The Return 24-Awkward (Ensemble) R
Title: The Return 24-Awkward
Rating: R (underage use of alcohol, an f-bomb, mentions of nudity and mentions of drug use)
Word Count: 5,351
Characters/Pairings: Dick, Mac, Logan, Veronica, Lilly the first, Weevil, OFC, Parker, Duncan, Weevil, OFC, Parker, Piz, Duncan (mentions of: Lilly the second, Piz and Wallace) Logan/Veronica and Mac/Dick
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.
Chapter 1: Awake/ Chapter 2: Homecoming/ Chapter 3: Forgive/ Chapter 4: Arrival/ Chapter 5: Reconnect/ Chapter 6: Belong/ Chapter 7: Bets/ Chapter 8: Fight/ Chapter 9: Battle/ Chapter 10: Retreat/ Chapter 11: Push/ Chapter 12: Sound/ Chapter 13: Potential/ Chapter 14: More/ Chapter 15: Storytime/ Chapter 16: Understanding/ Chapter 17: Piggyback/ Chapter 18: Sinners/ Chapter 19: Drama/ Chapter 20: Dinner/ Chapter 21: Armor/ Chapter 22:Mingle/ 23:Bubbly
A/N: This chapter is super fluffy. Be warned, there is definite fluffiness to be had here.
The Return
24
Awkward
~Dick~
“So, twelve versus eight, apparently that tiny little break in that they took didn’t hurt Piz’s lead.” Mac commented as she put the latest phone number in the red cup.
“You’re not still upset about the advice we gave him are you?” Dick questioned, a hollow feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t mean to upset her, but he and Logan had felt bad for the guy.
“I already knew you could be an ass, it’s just that… Well, Piz is a nice guy. A little clueless and naïve, especially when compared with Neptune High alumni, but he’s genuinely a nice guy. Then the two of you swoop in with your jackassery and, well, I don’t want him to suddenly become a jerk.” Mac explained, fidgeting with her fingernails and trying to look anywhere but at him.
“So you still think I’m a jerk?” This had been what he was afraid of, her never being able to fully accept that he had changed. He knew that he hadn’t treated her well in high school or last year. In fact, if he was honest with himself he had to admit that he’d treated her almost as badly in the year after Cassidy died that Logan had treated Veronica after Lilly’s incident. And he knew how hard it had been for Logan and Veronica to get past that.
“No, but you were a jerk. You were a jerk for a long time, and look how long it took you to get over being a jerk.” Mac looked at him expectantly, he could see the worry in her eyes.
“This stuff doesn’t automatically turn you into a jerk, babe. There are other things, like rotating step-mothers and absentee parents, started at, like, a really young age.” Dick explained, rubbing his hand along her leg in an attempt to soothe her.
“I know, it’s just, well, you and Logan are kind of strong personalities. We all are, we all have these strong personalities and a tendency to do stupid, dangerous or illegal things. I worry about Piz and Parker sometimes. That they might get sucked into it all.” Mac took a deep breath. “Especially Parker, because she kind of thinks that Veronica is all role modelly and Lilly is, well, Lilly. It’s easy to get sucked into that.”
“Were you sucked into it?” Dick asks, his own concern growing.
“When it was the four of them walking around campus, being the four coolest and most perfect people on the planet? Yeah, I did get sucked into the whole worshiping thing. You remember how it was, how intense they were. How glossy they seemed. But we were around when it all fell apart, Piz and Parker weren’t and now that they’re all back together… their glossy sheen has kind of come back a bit and I can see Parker and Piz getting sucked into it.”
“It won’t last. You were on the outside last time, they’re not as glossy up close. Not when you’re there for the fights and the screaming matches and the little wars that went on. Not when you have to see up close exactly what they’re all like when they’re together. It’s different.” Dick explained, scooting out of the booth. “Come on, let’s go have some fun. We don’t have to babysit the cups and the bet just because we’re the sober ones.”
“What if they cheat?” Mac asked warily, looking back at the two cups on the table as she slid out behind Dick.
“You said it yourself, Piz a nice guy. And from the limited experience I’ve had with nice guys, they don’t cheat. And Wallace won’t cheat either. He knows that Veronica would somehow figure it out.” Dick pulled Mac along behind him as he made his way through the crowd towards where the majority of their group was standing.
~*~
“Wow Dick, you’re really good at this.” Veronica said, giggling a bit. She was sitting between Mac and Lilly, and the two blondes could barely keep from laughing most of the time.
“The only reason he’s so good is because both Weevil and I are drinking. If I was stone cold sober I’d be awesome at this game too.” Logan corrected her, obviously annoyed as he stepped up to the line to take his three shots.
“I dunno white boy, I’ve been drinking longer than you tonight and I seem to be doing better than you.” Weevil said right as Logan let go of his dart and it went sailing into the black ring around the edge. Zero points.
“Yeah man, you really seem to be sucking at this particular bar game.” Dick was trying to keep to keep from laughing, but it was getting harder with each shot Logan took. Usually Logan was the more talented one. Videogames, poker, pool, air hockey, foosball, surfing, sports. Logan was usually the one kicking everyone else’s ass, but darts seemed to be his weak spot.
“I’ve just never played darts before.” Logan whined, as he made his third and final throw. At least this time it hit the board, even if he only got a three.
“It’s okay baby,” Veronica soothed as she got up and held out her hand to Weevil. Weevil placed all three of his darts in her hand, letting her take his turn. That’s risky, if she missed all three of them he’d no longer be close behind Dick’s score. “You can’t be perfect at all the bar games.” With that Veronica threw all three darts in quick succession, getting a twenty, a trip-twenty and a bull’s-eye. Dick’s mouth dropped in shock and awe as he watched Weevil’s score rise above his own. “I’m sure you’re kick ass at horseshoes.”
“That didn’t make me feel any better.” Logan’s voice was both disappointed and filled with awe.
“It wasn’t supposed to.” Veronica said as she stretched up on her tiptoes to peck him on the lips.
“Next round Veronica gets to play.” Logan stated as Dick got ready to throw his darts, he had to get the same as Ronnie or higher if he was going pull ahead of Weevil again.
“No way, I’ve gambled with her before. There ain’t no way in hell that I’m giving her all my money just for fun.” Weevil said, his voice fading away a bit as Dick concentrated on his target.
“Don’t you mean all Logan’s money?” Lilly asked, her voice sounding far away too as Dick took his first shot. Double Twenty. Not bad. “I’m bored anyway, I’m going to go mingle.”
Dick heard the click-click of Lilly’s shoes as she got up and walked away from the group. Weevil was muttering something, he could hear the smacking of Logan and Veronica kissing, Mac was tapping her foot. The sounds faded away again as he concentrated, staring at the red dot it the center of the round black and yellow board. He threw the dart and made it only into the black ring surrounding that red dot. Dammit.
“You can do it, Dick!” Mac called from behind him, causing him to grin as he took his third and final shot. It was in the black ring again, but this put him back ahead of Weevil.
“Thanks babe.” Dick swung around to wrap his arms around her waist and swing her around as he pressed his lips against hers.
“You wanna play for me baby?” Logan asked, his voice low as he pulled out of his kiss with Veronica.
“No. No way dude, you can’t just hand over the reins to your girlfriend just because you’re losing.” Dick protested, seconds behind Weevil chimed in with his own “No way man!”
“You’ll just have to face it, Logan, we’ve finally found a game you’re not good at.” Dick commented as his best friend finally stood to take his turn.
~Weevil~
He was only twenty points behind surfer boy. Twenty points down and sixty bucks on the line. He was winning a lot on this trip. Veronica seemed happy, and Echolls wasn’t really all that bad after they stopped goading each other. In fact, he was kind of funny. Dick was slightly more annoying, but Mac seemed to keep him under control.
“There you are.” The redhead wrapped her arms around his own left arm. “I’ve been looking for you.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and he knew, he just knew, that he now had a caked on lipstick print on his cheek in the obnoxious red that she wore. Perfect. Weevil pulled away from her, letting her arms drop to her sides as he took his place at the throw line. He let his eyes wonder around the bar for a moment, trying not to acknowledge who he was looking for.
He threw all three darts, getting almost as many points as he had gotten when he’d let Veronica throw for him. Logan and Dick were behind him, whining about how he had the unfair advantage of V’s throws that pushed him ahead of Dick. Weevil pulled all three darts out of the electronic board and turned to make his way back to his beer and, unfortunately, the redhead that he couldn’t seem to shake.
“You’re up Surf Boy.” He passed Dick on the way back to his designated ‘rest’ stop, pausing a moment to give both him and Logan a little pound. His eyes flicked up for a moment, automatically searching for a blue pair lined with black. They found hers this time, and he stopped directly in front of the redhead as he held her gaze. He could see the flicker of pain and anger pass through them before she had the time to affect the indifference that she had been portraying most of the trip.
Lilly’s eyes flitted off to the side, focused for a moment before she turned and walked away. The redhead was either turning out to be a bigger problem or a bigger asset than he had originally thought. It all depended on whether he wanted to make up with Lilly or piss her off. Problem was, he didn’t know which one he wanted.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name, what was it again?” Veronica asked, leaning past Logan to address the redhead directly. Weevil didn’t know whether she was genuinely curious or if she could tell that he’d forgotten it, but he was grateful that she had asked.
“It’s Jessie.” Jessie turned to face Veronica more head on before continuing the conversation. “Are you all from Neptune?”
“Yep, all eleven of us.” Veronica confirmed, already sounding bored with the conversation. Weevil would have to remember that when she was drunk, Veronica had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. Usually she had a tight lid on them, only displaying what she wanted others to see, but this drunken version of her didn’t seem to have a problem letting everyone in on what she was feeling at the moment. It was both amusing and a little disturbing.
“Eleven? I only have seen, like, six of you.” Jessie’s head whipped around, obviously scanning the bar for five more people she hadn’t known since first grade.
“Three of us stayed home, but there are eight genuine Neptunians here tonight.” Veronica amended, sliding off the table to stand next to Logan. “I think I’m going to head up to the bar and get another drink.” Veronica announced, turning to Mac to raise her eyebrows in both an invitation for her to join her and a demand that made it clear that the invitation wasn’t a request.
“You know, I think I’m going to need another soda too.” Mac replied, sliding out from under Dick’s arm, which had been slung over her shoulder, to walk with Veronica towards the bar, their heads bent in some sort of conference.
“Is it true that Aaron Echolls lived there? You know, before he tried to kill that girl?” Jessie asked, her eyes alight with curiosity over the question that Weevil had tried to avoid earlier.
“Yeah, it’s true.” Logan answered, his voice short and clipped. He set his darts down on the table, before following the girls to the bar. After a few moments Lilly moved in to join on whatever conversation was now going on between the three. More than likely discussing what an idiot the girl he had picked up was. Jessie however seemed completely at ease, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat on the little table, her eyes roaming over the bar as her head bobbed up and down to some beat only she could hear.
“Guess he needed another drink too.” Dick muttered as he stepped back and waited for Weevil to take his turn. The easy going atmosphere that had been surrounding them most of the night had dissipated into uncomfortable silence. If things keep going like this, we might as well go home now.
~Parker~
She slid across the kitchen floor, her socks doing nothing to help her stop before she crashed into the counter and slipped to the ground. Duncan was laughing somewhere above her, his figure shrouded by piles and piles of bubbles. Even though the crash had hurt, she couldn’t stop laughing either.
“Knock it off, Duncan.” Parker demanded as she flipped over on her stomach before lifting herself up onto her hands and knees. This didn’t work out either, her hands slid out from under her, the force causing her knees to slide as well and she landed flat on her stomach again. Duncan’s laughter got louder, with him pausing for a moment to take in loud gasps of air. At least he was attempting to calm himself. “Remind me to smack you once I get up.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that-” Duncan’s explanation was cut off as Parker’s hand connected with his ankle, wrapping around it and giving it a little tug to pull him off balance. His feet slid, and he seemed to be running in place with only his heels connecting with the floor, his arms stretched straight out from his sides, making frantic circles in the air. He continued to ridiculous dance for a few seconds before losing his balance completely to land on his butt, hard.
Parker could see him, look him in the eye as she laughed at him and the comedic spectacle he had just made of himself. So much better than smacking him. “So much better than smacking you.”
“Does that mean I don’t have to remind you anymore?” He asked before attacking her ribs with his fingers, tickling her into submission.
“No, you don’t… have to… remind me…” Parker gasped out through the giggles. “And I prom… promise not to… to smack you.” She squirmed in an attempt to get away from his tickling fingers, but his greater strength had her trapped between him and the cupboards. “Unless you don’t stop that!”
Duncan’s hands dropped immediately, but he still grinned at her. “Sorry, it’s just been so long since I’ve had an adult to play with.”
“I forgive you, but my stomach hurts and I don’t think I can laugh anymore.” Parker amended gripping on the counter to pull herself up, her legs sliding out from under her in the process as she tried to gain some sort of traction.
“Maybe you should take off the socks.” Duncan suggested, copying her actions but having more luck in his sockless feet. Parker gripped the counter in on hand, leaning on it heavily in order not to end up back on the floor, and reached down with her free hand to pull each of her socks off. She stood there for a moment, her hand hovering close to the counter in fear of falling again.
“Thanks. So where do you think all the bubbles came from?” Parker asked, her hand staying close to the counters as she walked closer to the doorway.
“I don’t know, what makes bubbles?” Duncan asked as he moved closer to the counter opposite Parker to give her more room to maneuver. Plus this way, if she fell again, she wouldn’t take him with her.
“Washing machine, which is upstairs. Or the dishwasher.” Parker said, thinking out loud as she tried to think of anything else that would do this. “The pool when full of bubble bath.”
“Did you start the dishwasher?” Duncan asked, his eyes widening a little when he realized that this was the most likely cause of Bubble Mania 2007.
“Well, yeah. You guys loaded it, and if it didn’t get started the dishes wouldn’t be done for breakfast. Personally I don’t want to have to hold my pancakes while I eat them.” Parker exclaimed, finally making it to the doorway before turning to stare at him in shock. “How much soap did you put in there?”
“Well, Logan and I have never done the dishes before.” Duncan explained, obviously stalling as he reached into the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of ‘Green Apple’ dish soap. He held it up for Parker to see.
“That bottle was nearly full when I did the dishes after lunch.” She rushed forward, forgetting to worry about falling as she did so, to rip the bottle from his hands. “It’s almost empty. Did you guys put all this in the dishwasher? Or did you do the pans by hand?” Parker couldn’t bear to look inside the machine as she snapped it off, the wooshing sound it made grinding to an immediate halt.
“Why would we wash them by hand if there’s a dishwasher?” Duncan questioned, worried that maybe Logan and he had done it wrong after all. Logan hadn’t seemed sure how to do it either, but the only thing they’d really been unsure of was starting it. Maybe they were wrong about the whole thing.
“Because… Duncan, you’re not supposed to use the liquid stuff in the machine, it’s for hand washing only.” Reaching under the counter Parker pulled out a blue and white block wrapped in clear plastic. “We bought these detergent tablets so you just put one of them in there and you’re set.”
“So the green liquid stuff, if we put it in the machine, does what?” His stomach was full of knots now, dreading the answer.
“It fills up with bubbles and they spill out onto the floor. And when they hit the heating duct on the floor, it made the bubbles even worse, making a bigger mess. And it isn’t all fixed like that, it can really mess up the machine.” Parker explained as she opened the dishwasher door to see the plates stacked in piles and set on top of racks. The racks had broken off the arms that kept them connected to drawer system from the weight of the dishes and bowls filled up with water. The glasses on the top rack had been placed with the mouth up, causing the glasses to all fill with water and the right side of that rack to break and fall onto the bottom one.
“But, when the dishes are in there like that, there’s really no fixing it anyway.” She stared at the mess inside the machine, the mass amounts of leftover food on the bottom. “Did you guys even rinse the plates and stuff off?”
“You have to do that?” Duncan’s voice cracked a little over the last word, staring into the dishwasher over her shoulder. He couldn’t believe the mess inside. The broken down mess of something that was supposed to be clean.
“Yeah.” Her voice was flat and disbelieving, how could two adult men not know how to load the dishwasher?
“So basically we did it wrong?” His voice was hopeful.
“Duncan, you killed the dishwasher.”
~Veronica~
“So did this night just get, like, really awkward?” She stared across the bar for a moment, at Jessie pawing at Weevil.
“Yes it did, and kind of tacky too. I feel like I have that lipstick on me somewhere, like there’s so much it has to have gotten everywhere.” Mac reached up to rub at a spot on her cheek, as if the girl had kissed her and left the same mark as she had on Weevil.
“I think that goes for all her makeup.” Veronica resisted the urge to repeat Mac’s action on her own cheek. She glanced up just in time to see Logan stalking towards them, his face looking rather annoyed.
“It get awkward for you too?” Mac asked as he got closer.
“Yeah, more so after you guys bailed.” Logan replied, turning to Veronica. “I’ll give you a million dollars to come back with me until the end of the game.”
“Tempting, but no.” Veronica turned down his offer, letting her eyes flit over the three people that remained at the dart board. “What’d she say?”
“Nothing, just asked if it was true that Aaron Echolls lived in Neptune.” At her horrified look Logan added. “You know, before he tried to kill that girl.”
“Oh God. Is it just me or should the rest of the world have the decency to just know who we are already so they don’t mention that?” Veronica asked, looking over her shoulder at the busy bartender. “I mean, we were in the tabloids and everything, why don’t they know?”
“The simple fact that we were in there at the same time as Brangelina, and really who pays attention to us when there’s Brangelina?” Logan explained.
“Wasn’t this pre-Brangie?” Mac asked, her brows drawn together in confusion.
“No, it was pre-TomKat.” Logan corrected.
“What was pre-TomKat?” Lilly asked, joining their little group. “And what is TomKat?”
“Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.”
“They made a movie together?”
“Nope, they got married and had a baby.”
“Seriously?”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Get me a beer, okay? And remember, it’s on Duncan’s tab.” With that he leaned forward and pecked Veronica on the lips before heading off to continue his game. Instead of the bouncy step he’d had before this seemed more like a death march.
“And then he jumped on Oprah’s couch and started acting all crazy. Proposed to her on the Eiffel Tower. Knocked her up, and bought an ultrasound machine. Didn’t show the baby for months even though Brangie sold pics of their baby.” Veronica turned toward the sound of Mac explaining TomKat to Lilly. What the hell?
Mac must have caught her look because she turned to Veronica with a defensive “What?”
“Nothing, except that I didn’t think that you really kept up with the tabloid gossip.”
“I didn’t, but I sat next to Shelly and Pam in government senior year, and it seemed to be much more interesting than how Bush was destroying the country.” Mac explained.
“Whew, I was worried there for a second.” Veronica mockingly wiped at her brow before turning back to Lilly. “Eventually they got married in Italy. And before you ask who Brangelina are, it’s Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. No they’re not married, but they’ve got four kids and counting.”
“Weird. You’re out of it for a little while and Joey Potter marries Jerry McGuire.”
Both Veronica and Mac snorted. It’d been a while since she’d really done the celebrity gossip thing.
“For a small town bar, this place is sure packed.” Mac noted, leaning back against the bar to gaze out at the sea of beer drinkers and pool players.
“And the bartender is sure hard to flag down.” Veronica muttered as she leaned a bit further over the bar to try and catch the older woman’s attention.
Finally the woman headed their way, stopping in front of Veronica and her two best girl friends. “What can I get you sugar?”
“Could I get a Miller, bottle. A Pepsi, in a can with a glass of ice. And whatever this was. If it helps, it was pink.” With that Veronica set her empty glass on the bar between her and the woman. “My boyfriend picked it out, he didn’t say what it was.”
“I think I remember him.” The bartender looked up at her again. “That it?”
“Could I get one of the pink and fruity drinks too?” Lilly requested, leaning on the bar to make her request. With a nod from Veronica that it was the last of their drink order, the older woman walked off to the other end of the bar to begin mixing Veronica and Lilly’s drinks.
“So, what’s the redheaded slut like?” Lilly asked, looking directly at Veronica.
“I don’t know I’ve never had one.” Veronica replied, already uncomfortable with this line of questioning.
“You know what I mean Veronica Mars.” Lilly’s voice took on a stern tone that Veronica automatically associated with every time she didn’t want to tell her something and Lilly managed to drag it out of her. Like when she told Lilly about the Logan/Yolanda kiss that caused their breakup.
“Lil, I don’t know. I was over there for maybe a whole thirty seconds before I came to get drinks. I can’t really say what she’s like.” Veronica resisted the urge to fidget. She’d been lying at the drop of a hat for years, convincingly, without fidgeting or losing eye contact or playing with her hair. One week in Lilly’s presence had practically wiped that clean. It turns out that no matter what, Lilly Kane would always be the one person she was unable to lie to.
“You couldn’t have stayed a minute or two and gotten to know her? At least enough to report back that she was stupid and uninteresting and not all that pretty up close?” Lilly’s voice held a slight whine, and Veronica rejoiced in the fact that she hadn’t caught onto the lie and demanded to know the truth and why Veronica was hiding it.
“Sorry, I was thirsty.” Veronica prayed that Lilly would let it drop, even though she knew that the likelihood of that was slim to none.
“But-” Lilly began, but was thankfully cut off by the returning bartender.
The woman set two glasses filled to the brim with pink liquid that just looked sugary, before setting another glass full of ice, a can of Pepsi and an open bottle of beer in front of them. “That’s seventeen in total hun, you want it on the tab?”
“Yes, thank you.” Veronica said, picking up her drink and Logan’s beer. “Well, I better get over there and cheer Logan on before he loses.” Veronica hurried away from Lilly, leaving Mac alone to fend for herself.
~*~
“Didn’t want to hang with the girls?” Logan asked, perching his chin on her shoulder. He stood behind her as they watched Dick and Weevil taking their turns. His hands were wrapped around her sides, just underneath her ribcage, fingers pressed against her stomach and slowly inching their way underneath the hem of her top. His thumbs, wrapped around her back were already underneath the thin layer of silk, rubbing circles into her skin.
“Sadly, it was either hang out with her and discuss Jessie-” she said the girls name like a dirty word “-or hang out with you and make the attempt at ignoring her presence. It was no contest.” Veronica leaned back into his chest, craning her neck to look up into his face.
“Ah, you chose me?” Logan leaned his head down to place a light kiss on her lips. “Thank you baby.”
Veronica gladly accepted the kiss before looking forward again, a small smile forming on her face. “No, I just didn’t want to spend the next hour dissecting the girl, ignoring her is so much easier.”
“That hurts baby, you know that? It really hurts.” Logan’s voice gave away the joke, even as he made the attempt to sound hurt and insulted. His hands dropped and he gave her a slight push to stand up, Veronica momentarily thought that she may have really hurt his feelings before she realized it was his turn.
“Sorry baby, it’s just the way it is.” Veronica quipped as he took his place at the throw line. First dart off and it was a miss. “You want some pointers?”
“No, I don’t need any pointers.” His voice was snappy and annoyed, it was really getting to him that he couldn’t get the hang of this game.
“Okay, but you’re holding the dart too tight and-”
“What did I say about the pointers?” Logan snapped, firing off the second dart and getting a thirteen. It wasn’t the highest he could’ve gotten, but it wasn’t the lowest either. After the third dart was thrown and hit the outer ‘no point’ ring he returned to Veronica, head down with a pout on his face, his voice pathetic. “I hate this game.”
“How about we play some pool next, huh?” Veronica offered, she wasn’t particularly good at pool, it would boost his ego a little to be able to beat her at one of his precious bar games. “I don’t know why you guys decided to play darts in the first place.”
“There were no empty pool tables.” Logan explained, resting his forehead against her shoulder before taking a nip at it. His teeth scraped against her skin lightly before he pressed his lips to the same spot. Long arms wrapped around her and squeezed her tightly to him, his nose burying itself deep into the crook of her neck.
Veronica’s hand reached up to run through his hair, kneading a little as it went. Logan let out a soft groan in response, he shifted so he was now pressing openmouthed kisses into her neck. He squeezed her even tighter as his tongue slipped out of his mouth and slid against her skin, licking her neck a little before softly biting it. She let out a soft hum approval, knowing she should be embarrassed by the fact that they were doing this in public, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. It seemed that the alcohol in both her and Logan’s systems had done nothing to temper their desire for each other, but it had lowered their natural inclination to keep it private.
“Guys, could you stop dry humping long enough for Logan to take his turn?” Dick’s voice broke through alcohol enhanced horny haze, causing the pair to break apart.
“We weren’t dry humping, we were necking.” Logan corrected, unable to keep the grin off his face. Dick and Weevil just rolled their eyes, unimpressed with Logan and Veronica’s behavior. Jessie on the other hand seemed to get a kick out the fact that they seemed to be so uninhibited in their relationship.
“It’s so sweet how you two are, practically all over each other. How long have you been together?” Jessie questioned, and Veronica was suddenly unsure how to answer the question. It was true that they’d only been back together for about a day and a half, but they’d been dating on and off for nearly three and half years. But the question was whether or not this girl, who was undoubtedly not going to be in their lives for much longer, should know that.
“About three and a half years.” Logan responded, he had always like to completely disregard their time apart. He’d always hated it when they were broken up, and when they got back together he had a tendency to completely ignore their time apart and anything that might have happened in between. To him it simply didn’t matter, because when he was with her he was with her. No one else and nothing else mattered.
“Wow, such a long time. I can totally tell that you’re one of those couples that are madly in love with each other. Completely devoted.” Jessie let out a dreamy sigh, her gaze locked on the pair. Veronica wished, not for the first time, that the girl didn’t find it necessary to fill the silence with chit chat. She hated chit chat, especially with this complete stranger. It was just so… awkward.
25: Closing
Rating: R (underage use of alcohol, an f-bomb, mentions of nudity and mentions of drug use)
Word Count: 5,351
Characters/Pairings: Dick, Mac, Logan, Veronica, Lilly the first, Weevil, OFC, Parker, Duncan, Weevil, OFC, Parker, Piz, Duncan (mentions of: Lilly the second, Piz and Wallace) Logan/Veronica and Mac/Dick
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.
Chapter 1: Awake/ Chapter 2: Homecoming/ Chapter 3: Forgive/ Chapter 4: Arrival/ Chapter 5: Reconnect/ Chapter 6: Belong/ Chapter 7: Bets/ Chapter 8: Fight/ Chapter 9: Battle/ Chapter 10: Retreat/ Chapter 11: Push/ Chapter 12: Sound/ Chapter 13: Potential/ Chapter 14: More/ Chapter 15: Storytime/ Chapter 16: Understanding/ Chapter 17: Piggyback/ Chapter 18: Sinners/ Chapter 19: Drama/ Chapter 20: Dinner/ Chapter 21: Armor/ Chapter 22:Mingle/ 23:Bubbly
A/N: This chapter is super fluffy. Be warned, there is definite fluffiness to be had here.
The Return
24
Awkward
~Dick~
“So, twelve versus eight, apparently that tiny little break in that they took didn’t hurt Piz’s lead.” Mac commented as she put the latest phone number in the red cup.
“You’re not still upset about the advice we gave him are you?” Dick questioned, a hollow feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t mean to upset her, but he and Logan had felt bad for the guy.
“I already knew you could be an ass, it’s just that… Well, Piz is a nice guy. A little clueless and naïve, especially when compared with Neptune High alumni, but he’s genuinely a nice guy. Then the two of you swoop in with your jackassery and, well, I don’t want him to suddenly become a jerk.” Mac explained, fidgeting with her fingernails and trying to look anywhere but at him.
“So you still think I’m a jerk?” This had been what he was afraid of, her never being able to fully accept that he had changed. He knew that he hadn’t treated her well in high school or last year. In fact, if he was honest with himself he had to admit that he’d treated her almost as badly in the year after Cassidy died that Logan had treated Veronica after Lilly’s incident. And he knew how hard it had been for Logan and Veronica to get past that.
“No, but you were a jerk. You were a jerk for a long time, and look how long it took you to get over being a jerk.” Mac looked at him expectantly, he could see the worry in her eyes.
“This stuff doesn’t automatically turn you into a jerk, babe. There are other things, like rotating step-mothers and absentee parents, started at, like, a really young age.” Dick explained, rubbing his hand along her leg in an attempt to soothe her.
“I know, it’s just, well, you and Logan are kind of strong personalities. We all are, we all have these strong personalities and a tendency to do stupid, dangerous or illegal things. I worry about Piz and Parker sometimes. That they might get sucked into it all.” Mac took a deep breath. “Especially Parker, because she kind of thinks that Veronica is all role modelly and Lilly is, well, Lilly. It’s easy to get sucked into that.”
“Were you sucked into it?” Dick asks, his own concern growing.
“When it was the four of them walking around campus, being the four coolest and most perfect people on the planet? Yeah, I did get sucked into the whole worshiping thing. You remember how it was, how intense they were. How glossy they seemed. But we were around when it all fell apart, Piz and Parker weren’t and now that they’re all back together… their glossy sheen has kind of come back a bit and I can see Parker and Piz getting sucked into it.”
“It won’t last. You were on the outside last time, they’re not as glossy up close. Not when you’re there for the fights and the screaming matches and the little wars that went on. Not when you have to see up close exactly what they’re all like when they’re together. It’s different.” Dick explained, scooting out of the booth. “Come on, let’s go have some fun. We don’t have to babysit the cups and the bet just because we’re the sober ones.”
“What if they cheat?” Mac asked warily, looking back at the two cups on the table as she slid out behind Dick.
“You said it yourself, Piz a nice guy. And from the limited experience I’ve had with nice guys, they don’t cheat. And Wallace won’t cheat either. He knows that Veronica would somehow figure it out.” Dick pulled Mac along behind him as he made his way through the crowd towards where the majority of their group was standing.
~*~
“Wow Dick, you’re really good at this.” Veronica said, giggling a bit. She was sitting between Mac and Lilly, and the two blondes could barely keep from laughing most of the time.
“The only reason he’s so good is because both Weevil and I are drinking. If I was stone cold sober I’d be awesome at this game too.” Logan corrected her, obviously annoyed as he stepped up to the line to take his three shots.
“I dunno white boy, I’ve been drinking longer than you tonight and I seem to be doing better than you.” Weevil said right as Logan let go of his dart and it went sailing into the black ring around the edge. Zero points.
“Yeah man, you really seem to be sucking at this particular bar game.” Dick was trying to keep to keep from laughing, but it was getting harder with each shot Logan took. Usually Logan was the more talented one. Videogames, poker, pool, air hockey, foosball, surfing, sports. Logan was usually the one kicking everyone else’s ass, but darts seemed to be his weak spot.
“I’ve just never played darts before.” Logan whined, as he made his third and final throw. At least this time it hit the board, even if he only got a three.
“It’s okay baby,” Veronica soothed as she got up and held out her hand to Weevil. Weevil placed all three of his darts in her hand, letting her take his turn. That’s risky, if she missed all three of them he’d no longer be close behind Dick’s score. “You can’t be perfect at all the bar games.” With that Veronica threw all three darts in quick succession, getting a twenty, a trip-twenty and a bull’s-eye. Dick’s mouth dropped in shock and awe as he watched Weevil’s score rise above his own. “I’m sure you’re kick ass at horseshoes.”
“That didn’t make me feel any better.” Logan’s voice was both disappointed and filled with awe.
“It wasn’t supposed to.” Veronica said as she stretched up on her tiptoes to peck him on the lips.
“Next round Veronica gets to play.” Logan stated as Dick got ready to throw his darts, he had to get the same as Ronnie or higher if he was going pull ahead of Weevil again.
“No way, I’ve gambled with her before. There ain’t no way in hell that I’m giving her all my money just for fun.” Weevil said, his voice fading away a bit as Dick concentrated on his target.
“Don’t you mean all Logan’s money?” Lilly asked, her voice sounding far away too as Dick took his first shot. Double Twenty. Not bad. “I’m bored anyway, I’m going to go mingle.”
Dick heard the click-click of Lilly’s shoes as she got up and walked away from the group. Weevil was muttering something, he could hear the smacking of Logan and Veronica kissing, Mac was tapping her foot. The sounds faded away again as he concentrated, staring at the red dot it the center of the round black and yellow board. He threw the dart and made it only into the black ring surrounding that red dot. Dammit.
“You can do it, Dick!” Mac called from behind him, causing him to grin as he took his third and final shot. It was in the black ring again, but this put him back ahead of Weevil.
“Thanks babe.” Dick swung around to wrap his arms around her waist and swing her around as he pressed his lips against hers.
“You wanna play for me baby?” Logan asked, his voice low as he pulled out of his kiss with Veronica.
“No. No way dude, you can’t just hand over the reins to your girlfriend just because you’re losing.” Dick protested, seconds behind Weevil chimed in with his own “No way man!”
“You’ll just have to face it, Logan, we’ve finally found a game you’re not good at.” Dick commented as his best friend finally stood to take his turn.
~Weevil~
He was only twenty points behind surfer boy. Twenty points down and sixty bucks on the line. He was winning a lot on this trip. Veronica seemed happy, and Echolls wasn’t really all that bad after they stopped goading each other. In fact, he was kind of funny. Dick was slightly more annoying, but Mac seemed to keep him under control.
“There you are.” The redhead wrapped her arms around his own left arm. “I’ve been looking for you.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and he knew, he just knew, that he now had a caked on lipstick print on his cheek in the obnoxious red that she wore. Perfect. Weevil pulled away from her, letting her arms drop to her sides as he took his place at the throw line. He let his eyes wonder around the bar for a moment, trying not to acknowledge who he was looking for.
He threw all three darts, getting almost as many points as he had gotten when he’d let Veronica throw for him. Logan and Dick were behind him, whining about how he had the unfair advantage of V’s throws that pushed him ahead of Dick. Weevil pulled all three darts out of the electronic board and turned to make his way back to his beer and, unfortunately, the redhead that he couldn’t seem to shake.
“You’re up Surf Boy.” He passed Dick on the way back to his designated ‘rest’ stop, pausing a moment to give both him and Logan a little pound. His eyes flicked up for a moment, automatically searching for a blue pair lined with black. They found hers this time, and he stopped directly in front of the redhead as he held her gaze. He could see the flicker of pain and anger pass through them before she had the time to affect the indifference that she had been portraying most of the trip.
Lilly’s eyes flitted off to the side, focused for a moment before she turned and walked away. The redhead was either turning out to be a bigger problem or a bigger asset than he had originally thought. It all depended on whether he wanted to make up with Lilly or piss her off. Problem was, he didn’t know which one he wanted.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name, what was it again?” Veronica asked, leaning past Logan to address the redhead directly. Weevil didn’t know whether she was genuinely curious or if she could tell that he’d forgotten it, but he was grateful that she had asked.
“It’s Jessie.” Jessie turned to face Veronica more head on before continuing the conversation. “Are you all from Neptune?”
“Yep, all eleven of us.” Veronica confirmed, already sounding bored with the conversation. Weevil would have to remember that when she was drunk, Veronica had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. Usually she had a tight lid on them, only displaying what she wanted others to see, but this drunken version of her didn’t seem to have a problem letting everyone in on what she was feeling at the moment. It was both amusing and a little disturbing.
“Eleven? I only have seen, like, six of you.” Jessie’s head whipped around, obviously scanning the bar for five more people she hadn’t known since first grade.
“Three of us stayed home, but there are eight genuine Neptunians here tonight.” Veronica amended, sliding off the table to stand next to Logan. “I think I’m going to head up to the bar and get another drink.” Veronica announced, turning to Mac to raise her eyebrows in both an invitation for her to join her and a demand that made it clear that the invitation wasn’t a request.
“You know, I think I’m going to need another soda too.” Mac replied, sliding out from under Dick’s arm, which had been slung over her shoulder, to walk with Veronica towards the bar, their heads bent in some sort of conference.
“Is it true that Aaron Echolls lived there? You know, before he tried to kill that girl?” Jessie asked, her eyes alight with curiosity over the question that Weevil had tried to avoid earlier.
“Yeah, it’s true.” Logan answered, his voice short and clipped. He set his darts down on the table, before following the girls to the bar. After a few moments Lilly moved in to join on whatever conversation was now going on between the three. More than likely discussing what an idiot the girl he had picked up was. Jessie however seemed completely at ease, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat on the little table, her eyes roaming over the bar as her head bobbed up and down to some beat only she could hear.
“Guess he needed another drink too.” Dick muttered as he stepped back and waited for Weevil to take his turn. The easy going atmosphere that had been surrounding them most of the night had dissipated into uncomfortable silence. If things keep going like this, we might as well go home now.
~Parker~
She slid across the kitchen floor, her socks doing nothing to help her stop before she crashed into the counter and slipped to the ground. Duncan was laughing somewhere above her, his figure shrouded by piles and piles of bubbles. Even though the crash had hurt, she couldn’t stop laughing either.
“Knock it off, Duncan.” Parker demanded as she flipped over on her stomach before lifting herself up onto her hands and knees. This didn’t work out either, her hands slid out from under her, the force causing her knees to slide as well and she landed flat on her stomach again. Duncan’s laughter got louder, with him pausing for a moment to take in loud gasps of air. At least he was attempting to calm himself. “Remind me to smack you once I get up.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that-” Duncan’s explanation was cut off as Parker’s hand connected with his ankle, wrapping around it and giving it a little tug to pull him off balance. His feet slid, and he seemed to be running in place with only his heels connecting with the floor, his arms stretched straight out from his sides, making frantic circles in the air. He continued to ridiculous dance for a few seconds before losing his balance completely to land on his butt, hard.
Parker could see him, look him in the eye as she laughed at him and the comedic spectacle he had just made of himself. So much better than smacking him. “So much better than smacking you.”
“Does that mean I don’t have to remind you anymore?” He asked before attacking her ribs with his fingers, tickling her into submission.
“No, you don’t… have to… remind me…” Parker gasped out through the giggles. “And I prom… promise not to… to smack you.” She squirmed in an attempt to get away from his tickling fingers, but his greater strength had her trapped between him and the cupboards. “Unless you don’t stop that!”
Duncan’s hands dropped immediately, but he still grinned at her. “Sorry, it’s just been so long since I’ve had an adult to play with.”
“I forgive you, but my stomach hurts and I don’t think I can laugh anymore.” Parker amended gripping on the counter to pull herself up, her legs sliding out from under her in the process as she tried to gain some sort of traction.
“Maybe you should take off the socks.” Duncan suggested, copying her actions but having more luck in his sockless feet. Parker gripped the counter in on hand, leaning on it heavily in order not to end up back on the floor, and reached down with her free hand to pull each of her socks off. She stood there for a moment, her hand hovering close to the counter in fear of falling again.
“Thanks. So where do you think all the bubbles came from?” Parker asked, her hand staying close to the counters as she walked closer to the doorway.
“I don’t know, what makes bubbles?” Duncan asked as he moved closer to the counter opposite Parker to give her more room to maneuver. Plus this way, if she fell again, she wouldn’t take him with her.
“Washing machine, which is upstairs. Or the dishwasher.” Parker said, thinking out loud as she tried to think of anything else that would do this. “The pool when full of bubble bath.”
“Did you start the dishwasher?” Duncan asked, his eyes widening a little when he realized that this was the most likely cause of Bubble Mania 2007.
“Well, yeah. You guys loaded it, and if it didn’t get started the dishes wouldn’t be done for breakfast. Personally I don’t want to have to hold my pancakes while I eat them.” Parker exclaimed, finally making it to the doorway before turning to stare at him in shock. “How much soap did you put in there?”
“Well, Logan and I have never done the dishes before.” Duncan explained, obviously stalling as he reached into the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of ‘Green Apple’ dish soap. He held it up for Parker to see.
“That bottle was nearly full when I did the dishes after lunch.” She rushed forward, forgetting to worry about falling as she did so, to rip the bottle from his hands. “It’s almost empty. Did you guys put all this in the dishwasher? Or did you do the pans by hand?” Parker couldn’t bear to look inside the machine as she snapped it off, the wooshing sound it made grinding to an immediate halt.
“Why would we wash them by hand if there’s a dishwasher?” Duncan questioned, worried that maybe Logan and he had done it wrong after all. Logan hadn’t seemed sure how to do it either, but the only thing they’d really been unsure of was starting it. Maybe they were wrong about the whole thing.
“Because… Duncan, you’re not supposed to use the liquid stuff in the machine, it’s for hand washing only.” Reaching under the counter Parker pulled out a blue and white block wrapped in clear plastic. “We bought these detergent tablets so you just put one of them in there and you’re set.”
“So the green liquid stuff, if we put it in the machine, does what?” His stomach was full of knots now, dreading the answer.
“It fills up with bubbles and they spill out onto the floor. And when they hit the heating duct on the floor, it made the bubbles even worse, making a bigger mess. And it isn’t all fixed like that, it can really mess up the machine.” Parker explained as she opened the dishwasher door to see the plates stacked in piles and set on top of racks. The racks had broken off the arms that kept them connected to drawer system from the weight of the dishes and bowls filled up with water. The glasses on the top rack had been placed with the mouth up, causing the glasses to all fill with water and the right side of that rack to break and fall onto the bottom one.
“But, when the dishes are in there like that, there’s really no fixing it anyway.” She stared at the mess inside the machine, the mass amounts of leftover food on the bottom. “Did you guys even rinse the plates and stuff off?”
“You have to do that?” Duncan’s voice cracked a little over the last word, staring into the dishwasher over her shoulder. He couldn’t believe the mess inside. The broken down mess of something that was supposed to be clean.
“Yeah.” Her voice was flat and disbelieving, how could two adult men not know how to load the dishwasher?
“So basically we did it wrong?” His voice was hopeful.
“Duncan, you killed the dishwasher.”
~Veronica~
“So did this night just get, like, really awkward?” She stared across the bar for a moment, at Jessie pawing at Weevil.
“Yes it did, and kind of tacky too. I feel like I have that lipstick on me somewhere, like there’s so much it has to have gotten everywhere.” Mac reached up to rub at a spot on her cheek, as if the girl had kissed her and left the same mark as she had on Weevil.
“I think that goes for all her makeup.” Veronica resisted the urge to repeat Mac’s action on her own cheek. She glanced up just in time to see Logan stalking towards them, his face looking rather annoyed.
“It get awkward for you too?” Mac asked as he got closer.
“Yeah, more so after you guys bailed.” Logan replied, turning to Veronica. “I’ll give you a million dollars to come back with me until the end of the game.”
“Tempting, but no.” Veronica turned down his offer, letting her eyes flit over the three people that remained at the dart board. “What’d she say?”
“Nothing, just asked if it was true that Aaron Echolls lived in Neptune.” At her horrified look Logan added. “You know, before he tried to kill that girl.”
“Oh God. Is it just me or should the rest of the world have the decency to just know who we are already so they don’t mention that?” Veronica asked, looking over her shoulder at the busy bartender. “I mean, we were in the tabloids and everything, why don’t they know?”
“The simple fact that we were in there at the same time as Brangelina, and really who pays attention to us when there’s Brangelina?” Logan explained.
“Wasn’t this pre-Brangie?” Mac asked, her brows drawn together in confusion.
“No, it was pre-TomKat.” Logan corrected.
“What was pre-TomKat?” Lilly asked, joining their little group. “And what is TomKat?”
“Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.”
“They made a movie together?”
“Nope, they got married and had a baby.”
“Seriously?”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Get me a beer, okay? And remember, it’s on Duncan’s tab.” With that he leaned forward and pecked Veronica on the lips before heading off to continue his game. Instead of the bouncy step he’d had before this seemed more like a death march.
“And then he jumped on Oprah’s couch and started acting all crazy. Proposed to her on the Eiffel Tower. Knocked her up, and bought an ultrasound machine. Didn’t show the baby for months even though Brangie sold pics of their baby.” Veronica turned toward the sound of Mac explaining TomKat to Lilly. What the hell?
Mac must have caught her look because she turned to Veronica with a defensive “What?”
“Nothing, except that I didn’t think that you really kept up with the tabloid gossip.”
“I didn’t, but I sat next to Shelly and Pam in government senior year, and it seemed to be much more interesting than how Bush was destroying the country.” Mac explained.
“Whew, I was worried there for a second.” Veronica mockingly wiped at her brow before turning back to Lilly. “Eventually they got married in Italy. And before you ask who Brangelina are, it’s Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. No they’re not married, but they’ve got four kids and counting.”
“Weird. You’re out of it for a little while and Joey Potter marries Jerry McGuire.”
Both Veronica and Mac snorted. It’d been a while since she’d really done the celebrity gossip thing.
“For a small town bar, this place is sure packed.” Mac noted, leaning back against the bar to gaze out at the sea of beer drinkers and pool players.
“And the bartender is sure hard to flag down.” Veronica muttered as she leaned a bit further over the bar to try and catch the older woman’s attention.
Finally the woman headed their way, stopping in front of Veronica and her two best girl friends. “What can I get you sugar?”
“Could I get a Miller, bottle. A Pepsi, in a can with a glass of ice. And whatever this was. If it helps, it was pink.” With that Veronica set her empty glass on the bar between her and the woman. “My boyfriend picked it out, he didn’t say what it was.”
“I think I remember him.” The bartender looked up at her again. “That it?”
“Could I get one of the pink and fruity drinks too?” Lilly requested, leaning on the bar to make her request. With a nod from Veronica that it was the last of their drink order, the older woman walked off to the other end of the bar to begin mixing Veronica and Lilly’s drinks.
“So, what’s the redheaded slut like?” Lilly asked, looking directly at Veronica.
“I don’t know I’ve never had one.” Veronica replied, already uncomfortable with this line of questioning.
“You know what I mean Veronica Mars.” Lilly’s voice took on a stern tone that Veronica automatically associated with every time she didn’t want to tell her something and Lilly managed to drag it out of her. Like when she told Lilly about the Logan/Yolanda kiss that caused their breakup.
“Lil, I don’t know. I was over there for maybe a whole thirty seconds before I came to get drinks. I can’t really say what she’s like.” Veronica resisted the urge to fidget. She’d been lying at the drop of a hat for years, convincingly, without fidgeting or losing eye contact or playing with her hair. One week in Lilly’s presence had practically wiped that clean. It turns out that no matter what, Lilly Kane would always be the one person she was unable to lie to.
“You couldn’t have stayed a minute or two and gotten to know her? At least enough to report back that she was stupid and uninteresting and not all that pretty up close?” Lilly’s voice held a slight whine, and Veronica rejoiced in the fact that she hadn’t caught onto the lie and demanded to know the truth and why Veronica was hiding it.
“Sorry, I was thirsty.” Veronica prayed that Lilly would let it drop, even though she knew that the likelihood of that was slim to none.
“But-” Lilly began, but was thankfully cut off by the returning bartender.
The woman set two glasses filled to the brim with pink liquid that just looked sugary, before setting another glass full of ice, a can of Pepsi and an open bottle of beer in front of them. “That’s seventeen in total hun, you want it on the tab?”
“Yes, thank you.” Veronica said, picking up her drink and Logan’s beer. “Well, I better get over there and cheer Logan on before he loses.” Veronica hurried away from Lilly, leaving Mac alone to fend for herself.
~*~
“Didn’t want to hang with the girls?” Logan asked, perching his chin on her shoulder. He stood behind her as they watched Dick and Weevil taking their turns. His hands were wrapped around her sides, just underneath her ribcage, fingers pressed against her stomach and slowly inching their way underneath the hem of her top. His thumbs, wrapped around her back were already underneath the thin layer of silk, rubbing circles into her skin.
“Sadly, it was either hang out with her and discuss Jessie-” she said the girls name like a dirty word “-or hang out with you and make the attempt at ignoring her presence. It was no contest.” Veronica leaned back into his chest, craning her neck to look up into his face.
“Ah, you chose me?” Logan leaned his head down to place a light kiss on her lips. “Thank you baby.”
Veronica gladly accepted the kiss before looking forward again, a small smile forming on her face. “No, I just didn’t want to spend the next hour dissecting the girl, ignoring her is so much easier.”
“That hurts baby, you know that? It really hurts.” Logan’s voice gave away the joke, even as he made the attempt to sound hurt and insulted. His hands dropped and he gave her a slight push to stand up, Veronica momentarily thought that she may have really hurt his feelings before she realized it was his turn.
“Sorry baby, it’s just the way it is.” Veronica quipped as he took his place at the throw line. First dart off and it was a miss. “You want some pointers?”
“No, I don’t need any pointers.” His voice was snappy and annoyed, it was really getting to him that he couldn’t get the hang of this game.
“Okay, but you’re holding the dart too tight and-”
“What did I say about the pointers?” Logan snapped, firing off the second dart and getting a thirteen. It wasn’t the highest he could’ve gotten, but it wasn’t the lowest either. After the third dart was thrown and hit the outer ‘no point’ ring he returned to Veronica, head down with a pout on his face, his voice pathetic. “I hate this game.”
“How about we play some pool next, huh?” Veronica offered, she wasn’t particularly good at pool, it would boost his ego a little to be able to beat her at one of his precious bar games. “I don’t know why you guys decided to play darts in the first place.”
“There were no empty pool tables.” Logan explained, resting his forehead against her shoulder before taking a nip at it. His teeth scraped against her skin lightly before he pressed his lips to the same spot. Long arms wrapped around her and squeezed her tightly to him, his nose burying itself deep into the crook of her neck.
Veronica’s hand reached up to run through his hair, kneading a little as it went. Logan let out a soft groan in response, he shifted so he was now pressing openmouthed kisses into her neck. He squeezed her even tighter as his tongue slipped out of his mouth and slid against her skin, licking her neck a little before softly biting it. She let out a soft hum approval, knowing she should be embarrassed by the fact that they were doing this in public, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. It seemed that the alcohol in both her and Logan’s systems had done nothing to temper their desire for each other, but it had lowered their natural inclination to keep it private.
“Guys, could you stop dry humping long enough for Logan to take his turn?” Dick’s voice broke through alcohol enhanced horny haze, causing the pair to break apart.
“We weren’t dry humping, we were necking.” Logan corrected, unable to keep the grin off his face. Dick and Weevil just rolled their eyes, unimpressed with Logan and Veronica’s behavior. Jessie on the other hand seemed to get a kick out the fact that they seemed to be so uninhibited in their relationship.
“It’s so sweet how you two are, practically all over each other. How long have you been together?” Jessie questioned, and Veronica was suddenly unsure how to answer the question. It was true that they’d only been back together for about a day and a half, but they’d been dating on and off for nearly three and half years. But the question was whether or not this girl, who was undoubtedly not going to be in their lives for much longer, should know that.
“About three and a half years.” Logan responded, he had always like to completely disregard their time apart. He’d always hated it when they were broken up, and when they got back together he had a tendency to completely ignore their time apart and anything that might have happened in between. To him it simply didn’t matter, because when he was with her he was with her. No one else and nothing else mattered.
“Wow, such a long time. I can totally tell that you’re one of those couples that are madly in love with each other. Completely devoted.” Jessie let out a dreamy sigh, her gaze locked on the pair. Veronica wished, not for the first time, that the girl didn’t find it necessary to fill the silence with chit chat. She hated chit chat, especially with this complete stranger. It was just so… awkward.
25: Closing