SO LIKE CANDY

A Daria fanfiction by Wouter Jaegers

Here lies the powder and perfume
The pretty clothes are scattered 'round the room
And it's so like Candy

The first thing that told him that there was something wrong was the smell of expensive perfume that welcomed him home after his business journey.

Tom Sloane didn't know what to make of this. The whole house was wrecked, at first he thought of burglary but that surely wasn't the case. The whole atmosphere breathed out a very different story. This was not the work of a burglar. This was the result of a rampage from someone who was losing her mind.

Here lies the lipstick and the face
The colored tablets keep it all in place
And it's so like Candy
So like Candy

The bedroom was damaged the worst, virtually nothing was still at it's original place. The vanity he had bought her lay crushed against the wall, the make-up spread all across the room. Tom sighed, she never liked it to wear make-up in the first place. Such a shame because it made her look so beautiful.

What did I do to make her go?
Why must she be the one
That I have to love
So-ho-ho like Candy.

As Tom walked into the living room, his gaze fell on some pictures. When walking over his attention was taken by some music playing from the stereo which somehow had survived the onslaught. Strange, why did she spare that? Tom eyed the room, maybe she wasn't gone at all maybe she just wanted to see his reaction but he knew that was kidding himself to believe that.

As Tom sat down on what was left of the couch he looked at the pictures he saw lying, it was obvious that she had laid them there for him to find. They were meant to make him feel guilty, in that purpose they served their job very well. Tom felt his soul sinking deeper and deeper when the pictures brought those bittersweet memories up again. They were so like candy.

Here lies a picture of a girl
Her arms are tight around that lucky guy
And it's so like Candy

There it was. The picture he dreaded to see. The picture taken in Disneyland, Tom clearly remembered how she finally let it all loose on that day and partied. That in itself was a small miracle, since she never would have shown any joy, she always was as tough as nails.

Now that he thought about it, after his father resigned and pushed him forward as his successor which brought him the big figures, he never saw her smile that way again. In the beginning he perfectly could combine his position with his relationship with her and after a while he even got the hang of it and began to enjoy his power. Tom never had the time to realize it but the love he shared with her was dying because of that. Tom had some vague memories of her complaining about being so long from home. But how could she understand that he had no choice. Tom sighed; this once again proved that when you live near a waterfall, after a while you don't notice the noise anymore.

And in her eyes a certain look
I thought I'd seen the last of long ago
And it's so like Candy
So like Candy.

Tom looked at the most recent picture taken at a press conference a few months back, it now occurred to him that she almost looked like a different person. Her eyes were empty and her smile was faked. Did she really suffer that much under living with him? But there was one thing that Daria had no knowledge of. Tom had an affair going with one of his female employees, Casey Dunspare. Tom realized the need to be with another woman when meeting Casey, she provided him with fresh air. Meeting up with Casey was a perfect venting valve for Tom after attending another of those boring meetings, just a way to blow off some steam.

What did I do to make her go why must she be the one
That I have to love
So-ho-ho like Candy

But when he went to Vegas a few weeks back he failed to notice the blonde woman who saw him kissing Casey and walking into a hotel room with her, the blonde woman who was a former classmate of Daria. Brittany Taylor wasn't one of the brightest people around but she knew when something was wrong. The phone call she made finally sealed Tom Sloane's fate.

I remember the day that picture was taken
We were so happy then
But that's so like Candy
She seemed so sweet to me I was mistaken
Oh no not that again
But that's so like Candy

Tom looked at the Disney land picture wondering what to do next. She had stayed by his side for all those years but what did happen to finally push her over and why didn't she wait to tell him in person? Then it dawned on him; whatever happened must have hurt her so bad that she just couldn't face him anymore.

She just can't face the day
So she turns and melts away

Tom let himself drop on the couch and took in the silence. Silence like a prelude to a tornado, although judging from the scene it was more silence after the tornado, absolute destruction and no sound. Correction, there was a sound after all, soft music playing from the stereo set. Tom got up and walked over to the cupboard where it was stationed and opened it up.

Here lie the records that she scratched
And on the sleeve I find a note attached
And it's so like Candy

The snapped CDs and broken LP records came down around Tom's feet as the opening of the doors gave the gravity the opportunity to let them fall out. Tom kicked them away and turned his attention to the CD still playing, it was set on repeat, god knows how long it had been playing. When Tom stopped it and opened up the drawer he searched for the case. Ah there it was. Where on earth did she get this; "Mighty as a rose" it read. Tom was aware of Elvis Costello, Trent once introduced him to his music, Lyric-wise he wasn't so much different from what Daria was capable of. As Tom opened it up a note fell out.

"My Darling Dear it's such a waste"
She couldn't say "goodbye", but "I admire your taste"

And it's so like candy, so like candy.

"If I'm not woman enough for you then I won't bother you anymore." It read. Tom was baffled, what the hell did she mean with that? The only thing she could mean referred to Casey. No, that couldn't be it, she had not notion of her. It had to be something else. Tom got out his cell phone and dialed her number hoping for the impossible. And much to his relieve the phone responded.

So like candy.

But no one answered. Tom began to look devastated, what was he supposed to do without her? He dialed the number again.

So like candy.

"Hello you have reached the cell phone of Daria Morgendorffer. At the moment of speaking am I not around so please leave your message." A nasal electronic recorded voice spoke from somewhere in the back yard.

The end.

Disclaimer: I am not Glenn Eighler or anybody else of the Daria production team, this fic was made for fun.

Declan Mac Manus (AKA Elvis Costello) and Paul McCartney wrote, "So like candy". Coming from the album "Mighty as a rose"