Contemplation (Jeffy's Journey)
A Piece Of Daria Fanfiction By
Brandon League
(Brnleague@aol.com)
Legalities: Daria and her pals are owned by MTV/Viacom and NOT me. There, you happy? Oh yeah! Daria Morgendorffer, welcome to Noggin!!!
Summary: Late one night, in the shadow of Lawndale High School, Jeffy ponders his feelings for Quinn, and realizes just how deep they are.
It was after midnight. The quiet town of Lawndale was practically dead to the world. The majority of businesses were closed and practically everyone in town had settled into their homes for the night. Of course, as always, the faithful made their way to Dega Street, where the "Zen" nightclub was almost always packed. Especially if one of the two biggest crowd pleasers happened to be playing that night, either The Harpies or Mystik Spiral. That was the minority, though, and most of Lawndale was a dead zone at this late hour. However, for one young man, it may as well have been the middle of the day. Sleep was out of the question. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face. When he DID manage to sleep, she danced in his dreams all night long. Pouting, giggling, she tormented him all the time. She was ALL he thought about. He thought about her innocent eyes, her pouty lips, the way she always wore those pink tee shirts that showed her navel. Quinn.... beautiful Quinn.
Jeffy Caldwell sat on the sidewalk, his back pressed against the hard, brick wall. He stared thoughtfully up at the pale, white moon hovering in the night sky. Jeffy wasn't sure why he was here, at Lawndale High School, at this late hour, but it seemed as good a place as any to sort through his thoughts. In some perverse way, being here felt right. It beat the Hell out of lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for a sleep that wouldn't come easy. He absentmindedly checked his watch. 2:16 a.m. She's probably asleep. I wonder what she wears to bed? Jeffy looked down at the sidewalk and blushed madly. Out of habit, he glanced around to make sure that his pals Jamie and Joey weren't looking, and then it dawned on him that those guys were home in bed. Obviously they don't care for her as much as I do, he thought. Jeffy felt rather validated by this thought. Jeffy let his mind wander back to late in his junior year, when he had had an official date with Quinn Morgendorffer. He had ACTUALLY been invited to dinner at her house... and what had he done? He had...he had...chased a goddamn squirrel around the yard with her father and her sister's boyfriend.
Jeffy felt like a jackass. Instead of taking advantage of a golden opportunity to turn Quinn on to him, he had instead opted to chase a squirrel, and hang out with her father and Tom Sloane. Hell, maybe he didn't deserve her. He knew in his heart that Jamie or Joey would never put a squirrel over Quinn, no matter HOW much they wanted to give Jake Morgendorffer a good first impression. Jeffy grinned a little. At least he had done that. He had no doubt that Jake held him in higher regard than Jamie or Joey and that was most certainly a good thing. The guy really would make a cool father-in-law. His mind wandered again, and Jeffy Caldwell saw himself in a regal-looking tuxedo, standing next to the minister in front of a giant church. The church was packed to overflowing with well wishers. In the front pews, he could see Helen and Jake Morgendorffer sitting there with Quinn's sister Daria, looking impassive as always. On the other side of the church, in the front row, Jeffy saw his own parents, Mark and Christine Caldwell, beaming at him with pride. Suddenly the double doors at the rear of the church burst open and Sandi Griffin burst into the room. "Like, uh, the bride can't make it, or something...MONSTER sale at Cashman's!"
Jeffy snapped back to reality. He scowled. "Dammit, Jeff," he chided himself, "That wouldn't happen and you know it." He sighed. Of course it wouldn't happen, because Jeffy knew deep in his heart that he and Quinn were destined to be together. He snickered softly. They were meant to be together because...he also had red hair, just like Quinn! He knew that it wasn't just a coincidence. His best friends, (and rivals for Quinn's hand) Jamie and Joey couldn't say that about themselves, that was for sure. Jamie had bright, almost blinding, blonde hair and Joey was stuck with plain, ordinary black hair. He felt himself puff up just a little bit. "Only we RARE breeds have red hair," Jeffy said aloud. He grinned wide and, after a moment's hesitation, laid down on the sidewalk with his hands clasped under his head and stared at the night sky. Staring at the stars, two thoughts popped into his head almost simultaneously. Did Quinn have freckles too? Jeffy had no doubt of this, considering that he had never seen a redhead who didn't. His mother and his former classmate, Charles Ruttheimer the Third were both redheads and they both had freckles. She probably covers it with makeup... Then the second thought...was she truly a natural redhead? She said she was, but there was only one way Jeffy knew of to prove it for sure. If it matched... For the second time Jeffy blushed like a madman.
One thing was for certain. Jeffy wanted to be more than just one of Quinn's "Three J's." At least she gets MY name right, he thought morosely. He felt kind of bad for his good pal Jamie White, who had to suffer with the eternal curse of being constantly misnamed by Quinn. Jimmy, Jamiel, Jeremiah, Justin, anything that had a "J" in it. Why couldn't she remember his name? "Oh well," he whispered softly, "She knows mine." Sure, she knew his name, but how could he get her to be his...and only his? He had several ideas, but there was one that stuck predominantly in his mind. Several weeks ago, he had gone to the Mall Of The Millennium with his parents and he had spotted something in a jewelry store window that he knew would be perfect for Quinn. There in the window, sitting in a plush velvet box, was a small gold pendant... with the letter "Q" in cubic zirconium. He had to give it a second glance just to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. Suddenly, getting a new wheel for his skateboard just wasn't as important. He had gone into the store, and despite quizzical looks from a fat, balding security guard, he had inquired on the pendant. How much? When the lady quoted him the price of $99.99, it had taken everything he had not to groan out loud. The only cash he had was a tattered twenty-dollar bill at the bottom of his left pocket.
She deserves that pendant. Hell, she deserves the world on a silver platter. I don't care how long it takes, or how much I have to sacrifice; I am going to give it to her. I'll prove to her, that I'm not just a lackey. "I'll show her that my love is real," he swore to the star filled sky. Jeffy lay there for a long time, seeing his beautiful Quinn dancing just for him in the back corner of his mind's eye. She had taken up permanent residence in his mind, and he loved it. He didn't want her to go anywhere. He longed for her. He longed to touch her, to hold her, to look into her eyes and see the truth. For almost two hours, Jeffy Caldwell lay there in a trancelike state. The phantom Quinn in his mind haunted and teased him. The wind blew softly on this starry night, and by closing his eyes, Jeffy could almost hear her whispering his name. Jeffy... Jeffy...show me... Jeffy's eyes suddenly snapped open and he frantically looked at his watch. It was now 4:31 a.m. He had been here, in the shadow of Lawndale High for over two hours! God, Mom's going to raise Hell! It didn't matter that he was seventeen years old or a High School Senior. Coming in this late on a school night was not acceptable. He sprang to his feet and grabbed his skateboard, praying that his parents would be unaware he had ever left. As Jeffy skated off into the night, a smile covered his face.
Quinn...
Beautiful girl...I'll make you mine.
End Notes: Ah, doesn't that just make you feel all warm inside! I know I do...or is that just my grandmother's hot dogs paying a return visit? Good question! I wrote this on kind of a spur of the moment, after the idea came to me to write a Jeffy-centric story. I don't think anyone ever has and come on, there has to be more to him than just "Professional lackey." Don't you think so? I also thought it kind of neat that Jeffy and Quinn are both redheads, yet no one has ever compared them. Hmmmmm... Well I hope you enjoyed this. I had a blast writing it. I would like to thank Roger E. Moore, MMan, Kara Wild, Kemical Reaxion, Brother Grimace and Thea Zara for a) being my pals, and b) supporting me. Thanks a lot, you guys. As usual feel free to send me your feedback. Positive or negative, it makes no difference, but I must INSIST! No death threats or marriage proposals, I will accept neither...unless it's Thea, Kara, Kem or Canadibrit. Ha...ha... don't tell CB I said that. Enjoy!