Part 4

It turned out that they were not late. Classes had been pushed back for thirty minutes to make way for an emergency faculty meeting. It had been announced the day before and Veronica could not believe she had forgotten, injury or not. Logan was throwing her off her priorities but it was hard to mind.

Veronica stuffed her bag inside her locker and took out her books. It was a feat, given that she had only one fully functioning arm. Before she could close her locker, a pale white hand slammed it shut for her. She turned to the grinning girl whose eyebrow was arched at her.

"Lilly, hi," Veronica greeted.

Lilly's eyes fell down to her cast. "Veronica," she groaned. "I thought you already agreed that I'm throwing a pool party! You can't swim with that."

Veronica bit her lower lip and saw Duncan approaching them. He looked down with concern at the injury. He fell to step beside Lilly and took the cast in his hands. Veronica gasped when Duncan lifted her broken arm up. "Ouch. Duncan careful!" she cried out when the throbbing intensified.

"What the hell, DK? Think!" Logan called out. The three looked back towards Logan strolling towards them from the entrance. Veronica could hear him almost growling as he picked up his pace. In surprise, Duncan dropped Veronica's arm. Veronica hissed as the heavy cast fell and she hit the injury on her hip. He searched Veronica's face and recognized the pain in her eyes. He wanted to hit Duncan, but knew he had to calm down because it would be odd for him to beat the crap out of his best friend just because he was clumsy enough to inadvertently hurt the friend of his ex-girlfriend. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed.

"You need to go to the clinic?" he inquired gruffly.

Lilly rolled her eyes and grabbed the books from Veronica's other arm. "Logan, don't be a drama queen. He was only concerned," she pointed out. Lilly dumped the books in her brother's arms. "Carry that, will you? Our first class is in Room 122."

Lilly then proceeded to pull Veronica along with her, whispering and giggling in Veronica's ear. Logan heard some of it. Lilly advised Veronica to work it and get out of a class or two.

"God," Duncan sighed as he maneuvered his arms and the pile of books he now carried, which obviously consisted of his own, Lilly's and now Veronica's books. "Lilly's a bitch," was his complaint.

Logan chuckled. "You're telling me."

Duncan glanced at his best friend. "Oh yeah. Until two months ago you were Lilly's slave, weren't you? Maybe you should carry her books."

Logan raised his eyebrows and held his arms open. "Difference between you and me, Duncan, is I got out of that relationship with your sister. I'm free of having to lug her stuff around."

"Not fair," Duncan mumbled. "I can't break up with Lilly."

Logan laughed. "Hey neither could I. Lilly dumped my ass. Several times."

The two girls walking in front of them heard the comment and looked at Logan and Duncan. Lilly beamed at Logan, flattered. Veronica's eyes on the other hand were searching.

Logan gave her a small, secret smile. He held out his hands at Duncan. "All right," he said. "I don't want people to think you're the servant boy of this little clique. Hand over the books."

"I don't know which ones are Lilly's," Duncan muttered.

Logan grabbed the books on top. "I'll take Veronica's if you don't mind."

Before Duncan could sputter his protest, Logan had flashed his playful smile and glided over in between the girls. He laid his arms on their shoulders while he grasped the books in both hands. "So ladies, having a good gossip fest over here?"

"Logan," Lilly purred, "we were just talking about you." Her hand flew up to stroke his cheek. "I was telling Veronica how much more attractive you've gotten."

"Aha!" With a silly grin and brown eyes glittering with secrets, he turned to Veronica. "And what did you say about that, Mars?"

"That I couldn't really tell," she responded.

"Oh really?"

"Really," Veronica said with a smile.

"And I was telling her that whatever you've been sniffing since we parted ways must be having such a good effect on you," Lilly pointed out. "So really, I did you a favor."

Veronica giggled. Logan shook his head. "First of all, parted ways is a euphemism. You left me stranded and drunk in Dog Beach after telling me you were seeing someone else." Veronica flushed at the memory, because it was the same night that Logan was going to break it off with Lilly as well, with reasons not that different from Lilly's.

"How do you figure you did Logan a favor, Lil?" Veronica chirped from Logan's other side. She heard Duncan gasping behind them and she turned and extended her hand so that Duncan would fall beside them in their line.

"Well," Lilly said, as if disbelieving that they had not reached the same conclusion that she had, "if I hadn't, you wouldn't have turned into whatever you've turned into. Hotter."

"Lilly!" Veronica exclaimed in mock protest. "There's probably much more to Logan Echolls than being hot."

Lilly stopped walking and held out her hands for her books. "I'll let you find out what else changed, but that's the most obvious thing to me." She accepted the books that Duncan handed to her. "Thank you very much. Come on, Veronica. Let's go before we're late. You sure you don't want to pretend that you're in pain and in need of your best friend to take you to the clinic?"

Duncan frowned when Veronica did not answer at once. He watched Veronica pick her books from Logan's pile.

"You couldn't leave all my books at the top, could you?"

Duncan shook his head when he realized the new slight of hand that Logan had perfected. His and Veronica's books were alternated in the pile, prolonging his interaction with Veronica. Duncan regretted allowing Logan to take Veronica's books instead of Lilly's.

Logan leaned down and whispered something into Veronica's ear. Veronica glanced at Duncan and then nodded. When Logan asked her something Duncan could not hear, she opened her bag and showed him something inside. Logan nodded, satisfied.

Veronica followed Lilly into the classroom. Quickly, Duncan looked at his sister to check if she had witnessed the odd interaction. Lilly was, however, basking in the attention of the transfer student from New York whom Duncan had met in the meet and greet with the young achievers session the night before.

"What was that about?" Duncan asked Logan.

Logan looked at Duncan as if he had grown two heads. "What was what about?"

"What were you looking for in Veronica's bag?"

Logan smirked. "I was missing a box of condoms from my locker and I told her I'd suspect her if she doesn't prove it's not stuffed inside her bag."

Duncan chuckled at the absurdity of Logan's remark. Logan Echolls would never talk like that to Veronica and Veronica Mars, as pure and innocent as she was, would never be suspected of any misdemeanor. He hit Logan at the back of his head. "You should've just said it's none of my business."

"Then it's none of your business," Logan parried back. Logan made a show of flicking his fingertips at Duncan, then turned his back on him and made his way down the corridor towards their own first period.

"Fine, Logan!" Duncan yelled at his best friend, smirking. "Be like that." He sent one last glance to Veronica who was sitting in her chair with her nose buried in today's lesson.

She must have felt him watching her, because she looked up with a bright smile on her face. It faded a little when she recognized Duncan waving at her. She raised her hand with a small wave.

Lilly glanced at the direction where Veronica was looking. When she saw her brother, her eyes sparkled and teased Veronica.

With a giant grin on his face, Duncan caught up with Logan. "Just a few more days, my friend," he said as he patted Logan on the back.

"Before you speak," Logan warned, "make sure it's going to be interesting enough for me to hear. What's it about?"

The two of them entered the classroom. Logan dropped into his desk and waited for Duncan to lean over from his own. "It's about my love life, and the culmination of all my efforts."

That caught Logan's attention. The teacher stood from her desk and told everyone to take out their homework. "What is it?" Logan whispered back.

With an excited grin, Duncan shared, "I think Veronica's going to tell me very soon that she's going to go to the dance with me. I can feel it in my bones!"

"Mr Echolls, Mr Kane," the teacher called them to get their attention. "Since you seem to have plenty of thoughts about this subject, why don't you come up here and tell the class all about Edgar Allan Poe?"

When classes let out for lunch, Veronica and Lilly made their way through the corridors until they noticed the crowd that had gathered. They were close to Logan's locker, which they passed on their way to the quad.

"Lilly, let's go the other way."

"Veronica, that way is too inconvenient. Come on." She held out her hand. "Grab hold and don't let go. We're going to squeeze our way through."

They should not have worried. The moment the people around them realized that it was Lilly Kane and Veronica Mars, they made way for the two. Lilly followed the space until they found themselves in the clearing at the front of the crowd.

Veronica looked up and gasped at what he saw. Logan, his arms folded across his chest, glowered at the magazine clippings posted on his locker and the ones surrounding it. Beside him were a frustrated Duncan and a pissed off Dick.

iSHOWBIZ CAMELOT COMES CRASHING DOWN

NEPTUNE SHERIFF STUMBLES INTO AARON ECHOLLS MOTEL ROOM OF ADULTERY

ECHOLLS FAIRY TALE ENDS

AARON ECHOLLS CHEATING ON LYNN LESTER/i

Dick was the first to see her and Lilly. He snarled at her. "I told you to cut her off," Dick spat out. "This is her father's fault. These trailer trash can't leave well enough alone."

Veronica flinched at the hurtful words thrown at her. Duncan's hands fisted at the words. He rumbled, "Don't, Dick."

Logan straightened and turned around. He saw Veronica, whose eyes were swimming with tears. Lilly glared at Dick.

"Why not, DK?" Dick asked. "It's true. Her father caused all this. The Echolls were an upstanding family until the sheriff blew everything out of the water. She was never part of this group. Just because you want to get under her skirt and Lilly adopted her like an abandoned mongrel bitch, that doesn't mean she belongs."

Veronica hardened herself against the words. She met Logan's furious gaze and knew he was about to erupt then. Furtively, she shook her head at him. Logan snarled but kept silent.

Dick walked over to Veronica. He threw his hand behind him in a gesture for her to witness what she had done. "Look at this! Your daddy did all this." Dick assessed her from head to foot. To Duncan, he said, "Truth to tell, DK, I don't know why you're prolonging the agony. Just fuck her and get it over with. You're working too hard. I bet she'd spread her legs for you any day as long as you bring your credit card along."

Since Logan was closer to Dick, Duncan waited a heartbeat before flying at Dick and grabbing him by his shirt, then slamming the blonde boy against the lockers. Lilly stepped in front of Veronica. She glared at Logan while Duncan held Dick immobile.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Lilly drawled at Logan. She glowered at him. "And here I thought you've become more mature. You can't even protect your own friends?"

Logan swallowed heavily, the vein in his forehead throbbing. Veronica recognized the coiled tension in his body. She placed her hand on Lilly's arm.

"You want me to do what I've been wanting to do, Lilly?" Logan kept his eyes turned to Lilly, because he knew Veronica did not want him involved in fights anymore. It scared her, and he knew if he was going to ever have a chance with her father he had to get his record clean. Logan stalked over to Duncan and Dick. He pulled Dick out of Duncan's grip and smiled tightly, patting his shirt to get the creases out. To Dick he said, "I'd advise you to walk away now while you still can, Dick. And always look behind you because you won't be safe from now on." His voice dropping a notch, he whispered, "Nobody messes with Veronica Mars."

Dick stumbled away. Duncan yelled at Logan. "That was it?" he demanded. "God, Logan, I don't know you anymore. We're over."

The crowd, which had been about to disperse when Dick left, stuck around to watch the most fabulous people in their school have at it.

Finally, Logan gazed at Veronica, who was still pale and trembling. He met her eyes and released his breath when he saw the small smile and the pride that swam inside her tears. It took a lot out of him to hold back, and he was learning.

With a smirk, he turned to Duncan. "What, you're breaking up with me?"

"What I know is I won't stand idly by," Duncan said. He turned to Lilly and Veronica, then jerked his head to the quad. "Come on." Duncan grabbed Veronica's upper arm, right above the cast.

She flinched. Logan looked down and saw the tight grip Duncan had on her. "Fuck, Duncan, let go!" Logan slammed his palm into Duncan's chest. He saw the mark of Duncan's hand on the skin.

"What the hell is going on?" Duncan cried in frustration.

Lilly snorted. "Donut, are you dumb? You just grabbed Veronica's broken arm." Turning to her best friend, she asked, "Are you okay?" Before Veronica could answer, Lilly saw her brother's hands fist then relax over and over. She noticed the tinge of red and blue that covered Duncan's neck. She pulled her brother to her side. "Listen, Logan, I need to take Duncan home. Can you stay with Veronica and make sure Dickhead doesn't come anywhere near her?"

Logan and Veronica watched curiously as Lilly Kane led her trembling brother out of the school and towards the parking lot. He turned to the crowd and drawled lazily, "Okay kids, nothing to see here. Shoo!"

As the students walked away whispering and muttering about the drama of the days of the monarchy's lives, Logan looked down at his watch. Left alone, he told her, "Secret's over, Veronica. I'm not going to let anyone treat you like that anymore. You can't make me stay quiet after this."

She smiled and nodded. Veronica understood that right after he saw the agonized self-control Logan exercised on her behalf. "Thank you, Logan," she said, not needing to name the exact thing he had done because they both understood.

"I won't go crazy," he promised. "I still want your dad to think I'm not a poor candidate. At the same time, I'm not going to let Dick or anyone else think they can say whatever they want to say about you."

"Understood," she said.

Logan pointed at his watch. "Now that that's out of the way, Ms Mars, it's time to take your medicine."

She glanced left and right, then told him, "Walk me to my locker?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I? The princess of Neptune commands that I stick with you."

"Her handmaiden."

He shook his head. "I don't think so." He didn't give a damn about who would see. Logan threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. If Dick Casablancas thought he was going to hurt Veronica, if Duncan Kane thought flowers can win her over, if Lilly thought after Veronica had changed Logan for the better she could get the improved version of her ex, then they all had to think again. "How does queen sound?"

tbc