(Before I even start, I wanna announce a thing.. So, a reviewer pointed out that Michael might be related to Veronica. And another pointed out a fact I already knew, Morgan is getting the absolute shit stick in storylines. I mean Ava? Seriously? Gross. So, bearing that in mind, I've chosen to go with Morgan Corinthos as Veronica's pairing. Now, I wanna thank everybody who's added the story to their follow list and the two who have reviewed, my anon, Meggie and my signed in reviewer, Castiel Angel Heart. I hope this story is something that people enjoy reading, and I hope to hell it's not the biggest piece of shit written, ever. I'm gonna do what I can with the characters, but in the cases of Morgan and Franco, yes, I am going to redeem both of them because, damn it, they deserve that. )

CHAPTER 10:

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, grumbled as she caught sight of the time on the clock on her new nightstand. Getting out of bed she stumbled down the hallway and into the kitchen where her father sat, reading the morning paper.

"You let me sleep late."

"It's a weekend. You didn't have a hot date did you?" Franco joked as he looked up and then nodded to a bowl of Lucky Charms and a glass of orange juice that sat at her usual spot at the table. "It's a little soggy."

"Sweet. I like my cereal soggy, makes the marshmellows tastier." Veronica said as she slid into her seat, reaching for the crossword section of the newspaper, eating her cereal as she worked the crossword.

"So.. What's the plan for today?" she asked a few moments later, which her father replied "Well, I'm going to call your mother again and find out why the hell she hasn't bothered sending your clothes and stuff here yet and why she's trying to fight my going after custody." Franco said as he paused and then took a sip of his own orange juice then added, "Then I thought we'd paint that mural you wanted in your bedroom. Then I actually have to go into the gallery for a few hours, a new shipment of art came in, I have to start getting ready for the next art showcase."

"So I'll be on my own this afternoon." she asked as he nodded and said "Unless you want to come with me."

"I might stop by. Molly wanted me to come over and watch movies later, I guess I'll do that. Or just hang out here and watch wrestling and play my Xbox." Veronica said as she continued eating her cereal.

Franco nodded and then said casually "What is it about pro wrestling?"

"It's violent and sometimes it's funny." Veronica admitted as she shrugged and said "It's like a shakespeare play with steel chairs?"

"Interesting." Franco said as he chuckled and then asked "So.. Your birthday's coming up.."

"It is, old man, it is."

"Any idea what you'd want?"

"You don't have to... I mean I'm kinda getting what I want, I'm here and you haven't gotten annoyed and sent me back to her." Veronica said as she looked at him and then said "Besides, it's just another day. I mean I never really made a fuss over them in the past."

This only prompted Franco to make a mental note to talk to Alexis about maybe getting Molly and her boyfriend, a few of the other kids he knew of that Veronica did like, to throw her a surprise party or something.

He wasn't going to miss another birthday or important life event for her, not after almost 18 years of missing so many already.

"Hey, can you pick up some guitar string while you're at the gallery, Dad? I kinda need it. A few of the strings on the bass broke last night when I was trying to play that Avenged song."

"The one that sounded like a machine gun instead of actual singing?" Franco chuckled as he said "Yeah, I can go by the store down the sidewalk and get it. We need more milk.. If you go by the market, you can pick that up. Or we'll both starve, considering the vast amount of cereal we consume." Franco joked as Veronica laughed and said "Hey, grilled cheese isn't so bad either."

"When you don't burn the bread."

"Or set off the damn fire alarms." Veronica echoed as he laughed and then said "All in all, I'm glad you're here."

"Me too, Dad."

He left for the gallery a few hours later, and Veronica wandered around the apartment, mostly cleaning up. A knock on the door had her raising a brow but she went over, called out through the door, "Who's there?" remembering the lecture that her dad had given her a few days before about always leaving the door locked and making sure she knew the people on the other side before letting anyone in.

Apparently, as she now knew, a lot of people in this town hated her father and wanted to do something to retaliate for things he'd done to them when he had no real control over his own actions.

"Molly. Your dad said you were still here. Why are you still here?" Molly asked as Veronica opened the door and stepped aside, let her in. "Dunno. I was cleaning up the place a little." Veronica explained as she asked "So.. What movies do you want to watch today?"

"Maybe Twilight? The Hunger Games?"

"Ooh, Hunger Games. I haven't seen the sequel yet but I have wanted to." Veronica said as the two girls settled in on Veronica's bed in her room, bowl of popcorn between the two of them, lights dim. They'd gotten to the really good part of the movie when the door was knocked on.

"Were you expecting someone?" Veronica asked as Molly shook her head no. Veronica stood and walked to the door, called out "Who's there?"

"It's Morgan."

She gaped at the closed door a moment and then looked down at what she wore and smacked her forehead, groaning to herself. "And he shows up when I'm in my pajamas and look like shit." as she called out "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I had to go somewhere." Morgan called from the hallway as he asked "Are you gonna let me in?"

"Depends." Veronica said as she thought back to the night of the art show, how she'd seen him with an older woman named Ava, whispering, kissing her.

And just a few hours before, in the halls of Madison Prep, he'd been shamelessly flirting with her. She wasn't jealous, she knew she didn't have a claim on him or anything, but it still didn't sit well with her and she didn't like being misled, which is what seemed like he was doing.

"Come on.. I kinda need in there. Now. Trust me, Veronica, you want me inside, now." Morgan said as he recalled the angry and veiled threat that Ava made when she caught Morgan looking a little too long at Veronica during the art show at her father's gallery a few nights before.

Then he'd been locking up his father's coffee shop and some asshole had stepped out, caught him off guard and they'd had a bit of a scuffle.

Veronica opened the door just a little, but when she saw the black eye and busted lip she grumbled and threw the door open, let Morgan inside the apartment. "I'll fix your lip and give you ice for your eye then it's the hell out of here you go. If my dad sees you in here.." Veronica said as Morgan shrugged and said quietly, "Right now, your dad is the least of your worries."

"The hell does that mean?" Veronica asked him as she went to get Molly to come in, look at whatever her cousin had gotten himself into, sit with him while she tried to locate her father's newly purchased first aid kit.

Finding that she came back into the living room and sat down on his lap, taking his face in her smaller hands, pouring antiseptic on his lip, dabbing at it with a q tip as she asked "What'd you mean just now?"

"Ava.. She thinks something.. And somehow, I think she's going to do something to you.. Or have someone do something to you. I came by here to warn you.. But I'm gonna figure something out, it's my fault." Morgan winced out of her reach as the antiseptic hit the open wound, stinging.

"It's cleaning it out, moron, be still." Veronica said as she asked Morgan, "How is it your fault? You're nothing to me, I mean I'm nothing to you.. Damn it, you're confusing me right now."

Molly looked at him and asked "What happened?"

"Apparently, Ava's insecure.. So she got some jackass that works for Julian to 'work me over' make me reconsider ditching her."

"You have to get out of that. Away from her." Molly cautioned as Veronica said "I'm still not seeing how this even remotely concerns me." as Morgan said "She thinks you're a threat.. It's just something she said to me earlier when we had a fight."

"Oh really?" Veronica asserted, her eyes lighting with a warm and angry glow, Morgan's breath catching a little in his throat as he said with a laugh "Whoa Fireball. Ava is not someone you wanna pick a fight with."

"Maybe not if she fought her own damn battles, picked on people her own size and age." Veronica flared angrily as she paced with her hand in her hair, stopped to look at Morgan and asked the obvious question that she hadn't before, "Why in the hell does she see me as a threat?"

"She saw me staring at you during the art show. When I was trying to get your attention? And you were pissed and ignoring me?" Morgan guessed as he said "I don't know, but she's mad now.I'm gonna talk to my dad. I mean this is my fault."

"No, Morgan, it's not. The woman's obviously got issues, I mean she's dating a 19 year old guy for the love of Christ." Veronica blurted angrily, added quietly, "Sorry.. I meant no offense. It's just.. She reminds me too much of my mom."

Morgan studied her a few moments and then said quietly, "Thanks.. For the ice and cleaning up my lip. And not ignoring me now."

She shrugged and said simply, "I'm over it." as she dropped the subject, busied herself from looking at him by putting away the first aid kit. She was turned around by Morgan who put a hand at her hip and said calmly, "I'm gonna fix this."

Molly spoke up and said "Now do you see it, Morgan? Ava doesn't love you. Love doesn't do this. Love doesn't threaten you." as Morgan nodded, muttered something under his breath that neither girl could make out.

And then Veronica panicked as she heard her father singing a classic rock song, badly off key, outside the apartment door. She looked at Morgan with widened eyes and then said in a whisper, "My closet. You can go out when he goes back to the gallery. He's only here to give me my guitar strings."

Molly ran with Morgan to the closet, made sure he got in and flopped back onto Veronica's bed, turned back on the Hunger Games, smiling a little to herself.

Despite any and all protests Molly knew now for certain that her newest friend did care about Morgan. And this made her happy.

Maybe that'd give him the nerve to get away from Ava finally.

Franco unlocked the apartment door and Veronica hugged him then said with a smile, "Made you lunch." holding out a stack of grilled cheese sandwiches and a microwaveable bowl full of macaroni and cheese, still pretty warm. He smiled and produced the guitar strings and a new pair of bright orange shoe laces for her Converses from behind his back as he peered into the apartment.

She just had that up to something look that nearly all teenagers get when they are up to something. His fatherly spidey senses were really tingling right now and he asked "You have someone over here?"

"Just Molls, dad."

"Okay, so that's who I heard talking?" he asked as she nodded and said "Mhmm. We were trying to hurry and clean up our mess." laughing a little, hoping to God he bought it and didn't suspect anything. Because she knew his warnings about Morgan.. And she didn't want to fight with him, they'd only just gotten to know each other and really form a solid bond.

He hugged her and then said "Wanted to bring this by, I know you have rehearsal for that contest this afternoon. And I noticed your shoelaces are.. Well they're not really even shoelaces anymore." as she smiled and said "I ironed your blazer for that meeting."

"What meeting?"

"With that artist you're doing a showing for, duh. It's at 2." Veronica said as Franco laughed and then said "It's good having you around."

"Mhmm.. I'm happier here. See you tonight?"

"Over chili from Kelly's? It's a date." Franco joked as he looked around one last time, and finally satisfied that nothing was amiss, there was no wild party going on and (to his knowledge) there was no teen boy hiding in the place, he said "I'm gonna get back to the gallery. Thanks for lunch."

She closed the door and let out the breath she'd been holding, wiped at her forehead as she mumbled "Close."

She walked back into her room and pulled open the closet's double doors, found Morgan nosing around in her clothes, brows raised.

"Okay, outta there. You need to go.. You seriously need to reevaluate your choice in the ladies, senor?" Veronica said as she took hold of his hands and pressed bandages, antiseptic wipes and a ziploc bag of water, to freeze and hold on his black eye, into his hands, holding his gaze intently.

Without thinking, he leaned forward a little and pressed his lips to her forehead then muttered quietly, "I'm going to fix this."

"If she tries anything, Morgan, you're not gonna have to. I'm not actually afraid of her."

"You should be." Morgan warned as she looked at him and laughed then said "Living with a reformed homicidal maniac, remember?"

He smiled a little and then said quietly, "Nice pajamas, by the way." which made her flip him off and shove him gently towards the fire escape exit.

She shut the window firmly and Molly cleared her throat then fanned herself, teasing with a grin, "And you say you don't like him."

"So he's a friend."

"Not from what I just saw." Molly mused as Veronica muttered "It'd never work out." and then sighing, she sank back down on the bed, laughed a little.

"That's the first time I've ever hidden a boy in my closet." she said aloud as Molly turned to her and raised a brow then laughing asked "You're serious?"

"As a massive coronary, Molls. Before I came here and met all of you crazy ass people, I was pretty much a nerd and a loner." she said, shrugging it off.

"It's fun, having someone around to hang out with. Most of the other girls are really, really stuck up." Molly said as Veronica nodded and said with a smile, "They are."