Summary: Begins with the missing scene from 1x19, just after LoVe's kiss, and before she breaks up with Leo. AU from there.
A/N: Thanks to my muses, lex and forcedmovement. Italics are VMVO and feedback is muchly appreciated. Also, we've now moved onto 1.20, in case you can't tell. Also, many lines of dialogue were double checked with the VM transcripts at www twiztv com
Veronica looked up from where she was typing at her desk to stare at Logan, who was lounging on the couch with his novel for English Lit. She shook her head as thoughts of earlier crossed her mind.
Mmm...Logan kissage.
He glanced up at her and caught her staring. She blushed, still not used to the way he made her feel whenever she met his gaze. It was kind of weird, really.
First we were friends, then we were enemies, now we're...
Logan set down his book and moved like he was going to stand up.
"Oh no." Veronica shook a finger at him. "You stay over there." She warned. He smiled innocently. "One of us has a history paper due tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure it's me."
"Really, Veronica, you wound me." He replied, clutching his chest. "How could you think for a second that I'd distract from something as important as your history paper?" Logan smirked as she stood up.
"Um, because I know you?" She said, scooting her chair back as he moved closer.
"Yeah, and because I know you, I'm pretty sure you aren't working on your history paper." He turned her computer around so that he could see the monitor. "Just as I thought." He grinned knowingly as he started down at her computer, the screen filled with a private eye website and a partially finished email to Wallace about said history paper. "Which means I wouldn't be distracting you from anything." Logan continued, moving cat like as he walked around the desk. Veronica stood up abruptly, backing away from him playfully.
"I thought I told you to stay over there." She teased.
"You did." He replied, brushing his fingers lightly along her desk as he walked behind it. She backed into the filing cabinet. "I'm not listening." He leaned against the filing cabinet with an arm on either side of her head, and moved in for a kiss. She evaded him by ducking under his arms, grateful for the first time in her life that she was short.
"What if my dad gets back early?" She pointed out. "Do you really want to explain this...thing.." She gestured between them. "To him? He carries a gun, you know." Logan went still.
"Point taken." He agreed, lowering his arms. She relaxed, and that was when he pounced, pulling her against him and kissing her passionately. They were interrupted by a throat clearing.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I can come back." Carmen said, as Logan and Veronica broke apart.
"No, Carmen, it's fine." Veronica reassured the girl, slapping Logan on the arm. He moved back over to the couch and sat down, silently picking up his book. Veronica sat back down in her chair and gestured for Carmen to take a chair on the other side of the desk.
"So, did it work?" Carmen asked as Veronica turned her computer back around.
"Success." She told her, opening her desk drawer and pulling Tad's cell phone out.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you." Carmen nearly shook with relief. Her voice dropped to whisper as she continued. "You didn't watch it, did you?" Veronica shook her head no, and Carmen relaxed with a smile. "You saved my life, Veronica." Carmen thanked her again.
"Look, Carmen, just because we got the phone, doesn't mean the video's dead. You know it's impossible to destroy a digital file with any kind of certainty." Veronica told her.
"Tad doesn't really strike me as a think ahead kind of guy." Logan chimed in, from his seat on the couch. Carmen gave a little chuckle.
"He's not." She agreed. Carmen stared down Tad's phone where is lay on the desk in front of her. She grabbed the statue of Justice sitting on Veronica's desk, smashing the phone to pieces. "That felt good."
"Justice is served." Veronica joked. Her computer chose that moment to beep, and she looked at the screen in surprise. "It's a message from Top Gun." She said.
"That's Tad." Carmen says, coming around to read the screen. The file loaded, and the sound of giggling filled the room as the girls watched in horror. Veronica stoped the video with a glance at Logan, who was staring at them. Carmen had tears in her eyes. "God, Veronica, what am I going to do?"
"Calm down, ok?" Veronica put a hand on Carmen's shoulder. "For now...just go along with whatever he says. I'll figure out a plan tonight... and then we'll take him down." Carmen nods and heads for the door.
"I guess I'll go home and call him." Carmen said, sounding lost. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." She told them, and then left the office. Veronica sighed.
"Need any help?" Logan offered, pulling her into hug.
"Got any ideas for a plan?" She asked him, sounding kinda desperate. He smirked.
"You ever seen 'War Games?'"
Veronica walked along outside of school, talking to Mac.
"So the thing is, figuring out if any of the passports were sold on these auction sites and shipped anywhere near Neptune." Veronica told her friend.
"Man, Veronica. Have you ever asked for anything normal?" Mac asked.
"What fun would that be?" Veronica replied, catching sight of Logan making his way towards them and waving. The two girls watched as he walked their way.
"I still can't believe that you're dating Logan Echolls." Mac nearly squealed.
Sometimes I don't believe it either.
"Good morning." Logan greeted her, kissing her on the cheek.
"Hello." She replied, and Mac let out a sigh. "Mac, this is Logan. Logan, Mac." Veronica introduced them. Logan nodded hello, while Mac stared him, kinda star struck. Veronica elbowed her.
"Oh, um, hi." Mac stammered. "I'll get back to you on the passports." She said to Veronica.
"Thanks a zillion, Mac." Veronica replied, watching as her friend hurried away. "So, what's up?" She asked Logan.
"Nothing much, other than my car is still acting up." He answered, slinging an arm around her as they paused in the courtyard, Veronica staring at Carmen wrapped in Tad's arms.
So, Carmen's back with Tad or he shows that video to the whole school.
Weevil, Felix and a few other bikers pass by Veronica and Logan with a sneer.
"Now that's a shame." Weevil said, neighborhood girl like that, wasting her assets on a white boy." Weevil leveled a look at Veronica as he said that, clearing implying that she too was wasting her assets.
"Isn't that the chick you had a crush on in eighth grade? " Felix asked Weevil. "Too bad you ain't rich. And white." He went on. "Cause damn, she is fine." Logan gave the passing bikers a dark look, but Veronica pulled on his arm and they moved farther into the courtyard and sat down on the one of benches. Veronica spotted the sign advertising for the prom, and wondered idly if Logan would ask her to go. The scene unfolding in front of her took her mind off of that thought.
"Get marooned. Great, another island centric prom theme. Another year of double digit IQ jocks laughing at their own jokes about getting laid as freshman hula girls put flowers around their necks." Seth gestured angrily to the sign stretched across the courtyard.
"I don't see anybody forcing you to buy tickets, queer-bait." Tad insulted Seth.
"I'm sorry, am I giving away your best material?" Seth asked, moving towards Tad.
"Isn't the gay prom next Friday in the Dog Beach men's room?" Tad's friend asked, causing Seth to flush and slap Tad on the arm.
"So, I guess I'll see you there, Sailor." Seth said to Tad.
"What'd you just say to me, Boy George?" Tad demanded. Veronica cringed as she watched.
Guess I'm not the only one who's been harassed since last year.
"Come on, the Navy?" Seth asked, sound incredulous. "'Cover my back, Wingman! The rear admiral wants us to pound away with the ten inch gun!" Seth joked. Logan chuckled, and Veronica elbowed him in the stomach before they ended up in the middle of the confrontation. "Isn't joining the Navy gay enough to get you thrown out of the Navy?"
"The prom is supposed to be for traditional couples only, man." Tad replied, clearly unable to think of anything else to say.
"Oh, come on." Tad's friend said. "What's more traditional than fairies and fat chicks?"
Now why would Carmen want to dump such a charmer? Tad's going down.
A teacher came along and separated Seth and Tad and sent them on their way. Logan and Veronica stood up as the bell rang and began walking to their first classes.
"Hey, are we going to prom?" Logan asked, trying to be subtle.
"Is this your round about way of asking me if I'll go with you?" Veronica teased him.
"And why would I do a thing like that?" He replied playfully.
Cause the last dance we went to together, Lilly was still alive.
"I'm onto your master plan." She told him, shaking off the memories for the moment. "I'll tell you what." Veronica said. "I'll go with you, if you ask me properly."
"Deal." He agreed, kissing her on the cheek, and starting to walk away.
"Well, aren't you going to ask me?" She demanded. He smirked at her before disappearing into the crowd of students filling the hall. Veronica shook her head and went inside her classroom.
The yellow Xterra pulled up into Weevil's uncle's yard. Logan got out, as Veronica walked up beside him.
"Explain to me again how I let you talk me into this?": Logan asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the SUV. Weevil spotted them, and head their way.
"Shh." Veronica shushed him, as Weevil came to a stop in front of her.
"What are you doin' here?" Weevil asked her, making sure he was loud enough so that Logan could hear him. "Miss me?"
"Logan is having some alternator trouble." Veronica replied, ignoring his remark. :
"And I'm supposed to care...why?" Weevil said, sneering at Logan over her shoulder.
"I told you this was a bad idea, Veronica." Logan spoke up from behind her. "Paco here isn't going to be any help." Veronica shot him a dark look over her shoulder.
"Look, could you fix it as a favor to me?" She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly and giving him a smile. Weevil groaned.
"Yeah, all right, but you better be with him when he picks it up." Weevil agreed. Weevil grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. Logan followed, just close enough so that he could hear. "Word is the Kanes are offering a nice little reward to find Duncan."
"You pick up some leads when you were breaking into the Kane house or were you just covering your tracks?" She replied. "You used me."
"Yeah, well. We're always owing each other favors, aren't we?" Weevil responded. "Don't give me that look." He told her when she glared at him. He raised his voice so that Logan could hear him clearly. "If you really thought I'd hurt Lilly, you'd have a homing device on my ass already." Veronica let her glare fade, glancing at Logan who looked plenty angry.
Oook, time to wrap this up.
"I just heard something that might be worth, say, ten percent of your finder's fee." Weevil went on.
"Ten percent? Depends on what that something is." Veronica answered.
"How about a certain spoiled white boy bought a crapped out Impala from my uncle's friend a few weeks back." Weevil replied.
"Eight percent if it pans out." Veronica offered. Weevil stared at her for a moment. "And you fix the alternator the right way, the first time."
"Deal." He finally said. Weevil disappeared into the shop after filling her in and Veronica and Logan headed over to where her LeBaron was parked, just outside of the shop yard. She pulled out her phone and dialed her dad as they walked.
"Hey, Dad, you got a pen?" She asked, pausing while her father grabbed one. "A'69 Impala." Veronica told him once he was ready. "California license plate 6GU C788. " They reached her car, and she wedged the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she opened her car door and got in. Logan didn't bother opening her door, he just used it as leverage to jump over it and inside. She glared at him and he gave her an endearing smile. "He bought it for eight hundred cash a couple of weeks back." She paused again. "Right. Bye." She turned to see Logan smirking at her.
"It's always business with you." He teased, kissing her on the cheek. "Now drive, Jeeves."
"Where to, Miss Daisy?" Veronica drawled.
"Le Chateau De Echolls" Logan replied in a bad French accent. Veronica started the car with a laugh, and they drove off down the highway.