For Good (1/?)
Chapter title: Prologue – Operation: Make Veronica Mars Mine
Rating: PG-13 for this part, up to NC-17 in later chapters.
Summary: Casey always had feelings for her. But he realizes that he needs to become someone he himself can be proud of before he is worthy of her. So after he leaves high school he does just that and returns Neptune at the beginning of her sophmore year at Hearst ready for the chance he's always wanted.(Casey and Veronica CaVe)

Characters/Pairing: Veronica/Casey (mentions all VM characters at some point)
Spoilers: entire series
Word Count: 3580
Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars, Stanford, San Diego State or Henley-Putnam University. Title comes from the song, 'For Good' From Wicked and I don't own that either

Thanks to Sweetpea2100 for reading this prologue and telling me to post it.

originally supposed to be titled Casey 2.0 but Fanfiction wouldnt post the title correctly.............

A/N: this is a long prologue that sets up the fic. This chapters spans the full timeframe of the series filling you in on what Casey has been up to since we last saw him and then the fic picks up post series.

Contrary to popular belief, I did not vanish from the face of the earth after high school.

I just left Neptune and all my troubles behind.

I'd been accepted at Stanford and saw it as my chance to start over fresh; get away from my brain washing parents, my overindulged friends and my jackass reputation.

It was my chance to reinvent myself and I took it happily. And I succeeded in more ways than one.

Now I'm not saying that I cut all ties. I still kept in contact with a handful of my 09'er cohorts like Luke and occasionally Dick, Enbom and Logan. But that was about it and I didn't go home for visits.

I hadn't liked who I was and had no intention of being pulled back into that persona even if it might only be for a weekend long visit.

So that having been said, I don't know why I chose to transfer to Hearst after my sophomore year at Stanford.

Ok, no, you know what, that's a lie. I do know, I know full well my reasons and that reason came in the form of a petite, pixie blonde, who no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to forget.

She had been the first person, well besides my family members at the Collective, that ever really got to know the real me. The me, behind the money and cocky remarks.

I had developed feelings for her, and fast. I really thought there was something there, and would be for a long time.

That last night she dropped me off at the collective, I wished beyond everything else for her to come with me. Stay with me. Be with me and no one else. I had every intention of pursuing her.

But then I screwed up or is guess you could say my parents screwed up.

The brainwashing didn't take it all from me. I still had a semblance of feeling when I saw her but it was hidden under the reprogramming and couldn't get out. I always felt like there was something missing when it came to her.

By the time I was nearing graduation the brain washing was starting to wear off, I guess it just didn't take completely, and I was beginning to remember why I had turned my back on that life in the first place. I didn't see her allot, only glimpses and the occasional acknowledgement here or there but that was it. But the more the brain washing faded, the more my feelings came back.

When she came to me about the party, I was floored; I didn't know what to say to her. I wanted to talk to her more than I was willing to admit, but was so nervous that I tried to blow her off. But of course she called me on it and I found myself wanting her even more than I had months earlier.

She didn't tell me why she was asking but I got the feeling that it wasn't good. And when I remembered her trying to kiss me that night I smiled a little, because if she tried to do it again, drunk or not, I wouldn't push her away. And god, how I wished she would try.

But I let it go, pushed it from my mind and just continued trying to ignore the feelings I was feeling. And that worked great until the night of Logan's surprise party.

When those lights turned on and I saw her in that doorway with him it was like a knife to the heart. I hated him, beyond comprehension. He didn't deserve her, not even a little, especially not after what he had done to her.

I left quickly after that. I was in my car and pulling down the driveway when I saw Duncan Kane demolishing his vehicle and I couldn't help but laugh. Everywhere she went she left a trail of broken, lovelorn men in her wake and she really had no idea. Me, Duncan, even Luke and soon Logan most likely.

I almost stopped the car to help him, because damn, did I ever feel his pain. But I didn't join him, because I wanted no part of him concerning Veronica, Duncan Kane didn't deserve her either.

To be honest no one did. Not even me. That was the night that changed my mind about things. I'd become different person once, a person she had liked, a person that I had liked. And I'd become that person again, I'd make myself worthy of her, not just for her though, for myself as well.

The minute I graduated I left town. I bought an apartment near school and spent months learning the area and making new friends. Friends that knew nothing of my past, or if they did they didn't care. It was good, really good.

But after I left it was always hard for me to talk to my old friends like Dick and Logan, especially Logan. Because at first it was all about Veronica and then when she dumped his ass the mood was always so sullen. Well he was sullen at least, I was thrilled. As for Dick, well as usual he just bashed V every chance he got, which got old and frustrating for me.

That's why I started cutting back my correspondence to mostly Luke; he was going to San Diego State and was still an active member of the 09er gang, so he knew everything. And if I'm being honest, he knew more than I really wanted him to, he knew how I felt about her. He'd had similar feelings for her for awhile so he was always diplomatic when he told me about the happenings in the life of my favorite petite PI.

So through Luke I knew her every move, from the bus crash, to Duncan leaving. And every time I heard she was in trouble, or had been, my heart hurt. I wasn't keeping my hopes up, I knew there was a chance she'd never return my feelings but regardless of that I cared for her and I wanted her in my life in some way or another, so that meant she needed to survive.

When Luke told me she had been accepted to Stanford I was ecstatic. It was a sign, I just knew it. She would go to school there and we'd run into each other. She'd see the man I'd become and we'd become friends and then slowly and surely it would turn into more. I spent a month imagining different scenarios in which we'd meet or ways to make us casually meet.

I'd been so over the moon about seeing her again that when Luke told me about what happened on the roof of the Grand , that her and Logan had gotten back together and she wasn't going to Stanford after all; I went down to the liquor store bought a 5th of Jack and drank it all in the course of 4 hours. I hadn't drank in a long time, and I'd really cut back before I quit, so I ended up passed out on my living room floor.

I woke up in the hospital the next morning with Luke passed out in the chair next to my bed. When he woke up he gave me the guilt trip look I used to get from my mom and dad. Apparently when I hadn't taken the news too well he got worried, called Enbom and hopped on one of their planes to get to me ASAP. When he found me I was unresponsive and lying in a puddle of my own vomit. He called an ambulance and they'd pumped my stomach and so forth. I had alcohol poisoning and if he hadn't found me I would have been dead.

I felt like a jackass, once again.

And then he smiled at me and said. "You'll never get her if you drank yourself to death; you just need to be patient. Her and Echolls are too volatile to ever work and you're being ridicules." He stopped for a second and then continued. "She doesn't even know how you feel. For all you know she'd choose you if she did." He had a good point and I found myself wondering when he had become so astute.

He knew how I felt about her, and I guess he decided to live vicariously through me because he knew he'd never have a chance with her and that meant keeping me alive and sane. So the next thing I knew he'd transferred to Henley-Putnam University 25 minutes away in San Jose and was my new roommate.

Which I'll admit was kind of nice, there was no longer a waiting period for me when he got news of Veronica and the others and he was there to calm me down when she got hurt or did something stupid, which always made me want to run back to Neptune, declare my feelings for her and kidnap her to keep her safe from everyone including herself. But that would have been taking a page out of Logan's book and I was smarter than that.

And believe me I know how ridicules this all was. She had no idea how I felt about her and I didn't even know if she felt anything for me, not even during our short time together as friends my senior year. But I was pretty sure she had. The look on her face when I'd come back from my reprogramming had been so hurt that it had to have meant something. And to put it simply, the heart wants what the heart wants, and I wanted her, all I needed to do was wait for my chance. If I liked myself and was happy with whom I was, it would give me a better chance of her liking me.

When we ended up at the same resort as Logan in Aspen over the winter break I had a really hard time being friendly to him. I should have been happy that he broke up with her. It meant she was single and if they could stay apart then maybe I could weasel my way in. But funnily enough I was mad at him for doing it.

He was a fucking moron for giving her up and I didn't conceal those thoughts. He looked at me like I was crazy and then he seemed to realize I was right. I just wanted her to be happy; preferably with me, but if it was someone else it didn't matter, her happiness was all that mattered. I silently cursed myself though, I should have kept my mouth shut because I knew that he was going to try and get her back after that.

Fuck, smooth move Casey. And Luke agreed with me, he told me that I was going about the whole 'Make Veronica Mars Mine' thing all wrong, I wasn't supposed to tell Logan he was an idiot; I was supposed to tell him he'd done the right thing so he'd stay away. But as we all know I'd never been too good about keeping my mouth shut and to be honest it probably wouldn't have even mattered, he would have realized his mistake eventually.

The rest of the vacation was an unbelievably uncomfortable experience for me. All of these people I used to consider friends hadn't changed one bit and were still the same vapid, self-serving, pieces of shit they had always been and even Luke was beginning to see it. I'd changed, we already knew that, but that was what made us both realize that he had too. He handled that realization better than I thought he would.

But anyway I spent the rest of the vacation kicking myself for helping Logan see the error of his ways and Luke kicking me literally for kicking myself. And as the vacation began to wind down I found myself dreading the news I was sure to get once classes started again.

Well, that was until I was leaving my room one morning and happened to pass Madison walking out of Logan's room.

I was shocked, he hated her, and I knew that for a fact. But what I was even more certain of was how much Veronica hated her. If what I was pretty sure had transpired, had in fact transpired, then maybe he wasn't going to get her back after all and I hadn't sabotaged myself.

I just stood there frozen as she walked past me.

She looked pleased and when Logan came out of the room yelling at her I couldn't believe what was happening in front of me.

He'd been plastered the night before; I'd seen him wallowing in self pity over Veronica. The only reason he'd even made it to his room was because Enbom had dragged him there. So I had no idea how she had even come to be in his room at all. And boy, was he fucking pissed.

From what I could discern from all the yelling he had no real memory of what had happened other than waking up naked next to a used condom and an equally naked Madison and her paws all over him. He looked sick and I knew it wasn't just from the hangover I was sure he had, it was from the thought of having touched her, being touched by her and having seen her naked. It would make me feel sick too.

She just laughed in his face, thanked him for a good time and took off, and that's when he saw me.

He didn't say anything, but I think that was the moment that he realized how I felt about Veronica; because I'm pretty sure my face said it all and it was saying 'you're a moron Logan and now you're never gonna get her back.' I smiled before I could stop myself.

If he hadn't realized it before he did then. He just looked at me in shock, anger and embarrassment. And then he shook his head, said he didn't remember it, which I believed, that she was probably lying and nothing had happened, which I halfway believed, and that Veronica would never know, which I didn't believe at all, because I knew her better than that. She'd find out somehow, she always did and then he'd be screwed, because there was no get out of jail card for this one, even I knew that.

Logan turned away then and went back into his room. He spent the rest of the vacation in a bottle of tequila, I spent it smiling and Luke spent it rolling his eyes continuously, deeming me the luckiest son of a bitch on the face of the earth. The gods were definitely smiling down on me, I'd screwed up and they'd fixed it for me. I knew that they'd still probably get back together, but I also knew it wouldn't last, because she'd find out about his vomited inducing Madison moment and she wouldn't be able to get over it.

I was getting closer, I was nearly Casey 2.0 again and soon Veronica 2.0 would be single, completely ready to move on and I'd be there, finally the person she deserved to have in her life.

I felt terrible for Veronica having to go through it, but I still laughed for a week when I heard about Madison spilling the beans and Luke just shook his head once again claiming I was the luckiest S.O.B. on the planet. I had to agree.

I don't really know what I thought would happen after that. It's not like I thought she would just show up on my door step, she probably didn't think of me at all, ever. I knew I'd need to go to her, but I figured she'd stay single for a while at least, give me a chance to come up with more of a game plan for operation 'Make Veronica Mars Mine.'

But she didn't. It wasn't long after Logan started seeing someone new that she found someone new of her own. A nice guy, who worshipped the ground she walked on and treated her right and unfortunately this information didn't come from Luke's grapevine. No, this came from Logan himself who was kind enough to snap a picture on his phone and text it to me with a little note attached. It was short and sweet. 'I'm taking solace in the fact that he isn't you.' That was the official end of my friendship with him. The battle lines had been drawn.

The next thing I knew I'd drank half a bottle of vodka and Luke was smacking me upside the head, once again becoming the rational, uncharacteristically deep person he'd been barely a year before. Luke said that Logan felt threatened because if she could move on from him to someone so inconsequential, then he knew that I could easily steal her, and he was right. Logan was just trying to damage my confidence and try to keep me out of the game. He'd try, but he knew he'd probably never get her back, but he definitely didn't want me with her. It was time for me to finally make some progress, at least get back into her life and then work towards something more.

It was the video that sealed my school attending fate. When I saw it I lost it. Dick had forwarded it to Luke and he'd been scared to death to show it to me. I was fucking pissed and wanted to kill the kid. But I'd also be lying if I said I didn't notice how fucking incredible she looked, of course afterwards I was unbelievably ashamed by my thoughts. The video made me realize that it was only a matter of time before she would be single again and I would have the perfect timing to reappear in her life.

So I applied to Hearst as a transfer student and to my surprise so did Luke. By August we had a house in the 09er district, had successfully been able to avoid most of our friends and I was preparing myself for a chance with Veronica. So yes, I transferred to Hearst for one reason and one reason only, Veronica Mars.

I spent the first two weeks highly aware of everything and everyone around me hoping for a glimpse of her. I'd seen Logan and Dick a few times, Dick was always cool but Logan was not. He'd tried and failed to get her back, but apparently they were working well as friends. But friends or not he still didn't want to see her with me.

However Dick, apparently didn't feel the same way. He'd started dating her friend Mac and had not so subtly mentioned that Mac and her roommate Parker were throwing a party and Veronica was sure to be there. I should have been surprised that he knew my intentions but I wasn't, Logan had probably mentioned his disdain when it came to me.

So Luke and I went to the party.

The minute I walked in and Dick introduced us, Parker was all over me. I kept walking away, pawning her off on Luke, doing anything I could to show my disinterest but nothing worked. And then Veronica walked in and I couldn't take my eyes off of her, she looked even better than I remembered. And Parker must have noticed because all I heard was a loud huff and a frustrated. "Of course, another Veronica Mars fan club member." I felt like turning to her and telling her that I wasn't just a member, that I was the fucking president, but I didn't. That would be too mean and the next thing I knew she was all over Luke anyways. He was thrilled, he'd been happy to let me pawn her off all night long and he was finally getting his chance. I laughed inside though, after all he was a recovering member of the VM fan club, poor Parker just couldn't seem to get away from them.

I followed her around the party a little. Not too close. but still close enough to where if she turned she'd see me. After two hours of this I needed a break. I needed to collect my thoughts because I knew that if she didn't just off handedly see me I'd need to make a move. If I didn't I'd regret it and Luke would probably smack me again.

So I stepped outside and leaned against the wall of the hall. I had my head tilted back and my eyes closed when I felt someone lean next me. I figured it was Luke or Dick so I opened my eyes and looked over. There was no one there, or at least I thought so, and then I lowered my vision a few inches and found a beautiful 5 foot tall blonde smiling at me. And I couldnt help but smile back. "Hey Veronica."

She smirked and tilted her head. "So were you gonna stalk me all night? Or were you gonna finally grow some balls and say hi."

to be continued...............

Thanks for reading! Review Please!

A/N: First of all, for those of you who are Logan fans, he will not be villified in this fic, I love him too much to do that, but he will be a source of a little drama at one point.

Second, I posted this prologue in order to see if there is an audience for this fic. I have a few chapters written, but if there is no interest I won't take up space with it and instead I'll stick to my other ships. So if you like it and want more you need to let me know!!!