Remember when we were little and we shared a room?
Yes, Quinn.
I hated that.
So did I.
It's fun to reminisce, isn't it?
Chapter 7: Dream Off
Ω Ω Ω
"It's not elitist, Daria."
I opened my eyes, but I still couldn't see. It was as dark as Principal Li's soul in here…wherever here was. "Tom?" My voice echoed everywhere, so loud it hurt my ears.
"I said it's not elitist. And it's not my world," my ex-boyfriend said. A beam of light appeared and there he was. "It's our world. Don't be mad at me just because you haven't found your place in it."
"Uh…hey, Tom. Nice acoustics in here. Does Trent know about this place?"
He crossed his arms and looked away. "We're talking about us. Are you still as passive-aggressive as you were with me? Or are you finally learning how to treat the people who care about you?"
A distorted guitar chord squealed through the air. It was so loud I thought it would shatter my eardrums.
"That was where you slipped up, man," Trent's hushed, throaty voice echoed behind us. "You got too close to her. She can't deal with that. You've gotta just stand back, look cool...and let her crush on you."
"Jesus, Trent. Get that thing tuned," I glared at both of them. "And I don't need you guys talking about my issues. I'm the one who suffers because of them."
"Gotta admit, she's right." Trent said.
Tom shrugged. "We tried. You weren't that bad a kisser, though."
Another unbearable chord screeched out. The noise was so bad I turned and ran. When I looked back, I saw a long green field and a football sailing toward me. I caught it in the end zone and went sprawling. An invisible audience erupted with cheers.
"Yaaaaay!" Brittany squeaked from the sideline. "Touchdown! Gimme a D! Gimme a…how do you spell your name again, Daria?"
"Um, just call me number zero." I struggled to my feet and brushed grass out of my hair.
"Zero, zero, she's our girl! If she can't do it—"
"Damn that squirrel!" my dad ran past me, chasing a squirrel up a giant tree at the edge of the field.
I blinked a few times and the sky turned red. "Wow. What's Pizza King putting in that new sauce, anyway?"
"It's just a dream, Daria. You know, those things you have at night where you win the state championship?" Kevin jogged up to us, breathing hard.
For a moment the sun became so bright I couldn't see. Then it faded into the fluorescent lighting of a Lawndale High classroom. "Great. From one level of hell to another." I said.
"Correction, KEVIN," an incensed Mr. DeMartino stalked in. "A DREAM is what's left when a frustrated, DEMORALIZED teacher has NOTHING left to give, and takes nocturnal REVENGE on the worst student he's EVER HAD!"
"Yuh-oh. Keep the game ball, Daria!" Kevin jumped over a desk and ran out of the room like an ape, with DeMartino in hot pursuit.
I looked down sadly at the ball. But now it was a yellow pillow with a smiley-face on it. "Quinn? Can you help me out of this already? It's your fault anyway."
Brittany launched into a new cheer. She went higher with every jump, until her pigtails were brushing the lights. "Daria and Quinn! You're really stuck! You're falling for each other! So now you're f—"
"Quinn..." I said louder.
"Let me steal her from you, Daria. Just to make things even," Jane said from the desk beside me.
"No," I snapped. "Quinn!"
"Face it, you know I wouldn't be okay with this. And you'll just mess it up anyway. Oh, wait! It's messed up from the start, because she's your—"
Ω Ω Ω
"Quinn!" I shouted and sat up in bed.
"DAH-ria, wake up! I'm here." She was leaning over me in the dark with a frightened look on her face. "What's wrong with you?"
I grabbed her arm. I had to, just to know she was real. My heart was beating so hard she must have heard it.
"Did you have a nightmare or something?"
"I was shouting your name. What do you think?" I mumbled.
She chuckled to herself. "You could have woken up Mom and Dad." She stared at me for a moment while I tried to think of something to say. Mission failed. "Let me go already! I'll be back."
I stared up at the shadowed ceiling, breathing hard and wondering what other bad dreams were hiding in the corners. Before my imagination could run away with me again, Quinn was there. I caught a glimpse of a purple tank top, blue pajama pants and a pillow under one arm before she closed the door behind her.
"Quinn? I thought our days of sharing a room were mercifully over."
"They were until you started yelling my name in the middle of the night. Can't you keep a secret at all?" she grumbled, shoving her way under the blankets. "And don't you dare put your cold feet on me."
A leaden silence descended on us. After what happened that evening, this was kind of awkward. But I guess I'd rather be embarrassed than scared, and most of the nervous electricity from before was gone. I felt like I could tell her anything. "Quinn?"
"Let me sleep, Daria."
"You know the way I feel about you is wrong."
She yawned. "And you call me a drama queen. Whatever this is, it's letting us be in the same room and talk without going nuts. It's like we finally get each other. Sort of." Shuffling noises as she turned over. "I'm so sick of the whole...sibling ribaldry."
I never laugh, but the irony of that one nearly broke me. I tried to cover it up by coughing. "I think you mean rivalry."
"Whatever."
Exhaustion tugged at me. What a ridiculous day this had been. "Quinn?"
"Daria, if you don't let me sleep I'm leaving."
"One more thing. I have to say it before I return to my senses."
"Hm."
I whispered it into the dark. Who knew what it could mean under these circumstances? But it was out.
She took it silently, like she was waiting for a punchline. There wasn't one. Finally she put an arm over me and settled in.
"I love you too, Daria."
I guess that was the best feeling I ever had in my life.
"But don't try anything weird."
...Was it morning yet?
