"Remind me to forget this moment" Veronica muttered under her breath to Wallace as she accepted the box of Most Spirited Student Spirit cookies from Pam and Saoirse as they wandered the halls of Neptune High in their skimpy cheerleader uniforms, apparently her re-admittance into the 09er Elite ranks had come with its own range of snacks. They were also gearing up to play against the rival football team at All Saints High School from Toto Santos. This month, she had been nominated as the Student showing the Most Spirit due to her recent illness and personal tragedy at the loss of her friend Daisy Blossom. There had been no collective show of student body love and unity after the death of her best friend Lilly Kane last year.

No, after that particular loss she had shrunk in size, and they had firmly let her know that after her relationship with Duncan Kane ended, the fall from grace in the absence of Lilly, the 09ers had made it clear that she had flown too high to the sun, unworthy to be allowed amongst them. It was moments like this since the recovery of her longer term memories, the stark difference in their behaviour towards her, that made her most resentful. It also made her struggle with her feelings about her foundling relationship with Logan Echolls, her former best friend-turned enemy and bully-turned lover and ally.

It was sickening how much his approval of her now meant the rest of the student body considered her worthy to belong walking the halls of Neptune High free of harassment and abuse.

She didn't want to feel that anger, but sometimes, she couldn't help but notice the control that he exuded over the rest of her classmates and how he had been the orchestrator of much of her misery over the last year. It made forgiving him that much more difficult. She had been the victim of his pain and borne the brunt of his anger, his favourite target; it had been driving her insane. She had been drowning in a sea of his cruelty; the vicious fun he had encouraged had certainly left its scars.

"Are you going to eat those?" Wallace said eyeing up the glitter covered rainbow painted box.

"Without my Royal Food Tester? Absolutely not…" Veronica quipped.

"Are those chocolate chip?" he said as he peaked inside the box.

"Or pellets of rat poison… you never can be too sure" she retorted.

"Oh come on… you really think Meg would let them do that to you?" he replied, quirking an eyebrow. His expression told her that he thought she was being more than a little paranoid.

"All yours big guy…" she smiled as she handed over the box and he put them into his locker on top of his own smaller box of Spirit Cookies he got for the basketball teams upcoming game against Pam High.

"Just as long as you aren't turning into one of those girls who think eating breakfast as giving up" he retorted, narrowing his eyes at her slim waist. He knew she hadn't been eating that well lately; she had barely slept according to her father and had been spending longer and longer hours at the Mars Investigations Office. A situation which Wallace would remedy if he didn't have to take up those extra hours at the Sac-N-Pac after his co-worker Mario Esposito had been arrested for a bar fight a week ago, with priors and being out on probation, he would have to cover the slack until a replacement could be found.

"Are you going to ask me if I only feel pretty when I am hungry Wallace?" she answered, glaring at him. She knew her dad and best friend had been discussing her withdrawn behaviour lately. It wasn't that she was trying to punish herself… she was just trying not to spend every waking moment screaming. She had done it again… after her Mom had left, she had let this person in, she had let Daisy in, trusted her and gotten close to her… and she was taken away.

The visitors pass to see Abel Koontz was sitting in the secret compartment of her desk in her office. She hadn't even mentioned it to Logan yet.

"I just don't want you spending so much time lost in your own head… there's unicorns and shit in there, you might lose an eye" he teased.

"If someone asked you who you were… would you know more than your name?" she asked absently.

"So this is the kind of thoughts that go on inside that Pocket Venus head of yours when I am not around?" Logan interrupted as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her backwards against his broad chest, kissing her cheek as she turned to face him. "Hey Beautiful… how was class?" he asked. It was her first official day back at Neptune High after the most recent hospital visit and their class schedules had prevented them from spending much time together this morning.

"Oh you know… If homework goes too easy you are doing it wrong." she mused, giving him a smile.

"I was wrong about the chapters you needed for English wasn't I?" he sighed. He had been doing his best to get together the assignments for her while she was out so she wouldn't fall too far behind.

"You got the information from Kennedy didn't you?" Veronica asked knowingly. Kennedy was the only 09er that Logan knew was in her class… he had also greatly underestimated her loyalty to Duncan Kane's current girlfriend, Homecoming Queen Faith Schultz. The little clique had made it clear that the most recent recovery of her memories, had put her firmly back into the Nemesis category, despite there being no interest on her part to try and rekindle her former relationship with her ex-boyfriend. Son of CEO Billionaire, Jake Kane.

"Dwight, you're so ugly, when your mom dropped you off at school she got a fine for littering" Hector Alonso joked as he pushed one of the junior class men into a locker and mocked lunging at him who immediately lowered his head and scurried away.

"Vato.. enough with that shit" Felix Toomes complained in disgust, as much as he usually got a thrill over heckling some academic overachieving scrawny nerds, doing it to a Freshmen while they were now Juniors though just didn't seem very sporting. He had just about peed his pants. Ain't no one got time to be cleaning up that shit… especially since his aunt Tricia's boyfriend was doing a few shifts here as Janitor. Dwight Van Handal might have been an 06er… but he was just tragic, he still had a bowl cut worn in curtains like he was in the 90s and was carrying a trapper keeper for god-sakes!

"In 20 years, I bet there's going to be a college course called eye contact" Logan told her as they watched the little display as the PCHers moved like a pack through the hallways. Interestingly Weevil Navarro, their leader was not amongst them. Veronica studied her boyfriend carefully, ever since he had read the journal she had kept during her amnesia and discovered Lilly's affair with Weevil, she had been waiting for some kind of response, or retaliation… but so far… there had been nothing.

Veronica shifted her gaze to her best friend whole had instinctively stiffened, despite the uneasy truce she had brokered with the PCHers and Wallace, she could tell their attack on the Sac-n-Pac and the night he had been left duct-taped butt naked to the schools flagpole had left its own scars. He was still anxious and regarded the gang with a healthy dose of fear, not that the athletics teams would allow an attack on their star Basketball player, he had almost made co-captain this year so he had his own crowd now to watch his Six when she couldn't be around.

"Yo, Space Girl" Havier 'Shiv' Esposito called over as the group walked over towards them.

Now it was Veronica's turn to stiffen warily, it was a common insult some of the PCHers had coined during middle school that continued to haunt her to this day.

That's what you get with a surname called Mars…

"Guera, you signed up with the 09ers now or ir a su propia bola?" Felix asked as he cast a dismissive glance towards Logan who had moved to stand protectively in front of her.

Was she doing her own thing?

"Relax surfer boy, we aren't here for you… we just want to talk to your girl here" Hector taunted.

"Hector… come on.. you know we aren't here to cause problems like that" Felix growled and glared at his companion.

"Es un pijo, me cae gordo" Hector snorted and Havier nodded in agreement.

Okay… so they pretty much just think Logan is a wealthy snob… this isn't going to go well…

"Then why ARE you here? Need help with your homework? ESL teachers not make the budget this year?" Logan sniped.

"Qué fuerte! Surfer boy got some stones on him…" Orlando Cassena the fourth boy snarled.

"Logan…" Veronica soothed as she reached a hand out to touch his arm and pulled him away, putting herself to stand in front of Felix. "You wanted to talk… talk…" she told him firmly.

"She be little but fierce… I like my girls fiery like that… bet she gets real riled up in the sack huh? Blondie here must be a hot fu-" Orlando continued teasing Logan who was about to lunge himself forwards at the biker before he beaten to it as Orlando was firmly silenced by a slap to the back of the head, turning Veronica saw that it was Weevil passing by him.

"What I told you about that Mouth?" Weevil growled, grateful Veronica felt her entire body sigh with relief. The last thing she wanted was for Logan to get suspended for fighting after she had finally gotten back to school. Her father had had her on lock down, she hadn't gotten to see him much after the night he had come home and found Logan in her bedroom… that had resulted in a very uncomfortable Father-Daughter conversation about how her memories had been recovered and a very stern lecture on the birds and the bees. He was still angry with her… she'd broken his trust and now with Daisy's murder, he was extra paranoid on top of it. Until they got more leads on exactly what had happened, they couldn't be sure.

The thief who had been robbing the Neptune Grand Hotel had been caught, there was no connection to the Neptune Galaxy Resort, no obvious reason in her father knowledge of why Daisy would have been in that part of town… and Veronica hadn't found the courage yet to tell him that it was because of the records she had sent Daisy for… just a few days later, the clerk had been found dead in his bathtub after the neighbours in his apartment block started to complain about the smell. This wasn't a coincidence.

Maybe that was why she had been stalling in telling Logan about the visitor pass to see Abel Koontz? She didn't know just how big the cover up had been…

"You ask her yet?" Weevil said as he nudged Felix's arm.

"No.. just got here" Felix told him.

"Ask her what?" Logan demanded, he was suddenly more defensive now that Weevil was here, competition and jealous was a natural part of the male psyche, Veronica realized, and Weevil's presence after the revelations of Lilly's secret relationship with him must have created its own insecurity for him, she reached down and squeezed his hand with hers, he gripped it back, possessively.

"He wasn't talking to you.." Hector snapped.

"Guys… guys… I'm flattered… but I already gave the Spirit Cookies to Wallace" she quipped, shrugging, trying to look adorable to ease some of the tension.

"I came here to talk to you about Daisy" Felix replied coldly, and immediately Veronica felt the air lock in her lungs. Logan's warm hand in hers, went from being something meant to reassure him, to the only thing help keep her standing.

Her mind mentally did the calculations…

Gustavio Toomes… Felix's Older Brother…. What was it that Mateo had said?

Daisy and Gustavio had been True Ride or Die…

Nodding she met his gaze, she knew that Daisy had stayed close with Felix's family after Gustavio had went missing, she talked frequently of the visits to see his Mother Marissa, and two younger sisters Clarita and Maya. She had told her of her displeasure that Felix was choosing to get involved in gang life, and how she had wanted more for him but that the boy just wouldn't settle down.

Some people just don't want to be saved… the boys that choose that Life? There's only one way out…

Did Felix blame her father? Was he here to mete out some kind of retribution?

The thought made something in her stomach tighten in apprehension.

"I'm listening…" she swallowed and waited.

"I want to hire you to find the scumbag that did this" Felix replied.

That… was something she had not been expecting.

(sorry for the delay in updating this... I am working on it!)