Nothing Happens for a Reason
?004 The Angst Guy
(theangstguy@yahoo.com)
Daria and associated
characters are ?004 MTV Networks
Feedback (good, bad, indifferent, just want to
bother me, whatever) is appreciated. Please write to: theangstguy@yahoo.com
Synopsis: College freshmen Daria Morgendorffer and Tom Sloane are together again, joyously happy and blissfully in love梪ntil the day she finds him in bed with a small zoo and Tiffany Blum-Deckler. You抣l weep, you抣l cry, you抣l kiss ten minutes of your life goodbye when you read this unofficial sequel to Mahna Mahna抯 Daria/Tom shipper, 揈verything Happens for a Reason.?o:p>
Author抯 Notes: Everything ended so well in Mahna
Mahna抯 story that I felt a little extra story was called for. You can read
Mahna Mahna抯 story first, or you can just begin by assuming that once day,
Daria and Tom meet in Boston and make amends and start dating again and fall in
love with a little help from Cupid from Holiday Island, and then things really get fun! Unless you are a Daria/Tom
shipper, I mean. The following three parts are presented in the order they were
offered on PPMB, after Mahna Mahna抯 tale.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Mahna Mahna for being
such a good sport and not having me assassinated, so far. Thanks also to Robert
Nowall for his immortal contribution to Daria fanfic, appearing herein.
*
THE POSTSCRIPT
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria Morgendorffer was walking on
air when she arrived at Tom Sloane抯 apartment. Nothing would ever go wrong
again. She was doing well at Boston抯 Raft College, Tom was again her boyfriend,
and the artful Jane Lane was still her best friend. Life was perfect. Home from
classes early today, Daria hoped to show Tom the new self-defense device she抎
purchased and maybe get a little loving in to celebrate梑ut she couldn抰 find
Tom anywhere.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟om? Damn, where is he??Daria reached down and opened the apartment抯
bedroom door, walking in. 揟om? TOM!?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria!?Tom shouted, pulling the covers up, but not fast enough to hide the golden
retriever, the goat, the hamster, and Tiffany Blum-Deckler.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇oes
this goat make me look faaat??Tiffany asked, just as Daria pulled out her
shiny new .357 and opened fire.
THE
FOLLOW-UP
牋牋牋牋牋?The next day, unaware that anything had gone wrong, Jane Lane appeared at the restaurant where she was meeting Daria for pizza. She was looking over the list of appetizers and was ready to order six of them when someone cleared her throat. Jane looked over the top of the menu?o:p>
牋牋牋牋牋?梐nd
frowned. 揥hat the hell are you going here??she asked.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇id you
order yet??said Veronica. She took the seat next to Jane.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat抯
reserved for Daria!?said Jane. 揃uzz off! You don抰 even exist!?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟he pot抯
calling the kettle black again,?said Veronica. 揌ey, does this place have
barbecue wings??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥here抯
Daria??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑n the
pokey, about to do hard time for giving Tom and Tiffany Blum-Deckler lead
poisoning. Shame about the dog and the goat.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jane
stared at the younger near-copy of Quinn. 揧ou抮e joking.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o. They
had a hamster, too.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jane made
a face. 揈ww.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揈ww,
indeed. So, do they have wings??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?After a
pause, Jane consulted the menu. 揧eah. So, no more Daria??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell,
there抯 visitation.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah,
but Kinsington Reformatory is a long drive from here. You like the garbage
pizza??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ure.
Wanna be my partner in crime? Walk around Boston and make sarcastic comments on
everything? Go out for pizza again and again??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揤eronica,
assuming you do exist, you抮e still in high school.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 can
drive up on weekends. Got my permit.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jane
sighed and put down the menu. 揙kay. Just don抰 tell your sister about this.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hirty
years to life. Don抰 worry about it.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌okey-dokey.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?And they
were happily sarcastic ever after.
THE SEQUEL
牋牋牋牋牋?Eight
long, eventful months passed.
牋牋牋牋牋?A knock
sounded at the apartment door of Jane Lane, sophomore BFAC student. After a
pause to spit out the mouthful of bagel-and-cream-cheese sandwich she was
chewing on, Jane headed over to answer it. 揅oming!?she shouted. 揌ang on!
Almost there!?She opened the door. 揜eady or not, here I . . . DARIA!?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o,?said the figure at the door. ?i>I Daria.?She wore the same outfit
as always, though the suit looked a bit worn and dusty.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑
thought you were still in prison,?whispered Jane, unable to think of anything
else to say.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗om got
me out on a technicality having to do with leap years. I抦 on probation. Mind
if I come in??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jane抯
eyes widened. 揢h . . . sure. Come in. Sorry, I抦 just a little棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ho is
it, Janey??called a feminine voice from another room in the apartment. 揟ell
them to beat it, so we can get back to fooling around!?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria
started to enter, but stopped and frowned. 揥ho抯 that??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria,?said Jane in a rush, 搒ince you抳e been gone, a lot of things have happened,
and maybe we should go out for lunch instead so I抣l have time to explain some
of the most important events that you棓
牋牋牋牋牋?A teenage
girl with long red hair walked out of a back room. She resembled Quinn but was
barefoot and wore a very large Nirvana nightshirt that could not conceal that
fact that she was quite pregnant. The young girl came to an abrupt stop when
she saw who was at the door. 揇ARIA!?she cried in astonishment and horror.
牋牋牋牋牋?摋should
be aware of,?finished Jane lamely.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ho the
hell are you??growled Daria.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝top
being mean to me!?shouted the young girl. 揑抦 your youngest sister, Veronica,
and I抳e been living with Jane since you went to the slammer! Don抰 you
recognize me??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria
squinted at her, then looked at Jane with the same squint, though by now it had
become a glare.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria,?said Jane, 揵efore you jump to conclusions, it抯 not what it looks like.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑f Cupid
set this up,?said Daria, 揌oliday Island抯 going to look like Eniwetok when I
get through with it.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o,
trust me, this isn抰 what it棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ho抯 at
the door, Janey??called a male voice from the same back room. After a moment,
Trent Lane walked out, wearing box shorts and nothing else. He wandered over,
gave Veronica a long, soulful kiss, and waved at Daria. 揌ey, Daria,?he said. 揕ong
time no see.?He patted Veronica on the tush. 揕et抯 go back and work on some
more lyrics, okay??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ure,?said Veronica. 揝orry, Daria. Got to go.?She blew a kiss, then disappeared
after Trent and shut the room door behind her.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat,?said Jane, 搕hat was exactly what it looked like.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揕et me
get this straight,?Daria growled. 揑 go through a very long and painful series
of blind dates when I get to Raft College and finally fall in love with Tom
again, and we almost get married and then I find him in bed with Tiffany
Blum-Deckler, a golden retriever, and a goat, and棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揂nd a
hamster,?said Jane, making a face.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝hut up.
And I shoot Tom and Tiffany and the dog and the goat?i>and the hamster!梐nd
go to prison and get sprung by my mom, only to come back and find that Trent
and my imaginary youngest sister are shacked up in your apartment, and Veronica
is preggers??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jane
thought it over. 揢m . . . yeah, that抯 about it. We have a hamster, too, but
only because Trent thought watching it would help him write lyrics.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria抯
glare could have cut through steel. 揑s there anything else I should know??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h棓
Jane began.
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey,
Daria!?shouted Kevin Thompson, walking out of another back room. He was as
naked as a jaybird and didn抰 seem to care. He waved at Daria, walked into the
kitchen, got a carton of milk out of the refrigerator, drank it dry, put the
empty carton back in the refrigerator, then walked over to Jane and gave her
rear end a healthy squeeze before heading back to the back room. 揇on抰 be gone
long, babe,?he called before disappearing. 揑 need you to help me with my
warm-up exercises! Push-ups!?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jane抯
face was bright red as she cleared her throat. 揑 think you know almost
everything there is to know, at this point,?she said.
牋牋牋牋牋?A goat
bleated from the room Kevin had entered.
牋牋牋牋牋?揙kay, now
you know everything,?Jane finished, looking at the floor.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抣l
violate my probation if I stay here a second longer,?said Daria, turning to
leave. 揑抦 going back to the hotel.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ure you
don抰 want to do lunch??called Jane in a hopeful tone. 揗aybe tomorrow, while
Kevin抯 out taking the goat for a walk??/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e抣l
see,?said a glum Daria. She walked out of the building and got into the
passenger side of a white Sunbird in the parking lot.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝o,
like, how抎 it go??asked the driver.
牋牋牋牋牋?揕ousy,?said Daria, glaring at the glove compartment in front of her. 揑 don抰 want to
talk about it.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?The
driver nodded in a knowing way. 揚(yáng)eople have a way of waddling over your
innermost feelings as if they were indoor-outdoor carpeting, don抰 they??On
impulse, Sandi Griffin leaned over and kissed Daria on the cheek. 揂t least we
have each other.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇on抰
remind me,?Daria grumbled.
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey, if
I hadn抰 shot Stacy Rowe over that bottle of nail-polish remover she borrowed
from me and then gave to Brooke, I抎 never have met you in prison in the
special way we did. And to think I was originally looking forward to having
Martha Stewart for a cellmate.?She shook her head and started the car. 揑t was
that serene-thing, the something-dipidity, I forget what it抯 called.?/span>
牋牋牋牋牋?揅atastrophe,?Daria grumbled.
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o,?said Sandi, 搕hat抯 what happens when people mix primary colors in the daytime.?And on that note, they drove away.
Original: 05/12/04, modified 12/28/04
FINIS