Rachel recently finished a shift at work. Garfield was inviting Rachel to a barbecue, which his friend was hosting.

"I could've just met you back at home, you know." Rachel stated, getting in Garfield's car.

He answers. "I wouldn't want to put you through all of that trouble."

She puts on her seatbelt, smooths out her clothes with a soft smile.

"You're so nice."

"You're not too bad yourself."

Rachel speaks, "So… this barbecue you're bringing me to…"

"Oh, yeah. Richie's place. He's just throwin' a thing for us all to get together. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Richie in a minute, it's about time we link up."

"Got it."

"Mhm, you'll like 'em. I'm sure they'll like you, too. Also Vic, my best friend, and Richie's girl, Kori, are gonna be there as well. Probably a few other close friends. We all kinda grew up together or crossed paths through time."

In a short while, Rachel and Garfield arrive at Richie's house.

"As usual, you're the last one here."

A young man with a fair complexion, jet black, spiky hair, and blue eyes greets Garfield at the front of the house. Music was blasting from speakers, and laughter and chatter resided beyond where they were standing.

"I'm still here, though." Garfield chuckles. "Gimme sumn', Rich."

Garfield and Richie exchange a laid back, strategic handshake.

"You're right, you're here. Thanks for pullin' up." He faces Rachel. "Nice to meet you, I'm Richard, but you can call me "Richie" or "Rich" for short."

Rachel responds shyly, "Likewise, I'm Rachel."

Garfield laughs again, "He also goes by "Bird Brain."

"You—" Richie makes an annoyed face, punches Garfield playfully in the arm. He then says to Rachel with a crooked smile. "Don't mind us. Why won't I bring you to the back and get you something

to eat? We've got appetizers, drinks, all kinds of junk."

Rachel takes the offer, and they head to the backyard.

Rachel sees about ten people either sitting, eating, conversing, laughing; merely being lively company.

A pale girl with pink hair, four redheaded boys (two of them were short), a slender boy with black hair, a girl and boy with brown skin and thick hair, and a tan girl with hot red hair.

The tan girl with red hair nearly leaps over to Garfield and Rachel. She's wearing a theme of pink with denim overalls, and adorable accessories.

"Gar!" She giggles, giving Garfield a bone-crushing hug. "It's great to see you again. Where have you been?"

Garfield embraced her back with the strength he can manage.

"Just—living life—"

"As you should be." Kori greets Rachel kindly, Rachel returns.

Then, Vic shows up. A naturally curly afro, nut brown eyes, and a strong build.

Vic daps up Garfield.

"Ayyy, whaddup, Slime?"

Garfield answers, "Nadda, what's goin' for you?"

"Same old. Workin' around the grill and whatnot,"

He pauses, greeting Rachel. He offers his hand for her to shake.

"Hi, there. I'm Vic."

She greets, "I'm Rachel, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here." Vic turns back to Garfield. "Soooo, you friends or sumn'?" He points between the duo.

Garfield glances at Rachel with a smug grin, then she blushes, avoiding eye contact.

Garfield tugs down his backward cap, puts his hand in his pocket, then answers.

"Don't worry about it."

"I love your hair." Kori informs Rachel.

They are both sitting on a blanket with the pinkette and dark-skinned girl.

"Thank you," Rachel shyly runs her fingers through her sapphire highlights. "I like yours, too. I was scared to dye my hair for the longest. Now, I finally got around to it."

Kori smiles, drizzling mustard on her hotdog and hamburger.

The pinkette, nicknamed "Jinx" by the friend group, asks Rachel a question.

"Girl, what got you to change your mind?"

"Change my mind on what?"

"What got you to dye your hair? For some of us girls, it means we were going through it… 'Cuz when I did this full head of pink, I was havin' a job crisis."

Rachel answers hesitantly, "Oh… I did it right before moving here."

Bee, the afro-textured female joins in.

"Movin' can be stressful. You're new to the town?"

"Yeah, I'm a few weeks in. Trust me, I feel like dyeing my hair again."

"I don't blame you. Ain't nothin' touchin' these natural curls though." Bee pops her lips, then fluffs her thick hair.

Bee had a classy spunk to her, and it was quite likable.

Jinx says, "Period, sis."

"I know all about moving to new places and the feelings associated with it. I didn't stay in one city for more than two years until I moved here." Kori asserts.

"Damn, see, I ain't built for all that," Bee pronounces. "It's either we down or we not."

The girls laugh, engaging in another conversation of fashion, and any other topic they pleased.

Following a small while, everyone is gathered together to play games. They played tug of war, bean bag toss, crazy eights, musical chairs, and now they were going to do a three-legged race.

Richie was paired with Kori, Bee was paired with Vic, and Garfield was paired with Rachel. Jinx paired with a red head, Wally. The ravenette boy, Garth, paired with another ginger, Roy. The two other redheads, who were twin brothers (coined by the group as "the Double M"), paired together.

"Alright," Garfield tightens the band around his and Rachel's legs. He situates his arm over her shoulder, faces her and talks. "Are you ready?"

Rachel finds her stance, holding onto him gently.

"All set. Are you good to go?"

Garfield secretly admired that Rachel looked out for him just as much as he did for her. It made him feel secure and appreciated, even in the simplest activity.

Another one of his smiles draws a shy blush from her.

"You bet, let's see who can finish first." he teases with a smirk.

Rachel tries to hide her smile while elbowing him playfully, then he exclaims.

Vic makes the starting call.

"On your marks, get set— aye, aye, no cheatin'." he motions towards the brothers, who tried to start ahead.

"We weren't cheating!"

Vic observes everyone before calling again.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

Each pair begins, trying their best to maintain speed and coordination.

Wally and Jinx take a tumble, then begin to banter.

"You're literally a trackstar, why are we on the ground!?"

"It's your boots! They're big and klutzy."

"Don't blame my fashion on your bad luck."

Robin teases Wally, "Slowpoke!"

Wally responds, "Yeah, keep talkin', you're the one who's interdependent with hair gel."

With exchanges of puns and laughter, the game finishes.

Vic states, "Aaaaand our winning couple is… "Marine Boy and the Archerer!"

"Marine Boy and the Archerer?" Rachel quietly questions Garfield.

"Yep, Garth and Roy. Garth is studying to be a marine biologist, and one of Roy's favorite hobbies is archery. We make nicknames out of anything here. We even call Roy "Speedy" sometimes, because of how quickly he shoots those arrows from the bow." Garfield claims.

"Interesting."

"Wooo, yeah! Told ya I'd beat you in somethin', Gar." Garth said to Garfield.

Garfield replies whimsically, "Mhm, enjoy the taste of victory while you have it."

Rachel jests, "What have we here, a sore loser?"

"No, no, no." Garfield's eyebrows knit in frustration.

Rachel giggles, "You're kinda cute when you do that."

To his luck, Vic is eyeing Garfield's slight panic with a knowing smirk.

The blush in his cheeks, the clueless body language, and the loss of words.

Garfield hastily persuades, "Vic, I swear, nothing is going on between us. We're just friends."

Vic returns, his reply was simple and too wise to be objected.

"Don't lie to yourself."