"Eh-heh." Garfield sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that's me."

"Wait…" Kory furrowed her eyebrows. "Does that mean that when the guy said they were trying to cheer you up after sleeping with a heartless bitch he was referring to-" She quickly shut her mouth after noticing Raven's look of horror and Garfield's tomato face.

"Oh." Kory smiled, somewhat awkwardly and somewhat amused.

"Alright, TMI…" Richard whispered under his breath. "I guess since I'm a host…" he turned to his fiancee still looking puzzled. "You know what. I'm tired. Just, please don't make a mess of the house Kory," he said before walking off.

"Please excuse Dick. He didn't realize we were having a get-together," Kory told Garfield.

He nodded. "Um, we can still cancel it, you know. I really didn't mean for this to get out of hand, and I feel kind of bad considering it was kind of my fault."

"Oh please no! If anything that was all Bee! You know how crazy she is," Korry laughed.

"So where are the others?" Raven asked Garfield, her tone rather ambivalent.

"Oh, they're-" he turned around and was promptly interrupted by the guys who were carrying in a cooler.

"Damn, your front yard is huge!" Vic yelled out as him and Roy lowered the cooler and took a moment to recover their breath. Meanwhile, Wally nonchalantly waltzed in behind them while swinging the car keys with his pinky.

"Where's the party at? I don't hear any music," Wally proceeded to express.

"The party's just getting started!" Karen let out from the top of the stairs as she walked down with Jade by her side.

"Woo!" Roy and Wally joined her in her cheers.

"Friends! Let's bring in the cooler to the kitchen and all meet in the living room!" Kory announced.

"Aw hell nah, I'm not carrying that thing again!" Vic yelled out.

"Suck it up, Stone." Karen rolled her eyes and took one glimpse at the cooler before promptly pulling out the handle behind it. Victor's jaw nearly fell off his skull. "Idiots," she let out before following Kory to the kitchen.

"How were we supposed to know that was there!" Victor exclaimed as he walked after her along with the rest, all but Raven and Garfield.

"So this is the deal." Raven was straight-forward. "Kory and Dick already know from my side. Now I'm guessing the red-head with Dick's off-brand shades doesn't know, but I'm willing to bet someone does."

Garfield bit his lip before nodding and replying, "Victor is the only one who knows because he met you the first day we met."

"Good. We're going to keep it that way, got it? Nobody. And I mean nobody is going to know besides the people who already do."

"I agree."

"Perfect. Now pretend you don't know me," she attempted to walk back and to their surprise (because he also didn't expect the words that escaped his mouth next), Garfield held on to her wrist and whispered, "That's going to be a little hard considering this house reminds me of the first time you jumped me in that bar over there."

He swore he felt the faintest of shivers from her before she smacked his hand and muttered, "Keep it in your pants," and proceeded to walk off.

"Woooooo!" Karen let out as her ping pong ball made it into the cup and she high-fived Kory.

"Man!" Wally smacked the table with both hands before downing the cup's content. "You're not going to get away with *hiccup* this for very long," he said through his slurred speech.

"There, there, buddy," Victor patted him on the back gently. "Maybe you should take a break."

"No way! The fun's just getting started!" Karen laughed and got ready to throw another one.

"It's MY turn!" Wally pouted like a little kid.

Kory rolled her eyes and chuckled. She glimpsed around the room, past Jade and Roy getting it on in the corner, past Garfield slouched on the couch swiping through his phone, until her eyes landed on Raven sitting on the bar watching all the commotion with a blank expression.

She rolled her eyes and approached the pale girl. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Why the question?" she sent her best friend a look.

Kory glanced at Garfield for a split second before opening her mouth but not saying anything.

"You think I'm upset because the guy I slept with and completely rejected afterward by bringing up his dead girlfriend is here."

"Maybe?"

Raven sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm okay, Kory. Just a bit tired, that's all. I'm an adult. I have bigger things to worry about than a stupid one night stand."

"Well, I actually think you're deflecting your feelings. Maybe you don't want to admit you might feel a little more than you'd like toward him?"

"As if." She rolled her eyes. "He's just a guy I slept with. Nothing more."

"Right." Kory nodded along. "Nothing more."

"What does that mean?" she frowned.

"I just haven't seen you glance and contain your smile at someone since, well, you know…" Kory refused to say his name. But Raven knew. Oddly enough, she didn't feel as emotional as she did about him before. It was as if… she was starting to get over him? For the first time in months, her view felt clearer than ever. But why?

"I don't like him."

"I didn't say you did, but now that you mention it," Kory chuckled. "Karen wasn't lying about Gar being one of the good ones. Maybe you should give him a chance?"

"Stop."

"Stop?"

"Stop trying to back me into a corner on this. Gar and I will never end up together because we're not compatible. Clear?" she narrowed her eyes.

Kory let out a breath and dropped the subject, knowing she was full-well not in a mood to take advice. That was the thing about Raven. She was everything Kory wasn't personality-wise. She was calm and collected while Kory was wild and spontaneous. She saw things objectively while Kory constantly followed her heart. Her heart had, for the most part, constantly been closed off to love while Kory refused to live a life where she couldn't spread love to her partner and close friends. Though Kory admitted to sometimes feeling a little jealous of the girl's ability to focus when it was time to focus, she was certainly not jealous of her stubborn attitude when it came to seeing the good in people. But she understood. Raven's hard experiences as a young girl had shaped her into the woman she was today, and all Kory could really do was offer a bit of her love and optimism, even though the girl sometimes utterly rejected her. After all, they were still best friends.

"GaAAAarrr!" Wally screeched from the table, nearly losing his balance as he tried to approach the dirty blonde.

"What?" Gar asked.

"Come play!"

Victor tried to pull Wally back but seemingly failed to considering he was now in the process of holding up Karen too.

"Not right now, pal. We've got enough drunks around."

"Aw, come on, dude! Stop moping about your bitchy one-night stand and have some fun!" Wally tried pulling him up.

"I said not now."

"Wally's right, Gar! Just forget about that whore!" Karen joined Wally in cheering him up.

Kory cringed at the references to Raven and noticed the girl's growing uncomfortableness with the situation.

"Guys, come on, just stop," Gar tried to discourage them.

"Are you trying to defend that bitch? She broke your heart dude! Hope she finds an asshole just like her to date!" Wally exclaimed.

"Yeah! Let me at her, Gar! I can make her life a living hell!" Karen added.

"Stop!" Gar yelled again.

"Stop talking about Raven like that!" Kory suddenly burst, taking everyone by surprise.

For a moment, nobody spoke, and Kory was too shocked to say anything else. Raven wasn't even sure how to intervene, completely mortified by her friend's confession. The jig was up.

"Raven?" Wally furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you saying Raven's the bitch?"

Kory was red-faced. "I mean, uh, no, I didn't-"

"You slept with Raven?" Karen loudly asked.

Raven was about to defend herself when Garfield spoke up. "Of course not," he said rather calmly, as calmly as Raven had ever heard him speak considering he turned into a nervous wreck often. It seemed like she was the nervous wreck this time. "She means that the girl looked like Raven, but she wasn't Raven. I didn't even know Raven before you introduced us, Karen. I actually don't even know the girl's name."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say! Don't worry, Gar! We'll look her up right now! Don't you worry!" Karen walked to her phone and started searching through Instagram to show him pictures of girls.

Gar made brief eye contact with Raven before pretending to pay attention to Bee. Meanwhile, Victor escorted Wally out to the bathroom where he would most likely spill half of the food he'd eaten that night.

"I'm so sorry, Raven!" Kory whisper-yelled.

"It's fine," she replied before holding a finger at the bridge of her nose where a headache was starting to emerge. "I'm leaving, Kory. I'm really tired."

"At least let Dick drive you."

Raven thought about it for a second before reluctantly agreeing. After saying good-bye to most of the guests (besides Jade and Roy who she had no idea where they'd gone), Dick drove her home. The ride was mostly quiet, though he really did try to talk to her at times, but she was simply not in the mood.

"You going to be alright?" he asked when she exited the car in front of her apartment complex.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Thanks, Dick."

"No problem. Call me if you need anything."

And once in her apartment, she didn't even have the energy to change into her sleepwear before she collapsed on her bed.

The gentle breeze and the soft smell of the flower vases around were soothing enough to let Raven close her eyes and lose herself in the serene setting. Some people might have found it creepy to hang out in a cemetery when she wasn't visiting a gravestone, but the walk always helped Raven clear her mind during stressful weeks. It had been two days since the party, and so far, she hadn't interacted with anyone (besides sending one text to Kory saying she was fine after the girl frantically left a voicemail asking her to prove she was alive otherwise she would send SWAT to her apartment). And Raven certainly believed the girl to be capable of such promises considering she accomplished anything she put her mind to.

Raven always made sure to strategically choose her times for visiting the graveyard. Early mornings when the sun was barely rising were the best moments because nearly no one visited their deceased loved ones so early.

But this time was different.

His back was to her, and even about a dozen yards away, she recognized him. He was simply that kind of unforgettable person with details so faint other people might not have caught but that she always noted. For example, the cross-shaped scar below his hair, the one she'd noticed the day she'd woken up on his bed. The day she still regretted to admit had happened. Mostly, anyway.

She approached as quietly as she could since she had noticed from the beginning the guy had good senses. As if he could hear her miles away.

Luckily, he seemed to be too preoccupied talking to whoever was on the other side to notice her. Despite it being completely rude and an invasion of privacy, she couldn't help but listen in on his conversation.

"I think things are getting a little better. It didn't feel so awkward being with her at the party and we even had a normal conversation," he let out a hearty chuckle that released the butterflies inside her stomach. "I think…" he paused for a moment, and she thought he'd heard her, but he didn't do anything to acknowledge her presence. "I really think we can become good friends. I did want something before… I mean, I thought she was perfect, especially after Tara, but… But I'd be satisfied to be friends if it meant having her in my life. She makes me happy. Every time I think about her."

Raven felt her heart speed up, and she suddenly felt like a flustered child who had overheard something she wasn't supposed to know. She attempted to back away, but as fate would have it (it seemed like she'd started overusing that expression the moment Garfield showed up in her life), she stepped on a branch and promptly made a cracking sound, alerting Garfield on his intrusion of privacy.

He turned as swift as a fox, his expression stern before his eyes softened the moment they landed on her.

That stare.

She'd witnessed that stare before. But where?

She didn't have time to contemplate it considering he interrupted her thoughts when he asked, "Raven? What are you doing here?"

"I'm just taking a walk," she admitted, holding her hands together like a scolded child.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Not much," she lied.

And he knew it. It was so obvious, but he chose not to mention it.

He smiled at her and moved out of the way to show her the name engraved on the tombstone. Rita Farr, Loving Mother and Wife.

"She was my adoptive mother."

"Oh." She wasn't sure what to say as she took a few steps forward to stand next to him. "What was she like?"

"Fun, caring, sometimes a little crazy," he laughed, his gaze somewhere else, probably reliving some of his best moments. "And she was the most loving person I knew. Wore her heart on her sleeve. Brightened every person's day. She was amazing. Didn't deserve what became of her."

Raven wasn't sure if she should ask, but she was very curious, and she hoped it didn't come off as rude. "May I ask what happened?"

"She died during a bad explosion at the laboratory she worked in… along with her co-workers who were like family to me."

"That's awful," she replied.

Garf nodded as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Her husband, my step-dad, he couldn't process what had happened. He ended up in an asylum. Doesn't even recognize me anymore. He still believes Rita is alive and that they just got married. He waits for her every day, saying she'll come back from the grocery store eventually to cook him some of her famous alfredo pasta."

"Do you visit him?"

"Not anymore. He just sees me as a stranger, sadly. Steve and I were never really close either way, but I still feel for him. Sometimes I feel like I betrayed him by leaving."

"I'm sure your mother would understand. You said she was all-loving. She would love you no matter what."

"Yeah," he smiled again before glancing at her. "She would."

They stood in silence for a second, just looking at each other.

"What is your mom like?"

"She was nothing compared to your mother."

"Oh, is she gone?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Not in the way you're thinking of." She shook her head. "She left me with my abusive father when I was very young. Had to deal with that all on my own. I got through it though, managed to get away from that asshole. But she was never a good mother to me. I don't think she even wanted me. I don't even think I ever called her mom, just Arella."

"Arella," he pronounced the name gently. "That's a beautiful name."

Raven shrugged. "I guess it is."

"But that's awful. I'm glad you're doing better. Did you ever look for her?"

"Never. I didn't see a reason to. She clearly doesn't want to see me."

"How do you know?"

Raven shrugged and looked up at the sky. "I just do."

There was another moment of silence, but unlike other times, Gar actually enjoyed this one. He'd never sought company to visit his mother's gravestone, even when Vic had offered. Today, however, today felt like a nice day to have some company.

Date: Friday, January 31, 2020

A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed! I want to take this moment to announce that I've published a book! It's a book full of short stories based on mental illness. It's very personal and important to me because it deals with very heavy topics I believe should be talked about more. It's much more different than the stories I post here (which are for fun). This is actually a serious collection of short stories meant to spread awareness and give an insight into this. There are very heavy topics, so in case you guys are sensitive, it might be best not to get it. Please, if you're even the least bit interest, I will leave the link in my profile! You don't have to buy it, but it would mean the world to me if you could share it, and even more if you would read it. There is a preview with the first story on it. Also, it is addressed with my real name if you guys are curious, which I don't mind much. Thanks y'all!

Also, I appreciate the reviews a lot! They always make me happy :)

Val: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

Hi: I'm glad it's got you hooked! That's what I always hope for in my writing!

Me: Your wish. My command.

Victoria: Haha! Yeah, very awkward, but I thought it was pretty funny! Kory found out, not sure when the rest of the squad will though. Thanks for the read! (lol, maybe a little? If you've been losing memory on other stuff, it might be smart to get a check-up and mention it)

Sanzojoe: Hoping it lived up to your expectations! Thanks for the review!