After Daria left Quinn's room she went back to her own with the intention of wiping off the lip gloss and attempting to remove the Sweet Pea scent. But when she glanced in her mirror she decided against it. She had to admit she looked pretty good.
Hearing clanking and coughing outside she knew Jane was here. The Tank had arrived. She grabbed a few twenties from her Montana Cabin Fund and headed downstairs.
Jane was already in the kitchen with Jake by the time Daria got down there.
"Have a good time Kidd-" Jake cut off in the middle of his endearment when he saw his eldest daughter. Jane simply burst out laughing.
"Why Daria, is that lipstick?" She was careful to pronounce it in the same way she had on the morning of Alternapalooza.
Daria ignored her best friend and addressed her father. "Quinn helped me get ready tonight. I'll be home by midnight." Jake frowned.
"Eleven o'clock." Daria's mouth fell open. "Yes" Jake said, his resolve strengthening with each second. "I'll be waiting up for you, so call if you need a ride."
Daria was unsure how to deal with Jake's uncharacteristic show of fatherly protection so she decided not to argue.
"OK Dad, see you at eleven." With that she grasped Jane's arm and exited the house.
"So Daria, what's with the new look?"
"It's a long story. Basically it's the product of sisterly bonding."
"Did they bond your brains together as well?"
"Look, be a friend and don't make a big deal out of this."
The got to the tank and Jane pulled open the back door. The drum kit, guitars, and various cords and amps were already in the back, as well as Max and Nick. The boys were seated on the trunk and were planning on making the girls sit on the floor, but when they saw Daria they scrambled off. Their mouths dropped open a tad, but Daria didn't notice.
"Hey Janey, hey Dar-whoa!" Trent's eyes nearly popped out of his usually sleepy face. He then attempted to cover up his surprised utterance by coughing. "Hey-" cough "Daria."
"Hey Trent."
The ride to the Zon began unusually quiet for this group. Max and Nick kept sneaking glances at Daria's new look, trying to make sense of the situation. Jesse glanced back only once. "Girls." He muttered, not intending to be overheard.
"Hey! Don't lump all of us together with the fashion drone here."
"Jane!" Daria was miffed at the reference to the Fashion Club.
"Daria, we've got a ten minute ride to the Zon. You might as well tell us why you've traded your combat boots for glitter." Jane paused, then added slyly; "hoping there's an opening for a fly girl?"
Daria brought her left boot down on Jane's right foot. "I don't give up my boots for anything and I am not wearing glitter."
"OK, OK, so no glitter. But seriously, why did you straighten your hair?"
Daria took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "You remember that wedding I had to be in last weekend? Well my mother and my Aunt Rita rehashed the same fight they've been having since they were in grade school. Quinn and I had ring side seats to the whole drunken mess. I left the wedding with my other aunt, Amy, and we went out for cheese fries. After small talk we began talking about Quinn, and then this whole 'sisterly-cousin-relationship thing' that we don't handle very well. I decided that I don't want us to wind up like Aunt Rita and my mother, so I reached out. Apparently Quinn doesn't want us to wind up like them either, because she reciprocated."
"That still doesn't explain the hair, outfit and makeup."
"When I decided to reach out, I figured I should do it on her turf. I wouldn't get very far if I asked her to help me inventory my collection of souvenirs from the Museum of Barnyard Oddities. So, I asked for help with my hair, it sort of mushroomed, and to tell the truth, I think I look pretty damn good."
"No arguments here." It was the first time Max spoke.
"Oh, Trent." Daria inserted, not sure how to take Max's comment "there is one major drawback to letting Quinn turn me into this. My dad saw me on the way out and now I have to be home by eleven."
"That's no good. The second set starts at 10:30 and you're supposed to help us set up and break down. Why don't you call your dad from the club and ask if you can sleep over Janey's?"
"I'll try." Daria didn't sound as if she thought it would work. She turned to Jane. "Isn't all of Mystic Spiral staying over at your house tonight?"
"Yeah, they always do after a gig."
"Well, then, I'm pretty sure my dad isn't going to like the idea of me staying at your house tonight."
"What if I called?" Trent spoke up form the driver's seat. "I am the responsible older brother, I'll talk to him and explain that I don't let Janey go out after we're in for the night and that the two of you won't be allowed to call any boys" The way he said that last part you would have thought Jane and Daria were two twelve year old teenyboppers having a sleepover and planning to call all the boys in their class to find out who they like-liked. The band members laughed.
"Yeah, Trent. I'm so sure you could pull of sounding responsible while standing in the back of the Zon on the pay phone." Jane rolled her eyes.
"I'll call from the office, then"
"Whatever."
The van pulled up to the club and they tumbled out. Trent and Jesse grabbed the guitars while Nick and Max wrestled with the drum kit. Jane and Daria began grabbing the coils of cords. It took a few trips, as two of the amps were so heavy Jane and Daria had to carry them together.
Trent was finishing plugging in the mics when Daria and Jane walked up with the last amp.
"Trent, did you call Daria's father yet?"
"No, I'll get on that." Trent jumped off the stage. "Finish plugging in those amps while I make the call."
Daria and Jane finished up. Jane went to bar to buy sodas while Daria went to stake out their favorite table, the one in the back close to the exit.
"Daria, you're sure getting a lot of looks tonight." Jane commented as she placed the drinks on the table.
"I'm trying not to notice."
"Hmmm, there's a really cute, preppy one staring right at us."
"Go for it."
"Oh, no, I'm sure he's looking at you, Daria."
"Yeah, well, I'm not interested."
"No, you're more into garage band guitarists."
"Can it be considered a garage band if they don't practice in the garage?"
"Speak of the devil." Trent had walked up. Daria swung around and a light blush hit her cheeks. How much had he overheard? The blush, combined with hair and the lip gloss, not to mention the figure hugging outfit, made her look quite fetching.
If Trent noticed the flush, he made no indication. "I managed to convince you're father to let you spend the night with Janey. Do you have caller ID?"
"Caller ID?"
"Trent, your ADD is acting up again, what does caller ID have to do with us getting around Daria's curfew?"
"No, I told her father I'd have Daria call him when we got home, and he reminded me that the call better not come any later than 11:00"
"No, we don't have caller ID"
"Good, you can use the phone in the office. Make sure you do it before the second set starts, though. The office is pretty quiet, but no door can keep out The Spiral's sound."
"Don't worry, I'll remind her."
"OK, good. Well, first set's about to start. You girls have fun, and, uh, be careful, Daria." With that, Trent walked toward the stage.
"Um, what does he want me to be careful about?"
"All the guys that have been checking you out all night. You think he hasn't noticed?"
"I thought if there was one thing about your brother, it was that he was oblivious."
"Yeah, well, maybe he's been getting a little sharper all night. I mean, he certainly noticed you."
"If Trent noticed me tonight, then he's no different from the ones he warned me about."
"Right. Like you believe that." Daria grumbled something incomprehensible. "What's that?"
"Oh, nothing Jane," she then added under her breath, "just a curse on your very soul."
A throaty voice cut through the crowd, helped along by mechanical amplification. "Hey, we're Mysitc Spiral, but we're thinking about changing the name." Daria and Jane smirked at the now familiar introduction as the band began the opening to Icebox Woman.
"See, it's not just tonight that Trent's noticing you. He's added that 'we're thinking about changing the name' to every introduction ever since I told him you thought Mystic Spiral sounded like a Doors cover band that played brew pubs."
"Oh please, at some point he was either going to realize that on his own or someone else would have told him. I just helped him come to the epiphany a little sooner."
"Yeah, right."
"Hey I need another soda, wanna come up with me? Maybe we can get something to eat, too."
"Eat? Here? Are you nuts? We'll go grab some food with the band between sets. But, yeah, I'm with you. Lets go see if we can score some free drinks."
"Free?"
"Sure, all you have to do is channel Quinn and say 'can you get me a soda?'"
"No."
"C'mon, Daria, it'll be fun."
"No."
"Well, fine. But I'm sure someday you'll start realizing how fun it is to get things for free."
"Don't get used to this, Jane. Looking like this has caused too many problems already. I'm going back to my usual look tomorrow." With that Daria strode off toward the bar to get a coke. Jane hurried a little to catch up.
"Hi. Can I have a coke please?" Daria spoke in her customary deadpan.
"Bad night? Don't worry, I'm sure he'll figure out he made a mistake and he'll call you crying in the morning." He handed Daria the Coke. "It's on the house."
"Huh? What? I wasn't dumped. And I don't need a free soda." Daria pulled out a few dollars. "Here."
The bartender waved it away. "Seriously cutie, it's on me."
"Uh, thanks. I guess." She handed her money to Jane, and she used it to purchase herself an Ultra Cola.
The girls walked back to their table. "See, I told you."
"Don't be silly, he thought I had just been dumped." She took a sip. "Ugh!"
Jane sipped her soda as well. "What's wrong?"
"I think he put rum in this." She took another tiny sip. "Yes, there's rum." She put the soda down on the table, sat down and rolled her eyes. "I'll let Trent or Jesse have it during the break."
"That might not be the best idea."
"Why not?" Daria looked at Jane quizzically.
"Well, Trent knows that you would never try to order alcohol, right?"
"Yeah…"
"So if you tell him that the bartender put in alcohol that you didn't request, Trent might assume that he slipped in something else you didn't request as well."
"Huh?" Daria was pretty confused at this point.
Jane rolled her eyes at her nieve friend. "A roofie, Daria. This isn't exactly the highest caliber club in the world." Daria slumped back in her seat.
"Jeez, how does Quinn deal with this all the time?"
Jane said nothing and offered her a sip from her warmish can of cola. Then she winced at the sound coming from the stage. "That's the second time Trent's voice has cracked tonight. Something's on his mind."
"I'm sure it has to do with the smokey atmosphere. Here and in his lungs." Daria didn't like where her friend was going with this. Suddenly that preppy boy Jane had noticed came over to their table. "Hey, cool sound, huh?"
"The singer's my brother."
"Really? You two sisters?" The boy addressed Daria.
"No, he's not my brother."
"My name is Tom, by the way. Tom Sloan." Tom accented his last name wondering if it would work. Neither girl showed any recognition, so his ploy fell flat.
"Daria" she said as she held out her hand. "And this is Jane" she added as Tom shook her hand. At that moment all three of them winced. Trent had broken a guitar sting and the music stopped.
"Uh, Mystic Spiral is taking a break folks. We'll be back for the second set." Jessie's voice cut through the groans of the crowd.
"This was the first set." Trent stood at his mic looking confused and slightly embarrassed as Jessie shot him a look.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Tom, but we should probably get going. We're with the band and should see if they need any help." Daria began to turn toward the stage.
"Maybe I could help too?"
"Uh, the band is kind of picky over who touches their stuff. They're slightly neurotic and think spies from other bands are out to destroy them." Jane explained. "See you later"
"What was that about?" Daria whispered once they were safely out of earshot.
"That, my young grasshopper, may be the beginning of a special relationship."
"No. He wouldn't have looked twice at me if I were in my usual outfit. The only reason anyone is looking at me or talking to me is because I look like I'm giving it away for free and I'm sick of it. I want out of here."
By this time they had made it to the stage and the band overheard Daria's last remark. Trent looked up.
"Are you OK, Daria?"
"Look, can you give me a ride home? I know I'm supposed to help out, but I can't handle this anymore. I'm never letting Quinn near me again."
"We've got to pack up now anyway. When that string snapped it broke a lot of other little pieces too, and I had to put my spare guitar in hock to fix the amp last week. They're pissed, but there's nothing I can do." Trent actually looked a little embarrassed by his financial plight.
"Why don't you still sleep over Daria? We can have a bad movie night and order a pizza and some virgin coke." Jane smiled.
"Fine. But I'm not borrowing you're grandmother's nightgown again, find me something else."
The six of them packed up without saying much. Once they had loaded the tank, Jessie offered the front seat to Daria. "You look like you need it" was all he said.
Daria climbed in, accepting this gesture of chivalry and vowing to never remove her green jacket again. Trent started up the tank and she stared out the window in silence.
"Daria, I'm sorry you had a bad night." Trent said softly.
"Oh, it's not your fault, Trent. I never should have let Quinn turn me into a barbie." She sighed and leaned her head against the glass. "Sure wish I had that rum and coke now."
Trent nodded for a second, then whiped his head around to face Daria in a never before seen burst of speed.
"What?"
"Relax, I didn't drink it. I asked the bartender for a coke and he seemed to think I'd been dumped, so he didn't charge me for it. When I got back to the table I realized there was rum in it. It surprised me, I didn't drink it."
Trent was silent for a moment and continued driving. So far none of the other occupants of the tank had paid any mind to this conversation.
"Well, if you really feel like having a drink, I'll split a beer with you when we get home." Trent said this slowly, and seemed kind of troubled by the words coming out of his mouth.
"No, thanks Trent. It was a passing fancy. Besides I've behaved enough like Quinn for one evening."
"Quinn drinks?"
"I'm not entirely sure. She was elected a Keg Queen and has a fake ID. Beyond that, I don't want to know." Daria grew quiet. She suddenly felt bad about falling into the old habit of Quinn-bashing. She stared out the window blankly while absentmindedly twirling a strand of her sleek hair around her finger. A street lamp on Trent's side of the car illuminated the inside for a moment and Daria caught a glimpse of herself in the window's reflection.
"Eep!"