What the Hell?/PG-13/LoVe
Title: What the Hell?
Author: Odintsova_27
Characters: Logan, Veronica, LoVe, mentions of Lilly. Alice is my character.
Rating: Hard PG-13
Word Count: 1000 words
Summary: Logan and Veronica’s relationship hits a rocky patch.
Warning: Couple of instances of cussing, f-word. Nothing major.
Spoilers: This was written to take place after 3.05, but it could happen at any point after Logan and Veronica graduate. No spoilers for season 3.
Notes: One of my friends, a non-LJer suggested this, so major thanks to her for the inspiration. I have no beta,
so all mistakes are mine. I'm not sure how crazy I am about the ending, so please tell me what you think of that.
“What the hell, Logan?”
Logan sighed, then turned to the perky brunette sitting on the couch next to him, “You better go, Alice. We can finish tomorrow.”
Alice left, with only a quick glance back the short blond who looked ready to commit murder.
“That was unnecessary,” Logan’s voice was strangely void of emotion.
“What was she doing in here? I heard you saying that she was the only girl for you. Guess you forgot to tell your GIRLFRIEND about that, huh?”
Logan grabbed a binder and tossed it at Veronica’s feet, the three rings popped open, pages flew in a semi-circle around her feet, she looked at him.
“It’s a fucking play, Veronica!”
“A play? You’re acting?”
“Yeah, a guy from my sociology class, Arthur Randen is making a movie, it’s really amazing writing, like a modern Romeo and Juliet. I have his name, if you want Wallace to check up on him. All of the actors are part of the film society, but they couldn’t find a good guy for the part I have, so Arthur asked me if I could do it. Should I submit birth certificates? Social security numbers? Though I guess you can find all of that out on your own.” He didn’t sound angry, or upset, he voice never quavered.
“A movie?” Veronica asked, in a small voice.
“Yes.”
They stared at each other for a long moment.
Then Veronica said, in a small voice, “I’m sorry, Logan.”
He pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.
When she burst in, a week later, he was eating something out of a Chinese take-out box, Alice was across from him.
“Hey Veronica, want some…” his voice trailed off, seeing her expression.
Alice looked nervously from Logan to Veronica, “Should I go?” Even as she said this, she gathered her coat and began to head towards the door.
“No, Alice, you can stay. Why don’t you explain how you came to be in this play? Everyone except Logan is from the film society, but there are no Alices in that club.”
Alice took a step back and looked at Logan, without saying a word to Veronica, he walked to the door, opened it and ushered Alice out. He closed the door with a slam, making Veronica jump.
“You must have missed the ‘better lies to your girlfriend’ lecture.”
“You must have missed the ‘curb your jealousy’ sermon,” Logan snapped back.
“Jealousy?” Veronica gave a mock laugh, “You think this is about jealousy?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what the hell this is about?”
“How about being honest with me, Logan, let’s start there!”
“You want honesty? Fine, I’ll fucking give you honesty. Alice’s real name is Haley Morrow, which I’m sure you have on that almighty list of yours. She’s named after her mother, who left her and who she hates. She goes by Alice, her middle name. I could get her to sign something if you need.”
Instantly all the fight went out of Veronica, she sank into the couch, “Logan, I-”
“Don’t.”
“Logan-”
“Veronica, I don’t want to fucking hear it!”
Veronica closed her mouth, her eyes watching Logan as he walked over and threw the remains of his and Alice’s dinner away.
“What can I do, Veronica?” he asked, his voice was tight, as if he was barely keeping himself under control. “How can I prove to you that I love you more than anyone in the world? How can I prove that I would never hurt you? That I want nothing more than to protect you?”
Veronica didn’t say anything.
Logan sighed, he sat on the arm of chair, across from Veronica, watching her intently.
“I’m sorry, Logan. I don’t trust people, I…” she trailed off.
“You should probably go, I…I need some time to think.”
“Logan-”
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk.”
“Please, Logan-”
“You know the way out,” he got up and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.
Veronica was thankful she was able to wait until she reached her car before she burst into tears, sobbing so hard her stomach ached.
Logan called her two days later and asked her to meet him on the beach. When he arrived she ran up to kiss him, he turned his face so the kiss landed chastely on his cheek.
“I know I have hurt you, Veronica. I know I have hurt a lot of people. But I would never cheat on you, Veronica, I would never cheat on anyone. My dad, Lilly, how could you think I would ever be like them?”
Veronica didn’t say anything.
“I know we talked this summer about our epic love, about how we were destined for each other. I love you Veronica, I’ll always love you. But…” he took a deep breath, Veronica saw tears at the corners of his eyes, “I just can’t be with you right now. I’m trying here, trying to get away from the boy I was at Neptune, trying to be my own person, away from my dad, from his fame. How can I not be that boy when you seem insistent that I still am?”
“Logan,” Veronica’s voice was a whisper, “Are you breaking up with me?”
Logan looked at her, full in the face, his eyes red and moist, “If you think you can work out these trust issues you have, I would be more than happy to give it another try. But Veronica, we can’t be together right now.”
He stood up and began to walk away.
“But Logan,” Veronica’s voice was husky with tears, “What am I going to do without you?”
“Logan!” Veronica yelled, her voice semi-hysterical, “I can’t do this alone. Logan!”
The wind caught her words, whipping them away. She sank to her knees and cried until she felt that she might fall apart
Logan continued to walk, telling himself not to look back. He knew that if he looked back, if he saw her small and broken and hurting, he wouldn’t be able to do it. Wouldn’t be able to walk away. And he needed to, just like he needed to walk away years ago in his relationship with Lilly. If he had, maybe he and Lilly could have been saved, if he hadn’t let her walk all over him. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake with Veronica. He hated to do it, but…
He got inside his car and began to cry, loud, great sobs. He hadn’t cried like this since he found out his mother was really and truly dead. After he got himself under control he drove away from the beach, the sun setting on the ocean becoming smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.
He caught sight of his red-rimmed and puffy eyes in the rearview mirror, shaking his head, he asked himself, “What the hell did you just do?”