An autumn breeze rustled the leaves on the on sidewalk as a petite blonde walked toward the establishment on the corner of Grace and Front. The teenage girl pulled her denim jacket closer to her body before stepping through the front door of Karen's Café. The bell on the door signaled her arrival to those working behind the counter. The dark-haired woman behind the counter waved her over to which she quickly responded by sitting on stool in front of the woman.

"Good morning, Veronica," the woman said with a smile.

"Morning, Aunt Karen," Veronica said.

Knowing Veronica's usual; Karen placed a chocolate chip muffin on a plate and slid it in front of her niece. The teenager thanked her aunt before taking a bite into the large muffin. Karen moved to wipe up a coffee spill on the counter as Veronica continued to eat. The bell rang again and Veronica's head whipped around to see if it might be…but her hopes were dashed by an old man. She didn't know why, but whenever she was here she hoped…or expected her to come walking through the door. And every time she was disappointed.

"You haven't heard from her have you?" Veronica asked.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I haven't," Karen sighed. "I know how much you must miss her."

"Yeah, well it's not like I can do anything about it," Veronica muttered.

"She loved you very much, Veronica," Karen said. "Don't forget that."

"Must not have loved me enough seeing as she abandoned me," Veronica scoffed.

"I'm just as clueless as you about the situation, but I know if there's one thing I knew about my sister it was that she loved her little girl," Karen responded as she leaned across the counter to squeeze Veronica's hand.

Veronica sighed and squeezed her Aunt Karen's hand back with a smile on her face. There were only a few people who got to see her with her guard down and Karen was one of them. Karen Roe, was Lianne Mars' younger sister by eight years. Despite the age difference in the two women, Veronica had always considered her mother to be quite close with her aunt. Perhaps it was because both women had been pregnant around the same time. Lianne had Veronica and Karen had Lucas. Veronica had always thought that their small families were so close. Just apparently not close enough to tell her own sister why she walked out on her family or where she was going. The bell rang once more and Veronica turned around to see a blonde teenage boy walk into the café and smile at her before pulling his ear buds out of his ears.

"Hey," Lucas said.

"Hey Luke," Veronica said with a nod of her head.

She and her cousin weren't close by any means. Sure they got along, but they didn't quite run in the same circles at school. Well, at least they hadn't. For a while, Veronica had been part of the exclusive popular crowd while Lucas had been a loner. Then when Lily Kane, Veronica's best friend died, she had gotten run out of the 09ers. At this point in her high school career, she was just as much a loner as her cousin. Only, people went of their way to show hatred for Veronica because of how her father, the former Tree Hill Sheriff, had handled the murder investigation. Lucas on the other hand was somewhat a wallflower at Tree Hill High. There were days when Veronica would kill to trade places with him; but then again, his life was just as complicated.

Lucas waved his hand in front of Veronica's face which caused her to snap out of her reverie. He nodded his head toward the door which she easily interpreted: it was time to go to school. Veronica…well more like Veronica's dad…had offered to give Lucas rides to school whenever he so desired. Today was one of those mornings, not that it being the first day of school had anything to do with it. Veronica stood up and pulled some money out of her purse for the muffin as Lucas leaned across the counter to give his mom a kiss on the cheek before they left. The two teenagers walked across the café and outside onto the sidewalk when a dull roar began to grow louder and louder. Lucas and Veronica were about halfway to her car when a gang of motorcycles drove by them, headed in the same direction they would soon be going. The group was led by Eli "Weevil" Navarro and they were rarely up to anything kind and decent.

"That can't be good," Lucas commented.

"Just be thankful that it's not you they're after," Veronica said.

"You do remember what they did to my friend Jimmy last year, don't you?" Lucas asked.

"What they do to everyone else? Duct taped him to the flagpole," Veronica answered.

Veronica attempted to look at her cousin over the roof over her car. Lucas looked back to her with a hint of anger visible; but he said nothing as he opened the passenger side door. Okay, so that probably wasn't the best thing to say to her cousin nor was it probably the right way to say it. The old Veronica wouldn't have been so crass; but then again, she wasn't the old Veronica anymore. There was no way she could remain the old Veronica with her best friend dead, her mother MIA, her boyfriend currently an ex, and most of the Tree Hill student body ostracizing her. Veronica slipped into her car and put the key in the ignition before driving away. Lucas had his class schedule out and was looking over it.

"You looking forward for junior year?" Lucas asked.

"If by looking forward you mean looking forward to it being over, then yes," Veronica responded sarcastically.

"You're always welcome so hang with me, Haley, and the Rivercourt boys," Lucas said.

"I think I'll pass," Veronica retorted.

"I know that your old friends…" Lucas started.

"Luke, just stop," Veronica groaned. "I really don't want to start the school year pissed off at you too."

"Fine," Lucas said with his hands up defensively. "Just wanted you to know you have options."

"I appreciate the gesture, I do," Veronica said. "But I think you already have enough issues without adding mine on top of your own."

Lucas nodded his head. The rest of the car ride proved to be silent. When Veronica pulled into the parking lot of Tree Hill High School, it appeared to be nothing more than just a normal day of school. The jocks were congregated together eyeing up the freshmen; the stoners were getting high for a day of hell. Even though a whole summer had passed since the last school year, nothing seemed to have changed. Sure there were a few new faces, but that didn't change the identities people assumed inside the walls of the school building. Veronica was about to pull into a parking spot when a black Comet pulled out in front of her and snatched the spot before she could get it.

"Really?" Veronica shouted. "Really?"

Veronica slammed on her horn which caused the brunette passenger to turn around. Brooke Davis looked to Veronica and pretended to smile sweetly and wave while the driver, Peyton Sawyer just looked moody as usual. Veronica sat there for a moment and shook her head as Lucas peered out her window to admire the legs protruding from the car. Guys. Always looking for a piece of ass. It wasn't a secret that Lucas had a crush on Peyton and had one since before she could even remember. But it wasn't like Lucas could really do anything about it because, well, it was complicated. Lucas's half-brother, Nathan, happened to be dating the curly blonde. Speak of the devil. Nathan Scott swaggered over to Peyton and planted a wet one right on her lips. Veronica could swear she saw Lucas cringe.

"Move," Nathan shouted to them. "Before I smash in a headlight."

Veronica shook her head and continued to drive down the parking lot before pulling into a stall. Both teenagers stepped outside of the car, neither quite ready for the first day of school. Veronica slung her backpack over her shoulders and trudged across the parking lot to her personal hell for seven hours a day. She rolled her eyes as the parking spot stealer looped her arm through a brunette girl's arm and the dark-haired boy jogged over to the basketball jocks. Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer. Funny how things changed. Veronica had once been on the cheerleading squad with them. They often attended the same parties. They weren't close by any means; but until Lily had died, they had always been amiable. But now, if they ignorance was any sign of things: Veronica Mars was nonexistent to them. Which she supposed was better than being taunted by them at every corner. No, that job was left to… Veronica squinted at the quad, seeing a group of people gathering around the flag pole. While most times, she would just walk-on by; she had to admit that her curiosity to figure things out was getting the better of her. But, her height…or lack thereof didn't help her get a decent view of what was going on. So, she had to push her way through the crowd, Lucas following close behind her.

Once through the crowd, her eyes focused on the boy, whom she didn't know, duct taped to the flagpole. The student body seemed to be getting a kick out of this. Veronica looked through the crowd. She easily spotted Tim Smith and Dick Casablancas, probably two of the most immature guys in the junior class, making jokes to their respective friends. She froze for a moment when her eyes caught her ex-boyfriend Duncan Kane's eyes; but he quickly turned to his friend Logan Echolls. While she was frozen, Lucas had walked up to the flagpole and attempted to start pulling at the duct tape. But the kid was taped up there pretty good and Lucas was hardly making a dent into the tape. With a groan, Veronica walked up the flagpole as well and pulled out her pocket knife before starting to cut at the tape. When the boy was finally down, Veronica shooed the crowd away. It was at that moment, that Veronica saw Haley James running toward Lucas. She was pretty sure that those two could handle the situation, so she walked away to her homeroom.