There was only one other time Jane had seen Daria in a bedraggled state and that was during their failed trip to Alternapalooza. And even then, the worst that happened was a peanut butter sandwich getting stuck on her ass. This was on a whole other level.

Her hair was a total mess like she had been dragged by her ankle through a hedge. There was mud on her hands and knees. There was that rash on her neck and part of her face, the same she used to get when she still had that crush on Trent (Yes, she did have to twist her arm to get her to admit it) and she seemed to somehow be pale yet flushed at the same time.

The two stared at each other in silence, Daria still holding onto her car keys, looking like a deer in headlights. That… was her car, right? Why else would she looked so spooked? Rubbing the back of her neck, Jane fought inwardly for what to say. What the hell happened? What could she say? It had been the better part of a year since they last spoke! Eventually, the artist opened her mouth.

"…Wow, you look like shit!"

Daria made an odd sound that was a mix of a mouse being kicked and a startled bird and resumed her panicked attempts to get the key in the lock, stabbing the metal door in the process. This was the last thing she wanted!

"Woah woah woah, hey!" Jane puts her hands up, alarmed at this display, "Slow down there, whirlwind!" She took a few steps forward, Daria almost leant away, almost as if she was expecting to be struck or yelled at. Jane turned to the little dents in the door left by the key.

"Y'know the speed holes are supposed to go on the hood, the door will just give you a draft on your legs. What's going on here?"

"Jane-!" Daria choked out suddenly, finally finding her voice "I-uh-we-I gotta-this-!"

"Hey, relax!" Jane paused, unsettled by her tone. Her voice was shaky and panicked. The only other time she had ever heard some form of emotional inflection in Daria's voice was during their argument. Jane felt her weight in her chest but had to push it down, she was not about to bring that up, "Um, is everything alright?"

"I know there's something wrong with me! There is SO! MUCH! Wrong with me!"

"I didn't say there was anything wrong! Are you feeling okay?"

"I need to get home, where's the car?"

"It's right there-! Daria, what is going on?" Jane's features softened, a newfound sense of worry flooding over her confusion. Was she having a nervous breakdown? Daria nervously adjusted her glasses and scratched her neck. Damn this rash! Then she said something Jane had never heard from her before.

"I don't know!" She squeaked, "I don't know, everything's moving, trees are blue, there's three of you, the plants were talking to me and I think I'm going into cardiac arrest!" Her breathing was shallow and rushed, on the verge of a panic attack.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jane raised an eyebrow but was also looking around at the surrounding houses. "Look, it's going to be alright, do-do you want me to find a phone and call Tom or-?"

"No!" Daria's shout caused Jane to reel back from surprise. But whatever shock she felt was escalated as now, tears were flowing from her eyes, and despite her best efforts to maintain a stoic demeanour, Daria was clearly in a lot of distress.

"Please Jane!" She whimpered, practically begging "I'm really scared, I don't know what's wrong with me!"

Jane took another few steps closer so she was within touching distance. Part of her wanted to grab Daria, pull her into a hug and reassure her that everything was okay, the other wanted to demand an explanation as to why she did not want Tom. Surely, she would want her boyfriend rather than her? But upon seeing her like this, Jane forced herself to bury those feelings.

"Hey, look-" Jane stopped suddenly, her eyes widening. Daria blinked and stared at her, looking more and more like a kicked puppy with each second.

"Wh-what?" She squeaked.

Jane stood with an open mouth, dumbstruck. Her eyes were almost flaming red, like both suffered from burst blood vessels and her pupils were the size of pennies.

"Daria," Jane craned her neck, looking straight into her eyes, "Are… Are you high?"

"What? No!"

"You are! I mean like," Jane sighed and held her hand out, "Give me those keys." She extended her hand towards the keys trembling in Daria's grip.

"…Why?"

"Keys!" The artist almost barked, Daria's shoulders jumped up and she almost flung the keys at her. Jane blinked a few times at this. Opening the car, she got into the driver's seat and Daria got into the other side, though it seemed that stepping up half a foot was too difficult as she practically tumbled inside and onto Jane. She yelled an expletive and shoved her back by the face, making Daria hit the door.

"Jesus, right look at this." Jane turned on the interior lights and moved the rear-view mirror down so both girls were in frame. Daria looked upward. Next to her was Jane with her clear blue eyes and soft black hair, and next to her was...

"Huh-!?" She almost leapt back as her red eyes and rat's nest hair met her in the mirror, "What the fu-?!"

"Yeeeeah." Jane drawled, a little alarmed too, "You're high as shit!"

"What? No, I can't be!" Daria stroked her hair anxiously, "I've never smoked in my life!"

"Right calm down, relax."

"How am I supposed to relax!? I'M HIGH!"

"Shhhhhut up!" Jane hissed, she could not risk some busy body overhearing this, "Okay think, what did you do today?"

"…Not smoke?"

"Uh-huh," Jane folded her arms, unimpressed. Normally she would banter with Daria like this but now was not the time, "Okay well, here's an easier question. What have you had to eat today then?"

"Um…" Daria's glassy eyes wandered to the ceiling, shifting around as if she was counting the bumps in the frame, "Nothing, a packet of lays, nothing, nothing, some brownies-" Jane raised a hand to stop her.

"Brownies?"

"…Unless we're calling them a more PC term nowadays, yes brownies."

Jane could not stop herself from smirking, okay that sounded a bit more normal.

"If I had to guess, it was those. Very common. How many did you eat?"

"Um…"

"Dariaaaa?" Jane leaned in with a glare, channelling her inner Helen.

"Four."

"Four?" Jane rubbed the back of her neck, "Oof. That's not good."

"Oh God!" Daria almost yanked her hair clean from her scalp. Never mind, they were back to square one. "I think I'm having a heart attack!"

"You're not having a heart attack, that's just the pot messing with your head. But, and don't panic here, you're going to be feeling this way for a while." At least she hoped that it was only marijuana in those brownies, knowing the idiots at that party she was not about to take any chances.

"If I get out of this car can you run me over? Quickly?"

"Ah then I get carted away for both dealing AND murder, great idea."

Normally she would make some kind of rebuttal, but she could not bring herself to. Daria rubbed her arm; she had already hurt Jane enough! Damn it, Diarrhea how about you shut your fat mouth for once! All it has done is make it right for people to hate you!

Jane blinked as she watched Daria, again stroke her hair rapidly, she was clearly having a very bad time. She sighed and turned to face the girl. Despite all the turbulent thoughts she had in her mind, Jane had better sense than to bring any of that up now. The last thing she wanted to do was chase somebody hyped up on weed and God-knows what else in minus ten-degree weather.

"Right," she began, talking slowly "I can't let you go home like this. Here's what's going to happen. I'm gonna drive this car, we're gonna go to my place and you're gonna stay there until you sober up."

"How-How long is that going to take?" Daria murmured, it was awkward enough that she had Jane in her car, why would she want her at her place when she never wanted to talk to her again? "I-I could walk home,"

"No disrespect, Daria but you're a total blockhead if you think I'm gonna let you do that. C'mon, we'll head back to mine, you can take a shower, we'll order pizza, you sleep this shit off and poof! This whole night never happened. We'll tackle this whole thing one teeny weeny baby step at a time."

"Really?" Daria turned her red, worried eyes to the artist, practically begging for reassurance.

"Really really." Jane assured bluntly. Daria breathed out hard through her mouth, rubbing her hands together.

"…Okay. That makes me feel a whole lot better." Honestly, her nerves were still running the Indy 500. Why was Jane helping her? She was the idiot that got herself high, why should that be anyone else's problem? Biting her lip, Daria said nothing as she simply put on her seat belt. She had to try and control herself, despite every instinct she had commanded her to get out of this car and run screaming into the night. Even having this belt on felt otherworldly, it's coarse nylon against her arm felt heavy and rough. Why could seat belts not be made of cotton or something?

A small gust of cold hair almost jolted Daria through the roof as Jane had put the passenger window down a little.

"Wait why-?" Daria stammered.

"You reek, that's why." Jane retorted, despite only being in this car for a few minutes it stank like a well-established skunk farm. "I'd rather neither of us went to jail tonight." She added as she brought the car to life through a turn of the key and started driving slowly down the barren street.

Home was a fifteen-minute drive away. What could happen in that time?