Summertime Blues
Quinn woke up around two in the morning. As she walked by Dorian's room, she saw his light was on and his door slightly opened. Knocking on the door, Quinn waited a minute for an answer. The door opened a little more to reveal an empty room. Seeing no light on in the restroom, Quinn continued downstairs. Filling her glass, Quinn looked out the back door to see Dorian sitting on one of the deck chairs. Quinn slid the door open and sat down in the chair beside Dorian. Dorian was looking up at the stars in silence.
"Are you okay, Dorian?"
Dorian turned to her and slowly nodded. Quinn wrapped her arms around her brother and held him. "Thank you for everything you've done to help me get through the past six months, sis. I know this hasn't really been easy on you," he whispered.
"It's been well, surreal. That first night, I cried on Jane's shoulder until I had no more tears to shed. I thought that I had lost Daria for good. Then, there are moments when you don't realize I am there and I see soo much of Daria coming through you and I feel at ease. I just wish there was a way for you to both exist at the same time and that she and I had as good of a relationship as you and I."
You're not the only one who feels that way. Dorian returned the hug briefly before standing up. "Come on, let's go back inside - you need to get back to sleep and I think a nap will do me some good."
"When does Jane leave for Ashfield?"
"At the end of next week. Trent and I are bringing her there next weekend. Then I'm going to try to visit her for the Fourth of July and we pick her up from the camp August 6th."
"Sounds like you're already counting down the days," Quinn giggled.
"I am - I just know she's gonna do great there and I can't wait to hear about it all. Night, sis."
"Goodnight, Dorian."
The Morgendorffer siblings weren't the only ones awake on that June night. Upstairs at Casa Lane, Jane tossed and turned. Her self doubt had started to creep into her psyche. Dreams about being insulted and ridiculed at the art camp filled her mind. At one point, she woke up and grabbed the phone. Thinking about how mad Helen or Jake would be if they answered, Jane sat the phone back down. Around four in the morning, Jane woke up and decided to give up trying to rest, so she ended up watching bad early morning television.
Around one in the afternoon, Dorian arrived at Jane's house to watch Sick, Sad World and to discuss their plans for the next week and a half. Both could see the other's bloodshot eyes. Dorian and Jane trudged upstairs to Jane's room. Jane was barely able to keep her eyes open long enough to turn the television on. Neither of them were awake by the end of the first episode. Several hours later, Jane woke up relaxed and rested. She slid out of Dorian's grip and headed towards her easel. Grabbing a new sketchbook, Jane began drawing a picture of Dorian as he slept peacefully on her bed. About an hour later, Dorian woke up and stretched. He walked over to the canvas as she put the final touches on the sketch.
"I had no idea that I made such an interesting subject matter sleeping," Dorian smirked.
"Well I had to have something to do after I woke up. I take it that I wasn't the only one who had a long night," Jane said.
"No, but Quinn helped me finally stop thinking enough to want to fall asleep."
"Really - how did she pull that off?" Jane asked.
"By being there."
Jane spent the rest of that week taking pictures of Dorian and of Lawndale. She had Trent take a couple of Dorian and her together. The following week, Dorian helped her pack everything the Ashfield brochure required her to bring. Two days before she was to leave, The Morgendorffers and Amy and Lillian took her out for a good luck dinner. Her last day in Lawndale, Dorian came over holding a leather-bound notebook and a phone card. Jane looked down at the items as Dorian handed them to her.
"It's for you to keep a journal of your time in Ashfield. I wrote you a little note at the beginning of it. The phone card is from Quinn. You're really becoming a good influence on her, " Dorian lowered his head.
Jane took the notebook and card out of Dorian's hands and placed them on her bed. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick kiss. "I'm gonna miss all of you. Thank Quinn for the card. I hope that she doesn't mind if I use a few of those minutes to check on Trent."
"Of course not. What time do you want to leave tomorrow?" Dorian smiled.
"Well, Ashfield is four hours away and I have to be there by three - so I figured we would leave about ten. Remind me to call and thank your dad for letting us use his car for the drive. If we had taken the Tank, we would have had to leave an hour ago," Jane laughed.
The rest of the day seemed to speed by. Dorian and Jane spent it eating pizza and watching movies. They ran into Jodie and Mack, who wished Jane good luck. Around seven, they went to the Zon to catch Mystik Spiral's first set. They arrived back at Casa Lane around nine. It was around eleven when Dorian arrived back home. After relaying Jane's thanks, he went upstairs into his room. He spent the next several hours staring up at the ceiling, wishing he had taken Jane up on her offer to stay.
Dorian arrived at Jane's a little before nine the next morning. Trent answered the door in a state of semi-consciousness. Three cups of strong coffee later, Trent became slightly more alert. While Jane was taking a shower, Dorian loaded her luggage into the car. Jane bounded down the stairs and grabbed the thermos that Dorian offered. Handing Trent the car keys, Dorian and Jane left the house and headed towards the car. Trent smiled as he listened to his little sister talk with an excitement in her voice that he hasn't heard since she was a child.
During the ride there, the three talked about Mystik Spiral's upcoming three week tri-county tour. The band had been rehearsing more in hopes of landing more gigs. Their cocert the night before was one of the best Dorian had heard from them. The rest of the ride was spent listening to the radio and cracking jokes. When they arrived at Ashfield, Jane took a deep breath as she stepped out of the car. There were several other of the artists had already arrived and were roaming the grounds. Dorian, Jane, and Trent walked into the office. The woman sitting behind the desk smiled as Jane gave her name.
"Hi Jane, my name is Lori and I'm the one in charge of this artist asylum. Congratulations on winning at the Lawndale Art Fair. Wait a minute - Jane from Lawndale, you wouldn't happened to know a Summer Collins would you?"
Jane and Trent's faces froze. "She's our sister, why do you know her?"
"She's our new calligraphy instructor. I'm a little surprised that you didn't sign up for her class," Lori said smiling.
Trent and Jane continued to look at each other in stunned silence. The news that Summer was teaching there was slowly sinking in. Dorian was surprised as well, but said nothing. He turned his attention to Lori, who was telling Jane which cabin and room were hers. Jane heard none of it and didn't even realize that Lori had her hand stretched out with a key and a notebook. Grabbing the stuff from the counselor, Dorian thanked Lori and guided the Lane siblings toward the door.
They were walking towards the cabins when Summer spotted them. Several of the other "students" were with her. Summer called out to Jane and Trent, causing them to stop dead in their tracks. Dorian took another couple of steps before noticing that Jane and Trent had stopped. He quickly back-tracked to join them. Dorian got a look at the older Lane sibling for the first time. She kinda looks like a younger Aunt Rita. Dorian had to fight to surpress the laugh.
"Hi Jane, Trent - do mom and dad know you are here?" Summer asked before turning her attention to Dorian. "Are you one of the models for the life drawing class?"
"No Summer, mom's in Death Valley and dad's in Chile. This is my boyfriend, Dorian. He and Trent are just dropping me off. I'm here for the summer session."
Summer and the group that were with her gave Dorian a once-over and grinned. Dorian felt uneasy as he could feel not only Summer eyes, but the eyes of the other students boring down on him. "I'm impressed, Jane. Dorian - if you do decide to be a model, I'm sure it could be arranged."
"I'm sorry, Summer - but I can't. The football camp and Creative Writing course I am taking at Lawndale Community College starts Monday. Not to mention, I am only seventeen," Dorian smiled as he replied. You should have let her have it. I am not going to get Jane in trouble with her sister, especially if she has to deal with her the rest of the summer.
"Well, when you turn eighteen, you should consider it. Brains, looks, and obviously a gentleman because his arms are full while yours are empty. Jane, he's a keeper," Summer smirked.
"Umm, thanks. We better get going. Dorian and Trent have to drive back to Lawndale soon. By the way, which one is cabin five?" Jane asked.
A woman with long black hair and several tattoos pointed towards the back corner. "Last cabin on the left," she said.
"Thanks and it was nice meeting you, Summer." Dorian said as he started to follow Jane.
Trent lagged behind the two teenagers, until he felt someone grab his arm. He turned to see that Summer had dispersed her groupies and they were alone. He could see the look of concern in his big sister's eyes.
"Are you keeping an eye on them? The last thing Jane needs is a kid at her age."
"Janey is a big girl and Dorian treats her with a great deal of respect. Neither of them want a kid right now and are taking precautions," Trent said.
"Good. I don't want her to end up like me," Summer replied.
Jane used her key to open the cabin. A couple of her roommates were in the main room and introduced themselves before continuing their conversation. They walked upstairs to room C. Dorian helped her unpack and took a quick assessment of the room.
"Slightly better than the cabins in Friday the 13th," Dorian said "I bet Jason would have made a great life-drawing model."
"With or without the hockey mask and machete?" Jane asked as they both laughed.
Dorian helped Jane unpack and looked down at his watch. He and Trent would have to leave shortly if they wanted to make it back to Lawndale before eleven. They walked back downstairs and out the door. They saw Trent walking towards them, rubbing his neck. Trent went on to tell them about the conversation he had with Summer. Jane cringed and began to wonder if she should just grab her stuff and leave. Dorian shook his head then kissed her cheek. As they headed back to the Lexus, Jane's face grew sadder. Standing beside the car, Dorian wrapped Jane in a warm embrace.
"I'll talk to you on Friday and I'll see you in a couple of weeks. I know you're going to impress them all. I just hope your sister doesn't make your life a living hell while you're here. I love you," Dorian whispered.
"I love you, too. Try not to get hurt and good luck with your writing class. Talk to you soon. Daria - take care of him," Jane's voice cracked.
Dorian nodded and flashed one of Daria's Mona Lisa smiles. After a couple of kisses, Jane noticed Summer glaring at them. Jane gave Trent a quick hug and stepped away from the car. She waved at her brother and boyfriend as they backed out of the driveway. Much to her surprise, she turned to see that Summer was standing beside her and waving as well. They watched the car drive down the road until it disappeared from their view. Summer gave Jane a sad smile and led her little sister towards her cabin.
"I'm sure Trent told you about our conversation earlier. I can tell you and Dorian care about each other a lot. I just want you to be careful,"
"I know and we are. So, where are my nieces and nephews?" Jane asked.
"Oh, they are spending the summer with their father touring Yellowstone. They will be here in mid-August. That will give me time to check out some of the houses that are for sale nearby. I really like it here and I am hoping that Lori offers me a full-time job," Summer smiled.
On the drive back to Lawndale, Dorian thanked Trent for everything he had done in helping him get through the past six months. Trent shrugged it off. The two of them talked about Dorian's now completely booked vacation. They arrived back in Lawndale shortly before ten-thirty. Dorian had to be up at seven in order to be at school by eight. Jane called at eleven to make sure they made it home in one piece. After Dorian hung up the phone, he drew a long breath and sighed. He and Daria both wondered how they were going to manage to survive this summer.
Dorian's first week of practice went smoothly as Coach Smith mainly had them stretching, jogging, and learning the new playbook. The creative writing class he signed up for was pretty fun. He ended up sitting beside Andrea and in front of Tom. Their first assignment was to write a short romantic comedy. Dorian decided to make it about two zombies falling in love. While much of the class was taken aback when he read it, he noticed that Andrea, Professor Davis, and Tom were all laughing at the story. As class ended, they congratulated him on the story.
Jane's first week had its ups and downs. She found that most of her roommates irritated the hell out of her, but she did enjoy the sculpting and pottery classes. Towards the end of the week, she met Daniel Dotson and immediately agreed with Lillian's assessment of him. That Friday, she called Dorian to compare notes. One week down and two and a half more weeks to go before Dorian would be arriving for the fourth.
Jane woke up Wednesday morning to a knock on her bedroom door. In the three weeks she had been at the camp, Summer had been driving her insane. Jane also began to wonder if her room was bugged, because everytime she would go to call Dorian, her sister would show up and want her to help her with something. For his part, Dorian tried to calm Jane down, but realized quickly that was not going to happen. Jane slid out of bed, cursing under her breath the entire way to the door. She opened it to see Summer waving a set of car keys in front of her.
"Come on, Lori wants me to go buy the fireworks for Monday's party."
"I can't - I have two classes today."
"Jane, this isn't high school - you won't get sent to the principal's office if you skip."
Jane looked suspiciously at her older sister, "Fine - but no mentioning of my boyfriend."
"Deal. I'll give you a few minutes to get ready. Meet you downstairs," Summer walked away from Jane's room.
As they drove towards the heart of town, Jane could sense that there was something Summer wanted to say. She watched her big sister tense up right before she would talk.
"Look - if you wanted to turn this trip into a bitchfest about Dorian and myself, then turn the car around and I'll head to class."
"No. I know we really aren't the best examples of sisters there are out there, but you seem easier to talk to and get along with than Penny and Wind. I mean, I still see a lot of hostility in you -but then again I deserve it," Summer sighed.
"Well, considering the rest of you disappeared out of my life before I hit middle school, I can't say that my level of fondness for any of you other than Trent is very high."
"I understand. That's why it didn't surprise me when I showed up at mom and dad's house last year and you and Trent were already gone. It was then that I realized just how screwed up our family is - none of us ge along, except for you and Trent. I have to admit, I'm kinda jealous of that. Do you think we have a chance of fixing our relationship?"
"I don't know. I mean one summer isn't going to erase ten years of not being in my life. If you are serious about this, then keep in touch with me after this over. I'm not saying you have to call like everyday, but an email or a postcard or a phone call more than once a year would be nice. Also, stop smothering me, you're driving me crazy with it," Jane said.
"I think I can do that. Not to talk about that topic, but is Trent coming with Dorian to visit you?"
"Yeah - they should be here tomorrow afternoon. Dorian said that his mom booked them rooms at a hotel about ten minutes away. I know he's supposed to meet the owner of some bar around here to set up a gig for his band on Friday, but other than that we just plan on hanging out."
"Good, maybe I can talk to Trent, too." A small smile came over both sister's faces as the pulled into the shop's parking lot.
Dorian heard his alarm go off at 6:30. It was his last day of practice and class for a week. After doing several stretches, he headed for the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. A couple of days after he had returned from dropping off Jane, he and Daria had noticed that he was starting to get a little stubble on his chin. Quinn had accidentally walked in on him and began to tease him about how if he was going to keep it, he would not be allowed to turn it into a goatee. After a lengthy internal discussion, it was agreed that Dorian would let it grow - at least until Jane could see it. Two weeks later, the beard was neatly cut and groomed, making him appear as though he was in his twenties instead of the seventeen-year-old he was. He threw on his work-out clothes, talked briefly to his parents and Quinn, then headed out the door with a bagel in one hand, a bottle of water in the other.
The practice was fun and Daria was even beginning to appreciate some of the complexity of the sport. It wasn't just running around and hitting people. You had to know what play to run against what kind of defense. The exact length of the field you would have to go for a certain pass pattern to work. After practice, Dorian jogged home and put the finishing touches on the latest project for the creative writing class. With that done, he called Amy and helped her edit her upcoming article and the newest chapter of the novel she was working on. Between the money he earned from that and from the magazine for some of the photos he had taken for them, Dorian was building up a nice little nest egg. That night after class, Andrea, himself, and Tom headed to Pizza King. He and Daria were still both surprised at how well the three of them got along. Looking at his watch, he headed home as Andrea and Tom continued to talk. That's a match made in well, The Twilight Zone. I have to agree with you on that one. Jane's gonna be shocked when we tell her about that. Make sure you have your camera ready.
Dorian arrived at Casa Lane at nine o'clock. Trent came out carrying his guitar, a knapsack, and two cups of coffee. Trent studied Dorian's face and told him that the beard looked cool. Trent ran some song lyrics by Dorian and the four hours seemed to fly by. They checked in at the hotel and unpacked, before heading to Ashfield. When Dorian and Trent arrived, Trent spotted Jane, Summer, and some other woman sitting on the steps of Summer's cabin. Summer saw the two walking towards them and nudged her sister. Jane looked up and could lost her ability to speak or think. The beard and tight t-shirt Dorian was wearing had caused Jane's brain to completely shut down and she could have sworn she felt drool forming in her mouth. She didn't even notice that Dorian had taken out his camera and snapped off a picture. Oh, the blackmail potential with that shot.
The woman she had been talking to, Allison, looked at the expression on Jane's face. "You have to remember to breath. Are you sure you can't talk him into modeling?"
Shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she stood up and gave him a hug. "I missed you soo much. You look amazing," Jane whispered.
"So do you. Will your sister kill me if I kiss you?" Dorian asked.
"Only one way to find out," Jane smiled then planted one on Dorian's lips.
That night, Dorian treated the Lanes to dinner. They talked about Dorian's writing class and it was there that Dorian sprung the Andrea/Tom pizza parlor story. The tale almost caused Jane to choke on her steak. After eating, they went back to the colony so that Jane could grab some clothes. Watching Dorian, Jane, and Trent drive off, Summer frowned at the thought of her little sister going to stay with Dorian, but knew better than to try to stop her. Summer walked back into her cabin and into the awaiting arms of Allison.
As they sat on the couch watching a movie, Jane couldn't help running her fingers across Dorian's chin. Dorian every so often would give slight laugh. They talked about the art colony, Jane's frustration, and Summer. They spent the next day by the pool, listening to the cds that Stacy had burned for them. Friday night, they picked up Summer and brought her to listen to Mystik Spiral perform. Summer asked if Allison could join them and Dorian and Jane shrugged. While the band played, Jane could tell their mini-tour had done wonders for them. After the show, they went out for burgers to celebrate a great show.
The rest of the weekend seemed to fly by. Sunday night, they went to the Fourth of July party at Ashfield. During the fireworks show, Summer watched as Dorian wrapped his arms around Jane as they looked up at the night sky. The smile on her little sister's face was one that she had rarely seen from not only Jane, but the Lanes in general. It was in that moment that Summer decided to lay off berating her little sister. Dorian and Trent left for Lawndale the next morning, but not before taking Jane and Summer out to breakfast. When they returned to Ashfield, Trent stayed in the car while Summer headed back for her cabin. Dorian gave Jane one more kiss and got back into the car. Four more weeks and they were both already counting down the days.
After the break, Dorian's workload increased. Practices became more intense while the writing class began to get more detailed. Amy's editor wanted her to write an extra article, so Dorian spent most of his free time helping her. The one bright spot during that time was helping Quinn find a tutor to help her improve her SAT score. He was proud to see that his little sister wanted to do better in school. With two weeks left, Dorian realized that he was in a desperate need of a break, and it came in the form of Tom and Andrea inviting him to go bowling with them that Saturday. The afternoon gave Dorian a chance to shut everything off and just have a good time. After bowling, they decided to hit the arcade. Dorian was surprised at how well the three of them got along. Between that afternoon and an hour long conversation with Jane that night, Dorian started to relax. He spent Sunday morning in his room, catching up on sleep and bad television. That night, Dorian had the best night of sleep he had in weeks. Refreshed and calmer, Dorian was ready to take on the next two weeks.
Meanwhile in Ashfield, Jane was hating the whole thing more and more. She really didn't get along with her roommates and the instructors were nothing but pompous jerks. The night she had talked to Dorian, she was going to ask him to come get her. However, they both decided to stick it through. The only bright spot of the past couple of weeks had been the fact that she and Summer had been getting along better. Jane walked over to her calendar - only ten more days and she would be heading home.
One night Dorian was sitting in the living room watching television when Quinn came running into the house upset and went straight into her room. Should we go find out what happened? Yeah, she seemed really upset. Dorian walked up the stairs and could hear Quinn crying through her door. He knocked gently and waited a moment before opening the door and sticking his head in. Quinn was sitting on her bed with her head buried between her knees. Dorian sat down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around, buried her head in his chest and sobbed. Dorian wrapped one arm around her and tried to get to calm down.
"Want to talk about it?" Dorian asked quietly.
"I told David that I really liked him and I asked him out and he rejected me. He said he dated girls with a certain amount of depth. I just want to find someone like Jane is to you," Quinn said through the sobs.
"I hope you find that someone, too." Dorian whispered.
Dorian held his sister until she fell asleep. He placed her head on her pillow, covered her up, and turned off the light. He went back downstairs and waited for his parents to get home. When they came inside, Dorian told them that Quinn was asleep and went upstairs. He checked on Quinn one more time before going to his room.
The last week of art camp came to an end early when the kiln overheated and took out the pottery cabin. Noone was injured, but the damage would need to be repaired and cleaned. Jane called Trent who arrived late that afternoon to pick her up. The three Lane siblings ate dinner together before saying their goodbyes. Summer was excited because she had been offered a full-time spot at the camp. Before leaving, Jane promised to call her sister more often and the three exchagned hugs. On the drive home, Trent asked Jane if she had called Dorian. Shaking her head, Jane told her big brother that she wanted to surprise Dorian by showing up at practice the next day.
When Jane arrived at practice, she was surprised to see Andrea and Tom in the parking lot. Andrea waved at Jane to join them. Despite Dorian telling her about the couple, she was still in a bit of shock. The three of them made their way the bleachers.
"Dorian said you wouldn't be back until next week," Andrea said.
"A kiln blew up so camp ended early. Trent picked me up last night. What are you two doing here?"
"Our last projects are due tonight," Tom said.
"Oh, I forgot the last night of class was tonight. How has it been so far?"
"I've really enjoyed it," Andrea smiled as she looked over at Tom. His face matching hers.
As three walked, Tom started to drift behind so that Andrea could talk to Jane. Once Andrea made sure Tom was far enough behind, Andrea leaned over to Jane.
"Tom told me you two dated last year," Andrea said.
"Yeah, but we broke up on good terms," Jane replied.
"So, you're cool with me and him?" Andrea asked.
"I don't mind in the least, you both seem quite happy," Jane smirked.
"You and Dorian make a good couple," Andrea said.
"Thanks," Jane was about to say something else when she froze in place.
They looked down at the field and saw what had caught Jane's attention. Dorian's hair was down and the muscle shirt he was wearing was sticking to him from sweat. He was swatting down a pass that Kevin had thrown to Mack. When the play was over, Mack nudged Dorian and pointed up to the stands. A smile came over Dorian's face as he waved to the three.
I thought she wasn't coming home until next week. There better be a good story behind this. I can't wait to hear it, and oh look - Andrea and Tom are with her. This is going to be fun. You need to tell her to get her hair redone. So you liked it, too Dorian could feel the Daria side of him blush. He was so lost in his inner conversation that he didn't hear Coach Smith's whistle. Jeffy was finally able to get his attention and Dorian ran over to the bleacher and told them to give him fifteen minutes.
The four of them headed over to Pizza King and listened to Jane talk about the camp and the kiln. She listened as Andrea, Dorian, and Tom as the went over their stories. Jane could tell that Dorian's writing seemed to improve. Daria must have been absorbing the class like a sponge. After pizza, Dorian and Jane split off from Andrea and Tom and walked home. After class was over, Dorian arrived home to see Quinn and Stacy re-coloring Jane's hair. The next afternoon, Dorian and Jane were watching bad movies and talking about upcoming year.
"Are you going to keep the beard?" Jane asked.
"Coach Smith doesn't have a problem with it. As long as Ms. Li doesn't have a fit - I think so. So - overall - how was your Ashfield experience?"
"Once Summer stopped driving me crazy about our relationship, it got better. Learned that your aunt was 100% correct that Daniel Dotson was a bunch of hot air. I'm just glad to be home. I'm glad that you enjoyed your class."
"Yeah - I really think it's going to help me in the long run," Dorian sighed.
"Andrea and Tom looked very happy. Andrea asked me today if I was cool with them dating," Jane smiled.
"I think they are - for some strange reason - they just seem to click. I hate to admit it, but I'm glad we ended up in that class together," Dorian said as he put his arms around Jane.
"There's nothing wrong with having a few more friends," Jane replied.
End