Title: We Make a Good You and Me
A/N - Holy crap, Batman, it's a sequel! I don't do sequels. Ever. They're a pain in the ass and they never turn out as well as their predecessor. Tanya, my BFF/sis/beta,asked begged and so I had no choice but to deliver. Tanya, your crazy whining and guilt trips continue to be the only reason my fics seem to get finished, lol. You've earned this one woman - this wouldn't exist without you. You rock :)
This is a continuation of 'Sometimes the Last Thing You Want is Just What You Need'(sweet baby Jesus that is a long title). I believe this one can stand alone, but the first one does have some background info. Season 1 AU, placed after 1x18 'Weapons of Class Destruction'. I'm really splitting away from the show at this point. Sigh, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I need fluff at this point what can I say? Im rating this a strong PG13 for situations and language.
Disclaimer: Dude, if I owned the show I wouldn't have to pretend that Season 3 never happened. It's not mine, so don't sue. That privilege belongs to Rob Thomas and the CW. Song title is a line from Plain White T's awesome song "You and Me". I don't own that either. Again I'd be rich and I'm not, so there you go.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Linda
--------
Three Months Later
"I'm not gonna go over this again, Logan. Stop pushing that shit on me."
Logan threw his arms up in the air. "Why do you always have to be so freaking melodramatic?"
She looked at him incredulous. "Me? Melodramatic? Look in the mirror, jackass. Everything about you is Drama City."
"You're such a pain in the ass," he sighed. "I don't even know why I'm here."
"If you're gonna have a hissy fit about not watching Easy Rider again, you seriously need help."
He huffed from his corner on Veronica's couch. "Whatever, Ronnie."
"I told you not to call me that," she told him from her own corner.
"My bad, Ronnie."
"Bastard."
"Bitch."
They glared at one another and a few seconds later, lunged at each other meeting in the middle of the couch for a passionate kiss. The loud barking finally caused them to pull apart.
"Backup, no," Veronica whined. "I can't take you out right now. Please?"
Backup continued to bark.
"He planned this," Logan sighed. "He knew that this was the only day we could be together alone for more than a couple hours. Your dog hates me."
Veronica rolled her eyes at him. "He doesn't hate you, Drama Boy."
As if to prove Veronica right, Backup rested his chin on Logan's knee.
She smiled brightly at the sight. "See, he loves you."
Backup started to whine in return. "He wants to take a shit," Logan clarified for her.
"But it's made with love."
Logan rubbed the dog's head as he rose from the couch. "Come on. Let's take him outside before he decides to leave you a present on the carpet."
She grinned and walked with Logan down to the courtyard so that Backup could take care of his business. This certainly wasn't how she planned on spending her only free day with Logan. It had been a little over three months since they had begun dating, but they had barely been able to spend time together lately. What with the problems with Trina's boyfriend and the cases she was taking on, they just didn't have the time. She was determined to finally spend some quality time with her boyfriend.
She watched him as he played with Backup and she scoffed out loud. Who would have known that she and Logan Echolls would end up together?
--------
When Logan had dropped her off at home the day that she had confronted him about his father and the abuse, the tension between them had tripled more than usual. Veronica was at a loss as to where they would go or do. She was wired to fight with him or ignore him or snark at him. She didn't know how to do anything different. They had created a bubble while they were at the pool house that leaving there threw them both for a loop.
Of course Logan had been the one to break that tension.
"So let's go back to that whole 'been wanting to kiss me for a long time' thing," he grinned as they sat in his Xterra outside her apartment building.
Veronica tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't know what you're talking about," she told him.
"I distinctly remember you telling me that an hour ago. So how long is a 'long time'?" he air quoted.
She grabbed his right hand and laughed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Would you?"
She slapped his shoulder. "I really would," she tried.
"You have just been lying your ass off today haven't you?"
She couldn't help but laugh remembering their earlier conversation. "Fine, it's true. I've been thinking about having my way with you for a long time."
He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. "I knew it," he grinned. "How long?"
"You tell me how long you wanted me."
"I asked you first," he challenged back.
"You really want to know?" she asked him.
He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I really do," he answered.
She ducked her head, unsure what to tell him. How can someone really pinpoint the exact moment in time when your heart decides to overpower your brain? That's what Logan was really asking her. It didn't matter that she had a crush on him when she was fifteen. A crush didn't mean anything. What mattered was that before she knew it, one day she woke up and realized that she was beginning to fall for Logan. And as much as she tried to shake it off, before she could do anything else, she was done for. She had fallen for him. How could she explain that to him?
"It's complicated," she began. "I mean, I don't remember what day it was or what the weather was like outside. I just remember that one day I thought about you and I wondered what it would be like to kiss you. I tried to push it out of my head until one day I couldn't think of anything but that. It snuck up on me and bit me in the ass - thats the best way I can explain it."
He couldn't help but grin at her. "That's a beautiful story, Ronnie."
She laughed at him. "I hate it when you call me that."
"I know," he grinned.
"Your turn, you jerk. When did you fall for me?"
"When I saw you with your short shorts and knee highs."
She couldn't help but laugh at the memory he conjured up. "Seriously, Logan."
He turned away from her for a moment. "It was probably when you helped me . . . with my mom," he finished quietly. "I really thought that you were going to slam the door in my face or laugh when I asked you to check into it. After everything we went through, you still helped me. I don't know anyone else who would have done that, Veronica. I don't know if you realize how much that meant to me."
She smiled at him sadly. "I do now."
"So what happens next?" Logan asked her after a brief moment. "I don't want to act like this day didn't happen."
"Neither do I," she told him honestly. "But what about your friends? They're not gonna be happy about this, Logan."
"Like I give a shit what they want. I really don't care what anyone has to say about this, Veronica. And I really don't care if they find out if that's what you're worried about."
"You don't think it might be a good idea to keep this hush hush for a while?"
"Is that what you want?"
She glanced out the window for a second before turning back to him. "If you don't care, neither do I."
Still the awkwardness in the truck surrounded them.
"So what is this exactly?" Veronica asked him. "You want to be my boy on the side or something?"
"What is that, like a side of fries?"
"It's like, we're dating but not really."
"I'm the main course, Ronnie, not a side of anything."
"Dont call me Ronnie, Loggie."
His mouth upturned into a smile at their banter. Just like old times. "I don't know where this is goin'," he told her honestly. "I think we'll figure it out as we go along."
"Sink or swim, huh?"
"Something like that."
--------
After Backup no longer needed their attention, Logan and Veronica decided to forgo watching any movies (since it always led to a fight) and they settled on playing Truth or Dare.
"You called dare, Logan," Veronica laughed. "You have to run around the courtyard naked singing 'I'm a Little Teapot'."
"Hell no," he argued back. "You cheated."
She rolled her eyes at him. "How can you cheat at Truth or Dare?"
"I don't know, but you figured it out."
"You're the cheater," she grinned. "You can't even finish the game you wanted to play."
"Can you blame me if I don't want to move right now?"
They were lying on Veronica's couch facing one another, their arms wrapped around the other. Logan had his leg thrown over her thigh and the last thing he wanted to do was move. Besides getting naked without Veronica involved wasn't worth the effort.
It was at that moment that Keith walked into the apartment. He rolled his eyes as the two teenagers detangled themselves from the other. He had lost count of how many times he had caught them in a similar position in the past few weeks. He had accepted a long time ago that his daughter was all grown up, but the sight of Veronica with any boy was hard. He liked Logan. He had been treating her well since they began dating and there really wasn't much more he could ask of the kid.
"Hey dad," Veronica greeted him. "Any luck on that bail jumper in Vegas?"
"No and I told you I didn't want you involved in that case."
"I haven't even Googled him," she answered.
"I've been watching her like a hawk," Logan chimed in.
"Good," Keith answered. "It's nice to know someone's listening to me."
Logan grinned at Veronica. "You should listen to your dad more often, Veronica," he admonished her.
Her mouth fell open in shock. "Shut up, no one asked you." She turned back to her dad. "I thought you weren't going to come home until you caught the slime ball?"
"Trying to get rid of me in my own home already? I just walked in."
"I just thought I had more time to show Logan where we keep our good china."
Keith smirked at them as he made his way to the fridge so that he could grab a quick lunch, but was interrupted by the ringing of his cell. Keith listened to the call intently and his eyes flickered quickly to Veronica.
"Alright," he answered. "I'll be there soon." He ended the call and made his way to the door, any thoughts of lunch forgotten. "I have to go, honey, but I should be back in a few days. Logan - you take care of my little girl."
"Always," Logan answered.
"Be careful, dad," Veronica sighed. She came forward and hugged him and he kissed the crown of her head.
"Dont worry about your dear ol' dad. I got everything under control."
"Of course you do," she smiled.
"Who's your daddy?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Come up with a new line already."
"I'll see what I can do." He kissed her again and waved to Logan.
"Later, Mr. Mars," Logan returned.
Logan turned to face Veronica as soon as Keith was out the door. "Alone at last," he told her with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"I'm not sleeping with you," she told him.
"Who said anything about sleeping?" he answered in return.
He sauntered his way toward her causing her to back up and run into the kitchen counter, effectively preventing her from escaping.
"I'm not gonna have sex with you," she grinned at him.
"How many times do we have to have this conversation?" he asked her.
"As--"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Logan pulled her in for a kiss. He lifted her up and sat her on the countertop and pressed himself against her.
"Hey, V--" Wallace called as he walked into the apartment unannounced. "Aw, man, come on!" he cried out as Logan and Veronica pulled their mouths apart to stare at their newest interruption.
"Come on!" Logan muttered in frustration. "Doesn't anyone knock around here?"
Veronica jumped off the counter and straightened out her shirt. "Wallace, what's up?"
Wallace glanced towards Logan. "You mean besides him?" Wallace laughed.
"Jealous?" Logan smirked and placed his hands on his hips unabashedly.
Wallace grinned at him and Veronica rolled her eyes at their testosterone filled one-liners. "Wallace, this better be good."
"I ran into your dad downstairs and he said you wanted to see me right away. He said you'd know what he was talkin' about."
Veronica snorted. "I'm gonna kill my dad," she muttered under her breath.
"He's good," Logan replied impressed.
"I came by to see if you wanted to hang out, but I'm gonna take a guess and say no," Wallace smiled.
"Sorry, Wallace, we already have plans," she told him with a frown. "Maybe we can hang out tomorrow?"
"Yeah, that's cool," he told her as he made his way to the fridge. "Since you decided to kick me to the curb, you mind if I grab something to eat?"
Logan's eyes flew to Veronica and he mouthed the word 'no' to her.
"Um, Wallace . . ." He was already scrounging around in the fridge. "Logan and I were planning on spending some alone time together."
"Yeah?" he replied, not poking his head out. "Don't worry, I'll be outta here in a minute."
Veronica knew how Wallace was when it came to food and shrugged helplessly at Logan.
"Come on," Logan sighed. "I know where we can go for some privacy." Logan led Veronica out of the apartment by her hand.
"Later, Wallace," Veronica called out.
"Hey, can I stay here and eat?" Wallace asked the rushed out Veronica.
"Yeah, just lock up when you leave," she yelled in reply, already half way down the stairs.
----------------
As they made their way to Logan's, Veronica remembered when she had told Wallace about her and Logan for the first time.
"Look, when you show up at school on Monday, you're gonna think I've lost my mind," she warned him. "But the truth is I'm perfectly sane."
Wallace raised an eyebrow at her cryptic comment. "Ok, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Logan and I are going out."
There was a long pause before he replied. "Are you crazy? Logan? Logan 'Obligatory Psychotic Jackass' Echolls?"
"The one and only."
"Are you crazy?"
"You already asked me that and the answer's no."
He reached a hand out and pressed it to her forehead. "You sure?"
"Yes," she told him, smacking away his hand. "It's a long story that I can't get into right now. I just wanted to tell you first. I'd like you to try and get along with him."
He simply stared at her in silence.
"This is important to me, Wallace. Just try, ok?"
"You're gonna have to tell me what happened later," he finally answered.
"Promise," she replied.
It hadn't taken Wallace long to accept Logan in her life. At first he had been skeptical about Logan's true feelings. But the day Logan threatened to beat anyone at school who even dared to look at Veronica wrong sealed Wallace's acceptance. Since then they had gotten along fine, even starting to form their own friendship.
She was happy about that. All three men in her life, four if you counted Backup, were getting along. She snorted silently. That was a freakin' miracle in itself. It was a hell of a lot smoother than what Logan went through, that was for sure.
"What are we gonna do?" Veronica asked him as they bypassed the main house at Logan's and made their way to the pool house instead.
"It's a surprise," he grinned widely.
"Yeah, I bet," she laughed in return
--------
"Forget it, Logan."
"Come on, Veronica. No one's around. Aaron's at one of his publicity stunts. It's just you and me."
"First of all, where the hell would I find a cheerleading outfit? Second of all, if I did find one, I still wouldn't put it on. I dont care what you say."
"Youre no fun," he pouted.
"I'll do it if we go back to my place and you run around naked sin--"
"Forget it," he interrupted. "The only thing I learned today was that you cheat at Truth or Dare."
"I don't cheat."
"You cheat and lie," he amended.
She hit him with one of the throw pillows at her side. "Who's the one lying now?" she asked him as she repeatedly hit him with the pillow.
"Still you," he grinned as he grabbed the pillow from her. "Admit it. This is just a big ploy to get me naked."
She remained where she was, straddling his hips. "Wow, I think I literally saw your head inflate just now."
He smirked at her. "I don't blame you. Who wouldn't want a piece of me?"
She laughed again. "You are irresistible after all."
"Glad you noticed," he grinned.
She leaned down and kissed him softly. One hand came around and wrapped around the nape of her neck, massaging her neck slightly. She pulled back and smiled at him.
A slow smile spread across his face. "I used to have dreams about you."
An eyebrow went up at his use of past tense. "'Used to'?"
"Still do, but I used to have them a lot before this happened," he told her softly.
She licked her bottom lip at his confession. "What types of dreams?"
A wicked grin graced his face. "Good dreams," he told her.
"Why does that not surprise me?" she sighed.
"You have dreams about me?"
She tilted her head to the side. "Maybe."
"Were they sexy dreams?"
"Because you're oh so sexy?"
"Mm hmm," he nodded.
"If I told you no, would you believe me?"
"Nope."
"Then yes. They," she kissed him. "Were very," she kissed him again. "Sexy dreams."
He flipped them over so that he was lying on top of her. "I say we reenact these sexy dreams of yours."
"I told you I wasn't going to sleep with you," she grinned.
"I think you've set a record for most lies told in one day."
"There's no way I've beaten your record."
"There's a first for everything, Veronica Mars."
She smiled at him and tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth.
"Dude, I'm blind!" Dick cried out as he and Cassidy walked into the pool house.
Logan's head dropped on the bed and Veronica glared at the two new invaders.
"What's wrong with the two of you?" Dick continued. "You keep going at it like rabbits."
Veronica finally scrambled from underneath Logan. "Aw, sweetie, look what followed us home - can we keep him?"
Logan chuckled at his girlfriend. "I dont think he has all of his shots - so no."
Dick smirked at her in return. "You know, Veronica--" he began.
"Watch it," Logan warned his friend.
"You look beautiful today," he finished. "May we borrow our friend so that we can spend some quality alone time with him?"
Cassidy took the moment to step in. "We just wanted to come by and see if you were up for some Halo," he grinned.
"Sorry, Beav," Logan sighed. "As you can see - I already got plans."
Cassidy's face fell. "Do you mind if we play here anyways? Dad kicked us out of the house."
"Yeah, he brought home some cheerleading hottie," Dick told him.
Logan glanced at Veronica quickly. "Did she have her uniform with her?" Veronica slapped his arm. "I was kidding," he told her. "Sorta," he finished under his breath.
Dick and Cassidy looked at him expectantly.
"Fine, you can stay," Logan sighed.
Veronica looked at him wide-eyed. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, come on. I know where we can go."
"You said that last time and look how that turned out," she snarked.
He smirked at her. "Don't break anything," Logan called out as they left the pool house.
--------
As Logan and Veronica walked along the poolside back to the main house, Logan jokingly grabbed her and threatened to throw her in the pool. She squealed laughingly and Logan swung her back into his arms. His mind drifted to his two friends back at the pool house. It wasn't that long ago that they had interrupted him and Veronica in a similar way for the first time.
The day after Logan and Veronica decided to date - they had met again at Logan's. They had no plans, they just agreed to spend more time together and prepare going back to school on Monday. They certainly didn't plan on a full on make out session on the living room couch only to be interrupted by Dick and Cassidy Cassablancas.
"Whoa, dude, what little hottie are you making time with now?" Dick asked with a chuckle as he and Cassidy walked in on Logan.
Logan quickly turned his head to his guests, his body still covering Veronica.
"Dont you know how to knock?" Logan asked him with irritation. "Get the hell outta here."
Dick raised his arms in defense. "Don't get pissy with me, dude, you're the one getting laid."
Veronica chose that moment to raise her head from the couch. It was now or never. "You heard him, Dick, get lost."
Dick and Cassidy's mouths fell open in shock. "What the fu--" Dick trailed off. "Dude, what the hell are you doing with that skankoid?"
Logan quickly climbed off of Veronica. "Her name's Veronica and you better remember that, Dick."
"Wow," Cassidy muttered. "Just . . . wow."
"You two have a problem with this?" Logan asked them seriously.
Veronica stood from the couch and made her way for her messenger bag and the door. "I think I'm gonna go so you can deal with this," she told Logan.
Logan quickly stopped her exit. "You're not going anywhere," he told her softly. "I brought you here, I'll take you home. Dick and Beav were just leaving anyways." He turned to face his friends. "Right, guys?"
Dick simply frowned at him. "No," he told him. "Not until you tell us what's going on." He crossed his arms across his chest and stared down his friend.
Veronica quickly shot a glance between Logan and Dick. This was what was gnawing at the back of her mind. Logan's friends turning on him because of her.
"Logan, it's ok. I'll have Wallace or my dad pick--"
"No, Veronica," he interrupted her again. He turned away from staring at Dick to face her. "Why don't you wait for me upstairs?" he asked her quietly. "I'll be up in a minute and I'll take you home if you still want."
She contemplated him for a moment. "Ok," she finally conceded. "But if you want me to catch a ride home, I'm cool with that."
He kissed her quickly and watched as she made her way up the stairs before turning back to Dick and Cassidy.
"Ok, you can let us in on the joke now," Dick told him with an uncomfortable laugh. "This is some new way to embarrass that bitch. Right?"
"If you have a problem with Veronica that means you have a problem with me. Do you have a problem with me?"
"So because she's sleeping with you - she's an ok skank?"
Logan made his way forward and although Cassidy wasn't his object of attention, he couldn't help but take a step back. The last time he had seen Logan this pissed off was when Logan and Hector fought at school. Dick, for his part, stood his ground.
"I said her name was Veronica. Not skank or bitch or whore or slut or whatever else you're thinking about."
Dick shook his head still speechless at the fact that Logan and Veronica were together. "Fine," he gritted out after a minute. "You mind sharing how this all happened?"
"Yeah, I do mind," Logan simply answered. "You just need to know Veronica's going to be around now and you treat her like she's a person."
"Fine," Dick sighed in frustration. "But can you at least see why I'm freakin' out, dude? It wasn't that long ago that you were the one cryin' 'slut' the loudest. Then I show up here and you're sleeping with the enemy."
Logan ran a hand through his hair as he listened to his friend. There was nothing but truth behind his words and the guilt he felt settled deeper in his gut. "I know," he finally answered. "I'm not even too sure what happened between me and Veronica. We clicked and I don't feel the same way about her as I did before."
"Obviously," Cassidy muttered.
"Look, I know what happened in the past. And I know we had our fun at Veronica's expense, but that's over. The only thing you guys need to know is that Veronica and me are together and no one is gonna talk shit about her or to her. Got it?" he asked his friends. Logan took another step closer. "Dick, I'm serious. No more name calling. I don't care if Veronica and I are together or not. It doesn't matter if tomorrow we change our minds and go back to being friends or whatever. The names, the insults, it all stops. No one is doing that to her again. Understand?"
Dick finally conceded with a weary nod. "Does this mean you're not coming with us to Mexico? It's cheerleading time," Dick announced happily.
Leave it to Dick to swing from one mood to the next with no problems.
"Sorry, dude, I already got plans," he grinned. "Do me one more favor. Don't tell anyone about me and Veronica."
"Everyone's gonna find out at school anyway," Cassidy offered
"I know," Logan muttered. "But they don't need to know any sooner."
"Fine," Dick sighed as he began his way to the door. "Hey, what's Duncan say about all this?"
Logan stopped short. For the first time in a long time, he thought about his best friend. "Don't worry about Duncan I'll talk to him."
--------
It had been over three months since they began dating, but Logan still couldn't shake the guilt he felt over how he treated Veronica after Lilly died. Sometimes he wondered if the guilt would ever stop. Sometimes he wondered how long it would take Veronica to realize she made a mistake and cut ties with him all together.
He sucked in a breath at that thought. Three months in and he was already attached to her. He couldn't imagine not being with her. It was too early to even contemplate that he was falling in love with her, but the truth was that he had already fallen. Hard. He just hadn't told her yet.
"What's wrong?" Veronica asked him as they lay on his bed.
"Nothin'," he mumbled quietly.
She was pretty good at reading Logan way back when and she seemed to have perfected the skill in the past month. She climbed on top of him and settled herself straddled across his lap. She leaned down and kissed him softly. "What's wrong, Logan? I can read you like a book you know."
He smiled at her sadly and settled his hands on her hips. "Why don't you hate me?" he asked her seriously. "After everything that's happened, you should still hate me, not lying here in my bed."
She frowned at his thought. The last time Logan mentioned her hating him was when they had first started going out. "Where's this coming from?" she asked him curiously.
He shrugged slightly. "I just remembered something when Dick and Beav showed up just now."
She watched him closely and then it dawned on her. "When they walked in on us the first time?" she asked him.
"Yeah," he trailed off.
She nodded slightly. What Logan didn't know was that she was on her way out the back door after Logan had asked her to wait in his room. It was his conversation with the brothers that made her stay. Whatever self nagging doubts she had about Logan were dispelled by his talk. She knew that he truly cared about her then.
"Yeah . . . you know, we never really talked about what--" he glanced away from her. "What we did to you . . . what I did to you."
She frowned again at his line of thinking. "Logan, it doesn't matter. I told you a couple months ago that I hadn't completely forgiven you, but I can tell you now that I do. It doesn't matter what happened then. We've both moved on." She leaned down and kissed him softly. She was too scared to say the words she wanted to say out loud - she had fallen in love with him. But at least she could let him know that she had forgiven him.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness," he muttered sadly.
She traced her fingers down his face. "I think you've tortured yourself enough, dont you?"
He looked away from her.
Veronica's thoughts churned trying to think of how to convince Logan that he was not the pure evilness he thought he was. She thought back to when they had outed themselves to the Neptune student body.
--------
That Monday morning was an interesting one to say the least. Logan had insisted on picking up Veronica at home and the moment they pulled into the school parking lot - all eyes were on them. And the moment Logan took Veronica's hand and walked towards the school - the loud whispers and mumblings could be heard.
When they reached Veronica's locker - the entire student body had heard the news and no one was talking about anything else. When a group of 09ers confronted Logan - Veronica steeled herself for the worst.
"Logan, what the hell is going on?" Madison Sinclair demanded.
"Back off, Madison."
Everyone's heads turned to see Dick standing behind Logan. Logan was blown away. At least he knew Dick had his back as always.
"Logan, is this a joke or something?" Casey Gant asked.
Logan tightened his hold on Veronica's hand. "Look," Logan told the assembled crowd. "I'm gonna say this once and only once. You have a problem with me and Veronica being together, that's your problem and I don't give a shit about your problem. But if I hear anyone say anything about her again - it'll be the last thing you say. Got it?"
The crowd finally dispersed among more mutterings and Logan turned to see Dick and Cassidy.
"We got your back, dude," Dick simply responded.
"Thanks man."
Veronica watched as Dick and Cassidy made their way to class. "Wow," Veronica finally spoke. "I think Dick has a little man crush on you."
Logan rolled his eyes at her. "If he did, could you blame him?"
"Guess not," she sighed. She took his hand this time. "You realize you threatened the entire study body just now?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm waiting to get knocked off by lunch."
"Shut up," she laughed and hit his shoulder. "Dont worry. Me, Dick, and Beaver got your back."
"Me too."
They turned to see Wallace behind them.
"I heard what you said," Wallace told him evenly. "And I believed you. Treat her right," he told Logan and walked away.
"You want to talk about crushes?" Logan asked her with a raised brow.
She rolled her eyes at him. "He's like a brother."
"A brother with a really hot sister."
She crinkled her nose at that thought. "Stop threatening everyone," she told him, changing the subject. "I can take care of myself."
"I know," he told her. "But I'm gonna keep threatening so they know I'm being serious."
"Maybe we should have done the whole 'secret-dating-making-out-in bathrooms' deal."
He backed her up against a row of lockers and kissed her. The loud whispering around them stopped and it was eerily quiet.
"And miss out on that type of PDA? Not on your life," he grinned down at her. He took her hand and walked toward the journalism classroom.
"You're a publicity whore," Veronica laughed.
"No, I just like making a statement."
"And what statement was that?"
"I like to call that 'Go fuck yourselves'."
She laughed in response. "Still not sleeping with you."
"So you say now."
--------
"You know what I remember, Logan?" she asked him bringing herself out of her thoughts. She needed to convince him of her truth. "I remember you threatened anyone who dared to look at me wrong at school that very first day we showed up together."
He smirked at her in remembrance. "I meant it."
"I know you did," she grinned.
"If I remember correctly," he continued. "You yelled at me for doing that. You told me you could take care of yourself."
"That's true - but I have to tell you, the non-feminist part of me squealed like a little girl that big bad Logan Echolls was going to be my protector."
"Big and bad, that's me," he grinned.
"It's things like that, Logan. You keep beating yourself up over the bad things you've done, how about remembering the good things too."
He shook his head at her, a smile on his lips. "You're something else, Veronica."
"I try," she laughed as she settled herself more comfortably across his lap. "But I gotta tell you something. You're not so shabby yourself."
"That's supposed to be a secret," he smirked. "You realize I'm gonna have to kill you now."
Veronica grinned down at him, her mouth mere inches away from his. "But if you killed me, you'd miss me."
"Mmm," he answered distractedly as he stared at her mouth. "That is true." He lifted his head slightly so that he could kiss her, but she pulled back just as quickly and smiled.
"You're a tease," Logan growled.
Her tongue jutted out to moisten her bottom lip. "Lies," she breathed and dipped her head to kiss him.
Logan groaned happily as he easily flipped them over so that his body covered hers. He shifted slightly and another growl rumbled thru his chest at having Veronica beneath him.
"Hey, Lo--"
It was Veronica's turn to groan as they were interrupted yet again.
"My bad," came the muttering from across the room.
Logan turned his head to see Duncan at his door. "I swear I locked that door," he muttered to himself.
"Maybe this is some kinda sign," Veronica offered.
"Maybe no," Logan answered just as quickly.
"Hey, Duncan," she greeted more loudly to their new visitor.
He gave her a small wave. "Hey, Veronica."
Logan stood and made his way to Duncan.
"Sorry," Duncan sighed with a shrug of his shoulders.
Logan shook his head quickly dispelling his apology. "What's up, DK?" he asked.
"I was on my way to Meg's and I stopped at the pool house to see if you wanted to catch some waves tomorrow. Dick and Beav said you were up here, but they forgot to mention Veronica was with you."
Veronica narrowed her eyes at that. She would get back at them later.
Logan shook his head unsurprised. "I'm gonna kill the two of them one day. But yeah, tomorrow it is."
"Great," Duncan smiled. "I'll let you guys get back to," he waved his hands around. "Whatever you two were doing. I'll see ya tomorrow," he finished.
"See ya," Logan mock-saluted as he followed him to the door. He remained standing at the door until he was sure Duncan was gone. He shut the door with his foot and made sure he locked it this time. He turned back to Veronica and the bed and waggled his eyebrows at her. "That door is staying locked. I dont care if there's a fire, we're staying here."
She couldnt help but laugh. "I'm too young to die, Logan."
"Yeah, well I'm too pretty to die, but we're not leaving."
She scooted back on the bed and continued to grin at him. "Not sleeping with you," she told him in a sing-song voice.
He crawled his way up her body like a giant cat. "Mmmm, liar liar, pants on fire."
"You and Duncan seem to be ok," she told him with a smile trying to distract him.
"Yeah," he smiled back. Things were awkward between him and Duncan at first when Logan told him that he and Veronica were going out, but like with everything with him and Duncan, things sorted themselves out and the awkwardness was now gone. Of course, Logan never thought it would have turned out as smoothly as it had.
--------
Logan sat in front of the plasma TV playing Halo trying to think of ways to tell Duncan that he was dating Veronica. Logan, for his part, was breaking every single guy code in the world. You don't date one of your friend's exes and you sure as hell don't date your best friend's ex. He sucked in a breath. How the hell was he going to tell him? He quickly glanced at his watch and then to the glass doors. He would be here any minute. He had spent Saturday with Veronica hanging out and trying to get a feel about where they were headed. More importantly, they prepared themselves for school on Monday. Veronica had been the one semi-stressing over how people would react or more specifically how they would treat him. Logan simply told her the truth. He really didn't care.
The tricky part for Logan was trying to figure out how to tell Duncan. He was still working on that one, when he heard the door click open and realized he had run out of time.
"Hey," Duncan grinned. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"
It took Logan almost an hour to finally broach the subject of Veronica with Duncan.
"Look, Duncan," Logan sighed. "There's something I need to tell you."
Duncan's eyebrows rose at Logan's seriousness and glanced at him. "Ok."
"It's about Veronica."
Duncan's back stiffened at the mention of his ex. "I told you before we're not talking about her."
Logan dropped his controller as he turned to face his friend. "Yeah, well, change of plans."
Duncan sighed and followed Logan's lead and dropped the controller. "Look, if this is about Friday, I already told you I told her to back off. If she cornered you it's not my fault. Or if you think I'm the one that told her about . . ." he trailed off. "I'm not," he finished. "I wouldn't have done that to you."
Logan glanced down at his hands at the slightest hint of mention of the abuse. It was one thing to half-assedly talk about it with Veronica, but Duncan was something else. He felt like a jerk. Here Duncan was worried that Logan thought he betrayed their friendship, when in reality he had to come up with a way to tell Duncan that he was going out with his ex.
"No," Logan muttered softly. "I know you didn't say anything to her. She overheard Trina."
"Ok," Duncan sighed. "So can we get back to the game?" he grinned and reached for the controller once again.
"Hold on," Logan told him seriously. "There's something I gotta tell you."
Duncan finally noted that whatever Logan was trying to tell him, it was big. "What's goin' on?"
"You never told me why you broke up with Veronica," he thought out loud.
Duncan's gut twisted a bit. "Why do you even care Logan? Hell, why are you even bringing this up? I'm with Meg now. Things are cool with me and Veronica." He paused slightly. "Did she put you up to this?"
"No, it's nothing like that." He sighed and ran a hand thru his hair. "Look, Duncan, there's something I gotta tell you and I'm not even to sure how to say it."
"Just spit it out," Duncan told him impatiently.
"Veronica came over yesterday and we talked for a while . . ."
"I thought you hated her," he offered.
"No, dude. I don't."
"Coulda fooled me," he muttered loudly.
Logan sighed again. "Duncan listen--. Me and Veronica -- there's this --we kinda decided--."
"Logan just spit it out already."
"We're going out."
His eyebrows knit in confusion. "Out where?"
"In general. Like dating and stuff."
"You . . . and Veronica?"
He nodded.
"Veronica Mars?"
"Yeah."
"What's the joke? This a new way to humiliate her or something?"
"No, we just . . . clicked. I just wanted to tell you before someone else did."
Duncan stared off into space non-responsive.
"Say something," Logan insisted after Duncan continued to remain speechless.
Duncan finally turned back to his friend, but remained silent.
"Look I know it's kinda weird and I know --"
"Stop. It's cool, Logan."
Logan stared at him in disbelief.
"If you and Veronica want to -- if you wanna date, I'm cool with that."
Logan stared at him in shock. That was not the response he was expecting. "Duncan if you're mad, I--"
"I said it was cool. Can we get back to the game now?" he asked him as he picked up the controller again.
--------
Logan's worries were surprisingly unfounded. Duncan had told him that he was ok with him dating Veronica and aside from the initial awkwardness when the three of them were together, things were seemingly fine. There would be no way in hell that he and Veronica would hang out with Duncan and Meg, but things could have definitely been a lot worse.
"What are you thinking about?" Veronica asked him running a hand down his arm.
He glanced back at her and smiled, flipping them over so that Veronica was straddling his lap. "Nothin'."
"Liar." She tilted her head to the side and couldn't help but grin.
He wrapped his arms around her as she continued to straddle his lap. "I was trying to remember what we were doing before all these freakin' interruptions."
"Truth or dare?"
His eyebrow quirked up. "Truth," he challenged.
"Tell me what you were thinking just now."
He rolled his eyes at her. "I was thinking . . . things are going good right now. Between you and me, hell everyone." He scowled for a moment. "I think I'm . . . happy."
She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face. "Is that so bad?"
"No, it's just weird . . . You make me happy, Veronica."
"Ditto."
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Why did you kiss me that first time?"
She leaned back surprised at the question. "Didn't we already cover this like three months ago?"
"No, you gave me a run around answer," he told her with a smirk. "I really want to know. What made you want to kiss me?"
She smiled slightly as she brushed a finger across his forehead. "There was just something about you, Logan. I don't know what it was, but there was just . . . something." She tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously. "The jackass Logan - it's partly an act. And I think I saw beyond that without knowing it." Her thumbs played across his temples. "Maybe it was your eyes that gave it away. Maybe I took a step back and saw that everything you did was a response to something that happened to you."
He rolled his eyes. "This isn't a Jane Austen novel, Veronica."
She slapped his shoulder. "Shut up. I'm being serious."
"If you tell me I have a tortured soul next, I'm not sleeping with you."
It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Please, I could have you naked and have my way with you before you even blink."
He couldn't help but laugh. It was true after all.
She grinned at him in return. "I love you," she told him her eyes dancing across his face.
His mouth fell open at her admission and he blinked quickly trying to determine if he had heard her wrong. "W-What?"
The words had escaped her mouth without giving it a second thought. For the past month and a half she had been sitting on that information and she was shockingly pleased at how good it felt to finally tell him. "I'm in love with you," she told him softly. "I have been for a while, I just couldn't figure out how to tell you." He continued to stare at her dumbfounded and the silence in the room was deafening to her ears. "I don't expect you to say it back or anything," she quickly amended. "I just --"
He brought her mouth down to his and swallowed the rest of her words. They finally pulled apart and Logan was smiling from ear to ear.
"I love you too. You get under my skin like no one else, Veronica."
"Yeah?" she laughed.
"Yeah," he grinned.
"I didn't say it to--"
"Shut up, Veronica," he told her quietly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm not saying that for the hell of it." After the ordeal with Lilly he never thought he'd say the words to another girl again, but Veronica had changed all of that. "I'm saying it because I mean it. I love you."
She bit her bottom lip and scooted further down his lap. "This has been the best game of Truth or Dare we've played. Ever."
"Mmm, no arguments here . . . Can we have sex now?"
She couldn't help but laugh at his question. "Since when do you ask?" she countered as she reached for his belt.
"It's because you've been teasing me all day," he told her with a pout as he lifted her tank top off of her.
"That's because I remembered I told you I'd only sleep with you if you bought me a really good dinner. You lied to me. That dinner is like two months overdue."
"Sorry, you jumped me faster than I thought. I'll take you somewhere nice tomorrow."
"Liar," she grinned pushing his jeans off of him.
He laughed again. "Liar, liar pants on fire . . . Take care of that problem for me, Ronnie." She mocked glared at him and he continued to laugh. "Hey, you're the one in love with me. What'd you expect?"
She rolled her eyes at him as the last of their clothing was shed. "Obviously not a good dinner."
--------
FIN
Feedback fuels the mind...
A/N - Holy crap, Batman, it's a sequel! I don't do sequels. Ever. They're a pain in the ass and they never turn out as well as their predecessor. Tanya, my BFF/sis/beta,
This is a continuation of 'Sometimes the Last Thing You Want is Just What You Need'(sweet baby Jesus that is a long title). I believe this one can stand alone, but the first one does have some background info. Season 1 AU, placed after 1x18 'Weapons of Class Destruction'. I'm really splitting away from the show at this point. Sigh, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I need fluff at this point what can I say? Im rating this a strong PG13 for situations and language.
Disclaimer: Dude, if I owned the show I wouldn't have to pretend that Season 3 never happened. It's not mine, so don't sue. That privilege belongs to Rob Thomas and the CW. Song title is a line from Plain White T's awesome song "You and Me". I don't own that either. Again I'd be rich and I'm not, so there you go.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Linda
--------
Three Months Later
"I'm not gonna go over this again, Logan. Stop pushing that shit on me."
Logan threw his arms up in the air. "Why do you always have to be so freaking melodramatic?"
She looked at him incredulous. "Me? Melodramatic? Look in the mirror, jackass. Everything about you is Drama City."
"You're such a pain in the ass," he sighed. "I don't even know why I'm here."
"If you're gonna have a hissy fit about not watching Easy Rider again, you seriously need help."
He huffed from his corner on Veronica's couch. "Whatever, Ronnie."
"I told you not to call me that," she told him from her own corner.
"My bad, Ronnie."
"Bastard."
"Bitch."
They glared at one another and a few seconds later, lunged at each other meeting in the middle of the couch for a passionate kiss. The loud barking finally caused them to pull apart.
"Backup, no," Veronica whined. "I can't take you out right now. Please?"
Backup continued to bark.
"He planned this," Logan sighed. "He knew that this was the only day we could be together alone for more than a couple hours. Your dog hates me."
Veronica rolled her eyes at him. "He doesn't hate you, Drama Boy."
As if to prove Veronica right, Backup rested his chin on Logan's knee.
She smiled brightly at the sight. "See, he loves you."
Backup started to whine in return. "He wants to take a shit," Logan clarified for her.
"But it's made with love."
Logan rubbed the dog's head as he rose from the couch. "Come on. Let's take him outside before he decides to leave you a present on the carpet."
She grinned and walked with Logan down to the courtyard so that Backup could take care of his business. This certainly wasn't how she planned on spending her only free day with Logan. It had been a little over three months since they had begun dating, but they had barely been able to spend time together lately. What with the problems with Trina's boyfriend and the cases she was taking on, they just didn't have the time. She was determined to finally spend some quality time with her boyfriend.
She watched him as he played with Backup and she scoffed out loud. Who would have known that she and Logan Echolls would end up together?
--------
When Logan had dropped her off at home the day that she had confronted him about his father and the abuse, the tension between them had tripled more than usual. Veronica was at a loss as to where they would go or do. She was wired to fight with him or ignore him or snark at him. She didn't know how to do anything different. They had created a bubble while they were at the pool house that leaving there threw them both for a loop.
Of course Logan had been the one to break that tension.
"So let's go back to that whole 'been wanting to kiss me for a long time' thing," he grinned as they sat in his Xterra outside her apartment building.
Veronica tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't know what you're talking about," she told him.
"I distinctly remember you telling me that an hour ago. So how long is a 'long time'?" he air quoted.
She grabbed his right hand and laughed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Would you?"
She slapped his shoulder. "I really would," she tried.
"You have just been lying your ass off today haven't you?"
She couldn't help but laugh remembering their earlier conversation. "Fine, it's true. I've been thinking about having my way with you for a long time."
He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. "I knew it," he grinned. "How long?"
"You tell me how long you wanted me."
"I asked you first," he challenged back.
"You really want to know?" she asked him.
He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I really do," he answered.
She ducked her head, unsure what to tell him. How can someone really pinpoint the exact moment in time when your heart decides to overpower your brain? That's what Logan was really asking her. It didn't matter that she had a crush on him when she was fifteen. A crush didn't mean anything. What mattered was that before she knew it, one day she woke up and realized that she was beginning to fall for Logan. And as much as she tried to shake it off, before she could do anything else, she was done for. She had fallen for him. How could she explain that to him?
"It's complicated," she began. "I mean, I don't remember what day it was or what the weather was like outside. I just remember that one day I thought about you and I wondered what it would be like to kiss you. I tried to push it out of my head until one day I couldn't think of anything but that. It snuck up on me and bit me in the ass - thats the best way I can explain it."
He couldn't help but grin at her. "That's a beautiful story, Ronnie."
She laughed at him. "I hate it when you call me that."
"I know," he grinned.
"Your turn, you jerk. When did you fall for me?"
"When I saw you with your short shorts and knee highs."
She couldn't help but laugh at the memory he conjured up. "Seriously, Logan."
He turned away from her for a moment. "It was probably when you helped me . . . with my mom," he finished quietly. "I really thought that you were going to slam the door in my face or laugh when I asked you to check into it. After everything we went through, you still helped me. I don't know anyone else who would have done that, Veronica. I don't know if you realize how much that meant to me."
She smiled at him sadly. "I do now."
"So what happens next?" Logan asked her after a brief moment. "I don't want to act like this day didn't happen."
"Neither do I," she told him honestly. "But what about your friends? They're not gonna be happy about this, Logan."
"Like I give a shit what they want. I really don't care what anyone has to say about this, Veronica. And I really don't care if they find out if that's what you're worried about."
"You don't think it might be a good idea to keep this hush hush for a while?"
"Is that what you want?"
She glanced out the window for a second before turning back to him. "If you don't care, neither do I."
Still the awkwardness in the truck surrounded them.
"So what is this exactly?" Veronica asked him. "You want to be my boy on the side or something?"
"What is that, like a side of fries?"
"It's like, we're dating but not really."
"I'm the main course, Ronnie, not a side of anything."
"Dont call me Ronnie, Loggie."
His mouth upturned into a smile at their banter. Just like old times. "I don't know where this is goin'," he told her honestly. "I think we'll figure it out as we go along."
"Sink or swim, huh?"
"Something like that."
--------
After Backup no longer needed their attention, Logan and Veronica decided to forgo watching any movies (since it always led to a fight) and they settled on playing Truth or Dare.
"You called dare, Logan," Veronica laughed. "You have to run around the courtyard naked singing 'I'm a Little Teapot'."
"Hell no," he argued back. "You cheated."
She rolled her eyes at him. "How can you cheat at Truth or Dare?"
"I don't know, but you figured it out."
"You're the cheater," she grinned. "You can't even finish the game you wanted to play."
"Can you blame me if I don't want to move right now?"
They were lying on Veronica's couch facing one another, their arms wrapped around the other. Logan had his leg thrown over her thigh and the last thing he wanted to do was move. Besides getting naked without Veronica involved wasn't worth the effort.
It was at that moment that Keith walked into the apartment. He rolled his eyes as the two teenagers detangled themselves from the other. He had lost count of how many times he had caught them in a similar position in the past few weeks. He had accepted a long time ago that his daughter was all grown up, but the sight of Veronica with any boy was hard. He liked Logan. He had been treating her well since they began dating and there really wasn't much more he could ask of the kid.
"Hey dad," Veronica greeted him. "Any luck on that bail jumper in Vegas?"
"No and I told you I didn't want you involved in that case."
"I haven't even Googled him," she answered.
"I've been watching her like a hawk," Logan chimed in.
"Good," Keith answered. "It's nice to know someone's listening to me."
Logan grinned at Veronica. "You should listen to your dad more often, Veronica," he admonished her.
Her mouth fell open in shock. "Shut up, no one asked you." She turned back to her dad. "I thought you weren't going to come home until you caught the slime ball?"
"Trying to get rid of me in my own home already? I just walked in."
"I just thought I had more time to show Logan where we keep our good china."
Keith smirked at them as he made his way to the fridge so that he could grab a quick lunch, but was interrupted by the ringing of his cell. Keith listened to the call intently and his eyes flickered quickly to Veronica.
"Alright," he answered. "I'll be there soon." He ended the call and made his way to the door, any thoughts of lunch forgotten. "I have to go, honey, but I should be back in a few days. Logan - you take care of my little girl."
"Always," Logan answered.
"Be careful, dad," Veronica sighed. She came forward and hugged him and he kissed the crown of her head.
"Dont worry about your dear ol' dad. I got everything under control."
"Of course you do," she smiled.
"Who's your daddy?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Come up with a new line already."
"I'll see what I can do." He kissed her again and waved to Logan.
"Later, Mr. Mars," Logan returned.
Logan turned to face Veronica as soon as Keith was out the door. "Alone at last," he told her with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"I'm not sleeping with you," she told him.
"Who said anything about sleeping?" he answered in return.
He sauntered his way toward her causing her to back up and run into the kitchen counter, effectively preventing her from escaping.
"I'm not gonna have sex with you," she grinned at him.
"How many times do we have to have this conversation?" he asked her.
"As--"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Logan pulled her in for a kiss. He lifted her up and sat her on the countertop and pressed himself against her.
"Hey, V--" Wallace called as he walked into the apartment unannounced. "Aw, man, come on!" he cried out as Logan and Veronica pulled their mouths apart to stare at their newest interruption.
"Come on!" Logan muttered in frustration. "Doesn't anyone knock around here?"
Veronica jumped off the counter and straightened out her shirt. "Wallace, what's up?"
Wallace glanced towards Logan. "You mean besides him?" Wallace laughed.
"Jealous?" Logan smirked and placed his hands on his hips unabashedly.
Wallace grinned at him and Veronica rolled her eyes at their testosterone filled one-liners. "Wallace, this better be good."
"I ran into your dad downstairs and he said you wanted to see me right away. He said you'd know what he was talkin' about."
Veronica snorted. "I'm gonna kill my dad," she muttered under her breath.
"He's good," Logan replied impressed.
"I came by to see if you wanted to hang out, but I'm gonna take a guess and say no," Wallace smiled.
"Sorry, Wallace, we already have plans," she told him with a frown. "Maybe we can hang out tomorrow?"
"Yeah, that's cool," he told her as he made his way to the fridge. "Since you decided to kick me to the curb, you mind if I grab something to eat?"
Logan's eyes flew to Veronica and he mouthed the word 'no' to her.
"Um, Wallace . . ." He was already scrounging around in the fridge. "Logan and I were planning on spending some alone time together."
"Yeah?" he replied, not poking his head out. "Don't worry, I'll be outta here in a minute."
Veronica knew how Wallace was when it came to food and shrugged helplessly at Logan.
"Come on," Logan sighed. "I know where we can go for some privacy." Logan led Veronica out of the apartment by her hand.
"Later, Wallace," Veronica called out.
"Hey, can I stay here and eat?" Wallace asked the rushed out Veronica.
"Yeah, just lock up when you leave," she yelled in reply, already half way down the stairs.
----------------
As they made their way to Logan's, Veronica remembered when she had told Wallace about her and Logan for the first time.
"Look, when you show up at school on Monday, you're gonna think I've lost my mind," she warned him. "But the truth is I'm perfectly sane."
Wallace raised an eyebrow at her cryptic comment. "Ok, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Logan and I are going out."
There was a long pause before he replied. "Are you crazy? Logan? Logan 'Obligatory Psychotic Jackass' Echolls?"
"The one and only."
"Are you crazy?"
"You already asked me that and the answer's no."
He reached a hand out and pressed it to her forehead. "You sure?"
"Yes," she told him, smacking away his hand. "It's a long story that I can't get into right now. I just wanted to tell you first. I'd like you to try and get along with him."
He simply stared at her in silence.
"This is important to me, Wallace. Just try, ok?"
"You're gonna have to tell me what happened later," he finally answered.
"Promise," she replied.
It hadn't taken Wallace long to accept Logan in her life. At first he had been skeptical about Logan's true feelings. But the day Logan threatened to beat anyone at school who even dared to look at Veronica wrong sealed Wallace's acceptance. Since then they had gotten along fine, even starting to form their own friendship.
She was happy about that. All three men in her life, four if you counted Backup, were getting along. She snorted silently. That was a freakin' miracle in itself. It was a hell of a lot smoother than what Logan went through, that was for sure.
"What are we gonna do?" Veronica asked him as they bypassed the main house at Logan's and made their way to the pool house instead.
"It's a surprise," he grinned widely.
"Yeah, I bet," she laughed in return
--------
"Forget it, Logan."
"Come on, Veronica. No one's around. Aaron's at one of his publicity stunts. It's just you and me."
"First of all, where the hell would I find a cheerleading outfit? Second of all, if I did find one, I still wouldn't put it on. I dont care what you say."
"Youre no fun," he pouted.
"I'll do it if we go back to my place and you run around naked sin--"
"Forget it," he interrupted. "The only thing I learned today was that you cheat at Truth or Dare."
"I don't cheat."
"You cheat and lie," he amended.
She hit him with one of the throw pillows at her side. "Who's the one lying now?" she asked him as she repeatedly hit him with the pillow.
"Still you," he grinned as he grabbed the pillow from her. "Admit it. This is just a big ploy to get me naked."
She remained where she was, straddling his hips. "Wow, I think I literally saw your head inflate just now."
He smirked at her. "I don't blame you. Who wouldn't want a piece of me?"
She laughed again. "You are irresistible after all."
"Glad you noticed," he grinned.
She leaned down and kissed him softly. One hand came around and wrapped around the nape of her neck, massaging her neck slightly. She pulled back and smiled at him.
A slow smile spread across his face. "I used to have dreams about you."
An eyebrow went up at his use of past tense. "'Used to'?"
"Still do, but I used to have them a lot before this happened," he told her softly.
She licked her bottom lip at his confession. "What types of dreams?"
A wicked grin graced his face. "Good dreams," he told her.
"Why does that not surprise me?" she sighed.
"You have dreams about me?"
She tilted her head to the side. "Maybe."
"Were they sexy dreams?"
"Because you're oh so sexy?"
"Mm hmm," he nodded.
"If I told you no, would you believe me?"
"Nope."
"Then yes. They," she kissed him. "Were very," she kissed him again. "Sexy dreams."
He flipped them over so that he was lying on top of her. "I say we reenact these sexy dreams of yours."
"I told you I wasn't going to sleep with you," she grinned.
"I think you've set a record for most lies told in one day."
"There's no way I've beaten your record."
"There's a first for everything, Veronica Mars."
She smiled at him and tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth.
"Dude, I'm blind!" Dick cried out as he and Cassidy walked into the pool house.
Logan's head dropped on the bed and Veronica glared at the two new invaders.
"What's wrong with the two of you?" Dick continued. "You keep going at it like rabbits."
Veronica finally scrambled from underneath Logan. "Aw, sweetie, look what followed us home - can we keep him?"
Logan chuckled at his girlfriend. "I dont think he has all of his shots - so no."
Dick smirked at her in return. "You know, Veronica--" he began.
"Watch it," Logan warned his friend.
"You look beautiful today," he finished. "May we borrow our friend so that we can spend some quality alone time with him?"
Cassidy took the moment to step in. "We just wanted to come by and see if you were up for some Halo," he grinned.
"Sorry, Beav," Logan sighed. "As you can see - I already got plans."
Cassidy's face fell. "Do you mind if we play here anyways? Dad kicked us out of the house."
"Yeah, he brought home some cheerleading hottie," Dick told him.
Logan glanced at Veronica quickly. "Did she have her uniform with her?" Veronica slapped his arm. "I was kidding," he told her. "Sorta," he finished under his breath.
Dick and Cassidy looked at him expectantly.
"Fine, you can stay," Logan sighed.
Veronica looked at him wide-eyed. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, come on. I know where we can go."
"You said that last time and look how that turned out," she snarked.
He smirked at her. "Don't break anything," Logan called out as they left the pool house.
--------
As Logan and Veronica walked along the poolside back to the main house, Logan jokingly grabbed her and threatened to throw her in the pool. She squealed laughingly and Logan swung her back into his arms. His mind drifted to his two friends back at the pool house. It wasn't that long ago that they had interrupted him and Veronica in a similar way for the first time.
The day after Logan and Veronica decided to date - they had met again at Logan's. They had no plans, they just agreed to spend more time together and prepare going back to school on Monday. They certainly didn't plan on a full on make out session on the living room couch only to be interrupted by Dick and Cassidy Cassablancas.
"Whoa, dude, what little hottie are you making time with now?" Dick asked with a chuckle as he and Cassidy walked in on Logan.
Logan quickly turned his head to his guests, his body still covering Veronica.
"Dont you know how to knock?" Logan asked him with irritation. "Get the hell outta here."
Dick raised his arms in defense. "Don't get pissy with me, dude, you're the one getting laid."
Veronica chose that moment to raise her head from the couch. It was now or never. "You heard him, Dick, get lost."
Dick and Cassidy's mouths fell open in shock. "What the fu--" Dick trailed off. "Dude, what the hell are you doing with that skankoid?"
Logan quickly climbed off of Veronica. "Her name's Veronica and you better remember that, Dick."
"Wow," Cassidy muttered. "Just . . . wow."
"You two have a problem with this?" Logan asked them seriously.
Veronica stood from the couch and made her way for her messenger bag and the door. "I think I'm gonna go so you can deal with this," she told Logan.
Logan quickly stopped her exit. "You're not going anywhere," he told her softly. "I brought you here, I'll take you home. Dick and Beav were just leaving anyways." He turned to face his friends. "Right, guys?"
Dick simply frowned at him. "No," he told him. "Not until you tell us what's going on." He crossed his arms across his chest and stared down his friend.
Veronica quickly shot a glance between Logan and Dick. This was what was gnawing at the back of her mind. Logan's friends turning on him because of her.
"Logan, it's ok. I'll have Wallace or my dad pick--"
"No, Veronica," he interrupted her again. He turned away from staring at Dick to face her. "Why don't you wait for me upstairs?" he asked her quietly. "I'll be up in a minute and I'll take you home if you still want."
She contemplated him for a moment. "Ok," she finally conceded. "But if you want me to catch a ride home, I'm cool with that."
He kissed her quickly and watched as she made her way up the stairs before turning back to Dick and Cassidy.
"Ok, you can let us in on the joke now," Dick told him with an uncomfortable laugh. "This is some new way to embarrass that bitch. Right?"
"If you have a problem with Veronica that means you have a problem with me. Do you have a problem with me?"
"So because she's sleeping with you - she's an ok skank?"
Logan made his way forward and although Cassidy wasn't his object of attention, he couldn't help but take a step back. The last time he had seen Logan this pissed off was when Logan and Hector fought at school. Dick, for his part, stood his ground.
"I said her name was Veronica. Not skank or bitch or whore or slut or whatever else you're thinking about."
Dick shook his head still speechless at the fact that Logan and Veronica were together. "Fine," he gritted out after a minute. "You mind sharing how this all happened?"
"Yeah, I do mind," Logan simply answered. "You just need to know Veronica's going to be around now and you treat her like she's a person."
"Fine," Dick sighed in frustration. "But can you at least see why I'm freakin' out, dude? It wasn't that long ago that you were the one cryin' 'slut' the loudest. Then I show up here and you're sleeping with the enemy."
Logan ran a hand through his hair as he listened to his friend. There was nothing but truth behind his words and the guilt he felt settled deeper in his gut. "I know," he finally answered. "I'm not even too sure what happened between me and Veronica. We clicked and I don't feel the same way about her as I did before."
"Obviously," Cassidy muttered.
"Look, I know what happened in the past. And I know we had our fun at Veronica's expense, but that's over. The only thing you guys need to know is that Veronica and me are together and no one is gonna talk shit about her or to her. Got it?" he asked his friends. Logan took another step closer. "Dick, I'm serious. No more name calling. I don't care if Veronica and I are together or not. It doesn't matter if tomorrow we change our minds and go back to being friends or whatever. The names, the insults, it all stops. No one is doing that to her again. Understand?"
Dick finally conceded with a weary nod. "Does this mean you're not coming with us to Mexico? It's cheerleading time," Dick announced happily.
Leave it to Dick to swing from one mood to the next with no problems.
"Sorry, dude, I already got plans," he grinned. "Do me one more favor. Don't tell anyone about me and Veronica."
"Everyone's gonna find out at school anyway," Cassidy offered
"I know," Logan muttered. "But they don't need to know any sooner."
"Fine," Dick sighed as he began his way to the door. "Hey, what's Duncan say about all this?"
Logan stopped short. For the first time in a long time, he thought about his best friend. "Don't worry about Duncan I'll talk to him."
--------
It had been over three months since they began dating, but Logan still couldn't shake the guilt he felt over how he treated Veronica after Lilly died. Sometimes he wondered if the guilt would ever stop. Sometimes he wondered how long it would take Veronica to realize she made a mistake and cut ties with him all together.
He sucked in a breath at that thought. Three months in and he was already attached to her. He couldn't imagine not being with her. It was too early to even contemplate that he was falling in love with her, but the truth was that he had already fallen. Hard. He just hadn't told her yet.
"What's wrong?" Veronica asked him as they lay on his bed.
"Nothin'," he mumbled quietly.
She was pretty good at reading Logan way back when and she seemed to have perfected the skill in the past month. She climbed on top of him and settled herself straddled across his lap. She leaned down and kissed him softly. "What's wrong, Logan? I can read you like a book you know."
He smiled at her sadly and settled his hands on her hips. "Why don't you hate me?" he asked her seriously. "After everything that's happened, you should still hate me, not lying here in my bed."
She frowned at his thought. The last time Logan mentioned her hating him was when they had first started going out. "Where's this coming from?" she asked him curiously.
He shrugged slightly. "I just remembered something when Dick and Beav showed up just now."
She watched him closely and then it dawned on her. "When they walked in on us the first time?" she asked him.
"Yeah," he trailed off.
She nodded slightly. What Logan didn't know was that she was on her way out the back door after Logan had asked her to wait in his room. It was his conversation with the brothers that made her stay. Whatever self nagging doubts she had about Logan were dispelled by his talk. She knew that he truly cared about her then.
"Yeah . . . you know, we never really talked about what--" he glanced away from her. "What we did to you . . . what I did to you."
She frowned again at his line of thinking. "Logan, it doesn't matter. I told you a couple months ago that I hadn't completely forgiven you, but I can tell you now that I do. It doesn't matter what happened then. We've both moved on." She leaned down and kissed him softly. She was too scared to say the words she wanted to say out loud - she had fallen in love with him. But at least she could let him know that she had forgiven him.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness," he muttered sadly.
She traced her fingers down his face. "I think you've tortured yourself enough, dont you?"
He looked away from her.
Veronica's thoughts churned trying to think of how to convince Logan that he was not the pure evilness he thought he was. She thought back to when they had outed themselves to the Neptune student body.
--------
That Monday morning was an interesting one to say the least. Logan had insisted on picking up Veronica at home and the moment they pulled into the school parking lot - all eyes were on them. And the moment Logan took Veronica's hand and walked towards the school - the loud whispers and mumblings could be heard.
When they reached Veronica's locker - the entire student body had heard the news and no one was talking about anything else. When a group of 09ers confronted Logan - Veronica steeled herself for the worst.
"Logan, what the hell is going on?" Madison Sinclair demanded.
"Back off, Madison."
Everyone's heads turned to see Dick standing behind Logan. Logan was blown away. At least he knew Dick had his back as always.
"Logan, is this a joke or something?" Casey Gant asked.
Logan tightened his hold on Veronica's hand. "Look," Logan told the assembled crowd. "I'm gonna say this once and only once. You have a problem with me and Veronica being together, that's your problem and I don't give a shit about your problem. But if I hear anyone say anything about her again - it'll be the last thing you say. Got it?"
The crowd finally dispersed among more mutterings and Logan turned to see Dick and Cassidy.
"We got your back, dude," Dick simply responded.
"Thanks man."
Veronica watched as Dick and Cassidy made their way to class. "Wow," Veronica finally spoke. "I think Dick has a little man crush on you."
Logan rolled his eyes at her. "If he did, could you blame him?"
"Guess not," she sighed. She took his hand this time. "You realize you threatened the entire study body just now?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm waiting to get knocked off by lunch."
"Shut up," she laughed and hit his shoulder. "Dont worry. Me, Dick, and Beaver got your back."
"Me too."
They turned to see Wallace behind them.
"I heard what you said," Wallace told him evenly. "And I believed you. Treat her right," he told Logan and walked away.
"You want to talk about crushes?" Logan asked her with a raised brow.
She rolled her eyes at him. "He's like a brother."
"A brother with a really hot sister."
She crinkled her nose at that thought. "Stop threatening everyone," she told him, changing the subject. "I can take care of myself."
"I know," he told her. "But I'm gonna keep threatening so they know I'm being serious."
"Maybe we should have done the whole 'secret-dating-making-out-in bathrooms' deal."
He backed her up against a row of lockers and kissed her. The loud whispering around them stopped and it was eerily quiet.
"And miss out on that type of PDA? Not on your life," he grinned down at her. He took her hand and walked toward the journalism classroom.
"You're a publicity whore," Veronica laughed.
"No, I just like making a statement."
"And what statement was that?"
"I like to call that 'Go fuck yourselves'."
She laughed in response. "Still not sleeping with you."
"So you say now."
--------
"You know what I remember, Logan?" she asked him bringing herself out of her thoughts. She needed to convince him of her truth. "I remember you threatened anyone who dared to look at me wrong at school that very first day we showed up together."
He smirked at her in remembrance. "I meant it."
"I know you did," she grinned.
"If I remember correctly," he continued. "You yelled at me for doing that. You told me you could take care of yourself."
"That's true - but I have to tell you, the non-feminist part of me squealed like a little girl that big bad Logan Echolls was going to be my protector."
"Big and bad, that's me," he grinned.
"It's things like that, Logan. You keep beating yourself up over the bad things you've done, how about remembering the good things too."
He shook his head at her, a smile on his lips. "You're something else, Veronica."
"I try," she laughed as she settled herself more comfortably across his lap. "But I gotta tell you something. You're not so shabby yourself."
"That's supposed to be a secret," he smirked. "You realize I'm gonna have to kill you now."
Veronica grinned down at him, her mouth mere inches away from his. "But if you killed me, you'd miss me."
"Mmm," he answered distractedly as he stared at her mouth. "That is true." He lifted his head slightly so that he could kiss her, but she pulled back just as quickly and smiled.
"You're a tease," Logan growled.
Her tongue jutted out to moisten her bottom lip. "Lies," she breathed and dipped her head to kiss him.
Logan groaned happily as he easily flipped them over so that his body covered hers. He shifted slightly and another growl rumbled thru his chest at having Veronica beneath him.
"Hey, Lo--"
It was Veronica's turn to groan as they were interrupted yet again.
"My bad," came the muttering from across the room.
Logan turned his head to see Duncan at his door. "I swear I locked that door," he muttered to himself.
"Maybe this is some kinda sign," Veronica offered.
"Maybe no," Logan answered just as quickly.
"Hey, Duncan," she greeted more loudly to their new visitor.
He gave her a small wave. "Hey, Veronica."
Logan stood and made his way to Duncan.
"Sorry," Duncan sighed with a shrug of his shoulders.
Logan shook his head quickly dispelling his apology. "What's up, DK?" he asked.
"I was on my way to Meg's and I stopped at the pool house to see if you wanted to catch some waves tomorrow. Dick and Beav said you were up here, but they forgot to mention Veronica was with you."
Veronica narrowed her eyes at that. She would get back at them later.
Logan shook his head unsurprised. "I'm gonna kill the two of them one day. But yeah, tomorrow it is."
"Great," Duncan smiled. "I'll let you guys get back to," he waved his hands around. "Whatever you two were doing. I'll see ya tomorrow," he finished.
"See ya," Logan mock-saluted as he followed him to the door. He remained standing at the door until he was sure Duncan was gone. He shut the door with his foot and made sure he locked it this time. He turned back to Veronica and the bed and waggled his eyebrows at her. "That door is staying locked. I dont care if there's a fire, we're staying here."
She couldnt help but laugh. "I'm too young to die, Logan."
"Yeah, well I'm too pretty to die, but we're not leaving."
She scooted back on the bed and continued to grin at him. "Not sleeping with you," she told him in a sing-song voice.
He crawled his way up her body like a giant cat. "Mmmm, liar liar, pants on fire."
"You and Duncan seem to be ok," she told him with a smile trying to distract him.
"Yeah," he smiled back. Things were awkward between him and Duncan at first when Logan told him that he and Veronica were going out, but like with everything with him and Duncan, things sorted themselves out and the awkwardness was now gone. Of course, Logan never thought it would have turned out as smoothly as it had.
--------
Logan sat in front of the plasma TV playing Halo trying to think of ways to tell Duncan that he was dating Veronica. Logan, for his part, was breaking every single guy code in the world. You don't date one of your friend's exes and you sure as hell don't date your best friend's ex. He sucked in a breath. How the hell was he going to tell him? He quickly glanced at his watch and then to the glass doors. He would be here any minute. He had spent Saturday with Veronica hanging out and trying to get a feel about where they were headed. More importantly, they prepared themselves for school on Monday. Veronica had been the one semi-stressing over how people would react or more specifically how they would treat him. Logan simply told her the truth. He really didn't care.
The tricky part for Logan was trying to figure out how to tell Duncan. He was still working on that one, when he heard the door click open and realized he had run out of time.
"Hey," Duncan grinned. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"
It took Logan almost an hour to finally broach the subject of Veronica with Duncan.
"Look, Duncan," Logan sighed. "There's something I need to tell you."
Duncan's eyebrows rose at Logan's seriousness and glanced at him. "Ok."
"It's about Veronica."
Duncan's back stiffened at the mention of his ex. "I told you before we're not talking about her."
Logan dropped his controller as he turned to face his friend. "Yeah, well, change of plans."
Duncan sighed and followed Logan's lead and dropped the controller. "Look, if this is about Friday, I already told you I told her to back off. If she cornered you it's not my fault. Or if you think I'm the one that told her about . . ." he trailed off. "I'm not," he finished. "I wouldn't have done that to you."
Logan glanced down at his hands at the slightest hint of mention of the abuse. It was one thing to half-assedly talk about it with Veronica, but Duncan was something else. He felt like a jerk. Here Duncan was worried that Logan thought he betrayed their friendship, when in reality he had to come up with a way to tell Duncan that he was going out with his ex.
"No," Logan muttered softly. "I know you didn't say anything to her. She overheard Trina."
"Ok," Duncan sighed. "So can we get back to the game?" he grinned and reached for the controller once again.
"Hold on," Logan told him seriously. "There's something I gotta tell you."
Duncan finally noted that whatever Logan was trying to tell him, it was big. "What's goin' on?"
"You never told me why you broke up with Veronica," he thought out loud.
Duncan's gut twisted a bit. "Why do you even care Logan? Hell, why are you even bringing this up? I'm with Meg now. Things are cool with me and Veronica." He paused slightly. "Did she put you up to this?"
"No, it's nothing like that." He sighed and ran a hand thru his hair. "Look, Duncan, there's something I gotta tell you and I'm not even to sure how to say it."
"Just spit it out," Duncan told him impatiently.
"Veronica came over yesterday and we talked for a while . . ."
"I thought you hated her," he offered.
"No, dude. I don't."
"Coulda fooled me," he muttered loudly.
Logan sighed again. "Duncan listen--. Me and Veronica -- there's this --we kinda decided--."
"Logan just spit it out already."
"We're going out."
His eyebrows knit in confusion. "Out where?"
"In general. Like dating and stuff."
"You . . . and Veronica?"
He nodded.
"Veronica Mars?"
"Yeah."
"What's the joke? This a new way to humiliate her or something?"
"No, we just . . . clicked. I just wanted to tell you before someone else did."
Duncan stared off into space non-responsive.
"Say something," Logan insisted after Duncan continued to remain speechless.
Duncan finally turned back to his friend, but remained silent.
"Look I know it's kinda weird and I know --"
"Stop. It's cool, Logan."
Logan stared at him in disbelief.
"If you and Veronica want to -- if you wanna date, I'm cool with that."
Logan stared at him in shock. That was not the response he was expecting. "Duncan if you're mad, I--"
"I said it was cool. Can we get back to the game now?" he asked him as he picked up the controller again.
--------
Logan's worries were surprisingly unfounded. Duncan had told him that he was ok with him dating Veronica and aside from the initial awkwardness when the three of them were together, things were seemingly fine. There would be no way in hell that he and Veronica would hang out with Duncan and Meg, but things could have definitely been a lot worse.
"What are you thinking about?" Veronica asked him running a hand down his arm.
He glanced back at her and smiled, flipping them over so that Veronica was straddling his lap. "Nothin'."
"Liar." She tilted her head to the side and couldn't help but grin.
He wrapped his arms around her as she continued to straddle his lap. "I was trying to remember what we were doing before all these freakin' interruptions."
"Truth or dare?"
His eyebrow quirked up. "Truth," he challenged.
"Tell me what you were thinking just now."
He rolled his eyes at her. "I was thinking . . . things are going good right now. Between you and me, hell everyone." He scowled for a moment. "I think I'm . . . happy."
She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face. "Is that so bad?"
"No, it's just weird . . . You make me happy, Veronica."
"Ditto."
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Why did you kiss me that first time?"
She leaned back surprised at the question. "Didn't we already cover this like three months ago?"
"No, you gave me a run around answer," he told her with a smirk. "I really want to know. What made you want to kiss me?"
She smiled slightly as she brushed a finger across his forehead. "There was just something about you, Logan. I don't know what it was, but there was just . . . something." She tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously. "The jackass Logan - it's partly an act. And I think I saw beyond that without knowing it." Her thumbs played across his temples. "Maybe it was your eyes that gave it away. Maybe I took a step back and saw that everything you did was a response to something that happened to you."
He rolled his eyes. "This isn't a Jane Austen novel, Veronica."
She slapped his shoulder. "Shut up. I'm being serious."
"If you tell me I have a tortured soul next, I'm not sleeping with you."
It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Please, I could have you naked and have my way with you before you even blink."
He couldn't help but laugh. It was true after all.
She grinned at him in return. "I love you," she told him her eyes dancing across his face.
His mouth fell open at her admission and he blinked quickly trying to determine if he had heard her wrong. "W-What?"
The words had escaped her mouth without giving it a second thought. For the past month and a half she had been sitting on that information and she was shockingly pleased at how good it felt to finally tell him. "I'm in love with you," she told him softly. "I have been for a while, I just couldn't figure out how to tell you." He continued to stare at her dumbfounded and the silence in the room was deafening to her ears. "I don't expect you to say it back or anything," she quickly amended. "I just --"
He brought her mouth down to his and swallowed the rest of her words. They finally pulled apart and Logan was smiling from ear to ear.
"I love you too. You get under my skin like no one else, Veronica."
"Yeah?" she laughed.
"Yeah," he grinned.
"I didn't say it to--"
"Shut up, Veronica," he told her quietly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm not saying that for the hell of it." After the ordeal with Lilly he never thought he'd say the words to another girl again, but Veronica had changed all of that. "I'm saying it because I mean it. I love you."
She bit her bottom lip and scooted further down his lap. "This has been the best game of Truth or Dare we've played. Ever."
"Mmm, no arguments here . . . Can we have sex now?"
She couldn't help but laugh at his question. "Since when do you ask?" she countered as she reached for his belt.
"It's because you've been teasing me all day," he told her with a pout as he lifted her tank top off of her.
"That's because I remembered I told you I'd only sleep with you if you bought me a really good dinner. You lied to me. That dinner is like two months overdue."
"Sorry, you jumped me faster than I thought. I'll take you somewhere nice tomorrow."
"Liar," she grinned pushing his jeans off of him.
He laughed again. "Liar, liar pants on fire . . . Take care of that problem for me, Ronnie." She mocked glared at him and he continued to laugh. "Hey, you're the one in love with me. What'd you expect?"
She rolled her eyes at him as the last of their clothing was shed. "Obviously not a good dinner."
--------
FIN
Feedback fuels the mind...
