Fic: For the Sake of a Friend, (Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil), PG-13, 17/?
Title: For the Sake of a Friend, (Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil), PG-13, 17/?
Author: jacedesbff
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil, ensemble
Word Count: 4965
Rating: PG-13 for mild language and sexual situations
Summary: AU from the Pilot; this chapter finishes out “An Echolls Family Christmas”.
Spoilers: Familiarity with Season 1 required.
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all.
Previous Chapters: Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16
A/N: I did not specially order this icon, but I did Numfar’s dance of joy when I saw it! So thank you, thank you, thank you to adventurous for making it!!! Hugs and kisses to my beta candlewaxdreams. :-) This being her #1 fave VM ep ever, I was nervous about it and she was there for me all the way. Also, she and I have both fallen completely in love with Meg/Weevil--they are totally our new 2nd favorite ‘ship. I know, how weird is that?!
Xposted. All episode dialogue taken from Inigo Montoya’s (online transcripts). My enduring gratitude to everyone for your ongoing feedback. I am completely addicted to it-thank you for feeding the monster!
Weevil was standing at his usual lunch table, but only part of his attention was on his friends’ everyday banter. The rest of it was on Meg Manning.
After Lilly, Weevil had sworn that he would never again get involved with someone who wasn’t his own kind-he wasn’t some 09er entertainment package. Not that he was in a big hurry to get his heart stomped on again by any girl, 09er or otherwise, but Meg…there was something about her that he couldn’t turn away from.
She wasn’t like most of the girls he knew-hard on the outside, soft on the inside, toughened by life, determined to prove that they could take on anything. She wasn’t Lilly, who had been hard through and through. No, Meg might seem soft on the outside, but she had a core of inner steel and Weevil had never met anyone like her.
He could identify the exact moment that he had realized Meg was different. It was that first night when they had talked non-stop for hours. The question came up-what would you do if your significant other cheated on you? Weevil wasn’t looking just for what Meg said, but how she said it. There were certain mistakes he wasn’t going to make again no matter how “special” the girl seemed.
“Are we sleeping together? When he cheats on me?” Meg asked as she finished rinsing off the last plate from dinner.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” Meg turned around and leaned back against the sink.
“Okay, then, yeah.”
“And I find out that he’s cheated on me.”
“So what do you do?”
“I know for sure that he did it, right?”
“Yeah.”
Meg smiled. “I’d take him somewhere romantic, private.” Weevil’s brow had furrowed, but he hadn’t interrupted. “I’d tell him that I loved him, because I never would have slept with him in the first place if I didn’t. I would kiss him. I would undress him.” Meg’s voice was steady and sure. “And then I’d cut his penis.” Weevil’s Coke shot out of his nose. “I wouldn’t cut it off. I’d just make sure that he had to get stitches. You know, so that any woman he ever slept with in the future would know that he couldn’t be trusted. Think of it as a scarlet letter.”
Weevil never looked at Meg the same way again.
*
Logan watched as Meg walked out of the Physics classroom with one of Veronica’s tardy slips. Had that really just happened?
He turned to Veronica and said it out loud. “Did that really just happen?”
Veronica’s eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. “I’m not sure yet.” She looked at Logan. “That felt like a cross between Punk’d and The Twilight Zone.”
Logan nodded in agreement. Ready to move the subject back to marginally saner things, he asked, “How was the rest of your day?”
“Oh, yeah! Weevil stole Duncan’s laptop.”
“He did what?!”
“Yeah, and Duncan informed me that he’s been keeping his journal on his laptop for the past three years-his very detailed journal.” She gave Logan a pointed look.
“Great, just great,” said Logan. “So do I have to fight you over who gets to kick Weevil’s ass?”
“Oh, I so win. I’m investigating the poker game, remember?”
“How does that mean that you win?”
“The laptop is related to the poker game.”
Logan walked over and pulled Veronica into his arms. “How come you always get to win?”
“How long have we been going out now? A year? Haven’t you learned by now that I always win?”
Logan brushed his lips against hers. “I must have missed that memo.”
“It probably came while you were playing poker,” she laughed as he kissed her neck. “Come on, lover boy, we have to get to class before Ms. Nadason comes back and finds us canoodling in her room. The teachers gossip as much as the students do, you know.”
“Have you been wiretapping the teacher’s lounge again?” he asked as he let go of Veronica and they gathered up their things.
“Wiretapping is when you listen in on phone conversations,” she said in a “duh” voice. “Bugging is when you eavesdrop on an entire room.”
“They teach you that in private detective school?”
“Learned it on my daddy’s knee,” said Veronica as she looked out the window of the door into the hallway. “Coast is clear.”
Logan snuck in one more kiss to his girlfriend’s neck before she exited the classroom. He followed her about 30 seconds later.
In the storage closet next door to the Physics room, Duncan disassembled his rifle mike into innocuous-looking pieces. As long as he brought them in and out of the school a few sections at a time, they looked like the kind of electronics that any high schooler might have.
Meg and Weevil, huh? That might prove useful.
*
Weevil and his friends were shooting craps and killing time in Ms. Mills’ room after school when Veronica walked in. Normally Weevil liked Veronica, but despite her outcast status he still associated her with the 09ers and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more 09er girls at the moment.
‘”Hey,” Veronica said and she tilted her head to one side.
See? Working her wiles on men. 09er. He had to laugh.
“There you go with that head-tilt thing. You know, you think you're all badass but whenever you need something it's all…” he tilted his head in imitation, "hey."
“Just be glad I don't flip my hair. I'd own you.”
Okay, 09er with attitude.
”So what can I do for you?”
“You can not steal from suicidal teenagers and let me handle this poker thing.”
Weevil rolled his eyes.
“Seriously. Why risk it? Give Duncan back his computer. Let me handle this.”
“You all act like Duncan’s gonna break. I figured he’d like to be treated like everyone else for a change. He was there, Veronica, just like everyone else.”
“I'm just trying to help.”
”In what alternate universe does it look like I need your help?”
Veronica glared at Weevil. “People aren’t always what they seem.”
Huh? Where had that come from? Weevil gave her the appropriate expression.
“Duncan seems stable. You seem evil. But you guys know Meg Manning, right?”
Weevil looked at his friends, working hard to cover the panic that instantly rose up at the sound of Meg’s name.
“She seemed like a slut during that whole purity test thing, remember? Turns out, though, that she really is Snow White. I mention this because everyone in school saw that broadcast, so you guys know that not everyone is what they seem.”
Weevil fixed Veronica with a look to match her own and something unspoken passed between them. Meg told. He was sure Meg told. He was going to have to have a talk with his new girlfriend.
At Weevil’s determined look, Veronica threw up her hands in frustration and turned to leave.
“Of course, if I get my five grand, some of those guys will stop losing their stuff.”
“Why were you even there?”
“I hear about a five thousand dollar card game played by idiots, I'm interested.”
He then told her a story that proved that he and Logan would act like five-year-olds whenever they were afforded the chance.
“He though I was just some dumb Mexican he could take for his cash.”
“Who do you think did it? Did Logan do it?” Veronica tried to keep the edge out of her voice.
“Well, I know for a fact that nobody left the house with the money. He could've hidden it anywhere and he had an opportunity.” Weevil couldn’t go easy on Logan just because Veronica was dating him. The other PCHers were right there and Weevil had to keep up appearances, although he doubted he was winning any brownie points with Veronica. He was crushed.
Because Weevil’s friends were in the room, Veronica restrained herself from causing Weevil bodily harm as he told her the story of Logan’s friends ogling Lynn. What would Weevil do if his friends drooled over his mother? He’d beat them bloody, is what he’d do. Because Lynn was famous, though, Logan was supposed to sit there and smile while it happened to his mom. Veronica was angry at Weevil and hurt for Logan and she couldn’t show any of it.
“Duncan was at the window?” she managed to bite out.
“Everybody but Logan was.”
“You're sure?” She knew that Weevil didn’t really suspect Logan of taking the money-he knew perfectly well that Veronica would make Logan’s life a living hell if he pulled something like that.
“I wasn't taking notes, but yeah. The money was in that house, somewhere. I would've torn the place apart if I didn't think he'd call the cops.”
Veronica sighed. Why couldn’t this just be easy?
*
Logan was standing in the quad surrounded by his usual cadre of 09er followers, sharing the details of Saturday night’s festivities.
“That's what he decides to steal? What's he going to do with a Fabergé egg?” asked Sean.
“Two words, man. Huevos. Rancheros.” Being the resident psychotic jackass of Neptune High was like a mask that Logan had learned to take on and off at will. Some days it seemed like work, others it wasn’t such a big deal. Today he was fairly incensed about the stolen $5,000 so his obnoxious persona was providing a welcome outlet.
He didn’t notice that Duncan didn’t join in the laughter with everyone else.
“Hey, this is what I get for trying to be nice.” Logan finally sat down next to his best friend.
“Is that so?” Duncan asked as he pushed himself up from the table and walked away.
Logan got up and followed him.
“You got something to say to me, you say it.”
“Did you take the money?”
Logan couldn’t believe it. Did Duncan seriously think he would do that?
“You were so drunk, you wouldn't know if Kris Kringle walked in and took the money.” He had been bending over backwards for Duncan and this is the thanks he got?
“When did you get like this? It's like you've been going over to the dark side, bit by bit, so slowly that I didn't notice when you morphed into a full-fledged jackass.”
“Then I'm a jackass?”
“Yeah, and I'm over it.” And with that, Duncan turned and walked away.
Logan called after his friend. “So what, are we breaking up now? Huh? You want your best friend charm back?”
Oh, man, Veronica was gonna kill him.
A smile graced Duncan’s face as he walked away.
This was so much fun.
*
Weevil parked his motorcycle and went in the house. Meg had been coming over every afternoon to help with his niece and nephews. She was cleaning up the remains of an afternoon snack as he entered the kitchen. That was one of the things that had proven to him that Meg wasn’t a typical 09er princess-she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She did dishes, she wiped noses, she actually participated in the world around her.
But her skills as a homemaker weren’t the object of his attention right now.
Without a word of preamble, Weevil demanded, “Did you tell Veronica Mars about us?”
“Hello to you, too,” she said, walking over and kissing him in greeting before returning to clearing off the table.
“Meg,” he said in a tone that indicated he wasn’t going to be distracted.
“Logan overslept and almost missed our Physics presentation. It was worth 30 percent of our grade. I had to ask Veronica where he was-turns out he fell asleep at her apartment.” She smiled at him as she got out the broom. “He made it just in time.”
“And now Veronica knows.”
“Our presentation went very well, thanks for asking.” She pulled out the dustpan. “Would you hold this for me, please?”
Weevil rolled his eyes and bent down so that Meg could sweep the crumbs off of the floor into the dustpan, which she then took from him and emptied into the trash can under the sink.
“Meg,” he said again in frustration.
She put up the broom and turned to look at him. “First of all, she’s Veronica. How long do you think we would have been able to hide it from her?”
Weevil wanted to pout, but he had a feeling he would lose all credibility as a macho gang leader if he did, so he chose to simply stay silent.
“Second, you know her secret, right? What’s so bad about her knowing yours?”
“You could have told me,” he finally said.
“When? When you were throwing dice after school?”
“Craps, Meg. It’s called craps,” he clarified as he sat down in a kitchen chair, defeated.
“Whatever,” she waved away the explanation and took a seat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. “I didn’t have any way to tell you, and Veronica and Logan can keep a secret.”
“Logan knows, too?!” Weevil pulled back to get a good look at his girlfriend’s face.
Meg didn’t bother to reply. She just looked at him, leading him to exhale a resigned sigh.
“I don’t like sneaking around,” he complained as Meg rested her head on his shoulder. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”
“No, we’re not,” murmured Meg as she settled herself comfortably into Weevil’s arms. She loved the sense of security that she felt when he held her.
“I’m not gonna hide this forever,” he said as he tightened his arms around her.
Meg nodded her head against his chest. “I know.”
She wished that she could get her boyfriend to understand how dangerous the situation really was. As things stood, she had told him enough that he understood the inherent jeopardy they faced in pursuing a relationship, but she hadn’t given him all of the details. She knew that if she told Eli everything that her parents had done that he would take matters into his own hands.
So Meg walked a tightrope-telling her boyfriend enough to keep him safe while at the same time keeping enough held back to keep him safe. Maybe it was selfish, but Meg wanted Eli in her life, she wanted his arms around her. She ran her fingers up and down his arm. She hadn’t known she needed him until she had him and now she couldn’t let him go.
They sat there holding each other until a small voice called from the other room.
“Meg! Carlos won’t let me play X-Box!”
“Will, too! It’s my turn!” called Carlos.
Meg laughed. “I have to go referee.” She pulled away and looked at Weevil.
“We’re gonna have to talk about this some more.”
Meg restrained herself from pointing out that it was the girl who was supposed to say things like that. She had a feeling that Eli wouldn’t appreciate the joke.
“I don’t want to keep you secret, Eli. I just want to keep you safe.”
“And I know there are things you’re not telling me.”
“Meg!” Cecilia called again from the other room.
Meg kissed Weevil and reluctantly got up.
*
As her father had sent her on official business, when Veronica pulled into the Echolls’ driveway that afternoon she got to do so in her own car. She dropped off the papers for Lynn and headed around back.
She walked into the pool house to find Logan playing video games, the space surrounding him looking like it had been tossed by the DEA.
“Come on!” he yelled at the TV screen.
“I love the smell of testosterone in the morning,” Veronica said with a smirk.
“This is why I suggested attack dogs. But no, my mother wanted an alpaca.”
“And the alpaca hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep since.” She walked over and gave Logan a kiss on the cheek from behind.
Logan dropped his controller and grabbed Veronica as she leaned down, pulling her into his lap for a deeper kiss.
“Oh, yeah?” he said in between kisses. “Why is that?”
“Hey, if you need me to draw you a roadmap, you’re not doing it right.”
Logan started tickling his girlfriend, who shrieked in response.
“Oh, yeah?! Oh, yeah?!” his hands were all over the squirming ball of blonde wriggling in his arms.
Veronica managed to slide her hands under Logan’s shirt and started working her hands over his abs in a manner that instantly stopped his tickling.
“Um, Veronica?”
“Yes, Logan?”
“What are you doing? Ohhhh…really, hon, what are…”
“You’re not tickling me any more, are you?”
Logan didn’t bother to answer as his lips trailed down the side of her jaw towards her shoulder.
Now that she had him in a good mood, Veronica went in for the kill.
“I need you to get me in to see Connor Larkin.”
Logan’s exploration of Veronica’s neck came to a screeching halt.
“What?”
She leaned back and flashed Logan a big smile. “I need to talk to him about the poker game. He was there, remember?”
Her smile failed to have the desired effect as Logan’s mood soured instantly. “You just want to see him because he’s Connor Larkin.”
“Logan, am I draped all over you or Connor Larkin?”
Logan rolled his eyes as Veronica ran her fingers lightly down his neck.
“Look at me,” she said firmly. Logan looked off to the side. “Logan,” she rested her hand on his shoulder. “Look at me.”
He turned his face to hers. Because of her position on his lap, the eye contact was incredibly intimate.
“We can’t go through this every time.”
Logan leaned his forehead against hers. “I know. I just-“ he couldn’t go on.
Veronica put her hands on both sides of Logan’s face. “I know that you trust me, Logan. Now I need you to have faith in yourself. You have to believe that you are worthy of being loved.” Logan closed his eyes and Veronica clenched her fists on his temples. “I love you, Logan, and I believe in you and I’m not going anywhere.”
*
Two hours later, having gotten the information they needed from Connor, Logan and Veronica headed for Sean’s house. Logan parked his Xterra at the bottom of the estate’s very long driveway and Veronica trudged to the top.
When she came back down, she told Logan what had just happened.
“His dad answered the door-in a suit?” Logan cocked an eyebrow.
“Exactly. I just have one more person to talk to.”
“You gonna tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?”
“And ruin the surprise? Are you kidding?”
“You think you’re smarter than me, don’t you?”
“Just cuter.”
*
After talking to Sean the next morning, Veronica went to find Weevil.
“Meet me in the quad at lunch.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I know who has your money.”
Weevil laughed. “Of course you do.”
*
After she “blackmailed” Logan into agreeing to let her play poker with him and his friends, Veronica pulled Meg aside.
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“To the poker game. Come with me.”
Meg smiled. “Why?”
“Because it’ll be fun. And funny.”
Meg laughed. “It’s a date.”
*
When Veronica and Meg showed up at Logan’s pool house, the rest of the players were already there.
“I hope you don’t mind me bringing Meg. I didn’t want to be sole owner of estrogen in the room.”
There was minimal reaction from the rest of the people present with the exception of Weevil, who looked a bit put-out. Veronica simply raised a questioning eyebrow at her friend. What?
Veronica then proceeded to outline what had happened at the previous game.
She proved that Duncan had only been pretending to be drunk by taking a swig from his bottle of faux Jack Daniels. She informed everyone that Connor was going to the bathroom to lose weight, not to get high. And she got particular enjoyment out of saying that Logan “looked like an evildoer and smelled like an evildoer” but wasn’t one, as evidenced by the ransacking that he had given his pool house. Then she told everyone how Sean, the poor son of the butler, not the rich son of 09ers, had stolen the money by going dumpster diving.
The gentlemen were impressed.
Weevil dragged Sean out through the sliding glass door and Veronica took the fake 09er’s seat while Meg pulled up a chair behind her.
“Mind if I deal first?” Veronica asked, at which point she took the cards and showed off the skills that she had honed during years of hanging out at the sheriff’s department.
“Oh, yeah,” said Meg behind her, echoing the sentiments of every person present. Veronica gave her partner in estrogen a high-five.
A few hours later, all six of them were playing, Meg having joined in, and Veronica raked in yet another huge pot.
“A little impressed, aren’t you?” she asked with a smirk.
Connor spoke up, “You must be really unlucky in love.”
Veronica choked back a laugh, Logan rolled his eyes, Duncan looked irritated, Weevil looked down with a grimace, and Meg chanted softly, Go Veronica! Go Veronica!
Having clearly had enough, Logan broke into the cheerleader’s celebratory mantra with, “Okay. I say we take a little break. Let the cosmos realign, because obviously something's up.”
Veronica once again tried not to smile as Weevil added that he could use something to eat, prompting another eye roll from Logan as everyone got up from the table.
*
Veronica, Weevil and Meg were sampling the buffet table when Veronica excused herself to follow after Jake Kane.
“You just had to come, didn’t you?” Weevil asked Meg, although there was a smile in his voice.
“Veronica invited me. It would have been rude to say no.”
“Admit it. You just wanted to spend some time with me outside of my house.”
“That, too,” Meg smiled at him and they both relaxed for the moment, reveling in the set of circumstances that temporarily allowed them the luxury of being together in a room full of 09er adults.
On the other side of the room, Logan and Duncan were standing by the bar.
Time to let Logan off the hook.
“So…I, uh, you know.”
“Yeah,” answered Logan in typical guy fashion.
“Sorry about the whole…”
“I've done plenty of other things,” admitted Logan.
Why, yes, you have, my friend.
Outwardly, though, Duncan laughed with his best friend.
“So, we’re cool,” he added, half in question, half in assurance.
“Yeah,” answered Logan.
That’s what you think, Duncan thought to himself as he turned to the bartender and Logan looked around. Duncan didn’t hesitate for a moment to assume that his friend was looking for Veronica. He restrained himself from laying Logan out with one punch. Why ruin his fun?
Under the pretense of getting everyone back together to continue the poker game, Logan made his way through the crowd looking for his girlfriend. Where had she disappeared to? As his eyes swept the crowd, he saw a waitress in a Santa hat arguing with his father. What had the man done now?
As though in a slow-motion nightmare, Logan watched as the waitress swung back her arm and punched his father in the stomach right before Keith Mars tackled her to the ground. It wasn’t until the woman was out of the way that Logan saw the blood on the front of his father’s shirt and realized that she had gone after his father with more than her fist.
Good for her. The thought crossed Logan’s mind before he could censor it and a wave of guilt swept over him as he pulled out his cell phone to call 911. He shouldn’t be rooting for the woman who had just stabbed his father, should he?
As he tried to explain the situation to the 911 operator, he felt a hand on the small of his back. Without even looking he knew it was Veronica. Of course she was there. She was always there when he needed her.
*
There was a knock on Veronica’s door.
“Veronica!” her dad called. “Your date’s here!”
“Funny, Dad!” she yelled back. She was still putting her earrings on when she walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. “Hey, Weevil. Don’t worry-he’ll go easy on you since it’s our first date. He doesn’t get the truth serum out until the second one.”
“Hey, if Logan survived, I’m sure I’ll pass with flying colors.”
Both Veronica and her father laughed.
“You guys have fun.”
“See ya later, Dad.”
“Sheriff,” Weevil nodded.
As they got into the Mazda, Weevil commented, “So. It’s been an interesting week.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Veronica responded as she pulled out into the street.
“I hear that Logan’s dad is okay. Word is that no major organs were hurt. Guess he got lucky.”
“Yeah,” Veronica confirmed.
“Must be an 09er thing. You know if it was someone poor they would’ve died at the scene.”
“Cynical much?” Veronica asked with a half-grin.
Weevil just raised his eyebrows.
“Alright, Eli,” Veronica began.
“This can’t be good.” Weevil sat up straighter in his seat.
“Yeah, well, normally this would happen as a matter of course, but because you and Meg are flying under the radar, you haven’t gotten this speech yet.”
“And what speech is that?”
“The one where your girlfriend’s friends make sure that you know they have her back.”
“That speech-right. You want to make sure that I’m not gonna hurt Meg.”
Veronica took a deep breath and looked over at Weevil before returning her eyes to the road.
“Logan told me about your tattoo.”
Weevil went completely still.
“I’m not saying that what Lilly did was right,” Veronica continued, “but she was a big girl. You two had whatever you had.”
“Then why bring it up?” Weevil’s voice was tight.
“She was my best friend, Weevil, so I know what she was like. She was dangerous, exciting. It sounds like…I just want to make sure that you’re not with Meg for the same reasons. She told us about her parents.”
Weevil’s eyes narrowed. “Duncan was rich. Are you with Logan because he is, too?”
Veronica shot him a look. “Point taken. It’s just that-Meg was the only 09er at that school brave enough to stay my friend. I know that she’s a lot tougher than she looks and I’m guessing that you know it, too. Even so, she’s still…” She paused, trying to figure out how to say what it was that she wanted to say. “She’s my friend, Weevil. I just want to make sure that she’s going to be okay.”
“I like her, okay?” defended Weevil. “I like her a lot. Are you happy? I’m not with Meg because she reminds of Lilly, or because she doesn’t. I’m with her because I like her.” Weevil leaned against the door, irritation radiating in palpable waves off of his body.
Veronica smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for letting me be her friend.”
“Uh-huh. Are we there yet?” Weevil changed the subject.
Veronica laughed. “Almost. Why, are you that eager for our double date to get started?”
“Remind me how I got talked into this?”
“Well, since I wasn’t there I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing that Meg used her feminine wiles on you.”
Weevil had the grace to look embarrassed. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and commented, “I’ll bet that Logan would say the same thing.”
“Something like that,” agreed Veronica as she pulled off the highway and into a rest stop off of the Pacific Coast Highway, parking next to a garish yellow SUV.
She turned off her car and she and Weevil got out as Logan and Meg exited the Xterra.
Logan took Veronica’s hand and walked her around to the passenger door while Meg and Weevil greeted each other at the rear of the driver’s side.
“You two are such good sports,” Veronica assured Logan.
“Yeah, well, I expect to be well compensated,” he muttered.
“It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it,” Veronica said with a smile as Logan helped her into the truck.
“I still can’t believe I let you talk to me into this,” Weevil said with a roll of his eyes.
“And here I thought you’d do anything to make to happy,” Meg said with a grin.
Weevil sighed. What was it about this girl’s smile that made his stomach drop like that? He held out his hand to help her into the truck.
Logan came around and he and Weevil exchanged identical glances as they climbed into the car.
As the Xterra pulled out of the rest stop and onto the highway, heading away from Neptune, none of its occupants took notice of the rented Ford Focus that pulled out shortly after them and followed them down the highway. Even if they had, all they would have seen was a young man in a baseball cap and sunglasses driving down the PCH on a sunny Saturday. Even if they had seen the cast on his arm, none of them would have seen the rifle mike sitting on the passenger seat, aimed forward in the perfect position to pick up any conversations taking place in the car ahead.
No, the four teenagers in the yellow Xterra were oblivious to the young man following them, listening in on their every word. They enjoyed the afternoon, the two young men doing so in spite of themselves. And they did so unaware that their every move was being watched.
To be continued…
Author: jacedesbff
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil, ensemble
Word Count: 4965
Rating: PG-13 for mild language and sexual situations
Summary: AU from the Pilot; this chapter finishes out “An Echolls Family Christmas”.
Spoilers: Familiarity with Season 1 required.
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all.
Previous Chapters: Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16
A/N: I did not specially order this icon, but I did Numfar’s dance of joy when I saw it! So thank you, thank you, thank you to adventurous for making it!!! Hugs and kisses to my beta candlewaxdreams. :-) This being her #1 fave VM ep ever, I was nervous about it and she was there for me all the way. Also, she and I have both fallen completely in love with Meg/Weevil--they are totally our new 2nd favorite ‘ship. I know, how weird is that?!
Xposted. All episode dialogue taken from Inigo Montoya’s (online transcripts). My enduring gratitude to everyone for your ongoing feedback. I am completely addicted to it-thank you for feeding the monster!
Weevil was standing at his usual lunch table, but only part of his attention was on his friends’ everyday banter. The rest of it was on Meg Manning.
After Lilly, Weevil had sworn that he would never again get involved with someone who wasn’t his own kind-he wasn’t some 09er entertainment package. Not that he was in a big hurry to get his heart stomped on again by any girl, 09er or otherwise, but Meg…there was something about her that he couldn’t turn away from.
She wasn’t like most of the girls he knew-hard on the outside, soft on the inside, toughened by life, determined to prove that they could take on anything. She wasn’t Lilly, who had been hard through and through. No, Meg might seem soft on the outside, but she had a core of inner steel and Weevil had never met anyone like her.
He could identify the exact moment that he had realized Meg was different. It was that first night when they had talked non-stop for hours. The question came up-what would you do if your significant other cheated on you? Weevil wasn’t looking just for what Meg said, but how she said it. There were certain mistakes he wasn’t going to make again no matter how “special” the girl seemed.
“Are we sleeping together? When he cheats on me?” Meg asked as she finished rinsing off the last plate from dinner.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” Meg turned around and leaned back against the sink.
“Okay, then, yeah.”
“And I find out that he’s cheated on me.”
“So what do you do?”
“I know for sure that he did it, right?”
“Yeah.”
Meg smiled. “I’d take him somewhere romantic, private.” Weevil’s brow had furrowed, but he hadn’t interrupted. “I’d tell him that I loved him, because I never would have slept with him in the first place if I didn’t. I would kiss him. I would undress him.” Meg’s voice was steady and sure. “And then I’d cut his penis.” Weevil’s Coke shot out of his nose. “I wouldn’t cut it off. I’d just make sure that he had to get stitches. You know, so that any woman he ever slept with in the future would know that he couldn’t be trusted. Think of it as a scarlet letter.”
Weevil never looked at Meg the same way again.
*
Logan watched as Meg walked out of the Physics classroom with one of Veronica’s tardy slips. Had that really just happened?
He turned to Veronica and said it out loud. “Did that really just happen?”
Veronica’s eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. “I’m not sure yet.” She looked at Logan. “That felt like a cross between Punk’d and The Twilight Zone.”
Logan nodded in agreement. Ready to move the subject back to marginally saner things, he asked, “How was the rest of your day?”
“Oh, yeah! Weevil stole Duncan’s laptop.”
“He did what?!”
“Yeah, and Duncan informed me that he’s been keeping his journal on his laptop for the past three years-his very detailed journal.” She gave Logan a pointed look.
“Great, just great,” said Logan. “So do I have to fight you over who gets to kick Weevil’s ass?”
“Oh, I so win. I’m investigating the poker game, remember?”
“How does that mean that you win?”
“The laptop is related to the poker game.”
Logan walked over and pulled Veronica into his arms. “How come you always get to win?”
“How long have we been going out now? A year? Haven’t you learned by now that I always win?”
Logan brushed his lips against hers. “I must have missed that memo.”
“It probably came while you were playing poker,” she laughed as he kissed her neck. “Come on, lover boy, we have to get to class before Ms. Nadason comes back and finds us canoodling in her room. The teachers gossip as much as the students do, you know.”
“Have you been wiretapping the teacher’s lounge again?” he asked as he let go of Veronica and they gathered up their things.
“Wiretapping is when you listen in on phone conversations,” she said in a “duh” voice. “Bugging is when you eavesdrop on an entire room.”
“They teach you that in private detective school?”
“Learned it on my daddy’s knee,” said Veronica as she looked out the window of the door into the hallway. “Coast is clear.”
Logan snuck in one more kiss to his girlfriend’s neck before she exited the classroom. He followed her about 30 seconds later.
In the storage closet next door to the Physics room, Duncan disassembled his rifle mike into innocuous-looking pieces. As long as he brought them in and out of the school a few sections at a time, they looked like the kind of electronics that any high schooler might have.
Meg and Weevil, huh? That might prove useful.
*
Weevil and his friends were shooting craps and killing time in Ms. Mills’ room after school when Veronica walked in. Normally Weevil liked Veronica, but despite her outcast status he still associated her with the 09ers and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more 09er girls at the moment.
‘”Hey,” Veronica said and she tilted her head to one side.
See? Working her wiles on men. 09er. He had to laugh.
“There you go with that head-tilt thing. You know, you think you're all badass but whenever you need something it's all…” he tilted his head in imitation, "hey."
“Just be glad I don't flip my hair. I'd own you.”
Okay, 09er with attitude.
”So what can I do for you?”
“You can not steal from suicidal teenagers and let me handle this poker thing.”
Weevil rolled his eyes.
“Seriously. Why risk it? Give Duncan back his computer. Let me handle this.”
“You all act like Duncan’s gonna break. I figured he’d like to be treated like everyone else for a change. He was there, Veronica, just like everyone else.”
“I'm just trying to help.”
”In what alternate universe does it look like I need your help?”
Veronica glared at Weevil. “People aren’t always what they seem.”
Huh? Where had that come from? Weevil gave her the appropriate expression.
“Duncan seems stable. You seem evil. But you guys know Meg Manning, right?”
Weevil looked at his friends, working hard to cover the panic that instantly rose up at the sound of Meg’s name.
“She seemed like a slut during that whole purity test thing, remember? Turns out, though, that she really is Snow White. I mention this because everyone in school saw that broadcast, so you guys know that not everyone is what they seem.”
Weevil fixed Veronica with a look to match her own and something unspoken passed between them. Meg told. He was sure Meg told. He was going to have to have a talk with his new girlfriend.
At Weevil’s determined look, Veronica threw up her hands in frustration and turned to leave.
“Of course, if I get my five grand, some of those guys will stop losing their stuff.”
“Why were you even there?”
“I hear about a five thousand dollar card game played by idiots, I'm interested.”
He then told her a story that proved that he and Logan would act like five-year-olds whenever they were afforded the chance.
“He though I was just some dumb Mexican he could take for his cash.”
“Who do you think did it? Did Logan do it?” Veronica tried to keep the edge out of her voice.
“Well, I know for a fact that nobody left the house with the money. He could've hidden it anywhere and he had an opportunity.” Weevil couldn’t go easy on Logan just because Veronica was dating him. The other PCHers were right there and Weevil had to keep up appearances, although he doubted he was winning any brownie points with Veronica. He was crushed.
Because Weevil’s friends were in the room, Veronica restrained herself from causing Weevil bodily harm as he told her the story of Logan’s friends ogling Lynn. What would Weevil do if his friends drooled over his mother? He’d beat them bloody, is what he’d do. Because Lynn was famous, though, Logan was supposed to sit there and smile while it happened to his mom. Veronica was angry at Weevil and hurt for Logan and she couldn’t show any of it.
“Duncan was at the window?” she managed to bite out.
“Everybody but Logan was.”
“You're sure?” She knew that Weevil didn’t really suspect Logan of taking the money-he knew perfectly well that Veronica would make Logan’s life a living hell if he pulled something like that.
“I wasn't taking notes, but yeah. The money was in that house, somewhere. I would've torn the place apart if I didn't think he'd call the cops.”
Veronica sighed. Why couldn’t this just be easy?
*
Logan was standing in the quad surrounded by his usual cadre of 09er followers, sharing the details of Saturday night’s festivities.
“That's what he decides to steal? What's he going to do with a Fabergé egg?” asked Sean.
“Two words, man. Huevos. Rancheros.” Being the resident psychotic jackass of Neptune High was like a mask that Logan had learned to take on and off at will. Some days it seemed like work, others it wasn’t such a big deal. Today he was fairly incensed about the stolen $5,000 so his obnoxious persona was providing a welcome outlet.
He didn’t notice that Duncan didn’t join in the laughter with everyone else.
“Hey, this is what I get for trying to be nice.” Logan finally sat down next to his best friend.
“Is that so?” Duncan asked as he pushed himself up from the table and walked away.
Logan got up and followed him.
“You got something to say to me, you say it.”
“Did you take the money?”
Logan couldn’t believe it. Did Duncan seriously think he would do that?
“You were so drunk, you wouldn't know if Kris Kringle walked in and took the money.” He had been bending over backwards for Duncan and this is the thanks he got?
“When did you get like this? It's like you've been going over to the dark side, bit by bit, so slowly that I didn't notice when you morphed into a full-fledged jackass.”
“Then I'm a jackass?”
“Yeah, and I'm over it.” And with that, Duncan turned and walked away.
Logan called after his friend. “So what, are we breaking up now? Huh? You want your best friend charm back?”
Oh, man, Veronica was gonna kill him.
A smile graced Duncan’s face as he walked away.
This was so much fun.
*
Weevil parked his motorcycle and went in the house. Meg had been coming over every afternoon to help with his niece and nephews. She was cleaning up the remains of an afternoon snack as he entered the kitchen. That was one of the things that had proven to him that Meg wasn’t a typical 09er princess-she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She did dishes, she wiped noses, she actually participated in the world around her.
But her skills as a homemaker weren’t the object of his attention right now.
Without a word of preamble, Weevil demanded, “Did you tell Veronica Mars about us?”
“Hello to you, too,” she said, walking over and kissing him in greeting before returning to clearing off the table.
“Meg,” he said in a tone that indicated he wasn’t going to be distracted.
“Logan overslept and almost missed our Physics presentation. It was worth 30 percent of our grade. I had to ask Veronica where he was-turns out he fell asleep at her apartment.” She smiled at him as she got out the broom. “He made it just in time.”
“And now Veronica knows.”
“Our presentation went very well, thanks for asking.” She pulled out the dustpan. “Would you hold this for me, please?”
Weevil rolled his eyes and bent down so that Meg could sweep the crumbs off of the floor into the dustpan, which she then took from him and emptied into the trash can under the sink.
“Meg,” he said again in frustration.
She put up the broom and turned to look at him. “First of all, she’s Veronica. How long do you think we would have been able to hide it from her?”
Weevil wanted to pout, but he had a feeling he would lose all credibility as a macho gang leader if he did, so he chose to simply stay silent.
“Second, you know her secret, right? What’s so bad about her knowing yours?”
“You could have told me,” he finally said.
“When? When you were throwing dice after school?”
“Craps, Meg. It’s called craps,” he clarified as he sat down in a kitchen chair, defeated.
“Whatever,” she waved away the explanation and took a seat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. “I didn’t have any way to tell you, and Veronica and Logan can keep a secret.”
“Logan knows, too?!” Weevil pulled back to get a good look at his girlfriend’s face.
Meg didn’t bother to reply. She just looked at him, leading him to exhale a resigned sigh.
“I don’t like sneaking around,” he complained as Meg rested her head on his shoulder. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”
“No, we’re not,” murmured Meg as she settled herself comfortably into Weevil’s arms. She loved the sense of security that she felt when he held her.
“I’m not gonna hide this forever,” he said as he tightened his arms around her.
Meg nodded her head against his chest. “I know.”
She wished that she could get her boyfriend to understand how dangerous the situation really was. As things stood, she had told him enough that he understood the inherent jeopardy they faced in pursuing a relationship, but she hadn’t given him all of the details. She knew that if she told Eli everything that her parents had done that he would take matters into his own hands.
So Meg walked a tightrope-telling her boyfriend enough to keep him safe while at the same time keeping enough held back to keep him safe. Maybe it was selfish, but Meg wanted Eli in her life, she wanted his arms around her. She ran her fingers up and down his arm. She hadn’t known she needed him until she had him and now she couldn’t let him go.
They sat there holding each other until a small voice called from the other room.
“Meg! Carlos won’t let me play X-Box!”
“Will, too! It’s my turn!” called Carlos.
Meg laughed. “I have to go referee.” She pulled away and looked at Weevil.
“We’re gonna have to talk about this some more.”
Meg restrained herself from pointing out that it was the girl who was supposed to say things like that. She had a feeling that Eli wouldn’t appreciate the joke.
“I don’t want to keep you secret, Eli. I just want to keep you safe.”
“And I know there are things you’re not telling me.”
“Meg!” Cecilia called again from the other room.
Meg kissed Weevil and reluctantly got up.
*
As her father had sent her on official business, when Veronica pulled into the Echolls’ driveway that afternoon she got to do so in her own car. She dropped off the papers for Lynn and headed around back.
She walked into the pool house to find Logan playing video games, the space surrounding him looking like it had been tossed by the DEA.
“Come on!” he yelled at the TV screen.
“I love the smell of testosterone in the morning,” Veronica said with a smirk.
“This is why I suggested attack dogs. But no, my mother wanted an alpaca.”
“And the alpaca hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep since.” She walked over and gave Logan a kiss on the cheek from behind.
Logan dropped his controller and grabbed Veronica as she leaned down, pulling her into his lap for a deeper kiss.
“Oh, yeah?” he said in between kisses. “Why is that?”
“Hey, if you need me to draw you a roadmap, you’re not doing it right.”
Logan started tickling his girlfriend, who shrieked in response.
“Oh, yeah?! Oh, yeah?!” his hands were all over the squirming ball of blonde wriggling in his arms.
Veronica managed to slide her hands under Logan’s shirt and started working her hands over his abs in a manner that instantly stopped his tickling.
“Um, Veronica?”
“Yes, Logan?”
“What are you doing? Ohhhh…really, hon, what are…”
“You’re not tickling me any more, are you?”
Logan didn’t bother to answer as his lips trailed down the side of her jaw towards her shoulder.
Now that she had him in a good mood, Veronica went in for the kill.
“I need you to get me in to see Connor Larkin.”
Logan’s exploration of Veronica’s neck came to a screeching halt.
“What?”
She leaned back and flashed Logan a big smile. “I need to talk to him about the poker game. He was there, remember?”
Her smile failed to have the desired effect as Logan’s mood soured instantly. “You just want to see him because he’s Connor Larkin.”
“Logan, am I draped all over you or Connor Larkin?”
Logan rolled his eyes as Veronica ran her fingers lightly down his neck.
“Look at me,” she said firmly. Logan looked off to the side. “Logan,” she rested her hand on his shoulder. “Look at me.”
He turned his face to hers. Because of her position on his lap, the eye contact was incredibly intimate.
“We can’t go through this every time.”
Logan leaned his forehead against hers. “I know. I just-“ he couldn’t go on.
Veronica put her hands on both sides of Logan’s face. “I know that you trust me, Logan. Now I need you to have faith in yourself. You have to believe that you are worthy of being loved.” Logan closed his eyes and Veronica clenched her fists on his temples. “I love you, Logan, and I believe in you and I’m not going anywhere.”
*
Two hours later, having gotten the information they needed from Connor, Logan and Veronica headed for Sean’s house. Logan parked his Xterra at the bottom of the estate’s very long driveway and Veronica trudged to the top.
When she came back down, she told Logan what had just happened.
“His dad answered the door-in a suit?” Logan cocked an eyebrow.
“Exactly. I just have one more person to talk to.”
“You gonna tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?”
“And ruin the surprise? Are you kidding?”
“You think you’re smarter than me, don’t you?”
“Just cuter.”
*
After talking to Sean the next morning, Veronica went to find Weevil.
“Meet me in the quad at lunch.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I know who has your money.”
Weevil laughed. “Of course you do.”
*
After she “blackmailed” Logan into agreeing to let her play poker with him and his friends, Veronica pulled Meg aside.
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“To the poker game. Come with me.”
Meg smiled. “Why?”
“Because it’ll be fun. And funny.”
Meg laughed. “It’s a date.”
*
When Veronica and Meg showed up at Logan’s pool house, the rest of the players were already there.
“I hope you don’t mind me bringing Meg. I didn’t want to be sole owner of estrogen in the room.”
There was minimal reaction from the rest of the people present with the exception of Weevil, who looked a bit put-out. Veronica simply raised a questioning eyebrow at her friend. What?
Veronica then proceeded to outline what had happened at the previous game.
She proved that Duncan had only been pretending to be drunk by taking a swig from his bottle of faux Jack Daniels. She informed everyone that Connor was going to the bathroom to lose weight, not to get high. And she got particular enjoyment out of saying that Logan “looked like an evildoer and smelled like an evildoer” but wasn’t one, as evidenced by the ransacking that he had given his pool house. Then she told everyone how Sean, the poor son of the butler, not the rich son of 09ers, had stolen the money by going dumpster diving.
The gentlemen were impressed.
Weevil dragged Sean out through the sliding glass door and Veronica took the fake 09er’s seat while Meg pulled up a chair behind her.
“Mind if I deal first?” Veronica asked, at which point she took the cards and showed off the skills that she had honed during years of hanging out at the sheriff’s department.
“Oh, yeah,” said Meg behind her, echoing the sentiments of every person present. Veronica gave her partner in estrogen a high-five.
A few hours later, all six of them were playing, Meg having joined in, and Veronica raked in yet another huge pot.
“A little impressed, aren’t you?” she asked with a smirk.
Connor spoke up, “You must be really unlucky in love.”
Veronica choked back a laugh, Logan rolled his eyes, Duncan looked irritated, Weevil looked down with a grimace, and Meg chanted softly, Go Veronica! Go Veronica!
Having clearly had enough, Logan broke into the cheerleader’s celebratory mantra with, “Okay. I say we take a little break. Let the cosmos realign, because obviously something's up.”
Veronica once again tried not to smile as Weevil added that he could use something to eat, prompting another eye roll from Logan as everyone got up from the table.
*
Veronica, Weevil and Meg were sampling the buffet table when Veronica excused herself to follow after Jake Kane.
“You just had to come, didn’t you?” Weevil asked Meg, although there was a smile in his voice.
“Veronica invited me. It would have been rude to say no.”
“Admit it. You just wanted to spend some time with me outside of my house.”
“That, too,” Meg smiled at him and they both relaxed for the moment, reveling in the set of circumstances that temporarily allowed them the luxury of being together in a room full of 09er adults.
On the other side of the room, Logan and Duncan were standing by the bar.
Time to let Logan off the hook.
“So…I, uh, you know.”
“Yeah,” answered Logan in typical guy fashion.
“Sorry about the whole…”
“I've done plenty of other things,” admitted Logan.
Why, yes, you have, my friend.
Outwardly, though, Duncan laughed with his best friend.
“So, we’re cool,” he added, half in question, half in assurance.
“Yeah,” answered Logan.
That’s what you think, Duncan thought to himself as he turned to the bartender and Logan looked around. Duncan didn’t hesitate for a moment to assume that his friend was looking for Veronica. He restrained himself from laying Logan out with one punch. Why ruin his fun?
Under the pretense of getting everyone back together to continue the poker game, Logan made his way through the crowd looking for his girlfriend. Where had she disappeared to? As his eyes swept the crowd, he saw a waitress in a Santa hat arguing with his father. What had the man done now?
As though in a slow-motion nightmare, Logan watched as the waitress swung back her arm and punched his father in the stomach right before Keith Mars tackled her to the ground. It wasn’t until the woman was out of the way that Logan saw the blood on the front of his father’s shirt and realized that she had gone after his father with more than her fist.
Good for her. The thought crossed Logan’s mind before he could censor it and a wave of guilt swept over him as he pulled out his cell phone to call 911. He shouldn’t be rooting for the woman who had just stabbed his father, should he?
As he tried to explain the situation to the 911 operator, he felt a hand on the small of his back. Without even looking he knew it was Veronica. Of course she was there. She was always there when he needed her.
*
There was a knock on Veronica’s door.
“Veronica!” her dad called. “Your date’s here!”
“Funny, Dad!” she yelled back. She was still putting her earrings on when she walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. “Hey, Weevil. Don’t worry-he’ll go easy on you since it’s our first date. He doesn’t get the truth serum out until the second one.”
“Hey, if Logan survived, I’m sure I’ll pass with flying colors.”
Both Veronica and her father laughed.
“You guys have fun.”
“See ya later, Dad.”
“Sheriff,” Weevil nodded.
As they got into the Mazda, Weevil commented, “So. It’s been an interesting week.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Veronica responded as she pulled out into the street.
“I hear that Logan’s dad is okay. Word is that no major organs were hurt. Guess he got lucky.”
“Yeah,” Veronica confirmed.
“Must be an 09er thing. You know if it was someone poor they would’ve died at the scene.”
“Cynical much?” Veronica asked with a half-grin.
Weevil just raised his eyebrows.
“Alright, Eli,” Veronica began.
“This can’t be good.” Weevil sat up straighter in his seat.
“Yeah, well, normally this would happen as a matter of course, but because you and Meg are flying under the radar, you haven’t gotten this speech yet.”
“And what speech is that?”
“The one where your girlfriend’s friends make sure that you know they have her back.”
“That speech-right. You want to make sure that I’m not gonna hurt Meg.”
Veronica took a deep breath and looked over at Weevil before returning her eyes to the road.
“Logan told me about your tattoo.”
Weevil went completely still.
“I’m not saying that what Lilly did was right,” Veronica continued, “but she was a big girl. You two had whatever you had.”
“Then why bring it up?” Weevil’s voice was tight.
“She was my best friend, Weevil, so I know what she was like. She was dangerous, exciting. It sounds like…I just want to make sure that you’re not with Meg for the same reasons. She told us about her parents.”
Weevil’s eyes narrowed. “Duncan was rich. Are you with Logan because he is, too?”
Veronica shot him a look. “Point taken. It’s just that-Meg was the only 09er at that school brave enough to stay my friend. I know that she’s a lot tougher than she looks and I’m guessing that you know it, too. Even so, she’s still…” She paused, trying to figure out how to say what it was that she wanted to say. “She’s my friend, Weevil. I just want to make sure that she’s going to be okay.”
“I like her, okay?” defended Weevil. “I like her a lot. Are you happy? I’m not with Meg because she reminds of Lilly, or because she doesn’t. I’m with her because I like her.” Weevil leaned against the door, irritation radiating in palpable waves off of his body.
Veronica smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for letting me be her friend.”
“Uh-huh. Are we there yet?” Weevil changed the subject.
Veronica laughed. “Almost. Why, are you that eager for our double date to get started?”
“Remind me how I got talked into this?”
“Well, since I wasn’t there I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing that Meg used her feminine wiles on you.”
Weevil had the grace to look embarrassed. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and commented, “I’ll bet that Logan would say the same thing.”
“Something like that,” agreed Veronica as she pulled off the highway and into a rest stop off of the Pacific Coast Highway, parking next to a garish yellow SUV.
She turned off her car and she and Weevil got out as Logan and Meg exited the Xterra.
Logan took Veronica’s hand and walked her around to the passenger door while Meg and Weevil greeted each other at the rear of the driver’s side.
“You two are such good sports,” Veronica assured Logan.
“Yeah, well, I expect to be well compensated,” he muttered.
“It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it,” Veronica said with a smile as Logan helped her into the truck.
“I still can’t believe I let you talk to me into this,” Weevil said with a roll of his eyes.
“And here I thought you’d do anything to make to happy,” Meg said with a grin.
Weevil sighed. What was it about this girl’s smile that made his stomach drop like that? He held out his hand to help her into the truck.
Logan came around and he and Weevil exchanged identical glances as they climbed into the car.
As the Xterra pulled out of the rest stop and onto the highway, heading away from Neptune, none of its occupants took notice of the rented Ford Focus that pulled out shortly after them and followed them down the highway. Even if they had, all they would have seen was a young man in a baseball cap and sunglasses driving down the PCH on a sunny Saturday. Even if they had seen the cast on his arm, none of them would have seen the rifle mike sitting on the passenger seat, aimed forward in the perfect position to pick up any conversations taking place in the car ahead.
No, the four teenagers in the yellow Xterra were oblivious to the young man following them, listening in on their every word. They enjoyed the afternoon, the two young men doing so in spite of themselves. And they did so unaware that their every move was being watched.
To be continued…