Veronica's day off doesn't go as smoothly as planned. Also, you will notice a reuse of what I consider the single best line of the first season.
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas and CW-that-will-be owns Veronica Mars. I own only the way I turn most of the phrases in the story.
X X X X X
"This is an extremely pleasant coincidence," I said, giving him a quick kiss.
"Pleasant? Yes." He kissed me back. "Coincidence? Not really. Your father called me and asked me to come over and keep you distracted." He kissed me again.
"Keith Mars invited you to come over, on a day when he wasn't going to be here, and told you to distract me?"
"Mmmm-hmmm."
"I have the best Dad ever."
We made out for a few more minutes, before Logan reluctantly broke it off and said, "There was a condition."
"And that was?"
"That we spend the day away from the apartment."
"I so do not have the best Dad ever."
"So," I said when we got to the X-Terra, "What are we going to do?"
"Your father said to stay away from your apartment. He never said to stay away from my house . . ."
"And your mother?" I liked Lynn, but wouldn't feel comfortable doing much beyond polite conversation and quick pecks on the cheek if she were present.
"Mother dear is going to Los Angeles to do some shopping," Logan said.
"Ooooh," I said wickedly.
"Ooooh is right. So, do you want to go straight there or --"
My kiss gave him all the answer he needed.
X X X X X
An hour later, after having lots of fun exploring various portions of each other's anatomies -- no, still not sex, but may I say that Logan is ticklish in places you would never expect – we pulled clear and tried to figure out what else we were going to do that day.
After all, if we kept up that exploration, either Logan's or my self-control was going to shatter – and I wasn't taking bets that it would be Logan's that would shatter first.
So we talked.
As we lay there on his bed, fully clothed (dammit), I turned to Logan and said, "Don't think I didn't notice what you said yesterday."
"About trademark infringement? Relax. Hiram's never even handled a case like that. Besides, I'll just be an ass for a while at school tomorrow and I'll be secure in my 'psychotic jackass' status for quite a while."
"Not what I meant," I said. "Besides, I think Dick's already taken your throne from you there."
"No!"
"Yes!" We were both shaking with barely suppressed laughter.
"I'm going to have to fight for my title, you realize," he said. "So tell me: Should I beat up a few kids for their lunch money?"
"That screams 'school bully,' not' psychotic jackass.' Keep going."
"Order the meat-lovers pizza special for the next meeting of SAAC?"
"Practical jokes do not a psychotic jackass make."
"Question Weevil's manhood or lack thereof in front of the PCH'ers?"
"Hi! I'm Logan! Ask me about my death wish!"
He sighed. "Damn. Mars, you've ruined me. I used to be so good at this."
"Well," I murmured, "There are still plenty of other things you're good at."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. Like evading certain topics of conversation. I was saying I noticed what you'd said yesterday at the hospital. About you not willing to see me get hurt because you loved me too much."
"Oh. That." Logan said, sounding dangerously casual.
"Oh. That?"
"Yeah. Um . . ." He paused. "Veronica. Emotional conversations aren't my strong point. I said it, I meant it, do we have to make a big deal of it?"
"You actually love me?"
"Yup."
Wow. Here I'd been expecting him to do some cute frantic backpedaling, after which I would tease him mercilessly. Just when you think you know a person . . .
"I'm not looking for a quid pro quo, here," he said. "I've known about this for longer than you have, after all. I hardly expect you to have fallen so completely for my manly charms after only a few weeks that you'll tell me you love me too."
"Well, your manly charms are spellbinding . . ."
"Many have tried to resist, all have failed."
"Look. If organizing an armed invasion of your backyard doesn't tell you everything you need to know about what I feel about you, I don't know what does."
"So . . ."
"So I love you, too. Happy?"
He inched closer on the mattress and kissed me. When we finished, I was gasping for breath. "Ecstatic," he said. "But I meant what I said about the quid pro quo."
"If I felt," I said, "Like I was being pressured, I would have told you to go jump off the Coronado Bridge." I kissed him back and was pleased to notice that this time he was the one having a little difficulty breathing.
Things progressed from there until the point where I had to say, "That's enough."
Reluctantly, Logan said, "Fine," but we did stop.
After a few more minutes, Logan said, "Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why do you do that? Once again – no pressure. I promise. I'll wait as long as you want me to. But still – I mean, I know it's not that you're waiting for marriage or anything –"
That had been the wrong thing to say. I stiffened and sat up.
"What did I say?" he asked.
"You said that like you know I've already had sex," I said. "Like those rumors –"
"I know those rumors aren't true. Hell, I started most of them. But – you and Duncan, I assumed—"
"Making assumptions about my sex life? Bad idea."
He sat up as well. "Veronica. Look. I didn't mean anything by it. I wasn't trying to hurt you. It was what I thought was an obvious assumption – but it was a really, really stupid one. I'm sorry." He paused. "If you tell me you've never had sex, I believe you." And he sounded absolutely sincere. I knew he hadn't been trying to hurt me, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.
Don't get me wrong. I don't care what most people think about me. If Dick Casablancas or Shelly Pomroy want to think I've slept with the entire offensive line of the football team, let them. Logan was different.
I care what he thinks.
"I have had sex," I said. "It wasn't voluntary on my part."
"Not voluntary?" he said. Then, coldly, "Somebody raped you?" I nodded my head. "Tell me who it is. I'm going to go kill them."
"If I knew, I would," I said. "And I'd do it myself. It was – it was at Shelly Pomroy's party. Someone drugged me, or something – I spent most of the night not really knowing what was going on. I woke up the next morning, alone, obviously having had sex – and to top it off someone had written "slut" on my car."
There was complete silence. "Logan?" I asked.
"I'm going to tell you something now, Veronica. And you're not going to like it."
"What?"
"I know there were drugs at that party – because I brought some of them."
"You what?" I demanded, standing up.
"Luke and Sean and I – we'd gone to Tijuana and picked up some Liquid X." At my look, he said, "I never used it. I swear to God. And if I had it was going to be 'hey, we're at a rave,' not 'hey, let's get some girl wasted so we can sleep with her.' I'm not wired that way. You know that."
Logan tried to go further but I held up my hand and said – "Stop. Just stop."
"I didn't do anything --"
Screaming, I said "Stop!"
He shut up.
I needed to think. I needed to process this.
I needed to scream and hit something. I pounded my fist on the bureau nearby. The mirror on the wall quivered, but that didn't make me feel any better.
Okay, Veronica. Calm down. Deep breaths. Logan told you. He told you. He didn't need to tell you. He could have just let it slide, hoping that I wouldn't find out. But he didn't.
He says he loves me. I believe him.
Could he have dosed my drink to get his giggles back then? Yes.
Would he?
Tougher question. At the time, I was the most hated person at Neptune High, and he was the one doing a lot of the hating. He destroyed my car with a crowbar. He insulted me repeatedly.
I can't imagine him setting me up to be assaulted. Not given his father.
I . . . believe him.
But it doesn't make it any easier, knowing that he might have anything to do with my rape, however inadvertently, however it came about.
I turned around. The look in his eyes was as close to fearful as I've ever seen him.
"I believe you," I said. As a look of relief crossed his face, I added, "But you still brought the Liquid X."
"I know," he said. "Luke and Sean used it. I didn't." He stopped. "Do you want to know who?"
Sitting down next to him on the bed, I said, "I'm not sure. I mean, I've come to terms with the idea that it was one mystery I was never going to solve. I don't want to get my hopes up. Besides, there were about a hundred people at that party. 98 of them would step over my corpse for free gum."
"Would have stepped. You still might not be the most beloved figure at Neptune High, but your daring raid had its perks. Dick came off looking like the bad guy. You came out looking like the hero. And then when he attacked you?" He grabbed my hands. "People will talk to us. To me, and you."
"Not Dick. Not Cassidy. And certainly not Madison." I think I'd have a better chance of talking to Osama bin Laden than Madison. And a lot more fun.
"That leaves 95 other people. I'm betting we could get the truth from them. Start with Meg, and Duncan, and Casey Gant; the people who're most likely to talk to you. I'll track down Sean and Luke." He looked directly into my eyes. "What do you say?"
I could remember Lilly in my dream saying that I couldn't carry of all these burdens with me forever.
This was the chance to relieve myself of one of them.
"Let's do it," I said.