AN: Seeing that all of you are enjoying this gives me all the feels! You all are so amazing! Thank you so much!

Eli was glad that they were there, he didn't know if he could keep it together when she started to talk about Lilly. Part of him wondered if maybe he should tell her but he didn't think he wanted her to know just yet. He'd been Lilly's dirty little secret but he didn't think he was the only one she was keeping from her friends and family. That didn't mean it didn't hurt any less when she went running back to Logan because she was someone he could have loved. Knowing that he was her secret though made him want to keep it to himself for as long as possible because he didn't want to see the pity or the laughs that could come from her best friend.

It had hit him hard but what was worse was feeling as if he couldn't talk to anyone about what his was feeling after the murder. He hadn't told his family or his boys, well except for Felix but he wasn't really someone that Felix thought would be down for a heart to heart which may or may not include tears. He'd kept how he felt about it close to himself as best he could despite the fact that he wanted to make the man who killed her pay with the kind of justice he was used to dealing out.

Maybe that was why he'd put his mind to protecting Veronica, it was a way to be close to someone else who loved Lilly and knew her better than he did but also a way to try and change the past. He couldn't really say for sure but it had been the rumors that had made his mind up for him. As much as he still considered her an 09er by association he knew that she wasn't otherwise they wouldn't let the rumors circulate. He'd seen how the 09ers functioned first hand, saw how they treated people that they thought had betrayed them. They ostracized that person and didn't bother to keep from spreading rumors and that's exactly what they had done to Veronica. He had watched it from afar, watched as they turned on her for choosing her own father over her ex-boyfriend's family.

He watched as they slashed her tires, wrote nasty slurs on her locker with spray paint, along with other things but he'd also seen how Norris Clayton had stood up for her though the 09ers were wise enough to leave her alone when the other male was around. He wasn't sure if the other had a crush on the blonde but he knew that Norris was one of the guys that had a reputation but in reality he was more of an outsider who was disenchanted by life in Neptune but part of Eli knew that it was a good thing that Veronica had Norris on her side.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind he focused on the present and blonde that walked next to him to the door of his grandmother's house with her box full of cookies. Eli fumbled with the house key, if he didn't know any better he would think he was nervous. A small giggle made it's way to his ears as he finally got the door unlocked, his dark eyes glaring at her.

"I'm sorry but seeing big bad Weevil Navarro fumbling with his keys is something I never thought I would live to see," she smiled as another giggle left her mouth much to his displeasure.

"Keep that up and I can make sure you starve," he teased. Of course he wasn't going to do that he just wanted to tease her and seeing the shock on her face was worth it.

"You wouldn't dare," she gasped, her blue eyes big as she looked at him.

"I'm just playing with you do you really think my abuela would let you starve because you laughed at me?" he asked as he pulled the door open and moved to let her in. "After you."

"She's more sensible then, but I guess she would be seeing that she's your grandmother," she smiled as she walked past him into the house and then stopped to try and find someplace to set the box of cookies down.

Of course Eli lingered at the door for a moment too long in order to check her out, he may want to protect her but he still had eyes and he wasn't going to deny that she was hot. Taking his leather jacket off he placed it on a coat hanger near the door and smiled as the smell of the food hit him.

"Mijo is that you?" he heard the voice call from the other room before seeing the older woman that he adored.

"It's me," he called as he spotted Chardo in the living room with his niece and nephews. He didn't really want to have to deal with him right now but he knew he would when the male turned and gave him a questioning looked to which Eli just shook his head to by himself some time.

Leticia Navarro came from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel that she then placed on the table, a smile on her face as he watched her turn towards Veronica then back to him. "Is this her?"

"Yeah, abuela, this is Veronica. Veronica this is my abuela Leticia," he said leaving last names out of it. Of course he'd already told her that she was a Mars but he hoped his grandmother wouldn't hold that against her. He knew she had been excited at the mention that he was bringing a girl home for dinner but he didn't know how to read her voice when he'd told her the girls abuela gave him a guarded smile and turned to Veronica to give her one as well before walking over to the blonde.

"You can call me Letty, all of his friends do. What do you have there?" she asked as she waived Eli to the living room.

He knew he was hovering and he didn't want to impose, didn't want to show that he was nervous about what she was going to ask the girl so instead Eli walked into the living room where Chardo and the other's were sitting.

"You got a thing for her don't you?" Chardo asked and all he could do was glare at him. "Then why is she here and why do you insist on saving her ass from the 09ers. Man her father arrested you how many times?"

"That's none of your business and considering that her former friends are tormenting her I think she could use a friend, you know considering that her best friend was murdered and her 09er buddies have been spreading rumors about her," he said in his calm voice.

"You're the boss," Chardo mumbled as he turned back to the game he was playing.

A sigh escaped Eli's lips as he watched his cousin, it wasn't like he wasn't wrong but he also was pulled to Veronica in a way he hadn't been before. Lilly had just been a fascination and something of an obsession especially when he realized that she was just using him. Veronica was different and now that he thought about it, now that Chardo had pointed it out there was no denying that he was drawn to her as more than the bad boy that felt the need to protect her or one that needed a friend.