once daria was done puking, trent squared her away in the backseat of his car and parked it at the entrance to the grunge club. he said his goodbyes to rod and promised the band he'd make it up to them if they packed all the equipment without him. then he caught up with jane, who was also ready to call it a night. she was really drunk, too, but she never reached the nausea point, she skipped right to the drowsy part. he drove them to the lane house and helped daria inside and up to jane's room. she was out like a light on impact with the sleeping bag, so trent found his way to his own bed. he stripped down to his boxers and collapsed onto the mattress. he was just starting to doze off when he heard more puking in the bathroom. he got up to check on whichever sick girl was awake. he found the door to bathroom open where daria was on her hands and knees in front of the toilet, and he resumed the hair-holding technique, but she had already got a little on the ends and a lot on her clothes.

"i can't sleep," she told him as she flushed. "everytime i close my eyes, the room starts moving. fast. and i'm too tired to keep my eyes open."

"it'll be ok, daria. i'll go get you a glass of water. you gonna be ok while i go downstairs?"

"yeah, i'll be fine."

he returned shortly with a huge glass of ice water, just as he'd promised. he found her slumped over the edge of the tub, soaking wet. apparently, she'd attempted to rinse the vomit off herself. "um, daria? are you awake?"

"yeah, i'm up. did you bring the water?"

trent though this was a funny request from a dripping wet individual. he smiled as he handed her the glass. "yeah, here you go."

she tanked half of it down in one swallow. "i'm so thirsty. i'm never going to drink like that again."

"i'm sorry, daria. i feel like this is my fault. i thought you would've had a good time."

"i did. for a while, anyway." he handed her a towel. she wiped her face and then her hair with it. "about the alley, before i got sick..."

"i don't want you to think i was trying to take advantage of you or i'm on the rebound or anything. we can pretend that never happened."

"i just wanted to know if you really wanted to...do that, or if it just happened because you've been drinking?"

"i really do care about you, daria, but i don't think we should ever cross that line again. you have to go back to school, and even if you didn't, it probably wouldn't work because, like you said, our world's are so different. would you really be ok with my lifestyle?"

"in what way?"

"well, i sleep a lot and i don't do much. i'm not very dependable. i never have any money, and probably won't ever catch a break cause i have such a strong objection to the exploitation of my art. and my band is my first priority. i learned from past experience that girls don't really dig long term relationships with guys that fit that criteria, we're just good flings. i'd only hold you back, we'd eventually break up, and you'd resent the hell out of me, ultimately damaging our friendship. and, unlike most exes, we'd still have to stomach each other's company because you and janey are such good friends."

"sounds like you gave that a lot of thought." daria's heart sank. "so, this is how the silly little high school crush ends - rejection. i knew better than to say anything. damn truth serum." she finished the glass of water and set it on the edge of the tub. "did i mention that i'm never going to drink again?"

"don't you get it? i'm not rejecting you. i think you are a magnificent person and i'm flattered that you like me, too. i don't want that opinion of me to change, as it inevitably would. you'd reject me. i'm trying to be sensible and avoid a much more painful heartbreak for the both of us."

"i never would have imagined that you'd already considered what it would've been like if we were together. that's almost comforting. but i still wouldn't have thought you the kind of person to ignore your feelings."

"i'm not really ignoring my feelings. i'm considering yours, too. from a logical stand point. you can't leave college to come here and i can't leave the band to go there."

"right," daria caught herself staring at his bare chest. "it would never work."

"right." trent involuntarily agreed.

"we're too different."

"we'll just pretend we never kissed."

"and it won't be awkward." daria was trying to convince herself more than trent.

"never...we're doing the right thing, right?"

"of course. we're both sensible adults." daria was starting to feel the full force of her exhaustion. " do you have some clothes i could change into?" she looked down at her stained undershirt. trent instinctively looked, too. since it was all wet, he noticed you could see right through it, and he reprimanded himself for thinking that it was sexy despite the vomit.

"yeah, i'll be right back." he returned with a t-shirt and a clean pair of his boxers. he found daria asleep, draped over the side of the tub. "daria? i brought you some clothes." she didn't answer. he tried to wake her by nudging. she didn't so much as stir. "daria?" he looked around the room, trying to decide what to do. he couldn't leave her asleep in there, and he didn't want to put her to bed drenched. he set the clothes on the side of the sink and went to jane's room. "janey, you asleep?" no response. he walked over to his sleeping sister and gently tapped her shoulder. "janey, wake up. i need you to do me a favor."

"do it yourself, " she flipped over with her back to trent.

trent gave her a more forceful nudge. "jane, it's important. i need you to change daria's clothes. she's asleep on the bathroom floor all wet and she won't get up."

"trent, my first hangover is already starting to come on and you won't leave me alone. she probably feels the same way."

"janey."

jane huffed. "did you try to wake her, trent?"

"yeah, she wouldn't budge."

"then let her sleep in the bathroom."

"i can't do that."

"if it bothers you that badly, then change her clothes for her. you're a trustworthy young man, just don't cop a feel, ok? now let me sleep."

trent came back to the bathroom and tried once more to wake daria, unsuccessfully. he heaved a sigh of reluctance and lifted her up by her arms. "daria? wake up..." since she was still unresponsive, he took off her glasses and then started to remove her shirt. apparently, at some point, she had already removed her bra, and trent was struggling with the stirring in his pants. at least i know she's still alive he thought, as he watched her chest rise up and down with her breathing. he forced his gaze away from it and put the t-shirt on her. he didn't want to risk anymore surprises, so he slipped the shorts on underneath her skirt and nimbly removed it over the shorts. his precautions didn't prevent him from getting goosebumps as his hands just barely grazed the skin on her thighs. amazed she had stayed asleep through all of that, he lifted her up into his arms and carried her down the hall to jane's room.

she heard him approaching. "trent, go away!"

without missing a beat, he turned right around and walked on to his room and placed her in his own bed. he went back to the bathroom for her dirty clothes. he carried them down to the basement to put them in the washer. while her clothes were in the machine, he took a sponge to the toilet and floor where she'd missed the bowl. the wash cycle was finished by the time he was done with all that, so he moved daria's clothes to the dryer and returned to his room.

the sight of daria sleeping in his bed was arousing, but trent was virtuous, so he started to make himself a bed on the floor when she began to stir.

"trent, is that you?"

"yes, daria?"

"you're not going to leave again, are you?" she said in a breathy, fatigued voice.

"no, i'm going to stay in here with you." he laid down on his floor nest.

all was quiet for a minute before she spoke once more, "trent? where are you?"

"i'm down here, by the bed."

"what are you doing down there?"

"sleeping."

"aren't you going to sleep in your bed?"

"no, you go ahead. i can sleep anywhere"

"i still don't feel well. please don't leave me."

trent was torn. he wasn't sure what the right thing to do in this situation was. he decided it wouldn't hurt for him to sleep next to her. if anything, it would be pleasant, so long as she isn't weirded out in the morning.

"trent...?"

"i'm here." he crawled into bed beside her. she started smiling and her breathing slowed down to the infatuating rhythm of dream-rich slumber. he watched her sleep for a while, admiring her long, flowing tresses and her heaving breasts. he noticed that her hair still had it's usual intoxicating scent despite any of the unfortunate circumstances she'd endured that evening. he gently swept a section of it off of her face so he could see her serene smile better. he took it all in, knowing he may never have this opportunity again. finally, trent put an arm over her and drifted off to sleep himself.

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