museboxingring | DARIA OPEN POST 2016

He's got the Party Wagon, he's loaded up on road trip snacks and pop, and he's gassed up...that is to say, the car's full of gas. He's not giving her that one. Anyway, the Stanley Cup playoffs are at 6 tonight, it's 8 in the morning and how he just needs her to get out of bed.

Casey'll lean on the horn as long as it takes.

It was eight o'clock. In the morning. On a Saturday.

Daria rolled on her bed, eyes clenching shut to the loud noise going on outside. That obnoxious honking made her think about death, and her issuing it. She wasn't the first one to start yelling though. It would be her father, Jake, and he would be the first person Casey would see.

Jake walked outside and looked at the van, then back into the house.

"Quinn!! Your date is here!! REALLY early too!"

Jake was loud so that would be the only thing Casey would hear until he would see a tuft of bouncy red hair enter the fray, look confused, show some form of disgust, and walking away. "Dad, are you for real? In THAT car, helllooooo??"

Too much racket for Daria to ignore now, she had to put a cease to it. She was missing out on doing a whole lot of nothing on her weekend. She rolled out of bed to look out the window.

Oh.

What. Why?

Well, looked like Daria was going to have to be confrontational. There had to be a reason why Casey shown up so early in his Party Wagon. On a damn Saturday. It didn't take long for Daria to get dressed ever. A couple of minutes. Easy. Not like Quinn.

"It's okay, family. It's under some form of control. Probably."

She got long stares from Jake and Quinn before Daria spoke again.

"Yes, it's for me."

Bye, family. She walked on out before they could say anything else regarding a boy in a car waiting for her on a Saturday. The less opening she gave the better. Daria made a stride on over to him. Soon she would be in ear length for a more private conversation.

Casey was half hanging out the window, leaning on his arms, when he gave Jake what he totally knows is his smooth grin, the parent-disarming grin that he seems to think makes them feel at east but actually looks more like he's planning to sneak them both into an adult theater.

And when Quinn showed up...well, a little wave, a coquettish smile, full dimples on display...in a totally smarmy way of course, pushing buttons like always. She leaves before she gets the full effect. Too bad. Now there's nothing to do but wait for Daria.

So Casey ends up propping his feet up on the dash to wait. Whistling a little. Examining his various hangnails. Until...

"Sup, Dar? Ready to go? I got snacks and pop and stuff so we won't have to stop for food 'til on the way back. Snag a donut and hop in!"

Casey would just receive a long stare from Daria, and yes, she was also aware of the nosy family peeking out the window behind her.

So, let's have them take things slow here. Nice an easy, they needed a footing here, okay? She crossed her arms, in need of a...few answers to some questions.

"Good idea, except for the fact you neglected to tell me even remotely of where we intend on going and why before you came early on a Saturday."

"Playoff games! Duh!" He digs in his hoodie pocket as he stretches his legs out and...oops, hang on. The tickets aren't there. Are they in the cup holders, or more to the point, in the ancient fast food cups with the change, worthless windshield fliers, and the old sunflower seeds. No, uh...

"Jus' a sec!" Glove compartment! Right? Under the manuals and registration stuff...or maybe with the bandaids he kept around in case he remembered to bandage any of his cuts (wait, no, he never remembers to do that.) Not in the supermarket bags full of old energy drink cans or...

Oh, right, his back pocket. If trying to pull them out of his jeans while sitting on them with his feet up looks ridiculous, especially as he grunts and tilts his hips upwards...well, he's too focused on his task to notice. Finally, he gets them free and holds them up in front of Daria like a prize he's won.

"Took me all night on the phone, but I totally snagged us tics!"

She couldn't help but stand there idly as Casey fumbled trying to find those tickets. Why was she so curious to see this through? Even if this whole deal seemed beyond her, she had done the whole "crappy van road trip" before. Maybe that dumb sentimentality had her remain here. Even if she could give or take some of the things that happened.

She could remember the embarrassing peanut butter stain on her butt and the duct taped glasses like it was yesterday.

But again, she ended up not hating it, she was with Trent after all. Well, anyway.

Oh, look, there's those tickets. Uh, alright. She looked right at them, right at them. Look at him, he was so proud of them.

"Hockey tickets?" Daria said, merely as a repeat from what he said. Did he really think sport games were her thing? She didn't know how to regard the other things he said. So she just kept her thoughts to herself, as if waiting for more to this story. She just continued to be inquisitive.

"It looks like it's from a few towns over. Pretty far."

"Which is why I got all the stuff for a killer road trip!" Give her the Winning Smile. Nobody can resist the Winning Smile.

He really didn't want to go on his own. He was supposed to go with Nick and, after all that time trying to score tickets...well, now he was a little stuck. Daria was going to need a lot of convincing to go to a noisy hockey game, but she was his only option.

He's not going to TELL her that, of course.

"So, whaddya say? You in?"

Not one text, not one phone call, not one clue or idea how this entire process could've happened. Daria had no proof of anything, just that doofy smile to try to win her over. Cute, very cute, stupidly cute. But. But. Daria was a hard ass broad. You win her with reason, most like.

Casey really needed to sell this to her, and with more than that silly ~~adorable~~ smile.

So she could be snark or she could still genuinely question. Daria went to that hockey game at her school, and she only went with the promise of watching one of her teachers settle a score and have a heart attack in the process. That didn't happen, but she did watch her science teacher slug a guy.

She could...go to the game and keep the guy company, with the promise of some brutal fighting. Again, she wanted him to admit that to her, to understand that. Maybe she was tugging him a little, maybe she was being needlessly merciless.

Maybe it was worth it and she didn't care. She wanted him to be fair and straight with her.

Let's see what some more "gentle" questions get me.

"Maybe, as much as it sounds fun to go on a road trip eating" doughnuts for a few hours, why do you think I'd like to go to a hockey game? I don't even go to pep rallies at school."

That was a very good question. Just...really great. Casey had better come up with an equally good answer and quick.

"...Well...'cause...'cause pep rallies don't got penalty boxes! C'mon, don't tell me you never wanted one of the cheerleaders to whack each other in the chin with those pompoms." He's kind of wanted that, and he's involved with school sports the pep rallies are meant to get students worked up for.

And also a teenage boy in front of cheerleaders.

Anyway, he knows she's way too sharp not to pick up on his dishonesty if he lets her think about it for more than a second. "Not to rush ya, but we are burnin' daylight! You in or out?"

He was rushing her, and he offered a rather flimsy argument. Though...there was truth in it. She always wanted the cheerleaders to beat each other up. Mostly, hearing Brittany in any form or capacity was enough to want to have her ears ripped out.

But nothing about that sounded right. Not at all.

But it was Casey.

Look at that dumb expression and that dumb enthusiasm.

Daria looked to the window to see her family watching the situation. They either wanted to see her go or not, it was a guess at this point. Maybe her parents were talking softly among each other about it, they seemed to be speaking.

If I give him a chance, he can either take advantage of it or come clean. I know there's something fishy about it. Maybe some more gentle prodding down the road will do the trick.

Maybe the hockey game will be fun, you had fun last time.

Your choice, Daria. Deal? Or no deal?

"Alright. As long as I get to watch someone punch someone's lights out, I'm in."

"Aw, wicked!" He does a little fist pump of victory. "Don't worry, it's the playoffs. There's gonna be blood."

Casey swung his legs to the floor and turned the key in the ignition, starting the van. It popped and coughed to life as he jabbed his head towards the door. For a moment, he's forgotten that he's basically lying to her (Is not telling her stuff the same as lying to her? It...probably is but it still might not be?) because for now he's off the hook and as long as she doesn't get too nosy it'll be smooth sailing!

"It's open, hop in!"

What have you done. Remember your brain, and never let him forget it. Don't lower yourself to his level, Daria. You still don't trust this.

He had to know she was trusting him with this enough to go, but she was always alert. She was going to be nosy, count on it Casey. You weren't in the clear.

"I have nothing better to do on a Saturday, might as well."

Daria already had her wallet and phone in her jacket pocket, that was all she needed. Her parents gave her the thumbs up, and she had to hold in rolling her eyes at it. They shouldn't have high expectations for this. Maybe they don't, and are just happy she's out doing something for a change.

Fine. It was fine. This was going to be fine. Sigh...

She hopped on in and buckled up.

"Contact, captain. Let the bucket of bolts ride into the horizon."

"Awright! Get ready for takeoff!"

Let it never be said that Casey Jones didn't know how to start a party. He threw the Party Wagon into gear (which it did with a lurch and an audible thunk) and drove just a little too fast for the neighborhood...Though, really, Casey always drove just a little too fast no matter where he was going.

He snuck little glances at her as they rolled down the street, trying to get a read on her emotions. Daria's expressions were always subtle. Or...non-existent. And she thought about stuff all the time. She was probably working on cracking him right at that very moment, which would totally through a wet blanket on their awesome hockey adventure. Maybe a distraction was in order.

"Yo...pick a station for us, would ya? Can't have a road trip without sweet drivin' tunes!"

He was moving really fast, so Daria rolled down the window just in case she got carsick. She probably looked out the window as they were about to leave the neighborhood, just in thought generally. About a lot of things, ranging from all of this to really nothing specific. Casey would be right, she was always thinking.

She was actually caught mid thought about where to go about this now. Daria was neck deep into this and now she was just trying to find logical sense at how to tackle finding the real truth behind it. Casey wouldn't lie to hurt her, at least, she didn't believe that. Maybe if there was a lot more to the story, it was more like he didn't want her to tear him apart. Or accidentally offend her.

She didn't know. But now she was posed with the question on music.

A mild distraction, but fine.

"You give me an awful lot of power, Captain," she said as she started flipping station after station. Rap. Pop, gross. She stopped at classic rock, with an AC/DC song playing. "A responsibility I take seriously."

He nodded approvingly at the chords of Back in Black crackling through the speaker. "That's 'cause you're one of the few people rad enough to handle being co-pilot!"

Sure, it wasn't exactly the mind-scouring punk that Casey liked to drive to, but maybe this time that was a good thing. Music is the language of the soul or...something poetic like that, right? Whatever, it's something to get them in the spirit. He starts bobbing in time with the beat, grinning as he pulls onto the highway.

"And co-pilot gets to break into the donuts! Bettin' you didn' eat breakfast before we left."

Good lord, he was trying that really hammy charm that obvious wasn't working at all, what are you looking at? He was trying really hard, golly it almost made her feel bad for still wanting to grill him. Almost.

"Nothing says road trip more than junk food and soul music, we just made our own montage," Daria said as she went to grab said donuts.

At least Casey was enthusiastic, making sure she could catch that mood like an infectious disease. That's what they say about really genuinely happy people, right? Like catching tuberculosis.

When was a good time to start being inquisitive? Maybe when she handed him a glazed donut, "Perk of waking up and hitting the road within minutes of each other. Spontaneity."

Edited 2016-02-08 17:43 (UTC)

"Mmmph mmm mmph mph?" Yeah, not the greatest time in the world, considering Casey shoved the donut in his mouth the moment he had it in his hand.

Might have cut down on the charm a bit. OK, try that again without his mouth crammed full of fried dough. He chews quickly and swallows hard. "Yeah, well...wouldn'ta waited till last night to get the tickets if I knew we were doin' this, you know?"

Well, he's not lying. He really wouldn't have. That took calling in a lot of favors with his Lawndale teammates and at least one back in New York, and it was only luck that he found someone willing to sell.

Nerd. Dork. How pleasant.

Despite that being probably true, it still was setting off a various amount of alarms. She had to tread carefully about it, because really, she just wanted to know the deal. Maybe just the thought process of that seemed very curious to her. She was nosy, blame her.

Daria wiped some of the sleep that formed on her eyes. She was still exhausted. She stayed up late, maybe if she knew he was coming around, well...

"Sounds all pretty last minute for the Stanley Cup. Tickets must've been hard to get generally, I figured."

He finished the donut while she was talking, licking his fingers of glaze. They were about to turn onto the freeway, and he was starting to get the impression that he might be on the edge of being in trouble.

Call it the intuition of a serial troublemaker, but his eyes get just a little more shifty, he fidgets just a little more with the wheel.

"Well...yeah. Took me a while to come up with the cash."

The weird thing is that all of this stuff is true, but he still feels like a complete heel for saying it anyway. He didn't want to tell her that she was second choice, and he didn't want to lie to her, and he hadn't had to do either yet!

...So why is guilt starting to pool in his gut?

Edited 2016-02-10 04:55 (UTC)

Daria was now looking right at him. Oh, okay, now this was happening. She could see the shifty movements settle in. The ones that wouldn't exist if he didn't have anything to hide. Really, she just wanted him to be HONEST. She tried hard to not seem like she wanted to rip into him. But now he was slowing up, and now she just couldn't find reason to slow it up.

She needed to know the deal now.

Because none of this seemed right.

"So why didn't you try to contact me and I could've help with the cash or paid my own ticket? Even if it were yesterday, we could've met up. I had the money to do it right then and there."

Another really good question, but this time...Casey didn't have an answer. Couldn't even make one up. He just kind of resorts to sputtering.

"Well...That's 'cause...It's just...if you're gonna...I mean...!"

Yeah...he really has nothing. Nothing but a weak and crooked smile and the knowledge that Daria is going to yell at him. Well, OK, Daria-yell. Which sounds exactly like normal Daria speak but still manages to be yelling. Somehow.

"...Busted?"

This was the prime time in which Daria found it necessary to shut off the radio for now. So the only noise could be the cars in the distance. It was serious now, and Daria now had to tread the most carefully. She thought he trusted her more than this. Maybe she was a spoil sport and cold at times, but hell if she didn't appreciate honesty first.

She was disappointed. Not angry, yet. Not willing to have him turn around. Yet.

Her stare wasn't so piercing as just insistent. That one stare that seemed to want something specific.

"Casey," Daria started. "What happened? Tell me. That's all I want. You should know by now that I just want you to be honest with me. Hiding doesn't do anything. I don't think you're a liar, but you're obviously avoiding something."

Ah, jeeze...She's mad at him? Or he thinks she's mad at him? Maybe she's building up to be mad at him? Whatever, he's blown it, and now he has to try and salvage this.

"Look, it's no big deal...you know my bro Nick, right? From the hockey team? Well, he called me up yesterday tellin' me that he found a way to get tickets, right? So I spend all night settin' things up, and what happens when I'm buyin' provisions? He freakin' ditches me last minute!"

Casey threw one of his hands up to gesture. "Wouldn't even give me my money back for the tickets. So I spent all this cash and had no one to go with and I figured, hey, Daria's not busy! Maybe she'll go with me."

In retrospection, he tried to spare her feelings. He didn't want to make her feel like second fiddle, so he kept it from her. Just because he thought that was being nice. It was rough for him considering his friend bailed.

Of course, that conclusion didn't come then.

The emotionally crippled side of Daria felt...a little betrayed. He didn't tell HER this. He had her get on the van like it was a simple slip of time management. Casey really could've buzzed her the night before. At least ask her about it. He assumed she wasn't busy? The hell does that mean? That she was something convenient always sitting around like a true back up plan?

Daria hated lying. That was where her brain went. Casey wasn't a liar but that did seem dishonest to her at face value.

"That doesn't mean you should keep it from me and assume I'd be okay with it," she said, a bit coldly. Daria crossed her arms now, agitated officially.

Edited 2016-02-18 05:43 (UTC)

"Well, I mean...It's not like you're ever busy over the weekend. I jus', ya know...figured you wouldn't wanna hear about all that stuff!"

He would have taken a "no." She didn't have to come with him, no matter how much he insisted. She wants to be along for the ride, right? He'd even turn around right now if she wanted!

He really hopes that's not what she wants, but he's sure she knows he would.

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