Okay guys, so I don't know what to say. Because I know that words won't cut it in this case. It's been too long. I'm lucky if you're even reading this, so take my apology and a thank you right away.

I'm not gonna make this too long, I just wanted to tell you that I'm FINALLY through with my exams. I'm DONE with school - FOR GOOD. Woah I can't believe it :)

And tomorrow I'm going to London with my bff till sunday. Which is why I'm going to sleep right after I posted this, at point midnight, because I really need to sleep tonight - till sunday there's no sleep planned except the minimum that's necessary ;) Like my cousin said, I'm planning on having a "smashing time in London" :D He's a bit overly british with his english. I'm personally leaning more towards the american english, but whatever. Ha. Anyways, I'm really high on life right now, and I got this chapter written during the last few days, mostly because I felt SO guilty about leaving you guys hanging for so long.

So here it goes, have fun reading, I had fun writing it again, getting the feel of it back ;)

"Slipping down a slide

I did enjoy the ride

Don't know what to decide

You lied to me"

(Get Over It - Avril Lavigne)

Veronica pulled up across the street of her father's office. She hadn't gone home last night after all. She had told her father she was staying over at Wallace's, fortunately he didn't know yet that Wallace's mother had joined the anti-Mars-family campaign and sleeping over at her new best friend's place wasn't really an option.

Best friend. Yeah I guess Wallace really earned that title. I haven't made it easy for him, but he's still sticking around and he's still standing up to his mother for me. If you ignore all the crap that's going on, with Wallace and Mac in the picture, I got something to be grateful for. I've missed having friends – besides Weevil. He's just no good with the girl talk. He's more of the kind of friend you go to at night when you don't want to go home and can't crash at your other friend's place, because their parents can't stand you.

Veronica was just about to exit her car when she spotted a familiar tall figure leaning in the shadow next to the entrance to the office. She stopped moving and settled back into her seat after she had overcome the first shock. She had avoided the office and home, because deep down she had known that he'd be waiting for her, but seeing her suspicions confirmed was still sobering.

She had tried her best to force thoughts of Logan and of the is-dad-my-daddy issue to the very back of her mind. And in Weevil's company she had done pretty well at that. One of the reasons she loved to have the biker as her friend, was that he never asked questions and always knew how to take her mind off things. Conversation with him was easy and they got each other's humor. And there were those few bits of enjoyable flirting here and there.

But now being on her own and with Logan just across the street, she knew that she couldn't face him yet. She was aware that she would have to talk to him eventually, she owed him that much, but still… now wasn't right time. Not yet.

Not ever if that's possible.

Veronica shook her head at the senseless thoughts running loops in her mind. She didn't want to face some things, but knew that she eventually would have to. For now though, she had to do something about Thumper, because if she didn't figure something out soon, he'd walk right into Logan. They had a meeting scheduled for in about five minutes to watch the footage from the confessional together. Veronica had sent him a text right after she had left the church this morning to meat with her and she was pretty sure that he's be eager and right on time.

With a sigh Veronica took out her cell and dialed quickly. After three rings she got an answer.

"Hello?"

"It's me, where are you?"

"I'm parking not far from your office. I was just about to come and-"

"I don't see a motor cycle anywhere." Veronica interrupted him while she looked along the street for a motor cycle she missed.

"That's because I didn't take my bike. You said it yourself, we gotta be careful. I took my sister's car." Thumper explained grudgingly. Veronica smiled amused, figuring that Thumper didn't like having to leave his bike at home and driving his sister's car on top of it.

"Huh, I didn't know you had a sister." Veronica commented.

"And that's the way it should be. Now what do you want that can't wait two minutes?"

"Logan's standing outside my office. I'd rather not run into him and explain your presence."

"Trouble in paradise?" Thumper asked, now it was his turn to be amused at Veronica's discomfort.

"Paradise? Hardly. We do go to the same school, right?" Veronica retorted annoyed while silently wondering whether Thumper knew more than he led or if he was just teasing her and had no idea that she and Logan were back on friendly terms.

"Well, all I know is that this is the second time he's looking for you. I saw him come out of your office before our last meeting."

"Well" She mimicked his words. "What I know is that you've been at my office too and last time I checked neither you nor I were anywhere close to paradise." Veronica said abruptly, suddenly feeling the need to quickly change the topic. "Now not that it's not nice to chat with you, but I'd suggest we meet somewhere else if you want to have this videotape."

"Alright, follow me, I know where we won't be disturbed or seen." Thumper replied and a second later all that Veronica heard was the dial tone and a distant roaring of a car coming to life.

"I don't get it." Thumper said half desperately half angry when the screen of Veronica's laptop showed how Danny Boyd took the money Thumper had not long before deposited in the confessional. "They got the money. Why is Liam then claiming he didn't get it and is threatening me? It makes no sense!"

"Ssh." Veronica said annoyed while carefully watching the screen. She had to admit that she was about as clueless as Thumper, but she knew that whatever they were missing had to be literally right in front of her. "I'm trying to think here, chicken."

"Do you know what the Fitzpatricks do to you when you're stealing their money?" Thumper asked half upset at her comment, half upset at the thought of having to face Liam's wrath. Unjustified or not, he doubted that would change the punishment. "It's not pretty." Thumper added, sounding slightly calmer, though he really was just scared.

"Hah, gotcha!" Veronica suddenly exclaimed. Thumper looked down at her and found her still staring at the screen.

"Got what?" He asked while he followed her gaze. He was now watching Liam Fitzpatrick himself double checking the place where the money had been before Danny had gotten it.

"Liam wasn't lying when he said he didn't get your money. He really did get betrayed – just not by you." Veronica said triumphantly, as usually feeling that rush of victory at having solved a crime. "Looks like Danny boy is upping his payment on your expenses."

"Shit." Thumper exclaimed. "What a bastard. Now I just gotta get this video to Liam before he has me killed."

"No problem Veronica said, she had already burned the video on a dvd while they were watching it, figuring that a copy would be useful one way or another. She handed Thumper the disk and was a bit relieved knowing that this was the end of the secret meetings. "There you go, my job is done. Consider never speaking of our past business the payment for saving your ass from the Fitzpatricks."

"You got yourself a deal there. It was nice doing business with you, Mars." Thumper smirked and was obviously relieved.

"Wish I could say the same." Veronica replied sweetly. "But seriously, no more favors."

"No more favors." Thumper agreed before he climbed out of her car and walked over to his own vehicle.

The minute Thumper had climbed out of her car, Veronica's cell began to ring. It was Logan calling her. Again. Chances were that he was going to leave her what must be the 30th message on her voice mail. Veronica had to admit that while his persistency was annoying, it also was a tad bit flattering, a part of her liked to believe that it was a sign that he really meant it. That he was becoming the Logan she once loved again.

Remembering how sweet Logan had been to her on that beach caused her to feel guilt creeping inside her mind. He had been there to comfort her, had appeared out of thin air like an angel. He had held her while she cried, comforted her in a way only he had ever been capable of. While she didn't like to admit it, Veronica knew that he was the best person she could have wished for to comfort her after learning the news she had about her father.

Still, while before that night Veronica had been more annoyed with his tries to rekindle their friendship than anything else, she was starting to feel a bit scared now. Before she had been tempted to give in because of the past, but she had always known that she wouldn't, because she had grown stronger and independent and would never allow herself to just forgive Logan for what he had done and trust him again. She never thought she was capable of forgiving him entirely and therefore, in her mind, she had done both of them a favor in not letting them form a friendship of any sort.

Now though Logan had more than just the past on his side. The night on the beach wasn't something Veronica could just dismiss and she knew it. Which was exactly why she was trying so hard to avoid him. She had given in to him that night and it scared her how naturally it had felt to wake up in his arms the next morning. Sure, she had been week and had longed for someone to lean upon, but Logan was probably the worst choice she could have made, considering her current situation.

I can't believe I actually told him what was going on too. Now he knows. He knows what nobody should know. How could I have been so stupid, he might just go around school tomorrow and taunt me with this new information.

Veronica didn't really belive that Logan would do that. A few weeks ago, she would have bet on it, but now she wasn't so sure about anything regarding him anymore. It shocked her to realize that she really didn't believe Logan would use what happened on the beach against her.

When did I start trusting Logan Echolls with anything again?

Deciding that she had to figure some things out before she talked to Logan, Veronica climbed out of her car, locked it and walked towards the beach. A nice walk would hopefully help clear her mind.

Being yet another time directed to the voice mail in which he was sweetly asked to leave yet another message caused Logan to throw his cell at the wall of his room, from where it fell down on the opposite side of the bed. He was lying on his bed and stared at the ceiling, growing more and more frustrated.

The lengths Veronica would go to to avoid him were unbelievable. Last night he had waited till the early morning for her in front of her apartment building, only to find that she must be spending the night elsewhere. She of course didn't take his calls or answered to the million messages he had left her on her voice mail. She didn't go to her office. Logan was starting to wonder whether she'd even show up for school tomorrow.

The worst part was that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He remembered well what she had told him on the beach and how long she had cried. He had never seen Veronica that shaken, except maybe for the night of Lilly's death when she had come to see him. That seemed like ages ago. So much had changed. The pain of Lilly's death had become a dull ache, taking a back seat to the everyday life. After yesterday's surf trip Logan doubted that he would ever get his old best friend Duncan back, the guy he used to know seemed to be so far gone, fading into the new unfeeling Duncan.

And things with Veronica… Logan was determined not to give up, but his confidence was slowly starting to crumble. At the beach he had thought while he had drifted off to sleep that they had made progress, when he had woken up alone he had been furious and hurt. But seeing that Veronica was doing everything to avoid facing him, he started to wonder whether or not he had ruined his chance with her. Maybe he should have left her alone, she had always been a private person, more so now than when they had still been friends. She had never liked people seeing her in weak moments, which was probably one of the reasons she'd push him away even more insistent now than before.

A knock on his door interrupted Logan's thoughts. Before he could invite anyone in, he heard how the door was pushed open and a familiar voice called out his name, causing him to sit up straight on his bed.

Veronica wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in the sand now, absentmindedly playing with the sand around her while staring out onto the water. And she was just about as clueless as to how long she had been wandering along the beach before sitting down. But what she knew was that she was sick of thinking about Logan Echolls. Of overthinking everything. It was slowly driving her crazy and usually not being one to be easily shaken that annoyed her to no end.

Okay, so I've established with all freaked-out and scared-shitless parts of my mind that I can't get around having a talk with Logan. So why am I still sitting here, stalling? Get a grip Veronica and just call him already!

Before she could lose the new found courage again, Veronica quickly got out her cell and dialed Logan's number – she had never deleted it from her cell and highly doubted that Logan had changed it in the last months. Logan was very private about his number, it probably just came with being the sun of a A-list movie star like Aaron Echolls. Veronica smiled bittersweetly while she listened to the dial tone, remembering how she used to joke that she wasn't even sure if Aaron had Logan's number when she was asked for it by some fan girl.

"Yeah?" A annoyed voice answered the call after many rings, just when Veronica had been about to end it. Veronica could tell that something was bothering Logan and had to hold back the instinctive question about what was going on. It wasn't her place anymore. Even though Logan seemed to want it to be her place again.

"Hi." Veronica whispered without noticing it. She quickly caught herself, cleared her throat and repeated the greeting, this time in a voice closer to her normal one. "Hi, it's me."

"Ronnie?" Logan asked, the surprise evident in his voice and Veronica could picture how his face lit up with surprise. "I didn't expect you to call me back."

"Yeah, well, I am calling you back now."

"What happened? Did the 31th voice mail change your mind?" Logan asked, slightly put off by her cold and flippant demeanor. He immediately wished he hadn't said it with so much sarcasm though, knowing that she would just get angry and he really didn't want to fight with her again.

"Maybe I just figured that you must be incapable of taking a hint and decided to tell you personally to leave me the hell alone?" Veronica replied in a dangerously calm voice.

Logan was silent for a moment. He had expected her to blow up at his comment and was unsure how to react to her calm words. He knew he was threading thin ice now. After weighing his options he settled for a change of topics.

"Regardless of why you're calling, I'm glad you did." Logan started, figuring that it was good to start off nicely. "I've been trying to speak with for the last 24 hours."

"I noticed." Veronica said, partly glad partly disappointed that he wasn't out for a fight. "I'm assuming you got something to say then."

"Clever girl." Logan commented, slight annoyance creeping back into his voice. She really wasn't making it easy and he wasn't in the best mood anyways after just having had a rather unpleasant conversation with his father. "First off, I wanted to make sure you're okay. You just took off yesterday morning and the last thing I remember, you passed out after-"

"I'm fine, thank you." Veronica interrupted him, not interested to hear him sum that night up. She heard him sigh over the line and felt her resolve soften a bit, she didn't mean to frustrate him, but it was just so hard and weird talking to him again. She couldn't not make biting comments, they just came naturally.

Logan stood up from his bed and started pacing. This was harder than he had imagined. All this time he had just known that he needed to see her, to talk to her, but he had never really thought about what he wanted to say. He knew that it was important to say the right things now, it was his chance to make her see that they could be friends again. Maybe his only chance.

"Do you think we could meet up? I'd much rather do this in person and-" Logan started, but was once again interrupted.

"There's no need for that. I know what you want to say."

"Oh you do?" Logan asked. Funny, she knows but I don't.

"Yeah, You're gonna somehow make my moment of weakness a point in your agenda to get my friendship. You're gonna swear you mean it and that you got no master plan or hidden agenda, you'll say that you actually care about me and just wanna be my friend. I'm gonna dismiss your promises, since I've seen how much our friendship meant to you, I'm not gonna be able to trust your words, for which you can hardly blame me." Veronica stopped and was silent for a few seconds. Then, when she felt that he was going to speak up again, she quickly continued. "I don't like it when people see me weak, because that usually gives them the wrong expression."

Or the right one. Oh shut up mind.

"I am not weak. I'm not the innocent, sweet Veronica I used to be and we both know it. So you better don't claim that I need you for anything ever again, because I don't. You just happened to be there Friday night, how or why I don't know, but you were. And I'm glad about that. I needed someone right then. I could have managed it on my own, but it was good I wasn't alone. But it could have been anybody, I wasn't needing you, do you understand that?"

"Yeah." Logan said hoarsely, all his hopes of making progress with Veronica falling apart. She was picking all his arguments apart and while he knew it wasn't entirely true, that there was a difference between him and just anyone, he knew she'd never admit that.

"That being said, I'm glad it was you." Veronica admitted suddenly. She hadn't meant to share that with him, but he had sounded so defeated and sad that it had just slipped.

"What?" Logan asked confused.

"I'm glad you were there for me. It was good, it felt familiar, it felt… right." Veronica continued, not knowing what was coming out of her mouth.

"I know what you mean. It felt like getting something back that was missing." Logan said, a smile spreading over his face. He couldn't believe that Veronica was talking to him, really talking and admitting things, not just dismissing him. Maybe not all hope was lost.

"Yeah. Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks, you know. For being there." Veronica said, a smile similar to the one on Logan's face starting to spread over her face too. She had intended to tell Logan off during this conversation and had no clue how things had just turned around this quickly, but she couldn't deny that she liked it. Logan had been right, it was like getting something back that had been missing for way too long.

"No problem, anything for you Ronnie." Logan replied smiling genuinely. A few moments of silence followed, giving both time to savor the feeling. But then Veronica's phone vibrated shortly, telling her that she had a new text message. Taking a short look, she saw that it was from Thumper. She frowned, wondering what he could want, but figured that it must be something important. Realizing that Logan was still on the phone, she got annoyed with herself, for a few minutes she had let herself forget all the things she had had to endure during the last six months and had given in – again. But all those reasons she had to refuse Logan's outstretched hand of friendship came rushing back to her now. She wouldn't be fooled or hurt by Logan Echolls ever again.

"Look Logan, don't get me wrong, but this doesn't change anything between us. I can't do friends, but I don't want to fight you anymore either. Can't we just let bygones be bygones and move on with our lives?" Veronica asked, hoping desperately that he would just let it go. Too late she noticed the shadow that had appeared next to her and she never saw the hit coming that knocked her immediately unconscious.

"No, we can't, because-" Logan was this time interrupted by the dial tone. "What the hell…?" Logan muttered, surprised and angry. He couldn't believe she had just hung up on him. What was wrong with that girl? This wasn't the first time she had changed from hot to cold within mere seconds without an explanation and now she had even hung up on him. Just like that.

Logan called her back but all he got was the voice mail. "You gotta be kidding me!" Logan exclaimed angrily and threw away his cell for the second time on this day.

"It took me by surprise
Now are you gratified
You cried to me

La, la, la, la, la "

Okay, so that was it - for now. I know it's a cliffy. And that sucks. And I'm sorry. If I wasn't going to London tomorrow I'd get right to writing the next chapter, but I really can't. And I figured it's better I give you these 3660 words than nothing. However, I'm gonna tell you, that I've completely gone off script with this chapter. I had chapter fourteen totally planned out months ago, I was gonna totally wrap up the THumper thing and that was gonna be the last you'd see of that biker guy, but when I started writing this, I don't know, I just got carried away and instead of no Logan, there ended up a V/L conversation. The advantage is that I know what the next chapter will include - all the stuff I didn't put in here because of my moody muse ;)

Oh, I too got my driver's licence, I'm guessing you don't know that either :D

Well, if my good mood's going to last (and chances are good it will) I'm gonna try to post some teasers on sunday, though it might be late. If I'm not updating on sunday or monday, you can just bug me via reviews, PMs or twitter (my name's PlayedByLife, find and follow me, I'm gonna keep you updated about my writing progress ;), I'll see if I manage to get a link on my profile) - really a kick in my bottom helps me from time to time to sit down and START writing. Once I've started it's usually just a question of time.

Hah, it did get a longer A/N than I expected.

Oh, on a last note, it was a PAIN to find lyrics for this chapter, because right now "Who says" by Selena Gomez is on a LOOP in my head (yeah, I'm shocked too, I'm blaming my bff - she's a bad influence musical wise, next thing I'll be humming miley cyrus)...