The light changed from blinding yellow to glaring red. To most people, that glaring red screamed "Stop!" but Lilly Kane wasn't most people. Instead, she let out a whoop and slammed her foot on the gas pedal, tearing through the intersection at a breakneck speed.
The familiar beginning strains of a song managed to reach her ears over the sound of the wind whipping through her hair and she cranked the volume, spiritedly singing along to "We Used to be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols. "A long time ago, we used to be friends…" she belted out, tapping the steering wheel to keep the beat. Her right hand unconsciously traveled onto the passenger seat and fingered the tapes that lay there. A mischievous smirk slowly spread across her gloss coated lips. She dug into her designer pocketbook and withdrew her cell phone. Pressing one of the speed dials, she brought the phone to her ear and used her shoulder to wedge it in place. After a moment, she said, "Veronica! Hey! Listen, I want you to meet me at my house a-sap…It's a secret…Why, yes, I do have a lot of those don't I? See you soon, V."
Flipping the phone shut, Lilly tossed it onto the other seat and returned her attention to the road. Her foot stomped onto the gas pedal as she approached another red light. She was going so fast that she failed to spot the police cruiser parked at a nearby gas station. Seconds later, screaming sirens caught her attention as flashing lights filled her vision, making her slightly dizzy.
"Shit," she muttered. For a moment, Lilly contemplated giving the cop a chase, but remembered the tapes on the seat. No way were those getting confiscated. She wanted to be the one who decided where they went. So Lilly pulled over and checked her makeup before slipping a mask of innocence over her face and rolling down the window. Pushing her lips into a pouty smile and tilting her head, she greeted the deputy as he approached.
"Hello, Deputy…Leo. I'm sorry, was I speeding?"
-x-
Tucking her long blond hair behind her ears, Veronica got out of her father's car, thanking him for the ride and apologizing for canceling their dinner plans before kissing him goodbye and striding towards the seemingly empty Kane mansion. Lilly must have parked in the garage or something, she thought. Veronica knocked a few times and waited, waited for someone to answer, but no one came. Not even the cleaning service was there. Rather than sitting on the front step, where it was much more likely she would run into Duncan, she walked around back and settled into one of the lounge chairs.
Her pep squad shirt rode up her stomach and Veronica fruitlessly tugged at it. She still wasn't used to wearing clothes like this, although Lilly assured her that she looked "trés hot." A car pulled into the driveway and for a second, Veronica thought it was Lilly, but the footsteps were too heavy to be Lilly's. Assuming they were Duncan's, Veronica sank a little farther down in her chair, not wanting to deal with the pain of being ignored by the boy she loved.
A beam of sunlight reflected off something lying by the pool, catching Veronica's eye. She climbed off the chair and crouched down next to the object. Slowly she lifted the shining silver necklace, admiring for the hundredth time the way the light bounced off the charm, which spelled out her name. She remembered when Duncan had given the necklace to her, right after her sixteenth birthday party. Right before he promised he would love her forever. How quickly he forgot, Veronica thought wryly. The footsteps were coming closer, breaking Veronica out of her dreamlike reminiscing. The last thing she needed was Duncan catching her mooning over him.
She quickly stood up but before she could turn around a harsh male voice that definitely wasn't Duncan's called out, "Give me the tapes, Lilly, you stupid bitch." This man, unable to see her face, only her cascading blond hair and pep squad uniform, had confused her with Lilly.
She whirled around, trembling with fear, to correct the stranger. His eyes widened when he realized his mistake. They were almost as wide as Veronica as her mind raced, wondering what tapes he was talking about and why he would talk to Lilly the way he had spoken to her seconds ago. "Mr. Echolls?" she asked tentatively.
"Oh, Veronica, hello. What are you doing here?" Aaron Echolls twisted his face out of it's contortion of rage and attempted to rearrange it into an expression of kindness and innocence that didn't quite work.
"What are you doing here?" she shot back, her voice growing stronger. Instinct told her that she shouldn't stay alone with Mr. Echolls for too long. She hoped Lilly or even Duncan got home in the next minute or two.
"Well, Veronica," Aaron began, taking a step closer. "Lilly took something of mine – accidentally, I'm sure – but I need it back now." As he spoke, Aaron had inched closer to Veronica and was now only a few feet away.
Veronica backed up as far as she could, stopping only when she could hear the gentle lapping of the pool water and realized she couldn't back up any further without falling in. "What does she have of yours?"
Aaron shook his head and crossed the distance between them. "Veronica, does it really matter? Now why don't you just forget about this and go home like a good little girl."
Deciding it was best to play along, Veronica nodded shakily, side stepping Aaron and quickly walking in the direction of the back door. She hadn't gone more than two feet when the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she instinctively ducked. The air over her head whistled as a cigar box cut through it. Rolling out from under Aaron's arms, Veronica jumped to her feet and sprinted to the door as fast as she could, but Aaron was faster by far and overtook her. He pressed upon her airway and slowly Veronica's world gave way to black nothingness.
