"God Veronica, when are you ever going to learn? You're just a high schooler. Get real!" Lamb looks nervous. You know he doesn't want to keep seeing you around. Especially not showing up on his door step. Well, it's not like you're obsessed with him or anything. You just need his help and you think that the fact he is the sheriff should finally do you some good.

"Yeah, well you did such a bang-up job on nailing the bus driver, that I know I shouldn't have any worries. It was, after all, such an open and shut case, just like the one with Abel Kootz." You don't want to sound so self-righteous, but you just can't help it. When you face him, you feel that your emotional walls are lowered, but the verbal weapons, you have fine tuned this past year, are still there. You can't be totally unprotected when it comes to Don Lamb.

"If I give you a toy badge will you shut the hell up?"

"If I let you listen to this tape will you promise that you'll play sheriff with me?"

He finally gives up. "What is it anyway?"

"Don, just listen to it."

You play the tape and the joyful voice of a teenage girl fills the air. "Michele, why aren't you picking up, you big loser? I can't believe you bailed on that field trip without telling me. Hey, about next weekend --" Suddenly there's a loud noise, like an explosion. You can hear people screaming, then another loud bang is heard. The joyful voice is now turned into a horrified one. "Oh God!" After a final crash, the tape goes static.

Lamb looks at you with wide terrified eyes. "Now... Where the hell did you find this, Mars?"

"It's not important, Don. The point is, someone sabotaged the bus. We have to find out who."

"There is no we, Mars. You should-"

You suddenly put your hand on his. You don't know why the hell you did that, but it's already there, and you can feel his rough hands. Although it's pretty much softer than you've imagined. There's an uncomfortable silence that goes on forever. You both look at your hands, yours firmly grasping his. Now, that's not an image you get the chance to see everyday. You wait for him to pull his hand back. You wait yourself to loosen your grip. You wait for your father to bust in screaming "What the hell, Veronica?". But nothing happens. The silence just goes on and on, until you can feel his eyes on your face. Those frigging deep, blue eyes. You're just trying to decide what to do next. If you move your hand, he might take that as if you were too excited with his touch. If you don't move, then he'll definitely know you're over the top nervous. Instead, your hand stands still, you raise your gaze to meet his eyes. Your voice is as soft as your touch.

"I have to help you, Don. You should know that much about me."

You can see he's weighing what to say. You wish you could hear what he's thinking. Does he see you as a small girl who has a big-time crush on the Sheriff. Does he think you're trying to mess with his mind? He looks some more, and smiles slightly which makes your heart skip a beat. That scares you even more. You remind yourself that you're here for Logan, that you hate this guy but the strange emotions are just from feeling grateful.

"God, Veronica..." His voice is so soft that you've never imagined Sheriff Don Lamb can speak like this. "What am I gonna do with you?"

---

Things go hectic for a couple of weeks. You're really surprised that he agreed to let you help on this case. The most shocking thing is how he is honestly putting his whole heart into the investigation. He calls you if he finds anything, well, almost anything, since you're sure he's keeping some stuff from you. But you know this is for your own safety. You smile everytime you think about how he is starting to care about you.

Lately everything is starting to work out just fine. You know, when it comes to your life, nothing is the way it seems. You're not meant to be happy. You want to prepare yourself for the next disaster, but you keep forgetting one thing. You are just a teenager. No matter what happens, you'll still manage to be reckless. That's the good thing about being young. But deep down, you also know that this is your biggest curse.

Your father has been looking great lately. He's made up with Alicia, and now they're inseparatable. You can see his proud gaze when the three of you go out for a dinner. He looks at his girls and thanks God for how everything worked out. He doesn't need to know that you're still obssesed with the bus crash. He thinks you have finally moved on. Well, that's quite understandable since he disn't ever know the exstent of your feeling for Logan in the first place. For him, you dated for a while, but it meant nothing. He really has never had a clue when it comes to you love life.

He doesn't know about your truce with Lamb, either. Funny thing, you never discussed this with Don, but things just worked out that way. The usual insults just helped bring to the surface the fact that Keith never knew.

"Isn't that my mentor and his lovely, blooming daughter? How is school, Veronica? Anyone left at school that you haven't help ruin their life? I bet that little fact has really effected you ability to get people to talk to you."

"Well, the only person I really want to talk to, is doing that right now. Seriously. Why do birds suddenly appear every time you're near?"

You used to have this very same conversation a year ago. But this time, when you head in different directions, you both look back with content smiles on your faces. You nod and walk away. It's like a ritual. Your ritual.

So what if you're addicted to snark? Who gives others the right to judge the fact that you always fall for the guys who can push you to your limits, who can make you feel so angry that you're turned on? Is it your fault if you're that fucked up? You suppose not. After all, you wouldn't be this way if it weren't for the same people that judge you.

---

You start working with your dad again, and it's not only organizing the office. You're back to helping him with clients. A little staking out, taking some photographs, and Veronica Mars is back on action. This time you're checking out the potential fiance of a very wealthy woman. When you find out about some tickets he forgot to pay, you decide to pay a visit to the beloved station. No, it's not because you want to see Lamb. It's just... You don't know. You still can't confess whatever it is that you're feeling for Lamb. You walk in, say hi to Inga, who isn't surprised to see you anymore (You do spend most of your time here in his office), walk towards to the Lamb's office and open the door without knocking.

"Don, I need your-" You go in only to find Lamb talking with a gorgeous blonde. They sit on separate sides of his desk, but God knows their attraction doesn't have any limits. And their eyes... They would be considered to far gone for foreplay. "Oh..."

He doesn't look pleased. "Where are your manners, Mars? Didn't Daddy teach you to knock on the door before entering?"

"Right." You flush from head to toe. You don't know what pisses you more, that he's making fun of you in front of this woman, or that you're so disturbed about finding him here talking with her. "Right. Sorry." You manage to say this, and leave the room without any more explanation.

On the way home, you try to relax, but it's no good. There are so many things you want to know. Who is she? Are they dating? Why do you even care? Why does your heart hurt every time it beats? Is that... jealousy? If you weren't fucked up before, you sure are now.

Because you now are positive that you have already fallen for Don Lamb.

You suddenly take a U-turn and head back. You are Veronica Mars and you just can't let things go.

---

You sit inside of your car until she comes out. Thank God, he's not with her. She's almost as tall as Lamb. She has a nicely curved body and long, shaped legs. You can see why Lamb might fall for her. You feel so pathetic, jumping to jealous conclusions. That's just not you. You wonder how you ended up here. There was so much hate before... This man was your biggest foe until the day he saved your fucking life. And now you sit here in the dark, stalking his supposed lover. It's like the soap operas that your mother used to watch. The girl hates the guy, they fight; the girl falls for the guy, they make out. You don't know if you have totally forgiven him for his actions. You feel like you've covered your wounds up with better memories, but they're just there, and whenever he upsets you, they come to life, aching and hurting.

When you see her car leaving, you slowly go inside. You can hear Sacks and Leo talking, but you ignore them and slowly move towards his door. This time you knock.

"Come in." He says in his 'I'm the boss' voice. You hate to admit, but you like it. You like it when he dominates.

You slowly reach in and close the door behind you. You lean your back against the door and there's this challenging look on your face. Logan used to see this, a lot, and he liked it.

"Glad I could teach you something, Mars." He mutters but he looks surprised. You know you look totally different right now. You're not the sweet girl who needs his help or the pain-in-the-ass who pisses him off. You're... Even you don't know who you are. He coughs to cover up his mixed feelings. "What is it?"

"Who's she?" You ask in a husky voice. You can see the whatthehell look in his eyes, this make you smile a little which adds more femininity to your face. You bet he likes it. He doesn't like being dominated as much as you do like it, obviously.

"She's a... friend." He almost whispers, knowing that he's getting to you.

You don't look away, saying 'bring it on' with your eyes. "You looked very close." You bit your bottom lip so slowly, it catches his gaze. He gulps so visibly.

"We might be a bit close..." -he stops and takes a deep breath- "Veronica." The way he emphasizes your name makes you shiver with pleasure. You let him see this, if he's going to play this game only by his rules, you'll just let him.

"I felt so unwelcomed, Don." You take a few steps towards his desk. He watches your every move, you may have felt unwelcomed, but now you are wanted.

"Uh, you're always welcomed here, Veronica."

You slowly tilt your head. There's fire in your eyes. "Apologize." you demand.

This catches him off guard "What for?" His voice is so low and filled with such tension that you feel dizzy with excitement.

You talk as you walk closer to his chair. "For making me cry when I came here to report my rape..." He gasps. You see a shadow passing his face, remorse in his eyes, and that was all you ever needed. He's forgiven now. That was quite easier than you've been expecting. "... for giving me such a hard time even though I had done nothing to you, for being a pain-in-the-ass, an insensitive bastard..." Now you're standing next to him, he turns his chair to face you. You lean a little forward so that your eyes are aligned. "... for flirting with some woman and not me." You take a deep breath and demand again. "Apologize."

He's smiling but his face is perplexed. "I'm sorry." He says, finally. How long you have waited to hear this. "I'm sorry." He says again, more determined. He stands up, holds your arms and raises you to sit on his table. "I'm sorry, Veronica. But you like it better when I'm a jackass, right?" He presses his lips against yours, his unshaved face scraping your skin. "Tell me..." he whispers into your mouth, "why do good girls always go for the bad boys?"

You press yourself towards his body. He's between your legs, forcing them to open. His hand is suddenly under your skirt, going up, searching for your panties. He doesn't just take them off, he rips them off. You both like it that way, which is an utter shock for you, considering that this is the first time you've have fully-conscious sex. His fingers are devouring your clit, rubbing harder and harder.

You slowly manage to raise your head up and put your chin on his shoulder, whispering into his ear. "Is it... uh, is it... Fuck! Is it because -God!- bad boys make good girls come?"

That's all he needed to hear. You don't know how quickly he took off his pants, but he enters you with a sudden thrust in a few seconds. You don't make love, and you're thankful for this. He fucks you senseless in his office, on his desk, your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer.

You're fucking Don Lamb and you love every second of it.

---