Duncan was bored out of his skull, and when he got bored, trouble seemed to find him. He had a few choices, and he hated all of them. If he called a cab, then he'd have to explain his actions to his parents. Calling them for a ride was also out. That left waiting in this grungy hotel room with nothing but time on his hands. Any way you sliced it, it all sucked.

He flopped on the bed and ordered Chinese take-out from the closest dive. His next executive decision was charging a few porn flicks to his credit card. The food arrived and he turned on Debbie Does Dallas. Ten minutes of listening to bad music and cardboard acting made him realize that the actors looked even more bored than he was. With a sigh, he shut off the TV and chewed on his egg roll while the couple next door banged against the wall and provided a better soundtrack than any stupid X-rated film.

Once the food was gone, he grabbed Logan's Game Boy and burned out a few brain cells with Tomb Raider. "How can he stand this crap?" Duncan wondered, throwing down the console and staring over at Logan's laptop. An idea started to germinate and take root and a few minutes later, he got up the nerve to boot up his friend's PC. Maybe some mindless surfing could make the time go by faster.

There was no password screen and it booted straight to Logan's desktop. He stared at the wallpaper for a few seconds and swallowed hard at the sight of Veronica's face. "What the hell am I doing?" he muttered, shoving the laptop aside and putting his head in his hands. "Since when do I snoop into Logan's business?"

Duncan's eyes returned to the screen where her picture beckoned to him. I love you, Veronica. Why can't you see that? You don't belong with someone like Logan. He'll poison you like he's ruined me. Everything he touches is broken like he is. His resolve hardened as he opened up Firefox and started parsing through Logan's bookmarks. The Smoking Gun was at the top of the list, followed by a maze of entertainment and multimedia sites. He scrolled to the very bottom and that's when he saw it.

Veronica's Journal

"What the fuck?" Duncan selected the URL and a neatly designed site with pink flourishes popped up. He started reading the latest entry and felt his brain freeze on the words last night and want to believe in love again and help me find the way.

God, they were together last night. All that bullshit about trust and betrayal had been Logan blowing smoke up his ass. When he'd seen Logan, he'd been swinging a gym bag. It was hardly the kind of thing you needed for talking, but it was perfect for an overnight stay. Duncan wasn't sure where Logan had stashed his fugly X-Terra, but he'd probably hidden it to foil any nosy journalists. "Sorry, buddy, but they already know where you are." With an angry sigh, he turned off the PC and sat back with his hands laced behind his head. "What the fuck am I supposed to do about this?"

The lady next door yelled out someone's name and Duncan snarled, "Who the hell asked you?" He felt only slightly guilty about snooping in his friend's files, because Logan had always done shit like that. He and Veronica might be a match made in hell, but they were two peas in a pod. Oh, he could never say that to their faces, but it was true. Was that how it happened? Was that why they found their way to each other? Was this something new or had it been going on for a long time? Duncan's thoughts returned to the night of Homecoming when Lilly had asked Logan what he first thought of Veronica and Logan had muttered something about her being hot. Duncan had laughed it off, but he remembered Logan's nervous smile and now knew that something had always been there. "Shit, how did I miss this?"

That was easy. He'd been blindsided by his love for Veronica, so saturated by her that he felt sick when she was away from him. She had filled his every thought and was his night and his day. As far as he'd been concerned, the sun rose and set on Veronica Mars. Even now, with the space of more than a year, his feelings hadn't changed. With the barrier of incest removed, he'd hoped to move forward with her, but Logan was still in the way.

Duncan got up from the desk and noticed one of Logan's doodle pads sticking out of his satchel. He started to reach for it and stopped, but his guilty conscience only slowed him down for a few seconds. His fingers closed over the notebook and pulled it out, glancing down at the familiar Lilly scrolls and frowning when he saw Veronica's name intertwined with flowers and other artsy fartsy stuff. He opened the notebook and a piece of paper slid out. Duncan pushed it aside and started flipping through the pages. Most were early pictures of Lilly, followed by sketches of Duncan and Veronica and some of Logan's other friends. Then the drawings started focusing exclusively on Veronica. Some were taken from the distance of a few aisles in the classroom and others were far more intimate. When he got to the very last page, he nearly tore the notebook in half when the picture pounded into his head and imprinted itself on his brain. It was a rather detailed sketch of Veronica lying on her side, the sheet falling away from her naked body as she slept. "Omifuckinggod," he moaned, clutching the notebook and hating the hot tears that started burning his eyes.

He wiped the moisture away with furious fingers and shoved the notebook back where he found it. As his eyes resumed focusing, he remembered the piece of paper and picked it up from the desk. Curiosity once again got the better of him and he unfolded it, knowing that he wouldn't like the contents. Duncan instantly recognized her writing and his vision started to swim as he tore through it, his mouth opening at the fact that she'd spilled their little incest secret. When he got to the end and somehow managed to put the paper back without tearing it into a zillion pieces, he stumbled away from the chair and fell facedown onto the bed. A shudder radiated through his body and telegraphed down his nerve endings, sending him into one of his blind rages. Fists pounded the bedspread and flailing feet kicked the edge of the bed as the raving frenzy took over, and he felt himself lifted away from the scene. Duncan looked down on himself for a moment and wondered if he was having one of those seizures, but when he came slamming back into his body, he remembered every last painful detail. But worse than that, he suddenly realized that the entire epilepsy thing was yet another one of his mother's lies. Because now that he was completely free of medication, his memory had returned to its former sharpness. Too bad the people around him still thought he walked around in a perpetual fog. They continued to underestimate and overlook him. With a grim smile, he sat up and knew that one way or another, he'd make them all pay.

It's do or die time, pal. If you blow this, then you probably won't get another chance.

Logan pulled back from her kiss and touched her face with the pad of his thumb. "Normal is a lucky guy," he said with forced lightness

"So is Abby." Her fingers tangled in his hair as she kissed his jaw.

His breath hissed out in a ragged stream. "Veronica, I…I suck at this. I know what I want to say, but I can't seem to say it without making an ass of myself."

"I know what you mean. Why do you think I keep a journal?"

"About that…" Logan started, quickly cut off by her torrent of words.

"You obviously read my last entry, or you wouldn't be here. What changed your mind?"

God, there were a million answers to that question. "I want to make things right with you. I can't repair the damage that my father has done, but I'm hoping…we can get past it and move forward. Do you think that's possible?"

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "It's not only possible, it's already happening."

Logan kissed her temple and hugged her tiny frame against him. They swayed like a drunken couple in a gale force wind and staggered back against a picnic table. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, I really do." Veronica rubbed her face against his cheek and scampered into his lap as he sat down.

He sighed in contentment as she settled against him and decided that as much as he wanted her right now, it was more important that they talked. "Your letter made a lot of sense."

Her mouth smiled against his neck. "Never thought I'd see the day when you agreed with me."

Logan chuckled. "Yeah, well, all that stuff about us not being friends got me thinking. You're right. I've been a complete asshole for the past year. You deal with things by running away; I deal by pushing people to the limit."

"You're good at it." It wasn't a compliment.

He snorted, "Thanks, Ronnie. And I have to commend you on that ducking and dodging thing."

Her hand tightened on his shoulder. "Seems like you do a little of that yourself."

This was not going the way he wanted. "What'd you expect when you threw Duncan in my face? Was I supposed to stand there in the shower with a 180 pound gorilla hanging over me?"

Veronica sat up and stared him down until he lowered his head. "We have to deal with Duncan. You can't will him away like a genie."

Logan raised his eyes. "I know. It's just…my family has caused him so much pain already."

"He's not dumb, Logan. Even if we avoid the issue, he's going to figure it out on his own. Can we really afford a repeat of that night at your house?"

His mouth twisted as unpleasant memories assailed him. "No."

"He's probably waiting for his car. Why don't we go together and see him?" Veronica suggested.

Logan felt another snort work its way through his mouth. "You really know how to kill a mood, blondie. We're still on a date here, and I still expect full payment."

"After that little tirade? I'm not sure you deserve…"

His lips cut her off as he laughed into her mouth, quickly stilling her protests with the tip of his talented tongue. He traced the outline of her lips and kissed her so lightly that she mumbled in protest. With her strong little hands, she grabbed his ears and returned his kiss with the full force of her passion. His eyes flew open when she sucked on his lower lip like a Popsicle and murmured, "You taste so damned good."

He shuddered when her soft lips rambled across his cheeks to his ear. "R-Ronnie, think we should take this offline?"

Veronica stiffened when she saw a sea of people staring at them as they passed. "Good idea."

In your eyes I can see that you're cracking up
In your eyes I can see that you've had enough
and It pains my head

In your eyes I can see that you're cracking up
In your eyes I can see that you fell In love
and It pains my head

Close your Eyes, The Chemical Brothers

Duncan sat there and laughed until he cried. As the tears coursed down his face in salty rivulets, he slapped his knees and giggled in an insane echo of his former best friend. Truth be told, the good part of Logan had died with Lilly. The part that remembered kindness and compassion had flamed out with their shining star. When sanity started to return, he remembered the cell phone in his pocket and laughed again at his stupidity.

Why don't I call him and ask him to bring my car back?

He forget about revenge for the minute it took him to speed dial into Logan's voice mail. With a hoarse voice, he rasped, "Logan, it's Duncan. I'm not sure why you took my car, but I want it back. Call me when you get this message." There was no point in telling him where he was, or give up the element of surprise. With a maniacal laugh, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and wondered if he should take the room apart. Management would blame it on Logan and force him to pay with money he didn't have.

"Too easy," he muttered. "Doesn't deserve easy." Duncan strolled over to Logan's bag and dug around until his fingers closed around the ever-present flask. He opened it up and one sniff told him that Logan had returned to downing straight tequila. The cap went flying as he started gulping Cuervo like a fish, mouth flapping as he chugged it down, only stopping when it burned like a supernova. He puffed out his cheeks and took a few deep breaths as the alcohol hit him like a sledgehammer.

"Much better." The flask fell by the wayside as he upended Logan's bag and laughed as a shower of coins and personal crap fell to the bed. He grabbed Logan's iPod and bounced it off the wall a few times. It still worked after the fourth round, so he moved on to greener pastures. He started yanking open CD and DVD cases and tossing the disks around like Frisbees. That got boring fast, so he ended with a sealed package addressed to Aaron Echolls.

"What the hell is this?" Duncan tore through the outer wrapping and pulled away a layer of bubble wrap. A videotape dropped to the floor with a muffled thud. He spotted a camera case and pulled out Logan's DV recorder. After a few lame attempts, he managed to load the tape and hit Play. When the video started rolling and the flames danced in Logan's eyes, Duncan wasn't sure how to react. Part of him wanted to cheer at Logan's sheer audacity, but another part of him saw a solution to one of his problems. "L-Logan's Last Stand," he stammered, slurring his words as he pocketed the tape and waited for his prey.

Veronica's mouth never left his as they bumped and bounced their way to the parking lot. She tripped over a rock and laughed as Logan caught her, scooping her up in his arms and running at full speed to the Benz. "Last one in is a rotten egg," he crowed, letting her slide to her feet and ducking when she swatted at him. Logan started jogging around the car and turned it into a playful chase. She tackled him from behind and screeched when he started tickling her. His other hand dangled the keys out of reach and howled when she retaliated and tickled him under his arms. The keys dropped purposefully to the ground and peace was restored when she retrieved them.

"You're so going to pay for that little stunt," Logan warned with a half smile as he dusted off his pants and helped Veronica to her feet.

"So, is this a partial payment or the full enchilada?"

"I've always been partial to Mexican…" He bit her shoulder and laughed when she gnawed on his finger. "Hungry, my pet?" Logan patted her on the head like a dog and was rewarded with a sharper bite.

"Why don't you feed me and find out?" Veronica said brazenly.

"What do you have in mind?" He unlocked the car and helped her in.

"The possibilities are endless." Veronica enjoyed flirting with him and saw his ears turn red as he considered her offer.

"Hmm, shall I take milady here, or should we adjourn to the bedroom?" Logan rested his hands on the steering wheel and smiled through his adorable blush.

Veronica looked over her shoulder at the back seat and shivered slightly. She wanted no memory of Duncan when she was with Logan, and this car had been used for more than a few make-out sessions. "Home, Jeeves."

"Keep it up, Mars, and I may have to spank you." He looked sideways and laughed at her expression.

Logan was still chuckling when she suggested, "Might work better with my Dad's handcuffs."

"Ooh, can we throw away the key?"

"We'll be chained for life."

He smiled. "That's the plan, Ronnie."

Her breath caught in her throat at the look in his eyes. "What are you saying?"

They stopped at the light near the interstate and he let his fingers trail down her face. "Don't you know? Haven't I given you enough clues, Nancy?"

Veronica was on shaky emotional ground. "Not yet, Joe," she joked.

The light changed to green and he drove up the ramp. "Well, then, you have my promise that by the end of the night, your mystery will be solved."

Logan convinced her to go on ahead to make sure the coast was clear. While he waited, he checked his messages and frowned at the cryptic message from Duncan. The tone in DK's voice left him with a bad taste in his mouth. Things were going right for a change, and he wasn't about to let his friend form a wedge between him and Veronica. He looked up at her door and wondered what was taking so long. A few minutes passed and she finally poked her head out and gave him a thumbs up.

He took the stairs at a fast clip and rushed over when he saw her leaning weakly against the bathroom door. "You OK?" he asked anxiously.

Veronica wiped her mouth with a tissue. "Yeah, I think so. Must have been those chili dogs," she joked.

Some alien emotion slid across her face and he knew she was skating the truth. "What's the real story, Veronica?"

She sank down onto the toilet seat and hid her face in her hands. "I flushed all my pills this morning."

"That's a good thing, right?" Pills never did his Mom much good and they didn't seem to be helping Veronica.

"Not exactly." Veronica looked over her fingers and he was struck by her pallid color. "Zoloft can be kind of nasty if you go cold turkey. My doctor warned me about the side effects, but I guess I didn't take him seriously."

Logan sank to his knees and stroked her hair. "I'm not sure, but I think Duncan went through something like this. Maybe he can help you."

Her blonde hair lashed his arm as she shook her head. "Trust me. After we talk to him, he'll want nothing to do with me."

"There's always Miss James."

She made an impatient sound. "I only want you."

His throat closed with emotion as he kissed the top of her head. "Need some help getting undressed?" he cracked, grinning when she pushed at his arm with her hand.

"No thanks. I mastered that skill at age 3," she boasted with a tiny smile.

"Hmm, did you also master this skill?" Logan brushed his mouth against hers and smiled when she responded with hungry abandon.

She caught her breath and said, "Sure. I practiced on the dog."

He rolled his eyes and cried, "On the scale of things I didn't need to know…"

Veronica interjected. "And when the dog wasn't available, I experimented on GI Joe."

"What? No Ken doll? I'm shocked, Veronica Mars."

"Ken was a dickless wimp."

Logan laughed. "So GI Joe had all his equipment?"

"No, but you certainly do." Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement as she extended her hands and let him lift her to her feet. As they stood toe-to-toe and gazed at each other, she whispered, "The bedroom's that way, Jeeves."