James The Lesser Presents Vinny Lane

Vinny thought it was cool Daria got an invite to Grove Hills. "Hey, you're the one going to college. Think about how Grove Hills will look on your applications."

Daria mumbles some thing he couldn't understand. "Ok, sure, you'd be going to a different school. I went to school with out you before. I'm sure I won't be crippled by the loneliness and misery of going back to Lawndale High with out my best friend." He sees her patented half smile and leaves it at that.

The night she went, Vinny was working on a sketch of Hell. Guarded by a three headed demon dog of Helen, Quinn, and Daria. Behind was the river Styx where various classmates drowned.

When some one knocked on the door he knew it wasn't Daria, this time.

When he gets to the door and opens it he is surprised to see Quinn. "Uh, your house is a few blocks that way." He points over her shoulder.

She looks behind her and then back at him. "There might be, like, puppy kickers. Can I please come in?"

"I guess." Daria said she and her parents would be gone all night. Quinn can't possibly plan on spending the night here.

Trent is at the top of the stairs and sees Quinn. "Hey, Daria's sister."

"My name is," Before she can finish, Trent walks back to his room.

Vinny goes up to his room and knows Quinn is following him.

He goes to his easel ignoring the sketch he had been working on.

Quinn sits on the bed and starts talking about, what ever, something important to Quinn he was sure.

He paints a Picasso style picture of Quinn ignoring her.

After a bit, Trent walks in and sits on the bed edge nearest the television and turns it on. Why is every one invading my room?

He is amused as Trent refers to Quinn as Daria's sister again and ignores her protest of what her name was.

As the hour gets late Vinny wonders what to do. Quinn clearly wasn't leaving even though Trent had. "Quinn, you can't stay here."

"Why? You're friends with Daria."

So? "So? You're friends with Stacy, does that mean I can go over and stay with her?"

"Well," Quinn fidgets with her hands a little. "No, but, like, Daria could. I guess. If it was an emergency like this is!"

Vinny sets his paint brush down. "My sister Penny's room is open. I guess you can stay there."

"Thanks!"

Vinny leads her to the room and notices her reaction. Oh, not bright pink, can't possibly stay here then. Good. Leave.

Instead, Quinn walks over to the bed and presses a hand on it. "Um, this will do. I guess." She sits down on it and bounces a little testing the springs. "So, what's with you and Daria?"

Not this again. How many people are goingto ask that? "Nothing. We're just friends."

"But, like, you like her and she likes you."

"Yes Quinn, as friends." I should ask Mack for the hand puppets he used to tell Kevin about this. "A guy and a girl can be friends. I'm also friends with Jodie and Daria is friends with Mack. It doesn't mean I'm dating Jodie or Mack is dating Daria."

"I know but, like, you two should be dating. You already do the date stuff. Eat out, go to movies, stuff like that."

"Except I pay for myself and she pays for herself. Some times one of us might splurge and pay for both but that is because we had a little extra cash."

"But why?! I don't get why you would hang out with her or she'd hang out with you. What do you two get out of it if you aren't dating?"

"Friendship." Some thing you're probably questioning as your so called friends all kicked you out. "Are you good? Do you need any thing?"

"No, this is fine."

After getting her settled in, Vinny goes back to his room, and finds Trent on his bed again. "Hey."

"Yo." Trent stares at the television even though it was off. "She's staying here?"

"I guess. Her friends kicked her out."

"Ok."

Vinny gives his brother a quizzical look before asking. "What's the problem? You never watch television in here."

"I was just checking on you two."

"You never check on me when Daria is here."

Trent gets off the bed. "Daria's sister isn't your friend."

Vinny frowns. "I didn't want her here. I'm kicking her out at first light." He sees Trent's smile. "Fine, at first after I wake up, have coffee, and am awake enough to kick her out."

"Gotcha." Trent leaves Vinny's room.

Daria's surprised look at Vinny pushing a very energetic and talkative Quinn is replaced with confusion and then some thing Vinny couldn't recognize. "Take her, now."

"I, what, how?"

"Tell you later. Just, take her, now." Vinny gives Quinn one last push before turning and walking away.

After a nap and another cup of coffee, Vinny answers the phone when it rings. "Lane residence."

"Vinny, what happened? Why were you with my sister?"

Why does she sound mad? I was the one stuck being woken up by Quinn whinging there was no white only egg mix or celery in the fridge. "Quinn's delightful attitude got her thrown out by all of her friends. She didn't want to go home so she came here. I wanted to make her sleep in the manger but decided my sister's room would work better."

"And?"

"And what? She woke me up complaining about the Casa Lane lack of breakfast choices so I pushed her back to your house. Keep her there. I am placing a Quinn Ban on her."

Daria pulls the phone away from her ear as she sees Quinn come down the stairs as bouncy as ever.

"She can be any thing she wants to be."

"No she can't." Vinny gets close enough he can put a hand on Daria's arm. "She can't be my friend."

Daria puts the phone back to her ear. "Thanks for looking after her."

"Just don't mention it to your parent's. I don't think they'd appreciate her spending the night here."

"No, they wouldn't. Again, thanks. If you want maybe we could do pizza tonight?"

"Sure." Vinny smiles as he thinks about something from the night before. "You'd like that Trent referred to her as Daria's Sister the entire time."

"I'm sure you have some good stories. I do too. Swap them over pizza tonight."

"I'll be there."

Things seemed to quiet down a bit in Lawndale. A thought made too soon.

After going to a Mystic Spiral gig, Daria broke out in hives. Instead of telling him and maybe having Vinny help she took off.

Brittany tried to relay a message from Daria but he couldn't understand what she meant. He may have also been a little distracted. Wow, Brittany looks hot in that.

The next morning, Vinny stopped in front of the Morgendorffer house to get Daria before walking to school. "So, what happened? Brittany tried to tell me but between the squeaking and the leaking I couldn't make it out."

"I had a rash."

"What caused it?"

"Wish I knew."

Vinny looks her over. "You seem ok now. I'm just glad you ran off in to the night instead of coming to your best friend."

"It was an appropriate response at the time. What if it was contagious?"

"So you immediately hugged your sister?"

She has a slight curl of the lips he hoped he would get. "I wasn't that sick."

Daria seemed to be ok until Mr. O'Neil's class. When she ran out of the class Vinny wanted to follow but figured her destination was the womans' bathroom.

The next day, Vinny visited the hospital Daria was at.

He wasn't sure what the protocol was. He saw in shows and movies that friends brought friends and family flowers when they visited them in a hospital. Daria would probably not want flowers.

Instead, he brought a book she had left at his house, and knocked on the door to her room.

A younger looking doctor let him in. "Hmm, friend, not family."

Vinny gives him a look. "How can you tell?"

"She seems happy to see you." The doctor excuses himself and leaves the two in the room.

Vinny is nervous as he stands next to Daria who was still in bed hooked up to machines. "So, give it to me straight, how long do you have?" He notices a spike on the heart monitor as she glares. "Ok, different question. What's wrong with you?"

"Emotionally, physically, or psychologically?"

"I'll go with physically. I only have a hour visiting time."

Her glare becomes almost a full smile that evaporates quickly. "They don't know. I have a rash that comes and goes. No idea the cause."

"Hmm," Vinny rubs his chin. "Aliens."

Daria shifts in the bed to get more comfortable. "So, what do they think at school?"

"Nothing. It's Lawndale High. No one thinks." She laughs a little. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, I feel fine. I just get a full body rash that comes and goes for no reason."

He reaches out and touches her hand taking it in his. "I've been worried all night and day. My best friend runs out of the class and my first thought was maybe she'll spare me when she starts shooting."

He ignores the heart monitor machines increase in beeps as she responds. "Shooting your fellow students might count as an extra curricular activity."

"That school already had us do. Just with paintball guns." He squeezes her hand and she squeezes back. "Are you sure you're going to be ok? Or will I be visiting you in a plastic bubble?"

"It isn't contagious."

Daria pulls her hand away suddenly and Vinny is unsure why until he hears Helen's voice. "Oh, Vinny, you came."

"Yep. I have Daria's homework and a book she might feel like reading while she waits for her autopsy." Vinny pulls several items out of his backpack and hands them to Daria.

Helen gives Vinny a look showing she didn't appreciate the autopsy comment. "Well, she needs to relax. I'm sure she doesn't need any one filling her head with those kinds of thoughts."

It was a joke. Daria knows it was a joke. "I know. We can't let her fall behind in class. Then she might only be two years ahead of the others."

Helen shoos him away, closing the door as he leaves. Mama Bear is very protective of her cub. I wonder if my mother would be like that if I were sick. Well, if she knew I was sick and was in Lawndale.

Vinny leaves the hospital hoping his best friend would feel better soon.

A couple days later, Daria calls him. After a battery of tests the doctors found... Nothing. She invites him to go out and he suggests Trent drive. He didn't want Daria walking too much. Just in case.

Vinny knocks on Trent's door. "Hey, Trent, I need a ride."

"Ok."

Vinny, a little surprised Trent was awake, decides to count his blessings and wait.

When they get to Daria's house, he knocks on the door, not having no idea what the night had in store. He especially didn't expect... "Whoa, Daria."

"What?"

Even Trent, a man normally oblivious to the world around him, noticed. "Whoa."

The rash was back.