Victor leaned against the window, his thousand-yard stare barely registering the buildings as his father chatted away in front of him. Something about the first floor and accommodations and how absurd it was that it was even an issue. Frankly, Victor didn't care. He didn't care that he still attended the best prep school in Jump City, that he had a new scholarship to replace the one he'd lost, that he got to stay with his friends. If you could call them that, he thought. Gar was the only one who actually visited. Flowers, cards, balloons, and candy showed up at his house all summer, but only one person.

Victor's eye naturally followed a familiar streak of dark green as it flew past, weaving through the traffic on a moped like yarn in a skilled knitter's hands.

"Looks like Gar got his wheels back," Victor said, perking up slightly.

His father sighed and shook his head. "That boy is a piece of work. Mark my words, Vic, he'll lose it again by Friday. Why does his mother keep giving that machine back to him?"

"Probably to get him out of her hair. You know, he tried to climb into the tiger cages once to 'pet the kitties.'"

"He didn't!"

"That's why he was grounded in the first place!"

"Mmm, mm, mm. It's a good thing you got a good head on your shoulders, or I'd be worried about the people you hang around with," Dr. Stone said.

"Good enough for us to share it, even."

The light teasing continued until the white van pulled up to a sprawling campus. High schoolers in deep purple polos dotted the grass, gossiping, pushing, eating. Dr. Stone opened his door.

A heavy smack and a yelp forced Dr. Stone out of the van faster.

"You okay, Garfield?" he asked loudly

"No worries, Doc," the teen said as he tapped his helmet, slightly dazed. "I got protection!"

Victor shoved his own head out the window and shouted "It's all the protection you need, right, Gar?"

"Hey, I can get a girl if I wanna! I'm adorable."

Victor laughed at the whiny, increasingly high pitch of Garfield's voice, a dead give-away that he was angry. He waved his hand at the helmeted boy. "Fair enough, fair enough! Not that anyone can see it right now."

Garfield's shoulders dropped. "Oh. It- it's stuck."

Victor burst into another hysterical fit of laughter. "Stuck! Get me out of here, Dad. I'mma fall out of this chair! Oh my God, Gar! How'd you get your head stuck in a helmet?"

"I don't know! My brain must have swollen up with how clever I am!"

"Or Yellow Jackets switched your hair spray for glue."

"They would totally do that!" Garfield punched his palm. "I'll kick their butts!"

After a moment of loud whirring, four new wheels hit the ground. Victor's right hand, the only good limb he had left, guided his mechanical chair forward with a joystick. Garfield leaned forward so Victor could hook his hand under the helmet. Together, they pulled on the protective gear until it audibly popped off.

Garfield whooped and shook out his fluffy auburn hair.

"Thanks, man! That's so much better. Want me to hold your bag?"

"Well, you kind of owe me now."

Dr. Stone shook his head again and held up the bag, which Garfield took. "I'll be here to pick you up after class. They're letting me work from home evenings so I can be with you."

"Thanks, Dad. Any- uh, any word on the cybernetics yet?"

"Next week, they're saying. Just need the boss to sign off, and we both know he will."

"Oooo," Garfield cooed. "Are they going to look like the drawings? Please say they'll look like the drawings."

"That part comes out of my pocket, but yes." Dr. Stone climbed back into the van and waved. "See you after school, Vic."

Victor waved half-heartedly as Garfield leapt onto the back of his chair.

"Hi-ho, Silver, AWAY!" he shouted.

Victor laughed and pushed the lever as far as he could.

Honestly, this was what he loved about Garfield. He could spend all day grieving over his missing forearm, his shattered pelvis, the brace on his right leg, and his dreams of football stardom. But this twiggy goofball managed to turn it into an adventure every time. His prosthetic arm and leg would sport intricate, robotic designs and a few well-placed lights. The pair often played games online, and Garfield had early on gifted him a mouse so he could play with one hand. He even helped him start repairing his car, just in case he was ever able to drive again. The boy was clueless about what he was doing, but Victor was happy to have a purpose beyond mourning. Building. Working. Teaching. Things he could do. Mentally, he could run laps around Garfield, but the kid took it all in stride and laughed along at his ineptitude. Everything he lacked in critical thinking, Garfield made up for in optimism and mischief.

"Stop," Garfield hissed, grabbing Victor's left shoulder.

"What?"

"Girl. A new girl."

Victor followed his blue-green eyes to a tall ginger girl waving at everyone she passed with a broad smile.

"What makes you think she's new?" Victor asked. "Looks like she knows people to me."

"Dude, trust me. If an Amazon goddess were here last year, I would know."

"'An Amazon goddess?'"

"Straight off the internet, my friend!"

Victor shook his head with a laugh. Garfield rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, you're not amazed by that?" He asked. "Are you gay, dude?"

"Are you gay, Vic?"

Victor looked up from his leg brace and stared at his father. The dark, broad man stood over him with crossed arms.

"What? No! I'm not gay, Dad."

"You're not dating girls."

"I'm not dating guys either!"

"You were cuddling one."

Victor sighed. "I was tired, and that's just how Gar is. He's straight as hell."

"So, what," the father asked, "you just don't have a sex drive?"

"Not really, no!"

"Dude?"

Victor blinked and tilted his head up to Garfield's concerned face.

"I was kidding. I don't actually care what you are," he said softly.

"Sorry," Victor said with a soft smile. "I'm not. I mean, I don't think I am? I don't know. I never really thought about it until this last summer, you know? Too busy for dating."

"'Too busy for dating?'" Garfield's brows shot up as though he'd never even considered it possible.

"Man, you've seen my room! Football, cars, and computers: that's who I am."

"Well, as your friend, romantic guru, and totally off-limits bro," Garfield announced, "I will help you figure out what you're into this year."

"And what if I'm not into anything?"

"We'll sink that ship when we come to it. Oh, hey," Garfield suddenly said, "the girl left."

"Probably went to class," said Victor. "Just like we should if we don't want to be late."

"Yeah, yeah… Dude, seriously, though?" Garfield asked as Victor guided the chair forward again. "She got strangers to wave at her, and no one can even look at you? That's cold."

Victor scowled. "Probably only just realized their star running back is missing half his body. Woulda known sooner if any of them came to see me."

"Damn, no one? I thought John would have at least visited…"

"He had my back on the field, not the pavement. Ah, who needs 'em?" Victor said, forcing another grin. "I got one real friend out of it. Now, get off my chair. This is my room."

Garfield groaned and slid to the floor. He followed Victor in and set his bag on a desk with no seat.

"I'll see you next hour for math. Ugh," Garfield said, "I hate math. Who needs to know the cubed hypotenuse of an area, anyway?"

Victor's face crunched. "That's not a thing, so no one?"

"Besides," a new voice said roughly, "you don't cube an area. If you're cubing something, you're measuring volume. Three-dimensional space."

Garfield growled at the random student.

"Easy, Gar," Victor warned. "He's right."

Garfield rolled his eyes and snorted before pointing at the raven-haired boy. "Math is for nerds. You're a nerd."

"Being on time is for nerds, too," the newcomer said. "I'm okay with that."

"I'm not-!"

The shrill bell cut him off. Garfield narrowed his eyes at the now smirking teen.

"I'm not expelled yet," he said when the ringing ended. Then he turned tail and ran to his own classroom.

Victor sighed. "Sorry about that. I'll work on his manners. Victor Stone."

Victor held out his good arm. The other nodded and shook it.

"Grayson. Ro-Robin Grayson."

"Robin, huh? You sure about that?"

Robin shrugged. "It's something I'm trying out. My first name isn't exactly… bully friendly."

"Well, now I'm curious."

"My middle name is Robin, and I'd prefer that, okay?"

"Fair enough, man. But if you ever want to make fun of a name, my friend back there was Garfield."

Robin tilted his head. "Like the cat?"

"Yeah, like the cat."

"Alright, quiet in the peanut gallery," the teacher called back, tying up her blonde hair. "Welcome to mechanical sciences and engineering, everyone…"