This is the first Daria fanfic I've written. I got the idea listening to a
song on the radio.
Second Chances
By:MsNJ(LaurieK925)
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Daria was helping Jane hang a banner over the third floor balcony of the
Motel 8 just outside Lawndale. Jane had painted the banner herself that
morning for the college graduation party they were throwing that night. It
read-It's Over-in big, bold colored letters.
"So tell me again how you managed to get permission for this little soiree.
Not to mention got us such a great deal on the rooms." Daria asked. The two
women sat down heavily in the white plastic lawn chairs that sat by every
room door at the motel.
Jane took a sip of her soda before replying.
"Simple, the manager is a big Mystik Spiral fan, if you can believe that one,
and he cut us a deal where Trent and the guys would play a couple free gigs
in the lounge. He even gave us the whole third floor for the night. Luckily
it's a slow time and there weren't too many reservations for tonight."
"Who did you invite? Or should I be afraid of the answer?" Daria said as she
took a drink of her cola.
"Oh, the usual suspects from around town. Plus some friends of the band, a
couple people I met at school, oh, and this cute guy I met in the supermarket
the other day."
Jane said. A huge grin crossed her face as she mentioned the guy she met.
"You mean when we went shopping for supplies? Where was I?"
"Remember when we were in line and I said that I forgot the sour cream for
the dip and the green tea that Trent asked for? Well, he got in line behind
me while you were fetching those things and we got to talking. He was
laughing at one of the tabloid cover stories. It was a sexy laugh." Jane
said.
"So, who is this mystery man?" Daria asked.
"His names Matt. He's also bringing a friend. They both just graduated from
Stanford."
"Great. I have a feeling this is gonna be a long night." Daria sighed as
she finished off her soda.
Jane stood and grabbed her friends hand, pulling her out of her seat and into
room 308. They began to set up the folding tables.
"Oh, lighten up Morgendorffer. You went away to college and didn't meet
anyone that interested you enough to date for more than a week. If you ask
me you're still stuck on the one that got away."
Daria stopped straightening the table legs and looked up at her friend.
"Tom? Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack. Admit it. You haven't stopped loving him."
Daria went back to putting up her end of the table before pulling the table
cloth out of a grocery bag.
"Look, even if I did still have any sort of feelings for him it wouldn't
matter. We broke up Jane. He probably found some rich, preppie law student to
take home to mommy and daddy. I bet he doesn't event think about me." Daria said
as she opened a bag of chips and emptied them into a large, plastic bowl.
Jane started to fill a cooler with ice and various kinds of soda.
"Well, I bet you're wrong. No matter how you ended up together and no matter
how many times you fought you two were good together. Even I have to admit
that."
"Maybe." Daria said. Jane could swear she saw a hint of sadness in her
friend's eyes. At that moment Trent and Jesse followed by the rest of the
band entered with a keg and two boxes filled with random alcoholic beverages.
"Hey Janey, hey Daria."
"Hey Trent. Hey guys." Daria called from across the room as she finished
putting the empty chip and pretzel bags in the trash.
The band set up the keg by the table before sitting down for a break.
"So Trent, where's Nia?" Daria asked. She sat down on the floor by the sofa.
"She'll be stopping by after her shift is over at the bar."
"I have to admit you did good finding her Trent. I thought you'd never break up with Monique.
For that matter I never thought the Zen would hire a female bouncer. Or that you would fall for
her." Jane said, taking a
seat by Daria on the floor.
"Yeah, she is pretty cool." Trent replied. A goofy grin crossing his lips. "Me and Nia make more
sense than me and Monique ever did. I guess we all grew up some the last couple of years."
"Wiser words have never been spoken big brother. At least not by me." Jane said.
Just then they heard a car door slam shut and heard the voices of the first
few guests approaching as dusk began to settle. The band left to finish
moving the furniture and setting up their equipment in the next room.
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Later that night Daria wandered into room 309 just as the band began their
first set. The whole third floor was packed. She smiled slightly as the
familiar chords of "Ice Box Woman" began to fill the air. She caught a
glimpse of Jane chatting with some guy by the bedroom. Turning and heading
out of the room, Daria walked to the end of the hall. Standing by the rail
she leaned forward and breathed in the slightly chilled night air. It
smelled of chlorine and cigarette smoke. Closing her eyes to take in the
sounds and smells around her she did not notice the familiar figure moving
toward her.
"Daria?" a male voice asked.
"Who wants to know?" she replied as she turned toward the voice. "Tom?" she
asked. Her face reflected how surprised she was to see him. "What are you
doing here?"
"My friend Matt ran into Jane who invited us." Tom looked intently into her
eyes. A flood of warm feelings began to wash over him. He couldn't believe
how much she looked the same, only slightly different. He could have sworn
her hair looked softer and that she had grown a few inches. It also surprised
him to see her in different clothes. She wore black jeans and a black
t-shirt along with her same old boots. He knew he had to say something or
she'd think he was weird.
"You look great." he finally said.
"Um, thanks. So how are things?" Daria asked. She looked down at her feet
trying to hide the blush that slowly crept up her face. Tom noticed and
smiled.
"Okay." he said. "I just got hired as a consultant for a new internet company
in the next town over."
"That's great. Congratulation."
"How have things been for you?"
"Well, I graduated from Berkeley. I'm moving to New York in a couple of weeks
to start a new job at a magazine."
"Wow. Moving to the Big Apple all by yourself huh? Are you nervous?" he
asked.
"Not really. Jane is moving there too. She's going to be working for a
gallery. Actually we'll only be living about ten blocks apart."
"That's great. I bet Trent will miss her terribly though."
"No, he and the band are moving there too. They'll be living in the same
building as Jane. We'll all be one big happy, if dysfunctional family .
Although I'm sort of used to that so at least I won't get homesick." she
said. Tom laughed at that remark.
"I see your wit hasn't changed a bit. It's good to know some things never
change."
"I guess." Without thinking Daria said the next thing that popped into her
head. "Would you like to take a walk by the pool?"
"Sure, just let me get a drink. You want anything?"
"Cola please."
"Coming right up."
Once Tom had retrieved Daria a cola and himself a beer the two walked around
the building to the pool. Luckily no one else had wandered over yet and they
were all alone. They each took a seat on a deck chair and looked at the pool
lights reflecting off the water.
"How's your family doing?" Tom asked to break the ice.
"Good. Dad's business is booming, mom is the same, and Quinn is going to be
starting her junior year at the state college. Her major is fashion design.
Didn't see that one coming."
They both laughed at her remark before taking a sip from their drinks. Tom
turned to face Daria. He had to speak his mind now because he knew this
might be his only chance.
"Daria, do you ever wonder what happened to us?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean do you ever wonder why we broke up?"
Daria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I know why. We were young and
going off to different schools. We decided to make the most of our college
years and explore other relationships."
"So did you? Explore other relationships I mean?"
"I tried. Nothing lasted more than a week. I guess I just didn't find
anyone I clicked with. What about you?"
"The longest relationship I had during college was a year. Her name was
Ashley and her parents were rich and of course she was in a sorority."
"So what happened?"
"Well, one night we were watching tv, which we never did. She was always
dragging me to some party or dinner or whatever. Anyway, I flipped channels
and ended up settling on one of those caught on video shows. They were
showing animal attacks and of course I laughed at some of them."
"Who wouldn't?"
"Exactly. But of course Ashley complained how disgusting it all was and how
horrible I was for laughing at it then grabbed the remote and made me watch
Fashion Emergency on the E channel. That's when I knew it was over."
"It's a shame she couldn't appreciate the humor. I mean who wouldn't laugh
when the kangaroo boxes with the old lady?"
"That's what I said."
Silence settled in once again. They shared some more stories of college life
and their thoughts on what they wanted to do with their lives before Tom
stood up.
"Well, it's late and i've got this family thing tomorrow. Why don't I walk
you back upstairs so I can tell Matt i'm leaving."
"Sure." Daria said. Tom reached out his hand and when she stood Daria
tripped and fell into his arms. She looked up and their faces were inches
apart. They stared into one another's eyes. After a moment Daria broke the
embrace.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."
She never noticed the dejected look on Tom's face when she pulled away.
"No problem. Let's go."
They walked up to the third floor. The band had decided to take a break so
someone had broken out the boom box. 'Disturbed' was blaring from the
speakers. Daria and Tom stopped at the top of the stairs.
"It was great seeing you again Daria. I thought about you a lot while I was
away. I wish we had never broken up."
'Say something. Tell him that you missed him too.' the voice in her head
screamed.
"Thanks. Well, guess I'll see you around then." she said.
Tom just nodded and walked away. Daria smacked her hand to her
forehead and yelled, "Dammit."
Jane had been watching her from a few doors down and walked over to where
Daria stood.
"Hey there. Where's Tom?"
Daria didn't answer. She turned away as she felt the dreaded tears welling
up in her eyes.
"Talk to me Daria." Jane said insistently. Grabbing her friend by the
shoulders she turned her around. That's when she saw her sad, watery eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I screwed up." Daria said as she wiped an errant tear from her cheek.
"What are you talking about?" Jane asked, sure she knew the answer though.
"Tom. He told me he missed me and how he wished we had never broken up. I
think he still wants me."
"So, that's good right?"
"No, because stupid me just thanked him. This was my last chance and I blew
it."
"No, listen to me. If you still care for him and it sounds like he sure as
hell still loves you then go get him. Tell him how you feel."
"I can't. I'm scared. I've never been good at this sort of thing."
"What sort of thing?" Jane asked.
"Showing emotions. I'm still learning how to show my feelings. It's hard for me." Daria
admitted.
"Of course you're scared. And it's going to be hard at first to open up to Tom again. But if you
want to go through life with no regrets
then you need to go tell him how you feel and see if he feels the same. If you pass this up then
you will never know what could have been and you will be miserable. You two were good
together and you can be again. So what do you say?" Jane
asked.
"Okay. Your right. I can do this." Daria said.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Jane asked as she pushed Daria into the next room. They saw
Matt standing by the
bathroom door and walked up to him.
"Matt, have you seen Tom?"
"Yeah, he just left. Are you Daria?"
"Yes, listen how long ago did he leave?"
"Just a minute ago. You might be able to catch him at his car. It's down
the end on the left."
"Thanks." she called as she ran down the hall. Jane just smiled as she
watched Daria fly down the hall.
"Good girl." Jane said to her friends retreating back.
Reaching the end of the hall, Daria looked over the railing and saw Tom unlocking his car
door.
"Tom." she yelled down. He looked up sharply at the sound of his name being
called. "Tom Wait."
Daria ran down the stairs and up to his car.
"Daria. What's wrong?" Tom asked, concerned at the frightened look in her
eyes.
"I couldn't let you leave. Not without telling you...I love you. I've never
stopped. I don't know if you even think of me like that anymore but I had to
tell you before you left."
"Daria, I..."
"Wait, before you say anything I don't expect anything from you except your
honest feelings. So go ahead. I can take it."
Tom smiled at her and laughed.
"Daria. I love you too. I have ever since high school."
He reached out and grasped her by the shoulders, pulling her close. Their
lips inched closer until they came together in a long, slow kiss.
"Alright. Way to go Daria." Jane screamed from the balcony. Tom and Daria
broke apart and looked up at the crowd that had gathered. Everyone was
clapping and whistling. They looked at each other and nodded before turning
to the crowd and taking their bows.
Three Weeks Later...
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"Everything packed into the tank Trent?" Jane asked her brother.
"Yeah, all our luggage anyway. Furniture is in the moving van."
"So, Jesse and Nick are driving the van. Max is driving the Tank. You and
Jane are in your car and i'm riding with Tom." Daria said as she checked off
the last few items on her list.
"Yeah, you know I think it's really cool that you guys got back together."
"And now they are going to share a studio apartment. How close and squishy will
that be?" Jane teased.
"Shut it Lane. I think it will work out just fine. Provided he knows when I
need my space."
"So where will he go when you need your space?"
"That's what the closet is for." Daria said matter-of-factly. Jane laughed
and shook her head. "At least I won't have to wear earplugs 24/7."
"Touche" Jane replied with a slight bow.
"Hey, wait a minute." Trent yelled.
Tom approached from behind and circled Daria's waist with his arms.
"Everyone ready?" he asked.
"Yes sir captain." Jane saluted him before marching to Trent's car. " To your
battle stations soldiers," she cried before climbing into the passenger seat.
Tom and Daria climbed into his car and he started the engine.
"You ready?" he asked.
"I've been ready for a long time," she said, smiling at him as they drove off.
"Good-bye Lawndale." Jane cried as they passed the city limit sign and headed
off to their new home.
The End
Okay, I thought I should provide the words to the song that inspired this
little piece of...something.
'What I Really Meant To Say'-by Cyndi Thomson
It took me by surprise/when I saw you standing there/close enough to
touch/breathing the same air/you asked me how I'd been/I guess that's when I
said just fine/oh but baby I was lying
(chorus)what I really meant to say/is i'm dying here inside/I miss you more
each day/there's not a night I haven't cried/and baby here's the truth/i'm
still in love with you/that's what I really meant to say
and as you walked away/the echo of my words/cut just like a knife/cut so deep
it hurt/i held back the tears/held on to my pride and watched you go/i wonder
if you'll ever know
(repeat chorus)
what I really meant to say/is i'm really not that strong/no matter how I
try/i'm still holding on/and here's the honest truth/i'm still in love with
you/that's what I really meant to say
*I guess I should add I don't own the characters or the song so please don't
sue me cause I was only borrowing them.*