(Jacob Lee – Demons)

Logan stood on the balcony of the Neptune Grand Penthouse apartment but honestly, this place felt more like a tower he was locked in, waiting like a damsel for someone to come to his rescue. and there was only one princess charming he wanted. Sipping his scotch on the rocks hating himself for looking out at the familiar streets and high rises in Veronica's neighborhood. She wasn't home because she was out having dinner with Duncan, again.

She'd barely even acknowledged his presence this morning, and she had shown no discretion when she'd slept with his best friend last night.

She was more of an opponent, those hurled barbs and well-timed criticisms of all his choices that did not miss their mark, as searing and lingering as the weight of the ankle monitor on his leg.

Didn't she know what this was doing to him?

He felt his phone vibrate and he looked at the automated message alert:

FAO L Echolls – The Balbo Country Sheriffs Department as per terms and conditions of your bail, requests your presence at the Sheriff's station for review and servicing of your monitor.

Great… more face time with the delightful Sheriff Lamb.

He would have to come up with a plan of action, a credo if he would survive this much longer. He wanted his best friend to be happy; he did… especially after the revelations about what his father had done… and he had dated Veronica first… so shouldn't Logan be doing the honorable thing and backing off?

But he wasn't honourable… he was a selfish bastard and a jackass.

He'd went all in when he first kissed Veronica, she made him better than he was before, and he was still hers. She'd put a new heartbeat inside of him…but now it was broken, it still skipped a beat over the sound of her name.

He'd had it so good that summer… but that was then… how could he have been so stupid?

He'd been such a fucking chump.

Keeping her warm until the Cavalry arrived. And why the hell did he even care?

Dear Teen People… I'm in love with my roommates girlfriend… what can I do?

This whole summer he was just a placeholder… a Duncan substitute.

Now he knew that he'd been an idiot… scrubbing a hand down his face, he cursed himself for not taking her to bed when he'd had the chance instead of clinging to some romantic idea it would have been something life-changing for him… a milestone… surrender to something bigger than himself... but in hindsight, he knew it wouldn't have been the same for her. It wouldn't have had any significance for her at all. It was a line they had almost crossed when they'd been curled up on his couch watching Easy Rider… she'd been right there… but he'd felt so guilty after what had happened to her at Shelley's that he hadn't wanted to rush things… he'd wanted to savor it.. take his time. Because being with her like that would have meant something to him… it would have been Real.

Maybe if he'd slept with her then this fascination would disappear.

"Hey Duncan… can I screw your girlfriend so this masochistic obsession could be over?" Logan grumbled drunkenly, walking back inside towards the minibar.

She'd always had this power over him… the ability to goad him into losing all perspective, all trace of common sense, the magnetic pull that made him want to tease her, taunt her… have her focus all her attention on him.

Logan couldn't quite describe the physical ache of how much he missed her… it was like a rupture, a gaping crack in his very core that only disappeared when he held her petite body against his. But how could she be that elusive absent piece if she didn't even know she was missing?

Veronica and Duncan had been flirting all summer… Logan seen it when he went by to visit Java The Hut during her shifts and they would be talking with each other. Duncan was always in her section, asking for refills and he didn't even like coffee… Logan knew that from almost 4 years of driving him to school that he always got Chai tea when they went to Starbucks Yet there he was… asking her for another top-up of black coffee.

"Lost?"

"Nope…"

Except she was…

Veronica…

Her name was like acid pouring its way into his chest.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

He had wholeheartedly believed that if he had given her a few weeks to cool off, to give her some space… that she would forgive him for being an idiot and they would get back together… she'd said that she needed time to be alone when things got out of control, so he had left her alone.

Missing her had been like an itch that wouldn't go away.

"I can't stay with you…"

"Don't say that" Logan said to the memory through gritted teeth into the empty apartment.

She was like an addictive drug, the more he'd sampled, the more he had craved.

Why did some fuse go off deep inside him whenever he saw her, blowing his cool sky high and making him say, and do things to provoke her?

It was obvious of course… she was the one who had gotten away… the challenge of the chase… with a damning curse, he took a swig directly from the bottle sitting beside him on the table. Blowing out a steady breath he grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

Why the hell should he want her so damn much? He thought angrily as he picked up one of her notebooks from the coffee table she had left behind, his fingers tracing over the familiar feminine scrawl.

Next week on the Tinseltown Diaries… Movie Star… Adulterer… Murderer…. Who is the real Aaron Echolls?

Logan quickly reached for the remote and turned it off again, he'd always hated having a famous father… the media, the press… the tabloids. The last 6 months had been the most unbearable yet.

He'd gone on plenty of dates since the break-up with warm willing girls, he'd even had sex with a few of them… but he always found himself pretending it was Veronica he was kissing… Veronica, he was feeling…

What the hell did she see in Duncan that was so lacking in him? More than ever Logan really wanted to know. Dammit, he loved Duncan like a brother… but Logan couldn't bring himself to want Veronica to find happiness in anyone's arms but his.

Life was too empty without her.

He hit the play button on the radio and Kyla La Grange—Vampire Smile filled the speakers in the apartment and he tapped his foot to the beat while he took another swig from the bottle, his eyes roaming over towards Duncan's bedroom where the doors sat open, mocking him.

There it was… the scene of the crime.

His drink was now empty and he tossed the bottle aside. Nothing seemed to satisfy; nothing seemed to lighten the heaviness weighing down on him.

There's no reason his bed should stay empty if they weren't going to show any kind of consideration, why should he?

He flicked through his contacts list in his phone and looked back at Duncan's bedroom again.

"Hello?" a sultry feminine voice answered.

"Hi Pumpkin… miss me?" Logan smiled as Kendall Casablanca's picked up.

(Suggested Prequel Story to enhance your enjoyment is Mars, Bars and Clambakes)