Published: April 17, 2020

Track 5: Hit Record

Gar was totally dumbstruck. He felt tethered to his place as Raven continued moving in the trajectory of the conference room. She turned back around and threw a remark over her shoulder, "Well, Mr. Logan? Hurry up and come already."

He snapped back to attention, realizing that Raven had inadvertently given him yet another great set up for his favourite joke. "That's what she-"

"-Enough of that, please," Raven interrupted curtly. "I called for a truce, not a free-for-all. The others have been waiting long enough, so let's get back to work."

Gar decided not to push his luck with any more cheeky comments and followed her obediently. When they reached the room, he could see Kory, Dick and Victor talking with their heads close together. He had a distinct feeling that Victor was in the midst of updating the couple with the details of their heart-to-heart. Earlier, Gar might have felt like they were gossiping or making judgements at his expense. But now that the Tara thing was settled, he decided not to let it bother him and simply trust that the gang was just looking out for him.

"Hey guys," he said, "Sorry for the hissy fit."

Kory stood up from her seat to give him a tight squeeze. "It is no matter, friend, as long as you are all right."

"Thanks for worrying, Kory. I must be PMS-ing."

"But you are not making sense, Garfield. You do not have a uterus, therefore you do not have a menstrual cycle." Her tone was innocent, but there was a hint of fire in her eyes. "I hope you do not think that it is comedic to poke fun at our monthly suffering. I am certain Ms. Roth would agree with me; that would be most immature." Kory shot a coy smile in Raven's direction, who returned the statement with a small nod.

"I agree wholeheartedly, Ms. Anders. I have no patience for jokes with misogynistic undertones," added Raven before giving him an icy stare.

Gar was a gazelle caught between two lionesses on the hunt. He raised his hands with his palms facing outward in defense. "I'm just messing around! All I meant to say is that I was feeling a little frustrated," he explained, followed by a growl of his stomach, "or maybe I'm just hangry?"

Raven looked down at her watch and said, "It's nearly 6. I suppose we could stop for another food break, but we don't have much time left. Is everyone okay with eating and working at the same time?"

The group concurred and Raven called the pizza shop next door for the second time that day, placing the exact same order as she had before. In less than 30 minutes, the team sat around the table once more to feast on the steaming Italian pies.

"Wicked Scary will close in less than a couple of hours, so starting the recording process is out of the question for tonight," said the manager. "However, we made excellent headway in laying the groundwork for the album. At the moment, we have 11 tracks. I would love a 12th to round things out to an even dozen..."

"Let's use 'Sarah'." The group looked at Gar with surprise. They hadn't expected him to back down on that front. "Rav- I mean Ms. Roth was right. It's super cheesy, but it will probably get a lot of playback at proms and weddings," he said resolutely.

"You sure, bud? If it's too soon..." Victor asked with a concerned tone.

"I'm sure. I mean, it'd be nice to change a couple of the lyrics to make it more specific to you and Sarah. As long as you guys are cool with it, I think it should be on the album."

Dick nodded and said, "Okay Titans, let's vote on it. All in favour, say 'Aye'."

Kory, Victor and Gar said 'Aye' in unison while Raven sat quietly in her place. Dick pointed his gaze in her direction.

"You didn't say anything, Ms. Roth. We only ever agree on things if everyone gets a chance to vote."

Raven looked uncomfortable and fidgeted with her necklace. "But I'm not part of the band."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Kory, pounding a fist on the table. "In a way, you are our k'norfka, the one who feeds and takes care of us. Therefore, you are one of us."

Gar saw a mild surprise take over Raven's face as she absorbed Kory's words. Once the initial confusion passed, her eyes softened and took on a shiny glaze, almost as if she was about to tear up. Based on her reaction, he wondered if she thought that she was just a stranger sitting on the sidelines, and hadn't actually considered herself to be a part of the team.

Strangely enough, this made Gar feel sad. He had gotten the sense that she was an antisocial, private person, but he had assumed that it was out of choice rather than circumstance. Nevertheless, he recognized a deep loneliness inside of her, not unlike the melancholy that tormented him from time to time. Her emotion-filled expression triggered a protective instinct to reach out and wrap his arms around her. He didn't act upon the feeling, of course. That would be going much, much further past the professional boundaries that had been drawn.

Raven cleared her throat and blinked rapidly, regaining her composure. "Well if you insist... 'Aye'."

The team, Raven included, spent the next half hour reworking the tracklist to accommodate the final addition. Once they settled on the order, she typed it out on her tablet for future reference. It read:

Untitled Album by Titans

1. How Long is Forever?

2. Every Dog Has His Day

3. Sarah

4. Only Human

5. Fear Itself

6. Date with Destiny

7. Transformation

8. Titan Rising

9. Winner Take All

10. Things Change

11. Fractured

12. Aftershock

Everyone was pleased with the final result. Even though they had yet to record a single note, Gar felt like the entire experience was finally real. Looking at the tracklist, he revelled in the tangible proof that he and his best friends had taken their first step into the music industry.

Raven excused herself to go find the studio manager. It was almost closing time and they hadn't checked out the recording booth yet. She returned a few minutes later and relayed the message from the front desk. "It looks like the sound engineer already went home, so we may as well head out too. If you'd like to leave your instruments here, there's a storage room in the back that's reserved for us. That way, you won't have to haul your stuff back and forth every weekend."

The four band members agreed that they would leave everything at the studio, the only exception being Gar's acoustic Taylor. He intended to work on arrangements during the week and it would be easier to do so with his guitar. The group cleared away the dirty napkins and pizza boxes, then gathered up their things. As they exited the building, Gar noticed that Victor's car was the only one left in the parking lot. It occurred to him that Raven didn't have a vehicle.

"Hey, Ms. Roth! Need a ride?" Gar secretly hoped that she would say yes, but she shook her head in reply.

"I already called a cab, but I appreciate the offer. We'll reconvene next Saturday, same time as today."

The Titans waved goodbye before piling into the car one by one. As Victor drove them away, Gar looked back at Raven's solitary figure still standing by the studio entrance. "You're one of us now," he spoke to her in his mind, "and I'll make sure you never forget it."

A few days passed since their first visit to the studio, and as per usual, Raven was extremely busy. Between conducting market research, planning the launch party and doing reconnaissance for a photographer, her focus was spread paper thin. She opened the door of her refrigerator only to see the empty shelves stare back at her mockingly. She had skipped breakfast that morning, but it was still a bit too early for lunch.

"Brunch!" she thought, grabbing her purse and venturing outside.

The sun shone brightly, illuminating the streets as she strolled down the sidewalk. One of the reasons Raven liked her condo so much was that it was conveniently located within walking distance of the downtown area. She turned up a street lined with quaint little stores and family-owned restaurants. A bookstore caught her eye and she stopped to admire the merchandise through the window. After peering into the shop for a few minutes, she remembered her original mission: food. A faint smell of baked goods caught her attention.

Next door to the bookstore was a charming looking restaurant. Its awning was painted a dark, sophisticated green. The overhang covered a white door with posts trimmed with the same green colour. "La Maison Verte" was written in a flowy script on the wooden sign fixed to the door. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Somehow, it raised a red flag in her mind. After hesitating for a bit, Raven decided to trust her nose and stepped into the building.

The door opened with the chime of a bell and Raven was immediately hit with sensory overload. The aroma of freshly baked bread filled her nostrils and she automatically salivated in response. If she wasn't hungry before, she was ravenous now. She surveyed the glass counter that was filled with traditional French pastries, loaves of bread, and desserts. The warm, amber colours of baked dough looked extremely inviting and Raven felt herself get hungrier by the second. A short, middle-aged woman greeted her at the door.

"For how many?"

"Just one."

The woman handed her a menu and said, "You can go ahead and take a seat. I'll send over a waiter shortly."

Raven decided to take one of the empty tables that was placed against the large, glass window that faced the street. She would never admit it aloud, but Raven secretly liked to people-watch. She found herself fascinated by the passersby as they moved in their different directions. She saw two women around her age, laughing amicably with their arms linked together. Her gaze shifted to an elderly couple who walked slowly, holding onto each other for support. Her eyes followed the pair before moving to a young mother with a stroller. The woman smiled lovingly towards her child, leaning forward to coo at the baby.

As Raven made all of these observations, she was reminded of her own solitude. On a normal day, she was perfectly comfortable with being alone. She prided herself on her independence and self-sufficiency. But for some reason, she felt extra sensitive as she watched the people outside carry out their lives with companionship and affection. Before she sunk too deep into her thoughts, a familiar voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle. My name is Gar and I will be your server today."

Raven gave herself a mental facepalm. "You have got to be kidding me," she thought.

Garfield stood in front of her with that stupid grin that never seemed to leave his face. He wore a simple uniform of black slacks and a white button-up shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, accentuating toned biceps. An apron completed the look; the restaurant's logo was printed in white against the forest green fabric, which clashed horribly with the lime-coloured tips of his hair. He held a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other.

"I highly recommend the avocado toast. It'll really guac your world."

Raven groaned inwardly at the cheap pun. Her waiter pointed towards the menu with his pen and she glanced down to look at the item he mentioned.

"Why would I pay 18 dollars for that?" she exclaimed.

"There's a secret ingredient," he replied conspiratorially. Garfield slipped the notepad into the front pocket of his apron and tucked the pen behind his ear before settling into the chair facing hers. Somehow, Raven had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't how he normally interacted with customers.

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?" she asked, not really caring about the answer.

"The olive oil drizzle is infused with basil and dried chilis for 24 hours. It completely transforms the dish."

"Thanks for the tip, Gordon Ramsay," she scoffed.

"I actually like to think of myself as a 'Jaimie Oliver' type. A lot more family friendly with a focus on healthy eating. Not to mention Ramsay's one ugly bastard," Garfield replied, grinning like a cat.

"Well, now you've gone and given the secret away. What's going to keep me from just going home and making it myself?"

"Meh, I figure I'm safe. I doubt you would put in the effort. You don't seem like the domestic type."

Raven's mouth turned into a stubborn frown. "Oh really? I'll have you know that I'm a very good cook." That, of course, was a bold-faced lie. Other than turning on her kettle and putting together the odd sandwich, she rarely spent time in her kitchen.

"Is that so? I guess you'll just have to invite me over to your place for dinner sometime," said Garfield with a twinkle in his eye. "That might be over-stepping things a bit, though. I wouldn't want to make your boyfriend jealous."

She narrowed her eyes at his random conjecture. "If you're trying to get personal information out of me, it's not going to happen."

Garfield shifted in his seat to place his forearms on the table and leaned in, resting his chin on his hands. "So what's your story?"

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Come on, throw me a bone! Where are you from? What's your family like? What are your deep, dark secrets?"

"You want a bone? I'll give you a bone."

Raven kicked herself internally when she realized the double meaning behind her reply. Garfield looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Before he could jump in with his favourite, overused comeback, she spoke out savagely, "My name is Raven Roth. I manage a band called the Titans. My deep, dark secret is that I have fantasies about stapling the guitarist's mouth shut so that I never have to listen to his irritating voice again."

Garfield, however, was unaffected. "So you have fantasies about me?"

"Are you going to take my order or what?" huffed Raven in exasperation.

He brandished his pen and notepad. "Ready when you are."

"I'll take the waffles with extra fruit on the side. To go."

"Aw, don't be like that Rave, I was just about to start my lunch break. We could eat together."

"I will remind you, for the umpteenth time, that you will address me as Ms. Roth!" she spat out, expression ablaze with anger. As the words left her lips, Raven felt like her tone had been a bit too harsh. But there was no going back now.

Contrary to her expectations, Garfield didn't look fazed at all. Instead, he stood up and gave her a dramatic bow. "My apologies, Ms. Roth. Sit tight, your order will be ready in no time." He whisked away her menu and strolled over to the counter to put in her order.

For the next fifteen minutes, Raven sat uncomfortably as Garfield went about doing his job. He openly stared at her between tasks and would wave enthusiastically if he just so happened to catch her eye. To Raven's relief, the same woman who greeted her at the door was the one who brought over her order in a brown paper bag. Raven moved to take out her wallet, but the lady stopped her.

"It's on the house today. Courtesy of your number one fan." The woman pointed over to Garfield. Raven rolled her eyes as he waggled his brows with a smug look on his face.

"Please, I insist..."

"Don't worry about it. Logan was adamant that you get the VIP treatment."

Raven decided to give up and murmured her thanks. She strut out the door, making a point not to make eye contact with Garfield before leaving. Several minutes later, she arrived home, hungrier than ever. She reached into the paper bag to pull out a cardboard take-out box and found that a message was scribbled in permanent black ink on its cover.

Ms. Roth,

I'll see you on Saturday! Enjoy the waffles.

Your favourite Titan, Gar

For the first time in his life, Gar felt motivated to wake up early. In his teenage years, it usually took several attempts from his foster mother to rip him from sleep and get him to school on time. Years later as a grown adult, he didn't fare much better, often relying on his exacerbated roommate and multiple alarms to get out of bed. The difference was that now, Gar was a man on a mission.

His new routine began with waking at 7 am to do a short workout of pushups and situps in his room. He normally went to the gym at night, but these days, there was no time to waste. After a quick shower and breakfast, he would head off to work. He had asked his manager to move him to the day shift permanently so that he could dedicate his evenings to music. The moment he returned home, he would head straight to the living room.

The area had become his "office" where he wrote notes and tested out different chords. Each night, Gar spent several hours working on the tracklist. He rehashed the old songs and composed music for the new ones. He analyzed everything from the phrasing of lyrics to the balance of dynamics. He eventually moved on to experimenting with melodies and trying different arrangements for the newer material. Dick popped in to help a couple of times, usually late at night after pulling over-time hours at the office. Otherwise, Gar worked by himself, completely focused and in the zone.

Before he knew it, the workdays flew by and it was Saturday once more. Unlike the week prior, Gar and Victor left early to pick up Dick and Kory instead of having them come over to their place. They were scheduled to meet Raven at the studio at noon. Gar smiled at the memory of her impromptu visit to the restaurant in the middle of the week. He certainly wasn't expecting to run into her there, but he was glad that he did. She was just so much fun to mess with. So far, he was unsuccessful at getting her to laugh, but he didn't mind. His "that's what she said" jokes hadn't landed well, so he decided to change tactics and go for wordplay instead.

In the car, he cooked up various puns and tucked them away into the corners of his mind to unleash later on. When the Titans' car merged onto the highway, the speed of traffic slowed to a snail's pace, probably due to an accident up ahead. After dealing with heavy congestion for nearly an hour, they finally pulled up to Wicked Scary Studios at half past noon. When they walked in, they saw a very distressed Raven pacing back and forth in the lobby. She clutched her tablet to her chest with one hand and a paper cup in the other. As Gar approached her, he saw her hands tremble in agitation.

"Yikes, Ms. Roth. Looks like you've got a bad case of the coffee jitters." He swiped the cup from her hand and took a long sip. His face puckered into a grimace and he immediately spat out the hot liquid, narrowly missing Raven's annoyed face by a few inches.

"That's a matcha latte, you idiot." She grabbed back her drink and wiped the plastic lip on her sleeve to remove Gar's unwelcome saliva. "And you're late."

Gar felt like he was being transported back in time, envisioning himself as a high school student walking into class several minutes tardy. But instead of his stodgy tenth grade homeroom teacher, he imagined Raven wearing a short pencil skirt and a tight blouse. Her hair was swept up in a messy bun and a pair of glasses perched on the edge of her nose. He enjoyed the fantasy for half a second before shaking it off. It wouldn't do to have inappropriate thoughts like that in public.

"We are deeply sorry, Ms. Roth. Please accept our apologies," Kory answered.

Raven clenched her jaw and said, "Don't make it a habit, okay? I'm paying the studio by the session, not an hourly rate, and you've already wasted 30 minutes." The rest of the group decided to not make any more excuses. They had a feeling that their manager was about to blow a fuse and they didn't want to provoke her wrath any further. "Follow me, Titans. Time is ticking," she said gruffly.

Instead of turning right towards the conference room, Raven led the group down the left side of the building. The hallway led to the storage room where the band had left their instruments the week before. They turned a corner where they were met with a flight of stairs and walked upwards. When they reached the second floor, Gar looked around the corner to see two wooden doors.

The door on the right had a glass sign affixed above it near the ceiling. It was tinted red and said "RECORDING" in white letters. He peered through a small window in the door to see a dark room that was empty, save for a few amplifiers and wires. He was tempted to go inside, but he had a feeling that wasn't good etiquette.

The door on the left swung open to reveal a man in a simple outfit of a yellow hoodie and black sweatpants. He wore his hair in dreadlocks that were long enough to brush the large set of wireless headphones that wrapped around his neck. He greeted the group shyly and said, "You must be the Titans. It's nice to finally meet you."

Raven took over the introductions, "Virgil Hawkins is our sound engineer and producer. He has a diverse set of skills and an excellent reputation. Mr. Hawkins, this is Richard Grayson, Kory Anders, Victor Stone and Garfield Logan."

The team stepped forward to shake his hand. Virgil urged them to follow him inside the room from which he originally emerged. "This is the control room, where I spend pretty much all of my waking hours. Please don't touch anything," he said in Victor's direction, who was admiring the equipment a little too closely.

On the left of the room was a long, three-seater couch that was upholstered in black leather. A desk leaned against the wall directly adjacent to the door, outfitted with a computer and rolling chair. The right side was lined with mixing consoles and speakers of varying sizes, all set upon a sturdy, wooden shelf. Above the panel of audio equipment was a large window cutout. Virgil pointed to the other room behind the glass. "That would be the recording booth, also known as the live room. We'll set up your instruments there along with some microphones. You can access it from the hallway or you can take a shortcut through the isolation booth where we record vocals."

Their host walked to the other side of the control room and led the group through another door on the far wall. It opened up to a smaller room that was only big enough to comfortably hold two people at a time. As Virgil struggled to get the next door open, Gar was accidentally shoved from behind by Dick, which pushed him forward. His body bumped against Raven's, his front brushing up against her back.

"Sorry, Rave," Gar quickly apologized. He could feel her body heat and smelled a hint of lavender perfume wafting up from her neck.

"Don't call me that," she whispered tonelessly.

"Would you prefer 'Rae' instead?"

"You know exactly what I'd prefer."

"I'd love to learn all about your preferences, Ms. Roth."

Gar might have thought that she was unaffected by the banter and close contact, but he noticed a lovely blush tint her cheeks and ears. Before he could say anything else, Virgil opened the next door. The bottleneck released and the six figures poured out into the live room.

"And this is where the magic happens," the producer said, spreading out his arms. "Well, a lot of magic happens in there too," he added, pointing back at his desk in the control room through the window, "but I guess I can't take all the credit." Virgil dropped his hands to rest them on his hips and smiled widely at the group. "Whaddya say, gang? Are we ready to get this party started?"

The team spent the next half hour setting up the live room. Kory helped Victor carry the various instruments and pieces of equipment up the stairs. Raven was impressed with the woman; she was stronger than she looked. The manager stayed in the control room, comfortably seated on the leather couch with her tablet in her lap. Every once in a while, she would glance up from her screen to observe them work. The two other Titans helped Virgil set up the microphone stands and tidy up the mess of wires that trailed on the ground. Garfield looked like an over-eager child in a museum, pestering his "tour guide" with never-ending questions. Virgil answered him patiently, explaining every little detail of the recording process.

"Basically, there's three ways we can go about this. One, we could build the album 'brick by brick', meaning that we record all of the different instrumental and vocal tracks separately. I would be in charge of combining the layers in the final mix. But that method can get pretty time-consuming and based on Ms. Roth's strict schedule, I doubt we'd be able to get it done in eight sessions. Two, we could do it fully live. Everyone would be plugged in and recorded at the same time, vocals included. It's the most time efficient, but if you mess up a take, you have to completely restart from the beginning. Not to mention, your vocals and instrumentation have to be super tight."

Richard shook his head, "That won't work. Everyone plays well, but I don't think we've practiced enough recently to produce a clean sound.

"Speak for yourself," Garfield said with mock offense. "What about the third option?"

"You do a combination of both," replied Virgil, "and focus on completing a song or two per session. First, we record the song 100 percent live as a reference point. Then, we'd record the instruments and vocals on two separate tracks. I'd still have to mix them together, but it would be a lot less complicated than doing it one 'brick' at a time."

By the time the live room was set up, the Titans were raring to go. They spent the next few hours working hard on the first song. Instead of going in the order of the tracklist, the band opted to start with the songs they were the most comfortable with. By the late afternoon, 'Aftershock' was finished. It was a lively tune with a simple but effective bassline and a driving drum beat. There was a guitar solo right before the last chorus, which injected the song with one last jolt of energy before a spectacular finish.

Raven felt like it was a good moment to take a break. She spoke into the P.A. system, "Suppertime. Let's eat in the conference room."

Pizzas were already set up on the table, ready for the gang to dig in. Victor and Virgil spoke animatedly, discussing the technical side of music production. Richard was half asleep in his chair, seemingly exhausted from the day's work. He held a half-eaten pizza crust in his hand, which hung precariously in his fingers while he nodded off.

Meanwhile, Garfield and Kory chatted about their jobs. Kory recounted a story of when one of her day care charges accidentally called her 'Mommy'. At the other end of the table, Raven typed away on her tablet, stopping every once in a while to take a small bite of food. She could feel Garfield's eyes on her and she silently willed him not to pull her into the conversation.

"Hey Ms. Roth," he said, "what do you call a dead musician?"

She didn't answer and continued to work as if she hadn't heard him speak.

"A de-composer! Get it?"

Raven refused to dignify his terrible pun with a verbal response. Instead, she rolled her eyes and continued working.

"Sorry, did my joke fall a little flat?"

"No, Mr. Logan. If you want to get me to laugh, you're going to have to come up with something a little more original. I'm pretty sure I read that in a book called One Hundred and One Lame Dad Jokes."

From the other side of the room, Victor and Virgil laughed out loud at Raven's burn. The influx of noise woke up Richard with a start. "What time is it?" he asked sleepily.

"Almost 6," Raven replied. "We have about an hour and a half before it's time to pack up. Do you think there's enough time to record something else?"

"Hmm," muttered Richard, rubbing his chin, "well there's that one instrumental track that Gar and I experimented with over the week. We'll have to do a few practice runs first since it's new, but it shouldn't take long to record once we have it down."

When they returned to the second floor, the group branched off. Raven followed Virgil into the control room while the others went into the live room. She sat next to him in a folding chair by the desk instead of sitting behind him on the couch. The pair watched through the window as the band got organized. They couldn't hear what they were saying because the mics were off, but based on everyone's body language, Raven guessed that Richard was the one giving the directions.

"They're a great band with a lot of talent," Virgil said, rotating his chair towards Raven.

"I know, that's why I signed them.."

"In my five years at Wicked Scary, I haven't seen a team with so much chemistry. They seem to really like each other."

"They formed in high school," Raven replied, "those kinds of bonds don't break very easily."

Virgil nodded in agreement then said, "Not to mention their secret weapon."

"Secret weapon?"

"Garfield's composition skills. The man's a genius, especially considering he can't even read music."

His statement took Raven aback. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Dick was the one who mentioned it to me. Apparently, he spent several hours over the week transcribing all of the chord sheets for Gar so that the others could play along."

Raven watched Garfield through the glass as he fiddled with his guitar. As vexing as he was, she felt a seed of respect begin to grow inside of her. Behind the flimsy jokes and exasperating persona, it seemed like there was a lot more to him than met the eye. Before she knew it, it was time to go. The Titans carefully placed their instruments into the storage room before Raven locked it with her key.

They managed to finish recording "Titan Rising" with 45 minutes to spare. The instrumental track mainly featured Victor's drumming skills, which was a tight combination of hi-hat and snare. There was an underlay of moody synth paired with a subtle yet intricate bass line. Garfield and Richard added soft vocalizations on top, paralleling the simple melody of the electric guitar. While there were no lyrics for a listener to emotionally connect with, the atmospheric song would be a great transition track to perform in the middle of a concert.

"Fantastic work, everybody," Virgil said. They had all walked down to the lobby together and hung around before heading home. "I'll do some fine-tuning during the week, but so far, your first two tracks are really solid. See you next Saturday."

Everyone waved goodbye as he left the building. The rest of the group made moves towards the door, but Raven stopped them before they could exit. "Before you go, I wanted to say that I'm really pleased with the work you did today. I appreciate your preparedness and focus."

"Aww shucks," Victor humbly replied, "we're just doing our job."

"Right," she said, "and while you were hard at work, so was I." Raven handed over her tablet to Richard so that he could read aloud the email on the screen.

"Ms. Roth, thank you for your inquiry. We would be happy to rent out our studio space to you. Our next availability is Sunday, October 4th. Please confirm if that date works for you."

"What exactly is this about?" Kory asked.

"This, Titans, is a film set booking," answered Raven. "We're making a music video."

The gang erupted in excited cheers and all of a sudden, Raven found herself enveloped in a group hug. Even though she wasn't a huge fan of physical contact, a happy feeling rose up in her chest. As Richard, Kory, Victor and Garfield continued to squeeze her tightly, the manager contemplated the unfamiliar emotion. Their relationship was supposed to be strictly professional, yet she felt their warm affection radiate towards her. "I could get used to this," she thought. Raven closed her eyes and let go, allowing herself to enjoy the tender moment.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the fluff. I kind of cheated and inserted the classic "coffee shop AU" in there, haha. Again, I hope I didn't bore you with the technical stuff. Personally, I find it fascinating.

For people who aren't familiar with the comics, Virgil Hawkins is Static, an electrokinetic superhero that joined the Teen Titans for a brief time. There will be two more cameos next chapter; one from the CN show and two from the comics. And if you hadn't caught it already, all of the Titans' tracks are named after Season 2 episodes.

Till next time, Lily Timbers

Replies to Guest Reviews:

Guest (reviews from Ch. 3 and 4): Your reviews are really touching, thank you so much! I especially appreciate your comments on my dialogue-it's definitely the part I enjoy writing the most. Based on your review for Chapter 3, I gather that you're probably one of the essential workers who is still working hard during the pandemic. Take care and stay safe!