a/n: I may have to stop my daily updates soon, some family I haven't seen in forever just came into town and I don't have as much time to write. Also, sorry this chapter is kind of a recap and it's mostly just fluff and dialogue, but it will pick up in the next few chapters. Now I have a question for you all, would you rather Logan and Veronica get together sooner or later?

"Let's make a board," Logan suggests a week after they've interrogated Madison. They haven't gained any new evidence or really anything since then, and this suggestion makes Veronica's head flit up from where she's studying her English notes.

She's seen Logan every day, either he hangs out in her dorm room or they meet up on the beach, making speculations and suspicions or just studying for classes. Unfortunately none of the theories they've come up with quite fit, and Veronica's starting to get a little lost. Not to mention that she's behind on some of coarse work.

"A board?"

"You know, like with the names and faces of all the main suspects and all the stuff we know," he says, and she nods.

"That could be a good idea," she stands up, surveying the dorm room. "We could do it in here, but there's a chance Piz or Mac could see—"

"Or we could do it at my house," Logan says quickly, "I mean…My Dad's gone for the week so…"

"My, my Logan Echolls," Veronica crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you trying to get me into your bedroom?"

"You wish," he smirks, "C'mon." He holds out her hand and she pulls herself up, gathering her notebook.

"Fine, I'll go to your house," she waggles a finger in his face, "But no funny business," she puts on a southern accent, "I am still a proper lady."

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Logan's the son of a movie star, so Veronica expects his house to be big. I mean, it only makes sense right?

She however, doesn't expect it to be so entirely large. It's not a mansion, she feels like a castle would be a better description. It even has a gate at the front, and Logan needs to be buzzed in to get in. Her mouth is open as she stares at the large sandstone covered building. Logan's eyes keep darting to her's as she gazes up t the building.

"Why do you like hanging out in my dorm room?" she asks him, "It's probably the size of your closet."

"Maybe it's the coziness?" he suggests, parking in front of the building. He helps Veronica out of the car. When he tried to do that the first time, she had pushed him away, but now she just let him. It was easier than protesting at this point. Besides, it made her feel special. Even Veronica Mars wanted to feel special occasionally.

"Cozy," Veronica snorts, "That's the polite way of saying barely enough room to walk."

"Whatever you say Ronica," he says, letting them in through the front door. The entry way is as big as her house back home, she observes, and wonders how it would be like to grow up without worrying about money.

"So what are we going to make this board out of?" she asks, and Logan grins.

"Come here," he says, gesturing for her to follow him up a long staircase that twists elegantly out of view. Veronica, feeling very out of place in her moose t-shirt and jeans that have a hole in the knee, follows him up.

"Is this your room?" she asks in amazement, and Logan shakes his head.

"It's the 'guest room' but really my Mom used to sleep in here," he says, and Veronica wracks her mind back. She's never been up to date on the tabloids, and while she knows that Logan's mother is famous, she can't remember where she is.

"Where is your Mom?" she finally asks, assuming his parents are divorced or something. Logan looks at her in disbelief, and she squirms slightly.

"You really didn't hear?" he asks her in amazement.

"Should I have?"

Logan laughs, "You don't keep track of celebrities do you?"

Veronica blushes. "Sorry," she murmurs.

"No, that's awesome," Logan says, genuinely happy that she doesn't read the tabloids, "Well to answer your question, my Mother committed suicide two years ago."

"Oh," Veronica's hand flies to her mouth, her eyes going wide as saucers. "I'm sorry, I didn't know—"

"No it's fine," Logan waves off her apology, "It's actually kind of cool that you don't follow the tabloids. And it's been a long time regardless—I'm over it." She can see in his face that it's a lie. She reaches out a hand and touches his shoulder, biting her lip softly.

"You don't get over your Mother leaving you," she says softly, her eyes melting into her's, "I should know."

"Your Mother committed suicide too?" Logan's eyes search her's, probably wanting her to feel the way she does. She does, she's surprised to know. Her Mother may not have taken her own life, but she left her.

"No, but she did leave," Veronica admits, "Told me that marrying my Dad was a mistake when I found her holed up in a bar. I almost used all my college money getting her into rehab, and then she took everything we had and hightailed it out of there." She looks down at her feet, she hasn't even told Piz all those details. Still, if Logan's mother did leave him, he understands. He won't try to shove false sympathies or advice onto her.

"My Mom liked to drink too," Logan says instead, his eyes impossibly far away. "But enough of that talk." She hasn't even realized that they're still standing in the doorway of his Mother's room until he says this, and she shakes her head firmly and follows him into the room.

She's only known him for a week, and despite the fact that they've spent a good chunk of that week in each other's presence, it doesn't mean anything. He's still someone she's barely met, and she can't let herself get distracted by him. No matter how pretty his eyes are.

"So I was thinking we could take down one of these," Logan says, gesturing to the far wall of a bedroom that's roughly the size of the master bedroom in her house back home. The back wall is lined with Lynn Echolls' movie posters, and Veronica is surprised to know that she recognizes a few. "And glue stuff on the back. Then we can put it back up when we're done and nobody will know."

"So I take it your Dad doesn't know that you hired me?" Veronica asks as Logan selects a poster and lifts it off the wall. At the mention of his Father Logan stiffens, and shakes his head.

"He's like the rest. Thinks I'm crazy for even thinking there's something wrong about her death." Logan sets the poster down on the bed and involuntarily reaches back and rubs at a spot on his back like it's troubling him. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy," he sighs.

"Well just remember, like I've said before, that I don't," Veronica says, moving to sit on the bed in front of the poster, "So not everyone. Just mostly everyone." Logan laughs, and joins her.

"So first off, we need a picture of Lily," he decides, and Veronica nods.

"That would be good," she agrees, and she's again surprised when he pulls one out of the back of his pocket. When she stares at him, he shrugs.

"I knew we were going to do this today."

"Do you have any glue?" she instead asks, knowing that he's lying to her but not really caring. Logan nods, and disappears for a moment before he returns holding a large glue stick.

"I feel like this is arts and crafts time," Logan admits as Veronica glues Lily's picture to the center of the board.

"She's the only thing we'll glue," Veronica decides, "The rest we'll tape. Lily is really the only known variable."

Logan nods in agreement, and then returns with a roll of tape and a stack of photographs. "Here are some pictures of Duncan, Meg, Madison, you name it."

Veronica picks up the stack and rifles through it, noting how much happier Logan looks in these pictures, how much younger Duncan looks, how much less sour Madison portrays herself to be. One girl could change all of these people with her death. One girl could haunt Logan forever.

"So who is on our main list of suspects?" Logan asks, snapping Veronica out of her reverie.

"Well I was thinking Duncan," Veronica selects a lone picture of Duncan and tapes it to the board. "If he doesn't remember anything front the days of Lily's death, that puts him without an alibi really."

Logan nods. "He does this a lot, forgetting things I mean," he says, "And Ronnie, you can't tell anyone I told you this, but one day I was over at his house and he just lost it. Closed his hands around his Father's throat and I couldn't get him off. When I finally wrestled him free, and he got back to being Duncan, he didn't remember any of it."

Veronica frowns. "Do you think he's pretending or he really doesn't remember?"

Logan shrugs. "Who knows?"

"Okay," Veronica picks up a dry erase marker and scrawls next to Duncan's picture Memory Problem. Violent.

"Who's next?" Logan asks, tapping his hand against the edge of the poster.

"Madison Sinclair," Veronica attaches the picture to the board. "She said Lily had a secret to tell her, how are we supposed to know she didn't and Madison went crazy?"

"Madison is not that smart."

"How did Lily die?" Veronica picks up her notebook, she's written down all the details of Lily's death, "She was hit in the head with an ash tray right? It could've not been intended at first."

Logan nods, something flashing in his eyes. He's the one that does the writing this time, scrawling in odd blockish letters: Secrets. Stupid.

"Okay, so next is Weevil, although since you don't have any pictures of him…"

"Why would I have pictures of Weevil?"

Veronica scrawls Weevil's name. Boyfriend. Reluctant to talk. Not intimate with Lily at the time of her death.

"And then there's here parents," Veronica frowns, "But I doubt they'd talk to us. They don't seem as gullible as Duncan from the newscasts I've seen."

"And they hate me, and anyone in association with me," Logan adds helpfully.

Veronica takes two pictures of Jake and Celeste Kane from her bag and sticks them onto the board.

"Do you just randomly carry pictures of Jake and Celeste on you at all times?" Logan asks, "Should I be concerned?" Veronica makes a face at him.

"I had a feeling we were going to do something like this," she says, "Now the only thing I really need is to get their alibis. Duncan, Madison, and Weevil's all check out for right now, but we have no way of obtaining those unless we—"

"Steal them from the police station," Logan finishes,

"But we can't steal something from the police station!" Veronica protests.

"We don't need to," Logan shrugs, "I'll have someone else do it."

"Oh you just have buckets of people willing to commit a felony for you?"

"No, but I do have a contact inside the building, who just happens to owe me."

"Owe you for what?"

"That's for me to know, and not certain blonde girls who I've only known for a week," Logan says abruptly, and Veronica flinches back slightly.

"Okay, okay," she says, raising her eyebrows. "Just be careful." Logan smirks.

"I always am."

Her phone rings before she can answer, and she picks it up without looking to see who's calling. "Hello?"

"Hey Veronica," Piz answers, "So Wallace and I were going to go bowling tonight, you want to join?"

"Um…" Veronica twirls a piece of hair around her finger, and then looks at Logan sitting on the edge of his dead Mother's bed, looking at a board containing the suspects of who could've murdered his girlfriend. Maybe it would be nice for them to do something else. "Sure. Just, could I bring a friend?"

"Sure," Piz says, and he's almost sounding like the Piz from before college. "The more the merrier."

"Kay, I've got to go," Veronica hangs up, and then looks at Logan. "Want to go bowling?"

"What?"

"Piz and his roommate invited me along. I was wondering if you wanted to join us." Logan looks uncomfortable for a moment.

"I don't know, I don't think your boyfriend likes me very much."

"Piz is not my boyfriend," Veronica insists, "And besides, you can't let him and Wallace team up against me!" When Logan doesn't say anything, she leans forward and puts her hand on his arm. "I think it would do us both some good to step away from this for just one game of bowling."

"You really want me to come with you?" he looks like he's expecting her to say no.

"Yes, I do," she nods, "So come."

He grins then, and it makes something inside her flutter. "Okay."

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The bowling alley is a hole in the wall a couple miles from campus. It looks like it's from the 80s, complete with the tacky signs and smell of greasy pizza. At first Veronica's slightly nervous, wondering what Logan's expectations are. He looks around at the bowling alley with apprehension, but then softens when he sees her looking at him, and grins.

"I haven't done anything like this in forever," he admits.

"Really?" she raises an eyebrow, "Is that why Dick is practically begging anything with legs to be your girlfriend?" Logan laughs.

"I do alright in that area," he says mysteriously, wiggling his eyebrows. She smiles back, but something about his comment sets unhappily in her stomach. She doesn't have a chance to respond before—

"Veronica?" Piz asks, and Veronica and Logan both turn around.

"Oh, hey!" Veronica says happily, stepping forward to give him a hug. Despite Piz's annoying nature, she does miss him. He stiffens at her touch, and she frowns. Still acting weird then.

"Hey Veronica," Wallace greets, his smile infectious. She likes Wallace, he seems like a good guy.

"I don't think I've introduced you completely to my friend," Veronica steps back, gesturing towards Logan. "This is Logan, and Logan this is Piz and Wallace."

Logan nods, his arm brushing against her lower back. Veronica can feel every breath he makes, and she's painfully aware of the heat rising to her face as she lunges toward the nearest bowling lane.

"Let's get this party started!" she says loudly, trying to diffuse the tension springing between her, Logan, and Piz.

"Ronnie, you kind of need bowling shoes," Logan points out, smirking. Veronica straightens.

"Oh yeah," she laughs, "I knew that."

"Sure you did," Logan rolls his eyes, "What's your shoe size?"

"Size six," she tells him, and he heads towards the shoe rental.

"Why did you bring him?" Piz asks as soon as he's out of earshot.

"Because I was with him when you called," Veronica defends, "And he's my friend."

"I'm cool with it man," Wallace adds, but Piz doesn't back down. He steps closer to Veronica, and she takes a step back.

"Stop being a jackass," Veronica advises him, "Unless you want me to Taser you. Which I would be happy to do if you keep acting like this."

Piz lets out a frustrated groan, and turns away, his hands twitching at his side. Veronica turns to Wallace, puts on a bright smile, and starts to talk to him about basketball until Logan gets back.

"Did you miss me?" Logan asks, the shoes into her lap. "I hope these are the right size Ronica, because the lady at the desk definitely did not like me."

"Someone not liking you?" Veronica fake gasps, "That's almost unheard of." She slides the bowling shoes onto her feet, and while they're slightly too big, she decides to just go with it.

"You ready partner in crime?" Logan asks, raising one eyebrow. She raises her eyes to the digital screen above and sure enough, sees that she's on a team with Logan against Piz and Wallace.

"Just so you know," she whispers to Logan, "I really suck at bowling."

"I should be amazing enough for both of us Sugarpuss, don't you worry," he says, smirking, and steps up to the floor, a bowling ball clutched tightly in his grip.

"You're so going down," Wallace goads, but Logan merely nods, and then gracefully rolls the ball onto the floor. It heads towards the middle pin and hits it with a crack, knocking all the pins around it down.

Veronica raises her hand and gives Logan a high five. "I knew picking you as my partner wasn't a bad idea," she says smugly, and Logan looks like he's going to say something in return, but Piz interrupts them by spectacularly falling on his ass during his turn, and Veronica has to help him up off the slippery floor. When she turns back to Logan, he's looking off in the distance, something deep and dark in his eyes.

He's quiet for the rest of the night.