A.N. No, I don't own them. Rob Thomas does, the lucky Genius Man. Sorry if there are any errors, I don't have a beta.
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Mac's fingers shook on the keyboard. Ten seconds left. She had to get out; she knew she did. But the adrenaline coursing through her veins was like heroin. She felt inculpable. Nothing could touch her here.
Five seconds left. Mac took a deep breath that trembled through her lungs like a leaf. Her fingers flew as she broke down the last security wall and memorized the password.
Bang!
Mac barely had time to back out of the program, the walls reinstating themselves as she went, before Crimson appeared at the desk next to hers. The raven-haired girl spared her a disdainful glance as she sat down at her own laptop. Brand new, just like Crimson's phone, Sidekick and Jimmy Choos.
Mac smiled grimly. All black, of course.
Standing, she grabbed her keys and her bag. Turning her laptop off, she casually glanced at Crimson who was signing on to AIM. Mac rolled her eyes and left the room.
Her legs were a little wobbly as she headed towards the elevator. Used to the feeling, she shook out her legs as she waited for the doors to slide open. She always felt a little shaky afterwards.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she was standing in the elevator, and she pulled it out, shifting the strap of her messenger bag higher on her shoulder. The screen said she had five minutes left to get across campus to class.
"Damn," she muttered, breaking into a jog out of the elevator and through the front door of the dorm. "I need to set this alarm earlier."
People stared as she jogged past, but she was used to staring now. She still didn't like it, though. Sometimes she wished that she'd gone far, far away from Neptune. Loans be damned. It was those times that she wished Cassidy had done it all a little earlier, before she'd accepted her scholarship to Hearst
You don't mean that, she told herself quickly, squeezing her eyes shut as she rounded a corner. Her stomach pitched as she saw his laughing face. He'd always seemed so full of life around her.
Luckily, she was at the Lit building and could stop her jerking run. She wasn't sure her stomach could have taken any more. Not that there was anything in it to throw up, thank God.
Out of breath, she slunk into the back of the lecture, just as the professor began to speak. She pulled out her notebook with a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off her brow. Running in hundred degree weather was not her idea of fun.
Wallace appeared a few minutes later and dropped abruptly into the seat next to hers. "What'd I miss?"
"Only the most important piece of information all semester," she teased, smiling at him.
He grinned back and shoved her a little. "Shut up, Mackenzie. Practice ran over."
"You mean, your shower ran over, right?" She wrinkled her nose in concern and edging away.
Wallace didn't even glance at her. "Yes, Mac, I showered. There are no disgusting guy cooties left on me."
"Well, that's a relief." Wallace snorted in response.
Mac was glad that Wallace shared one of her classes. It was nice knowing someone already, particularly since Wallace was so…easy. She only had one class with Veronica, and it was never easy.
After lecture, as they gathered their things, Wallace turned to Mac. "So, did Veronica clean you out last night, too?"
"Believe me when I say that you got off scot-free." She mock glared at him. "Again."
"You gotta know when to jet," Wallace agreed, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
"And I never do," Mac agreed. "Twice in one month."
Wallace chuckled as they headed out into the sunlight. "That girl is a kick."
"Who's a kick?"
Veronica was suddenly standing next to them. Mac smiled wanly as Wallace threw an arm around Veronica's shoulder. "You are, V."
"Moi? Now, don't think that I don't like it when you guys pine for my presence, but what are you talking about?"
"You and your parties. You know, I think we need to have more Trilogy Nights. Particularly since I didn't make it to either of them."
"And who's fault was that, Fennel?" Veronica asked, poking him in the side.
"Who knew that I had an early practice the next day, Mars?"
"Well, we already did Indiana Jones and X-Men. What more do you want?" Before Wallace could respond, Veronica wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Star Wars? I don't think so."
"Did I say Star Wars?"
"You always say Star Wars," Mac pointed out from the other side of Veronica.
"Thank you, Mac." Veronica's blonde ponytail swung lightly as she turned back to Wallace. "We will not be watching Jedi with their stupid swords."
"Light sabers," Wallace and Mac corrected automatically.
"Now that's just scary," Veronica muttered, shaking her head. Rallying, she shrugged. "Fine, Wallace. Since I love you, we will watch Star Wars tomorrow night. But you're going to be the one to tell Logan."
Mac opened her mouth only to jerk back as Veronica whirled on her. "And you." Veronica poked Mac in the shoulder. "You will not try to ditch us again. We haven't hung out since the X-Men Trilogy Night two weeks ago. You are so coming."
"Time?"
Veronica smiled victoriously. "Let's say seven. We wouldn't want Wallace to turn into a pumpkin the night before a practice."
"Yeah, that would really hamper my fade away shot."
Mac listened with one ear as Wallace and Veronica chattered away next to her. She wasn't sure how she'd gotten here. Not here on the Hearst campus, but here firmly ensconced in Veronica's Holy Trinity of friendship. The few friends she'd had BV (before Veronica) had drifted away over the past year, particularly after…high school.
She didn't miss them.
xxx
Star Wars ran late, as was the usual with their Trilogy Nights, and Mac once again found herself sleepless in Neptune on Logan's couch. She was pretty sure that even the blanket was the same.
After twenty minutes of sleep eluding her, she gave up and turned once again to her old friend the Xbox. Booting up her saved game, Mac darted into the corridor and began sweeping for enemies.
This time her whole body tensed at the sound of the key sliding into the lock and grinding slightly as it turned the bolt. She blinked as light flooded in from the hallway and waited until the door snicked shut before continuing to play.
She tried to ignore Dick as he crossed the room to the kitchen. Behind her came the unmistakable sound of the fridge door and the crisp pop of a beer top. After a moment, muffled footsteps crossed behind her towards Dick's room. Just before opening the door, he paused and muttered, "Night."
Then he was gone. Mac sagged against the back of the couch. She wasn't sure what sort of reaction she'd expected from him. Two weeks ago they'd sat together until nearly dawn as Dick drank beer after beer and coached her through the game. But she hadn't exactly expected a repeat performance. So why did she feel hollower than usual.
Taking a deep breath, she stopped the game and got up to switch the disk. She needed something that didn't have enemies popping out of nowhere. Rushing adrenaline was not going to help her sleep. Spotting Mario Kart, she bit back a grin and made quick work of switching the wires leading into the tv.
Thank God this is on mute, she thought, as the colorful characters appeared on screen in their tiny cars. Worst game music ever.
She felt herself relaxing as she knocked other players off the course. There was a stressful moment after she spun out on a snowman, but otherwise she felt the tension seeping out of her body. Sleep would be inevitable within minutes.
Calm for the first time since arriving at Logan's, she guided Yoshi towards the finish line far ahead of the pack. And promptly ran off the road when Dick's door swung open. She was sure that her eyes were wide in the dim light of the screen as she glanced up to find him standing in the shadows of his doorway, pajama pants riding low on his hips.
Whipping her head back to the tv, she discovered that she was suddenly in seventh place, with Bowser right on her tail. Sighing, she crossed the line and watched Yoshi hang his head in shame.
"Suckage."
Jumping in shock at the sound of his voice coming from behind her, Mac cleared her throat. "What?"
"Your run. Total suckage."
Frowning, she turned to glare at him over her shoulder. "Like you can do better."
He didn't bother to meet her eyes. Since she was looking at him, she saw the corner of his mouth quirk up before he sobered. "I'm Mushroom," he said, climbing over the back of the couch.
"Fine."
She restarted the game and waited as he chose his character. "Let me guess, Peach?" he murmured, still refusing to look at her.
Despite the fact that she always chose Yoshi, she felt a contrary urge to defend the pink princess well up inside her. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Girls can't go as fast."
Oh, it's on. "Don't worry," she muttered, glaring as Peach squealed in excitement at having been picked. "I won't ask you to slow down."
xxx
Conversation was basically limited to trash talk or greetings, if they spoke at all. Mostly they sat in silence, concentrating on whatever game Mac happened to be playing when Dick came home.
She wondered where he stayed out so late every weekend, but she never asked. That would have been crossing the invisible boundary they had erected between them, and she refused to do that.
Which is why she was surprised when Dick did.
"You coming to the party?"
Surprise made Mac glance away from the screen at him for a second. Then she heard her character cry out in virtual pain, jerking her back to attention. "What?"
"Party this weekend. You coming? Behind you," he added evenly, his character spinning to confront the oncoming soldiers.
For a while, they focused on trying to live through the attack. When they were once again jogging down the corridor, she remembered his question. "What party?"
"The one at KDR."
She snorted. "I don't think so."
They were silent for a minute while Mac tried to figure out where this tangent had come from. "Are you pledging or something?"
He shrugged. "I guess."
"Is Logan going?"
"Probably."
She sighed silently and gave up trying to have a conversation. Then Dick surprised her again. "If Veronica goes, he'll go." When she didn't say anything, he continued, his voice carrying a hint of exasperation. "It's a party, Ghost World."
"I understand the concept, Dick," she said tersely.
"Yeah? Have you ever even been to a party?"
She frowned and jabbed the trigger button with unnecessary roughness. "Yeah, I have."
"Chucky Cheese doesn't count."
Teeth clenching, she lapsed into silence. "Hey," Dick cried out in a harsh whisper. "Stop shooting me."
"Stop being an ass," she retorted.
"Fine, fine, you've been to a party. Who's party?" he asked, feigning interest.
"Yours."
That made him glance at her. "Really? When did—" Snapping his mouth shut, he turned back to the tv. She heard him swallow. "Friday at the house. West side of campus."
"I know where it is," she said tiredly, her shoulders slumped over the controller.
"You should come. It's supposed to be huge," he mumbled without any real enthusiasm.
She didn't answer and Dick didn't say anything else. Ten minutes later, he set his controller aside, got up and silently disappeared into his bedroom.
xxx
"So, what are we doing this weekend?" Veronica asked, glancing in her rearview mirror.
"Aside from working?" Mac stared out her window as a strip mall flashed past.
"Come on, Mac. It's Halloween. We have to do something."
Mac shrugged. Veronica tensed next to her and Mac squeezed her eyes shut. Come on, Mackenzie. All you need is a crumb of enthusiasm. You can manage the pretense.
Opening her mouth to speak, she paused to reconsider, still staring out the window. Finally, she managed to force the words out. "I think there's a party or something at KDR."
She glanced over her shoulder in time to see the flash of surprise on Veronica's face. "Since when do you hear about frat parties?" she asked on a disbelieving laugh.
"Since now I guess." When the suspicion didn't leave Veronica's face, Mac sighed inwardly and thought quickly. "Somebody was passing out fliers in freshman lit. It's supposed to be huge," she added, wincing as Dick's words left her mouth.
"Do you want to go?" Veronica asked.
Mac opened her mouth to answer honestly, but shut it again after catching a glimpse of Veronica's profile. She seemed almost excited about the idea. Then it clicked into place in Mac's mind. A party would be an excuse for she and Logan to go out, to be a couple outside of Logan's apartment. A normal couple. And she wasn't going anywhere without Mac safely in tow.
Mac swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She hadn't been to a party since graduation. Shoving the thought aside, she forced a smile. "Sure, why not? Might be fun."
Relief passed over Veronica's features. "Hey, if it sucks, we'll leave."
"Cool," Mac said, nodding and turning back towards the window.
"What are you going as?" Mac shrugged again, but Veronica wasn't paying attention. "I have the perfect costume," she said, a wicked lilt to her tone.
Mac raised an eyebrow to the window. She was getting the feeling that Logan and Veronica would be out of commission for most of the night.
Who cared? Halloween sucked anyway.
xxx
Too late, she realized that not dressing up really made one stick out at a costume party. Standing in the doorway, she eyed the throng of French maids, cowgirls, and gypsies grinding with various frat brothers in the large living room. She could feel her cheeks heating and wished she hadn't pulled her hair back in a ponytail to get it out of her face.
Tugging self-consciously on the hem of her t-shirt, she forced her eyes back to Veronica. Despite the fact that Mac was pretty sure Cleopatra hadn't been blonde, she had to admit that Veronica had chosen her costume well. Logan hadn't been able to look away from her cleavage for long all night, which had made the drive over just a little more terrifying than Mac would have liked.
Or maybe Veronica was supposed to be a Roman noblewoman. Mac couldn't remember. But eyeing their matching togas, she was pretty sure Veronica and Logan had coordinated outfits.
They hadn't been through the door for more than three seconds before a guy appeared from the crowd to give Logan a high five.
"Echolls, you made it. Nice," he said with an appreciative glance at Veronica. His eyes skimmed over Mac dismissively while Logan tugged his girlfriend a little closer. "Keg's in the kitchen, man."
"Seen Dick?" Logan yelled as the song changed and delighted shrieks filtered into the entryway from the living room.
"Yeah, he's around," the guy said, slopping beer out of his cup as he gestured vaguely. His eyes were already glued on the next group of females wandering through the front door.
Logan began pushing his way through the dancing throng, beyond which Mac could only assume lay the kitchen. As she trailed Veronica through the crowd, a cowgirl abruptly stumbled into her, knocking her a good five feet to the right. By the time she righted the girl and looked up, the crowd had closed behind Veronica and Logan leaving nothing but a wall of naked flesh covered in body glitter.
Worse, she'd gotten so turned around that when she pushed through the crowd in front of her, she found herself back in the entryway with Mr. Charm. He paused after descending a set of stairs she hadn't noticed before. "Hey," he said suspiciously, readjusting his football jersey. "Who do you know here?"
She wasn't sure if she was mad or relieved that he didn't remember her. Sighing, she stumbled forward as someone fell into her from behind. The guy reached out to steady her, but she pulled away. "Dick Casablancas," she answered, surprising herself.
His face immediately cleared and he pointed up the stairs. "Second floor."
Great. Taking one last glance into the dance floor, she gave up and trudged toward the stairs.
"Hey!" She stopped with one foot on the bottom step and looked over her shoulder at Mr. Charm. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"
She glanced down at her t-shirt and jeans. "A student," she answered, still staring at her faded Weezer shirt.
"Nice!" The appreciation in his tone made her blink at him as the guy raised his hand up high. With disbelief she raised her own and he slapped it enthusiastically before turning away. "Third door to the left," he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the throng.
She stood at the bottom of the stairs contemplating her choices. She could either take a chance on the dance floor and search for Veronica, who was most likely locked in a closet with Logan by now anyway; or she could attempt to find Dick, who was most likely smashed and would ignore her in the presence of his illustrious frat brothers.
At least Dick wouldn't be plastered to a naked Logan.
At the top of the stairs, she heard the yelling before her eyes adjusted to the black light in the hallway. Cautiously, she moved down the hall, reaching up to tuck a loose hair behind her ear. At the third door, she peered in and saw a group of guys leaning on and around a pool table.
Even in the dim light, his blonde hair shone, making it easy to spot him on the far side of the room. She watched him take a shot of clear liquid—Vodka? she wondered—as the guys around him let out a collective yell. The bottle appeared, another round of shots was poured, and Dick laughed with the group at something the guy next to him said.
Mac's breath caught. But even as the group of guys continued laughing, Dick's face faded into a blank mask. As the smile slid off his face, her lungs eased and she could breathe again.
Just as she sucked in a gulp of air, Dick's eyes locked with hers and she froze. He stood and said something, earning a high five from one of the guys. The frat brothers didn't even look up as Dick moved towards her, but Mac slid out of view anyway.
Dick eased the door shut behind him. "Hey," he muttered just loud enough to be heard over the bass pounding through the floor and up the stairwell. "You come with Logan and Veronica?"
"Yeah, we lost each other on the way to the kitchen."
He nodded as if this were a common occurrence—which, she realized, it might be in a frat house—and started to lead the way down the stairs. At the bottom, he gave her a gentle shove onto the dance floor.
She started to ease her way through the crowd, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Dick was still behind her. He met her eyes and nodded, so she turned back to the jungle of glittering body parts. But when she felt him wrap an arm securely around her waist, she tensed and stopped moving.
"Relax, Ghost World," he murmured. Her teeth clenched at the amusement in his voice, and she forced her muscles to relax a bit. Ironically, after a few minutes of being jostled by the dancers, she found herself clutching his arm, grateful for the steadying grip.
As they maneuvered their way through the crowd, Mac wondered if Dick could see anything over all the bodies. Oh, how she wished to be taller.
Suddenly they were clear and Mac could breath again. Dick's arm immediately dropped and he stepped around her to lead the way into the kitchen. Mac knew that it was far less packed in there, but she'd always hated crowds, so she hurried to keep up with Dick, glancing anxiously from side to side in his wake.
After coming to a stop, she waited while he did something mysterious with the keg and the cooler next to it. Moving surreptitiously into the space between Dick's side and the wall, she tried to breathe normally. When he turned back around, he was holding a cup and an unopened Sprite. "Here," he said, shoving the can into her hand.
She took it automatically only to frown down at it uncomprehendingly. Had Dick Casablancas, the Party King, just handed her a soda?
"They didn't have any root beer," he added, as if in explanation, searching the room for someone.
She forced her fingers to move correctly and pull the tab. Taking a sip, she tilted her head up to look at Dick, glad he was at least partially blocking her from the rest of the room.
In the full light of the kitchen, she blinked, taking in Dick's jeans and black shirt. Once the initial shock diminished, she quelled the urge to laugh and quickly raised the can to her mouth to block her smile. By the time he turned back to her, she had herself under control.
He stared down for so long that she lowered her soda. "What?" She held perfectly still, refusing to brush at her face worriedly under his gaze.
"What happened to the magenta?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.
She involuntarily raised a hand to touch her hair before yanking it down and shrugging casually. "It faded. I didn't redo it."
"What color are you doing next?"
"I'm not," she muttered, looking past Dick's arm to the small sliver of room she could see.
A girl stumbled into the kitchen doorway, landing on an equal drunk male who laughed and lifted her back to her feet. The girl smiled sloppily and threw her arms around the guy's neck. Mac eased a little closer to the wall, trying to use Dick's body to block out the image.
"Orange," Dick said decisively.
Her eyes jerked back to his face. "What?"
"You should dye it orange."
She stared at him for a moment, but couldn't quite decide if he was serious or not. Banking on serious, she narrowed her eyes. "Isn't that a little…festive?"
He shrugged agreeably and eyed her hair thoughtfully. "How about green?"
"Drink your beer," she countered, taking a sip of her Sprite. Dick glanced down at his cup in surprise, as if he'd forgotten it was even there.
They drank in silence for a while, Mac growing tenser the music and shrieks grew louder. Then someone tapped Dick's shoulder and he turned away and bent his head to hear what his frat brother was saying.
After a minute, Dick turned back to Mac and jerked his thumb behind him. "I have to go," he yelled over the roaring music. She nodded, trying not to look too nervous. "Don't put that down," he added, pointing at her soda as he walked backwards away from her.
She raised her can in a mock salute, eyes glued to his black t-shirt as he wove through the crowded kitchen until he disappeared into the undulating mass. Swallowing thickly, Mac tamped down on her panic and looked around the kitchen.
She jumped as a couple crashed through the doorway, mouths glued to each other. Eyes wide, she watched nervously as they veered towards her, wincing as they banked sharply to land with a bone-jarring thud against the counter.
Definitely time to go.
As they continued to make out, not registering her presence, Mac set her soda on the counter and walked straight out of the doorway. Her determination provided unprecedented strength and she easily pushed her way through the crowded dance floor. Body after body brushed and slammed against hers as the panic rose to a crescendo inside her. When she finally pushed through the other side, she rushed to the opposite wall of the entryway where she promptly collapsed, gasping for breath.
"Mac!"
Eyes snapping open, she found Veronica dragging Logan towards her from the edge of the crowd.
"Thank God, I thought we'd never find you," Veronica said, coming to a stop in front of her. "Where'd you go after we lost you? We waited for you in the kitchen."
"I got turned around," Mac explained. "I didn't get to the kitchen for awhile."
"This place is a zoo," Logan agreed, a grin teasing the corners of his mouth.
Mac tried to smile, but her breathing wasn't even yet, and her lips felt shaky. But her friends didn't seem to notice, so maybe she was convincing. Logan took one last look around the room and nodded towards the door.
"This is gonna get busted soon. Let's get while the going's good," he said, leaning down to nuzzle Veronica's neck.
Mac turned quickly and gratefully towards the door. As they were walking down the path to Logan's car, he suddenly asked, "Hey, you didn't happen to see Dick in there, did you? Veronica and I looked everywhere for him."
Keeping her eyes firmly ahead, she shook her head. "No," she lied easily. "Sorry."
"It's cool," Logan said with an elaborate sigh as they reached the Xterra. "He always comes home eventually."
Mac swallowed and waited for Logan to unlock the doors. She heard the mechanical whir, and pulled hers open. With one foot inside the car, she paused and glanced back at the house. The party was spilling out onto the lawn in a flurry of drunken stumbling, but the upstairs was dark.
She knew that the bedrooms were probably occupied, but from Logan's car the darkened windows seemed peaceful. As she finally pulled the door closed, she wondered if Dick was up there.
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matilda030788Hi and thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the first chapter. Yeah, I hope we see some Mac/Dick in the 3rd season, too.
SatisfactoryInfluenceHi! I'm so glad you liked the beginning. I hope you liked this chapter as much. I love Veronica and Logan together, too. They're definitely my favorite, but Mac/Dick is a close second!
jacedesHi! Yeah, Quiet Dick is somehow almost hotter than loud obnoxious Dick. If that's possible. Maybe I just have a thing for tortured heroes, though.
FanFicFairy514Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the first chapter. Hopefully the second met your expectations.
wantingchinoHi and thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it. I guess this chapter answered your question, eh? Don't worry, I'll update again soon.
A.N. I should have a new chapter up with the next couple of days. Hope you all liked it!