Mariano Girl

Presenting Daphne Mariano pt. 2

It was official, Daphne hated running.

The sun was hot, bright, and sweaty. OK, well, maybe it was just Daphne who was sweaty, but it was the sun's fault. Her hair was up out of her face, yet it felt like a giant cat had licked Daphne's scalp. Daphne hadn't been this active in years, and she (and everyone else on the football field) could definitely tell. It wasn't very surprising that was Daphne panting like a dog as she ran around the track.

If it were any other day, Daphne would be mortified at the sweat staining her clothes. Especially since it was very obvious to the rest of the world. But Daphne had bigger things to worry about, like which way of murdering Jane would be the most painful.

It felt like paradise the moment Daphne finished her mile run, collapsing onto the luscious green football field near the track. Daphne swore she heard other girls moan when they too made it to the end of the run. She lay there on the damp grass, letting the cool dew calm her body.

"Alright, girls!" Coach Miller whistled and clapped her hands, bringing in all the girls into a huddle around her. "Let's go ahead and take fifteen. Stretch, cool down, and drink some water."

The girls nodded, some holding each other as they wobbled to the locker rooms. Daphne crawled to the water bottle she put on the side of the track and within a minute the plastic bottle was empty. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing.

"Not much for athletics, huh?"

Daphne glanced up from the ground. A tall lean blond boy with shaggy hair stood before her. He was wearing shoulder pads and held a helmet in his hands, smiling like he had just said the world's most charming joke.

Huffing, Daphne shook her head. "No, not really," she said bluntly. Daphne was too tired to think of anything witty to bedazzle him with.

"I haven't seen you around here," He shuffled around in his shoulder pads. "So, you doing track and field?" He asked, sending a glance and a smirk to a buddy of his unbeknownst to Daphne.

"Yeah—I just moved here two weeks ago," Daphne nodded, a little annoyed that he wasn't letting her rest for the fifteen minutes she was gifted specifically to rest.

"Well, I'm Chuck," he grinned. Daphne simply waved from her place in the grass, not wanting any physical contact with him, or anyone for that matter (hello! she's all hot and sweaty!).

"It's nice to meet you," Daphne mumbled out, searching behind him for Jane, whom she found talking to Coach.

"So listen, I'd really like to get to know you," Chuck continued, blocking her view of Jane with his body. Daphne couldn't tell if it was intentional or not, but either way set her off a little more for every passing second he was in her way. "Would you wanna go see a movie with me? I could even give you a tour of the town."

Daphne grimaced. She was hoping it wouldn't come to that. "That's sweet, Chuck, but I'm—uh—busy tonight."

"Good thing I'm patient then," Chuck said cheekily. Daphne resisted the urge to slap his face.

"Ha ha, good thing." She sent him a strained smile, a little uncomfortable being around him.

"I can wait until you're free." He looked to be about her brother's age, which made it very weird that he was asking out a freshman like herself. "How about tomorrow?" Chuck pushed.

"Um—no thanks, Chuck," Daphne said, pulling herself up to her feet.

"Why?" he questioned. "I thought you'd give it up to any guy who asked."

"Excuse me?" Daphne screeched, resisting the urge to punch Chuck in the nose right then and there.

"Isn't that what you city girls do?" Chuck asked. For a moment Daphne almost pitied the boy because he was completely and genuinely serious. He was both stupid and ignorant, and would likely spend the rest of his life like that. His words actually left Daphne speechless. She didn't know it was this possible to be so idiotic and a douchebag at the same time. Instead of kicking him in the nuts (mostly because he was an athlete at practice and there was a 9/10 chance he had protection there) Daphne walked away towards the girls locker room.

Other football players not so subtly snickered as Daphne walked past them.

The rest of practice went OK. Daphne spent a lot of time with Jane, which was ultimately the end goal, so it wasn't so bad. Though her sore and raw muscles might disagree.

She went to Jane's house afterwards. The two girls wasted time by laying around and watching TV, but around nine was when they began feeling the effects of cardio. Their stomachs gurgled in hunger, resulting in Jane suggesting to head to Luke's Diner for some dinner. Daphne absolutely dreaded this idea, knowing Luke'll be mad when she got home, as she hadn't spoken to him since she left for school.

"You seriously want a cheeseburger?" Daphne pressed. "I mean, out of anything in the town, you want a measly burger?"

"What can I say?" Jane shrugged with the smile as they walked through the town to the diner. "I'm a simple woman with simple needs."

The diner was near closing, with only two customers sitting at a table eating a cheeseburger. The bell rung as the duo entered, and Daphne was immediately met with the Gilmore girls (who were dressed very fancily) and Luke talking to Jess. He was wearing a flannel taken from Luke, blue jeans, and a backwards baseball cap, imitating Luke's signature style. Luke currently looked like he was going to explode.

"Whatever you say, Uncle Luke," Jess said while smirking at Rory. He then noticed Daphne by the door, and sent a wink in her direction before turning around and heading upstairs.

"It's Luke. Just Luke," Luke growled in annoyance, following Jess from behind. "Mr. Luke! In fact, don't address me at all!" he yelled at Jess up the stairs.

"Woah," Daphne breathed, her mouth fell into an 'o' shape. She didn't account for him being already mad when she got home. "Uh—you OK?" Daphne asked dumbly.

Luke turned his head quickly, staring Daphne with crazy eyes like he was on the edge of combusting on the spot. "And I told you to come home right after school!" He yelled.

Daphne pouted her lip and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "We're hungry," she whimpered, nudging her head towards Jane to keep Luke from yelling.

Almost instantly Luke sighed, softening his voice like he was talking to a toddler. "What would you like?"

Daphne broke into a grin, taking Jane's arm and leading her to the counter. "Two of your finest cheeseburgers, please!"

They took their seats beside each other, waiting patiently as Luke went back into the kitchen to begin preparing their meal.

"Who was that?" Jane asked, staring up the stairs.

"My brother Jess," Daphne waved off, pouring Jane and herself a cup of coffee. "Why?"

"He's so cute," Jane gushed, taking a sip.

Daphne stared at Jane with distaste. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"What?" she giggled. "He is!"