"So how was the party at dog beach?" Veronica asked, her head dangling over the side of Erica's bed as they finished the south park movie.
"I didn't go to some stupid 09er party, are you freaking nuts. I would rather be trapped in a room with Caz Truman then go to one of those." She scoffed rolling her eyes before grabbing the nail polish from the dresser and situating herself on the floor in front of the TV. Her phone starts to ring and she grabs it, checking the caller i.d. she grins before ignoring the call and sitting back down.
"Who was that?" Veronica asked looking at Erica with confusion.
"So is it true Weeve's grandma got hauled in for credit fraud." She asked as a distraction carefully applying the polish to her big toe.
"Yeah, poor woman, how could he do that to his own grandmother, I mean letting her take the rap for…"
"Wait! You think he did it?" she asked interestedly.
"Well he is a criminal, I mean look at everything he's done"
"Well I think you should get a little more evidence then just looking at a person's past" she said getting up quickly and moving around. She was twitching slightly, she tends to move around a lot when she was nervous, when she has something to hide.
Veronica watched her again before something hit her like a train. "You're seeing Weevil" she exclaimed, her mouthed dropped open in shock. She turned around slowly with a deer-caught-in-headlights look.
"No! of course not were just hanging out."
"Well god! So does this mean you get a discount on tattoos, because I was thinking of getting 'P.I.'s kick ass!" on my lower back" she teased grabbing the phone that was left discarded on the floor when it indicated a message. "Yo Babe where you at?" she teases reading the message from Erica's phone.
"Yeah well I'm with my friend, he can deal" she replies grabbing the remote and turning the TV back on.
"Ooo Johnny Depp, good choice"
Veronica thought a lot about what Erica had said, but no matter how you look at it she was sure that Weevil's grandma wasn't buying video games and motorcycle paint jobs. She drove down the run down road in the slums of Neptune, pulling up to a small one story house with toys in the lawn and a couple cycles in the drive. After looking over the new paint job on the side of Weevil's bike she was startled when he began yelling at her. It was the usual stuff, everyone believing that it was him who did I, because where he came from and who he was. But then he said something that really hit hard.
"My reputation? Oh well then I guess what everybody says about you is true too, huh? That you, you like it a little freaky, don't you. That you spy on Duncan Kane. That you send him pictures of yourself. Be honest Veronica. You think you're this big outsider but, push comes to shove, you're still one of them. You still think like one of them." He sneers, the impact of the comment forced Veronica to stumble back as if being slapped in the face. She turned back to her car before turning back.
"I know that you started hanging out with Erica" she states, if he was surprised he hid it well, his face softened a bit at her name though. "I'm not quite sure what you guys have to talk about…but I want you to know that its cool, and if you hurt her I'll kill you." She smiles lightly trying hard to find any sort of even ground, he nodded in agreement and turned back to his house. She got into her own car thinking hard about what he said.
After a rather uncomfortable breakfast with her father, and the man she would like no more than to run over with a car, the devil himself, Lamb. She was forced back into her thoughts about Lilly. The anniversary of her death was arriving and she had almost forgotten, that above anything else depressed her the most…she was forgetting her best friend.
Veronica waited in the office looking bored as hell as the Counselor took her time with another student. A extremely cute boy was watching her and she was a little unnerved until he said in a faux British accent "give us a smile, luv,." She fought hard not to give in and was relieved to have him called into the office on the other side.
Veronica was surprised as well as overjoyed when she discovered that Wallace was working in the office. And told him so, more for her benefit then his. Now she didn't have to worry about all those breaking and entering charges she would get when Clemmons found her looking through student files.
After a quick meet and greet with the school's overeager Counselor. She was instructed to join an extra curricular activity. She walked into 4th period Journalism and stopped in her tracks when she noticed both Logan and Duncan shared the class. While coming up with an original and believable excuse as to why she NEEDED a schedule change, Ms. Dent the new teacher demanded to know who she was.
"Ah, yeah. The counselor stuck me in here. She says I'm disconnected and passionless." She said taking out the schedule they had assigned her.
After talking camera talk for a couple of minutes with a teacher who obviously didn't know anything about them she was feeling a bit out of place setting her bag down on the table. Logan was glaring at her, 'without his new 'play thing' around he must not have anything better to do' she thought after watching Caitlin, Logan's new girlfriend, leave in a whisk of smutty clothes and cheap perfume.
After a couple more minutes she was about ready to run out of the room screaming 'fire', anything to get her out of there, and fast. Just when she thought there was no justice in the world…
"I know, I know, I'm late, but you should see the mess in the girl's room. I was lucky to get out alive" Erica joked, before Ms. Dent could utter the words 'you're late'. She smiled with her usual carefree smirk and all Ms. Dent could do was give her a warning. It took her another minute to realize Veronica was even there.
"Holy shit. What are you doing here?" she asked running over and giving Veronica a big hug.
"Ms. Sanders, language" Ms. Dent called from a couple feet away.
"Sorry Ms. Dent" she stated rolling her eyes at Veronica.
"I got rescheduled when they realized I hadn't signed up for any school activities" she said repeating the eye roll.
"Well you are a lifesaver, I was beginning to think that I was going to be stuck in here by myself for the rest of the year" she stated with an exaggerated sigh.
"Veronica I'm going to need you to shoot the surf competition down at gold coast." Ms. Dent announced, and before Veronica could get in a word of protest "Mr. Kane" was announced and Veronica froze up. "You will be accompanying Veronica and getting an interview with the surfers."
Sensing Veronica's panic Erica jumped in "Veronica can't tomorrow, she is doing some work for her dad after school, but I can go" she stated smiling with her head bowed forward in a sickly sweet pout.
"Okay Erica but I want pictures of all the surfers and all the action, this is not just an excuse to get photos of cute guys in swim suits." Ms. Dent reminded.
"I know that, I'm not Caitlin you know" she stated watching with amusement at Logan's immediate angered reaction.
When they were out of earshot Veronica gave Erica a quick hug. "Thank you so much" she said with a grateful smile.
"No problem, when you're happy, I'm happy"
"Okay, what do you want?" she asked with a laugh.
"Just remember that you owe me one…just in case" she teased sitting down at her seat and playing with one of the cameras from the file cabinet.
During lunch Veronica looked over the attendance records that Wallace had stolen for her from the attendance office. After realizing the impossibility that Weevil had anything to do with the bills she raced home to tell her father. Only to be stunned to find that Weevil had turned himself in.
Meanwhile Erica was on the other side of town strutting into the sheriff's station with a demeanor of ownership. She walked up to the desk demanding to see the criminal.
"I'm sorry miss but they wont let anyone except lawyers and families see him" Inga explained quickly, still trying to place where she had seen Erica before.
"Look ma'am, I'm pregnant and there is a good chance that the boy in there is the father, I just thought he should know before he goes to prison." She states her eyes a mask of guilty indifference.
"Go on in" Inga exclaims leading the young woman towards the back.
She makes it to the cells and giggles slightly at the scene of Weevil sitting on the bunk, his hands twined behind his head while he stared catatonic at the ceiling. He looked over a small smile playing on his lips and she got off the bed and moved toward the bars.
"How did you get in chica?" he asked lazily.
"Told them I was pregnant, with your love child," She stated matter-of-factly.
"Well they were half right, there may be a rug-rat growing inside that fine body of yours, but it ain't mine." He teased.
"Don't remind me" she said rolling her eyes.
She still remembers the day she found out she was pregnant, she had cried for three hours straight, running through the thought over and over. She was pregnant, with child, bare foot and stupid.
She remembered the last night she had sex; it was the night of Shelly's party. The night everything was hazy, she woke up the next morning pleasantly sore, a feeling of complete contentment filling her. She remembered it was with someone she cared about, that she wanted him in more ways than one, everything was clear; everything was vivid, except his face. She woke up and he was gone, she assumed it was Casey and he was upset and left, but that theory fell to crap. When confronted about that night he assured her he left right after their fight, while calling her a slut, tramp, and whore for cheating on him.
It took her another couple days for the memories to start coming back, her on the bed, him on top a smile shinning down meeting hers. Those big blue eyes…blue eyes. Two weeks later she found herself in a bathroom, test in hand, a positive reading on the screen.
And there she was three months pregnant, sitting in the waiting room of the clinic waiting for her doctor when Maria, Weevil's inconsiderate cousin, walks in after receiving her complimentary bag of condoms and lubes. The next day Weevil promises to help her keep her secret mumbling something about a 'damsel in distress.' She hated keeping secrets, especially from Veronica, but the less she knew the better, Veronica had too many things to worry about at it was.
"So what, you here to spring me?" he asked jokingly.
"What the hell are you doing Eli? I know you didn't do this" she yelled, her cool joking tone lost with a new wave of anger.
"Yeah well, its better me than mi abuela" he sighed sitting back down.
"We're going to get you out of this, okay"
"Whatever" he brushes off lying back down on the cot, eyes trained back onto the dank ceiling.
Veronica came out of school walking briskly to the parking lot, praying that Erica wasn't running late. Erica's car was once again in the shop getting some new and faster part added to the already cluttered deck and engine. And each time she found herself waiting in the parking lot, like a stray lamb surrounded by a pack of wolves.
When she got closer to her car she noticed it leaning to the side, coming closer she realized that someone had let the air out of her back right tire. Cursing under her breath she popped the trunk and began the long process of changing it.
"Shit" Erica cursed walking closer to inspect the damage. "I need to be at gold coast in 20 minutes."
"Well call a cab, or Marty, I bet your car is done by now" Veronica suggested as Erica got down and began to help her with removing the bolts.
"I'm going to get someone to help" She finally said looking back towards the school, while Veronica continued to struggle with the tire.
When Erica returned she was pissed to see Troy there. The boy who changed everything about her past and doomed her relationship with her best friend, was yet again in town. While walking back to the car to give him a piece of her mind a blue Mercedes SUV pulled up beside her.
"You need a ride there?" Duncan asked with a tentative and hopeful look. Erica looked back towards Veronica and Troy, before nodded slightly and running over to the other side of the car. As they drove past Veronica, Erica signaled for her to call her later, before shooting a deathly glare towards Troy and speeding off down the road.
"What was that all about?" Veronica asks looking back towards the new boy.
"I knew her growing up, her parents had a slip next to the Kanes. She has some insane idea that I turned her friend against her." He states rolling his eyes.
"who Lilly?" Veronica asks confused.
"Didn't you know? Erica were inseparable growing up." He said finishing the last bolt.
"I always thought it was her and Lilly" Veronica states absorbing the new information.
"No, her and Duncan were best friends, then he started hanging out with the guys instead of her. I may have said something about her being a girl and girls being stupid, but I don't think that really institutes me ruining her friendship." He says again an exaggerated eye roll following his words.
Erica and Duncan? Veronica thought, shaking the thought out of her head before turning back to Troy.
The trip to Gold coast was awkward, the silence playing dramatically on Erica's nerves before she finally snapped, "God, what happened to us?"
"How do you mean?"
"I mean it used to be you and me, now look at us, we cant even be in the same car." She says staring out the window. It is silent again, she turns her gaze back to him. He is looking forward but he is smiling now.
"You remember that time when you snuck over the fence and fell into the rose bushes" he teases.
"Yeah, you came running over thinking I was dead." She laughed.
"Well what was I suppose to think? We were 10, if I bumped my knee I thought I was going to die." He jokes and he is laughing and smiling, something she hadn't seen in a long time. But then his face got sullen again as he looked at her seriously.
"Why did you leave, why did you stop talking to me?" he asked.
"I was…After that night…I just couldn't" she states jumping out of the car when he pulls into the spot at the beach.
He runs after her wrapping his hand on her upper arm and pulling her back towards him. "What about that night? I thought we…I thought we talked…
"Erica have you seen Veronica?" Duncan asked stumbling up to her.
"Yeah she's sleeping I was just getting her some water" she says showing him the bottle she had clutched in her hand.
"I'll come with you" he says walking beside her, he fell and she caught him propping his arm around her shoulders and ushering him into the closest room.
"Let's sit you down for a second" she states setting him on the bed, before her own head starts to spin and she falls down beside him.
"I loved you, you know" he says shyly as he lays back on the bed.
"Loved her you mean, I'm not Veronica" she snaps.
"I loved you Erica, But then you started ignoring me and Casey said he liked you." He mumbles. "I just thought you would be happy with him" he finishes.
"I would have been happy with you" she says laying back too. He turns to face her, their faces mere inches apart before their desires, or the drugs, finally pushed them together. That night they made love, or so she would like to think, until she woke up and he was gone.
"You left, I thought you regretted it" she whispers her head hung low.
"I was in the bathroom, I thought you did, I thought it was just one of those unspoken things, that you just wanted to leave it alone." He said putting him finger under her chin and leaning her head up.
"Duncan…I…" he cut her off when his lips landed on her in a sweet whisper of touch.
"I love you Erica, it has always been you" he says into her ear. She opens her mouth to tell him, about what their love created, but she dismissed the idea, optioning to tell him later. She just nodded before turning back to the beach. They had an article to finish. On the ride home they decided to keep it low key, until she found a way to tell Veronica.
Veronica cornered Chardo in the bathroom stating her case that Caitlin is no reason that Weevil should be in jail. She had no idea how Logan found out, but the gossip that filled the halls was of some huge turf war straight out of the outsiders where Chardo was sent off with some members of Weevils gang.
"Your not so bad Veronica Mars" Weevil says with a small smile.
"You either" Veronica states giving him a snort nod of approval before walking back to her car.
She picks up her phone and sees Erica's number as a missed call. Erica and Duncan, she says again running the words around in her mouth. She puts the phone back down, I'll talk to her later she thinks before driving back to her apartment.