It was her free period, and she was waiting for Weevil in the girl's bathroom. She had planned on confronting him before school started, but seeing him, she lost her nerve, believing, that it didn't matter as long as he cared about her; Logan, however, didn't seem keen to let it drop. She closed her eyes, remembering their first period.

'So, it doesn't bother you?' he sneered.

Veronica sighed, pushing aside her newest assignment from Ms. Dent.

'No, it doesn't bother me.' she lied to him.

'So, you're content with being Lily's replacement?' he whispered in her ear. 'Still playing her shadow, Veronica?'

She held back tears, but she had clearly lost her stony face. She watched him walk away, his self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

Those words had struck her, and she resolved to confront Weevil, no matter what, because she needed to know, she needed to be her own person. She heard him walk in, boots making a distinct sound against the tile. She took a deep breathe and turned around to face him, he closed the distance between them in two strides, kissing her deeply. He'd figured Echolls wouldn't believe him about the tattoo, and when he bumped into him in the hall on his way here, he knew; Logan had told Veronica. Her father had been right, and now he had to fix this, and he was going to fix it, he couldn't lose her.

Veronica pulled away, "I'm not Lily." she told him, holding his face between her delicate hands, her 'I mean business' look covering her face.

"And I'm not some 09er dick. Are we done stating the obvious?" he broke free of her hands, attempting to reinitiate the kiss.

But Veronica wasn't going to let things drop that easy, stepping backwards and pushing on Weevil's chest.

"V, what is this about?" he sighed, knowing the answer, but still silently hoping he was wrong.

"It's about the fact that you neglected to tell me about your relationship with my dead best friend! It's about her name tattooed on your back! It's about not, for once in my life, being Lily Kane's shadow!" she yelled at him, letting the tears she'd been holding back escape.

Weevil grabbed her forcefully by the shoulders and looked her squarely in the eyes.

"Would you have told you?" he asked her seriously. "This is the thing I wanted to avoid for as long as possible. Until I felt I had driven it through your thick Mars head that my love for you has nothing to do with Lily! It never did. If anything, it was the other way around."

"You love me?" she breathed.

Veronica had taken in everything he'd said, but she was hung up on one simple four letter word. They stared at each other, one looking expectantly at the other who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"That…That is not how I wanted to tell you." he admitted.

"Were there flowers involved?" she teased.

"No, no flowers." he laughed.

"A pony?" she squealed in mock delight.

"You and that damn pony… You do realize, I can get you something with a little more power," he said, grabbing her and lifting her to a seated position on the sink, "If you're that desperate for something between these thighs."

"I've already ridden your big 'ol hog." she whispered, wrapping her legs around his waist, drawing him into her.

"Not the one I'm talking about, chica."

His lips crashed over hers, hands sliding up her back. They hadn't been this close in days and Veronica was making up for lost time. He loved her that was enough, for now, at least. She'd want to know how it had happened, why, when, if he might know anything about Lily's death, but for now, she'd settle for knowing how far he was willing to go on school grounds. She could feel him, growing against her as her tongue swirled and massaged his own. She pressed her hips against him, nipping at his bottom lip.

"Dios…" he breathed as her lips traveled to his neck, biting, sucking and licking.

Veronica took him completely by surprise, sliding his jacket off and running her hands up his torso, under his shirt.

"V…" he whispered as she pulled the shirt off of him, finishing the exploration her father had interrupted.

She turned him around in between her legs, finding the tattoo and running her fingers over her best friends name before kissing the heart and turning him back around. Weevil hissed and threw his head back as her pink tongue traced over his chest. He knew this was a bad idea, if they were caught, her father would kill him. But as her hands left him to remove her own shirt, all thought of stopping went out the window. He kissed her lips, down to her chin, her neck, the center of her chest. His hands drew circles on her skin, they found her breasts and it was her turn to throw her head back.

Taking advantage of the expanse of skin she'd exposed to him, he placed open mouthed kisses up and down the left side of her neck as his fingers brushed aside the thin fabric of her bra, finding the puckered mounds beneath.

"Oh… Weevil…" she breathed, causing him to stop.

"Use my name, Veronica." he pleaded, resting his forehead against her shoulder.

"Eli." she whispered into his ear.

Veronica was surprised at what his name on her lips could do to him, there was a certain passion that had been missing before, and he'd transferred it to her. Hands and mouths were everywhere, surroundings forgotten, and Veronica was beginning to understand what her father said about finding it difficult to stop. Who would want to stop this; this was pure ecstasy, plain and simple. The effect they had on each other was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, and she didn't want it to stop, not ever. The bell sounded, causing them to jump, smacking into the others forehead.

"You're going to kill me, V." he panted.

"Yeah, but you're going to love it." she challenged.

He kissed her hard, but fast, before tossing her her shirt.

"Time for class, Mama." he smirked, pulling his own shirt over his head.

As she watched him walk out, she began to wonder if he'd help her or run away if he knew she was investigating Lily's murder. She could show him the pictures of the shoes, and if he really loved her, he wouldn't run away; unless, of course, he'd killed Lily. She shook that idea from her head, Weevil was plenty of things, but a killer wasn't one of them. Not to mention that it didn't follow that the Kane's would cover up her murder if Weevil had done it.

Gym was a killer, even if Veronica was able to burn off all that pent up energy she'd created with Weevil. But after 45 minutes of sweating, she thought a shower was in order. However, the blissfully refreshing feeling of hot water was short lived.

"Where are my clothes?" she demanded upon reaching her locker, finding it devoid of her belongings.

The girls around her were silent, and she asked a few more times before she slammed her locker shut and stormed off to find her missing clothes. Whipping around the corner, she bumped into Meg, the only 09er to still talk to her.

"Woah, Veronica, are you okay?" she asked.

"No, I'm not. Someone stole my clothes." she explained.

"Well, I'll help you look for them." offered Meg.

"Thank you."

They split up and searched the girl's locker room top to bottom, finally finding Veronica's missing clothes in a toilet.

"I'm sure I've got some spare clothes in my locker. We're the same size, if I remember correctly." smiled Meg.

"I don't know, does this towel make me look fat?" she joked.

"Come on."

Meg did indeed have a spare outfit, it just happened to be her cheerleading uniform.

"It's official. I'm being punished." she said, looking in the mirror.

The uniform fit her perfectly, reminding her of what life could have been, if Lily hadn't been murdered. An easy life, full of friends and her mother still at home. Her mind wandered back to the present at the sound of Meg's voice.

"You look great, Veronica."

Veronica followed Meg outside for lunch, gaining whistles and cat calls from the majority of the male population. Noticing her discomfort, Meg offered for her to join the 09er table.

"No, I think I'll just head home and change."

"Good idea, your, uh, boyfriend is staring at us. I don't think it's a happy look either." she said before walking away.

Weevil walked up to her, and, as Meg had predicted, he was angry.

"What is this?!" he demanded.

"Well, my clothes found their way into the toilet, so Meg offered me some of her spare clothes. This," she gestured to the uniform. "Was all she had."

"Yeah, well, you ain't wearing that the rest of the day." he growled.

"I wasn't planning on it. What is wrong?"

"What's wrong?! The entire school is looking at MY Girl, and I don't like the way they're doing it." he replied.

"You're jealous?" she laughed, hooking her fingers in his belt loops, pulling him to her. "Did I forget to tell you?"

"Tell me what, V?" he asked impatiently.

She leaned in, whispering against his lips, "I love you too, Eli Navarro."

"Bike. Now." he told her, turning her around.