A/N: I kinda can't even believe it myself. Hi inspiration! I've freaking missed you. It's only been FIVE YEARS. Literally, five years since I've updated this baby. You can blame my computer crash of '09... We lost a lot of unfinished fic that day...

Not beta-ed, not even a little bit. I'll go over this again in the morning, when I'm a little less buzzed from finally making progress on this thing.

Hope you like?


'So what's going on with you and Logan?' Lilly asked, feigning indifference as she adjusted the large sunglasses resting over the bridge of her nose and focused her eyes on the road again.

'You've discovered our secretive tryst?' Veronica exclaimed, before slamming her fist down playfully on the dashboard. 'Damnit! What gave us away?'

Lilly laughed at her friend's sarcasm, which she was well accustomed to, before replying. 'You can't blame a girl for wondering when her ex asks her best friend to 'come and lie down for a bit', if you know what I mean.'

Veronica smiled but shrugged it off, 'You know guys, Lilly. They'll go on like a bump to the head is a serious concussion. Someone needed to assure Logan that everything was going to be alright in a soothing manner.'

'Right,' Lilly said, unconvinced.

'Urgh,' Veronica interrupted her friend's train of thought by focusing the attention on herself, getting frustrated by her long hair sweeping into her face once again, caused by the open car window.

'Just chop it off, Vee!' Lilly joked, noticing Veronica's trouble.

Once Veronica had tamed her blonde mane into a neat ponytail, she considered it, holding her long hair in one hand. 'That's actually not a bad idea, Lil.'

'I was just joking, 'Ronica,' Lilly said seriously.

Veronica studied the long blonde strands of hair in her hand wistfully, Lilly looking over momentarily from the driver's seat.

'Oh god, I've put the idea in your head now, haven't I?' she asked with a grin.

Veronica turned to her friend and made a show of chopping her hair off with her fingers, positioned as scissors. 'I'm thinking of a short lesbian do, you know, so I can Mohawk it up, if I want.'

Lilly laughed openly and freely. 'You know how that would get me going, 'Ronica… don't tempt me like that!' she joked.

Veronica joined her best friend in laughter as Lilly turned both the music and speed up, determined to get in to the soothing cool of the nearest mall that they were heading to, all under the guise of buying Veronica a new swimsuit of course.

Veronica secretly knew that Lilly just couldn't resist being away from a mall, or using her credit card for more than a week, but she had come along with Lilly nonetheless. If she was being honest, Veronica kind of enjoyed the amount of attention Lilly gave to traipsing around the mall, trying on what always seemed like a never-ending conga line of dresses.

It wasn't too long before they arrived at their destination, the local mall being substantially smaller than the one in Neptune, but still perfectly adequate for what they were looking for.


'Oooh Vee, look!' Lilly held up what seemed like the twelfth dress in succession.

Veronica giggled, 'Try it on then.'

That was all the encouragement that Lilly needed, rushing over to the changerooms in an instant. Her jeans were tossed over the door in what seemed like a manner of seconds before Veronica went back to perusing the bikinis that lined the wall, picking up the ones that caught her eye. They were all average, if she was being honest. That was until Veronica spied a bright red string bikini. She picked it up and studied it. There was one left and it was her size. The price-tag was also…surprisingly reasonable. It was fate, or something. Veronica went over to the counter and paid for it immediately.

'Hey Lil?' Veronica asked, moving over to the changerooms. The responsive 'mmm' encouraged Veronica to go on. 'I'm gonna go over to the salon.'

At that moment, Lilly came bursting out from the cubicle. 'Not without me, sneaky.' She snaked her arm through Veronica's, placing her unwanted garments down onto the nearest bench and leading her best friend over to the hairdresser's.

A single flash of one of Lilly's numerous credit cards guaranteed an immediate seat into the salon's chair, an all-too-eager stylist already running her fingers through Veronica's hair, cooing about the 'beautiful natural colour' and asking what she wanted to do today.

Lilly remained over by the counter, having a conversation with another, punky-looking employee who was showing her something. 'I think I like this one,' she stated, pointing out something underneath the counter. Lilly lifted her shirt, pointing to just below her belly-button, 'and just here, you know?'

Veronica rolled her eyes with a laugh from where she sat. Of course Lilly was getting a piercing.

'Be right back!' Lilly announced gleefully, sparkling eyes flashing at Veronica through the mirror. By this point, the hairdresser cutting Veronica's hair was already hard at work. Veronica couldn't help but stare as long lengths of hair dropped ceremoniously onto the shiny floor.

Both nervous and excited, Veronica couldn't stop what she had requested now. It was done. It wasn't like it wouldn't grow back anyway.

A short time later, Lilly emerged from the back of the store. Her bustling walk stopped short in front of where Veronica sat, the hairdresser now blow-drying her hair to finish.

'Woah!' She exclaimed, a large grin seeping over her face.

'Bad?' Veronica asked.

Lilly shook her head furiously. 'Hot,' she replied simply. 'Wait right here, I'll be back, okay?' She didn't wait for a reply as she sashayed her way out of the store.

Lilly returned just as Veronica was getting up from her chair, running her fingers through her unfamiliar short locks. She looked at herself in the mirror. The shorter locks suited her; she had to admit, hair now falling just to her shoulders. While Veronica was busy looking at herself in the mirror, Lilly must have paid.

'We should go,' Lilly said, 'Party's already starting.'

Veronica nodded, thanking the girl who cut her hair as she walked from the store.

'Thanks, Lilly. Seriously.'

'Don't even mention it,' Lilly smirked. She thrust the shopping bags that she had been holding onto Veronica's lap as they finally got to Lilly's car and sat down.

'Got you something else.'

'Lilly,' Veronica chided, 'You really should not have done that. The haircut was more than enough!'

'Oh stop your whining and just have a freaking look,' Lilly said as she concentrated on driving them out of the parking lot.

Veronica opened the bags warily and found a mini-skirt, a couple of nice, bright coloured singlets and a gorgeous, halter neck, backless, light blue summer dress.

Knowing that Lilly would just shrug off any speech about how she should not have bought all of this for her, Veronica settled with a sincere, 'Thanks Lilly.'

'I figured that Veronica 2.0 needed a wardrobe to go with her new look,' Lilly replied.

'I'll get you back for this, you know,' Veronica smiled at her friend's thoughtfulness, a trait only seen by those closest to Lilly Kane.

'You always do.'


Lilly had convinced her to put on the dress during the remainder of the car trip. As awkwardly as Veronica could in the confined space, she had done as her friend asked. She just couldn't stop looking at her own reflection in the overhead mirror. Who was the girl with the short hair in the oversized sunnies and beautiful summer dress? Veronica didn't feel or look like herself. But she had to admit that she could get used to this new look.

As they pulled up by the lake, the sun was just setting. The smoke from the bonfire could be seen from where they parked.

'We're home!' Lilly yelled happily into the distance, to no-one in particular, as she closed her car door with a bang. Clutching her purchases for the day, she took the bags that Veronica was holding loosely in her hand from her. No-one was around the area where they had parked. Veronica presumed that they would already all be down at the lake partying.

'I'll go put these inside. Go down and start drinking for me!' Said Lilly, requesting rather than asking.

Veronica made her way down to the lake, shortcutting it through the mass of sturdy trees. She followed the smell of bonfire smoke and barbeque, the noise of laughter and loud music. Sure enough, her instincts led her straight into the heart of the party. All of her friends, besides Lilly were already down by the water, some sitting by the fire and a few manning the barbeque. Veronica smiled as she walked directly to the nearest cooler, which was sat by a large log next to the fire.

As she poured herself a large vodka and cola, Dick Casablancas walked over to her, red cup in hand.

'Holy shit Ronnie. You look… fuckable.'

Veronica put the bottle of vodka back into the cooler, settling it amongst the ice cubes before looking up with a piercing glare.

'I don't know whether to say thanks or to kick you in the balls.'

'Fiesty,' Dick noted with a smile, taking a large gulp from his cup as he looked her up and down. Veronica crossed her arms over her chest defensively, hoping to redirect his attention elsewhere.

Taking a large sip from her own cup, and realising that her vodka to cola ratio was severely out of proportion, the burning sensation hitting her throat immediately, Veronica headed over to the barbeque, ignoring Dick as she did so. If her pouring skills tonight indicated anything, it was that she was in for a big night of drinking. That being the case, she should probably get some food into her first.

Duncan and Meg were stood by the grill, Duncan idly turning sausages while Meg chatted to him from a nearby chair, sipping at her drink slowly. Her eyes lit up when she saw Veronica.

'Wow. Your hair looks amazing. Hello gorgeous!' She exclaimed, tipping her drink towards Veronica as a greeting. 'I take it the shopping trip was successful, then?'

'You mean Lilly's insistence at spending far too much money and using me as her personal mannequin? Yeah, I guess that was successful,' Veronica grinned. Duncan chuckled at her truths regarding his older sister, taking a swig of his beer as he tended to the meat. 'So what have you guys been up to this afternoon?'

'You haven't missed out on anything, if that's what you're worried about,' Meg assured her. 'Everyone napped all afternoon, the few who didn't went for a swim. Then we came down here, got the bonfire going… and now I'm waiting patiently for my burger!'

'Would we call it patiently?' Duncan asked sceptically. 'They'll be ready soon,' he assured her, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. Veronica watched on as Meg smiled, leaning up slightly to receive the gesture of affection. The all-too-familiar pang of something that she simply couldn't put a name to, hit Veronica again, if only for a tiny moment.

'These are ready,' Casey came over, adding his own critique to the cooking of the barbeque. He set down his beer to put all of the meat onto a plate. Duncan, obviously feeling as if his services weren't needed anymore, allowed himself to be pulled down by Meg, leaning over her chair while their chaste kiss on the forehead turned into a public make-out.

'Please get a room,' Logan urged loudly, his eyes setting on the couple as he made his own way over to the group. He looked up, eyes locking with Veronica's as he did so. She gave him a soft, appreciative smile. After all, he had voiced the thoughts that had been running through her head.

Logan's returning look swept her small figure up and down, taking in her new dress and shorter hair. It wasn't the same kind of look that Dick had given her previously. No, this was the kind of look that Veronica liked to get. The kind that warmed her from the inside. It had come and gone in a fleeting moment.

Casey handed her a plate of food, 'Here you go, Mars. I like your hair, by the way.'

She gave him a wide grin, accepting the meal hungrily, before going to find a seat by the fire.


Later on, much later on when Veronica's vodkas had only gotten stronger and she was five drinks past being sloshed; someone (probably Lilly) had the fantastic idea of a game of 'spin the bottle'.

Now usually Veronica, along with a few others, would have rejected the game as a mere reminder of their formative years. Surely their drinking games had progressed past seven minutes in heaven and onto more mature things like… beer pong and Kings? But tonight, tonight everyone was well in the mood to play the flirty game. Veronica surprisingly was one of the first to take her place in the circle. Tonight, with all of the liquid courage and compliments on both her new hair and dress, she was feeling pretty damn good about herself.

Only a few people, mostly those who were coupled up, refused to play the game. Meg and Duncan decided to sit out and be the referees, just in case there was any foul play or disagreements on who the bottle had landed on.

'I suppose I'll go first then?' Lilly asked, taking a hold of the bottle with a playful grin.

Veronica rolled her eyes at her friend, laughing as she did so, as she watched Lilly spin and land on… Caitlyn Ford.

The guys immediately began whooping loudly, a few even clapping enthusiastically as Lilly sauntered over to Caitlyn and landed a brief, yet open-mouthed and passionate kiss on her lips. Caitlyn and Lilly both seemed unfazed by having to do this, in fact, Veronica suspected that both of them were lapping up the attention that they were getting from the boys in the group.

'Typical,' Carrie said with a shrug from next to Veronica.

'Baby, don't tease me like that,' Luke said as Lilly returned to her place next to him. He kissed her on the cheek as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

It was John Enbom's turn next and he landed on Shelley Pomeroy. Before John could go in for something bigger, Shelley landed a chaste peck on the lips before returning back to her place.

'Hey, hey, hey,' Duncan spoke up, 'No pecks allowed Shelley, you know the rules. That's your first warning!'

'And the punishment shall be to remove an item of clothing!' Dick piped up hopefully. Dick's statement was met with a consensus of agreement from the group.

'You didn't state that as a rule before!' Shelley argued.

'Fine,' Duncan agreed, 'From now on, that is the punishment for pecking.'

Veronica took a large swig of her drink at this point. There were only a few more people to go until it was her turn and she was already feeling very drunk. She wondered for a moment whether she'd be able to even get around to the other side of the circle, if she had to of course. She looked over to the other side and saw a pair of eyes looking right back at her. Logan was staring off into the distance, taking regular swigs from a red cup filled with god knows what.

Veronica smiled and gave him a small wave to break him from his reverie. He returned it, saluting her with his cup, as if urging her to have another drink. She did, and by that time, the game was back on.

Veronica watched as Madison landed her bottle on Dick, eliciting a few swears from the faux-blonde and a disheartened 'Seriously, no strange? This is rigged,' on Dick's behalf. Still, he seemed to enjoy watching his ex-girlfriend look disgusted as he made out with her in front of the group.

'Blast from the past,' Veronica commented to Carrie, who chuckled.

Followed by Madison was Troy, who landed on Carrie. He walked over to their side of the circle with a slight grin on his face and apologised to the girl who he hardly knew, before kissing her strongly and confidently. Now it might have been the alcohol, but Veronica swore that she could hear the satisfied moaning coming from both parties during their encounter, followed by Carrie whispering, 'You're a good kisser.' Made audible to Veronica only because they were sitting so close.

Maybe Lilly's plan to get Casey and Carrie together had met an early end.

Kaz kissed Madison next, who made a show out of enjoying the kiss much more than the previous one that she had shared with Dick. This was followed by Shelley kissing Sean. Carrie was next, landing on Luke, who she warily kissed under Lilly's watchful eye, making sure to carefully toe the line between too little and too much. The former to avoid losing her skirt, the latter to avoid pissing Lilly off.

And then, it was Veronica's turn. She took a heavy sigh before taking the bottle in her hand, giving it a hearty spin. She waited as it spun and spun around the circle, breath getting shallower as she did so. She couldn't decide whether she was intrigued or nervous, there were a few people that she definitely didn't want to land on, but on the other hand, there were some who she was interested and a little intrigued about making out with. Veronica was definitely glad that Duncan had decided not to participate, 'cos boy, would that be an awkward smooch!

The bottle was slowing… John, Madison, Troy, Kaz, Shelley, Carrie, herself, Caitlyn, Sean, Casey, Dick, Logan, Luke… It had gone around the circle once, but it was still going, slowing only slightly. Lilly, John, Madison, Troy, Kaz, Shelley, Carrie, herself, Caitlyn, Sean…. The bottle had lost all of its speed now, coming to a complete stop on… 'Casey!'

'Always knew you had a thing for me, Mars. Get over here,' he beckoned, friendly grin on his face. Veronica considered her options; Casey was definitely not the worst person that the bottle could have landed on. He was actually one of the best.

Veronica got up slowly, careful not to give away just how drunk she really was and walked leisurely over to where Casey waited for her, arms outstretched. He hugged her as she stood on tiptoes just to reach his mouth with her own. Veronica kissed him for a few seconds, a nice open-mouthed kiss but with no tongue, to appease the rules of the game. When they broke apart, Casey winked playfully at her, giving her a pat on the ass as she went to walk away.

If Veronica hadn't been focused on walking back to her seat, she might have seen the unimpressed look that had crossed Logan's features. As it was, she didn't have any thoughts other than getting back to her place without falling over. Once there, she took another sip of her drink, calming her nerves until they were back to normal.

Veronica reflected that kissing Casey had been nice, but it had just been like kissing a friend. There was nothing particularly magnetic about their chemistry. They were just two people who got on well together. She didn't leave too much time to mull, however, as it was just the nature of the game. And the game was back on in an instant.

Caitlyn landed on Shelley, who once again, made a show of making out in front of the boys. They were only broken apart by Meg smacking Duncan on the arm. He cleared his throat guiltily, '…Okay girls…that's enough.' His declaration was boo-ed by the majority of males playing the game.

Sean landed his turn on Madison, who used so much tongue it looked as if she was licking his mouth. Carrie made a dry-retching noise from beside Veronica, causing her to giggle hysterically. She attempted to stifle her laughter, but it only caused Madison to desist with the face-licking and glare at Veronica viciously.

Casey was next and his bottle landed on Lilly, who licked her lips in anticipation. Again the kiss was awkward, as Luke was sat next to Lilly during the game, watched Casey's movements like a hawk. This was why the majority of couples chose to sit out during 'spin the bottle'; it was just awkward for everyone.

Dick was next and he rubbed his hands together with glee, 'Who's the lucky lady?' he asked cockily, before spinning the bottle into the circle. The game erupted with complete laughter when Dick's spin landed on Kaz.

'Oh hell no!' Dick bellowed. 'No fucking way, that is not happening. No way in hell!'

Duncan shrugged as the group continued with their laughter. 'It'd be double standards not to make you do it. The girls had to kiss.'

'Kiss. Him. Kiss. Him. Kiss. Him!' Lilly began to chant, her enthusiasm leading some of the others to join in.

'I'm not fucking kissing a dude!' Dick ranted, staying resolute on his decision.

'I'm bored. Is anyone else getting bored?' Shelley asked when it became clear that it wasn't going to happen.

During the commotion, Logan grabbed the forgotten bottle from the middle of the circle, giving it a sturdy spin.

'Let's play beer pong!' John suggested.

'Guys, Duncan is skinny dipping in the lake! Right now!' Madison squealed from where she sat.

All of these claims made in short succession of each other made it clear to the remaining players that the game was over. While Logan's bottle was still spinning, the game was deserted, people getting up from where they sat to hastily get closer to the lake and watch the spectacle unfolding.

As Veronica slowly got up to join her friends, her eyes fixed on the slowing bottle, which funnily enough, came to a stop right in front of her. She looked over to the other side of the circle, almost exactly opposite her, Logan was now stood. His eyes flickered from the bottle facing her feet, up to Veronica's face. She took a hitched breath as his eyes pierced into hers for a moment, asking silent questions, acknowledging what almost, maybe, could have been.

She gave a half-smile, given mostly through her eyes as her hands shook the dirt from her behind. Blue eyes then flicked over to the lake, where the laughter and whooping was almost deafening. Veronica followed the noises determinedly, skipping slightly as she made her way through the small patch of trees, a preview of the nearby woods, which led down to the lake.

She was barely a few steps in when a strong hand gripped her arm, pulling her back to face its owner.

'Logan, what are you-?' She began with a smile.

'I didn't get my turn.'

Veronica looked up at Logan with wide eyes, his words dawning on her as he stepped closer and a warm hand came to rest on her hip.

Now her breathing was laboured. Now it felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Now she was backed up against a tree with nowhere to go.

His eyes were seeking hers out, looking confident, looking sure of what was happening. They were so close together now that she could feel the fabric of his jeans against her bare legs.

Oh he was drawing this out. She couldn't stand it anymore.

Veronica grasped the back of his head with gentle fingers, pulling his face close to hers hurriedly as their lips met in a furious lock. Steamy wasn't a strong enough word for this kiss. The taste of straight scotch and something slightly minty entrenched her senses as teeth clashed momentarily, but lips were gentle against the others. A blur of whose tongue fought for dominance first was lost in the struggle to gain any kind of breath or coherent thought.

The ground felt like it wasn't below her feet, the bark of the tree dug into her back and her head spun due to every variable of the evening.

When Veronica finally broke free, wide eyes searching for his as a small smile ghosted her lips, Logan simply sighed loudly. This was all done in what couldn't have been more of a split second before he had taken both hands and twisted them up in the fabric of her blue dress. By the hips once more, he pulled her back in for another glorious, fucked-up, unbelievable kiss.

'Logan!'

'Loooooogaaaaaaaan! Dude, where the hell are you?'

They broke free again, two pairs of eyes looking over for the source of the voice. Logan took a step away, leaving a momentary chill on Veronica's skin. He gave her a final look before walking away, a look that said so much, but nothing at all at the same time.


A/N Okay, the only reason why I raised this fic from the dead, was because of you guys. To this day, I receive favourites, follows and reviews. That's the real reason for this chapter. Because of YOU. (And a little bit the upcoming VMars movie, raising our fandom from the dead...Too excited!)
Inspire me to write some more? I'm keen to finish this if you are.
And if you've been with me since the beginning, the biggest of hi-fives and congratulations to your marathon efforts and I'm sincerely sorry that it has taken me this long.
Peace.