THE RETURN 38-Two 1/2 [Ensemble] R
Title: The Return 38
Rating: R
Word Count: 11,626
Characters/Pairings: Veronica, Logan, Duncan, Mac, Parker, Lilly I, Veronica, Dick, Wallace, Piz, Weevil, OFC (mentions: Casey Gant, Lilly II and Keith Mars)
Spoilers: All episodes (from 1.01: Pilot to 3.20: The Bitch Is Back. Just to be sure) Although this is obviously AU and there are obviously going to be some alterations to events and especially some in the last couple of episodes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally, nothing. So don’t sue me over this, because you won’t get anything. It all belongs to Rob Thomas and if I had owned it when it was still on the last season would have been way different.
1: Awake/ 2: Homecoming/ 3: Forgive/ 4: Arrival/ 5: Reconnect/ 6: Belong/ 7: Bets/ 8: Fight/ 9: Battle/ 10: Retreat/ 11: Push/ 12: Sound/ 13: Potential/ 14: More/ 15: Storytime/ 16: Understanding/ 17: Piggyback/ 18: Sinners/ 19: Drama/ 20: Dinner/ 21: Armor/ 22:Mingle/ 23:Bubbly/ 24:Awkward/ 25:Closing/ 26: Drunks/ 27: Logan/ 28: Wallace/ 29: Mac/ 30: Parker/ 31: Duncan/ 32: Lilly/33: Piz/ 34: Weevil/ 35: Dick/ 36: Veronica/ 37: One
The Return
38
Two
~Two Weeks~
~Veronica~
“So you’re going to be where?” Veronica asked. She was sitting, Indian-style, in front of her dresser searching her bottom drawer for her favorite pair of yoga pants.
“Dick’s place at first, we might hit a bar for a little while but we’ll be at Dick’s most of the night.” Logan was walking around the bedroom doing things like putting on his watch and tying his shoes, his hand brushing the top of her head every time he walked passed her to the bathroom or his closet. “You’ll be home all night, right babe?”
“Right. Have you seen my purple yoga pants by any chance? They’re missing.” She’d gone through the drawer twice and still hadn’t been able to find them.
“I think they’re in the laundry, but if they’re not there then they’ve been collected so you might want to check under the bed.” He was laughing, but it wasn’t funny. Half her clothes ended up in some sort of nest under the bed. She didn’t know what was wrong with that dog but he seemed to have some need to collect her things and hide them under the bed.
Crawling on her hands and knees toward the bed she prepared herself for whatever disaster waited for her under there. Last night it had been her favorite sweater, a necklace, her brush and about three dozen pairs of both her and Logan’s socks. The night before had seen half their clean laundry dragged under the bed and across the dusty floor during the thirty seconds it took her to take the towels into their bathroom and set them on the counter. She hadn’t even taken the time to put them away, just set them in there and when she got back the basket was tipped and he was frantically trying to get as much under the bed as possible before he was caught.
She crouched further down to look but squeezed her eyes shut at the last moment, dread filling her and she knew that her pants were under there, dirty and dusty and drooled on. Deep breath and she opened her eyes and not only were her pants under there so was every single pillow in the house that didn’t belong in their bedroom, Logan’s dress slacks from their dinner two nights ago and half the clothes that had been in her laundry basket this morning. And, on top of it all, her new dog sat looking both triumphant and sorry.
“Ares!” She shouted in frustration and reached out to grab her pants but, somehow guessing what she wanted, he grabbed onto the other end and started pulling in the opposite direction.
“Did he collect them?” Logan asked and she could hear him stepping out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She could hear the chuckle and practically feel his smile as he watched her fight a six pound ball of fluff for her pants.
“Let go you little rat,” She ground out as she pulled on her pants and felt him double his own efforts. It shouldn’t be this difficult to get them away from him, she should be able to pull the pants, and him, out from under the bed with ease. She glanced back at Logan and saw him leaning over her, bracing himself on the bed, to try and see their dog.
“You’re going to tear them if you keep that up.” Logan told her and she let go. She heard Ares slide across the floor and into the wall on the other side of the bed and let out a tiny indignant yip. Her boyfriend laughed and walked around the bed to pick up both the dog and her pants.
“How come you picked this one? The thief?” Veronica complained as she caught the pants Logan threw at her and eyed the puppy he dropped onto the bed.
Logan laughed again and picked up his cell phone before walking back around the bed to her. “Your dad always says you have a thing for unreformable bad boys.” A quick kiss and he walked out of the bedroom with Ares trailing after him. She followed too, flinging the pants across the end of the bed.
“He steals our stuff.” She complained, following her boyfriend and dog into the kitchen. Logan was pulling the beer that he’d bought earlier out of the fridge.
“He loves us, he just wants to keep us close when we’re gone.” Logan told her again. This was not a new conversation. “Would you rather we got rid of him? Rather not have a dog?”
Her jaw dropped and she scowled at Logan. He knew the answer to this, but asked it all the same. She might complain about him constantly - he really was a pain in the ass - but Ares was her baby and she loved him despite his kleptomania. She’d break him of that and he’d be a fully function member of the family in no time. “Of course not, I love him. I just wish he wouldn’t take things.”
“Well, maybe we should put his pillow under the bed and make it his own little area. I think he’s just trying to find a place in the house.” Logan pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Please. The whole house is his. You bought him a bed for every single room and he’s got a billion toys and free reign… which he uses to systematically pilfer items all day long and hide them.” She groused, relaxing into her boyfriend’s body and watching as her puppy circled them before wedging himself between their ankles and laying on their feet.
“It’s a pretty bad hiding space when it’s always under our bed and he knows that we know where it is. I read in one of those books that they like to keep their owners smell near them. Makes them feel safe.” Logan explained, sounding like an expert. He’d been like this all week, the next thing she knew he was going to start insisting that he was a dog whisperer. “Maybe we’ll put the bed we have in the bedroom under the bed and an old t-shirt of ours or something.”
Veronica let out a long sigh before agreeing to try it that night. Logan released her and swept up their puppy to give him a smacking kiss on his head and then hand him off to her. He scooped up his beer, kissed her goodbye and headed out of the kitchen toward the door that led to the garage. “Have fun with your girls night.” He called over his shoulder.
“Have fun with boys night.” She called back, setting the puppy back on the floor and turning to the fridge to pull the desserts she picked up out to thaw. She had to go back upstairs and find different pants to wear for movie night since her. Ares followed her dragging a seat cushion from one of the kitchen chairs behind him.
~*~
“You know, Veronica, I think Ares might be the cutest puppy on the planet.” Parker insisted, scratching behind his ears and rubbing his belly.
“Um… that adorableness masks the evil inside. I was here on Tuesday and, like, five minutes in he literally hid my laptop case and my shoes.” Mac didn’t mention the fact that he’d had a hold of her jacket before they realized what he was doing. “Of course Veronica knew exactly where they were.”
“Where were they?” Parker asked, eyes wide and staring at Ares like she couldn’t imagine him doing anything wrong.
“I bet they were under Veronica and Logan’s bed, right? That’s where he hid my shoes when I was over.” Lilly guessed as she scooped up an enormous amount of hummus with a slice of pita bread.
“He steals my stuff all the time, stock piles it under the bed. Logan says it’s just because he loves me, but he steals everyone’s stuff when they come to the house.” Veronica explained, reaching for the giant bowl of Doritos. “He’s basically a slut. Showing the love to every single person that shows him the slightest bit of attention.”
“Maybe he’s into fashion.” Parker said, trying to put a positive spin on it. “He steal those hot pink sneakers of yours, Lilly?”
“Yeah…” Lilly hedged.
“See, he’s into fashion and trying to prevent a tragedy.” Lilly scoffed at this, her mouth dropped open in protest. Parker gave her a quelling look and Veronica tried to tamp down on her laughter as her two glared good naturedly at each other. “I’m just sayin.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I love those shoes and they’re awesome. Not a tragedy. Can we talk about something other than the dog please?” Lilly sat back, sinking into the couch, shoving another large slice of pita into her mouth. Veronica rolled her eyes before catching sight of Ares running off with her wallet.
“Oh my God, get him.” Veronica yelled, bounding off the couch and chasing her puppy who had started to take evasive maneuvers. “The pizza money is in there.”
With that the other three girls jumped to chase after the little dog as well.
~Wallace~
“You know, there’s some poetry in this… some where.” Dick’s voice was less than enthused as he lost another hand. “What’s that old saying about luck and love?”
“Just because you’re losing so miserably doesn’t mean you should blame it on clichés.” Weevil remarked as he swept the chips toward him.
“How is it that every time we play with you, you win?” Logan complained as he watched more of his money get added to Weevil’s pile.
“What’s that old saying about luck and love?” Weevil repeated, grinning as he began to sort and stack his chips. “Whose deal?”
“Mine.” Duncan said, taking a sip of beer. Logan reached over, snagged the bottle and sniffed it. “What?”
“Just checkin.” Logan grinned, sliding the bottle back to his friend.
“I can’t believe I let you guys talk me into wasting $500 of my hard earned money.” Wallace complained, letting his head drop down onto the poker table.
“Dude, you borrowed it from me.” Logan said, looking down at the back of Wallace’s head.
“Yeah, but eventually I’ll have to pay it back, right? And do you know what indignities I will have to suffer to do so?” Wallace complained, not lifting his head. Another dozen undercover operations with Veronica, and posing as the boyfriend. Letting her call him funny little nicknames in public. Trying to seduce potential fiancées of wealthy clients who, understandably, suspect gold digging. Planting bugs and tracers and spying on people. Taking pictures of things he never wanted to see in his life.
“Yeah, well, you’ve been screwing up my hand all night so be grateful I don’t tell Veronica you have to work $1,000.” Logan groused.
“I should just start working somewhere normal. Like the mall or something because it’s not so easy studying during a stakeout. You can’t turn the lights in the car on and holding the flashlight while trying to keep an eye out isn’t as easy as Veronica makes it look.”
Duncan dealt the next hand and, surprisingly, Wallace won a little of his money back. Two more hands later and he officially declared himself on a streak.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Wallace exclaimed as he slapped his cards down on the table. He reached for his winnings and was stopped by Piz.
“Sorry man, but turns out your streak didn’t last.” Piz flipped over his own cards and slid all the chips towards him.
“You know what they say man, never jinx a streak by calling it a streak.” Dick chuckled as Weevil dealt the next hand.
“Damn.” And Wallace let his head fall back to the table with a thud.
~Mac~
“I don’t know, Dick has been acting weird all week.” Mac explained as she stuffed the last half of her slice of pizza into her mouth. “Well, weirder than normal.”
“Huh, well, that’s what you get for dating Dick Casablancas.” Veronica told her, looking away to the television. Mac glanced at the movie they’d put in an hour ago and rolled her eyes. Clueless, one of Lilly’s choices. Of course they had the whole gamut of teen flicks. Veronica had been pitching Cruel Intentions since they’d all got there.
“Do you know something?” Mac asked, pressing Veronica for answers. Veronica always knew something, always had the answers because there’s nothing Veronica did better than dig up the dirt and interrogate Dick. Nobody interrogated Dick like Veronica, she could get all the information out of him that she wanted in ten minutes or less.
“I know a lot of things, none of which would interest you. Plus I do recall a certain pact that there would be no mention of school work and the like tonight.” Veronica deflected, turning to the other girls in the group. “So, speaking of Dick, anyone got any new boy prospects to tell us about?”
“Um… I’d actually keep talking about my boyfriend and what you know that you’re not telling me about.” She pressed her best friend, looking her straight in the eye, waiting her to look away.
Veronica held her gaze and, without flinching a millimeter, told her “Nothing, quit being paranoid.”
“Okay, hand me a slice of that one over there.” Mac asked, sighing and accepting the fact that if Veronica did know anything then she was never going to tell her.
“You mean the meat lovers with extra cheese?” Parker asked, her brow furrowing, but she still slid the slice of pizza onto Mac’s plate.
“Yeah. It’s weird, I’ve been craving meat lately.” Mac explained as she lifted the slice and took a bite. “Hey, where’s Tami? I thought that she was going to be here tonight.”
Veronica tipped the bottle of wine into Mac’s glass, topping it off with the pale gold liquid. “She called earlier. Got called into work, but she said she’d try and get off early so she could at least stop by. She’ll be here around ten if she can make it.”
“Great.” Mac mumbled, taking a sip of her Chardonnay. “Okay, so what is the deal with you two? Any dick stuff going on?” Mac focused on Parker and Lilly as they both drank from their own wine glasses. Parker nearly choked on the liquid and Mac could see Lilly have trouble not spitting it out as she snorted with laughter. Veronica pressed her lips together and tried not to laugh.
~Weevil~
The only one at this table that he, currently, had anything to relate to about was Piz. How ridiculous was that? Three of guys had been in relationships for at least the last year and Duncan was all about his daughter. And Parker Lee from the looks of things the last two weeks.
“So you dating Parker, man?” Weevil asked as they all sat on the couch, watching some action movie that Dick kept saying was ‘totally awesome’. So far it had been all explosions and car chases.
“Yeah, I’ve been wondering that myself. You finally get up the nerve to ask her out?” Logan asked, causing everyone to turn and look at Duncan.
“No.” Duncan answered simply, still staring at the screen.
“When you gonna get on that, dude?” Logan pressed. Piz and Wallace had turned back to the television, but Weevil could see that they were both completely invested in the conversation.
“Wait. You have a thing for Parker?” Dick asked before picking up his beer and downing it as quickly as he could.
“Why do you all think I have a thing for Parker? We’re just friends.” Duncan insisted and Weevil got the impression that this conversation had happened between him and Logan before.
“Are you guys like, friends friends or, you know, just friends?” Weevil asked, causing a round of laughter to go through the group while Duncan rolled his eyes.
“Just friends.” Duncan said definitively.
“Dunc, dude, I’m so glad you do not have a thing for Parker.” Dick sunk back into the couch and popped the top off another beer.
“What’s wrong with Parker? She’s beautiful, fun, perky, sweet. You’d be lucky to get a girl like Parker.” Logan told Duncan, suddenly seeming offended by Duncan’s lack of interest in his ex-girlfriend.
“Why do you care so much that I don’t want to date Parker?” Duncan asked, scowling at his best friend and Weevil couldn’t help but chuckle at them. Constantly chasing the same girls. If it weren’t for the fact that Lilly was Duncan’s sister they’d probably both be chasing after her too.
Weevil felt the odd kick of pain and regret at the thought of Lilly. It’d been two weeks since they’d slept together and he’d never bothered to call her. He’d thought about it. A lot. Obsessed about it for a week before she finally called him and left a voicemail. Then another call, her asking him to please call back because this was not how things were supposed to happen, when you slept with a girl you were supposed to call her back. In the third voicemail he could hear her barely contained fury as she told him to call her back because this was getting ridiculous and that she was not used to having to being ignored. He’d considered calling her back then, wanting to avoid a Fatal Attraction situation. Her fourth voicemail had been livid, her screaming into the phone before insisting that she wouldn’t be calling again, that she got the picture but if he thought he could call her now then he had another thing coming.
“Yeah, he doesn’t like her so what? Who cares? Move on.” Dick said, sitting up and looking worriedly between Logan and Duncan. They both gave Dick an odd look at his interruption before getting back to the topic.
“I like Parker, she’s become one of my closest friends. Probably my best friend at this point. I just don’t see her that way.” Duncan explained.
“So what? I’ve been demoted? I’m no longer the best friend?” Logan complained, sitting back in the couch somewhat petulantly.
“No, you’re my brother. You’re my brother, Lilly and Veronica are my sisters and Parker is my best friend. We’re all family. Could you drop it now?” Duncan asked, exasperation pulsating from is voice and tone.
“So, you’re definitely not into Parker?” Dick asked.
“No, but I’m starting to think you might be.” Duncan commented, turning his attention onto Dick.
“I kind of set Parker up with Casey at the party a couple weeks ago. According to Mac, she and Lilly went on a double date with him and one of his friends from LA last weekend and then Parker went out with just him a couple days ago. Apparently they hit it off, according to Lilly.” Dick explained.
“So is Lilly dating this friend of Casey’s?” Duncan asked and Weevil felt himself lean a little, trying to concentrate on Dick’s answer without seeming too interested.
“No, she just went out with him to help Parker out. I can’t imagine him wanting a second date anyway, she’s been pretty pissy the last couple of weeks. Flies off the handle for no reason.” Dick was, apparently, a wealth of information when it came to the girls.
“No kidding, she’s been freaking out on us about everything lately. Cleaning our rooms and the kitchen. Freaks about the dishes every other day and, yesterday, she literally gave me a lecture about the vacuum.” Piz complained as he lifted his beer and turned back to the movie.
“We gonna play some poker? Or are we gonna sit here and gossip like a bunch of girls?” Weevil asked. He didn’t need to hear about Lilly’s bad moods or her dates.
~Parker~
“Well, we went out in San Diego. He made reservations at this really nice restaurants. You know, the kind where you walk in and you automatically think that you’re not going to understand anything on the menu or feel like you belong at all.” Parker sat with her legs bent underneath her, gesturing wildly as she described her date with Casey on Tuesday. “So I sit down and open the menu and it’s like gourmet burgers and stuff. It was great, they had this great baked mac-n-cheese with gouda and jalapeños. It was amazing. He got these sliders and fries with truffle oil and, like, mango ketchup. We shared. It was semi-romantic without being too over the top. Then we went to this old theater where they show old black and white movies. Best date ever.”
“Sounds like it. Also sounds like you really like Casey.” Mac commented as she dug into her soy ice cream. “What kind of ice cream are you eating?”
“Lavender and Honey. Lilly and I picked up a bunch of flavors at that health food place near campus. We only got you the strawberry soy though, since it’s your favorite.” Parker explained, suddenly feeling bad that they’d only gotten one flavor for Mac. “Sorry.”
“It’s not a big deal. Can I have some of that?” Mac asked, sliding her bowl across the coffee table towards Parker.
“Sure.” It wasn’t a big deal to share her ice cream with Mac - Lilly and Veronica’s spoons kept dipping in without even asking - it was more the fact that her previously strictly vegan friend was asking for non-soy ice cream. And meaty pizza. “You feeling okay Macky?”
“I’m fine. I’ve just been craving weird stuff. Like cheeseburgers and ice cream. Last week Dick was barbequing, made himself a steak and a garden burger for me but I ate half his steak for some reason. He ended up putting another one on the grill because he won’t eat my garden burgers. Can barely handle cooking them.”
“That’s weird.” Veronica commented, pulling her mint chocolate chip a little closer and eying Lilly’s Honeysuckle ice cream.
“I know. I can’t remember the last time I had meat other than the last week.” Mac agreed, nodding as she dug into her bowl of Lavender and Honey ice cream.
“No, I meant the fact that Dick cooks.” Veronica clarified, causing the group of girls to burst into laughter and forget the topic of Mac’s cravings. At least temporarily.
“So, just to clarify, you’re not into Duncan, right??” Lilly asked her.
“No, I’m not into Duncan.” Parker told Lilly - and the other girls - firmly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it, because she had, it was her reaction to the thought of it that made her so sure that she wasn’t into Duncan.
Duncan was her best friend and, okay, they hadn’t had the most traditional of friendships so far. They’ve only known each other a little over a year and almost all that time was spent with him in prison, but they’d gotten close over that time. She went to visit him every other week, writing him letters every other day. At first she was just updating him on the happenings within the group, feeling bad that he had to miss out on yet another year of life with his friends, but he’d started writing her back. He commented on their friends at first - mostly Lilly’s struggle with staying single and celibate - but then it got more personal and they’d opened up to each other. She told him things she couldn’t say to her roommates and he told her what it was like to be on the run for almost two years and what it was like being away from his daughter. What it was like growing up with Veronica and Logan and Lilly and then what it was like when Lilly went into the coma. How he felt during those last three years of high school without his sister and the mess that followed with Veronica and Logan. She knew more about her two friends than they knew and she knew how uncomfortable that would make them.
Dating never, officially, came up between them. He asked about who she was seeing and she had always been honest with him about it. From the small fling she and Piz had shared around Christmas last year - and how they ended it without anyone ever finding out that it had ever happened - to the tiny relationship she’d shared with a guy in her statistics class that turned out to be the biggest jerk after she told him that she’d been raped. He had never seemed jealous or upset about any of it, joking about how he had blackmail material when it came to Piz and comforting her the best he could with his words when it came to the other one. When he’d gotten back things hadn’t seemed to change between them, they still shared and talked about everything. He talked about how his mother was starting to push Shelly Pomroy at him again and she talked about her date with Casey. If he had ever thought about them dating it had never come up.
“I’m just checking, because you guys seem to spend a lot of time together and I don’t want you starting with baby brother and Casey. He might seem pretty tough, but baby bro can be pretty sensitive.” Lilly told her voice deceptively light and Parker knew the warning sign. She was about to get the big sister/friend speech. “He doesn’t really understand the casual dating thing. And he’s a good guy, so if there’s any chance that he thinks that there’s something going on between the two of you, you better set it straight before he gets hurt. Because if he gets hurt? I will have to kill you.”
Parker nodded, smiling at Lilly’s cold and serious tone. There were many things that Lilly Kane was, not all of them good, but the one thing she never got wrong is her role as big sister. Lilly often said that Veronica was her sister and Parker knew that Veronica thought the same of Lilly. They both took their roles as ‘sister’ so seriously and Parker found herself jealous of it at times. “Don’t worry, Lil. Duncan knows there’s nothing going on. I actually told him all about my solo date with Casey.”
“Okay, well if he-” Lilly started.
Mac interrupted Lilly with a groan and rushing off to the bathroom, her right hand pressed to her mouth.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Parker asked, worriedly eying the bathroom door as she heard Mac’s moan of “Oh God”.
“Actually-” Lilly started but was cut off by a stern look from Veronica as she got up to check on the only brunette in the group.
“Actually what?” Parker whispered, leaning in close to the older girl and keeping her eye on the bathroom door.
“Actually I think Mac has a very specific type of flu.” Lilly whispered back, smiling a little.
“Oh no, you think she’s contagious?” Parker asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to remember if she had shared her water glass with Mac at any point that night.
“Nope.” Lilly answered before holding a finger to her lips as Veronica came back to them, taking her place on the floor again.
“She says she’s fine, her stomach has just been kind of weird the last couple of days.” Veronica tucked her hair behind her ears and turned back to Parker. “So, aside from the absolutely perfect date, what do you think about Casey?”
“Well, he lives in Los Angeles so that’s not exactly ideal, but he makes it down to Neptune a lot. Almost every weekend he said, but it still provides a whole logistical problem. The best thing about having a boyfriend is the day to day stuff where you get to spend time just hanging out and being comfortable with each other. If he’s in LA during the week, then how are we supposed to get to that? There’s only so much that can be done over the phone.” Parker explained, setting her bowl of ice cream on the coffee table and leaning back against the couch.
“Never underestimate the value of phone sex.” Lilly told her with complete seriousness.
“Okay… I wasn’t talking about sex stuff, I was talking about that stuff that makes you a couple. The hand holding, the sitting on the couch and watching random shows, meeting in between classes or for lunch. I mean, I want something like you and Logan.” Parker gestured to Veronica and watched her grimace.
“You don’t want what Logan and I had at the beginning. We live together now but it’s taken a lot to get here. Logan and I were a disaster in the beginning… and remained that way for a couple of years.” Veronica said, her hands nervously smoothing out a non-existent wrinkle in the couch cushions. “I mean, we hated each other for a year, dated for, like, a month and then spent the next nine battling before getting back together. And you were there for the mess that was freshman year.”
Parker nodded and blushed, remembering their first year at college and the constant drama that played out between the couple. She and Piz had both been casualties in the fire storm that was Logan and Veronica’s relationship. Everything had worked out and they were all friends now, but things had gotten bad for a while and the couple had basically gone nuclear at the end of that school year.
“It took that whole summer for Logan and I to start talking, and being friends, again. We’re not exactly the ideal relationship model.” Veronica finished, scooping a chunk of ice cream into her mouth.
“Okay, I don’t want your exact relationship, but I wouldn’t mind ending up in the same place as you guys. You’re living together, completely at ease with each other. You have that intimacy that you can only get when you’re with the other person on a daily basis.” Parker expounded, trying to get her point across a little better. No one in their right mind would base their relationship on Logan and Veronica’s. They were amazing together, almost scarily in tune with each other and, if you got on their bad side, just plain scary. She’d heard Logan call them epic once and she had to agree that it was an apt description of the two but, on the other hand, the way they got to this point didn’t sound fun or amazing. It sounded hard and heartbreaking and tragic. “I’m just not going to get that if I’m seeing someone who lives in another part of the state. He’ll only be around for big things. I can tell him about my day over the phone and everything but don’t most relationships end up long distance? They don’t usually start that way.”
“Parker, if you like Casey, have fun with him, then you focus on that instead of the stuff that hasn’t happened yet.” Lilly told her. “If you like him and he likes you back and you can have at least a little time together then it’s worth it, isn’t it? I mean, it’s more than some people get because some people like guys who don’t even call them back or even like them, they get themselves involved with a guy that doesn’t feel the same and have to suffer through it because they weren’t lucky enough to like a guy who liked them back and wanted to make an effort to be with them.”
Parker and Veronica stared at Lilly for a moment while she fidgeted, avoiding their shocked looks. Parker turned and watched Mac come out of the bathroom, giving Lilly a moment to gather herself, but she heard Veronica whisper “Are you okay?”
38:TWO Pt II
Rating: R
Word Count: 11,626
Characters/Pairings: Veronica, Logan, Duncan, Mac, Parker, Lilly I, Veronica, Dick, Wallace, Piz, Weevil, OFC (mentions: Casey Gant, Lilly II and Keith Mars)
Spoilers: All episodes (from 1.01: Pilot to 3.20: The Bitch Is Back. Just to be sure) Although this is obviously AU and there are obviously going to be some alterations to events and especially some in the last couple of episodes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally, nothing. So don’t sue me over this, because you won’t get anything. It all belongs to Rob Thomas and if I had owned it when it was still on the last season would have been way different.
1: Awake/ 2: Homecoming/ 3: Forgive/ 4: Arrival/ 5: Reconnect/ 6: Belong/ 7: Bets/ 8: Fight/ 9: Battle/ 10: Retreat/ 11: Push/ 12: Sound/ 13: Potential/ 14: More/ 15: Storytime/ 16: Understanding/ 17: Piggyback/ 18: Sinners/ 19: Drama/ 20: Dinner/ 21: Armor/ 22:Mingle/ 23:Bubbly/ 24:Awkward/ 25:Closing/ 26: Drunks/ 27: Logan/ 28: Wallace/ 29: Mac/ 30: Parker/ 31: Duncan/ 32: Lilly/33: Piz/ 34: Weevil/ 35: Dick/ 36: Veronica/ 37: One
The Return
38
Two
~Two Weeks~
~Veronica~
“So you’re going to be where?” Veronica asked. She was sitting, Indian-style, in front of her dresser searching her bottom drawer for her favorite pair of yoga pants.
“Dick’s place at first, we might hit a bar for a little while but we’ll be at Dick’s most of the night.” Logan was walking around the bedroom doing things like putting on his watch and tying his shoes, his hand brushing the top of her head every time he walked passed her to the bathroom or his closet. “You’ll be home all night, right babe?”
“Right. Have you seen my purple yoga pants by any chance? They’re missing.” She’d gone through the drawer twice and still hadn’t been able to find them.
“I think they’re in the laundry, but if they’re not there then they’ve been collected so you might want to check under the bed.” He was laughing, but it wasn’t funny. Half her clothes ended up in some sort of nest under the bed. She didn’t know what was wrong with that dog but he seemed to have some need to collect her things and hide them under the bed.
Crawling on her hands and knees toward the bed she prepared herself for whatever disaster waited for her under there. Last night it had been her favorite sweater, a necklace, her brush and about three dozen pairs of both her and Logan’s socks. The night before had seen half their clean laundry dragged under the bed and across the dusty floor during the thirty seconds it took her to take the towels into their bathroom and set them on the counter. She hadn’t even taken the time to put them away, just set them in there and when she got back the basket was tipped and he was frantically trying to get as much under the bed as possible before he was caught.
She crouched further down to look but squeezed her eyes shut at the last moment, dread filling her and she knew that her pants were under there, dirty and dusty and drooled on. Deep breath and she opened her eyes and not only were her pants under there so was every single pillow in the house that didn’t belong in their bedroom, Logan’s dress slacks from their dinner two nights ago and half the clothes that had been in her laundry basket this morning. And, on top of it all, her new dog sat looking both triumphant and sorry.
“Ares!” She shouted in frustration and reached out to grab her pants but, somehow guessing what she wanted, he grabbed onto the other end and started pulling in the opposite direction.
“Did he collect them?” Logan asked and she could hear him stepping out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She could hear the chuckle and practically feel his smile as he watched her fight a six pound ball of fluff for her pants.
“Let go you little rat,” She ground out as she pulled on her pants and felt him double his own efforts. It shouldn’t be this difficult to get them away from him, she should be able to pull the pants, and him, out from under the bed with ease. She glanced back at Logan and saw him leaning over her, bracing himself on the bed, to try and see their dog.
“You’re going to tear them if you keep that up.” Logan told her and she let go. She heard Ares slide across the floor and into the wall on the other side of the bed and let out a tiny indignant yip. Her boyfriend laughed and walked around the bed to pick up both the dog and her pants.
“How come you picked this one? The thief?” Veronica complained as she caught the pants Logan threw at her and eyed the puppy he dropped onto the bed.
Logan laughed again and picked up his cell phone before walking back around the bed to her. “Your dad always says you have a thing for unreformable bad boys.” A quick kiss and he walked out of the bedroom with Ares trailing after him. She followed too, flinging the pants across the end of the bed.
“He steals our stuff.” She complained, following her boyfriend and dog into the kitchen. Logan was pulling the beer that he’d bought earlier out of the fridge.
“He loves us, he just wants to keep us close when we’re gone.” Logan told her again. This was not a new conversation. “Would you rather we got rid of him? Rather not have a dog?”
Her jaw dropped and she scowled at Logan. He knew the answer to this, but asked it all the same. She might complain about him constantly - he really was a pain in the ass - but Ares was her baby and she loved him despite his kleptomania. She’d break him of that and he’d be a fully function member of the family in no time. “Of course not, I love him. I just wish he wouldn’t take things.”
“Well, maybe we should put his pillow under the bed and make it his own little area. I think he’s just trying to find a place in the house.” Logan pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Please. The whole house is his. You bought him a bed for every single room and he’s got a billion toys and free reign… which he uses to systematically pilfer items all day long and hide them.” She groused, relaxing into her boyfriend’s body and watching as her puppy circled them before wedging himself between their ankles and laying on their feet.
“It’s a pretty bad hiding space when it’s always under our bed and he knows that we know where it is. I read in one of those books that they like to keep their owners smell near them. Makes them feel safe.” Logan explained, sounding like an expert. He’d been like this all week, the next thing she knew he was going to start insisting that he was a dog whisperer. “Maybe we’ll put the bed we have in the bedroom under the bed and an old t-shirt of ours or something.”
Veronica let out a long sigh before agreeing to try it that night. Logan released her and swept up their puppy to give him a smacking kiss on his head and then hand him off to her. He scooped up his beer, kissed her goodbye and headed out of the kitchen toward the door that led to the garage. “Have fun with your girls night.” He called over his shoulder.
“Have fun with boys night.” She called back, setting the puppy back on the floor and turning to the fridge to pull the desserts she picked up out to thaw. She had to go back upstairs and find different pants to wear for movie night since her. Ares followed her dragging a seat cushion from one of the kitchen chairs behind him.
~*~
“You know, Veronica, I think Ares might be the cutest puppy on the planet.” Parker insisted, scratching behind his ears and rubbing his belly.
“Um… that adorableness masks the evil inside. I was here on Tuesday and, like, five minutes in he literally hid my laptop case and my shoes.” Mac didn’t mention the fact that he’d had a hold of her jacket before they realized what he was doing. “Of course Veronica knew exactly where they were.”
“Where were they?” Parker asked, eyes wide and staring at Ares like she couldn’t imagine him doing anything wrong.
“I bet they were under Veronica and Logan’s bed, right? That’s where he hid my shoes when I was over.” Lilly guessed as she scooped up an enormous amount of hummus with a slice of pita bread.
“He steals my stuff all the time, stock piles it under the bed. Logan says it’s just because he loves me, but he steals everyone’s stuff when they come to the house.” Veronica explained, reaching for the giant bowl of Doritos. “He’s basically a slut. Showing the love to every single person that shows him the slightest bit of attention.”
“Maybe he’s into fashion.” Parker said, trying to put a positive spin on it. “He steal those hot pink sneakers of yours, Lilly?”
“Yeah…” Lilly hedged.
“See, he’s into fashion and trying to prevent a tragedy.” Lilly scoffed at this, her mouth dropped open in protest. Parker gave her a quelling look and Veronica tried to tamp down on her laughter as her two glared good naturedly at each other. “I’m just sayin.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I love those shoes and they’re awesome. Not a tragedy. Can we talk about something other than the dog please?” Lilly sat back, sinking into the couch, shoving another large slice of pita into her mouth. Veronica rolled her eyes before catching sight of Ares running off with her wallet.
“Oh my God, get him.” Veronica yelled, bounding off the couch and chasing her puppy who had started to take evasive maneuvers. “The pizza money is in there.”
With that the other three girls jumped to chase after the little dog as well.
~Wallace~
“You know, there’s some poetry in this… some where.” Dick’s voice was less than enthused as he lost another hand. “What’s that old saying about luck and love?”
“Just because you’re losing so miserably doesn’t mean you should blame it on clichés.” Weevil remarked as he swept the chips toward him.
“How is it that every time we play with you, you win?” Logan complained as he watched more of his money get added to Weevil’s pile.
“What’s that old saying about luck and love?” Weevil repeated, grinning as he began to sort and stack his chips. “Whose deal?”
“Mine.” Duncan said, taking a sip of beer. Logan reached over, snagged the bottle and sniffed it. “What?”
“Just checkin.” Logan grinned, sliding the bottle back to his friend.
“I can’t believe I let you guys talk me into wasting $500 of my hard earned money.” Wallace complained, letting his head drop down onto the poker table.
“Dude, you borrowed it from me.” Logan said, looking down at the back of Wallace’s head.
“Yeah, but eventually I’ll have to pay it back, right? And do you know what indignities I will have to suffer to do so?” Wallace complained, not lifting his head. Another dozen undercover operations with Veronica, and posing as the boyfriend. Letting her call him funny little nicknames in public. Trying to seduce potential fiancées of wealthy clients who, understandably, suspect gold digging. Planting bugs and tracers and spying on people. Taking pictures of things he never wanted to see in his life.
“Yeah, well, you’ve been screwing up my hand all night so be grateful I don’t tell Veronica you have to work $1,000.” Logan groused.
“I should just start working somewhere normal. Like the mall or something because it’s not so easy studying during a stakeout. You can’t turn the lights in the car on and holding the flashlight while trying to keep an eye out isn’t as easy as Veronica makes it look.”
Duncan dealt the next hand and, surprisingly, Wallace won a little of his money back. Two more hands later and he officially declared himself on a streak.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Wallace exclaimed as he slapped his cards down on the table. He reached for his winnings and was stopped by Piz.
“Sorry man, but turns out your streak didn’t last.” Piz flipped over his own cards and slid all the chips towards him.
“You know what they say man, never jinx a streak by calling it a streak.” Dick chuckled as Weevil dealt the next hand.
“Damn.” And Wallace let his head fall back to the table with a thud.
~Mac~
“I don’t know, Dick has been acting weird all week.” Mac explained as she stuffed the last half of her slice of pizza into her mouth. “Well, weirder than normal.”
“Huh, well, that’s what you get for dating Dick Casablancas.” Veronica told her, looking away to the television. Mac glanced at the movie they’d put in an hour ago and rolled her eyes. Clueless, one of Lilly’s choices. Of course they had the whole gamut of teen flicks. Veronica had been pitching Cruel Intentions since they’d all got there.
“Do you know something?” Mac asked, pressing Veronica for answers. Veronica always knew something, always had the answers because there’s nothing Veronica did better than dig up the dirt and interrogate Dick. Nobody interrogated Dick like Veronica, she could get all the information out of him that she wanted in ten minutes or less.
“I know a lot of things, none of which would interest you. Plus I do recall a certain pact that there would be no mention of school work and the like tonight.” Veronica deflected, turning to the other girls in the group. “So, speaking of Dick, anyone got any new boy prospects to tell us about?”
“Um… I’d actually keep talking about my boyfriend and what you know that you’re not telling me about.” She pressed her best friend, looking her straight in the eye, waiting her to look away.
Veronica held her gaze and, without flinching a millimeter, told her “Nothing, quit being paranoid.”
“Okay, hand me a slice of that one over there.” Mac asked, sighing and accepting the fact that if Veronica did know anything then she was never going to tell her.
“You mean the meat lovers with extra cheese?” Parker asked, her brow furrowing, but she still slid the slice of pizza onto Mac’s plate.
“Yeah. It’s weird, I’ve been craving meat lately.” Mac explained as she lifted the slice and took a bite. “Hey, where’s Tami? I thought that she was going to be here tonight.”
Veronica tipped the bottle of wine into Mac’s glass, topping it off with the pale gold liquid. “She called earlier. Got called into work, but she said she’d try and get off early so she could at least stop by. She’ll be here around ten if she can make it.”
“Great.” Mac mumbled, taking a sip of her Chardonnay. “Okay, so what is the deal with you two? Any dick stuff going on?” Mac focused on Parker and Lilly as they both drank from their own wine glasses. Parker nearly choked on the liquid and Mac could see Lilly have trouble not spitting it out as she snorted with laughter. Veronica pressed her lips together and tried not to laugh.
~Weevil~
The only one at this table that he, currently, had anything to relate to about was Piz. How ridiculous was that? Three of guys had been in relationships for at least the last year and Duncan was all about his daughter. And Parker Lee from the looks of things the last two weeks.
“So you dating Parker, man?” Weevil asked as they all sat on the couch, watching some action movie that Dick kept saying was ‘totally awesome’. So far it had been all explosions and car chases.
“Yeah, I’ve been wondering that myself. You finally get up the nerve to ask her out?” Logan asked, causing everyone to turn and look at Duncan.
“No.” Duncan answered simply, still staring at the screen.
“When you gonna get on that, dude?” Logan pressed. Piz and Wallace had turned back to the television, but Weevil could see that they were both completely invested in the conversation.
“Wait. You have a thing for Parker?” Dick asked before picking up his beer and downing it as quickly as he could.
“Why do you all think I have a thing for Parker? We’re just friends.” Duncan insisted and Weevil got the impression that this conversation had happened between him and Logan before.
“Are you guys like, friends friends or, you know, just friends?” Weevil asked, causing a round of laughter to go through the group while Duncan rolled his eyes.
“Just friends.” Duncan said definitively.
“Dunc, dude, I’m so glad you do not have a thing for Parker.” Dick sunk back into the couch and popped the top off another beer.
“What’s wrong with Parker? She’s beautiful, fun, perky, sweet. You’d be lucky to get a girl like Parker.” Logan told Duncan, suddenly seeming offended by Duncan’s lack of interest in his ex-girlfriend.
“Why do you care so much that I don’t want to date Parker?” Duncan asked, scowling at his best friend and Weevil couldn’t help but chuckle at them. Constantly chasing the same girls. If it weren’t for the fact that Lilly was Duncan’s sister they’d probably both be chasing after her too.
Weevil felt the odd kick of pain and regret at the thought of Lilly. It’d been two weeks since they’d slept together and he’d never bothered to call her. He’d thought about it. A lot. Obsessed about it for a week before she finally called him and left a voicemail. Then another call, her asking him to please call back because this was not how things were supposed to happen, when you slept with a girl you were supposed to call her back. In the third voicemail he could hear her barely contained fury as she told him to call her back because this was getting ridiculous and that she was not used to having to being ignored. He’d considered calling her back then, wanting to avoid a Fatal Attraction situation. Her fourth voicemail had been livid, her screaming into the phone before insisting that she wouldn’t be calling again, that she got the picture but if he thought he could call her now then he had another thing coming.
“Yeah, he doesn’t like her so what? Who cares? Move on.” Dick said, sitting up and looking worriedly between Logan and Duncan. They both gave Dick an odd look at his interruption before getting back to the topic.
“I like Parker, she’s become one of my closest friends. Probably my best friend at this point. I just don’t see her that way.” Duncan explained.
“So what? I’ve been demoted? I’m no longer the best friend?” Logan complained, sitting back in the couch somewhat petulantly.
“No, you’re my brother. You’re my brother, Lilly and Veronica are my sisters and Parker is my best friend. We’re all family. Could you drop it now?” Duncan asked, exasperation pulsating from is voice and tone.
“So, you’re definitely not into Parker?” Dick asked.
“No, but I’m starting to think you might be.” Duncan commented, turning his attention onto Dick.
“I kind of set Parker up with Casey at the party a couple weeks ago. According to Mac, she and Lilly went on a double date with him and one of his friends from LA last weekend and then Parker went out with just him a couple days ago. Apparently they hit it off, according to Lilly.” Dick explained.
“So is Lilly dating this friend of Casey’s?” Duncan asked and Weevil felt himself lean a little, trying to concentrate on Dick’s answer without seeming too interested.
“No, she just went out with him to help Parker out. I can’t imagine him wanting a second date anyway, she’s been pretty pissy the last couple of weeks. Flies off the handle for no reason.” Dick was, apparently, a wealth of information when it came to the girls.
“No kidding, she’s been freaking out on us about everything lately. Cleaning our rooms and the kitchen. Freaks about the dishes every other day and, yesterday, she literally gave me a lecture about the vacuum.” Piz complained as he lifted his beer and turned back to the movie.
“We gonna play some poker? Or are we gonna sit here and gossip like a bunch of girls?” Weevil asked. He didn’t need to hear about Lilly’s bad moods or her dates.
~Parker~
“Well, we went out in San Diego. He made reservations at this really nice restaurants. You know, the kind where you walk in and you automatically think that you’re not going to understand anything on the menu or feel like you belong at all.” Parker sat with her legs bent underneath her, gesturing wildly as she described her date with Casey on Tuesday. “So I sit down and open the menu and it’s like gourmet burgers and stuff. It was great, they had this great baked mac-n-cheese with gouda and jalapeños. It was amazing. He got these sliders and fries with truffle oil and, like, mango ketchup. We shared. It was semi-romantic without being too over the top. Then we went to this old theater where they show old black and white movies. Best date ever.”
“Sounds like it. Also sounds like you really like Casey.” Mac commented as she dug into her soy ice cream. “What kind of ice cream are you eating?”
“Lavender and Honey. Lilly and I picked up a bunch of flavors at that health food place near campus. We only got you the strawberry soy though, since it’s your favorite.” Parker explained, suddenly feeling bad that they’d only gotten one flavor for Mac. “Sorry.”
“It’s not a big deal. Can I have some of that?” Mac asked, sliding her bowl across the coffee table towards Parker.
“Sure.” It wasn’t a big deal to share her ice cream with Mac - Lilly and Veronica’s spoons kept dipping in without even asking - it was more the fact that her previously strictly vegan friend was asking for non-soy ice cream. And meaty pizza. “You feeling okay Macky?”
“I’m fine. I’ve just been craving weird stuff. Like cheeseburgers and ice cream. Last week Dick was barbequing, made himself a steak and a garden burger for me but I ate half his steak for some reason. He ended up putting another one on the grill because he won’t eat my garden burgers. Can barely handle cooking them.”
“That’s weird.” Veronica commented, pulling her mint chocolate chip a little closer and eying Lilly’s Honeysuckle ice cream.
“I know. I can’t remember the last time I had meat other than the last week.” Mac agreed, nodding as she dug into her bowl of Lavender and Honey ice cream.
“No, I meant the fact that Dick cooks.” Veronica clarified, causing the group of girls to burst into laughter and forget the topic of Mac’s cravings. At least temporarily.
“So, just to clarify, you’re not into Duncan, right??” Lilly asked her.
“No, I’m not into Duncan.” Parker told Lilly - and the other girls - firmly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it, because she had, it was her reaction to the thought of it that made her so sure that she wasn’t into Duncan.
Duncan was her best friend and, okay, they hadn’t had the most traditional of friendships so far. They’ve only known each other a little over a year and almost all that time was spent with him in prison, but they’d gotten close over that time. She went to visit him every other week, writing him letters every other day. At first she was just updating him on the happenings within the group, feeling bad that he had to miss out on yet another year of life with his friends, but he’d started writing her back. He commented on their friends at first - mostly Lilly’s struggle with staying single and celibate - but then it got more personal and they’d opened up to each other. She told him things she couldn’t say to her roommates and he told her what it was like to be on the run for almost two years and what it was like being away from his daughter. What it was like growing up with Veronica and Logan and Lilly and then what it was like when Lilly went into the coma. How he felt during those last three years of high school without his sister and the mess that followed with Veronica and Logan. She knew more about her two friends than they knew and she knew how uncomfortable that would make them.
Dating never, officially, came up between them. He asked about who she was seeing and she had always been honest with him about it. From the small fling she and Piz had shared around Christmas last year - and how they ended it without anyone ever finding out that it had ever happened - to the tiny relationship she’d shared with a guy in her statistics class that turned out to be the biggest jerk after she told him that she’d been raped. He had never seemed jealous or upset about any of it, joking about how he had blackmail material when it came to Piz and comforting her the best he could with his words when it came to the other one. When he’d gotten back things hadn’t seemed to change between them, they still shared and talked about everything. He talked about how his mother was starting to push Shelly Pomroy at him again and she talked about her date with Casey. If he had ever thought about them dating it had never come up.
“I’m just checking, because you guys seem to spend a lot of time together and I don’t want you starting with baby brother and Casey. He might seem pretty tough, but baby bro can be pretty sensitive.” Lilly told her voice deceptively light and Parker knew the warning sign. She was about to get the big sister/friend speech. “He doesn’t really understand the casual dating thing. And he’s a good guy, so if there’s any chance that he thinks that there’s something going on between the two of you, you better set it straight before he gets hurt. Because if he gets hurt? I will have to kill you.”
Parker nodded, smiling at Lilly’s cold and serious tone. There were many things that Lilly Kane was, not all of them good, but the one thing she never got wrong is her role as big sister. Lilly often said that Veronica was her sister and Parker knew that Veronica thought the same of Lilly. They both took their roles as ‘sister’ so seriously and Parker found herself jealous of it at times. “Don’t worry, Lil. Duncan knows there’s nothing going on. I actually told him all about my solo date with Casey.”
“Okay, well if he-” Lilly started.
Mac interrupted Lilly with a groan and rushing off to the bathroom, her right hand pressed to her mouth.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Parker asked, worriedly eying the bathroom door as she heard Mac’s moan of “Oh God”.
“Actually-” Lilly started but was cut off by a stern look from Veronica as she got up to check on the only brunette in the group.
“Actually what?” Parker whispered, leaning in close to the older girl and keeping her eye on the bathroom door.
“Actually I think Mac has a very specific type of flu.” Lilly whispered back, smiling a little.
“Oh no, you think she’s contagious?” Parker asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to remember if she had shared her water glass with Mac at any point that night.
“Nope.” Lilly answered before holding a finger to her lips as Veronica came back to them, taking her place on the floor again.
“She says she’s fine, her stomach has just been kind of weird the last couple of days.” Veronica tucked her hair behind her ears and turned back to Parker. “So, aside from the absolutely perfect date, what do you think about Casey?”
“Well, he lives in Los Angeles so that’s not exactly ideal, but he makes it down to Neptune a lot. Almost every weekend he said, but it still provides a whole logistical problem. The best thing about having a boyfriend is the day to day stuff where you get to spend time just hanging out and being comfortable with each other. If he’s in LA during the week, then how are we supposed to get to that? There’s only so much that can be done over the phone.” Parker explained, setting her bowl of ice cream on the coffee table and leaning back against the couch.
“Never underestimate the value of phone sex.” Lilly told her with complete seriousness.
“Okay… I wasn’t talking about sex stuff, I was talking about that stuff that makes you a couple. The hand holding, the sitting on the couch and watching random shows, meeting in between classes or for lunch. I mean, I want something like you and Logan.” Parker gestured to Veronica and watched her grimace.
“You don’t want what Logan and I had at the beginning. We live together now but it’s taken a lot to get here. Logan and I were a disaster in the beginning… and remained that way for a couple of years.” Veronica said, her hands nervously smoothing out a non-existent wrinkle in the couch cushions. “I mean, we hated each other for a year, dated for, like, a month and then spent the next nine battling before getting back together. And you were there for the mess that was freshman year.”
Parker nodded and blushed, remembering their first year at college and the constant drama that played out between the couple. She and Piz had both been casualties in the fire storm that was Logan and Veronica’s relationship. Everything had worked out and they were all friends now, but things had gotten bad for a while and the couple had basically gone nuclear at the end of that school year.
“It took that whole summer for Logan and I to start talking, and being friends, again. We’re not exactly the ideal relationship model.” Veronica finished, scooping a chunk of ice cream into her mouth.
“Okay, I don’t want your exact relationship, but I wouldn’t mind ending up in the same place as you guys. You’re living together, completely at ease with each other. You have that intimacy that you can only get when you’re with the other person on a daily basis.” Parker expounded, trying to get her point across a little better. No one in their right mind would base their relationship on Logan and Veronica’s. They were amazing together, almost scarily in tune with each other and, if you got on their bad side, just plain scary. She’d heard Logan call them epic once and she had to agree that it was an apt description of the two but, on the other hand, the way they got to this point didn’t sound fun or amazing. It sounded hard and heartbreaking and tragic. “I’m just not going to get that if I’m seeing someone who lives in another part of the state. He’ll only be around for big things. I can tell him about my day over the phone and everything but don’t most relationships end up long distance? They don’t usually start that way.”
“Parker, if you like Casey, have fun with him, then you focus on that instead of the stuff that hasn’t happened yet.” Lilly told her. “If you like him and he likes you back and you can have at least a little time together then it’s worth it, isn’t it? I mean, it’s more than some people get because some people like guys who don’t even call them back or even like them, they get themselves involved with a guy that doesn’t feel the same and have to suffer through it because they weren’t lucky enough to like a guy who liked them back and wanted to make an effort to be with them.”
Parker and Veronica stared at Lilly for a moment while she fidgeted, avoiding their shocked looks. Parker turned and watched Mac come out of the bathroom, giving Lilly a moment to gather herself, but she heard Veronica whisper “Are you okay?”
38:TWO Pt II