Chapter 21: Good Guys vs. Bad Boys
"You just backed down from a fight with an inebriated 09er. Are you going to tell me why we're leaving so quickly?" Logan asked, opening the door for Veronica.
From the backseat, Mac answered. "Because I just found out that Madison Sinclair and I were switched at birth, and going to what would have been MY house was a little overwhelming."
Huffing, Logan shook his head. "Fine. Don't tell me."
"I am telling you. Think about how much I look like the Sinclairs and Queen McBitches-a-Lot doesn't." Mac's voice was flat, with the honesty sometimes seen after a drink.
The boy's eyes widened and his gaze darted to Veronica. At her silence, he let out a breath. "Holy shit."
"Logan, you can't tell anyone." His girlfriend said. "The MacKenzies and the Sinclairs have both come to peace with what happened. They filed charges, but decided to keep the children they came home with."
Shaking his head, he walked around to the driver's side and entered the car. "OK."
"OK?" Mac asked in awe. "I just told you the biggest, most soap-opera-like moment in Neptune High's history and you say 'OK'?"
His eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror, Logan shook his head. "Sadly, that's not the most soap-opera-like moment in our school. There are definitely some things that top yours." Veronica sighed as she agreed softly.
The rest of the car ride back towards Mac's house was quiet until she broke the silence. "Do you think she's even read five books in that library?"
Logan laughed, despite the serious mood. "Do you think that Madison knows how to read?"
"She wouldn't know Monet's Waterlillies unless Revlon named a nail polish after it." Mac muttered as Logan chuckled under his breath. Veronica glared at him, and he smiled apologetically. "I have a blood sister I never even knew about."
Turning around in her seat, Veronica placed a hand on her friends' knee. "And Madison has a brother."
"Why didn't they just trade us back?" she asked harshly. "We would have gotten over it eventually."
"You don't suppose they got kind of attached in those first four years?" Veronica pointed out, as Logan let out an awed breath over the story.
Waving a hand, the hacker continued to rant. "They should have figured it out way before then. At two, I was spitting out corndogs and tuning the radio to NPR." Changing topics, the girl asked a new question. "Did you ever find out what happened to that million dollars?"
From her seat, Veronica noted Logan sitting up straight at this new twist. She reached over and entwined her fingers with his, squeezing as an order for him to stay silent. "I'm still working on it. Unless you want to just... blow it off?"
"No." Mac said, and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Keep checking. We've come this far. See ya." Opening the door, she got out, but stopped when Logan said her name.
"Mac." The boy said, rolling down his window as she closed the door. "Do you really want to know?"
Both girls looked at him incredulously, and Veronica tightened her grip on his fingers in warning. "You've just found out something that most kids wonder about their whole lives. Your parents actually love you for you, not because they're obligated to as parents. Would knowing what happened to a lump sum of money change the kind of people who kept you, even after they found out you weren't biologically theirs?"
Smiling softly, he continued. "Money isn't that great. Trust me, I'd rather have what you have."
The girl blinked a few times, then nodded and turned onto her walkway. As she made the way up to the front door, Veronica rubbed her thumb over his hand.
"Thank you, Logan." She said softly. "That was better than anything I could have said."
"Yeah, well." He replied gruffly. "You can't choose your family."
"You're not getting away that easy." Veronica said. "That? Right there? That was Logan Echolls being a good guy. He's not seen much, but he's there."
Pressing down on the gas, Logan began the drive towards her apartment complex. "It's a good thing he's not seen much, Mars. I know how much you love the bad boys." At the next red light, he proceeded to show her how little there was of the good guy she mentioned.
---------------------------------------------------
Parked a few blocks from her apartment complex, the pair broke apart with gasping breaths.
"So how are you coming along with Caitlin's revenge?" Veronica asked as she patted down her hair.
Chuckling, Logan tucked a piece of it behind her ear. "I've got an idea or two. The first one is coming on Monday. It should be amusing."
"That's nice." She replied, glancing at the clock on his dashboard. They had about ten minutes before she would be expected home.
"Hey." The boy said, looking into her eyes with concern. "Are you sure that you're alright? I know you didn't want to go out tonight, but you were acting a little strange."
"I was just worried about Mac." She said quickly, and he pursed his lips with agitation.
"No, that wasn't it." Logan said, shaking his head slightly. "You were really uncomfortable there, and you physically moved away from me by the bar."
At her silence and refusal to meet his questioning gaze, he pressed a little more. "I get that you tend to keep things to yourself now, but you know I'm here-right? When you're ready to tell me?"
Veronica nodded slightly, obviously uncomfortable. Closing his eyes, the boy switched topics. "What about Vandegraff? Got any dastardly deeds stashed up in that brain of yours? You said this thing was going to have multiple rounds, but so far I've only seen a petting zoo reject."
"Oh I've got things planned." She said, the mischievous fire returning to her eyes. "Monday's going to be a fun one."
"Monday? But my idea is set for Monday!"
Laughing, she lifted her right eyebrow in challenge. "I know, you just said that. I guess we'll both start the week off with a bang, huh?"
"Game. On." Logan growled, giving her another kiss before starting up the car. "I better get you home, or I'll be stuck in the hospital for our contest. And everyone's world would be less bright without my presence."
Rolling her eyes, Veronica climbed back into her own seat and buckled in. "The world would be different, but not necessarily less bright."
---------------------------------------------------
In her bed, Veronica had trouble falling asleep. Logan had been great and attentive to her all night, but she still wasn't able to shake his observation that she had been acting different. She hadn't intended to lean away from his kiss at the bar, but no one could really blame her for being unwary of the situation.
Sighing, she rolled over into a new position. She should be happy that her boyfriend caught on to her subtle nuances- right? He had realized how uncomfortable she got during the game, and got her out of there quickly, with no one becoming suspicious. Knowing each other for as long as they had, each of them were able to pick up on signs that others couldn't.
Logan had been able to see that his questioning made her shut down, and had quickly backtracked to the safer topic of their friendly competition. But he picked up on the fact that there was something she wasn't telling him.
How do you tell your former-nemesis-cum-boyfriend that the rumors he spread weren't without a sliver of foundation? That she didn't actually know how many people she had had sex with? That the one time Veronica Mars had lost control, she paid for it in spades?
---------------------------------------------------
In his bedroom, Logan watched the Daily Show on his flat screen without processing the quips. Over the years of friendship and fighting, he had come to consider himself something of an expert on Veronica Mars. Sure, the new version of her was different, but he picked up on the changes.
The fact that she had physically moved away from his kiss bothered him. He had never been in a relationship with her, but he had seen her when she and Duncan were together. There hadn't been any real hesitation towards PDA. And he had seen her and Troy give pecks in the halls.
It must have been the party. She had told him initially that she wasn't going to attend another 09er party-ever. But then a few days later, she had changed her mind. He hadn't really given it much thought, especially since it seemed one of her friends had dared her into it. Now he knew that it wasn't a dare, but she had been persuaded all the same.
He guesses a multitude of reasons. Coming back to a party, where the last one had led to humiliation made her wary of the boy who caused it. She's become uncomfortable around alcohol because her mother skipped out. After Duncan ignoring her and Troy cheating, she's become untrustworthy of men. But as he turned off the television, he resigned himself with the idea that Veronica would come talk to him when she's ready.