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“Okay, just a couple last debrief questions and then you guys have your one-on-one time,” Cassidy kept his eyes off Veronica’s glare and Logan’s eyeroll, reading off his mediation sheet. Ms. James had recommended him to try to mediate their after-school counseling; all he knew was they were both there under threat of detention.
“Oh, goodie,” Logan sulked harder, but Veronica just sucked in a cool breath. A few more minutes, she willed herself.
“Okay, uh…. How do you feel this peer mediation has helped resolve your conflict?” With a nervous glance up at Veronica, Cassidy gestured for her to go first.
“Well, I would say… I feel… I’m all resolved, conflict-free, I think we actually don’t need any more peer mediations, you’ve fixed it,” Veronica smiled winningly, if only temporarily; none out of three seemed convinced but Logan least so.
“I still have conflict with the fact that Rebecca considers me, you, and Ronnie Mars peers implying equal standing; how do you propose we resolve that conflict?” Popping his eyebrows at Beaver, Logan sighed.
“You haveta use an I feel statement…” Cassidy chewed his lip, trying to check the last few boxes on his mediation sheet.
“I feel …” Logan laughed mean, “extremely over this charade. Me and Veronica aren’t going to resolve our conflict in a half-hour mandatory peer mediation–”
“We’ll settle it in the parking lot,” Veronica smiled sweetly, talking through her grit teeth.
Cassidy slid back his chair, “You guys can’t tell me this stuff– I’m supposed to report if I hear–”
“Threats, insults, or otherwise general bullying.” Logan recited. It wasn’t his first peer mediation.
“Sorry, it isn’t your resolution skills… we’ve got unresolvable conflict,” Veronica eyed the clock and started gathering her stuff. “I just don’t want detention,” she ground out to Logan, trying to appeal at least to his own self-interest.
“Uh, you guys still have to have your one-on-one time,” Cassidy checked the last box on his sheet, almost satisfied but mostly exhausted.
“ I feel that that’s a waste of five minutes,” loosening the grip on her bag without dropping it, Veronica tried to be patient with Beaver. Logan Echolls was always going to be a giant ass, five more minutes wasn’t going to move the needle.
“Hey look, took the whole session but we agree on something,” Logan snapped dryly, distracting himself tapping his fingertips on the desk; impatient rhythm against the plastic-coated wood. Their desks close for proximity mediation , Veronica felt the vibrations of Logan’s tap across her desk too, and rolled her eyes.
“You guys can sit in silence– I kind of recommend that in some cases like this, but it’s part of the mediation that you guys don’t kill each other for five whole minutes. That’s what I’m supposed to tell Ms. James we did. I’ll be in the hall, with the door open… If I hear–”
“Threats, insults, or-” Logan snickered, but it dimmed at Beaver’s resolve.
“Five minutes, you guys can do it, and then everybody gets to go home.” Cassidy backed out of the room, leaving the door open but leaving them to it.
Alone with Veronica Mars, Logan’s stomach felt different than with Cassidy mediating; he stirred uncomfortable in the instantaneous silence of her stare. “He already signed the box, I mean I feel like we could just… you know,” Logan clicked his tongue, eyes towards the door.
With a half-shrug, Veronica tucked her hair behind her ear, feigning patience, “You can do whatever you want Logan.” Four minutes left? She steeled herself. “ I feel that you usually do.” Relaxing a beat in her chair, Veronica reminded herself that silence probably was the better option for not letting Logan Echolls under her skin for the rest of her night. Four more minutes she was going to get in her car, put the top down, get home, change into her dog-walking pants and-
“Ah yes, cause this is what I wanna do with my afternoon,” he gestured between them. “I could be in my hot tub on top of Hillary Brobst right now,” Logan huffed.
“And instead Dick hasta do it?” Veronica tried to keep the thought under her breath but their desks were so close; Logan’s eyes darted a wounded glare. “Besides we’re only here because Ms. James thinks it’s you guys writing on my locker,” she added for good measure.
Logan snapped his mouth open, and snapped his mouth closed; eyes on the open door to the hall. “Ah yes, guilty until proven innocent, the Mars detective strategy, yeah? That’s why we’re here,” his real anger flashed through his smirk and Logan let himself remember why they weren’t friends anymore. Why they weren’t peers. “Because you think it’s fine to accuse people of the worst things they’ve never done in their lives on baseless…”
“ Plenty of evidence?” Veronica’s temper flared too, prompting Cassidy to come to the doorway. “You know, I think that clock is slow, school maintenance should really check it out,” with a flurry she grabbed her bag and fled, leaving Logan Echolls to mediate his own damn self. She wasn’t about to litigate the Lily Kane murder case with Logan; not while it was still active. Not while at least the case could still be resolved.