A/N: Thank you so much to Bondopoulos and BryroseA for editing, conversation, and for holding my hand when I doubted my decisions or needed help fixing them. You are both amazing! Before Bondopoulos got her hands on this chapter the format was… ugh, not good. For the time, effort, and painful Word complications I owe her so much!

More thanks to everyone who had been reviewing, commenting, following, favoriting, leaving kudos. It really is like my birthday every time I get one of those notifications.

Chapter 6 – We're Nothing But Strangers

By the time Logan and Veronica arrived at the diner, Duncan was positively seething. He'd spent the better part of the last hour pacing the diner parking lot trying to get a grip on himself.

Why would Veronica be with Logan at three o'clock in the morning? Why was she answering his phone? Were they sleeping together?

"Arghh!" Duncan yelled, kicking the side of the building for the fifth time.

"Duncan, dude! You're going to burst a blood vessel if you don't chill the fuck out." Troy called out from where he and Luke were waiting.

"How are you so calm, man? Your dad's car was stolen!" Luke asked Troy.

"I'm resigned to my fate. They're sending me to boarding school when they get back anyway, so what do I care? I'm more concerned about Duncan; seriously man, why are you so worked up? It isn't even your car." Troy asked Duncan, confusion etched on his face.

Duncan turned to glare at Troy and Luke, "Veronica answered Logan's phone." He said, and then he kicked the building again.

"Logan, is that Duncan?" Logan heard Veronica ask. He tried to pull himself out of sleep, but his mind was resisting. He felt her gently shake his arm to wake him up.

"Wha…?" He groggily responded, blinking his eyes. He turned the direction she was looking. "Is that Duncan?" He said alarmed.

"I think so." Veronica said, pulling to a stop a few yards away from where Duncan was getting violent with the wall.

"Duncan! What are you doing?!" Logan shouted out his window as it rolled down.

The door behind Veronica opened suddenly, startling him. "Hey, Veronica. Logan." Luke said as he climbed into the back of the Xterra. "Duncan's been like that since he talked to you guys earlier."

"Luke? Duncan didn't mention you were with…" Logan trailed off as Troy climbed in after Luke.

Logan glared at Troy who looked about as pleased to see Logan, as Logan was to see him. Troy's expression changed to vaguely amused as he turned to look at Veronica. Logan fumed.

"So DK went to TJ with you, huh? Lemme guess, you told Duncan some version of Friday night's events?" The edge in Logan's voice could have cut glass.

"Well if by 'version' you mean told him what I saw, then yeah, I did." Troy smirked at Logan and then leaned around to look at Veronica. "Found yourself another rich dude, eh, Mars?" His eyes sparkled with delight at his taunt.

"You can get the fuck out of my truck." Logan sneered.

Veronica reached across and placed her hand on Logan's forearm. "It's okay, I don't care what he thinks. But one of us needs to go get Duncan and I'm pretty sure he's not going to want it to be me." She said in a low voice.

Logan nodded and gingerly let himself out of the truck.

"Duncan? What are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself if you keep kicking that wall." Logan tried to keep his tone light.

"What is going on with you and Veronica?" Duncan turned to stare at Logan, his features twisted with anger, fists clinched at his side.

"Going on? Ronnie and I are trying to be friends again. Is that not okay with you?" Logan was truly taken aback by Duncan's intensely emotional response. It hadn't been since before Lilly's death that he had seen much of any reaction from his best friend. Admittedly, in the last two days he had seen several small signs of life from Duncan, but nothing like this. What could be igniting this massive change, he thought.

"Veronica hates being called Ronnie!" Duncan yelled, kicking the wall again.

"Wow man, I know she doesn't like it. You don't need to kick that wall over it though." Logan held his hands out in surrender, trying to calm Duncan down.

"Then why do it?" Duncan's voice had taken on a pleading tone that made Logan think he isn't only talking about bad nicknames.

"She was one of my best friends. I've missed her. Don't you miss her DK?" Logan asked, trying to find the root of what was going on with Duncan. But Duncan dismissively turned away and headed for the truck. Logan followed, unsure of what had just happened.

Duncan approached the front seat but Logan didn't think Veronica would want to sit next to Duncan for the long trip home. Logan placed his hand on Duncan's shoulder only to have it shoved off as Duncan whipped around.

"What now?!" Duncan shouted.

"Take the back." Logan told him, shaking his head and offering no alternative. Logan shouldered himself in front of Duncan and got into the front seat. At Veronica's concerned look he mouthed "Later".

Logan remained quiet for the drive back to Neptune, not wanting to potentially start a fight with Duncan. They'd had little sleep, and he wasn't certain what was going on. Drifting in and out of a restless sleep seemed the safer option. On top of all the drama, he was really starting to hurt again.

Veronica watched as Logan stiffly approached Duncan who was ranting outside the diner. She didn't think Duncan would hurt him, but Logan couldn't deal with anything other than sparing of the verbal variety in his current condition.

"So, you and Logan, huh?" Luke asked from the backseat.

"She moves fast man; gotta stay true to that reputation." Troy snickered.

What was I thinking going out with that asshole? "Sorry to disappoint but Logan and I are just friends. Thanks for that, by the way, Troy. I don't think we would have put aside our differences if you hadn't pulled your little clothing theft." She smiled back at him sweetly. "And unless you want to find out if Logan's reputation for hitting first and asking questions later is true, I suggest you keep your mouth shut on the ride back to Neptune."

While Veronica would never admit it out loud, she was actually a little grateful to Troy for his actions. If Troy hadn't been a complete douchebag, Veronica never would have discovered what Aaron was doing to Logan.

Trauma may not be the best foundation for renewing her friendship with Logan, but she hoped it might be enough to at least dissolve their war. The truce they had established over the past two days felt tenuous. While she wasn't about to sit idly by and let anyone be abused—let alone someone she used to consider a friend—the hurt of the past year couldn't be erased. If Lilly's death had had taught Veronica anything, it was that she couldn't predict how others would behave in the face of a crisis. Even though he had recently come to her aid, it would take a lot more than a skinny dip and a sleepover for Logan to earn back her trust. The fact remained that when the going got tough, Logan had turned on her. Guess we'll see on Monday…

A movement outside the car caught her attention and she turned to see Duncan walking awkwardly toward the car with Logan slowly trailing behind him. Duncan approached the front passenger door and was getting ready to open it when Veronica saw Logan place his hand on Duncan's shoulder. Duncan's eyes narrowed in anger as he whipped around. She could see Logan shaking his head and indicating the backseat.

"I can't believe Logan is letting you drive the beast." Luke said nervously, redirecting Veronica's attention.

"Um… yeah." She looked back at Logan and Duncan. "He was drinking earlier… so we thought it would be better if I drove," she lied. "I found him passed out earlier next to a bottle of Jack. Unluckily for him, his bedside table caught his fall." She fabricated quickly to explain his bruised face. None of them would be suspicious of Logan drinking, and she certainly couldn't tell them the real reason he couldn't drive.

Both doors opened; Duncan climbed into the backseat and Logan into the front. Veronica quickly looked away from the glare Duncan gave her. She looked to Logan for guidance, but he only shook his head. "Later" he mouthed, motioning for her to start driving.

An hour of awkward and stilted conversation later, Veronica pulled up to the Kane estate.

"Logan, a word." Duncan said as he exited the truck, slamming the door behind him.

Veronica watched as a tired and resigned Logan slowly climbed out of the seat next to her. She heard the door behind her open and assumed the other two boys has also gotten out of the truck, so she was surprised when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Veronica?" Luke said hesitantly.

"What can I do for you Luke?" She asked stifling a yawn.

"There is a bit more to all of this than just the car being stolen…" Luke let the sentence drop.

"All right, let's hear it." She waved her hand for him to continue.

"Logan, a word." Duncan said as he exited the truck, slamming the door behind him.

Great, just great… Logan was so done with this night. Or was it already morning? Whatever, he thought to himself. Logan followed Duncan up to the front door, moving even more slowly than earlier. I really need to get some sleep.

"Tell me right now, are you fucking Veronica?" Duncan whispered harshly.

What? Logan couldn't believe it. Not that he hadn't ever thought about Veronica that way; she'd had a place in his rotation even when they were enemies. Maybe especially while we were enemies. But it was Veronica, she was his best friend, turned enemy, turned…whatever they were now. He was so caught off guard by Duncan's question that he didn't answer for a moment. He knew he must have looked like a fool, standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"I… no… God, dude. No, I'm not fucking Veronica. She and I are trying to be friends again." He was completely taken by surprise at Duncan's rage. He'd expected some choice words from Duncan about him and Veronica trying to reestablish their friendship. Certainly something had gone very wrong between Veronica and Duncan, and that was before her father had mishandled Lilly's murder. But this… Is Duncan jealous?

"You call skinny dipping and being asleep together at three in the morning being just friends?" Duncan asked, incredulous.

"The skinny dipping was not planned and would have been a lot less questionable if that asshole you call a friend, Troy, hadn't taken off with her clothes. Nothing happened… What do you take me for DK?" Duncan quirked his brow at Logan. "Fine, maybe I would do it, but do you really think that of Veronica? After a year of being a complete asshole to her, now she'd let me fuck her… really? If you think that, you don't know her at all!" Logan could feel his anger pushing through his exhaustion.

"You're the one always calling her a slut…" Duncan threw back at him.

"You know I made all that shit up." Logan sighed, his guilt overriding the blissful anger.

"Do I? Maybe not. What were you doing with her at three in the morning, Logan? She answered your phone. You both clearly hadn't been awake. Just having a slumber party? Braiding each other's hair?" Duncan still looked furious.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but since when do you care about… well, anything? You've hardly spoken to her in a year. I told you we're just friends—well, trying to be at least—and you're completely freaking out. Yesterday you couldn't have cared less when I mentioned her to you." Shaking his head, Logan thought back to their conversation at the beach. Duncan had barely batted an eye at Logan's questions about Veronica's welfare.

"Fuck you, Logan! She's… She's…" Duncan sputtered.

"She's what Duncan? What is she?" Logan snapped at his friend shaking his head. "She's my friend; I can't believe I forgot that for so long." Leaning in close, Logan said much more quietly, "She's not your girlfriend anymore Duncan, you need to get it together." Not waiting for a response, Logan turned on his heel a little quicker than he meant to and grimaced through the pain in his back as he made his way to the truck.

Logan settled into the passenger's seat and fastened his seatbelt. "Let's get out of here." He sighed. Logan knew that he was exhausted from lack of sleep and all that he had gone through the day before, but he'd never expected to feel so drained from two discussions with his best friend. He wasn't even sure that his two exchanges with Duncan's could be considered discussions. He groaned loudly and stared out the window as Veronica drove.

"What's going on with Duncan?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Honestly?" Logan rubbed his face with both palms, letting his fingers drag his mouth open as he yawned.

"Preferably, unless you can make up something more entertaining than reality. You know how I like to be amused." Veronica joked.

"I really have no clue what that display back there was all about." He gestured dramatically. "Troy told him about us skinny dipping and he was pretty upset about you answering my phone in the middle of the night. But when I tried to explain he wasn't exactly receptive. I think he just has the wrong idea. I'll try to talk to him again tomorrow when he's had a little time to calm down. He hasn't shown this much emotion since Lilly died. I'm just not sure what's going on." He yawned again and leaned his head back against the window. "Can we just go back and get some more sleep? And I need some more ibuprofen, my back is killing me."

"Yeah, I think more sleep would be good." She smiled at him.

Logan watched as Veronica carefully navigated her way back to her apartment. She braked slowly and accelerated smoothly, both of which he was grateful for. The discomfort that started as a dull ache on the drive back to Neptune was now full-blown pain.

When they arrived back at Sunset Cliffs, Logan carefully made his way into her apartment. "Just toss me another blanket and I'll be good to go." He called to Veronica who was headed to her room.

She came back into the living room, dressed in her pajamas from earlier, holding a pillow and blanket. "Logan, I want you to take my bed. It's more comfortable than the couch and with how much you must hurt…" her words trailed off.

"I'll sleep in your bed if you sleep with me." He tried to leer at her but they were both too tired for the innuendo to hit home. Veronica snorted and shook her head, setting the bedding and a bottle of painkillers on the end of the couch before walking back to her bedroom. Once he heard her door shut, he stripped down to his boxers and pulled on his previously discarded flannel bottoms. He dry swallowed a few pills as he sank into the old couch. It wasn't as comfortable as his bed, and probably not as comfortable as Veronica's, but he didn't feel right taking her bed. And he hadn't pushed the issue of them sharing because, unlike his bed at home, Veronica's bed really wasn't big enough for them both. He laid his head on the pillow and immediately was enveloped in her scent. What is that? Like marshmallows and… maybe flowers? He buried his face in it and drifted off to sleep.

A few hours and some much needed sleep later, Veronica woke up feeling somewhat refreshed. She didn't feel much better about her current situation, but with uninterrupted sleep she had gained some perspective. Her and Logan's middle of the night run to the border hadn't gone anywhere close to the way she had expected. Though, if she thought about it, nothing in the last few days had. Maybe I should just throw in the towel and embrace what comes at me, she thought fleetingly. Yeah right! She snorted to herself, climbing out of bed.

Veronica quietly opened her door and tiptoed down the hall to check on Logan. He was still asleep on the couch with Backup curled against his chest. Logan Echolls is spooning my dog; now I've seen it all. Neither looked like they could possibly be comfortable, but Logan's face was relaxed and peaceful.

Trying her best not to wake them, she headed into the kitchen and set about making coffee. Logan hadn't told her much about his confrontations with Duncan, but neither discussion seemed to have ended well. Both parties had been yelling, and Duncan had left looking so angry. She had never seen him look like that before.

"Good morning." Logan's voice, deep with sleep, called out from the living room.

"Afternoon actually." She turned and smiled at him. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, thanks. So what's the plan for today, Mars?" He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand and shifting Backup with the other.

"I thought we'd have this coffee here, maybe something to eat… I have a study date with Wallace later and some filing to catch up on at the office. You're welcome to stay here while I'm gone." She hoped he would. Veronica wasn't thrilled at the prospect of, yet again, explaining Logan's presence to Wallace. Though Veronica was surprised to find that, after a few hours of sleep, she wasn't particularly angry with Logan for asking about Shelly's party the night before. Something to think on later…

"I think I'll tag along. I have some studying of my own to do." Logan lifted himself off the couch and headed for the bathroom.

He was still moving stiffly, but Veronica thought he looked a little bit better this morning. The coffee was ready, so she pulled down two mugs and added cream and sugar. I hope he still takes his coffee the same way, she thought idly, avoiding thinking about how she was going to deal with Wallace.

"Wanna learn how to make bacon?" Veronica asked as Logan came back into the kitchen/living room.

"What makes you think I don't already know how to make bacon?" Logan asked with a smirk. Of course he had no idea how to make bacon…

"I figure if you still can't make a grilled cheese, then you probably don't know how to make bacon. Or pancakes? Waffles maybe?" She laughed.

It was good to see her seeming relaxed and joking. He really wasn't sure how today would be. On top of their 'fight,' if one could call it that, over Shelly's party, they'd had to deal with Duncan. He was not looking forward to explaining that the reason Duncan was so upset was because he thought they were sleeping together. I'm going to have to tell her, that should be fun.

"Teach me Mars Wan Chefnobi. Teach me the ways of the little people who don't have personal chefs." Logan winked at her, hoping she would remember how much he hated the food his parents' chef made.

"He still doesn't make anything pronounceable, huh?" Veronica grinned at him.

"Nope, can't remember the last time I ate something at home that I recognized as food. So bacon and… I'm thinking pancakes. Think you can teach this child-of-movie-stars to actually do something domestic?"

Veronica's laughter was contagious and pretty soon they were both laughing so hard that tears were running down their cheeks. I don't think I've laughed as much in the past year as I have in the last three days, even with an Aaron encounter.

"I'm not sure I'm up for the challenge, but I'll die trying if it comes to that." She said in mock seriousness.

"It may come to that. One time I tried to make one of your grilled cheeses. The fire department may have been called." His whole body shuddered at the memory. He'd meant it to be funny but he could tell she knew better. Shit.

"When?" Veronica asked, all humor gone.

"A few months after the first time you made them for us."

"The time you told us you were going to see your mom in that off-Broadway play or when you had the flu?" She was too smart for her own good.

"The off-Broadway play, the flu was for something else…"

FLASHBACK

Logan sat alone in his room doing what he did most nights when Lilly wasn't around, playing video games. His girlfriend claimed to be busy studying with Veronica. They'd only been together a couple of months, but Logan had already caught her in more than a few lies about where she was and whom she was with. He tried not to let it bother him, but it did.

He tossed the controller down in frustration. I'm such an idiot. He started rummaging around under his bed to find the bottle of whiskey he kept hidden there. His hand had just felt the neck of the bottle when his phone started to the play the London Bach Choir singing "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need." In his surprise, he'd smacked his head on the frame of the bed.

"Aaww, hold on, hold on, I'm coming." He said to no one.

He stared at the caller ID, Deputy Ronnie.

"Hello?" Logan said, a bit surprised and confused since she was supposedly busy 'studying' with Lilly.

"Logan… um… can I come over?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and he could hear yelling in the background.

"Ronnie what's wrong? Where are you? Where's Lilly?" He fought the urge to whisper back.

"They're fighting again, but this time it's different…" Veronica choked on the last word.

"It's okay, I'm on my way. Can you meet me out front?"

He heard her hiccup before she replied, "Yeah."

"I'll be there soon." He told her, ending the call.

His parents were in LA for the next few days so he figured he'd just swipe the keys to the extra car they kept for Trina when she visited. He'd driven more than a few times and, despite only being thirteen—almost fourteen, he thought excitedly—he was sure he could get to Veronica's and back without a problem.

Veronica was sitting on the steps of her front porch when he arrived, her arms wrapped around her knees. When Logan pulled up in front of the driveway, she quickly scooped up her bag and ran to the car.

"Thank you." Veronica breathed as she wrapped her arms around his neck across the center console.

"Anything for you, Ronnie." Logan hugged her back and then gently shifted her back into her seat so he could resume driving. He got a good look at her before he started pulling out. She had tear tracks on her cheeks and her nose and eyes were red and puffy.

"Do you wanna tell me what happened?" Logan asked.

She took a deep breath, "We were eating dinner, dad and me. Mom came home… drunk, again. She had a bunch of groceries and started yelling at dad for making dinner when she had just picked up everything to cook." She sighed and wiped at her eyes. "So dad tried to get her to calm down and it just…" She shook her head and looked out the window.

"It's okay, I get it." Logan had seen Lianne Mars in one of those moods and he had plenty of experience with similar situations involving his own mother. "But where was Lilly? Why didn't you leave with her?" He asked, even though he suspected he already knew the answer.

"Lilly? Lilly wasn't as my house. Isn't she with you? I expected her to be with you when you picked me up." Veronica sniffled, but her words were getting steadier.

Logan sighed, "She told me she was studying with you tonight."

"Oh… maybe you misunderstood?" Veronica tried to soften what they both knew. Lilly had lied to both of them about her plans for that night.

"I think maybe we both did, huh?"

Veronica nodded, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Let's get back to my place and make some popcorn and stay up late watching movies. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, it does. Thank you. Hey, you shouldn't be driving!" She smacked him on the arm.

"What, I'm driving? I thought you were driving?" He flashed her a grin.

They made it safely back to Logan's house and had their movie night, both falling asleep on the big sofa. They were woken up the next morning by Logan's cell phone playing Nelly's Hot in Herre, Lilly's ringtone.

"Hey Lover! Are you awake yet?" Lilly purred over the phone.

"I am now Lil'. Did you have fun studying with Ronnie last night?" Logan asked, watching Veronica blink sleepy eyes at him. He quickly put his finger to her lips when she opened her mouth to speak.

"We had a blast hittin' the old books! So are you free? Let's go do something."

"Sorry Lil' I'm kinda busy, I'll call you later." Logan ended the call before she could respond.

Logan scooted toward Veronica, who had lain back down on the couch, and put his head on her shoulder. "She said she was with you last night…"

"I heard." She said, rubbing her hand up and down his arm that was thrown across her waist. "I'm sorry Logan. I know she cares about you…"

"Yeah, she really cares about me. Cares about both of us. How many times did you call her before you called me last night, Ronnie?" He looked up at her.

"Five."

"Do you have to go home or can we just watch movies all day? Maybe eat nothing but dessert?" Logan asked, sitting back up.

"Movies and dessert? I'm in!"

A week later a ticket arrived in the mail showing Logan driving through a red light in the 90905…

END FLASHBACK

Logan shook himself out of the memory. He didn't want Veronica to know about the punishment he had gotten for driving to get her. He didn't regret it. Never had. That had also been the first time he and Lilly broke up. Ironically, Lilly had broken up with him because she thought he was ditching her for another girl. But Logan was pretty sure the night and day he spent with Veronica was a lot more innocent than whatever—whoever—Lilly had been doing.

"Okay Mars, back to the cooking lesson. What have you got going on here?" Logan pointed to the pan with the bacon in it.

"That's bacon and this is a frying pan. Together they create tasty-deliciousness."

A/N2: So we got to see Logan's ringtone for Veronica 1.0 but you'll have to wait a little longer to find out his current ringtone for her…