Logan stood in the corner of Veronica's living room feeling nauseous, there it was, the engagement ring he had bought for her sitting in a box on her coffee table… of course he couldn't exactly just come out and admit that it wasn't Dick's because he had been supposed to be hiding it from his girlfriend, petite, blond haired private investigator and super sleuth Veronica Mars. Luckily everyone else was too busy trying to console the freaked out Cindy "Mac" MacKenzie over the possible pregnancy scare.
Dick was not going to be happy about this.. he thought. So much for not wanting complicated.
"But you KEPT the ring?" Parker commented.
"I didn't think about it" Mac answered.
"No….. you thought you were pregnant… and you found the engagement ring… and yes you panicked and freaked out and left and possibly ruined everything… but don't you see?" Parker said passionately. "You kept the ring!" she smiled enthusiastically.
"Yeah but I don't know what that means!" Mac told her roommate as she sniffed away another tear.
"It means… a part of you is totally into it!" Parker explained.
"Or.. that I'm just some klepto who didn't have time to think about it when I hit the eject button and ran for the hills" Mac argued.
"Either way… girl you owe that boy an explanation" Wallace told her, glancing at Logan.
"Have you heard from him?" Piz asked. Logan rolled his eyes, why was this guy always around? In his Stupid Argyle sweaters…. He intensely disliked him. He reminded Logan of a poor man's Duncan Kane.
"Just a voicemail but I haven't listened to it yet" she admitted.
"Maybe we should just wait until he gets back?" Logan suggested before anyone could propose they listen to it.
"Have you spoken to him?" Veronica asked.
"Yeah… he's driving back" Logan told her.
Logan really just wished that everyone else would just leave and that he could get his hands back on that ring and have a chance to clear this entire thing up with Mac in private before someone came along and spilled his secrets.
"I feel horrible.. I just panicked… I don't know if its hormones or something, but I saw that…" she said pointing at the ring on the table. "and I knew I had to get out of there"
"I should head home soon…" Logan told them "Perhaps I should take it with me?" he suggested. Praying that no one actually tried to open it. So far, the box had remained sealed.
"You can't just take it back" Parker protested. "He needs to come and ask for it" she declared.
"I don't want anything to do with it, take it… burn it… hide it in a space shuttle and send it… no wait.. send ME to Venus" Mac exclaimed.
Logan was worried for Mac now too. Pregnant? He had been watching this little drama between the two of them play out for the last little while and now it had blown out of all proportion faster than he knew what to do with. Nothing in their lives were ever easy, not in Neptune anyway. A team of writers from a teen high school drama couldn't come up with the amount of Angst they had been through.
He felt so powerless.. he could just confess and tell them that the ring belonged to him, that the "special surprise" was actually VIP passes for the concert this evening she had run away from Weller from. Not a secret marriage proposal under the stars… although, now Logan thought of it… that could have been perfect.
"Even if I am pregnant… and that's IF…. I am not MARRYING Dick Fricking Casablanca's" Mac declared. Even if he IS the best sex of my life…. Mac thought silently.
"You said the ring was inscribed?" Piz asked as he reached for the box.
"Dude… that's private" Logan scolded and tried to discourage him from reaching for the box.
"Logan's right… this day has been humiliating enough…" Mac said frowning as she picked up the box and handed it to him. "Tell Dick… God I don't even know how to start that conversation… but please… please… can we keep the whole…." She said as she gestured towards her stomach "Situation private until I know for definite?"
"You don't want to tell him?" Veronica asked.
"Well it's either his or Bronsons… and I don't want to have that conversation with two of them if there isn't anything to tell" Mac elaborated.
Parker made a lips sealed and throwing away the key motion.
"I got your back sister" she declared as she hugged Mac through the sweater.
"You left a note… what did you say?" Logan asked.
"Had to go?" Mac told him.
Wallace shook his head. "Ya'll need to be taking classes in communication or something…" he said as he rolled his eyes.
The little party in the small living room of the Mars Apartment was interrupted by Keith Mars returning from walking their dog, a four year old Pitbull called Backup.
"Hello Mr Mars" Logan smiled awkwardly and was rewarded by the usual Dad stare.
"Logan" he replied as he took off the leash.
"Hi Daddy" Veronica smiled.
"Sweetheart… we having guests for dinner?" Keith asked as he looked around at the invasion of college students in his home.
"Uh no… we were just picking something up" Veronica smiled as she cast a look around at her friends.
"Right… and now we have it… I think it's time that get Mac back home… she's been feeling a little unwell today" Parker smiled politely.
"Nice to see you again Keith" Piz said as he shook Veronica's fathers hand.
"Stosh, good to see you too, thanks for that book by the way, Uganda… it was powerful stuff" he said as he pointed at the book Soldier of Misfortune by a Hearst Student. Logan felt a stab of jealousy. Yeah… he really didn't like this Piz guy.
"I have a few others I could recommend, I'll be covering them on my show this Friday, you should tune in" Piz suggested.
"Yeah… yeah I just might. Veronica usually has it on in the office" he told him. Logan flashed a quick glance to his girlfriend, she had never mentioned anything to him about listening to Piz's radio show, although now he thought about it, she did usually have the local campus radio station on while she was at work in the library.
"Well.. I should get going" Logan said softly as he gave Veronica a small kiss on the forehead and headed towards the door.
"Mind dropping us over at campus on your way by?" Parker flirted with Logan.
"I can drive you" said Wallace and Piz grimaced, he found Parker to be insufferable with her cheerleader sorority bubbliness.
"Sure" Parker smiled.
"I don't care who drives… just make sure the windows are rolled down" Mac said as she picked up her overnight bag.
"Everything ok Honey?" Keith asked.
"Stomach flu" Veronica dismissed as she hugged Mac goodbye. "Call me later ok?" she told her.
"If I'm not blowing up chunks or taking off to Vegas after he gets back… who knows?" Mac smiled.
"You coming over later?" Logan asked quietly as he finally got Veronica alone by the porch.
"I might head over and check on Mac… I still cant believe Dick was going to propose…" she said in disbelief. "Of course I didn't think that Mac and Dick would be a thing.. let alone that rolled up Maxim magazine where his heart should be would let him develop feelings like a real boy" she said in a mock Pinocchio voice.
"Maybe we should wait until we get all the facts first" Logan suggested as he clutched the box with the ring in his pocket.
"Ok.. I gotta get a look at this thing…" she giggled as she went to reach for it.
"Or maybe how about we don't go looking into things that are private?" he said as he pushed his hands deeper into his pockets.
"Umm… yeah.. okay.. I guess" she said, a little taken aback.
"Dick's not all bimbo's and video games and getting stoned Veronica.. He's my friend… and he obviously likes Mac… and we don't know whats been going on between them" he told her passionately "I think we should just cut him some slack… so I am going to go home now and make sure my roommate and best friend is okay now" he told her stubbornly.
"Your right…" she relented feeling rebuffed and she stepped away from him. "I'll talk to you later" she said softly before turning and walking back into the house. Great.. now he felt like a jackass again.
"She thinks I want to MARRY her?" Dick exclaimed… "I just wanted to go to a concert and get BREAKFAST every once in a while… I've already got divorced once this year… my dad would frigging kill me!" he said after Logan had given him the run down of everything that had happened. "Dude… I am so sorry… worst best man ever…"
"It's not your fault Dick" Logan comforted as he played with the small rose gold band in his hands.
"At least only Mac saw it" he offered.
"You really need to talk to her Dick" Logan warned him.
"She won't pick up" he informed him, rolling his eyes.
Logan knew that reaction all too well… was it something they had been taught together in Neptune High during their chats about Menstrual Cycles.. how to drive the man you are sleeping with completely crazy in 4 easy lessons… One, exist. Two, Acknowledge the man exist. Three, Sleep with him and rock his world. Four… ignore his existence again then repeat step three until insanity has been achieved.
He couldn't quite bring himself to confess about the possible pregnancy, he was Mac's friend too but really, it was up to her to tell Dick these things, not Logan.
He had screwed up with Veronica again, she thought he was angry with her… he wasn't. He had just been so stressed that she would see the ring too early. He traced a finger over the inscription.
My abiding love is for you.
He wasn't sure now if he would ever work up the courage now to ask her after how shocked he had seen her react that someone would ever contemplate getting engaged while they were in college.
"Dude… pizza?" Dick asked as he lifted the room service menu.
"Nandos?" Logan offered.
"A woman translator?" Dick suggested.
"A crystal ball?" Logan countered as he handed his friend the controller to the Xbox and they fired up Halo. This time there was no booty call text from Mac to interrupt them.
