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The Watchtower

May 3, 18:12 EDT

Bart always thought Jaime knew how to navigate the world of flirtation and young romance. He was older than him, had more experience with different people, and even had a girlfriend before the invasion shook everyone's lives. So why was Bart, on the shallow steps of the mission room with Static and Wondergirl, watching a routine train wreck of Jaime attempting to speak to new member Thirteen?

Kid Flash scrunched his face up the longer he heard Blue Beetle talk louder than necessary to Thirteen and Arrowette.

"I never would've thought Blue would be so terrible at talking to girls," joked Static with a snicker, leaning back.

"I never would've thought it would be so painful to watch Blue talking to girls," added Kid Flash, groaning. Wonder Girl smacked the boys with restricted strength on their shoulders, which caused Static to snicker even more. Soon, Arrowette walked up to them with the same smirk as her friends, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Is Blue failing as badly as we can hear him?" asked Kid Flash.

"I officially think Thirteen is the nicest person on the team for not laughing at him," answered Arrowette, gaining a glare from Wonder Girl.

"Guys, it's not funny. You know Blue has never liked a girl this much, especially someone like Thirteen," whispered Wonder Girl, an intense frown on her face.

"Yeah, but we've also never seen Blue act this bad around a girl, too," joked Kid Flash.

Perhaps Bart should have been more sympathetic to Jaime. It wasn't long ago; he had been in a similar situation for over a year, and some days, he felt he could never talk to Ed again. But even Bart knew he and Ed's pinning for one another was entirely different than Jaime's. Bart had no experience with romantic relationships, especially with a boy, causing a pattern of hesitation. And Jaime was acting just that—hesitant, just like Traci.

"Do you think it's because she's new to the team and we hardly know anything about her or because she's a sorceress and that scares Jaime?" asked Arrowette.

"Please! Traci wouldn't hurt a fly, and she's just very selective about what to share with us right now," corrected Kid Flash.

Arrowette was about to speak when suddenly the zeta-tube came alive, cutting off the teen's conversation. Thirteen's attention ripped from Blue Beetle from the sound of Zatanna's code announced, rushing to her side. Anyone could see the small bruise forming on Blue's ego and heart.

"Okay, Team, gather around," announced Miss Martin. Kid Flash trailed along as the other members of the Team gathered at the atrium's center. Tigress and Zatanna stood before everyone with Miss Martin until everyone settled for a moment. "While things have been slow for a couple of months, we need to plan, especially for our high school teammates," began Miss Martin, Kid Flash scrunching his eyebrows together.

"The following members: Static, Wonder Girl, Arrowette, Spoiler, Robin, Kid Flash, and Thirteen are to be benched from missions until their last day of school. You all are still allowed to attend training for two weeks before your finals week," announced Tigress.

None of the teens needed to express their confusion and slight annoyance verbally; everyone had their countenance perfectly displayed. However, the loudest teammate required to be heard with an arm raised straight above his head. "Yes, K.F.?"

"Can we decline the benching order? I can totally multitask finals and some late-night missions just like I'm sure my fellow teammates can. I have perfect grades!"

"That's not what your report card said for Spanish," muttered Blue Beetle from behind. Kid Flash whipped his head towards Blue Beetle, snickering in a bitter glare, perhaps earning some kind of karma.

"You're still failing Spanish?" asked Spoiler.

"I'm not! I'm getting tutored by Ed!" Kid Flash almost shouted, laughter from his friends echoing they could not repress. "I fail one class for two report cards, and no one forgets it!"

Tigress cleared her throat, gathering the younger's attention again. "No one is getting out of this order. We are benching you all, not out of punishment, but because school is still important at the end of the day. We just care about you kids."

Kid Flash blew a short raspberry, shoulders slouching, tuning out the rest of Miss Martin's housekeeping until hearing training dismissed. He became surrounded by his friends, taking off his goggles and mask alongside everyone.

"So, what's everyone's plans for this weekend?" asked Cissie, dropping her arrows beside her feet.

"Private birthday weekend plans in Gotham," said Tim, looking only at Cassie. "So, please do not text us."

"Ed and I have a double date with Tye and Sam! I have no idea where we're going though. It's Tye's turn to choose," answered Bart, a pep in his step until noticing Jaime's scuff.

"Wow, my two closest friends hang out without me just because they're in relationships. I see how it is," joked Jaime dryly.

"Oh, Jaime, quit being jealous just 'cause you can't get a girlfriend," teased Stephanie. Everyone laughed at Jaime's expense except for Traci, who pulled her eyebrows together with pressed lips.

"I'm sure your time will come with getting a girlfriend, Jaime." Traci silenced everyone, and Jaime turned his attention to her. Her eyes lit with her soft smile, causing a flush on Jaime's cheeks.

When a shout from Zatanna pulled Traci's attention for late-night training, Jaime cleared his throat as she looked away. Traci said her goodbyes to everyone without a thought. While Traci was oblivious to Jaime's loving eyes, the friends weren't.

"I think I can see Jaime's eye turn into hearts," teased Stephanie, poking at the elder's cheek. Jaime snapped back to his reality, head shaken and scrunched eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" A crack in Jaime's voice.

"We're talking about your obvious crush on Traci, hermano. It's getting a little sad," said Bart. Jaime showed a shaky laugh, too loud, eyes bouncing off the circle.

"You're crazy, ese. I do not have a crush on Traci," said Jaime, voice cracking again. Bart raised an eyebrow.

"Liar," remarked Cissie. "I don't think I ever heard you stutter so much since knowing you."

"Stuttering usually is a sign of nervousness," added Tim.

"Nope! You all are ridiculous. I do not have a crush on anyone now, especially my teammate. I would never date a teammate!" Jaime almost shouted at everyone, voice cracking. Cassie and Tim raised an eye at Jaime. "Which there’s nothing wrong with dating a teammate! We’ve seen it before and maybe it'll happen one day for me if I liked one of our teammates. But I don't!”

 Bart sighed, throwing his hands in the air, “Alright. Whatever you say Jaime.”

“Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to head home."

It was Bart's turn to keep a lingering eye on Jaime, mind thinking of what to do next. Maybe Bart needed to go back to meddling in Jaime's life like before.

Central City

May 5, 20:20 CDT

Over the past two years, Tye had a habit of delightfully surprising everyone. A quality Asami loved the most. The four friends ran through the largest arcade in Central, Major Action, a place filled with loud music and neon lights that bounced off walls. Tye wanted his friends were just careless kids without hero worries. When Asami was the first to mention food, Bart led the party a few blocks south to a 50’s diner like Bibbo's littered by other teens.

The couples sat across each other in a corner booth, two baskets of tater tots in the middle of the table to share. Bart sat relaxed, leaning his body against Ed, arm around their shoulder. His eyes fell upon Tye, remembering the friend they all shared.

"Yo, Tye, have you spoken to Jaime lately?"

Tye raised an eyebrow at Bart, then thought momentarily, wiping burger grease off his hands."It’s been a while. I really haven't gotten a chance to talk to anybody since finishing my finals for the semester."

"That's an understatement," teased Asami, side-eyeing Tye with a smirk. Tye lowered a glare but smiled at Asami, kissing the crown of her head.

"Jaime hasn't been going to training?" asked Ed. Bart shook his head.

"He has, but he's been… distracted and won't admit to anything even if I bug him so I was wondering if you knew, Tye. If he's not going to tell me his super best friend, then you're the next best thing." Bart tried his best not to speed talk, shoulders half tense from the restraint. Ed moved his hand to Bart's neck with a soft press to release the tension. Tye chuckled to himself, slightly shaking his head as he recognized the pattern of Jaime's behavior from years of knowing him.

"Jaime has a crush on that new girl, doesn't he?" asked Tye. Ed and Asami whipped their heads to Tye with wide eyes at their boyfriends.

"So, he did tell you about Traci!" If it wasn't for Ed's arm, Bart was ready to jump up from his side to be right in Tye's face.

"Technically, he didn't. He mentioned a girl with cool magic randomly the last time we talked. The words Jaime and distracted put the pieces together," joked Tye.

"Is this new girl some kind a secret hero you can't even talk to me about?" smirked Ed. Bart shook his head, ignoring Ed's teasing.

"Not necessarily. Her name's Traci and we've barely started learning about her after some time. She sort of popped up out of nowhere and kept to herself. Yet, somehow, Jaime grew feelings that he keeps denying and is a walking train wreck."

"Now you know what I had to see growing up. When Jaime is serious about a girl, he turns into a blubbering mess. He can't shut up, but he also can't stop stuttering. It's kind of embarrassing."

A loud laugh escaped Asami's lips, but quickly covered her mouth, looking at Tye’s stern frown. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't laugh at our friend for struggling to talk to a girl he likes."

"Even though it sounds funny," added Ed, repressing a smile while sensing Bart's similar glare. "What? It is! He told me to stop being chicken with you, but can't do it for himself? Come on, man."

"So, what do you know about Traci?" asked Asami. Bart blew a puff of air, thinking of the surface-level information. "Do you at least have a photo of her?" Asami asked again when Bart's silence took a little too long.

"Nope, I do not. I haven't been able to take a group photo during training."

"Do you have her phone number?" asked Ed. Bart nodded with a raised eyebrow. "If you have her phone number, you can search for her on social media easily," said Ed, taking a bite of his cheeseburger. Bart stared at Ed as if the puzzle pieces finally matched his dilemma. "Detective Tim hadn't figured that one out yet?" Ed smirked, arrogance in his tone.

Ed reached for Bart's phone in his pocket without asking permission, efficiently unlocking the device. The other three watched Ed concentrate, Bart peeking over his shoulder. Ed wasn't lying about the difficulty, turning the phone for everyone to see a public profile of 16-year-old Traci Thurston-Lan on Camgram. The profile had four photos, three of different city parks, and only one picture of Traci as a typical teenager. Asami's eyes opened wide, snatching the phone from across the table.

"Wait, I know her!" exclaimed Asami.

"How the hell do you know her, Sam?" asked Bart.

"She goes to El Paso South high school. I played against them last season and she was the team’s libero," exclaimed Asami.Bart threw his hands in the air and slouched deep against the booth. One evening with friends got him more 'intel' on Traci than the month of knowing her.

"You're welcome. I guess Tim can't do everything," smirked Ed with pride, giving Bart his phone back. "Traci lives in El Paso, is part of the Team, and Jaime has a crush on her. It's a match made in heaven just waiting to happen."

"This is still Jaime we're talking about, Ed. If he's denying his feelings, we're never going anywhere," mentioned Tye.

"Can't we just ambush him and have Traci hang out with all of us outside the team?" suggested Ed, monotone.

"Am I hearing things? Eduardo Dorado Jr. wants to meddle into someone else's life?" joked Asami. Ed rolled his eyes playfully as he wrapped his arm around Bart's shoulders and kissed his temple.

"That's because someone's rubbing off on me, Sam. Besides, we can consider this as Bart and I returning the favor for Jaime."

"Well, I think playing cupid would be a good idea, but I don't know how others might feel." Asami sipped on a diet coke, eyes dancing off Tye and Bart as did Ed. While Tye has the experience of helping a friend's love life, Bart never played in the meddling to people's surprise. Bart was one of his friends' youngest, only five months older than Stephanie. After some time building a relationship, he never wanted to annoy anyone in things more profound than slight teasing. However, Jaime and the others played Cupid for his and Ed's love life so they might return the favor.

Tye sighed and shrugged, "What the hell, let's play cupid."

El Paso

May 13, 14:22 MDT

If Ed wanted an ambush, Bart would be the best boyfriend and fully deliver with fantastic luck.

On the last training day, he blurted out Jaime living in El Paso in front of Traci, mentioning their friends from the Team also living there. To Bart's surprise, Traci fully admitted her home location once hearing about hero friends nearby, mentioning loving being on the Team for that purpose. Thus, the three zeta'ing together to meet said friends even if Bart could see the dread and anxiety on Jaime's face.

Bart led the group out of the zeta hidden in the farthest corner of a car junkyard, then took off once seeing Ed, Tye, and Asami stand by the entrance gate.

"Eddie!" shouted Bart, jumping on Ed with arms wrapping around the other's neck. He pressed a hard kiss against Ed's cheek once his feet touched the ground again, still clinging to him.

"Hola, chiquito," said Ed, almost muffled.

Asami beat everyone to Traci respectfully in her space with hands behind her back and a sweet smile. It was clear to Bart that Traci recognized the three teens, her eyes wide and eyebrows now hiding behind her loose bangs.

"Hi, I'm Sam," said Asami, reaching for Tye's hand to bring him forward. "This my boyfriend Tye and that's our friend Ed. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You guys are the Runaways from Taos," said Traci, immediately regretting her words from the sight of Asami, Ed, and Tye turning a shade of pink. "I-I-I mean it's really nice to meet you three!"

While the famous saying goes, 'You should always remember where you came from' to grow as a person, the Runaways (except for Virgil) never liked to talk about the first six months of 2016 without making a bitter punchline. The aftermath wasn't smooth either, as they had different answers on how long it took them to feel at home again.

"Well good to hear Virgil still talks about that summer," Tye said sourly. Jaime cleared his throat from behind everyone, eyes focused on all his friends with a stern eyebrow.

"As much as I love you guys, what are you all doing here? You don't even live here, Ed?" asked Jaime.

The four glanced at one another to see who would lead the ambush, as Bart had already taken the first step. Ed shrugged at Jaime, throwing an arm around Bart's shoulders with glee.

"I'm being a good boyfriend and picking Bart up from practice. Besides, we… have a study group right now. Bart's idea," explained Ed, trying not to swift his eyes away to show Jaime a lie or press his lips together. When Jaime looked at Bart with a sharp eyebrow, he nodded rapidly in agreement, as later did Asami and Tye.

"Since we're all doing finals, I thought it would be a good idea to help each other out! And Traci could join us!" Traci's face lit up in a mix of excitement and nervousness, a smile wanting to form on her lips. Could this plan the two couples came up with be working? Asami stepped towards Traci again with her friendly demeanor, trying to block Jaime's skepticism from her sight.

"What do you say, Traci? Our house is a short walk from here. We can wait while you get your stuff to study if you don't live too far," suggested Asami.

Traci shook her head but kept the smile, "Don't worry about that! I can have my mom give me a ride if you send me the address. I'm on the south side of town."

"Perfect!" Bart and Asami shouted in unison, both fully in Traci's space.

Ed and Tye smiled mischievously to Jaime, whose eyes were wide open behind their partner's back. The girls exchanged numbers before Traci left, promising it would only take 30 minutes. Soon, the two couples began walking as well, although they were ready to face Jaime's frantic nature of arms in the air and stutters in every word.

"What was that?!" shouted Jaime, far behind everyone. The four turned, pretending to be clueless. "Why did you guys just invite Traci to hang out?!"

"Because she's my friend and want to hang out with her?" said Bart with innocent confusion. He and Ed kept a sharp eye on Jaime, noting the flaring nostrils.

"You know that's not what I mean, Bart. You totally ambushed me! You don't even have your stuff to study! And now we have to—"

"Now you have to hang out with the girl you have a massive crush on. You're welcome, Jaime!" said Tye, leading the pack back to his and Asami's house. The traveling couple heard Jaime's groan behind them, the bolder of the two snickering while Ed bumped their shoulder playfully.

"You really should be thanking us, Jaime. You've been acting chicken for so long it was getting sort of embarrassing," teased Bart. When Bart looked over his shoulder, Jaime's eyes bulged out in shock and audacity at the younger boy and Ed.

"Me?! Bart, weren't you and Ed being chicken for almost two years before doing anything about it? Until a few months ago to be exact?!" asked Jaime.

Ed only shrugged his shoulders, "We're gay with difficult upbrings and had instability after moving to the States. We have an excuse to be chicken to each other."

"Plus, we still talked to each other almost every day unlike you Mr. Stutters," said Bart, throwing his arms around Ed's neck, kissing him on the cheek. "It just adds more tension to our story."

During the rest of the walk home, Jaime sulked behind his friends until noticing something Bart and Ed were missing.

"How the hell are you going to study with no backpacks and books?"

A yellow glow and a gust of bust were suddenly in the El Paso air.

Another mistake Ed and Bart forgot in their grand scheme was that Jaime was the only one in their group not to be in school anymore.

It was surprising to most when Jaime declared he didn't want to enroll in college after graduation for at least a year. However, in a twist, Tye did everything necessary to apply to a great school in El Paso, from raising his grades, getting recommendation letters from Dr. Dorado, and taking extra tutoring. A flip of responsibility for the best friends. Jaime just wanted a year to do nothing with a book and live a sort of reckless life as the Blue Beetle. So, what was he supposed to do while everyone else was sprawled out in Asami and Tye's living room?

The opened books and notebooks slowly lost their appeal after 40 minutes of studying. Bart grew a deep scowl the longer he read his history notes, and then he remembered he still needed to look at a three-page Spanish study guide. He glanced around at his friends, Tye proofreading Asami's essay on their laptop while Ed helped Traci work on Chemistry together. As much as passing tests came easy to Bart, sitting and studying to learn was incredibly difficult for the speedster. The sound of the front door opening was music to Bart's ears.

"Delivery!" announced Jaime, walking in with two full brown paper bags of Chinese food.

Bart sped to Jaime's side, grabbing the food to display everyone's orders on the large coffee table with paper plates and putting away any studying material. He landed next to Ed, finally noticing the wind blow through the group's hair. Ed only gave Bart a stern but playful glare as he ran a hand through his hair and passed a pair of chopsticks.

"Thank you, Jaime, for getting the food!" exclaimed Asami, sitting beside Tye like she always did, similar to Bart and Ed, leaving only one spot vacant for Jaime. It was a coincidence they would all swear to Jaime as he shot a glare at them without Traci's knowledge. A faint blush rose when he met Traci's gleeful eyes and a food container.

"How'd you know my Chinese order?" asked Traci.

Jaime shrugged, "I sort of remembered when Artemis got food for the team after practice."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate everything." Traci gave Jaime a thankful smile that reached her eyes. The couples spoke to each other with knowing glances as they played Cupid again.

"So… Jaime, how's work going for you? The only working adult from us," asked Ed with a playful grin.

"I'm definitely not an adult in comparison," muttered Jaime.

"It's still cool you have a job. What do you do?" asked Traci with curious sincerity.

"I, uhm, I work at my dad's auto shop downtown," answered Jaime, puzzled, "But I'm going back to school! I'm going back to school next year. I just wanted a year of hero stuff being my only worry."

"Well, if we ever have a car problem, I'll tell my mom to go to your dad," said Traci.

Everything was going according to plan in Bart and Ed's eyes, now to dig deeper with a light touch to Asami.

"Hey, speaking of hero stuff, I hope you've been enjoying the Team, Traci. Could've been fun going to the Watchtower together," said Asami.

"And what exactly is your magic type again? Jaime mentioned Zatanna is your mentor," asked Tye, eyes burning at Jaime face down into his food.

"Urban Magic," answered Traci, pink now on her cheeks.

"Does that mean you can only thrive in New York City?" teased Tye for Traci to warm up with the group, earning a laugh.

"Sort of. I can learn different kinds of spells, but even in suburbs I can use my powers to learn about an area and other stuff."

"By other stuff, she can manipulate almost anything in neighborhoods like the lights," added Jaime, eyes still glued on his food. "It's pretty cool to see."

Both Traci and Jaime had pink painted on their cheeks, averting their eyes away from each other.

"Thank you, Jaime," muttered Traci with a small smile.

A light bulb turned on in Bart's head as he saw Traci's smile and Jaime's blush for the next step in playing Cupid. A step that didn't involve reading chicken scratch notes from his notebook in Tye and Asami's living room.

The sun began to set by the time everyone finished eating and studying, which slightly irritated Bart, who was ready to run around the neighborhood streets. Not everyone follows Bart's fast agenda, even if they try. However, some were able to read his mischievous grin for his antics.

Asami and Ed were the first to use their powers once the streets were clear of noticeable eyes with Traci between them. They wanted her to feel at ease using her powers just like they were with their own.

Ed motioned a shush to the girls before teleporting straight in front of Bart unexpectedly, who walked further away with Jaime and Tye, with arms wrapped around him to earn a fright. Then Asami jumped up off the sidewalk, flipped mid-air, and landed beside Traci like a gymnast. She linked their arms together to ease the sorceress's worries and a show of friendship.

On the path, the group walked down to the nearby park, which had four streetlights without light for a long time. Traci held out her hands, eyes closed as she uttered an incantation backward, a purple glow radiating off her. Tye tapped Jaime on the shoulder to witness Traci's powers, the streetlights flickering on even brighter than before.

"Nice job, Traci. It took a 16-year-old to fix those stupid lights faster than the city," complimented Tye. "Do you wanna try to manipulate some stuff?" Traci gazed at the houses across on the far end of the neighborhood, finding one with a grand blue and purple neon sign.

She reached out with one hand and took a deep breath, using the energy she had mastered to seamlessly bend the neon gas out of the sign. The neon bent safely in the middle of the street, illuminating everyone's faces as they stared in wonder. With everyone distracted, Bart gently nudged Ed to guide his attention to Jaime beside them, who wasn't looking just at the neon dance but at Traci.

A soft smile of adoration painted their friends' faces and eyes; not scared or nervous but content to see Traci in her element. Traci also appeared relaxed compared to her timid manner around her teammates. Soon, Traci manipulated the neon into the sign, the streets dimming. Bart and Ed smiled at one another, hands intertwined.

"Damn. Jaime, you were right. Traci's powers are the coolest," said Tye, slinging an arm around Asami's shoulders. Jaime chuckled nervously from Tye but kept his smile as Traci stood beside him. The two paired up behind the couple, a distance growing between everyone as they entered the park gates in their little world soon after.

Bart leaned deep into Ed's side, kissing his cheek to peek a glance at Jaime, who was hanging on every word Traci said. He giggled. "Hey Ed, pretend to turn around for something to see Jaime and Traci." Ed chuckled, eyes instead gazing at the pink and purple swirls in the sky.

"I don't need to look to know Jaime stop talking for a while. I guess being Cupid is our new talent." Ed squeezed Bart's hand and kissed the crown of his head.

"Do you think we can have triple dates now? Jaime got a little sensitive about leaving him out of our double dates," Bart said excitedly.

"Then we'll really be leaving out Virgil when we hangout. He already feels like a fifth wheel when it's us at Taos," chuckled Ed.

"In that case, Virgil really needs to get a girlfriend because imagine if we all had one big group date? Almost all our friends are in relationships. You & I, Tye & Sam, Cassie & Tim, Gar & Perdita, now possibly Jaime & Traci. We could go to Gotham for Chinese food!"

Ed curled his lip, "Eh, never been interested in doing to Gotham."

"Really? Gotham's nice sometimes, especially when I go with Cassie to hang out with Tim and Dick."

"I'm okay with Cassie joining our us on our dates. She can show us around D.C. since I've never been," said Ed, the soft smile fading away at the thought of a Gotham hero. Bart pursed his lips, eyes dancing around Ed's face to read every emotion.

"So, you don't want to hang out with Tim?" asked Bart. Ed huffed, looking away from Bart.

"It's not that I don't want to hang out with Tim. I just think—"

At first, a high-pitched laugh echoed quickly, covered by something shattering around the teens. Several street lamps that stretched down the main walk path exploded suddenly, darkness coming in as sharp pieces of glass fell aimlessly. Ed reacted first, wrapping his whole body around Bart for any glass to fall on his back, even if he could teleport away from trouble.

"What just happened?" asked Bart, peeking from behind Ed's arms. On the left of him, Asami slowly separated from Tye, watching their surroundings until her eyes fell on Bart and Ed to an embarrassed and scared Traci.

"I'm so sorry!" shouted Traci.

"It's okay, Traci. You didn't mean to break the lights," reassured Asami, rushing to her side. Jaime laid a hand on Traci's shoulders only to make her flinch away.

"I- I think I should go home."

Traci inhaled a deep breath as she raised her hands to utter a new incantation, fixing all the lights as if nothing had happened. Asami nodded, leading Traci back to the house by themselves in hopes of calming her down. Jaime just watched them disappear in the distance, wishing he could be bold and comfort Traci instead of Asami, to be the person she could rely on, like someone special. But all Jaime did was sigh, dropping his head into his hands, freaking out in silence in case his voice echoed.

"Why did Traci freak out so much? It was just an accident?" asked Tye in a low, concerned voice

"She can cause misfortune with her magic. She just doesn't know how to control it because it happens on accident when she gets excited," muttered Jaime.

"It's one of the reasons why Traci has been quiet on us learning about her," said Bart.

"I think I have an idea. Come on, man. The night is not over yet," said Ed, hand on Jaime's shoulder.

***

When the boys entered the house, Traci was ready to leave with her backpack, eyes cast away from anyone. Ed steps forward into Traci's path, hands up to show all defenses down.

"Please stay, Traci. No one's hurt and you fixed the lights!" assured Ed. Traci lessened her tight grip on the backpack, finally meeting Ed's gaze. "You're learning how to fully use your powers. We've all been there even when we didn't want to learn our powers."

"And doing it in front of the girl you like just adds to the fun," chuckled Tye, resting his chin on Asami's shoulder. It had Traci muster a small smile as she glanced at Jaime.

"I teleported right into Bart's face because he was the last thing I saw right as I activated my powers. Which felt great for a pissed off gay kid," blushed Ed.

"My dad told me I once ran and fell into a river the minute I learned how to walk. Just because we're born with powers doesn't mean we automatically know how to use them," affirmed Bart.

"You're learning from the best to use your powers to the fullest, Traci," said Jaime, stepping right in front of her, his gentle hand finally accepted on their shoulder. "Zatanna was the one to help me get out of The Reach's control on me. I messed up bad during that time even if it wasn't fully my fault."

"I'm just scared I'm going to do something with my powers on accident and make you guys dislike me," whispered Traci.

"Trust us, Traci, all of us, except for Bart, has done worse on purpose, and everyone forgave us even if we didn't deserve it. You're exactly where your supposed to be," said Ed.

After the trail of affirming support from people who wanted to be friends with Traci, she dropped her backpack and hugged Ed and then Jaime with a blush on both cheeks.

"Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it."

To lighten the atmosphere a bit more, Asami suggested the teens watch a movie of Traci's choosing, resetting everyone's emotions. Lights off, Bart and Ed sat together on one end of the sofa with Asami and Tye on the other. Jaime got the courage to sit next to Traci on the floor close with shoulders that turned from soft grazes to leaning entirely into one another.

One movie turned into three, leading to popcorn and snacks littering the living room. Bart leaned his cheek against Bart's chest, sprawled out onto Asami and Tye's side, close to drifting asleep as Ed's hand raked through his hair. His eyes grazed down to Jaime and Traci after some time of leaving them alone.

In their own little world, Jaime rested his arm around Traci's shoulders, leading Traci to lean into Jaime's side for comfort. Bart couldn't see their small smiles or the blush on their cheeks that they had by the second movie. Traci's phone rang loud, breaking the atmosphere for everyone to realize how late it was getting—her mother was already on her way to pick her up.

Slowly, everyone cleaned up and said their goodbyes except for Jaime, who boldly walked out with Traci for a moment of privacy. Asami, Bart, Ed, and Tye all glanced at one another before racing to the window, hunched together and peaking behind the blinds. The lovebirds stood close together at the end of the driveway as they spoke with nervous smiles from what appeared to be exchanging phone numbers.

When a car pulled up, Jaime hugged Traci goodbye, signaling Bart to grab Ed and speed back to their comfortable position on the sofa. Asami and Tye following their lead on opposite side., the couples watching tv again. Ed blinked the dizzy spell away right as Jaime entered the living room with a smile. Jaime analyzed his friend's mischievous demeanors with a stern look as if the last hours were torture.

"Thanks for the ambush," admitted Jaime.

"Oh? Did I hear appreciation for our meddling, you guys?" asked Bart. Jaime scuffed, rolling his eyes and falling back down to the floor.

"We have a date on next Saturday."

Asami and Bart high fives each other in silence while Tye and Ed shook Jaime's shoulders proudly. The hard work of playing Cupid does pay off in the end for at least one of their friends. Maybe they'll get Virgil his wish sooner or later, but for now, Jaime and Traci were set.