'Ado


Jane broke into a trot to keep up with her friend, who seemed to be trudging to class far too eagerly.

"Hey, come on, Morgendorffer, talk to me."

Daria sighed, deeply. Better just to get it over with, she thought. So, in what was barely more than a mumble...

"...I kissed your boyfriend."

Jane skidded to a stop. Daria turned to face her, noting what could only be called a "gobsmacked" expression on her partner-in-crime's face.

"What?"

"I kissed your boyfriend. I kissed Tom. I didn't mean to."

Jane's brow furrowed. "The hell do you mean, 'you didn't mean to'? Unless you—" Suddenly, Jane's eyes lit up with realization.

"Oh no, you don't mean..." There was already a chuckle rising in Jane's voice. That just made it worse.

Daria groaned, slumping against a wall locker. "Look, it was dark, that stupid Pinto pulled up in my driveway, and...well, damnit, you know how the two of us have been working on 'intimacy', and I just wanted to be a little spontaneous for once..."

Jane had been slowly bending forward, and was by now was nearly doubled over in stifled laughter. But she managed to croak out "So you...so you just jumped the first guy you ran across?"

"I DIDN'T!" Daria bleated, plaintively, burying her face in her hands "I swear, it wasn't like that! It was an accident, I'm sorry..."  Daria felt her knees start to slowly buckle, sending her sliding down the wall onto the floor. She could hear Jane starting to cackle. Daria groaned again. "It's not funny! God, this is humiliating enough...but promise me you won't tell Tim until—"

"'Tell Tim' what?"

A chill jumped down Daria's spine. She forced herself to crack open an eyelid.

There was a sweatervested young man standing in front of her, brown haired, blue-eyed, and with a face that held all the guile of an altar boy. He'd shown up, just on time, to give Daria a ride home. Actually, curse his eyes, he was a couple of minutes early.

Jane had managed to compose herself just enough to squeak out a greeting. "Oh, hello, Tim! Say, by any chance, did Tom tag along today?"

Tim Sloane gave a quizzical nod. "Well, yeah, now that you mention it. His Corvair's been in the shop since yesterday, so I gave him a ride—had to practically blackjack the guy to get him to come." He nodded out the door towards where the battered old Ford was parked at the curb. He could just see his twin brother scrunched down in the back seat, hiding his face behind a copy of the Lawndale Times he'd seemed so interested in. Almost like he's embarrassed to be here... Tim thought. Huh. Weird. Tom wasn't usually snobbish like that...

Oh, that reminds me...Tim turned back to Daria. "Hey, Daria, Tom said he was going to try and drop off that Beatles tape you lent me after he dropped Jane off last night. Did he remember to-" Tim paused, squinting. "Uh...sweetie? What exactly are you doing?"

Daria ignored her boyfriend's question, preferring to concentrate on the task of cracking her skull open on the linoleum. Another few hundred taps, and she was sure she'd get it. She really was convinced it was, despite the pain, quite for the best.
Original post date: Unknown.