A/N: Here's chapter seven. I mapped out the rest of the chapters to come, so keep a look out for periodic updates. Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! -Mac
Disclaimer: I don't own VMars.
Seven
Veronica could admit it that she had been hiding. She had known when Logan was on his way over after stopping at home to change, because he had texted her to let her know. Instead of being ready to greet him at the door, she had stayed locked in her room until she was sure Lilly had a significant span of time with Logan to herself. Veronica could reenact Lilly's poolside routine complete with seemingly casual yet totally deliberate coverup strip tease. She gave her sister an adequate amount of time to perform her routine before emerging from her room. A peek out at the pool gave Veronica a view of Lilly some what wrapped in Logan's arms and she took that as a good sign. The quicker Lilly hooked him in, the easier it would be on everyone. Since Lilly was on a good track, Veronica felt it was as good a time as any to reveal herself.
Veronica knew she had made a mistake the second she walked out the door. Logan's head had immediately snapped up to look at her, a grin rapidly forming to light up his features. For a brief moment, Veronica felt a surge of pride. Even as one of the most popular students at Neptune High, she had never inspired such a reaction from a member of the opposite sex. She was too worried about Lilly's reaction to what had transpired to linger on those thoughts though. To her credit, Lilly's frown lasted a fraction of a second before she pulled it together.
"There you are, Veronica," Duncan called out from the other end of the pool. "Are you coming in or should I give you the Lilly treatment?"
"I can get in just fine by myself, thank you, Duncan," Veronica said.
"Come on in then," Logan smiled. "The water's nice."
"It sure is," Lilly agreed. "Join us, sister."
Veronica slipped off her flip flops by the last unclaimed chair and then walked over to the steps leading down into the shallow end of the pool. She dipped her toes in to test the water before wading in until the water reached her waist. She was about to move over to where Lilly and Logan were standing but Lilly dunked under the water and swam across the pool to one of the floats drifting in the deep end. Veronica halted a safe distance from Logan and watched as Lilly climbed onto the raft.
"Veronica, entertain our guest while I get a little sun," Lilly said.
Veronica looked to Logan, "Are you enjoying your swim?"
"It's always more fun to have company," Logan answered.
"So you're having a better time than you would have if you went surfing with dick?" Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Duncan told me you skipped out on them for an invigorating study session poolside."
"What can I say? I have my priorities in order," Logan chuckled.
"Don't believe him, Vee," Duncan piped up as he waded over to them. "His motives are hardly innocent."
"Is that so?" Veronica asked.
"Yeah," Duncan nodded. He threw an arm around Logan's shoulders. "He's obviously using any excuse he can to get close to me."
Logan rolled his eyes and twisted around to forcibly dunk Duncan's head under the water. Veronica couldn't help but laugh. Duncan sputtered as he broke back through the water. Logan met Veronica's eyes and laughed along with her. Duncan pushed his wet hair back and promptly started to splash Logan and Veronica both for laughing. Veronica shielded herself from the onslaught of water and shrieked as cold water hit her still dry skin. She lifted her arms to block her face and as she turned away she caught a glimpse of Lilly watching them. Veronica was aware that she was being supervised and it was a reminder to keep the conversation steered in a safe direction. She just hoped Logan would be smart enough not to test the boundaries like he had at lunch.
"Real mature, Duncan," Veronica said.
"If you can't take the heat, get out of the water," Duncan laughed and set another wave of water toward Veronica.
"The last time I did that, you threw me back in," Veronica replied.
"I never said I was gonna fight fair," Duncan waggled his eyebrows and aimed the next splash at Logan.
Logan shifted closer to Veronica and leaned down slightly to say quietly to her, "I think our only choice is to retaliate. On the next lull, cover me. I'm going in."
Veronica laughed at Logan's faux seriousness, but was ready the next time Duncan paused in his onslaught. In the break, Veronica splashed back as much as she could and Duncan put his hands up to block his face. Using her action as a distraction, Logan dived at Duncan, catching him around the middle and dragging them both underwater. While the two wrestled under the surface for a moment, Veronica met Lilly's eyes across the pool.
Lilly shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Boys."
Veronica smiled, "They will be boys."
Logan and Duncan came back up, laughing and dripping, a second later. Logan clasped Duncan's shoulder. "That will teach you to mess with Logan Echolls."
"Careful," Duncan warned with a smile. "Don't make me school you in front of my sisters."
Logan chuckled and wiggled his fingers at Duncan in 'come at me' gesture. "Give me your best shot."
"Alright, break it up," Veronica moved between them. "If anyone is going to be kicking butts and taking names in this pool, it's going to be me. So reel it in boys before I have to demonstrate what my fists of fury can do."
"Veronica," Lilly called out, interrupting whatever quips were about to leave Duncan and Logan's lips. "This sun is frying my eyes, do you remember where I left my sunglasses?"
"They were in the console of Duncan's car, last I saw," Veronica answered.
Lilly slid off the raft and swam across to the shallow end. She took the steps out of the pool slowly, making sure the twist of her hips caught Logan's attention. A glance to her right showed Veronica that the attempt had proved successful. Logan's gaze was glued to Lilly's assets.
"I'll be back," Lilly said as she wrapped her towel around her waist. "Don't do anything too devious while I'm gone."
"As if the five minutes it's going to take for you to walk to the car and back is long enough for us to do anything devious in your absence," Veronica rolled her eyes.
Lilly smirked, "Oh, Veronica, if you genuinely believe that, you have a lot to learn."
With her final words, Lilly turned on her heel and disappeared into the house. While her sister was out of sight, Veronica had a feeling Lilly would still be watching. Lilly was likely trying to test Veronica to see what would happen when her back was turned. Or she could just be retrieving her sunglasses with no ulterior motive at all. It helped to always be suspicious when it came to Lilly and Veronica had always preferred to be safe rather than sorry.
"So I'm going to do some laps if you two don't mind. Got to get my exercise in somehow," Duncan said and patted his flat stomach. "I'm watching my figure."
"You do that," Veronica replied.
Once Duncan was off, making his way to the other end of the pool underwater, Logan moved back toward Veronica. In order to not be too suspicious, Veronica resisted the urge to move backwards to retain the distance between them. As a result of her standing her ground, Logan was able to shift into her personal space.
"Lilly was right you know," Logan whispered as he ran a hand across her lower back under the water. "Five minutes is more than enough time to get into a little mischief."
Even though the touch sent a chill down her spine, Veronica stepped out of his reach. "Don't, Lilly could see and Duncan is right over there."
"Does it really matter?" Logan raised an eyebrow.
"It matters to me," Veronica said.
"So you'd rather have a little privacy, I can get down with that," Logan smirked.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Veronica said. "I told you how this was going to go. I'm not...I'm not interested. So you can save your advances for someone who wants them, like—"
"Like Lilly, yeah, I get it," Logan shook his head. "I don't believe you by the way."
"About Lilly? Come on, you can't be—"
"Not about Lilly," Logan corrected, "About you. Where I'm from you can rarely trust what people say at face value. You have to learn to read them in other ways if you want to know the truth. You must be interested, otherwise you wouldn't have to try so hard to convince me that you're not."
Veronica pursed her lips, "i consider myself a pretty straight forward kind of girl. I tend to call it like I see it."
"I can believe that you do in most situations," Logan said, "but for the last few days, all I've been hearing is you calling it the way Lilly sees it."
"I—" Veronica started.
Logan raised a finger to his lips and then pointed the finger over Veronica's shoulder, "Your sister is at the back door. You wouldn't want her to hear anything suspicious."
"We'll talk later," Veronica said, though she knew they really shouldn't continue the conversation ever.
"That we will."
Veronica turned and dipped under the water to start swimming toward the deep end and away from Logan. She surfaced at the far edge of the pool. Duncan came up from another lap next to her.
"So, what were you and Logan talking about?" Duncan asked.
"Lilly," Veronica answered. She glanced at the other end of the pool where Lilly was entering the pool, now with her sunglasses in place, and approaching Logan. "What else?"
Duncan raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Veronica responded. "We were."
"Okay," Duncan said. "So, you're alright with Lilly pursuing Logan?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Duncan shrugged, the motion causing ripples in the water. "Just a feeling."
"Lilly can do what she wants with Logan. Who am I to stop her?" Veronica said.
"Her sister," Duncan replied matter-of-factly. "If you can't be honest with your family, you'll be putting up a front to everyone."
"Honestly Duncan, Logan is all Lilly's if she wants him. I stake no claims, I call no dibs, I want no part in all this," Veronica said. "I don't know why anyone would think I have an interest in Logan Echolls."
"Because you're allowed to, but I had to ask," Duncan responded. "Lilly promised she would check in with you, but I knew she wouldn't. You know how she is. The best way to have no opposition is to never ask for a potential opponent's stance on the matter."
"Yeah," Veronica nodded. "I've had enough of the pool for the day, I'm going to go inside and finish up my homework for the night."
"Really? Even with what they say about all work and no play?" Duncan asked.
"It makes Veronica a front runner for Valedictorian?" Veronica joked. "You know me, I'm all about balance. I'll get all my playing in when I've been accepted to all the Ivys."
Veronica pushed off from the edge and swam to the edge of the pool where there was an outcrop for her to climb out at. She was retrieving her towel and flip flops from her chair when Lilly called out to her.
"Going in so soon? You've barely had enough time to help entertain Logan."
"I'm sure you can entertain him enough for the both of us," Veronica replied without looking back at the pool. "I'll be inside doing un-entertaining stuff like homework and studying if you need me."
Veronica dried off the best she could as she crossed through the house. She had left her backpack and other school stuff in the living room so it would be ready for her to work on when she was done with her swim. She laid out her towel on the floor by the coffee table for her to sit on. She had also left a loose knit sweater draped over the arm of the couch and she took a moment to pull it on over her partially damp suit before settling in. She took out her book fro English and the assignment sheet. Reading over the assignment for the first time, Veronica concluded that Logan could easily complete the assignment without her help even if he didn't read the book. The assignment consisted of a few recall questions designed to test if the students had done the reading, but they were generic enough that they could easily be found in the abbreviated cliff notes or on a quick browse on a search engine. The second portion was a short answer essay that basically asked for each student's summary and opinion of the first half of the book due at the end of the week. Neither portion would require too much input from Veronica, though she already knew Logan's request for help and his subsequent invitation over by Lilly were both ploys. Now, she just wondered which of the two was running the show.
"Working hard?"
Veronica looked up to find Logan standing over her. He had changed back into his shirt and he had his towel around his waist. Veronica looked back down at her papers, "More like hardly working. Done with your swim so soon, Logan?"
"Well, the whole reason I'm here is because I asked you for help. I figured I should join you," Logan said. He put down his towel and sat down next to Veronica. She tensed at the proximity and inched away. "Don't worry. Lilly is still getting her tanning done. She won't be in for awhile. I think her exact words were, 'I get bored enough doing my own work, I can't be bothered to watch other people do theirs.'"
"Sounds like Lilly," Veronica said. "I wouldn't put it past her to check up on us though."
"She shouldn't be worried," Logan responded. "You're obedient to a fault. You wouldn't make the mistake of doing something forbidden behind her back."
"Don't stop, tell me how you really feel," Veronica scoffed and tilted her head to look at Logan.
"I just don't get it. You're a smart, independent, beautiful girl and you're a Kane as much as Lilly is," Logan said and Veronica fought a rising blush. "You can have anything you want. Why do you let your sister walk all over you?"
"I don't," Veronica said. When Logan shook his head, she repeated, "I don't. It's my choice. I made the decision to let her have what she wants and I made that decision because Lilly and I have different priorities. She would never let it go if I took something she wanted, but I can live without those things if it means my sister is not going to embark on a vendetta against me. She needs the superficial things that keep her the center of attention and it's easier for me to just do without them."
"You care a lot about what your sister wants, but who is looking after what you want?" Logan asked.
"No one," Veronica said, "and I'm just fine with that."
"You could take everything from her if you wanted," Logan said. "You know that, right?"
"But I don't want to and that's why my family isn't faced with civil war," Veronica replied. "Can you understand?"
"Oh, I understand," Logan nodded.
"Good," Veronica said. "So you'll stop whatever it is you're trying to do when it comes to me?"
"No," Logan answered. "You might be willing to give up what you want for Lilly's sake, but I'm not."
"You see where the problem is with that, don't you?"
"Yeah, the problem is that I would like to see where this could go, but I can't do that if the other party is unresponsive."
Veronica nodded, "Exactly."
"So start being responsive," Logan smiled.
"I can't do that."
"Sure you can."
"Didn't you hear anything I've said?"
"I heard it, but it's bullshit, Veronica," Logan breathed a laugh. "You deserve to get what you want too. Lilly might hold a grudge, but it doesn't change the fact that you deserve to come out on top sometimes."
"Logan," Veronica turned toward him. "I would never choose a guy over my sister."
"So that makes it okay for you to let your sister choose a guy over you?" Logan asked.
"What do you want from me Logan?" Veronica sighed. She had to ignore what Logan said, because if she dwelled on it too long she would realize how right he was.
"I want you to stop pushing me toward Lilly," Logan said. "If you genuinely aren't interested in me, okay. If you are dead set on nothing happening between us, okay. But just because I can't have you, does not mean I want Lilly."
"Are you trying to say there's nothing that could persuade you to be with Lilly?"
"At the moment, I'm kind of preoccupied with trying to convince this other girl to be open to the possibilities available to her, so no there's nothing that could persuade me to change my mind about what I want," Logan looked Veronica right in the eyes as he said it. "I just wish that other girl was open to seeing what could happen."
Veronica closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Although it was probably the stupidest thing she could have ever done, she said, "Maybe, maybe she is open to that, but she needs time to sort some things out."
Logan smiled, "Well, if that's the case, if there's one thing I have it's time."
"You have to back off for awhile. Lilly has to give up on her own, before I could do anything. Until then—" Veronica broke off.
"—we're just two friends getting to know each other," Logan finished. "Starting with, you helping me with this assignment."
Veronica knew she was probably going to regret giving Logan even an ounce of hope. She wasn't even sure of what she wanted. Logan was fun to hang out with and she couldn't deny that he was attractive, but so were a lot of guys. Maybe she could tell that there was something special about him, but that didn't mean she automatically wanted to jump into something with him. Lilly, at least, knew exactly what she wanted and it was Logan, plain and simple. Despite what Veronica had said, she didn't actually believe Lilly would ever give up and as sure as Logan was of himself, he had never gone up against Lilly. If things kept going the way they were, sooner or later all hell was going to break loose and Veronica didn't like the idea of being the catalyst.
