Chapter 4: A New Day Brings New Problems

*******The Next Day*******

Logan got Veronica to agree to let him pick her up for school. She climbed into his Xterra and leaned in to give him a kiss. "Good morning," she said smiling.

"Now this is the way every morning should start!" Logan said with a grin.

"If you behave yourself, it just may," Veronica said, giving him a coy glance.

They walked into school holding hands and the school took notice. Veronica cynically noted the smiles and waves she was on the receiving end of. What a contrast from last year when people either went out of their way to avoid her or pretended she wasn't there. Sometimes she'd had real sympathy for The Invisible Man. It eventually didn't bother her. She made it not matter. However, the first few months after the school turned against her, her feelings were still tender. Bleeding raw from Lilly's violent death, she was defenseless against the attacks in those first few weeks and months. It was only after Shelly Pomroy's party that she decided to quit being a victim. Now she found it hard to stomach the hypocrisy.

"Hey, Logan. Veronica. What's up?" Luke asked as he exchanged fist bumps with Logan.

Here was a perfect example. Veronica had always liked Luke when she and Duncan were dating. He seemed less of a jerk than some of the guys in Duncan's group. However, he was the first to follow Logan's lead their sophomore year. Even Dick hadn't been as quick to cut her.

Logan noticed Veronica's silence as he chatted with Luke a few moments. When John joined them, Veronica had enough. She wandered off and found her own locker. She was getting out her books when she spotted Mac at her locker a bit further away. Weevil was doing the lean and flirt thing guys were so good at doing. Veronica chuckled to see that Mac wasn't any less immune to it than Veronica. She was smiling up at Weevil, obviously enjoying him. It still surprised her to see them together. They were an unlikely couple, yet they made sense in some weird way.

Wallace appeared. He looked like his best friend had died. Since Veronica was still very much alive and well, she said, "What's wrong?"

"I just got kicked off the basketball team!" Wallace said hitting his fist on the locker.

"What?" she asked in shocked.

"I flunked the drug test. Me and a few others," Wallace said.

"You flunked a drug test? Are you insane? What were you thinking!" Veronica scolded.

"I don't do drugs, Veronica! You should know that by now! I have no idea how I managed to fail the drug test. My mom's going to kill me!" Wallace said bagging his head against his locker.

"How did this happen?" Veronica asked.

"I don't know. One guy who everyone knows is a pot head managed to pass it, but me and four other athletes managed to fail it," Wallace said. He opened his locker and got out his books.

"None of the ones who failed it are into drugs?" Veronica asked.

"No. Kelvin, one of the guys, is really pissed. Told me I should get you to fix this," Wallace said.

"Me?" she asked.

"'You friends with that P.I. chick, right? Make her fix this!' were his instructions," Wallace said, smiling slightly for the first time.

"So who did you piss off lately?" Veronica asked.

"Me? Everyone loves me!" he insisted.

"Give me the names of the ones who failed the drug test at lunch, and we'll get to the bottom of this. Dad wants me to lay off the P.I. stuff, but I think for you I can make an exception," Veronica said.

"Gee, I'm touched by your generosity," Wallace said. "I figure someone framed me for one of two reasons."

"What's those?" Veronica asked.

"One, they are green with envy of my wicked skills on the floor and want more playing time or are dating a guy who wants more playing time. But why would a team player sabotage their own team?" Wallace pointed out.

"Good point. It could be someone that hates you more than they care about the team. Who have you pissed off lately?" she asked.

"Superfly, that's your M.O. Not mine. Remember?" Wallace said with a grin.

"I'm not the one getting my drug test tampered with," Veronica pointed out.

"Well, there is also everyone that hates you, which means me by association," Wallace said smugly.

Veronica had to acknowledge the truth of that statement. Logan joined them. "Hey, why did you disappear?" he asked.

"Because your friends are lame and mine are not," she said simply. "Although Stoner here did just fail a drug test."

"Oh, really?" Logan asked in surprise.

"Total frame job! V's going to find the guilty party," he said.

"I'm on it," she said nodding.

"So can I interview you for my next newspaper assignment? Drugs on campus as a story wouldn't be nearly as interesting as a frame job," Logan said smiling.

"Totally!" Wallace said.

The warning bell rang ending their discussion. They headed to their perspective classes.

*******Lunch*******

Mac was walking out to join her friends and Weevil for lunch when she spotted Dick. "Hey!" she called out, getting his attention.

He paused and waited for her to catch up. "Hey," he said.

"Are you going to join us for lunch?" Mac asked.

"I guess. Nowhere else to go," he said with a shrug. He took a sip of the water bottle he was carrying.

"How are you doing? How's Cassidy?" she asked.

"Do you care?" he asked bluntly.

Mac frowned. "Of course, I care! Why would you say such a thing?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry. It's just been kind of crappy. My mom's in town, and she's talking about taking Cassidy away. She lives in like another country. She doesn't seem concerned about leaving me with no family at all," Dick said glumly.

Mac reached out and put a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Dick. You should talk to her. Let her know how you feel," she encouraged.

"It won't do no good. She'll just go on about it not being about me but Cassidy. Yada, yada," he said.

"Can anyone go visit your brother or just family?" she asked.

"I guess anyone. They have open visiting hours between four and six during the week," he said.

"Do you think you could take me tomorrow after school?" she asked.

"I suppose. If you're sure, you want to," Dick said doubtfully.

"Do you think he'd be upset or happy to see me?" she asked as they sat down at a table.

"Both probably," Dick said.

Weevil came out to the quad to look for Mac. He wasn't happy to see her sitting across from Dick. He approached and sat down next to her. "Hey," he said. He nodded at Dick.

"Hi," she said, giving him a sweet smile that served to mollify him somewhat.

"Hey," Dick said. "So what are you guys in the mood for?"

Duncan appeared. "I already ordered. Meg had a craving for noodles, so it's Chinese today," he said. "I ordered a variety of stuff, so don't worry."

Weevil got out his wallet. "How much do we owe you?" he asked.

Duncan gave a careless shrug. "I don't pay for anything. My dad does. He's got plenty to spare. Don't worry about it," he said.

Weevil may have been more uncomfortable if he wasn't used to Logan's same careless attitude toward money. When you had more than you knew what to do with, it was easy to be so generous.

"Thanks," he said. He watched Dick take a long drink out of his water bottle. He gave him a close look and smirked. Figures. "Thirsty today?"

"You know it," Dick replied, snickering.

Weevil had to laugh. "Vodka?" he inquired. It was a clear liquor, easy to replace the water with.

"The finest," Dick said, grinning.

"You brought alcohol to school, Dick? That's not a good idea! You could get suspended!" Mac said in concern.

"Yeah, right! 09ers never get busted for shit, Mackie," Dick said.

"Drinking's not the way to handle what's going on in your life, Dick," Mac advised.

Logan and Veronica appeared. Veronica sat next to Mac. Logan squeezed in next to her and looked over at Dick. "Is there food coming?" he asked.

"Yes. Meg and I took care of it," he said.

"So what have we missed?" Logan asked.

"Mackie here is trying to lecture me about bringing alcohol to school," Dick said with a gleeful grin. "She's worried I might get suspended."

Logan leaned forward and looked at Mac. "Not going to happen. They might take his alcohol from him but that's about it," Logan said. "Now me. It might be a different story. Last year, I could do no wrong. But now that dear dad is revealed as a murdering fiend, I may not have the same pull. I'm basically an orphan."

"True," Dick said. "Well, Mom's talking about taking Cassidy back with her, so I really will be like an orphan. Stuck in that giant house all by my lonesome. Maybe you can come live with me."

"Maybe. But I'd miss Lettie's cooking," Logan said, flashing Weevil a knowing smile.

"She is the best," he agreed.

"We can like hire her or something," Dick suggested.

Weevil rolled his eyes. He knew the guy wasn't trying to be insulting, but he still bugged Weevil. However, he'd had a crappy deal lately, so Weevil didn't take offense.

"I can't hire her, Dick. That'd be like an ass thing to do after she's like treated me like her family," Logan explained.

Dick frowned, looking disappointed.

Mac found herself feeling both sympathy and concern for him. He looked so lost and lonely. "I'm sure Logan can stay a night with you, though, on the weekends. Right, Logan?" she said, giving Logan a pointed look.

"Absolutely, dude!" Logan quickly agreed. He whispered to Veronica, "Lots of empty rooms to be alone with you in."

"You'd have to be awfully good for a long time to deserve that," she said back, giving him a saucy grin.

"Hey, I'm good at all kinds of things," he said with a suggestive leer.

"Not the kind of good I was referring to," she said.

"So what time is your shift at the Hut today?" Logan asked.

"Three to seven," she replied.

"Can I take you out to dinner?" he asked.

"On a school night? I don't know how Alicia will feel about that," she said with a frown.

"Even if I have you home by like nine?" he said hopefully.

"Okay, it's a date. I'll send her a text and see if she's okay with it," Veronica said, getting out her phone.

Wallace and Hannah appeared. They sat in the table next to them.

"Wallace, is it true that you got kicked off the basketball team?" Meg asked.

Wallace groaned. "It's already around school? That's just great!" he bemoaned.

"I don't see what the problem is. You can insist on another test, right?" Hannah asked.

"That's not how it works," Wallace said.

Veronica got up and sat next to him. "That's how it'd work if you were an 09er. Hannah, things are different for us mere mortals," she said. "Do you have the list?" He handed it to her. She glanced down at it. "Just what I thought. Not one 09er on the list."

Hannah glanced at it. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence," she said.

"She's sweet but naïve," Veronica said to Wallace.

He grinned and threw his arm around Hannah. "True, but I kind of like her," he said.

"Only kind of?" she asked with a pout.

He planted a quick kiss on her pouty lips. "Maybe more than a little," he admitted. She gave him a pleased smile.

"I'll talk to some of the girls on the squad," Meg said. "I didn't get tested since I drop the cheerleading team, but maybe someone knows something."

"We'll figure this out. Let me know if you hear anything," Veronica told Meg. "Don't worry. We'll get to the bottom of this."

The delivery guy showed up with their lunch. Veronica moved and sat back next to Logan. Duncan and Meg moved and sat next to Wallace and Hannah. Meg and she begin discussing the squad. Luke sat down next to Duncan and started chatting with him.

"When does Cassidy go to court again?" Mac asked.

"It's one day this week. I think Thursday or Friday," Dick said absently.

"Are you going to be there?" Mac asked. "Do you want one of us to go with you?"

"Yeah, we can go," Logan said, not thinking Veronica might not appreciate his open support of her rapist. She tensed next to him but said nothing.

Weevil looked over at her, though. He knew she couldn't be happy that her best girl friend and her boyfriend wanted to support the man who raped her. He was a bit disgusted with them both. "Yeah, why don't you go show some support for the guy who raped Veronica. That sounds like a great move," he said sourly.

Mac looked at him in dismay. Then she turned and gave Veronica a guilty look. "I'm sorry! I didn't think!" she exclaimed with regret.

"He didn't rape Veronica! She wasn't forced. He's not some rapist pervert! She was coming on to everyone! I put him in that room! If anyone should be blamed, it should be me!" he said hotly. "That coach screwed up his head!"

"Don't worry, Dick, I do blame you," Veronica said in disgust. She got up and moved to sit next to Wallace.

Weevil was surprised when Mac reached out and took his hand. He thought she would be upset with him for reminding everyone of Cassidy's crime. However, Mac turned to him for support. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel," she said quietly.

Both Dick and Weevil could hear her, however. "You feel however the hell you want to feel, Mackie," Dick said, glaring over at Veronica.

"That's enough, Dick. You and I both carry some blame, but your brother did the deed. No one forced him," Logan pointed out. "But we're all friends, and we gotta find a way to get past this." He got up and went to Veronica.

Dick drained his vodka. "I don't need to get past a damn thing," he said. He got up and left, heading toward the parking lot.

Mac felt like crying. She forgot for one moment that Cassidy had done something truly horrendous. He had planned on doing even more. Yet some part of her had a really hard time seeing Cassidy that way.

Weevil put his arm around her. "You have a big heart. V knows that," he said, trying to make her feel better.

"I just feel so bad for all three of them. I don't know what to do," she admitted.

"Dick is feeling a lot of guilt-as he should-so he's going to be hostile," Weevil said. "If one of my little brothers did what Cassidy did, I'd kick their ass, but I'd feel responsible, too. Not that I would throw them into a room with a half comatose girl and tell one of them to have their way with her." His disgust for Dick was plain.

Mac nodded. "Yeah, I don't get Dick. Or most of the 09ers. It's like they live in this world the rest of us can't touch. It really gives them a messed up view of the world, but I can't help but feel for Dick. I think there's a good guy there inside of him. I've seen glimpses," she said.

"Maybe. Logan likes the guy a lot," Weevil said with a shrug. "But he's not your problem. He's Logan's."

Mac knew Weevil was right, but she still didn't feel right about it. How could Logan be the one to help him when he was in the same position as Mac? They both cared too much about Veronica.

Logan was trying in vain to remind Veronica of that particular fact, but she wasn't in the mood to listen. She was focusing on Wallace and his drug problem. When lunch was over, he gave her an inquiring look. "So are we still on for dinner?"

She pulled out her phone and checked her text messages. "Alicia doesn't mind, so sure," she said. She didn't want to keep letting Cassidy or Dick come between them, but it wasn't easy.

Logan looked relieved. He kissed her. Then he grabbed their leftovers and cleaned up the mess. "Pick me up at work and we'll go some place close," she said.

"You got it!" he said happily. He didn't care what they did. He just wanted to be with her.

*******That Evening*******

Logan parked his Xterra and walked down the sidewalk toward Java Hut. He heard loud voices outside the front entrance. As he got closer, he saw an attractive girl arguing with a guy. The guy grabbed her arm. Logan moved quickly to see if the girl needed help.

"Let go! You don't get to tell me what to do! This is our first date!" she scolded in annoyance.

"You have been leading me on all night!" the guy exclaimed angrily.

"Is there a problem here?" Logan asked, stepping up.

"Not your problem," the man said crossly. "My girl and I are just having a disagreement."

"Maybe you should let her go. Manhandling isn't usually a turn on for most girls," Logan said with a smirk. "Unless you're in to that."

The girl yanked her arm away from the guy. She glared at both men. "As if!" she said with an eye roll. "You can go to hell! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Fine!" the guy said and stormed off.

"You really know how to pick'em," Logan said to the girl.

"I really do," she said with a sigh. Then she looked at him. "Thanks. I could handle him, but I appreciate your chivalry."

"That's me. Logan the chivalrous," he said, giving her a bow.

She smiled and held out her hand. "Jackie Cook. It's nice to meet you."

Logan shook her hand. "So I haven't seen you around before. I'd remember a girl as pretty as you," he said, flashing her a smile.

"And I'd remember you," she said, giving him a once over and liking what she saw. "I just moved here. My mom lives in New York. My dad lives here. He's a pretty big deal for sports fans. Terrance Cook."

"Really? Cool!" Logan said. "Are you still in high school? I'm at senior at Neptune High."

"Yeah, me too. I should be there tomorrow," she said.

"Great. My girlfriend Veronica works here at the Hut. We'll look for you tomorrow," Logan said, figuring he should mention he wasn't available.

"All the good ones are taken," she said with regret.

"I hope you'll still say hi when you see me, though," he said with a friendly smile.

"Of course," she said. She watched him walk into the restaurant. Now that was one very cute and charming white boy. Maybe Neptune wouldn't be so bad after all.

Logan went inside to find Veronica sitting and waiting for him. She stood when she spotted him. Logan bent down and kissed his girlfriend. "Sorry, I got held up. Some jerk was manhandling his date," Logan shared.

She smiled. "And I bet you just couldn't help but come to the fair maiden's rescue," she said knowingly.

"You know it. She declared her undying love and affection for me, but I had to let her down easy," he said with an arrogant smirk.

"Oh yeah? How did she take it?" Veronica asked.

"There were tears. And begging. It was a sad sight. But I remained firm," Logan said. "I told her I was taken."

"You did?"

"By a beautiful woman with a terrible temper, who will beat me mercilessly if I so much as look at another woman!" he said dramatically.

"You know it!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck and smiling up at him. "Was she pretty?"

"Aren't they all?"

"You can look, but you better never touch," she said.

"Bobcat, you are definitely all I can handle," he said in all sincerity. He kissed her again. Then he took her hand. "Ready to eat?"

"Starvin'! Luigi's, please!" she begged.

He sighed in resignation. "I suppose," he said. He held open the door for her.

"I think I figured out what's going on with Wallace and the drug test!" she told him.

"Really? Already?" Logan said as they walked out the door.

"Wait 'til you hear!"

******Chapter End******

Since you already know how the drug testing thing ended, please don't make me write anymore about it! I really want to focus on the characters without pretending season 2 didn't exist. That means I will bring in some real things from season 2. However, since my story changed some details (like Meg not failing the drug test 'cause she was no longer on the team), it won't be exactly the same. I hope it still works for you! Reviews are always much appreciated! For those that review consistently and don't sign in, so I can't reply, thanks so much! I really enjoy reading your reviews!