Logan was slumped in his chair, chin resting on the hand that wasn't holding the nearly empty bottle of Jack Daniels. He watched as people slowly walked past the large window, absentmindedly noting how different this place was from Neptune. Everything seemed less rushed and far less secretive. In Neptune, you could practically feel the secrets running through the tension charged air. Here, everyone was so open and cheerful. It was quieter, too. Or at least it had been until those two women had come in. The older one wouldn't shut up. She had breezed in and demanded cup after cup of coffee. At one point, the guy behind the counter refused to give her anymore. That only caused the woman to get even louder. Logan tried to block her out, but that meant thinking, something Logan had been avoiding since he arrived in town.
He had left Neptune as soon as Weevil and his biker buddies finished their beating on the bridge. Not even stopping home for clothes, he'd just blown out of there, not quite sure where he was heading, and this was where he ended up. Since then, he had heard the news about his father and run his cell phone over with his X-Terra. The damn thing wouldn't stop ringing. Now he spent his days in this place, dealing with that damn woman's voice.
"Oy with the poodles already!" the woman yelled before she and the girl Logan figured was her daughter cracked up. The man - Duke or something dumb like that – just shook his head and ignored her. After a minute, her daughter said something inaudible and left, bidding Duke or whatever his name is goodbye. Her mother just kept talking animatedly and every word gnawed on his alcohol-affected nerves.
"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Logan muttered. "Just give her the coffee and maybe she'll shut the hell up!" he said loudly. Glancing over at the woman, he felt a twisted pleasure in seeing her mouth hanging open, speechless.
Duke opened his mouth to tell him off but was interrupted by the roar of several motorcycles zooming by. Everyone in the small diner stared as the group as they pulled to a stop in the center of town. Everyone except Logan, that is.
"And the fun just keeps a comin'," Logan muttered, pressing a button on his watch before downing the rest of the Jack Daniels and pulling another bottle from a small brown paper bag.
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Veronica hopped off the back of Weevil's motorcycle and whipped the helmet off, allowing the soft breeze to blow through her matted hair. She surveyed her surroundings slowly. She was here for one thing and one thing only: Logan. After a few weeks, she had tracked him to the sleepy little town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. A few well-placed smiles and head tilt later, Weevil agreed to take her there, but on the condition that his boys got to come along. He had a thing about small towns.
A pompous-looking man with graying hair was rushing up to the group and Veronica watched with amusement as he took in the group with barely concealed distaste and fear.
"My name is Taylor Doose. Can I help you?" the man asked. He directed his question to Veronica, probably because she looked the least threatening. The guy obviously wanted to be rid of them as soon as possible.
She smiled sweetly. "Maybe. We're looking for someone. He only got here a few days ago."
Taylor answered here immediately. "I think I know the person you're talking about."
"But I haven't even given you his description yet," Veronica pointed out incredulously.
With a patronizing look, Taylor explained, "We don't get many new people here. It's not like…"
"California," Veronica supplied, enjoying the bug eyed look on Taylor's face when he heard how far they had come.
He added, "Besides, this young man has certainly made his presence known. He's quite rude, actually. And he has an affinity for alcohol. Does that sound like the person you're looking for?"
"That's the one," Veronica sang out wryly.
"Yes, well, I'm not quite sure why you would want to find him," Taylor started.
Weevil broke in impatiently. "Yeah, I'm not so sure why she does, either, but here we are so if you'd point the way?"
Taylor looked taken aback, but he pointed toward a nearby building. "He usually spends the day in there."
"Thanks," Veronica said. She indicated towards Weevil. "You come with me. Tell your boys to watch the diner and to be ready when he tries to run off." Then she set off towards the diner, Weevil close behind. His bikers followed her directions because in all honesty, she kind of scared them. A speechless Taylor stared after them before scurrying back to his market to spread the word about these new visitors.
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Luke stormed over to that bratty kid. He had been seated at the table near the window for almost three days now and he had put up with it. The guy obviously had some issues, so Luke had let him stay. Now he had insulted Lorelai and the Mr. Sorta-Nice Guy was gone.
"Listen, kid," he said loudly. "I don't know who you are or why you're sittin' in my diner, but you don't get to insult Lorelai like that. You understand?"
The kid gave him a challenging look, daring him to do something.
"Get out," Luke ordered.
"You know what? I'm fine right here, but thanks for the offer."
Luke was about ready to punch the jerk when the bell on the door rang loudly. He did a double take when he saw a bald teenager walk in with a cute little blonde. The guy strode purposefully towards the punk in front of him while the blonde stayed back. Luke noticed for the first time that the kid had a huge fading bruise under his left eye. What the hell was going on here?
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Logan saw Weevil enter the diner out of the corner of his eye, but refused to look up. A moment later, a shadow fell across the table and Logan pressed the button on his watch again. "Hey there, Paco." He glanced up at Weevil for a second before turning back to his bottle and chugging it. Just as the last mouthful was about to pour out, Weevil grabbed him by the shirt. The alcohol spilled all down Logan's front.
"C'mon, white boy," Weevil said.
"What the hell is your problem, man?" Logan screamed, pushing Weevil away.
"Logan, for once in your life, don't be stupid," a female voice called from over by the door.
Logan looked over at Veronica and did an exaggerated double take. "Ronnie! Great to see ya! It took you a whole ten minutes to find out where I was. Losing your touch, I see. So, you here to brag?"
"No," Veronica told him, coming closer. "We're here to bring your sorry ass home."
"Sorry you wasted your time, but I'm not going back," Logan informed them.
Weevil tightened his grip on Logan's shirt. He would love nothing more than to pound the jerk into a pulp, but Veronica wanted him back in Neptune so he was going to try to keep himself in check, 'try' being the operative word.
Veronica stepped forward and put a restraining hand on Weevil's arm. "I got this," she told him and he loosened his grip.
Logan's eyes darted from Veronica to Weevil and back to Veronica. "Aww," he said, voice dripping with mock sweetness. "Are you two dating?" Then he added in a very different tone, one sharper than a double edged sword, "No wonder people couldn't figure out that you and Lilly weren't sisters. You're so alike. Sluts, the both of you."
Veronica reeled back like she had been slapped. Everyone inside and outside of the diner was watching with undisguised curiosity.
At Logan's comment, Weevil told himself, 'Screw it,' and stopped trying not to beat the crap out of Logan. He launched himself at Logan, fists flying. Logan was caught off guard and he toppled backwards. The two crashed through Luke's window.
"Stop!" Veronica yelled.
Weevil heard her, but ignored her call.
"Weevil," she said warningly.
Reluctantly, he landed one last punch in Logan's gut and pulled himself off Logan.
"Hey, you have to pay for that window!" Luke yelled, fuming with anger.
The three Neptune teens ignored him. Logan hauled himself to his feet. "Thanks, V."
Veronica was staring at him with contempt. Her lip curled as she told him, "I didn't do it for you. I did it for me, so I could do this." Before Logan had time to process what she had said, Veronica lifted her fist in the air and punched Logan square in the mouth. "Once a jackass, always a jackass." She turned on her heel and stormed off, leaving an incredulous Logan staring after her, as well as the shocked people of Stars Hollow.
"Who's gonna pay for my window?" Luke yelled.
Logan threw a few hundred dollar bills at him and walked off, shaking his head and rubbing his jaw. "Ow," he muttered.