AN: This one is dedicated to you guys, my amazing, and long-suffering reviewers. Once more, I apologize for the fact that I don't update as much as I should. But know that you make me very, very happy. :)

So it continues:

Chapter 17:

She stood silently, ignoring the occasional stinging from a passing grain of sand and the flutter of her hair dancing in the breeze. A single tear threatened to fall from one of her eyes but she blinked rapidly to deter its progress. She was damned if she surrendered to her fear now. The ring of her phone startled her from her almost trance-like state. As she answered, an uninhibited genuine smile flashed across her face.

"Hey Wallace," she answered her best friend's greeting. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry; I'll be home soon, so you better not have eaten that ice cream already." She laughed at his retort, but then her smile faded. She started walking toward her car with a growing sense of unease.

"Listen, Wallace, there's something I have to do first. I'll talk to you later. Thanks," she told him before hanging up. It was time to face her fears. After all, Veronica Mars had never before let anything get in the way of her quest for the truth, and she certainly wasn't going to change her ways now.

---

Logan didn't know who he expected to see when he opened his door, but Veronica certainly wasn't on the list. She looked every bit as surprised as he felt, but she quickly swallowed and offered him a hesitant smile. He didn't move from his position in the doorway, simply staring at the obviously nervous girl opposite him. She opened her mouth, changed her mind and almost ran, but then turned back to face him.

"Can I come in?" she asked him, and he nodded his assent as he gave her space to enter. Still, he didn't move back far enough to let her avoid brushing into him; he wasn't going to make it easier for her. Still he had to resist the urge to smile as her heart jumped when their bare skin touched for the briefest of seconds. He was glad he still had that effect on her. She stopped in front of the fireplace, and then slowly pivoted to face him once more. He knew she was finding his silent stare unnerving, so he was impressed, though not surprised, when she unflinchingly met his eyes.

"So, Logan, aren't you going to explain?"

"Explain, what, exactly?" he asked, cautiously.

"I want to know what you are," she answered firmly.

"Do you now?" he replied with a slight smirk.

"Listen, this is not easy for me. Do you know how hard it is to deal with the fact that everything I've ever known isn't real? That I don't know who people are anymore?" she shook her head in disgust. "I knew this was a bad idea. I should go." She turned, but before she could flee, she felt a hand, Logan's hand, gently pull her back. Once more they stared into each others eyes, not knowing what would happen, but neither could move away. He loosened his grip but Veronica barely noticed. This time she knew, unlike that fateful day on the balcony, that she couldn't just run away.

"What do you want to know, Ronnie?"

"Everything."

"Okay."

TBC