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Daria's Party Addition
0 reviewsWhat if Daria had met someone interesting at Brittany's party in season one? Daria/OC
1Ambiance
Daria’s Party Addition – 01 – The Meeting
by Dr T
Daria meets someone at Brittany’s party while Jane is with ‘Bobby.’ This moves her life in some very unexpected directions.
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‘Daria’ and its characters, plots, etc. belong to many others, not me; I’m just playing with the characters and so on for fun. Readers are hopefully familiar with the episodes and setting. So for this Daria-verse, canon starts in late September, 1997. The series would therefore end in the summer of 2000. This concentrates on Daria’s first year in Lawndale and part of the second (season 1 and parts of later ones), with the consequences.
Note that I have been writing fan fics for over 20 years – I am not interested in collaborators, illustrators, etc. Reviews and PMs on those topics will be ignored.
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Brittany’s house, October, 1997
Daria Morgendorffer was not happy and she was NOT having a good time. More specifically, she was unhappy for a variety of reasons. In part, because 1) she was bored; 2) she hadn’t really wanted to come to this (or any) party, but a) Jane had mostly talked her into it; b) it bugged Quinn that she had come (granted, that was almost always good, or at least enjoyable); c) their parents had insisted she keep an eye on Quinn (not that they would likely believe any tales of Quinn’s misbehaving); and d) (as much as she hated admitting it), because she didn’t want to be rude to Brittany, who really hadn’t needed to invite her, even if it was a very back-handed invitation. Mostly, however, her current irritated state of mind was caused because Jane, the first person she had ever considered a close friend, had deserted her to go to the ‘make-out’ room with a strange boy with a slightly over-sized head, leaving her to drive off ‘Bobby Big-head’s’ even sleezier sidekick.
“You look even less thrilled to be here than I feel,” came a rather deep voice to the side of her.
Daria turned towards the voice, and saw a guy, at least a year older and more likely two, nearly six foot tall and fairly heavily muscled, with hair just slightly more reddish than the color of her own brown-auburn and eyes about the same color as Jane’s. “Excuse me?” Daria responded. He smiled slightly, which prompted her to ask, “A football player? Not interested in a party given by a cheerleader?”
“Well, I haven’t played football since Ninth grade,” he told her with that same slight smile. “I do know Brittany, but I was sent along mostly because even my parents, who adore my younger brother, know that when he’s with his two buddies, they make the Three Stooges seem like well-mannered and responsible gentlemen, even if they rarely believe how stupid the trio can get.”
“I take it your brother….” She glanced towards where Quinn was smirking at three silly-acting Freshman boys competing for her attention.
The guy sighed. “He’s the ginger-haired moron competing for the attention of that vacuous pumpkin-head.”
“The pumpkin-head is my sister,” Daria drawled, before going on, “and I was sent along with the same parental charge. And congratulations, it’s a small world; my parents almost never believe anything bad about her either.”
“Shall we wait together until something moronic happens and reenforce the stories to our parents, or not squeal on them unless it’s very bad?”
The right side of Daria’s mouth quirked into a very brief quarter-smile/smirk, surprised that this boy seemed to be on the same wavelength as herself. “The latter might be better.”
“Jackson Frasier, but call me Jack.”
“Daria Morgendorffer.”
Jack nodded at Daria’s glass. “Ditch the mediocre and probably spiked punch and split a soda?”
Daria’s lips twitched into another brief smirk. “Okay.” Daria had seen her sister ‘asking’ boys for sodas since 7th grade, but this was the first time Daria had been asked. She was surprised that, really for the first time, she actually welcomed the bit of this sort of attention. Jack was not smarmy or otherwise objectionable like those who propositioned nearly any female; and while on the other hand he did not provoke any of the embarrassingly extreme reactions Trent caused her to have, she had to admit he seemed…nice, and he also didn’t repel her in any way, which was also a very unusual reaction. Males on the make in any fashion always bugged her in some way. In fact, he was rather…what, besides ‘nice’? Interesting? Yes. And, dare she admit, actually…attractive?
Daria tried to convince herself that the answer to that last observation was only ‘maybe.’
Daria wasn’t sure (or at least would not admit) why, but she felt a bit resentful a few moments later when a tall, very pretty and busty (except compared to Brittany) brunette came over to speak with Jack as he split the soda with her and was handing her the cup while he kept the can. “Jack! I’m glad you’re here!” Daria recognized her as a senior cheerleader, even if she didn’t know her name.
Before Daria’s imagination could make any further problems pop into her head, Jack picked things up. “Mary, this is Daria, unfortunate sibling to the pumpkin-head. Daria, this is the equally unfortunate sibling to the black-haired stooge.”
“Hi!” Mary said pleasantly. “Have the three idiots done something more stupid than usual yet?”
“No, but from the smirk on Quinn’s face, she egging them towards something,” Daria told them as she relaxed slightly.
“Where’s Jerry?” Tyler asked. Turning to Daria, he added, “Her boyfriend.” Daria relaxed even more, although she wasn’t sure why.
“He’s around somewhere, looking for our coats. As soon as they do something stupid, we’re dragging Joey’s butt home.”
Daria frowned slightly. “Wait, didn’t you bring my sister?”
Mary nodded. “It was so pathetic it was funny. The four sat in the back, Quinn over on the left, and she made Joey sit on the other two’s laps so she wouldn’t be squished.” Mary peered at Daria. “Is she, well, gay or something, or just mean? Just getting off on teasing the boys along?”
The question surprised Daria, who had always taken Quinn’s flirtatious teasing at more face value. “I don’t think she’s gay or even bi, but she definitely only wants attention from her dates, as well as everyone else. To be seen, yes; physical contact, not so much.” Daria thought Quinn had been quickly heading towards the usual Highland promiscuousness before their move, but in the short time they had been in Lawndale, that seemed to have changed; she wasn’t sure why.
“Weird,” Mary said with a shrug. “Anyways, now that there are three of us, if they do anything too stupid, maybe we’ll be believed if we all stick together – we know they’re going to do something stupid, we just don’t know how stupid yet.”
“Sure.” Jack looked behind Daria. “Hey, Jane.”
“Jack,” Jane returned. “What’s up?” she asked Daria, wondering why the popular Jack and the very popular Mary, two seniors, were with her fellow Sophomore Daria.
“It seems these are siblings to two of the three barnacles trying to attach themselves to Quinn,” Daria explained.
“Did your brother drop you two off?” Jack asked Jane.
“Yeah, why?”
“It looks like the Three Stooges are about to go into their act. If we have to break up the mayhem, we’ll drag all their butts home. I can give you two a ride home, if you’d like.”
Surprising herself as well as Jane, Daria agreed before Jane could.
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Mary’s boyfriend, a large offensive tackle, had just come up with his and Mary’s coats when the Three J’s broke into a fistfight for Quinn’s attention and approval (the latter based on the smirk the outbreak had created). Jerry and Jack broke them apart quickly, but not before Jeffy received what would soon turn into a very black eye. The three siblings therefore decided things had to be turned over to the parents.
Faced with the declarations by Jack, Mary, Jerry, Daria, and Jane (plus Jeffy’s increasing swollen eye), all the parents cracked down, although only Quinn whined and complained about it. It was just a little before 10:30 when all the miscreants had been returned home (Quinn, Joey, Jeffy, and Jamie in order) to again face their parents, and then Jane was dropped off. Jerry had left with Mary after they all testified against Jeffy, while Daria had ridden the whole time next to Jack.
“Two things,” Jack said to Daria as he started the car after they had walked Jane to her door. “Want to see if you can get your sister into more trouble?”
That sounded good to Daria – it was rare for Quinn to actually be in trouble. “Sure, how?”
“There’s a deserted stretch of abandoned road. Most Saturday nights are drag nights from ten-thirty to around one. Most of the stupid and popular junior and senior guys are there to compete or egg the other idiots on, and most of the wanna-be popular girls are there to watch – that’s especially true after the posturing done at a party, like tonight. They start gathering just after Ten. I bet there’s a chance she’s already snuck out to go and be seen, at least if she already had organized a ride.”
Knowing Quinn, Daria believed there was a chance she would risk getting caught despite already being in trouble if she had pre-arranged a ride. “Okay, if it won’t take too long.”
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In fact, it only took fifteen minutes before Daria was approaching her house. It was then that something occurred to her. “What was the second thing?”
Jack had been wondering how to bring this up. “Would you like to go out Friday night?”
Daria blinked. “What?”
“Would you like to join me next Friday night?" He smiled. “Please?”
“O…okay? Doing what?” she asked, very unsure of herself and about what was happening.
“Simple dinner and then a movie? There are four multiplex theaters nearby, one must have something we could both tolerate.”
“Okay?”
Seeing as well as hearing her uncertainty, Jack asked gently, “Daria…is this the first date you’ve been asked on?”
“It is,” Daria confessed, flushing from embarrassment. ‘Well, it’s the first I’ve actually agreed to,” she added mentally, not wanting to seem too eager.
Jack thought she was cute and fascinating, and so was very surprised she hadn’t been asked before. Still, he reassured her. “Don’t worry; no pressure. Nothing fancy, just a ‘let’s get to know each other a bit’ type date. How about pizza or Beef-n-Cake and then maybe a movie?” They pulled into the Morgendorffers’ driveway.
“Either would be great.” Daria got out. “Providing I don’t get hit by the flak Quinn’s about to get, I’ll look into movies and try to give you a choice.”
Jack smiled. “Sounds great. See you Monday.”
“Monday,” Daria replied with a slight smile of her own that Jack thought adorable.
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The next afternoon, Daria was in Jane’s room. Jane looked over from where she was working on a painting. “So, how much trouble is Princess Grace in after your parents discovered she skipped out of the house late last night after being grounded?”
“Completely grounded in theory for three weeks, once she got back well after midnight – including no after-school Fashion Club meetings, alleged emergencies or not, and no more pretend study groups – they are only allowed to meet in our living room so I’m sure she’ll either meet the fashion fiends then and just do after-school dates, since there’s no way Mom will get home before Six, and Dad’s not much more likely for that matter. Still, to lessen her chances of sneaking out later on, her door stays open when in bed so they can do the bed check.”
“How much blowback on you?”
“They tried to make me babysit after school, but I said I would only agree if you could come over and paint. For some reason, they didn’t want to get drop-cloths for you. Any weekday I’m not here, though, I have to be there.” Daria made it sound much easier to get out of baby-sitting her sister than it had been.
“So, you’ll be here…or will you really be with Jack?”
“I’ll be here, but tell me about Jack.” Daria tried to be casual, so Jane decided to let it go rather than teasing her at this moment.
“His father is president of the local bank, something like the third generation running it to some degree – his uncles are also involved.” She frowned in thought. “It’s a big deal around here; it’s actually more of a regional bank than a little local one. I think his grandfather just retired from running it. Anyways, Jack’s two grades ahead of us, has an older sister Trent’s age, and the younger brother. Don’t know if there’s anyone else. He dated a cousin of Brittany who is in his grade for nearly three years, but they moved to Long Island this past summer.” She thought some more. “He’s really into science, and somehow managed not to be in any of Barch’s classes. He’s also very a good draughtsman, not a great artist, and knows the difference.”
“Is that how you know him?”
Jane nodded. “He hangs out in the art rooms a lot during study halls. We’ve talked a bit.” She shrugged. “He seems like a nice guy.” Jane didn’t mention she had had a tiny crush on Jack in the fall of her Freshman year, but that had soon returned to one on Trent’s friends, Jesse.
“Tell me about Brittany’s cousin.”
Jane looked over. “Why?”
Daria shrugged. “I guess because I want to know why he asked me out. Do we have anything in common?”
Jane thought about that. Finally, she answered, “Not a whole lot, off-hand. You both have thick, longish hair, and that’s about it. She was well-over three inches taller than you, equally slim in general but a lot closer to Brittany’s bust-size.” She thought a bit more. “That’s about it – she was really involved in the music program – orchestra and select choir, and she was a cheerleader, of course.” Jane shrugged. “Just because the cheerleaders in our grade are all on the ditzy-side doesn’t mean they all are.”
“True,” Daria had to admit. Mary had seemed reasonably nice.
“Look, I know that for whatever reason you hide your looks.” Daria flushed at that comment. “And that you try and give off hostile or at least ‘go away’ vibes. Still, face it, with very little effort, you would be one of the most attractive girls in our class if not the whole school – you might not be as cute as Quinn, but you are prettier.”
“Jane….” Daria’s voice was stressed.
“Is that a recent development, or have you always hidden how you look to avoid competing with Quinn on her chosen ground?”
Daria sat up on Jane’s bed, glared, and then stood. Jane dropped her palette and put her brush down, intercepting Daria before she could leave. “Don’t go,” Jane commanded. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I do consider you the first person I’ve really been friends with. I hope you feel the same.” Daria nodded, a bit shyly. “I know we’ve been avoiding prying into each other’s inner demons, but I think you need to answer, for yourself if not for me, before you go on a date, especially since it’s your first date.”
Daria frowned but stopped trying to get past Jane. After a moment, she demanded, “Do you really think I’m in any way attractive?”
Jane rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen you naked in the gym showers no matter how much you try to hide yourself then; you have a great body, and I envy your pretty, perky, perfectly-rounded B-cups. You have great legs, a nice butt, and yes, you have a very pretty face, even if you try and hide it with your glasses and your usually-successful attempts at expressionlessness. If I were more inclined in that direction, I’d kiss you right now and ask to date you myself.” ‘Now that I know you’re at least interested in dating,’ Jane mentally added.
Daria blushed, which made her look even cuter.
“So, answer my question. Are you trying to change something fairly new, or is this a well-established pattern?”
“I…I guess a bit of both,” Daria confessed. “I was three inches shorter when I entered Ninth grade, and flat as a board.” (Compare how Daria was often drawn in ‘Beavis and Butt-head’, especially early on, to her in the series.) Jane blinked at that, but decided the recent growth spurt was a good reason for a shy girl to hide even more. “I’ve always wanted to be left alone….”
“Really?”
Daria sat down back on the bed, rather heavily. “Okay, I’ve wanted to be allowed to read in peace since I learned to read between the age of three and four – I never liked running around or playing on the playground with other kids. I’ve always preferred observing to participating, and preferred reading to most other things on offer in school. That’s just me. And while I was passively observing, I never….” Daria paused and bit her lip before admitting, “Okay, I very rarely wanted to be participating rather than observing.”
“But sometimes?” Jane asked quietly.
“Sometimes,” Daria admitted. “When Quinn would have a big birthday party, and no one would come to mine or invite me to theirs when we were small.” She gave Jane a twisted quarter smile. “Elementary school was the toughest for me. Believe it or not, middle school wasn’t so bad. There were a couple of girls who included me. Yes, hard as it may be to believe, I actually went to a large number of slumber parties, pool parties, and such, and had a decent time. Even if part of the reason was that I could check out steamy romances from the local library and would read those parts to the group at the slumber parties, it was only a part of the reason. If there were more than four girls or seven or so kids total my age doing something as a group, there was a better than fair chance I was one of them. I was something of the odd one out, but I wasn’t totally an outsider, and I rather liked being something of a member of a group without ever feeling crowded. Then one of the two moved away before eighth grade and the other after that year. The remaining girls had stronger friendships with each other, and I was no longer included.”
“And?”
“And then there I was, alone in the new environment of high school – one of the shorter and lesser developed girls in my class when the year started – and while Lawndale may be more corrupt if even half your stories are to be believed, Highland was worse in just about every other way. We had six shootings my freshman year, including one directed into my class – and the classmate it was directed at shot back out the classroom window! He was punished by having his gun taken away – again. We had a student in most of my classes who had several psychotic episodes, which were untreated and mostly ignored. There were knife fights, fist fights, and/or cat fights at least once a week. Probably about a third of the students used drugs more than occasionally by the time they were seniors, and most of the other juniors and seniors used nicotine in some form during school and/or alcohol after school. Well over half of the girls in my class were sexually active well before Christmas, some before the end of Middle School, and not all really by choice. Nearly a fifth were pregnant at some point between the end of Eighth grade and when we left, even if most had abortions. Mothers like mine put their girls on the Pill as soon as a doctor would prescribe it, just to be on the safe side! You damn well better believe I dressed down and down-played whatever looks I had at the time, not to mention getting my first pair of boots right before I started ninth grade and letting everyone know I had pepper spray and would be happy to use it.”
“How did Quinn handle that?”
“We went to one of three middle schools, and ours was a pretty safe one. While Quinn didn’t believe me about how bad the high school was, she did believe the other girls in her class who had older sisters. She formed a posse of other girls and some of the boys and used them as shields.”
“A user even then.”
“Exactly.”
“And why did you accept a date with Jack?” Jane asked carefully.
“I…I don’t know,” Daria admitted. “It just sort of happened. Is there some reason I shouldn’t have?”
“No, and yes,” Jane stated. “No, because he seems…okay. Unlike a lot of the guys, I’ve never heard anything bad about him. He and Jenny never acted like Brittany and Kevin – they acted a bit more affectionate in public than Jodie and Mack but nothing extreme. He’s smart – rumor would place him in the top five or so in his class, maybe second or third. He’s not bad looking, but if you’re into muscles – WOW! He might even be a bit more developed than Jesse.”
Daria blushed a bit more, which Jane thought endearing.
“On the other hand, you had no interest in joining me in the make-out room, and of course then there’s Trent….”
“I’m not interested in making out with Jack,” Daria stated, mostly believing it. “I don’t know why Trent affects me like that, either. I….” she stopped and blushed.
“What?”
Daria turned away, her embarrassment obviously deepening. Jane came up and placed her hands on Daria’s shoulders, and for once Daria didn’t try and shrug them off. “Please talk to me,” Jane said quietly. “I won’t tease you, even if it’s about Trent, I promise.”
Daria swallowed, and asked in a very small voice, “Do you ever…touch yourself?”
“Of course,” Jane simply stated. “Often.”
“Really?” The surprise was evident in Daria’s voice.
“Usually several times a week, sometimes less, more often more. You?”
“Not often at all…and I’ve never….I’ve never been about to fantasize about anyone in particular. Or even really daydream about them.”
“Really?” Now Jane was surprised.
Daria nodded. “Maybe I do have an esteem problem, but I just can’t imagine being in a successful relationship with someone – romantic or, well physical, never mind sexual.” Daria turned around. “I’ve tried, and failed every time.” She looked down at her boots. “I’m not terribly attracted to guys; no, not, not even Trent – but he’s the first person I was ever really attracted to, for some odd reason – maybe that’s why I overreact around him. I’m even less physically attracted to girls, but you’re the first person I’ve known that I can even imagine being this physically close to.” She looked up at Jane, who was surprised to see how sad and lonely her friend looked, rare since she usually managed to be rather stone-faced. “Is it wrong, is it just building my hopes up for no good reason, to see if someone else might at least tolerate me?”
Jane impulsively hugged her friend, and to Jane’s surprise, Daria hugged her back. “No, it’s not wrong.” Jane broke the hug but kept her hands on Daria’s shoulders. “Never think I just tolerate you. I’ll be here for you.”
“Thank you,” Daria said softly. Daria backed off a little. “Okay, time to kill the mood. Get your algebra out; time for some tutoring. We’re going to get that C average up.”
“Yep, that killed the mood,” Jane agreed.
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To Daria’s pleasant surprise, Jack did not crowd Daria over the next school week, nor did he ignore her in any way. He smiled and greeted her whenever they passed in the hallways, and he even went out of his way to do so more than once. He ate lunch with Daria and Jane on Tuesday and Friday, and included Jane fully in the conversation Tuesday and most of the one on Friday. The only part she was left out of was the discussion about which film to see, as they debated rewatching ‘The Fifth Element’ or trying ‘Event Horizon’ or ‘Air Force One.’ They decided on ‘Event Horizon,’ in part because it had the most convenient showtime, and Jack’s claim that it was showing at the theater with the best nachos.
Still, the pair’s interactions had been observed by many of their fellow students. Tori Jericho, who kept closest track of whose popularity was changing, was upping Daria’s PQ (popularity quotient) slightly, while many others were simply confused. Some still dismissed Daria because they disliked her top, jacket, boots, and/or glasses or her sardonic nature or otherwise stoic outward demeaner (or some combination of those factors); others disliked her because she was obviously smarter than they were. On the other hand, some decided that she dressed that way to separate herself from Quinn, whom most of the girls disliked even as they conceded her popularity and cuteness. Although Quinn didn’t realize it, few of those who gave it a thought (most didn’t, of course) believed Daria and Quinn were anything other than sisters.
Even though he didn’t currently play football, no one discounted Jack. About half of the residential area of Lawndale, the most affluent town in the county, was on the whole a mid-middle class to mid-upper class community, with several wealthy families living within the school district, even if some were slightly outside the town limits (like the Landons, the partners of Helen’s firm, the Frasiers, and at the top, the Sloanes). His family was near the top financially and even more so socially, and whatever their failings in parental oversight, they were (overly) generous to their children. While not working towards a body-builder’s physique, Jack was into weight training, helped coach the football team’s weight training program, and threw the shot put and discus for the track team. So, while neither considered handsome nor unattractive, his body gained him some points with many of the girls (and some of the boys) and his family’s wealth and position, along with a pleasant personality and previously having dated a popular cheerleader, ensured he counted as ‘popular’.
Despite what others might think, Daria largely discounted Jack’s body and totally discounted his family, their position, and their wealth. For some reason, as the week progressed towards their first date she felt comfortable around him – his senses of humor and sarcasm were close to hers and Jane’s, Jane got along with him, he was intelligent and appreciated her intelligence, and he didn’t crowd her.
It seemed that Quinn was one of the last of those who cared about school gossip to realize any of this. She of course knew that Jack and Mary had combined with Daria to get her into trouble, but she figured Daria and Mary were both jealous of her, and that Jack had been lured into the plot by Mary, despite the fact that she was in a relationship. Well, that plus she was sure the older brother of course would want to worship her as much as Jeffy did.
It therefore came as a shock to Quinn when Daria mentioned Thursday night over lasagna that she was actually going on a date the next evening – and it especially shocked her when Daria mentioned who it was with.
“It’s not fair! You CAN”T date Jack! He should date me! No one popular should date an unfashionable geek like you!”
“Quinn!” Helen snapped. She had had a bad day babysitting the partner she worked for, and Quinn had been complaining every night about her grounding. Quinn had also not been at home when Helen got in at 5:20 – Quinn had tried to sneak in at 5:32 but Helen had already searched the house, garage, and backyard, and knew Quinn was breaking her curfew – rather than add to it, Helen had announced at dinner that Quinn’s allowance was forfeit for the duration of her grounding and the Fashion Club ban on being there except for studying was restated when Quinn gave having a study session at Sandi’s as an excuse. (Daria had rolled her eyes at the thought of Sandi or Tiffany even pretending to study.)
Helen had gotten a good (and fairly accurate) impression of Jack the previous Saturday night. He seemed to be a safe bet for a basic date, even if would be Daria’s first – and she also knew that Daria would be carrying bear-repellant strength pepper spray in case they misjudged Jack. “Considering how many dates you had in the short time we’ve been here, don’t begrudge one to your sister.” She remembered how many boys Rita had claimed from her in high school. When Quinn opened her mouth to argue, Helen nearly growled, “Do you want the dating ban to last until New Year’s?”
Quinn paled at that – she knew that the county-wide ‘Snow Ball’ the Saturday before Christmas was the event of the season. If she missed that, her popularity would be gone for at least the rest of the year.
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The next afternoon, Quinn was pleased to see that Daria was pretty much in her usual outfit as she awaited Jack. Instead of a t-shirt ranging anywhere between dark yellow and ochre, Daria did have a decent dark yellow blouse on, but other than her boots also having been well-polished, she was otherwise dressed as usual. “Off to Chez Pierre?” she snipped.
“I certainly hope not,” Daria replied simply. “And, despite your recitation to Ms Manson that a typical date should at least be ‘burger, movie, backseat,’ there will be no backseat involved.”
Quinn flushed a little at that – she had felt pressured in Highland to go along with that formula for most of her dates. She had disliked the physical aspects of being in the backseat, even if she limited those activities as much as possible, but she had valued her popularity rating more than her comfort. She had taken a much more ‘hands off’ approach once arriving in Lawndale. “Well…try and have a good time,” she said, a little lamely but mostly sincerely.
“Thanks,” a slightly surprised Daria responded. “Jane needs to go to the mall tomorrow afternoon. If you have something specific and the cash, I can pick it up for you.”
A surprised Quinn responded in turn, “Thanks, I’ll let you know in the morning.”
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Daria left a few minutes after 5:00. Jake returned home at 5:36 and Helen at 6:21. Even though both knew when Daria was planning on being picked up, one of the first things both asked was, “Is Daria still here?” They had both worried Jack was playing a trick on their stand-offish daughter.
Quinn merely rolled her eyes and answered.
by Dr T
Daria meets someone at Brittany’s party while Jane is with ‘Bobby.’ This moves her life in some very unexpected directions.
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‘Daria’ and its characters, plots, etc. belong to many others, not me; I’m just playing with the characters and so on for fun. Readers are hopefully familiar with the episodes and setting. So for this Daria-verse, canon starts in late September, 1997. The series would therefore end in the summer of 2000. This concentrates on Daria’s first year in Lawndale and part of the second (season 1 and parts of later ones), with the consequences.
Note that I have been writing fan fics for over 20 years – I am not interested in collaborators, illustrators, etc. Reviews and PMs on those topics will be ignored.
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Brittany’s house, October, 1997
Daria Morgendorffer was not happy and she was NOT having a good time. More specifically, she was unhappy for a variety of reasons. In part, because 1) she was bored; 2) she hadn’t really wanted to come to this (or any) party, but a) Jane had mostly talked her into it; b) it bugged Quinn that she had come (granted, that was almost always good, or at least enjoyable); c) their parents had insisted she keep an eye on Quinn (not that they would likely believe any tales of Quinn’s misbehaving); and d) (as much as she hated admitting it), because she didn’t want to be rude to Brittany, who really hadn’t needed to invite her, even if it was a very back-handed invitation. Mostly, however, her current irritated state of mind was caused because Jane, the first person she had ever considered a close friend, had deserted her to go to the ‘make-out’ room with a strange boy with a slightly over-sized head, leaving her to drive off ‘Bobby Big-head’s’ even sleezier sidekick.
“You look even less thrilled to be here than I feel,” came a rather deep voice to the side of her.
Daria turned towards the voice, and saw a guy, at least a year older and more likely two, nearly six foot tall and fairly heavily muscled, with hair just slightly more reddish than the color of her own brown-auburn and eyes about the same color as Jane’s. “Excuse me?” Daria responded. He smiled slightly, which prompted her to ask, “A football player? Not interested in a party given by a cheerleader?”
“Well, I haven’t played football since Ninth grade,” he told her with that same slight smile. “I do know Brittany, but I was sent along mostly because even my parents, who adore my younger brother, know that when he’s with his two buddies, they make the Three Stooges seem like well-mannered and responsible gentlemen, even if they rarely believe how stupid the trio can get.”
“I take it your brother….” She glanced towards where Quinn was smirking at three silly-acting Freshman boys competing for her attention.
The guy sighed. “He’s the ginger-haired moron competing for the attention of that vacuous pumpkin-head.”
“The pumpkin-head is my sister,” Daria drawled, before going on, “and I was sent along with the same parental charge. And congratulations, it’s a small world; my parents almost never believe anything bad about her either.”
“Shall we wait together until something moronic happens and reenforce the stories to our parents, or not squeal on them unless it’s very bad?”
The right side of Daria’s mouth quirked into a very brief quarter-smile/smirk, surprised that this boy seemed to be on the same wavelength as herself. “The latter might be better.”
“Jackson Frasier, but call me Jack.”
“Daria Morgendorffer.”
Jack nodded at Daria’s glass. “Ditch the mediocre and probably spiked punch and split a soda?”
Daria’s lips twitched into another brief smirk. “Okay.” Daria had seen her sister ‘asking’ boys for sodas since 7th grade, but this was the first time Daria had been asked. She was surprised that, really for the first time, she actually welcomed the bit of this sort of attention. Jack was not smarmy or otherwise objectionable like those who propositioned nearly any female; and while on the other hand he did not provoke any of the embarrassingly extreme reactions Trent caused her to have, she had to admit he seemed…nice, and he also didn’t repel her in any way, which was also a very unusual reaction. Males on the make in any fashion always bugged her in some way. In fact, he was rather…what, besides ‘nice’? Interesting? Yes. And, dare she admit, actually…attractive?
Daria tried to convince herself that the answer to that last observation was only ‘maybe.’
Daria wasn’t sure (or at least would not admit) why, but she felt a bit resentful a few moments later when a tall, very pretty and busty (except compared to Brittany) brunette came over to speak with Jack as he split the soda with her and was handing her the cup while he kept the can. “Jack! I’m glad you’re here!” Daria recognized her as a senior cheerleader, even if she didn’t know her name.
Before Daria’s imagination could make any further problems pop into her head, Jack picked things up. “Mary, this is Daria, unfortunate sibling to the pumpkin-head. Daria, this is the equally unfortunate sibling to the black-haired stooge.”
“Hi!” Mary said pleasantly. “Have the three idiots done something more stupid than usual yet?”
“No, but from the smirk on Quinn’s face, she egging them towards something,” Daria told them as she relaxed slightly.
“Where’s Jerry?” Tyler asked. Turning to Daria, he added, “Her boyfriend.” Daria relaxed even more, although she wasn’t sure why.
“He’s around somewhere, looking for our coats. As soon as they do something stupid, we’re dragging Joey’s butt home.”
Daria frowned slightly. “Wait, didn’t you bring my sister?”
Mary nodded. “It was so pathetic it was funny. The four sat in the back, Quinn over on the left, and she made Joey sit on the other two’s laps so she wouldn’t be squished.” Mary peered at Daria. “Is she, well, gay or something, or just mean? Just getting off on teasing the boys along?”
The question surprised Daria, who had always taken Quinn’s flirtatious teasing at more face value. “I don’t think she’s gay or even bi, but she definitely only wants attention from her dates, as well as everyone else. To be seen, yes; physical contact, not so much.” Daria thought Quinn had been quickly heading towards the usual Highland promiscuousness before their move, but in the short time they had been in Lawndale, that seemed to have changed; she wasn’t sure why.
“Weird,” Mary said with a shrug. “Anyways, now that there are three of us, if they do anything too stupid, maybe we’ll be believed if we all stick together – we know they’re going to do something stupid, we just don’t know how stupid yet.”
“Sure.” Jack looked behind Daria. “Hey, Jane.”
“Jack,” Jane returned. “What’s up?” she asked Daria, wondering why the popular Jack and the very popular Mary, two seniors, were with her fellow Sophomore Daria.
“It seems these are siblings to two of the three barnacles trying to attach themselves to Quinn,” Daria explained.
“Did your brother drop you two off?” Jack asked Jane.
“Yeah, why?”
“It looks like the Three Stooges are about to go into their act. If we have to break up the mayhem, we’ll drag all their butts home. I can give you two a ride home, if you’d like.”
Surprising herself as well as Jane, Daria agreed before Jane could.
dp
Mary’s boyfriend, a large offensive tackle, had just come up with his and Mary’s coats when the Three J’s broke into a fistfight for Quinn’s attention and approval (the latter based on the smirk the outbreak had created). Jerry and Jack broke them apart quickly, but not before Jeffy received what would soon turn into a very black eye. The three siblings therefore decided things had to be turned over to the parents.
Faced with the declarations by Jack, Mary, Jerry, Daria, and Jane (plus Jeffy’s increasing swollen eye), all the parents cracked down, although only Quinn whined and complained about it. It was just a little before 10:30 when all the miscreants had been returned home (Quinn, Joey, Jeffy, and Jamie in order) to again face their parents, and then Jane was dropped off. Jerry had left with Mary after they all testified against Jeffy, while Daria had ridden the whole time next to Jack.
“Two things,” Jack said to Daria as he started the car after they had walked Jane to her door. “Want to see if you can get your sister into more trouble?”
That sounded good to Daria – it was rare for Quinn to actually be in trouble. “Sure, how?”
“There’s a deserted stretch of abandoned road. Most Saturday nights are drag nights from ten-thirty to around one. Most of the stupid and popular junior and senior guys are there to compete or egg the other idiots on, and most of the wanna-be popular girls are there to watch – that’s especially true after the posturing done at a party, like tonight. They start gathering just after Ten. I bet there’s a chance she’s already snuck out to go and be seen, at least if she already had organized a ride.”
Knowing Quinn, Daria believed there was a chance she would risk getting caught despite already being in trouble if she had pre-arranged a ride. “Okay, if it won’t take too long.”
dp
In fact, it only took fifteen minutes before Daria was approaching her house. It was then that something occurred to her. “What was the second thing?”
Jack had been wondering how to bring this up. “Would you like to go out Friday night?”
Daria blinked. “What?”
“Would you like to join me next Friday night?" He smiled. “Please?”
“O…okay? Doing what?” she asked, very unsure of herself and about what was happening.
“Simple dinner and then a movie? There are four multiplex theaters nearby, one must have something we could both tolerate.”
“Okay?”
Seeing as well as hearing her uncertainty, Jack asked gently, “Daria…is this the first date you’ve been asked on?”
“It is,” Daria confessed, flushing from embarrassment. ‘Well, it’s the first I’ve actually agreed to,” she added mentally, not wanting to seem too eager.
Jack thought she was cute and fascinating, and so was very surprised she hadn’t been asked before. Still, he reassured her. “Don’t worry; no pressure. Nothing fancy, just a ‘let’s get to know each other a bit’ type date. How about pizza or Beef-n-Cake and then maybe a movie?” They pulled into the Morgendorffers’ driveway.
“Either would be great.” Daria got out. “Providing I don’t get hit by the flak Quinn’s about to get, I’ll look into movies and try to give you a choice.”
Jack smiled. “Sounds great. See you Monday.”
“Monday,” Daria replied with a slight smile of her own that Jack thought adorable.
dp
The next afternoon, Daria was in Jane’s room. Jane looked over from where she was working on a painting. “So, how much trouble is Princess Grace in after your parents discovered she skipped out of the house late last night after being grounded?”
“Completely grounded in theory for three weeks, once she got back well after midnight – including no after-school Fashion Club meetings, alleged emergencies or not, and no more pretend study groups – they are only allowed to meet in our living room so I’m sure she’ll either meet the fashion fiends then and just do after-school dates, since there’s no way Mom will get home before Six, and Dad’s not much more likely for that matter. Still, to lessen her chances of sneaking out later on, her door stays open when in bed so they can do the bed check.”
“How much blowback on you?”
“They tried to make me babysit after school, but I said I would only agree if you could come over and paint. For some reason, they didn’t want to get drop-cloths for you. Any weekday I’m not here, though, I have to be there.” Daria made it sound much easier to get out of baby-sitting her sister than it had been.
“So, you’ll be here…or will you really be with Jack?”
“I’ll be here, but tell me about Jack.” Daria tried to be casual, so Jane decided to let it go rather than teasing her at this moment.
“His father is president of the local bank, something like the third generation running it to some degree – his uncles are also involved.” She frowned in thought. “It’s a big deal around here; it’s actually more of a regional bank than a little local one. I think his grandfather just retired from running it. Anyways, Jack’s two grades ahead of us, has an older sister Trent’s age, and the younger brother. Don’t know if there’s anyone else. He dated a cousin of Brittany who is in his grade for nearly three years, but they moved to Long Island this past summer.” She thought some more. “He’s really into science, and somehow managed not to be in any of Barch’s classes. He’s also very a good draughtsman, not a great artist, and knows the difference.”
“Is that how you know him?”
Jane nodded. “He hangs out in the art rooms a lot during study halls. We’ve talked a bit.” She shrugged. “He seems like a nice guy.” Jane didn’t mention she had had a tiny crush on Jack in the fall of her Freshman year, but that had soon returned to one on Trent’s friends, Jesse.
“Tell me about Brittany’s cousin.”
Jane looked over. “Why?”
Daria shrugged. “I guess because I want to know why he asked me out. Do we have anything in common?”
Jane thought about that. Finally, she answered, “Not a whole lot, off-hand. You both have thick, longish hair, and that’s about it. She was well-over three inches taller than you, equally slim in general but a lot closer to Brittany’s bust-size.” She thought a bit more. “That’s about it – she was really involved in the music program – orchestra and select choir, and she was a cheerleader, of course.” Jane shrugged. “Just because the cheerleaders in our grade are all on the ditzy-side doesn’t mean they all are.”
“True,” Daria had to admit. Mary had seemed reasonably nice.
“Look, I know that for whatever reason you hide your looks.” Daria flushed at that comment. “And that you try and give off hostile or at least ‘go away’ vibes. Still, face it, with very little effort, you would be one of the most attractive girls in our class if not the whole school – you might not be as cute as Quinn, but you are prettier.”
“Jane….” Daria’s voice was stressed.
“Is that a recent development, or have you always hidden how you look to avoid competing with Quinn on her chosen ground?”
Daria sat up on Jane’s bed, glared, and then stood. Jane dropped her palette and put her brush down, intercepting Daria before she could leave. “Don’t go,” Jane commanded. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I do consider you the first person I’ve really been friends with. I hope you feel the same.” Daria nodded, a bit shyly. “I know we’ve been avoiding prying into each other’s inner demons, but I think you need to answer, for yourself if not for me, before you go on a date, especially since it’s your first date.”
Daria frowned but stopped trying to get past Jane. After a moment, she demanded, “Do you really think I’m in any way attractive?”
Jane rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen you naked in the gym showers no matter how much you try to hide yourself then; you have a great body, and I envy your pretty, perky, perfectly-rounded B-cups. You have great legs, a nice butt, and yes, you have a very pretty face, even if you try and hide it with your glasses and your usually-successful attempts at expressionlessness. If I were more inclined in that direction, I’d kiss you right now and ask to date you myself.” ‘Now that I know you’re at least interested in dating,’ Jane mentally added.
Daria blushed, which made her look even cuter.
“So, answer my question. Are you trying to change something fairly new, or is this a well-established pattern?”
“I…I guess a bit of both,” Daria confessed. “I was three inches shorter when I entered Ninth grade, and flat as a board.” (Compare how Daria was often drawn in ‘Beavis and Butt-head’, especially early on, to her in the series.) Jane blinked at that, but decided the recent growth spurt was a good reason for a shy girl to hide even more. “I’ve always wanted to be left alone….”
“Really?”
Daria sat down back on the bed, rather heavily. “Okay, I’ve wanted to be allowed to read in peace since I learned to read between the age of three and four – I never liked running around or playing on the playground with other kids. I’ve always preferred observing to participating, and preferred reading to most other things on offer in school. That’s just me. And while I was passively observing, I never….” Daria paused and bit her lip before admitting, “Okay, I very rarely wanted to be participating rather than observing.”
“But sometimes?” Jane asked quietly.
“Sometimes,” Daria admitted. “When Quinn would have a big birthday party, and no one would come to mine or invite me to theirs when we were small.” She gave Jane a twisted quarter smile. “Elementary school was the toughest for me. Believe it or not, middle school wasn’t so bad. There were a couple of girls who included me. Yes, hard as it may be to believe, I actually went to a large number of slumber parties, pool parties, and such, and had a decent time. Even if part of the reason was that I could check out steamy romances from the local library and would read those parts to the group at the slumber parties, it was only a part of the reason. If there were more than four girls or seven or so kids total my age doing something as a group, there was a better than fair chance I was one of them. I was something of the odd one out, but I wasn’t totally an outsider, and I rather liked being something of a member of a group without ever feeling crowded. Then one of the two moved away before eighth grade and the other after that year. The remaining girls had stronger friendships with each other, and I was no longer included.”
“And?”
“And then there I was, alone in the new environment of high school – one of the shorter and lesser developed girls in my class when the year started – and while Lawndale may be more corrupt if even half your stories are to be believed, Highland was worse in just about every other way. We had six shootings my freshman year, including one directed into my class – and the classmate it was directed at shot back out the classroom window! He was punished by having his gun taken away – again. We had a student in most of my classes who had several psychotic episodes, which were untreated and mostly ignored. There were knife fights, fist fights, and/or cat fights at least once a week. Probably about a third of the students used drugs more than occasionally by the time they were seniors, and most of the other juniors and seniors used nicotine in some form during school and/or alcohol after school. Well over half of the girls in my class were sexually active well before Christmas, some before the end of Middle School, and not all really by choice. Nearly a fifth were pregnant at some point between the end of Eighth grade and when we left, even if most had abortions. Mothers like mine put their girls on the Pill as soon as a doctor would prescribe it, just to be on the safe side! You damn well better believe I dressed down and down-played whatever looks I had at the time, not to mention getting my first pair of boots right before I started ninth grade and letting everyone know I had pepper spray and would be happy to use it.”
“How did Quinn handle that?”
“We went to one of three middle schools, and ours was a pretty safe one. While Quinn didn’t believe me about how bad the high school was, she did believe the other girls in her class who had older sisters. She formed a posse of other girls and some of the boys and used them as shields.”
“A user even then.”
“Exactly.”
“And why did you accept a date with Jack?” Jane asked carefully.
“I…I don’t know,” Daria admitted. “It just sort of happened. Is there some reason I shouldn’t have?”
“No, and yes,” Jane stated. “No, because he seems…okay. Unlike a lot of the guys, I’ve never heard anything bad about him. He and Jenny never acted like Brittany and Kevin – they acted a bit more affectionate in public than Jodie and Mack but nothing extreme. He’s smart – rumor would place him in the top five or so in his class, maybe second or third. He’s not bad looking, but if you’re into muscles – WOW! He might even be a bit more developed than Jesse.”
Daria blushed a bit more, which Jane thought endearing.
“On the other hand, you had no interest in joining me in the make-out room, and of course then there’s Trent….”
“I’m not interested in making out with Jack,” Daria stated, mostly believing it. “I don’t know why Trent affects me like that, either. I….” she stopped and blushed.
“What?”
Daria turned away, her embarrassment obviously deepening. Jane came up and placed her hands on Daria’s shoulders, and for once Daria didn’t try and shrug them off. “Please talk to me,” Jane said quietly. “I won’t tease you, even if it’s about Trent, I promise.”
Daria swallowed, and asked in a very small voice, “Do you ever…touch yourself?”
“Of course,” Jane simply stated. “Often.”
“Really?” The surprise was evident in Daria’s voice.
“Usually several times a week, sometimes less, more often more. You?”
“Not often at all…and I’ve never….I’ve never been about to fantasize about anyone in particular. Or even really daydream about them.”
“Really?” Now Jane was surprised.
Daria nodded. “Maybe I do have an esteem problem, but I just can’t imagine being in a successful relationship with someone – romantic or, well physical, never mind sexual.” Daria turned around. “I’ve tried, and failed every time.” She looked down at her boots. “I’m not terribly attracted to guys; no, not, not even Trent – but he’s the first person I was ever really attracted to, for some odd reason – maybe that’s why I overreact around him. I’m even less physically attracted to girls, but you’re the first person I’ve known that I can even imagine being this physically close to.” She looked up at Jane, who was surprised to see how sad and lonely her friend looked, rare since she usually managed to be rather stone-faced. “Is it wrong, is it just building my hopes up for no good reason, to see if someone else might at least tolerate me?”
Jane impulsively hugged her friend, and to Jane’s surprise, Daria hugged her back. “No, it’s not wrong.” Jane broke the hug but kept her hands on Daria’s shoulders. “Never think I just tolerate you. I’ll be here for you.”
“Thank you,” Daria said softly. Daria backed off a little. “Okay, time to kill the mood. Get your algebra out; time for some tutoring. We’re going to get that C average up.”
“Yep, that killed the mood,” Jane agreed.
dp
To Daria’s pleasant surprise, Jack did not crowd Daria over the next school week, nor did he ignore her in any way. He smiled and greeted her whenever they passed in the hallways, and he even went out of his way to do so more than once. He ate lunch with Daria and Jane on Tuesday and Friday, and included Jane fully in the conversation Tuesday and most of the one on Friday. The only part she was left out of was the discussion about which film to see, as they debated rewatching ‘The Fifth Element’ or trying ‘Event Horizon’ or ‘Air Force One.’ They decided on ‘Event Horizon,’ in part because it had the most convenient showtime, and Jack’s claim that it was showing at the theater with the best nachos.
Still, the pair’s interactions had been observed by many of their fellow students. Tori Jericho, who kept closest track of whose popularity was changing, was upping Daria’s PQ (popularity quotient) slightly, while many others were simply confused. Some still dismissed Daria because they disliked her top, jacket, boots, and/or glasses or her sardonic nature or otherwise stoic outward demeaner (or some combination of those factors); others disliked her because she was obviously smarter than they were. On the other hand, some decided that she dressed that way to separate herself from Quinn, whom most of the girls disliked even as they conceded her popularity and cuteness. Although Quinn didn’t realize it, few of those who gave it a thought (most didn’t, of course) believed Daria and Quinn were anything other than sisters.
Even though he didn’t currently play football, no one discounted Jack. About half of the residential area of Lawndale, the most affluent town in the county, was on the whole a mid-middle class to mid-upper class community, with several wealthy families living within the school district, even if some were slightly outside the town limits (like the Landons, the partners of Helen’s firm, the Frasiers, and at the top, the Sloanes). His family was near the top financially and even more so socially, and whatever their failings in parental oversight, they were (overly) generous to their children. While not working towards a body-builder’s physique, Jack was into weight training, helped coach the football team’s weight training program, and threw the shot put and discus for the track team. So, while neither considered handsome nor unattractive, his body gained him some points with many of the girls (and some of the boys) and his family’s wealth and position, along with a pleasant personality and previously having dated a popular cheerleader, ensured he counted as ‘popular’.
Despite what others might think, Daria largely discounted Jack’s body and totally discounted his family, their position, and their wealth. For some reason, as the week progressed towards their first date she felt comfortable around him – his senses of humor and sarcasm were close to hers and Jane’s, Jane got along with him, he was intelligent and appreciated her intelligence, and he didn’t crowd her.
It seemed that Quinn was one of the last of those who cared about school gossip to realize any of this. She of course knew that Jack and Mary had combined with Daria to get her into trouble, but she figured Daria and Mary were both jealous of her, and that Jack had been lured into the plot by Mary, despite the fact that she was in a relationship. Well, that plus she was sure the older brother of course would want to worship her as much as Jeffy did.
It therefore came as a shock to Quinn when Daria mentioned Thursday night over lasagna that she was actually going on a date the next evening – and it especially shocked her when Daria mentioned who it was with.
“It’s not fair! You CAN”T date Jack! He should date me! No one popular should date an unfashionable geek like you!”
“Quinn!” Helen snapped. She had had a bad day babysitting the partner she worked for, and Quinn had been complaining every night about her grounding. Quinn had also not been at home when Helen got in at 5:20 – Quinn had tried to sneak in at 5:32 but Helen had already searched the house, garage, and backyard, and knew Quinn was breaking her curfew – rather than add to it, Helen had announced at dinner that Quinn’s allowance was forfeit for the duration of her grounding and the Fashion Club ban on being there except for studying was restated when Quinn gave having a study session at Sandi’s as an excuse. (Daria had rolled her eyes at the thought of Sandi or Tiffany even pretending to study.)
Helen had gotten a good (and fairly accurate) impression of Jack the previous Saturday night. He seemed to be a safe bet for a basic date, even if would be Daria’s first – and she also knew that Daria would be carrying bear-repellant strength pepper spray in case they misjudged Jack. “Considering how many dates you had in the short time we’ve been here, don’t begrudge one to your sister.” She remembered how many boys Rita had claimed from her in high school. When Quinn opened her mouth to argue, Helen nearly growled, “Do you want the dating ban to last until New Year’s?”
Quinn paled at that – she knew that the county-wide ‘Snow Ball’ the Saturday before Christmas was the event of the season. If she missed that, her popularity would be gone for at least the rest of the year.
dp
The next afternoon, Quinn was pleased to see that Daria was pretty much in her usual outfit as she awaited Jack. Instead of a t-shirt ranging anywhere between dark yellow and ochre, Daria did have a decent dark yellow blouse on, but other than her boots also having been well-polished, she was otherwise dressed as usual. “Off to Chez Pierre?” she snipped.
“I certainly hope not,” Daria replied simply. “And, despite your recitation to Ms Manson that a typical date should at least be ‘burger, movie, backseat,’ there will be no backseat involved.”
Quinn flushed a little at that – she had felt pressured in Highland to go along with that formula for most of her dates. She had disliked the physical aspects of being in the backseat, even if she limited those activities as much as possible, but she had valued her popularity rating more than her comfort. She had taken a much more ‘hands off’ approach once arriving in Lawndale. “Well…try and have a good time,” she said, a little lamely but mostly sincerely.
“Thanks,” a slightly surprised Daria responded. “Jane needs to go to the mall tomorrow afternoon. If you have something specific and the cash, I can pick it up for you.”
A surprised Quinn responded in turn, “Thanks, I’ll let you know in the morning.”
dp
Daria left a few minutes after 5:00. Jake returned home at 5:36 and Helen at 6:21. Even though both knew when Daria was planning on being picked up, one of the first things both asked was, “Is Daria still here?” They had both worried Jack was playing a trick on their stand-offish daughter.
Quinn merely rolled her eyes and answered.
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