This is a long one and (I'm sorry but) sort of disappointing because of a lack of Logan, but I needed to get some background out of the way. Promise LoVe interaction in the upcoming few chapters and plenty of it! (Oh, and look for the hidden Seinfeld reference)
Hope you guys enjoy, anyway.
Chapter 7
Veronica's P.O.V.
"Come on, Wallace…"
"Nope."
"Please…"
"Nuh-uh."
"You've made a powerful enemy today," I pouted spitefully into the phone. "Seriously."
"Hey, no functioning bicycle needs a third wheel."
"Me and Jason are not a bicycle. And if we were a bicycle, you wouldn't be a third wheel… You'd be a training wheel…"
He paused. "I know I'm the one who bought it up but the metaphor is totally lost on me…"
"Never mind that, you'd be my wingman," I replied in frustration, looking for my black tank top in my hurricane of a closet. "So when he starts talking about how fascinated George Washington Carver was with the peanut, I'd tap my head and you'd come to my rescue."
"That is, after all, what I live for."
"Hey what do you think of pairing a black tank top with your average rusty blue jeans? I'm going for 'Tough Cookie' but I'm concerned this might be a detour into 'Biker Chick Land'."
I could almost hear him blinking nervously on the other end of the phone. "Uh, Veronica?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm gonna say this once and I never wanna have to say it again, okay? So you listen… I'm a boy… with the boy parts and everything."
I rolled my eyes and couldn't help smiling. "Uhuh."
"Now if you need cheat codes for Grand Theft Auto, I'd be happy to oblige but do not come to me for fashion advice."
"What if I do my hair in pigtails? Do you think the juxtaposition would go over well?"
He sighed and chuckled lightly into the phone. "That sounds adorable. Now you scamper off to the party with Jason. I have a three way with an X-Box and a Juice-box waiting for me."
"I love the way boys phrase things." I replied, laughing and hanging up the phone. Five minutes later I found myself dialing Wallace's number again.
"Hello?"
"How about a gray plaid skirt instead? No pigtails, though. I'm thinking standard issue ponytail…."
"I'm gonna hang up now," he deadpanned.
"I expected as much—" I said, interrupted by the knocking on the door. "Crap, he's here!"
"Wasn't he supposed to pick you up at nine?"
"Yes, but it's nine!"
"Yeah. I'm gonna go decode that. Later."
"Adios."
Of course because of Jason's annoying punctuality I fell over quickly changing into the skirt as I ran for the door. And I had no choice but to introduce him to my dad, who was just about to head out to catch his 9:45 flight to Chicago and would have otherwise missed him. And of course my dad had to make that joke that my old boyfriend had died tragically with an accident involving the Mars shotgun.
I rolled my eyes and led him away to his car as he smiled nervously at Papa Mars.
"Bye, daddy!" I called out, hopping into the passenger side of Jason's S.U.V. as he followed.
"Well I guess that's my obligatory embarrassing parent moment," I said as he put the key into ignition.
"Oh don't worry…. It could be worse," he smiled, turning to me. "When you meet my dad I can almost guarantee he'll be wearing biker shorts."
"Oooh… that is worse."
(-)
Logan's beach house was haphazardly decorated with an assortment of twinkling lights slung onto random boards and construction tools. A few doors were standing detached from the rooms but that didn't stop several of the guests from making themselves at home. By the time Jason and I got there, the place already reeked of beer, vomit and Chex mix and I wondered what I was doing there as we walked from room to room, him sipping his beer and me clutching the bottle of water I'd bought with me.
We wandered onto a balcony in one of the bedrooms that provided a perfect view of the moonlit beach.
"So I've been trying to play it really cool…" Jason began.
"Well, you were doing fine until you said that."
He chuckled. "Yeah… I just gotta ask. I know it's not my business or anything but…"
"But?"
"Well… what's your deal with Logan Echolls? Did you guys, like, date or somethi—"
"What! No. Ew. No!"
"So, no?"
"No."
"Well… sorry, but there's… a vibe…"
I sighed and shook my head, not wanting to relay the whole sordid story to him, but I suppose I had no choice.
"Chances are… you know the story…"
He furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"We were… friends… really close friends. While I was dating Duncan…"
"Kane?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Surprising…"
I frowned "Why?"
"Well—I just thought… I mean all your underlying subtext lies with… Logan."
"Oh… well were sort of a tight knit group. Us and Duncan's sister Lilly…"
"Lilly Kane? That… oh"
He turned to face me.
"Yeah…" I shrugged and offered him a tight smile "And remember the bumbling sheriff? Keith…"
"Mars…" he finished, realizing who I was.
"Yeah… the four of us… I mean, me and Duncan and Logan with Lilly… it was perfect," I sighed and looked out into the ocean. "And then… well, you know the rest…"
He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry…"
I simply shrugged again in response.
"Still, I mean," he added "With Logan acting the way he does… doesn't it bother you?"
"Uh, sometimes… but… I don't know. I guess he has his warped way of dealing with everything. I mean, he went through a lot too… and well, maybe I've just known him too long."
I paused, surprised at all I'd disclosed but Jason didn't seem bothered.
"It's little things that bug me sometimes," I heard myself saying. "I mean, even before Duncan and Lilly, me and Logan were friends… you know, drumsticks?"
"The ice-cream cones?"
"Yeah… yeah. Our soccer teams shared the field, right? And after practice they would sometimes give us drumsticks and I would chip off the nuts and give them to Logan and he would give me the chocolate chunk at the bottom…"
"That's the best part—"
"I know!" I replied, sounding way too excited at the memory "…anyway…can't have those anymore..."
He smiled as I shook my head, startled by everything I'd said and suddenly feeling very nervous. "So…uh, your turn to make an idiot of yourself?"
"Ready and willing…"
"You've… sat at the 09er table occasionally…"
"Mhhm."
"And I'm sure my name's gotten thrown around here and there…"
"Well aren't we self-involved?"
"And I'm sure it wasn't in the best context," I added, ignoring him.
He sighed and dug his hands into his pockets. "Not exactly."
"So… explain to me why you're disregarding the whole student body's opinion of Veronica Mars and talking to me instead of the cool kids…"
Jason pursed his lips thoughtfully and smiled down at me. "You know the best thing about moving around all the time, Veronica?"
I shook my head to indicate a 'no'.
"You never really worry about pissing off the cool kids… cuz chances are you'll be gone soon," he shrugged. "So you get to do what you really want to do… which is being here. Talking to you."
"Oh," I replied stupidly.
He grinned. "Oh, and just F.Y.I…. not everyone has the worst to say about you. There're plenty of kids who think you're pretty awesome."
"Who are these kids?" I gasped "Because I wanna build a shrine to every single one of them."
Jason smiled again and rested his hand on my shoulder, nervously darting his face closer to mine.
"Awww. Aren't puppies cute!"
