May the 4th be with you!
Logan was so glad to see his friends when he got home. There'd been a small mishap on the tour and he was certain that their impromptu welcome home party had saved him from a visit to his father's office. He'd tried really hard to follow protocol and do exactly what his father expected. He managed really well all week, but on the way to one of the final interviews of the tour, a guy pulled out in front of the limo and Ben slammed on the brakes, Logan's drink spilled all over him and splashed onto his dad's shoes. It had been an easy fix with a towel and a change of pants but that wasn't how Aaron saw it. When his father glared at him later from behind the reporter's back, he knew he would have to pay the consequences later but, thanks to his friends, he seemed to have avoided it this time.
With the stress of the tour over, he was glad to be able to relax and enjoy being with his friends. Dick had found someone who interested him while Logan was away. Veronica seemed to approve of her; since he'd been back, she'd actively paired the two every chance she got. He'd missed Veronica while he was gone and he was glad to see her laughing and having a good time. He wondered how things had progressed in the Mars house while he was gone but he'd had to wait until late in the party to get a chance to talk to her alone. As she described the confrontation she'd had with her mom, and all the aftermath, his heart broke for her and her dad. They didn't deserve that. Confronting her mother had taken a lot of guts and although he felt bad that she'd had to go through that, he was proud of her for being so courageous. He only wished he'd been here for her but she'd reassured him that Dick and Cassidy and Lilly had all been supportive while he was gone. He was glad that he wasn't included in anything else on his father's agenda for rest of the summer so he'd be able to be there when she needed him.
The last couple of days being back had been amazing. Mac fit right in with the group. Veronica had even convinced her to let Dick teach her how to surf and Veronica was surfing as well as the rest of them. Lilly had even been joining them occasionally; it took a bit of convincing but they'd finally gotten her to at least paddle a board out over the waves. Logan felt like they were in the full swing of summer and he was looking forward to hanging out with everyone at the Independence Carnival today. Logan was even more excited when Veronica told him her dad had agreed to let her hang out until midnight as long they promised to use the buddy system and check in with Cedrick every couple of hours.
Logan walked through the crowd, heading towards the Flying Swings. Dick had said they'd be there waiting for him. He would've been there sooner but his mom had asked him to bring her some lunch at the charity fireworks booth. With that out of the way, he was fighting the crowds in search of his friends. Logan had stopped and looked around to get his bearings when he saw Dick and Mac standing together at the snow cone stand. They were facing each other, standing close, and Dick was using a napkin to wipe Mac's chin off. It was unexpected to see this soft side of Dick and Logan felt like he was eavesdropping on a private moment. Deciding to let what was happening happen, Logan looked around for another familiar face, or at least the ride he was looking for. There were so many people all around that Logan began to get aggravated; he just wanted to find Veronica and enjoy the festivities, not wander around all afternoon pushing his way through hoards of people. When he noticed a lamp post, he climbed up on the base and shielded his eyes from the bright sun so he could get a better view of the crowded carnival grounds. He scanned the crowd and finally saw the petite blonde he was looking for, sitting on a park bench with Cassidy and Lizzie Manning, giggling about something. Based on the direction they were facing, Logan was pretty sure that the source of their amusement was the scene he had recently borne witness to. Logan knew that Veronica was sure that Mac and Dick were meant to be together and it would only be a matter of time until they were an actual couple. Logan wasn't really committed to the relationship one way or the other but if it made Mac and Dick, and Veronica, happy, then he had no objections.
Logan jumped down off the lamp post and made his way to Veronica. When she noticed him, she grinned and jumped up, running to him and pulled him by the arm to sit beside her on the bench. Since she never seemed to take her eyes off of Dick and Mac, he had no idea how she'd managed to even see him.
"Check this out!" She whispered as if they could hear her. "I'm gonna have these two admitting they like each other by the end of the day!"
Logan couldn't help but laugh; her excitement was contagious. It did look obvious that the two of them felt the same way about each other. Watching the way Dick looked at Mac, Logan wondered if his feelings for Veronica were that obvious to someone looking at them from the outside.
"They're coming back. We've gotta stop staring." Veronica nudged Logan's shoulder bringing him out of his thoughts. "Hey, stop staring." He hadn't even realized he was. To maintain their cover, Logan decided to greet the two headed their way.
"Hey, man, Mac...where's my snow cone?" Mac and Dick reached the bench and Logan saw Dick move to put his hand on the small of Mac's back, but then quickly pulled it away and shoved his hand in his pocket instead. Logan glanced down at Veronica. If he'd noticed Dick's action, he was pretty sure Veronica had and, when he saw the smirk on her face, he knew that he was right.
"Sorry, dude. If we'd known when you were going to finally show, I would've gotten one for you. What took you so long to get here, man?"
"Leave him alone, Dick; you know he had to help his mom but he's here now." Veronica turned away from Dick and smiled up at Logan. "What do you want to ride first?" Logan smiled back at her. This is what he'd been waiting for. Riding all the rides and playing games with Veronica.
"Since we're here, why not start with the swings?"
At Logan's suggestion, Veronica grabbed his wrist and jumped up from the bench. "Let's fly, Echolls"
Dick had convinced Mac to play the dart game. They'd made a wager about who could pop the most balloons. Dick laid a twenty on the table and the carnie counted out a set of darts for each of them.
"Come on, Mackie. If you win, I'll buy you dinner, If I win, you buy me dinner."
"Dick, we're eating dinner on the yacht. It's free." Dick smiled at her.
"Not tonight, Mac, Friday night. Just you and me." Dick picked up the pile of darts and handed them to her. "Come on, what do ya say? Will you come to dinner with me Friday night?" Dick hoped she would agree. And no matter who won at Darts, he had no intention of having her pay for dinner on their first official date.
He didn't think this day could get any better. When Veronica had convinced him to ask Mac to join them, he wasn't sure she would. They'd had such a great time talking and hanging out at Logan's that it gave him the confidence to ask her to join him today. Having his friends around helped ease into things and when Mac requested a snow cone he was more than happy to wander off alone with her to get one.
"All right, Casablancas, you have a deal." Mac had agreed to his terms but Dick wanted to be sure that his intentions were understood.
"So, it's a date?" He looked at her hopefully and she smiled.
"Yes, it's a date." Dick was bursting with excitement on the inside but he was doing his best to keep looking cool on the outside. He repeated her words so they'd sink in.
"It's a date." Dick picked up his pile of darts, glancing over at her with a smile before letting his first dart fly. He had a date with Cindy Mackenzie.
Back at the Kane residence, Duncan was raving about getting the chance to see Veronica at the carnival. Once her parents left for the Country Club, Lilly felt she needed to have a talk with Duncan. She wanted to ease into it gently, maybe even get him to see it for himself.
"Donut, what is it about V that you like so much?" She leaned her forearms on the counter, clasping the water bottle she grabbed from the fridge.
"She's smart, funny, and beautiful." He paused briefly, it seemed he was debating over his thoughts. "She doesn't seem to care what people think though. She does things that aren't exactly what Mom would call proper. I don't get it. You would think she would want to be popular and fit in with the other girls. Instead, she would rather hang out with Casablancas boys and Logan than the girls." He finally looked up at Lilly as if he was finally talking to her rather than to himself. A broad smile crossed his face. "You should convince her to join the Owl Club, Lils! She's going to need to learn how to present herself without her mom around to teach her proper etiquette."
Lilly was shocked. This is not how she expected this to go. Donut was trying to make Veronica fit into his mold rather than letting her be herself.
"NO, Donut! For the very reasons you just stated. Veronica is not a Debutante. It's just not who she is. I'm not going to convince her to be something she is not and neither should you." Lilly took a moment to calm down. She didn't want to attack her brother but he needed to understand that Veronica wasn't the girl for him. She took a deep breath and tried being straight with him. "Listen, I think you need to give up this thing you have for V. She isn't for you. You need to set your sights on someone else."
Duncan looked surprised at Lilly's change of heart. She knew he was remembering all the times she encouraged his advances toward Veronica and now she was telling him it was a mistake but he had to get this through his head. She walked around the counter and put her arms around her brother, resting her head on his chest. "I know I've encouraged you before, but I've seen the error of my ways. I don't think she is cut out for the future that you deserve for yourself. You need someone by your side like Meg, or maybe even Shelley. An actual debutante. Not Veronica. I'm sorry, Duncan."
Lilly gave him a quick squeeze, then walked out of the kitchen, leaving Duncan to his thoughts. She hoped he'd heard her.
Lilly wasn't sure she could handle the crowds at the carnival and when she shared her fears with Weevil, he suggested they hang out at home instead. He also said that if she felt up to it, she could join him at his Abuela's for their family picnic, then they could walk down to the beach after dark to watch the fireworks. Lilly loved the idea. Now that she had the house to herself, she and Rosa stocked the refrigerator with water and soda before Weevil got there.
Weevil was floating on the raft in the pool while Lilly lounged on the chair feeling sorry for herself.
"Hey Chica, you seem quiet today, are you sure you're okay?" He looked at her with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just disappointed in myself for not having the courage to go to the carnival. We go every year." She walked over to stairs leading into the pool and sat down. As she waved her hands back and forth in front of her through the water, she continued. "This is the first time Veronica's been allowed to stay out past the fireworks and I'm not going to be there to share it with her."
"If you want to try going to the carnival we can. If it's too much we'll leave." She was grateful he was trying to help but she didn't think it was going to be possible. It was hard enough joining her friends at the beach on occasion. The thought of walking through crowds of strangers made her queasy and she didn't know what she would do if she ran into him. He would certainly be there. Everyone in Neptune would be there. Except her. She would be here with Weevil behind her gated walls.
"No, I can't see that being a possibility. Let's just stick to the plan of heading over to the beach to watch the fireworks later." Weevil didn't push. He never did. He just gave her a reassuring smile and nodded his head to show he would do as she asked. Lilly dove under the water, hoping to block out the rest of the world for just a moment, as she swam to the deep end.
At the carnival, Veronica kept vigilant as she tried to identify Logan's tiny blonde girl. Her group of friends was standing huddled in a circle in the midst of the crowd. Some were chatting amongst themselves while others engaged in mayhem. Luke was using a french fry to try to smear ketchup on Shelley's nose. Duncan was teasing Meg, pulling on her braids. Enbom and Casey were playing hacky sack. Lilly was the only one Veronica hadn't seen. They'd been on every ride and played just about every game but there was no one Logan had shown a special interest in. Maybe she wasn't from their school. Maybe she was someone from Hollywood.
"Ronnie?" At the sound of her name, Veronica's focus snapped back to the here and now. She turned towards Dick, smiling as she noticed he had hold of Mac's hand.
What's that?" she asked, but Dick shook his head as if realizing that she hadn't heard a word he'd said.
"Did you not just see Madison wear her soda? What has you so distracted today?" Logan sounded concerned and it made her feel guilty. He was right; she had been distracted. She was missing out on the whole day worrying about the mystery blonde who had Logan's attention. She could see the concern on all their faces and she didn't want to spoil their fun so she decided she was done dwelling on the unpleasant subject, at least for the rest of the day.
"It's nothing. Are we ready to take over the ferris wheel?" Veronica looped Logan and Dick's arms with hers and dragged them with her, Dick pulling Mac along with them.
Standing in line, Veronica was entertained as Dick and Cassidy reenacted the scene where Casey bumped into Madison, essentially spilling her soda all over her. Dick made a very convincing Madison as he squawked at Cassidy who was pretending to be an apologetic Casey. She loved every minute of it. This was how she needed to spend her time, relishing these moments with her friends instead of analyzing every move Logan made. She was congratulating the two of them for a well done performance when Coach Goodman stopped in front of them.
"Cassidy, it's good to see you." He placed a hand on Cassidy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Happy Fourth of July, son!" Coach Goodman patted Cassidy's cheek as he smiled and nodded to the others. It was very awkward, but just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.
Veronica watched him go, her nose wrinkled in derision. She'd never thought before that someone could be too friendly but that was how she felt about Coach Goodman. Somehow, he seemed kinda creepy. Veronica turned away, not wanting to think about the man anymore but noticed Cassidy was watching him too and he looked as tense and uncomfortable as she felt. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it until he looked at her. She gave him a warm smile and he squeezed her hand back but it didn't seem to relieve his tension. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "You okay?" He nodded at her and Veronica briefly rested her head on his shoulder, then released his hand.
She shuffled a step closer to Logan who was listening to Dick carrying on about some crazy thing. His arm came up around her shoulders and he hugged her against him, then glanced down, smiling. She felt her stomach flop over and had to look away, pretending to laugh at whatever Dick was saying before she embarrassed herself. She had no idea what the punchline had been until she noticed the guys had acquired boxes of poppers and were throwing them on the ground at unexpecting people's feet. She did her best to concentrate on the activity around her and not let the disappointing thought of Logan's little blonde distract her again.
Veronica and Logan were the first to board the ferris wheel. As they sat and waited for each of their friends to load into the cars, Veronica couldn't help but notice how everyone paired off as they got on. Next in line, Dick and Mac, then Cassidy and Lizzie, Enbom and Shelley, Casey and Susan, Luke and Kimmie, Sean and Carrie, and, at the end, Duncan and Meg. She wondered if the pairings meant something. Since she was sitting next to Logan, she was especially curious but then she reminded herself to live in the moment and to stop over-analyzing everything.
Logan had his arm draped over the back of the car, looking out over the carnival. It was a beautiful view and it was quieter high up above the noisy crowds. She decided to take advantage of the moment. "Today has been the best day and this view is incredible."
Logan turned towards her and smiled. "It has been incredible, all of it." A sad look fell upon his face. "I know you're tough and can handle yourself, but how are you holding up, with your mom and everything?" She had been doing well with her mother not being around. She didn't have the guts to tell Logan he was the real reason she was distracted most of the day.
"I'm doing okay. It hasn't sucked too much without her. Dad and I have gotten into a rhythm. We're okay. Thanks for worrying about us."
"Always." The way he said that made her stomach do somersaults or was that the jolt of the ferris wheel going around? She couldn't tell so she rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the last go-round before they were ushered off.
Veronica was excited to watch the fireworks from the yacht. She had never been allowed to join her friends for this part of their celebration. She'd been obligated to be home in time to watch them from the beach with her parents but now that it was just her and her dad, this year was different. He'd picked up an extra shift so a few of the others could spend time with their families and he let Veronica go on the yacht.
The evening started with dinner while they sailed out a few miles off shore. The last trip to TJ apparently involved bringing back preliminary entertainment. They had an array of fireworks sitting out and the launch raft was anchored to the boat. The deck was already littered with confetti from the confetti cannons that the guys had set off. They all gathered on deck after dinner, staking out the best spots among the cushions. Veronica was pleased to see Mac sitting comfortably between Dick's legs. She also noticed Meg and Duncan back on the bench against the cabin, deep in conversation. Veronica chose to sit between Dick and Logan. Cassidy was on the opposite side of Dick with Lizzie, trying to get Mac to open up about what happened between her and his brother.
"Give it up, Mackenzie, how did he con you into a dinner date? Dick isn't known for his charm."
Mac looked over and shrugged her shoulders. "We made a bet."
Cassidy started laughing. "Wait, wait, wait. So it's a pity date because you lost a bet?"
Dick rubbed his hands over Mac's arms. He was smiling so Veronica was sure there was more to this and they were playing Cassidy for a fool. Just when she thought it was going to remain a secret, Mac explained, "I WON the bet but it wasn't about whether we went on the date but rather who would end up paying for it."
"Oh really,"Veronica said with a laugh. "Maybe your brother's got more game than you thought, Cas." She looked at Dick. "So tell us what the bet was."
A huge grin spread across his face. "Darts!" Everyone burst out laughing.
Veronica gave Mac a sympathetic pat on the leg. "Sorry, Mac, you got played. If we'd known, we would have warned you. Dick is a master at darts."
"It's okay, Veronica, I figured it out pretty quick when he didn't stick a single dart to the board." Mac took Dick's hand in hers and tilted her head up to brush her lips across his cheek. "I'm partial to the big goof. I'm looking forward to our first date."
Veronica watched as Mac kept eye contact with Dick the whole time, as if she was making a confession. She sneaked a peek at Logan, wondering if she would ever have the courage to do the same. He was already looking at her and when their eyes met, she felt her cheeks warm. Luckily, Cedric started another round of bottle rockets just then and Veronica pulled her eyes away from Logan's, leaning back between he and Dick to enjoy the show.
Weevil had convinced Lilly to take a walk down the beach so they would have a better view of the fireworks. There were a few people out on the sand but not enough to make Lilly uncomfortable. At one point, she worried about Tommy finding her, but when she was with Weevil, she felt safe.
Weevil laid out the blanket they brought and they sat down facing the yacht club. As the fireworks lit the sky, Lilly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for this Weevil. I'm glad you convinced me to come."
Weevil gave her a warm smile and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
They had blown through the contraband fireworks and still had time before the yacht club's main event was scheduled to begin so they passed around the bottle of sparkling cider, filling their plastic champagne flutes for a game of Never have I ever. Casey was the first to fill his glass so he began.
"Never have I ever, stayed up all night."
Dick took a swig of his cider before responding, "That was lame, man. My turn. Never have I ever, kissed a boy." Dick said, winking at Mac still sitting between his legs. Mac lifted her cider to her lips and took a sip.
Mac looked around at the group looking to her to continue the game. She raised an eyebrow and gave them all a mischievous glare before stating,"Never have I ever, kissed a girl." Her response made Dick laugh.
It was Veronica's turn but she didn't have a clue as to what statement she should play. She ran her finger along the rim of her flute while she thought about it.
"Um, okay, never have I ever...gone swimming at night." Veronica knew it was silly but she couldn't think of anything else to say. Most of the others drank from their flutes, including Logan, Dick, and Cassidy. They may have opened up her world to a lot of new experiences but there was still a lot she hadn't experienced yet.
The lights on the deck went out just then, as a rocket of light soared into the sky bursting in color. The fireworks reflecting off the water were an amazing sight to see. Over and over again, rockets shot up out over the water and exploded. She was thankful her dad had let her come tonight; it was a spectacular sight to see. She hadn't realized how much she had been missing out over the years.
Logan watched Veronica seeing the fireworks for the first time from the yacht with a broad smile on his face. He didn't need to see the fireworks themselves, just watching her was exhilarating. He wanted to give her so many more new experiences just like this so he could feel like this again and again. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder so he could whisper in her ear. "It's spectacular, isn't it!"
She leaned back into his embrace, nodding her head to answer him. "I love the way they reflect off the water. It makes them seem larger than life." She felt good in his arms. He kissed her on her temple, ready to remain in this position for as long as she would let him.
"Happy Fourth of July, Veronica."
"Happy Fourth of July, Logan."
