First crush? First love? That can't be right…I would have known…Wouldn't I?

Trent shut the door.

Jane's room around a week later…

"So how did Trent do as my fill in? Horrible right?"

"Actually Trent was great. He pretty much just let me talk my way through thing and come to my own conclusions by acting as a kind of sounding board."

"Hmph…" Jane said looking only vaguely miffed. "I bet he didn't offer to give you the benefit of expert complimentary coloring advice from the standpoint of an exceptional- no, exceptionally brilliant artist did he?"

"No, he didn't…of course I would have liked to have had my best friends input…"

"…but she, meaning me, was out- indulging in some bad habits."

"What kind of bad habits?" Daria looked up from what she was writing.

"Not what exactly, more like who?"

"Okay who?"

"Evan."

Jane's little admission caught Daria completely by surprise. Jane had called him a 'stupid jerk' and dismissed all talk associated with him involved when she'd left the track team.

"Oh." Daria wasn't sure what to say or feel,

"Yeah, oh."

"So you've taken him out of the stupid jerk category and you're dating him?"

"Not dating, exactly…just kind of hanging out- making out, more making out than anything."

"Uhm…"

"It's all good. I'm kinda over the relationship thing right now, but I still want to enjoy the perks so…"

"Okay, okay. I get it." Daria looked at her friend with concern. "As long as it's what you want… It is what you want right?"

She nodded. Jane gave a wry smile. Daria was still feeling guilt pangs and a while ago Jane would have thought- 'hey, she should', but though there was the occasionally awkwardness with Tom talk, they pushed through and then past it because their friendship was worth it.

"It's also what I need."

"So it's just physical?"

Jane laughed out loud at the perplexed look on Daria's face. It was like it was some kind of foreign concept to her or something.

"Yeah, something like that."

Jane returned to putting color on the before abandoned canvas as she spoke.

"Trent was a date guru, huh? And you suffered no ill effect of the remnants of some unresolved…issues of the past?" Jane prodded slightly with a teasing eye and raised brow.

"Nah," Daria continued to write in her notebook.

"And what, pray tell, was this epiphany that allowed you to relegate yourself to the friend role instead of leading lady?"

Daria thought for a few moments.

"He gave me his blessing to date Tom. I knew then that he could never see me as anything more than a friend….and you were both so encouraging about Tom…even after, how it happened. I knew that I was really fortunate for both of your friendships."

Jane turned back to her painting with mixed feelings. Daria continued on the short piece that she was outlining to type up later.

"I even talked to Trent about it."

Jane stopped any facsimile of trying to work on her piece and turned back to Daria with her hands on her hips.

"And what did he say?"

Daria looked up at Jane's tone.

"Nothing…" Daria said as she thought about it. "Tom had come by then and I left."

"Well what would you have said or done if Trent had said that he had feelings for you?"

Daria frowned.

"But he didn't…..and it's okay. Everything is …as it should be."

"…If you say so."

They were both silent.