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 for all the awesome feed back. Thanks to my muses, lex and forcedmovement. Italics are VMVO and feedback is muchly appreciated. Also, many lines of dialogue were double checked with the VM transcripts at www twiztv com.
Veronica lay on her bed, her head phones on to drown out the sounds of her dad arguing with Alicia. Guilt ran through her.
I never should've asked Wallace to to deliver that plant.
She sighed, shifting on her bed, and knocking her bag to the floor. As she leaned down to pick it up, she spotted something on the floor, just barely peeking out from under her bed. Reaching for the item, she pulled it out and just stared at it.
The bear's expression was happy, and she felt as if it were mocking her. She ran her hands over the soft fuzz, tracing the letters on the t-shirt with her finger tip.
I wuv you bear-y much.
Veronica grabbed her cell phone, flipping it open. She started to dial Logan's number, her finger hesitating over the last digit. She sighed again, flipping the phone shut and slipping it into her bag.
Out of sight, out of mind.
She got comfortable on her bed, knocking her bear to the floor. Moments later, a knock sounded on her door, and her father stepped into her room. She hastily pulled off her head phones.
"Duncan's ok, he's back home." Keith said, sitting next to her on the bed. "His parents are gonna keep him home a few days, let him rest."
Good. That gives me time to figure out what to tell him when he asks me how the hell I could date his best friend and behind his back to boot.
"I'm so sorry, Dad." Veronica apologized, switching the topic to Wallace.
"Stop, it's ok." Keith reassured her.
"It's my fault." Veronica insisted. "I'm the one who gave Wallace the bugged plant."
"Veronica." Her father paused. "Did you make some sort of deal with Celeste Kane I don't know about?" He asked, switching the topic back to Duncan.
"I'd told her I'd look for Duncan if she released Weevil." She slowly admitted, not meeting her father's gaze.
"Well, she said she wouldn't pay the reward. She said that we're even now." Keith told her. Veronica stared up at him then. "It's ridiculous of course. They'll pay. She's just enjoying the moment."
"She's a witch." Veronica replied, her tone spiteful.
"Veronica..." Keith trailed off. "What if you got another job? Selling clothes or something?"
"What?" Veronica was in shock.
"I just can't help but think..." Keith started. "That your life would be better off if you weren't working for me." Veronica sat up, incredulous.
"Are you kidding?" She asked him. "You're the best father in the world. I'm happy, healthy, good grades, all my own teeth..." She ground her teeth together for effect. "...fancy shoes." She leaned back and lifted a leg to point to her boots. "I never would have gotten through this past year if it wasn't for you." Veronica quietly insisted.
"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have to." Keith told her, solemn. He leaned towards her and planted a kiss on her forehead. Getting up to leave, he stumbled on the bear, which was now in his path. He picked it up and handed it to her. "You knocked this off." She took the bear silently, watching as her father left her room.
She promised herself she wouldn't call him.
Veronica waited, barely breathing as Logan approached her.
"I got your message." He said by way of greeting.
"I wasn't sure you'd even talk to me after yesterday." She bit her lip.
"Don't you get it,Veronica?" Logan asked. "I want to help."
"I know." She was quiet. "but most of the people I need to talk to won't talk about this if you're there, you have to know that." He sighed.
"Yeah." He finally conceded, shuffling his feet. She gave him a small smile.
"I do need a favor." Veronica replied, earning herself a smile.
"Anything." Logan promised.
"You think you can get me Dick's new surfboard by the end of school today?" Veronica wanted to know. Logan's smile turned into a grin.
"It'll be my pleasure." He told her. She gave him a hesitant smile back, spotting Casey walking towards the school over his shoulder.
"Thanks." She said, sincere. "I see someone I have go interrogate." Veronica gestured.
"Go." He gestured with his hands. "Annoy. Do your worst." He watched as she hurried off across the lot.
Casey's memories of Shelly Pomroy's party echoed in her head as she scrubbed the inside of her locker with paper towels and cleaner. She was so into her scrubbing she almost didn't see Wallace walk by, and open his locker with a glance at her mess.
"See, this is why I need to start keeping my walki-talkies in my car." She said to her friend, holding out the nearly black paper towel. "Muck"
"Really? The dirt?" He replied. "See, I find I hardly need my walkie-talkies at school at all. But that's me"
"Wallace." She was apologetic. "I'm sorry I had you bug Kane Sofware. I honestly thought no one would find out and if I knew that your mom would get in trouble..." Wallace held up a hand to stop her rambling apology.
"Stop!" He exclaimed. "I'm not stupid. I knew I wasn't just delivering a plant. I could've said no." Wallace opened his locker. "You know, I do these things for you and I never ask you why."
"I know." She replied quietly.
"You know why?" He asked. She shook her head. "Because I know you would never tell me."
"I'd do the same for you." Veronica promised. Wallace sighed.
"You want to tell me why you and Logan broke up?" He went on. She bit her lip.
"It's a long story." She said softly. Wallace nodded, clearly upset.
"Thanks." He told her. "Now that I have all the details, I don't feel like such a chump." He walked away as Logan approached, stopping before her.
"I got the item you requested." He announced quietly. She couldn't help but grin at how proud he seemed.
"Wanna help me put the fear of God in someone?" Veronica wanted to know, hearing Sean's obnoxious voice from a nearby classroom.
"I thought you'd never ask." Logan agreed.
Veronica hurried into the class room, spotted Sean, grabbed a chair and swung it around so she could sit on it backwards, while Logan pretty much pushed the guy Sean had been talking to out of the way.
"What?" Sean snapped.
"I'm just thinking of all the ways I could destroy you." Veronica snarked, moving so that they were nose to nose.
"Well, you sitting there grinning is kinda torturous." Sean replied.
"So, Shelly Pomroy and I were thinking of getting together later for a little girl-on-girl, you wanna come with?" Veronica spat out, angry. Logan choked on his own spit, coughing. Sean paled visibly. "Wow. You know, when you're about to soil yourself, you get a little twitch right in your eye." Veronica pointed to it.
"I have no idea what you're your talking about." Sean denied.
"Sure you do." Logan glared, and Sean swallowed heavily.
"And unless you want me to tell one of my favorite local deputies that you were the one with GHB the night of Shelly's party..." She let that hang there for a moment. Sean grinned.
"Logan had some too, you know." He informed her. Logan crossed his arms over his chest. Both were surprised when Veronica laughed.
"You really aren't the sharpest crayon in the box, are you?" She accused. "I know you were feeding me drinks."
"Look, I wasn't feeding you drinks." Sean replied. "It was Dick. He's the one you should be talking to."
Veronica couldn't meet Logan's eyes as Sean went on to describe what had happened at Shelly's that night. She kept them firmly on Sean, lest she catch him in a lie. It was probably a good thing she didn't look at Logan, because it was his expression that had Sean practically cowering in his chair by the time he was done explaining.
"You're issues are with Dick and Beaver, not me." He insisted. "They were horrible to you."
"Well, I'm just sorry you had to witness it." Veronica was sarcastic. "Must have been awful for you." Sean shrugged. Veronica got up, her legs a little shaky.
"Let's go, Logan." She said, heading for the door.
"One second." He replied. He drew back his fist and punched Sean in the jaw. "I feel better." Logan told her as they walked out.
Veronica smiled cheerily at Dick as he walked up to her car. The crowd that had gathered whispered frantically, dreaming up wild scenarios about what was taking place.
"Hiya, Dick." Veronica greeted. "How's it going?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Dick snapped.
"Um..." She pretended to think. "Trying to get your attention." Dick moved in like he was going to get his board out from under the front wheel of her car. She revved the engine, stopping him in his tracks.
"Tsk, tsk, Dick." The blonde boy stared at Logan as he leaned against the passenger door. "Haven't you heard about women scorned?" Veronica grinned at Dick sunnily.
"I got a couple of questions for you." She said.
"You two are fricken' nuts, you know that?" Dick insulted.
"Insulting me now seems like a good plan how?" Veronica replied.
"What do you want?" Dick conceded.
"Answers." Veronica told him. "...and quickly. Did you give me GHB the night of Shelly's party?"
"What?" Dick questioned. "No. I'm not even the one who had it." She revved the engine again, and he continued. " I mean, I got some, but I didn't give any to you. I swear on my life."
"See, when you say that, it makes me hope you're lying." She told him. "I know you brought me to the guest room for Beaver."
As Dick launched into his explanation of that night, interrupted only by Veronica revving the engjne whenever she thought he was lying, she tried not to register that Logan was standing right there, listening. When Dick got to the part about finding her alone with Beaver in the guest room, she had to interrupt.
"Are you freaking kidding me? How about reality, Dick." She spat out.
"What?" Dick replied, trying to sound innocent. "I'm just telling you what I saw. Don't go blaming me because you got all wasted and slutty."
Veronica shared a look with Logan, who stepped back from the car with a smirk. She slipped the car into drive, slammed on the gas, and totally destroyed Dick's surfboard as he moved to jump out of the way.
"Oops." She looked at Dick, barely containing a laugh. "Slipped."
She shut off her car, and got out. Logan walked around and stood next to her.
"So, what now?"