fishyyyy

Name: Darla Dawn Davis Nicknames: N/A Age: 21 Height: 5′5″ Sexuality: Straight

Maybe he should have kept talking about himself for a little while longer. It could have kept whatever news that Darla wanted to say waiting a little longer, and maybe that was exactly what the both of them needed. Yet, he already asked Darla about how she’s been in return, which mean the ball was in her court now and if she wanted to tell him what she had called him over to the park for, than he’ll have to hear it. That didn’t make the anticipation of what Darla had to say not there, Finn unknowingly holding his breath as he stared at her when she began talking again. At her admission of going to counseling, he at first was a little confused, but a proud smile immediately replaced it as it didn’t matter if he knew why Darla needed to go there, the fact that she was getting whatever helped that she felt she needed was enough for him to be happy for her. “You didn’t have t-to tell me.” Finn reassured, smiling warmly at Darla to show that he didn’t mind not knowing about it. He figured a part to why she was going to counseling was because of her ex-boyfriend, but not knowing the full story behind it, the silver haired male didn’t want to assume. She then continued, Finn patiently waiting as she did so, only for him to fall into confusion when she told him that they couldn’t be friends anymore. “Why?” He asked. “Have I…… H-Have I done something that hindered your mental health?”·

    “No, it’s nothing you’ve done,” Darla assured him, feeling very much like this was a break-up even though they had never been going out. It’s not you, it’s me—only it was true, not just an age-old excuse meant to spare his feelings. Of course, she did want to protect his feelings as much as possible, and not put the blame for her mental state on him; what was he supposed to have done differently anyway, not be so sweet, cute and likable? “I mean, you didn’t do anything besides be yourself,” she explained, shaking her head. “It’s my own fault that I started having feelings for you. You’ve been a really good friend, Finn, but it’s hard for me to separate that from...wanting more. And—and with my history with Nico...it’s just best for both of us that I take a step back and don’t see you for a while. I don’t want to chase you away, the way I did him. If you could just remember our friendship as a positive thing, that would make me really happy.”

With the way Darla hadn’t automatically given him a response, Finn was right to be worried. There were many reasons he should be, but the lack of a quick response from one of his most energetic friends was a big reason for him to be, which in return, had only put him more on the edge. But he patiently waited, and once she finally had told him where she wanted to meet, he gave her his okay and that was it for the rest of the phone call. It wasn’t long for Finn to make it to the park, and once he got there, he found Darla already waiting for him. “Hey…..” He waved back, watching as a smile appeared on her face. It caused Finn to smile too, both in response to Darla smiling but also because it gave him some hope that maybe nothing was actually wrong. He didn’t want to be too hasty about it though, not when he still didn’t know what she wanted them to talk about. “It’s no p-problem. I would’ve came no matter what.” Finn reassured, looking at Darla earnestly. She didn’t go straight into what she had to say, but somehow, he was fine with that. “I’ve been okay,……been kinda busy too, you k-know with it being the start of the new year and all….. How about y-you?”·

Did the girl on the floor really think that Sharpay completely forgot who she was because she was being a nicer person? Did she really seem that horrible back in high school?  “No, of course I know who you are. Darla Davis.” It was then that Sharpay realized that she hadn’t uttered the girl’s name since she was probably seventeen. 

“I … I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you, really. I was just, um, turning the corner, you know, I don’t know why they put these damn mirrors in such an awkward place.” Sharpay offered a small, apologetic smile. It wasn’t a sorry for bullying you throughout our entire childhood, but it was something. It seemed that maybe the store wasn’t the best place for a long-winded apology, nor was she sure any place ever would be.

     At first, Darla had thought Sharpay was saying sorry for the way she’d treated her in the past, but obviously that was much too much to expect. Instead she was apologizing for a little accident that could have been either of their faults—no hint at the history that lingered between them. Darla shrugged it off, replying, “No problem,” and still wondering if she should be prepared for something heinous, like a remark about how her hair would clash with the clothing they were browsing.

Dewey wasn’t sure why he hadn’t seen Darla around in awhile, but it was nice to finally see her again and to hang out as if no time had passed. Being able to have fun with Darla and let loose without judgement was one of his favorite things about the redhead. And, she made the best playlists out of anyone he knew. “Hell yeah! Let’s dew it! Adventure is my middle name!” He replied excitedly, pumped up from the playlist they just had blasting. “Well, actually, my middle name’s Dingus, but I’ve considered changing it,” he admitted with a smile. “Have a destination in mind? Or should we just go for a drive and see where the roads take us?”

~

     Darla laughed at Dewey’s name pun, used to his idiosyncrasies at this point and just finding them charming. When he told her his real middle name, it took everything she had not to laugh out loud again, this time knowing it wasn’t a joke. It was enough that she didn’t mock him outright; she couldn’t resist the temptation to tease him a little. “No way,” she said, leaking excitement in her voice. “Mine, too!” Lest her take her seriously for more than a second, she quickly added, “Nah, it’s not. It’s Dawn. But it’s so cool that we both have triple-D initials, isn’t it? Anyway, I don’t care where we go, let’s just do something spontaneous and fun.”

Finn was worried. He hasn’t seen or spoken to Darla since the night of the ball, and no matter how many times he tried to call her or message her to see if she wanted to hang out, he never received a response. Which wasn’t like her. Darla always responded quickly whenever he contacted her or she would do so first, and seeing how they both had a great time at the ball, Finn couldn’t understand why since then she’s been ignoring him. Did he do something at the ball that made her upset? But if he did, she would’ve told him about it, wouldn’t she? The thought of their kiss at midnight had came to mind, the silver haired male wondering if maybe she hadn’t been okay with them two kissing on the lips that night. Or maybe it was because of the other kiss. Finn hadn’t mentioned to Darla that he ended up kissing someone else not long after they had theirs, and at the time he didn’t think it was important enough for him to do so. And it still wasn’t even now, yet when he finally got a response from his redheaded friend, Finn found himself feeling even more confused. “O-Okay? Where do you want to m-meet up?” 

“Watch it,” Sharpay snapped as the person bumped into her at the store, looking up from gathering her things to see none other than Darla Davis, the girl she knew she wasn’t very nice to when they were younger. Ryan had always given her shit for it, but Darla was an easy target, with that horrible headgear on her for most of their childhood life. 

It was an admittedly horrible thing that she’d done, the way she’d treated Darla when they were younger, but Sharpay was on this quest to be better, or something like that. So, when the girl bumped into her, as all of the memories of being horrible rushed through her head, Sharpay collected herself, stood up, and gave her best version of a smile as she held out her hand for the girl on the floor. “Sorry, didn’t see you there. Are you…okay? Need a hand?”

     If there was anything more shocking than Sharpay Evans being nice to her, Darla had yet to see it. The smile, the offer of a hand-up, and even the apology when it was obvious that Darla had been the one to bump into her—this was surreal. It had to be fake; the blonde was faking for sure and she was about to pull the swiftest turn-around possible. Maybe she’d drop her on her arse and laugh at her for being so gullible.

    Darla was a summer baby through and through, which in her case meant she couldn’t handle cold weather as well as some people. But apparently for certain people, they ran so hot that being shirtless in winter didn’t even bother them. Every minute spent around Olaf Snowden was another surprise, but not a bad one at all; she was glad that he had approached her to talk one day and just hadn’t stopped, easily considering him a friend now. Even if his physique being on show was somewhat of a distraction—and she had to be careful to keep her eyes ‘up here’ while they were hanging out. “I have a question! So...what kind of music do you like?” she asked, already in the mind to craft a unique mix-tape for her new friend the way she did for everyone close to her.

     It had been too long since Darla had seen the other Duck brother. As her official best friend, Huey was naturally her favorite, of course, but that didn’t mean she cared for Dewey any less. And especially after having spilled everything about her history with Nico to Huey and being not-so-lightly encouraged by him to seek counseling, she was grateful for his care but emotionally worn-out by the company of someone who knew her too well by now. She needed the closeness of another good friend who wasn’t aware of what a mess she had long been hiding inside her head; she needed to get back to a place in life where she felt—and could be—normal. Screaming along to a playlist of their favorite songs was the best way to do that, and she was buzzing with hyper energy when they reached the end of the final track. “Let’s go somewhere,” she said suddenly. “Like an adventure!”

     Life had been easy-swimming since Darla had gotten her braces out, the summer between middle and high school having marked a turning point in her young life. She was never popular, even when she came back from break with a perfect smile, because all the kids she’d gone to school with for years still remembered her as brace-face—but at least those old nicknames lost all their power when she lost the mouth full of metal. Only a few especially cruel kids still teased her after that, finding other things such as her hair color or freckles to pick on, but she had a tougher skin to deal with it by that point. And a few friends to help her handle the rest.