A/N This is my first story in the Veronica Mars-verse. I hope I captured the voices okay. All reviews are more than welcome. XD ~Kelcor
Chapter One – Duncan
Logan sat on the edge of the bed, trying his best to focus all his concentration on the video game graphics on the television a few feet away and the movement of his fingers on the controller. It was a long weekend and Lily and Veronica had headed off on a shopping weekend in LA with Veronica's mom, and Mrs. Kane was some spa or another for a few days.
Unfortunately for Logan, a long weekend also meant that filming for his dad's newest movie was also put on hold and his dad had decided to come home to spend the four days with his family. Knowing this would result in possibly the four longest days of his life, Logan had opted to spend most of the time with Duncan, more specifically, at Duncan's house. The only stipulation his father had insisted on was that Logan be home for dinner as the producer of a new film Aaron desperately wanted to be a part of would be the guest of honour. The teen dreaded the idea of prancing around like the happy father and son his dad always portrayed them to be in his interviews but knew that to not show up would mean harsh and painful punishment, so he reluctantly kept an eye on the time, even set an alarm on his watch so that he wouldn't forget.
He only half heard the commotion taking place downstairs until an almost feral cry of rage, followed by a loud thump brought him fully back to the here and now. He jumped to his feet and raced down the hall toward the stairs.
What scared him the most was the fact that the cry had sounded oddly like Duncan. The source of the thump he couldn't even begin to guess. An intruder, maybe? His heart thudded a bit harder in his chest when he realized his best friend could very well have been trying to defend himself, or someone else, and the thud was a sign of his failure to do so. In his mind's eye, Logan saw Duncan letting out the feral cry as he charged a much larger intruder and get knocked out for his trouble, crashing to the floor in a heap. With that thought in mind, Logan made a slight detour to one of the storage closets and grabbed an old baseball bat from amidst the years' worth of sporting equipment.
He made his way down the stairs, baseball bat raised over one shoulder, ready to swing at anyone threatening his best friend and his family. He heard grunts and more, yet quieter rage filled cries as he approached the foyer, then followed the noises to Mr. Kane's office to the left of the entrance. When he crossed the threshold, his eyes widened in shock. The sight before him was the last thing he'd ever expected to see.
Duncan was straddled across his father's chest, pummeling him with his fists. The grunts of pain were emanating from Mr. Kane as he did his best to block the punches while still not fighting back.
A breathless "Logan" from the older man brought Logan out of his stunned silence and frozen state. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Duncan from behind, using the bear hug to lift and drag his ferociously struggling friend off Mr. Kane and onto the floor.
Almost instantly, Duncan went limp in Logan's arms, a dead weight against the other teen's chest. Tracks of tears on his cheeks. Not knowing what to expect in this strange, awe-filled situation, Logan checked for a pulse and said a silent prayer of thanks to a God he wasn't at all sure existed.
Mr. Kane pulled himself to a half sitting position, eyeing his son not with anger but with sadness and sympathy. The older man had a split lip, a cut above one eye, and was cradling his ribs gingerly with one arm.
The two worked together to get Duncan up the stairs to his room, with Logan carrying most of the weight in favour of Mr. Kane's various injuries. As they laid Duncan out on the bed, Logan eyed his friend's father with a critical eye.
"You should probably go get checked out by a doctor, Mr. Kane."
The older man shook his head. "I won't leave him alone like this."
Logan didn't forget about his father's dinner, he just didn't care. Duncan came first in that equation. "I'll stay with him," he said without hesitation.
"Are you sure?"
The teen could already feel the 20 lashes he was going to get for this. But maybe if he explained to his dad…
"Logan, you can't tell anyone about what happened here today. Please, promise me you won't speak of this to anyone."
Logan gazed up at him. Okay, 20 lashes it is, then. "You have my word, sir. I won't tell a soul."
Mr. Kane surprised him with an affectionate embrace, a rare occurrence in Logan's life. He always received plenty of hugs from women, of course – his mother, Lily, girls at school fruitlessly waiting for the rich bad boy to be single again – but from a father figure? His own father only hugged him during photo ops, in search of good publicity, so Logan wasn't quite sure how to react to this. To top it all off, Mr. Kane seemed near tears. And not the fake tears his father had always been able to switch on and off at his leisure, the real ones… the kind of tears Logan had no idea what to do with. Thankfully, he didn't have to figure it out because Mr. Kane released him and headed for the bedroom door. He turned before disappearing from view. "You're a good friend to my son, Logan Echolls. Your father would be proud."
Biting back a laugh of derision about his father being proud of anything the younger Echolls would ever do, Logan pulled the chair away from the desk at the other side of the room and set it next to Duncan's bedside.
Video game long forgotten, Logan now focused all his concentration on his best friend, and with everything quiet and back to normal, save for the fact that Duncan was currently lying unconscious on his bed, Logan couldn't help but think back on what had happened in Mr. Kane's office.
Duncan had been fine moments before. He and Logan were playing video games and talking about nothing in particular. Just hanging out. Then Duncan had gone downstairs for some chips and soda and that was the last Logan had seen of him until he saw him pummelling his father. Logan hadn't checked the time but he was confident only a few minutes had passed between when Duncan left for snacks and when Logan had heard the commotion downstairs.
About an hour later, during which time the alarm went off on his watch – an alarm which he ignored – and he was no closer to coming up with any answers. At least, none that made him feel any less anxious about Duncan's well-being. He sat up straighter in his chair as his friend started to come around.
When Duncan opened his eyes, he appeared disoriented, like he didn't know where he was. He peered up at Logan and the concern he saw only served to increase his confusion.
"How ya' feelin'?" Logan asked, trying to sound nonchalant but not quite succeeding.
"Like crap," Duncan told him. "What happened?"
Logan wasn't at all sure how to answer that question. Because, quite honestly, he was still trying to figure that part out himself. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Duncan thought for a moment, then: "Kicking your butt in Need for Speed, then going downstairs for some food."
Okay, so, apparently Duncan knew even less than Logan. Deciding to avoid this conversation for as long as possible, Logan said, "Hey, you weren't kicking my butt! I was just letting you get over confident so that it would hurt even more when I beat you!" He plastered his best grin on his face and waited for Duncan to take the bait.
Instead, he watched helplessly as his friend looked down at his knuckles. Duncan sat bolt upright. "Logan, what did I do?" He got up and pulled Logan up with him, lifting his shirt, apparently searching for bruises.
Logan pushed his hands away. There were of course bruises to be seen but not from any beating from Duncan, and Logan wasn't ready for the abuse from his father to become known. Even to his best friend. He felt his face burn with shame as he pulled quickly away, out of Duncan's reach.
"I hurt you, didn't I? Logan, let me see!"
"No, dude, it wasn't me. You didn't lay a hand on me, I swear, so just back off!"
Duncan eyed him suspiciously. "If I didn't touch you, why are you so jumpy?"
"It was your dad, man." And Logan was guilt-ridden as soon as the words left his mouth. Duncan looked stricken. Mortified. Nice friend you are, Logan, he chastised himself. You spill the beans that will most hurt him, just to keep your own secret safe! "He's okay, though," he back pedalled.
"Where is he?" Duncan said suddenly, heading for the door.
"He'll be back soon. He asked me to stay with you 'til he got back."
"Tell me where he went, Logan," Duncan demanded. When Logan didn't respond right away, Duncan shoved him up against the wall, not really hard but hard enough to elicit a wince. Instantly, he let his friend go and backed away. "I'm sorry… I'm – I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Hey," Logan said, snarky grin in place, "don't flatter yourself. I barely felt a thing," he lied, the still healing bruises and welts on his back screaming in pain.
"Please, Logan," Duncan begged, "tell me what happened."
Logan's attitude immediately returned to concerned friend. "I honestly don't know everything that happened, man."
"Well, tell me what you do know."
"I was up here playing Need for Speed and I heard yelling from downstairs. I went down to make sure everything was okay and you were…" his voice trailed off, unsure as to whether or not he should continue. "Maybe we should just wait 'til your dad gets home."
"No," Duncan said firmly. "Tell me. I was what?"
Logan took a deep, fortifying breath. "You were… you were on top of your dad, punching him, and screaming at him. I had to pull you off. Then you just went limp. It was like you were Rambo, then you were Gumby a nanosecond later. Me 'n your dad got you up here, then he went… to the doctor." The last bit he said softly but, at Duncan's look of panic, he quickly clarified, "Just to get checked out, I promise. He was feeling well enough to help me get you upstairs. Which was no easy task, let me tell you. You really need to lay off those cheeseburgers, man!"
The tiniest of smiles showed on Duncan's face and Logan knew everything was going to be okay. But the smile was gone just as quick. "Sorry you had to see me like that, man," Duncan whispered. "I never wanted you to ever see me like that."
Logan peered closely at his friend. "You mean this has happened before?"
Duncan nodded, gaze fixed on the floor, refusing to meet Logan's eyes. Logan placed a hand on either of his friend's shoulders. "Hey," he said softly, waiting. When Duncan still didn't look up at him, he repeated himself, a little bit louder this time, "Hey." Finally, eye contact was achieved. It was clear Duncan was afraid of what Logan would think of him now that his little secret was out of the bag. "So, you go all Rambo once in a while, so what? You really think that would bother me? It's actually nice to know that I'm not the only bad boy in this relationship."
This time, Duncan offered up a full watt smile. Logan squeezed his shoulders and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile in return.
The moment was broken by Logan's phone buzzing. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced down at the angry text on the screen, "WHERE ARE YOU?" Quickly putting his devil-may-care mask in place before Duncan could get a glimpse of the fear in his eyes, Logan slipped the phone back in his pocket.
"You have somewhere you need to be?" Duncan asked carefully. He didn't really want to be alone right now but he didn't want Logan to get into trouble, either. He was pretty sure there was more going on behind closed doors at the Echolls' home than his friend would ever admit to.
"Nah," Logan dismissed with a wave of the hand. He was gonna get a beating anyway, might as well make it worth it. "How about I beat you at Need for Speed for the second time today?"
"Oh, whatever, man," Duncan laughed, pulling out the game controllers once again.
Late that night, long after Mr. Kane had returned, Logan left for home, being sure to take the long way, putting off the inevitable for as long as possible.
His father attacked as soon as he walked in the door. He didn't ask any questions. He usually stayed away from the face so that people wouldn't start talking, but since it would be four days before Logan would be going back to school, he didn't hold back this time.
The beating continued for longer than Logan would have thought possible. Apparently, his dad was in an especially bad mood tonight. Maybe things didn't go so well with the producer? Either way, Aaron wasn't going to stop until he broke his son and Logan refused to let the man see him cry this time.
The battle against tears seemed doomed to be a losing one but unconsciousness ended up being his saving grace. If his dad kept beating him after that, Logan didn't feel it.
TBC