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[echolls_cursed]

Some of the reels were heartbreaking, full of bad memories and pain. Others though- Others weren't so bad. Otheres were just events from his past- with the added bonus of an inside look into Veronica and Duncan's lives as well. All the things they'd hid from him, all the things he'd wondered about

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[captainjack]

Jack walked in to find a book on chess when he stopped dead. He hated the reels, most of the time. He couldn't imagine who would have left one like this running. Logan. That meant Veronica and Keith...and a handful of other people who had been here and vanished.

He knew he should walk over and flip the switch. Just kill it. But he got sucked into watching.

"God, he's such a little shit," Jack muttered under his breath. He'd caught a glimpse of that attitude in the dream they'd shared, but that had been a pale comparison to what he was seeing now.

[echolls_cursed]

"You know, some people might be offend if they heard you talking about them that way," Logan said, leaning in the door frame as he watched himself and then turned his gaze to Jack.

"I was just enjoying some- treasured memories," he said flatly, his tone low and dry, even as his lips curled up into a grin.

He was about to take a swing at the guy who'd been messing with his girlfriend, only to have Weevil call him aside to talk. ...Weevil was a lot of things, most of them negative, but he was probably the only decent member the PCHers had ever had.

Leaning over, he clicked off the reel. "Kaitlin Ford, my first real girlfriend after Lilly. ...She was cheating on me with the nephew of my housekeeper. I knew how to pick 'em back then."

[captainjack]

Offended. Right. Some people, but not Logan.

"Well...she's pretty," Jack offered. It wasn't much of an offering, considering he'd say the same about practically everyone.

"So. What prompted the trip down memory lane? I thought you'd had enough of Neptune. And this was, what, five years ago?"

[echolls_cursed]

"I dunno," Logan said honestly. "I just felt like watching it. Besides, the only other thing on offer were your reels, and I didn't feel like watching you die. I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime."

He put the reel back in the tin and picked up the next one a moment later. 1x5, You Think You Know Somebody.

Shrugging, he loaded it up just to see what it was.

"Call it morbid curiosity."

[captainjack]

"I'm pretty sure I don't die in all of them," Jack pointed out as he sidled up against Logan and ran his hand down the younger man's back. "But who knows. I stopped watching them. You, uh, want to be alone with these? I can get out of here if you want..."

[echolls_cursed]

Logan came up on the screen right away, looking like he was about to puke, and he laughed a little as he shook his head. "No- No, man, I don't want you to go. Look, let me use the bathroom and then we'll go find something to do. ...Something that doesn't involve watching a film.

He left the room again and went to do just that, trying to think of something for them to do as he headed down the hall. There wasn't all that many options on the island, but there had to be something...

He came back a few minutes later, wearing a grin. "You know what would be fun? You told me once there was a fair or something inside the TARDIS. I think it's time you won me a stuffed bear."

[captainjack]

His words hit Jack and slipped right off. He was engrossed in the scene playing out on the screen. He was aware it was Veronica's show, but watching Logan with his friends...it was like seeing a person he only barely knew.

"What?" he replied, having to tear his eyes away and focus on the guy in front of him. "A bear? What?"

[echolls_cursed]

Logan watched as Veronica pulled up to pick up him and Troy, and he had to bit his lip to stop himself from snickering. Sure, he knew he was acting like a dick, but part of him missed his days of verbal sparring with Ronnie.

"You know I get it, if you're curious. I don't care if you watch them. I don't have anything to hide from you. I trust you not to spread anything around about Ronnie. ...Anyway, I was saying you should take me to the fair. I think we've reached that point in our relationship where you give me disgustingly sappy bears and flowers."

[captainjack]

As much as he was drawn back to the screen, Jack found it in him to reach out and flip the switch on the projector. The light died and the sound faded immediately, and that was enough to break the spell.

"Okay," he agreed without any more hesitation. Maybe some day he'd give in and watch some of the reels labeled VERONICA MARS...but not today. Honestly, probably not ever. As curious as he was about Logan's life in Neptune, he was painfully aware of two things. It sucked and the reels had a nasty habit of only showing the most damning slices of life. Open invitation or not, he'd pass.

"Let's go. I've got the key in my pocket."

[echolls_cursed]

"Yeah?" Logan asked. "I was kidding about the bears, but it would be fun to kind of get off the island for a while. You know, in a controlled sort of way that doesn't involve being in Neptune or anywhere near your ex. I know it's not really off the island, but it's nice."

[captainjack]

"I love the TARDIS," Jack said, althought he may as well have told Logan that water was wet or the sky was blue. Loving the TARDIS was just a fact when it came to Jack.

"You know..." he started, taking the reel from the projector and tucking it away before they left, "...the last time I was in the TARDIS, I found the chem lab. The Doctor was helping me get the stuff to make your refrigerator work. Before that, I took Polly on a little tour. We rode the roller coaster. We also went to the butterfly garden. She's a sweet kid. Do you know her?"

[echolls_cursed]

"Uh, no, but should I be worried about you taking girls to see butterflies and roller coasters?" Logan asked, frowning a little. "Is there anyone on this island you don't like? I swear, it's like you're friends with everyone. Just like Neil always was. Every day he'd be talking about someone new I'd never met."

[captainjack]

Logan's words hit him hard and he stopped, scowling at the other man.

"Polly's...Polly. And you don't seriously have a problem with me having friends, do you?" he asked. A sick knot settled low in his gut and just made him scowl harder. House had never even bothered to learn his friends's names. Hearing Logan talking about Neil like that...

He shouldn't be reacting like this, he thought, but he couldn't help it. It hit one of the very few things he was sensitive about.

[echolls_cursed]

Logan was practically pouting, but he shook his head no. "No, I don't care. I just- I dunno, I can't do that. I can't just get along with everyone, and- it's scary. Every time you drop a new name, it's just one more person in your life. One more person who caught your eye or your interest. Someone who might be better looking than me. Smarter than me. It scares the shit out of me, and I know it's stupid, but- I worry sometimes. I worry one day you'll look at me and realize you could do so much better. Because you could. You really could. "

[captainjack]

"But you love me," Jack countered, as if that one simple fact made everyone else worthless. Which it did.

"I think you need to meet Polly if you think she might be some kind of competition. I mean..." He began to laugh a little. "...She's eighteen. She's...she's nothing like you. She's just a girl."

Which was what he could say about most people anymore. They were just a girl, just a boy, just a woman, just a man. No one caught his attention any more. Not like that.

[echolls_cursed]

"I don't need proof that she's not competition," Logan replied quietly. "I know there's no one else, I'm just- I'm an idiot. That's all."