After the incident with Robin and Trent in the club, Daria began to submerse herself in writing and submitting to magazines. Not personal stuff; more cynical pieces about society, fashion, people...et cetera. Within a week, one was published in a magazine for aspiring writers called Billings. It was very well accepted.

"I'm happy for you, you know that?" Jane asked as they walked along the streets of New York, window shopping.

"Thanks," Daria replied. She couldn't help it—she was glad, too. She had spent nearly a month now in New York and was already published; perhaps she was onto something. "Really, though, that article was nothing special. But that dress is..." she stared longingly at a light yellow dress with sunflowers on it. She had never been big on fashion or clothes or what have you, but she knew a fine article of clothing when she saw it. However, she also knew an expensive article of clothing when she saw it.

"You said just the other day you didn't wear yellow," Jane said.

"I do if it looks like that. Remind me to put that on my 'saving up for' list."

"I didn't know you had a 'saving up for' list."

"I didn't either, until now." Jane chuckled and they walked on. A display in a shop across the street caught Daria's attention, causing her to run into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. What is it with me running into people?

"No worries," it was a man, with clean cut brown hair and green eyes. He gave her a smile.

"I wasn't looking...I'm really sorry..."

"Again, you're fine. What brings you out to the city this fine day?"

"Oh, just window shopping," she looked at her feet uneasily. He was handsome. Not in a different, not traditional Trent Lane way. In a classic way. "Trying to find...inspiration."

"Inspiration? Are you an artist?"

"Of sorts, I guess. I'm a writer." The boy cracked another smile.

"That's great," he replied. "Novelist? Journalist?"

"Sort of a journalist. I've only been published once...and it was in Billings." she admitted.

"I'm an editor for Billings!" he exclaimed.

Daria looked up. "Really. You're kidding."

"Nope!"

A grin began making its way onto her face. "I wrote The Downsides to Following Trends."

"Oh, everyone was just gushing about how clever it was! And from someone so young! See, I help edit the articles column, so I get to read all of them, and your was one of my favorites. Daria...Morgendorffer, was it? My name is Thomas Sloane." They shook hands, smiling.

"Yes, and this is my friend Jane Lane." they shook hands and exchanged greetings.

"Now, I hope this doesn't sound too...quick, but could we have coffee tomorrow afternoon? I'd love to talk to you more." Thomas asked.

"Of course! Where at?" They agreed on a tiny coffee shop by the Billings building at one in the afternoon.

"I look forward to seeing you!" Thomas said as he walked off. Daria smiled and waved goodbye at him.

"Damn," Jane sighed. "You've only been here for a month and you're picking up boys."

"He's an editor of a magazine, Jane! God, I wish I had that sunflower dress..."

"So you've completely forgotten about my brother at this point?" Daria's nose wrinkled in annoyance.

"Your brother is my friend," she replied. "That's good enough for me."

"Really?"

"Really." Jane had found that questioning Daria only made her more annoyed, so she shrugged and continued on.

The next day, Daria appeared in Jane's apartment wearing a brown, form-fitting dress, loafers, and her hair up. "Do I look alright? Am I overdressed?"

"You look great. Thomas is gonna love it." Trent walked in, searching the fridge for food. He looked at Daria quizzically.

"What's the occasion?" he asked.

"She's got a date," Jane smiled. "With the editor of a magazine."

"Interesting," Trent said, seemingly uninterested. "Have we got any milk left?"

"I drank the rest of it," Jane admitted.

"Damn," Trent groaned. "I've got band practice tomorrow and I'm so tired of hearing Nick and Max fight all the time. We barely get anything done."

His sister shook her head. "You all get on each other's nerves too much."

Daria checked her watch. "I have to go now. I'll talk to you later,"

"You better!" Jane exclaimed as Daria checked herself one last time in the mirror.

"You're sure I look okay?"

"You look fine. Go have fun."

"Who's this guy she's going out with?" Trent asked once she had left.

"His name is Thomas. He's the editor of that writing magazine, Billings. Daria bumped into him yesterday, they struck up a conversation and the next thing ya know he's asking her out."

"Hmmm," he replied.

"He seemed nice enough, and Daria was so happy. Why do you care about all of this?"

"I care about Daria!"

"Sure, why didn't you tell her you had a girlfriend then?"

Trent looked at his sister slack-jawed for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed confusedly. "Why...why does that matter?"

"Because you led her on!"

"I didn't lead her on!"

"Well it certainly seemed like you were trying to start something! You did lead her on, Trent. Admit it."

"Only because...me and Robin had a fight that week, remember? And she was new and pretty and..." Everything was coming out wrong.

Jane made a noise of disgust. "Oh, so you just flirt with every girl who's new and pretty! Sometimes you can be such a jerk." She stormed off to her room, slamming the door for emphasis. The two didn't have fights very often, but when they did it made them both sad, though neither would admit to it.

The coffee shop was teeming with people and smoke, but it was somewhat comforting to Daria nevertheless. Thomas arrived shortly after her, and they took a spot in a table by a window where the sun streamed through. "You look very nice," Thomas told her, lighting a cigarette. He offered her one, and she accepted. "Thank you for agreeing to this, especially with it all being so sudden, I just wanted to get to know you. You're a wonderful writer."

Daria gave her usual Mona Lisa smile. "Thank you."

They ordered some coffee and light snacks, and they chatted easily about anything and everything for a bit. Writing, books, family. She learned Thomas had lived in New York since he was two. The Sloanes were old money, but he was the only one who had no interest in going into his father's business. His story was a lot more colorful and detailed in comparison to her little explanation of her normal teenage years, but he listened anyway.

After their lunch, they strolled around the city for awhile. "Are you working on anything more, writing-wise?" he asked.

"I want to start a mystery novel," Daria admitted.

"Hmmm, a mystery. That's old fashioned."

"I like old fashioned things," she retorted.

Thomas raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Well, I do look forward to reading it." They spent another hour chatting and walking. She was enjoying getting to know him, despite little flaws that she knew if this was to go anywhere, she would have to accept.

They stood in front of the coffee house to say goodbye. "I've really liked talking to you, Daria," Thomas told her. He leaned down and pecked her cheek. Daria stood on her toes and kissed his lips, in front of the coffee shop and everyone. She had kissed a few boys before, but it was usually in a private place like behind the bleachers or his backyard. She felt a little odd, but the kiss, short but sweet, was nice. Maybe this was going somewhere.

"Goodbye, Thomas." she smiled her quiet smile, and he smiled back.

"Tom," he corrected. "See you soon." she hailed a cab, and he watched her disappear.

When Daria arrived back at her apartment building, she immediately knocked on Jane's door. Trent answered. "Hey, Daria," he mumbled, sounding rather disheartened, and looking it as well.

"Hi," she replied uneasily. "Is Jane here?"

"She's in her room," he explained, letting Daria in. "Janey!"

"Fuck off, Trent!" Jane called back. Daria's eyes widened.

"Um," she began.

He sighed, "It's a long story. How was the date?"

"It was all right," Jane burst out of her room.

"Daria! You didn't tell me you were here."

"I tried to!" Trent exclaimed. Jane rolled her eyes.

"How was the date?" she asked, disregarding her brother. The two settled themselves down on the loveseats as Daria described the date; what they talked about, the food, a little bit about Tom. As she spoke, she saw Trent was listening warily in the kitchen, pretending not to. "Did he kiss you?" Jane asked, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face.

"Sort of," Daria replied, "He kissed my forehead, then I-" her friend gasped.

"Daria, what did you do?!"

"God, let me finish! I kissed his...his lips." Jane laughed.

"Aw!" the bespectacled girl shook her head.

"I'm twenty, does it come as that much of a surprise I can kiss a boy?"

"But it was so sudden! So serious so fast! You barely know the man!"

"You're so dramatic, Janey," Trent said from the kitchen. She shot him a dirty look. "But she does have a point, Daria. It was your first date with him."

"Why do you care about it, Trent?" Daria asked, a little ruder than she meant to sound.

"Because you're my sister's friend. And mine. And I want you to be safe." She bit her lip and blushed, trying to cover it with her palm.

"That's real heartfelt, Trent, but I think Daria's gonna be okay. Though I still think it was a teensy bit rushed. I just didn't expect it out of you."

Daria took her glasses off and cleaned them on her shirt. "Hey, I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes, personally. I really like the guy, and he must like me, too. After all, your brother said I was 'pretty groovy'." Trent chuckled and she stifled a smile.