The Best Mistake I Ever Made Chapter 7, a teen titans fanfic

*AN: a pretty short chapter because i'm pretty bummed out

[[ Garfield ]]

Two days.

That's how long it'd been since Rachel texted me. Not that I was worried, obviously. Why would I be worried? In fact, if she dropped off the face of the planet right now, my life would be about 1000 times simpler. I glanced at my phone one more time to make sure I didn't miss a text during my train of thought.

Nope.

That's no problem! It's not like I'm annoyed or anything! I for one loooove kissing girls and getting ghosted immediately afterward. Love it. Looking around the room, I tried to think of something-anything-else. Like that adorable kitten I had given vaccinations to today at work. Or the nice saitan schnitzel I would be eating later tonight for dinner. Or-

Suddenly, my phone buzzed and in an instant I was reading the message.

Hey, sorry for lost contact. I've been swamped with work and learning how to care for Castor. I was wondering if I could stop by your place later this afternoon- Kori and Dick's luncheon is on Thursday and I'd like to make sure we have everything nailed before the big day.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. So she wasn't ignoring me- I didn't fuck everything up. Not that it mattered or anything. It's not like I would see her again after this whole wedding thing. Wait.I -won't- see her again after the wedding. She'll move on with her life and pretend I never existed and I'll move on with my life and pretend she never existed. Why did that make me feel weird inside? Whatever the cause, I sent a text back immediately.

Sure, sounds good to me!

Fucking finally.

I may lack social etiquette at times but even I knew that what I did was rather rude. But I mean, he was the one that made it weird, not me. So basically, Garfield brought this upon himself. I glanced over at the kitten sitting in bed beside me. He looked up at me with his big green eye and meowed. I took that as a meow of derision.

"You can't judge me." I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest. Castor looked at me again and tilted his head inquisitively. Immediately I felt guilt rush through me. Ugh. This is exactly why I don't do pets.

"Fine, you're right! I was being a dick, are you happy?!" I said, exasperated. The black kitten purred contently and jumped off the bed as if to signal that his job here was done. Of fucking course he would. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. If Kori were here she'd say it wasn't really Castor judging me but rather the guilt deep inside of me. I prefer my interpretation. Speaking of Kori, I hadn't actually talked to her in quite a while. Funny how I haven't actually talked to the catalyst for my situation in days. I wondered if our friendship would be like this once she actually got married and felt something wash through me. Was it sadness?

It can't have been. Kori pushing me away shouldn't make me sad. I should be happy for her and happy that I would finally have the alone time college-me would have killed for. Yet…it felt wrong. Like, maybe when I was 20 I would have wanted this but now…I felt hollow. ARgh. This stupid wedding is destroying me.

I stood up and look myself over in the mirror. Same blue eyes. Same purple hair. Same pale skin. But I felt so…different. Like I had woken up in the same body but with a different personality. It was almost a bit scary. I thought I was finished with self growth after the whole Mal incident. Sighing once again, I stood up and made my way to the living room. This place used to feel so comforting to me. It was my fortress of solitude; a place where I could isolate myself from other people and just bury myself in my thoughts. But now it felt so suffocating. I felt restricted by the sterility of the place. How completely unlike me.

Rachel hadn't even been here for five minutes and I was a nervous wreck. So much for smooth, Gar. Currently, she was sitting down on my bed, glancing unemotionally around the room. She probably wasn't impressed and to be honest, I wouldn't be either. I didn't spend much time in my room and as a result it was an eclectic mess. There were papers everywhere, uneaten food on my desk and clothes strewn about. Rachel would not approve.

"This is very…lived in." she finally said after a long moment of silence. I chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, sorry about the mess. I don't spend a lot of time here."

"No, I meant it in a good way. It has…personality." Rachel said, a certain genuineness in her voice. I smiled at her.

"Thanks but your apartment is definitely a step up from mine. My only view is the that shitty dive bar across the street." I replied, laughing. Rachel gave out a dry laugh and nodded. Suddenly, things felt much more at ease. Kind of like things had been before I kissed her. I liked it. Standing up, Rachel began to look around the room some more.

"You have a lot of unopened mail, Garfield."

"Yeah, most of it is bills." I admitted, crossing my arms across my chest. Rachel gave off the vibe that she was unfamiliar with the concept of avoiding paying bills.

"Who's Tara Markov?" Rachel asked, picking up the fancy envelope. I felt my heart drop and instantly felt sick. And things were going so well before.

"Thats, uh, my ex girlfriend." I said uncomfortably. Rachel's cheeks flushed. I could feel the awkwardness refilling the room.

"Well, you should open it. It looks pretty important." she continued, still uncomfortable. I snorted and shook my head.

"I have nothing left to say to her. Why don't you open it?" I suggested, desperately trying to get back to the atmosphere that was forming before she mentioned Tara. Shrugging, Rachel slid her nail underneath the flap and delicately opened the envelope. She then slowly pulled out the letter for what felt like an enterinity. Suddenly, I heard an sharp intake of breath and felt myself panicking. What the fuck was in that envelope?

"What? What happened?" I asked, suddenly feeling anxious.

"It seems that your ex-girlfriend just so happens to be engaged to my ex-boyfriend." Rachel replied dryly.

Of all the exes in the world of course Garfield's would fine mine, that's just how my life tended to turn out. Garfield was busy biting his nails on the edge of his bed while I was pacing around the room, my brows furrowed in betrayal and embarrassment.

"I don't understand it." he finally said, breaking the silence.

"Simple; the universe is playing one giant cosmic joke on us. Very funny universe, very fucking funny." I replied shortly. Garfield groaned and flung himself back on the bed.

"Yeah but why the fuck did she have to invite me? Does she want to show off or something?" he said, running his hands through his hair. I thought for a second. It didn't make sense at all to me. Did she want to hurt him? Or did she genuinely think it was a good idea to invite an ex to her wedding? And then to add on the fact that she just so happened to be getting married to Mal? Of all the coincidences in the world…

"Well, you're not going, right?" I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the situation. Garfield looked up at the ceiling, as if he were debating something in his head.

"No, I'll be going. And you will too."