Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mrs. Benett smiled overenthusiastically at her students as she described their new assignment, "Class, this will be very exciting. We're going to set aside our books and experience some real-life economics: renting an apartment, applying for a credit card, opening a retirement account. Of course, I don't expect you to actually rent an apartment or what have you. You'll just go through as much of the process as you can and report back on your experiences. Your assignment tonight is to pick a project and a partner."

Daria glanced over at Jane and felt her stomach churn. Jane had been talking about her new boyfriend nonstop for the last few weeks and it was driving her insane. She didn't think she could stand listening to it for the next week without a way out. Raising her hand she asked, "Excuse me, what if we prefer to work alone?"

Still smiling, Mrs. Benett said, "I'd really rather you work with someone, Daria. In the real world, we rarely make financial decisions without having to consider someone else's needs and wishes."

"Lousy real world," Daria muttered, trying to ignore Jane's wounded look.

"So you want to do the project alone, hmm?" Jane asked, as she and Daria trudged across the courtyard after classes let out.

"Kind of. I kind of said that to tick you off," Daria half-lied.

Whatever retort Jane had prepared was cut short when she had to sidestep to avoid being bowled over by Brittany as she stormed past. Kevin, a step behind her, asked the cheerleader, "So, babe, what do you want to do for our economics project?"

Brittany came to a stop and turned on her heel to face her boyfriend, hands in fists at her sides. "I'm not doing any project with you, you big ape," she almost screamed, shoving her hands into Kevin's chest and knocking him back a step.

"Oh, yeah? Then who are you going to do your project with?" Kevin shouted back.

"Um..." Brittany scanned the surrounding area, her eyes lighting up when she spotted Daria. "Daria, Mr. Thompson and I are not speaking, so do you want to do the economics project with me?"

"Huh?" Daria asked blankly, her surprise at being drawn into the spectacle leaving her unprepared to respond. When she regained her bearings she turned to Jane and gave her a questioning look.

Jane shrugged and turned away, bitterly replying, "Don't do me any favors."

Stung, Daria turned back to Brittany and said, "Sure, Brittany, why not?"

"Great!" Brittany squeaked, bouncing in place.

"But then who am I partners with?" Kevin asked, utterly lost.

Jane briefly looked over the other students in the courtyard and shrugged. "Eh, at least I know they won't fail you. Let's go sports boy," she said, dragging off a confused Kevin.

Taking in what had just happened, Daria muttered, "I hate everyone."

Brittany just smiled and tilted her head in thought. "So, whose house are we meeting at?"

Brittany's room definitely wasn't what Daria had expected. She had imagined some fluffy pink abomination like her sister's, but Brittany's room was done in muted colors with wooden accents. Her bed was an unremarkable queen sized affair without any frills and the only furniture was a very plain mirrored dresser, a small TV on a simple stand, and a surprisingly full bookshelf. A large bay window with a window seat overlooked the backyard.

"Um, nice room," Daria said lamely, unable to think of any cutting remarks.

"Thanks," Brittany replied happily, closing the door and revealing a simple full length mirror on its back. "Have a seat," she added, gesturing to the window, before walking over and sitting down herself.

Daria ignored the invitation and walked over to the bookshelf. The well worn romance novels she'd expected lined several shelves, but others were packed with books she wouldn't expect the the cheerleader to even know the names of, much less own; lots of plays, including a good portion of Shakespeare's work, but also fiction by Dickens, Twain, Faulkner, Kesey, and more. Turning to the blonde with a skeptical look she asked, "Brittany, are you sure this is your room?"

Brittany heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm not stupid Daria." Her voice sounded similar to what Daria was used to, but somehow off. It took her a moment to realize that it lacked the squeaks and shifts in pitch that usually made it so grating.

Daria turned to look at the blonde, who was taking her hair out of its iconic ponytails. The constant vacant expression had left her face, replaced with a relaxed, if somewhat sad, smile. She looked different, more real somehow. "Right, and I'm the leader of the Boys R Guys fanclub," Daria snarked, trying to maintain her balance in the strange situation.

"It's an act," Brittany continued, ignoring Daria's barb. "The all American girl. A ditzy cheerleader dating the idiot star quarterback. I was born to play the part." She waved a hand, gesturing to her body; down from her bouncy blonde hair, to her generous bust and tiny waist, to her seemingly endless legs. "It's just for a couple more years, then I can leave this stupid town behind," she added, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

Daria walked over to the bed and sat down, still struggling to process what was going on. The dissonance of Brittany speaking without a squeak was surprisingly jarring, even before taking into account what she was speaking about. After recovering a bit, Daria said, "Okay, let's say this is actually happening and isn't just some weird dream brought on by my dad's latest attempt at cooking. Why are you telling me?"

Brittany shook her head, her smile brightening and reaching her eyes. "I'm telling you because I like you Daria. You're cool and smart and funny, and you don't let anyone tell you how to live. I've wanted to get to know you for forever, but I never got the chance before."

Daria found herself blushing at the praise and turned away. "Um, thanks. I guess."

Brittany's smile disappeared, quickly replaced with worry as she cast her eyes down and wrung her hands anxiously. Still calm, but clearly dejected, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm freaking you out aren't I? Look, you can leave if you want to."

Daria looked at the girl across from her. Staring down at her lap with her long hair falling over a nervous expression, Brittany didn't look anything like the bimbo she was used to dealing with. Despite herself, she felt pity for the blonde. "Well, we still have to do the assignment."

It was Brittany's turn to blush. "Oh, right. I guess we should get started." She dug the handout Mrs. Benett had given them out of her backpack. Looking up, she hesitantly said, "Um, Daria? This might be easier if we sat on the same side of the room."

"Oh, right," Daria replied, blushing again as she squeezed in next to Brittany on the narrow window seat. "Bet you and Kevin have a lot of fun here," she observed, falling back on sarcasm to avoid the awkwardness of sitting so close.

Brittany laughed as she moved a few of the pillows on window seat to make more space. "As if I'd ever let that idiot anywhere near my room."

Daria's eyebrows rose at the revelation. "Wait, so he doesn't know–"

"–about the fact that I can actually think?" Brittany shook her head. "No one does, except Jodie. And now you."

Daria felt a weight press down on her. She'd realized Brittany was trusting her with something big, but this was crazy. "Brittany how can you trust me like this? You barely know me."

"I know you're a good person," the blonde explained, settling back down next to Daria. She wasn't quite as close as before, but still much closer than Daria normally got to anyone. "You've always helped me when I really needed it, even if you made fun of me the rest of the time. Not that that's really me anyway."

Daria found herself blushing again, and mumbled, "I think you've fallen off the human pyramid one to many times."

Brittany shrugged, her arm brushing Daria's. "Maybe, but that's how I feel."

Daria tried to scoot further away, the whole situation making her feel uncomfortable. "Let's just work on the assignment." 

"Okay," Brittany agreed, holding the sheet up between them. "What are our options?" She scanned the list and scowled. "I suppose I'm supposed to say 'Oh, we can plan a wedding! That sounds dreamy. I can marry Kevie and we can live happily ever after. Then I can waste my life raising his kids, because there's nothing I want more than to spend my life with an idiot who thinks the only plays are the ones he runs on the football field.'" By the time Brittany had finished speaking, the printout was crumpled in her tightly clenched fist.

Daria couldn't help but chuckle. Brittany had slipped into her cheerleader character, and hearing all that in the bubbly voice was surprisingly amusing. At the same time though, she was worried about the other girl's demeanor. "If it makes you that angry, why do you do it?"

Brittany made a visible effort to relax her muscles, the handout falling to the floor. Taking a deep breath in and out, she said, "My dad. We didn't always get along–weird theater kids don't go over well at the country club. Perky cheerleader princesses go over great though, so he made me an offer. A full ride at whatever college I can get into and plenty of money to play with in the meantime. At first, it was like a play; I had the lead role, Lawndale Barbie. Now I'm in so deep it's like sometimes I don't know who I am anymore." By the time she was done Brittany was staring at the carpet, downcast again.

Daria took a moment to process the new information, then lamely said, "Oh… So, you like theatre?"

Brittany perked up and turned to face Daria. Smiling warmly, she answered, "Yeah. My mom was an actress." Standing up, she quickly made her way across her room to her dresser and picked up a silver framed picture sitting on it. "My real mom, not Ashley-Amber; she died when I was a kid. This is her." She turned the picture around and held it up for Daria.

Daria wasn't one to focus of appearance, but even she could tell that the woman in the picture was beautiful. She looked a lot like Brittany, with a similar body and hair, the latter a few shades darker. That wasn't what struck Daria though; it was her face. She had the same smile that Daria had seen on Brittany for the first time that afternoon, the one she had on now as she held up her mother's picture; it was warm and reached her eyes, with the smile lines around her mouth and eyes attesting to how frequently she must have worn it.

Drawing Daria's attention back to her, Brittany continued, "She got me into theatre when I was young and I've always loved it; I want to major in it in college." She carefully set the photo down and picked up a white envelope lying next to it on the dresser. "I actually have tickets for a play tonight," she explained, pulling two tickets out of the envelope. "If you want, we could go together. Jodie cancelled on me, as usual."

Daria thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "It's not like I have anything else to do." Jane would probably be busy with her new boyfriend anyway.

Brittany beamed. "Great! I'll pick you up at six forty-five." Placing one ticket back in the envelope, she brought the other to the window seat and held it out to Daria.

Daria took the ticket and put it in her bag, deciding it would be rude to point out that Brittany could just bring the ticket when she came to pick her up. Instead, she said, "So, the project?"

"Oh, right," Brittany said with a small blush. Reaching down, she picked up the handout she'd crumpled and straightened it out. Taking a seat next to Daria, she held it between them and asked, "So what do you think?"

Daria looked over the options and shrugged. "Renting an apartment looks like the easiest."

"Sounds good to me, roomie," Brittany agreed with a grin.

The doorbell rang and Daria rushed out of her room, hoping to get to the door before her parents. She really didn't want to try to explain going to the theater with a cheerleader. She slowed her pace when she reached the top of the stairs; she could already see her father talking to someone at the door. Sometimes she thought he just waited by the door, with the way he always answered it so quickly.

"Hi! Sorry, Quinn's already—" Jake started, before realizing the person at the door was a young woman. "Do you have the right house?"

The girl was dressed in a baggy black long coat worn open over black jeans and a faded grey concert tee. Long black hair cascaded down her back, with a purple streak falling across the right side of her face. Daria wouldn't have even suspected it was Brittany if not for the sizable chest she was trying to hide with the coat.

"I think so," she said, "This is Daria's house right?" Daria noted that even her voice was different, not her school squeak or her real voice; Brittany hadn't been kidding about being into acting. 

Jake's face lit up. "Sure is!" He turned to Daria as she walked up and said, "Hey, kiddo! I didn't know you had more than one friend."

"You know me, Ms. Popularity," Daria responded with a roll of her eyes.

Missing the tone of his daughter's response completely, Jake eagerly turned back to the girl Jake asked, "So, what's your name?"

"Alice," Brittany replied naturally, "and I'm not really Daria's friend."

"Oh," Jake sighed, dejected.

With a grin, she continued, "I'm her date."

Daria's eyes bulged, but her shock was quickly replaced with amusement as she watched her father flounder. She decided to play along, "What's wrong, Dad? Quinn goes out on dates all the time."

Jake pulled at his collar, his face sweaty. "N-nothing. Nothing wrong at all. I just didn't—" He leaned toward Daria and conspiratorially whispered, "Does this mean you and Jane—"

Daria's amused expression immediately darkened. "Bye Dad," she said tersely, cutting him off. She grabbed Brittany's arm and dragged her out the door. "Come on, Alice. We don't want to be late."

Brittany waved to the still confused Jake as she was dragged towards the luxury sedan parked on the street. "Don't worry, Mr. Morgendorffer; I won't keep her out too late."

Once they were both in the car, Daria turned to glare at Brittany. "What the hell was that?"

Brittany laughed. "Oh, come on. That was hilarious."

Daria couldn't keep from smirking. "Point, but can you give me a heads up the next time you decide to come out to one of my parents for me?"

A look of surprise flashed across Brittany's face, quickly replaced with worry as she turned to stare down at the steering wheel. "Sorry," she said, "It just kind of came out. You're not really mad are you?"

Daria leaned her head back and sighed. Something about Brittany, she had no idea what, made Daria not want to see her hurt. "It's fine. I'm sure I can find some way to milk it."

Brittany's face relaxed into a smile as she put the car into gear. "Good. How about I take you out to dinner after the play, to make up for it. I know a great diner that should still be open."

"Um, sure," Daria said, looking out the passenger window. After a few minutes of watching houses go by in an silence, she asked, "So where'd you get the costume? And the car for that matter, I thought you didn't have one."

Brittany shrugged. "Like I said, as long as I keep the act up, my dad gives me money to keep myself entertained. Borrowing one of his cars is another perk."

"And the costume lets you do that without ruining your image," Daria said, understanding.

"That, and it's fun. What do you think of Alice?"

"She's certainly a step up from 'cheerleader' Brittany," Daria answered, before shifting her gaze to Brittany's chest and adding, "Although some things are clearly harder to hide than others."

Brittany sighed. "Yeah, that's a problem. I'm thinking of getting a reduction once I leave home."

Once again, Daria's image of Brittany was shattered. "Wouldn't that be an asset in the acting business?"

"That's more film than stage. I'd rather not have to live with back pain my entire life anyway."

"I hadn't thought of that," Daria said, looking down at her own modest chest. "How much longer until we get there?"

"About thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes?" Daria asked, eyes wide. She was sure she'd misheard.

Brittany laughed. "What? You didn't expect to find good theatre in the suburbs, did you?"

Daria snuck into the house at around one-o'clock, somehow managing to avoid waking Quinn or her parents. She quickly changed into her sleeping clothes and climbed into bed, eager to get some rest after a long and bizarre day. Sleep, unfortunately, was not forthcoming. As she lay staring at the ceiling, eyes adjusting to the near dark of her room, her mind raced through the day's events.

She'd never admit it, but her "date" with "Alice" had actually been a lot of fun. She'd been worried when she first saw the little hole in the wall theatre, but the play was great. Much more modern and conceptual than she'd expected from the girl always trying to get Kevin to butcher Shakespeare with her. But then again, Brittany had defied a lot of expectations over the course of the day. On the drive home they'd actually talked about books. That was something she could never do with Jane.

She didn't know what to think about Jane. She knew she was acting jealous, but could she really be blamed with the way Jane had been going on about Tom? What was so important about some guy? Jane had been her only real friend since she moved to Lawndale and it hurt to have that taken away. Maybe making friends with Brittany was the right move, maybe she needed someone new too.

Eventually sleep came, but it wasn't particularly restful. Stressful unremembered dreams left her tired and tangled in sweaty sheets when she woke early the next morning.

Before they went to follow up some leads on apartments, Daria and Brittany decided to grab some pizza. It was a bit awkward spending time with Brittany in her cheerleader persona after learning it was an act. Well, mostly an act; Brittany was still Brittany. Daria found herself able to enjoy her new friend's personality through the façade, to some extent at least.

"Kevie, I mean, Kevin has really done it this time. I'm serious," Brittany squeaked from across the table.

"I can't disagree with you there. He has less brains than a goldfish, much less a woman. Even a cheerleader."

"Ooh, don't even talk about goldfish. You know he took mine out of the bowl to give it air once?"

Before Daria could figure out how Kevin had pulled that off without going up to her room, Jane walked up. "Maybe he was going to take it for a walk," she said with a grin.

"People do that?" Brittany asked, voice full of gullible wonder.

"Oh yeah, there's a big market for goldfish walkers. Most of them keep the fish in the bowl though," Jane continued.

"Thanks, Jane. I'll have to remember that the next time I get a goldfish," Brittany said earnestly. Daria chuckled, though not for the usual reason. Brittany was a good actress.

An awkward silence followed, broken by Jane asking, "So, what are you guys doing for the project?"

"We're getting an apartment!" Brittany squeaked excitedly.

"Cool, we're gonna buy a car. Kevin's at the bank, getting some money," Jane explained.

Daria looked at Jane skeptically, "Why does he need real money to pretend to buy a car?"

Jane shrugged and said, "No clue. Should be entertaining though."

"This just proves that I am possessed of a superior intelligence than that buffoon," Brittany interjected haughtily.

"Um, yeah," Jane said, "Do you mind if I sit down with you guys?"

Daria looked down at her half-eaten pizza. "Actually, we were just leaving. Right, Brittany?"

"Um, yeah. You can have the booth though," Brittany agreed, smiling vacantly.

Jane gave Daria a hurt look, and bitterly grumbled, "Gee, thanks."

After they had cleared the door, Brittany, still using her squeaky voice, asked, "Is there, like, something wrong with you and Jane?"

Daria sighed. "It's nothing. She's been spending a lot of time with her new boyfriend and talking about him nonstop."

"Jane has a boyfriend?" Brittany asked, dropping out of her cheerleader persona and sounding legitimately surprised.

Daria raised an eyebrow, but continued the conversation normally, "Yeah, some slumming rich kid named Tom. I don't know what she sees in him."

Quickly recovering her bubbly persona, Brittany asked, "Well, if you're not going to be hanging out with Jane, do you want to come over to my house and watch a movie after we check out these apartments?"

Daria took a moment to think. She didn't have anything better to do, but if she was being honest with herself that wasn't why she was considering going. She actually wanted to spend time with Brittany; she was fun to hang out with. "Um, sure," she eventually said, "What do you want to watch?"

No one was home at the Taylor's. Brittany said it happened a lot; her father had work, Ashley Amber was at the club socializing with the other second and third wives, and her younger brother Brian disappeared somewhere to do things no one wanted to think about. The end result of all of this was Daria and Brittany being able to use the large state of the art entertainment system downstairs instead of the tiny TV in Brittany's room.

Sinking into the leather couch, Daria groaned and said, "Your dad may have terrible taste, but he has great stuff."

Bending over to look through a cabinet full of DVDs, Brittany asked, "You like horror stuff, right?"

"Yeah," Daria responded. "How do you know that?"

Apparently having found what she was looking for, Brittany stood up and put it in the DVD player. "Sometimes I overhear you and Jane talking. You ready?"

"Rarin'," Daria said flatly.

"Great!" Brittany said, turning off the lights and sitting down next to Daria.

Daria had fun watching the movie with Brittany. The other girl didn't complain about her providing a snarky running commentary, and even joined in a few times. It was almost like hanging out with Jane, except Jane didn't jump on her every time something frightening happened. After one particularly long cling, Daria finally decided to stop the movie.

Looking down at Brittany, who was still lightly holding onto her, she said, "You don't do very well with jump scares, do you?"

"I'm enjoying them," Brittany said with a smile.

"I suppose getting scared is the point of a horror movie," Daria ceded thoughtfully.

"That's not what I meant." Brittany detached herself from Daria, and turned to face her. "I feel like I need to make this clear. I like you Daria. As in, more than a friend."

"What?" Daria's world seemed to tilt.

"You're smart, Daria, but you're really oblivious about some things. I pretty much took you on a date last night and I've been literally throwing myself at you for the past hour. I told you in my room yesterday. I've liked you for a long time; I just never said anything because I thought you were with Jane."

"But Jane and I were never—" Daria protested.

"Yeah, I put that together," Brittany grumbled irritatedly, "That would have been nice to know a year ago."

"You're saying you've liked me for a year? Alright where are the cameras?"

"Is it that hard to believe?" Brittany took Daria's hand. "You're the smartest, coolest, funniest person I know. You never let anyone else tell you what to do and you never back down once you've made up your mind. Why wouldn't I want to be with you?"

Daria looked down to hide her blush. "Look, I'm flattered, but this is a lot to take in. Two days ago I thought you were a walking blowup doll and now…"

"Now, what?"

Daria looked up at Brittany. "Now I know you're this cool girl who actually reads and is funny in a different way than Jane and—" Daria stopped as Brittany gently cupped her cheek and kissed her. She closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, sparks shooting through her body, until some rational part of her brain made her push Brittany away. Blushing furiously she stared at Brittany, pain and anger in her eyes. "What the hell?"

Horror spread across Brittany's face. "I'm sorry. I thought—"

"I tell you it's a lot to take in and you jump on me?" Daria stood up, angrily grabbing her bag. "Don't you have a boyfriend for that?" Daria hurried out and slammed the door before Brittany could see her tears start to fall.

Daria stared up the walk to the Lane's, wondering how she ended up there. The long walk back from Crewe Neck was a blur. She supposed her subconscious was trying to tell her something and decided she should listen. Reluctantly, she walked up to the door and knocked. After the usual minute-long wait, Trent answered the door.

"Hey, Dar— Whoa, are you okay?"

"I'll live," Daria replied, more sullen than she'd intended, "Is Jane home?"

"Uh, yeah, she's in her room," Trent said, giving her one last long look before heading into the kitchen.

Daria walked up the stairs and knocked on Jane's door. She could hear Jane talking to someone as she approached the door. "Yeah, just pick me up in thirty minutes. Alright, see you then." The door swung open and Jane looked at Daria in surprise.

"Hey," Daria said awkwardly.

Jane held up a finger. "Hold that thought." She unlocked her phone, tapped it a few times, and put it to her ear. When the other side picked up, she said, "Yeah, Tom? I'm not going to be able to make it." She paused while Tom said something. "No, I'm fine. I just forgot I had to help Trent with something." Another pause. "Okay, I'll see you later. Bye."

"You didn't have to do that, I could have just come back."

Jane laughed as she walked into her room and started searching for something in the perpetual mess. "I'm pretty sure talking to my best friend after she's had her first kiss and cried her eyes out is more important than a movie date."

"How—"

"The lipstick and red eyes are a dead giveaway," Jane said, handing Daria what she'd been digging for, a bizarrely decorated hand mirror.

Daria's whole body flushed when she saw the pink smear across her lips. She walked past Jane into the room and collapsed onto her friend's bed. "Oh good, I always wanted half the town to know I was a lesbian."

Jane settled into her chair and looked over at Daria's prone form. "So, what happened? From the beginning."

"Well, the leading theory is that the universe expanded—"

Jane smirked and wagged her finger at her friend. "None of your fancy science mumbo jumbo, Morgendorffer . You came here to talk, so spill."

"Alright." Daria folded her hands on her stomach and stared at the ceiling. "I met a girl named… Alice, a few days ago. We started hanging out and she was surprisingly cool. She reads a lot and she loves theatre. She took me to this cool play in a little theater downtown."

"Hold on a minute," Jane said, "She took you to a play, like she paid for it?"

"She already had the tickets," Daria said defensively.

"Uh-huh, and did she take you out for dinner?"

"She owed me for something she did earlier," Daria said, beginning to realize how ridiculous she sounded.

Jane threw her arms up in celebration. "You went on a date!"

"Oh, God. I did, didn't I?"

"Yup, and from the sound of it you didn't even realize it."

"She was right; I am oblivious."

Jane leaned forward, chin resting on her hands, and asked, "So, what happened next?"

"We hung out at her place today, watching a movie. She kept clinging to me at all the 'scary' parts, so I stopped the movie and asked her what was up. She said she liked me. She started saying all these nice things about me and I didn't know what to do. I told her I was overwhelmed. I said I thought she was cool and funny and fun to be around but I didn't know what to do, and then she kissed me. Then I freaked out and yelled at her and ran away."

Silence hung in the air until Jane asked, "Did you like it?" Daria turned her head to glare at Jane. "What? It's a valid question. Yeah, she shouldn't have kissed you like that, but all I'm hearing from you is how awesome she is. If you're really into her you should try to make this work."

"It's not that simple. She's got a lot going on, this whole other life. I don't know if she'll give it up for me." Daria rolled her head back to stare at the ceiling again. "I don't know if I should ask her to."

A smirk grew on Jane's face. "You didn't answer my question."

Daria sighed. "Fine. Yes, I liked the kiss. It was soft and warm and I wish I hadn't pulled away so quickly."

"You came here, so I assume you want my opinion. I think you should try to make this work. When you talk about her you sound happy, and there's clearly something physical there. I don't know what else is going on with her, but you owe it to yourself to give it a shot."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Sorry," Jane said, "Hey, if things work out you can be the one tell me stories about your girlfriend."

Daria sat up and faced her friend. The whole Tom thing seemed so petty now. "I'm sorry about all the stuff with Tom. I've been kind of a bitch lately, haven't I?"

Jane waved her hand officiously. "All is forgiven. Now, as ancient tradition dictates, boy-er-signifigant other troubles discussed, we shall eat raw cookie dough and watch movies."

"As long as there aren't any jump scares."

Daria stared across the classroom at Brittany for what had to be the hundredth time that day. She didn't look good. Her hair was limp, and even Daria could tell her makeup was sloppy. More than that though, she looked sad. Not like when she broke up with Kevin over something stupid, but genuinely depressed.

When the bell rang for lunch, Daria knew what she had to do. She made a quick excuse to Jane and ran after Brittany. When she caught up to her, slightly panting, she said, "Brittany, we need to talk." When people started to stare she added, "About the project." Most of the crowd seemed to accept Brittany screwing up a class project as the norm and shifted their attention elsewhere.

"Um, Daria, right now I kinda—" Brittany started, her bubbly cover act barely there.

"Sorry, this can't wait," Daria said, dragging the cheerleader up the stairs to the roof. Once she was sure they were alone, she asked, "Do you have any idea how much anxiety you've caused me?"

Dropping what was left of the act, Brittany said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just thought— It doesn't matter. I'm sorry. I promise I'll leave you alone and won't bother you again."

"Brittany, if I didn't want you around, I wouldn't have dragged you up here," Daria said, beginning to pace back and forth. "Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" Brittany asked.

"When you said you liked me."

"Yes," Brittany answered, a hesitant hope in her voice.

Daria stopped, facing away from Brittany, hoping to hide her blush. "Good, because I think… I think I might like you too. I'd like to try and figure it out, but I can't do that with bubbly brain-dead Brittany. It needs to be the real you. I understand if you don't want to, you've got a lot riding on—" Two arms wrapped around Daria and a pleasant pressure exerted itself against her back. "Gah!"

Brittany released her grip and turned Daria around, grabbing her hands. Smiling for the first time that day, she asked, "Did you really think I hadn't thought of that?"

Daria looked away. "I guess I'm still used to your act. Are you sure? I mean, your college, all that money."

"I'll find another way. Honestly, I don't think I could keep this up much longer anyway. The things I've done..." There was a sad, distant look in her eyes. "I should have stopped a long time ago. Are you sure?"

Daria looked back up at Brittany. "I am, at least I'm willing to try."

"Trying sounds good," Brittany said, putting an arm around Daria and pulling her into a kiss.