A/N: Teen Titans and its associated characters are property of DC Comics.

People often complained about how loud Jump City could get. However, there was an upside to that loudness: It could help block out unwanted thoughts. Something which Gar was thankful for now. He didn't want to think about school, family, or why a simple no to his tutoring request was weighing on him so much. No, all he wanted to do was veg out on the couch and play video games until bedtime.

The clicking of a controller, whirring of the Gamestation, and a loud "Booyah!" coming from the living room greeted him as he opened the apartment door. Gar put his keys in the little bowl next to the door as he walked in. Victor sat on the couch, a big grin on his face as he played.

"Hey string bean! What's up?"

Gar didn't sweat the nickname. Compared to Vic, most people fit the category of "string bean". His 6'5" frame towered over Gar's 5'8" one and had enough muscle to make a bison jealous. A quarterback in high school, the only reason he wasn't destroying fools on the field now was due to a left leg amputation. Gar got one hell of a scare the first time he entered their freshman room and saw Vic's back up prosthetic laying on his bed. Vic was a gentle giant however, and the two struck up a friendship quickly.

"Ah, you know. Boring day, boring classes."

Vic tossed Gar the extra controller, which Gar fumbled with before getting a good grip on it. "Look on the bright side: You get to play Mega Monkeys 7 now! Now sit yo' butt down." Space was a bit tight on the couch, with Vic taking up a fair bit of it. Gar sat in his corner and started playing as the red monkey. "I'm surprised you're actually waking up that early," Vic pointed to a little corkboard on the wall in the kitchenette.

From his peripheral, Gar knew he was referring to their schedules. "Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf," he said with sly smile.

"Yeah, and look, you're winning as well," Vic didn't look away from the screen, watching as his high score left Gar's in the dust. Gar may have loved video games, but he had a notorious reputation for being bad at every single one. "Bad Luck Logan strikes again," Vic said with a chuckle and a smile. Gar leaned forward, his face focused, but even he knew his chances of winning were slim.

Gar frowned, frantically clicking on the controller. "Whatever. What'd you do today?"

Vic shrugged, "Gym in the morning, then a shift at the computer lab. After that, had my one class for the day," Gar pretended not see Vic's wagging eyebrows as he bragged, "and finally went to the garage to work on my baby."

That was the other thing about Vic: when it came to tech, he was unmatched. He once forced JCU to upgrade the network security of several computer labs by finding a back door in their code. Took him less than thirty minutes. And that was during his first year. His "baby" was a supped-up Infiniti Fx35 that he essentially restored from the ground up. Vic's version was faster, smarter, and more powerful than the original could've ever hoped to be. Unfortunately, Gar had been barred from driving it, so he only had Vic's word to go off.

The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, both lost in the virtual world before them. After losing two rounds in dominant fashion, Gar spoke up again. "I saw Dick this morning."

"I'm guessing you mean the person."

"Dude. Yes, I mean him," Gar rolled his eyes. He set the controller down, knowing he wasn't starting a winning streak anytime soon, and leaned back on the couch

"Ya' know, I haven't seen him in a while. Or Kory for that matter. We should do something this weekend. What'cha think?" Vic paused the game and got up to head to the kitchen.

A smile spread across Gar's face. "Yeah, that sounds sweet! How about the Pier?"

"Sounds good to me. Heads up, I'm gonna try to bring someone," Vic replied, opening the fridge.

Gar's jaw dropped in slight offense. "Wait, what?! You're making me a fifth wheel?"

"I'm not making you anything. I just have someone that I want you guys to meet and I think it would be cool if she came." Vic took out a water bottle and gulped down a fair bit of it before continuing. "Besides, you're saying the 'great' Garfield Logan doesn't have girls falling head over heels for him?"

"Well, I-I do. But it's too short notice for any of them!" Gar rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his.

"Well, if you can't get someone, the arcade will always there for you." Vic took the opportunity to grab a bag of chips as well from one of the upper cabinets. Gar crossed his arms, sinking into the couch. Though he tried to put on the front of "heart-breaking ladies' man", Gar's bad luck was also present when it came to relationships. Or dating. Or flirting in any sense of the word. He only ever had one serious relationship in his life, and the memory left a bitter taste in Gar's mouth whenever it crept back up. So, alone he stayed. It hurt a lot less than being rejected constantly.

Should have remembered that this morning. His mind wandered back to the events of his class. No, that's different. It was just tutoring, that's all. I shouldn't even be thinking about that. Sure, she could have been nicer about it, but I did scare her. Maybe I should apologize to her about that.

"Man, are you seriously that upset about me bringing someone?" Vic said, heading back to the couch. His words pulled Gar back to reality, who hadn't noticed his frown deepen or his posture lean forward subconsciously.

"Nah bro, I'm good. It's cool you found someone," Gar leaned back again, forcing his arms to go over the back of the couch to look relaxed. He looked at Vic, who was still focusing on him, snack in hand.

"Then what's with the horse impersonation?" Gar gave him a confused look. "The long face."

"Oh." He didn't feel like mentioning how a girl he had just met was causing a myriad of thoughts in his head, so he used a classic tactic of his: diversion. "You know, I never got that phase. Horses are born like that. Can't tell a lot from their skull shape- "

"Gar quit it. Something's bothering you. Either you tell me willingly or I smack you upside the head until you do." Vic stared Gar down.

Even if it was one of his weaker attempts, Gar knew pulling the wool over Vic's eyes wouldn't be that simple. Living together for 4 years made it easier to call a person out on their lies. Still, Gar wasn't keen on telling Vic the truth. He was struggling to think of an excuse until a slight weight in his pocket gave him an idea.

"Nothing gets past you, huh?" Vic shook his head. "Fine. I got a text from Rita this morning." Gar let out a heavy sigh, hoping it would convince Vic. Truth be told, while Rita's request was lingering in his mind, he figured he had until the end of week until she texted him again. Gar was happy to ignore it until then.

Vic was silent as he put his chips and water on the small table in front of them. "So, it's your parents again?"

Hook, line, and sinker. Gar gave his best defeated expression, "Yeah, she wants me to talk with Steve. No big deal."

"Why don't you tell her no? She'll probably understand, and you're your own man. Forget him."

At that, Gar let out a bitter chuckle. "I wish it were that easy, man. Even if they weren't helping me pay my rent for this place, I still owe them- him- too much. I just gotta suck it up until graduation. Hopefully," he finished quietly, his defeated expression becoming too real quickly. He didn't think mentioning one text could bring up so much frustration in such a short time, but here he was. "Like I said, it's no big deal. I'll text them soon."

Vic kept looking at Gar, doubt and worry written on his face. "Whatever you say, man." Vic switched off the Gamestation and switched over to the TV, scrolling through the channels. "We should text the lovebirds about the Pier," Vic said, attempting to lighten the mood, "make sure they don't have other plans or something."

A quiet buzz drew Gar's attention to his phone. Hoping it wasn't Rita already, he picked it up and gave it a cautious glance. His worry faded fast, however, as he registered the name on the tiny screen. "Speaking of the devil," Gar turned his phone screen towards Vic, "it's Kory."

"Booyah. The universe has blessed our plans." Vic said coolly as he leaned back, watching some cartoons show about superheroes.

Wonder why she messaged me in the first place? Gar thought, opening the text. His eyes looked over her message, slowly widening as he registered the words.

A little bird told me you met her today in class ;)

To say Gar was surprised that Kory knew about Raven was an understatement. He immediately typed up his response.

Okay, first: How do you know Raven? Second: whatever that wink is implying, it didn't happen

Gar hit send and waited for Kory's response. His fingers kept tapping the screen, hoping her response would be quick. The phone buzzed again.

She's my new roomie! And relax, silly. I was teasing you :D She told me that you asked her for help

Gar rolled his eyes; it seemed like the universe wasn't letting him off so soon. Oh, that. She said no anyways. It's nothing major.

Fair enough. But! Maybe should ask her again

Why?

Idk. I just have a feeling she might answer differently this time :)

Gar didn't know what to make of that. He didn't see why Raven would change her mind with a second ask. Kory knew something. Something she wasn't telling him, and it was likely she wouldn't give him a straight answer. So, he decided to just let it be for now.

Whatever you say, Kory. While I have you: Vic suggested that we should hang out this weekend. We thought the Pier would be fun; are you and Dick down?

Kory's response took a bit longer to this time. She was likely telling Dick about the plan at the very moment. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her response.

Yep! Just told him, said he's free. I can't wait to see you guys! Oh, and I might bring Raven along

Before Gar could even ask why, Kory sent another message. Or maybe someone else can ask her to come…

Gar narrowed his eyes towards the screen, typing. What does that mean?

Kory either dropped her phone in the toilet at that exact moment or chose to ignore him because he didn't get an answer for the rest of the night.

Wednesday night rolled around faster than Gar expected. Yesterday had gone smoothly, despite most of his core classes being stacked on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the sense of unease that had built about his psych class that morning was for not, since Raven hadn't been there. However, he wasn't out of the woods yet. After all, she led the study sessions.

Butterflies fluttered all around his stomach as he searched for the classroom. Why did Kory think Raven would say yes this time? And what was she implying with her last message? Was he the "someone" that should ask Raven to come? Gar took a sip from his water bottle, relieving the dryness in his throat. After a couple of minutes, he found the room.

He opened the door slightly. Glancing at the whiteboard at the front, the words "Psych 160" were written elegantly in black dry erase marker. There weren't many students in attendance, around fifteen others than him. However, he didn't focus much on them. Instead, his gaze fell on Raven, with the rest of the world falling by the wayside.

All she was doing was organizing papers, yet Gar found it the most interesting action in the world. Her hair framed her face perfectly as she leaned slightly forward. Her face was focused and zen, determined to make this a productive use of time. He couldn't help the small smile on his face as he watched her.

That is until she looked up and caught him staring at her. His eyes widened and he swore he got whiplash from how fast he turned away. He could still feel her gaze on him, though. Embarrassment coursed through his body, knowing fully well he had been caught. The little amount of hope he had of talking to her diminished even further.

He found a seat in the middle of the classroom, hoping the other students would make good cover and draw her attention. He looked at the clock over the door, the arms ticking by. The moment they reached 7:00 PM sharp, Raven's voice echoed from the front.

"Let's get started. I'll be going over some of the definitions we went over on Monday, as well as reviewing who Wilhelm Wundt and William James were, what they did, and the basics why they are important. If we have time, I'll go slightly over Freud and his psyche structure model."

Gar barely kept up as the session went on. Raven rarely ever glanced at her notes, and when she did, he figured she was making sure she left nothing out. However, he was glad she didn't give them a chance to rest. It kept his mind focused.

"We'll call it there," Raven said, the arms indicating 7:45 PM, "if you have any questions, feel free to come up." Two students did approach her, even as she kept packing her stuff. Gar couldn't help but chuckle at the irony in her statement. He did have questions; unfortunately, they had nothing to do with psychology.

Did he even need a tutor? This was a gen ed for God's sake. While help would be appreciated, he could probably pass with a B by attending the sessions and putting in a solid effort. Should he even ask again? And what about Kory's message? How was he supposed to do that?

He was lost in thought; so lost that he almost didn't notice how everyone else had left and Raven was already on her way out. He quickly shoved his notes and pens inside his backpack and hurried slightly after her. She was already outside the classroom as he caught the door. "Hey Raven? You got a sec?"

She stopped in her tracks, slowly turning towards him. The moment he glanced into her violet orbs, however, all knowledge of the English language left him. Uh-oh.

"How may I help you, Garfield?" He noticed she didn't put on her glare, her features relaxed and soft. Okay, not mad. Good first step.

"H-hey. Um, first, I wanted to let you know: I'm sorry for scaring you on Monday."

She blinked once. "…It happens. Besides, I wasn't that scared. No need to apologize."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he continued, "Heh, right. Also, about Monday- "

Fortunately, Raven saved him from stumbling through an awkward moment by asking her own question. Unfortunately, it was the one question that Gar was still trying to figure out in his head.

"Why did you ask me for tutoring?"

A/N: Hey folks! Thanks for reading the latest chapter in my story. If you enjoyed it, favorite/follow and leave a review to tell me what you liked or what I could do to improve. I would like to come out with more than one chapter a month but I like taking my time to make sure each chapter is at what I consider a good reading standard. I also don't have an editor or a second pair of eyes to read over my chapters for continuity and grammar purposes, which makes it take slightly longer.

On an unrelated note, DC's Death Metal event is apparently teasing Beast Boy and Terra as becoming an official couple and since this is the event that's supposed to bring DC into one timeline, this could be the canon. Personally, I don't like this as I've always seen this relationship as toxic/hurtful to Beast Boy. But I don't really follow the comics anyway, so maybe it makes sense there. I would rather just have Beast Boy/Raven be canon so my shipping side can be happy.