AN~ Tim was a better idea in theory than in practice. Not too much on the angst this chapter, I promise. More grown-up acceptance. (ALSO I WILL BE TRYING SUPER HARD TO UPDATE ONCE A WEEK NOW SO YAY!)
cool native girl: Native American Veronica has been one of my favorite headcanons for Veronica for a while now, because it just FITS. I'm glad it made you happy!
mary: To your first review: I'm speaking from experience. I did not mean for it to come across like ten-year-olds can't tell when someone dies, but I have seen through my younger siblings that it isn't NEARLY as difficult for them (you? I feel like you're ten and that's why you got mad) as it is for people who are older. Also I based Basil of my brother who's kind of out of the loop on things even though he's plenty smart. Girls mature a bit faster.
To your second review: No, Christopher's human. Christopher Robin is not of Dominican descent Also I'm not sure if he counts as an Everafter.
Daphne's long-distance relationship is hard, but she and Christopher are making it work. He's busy with school, but they talk on the phone or skype at least every other day, and they're nearly always having a slow, full-day texting conversation. He comes down to visit at least once a month, which is as much as Daphne thinks it's fair of her to ask.
It's still not the same.
She misses him, so much it hurts sometimes. She misses having him there when the hole where her grandmother used to be is too much, and she misses being able to do things with him instead of just talking to him. She misses seeing him at the animal shelter. She misses being able to hug him or kiss him almost every time she wants to.
Daphne's a very tactile person, and the absence of touch in her relationship is probably the hardest thing to get used to. And she's coping, because she understands that he loves this school, but it's very lonely, just talking to him.
She decides that the best solution is to keep busy, and working at the animal shelter just makes her remember him more, so she spends a lot more time than she used to in Faerie, helping the Everafters of the city with what problems she can. It's a lot easier to hang out with them without Christopher there, and the secret hanging over her head.
And, naturally, she gets a lot closer to the friends she hangs out with in Faerie than she was before. She and Mustardseed are... well, not as close as they were, but friends again. And Mustardseed's 'leather jacket squad' is cool. And Tiny Tim is just about her age now, which is nice.
He's not so tiny anymore, actually. It's nice. He's nice. Even if he's still in a wheelchair or on crutches most of the time.
She enjoys hanging out with him. There's nothing wrong with that, right? They're just friends. And it's not like they've done anything. Even if Tim's made a couple moves that suggest he'd temporarily forgotten she wasn't single and would like it if she was.
Except she has a hard time mentioning Tim around Christopher. She feels... guilty about it. Like there's something secret about her friendship with this boy.
And that's the first sign.
It takes Daphne a couple weeks to come to terms with it after she first gets he doubts, but then she admits it to herself: she's been growing away from Christopher since he left for school, and she's been growing closer to Tim, and all of these things are bad signs.
She knows how much it hurt her when Toby cheated on her, and she doesn't want to come anywhere close to doing that to anyone else. Even if she'd never actually do anything, thinking about it is just as bad.
She's going to have to break up with Christopher.
He breaks up with her first.
It's a bit of a relief. He comes home for Thanksgiving and stops by her apartment, asks her to go for a walk with him. She's debating telling him she thinks they need to break it off before she hurts him worse than this is already going to when he says, "Daphne... I have something to say to you. Something serious."
"What is it?" she asks.
"I think we should break up," he says in a rush. "We've been growing apart since I left for school, and I still care about you a lot, and I love you as a friend, but I don't think it's romantic anymore, and if we stay together, I think I might... do something I'd regret, and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you."
Oh thank goodness.
She doesn't smile, because she's going to miss him, but she says, "Okay. I understand. And thank you." She's not sure if she's thanking him for doing her the favor of being honest about his feelings for other girls in a roundabout way, unlike Toby, or if she's thanking him for breaking up with her before she could break up with him. Either way, she's grateful.
"Of course," Christopher says, looking relieved. "And I hope we can still be friends, you know? You're cool, and I like hanging out with you."
"I think I might need some space to adjust," Daphne says, "But next time you're in town, look me up and we can hang out. Platonically."
"Yeah, definitely," Christopher says.
They go their separate ways. Daphne's a little sad, but she doesn't cry over this breakup. They'll still be friends, after all. She likes Christopher, really she does. He was there for an important time in her life, and they'll always be fond of each other. But that doesn't change the fact that something changed, and she doesn't want him like that anymore. Maybe she just wasn't ready for a relationship with that much distance. Maybe neither of them were. Still, she's fine with this breakup, for the most part.
Even so, it takes her over a month to get around to asking Tim out. She wants to adjust to her new single state, make sure she's comfortable in her own skin before she attaches herself to someone else again. Plus she doesn't want Tim to think he's a rebound.
She spend the month hanging out with her family and friends, and by herself. Daphne's always been an extrovert, and she loves people, but she's discovering the necessity of time by oneself. She knows who she is better now. And she is definitely a person who is interested in going to Times Square on New Year's Eve with Tim Cratchit.
He says yes, and on the morning of January 31st, Daphne and Tim make their way to Times Square, equipped with one very large thermos of peppermint hot chocolate, a stack of blankets, Tim's wheelchair, several extra layers of clothing, ten sandwiches, a bag of Doritos, Daphne's tablet, and a deck of cards. This is Daphne's first New Years actually in the square, and she is determined to be prepared.
It's Tim's first time celebrating in the square, too, which is a little surprising because he's lived in the city for longer than they've had this celebration, but then again, he can't exactly stand comfortably for long periods of time. They settle themselves in comfortably to wait.
It's a long day, but a good one. Daphne's preparation pays off, and they have a spot to hang out where she can sit down. They're warm, well fed, and they have entertainment.
And then, come midnight, Tim pulls her down for a kiss.
It's not a very good kiss. The angle's awkward, because she's leaning halfway over, pulled by her scarf so her face is within reach of Tim's. She also doesn't think Tim has much experience with kissing. There's a lot of teeth and spit involved in ways there shouldn't be. Still, it's nice. She can teach him technique.
Later.
Her relationship with Tim is a good one. It's solid, not too exciting, and full of sarcasm. She does a lot of physical therapy with him, and he helps her with her History homework.
Sometimes she wonders if she's outgrowing the sparkling, energetic feeling she had with a new boyfriend when she was younger, of if this means she's not as into Tim, but she's happy. Content. And that's all that matters, right? Love doesn't have to be fireworks and drama. It can be comfort and soft smiles.
And after losing Granny and Puck in one go, Daphne wants a relationship that's stable, not passionate. Puck and Sabrina had passion, and look how well that lasted them!
Still, sometimes she misses it a bit. Sometimes, just once in a while, she wonders if she and Tim are just kind of stagnating, staying with each other because they know they can be a constant in each other's lives.
But that's just sometimes, and then usually she sees him and he smiles at her and she forgets about it because they're both happy with each other.
She's looking for colleges in between everything else, and she's decided to stay in the city or close to it because she, like Sabrina, can't really afford to dorm. Plus she wants to be able to visit her friends, or be visited, and Manhattan is full of wonderful colleges, even if most of them are kind of pricey. Sabrina's giving her recommendations while simultaneously looking for law schools to attend after she graduates (Sabrina's thinking Seton Hall, just across the state border in the nicer part of Newark). Daphne applies to a couple far-away schools on the suggestion of her guidance counselor, good schools that she doesn't really expect to get into. She's going for a major in social work or something similar, determined to make a difference for everyone she can.
And then she gets a thick packet from one of the schools her guidance counselor recommended, and the packet tells her that not only has she been accepted, but she's eligible for quite a bit of scholarship money. She can't exactly not continue that. College is expensive, and she's already determined she's going to whichever school will end up costing her the least. And this is a good school.
She gets a full ride. Lab fees and room and board included. All she'll have to pay is her book fees and transportation.
She has to go; can't turn this down. Not just because it's a good school and has a great program for her and because this'll mean she won't be in debt when she graduates (could maybe get a graduate degree after, if she wanted to), but because of her family. Saying no to this would mean that Basil might not be able to afford a school he wants. Saying no means her parents might have cosign a loan for her. Saying no means Sabrina's going to have to work her way through grad school as well as college and be majorly in debt, because their parents aren't going to be able to afford to help her.
It's just... it's across the country. Arizona is far away from New York. Really far away, from everyone she's ever known and everything she's ever seen.
It's scary.
Exciting and great, but really, really scary.
She doesn't know how she's going to tell everyone. Sabrina's going to be hard enough, the sisters are very close, and she's going to miss her dearly. Red and Pinocchio and Mr. Canis and Uncle Jake won't be so hard, because she doesn't see them often as it is, most of their conversations are long-distance. Her parents know already and are worried but happy for her. Basil's independent and will take it pretty well. Her friends, though, and Tim...
That's gonna be harder.
She starts with the friends who she already knows are going to leave for their own far-away schools, because they'll understand. Then she tells the animal shelter and the people there, because she's been volunteering there for years, and she's kind of important there. They're going to have to find someone to replace her for a lot of things, they'll need time to prepare. And then she gets up the courage to tell her friends from school, who are mostly understanding.
All that's left is the Everafters.
She should have told them soon. There's a few months left before she has to leave, and she's as important to Faerie as she is to the animal shelter, loath as Titania is to admit it. But telling Mustardseed and Titania and Momma that she's leaving means telling Tim, and she's not ready for that yet.
Because her last long distance relationship? It didn't go so well, and Tim knows that, was there to see that fall apart, and she's afraid he'll think this one will go the same way.
Still, it's not like she has a choice.
But she can probably put it off a little longer.
Right?
Yeah. Just for another few days.
Except Tim comes over and sees her acceptance letter.
"So when were you going to tell me?" he asks.
Daphne doesn't deny that she's going to go to this school. She just says, "I was trying to figure out how."
"Why?" Tim asks. "Because you were going to break up with me to do it?"
This, this is what she was afraid of. He thinks she can't pull off a long distance relationship. And she's crying a little bit even though she totally shouldn't be. "No! It's just a big change, and I was afraid!"
"Of what?" it's an attack.
"Of this!" she shrieks. "I knew you'd see it as me leaving you, and not as a great opportunity for me! I can't turn this down, and you- you're making it about you!"
"It's about us!" Tim shoots back.
"Is it?" Daphne asks quietly. "Or is it about you being afraid I'll leave you?"
Tim stares at her, wordless. Then he turns around and storms out.
He doesn't talk to her until her graduation. She calls him a few times, leaves messages, stops by his apartment and Scrooge's store, but after the first two weeks she gets the hint. He's done with her. She's hurt, but she gets it, up to a point.
He shows up at her graduation, though, and comes up to her and says, "Congratulations." He looks unsure.
"What are you doing here?" Daphne asks bluntly. It's not that she's not glad to see him, it's just that he's confusing her.
"I wanted to apologize," Tim said. "I've been a jerk."
Sabrina, standing nearby, snorts and mutters something under her breath that Daphne doesn't quite catch, though it sounds like "dam strut," which she's perfectly capable of translating in her head to something that makes a lot more sense, and that, to be honest, Daphne agrees with completely.
"But why are you at my graduation?" Daphne asks. "How did you even get a ticket?" She certainly didn't give him one.
"I, ah, bribed one of your friends to give me a ticket. She had an extra and said you needed to stop moping."
Daphne wasn't moping. She definitely wasn't. She just... well, everyone's allowed to be a little off their game when their (ex?) boyfriend just cuts off all contact because she's going to college, aren't they?
"So you're sorry," Sabrina interrupts, "Is that it?"
"What more should there be?" Tim asks.
Basil pipes up, "Sabrina and I think you have to earn her apology. With ice cream. Or something special."
"Okay," Daphne says, trying to laugh their intrusion off while at the same time wanting to mutter rude things under her breath about busybody family members. She pushes them off to the side and says, "I can't have this conversation with you two eavesdropping."
"Call us if you want someone to beat him up!" Basil shouts as Sabrina pulls him away. Sabrina doesn't say anything, but the hair ruffle she plants on Basil is most definitely approving.
"Sorry about that," Daphne says.
Tim shrugs. "They care about you. And I kinda deserve it a bit."
Daphne doesn't feel up to beating around the bush. "You do," she agrees. "What was that about? One fight and you don't answer my calls for weeks?"
"I needed space," Tim says. "I needed to think about things. And you were right. I was scared of losing you. But that doesn't mean I'm allowed to freak out about you going away to school. Even if I still think you should have told me."
"I should've," Daphne agrees. "And I'm sorry, I really was trying to figure out the best time to do it, but we had a good thing going and I was afraid to mess it up with change."
"I get it," Tim says. "I shouldn't have reacted like I did. But I'm done with that, now."
"Are you?" Daphne asks. "Or are you going to stop talking to me every time we disagree about something?"
"Daphne, I-"
"Needed space, fine," Daphne agrees, "But if you need space you tell me, you don't just clam up and ignore me until you're ready to deal with things."
Tim swallows.
"Relationships are about communication," Daphne says. "And if we can't communicate, this isn't going to work. Especially when I go away. And I want it to work, but I cannot do that again."
"Okay," Tim agrees. "Okay, I'll work on it."
"Good," Daphne says, and smiles at him. "C'mon, let's go get my family off your back before they kill you in your sleep."
Tim winces. "Is it okay that your family scares me?"
Daphne shrugs. "They've all been trained to be kinda deadly, so yeah, I think that's acceptable."
Tim goes from wincing to outright cringing.
Daphne laughs a little and assures him, "I've been working on getting them to let me fight my own battles, so don't worry, you're safe. Probably."
Daphne's happy to have Tim back, but a little wary after his... incident. It's their first big fight, and he did not react well. She can't help comparing him to Christopher, though she'd never tell him that. She and Christopher fought plenty, but they always worked through it. In fact, her relationship with Christopher was based on debates. Her relationship with Tim is based on stability, and neither of them have dealt well with that being shaken up.
It turns out she's right to be a bit worried, because a month after she's into school, it becomes apparent that she won't be able to make it home for Tim's birthday the way she planned. She apologizes profusely and promises to make it up to him somehow, because she has a really important group project to finish. He hangs up on her.
Daphne calls him back, and he doesn't pick up. She waits a day. Then she calls him again.
"Tim," she says, "We talked about this- you have to talk to me. And if you can't, I'm... I'm gonna have to break up with you. I can't do this waiting on you thing. I care about you a lot, but-"
She hangs up.
Tim doesn't call her back.
That's it, then.