DISCLAIMER: I don't own Veronica Mars.
CHAPTER 3 OF MEETINGS AND GREETINGS
It was about 6 in the morning and Logan Echolls was sitting and watching the sunrise at Dog Beach while suffering through a hangover.
If he remembered correctly, they had celebrated a week before school. He didn't originally remember how he got there, but he did remember planning to go surfing with his good friend Dick Casablancas while being drunk and having to skip it, because he forgot his surf-board at home and then he must have fallen asleep on the beach after Dick and a few others decided to party on.
When he realized how pathetic he was, he started to curse himself, because he had never before been drunk enough to see hallucinations. But now, here it was.
Logan eyed his hallucination closely.
A hot blond girl in shorts, which showed of slim, tanned legs; she was running with ease and in his direction with a dog witch looked like it could easily kill a cow.
Logan groaned and fell on his back and closed his eyes.
I really need to quit drinking so much, Logan thought to himself.
Then he heard footsteps coming this way. They stopped near him and he suddenly felt soft kick in ribs, which only made his hangover worse.
"Hey, you alive, rich boy?"
Logan lazily sat up and opened his eyes. In front of him was the girl from his earlier hallucinations staring down at him in badly hidden disgust, while her killer dog was drooling on his shoes.
"Huh?" was the most intelligent thing Logan could muster with his current headaches.
"So, you are alive… And I thought Back-up would get new a chew toy, he apparently likes your shoes."
That girl is evil Logan could just felt it in his bones.
Making fun of strangers, who passed out drunk, was a thing no decent person would do, but I have to admit, it is a thing I would enjoy doing.
Logan laughed inwardly to himself and thought, decent aint exactly how my friends or enemies would describe me.
"I bet you have a bad case of the common disease called hangover," The small girl stared down at him disapprovingly for a moment and then sighed and reached down for her dog's collar, which had a small bag tied to it.
She pulled out two pills and handed them to Logan.
"Take these, boozy."
Logan looked immobile at the girl's hand for a second, but then he took the pills and swallowed them.
"Thanks" was the only thing he could say with his head pounding
Maybe she's just poisoned you, you fool. Logan told himself, but somehow he knew it wasn't the case.
Logan narrowed his eyes. The girl stood with the sun in her back and he couldn't make out the features in her face anymore. As she stood there she kind of looked like an angel.
Logan smiled to himself again and corrected his thoughts: Well an angel, who specializes in curing hangovers.
"Not a problem," the girl smirked after a long minute. And that was last thing Logan saw before allowing himself to pass out and begin the healing.
Veronica sighed at the sad sight of the sleeping drunk and as a second thought she bent down and checked the oblivious boy's pockets. What she found made her want to gag; she looked at the driver's license again and mumbled:
"Logan Echolls… son of the worst actor ever."
Sighing to herself Veronica returned the valet to his pocket and jogged away. All the while scolding herself.
Why did I give that rich boy sleeping pills? And why on earth did I leave a potentially dangerous person unchecked? That's not my thing. Uncle J. taught me better than that! Always secure your surroundings – without exceptions…no matter how cute the possible subject is!
Veronica stopped in her tracks, catching her breath as she threw a stick to Back-up and watched him dive into the ocean.
Veronica continued to think and reassure herself.
Remember you need to act normal, girly girl! Normal…
Veronica whistled at her dog and jogged on, while every few moments she mumbled:" normal," in a very determined tone to the confusement of the few witnesses she passed on her run.
Some habits die hard, especially when Veronica wasn't ready to let them go.
Returning to her newest home Veronica now felt more at ease.
After her morning run and forced breakfast conversation with her biological father, whom Veronica still thought a total moron, she had already rented a small two-bedroom apartment and stored her illegal treasures there. The apartment had a combined living room and kitchen and the bedrooms were small and cozy. Veronica loved it from the first sight – event though she had to be careful since it was an apartment building.
To Veronicas delight she even found a small dojo, where she could begin studying jiu-jitsu. It was an art she never had had a chance to master from her time with her uncle so now was the perfect time.
Gotta make something productive these next two years," Veronica told herself.
"Besides I can't show of my already mastered skills," Veronica whispered in Back-ups ears. "It'll be too obvious and it'll be hard to hold back for so long. A new discipline is required."
A few hours later Veronica was headed to a place her father had forbidden her to go to in the morning, when she'd asked where she could buy a car of her own.
Veronica relived the scene once again as she walked.
Keith sat at the breakfast table and looked hungrily at Veronica, but tried to cover it up as he answered her question.
"There's not a lot of places in Neptune to buy used cars – recycle hasn't quite reached our towns finest yet."
Keith leaned forward as he saw a glimpse of disdain in his newly found daughter's eyes and continued:
"Look there's one place but I really don't want you to go there, it's full of bad elements and from my time as sheriff, trust me on this honey – you're not gonna be the most welcomed."
Keith sighed at the look of resentment as he called her a pet name and tried once more to reach her:
"Look Veronica – let me give you some money, Nicole has an allowance you should have the same." Veronica decided that she'd have to accept the money, since it was what a normal teenage girl would do.
"Thanks."
Keith looked at Nicole, who'd just entered the kitchen area and said:
"Well, I thought the two of you would have wanted to share Nicole's car, but," Keith had been interrupted at this point by Nicole's cry of anger and the small yelp from Veronica and he understood, that Veronica was not a pink convertible kind a gal and he continued:
"But, I have to get used to you two being individuals, so here's some money Veronica and go knock yourself out."
Veronica tilted her head as she accepted the cash and looked thankfully into his eyes with her big blue bambi eyes and Keith already knew he would have to watch out for that look in the future.
Veronica finally reached her destination and concentrated on her present time again.
The place was one with only slightly legal business occurrence. Veronica needed a car and a motorcycle – the latter she had been addicted to after Italy.
As she walked around silently and investigated the prices on the cars and bikes Veronica already that her search would end here. She missed the bubbling adrenaline in her bloodstream after only being in USA a couple of days – no matter what; she'd be driving from this auto shop.
I'm just not cut out for a regular life, Veronica stated to herself, I'm never more alive then on a mission. Veronica smiled and thought, however sad it sounds; I'm a teen whose love of her life is her job.
Veronica bent down to tie her shoelaces deep in thought.
Thank God I made David swear to call me on my private cell if they ever need me. Peaceful and this face – not a good mix.
Veronica walked onwards and reached a large hangar. No sign indicated a car for sale, but she just felt it in her gut that she was at the right place and carefully opened the door to peek inside.
What first caught Veronica's eyes were a lot of disjointed cars and tall shelves filled with tires in all shapes and sizes. It was quiet inside and Veronica stepped inside the hangar.
From somewhere between the many shelves a tattooed Mexican guy of medium size appeared.
"Yo, what 'r you doing here Blondie?"
The guy looked a bit surprised at her presence and continued as he rubbed his shaved head:
"Lost little girl? Let me give you a tip, this aint Disneyland."
Veronica almost choked. She knew she was short, but being on average being treated like a 10 year old was just plain insulting.
Narrowing her blue eyes, Veronica smiled a big fake smile and said in a small childish tone of voice:
"I'm totally here on business, so uhm, like treat me like any other client."
The guy chuckled, recognized the intelligence behind Veronica's eyes and bowed saying:
"I'm Weevil and welcome to this humble shop, how may I be at your service Blondie?"
Veronica smiled and felt a surge of reluctant respect enter her mind and answered in her normal voice:
"I need a car, something not too flashy, but not from the dark age either. A dependable car – preferably black."
"So, how'd a cutie suck as yourself wander in to this place?" Weevil asked.
It was a common question for all customers.
"Well, it's like this," Veronica answered truthfully with a teasing glimpse in her eyes, "I was forbidden to go near this place, so I reckoned this was just what I was looking for," Veronica smiled a small mischievous smile.
Maybe she needed to lay low for two years, but that didn't mean she needed to pretend to be some goody-two-shoes either.
Acting normal, Veronica told herself with a bigger smile.
Her orders were to act natural. So she did. Sarcasm and acting was Veronica's second nature.
This Weevil guy looked at her with approval: "Hmm, we have something like that here…" He guided her through the labyrinth of shelves to another exit from the hangar.
The place looked like a dump, but Veronica noticed a few masked cars in this maze of junk.
They finally arrived to a car, which Veronica began to like from first moment, a used, black Le Baron
"I'll take it," Veronica decided after few moments of thought. "How much it will cost and when will it be ready to pick up?"
"For you, 3000 bucks, I can make it respectable in two days" Weevil smirked "for a price, of course."
Veronica laughed and said tilting her head:
"I might be blonde, Weevil, but I aint stupid. It's no way the car is worth that much? Reevaluate the prize please."
Weevil laughed and after a few more minutes of haggling they decided on a price.
Veronica smiled again and remembered her other business.
"Do you have some lighter transport, like motorbikes?"
Somehow Veronica knew the Mexican to be a biker it shone from him – so if anyone knows about bikes it'll be him, Veronica thought and eyed the boy closely, probably a member of that local PCH gang I read about during my research – he sure looks tough enough.
"You new here?" Weevil suddenly asked ribbing Veronica back to reality.
"Yeah, something like that" Veronica did the very useful head tilt once again and asked. "Why are you asking?"
"No reason. Just one question: Do you know how to ride one?"
Veronica frowned "Yeah, I had one for about a year."
"Say, have you ever raced?" Weevil continued with his mysterious questions.
Veronica didn't know what to answer; she could bend the truth a little or she could use a common method of avoiding the truth: deny, deny and deny anything.
But this guy didn't look like a buddy of Keith Mars. So bended truth it was.
"Yeah, I have a little. It was quite exciting." Truthfully Veronica had partaken in races on her last assignment, as a girlfriend of a known terrorist's son. She even won a lot of 3rd and 2nd places.
"Our club has races every last Friday of the month. If you wanna be in, be at PCH hideout at 9 p.m, the buy in is 200."
Weevil had found a piece of paper and was writing the address and directions of the location where she could find what she was looking for.
Veronica got a distinct feeling of being extremely underestimated.
Weevil is trying to scam money out of this little blond. I probably look like an easy win, Veronica made an evil smirk, Oh, well maybe I should show my pretty little face.
"Thanks," was what Veronica ended up saying," I'll think about it. By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Veronica."
She snatched the piece of paper from Weevil's oil covered hands and found her way out the junkyard without his assistance feeling quite sure, that she was at least getting closer to her goals.
A/N: And here's chapter 3. Thanks for great reviews; I can't wait to see what you think about this chapter. Credit also goes to maipigen – a co-author of this story. Spoiler for ch 4 – Lilly and Nicole interaction.
Question: what do you think of my style of presenting events from different POVs? I think it helps in character development; do you like it that way? (Even if you don't, I won't change it, I just want an opinion.)
