Garfield whined at Raven. "You don't want to meet her?"

"Gar, I've been planning time with my mom all week," she said. "I'm not gonna miss it over your girlfriend. I'll meet her some other time."

Victor clapped his hand on Garfield's shoulder, almost knocking him down. "Let it go, man. Robin and Kori will ask enough questions to make it awkward without needing Raven, too, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," sighed Garfield. "Go have fun with your mom."

"Go have fun with your girlfriend," said Raven, turning away to find a spot to wait.

Garfield squealed and hugged Victor's arm. "I have a girlfriend!"

"Good job, man. Were you gonna go find her, or stand her up?"

Garfield pulled away, dragging Victor along and grabbing Kori's hand, too.

"You guys will love her," he asserted. "She's pretty, really good at games, so smart… She knows so much about rocks, dude!"

"They're rocks," Robin said, unamused as he followed them. "Who cares?"

"She does. It's adorable!"

"Okay, you might be in over your head, little buddy," Victor said. "It's like everything she does is the coolest to you."

Garfield shrugged. "Well, I mean… She's amazing. She listens to me talk about animals. The least I can do is listen to her. And she makes it sound so cool. Like, it's not just rocks. There's all kinds of stuff in the dirt, and it all got there different ways. Like topaz. Topaz is her favorite."

"Okay, okay. I get it."

"Do you speak all the time to her?" Kori asked.

Garfield nodded, blushing. "I know it seems fast, but I just like talking to her. She gets me, you know?"

Sure, what had started as innocent flirting quickly escalated to sharing every little detail. By Tuesday, they were already considering each other as partners and calling every day just to talk after school. It felt so natural, like talking to himself in the middle of the night. She made geology exciting; the way she talked about volcanoes and sediment felt like another podcast. Her excitement was contagious, his newest obsession.

And seeing her standing in front of the arcade, he couldn't restrain a smile. A kitten decorated the tank top she wore over a black long-sleeve shirt. Her blonde hair was held back with a headband the same deep blue as her skirt. She grinned back and waved. Garfield dropped his friends' hands and shot forward to wrap his arms around her insead. She laughed and pat his head.

"He's like a puppy, isn't he?" she joked. "Good to see you walking today, Vic."

"Yeah, it helps when I actually take care of myself."

"And which one's Robin?"

"He is Robin," Kori said, pointing. "I am Kori."

"Okay, cool. They're just both pretty… unsex names." Terra said.

"What is unisex?"

"Like you," Robin said. "Agender."

"Ooooh, I did not know that. Yay!"

Terra stared at Kori, who tilted their head.

"Is something wrong?" they asked.

"No! No, I just- Gar used they/them for you?"

"Yes, I am a they."

"Okay, cool. Cool! I love your eyeliner!"

Kori giggled. "Thank you! I love your shirt."

Terra squeaked and pulled away from Garfield to show off the top. "Isn't it cute?"

"It fits you," Garfield said.

Terra smiled at him. Then she returned her attention to the others.

"So, Gar said you guys wanted to meet me. Uh. This is me," she said.

"Isn't she pretty?"

Robin gave him one of his rare smiles. Not so rare anymore, Garfield noted. Good. The brooding was getting old. Kori nodded, too.

"Very pretty," they said. "And short."

"Short?" Terra said, raising a brow. "I'm five-seven."

"Compared to me, yes, you are short."

"Yeah, but," Victor said, "you're also 'an Amazon princess, straight off the internet.'"

Terra only looked more confused. "You mean 'Amazonian,' don't you?"

"Ask Garfield. He's the one who said it."

"You just like tall girls," she said, almost deadpan as Raven, "is that it?"

Garfield shrugged. "I like pretty girls. Tall just happens."

Terra snorted and started laughing. She punched Garfield's arm, which kind of hurt, really. He could overlook it, though. She was just playing. He smirked back.

"Did you want to play?" she asked.

"Actually," Robin cut in, "we'd like to talk more to you. Want to go to the food court and have a smoothie?"

Terra grabbed her arm awkwardly and stammered quietly. Garfield took her hand.

"Hey. No one's watching you," he said softly. "Promise."

"Uh, okay, I guess," she mumbled, scratching her arm.

"So, Terra," Kori said, "you like the rocks?"

She grinned. "Oh, no. I love rocks. It's amazing how much you can learn from a little bit of dirt! Our crops and forests depend on good soil, and could you even imagine the Grand Canyon without all those sedimentary layers? It just wouldn't be the same! I wanna visit some day, see it for myself."

"I'll add it to the list," Garfield said.

"Awesome!"

"There's a list?" Robin asked.

"Oh, totally," Terra said. "Gar and I have spent most of our time talking about the places we want to see. Australia and South America are the big ones we agree on. There's a great overlap of the topography and zoology."

"There's a lot of overlap around the world, but those are the big ones, yeah."

"Oh, I started listening to Xanadox. You're right. He's really interesting!"

"I told you. He knows, like, everything about animals."

"I don't know about that," Terra laughed. "You've told me a lot of stuff he never mentions, like that ravens communicate with gestures. I don't think he's even done an episode on ravens yet."

"He will soon," Garfield said blushing. "I might of kind of sent him money on Tipster for it."

"Because of your roommate?" Victor asked.

"Roommate?"

"Raven isn't my roommate. She's… She's a friend, okay. Who just happens to live with me."

"I'm missing a lot of context here," Terra said.

"Raven is staying with Gar while her mom sorts out her life," Robin explained. "Her dad is… out of the picture."

"Long story?"

"Very long."

"Okay. But you're just friends?" she asked, returning her pleading eyes to Garfield. "Promise?"

"Oh, yeah, trust me. There's nothing between us," said Garfield.

"She chose Garfield's home for his mother," Kori said. "She is very kind."

Terra smiled gently. "Cool. Cool. So she doesn't really live with you. She lives with your mom?"

"I live with my mom, too, so… You know what? Yeah," Garfield said. "She lives with my mom."

"What kind of drink did you want?" Victor asked as they approached the Hasty Tasty.

"Oh, uh… You- you guys order first. I'm gonna browse a bit."

"Take all the time you need," Robin said. "Hey, Bee."

"Hey guys," Bee said, waving. "I gotta talk my boss into a rewards card or something. You're here all the time!"

"Right? We deserve upgrades," chuckled Victor.

"Let me guess, a Hunky Monkey for the little guy, Orange supreme no ginseng for the weirdo, Triple berry with whip for the tough guy and "Surprise me" for tall and skinny?"

"With the whip, please," Kori said.

Bee blinked and sighed. "Maybe I should call you the weirdo. Okay, anything else?"

"Terra?"

"Still thinking," she called.

Bee's eyes widened a bit, and she whispered, "That's Terra?"

"You know her?" Victor asked.

"I know of her," said Bee. "I might not like sports, but she's kind of a feature at school. Took the hockey team to state last year."

"You know what? I'll try the Banana Berry," said Terra loudly, shooing the others away. "I'll pay for it. Go sit."

She leaned in close to Bee, and Garfield could hear her hissing at the clerk, though he couldn't make out what was said.

"That was weird, right?" he asked, earning eager nods from the others.

"Maybe she just doesn't like the attention?" offered Robin. "You had to promise no one was watching her, remember?"

"Does that make Terra a… Yellow Jacket?" asked Kori.

"I guess," said Garfield, dejected. "Good thing we're looking past that, right?"

"We have this weird little dance, huh?" Victor said. "You find something to tease people about, then get blindsided by the same."

Garfield stuck his tongue out at him. He returned the gesture. Kori snorted, and Robin quickly joined in on their laughter.

"What's so funny?" Terra asked, catching up to them.

"You go to West District," Garfield explained. "I was joking about it the other day when we found out Bee was part of the hive."

Terra groaned. "I hate it. The coaches expect us to conform, and they hate that I won't. I'm not gonna put everything into sports just because I can throw a punch."

"Exactly! Thank you," Robin said. "Being able to win a fight is different from wanting to be there."

"Yeah, it's soooo annoying," Terra agreed. "But my dad won't let me quit. I can do sports, so I should do sports. It sucks."

Garfield glanced at Victor. He was staring at the Hasty Tasty with a very familiar face, one he'd worn most of the summer.

"Like being told you can't do what you really want for something you can't control," Garfield said, "right?"

"Yeah! I could be spending my time focusing on homework," Terra said. "Doing art projects. I want to try painting! But between school, chores, and sports, I just don't have the time."

"God, I miss football," Victor sighed.

Kori pat his arm.

"It's bullshit," he continued. "I was good and I loved it. It was perfect. I was gonna get a full ride to college. I was so popular, too. Everyone loved me. I mean, I thought they did."

"What happened?" Terra asked cautiously.

"We got T-boned. Hard. Guy drove through a red. Pushed us under a semi. Mom didn't make it," he said. "At least it was quick. They told me she was gone before she even realized there was trouble."

Terra took his metal hand. "I-I'm so sorry."

"Nothing to do about it. I'll never get to play, but-."

"No, I mean… you lost your mom. That's rough."

Victor blinked at her. "I- I haven't even gotten past my own stuff-."

"Of course not," Terra said. "You're pushing it off so you can cope with the little stuff first. You're making excuses for yourself."

"Oh, that's no good," Robin said. "Vic, you gotta talk to someone about that."

"I'm fine, man, really."

"You're really not," Terra said gently. "Trust me. I've had a lot of therapy. I would talk all the time about little things and ignore what was really upsetting me."

"It wasn't a 'little' thing," growled Victor. "Football was my life."

"Compared to your mom?"

Victor rose quickly, ripping his arms away from Kori and Terra.

"I'm gonna check on our drinks," he scowled.

Terra's lip quivered as she turned to Garfield. "I'm sorry."

"You're not wrong," Robin told her. "It's pretty basic redirection of emotional resources to justify not dealing with other things. It's not wrong to grieve that way, but he probably should talk to someone who can help him process it."

"I know you want to help," Kori said slowly, "but I do not think it is your place to tell others what they feel."

Terra's eyes widened a bit. "No, you're right. And I'll apologize when he comes back. I guess I don't have any social awareness, either."

"I don't have social awareness around strangers," Garfield clarified. "I can read Victor like the back of a cereal box. He needs time to think. Yeah, you should still say you're sorry, but just give him space after that. He'll talk when he's ready."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"What sports do you play, Terra?" asked Kori, obviously trying to change the subject.

"O-oh, uh, well, hockey, obviously. And I spar in the spring, to stay in shape. We have a girl's boxing team at West. Do any of you play… sports or- or just-?"

"I have thought of joining the, what is it called?" Kori muttered. "Ball of volley?"

"She's tall," Robin repeated with a shrug.

"Do you wanna," Terra asked, "or do you just get asked a lot?"

"I have not played," Kori said. "I have watched, though, and it looks like great fun."

"Raven and I jog at night," said Garfield. "Not really a sport, though. We just sleep better afterwards."

"You jog?" Robin asked skeptically.

"Yeah, wanna see my abs?"

"I do not want that."

"What are 'abs?'" asked Kori.

"It's short for 'abdominal muscles,'" Terra said, holding up a hand. "May I?"

"Go for it," Garfield said, flexing his stomach.

Terra pressed on his abdomen and blushed. "Oh, wow. That… is firm. I could use you as a punching bag."

"Yeah, please don't. Raven already tried," Garfield chuckled.

Terra pulled back, still blushing hard, and giggled. She pulled her chair closer to the table and squirmed. Garfield laughed and threw an arm around her.

"Who's the puppy now?" he asked, kissing her temple.

"Someone kill me," mumbled Robin.