Chapter 1

Garfield Logan looked over his backpack one more time. After a moment of studying it with a critical eye, he finally zipped up the bag with a satisfied grin. The beginning of the school year was the perfect time to develop good habits. No more procrastinating, no more messy locker and backpack, no more showing up late to classes, and no more falling asleep during lectures. This is the year he's finally getting his shit together. At least, that's the plan, the same plan he had at the start of every school year before he falls back onto old habits within a week. But since this is his final year maybe it'll act as a bigger motivation. Besides, even a little improvement counts. "Yo, BB! Get your butt over here!" "Keep your panties on, I'm coming!" Gar yelled back. He quickly climbed down the stairs leading to the front porch of his home and hopped inside the car. "Finally! I thought you were gonna drag both of us to detention, keeping me held up here." "We weren't gonna be late, don't be dramatic! I was just making sure I had everything before we left," Gar responds with a huff as he lowers the passenger mirror to look himself over. His white shirt and purple jacket contrasted nicely with his blue jeans. The shirt had a green monkey holding a controller and wearing a large grin. He had wanted to dye his hair green, but his foster father forbade it. Eventually, they compromised and he was allowed to dye a small section in the front. He wanted to dye it for two reasons: he thought it looked cool, and it might work as a coverup when he was sick. Anytime his illness flared up his skin would get a bit green, so he hoped a more obvious green near his face would distract from it and make it look normal by comparison. At the very least people might dismiss the shade as a reflection from his hair or something. He put the mirror back up and looked at the driver in the seat next to him.

Victor Stone was his best friend. They hadn't known each other for long, but they quickly bonded over their mutual love of video games. They also shared a somewhat juvenile sense of humor despite Vic being older than most other classmates he knew. In fact, if it weren't for his accident a few years ago, Vic would have already graduated with a scholarship. No doubt his reputation as a sports protege would have had coaches trying to grab him for their famous football team before he could even leave the graduation party. However, thanks to a horrible event, he was held back a few years after his surgeries and recovery so that he could finish where he left off. His old friend group had gone off to college and had subtly distanced themselves from him after their first get-together post surgery. After that, Vic did his best to avoid stares by isolating himself and covering most of his body with a thick hoodie. Fortunately for him, the following year he had met Gar, who complimented his 'cool additions' to his body and immediately treated him like they had been best friends for years. He had initially refused to go farther than a disgruntled greeting, but after questioning Gar's slightly green hue to his skin and receiving a nonchalant "That's just how it looks on off days," he saw a kindred spirit, someone out of the ordinary that refused to be pushed into the background, and allowed himself to be pulled out of his self inflicted isolation. After that, Vic had expanded his wardrobe to be more revealing (within reason) as a way to get used to 'stretching his wings' as Gar put it. His insecurities got a hold of him around women, though. Gar would insist that he could get a girlfriend if he just tried. And he was probably right. He was tall, muscular, smart, and had an air of maturity around him. He didn't play sports anymore since it wasn't considered fair to the others, but he still wore his usual attire when he used to be on the team; a football jacket over a sleeveless gray shirt and gym pants. Even after all this time, he still wasn't too comfortable throwing himself out into the romance world. Some day.

Now Vic gives Gar rides to school and drives back to his place to hang out. Gar doesn't really need a ride. He has his own car, a really nice one at that, but they live close to each other so they used it as an excuse and figured they could save gas by carpooling. "So how long do you think you'll last this year?" Vic asked with a quick, knowing glance, "This is the cleanest I've ever seen your backpack." "Honestly? I think I'm actually gonna stick to this to the end of the year," was Gar's confident reply. "I give it one week," Vic said cheekily. "What?! Why do you believed I could finish thirty tofu hotdogs in under an hour, but not this?" Gar indignantly demanded. "Probably because you have more experience with it. Not to mention it seems to come naturally to you," Vic responds with a snicker. "Dude! That's so not cool! I'm not a freshman, you know? I can mature!" He was met with a bemused smile, "Hmm…maybe this year will be different. I'll extend it to two weeks." "Wow! Where did this sudden belief in me come from?" Gar rolled his eyes. Vic chuckled, "Well it's the last year for us, so I figured you'd try slightly harder just to say you improved, even if only by a little bit." "…I'm not predictable," Gar muttered. He drowned out Vic's laughter by turning up the volume on the radio and the two drove to school with music loud enough to make the entire car vibrate.

As they pulled into the parking lot, they maneuvered around other cars and any students not paying attention. They managed to find a spot not too far from the entrance. Technically, Vic could just use the handicap placard he was given to park right at the door, but he refused. Partly out of pride, but also because he could move just fine, better, actually, thanks to the metal in his body. Normally Gar would have complained that he should take advantage of the freebie, but he wisely said nothing and simply helped him look for a spot among the other cars. Finally, they got out of the car and grabbed their bags before Vic locked his 'Baby' and they turned to the building.

Jump High School, named after the city it was located in, was fairly well off as far as private schools go. Students were required to go through a screening process in order to be accepted. Almost everyone's parents were either rich or had connections. Fortunately, most students were well behaved and down to earth, though there were some exceptions. The school life here was about as good as one could hope for. The rooms were spacious and clean, classmates were friendly and helpful, teachers were supportive and knowledgeable, and the lunches offered vegetarian options every day! One thing about the school that tickled Gar's funny bone was the slogan, 'Jump High!' It seemed he was the only one who enjoyed the cheesy motto though. Gar thought it was genius that the faculty saw the pun and used it to encourage their students to give it all they have to succeed. He loved to chant it at school sport events, but he was usually the only one yelling it.

Unlike every other time he would walk up to the school for the first day each year, he felt a sort of giddiness rising in his chest. This was their final year before college. The light at the end of the tunnel was in sight and the train was going full steam ahead. He glanced at Vic who grinned back. It seems he was having a similar feeling. As they walked into the familiar setting, Gar couldn't keep the smile off his face, even as the two separated to find their respective lockers. They had gone over their schedule in Vic's room the previous day, so they knew they had four classes together. Gar really hoped they would be able to sit next to each other, or just get lucky and have the seating chart put them nearby.

Finding his locker didn't take long, it was very close to his old one. Jump high had the 'luxurious' feature of having tall lockers instead of stacked ones. Vic told him they actually used to have those his first year, but upgraded them after a series of donations from charity events. He quickly pulled out his combination while approaching the lock. They had their own locks attached, so students didn't need to buy one of their own. Here comes the first struggle of the day. Despite the locks and combinations being fairly simple, Gar always had a hard time unlocking them, even after having the same one for two years in a row! Luckily, his new one was at the end of a section, neighboring one other locker and the bricks separating a classroom door. This made it easier to stay out of people's way and would, theoretically, keep him calmer so that he would have more success, which would lead to fewer times being late to classes.

After a full minute of fiddling with the lock he quickly grew frustrated and looked around to see if Vic was done with his and available to help him out. Instead, as he looks up, he sees his new neighbor looking at him with an unreadable expression and nearly jumps out of his skin. He didn't even see him come up! But what was more startling than that was the fact that Gar recognized this guy. The infamous ward of a millionaire with a reputation of a 'bad boy' who liked to wear sunglasses everywhere, even inside. Richard Grayson. Not really known for being the most friendly guy around, though that doesn't stop him from being one of the, if not the most, popular guys in the building, especially among the ladies. His spiky, black hair and expensive clothes probably helped in that regard. Though the clothes were a bit of a mess, in Gar's private opinion. The red shirt kinda clashed with the green cargo pants. Combined with some yellow and green accent colors, he vaguely resembles a traffic light. Not that Gar would ever tell him that. His combat boots were cool, though. The black jacket tied around his waist also somewhat muted the brightness. Aside from that, he's usually seen as a loner and, at times, a bit rude. Vic spoke with him a few times and confirmed the rude claims, though he believed it was more out of awkwardness than having a genuine attitude.

The two looked at each other for another few seconds before Richard finally broke the silence. "Need help with that?" Gar blinked before he fully processed what the other boy said. "Oh...yeah! Sure, thanks! I always have trouble with these… heh," he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "It's no problem," Richard reassured, "This lock was damaged a few years ago so it's kind of inevitable that you'd have trouble with it. I noticed you tend to rush the second rotation. That's probably why you lose track of where the dial should be. I recommend putting a tiny mark onto the lock to keep your place. Something only you know to look for." He straightened back up after the door opened and moved back to the front of his own locker. "uh, thanks…" Gar fumbled out, impressed with his quick observation before realizing that the guy whom he assumed would laugh at him helped him instead. "'You're Richard, right? My name's Gar. I guess we're locker neighbors now," he chuckled, still unsure how the teen in front of him would react. Richard just nodded and walked off, presumedly to his first class.

…His first class! "Shit!" Gar panicked as he grabbed his books and ran to his home room. It happened to be the same room from his freshman year so he didn't have to look for it. It also happened to be the first class he had with Vic, who was waiting just outside the room, watching Gar's panicked running with a smirk. "Not one word," Gar warned through heavy breaths as they both walked in right as the bell rang. "At least they're more forgiving on the first day," Vic laughed. Gar sighed and looked around the classroom. Most people were sitting already. He wasn't sure if they were assigned yet, so he just followed Vic as he led him to the only seats left. The very front row. Gar frowned. So much for talking together when he was bored…wait, no! He wasn't gonna do that this year. He tried to rid himself of his instinctual habit by shaking his head and sitting down next to Vic, who didn't seem fazed at all about his seating arrangement or Gar's reaction. The teacher, the same one from his freshman year, walked in after a few more minutes, embarrassment clear on his face. "Sorry, not the best first impression being late on the first day, huh?" He said in a British accent. "Though I see quite a few familiar faces, so most of you know this isn't the usual for me." Why they had a British man teaching American history, Gar had no idea. Though, to his credit, he did a good job. Having said that, he would also go on rants about British history and culture which somehow earned him the nickname 'Mad Mod'. Either that, or it had something to do with his apparent interest in clothes and fashion. Gar wasn't too sure what it meant, but apparently Mod used to teach British history when he lived back home and he'd sometimes seemingly forget which one he was teaching.

As expected, after roll call, the first class of the year was just going over rules and introductions. Gar looked around the room as everyone introduced themselves. He didn't see anyone new, but he did see plenty of people he just hadn't had classes with before. As his eyes were finishing making his rounds, looking for girls to flirt with, he spotted a familiar face partially obscured by sunglasses sitting near the very back. He almost gasped and jerked his direction back to Vic. "Dude! Richard Grayson is in this class!" He whispered. "Yeah, I know. He walked in when I was waiting for you outside the room," Vic said with very little interest. "He helped me with my locker. His is right next to mine," Gar glanced back, "I think he's a pretty ok guy so far." "Yeah, I told you before I just think he's a bit awkward." "Maybe we should invite him to eat with us at lunch!" He suggested excitedly. In addition to making a new friend, being associated with the popular guy would improve their image a lot. Maybe he'd even have an easier time finding girls to date! Vic made a non committed noise, "Uh sure, we can ask." Gar looked at his friend questioningly before understandment dawned on him. Vic was unsure how he'd be treated by a new guy, especially a rich popular one. Maybe his hesitance came from insecurity or the fact that his personal history with popularity got him a front row seat when seeing what other students were like. Even though they also both came from a rich family and weren't exactly the lowest on the totem pole, he guessed the few interactions they had with each other wasn't enough to really get a good grasp on Richard's personality. Gar smiled empathetically, "If he's too rude we can drop him like a hot potato, but I think he deserves to be given a chance." It was moments like this that reminded Vic why they had become friends in the first place. Despite being viewed as an idiot, even by his own friend, Gar was always able to see the good in people and willing to bend himself backwards to give people multiple chances. He swore it would be the death of him one day. "Alright, we can ask as soon as we start to leave for the next class," was Vic's more confident response.

As the bell rings and everyone starts to leave, Gar all but runs to Richard. "Hey! I know this is kinda sudden, but you wanna eat lunch with us?" "…I'm fine with eating alone," Richard avoided his eyes. Gar wasn't deterred, "What class do you have next?" After a pause long enough to make him think he might not answer, Richard finally tells him, "Calculus." "Oh, that's Vic's next class! You should try getting a seat next to him and get to know him a bit!" Seeing his still expressionless face, Gar tried once more, "Just think about it, we have time. Anyway, I gotta get going." He waved a quick goodbye to Vic and headed to his second class. This time he arrived with most of the other students. He sprinted to the back of the room, and won the imaginary race to the coveted row. As he got situated and looked up he saw everyone had already arrived and taken a seat, including the teacher. Mr. Blood was a creepy guy. A few students heard other people outside of school refer to him as Brother Blood, starting a rumor that he's part of a cult. Considering his surname is Blood, the only logical assumption was that his rumored cult worshiped the devil. Gar wasn't sure if he should buy into that rumor or not. He really didn't know much about the guy except that he had a son named Sebastian that was apparently homeschooled. 'I guess the teacher couldn't be here today,' Gar thought to himself. Blood was actually the principal, but when a teacher was gone for whatever reason he would substitute for them. Gar didn't know why they wouldn't just grab an actual sub, but he guessed it had to do with saving money.

Blood looked around at all the students. The bell had not rung yet, so everyone was still talking to each other. He seemed to be looking for someone in particular. Eventually, he frowned and looked back at his desk. Curious, Gar looked around as well. Most people he already knew from previous classes. There were a few new faces that had already found friends in the classmate sitting next to them. No new girls so he quickly got bored. Seeing nothing else of interest, he shrugged to himself and waited for class to start. During roll call, the only name that didn't respond was someone named Raven Roth. Blood didn't seem surprised, so Gar guessed that's who he was looking for earlier. Nothing else of note happened for the rest of the hour, so once the bell rang he quickly left for the bathroom before third period started. There were only a few other guys in there. Gar went over to a urinal then headed to the sink to wash his hands. He took a quick glance in the mirror. His medium blonde hair was still clean and only slightly disheveled from the day. The green streak in it was still vivid. His teeth and face were clean. Satisfied, Gar smirked at his reflection. His skin looked healthy. So far so good. He walked out and started making his way to the next class.

The office was on the way. As he was passing it, he saw a girl he'd never seen before. She was very tall and tan. Her long, wavy, red hair reminded him of fire and her green eyes were even more vivid than his own. She wore a light purple blouse that revealed some of her midriff along with a matching skirt. Beneath those she had dark stockings and light boots to complete the look. In short: she was beautiful! …and looking kinda lost. Gar saw an opportunity to help someone and flirt. He walked up to the girl who noticed him approaching and offered her a friendly smile. "Hi, I don't remember seeing you before. Are you new?" The girl seemed relieved to have someone talking to her. "Yes, my name is Koriand'r and I'm having trouble finding my next class." Gar mentally noted the unique name and asked, "What's your class?" "The activity of physical exertion." Gar blankly looked at her before finally understanding, "Oh, you mean P.E.?" Koriand'r looked a bit embarrassed, "I believe so?" He glanced at his schedule to confirm his memory, "Well that's my next class, so how about we go together?" Her eyes lit up and she gave a bright smile, "That would be wonderful! Thank you so much!" "No problem," He tried to say in a way he thought would be cool. As they walked to the gym they introduced each other a bit more. "I like your accent. Where are you from?" She seemed to get a little shy at the mention of her accent. Gar would have to try and remember to avoid potentially upsetting her about it. "I am from Tamaran. I moved here very recently due to conflict in my homeland." She seemed even more sad about that. "Uh, well hey, I'm sure things will work out. In the meantime, you have time to make friends! You're already on the right track." Koriand'r seemed to cheer up after hearing this. "In fact," he continued, "Why not sit with us at lunch?" "That's so kind of you. I accept the offer very much!" "My name is Gar, by the way." With that, both smiling teens reached their destination with some time to spare.

Gar looked around and immediately noticed Vic. "I wanna introduce you to a buddy of mine!" She seemed eager to make another friend and followed him to a larger teen with mechanical augmentations peaking out from under his clothes. "Hey, Vic, we have a new friend! This is uh…Kor…Korianah…uh." He glanced at her with embarrassment. She didn't seem offended and instead laughed. "You may call me Kori if that is easier." He brightened at the merciful option. "This is Kori, she's new here and she'll be eating lunch with us!" Vic decided not to voice his thoughts on adding yet another person to their group. His previous class with Richard had warmed both people to each other and there was a silent understanding that he would be joining them later. "Well it's nice to meet you, Kori. My name is Victor, but friends call me Vic." Once again she seemed to brighten at what he said. "It is lovely to meet you Vic and Gar! I hope we have a glorious school year together!" Her positive attitude was contagious. Both boys smiled before Vic told them to get their gym lockers picked out. When Gar entered the locker room, he saw none other than Richard, sitting there on his phone. "Hey, Richard! Good to see you again!" He looked up and quietly nodded his head. "Hey, there's gonna be another person eating with us. Her name is Kori. She's very nice! Just letting you know." Gar thought for a moment while looking for an empty locker, "Oh yeah, she also seems a bit shy about her accent, so try not to say anything mean about it." Despite wearing sunglasses he could almost see the other boy roll his eyes. "I don't make a habit of making fun of people's accents. I'm sure it'll be fine." "Ok, well get out there and meet her! The bell's about to ring anyway." They walked out and joined the two waiting on them. Vic spoke first, "Kori, this is Richard, he'll be at our table for lunch." "It is lovely to meet you, Richard! I hope we can become close friends!" "Uh…s-same here," Richard stammered out. His sunglasses weren't enough to hide the blush on his face. 'Well, if Richard had doubts about joining them before, they were surely gone now,' Gar thought to himself. Something told him Kori was now off limits, though.

Lunch couldn't start soon enough. Since everyone happened to have the same class right before it, they walked together to grab their food and find a table. Avoiding the hungry stampede, the group sits down and starts to dig in. In the middle of eating his veggie pizza Gar looked at his friends and at what they had chosen for lunch. Everyone chose pizza; not surprising since it's one of the most popular foods in the entire country. Richard's had pepperoni and Vic had put all the meat in the building on his. Gar was about to complain about the number of animals that had to die for his pizza to exist until he saw an even worse atrocity in front of him. A bright yellow condiment heavily coated Kori's slice. Once Gar's brain fully processed what he was looking at his stomach churned at the amount of mustard she had added to her pizza. His expression made Vic and Richard turn to look. They soon mirrored his reaction before Richard questioned her, trying to keep the disgust out of his voice, "Kori, is that…mustard?" Her eyes sparkled with joy, "Oh yes! I have discovered this wonderful substance shortly after my arrival to this country!" After exchanging determined looks, Gar and Vic decided to form a temporary truce against their new common enemy, "Kori, I don't think that's supposed to-" "I'm glad you like it, Kori," Richard gave them a warning glare. "…Y-yeah, it's nice finding new things you enjoy," Gar stammered back.

Vic quickly changed the subject. "Richard, have you played the newest mega monkeys game? Or any other game?" Richard looked away from Kori after a second and continued eating during his answer, "I used to play games, but I wanted to focus on school so I gave it up." "Dude, what?!" Gar exclaimed, "Why not just say you'd rather be miserable for the rest of your life?" "Yeah, man, that sounds like a dangerous downward spiral waiting to happen. You gotta know when to relax and enjoy life," Vic agreed. "What's got you so uptight about school?" "I just want to be ready for college," Richard defended. "This is our last year. We should be trying to do our b-" "Exactly! It's our last year before what's supposed to be even harder and more time consuming, so why give up fun when you don't need to yet?" Gar interrupted. Richard raised an eyebrow, "I would have taken you as the kind of guy to party all the time in college." "W-well yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun throughout my life, you know?" It was pretty clear Gar had no idea how to justify his argument against not playing video games. "Please, what are these games you speak of?" Gar almost forgot Kori was there, he had gotten so focused on Richard's confession. "You don't have video games in Tamaran?" Vic questioned. Kori must have mentioned her background while Gar and Richard were in the locker room. "We have television and board games. Are you saying there is a combination of the two?" After a moment of stunned silence, the table was suddenly buzzing with excited explanations, pizza and mustard long forgotten.

Once lunch was over everyone headed for their respective class. The rest of the day went by without a hitch. Gar had one other class with Richard and two more with Kori. He heard the name Raven Roth called out two more times, so he supposes he'll have three classes with this student who didn't even bother to show up for the first day. At last, the day was over and everyone met back together in the parking lot. Vic and Gar got in his car and noticed Kori watching Richard drive away. "Hey, Kori, you need a ride?" Vic called out. Kori smiled at the offer and said, "Oh my new home is a short walk away from the school." Gar spoke up, "Well who says you have to go home immediately? Vic and I like to play video games and just hang out after school. Wanna join us?" Kori almost immediately nodded with a relieved smile. She climbed into the back seat and the three rode to Vic's house.