Adjusting had never been easy for Garfield, but, come on. This was different. It was Raven.

Waking up to the coughing and occasional sobbing annoyed him, but he stayed quiet, for her. Besides, he had his own secret way to cope with restlessness. So when he woke up at five and heard her sniffling from her new room, he dragged himself up and down the hall to knock gently on her door. He only had to wait a moment before it opened slightly, and Raven's puffy, red eye peeked out at him.

"What?"

"Hey. I noticed you were awake," he said softly. "Want to go for a run with me?"

"Run?"

"Yeah, I mean, it helps me sleep. Maybe-."

"That's where you go every night?" Raven asked. "Running?"

"How do you think I got these?" he said, lifting his shirt a little.

Raven stared in shock. "You have… abs."

"Uh-huh. Mom made me start running to get rid of extra energy."

Raven opened the door more and poked her housemate's stomach, who yelped and pulled his shirt down again.

"Hey, that tickles!"

From down the hall, his mom called, "Gar, let me sleep, or I swear you'll be doing dishes all day!"

"Sorry, Mom!" He looked at Raven again and smirked. "Tell you what. I'll go get dressed, and, if you wanna go, too, meet me downstairs. Oh, and bring headphones."

Honestly, he mostly expected her to stay in her room. Yet, when he arrived downstairs in his sweats, she was waiting for him in yoga pants and a navy hoodie, shoes already on and laced up with her hair pulled back into a short tail. Garfield smiled and sent her a thumbs-up, his headphones already on and synced to his phone. The podcaster he listened to announced that the day's talk was about otters and their falling numbers. He slipped on his own shoes as Raven pulled on fingerless gloves. She opened the door, and they headed outside together. Occasional lamps gently glowed against the still night sky. A sliver of moon hovered overhead, the only natural light to be seen past the orange haze of the city. Distant honking and sirens hinted at the nearby chaos, but the small circle of houses rested silently by relation in the pre-dawn fog.

Garfield started slowly, testing how his new companion would pace herself. Not well. By the time they reached the end of the cul-de-sac, she leaned over, struggling to catch her breath. Garfield pulled his headphones off and smirked.

"Seriously, dude? I thought you'd make it a little further than that."

"Smoker… lung."

"Yeah, but still, it shouldn't be that bad if you work out regularly."

"I don't."

"You don't?" Garfield asked, surprised.

"No. Why would you think I do?"

"I dunno, I guess I just assumed you work out. Your chest is, like, really big for the rest of your body."

"Holy shit, Garfield. Tits aren't muscles!"

"Huh. I did not know that."

"Clearly!" Raven growled. Or laughed. Really, it was hard to tell with the hacking. She spit on the pavement and glared at him, asking, "Why are you staring at my boobs anyway?"

"I don't stare! I just happened to notice," said Garfield.

Raven wiped her lip with a snarl.

"I'm going to kill you," she said.

Garfield flinched, then smirked and said, "You'll have to catch me first."

Raven shouted after him as he took off. He snapped his headphones back in place, returning his attention to the podcast. Xanadox was talking about kelp now. He'd need to rewind to figure out what that had to do with otters. They were obligate carnivores and didn't eat kelp. Maybe otters would be his next pet project.

He checked over his shoulder to see if Raven followed him. About a block and a half back, she leaned against a lamp, apparently panting and coughing again. He debated a moment whether to keep jogging or turn around before deciding he was too energetic. Instead of going straight as usual, he turned, jogged a block, then turned back to the corner. He saw Raven speed-walking towards him, much closer now. He waved and headed down his typical path again, turned at the corner, ran up and down a block, and looked for her again.

"What are you doing?" she called, only a few yards away now.

"Giving you a fighting chance," he said with a grin. "Don't want to get to the donut place without you."

"Donut?"

His grin widened at the interest in her voice.

"Yeah, my treat. I owe you," he said.

"You think I'll forgive you over a donut?"

"Two donuts?"

"No."

"Not even a chocolate-hazelnut-frosted, raspberry-filled bismark?"

Raven paused, then started running.

"Okay, fine," she said. "Two donuts."

Now feeling safe from her wrath, Garfield jogged along until she stopped to hack again. Hands on her knees. Stray violet strands dangling loosely, save for one stuck to a sweaty cheek. He wanted to brush it aside, but, dude, no. It was Raven.

"How much farther?" she rasped.

"One more block. Well, and across the street."

"It burns…"

"What does?"

"Everything."

"How about we just walk the rest of the way, huh?"

"Yeah… for donuts."

Garfield paused his podcast as they walked. He'd have to replay it later on a solo run, because nothing from it stuck in his mind. He must have been too focused on his friend to absorb it.

"It's nice here," Raven said quietly.

"I love it at five-thirty," Garfield agreed. "Dark, chilly…"

"Peaceful."

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

Garfield smiled. "No problem."

"Seriously, don't change. Ever."

Garfield chuckled and let the relative quiet settle around them again. He opened the door for Raven, who snorted and shook her head as she walked inside.

"Oh, hell, you brought a friend?"

Garfield rolled his eyes at the boy in the booth. The woman behind the counter snapped her fingers at him.

"Boy, you be nice to the kid or I'mma ground you for a month," she scolded. Then she smiled at her customers. "Morning, Garfield. Who's your friend?"

"This is Raven," he said, watching her wave to the shop owner. "She's staying with us for now. Do you have extras of Mom's?"

"Well, hi there, Raven! You want to just go for the half-dozen today?"

"Sounds good to me, Miss Crockett! So we'll take… three of the chocolate, my usual, and… Oooh, do you think Mom'd like a banana pudding stuffed long john, Rae?"

Raven giggled. "Probably."

"Eleven dollars, yeah?"

"Ten for my best customer."

"Oh, don't tell him that, Ma! He'll never leave!"

"Boy-!"

"We'll be out of your way in a minute, hot-head," Raven said calmly.

"Hot-head?!"

He stood up quickly, nearly knocking his school books over. Without thinking, Garfield put an arm in front of Raven and clenched a fist.

"Isaiah! Upstairs. Now," his mother ordered. "You okay, honey?"

Garfield heard Raven weakly affirm that she was fine and felt her grab his arm tightly as Isaiah passed them and vanished. He put his hand on hers.

"Hey. It's okay," he said softly. "Do you wanna sit down?"

"Do you like chai? I can make you chai," offered Miss Crockett.

"N-no. Just… just tea, maybe?" Raven rasped. "How much?"

Crockett shook her head. "No charge today, honey. Anyone can see you been through hell."

While she left to make the tea, Garfield helped Raven into a seat.

"Will you be okay if I go get my moped?" he asked. "So you don't have to walk home?"

Raven pulled her hood up and drew the strings tight, hiding most of her face. She shook her head. Garfield sighed internally and sat down across from her.

"Okay. I'll ask Mom for a ride home."

"I'm sorry," she squeaked.

"Don't sweat it."

Today would suck, Garfield could tell. After school, a massive pile of dishes was bound to be waiting for him. He just hoped, as Crockett brought Raven a cup of hot tea, that his mom would agree: that her trembling hands and tight lips needed the extra security. Purple nails flashed as she gripped the cup lightly. Silently, she sipped her tea and slowly emerged from her cloth fortress. Garfield tried not to let a smile tug at his lips. No big deal. After all…

It was Raven.