She had to groan embarrassedly into her pillow as she remembered it all. It had confused her greatly, and she had spent a lot of the same evening watching Sick Sad World reruns with Jane and purposefully focusing completely on exploding cows and wax instruments as a sort of diversion from those thoughts.
What was I afraid of? Daria mused to herself as she pondered this question, and as she did, the events of the following day crept into her mind.
Tom was already sitting in a booth by the time Daria arrived. She settled down across him with a slice of pizza.
"I didn't know I'd be late,"
She said apologetically. He waved his hand about, and smiled.
"It doesn't matter. I came early."
She bit into her slice as she waited for him to say something. Tom looked deep in thought as he sipped his soda, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke.
"Uhm. You know, Daria... I was thinking about us."
Daria sturdied herself. She had to be completely blunt because she knew it because if she wasn't firm now, the pain later on could be much worse.
"You know, so was I,"
She said as casually as she could. His eyebrows raised.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. And I was thinking... staying as friends is too difficult."
His eyes brightened.
"Exactly!"
He said, his voice dancing on delight, when Daria cut in,
"We should probably not meet each other at all."
His delight immediately fell into shock. She toyed with the straw in her glass, refusing to meet his eyes.
"It's for the best. I mean, we like each other and all, but look how awkward it's getting--"
"It's only awkward if you make it out to be,"
Tom interrupted, having found his voice,
"We don't have to end our relationship like that."
"Look, I like you a lot, Tom,"
Daria said, stuggling to keep her voice unstrained,
"But like I said, we're growing apart and we're getting bored of each other."
"Are we really?"
Tom countered. She blinked, before narrowing her eyes in a 'what do you mean?' expression.
"I've been thinking about it a lot, Daria, and I was thinking about how unhappy I've been since we promised to be just friends. How have you been?"
"Pretty crappy myself, I admit. But this isn't going to work out."
She said it in a voice that sounded and felt mechanical. Tom seemed prepared for this, however.
"We have something together, Daria. There's something special between us. I didn't realise how much it meant to me until it went missing."
"I do hope you realise how corny this conversation is getting,"
Daria commented off-handedly. Tom smiled.
"I can't help it. I can't really describe what's going on with words..."
He reached over to touch her hand, but she retracted it from the table-top in a hurry, knocking against her plate. He looked surprisedly at her, so she tried to explain her action.
"Look... We won't be seeing each other much, and..."
Her voice sounded feeble even to her, so she wasn't surprised that Tom caught her tremble easily.
"Daria, look at me."
She did reluctantly.
"I know you asked me why should we bother trying to keep our relationship afloat if it's going to be difficult, right? Like, why *work* to keep a relationship going... But Daria, I think we have something together. It's so special, I feel it's worth it."
Daria still looked hesitant as she thought,
'I don't know how much more soap-opera crap I can handle...'
Tom pushed on.
"I'm not asking you to date me right now. I'm just asking you to think about it... Because I know I'm not going to be able to meet someone like you again. There are not many people who also find the lack of humanity in many cases very comforting."
Finally cracking a smile at the mention of no forcing onto her, Daria nodded slowly. It was true. Tom was... something different. Different to all the guys she'd ever met in her lifetime, by any rate.
"I... guess I agree. We do have something together... something we don't really want to lose."
'Blegh,'
She thought, disgusted at her own choice of words, but she really meant it. He smiled happily.
"Exactly. So, I was sort of wondering if you want to watch a movie after? As friends, of course-- 'cause like there's this horror movie on about--"
"Actually, I've got to meet Jane."
Daria interrupted,
"We're hitting the stationary shops for some supplies."
She stood up abruptly. He looked at her with a slightly forlorn look before quickly covering with his usual, confident grin.
Exiting the restaurant, Daria walked two blocks away before reaching a payphone. She entered the booth, and dialed.
"Lane's residence. If you're a telemarketer--"
"Hey Jane,"
Daria said into the phone with a sigh,
"Can I come over?"
Sipping her glass of water and grimacing as she felt her crackled lips stretch, Daria turned over on her bed to stare at her ceiling.
Tom hadn't been pushing, Daria remembered. He genuinely liked her enough to bother, and she was secretly pleased about it. But she also felt pretty dampened, because things had started to really mix up in her head the very same night.
Jane yawned, and switching off the television, stood up and stretched to her limit.
"Maaaan, I'm tired."
Daria got up, too, sighing.
"Jane, we haven't even decided what's for dinner yet, and you decide to succumb to sleep?"
"No, I'm not sleepy, I'm just sort of stiff. I'm tired of watching television. Let's go to McGrundy's."
"And grab a burger or something on the way?"
"Why not."
Daria entered the pub with Jane forty minutes later, munching on sausage muffins. Mystik Spiral finished a rendition of 'Ow, My Face' before launching into their last song.
"These days I've been thinking something crazy,"
Jesse's and Trent's voices were laced with a tone of excitement as they sang. The crowd was a bit quieter as they noticed it was a song they hadn't heard before. The song's music was bright, sparked with the occasional crazy drumming fits from Max.
"The crazy feeling's got an unseen source / But the feeling refuses to leave me / It won't leave even in the use of force / I don't know when or how this came to be / But when I find what started my insanity / I'll chase it like this crazy, crazy, CRAZY feeeeliiiiiiing!!"
They promptly entered a reel of guitar ramming while Daria and Jane exchanged looks of mild surprise. Daria turned her eyes to the stage, where Trent was really slamming, and felt an involuntary smile tug at her mouth.
"I haven't heard that one before,"
She commented. Jane chomped into her muffin, her expression returning to nonchalant.
"Actually, I think I heard 'em yowling about crazy while I was restocking the refrigerator last night. But then, I thought *I* was going crazy."
The crowds went back to their usual level of chat, accepting the song with looks of appreciation as Jesse howled into the microphone a repeat.
After the gig ended, Trent caught up to his sister outside.
"You drove my car here without asking?"
He looked at Jane pointedly, who cowered a little. Daria remembered; the last time Jane had taken his car, she had returned with two flat tyres. Jane wisely chose not to mention the memory.
"Hey, it's not like you have a cell-phone,"
She said defensively,
"And we were bored. How else were we going to get to McGrundy's?"
At the plural mention, Trent smiled at Daria.
"Hey, Daria."
"Yeah."
He turned back to Jane, and as they talked, Daria noticed she didn't feel nervous like the previous evening. Which was very, very good. Thought I'd rekindled something in me just then, thank God that's not the case, she thought in relief.
"Don't worry, Trent,"
Jane said lightly,
"*I'll* drive."
"You sure?"
"Yes. Unless you're calling shotgun, now, get into the back."
"Why isn't Trent driving his own car?"
Daria asked, feeling moronic for not listening to the conversation.
"I drank a bit,"
Trent explained while Jane hopped into the driver's seat. To Daria's surprise, Trent shifted himself into the back instead of next to Jane. She was going to let herself sit next to Jane, then thought about the fact that the car belonged to Trent. It'd feel weird for her to sit in front while Trent, who owned the car, sat at the back. Either that, or I just think too much, she thought dryly.
Shaking her head, Daria crawled in next to Trent without much other thought, and shut the door. Jane took off with a jerky start, causing both Trent and Daria to yelp out 'Whoa!' and 'Yikes.' simultaneously.
"You know, Jane, maybe I should drive,"
Daria suggested as she felt her dinner lurch in her stomach.
"Too late."
Jane replied as the car entered the driveway. A minute of quiet passed but was punctured when a soft snore sounded from Trent's direction.
"Now, if he'd been driving, we'd probably be getting very personal with God right about now."
Daria remarked. Jane smirked.
"Good thing I'm driving, huh."
"Yeah. With you, chewed food gets very personal with the oesophagus."
Daria saw a glimpse of Jane's crinkled nose.
"Thanks for the image, Daria."
"You're welcome."
"Imagine. Bits of chewed muffin and meat, mushed up and thoroughly tossed with bile and saliva, bouncing about your mucus-lined stomach."
It was Daria's turn to make a face.
"Spare me."
She deadpanned. Jane grinned as she mused,
"You know, that makes quite an artistic expression, actually."
"Regurgitation?"
"No, the idea of graphic description. Maybe I should try drawing what I detail--"
Both Daria's and Jane's eyes widened suddenly, and Jane slammed her boot down onto the breaks.
[[A/N: Urrrgggghhhh. I am NOT accustomed to writing this sort of thing. But I really wanted to have a go at soap opera. Looks like I haven't succeeded in making it uncorny. Curse it all...
It also looks like I wasn't able to go through the entire fic without using the word 'deadpan'. Damn it! Oh well. I couldn't do it without Trent singing a new song, too. Unfortunately for you people, this isn't the last of my awful ability to make up lyrics. I tried to make it sound stupid in the 'Ow, My Face!' sort of way, but at least that's funny. Crazy Feelings is just stupid. But I can't change it. If I do, I'll probably make it... worse. -_-;;
This isn't much of a cliffhanger, is it? Didn't think so...
Daria was going to say in the 'oesophagus line': "Yeah. With you, peristalsis plays hopscotch with the thin line of normal and reverse." Glad I didn't use it... though it came out sounding messier... *coughs* Anyhoot. Thank you so much for your time to write me such meaningful reviews. I will try to pay attention to what I'm being told... :) ]]
What was I afraid of? Daria mused to herself as she pondered this question, and as she did, the events of the following day crept into her mind.
Tom was already sitting in a booth by the time Daria arrived. She settled down across him with a slice of pizza.
"I didn't know I'd be late,"
She said apologetically. He waved his hand about, and smiled.
"It doesn't matter. I came early."
She bit into her slice as she waited for him to say something. Tom looked deep in thought as he sipped his soda, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke.
"Uhm. You know, Daria... I was thinking about us."
Daria sturdied herself. She had to be completely blunt because she knew it because if she wasn't firm now, the pain later on could be much worse.
"You know, so was I,"
She said as casually as she could. His eyebrows raised.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. And I was thinking... staying as friends is too difficult."
His eyes brightened.
"Exactly!"
He said, his voice dancing on delight, when Daria cut in,
"We should probably not meet each other at all."
His delight immediately fell into shock. She toyed with the straw in her glass, refusing to meet his eyes.
"It's for the best. I mean, we like each other and all, but look how awkward it's getting--"
"It's only awkward if you make it out to be,"
Tom interrupted, having found his voice,
"We don't have to end our relationship like that."
"Look, I like you a lot, Tom,"
Daria said, stuggling to keep her voice unstrained,
"But like I said, we're growing apart and we're getting bored of each other."
"Are we really?"
Tom countered. She blinked, before narrowing her eyes in a 'what do you mean?' expression.
"I've been thinking about it a lot, Daria, and I was thinking about how unhappy I've been since we promised to be just friends. How have you been?"
"Pretty crappy myself, I admit. But this isn't going to work out."
She said it in a voice that sounded and felt mechanical. Tom seemed prepared for this, however.
"We have something together, Daria. There's something special between us. I didn't realise how much it meant to me until it went missing."
"I do hope you realise how corny this conversation is getting,"
Daria commented off-handedly. Tom smiled.
"I can't help it. I can't really describe what's going on with words..."
He reached over to touch her hand, but she retracted it from the table-top in a hurry, knocking against her plate. He looked surprisedly at her, so she tried to explain her action.
"Look... We won't be seeing each other much, and..."
Her voice sounded feeble even to her, so she wasn't surprised that Tom caught her tremble easily.
"Daria, look at me."
She did reluctantly.
"I know you asked me why should we bother trying to keep our relationship afloat if it's going to be difficult, right? Like, why *work* to keep a relationship going... But Daria, I think we have something together. It's so special, I feel it's worth it."
Daria still looked hesitant as she thought,
'I don't know how much more soap-opera crap I can handle...'
Tom pushed on.
"I'm not asking you to date me right now. I'm just asking you to think about it... Because I know I'm not going to be able to meet someone like you again. There are not many people who also find the lack of humanity in many cases very comforting."
Finally cracking a smile at the mention of no forcing onto her, Daria nodded slowly. It was true. Tom was... something different. Different to all the guys she'd ever met in her lifetime, by any rate.
"I... guess I agree. We do have something together... something we don't really want to lose."
'Blegh,'
She thought, disgusted at her own choice of words, but she really meant it. He smiled happily.
"Exactly. So, I was sort of wondering if you want to watch a movie after? As friends, of course-- 'cause like there's this horror movie on about--"
"Actually, I've got to meet Jane."
Daria interrupted,
"We're hitting the stationary shops for some supplies."
She stood up abruptly. He looked at her with a slightly forlorn look before quickly covering with his usual, confident grin.
Exiting the restaurant, Daria walked two blocks away before reaching a payphone. She entered the booth, and dialed.
"Lane's residence. If you're a telemarketer--"
"Hey Jane,"
Daria said into the phone with a sigh,
"Can I come over?"
Sipping her glass of water and grimacing as she felt her crackled lips stretch, Daria turned over on her bed to stare at her ceiling.
Tom hadn't been pushing, Daria remembered. He genuinely liked her enough to bother, and she was secretly pleased about it. But she also felt pretty dampened, because things had started to really mix up in her head the very same night.
Jane yawned, and switching off the television, stood up and stretched to her limit.
"Maaaan, I'm tired."
Daria got up, too, sighing.
"Jane, we haven't even decided what's for dinner yet, and you decide to succumb to sleep?"
"No, I'm not sleepy, I'm just sort of stiff. I'm tired of watching television. Let's go to McGrundy's."
"And grab a burger or something on the way?"
"Why not."
Daria entered the pub with Jane forty minutes later, munching on sausage muffins. Mystik Spiral finished a rendition of 'Ow, My Face' before launching into their last song.
"These days I've been thinking something crazy,"
Jesse's and Trent's voices were laced with a tone of excitement as they sang. The crowd was a bit quieter as they noticed it was a song they hadn't heard before. The song's music was bright, sparked with the occasional crazy drumming fits from Max.
"The crazy feeling's got an unseen source / But the feeling refuses to leave me / It won't leave even in the use of force / I don't know when or how this came to be / But when I find what started my insanity / I'll chase it like this crazy, crazy, CRAZY feeeeliiiiiiing!!"
They promptly entered a reel of guitar ramming while Daria and Jane exchanged looks of mild surprise. Daria turned her eyes to the stage, where Trent was really slamming, and felt an involuntary smile tug at her mouth.
"I haven't heard that one before,"
She commented. Jane chomped into her muffin, her expression returning to nonchalant.
"Actually, I think I heard 'em yowling about crazy while I was restocking the refrigerator last night. But then, I thought *I* was going crazy."
The crowds went back to their usual level of chat, accepting the song with looks of appreciation as Jesse howled into the microphone a repeat.
After the gig ended, Trent caught up to his sister outside.
"You drove my car here without asking?"
He looked at Jane pointedly, who cowered a little. Daria remembered; the last time Jane had taken his car, she had returned with two flat tyres. Jane wisely chose not to mention the memory.
"Hey, it's not like you have a cell-phone,"
She said defensively,
"And we were bored. How else were we going to get to McGrundy's?"
At the plural mention, Trent smiled at Daria.
"Hey, Daria."
"Yeah."
He turned back to Jane, and as they talked, Daria noticed she didn't feel nervous like the previous evening. Which was very, very good. Thought I'd rekindled something in me just then, thank God that's not the case, she thought in relief.
"Don't worry, Trent,"
Jane said lightly,
"*I'll* drive."
"You sure?"
"Yes. Unless you're calling shotgun, now, get into the back."
"Why isn't Trent driving his own car?"
Daria asked, feeling moronic for not listening to the conversation.
"I drank a bit,"
Trent explained while Jane hopped into the driver's seat. To Daria's surprise, Trent shifted himself into the back instead of next to Jane. She was going to let herself sit next to Jane, then thought about the fact that the car belonged to Trent. It'd feel weird for her to sit in front while Trent, who owned the car, sat at the back. Either that, or I just think too much, she thought dryly.
Shaking her head, Daria crawled in next to Trent without much other thought, and shut the door. Jane took off with a jerky start, causing both Trent and Daria to yelp out 'Whoa!' and 'Yikes.' simultaneously.
"You know, Jane, maybe I should drive,"
Daria suggested as she felt her dinner lurch in her stomach.
"Too late."
Jane replied as the car entered the driveway. A minute of quiet passed but was punctured when a soft snore sounded from Trent's direction.
"Now, if he'd been driving, we'd probably be getting very personal with God right about now."
Daria remarked. Jane smirked.
"Good thing I'm driving, huh."
"Yeah. With you, chewed food gets very personal with the oesophagus."
Daria saw a glimpse of Jane's crinkled nose.
"Thanks for the image, Daria."
"You're welcome."
"Imagine. Bits of chewed muffin and meat, mushed up and thoroughly tossed with bile and saliva, bouncing about your mucus-lined stomach."
It was Daria's turn to make a face.
"Spare me."
She deadpanned. Jane grinned as she mused,
"You know, that makes quite an artistic expression, actually."
"Regurgitation?"
"No, the idea of graphic description. Maybe I should try drawing what I detail--"
Both Daria's and Jane's eyes widened suddenly, and Jane slammed her boot down onto the breaks.
[[A/N: Urrrgggghhhh. I am NOT accustomed to writing this sort of thing. But I really wanted to have a go at soap opera. Looks like I haven't succeeded in making it uncorny. Curse it all...
It also looks like I wasn't able to go through the entire fic without using the word 'deadpan'. Damn it! Oh well. I couldn't do it without Trent singing a new song, too. Unfortunately for you people, this isn't the last of my awful ability to make up lyrics. I tried to make it sound stupid in the 'Ow, My Face!' sort of way, but at least that's funny. Crazy Feelings is just stupid. But I can't change it. If I do, I'll probably make it... worse. -_-;;
This isn't much of a cliffhanger, is it? Didn't think so...
Daria was going to say in the 'oesophagus line': "Yeah. With you, peristalsis plays hopscotch with the thin line of normal and reverse." Glad I didn't use it... though it came out sounding messier... *coughs* Anyhoot. Thank you so much for your time to write me such meaningful reviews. I will try to pay attention to what I'm being told... :) ]]