Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the universe is laughing at every plan I’ve ever dreamt up and I’m having a hard time not laughing alongside it. 

Here I am, driving the two hours from Neptune to Los Angeles in evening traffic to see my high school sweetheart, Richie Snell. We had met at Pan High when my mother decided it would be best if I went to school in the neighboring town instead of the local high school down the street. My dad was easily convinced by the things he saw being Neptune’s sheriff. I originally thought very little of the thirty minute commute each way in which she chauffeured me to school. Then I got my license and realized it was a glorious time - getting to listen to music and just drive, even aimless at times to think or avoid thinking. Plus, with the economic divide of Neptune, I was glad to have narrowly missed the caste system and judgement I would have faced as a Pirate at Neptune High versus a Billy Goat at Pan High.

Richie understands my drive and how the typical aspects of high school didn’t matter to me. I didn’t join any clubs or sports despite the track coach trying to recruit me because "I looked fast." Instead, I mostly stayed home thinking that would curtail my mother’s drinking habits. I did go out of my comfort zone to support Richie at basketball games despite it creating the oddest desire to want to eat rocks. He saw that I enjoyed photography and submitted photos I had snapped at one of his games to our journalism teacher. He supported me and rallied friends go out of their way to be encouraging when the recall election against my dad started. So, he would definitely support a random middle of the week visit from his girlfriend, right? Maybe I’m just overthinking everything. You would assume being the daughter of a newly single dad and Neptune’s pariah  ex-sheriff turned private eye would leave a girl doubtful of a long distance relationship. But here I am, committed and albeit, spitefully determined. 

Richie secured a full ride scholarship to UCLA. I stayed home to go to Hearst, thanks to a chance meeting during jury duty resulting in a scholarship. We had always known our college paths would take us in different directions but at least Neptune to Los Angeles is closer than Stanford to UCLA. We always prioritized, understood and supported each other’s dreams. We’d nearly made the absolute most of our senior year at Pan High if it were not for the lingering drama of my mother’s departure nagging at me to not let anything go too far. The last time I saw her feels like a lifetime ago despite the wound still feeling fresh. I overheard her talking on the phone, saying “our son;” pleading that she had done everything she could to keep us separated but couldn’t live a lie any more. When she realized what I heard, she tried to convince me to run away with her so she could explain everything. But that isn’t important; I won’t let it be important. We all make choices and I chose to dismiss her abandonment, alcohol abuse, lies, etc. 

I finally see the exit for Wilshire Blvd East and all the butterflies in my stomach turn to uncertainty then dread as I realize I have no idea how to get to Richie’s dorm. I had come with his parents when they dropped him off a few weeks ago but it’s dark now and my printed out directions are doing me little good. I can either call Richie and let him know of my arrival thus ruining my element of surprise or I can call Richie’s sister, Rose who wears the other half of my best friend necklace and thus maintains the right to judge my impromptu visit. What are you going to do, girly girl?

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Earlier that Tuesday, Veronica attended one of her favorite classes; Abnormal Psychology with professor Heinzmen. She met Professor Heinzmen over summer in Introduction to Psychology. He also happens to teach astronomy which she is waitlisted for and trying to crash. If only her best friend Rose could skip her senior year of high school and come to Hearst. She could continue her craft as an aide in the administration office in order to secure the perfect schedule for them to share. It would also be nice to have a familiar face. 

In a daze reviewing her planner, notes and syllabus, she’s only half paying attention to Heinzmen pairing people together for an assignment. The class goes entirely silent after the professor finishes reading off last names. It wasn’t like Veronica to not pay attention. She hoped the look on her face would plead mercy to the professor and he would kindly repeat whatever it was she missed but as he lowered his head to look above his glasses, she braced for the worst.

“Mr. Echolls, if you would kindly fill in your partner. You all have until the end of the week, Saturday at 8:00pm, to submit your analysis so use your time wisely; there will be no lecture this Thursday. For not skipping the lecture today, you get to share the work with your designated partner. See you next week,” the professor rattled off with only the slightest annoyance as he packed up his papers and returned to his office. I guess that is kind enough she thought until it clicked that she recognized the name Echolls.

This Echolls stood in front of her in a bright orange polo. He didn’t seem to tower over her despite clearly being six feet. His warm brown eyes shown behind his glasses held a reserved sense of hope. This certainly didn’t match the person she associated “that Echolls kid” her dad would occasionally mention when he was still sheriff. He turned his head slightly to the side with an oddly welcoming expression as he said, “Mars, I presume?” He didn’t seem to hold the swagger her dad had referenced as he fumbled to put away his glasses. Not much of a bad boy, are we now?

“I supposed that makes you my partner, Echolls. Have you already read the case study or do you want to reconvene to plan how we conquer this?” she said matter of factly. She was used to doing group projects on her own simply because it just seemed easier that way. She also didn’t assume anyone else was as much of a homebody who read ahead. 

“Uh, I did read it and drew up a rough outline if you want to take a look.” He must have noticed her face go from planning to near surprise as he chuckled a bit. “I’m sorry to disappoint you if you wanted to sneak away for a coffee. I could lie. Or even draw a bit if you want to grab me a chai.” 

Was there a hint of entitlement or maybe just a defensive response from him? “I’m sorry. I just recognized your name from my dad and am so used to doing most group projects by myself. Can we talk over your outline while we walk over to the coffee cart and I can buy your forgiveness? I’m out of sorts today for some reason.” 

“Sure but no apology needed. I’m Jason. The last name inspires all sorts of things that I don’t think I live up to.” I wonder what he means by that. She only knew of his run-ins with her dad. The ex-sheriff was always good about keeping the specific details limited despite her obvious interest. Dad always said I was overly eager to see a puzzle assuming I can solve it . He  would also mention how he felt bad for kids like Echolls. 

“If you say so. Maybe to avoid additional poor assumptions on my part, we could start over? I’m Veronica Mars.” She considered trying to extend a hand out but quickly decided against any formality. She really needed to relax. 

“Oh, your dad was the sheriff.” Echolls looked a bit remorseful as he started to rub the back of his neck before he looked up at her. “I’m… sorry about everything that happened to him; I had no idea he had any kids. You didn’t… go to Neptune.” He paused for a moment. “So, does that mean he shipped you away to shield you from the dark depths of our fair town only for you to return for college?” He attempted to withhold a smirk as if he was half proud of the story he had concocked but knew was wrong. 

“Not quite. I went to Pan. Though, I think it definitely had something to do with protecting me….” From what though, remains to be seen , she continued in her head and apparently on her face from Jason’s raised brows. “But enough about the darkness of our town. I didn’t think college would be much for group projects.”

“Oh, you’re more of a soloist. Why doesn’t that surprise me? We can split up the work if you prefer. I wouldn’t want to insult you with my direct take on the subject.” She felt he had a story but didn’t want to pry. She wasn’t exactly in a share and tell place either.

“How about this - I don’t want to dive into feelings or opinions on the subject either, so we can just stick to the facts from the study. I’ll summarize my interpretation, you summarize yours and we meet back on Thursday. Fair enough?” She could only hope that he would not comment further and they could just try to Frankenstein a paper together without getting into the weeds of her mother’s addiction and whatever experience he had; she didn’t have the bandwidth to take that on. 

“That sounds an awful lot like we are each writing a paper but sure; I wouldn’t want this to turn into a debate, especially against you. Though, to avoid duplicative work, can you just pick items from my outline so there is a plan?” His face had lost the glimmer of optimism as their conversation wore on. Veronica felt like she had that kind of impact on people; probably why she liked to just do things on her own. 

“Yeah, I like that approach. I need to run to my next class. But hey, thanks for being understanding. I get that I can be a bit….” she trailed off before he jumped in.

“Persnickety? At least you possess some self awareness. You take these topics and I’ll see you on Thursday.” He gave her a reassuring nod with a half smile as he tore the paper in half and handed it to her. “And don’t worry, we need not exchange numbers to protect your ‘go it alone’ reputation.” He turned quickly away as if to avoid any lingering conversation.

Veronica half scoffed as the thought of him trying to get her number didn’t even cross her mind. Though a man who looked like that would likely be cocky enough to ask for a girl’s number out of habit. She hadn’t given much thought to the opposite sex recently and then suddenly she realized she hadn’t spoken to Richie since Sunday. If that short exchange even counted since she was watching baseball with her dad when Richie called. He knew better than to try and pry her away from “daddy/daughter time.” She had forgotten to call him back and he hadn’t tried again. 

She quickly shot off an, “I miss you” text before she continued on her trek to find coffee on her way to her next class. She tossed her phone haphazardly into her black studded leather messenger bag. It had been a gift from Rose that at first seemed like an odd choice but truthfully, fit with her more than she wanted to admit. The last year had been a string of events that took everything she knew and turned it upside down. She was just glad to come out on the other side with her dad. And she supposed Richie and Rose. Jason seemed to have a point about her setting out to do things on her own. Maybe college would be a chance at making new friends; embracing partners in life, or even asking for help. Whoa - too much self analysis for today. 

Veronica entered her next class with her iced coffee and a bit of pep in her step. She elected to sit near the door. Not for the typical easy escape but to see all who entered; scan for potential allies. She was surprised to see Jason enter the class but now wearing a forest green henley, pen behind an ear and an entirely different air about him. She channeled her most welcoming smile to greet him. "Hey Jason. Funny seeing you again so soon." 

"That is funny because my name isn't Jason," he said matter of fact as he continued past her with barely a passing gaze. She turned uncomfortably in her chair towards the direction he was heading to see him sit two rows behind her to the left. This was clearly in response to her distant take on their group paper. She wasn’t going to let go of her new found hope for a friend sizzle so soon so she shot out an exasperated sigh before turning to say, "Uhm, okay. Is this some sort of joke?" 

"I wouldn’t say my life is a joke but I’ll bite.” He settled into the back of his chair and feigned a clueless expression. “Jason, Jason…. Hmmmm. I feel as if I may have shared a room or womb maybe with a Jason. Wait, does this make me the evil twin? Jason often forgets to mention that I run around freely." He paused as a tight lipped grin spread across his face. This seemed to match the mentions of the Echolls kid her dad had made. 

“Well, I just met Jason in my last class, literally today, so we didn’t get to talk much about family history. I’m Veronica by the way. Only child to a recently single father,” as she half smiled while attempting to meet his gaze. The slight overshare didn’t seem to have her as worried about what assumptions this, not-Jason would have. This is good, banter with a near stranger to show we can be open. New school, new me. She then realized he had made himself busy unpacking his bag versus introducing himself. Okay, not as chatty as Jason I suppose.

Veronica turned back to face the front of the class. She could leave. She was right by the door, but that didn’t seem very mature. I didn’t even want to take this stupid personal finance class but dad thought it would help me become a well rounded, responsible adult. And now I sound like a full fledged five year old. I’ve been short on conversations before… She paused her inner assessment of the situation and instead opted for a more direct attack. She picked up her items and moved the few rows back to sit next to him. “I’ve been short on conversations before but I’m new here and since I’ve already decided I’m going to be friends with Jason, that makes us friends too.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her before taking what seemed like a deep breath. “You are quite short, but since you made the long trek, sure. What does this friend of a friend association mean for me?” His eyes grew brighter as his devilish smile took over and a rough chuckle escaped. Her eyes got a bit wide as she blushed. “Ah, not quite so determined now seeing my teeth. Don’t worry, I’m sure you and Jason will get along just fine if I offend you.”

“I have a boyfriend and again, I was hoping to make friends but I suppose the assumptions I placed on Jason would have hit their mark on you.” The class had filled up quickly during their exchange and her options for another open seat were at the back amongst a collection of lettermans jackets. In realizing moving would likely be inferred as defeat, she wanted to clear the air. “We are both adults, I presume and I can continue sitting here without measuring your wrist for a friendship bracelet if you could find a way to not be an arrogant asshole.” She took his silence as agreement and resumed her hard coated exterior while pulling out her notebook. Why does that always feel so much better than trying to be open to the best in others?

The professor entered the room ten minutes late. She didn’t skip a beat or bat an eye at her tardiness. “Good afternoon class. I am professor Anderson though you can call me Lynn because formalities bore me. My TA, Quinn will pass out a short, optional intake form to collect data. Now, if you are hoping to gather the meaning of life, the secret to success or other quick answers to big meaningful questions, might I suggest playing the lottery? You’d have better luck with that than in my class.” Veronica smirked, she might actually enjoy this class, even if not-Jason would be in it with her.

Professor Anderson began her lecture on the steady increase in bankruptcies, foreclosures and use of debt collectors. Veronica’s phone began to ring, loudly playing “Dani California,” the ring tone Richie had assigned. Oh, what timing. Veronica opted to ignore the call as quickly as possible but not before Professor Anderson had her sights locked on the cell phone and asked, “And what might your name be?” Veronica went to answer when she paused at the smug glow radiating off of not-Jason and an exasperated apology escaped her.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t realize I hadn’t turned it off. It won’t happen again.”

“You are correct because I have a zero tolerance policy. Leave my class, I am sure you can find another elective.” Not-Jason clearly wanted to laugh out loud and managed to land himself in the professor’s cross hairs as well. “Oh, and you can take your friend with you. Thank you.” They both gathered their things and awkwardly left the lecture hall. 

As they got outside and the door firmly shut behind them as if by Veronica’s frustration, not-Jason finally blurted out his amusement. “You know, you are great at making friends though I think she was mostly upset that you just didn’t do as she asked.” He lingered to gauge her response. 

Self-satisfied bastard . She tried to take a deep breath before responding but decided the high road was out of reach today. ”I honestly thought I put it on silent, and again, I thought we were forgoing the friends schtick.”

“She asked for your name and you attempted a near grovel. So your phone went off, I’m sure she would have been more lenient to someone who could follow instructions.”

Veronica had enough. “Where do you get off being such a dick? I don’t even know your stupid name or why you suddenly want to be a conversationist. Isn’t it enough that we got kicked out of class? And now you want to hold it above me?” She stood directly in his path to ensure her will for him to understand that although he was insufferable, she would not stand down. Not-Jason was still stifling a laugh, looking at the ground when he finally peered through his lashes with beaming satisfaction and said, “You have to admit, it is pretty easy to hold things over your head. But literally doing such a thing seems a bit too childish. We were kicked out. You don’t seem very eager to return that call or give up on a two for one Echolls friend special.” He took the slightest pause to assess her face before he continued with enunciating her name. “Veronica. It’s nice to meet you. I think I can talk to Quinn to get us to see Professor Anderson during her office hours today if you want to try to get back into the class with me.” 

She paused to give herself time to think of how to respond. Part of her hated to back down or lose but not-Jason needed an actual name and he had been right about her not wanting to return Richie’s call. She wasn’t sure why she had essentially avoided her boyfriend or how not-Jason could pick up on that. “Why not? Do I get to know the name of my hero or should I just send thanks to Quinn?” 

He was clearly not ready to give up the upper hand by revealing his name. “I’ll tell you what, since you seem to prefer to refer to me as ‘asshole,’ we will keep names and thanks out of it until I can deliver. Give me your phone,” he said with no hesitation as he held out his hand. Veronica snorted despite trying to refrain from laughing directly in his face. 

“No,” shot out of her mouth even though she was holding back a genuine smile. 

Logan turned his head slightly to the side; a near mirror to the moment Veronica experienced with Jason earlier. “Well, I seem to be without a carrier pigeon to deliver the news and don’t believe you have a gift of reading minds. How shall I reach you to gloat by telling you when we can meet the professor?”

“Her office hours are in the syllabus.” She turned to coyly tap a finger on her chin to list off how she didn’t need his help. “I’m just going to wait by her office for now, return that phone call that I am not avoiding and get on with my life. No knight needed though your shining armor could use some work.” She continued her saunter and was surprised to feel a tinge of disappointment when he did not follow. Only to again be annoyed that she still had no name for not-Jason. Why does it even matter, Veronica? She opted against calling Richie back and instead sent another short text message.

V: Sorry I couldn’t answer - in class. Chat tonight?
R: Sounds good. I have practice until 7. Miss you. 

Veronica sat back in the chair outside of the professor’s office. She didn’t want to continue analyzing her interactions from the day. She didn't want to think about her relationship with Richie or meeting Jason and well, not-Jason any more. Damn him for not giving me his name . So instead, she opted to take out her laptop and notes to begin her psychology paper. Nothing like solid avoidance of feelings for the sake of academic excellence.

Chapter Text

Veronica considered buying more time by grabbing a bite to eat first but knew further avoidance wouldn’t make sense after her long drive. She dialed out to call Richie to see if he could meet her at an In N Out that she found off the freeway exit. When he answered, he sounded tired but his tone quickly shifted up an octave upon realizing she was near. Hearing his voice and excitement eased the dread she seemingly created about the whole situation. Of course Richie understands. This distance is going to be hard on us and I shouldn’t assume it will be all “the bad and the ugly;” there is going to be good too!

The Le Baron was her trustee steed that was still playing songs as the radio betrayed her near sense of calm by playing Death Cab for Cutie’s “The Sound of Settling.” Universe, can you pester anyone else for an hour? Veronica jolted the keys out of the ignition to turn it off and peered around looking for Richie to arrive as the upbeat melody lingered in her mind. She sat there in her thoughts for a moment. Since her mom had left, she had become more suspicious of others, assuming everyone was hiding a secret. And in some ways, she was sure most people were but not the life altering kinds that had clearly driven her mother to leave. She felt a tinge of guilt as she continued to reflect on her relationship.

She and Richie had started dating over the summer before their junior year. Veronica had not dated anyone before and despite mostly keeping to herself, she found his presence comforting. Richie was genuinely kind and prince charming like handsome. She assumed he would be more interested in dating a more outgoing girl but they would bond over what indie band he would find or book she would start. 

Flashback

Veronica and Richie are walking her dog, Backup around her apartment complex days before the Fourth of July. He had dragged her out from her summer reading to grab ice cream, knowing she could never refuse.

“So, Veronica. I was…. I hope it isn’t weird but…” He was visibly sweating despite the cool ocean breeze as his hair clung to his forehead.

“Richie - are you okay?! You look like you are going to choke on your bubblegum ice cream. Come to think of it, it should probably have a choking warning label.” She noticed him come to a stop and peered around while continuing to devour her coffee ice cream with a pleased smile, thinking her joke was clever.

“Will you go out with me?” His eye met hers in a pleading manner, as if he was literally holding all literal hope that she wouldn’t break his heart.

“Uhhh, we are out?” She let stumble out with a near defensive tone before trying to once more lighten the mood with a quip. “I had to put on a hat. Backup refused though you would think…”

He cut her off to clarify. “No, I mean, on a date…. I’d like to take you out on a date.” He huffed out appearing exhausted but more at ease to have the question fully out. 

“You’re joking, right?” There is no way mister literal hotshot would ask me out. She saw the light start to dwindle down. She didn’t consider that her question may be construed as them dating to be a joke and started to sweat herself worrying about what would happen next. She nearly prayed a meteor would end it all vs having to face the aftermath of this very conversation. 

“Nevermind. This was a bad idea. I should have listened to Rose.” Richie started to resume their walk in an effort to leave the awkward air.

Veronica extended out her hand to stop him, nearly dropping her ice cream. He looked down at where she was touching him as she finally looked up into his eyes to say, “Did all of the cheerleaders turn you down?” She smirked as they locked eyes but his attempt at a smile didn’t reach his eyes. “C’mon, you had to literally drag me out of the house. Why would you want to go out with me?”

The light filled his eyes once more, almost brighter than that of the hope he originally held and as he said, “You’re beautiful.” 

End Flashback

Veronica tried to ignore the guilt that she had been pushing away that was fueled by questions - had she said yes to Richie to avoid hurting his feelings? Could she love him beyond friendship? Could she be soulless for letting the status quo lead their friendship into a two year relationship? What the hell was she going to do? She never felt right dating her only friend’s brother but couldn’t imagine hurting Richie. He did mean something to her and she trusted him.

But she knew that as much as the building remorse weighed her down, continuing a relationship that wasn’t balanced would be even more cruel. She loved Richie as a friend and had let that be enough, taking his love without returning it in full. She had to start being upfront with her feelings, her needs. She couldn’t let herself turn into her mother who had seemingly strung along her dad. In that moment of clarity, Richie pulled up and parked next to her in his older blue pick-up truck that was blaring the ending of the Death Cab for Cutie song, as if that was the final push she needed. 

Richie turned to her and smiled through the window. “Funny seeing you here.” He hurried out and came around to try and open her door at the same time she was pulling herself out. Her need for independence being something that often led to Richie getting jolted around in their anticlimactic battles of opening doors. “Hey,” he said with a near sigh.

“Hey, yourself,” she said as she ducked down to avoid a kiss while trying to assure him with a hug. “I’m starving and have to pee. What they say about LA traffic is no joke.” She cupped his hand to pull him towards their destination. She wanted this to be amicable and maybe having food would soften any blow if he didn’t agree with her desire to still be friends. They stood in the long line before she broke away to run to the restroom. As she left and turned back to assess if he had picked up on anything amiss, she saw the confusion starting to build in his eyes. This isn’t going to be easy but he deserves more. We both do. She mustered a convincing smile.

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Jason walked into his shared Presidential Suite at the Neptune Grand with his girlfriend, Quinn Rogers, in tow. She had insisted they bring food back for Logan as she hinted how he had an interesting day. Jason had a feeling his brother would be home alone and was proven right when he walked into utter silence. I’m sure he has his headphones plugged into some theatrical companion to his creative dreamscape - ever the tortured artist. 

He gently opened the door to Logan’s room and showed they had brought food as Logan was sitting on the floor, reading something or another with papers strewn about. Logan peered up and popped a single earbud away. He looked tired and Jason had a sense that Logan was struggling more than usual today - he wondered if it was an anniversary to something. Maybe their sister,Trina had called with news about mom who was finishing up rehab after the car accident that had claimed their dad. 

The past few months had been a whirlwind of placating enough journalists to keep the full story of the death of Aaron Echolls hidden. Logan had been dating Lilly Kane on and off during their senior year of high school. She had come back after her first year away at college on the east coast on a fateful summer day. He and Lynn came home unexpectedly to find Lilly and Aaron in flagrante. Logan had launched after his father in a fit of rage, ripping him away as they traded punches until Lilly and Lynn were able to step in between them. Lynn aimed to get Aaron out of the house by putting him in her car to drive away. Lynn’s car was struck by a hit and run driver at an intersection and Aaron was pronounced dead hours later despite the efforts of several surgeons. Lynn recovered well enough from her physical injuries but opted to enroll in an LA rehab to heal her lingering crutches. 

Jason tried to clear away his brother’s demons by asking what drama Quinn had watched unfold while standing in the doorway, “Are you making friends so soon, dear brother?”

“On the contrary, I am ruining new ones you’ve sought,” Logan said, his face without emotion.

At this, Jason looked back at Quinn to clarify. “I’ve clocked out as mediator for tonight’s events. You two can just talk it out like big boys,” she scoffed out as she went to Jason’s room and shut the door behind her. 

“See, I am two for two today. I’ll declare myself the winner and resume my studies if you don’t mind shutting the door on your way out.” Logan was drumming away on his pencil, his boredom of talking about his day turning into annoyance as he waited for Jason to go. 

“I’m trying to help. I want to understand, Logan. I get you took a lot of shit for me with Aaron and no one,” Jason was rubbing his neck as he began to ramble before Logan cut him off.

“Enough. We are not venturing down that road tonight. Or better yet, let’s just mark us both in agreement for never?” Logan was itching for a fight but wanted to try to reel back in his anger. “I stayed here, didn’t I? I’m not at the bottom of a bottle but I’m not going to just…. Move on.”

Jason paused but didn’t move from his stance before plainly saying,“I don’t want you to be miserable.”

“You don’t get to decide that.” Upon realizing that Logan was clenching his fists again, he opted to try to lighten the mood. “Plus, doesn’t misery love company?” His head slightly cocked.

“I think you’ve had your fill on attracting other miserable people. I’m surprised that Dick even still comes around. Even he has some joy in his life.”

“You mistake blithe with joy.” Logan began to look back down at his book.

“Damnit, Logan - just….. I don’t know what happened today but I know when you are in a mood; when you think you are just getting what you deserve and I won’t put up with the self loathing bullshit. I called Wallace. You need him and I think he needs you too. We tried to give you space but you are just retreating deeper into this, I don’t even know what to call this. I…"

"Okay, Jason. I yield. I'll talk to Wallace if it'll get you to quit trying to parent me. There is a hierarchy that your incessant nagging is trying to disrupt,” Logan was talking with his hands at this point in trying to wave his two minute younger sibling away. 

Jason unfolded his arms as he removed his weight from the doorway. He was already walking away as he let out a sigh, "I want my brother back,” 

Logan continued to sit in his mess of notes. If I sit here feeling guilty about being an asshole to him, I think that’ll defeat the purpose of his pep talk. He reached for his phone, keys and wallet opting to put the pizza in the fridge as he left to head over to Wallace’s dorm room.

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Veronica insisted on buying Richie’s food and thus picking it up from the counter despite him trying to grab their receipt from her as the cashier went to hand it to them. She kept their conversation light, encouraging him to tell her all about how he was adjusting while they waited for their order outside, sitting across from each other at a table. He told her how things were going at UCLA and how he was “quickly being inducted into college life.” She wasn’t sure what that meant but felt he was happy. He started to look away after his comment and the coy smile she responded with.

“Veronica, I know you drove all the way out here but, I’m assuming there was a reason… You’re not one for grand gestures.”

“I…. you are right. I’m not one for grand gestures or I guess even romantic ones…” Get it together, he deserves more. “Hey, do you remember when you asked me out? You said that you talked to Rose first. What did she tell you?”

His face morphed into a disbelieving look before he chuckled a bit. “That it was a terrible idea and you only saw me as a friend. Why?”

“Are you getting enough from me?”

“Is this about us not….you know, going all the way? Because that doesn’t matter to me. I mean it… I would like to but I….” He extended his arm across the table to grab her hand. “You’re worried about the distance, of course.  Look, we will be fine, it’s just going to take some time to get used to this. I mean, we were apart for most of summer because you were in class and I had training camps up here but we made it work.”

She furrowed her eyebrows in concern. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“You aren’t exactly forthcoming, answering my question with a question….”

The intercom echoed their order number. Veronica gave him a soft smile as she flashed the receipt and shrugged before she slowly turned away to go get their food. She didn’t look back this time knowing they were nearing the end. 

As she returned to sit back down, Richie was nowhere to be found. She set down their tray of food and started walking to where they parked. She saw him nearing his parked car, shaking his head. 

Veronica started to lightly jog to him as she shouted, “Richie, where are you going?”

He stopped abruptly at the bed of his truck to face her. “Wow, two acts of you being the one who puts yourself out there in one night. Is it my birthday?”

She was taken aback by his sharp tone. “Richie, stop. I swear I never meant to hurt you.”

“Just, lead me on?” He paused but Veronica was shocked by his accusation. He resumed walking towards his driver side door before gazing back to see if she was going to actually be vulnerable enough to answer him directly, honestly..

“I thought… I was… I don’t know. Richie, you are such a great guy and I trust you which is really hard for me. You’re kind and considerate, I didn’t think of us like that or even if we could work but you seemed so sure. You convinced me and….”

As if he could sense her impending plea to stay friends, his door was open in a flash as he said, “Yeah, I need to go.” He slammed his truck door and didn’t bother to look her way again. 

She contemplated calling after him or calling his phone or anything but then realized she didn’t know what else to say. She knew she couldn’t ease the pain that she created. She walked back over to their food and wished a milkshake could replace her guilt. Another young couple came out to dine at the table next to her. Veronica was not one for crying but a quick tears escaped her eyes. The young blond woman with large blue eyes must have noticed because she picked up her tray and joined Veronica, sitting to her left versus across where Richie had been.

“Never cry over boys.” The mysterious woman proceeded to pick up her burger, making herself clearly welcome.

Veronica wiped her eyes. “Uhm - who's to say I’m crying over a boy?”

“Because I couldn’t help but notice you had a male companion and now you’re alone.” The stranger’s eyes shone bright with honesty before she smirked and rolled her eyes seeing Veronica’s face. “His loss, you’re gorgeous.”

Veronica lifted her head fully to talk to this stranger. “I think I technically ended it but I still feel terrible.”

“Awe, was he your first?” She radiated a bewitching smile. 

“I don’t even know you,” said Veronica, through an awkward chuckle.

“Oh, manners! I’m Lilly Kane and that is my brother, Donut.” She turned slightly and lazily pointed to the man she was originally seated with. 

At that, her sibling perked his head up but remained where he was to add, “It’s Duncan,” before he resumed eating, bothered enough to say something but too bored to join them apparently.

“And now you see a perfect example as to  why I call him Donut.” She looked over to him before returning to Veronica with a gleeful look in her eyes. “It’s against my code to let a girl be alone, especially when tears are involved.”

That consideration filled her with enough ease to continue on. “I’m Veronica. I just drove up here to…. Well, I guess you saw.” Realizing she was easily two hours from home, she went to stand up. “I should get home. I have class tomorrow.”

Lilly placed a hand on her arm. “I would strongly advise against driving while crying. You could… get a ticket or something.” Veronica began to laugh as she rolled her eyes before sitting back down. “Plus, I’m an okay listener if you want to talk.” Lilly took a large bite of her food.

Talking about my feelings with an absolute stranger, what a novel idea. Maybe it’ll be like therapy . Veronica gave off a small smile, “Sure.” 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the drive from The Grand to Hearst, Logan decides to turn on the radio to drown out some of his thoughts. Days like this he wanted to seek oblivion; everything reminded him of Lilly when he didn’t want to think of her. He tried to forget her by losing himself in meaningless hookups, binge drinking, and various combinations of the two. Cheating on someone is one thing, cheating on someone with their dad doesn’t even register in the same reality. He never held delusions that they were meant to be or would really even survive romantically much past high school but the cynicism her actions inspired is unparalleled. As if sensing the depth of despair he was feeling, the radio queued up “Evil” by Interpol. Ah, mood music.  

Flashback

“What the fuck, Lilly?” Logan blurts out after his mother ushered Aaron away. Logan had never felt farther removed from that excuse of a man. “Did he hurt you?”

“What?” Lilly was either half in shock or confused by the fact that Logan could see any viable excuse about what just transpired. 

“We are not going to play dumb about whatever the fuck just happened. Talk to me. I have to hear it from you, you have to tell me what just happened because….. ” Logan continued to shift from sheer rage to heartbreak. He felt frozen from the waist down, not wanting to move but continued to ball his hands into fists then shake it off, reminding himself there had to be a reason. He took a deep breath. “Lilly?”

“I have no excuse, okay? I ran into your dad when we were both in New York and he… we started talking from there.” Lilly’s eyes had tears pooling as she saw Logan’s final bit of composure crushed. Then Logan walked away. 

End Flashback

Logan still didn’t know the rest of the story. He would probably never know but did everything he could to not think about the details or how it started - did she feel safe or enjoy it. FUCK why did I run away if I was just going to keep dwelling on it ? He wasn't typically one to run from confrontation but this ruptured something in his core beyond the harm that Aaron crafted over the years of abuse. He learned from the summer that anyone he wanted, he could get. But he didn’t want to think about wants or needs. He didn’t want to think about any of this and was starting to regret leaving his sanctuary where he had enough to keep him occupied. He wasn’t entirely sure if talking to Wallace would help but he had run through all of his other legal distractions. Logan had his normal circle from their neighborhood growing up of whom he only really trusted Dick Casablancas, a typical surfer kid who had no boundaries growing up. Then in high school, he found himself getting bored with their usual conversations and befriended Cindy Macenzie, though she went by Mac. Their shared interest in somewhat darker comedies and various computer games. She introduced him to Wallace their junior year after Wallace moved to Neptune.  

Feeling an eerie calm as he tried to soothe his mind by humming the song from the radio, his mind stumbled upon the thought of Veronica. I can be an insufferable asshole. He shot off a text message to Quinn to see if she could work some magic to get them both in better graces with Professor Anderson, though he had a feeling Veronica had likely already made headway. He had not met someone so determined and seemingly fearless in a while, though he wasn’t really looking for qualities like that he supposed. 

Logan found himself in front of Wallace’s dorm and rapped on the door, continuing to drum out the song now stuck in his head. Wallace opened the door with a suspicious look on his face.

“Oh, I definitely don’t remember ordering another white boy to drum on everything. Though you do look like this guy I used to know before he went on a tour of self pity.” Wallace started to let a satisfied smile spread across his face.

“Har, har,” Logan let loose feigning disinterest as he walked past the threshold into the room. “Were you trying to replace me or did you piss off the RA already to get paired with someone who has….. Such eclectic choice in music,” he said as he pointed to a Reggie and the Full Effect band poster on the wall.

“I plead the fifth. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Can’t a guy just stop by to hang out with his bestest bud?”

“Jason reached out and I know what today is so, spit it out. I know I’m not much for your more recent coping methods of choice but I’m here for you if you are ready to deal with your feelings…. I just can’t do the whiplash from you’re here to you being in the gutter, Logan.” 

“Although braiding each other's hair and talking about feelings may come up, I more so thought we could catch up beyond that . You could tell me about life in the light.”

“From the email I just got, I don’t see much light exists but I definitely don’t think you want to see this on all the days.”

“It was an anniversary, it’ll pass. Now, don’t treat me like a child. I’ve had enough of that from Jason. Tell me about this email.”

“I already reached out to Mac but I think she also lost on the roommate roulette game and got dragged to something. There is an administration email that sent these pictures out to everyone at Hearst.”

Logan approached Wallace’s laptop to see photos of blond women whose face was hidden but nothing else was. They all looked like intimate selfies but he didn’t understand what it meant.

“I’m assuming you don’t think these were shared for art?”

“Definitely not. Check out the signature line.”

Sure enough after quickly scrolling trying not to think of who the photos reminded him of, Logan read, Death to blonds.

Chapter Text

In an unfamiliar room, a figure hovered over a laptop, constructing the email of naked photos of various blondes. They had the information from hacked accounts, flabbergasted by both how easy it had been to collect them and also from the sheer volume. Sure, there were plenty of different girls and not all were blonde, but it was those with bright blue eyes hiding behind their locks that triggered the rage. This was only the first step and they didn’t even know what was coming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before Veronica left, she and Lilly exchanged numbers. Veronica didn’t think they would see much of each other unless she ventured back up to LA. She still didn’t feel great about breaking up with Richie but she certainly felt more at peace. She slept soundly enough when she got home anyway, thankful that only Backup greeted her as her dad was still chasing a bond jumper in another state.

When she awoke the following morning, she was reminded about how she still needed to secure a work study job at Hearst. She had her heart set on the newspaper but the library would be her backup. New Veronica puts herself out there and speaks her mind, but could also happily hide in books if all else fails. She had put together a folder to try to join the Hearst Free Press, which happened to be in a flury over some breaking story from the night before. Veronica hadn't heard of anything on her commute to school but did notice an odd amount of stares fixated on her. She had an appointment with the editor, Nish Sweeney, but she was struggling to get her to stop to talk, let alone acknowledge her appointment until Nish noticed Veronica’s blond hair. 

“Wait, what do you do again?”

“I dabble in photography and would love to help with whatever you need. I put together....”

“I don’t know if I necessarily need more photos of jocks like you have here," Nish barely paused as she resumed her quick pace after tossing the folder of Veronica's pictures on a desk. "But you do fit the type that this sexist asshole was clearly scorned by.”

Veronica followed closely behind as her curiosity was locked on figuring out whatever this story was about. “What are you talking about?”

The question made Nish chuckle but she didn’t skip a beat. “You want to work for my newspaper and don’t know what the breaking story is?" Nish didn't turn to see if Veronica was going to respond but finally made her way into her office. Veronica acted as if she belonged, sitting down in a mostly open chair after moving some of the papers that it held. Nish continued on while unlocking her computer, "An email went out last night to everyone at Hearst from a new administration account with private photos of blondes and a death threat. I’d imagine you would have picked up a box of dye by now.”

Veronica was holding a lock of hair, then paused nervously for a movement to ask, “Okay… what would you want me to do?”

“We are having someone run what we can on the email to see if we can narrow down the source but I'm wondering if you could spark some attention in other ways to draw them out.” Nish had a gleam in her eye as she finally stopped working to assess Veronica's response.

“You want me to be bait." Veronica didn't want to be coy and wanted to convey confidence, even when she wasn't entirely clear on how Nish intended to have her catch this predator.

“We can look into some muscle for you, obviously and no one thinks the death threat is credible.” Nish resumed her work on her computer, satisfied with her assessment and assumption that Veronica would either agree or leave at that.

A girl with a purple streak in her hair walked up to Nish's door with a printed list and notes but didn't look up. “Nish, I honestly don’t see any of these groups being smart enough to pull this off and whoever sent it clearly used a VPN unless they are in… Gibraltar from what I’ve found.” She finally looked up and paused in realization of the conversation she must have interrupted.

“Mac, perfect timing. Maybe you can help bring up… what’s your name again?”

“Veronica, Veronica Mars but I’m not even sure I know what I’m going to do to…"

“Perfect, naive will go over well. Just make sure you take notes, start a journal or something and we can put it together. I expect weekly updates at least and hopefully we can wrap this up in a month.” Nish was at it again, taking masterful strides to greet Mac by handing off another list before she left her office, clearly done with the conversation and confident Mac would take it from there.

“Uh - okay. Well, come with me I guess,” Mac paused to shift her voice, “if you want to live.” She let a sly smile spread across her face and seeing this at least made Veronica smile too. “I'm Mac, well, Cindy Macinzie but please never call me Cindy. I'm trying to hunt down the rest of our mystery author’s browsing history to get an idea but Nish thinks this person or persons is likely just trying to scare people. A jilted ex-boyfriend or someone with unrequited love. Typical scum of the internet.”

“If you’re so certain they’re harmless, can I interest you in a blond wig and I’ll take over the Nancy Drew work?” Veronica's nerves were starting to ramp back up upon piecing together this assignment and the looks she got this morning.

“Hard pass. And I'm definitely not Nancy Drew." Mac came to a cubicle area and opened her laptop, entering a password that could have passed for a limerick. 

"How do you know so much about these kinds of things?" Veronica wanted to dive in before her nerves dragged her to her old ways. 

"I went to Neptune High; not a host of the kindest people and I may have had an insider who helped me create websites to track their nefarious behavior for a, uh 'greater good,' shall we say."

"Ah, a true Q I see. Does partnering with you make me Bond or is that role already filled?" 

"You have potential and there is more than one Bond to some. Time will tell where you land." Mac cocked her eyebrow, reinforcing the challenge.

Veronica looked more closely at the notes and data Mac had collected. "You don't think they go to Hearst?"

"A keen eye. I don’t think the actual person who sent the email goes to Hearst but I also don't think this is the doing of just one person. Bond himself couldn’t amass the sheer number of photos and the metadata I can salvage makes it seem like these were originally sent via text."

"So, some blond hating, evil doer has friends who are able to secure nudes?"

"I appreciate you trying to make this simple because, I don't know. But I do need to eat. If you want to come with me, we can figure out how to lay a trap."

"Where there is food, you have my company. Just don't ask me to send you nudes."

"I would never, although that wouldn't be a terrible plan to track….." Veronica scowled at Mac who had a face that was clearly holding back laughter. "Okay, we will keep that as a plan C or something."

Given the nature of the topic and the blatant stares that continued to rake over Veronica on their way through the quad, they opted to eat in Mac's dorm. Not even five minutes after they arrived and unpacked their notes, there was a rhythmic knock at the door that didn't stop until Mac let them in.

"Can Wallace stand the mope once more or has the moping ceased?!"

"Har, har. We wanted to see about….." Logan stopped dead in his tracks as he found Veronica sitting on Mac's floor with a mess of notes to rival his own organized chaos on the floor. "Huh."

Veronica turned her head to where she felt his intent stare, seemingly summoning her to him. "Arrogant asshole," she smirked as she clasped her hands, declaring she had no intention of leaving even after their initial exchange.

"You know L-" Mac had started to say until Logan promptly put a finger to her mouth to silence her. She responded by pretending to bite him to clear her personal space.

" She doesn't know my name and called me Jason, then promptly got me kicked out of my personal finance class." His head tilted to the side, awaiting her retort.

" I did call you Jason because, well, you do understand you look quite alike. But I did not get you kicked out of anything." Veronica started to cover some of the more pointed notes about how they thought they could garner her the attention that may bring suspects or links to the ring leader to the surface. "And I believe I do know your name. It’s Asshole!" her voice sang out. She didn't entirely know why she felt so comfortable but she found herself enjoying this exchange more than their last.

"Well, as fun as this is, I have a deadline and Veronica and I are working on a plan to catch whom I assume you two came over to plot against." Mac walked back to her small clearing of notes near Veronica and resumed peering over her laptop, seemingly gauging what the boys would do next. 

Veronica's eyes left the staring contest she and Logan held since she responded to him. He turned to glance at Mac and opened his mouth to resume their conversation about the case when Veronica asked Mac, "Wait - they are your Bonds?" 

Mac shrugged before she responded, "A girl needs options."

Wallace took the opportunity to introduce himself. "Excuse my friend, he struggles with communication, especially with the fairer sex. I, on the other hand, am Wallace Fennel, gentleman extraordinaire." He gracefully hopped onto the bed behind Veronica to settle in after he snatched up a piece of paper, making a point to leer at their notes.

Veronica stood up from the floor to properly meet him by shaking his hand, "Veronica Mars." 

Wallace froze slightly at that. "Like, Sheriff Mars?" 

Veronica pulled her hand back with a cautious response, "He's my dad."

Wallace’s grin warmed back up, “Oh, we are definitely teaming up for this. You must have all the skills. Did your dad homeschool you to teach you how he would get people to confess without lifting a finger?”

Veronica sat back down realizing it wasn't fear of her dad but actual intrigue Wallace held, maybe admiration. “I went to Pan and he always kept the shop talk to a minimum.”

Logan had kept his eyes locked on Veronica while he leaned on the entryway with a raised eyebrow. His face shifted and Veronica assumed it was when him realizing she may be targeted, or perhaps already was. “So, I don’t see how you plan to help.”

Mac’s eyes darted to Logan with a glare that could burn a whole through him. “Excuse you, but we have been planning just fine. Arrogant asshole attitude is not welcome unless you want me to tell her your name?"

"Oh, don't bother. Arrogant asshole works just fine or maybe, not-Jason." She darted her sights back to Logan who had returned his head tilt from earlier, assessing if he shared her amusement.

"Okay, then tell me what plan you could possibly have that doesn't involve you sharing private photos or acting overly slutty in some way on campus?" Logan, satisfied that they didn't have an actual idea as to how to catch the culprit, continued on as he went to sit next to Wallace. "I assumed as much, so please, allow me, someone who may have an inciling about what could lure our culprit beyond hair color."

"Clearly whoever sent the email feels betrayed by the opposite sex, specifically with those with fair completion and blond hair like Veronica. But why just blondes?" Mac added quickly. Veronica admired how Mac was dedicated to meeting her deadline and getting the entire group on task..

"We were up talking through some of this one's rage,” as Wallace placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder that he immediately shrugged off, “and we have some thoughts, which you'd know if you returned our messages." Wallace threw a paper airplane he had made of the page of notes at Mac.

"I barely escaped my roommates clutches without a hangover yesterday. Leave me be! We need to focus anyway, so..."

At that moment, a woman walked in with her hair messily pushed up into a ball cap, clearly hiding her blond tresses.

"Hey, Parker. Sorry for the gathering, we can…." Mac said gathering all of their work to hide what she had found.

"It's fine. I was just going to shower and, well - rid myself of the slut calling card as I was told several times today." Parker’s face showed more than exhaustion from lack of sleep.

Veronica couldn’t stop the question from passing her lips, "People were taunting you?"

"Random people around campus and my boyfriend got it in his head that I cheated on him when Mac and I went out last night to watch a band. He joked he was going to send in my photos to that admin email to ensure everyone knew." Parker stopped abruptly, realizing she just shared with strangers that she had sent photos just like the other girls featured, her eyes filled with shame. 

Veronica wanted to console Parker just how Lilly had sought to help her the night before. She then realized how this was a very credible lead. “Hey - you have nothing to be ashamed of. Does this boyfriend of yours happen to have a name?

Mac chimed in as her eyes met Parker’s who was hesitating, "Mercer Hayes."

"I think Jason got invited to a poker game he hosts in his dorm." Veronica noted Logan was rubbing his neck. He was clearly uneasy. 

Veronica ignored the growing hesitation from the room and exclaimed as she stood up, "This could work!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly had driven home to Neptune after her meeting with Veronica. She was bored with her LA friends and Veronica had reminded her of something she had lost. She arrived at the Kane house to find her dad at the kitchen counter reading over his work. The Kane family was well known as her dad, the famous Jake Kane, created streaming video. Rumors about his more recent project were centered around Kane Industries purchasing a Japanese company that made the first cell phones with a camera. Lilly waited a moment to see if her dad would notice her unexpected arrival. 

"What are you doing home?" Jake’s question was clipped. 

"Nice to see you too, daddy.” Lilly blinked away any weakness in her exterior and smiled unabashedly. She hoped the silver in her eye wasn’t seen. “I expected you'd be shacking up with your girlfriend by now, what was her name again? Le-"

Jake cut her off. "Stop. Lilly, I thought we had an agreement. You cannot bring this up. I’m sorry I snapped, I wasn’t expecting anyone,” his face softened as Lilly continued into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, must have slipped my mind." Lilly spun around in an attempt to show she was harmless despite the heavy information she knew of her dad’s long term affair. She opened the fridge to grab a water, as well as linger a moment longer to see if they could have a normal conversation. 

"Will you be staying?"

"I think so. Is that okay?" Her face was sheepish but not in a manipulative way.

Jake’s smile at the sight could not be contained as he replied, "Of course, dear. Your room is just as you left it." Lilly took that as her queue to leave and a moment later, Jake continued, “And Lilly? I am glad you’re home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week had passed and the poker game was nearing. Veronica was able to get back into her Personal Finance class, as was Logan, though they kept their distance. She kept busy and was constantly taking notes of how others were acting towards her. She was sitting in her room, trying to organize her notes before she started on her homework when her dad knocked on the door.

“My darling, daughter - ever the academic. Can I interest you in leftover lasagna?”

“Hey dad, sure. Let me finish this up.” She gave him a reassuring smile. After she was sure he had left, she started to shred the notes she took down after she input them onto her laptop. Veronica made her way to their kitchen table to catch up with her dad, hoping he wouldn’t ask about the increased paper waste.

“So, how’s school? Are you making friends?” Keith asked as casually as he could though his eyes held some sort of fear. Had he heard of the email at school? He literally just got back again last night!

“Surprisingly, yes. It’s been nice and definitely different from high school in some ways. I’ve been working on something for the newspaper with this girl named Mac who introduced me to her group of friends. They’ve been really welcoming.”

Keith eased a bit. “Good! I knew you could do it. How’s Richie?”

The name hit Veronica in the gut upon realizing she hadn’t really told anyone, even Rose about their break-up, though it would explain the radio silence from that front. “Uh, he’s okay.”

“Did something happen between you two?” 

“Well, I sort of broke up with him… last week.”

“Oh. Does that mean I can count on you to not date again until you're 30, maybe 35?”

“You can certainly count on a lack of gentleman callers for the time being but don’t push your luck. I just - I think we were better as friends.”

“Hey - you don’t have to justify your reasons with me. I trust you. Though I did enjoy talking to him about the Padres and knowing he was terrified of me. But whatever makes my daughter happy, makes me happy.” Keith held her gaze to try and detect if she was truly happy with her choice. When he continued to eat his food with a goofy smile only a daughter would be embarrassed by, she assumed he was indeed confident she was fine. 

“Thanks, dad. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for your favored traits in my friends then.”

“Will I get to meet this new rat pack you’ve formed?”

Veronica paused considering who all that would entail. “Uhm, I’ll have to check their calendars but I’m sure I can at least get Mac and Parker to stop by. Oh, which reminds me - I may stay in their dorm with them this weekend.” 

“I don’t see why not. I know I’ve been out working a lot and Backup can be a little judgey about your comings and goings.”

“He does listen well enough though,” she said as she peered down at their light brown pitbull mix of a rescue who was eyeing their plates. “Thanks dad. How are your cases going?”

“Well enough but nothing I care to share at the moment. I did want to make sure you checked the charge of your taser. You know, just in case.” Veronica rolled her eyes as they continued to eat. 

“As if I’d ever leave home without Mr. Sparky.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had a name for their first suspect and a plan. Jason, Logan and Wallace would attend Mercer's poker game and would be joined by Quinn with her trio of guests; Mac, Parker and Veronica, with the latter being the bait. Jason and Quinn's relationship was well known well enough, although not everyone was clear on which of the Echolls twins was which. It was just a matter of how they played their cards to entrap Mercer and possible company next.

The boys had taken over the table within the first hour, mostly in part to the Echolls bank roll and Mercier being well aware of their competitive nature. Quinn walked in with her arm linked with Mac, trying to get her to relax. Veronica followed their lead upon glancing up at Parker, with her freshly dyed chestnut locks. Parker squeezed her hand on their linked arms as she smiled. Veronica had honed in a confident cool demeanor after relaying the plan and emphasized to Parker that she would be safe. Quinn led them all over to the boys and promptly encircled her arms around Jason. 

“Well, hello there.” Jason turned to kiss Quinn in greeting before he and Logan turned to greet them all, Wallace continuing to talk with someone in a letterman’s jacket. “And you managed to drag along company.” Logan stood to offer his seat to Quinn who instead sat on Jason’s lap.

Logan turned to greet the rest of the group. “Hey Mac, and I assume one of you is Mac’s roommate?”

Parker was scanning the room to see what Mercer was up to. “Uhm, yeah, I am. I’m Parker and this is Veronica.” Logan extended his hand but Parker had already locked on Mercer and started to walk away. He reached for Veronica’s hand, their eyes locking and then hands lingering, locked in a slow but somehow not awkward handshake. Veronica didn’t realize she was biting her bottom lip. Stay focused. We can over analyze this exchange later, Veronica!  

Parker returned with Mercer in tow, appearing to have let bygones be. Mercer cleared his throat resulting in Veronica dropping contact first.

“You can just call me Echolls but try not to get me confused for my brother Jason,” Logan said with a smirk that sent heat through her. 

Mac was looking between everyone, unsure if this was part of the act, “Echolls - are you dropping your first name entirely?”

The jock at the table glanced at the group and the empty chair Logan had vacated, “Whatever you want to be called, are you going to continue this round or are you out?” 

Without skipping a beat, Veronica beamed with a slightly higher pitched voice than normal, “Can I play?”  Logan stifled a laugh, clearly aware of the character she was exuding. 

“Do you even know how to play poker, blondie?” The jock clearly wanted a boys night and didn’t seem interested in whatever she could bring.

“No… but it must be really hard if you’re playing,” Veronica grabbed the deck and began to shuffle with one hand before continuing to handle the cards like a Vegas dealer. “Were you playing Texas Hold ‘Em or 5 Card Draw?” Everyone at the table but the jock was grinning. 

She noted Mercer paused, as if to size her up as he asked, “Are you new in town or how did you meet my Parker?” He continued to scan the table but his face held no hint of interest in Veronica. He seems more worried about me being a card shark or something.

“Nope, born and raised but I didn’t catch your name?” 

“You’re Richie’s girl aren’t you?” the jock interjected, “I thought you looked familiar! Wow, I guess all blonds really are sluts, even the quiet ones like you.” 

Veronica’s eyebrow shot up but her face was calm, “Last I checked, this wasn’t the 1950s and I’m sure Richie is having a grand ‘ole time at UCLA, thanks for asking. Now can you call or fold instead of interrupting?” Get a lid on your temper, girlie girl - you are supposed to be the bait.  

Mercer’s eyes widen, “Wow - you are a treat! I’m Mercer, Parker’s boyfriend but also the host of tonight’s festivities so I am going to continue making my rounds.” He looked to Parker to see if she would follow him or elect to stay. 

“Did you want me to come with you?” Parker asked with what Veronica assumed was played up desperation.

“Oh, nonsense,” Mercer said before kissing her forehead. “This game looks interesting so you stay in my stead to ensure this one doesn’t bring down the house. I’ll be back later.” He gave everyone at the table a quick nod and was gone. The jock took this as their opportunity to fold as well and walked away without a word. 

“Your perky tone sure faded fast,” Mac mockingly scolded Veronica with the sudden departures.

“I know! I wasn’t expecting anyone from Pan to be here.”

“I think this may actually be good,” Wallace added, seeing everyone’s clear confusion. “That jock can ensure everyone knows that you’re in a long distance relationship and are a bit, uhm-”

“Persnickety!” Logan interjected with a satisfied smile. It was as if he was recalling his actual first time meeting Veronica. The table was quiet as Veronica picked up the cards and began shuffling once more to stay busy.

“No, Wallace is right. We can speed up the timeline of Veronica being the bait by people thinking she is cheating with...” Mac paused as she looked to Logan, implying them as the intended pairing.

Veronica took note of the nonverbal exchanges, “Wait, you want me to flirt with the one person who refuses to tell me his actual name?”

“You can just call me honey if that works,” Logan bobbled his eyebrows. 

Quinn chimed in, “I don’t think Jason would be very good at this game any way; it was a longshot that anyone would buy you going after him when he literally has a single identical twin.”

“All those in favor,” Wallace started a vote by raising his hand.

“Okay but on one condition,” Veronica said, looking around to see only her and Logan’s hands were not raised. She locked eyes with Logan once more, “You have to tell me your name or I’m going to revert to mean-me on instinct and call you not-Jason.”

At that, Logan extended his hand to escort Veronica away from the table. When she didn’t budge, he jokingly rolled his eyes and sighed, “It’s Logan though I do like the idea of you calling me honey. Now, let’s go get some drinks, shall we?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan definitely felt off-kilter since he and Veronica shared a moment when she first arrived. He found himself watching her with puppy eyes and marveling at how well she handled herself, even knowing what would likely come from tonight. “You know,” he turned to whisper into her ear as they sat on a couch with Mac and Wallace, “I realize I was a jackass when we first met.”

Veronica held her hand to her heart to feign surprise before breaking into a smile that met her eyes, “I mean, I get it. You have an identical twin and you seem like the type that enjoys your independence.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He hoped his question would seem casual despite his demeanor tensing. Logan took a deep drink to try and relax again.  

“Okay, maybe I’m misreading but hear me out,” Veronica shifted to turn more of herself to him, clearly feeling a bit more calm with the alcohol. “I always get recognized for my dad when people hear my last name and they look at me differently knowing him. I’d imagine that can happen between the two of you as I doubt you are actual mirrors of one another.” Veronica glanced beyond Logan to Mac before her face relaxed. He assumed she gave Veronica a sign that they were doing better.

Logan returned the gesture to move more towards Veronica, extending his elbow onto the top of the couch to rest his head nonchalantly on his fist. “You know how you can tell us apart?” He paused longer than simply waiting for her to express interest as he realized he was shedding light on a darker part of his life. “My nose is slightly crooked and I have a scar on this eyebrow.” 

Veronica peered closer and tilted her head to the side. “Nope - I don’t see it but I’ll keep looking.” She took a deep drink. He found himself scanning her face in how nice their conversation actually was turning out. “How’d you break your nose?”

He covered his nose bashfully. “Oh, you can tell I broke it?” before he chuckled in earnest. His expression drifted away as he recalled the memory. “Let’s just say my dear old dad was short of temper and big on feeling in control. But I bet you never read that in the tabloids.”

Veronica’s face contorted in confusion. She laid a hand on Logan’s leg, but he could read that she knew he wasn’t seeking sympathy and she wasn’t giving it. She looked up at him, her eyes deep with an emotion he couldn’t place. “Do you really think I’ve read any tabloids?” They both laughed and she pulled back her hand to lay it awkwardly on her own lap.

Logan stared at the loss of contact. He set his drink down on the table in front of them before returning to his spot but facing fully turned towards Veronica. When he felt he wasn’t quite close enough, leaned in closer a hair closer. “You didn’t know we were the sons of the infamous Aaron Echolls?”

“I don’t this I know who that is or why he would be “infamous.” When I met Jason, I remembered my dad mentioning an ‘Echolls kid’ causing some trouble before he was recalled…” Veronica was looking down at her drink, feeling a bit somber. “I feel like that years ago. It’s hard to believe it was just this past summer.” 

“You’re telling me.” Logan’s eyes were filled with understanding without them needing to say anything further. “Hey, I’m going to go get us some water. I’ll be right back.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica leaned all the way over to take up the space Logan vacated and grab Mac’s attention.

Mac chuckled at her dramatic display. “Hey, you could have gone the full slut route - drunkenly dancing between the boys. What’s on your mind?”

Veronica kept her head down on the couch and mumbled, “I brought up this past summer and my - “

“What? Did Logan tell you?” Mac’s face was filled with shock.

Veronica finally sat back up and removed some of her hair that had started to stick to her face, “Uh - tell me what?”

“Nothing. Logan just had a rough summer.” Mac was looking around, hoping Logan was coming back to try and help her put the lid back on Pandora’s box.

“I know, I remember my dad mentioning him but…..” Veronica’s mind was racing as she was connecting the dots. It was his dad’s death that started all of the scrutiny on the sheriff’s department before the recall, her mom leaving the day after the accident. “I have to go. Uhm, I’ll text you when I’m home.” Veronica was up and moving, though her sudden movement made her realize she wasn’t exactly in the right state to drive herself. She started to walk, as focused as possible and found Parker, her eyes filling with the urgency of her plea. “Hey - are you ready to go?”

Parker paused and immediately got up. “Of course, sit with Quinn and I’ll go let Mercer know I’ll be right back.” Parker headed towards a large desk, where they had last seen him. Veronica noted how Parked grabbed something quickly before she darted back. “Uhh, why don’t we go back to my room? Mac and I have an excellent couch so you don’t have to worry about how you explain being home without your car to your dad.” 

Veronica steeled herself, as she noted that something just wasn’t right. She wasn’t sure if it was that Parker wasn’t telling her something but didn’t want to figure it out at the party. “Sure. I just need to rest a bit.”

“Perfect.” Parker paused as she searched her bag. “I don’t think I have my keys. Let me grab Mac.”

Veronica’s held the edge of her palm to her forehead. “I’m going to just head over and you two can meet me there. I need to clear my….” Am I really drunk? I didn’t have more than one drink…

“Fine, but give me your car keys,” Parker held out her hand and withstood Veronica’s dramatic eye roll. “As a precaution! I’ll be right behind you.”

Veronica left for the door, staggering past more of the looks. She sensed a faint whisper of people mentioning Richie Snell, the golden haired quarterback they all assumed she was still dating. Her head was spinning, the room starting to fade. She felt herself starting to fall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan had gone to look for her, thinking he had scared her off when he just wanted a minute to catch his breath. He somehow kept opening up to her, albeit, not with all the details but he had realized that even Lilly was clueless about the full extent of Aaron’s abuse. He saw Wallace still on the couch they were on, but now with a girl. He kept looking around and found Mac standing by the same couch talking to Parker, Jason and Quinn. Mac’s eyes held some sort of guilt as she spotted him as well but there was no Veronica. He didn’t stop to ask them where she went but instead went towards the door. He managed to see her despite the large crowd and noticed she wasn’t very sure footed. He was able to reach her as she turned and then fell. He immediately cradled her and started carrying her out of the dorm. He brought her outside of Wallace’s dorm, as it was not far. He set her down against the wall and gently tried to wake her to offer her water. He pulled out his phone to start calling Wallace when he saw Mac and Parker turning the corner.

“What the hell happened?” Logan barked as he stood.

“I could ask you the same thing! Is she okay?!” Parker was holding Veronica’s face and then went to check her pulse.

Logan’s hand was in his hair before he released a deep breath. “Okay, I didn’t do anything. She literally just collapsed and it was way too crowded in there to assess her. Who left her alone?” Logan looked at Mac.

“I thought you told her about this summer and then I saw her go to Parker. I don’t even know what could have caused this,” Mac said as she started to scan his face. “Logan, you don’t look so good either.”

His head was starting to spin. “I need to lie down,” he said abruptly, putting a hand on the wall to keep himself upright. 

Mac pounded on the door which was quickly opened by Wallace’s roommate. No one said anything as  Mac pushed through. Logan was once again carrying Veronica and set her on the first bed he saw. Parker was walking behind him as if preparing to catch them both. Logan stumbled to get next to Veronica. always. Mac may have tried to resist her eye roll about him always being protective of the people he cared about while Parker sighed, seeing it as romantic. Wallace’s roommate stared at the group then shut the door and returned to his homework without saying a word.

Logan was watching the two girls while his head continued to spin. Mac flipped open her phone to try to reach Jason and Wallace when she paused, “Wait, Parker - you said you found something?”

“Yes! Uhm,” Parker paused to ensure the roommate wasn’t paying attention. “I saw this weird shell signature under something that looked like it was written in code.” Parked uncrumpled the piece of paper and handed it to Mac. As curious as he was, he couldn’t keep his eyes open any more. He turned back to Veronica who was laying next to him and succumbed to the peace of knowing she was near. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica awoke the next morning, feeling like she had been hit by a truck. She was on a couch in a room that was quiet. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the fog of how she got there when she spotted a Colin Farrell poster she knew belonged in Mac and Parker’s room. There was an empty waste basket and bottle of water nearby. Her hair had been thrown up in the messiest of buns. 

“Oh, you are finally up! Great - we have been trying to break this code and could use a fresh pair of eyes.” Veronica groaned at the comment about her eyes being at all fresh. “Okay, coffee first,” Parker said as if she were a fairy godmother. 

Mac perked up her head, “That is the smartest thing I’ve heard all night.”

“I’ll take the compliment and ignore the implication that my code breaking ability is not to your liking. At least I grabbed the note.” Veronica responded again with a groan. “Okayy, okay - I’ll go grab some coffee from the cafeteria.”

Veronica got up as Parker left and headed over to Mac. “Hey, what happened last night?”

Mac kept her face neutral, “What is the last thing you remember?” 

“Uh, a poker game. I went to get drinks from the bar and then a pretty fuzzy conversation on a couch with Logan.”

“So you grabbed the drinks?”

“I guess but I definitely don’t feel like I only had one drink. Unless this is normal then I will never drink again in my life.”

“You two only had one drink that I saw. I definitely don’t think either of you had a normal drink though. We think someone drugged you but we can’t figure out how or why. Do you remember anything about the drink?”

Veronica peered down at what Mac was working on and went to grab the note that had the shell signature. “Where did this come from?”

“Parker found it on Mercer’s desk and grabbed it. We’ve been trying to break the code all night without much luck.”

“I’ve seen this before. This conch shell. My mom found an envelope on her car with this same stamp the day before she disappeared.”

Chapter Text

Logan awoke the next day. Although he was in his own room, something was astray. His body knew something was missing but he couldn’t piece together what it was. And then he realized how terrible he felt. What the hell happened last night. He recalled playing poker, Veronica arriving and surprising everyone with a few tricks up her sleeve. Then he recalled their conversations on the couch. He had such a vivid memory of her scent, her warmth pressed against him but foggy details beyond that. Things were going so well. I wonder how I fucked it up this time?

He braves actually getting up and out of bed. He assessed his appearance as he passed by a mirror to find he was still in the same clothes as last night. Well, at least I can deduce nothing happened. He would kick himself if he had another night he couldn’t remember. He opened his door to find the place to himself. Everything in its right place, I suppose. 

He searched for his phone which flashed low battery before promptly powering down. He gruffed at the irony of how he actually wanted to be reachable for once or at least be able to call Mac and Wallace to see if they could shed light on the prior evening’s events. He figured his best bet would be to shower away the lingering effects of what he assumed was a hangover when there was a sudden knock at the door. He wandered over to the door before thinking to check and see who it was, which he instantly regretted.

“Oh, hey - is, uhm, Jason in? I thought I could stop by,” Duncan Kane asked as he stood there, with his signature “awe shucks” look.

“Nope, just me,” Logan clipped while standing directly in the center of the path with a bored look on his face. Several seconds that felt like minutes of silence passed as Duncan continued to stand there, as if waiting for directions to be given. “Where are my manners? Of course you can come in.” Logan stepped back and to the side to dramatically wave his arm in a downward welcoming motion.

“I figured you would have company.” Duncan said as he kept both of his hands in his pockets with his shoulders tensed up. 

“As I said, just me. What is it that you want, Duncan?” Logan used a tone to echo his annoyance as Duncan made his way to sit on the couch.

“You know, we used to be friends.” Duncan said without making eye contact. He stared ahead at a blank TV.

“Funny, that is not how I recall things.” Logan walked over to his espresso machine but couldn’t pass the chance to air some past grievances. “No, I recall situations where you, ‘Mr. Perfect’ couldn’t get caught by your parents and managed to guilt Jason into taking the fall for various things. That always seem to end well for me. And then of course, there was Meg. You know, Meg Manning? Ring a bell? Have you even bothered to check up on her since she left?”

“What’s your problem, man?” Duncan questioned as he finally looked towards Logan who was leaning against a wall as the machine whirled to life with heat.

“I’m pretty sure I just stated it quite clearly. You’re a piece of shit.” Logan resumed his bored expression and walked past Duncan to sit on the second couch.

“You seem to have some pretty hard feelings about Lilly.”

“And would you look at the time; you’ve already worn out your welcome!”

Duncan stood quickly but made no other movement towards his exit. “Why did you have to send in photos of her then?”

“What are you talking about?” 

“Lilly is in town. She told me that someone sent her photos to some email and I know it was you.”

“You don’t know shit, Donut. Now get out.” Logan sprang up as if a viper preparing to strike but instead went for the shower. He knew opting to not wait for Duncan to leave had the higher chance of irritating Duncan. Before Logan could even turn on the water for the shower, he heard the front door shut. He stepped back into the living room to confirm Duncan left and wandered over to the espresso machine to grind beans for an Americano. 

He paused and thought to himself what the hell Duncan was talking about. As he went to weigh the grounds before tapping the espresso, he recalled how the original email did make him think of her . It was still hard to acknowledge the pang in his gut - which he assumed was better than the tightness he used to get in his chest -  that her name caused. He had kept his face trained in an unmoved expression when Duncan said it. She did send him certain photos once. It was a few months after she graduated and was traveling the East Coast but he would know if any of those photos were in that email. Logan finished setting up the machine to pull his shots. Get your head on straight. One thing at a time - execute plan “cure hangover,” figure out what happened last night, and then you can resume thinking of the impending doom that awaits when you run into her again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica had made it back to her home after she copied the code. The image of the conch shell was ingrained in her brain. She had to be certain that it was a match to the one she saw on the envelope left on her mom’s car. She recalled how her dad had gone down to the station that Saturday as the summer break crowd was starting to increase petty infractions. Leanne thought it would be fun to get Veronica out of the house so they went out for pedicures. Veronica had agreed on the condition that they get ice cream after. They ended up walking along the boardwalk and talked about boys, college, and the hopes that Leanne held for Veronica. It was such a wonderful day, one Veronica assumed could have been pulled from a movie with a perfect mother daughter relationship. That was until they returned to the Le Baron to find an envelope under the windshield wiper. Veronica never knew what was in that letter but had squirreled away the envelope in her glovebox. 

Walking up the steps to her their new home, a two bedroom apartment, Veronica slowed her steps and channeled a sense of complete calm. Bring on the tough dad questions. She entered the apartment and was promptly greeted by Backup. 

“At least somebody is happy to see me,” she shouted towards the bedrooms. She gauged the state of the apartment. It was clean but there was definitely the lingering smell of coffee and bacon. 

“I guess my number one daughter has finally found her way home after a night of debauchery.” Keith said as he walked out from his bedroom.

“To be fair, it was all pretty tame after the strippers and smoking. Or was it after the activities?" Veronica opened her eyes wide as she shrugged with a grin as she assessed what breakfast remnants were waiting for her. “We did more research for our article and played a bit of poker. You know you can trust me.” And what I happen to omit can’t seem to hurt you since I honestly don’t remember much beyond that.

“It is nice that you are getting out and doing the whole ‘college experience’ thing. I’m proud of you, honey.” Keith said as he leaned over to give her a side hug and a kiss on the forehead as Veronica poured herself coffee. “You should invite your new college friends for dinner sometime. That is, unless you want me to embarrass you by running into you on campus,” Keith said, returning her expression and shrug from earlier.

“I honestly don’t think you’d be able to find me unless you tracked my cell phone, which we agreed would be a huge breach of privacy,” as she continued on, Keith joined her as they say in unison, “except in case of disappearance or other perceived emergency.” She chuckled before turning to grab creamer out of the fridge for her coffee. “Speaking of spy gear, how would you feel if I needed to borrow something?”

“Like….?” He asked with raised brows as he took a seat at their small dining room table. 

“I don’t know. Maybe a small camera I could wear with a wire or a few small bugs I could plant for audio.” “You haven’t told me much about this article. What would you need those things for?”

“I haven’t told you because I don’t want you to worry. There was an email that went out with, well, let’s just say personal photos of people who everyone assumes attend Hearst. The faces were blocked out so no one can be certain. We are trying to trace it and think we have a bit of a lead if I can crack this code but it’d be nice to have that stuff, you know, just in case?” Veronica laid out the coded letter. She knew her dad would be able to help but continued to omit enough details that would hint towards her being in any danger. 

“Have you tried creating a substitution cipher after spotting the easier letters, like single letter words or repeat characters?” Keith quickly scanned the letter and spotted two instances that were likely an “I” or “A” which he pointed out to her. He chuckled as he watched her face palm; clearly they had been overthinking the entire thing. “Oh, you do have a lot to learn. I can take a crack at it if you want…”

“No! Pft, you’re busy. I think that this is actually a good enough lead and we can put a pin in me using your spy equipment.” She looked up through her eyelashes, trying to give her dad her best puppy dog eyes in hopes he would drop the code in the event it held inclinations of danger or hatred to blonds.

“If you say so, honey. I am going to take Backup on a walk if you want to join us. It’s a beautiful day.” As Keith finished his offer, Veronica’s phone began to ring.

“Raincheck. I’m going to go grab this.” She kissed her dad’s check and then spun around to flip open her phone without checking to see who it was and headed to her room.

“Hello?” She said as she shut her door and took a sip of her coffee she had wisely brought with her. 

“Veronica! Darling , what are you doing today and whatever it is, stop,” a silvery voice beamed.

“Lilly? Oh wow - uhm, I kind of need to catch up on some homework.”

“Boring!” Lilly enunciated to mimic a fog horn. “There will be another time for that. I have a duty as witness to your boy sadness to ensure you have moved well past that.”

Veronica scoffed lightly at her dramatization and gently rolled her eyes. “I can assure you, I am quite alright.”

“Who would settle for ‘alright?’ C’mon, Veronica - I got the impression you are way more than even you see. I’ll come over and we can talk through your wardrobe to make sure we accentuate all of you. Plus, I’m persistent so you can save yourself some time by just agreeing and giving me your address. I’ll bring croissants and some coffee drink with whipped cream to sweeten the deal.”

“Fine, since you clearly know food is my love language. I’ll text it to you.”

Lilly let off an excited squeal, “See you soon!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Logan’s shower, he was able to turn on his phone to see if there were any clues about the prior night’s event. He was slightly saddened to find nothing of interest other than some late night texts from a few of his one night stands over summer, as well as a missed call from an unlisted number that he recognized with a pit in his stomach. Speak of the she-devilI. He hoped it was just a misdial but had a feeling that with Duncan’s random appearance that there was something more; he buried those thoughts away to prioritize discovering what the hell happened last night by first calling Wallace.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Are you ready to get back on the case?”

“What happened last night?”

“You too? Man, I knew something had to be in your drink for you to have been like that after only one.”

Logan runs a hand through his hair, feeling anxious about how he must have acted. “What do you mean ‘me too?’ Can you not torture me and just tell me what the hell happened? Did I -” Logan stops himself before he lets his imagination run wild. He knew he had a distinct memory of Veronica close enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath, but what if he had done something that caused her to call him this morning and Duncan to randomly appear. Fuckfuckfuck. 

“Okay, Romeo - nothing happened. You caught blondie before she passed out and then seemed to nearly pass out yourself. Jason took you home after you fell asleep next to Veronica.” Wallace chuckled at the ongoing silence from Logan. “Damn, man! What do you think happened? Just get over here.” 

Logan ended the call and took a deep sigh of relief. Nothing happened . He checked his outgoing call history and texts just to make sure he didn’t do anything to summon his past and was relieved to find he made no calls or sent any texts. He went to stash his phone in his pocket, but first paused and checked his contacts, going to the very end to find a new one for Veronica at the very bottom. He certainly wasn’t convinced she had put it there with what Wallace said, but it’s existence still made him smile more than he should have as he headed out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, tell me now that I’ve plied you with coffee and chocolate croissants, how you’ve used your time in college, all free and single,” Lilly leans forward with a near giddy look filling her face as they sat on the barstools in the kitchen.

“Uhm, it is pretty much the same. I haven’t given much thought about dating and I don’t think it’s a great time for blonds at my school.” Veronica says matter of factly, even though she surmised the lack of story had disappointed her new friend. 

Lilly rolled her eyes, “You are clearly clueless as to your natural prowess. And what’s wrong with being blond? We totally have more fun.”

“Well, it seems that more fun has been targeted.” Veronica gets up and grabs her laptop before pulling up the email, but pauses as she sees a new one went out early this morning. Lilly’s eyes go wide as she scans the images and locks on one.  

“Is this a joke?” Lilly gives Veronica a side eye while fighting an uncertain smile.

She knows something. “I wish it was. I guess whoever is doing this was mad enough last night to send another one of these after a week of radio silence. We’ve been looking into it and I had hopes we’d bring this to a close...” Veronica slams her laptop, partially to see if Lilly will take the bait to share what she may know and also because she can’t look at the various images any more from the overwhelming sense that each girl was betrayed. “But this could mean that they were there last night, or someone was and they felt the need to drug me.”

“Oh my god, Veronica - someone drugged you?! What school are you going to?”

Veronica scoffs before she replies, “Hearst. I’m just going to see if Mac has seen this yet or if she’s had any luck with the code.” She flips open her phone and calls out to Mac, her body fully turned away from Lilly whose face has gone pale.

Lilly seemed to blink away her thoughts to regain the cool composure Veronica was more acquainted with as shut her cell phone without saying anything further. “Are you some sort of Nancy Drew or is Mac a computer code reference?”

Veronica shook her head as she sat back down and turned to follow Lilly who was now walking around, admiring the pictures around the house. “Mac is a friend who is working on this article with me. We found a letter that was encoded and we have been trying to crack it. Are you any good at…” Veronica pauses as she stands to join Lilly who has stopped in front of a photo from over a year ago with her parents. “Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“Your mom is just, really pretty... and I didn’t realize your dad was the sheriff.” She said coyly as she continued walking towards more family photos but from Veronica’s childhood. “Your life has to be way more interesting than you let on.” Lilly pauses but bites her tongue, clearly not wanting to comment on the photos of Veronica as a child. “How about instead of looking through some boring code, we talk about Halloween costumes while I judge your closet.” Lilly’s eyebrows raise and her eyes grow wide with excitement. “Tell me what you had planned!”

Before Veronica could question Lilly further on what had caught her eye from the photos, Lilly was opening the door to her bedroom. “Well, I was probably just going to be Wednesday Addams again.” Recognizing the force that was Lilly Kane, she pointed to her closet and sat on her bed.

“I have a better idea!” Lilly exclaims as she assesses the dresses and shirts hanging up quickly. “Wow - this is not what I pictured - flowery, pink and yellow dresses. Nope - not any more!” 

Lilly started to walk over to Veronica’s dresser to search for what else she may find. “Okay, this skirt may work especially with… yes! Knee high socks,” she turned to find  Veronica frozen in realization of what was being paired together. “Don’t worry, I am sure we can still work in braids or pigtails,” her devilish smile grew as she sat next to Veronica on the bed. “Look, Veronica - you clearly have this image of yourself as a wallflower but I see you. You’re a lioness! And although I won’t be able to dress you as such, I can find a costume that will hopefully help YOU realize your own prowess.” 

Veronica was taken aback by the sheer certainty Lilly expressed. She has never seen someone like her before. Lilly was the literal epitome of calm, cool and confident, even when Veronica thought she spotted doubt or uncertainty, it was quickly pushed aside by Lilly’s sheer willpower to be more. “You could literally sell ice to an eskimo, Lilly Kane. But where would I even use whatever costume you concoct.” 

“You’re a college student now! I’m sure there will be a Halloween party or two. And trust me, you will definitely attract whatever degenerate is sending out these emails so you and the Scooby Doo crew can unmask them. Ah, it almost makes me sad that I’ll have to miss all the action.”

“I’m sure you don’t do anything you don’t want to and that we could find a way to get you in,” Veronica tried to bounce back some of the encouraging energy Lilly had thrown her way.

“True… but I don’t think it would be wise for me to hang around Neptune any longer than necessary. That’s a story for another time though, as we are focusing on you and how we can get you a man and maybe something more, who knows!” There was a glimmer in Lilly’s eye that Veronica couldn’t place; it wasn’t hope but there was certainly something mixed with the mischief.

Lilly’s phone then began to ring with an ominous piano tune. Veronica gave her a concerned look, “Is Lurch reaching out?”

“I wish but sadly, this is family. I should probably get going but I’ve laid out my hopes and dreams for your costume. I can walk you through hair and makeup whenever you do find a party worthy of such a look. Ciao!” Lilly parted with three rapid faire la bise that made Veronica laugh even more at the whirlwind that was her new found friend. 

Veronica took a moment to muse over the force that was Lilly Kane; how she so quickly commanded a situation and then managed a seamless exit. If only she could have reeled her into working the case with them. She was certain no one could pass up Lilly’s charms and the case would be open and shut with a snap of Lilly’s perfectly manicured fingers. Looking over her desk and back towards her laptop, she wanted to get back to work but felt the caffeine starting to affect her. She started to pack up her things to try to head back to Mac’s when her dad came home, announcing she had a visitor. Since when did I become so popular? 

She went to the door and felt all of her guilt culminate as she saw Rose. Veronica knew she had been a terrible friend by not reaching out but didn’t know what to say. She rocked back on her heels as her dad unleashed Backup and headed to his room, leaving Rose in the entryway.  

“Hey, you,” Veronica enunciated awkwardly with finger guns, “Just visiting the neighborhood?”

“Clever.” Rose said as she made her way inside, going straight to their couch to plop down. “Veronica, what the hell? You can’t hole yourself up when things get hard. I get that you assumed I would be mad at you for breaking Richie’s heart…” she slows her speech - that she undoubtedly prepared - as she sees Veronica’s face. “Or whatever, I don’t know but we were friends first.” Rose pats the spot next to her for Veronica to join but instead, Backup takes this as his opportunity to snuggle next to her.

The two laugh in unison over the large pitbull’s attempt to be a lap dog. “I’m sorry. I know, I’ve been a bad friend.” Veronica gives Backup a pat to take the seat next to Rose. “Truthfully, I didn’t plan the drive up to break up with him but I kind of had a revelation and…. You did not come here for an explanation.” 

“Nope - I came to see how you, my best friend, are with the whole new school thing. So, tell me everything because high school is just as boring as ever and I have missed youuuu.”

I’m sure it is going pretty much how you imagined it - me being an utter ray of sunshine and winning over every person I meet,” Veronica paused to smirk and watch how Rose’s face crumbled into laughter at the thought. “I’m actually working on an article for the newspaper and was about to head out.”

“Let me proofread it, or help, or I don’t know! Follow you around like the sad, bored minor that I am.” Rose folded her hands in a plea for Veronica to include her.

“I’m sorry, Rose. It really isn’t the kind of article like our high school paper did….  However, there is a code you may be able to try and help me break before I meet up with the rest of my group? My head is spinning partly from too much caffeine”

“A code? Like, spy code? Gosh, Pan is even more boring than I realized if down the road Hearst has spy games going on.”

“It’s not like that but maybe a fresh pair of eyes can help. My dad suggested creating a substitution cipher and I’ve been able to identify what I assume are either E’s or T’s and I’s or A’s but my head is still in a fog from last night.” Veronica got up to get her notebook out of her bag and returned to the couch to hand it over to Rose.

Rose read over the note and quickly started to count the letters to find a pattern before she matter of factly shares, “It’s a Caesar shift of seven. Look,” she grabbed the pen nestled int he spiral of the notebook to write out the alphabet. She numbered each letter starting with the letters Veronica has already identified. “They just shifted the replacement letter seven spaces down the alphabet.”

Veronica’s eyes are wide. She didn't want to solve this in front of Rose in the event there is some ominous message lurking. “You are brilliant!” She embraces her friends in a quick hug and starts to close the notebook to take it away. “I have to go but I promise I will call you for a girl’s night.” Veronica paused, putting the notebook away to hold out her pinky with pleading eyes.

Rose caved after a dramatic eye roll and wrapped her pinky around Veronica’s. “Fine. But seriously, don’t be a stranger.” Rose gives Backup a kiss on the forehead before heading for the door. “Because I’ll find you ,” she says in a playful manner.

“Okay, stage five clinger!” Veronica joined Rose by the door to ensure she was leaving before running back to finish gathering everything together to take to Mac’s dorm room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, you’re telling me, a high schooler figured this out in what - ten minutes?” Mac said in complete disbelief as Veronica finally wrote out the message on the desk.

“More like, ten seconds after I told her how my dad helped me identify some of the letters. I guess public schools aren’t the worst.” Veronica snarked playfully, before turning to show Mac and Parker who were standing behind her the hidden message.

“It’s - a call to slut shame?” Parker stuttered out. “So, Mercer isn’t the big bad wolf after all if someone gave this to him!”

Mac and Veronica exchanged a look, silently agreeing not to comment further on Parker’s assessment. “Mercer got this invitation and did threaten to send in your photos. We can’t chalk up a new email going out at 1:00am this morning AND Veronica getting drugged or whatever at Mercer’s to coincidence. He has to know something or someone involved in this.” Parker was sitting on her bed at this point, her face full of concern. 

Veronica got up to sit next to her as Mac opted to sit on the couch. “Parker, he was a bit, well- possessive of you last night. I don’t think he could have been the one who gave me those drinks. We should ask him about it all though to see if he knows if it happened to anyone else and if he has any idea who would have messed with my drink. We will leave the letter out until we assess what he knows.” Veronica’s attempt of laying out her idea of what happened next as gently as she could manage didn’t have the intended effect on Parker she had hoped. After a moment of exchanged looks, she started to shake her head, “Who knows what would have happened if you guys didn’t find me passed out.”

“We didn’t find you. Logan caught you and then he brought you to some dorm room and ended up passing out next to you.” Veronica inhaled sharply as some more details from the night before became less foggy. She suddenly recalled that not-Jason did cave and gave her his name, alongside a hefty dose of flirting mixed with their normal semi-sharp tongued exchanges. “Come to think of it, you two were quite close most of the night. Maybe he put something in your drink,” Parker said, trying to deflect.

Mac started laughing dramatically. “Right, but he dosed himself to avoid suspicion? Logan doesn’t have to drug girls, they practically throw themselves at him.” Veronica’s eyes darted to Mac in disbelief. “Not that you were doing that, V. Though I do second that you two were awfully cozy, and I got the feeling it was more than playing your parts.” Mac joked as she winked at Veronica.

“Well, considering how hazy my memory is, I’m barely able to recall him actually telling me his name so I wouldn’t refer to him as ‘asshole’ any more. Can we stay on task though, ladies? How do we want to do this?”

“My vote is we get you in a room or maybe a closet with Logan,” Mac said before Veronica threw a pillow in her direction. “Oh, you mean confronting Mercer. Well, I think it’d be pretty reasonable for the three of us to go back to his room and ask about last night. Parker can bat her eyelashes or something, I can play bad cop and Veronica plays…. bad-er cop?”

“I was planning to stop by any way since I left in such a hurry last night but you two have to behave. Please? He’s still my boyfriend even if you two have suspicions. There isn’t anything concrete to say he’s culpable.” Parker stood up and began changing her outfit in front of them. Mac rolled her eyes and walked over to sit next to Veronica.

“Okay, so I’m going to try something I’ve been working on - girl talk time. Since Logan is one of my best friends, I have to know…. Are you really dating some Richie guy?” Mac asked and it is indeed abundantly clear this is a territory for her.

Veronica takes a moment to cherish how much Mac clearly cares for Logan before she smiles. She takes Mac’s hand in between her own to ramp up the dramatics. “I broke up with him a little over a week ago but I’m not really flaunting a single badge at the moment. I’m sort of still figuring out some things with myself.” 

Mac squeezes her hand before slowly removing it from Veronica’s grasp and smirks. “Well… it doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that there was some serious chemistry between you and Logan. I’m sorry you don’t remember. You looked like you were actually enjoying talking to him.”

“That… is very hard to believe but I’ll take your word for it.” Veronica jests as Mac continued to give her a serious look.

“Are you going to make me say it?” Mac half whines, tilting her head before huffing out abreath. “You know I’ll have to find a way to hurt you if you hurt him.” 

Veronica’s mouth fell open as she responded. “How would I hurt him? He’s… well, an asshole!” She cannot contain her chuckle as she spits out his now retired nickname.

“He’s got his qualities. I won’t share his story but I promise he is one of the good ones at heart.” Veronica can tell Mac is sincere and trusts her in this. 

Parker emerged with a new outfit. “Okay, now or never. Follow my lead when we get there and Veronica - look sick. That smile you have does not read ‘I was roofied.’”

Mac giggled in realization that Veronica was in fact still smiling over their conversation and clearly reveling in thinking she is right about Veronica and Logan. “Yeah, replace the puppy love eyes with just regular puppy eyes.” 

Veronica rolled her eyes again before taking a deep breath to change her expression. “I’ll do my best but hopefully there are no puppies because then I can assure you, I will not be able to hide the joy on my face.”

The trio headed towards Mercer’s room, only to hear a sudden crash as they approached. Parker flew for the door and was able to open it to see Logan and Wallace standing over Mercer, who had clearly been punched. She nearly ran to Mercer’s side as Mac and Veronica stared blankly. 

Logan shook out his wrist. “Funny meeting you all here.”

Parker shouted up towards Logan, “What is wrong with you?”

“How much time do you have because I will admit, I’ve given it some thought.” Logan takes a step back from Mercer. “Were you three really just going to show up after he drugged Veronica?”

“Well, we don’t think he did that. We were coming to ask him if he knew who may have.” Mac adds as she gives Veronica a small nudge, noticing that Veronica was seemingly frozen.

Veronica took a deep breath before she walked past the threshold and brought Mac in with her. She shut the door slowly, channeling some of the confidence Lilly believed she should possess. She pushed out any thoughts about the heat warming her cheeks. Punching in my honor being a turn on will need to be added to the list of things to discuss at a later date. “Mercer isn’t behind the emails and it wouldn’t make sense for him to mess with my drink or really any drinks at his own underground poker game.” Her attention darted to Mercer who was still on the ground but now with Parker by his side, assessing his eye. “There was a good amount of money changing hands last night I assume. Do you have any security cameras or other measures?”

He looked up, slightly bewildered at both the pain surely radiating from his face and Veronica’s question. “I have some cameras installed. I can check the tapes.”

“ We can check the tapes. You stay down,” Wallace said, surprising everyone. “What? I don’t like him.”

Logan went to help Parker pick up Mercer. “I know I’m more of a punch first, ask questions later kind of guy. Don’t take it personally,” Logan joked as he pointed to his handy work.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Mercer snapped as he pulled away to stand on his own and look towards Veronica. “There’s three cameras that get enough of the room but they are mostly focused on the poker table. I think one could have picked up some of the bar area where the drinks were.” 

Veronica takes note but continues to control her face in a neutral expression. “The sooner we can see it, the sooner we can get out of your hair.” Her attention then shifts to Logan as she feels his eyes on her, as if assessing if she is either okay or even real. She responds with a grin of her own that seems to ease his concerns as they all follow Mercer to his closet where a small TV sits behind clothes. “How much did it cost you to get electricity in your closet?” 

Mercer didn’t bother to make eye contact as he continued to rewind the tape from the night before. “I guess you could say I know people.”

“Oh, of that, we are sure. Maybe on your tapes you can also tell us who dropped off that coded letter?” Mac asked.

Mercer scoffed, “Not sure I want to know how you know about that. It was placed under my door at some point when I was at class. I couldn’t even figure out what it said.”

Veronica bit the inside of her check to stop herself from asking if that was before or after he threatened Parker. The time for that question would come later and she wanted Mercer to trust them. 

Parker perked up as Mercer started to slow the tape from the night before to when they were walking away from the poker table, “Look there! That letterman’s jacket guy is the one who handed you the drinks.” 

“Wait, is he in our personal finance class? I bet Quinn can get us his name.” Logan said hopefully.

“It’s worth a shot. Can we take the tapes from last night by chance?” Veronica asked.

“Sure. Especially if that means I can have your assurance that you won’t go off spreading around that you were drugged here. Discretion is key in running these sorts of things and I’d hate to have people thinking this isn’t a safe space.” Mercer’s eyes scanned everyone but Parker who had taken the spot at his side, their hands intertwined.  

“Always a businessman,” Veronica says as she continued to channel a collective calm she guessed Lilly would invoke, which inspired her next idea. “In fact, I have an excellent proposition for you! Well, more so for your illegal casino here. What would you say to hosting a Halloween game and party here?” Everyone’s eyes shot to Veronica in what she assumed was awe but more likely surprise over how quickly she was planning their next opportunity. 

“I’m listening,” Mercer said as he popped out the tape to give to Veronica. He leered slightly before he made his way to his bed to sit, bringing Parker along with him.

The remaining three stayed by the closet with their arms crossed to witness Veronica share what she had planned. “Well, I’m sure there will be plenty of Halloween parties, but since you have all of these lovely cameras set-up, this would be an ideal place to set a precise trap so we can figure out who else may be involved and what their plans are. And we can celebrate you as a champion for blonds,” Veronica’s face was beyond smug at this point.

“I do love being a champion,” Mercer said as half his face lifted into an evil smile. “What would I need to do?”

“Just stay pretty and stay naive about us being here to dig into all of this. We will handle the invites and the rest,” Veronica winked at Mac though the gleam she noted in Logan’s eyes had her doubting who she actually winked at. Lilly was definitely on to something about the prowess thing. “But we’ll get out of your hair now! Thanks again, Mercer. I’ll let you know if we need anything else and let you have the final approval on the flier before it goes out.”   

The group less Parker followed behind Veronica as they left. Parker clearly wanted to stay behind to make sure Mercer was okay. Mac slid closely to walk next to Veronica. “I feel like this is where I would give a high five or some sort of cool fist bump thing. Did you eat your Wheaties or something this morning?”

“Just feeling like myself today, I guess. Let’s get to party planning, shall we?” Veronica linked her arm in Mac’s as they made for her room, leaving Logan and Wallace behind slightly.

“You okay there, Logan? You look like the cat that ate the canary.” 

“Never better, my dear Wallace. Never better. C’mon, let’s go find Jason and Quinn to ask about that jock.” Logan smacked Wallace as they departed on their own mission. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mac turned her laptop to show Veronica what she had been working on for the past hour. “Do you think this is subtle enough?”

Veronica reviewed the flier that indirectly promoted Mercer’s underground casino with a pirate theme that encouraged the winner to “find the booty” and had a near copy of the conch shell from the note in the bottom right corner. “Maybe we should mention sea wenches?” Veronica smirked up at Mac who was feigning irritation by rolling her eyes. “I think it’s perfect. Should we check on the boys and get their thoughts before we send it to Mercer?”

“Sure, I could use a walk to stretch out my legs. Before we go, did you ever figure out if the conch shell was the same as the one your mom found?”

Veronica smacked her palm against her forehead. “I totally spaced on checking but I think it is still in my glovebox. I’ll head down to grab it and meet you at Wallace’s dorm.”

As Veronica headed down towards the parking garage to her LeBaron, she felt as if someone was following her. She took her keys and distributed them between her knuckles in the event she needed to defend herself, while thinking to herself, S.I.N.G. - Solar plex, in step, nose, groin. When she was certain she felt someone walking behind her, she was ready for them. 

The figure was dressed in dark clothing that included a black turtleneck and a beanie they had pulled down to their nose and cut out holes to see through. They tried to wrap their arms quickly around Veronica’s but she turned rapidly and swung a punch with all of her weight that missed and nearly took her to the ground. Her attacker appeared startled and started to back up instead of continuing their charge, locking eyes as Veronica looked up at them. She noted their fit build and height just under six feet. It was their eyes that stopped her dead. “Who are you!” she demanded, as she continued to peer into the light blue eyes that matched her eyes. Mom’s eyes.  

Veronica nearly started to cry when she heard shouting and the figure ran off. She dropped to her knees. Her mind was going a million miles a minute and then she felt someone kneel behind her, setting their hand on her shoulder that was large enough that it could engulf her. She took a stabilizing breath, knowing she was safe but not certain as to how she would even attempt to explain what transpired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan stayed there for what could have been an eternity; sitting behind Veronica with only his hand on her shoulder as their connection, grounding him to her. When Mac had come into Wallace’s dorm and nonchalantly said Veronica had to get something from her car, Logan bolted for the door. It wasn’t a matter of him needing to protect her, as he gathered that would likely result in him being told how she could take care of herself. No, this was the same gut feeling he had the night before when he barely managed to catch her before she collapsed. It may have also been a desire to be near her and see if they could talk about the night before in private.

When Veronica finally turned to him with retreating lines of silver in her eyes, his breath caught in his throat. He had Wallace’s retelling of the events from last night but he felt something more happened between them; as if he saw a piece of her and she saw a piece of him that just fit together. As she took another deep breath, he found himself at a loss for words. This is new. 

He could see Veronica was slightly shaken but her breathing remained calm. She turned to look back at him over her shoulder and he slowly let his hand fall from her as he began to rub the back of his neck. 

“Funny seeing you down here,” Veronica said as she cleared her eyes with her hand before standing up. She dusted off her pants awkwardly before meeting his gaze.

“You mean, in a parking garage?” Logan asked as he started to talk with his hands. “Where else would I keep my car?”

“I more so meant on the ground, with me.” 

“Oh, that. Well, although I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself; I came to… marvel at… what kind of car you drive.” Logan resisted the growing urge to slap himself; he wasn’t one to search for words. 

Veronica’s expression shifted from curious to amused as she extended her hand out to help Logan up. “Of course. Totally reasonable.” 

“That’s cute.” He grabbed her hand and quickly kissed it before letting go and nearly jumping straight up from the sparks that ensued. Before she could comment, he brushed himself off and asked as he slipped both of his hands in his back pockets, “So, you can help me but I can’t help you?”

Veronica tilted her head to the right and he swore he saw a tinge of blush growing. “It isn’t a capability thing, really. You can technically do a wide array of things, or at least I would imagine.”

“Are you imagining what I can do?” His eyebrows bobbed up once, as if in a dare for her to continue with the dance. 

“You are insufferable. Let me get something out of my car and I can continue to assume you never had a teacher who made you say ‘may I’ instead of ‘ can I?’ ”

“I know you are not majoring in teaching. Although, picturing you wrangling a large group of children would be interesting. They’d definitely be your height, if not taller.” Veronica didn’t respond as she dug through her glove compartment but came up empty handed. “What are you majoring in?”

She sighed and then shut her door out of frustration. “Undeclared. You?”

“Same. Though I’m proud of you for taking an interest in me. It only took you nearly getting abducted or whatever that was I suppose.” He hoped to get her to talk about what happened and knew their walk wouldn’t last forever before they were back with Mac and Wallace.

“Wait, are you flirting with me or wanting me to flirt with you?”

“Mostly trying to assess how you are doing but two questions in a row - be still my heart.”

“Avoidance is an interesting tactic.”

“I could say the same for you. But! I’m going to take a wild guess and assume the rapid fire questions are your way of flirting.”

Veronica’s face tightened slightly with either annoyance or confusion, he wasn’t sure. “We need to get back before the other members of our jolly crew assume something is wrong and form a search party.”

Logan could take a hint and although he wanted to know more, he figured one display of him being a hothead to get answers was more than enough for the day. “As you wish.”

Veronica and Logan made their way to Wallace’s dorm room without much more exchanged between them beyond the occasional side glance and ensuing grin if they caught the other looking at the same time. As they walked in, Mac gave a more succinct version of what she had learned from Wallace about how the jock was a deadend; his story being someone dared him to give her the drinks but that he couldn’t remember who. As they watched the tapes, they could only see him walking away from a large group of guys with the drinks in his hands. Wallace then shared his understanding of the party plans Mac and Veronica had drawn up.

“It's going to be interesting,” was Logan’s response as he tried to slow his imagination and anxiety from running wild.

Veronica looked to him directly and with a certainty he had not seen before, she added, “Life normally is.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly returned home later that evening after driving aimlessly to find her brother sitting in the living room, watching something on their TV. “Wow - college isn’t really expanding your horizons little brother if this is how you are spending your Saturdays.” She grabbed a handful of the chips Duncan was eating as she joined him on the couch.

“I’m surprised you are in such good spirits, sis. Prozac finally working for you?”

“You’re one to talk about medication, but why wouldn’t I be happy? I’m figuring out what I’m going to do in the comforts of my childhood home without mom scolding me and cherishing you in the same breath.”

“I take it dad has loosened up since the last time you were home. I never did get all the details as to why you were so mad at him.”

“That’s between dad and I, but after today, well - I’ve got an even better secret. Where is dad anyway?”

“He got called in. He mentioned something about a data breach or hacker. I don’t know, I tuned him out but he likely won’t be home until late.”

“Hey - do you remember when mom gave you grief about dating Madison? I always got the impression it was more than just she was my friend.”

“I remember. Mom hates blonds. She doesn’t think it’d be good for me to get caught up with one and she wants me to find someone not from Neptune. She’s been trying to get me to go up to Napa again to meet some girl. I think it’s one of the governor’s daughters.”

“She would. Wait, what happened to Meg? I thought you two were cute together.”

“What about you? Are you just going to keep sleeping around and breaking hearts? I saw Logan today.”

Lilly failed to notice how Duncan ignored her question as she was caught off guard by his implications. “What the hell is wrong with you? Did you tell him I was here?”

“It may have come up,” Duncan lifts his arms to protect his face as Lilly starts throwing chips at him. “What, it was an accident. Besides, maybe you can go on an apology tour for those that you have wronged. You can start with me since I’m right here.”

“You really are clueless. You’d tell everyone a tree wronged you if you tripped over its roots.”

“Did you get that from a fortune cookie?”

“No, I told you, I’ve been figuring things out and that includes our childhood and family dynamic.” Lilly paused, waiting to see if Duncan would respond. When his attention returned  to the television, she continued on, “You want to know why mom moved out?”

“It doesn’t matter any more. What’s done is done… I don’t blame you for it.” He turned to face her as if in reassurance, only to find Lilly’s temper rising.

“Me?! Wow - you would honestly think I had that big of an effect on the state of our parent’s marriage  more than, oh I don’t know, dad having a secret love child with some-’”

“Enough!” Duncan stood up in an instant and was towering over Lilly, his face enraged. He quietly started counting his breaths, trying to resume some composure.

“Enough is right. You need to get that shit under control, Mr. Future President. Mom and dad have managed to keep both of our names out of the papers this past year but our luck will run out one day.” Lilly stood up, facing Duncan directly before moving past him to head up to her room.

Chapter Text

Veronica found herself responding to a 9-1-1 text from Lilly asking her to come over. Thankfully, Veronica only had Statistics class on that Wednesday before Halloween and wasn’t worried about missing much. Lilly sent Veronica her address and asked her to hurry. On the drive over, Veronica’s mind was racing a million miles a minute - had something happened to Lilly? Was she going to share what she had clearly been hiding the last time she saw her? She recalled how her face had shown the slightest crack of uncertainty when she saw the last email. Could they be targeting her because of me or vice versa?

Veronica arrived in record time considering she had never been in the prestigious 09 zip code. She rang the doorbell but there was no response. She stepped back to ensure she had the right address, flipping open her cell phone to confirm it matched the text message. She hit the call button to reach out as she continued to scan the house to see if anyone was home or if there was some other way she could get in. 

“Verrrrronicaaaaa,” Lilly answered. “Are you here already? Come to the backyard! The side gate should be unlocked.” 

Veronica didn’t bother to respond as she disconnected and ran over the side of the house. She started to slow as she found Lilly sunbathing. “I seem to be missing the emergency that required me to skip class.”

“It’s a personal emergency. A perfect day like this is not to be wasted under fluorescent lighting,” Lilly sat up from her reclined position and patted the lounge chair to invite Veronica to sit down. She then lowered her sunglasses before continuing as Veronica made her way to join her. “How are you not burning up in that outfit? Though I will admit, it has the potential to create a ‘come hither’ sort of vibe with an adjustment or two.” Lilly shook her shoulders at Veronica as she plopped down in slight annoyance. 

Veronica looked down at her outfit which consisted of a black long sleeve shirt with snap buttons down the middle done up to the top, low-rise, skinny jeans with a chunky belt and her staple black boots. She did find herself reaching more for simple shirts that were black or grey and jeans but had not given a thought as to if she was dressing to feel sexy. “I’m not normally in the sun at noon like this.”

“Yes, I did notice the alabaster look. We can go inside, though I am begging you to undo at least one of your top buttons, if not two. You are suffocating your femine energy!” Lilly jested as she started to gather her things.

“Did you really call me over just to hang out and ridicule my fashion choices?”

“I hadn’t heard from you and wanted to make sure my efforts to inspire you for Halloween were not wasted.” Lilly opened the sliding glass door into the Kane home and paused for Veronica to catch up. “I’m serious about the button thing though. Please just try it and you can re-do it if causes hellfire to rain down or something. Think of it as a way to show off that necklace and hint at that prowess I know you have.” 

Veronica stopped in front of the door and dramatically undid the top button before entering. She ignored Lilly’s giddy clapping as she scanned the room. The home was incredibly modern and clean; it felt more like an art museum with a kitchen than it did a home with no nicknacks or photos openly displayed. Lilly grabbed for Veronica’s hand and tugged to guide her to her room upstairs. There were some family portraits hung on in the stairwell but Veronica didn’t get a chance to really look at them as Lilly continued on without pause. “Wow, your house is…”

“Stuffy? Yeah, I don’t disagree.” Lilly opened her door to a room that reminded Veronica of her own. “I, however, like to let memories live out in the open instead of trying to keep a sterile environment to appease others.” Although Veronica didn’t think Lilly meant much by her comment, it made her smile at the honest truth that it expressed. 

“I have to say, I do admire that about you - you’re fearless. I feel like I’ve been trying to channel that same confidence that just radiates from you since we hung out.” Veronica said as she laid down on the bed next to Lilly. 

“Well, let me inspire more confidence in you! Dish on your Halloween plans. Did you find somewhere to use that costume I curated for you?” Lilly turned to lay on her back next to Veronica, looking up what appeared to be a collage of photos on the ceiling.

Veronica joined her by shifting to lay down on her back and scanned the pictures, thinking she recognized some of the people but not able to make out for certain. “I think so. Though truth be told, I haven’t actually tried to put it all together yet. So maybe it is good that you called me over since I’m already here and we are sans an actual emergency.”

Lilly sprang up in excitement. “Yes! I knew you would come around. Now I can work my magic so you are entirely prepared for anything and everything this weekend.” She bolted to her closest and was shifting through her own things to ensure Veronica had every piece to make the costume perfect. 

Fully succumbing to the moment, Veronica rolled onto her stomach with her elbow propped up so she could rest her face on her fist as she watched Lilly in her element. “Just make sure I will have a place to hide some pepper spray and that it isn’t so complicated I actually can’t recreate it…. Please?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The campus was abuzz the following day with everyone talking about the various ways to celebrate. There had been some changes to their original flier as their first draft didn't meet Mercer's expectations. Their plans had changed slightly and Veronica considered taking liberties with her own personal plans, especially after another encounter with Lilly. She sat in her psychology class when Jason snagged the seat next to her, startling her slightly from her thoughts.

"Well, if it isn't the honored guest for tomorrow's festivities? How are you, Mars?" Jason asked as he pulled out his reading glasses.

"I haven't noticed any red carpets. And truth be told, I'm a little bit nervous. It's been oddly quiet and, well, I'm not… I don't know." She stammered, not certain about why she was planning on divulging her personal fears to him. Although she had grown significantly closer to Mac, the group wasn’t exactly inviting Veronica over for weekly dinners.

"Those nerves wouldn't happen to do anything with a certain brother of mine?" He asked locking eyes in a way that she felt was intended to burrow through her soul to find the truth until he started to chuckle. "That panic in your eyes tells me it does. I like you for him." Jason turned back to his notepad.

"I'm not - I don't… are you all some sort of blood sworn wingman for him? Mac already gave me the protective friend speech. Can't a girl just be nervous about our plans leading to nothing again? What if this blond hating scumbag continues to escalate and -" she stopped her own rambling when Jason didn't turn back. "You're not buying any of that I gather?"

"It's my understanding that most of it was your idea," Jason finally turned to look back at her, resting his chin in his palm as he propped up his elbow on the desk. "But I won't tell him about this, though I'd hope he would be a keen enough observer to see that you like him."

Veronica mimicked his pose using both of her palms. "You are pretty great at this girl talk stuff."

Jason shook his head as he chuckled, returning to his notes. "Well, thank you. I learned a thing or two from my mom and sister." The previous joy in his face faded slightly.

"I didn't know you guys had a sister. Where is she at?" Veronica asked with earnest interest.

He looked back over his shoulder to give her a smile with pursed lips. "You really aren't subscribed to the Neptune gossip. Trina is staying in LA near our mom while she finishes up rehab." 

“I had no idea. You and Logan are just… home alone?” She felt as if she was prying but the question slipped past her tongue before her brain could stop. 

“Whoa, easy there - I can’t tell if I should tell you to not feel bad for us as if we're orphaned children or that you should get your mind out of the gutter with your thoughts of  how you can easily sneak in. Either way, no one has been back to that house in months. We're staying at the Neptune Grand. It’s just - easier that way.” He shrugged before he leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head. Veronica gathered that he was referencing the sudden change after their dad’s death. It was clearly something he didn't openly do and she hadn't dug into the details since getting to know them.

“I feel like I know nothing about your lives….” Veronica paused to muster enough courage to ask her next question. “Do you two miss him? Your dad, that is.”

“Pffft - that… is quite a question. I don’t want to assume how Logan feels, but as for me? I don’t miss Aaron. I miss having a dad if that makes sense but Aaron wasn’t much of a father figure. He was more of an… authoritarian, especially with Logan. He had his moments but I don’t think either of us are over the anger part.” He scoffed at the self realization and relaxed his arms back onto his desk. “Look at me, I’m already applying psychology lessons it seems.”

“You’ll definitely get any questions about the Kübler-Ross model right.” Veronica continued to look after Jason who was flipping through his notes. She wanted to return Jason’s vulnerability by being a bit open herself. “ I think, I understand… as much as I can. My mom pretty much disappeared over summer. I think you two are doing pretty well, all things considered.” 

Jason turned with his mouth fighting a smile as he held it open in feigned shock. “Wow, to think it only took a month to see the softer side of you, Mars.”

“Hey, let’s not get crazy.” Veronica flexed her arm to mimic a macho stance, “I’m tough as nails.”

“Yes, I did notice your attempts to come off as a ‘cold hard bitch,’ but we all knew from the start that you’re really more of a marshmallow.” 

“I love that neither of you suffer from subtlety. It’s always refreshing, although heavily mixing in sarcasm can dull your true intentions.”

“And what say, are your intentions? We’ve all noticed you two were not just playing your roles at the last party.”

Veronica paused with a half smirk as she tilted her head down back to her notes as she mustered a southern belle accent, “Well, I can’t say I have the slightest idea as to what you mean.”

Jason paused and took on a solemn demeanor. “Mac told me you don’t have a boyfriend any more and if memory serves me correctly, Logan mentioned you making a stink about having one originally.”

“ Now I’m convinced you and Mac planned targeted assaults.” 

“Maybe.” Jason shrugged casually before continuing on. “We’re a bit protective of him now-a-days, but with good reason.”

“And that reason being?” 

“Nice try but that isn’t my story to tell. If you want my advice; be upfront with him about what you want and I think everyone will be happier for it.” 

“Are you giving him the same advice?” She said with a satisfied smirk. 

Jason laughed softly to himself as their professor entered the room, returning her question with shushing motion. Veronica rolled her eyes but figured she really didn’t expect much of an answer. She had given thought to how Logan was the subject of some of her thoughts. She recalled how his touch had sparked heat that had her sitting up straighter and how her eyes would find him and linger. She could recall moments similar to this when someone caught her eye in the past, but never had one person reignited the same fire over and over again. She crossed her legs and shifted in her seat at the thought of what else Logan could inspire within her. 

Her thoughts continued and landed on the last time her and Richie were together like that . She had never shared with anyone how she likely had a brother out in the world that she didn’t know. She had instead held off Richie’s advances by telling him she just wasn’t ready the few times their make-out sessions built up into more. She wondered if this mystery brother was older, younger, or even her age. But after Logan had scared off the masked man that had her mother’s eyes, she was confident they couldn’t be related; Logan being a twin only added to that argument. She continued to try to tackle the thought of what she wanted but with her limited dating history, she honestly just knew she wanted something that seemed intangible. How the hell am I going to be upfront about what I want when it isn’t even apparent to me?! She resisted the urge to drop her head to her desk and instead tried to refocus on the lecture at hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Professor Heinzman dismissed the class with no weekend assignments, Jason wished Veronica good luck in her next class before he hurried off. Veronica debated stopping at the coffee cart when Mac started calling after her in the quad. 

"Veronica! Hey - I’m glad I found you. Uhm, Nish is losing it. She needs something credible to run but I told her we only have a plan. She wants some sort of warning or reminder about the case before Halloween."

"Crap. We can't run the code cause that'll just spread their invitation to more people who may have an ax to grind." Veronica continued to walk towards the coffee cart as she thought. "What if I write… almost a challenge? They seem to have targeted me and I'm certain I never sent anyone any private photos of myself. We've been running the articles with the facts and questioning what they will do next. I think it's time I called their bluff."

"I'm regretting coming to you and now wishing I could tank the entire paper but... that's brilliant." Mac sighed. They both knew things were only going to escalate further. "Nish needs something in the next hour to edit, rework and approve before our deadline."

"I have class in a few minutes with Logan…" Veronica stopped her conversation as Mac started fanning herself. "And I'm sure I can ask him to take notes but I'm already on thin ice with this professor. Can I email you a draft after my class and then I'm yours until Nish approves it?"

"I mean, I can't really tell you no since you're the 'reporter.' I'll text you when I run it by Nish. Oh, which reminds me! I think I got lucky and found a link to that conch shell." Logan walked up behind Veronica and bumped his knee into the back of hers, almost causing her to collapse. "But we can talk about it later. I wouldn't want to ruin any more moments. Bye, you two."

Logan looked at Veronica, her face a mixture of both amusement and confusion. "What? I thought it'd be funny. Plus, I didn't sleep well last night."

"I'd hate to think of what keeps you up. I was headed to the coffee cart anyway, sleepy. C’mon." Veronica leaned into him gently to nudge him towards their destination. 

"Wow, that was not the response I was expecting. Maybe I should have just told you my name earlier to unlock this kinder, gentler Veronica." Logan quipped with a noticeable gleam in his eye. His smile was more genuine, although it still held the lofty air from the first day she met him. 

“That would have been the easier choice but despite the rumors, I don’t think you’re that easy.” Veronica managed to hide the slight surprise from her own retort but had to look down to hide her smile as it spread across her face.

“Are you seriously cracking sex jokes?” Logan went to feel Veronica’s forehead as her smile erupted with laughter and she looked up into his eyes. “It is flu season. Maybe you should go to the nurse instead.”

Veronica jokingly rolled her eyes and gently swatted his arm with the back of her hand. She enjoyed the contact between them and her subconscious kept pushing to find ways for her to reach out to him. As she tried to pay for their coffees, he inserted himself much closer to use his height to his advantage and ensure he paid. “You are insufferable. Oh, which reminds me.”

“This should be good. Should I sit down?”

“Not if you want to be on time for class. We need to keep walking but Nish is pushing Mac and I to get something out before tomorrow. I have an idea and wanted to run it past you since - well, it could affect you.” Veronica peered up, trying to envok puppy eyes in hopes they would win him into understanding. Logan simply continued to look at her with only a raised eyebrow and took a long drink of his coffee, prompting her to continue on. “Well, whoever is orchestrating this sent out a coded invitation for disgruntled exes and what not to share their photos of blonds. I just so happen to be a blond who has been targeted, twice as you know. I assume in an effort to get me into… some sort of situation? Maybe one they can share, who knows? Any way, Richie is the only person I’ve dated and although I broke up with him, it’s not like I ever sent him anything like what this guy posts. I won’t share too many details about all that in the article I’m thinking about but was considering writing how in the midst of all this, they've failed because if anything, I've realized…” She paused to stop herself from continuing her rambling.

She noted how Logan’s face had warmed and hoped it was from  her being direct about the fact that she was single, but then he quickly froze. “Wait, are you out of your mind? On top of what you already have planned for tomorrow’s party, you want to up the ante but issuing a ‘fuck you, come and get me’ in the newspaper?”

Veronica stopped and turned back to him with an exasperated look. “Logan, Mercer’s party will be safe. He has cameras set up already and we added more. I won’t drink anything that I don’t personally pour and I’ll have you around. Which are great pieces of advice I can remind everyone of in this article. Plus, you can implore Jason and Wallace or whoever else you want to stack our group with to be more security for us so long as they can blend in enough.” She was confident that this was something she needed to do and felt she needed him to understand. She couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t do everything she could to stop things before they escalated beyond the emails.

He resumed walking towards her after a hefty sigh but she didn't immediately resume walking to class. He turned around to stand in front of her. “You seem pretty confident. Who did you run this by already?”

She was shaking her head as she responded. “Mac honestly just came up and told me that we needed to get something out as soon as possible but I want to end this tomorrow. I need to make sure those girls who’ve already had their photos shared know other women are not slut shaming them. I need them to know they are not less than-”

Logan cut her off, placing a hand on her arm to slow her rambling. “Okay, okay. I hear your roar and am very intrigued. I’ll support whatever you decide. Can I at least read it beforehand? Make sure you aren’t literally drawing a map for them to find you.” They continued the final strides to their class and he walked a bit faster so he could open the door for her which she did not fight.

“I think that can be arranged. I’m going to work on it now so you get the first read, maybe in exchange for any notes you take and then I’m taking it straight to Mac and Nish until they're satisfied with it.”

She could see him resisting the urge to comment on her mention of satisfaction as they found two seats to sit next to each. He took a large sip of his coffee before he continued. “You drive a hard bargain, Veronica. Can you just… try not to run off alone for the time being? We never really talked about your run-in at the parking garage.”

“Are you offering yourself up as my personal bodyguard? That seems a bit much.”

“It isn’t considering how you said yourself you’re being targeted.”

Veronica’s temper started to flare but he had a point. “Fine, but only for today and tomorrow. After that, I can honestly say you will not describe me as kind or gentle.” She took out her laptop, still clearly annoyed. Logan fidgeted with his pen as he watched her aggressively maneuver the trackpad on her laptop. He took the hint that she was done with the conversation and needed to focus. Although he obviously wasn’t pleased with the possible implications this could have on their plan, especially the increased attention and possible danger to her, she felt he respected her tenacity. He had clearly picked up that fighting her would only result in her going off on her own. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Reader,

You may not know me or you may only know me from the articles I’ve written. My name is Veronica Mars, part-time wallflower who also happens to be blond. I’ve found myself targeted by more than the looming threat of a cowardly email author but those details are not the purpose of this article. I wanted to share a letter before the Halloween celebrations about some things that have been on my mind.

You may be feeling cautious or even fearful. You may have scrapped the Halloween costume you had been working on with your friends for weeks or even your plans for Halloween entirely. I’m sure you have found yourself on the receiving end of judgemental glances and comments over the past few weeks that have driven you to give up your sun kissed hair. And even before this hateful person decided to threaten blonds, I’m sure you’ve felt the shame from having someone tell you “you’re too sexy” and it wasn’t for your cat. We have all been reprimanded at some point about how the length of our shorts or skirt were too distracting or how a bra strap showing was going to inspire an orgy. But I can confidently say I have not witnessed said orgy break out in the middle of a lecture when a midriff was exposed. So let’s not encourage a fear of sexuality. Women can want sex and shouldn’t be shamed for it. Anyone who decides we are lesser than for such a human need is the troubled one and we are not to hold the weight of responsibility of sexual urges that every human possesses from time to time.

We also cannot ignore the facts; 74% of perpetrators of sexual violence on college campuses were under the influence of alcohol when they committed the assault, and 55% of survivors of sexual violence on campuses were under the influence of alcohol when assaulted. We need to keep an eye out for each other. Don’t go off on your own but if you do because you met a special someone, let a friend know who you are going with and if possible, where you are going (bonus points for snapping a photo of your new dance partner). If you see someone struggling to walk or keep their head up, focus on getting them somewhere safe. Don’t take a drink from someone else or leave your drink unattended; the bathroom line will be long so just take your damn drink with you. 

XOXO,

Your favorite blond. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan read over her draft towards the end of class, his devilish grin taking hold of the corners of his mouth. He could feel her watching him read every word to gauge his reaction and although he had already finished the article, he continued to stare at the words in hopes he could control himself when he turned back to her. She had continued to surprise him the more time they spent together and he still enjoyed ruffling her feathers to watch her reaction. As their classmates around them started to get up to leave, he continued to stare.

“So……. what do you think?” She asked nervously.

“I’m not done.” 

“Logan, it’s less than 400 words. You have to be done by now.”

“Nope,” was his only response out of fear of losing his composure.

“I can’t with you,” she stood up to come around to the front of his desk with her bag ready to go to steal her laptop when she caught his face that was filled with amusement. “You are truly unbelievable.”

“Can you blame me? You whip up this article on a whim and preface it by telling me it’ll hint towards me.” She proceeded to grab her laptop so she could send the draft to Mac before shutting it, albeit, a bit forcefully which he took as a sign she was more than her average level of annoyed by him. “Hey, look at me for a second.” She paused her flight and only lifted her eyes to meet his. “You have a gift. You write how you talk but it’s… epigrammatic.”

“You hate it. It’s fine. It’s just a draft and I’m sure Mac and Nish will-” she found her voice caught in her throat as Logan extended his large hand and covered hers as she was pulling her laptop towards her bag.

“You’re not listening to what I’m saying. I think Mac and Nish are going to read it and run with it instantly.” He watched as her eyes scanned his. He thought he caught her nibbling at the inside of her lip before she smiled and slowly pulled her hand back to resume putting away her laptop. “Let’s get you over there before Mac accuses me of distracting you and delaying this article.” Logan set his hands on the desk to push himself to a stand and was leaning towards her. He had the sudden urge to reach for her but resisted, instead willing his hands to stay glued to the table as he held her gaze. "I'll follow your lead."

Veronica's cheeks flushed with a subtle color. She shook her head and sauntered towards the door. Logan followed in a mock jog, proud of the idea that he had made her blush. As his arms dropped, the back of his hand grazed hers and he was certain he felt it again; the spark that had ignited him kissing her hand in the parking garage. He felt like he was in middle school again as his palms became sweaty and he contemplated reaching out to hold her hand. They walked next to each other in a comfortable silence with the occasional glance towards the other that was followed with a smile.

"So, what are your plans after Mac and Nish release you?"

"I have some homework I need to catch up on and to review your notes. Thursdays are normally daddy daughter dinner nights, assuming he's back. He's had a few cases that have kept him busy though so I’ll likely just end up eating leftovers after a walk. You?"

"Well, if your dad is out, maybe you could come over?" Logan's voice was clear as he enunciated every syllable in an attempt to calm his heartbeat. When there wasn't an immediate response, he took a deep inhale before continuing. "We could pick up take out. Maybe you can clue me in on any other ideas you may have about tomorrow?"

Veronica looked up, releasing her bottom lip that she had clearly been biting. "Trying to bribe me with food to avoid any surprises?”

Logan choked back his laughter but his nerves calmed with her response. “Are we back to the question with a question game?”

“Who said we ever stopped?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica got home around two in the afternoon to take Backup on a walk. She scoffed at the fact that Logan had been right. Nish had read it through and made minimal edits. She only asked that Veronica add a photo of herself and that she may have a weekly column in her future. Logan and Mac took turns trying to snap a photo that was personable and Nish had picked a candid shot of Veronica laughing with Logan. She realized the more she was around him, the more her crush developed and that he may even feel the same way. Or it could just be that he was the biggest flirt on the planet. She wanted to talk about it with someone but her options were limited; Rose was her best friend but still Richie’s sister, Mac was his best friend, and Lilly would probably tell her she had nothing to worry about and to just kiss him to find out how he felt. 

“Backup, what do you think I should do? Should I just stay in or go out?” At the word out, Backup barked once. “So walk and then call Logan?” Backup barked again. “I feel like this is better than using a Magic 8 Ball.” She patted him on the head after she attached the leash. 

Her dad walked out of his bedroom, clearly groggy. “Are you leaving me already, darling daughter?”

Veronica ran quickly up to him and embraced her father in a hug. “Dad, I wasn’t sure if you'd be home.”

“Yes, there is no shortage of people trying to skip out on bail and cheating spouses it seems.” He cleared his expression, obviously realizing that wasn’t the best thing to share with her mother’s sudden departure. “But I got lucky with this last one and figured I could squeeze in a nap before dinner. Unless you’ve got a hot date with… Logan, if I heard correctly?”

“I can’t say that I do. I was going to call him after I took Backup on a walk. We have a project together.”

“Well, why don’t you invite him over. It’s about time I met one of your college friends, don’t you think?”

“I think you may already be acquainted….” she saw the confusion on her father's face. "Logan Echolls."

“Logan Echolls? Veronica, that boy has a darkness to him and - “ Keith stopped himself before he launched into a full lecture. She recalled how he had picked up a parenting book to help him navigate being a single parent. “I forget how being sheriff often skewed me to seeing people at their worst. I trust your judgment though I hope you still are cautious with anyone you may romantically interested in.”

“That easy? Is this reverse psychology or are you having a stroke?”

“I’m sorry, honey. I know he had some things going on. I'm trying to be more open. You’re an adult"

"And they say that you can't teach an old dog news tricks!" Keith feigned being struck in the gut. "Speaking of which, I'm going to take Backup on a walk. Go finish your nap."

"It's called beauty rest and I'll see you for dinner." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mac had called Logan once the three had gone their separate ways but he didn’t answer, knowing the line of questioning she had in store for him. He wouldn’t know how to even begin to answer her when he still had a lot of questions for himself. He didn’t want to be some sort of rebound for Veronica and wasn’t sure what he was really ready for. His phone had started to ring again as he walked to retrieve his mail from the front desk at The Grand. He grabbed a candy and forcefully opened it with his teeth, haphazardly looking through his mail before he tucked it under his arm as he rode the elevator up to his suite. 

When he finally got to his floor and honed in some of his usual swagger, he decided to call Mac back.

"Geez, Echolls. Why are you ignoring my call?"

"Hey, Mac. I just got up to my floor. You couldn't possibly want me to endanger myself by answering your call while I was driving home?”

“Has Veronica called you? I wanted to make sure that I was living up to my wingman duties and if she didn’t reach out to you to come over, I was going to invite myself over and then take the pressure off it just being you two. Plus, I forgot to tell her about a lead on the couch shell.”

Logan was slightly shocked at her clever idea. “I wasn’t aware you were my wingman. I normally rely on Dick or Jason for that.

“Ew, you know I could do a lot with that but I’m going to let it slide.”

“That’s what she said?”

“On second thought, if you are going to go around saying that, Dick may be more suited. Though he seems more of a wingman for floozies.”

“You have a point. But I don’t want to do anything weird or out of the ordinary. I’m fine waiting around here and I can see if Jason is home. Though if you just wanted to ask if you could come over without ulterior motives, you know you are always welcome.”

“Hey! Not to say I don’t want to hang out. I just don’t want to wreck any plans of romance and ensure you know I’m here to help if you need it. We need everyone in tip top shape for tomorrow.”

Logan laughed with his response, “Aye, aye Captain. I’ll call you if anything changes. Bye, Mac.” He ended the call before he made his way into the suite. “Lucy, I’m home!” When there was no response, Logan went into his room and tried to resume his normal routine to distract himself from watching his phone when it pinged with a text message.

Veronica : hey I tried to call. dad came home. 

Logan huffed but figured it was for the best. He returned to his mail and saw an envelope with the same conch shell from the invitation they found in Mercer's room. 

"Fuck."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica found herself knocking on a suite door. Logan opened the door as he dried his hair with a towel and hid his lower half behind the door. Upon seeing her, he opened the door fully to show a second fluffy towel tightly wrapped around his waist. Veronica willed her jaw not to drop but was sure her face still gave away her shock.

"You're not room service, or…"

Veronica willed herself to move in response but wasn't able to get the message through to all of her nerve endings and seemingly tripped into him. Logan caught her with little effort and maintained his cool smile as he spoke first, still holding her. "You came."

Veronica's mouth cocked into a half smile. "Are you a fortune teller or just overly confident?"

Without hesitation, Logan dipped her into a deep kiss much like Clark Gable. 

Veronica opened her eyes to find her dark room and her cheeks filled with a heat that radiated throughout her. She sat up to see her clock read 1:27 am before she dropped back into her pillow. She willed herself to go back to sleep but had a feeling another variation of this dream would be back again. Her subconscious clearly craved to know what would happen next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan knew he had to tell someone but wasn’t in a rush. This wasn't delivered to some place on campus; this was practically his home . He racked his brain as to how they could have obtained his address and knew this meant it wasn't some random person targeting blonds at Hearst. This was personal and he was part of it.

He had gotten the gist of the message even before he decoded the message; "stay away from her." He assumed that the “her” was Veronica. Logan had sat with the letter last night and found that he was barely able to sleep. He reached out to Mac and Wallace after his morning shower. He had no doubt that they'd just want to tell Veronica but knew that would likely increase her use of wanting to include other risky tactics. She had already said she wanted this to end today. This would be more fuel that would cloud her vision. 

He was relieved when they arrived with breakfast burritos at least. He wasted no time pleading his case as they walked in. 

"We need to  find a way to call this off. I'm telling you, Mac, there is no way this is random. How the hell did they get my address? Plus, I got this before her article ran." Logan huffed out with a short tone.

"Look, we get your parents were actors but cool it on the drama. I can imagine plenty of girls who know your suite number and everyone knows you and Jason stay here." Logan didn't respond to Wallace, though he was sure his frustration had visibly plateaued. They took seats around the kitchen island. 

"We've had an inciling this wasn't random for a while, Lo. And Veronica knows that. It's like she was magically drawn to all of this. We have to tell her and figure out what to do with you ." Mac said with such seriousness that instantly made Logan feel defensive.

"With me? As if I'm going to what, kidnap her myself so she can't go to the party? I'm not that protective though I’m open to the idea if that is what you were planning on suggesting."

"You typically go with 'punch first, ask questions sometimes later but maybe not at all’ approach. We have to lure this douchebag from the shadows and they seem to be wary of you." Wallace added before opening his drink.

"It's a Halloween party for crying out loud. I'll wear a mask or something." Logan said, throwing his hands in the air before resigning to play with the foil wrapping his burrito.

"I think stores will have slim pickings on costumes. What were you going to be, anyway?" Wallace asked.

"I was debating on Bond or Kevin Costner from when he was a bodyguard for Whitney. Costume is the same either way."

Mac’s patience was understandably running out.  "Now or never, Romeo. We can figure out your outfit after you tell her about the letter. I refuse to keep her in the dark and you know I’m right about this." She didn’t wait to see his response and simply started eating, evidently dismissing him. 

Logan left his breakfast and walked out into his room. He knew if he didn't hurry, what little patience Mac still possessed would run out and she would call her instead. He took a sharp inhale before he dialed out and was almost relieved when it went to voicemail that was the provider's default. "Hey, Veronica. First off, we are going to need to fix your voicemail and second, uhm - I got a coded letter too. In short, the message was to stay away from you. Weird, right? Mac and Wallace are here if you want to stop by. My suite is 1145 at the Neptune Grand. Call me back."

He returned to the living room and shrugged. "Left a voicemail. What do we do next?"

"I guess try to figure out your costume. Wallace, do you still have your Zorro costume from last year?"

"Uh, yeah but I don't think that'll work."

"We really only need the mask for what I have in mind." Mac said with a grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica kept busy cleaning the house and baking cookies to try and pass the time. It wasn't until a very late lunch that she actually paused for a moment to check her phone. She listened to Logan's voicemail and froze as to what to do with the information. She had caught on that he was a bit protective and she was determined to not call off their plans. She figured she could call him back or she could stick with her original idea but show up at his suite first. The idea was bold and well, outside her comfort zone but maybe that was a good thing. She wrapped up a plate of snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies to leave her dad and the rest she packed up to take to Logan before she went to get ready for the evening. 

By the time she was ready, it was still much too early as her clock read close to 4:00pm. She figured it would be safe enough to call Mac to see how things were going. She was surprised when she answered on the first ring.

"There you are! I think a certain someone was wondering when they could form a search party."

Veronica stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry. I kept myself busy with some things around the house before I got ready. Are you all still at Logan's?"

"I just got to my dorm while Logan and Wallace went to see his mom."

"Logan's mom is out of rehab?"

"Whoa, cool your jets! Wallace's mom to finish Logan's costume. Did you finally succumb to Neptune gossip rags?"

"Mac, no! Jason told me…."

"Oh. That makes sense. Sorry, they are just pretty private about things like that. Uhm, well, do you want to come over?"

"Sure. I baked cookies."

"Aren’t you full of surprises? We'll meet the boys at the party but call me when you get here so we don't have any repeats of someone finding you in the parking garage."

"You're all insufferable but I already told Logan I'd give in to a bodyguard. Just no jokes about my costume, okay?"

"What are you again?"

"You'll just have to be surprised like everyone else!"

"What if we're the same thing?"

"Double the trouble? And I thought you were going to be Laura Croft?"

"Damn your memory. Fine. See you soon."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Veronica arrived, she sent Mac a text and was startled when Mac appeared with someone in a black mask that she was certain was not Logan. This figure appeared to be trying to flip his hair out of his face out of habit, despite his costume. If Mac hadn't been smiling as she approached, Veronica would have assumed the worst of this character. She opened her door which was caught by the masked figure. 

"Madam," the masked man said, as he attempted either a curtsey or a half bow, causing both girls to stifle a laugh. 

"This is Piz. Wallace's roommate. He's part of the new plan since Logan got the 'stay away' message." 

"Wait, Logan isn't coming?" Veronica’s response didn’t skip a single heartbeat, which earned  a shit-eating grin from Mac.

"I didn’t say that. He figured you had something up your sleeve when he didn’t hear back and he crafted his own plan that only you are in the dark about at the moment. He and Wallace are already at the party.” 

“Do I smell cookies?” Piz asked as Veronica stepped out of her car in her costume. Her hair was in braided pigtails with frilly pink scrunchies at the top and dark pink ribbons holding the ends. Lilly had wanted her to go for the slutty school girl to which Veronica countered with a librarian idea and they mostly met in the middle with a rendition of Brittany Spear’s “Baby, One More Time” outfit. Veronica felt comfortable given she could control exactly how provocative she wanted to be from moment to moment with her button up top that was tied but not showing her bra.

Veronica tilted her head. “Not the response I was expecting but I guess you’re not the target audience. I did bake cookies and I may let you have some if you fill me in on what Logan’s plans are.” 

“Veronica! You are literally going to find out in two minutes!” Mac pleaded and crossed her arms with impatience.

“I take issue with surprises and I am packing, to be clear. That was my secret. It’s not quite the taser my dad gave me when I started college but it’s a good stand by.” 

“So, I can’t have a cookie?” Piz asked, his eyes shifted between Mac and Veronica. 

“Sweet serenity; no. You passed up being bribed! Those are for when we catch this asshole to celebrate. So, let’s get the reveal over with so I can stay focused.” 

The three walked towards Mercer’s dorm and it felt like the entire floor had been taken over with the pirate Halloween theme. Veronica felt a pit in her stomach wondering if they were going to be able to cover the whole party if it was truly this big. They had anticipated it being in Mercer’s dorm where the cameras could pick up on everything but they were clearly over capacity for his dorm room as people spilled out into the hallways. She hoped that their buddy system would be good enough and that she could be enough bait to lure their mark to them. 

As they finally made it past the initial party goers, Mac leaned in to tell Veronica to link arms with Piz and to trust her. She resisted the urge to eyeroll as Piz looked down at her with a nervous smile but she soon realized what was happening as a more familiar figure with the same costume as Piz approached her as well. Logan seemed to stifle a cough as he took her in, his eyes staying locked on hers until he was close.

“I was expecting Princess Buttercup but this is nice as well.” Logan’s devilish smirk magnified as Veronica tried to control her response by biting the inside of her cheek. 

“So, the idea is for you to have a clone other than your twin? How is this clever?” Veronica’s eyes stayed in lock with Logan’s, neither acknowledging anyone else was even around them despite Piz still awkwardly standing around. 

“The idea, my fair lady, is that I came here with Quinn and Wallace so people think I’m Jason, who is around in the same costume as well but came in with some random group. There are three Westleys here now, including Piss.”

“It’s actually Piz. My name is Stosh Piznarski but,” Piz paused as he assessed that Veronica and Logan’s eyes remained locked on the other. “You two clearly don’t care. I’m going to rotate out. Have a lovely evening.”

They started to make their way to a spot by a wall they had marked as covered by a camera. “Everything okay? You didn’t call me back this morning and I…. guess, it made me wonder.” Veronica took his cup from his hand which contained iced tea. They had brought in bottles of liquor but switched their contents so they could all remain on high alert. His pause lingered a bit longer and Veronica took note of his eyes scanning her full frame. He realized he had been caught and finally resumed his thought. “What - is in a wonder ball, you know?”

“Wow, see this is more of the reaction I was expecting though kudos to you for keeping your eyes up for that long.”

“I feel awful about enjoying the pigtails, truthfully. I feel despicable and I hope you never wear those out in public again.”

Veronica took another deep drink from his cup so she could sell her upcoming “drunk girl” act. “Duly noted. What other advice do you have from me?”

Logan took back his now empty cup and scanned the room. “Uh, I seem to be without my trusty notes with all of my detailed tricks to live the life I lead, though I’d caution you away from that.” He leaned in to whisper the last bit.” How about you tell me what other plans you have for tonight’s festivities instead?” 

She felt a shiver roll up her neck from the breath he left on her ear. Two can play this game. “My plan entails us continuing on making a show of our drinking, maybe drunkenly dancing a bit too and if I sense any danger, grab my pepper spray that is currently hidden on my person if you care to take a guess as to where. That is my honest plan. Tame, right?”

“A tame Halloween is not something I thought I’d be happy to hear about but you somehow make it appealing all the same.” Logan was assessing the people around him before he return his gaze towards her, with a self satisfied smirk.

“It’s hard to take you seriously in that mask.”

“Me?! It’s hard to take you seriously in pigtails but I'm trying, Veronica. I will follow your lead." She realized she was staring at Logan’s face, assessing how it held a hope alongside the same mischievous smile she associated with a suggestive comment. Veronica felt her cheeks warm upon hearing how he said her name.

When she was sure how long they’d been smiling in silence, she grabbed Logan's hand and pulled him over to where Mac and Wallace were with someone in a Robin suit.

"Lo, look who we found! Your trustee sidekick." Mac said, completely deadpan. 

"Dude! Sorry I'm late to the party. Whose this bodacious companion? Is this why you've dodging the Dick party bus?"

"Hey Dick, thanks for coming. This is Veronica. Veronica, this is Dick. He means well but can be a bit... brash." Logan said sheepishly.

"I guess that can serve a purpose. Can we try something?" Veronica asked pointedly to Dick.

"Dick loves to serve." Veronica slapped him across the face and his eyes were filled with confusion.

Veronica controlled her face to fight her smile and feign insult as she shared, "Thanks for playing into that perfectly, bud." She started to walk away to get herself a cup for a drink. As she separated from the small group, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She knew he was there and turned to run back, spotting the back of an all black costume where she thought the others had moved to.

"Where did Mac and Wallace go?" She asked as she approached the masked man. As he turned, her blood ran cold. The man that stood in front of her had her mother's eyes. She bit down the urge to scream.

"I didn't expect you to make this so easy." His voice was even, calm as he scanned the room with a firm grip on her arm. "Anywhere we can go to talk in private?"

"You are truly out of your mind if you think I'll just walk away with you willingly."

"Aren't you curious as to what I want? Why I did everything just to draw you out?"

"I wouldn't call it curiosity." She was stalling. She shouldn't have walked away and knew the cameras would be useless in figuring out who this was because of where they were. "Though I do love a good puzzle and I think you're the piece that caused my mom to leave town."

"So possessive. You have two choices; you can come with me or you can go back to that asshole." His tone was short as he nodded his head towards the party goers. She didn’t dare turn her head to confirm but had the distinct feeling he was referring to Logan.

"What's stopping you from just talking to me here?" She willed her heart to calm, her breathing to slow so she could focus. She wished anyone from their group would come find them as she did her best to keep them in plain sight as the music seemed to play louder than before. "You wanting to go somewhere private doesn't really bode well with my desire to, oh, I don't know - remain unharmed, stay alive, etc." 

He dropped her arm and vanished into the crowd. It took all of her will to not drop to her knees in relief as Logan's hand found her shoulder a moment later. Her eyes instantly filled with tears knowing she was safe. He took one look at her face and embraced her tightly in a hug.

"Hey, hey. You're safe. What the hell did Piz say to you, Veronica?"

"That wasn't Piz. That - it was him. He tried to get me to go with him and…" she took a deep breath. He was right. She was safe but what if someone else wasn't because of her refusal.

Logan squeezed her a bit tighter before he pulled her back to look down into her eyes. "We need to leave. This isn't safe for you any more."

"Logan, you were right. He knows you. I mean, it makes sense with you getting a note but he mentioned you to me."

Logan's eyes searched hers as she found herself being calmed again by him. The honey brown color of his eyes gleamed with such guilt that Veronica pulled herself back into his arms, burying her head into his chest. They stood there for a few moments when the music came to an abrupt halt. Instead of music, there was suddenly some sort of recorded message playing.

"Attention, delinquents." The voice was masked but Veronica knew what was to follow was from him, likely for her. "Let it be known that my mission is only to warn you of the vipers in the grass." There was a disruption and then Veronica's heart stopped, as she recognized the voice that followed. "Come here, lover. Time to earn your keep." Veronica felt Logan’s body go rigid and pulled away slightly to see rage filling his eyes. She realized he recognized Lilly's voice as well.

Chapter Text

Duncan bolted from the party but tuned into the local Hearst radio show when he hopped into his car. He was delighted to hear his audio message was playing and smiled wickedly as he thought of its impact. This was the easiest way to start to show Veronica the other side of Lilly. And he also hoped to bring out Logan's infamous temper he inherited. Although he felt that he had won a small battle tonight, he needed more time with Veronica. He had to ensure she didn’t become like Lilly or… Meg, for that matter. 

At the thought of the one who broke his heart, he heard his mother's sharp tone. "I told you so. You can never trust some blond girl to not be a hussie. Of course she ran away!" His rage began to build as he clutched the steering wheel and shook away the thoughts. He would make sure Veronica didn't run away from him once she knew their bond. He would prove his mother wrong. And maybe by helping Veronica, his luck would turn around.

Everything had felt so out of control since Meg told him she was pregnant almost a year ago. When he told his parents, they were oddly calm. Then one day before spring break, as Meg was clearly starting to show, she and her family were just gone. He couldn't believe it; no reason or goodbye and no forwarding address. He went to ask his dad what he knew and overheard him talking to someone on the phone. Jake's tone was different, as if filled with the young love similar to what he held for Meg. But the name his father wished his love to was not his mother's. Leanne. When he went home and asked Celeste, that's when the truth finally came out - she was not his birth mother. 

He enlisted the help of people who he knew from The Trident to help find more information on his biological mother under the guise of finding any clues about Meg’s whereabouts.  They had originally been ambivalent, until he told them of a program Kane software had that was used to scan and catalog photos. They managed to find a hacker from Hearst by the name of Max to help break into the database. Testing out its capabilities, they searched for blonde hair. He knew it wasn’t much to go off of but he was desperate.

The search felt pointless for several weeks and they never uncovered anything related to Meg. Eventually, they improved their ability to narrow down a search and Duncan managed to find a photo of his father with whom he recognized was the sheriff's wife. A quick Google search later and his searching was over as he saw her name; Leanne Mars, another blonde. 

He set out to find a way to connect with her to understand why she gave him up. He ended up following her one day and left a letter on her car before waiting to see her reaction. He expected her to be elated, excited that he found her but she looked utterly panicked as she read his words. She ran off instead of coming to look for him, her son . And that's when he noticed she wasn’t alone as Veronica got into the car with her. He realized she must be his sister and that Leanne kept Veronica but made the choice to give him up. 

He had been so distracted by his thoughts thereafter. How could his own mother abandon him? Was this somehow, cosmically or otherwise, related to Meg leaving too? As he drove home, he didn’t notice the red light he ran or the tiny red convertible he collided with. It wasn’t until the next day that he had realized who had been in that car and their fate. But how could he blame himself for that? It was an accident, much unlike the intentional poor treatment Leanne and Meg had sprung upon him. 

Leanne had failed him when she gave him up as a baby and now his own child was going to be raised by someone else. He felt entirely helpless until he realized that maybe he could do something. He couldn’t hurt Leanne or Meg it seemed but his mother had been right about blonds and he had enough photos of various blonds exposing themselves. He found himself covering the face on each nude selfie and seeing how easily he could think it was Meg. He could do that for others who were falling for the charms of a fair blonde as he did, so they could see what they were all capable of.

It all came together in a fury when he saw Veronica again. She proved she was the same when he noted how she broke that boy's heart. Duncan had been talking with some of the guys from The Trident who went to Hearst about what he wanted to do with the photos. They mentioned how they were welcomed into The Castle and had access to email accounts there. In a fury, he ended up sending something out that very same night. In retrospect, he realized he had been a little over zealous with a death threat and as he continued to hear things about Veronica, he was seeing that there was hope that some blondes could be different with the right influences.

He wished she would have come with him tonight. He could have told her how he knew they shared a mother and had realized that he now wanted to protect her. He knew his tactics seemed bold and he was starting to wonder if Veronica would understand. He was determined to find a way for her to trust him so he could explain, but first he had to ensure Logan was out of the picture. He was certain that influence would spoil any hope there was to save Veronica from her own nature. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan didn't know how much time had passed but he still felt his rage was beyond a point he could control. He continued to clinch his fists shut when a pair of much smaller and oddly cold hands grabbed his forearm. He looked down and the red started to dissipate as he saw Veronica. He realized they had walked away from the party and that what had triggered his anger wasn't a nightmare. She was saying something to him that he couldn't make out with his thoughts and the dull roar of the party. As he continued to stare at her, she smiled up at him and rolled her eyes before she pulled him further away from the crowds. He noticed Mac and Wallace were talking to Mercer; he assumed they were trying to get details about where the audio came from and who had access to it but he could ask them about it later.

Of all the scenarios he had imagined for how this night would go, none of them included her .  He shook his head trying to dislodge that thought; the word "lover" purred over and over again, making him nauseous. As they finally made it to a hall that was considerably quieter, Logan stopped abruptly and Veronica's hand slid into his own. He instinctively squeezed his hand to hold hers in his. If his head had been more clear, he was certain he would have heard music swell from a dream sequence in which he would spin her into his arms before he dipping her into a classic kiss. He paused and almost thought she had the same daydream before she made an attempt to clear the silence.

"Hey - you okay?"

"I’ll let you know when I figure it out but I’m thinking the betting pool is spread between drab and fab.” He could kick himself for the defensive dramatics.

"I probably shouldn't pry but with how you reacted…" Logan looked into her eyes as if willing her to stop. "You know Lilly."

His stomach dropped even further. "I'm surprised you know her. How is that even possible?"

"Uh, she was kind of a witness to me breaking up with Richie and I guess we've become friends."

"Wow. Veronica Mars, a friend to all.” He dropped her hand to dramatically emphasize each word as if it light up a marquee. “This is just perfect, really." Logan popped the p as he leaned against a wall and slid down it to sit on the floor. He propped up his knees and placed an elbow onto each to hold up his head after removing the mask from his costume.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick but you don't seem like someone to let things go." He took a deep breath as Veronica crossed her legs to sit next to him on the floor. "We dated on and off before she graduated the year before me. We were mostly… off when she left to travel and-” Logan stopped there abruptly. He knew no good would come from saying the next part out loud. He knew the family had agreed to keep the details from before the car accident secret but part of him wanted Veronica to know. He let his pause linger before he turned his head to look at Veronica. He wanted to see if she was even still waiting to listen when she gave him a supportive smile.

"I’m assuming whatever else happened is why Jason and Mac are so protective of you."

Logan turned away from her piercing blue eyes and chuckled. "Yeah. I wasn't really in a good place after. I think they'd agree I've only recently started getting over it all or at least processing it." He swallowed the deep knot that threatened to impede his speech. "Especially since I met you..." He relaxed his legs and his arms down before turning his eyes up to look at the ceiling, as if accepting whatever doom would come from him confronting how his feelings for Veronica were developing. 

"So wait, you were a bigger asshole over summer?" Veronica joked as she stared ahead, fighting the smile that contained her contentment with her own joke. He returned his gaze towards her. His eyes lingered, as if inviting her to really see him. 

"You really are something else, aren't you." He shook his head as Veronica stifled what sounded like a giggle. He started to get off of the floor as she regained her composure to respond. 

"Well, I can't say I've really done a poll or even have a large enough sample size of people to come to a satisfactory conclusion."

What is with her throwing that softball setup again? He resisted the urge to comment on her being satisfied as he managed to stand up straight to stretch. "So, what do we do now?"

Veronica extended her hand, inviting him to help her up. "What were you thinking?"

He instinctively obliged, bringing Veronica to her feet and very much in his personal space. "You don't want to know and I'm not playing the answer questions with questions game after I shared that."

She didn’t back away and instead quickly turned her gaze up to him and tilted her head to the side. "What do I get if I guess right?"

Logan’s mind raced as his eyes found hers and locked in her gaze. He wasn’t even aware that anyone else existed at that moment until he heard someone fake a cough to get their attention. Veronica turned away first with Logan following her line of sight to spot Mac and Wallace standing at the end of the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica was certain her legs were jello and was in awe as to how she continued to stand. They hadn’t even kissed and Logan was making her literally weak in the knees. Although she wasn’t thrilled with their missed opportunity, she needed to know what Mac and Wallace had found out from Mercer. They ended up grabbing Parker and Piz before they returned to Mac’s dorm room. Veronica sat on Mac’s bed in between her and Logan.

“So, Mercer was playing his own radio show at the party?” The judgment on her face was clear with how ridiculous she found the part of their story when the group had shared their fact finding mission about the audio had transpired.

“I can get the log book to see who accessed it since he submitted his playlist,” Piz chimed in happily. He was sitting quite cozy with Parker on her bed. Veronica had wanted to comment on how they made a more fitting pair but thought better of herself, not knowing either of them well and recalling Parker’s “relationship” with Mercer.

“That can help get us a name but do we really think this is just one person?” Wallace asked.

Veronica shook her head. “I honestly don’t know but whoever I had a run in with tonight and in the parking garage was the same person.”

“How does this psycho keep finding you alone any way? Isn’t Logan your sworn bodyguard,” Wallace said as he winked. Veronica wanted to see what Logan’s reaction was but he was clearly lost in his own thoughts. 

“You definitely shouldn’t be alone any more, V,” Parked said somberly. “I don’t think that Mercer is involved but I just feel like things are getting worse, especially after your article.”

"I know I'm new to the group but I want it to be known that I despise decisions being made for me. I can take care of myself," Veronica huffed. ”Plus, I'm not convinced they won't go after someone else. We should focus on figuring out who this is instead of trying to choreograph how I can’t be on my own.”

After some time, Logan broke the awkward silence. "Shit. We haven't talked about the conch shell. Mac thinks it's someone who went to Neptune because she remembered them being everywhere with a similar design. I know they had some 'secret society' thing called The Tridents. Jason and Duncan were recruited or something. I should have put that together sooner." He leaned away from Veronica as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Like Yale's Skull and Bones thing?" Mac said as she leaned forward to look past Veronica and catch Logan’s attention but he remained engrossed in his thoughts.

Wallace groaned. "I'm definitely not supposed to say anything but I think Hearst has something like that too." Everyone turned to Wallace for him to continue on. "Look, I just got some random invite but with everything going on, I didn't think much of it."

"Do you still have the invite?" Parker chimed in.

"If I did, it'd be somewhere in my room." Wallace shrugged as he started to get up from the desk chair he was using. 

Mac stood up from her bed. "Let's go look, Fennel. I feel like you two were iSpy masters. You're coming too." Mac said to Parker and Piz as she strolled towards the door.

And just like that, Veronica was alone again with Logan, now sitting mere inches apart. The instant the door shut, she swore she heard Mac cackle which only resulted in a blush rising to Veronica's cheeks.

"So…. about -" Logan started to say before Veronica interrupted him by jumping off the bed.

"I made cookies. You know, proper problem solving food."

"I am very surprised that you bake. Please tell me you have a dainty apron too?"

Veronica found herself gleefully smiling at how quickly their conversations could return to this. "I'll never tell. Are you going to escort me to get them or what?"

"I can do that, though with the complete understanding that you can handle yourself. If anything, I feel like you are here to protect me." Logan tried to contain his smirk and she was happy that she got to see this side of him.

As they strolled to Veronica's car and exited the building into the cooler air, she was violently reminded of her outfit. "I completely forgot I was wearing this!"

"That makes one of us," Logan batted back as his normal swagger continued to return. "But before you continue to distract me, did you notice that guy's eye color or any discerning features?"

Veronica scoffed at the idea that she could actually be enough to distract someone as she unlocked her car to grab the cookies she made. "Uhm, the mask made it hard to really see his face but… this is going to sound weird. I think he had my mom's eyes."

Logan paused as she shut her car door. "What do you mean?"

"They were the same shape and color as hers. I haven't really told anyone but before she left…" Veronica tried her best to steal herself. Her instinct was to run as far away from this conversation as possible but she found herself wanting to share more with Logan as they walked back to the building. 

"Hey, you don’t have to reciprocate my oversharing with your own. You don't have to ever do anything you don't want to do with me, okay? I'd never pressure you." 

Veronica's laughter was clearly unexpected as Logan placed a hand on her arm to stop her before they went back inside. "I'm sorry! That just… “

“Wasn’t what you were expecting?” Logan’s eyes locked on her and she felt as if he was willing her to focus on that moment. He took the plate of cookies from her and set them down. She bit her lip in anticipation of what could come next. She composed her racing heart in hopes of looking calm and confident before she strode back to where he had stopped. She thought time froze as she stood in front of him and then found herself extending herself to brush her lips against his. Logan scanned her eyes which she was sure gave away how uncertain she was feeling. She rocked back on her heels just before Logan engulfed her with his body. Everywhere she was, so was Logan as he kissed her. His large hands held her steadily as she met his passion and ended up pushing him against a wall, the container of cookies left behind.

As his arms released her and as they broke their kiss, he playfully kissed her cheek. His face held a giddy expression she was certain only a handful of people had seen.

"That was… quite clear," Veronica chirped as she stepped backwards. 

Logan's gleeful expression remained. "Never have I wished I lived on campus until now."

Veronica was sure her bewilderment over his double entendre was plain on her face as she stammered out a response. "I - look, I like you but…" But what, Veronica? How do I say that I have no idea what I want but I know I’m not ready for sex yet? 

"Whoa, no. I mean, for…" He took a deep breath. "I told you I'd never pressure you. That doesn't mean I don’t prefer somewhere private versus making out in open halls." Logan scanned her eyes, as if a silent plea for her to trust him.

Veronica shook her head as she let loose a breath she had unknowingly been holding. "I'm sorry. I struggle with assuming the worst from people. The whole being targeted and having all of this rampant judgment over something so simple as hair color or sexuality…. It’s… Thank you for being so direct. I don't think I've ever had someone so diligently respect boundaries."

"I can accept that.  I guess I'm lucky my mom and sister have taught me how important those things are." Logan shrugged as he went back to grab the plate of cookies, though his demeanor had completely shifted again. It was clear he was in his head, reliving some sort of memory.

Veronica took in all that was Logan Echolls. He helped himself to a snickerdoodle with an expression of a naughty boy who had been caught stealing from a cookie jar. His mischievous smile as he looked up before taking a bite. Logan rolled his eyes in a dramatic show of happiness from her cookies that made her blush instantly . She was ready to hear a dirty comment about it but instead he just continued towards her so they could go to Wallace's room. She had already seen so many of his layers and she felt she was starting to understand that the arrogant asshole was more of an armor. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pit in Logan’s stomach from hearing Lilly's voice again was replaced by what felt like butterflies. 

Fucking butterflies, like I’m some lovesick dope.

After everything that had happened with Lilly, he didn’t think he could possess feelings of hope like this. Everything with Veronica felt like second nature. It felt easy, like they just fit together despite maybe being a bit broken. As he reached her side, he was surprised by his casual continuation of talking about his family. "See, Trina is actually adopted. My mom wasn't entirely sure she could get pregnant and heard the story of this baby who had been left. She felt such a pull to help and managed to convince Aaron it was a good idea. Then of course came Jason and I a few years later to round out the Echolls household." 

"You’re so lucky. I always wanted to have siblings and my mom looked crushed when I asked about it. But with my dad being so busy as sheriff…" Veronica sighed, again. From the conversations they had previously about her dad, it seemed that he would be busy no matter what occupation he chose. "I have no idea how he isn't jaded about humanity. He honestly still fights himself to ensure he sees the good."

"’Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.’” Logan paused as he took another bite from his cookie. “Ghandi. Though I don’t know what his thoughts would be on this stray chocolate chip in my snickerdoodle.” Veronica looked up at him and jokingly snatched the plate of cookies before she started laughing. He was certain his heart skipped a beat. 

I am in so much trouble already.  

After they turned the last corner near Wallace’s room, Logan found himself reaching to touch her. He wanted to hold her hand, wanted to assure her and see if she felt all the things he was feeling. He settled on placing his hand in the middle of her back to get her to stop.

“Hey - before we get in there and the wolves are upon us. Would you like to go out on a uh… oh, what do you call them? Two people who clearly like each other go enjoy food or other fun experiences with the intent to continue to get to know each other and simply enjoy each other's company…”

“A - date?”

“Yes. That. I would like to do that with you.”

He saw Veronica bite her lip and smiled genuinely just before she turned her head away and placed her hand on Wallace’s door handle. “Maybe after we catch this asshole.” Without skipping a beat, she opened the door to find the rest of their group scouring the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly awoke the day after Halloween earlier than usual. She ha d been plagued by the same nightmare, again. Her mother berating her for expressing herself with a passionate voice. Celeste shares her famous advice of, "ladies should be seen, not heard" as Lilly falls onto a stage. A man approaches her as she rehearses her speech but does not see her beyond her body as Aaron is suddenly upon her. Her feelings of inadequacy and desperation for validation resulted in a mistake; sleeping with Aaron was a mistake. He realized her insecurities and played on her emotions so he could continue to sleep with her.

Going downstairs she found a letter for Duncan from their mother.  

“Was my letter lost somewhere on the way, Mother?” she grumbled, turning it in her hands.

Growing up in the Kane household, she quickly noticed the differences in expectations and rules she was held to versus her baby brother. She tried not to resent Duncan for it but found herself struggling more than usual. And today was a good example. To open it, or not to open it - that should be the question.

Her curiosity won out as she found herself reading words from a version of Celeste she had rarely seen - kind and loving, albeit, a bit controlling of Duncan’s life. Celeste included paperwork for him to start at Berkeley in the spring. Lilly scoffed at the idea of Celeste laying out Duncan’s life for him - from the clothes he would wear, classes he would take, and girl he would date. Lilly knew with her parent’s separation that Duncan had deferred acceptance for one semester while he interned at Kane software over summer and then managed to convince their parents to still allow him time to "soul search" or whatever. Lilly had thought he had made new plans to go to UCLA. He had mentioned that someone gave him a tour of the campus when they were standing in line before she had left him to sit with Veronica.

All at once, she was hit with the stark memory of seeing baby pictures of Veronica. There was no doubt in her mind that the Leanne she had caught her dad with was Veronica’s mom from the photos she saw. The fact that she had little awareness of the Mars family until this past summer continued to rattle her a bit. Neptune was small but not that small. The only time Lilly had been made aware of Veronica’s dad was after the car crash that killed Aaron Echolls. Despite Sheriff Mars asking the public for witnesses, no one came forward and the video footage of the collision had mysteriously been corrupted. The elite called for the sheriff’s resignation accusing him of mishandling evidence. By the time Keith Mars has succumbed to a brutal recall election, Duncan was back. The timing of it all was odd. Celeste had taken Duncan up to their Napa house the day following the car crash…

"Good morning, Lilly pad. I have to run into the office today," her father startled her as he entered the room and started to pack his briefcase. He paused as he noted the letter she had opened. "I hope whatever poor soul wrote that letter to you knows what they are getting into." Jake chuckled before he went to kiss her forehead and assessed her serious demeanor.

Lilly held up the letter before she spoke, rolling her eyes at her clear annoyance of the letter’s contents. "It's from mom to Donut. Whoops."

"Lilly, I wish I could understand the relationship between you two.” He took the letter and set it down, as if it could undo her pain.

“You mean, you’d like to understand the lack of relationship between mommy dearest and I? Or  her disproportionate motherly love that fuels sibling rivalry between Donut and I?” Her eyes grew wider to emphasize her annoyance at her father not understanding their family dynamic that had always existed. 

“Why don’t you come with me into the office today?”

“If this is bribery, I think you have me confused.”

“No, I’m serious. It’d be nice to show you a thing or two about the family business.”

Lilly sat down as she spun around in a stool at the kitchen island, picking up a magazine and exaggeratedly flipping it open. “Isn’t that Donut’s future?”

“Hey, I would have offered you the same internship but I know better than to try and pigeon hold you to a set rhythm. You are an adventurous spirit who knows what she wants. I’d love to have you around the office if you want that. Maybe we can work out more details at dinner instead?”

She slammed her magazine shut and stood up in excitement. “I like that. Plus, I’m still trying to keep a low profile here so my day is chalk full of….. I dunno what yet.” She walked over to the fridge to grab some fruit.

“Well, just try to be nice to your brother and use your powers for good today?” Jake said as he resumed gathering his things before he left.

Lilly shrugged as she continued to eat her bowl of fruit. “Actually, I may invite a new friend over to see how her Halloween went.”

“Friends are good. Why don’t you see if they’ll stay for dinner too?”

Lilly let a roguish smile creep across her face. “That sounds perfect.”

Jake opened the front door to leave and then yelled back to her. “Duncan’s car isn’t outside. Can you call him and see where he went? I don’t remember hearing him come home last night.”

“I suppose I can manage that,” Lilly said as she walked over to their house phone in the kitchen and dialed out. Jake had already left when the call went straight to voicemail. Lilly decided against leaving a message and opted to run up to her room to grab her cell phone to text Duncan and call Veronica, who also didn’t answer. Lilly contemplated leaving a dramatic voicemail but recalled her “emergency” that had brought Veronica over last time and decided against leaving a message at all. A moment later Lilly heard the front door opening and closing. When she returned downstairs, her brother was standing at the kitchen island in sweats and a shabby novelty shirt, reading the letter from Celeste.

“What trouble did you get into that kept you out all night, Donut? And what kind of costume is this leisure wear inspired by?”

Duncan cocked an eyebrow as his only response.

“Oh, aiming for the strong silent type. I’m sure that’ll pan out well for you, especially at Stanford. Better to keep some mystery before you scare them off with something you may say.”

Duncan continued the silent treatment, which normally wouldn’t have impacted Lilly but she had felt quite cooped up since returning to Neptune. 

“What gives, Duncan?”

“Nothing. I had something I needed to do this morning so I got an early start.”

“You intentionally left the house like that? Thankfully the family name and money should be enough for you to find someone.” Lilly tried to joke.

Duncan gathered the letter and paperwork before he hurried up the stairs. “I’ll be in my room.”

Needing to have the last word, Lilly yelled after him, “Good! I’m going to invite a friend over and I wouldn’t want you scaring her off with your dweebness again!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica had every intention of sleeping in but her phone was ringing. From the absolute high of kissing Logan to the low of trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack that was some invitation to The Castle in Wallace's room, she was exhausted. She was certain Mac somehow knew that she had kissed Logan, especially when Veronica announced she needed to get home when they realized they weren’t going to find the invite from The Castle . She had assumed Logan would walk her out but Mac grabbed Parker to take her to her car where they exchanged turns grilling me as to what my “glow” was from. Veronica recalled the texts they had exchanged once she got home. 

L: I knew your will wouldn’t break under Q’s interrogation skills. 

V: I’ll make sure to give my dad your regards in training me. 

L: Not the response I was expecting. 

L: Can you let me know when you make it home safe or if you need any of my many services?

V: Noted on your services though curious about what guarantees you offer. I’m home and safe with a very protective dog. Good night, Logan  

Her phone beeped again as a reminder of the missed call and subsequent voicemail.

Things to consider when making new friends - I must set rules for when to text and call, ensuring they understand Saturday mornings are intended for rest.

Veronica rolled from her stomach to her side to see the time was just past 9:00am and she thought she smelled bacon. She mustered the energy to stand up and stretch to begin her day but made the conscious effort to make whoever was trying to reach her wait by leaving her phone behind without checking it. 

When she opened her bedroom door, she heard her father humming as he finished cooking eggs. It warmed her heart to see her dad so happy, though she wasn’t entirely sure what the source was.

“You've finally accepted your true calling in life of makin' bacon. Now, am I going to need to tip you over for you to spill why you are so happy?" Keith arched his eyebrow at her. “Blackmail it is then,” Veronica teased as she grabbed a piece of hot bacon taking a bite in hopes it wouldn’t burn her mouth.

"Oh, dearest daughter, can't I just be happy to be home? Though it may have something to do with the fact that I not only caught the entertainment lawyer with the hefty bounty but I also have a date tonight because of it! Huzzah!"

Veronica stopped her obnoxious chewing and grimaced, before she realized that her dad had spotted her uneasiness. "Wow, that is worth celebrating,” she amended, slightly guilty at being caught.

“And what’s with the face?” her dad asked, making a circle with his finger pointed at his head. 

“Sorry, I just, uh, bit my tongue after I burned it." She shifted slightly to make her way to pour herself some coffee. "That is really exciting news though, dad. Seriously. You deserve to be happy." 

Keith simply stepped towards her and kissed her temple. "Thank you. Plus, this means you can have more opportunities for me to be oblivious to you coming home at one in the morning." His face brightened with a smug grin.

"What? I was socializing. You should be proud."

"Am I ever going to get to meet these new friends or hear more details? I feel like I never even see Rose over any more."

"I know, dad. I'm thinking things are not going to slow down with this whole article, and Nish thinks I may have a column even after this is done. I do need to call Rose though."

"Good thing I already did. You couldn't possibly think this spread was for you?"

Veronica rolled her eyes as she headed back to her room to grab her cell phone. "I bet that was her calling me then." When she picks it up to see who reached out, her stomach aches. 

Lilly. Logan's apparent ex who did a number on him and who I randomly met in LA. What are the odds? 

She contemplated texting her back but felt a weird pit in her stomach. 

What are the rules of friends and ex-boyfriends? How can I honestly go from feeling weird about dating my best friend's brother to seeing my new friend’s ex-boyfriend? Wait, are Lilly and I friends? What. is. wrong. with. me?  

She tossed her phone on the bed in hopes that her apparent conundrum would sail away with it. When she returned to the kitchen, her dad stood sorting through the mail and handed her some items. She willed her face to remain relaxed as she saw the conch shell stamped on a large manila envelope addressed to her.  

Shit.

Chapter Text

Veronica read through the letter and photos that were very clearly Lilly in bed with...well, she assumed Logan based on the note. Whoever this asshole was went from death threats to trying to steer me very far from Logan. And they say chivalry is dead. 

However, n o n e of it made sense to her. She tried to at least consider that this meant they weren't going after anyone else, but why her? How long had they been watching her? Was her mom part of this? And how the hell had they found her address?

She sighed as her brain continued to rattle off questions she had no answer for. Her only logical option was to start writing down a list of all the personal information that this person had obviously collected to try and find correlations or clues. They knew who her mother was, her car, her school, her address, Logan's address, and who knows how many personal photos of girls. Oh, and very specific things about Lilly. She wasn't entirely sure what made her want to reach out to Logan but she felt they could put their heads together to figure this out. Or at the very least…

Rose walked into her room and jolted her out of her fantasy about playing detective with Logan. "How you stay so skinny with all the bacon your dad makes, the world may never know." Rose leaned over Veronica's shoulder to leer at what she was doing. "Dude, it's Saturday. Put the homework away!!! I need stories of your college life to inspire me to make it through the rest of the year. I hate everyone, V." Rose sulked down onto Veronica’s bed in a display of teenage dramatics.

Veronica instantly felt bad for neglecting her friendship with Rose but figured some girl talk may be good for the both of them. Veronica turned away from her desk as she responded. "Well, you're in luck. I think I like someone."

"Oh, the V dance begins!" Both girls started to laugh uncontrollably about the double entendre. "Okay, okay - telllll meeeee!"

"Well, we may have kissed last night and then he asked me out. But…" Veronica stopped abruptly as Rose squealed. "Okay, Ms. Giddy, I cannot handle that again and besides, I told him we'd have to wait."

"You what?! I swear, V - the way you are always so calculated, calm and collected about these things now. Is this from a class or just wisdom?”

Veronica got up from her desk to join Rose. “Har, har. Honestly? I don’t know what it is. I know me breaking up with Richie came out of left field but…. I don’t know. It’s like I’ve just had this  gut instinct guiding me recently?”

“You’ve always had that! I swear you can also read people way too well. Remember when I told you about that older guy I met randomly over summer. I told you next to nothing but you were able to pin-point that he was just roaming about, likely… “sowing his oats” I believe was your direct quote.”

“I mean, you said that he didn’t really tell you anything about himself. Didn’t he not even answer you about where he was from or what school he went to? I could have been wrong!”

“Either way, you have a good eye for details.”

Veronica rolled her eyes but decided that girl talk couldn’t proceed with the looming pieces needing to be put together. “Then why can’t I figure this out?” Veronica huffed as she stood back up to grab the package that was delivered earlier in the day.

Rose walked up to join Veronica and see the documents she had unmasked. “Uhm, I don’t think there is much left to figure out…”

Veronica gave a swift side eye to her friend. “Not that. I need to figure out why this person keeps sending me things. This is from the same asshole who sent those emails and coded messages.”

“Oh, the secret scoundrel?”

“The what?!”

“The public pervert?”

“This isn’t some sort of Marvel villain.”

“Well, duh - especially not with these names. Who else have they targeted?”

“....I guess Logan, in a way?”

"Logan, like Wolverine or is this your magical mystery man?!"

"Your alliteration skills have improved. And the latter, I guess, though definitely equal in hotness."

“Then what are you doing here? Go be a… Nancy Drew and see if he will be your Hardy Boy?”

Veronica chuckled as she replied. “And what are you going to do? Rose, I feel like I’ve been the worst friend to you recently.”

Rose sat back on the bed and shrugged. She had an understanding in her eyes that always reassured Veronica of their bond. “We aren’t at the same school any more. There is going to be change but I get it. I know you are always around for me when I need you. My life is just boring whereas yours is filled with intrigue, mystery and hopefully, love.”

“I guess you are telling me I should get ready then?” 

Rose took a pillow and threw it at Veronica who managed to catch it. The two laughed and Veronica felt that gentle pull from her gut reminding her of what to do next. “Only after we eat with your dad. I don’t want him to think I don’t miss you both.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan woke up to someone knocking on the door. He had tried to ignore it hoping Jason would answer but as it continued, he realized Jason had probably stayed with Quinn. He begrudgingly put on boxers and a shirt as he tried to calculate who it  could be. Maybe Mac ended up finding a lead and wanted to rush over? He wondered where his phone was as the person delicately rapped on the door again.

"Would you kindly exercise some patience, I'm coming!" He snapped just before he opened the door. The figure who stood in front of him was the one of the last people who he could have guessed. He was instantly filled with warmth as their eyes met and he breathed in her familiar perfume.

"Is that any way to treat your mother?” Lynn walked by him to continue inside before she removed her large sunglasses. “I guess I should be thankful you managed to put on clothes before you answered. You always were such an exhibitionist." She turned back as she chuckled and then opened her petite arms to welcome Logan into a warm embrace.  They stayed there for a few moments before either of them said anything.

"I wasn't expecting company let alone to be graced with your presence. Where's Trina?"

"She's at the house with a real estate agent. Harvey filled her head with ideas of selling it." Lynn continued into the living room, assessing the area and it was evident she was assessing it all to see how they were doing on their own. 

"Are you okay with that?" Logan followed behind her as they both exchanged a smile over the ridiculous artwork. He normally didn’t mind it but knew that his mother would have immediately asked for options to eliminate the stale feeling of a hotel room some of the art invoked. 

"Honestly, I'm sad but that house isn't our home. It was Aaron's and I figure we can make a new one or go back to the LA house. Though from what I’ve heard, you two seem to like this suite. Where is Jason?"

Logan smirked as he responded and as they crossed the large living space. “I believe he may be the exhibitionist today with his girlfriend. You’ll like Quinn though.”

“And can I expect to meet a steady girl for you or are you still in denial about being a hopeless romantic?” She paused and reached her hand to rest on his forearm. 

“The hard hitting questions before coffee. Can I make you a latte?” Logan jokingly gestured towards the kitchen area and bowed in hopes he could change the subject.  

“Oh, there is someone! Good. I must meet her though I’d like a family meal first.” She set her purse down on the kitchen bar.  

Logan smiled at this involuntarily while he busied himself with coffee, his mother’s perceptiveness made him feel light and loved. His thoughts immediately shifted to the night before with Veronica. He would love to tell Lynn about this tiny, tenacious and quiet irresistible girl he wanted to spend all of his time with, but it was so new, and maybe even frigaile, so he wouldn’t risk it. 

Lynn sighed at his silence and turned to go sit on the couch. “Although I’d love to go out, I’m trying to lay low and figure I’d stay here before Trina and I head back if that is okay? I’ll start planning something here for us all!” 

“I don’t mind taking the couch, Mom,” Logan responded, “though I’ll make sure room service comes in today to clean up a bit more.” 

As he handed his mother her latte and sat down next to her with his own Americano, he paused and marveled at how happy she was. It was clear that she had spent the last few months focusing on herself as she beamed with the confidence he recalled from her days of acting routinely.

“Logan, I’m not fragile, so I am going to pretend you just missed me and you aren’t debating asking how I am with everything.”

“I….. did miss you,” Logan started to chuckle as his mother glared at him, knowing the concern was coming next.  “I know you are far from fragile. You’re glowing, mom. Tell me how the drive was or what your plans are for dinner attire so I don’t disappoint?”

“The drive was not as miserable as it normally is. As for plans, I’m not sure. My only plan at the moment is having a meal with my wonderful children and feeling connected to all of you again. I know Trina  wants to take care of me but she’s practically a helicopter parent! I never knew she had this maternal drive and as lovely as it is, I wanted some space to be able to miss her. She almost didn’t let me come up by myself!” They laughed together and the lightness in Logan’s chest grew. “But in all seriousness, I feel I have a second chance to really be myself again and a better mom. I am going to call in some favors to get her an audition or two and who knows, maybe we will go to some together!”

“I can certainly picture you both playing soap sisters.” Logan noted her genuine smile. “I know you two would be unstoppable. And I know that we never really got a chance to talk about it all. I’m still, well - I guess dealing or healing but we are here for you too, mom. If you ever want to-”  There was another half delicate yet still brute like knock at the door that distracted him. He quirked an eyebrow at the door as he held the back of his hand to his mouth to ask in a sing-song voice, “Who is it?”

“It’s Veronica,” he heard from the other side of the door. 

Logan tried to hold a neutral face as he glanced at his mother and pointed at the door. “I’m gonna grab that.”

He sprung up off of the couch and bounded towards the door with a calm, quick pace. Veronica stood at his doorway clutching the straps to her studded black messenger bag. He let loose a breath. Veronica’s dazzling smile met his in kind.

“Is now a bad time?” Veronica’s face held a similar glow to his mother’s but there was a sheepish grin to it as well. 

“No, never. I mean, my uhm.” Logan cleared his throat trying to regain his composure and not respond like a giddy child. He crossed his arms and leaned on the doorway. “My mom surprised me with a visit.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s - I’m so sorry. I can come back!” Veronica fumbled as she talked with her hands.

Both Logan and his mother interjected with their rejections of such an idea. Veronica bit her lip as her smile seemed to shine brighter.

“It’s two against one. Can I make you a latte?” Logan removed himself from the doorway in an attempt to usher her in. 

“Sure. That’ll certainly not help calm my nerves at all.”

“I think I have some decaf somewhere,” Logan whispered as he leaned in slightly as she walked past him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly was not used to feeling as if she was being ignored but learned her lesson the last time she told Veronica there was an emergency to get her to come over. Of all the people she had met in her life, none were quite like Veronica Mars. Lilly wanted to earn her respect and friendship. Two things she never had to think about earning in the past. Her mind raced back to their first meeting with how shaken but certain Veronica was about breaking up with a boy. 

She paused after she deleted the non-emergency but still bedazzled text. Lilly had never cried over a boy. The closest she ever got was when she had been fighting with Logan before she moved as she tried to express that maybe long distance wouldn’t be the best idea. She had tried to make it more lighthearted and commented on how it wasn’t healthy for such hot people. Logan took it as an insult and mocked her when she arrived at a party after him later that day, expressing how the upcoming distance had spurred on the advances of the bimbos who circled him. 

It wasn’t long after that when she slept with Aaron for the first time. She realized it was a dumb experiment so to speak but not one she necessarily regretted. Lilly prided herself on not holding on to anything and opting instead to learn from it. Though she certainly would have preferred Logan finding out differently versus him walking in on her and Aaron. The car accident that claimed Aaron’s life was certainly not an ideal thing to mark the day either but…. Lilly sighed as she acknowledged she was spiraling into a headspace that would get her nowhere.

Lilly needed a distraction. “Donut! What are you doing today?” she shouted from her room. “Oh my gosh, DUNCAN!” When there was still no response, Lilly dramatically got up and started  towards his room to figure out what he was up to. When she saw his door was slightly cracked open, she paused before she commenced with her normal dramatic entrance. Duncan was sitting at his computer, typing angrily away. She was tempted to yell again but figured he must have had his iPod on. She glanced at the disarray of his room. She spotted his backpack by the door and grabbed some paper, crumbled it up and threw it at him. 

Duncan froze and slowly turned to see her. Lilly couldn’t place the look he had on his face and didn’t know if he would respond or continue to try to bore a hole into her with his eyes. To think, some people would say she was the more dramatic sibling.

"What're you working on?" Lilly playfully asked as she tried to tiptoe through his things.

"Homework. Why? What do you want?"

"I'm just….so bored!" Lilly threw her hands up. 

"And how is that my problem?" Duncan barked, his icy response not being enough to deter her. 

"I remember when you used to follow me around all the time and we were close, you know."

"Yeah, and then you went off and started dating my friends, moved away, slept ar-"

Lilly knew where he was going before he did and interrupted him. "Enough. You know nothing, Do-"

It was his turn to cut her off. "I know you were sleeping with someone you shouldn’t have and are now holed up here instead of facing anything."

She paused for a split second before firing back, "Are you really going to accuse ME of hiding away? Why don't you tell me what happened with Meg or are you seriously going to tell me that ended amicably?" 

"Whatever."

"Oh, so mature. Are you going to run back to mommy too? I swear, you have no idea how easy you have it! You get to be dad's mini and everyone will only expect me back for major holidays until I get married and they can expect grandkids from me."

"You think I want to follow in dad’s footsteps!? I know you've been doing…. whatever but you have no idea what it's been like for me." Duncan’s icy demeanor had started to melt away, signaling that her little brother was still in there. 

"Great! Then tell me!” When he didn’t immediately answer, Lilly feared that small breakthrough wasn’t enough and that his walls were building back up. “Duncan, we are all we are going to have one day. I know I can, well, be a slightly less fabulous version of myself but I'm still your sister. What's going on?"

"I really don't want to get into it, Lilly. Can't we just… not?"

"That bad? Well, it obviously can't be worse than… nevermind." She never knew if Duncan actually knew what was going on but didn’t want to risk bringing up the details of this past summer. It also felt weird to say Aaron's name out loud and her dismissing the idea of talking about her problems was enough to get Duncan to smile a bit as he looked up to see she was trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe but no one really knows about that. I don’t even know. Mom and dad said it didn’t matter." Well, at least I have that going for me.

"Do mom and dad know what happened between you and Meg?" So much for keeping it light. Lilly could kick herself with how deflated Duncan became. She immediately continued on. "I’m sorry. C'mon, let's get out of the house for a bit."

Duncan took a moment. "You're not still trying to keep a low profile?"

"It's against my nature! Foolish of me to try and deprive our fair city of my wonders." Lilly had fully resumed her facade. "But you cannot wear that, I forbid it. Meet me downstairs in thirty, loser!" On her way out, she noticed the piece of paper she had thrown at Duncan was from Hearst, the school Veronica mentioned. She must have paused a little too long as Duncan stood up to shoo her out.

"Age before beauty, right." Duncan grabbed the paper and put it in the trash as he walked behind her and shut his door behind him. "I'm going to take a quick shower."

Lilly tried to think of any reason for her brother to have anything from the school she knew he wasn’t enrolled in. Especially the one Veronica said someone was harassing blonds who had leaked photos of her naked body. She went into her room to plot how she would sneak back in and her mind went back to texting Veronica an emergency message but opted to try calling again instead. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duncan had spotted Lilly lingering over some papers and could feel his anger rising. Of course Lilly would always get in the way!! Maybe it was the lack of sleep from trying to get more pieces of his plan in order but he was struggling to maintain control. He couldn’t afford things to get out of hand again, not when he had found his new purpose. He felt like he had a shot at keeping Veronica away from Lilly and Logan but was starting to see it may be a bigger challenge to keep those two away from Veronica. Especially if Lilly caught on to things. He knew his sister wasn’t dumb despite so many people unestimating her abilities. He had hoped her self isolation would reduce her as collateral damage.

In his thoughts, he had managed to walk towards Lilly’s room where he heard her on her phone keys dialing out. His heart began to race as he clutched his fists. He had to think fast.

“Hey Lils, uhm - have you heard from…” Was this really his only option to distract her? Bring her to his side? Maybe in saving Veronica from becoming Lilly, he would also re-route Lilly’s path. “Have you heard anything about Meg?” He paused as there was no response. Did she hear me? He counted his breaths as the image of him bursting through her door flashed quickly with spots of red. “Lils?”

She opened the door, seemingly hiding behind it but looked up at him. “Duncan, do you want to tell me what actually happened between you two first?” There was something in her tone that brought back the flicks of red.

“What have you heard?!” 

She visibly flinched at his barked question.“Nothing! Can you not act like a total psycho?” 

Duncan’s knuckles were white as the red spots bled into his entire vision. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So much for my trusty gut. Note to self, maybe spontaneous isn’t the best in times of stress. Veronica was still trying to control the heat in her cheeks from Logan whispering in her ear before she went to meet his mom. 

“Oh, aren’t you a beauty!” Lynn didn’t hesitate as she wrapped her arms around Veronica, who at first was rigid but then found herself taking a deep breath and relaxing.

“Thank you. You know, I hate to intrude…” Veronica tried to get out before Lynn interjected as they walked to sit together on the couch.

“You are more than welcome, though I apologize for my forwardness. I’m just very excited and you look so familiar. Veronica, right?” 

Before Lynn could continue her thought, Logan was back with a mug that had whipped cream piled high. Veronica couldn’t hide her grin as they locked eyes. He’s a quick learner. When Veronica’s attention was back on the conversation, she could tell she missed a question but Lynn’s smile remained warm. 

“Well, would you look at the time! I think Trina will be needing some help. Logan, I still expect a family dinner tonight at 6:00pm. Please track down that brother of yours to ensure he’s here as well. Veronica, it was lovely meeting you. I hope to see you again very soon.”

As Lynn made her way, Veronica was lost in her thoughts. She was filled with nerves and a bit of guilt for Logan’s mom leaving so quickly after she arrived. “I am so sorry, Logan. I should probably go too.” She went to reach for her bag to get up when she looked up to see him leaning against his entryway. He was looking at her the same way she assumed she looked at anything with chocolate.

Logan tilted his head to the side. “What are you sorry for? My mother clearly likes you or else she would have pounced at the opportunity to embarrass you for undressing me with your eyes over whipped cream.” He waggled his eyebrows as her mouth dropped open.

She sat back down on the couch to regain her composure. “The ego on you is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I was appreciative over some whipped cream and you know what, I take back my apology.”

“That’s more like it.” He took what seemed to be only two strides to join her on the couch. She could feel his warmth despite him choosing to sit a few inches away. "Now, what brought you, unannounced I might add, to my humble abode?”

Veronica paused with a finger on her chin. “Oh, yeah. Well, it seems that our less than dear friend has figured out my address as well.” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the envelope and handed it over. “My dad handed me this with the rest of my mail this morning.”

Logan shuffled through the photos but his face morphed into disbelief. Maybe that ego isn’t as big as it appears. Veronica was struggling to place the array of emotions evolving before Logan abruptly threw the contents on his coffee table and put his head in his hands. Veronica found herself startled by the sudden clash, but not scared. She closed the gap that was between them and placed a somewhat awkward hand on his arm. A few seconds passed before he turned his head. 

“Uhm, well - this is going to be fun.” Logan relaxed back slightly but kept his left arm that had Veronica’s hand resting on it still as his right hand rubbed the back of his neck. “There aren’t a lot of people who really know what happened with me and Lilly but this asshole clearly does. That’s not me in those photos but I know who it is.” He huffed out a breath as he looked up at the ceiling. He took both of his hands over his face. “Fuck!" 

Veronica stared until he shifted his head back down with a defeated smirk. “So, that isn’t you?” she asked with a levity in her tone.

“Nope. It most certainly isn’t.” He searched her eyes and she felt the immense weight of him searching her for answers as she was trying to do the same.

“Well, I think that could be good for you then, since this appears to be a still from a video. You won’t have to worry about making an internet debut?” At his raised eyebrows, she mentally slapped herself: I choose now of all times for humor. Get a grip, Veronica!

Logan simply closed his eyes as laughter started to stir. “I did notice that though you forget my virtue.” He quickly switched to an old fashioned, Southern accent and rested his left hand towards his forehead. “What will I ever do?” 

Veronica let her hand drop to his thigh but her eyes stayed on him. She found herself squeezing his leg as she looked up at him,  noting how his biceps were fighting his shirt. 

He looked down as he stretched out and glanced at her hand. He appeared to fight an urge to lean back and instead set one hand behind where Veronica was sitting and turned every so slightly to face her more. The act itself seemed like it shattered any other space between them. 

Veronica’s face flashed with panic as she realized he very well could kiss her and she wouldn’t stop him, but didn’t know where it would lead. She clapped her hands in front of her and scooted to sit on the edge of the couch before starting to talk with her hands. “So, uhm, I thought maybe with this new information we could drum up a list of people who would want to target you inadvertently through me-slash-blonds. Because this is clearly more personal…“ 

She knew she was rambling as she shifted through the papers. She also had enough sense to know that turning to look at him could result in a less virtuous predicament. When she felt his weight shift forward, she paused and turned her head to see him waiting for her to make eye contact again, grinning smugly. “What?!”

“You have no reason to feel ashamed or awkward around me. I like you, Veronica. I want you to feel comfortable around me.” He clasped his hands together as he leaned forward slightly, positioning himself more towards her to add emphasis to his statement.

HOW IS THIS MAN SO CALM?! I feel like I’m playing checkers and he’s playing chess! “It’s - uh, not you. I am - I don’t know.” She steadied her breath and stopped herself from continuing to fidget with the papers. “It’s a weird time and new circumstances to meet someone?” 

“You mean death threats, mystery and intrigue are new for you? That’s nice.” 

“No, I mean - not just that. I guess I am still getting an idea of who I am and what I want. You know, going through the first few drafts of myself.”

“Ah, finding oneself. I can respect that. Would that also mean you are not looking to date or anything right now?”

She admired how direct he was. “I can’t say I was looking for anything right now.” She was being honest but still felt a tinge of regret admitting that outloud.

“I can’t say that I was either.”

She wanted to say how she had shared her reasons and it was time to share his with all the innuendos. The acknowledgement that neither of them were looking for anything stole the wind from her sails but not enough for her curiosity to quiet. “Am I going to get to hear the tale of why?”

Before Logan could answer, Mac, Wallace, Jason, and Quinn walked through the front door. Mac locked eyes first, as if receiving a message from Logan.

“Well, look who it is. Supa fly!” Wallace exclaimed as Jason and Quinn continued in, realizing they may have interrupted something.

Veronica thought about standing up to greet them. Why do I feel like I just got caught? She shook away the thought and chuckled at how their timing was perfect. “To be continued,” she softly spoke to Logan before she went back to the contents of the message she received this morning. “I couldn’t have coordinated a better meeting with the dream team if I tried. Look what I found this morning!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly stood completely still as what she could only describe as a temper tantrum ensued. She hadn’t seen Duncan have an episode in so long but then again, she hadn’t been home. The only thing she could understand was him saying how she would ruin everything. She remembered the last time this happened and how dad had calmed him down. 

“Duncan, you’re safe,” she said as calmly and in the most even tone she could muster. “You’re home. You are in my room. Everything is going to be okay.” 

Duncan had slowed. though that may have been because his fist was caught in the drywall. 

“Can I get you some water?” Lilly asked as Duncan gazed at the wall in an almost comatose state. “Okay. You stay here where you are safe. I will be right back with some water.”

Lilly slowly walked past Duncan and into the hall before she cursed herself for leaving her phone in her room. She got to the house phone and tried calling Kane software but couldn’t get to her dad. He apparently was unavailable and despite her urging, she was told that he was unreachable. There were few numbers she had memorized but knew she needed help. She took a deep breath before dialing out to Logan’s cell. I mean, it’s not like he would have our house line saved. I just have to explain before he… No need to finish the thought as the line rang twice before switching to his voicemail greeting. “You’ve reached Logan, and here is today’s inspirational message - ‘I walk slowly but never backwards’ - Abraham Lincoln.” Lilly was sure her eye roll would have been audible if she had left a message. She took a deep breath before she tried again.

“What could you want after your visit the other day?” Logan huffed with several voices in the background.

“Don’t hang up. Duncan is having an episode and I can’t reach my dad. Your number was the only one I had memorized who I thought would answer.”

“Well, you may have thought right but I am failing to see where I can be of any help.” Logan's tone was sharp.

“You can hate me, Logan. I hate me too for what happened but I don't want to call 911. I need help to make sure he stays calm.” Lilly could feel her frustration boiling over before she realized that him even saying more than two words to her was a lot. “Please. You know I wouldn’t ask and I will make myself scarce after this again.”

“How thoughtful of you. I’ll send Jason. Don’t call me again.” Logan hung up as the voices in the background came to a halt with his response. Lilly had known she made a terrible mistake well before things ever became physical with Aaron. She should have been honest with Logan about her not wanting something serious. She could feel the imbalance in their relationship long before she graduated. If she would have addressed it, maybe then she wouldn’t have lost him as a friend and she could still talk to him about what she was going through. Instead, she found herself feeling surrounded by people she met while traveling yet alone, searching for something she couldn’t put a name to. 

Snap out of it, Lilly! You have a rage machine in your room to deal with!!

Lilly took a deep breath then thought about things she could get Duncan to help bring him back to normal. She grabbed a bottle of water, an orange juice and a Pop Tart. As she turned to walk back to her room, she heard a thud followed by a crash. She assumed the worst. She looked back at the home phone, wondering if it was too late to call 911. She kept breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. It was very quiet considering the scenarios she had in her head of how Duncan could continue his episode. She slowly started to leave the kitchen when she saw him at the bottom of the stairs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan was still standing near the kitchen where his cell was charging. Jason was the first to speak, which made sense given Logan had volunteered him. The foursome had walked over to where Veronica and Logan were seated, standing around as Veronica went over some of the contents she had brought over.

“And whose knight in shining armor am I rushing off to?” Jason asked. Mac gently swatted at him given how obvious it was. “Oh. OH. Shit, can I at least bring back-up?”

Quinn immediately shook her head. “I have to get back to my room soon.”

Veronica bounced up before Mac or Wallace could even process the opportunity. “I can go. Give the rest of you a shot at figuring out what I’ve pieced together.” Logan’s eyes darted to her, his prior rage now fluttering below a gentle simmer. He tried to hide his disappointment as his gut told him making a suggestion against her going would not be well received. She walked over to Logan, as if sensing his inner conundrum. 

“Don’t think you’ll get off that easily. I’ll be back,” she whispered as she passed closely by him. His face erupted with a devious smile thinking of what she would come back for. When Veronica turned back to wave goodbye to everyone else, he noted the slight pink on her cheeks as she left with Jason and Quinn. 

“We totally interrupted something.” Mac must have been staring at Logan the entire time as her comment made it clear she caught the gist of his thoughts of Veronica returning. Mac rolled her eyes as Logan shrugged.

“You saved me from having to regale the tale of this past summer’s events.” Logan walked back to the couch in defeat.

“We did good then!” Wallace offered as he plopped down on the couch and then sprang back up to look through what was left on the coffee table. “This is new….” Wallace flipped through photos that were left for Veronica this morning. 

“Yeah, I think she assumed that’s me with Lilly.”

Mac grabbed the photos from Wallace. “But it isn’t. Holy shit, what if this psycho thought it was you too?”

Logan's eyes darted from Mac to the photo, thinking back to Veronica's comment from earlier. “Then that would be the point of giving it to Veronica after trying to warn her to stay away from Lilly… and me. They have to think it’s me!”

“Which means it’s someone who knew about you and Lilly but only from a surface level.”

“That narrows it down to…….most of Neptune?” Wallace asked.

“More like Neptune High. Veronica had no idea who any of us were so the rumor mill didn't reach Pan or she just isn't one for gossip." Logan added while racking his brain over the people who cared enough about his relationship with Lilly. 

“Okay, so narrowing it down from the entire town to roughly… 3000?” Wallace winced as Mac elbowed him in response to his comment. “What? You’re no longer impressed with the fact that I used to excuse you both from classes? Noted!” 

Mac’s smile held something Logan hadn’t seen before. He’d have to circle back to that. 

“I think we can shorten the list further of who has something against me and leave Lilly out of the equation.” Logan said as he frowned when he noticed Wallace looking to Mac, as if seeking permission to comment on that list still being long. “Please spit it out. I know I’m no Prince Charming.” Logan jested. 

Mac rolled her eyes before she responded. “I think the bigger question is who would be able to get access to all of these private photos and have the gall to share them like this.”

Logan didn’t need another moment to process who that could be and immediately grabbed his keys. “We have to go.” When the urgency wasn't replicated, he felt the heat of anger rolling up his neck. “ Now !"

Chapter Text

Logan was nearing the familiar home away from home. He had spent countless hours there with Duncan when his family first moved to Neptune and even more once he started dating Lilly. He waited for the nostalgia to fill him with loss but it did not come. The continued concern over Veronica going straight to the Kane's house when he knew full well what Duncan was capable of when he wasn’t taking his medication was all that he could feel. 

If he is behind everything, it makes sense why he stopped by. He wanted to try and rattle my cage. 

Logan had seen a glimmer of what Duncan was capable of when they took an impromptu trip to Mexico in honor of him getting his driver’s license. Duncan was on edge after the first night and spewing completely illogical statements on how the people around them were evil or something. He chalked it up to Duncan being uncomfortable about being in a different country. They ended up having to cut the trip short after Duncan continued to unravel and started a random fight. Logan distinctly recalled how mad the Kanes were with him when they returned and was surprised that none of the comments were over the scrapes and bruises their son had won. Celeste had instantly scolded Duncan over forgetting his medication as she ushered him away, glaring at Logan. He didn’t know exactly what the mystery pills were for, but knew it was serious.

Before the final turn to get to the street where the Kanes resided, Logan noticed a group of onlookers staring at the house. He instantly went stiff, as the fear for Veronica constricted further in his chest. He searched the area frantically for Jason’s coupe, his heart rate beating louder than any thought his brain could have found. Failing to see it quickly enough to calm his nerves, he pleaded with Mac to call both Jason and Veronica again. He heard Mac greet whoever answered the phone and he barely resisted the urge to stop the car completely to take the phone from her. 

“Where are you guys?” Mac paused at the reply then waved for Logan to continue past the crowd of people. “Yeah, we see the neighbors. We will swing around.” She hung up and half glared at Logan picking up how impatient he was. “Jason is parked on the other side. Everything is fine. Duncan is being taken by ambulance.”

“Shit. Is… is Lilly okay?” He paused because he wasn’t entirely sure why he was asking. Lilly had said she hated herself too. No one in Neptune had really heard from her or seen her, which is the most unlike Lilly thing. He knew that he wasn’t in love with Lilly when he had found her entangled with Aaron but he recognized the hate that erupted that day. He must have still cared about her in some way to have sent Jason. 

“I'm sure she is fine. Veronica went inside to be with her.” 

Logan let loose a breath he had been holding onto as he parked behind his brother’s car. Jason came around and leaned on the trunk of his car to greet them. 

“Never a dull moment when it comes to the Kanes,” Jason joked, trying to bring some levity to the situation as Logan approached. It was clear for Logan that Jason was focused on assessing how he was doing and wanted to defuse any anxiety.   

“Yeah, I’m sure Celeste is going to have a field day with this,” Logan finally responded, falling back into the facade of indifference. “Do you know what happened?”

Jason took a deep breath. “I overheard the radio chatter from one of the EMTs. It sounds like Duncan fell down the stairs. They won’t let Lilly ride in the ambulance since they noted he had signs of a seizure and restrained him.” 

Logan felt his guilt sharp in his gut. He had let his anger take priority over making sure Lilly was safe. He would have blamed himself if something had happened to her…. 

Jason must have seen the anguish on his face as he nudged him slightly with his words. "Hey. Everyone is okay."

"Yeah. Right as rain." Logan felt the calluses of his defensive nature from dealing with his dad thicken. He had often told Jason he was okay after he would take the blame for everything under the sun when they were little. After a few incidents, Aaron assumed a cloud in the sky was because of Logan. He would have to soothe Jason after it all by telling him everything was okay. 

Logan then turned to look at the Kane house, letting his defenses melt away again. His anger at Lilly may not have been misplaced but it was superfluous. Yes, she slept with his vituperative excuse for a father. In no world was that okay, especially with the implications it had on his mom. Yes, they had been broken up for good then. But she wasn’t oblivious to what Aaron was or the scars Logan had from over the years. And still… Maybe if he had walked in on her with anyone else -  except Jason but…. He shook his head to refocus. 

He realized he was harboring the residual hatred of Aaron alongside his thoughts of Lilly until they just merged into one. It shouldn’t have taken a real threat to Lilly’s wellbeing for him to be able to separate the two. Would they suddenly be able to be friends? Maybe not, but he had a feeling he could forgive her or something. Let's aim for "something" before we go setting goals in our feelings journal. 

Mac and Wallace had finally joined them by the driver's side door of Logan's Nissan. "So, what's the plan now?" Wallace asked to break the silence.

Logan shook his head as if settling back into himself. "You two head back with Jason. I'm going to go inside." Logan leaned against his car, trying to reinforce an image that he was A-okay. Everyone exchanged glances while he appreciated the sheer comedy of it all. "No need to call a second ambulance for me. Seriously, I think us all going in there would be too much and I'm not going to leave Veronica. Plus, I may owe Lilly an apology." 

Wallace raised his eyebrows in surprise, and Logan grimaced. “What? It’s not like we were on a break when it all happened.” Wallace’s face didn’t move. “This isn’t like that episode of Friends you all used to bring up. And I’m not saying that banging dear ole’ dad was okay. We can all agree that was excessive but I’m ready to… let it go. Bygones or something.”

At the last comment, Mac moved to stand in front of him. She jokingly scanned Logan's face and then took her own pulse. She looked up at the sky. "No pigs are flying, I'm still alive… huh. I guess pre-summer Logan is making an appearance."

Jason bumped Wallace who was laughing considerably too hard as he started to walk back to the car with the Mac in tow. Logan shouted out that he'd be back before dinner and then promptly informed his brother that they were hosting Trina and Lynn. 

Logan waved them off and took a moment to rehearse what he was going to say. He ran his hand over his face before he pushed off the car, and headed up the walkway. Bygones. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Veronica saw the ambulance, she ordered Jason to stop and bolted from the car. She didn't have a sinking feeling in her chest that something terrible had happened to Lilly but that didn't stop her need to make sure Lilly was okay. She felt a pull to go around to the garage that was open versus the front door that had the paramedics packing up to leave. The instant she was inside, she saw Lilly talking on the phone. 

Veronica ran to her and she could see so much written on Lilly's face as the girl disconnected the call. Fear. Guilt. Shame. She paused and they exchanged a look before Veronica swiftly swooped in to hug Lilly. After a moment, they slowly backed away and although Lilly had tears in her eyes, they both found themselves laughing.

"I'm so glad you laugh at inappropriate times too," Lilly said as she wiped away a tear. 

"Well, to be fair, no one I know is around to catalog my inappropriate laughter. I'm more likely to be pegged as a maid than someone of importance."

"Not without a sexy uniform, Veronica Mars!"

After they regained their composure, curiosity rushed the question out: "What happened?"

"I'm honestly not even sure. One minute we were bickering, then making plans to get out of the house and then BOOM! Rage machine." Lilly seemed to be okay, if her jokes with her usual dramatic flair were any indication. "I'm guessing you were at Logan's when I called?"

Veronica knew she was likely blushing. Note to self, figure out how to not do that. "Yeah, I stopped by because I got a package and thought some of the photos were… you and Logan." She shifted slightly as she tried to think of a better way to broach the subject of them . 

"Ha! Logan wasn't one for showing off like that. He had no need, though I'd be curious to note who would… actually, I could take a guess if you are sure it is moi. " Lilly started towards the kitchen and perused a pantry that was bigger than Veronica's closet. 

"I'm assuming you're not going to share what happened between you two?"

"Nope!" Lilly said, popping the p as Logan so often did. "It's not that I don't want to but if he hasn't talked about it, I'm not talking about it…." As Lilly was finishing her statement, something caught her eye. Veronica turned to follow Lilly’s line of sight to find Logan looking at them with his hands in his pockets.

"I guess my presence puts a damper on girl talk." He shrugged before he took a seat at one of the kitchen island stools.

Veronica looked between the two ex-lovers as the silence seemed to echo. Lilly spun into the refrigerator and asked nonchalantly, "Anyone want something to drink?"

Logan rebuffed with some sort of mix of sigh and laughter, leaving Veronica to answer as she walked to take a seat next to Logan. 

"Uhhh, I'm good with just water." 

"Boo! No happy hour then." Lilly turned and handed Veronica a glass water bottle but stayed on the opposite side of the kitchen island, watching the pair. She rested her elbows on the counter to prop up her head before asking, "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" 

Veronica noted Logan's face flash a smirk before he regained a more stoic expression. "Actually, it's for what I'm assuming will be one of the most unexpected offerings of peace in history."

Lilly gasped mock-shocked. "Logan 'I don’t think I ever learned your middle name' Echolls, came to me with a hand of friendship ? Veronica, quick! Play nurse and check to see if he has a fever!"

Logan grabbed Veronica’s hand playfully and held it to his head. He turned to look at her with  eyes that reminded her of warm chocolate pools.  

I’m doomed - those probably aren’t even his puppy eyes. 

“Hmmmmm, you may have a temperature of one-hundred and three,” Veronica murmured, hypnotized. 

Seeing their reciprocating grins, Lilly rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, reminding them of her presence. Suddenly aware of her surroundings Veronica let her hand drop to Logan’s knee and ducked her head, unexpectedly shy. 

“Alright, lovers, I’d suggest a room but I don’t want it to be construed as an invitation for a threesome.”

Veronica laughed half nervously, bringing her extremities back to herself. “O-Kay, so before we hit a trifecta for sexually loaded comments and summon Beetlejuice…” she paused as her thoughts jammed. Is this the start of some… weird bridge of friendship or maybe a rekindling of sorts? 

"I think that ship sailed," Logan interrupted coyly with a wolf-like smile. He waved up his hands in a dramatic fashion. "Unless you don't count the nurse comment as provocative, to which, I strongly disagree. The outfit I thought of would definitely be sexy." He winked at Veronica and gently rested his hand on her knee, caressing her exposed skin lightly.

There's that funny feeling again. 

Veronica took a mental note to thank Rose for pushing her to wear a skirt. She knew Logan was trying to put her at ease, as if his large, warm hand was an anchor to assure her. Or maybe to keep the conversation away from the more pressing questions he obviously knew were still nagging at her. 

"I suppose I'll need to take your point under consideration." Veronica winked back and noted how Logan’s eyes grew wider.

Lilly joined back into the conversation. "I know I have no right, but I love this. I always knew you'd find a Virgo, Lo."

Veronica cocked her eyebrow at the comment. "Zodiac signs? How did you know what I was? I don’t even know what I am."

Lilly's face flashed for a moment with something that Veronica couldn't place before she shrugged and responded. "You scream organized, practical and loyal. You forget who went through your closet to find something for Halloween."

Veronica’s face was still frozen in question. She spent more time staring at my family photos than my closet. Her thoughts about what that could mean were quickly interrupted before she could probe further. 

"Riiiight…  And that is decidedly not your patented evasive face. What’s up, Lills?" Logan demanded, dropping the ease he had started with.

"Nothing! God, I'm simply a fantastic judge of character." Lilly threw her hands in the air and started to walk away. She paused before she went up the stairs by the kitchen. "Thanks for coming to my rescue and checking on me. I think I should be alone for a bit before the ice storm of Celeste gets home to blame me for this."

Veronica noted Logan playing with the ends of his sleeves, his brows furrowed. He was a hundred miles away in his thoughts and she wanted to comfort him without bringing too much attention to the array of emotions playing across his face in such a short time. As she stood up, she touched his back ever so slightly to go back towards the garage door. "I'm glad you're okay, Lilly. Call me if you need anything. And for reference, this would be a proper emergency."

Logan stood up and Lilly gave a somber nod. "Don't be strangers, lovebirds," she cooed before sauntering up the stairs with the familiar air Veronica was getting used to.

Veronica went to open the door to find Logan had beat her there. 

"Allow me," he stated politely. She looked up at him as he turned the handle to let them both out. She was desperately trying to read his mind. She felt uneasy thinking his apparent emotional turmoil from the moment before was over Lilly. His response to her silent worry was to raise an eyebrow suggestively. 

"What a gallant gentleman."

"I do what I can." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep breath in, Logan reminded himself as they walked to the edge of Kane residence. Deep fucking breath out. 

Lilly’s comment about being a good judge of character had nearly sent him into a rage, which then made him feel guilty after his whole revelation from earlier. It was going to take time to let all of the ties in his mind that wanted to connect her to Aaron die. It also bothered him that it was clear she was holding onto another secret.   He wasn't ready to try to decode anything else Lilly Kane related today but was relatively certain Veronica had picked up on it too. 

Logan glanced at her on their way to the car, assessing her reactions. If she caught on to anything, she wasn't letting on .

"Well, here’s hoping you're a better driver than Jason."

Her tone was playful which pulled the corners of his pensive expression to a grin. "I think I can manage that. Where to?" 

He heard Veronica's stomach suggest her reply with a gurgle. "I think any ideas are trumped by my hunger."

"I know the perfect spot." He opened her door to let her in. She gave him a slight side eye. "What? Gentleman," he joked as he pointed to himself before he closed her door.

He walked around to his driver's side and noticed her watching him. They were soon on the road in comfortable silence before Veronica chimed in. 

"You should know that in spite of my size, I can eat. Please don't take me somewhere and expect me to order a salad."

"Ah, so you do know what you want."

"I certainly have an idea of what I like ." 

He didn't hesitate in his response. "That's a good start. Care to share?"

"I don't share food." Her tone suggested she may have seriously been offended by the idea.

"Unless someone is sharing with you?" 

He was able to catch a sly grin crack as she responded. "That's the tax for someone underestimating me."

"The nerve of some people." He chanced a longer look at her as she laughed. His thoughts were quiet as he simply admired her joy. "I was originally thinking of this spot by the beach but if you are up for it, I think waffles may be in order. I know for a fact whipped cream is offered too."

"You're not going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope." He paused as her expression waned into thought. "Where'd you go?"

"You and Lilly say 'noPe' the same."

"Yeah, well, she stole that from me." He hoped his tone was playful enough despite where he figured she was going with bringing Lilly up.

"Is the drive long enough to tell me what happened?"

Logan hesitated as he rubbed the back of his neck. He turned on his blinker. "It's… I want to tell you. I have nothing to hide but I want to make something abundantly clear." He pulled the car to the side of the road to face her. "I did love Lilly, or at least I think I did. But regardless, I don't see her like that anymore. I haven’t in a long time I guess. I don't want you to think that I was so angry because she broke my heart. It wasn't like that. We were over when she graduated the summer before I did."

"Then why the hesitation to tell me?"

"There's other… components to the story, so to speak."

He could see her brain racking up possibilities before she asked, "A love child?" She was clearly joking as she covered her mouth to feign shock.

"Noo. Nothing like that. It's…" he scoffed, thinking how that was true for the other Kane sibling. He knew he'd have to give her something but this wasn't the time or place to get into it. "It's more of a delicate topic because of what else happened this summer…" Her eyes were understanding as he paused. 

Maybe she can put the pieces of Aaron's death together with it all.

"I'm sorry I keep bringing it up. My curiosity can be -"

"Insatiable," he interrupted and was rewarded with her smile that further ignited the butterflies that continued to flip his stomach every now and again when she was around. 

I'm so screwed. 

"You could say that. I'll try to do better to not attempt to pry it from you." 

He took that as a sign to continue driving but was still feeling playful. "If you think you can control yourself around me."

"Is that a challenge?" Her tone wasn’t short which he took as a good sign but he could feel her narrowed stare. 

He resisted the urge to pull back over again to show her how it had been more of a challenge for him but thought better of it. Afterall, he was trying to prove that he was a better driver than his twin.

"I'm sure if you try, you'll be fine." He waited for her response, for them to resume their game of batting repartee at each other. The growing silence made him wonder if he had sounded apathetic but he always assumed Veronica was competitive by nature. Maybe he just needed to push her a bit more to test his theory. "Past interactions are putting the odds against you."

"What do I get if I can resist the rest of the day?" Her response was nonchalant but Logan could feel she was scheming. A surge of arousal coursed through him with lightning speed.

"You tell me," he said matter of factly before he continued with the next few words, each dripping with the possibilities running through his imagination. "What do you want?" 

"Well, you are planning on feeding me, so I feel like I've already won. Any other suggestions?"

He knew this was her teasing him. The thought of suggesting something simple like a kiss crossed his mind but why play easy. 

"I want to hear what you want, Veronica." He saw her shift in her seat ever so slightly from how he said her name. Oh, this is going to be fun. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan had taken her to a farmer’s market. She chastised him until he pulled her to a waffles stand called Wow Wow Waffle and Lemonade. They had walked around and just were. No talk of all the noise that had been happening; simple exchanges that she assumed would be normal for a first date. Wait, is this a date?

As they headed towards the parking lot after an hour or so, Logan finally asked what she was sure he had been holding on to for the past hour. "So, now that I've plied you with food and whipped cream, can we resume our earlier conversation?"

"I feel like what you are asking is trying to ascertain a very specific want."

She noticed that same cool, confident smile set in before he opened his passenger side car door. "What you want is a broad topic and I'm curious about it all. It’s not my fault your mind assumes it’s of a sexual nature.” She took note of his satisfied grin as she hopped up into the passenger front seat. He shut her door and walked to his side of the car. She admired how he walked with such grace despite his size.

As he got in, his eyes were dark as he looked at her before starting up his car without breaking eye contact.

Heat continued to pool at her core despite him turning the air conditioning up and she desperately needed to shift in her seat. “I guess I’ll have to let you know as I figure it out.”

“I can work with that. I was hoping we could at least have a baseline of, 'I like you' and 'you like me.'" He paused, as if waiting for her to say it on cue. She tried to hold her expression still to not give anything away. "You are, however, more transparent about what you don't like and I'm going to guess-"

"I don't like it when people assume they can read me like a book." She wasn't sure why her response was so defensive but was impressed when his face didn't change. She could see that he really was willing to be patient with her.

"Not you entirely but you have tells."

She attempted to wait him out again but gave in as he started to drive out of the parking lot, putting his arm behind her seat to look behind them. "Well, do tell."

He brought his hand back to the wheel, his attention forward. "First, you resort to more clipped responses in between pauses when you're frustrated. And even right now, you're trying to bore a hole through me because I’m right."

Her response was more eased, "I'm sure lots of girls glare at your smart mouth."

They were at a stop sign and he took the moment to turn to her, his eyes darted to her lips once before they were locked onto her. "It's funny that you mention my mouth. Most people look at someone else's mouth when they want to kiss them."

"I-..." apparently can't finish a sentence and I'm stuck watching those lips curl into that cocky smile. 

"The feeling is mutual, as previously implied."

She waited for him to continue as he pulled from the parking lot before she snarked, "Struggling to drive and talk?"

"No, just considering what we do next. You just got out of a serious relationship with Ricky." His tone held no hint of jealousy or the like; he was simply stating a fact.

"Richie, and that was weeks ago back when the semester started."

"Whatever. I'm not looking to be a rebound or anything." 

Veronica wasn't even sure she was capable of a rebound but was enjoying how Logan was so upfront. She hesitated, wondering if he was waiting for her to comment but he glanced over at her before adding, 

"You fascinate me."

His response nearly stole her breath. She took the moment to be bold."You fantasize about me?"

"And what if I do, Veronica?" 

He has clearly caught on to how I react when he enunciates my name like that, smug bastard. 

"I know that I like you.” He continued on as he glanced at her meaningfully. “It's just a matter of what you want."

"How are you so comfortable with…"

Logan didn't skip a beat in finishing her thought. "Talking about what I want? Think of it this way - in a dance, one person leads and it's all practiced and rehearsed. But in the moment with a real partner, it's all about what feels good. What… makes sense or feels right."

"And you want to be real partners?"

"I want to see what could happen with us. If we fizzle out after our sharp tongues get past all of the other's defenses or if we start a torrid affair that shatters our past experiences. You know, maybe there are other possibilities as well. I'm trying to not get ahead of myself."

Why am I so hot with these damn fans blowing cold air at me. "I'm… not as…" oh, just spit it out! She took a stabilizing breath, summoning the blood that was making her feel hot everywhere to circulate back to her brain. "I've only dated Richie and our relationship was - pretty tame."

"I can do tame."

"You forget, we've kissed before. There was nothing tame about that kiss. And I am most certainly not complaining…just, making an observation."

"Hey! Give me some credit. I didn't take you against the wall. I stepped away. I believe there was even a cheek kiss in there too. Tame ."

Her mind shifted to the image of if he had taken her against the wall and she had to turn away. "I'm just saying. I don't know what a relationship between us would look like."

He surprised her as he stopped the car and pulled over again. Her heart was racing at what could happen next. "If you wanted to simply stare at each other," he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to close the space between them, creating a short pause. "I'd sit on my hands in anticipation you would stop fighting your desires."

Her mind raced with responses that would all give way to how much she wanted him. He had her pinned with his stare which far from the way she craved. Logan Echolls, chess player extraordinaire. She knew that the side of whatever road they were on was not the best place for her to climb over the center console to prove his point. "What… about my desire to go home and take a nap?" She laughed at his wide eyes before his face melted into something softer as he joined her in laughter. He looked around and she could see that he read her mind about the predicament their location put them in.

He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and pulled back before putting back on his seatbelt and resuming the drive back home. "Inviting me to sleep with you already? I knew you couldn't resist me." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly had found herself feeling restless in her room and decided to risk Celeste's wrath by going to the hospital. It's not like she'd risk a scene where someone may overhear. That’s how she found herself waiting next to Duncan who was sound asleep for about an hour when an unexpected visitor stopped by. 

"Hey Mac. I'd ask how you knew where to find us but I know you're the savviest of the bunch."

"Hey Lilly. I figured you'd be by yourself and-"

"Wait, why would you come? Can I assume you don't think I'm some sort of she-devil for this past summer?"

"Uh – I think you're human and I don't know you well enough to write you off like that. I mostly wanted to make sure you were okay after Duncan's episode." Mac entered the private room but opted not to sit next to Lilly. 

"I'm sure you've heard it isn't the first time then."

Mac crossed her arms and shifted her weight to lean on the wall next to the whiteboard listing the nurses on duty. "Logan may have mentioned an episode he witnessed years ago. But I think it's important you hear what else we think he's been up to."

"Uhhh you mean other than being an isolated brat of a baby brother?"

Lilly felt it was more serious as Mac took the seat next to her. "Veronica told you about what we've been looking into?"

"Yeah, she showed me an email that was sent to your guy's college from some nut job." She paused as Mac's face flinched slightly. "Oh. You think that was Donut?"

"Has your dad mentioned any sort of data breach? The metadata from the photos I was able to pull seem to show they all came from cell phones by the company Kane software owns and…."

"You think my little brother hacked our dad's company to enact some sort of revenge plot on all blonds at a school he doesn't even go to?" Lilly was well aware of her own shade of dramatics but this wouldn't even register on her color wheel.

"I get it sounds a little crazy." Mac was fidgeting in a way that reminded Lilly of Logan. 

"It sounds like you all have been watching too many movies and have dreamt up a boogie man in the shape of this Donut."

"Maybe, but a boogie man who has delivered two personal messages; one to Veronica and a second to Logan?"

Lilly almost felt defensive as she started to respond. "So Logan pissed someone off and they…. Wait, why would Duncan target Veronica?"

"That's what I can't figure out. I get that he and Lo were always more frenemies than anything but we all just met Veronica."

"Yeah, I met her randomly in LA. Duncan was with me but was being all weird and huffy so he didn't stay to chat."

"Is there any way he could know her from somewhere else? That's the one piece that just doesn't make sense to me and it's driving me crazy. He makes sense since I can't imagine a hacker with no inside knowledge or connection to Kane software would be able to breach this much data without setting off alarms." 

Maybe it was the long day she had experienced. Maybe it was that Lilly had felt so alone and now had someone to talk to who seemed to actually care. Or maybe Mac was the most trustworthy person, but before her brain could intercede, she saw the question floating away. "Can you keep a secret?"

Mac rolled her eyes in a way that even challenged Lilly's own dramatics. "That's insulting that you would even ask considering I know what you did last summer…but I promise not to tell a soul."

"I know I've been known to exaggerate slightly but I think this is bigger than me sleeping with Aaron. I think…." Lilly bit her lip and then waved for Mac to come closer so she could whisper the rest. "I know my dad has been having an affair and I think… Veronica may be the result of it."

Mac shook her head. "I'm sorry. What?!"

"I never knew her last name but I confronted my dad after I overheard him talking to someone named Leanne on the phone. I never actually saw them together but when I was at Veronica's and saw all the pictures of her as a kid, I could see so many similarities to her and Duncan. I know her mom ran off this past summer but you'll never guess what her name is."

"So you think that Duncan knows that he's…. somehow related to Veronica?"

"I mean, it's possible. If you are saying he targeted her, he'd want to keep Logan away since he's not his biggest fan. When did this all start any way?"

Mac pulled out her flip phone and was going through its contents before she held up a text chain for Lilly to see. "My boss, Nish texted me super early on-"

"That was literally the day after I met Veronica. It has to be because that's the day I landed in LAX and he picked me up."

"Maybe seeing her set him off?"

"Mac, this is insane. But… he's still my stupid baby brother. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Let me know when he gets released. I won't tell the others about what you told me but I can at least tell them this all started the day you met her."

"Why are you being so understanding again?"

"What you did was…. beyond twisted Shakespearean but it really blew up because Aaron died that day. His death was not at all your fault. You made a mistake but you didn't kill anybody and I remember you being honest with Logan before you left. You've always been a force, Lilly Kane… At times an absolutely terrifying force that I don't understand, but I admire you. I know Veronica sees it too."

"Okay, okay! Are we trying to make me blush because that kind of flattery is probably the closest thing that may cause it. You tell me. Maybe this awful lighting can pick it up." She watched as Mac shook her head as she stood up and started to leave. Before she was too far away, Lilly added. “You're a good friend, Mac."

"For a select few…and maybe a few more. Stay safe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan had dropped off Veronica with another chaste forehead kiss. She never even considered any reservations he would have from the possibility of being a rebound. That man may have an ego but is apparently clueless that he is a man of prowess. It wasn't until she was inside her room that she was reminded of her upcoming installment on the article series. It dawned on her that they didn't talk about the case at all after she left his hotel.

She went to call Mac but the call oddly went straight to voicemail before she got a text.

Mac: just got home. family dinner. talk later about updates.

I wonder what Mac has been up to if she's only getting home now… She knew Logan would be at his own family dinner and realized she didn't have Wallace's number. She sat down and started to write a timeline with the dates of each email, letter and package from… We really should have coined some sort of name for this scumbag. 

After she had the timeline written out, she added the dates of when Hearst classes started and when she met her new friends. I literally met Jason, Logan AND Lilly the day before the death threat went out. There were no additional threats issued; just general warnings. Even when he would find me, he just wanted to talk. 

She started to write out who would have a personal vendetta against her but came up blank. 

As she was tapping her pen at the paper, she started to doodle mindlessly. She found herself sketching the conch shell and froze. Veronica stood up in a hurry to find her dad standing at her door.

"Geesh dad, trying to scare your only child to death."

"Ha ha - I was simply admiring my academic daughter who was so lost in thought, she didn't hear me come home with pizza."

Veronica wasn't even sure what she could do with her theory and figured a nice family dinner would be good. "Is it Cho's?"

"Only the best for my collegiate daughter."

"Again, I’m your only daughter, you big goofball. C'mon, before Backup helps himself." She leaned into her dad who promptly took her under his arm as they turned towards the kitchen.

"That animal!" 

Chapter Text

Duncan awoke in a strange room. It took him a second to realize where he was as the sterile smell gave way to the fact that he was in a hospital. He took note of the weight on his left arm which was wrapped in a short cast. He tried to think about what happened or how he got here but his head was in a fog. As he started to adjust the bed to sit up slightly, he spotted a blond figure sitting in the chair by his room’s window but couldn't see her face. Meg? His heart skipped a beat and then ached, knowing it wasn’t possible for her to be there. 

“Lilly?” His voice was hoarse and he wasn't sure if they heard him or if he guessed the wrong name. “Ve-”

“Oh. You’re awake,” a nurse said as she stood in the doorway. “I’ll have to let the doctor know. My name is Marcie. I’m going to get your vitals if that’s okay. How are you feeling, Duncan?” 

He stared at her hands as she gingerly grabbed the clipboard from the end of his bed. He wasn’t sure he knew how to answer or if he even could considering he felt so lost. 

“Ah - the strong silent type. I had a feeling.” She looked up towards him with kind, understanding eyes and he felt the ghost of a smile grace his face. “I’m sure you have lots of questions. All I know is that you came in with signs of having a seizure. We were able to realign your distal radius though I’m sure you’ve already noted the cast.”

She busied herself with checking on the various machines at the side of his bed. He found himself needing to know who was waiting for him to wake up but didn’t think she’d be able to tell him which sister was there. When he felt he wasn’t interrupting her checking each of the machines, he finally asked,

“How long has she been here?”

“I’m not sure. I noticed another girl was here for a bit almost an hour or so ago, maybe longer than that. Can I get you anything before I grab the doctor?”

“I’m okay. Thank you, Marcie.”

She nodded in response before she vacated the room. He cleared his throat, more determined this time to wake the sleeping blond. 

"Hey…hello?" 

When their head remained down, he opted to take a piece of crushed ice from the cup on his bedside and gently toss it their way.

"What the hell, Donut?!"

Ah, but of course. I must really be losing it to think it would have been anyone other than Lilly.

"What happened?" he questioned, looking around.

"Uhhhh, you went ballistic?" 

Something on his face must have told her to take a noticeable breath. She stretched out in the chair like a cat before she continued on. 

"I don't know, Duncan. One second we are bickering then getting ready to go out and…. then you kinda lost it. I went downstairs after you started to thrash my room and called Logan-"

"You called Logan?!" he exclaimed and burst into a fit of laughter. He was sure he was now cackling and sounded insane but the thought of Lilly calling Logan to help was ridiculous. That guy can hardly help himself.

Lilly just rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I knew dad wasn't available and didn't really have anyone else's number memorized. He miraculously answered and then I heard a crash to find you at the bottom of the stairs."

His head was throbbing again as he tried to pull the memories. To think after everything, Lilly still trusted him enough to rely on him to ask for help. 

"Look. I'm not mad. The doctors think you had a seizure or something and Celeste is on her way. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before she showed up and froze me out." She bounded out of the chair.

"I never did understand why you two hated each other so much."

"Of course not! You're the baby and I'm the experimental child. Plus, I think mother-daughter relationships are doomed cosmically or something." She stood at the end of his bed. He could see signs of exhaustion pulling at her features. "I’ll come back in the morning after some beauty rest, assuming I’ll be permitted to grace your presence after the queen’s return. Go back to sleep, Duncan."

"Yeah. Sounds good. Thanks, Lils."

His thoughts shifted to the dark place he normally avoided. Did Meg end up having a boy or a girl? Would they have been born already? Would he ever get to see the baby? What if she had twins? His thoughts were halted as his head ached and pounded more with each new question he’d likely never know the answers to. Things were fading away before it felt like all the lights imploded, radiating white everywhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is something new. My Veronica, taking her time to eat pizza? Is the weather report for tomorrow a chance of meatballs or pigs flying?"

Of course her dad would notice the slightest change in her eating. She was only slightly distracted as her mind was recounting how each touch from Logan shot electricity through her. It all must have fried her brain for her to somehow not circle back to the case they were working on. 

"Yeah, just trying to put the pieces together." 

"Of your dinner or this thing for the paper you’ve been working on?"

Answering that directly would lead to him knowing that their suspect knew where she lived but she knew she could use his help. She opted for an indirect response after considering that she’d need to fill in Logan at some point with how the clues were adding up in her head. 

"Did mom tell you about a letter she got before she left?"

Keith may have froze for the tiniest hint of a second that most people wouldn't have caught had they not known him. "Veronica, I don't know what you know or think you know…"

"Well, the basics are she left us and there's been no attempt to find her to start."

"That's fair. Harsh, but fair.” Keith took his napkin in one hand and carefully placed each forearm on the edges of the table, as if to stabilize himself before he continued on. “Your mother… It's complicated. It always was."

"What does that mean? Cause it doesn't sound like a part of 'when two people really love each other'." Veronica regretted her tone but noted how her father's face remained soft. 

"When I met your mother, I was new to Neptune…. I-"

"Yeah, yeah. Cliff sold you on a beach town that was somehow affordable outside of San Diego in the days before Kane software took over." She tried to bring some levity to the conversation since it was only going to get more uncomfortable if the truth was going to come out. 

His responding scoff hinted that she touched a nerve and she didn’t think it was her lack of patience. Could Kane Software be involved or… the Kanes themselves? 

"See, I liked your mom from the start and she was eager to settle down. My folks thought I was crazy for marrying her after less than a year but….” His face was filled with a longing that made her smile. If only this had a happy ending. “It wasn't until the day of our wedding that I found out about her last relationship."

Veronica grabbed her father's hand and he squeezed it. 

"Your mom was far from traditional. It's one of the things I loved most about her. Most brides wouldn't even dream of seeing the groom before they come down the aisle but she insisted I come to her suite. She sat me down and told me that she did love me. She was adamant that she was in love with me but that…she was in love with someone else too, someone from her past and needed to ensure I knew everything. She told me how he had already married someone else years before but that he had reached out the night prior and… they spent the night together. She said she understood if I couldn't go through with it all but she was certain she still wanted to marry me."

The silence seemed to reverberate through her before Keith squeezed her hand. “I loved her so much I was willing to forgive and understand. We started our life together,” he paused, "you know, everyone joked that she was carrying twins. Her ultrasound appointments always seemed to fall onto the days where I'd get called in. Since I was a new deputy, I didn't have much say in my schedule. I never thought much of it but…"

Veronica knew what was coming and braced herself. 

"Before she left, she told me… She said that she had in fact had twins and that..." Keith's breath shuttered. "The other man had known the entire time and was certain they were his. Leanne told him that she couldn't know and that she knew no matter what, I'd love them the same but when he found out one was a boy, he was set on finding a way to keep him."

"So, she kept me but gave up… my brother?"

"I don't think she did it willingly. From the story she painted, she felt forced and that the man's wife had gone through some sort of staging to make it seem like it was theirs."

"I don't know what's worse…. Who could do such a thing?"

She could see Keith was struggling to hold back the tears as he covered his face with his free hand. "I always wanted to protect you from the ugliness of this town and I didn't even know how close it was or that it had touched our home. Veronica, sweetie, I don't think you knowing anything more about this will be good for you."

"You're joking, right?" The rage Veronica had been feeling since her mother left was boiling over. "How could this possibly be worse? What if I've met him? What if…" her blood ran cold. "It can't be Richie, right?"

Keith immediately moved to have both of his hands squeezing hers on the table. "No. I know it's not Richie. I don't see how you would have crossed paths with…. this brother so far but my stomach has been in knots over the possibility of you meeting him without having a clue since I found out. Honey, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but you cannot go looking into this." 

Veronica’s mind was racing. Her dad wasn’t scared of anything but things had changed since he was voted out of the office. She spotted him giving her a look that she had only seen when he was about to ground her. Pivot! Must pivot conversation! 

"That's why you've wanted to meet my friends?"

Keith began to chuckle before he responded and she knew that she had disarmed him enough that they could keep talking about it. "That's just me being a protective father. Can you really blame your old man?"

"So how do you know for certain that we haven't run into each other exactly?"

"This may come as a shock to you but your old man is a pretty good PI. I have my ways."

"You've been following me?!" It was delivered like she was only half joking as her head cocked to the left.

"Of course not! You're too damn observant and I knew you'd figure it out and come to me demanding answers I wasn’t prepared to give you."

Veronica didn't have to ask to know that it meant her dad had likely been keeping tabs on her brother. Her stomach twisted in knots about knowing the person she’d been looking into was her twin. Her life was starting to feel like an episode from the soap opera her Nana would watch. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.

Her thoughts left her feeling resigned. She didn’t have the heart to push her dad any further. "Thank you for telling me. I think I need to go on a drive to clear my head if that's okay?"

"Of course. Just call if you get lost and try to be home before… midnight?" He patted her hand.

She stood up to give her dad a big hug as he continued to sit at their table. She marveled at how strong he was. How in the world had he held on to all of that and yet still never said a bad thing about her mom? Keith Mars, saint of Neptune.

“Or you’ll detonate the tracker in my molar?”

“Something like that. I love you sweetie.”

As she opened their front door to leave, she froze wondering if Keith had done a paternity test to see if she was really his. She turned back and saw Keith's eyes filled with nothing but love which melted away her anxiety. It wouldn't matter, to either of them, what a DNA test may say. They were family and she was the luckiest. 

“I love you too, dad.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica wasn't really sure who she could talk to or if she really even wanted to talk about it yet. She found herself driving by Pan High, then towards Rose's house before she spotted the ice cream shop her mother had last taken her to that she decided to stop at. 

I'll be damned if I let anything ruin the joys of ice cream . 

With her cone in hand and plenty of napkins in the other, she began walking to the nearby beach. It was nearly deserted after dark and entirely peaceful. The perfect scene to contrast the additional details she had learned. She tried to just enjoy her ice cream but even in the cool ocean breeze, it was starting to melt onto her hands.

Her phone began to ring and she fumbled the napkins trying to see who it was. Her stomach was filled with butterflies to see Logan's name.

"Hey," her tone was unintentionally flat.

"Hey yourself. Why do you sound like you were just told Santa isn't real?"

She finished a bite of ice cream before managing to respond, "Are you confirming this?"

"Of course Santa is real! I'll make sure you get a visit unless you're naughty then you may just have to settle for me. Why don't you come by now or I can come to you if that's better?"

"I don't know. I'm not-"

"Oh, can you hang on a second? Someone is at the door."

Veronica waited patiently thinking if there was a cute way to allude to being vaguely aware of an Earth shattering that was somehow true. Of course, without actually sharing that she had a twin brother somewhere. She at least had some solace in knowing it couldn’t be Logan or Ritchie; not that she ever suspected either. It just felt better to know beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

"If I told you that Mac was here, would that help convince you to stop by? No pressure. I just hate to think of you alone with no one to check over that list to see if you've been nice."

She couldn’t contain her smile. Maybe this would be a good distraction. "Sure. I'll swing by in a bit but you’ll have to be on your best behavior. I have to be home by midnight."

"Roger that, Cinderella. No pumpkins!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan turned to face Mac who was slowly closing the door behind her, her face a bit ashen. “What’s wrong, Mac?”

“Was that Veronica?”

“Uhhhh, yes. Is that a problem?” He asked slowly, trying to gauge what was troubling his best friend. 

Mac was starting to pace. “I don’t know. I wasn’t prepared to face her yet. She’s like a human lie detector sometimes.”

He laughed until he realized she was actually concerned. “What the hell is going on?”

“Nothing you don’t already know. I’m just more certain that Duncan is responsible for the emails and threats.”

“Okayyyy but… You’re hiding something. Spill, Mackenzie!”

She sat down on the couch with the defiance of a toddler. “Don’t do that! My mom does that. And you know as well as anybody that there are certain things that are a non-involved party’s place to tell.”

“Point taken. So, by process of elimination, it has to do with Veronica and.. Duncan?”

“It’s so interesting to me how you’ve picked up on her interrogation tactics. I’ve heard how couples emulate one other.”

“And have I mentioned….” He paused, realizing he was about to do the answer with a question thing he always teased Veronica about. “I give up.” He plopped down on his couch defeated. “Share with me what you will. I will not pry it from you.”

“That’s the spirit! How did you tell Veronica it was Duncan?”

“You see, about that….”

“You didn’t tell her yet?!?”

“Calm down, kettle, you are starting to show signs of black. We kind of,” he knew he was smiling like a little kid and hesitated before he finished the thought. “It felt like we kind of went on a date.” 

Hopefully Veronica agrees or I may get to meet that taser she has referenced.  

“I can’t say I’m surprised. You manage to solve the case but don’t tell the target because you are too busy trying to romance her.”

“What can I say, I’m easy.” 

“More like hopeless. So, we get to tell her together then.”

“I guess so. I mean, I assume you two need to wrap up the article.”

Mac’s face froze. “Oh my god. I didn’t…. We can’t do an exposé on one of the Kanes, Logan!”

“Uhhhhhhhh, why not?”

“You don’t…. Shit. I have to go.” She was bolting for the door.

“You just got here!” He threw his hands up in defeat. 

“Logan, there are things that I know that I don’t even think Veronica has figured out yet. You can tell her our theory,” Mac was rambling and Logan’s thoughts were racing in conjunction with what she was talking about as she flew for the door so he didn’t hear everything she said. 

How is it just a theory now?  

“Don’t let her do anything crazy,” Mac threw at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll try to control what Veronica does. That sounds like a great plan.”

“Oh, c’mon Echolls. I’m sure you can be persuasive. Just… don’t tell me what you need to do to keep her from going on a warpath, okay? We can’t have her doing an expose on a Kane. I’d like a future. I’ll call you tomorrow!” 

After she shut the door, Logan slumped further into the couch. 

Is there a reason why all the women in my life enjoy telling me what to do?  

He should have been irritated but he was too distracted by the looming task at hand. There was something about Duncan targeting Veronica coupled with the fact that there was a secret Mac was keeping. It all made him uneasy. 

“Why would Mac be worried about a small college paper running an article about the Kanes? Wait….” He stopped himself from continuing to talk to himself.

Veronica didn’t grow up in the world of the 09ers and would have little idea as to what they were capable of. He did recall how Jake Kane had made a comment about Keith as sheriff that all but signed the end of his career. What if Veronica saw this as an opportunity for revenge? Or worse, what if Duncan got the photos through Kane Software. The Kane company and name would be bombarded by civil suits. 

There was no way he was going to let her put herself or Mac in their crosshairs. He’d have to see if Mac could help talk Veronica into ending their article series some other way without any mention of the Kanes. Logan needed to be prepared when she showed up, especially since she would be expecting him and Mac. He went to the phone by the couch and made a call to the front desk. If he couldn't convince her, maybe he could distract her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was hard for Veronica to believe that she would be at Logan's for the second time in one day. She steeled herself before she knocked. She wasn't exactly nervous, per say, but she didn't want to end up completely enveloped in Logan's deep brown eyes again. Well, she did but….at least Mac will be with us. It’s not like we would make her a third wheel. Before her fist could connect with the door to knock, Logan was there.

"Ah, you made it!"

"How  did you know I was already here?" She asked slowly as she walked in, scanning for some sort of answer to her question and waiting to hear laughter from within. "And where's Mac?'

It took her a moment to spot that there was a room service cart and a few tasteful candles lit.

She turned on her toes to face Logan who had quietly walked over to stand behind her. She did her best to control her voice so she didn't sound like a giddy child. 

"Loooogan?'

His hands were up slightly as if signing for her to not shoot.

"Don't be mad. Mac had to head back to pick up her brother and I may have mentioned to her how I thought today was kind of a date, so…" He lifted the lid on the room service tray. "I wanted to make it more clear that my intentions are to date you, if you'll have me. Plus, you can save me from having to live a lie?"

Veronica was not one for romantic gestures, grand or otherwise but she still found her stomach fluttering. "You didn't know if I thought today was a date? You must really not think highly of my intelligence."

"Oh no, it's beyond clear that you, Veronica Mars, are way smarter than me. I just have this tendency to project my romantic re-imaginings over a situation and misread it."

She slowly took the two steps to assert herself in front of Logan, never taking her eyes off of his. "I think past participants were simply fools." 

Before her brain had caught up to what her body was doing, she was on her tippy toes, extending up to brush her lips against Logan's. 

His hands grabbed her face while his mouth attacked her in a welcomed assault, pulling her closer and intensifying their connection. She dropped her bag to the floor as her own hands were roaming up Logan's shirt and she could feel a low moan rumble through him. The passion from their first kiss was clearly not a fluke though this one was more controlled. She wasn't utterly overwhelmed and was more than an active participant now, aware of each movement and touch as they continued.

Her brain was wondering what would happen next and then she was pulling his shirt up in hopes he would receive the message that she was ready for more. That she needed more. She couldn't be sure but she thought he growled at her, which inspired her to take his lower lip and nip at it.

"Fuuuuck, Veronica. Hang on… just. Wow. Okay." He removed his hands quickly from her as if she was hot to the touch and he was worried about being burned. 

She rocked back down onto her heels and watched as the calm, cool and confident Logan she was used to seeing was replaced by a foreign flustered version. This helped slightly with her innate fear of being rejected. He ran a hand through his hair and forced a heavy breath out. She continued to hold onto the edges of his shirt that was still lifted slightly, giving her a moment to appreciate the V, carved out just above where his jeans were held up by a belt.

"Is this…okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course. Oh my God, I'm such an idiot.” He took one hand to push her hair behind her ear. “I just wasn't prepared and needed to pause."

She was certain her smile had taken on a more devious form from the way Logan's eyes looked down again at her lips and his eyes darkened. She took a moment to let go of Logan's shirt and peered at what was actually on the food cart as her eyes got wide.

"You didn't…"

"Of course I did." He smirked at her.

There was a large bowl of ice cream with smaller ramekins of various toppings and a bowl of whipped cream. 

"Get excited about whipped cream one time and…."

Before she could finish the sentence, his mouth was on hers again. He was gently guiding her to the couch. She half expected him to gently push her down onto it but was surprised when he turned at the last moment so that his back was to the couch. He pulled away slowly and sat down, his hands running down her frame to hold her hips. She could see everything so clearly - his feelings for her, his desire for her, maybe even a little fear. It was intoxicating and quickly became overwhelming as he lifted up the hem of her shirt slightly and nuzzled his nose on her skin before pressing a soft kiss on her navel.

"What, uhm.." Veronica's synapses must have been misfiring because she struggled to get out any other words for a moment. She placed one hand on Logan's broad shoulder and the other naturally found its way into his hair. "What happens next?"

Logan looked up with sincere care that lit up every angle of his face. "What do you want to happen?"

She laughed gently as he rested his chin on her abdomen and peered at her from under his lashes. She stroked his hair gently and whispered, "I have no idea."

"Well, as much as I'd love to do everything, I want to take things slow. I mean, we've been on one date." He remarked jokingly while he pulled her shirt back down and resumed holding her hips.

"If I convince you this is date number two, can we keep making out?"

"Heavy make out sessions are saved for after date number four or if we spend an entire day together." 

"We almost spent all of today together, didn't we?"

"True. But, I need to make sure you are home by midnight and I don't see either of us being able to coherently keep an eye on the time if we keep this up."

"So logical," she teased.

"Sometimes. Don't get too used to it though. I definitely would much rather find a way to keep you here even if we only sleep next to each other."

Veronica went to sit on Logan's lap playfully. He was quick to take her by her hips and turn her to face him as he gently moved her next to him.

"Has anyone ever told you what a minx you are?" He gently bopped her nose and then moved her legs off of his.

"Nope," she made sure to place emphasis on ‘P’ in her response while holding back her laughter.  "And you'll have to find a more discrete nickname for me if you don't want my dad to shoot you."

"Hmmmm,small, adorable, and has the ability to hunt a man down… Bobcat!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan was content snuggling on his couch but knew he couldn’t continue to postpone the news forever. Shortly after realizing his plan had worked, a nagging pain in his gut started to build. He gently squeezed Veronica who was nestled into his side and looked down at her. When she didn't immediately meet his gaze, he carefully moved some of her hair away to get her attention.

"You really are insatiable," she half growled as she turned to him.

"Hey, can't a guy want to talk?"

She froze, mid pounce and it took every bit of will power to keep the blood in his brain to resist her. He opted to hold her small face in his hand and gently rub her cheek with his thumb. She sat back down, creating a gap between them. His eyes were scanning her, trying to get a read if she was annoyed when she nodded for him to continue.

"Since we are both on the same page that we've been on one and a half dates, I think I owe you what you've been asking for."

She let out a confused laugh, as if he had forgotten he just turned her down.

"You're killing me, Bobcat. There will be time for that! I just… I don't want you to think I'm hiding anything."

"That seems fair. I hate liars and omission is as good as lying."

"Semantics aside, I don't know how much you know from your dad about the day Aaron died…."

"Your father? Nothing really beyond it was a car crash. My dad never shares the details of what he's working on." He could feel her searching him when he spotted a glimmer of anxiety. "Does that have to do anything with Lilly?" 

"Lilly wasn't responsible for that, I know for a fact."

"Okayyyy…."

"I was with Lilly when he died."

"Oh…oh!"

"No, not like that! Just be patient. Stop jumping to assumptions, Nancy Drew.” He pointed a scolding finger at her face and she nodded mock-solemnly, a hint of a grin grazing her lips. He shook his head with a resigned huff and continued, “My mom and I had come home from the bookstore..." He trailed off again seeing Veronica’s face split in a full-on grin now. "You are insufferable! I'm trying to-"

She sprung over to him for a chaste kiss before returning to her spot on the couch. "I'm sorry, my imagination runs wild when it comes to you."

"Back to the gloom of the story,” he started again with a warning in his voice. “There's no easy way to say it but I found Lilly, in the pool house….with my dad." 

Veronica was still looking at him, as if there was more to that story. 

"They were sleeping together…." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully, awaiting for her to put the final piece together.

"What?!?! H….why?"

"You know, I forgot to ask but it wouldn't matter. I always knew Aaron was a piece of shit and…" he didn't know what else he wanted to say. He was looking down at his hands, terrified that he would look up and see pity.

Veronica leaned toward him and grabbed Logan's hand. "Thank you for telling me." 

He felt half of a smile twitch up as he saw true gratitude written on her face. 

He let out a breath of relief. "It hit me today that a lot of the anger I had towards Lilly was exasperated by the association of Aaron. That was one of the reasons I followed you and Jason."

"What was the other? Hoping to walk in on me comforting her?"

"I need a day pass into your imagination."

Veronica once again was up and crawling onto Logan, who was taken by surprise. She paused after realizing his apparent shock. "I'm sorry, I thought we were due for an intermission."

The responding squeal to Logan adjusting Veronica so she was straddling him removed the last bit of him that wanted to keep talking. His hands found their way to her hips with his fingers squeezing her backside, moving her back and forth. He was certain she could feel him growing under her as she tilted her head back to let out a breathy moan.

He was quick to kiss along her jaw and down her neck. He let his hands roam up as Veronica had found her own rhythm and was rocking back and forth. When she brought her head down and entangled one hand into his hair, he had to pause a moment. But his efforts to regain control were nearly futile as she whispered his name in his ear.

Before they both knew it, Veronica was on her back with Logan firmly pressed against her in between her legs. He was hovering above her with his arms fully locked to take in the sight of her. Her wide eyes were staring up at him in anticipation, begging him to recapture the space between them. He tried to compose himself but his eyes betrayed him as they fell down to her body. When he returned his gaze to hers, she bit half of her bottom lip in response.

"You don't play fair."

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Did you want to play with me?"

He knew she was teasing him, but it hit the nerve. The guilt for keeping the crucial information from her stroke him hard and before he could fathom what was happening, he blurted out,

 “It was Duncan.” 

"What was Duncan?" She searched his face and apparently not liking what she found there pulled herself up and away from him to sit on the couch, resuming the gap from earlier.

"After you left, Mac, Wallace and I were talking and… I think Duncan is the one who has been targeting you. Knowing how his rage can get, I was terrified of you showing up there and… say something."

"Duncan? Lilly's brother who I've met once and… you remembered this mid make out?!?"

“Eh,” he rubbed his neck feeling appropriately embarrassed, and probably his expression was so expressive that Veronica snorted, shaking her head at him. He smiled bashfully.. "Well, in my defense, I was getting ready to tell you that was the other reason I followed you earlier before you put a kibosh on my logical thinking."

"Why me though?"

"Well, from personal experience, I'm finding myself completely-" before he could continue his uninhibited thought about how he found himself utterly smitten, she interrupted him.

"No, Romeo. Why would Duncan…." Her eyes went wide and the flush Logan was admiring disappeared from her cheeks. "I have to go." She was up and headed for the door in an instant.

"Wait, Veronica. Where are you going?" His reaction was too slow as she had already walked out. He remembered her bag on the floor and grabbed it before running to catch her at the elevator. 

When he reached her, she was standing by the elevator, crying silently as she impatiently hit the button. He gently wiped away the few tears she shed before he embraced her.