You're a Cherry Blossom, You're About to Bloom
"Pa pa reh ah ruhm bah reh pa pa reh ah ruhm bah reh uhm pow pow pow pow pow! I don't think you ready for this jelly, I don't think you ready for this jelly, I don't think you ready for this, 'cause my body's too bootylicious for ya babe."
Lilly Kane's bedroom walls echoed with the giggles of two best friend's singing to their hearts content in an out of rhythm tune of Destiny Child's Bootylicious. They flailed about the room, shimming and shaking until they finally collapsed on the bed with volume turned down as the next song played in the background.
"It's been way too long since we had a dance-a-thon like that," Lilly said as she grabbed the bottle laying on the bedside table. She chugged down the water and quizzed, "How am I so out of shape? And how are you not dying right now?"
Veronica chuckled and good-naturedly teased, "I'm on the soccer team. And you laze around at the pool side."
"With my new hot boyfriend," she wiggled her eyebrows. "So I do burn some calories."
Veronica giggled. "How is he?"
"He's great," her eyes twinkled with a sly grin on her lips.
Smiling, Veronica observed, "You really like him, huh?"
"I don't know," she bit her lip. Her eyes twinkled and her lips curved into a mischievous grin. "He's a good kisser." Veronica chuckled and her best friend teased, "So, Veronica Mars, when are you gonna pow pow pow pow?"
"Lilly!" She laughed heartily and playfully shoved her best friend.
"Seriously, you're fourteen already and it's your last year of being the big fish in a small pound."
"It's not like I don't want a boyfriend," she sighed. "Boys just aren't that into me. I don't know."
Lilly's brows crinkled, she tilted her head looked at her best friend, considering. "Sure they are, you just gotta, you know, throw in your hook to catch a fish."
Veronica twisted her head to the side and looked at the green eyed girl. "Just because I understand what you're saying doesn't mean I have any idea on how to do it."
"You're hot, Veronica Mars. All you have to do is say hi."
"Really?" She said, doubtful.
"Yes," Lilly readily answered as if to say anything otherwise would be absolutely ridiculous. "C'mon, when last have you talked to a guy that's not Logan or Duncan for more than five minutes?"
Veronica frowned in thought. "Connor dropped us off."
Lilly gave her a pointed look so she continued, "Dick?"
"Willingly."
"Oh!" Veronica sounded out. "Casey Gant."
Accepting the candidate, she quizzed, "What did you talk about?"
Veronica took a second to recall the conversation before answering, "Meg Manning and her birthday cake that tasted so good you'd never believe that she baked it with her little sister Lizzie."
Lilly exaggeratedly sighed and shook her head. "Veronica, if you spend time with a guy, talking about another girl is going to get you nowhere."
With an arched brow, Veronica asked, "What makes you think I want to get anywhere with Casey Gant?"
"What's wrong with Casey Gant? He's hot and he's pretty damned good at seven minutes in heaven."
"I think he spends a little too much time in heaven."
"And maybe you need a little more time in it," Lilly suggested.
Veronica rolled her eyes. She was young and she had time to find someone.
"Hakuna Matata, Veronica Mars, consider me your personal cupid. Cupidress."
Veronica closed her eyes, "Oh, Lilly, no." She knew there was no good that could come from Lilly Kane meddling in her love life - or lack of one.
If there was one thing her best friend loved, it was shopping and she knew that Lilly would use any and every excuse to go to the mall.
So the next day when Lilly appointed herself Veronica's personal Cupid, she decided that the bonfire would be a good place to be on the hunt for hotties. Because yes, high school boys were better than middle schoolers.
When Veronica picked up a knee length skirt and yellow cotton top, Lilly immediately stopped her, "Veronica, sweetie, no."
"It's mature yet fun," the petite blonde pouted.
"Babe, the only fun you're gonna be having is with a book in that getup."
Veronica piped her chest high and remarked, "I'll have you know that I can seduce a book in any getup."
"Really? Even Ulysses? I hear he's a tough nut to crack."
"Give me a cup of coffee and I'll tame that sucker."
Lilly laughed as they shuffled through the rack of clothes. "The point is, there is no such thing as love at first sight. But you're-really-hot at first sight totally is."
She held up the top against Veronica and grinned. "Put on some short shorts and you're good to go."
"Short shorts, Lil, really?"
"It's a bonfire, Ronica, either short dress or short shorts. Take your pick?"
"Shorts it is." She snatched the offered clothing from Lilly's hand.
Seconds later, Veronica revealed herself in her newly picked out outfit and Lilly squeaked out her approval.
Veronica would classify herself as a basic shopper that shopped out of necessity, sure she felt a thrill when she found something she liked but the idea of shopping itself only seemed fun when she was with Lilly. She knew she's very much like her father in that aspect as her mother perks up at the mention of shopping. Veronica would classify Lilly as a shopaholic but there was one person that exceeded even Lilly's shopping range and that person was Trina Echolls.
The difference between the two personalities was that Lilly shopped because she was excited about fashion while Trina shopped because she could and wanted everyone to know it.
So it was no surprise to them when they had bumped into the self-proclaimed America's Sweetheart. Veronica never knew exactly what to make of Trina. The girl had always had a demanding presence and could make anyone feel about two feet tall. About ninety five percent of the time she was the self-absorbed teenager without a care in the world. But then there's the five percent where Trina was just Logan's sister who loved teasing him and offered her cookies when she visited.
Trina smiled broadly as she made her way to the duo, shopping bags already in hand. She looked over the chosen clothes and gave in her two cents that caused Lilly to snark comments about Trina's current attire.
All Veronica could do was bit her lip and sigh as the two girls bickered with one another about which top exactly was a better fit. Veronica saw a pretty white top with Spice Girl lyrics that she's hundred percent sure she's going to be purchasing instead with her limited budget.
Veronica was fine with shopping with Trina Echolls until Lilly bailed for an impromptu make-out session with Daniel and Connor Larkin decided to show up.
"Come on, Trina!" Connor called. "I said I was sorry."
Veronica desperately wanted to pull away from Trina's grasp. She felt like she was intruding.
"You can shove your sorry where the sun doesn't shine," the redhead stubbornly snapped.
"I didn't mean to say those things to you. I am sorry about what I said but I'm not sorry about Kendall, okay? I was bummed out..." He tried to explain. "And she was nice to me."
Trina huffed at the absurd statement, "Kendall Banks isn't nice."
"She was, in her own way," he said, desperate to make his best friend understand and accept his choices. "I'm not asking for you to suddenly be best friends with her but a truce, please?"
"Don't be such a drama queen, Connor," Trina rolled her eyes. "It's not like we're at war. But like whatever, truce. Conditioned, truce."
"Let's hear it," he breathed out with relief.
She pursed her lips consideringly and Veronica was almost scared for Connor when Trina stared him down. "You owe me three whatever I wants."
Veronica let out a sigh of relief when she didn't hear Trina demand for a pound of Kendall's flesh or at least not yet anyway.
"Three?"
"One for dating her without even telling me. One for throwing Chad Michael Murray in my face. One for this truce."
Connor considered her words and Veronica wondered how their friendship got so complicated. Would Logan one day not approve of her boyfriend and throw a missy fit? Or would Lilly? She couldn't picture Duncan being angered at her choices but her two other friends definitely were overly opinionated on her life choices.
"Fine," he agreed, much to Veronica's surprise.
"Alrighty then," she instantly chippered.
Veronica smiled at how cute Connor looked at the instant relief on his face. Trina goes on to state her unwarranted opinions about everything in the world.
Shopping was exhausting but the food court was a haven that was definitely Veronica's favorite part of the mall. She'd managed to leave Trina in Connor's care and Lilly had joined her once again.
Veronica's glad that her best friend was back in time for food because there was no way that she would had waited for Lilly and she's not the kind of girl that can promise keeping food on the table.
"Sup Lilly, Ronnie," Dick bobbed his head in greeting with a grin plastered on his face, his little brother Cassidy followed suit.
Veronica internally groaned and resisted the urge to scream, 'Go away Dick.' "Dick. Hey Cassidy."
Lilly merely waved as she continued to text on her phone and Veronica continued to read over the cafe's variety magazine while she finished up her fries.
"Hey, have you seen Stacey?" Dick asked, his eyes searching the room in one quick glance.
"Who's Stacey?" Veronica quizzed at the unfamiliar name.
"My girlfriend," he duh'd as they settled on the chairs across the girls.
Her brows twisted in confusion. "What happened to Tina?"
Dick shrugged, popping a couple of Lilly's abandoned fries in his mouth. "Broke up like a week ago."
"I saw you with her three days ago," she pointed out
"Okay. We broke up three days ago. I'm dating this new chick Sandy. We're supposed to meet here."
"You mean Stacey?"
"Okay, Stacey."
Veronica wasn't sure how but every time she had a conversation with Dick Casablancas her disdain for him grew three folds.
Lilly rolled her eyes. "Well, at least he's not back together with Madison."
Veronica nodded her agreement before she asked, "How does Stacey look?"
"Hot. Blonde. Nice rack."
Veronica stared at him as she felt her annoyance build up. "That totally narrows it down."
"Oh look I found her!" Dick sprung up.
Veronica's brow rose, "That's Sarah."
"Oh!" He exclaimed in realization, giving Veronica a thumbs up before he skipped off toward Sarah.
Veronica watched the scene unfold with undisguised disgust. She shook her head and the quizzed the remaining Casablancas brother. "Where's Logan?" She asked.
"Off somewhere with what's her name," Cassidy shrugged, flipping through a menu as he decided on what to order.
Veronica rose her brow and shrugged away the vague answer. She redirected her attention to Lilly and said, "I hope you're ready for dessert."
Lilly tilted her head and pursed her lip in consideration. "Mm get me something minty."
"Can I get the Seven Layer Brownie Cheesecake Parfait, please? And a slice of the Double Mint Chocolate Poke Cake as well please."
"Ah good choices," says the boy next to her. There's no one else in the line and Veronica's not sure if he's complimenting her order or if he's deciding on his own so she silently nodded. She's unsure of what the next appropriate move was. What do you do when a cute boy randomly starts talking to you after you've placed a death by chocolate order? He does know that both of those things weren't for her, right?
"I was gonna go with the classic cheesecake but looking at those seven layers you just ordered looks way too tempting. And I guess if you're ordering it, it must be good."
Veronica smiled a confused smile. "I'm not entirely sure about that, it's the first time trying it out actually."
He bobbed his head, grin on his face that she feels like she's supposed to know but can't quite place. "Going out of the good ole comfort zone, eh?"
"It's good to try new things from time to time," she agreed.
He laughed out loud, Veronica blinked, befuddled at the boy. She retrieved her order with a polite thank you and the boy finally calmed down.
"Veronica, it's me, Matt? Remember?"
Veronica blinked; surprised and confused and kind of stuck in the uncomfortable feeling of not remembering someone you supposedly know.
He placed his order, including Veronica's dessert in his list. "We were at summer camp together? I had all the candy in the cabin because my sister was camp counsellor?"
Her eyes widen in recollection. Fatty Mattie; they were shy of about nine years old. She almost blurted out the nickname but she refrained like she had all those years ago.
"Oh! Oh! Matt. Wow. Hi. How have you been?"
He went on to speak of the missing time and she can't help but notice how the nickname Fatty Mattie no longer applied to him. He spoke with unhinged excitement and she's trying to take it all in.
"What are you doing here in Neptune?"
There's not much about Matt that she remembered beside that he gave her free candy and was always nice to her.
"I'm going to Neptune High."
His answer surprised her and she checked, "You skipped a grade?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "No, silly, I've always been a year older than you."
"Since when?" She felt like a dork the moment the question left her lips so she shook her head.
He chucked again and said, "You know, it's great that I ran in to you. We should catch up. You can recommend other good desserts you've tried or want to try."
"Desserts are kind of my specialty."
"I remember. Maybe -"
"Hey, Ronnie," Logan swooshed in, draped his hand over Veronica's shoulder and reiterated his usual order to the girl at the counter. He paused, quizzing at Veronica, "What'd you already get?" He peaked in the brown takeaway bag. "Ah dessert. Couldn't wait, could ya? No worries but I'm not sharing my chicken pops with you."
Veronica simply rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Matt, this is Logan," she took the chance to introduce them. "Logan sees fried chicken and it's like nothing else exists."
Logan snorted. "You're one to talk. Don't let her size fool you, she packs her weight in lasagne."
Matt's lips pursed and he nodded his head in understanding. He slipped his hands in his hoodie pocket, shifting uncomfortably. "Italian is the best."
"Right?!" Veronica readily agreed.
"I should go," Matt smiled, a tad uneasily. "I'll see you around, Veronica?"
Veronica's brows furrowed. "Uh," she blinked before adapting a cheerful smile. "Sure. It was nice seeing you again, Matt. It's really been a long time."
"Yeah," he bobbed his head. "It was nice meeting you, Logan."
"You too, dude," Logan watched in amusement as Matt backed away before eventually he quickly retreated.
"You always manage to find the weirdos," Logan mused as he gathered Veronica's bag in his hand while waiting for the food.
Veronica's lips thin in a thoughtful manner as she stared questioningly at the now vacant spot. "He's not a weirdo," she weakly defended, finding the behavior weird herself.
"Yeah, sure," he dismissed. "So wanna watch a movie with us after we eat?"
"Is Dick and Sarah added into this 'us'?"
"Well-"
"I'd rather not."
"But Ronnie."
"Nope."
"What if I get us seats far away from them?"
"It's Dick. We'll be hearing psst Logan. Psst Ronnie call Logan throughout the movie."
"He's a talker."
"Understatement. Besides, thought you were hanging out with what's-her-name?"
"Who?"
"I don't know. Cassidy literally said what's-her-name."
"A few of the girls from school showed up and Connor was following my sister around so I was stuck with them."
"You say it like you don't like the attention."
"I'm all about the Logan-lovin' but seriously it's not all fun and games when I know they'd rather be talking to my dad than me."
"Oh please Logan, you use that to your advantage all the time."
"Well I'd prefer to hang out with you, so please would you watch the movie with us?"
"Lilly and I haven't decided what to do next-"
"So you're free! Great!"
"That's not what I said."
"Basically is, Ronnie," he sang out with a wide grin stretched across his face and she sighed knowing that any further attempt at arguing with Logan was fruitless.
