Never Happened

Clink. Clink. Clink.

The noise woke Veronica up. It was a familiar noise. It was the signal Lily, Duncan, and Logan used in order to wake her up and get her to sneak out. First thought was that it was Lily, and then Veronica realized it would never be her again. Was it really only 4 days ago that they had been rocking out to the Spice Girls in this very room? And now she was gone, and they would never have another moment like that.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Veronica remembered the noise. She went to the window, to see a familiar shadow in the garden below. She put up a finger to let him know to give her a minute. She put her favorite hoody on over her pj's and headed for the door. Once outside, she quickly climbed into Logan's car, and they were off. She didn't ask where they were going. She knew. Logan usually didn't come alone. Usually Lily or Duncan or both were with him, and they would go to some party or something as equally fun. But on the rare occasion that it was just Logan, they always went to the playground just north of the old middle school. The one where they had their first real conversation. They would just sit on the swings and talk.

"How are you, Ronnie?" Logan asked quietly. She just looked at him, as if to portray that there were no words. They pulled up to the playground and headed for the swings. "I had to get out of my place. My mom is actually trying to be comforting, and my dad is just acting really strange. I guess they just don't know what to say to me." He almost looked like he was about to cry. Veronica leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

He was a bit surprised by this, but there was nothing wrong with it. Duncan had broken up with her a couple of weeks ago. Lily was gone now, and they had been broken up when it happened…

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Veronica finally spoke. "Tonight, Wannabe by the Spice Girls came on the radio and I reached for my phone to call her. I had part of the number dialed, and then I realized what I was doing. It's just weird thinking that I'm never going to be able to even talk to her again."

She started to cry and Logan put an arm around her. "I know what you mean. When I got into my car tonight, I headed for her place. A part of me thought that I was just going to sneak in for a few stolen moments with her, and then it hit me too. She's gone, she really is."

They leaned into each other's embrace for a second, and then Logan got up and started pushing Veronica's swing lightly. "She would laugh at us if she saw us right now. At a playground… she'd tell us to go find a wild party and have some real fun." Veronica laughed at that. "Yeah, she once told me that the only real fun is the kind that our parents would disapprove of."

Logan stopped the swing. "Nah, I say we can still have old fashioned fun." He hit her on the arm. "Tag, you're it." And he took off. He wanted to keep the mood light. He didn't want the conversation to get any more depressing. Veronica chased him around the playground and finally caught him right as he was about to go down a huge tunnel slide. He grabbed her and pulled her into the slide, and down they went. They ended up at the bottom of the slide, Logan on top of Veronica. He slowly moved a piece of hair from her face. The moment was perfect, and he couldn't resist. He leaned down and kissed her.

She hesitated at first, a thought of Lily crossing her mind. But it was the first thing that's made her feel even the slightest bit better since earlier that week when she had seen Lily lying there, stiff as a… no, don't think about it.

She kissed Logan back.

Later that night, they could be found lying on the grass, staring at the stars. It never had gone farther than a few kisses and some cuddling. Neither of them was really looking for that right now. It was just some comfort they happened to find.

"Are your parents acting weird around you too?" Logan asked lightly. He just couldn't get it out of his mind the way his dad had been acting. "Not really," Veronica began. "My mom's been drinking quite a bit, and my dad's been busy working." Logan nodded. "He better be. Nobody can rest easy until they know who killed her." Veronica looked at him. "Yeah, which will be soon enough. Mr. Kane can't keep secrets very well and…"

"What?" Logan interrupted, sitting up straight. "What? He thinks Mr. Kane had something to do with it? Come on Ronnie, you don't really believe that, do you?"

Veronica sat up at that too. "My dad has his reasons, Logan. I don't want to believe it, but my dad must know something. Mr. Kane must…"

"No, you're wrong. Veronica, their parents haven't always been the greatest, but they would never hurt them. You know that."

"Do I?" She asked, unsure. "Before that day, I didn't think anyone would ever kill a teenage girl. Now I don't know who to trust."

"You're dad's wrong. Trust me."

"I can't, Logan. I've got to believe that my dad can find Lily's killer. Even if that happens to be Mr. Kane."

"No. Veronica, you can't. Her parents just wouldn't do that. You can't let your dad destroy the Kane family. They're already shattered. Don't you see that?"

"Logan, I…"

"Choose." He said coldly.

"Choose what?" Veronica asked, her voice cracking.

"You can stick by me and Duncan and all of us who will defend Mr. Kane, or you can stick by your father and continue destroying this family who's been through hell. Pick now."

"Logan, I'm not picking. My dad is family. I'm going to be on his side no matter what. I just want justice."

Logan shook his head. "Veronica, tell me right now that you'll be on our side, or I never want to talk to you again." This was killing Logan. He loved this girl. Not necessarily in a relationship type of way, but they had gotten to be really good friends. He couldn't believe that his friend was going down this path, that she could really believe Mr. Kane would do such a thing.

"I can't." she said. Veronica couldn't believe it was coming down to this. After everything, it looks like she might lose more people that are important to her. But, it was her dad. Her father was ALWAYS on her side, and she needed to be on his side.

"Fine," Logan said, a look of anger crossing his face. "Have it your way." He got up and walked away. A minute later his car peeled out of the parking lot, leaving Veronica there, alone, to find her own way home.

- End -