Platonically

Summary: There might be some impediments in the way of Daisy's plans for Virgil. Slash VR, but Virgil's still denying it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, especially not Daisy. I like her, she's just a bit inconvenient, and she's just a little bitter here.

Rating: K+ just because I can't remember if there was anything naughty in this chapter.

Author's Note: I wasn't planning on continuing this, beyond a possible Virgil-comes-to-his-senses chapter, but I was absolutely blown away by the wonderful reviews I've gotten. Thanks so much! I know it's easy to read a story and then just pass it by, so thank you so much for telling me you liked it, and thanks to leev for giving me the plot bunny of writing multiple perspectives. All of you made my Monday-after-Spring-Break better than it had any right to be.

So, I'm going to write this story from the POVs of Daisy, Hotsreak, Sharon, Richie, Virgil-again, and Mr. Hawkins, and possibly Freida. But if there's anyone else you want, mention that in your review- I'm absolutely a sucker for reviewers, if you haven't noticed.

Okay, so she liked him. It wasn't some secret. School had been miserable before Virgil; her parents were nervous about public school so they made her stay even though she'd never made any friends and the students had all been so arrogant and condescending or else just completely serious, god help her, she liked a guy with a sense of humor. And Virgil had come and been smart, much smarter than anyone had given him credit for, but so funny and cool and nice, and, well, cute. So she liked him. And that was okay, because she kind of thought he liked her back. So it was going to work out okay, just perfect.

Well, all right, there was the Static problem. So she had a bit of a crush on Static- who cared? Same with every girl in Dakota these days. He'd saved her life. A lot of times he'd done it now, and he remembered her name now, emblazoned it in the sky for her, and he just saved her so often that she wondered if he followed her just to do it. Well, he was handsome and brave and a superhero, so, well, come on. It was nothing really; it was like liking Brad Pitt because you could read about them in the paper and sort of sigh and daydream, but you knew that it was just a little celebrity crush.

If she really had a choice, Virgil or Static? The two had a similar sense of humor, but aside from that, almost polar opposites. Static was brave and amazing, but how could you even be with a guy who would never even be able to take off his mask? He was so big, so distant, so unknown. Then there was Virgil, who was sweet and likeable but not very dependable, always coming late, always making excuses and lies for reasons she didn't understand, because he seemed honest and he liked her, but then the least sign of danger and Virgil would be gone, nowhere to be found, leaving her alone to deal with whatever threatened her until Static showed up. Alright, she wished that maybe Virgil could be braver, or more reliable, but Static was an unrealistic goal, a smart girl like Daisy knew that, and she liked him. So it was okay.

Except for one problem. She wondered sometimes, half jokingly, half worried, as to whether he'd come on dates with them and eat their popcorn, or tag along after them at prom, and if he'd be at their house when she met his parents, and if they got married if he'd wind up sleeping on the couch, eating their food and telling the kids to call him 'Uncle Richie.' I mean, come on, she liked him, even if he didn't believe her, but had he ever heard of personal space? It seemed like just when she was in the middle of helping Virgil with his history homework or something, there came Richie with the plans to some thing he wanted to build and dragging Virgil off to look at it. And sometimes Virgil would give her a helpless little shrug and sometimes he would forget she was there but always he would just up and go.

And it wasn't like he couldn't have shown Virgil later. That was the creepy part. Daisy didn't think Richie was creepy, not like other kids did, but sometimes you had to wonder what the deal was. Well, something must be bad, since the guy practically lives at Virgil's house, so maybe you couldn't blame him for being a bit clingy. But the first time she'd met him, she'd been so excited about meeting the guy Virgil talked almost non-stop about, but then that look he'd gave her, like her very presence at his school was a betrayal, like she was, who knew, an adulteress or something. And it never really went away, even if he was friendly when Virgil was around. And it hurt, because people liked Daisy, and she tried so much and he wouldn't so much as wave to her in the halls. It wasn't like he owned Virgil.

And then she heard what people said, and, well, she knew Virgil liked her, right? Only it would make sense for Richie, because, well, he never really noticed girls and it was the best way to explain the weird obsession he had with Virgil. She never saw him even try to talk to someone else.

She didn't mean to sound like that. She liked Richie. Really. It was just- she wished she could have a chance with Virgil, too. She just wanted for once for Virgil to tell him off, to ask him to just leave him alone, to ask him to just find some other friends, for once, because it was getting a bit old to have him always following them around.

But Virgil would never do that, Daisy wasn't sure he could do that. She'd seen them separated before in a fight, although of course it wasn't on her behalf, and Virgil, well, he just wasn't Virgil to the point she missed Richie. Virgil drew something from Richie, all the good jokes, for one, and the secret little plans they kept from her, and the way they could just talk about things that made no sense. And maybe she could even see the flicker of something else there, too. But whatever drove that weird friendship, she had to admit, she liked Virgil but she knew, no matter what, no matter how much she tried, even if they did go out and fall in love and get married, she would never be like Richie to him.

Maybe she'd just have to hold out for Static, instead.