Aw, I loved all of your responses to the previous one-shot. I think it was my favourite piece to write and it made it even more special that most of you enjoyed reading it. A few of you have requested that I carry it on so; here is the follow on piece.

I know a lot of have requested for me to make a few of my one-shots into multi-chapter fics but honestly, I'm a full-time student who cannot commit to anything and I know – for a fact – if I start a multi-chapter fic I would probably abandon it, hence, why I decided to dedicate my time to writing a collection of drabbles and one-shots!

This was one hundred percent inspired by the events that happened in One Tree Hill (around episode 3x16-17) The general theme explored in those episodes is channelled here but I have not followed the exact One Tree Hill plot line following the shooting. Also, Piz and Veronica do not have a romantic relationship in this, whatsoever; they are simply platonic.

Heroic Debut (Sequel to Hollywood Hot Shot)

Veronica had never felt such excruciating pain in her life. She could feel the blood gushing out of her leg, pouring grotesquely down her knees and pooling between her toes. Her legs were bare today and the crimson liquid stained the pale whiteness of her sun deprived skin. She could feel the bullet in her thigh, those mere seconds earlier; it was flying through the air before tearing past layers of skin and tendons.

No matter what was used as the device to cause it, pain always felt the same. It started of slow and then it was sudden, mind-numbingly ever-present. You could try to ignore it, try to think of something good but, it was impossible. Your mind zoned in on the source of agony, amplifying the ache. Veronica wondered if this was how Lily had felt when she was dying. Her dead best friend hadn't been shot but the piercing pain had to have been similar. Veronica could picture the blonde splayed out by her pool, blood matting her perfect hair and her perfect skin. Her autopsy had estimated that it had taken her a whole seven minutes to die – for her heart to stop beating: did Lily feel the way Veronica did right now? Did she think about her family, her friends before her eyes finally closed?

Veronica conjured up the image of Lily's body withering in pain before finally coming to a tranquil and still state, her eyes closing as if succumbing to the demands of her attacker. Thinking of Lily's green eyes fluttering closed made Veronica want to do the same. All she could see was smudge like figures frantically moving against a bright light and the thought of darkness was strangely inviting.

"Veronica." A panicked voice was calling at her but it was becoming increasingly distant, like a wave that refused to ascend back onto the shore. His voice was soft and low like a mother's before bedtime, a voice that just made Veronica yearn for sleep stronger. As if his voice was a lullaby, Veronica found herself smiling at it … her mind drifting to a state of thoughtlessness. "Veronica! Veronica … 'Ronica! … You have to keep your eyes open … come on, Veronica, you can do this." Veronica's body was grabbed by a large force, dragging her body frantically across the floor. She heard squeaks, probably her coppery blood against the polished Hearst flooring before her body was hauled upwards.

"Hm, sleep." Veronica mumbled against the guy's shirt clad shoulder, her eyes finally shutting the world out.

Stosh Piznarski had seen the events erupt before his eyes. He had been walking to his social psych class with his friend, Veronica, when he'd heard a gun go off, glass shattering in its wake. Another shot went off just seconds afters. Shards of window exploded and Piz grabbed at Veronica, forcing both his and her bodies onto the floor. People were running, panicked, and it had taken Piz a while to comprehend his surroundings. He saw blood, at first he wasn't even sure if the blood was his or Veronica's, he felt nothing – numbness.

Piz pulled Veronica's fragile body into his arms, stumbling clumsily before rushing towards an emergency exit. Veronica was unconscious now and the thought was worrying with the amount of blood that she was losing. It didn't matter to others that he was carrying an unconscious girl; many were too transfixed on saving themselves. Just like Piz, they were confused … numb and unsure of what to do next. There hadn't been another gun-shot for minutes but nobody was risking it … everybody was headed towards the gleaming green exit door that led to their safety.

"Sit back down." A voice called from behind just as Piz was about to make his heroic debut; Veronica's body in his arms.

Simultaneously, Logan and a few of his friends – Dick and Cassidy Casablancas, Carrie Bishop and Madison Sinclair -were on their way home from the airport. They'd been filming a new action movie in San Diego and were finally done with location scenes. An agonising seven weeks had passed since Logan had last seen Veronica. After blowing up at Duncan at the Kane party, Keith had pretty much ended Logan and Veronica's relationship but, that hadn't stopped the two of them – they were in love and young and … cell phones were a magical device. It's just cell phone conversations weren't cutting it anymore, Logan ached for Veronica and, he was glad to be home. Logan was driving down the highway and Dick was fiddling around with the radio dial until something caught the attention of every person in the car.

"Hearst College is under police lockdown as an armed attacker holds students hostage, we come to you live from the northern campus. The shooter has not been identified; however, students who managed to escape the university building have confirmed that two shots did go off."

"Dick, grab my phone." Logan's eyes clouded over at the mention of Hearst College, the university where his girlfriend was currently studying. Before jumping to any conclusions, Logan knew he had to try contacting Keith or Veronica first: it was pretty early in the day, maybe Veronica was still at home? Or maybe she wasn't at school at all today? Logan knew not to panic until he had a definitive answer about Veronica's whereabouts. "Call Veronica."

Dick, realising the seriousness of the situation at hand, did not reply with his usual snappy quip and did what he was told. He dug through Logan's glove compartment and called the first number on Logan's call log – Veronica's. He placed the phone tightly against his face, the dial tone ringing eerily over and over again. Logan's hands were tightly clutching onto the steering wheel, his hands turning a ghostly white now. "Pick up, Veronica, pick up!"

"It went to her answering machine, man." Dick glanced at his worried friend. Veronica was Logan's Achilles foot, anything happened to her and Dick knew Logan would lose it. The girl was one of the few good things Logan had going for him; acting and his money didn't hold a candle to what he felt for Veronica.

"Try Keith's phone." Logan instructed as he put his foot down on the accelerator. It didn't matter to him that the girls were squealing in the back, begging him to slow down. Dick informed Logan that Keith's phone was going to voicemail, just like his daughter's. Logan felt his heart sink into his rib cage; it was like Duncan's party all over again, all Logan could think of was Veronica, protecting Veronica. He didn't care for the fact that he was meant to be dropping his friend's home, Logan's next destination was Hearst, and speed limits be damned. He drove like an animal, over-taking vans and school buses, swerving past civilians crossing the road. The blares of car horns were going through one ear and coming out the next. Logan didn't stop until he was at the northern campus, parked sloppily behind two other cars.

Reporters loitered everywhere and some even double took as they processed four Hollywood actors before them. Logan, at this point in time, didn't care for publicity or the media's questions; he frantically looked around in search of Veronica or her dad. He spotted a group of police officers in uniform and fled their way, if anybody knew anything, it would be them. As he had predicted, Keith was stood in the middle of the officers, barking out orders. The look on his face was enough to tell Logan that something was wrong, greatly so. "Keith!" Logan waited for Keith to stop talking before approaching him. "Where's Veronica?"

"Logan-" Keith wasn't that surprised to see Logan. He wasn't stupid, he was sheriff after all. Veronica's desire to spend prolonged periods on her phone was enough of an indicator to Keith that she was still in contact with her boyfriend. Keith just knew their phone conversations were harmless as long as Logan was on location filming. Keith couldn't even find it in him to answer back to the boy that had evidently gone against his orders, not when his daughter was … "She-"

"She what?" Logan didn't mean to be rude or pushy but the fear of the unknown was suffocating him, worst case scenarios flooding into his mind. What if she was … No, Veronica Mars couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. "She what, Keith?"

"She's still inside." Keith rubbed a hand against his face, the stress clear on his features. Veronica was all he had left in the world and he couldn't bear the thought of losing her like he had lost Lianne. "A few students began coming out the fire escape but … a call was made to the office. The shooter, it's Lucky, the janitor … he said if we tried to get in there, he was going to … he was going to … shoot them … all of them." Logan glanced over at the seminar hall, not even thinking before he readied himself to go in there. He hadn't even taken two hurried steps before Keith stopped him. Keith could see the gears turn in the boy's head and he was ready to stand in his way before Logan could do anything stupid. "Did you not hear me, boy?" Keith questioned rhetorically. "If any of us go in there, she's dead!"

Logan halted, he knew he couldn't act on impulse, no matter how deeply he cared for Veronica's safety.

"What do we do now?" Logan slumped against a cop car, to some it looked like a calm and collected notion. Honestly, it was the only thing that was supporting Logan up right. The thought of some sleazy guy holding Veronica at gun point was now permanently etched into his brain. "We can't just leave her in there!"

"We're waiting on senior back up. We can only go in there once we know, roughly, how many lives are at stake."

The two most important men in Veronica's life stood in silence whilst chaos carried on around them. They didn't know how long they sat in silence for but to them, it felt like an eternity. Deep down, they both carried a sense of guilt on their shoulders. Neither of them could do anything to protect the girl that they loved the most and that helplessness was eating away at them.

Another gunshot resonated throughout campus and the screams ensued immediately after.

Reporters jumped back in front of their cameras and their microphones and Keith and Logan glanced at each other, their fear sky-rocketing to levels that were probably inhumane.

And suddenly, a parade of students stampeded through the Hearst College doors. Many of them were buckling over their feet, running for their freedom. Keith turned to his deputies, their eyes on the trained on Lucky, the man that they needed to arrest. He was nowhere to be found. Keith was yelling orders, his armed deputies edging towards the building that people were running out of. Logan, on the other hand, didn't have a work force to instruct. Unlike Keith, his eyes were hopeful for the sight of his petite blonde girlfriend running into his arms.

"Somebody help!" A scrawny looking boy was screaming a lot louder than the rest of the hostages. Much to Logan's dismay, he found himself turning his head towards the distressed guy only to find him carrying Veronica. "She's been shot! Somebody help!" The paramedics met Piz halfway, taking Veronica onto a stretcher, an oxygen mask placed firmly against her nose. He let her body go readily as paramedics and officers alike approached him.

"Veronica!" Logan ran to her, his arms pumping his body as fast as they could. He practically crashed into a paramedic as he knelt down beside her. People were telling him he was in the way but he couldn't bring himself to leave her side. He hadn't seen her in weeks and her she was, unconscious … fighting for her life. Logan wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he left her now, he wouldn't forgive himself if she died. "Keith! Over here! Veronica, it's going to be okay … everything's going to be okay, baby. I promise."

"Sir, we have to get her to the hospital, she's losing a lot of blood." A paramedic was practically pulling at Logan's shirt as he tried to get him to move. But Logan wasn't giving in, he couldn't leave her … he couldn't leave her on her own again.

"Logan, son-" Logan recognised Keith's voice but still, he couldn't muster the courage or the strength to move. All he could see was Veronica's body tainted by blood. The blood had seeped through the denim of her shorts and had caked her legs; now more red then white. "If you love my daughter, you're going to need to move." Keith's tone was fatherly and reassuring, something Logan had never had directed at himself from anybody. It was all he needed to pick himself up off his knees. "Logan! I need you to be strong, okay, for her? I have to make sure that we catch Lucky before he hurts anybody else … and I need you to get her to the hospital."

"Keith-" Logan was shocked by Keith's request.

"I trust you, Logan-" Keith placed a heavy hand against Logan's shoulder, giving it a reassuring yet petrified shake. The look of hurt in Logan's eyes was enough to assure Keith that he truly cared for Veronica's well-being, media perceptions completely excused. Veronica needed Logan, now more than ever. "Go!"