Story so Far: Logan, Lilly, Meg and Duncan are the Fab 4. Logan and Lilly break up and Logan sees Veronica in her soccer uniform. He thinks she may make a good interim girl for the time he and Lilly are broken up. Veronica is not interested in dating Logan. The rumors about Logan and Veronica persist.
Monday morning, much earlier than she wants to be out of bed, Veronica parks her Le Baron in the parking lot at Neptune High School. She likes living in California. The weather is most often warm and she never gets tired of the ocean views. Today is no exception; it is going to be a beautiful day. At this hour, it takes something really exciting or the enforced learning mandated by state law for her to be awake. As she walks through the hall towards her locker, she notices the buzz in the air and briefly wonders what excitement happened at John's party after she left. She is glad that this year she is not the center of controversy like she has been her first two years attending high school.
She frowns slightly as she thinks about how lately she has somehow become collateral damage in the volatile relationship between Lilly Kane and Logan Echolls. Hopefully they will get back together soon and the school will enjoy the harmonious phase of their reunion for a while. She can then fade into the background and return to the peaceful existence she has carefully constructed this school year.
Her face lights up in a smile when she sees her friend Mac. Veronica has to admit she likes her friend's hair better now; although she did like the purple streaks she displayed last year. When her family moved to Neptune, Veronica walked into her first class at Neptune Elementary School feeling uncomfortable and a little scared. Mac had smiled at her in greeting and encouraged Veronica to sit next to her. Veronica had liked Mac's intelligence, individuality and dry sense of humor immediately. Mac had immediately warned her that hanging out with her would socially brand her as a freak. Veronica had smiled and said, "Well my father is the new sheriff so most people are a little afraid to be my friend." Mac laughed and said, "My name is Cindy MacKenzie but people who know me call me Mac." They had been friends ever since.
She walks over to talk to her by her locker. As the two friends exchange greetings, they notice that a lot of the students are looking at them.
Mac, a little uncomfortable with the public attention, says, "Um, V?"
Veronica looks over from watching the other students to her friend of five years. She answers a little absently, "What?"
"Did something happen at the 09er party on Friday you might want to share with your best friend?" she asks with a questioning tone.
Veronica frowns a little and answers, "No, not really."
Her friend gets a small smile and repeats, "Not really?"
Veronica's frown gets bigger at her friend's amusement. The taller brunette tosses her blue streaked hair back, "Let me guess. This has something to do with you and a certain tall and handsome king of the 09ers?"
"No," her petit friend exclaims forcefully.
A few of their fellow students look over at her raised voice. Veronica glares a little at them and they move away.
She looks back at Mac and sees her biting her lip trying to stop from laughing. Exasperated at her friend's mirth, she says, "I am glad you are getting amusement from my life."
Mac who is not intimidated by her friend's anger, laughs.
Veronica sighs and tells her, "I danced with Logan. Then I told him that we couldn't date and I went home." She looks at her friend and finishes her explanation, "That is all that happened."
Erica having arrived and heard Veronica's denial speaks up, "Actually the talk is about you and Meg." The redhead smiles when she sees the looks of surprise from both her friends.
Mac turns and looks at Veronica and teases, "Going for the popular girls in the school now?"
Erica not to be left out, adds, "Something you want to tell your best friends?"
Pantomiming opening a door, Mac says, "Come on out V."
Unimpressed with her friends' attempts at humor, she turns to Erica and demands, "Explain."
Erica happily tells her friends the gossip that is going around about Meg and Veronica. Veronica shakes her head in wonder and summarizes, "So in 'Truth or Dare' at John's party, Meg said if she had to kiss a girl, it would be me?"
Erica nods, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Mac, unable to hold in her glee, giggles which causes Erica to break down as well.
"Well, think about this, you two amateur stand ups," Veronica says with her hands on her hips while she watches her friends' chuckle. "If everyone thinks I go both ways now, they are going to be wondering about our friendship and how close we are." She uses hand quotations when she says 'close'.
The two girls find the situation a little less amusing now. They are used to their friend being a topic of conversation; after all, she dated two really popular guys in the school. They are uncertain how they might feel about being in the limelight along with her.
Veronica sees their humor dissipate and her trademark smirk appears. She opens her arms in a universal 'give me a hug' gesture and says, "Group hug."
She laughs when her friends both decline to hug her. With a faux pout she says, "I'm hurt." Then she tells them she will see them in second period and heads off towards her locker to get her English book ignoring the looks and comments she gets along the way.
As she enters first period, she immediately notices Meg's red eyes and how Duncan is not sitting in his usual seat next to his long time girlfriend. He has moved to a desk at the back of the room. She also notices the looks she is getting from the rest of her classmates. It would appear that the grapevine in Neptune High School has already circulated the latest rumors. She sighs and walks over to talk to Meg. When she is standing beside Meg's desk she greets her friend, "Good Morning Meg."
Meg looks at her friend and sees the sympathy. She sees Veronica is not angry or upset and has to bite her lip to make sure she doesn't cry.
Veronica, in a voice pitched loudly enough for everyone to hear, teases, "So Meg, I hear you were foolish and stayed at John's party long enough to play 'Truth or Dare'."
Meg unable to speak, just nods.
Placing her hand on her chest Veronica says, "I was shocked to learn that if you had to kiss a girl, you would pick me and not one of your cheerleading buddies."
Meg smiles a little at Veronica's tone.
"That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me." Veronica adds just a little dramatically as she sits down next to Meg in Duncan's usual seat.
Obvious comfortable, Veronica puts her messenger bag down and gets out her phone. She briefly looks at her upset friend and says, "I am going to be working at the Hut on Wednesday and Thursday evening. You and Duncan should come and visit me. I will buy you both a latte."
She goes back to texting on her phone once she sees that Meg is calming down a little.
Meg gets a text and opens her phone. She sees she has over thirty texts. She scrolls down and opens the one from Veronica.
VM: Is Duncan upset with you?"
Meg nods.
VM: Did you break up?
Meg: idk. He just stopped talking 2 me.
Veronica frowns. She holds out her hand and Meg silently hands her the phone. Veronica looks at the messages her friend has been receiving and deletes them. She says in a lazy tone, "I love this delete button. I wish it worked in real life."
Meg appreciates her friend's support and point. Sometimes she wishes she could push a button and delete the people who hurt her, but she can't. She takes her phone when Veronica hands it back to her admiring her confident way of handling the gossip she has been subjected to. She was worried that Veronica might be upset that she is once again the subject of school gossip. This morning walking to class and hearing what people are saying about her has been awful and now her boyfriend won't talk to her. Veronica being angry or upset with her would make things much worse. She values Veronica's friendship and would hate to lose that over a stupid drinking game.
The class is busy texting Veronica's unconcerned reaction to the rumors about her and Meg and the fact Veronica is now sitting in Duncan's desk.
Logan got a text in first period outlining Veronica's first encounter with Meg since the explosion of gossip about Meg's supposed lesbian desires for her. He smiles at how Veronica openly and smoothly supported her friend. He has to admire how easily she handles the whispering along the grapevine that is directed her way.
Hungry and anticipating eating the only meal from the cafeteria she truly likes, Veronica walks out to her usual table. Her mood is upbeat as she surveys the lasagna and garlic toast on her tray. Her friends from the soccer team walking with her are laughing at her excitement over Italian food. They are used to her almost freakish ability to eat her body weight in food and never gain a pound.
Happy and hungry, she sets down her tray and pulls out her chair. Just before she sits a booming voice rings out over the Quad.
"Mars, come over here. I have a question I want to ask you,' Dick loudly exclaims.
Feeling the eyes of her fellow students on her, Veronica looks over at Dick and sees he is sitting with Madison, Kim, John, Lilly and Duncan. She sees Logan is sitting at the next table with Meg, Cassidy, Peter and Luke. She is disturbed to see that Duncan has openly chosen not to sit with Meg. It is bad enough that he is ignoring her in class, but sitting away from her here in the Quad is a big deal. Meg will be humiliated and hurt.
She is kind of impressed that Logan is sitting with Meg though. It is his way of defending her. No one will torment Meg if she is sitting next to him; that would be suicidal.
Outwardly calm, Veronica excuses herself, giving one last longing look at her much anticipated meal and walks over to talk to Dick. When she arrives she starts their conversation with, "You bellowed?"
Logan smiles at Veronica's tone with Dick. The noise level in the Quad dims as most everyone wants to hear what Dick and the other 09ers are going to say to Veronica. There have been a lot of rumors about how Meg is interested in Veronica and it looks like her boyfriend of four years broke up with her over it. Meg has been seen crying and running into the bathroom after being teased. Duncan has not been seen with Meg today. The 'It' couple has parted; that is the number one topic of the day. Veronica was a topic of conversation as the rumors were Logan was interested in her and Lilly was upset. Now it appears that she broke up the other couple of the Fab 4.
Dick looks at his 09er friends and sees they are entertained that he is going to confront Veronica Mars. He looks back at Veronica and says loudly, "So Veronica did you hear that Miss Meg Manning admitted out loud that you are her girl crush?"
Logan sees Meg blush and look down. He had also been playing 'Truth or Dare' when Meg was asked who she would want to kiss if she had to kiss a girl. After a blush and a long pause, she had named Veronica Mars. Logan had privately agreed with her but had immediately seen that it was a mistake to say that in front of the other 09ers.
Duncan had been very upset about the rumors and had been very cool to Meg since the party. He has been teased about his best friend and now his girlfriend wanting Veronica Mars. It is very embarrassing for a guy to lose his girl to another girl.
Logan does not understand why Duncan is so upset. It was super bitch Madison who asked Meg the question in the first place and of course, started all the rumors. Everyone knows that she is jealous of Meg and would like to date Duncan or Logan. Besides, Duncan should know how these games can get out of hand. To Logan's way of thinking, Duncan's negative reaction just made the gossip stronger.
Veronica saunters over to stand in front of Dick. She shows no upset in her voice or on her face when she answers, "I did hear that if Meg had to kiss a girl she would pick me."
Laughing loudly with his friends, Dick asks, "Is Meg your secret girl crush as well?"
Almost every student in the Quad is listening to the conversation between Veronica and Dick. They watch as Veronica slowly steps very close to Dick. She bites her bottom lip and slowly runs her finger up Dick's chest towards his face. Predictably Dick's expression changes to one of interest and Madison looks like she is going to blow a gasket. Veronica though is focused on her finger's slow progress. A feeling of anticipation builds and everyone is waiting to see what is going to happen.
Finally Veronica raises her head and meets Dick's gaze. She leans in even closer.
Without a word she tilts her head and just looks at Dick. It is as if they are alone. Reaching up she gently taps him on the nose and says, "Last man on earth." Everyone watches as she then points to Meg. After a poignant pause, she says, "Meg." To everyone's surprise, she puts her finger to her lips as if she is thinking and then says clearly, "I guess I will choose Meg."
There is a short stunned silence and then Veronica turns and walks back to her table amidst the general laughter and Dick's voice yelling at her that she is a bitch.
Logan leans into Meg and whispers, "And that is how you handle Dick Casablancas." Meg meets Logan's gaze and sees his laughter at what Veronica said and his admiration for her slap down of the popular 09er. Meg has hung around with the 09ers her whole life and knows she should be able to handle them better. She is so relieved and grateful that Veronica has supported her and handled the rumors about them so openly and easily.
Logan is also impressed. Veronica has clarified the rumor and then stomped Dick for daring to call her out. A lot of the gossip now is going to be about Veronica's smack down of Dick during lunch. Veronica is a true friend to Meg.
When Veronica gets near her table, the girls all put up their fingers in a horn sign. She gives them a horn sign back and then sits in front of her tray at the table. She gets some high fives from people walking past for her verbal confrontation with Dick Casablanca's. Her friends are not surprised that she took on the rich, spoiled 09er. She doesn't care about rumors and she doesn't want to belong to the elite 09er group. She is not a girl that you should mess with; she will definitely come back at you.
The other gossip worthy thing is how Logan handled the whole situation. Although he drove to school with Duncan, Logan had bumped fists with his best friend and sought out Meg. He found her by her locker and with one look had dispersed the crowd gathered around to hear the gossip and to possibly look good to their friends by tormenting the obviously upset blond. Seeing the students had gone on their way, he slung his arm around Meg's shoulders and walked with her towards her first period. Grateful, Meg had leaned into Logan allowing his presence to protect her. At lunch he walked out onto the Quad with Duncan talking easily to him about possibly going surfing after school. While Duncan had ignored Meg and sat at a table with his sister, Logan had walked over and sat next to Meg at the table where she sat alone. Although most of the 09ers like Meg, none of them wanted to pick a side in this situation so they were sitting at other tables. Once Logan made his feelings clear, Cassidy, Luke and Peter came over and sat with them.
Lilly Kane, used to being in the limelight, did not see a problem with what Meg said during 'Truth or Dare'. To her way of thinking gossip just means you are still important; good or bad. In fact bad gossip lasts longer and that is good. She doesn't understand why Meg is even upset at being teased about having a clandestine relationship with a hot girl. It sounds fun to her. Sitting at the table she watches Veronica's interaction with Dick and is truly amused. Lilly Kane is unimpressed that Dick is trying to upset Meg in the most public setting possible. She is also a person that is not afraid to stand up for herself. She shook her head at Dick and said loudly, "I don't know why you are mad, I would pick Meg as well."
Logan is not surprised at Lilly's defense of Meg. She and Meg have been close for years. Logan knows that although Lilly doesn't get Meg's pink, sweet and innocent persona, she loves her and no one gets to mess with her.
Logan leans into Meg and asks, "What is with the finger signs the soccer team is giving Veronica?"
Meg looks over and smiles a little. She says, "It means 'If you take on the bull, sometimes you get the horns."
Meg adds, "It is the mantra of the team but I think it especially pertains to V."
Logan nods his understanding and Meg watches Logan as he looks over at Veronica in admiration.
While she is quietly eating the pizza Logan ordered and listening to the guys talk about Luke's new phone, Meg thinks about how Veronica, Logan and Lilly publicly defended her. She is so grateful that she has friends who are supporting her. So many of her 09er girl friends, fellow cheerleaders and kids she has knows for years are being mean to her about Duncan breaking up with her. Not that he actually broke up with her; he just stopped talking to her.
Veronica digs into her lasagna and sighs in bliss. It is so good! She listens to the talk around the table about soccer practice and the fact the coach is making some cuts now preseason is over and the season is set to start next week. She thinks about how she seems to attract gossip. Her freshman and sophomore years were eventful. Her junior year she just wanted to have a quiet, ordinary year. It had started off so well. She had decided to not date anyone from Neptune High and things had been going very smoothly and uneventfully. She had faded nicely into the background. Then Logan had looked her direction. Now she is back on the school's gossip radar. The talk is that she is going after Logan Echolls and trying to take him from Lilly Kane or alternately, depending on which version of gossip you subscribe to, she is going to be Logan's next interim girl. Now thanks to Meg staying late enough at John's party, she is the girl who has attracted Meg Manning and broke up her long term relationship with the richest 09er of all, Duncan Kane. So much for avoiding gossip this year.
Meg comes out of her thoughts about Duncan when she hears the guys talking about arranging a poker night. She listens while the guys decide that the game will be on Friday night and how it will be a $500 buy in.
"I want to play," Meg cuts in.
The guys looked surprised and Luke laughs at the thought of sweet, innocent Meg playing poker with them.
Logan looks at Meg closely and says, "DK is going to be there."
Meg meets Logan's gaze and says, "His money is good. I can take it just the same as the rest of yours."
Logan sees the determination in her face and says, "Sure. You are welcome to play.' He teases, "I doubt beating DK will be tough but the rest of us aren't going to be as easy."
The guys laugh and the discussion goes on to who all they should invite.
Meg smiles. She has a plan to thank Veronica for being such a supportive friend. Veronica can take her place at the poker game. She could use the $4000 she will win and the guys could use a little ego deflation by having a girl take their money. It is a win/win situation. For the first time that day she feels upbeat. Although Logan doesn't understand her desire to play poker, he is happy to see her excited about something. He hates to see her so upset.
Near the end of lunch Logan looks over and sees Veronica visiting with her friends. He really enjoyed how she stood up to Dick. The look on Dick's face was hilarious when he realized what Veronica had said to him. He can't believe that he never noticed how smart mouthed she was before. He doesn't have many memories of Veronica but he had noticed how close her relationship with Josh was when Neptune lost the district football game. Josh had walked off the field obviously dejected. It was his last football game as a Neptune Pirate. He had hugged his parents and little sister but had held Veronica in his arms. Logan noticed that Veronica didn't say anything; she just held him. It was like words weren't needed. He remembers thinking it would be nice to have someone who really cared about him and would be there for him.
He also remembers how vocal and upset Ashley had been when Victor broke up with her for Veronica. Ashley and some friends had confronted Veronica at a basketball game that Logan had been at. Veronica instead of being upset or arguing with Ashley had looked totally bored listening to Ashley's rant. While Ashley was talking, Veronica opened her phone and read a text she got. She then texted back, completely dismissing the upset head cheerleader from her mind. When she finished the text, she pulled a package of gum out of her purse and offered some to her friends who were sitting around her. Ashley and her friends stomped away; embarrassed at being ignored and unsure how to handle someone who wasn't intimidated by them or interested in what they had to say. Veronica had returned to watching the game. He remembers thinking that Veronica did all but yawn while Ashley was talking to her. Even more impressive was that she quietly accepted the soda Victor brought her from the concession stand. As far as Logan could see, Veronica didn't even bring up the visit from Victor's ex. She just listened to Victor talk about something and then nodded. At the time Logan had been recently broken up with Lilly and scoping out girls but he remembers he had been impressed by Veronica's poise.
He is finding there is a lot he didn't notice about her before. He's noticing now.
.