Chapter 12: Magic

*****The Next Day*****

Veronica laid in bed, staring at her ceiling. Her mind wouldn't stop replaying all the events of the day before. After her disastrous encounter with Buffy, she had started to have a nice lunch with Mac and Mac's new friends. Then Dick had crashed it, being a total ass.

Flashback

"Buffy's dating Logan?" she said, once Dick's words registered.

Dick blinked. "Oh, you didn't know?" he asked.

"I've been gone all summer. How would I?" she pointed out. She glanced at Mac. "I thought Weevil was dating Buffy. Is she two-timing him?" She was fuming at the thought.

"Relax, Ronnie," Dick said. "It's totally casual. Somehow, Buffy has managed to not only date both of them, but they've not come to blows over it."

Veronica looked at the girls, who all nodded. "And you two are supposed to be the witches?" Veronica said to Willow and Tara.

Willow grinned. "Buffy's not a slut, so don't go thinkin' she is," Willow said. "She's not sexing them up. She's had a pretty tragic love life, and she just wants to have fun."

"Logan's been having lots of fun," Dick said with a smirk. "Buffy doesn't tie him in knots."

"Well, good for him," Veronica said. "You can go now."

End of Flashback.

Dick had left but the enjoyable lunch was not the same. Veronica, though, had really liked the two girls, especially Tara. How the two girls were friends with Dick was mystifying. When she'd asked Mac about it, Mac had shrugged. "Dick makes them laugh," she had said.

Veronica vowed to make sure he wasn't toying with them. Was sleeping with lesbians a new thing his fraternity was giving points for this school year? She didn't put anything past those assholes. It was hard for her to picture Weevil and Logan once again dating the same girl, especially one who wasn't anything like Lilly.

She sat up in bed, knowing that she had to get up and face the day. Today, she was going to go the art gallery and apologize to Joyce.Fighting with her dad wasn't something she ever enjoyed, especially when she knew that she was the one who'd been in the wrong. Why had she said that to Buffy? Didn't she want her dad to find happiness with someone else? What would happen to her dad when she moved away? Did she want him to be all alone? Was she really that selfish?

Feeling off centered, she got in the shower and then got dressed. Her dad was already gone when she left her bedroom. Deciding to grab breakfast at the Hut and check on her job status, she drove there. To her dismay, Buffy greeted her at the waitress stand. "Hello, welcome. Would you like a table?" Buffy asked, giving her a bright smile.

"You work here?" Veronica asked.

"Yep. I took your job for the summer," Buffy said. "Are you hoping to start back sooner?""

"I don't know. I wanted to grab a muffin and coffee to go," Veronica said. "I was going to go apologize to your mother. Does she like a special drink I can take her?"

"She does. I'll make it for you," Buffy said. She was waiting to see if Veronica was going to make an overture toward her.

Veronica said hello to some workers that she knew, and then the manager came up to her.

"Veronica, I didn't realize you were back in town. I thought you weren't coming back until next month," he said.

"That was the plan," Veronica said. "But the summer program wasn't a good fit, so I decided to come back early."

"You know I hired Buffy and told her the job was hers until classes resumed," he said.

"That's okay," Veronica said. "I can work with my dad until then."

"Good. If something opens up, though, can I call you?" he asked.

"Of course," Veronica said. Buffy had commandeered all her friends, her mother was dating her father, she was dating Veronica's ex, and now she had Veronica's job. It was hard for her to keep the smile on her face as Buffy came back with a cup carrier and a bag.

"Here you go," Buffy said. "That's $8.72."

Veronica handed her a ten. "Keep the change," she said.

"Thanks," Buffy said. "Have a good day."

"You, too," Veronica said. She turned to go and then paused. "Oh, I guess I should apologize for being a bitch yesterday."

"Yes, you should," Buffy said with a grin. "Then I can apologize for using your Taser against you."

Veronica was surprised that she was willing to be so magnanimous. "How did you do that? I've used that Taser on a lot of guys, and they've all fallen," Veronica said.

Buffy shrugged. "I'm just special," she said. "My body is hard wired differently. I don't tire easily—I'm very physical."

"My dad is amazing," Veronica said. "I don't know why I said that about him."

"You're an only child, and you don't like to share?" Buffy suggested with a smirk.

Veronica glared but grudgingly admitted, "Maybe."

"Buffy, you have a table," her manager said.

"I gotta go," Buffy said. "I appreciate the apology, and my mom will, too. I'll give my mom your Taser to give to your dad."

"Thanks," Veronica said. She turned to leave, feeling unsettled. The woman didn't make much sense.

When she arrived at the gallery, she hoped it was early enough that no one would be there with Joyce. She looked at her watch—it wasn't yet ten.

"Mrs. Summers?" Veronica said, getting her attention.

"Hello, Veronica," Joyce said, giving her a friendly smile.

Veronica was relieved that she was being nice and returned her smile. "Hi. Sorry to interrupt your work, but I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I brought you a drink—Buffy made it," she said.

"That was thoughtful of you," Joyce said, accepting the drink. "Thank you."

"I apologized to Buffy, and she was very nice about everything," Veronica said.

"You know, Veronica, your dad has told me about the rough times you've had," Joyce said. "Buffy's had some nightmare experiences herself—you two have a lot in common actually. I was really hoping you would be friends. In fact, she was really looking forward to meeting you because she'd heard so many wonderful things about you from everyone."

Veronica was feeling very small and searched for the words to make things better. "I think my experiences have made me suspicious and untrusting," she admitted.

"That's understandable," Joyce said.

"My dad is my hero," Veronica said. "He jumped through fire once to save my life. Did he tell you that?"

Joyce smiled. "Not exactly," she said. "But I know he's special. Buffy's a lot like him that way—she's my hero."

"That's what Willow said about her," Veronica said.

"She's a protector," Joyce said. "I think you're the same way, so I hope you two can find a way to be friends or at least get along. If you don't think you can, then let me know now. I won't see your father anymore. Buffy's been through too much to have my personal life cause her problems."

Veronica was alarmed at Joyce's words—her father was going to kill her. "Please, Mrs. Summers. I have never seen my father so happy—not in a very long time," she said. "He's crazy about you, and I know we can figure out."

Joyce nodded. "I appreciate you saying that," she said.

Veronica smiled, grateful that she was being so nice. She said goodbye and went over to her dad's office.

"Hey, Dad," she said.

"Hello, Veronica," he said.

"I wanted you to know that I apologized to both Buffy and Mrs. Summers," Veronica said.

"I appreciate that," Keith said.

"Did you know that Buffy has taken over my old job at the Hut?" she asked.

Keith nodded. "I did," he said.

"Do you think you could use me here?" she asked.

"If you want to answer the phone and take messages, sure," he said. "If something comes up, we'll see."

Veronica smiled, relieved that he wasn't pushing her away.

The next day, her father handed her Taser to her. "Joyce gave this to me this morning," Keith said.

"Thanks," Veronica said. She put it in her bag. "Is everything okay between the two of you?"

Keith shrugged. "She met me for breakfast, and we talked," he said. "She has misgivings, but we both feel what we have is too important to throw away because my daughter is prone to dramatics."

"Hey!" she protested.

"She did appreciate your apology, and so do I," Keith said. "I asked her to come over here for lunch—we'll order a pizza. I want you two to spend some time together without Buffy around, so she can see what I see."

"What's that?" Veronica asked.

"That my daughter is wonderful, funny, clever, and very loyal," Keith said, smiling at her.

Veronica returned his smile, happy that she was really forgiven.

*****Two Days Later*****

Willow was excited because Logan had invited her out to dinner. She had spent time with him always with others around, and this was the first time she was getting to spend time with him alone. Tara watched her get ready. "You seem happy," she observed.

"Logan and I are finally going to get to spend some time together, and I can learn about him and his life and my sister," she said. Then she cringed. "I mean you can come if you want. I don't want you to think you're not welcome!"

"That's okay, sweetie," Tara said. "You and I don't have to be joined at the hip. I love that we have so many things in common, but it's good for couples to spend time with other people."

"Even if I'm going out with another hot guy?" Willow asked with a grin.

"Even if," Tara said. "Besides, I got my own hot blonde, remember? Dick's taking me to a frat party even though he said I won't like it."

"Then why is he taking you?" Willow asked.

"He just wants me to meet some of his brothers," Tara said. "I think it's kind of sweet."

"It is," Willow said. "It's kind of hard to picture the ass he is with Veronica Mars, isn't it? Mac told me she wasn't angry without cause. After Lilly Kane died and her father investigated the Kane family, Logan had the entire school turn against her—Dick was the cruelest."

"Veronica forgave Logan, though, so I'm not sure why she's so angry still with Dick," Tara said, frowning. "Dick is very loyal, and he's not very deep. He told me that when Duncan broke up with Veronica and wouldn't talk about it, he figured that she must've really hurt him. Then when Lilly died and Veronica sided with her dad, Logan was pretty torn up because she was Lilly's best friend, and the four of them—Duncan, Lilly, her, and Logan—had done everything together."

"I admire Veronica. She stood up to basically an entire group of Cordettes and didn't just take their crap—she fought back," Willow said. "Mac said she got even a lot even."

"Do you know why Logan and Veronica broke up?" Tara asked.

"Mac said they were having problems and broke up, and then got back together. Then Veronica found out he slept with the girl Veronica hated most in the world when they were broken up—she just couldn't get past it," Willow said.

"Dick said Veronica broke Logan, and he is very happy that he is dating Buffy even if she is dumb enough to also date Weevil at the same time," Tara said with a grin.

Willow giggled. "I don't think Logan's going to win Buffy, though," she said.

"You don't? Don't straight girls like the bad boys with the broken hearts?" Tara asked with a smirk.

"Well, Buffy had an all-consuming love with Angel, and she recognizes it when she sees it," Willow said. "If Logan has that type of love for Veronica, she won't fall for him. Plus, Xander told me that Weevil knew about the supernatural, and he knew Sunnydale was a hellmouth 'cause he had a cousin that lives there."

"Really?" Tara said.

There was a knock on their door. "Talk later," Willow said as she opened the door, greeting Logan.

"You two have fun," Tara said.

Willow kissed her goodbye, and Logan said, "I'll try not to ruin her for you."

"Like you could," Tara said.

Dick arrived as they stepped in the hall. Willow greeted him. "Have fun with my girl, but you better not letting any of your frat boys put their grubby hands on her!" she said.

"Don't worry," Dick said, grinning. "I'll make sure my hands are the only ones on her."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Don't make me turn you into a rat," she said.

Dick's eyes got wide. "You can do that?" he asked.

"Why don't you ask Tara to show you my sophomore yearbook? You can see what our rat Amy used to look like," Willow said with a smirk before she grabbed Logan's hand and left.

Dick looked at the cage on top of the dresser where Amy the rat was happily spinning on her wheel in horror, and Tara couldn't help but laugh.

Logan snickered as the got into the elevator. "That was so mean," he said.

"I know, but did you see his face?" Willow said with a giggle.

"You aren't nearly as nice and sweet as you seem," Logan said, shaking his head in bemusement.

"You know I'd never turn him into a rat!" Willow assured him.

"Yes, Willow, I know," Logan said, smiling. The summer had been surprisingly fun since he had met the girls. It was nice to meet people who had no expectations of him. They didn't keep up with celebrity gossip—much to his shock and pleasure. In fact, their friend Xander was the only one who had heard of his father as Willow's parents were psychologists, who thought movies were frivolous and intellectually a waste of time. His tragedies didn't turn them off either as they had their own tragedies. He didn't know much yet about Sunnydale, but he knew that a lot of people had died there. Dick had said their high school had even blown up during their graduation ceremony, killing several people due to a gas leak.

Willow chatted easily with Logan, making him laugh a lot. She was so different from Trina that it was disconcerting at times, but it was also nice. As they looked at the menu, she told him things she liked.

"I'm allergic to shellfish," he told her.

"That sucks," she said. "I'm not allergic to anything. I have frog fear, though."

Logan grinned. "Seriously?" he asked.

She blushed. "Yea," she said. "This mean girl in school, Harmony, put one down the back of my shirt when I in second grade. I screamed and caused a big scene. Then her friend Cordelia did it the next day. My best guy friends had to cut off grab Harmony and cut off one of her ponytails to get them to leave me alone."

"Xander did that?" Logan asked.

"Actually, it was Jesse," Willow said. "Xander held her. Then Cordelia came and kicked him between the legs."

Logan laughed. "Man, I didn't know second graders were so vicious!"

"Sunnydale was tough," she said.

"Where's Jesse going to school?" Logan asked.

Willow looked sad, and Logan realized that something probably happened to the guy. "He didn't make it," she said.

"He died during your graduation?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, he died the week Buffy moved to Sunnydale actually," Willow said. "We were taken by this twisted gang that hurt a lot of people in town. Buffy managed to save me and Xander, but she didn't get to Jesse in time. They killed him."

"God, Willow. I'm so sorry," he said, reaching across the table to grab her hand.

"It's okay," Willow said. "It's been a few years."

"That's the same time that we lost Lilly," he said.

"Maybe, we should talk about something more cheerful," Willow said. "Tell me about Trina. What's she like?"

"Spoiled. Self-absorbed. Typical 09er," he said with a shrug.

"Really?" Willow said. "That's kind of crappy. How come you're not like that?"

"I don't know," he said. "I am sometimes. What about you? What are your adopted parents like?"

"They're nice," Willow said. "They're Jewish, so I was raised Jewish. They didn't send me to Hebrew school, though, which I might've liked 'cause I kind of like learning dead languages. I know some Latin and Sumerian."

"That's impressive. I just know a bit of Spanish," Logan said.

"What was it like growing up as an only child? Trina got all the positive attention from my dad while I normally just got the shit beat out of me," Logan said.

"Really? That's horrible," Willow said.

"You honestly don't know any of this? My life has been in the tabloids for the past few years—I don't really have any secrets," he said with a bitter edge.

"Surviving Sunnydale required all of our energy," she said. "Then school, so, no, I never kept up with celebrity gossip. My parents would've killed me if they saw me reading a gossip magazine."

Logan just grinned and looked at her in bemusement. "I didn't know people like you existed," he admitted.

"You don't think I'm a big nerd?" she asked.

"Well, yea, but I'm starting to love nerds," he said, winking at her.

"To answer your original question, being an only child was kind of lonely," she said. "My parents started traveling a lot when I was twelve, so I was left alone more often than not."

Logan frowned. That didn't seem right at all. "That sounds—I'm not sure. It could be good or it bad."

"It was okay," she said. "It was a bit lonely, but I had my boys."

"No female friends?" Logan asked.

Willow shook her head. "Not really. Not close friends. Not until Buffy," she said. "Buffy changed my life. Have you ever had a friend like that?"

Logan nodded. "Yea," he said. "Veronica did. She was a friend to me when my mom died even though I'd been such an ass to her after Lilly's death. But I was so angry, and we broke up. Then she went back to Duncan, which made me feel like I was an aberration. But then we got back together, and I felt like things were perfect."

"What happened?" Willow asked.

"She just seemed to find fault with me all the time," he said. "I was just not quite good enough. I loved her more than anything, and I just knew she was just waiting for me to screw up. So I broke up with her. We were broken up for a few weeks—all the way through Christmas break last year. Then she showed up one day and basically threw herself at me—I could never resist her. I was so happy to be back with her, but she couldn't get passed a one night stand I had when we were broken up.

"I'm sorry," Willow said. "I'm not immune to heartbreak. My first love was a guy named Oz—he was the best. The first guy to ever notice me. He was a year older, and he was in a band. Everyone loved him, but he loved me." She smiled thinking about Oz.

"Dick told me you dated a guy, but I wasn't sure I believed him," Logan said. "You and Tara seem so perfect together."

"You would've probably said the same thing if you saw me with Oz," she said, smiling. "But he left me, and I was devastated. Nothing ever hurt so bad. I never thought I'd be whole again, and then I fell in love with Tara. It was like a piece of me that had been missing slid into place. Oz was such a stoic guy—he was a man of very few words. I hardly ever knew what he was thinking, but with Tara, it's like she just sees inside my soul. You know?"

Logan smiled. "No, I can't say that I do, but maybe someday I will," he said.

"You will," she told him.

Logan wondered if Buffy would be the girl for him or if Veronica would ever give him another chance? Did he want her to?

"I gotta hand it to you Echolls. You really get around."

Logan looked up and saw Gorya Sorkin a few feet away. "I thought something smelled funny," he said, grimacing. "What do you want, Gorya? Didn't your cousin tell you about the beating he and his companions got the last time he messed with me?"

"Yea, I couldn't believe it," Gorya said. "He said you had a new blonde chick that wasn't Veronica Mars help fight your battles now, but this isn't a blonde." He gave Willow a hard look, trying to place her.

"This is not that girl, so why don't you go away?" Logan suggested.

Gorya gave him a smirk and said, "I'll be seeing you."

"Can't wait!" Logan said.

"Who was that?" Willow said.

"Remember those guys Buffy and I got into a fight with at the beach?" he reminded her, and she nodded. "He's the original guy I beat up in May when he posted a sex video of Veronica online. He's a big baby, who can't take a beating or fight his own battles."

Willow grinned. "Those guys on the beach were friends of his, right?

Logan nodded. "Cousins," he said.

"We better not tell Buffy about this," Willow said. "She always itching for a fight."

Logan laughed. "She's something else," he said.

He had no idea. When they finished dinner and went out to his car, he paused.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"That bastard!" Logan said angrily.

"What?" she asked, confused.

He pointed out his tire. "My tire is flat, and I would bet $100 that Gorya sliced it," he said.

Willow had no experience will this kind of villainy as she was used to soulless demons who just tried to rip her throat out. It was almost quaint.

However, Logan seemed pretty angry.

"It's just a tire, Logan," she said, touching his arm. "Do you have Triple A? Or do you want to change the tire yourself? I can call Xander. He knows how to do that kind of thing."

Logan couldn't help but smile. "No, you don't need to call Xander. I'll do what all wealthy people do—call someone," he said.

Willow laughed while he pulled out his phone to make a call. A Mustang convertible drove up. It was Gorya. "Car trouble?" he asked with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Some asshole sliced my tire," Logan said. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Well, you have so many admirers, so who knows?" Gorya said. Then he laughed and sped away, getting stopped by the red light.

Willow looked up and saw two birds on a nearby pole.

Logan started to say something to her and noticed that her eyes were focused on something, and he looked up. When he saw two birds fly over and stop above Gorya's car, he was puzzled. Then he heard Gorya's shout and saw Willow grin in amusement.

"Did those birds just shit on his head?" Logan asked in awe.

"Looks like," she said with a giggle.

"Did you have anything to do with that?" he asked.

She gave him a puzzled look. "How could I make two birds crap on someone?" she asked.

"Well, aren't you a witch?" he asked with a teasing grin.

"Magic isn't real, Logan. Don't you know that?" she said, giving him a secret smile.

Logan laughed. "Okay, Sabrina. You almost had me," he said.

"Karma's real, though," she said. "Sometimes, it falls our way."

"It's about time," Logan said. "But I'm so telling Dick that you made two birds shit on his head!"

Willow giggled, picturing Dick's face. "He will so believe you," she said.

Logan grinned. "I know he will," he said. Dick already half believed that the girls had magic powers.

Wouldn't that be something? What would he do with magic powers? The thought was amusing.

*****Chapter End*****