A/N:

Okay, here's the next update. And I'm thinking of putting in a new girl character, someone who is Daria's age. If you have any suggestions, send in a description of that girl (as in hair colour, eye colour, height, social status, etc.). Because sadly enough, my girl characters seem to be all the same to me…so, I need variety and someone else's view, you know? And only send in a suggestion if you don't mind me using it! I wouldn't want to use someone's description and have her sending me hate emails for being a stealer (scaaary…).

Hmm…anything else? I don't think so. Thanks to:

Rl3

Tamaran Girl…Ahhh! You're asking me? What if I give you the wrong advice? Okay, I'll give it a shot. I think you should make it PG13, but I don't think it really matters. People don't care about the difference between PG13 and PG. The R rating…now that's a different story. Anyway, good luck. Remember that you don't have to listen to me. And thank so much for the encouragement! :)

Bell Quest…Hi!!! New reader? I love getting new readers. :)

Bathroomtilesqueen…Don't worry. I'll keep writing.

Lacey

Coolgirl123

Pacem…Nah, you didn't offend me at all.

LilliannaRose

Wonderxwoman…You have no idea how guilty I feel for putting Cruising Through in hiatus. But I promise you I WILL continue it! I will! Really.

Lilsakura

Cassie

CrypticMaidenRK

Awaiting impatient person…S'okay. And you have such a busy life.

Pointy Objects

CrimsonEnchantress…Hahaha I wanted to make the barmaid really annoying. And yeeeaah…update!

Fiery-star90…Okie, I'll remember that.

Queena

Sealednectar…Okay, I'm going to put it in my bio page after doing this. If I remember…

Vanessa-Black and Wood

AuthorFairy

DevinLeVine

Lady Knight19

Shima and Tempis

Hailie…Sorry for putting in a cliffhanger last chap (but be warned…there will be more, I think). I honestly meant to continue, but did you see how long last chapter was? I had to have mercy on my eyes.

cHayE710

Fallen Fantasist

Vende ned Sere…What does your name mean? I'm just curious.

Daffodil8728

Miss Piratess…Hahaha. Yeah. Men. And for some reason, I liked the way you referred to Christian and Jerrold as "our boys." I don't know why, I just did. I'm just weird in some (or many, I dunno) ways.

Fairiepixie3

Lil Bazza

SnoopyViz

Caronee…Are you saying that you like Christian more than Jerrold? I dunno if you mean it that way.

Crazayladay…Hahaha! I did not forget you!!! And your little story about that seventh grader had me cracking up.

Slickchick650

BlUeAnGel124

If I missed you (which is purely unintentional, believe me), you can yell at me. No, seriously! Anyway, read on…

Recap:

"All right, we're starting soon!" Christian announced loudly. The noise level died down. Christian grinned, then looked at his friend. "Ready?"

Jerrold's brown eyes flickered towards Daria. He gave her a very brief smile, but Daria didn't get a chance to respond because he looked away right after that. Which was probably a good thing…she had no idea on how she would have responded. There was still last night's kiss…she couldn't just forget about that.

Christian started the countdown. "Three…"

The man smirked at Jerrold. "You're going down," he whispered arrogantly. (Two…)

Jerrold smirked back. "You wish."

One.

Chapter Nineteen

Out the Pub

"One!"

The cheers and yells immediately broke out. Men pounded their fists in a rhythmic pattern on the nearby tables while shouting, "Go, go, go, go!" It was loud and boisterous. A little child would have winced and clamped his ears shut at such a rowdy noise.

Daria watched anxiously as the man and Jerrold pushed out all their strength in the match. She stood silently at the side, her frame tense.

More noise broke out when Jerrold began to inch his way bit by bit towards victory. Daria saw the man's eyes widen with both fury and fear. He let out a growl and pushed harder, but Jerrold maintained his pressure.

Both hands were shaking. Both hands were almost white. It was scary the way how much emitted strength could be seen. It was actually possible to tell how much effort was being put in…a LOT. A whole lot.

"Go, go, go, go!"

The hands were not moving now, but they were tilted more towards Jerrold's winning side. Daria couldn't help being impressed at the man's determination. He was losing, but he was still holding on. But he was gradually losing his strength.

What happened next happened so quickly. Jerrold, who was winning slowly, was so intent on the match that he did not see his opponent's left fist shoot out towards him. He was arm wrestling one moment, then lying on the floor with a quickly bruising cheek the next.

Noise died down. There was a stunned silence as Jerrold, his eyes flashing with dangerous anger, got up—but not before fixing his hood—and stared coldly at the man. Everyone held their breaths when they saw the glint in his hard brown eyes.

"What was that?" he said with a low tone in his voice. Daria was sure that she was not the only one who shivered when she heard that. That was more frightening than angry yelling. His voice had that quiet, dangerous edge to it.

The man glared at him. "I decided not to have a match. I'm not giving the bracelet."

"Mongrel," Christian muttered.

The man heard him. He glared and yelled, "Shut up! You tricked me!"

Christian glared back. "How did I trick you?! I never said that I was the one who was going to be fighting you!"

"Just shut up, bastard!" the man screamed. (People around him pointedly edged away.) "You are—"

It was Christian who threw the first punch. The man didn't get to finish his sentence as Christian's fist came in contact with his jaw. He let out an angry yell (more like a howl) and threw a punch, but Christian expertly ducked.

The man's punch accidentally landed on a tall and lanky redhead. And that redhead crashed violently onto someone else and spilled that someone else's expensive drink, which angered the person. He growled and tackled the redhead, and the two bumped into a few people, angering those people.

Here's what pretty much happened: CHAOS broke out. People angered other people, and everything was just a chain reaction. Their drunken minds didn't allow them to think clearly. Their thoughts were mostly like: "Ooh, fight! Let's gooooo! Yeah, take that!"

Daria, watching in complete horror, backed up against a corner. She was trapped. Large and drunk men were fighting everywhere, and there was no gap she could slip through to get out. She looked frantically for Jerrold or Christian.

There's Christian, she thought. He's too far away.

Christian was fighting the same man, the one that competed against Jerrold. The two were really into the fight. Punches here and there. Then they began to wrestle on the floor, with Christian surprisingly winning (the man, after all, was way bigger than him). They seemed unaware of what was going on all around.

Then Daria saw Jerrold. He was also far away, and he was also fighting. How he got roped into this gigantic mess, she didn't know. But he was fighting against two people who had ganged up on him. She couldn't scream at him for help. That was too much like a damsel in distress. Honestly, she would rather die.

"Hey there…"

Daria froze as she saw two obviously drunk men walk towards her. Actually, they more like staggered. They were that drunk. Their eyes were glazed and clouded, and they wore these eerie, sinister grins.

She would have backed up, but there was no more room. She was already lodged in the corner, trapped.

"Now…what's a pretty thing like you doing here?" one of them, a dark-haired one, slurred.

"Yeah…something can happen to ya," the other one, the blond one, said. His grin grew wider when he said this, and his cold eyes clouded even more.

Daria shot them a defiant look. "Stay away from me," she said icily.

There was silence. Then the two broke into loud, drunken laughter.

"I like you," Dark Hair said in between half-chuckles and half-hiccups.

"Stay away from me," Blond One mocked with a high-pitched voice.

Daria glared at them. "I'm warning you…"

They stepped forward. Their grins grew broader, creepier.

"Come on, lass," Blond One said maniacally, "you'll have fun with us."

All of a sudden, Dark Hair stepped forward and grabbed her arm. Daria reacted immediately. Glaring fiercely, she raised her palm and struck him right on the nose. He howled in pain and clutched his nose as scarlet blood poured out.

"You harlot!" Blond One screamed. He lunged forward, but before he could lay one finger on her, a quick hand shot out and jerked him away. He wheeled around and glared at the intervener. "This is none of your business!" he yelled.

"Actually," Jerrold growled, his eyes flashing with cold fury, "it is."

Daria unconsciously held her breath as she watched the prince raise his fist and punch the blond man right on the jaw, sending him crashing to the hard floor. Jerrold then turned to Dark Hair, his eyes still flashing dangerously.

"Get lost," he growled fiercely.

Dark Hair let out what sounded like a high-pitched squeak and scampered off, losing his footing a few times along the way.

Jerrold then turned to Daria. They locked gazes for a brief moment, but it felt like eternity to the two as blue-green orbs clashed with brown ones. For a moment there, they forgot about the loud and unruly fights going on around them.

It was Jerrold who broke the gaze. His eyes shifted towards the fighting men. He looked disinterestedly at them for a moment, then said, "We have to go. The guards will be coming soon. I don't want them to see me."

"What about Christian?" Daria asked as she let the prince take her wrist and lead her outside.

"Don't worry. He can take care of himself," Jerrold said as he pushed a drunk man out of the way.

Daria didn't know how Jerrold did it, but in ten seconds or so, she found herself standing outside the tavern, unharmed. The air was cold (four more days until it was officially winter) and she shivered a bit under her thick cloak. Jerrold didn't notice, for he was busy trying to hear if the guards were approaching or not. They were.

"They're coming!" he whispered fiercely.

Daria let Jerrold take her wrist again. They began to run. When she strained her ears to hear, she realized that he was right. She could hear the guards' shouts and the loud noise their armours were making.

"Wait!" she said, suddenly stopping. "Our horses!"

Jerrold cursed under his breath. "You're right," he said. "They're bound to recognize Cerrus."

Daria suspected that Cerrus was his horse. Very silently and cautiously, they headed back to the tavern. The noise of the approaching guards was getting louder. Daria was sure that they were about to turn the corner very, very soon.

With nimble hands, Jerrold untied his horse, and Daria did the same. They quickly mounted and sped off.

They were riding in a pasture, the icy wind blowing against their faces. The sky was vast and dark, with a band of stars streaking across it. The moon was pale, barely giving off light. And beneath all these were two mighty horses cantering off, with the two black riders. It was a beautiful night, the kind of ethereal night that made people forget their troubles for a while.

Unfortunately, Daria was an exception. She gulped nervously when she realized that they were alone. Again. She didn't think that it would happen so soon. She had planned on avoiding him for…hmm…maybe eternity.

"Christian will be meeting us here," Jerrold announced as he dismounted his horse. They had reached a line of leafless trees that separated the pasture from normal ground.

Daria did the same. "How do you know?" she asked, an icy flow of cloud coming from her mouth.

Jerrold shrugged. "This is where we usually meet."

"Oh."

Silence. Daria shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Ashwin, as if sensing her discomfort, gave her a friendly nudge on the shoulder. She chuckled softly and stroked his neck in great affection.

"Daria."

Daria stiffened. She didn't mean to; it just happened. His deep and quiet voice made her feel so…well, she didn't really know the right word for it, but…

She turned to him slowly. "Y-yes?"

He took one huge step forward. Daria resisted the urge to step back when he did so. She really would have, but that would have been plain rude. She swallowed nervously. They were so close now…

She quickly thought of a way to start normal conversation. "It's…uh…a beautiful night, don't you think?" she said with forced casualness.

Jerrold blinked. Then he decided to play a long. "Yes, it is," he said with a nod. "I usually don't get nights like these, you know. Nights when I can just relax."

Daria chuckled. "You call getting into a bar fight relaxing?" she said amusedly.

Jerrold grinned. "No…but I call spending time like this relaxing."

She stared at him intently. Funny, she thought, I'm not relaxed at all

He took a deep breath. "Daria…"

"Does Christian know that we're meeting here?" She couldn't remember if she already asked that or not, but she didn't care one bit. She didn't want Jerrold to start talking about anything that was connected to last night.

He sighed a sigh that was close to frustration. "Yes, he does," he replied. "We never agreed upon it out loud, but it's already an understanding."

"Oh, so…"

"Daria," he cut in, "we have to talk about last night."

A tense silence filled the air. Daria stared at him with blank eyes. Jerrold stared back, then let out a weary sigh.

"We have to, Daria," he said softly. "You can't expect me to forget about it, can you?"

"I…I don't know," she whispered silently.

He took another step forward and looked down at her. Their noses were almost touching. Daria could have sworn she heard her heart pounding a million beats a minute.

DumDumDumDumDumDumDumDum…

She screamed at herself to step back, but found that her legs couldn't, as if they were made of lead.

Jerrold looked deep into her eyes. "Do you like me, Daria?" he asked quietly.

Daria struggled hard to remain calm. "I…don't know."

"Then tell me whatever you are feeling right now," he said, his voice barely a whisper, "I don't care what it is, but just tell me."

Light-headed. Confused. Nervous. Scared. Shaky. Uncertain. Tense, yet comfortable. Sad, yet…happy? What?!

This isn't making any sense at all! she thought in frustration.

"Daria?"

She looked up and met his eyes. They were still as intense as before. And they still had that amazing, yet disturbing power to make her feel so drawn to him. And she could see that they were probing for some kind of answer. An answer that she wasn't sure she could give. Her mind was too…hazy. She was too dazed, confused.

It was like reliving last night when she noticed that Jerrold's lips were so close to hers. She could feel his warm breath tickling her lips.

Her mind screamed at her. Step back! STEP BACK!

Her legs didn't obey. Daria found herself closing her eyes as Jerrold's lips touched hers…

"I'm finally here!" came a voice.

They sprang apart. Daria turned and saw Christian, who was looking at her and Jerrold with an expression she couldn't understand. She wondered furiously how he and his horse could sneak up just like that.

"Did I…ah…interrupt something?" he said as he dismounted.

"No," Daria replied quickly, flushing a bit.

Jerrold exchanged a look with Christian, but said nothing. Christian shrugged in a way that ended the conversation.

"Did you get it?" Jerrold asked his friend.

Daria frowned. "Get what?"

"Yup," Christian replied with a roguish grin.

Jerrold grinned back. "Good. I knew you would."

"Get what?" Daria repeated again.

This time, she wasn't ignored. Christian turned to her, a smirk planted on his lips. Then he held up a gold chain with a charm attached to it. Her bracelet.

"Got it off that man while we were wrestling on the ground," he said smugly as Daria took the bracelet and stared speechlessly at it. "It's funny how people can be so preoccupied with one thing, making them unaware of what else is going on."

Daria flushed. She didn't know if Christian meant for that line to have a hidden meaning, but she flushed nonetheless.

"I think we've rendered her speechless," Christian teased.

Daria finally looked up. "Thank you," she said to both. She then smiled sheepishly. "Lame the way that's all I have to say, huh?"

Christian smiled. "Not really," he said. His smile suddenly turned to broad grin. "So…up for more adventures?"

She laughed. "I think I've had enough of that. At least for today."

He bowed mockingly. "As you wish, my lady. We shall escort you to your home."

She shook her head. "I can go home on my own."

He smiled and shook his head. "Daria, Daria, Daria. Do we really have to go through this again?"

She sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Up for a race?"

Surprisingly, that came from the previously silent Jerrold. Daria looked at him and saw a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Her lips curved into a small smile.

"Sure." She turned to Christian. "Are you in?"

He grinned. "Is that even a question?"

"At the count of three," Jerrold piped up. "One…two…

"…three!"

They were off, their stallions galloping off through the open fields. Daria could hear the wind howling as Ashwin trod fiercely on the ground. Then—whoosh! Her hood abandoned her, in one swift motion. Her long hair blew wildly in all directions. She was tempted to tame it, but decided that she couldn't risk letting go of the reins. That was too dangerous. After all, she was an amateur rider.

They were about neck in neck. She was in between the two, with Jerrold on her right and Christian on her left. Both were slightly ahead of her, though that wasn't surprising.

She slowed down a bit when she reached a few trees. She steered Ashwin clumsily around the branches. Jerrold and Christian, on the other hand, barely slowed down as they expertly manoeuvred their horses through.

Finally, they were riding through a grassy glade beside a wide dirt road. Daria's home was near. Ashwin neighed loudly as his rider urged him to go faster. He obeyed willingly, as if he had this competitive streak in him.

They turned right after passing through a small cluster of rare calden trees, then straight on to the manor. Daria was the first to get there. She snorted at that, knowing that Jerrold and Christian had let her win. How gallant of them, but it was rather annoying.

"Good race," Christian said, grinning at Daria.

Daria rolled her eyes. "Yes, amazing," she said, her voice with a slight sarcastic edge in it. "Good night."

"Good night," the two replied chivalrously.

She smiled. "And thanks for letting me win, though that was completely unnecessary."

She left them looking stunned. She smiled and shook her head. Honestly, did they really think that she was that daft not to figure it out? She would have felt insulted had she not known that they were only trying to be gentlemen.

A/N:

Not the best place to end it, but oh well. And how many of you knew that Christian was going to interrupt them? Hahaha. I think it was pretty obvious. And Cerrus was from Alison! Only she suggested Cirrus, but I kinda changed it…but it was still from her!

By the way, my profile tells the status of the next chapter of both WB and AHE? (just in case you have days when you wonder if I'm ever going to update). And quick question: it just my computer, or does ficpress have problems? I mean, sometimes I go to a story, or to reviews, or to whatever, and it says: "Communication problem." It really is infuriating, especially when you're reading a great story and can't review or add the author to your author alert. Or you can't get to the next chapter…that's another annoying one. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I can't believe I'm almost at twenty chapters! Woot, woot. :)