Quinn Gets a Boyfriend by Mitch Chapter I Quinn breathed a heavy sigh as she head toward he locker. She had just finished a talk with the rest of the fashion club. They were discussing their current boyfriends and how long they had them. The nerve of Sandy, thought Quinn, asking why she never had the same boyfriend twice! It's always harmless fun, thought Quinn, I like having variety in my dating life, that's why I RULE in the dating game. As she approached her locker, Quinn failed to notice someone walking toward her from the side. There was a collision that day in the traffic of the locker lined hallways of Lawndale High. Fortunately, all those involved had survived, both of them. Quinn Morgendorffer had just a guy and the floor at the same time. The next thing she knew of, as she acked to recover from the sudden shock, was a hand in front of her, and a soothing voice saying, "uh, sorry. Can I help you up?" Quinn looked up and saw a 16-year old male with tiny (but sparkly) blue eyes an wavy brown hair. Quinn let her mouth drop. "Miss...?" the guy began to ask. "Uh, yeah, thanks," said the other wise speechless fashion club vice-president. The looked at each other for a second until the guy said, "Uh, hi. I'm Pete." Pete, Quinn thought. Until then, that name was just an excuse to get out of other dates! At that time, the younger Morgendorffer sister said, "Hi. I'm Quinn Morgendorffer." Pete raised an eyebrow. "I've heard of you. Didn't you get hit on by Tommy Sherman?" (See "Alternate Endings"). "AHHH! HE WAS A JERK!" Quinn exploded. Then she looked at Pete's calming (although confused) face and calmed down. "Sorry," said Quinn. "That's all right," said Pete. That afternoon, Daria was sitting in the living room. She was surprised that Quinn wasn't home yet. She new her sister was at a fashion club meeting, but even THAT shouldn't be taking so long. Daria decided to forget about it and get back to the book she was reading. She was halfway through the next chapter when there was a knock on the door. Helen and Jake were out, as usual, so Daria answered the door, thinking it might be one of them, or one of Quinn's many admirers. It turned out to be Quinn herself with a dazed look on her face and weak smile. Daria was a bit surprised. "Quinn," she asked, "are you OK?" Quinn hugged her sister and screamed "YES! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, YES!" The shocked Daria immediately shut the door so no one would see them. "IN LOVE?" exclaimed Daria with wide open eyes. "YESSSS!" shouted Quinn with her arms in the air. She danced around her room in a little circle as Daria watched from Quinn's bed. Tell me she's been eating scichrotrophic berries again, thought Daria. As Quinn told her sister about that wonderful guy named Pete, Daria felt that she was being punished, that she had died in the living room and this was her fate for enjoying "ANIMAL MAULINGS ON HOME VIDEO." The "conversation" continued over dinner with Helen completely enthusiastic, Jake completely oblivious, and Daria nauseous. "IN LOVE?", announced Jane over the phone. For a second thought her Texan-born friend was kidding, but Daria's silence confirmed it as the truth. "So," Jane continued. "ol' pink shirt's finally goin' steady?" "First sign of the Apocalypse," said Daria, "guess I won't get my English paper done on time after all." "Still seems crazy," said Jane, "it's like something out of a..." "What?" "A...fan fiction page." Jane then realized what she said and laughed at it. Daria didn't get it. At their first night out, Pete told Quinn that his parents moved to Lawndale because of its unrecognizability factor. "Dad wanted to be in a town with a low enough income to be ignored, but high enough to live on." Quinn wasn't listening. She was just staring at him, lost in thought. When asked about her family, Quinn said "Uh, my mom's a lawyer, my dad's a, uh, consultant (she couldn't believe she said that) and...I'm an only child." "What about the girl in the glasses you where talking to in the hallway earlier today?" "Uh, that's my cousin. Her, uh, parents died in a car crash. We've, uh, learned to deal with it." When the bill for their meal came, Quinn paid for it in cash. "IN LOVE?", announced Sandy. Then she realized that the TV was still on and was showing that awful "SICK SAD WORLD". She clicked her remote wondering if there was anyone who actually watched that show. "Yeah," said Stacy over the phone, "isn't it, like, crazy?" "Well, who, like, is the lucky guy?" asked Sandy with a hint of jealousy in her voice. "Some guy named Pete." "Oh," said a relieved Sandy, "never heard of him." RRRIIINNNGGG. "So, it's been six weeks," said Daria getting her English book from her locker. "A new record," said Jane, even though she was only vaguely aware of the timetable of Quinn's multiple relationships. Just then, Quinn showed up. "Daria," she asked "I need help." "There's a shocker," whispered Jane to Daria. "Pete want's to come over tonight. You're not going to be home then, are you?" For once, Daria had to restrain herself from smiling. Chapter 2 Quinn was putting her snap-on earrings on. Pete was due to arrive at any moment. She was surprised at herself for being talked into letting Pete see her parents. Until that point, she NEVER let any of her many boyfriends see her parents or "cousin". Then she remembered that Daria was at Jane's watching "SICK SAD WORLD". This let her have one least thing to worry about. Now, she thought, if only Dad won't try to "bond" with Pete... Just then, she heard the doorbell ring. Quinn perked up and ran downstairs to answer the door. "PETE!", she exclaimed as she opened the door, "I'm glad you made it!" Then she opened her eyes and saw Daria. "Thank you," said Daria. "Wha...what are YOU doing here?" "'SICK SAD WORLD'" is a rerun. Daria smiled as she said, "looks like I'll be joining you for dinner tonight." Quinn, running out of ideas, said "uh, f-f-fine, FINE! Just remember, your my COUSIN, remember that!" "So," asked Daria, "you want me to convince a guy that we're NOT directly related?" Daria couldn't see the difficulty in that. Daria was in the living room when the door bell rang. When she opened it, she saw a guy with wavy hair and glittery eyes. "Uh, hi?" he said, "is this Quinn's house?" "Sometimes," said Daria, "it seems like it." "Hey," said Pete, "you're Quinn's cousin, aren't you?" "Sometimes it seems like it." Daria let Pete in. Her parents' death must have been more painful than he thought. Quinn ran down the stairs screaming "PETE!" She hugged him while Daria was wondering if she should be seeing this. Figuring she shouldn't, she went up stairs, feeling sickly. Before dinner, Pete went to wash his hands while Quinn was checking her make-up. In the bathroom, Pete noticed Daria splashing cold water on her face (with her glasses still on). "Uh, sorry," said Pete, turning to leave. "It's okay," said Daria, who just noticed him, "I'll be out in a minute." "Uh, I just need to wash my hands." As Pete washed his hands, he then noticed that Daria seemed to be more distant than he thought. "Uh...," "It's...'Daria'" "Oh, uh, Dara, is Quinn quiet at home? She's always quiet when we're in public." I could tell you stories, thought Daria to herself, before saying "You're about to find out." At dinner, Pete couldn't believe that they had nothing to offer besides Lasagna, but he tried to be courteous about it. Helen decided not to bring up the usual after-day discussion and let the two lovebirds enjoy each other's company. Daria felt sick and left before she finished eating. Jake just read the paper. "And this," said Quinn, "is my room." Quinn opened the door in front of Pete. Pete couldn't believe how...ELEMENTARY age the place looked, what with the stuffed animals and all. "What do you think?" asked Quinn with a smile. "It's...different," said an unsure Pete. "You mean he's THERE?" asked Jane over the phone, unsure of her own senses. "The door to the Morgendorffer manor is now open to the public," said Daria to her almost-sister. "Hmmm," muttered Jane, "seems like the ol' universe is gettin' a little unstable." "I'll tell you when the mountains fall into Lake Michigan," said Daria. "Don't bother," said Jane, "they announced it on 'SICK SAD WORLD' last year. Turns out it was a pebble". "And this one is from 1993! Can you believe this one is me while Daria's face was just hanging back then?" "Uh, yeah, I mean, no." Pete couldn't believe that he was now looking at self portraits and Picture Day photos of Quinn. This girl was VAIN, not to mention wordy. She was...UNIQUE to say the least. He still liked her, but you'd think after twelve weeks with a person. Daria was on her way out to go see Jane. She was just out the door when she literally bumped into that Pete guy. Fortunately, the elder Morgendorffer sister, with her more rooted footing, kept herself from falling. "Sorry," said Pete, "I seem to keep doing that." "That's all right," said Daria, "I can survive a wrecking ball." It's called 'Quinn', Daria thought. "I was just getting Quinn and me some drinks," he said, "You want something, Dara?" The attention of my friend's brother, a world without Quinn, my name pronounced right by strangers, and the banning of all make-up, Daria thought before saying, "No thanks." As she left, Pete figured it may be best to avoid contact with Quinn's orphaned cousin. Trent dropped Daria off at the Morgendorffer household at 10-pm. Daria had called earlier to tell her parents when she planned to get back. Too bad it was Pete who answered the phone and said that Helen and Jake just left to see some clients. Daria was a little between hopes at the moment she entered her house, half expecting Pete and Quinn to be making out on the living room couch, not that she WANTED to see that. Surprisingly, she just saw Quinn sitting on the couch sighing. "What happened?" asked Daria, a lot less concerned than she was curious. "He...DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE OUT!" exclaimed Quinn, sounding as if her belief system had just gotten a shock. "Oh, how horrible," said Daria. "Oh, we're still together," said Quinn, not noticing her sister's sarcasm, "he just...doesn't want to get 'close and personal'." "Life's full of surprises." Daria went upstairs, feeling that she needed a shower. "Oh, said Quinn after her, "he's not coming back here. Something about the 'atmosphere.'" Daria smiled, that's all she had been wanting to hear. THE END