Dear Veronica,

I wish you would talk to me. You have to know that I'm on your side, please believe me when I say all I want to do is protect you.

Lilly's my friend. I know how she can be but honestly she's not as strong as she seems.

If she did do this to you, Veronica, I promise, I won't let it slide.

Please just talk to me.

- L

He sees her by her locker, she stuffs his note into her bag without reading it and he hates this feeling that's coming over him - this dread building up inside him ever since she walked away from him yesterday.

He wants to make them okay again. He wants to hold her and never let go. He wants her to know how much he loves her.

She's focused on her task at hand, pulling books out of her locker that she doesn't notice him or doesn't want to notice him. He's standing from afar and desperately wishes she'd just look at him.

She doesn't.

He's walking towards her because he can't leave them be. He knows she's going to dart away but he needs to try. As he walks, he sees John Enbom roll beside her, smirking and slut sneezing as he passes by her. The crowd around her giggles and he hears someone comment about how it's always the quite ones.

His jaw clenches, his fist flex open and close at his side as he moves forward and then he has John Enbom by his throat, pushed up against the locker. "You," he's got a firm grip on his collar, eyes staring deadly into his so-called friends. "Say you're sorry."

"Dude, what's the problem? I thought you were done with her," Enbom says, trying to get out of Logan's clutches. "She's a skank," he says, bewildered at his friend's reaction.

Logan pushes against him with even more force, intense eyes, threatening, daring. "If you've got a problem with Veronica, you're pretty much dead to me."

He lets go of Enbom, turning to the whole crowd; it's all 09ers. He knows how they can be but this was Veronica. How could they do this to her? "So just like evaporate or something. I don't care."

The boy squirms away, muttering his apology as he retreats and finally, Logan looks to Veronica and offers his hand, it feels like he needs it more than her.

She's staring up at him with utter surprise and he hates himself for making her feel like this is something he wouldn't do for her, like she doesn't mean this much to him. She means everything. He lets out a breath when she locks her palm with his and he gives it a firm squeeze as they move down the hall, away from the crowd.

"Are you okay?" He asks once they're settled on the bleachers and she lightly nods her head. "I'm sorry all this happened. I should have been with you from the start then maybe they wouldn't have -"

She kisses him between his words, he's surprised because he doesn't deserve kisses after what he's let happened to her but he takes it. He takes all that she gives him even if he doesn't deserve it.

"It's not like I let them get to me," she brushes away. "Enbom's lucky you got there in time or he would have had to face my wrath."

His hand holds hers, he tries to smile at her words because he knows she's strong but he doesn't want her to have to be. "Has this been happening since yesterday?"

"Yeah," she admits quietly. "The sneezes. Second rate comments. Just regular gossip," she shrugs off. "Carmen's gotten the brunt of it. At least I didn't get people calling me at home. It'd be ballsy to call the sheriff's house and no one's got any here."

"I just don't get why Lilly would do this to you," he shakes his head.

"Logan," she lets out, tired, frustrated. She wishes she could tell him she doesn't want to hear him say Lilly's name ever again.

"I understand she's your friend," she says, voice calm, collected. She doesn't want to fight with him again; she'd gotten a headache and it's exhausting trying to avoid him when he's constantly trying to find her.

They've just made up; he's stood up for her in front of all his friends. A part of her wishes that message had also included Lilly, that Lilly was there to see it but it still meant a lot. She's never had anyone stick up for her like that.

"And you don't want to think the worst of her," she continues, closing her her eyes for a second as she stops herself from saying even though you've experienced the worst from her.

"But Lilly hates me," she tells him, eyes set on his. She wants to say, Lilly hates me because she loves you. She doesn't. She doesn't want Logan to have ideas of Lilly loving him again. She doesn't want Logan to chose between them; Lilly and him have history that's surpassed the test of time, they've chosen each other again and again - even over her. She doesn't want him to choose because there's a high possibility that he might not choose her.

"This isn't a fight between the three of us," she says because if it is all she can think is Veronica VS Lilly and Logan. "It's between Lilly and I."

He's shaking his head, tightening his hold on her hand and says, "If it is Lilly, there's no way I can forgive her for this."

She can't hide the surprise that comes over her when he says that. "What?"

"I've forgiven her for so much, Veronica. So much. But I can't forgive her for hurting you after I told her that I love you."

He stares at her will brown eyes full of love and dedication. His hands hold hers with warm affection and she's at a loss of what to say.

Her heart beats a little faster, her eyes stare into his with unreserved love and gratitude. He's choosing her. He's choosing her.

She's so in love with this boy in front of her that she doesn't know what to do with it. She's filled up with emotions she's only ever felt with him, for him - only now it's intensified to the point of no return.

She kisses him, hands cupping his face and trailing down to his collar. It lasts only a few seconds; she's so overwhelmed with her feelings that she knows she's going to want more than just a make out session if they don't stop.

His forehead rests on hers, hands hugging her shoulders and she breaths into his shirt. She's missed the smell of sea salt and sandalwood.

It doesn't take her long to figure it out - not with the help of her new friend Cindy Mackenzie; computer whiz and overall cool kid.

It's been a while since she's been this active in an investigation; following leads, doing stakeouts and snapping incriminating photos of scenes she'd rather not see.

Things come into perspective rather easily when she finds one key piece. So she follows the frog to the pond and finds all of her answers with camera in hand. She doesn't know if she feels disappointed or relieved when she realises she has to apologize to Logan that night.

Because what she finds is Kimmy smacking nasties with the IT guy. She doesn't know what she's done to offend the girl, she's never so much as had a conversation with her but she's damn well going to find out.

It's the next day that she finds out and realises that she doesn't owe Lilly Kane a damned thing.

Veronica's got a taped confession from Kimmy, it airs during the morning News update for the whole school to see.

"Please, it wasn't me," comes the voice and panicked face of Kimmy.

"Then who was it?" Veronica's tight and demanding voice breaks through.

"It was Lilly," the panicky girl admits. "Lilly posted the test for you. She hates you because you stole Logan from her. I only posted Carmen's, I swear," Kimmy pleads for Veronica to believe her.

Unseen on screen, Veronica has photographic proof of Kimmy's sexual relations with the IT guy that's much older than her.

"Why would you do that?"

"She gets everything I want," Kimmy complains, frustrated as though she's the one that's been wronged. "Everything. Lead in the musical, the anchor job. She should have just stuck to playing soccer but no she wanted everything."

Veronica accepts the reasoning, feeling no remorse for the girl before her and chirps, "Thanks, Kimmy."

"Wait, what did you-" the video ends and the apologies begin.

Despite Logan's promises, she hadn't expected anything to change between him and Lilly because Lilly Kane always had an excuse and everyone always fell for it - especially Logan.

So she'd had her own form of vengeance; because life's made her tough and to survive you had to get even. That is until she'd accidentally overheard Logan's conversation with Lilly.

"It was a joke," Lilly dismisses her actions, arms crossed, clearly upset about being their conversation. "Where's your sense of humour?"

"I defended you, Lil," he sighs, shaking his head as though he were a disappointed father. "I can't anymore."

Lilly falters at this, her green eyes pierce into him and she asks, "You can't anymore?"

"We're done," he lets out, backing away.

"What?" Her brows shoot up and her mouth curls with annoyance. "Are you breaking up with me? Do you want your friendship bracelet back?" She snaps.

"Was there a friendship bracelet to start of with? Because clearly I didn't mean as much to you as you did to me," he says with finality as he walks away.

Veronica watches as Lilly's face crumbles up when Logan walks away. She doesn't remember the last time she's seen Lilly about to cry - she thinks the answer is never.

All her plans on getting even fly out the window. She never thought Logan choosing her would make her feel guilty.

She's on her way to the parking lot to wait for Logan to come when she spots Duncan. It's then that she remembers the email that was sent to him from her email address that confessed feelings of existing love. She wants to facepalm herself for not clearing things up earlier.

She doesn't want them to go back into the state of awkwardness that had formed during the last time he had thought she was confessing her love for him.

She jogs up a bit to catch up to him and calls, "Duncan, hey."

"Hey," he turns, nodding his head and offering a smile.

"Somebody stole my computer password and used it to sent fake emails from me to you so I don't still love you. Just so that you know," she rushes out, awkwardly and partly embarrassed.

He nods his head, understanding smile and assuring eyes and it feels like the Duncan she's always known. It's strange how for the longest time she'd thought she'd been in love with him. It's stranger that all those feelings, for all those years were a candle light in comparison to the wildfire that consumes her when she was with Logan.

"Are you okay?" He asks, he'd heard the rumours, he'd seen the broadcast and he'd tried to talk to her but she was always on the go.

As she nods her head, she feels Logan's hand slid around her waist, pulling her closer as he drops a kiss on her forehead. "Hey, Sugarpuss. DK. How's it going?"

Duncan nods. "Just talking about how crazy this week has been. You know you really should get a harder password," Duncan points out.

"Please, like yours isn't soccer4eva," she remarks, rolling her to eyes.

"No, it's not," he denies, slightly wide eyed, disbelieving on how she knows that.

Veronica chuckles and Logan cuddles further into her as he eyes Duncan. "Whatever you say, Duncan," she waves as they move along to Logan's X-Terra.

"So," Logan says as he settles into the drivers side. "You up for ice cream?"

She turns to him with a giddy smile, "Always."

He chuckles, smiling as the ignition rumbles and he accelerates away.