A/N: Thanks for all the responses on this, I'm really having a good time writing this so thanks for reading it! I think Veronica has a lot of complicated feelings when it comes to both Logan and Weevil, I'd like to explore them all in this fiction, SO hopefully you'll stick around for the rest of the ride. Working on the next chapter as we speak, any and all feedback is welcome! Again, don't own anything, except the idea for this :)
"It's been a while since I've seen you." The brunette beamed from in front of the cash register.
"I think the less people see of me, the better." I joked. "How have you been Matty?"
"I got this shit hole back up and running and I'm churning a profit, I guess there isn't too much to complain about." Her eyes got darker. "I'm sorry I haven't been there much after Logan… ya know…" She shuffled her feet.
"You're 16, I didn't expect you to be my knight in shining armor. I'm working through it. But I do have a favor to ask of you." She nodded with enthusiasm. "So, my friend Eli is being accused of selling drugs to teenagers your age. He swears up and down that he isn't the one that is selling to teenagers, but we aren't able to pinpoint who is selling. Any chance you can try to score some drugs from a PCH'er at your school?"
"Can I keep the drugs?" Matty asked. I blinked slowly in response. "Fine, I'll get you the drugs you want but I already know who deals them, it's Juan Diego and his buddies, they don't exactly hide what they're doing." She spoke
"I assumed that JD was part of this, do you know the names of the others?"
"Junior is the youngest, he's a freshman. Loco and Guac are my age."
"I'm sorry, did you say Guac? Like… a delicious addition to a burrito, guac?" I asked, rather taken aback.
"I don't know their real names." She shrugged. "A lot of the PCH'ers have nicknames, and I don't know who decided on his."
"Do you have classes with any of these kids?"
"Junior is actually in my math class, odd considering he is a freshman. I'm in trigonometry and I'm not sure how he ended up in there with me."
"Just because you have a dumb PCH title doesn't always mean you're dumb. Think you could find out his real name for me?"
"Yeah, I can do that. But can you do something for me in return?" There it was. An eye for an eye, in true protégé fashion.
"Depends on what this something is. I don't buy booze for minors…" I trailed off. "I could show you how to play Hey, mister, but that also feels like contributing to youth delinquency."
"I'm 16, I've been playing Hey, mister for two years now…" She deadpanned. "It isn't anything like that, I was just hoping that maybe you could lead me in the right direction to getting some security on this hotel. I don't think anything is happening, but I'd feel better knowing that the hotel was looked after."
"Oh, I can do that no problem. I'll give my guy a call and he'll be over here as soon as you bring me the name of Junior, or Taco, or whoever else."
"…Loco." She corrected.
"Yeah, that's what I meant." I pulled her in for a hug. "Don't be a stranger around the office, my dad and I miss you around there."
"I'd rather be there than here; the full-time office manager is on vacation this week. You'll see more of me when she gets back." I smiled and waved as I left the building. I got back to my car.
"Did you just interrogate a teenager?" Eli asked from my passenger seat.
"I didn't interrogate a teenager, and she is far beyond her years even if I had…" I started the car. "She goes to high school with the mini PCH'ers that you think are dealing on campus. One of them is in her math class, she's going to try to get his name tomorrow."
"How do you have a class with someone and not know their name?"
"Gee, I don't know, Weevil. How could someone not be known by their real name for all of high school?" I asked sarcastically.
"Now it makes sense, they all have nicknames."
"Hey, how did you get your nickname?" I asked as we approached a red light. "I feel like they aren't doing the best job that they could be doing with the naming…"
"Thumper got his cuz his first fight in the PCH'ers he repeatedly kicked a kid's face against a curb and all that could be heard was 'thump, thump, thump', not exactly original, but it stuck."
"Alright, that one makes sense to me…" I looked at him. "How'd you become a beetle?" I asked, trying to hold back laughter. He rolled his eyes.
"Weevils have a pronounced nose. I guess because I can 'sniff' out lies and traitors, that's how I ended up with that name." He explained.
"That's… fascinating to say the least. I'm always bowled over with how much I really don't know about you." I spoke as I turned into my driveway.
"Our friendship has been bonded by mutual favors; we never had to know if we had the same favorite color."
"Still, it might be nice to know more about you than your criminal record." I pried lightly.
"You really wanna do the whole twenty question thing, V? Can't you just snoop around to find my answers to everything you wanna know?"
"Realistically, I probably could. But I don't have the energy to snoop on social media to find out your favorite band." I opened the car door and headed up the porch to my house.
"Nudozurdo" Eli mumbled.
"Are you putting a spell on me" I questioned as I unlocked the front door.
"No, that's a band name. Wouldn't say they're my favorite, but I listen to 'em a lot." He spoke quietly and walked inside.
"Wasn't that hard to share something with me, was it?"
"No but put yourself in my shoes." He said, ironically, as he took his off and walked over to the couch. "The last time I let someone in and really get to know me inside and out, she took off and every attempt to get her back has gone unanswered."
"I think it's a little unfair for you to compare me to Jade after all this time." I spoke in my defense as I opened the fridge and pulled out a beer for each of us. Silence fell over us, he didn't have anything to say back to that. Moments passed and I heard him take in a huge breath of air.
"Birthday is September 4th, Height is five foot four, but I'll claim five foot eight any given time I can. Favorite color is red. Favorite food is anything that will light my mouth on fire. I learned how to ride a motorcycle when I was 11. I've only loved 4 women in my entire life, 2 of them being blood family. Shoe size is 10. Azaleas are my favorite flower, they were my Abuela's favorite too. I prefer dogs over cats… That enough info for you, or do you need my blood type too?" I shrugged. "O positive." I giggled.
"I don't want you to feel forced into telling me things, I just figured since we are going to be spending so much time together living in the same house, doing pretty much all the same things together; I should get to know my partner in crime." I rethought my word phrasing but didn't aim to change it. "Can I ask follow up questions?"
"You can, but I have the right to not answer them." I was positive he knew what I was going to ask.
"The two women you loved… Jade and Lilly right?"
"I knew you were gonna go there." He popped the top on his beer.
"There is nothing wrong with loving the woman you married and the woman you loved in high school. Some people would envy that kind of devotion."
"Except I didn't love Lilly like that." He took a beat. "I loved Lilly in a sense that I got off on the fact that her parents hated me. I lived to piss off the rich folk by screwing around with their pretty blonde daughter. Nothin' gave me more satisfaction than when she used to sit on my lap when she knew her parents would be home soon. I wasn't exactly boyfriend material at that age."
"I don't think we have ever really talked about your relationship with her until now."
"Nah, I really don't wanna get into it now either. It was purely physical, and we both got what we wanted out if it. I got laid, and she pissed off her parents."
"I won't ask anymore about her, but if that's the case who is the other lucky lady in your life to receive your love?"
"And this is where I get to tell you that I don't wanna talk about it." He shifted uneasily on the couch.
"You can't give me something that juicy and not dish about it, come on." I pried.
"You gotta know that I don't know what this love means, because it ain't the same type of love I had with Jade."
"…Okay?" I asked, puzzled at where this conversation was headed.
"It's you, V. And before you get a chance to even say anything about that, I get a chance to explain myself. Deal?" He spoke quickly and couldn't look me in the face. I felt taken aback, I hadn't expected to be the other woman he mentioned. I couldn't even form words at this time, so I just nodded and let him continue speaking.
"When you first helped me and my crew with the security footage from the store, I realized that nobody ever really put their neck on the line for me like that, it meant something. So, I was glad to return the favor and smash in Logan's headlights and put a few dents in Daddy's car for you. You kept coming back and saving me from bullshit, and when I was released from jail for the credit card stuff, my grandmother talked about you for weeks, like you were an angel sent to earth to save me from myself. If we fast forward til the most recent events, I realized when you told me we didn't have nothing between us anymore; that shit hurt. I swore up and down that you would regret the day you said that to me." He paused and looked up at me. "The night at the cabin, my sister is the one who told me that Alonzo was going to come after you. Apparently, she caught you rummaging through his hotel room with your dad and the pieces were put together. The entire ride out there, I had never been more terrified in my life as to what I would find when I got there. If I had gotten there too late…" He trailed off and held his head in his hands.
"But you didn't, Eli. You got there in time and probably saved both me and my dad. We owe you our lives." I reached out to him and put my arm around his shoulder. "It's stuff like that, that reminds me daily that you are meant to be more than a low- level hood, doing sketchy shit just to get by. You have a heart in there." I placed my other hand over his chest, and it became increasingly clear how close we were. I could feel his heartbeat underneath my palm.
"What are you doing?" He asked softly, as he caught his breath in his throat.
"I don't know." I spoke softly back as I closed the gap between us. The kiss was soft and gentle, full of innocence. He broke apart rather quickly.
"Care to explain what that was about?" He asked.
"… Mutual love between friends?" I guessed. If I was being honest with myself, I wasn't sure why I did what I did, or why I had the overwhelming urge to do it again.
"Nothing about that screamed friends to me." He retorted.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." I shook my head in disbelief.
"Don't be sorry, don't ever be sorry for that." He reassured me. "I've been wondering what that was gonna be like for years, so you just solved another mystery, good job detective." He joked.
"Well, did I live up to the hype?"
"I mean, it was alright. I don't get why all the rich white guys want to keep coming back around for seconds though." I wore my best baffled face and punched his shoulder.
"It's probably because the other guys usually got past first base, rounding third into home is my specialty." We laughed together and he took my hand as he composed himself.
"If you want me to be real with you, I will be." He started. "I would do that again without even thinking about it, you're beautiful, smart, practically perfect, what guy wouldn't dream of being with someone like you? But, as blinded as I am cuz of that kiss, I'm not dumb. I don't wanna be the guy to help you get over Logan or move on." I interrupted.
"Eli, I wasn't trying to rebound with you or anything, I ju –"
"Can you let me finish? Please?" Eli interjected. I motioned the 'my mouth is sealed' gesture and he continued. "I'm fine being whatever you need me to be in your life, as long as you keep me a part of your life. But I'm gonna throw this out here too… I've always wondered what it would be like for you to be my girl, I don't think there's a red-blooded male that knows you that hasn't thought that before. But that decision is gonna be on you." He brought the hand he was holding to his lips and kissed it gently.
"When did you become… an adult?" I said, lost for the proper verbiage I was sure.
"I was married, happily married for quite some time. I got practice on how to make a girl feel special and have better lines than 'Weevil love you long time'" I laughed; I had remembered that day like it was yesterday, couldn't believe he ever saw action in high school.
"Do you need me to figure out things like… right now? Or, is the deadline flexible?" I questioned. Unsure of what I was asking for or requesting, but I knew I needed more time to think about this.
"The ball is in your court now, V. You know where I stand. But now that you know all this, I'm gonna be forced to turn the charm to the highest level, just so you know what you're missin' out on." He winked. I couldn't help but smile.
"Well I guess I have been forewarned." I walked towards my room. "I think I'm going to retire for the night, this evening's events have made me crave some alone time with Netflix. You good for the night?"
"I think I can handle a night on my own, yes." Eli responded sarcastically.
"Alright, sleep well. Hopefully tomorrow Matty will get the names and we can do more research on who is doing this. Good night."
"Good night, beautiful. Sweet dreams." He said, even so charmingly as he had warned. I shook it off and I headed to my room. I tried not to overanalyze this, but it was hard not to. I spent most of my time in high school very taken, either Duncan or Logan, I wasn't picky at the time. Eli was never a blip on my radar, or was he? I was positive that our chemistry was electrifying, and I was thankful that he broke the kiss when he did tonight, because there were some impure thoughts coursing through my mind. But was I ready to give Eli everything after the trauma I went through with Logan? Wouldn't that be condemning whatever this was to fail?
I hurriedly walked back out to the living room.
"Morning already?" He asked, without removing his gaze from the TV.
"Yeah, no it's not. I wanna give this a shot." I blurted out. That got a reaction from him. He swung his body around and stood up.
"You came back here to tell me you wanna be my girl?" Eli smirked.
"I wanna take the temp to hire position, if the temp part works out well. "I sighed. "I've felt something for you for years and I don't know what it is, but I wanna feel it out." I grabbed his hand in mine. "You wanna feel it out with me?" I asked, instantly regretting my verbiage.
"Oh, if you only knew." He winked, relishing in my poor word choices. "But seriously Veronica, if you wanna be my girl, you don't gotta ask me twice."
"So, even if this is a thing now, can I still sleep alone?" I asked, curious as to where the boundaries were drawn.
"Whatever makes you feel comfortable." He assured me.
"I'm gonna go to bed then." I spoke and gingerly, yet awkwardly kissed his cheek. As I walked away, I pondered what it would be like to move forward like this. Would we jump right into the mushy nonsense that relationships are comprised of? Were either of us truly capable of that mushy nonsense? I headed back to the living room.
"You got a lot of unresolved thoughts tonight." He remarked.
"Come to bed with me." I spoke confidently, I remained stagnant in my last relationship, refusing to take steps forward; if this is what it was going to be, I was going to try harder this time. He looked up at me, to the floor and back up to me. "Jesus, I don't mean come have sex with me, I literally mean come to bed with me." I could feel the tension ease from the room. He nodded and followed me to my bedroom.
