fic: Fickle Fate
Title: Fickle Fate 2/?
Author: Hazel170
Rating: pg-13 (pre-slash)
Characters/Pairing: Veronica/Meg, Veronica/Duncan,
Disclaimer: Sadly Veronica Mars is not mine.
Summary: What if Meg wasn't on the bus?
Spoilers: Season 1 and 2.
Reviews please!
In the last few weeks Veronica’s life had become a blur. With the bus crash, the driver’s daughter, Mr. Casablancas, and the new girl Jackie there were more things going on than in a 40 ring circus. The worst was probably Duncan (although Jackie ran a close second). During the first few days he had tried to win her back expensive gifts showed up at her door (they showed up again later in the trash), flowers were hung at her locker (the janitors complained that they kept ending up on the floor), and finally Duncan made a loud public declaration of love and devotion.
Perhaps it was the audience that made Veronica feel dramatic, because when Duncan stood on a table during lunch and begged her to take him back she told him flatly that it was over and used her taser to stun him.
Sadly Veronica’s problems only got worse, because after Duncan realized he wouldn’t get her back he became sullen and unhappy letting the real beast come out to play. By beast she, of course, meant Logan. After her break up with the 09er prince Veronica had to deal with an unhappy and angry Logan. Now Logan was up to full-fledged furious jack-ass and she was sick of it. Never before had Veronica been called a whore so many times in one day. Never before had anyone actually made Veronica consider the pros and cons of the sniper rifle.
The a few days after that fateful lunch with Duncan Logan cornered her in the hallway with his maniacal grin.
“Hey Ronnie!” he said, leaning on the locker next to her.
She didn’t respond instead just glaring at him.
“So,” he started conversationally, “do you get off on dumping your rich boyfriends or are you really just a cold hearted bitch?”
Veronica pushed past him spiting out, “Good bye Logan,”
He followed her, “No really, I want to know. Tell me why you dumped the latest sap that went all mushy over you. Duncan was so in love with you it made me want to claw out my own eyes. And, unlike me, he was the perfect little puppy house trained and everything.” Logan stepped in front of her bringing his face close. “Did he tell you he loved you? As I remember that seems to end a relationship with you rather quickly.”
As Veronica tried to pass him once more he muttered, “What is it about you Veronica? It’s like all rich guys are complete morons around you. We delude ourselves into thinking that you aren’t a fridged unfeeling bitch until you dump us. Even then we still want you back.”
“Logan,” Veronica took a breath and turned to him, “ask Duncan what he did before you accuse me. We’ll see who the unfeeling one was.”
She turned her back on him and continued to class. Only when she was in her back corner desk in European History did she allow herself to slump down defeated. When she lifted her head back up she noticed her classmates shooting her death glares.
‘Congratulations Veronica,’ she thought to herself, ‘you are once again Neptune High’s number one social pariah.’
***********************************************************************
Wallace sat at his usual table pulling out the sandwich and bag of chips that made up his lunch. He occupied himself by counting the number of people who were talking about Veronica at the tables around him. It came to thirty one…. if you counted Madison Sinclair as a person.
A few minutes later he saw his girl walking towards him. Veronica had her stonewall face on, which meant people had been attacking her all day. When he had first met her Veronica had looked like that all the time. Only after a month had she finally relaxed around him. It was a shame; the coolest, nicest, most beautiful girl in Neptune was treated like shit by people who would never be as good as her at anything.
Veronica sat and stared down at the table for a minute. When she looked up he could see how tired she was. She sighed, “It is not helping my self control that I know I could untraceably bomb this building.”
Wallace grinned, “I’ll bet.”
They started to eat when a timid voice caused them to look up.
“Hey,” Meg Manning said with a slight smile, “Do you mind if I sit here?”
Wallace looked at Veronica, who smiled and told her to take a seat.
“I don’t mean to pry,” Wallace said staring at the blonde cheerleader.
“Ignore that, he totally means to pry.” Veronica said with a smile.
“Yeah well…” he said feeling more uncomfortable, “Why are you sitting here?”
“What a girl can’t decide she doesn’t want to be fake smiled at for the next thirty minutes?” Meg asked lifting an eyebrow.
“Nope, fine with me.” He turned to Veronica, “So you weren’t serious about knowing how to blow up the building were you?”
Veronica sighed wistfully, “It would look like an accident.”
****************************************************************************************
Meg left lunch feeling more normal than she had in weeks. It was so refreshing not to be lied to or smothered in falsities for once. It also confirmed for her that she and Veronica were back on good terms. She realized that underneath all of her anger she had missed the little detective. She was smart and funny and fun to be around. She and Wallace had done a reenactment of the interrogation of Butters that had her laughing like she hadn’t in a while.
She had decided to blow off cheerleading to just go home and rest so she told the coach she was sick. She went to her locker and gathered her things finding herself alone in the hallway. She was just getting ready to go when Duncan came barreling around the corner heading straight for her. His face was a mask of fury, this was beyond anything Meg had ever seen from him.
“What did you tell her?” he asked in a loud threatening voice getting closer by the second, “What did you tell Veronica?”
“What?” Meg stammered growing more afriad by the minute, “N-n-nothing, I d-didn’t tell her anything.”
“Liar.” Duncan growled pushing Meg against the lockers, “I know you told her something. She was alone with you and now she’s broken up with me.”
Meg could hardly breath paralyzed with fear. Duncan leaned in close bringing his face close enough to kiss her and for a minute she almost thinks he will. Instead he barked into her ear, “WHAT DID YOU TELL HER BITCH!”
Meg flinches as with each word he slams his fist into the locker right next to her head.
There is silence for a moment, and then Duncan whispered, “You’re trying to steal her away from me aren’t you?”
Meg shook her head trembling.
“You are,” Duncan continued fiercely gripping her arm so hard deep purple bruises started to appear, “I saw the way you looked at her. You’re trying to steal her from me. You are feeding her lies to make her hate me.” He took a shuddering breath, “You’re going to have to go.”
He brought his hands up to her throat. His eyes were wild and haunting as he began to choke the life out of her. Meg tried pushing and kicking him off but he was stronger. Her eyes were closed and she was starting to feel dizzy when she felt the hands ripped from around her throat.
When she could think clearly Meg opened her eyes in time to see Logan deliver the final punch to Duncan’s face and hear Weevil proclaim that he was out cold.
*****************************************************************
Her unlikely rescuers stood and started arguing about Logan’s choice in friends. Weevil made a valid point about his bikers not attacking defenseless girls and Logan was sure to have a winning comeback but both were silent when they heard a whimper from not far away.
Meg was hunched on the floor with her head in her hands, and both boys quickly helped her up.
“Are you okay?” Logan asked quietly.
Meg just stared at him.
Logan sighed, “That was a dumb-ass question, sorry.”
Weevil got a look at her neck and whistled, “Girl that’s gonna hurt like hell. You shouldn't talk for a few days. When you get home soak a washcloth in some ice water to help with the swelling.”
Meg nodded not really focusing on him.
“You gonna press charges?” Weevil asked gently as he knew how.
Meg shook her head no.
“You want a ride home?” Logan offered.
Meg shook her head no.
“We’ll walk you out.” Weevil said, and they did.
When Weevil and Logan returned to the hallway and Duncan’s unconscious form Weevil gave it a small kick with no protest from his accomplice.
“What the hell just happened?” he asked turning to Logan.
“I don’t know," Logan never took his eyes off his friend, "He has had blackout rages, but this is something different.”
******************************************************************
Meg arrived home quickly and without further incident. She got out of her car, went inside and sat on her bed. She stayed there as her throat swelled and the pain got worse with every swallow. She should never have told Veronica. If she hadn't opened her mouth Duncan would never have come after her.
Duncan was insane. No remnant of the boy Meg had loved was left in him. What if he came back? What if he killed Veronica, or Logan, or Weevil ? What if he hurt her baby?
Meg sat still for what seemed like hours. She was in danger. Her family was in danger. It was time for them to know.
************************************************************
When Meg’s mom came into her room her first reaction was shock at seeing Meg’s bruised arms and neck. Then came anger. She yelled asking what had happened. Then she worried and tried to gather her daughter into her arms. Meg pushed her away.
Meg pulled out a pad of paper and wrote,
“We need to talk.”
Mrs. Manning practically burst into frustrated tears, “I’m trying to talk to you honey!” she said, “What happened?”
Meg wrote again,
“We need to talk about something else.”
“What else?” Her mother asked fearfully.
Meg took a breath and winced as it forced its way down her throat.
She wrote,
“I’m pregnant”
Her mother was silent.
One minute……..
Three minutes………
Five minutes……
Ten minutes passed
Silence
Finally her mother’s lips moved in a barely perceptible motion, “You are no longer welcome in this house.” She whispered.
***********************************************************************
Veronica’s doorbell rang around eight, right after she and her dad had finished diner.
She opened the door to find Meg standing outside holding two bags full to the brim.
She started to speak, but Meg holds up her hand silencing her.
Veronica can see the bruises on her neck; she’s seen ones like it before.
Meg coughed and choked out, “Can…..I….stay….here….for …a…few …days?”
Veronica reached out her hand and took Meg’s fingertips with her own and gently led her inside. The door closed behind them with a snap, keeping the darkness out for the time being.