Who Knew?
By:His Beautiful Girl
For: LV AU Week 2020, Day Three: Decent Dick
Logan's entire vision filled with red while he roared out, "Choose Veronica! You choose right now, us or your father!"
Veronica stood trembling, heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to break through the ribs, struggling for breathe, feeling like hands were squeezing her throat tightly as breath struggled to work it's way in and out, caught in the fire of Logan's glare. 'How could he expect her to go against her father? Did she think her dad had it right accusing Jake Kane of killing Lilly? No, but she did agree something wasn't right about that night at the Kane household. How could Logan do this to her in front of the whole school, weren't they friends?' Veronica knew Logan was hurting with Lilly being taken from them, she was hurting too, but how could he ask this of her? Blue eyes darted all around searching for an escape.
"Well? What's it going to be, Veronica? Your father-" the words spat out of Logan's mouth, "or us, your friends?"
A mop of blond hair was pushing its way through the crowd surrounding the two friends. "Dude-" Dick Casablancas took in the situation before he grabbed Logan's arm with a strength that neither realized he possessed and managed to drag the tall, fuming brunette away from the crowd and into the boy's bathroom.
"What the fuck, Dick? I was in the middle of something, something really important! What the hell did you do that for?" Logan fumed, face red, fists clenching and unclenching at his side before his right one suddenly shot out and connected with a paper towel dispenser leaving a dent.
"Logan!" Dick's voice boomed, echoing off the walls. "Just stop a minute. I know you're pissed off, I do, but you need to stop and think. Is going after Ronnie what you really want to do? Sheriff Mars is a dick, I get it, but he's her dad. What is she supposed to do? I know you hate your old man but the Sheriff is all she's got left right now! I pulled you away before you destroyed everything, because if you go down this road, dude- there's no coming back from it!"
Logan lunged for the door; face almost a purple color, breath coming hard and fast from his chest. Dick grabbed him by his shirt and threw him across the room. "Just stop before you make the biggest mistake of your life, Asshole!" Dick pushed his hands against Logan's chest to hold him in place. "Please Logan, stop. I just- somehow I just know if you go after Ronnie you're going to regret it. It's going to be something you'll never come back from and I'm trying to stop you from making this mistake. I mean, how do you expect her to turn her back on her dad completely? That's family and you don't turn your back on your family. My dad is the biggest prick, but I still wouldn't turn my back on him if it came down to it."
Logan rolled his eyes, barking a harsh laugh, "I would turn my back on my dad in a second. Family doesn't always deserve loyalty, Dick."
"Would you turn your back on your mom?" The blond's voice was quieter now, knowing that at least he had the other boy's attention.
"What? I- no of course not, how could you even ask that?" Disbelief filled Logan's brown eyes as he sputtered. "Never, I would never turn my back on my mom."
"Then think about it, Logan. The way you feel about your mom? That's Ronnie's dad to her, you know that. With her mom taking off the way she did, he's all she's got and you know they've always been close. Is this a fucked-up situation? Yes, but- you can't expect her to just turn her back on her dad, dude. Can you even imagine what this might be doing to her?"
For the first time Logan stilled, sinking down to the floor, back sliding against the wall. Wrapping his arms around his legs he bounced his forehead off his knees a few times and groaned. "Why did she have to leave? This is so messed up and I don't know what to do anymore. Dude, can you just give me a few minutes… alone?"
Dick studied the other boy, "Can I trust you not to go after Ronnie, dude? Give me your word, you'll at least give it a day and think over what I said?"
The tall boy nodded, looking up so Dick could see his eyes, "You have my word, I won't go after her until I've thought things over."
Blue eyes study brown for a moment and finally Dick nodded in response, "I'm here if you need me, Logan. I mean that." Another bro nod and Dick lets himself out of the boy's restroom leaving Logan alone to his thoughts…
Dick
Dick Casablancas was smarter than people gave him credit for, he was also much more observant. The thing about him was that he really didn't care that much about things so he was happy to let his image be the easy going surfer and that image wasn't exactly wrong. He was a sideline player except for the drama Madison managed to drag him into. Therefore; when Dick decided to interfere with the scene between Logan and Veronica, it surprised even himself, but only for a moment as he didn't have time to think about it, only had time to act. He knew that he had to stop this, stop Logan before he made a mistake that would haunt him. The truth was, Dick liked Veronica, thought she was sweet and felt sorry for the position she was in, how was she supposed to choose between her family and a bunch of people, most of which were jealous of her or actually disliked her because she held the position of Lilly's best friend...
The blond surfer studied Logan, eyes narrowed and mouth set in a firm line, "Can I trust you not to go after Ronnie, dude? Give me your word, you'll at least give it a day and think over what I said?"
Logan sagged against the wall of the bathroom and nodded while he assured Dick he would think about things. For a moment, Dick felt like he got a glimpse of what the king of the 09'ers hid behind his mask. The pain in Logan's eyes had Dick's stomach twisting itself in knots and his chest tightening, eyes blinked rapidly for a moment. He didn't want to leave his friend here in the bathroom, but instinctively he knew that Logan needed time alone now. Still, he couldn't help but offer one last thing, injecting complete sincerity in his voice, "I'm here if you need me, Logan. I mean that." Another nod of understanding passed between the two young men and then Dick left the other boy alone to do what he needed to do.
Madison latched onto him as soon as he emerged, "What the hell, Dick? Why did you stop him? He was just about to put that skank in her place finally! She isn't one of us." Her voice reminded him of nails on a chalkboard.
"Stop! Just stop, Madison. Enough. She's been one of us for years even if she doesn't have the money. Lilly made her one of us and that should be enough. God, how can you find pleasure in this? How do you find so much happiness in hurting someone else? Is this what I'm like? Is this how I treat people? Well, I'm done. As of today, I'm done. I won't do it anymore. There's enough fucked up things in our lives, we don't need to add onto them."
"Dick Casablancas. What is wrong with you? Did you hit your head surfing? Are you on something?" The dyed blond stamped her foot, huffing at the fact that her boyfriend dared call her out in front of all these people, and to defend Veronica Mars of all things. "You aren't thinking straight, maybe you should go home and sleep off whatever this is. Then you can decide how expensive your make-up gift to me should be. I'm thinking something from Tiffany's." Madison lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest.
The young man stared at her for a long moment and when he answered even he was surprised at how calm and even his voice came out, how quiet and yet steady, "No Madison, there won't be a gift. We're done, for good. If all of this shit that has happened has made anything clear it's this- there is no tomorrow promised. I, for one, don't want to be someone who was remembered as being an asshole. The first part of changing is changing who I surround myself with, so we're done and there isn't any coming back this time." With that, Dick turned and calmly walked down the hall beginning his search, paying no attention to the screeching that followed his movements.
He wanted to find Veronica and see how she was doing; fairly certain she could use a friendly face right now. He found Cassidy at his locker. "Hey Beaver, look I really want to talk to you, apologize for how I've been, maybe even start over and build a relationship if you're game, but I really need to find Veronica and make sure she's okay, have you seen her?"
Cassidy's eyes grew as big as saucers and his mouth dropped as he listened to his brother's words. "Uh- um- yeah I would… would like that." The younger boy stuttered out, grasping his book bag tightly. "Uhm- maybe you could just call me Cassidy though? I really hate the name Beaver. And, I saw Veronica run out after you pushed Logan in the bathroom. I don't know if she left or not though."
Dick gave his brother a smile, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder, "Thanks Cass, I'll talk to you later." With another small smile and a nod, he started to jog off toward the entrance of the school figuring the first thing to do is to check if Veronica's car is still here.
Veronica
When Dick pulled Logan into the bathroom, Veronica took the chance to flee. Madison, never one to give up a moment of opportunity, taunted her while also giving her a shove, making her fall to the ground. "Oh how you've fallen, poor little, Veronica Mars. It's finally time for you to be put into your place. I had to watch you parade around here like you're one of us for much too long. You and daddy are going to become even lower than the 02'ers."
Scrambling to collect her spilled books and folders, Veronica shoved everything haphazardly into her bag, picking herself up from the ground and running out of the doors of Neptune High. With a hard lob, she tossed everything into the back seat not carrying where anything fell while the racking sobs started to take over her body. Her mind screamed 'Get out of here! Leave! What are you doing! Go, go, go!' The petite blond fell into the front seat of the black Le Baron as harsh, ugly sounds ripped from her throat, hot tears streamed down delicate cheeks, down her neck, soaking into her pink blouse. Veronica managed to bring her knees up to her chest despite the steering wheel and wrapped her arms around them, her shoulders turned in on themselves and she somehow made herself even smaller while she curled up in the driver's seat of her car.
"Lilly! Lilly, why did you have to leave? Everything has fallen apart and I don't know what to do. I don't think my dad is right, your dad loved you, he could never hurt you, but he's all I have now Lils. Mom is gone, left a note and just left me too. My friends all hate me and Log-" the sob choked out violently, "Logan hates me Lilly. I can't do this. I can't do this. Come back, please just come back, if you come back everything will be okay again" Her small body rocked back and forth as she continued to beg her best friend to come back to her.
When a hand that touched her shoulder, Veronica screamed like a damsel being chased by a hulking man with a chainsaw in a horror movie. "Hey, hey, Ronnie, it's just me. It's Dick, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I've been looking everywhere for you."
Veronica's body wouldn't quit quaking, tears continued to flow and when she tried to talk, a voice unrecognizable, hoarse and rusty came out. "Wha- What do you want, Dick? Please, I can't take anymore, so please…"
Dick made sure his touch was gentle as his hands readjusted the petite girl, allowing him to hug her. Veronica fell into the hug shaking and grateful. 'Is this a trick? I mean, Dick isn't known for being nice. But he did pull Logan away earlier. Please don't let it be a trick, I just need this hug so badly.' She allowed her eyes to close and for the blond surfer to hold her, relaxing a bit as his hands rubbed up and down her back.
"He didn't mean it, you know. I know it sounds like he meant it but he's just really mixed up right now." Veronica lifted her head and looked at Dick, confused for a moment before she realized that he was talking about Logan. "Really, Ronnie, he didn't mean it. Everything is just so… so… so shitty right now and he's dealing with it the only way he knows how. He doesn't understand family like we do. How you stick by them no matter what, even if they're wrong, I get it. Don't give up on him, please. He might say Duncan is his best friend but everyone knows that's crap, it's you, even Lilly knew that."
Veronica nodded her head, she did know. Biting her bottom lip, she observed the blond surfer that was now crouched down in front of her, watching her. "Thanks, Dick. You're a really good friend to Logan."
"Hopefully you'll let me be your friend too, Ronnie." A big goofy smile spread on Dick's face. "Maybe we'll finally get you in the water and surfing!"
Giggles erupted from Veronica's throat, surprising her, "Maybe." She glanced up through her windshield and stiffened, a gasp escaping as her stomach re-knotted itself and she felt every part of her start shaking. Logan was standing ten yards away, staring.
Dick turned his head to see what caused the reaction and sighed, standing up. "Just stay here okay, I'll take care of it."
Veronica wrapped her arms around herself as she watched Dick go over to Logan. She could see them talking and some gesturing on Logan's part but couldn't hear any of the words. Truth be told, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear them. It did seem like the king of the 09'ers had calmed down considerably though, which made her curious as to what transpired while Dick was comforting her. Butterflies took up residence in her stomach and it was suddenly hard to breathe, her chest feeling crushed as she watched Logan coming her way, Dick staying where they had been talking.
Her eyes tracked every move the tall, brunette boy made as he reached her open car door. "Hey 'Ronica, can we talk please?" Biting her bottom lip she nodded her head up and down.
Logan
All Logan could think about was getting back out there, demanding answers from the little blond. His blood boiled in his veins and he was seconds away from throwing Dick into the nearest wall so he could get back to his target when the surfer's words stopped him cold, "Would you turn your back on your mom?"
It felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over him and the ice was making its way into his veins. He would never turn on his mom. Never, he loved her too much. He knew he should be mad at her for sitting by while his dad left marks on his skin that would forever be there, while she drank herself into a haze along with the help from pills, but he also knew his mom loved him. She was the only one who did, well her and Veronica.
Veronica. Veronica, who had instantly been his friend. Veronica, who liked him for him and not because he was the son of two movie stars. Veronica, who he tried so hard to protect from the harshness of the world because she shouldn't have to see it. Veronica, who was always there for him even when it was her best friend that hurt him. She never made excuses for Lilly with him, she always just showed up with movies so they could have a marathon. Veronica, who would hug him so hard as if she were trying to convey these huge emotions that just couldn't be contained in her petite body.
Fuck. Sitting down down his actions, his words suddenly flooded his mind. He had been so pissed off at Mr. Mars that he decided to make Veronica his target.
"Good Job, Logan. Real nice. How dare you treat, Veronica Mars this way! You're supposed to protect her now that I'm gone but instead I find you here leading the attack?"
Logan jerked his head up and then rubbed his eyes. "Lilly?" He stared at the girl sitting on the counter, he could see through her but could also see her perfectly. "I've lost my damn mind." Dark laughter spilled out of his mouth. "I've finally lost it."
"Oh get over yourself, Logan Echolls!" The blond on the counter sniped. "You aren't the important one here. Veronica is. I'm here to help you fix this mess before you screw it up even further."
The young man stood up, taking the couple steps over to the young woman before he reached out his hand, finding that it passed right through her. Lilly rolled her eyes at him impatiently. "Are you done now? Yes, I'm dead. Yes, I'm a ghost. Can we get on to the important things?"
"Why did you leave, Lils?" A broken whisper passed through Logan's lips as he stared at his dead ex-girlfriend. "I knew we were done but I didn't want you to die. I thought maybe one day we would even be able to be friends."
Lilly's eyes softened as she looked at Logan, "I know Logan. I thought so too. I- I'm not allowed to say much, but I did something really stupid that I regret for more reasons than it just leading to my death. I didn't want to leave all of you, especially the way I did."
A lump was preventing Logan from swallowing easily and tears sprung to his eyes, "I miss you."
"I miss you too, but Logan, this is why you need Veronica. You need to make this right. Things are going to get ugly and you need to protect her, not turn on her." Lilly smiled, "I can't believe Dick Casablancas of all people was the one who knew to pull you away. I think he'll be a good friend to you too, if you let him."
Logan nodded, "How do I fix what I did with Veronica? I- I was a psychotic jackass, Lils, I don't know if she'll forgive me. I wouldn't forgive me."
Lilly beamed, "Of course she'll forgive you silly, Veronica is amazing like that. This rough time is going to change her, the strapless red satin Veronica is about to finally come out." She giggled. "Or maybe the black leather Veronica might be more appropriate, but she'll still be Veronica in all the important ways as long as you're there to stand by her side. If you stand with her, the changes will be good, if you turn your back on her-" The blond trailed off look sad.
A raised eyebrow followed by a slow smirk graced the young man's face. "Well, that should be interesting to see. Veronica in red satin or black leather. "
"Go find her, apologize and mean it. Be willing to stand with her through this." the blond bit her lip, "Be willing to listen and hear her out even when you may not want to, she's smart, our 'Ronica, she will know what she's talking about."
With a nod, Logan gazed at the once love of his life and felt a bit of peace run through him, like something important had finally been completed. "I promise."
Her lips curved into a mischievous grin, "Oh, and Logan, do me one favor?"
Raising his eyebrow, he looked inquiringly at her.
"Don't be afraid to move on, but wait for the right girl. And you will know when it's the right girl, she's closer than you think." Just like that Lilly was gone, her perfume still hanging in the air.
Logan knew he would think about this encounter more later but his immediate mission was damage control and for that he needed to find Veronica. The bell rang indicating the end of the current period and students filled the halls, talking and making their way to their next class. Logan joined the flow after leaving the bathroom though his intention varied from his classmates. He saw Luke at his locker.
"Luke! Hey, have you seen Veronica, I really need to find her,"
"Are you going to go after her some more?" the boy asked curiously as he switched out his books and slammed his locker shut.
With a shake of his head, Logan looked down to the floor, "Nah, man, I shouldn't have done that. I just want to talk to her."
"She ran out the door after Dick pulled you into the bathroom, I don't know if she's still here or not."
"Thanks, I'll talk to you later. Oh, hey do me a favor will ya, spread the word that Veronica is to be left alone."
With a tilt of his head Luke looked at the other boy and then nodded. "Okay, will do."
"Thanks, see ya around." Logan sprinted toward the entrance doors and burst out of them, quickly scanning the parking lot for Veronica's car. Spotting the Le Baron he began walking toward it but pulled up short when he witnessed something he thought he would never see. Dick Casablancas was hugging a crying Veronica Mars.
He knew the moment Veronica had spotted him, could feel it just like he always felt it when she looked at him. He was so distracted by the feeling and willing her to look up at him that he didn't realize Dick had walked over until he felt his hand on his shoulder. "Logan, dude? I thought you promised me you'd give it a day before you talked to Ronnie." The blond surfer's voice was hesitant and Logan realized that he was ready to throw down with him if he was there to go after her again.
With a quick shake of his head, "I don't need a day, Dick. I know I was wrong. I'm here to apologize, here to try to figure out how to make it right if she'll let me. I had a moment of clarity, if you will."
His friend eyed him up and down and whatever he was looking for, Logan must have passed muster because Dick stepped back. "Alright then, dude."
Logan made his way the short distance to the car and swallowed hard when he realized that Veronica was curled up small and trembling. 'Holy hell, I did that to her, I made her feel like this.' He almost doubled over as his stomach knotted, feeling like he had been punched in the gut, he knew that look, had seen it in the mirror… how had he messed this up so badly? He had to fix this.
Softly, like he would speak to a scared animal, "Hey 'Ronica, can we talk please?"
Veronica made a tiny sound as she uncurled herself and nodded. "You- you're not going to yell at me anymore?"
Shaking his head almost violently from side to side, Logan crouched down and hesitantly laid his hand on Veronica's thigh. "No, I promise. I'm so sorry V'ronica, I'm sorry for yelling at you, for saying those things. You're my best friend and I don't want to lose you. Things are so messed up right now but taking them out on you isn't how I need to handle it. Can you forgive me for being a jackass?"
With a sob Veronica flung herself so hard at Logan he would have tumbled back if he didn't have better reflexes. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, closing his eyes and pressing his face into her hair as she cried on his shoulder.
Things would be okay, if they stuck together, they could get through this. It would change them yes, but they could change together. Logan smiled into her hair. 'Who knew Dick could be such a decent guy?'