"Meatloaf for the lovely Starfire, meatloaf for the over controlling Robin and a substitute for the elephant in the room." The green Changeling shot an unamused expression Victor's way, "BB, this is your cue to turn into an African elephant. You know, the ones with big floppy ears, ivory tusks and grey skin. Although you might not be grey since-"

"Okay, I get it. I might be the only vegetarian Titan but let's not forget that five pound submarine sandwich you got over there." Garfield almost gagged at the ignorant face the Victor made when he munched on the sub.

The sounds of munching and chewing filled the atmosphere. Richard was the first to break the cold silence with a clear of his dry throat. "So Titans, how was school today?"

With a slice of meatloaf, Richard continued portioning his food until he met the stares of all his fellow teammates. Kori blushed when their eyes met, giving a quiet cough before diving her fork into the mashed side dish. Victor solemnly tapped his fork against the side of his glass. His smile dropped into a flat line.

Garfield could feel the usual playful energy dying down. Kori seemed anxious, Victor was upset and Richard was, well, plain old Robin.

"You sound like a stereotypical dad." Garfield finally snickered. In his head, this shaky mood could be molded and shaped into just another night with five reckless teens. All he needed was for Victor to pick up the signals and Richard to react as per say.

"No I do not." Bingo.

"Yes you do, dad." Victor piped in, feeding off of the mischief.

Richard leapt up from his seat, hands pressed flat into the table as if he was balancing himself. "Stop that."

"Dad, I don't have the foggiest clue what you're talking about."

"Argh!" Richard palmed his face, drowning into the laughter of his peers.

"Dick, you must simmer down. You don't usually act out this fast to Garfield and Victor's teasing." The boys almost forgot about the alien in the room who looked more ethereal then ever. But for now, Kori held a concerned expression, brushing her hand across his forehead. She searched for the blazing heat of his anger. "Did something happen today?"

Richard gently pushed her hand down, rejecting her question politely. "You know what? Why don't you just tell me what happened at school today?"

"Well sure pops, I scored some chick's digits, and Gar and I ran into Jo and Karen after school." Victor watched Richard clench a fist before calming down as Kori kept a keen eye on him.

"Jo and Karen?" Richard repeated, raising a suspecting eyebrow.

Garfield smirked and rolled his eyes. "Victor's girlfriend and Jinx were disguised at the bleachers. I felt like such fifth wheel 'cause those two were busy kissing each other up while Jinx was admiring Wally on the field."

Victor choked on his cold turkey as he shot a vengeful glare at his best friend.

Richard looked up, unamused. "Wallace on the field already? Hope he's not attempting to use his powers for something as small as a football team." Taking a sip from his coffee, Richard lifted up the newspaper to his eyes.

"Oh, perhaps I can cheer him on when I make it to the cheerleading team." Kori clapped her hands wildly, accidentally dropping her fork onto the ground. She bashfully smiled. "Oops."

"Ah yes, how romantic would that be?" Garfield sighed mockingly, leaning his cheek on his propped right hand.

His leader eyed him bizzarely, folding his paper down. "Romantic? I don't think swinging around synthetic pompoms to be affectionate, rather odd."

"Oh, you've never heard of the cliche?" Garfield had a smirk reminiscing on his face. With a quick nudge of the elbow, Victor got the hint.

"Garfield, you shouldn't tease the old soul like that." The metal man clicked his teeth, shaking his head. "I mean, not all cheerleaders end up with football players."

"But they do in books." Garfield then pointed out.

Victor played along and wagged his index finger at his best friend. "They are cliches for a reason."

"Exactly. Man, weren't those guys that we ran into at the field ripped?"

"Ripped?" Richard whispered, unnaturally high pitched.

"No wonder Jo was gawking at the hunks for minutes straight. She probably wasn't checking out only Wally." He said, fake realization laced in his voice.

"Hunks!" The normally confidential teen was shuddering from shoulder to knee.

"Say, I thought I saw them chatting about some hot foreign redhead today." The animal shifter's mouth gaped, eyes blinking rapidly. "Do you think they might've been talking about Little Miss Tameran over there?"

"Hot?" Blood pumped through Richard's hands as his nails crumpled up the goose paper. Dropping his informative text, he flew out of the room warp speed.

The two friends eyed the doorway. As soon as the sound of clattering footsteps faded into the background, Garfield let out a fat smirk.

His fingers keyboarded at the counter, satisfied at the Boy Wonder's reaction. It wasn't as common anymore that the two pulled off a trick like that, one that could send their leader into a fritz.

"You think it worked?" Victor asked, still staring at the doorway.

"Wait for it." Garfield held up a hand, counting the seconds in his mind.

"Three," the tapping of shoes returned, getting louder every step.

"Two," he picked up the whiff of coconut oil scent mixed in with hot sweat.

"One." Richard crashed between the automatic doors, panting as he caught his breath. After wiping down his forehead with his jacket sleeve, he recuperated his posture, appearing somewhat casual.

"When's football tryouts?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Garfield grinned diabolically.

He let out a ravenous yawn. The silk curtains were coated in a thin sheet of dust, causing him to let out a sneeze as he inhaled.

After wiping his nose, he pulled his phone from his pocket and hissed as the bright screen lit up the dark room.

11:45

Richard would've chewed him out if he knew that Garfield was procrastinating this late.

Flipping open his math textbook, Garfield let his nimble fingers stroke the folded pages. With a pencil in one hand and a piece of graph paper in the other, he prepared himself for the next hour of rewriting formulas and solving equations.

He could see why the room was filled with so much purple. Unlike Garfield, she didn't invest in curtains, rather let the sun shine stream into her room. The icy moon made her bedsheets glow, causing an ethereal reflection on the window.

The room was stark cold and the decor was cool toned, yet he felt warm and fuzzy inside.

Like a Labrador.

Garfield stared down at the dripping drool on his math homework. His back rested on the satiny fabric, embracing the freezing hug. A sudden arch of a spine and he returned to human, still limp and tired. There was a course in his veins as he thought of the future he held.

Garfield didn't need any friends. He had a sister and two brothers. They were enough.

But unlike him, he could see them all branching out, reaching for the stars and leaving him behind. They all were more settled than he was; everyone had a thing except him. He definitely could see the three in the spotlight, shining in bliss.

What was he even talking about?

He was Beast Boy for heaven's sake. Beast Boy used to love the center of attention, being the public's amusement and comic relief from the seriousness of everyone else. It made him happy, the way he stood out from his teammates who cared more about tomorrow than today.

They changed slowly. She grew out of her anxious phase, he began to let go and he stopped looking at himself in the mirror like that. Garfield could imagine them as characters in their own books, highschool being their last hike over the climax.

Where would he be? He was a rising balloon until a lithe hand tugged on his ribbon and yanked him down. When the hand disappeared, he deflated. Gone the days when he could spend an entire day wasting his time on useless crap.

Garfield hummed into the pillow. He was turning into her. Sooner or later, he'd start wearing capes, speaking tonelessly and telling himself to shut up.

It wasn't going to happen this year. This very year was his year. He will change for the better, stop moping around and show himself that he didn't need anyone.

Except Kori. And Dick. And Victor.

But not her. Never her. She didn't matter in the first place. It was clear that everyone else was happy without her.

Gosh, my author notes are cringy. Probably no one is going to read this since it was published last year but I'm still continuing this. I've written a few chapters already and I'm still working out a nice plot.

-Catisa~Orsilla