A/N: I know the LoVe isn't so much happening yet, but trust me, it will ;-) Thanx for the reviews on the previous chapter, as always!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4

Logan Echolls could hardly believe this. Surely he had to be dreaming, he couldn't really be driving down the open highway with a hot blonde at his side, headed for the beach to spend the day doing whatever they wanted. This wasn't his life, it was something out a movie, not the kind of movie his father made, but one of those fantasy-world high school movies where the guy gets away with everything, like Ferris Bueller maybe. He was having a ball, and the adventure had barely even begun.

Veronica stole glances at the young man driving her car. He didn't notice since her eyes were hidden behind the tinted glass of her shades. The grin on Logan's face appeared to be unwavering, and she was kind of proud to know she'd helped put it there. She couldn't stand the idea of not having freedom, of not being able to go out and do whatever she wanted. Sure, she had to work, and back when she was a teen her father had always wanted her to study hard and be careful when she went out alone. Still, he had afforded her some independence, she was never to be holed up in her home, not seeing anyone or anything. That wasn't living, it was prison. She understood Logan's parents wanting to keep him safe, but there were limits. Besides, right now he was getting his adventure and being kept away from harm - it was perfect... almost.

"Y'know what would make this trip perfect?" she asked, shooting him a look as he glanced her way.

A quick dig around in her bag and Veronica had produced a mixed tape which was duly pushed into the player with a click. She cranked the volume just in time for the sound of Journey to flood the car, their hit Anyway You Want It seemed just perfect for the moment and Logan chuckled at her choice.

"Interesting driving music" he told her with a look, before his eyes returned dutifully to the road, "Your Mom make this tape for you?" he asked, an apparent joke, but Veronica was too quiet and not laughing which made him wonder if he'd just screwed up royally.

"Actually, yes" she said, perhaps not as quietly as she might have because she wouldn't have been heard over the music if she had, "Every time we went out to the mall or something to have a girls day, this was the travel music" she smiled sadly, "We sang along to every track and I was so happy... She left when I was fifteen" she said then, shaking her head clear of memories, glad her dark glasses hid the tears she felt welling in her eyes even now.

"Veronica, I'm sorry..." Logan began, but the moment was gone, her smile was back, however shakily, and she waved away his attempt at an apology.

"It's okay, you didn't know" she assured him, "but as punishment you now have to listen to the rest of this tape" she told him with a dangerous smile, "And I expect your best singing voice, Logan, especially on the next track. It happens to be one of my favourites"

"Dare I even ask?" he said, practically wincing as the Journey song started to fade out and track two kicked in with a vengeance.

A familiar voice yelled about the woman that gave love a bad name and Logan was almost loathed to admit he knew every word to the rock classic. Ah well, if the way Veronica was dancing in her seat beside him was anything to go by, he wouldn't be mocked for his best Bon Jovi impression. He sang long and loud as they tore down the highway towards the beach, the pair of them too loud and hardly ever in tune, but it didn't matter. Logan and Veronica were having the time of their lives right now.

It might occur to them later how crazy they were being, but it was doubtful they would care. Veronica was starting to realise that this might just be as much a vacation for her as it was for Logan. Okay, so spending time with her Dad would have been cool, and actually not working too, but this didn't much feel like work right now. She would have to have her eyes and ears open at the beach more so than here in the car that was constantly moving. If they were spotted, if Logan was identified as the son of movie-stars, things could turn bad and she had to be mindful of that. Still, if the guy had been under practical house arrest so much, it was unlikely too many people would be aware of exactly what he looked like. Last nights scandal at the movie premiere wouldn't have helped but she was pretty confident they could get away with quite a bit without being caught. It wasn't like she didn't have back up anyway. Somewhere behind them, though mostly out of sight, D'Amata and Sachs were tailing them, a thought that Veronica tried to keep out of her head as much as possible, not least because Leo just happened to be her ex!

For himself, Logan had never felt this free in the whole of his life. He was legally allowed to drive and had been for a while now and yet had not ever been given the freedom to just go out and do it. His Dad bought him a car but it only came out of the garage if he promised to stay in the grounds of the house - where was the fun in that? This was what he wanted, the only thing he ever wanted and was never permitted to have, and that was his independence.

Coming around the next bend to the appropriate sound of Boston's More Than A Feeling, Logan and Veronica saw the beach come into view. They hadn't thought of an exact plan of what they were going to do when they got there, and it had yet to cross Logan's mind what he was even going to wear, but that didn't matter. Fun was to be had, that was the beginning, middle, and end of the plan.

As Logan pulled the car up, the tape player switching off with a clunk, Veronica felt her business-like self kick in a little. The beach was pretty secluded with not too many people on it yet. Some girls were sunbathing, a few kids played in the water. It was all fairly normal and as far as she could tell, and nobody had even paid attention to their arrival.

"That's a serious look for someone who was smiling thirty seconds ago" said Logan as he looked across at her, "You okay, Veronica?"

"Yeah, sure" she was happy again in an instant, perhaps because she forced it a little, maybe just because Logan's own expression was infectious.

He was like a kid in a candy store as he practically leapt out of the car and looked out at the scene before them. Sun, sea, and sand, it was the perfect daydream setting for a lot of people, and yet for Logan it was so much more than that. Veronica saw the longing in his eyes, the need to be free. She knew this trip was his one shot and that it could be cut short at any time.

"C'mon" she said from the other side of the car as she pulled off her shoes and yanked her top over her head.

He watched as she quickly stripped down to a vest top, disappearing briefly behind the car and emerging a moment later with short-shorts and flip flops in place of her jeans and sneakers.

Running around the car, she encouraged Logan to follow her, clapping him across the shoulder as she began running down onto the beach.

"Come on!" she repeated more forcefully with a giggle that she couldn't help, gesturing for him to follow her towards the sea.

Now understanding the plan, Logan couldn't help but laugh at her antics as he pulled the sweatshirt over his head, kicked off the shoes he wore, and rolled his pants up to his knees. He was soon pelting down the beach after her, her hand catching hold of his as they met near the edge of the water and dove right in splashing and laughing. It was like a pair of little kids who never saw the sea before, but it was fun, and it was what they both needed right now - real life be damned.

This was not exactly Leo D'Amata's idea of fun. He signed on to be part of the security team protecting the movie-star family that were the Echolls, and for the most part he liked what he did. He was proud to know he was keeping people safe, okay, maybe not as many people as if he were a law enforcement officer of some kind, but this paid way better. If he was going to help put his disabled little sister through schooling, he needed as much cash as he could lay his hands on.

Usual assignments for Leo and his fellow security staff were fine; standing on doors, ushering people in and out of cars; occasionally chasing down the odd stalker or burglars. This was all very different, and not necessarily in a good way. After all, exactly what man was going to like the idea of playing undercover guy, following around a movie stars son, and oh yes, his own ex-girlfriend, making sure they didn't get into trouble on a Summer holiday adventure? Yeah, so not Leo's idea of a good time, not least because he had to spend this whole trip with a dude.

Sachs was a good guy, no two ways about it, but he was very serious about his job and really not a whole lot of fun. Besides, the two of them driving around together, sharing hotel rooms and such, they were just going to end up looking like some kind of gay couple if they weren't careful, and Leo wasn't thrilled about that either. He liked girls, used to like Veronica Mars a whole lot, and if truth be told, those feelings he had for her never had entirely gone away. That made it all the more difficult to realise that she had shared a room with Logan Echolls last night, however innocently. On top of that, he and Sachs now had to sit by the beach in their car, watching Logan and Veronica splashing in the sea like a pair of young lovers.

"Yep, this is gonna be a looong trip" sighed Leo as he unclipped his seat belt and tried to get comfortable for an afternoon of sitting and watching.

"Hey, it beats being stuck at the Echolls house the whole time" his partner tried to tell him as he too leant back as far as the drivers seat would allow, "Think of it like a Summer vacation" he shrugged, seeming decidedly chipper, which only served to make Leo more annoyed.

"Yeah, a Summer vacation" he rolled his eyes, "Following my ex around, whilst she plays out the opening scene to Grease right in front of me - awesome"

"Hey, I think we're up" said Sachs suddenly, making Leo sit up with a start and look in the direction his partner was pointing.

There on the edge of the beach was a pair of girls with a camera-phone, pointing and giggling as they took some happy snappy shots of the couple down on the sand that Leo and Sachs were there to keep an eye on. Chances were good they'd figured out who Logan was and that was bad.

The security men were out of the car in a second, Sachs appearing just about ready to start some kind of arrest procedure from the look on his face. Leo had other ideas and put his arm out to stop his partner going any further.

"Hold on a sec" he urged him, "Let's play this cool" he suggested, adjusting the sunglasses on his face and strolling on over to the girls, "Hello ladies..."

"Oh my God" Veronica was laughing and gasping for air at the same time as she landed on her back on the sand, "I haven't done anything like this since High School" she admitted.

That made Logan recall she was older than him, as he sat down beside her on the beach, pushing his wet hair off his face. She didn't seem that much older, not enough to make him feel like Benjamin Braddock to her Mrs Robinson. Not that they were sleeping together or anything anyway, not like that, though when he looked across at her toned body on the hot sand, glistening with water and all...

"You okay?" she asked, putting a hand above her eyes to block out the sun and immediately noticing the odd look on his face.

"Er, yeah" said Logan, shaking one or two dirty thoughts from his head as he laid down on the sand beside her, looking away a moment, "How long ago was High School?" he asked her curiously.

"Nice get around" she smiled, making him look at her strangely again, "Well, you're not supposed to ask a woman her age so that one allows you to figure it out for yourself from my answer, right?" she smiled, not giving him a chance to say anything as she closed her eyes and lay back on the sand, immediately continuing, "I graduated three years ago" she sighed, "Seems like a lifetime"

Logan dared to look her way since her eyes were now closed and she wouldn't know about it. That made her twenty-one, just those three years older than him since he would also be graduating age, if he had been allowed to attend a real high school. Home schooling was supposed to be for losers, but it was also for movie star kids and the kids of movie stars. Not that Logan was feeling much like his real self right now, or maybe he was feeling it more than ever. He had wanted to be free to have fun for so long, and now he was finally getting that dream, alongside a beautiful woman. He couldn't imagine it got much better than this.

"Thanks, Veronica" he said as he followed her lead and relaxed into the sand, his eyes falling closed.

"For what?" she asked peeking at him through one squinted eye.

"This" he answered simply, "Letting me share your vacation" he clarified at which she couldn't help but smile.

"No problem" she said easily, as they both relaxed in the sunshine, neither regretting their decision to be here one little bit right now.

To Be Continued...