I don't own VM or the characters. I make no money of this – I only lay claim to the plot.

A/N so…well, enjoy! If there's any glaring mistakes, please let me know and I'll correct them!

CHAPTER FIVE

Lily woke up feeling odd; it took her awhile to realize that the warmth by her side was another body. Who is it? She thought groggily – no longer that used to waking up with any of her lovers, but then the memory of the previous day came rushing back and Lily sighed heavily and opened her eyes.

Her eyes zoomed in on Logan's back, which was turned to her and Lily swallowed a smile. The little stalker- I wonder how long he's been staring at her? She was just about to tease her ex-boyfriend with his biggest obsession, when Veronica woke up and began teasing Logan just like old times.

I wish she hadn't made me promise never to tell Logan about her eating, Lily thought feeling a bit saddened by one of the many secrets in her life. Then she forcibly shook the gloom away and tuned back in to her friends' conversation and snorted.

A few minutes later Lily sat beside Logan and watched Veronica close the bathroom door. Lily glanced over at Logan – hoping that the male had noticed the skinniness beneath all the baggy sleepwear Veronica used, but judging from the slightly glazed over look of love in the male's eyes that was a vain hope.

"Logan?" Lily began slowly and grinned softly, when Logan flinched out of his thoughts and turned to her with a sheepish smile. "Mornin' Lily," he greeted. Lily rolled her eyes and decided to be frank for once, "So, how long did you stare at our little blond friend this time? Last time we spent the night here you looked like you hadn't slept at all."

Aw shoot, no blush this time, Lily thought with a half smile on her face and got out of the bed as Logan finally responded, "It's not like that Lily – It's not," he added a bit firmer, when Lily raised an eyebrow and stared him down, "oh – all right," Logan admitted and got out of the bed and began rummaging through his huge closet for something to wear. "I'm falling in love with her – but you already know that, so I won't go into detail."

Lily sighed heavily again and walked over to Logan and managed to rip his chosen shirt for the day out of his hands and replace it with something she knew would look a lot better on him while she simultaneously said, "I only know how you feel, because of the way you sometimes look at her – it reminds me of a time where you kinda looked like that at me." Lily smiled at the almost shy look in her ex boyfriend's eyes and continued matter of factly, "Of course it's obvious for me to see you're totally smitten with our little gal way beyond your old affections for me. And she clearly loves you too, so why don't you just pull your rich head out of your little firm backside and tell her that you wanna be with her?"

Logan put on the shirt Lily had given him and said as he ran a hand through his untamed hair, "It's not that simple. She's going through all those things with her dad and I'm sure she's still heartbroken over Duncan's stupid behavior…I mean, she looks kinda sick and tired every now and again."

Lily repressed the urge to scream in frustration, of course she looks sick and tired – she is sick and tired moron. Instead the Kane girl settled on some rarely used diplomacy and asked nonchalantly as she used Logan's comb to fix her morning hair, "Yeah –I noticed that too. Maybe you should sit her down and make her talk about it, don't you think? I mean, she listens to you more than me most times…"

Logan's eyes lit up for a second, but then dimmed in hesitation and Lily clenched her fist in annoyance. He's gotta open his eyes and see her completely, before she goes too far. I can't get her to stop; God only knows I've tried my best…

Logan's warm hand gently shook her shoulder and Lily started back into real life. "Where did you go just now?" he asked with a frown on his handsome face. Lily immediately broke into a huge smile and she said evasively, "I was just wondering if Veronica is gonna make good on her promise with the hot water, 'cause I gotta shower too, you know."

Before Logan could do or say anything else Lily marched over to the bathroom door and began pounding on it as she yelled for Veronica to hurry up.

--

Sometime later the trio was on their way to the school. Not entirely able to control herself Lily kept sneaking glances over at Veronica and her sad excuse of a breakfast. She only realized how annoying it had to be for Veronica, when the other girl discreetly rolled her eyes and took a huge spoonful of oatmeal with an almost vicious gleam in her eyes.

With in internal sigh Lily turned her head and looked out of the window. I wonder how Duncan's doing this morning? She thought and scratched her nose. Did Celeste manage to manipulate him into taking those stupid pills?

Lily sighed out loud this time, but thankfully neither of her friends' seemed to notice. The reason her baby brother had to take those pills invaded her mind unwanted. He'd begun taking them after the accident – after he tried to kill his father with his bare hands after he'd learned the truth about his dealings with Veronica's mother. Some part of Lily knew that this was the deciding factor for Duncan; everything that went wrong in his life could now be traced back to Veronica. He really has a knack for hating the wrong people, Lily thought sadly.

The mental image of the pure rage in Duncan's eyes that night still haunted Lily and she quickly diverted her attention to her beloved cell phone. Should I call him and see if he's gotten up okay? She pondered, but then she settled for a text message. Up yet? C U at school Donut.

In the next moment the car pulled into the parking lot at Neptune High and Lily looked up with a bit of surprise in her eyes. She'd barely noticed their drive. Just as she followed Veronica out the door, her phone beeped and Lily read Duncan's answering message. Why do you care? You obviously didn't think of me last night. I had to spend the evening with mom and dad all alone. Thanks!

"Everything okay?" Veronica's soft voice interrupted Lily's growing shock, anger and hurt and she looked up and locked eyes with her best friend. The concern for Lily's wellbeing was clearly written on Veronica's tired looking face and Lily just knew she didn't want to burden her friend with yet another description of her brother's stupidity. I gotta make it seem like I don't care, she told herself.

With that in mind, Lily forced a bright smile on her face and answered casually, "Oh it's all good Ronnie. It's just my darling brother, who wants to know why I didn't drive him to school today? As if he didn't get Celeste's chauffeur to take him."

Logan's deep chuckle was unmistakable and a second later he said with his usual mocking tone of voice, "Well, there you have it Lils. Duncan Kane doesn't need you at his beck and call twenty four seven anymore. It's not like he appreciates you at all even when you are around."

I can't believe he said that, was the recurring thought in Lily's mind and she felt an unusual warmth begin to travel up to her cheeks. Logan's smirk grew and Lily's temper began to flare in response, but before she could tear her ex-boyfriend a new one, Veronica spoke up, "I'm gonna be late for class – so let's talk at lunch, okay? Thanks for a nice morning."

A moment later she'd disappeared and Lily followed without looking back at Logan. Off course he didn't let her get away with her big exit and a few seconds later he was right by her side and he gently nudged her with his shoulder and muttered, "I got a big mouth sometimes – sorry." Lily looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes and smiled in return, and the whole discussion was forgotten.

Well, except for that tiny bundle of anger in the pit of Lily's stomach. As she walked into her first class of the day, she realized that she hadn't really been that mad at Logan – more like mad at myself, Lily thought and unceremoniously stole a seat from a cheerleader, who was just about to sit down.

Lily simply looked the offended girl straight in the eye for a second, and then – just as she'd known it would happen– the cheerleader scoffed and walked over to another empty seat without a word. Lily smirked, happy to be a bitch again. I so seldom get to be one nowadays, she thought to herself and began taking out her books and notebooks.

It wasn't until the teacher firmly told a few giggling girls off, that Lily noticed that her classmates looked a lot more hyper than usual. She scanned the room and then leaned a bit to the side and whispered to the guy sitting next to her, "What's going on?" The guy turned a fraction towards her and Lily realized the guy was Mark from the day before. Apparently he too remembered her – or the very least her close friendship with Logan Echolls, because the almost sneer immediately disappeared when his eyes landed on her. "Err," he began intelligently and continued, "that Mars girl almost killed your brother earlier."

Lily sat up straighter. "What?" she hissed – a bit too loud and the teacher sent her a glare before he continued his lecture of the day. Lily didn't care and whispered to Mark, "Tell me everything!"

--

When the bell rang signaling the end of class Lily ran out of her seat faster than she'd ever done before and a mere thirty seconds later, she stood outside Veronica's classroom. The other students eyed her with curiosity and the usual twinge of pity due to her psychical appearance. Lily didn't even notice for once, she was busy watching the door for her friend.

A moment later Veronica emerged, followed closely by that Wallace guy they'd helped the day before. Lily instantly noticed the lively twinkle in Veronica's eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Oh I wish I'd seen her go all out on Donut. She thought and tried to hold her laughter in check when she saw the obvious apprehension Veronica got in her eyes when her blue eyes landed on Lily.

"You know," Veronica's voice sounded so hesitant and timid that Lily barely managed to keep in a very unladylike snort of laughter, "that vein in your forehead must run in your family – ever wondered if it's a dangerous one?" Don't talk or else she'll catch on, Lily tried to warn herself, but she could feel the pressure rising inside her. The thought of the teeny tiny Veronica pummeling her brother, who, although he was handicapped, was still a lot bigger than she was, was just so hilarious.

Lily took a deep breath and quickly walked over to Veronica, who squeaked out a greeting. Lily couldn't get her tongue to work properly and was about to finally reveal her amusement, when Veronica catapulted into a frantic rant. "I'm sorry for threatening Duncan – Really! I don't know what came over me and I know it's wrong to went on people like that and…I'm really sorry Lily, please forgive me! I don't wanna lose you too!"

Oh my God…The urge to laugh had completely vanished and Lily struggled to find words in the midst of her own shock. She actually thinks…? Lily shook herself out of her shocked state of mind, when she noticed Veronica's tear filled eyes. "Oh Ronnie, I'm the one, who's sorry!"

Without another word Lily flew over to Veronica and hugged her tightly while she softly said, "I didn't mean to scare you like that. You'll never lose me honey." To Lily's surprise Veronica stepped out of the embrace and asked, "Then why were you so mad at me? You looked like you were about to burst for a second there."

A small part of Lily couldn't understand how her once so confident friend could doubt their friendship and she was a bit frustrated by it to be honest, but the rational part of her quickly answered her friend and explained everything. Lily ended her explanation on a serious note as she stated calmly, "And just so we're clear Mars; Nothing short of death will make me leave your side."

The moment was heavy with emotions and neither of the girls really noticed what was going on around them, until Wallace's voice awkwardly said, "Uhm…Veronica, you kinda told me to follow you – but if you need more time to…err, debate, I'll just wait till lunch."

Hello there, Lily's old self purred inwardly to the black boy, who looked mighty fine in Lily's eyes. Fortunately she snapped out of her devious mindset before anything embarrassing could happen and she smiled brightly up at the tall male. Wallace's gaze never wavered from hers and once again Lily remembered why she had immediately liked the guy. He doesn't look nauseated by my face; she thought and said happily, "All done now – So why are you following Veronica here? Am I missing something?" Lily glanced over at Veronica and briefly pondered if she should wiggle her eyebrows suggestively to lighten the mood, but Wallace's laughter interrupted her.

Veronica added to the fun by rolling her eyes at Lily and then she explained with a rare note of happiness in her voice, "Wallace needs my help with something and I was gonna show him our super duper private space. Wanna come?"

Hell yeah, Lily thought, but decided to play the humor card a bit more. She tapped her chin and went for the thoughtful look as she asked cautiously, "Hmm…will it possibly involve gossip, scandal and devious planning?" Veronica looked up at the sheepish looking Wallace and then looked Lily straight in the eye and answered firmly, "Definitely." Lily burst out laughing – she thoroughly enjoyed this livelier version of her best friend – and stated, "Well, then I'm so there."

The trio went into the super duper private space where Veronica filled Lily in on all the details.

--

Twenty minutes later Lily was just getting into a great rant mode when she noticed the strained look in Veronica's eyes. She looks older than Celeste pre surgery, Lily thought- the usual pang of worry immediately came to life at the sight of Veronica's tenseness.

"Okay…I'll go talk to the moron," Lily finally conceded and was rewarded with a genuine smile from her friend. "But," Lily added and raised a finger, "if I somehow happen to kill him or any of his idiotic Pink Posse wannabees, you're gonna help me escape from the law. Understood?"

The bell rang before Veronica could do anything else than nod in mock seriousness and say. "I'll bake the bread and put the file in the dough myself – I swear." The two girls exited the restroom with a shared smile to each other and then went to their last class before lunch.

During her class Lily sat and was barely acknowledging people's stares and the teacher's babbling. She was too caught up in the fact that she was about to have a pseudo friendly conversation with a guy, who she'd once thought just might have been one she loved above all others.

Eli "Weevil" Navarro.

Lily placed her head in her arms and remembered the last time Weevil had talked to her before the accident. He'd come up to her on her way to class and before Lily could do anything, the biker had all but dragged her into the nearest available classroom with a devious smile on his lips. They'd had sex on the teacher's desk and when it had ended, Weevil had looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Lily sighed when her imagination vividly conjured up the soft look in his almost black eyes. But that's not how he looks at me now, is it? Lily mentally reminded herself. And just whose fault is that? Her conscience asked sourly.

Another memory, the one that had taken place just days after the accident, flew into Lily's mind. The look of pure horror and weak nausea on Weevil's face during his visit had been the last straw for Lily and she'd snapped and called the security guards to escort him out of her sight.

Except a few snide remarks here and there – the two of them hadn't spoken since…

But that's gonna change now, Lily told herself firmly, Veronica needs my help and it's the first time she's acted, well, human in ages and I'm not gonna let my pride get in the way of that. Besides, he's just another ex – and I've got plenty of those running around. Lily Kane is no chicken!

When the class finally ended, Lily shot out of her seat, full of newfound determination and made her way out to the quad for lunch. Her eyes scanned the crowd and it didn't take more than a minute before her eyes zoomed in on the leather clad gang leader.

"Here goes nothing," Lily muttered and walked over to the PCH'ers lunch table. Weevil's second in command, Hector noticed her first and he elbowed the third in command, Felix, who followed Hector's eyes and spotted Lily. He quickly turned to Weevil, who was talking animatedly with someone Lily vaguely remembered was nicknamed Thumper. Felix whispered something in his leader's ear a second later.

Weevil instantly straightened up and turned around with an air of nonchalance about him, which Lily didn't buy for one second. "Kane," he said in his deep voice without really looking at her. Lily ignored the hurt she felt because of his reluctance to really look her in the eyes and crossed her arms as she said, "We gotta talk Eli."

Weevil's eyes narrowed and the other guys around him whistled and laughed, when he asked coolly, "Oh, so we gotta talk. What about sweetheart?" Then all the PCH'ers stilled when Lily simply said, "Well, you see I just got back from a doctor's appointment - and the doctor told me to speak to all my…"

Weevil jumped up from the table and grabbed her arm and led her over to a more secluded area. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted Logan, who'd quickly risen to his feet after seeing Lily's current company - and more importantly the firm grip said company had on her arm. Lily shook her head and he slowly sat back down.

A second later Weevil released her and said, "What the hell is wrong with you Kane?" Lily re-crossed her arms and answered, "Well, a whole lot of things – but the first on my list has to be the fact that I'm spending time alone with you again." Weevil's eyes darkened and Lily repressed the urge to take a step back, he's not gonna intimidate me – I'm Lily Kane, Damn it!

His voice was silky when he asked, "Then why did you seek me out in the first place if I gross you out so much?" Lily borrowed Veronica's signature move and tilted her head in innocence, "'Cause I have to talk to you Eli – it's as simple as that." Weevil's upper lip curled when she said his first name. In the past she'd only used that name during their sexual encounters. "Then talk," he finally grumbled out and Lily smirked.

It's still so easy to press his buttons, Lily thought victoriously and said out loud, "Call off this whole childish vendetta you've got going on with the new kid." Weevil's eyes widened and then he burst out laughing.

Annoyance flared to life inside Lily and then she quickly hissed, "What's so funny?" Weevil stopped laughing, but he kept smirking as he answered, "That kid should have known better than to cross us – so he's got it coming. My boys are in trouble 'cause of him so they deserve all the fun they can get." Lily's sigh was heavy and she said angrily, "You're so stupid Weevil. He doesn't need your attitude when all he did was following the damned rules."

Weevil's smirk grew into something evil and he bent down a bit and said, "Oh, I see how it is. I gotta admit when I heard you were one of the people, who cut the fool down, I was confused. But," he added and straightened back up, "now it all makes perfect sense. He's your boy toy right? Well, no offence princess – just because you wanna protect the only one who'll sex your new you up nowadays, doesn't mean I gotta stop my fun."

Lily felt the blood drain from her face and somehow she felt like crying in despair over the fact that her ex-lover thought she was ugly. There was a stabbing pain in her chest, but then Lily's true self came roaring to life. After all she was the daughter of Celeste Kane, who –despite their massive differences – had taught Lily how to cut people down verbally. Lily took a deep breath and raised her head and forced Weevil's eyes to lock with hers as she said quietly, "That's right Navarro. I can't possibly wanna do the right thing without sex in the picture. I just can't stop my whoring ways."

Lily stopped before she fell for the temptation to scream in his face and turned to walk over to the waiting Veronica, but then she stopped and turned back around to the immobile Weevil. He had an odd almost guilty look in his eyes, but Lily didn't notice - too busy trying to rein in her temper. "Oh by the way," Lily slowly said, "I forgot something." And then Lily Kane threw her hand back and clenched her fist into a tiny ball and punched the leader of the PCH'ers right in the nose. "Have a nice day," she added politely and made her way over to the gawping Veronica – ignoring the fierce pain in her hand.

A moment later she sat down in front of Veronica and took out an apple from her schoolbag. She took a bite and mutely chewed and swallowed it before she met Veronica's questioning gaze and stated, "So, the talk with Weevil didn't exactly turn things into our favor…"

Veronica wasn't her best friend for nothing – she easily spotted the emotional turmoil going on inside Lily and said gently, "It doesn't matter anyways – We'll manage."

A few minutes later Logan appeared and sat down next to Lily without a word. He didn't say a word, but his presence soothed Lily and she placed her head on his shoulder with a sigh. I can't wait to go home and sleep this stupid day away, she thought and watched Veronica slowly finish her salad in silence.

--

A few hours later Logan dropped Lily off at the Kane mansion and she quickly made her way inside. Just as she set foot on the stairs Duncan's voice stopped her. "Why do you always insist on embarrassing me in school?"

This day started out so well, Lily thought tiredly and turned around. Duncan's self-righteous face jumped into her line of sight and Lily's barely repressed anger after Weevil's hurtful words came out with vengeance. "Embarrassing you? I'm not the one who's so full of self-pity that I can't see the truth right in front of me. You're just so stupid Duncan; I'm the one who's got a right to be embarrassed!"

Duncan blushed in anger and he retorted, "Yeah right! Do you even know what people say about you and those other two you keep hanging around? I…" He didn't get a chance to finish, because Lily simply turned around and walked up to her room without another word. What's the point? She thought and threw herself onto her enormous bed with a sigh, he's an idiot…

Lily woke up a few hours later when her cell phone brought her back into consciousness. "Hello?" she answered in a groggy tone of voice. A second later all her drowsiness vanished when Veronica's frantic voice said, "Aaron came home today and found out about Logan's fight yesterday." Oh no, Lily's heart rate increased – knowing full well what that meant for their male friend. "Where's he now?" They both knew she wasn't asking about Aaron's whereabouts. Veronica answered without hesitation, "He's in my room. And Lily," she added seriously, "Lianne's taken my painkillers, so could you bring some?"

Lily had already begun packing her bag with the items needed and she said, "I'm on it. Just keep trying to see if he'll go to the hospital this time. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Two minutes later Lily ran out her bedroom and past Duncan, who was on his way out of the elevator specially installed for him. "Where you going?" he yelled after her. Lily didn't answer, she only looked at her brother, whose eyes took in the big bag and they widened in sudden knowledge. He reached inside his shirt pocket and withdrew a small bottle of pills, which he then threw to Lily.

Lily looked down at the label and saw that they were some of his strongest painkillers and she looked up at Duncan with surprise in her eyes. He smiled bitterly and wheeled away without a word.

A/N Okay, here we have it everyone. I hope you liked it – I'm sort of making Lily's relationship a bit like the one Logan and Veronica shared pre kiss in the show... Once again I seem to struggle with the story. Well, it's like this – some parts just basically write themselves and others take a long time and inevitably makes me doubt the quality of the chapter…Annoying, isn't it?! Anyway, I hope despite my usual self doubts, that you liked it! Thanks alot for reading and reviewing!

Ditte Mai