Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all things Veronica Mars.
Pigtails and Popsicles
Chapter 1
The first time I met Veronica Mars I was in lockup down at the local Sheriff's office. Sacks had just picked me up for tagging the Echoll's stone wall. They had me locked in a cell, waiting for my grandma to come pick me up. In walks little Miss Veronica, long blonde hair pulled into symmetrical pigtails. Most good girls like Veronica avoided boys like me. I was from the wrong side of town, definitely not in the 09 zip code. Growing up I had heard my uncles and cousins talk about how we would never be like them. How we could never be friends with the 09ers. I learned early how to put on a tough face and scare away anyone who dare give me any shit. Even by age 10 I had the scowl perfected. So when the Sheriff's daughter walked through those doors, marched straight up to the bars of my cell and handed me the red popsicle I was stunned.
None of the good girls ever paid much attention to me. I was nothing to them. Some troublemaker their mommies all warned them about. But here was this innocent girl. This pretty, sweet, innocent girl standing in front of me smiling and offering me a treat. My brain couldn't comprehend what was happening. "Here, take it. My daddy won't mind." Her voice was soft and confident. I took the icy treat from her and smiled. No other girl of her status had ever paid any attention to me. We sat in companionable silence eating our popsicles. She sat with me until my grandma showed up. We didn't talk, we just sat and she seemed content with that. When they released me to grandma, Veronica hugged me goodbye. I didn't realize it at the time, but in that moment she made an indelible mark on my soul.
In the following years she stayed on her side of society and I stayed on mine, only crossing paths during my stays at the station. I never knew how she managed to find out, but she turned up during each one of my arrests. She'd saunter in, popsicle in hand and keep me company until my release. We never discussed it and rarely held conversation outside of general pleasantries. I never asked why she kept coming and she never asked why I kept getting arrested. When everyone turned on the good Sheriff and he lost his position to that dipshit Lamb, I quit seeing Veronica.
It was our sophomore year when it all happened. She went from being an 09er by association to more of an outcast than the entire PCH club. Her boyfriend had already split and then Lilly died. She stood by her father against the Kane's and received nothing but torment from that crowd she called friends. It was painful to watch and I'm ashamed to say I didn't step in back then. I was the new leader of the club and no one knew about our jailhouse camaraderie. Truth be told, I didn't want to risk my rep to save her some amount of anguish. I was selfish and wrong. I thought she could handle it. I kept telling myself it was 09er shit that would blow over in no time. She'd move on with her friends, graduate and marry one of those rich pretty boys. Life would go on for Veronica. I kept telling myself that it would all work out fine for her. That was, until I bumped into her just before Christmas.
It was Sunday afternoon and grandma sent me to the grocery store for family dinner supplies. I was busy going through her list item by item when I bumped right into a petite blonde girl. She gasped and flinched away from me. It wasn't a new reaction exactly, but definitely new coming from Veronica Mars. I chuckled and apologized but she wouldn't even look me in the eye. The once soft, kind girl whose eyes once held all the light of the world could not look me in the eye. She merely said sorry and moved along, almost like she was on autopilot. At the time I chalked it up to a bad day. She'd been battling the 09er ridicule for a while and had probably just been worn out. Yeah, that's what I kept telling myself.
Monday morning I sat perched on my bike discussing business with Felix when she rolled up in her beast of a car. Gone were the long blonde locks and fresh pressed clothes. They were replaced by short, sharp edge tendrils and dark angsty garments. The girl had done a full 180 on us in the matter of a weekend. Now that, the drastic change, made me sit up and pay attention.
"Shit man. Holy shit. Is that Veronica Mars? The Sheriff's kid?" Felix's eyes were fixed on the short blonde chick whose stone faced scowl could put off even the toughest guy. Being one, I would know. She emanated a 'fuck off' vibe. The same sweet girl who had shared popsicles with me and kept me company in lockup, was hardened and detached. I caught her gaze and my stomach dropped. Looking into the same blue eyes that once held the light of the sun, I could see nothing but darkness. Her spirit had been broken.
"Fuckā¦" What else could I say? I mean, this was a girl who I had sort of known most of my life. A girl who had been kind to me and when she needed someone to have her back, I sat on my ass. I kept telling myself that she was an 09er and PCHers did not meddle in the affairs of 09ers. It wasn't my place. But seeing the emptiness, the utter shattering of her soul, I couldn't help but feel partially to blame.
I knew she was dealing with a lot. Duncan dumping her, Lilly's death, her father and rumor had it her own mother had ditched her. Add in a few vindictive pranks from the 09ers and I guess she'd had enough. It was enough to make anyone break and it tore at my heart seeing such an innocent girl ruined by the corruption that is Neptune. Some people are just not cut out for that type of filth. Veronica certainly deserved to better.
Over the next few weeks I found myself shadowing her between classes. I wasn't sure what had caused the drastic change but I was going to find out. Her so called friends were fucking hard on her. They'd let air out of her tires, vandalize her car and shout insults at her as she walked down the hall. More than once I saw Vice-Principal Clemmons turn a blind eye to Logan Echoll's taunting of her. More than once I watched as those who are meant to protect all students simply ignored the torture the rich kids were putting her through. She'd been outcast by her friends and now even her teachers. It was one fucked up situation.
I wasn't entirely sure what to do. It wasn't my place to step in and I wasn't even sure she'd accept my help. So I sat back and observed. I kept telling myself I would step up if she were in true physical danger, but otherwise I would remain a ghost. She'd never know I was there and I'd never admit it out loud.
The school year wrapped up and we welcomed summer in Neptune. They had closed the case on Lilly's death and people were moving on, moving forward with their lives. I had hoped that would mean they'd let Veronica back in, but I was wrong. That summer she spent most of her time locked away from the world. At first I circled her neighborhood daily, just to be sure she was ok. As the weeks went on and club business picked up, I found myself checking in on her once a week maybe. She became less of a priority for me and I too moved forward.
