The Return 10: Retreat (Ensemble, MaDi) R
Title: The Return 10-Retreat
Rating: R (for some profanity and mentions of sexual situations)
Characters/Pairings: Dick, Mac, Duncan, Lilly the first, Logan, Veronica, Piz (mentions of: Lilly the second, Parker, Wallace, Weevil) MaDi and hints of LoVe
Word Count: 4,771
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 his, 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.
A/N: This story was also no originally mine, and I’d really like to stress that in the first two chapters. The original story can be found here) And this is my first attempt at anything AU, so… enjoy
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
The Return
10
Retreat
~Dick~
“So, I guess that we won’t be waking up to a fight since they all seem to be going down today, huh?” Dick asked Mac as they re-entered the living room.
“Looks like it.” Mac replied as her head whipped around at the sound of Weevil’s voice in the hallway.
“Now they’re going to fight? Seriously? Maybe we should have taken bets on the fights instead of the hookups.” Dick was a little amazed at how this was all playing out. He had honestly thought that there would be a hookup first. Then they would have something to fight about.
Why am I always wrong?
“Yeah, you thought there would be a hookup first. Looks like you were wrong.” Mac pointed out as she basically fell onto the couch, Dick sitting down beside her before he laid down, putting his head on her lap.
“We were both wrong babe. After that fight they had this morning, I don’t think Lilly and Veronica will be hooking up anytime soon. And after that scene in the kitchen there’s no way Logan and Lilly will be either.” Dick pointed out, looking up into her face. She just smiled.
“I don’t think there was ever really a chance at a Lilly/Veronica hookup Dick. And I may have been wrong about Lilly and Logan, but I’ve still got a shot with Veronica and Duncan.” Mac glanced away for a moment before her gaze returned to his face. “And you weren’t entirely wrong. We hooked up before any of the fighting started, so there was a hookup before a fight.”
Dick grinned, this was true. They’d only been here one night before he’d finally made the move he’d been chickening out on since July. No one could blame him though, he’d been kind of mean to her in high school and downright cruel to her after Beaver. Add that on top of the rejection she’d dished out in May and the messy breakup she’d had in June and making the first move with her was damn scary.
They’d been forced together over the summer. Not completely forced, but with the way things worked out, they’d only had each other. Mac’s friends had pretty much all abandoned her. Veronica was in Virginia, being a good little intern for her beloved FBI. Wallace was in Africa, saving the world. Parker was with her parents in Colorado, hating life. And Piz, even though he was her best friend’s boyfriend was little more than an acquaintance, was in New York. Everyone had had their summer plans nailed down by the time Mac had even started thinking about hers.
Then there had been the breakup with Max. He’d finally given up the ghost and told her that he wasn’t even going to attempt another year of college, even though she’d begged him to consider it. They’d fought about the fact that selling term papers was not something you did for a living. It was something you did until you were a senior and then passed down the knowledge to some dumb freshman for a slice of his prophets. He’d been the one dumping her, telling her that she had no vision or some shit like that.
Dick had been alone. Logan had gone on some surfing trip somewhere, with Dick stuck home spending ‘quality time’ with his prison-bound father. Then he was visiting his sister, who he referred to as the whore, so Dick imagined he wasn’t doing very much visiting with her. After he’d spent a good month with Trina Logan had basically disappeared for two weeks, re-emerging in Virginia where he’d spontaneously dropped by to see Veronica… for almost two weeks. He was barely home before classes started again.
Dick and Mac had run into each other at Cho’s Pizza, twice. After the second time they made plans to go to a party, where Dick promised not to force Mac into doing anything and Mac promised the same, even though neither of them were really worried about that. After the party, where they’d spent a good amount of time hiding out in a spare bedroom talking of all things, Dick promised to teach her to surf. Turns out, not all California girls are beach bunnies and they definitely can’t all surf. Mac, in fact, sucked at it.
By August Dick was pretty much in love with her and Mac was, on the whole, unaware of that little development. It wasn’t until mid to end of September that she realized exactly where he was at, and that she was there too. They danced around the subject for a good two weeks before Dick suggested that she accompany them on the trip, only to find out that Logan had given Veronica the go ahead to invite her. Dick had to remember that Logan and Veronica were completely oblivious to their friendship, let alone their budding relationship.
That’s the way it was though. Logan and Veronica were completely unaware of any romantic entanglements unless it was their own.
“Hey!” Mac semi-shouted, trying to get his attention. “Where were you?”
Dick pulled himself out of his thoughts, focusing on the face hovering above him.
“La-La land, obviously.” Dick’s hand snaked up to hook behind Mac’s head, pulling it down until it was a few inches from his own. “Join me?”
Mac’s lips crashed down into his, further ensuring her extended stay in this incredibly uncomfortable position. Before too long Dick had enough of the awkward angle and sat up, remarkably without breaking lip contact.
They sat upright for only a few moments before he leaned back to lay into the cushions, pulling her with him. A few minutes later, Mac pulled away for air.
“We’re missing monopoly and gossip.” She pointed out, the sound of their three friends drifting in from the kitchen.
“We already know all the gossip. Logan and Lilly’s story, we witnessed it. The whole sordid thing, you really want to hear what the newbies have to say about it?” Dick asked. “And I hate Monopoly, and I refuse to be a tube of lipstick or a tiara. Where do you even get that version of the game?”
“I don’t think that you can buy it, I think it was personally customized. Because those houses and hotels, not originally those colors. There a few where the paint is chipping away to show that they were once red and green.” Mac told him, making the move to sit up.
“So, jokes aside, what do think is really gonna happen? How do you think this weekend is going to end?” She asked, her eyes bright and questioning as she turned to him again.
“I think, if it doesn’t end with at least one murder, there will be a couple broken hearts.” Dick admitted, not surprised when Mac didn’t show shock at his perceptiveness. She had apparently grown accustomed to his random insightfulness… if only he could say the same.
“Hey, do you remember this summer?” Dick asked, catching Mac’s eye roll at the randomly vague question.
“A little, my memory is kind of fuzzy though, it wasn’t that memorable.” Dick caught the sarcasm in her voice. And chose to ignore it.
“I meant when I tried to teach you to surf and you totally sucked at it?” Dick avoided the light slap she sent his way.
“I didn’t suck at it, I just didn’t excel at it as quickly as you wanted me to. So you gave up on me.” Mac refused to admit that she wasn’t good at something, Dick thought it was cute. Still, she had to admit it sometime… that was the first step, right?
“Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could try again.” Dick tried to keep the smile off his face.
“Is this you saying you want to what? Go mattress surfing?” Mac’s eyebrow was raised in suspicion, already knowing what he was getting at and ready to turn him down.
He just grinned.
~Logan~
He’d been lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling for a couple hours now. It must have been. Ever since his screaming match with Lilly in the kitchen, and that had been around three this afternoon.
Logan lifted his head to glance at the clock on his bedside table. It was eight. Great, four hours staring at the ceiling. Pouting.
He’d heard voices on the stairs about an hour or so ago, one sounding vaguely like Lilly. He hadn’t been able to make out what they were saying, but he knew she had been talking to Duncan. He’d walked past Logan’s open door with little Lilly a few moments before.
Logan had a particularly good vantage point, the bedroom at the top of the stairs. He saw everyone who went up or down them. He knew when people got up in the middle of the night, because they were seldom that quiet, no matter how much they tried. He knew that every night Mac went upstairs at the same time as Dick and much sooner than Parker. He knew that Parker was the first one up in the morning, because she basically skipped down the stairs and almost always bumped into his bedroom door because of it. Piz was the last on up, besides himself, and he that was because once Piz got down one flight of stairs he groaned in the daunting face of another.
So when Lilly came up fifteen minutes after the voices on the stairs ended and head to bed at seven-thirty, he knew. But he didn’t hear her door open or close.
He also knew for a fact that Veronica was still in her bedroom, where he’d taken her after their walk. She’d been in there since two, since after their walk.
**Flashback** ~Veronica~ **Flashback**
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe her!” Veronica raged, stomping down the path with a vengeance. Logan walked two feet behind her, probably a little afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. She’d already felt a rock ricochet off her boot and go flying off to her right. And Logan almost always walked on her right.
She was pissed. There was no reason for the stunt Lilly had just pulled. Joking like that. Like there was anything to fucking joke about. Like she had any right to do that. To say anything.
And just like that Veronica’s anger faded away into something else. Lilly’s words replayed over in her head. Flippant? Veronica hadn’t thought of herself as a flippant at the time. She’d thought she was getting on with her life after Logan had refused to give up his vendetta for her. She’d told him she couldn’t stay with him while he was plotting revenge. Instead of agreeing to stop he freaked and broke a lamp and got kicked out of the house. They’d broken up and Duncan had always been there, patiently waiting and steady and in control. They’d never really had closure, and they’d never fully gotten past everything.
She had thought she was closing chapters and starting new ones, learning how to go on. She hadn’t thought she was flippant.
Does Logan think I was flippant? Does Duncan? The thoughts ran through her head at terrifying speed. The mere thought of them thinking she’d been so dismissive, that they’d meant so little to her that she could flip-flop from one to the other so easily.
“Does she really… is that what she really thinks of me?” Veronica was a little surprised at the hurt in her voice. She hadn’t realized that the emotion was so strong that it’d be so obvious.
“No one would ever think that about you Veronica.” Logan said softly, his voice a comfort all its own. She was glad that he was the one out here calming her down. In the years since Lilly there’d only been two people other than her father that could ever really talk her down. Logan and Wallace. And while Wallace did a good job, Logan did it better and faster. It was something about his voice, it just made her heart slow and her mind stop, her anger fade. Unless she was all riled up because of him, then the only person that could calm her down was her father. Sometimes he could piss off and talk her down on his own, that was his specialty.
“But she said it. And I know Lilly doesn’t mean everything she says, but she sounded like she meant this one.” Veronica’s voice was starting to sound despondent, and she felt like she was losing Lilly all over again. Instead of a coma this time, she lost her best friend, the one who was loyal no matter what. The one who inspired her to risk her life for in order to find out who nearly killed her.
“She didn’t, couldn’t have. She doesn’t know you well enough to make any kind of judgment call. Besides, who is she to call you flippant, to judge you? Lilly flips back and forth between lovers like a… a… well, whatever flips back and forth a lot.” Logan’s words were mean to comfort and soothe, but he stumbled over the last bit. She almost felt like laughing at his stumble.
“I did almost ruin your friendship with Duncan, and I know how important that always was to you. Just so you know, I hated it. I hated that you weren’t friends then, and even now it kills me that I was the cause.” Veronica stopped abruptly to turn and look at Logan, who nearly stumbled into her.
“I wasn’t all you. Mostly it was you, and I’d make the same decision if I had to. But some of it was over the fact that he abandoned me after we all found out what my father did. When I was arrested and accused of murder, he wasn’t there. I know he was upset over the thing with my dad, but I’m not him and I never was.”
Or will be. Veronica tacked the three words on in her head. She briefly wondered if he thought the same, but quickly thought better of it, he would never see it that way.
Veronica reached down and grasped his hand as they started to walk again, this time side by side. It was supposed to be something to comfort him and her, but after the moment of comfort ended she failed to let go. So they walked, hands holding at the fingertips.
They walked for a little over an hour, it was almost two by time they had looped around and were almost back to the house. And they were still holding hands, but now they clung with more than fingertips. Now they had their palms pressed to each other and their fingers intertwined.
“I think the part that shocked me most was when she told me you were still hers. Like no one was ever supposed to date you again, because you belonged to her and until she didn’t want you anymore you had to remain single and miserable.” Veronica had been debating whether or not that was the best approach.
She hadn’t wanted to bring it up earlier, afraid that he’d get angry all over again. She’d just calmed down and wanted to stay that way for a while, but she couldn’t forever. Not even if she was in some pink getup that she’d somehow ended up wearing today, with the word ‘cutie’ emblazoned across the back of the zip-up hoodie. What the hell? When did I even get this?
“Yeah, that shocked me too.” Was all Logan said, though gritted teeth. She could tell.
He was pissed.
**End of Flashback**
“So you going to stay in here forever? Or you going to join everyone else in a lively game of Monopoly?” Piz asked from just inside Logan’s doorway.
Logan raised an eyebrow, a little shocked that Piz had been brave enough to enter his room without knocking or asking permission. Piz had mostly steered clear of him during this trip. Logan didn’t know if he was still reeling from that fight last year or if there was some other thing that kept him away. Either way, Logan wasn’t complaining.
Ever since last May he’d had nightmares about that internet video that he’d had the unfortunate privilege to watch. He’d seen Veronica and Piz together in so many positions he’d literally woken in a cold sweat some nights. Logan thought that this must have been what Veronica was talking about when she found out about him and Madison. But she hadn’t gotten the visual, at least he hoped she didn’t. Madison was a sneaky bitch, after all. That could have been her end game.
“Yo, Logan?” Piz was constantly trying to cool himself up, make his vernacular more witty for his radio show. Just one more fun little quirk he’d picked up in New York, during his internship.
“I don’t think so, but you guys can play.” Logan sat up, looking at Piz. “Tell you what, you can be my designated piece. I was always the lipstick.”
“So you’re going to stay in here and mope all night? Or the rest of the trip?” Piz asked, and Logan was a little amazed at his ballsy move. He even sounded kind of annoyed.
“No, I just…” Logan trailed off, his own voice sounded whiney.
“You know, she was wrong.” Piz seemed to let the information just slip out, and if they’d been in the Little Rascals he’d have slapped both hands over his mouth as his eyes got really wide.
Logan looked at him in confusion, completely unsure of what Piz was talking about.
“Huh?”
“Lilly. She was wrong.” Piz held a hand up, stopping Logan from commenting. Like he’d already known that Logan was going to tell him that he didn’t know Lilly like they did. “Veronica never spoke like you were a fling. In fact, she didn’t talk about you at all. And in my experience, it’s the one that means a lot that you don’t really talk about.”
Logan’s eyebrows shot up in shock at Piz’s insight. Piz had always seemed like such an air-head, that didn’t really read beyond the surface. He hadn’t thought that Piz really paid attention to all the details of their group, that he didn’t see everything that went on. But then again, there was an advantage to being an outsider, an almost completely unbiased observer.
“Really?” Logan let his skepticism slip into his voice, not wanting to reveal to Piz what a valuable piece of information that was.
“Yeah, and I know what that means. I dated Veronica once too, I know how she ranks the people in her life. And I know where we both fall on that ranking list.” Piz conceded.
“Why are you telling me this?” Logan really was skeptical now, worried about where Piz was going with this. He expected that any moment now he’d tell Logan that they were back together.
“No plan. I’m just pulling out. Admitting defeat in the face of my enemy, while keeping some dignity. Taking myself out of the list of possibilities for Veronica Mars. If I ever even was one to begin with.” Piz finished, somewhat sadly, and turned and left the room.
Logan heard Piz do that casual hop and fall down the stairs. The way he did every morning, right before Logan dragged his own butt out of bed.
He was a little stunned by Piz’s surrender, hadn’t seen it coming. Although he had to admit, it was a little presumptuous of him, basically giving Logan permission to be with Veronica. Then again, he was still kind of new to their world and how things worked, the politics of it all. Who had seniority and who didn’t. Who needed permission and who didn’t.
No wonder Piz hadn’t lasted long. It was hard to teach that much history to one person. Hard and pointless.
Then why bother with someone who doesn’t already know. The thought passed quickly through Logan’s head, almost like a completely separate voice. Anyone else would just be out for show. Blowing the son of a movie star, an action hero, a murderer in his car at the beach. How cool.
There weren’t many people in the world who knew the real him. In fact, the only three people in existence were in this house right now. That meant he had a choice between Veronica and Lilly, but honestly it wasn’t much of a choice. His mind was already made up, he knew who would choose before he even asked himself the question.
Veronica was his do or die chick.
11:Push
Rating: R (for some profanity and mentions of sexual situations)
Characters/Pairings: Dick, Mac, Duncan, Lilly the first, Logan, Veronica, Piz (mentions of: Lilly the second, Parker, Wallace, Weevil) MaDi and hints of LoVe
Word Count: 4,771
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 his, 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.
A/N: This story was also no originally mine, and I’d really like to stress that in the first two chapters. The original story can be found here) And this is my first attempt at anything AU, so… enjoy
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
The Return
10
Retreat
~Dick~
“So, I guess that we won’t be waking up to a fight since they all seem to be going down today, huh?” Dick asked Mac as they re-entered the living room.
“Looks like it.” Mac replied as her head whipped around at the sound of Weevil’s voice in the hallway.
“Now they’re going to fight? Seriously? Maybe we should have taken bets on the fights instead of the hookups.” Dick was a little amazed at how this was all playing out. He had honestly thought that there would be a hookup first. Then they would have something to fight about.
Why am I always wrong?
“Yeah, you thought there would be a hookup first. Looks like you were wrong.” Mac pointed out as she basically fell onto the couch, Dick sitting down beside her before he laid down, putting his head on her lap.
“We were both wrong babe. After that fight they had this morning, I don’t think Lilly and Veronica will be hooking up anytime soon. And after that scene in the kitchen there’s no way Logan and Lilly will be either.” Dick pointed out, looking up into her face. She just smiled.
“I don’t think there was ever really a chance at a Lilly/Veronica hookup Dick. And I may have been wrong about Lilly and Logan, but I’ve still got a shot with Veronica and Duncan.” Mac glanced away for a moment before her gaze returned to his face. “And you weren’t entirely wrong. We hooked up before any of the fighting started, so there was a hookup before a fight.”
Dick grinned, this was true. They’d only been here one night before he’d finally made the move he’d been chickening out on since July. No one could blame him though, he’d been kind of mean to her in high school and downright cruel to her after Beaver. Add that on top of the rejection she’d dished out in May and the messy breakup she’d had in June and making the first move with her was damn scary.
They’d been forced together over the summer. Not completely forced, but with the way things worked out, they’d only had each other. Mac’s friends had pretty much all abandoned her. Veronica was in Virginia, being a good little intern for her beloved FBI. Wallace was in Africa, saving the world. Parker was with her parents in Colorado, hating life. And Piz, even though he was her best friend’s boyfriend was little more than an acquaintance, was in New York. Everyone had had their summer plans nailed down by the time Mac had even started thinking about hers.
Then there had been the breakup with Max. He’d finally given up the ghost and told her that he wasn’t even going to attempt another year of college, even though she’d begged him to consider it. They’d fought about the fact that selling term papers was not something you did for a living. It was something you did until you were a senior and then passed down the knowledge to some dumb freshman for a slice of his prophets. He’d been the one dumping her, telling her that she had no vision or some shit like that.
Dick had been alone. Logan had gone on some surfing trip somewhere, with Dick stuck home spending ‘quality time’ with his prison-bound father. Then he was visiting his sister, who he referred to as the whore, so Dick imagined he wasn’t doing very much visiting with her. After he’d spent a good month with Trina Logan had basically disappeared for two weeks, re-emerging in Virginia where he’d spontaneously dropped by to see Veronica… for almost two weeks. He was barely home before classes started again.
Dick and Mac had run into each other at Cho’s Pizza, twice. After the second time they made plans to go to a party, where Dick promised not to force Mac into doing anything and Mac promised the same, even though neither of them were really worried about that. After the party, where they’d spent a good amount of time hiding out in a spare bedroom talking of all things, Dick promised to teach her to surf. Turns out, not all California girls are beach bunnies and they definitely can’t all surf. Mac, in fact, sucked at it.
By August Dick was pretty much in love with her and Mac was, on the whole, unaware of that little development. It wasn’t until mid to end of September that she realized exactly where he was at, and that she was there too. They danced around the subject for a good two weeks before Dick suggested that she accompany them on the trip, only to find out that Logan had given Veronica the go ahead to invite her. Dick had to remember that Logan and Veronica were completely oblivious to their friendship, let alone their budding relationship.
That’s the way it was though. Logan and Veronica were completely unaware of any romantic entanglements unless it was their own.
“Hey!” Mac semi-shouted, trying to get his attention. “Where were you?”
Dick pulled himself out of his thoughts, focusing on the face hovering above him.
“La-La land, obviously.” Dick’s hand snaked up to hook behind Mac’s head, pulling it down until it was a few inches from his own. “Join me?”
Mac’s lips crashed down into his, further ensuring her extended stay in this incredibly uncomfortable position. Before too long Dick had enough of the awkward angle and sat up, remarkably without breaking lip contact.
They sat upright for only a few moments before he leaned back to lay into the cushions, pulling her with him. A few minutes later, Mac pulled away for air.
“We’re missing monopoly and gossip.” She pointed out, the sound of their three friends drifting in from the kitchen.
“We already know all the gossip. Logan and Lilly’s story, we witnessed it. The whole sordid thing, you really want to hear what the newbies have to say about it?” Dick asked. “And I hate Monopoly, and I refuse to be a tube of lipstick or a tiara. Where do you even get that version of the game?”
“I don’t think that you can buy it, I think it was personally customized. Because those houses and hotels, not originally those colors. There a few where the paint is chipping away to show that they were once red and green.” Mac told him, making the move to sit up.
“So, jokes aside, what do think is really gonna happen? How do you think this weekend is going to end?” She asked, her eyes bright and questioning as she turned to him again.
“I think, if it doesn’t end with at least one murder, there will be a couple broken hearts.” Dick admitted, not surprised when Mac didn’t show shock at his perceptiveness. She had apparently grown accustomed to his random insightfulness… if only he could say the same.
“Hey, do you remember this summer?” Dick asked, catching Mac’s eye roll at the randomly vague question.
“A little, my memory is kind of fuzzy though, it wasn’t that memorable.” Dick caught the sarcasm in her voice. And chose to ignore it.
“I meant when I tried to teach you to surf and you totally sucked at it?” Dick avoided the light slap she sent his way.
“I didn’t suck at it, I just didn’t excel at it as quickly as you wanted me to. So you gave up on me.” Mac refused to admit that she wasn’t good at something, Dick thought it was cute. Still, she had to admit it sometime… that was the first step, right?
“Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could try again.” Dick tried to keep the smile off his face.
“Is this you saying you want to what? Go mattress surfing?” Mac’s eyebrow was raised in suspicion, already knowing what he was getting at and ready to turn him down.
He just grinned.
~Logan~
He’d been lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling for a couple hours now. It must have been. Ever since his screaming match with Lilly in the kitchen, and that had been around three this afternoon.
Logan lifted his head to glance at the clock on his bedside table. It was eight. Great, four hours staring at the ceiling. Pouting.
He’d heard voices on the stairs about an hour or so ago, one sounding vaguely like Lilly. He hadn’t been able to make out what they were saying, but he knew she had been talking to Duncan. He’d walked past Logan’s open door with little Lilly a few moments before.
Logan had a particularly good vantage point, the bedroom at the top of the stairs. He saw everyone who went up or down them. He knew when people got up in the middle of the night, because they were seldom that quiet, no matter how much they tried. He knew that every night Mac went upstairs at the same time as Dick and much sooner than Parker. He knew that Parker was the first one up in the morning, because she basically skipped down the stairs and almost always bumped into his bedroom door because of it. Piz was the last on up, besides himself, and he that was because once Piz got down one flight of stairs he groaned in the daunting face of another.
So when Lilly came up fifteen minutes after the voices on the stairs ended and head to bed at seven-thirty, he knew. But he didn’t hear her door open or close.
He also knew for a fact that Veronica was still in her bedroom, where he’d taken her after their walk. She’d been in there since two, since after their walk.
**Flashback** ~Veronica~ **Flashback**
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe her!” Veronica raged, stomping down the path with a vengeance. Logan walked two feet behind her, probably a little afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. She’d already felt a rock ricochet off her boot and go flying off to her right. And Logan almost always walked on her right.
She was pissed. There was no reason for the stunt Lilly had just pulled. Joking like that. Like there was anything to fucking joke about. Like she had any right to do that. To say anything.
And just like that Veronica’s anger faded away into something else. Lilly’s words replayed over in her head. Flippant? Veronica hadn’t thought of herself as a flippant at the time. She’d thought she was getting on with her life after Logan had refused to give up his vendetta for her. She’d told him she couldn’t stay with him while he was plotting revenge. Instead of agreeing to stop he freaked and broke a lamp and got kicked out of the house. They’d broken up and Duncan had always been there, patiently waiting and steady and in control. They’d never really had closure, and they’d never fully gotten past everything.
She had thought she was closing chapters and starting new ones, learning how to go on. She hadn’t thought she was flippant.
Does Logan think I was flippant? Does Duncan? The thoughts ran through her head at terrifying speed. The mere thought of them thinking she’d been so dismissive, that they’d meant so little to her that she could flip-flop from one to the other so easily.
“Does she really… is that what she really thinks of me?” Veronica was a little surprised at the hurt in her voice. She hadn’t realized that the emotion was so strong that it’d be so obvious.
“No one would ever think that about you Veronica.” Logan said softly, his voice a comfort all its own. She was glad that he was the one out here calming her down. In the years since Lilly there’d only been two people other than her father that could ever really talk her down. Logan and Wallace. And while Wallace did a good job, Logan did it better and faster. It was something about his voice, it just made her heart slow and her mind stop, her anger fade. Unless she was all riled up because of him, then the only person that could calm her down was her father. Sometimes he could piss off and talk her down on his own, that was his specialty.
“But she said it. And I know Lilly doesn’t mean everything she says, but she sounded like she meant this one.” Veronica’s voice was starting to sound despondent, and she felt like she was losing Lilly all over again. Instead of a coma this time, she lost her best friend, the one who was loyal no matter what. The one who inspired her to risk her life for in order to find out who nearly killed her.
“She didn’t, couldn’t have. She doesn’t know you well enough to make any kind of judgment call. Besides, who is she to call you flippant, to judge you? Lilly flips back and forth between lovers like a… a… well, whatever flips back and forth a lot.” Logan’s words were mean to comfort and soothe, but he stumbled over the last bit. She almost felt like laughing at his stumble.
“I did almost ruin your friendship with Duncan, and I know how important that always was to you. Just so you know, I hated it. I hated that you weren’t friends then, and even now it kills me that I was the cause.” Veronica stopped abruptly to turn and look at Logan, who nearly stumbled into her.
“I wasn’t all you. Mostly it was you, and I’d make the same decision if I had to. But some of it was over the fact that he abandoned me after we all found out what my father did. When I was arrested and accused of murder, he wasn’t there. I know he was upset over the thing with my dad, but I’m not him and I never was.”
Or will be. Veronica tacked the three words on in her head. She briefly wondered if he thought the same, but quickly thought better of it, he would never see it that way.
Veronica reached down and grasped his hand as they started to walk again, this time side by side. It was supposed to be something to comfort him and her, but after the moment of comfort ended she failed to let go. So they walked, hands holding at the fingertips.
They walked for a little over an hour, it was almost two by time they had looped around and were almost back to the house. And they were still holding hands, but now they clung with more than fingertips. Now they had their palms pressed to each other and their fingers intertwined.
“I think the part that shocked me most was when she told me you were still hers. Like no one was ever supposed to date you again, because you belonged to her and until she didn’t want you anymore you had to remain single and miserable.” Veronica had been debating whether or not that was the best approach.
She hadn’t wanted to bring it up earlier, afraid that he’d get angry all over again. She’d just calmed down and wanted to stay that way for a while, but she couldn’t forever. Not even if she was in some pink getup that she’d somehow ended up wearing today, with the word ‘cutie’ emblazoned across the back of the zip-up hoodie. What the hell? When did I even get this?
“Yeah, that shocked me too.” Was all Logan said, though gritted teeth. She could tell.
He was pissed.
**End of Flashback**
“So you going to stay in here forever? Or you going to join everyone else in a lively game of Monopoly?” Piz asked from just inside Logan’s doorway.
Logan raised an eyebrow, a little shocked that Piz had been brave enough to enter his room without knocking or asking permission. Piz had mostly steered clear of him during this trip. Logan didn’t know if he was still reeling from that fight last year or if there was some other thing that kept him away. Either way, Logan wasn’t complaining.
Ever since last May he’d had nightmares about that internet video that he’d had the unfortunate privilege to watch. He’d seen Veronica and Piz together in so many positions he’d literally woken in a cold sweat some nights. Logan thought that this must have been what Veronica was talking about when she found out about him and Madison. But she hadn’t gotten the visual, at least he hoped she didn’t. Madison was a sneaky bitch, after all. That could have been her end game.
“Yo, Logan?” Piz was constantly trying to cool himself up, make his vernacular more witty for his radio show. Just one more fun little quirk he’d picked up in New York, during his internship.
“I don’t think so, but you guys can play.” Logan sat up, looking at Piz. “Tell you what, you can be my designated piece. I was always the lipstick.”
“So you’re going to stay in here and mope all night? Or the rest of the trip?” Piz asked, and Logan was a little amazed at his ballsy move. He even sounded kind of annoyed.
“No, I just…” Logan trailed off, his own voice sounded whiney.
“You know, she was wrong.” Piz seemed to let the information just slip out, and if they’d been in the Little Rascals he’d have slapped both hands over his mouth as his eyes got really wide.
Logan looked at him in confusion, completely unsure of what Piz was talking about.
“Huh?”
“Lilly. She was wrong.” Piz held a hand up, stopping Logan from commenting. Like he’d already known that Logan was going to tell him that he didn’t know Lilly like they did. “Veronica never spoke like you were a fling. In fact, she didn’t talk about you at all. And in my experience, it’s the one that means a lot that you don’t really talk about.”
Logan’s eyebrows shot up in shock at Piz’s insight. Piz had always seemed like such an air-head, that didn’t really read beyond the surface. He hadn’t thought that Piz really paid attention to all the details of their group, that he didn’t see everything that went on. But then again, there was an advantage to being an outsider, an almost completely unbiased observer.
“Really?” Logan let his skepticism slip into his voice, not wanting to reveal to Piz what a valuable piece of information that was.
“Yeah, and I know what that means. I dated Veronica once too, I know how she ranks the people in her life. And I know where we both fall on that ranking list.” Piz conceded.
“Why are you telling me this?” Logan really was skeptical now, worried about where Piz was going with this. He expected that any moment now he’d tell Logan that they were back together.
“No plan. I’m just pulling out. Admitting defeat in the face of my enemy, while keeping some dignity. Taking myself out of the list of possibilities for Veronica Mars. If I ever even was one to begin with.” Piz finished, somewhat sadly, and turned and left the room.
Logan heard Piz do that casual hop and fall down the stairs. The way he did every morning, right before Logan dragged his own butt out of bed.
He was a little stunned by Piz’s surrender, hadn’t seen it coming. Although he had to admit, it was a little presumptuous of him, basically giving Logan permission to be with Veronica. Then again, he was still kind of new to their world and how things worked, the politics of it all. Who had seniority and who didn’t. Who needed permission and who didn’t.
No wonder Piz hadn’t lasted long. It was hard to teach that much history to one person. Hard and pointless.
Then why bother with someone who doesn’t already know. The thought passed quickly through Logan’s head, almost like a completely separate voice. Anyone else would just be out for show. Blowing the son of a movie star, an action hero, a murderer in his car at the beach. How cool.
There weren’t many people in the world who knew the real him. In fact, the only three people in existence were in this house right now. That meant he had a choice between Veronica and Lilly, but honestly it wasn’t much of a choice. His mind was already made up, he knew who would choose before he even asked himself the question.
Veronica was his do or die chick.
11:Push