Song used is "Eternity" by Robbie Williams.

Don't own anything.

R'n'R,

God bless!

Chapter 3 - Jane

Tom was very tense as he sat in the car next to me. It was Trent's idea to take him to Lawndale with us. Tom actually objected at first - he was blaming himself for what happened and couldn't bring himself to face Daria; besides, he argued, she did not want to see him anyway. But Trent presisted and here we were now, sitting in my car parked across the street from the Morgendorffers' house.

There was something odd about Trent, the way he reacted when he heard about Daria. After I broke the news for him he kept silent for a few seconds, and then said simply "Alright, I'm coming over" and hung up. He then phoned me from the airport, asking if I could pick him up, and as I did, he insisted we pick Tom up and go to Lawndale. I suggested we first go to my place so he could rest, but he would have none of it. To tell the truth, I felt jealous for a moment. Ever since big bro moved out of Lawndale ( it was shortly after I left for college; a few months later Mystic Spiral broke up and Jesse and Trent picked up their stuff and headed for the West coast), he only visited twice, each time after re-scheduling the date about ten times; finally I've decided it would be easier for both of us if I would just come to Seattle myself. Now I was wondering if I should have let a car hit me too, had I known Trent would show up within hours...

Aw, get a grip Lane, what the hell is wrong with you?

The sun was just beginning to go down, coloring the sky red and gold. The street was empty and quiet; the only sound was the rustling of the leaves above our heads and car radio quietly humming. Tom was drumming his fingers on his knee nervously; I was just staring at the Morgendorffers' house. Neither of us felt like talking.

Trent appeared about five minutes after he went in. He was leading Daria by the hand, like a child. Her other hand was on a sling. She was limp, somewhat hesitant, her head hung; Trent carefuly supported her by the shoulders as he sat her down on the porch.

"Tom, look."

With strained attention we both watched them settling down - Daria, dressed in a checked red and blue flannel shirt over a plain white T and blue jeans, and Trent in his green sweatshirt and baggy pants.

"It's better,right?" I heard his voice. Daria was silent, looking down at her knees, playing with her glasses.

"Things have changed around here, I see" Trent said. "Haven't been in Lawndale for God knows how long... Hey Daria, is your dad good on the guitar?"

No answer came. Trent cleared his throat.

"You know how Jess and I used to play in a band in Seattle, once we got there? "Heaven Ice Day", it was called. Kinda beats the "Mystic Spiral", right?"

No answer. Trent waited a few seconds, then carried on, his voice soft and husky.

"So anyway, there were Jess, me, and two local guys, Kevin and Shawn. We were-"

Daria said something, whispered to be correct, without looking up. In the car, Tom and I cocked our heads, bewildered and listening carefuly. From what I knew it was the first time in days she had said something that wasn't "yes" or "no". Trent leaned over to her.

"What's that Daria?"

"I said, didn't you work back then? I mean, I know you like your nap, so with both work and a band...", she said a bit louder, but still in a quiet, lifeless voice.

Trent laughed.

"Oh, an odd job here and there. And yes, it was hard at first. But it was before I fell on my current job."

"A DJ, Jane told me."

"Oh yes. It's funny, you know," my brother said, grinning a little. "Back in Lawndale I used to sleep all day and play music at night and I was called a bum. Those days I'm doing the same thing but now I'm being called a DJ and they pay me for it."

"Anyway," Trent continued, dropping his voice slightly. "We rented a crib together, the four of us. A large enough place. Shawn, he was sort of a leader of the band. As in, I was the lead singer there too, Shawn was on the drums. What I mean, he was always finding gigs for us, fixing us rides, even finding us groupies to spend time with after the shows... stuff like this. But he was an asshole. Grade A asshole."

Trent went silent,rubbing his chin.

"I haven't told Janey about it. Haven't told anyone, really," he continued after a while. "Shawn, he had a girlfriend. Mickie. She was your age, back then I mean, was just starting college. She came form some small town up north, near the Canadian border. Lived in a college dorm for a while but eventually moved in with us."

In the car, I raised my eyebrow, confused. I clearly remembered Trent telling me about that Mickie girl. Even showed me a pic once when I visited him.

"She practiclly saved us," Trent was saying meanwhile. "You know, four guys like us in one crib, it was a pig sty. There was all kinds of shit literally in layers on the floor. Bottles, dirty clothes, butts, pizza boxes, whatever you can think of. We were all living on beers and pizza. Mickie, once she moved in, cleaned the place up and cooked for us. Not that we made her to, of course. In the beginning we were practicaly begging her to lay off us and let us be." my brother laughed a little, then brought a hand to his mouth in a fit of cough."A few weeks later we were already bugging her to cook us this or that. What else, Mickie was straight edge, so she was really getting on our ass, trying to get us off drugs and booze. Nothing heavy. A joint once in a while, that's all. Still, it bugged her, so she kept fighting until she got us to get off of it. Us, I mean Kev, Jess and me. With Shawn... it was a different story."

Again, Trent went quiet for a second.

"She couldn't make us stop hitting the beers though," he smirked."Anyway,it was not only that. She would help us with the band, too. Like you know, the four of us are sitting down trying to write a song and then we get stuck. The words just refuse to come together. Nothing is rhyming. We're wrecking our brains over some line for an hour, then Mickie comes in, takes one look at the song, and finishes the line, finds a word, whatever. We all sit bummed out and she's laughing at us, saying" guys, you're the musicians around here, what's up?"

Even from the distance I could see a shadow of deep sadness falling over Trent's face. Staring into space with his eyes half-closed, it seemed like he was talking to himself when he spoke, "Mickie was... an angel, really. I know it sounds sappy, but I guess that's the word that could describe her best. She was always in a good mood... you know, this perky kind of girl,always willing to help with whatever she could... and she was so patient with us. She was pretty, with a great body, and tiny like you. Had hair like yours too, dark and wavy, and long... and-"

For a first time,Daria looked up at him.

"Did you love her?" she asked quietly.

"Yes... Not in a way you're thinking,though," Trent added hastily. It looked like Daria's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I loved her like I love Janey. Like I love you. To me, Jess and Kevin she was like a little sister. The one you want to protect and look after, you know? So we were on our best behavior when she was around. Dumped the weed 'cause she asked us to, too. There was one time I remember, it was her nineteenth birthday, we threw her a party in a local pub and played a "Hey Mickey" cover, just for her."

"Oh God." I said out loud and slapped a hand over my mouth,fighting back the laughter. Mental image of Trent rocking to the 80s pop hit made into a grunge number was too much for me to handle. Tom smiled a little.

Trent paused, rubbing his chin and frowning, then carried on.

"Now Shawn. As I said, he was an asshole. He was using her. Straight out using her. Mickie loved him with all her heart,and she believed he loved her back. Don't know why really. And he... remember I told you she was trying to get us to stop doing drugs and stuff? Every time she tried to talk to him about it he would yell at her, tell her if she didn't like him the way he was she could get the fuck out. Finally she got him to promise to stop, but he would still get high when she would leave for college. But you know, it's nothing. As I said, he was using her. Mickie's folks were sending her money and Shawn was milking her dry. He himself once told us he only kept her around for money and sex. That son of a bitch..."

Bewildered, frightened even, I watched Trent clench his fists. The last time I saw my brother angry at someone was... well never.

"We all felt like shit because of this. None of us had the balls to talk to Mickie about what Shawn was up to, and we've told him countless times to stop being a douche to her, but he wouldn't listen. Eventually, he began bringing groupies over to our place and doing them while Mickie was in college. And one day..."

Trent lowered his head, bangs of jet-black air fell down, hiding his face. His hands were now clinched together tightly.

"This was during one of those times when I had a job. Was flipping burgers at some fast food joint. Anyway, I came home at night and Jess told me that Shawn again brought some whore over to our place in the morning. Mickie decided to skip some classes so she came back early... She walked in on them, Shawn fucking that bitch in their room, on his and Mickie's bed. Then he let her have it. Just let it all out. He started yelling at her, told Micke he never loved her, that he only needed her for her folks' money and for sex. And then Shawn tried to throw her out, but Jess and Kevin stopped him. And Mickie, Jess said, she never uttered a word. She was so shocked, just stood there with tears running down her face and never said a thing.

That night, the three of us, we got on Shawn and beat his ass black and blue. Mickie wasn't there, she returned in her old room in the dorm, so she didn't have to witness that. Then we threw Shawn out on the street with all of his stuff. He was getting all the gigs for us, he was actually the one who kept the band going, but it just wasn't worth it. Haven't seen or heard from him ever since, and hope I never will."

Daria, silent, watched Trent as he kept clenching his hands together untill his knuckles turned white.

"We did visit Mickie in the dorm twice, were asking her to come back. She wouldn't listen... wouldn't react. She was... like you, like Janey described you were. Like I found you now. Just sat there, very calm,looking ahead without blinking. Barely spoke to us. But we thought she just needed time to get over what happened, so we stopped visiting her to give her some figured out she would be okay. And then,a week later, Mickie killed herself. Threw herself out of the window."

I gasped. Trent was right. That, he never told me about.

He turned to Daria and took her little hand in his.

"I'm not suicidal," Daria said, barely audible, avoiding eye contact. "Don't worry about me. I-I'm fine."

"Are you?"

She said nothing. Trent reached out and caressed her cheek, gently urging her to look him in the eyes.

"Mickie died because we were not there for her. She had no friends in the dorm, her folks were miles away from her, and me, Kevin and Jess abandoned her. She was left alone when she needed someone beside her and it killed her in the end. Daria, I want you to know that this time you are not alone. Me and Janey, we love you. Tom loves you. We want to help you. You do not have to go through this alone. Please, let us help you."

Daria bowed her head, her face now hiden behind a mane of hazel-colored hair. Trent was still holding her hand. For a minute, they were motionless, frozen in red and golden light of the setting sun. Then I noticed Daria's shoulders were shaking, trembling slightly. Trent seemed to noticed it too as he hugged her carefuly with one hand, drawing her closer, until her face was pressed into his chest. I swallowed hardly, unable to believe my eyes. Tom's hand squeezed mine; pale as a sheet, his face knotted, as if he was in pain.

Daria was crying.

Close your eyes so you don't feel them

They don't need to see you cry

I can't promise I will heal you

But if you want to, I will try

I'll sing this somber serenade

The past is done'we've been betrayed

It's true

Someone said the truth will out

I believe without a doubt

In you

Trent was running his hand through her hair, still hugging Daria with the other and saying nothing; she was limp in his embrace, weeping quietly.

You were there for summer dreaming

And you gave me what I need

And I hope you'll find your freedom

For eternity

For eternity

Minutes passed. Finally, Daria looked up at Trent;he smiled at her.

"It's alright. Just let it go. It's alright."

"It is all my fault." Daria said, her voice trembling. "Tom wanted to male love to me, but I decided to play the Queen of England. Hard to get. The stupidest part is, I wanted him too, but I've decided to tell him about the baby first. You know how stuborn I can be. And then I walked out and..."

Again, tears were streaming down her face.

"Tom," she whispered. "He came rushing to the hospital and I couldn't bring myself to face him. Probably never will. How can I look him in the eyes now, knowing that I had killed our baby?"

In the car, Tom, as if being struck, threw himself back on the seat.

"You're wrong," said Trent softly and patiently, as his hand kept caressing Daria's hair. "You're so wrong. You didn't kill anybody. And it's not your fault. Not yours, not Tom's. The only one to blame here is that jerk that hit you with his car..."

Daria shook her head.

"Tom will never forgive me. He-" she didn't finish, again, burying her face in Trent's chest, crying. Still hugging her, my brother turned towards the car and looked straight at Tom.

Tears forming in my eyes now and unable to utter a word I watched Tom exit the car and slowly aproach them. Trent gently withdrew from Daria and whispered something in her ear. She looked up just as Tom stopped crouching in front of her. For a moment, nobody moved; time itself seemed to stand still as the street was drawning in crimson and gold. Then, Tom said something, leaned forward and ever so gently hugged Daria. Her hands rose up in the air hesitantly... and a second later wraped around his neck.

Yesterday when we were walking

Talked about your mom and dad

What they did that made you happy

What they did that made you sad

We sat and watched the sun go down

Picked a star before we lost the moon

Youth is wasted on the young

Before you know it's come and gone

Too soon

Trent got up and walked past them, heading for the car, a satisfied smile on his face. I was sobbing as I ran to meet him. I wanted to yell at him for not letting me be there for him all those years he had to live with that girl's death on his consciousness; I wanted to thank him for what he just did for Daria and Tom; I wanted to tell him how much I loved and missed him. Instead, I hugged him tightly, feeling my brother's heart beat.

"Hey Janey, do you mind? I need some air here," he wisecracked, hugging me back.

"You wiseass," I smiled through tears and lightly punched him in the shoulder. With Trent's hand still around my shoulder we turned to watch Tom and Daria in an embrace. Both were silent. Then Daria raised her head and looked at us over Tom's shoulder.

And smiled.

You were there for summer dreaming

And you are a friend indeed

And I know you'll find your freedom

For eternity

For eternity

The end.