The infiltrator confronts Garfield about his flirtation with Cassie:

This shouldn't be bothering him.

This shouldn't be bothering him.

This should not be bothering him.

He growled and clenched the inside of his jean pockets, reliving the events played out before him lat night in the kitchen over and over again.

The Beast Boy, acting as cool and nonchalant as he possibly could, flirting with the Wonder Girl, laughing at his playful flirtation and cheesy jokes. Laughing. Really laughing like his databases had never heard before. What did the Beast Boy have that he never possessed? The Wonder Girl, this Cassie never laughed like that around him. Never smiled as widely, never blushed as red.

The plaguing memories were unbearable and he knew, he knew he shouldn't even be affected by such trivial, pointless courting tactics. He was the superior, he was the dominant and they were to be the submissive. Their silly ideals of love and friendship mattered little in the grand plan personally designed for them by the Reach.

So, in order to cleanse his mind of the memories and thoughts, he sought out the Beast Boy the next day, a forced, friendly smile plastered on his lips as he approached his makeshift bed at their temporary quarters.

"Garfield?" he opened the boy's curtain to see him reading a graphic novel, "You got a minute?"

"Sure, Jaime!" the shapeshifter returned his smile and put his book down, "What's up?"

"Hmmm…well," he moved in closer, concentrating on keeping his smile as firm and genuine as he could, "Last night…I saw you talking to Cassie. You two seemed to be having some fun."

"Oh, haha, yeah!" Garfield chuckled, ruffling his own hair, "…Don't tell anyone else, okay? But I've kind of had a little crush on her since she's been on the team. I mean, she's really pretty and fun and a really good fighter. So she was in the kitchen yesterday and I thought, why not try, you know? And I'm glad I did because she laughed at all my jokes. What do you think, Jaime? Do I have a shot?"

"Hmmm, well," he turned his head, pretending to contemplate the situation, "I don't know, Garfield, I mean, can any girl really like you?"

"Huh?" the boy crooked an eyebrow, lips turned up into a pout, "What do you mean?"

"How should I put this?" he wrapped his hand around the back of his neck, a typical pre-mode antic when they had been unsure, "Cassie's…Cassie's pretty like you said, right? Also strong, confident, older, smart, fun, spirited…"

"Mmhmm, yes," Garfield nodded.

"And you're…well, you're a bit of a dork, green-skinned, always in the shape of a monkey, wild, younger, immature, and…what's the word I'm looking for…"

"What?" the boy's arms hugged the bottom of his feet, the laughter in his eyes dying out.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, "Scrawny. You're scrawny. Scrawny and green and dorky and wild. Now, why would Cassie, as beautiful and strong and as intelligent as she is, ever consider going out with someone like you?"

The Beast Boy looked down, his fur retracting and leaving behind smooth green skin, "I…I don't know."

"Which means, if you don't know, then she'll probably never look your way," he frowned, pressing his hand into the Beast Boy's small shoulder, "So why put yourself out there only for it to end in failure? Just keep your feelings to yourself, Gar. They'll pass and I'll bet one day, there will be that perfect girl for you. Who can look past all those quirky little things that make you, you. Trust me on this, okay?"

The Beast Boy nodded mutely, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, "You're right, Jaime. I…I should just leave her alone."

"Good boy," he smiled and patted him on the shoulder before taking his leave, "Don't worry, hermano. I always got your back."

As he descended the stairs and left the warehouse to home, he could detect the emotional disturbance riding inside the Beast Boy, picking up on his quiet sobs and sniffles. He smirked, the memories of last night dissipating.

Potential rival number one just went up in smoke and love and all of its silly cliches had failed.