Final Gift for suivreletoile
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS suivreletoile! Unfortunately, I am not a graphics person (I'm not sure I've even seen Photoshop) and I am not a smutty expert (I would probably embarass myself) but I did manage to whip up a little angst for you.
Title: Two Pennies
Author:bavalon18
Summary: After all, it wasn’t like the breakup had been some sort of cut-and-dry thing. There hadn’t even been any official words, even if the intention was obvious.
Characters: Logan, Veronica
Rating: Mild PG-13
Author Notes: A secret santa gift for suivreletoile! I hope you enjoy! And a thanks to gossamerwings32 for being my beta and a good friend. If this story was for her, I may have changed "paparazzi" to "Pavarotis".
There was another store just a mere block away. They stocked all the same over-the-counter painkillers that this one did. Tylenol, Excedrin, and Advil of various formulas and even generic ibufropen if she was feeling particularly cheap. It did the job as well as any of the rest.
But it would really defeat the purpose.
It had been three weeks since she last saw him. Ever since her father threw him out, he made not attempt to contact her. And that hurt. A lot. After all, it wasn’t like the breakup had been some sort of cut-and-dry thing. There hadn’t even been any official words, even if the intention was obvious. That first week, she really expected a knock at the door, a drop in at the office, a phone call at some bizarre time of day…
When she sat him down on the couch, the intention was to breakup with him. It really was. But… she really had left a door open. Logan could apologize and maybe even beg a little and she would relent and just watch him more closely.
It had been three weeks since she last saw him and the temptation was just too great. His vehicle was parked outside the drugstore, loudly announcing his presence. She supposed that was his intention when he chose it. She knew just how much he regretted it now.
Her car coasts into a parking space two down from his and the cool breeze that whips through her open car stops instantly. She puts a shaking hand on the door handle. It occurs to her that this is hardly the appropriate setting for their first meeting in three weeks. Or maybe, given the nature of the last meeting, it was.
The automatic door grunts as it swings open and she squints briefly, eyes adjusting to the florescent lights, which seem dim compared to today’s bright sun.
The plan is to head straight to the aisle of headache cures on the far side of the store. They’re the last one, next to the pharmaceutical counter. Instead, she finds herself headed down the first row. When she reaches the end cap, she turns down the second.
It’s beyond stupid but every time she nears the end, her heart races just a little and her stomach tightens and she feels a the smallest bit of anticipation.
On the north wall, there’s a line of slanted mirrors near the ceiling that allow you to survey the entire store. She could really look up and find his familiar figure the easy way but she’s willing to admit (only to herself) that she’s enjoying this pathetic little rush. Enjoying it more than most things in her life these days.
When she nears the end of aisle 14, her breath catches just a little and she smiles when she realizes that she won’t even need a cover story since he’s perusing the aspirin too.
Except he’s not.
She glances around, disbelieving. She walks purposefully down to the end of the aisle and walks across the store quickly, glancing back down every aisle. When she reaches the west wall, she starts back again. She starts to sweat just a little bit as she realizes that this? Can be considered stalking. The store is rather crowded and it has to be obvious to every other customer that she’s looking for someone.
When she reaches the far end again, she snags the first bottle of pills she sees and heads to the front of the store and picks the shortest checkout line and tosses the pills on the belt. They land on the side and roll into the purchases of the person in front of her with a rather noisy rattle.
“Sorry, I don’t cover your tab anymore.”
This was the sort of thing that only happened on Gilmore Girls.
Suddenly, Veronica realized that “happening” upon Logan was the stupidest thing to hope for. Why would she even try to orchestrate such a thing? In what universe would this EVER end well?
And to make matters even worse, one of the magazines in the cramped checkout lane even sported a grainy paparazzi picture of her and Logan from weeks ago. It didn’t get much more awkward than that.
Veronica reached to put room between her pills and his items. “I apologize for crowding your-”
Condoms.
Her pill bottle was crowding his condoms.
There was an assortment of other things on the belt as well. She noticed a magazine, toothpaste, a pack of gum but she really could not stop staring at the condoms.
More than anything, she really wanted to run. There were a thousand different emotions drifting through her and the few she could identify, she didn’t think she had the right to feel anymore.
The sweaty 15-year-old behind the counter begins ringing up his purchases but Logan is still staring at her with this irritating smirk on his face. She wants to wipe it right off but instead she says-
“What are those for?”
She wishes she could play it off and act like she was questioning his need for a package of staples but her eyes are still trained on the condoms. The cashier is biting his lip and appears to be concentrating on placing the items into a bag but his mouth is curling upward. This is probably as interesting as his day will get.
Logan’s smirk only grows but she notices a little hesitation before he speaks. “Little Stevie’s fifth birthday. I’m in charge of balloon animals.”
He doesn’t offer a real explanation and he doesn’t owe her one but it feels like he does.
“Oh. I thought you were going to use them to spell out ‘Pan Sucks’.”
It sucks as a quip. It truly does. The cashier scrunches his nose with disappointment at her comeback.
But even though Logan’s face never changes his shoulders tense just a little and she knows that it stings him.
“Twenty seven ninety eight.”
Logan hands the boy several bills and takes the plastic bag and walks away.
“Hey! Your reciept and change?”
Logan snatches the receipt from his hand and waves the coins away. The clerk shrugs and tosses the two pennies in the empty cup next to the register.
She watches him walk toward the exit and notices the automated door fails to register his presence. Instead of stepping away and stepping back again, Logan stands and waits for it to open. Veronica can see the bored look on his face through the back of his head. He finally shifts his weight from his left to his right and the door lurches open.
“Seven oh two.”
Veronica’s head snaps back to meet the sweaty boy’s face. She opens her mouth to ask him to repeat the total but the amount suddenly registers in her mind as if she were on some sort of delay.
“You want a bag?”
She shakes her head as she produces a ten-dollar bill from her pocket. The cashier takes it and reaches for the two pennies in the plastic cup.
“No! Just give me the change.” The boy gives her a look of disbelief, but digs through the drawer dutifully.
“Here. I ran out of quarters,” he explains, dumping the pile of dimes in her hand.
Veronica shoves them in her pocket and snatches the bottle off the counter. She strides through the doors in one effortless try and makes her way to her car. Logan has already left.
She opens the door to slide in when she notices a wad of paper on the seat. She picks it up and carefully unwrinkles it.
His unwanted receipt.
This is the last time she will ever go looking for him.
Title: Two Pennies
Author:bavalon18
Summary: After all, it wasn’t like the breakup had been some sort of cut-and-dry thing. There hadn’t even been any official words, even if the intention was obvious.
Characters: Logan, Veronica
Rating: Mild PG-13
Author Notes: A secret santa gift for suivreletoile! I hope you enjoy! And a thanks to gossamerwings32 for being my beta and a good friend. If this story was for her, I may have changed "paparazzi" to "Pavarotis".
There was another store just a mere block away. They stocked all the same over-the-counter painkillers that this one did. Tylenol, Excedrin, and Advil of various formulas and even generic ibufropen if she was feeling particularly cheap. It did the job as well as any of the rest.
But it would really defeat the purpose.
It had been three weeks since she last saw him. Ever since her father threw him out, he made not attempt to contact her. And that hurt. A lot. After all, it wasn’t like the breakup had been some sort of cut-and-dry thing. There hadn’t even been any official words, even if the intention was obvious. That first week, she really expected a knock at the door, a drop in at the office, a phone call at some bizarre time of day…
When she sat him down on the couch, the intention was to breakup with him. It really was. But… she really had left a door open. Logan could apologize and maybe even beg a little and she would relent and just watch him more closely.
It had been three weeks since she last saw him and the temptation was just too great. His vehicle was parked outside the drugstore, loudly announcing his presence. She supposed that was his intention when he chose it. She knew just how much he regretted it now.
Her car coasts into a parking space two down from his and the cool breeze that whips through her open car stops instantly. She puts a shaking hand on the door handle. It occurs to her that this is hardly the appropriate setting for their first meeting in three weeks. Or maybe, given the nature of the last meeting, it was.
The automatic door grunts as it swings open and she squints briefly, eyes adjusting to the florescent lights, which seem dim compared to today’s bright sun.
The plan is to head straight to the aisle of headache cures on the far side of the store. They’re the last one, next to the pharmaceutical counter. Instead, she finds herself headed down the first row. When she reaches the end cap, she turns down the second.
It’s beyond stupid but every time she nears the end, her heart races just a little and her stomach tightens and she feels a the smallest bit of anticipation.
On the north wall, there’s a line of slanted mirrors near the ceiling that allow you to survey the entire store. She could really look up and find his familiar figure the easy way but she’s willing to admit (only to herself) that she’s enjoying this pathetic little rush. Enjoying it more than most things in her life these days.
When she nears the end of aisle 14, her breath catches just a little and she smiles when she realizes that she won’t even need a cover story since he’s perusing the aspirin too.
Except he’s not.
She glances around, disbelieving. She walks purposefully down to the end of the aisle and walks across the store quickly, glancing back down every aisle. When she reaches the west wall, she starts back again. She starts to sweat just a little bit as she realizes that this? Can be considered stalking. The store is rather crowded and it has to be obvious to every other customer that she’s looking for someone.
When she reaches the far end again, she snags the first bottle of pills she sees and heads to the front of the store and picks the shortest checkout line and tosses the pills on the belt. They land on the side and roll into the purchases of the person in front of her with a rather noisy rattle.
“Sorry, I don’t cover your tab anymore.”
This was the sort of thing that only happened on Gilmore Girls.
Suddenly, Veronica realized that “happening” upon Logan was the stupidest thing to hope for. Why would she even try to orchestrate such a thing? In what universe would this EVER end well?
And to make matters even worse, one of the magazines in the cramped checkout lane even sported a grainy paparazzi picture of her and Logan from weeks ago. It didn’t get much more awkward than that.
Veronica reached to put room between her pills and his items. “I apologize for crowding your-”
Condoms.
Her pill bottle was crowding his condoms.
There was an assortment of other things on the belt as well. She noticed a magazine, toothpaste, a pack of gum but she really could not stop staring at the condoms.
More than anything, she really wanted to run. There were a thousand different emotions drifting through her and the few she could identify, she didn’t think she had the right to feel anymore.
The sweaty 15-year-old behind the counter begins ringing up his purchases but Logan is still staring at her with this irritating smirk on his face. She wants to wipe it right off but instead she says-
“What are those for?”
She wishes she could play it off and act like she was questioning his need for a package of staples but her eyes are still trained on the condoms. The cashier is biting his lip and appears to be concentrating on placing the items into a bag but his mouth is curling upward. This is probably as interesting as his day will get.
Logan’s smirk only grows but she notices a little hesitation before he speaks. “Little Stevie’s fifth birthday. I’m in charge of balloon animals.”
He doesn’t offer a real explanation and he doesn’t owe her one but it feels like he does.
“Oh. I thought you were going to use them to spell out ‘Pan Sucks’.”
It sucks as a quip. It truly does. The cashier scrunches his nose with disappointment at her comeback.
But even though Logan’s face never changes his shoulders tense just a little and she knows that it stings him.
“Twenty seven ninety eight.”
Logan hands the boy several bills and takes the plastic bag and walks away.
“Hey! Your reciept and change?”
Logan snatches the receipt from his hand and waves the coins away. The clerk shrugs and tosses the two pennies in the empty cup next to the register.
She watches him walk toward the exit and notices the automated door fails to register his presence. Instead of stepping away and stepping back again, Logan stands and waits for it to open. Veronica can see the bored look on his face through the back of his head. He finally shifts his weight from his left to his right and the door lurches open.
“Seven oh two.”
Veronica’s head snaps back to meet the sweaty boy’s face. She opens her mouth to ask him to repeat the total but the amount suddenly registers in her mind as if she were on some sort of delay.
“You want a bag?”
She shakes her head as she produces a ten-dollar bill from her pocket. The cashier takes it and reaches for the two pennies in the plastic cup.
“No! Just give me the change.” The boy gives her a look of disbelief, but digs through the drawer dutifully.
“Here. I ran out of quarters,” he explains, dumping the pile of dimes in her hand.
Veronica shoves them in her pocket and snatches the bottle off the counter. She strides through the doors in one effortless try and makes her way to her car. Logan has already left.
She opens the door to slide in when she notices a wad of paper on the seat. She picks it up and carefully unwrinkles it.
His unwanted receipt.
This is the last time she will ever go looking for him.