"This European noble doesn't like wearing a hairpiece, or anything else! Balding baron bares all, next on sick sad world!" the TV blared as Daria lay back on her bed. She was contemplating exactly how little she could get away with doing during her last summer in Lawndale. Her thoughts were interrupted by an impatient and somehow perky knock on the door, quickly increasing in speed and volume.

"Daria, it's past three thirty. We have to leave, or I'm gonna be late!" Quinn called through the door, tapping her foot on the ground as she waited.

Daria sighed and sat up. She glanced at her clock and saw that it was three thirty-four. Cursing the fact that her very important lounging was being cut short so that Quinn could get a ride to her friend's house, she grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. She then threw on her jacket, walked over to her door, and opened it, revealing her impatient younger sister. "I'm sorry was I supposed to be doing something?" she let slip in her usual monotone.

"Come on, Daria. You know mom said you have to give me rides when her and dad are busy now that you have a car."

Daria's mood soured further. Her parents had gotten her a used green Honda Civic as some kind of sick joke. "Right, my graduation gift. The one I can't use at school because I'm a freshman, but have to shuttle you around in. I always knew Mom was a sadist." she vented at Quinn, as she pushed past her and headed downstairs.

"Eww Daria! Sex stuff? Gross." Quinn exclaimed, falling into step behind her sister. "Anyway, you're getting paid right?" Quinn replied as she followed Daria out the front door.

"Small comfort," Daria grunted, climbing into her car and starting it up, "and not enough."

"Well, thanks anyway," Quinn said with a measure of sincerity as she climbed into the passenger seat. "Walking to Sandi's would be a total pain."

"Why aren't you getting a ride with one of your boy toys? I would have thought you wouldn't be caught dead in a car like this." Daria put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb. "It's over six months old, and doesn't even have a moon roof," she added with heavy sarcasm.

"Well if you must know, I've sworn off boys, so I can't get a ride that way. Anyway your cars not that bad, and you know what they say: beggars can't be chasers."

At that Daria abruptly pulled the car over onto the side of the street and turned to Quinn, "I'm sorry, Quinn Morgendorffer has sworn off boys? I don't think I can drive you to your ex-fashion mob meeting after all, as I have clearly gone mad."

"Come on, Daria," Quinn sighed, getting impatient again, "My friends and I have decided to forgo dating this summer to, like, renew our sisterhood. It was Stacy's idea. Speaking of Stacy, can we go? She gets nervous when she has to wait, and you really don't want a nervous Stacy in your car. This one time Timmy or Tommy or something was late and Stacy was so freaked out she—"

Daria held up a hand. "I get it, no need for details," Daria griped as she got the car back on the road. "Wait, I thought I was driving you to Sandi's. What's this about the human sprinkler system?"

Quinn shot Daria a nasty look. "We're picking up Stacy on the way to Sandi's. I'm getting a ride home with her mom. God Daria, don't you pay attention when I tell you stuff at all?"

"Not if I can help it. Now, where does Stacy live?"

::

When they reached the Rowe's, Stacy was pacing outside holding a large bag overflowing with magazines, make up, fat-free snacks, and every other conceivable item four fashionable teenage girls might need for a slumber party. She quickly ran out to the car, stopping a few times to pick up something that fell from her bag. When she reached the car she pleaded to Quinn, "I am so sorry I'm late. I was getting discussion topics ready and comparing color swatches and—"

"Stacy," Quinn said firmly, grabbing the other girl's shoulders through the window, "We're late, you're on time."

The brunette blushed and looked down. "Right, you're right. It's not my fault." She took a few deep breaths and looked up, "Thanks Quinn. I'm just so excited! It's our first sleepover as friends, and not the fashion club! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and figuring out our summer plans."

Daria cleared her throat and interrupted the excited girl, "This is all very thrilling, but can you get in the car now? I'm missing Sick Sad World."

Stacy gave a startled "Eep!" and clambered into the backseat.


After a short drive the three arrived at the Griffin's. Stacy hurried out of the car, nearly dropping her bag again as she did so. Before following, Quinn turned to Daria and gave her a quick hug, "Seriously, thanks for the ride Daria. I really appreciate it."

Daria gave a short, slightly taken aback grunt as Quinn got out and followed Stacy up the walk. With her passengers unloaded, Daria turned the car around and started home.

Quinn quickly caught up with Stacy who was waiting at the Griffins front door. Once there, she reached out and rang the bell.

Stacy started bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously as they waited. She turned to Quinn and asked nervously "Do you think she'll be mad that we're late?"

"Stacy, calm—" Quinn grabbed the other girls shoulders and held her still. "Calm down. Everything will be fine. She's not in charge of you anymore, we're all just friends. Okay?"

Stacy took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. "Okay. Right. Thanks Quinn."

As Quinn was noting for the second time that night that Stacy was doing really well controlling her freakouts, the door opened. Sandi stood in the doorway scowling them. "Well, it certainly took you long enough."

Stacy tensed up worse than before and Quinn turned and glared at their host. "My sister was running late Sandi," Quinn said, managing to hold back most of her frustration. "Why are you in such a hurry anyway? It's just a slumber party." She kept a firm grip on Stacy. The timid girl was beginning to shake, the composure she had regained a moment ago shattered.

"Well some of us care about punctuality." Her eyes fell on Stacy "If someone hadn't suggested that we not date over the summer maybe you could have gotten a more reliable ride."

"Sandi," Quinn began, trying to placate Sandi so that she could keep Stacy from breaking down crying, "we all agreed on that didn't we? You said we should take ourselves off the market so the boys would see how much better we were than the rest of the girls, and remember how you said you were about to recommend swearing off boys yourself before Stacy interrupted you?"

"Oh, right. Well it still does not excuse your tardiness. Please try to keep better control of your weird cousin and be more respectful of my important time in the future," Sandi said, before turning and heading inside.

"She's my sister Sandi, remember?" Quinn called after, followed by a muttered "I swear she does that on purpose." While she was talking, she picked up the bag Stacy had dropped and handed it to her.

Stacy took it once she had recovered, and let out a meek "Thanks," before the two headed in and up the stairs to Sandi's room.

::

Sandi, Quinn, Tiffany, and Stacy were sitting around a pile of magazines, looking at summer fashions. Empty containers of low fat yogurt and plates of half eaten vegetables lay around them.

"I can't believe they let her model, she's like twenty-four" Sandi said as her door flew open.

Her two younger brothers, Sam and Chris, rolled through the door wrestling with each other. They crashed into Sandi's dresser, knocking over everything sitting on top.

Sandi shot up and ran towards her brothers screaming "Get out you little brats!" They both laughed, then quickly dashed out the door. Sandi walked out after them and, once satisfied that they weren't coming back, returned to her friends. "Like, I will be so glad when I go to college next year and never have to see those brats again," Sandi said with more hatred than annoyance.

Quinn felt a pang of guilt, knowing that she would have said something similar about Daria a year or two ago. "Sandi, they're your brothers. How can you say that?"

"I would think you would know better than anyone, Quinn." A small smirk grew on the ex-presidents face. "You spent more than two years pretending your brain cousin didn't exist."

That was the second time that night, this was deliberate. Quinn's tone took a harder edge, "She's my sister, Sandi. You know I don't call her that anymore. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being smart. You know I've been working on my grades, and I'm still popular and fashionable. If you do want to get into college you're going to need to study too."

"Are you calling me, like, stupid, or something?"

Quinn realized things were headed for a fight and tried to diffuse the situation, "Sandi, I'm just saying that all of our grades could use some improvement. That's why I got a tutor last summer."

"Well I think you're letting all that brain stuff get in the way of what's important. I didn't want to say anything, but your choice of clothing lately has been subpar at best." Quinn gasped. "You must get your priorities straight, Quinn, or we," she shot a commanding glare at Stacy, who looked like a deer in headlights, and Tiffany, who was staring at her reflection in her compact, "will have to reconsider associating ourselves with you, lest our enemies see you as a weak point and strike."

Quinn stopped trying to placate the other girl and began fighting back, "What enemies, Sandi? We're teenage girls! No one is plotting to destroy your image. You're not that important."

"Of course you'd say that. You're probably a spy! All those brains have turned you against us!" Sandi ranted in an increasingly unstable tone, her eyes slightly glazed over as she glared at Quinn.

"Sandi, I think what Quinn was trying to say was—" Stacy tried to interject.

"Shut up, Stacy!" barked Sandi, shifting her glare to the pig tailed girl for a moment, before turning to face Quinn again.

"Eep!" Stacy cried and scooted away from the other girls.

"Sandi, stop it," Quinn shot back firmly, regaining her composure, "Why are you always doing that?"

"Doing what?" Sandi responded in a confused and annoyed voice.

Quinn looked at Sandi incredulously. She gestured to Stacy, who was breathing heavily a few feet back from where she had been sitting before. "Look at Stacy! She's freaking out!" Quinn moved over to pat Stacy's back. "How can you treat your friend like that?"

"Of course a traitor like you wouldn't understand." Sandi paused condescendingly, then continued, "Stacy has always obeyed me. She's loyal, unlike you."

Quinn started to get upset again, "Darn it Sandi, we're supposed to be friends now, not your club. Friends don't 'obey' you."

"Yeah right. Like, why else would you have friends?"

Something finally registered in Quinn's mind, and she stared at Sandi in shock. She turned and looked from Stacy, who was just starting to catch her breath, to Tiffany who was still staring vacantly into her mirror, and then back to Sandi who was still glaring at her with those crazy eyes. She sat back and examined the girl across from her. In a quieter tone she asked a question she already knew the answer to, "You're joking, right?"

"Like, did I say something funny?" Sandi replied with a sneer.

Quinn took a deep breath and braced herself. "Sandi, you have friends so you have people to talk to and hang out with and share things with, not to do things for you and to scream at," Quinn implored. She got a bit misty eyed and continued, "We're all growing up and doing our own things, that's why the fashion club broke up. I was hoping we could all stay friends, but if that's your idea of friends are then I don't think we can."

"If that's how you feel then I guess you should go. We don't need a selfish friend like you." Sandi said with finality, gesturing to the door.

Quinn looked at her friends. Tiffany was still looking at that darn mirror and Stacy was looking down, avoiding eye-contact. Her gaze lingered sadly on Stacy. She wanted to help, but she couldn't do it for her. It wouldn't work unless she did it herself. Quinn waited a moment longer, then sighed and shook her head "Alright Sandi, I'm going." She stood up, gathered her things, and headed for the door.

"Quinn, wait," Stacy called, getting up and grabbing her bag.

Without looking back, Quinn paused halfway to the door. She tried not to get her hopes up, but a small, soft smile played across her lips nonetheless.

Sandi sharply addressed Stacy as she stood to leave, "And, like, where do you think you're going?"

Stacy froze, and for a moment it seemed like she would break down again. Instead she took a deep breath and met Sandi's gaze with a sad, tired smile. "I'm leaving Sandi."

Quinn turned to watch in support.

"What?" Sandi uttered, taken aback at Stacy's self-assertion.

Stacy sighed, "Sandi I've been your friend for a long time now. I gave up a lot of other friends to stand by you. I'm not doing that again, you're not worth it."

"So you're choosing that traitor—" Sandi gestured to Quinn "—over me?"

"I'm not choosing Quinn, Sandi, I'm choosing me." Stacy started to cry, not hysterically, but out of genuine sadness. "I love you Sandi. You've been my best friend since elementary school. I gave up things I loved for you. I changed myself for you. I liked the things you told me to like." She started to take down her hair. "I wore these stupid pigtails because you said we couldn't both have long brown hair. I tried to make you happy, but it was never enough." Dropping her hair ties, she paused to dry her eyes with a tissue. "I'm sorry Sandi. I'm sorry it was never enough, but I can't do it anymore. I have to leave now. Goodbye Sandi, I'm sorry." She turned towards Quinn and silently walked past her and out the door, leaving Sandi awestruck on the floor.

Quinn gave Sandi an odd look of both pity and satisfaction, before turning and following Stacy.

Just before they closed the door behind her, Quinn heard Tiffany's voice come from Sandi's room, "Huh? Where did Quinn and Stacy go?" It was followed shortly by a loud scream of frustration.


Once outside, Stacy collapsed against the Griffins' door. Tears began to flow as she thought of what she had just done. It was over, there was no going back. Sandi would never talk to her again after that. That was good, probably, but it hurt like hell.

Quinn dropped down next to her friend and caught her in a tight hug.

They stayed like that for a while. Stacy sobbing and Quinn quietly holding her. Finally, Stacy stopped crying and addressed Quinn, "It's alright Quinn, I'm o-okay now. Thank you." After a final tight squeeze, Quinn let go and both girls got up. Stacy walked to the sidewalk and looked back at the Griffins front yard and house. She had been here hundreds of times over the years, her best friend's house, Sandi's house.

As Stacy started to tear up again, Quinn grabbed her hand and started pulling her down the sidewalk. "Ice cream. You need ice cream."

"What?" Stacy asked, as Quinn literally pulled her out of her trance.

Quinn kept walking at a brisk pace. "Ice cream. When you break up you need ice cream." Stacy's palm got sweaty. Quinn quickly added "Whether it's a friend or a b- someone you like."

Stacy sighed and stopped. She let go of Quinn's hand. "Quinn, it's okay, I know it's probably pretty obv—"

Quinn turned to face her friend. She held up her hand for her to stop talking, her misty eyes catching Stacy's red ones. In a firm, but kind, voice she laid out what was going to happen, "Stacy, we are going to the store to get two big tubs of ice cream. Then, we are going to your house. Then, we are going to have a long talk in which we share the past, secrets, truths, friendship, and anything else you want to talk about. Okay?"

Stacy was stunned. After a moment she nodded. "Um, okay Quinn."

"Good, 'cause I think we're both gonna need ice cream."

::

As Quinn and Stacy entered the Rowe's, Stacy headed for the kitchen to get some spoons. She told Quinn, "Just sit down living room, my parents should be out having dinner for a while."

"Alright," Quinn said heading off to the right towards the living room.

Stacy grabbed the spoons and filled a couple of glasses with water from the pitcher in the fridge. She considered getting bowls, but decided that, for this sort of talk, straight out of the carton was best. She arrived in the living room to find Quinn sitting on the couch, with the ice cream and a box of tissues on the coffee table. Stacy looked around her living room and worried over what her friend thought about her home. Quinn had been here before and not said anything, but it was so much smaller than at any of her friends' houses and everything was so much older.

Quinn grabbed a spoon from Stacy and pushed the large tub of birthday cake ice cream the other girl had picked out across the table, in front of one of the two recliners. "Sit down, Stacy." When Stacy didn't move, she said, "By the way have I ever told you I like your house? It's so cozy." Stacy tensed at this and Quinn sighed. "Stacy, stop it. I'm not Sandi, I'm not going to judge you or yell at you for your parents' house."

"Sorry." Stacy sat down and put the water on the table.

"Stop apologizing, Stacy. You didn't do anything wrong." Quinn popped the top off of her tub of strawberry ice cream. She continued with a hint of sadness in her voice "Anyway, I was being serious. I like how your house feels like people actually live in it."

"Um, thanks." Stacy said uncertainly, opening her own ice cream.

"Good. Now that that's settled, let's get down to talking." Quinn seemed to hesitate, then continued, "I was impressed with the way you told off Sandi. It was really… um…"

"I meant it." Stacy interjected.

"Well, yeah. I could tell, I mean…"

"I meant it when I said I loved her Quinn." Stacy said seriously. Her voice was calm, but her heart was beating like crazy. Quinn was silent. Stacy's heart beat faster. She was terrified she was going to lose the only friend she had left. "I'm gay Quinn."

"Well, duh," Quinn blurted out.

"What?" Stacy said, confused, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh god Stacy! I'm so sorry! That just came out!"

Stacy sniffed and then took a deep breath. Then she thought for a minute and relaxed some, smiling. "So, you knew?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, but I meant to be much nicer when you came out. Like, supportive and stuff. You're my best friend. Gah, I'm so dumb." Quinn buried her face in her hands.

Stacy stared for a bit, then started giggling, then laughing outright.

Quinn looked up from her hands and stared worriedly at Stacy. "Um, Stacy? Are you okay?"

Stacy managed to stop laughing and wiped her eyes. "Sorry, this just isn't how I expected this to go." She chuckled, "A whole lot better than I was afraid of though."

Quinn smiled and looked Stacy in the eye. "Stacy, I'm your best friend. I'll always be there for you through whatever happens, okay?" Stacy smiled back, happy tears in her eyes. Quinn's look got more serious. "Are you ready to talk about Sandi now, or do you wanna wait?"

Stacy hesitated, looking down at her ice cream for a moment, then scooped out a bite. After she swallowed, she said, "No, I need to do this now."

Quinn smiled softly at her friend. "So how did it start?" she asked and took a bite of her own.

Stacy stared silently into the distance for a moment, then began, "It started before I knew I liked girls, well really before I knew I liked anyone. We were in third grade, in girl scouts. I really liked girl scouts, but Sandi said—"

"Dad!" Quinn interjected on reflex. Stacy flinched and looked at Quinn perplexed. Quinn blushed. "Sorry, force of habit. It's… complicated," she explained in an embarrassed tone. She continued more gently, "Look, just focus on the story. Get it out. She can't tell you what to do anymore."

Stacy gave Quinn an odd look and continued, "So we were in girl scouts together. She wasn't always so bad, I mean she was bad, but not like now. Anyway, I've always liked people. I always had lots of friends back then, I wasn't worried about who was good enough to hang out with." Quinn looked down at her lap and had another spoonful of ice cream. "Sandi was always alone though. I felt sorry for her, I wanted her to have friends too. So I tried to get her to work with everyone else, but she had problems. She would insult people, or try to boss everyone around, even the older girls. A few people were afraid of her and started doing what she said, but she still seemed so lonely. It's kind of like what you said to her Quinn. About not understanding friendship, having followers not friends. She was really still all alone, and I still really wanted to help her."

"But what about your other friends?"

"They… left. I thought I could help Sandi, and then we would both be able to go back and make friends with them again. Then everyone would be happy," Stacy's voice cracked and she wiped at her eyes. Both girls ate a few spoonfulls of ice cream, then Stacy took a drink from her glass and continued, "Obviously that's not what happened. I blame Sandi's mom more than anyone. She was always pushing her, telling her how to manipulate people and that appearances were all that mattered. If you weren't good at something, then you shouldn't do it because you were showing people you were bad at something. Sandi wasn't the best at girl scouts, mostly because she wouldn't work with everyone else. So her mom took her out. I left too, because… b-because…" Stacy sobbed.

"Stacy—" Quinn started to reach out, but Stacy waved her off.

"It's alright, Quinn. I need to get through this, listening is more than enough. Thank you." Quinn sighed and took another bite as Stacy took a drink and continued, "So, I left too, because I was going to help her. To fix her. To save her. Anyway, I left. We spent all our time together. There were good times, we played with dolls and did all the normal little girl stuff, but Sandi got worse. She kept listening to her mom. She got bossier and s-started y-yelling at me all the time. She thought everyone was out to get her, to make her look bad. Not like now. I'm not sure where that came from, maybe when you came."

"Wait, why me?" Quinn asked, and took a drink of water.

Stacy looked a bit surprised. "Quinn, you're better than Sandi. You are what she wants to be. I'm sure you know some of this, but she took you into the fashion club to try to control you, to keep you out of circulation. She couldn't though. You could have taken that club over anytime in the last two and a half years, and she knew it. She was terrified. I think that's what made her more… You know…"

The room was quiet for a while. In a low voice Quinn asked no one in particular, "So I made her… I made another person go…"

Stacy forced herself out of the dark mood. She shook her head and put a firm hand on Quinn's arm. "No," she cut in, in an uncharacteristically strong voice, "you might be why, but you didn't try to make it happen. It's not your fault for being you and it's not my fault for not being able to save her." The last part was said quieter, to herself.

Quinn ate another spoonfull of strawberry. She took a drink and, recovered, asked, "So you must have been going into middle school around then, right?"

Stacy sighed, "Yeah, and that's around when I started to figure out something was different. I had given up so much for her, lost so much because of her, but I still liked her even though I shouldn't. But other kids were starting to talk about liking people in a different way, a way sometimes you couldn't choose. It sounded like how I liked Sandi, and it would explain a lot. But they were always the other sex. Boys liked girls that way and girls liked boys that way. It didn't make sense. I asked Sandi if she'd heard of that happening, a girl liking a girl. Thankfully I didn't mention us, because she said only freaks felt that way."

Quinn put her hand on Stacy's. "I'm so sorry, Stacy. That must have been horrible."

Stacy gave a sad smile. "No, not right away. I just thought I was wrong, that I didn't like Sandi like that because that would make her hate me and that couldn't be right. She was all I had left. So, I acted like I liked boys, because that's how you act and I didn't know how everyone else actually felt so I didn't know I didn't actually like boys. I dated some boys, and I had fun hanging out with them, but I didn't like kissing, which was okay because Sandi said that made you easy." Stacy took a break, wiping away the tears she hadn't realized she had shed, this part was harder to get through than she had thought it would be. It was just how things were.

Stacy took a deep breath, followed by a few spoonfulls of birthday cake ice cream and a sip of water to clear her throat. She continued, "I figured things out eventually, of course. I learned the whole world didn't hate gay people and accepted that I was gay. I never told anyone of course, Sandi was my only friend and Tiffani would just ask if being a lesbian would make her look fat. I tried to get myself to like other people, guys and girls. I tried too hard. Heck, I did that creepy copycat thing when I tried to get into you."

Quinn shivered. "Ugh. Yeah. Er… sorry, but that was just…"

Stacy laughed. It felt good to laugh, Quinn was surprisingly good at that. "No, it was weird. Trust me, I was embarrassed for months. Right, where was I? Oh, yeah. I tried getting into other girls, and kept dating boys hoping that might take. None of it did. But the past year or so a lot has happened. You started moving forwards, and that made me think I could too I guess. I still liked Sandi but I started—"

"Hold on, what do you mean I moved forward?"

"You started studying, you acknowledged your sister, you helped Sandi lose all that weight. You stopped being a petty bitch like Sandi and started worrying about the future. You're my role model Quinn."

Quinn blushed. "I didn't really- I mean we're all growing up right? I still have a lot to make up for with Daria." Quinn sounded guilty.

Stacy put her hand on Quinn's, unsure exactly what was going on with her friend. "Quinn, please be proud of what you've achieved, I'd still be where I was last year without your example. I don't know what's going on with you and your sister but it seems like you've started things in the right direction. If I can help I'm there, okay?" Quinn, whose head was still down, nodded and looked up at Stacy, as if asking her to continue. "Anyway, I've grown. I almost left Sandi at the end of this year, but I caved and then we all got back together as friends. Tonight, you gave me the courage to finally leave for good." Stacy, having gotten through her story, started to tear up. "I-I still l-love her. But, I love you too, as a f-friend. And I'm not losing any more friends to her. I can't be alone anymore."

Stacy started sobbing as she finished and Quinn hugged her friend and joined her. After a few minutes both girls wiped their eyes and sat back.

"Hey," Quinn broke the silence, "didn't you say something about summer plans, before, y'know, everything?"

"Oh, yeah!" Stacy lit up and started searching through her bag, dumping sleepover supplies all over the floor. "Here it is!" She handed Quinn a brochure.

Quinn looked it over. "I don't know, Stacy. Theatre camp, at school. And it's run by Mr. O'Neill. I'm sorry, but I don't think—"

"Wait! It's not our Mr. O'Neill! It's like his cousin or something, he's the new theatre teacher they hired for school."

"I still don't know, remember that renaissance festival? With the turkey legs?" Quinn shivered.

"The one where you got screwed over by Sandi because you were going to be awesome and she was jealous?" Stacy spat out with much more venom than she had intended.

Quinn gave Stacy a careful look, and then continued the conversation, "Well, my mom's going to make me do something this summer. I guess this could work."

Stacy smiled. "You're going to look great on stage Quinn. I'm sure you'll get the lead."

"What about you? You did great in that magic show!" Quinn returned the compliment.

"Actually," Stacy hesitated, "I don't think I'm going to try out for the play."

"Stacy, if you're not doing this then why did you bring it up?"

"I still want to go, but I want to do the tech part." She paused. "I think I might want to get into theatre next year at school. I really liked performing in the magic show and I want to try out the other side of things so I can understand it better. Like sets and lighting and that kind of thing. Please do this with me Quinn? We won't be working together for the most part, but we'll still see each other and it'd really help to have a friendly face." Stacy directed her best puppy dog eyes at Quinn.

Quinn smiled and laughed, "Okay, okay, you've convinced me! Now, let's get this," she gestured to the mostly emptied ice cream tubs, water glasses, and the sizable pile of tissues, "cleaned up and watch a movie or something."

"Sounds good. Is Clueless okay?"

"Always."


Daria kicked her door shut behind her, her hands full of left-over pizza and soda. She set her food down at her desk and was about to sit down when someone started knocking on her door. She sighed and turned towards the door, shouting "Mom, I told you that if you tried to make me do something this summer you shouldn't expect to see me over the holidays."

"Um, Daria, it's me," Quinn's voice came somewhat meekly through the door. "Can we talk?"

Daria sighed again, then walked over to her door and swung it open. "Five minutes, then you start paying overage fees." the older girl said, as she walked over to her desk and sat down.

Quinn followed her in and stood facing her. She took a deep breath and began, "I've been thinking a lot lately—"

"The aspirin is in the drawer next to the sink in the kitchen."

Quinn gave her sister a strange expression somewhere between a pout and a glare. Clearing her throat, she started over, "A lot of things have changed lately and it's got me thinking. About growing up and how the people I care about fit into that, and how I've acted in the past. And… Well…" She paused and looked down at the ground, wringing her hands. "I want to apologize. I've acted like a spoiled little monster for a long time." She sniffed. "I know I can't take any of it back, Daria, but I still want to be your sister." Quinn looked up, her misty eyes finding Daria's, and continued, "I don't mean like Mom and Rita and Amy, but real sisters. Sisters who talk, and care about each other. I don't want you to disappear forever when you go off to college. We've just started understanding each other a little over the past year and I don't want to lose that." With that, Quinn fell silent and stood there fidgeting and wringing her hands.

Daria's face remained an unemotional mask as she tried to figure out what could have gotten her sister so worked up, and how it might affect her. Considering the past, she came up with what she felt was the most likely cause and sighed, "I take it Aunt Rita called?"

Quinn stopped her fidgeting. She looked puzzled for a moment, then indignant. "What? No. Darn it Daria, I'm being serious here! I'm not just protracting Mom and her sisters' problems onto us!" She walked to the doorway and turned to look back at her sister, addressing her in a voice tinged with frustration, "Look Daria, I'm trying. I want things to get better between us. It's up to you now." Letting a little hope creep into her voice she added, "I'll keep next Friday open, I hope we can hang out and talk or something," then turned back to the hall, and headed toward her room.

Before Daria could get her head wrapped around what her sister had just said, her mother marched through her open door. She stood across from Daria with her arms crossed and questioned worriedly, "Daria, are you and your sister fighting again? I thought you two were past all that that." Daria was silent, still trying to process everything. "Fine, be that way," Helen sighed relaxing her pose. "That's not why I came up here anyway. I want to talk about your summer plans. Now I know you're not in high school and you don't need any summer activities for your college application since you've already been admitted—"

Daria recovered from her confusion at the mention of summer plans. "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. Now if you'll kindly leave, I can begin wasting my summer as efficiently as possible."

Helen shot her daughter a slightly annoyed look, and continued, "However, I still think it's important for you to be productive." Daria leveled a sardonic glare at her mother as she continued her sales pitch. "I know you've been interested in getting a laptop for school, and I can assure you that there will be plenty of other incidental costs that will arise while you're at school. With that in mind your father and I would like to make you an offer, if you find a job this summer we'll match whatever you earn. You're free to do nothing all summer, but I think you'll be missing out on a great opportunity. No need to answer now, just think it over, okay Daria?"

"Mhn," Daria grunted in reply, turning back to her food as her mother left her room. She took a bite of her pizza and realized it was now lukewarm at best. She sighed and leaned back, looking at the cracks on her ceiling. After a moment of this she got up and headed to her phone. After dialing a familiar number and waiting through several rings, someone picked up on the other end. "Hey, Trent. Is Jane there?"


Hey, author here.

So this an idea that's been bouncing around in my head for years in one way or another, but I'm finally getting around to putting to paper. Not sure what the release rate will look like, but I hope I don't disappoint.

This my first time posting here and my first time writing at all in a long time. That said, please be brutal. Complements are fine, but I'd rather have someone actually help me get better than pat me on the back. Thanks again.

Edit: Gah! Okay, still getting used to the site. Sorry if this was gibberish or didn't have breaks.

Edit 2: Removed some language I decided was unnecessary.

Edit the 3rd: 8/10/15 Tidied things up a little, grammar and such. Going back over all these chapters to give myself a refresher and fix up anything I notice.