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Daria's Party Addition – 19 – the Tom Thing and Jack Returns

By Dr T

The next afternoon, Jane was sitting in the Morgendorffer kitchen as Stacy put the finishing touches on her hair coloring. Daria was supervising, if only to make sure the group didn't go overboard on giving make-over advice.

The group in the kitchen looked up when Quinn came in. "Jane, that boyfriend of yours just pulled up out front in the ugly car of his," she complained.

Jane and Daria exchanged a frown. Jane then gave Daria a slightly pleading look. Daria sighed and said as she stood up, "Fine. I'll go tell him you're still getting made-over. He can wait until tomorrow to see the result." Jane merely nodded her agreement. She wondered how Tom had known she was at Daria's.

Daria opened the front door just before Tom rang the bell. "Yes?" she demanded.

Tom saw Quinn and Brooke standing well behind Daria. "Can we talk?" he almost demanded, frowning.

"I suppose so." Daria took a step back.

"No, not in there," he stated, and Daria turned and saw the two teens staring. "Let's go talk in my car," he suggested.

Frowning, Daria could only ask, "About what?"

Tom didn't really answer. "Jane…and stuff."

Daria thought his tone was a bit shifty. Frowning even more, she followed Tom, but first turned and mouthed to the girls, 'Get Jane, and watch.' Daria did not trust Tom.

As they made their way towards Tom's car, a slight glare prevented them from seeing that they were being watched by the other teens from the large front window.

The girls watched as the pair approached Tom's Pinto. Despite his obvious urging, it was equally clear that Daria was refusing to get into his car. Tom's gestures got emphatic as the seconds went by and Daria refused to budge. This made Quinn go for the cordless phone. When she returned to the window, Quinn saw that Tom was trying to maneuver Daria back against the passenger side of the Pinto. Daria was attempting to resist, but Tom was getting into her personal space.

That made Jane and especially Quinn wince, as both knew Daria would not react well to that sort of pressure. Daria was by now obviously losing her patience, and said something sharp that made Tom glare. When Daria tried to move away with a sideways move, Tom grabbed her arm, said something, and then pulled Daria into an attempted kiss.

As Daria struggled to get out of Tom's embrace, that was it for Jane and Tori, who stormed out of the house, while Quinn came out onto the stoop, ready to call 911 if necessary, backed up by the other girls.

Just then, Tom screamed in pain and then started cursing as Daria had stomped on his left instep with her boot heel as hard as she could. As Tom released her with something close to a shove, Daria fell backwards, the back of her head hitting the sidewalk. As Tom angrily looked up, he saw Jane and another angry teen nearing him and three others on the stoop, Quinn with a cordless phone, ready to call someone.

Tom limped backwards until he bumped against his car, while Jane, her stripped hair waving and a snarl on her face, approached. "Tom, you stupid, two-timing bastard!" she screamed in his face. "Get out of here! Never come near us again!"

Tori, who was kneeling next to a slightly dazed Daria who was trying to sit up, called over, "And you can forget dating anyone from Lawndale High! We'll make certain of that!"

"And don't think you can whine about getting stomped," Jane told him. "We all saw what happened. You had better hope that Missus Morgendorffer doesn't cause you trouble."

Holding himself upright against the hood of his car, Tom recovered his aplomb and sneered, replying, "Yeah, right." He was a Sloane; he wasn't worried about any legal threats. He limped over to the driver's door, glad Daria had at least injured his left foot, so that he could drive.

As Tom drove off, Jane helped Tori get Daria, still a bit dazed, to her feet. Tori had had some first aid training, and made certain Daria didn't have any concussion symptoms and wasn't bleeding, although she would likely have a lump on the back of her head for a few days. The pair then helped Daria back into the house.

"What was that all about," Jane angrily demanded as they help guide Daria to sit down.

"He was complaining about you changing, and claimed he thought we would make a better couple, even though he hadn't broken up with you and knew that I'm with Jack. When I told him that, he, well….

"Got pushy and then got grabby," Quinn stated. The girls got Daria comfortable on the sofa, and then Quinn called Helen, who was at the office going over some documents. Following her instructions, each teen took turns on Quinn or Daria's computer and typed out their version of the events. Most were finished and printed out by the time Helen arrived home to take Daria to the emergency room to be checked out.

Sure enough, Helen was contacted the next afternoon by the Sloane family's law firm – it turned out that Daria had caused three hairline fractures in Tom's left foot. Helen faxed the teens' statements to the lawyer who had called her as well as the emergency room's report on the injury to Daria's head, and asked if they wanted a counter-suit and a possible sexual harassment case filed.

The Sloane family lawyers were excellent, but they also knew the reputation of Jim Vitale and some of the lawyers in his partnership. They also knew that Helen herself was gaining quite the reputation. They therefore looked over the girls' statements carefully, especially Daria's, and realized any defense would be difficult, and any complaint against Daria would be even less likely to succeed, while one filed on her behalf might have traction. Those reports, and the ER report, were certainly damaging when taken together. When Angier Sloane read the statements, even before listening to his lawyers' opinions, he was not happy. The lawyers were thanked, and they were instructed to offer a full apology to Daria, Jane, and even Helen. Helen would also be reimbursed for the emergency room visit.

Angier decided Tom had far too much freedom, and needed to learn some responsibility.
Tom's mother Kay had been on his side at first. When she read the full story, and realized it was Daria who had injured Tom and why, she changed sides. She knew from Dolly Frasier that Jack and Daria were still believed to be a serious couple, and knew that the Frasiers were the one family with far more social pull than the Sloanes. Kay also totally believed the basic story that had emerged, even more so than her husband. She therefore backed Angier in their punishing Tom.

Tom would not have anywhere nearly as much fun, or freedom, over the next eighteen months or so as he had enjoyed over the previous nine. He lost his car, and would spend his senior year as a resident student at Fielding.

Elsie would also have a different escort that year at the Cotillion.

That Sunday night, however, as Daria got ready for bed, Quinn quietly knocked and came in. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Slightly surprised Quinn would check on her, Daria assured her she was. Then Daria asked, "Did you need to ask about something else?" Seeing Quinn's expression, she went on, "Or talk about something else?"

Quinn still hesitated, so Daria sat on her bed and patted the mattress, so that Quinn would join her. The two certainly had their differences, even if somewhat less so than before the summer, but Daria still was willing to help Quinn, or at least try to listen to her problems. Finally, Quinn said as she sat next to her older sister, "You're lucky you found Jack."

"I am," Daria agreed.

"I wish I'd found someone I could like like him."

Daria looked at Quinn, a bit puzzled. Finally, she asked, "Tell me seriously, have you looked?"

Quinn looked at her sister, puzzled. "Do you know how many guys I've dated?" she finally asked.

"That's not what I asked you," Daria retorted. "You like attention, you like being admired by people in general…."

"You don't?" Quinn almost demanded.

"On the whole, no, I don't. I'd rather ignore most people and have them ignore me," Daria retorted. "Sure, there are people I hope respect and/or like me, but I don't care if those I don't know and who don't really know me think about me at all. You do. That doesn't make me better," Daria added, slightly lying in her opinion.

Daria went on. "We're just different that way. Yes, I lucked into Jack; I'm sure if he hadn't been at that party, we never would have really met, let alone fallen for each other. I wasn't looking for anything with anyone, and really just lucked into the possibilities. You have always wanted to be admired; your dates admire you to various degrees and that pushes your popularity at school and that is what is, or at least has been, important to you. I let Jack get to really know me and he let me get to know him, and then we could get close, and, to my surprise, we meshed. Have you ever really let any of your dates get to know you? The real you?"

Quinn thought about that. "Not really," she finally admitted, as much to herself as to Daria.

"You have a lot of friends, but do any of them really know you?" Daria went on. "Jane knows me very well. Not just my interests and the basics, I mean my dreams, a lot of my traumas and some of my nightmares. The same is true of Jack, and I know them that well, too. Can Tori or Stacy say the same about you? Or you about them?"

Quinn sighed. "No."

"People like Ms Mason look at us and see you're outwardly bubbly and personable, but in reality you hide yourself under that mask at least as much as I hide under sarcasm and cynicism – unlike some people's, at least our masks aren't fake, they genuinely reflect who we are, but we also dial those traits up and use them to create a strong outward persona that we're comfortable with people seeing. One difference is Jack and Jane have seen under my masks, just like I've seen under theirs. Yours is still in place."

"I guess that's true," Quinn had to agree.

"Is there anyone you want to get that close to? If there's not, it might be better not to take the risk, but if there is…."

"I think Stacy could be my Jane, except, well, she can't help but gossip," Quinn confessed. She looked at Daria, a little apprehensive. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course, and I'll keep it a secret, unless you're going to hurt yourself or something similar."

Quinn shook her head, "No, nothing like that." She steeled herself, and knowing she could trust Daria's word, told her, "I didn't like the backseat make-out sessions that seemed to be required back in Highland. Since then, I can barely let most guys touch me now, although Jeffy might be getting close." She looked Daria in the eyes and tried to speak.

"Don't let Jack and my relationship affect you and Jeff in either direction," Daria warned. "However, there's at least one girl who's touched you, at least in some sense?"

"Well, not physically…."

"But emotionally?" Quinn hesitated, but nodded. "And you like it?"

Quinn nodded again, her eyes downcast.

"More than that?"

Biting her lip, Quinn nodded yet again, saying, "I think…maybe? I'm not sure."

"Well, if Stacy can't keep a secret, I doubt it's her. Tori?"

"Yes," Quinn whispered. She looked Daria in the eyes, worried. "Am I a dyke?"

"If you mean are you a lesbian, maybe; but even if you are you are hardly a stereotypical dyke. None of the few girls who I know are out at school fit that old stereotype anyway, so ignore that image." Daria shrugged. "You may be gay, you may be bi, you may be going through an experimental stage. You'll figure out which you fit into, and it'll be fine. There's no need to rush things."

"Really?" Quinn asked, both a bit doubtful and yet hopeful.

"Really. Do you think it might become physical?"

"I…I think so, but what if I like it?"

"Then you like it, and even if you do, that doesn't mean you can't like being with the right guy as well. You may end up liking both to some degree, liking one over the other, or deciding neither is fully right for you. In that case, you might even decide it's not the gender you care about but the person." Daria shrugged. "I really doubted if I could ever be physical with anyone, boy or girl. I had decided it didn't matter if I ever was, if it happened, it would happen. I figured it would be a guy, but I never ruled out the possibility of a girl."

Daria looked directly at Quinn. "If you decide to have a same-sex relationship, yes, you might face some harsh blowback, especially in high school, but in the long run, I just hope you're happy. I promise you," she said, taking Quinn's hand for the first time in many years, "while I might criticize whoever you end up having a serious relationship with, it won't be because of their gender. Even if you decide you don't want either, or even both, I'll support you."

Quinn surprised both by giving Daria a brief if sincere hug. "Thanks."

dp

Daria was not thrilled that Jane decided the next week to deal with her frustrations in the aftermath of she was calling 'that Tom thing' by joining the track team. Still, on the whole, Daria came to see that it was good for Jane. The practice prevented her from brooding, and while cutting into her free time, it actually made her use that remaining time better. Therefore, despite some flirting with a member of the boys' team, Jane buckled down and became serious about her grades (with a little tutoring from Daria) and kept up on her art at the same time.

Granted, that meant that Daria and Jane did not spend any time together directly after school Monday through Thursday, as that was when Jane trained (of course, because of Tom they had rarely done so over the previous weeks). Instead, they either went out together after track practice for dinner (pizza or burgers) or ate dinner with Daria's parents, and then spent an hour or so doing some studying and otherwise just enjoying spending more time together. If they were at Jane's after dinner, if they weren't studying Jane would paint as they chatted, while she sometimes sketched at Daria's. In any event, overall, just as Daria had gained focus the previous spring, Jane had that focus now.

This focus paid off a few weeks later when Jane got her SAT results – 630 and 480, putting her over the minimum requirements for BFAC and several other places with good art programs. Jane would also end up applying to, and being accepted by, Ashfield, a summer art program. That would also help her college applications the following year.

Meanwhile, at no point that spring did either Helen or Jane think to ask Daria what she did on Tuesday and Thursdays – her Calculus class met MWF after all. They both presumed all she did was study. Daria basically developed a three hour routine – some time exercising, some time studying physiology or doing the calc homework, but at least an hour writing. Daria was determined to keep up her fiction writing.

While these were developing, much of Daria's remaining attention was on Jack's upcoming return to Lawndale for spring break in early March. He was unable to leave on the Friday, and so he didn't arrive in Lawndale until early Saturday evening – while the actual driving time was under seven hours, that didn't take into account some urban traffic, rest stops and at least one meal break, and so the trip was usually around nine hours from start to finish, especially during the workweek. This time, it was still over eight hours.

Jack's mother had invited Daria over to wait for Jack, and so their reunion was much more decorous and even chaste than it otherwise might have been. The pair was really unable to do much together that Sunday, either. Fortunately, that week was also Lawndale State's spring break. (Lawndale High's would be the week before Easter.) The couple spent Monday through Friday mornings, 9:00-10:30, in Daria's room, cuddling and making love, and therefore were able to forego any hotel or motel stay.

In addition to their physical and emotional reunions, they also had other discussions. The summer and fall course schedules had been released for MIT and Raft, even if registration for both were some weeks away. Daria was pleased that she could take the two labs she needed (biology and chemistry) in both summer sessions two days a week in the late morning time slot. That would mean she could sleep in a bit (or spend some morning time with Jack) and also have the afternoons to work in the lab.

While she had been appointed an advisor, Daria wanted to have a plan to submit rather than going to her with no ideas. She and Jack went over the course offerings and Raft's Geology curriculum (there are few Paleontology major programs at the undergraduate level; most paleontologists earn BA or BS degrees in either Geology or Biology) and set up a suggested schedule for her to submit.

Daria was going to live on the Raft campus during the summer and fall, just as Jack would at MIT. Both were going to get single dorm rooms, for obvious reasons. They would do an apartment search starting late the following October. Between their planning and physical/emotional bonding, both felt satisfied with their spring breaks as each counted down the time until Daria would be moving to Boston.

Helen was so busy that the idea of what Daria and Jack might be up to during evenings that the mornings never occurred to her. Dolly Frasier, on the other hand, more than suspected. As she was rooting for the pair, open romantic that she was, plus strongly believing that Daria would make a wonderful daughter-in-law, she said nothing beyond "Give Daria my best" and similar sentiments each morning. Jack did not intrude on Daria and Jane's time together Monday through Thursday evenings, but the couple did spend time together after school until Jane was finished with track training.

Friday and Saturday evening, however, Jack and Daria resumed their previous custom of dinner and dancing at the country club. Observers commented that the pair looked even more in love than they had the previous year, similar to the comments various observers had made during the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. One couple that watched them that Friday evening were the Sloanes, and seeing the young couple reminded them both of their own courtship. Their sympathies for Daria's side of the incident with their son increased even more – unlike some parents, the Sloanes did not believe their children could do no wrong, nor did they go to the opposite extreme of blaming them for nearly everything. They were realists, and tried to deal with the world honestly (if ruthlessly in business).

Meanwhile, the Saturday afternoon of the break, at Jack's suggestion Jack and Daria took Mack, Jodie, Quinn, Tori, Stacy, and Jane to see 'Dark City.' Observing the interplay between Quinn and Tori, Daria and Jack both suspected the two had either come together somewhat physically or were about to. Still, none of the others, not even Jane, noticed. Quinn, however, noticed that Daria had been observing her and Tori.

After they left the dancing Saturday night, the pair spent a long time just hugging in the cab of Jack's truck. Finally, Daria sighed and said, "Until Easter, husband," and kissed him deeply for the last time this trip.

"Until Easter, wife," Jack agreed when they managed to stop. He would be returning to escort Daria to the Charity Cotillion, after all.

Busy as she was, Helen noticed, along with several others, that Daria was almost moping that next week. Her general attitude reminded Helen of Daria's approach to Ninth grade back in Highland. That summer, the group of girls she had hung out with had fully dissolved, and she was left out of the little cliques left over. She had spent that July and August on her own, trying to figure out how to act, and Helen had seen her almost regress to the anti-social stances that had kept Daria isolated in elementary school.

That basic isolation had lasted until Daria had met Jane and then Jack over a year later. Helen knew that Daria was not currently as alone, never mind as isolated, as she had been back then, but her mood was similar. Jack was gone for a month, Jane was busy afternoons until around 5:00, and Daria was fully dealing with her college course and remaining schoolwork with her accustomed ease. She was active, but apparently not interested in doing anything more than getting through the time.

Helen worried about how Daria would deal with being on her own starting the next summer. Jack had mentioned over his spring break that he would be at a dig in Labrador that summer (not mentioning that it would only be for two different weeks), and Helen was unsure if his not being in Boston that summer (as far as she knew) would be good or bad for Daria.

dp

Daria was surprised as March turned to April that Quinn approached her one evening. Both of their parents were at different business dinners, and the sisters were doing the minimum cleaning up after their very different dinners – Quinn a salad with a quarter can of chicken added, while Daria had baked a small frozen cheese pizza and had added the rest of the chicken as well as lots of extra cheese.

"Daria…is it possible to, well, maybe I should ask, can it be anything like normal, not want…physical contact at all?"

Daria, who had been putting her plate in the dishwasher, answered as matter-of-factly as possible, trying to normalize her response, "Some experts think there is a wide range of sexual orientations. That would be called 'asexual'." She gestured for Quinn to sit at the table. "Tell me, do you ever touch yourself?"

Quinn blushed. "You mean…?"

"Yes."

"Not too often," Quinn whispered.

"That's fine; I rarely do it either." While she stimulated herself slightly more often than she had before meeting Jack, it was still less than once a month when she was not with him. "Tell me, when you do, are you imagining…physically stimulating or being stimulated by someone in particular?"

"No…." Quinn's blush was now a full flush down onto her chest. She would not admit that her favorite fantasy was still having half-naked men wrestling to please her, not their actual pleasing her.

Not knowing that detail, of course, Daria went on, "Until I became involved with Jack, I was the same." After a moment, Daria went on, "I thought I was asexual until then. I'm not. It turns out that there are a variety of definitions for those who are only sexually attracted to at most one particular person at any given time, irrespective of gender. I suspect I might lean in that direction."

Seeing Quinn was silent, Daria asked gently, "Tori not work out?"

Quinn shook her head. "She's dating Tony, but really wanted me on the side. That bothered me, but still we tried kissing." Quinn again shook her head sadly. "Even Tori admitted that as cute as we both are, there really wasn't any spark for either of us when we kissed."

"I hope you find somebody if you want to," Daria told her sincerely. "Just don't try and force yourself into anything. Have you talked to your therapist about this?"

"A little." Quinn gave Daria a sad, slight smile. "I wanted to talk to you first."

"Thank you," Daria replied.

dp

As Easter approached, Daria was glad to find that her gown from the previous Easter still fit. She had grown barely a quarter inch taller (so she could almost truthfully claim to be 5 foot 2 ), was just slightly fuller in the bust and a bit more muscular across the shoulders, and a tad slimmer in the waist, but the gown could be easily be adjusted to fit. To everyone's surprise (Quinn, Amy, Erin, Rita, and especially Helen), Tess Barksdale gave Daria the jewelry she had worn to the Easter Cotillion the previous year rather than lending it again, including several additional pieces. In doing so, Tess did warn Daria that she would only be receiving a token amount in her will. Daria tried to refuse the gift, but in the end accepted it; it was more than an expensive gift from her grandmother. Other than the earrings she had worn the previous Easter, which had been an anniversary gift to Tess from her husband, all the other pieces predated the First World War at the least. A few pieces were late Victorian (like the tiara), but most were antebellum, with one bracelet even being pre-Revolutionary. Daria looked down on most of her mother's family history, and on the suffering that had allowed those ancestors to accumulate their wealth during the Old South as well as during the post-Reconstruction era, but she still appreciated the idea of family heritage, even a tainted heritage such as her maternal one.

Dolly Frasier was not alone in thinking that her son and his beloved were two of the stars of the Cotillion that year.

As for Daria and Jack, they had preferred the quiet informal dinner and cuddling in his truck afterwards the night before to the formal ball. He had flown in that Saturday and would have to fly out Monday morning, missing a day of classes. They were willing to go on display to please his mother (and Daria's grandmother), but that was about as far as they would go.

As always, the couple regretted being parted. However, there was now just over a month before the two could be (at least somewhat) together.

That next week was the first track meet. Daria and Trent both made certain that they came to watch and root Jane on. This was not new for Daria, as she had attended some of the track meets the year before, as Jack had thrown the shotput and discus. Jane ran three races (100, 200, relay) and won both her individual sprints, while Jane made up enough ground as the anchor runner that Lawndale placed a close second of the four school teams competing.

The last Monday in April, Daria arrived for her swimming class in a decent mood. This was immediately wrecked when she approached the side entrance of the school. She saw that a pair of local 'wacky' radio 'personalities' were in residence, broadcasting from the school. Over lunch, she learned that the pair would be broadcasting from the school all week.

'That's what I get for being in a decent mood on a Monday morning,' Daria thought. 'I wonder what else might go wrong this week?'