Disclaimer - I own nothing.
/runs off hugging a laptop
Gripping the steering wheel as her car neared its destination, Veronica Mars truly though she was going crazy. After all, here she was, now parked in the '09er district. Of her own, free will. No case, no pay-off, no invitation, just little ol' Veronica trying to check up on her so called "friend". She looked at the giant Echolls mansion on her right, debating whether or not she was crazy to be here. Taking a deep breath, she decided to go ahead with her mission. After all, Veronica Mars doesn't get scared.
To a stranger's eyes, the entire thing seemed strange. After all, it was Logan Echolls who made sure Veronica's life was hell. It was Logan Echolls that spread the worst rumors about Veronica. It was Logan Echolls who made sure Veronica was no longer the same, sweet, innocent girl she was before.
But when push came to shove, there she was, standing outside the giant mansion, getting ready to knock on the proverbial door to hell.
Back in her Fab Four days, she often visited the mansion, and after a week of knowing Logan, he had given her the code to the gates. For a split second, she actually considered using it. However, after the spotted Logan's car in the driveway, she decided that it would be too much. They were no longer friends, and she no longer had the right to just pop by.
So, Veronica simply pressed the button that alerted the inhabitants that someone was there, and awaiting a response. Mere seconds later, she was almost run over by a very distraught Lynn Echolls, who looked at Veronica Mars as if she suddenly developed genie powers.
"Oh god, Veronica, you're heaven sent!" the woman Veronica used to know so well wrapped her in a giant hug, leaving Veronica speechless. "The cab people had said it will take them at least ten, maybe fifteen minutes to get here, but dear, you just have to drive me, I'm begging you, I can't wait that long!"
Veronica was stunned. After all, it wasn't often that you found your arch-nemesis' mother begging you to chauffer her around. Dumfounded, Veronica merely nodded, leading Lynn to her car. Seconds later, a still-frantic Lynn was urging Veronica to break every speed limit, and get her there as soon as possible.
"Mrs Echolls, where exactly am I taking you?" Veronica finally asked, not wanting to cause the woman any distress by taking a wrong turn.
Lynn looked shocked. "The hospital. I thought you were at the house to check up on Logan."
They arrived at the hospital in minutes.
She told herself it was obvious. Since Logan was her friend for a long time, of course she'd care if he was in the hospital. If it was Duncan, she'd be here too. But then again, she had loved Duncan. She and Logan were friends, at best. And yet, there she was, following a frantic woman, dying to know exactly what happened.
Probably something silly, Veronica told herself. Chances are, he's just being a diva. Broke a nail while surfing... But doubts still haunted her. The reasons for her being outside the Echolls house was still too fresh in her mind, leaving her just as scared as she had been when she woke up.
It takes a lot to scare Veronica Mars, the tough, kick-ass version. She had seen it all. She had stood up to a gang. She had followed people through all kinds of sleazy places. But when she saw Logan's face, his body lying barely breathing on cold, hard tile, she had woken up screaming. The same feeling of dread and fear hadn't left her after she had eaten a carton of ice-cream, and by the time morning rolled around, she had decided it would be easier to explain to Logan why she was there then to remain seating at her house, uncertainty clouding her mind.
She followed Lynn through the white halls, surprised by the woman's calm exterior. She had hidden away the frantic mother that Veronica saw just minutes earlier, and now appeared calm, cool, and collected. It made Veronica shudder. As they reached the room, Veronica's knees almost gave out underneath her.
Logan looked terrible. His face had been bruised badly, cuts appearing as often as freckles would. His right eye was swollen, and the white hospital gown only made his skin seem paler. His heart was hooked up to a monitor that rang out in rhythmic beeping, creating a disturbance in the silent room. An IV was slowly dripping into his arm, and other machines Veronica didn't recognize must've been doing some other function she was unaware of. His left arm was covered in a cast, and bruises were visible between the gown and the white material.
He looked worse than her twisted imagination could have ever created.
Veronica remained in the doorway while Lynn quickly took her place by her son's bedside. She took his arm in hers, and a silent tear rolled down her cheek.
Finally, Veronica found her voice among the almost silence in the room. "Mrs Echolls, what happened to him?"
She almost gave up on hearing an answer before Lynn answered. "It's still just Lynn, sweetie. I don't really know, I'm sure Aaron will tell us soon. I'm surprised he's not here right now."
Veronica wasn't satisfied by the answer in the least, so she kept prodding. "Was it surfing? Or a car accident?"
Lynn looked up to meet Veronica's eyes, surprise in her eyes. She hesitated for a moment, before filling in the blonde on everything she knew. "I only got home today from visiting with my friends in France. Aaron left a message saying Logan was here, and it was bad."
As if by magic, Aaron Echolls appeared in the doorway, forcing Veronica inside the room, which was feeling much more crowded that it really was. She retreated to the other side of the bed, sitting down beside Logan. True, he has been a jackass to her lately, but seeing her ex-friend looking so terrible resurfaced the love old-Veronica had for her friend.
After all, just because someone decides to stop caring about you, doesn't mean you stop caring about them.
"Mr. Echolls, what happened to Logan?" she asked, her growing concern making her voice louder. "I thought Logan was in Aspen for the week?"
The one swell thing about Neptune High is that rumors and information about the '09ers spread like wildfire. After Logan Echolls missed the first two periods, almost the whole school was aware that he was going to be out for the week, snowboarding in Aspen for some reason or other.
Aaron sat down beside his wife, looking worried and tired. "I told the school that so that the reporters wouldn't swarm the hospital," he explained, looking sincere as a button. And yet, something in Veronica's gut bugged her. "I'm not sure what happened to him, I was out for most of the day, and by the time I got home, he was lying on the floor, cut up and bleeding."
"What do the doctors say?" asked Lynn, her eyes not meeting her husband's, but rather remaining on her son.
"He had some internal bleeding, but he should be fine," Aaron carefully fixed the blankets over his son. "The doctors say that he just needs to wake up, they won't know anything more concrete till then."
As silence returned to the room, Veronica felt wrong, somehow out of place. Logan's friends should be here. Duncan should be here, Dick, Madison, and other rich, spoiled '09ers. Not her, not Veronica Mars, the girl who hates Logan Echolls, and whom Logan Echolls hates right back.
"So, Veronica," Aaron broke the silence, looking up at the young blonde. "We haven't seen a whole lot of you at the house lately."
Not since Lilly's death and my dad's accusations, she added mentally, unsure of how to answer the not-asked question. "Logan and I had a sort of a falling out lately, I guess."
"Veronica, honey, what are you talking about?" Lynn stood up, walking over to sit next to the young blonde. "Logan always spoke highly of you, especially after..." She trailed off, unable to say the words that would surely remind Veronica of the past. "He would jump to your father's and your defense if I ever brought up what had been happening."
Now Veronica was truly confused. Logan Echolls, her true arch-nemesis, was trying to be her knight-in-shinning-armor, but only to the older generation of Neptune? Next thing you know, Lynn will be telling her that Logan wanted to invite her for dinner, but lost her number. She just didn't buy it.
She paused, trying to find a way out. "I know this must be a horrible time, and you guys should be with Logan, so I'll just go."
"Nonsense," Lynn stopped the blonde from standing up. "You just watch, the moment Logan wakes up, he's going to be demanding to see you."
Sneaking past the nurses for the 3rd time this week, Veronica carefully took her seat beside Logan's bed. She didn't want to impose on Lynn and Aaron's time with their son, so she kept her daily visits to a minimum. However, at night time, when visiting hours were long over, and both of his parents were at home trying to rest, she would sneak into his room to sit with Logan. Sometimes, her visits ended with her falling asleep and barely making it to school on time. Others, the nurses would kick her out. But, if she managed to convince them to let her stay, she would try to stay as long as she could while still getting enough sleep for the school day to come.
Coffee was her one true friend that week.
Her other BFF, none other than Wallace, couldn't understand why she had been visiting Logan so much. Truth be told, she herself had no idea. They had been enemies for a while, but before that, they were friends. Perhaps they weren't close, but Veronica trusted Logan, and whatever kind of friendship they had, it worked for them. He didn't know her girly secrets, nor did they braid each other's hair back then. If Veronica ever needed someone to just listen to her, or just to occupy the same space, Logan would always be there, without asking or prodding.
"I don't know what I'm doing here," she whispered to the man lying in front of her. Logan had been sleeping for three days now, and the doctors were starting to get nervous. "Logan, you have to come back to me. Who else is going to make my life hell if you're not there? All of the '09ers brains put together wouldn't come up with just one of your witty pranks."
She let the silence sink in before continuing. "You need to explain everything to me, Logan. I mean, according to your mom, you're my knight in shining armor, ready to defend my honor. She told me how you beat up some guy just for saying he slept with me. And yet, you're off making sure my life's hell.
I can't stay long tonight, my dad's supposed to make it home before it's too late so we can have some daddy-daughter time." She leaned over to quickly give him a kiss on the forehead. "You have to get better, you obligatory jackass, you can't avoid me forever."
Veronica Mars cursed Neptune High once again. By the time third period rolled around, she had gotten a call from none other than Aaron Echolls, informing her that Logan had finally woken up. She spent most of the period debating whether or not she should leave class to go see him. By the time lunch rolled around, Veronica was fidgeting worse than an addict on cocaine withdrawal.
"Dam girl," Wallace through his books down on the table, ripping open a bag of chips he brought with him. "What the hell's eating you up?"
"He's awake," she answered simply, but it was enough for Wallace to understand everything.
"So is the LeBaron broken? Do you need me to take you? Go, girl! Go! Shoo!"
She looked at Wallace, a grin on her face. "Thanks, BFF. You really are the bestest. Mind covering for me?"
"I'm thinking lots of snicker doodles. And I get to pick the movies for the next month."
True, Wallace didn't exactly know what was going on with Veronica, and her newfound interest in Logan Echolls. As far as he knew, they were enemies. But she was his best friend, and he was willing to trust her to know what she's doing.
When Veronica got to the hospital, her courage seemed to fade away. Did she really want to know the answers that would surely complicate their lives? After all, Logan wouldn't just up and change his ways, surely he knew what he was doing. Maybe him being a jackass were his true feelings, and Lynn just misunderstood him. Maybe he really did hate her. She made her way to the room slowly, Just feet before the door, she stopped all together.
What the hell am I doing? She asked herself. There's no way in hell Logan wants to see me. He hates me now. This isn't before, Duncan should be here. Or Dick, or Madison. God, I'm so stupid. Slowly, she leaned up against the wall, sitting down. It might seem silly, but it finally hit her. She was trying to face the situation like she would've before Lilly's death. She would've sat by the friend's side, because that's what friends do. But now, Veronica didn't belong here, the same way she belonged in class, trying to slave away to go to Stanford.
She would've probably turned to leave if Lynn hadn't noticed her.
"I was just about to call you. Logan's awake, and he was asking for you when he heard you stopped by" She met Veronica's gaze. "Sweetie, I know things have been strange between you and Logan, but he's a good boy. He's lost his way, but in his heart, he just has too much to deal with. Now," Lynn got up, offering Veronica her hand. "Get in there, and face my boy. He's not that scary."
Veronica couldn't help but smile. She stood up, and Lynn watched her enter the room before walking away, giving the kids some privacy.
When she entered the room, Logan seemed to be asleep. At least, he pretended to be. That was just fine with Veronica. She had no idea what to say. After all, what does one say when visiting the guy who made your high-school existence hell?
"I'm sorry."
Veronica did a double take. Well, I guess whatever drugs he's on are mighty strong.
Logan didn't stop there. "Ronnie, I didn't mean anything I did. I hope you know that. It was just..."
He trailed off, but it still got to her. "It's just what? Fun to make fun of the lowly poor people beneath you?"
He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "I didn't want to lose you, Ronnie."
"Right, and you did this by insuring I couldn't co inhabit the same crowd as you. You really aren't the brightest bulb in the bunch."
"Veronica," he looked at her, his eyes pleading for something. "Me and you, we were never that close. I thought that after Lilly's death, we would just... disappear. But if we fought, well... It gave me a reason to go out of my way to see you. Or to talk to you. Or to be interested in your life. Fighting is still interaction, Ronnie. And after a while, I just couldn't stop."
She was gawking. Like a fish, her mouth swung open and shut, and she couldn't understand. True, this had to be the most twisted, sick way of keeping in touch she's ever heard, but it was very Logan.
"Logan, we were friends."
He looked at her like she just grew little antennas in her head. "Only when something was wrong. We'd never hang just the two of us Ronnie. It was always you and Duncan, me and Lilly. And you and Lilly, me and Duncan. Never Ronnie and Logan."
"You could've said something, Logan..."
"I didn't want your pity."
She did a double take, "So you wanted me to hate you? Come on Logan, your pranks weren't exactly family friendly. What was the ultimate goal of your little plan, for me to despise you more than life itself?"
"'Hate is such a luxurious emotion, it can only be spent on someone we love,'" he quoted, but Veronica didn't seem amused. "I'm sorry."
"Good. You should be," she replied, the icy tone in her voice obvious even to the most casual observer. "Now, Logan, what the hell happened to you? You've been out for three days."
"Bad day of surfing mixed in with a slip down the stairs at La Casa de Echolls," Veronica glanced at him, doubt in her eyes. "Bad karma, Ronnie. It happens."
She scoffed, not in the least bit buying it. "Logan, cut the bull. What the hell really happened to you?"
"Geez-Louise, am I getting your panties in a bunch?" He flashed her a smile. "Or perhaps they're doing the salsa..."
She sighed, sitting down on his bed defeated. She just didn't understand it. She didn't understand him.
He turned away, suddenly aware of their proximity. "Ronnie, please don't make this into a case. Just... Just drop it, alright? Things are going to go back to normal in a few, and I'm going to be all patched up. The doctors say I can leave in a couple of days."
She froze again. Normal. Which normal did Logan mean? The one where they hated each other and bit each other's heads off? Or the other, distant normal. The one that can no longer exist. The one where two links were missing, and replacing them would be impossible.
"I don't think I can do that, Logan," she answered carefully, trying to keep her voice even. Truth is, she really wanted to figure out what happened. She wanted to take the bastard who hurt Logan and sic Back-Up on them. "The doctors say it was a close call. You could've died. Doesn't that bother you?"
He looked her in the eye, his gaze shifting to one he often used when they were squabbling away. "You hate me, remember? One less jackass in the world."
"Don't turn it into that, Logan. I might dislike you a lot at times, but when it counts, we used to be friends. Good friends, regardless of what you think. I used to trust you, which is a lot more then I can say for a lot of other people."
"The past is the past Ronnie," he answered quietly. "And the future's filled with nasty."
Veronica growled, causing Logan to look at her like she's lost all her marbles. "Logan, you could've died! Why can't you stop being a stubborn ass for two seconds and just let me help you?"
"I'm not a charity case, Veronica."
"I can't do this." She grabbed her stuff, but stopped before she got to the door. "Call me when you've come to your senses. I won't stand around and wait for whoever did this to you to do it again."
Veronica didn't see him for two days after that. However, on the final third day, just as she had decided to try to get through to the hardhead, she noticed him walking the halls of Neptune High, Dick on his left, and Madison on his right.
To Veronica's surprise, Logan didn't ignore her, or throw a nasty comment about her mom in her face. In fact, he stopped right in front of her, getting ready to talk.
"Veronica..." Madison Sinclair piped in from behind, interrupting Logan's attempt to talk. "Send any pictures to Duncan lately? Perhaps we can put 'em in the yearbook?"
Logan sharply turned to Madison, giving her a death glare Veronica herself often received. Turning back to Veronica, his face was back to being in a goofy grin only Logan Echolls possessed. "Please excuse Madison, she forgot her pills today."
Veronica's jaw hit the floor with the rest of the 09ers. Quickly, Logan excused himself, asking Dick to go ahead, and that he'd see him in class.
"Veronica, can we talk please?"
She nodded, still dumbstruck. She regained her senses, and led him into the girl's bathroom as the bell for 3rd period rang.
"Welcome to my office," she said, jumping up onto the counter. "Have you found your senses and come to ask me for help?"
"Close," he said, walking to the tiny blonde. "I'm having a gathering at my house tonight. I would like for you to come."
The shocked look must've been glued to her face, because by the when she found Wallace at their usual table, the first thing he said to her was "What happened?"
"I think it's an evil plot to embarrass me or something but... Logan Echolls invited me to a party at their house. "
"Veronica Mars, social piranha by day, '09er by night..." he laughed, amused by his friend's obvious shock. "You should go, Veronica. I hear those things are really fun."
"You're invited too, Wallace. According to Logan, I can bring the whole damn school if I wanted to."
"So, what are we waiting for V?" asked Wallace. "I've got your back, we can handle a few little '09ers."
She really was curious to see why Logan invited her. Was he trying to turn over a new leaf? Was he going to just bury and ignore everything that's happened, and try to be friends again? And if it was a ploy to humiliate her some more, she can always get satisfaction out of ruining his plans. With Wallace there for back up, they'd probably end up turning it back on Logan.
"You can't leave me alone there, Wallace," she said seriously, giving her best friend a look that could only mean she meant business. "And, if asked, you have to help me snoop."
"Deal."
It was loud, to say the least. By the time Wallace was able to get Veronica to actually leave the apartment (or car, the second time around), it was already ten. The party was already blasting away, leaving the Echolls' mansion to be shaking from the base.
"Wallace, are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, not wanting to enter the mansion that used to be a third home to her. "I mean, I splurged and bought the good popcorn this week..."
"Well, well, well..." started Wallace, keeping his pace swift as the neared the open doors. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that Veronica Mars was afraid of a little group of '09ers. Pinch me, 'cause hell just frozen over."
She looked at her BFF, "Me, scared? Never, Wally, never."
Veronica put on a brave face, and marched into the open doors of the house.
She managed to stick to Wallace for a good hour before she let him roam the party. By then, almost the entire population of the house was under some kind of influence.
She knew Wallace wasn't ready to leave yet, but sticking around the party wasn't Veronica's idea of fun. All she wanted was to crawl away into a quiet place.
It wasn't her first, second, or fiftieth visit to the mansion, so she found her way quickly, passing by her drunken classmates. She slowly pushed the door ajar, making sure no one was inside. When she felt it was safe, she jumped inside, closing the door to Logan's room behind her.
Walking inside, something caught her eye.
"Lilly," she whispered, looking at the pictures lying in the disarray. Though, to her surprise, there were pictures of all four of them, happy, carefree. "Why'd you go, Lil?"
Another picture caught Veronica's eye. She still remembered the day it was taken. For once, it was just her and Logan, hanging out around her house. They had spent the day having fun, going to the movies, and just being carefree. It was her birthday, the only one that Lily and Duncan had to miss because Celeste dragged them half way around the world. She could still remember that day. Logan knew of her love for ice-skating, and how the she'd barely skated since she was a kid. So, by means that Veronica still hasn't figured out yet, Logan froze the pool of his backyard into an ice-rink, and they spend the rest of the evening just skating, falling, and laughing. By the end of the night, he also gave her a giant penguin wrapped in a scarf and mittens, looking as cute as a button. According to Logan, he saw it in a store and it reminded him of Veronica so much that to not buy it would've been a sin.
That day became somewhat of a secret from them, one of those nice things that happened in life just because they could. She didn't think that Logan ever told Lilly, or that Duncan knew about that birthday, because for some reason, neither wanted to bring it up. It was a great day, and they wanted to keep it that way.
"I think I maxed out one of my dad's credit cards that day," a Logan-like sounding voice said from the door way. She was so caught up in the memory she didn't hear the door open. He walked further inside, sitting down on his bed. "One of the few times you and I actually got to hang out without the Kanes. I wanted to make it special."
Veronica laughed, turning around to face her frienemy. "Logan, I was fourteen. I would've been happy just swimming in the pool or going out to a movie."
"You never did care about the size of our wallets Ronnie. It's what made you the girl I'd kill for." Logan looked down.
Maybe he could blame it solely on the alcohol. Maybe it was because for the first time in years, it was just him and Veronica, talking without wanting to kill each other. But mostly, he just really needed to know.
"Ronnie, why'd you do it?"
She was about to give a quirky answer, but somehow the look on Logan's face stopped her. He looked too sincere, too open.
"Logan, what is this?" she asked, confused by the sudden talk they were having. "Is this the conversation we should've had before you axed me out of your life?"
"Veronica, you were my family," he ran his fingers through his hair, unsure of whether or not to continue. "I know we weren't that close, and you only saw me as the jackass that dated Lilly, but I considered you family. Like Lilly and Duncan. But when Duncan started to pull away, and Lilly and I broke up, I realized I was going to lose you soon. I just never expected it to be like that."
He paused, trying to find the right words. "When Lilly died, and you sided with you father, it was almost as if you stabbed me in the back Ronnie. I had no one left. You were my only family. Duncan's a ghost, Lilly's dead, and the whole house is filled with people who rank themselves by their credit card limits."
Turning around, Veronica tried her best to keep the anger out of her voice. "Logan, you forced me to pick. You couldn't deal. You made us into enemies. You insured that all bridges of friendships were burned."
"I just don't understand Ronnie," he started to twiddle his blanket with his fingers, to find some distraction from the emotional topic. Logan Echolls didn't do emotional talks. "I would side with you over my father any day, over anything. I don't understand why you'd go against Jake Kane. He loved Lilly, and you know it. Why couldn't you admit that your dad might've been wrong?"
"Dad isn't wrong, Logan," she sat down beside Logan on the bed, trying to understand the reason for this conversation. "Logan, it was never about you. I really did think of you as a friend, not Lilly's boyfriend, or Duncan's friend. I knew I could rely on you. But I needed you after Lilly passed. I didn't have anyone, the whole town turned against my father and I, but if there's anyone in the world that I'd trust with the fate of all of humanity, it's him. I trust my father's gut, I know he has his reasons. But Logan, I never wanted it to be between you and him. I thought we could move past it, I never thought you'd... You know."
He smirked, "you though I wouldn't be a stubborn jackass?"
Veronica laughed. An easy and carefree laughter that seemed to push at the wall she kept around herself. Maybe they could work this out. Maybe it was time to build new bridges. Maybe, for once, life would work itself out.