Chapter 1: Summer of Changes
As Veronica was flying to her Virginia destination, she found that she was still reeling from both the news of Duncan's return and what all Logan had done before school was out. She hadn't yet come to terms with the lengths Logan showed he'd go through for her. On the other hand, she didn't understand her own surprise. How many times had he saved her, defended her, or tried to? Why did she insist on seeing him like the psychotic jackass he turned into the months after Lily was first murdered? Even when she tells herself she has gotten over the way he used to be, she knows deep down that she is always waiting for him to revert to form. She's forever waiting for the other shoe to drop that will prove she was justified in breaking up with him that first time two summers ago and running back to Duncan. How long ago that seemed.
His apology to Piz, though, after beating up Sorokin, the man responsible for her public humiliation, showed her that Logan was far from the self-centered jerk he once was a few years ago. Logan standing up and admitting he was wrong and being willing to take the consequence of his actions was the man she had seen and admired before. That was the man she saw when he told all his friends at his birthday party that she was his girlfriend, and if they didn't like it, they were dead to him. That was the man she saw making sure Weevil wasn't unfairly expelled for a crime he didn't commit alone. That was the man she saw when she had a gun pointed at Beaver, and he told her she was NOT a killer. The man she saw in the cafeteria was the man she fell in love with.
A kaleidoscope of images flashed through her mind. Logan crying all over her when he finally accepted that his mother was truly dead. Logan attacking the DEA agent, thinking he was hurting her. Logan showing up at her place beat up after his own dad had nearly killed Veronica. Logan comforting her the horrible night she thought her dad was dead. Logan's hurt and betrayed look when she told him they had to break up because he was getting out of control. Seeing that same look when she was walking outside of school holding hands with Duncan. Hearing him say, "I miss you, Veronica." As she looks out the window of the plane, Veronica could not seem to stop seeing defining moments in their tumultuous relationship. She kept seeing him and the naked emotion that always seemed to come out of him so effortlessly. She was seeing his shuttered look as he told her months ago he wanted to break up. Then the agony on his face when she told him she could not get the image of Madison and him out of her head; they were through. The look on his face when she looked up the first time she kissed Piz outside of his hotel room. And finally, the victorious look on his face a few days ago when he beat up the latest man who would besmirch her honor. He looked at her, then remembering her ultimatum, he turned to Piz and sincerely apologized. Piz's face looked confused and somewhat hurt. He knew Logan fighting for Veronica yet again did not bode well for their relationship.
Piz…What was she going to do about him? She didn't feel right breaking up with him. He was such a good guy. Look what he had to deal with because of her. Although the tape wasn't as humiliating for him as it was for her, he was really embarrassed. He was a somewhat shy guy. He was horrified that someone would film a private moment between then. More so, that they would then make out like it was even more private by doctoring the film. He also suffered through Logan unjustly beating him to a pulp. When she first saw the video, she was secretly pleased that Piz suffered for what he did. However, when she discovered he was innocent, she felt so ashamed. Logan seemed to bring out that side of her. That was the side she did not like to acknowledge was really there.
In her own mind, she wanted to get back to the innocent girl she was when she spent all those summer days playing with Lilly, sharing secrets. Enjoying knowing someone she reportedly cared about getting hurt did NOT fit into the image she had of herself. Consequently, she vowed to reward Piz for his suffering. The look she knew he caught her giving Logan in the cafeteria that day was something else she knew she had to make up for. She was determined to make her relationship with Piz work, despite all that had occurred. She refused to acknowledge even to herself the way she felt when Logan defended her. Nor would she think about her impatience with Piz when he insisted she walk away from a similar encounter in the same cafeteria earlier that day when Dominick was insulting her. Piz was the guy for her. He was better for her. Look what she brought Logan to. She only brought out his violent tendencies. He was wrong about them. They were not epic in a good way. They were a doomed epic romance. They were not good for each other. No matter how strong the feelings ran on either side, sometimes love was not enough. Growing up meant making the smart choice; Piz was the smart choice for her. Logan would soon realize his life was less complicated and angst-filled without her. They were both better off apart from each other.
As the summer progressed, Veronica made a conscience effort to communicate more with Piz. She owed it him. She began emailing him and sharing more of herself. They talked on the phone, too. However, it was through email that Veronica was able to share more of herself with him than she had previously. She finally told Piz all the details about Beaver and how Logan had saved her. She wanted him to understand why Logan was so protective. She told him about how they were close friends—The Fab Four—years before they dated. He already knew Logan's dad had killed Lilly Kane, Veronica's best friend. She did not betray Logan's confidences, but she did make it clear to Piz that Logan's dad had been a horrible father to Logan. Logan had been through a lot even before finding out his dad had murdered his first love.
Although Piz loved the fact that Veronica was finally revealing more of herself, her confidences didn't really work to reassure him that Logan was her past. Instead, Piz began to feel guilty that he'd approached Veronica so soon after her break up with Logan. Even though Logan had started dating Parker first, he knew that women take longer to get over painful break ups. The way Veronica looked at Logan after his fight with the Sorokin guy, defending her yet again, now took on new meaning for Piz. Once again Logan proved the lengths he would go to in order to save or protect Veronica. Piz remembered, too, hearing about Logan purposely getting arrested just so he could beat up Mercer and the other guy who tried to rape Veronica. However, he didn't think that particular rumor ever reached Veronica. Logan did not seem to care about the consequences to himself. Just like in the cafeteria, he had laughed off the latest threat made against him by Sorokin. Veronica had told him the guy was "connected" but that did not stop him from punishing the man who dared hurt Veronica. The guy's death threat did not seem to faze Logan either. The violence and the passion that seemed to surround Veronica and Logan's relationship was something some of Piz's favorite songs were written about. It was the type of relationship that Piz found a bit intimidating. He wasn't sure how to handle the many implications Veronica's new confidences revealed.
Piz just couldn't get the picture of Veronica's face after Logan did that out of his mind. The look on her face showed Piz that she still cared about Logan and his defense of her meant more to her than she would admit. Piz did not think Veronica was purposely lying to him or leading him on. He just now understood clearly that Veronica never admitted a lot of things about her feelings for Logan—even to herself. Piz didn't know where their relationship was heading after learning all this, but he knew he was cautiously optimistic. Veronica had no contact with Logan all summer and seemed determined to keep Logan at a distance, despite Logan's attempts. Piz knew, however, that if she didn't seem into him when they were together again, he was going to cut his losses. Some things were fated and some things were not. His momma didn't raise no fool!
While Veronica was getting settled in Virginia, Logan and Dick decided to finally move out of the Neptune Grand. Logan's fight with Piz, break up with Parker, and fight with Gory Sorokin made him realize a lot of things. Veronica was never going to take him seriously and truly open her heart to him as long as she saw him as a hotheaded, immature, jackass who expected people to cater to him. Living at a hotel gave him no responsibilities or real sense of home. He was tired of drifting and waiting for Veronica. Even after apologizing to Piz, Veronica made no move to contact him before she left. Nor did she really initiate contact with him as the summer progressed. Logan believed with all his heart that they were two sides of the same coin and would find their way back together. However, when it happened, he wanted it to be forever. He needed to finally become the man Veronica deserved. He needed to eradicate any qualities that he had inherited from dear ole' dad. Moving out of the hotel was his first step.
He bought a four-bedroom beach house with Dick. He could have bought it alone but buying a house on the beach was extremely expensive, and he didn't want to spend so much money. He thought a beach house was too extravagant and did not want to become a Hollywood cliché. However, he and Dick looked at so many houses a mile from the beach and many closer to campus. Unfortunately, they could not agree on anything. They could have gone their separate ways, but neither of them wanted to do that. Veronica never really cared for Dick or his friendship with him. But that didn't matter much to Logan. Dick was there for him when no one else was, not Veronica nor Duncan. He never once questioned Logan back in high school when he began dating Veronica. He never stopped being his friend when his dad turned out to be a murderer. Nor did he once fail to have his back when they were at war with the PCHers. When Veronica torpedoed him, it was Dick who cared enough to keep him from completing self-destructing. Dick with his uncomplicated, unwavering friendship was the closest thing he had to a brother. Growing up in Neptune with Dick, he'd always thought of Beaver as his little brother, too, because he'd spent so much time at their house. Last year was tough for both him and Dick. Dick's loyalty, though, meant a lot to Logan. Dick was not ready to be on his own, and Logan was not one to abandon his the best friend he'd ever had.
As for Dick, he could have gone back to his frat house. Lately, Dick had spent a lot time with his dad. His dad insisted they spend time together before his tenure in the big house began. These father/son moments always left him melancholy. He ended up thinking so much about what a failure he'd been with Beaver that he could not stand the thought of living with guys who never even knew his brother. Not to mention, he did not trust Logan to take care of himself now that he was single again and still hung up on Veronica. He thought when Logan was dating Parker that Logan had finally seen the light. But when he once again beat up two guys in less than a week because of Veronica, Dick knew that some things would never change. Logan would need someone to pull him back from the edge the next time Veronica destroyed him. Dick thought that was inevitable. She was rich guy kryptonite after all. However, now that Duncan was back, he may have to rethink that. Everyone knew Ronnie was behind Duncan's clever escape with his and Meg's baby to begin with. It was a good thing Veronica was still with that Piz guy, or Dick would be worried now that Duncan was coming home. He'd hate to relive those triangle days from high school. Seeing Logan suffer was bad enough. He didn't want to watch Duncan and Logan both suffer over Veronica Mars' heart break. Or even worse, he didn't want the two of them fighting over her yet again.
Wallace had been all set to go to Africa, but he found out right before he was to leave that he had flunked one of his classes he needed to pass for his degree. He was stuck going to summer school. He was really depressed, especially when his mother started dating this loser. The last guy she'd dated seriously had been Keith Mars. That was why he was not prepared when his mom began dating a man that was a complete phony and a first class jerk. She was so oblivious to the man's obvious flaws. She couldn't even seem to acknowledge how controlling he was with her. Wallace and his mom soon began fighting about her horrible taste in men. He was staying at home for the summer as most campus students did not stay on campus unless they were international students or had nowhere else to go. Wallace was beginning to think he might not survive the summer.
After a few weeks into his summer vacation, right before he was to start summer school, he was flying his model plane on the beach when he literally ran into Logan. Logan was carrying his surfboard. Wallace's plane really intrigued Logan, and soon Wallace began showing off his baby. Logan asked him if he wanted to come over his new place for dinner. He was going to grill some steaks. Logan asked him to bring the plane, so he could show Dick.
For Wallace, the invitation was like someone had thrown him a lifeline. Veronica and Piz were both gone for the summer. Most of his basketball playing friends went home for the summer. Between fighting with his mom, the looming bum deal of summer school, and being without a close friend to talk to, he was fast becoming really depressed. Depression wasn't a state of mind he was accustomed to. He and Logan were never close friends, but after taking a class together last school year, Wallace felt they were finally friends. Logan's defense of Veronica with Sorokin impressed the hell out of him. He had been angry with Logan for hurting Piz, but when he'd seen the video, he'd understood. Unlike Piz, he knew the turbulent history of Logan and Veronica. He was kind of surprised Logan had not hit Piz sooner. When Logan beat up Goyra "Gory" Sorokin, the guy responsible for humiliating his best friend, he was sorry he did not get to see it. For the first time, he was grateful for Logan.
It was not easy being Veronica's best friend at times. She frequently put herself at risk and refused to ask for help when she most needed it. He could never repay Veronica for her act of defiance when she cut him down from that flag pole the day he first met her. That was the very worst, most humiliating moment of his life. Veronica not only did that, but she took on the PCHers on his behalf and won. Growing up in Chicago, he found Neptune like a foreign land at first. Veronica was the first person to befriend him and make him feel like he had a place at the school. Most people did not understand their friendship—they were like an unlikely pair. That never mattered to either of them, though. Since then, there wasn't anything he would not do for her. Nor was there anyone he respected or loved more outside of his mom and brother. Lately though, his respect for his mom was waning.
Spending that first summer evening with Logan and Dick was such a boon. Dick was not someone he'd ever cared for due to his complete surfer image and overall jerkiness. They could not be more different from one another. However, that day Dick's complete puppy dog friendliness and enthusiasm for Wallace's plane was such a relief from the gloomy fog he had been in. He realized that knowing what he knew about Logan, he should've known that Logan would not be so close to Dick if there wasn't more to him than meets the eyes.
He ended up spending the whole weekend with them. Logan had two extra bedrooms. They played video games, ate too much, and swapped stories. Eventually, Wallace let it slip about hating his mom's new boyfriend and how miserable his summer had been so far. That's when Dick started sharing some of his many horror stories about his dad's women. They ended the night teasing Logan about his fling with Dick's last step mommy. Logan's embarrassment and maybe even shame was obvious, so the guys eventually switched topics.
It was Dick and not Logan who suggested Wallace move into one of their spare rooms for the summer. Dick said he'd have someone to hang with when Logan became Veronically depressed. Logan ignored his pot shot, but quickly offered his own invitation, pointing out to Wallace that he could use another thinking man around the house. Dick was not much of a deep conversationalist most of the time. Not to mention someone else would be there to help veto some of Dick's harebrained party plans. Logan thought Wallace would be a welcome addition to their humble abode. Wallace didn't give them long to wait for his answer. He moved right in. He was so relieved to get away from the fighting with his mom that he didn't give it too much thought. It was an escape. And it turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made.
The threesome was often a foursome even before Duncan came back home. Mac had a fun time with Max, but she quickly realized she had no future with a man whose main goal in life was to help students cheat. They broke up a few weeks after Veronica left for Virginia. Mac was more upset about her lack of pain over the break up than the actual break up. Although he was not her first, he was the first guy since Beaver that she felt she loved. They had so much in common and such chemistry. She was so surprised he was only surface deep. In retrospect, she realized she probably did not love any of them. At least not love with a capital L. After watching Logan and Veronica suffer, she was in no hurry to fall in that type of love anyway.
She first went over to Logan's new place to give the guys an update on the quarter earnings of their website. At first, Dick's asinine ass jokes really annoyed her. However, she soon realized jokes like that from Dick were as natural to him as breathing, and he honestly could not fathom why they would be construed as being offensive. Eventually, she learned not to react and began to relax around him. She realized Dick was harmless and often entertaining. After the drama filled year they all had, getting worked up over Dick's jokes seemed like a waste of time. She also finally saw firsthand why Logan kept Dick around. It was like he needed Dick in a way Mac never expected. Dick did a good job making sure Logan did not get lost in morose thoughts like he was often prone to do. Dick brought out a light hearted side in Logan that Mac only ever saw when he'd been with Veronica. This was a Logan she really liked. She wasn't sure how Veronica would feel about Wallace becoming such good friends with Logan. Or even how she would feel about Mac hanging out at his house. However, Veronica being Veronica, she would not be quick to get upset. The lore of Logan's beach house was hard for Mac to resist. Growing up with only a younger brother and mainly having guy friends who only wanted to talk to her about computers, she found hanging out at Logan and Dick's with the three of them to be a fun, novel experience. She imagined that it must be what it feels like to have older brothers.
Mac found herself spending most weekends with the guys playing video guys, arguing with Dick, or just hanging. Wallace tried to teach her basketball when he insisted they all play two on two against Logan and Dick. That was an episode in hilarity. Veronica would have gotten a kick out of seeing her attempt at the sport. Logan and Dick trying to teach her and Wallace how to surf was even funnier. Wallace, being a natural athlete, did not have much trouble mastering the art of surfing. She, however, lost count of how many times she almost drowned herself. Or how many times the guys almost drowned when they fell off their boards laughing at her. Things were at a relaxed even keel until they had an unexpected visit from the elusive Duncan Kane...