Chapter 9

Veronica was smiling as she watched Backup chase birds down the beach. The prevous day she and Logan had spent the entire day just watching movies. No harsh words had been spoken the entire time.

After the incident with Dick and Sean, Veronica had been ready to bolt, but there was something in Logan's voice when he had called out to her that had made her stop. He had sounded like the Logan she used to know.

She had actually had a really good time just watching movies and laughing with him. It was still a hard idea to get used to, she had been laughing with him, not at him like she was so used to.

Life is just full of suprises. She was still shocked as hell about Logan's reaction to Dick and Sean's insults. Monday should be very interesting. Veronica had no idea what to expect from the 09ers but at this point, she really didn't care.

Logan sat in his room and stared at the phone. He was so tempted to call Veronica but didn't want to smuther her. He had a great time with her yesterday. For the first time since Lilly died, he felt that his future wasn't going to be filled with darkness. His phone rang and Logan jumped at it.

"Hello." He said breathlessly into the phone.

It was Dick. Logan really didn't want to speak to him but figured Dick wouldn't leave him alone until he did. After ten minutes of telling Dick what was expected of him and his fellow 09ers, Logan hung up. Monday is going to be just fine.

He couldn't wait to see Veronica's smiling face.

On Monday Veronica couldn't stop frowning. It seemed as though she no longer existed to the 09ers. After Dick had gotten off of the phone with Logan the day before, he had called the masses and informed them that Veronica was no longer an enemy, but he didn't know how long she would be a friend either. Most took this as an excuse to not talk to her. Nobody wanted to spend time befriending Veronica again only to be told a month later to torment her, so they kept their distance.

Logan walked into school and immediately spotted Veronica by her locker, frowning. Before he could walk to her he was shoved into a nearby classroom.

"What the fuck?" Logan yelled as he regained his balance.

He looked over at Wallace who had just shut the door to the room.

"I felt like we needed to have a little talk." Wallace replied.

"Okay, shoot." Logan said.

"I will if you piss me off enough." Wallace said as he slowly walked towards Logan.

Logan frowned at this but stood his ground. What the hell is this about?

As if reading Logans mind, Wallace began to talk.

"As you know Veronica is my friend, my best friend. She was the first person in this school who was decent to me. She's very special to me which brings me to my point. I'm very protective of her. I'm going to be watching you. If you hurt her I will come after you. I will make sure you pay! You don't want to see me pissed." Wallace said forcefully.

He smiled, walked to the door and opened it but before he left he turned around. "Also remember, I'm not the only one who's protective of her. She may not have many friends, but the ones she has would do anything for her. Don't forget that." Wallace walked out of the room leaving a stunned Logan.

At lunch, Wallace sat at his usual table waiting for Veronica. When he looked up he spotted Logan coming towards him.

"Hey man, where's Ronnie?" Logan asked when he sat down.

"Go sit at your own table. You can stop the act, rich boy. Veronica's not here to see it." Wallace replied coldly.

He could see that Logan seemed to be trying hard to become a friend to Veronica. That doesn't mean I should trust him though. As much as Wallace wanted to believe Logan was sincere, for Veronica's sake, he couldn't help but be weary. He knew they used to be the best of friends, he had heard all the rumors so he also knew all the terrible things Logan had done to Veronica after Lilly died. He was pissed that Logan was responsible for the hard outer shell Veronica had been forced to create. After all, he heard about how the old Veronica used to be, sweet and innocent. It tore him up inside knowing everything Veronica had been through- all alone- because of Echolls! I just wish I could have been there for her!

Wallace had decided over the weekend that he would watch their relationship grow from the sidelines, ready to jump in and protect Veronica at any moment. That's just what I'm going to do! But just because he wasn't going to openly object to Logan, didn't mean he would make things easy on Logan either.

Standing up, Wallace walked away in search of his best friend.