A/N This chapter is basically about the Titans hanging out with their folks and siblings, having a little bonding time…

Meet the Parents

"MA, I'M HOME!" Garfield shouted who deliberately raised his voice so he could get some attention. A middle-aged woman with long hair came down the stairs with a baby in her arms.

"Garfield! How was school today, honey?" she looked worried about her eldest son, who looked hungry, tired, and—green.

"It was ok…" he said playing with the baby's hand and walked into the next room to get some food. His mother followed him.

"You always say that… What's wrong?" she asked with a concerned tone.

"Nothing; just that I won't be joining the Championships… Coach said I'm too green…"

"Coach is right, Gar. If you hadn't been fooling around with green dye, you'll still be under the spotlight!" she said as she handed the baby to Garfield who still didn't like the sound of spotlight. "So, that's it?" she walked to the fridge and took out some tofu.

"I have new friends…" he replied while throwing the baby into the air and catching it.

"What's wrong with Rudolf, Winston and Mortimer?" she asked; but Garfield only winced when he heard those ridiculous names.

"So, who are your new friends?"

"Some new girl called Kory Anders… and Raven Goth, you know Raven."

"Your crush… I know, I know… But is she ok to hang out with? Haven't you heard the rumors?"

"They're just rumors, ma." He said.

"You're right… Well, we're having dinner soon so put your brother in the crib and wash up."

"What are we having?"

"Tofu dogs… just the way you like 'em!" Garfield hugged his mom and walked to his brother's room.

"Stay there, Cody." He told the baby who was staring at him with huge innocent eyes; probably thinking, my brother is a green alien. Garfield walked to his room and picked up some darts. On his dart board was a hideous picture of Adam Finn.

"Focus… Focus… aim for the nose this time…" he said quietly as he was trying to aim for Adam's big nose. He threw the dart and it hit Adam's nose. Garfield began to shout and dance his "Victory Dance" while getting ready to shower. (Just imagine Beastboy dancing)

Victor parked his car in the driveway and ran to the porch only to find his kid sister crying in a blue ballerina tutu. She stood up, walked to her brother and gave him a hug. She started sobbing again.

"Vicky, what's the matter with you?" he said quite angrily.

"No one saw me in the recital." She said in between sobs.

"Mom said she would… I bet she was there; then hurried back to work." He said then walked into the house. Vicky walked after him and shut the door behind her.

"She wasn't. Dad wasn't there too." She said while giving him a sad look.

"And you weren't there!" she said quietly.

"Vicky, did you really want me to be there?" a concerned older brother asked.

"Of course, you always went to my recitals," she said as she circled him.

"Hey! Keep still…" he told the seven year-old. "Mom and Dad won't be here till midnight… So it looks like I'll be cooking again! After that, we can play in the backyard."

"Yey!" Vicky shouted.

"Oh yeah… Vicky, why don't you pick out a DVD." He said as he winked at her.

"Thanks Victor!" she said joyfully and gave him a hug; but she could barely wrap her arms around him because of his muscles. After eating, Vicky brought the DVD to him.

"MEAN GIRLS??!!?!?!?!?!?!" he said with a shocked look.

"Please, Victor, please????" she begged her brother who was tired seeing a bunch of girls in pink going against each other.

"Fine! But next time we're watching ESPN…" he said grumpily. Vicky skipped to the den, followed by Victor who was mumbling: "I hate pink" continuously.

"ALFRED, I'M BACK!" Rich walked into the quiet mansion and jumped when the butler, Alfred, came out of no where.

"Master Rich, how are you this afternoon?" the old man asked.

"Hey Alf, is Bruce here? I gotta talk to him."

"Oh, yes. Master Bruce wishes to see you in his office. Would you like a beverage before you go to his office?"

"Uh, no thanks." Rich ran up the stairs and searched for his dad's office. Rich barged into a room filled with bookshelves, sofas, and a desk at the end. Rich sat down on one of the sofas and a man in his late 30's came into the room from the balcony.

"Hey Bruce, what's up?" he said trying to get rid of the stressed look on his dad's face.

"Richard, can you explain the C's in your Lit Class?" in a serious tone

"Question is: can Mr. Mod explain anything??" he started mocking his teacher but stopped when his dad glanced angrily at him.

"Apparently most of your classmates are doing better than you are…" he told Rich who was listening but was staring at the picture frame that sat in front of him. It was a picture of him and his adoptive father in the beach. "I know that you can do better… Try harder! Meanwhile, I'll be taking away some privileges like Television and Surfing; although you can use encyclopedias for research papers."

"Sure…" Rich said groggily.

"Oh… I have something else to tell you…"

"What?"

"I'm hosting a party next Saturday for the neighborhood. It will be held here. There are some invitations I want you to give to some kids in your school. They'll just give it to their folks." He said handing Rich 10 envelopes with names. "I also want you to be there. Besides, the kids are invited too." He said. Rich went through the envelopes.

"Stone. Summers. Finn. Roberts. Brisk. Snyder. MOTH?!" he announced the names of his schoolmates who lived in the same neighborhood.

"Ah yes. Your much despised Kitten and her dad were invited."

"But you know how much I hate her!!!"

"Rich, we keep our friends close; but are enemies closer… Face your fears, young man" he said with a smirk.

"Oh joy." Rich responded sarcastically.

"By the way, we have new neighbors whose invitation is there. He has two daughters in your school…" he said trying to remember the family name. Could it be Kory? Rich thought.

"The family name is… um… Anders!" he said once the name came up out of nowhere.

"YES!" Rich shouted out. Bruce stared at him and blinked twice.

"Is there something you want to share about the Anders?" he asked Rich who was bright red again.

"One of the daughters is my classmate…" he said with a sheepish smile as he started to recall the things that happened between them earlier.

"And you like her, huh?" his dad asked curiously with a grin on his face. Parents can be fun to talk to sometimes.

"I dunno… I bought her lunch today after accidentally bumping into her and I brought her home after her sister left alone in school." Rich replied.

"Make up your mind, kid. Just make sure she doesn't get in the way of your studies, young man." Bruce said with a smile.

"Yes, sir." Rich stood up, grabbed the invitations and ran out of the room.

Kory lay on a white sofa and stared at the ceiling. By her side was a box that had paint brushes, stencils, and paint. She was planning on painting her room with her dad, who was still at work, as always.

A tall lady who looked sort of like her walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.

"Kory, I know that you were looking forward to being with your dad, but he will be coming later than 10." Her mom told her with a weak smile.

"Does Father prefer work over family? Even here in Jump City, he is still working overtime. It seems like he does not love us anymore." She said as she let out a tear. Her mom pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Your father loves us. That's why he's working hard; he's working for us. Do you think that if he loves us, he will be spending time with us 24/7?" her mom asked her, wiping the tears.

"Perhaps not. He must work for our money, education, food, shelter and all the basic necessities, correct?"

"Yeah. That's what he's doing, Kory. He's working hard because he wants to give us what we need." Kory smiled at her mother who pulled her into another hug.

"Since your father is at work, and your sister is on the computer, why don't we have some girl-talk?" Kory's mom asked. "Start with that boy who brought you home. I must know about him." She said.

"Oh! That boy was Richard; Richard Grayson. He is also our neighbor." She blushed as she mentioned his name.

"I bet he is someone special to you… Go on."

"Well, he is a real gentleman. He bought me lunch after he accidentally bumped into me, causing my food to drop. He also allowed me to sit with him for lunch because the place called 'the cafeteria' was filled with plenty of students." She said; her smile growing bigger and bigger while mentioning the details.

"But why did he bring you home?"

"Katie left me alone in school," she said to her mom who shook her head when Kory mentioned Katie's behavior. "And out of nowhere, Rich came up to me and asked me if I needed a ride home." She said with a smile. The two continued talking and Kory got to tell her mom more about her first day in school.

"It's good to see my daughter all-grown-up and actually going to school! Now, get to bed… You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." She said as she kissed her daughter's forehead again.

"Good night, Mother. When Father comes back, please tell him that I love him." She said from the bottom of the staircase.

"Of course, I will. Good night, Kory" she said. Kory dragged herself up the stairs and into her bedroom. It was mostly white and light pink and there was a new computer sitting on her desk with a note that read:

Dearest Kory,

I hope you are not having a tough time in school so far… It's only your first day! I apologize for breaking my promise and not coming home to help you paint your room. To make up for that, I bought you a computer which you can use for emailing your friends, researching for homework and playing games. I won't be home until next week; so please be good to your mother and make sure that the maid does her job. Take care of yourself, kiddo.

Love, Dad

"We have a maid?" Kory asked after reading the note.

"Raven!!!!!" a woman screamed as she ran to her daughter with her arms wide open. She hugged Raven tightly as if she had been away for a long time. Fact is, she hugged her that way everyday. Raven pulled away from her mom who was so glad to see her.

"Mom, I'm fine… It was just an ordinary day today…" she said, exasperated.

"Okay, okay… I just want to know how your day was." Her mom said with a sweet smile.

"Do you really wanna know?" she asked her mom who was nodding happily. "Well, there's this new girl in school and she's hanging out with us. Jenny's coming soon so can I go now?"

"Yes, you may, Raven. Remember, you are a special kid and I love you very much." Her mother said as she gave Raven a tight hug again. Raven walked away from her mom. She knew what the motherly-talk was about. Ever since the rumors about her being a witch started, her mother was there the whole time, protecting her daughter and fighting the mothers whose kids made it all up. She was very disturbedabout this that she even insisted that Raven should move to a different school. Raven didn't want to move. She decided to face the root of the rumors… a group of three, popular girls who have nothing to do but ruin people's lives. Raven walked to the basement and waited for Jenny. In a few minutes, Jenny arrived and they started meditating. They've been reading some books on meditation and came upon a chant that helped them relax.

"Azerath, Metrione, Zinthos…" they chanted together. Jenny opened an eye and stopped chanting.

"Raven, why did Logan join us? I need to hear it again" she said. Raven stopped chanting as well and opened up to her best friend. She told her everything again; from Kory and Garfield in the bus to Kory and Garfield in school.

"His friends are sort of disowning him now… The only thing they'd do with him now is watch Star Trek cuz they know that they'll be getting free sodas and popcorn." She said. Feeling bad for Garfield was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Do you think you'll be able to handle it all? I mean, he's still your crush…" Jenny teased Raven. Raven picked up a pillow and threw it to her friend who was lying on the blankets, laughing her heart out.

"What?! It's true!" she said then continued her laughing.

"Jen, you're my best friend… And someday, you're gonna pay me big time!" she said with a smile and threw another pillow at her friend.