High School Never Ends, Daria fanfic Options

[WellTemperedClavier]

(Hey, everyone! I've shared pretty much all the TES fic I've ever written already. Renee said I should go ahead and post some of my Daria fanfic. I'll admit this is a bit of an experiment; I'm curious if Outlanders is a good enough primer for Daria that fanfic would still be enjoyable.

So here's one of the earlier fics I wrote. It actually takes place a bit after the series ends, when Daria's in college (sort of), and leans more toward drama than comedy. Daria and her family have, of course, the same names they have on the show. Kevin you'd know as Kavon, the dim-witted city guard. He's a football jock in the show. The story's about as long as The Last Days of the Fashion Club.)

Chapter 1

A touch of winter remained in the soft wind, new leaves and grass shivering in this reminder of the colder months. The wind blew through parks and over streets busy with the evening commute, mingling with smells of smog and oil.

Daria's only response was to tighten her jacket, the same faithful green coat she'd worn all through high school, now hanging a little looser on her frame. She'd found it right in her closet, a bit dusty but no worse for the wear. Slipping it back on had felt almost like renewal, at least until she reminded herself how much she used to hate her hometown.

Better the devil you know. Besides, you didn't hate Lawndale so much as you detested it. Scorned it, even.

Daria paused in her thoughts, half-expecting a response. She shook her head and continued to put one booted foot in front of the other. Ten minutes later found her across the street from her intended destination, the big front building still in its familiar shade of off-yellow.

Daria frowned, not entirely sure what she'd expected. She considered going over and wandering through the campus, likely empty save for a few stragglers and custodians. Its teeming hallways, ironclad in lockers, stretched out again in her mind's eye, a hundred thoughts tied to each room. Bad thoughts, for the most part: recollections of meddlesome teachers, idiotic students, and other high school agonies.

This is pathetic. If you're going to reminisce, at least do it for a place you actually liked.

She stood for a few minutes longer, the sun's last rays retreating past the horizon. Finally she turned and began retracing the steps to the Pizza King, a path forever imprinted on her mind. Electricity and neon lit up storefronts changed but little during her brief absence, the sights so familiar that she briefly imagined herself a high schooler once again. Only one missing element: the other pair of booted feet walking next to her own.

Daria paused outside the front windows of the venerable Pizza King, favored hangout of Lawndale students since time immemorial, the smell of burnt cheese and spice hovering in a fog just outside the store. Her breath caught in her throat, anxiety prickling the back of her mind as she looked through the grimy windows to try and find familiar faces among the patrons.

You really are delusional if you think anyone from outside of your class would even recognize you. No one's going to notice.

Still she stayed in place. A few of the five girls crowding the left corner table looked familiar though their names and faces escaped Daria. Relative anonymity proved perhaps the greatest benefit of having attended such a crowded school.

She finally pushed open the door and made absolutely sure to look at nothing beyond the grimy serving counter, its surface laminated by decades' worth of spilled grease. The smell hit her more than anything else, though objectively it differed little from similarly unremarkable pizzerias up in Boston. She slowed down for just a moment, suddenly lightheaded.

She hurried towards the counter and spoke in a rapid monotone as she ordered a slice of pepperoni and a large Coke, grateful that she didn't recognize the gangly teenager who took her order. Daria took her meal and sat at the nearest table once served. She kept her eyes on the surface, a white night sky decorated by constellations of pizza sauce stains.

What exactly did you expect coming here?

She again examined the parlor, her vision a hopeless blur above the rim of her glasses. Everything looked just the same except for the people.

That's for the best. Last thing you want is everyone wondering why the brain is back.

"Hey, the brain is back!"

Daria yelped and nearly spilled her drink. She recognized him in an instant though it took a bit longer to react to this realization. Kevin Thompson stood before her, still in his football uniform and smiling with the same imbecilic confidence.

"Oh. Um, hi, Kevin."

"Wow, I never expected to see you here. How's college—wait, don't tell me: it's spring break isn't it? Spring break!" he cheered, throwing his arms up in the air. "That's awesome, Daria."

Daria decided to run with it. "Yeah, it is. I'm actually on my way to Fort Lauderdale."

"Really?" His eyes went wide, like a kid listening to a cool older sibling tell a story.

Daria decided to go along with it. "Uh huh. I've been practicing my binge drinking skills, and hope to put them to good use. So far, I can drain an entire keg in a single go. I'm the envy of my classmates."

"College must be really fun. I guess that's where you brains go to have fun, huh?"

"It's where we unleash the partying instincts that we held in check all through high school. You wouldn't believe how wild it gets over there. How's college treating you?"

Kevin's smile drooped, his face reddening as he looked to the side. At once she remembered.

"Oh! Sorry. I forgot."

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Well, how's high school treating you?"

Kevin straightened up, as if suddenly conscious of an audience. "It's not bad. In a way, I'm kind of glad. The team really needs me."

"So you were still quarterback last season?" That surprised her, though Principal Li wouldn't be above pulling some strings to keep her slowest student in the game.

"Um, well, you know I'm the best and all," he said, pointing to himself. "But I kinda wanted to give the other guys a shot, you know?"

"You stepped aside to let someone else take your role? That's surprisingly noble of you."

"It is? Oh, yeah, right. Brad's QB. I'm still really fast, so I was the running back. We had a good season. You know, 'cause I was on it."

Daria nodded, trying and failing to recall any football player by the name of Brad.

"I'm sure. Well, it was nice seeing you again."

"You too, Daria! Party hard down in Fort Lauderdale! I always knew you were wild and crazy deep down."

"You have no idea."

He waved and walked out the door. Daria wondered how she'd missed seeing him when first scanning the parlor—the guy didn't exactly blend in. She finished her meal in silence and zoned out over the next two hours, taking occasional sips from a drink made watery by melting ice, hearing snippets of long-past conversations.

She left the Pizza King just before 9:00. Stepping out into the night, she realized it had probably been unwise to stay out so late on her own. Not much happened in Lawndale, but you could never be sure. Even so she took her time going home, arriving when all of the windows save Quinn's were dark. Going through the door, she crept up the stairs on quiet feet, hoping she wouldn't be heard over the sound of Quinn's phone conversation.

Walking down the upstairs hall, she heard her sister's voice go silent, followed by the door to her room opening up.

"Hey, Daria. Um, are you okay? I was getting a little worried with you being out so late."

"Oh, thanks. I'm fine. I just got a little sidetracked."

"Sidetracked doing what?"

"Seeing—" she'd been about to say friends, but realized that A) it wasn't true, and it wasn't a believable lie. "Seeing some of the old sights. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Oh, well I wasn't really scared or anything. Good night."

"'Night," she replied.

This post has been edited by WellTemperedClavier: Jan 27 2024, 06:57 PM

[WellTemperedClavier]

@Acadian - Thank you! This was actually written back in 2014, so I was worried it'd look unpolished compared to more recent efforts, but I'm glad the prose works.

@Renee - Can't have Daria without the coat, boots, and glasses. Even in Morrowind, I had to insist on the glasses.

That sounds like a really painful experience. False friends are the worst. Though the teacher sounds interesting. High school was actually okay for me. Not something I'd want to repeat, but I tend to remember the good parts more than the bad. I mostly hung around with nerds, though my school was big enough to have several groups (I actually hung out with one group at lunch, and a different one outside of school--no conflict between the two, just kind of worked out that way).

Huh, I'd never heard of The Fantasy Trip before. Sounds like a good intro! Looks like it's come back after the writer bought up the rights. I got into 2nd Edition AD&D in middle school and played it into high school, up until about halfway through sophomore year (there was some kind of drama in my group--didn't directly involve me, but made it impossible to play).

Ah, no, they don't live in Boston. Daria went to Boston to attend Raft University (based on Tufts). The family still lives in Lawndale. Lawndale's location is never made clear in the show, but given that it's not too far from Boston, it's generally assumed to be somewhere in Maryland.

Like most cartoons, the characters in Daria rarely change outfits. Though in this case, there's a plot reason for Kevin to still be in his football gear.

@SubRosa - It's actually a little after winter break. More will be made clear as the story progresses.

And yeah, this is Post-Season 5 Quinn, where she's a lot more mature.

Chapter 2

Daria faded into Lawndale's background for the next several days. She spent mornings at the Alfred Joyce Kilmer Public Library. Once safe in the dust and packed shelves she'd take a stack of books from any given section and retreat to a table and leaf through the collection as the hours wore on. A few she'd read from cover to cover and others she'd abandon after a few chapters.

Some days she'd stay until closing. On others, she'd leave at noon and roam the town's commercial sectors to apply for entry-level jobs. Her parents insisted. A fruitless exercise, in all likelihood—in two months she'd be back at Raft for the summer session, for a toxic combination of collegiate stupidity and Boston at its most humid.

Still, she did as asked, handing out her scant resume to any store with a help wanted sign. Thoughts of yammering customers pressed down on her shoulders every time she stepped through the door. She barely heard her own sales pitch, a droning advertisement sent to nonplussed managers. They'd nod, take her resume, and promise to call her back.

A late Tuesday afternoon found her leaving 24 Hour Photo with a depleted resume folder. A crowd of high school boys headed towards her, barely constrained by the narrow sidewalk. Kevin walked at the very edge of the mob, still beaming his limp open-mouthed smile as the kids around him joked and laughed.

Daria ducked into the alley next to the store, not really wanting another awkward talk. She crossed her arms and waited for them to pass, and heard bits of what passed for conversation.

"… you're enough of a dumbass, Kevin, to flunk out two years in a row."

"Yeah, well, if I flunk out again that means I can be on the team again! I'm totally in it for you guys!" Daria winced at the desperate enthusiasm in Kevin's tone.

"No. Not even Li's going to be able to keep you on the team when you're a sixth-year high school student. You know why? 'Cause it's embarrassing. We're not brains, but none of us fails as much as you!"

"Yeah, why do you wear your uniform all year anyway? It's stupid," interjected a voice that Daria recognized as belonging to one of her sister's would-be suitors. Jeffy?

"Uh, 'cause I always wear my uniform?" Kevin said, yearning for approval.

They crossed the sidewalk right in front of the alleyway. Daria pressed herself further against the wall, and in so doing made the mistake of looking out at them. The sunlight reflected off her lenses and gave her away. Kevin's startled eyes met hers a moment later.

"You could get away with it when you were QB, not anymore. Dude, why do you even hang out with us? The team's over for you!" Jeffy said.

"He's too dumb to figure it out. Come on, let's go. Not you, Kevin. You're not part of the team anymore." Daria didn't recognize the speaker, a shaggy-headed blond as wide as Kevin was tall.

"Right, guys. Not part of the team. But I'll be there if you, uh, need me."

Kevin stood alone as the rest of the team passed him by, his face trapped in a hopeless attempt at a smile. She considered running out of the alley and down the street while he got his bearings.

"Hey, Daria," he said, on a voice that bordered near breaking.

"Um, hello again."

"I guess you heard all that."

Should I lie? He'll probably believe me. Wait, I hesitated for too long.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Aw, you know how teams are. We all make fun of each other. Builds team spirit," he said. "Actually, this year's really sucked. Nobody wants to hang out with me, nobody even cares that I'm good at football anymore."

"I don't know what to tell you, other than to study hard so you don't have to do a sixth year."

"That's the thing! I've been studying. I'm doing a little bit better, but my grades are still really bad. No one's going to give me a bye this time either. If I don't pull up my grades soon, I'm stuck!" He sounded near tears.

"Is there anybody who can help you study? Do you still keep in touch with Mack? He's smart." She cringed at the thought. Mack had already endured Kevin for four years, and was probably glad to be free of him.

"I called him a few times, but he's really busy. Like I guess you'll be pretty soon. Oh yeah, how was Fort Lauderdale? Man, college must be a lot of fun!"

"Um, I was joking about that, Kevin. I didn't actually go. I'm taking a break from college," she admitted.

"Why? Weren't you going to a lot of parties? Did you get partied out? I guess that could happen if you didn't train up for it in high school."

Daria paused, wondering what she should say. "Kevin, do you remember that time I got brain fever?"

"Oh yeah, and you got all weird and blotchy. Eww!"

"It kind of came back. Anyway, I'll be okay, but the doctor said I should take it easy for a little while."

"So you'll be in town. Hey, maybe you could help me? You're like really smart! Unless it'll make your brain fever worse, or something," he said.

"Uh, thanks. I'm not really a trained teacher or anything though. I'm not sure if I'd be of much help."

"I can pay you!"

Daria glanced through the window at the side of 24 Hour Photo, where a customer bellowed at a flailing counter clerk. The man behind the counter wore a look of absolute panic.

"Twenty dollars an hour, and you have a deal."

Notes: Mack is another football player from the show, but one considerably smarter than the rest of the team. You all know him as Maiko, the Redguard soldier stationed at Fort Moonmoth.

This post has been edited by WellTemperedClavier: Feb 3 2024, 05:53 PM