AN~ This chapter was hinted at in the opening, so now I've got it out of the way and you can all stop worrying if I ship them together.
Axel Treehorn: What makes you say that?
Chicly: Daphne will get SO many guys you won't believe it. This fic will be all about her meeting and breaking up with people. And then getting over them and finding new ones.
Samantha: Glad you liked it! Did the update come soon enough?
For a while after the Drew incident, Daphne doesn't date anyone seriously. She goes on the practice dates with the boys who ask, but she needs time to recover, and it takes her months before she can even think about dating someone long-term without it hurting.
Sabrina gives her a lot of sidelong looks that suggest she's worrying about Daphne, but neither of them say anything about it. Daphne appreciates that a bit. It's nice to know that Sabrina's letting her get over things at her own pace.
Their dad just seems glad that she's not dating anymore. He gave her a lot of disapproving looks, muttering about her being "too young to date" and "seeing an awful lot of boys recently." Now he's giving her random smiles and sideways hugs.
Veronica keeps trying to talk to her about it. Daphne's always loved her mom; idolized her, even. But now Veronica's habit of interfering to make everyone happy is starting to get on her nerves. Daphne doesn't want to talk about it. She doesn't want to think about it.
Basil is the only one whose habits aren't bothering Daphne at all. He has no idea what's going on. She figures seven-year-olds don't really understand relationships that much.
It's summer, and they're back at Granny's, before Daphne decides she wants to talk about it.
She still doesn't go to Veronica, though. She appears in Sabrina's bedroom one night, because Sabrina's the only one that Daphne doesn't think has an agenda. Sabrina's just been there for her. And Daphne thinks Sabrina will understand. She and Puck have fought to the point of ignoring each other for months, and even though Daphne didn't fight with Drew, she did lose him. And she thinks Sabrina is the one who will understand that loss best without looking down on Daphne for only being thirteen.
So she knocks on her sister's bedroom door at Granny's house one night and comes in, leaning her head on her big sister's shoulder.
Sabrina lookes up from her laptop screen, sees Daphne's expression, and closes the computer. "What's up?"
Suddenly, it becomes very difficult for Daphne to talk. Her throat aches, and she knows from experience that if she says anything, she'll start crying. Which is ridiculous. It's been months. She shouldn't be crying over a boy she only dated for a little while so long after it's ended.
And yet she is. Or almost is.
Sabrina snakes an arm around Daphne, putting the laptop on the bed next to her. She doesn't say anything, but she rubs Daphne's arm.
It's funny, but Daphne's never considered that Sabrina would be very good at comfort. Sabrina is loud and angry, and will back Daphne up any time she needs protection, and Daphne knows she can depend on her sister any time it really counts, but the only comfort she's ever taken from the blonde is to soothe herself brushing her hair. Sabrina isn't soft. Daphne's always assumed it means she'd spend her time trying to fix the problem instead of just being there for her.
But Sabrina just sits there giving Daphne a one-armed hug until the younger Grimm gets up. She's spotted a hairbrush on Sabrina's dresser, and she thinks it might be easier to talk if she knows Sabrina can't look at her.
Daphne wonders briefly where Granny got all the furniture to fill her now-huge house, but pushes the question aside until later, when she's around someone who might know the answer. It was probably magic, and Sabrina won't want to talk about that. She returns to her sister and climbs behind her on the bed. They haven't done this in a long time. Not since they all went to the psychologist.
Finally, once she's gotten a good rhythm going, she says, "I'm not okay. I know... I know you're gonna think it's stupid 'cause I'm only thirteen, but I think I might have actually-" she cuts herself of.
Sabrina just waits silently.
When Daphne is back in control of her voice, she says, "I think might have loved him. And I ruined it 'cause I wanted to tell him something he wasn't ready for."
Now Sabrina turns around and says, "You didn't ruin it." Before Daphne can protest, she grabs her hands and says, "There's no guarantee he'd ever have been able to handle what you told him. I know I had a hard time with it. Not everybody can deal with finding out something they've always thought was a fact is a lie."
"But I-"
"Think for a second,' Sabrina says. "What if he hadn't been able to handle it? What if you'd waited years to tell him, and he still wasn't okay with Everafters? At least this way you know."
"I guess," Daphne says, but she's not sure.
"I don't guess," Sabrina says. "And you did the right thing, telling him. Look what Mom and Dad keeping it a secret did! What if something happened to Drew because you got tangled with Everafters, and he got hurt because you didn't tell him? This is too big not to talk about."
This is a good point, and it perks Daphne up considerably.
Of course, perky is a relative term these days, and now that Daphne's let her emotions out, she's finding it hard to be happy again. Just now she feels less guilty.
"I don't think I want to date any more humans seriously for a while," Daphne says softly. "I don't think I could handle this again. Not for a long time, at least."
"Makes total sense," Sabrina says breezily, turning back around so Daphne can go back to brushing her hair. "You don't have to date anybody, you know."
"I know, but I think..." Daphne considers it a bit. "I think it might help me move on. I've wallowed long enough."
Sabrina shrugs. "As long as you're doing it 'cause you want to, and not 'cause you feel like you have to."
"Yeah," Daphne assures her. "I don't do that."
Daphne's overheard her mom and sister discussing the possibility that she dates so much because she's self conscious about her (admittedly) heavy weight. But that doesn't bother Daphne. She likes how she looks. And none of the boys she's met seem bothered by it. A lot of them seem to like it, actually. Like it a lot. She's not dating to prove that she's beautiful. Daphne knows she's beautiful.
For a while, they just sit in companionable silence, Daphne running a brush through her sister's hair. It's been a long time since they've just hung out like this, and Daphne is just realizing now how much she's missed it. For so long, they were all they had, and she pushed that aside a bit when their lives went back to normal. She misses spending more than half her time with her sister.
Eventually, Sabrina turns and gives Daphne a sly smile.
"What?" Daphne asks. She doesn't think she's done anything too funny.
"I was just thinking," Sabrina says, "About what Bella said that one time, you know, about you and Wendell?"
"What, that we should date?" Daphne asks. At first she's a little incredulous, but then again, she hasn't seen Wendell yet this summer, and one excuse to hang out is as good as any. She smiles. "Actually, that's a good idea. I'll call him."
Sabrina smiles back. "Good. Have fun."
"I'll try," Daphne says, getting up.
Right before Daphne leaves the room, Sabrina says thoughtfully, "It's a good thing you're doing this this summer. Next year he'll be an adult and it would be illegal."
Daphne rolls her eyes. As if something as trivial as four years matters when she'll live forever.
Wendell, surprisingly enough, says yes to a date, and the two find themselves in Old King Cole's the following Friday evening.
"So how've you been?" Daphne asks while they wait for a waiter. "I haven't seen much of you this summer."
Wendell shrugs. "I'm okay. My dad's trying to get me to pick out colleges, though, and my mom's really pushing for me to get a job. It's annoying."
"What do you want to do?" Daphne asks.
Wendell shrugs. "I want to go into music, but my dad thinks there's no money in it. He keeps reminding me of what he had to do to make money. And my mom... she's afraid I'll slip up and get in trouble. She doesn't like us to play much since she found out what my dad was doing with the school."
"I can understand that," Daphne says, nodding.
"Really?" Wendell demands, giving her an incredulous look. "I mean, when have I ever abused it? Just 'cause my dad made some mistakes, it doesn't mean I'm going to try to take over the world or something with this! I don't even want to do anything like that! I just want to play music!"
"Whoa whoa whoa," Daphne says, pulling back. "I never said she was right! I just said I could see where she was coming from!"
"Aren't they the same thing?" Wendell snaps.
"No," Daphne says. It's taken her a long time to wrap her head around this, granted, but really, Wendell should know it by now. He's nearly four years older than she is! "It just means I know she's your mom, and she worries about you."
"But she shouldn't have to!" Wendell half-shouts, making a few people in the restaurant turn their heads to stare at him. "I mean, doesn't she trust me?"
Daphne shrugs. There's nothing she can really say to this. It feels like a conversation Wendell should be having with his mom, not with her.
"You don't think she does," Wendell accuses.
"I never said that!" Daphne protests.
"You didn't have to!" Wendell is actually shouting now, yelling at Daphne. And she has no idea why.
"What is with you?" Daphne demands. "We're friends, Wendell! I was just trying to have a conversation, and now you're mad at me!" She takes a deep breath and sits back. Quieter, she says, "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I honestly don't know how I did."
Wendell stares at her for a few seconds, then nods and says, "I'm sorry too."
She smiles. "Truce?"
"Truce," he agrees.
They're done arguing, but now things are stilted and uncomfortable. No matter how many times they try to start a conversation (the kind they used to be able to have easily), it ends up petering out after a few moments. Dinner is awkward.
Afterwards, as they leave the restaurant, Wendell asks, "So... do you want to do this again sometime?"
Daphne gives him a small smile and says, "I don't think that's a good idea."
Wendell nods, not looking surprised. "Still friends, though, right?"
Her smile grows. "Definitely."
Wendell's lips quirk up, and he walks off with a saunter in his step. Daphne watches him for a few moments before starting her own walk home. She doesn't know why this date was such a disaster- maybe Wendell's got a lot on his mind (he obviously does), and that's what messed them up. Or maybe she's just not ready yet. Or maybe they're just meant to be friends. But at least now, when someone suggests it, she can say they tried.
And that's what matters, really.
