Published: April 14, 2020

Track 3: The Tape That Keeps Us Together

Late summer in Jump City was Gar's favourite time of the year. After a wet July that rained almost every other day, August vastly improved his mood with its dry and sunny weather. Kids played joyfully outside, taking advantage of the last couple of weeks before school started up again. The streets bustled with people, especially in the evenings when festivals and block parties took place. Although it was later in the evening, it was still light out. The sky slowly turned into a hazy, peachy orange as the sun began its descent towards the horizon.

The entire gang had gathered at Murakami Square to celebrate both the record deal and Victor and Sarah's engagement. The massive park was divided into different sections, which included soccer fields, gardens, cycling paths, a skate park and more. In the centre of the public space was a small amphitheater where 'Shakespeare in the Park' players and musical acts sometimes performed.

Dick stood in front of a portable grill, keeping a watchful eye on racks of ribs, ears of corn and vegetable skewers. Kory and Sarah sat at a nearby picnic table discussing wedding plans. Kory had laid out a thick scrapbook of decor ideas; it was basically her very own handmade Pinterest board. Sarah seemed both overwhelmed and pleased that someone was just as excited as her for the impending wedding. Several feet away, Gar and Victor tossed a football back and forth.

"You guys figure out a date yet?" Gar asked.

Victor replied with a shrug. "I'm not sure, but Sarah is leaning towards the fall. Says she wants the red and orange leaves to be in the background of our photos. Something along the lines of 'It's all about the colour palette'." He made air quotes with his free hand, clearly not as invested in the aesthetic of their wedding.

"Looks like I'll need to start looking for a new roommate ASAP. Whatever shall I do without my dear old nagging mother to clean up after me?" Gar said with a mock sigh, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic fashion.

Victor whipped the football back at Gar, aiming for his face. Thankfully for Gar, he managed to slap away the ball before it collided with his nose.

"Shaddap, ya drama queen. And I'm not old!" Victor chuckled back. "We're talking next fall, maybe even the one after that. Weddings are crazy expensive, you think I'm made of money?"

Gar picked up the ball to throw it back and said, "If you were, you've seriously been holding out on me. When do I get my sugar daddy check?"

"Maybe you'd get one if you actually did anything useful around the apartment," Victor quipped. "Anyway, Sarah is worth it. If she wanted an underwater ceremony in the Pacific Ocean, I'd save all my money and start taking scuba lessons. And that's coming from a guy who's not supposed to get his fake limbs wet."

The guitarist grinned at his friend's declaration of love towards his fiancée. Victor hadn't always been this positive about romance. After his accident in high school, the drummer's confidence with the ladies took a serious downturn and he never really dated until meeting Sarah. Thankfully, she was the type of person who prioritized people's insides over their outward appearance. Gar liked her a lot. At the beginning of her and Victor's relationship, Sarah had taken the time to get to know each person of their friend group individually. She cared about them because she knew they were important to Victor and that was a winning feature in Gar's book.

"By the way, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you," Victor said in a more serious tone. He held the football in one hand and swung the other arm around the smaller man's shoulders.

"Anything for you, bud."

"Will you be my best man?"

Gar looked back at him with a blank expression. "Tsk, tsk, I'm disappointed. You know I've always wanted a bro-posal."

"Aw come on, just say yes. If you keep messing around, I'll ask Dick instead."

The shorter man shook his head stubbornly, saying, "Sorry, dude. I have standards."

Victor gave up and kneeled to the ground on one knee, taking Gar's left hand. "Will you, Garfield Mark Logan, my ride-or-die and royal pain in my ass, be my best man?"

"Maybe, if you say it like you mean it."

The groom-to-be answered by pulling Gar down to the ground and tackling him. The two men rolled around in the grass gracelessly like a pair of lion cubs. They wrestled back and forth, but Victor quickly gained the upper hand by trapping Gar in a half nelson. "Say yes, salad head, or you're about to get the worst smackdown of your life!"

"Okay I give, I GIVE!" Gar choked out.

Victor let go and allowed his friend to sit up before giving him an enthusiastic pat on the back. After regaining his breath, Gar rolled over to lay stomach-first on the grass. He settled his chin in his hands and looked at Victor with a devious grin. "So if I'm the best man, does that mean I get to roast you in my speech?" he asked. "Like can I mention that time in high school when you farted during an assembly? Oh! Or what about when you stuck that pencil up your-"

"-Why you little..." Victor started to say, reaching out to grab him in another wrestling hold. Before he could get his hands around Gar's body, Victor stopped abruptly and cocked his head to sniff the air. "Is he burning my ribs?" he whispered in a deadly serious voice. He shot up from the ground and began to sprint towards the grill with an angry roar. "DIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"

Much to Victor's relief, the barbecued meat was still salvageable. He punished Dick by giving him a section of the rack that had taken the majority of the charring. "Ribs are sacred," scolded Victor, "you need to watch them like a hawk. There's tons of molasses in barbecue sauce and sugar burns. This is the last time I trust you with this job because clearly, you can't take the heat."

Dick paid his deeply offended friend no mind as he dished out potato salad onto Kory's plate. She proceeded to dump half of the mustard jar on her heaping pile of food. Sarah quietly observed the woman's odd condiment preferences with a confused look on her face, but was eventually distracted by Gar passing out the corn.

The group settled into their places around the picnic table, the two couples sitting together on either side of the bench. This left Gar to lounge on a folding chair that was placed at the head of the table. Normally, his obvious position as the odd man out would have left him dejected. But on this fine, summer evening, surrounded by great food and even greater company, he was in too good of a mood to let it get to him. Instead, he focused on the meal and ate with gusto.

Gar was relieved that his best friend wasn't moving out for a while. Of course, he was happy that Victor was taking the next step in life, and had come to terms with the fact that the guy would have to leave eventually. After all, nothing lasts forever. Things changed all the time, but when it came to the important stuff, change was difficult. At that thought, Gar was reminded of Raven and the conversation they shared at Wolfie's. It had been just over two weeks since they signed the contract and the woman had been running through his mind ever since.

Shortly after leaving the meeting, Dick berated him for being inappropriate with her. Gar defended himself, saying that he couldn't help it. Some people, namely Victor, teased him about being a fuckboy. Gar didn't like the term, since it implied that he was shallow, manipulative, and only chatted up women to play with their emotions and get laid. But he wasn't like that at all.

Gar preferred to think of himself as a harmless flirt, paying honest compliments to people whom he found attractive. And if they wanted to sleep with him afterwards, who was he to say no? But he certainly didn't feel entitled to sex just because someone reciprocated his interest. Most of the time, women would flirt back or just smile and walk away. Though the rare sourpuss would flat out ignore him, no one had ever shut him down as fast as Raven did.

She was intriguing. Looking at his track record, someone like Sarah was more of his type with her sunny personality, sky blue eyes and blonde hair. Raven was the polar opposite of this, but he found himself transfixed on her dark features and cool, collected demeanour anyway. What struck him most of all was her smile. At the end of the meeting, just before they parted ways, Gar caught her pleased expression. The smile was tiny, barely there. So small that if you didn't pay attention, you would miss it. He wondered if it was a one-time thing, or if he'd be able to coax out another through his charming wit. He was excited to find out.

The party of five lingered in the park long after the sun had set. They set up battery-powered lanterns and citronella candles to supplement the light of the glowing moon. The gang reminisced over their high school days, cracking inside jokes and exposing each other with embarrassing stories.

"It's wild that we all went to Jump High together, and yet I never got to know any of you," Sarah commented.

Gar answered with a laugh. "It's a big school, after all. And you were probably too cool to fraternize with us weirdos anyway."

"Or maybe it's because you were just a snotty freshman when Sarah and I were juniors," retorted Victor.

"Excuse me, big guy," Gar said sarcastically. "I'm not the one who had to make friends with a 'snotty freshman' because everyone in my year avoided me like the plague."

A look of hurt passed over Victor's face in response to Gar's remark. Sarah noticed this and put a reassuring hand on his prosthetic arm. Kory sensed that the mood had changed and said, "Enough bickering, boys. Please play nicely."

"Nah, it's fine," said Victor cooly, "the little booger's just messing around."

"How did you all become friends anyway?" Sarah inquired, trying to change the topic to a more positive subject. "I know you started the Titans in high school, but I don't know any of the juicy details."

Dick spoke up, "Vic's never told you our origin story?" Sarah simply shook her head in response. "Alright, who wants to tell it?" he asked the group.

Victor shrugged his shoulders, but both Kory and Gar both waved their hands energetically.

"Pick me, coach!" Gar pleaded.

Kory reached over to lower Gar's hand with her own and said, "Do the picking of me instead! I shall not let any rock go unturned!"

Gar's storytelling always involved meaningless tangents and Kory was no better because she explained everything in minute detail. The other two men exchanged silent looks.

"Maybe you should just take point on this one," suggested Victor to the band leader.

Dick nodded his head and started recounting the story of how the Titans came to be. "I was kind of a loner back in the day," he began, "I was socially awkward and preferred doing things on my own. Anytime there was a group project, I would privately ask the teacher to let me just do the assignment by myself. I guess I didn't really trust other people."

"That, and he was convinced that he's the smartest person in the room at any given moment," Gar added with a roll of his eyes.

Dick ignored him and forged ahead in his story. "Rather than eat in the cafeteria, I would wander around school trying to find a quiet place to sit by myself. You remember the old music room, the one on the third floor of the east wing? It was always empty at lunch, so that became my regular hang out spot. One day, I was bored enough to start messing around with the ancient piano that hadn't been tuned in years. Some of the keys below middle C didn't even work, but I enjoyed myself anyway."

"Wow!" Sarah exclaimed with admiration. "Is that when you learned to play?"

"No, I took piano lessons when I was a little kid. I didn't like it very much because my teacher was super strict and only let me play classical music. The theory exercises and hours of practice were really boring. But when I was alone in the music room, I actually had fun since I could play whatever I felt like. In my sophomore year, I kept up the daily routine of going there and started experimenting with singing while playing. One day, this scrawny, pre-pubescent child-"

Gar interjected, "-Hey! I take offense to that!"

"Don't be salty 'cause it's true," said Victor, laughing at the jab.

"As I was saying, this random kid walked in on me," Dick continued. "I got super embarrassed and left immediately. I avoided the music room for the next little while in case I ran into him again. After a month, I figured it was safe to go back, but lo and behold, who else was waiting for me but our very own Gar."

"I went every single day up till then," Gar told Sarah. "I was so happy to find another dude who was into music like me."

"What about the school marching band?" she asked.

"Bah, marching band doesn't count. That's for nerds."

"I suppose so. I would know, since I was a part of it," replied Sarah with a wry smile.

Gar audibly gulped, realizing his blunder too late. The happy-go-lucky woman shrugged it off and said, "Just call me first when you guys need an oboe solo for your next song."

The group laughed at that and Dick picked up his story again. "Gar explained to me that he played guitar and was dying to find someone to jam with. I was reluctant, but he pestered me non-stop until I finally agreed. From that point on, we played music together every day. We even went to each other's places on the weekends and over the winter break for jam sessions. When we returned to school in January, the Events Committee announced the Spring Talent Show. Gar wanted to sign us up right away, but I hesitated. We mostly played classic rock at the time and our sound was a little hollow without a percussionist. Gar's solution was to put "DRUMMER WANTED" posters up all over the school. He wanted people to come to the music room and 'audition' for a spot in our band."

"Let me guess, Vic got the part?" Sarah asked.

Her partner answered, "More like I was the only person to audition. They basically settled on me out of desperation."

"But you're a great drummer!"

"Not at the time," Victor said, taking over the telling of the story. "I was still recovering from the accident and had just returned to school. My old track buddies wouldn't talk to me anymore, and I got really depressed and lonely. My physiotherapist recommended that I pick up a new hobby. She suggested the drums since it was so different from sports, but it still required a lot of concentration and practice. It also helped me fine-tune the movements in my new arm and leg. My parents bought me a drum kit for Christmas and set it up in the garage so I could make a racket without bothering everybody in the house."

Dick continued, "We practiced everyday for almost three months. And when it came time for us to audition officially, our act got approved."

Sarah looked at her fiancé with a proud, affectionate gaze. "And did you win the Talent Show? I remember being there, but for some reason, I can't remember your act..."

"Hell no!" exclaimed Victor. "The day of, Dick lost his voice and Gar kept running off to throw up." The entire group groaned, which was followed by a few laughs.

"That sucks," Sarah said in sympathy.

"It's all good. If anything, that experience bonded us together even more. We spent pretty much the whole summer in my parents' garage, making a ruckus and messing around with our instruments."

Sarah turned to the only person who had been respectfully quiet the entire time. "What about you, Kory? When did you join?"

"That very same summer," the bassist replied with a wistful smile. "My family just arrived from Tamaran. I was still learning English, so I was stuck at home taking online language classes. As luck would have it, we moved into the house across from Victor's. The boys would leave the garage door open because there was a heat wave and it was too hot to keep it closed. I did the checking out of Richard from my bedroom window all the time. I eventually plucked up the courage to ask if I could listen to them play from up close."

"The boys must have loved having an attentive fan."

"Oh yes. Garfield taught me the bass, and for a mysterious reason, Richard started to play without a shirt. It was a winner-winner situation," Kory answered, eyes glittering with delight.

Everyone laughed as Dick cringed at his younger self. "H-heat wave, remember?"

"And we've been together ever since," Victor said, wrapping up the story for his wife-to-be. "I thought about quitting when I graduated high school before the others, but I didn't want to break Gar's heart."

"Kory and I almost did the same when it was our turn, but Gar convinced us to stay on too. The poor guy practically begged us not to leave," added Dick.

"I am most pleased that dear Garfield was so persistent, because eight years later, we are finally getting our big break. You are the tape that keeps us together," Kory said, pulling in the guitarist close for a side hug.

"I think you mean 'glue'," Gar returned with a blush.

"Tape or glue, it is the same. You truly are the heart of the band and I thank you for never giving up on us."

The group went quiet after Kory's final words. They sat in silence, reflecting on their nearly decade-long friendship. The chilly night air eventually drove them to their feet and they packed up their things, heading home after a satisfying evening of quality time.

Gar woke up to the sound of his phone ringing loudly in his ear. After coming home from the cookout, he had stayed up into the wee hours of the night, scrolling through memes and cat videos until he fell asleep. He was back to the evening shift at work, so there was no pressure for him to wake up early. Without opening his tired eyes, Gar blindly reached for his phone and answered the call.

"It's too early, try again later," he whined.

"Gar, it's me."

"Sorry, Gar can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message after the beep."

"Garfield," huffed Dick on the other side of the phone.

"Like I said, try again later. You interrupted my beauty sleep."

"It's 2 in the afternoon. Get your lazy ass out of bed, Logan."

"Is there a reason you rang?"

"What are you up to this coming Saturday?"

"It's a busy day. I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it. I'm swamped."

Dick sighed in exasperation. "Can you please just answer the question?"

"I got nothing planned."

"Good, because Ms. Roth booked us a recording studio."

Gar's eyes popped open and he shot out of bed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. We have it for the whole day from noon till 8."

"Sick! Dude, I'm so excited to finally use some professional recording gear!"

"I know, buddy, me too. She wants all of the instruments we know how to play, so you better bring both guitars, the ukulele and your crusty banjo too, I guess. We'll all carpool in Vic's car to get there. Also, if you have any rough drafts of songs you've written, she'll take a look at those as well. She already listened to our stuff online but she wants to know what else we've got."

"Hmm, she's quite the keener, isn't she?"

"She's just doing her job. Don't let her interest in our music stroke your ego too much."

"I'd love for her to stroke me," Gar said jokingly.

Dick didn't think it was very funny. He responded with a growl, "What did we say about your creepy comments?!"

"Rein it in," Gar flatly replied.

"Exactly. Ms. Roth isn't some random girl for you to hit on, she's our manager, a.k.a OFF LIMITS. You need to start taking this more seriously."

"Take things seriously?!" the guitarist retorted angrily. "Am I not the only person on this team who gave two shits up until a couple of weeks ago? You don't get to patronize me about being serious." The accusation hung in the air like a bad smell, making both men cringe in discomfort.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I haven't been as committed as I should have been," Dick said awkwardly after Gar's outburst. "But come on, man. You know how it is with work, and I'm still doing law school part-time in the evenings..." When Gar didn't answer, he continued, "Listen, what's past is in the past. I signed my name on the dotted line just like you and right now, we have a huge opportunity ahead of us. I'm in, all the way. I promise I won't half-ass it anymore. I'll be a better leader." Dick paused after ending with the guilt-ridden statement. "So I'll meet you and Vic at your place this Saturday. 11:30 work for you?"

"Yeah, see you then," Gar replied coldly before hanging up.

Breathing a frustrated huff, the guitarist couldn't help but feel like the exciting news was ruined. The chance to record in a legit studio was a dream come true, but now it was laced with a bitterness that he hadn't even realized was there until his conversation with Dick. "The tape that keeps us together, eh Kory?" Gar thought to himself sadly. "More like the chump who's terrified that his friends are just sticking around out of pity."

He looked down at his hands, inspecting them with a careful eye. His palms were smooth, but his fingertips were rough and calloused. He peered at the ends of hardened skin, a representation of the years of hard work and dedication he had given to music. Doubts crept into his mind. "If the offer hadn't come when it did, who's to say the band wouldn't have broken up by now? What if the show at Wolfie's was supposed to be our last hurrah?"

From Gar's perspective, Victor was obviously ready to move on, especially after his engagement to Sarah. Dick was busting his ass at work, often doing overtime just to get into his supervisor's good graces. Not to mention that he was still taking night classes and studying for the BAR exam. Kory was always great, but she wasn't as passionate as she was before. Now, she found fulfillment in working at the daycare. She had stopped practicing her bass in favour of a ukulele so that she could play for her little kiddos at work.

Panic rose in Gar's chest and he almost spiralled into a depression. He didn't want to think about what his life would be like if he got left behind again. But the team hadn't broken up. By the end of the week, they would have their very first recording session. They were making an album. An album! People were going to hear their songs, people outside of Jump and their tiny following online.

Gar stepped back from the precipice of his negative thoughts with a newfound resolve. Kory had said he was the heart of the band; the lynch pin, the glue, the "tape". It was up to him to rekindle the fiery passion for music that had burned inside the four of them as teenagers.

"Keep it together, Logan," he said aloud, slapping both hands to his face. "Let's do this."

A/N: This chapter was exposition-heavy, but it was necessary to get their origin story out there. I hope my take on the characters' personalities are up to standard so far. They might be a bit OOC due to being aged up, but I like to think that this is how the gang would interact with each other as adults.

I especially stand by my decision to make Kory more low-key. I find she's often portrayed as a one-dimensional, hyper ditz (especially in BBRae fics) but Starfire of the comics is much more subdued, observant and level-headed.

5 points to the people that caught the Princess Bride reference right away.

Till next time, Lily Timbers

Replies to Guest Reviews

Guest #1: I'm assuming you're the same Guest that reviewed both Chapters 1 and 2. Thank you so much for your kind words! Your reviews make me even more motivated to write this fic. I sincerely appreciate it. This chapter is dedicated to you.

Guest #2: I'm glad my fic caught your eye! My whole philosophy is to write a story that I would enjoy reading myself. I hope you enjoy the update!