'Hey'. No, that sounded way too simple. Besides, how would she even know who he was? He could imagine her mistaking him for a stranger or a stalker, thus blocking him.

'Heyyy'. He couldn't say that to her! Garfield distinctly remembered hearing somewhere that adding 3 Ys was always a sign of flirtatiousness. Lesson learned: 'yyy' is the wordy equivalent of a slurred Casanova.

What about a 'Hey its Garfield'?

Now that made him sound like Richard, always introducing himself in a texting conversation as if no one could read the contact texting them.

He peered at the digital clock on his bedside table, displaying a tedious 5:39. How many times that night did he wake up to look at the number only to realize that she wouldn't have a way to text him since she didn't have his contact? His eyes were strained from the blinding light, making him roll them back until that feeling was rid of.

Garfield shook his head and chattered his teeth in frustration. Spamming the backspace button 12 times, he wondered how he would ever make friends if he couldn't even text Rachel.

Unfortunately, on the unlucky thirteenth time he hit the backspace button to delete the remaining space, his finger sloppily missed and instead tapping 'send'.

The dramatic pause ended with a yelp as Garfield scrambled to delete his text. "No, no, no, no, no!" There was no use. Garfield had no clue how to delete texts since he never bothered with it anyways. He could send just about anything shamelessly to any of the titans, but Rachel was a different story. She was a whole 'nother person, one he just met recently.

Garfield needed time to think about how he was going about his situation. But thanks to his lazy hands, he must've sounded dumb, texting her at an unconventional time.

Who even texted at 5 in the morning? The last time he was up that early, he had the nerve to bother Richard about the sale at his favourite merchandise store.

His breathing dissipated as he reminded himself that Rachel was just a highschool student. No student would be up at such a time.

His heart pulsated when a grey message icon and three dots appeared, sitting on his screen. What? It had been a minute since he sent that text and she had already seen it. Garfield could easily strangle those dots if possible because they made his hands jitter uncontrollably.

'Hi lasagna boy'

How on earth did she know? He never gave her his number and a simple 'hey' wasn't nearly enough for her to assume it was him, 'lasagna boy'.

'How did u know'

'Because I give my number out on the daily. I'm totally expecting texts from random numbers on a Saturday morning.'

He could hear that blunt voice and see those blazing eyes. So full of mischief. So full of fire. So full of... boredom. Did Rachel have any patience? He couldn't tell at all since she rarely showed extreme emotions.

'Sry about that haha'

'Did you want to tell me something?'

'Uh no'

'K'

"Dick, I think Garfield is watching porn again!" Victor exclaimed, seizing the phone out of his friend's trembling hands.

Garfield leaped up, arm swiping as he tried to grab the phone back. He temporarily turned into a cat, screeching as his claws clung onto Victor's shirt. The phone suddenly dropped when Victor checked to see if the kitty had created any marks in his freshly polished metal shoulder, causing Garfield to fall to the ground.

The device landed softly onto Garfield's furry back, making him sigh as he reverted into a human. He gave a fierce glare at his best friend, firmly holding his phone. "You aren't touchin' this again."

"What about my poor body? I can't have any scratches on this or else I'll fry when it rains!" Victor spotted his beloved leader stirring his coffee blissfully. "Dick, I think he's doing some illegal shit on that."

"What, no!"

"Garfield, if you need to relieve yourself, I would hope you'd do that privately." Their leader gave Garfield a sympathetic look. "I understand that you're a growing boy and if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always around."

"Oh god, no!" He yelled, covering his eyes with his palm. "That's disgusting! Hey, stop laughing!"

Victor choked back his laughs, letting out a small chuckle before recomposing himself. "But seriously dude, what were you looking at?"

"Nothing!"

Victor eyed him suspiciously, up and down and to the tips of Garfield's ears. A mean grin grew on his face as a nasty thought grew into his head. Ruffling his hair with one hand, Victor swiftly grabbed the phone from the distracted changeling.

"Aha!"

"Give that back, creep!"

"Dick, catch!" He chucked it over and in a parable, the phone landed in the clutches of the boy wonder.

Garfield knew he was doomed. The look on his leader's face was inexplicable with a twisted brow and thinned out eyes. They were fixated on the screen, blinking fast as he scrolled up the messages. His heart stopped when Richard gave him a sorrowful look.

Richard's glasses fogged up but it didn't take away from how stern he looked. His leader's jaw clenched slightly, making Garfield suspected that Richard was perplexed. Finally, he opened his mouth and said, "Are you trying to ask her out?"

"It's only been a week and you've already got a girlfriend!" Victor stared at the texts in awe. "Wait, you've only just started texting her this morning."

"Give him a break, at least he has her number."

"Yeah but how can he hit on her when she calls him 'lasagna boy'!" Victor scoffed, pointing the embarrassing nickname out.

"I agree that it is pretty bad."

"Okay guys, can you stop? I'm not all that good at this stuff. Besides, I don't even think she considers me her friend." He slumped back into his chair, groaning in despair.

"Why don't you ask Kori?" Both boys gave Richard a confused look that went ineffective as Richard repeated his idea once again. "I'm sure she'll be able to help."

"Sorry man but between you and me, Garfield's supposed to be a the nutjob in this household." Victor patted his leader on the head, showing his distaste for the idea. "Have you been pulling all nighters again?"

"Well unlike any of us, Kori probably knows what girls think."

"Yeah, that's right." To him, it made sense. Kori was the only girl titan here and had frequent sleepovers with the others monthly.

When the boys would eavesdrop in, they wouldn't understand a thing since most of it was covered by giggles and laughs. In other words, who better to ask than the one who would shove romantic comedies down everyone's throats?

He hated to admit it but sometimes, Kori did know best. Where she lacked humane common sense, she definitely excelled in emotional intelligence. Her viridescent eyes saw through masks and walls of the ones around her. There was no hiding anything from Kori; her ability to detect the smallest discomfort was impressive.

It was ironic that the one who was supposed to be naive actually understood feelings the best. All the titans lacked in that department. Richard had control issues, Victor had immense insecurity and Garfield, well he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was gullibility or being too rowdy and reckless.

Kori had a good grip on her mind. Whatever amount of instability she had was gone because she always had a keen sense of acknowledgement. Garfield thought of her as simpleminded - she had a problem, then she would solve it.

It seemed that her life was blissful as when he approached her on the roof, she was singing to her petunias a little tune.

Her fingers tapped the petals like a grand piano from which she played while sprinkling drops of water into the soil. After learning that plants could drown, Kori was adamant that to keep her lovelies alive, they must drink drop by drop. This wasn't her most crazy idea, especially since the time Richard had to stop her from watering the dying begonias with her tears.

Garfield took a double take at the springy alien. Could he really talk to her about this?

Of course he could. Out of all the titans, only she could possibly withhold the information he needed.

"Hey Starfire." He greeted her with a weak smile and wave. Her eyes widened at the sight of her friend, prompting her to give him a luminous beam.

"Hello there!" She chirped, feet lifting off the ground and launching her into an aerial somersault. "How do you do on such a fine day, Beast Boy?"

He began to see her more as Starfire and less like Kori. Bright, cheerful, dazzling Starfire. Kori didn't nearly sound as brilliant in his head. She wasn't a strong warrior in the tower. She wasn't the phenomenon that crashed into the earth. She wasn't the prisoner of war, the trophy of the Gordanians. She wasn't that headstrong slave that prayed for her sister's amnesty.

Unlike the others, he saw her as the ditzy girl who started the domino effect that would soon lead to the best thing that had ever happened in his life - the Teen Titans. It was easy to forget that Starfire even had a tragic past.

He stared at the rounds of her eyes, the tips of her ears and the vibrancy of her skin. She was the embodiment of joy.

"Dear friend, though you haven't answered, I could tell you've fallen into deep thought." She practically sang her words as she waved a hand over her precious flowers. "I, too, wish I had all the answers in this universe."

Her posture slouched when she floated down beside him, legs dangling off the roof. Starfire's doe eyes moped, eyelids drooping like a beagle's cheeks. Her hands propped her face up, giving her a depressing look.

When she saddened, Garfield swore he felt the sun above his hair set into the clouds. What was once sweat turned into goosebumps on his skin. The air, no longer humid, reeked of rotten vegetation; it was most likely from the petunias Starfire had been taking care of since some of their petals had turned a pasty shade of yellow. He made a note in his mind to tell Starfire that plants need water to drink, not to sip.

But now was not the time to dilly dally on such matters. "You okay?" He gave her a pat on the shoulder, shaking her form slightly.

"I do not think I can converse such things with you." She replied, woefully.

In response, he easily stretched into the form of a Scottish fold, purring into the fabric of her pant leg. His mouth twitched as she plucked him up, giggling at his floppy ears and frowning mouth.

"Well then, shall I tell you the situation?" His eyes darted around the roof as she placed his fluffy body over her shoulder as if he was a burping baby. She continued. "You know of the squad of cheers I wished to join?"

He let out a small meow, embarrassed that it was his only way of responding.

"I've gotten accepted. The moment I found out, Dick was with me. We were passing by the list and happened to see my name up with all the rest. I thought he would be ecstatic but do you know what he said?"

Garfield attempted to shake his head with his little neck squished by her arm.

"Dick didn't approve. He said that all those extra practices would take a toll on me. Of course, I didn't know what this 'toll' was, but I was so sure that this wasn't the case. I reassured him that I would be able to meet many other girls and boys. I laughed when I found out that he was just paranoid that I'd fall for another." She began to stroke his back, tickling the fur grazing his tail as she spoke. "I wonder who would put such an idea in his head."

Garfield let a gentle purr out. He acted along, nervous that he might raise a suspicion that he was the one who caused Richard to freak out.

"Dear Garfield, if I could, I would've checked the list alone. I've learned recently that the squad has a captain, much like Richard, who also had an affinity for his broad shoulders. That is what she told her friends when I first arrived on the field."

He could hear a minuscule sniff turn into a sob as she remembered the horrid memory.

"They are in the same homeroom and share three classes together. Meanwhile, me and Dick share none. Lunch is the only chance I have to talk to him but ever since I-" Her arms gripped harder on his soft body while she used his fur like a tissue, absorbing all her tears. Garfield had only realized she was crying after a warm, wet sensation dripped down his back.

What was he supposed to say at a time like this? Perhaps this was the first time in a while that Starfire had opened up to him like this. His mouth fumbled for words but remained shut and he let her calm down with his feline body in her arms like a teddy bear.

This was Starfire talking to him about Kori problems. She told him something he'd expect her to ask someone more mature like Victor or close like Richard about. It seemed as if she had little choice and burst out to him. After all, he was the first to see her this morning.

So instead of letting his big mouth get in the way, Garfield stayed silent. In her arms, he listened to her shed tears until she had nothing else to cry for.

It sparked an idea in his mind. Maybe all he needed to do for Rachel to open up to him was nothing. If time would tell, then it would do so by itself. Forgetting about his prior questions, Garfield spent the day next to Kori, listening to her insecurities. The optimistic titan who vented to him unintentionally gave him the confidence to talk Rachel again.

I will be posting two chapters in a row since I'll be going on vacation this week. Do not fear, I do have a life outside of binge writing. But since I won't be able to edit new chapters I write without the access of a computer, I'll give you these two in compensation.

I have written a plot outline for this story and I immediately regret it. This story will probably be extremely long because I have a ton of shit planned. I'm also worried many of you will think that Beast Boy is OOC. To be honest, his mind is chaotic and there is a reason I'm specifically writing him this way.

Also keep in mind that this story isn't focused on only two characters.

If you've read this far down, you have a lot of perseverance because I usually skip author's notes.

Stay tuned for another update in just a few minutes!

-Catisa~Orsilla