TITLE: Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
CHAPTER THREE: My (ex) Boyfriends Back
AUTHOR: Sarah
WORD COUNT: 4,825
SUMMARY: AU. Lilly lives. Veronica Mars moves to Neptune Junior year, leaving behind the tragedy that shaped her past in Waterford.
SPOILERS: General Season 1, nothing specific.
AN: I aim to please and it seems that the masses have spoken, Troy vs. No Troy, read on to find out who won… mwhaah I'm evil like that. This will be LoVe eventually. Sorry NO DuVe here !!! I couldn't ignore the spark even if I found the whole thing unbearable to watch.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed and my Beta LoVer159, you guys rock! I am manically happy every time I see a review, so keep me happy and I might give you what you want.
Chapter 3
My (ex) Boyfriend's Back
Things had been quiet, and it annoyed the hell out of Veronica. There had been nothing for the entire week, nothing. After Lilly and Weevil's 'coming out' Veronica had expected some retaliation, she had readied herself for it. But there had been nothing. She hadn't seen Lilly at all. She had seen Lilly, it was impossible not to notice her flitting around the hallways and laughing way too loud at the lunch table but there had been no altercation. It made her nervous, waiting for the sudden attack and she wished it would just be over with so she could prepare her next battle tactic. Although, Lilly didn't seem too upset with everybody knowing about her and Weevil, in her eyes it probably made her seem more alluring to the general public.
Maybe she has forgiven and forgotten, yeah right. And maybe hell has frozen over and the little green men are going to take over the world.
And it seemed that this was a family affair as both Kane's had taken it upon themselves to ignore Veronica Mars. Duncan, who had always been polite and attentive to Veronica, was avoiding her. Although they weren't bosom buddies she wondered what she had done to be on the receiving end of his cold shoulder. He was awkward and distant around her in journalism class and would look away from her when passing her in the halls. It was strange, when just last week he was giving her that hundred watt smile and asking her what she was doing over the weekend and how her dog was. Now she was getting nada, zip, zilch from him and Veronica thought he was doing a pretty good zombie from The Night Of the Living Dead impersonation.
The other person in the illustrious 09er trio was not avoiding Veronica Mars, but rather was being avoided by her. She had furiously denied it to Wallace after catching her hiding behind a row of lockers ala James Bond style when she saw Logan Echolls heading her way. She had guessed they had kind of formed a truce, she hadn't heard the usual "slut" coughs in English class and her locker had remained graffiti free for a whole week. But what the hell do you say to someone who used to be your arch enemy?
For now she would just accept that avoidance was the watchword.
Veronica stood in front of the Neptune High office desk, arms flailing in an attempt to gain Wallace's attention. He finally notices and hesitantly makes his way over to her.
"Wallace my brotha." She says loudly, gaining the attention of several other students milling around the office. Wallace rolls his eyes at her flamboyant greeting and eyes her suspiciously.
"Please, please, please never say that again ……and no."
"What?" She gives him a look of innocence, feigning confusion.
"I know that look, it's the look you give me before you ask me to do something: a) potential dangerous b) my mother wouldn't approve of or c) that could get me expelled. So whatever it is the answer is no."
"How bout d) none of the above," She says knowing that Wallace would almost do anything to help her out as long as it didn't break his moral standards. "Chill, I just needed to get some copies of the old Neptune High Year Book, my journalism teacher said you keep all the old copies here."
"You're a weird one Veronica Mars. But since I won't be in any immediate life threatening danger I can do that for you. What years do you want?"
"1982 to 1985… Have I told you how much I adore you." She adds as an afterthought.
"No. But I'm expecting some snickerdoodles tomorrow."
He walks off into the back room and leaves Veronica standing in the office as she drums her fingers restlessly on the counter. She turns around looking at the various people sitting on the uncomfortable, ugly, brown chairs that had been purposefully designed to deter kids from sitting on them. She does a full circle scan of the room before coming face to face with the devils incarnate himself, Troy Vandergraff.
"Give us a smile love."
Troy Vandergraff. He used to be my boyfriend.
She had dated Troy during her sophomore year at Waterford High. The whole thing had been cotton candy, and sweetness and vanilla and everything a teenage girl could want for a first boyfriend.
She remembers warm summer nights when they would lay on an old scratchy picnic blanket, sand and sea water coating their skin. She lay wrapped in his arms and thought of forever. It was under the same star speckled sky that she had believed in love and happy endings. And then he had run off with a bag full of drugs into the open arms of his not-so-ex-girlfriend and she hadn't been so quick to believe in fairytale endings and forever, anymore.
This had all occurred two months before her mother's murder and she wondered how he would have acted had they still been together, would he have stuck by her? But his character had already been damned when she had gone to school on Monday morning and was told through the high school gossip grape vine that Troy Vandergraff was a drug dealer that had fled the country to Mexico.
She stared into his hazel eyes, unable to form any reasonable sentence. There were too many questions and she was nearly shaking from the shock and anger his appearance caused.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She finally asks the most sensible questions that she could think of.
Troy stood in front of her, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans and shifted nervously. He looked exactly the same as the last time she laid eyes on him, short brown hair, muscular build and that cheeky smile, which he was wise enough to hide at this exact moment.
"My Dad's working on some business stuff in Neptune, so we moved ….Look Veronica, I have changed. After four months of intense therapy at one of the best rehabs in the California and a hell of a lot of distance between me and my cannonball ex-girlfriend, I'm no longer…"
"Save it ", she says. Effectively cutting him off and storming off in the other direction, forgetting all about the yearbooks Wallace was getting for her.
She was not ready to hear his heart felt apologies and explanations. This was the guy who had used her, lied to her and now he was back thinking that she was going to believe the crap he was spurting out and forgive him. He obviously did not know her. She can vaguely hear him call out her name as she marches through the crowd of people hoping that the little spectacle wasn't witnessed by too many people.
This was all too surreal, Troy in Neptune. Her past had a real way of coming back to bite her on the ass.
Freaking Troy Vandergraff.
She wonders for a minute if what he was saying was true, if he had really changed. She pushes that idea away immediately, remembering the lines he used on her last time and how she had been foolish enough to believe him then. Not now though.
Once fooled, shame on him. Twice fooled, Shame on me.
She sits at her usual table, absent mindedly stabbing at the cafeteria food that once resembled something edible with her plastic spork, her head still spinning from the sudden whirlwind appearance of Troy in her life. Before she can wallow in her pitiful predicament for too long Wallace arrives carrying the yearbooks she had forgotten to grab. She relishes the distraction and quickly fills Wallace in on the reason behind the need for yearbooks. His eyes widen at what she is doing but he doesn't say anything. So what if she was the only teenage girl secretly investigating a murder, Wallace understood.
"So we're looking for any pictures, clubs she was in, friends she had…that kind of thing."
"Way to narrow it down V."
They flip eagerly through the books stopping every now and then to make fun of the bad eighties hair styles.
"Pep squad, homecoming dance committee, the lacrosse team, are you sure you two were related."
Veronica punches him lightly in the arm.
"Hey! I am so full of pep it's spilling out of me."
Wallace shakes his head and gets back to looking through the yearbook. Only minutes pass before Wallace finds something rather intriguing.
"Veronica you really need to look at this. "
Veronica turns to the open page Wallace is staring at and she almost has to avert her eyes, blinded by the sparkle and glitter of the page.
They definitely weren't stingy with the glitter come Prom time.
Her eyes hone in on the large center picture of her mother, a crown placed on her head and smiling brightly into the camera. Veronica is shocked, she looks happy, really happy. Her eyes glisten as she realizes she will never get to see that now. Overcome with the pang of sadness Veronica almost doesn't notice the man standing next to her, a very young and handsome looking Jake Kane.
And the punches keep on coming.
"Veronica. Hey, Veronica. Wait up."
She pushes further through the crowd of students, ducking and weaving, but to no avail. He is at her side in seconds, panting a little and looking slightly hurt and out of breath.
"For someone with such tiny legs you sure can walk fast."
She looks up, anger flashing through her eyes and Troy just knows that this is not going to be easy.
"For someone with such a big head you sure have a small brain." She bites back.
"What do you want?" She says in a tone that is less hostile then previously. She hates herself afterwards for it as his eyes seem to sparkle and he is smiling for real now.
"Funny you should ask Miss Mars," He pulls an orange flyer from his bag and shows it to Veronica proudly.
"Do you want to come to this lovely hootenanny with me tomorrow night?"
Veronica is amazed at how he can be grinning as if she hadn't been angry at him two seconds ago, using the same charm and charisma that had won her over the first time. But it didn't matter she was going to stand her ground. The girl she was before was miles away from who she had become.
"What is this?" She says staring utterly confused at the flyer in her hands with little symbols all over it.
"It's an invitation to a party, but it's in code," He says, pausing as if to ponder something. "Now why didn't we have stuff like this in Waterford?"
"Because there was a limit to how petty people were."
Troy ignores her comment.
"The eggs mean Friday, the stars mean it's at night, the cake says it's a birthday party and the knight because it's at Susan Knights. "
She looks at the paper more closely and she has to admit she is mildly intrigued by the code.
And I thought the 09ers didn't have brains.
"Wait how do you know all this?"
He had only been at Neptune High for not even a day and knew about this code thing. She had been there for what felt like a lifetime now and had not heard a peep, but she guesses that was the point, to keep undesirables like her away.
"I have friends in high places."
Understanding dawns on her, of course Troy would make friends with the 09ers. Weren't their friends in Waterford similar to the 09ers, just because she had changed didn't mean he had.
"First day at the school and your already an 09er, nice work." She says with no trace of bitterness, she couldn't blame him for who he was.
She walks off hurrying once more down the hall and if she was anybody else she would have grinned as Troy's booming voice echoes through the halls.
"So that was a no to the party then…?"
But she was Veronica Mars, so she just rolls her eyes.
Veronica had made a list of all people who appeared to have a close connection to Lianne in High School. She knew it was a long shot but there wasn't much else she could do, and maybe one of Lianne's old friends could shed some light onto who exactly her mother was because at this point in time, Veronica was clueless.
She had already spoken to two ladies that had been on pep squad with Lianne, they had both been long distance calls and Veronica dreaded having to make up an explanation to her father when the bill came about why she was making phone calls to Kentucky and Oregon. It had been a total bust anyway, the ladies had been little help and Veronica was certain that they didn't even remember Lianne from High School.
Next on her list was Abigail Knight. She had been on the pep squad and the dance committees with Lianne so she crossed her fingers that this would not be a let down like the previous two. She needed something, anything to work with and even if she was grasping at straws she was doing something.
A quick background check using the Private Eyez database had confirmed her suspicions and she was grabbing her phone before she could fully contemplate what she was getting herself into.
"Hey Wallace, how do you feel about fulfilling that Nelly video fantasy."
"Yeah we're going to a party."
What in the hell had made her think this was a good idea, she had no clue. She just prayed that the Knights were still home and hadn't left their house open to drunken, hormonal teenagers.
Why couldn't I have just come another day, me and my stupid impulses.
She takes in a deep breath; smoothes down her denim mini skirt and reaches over to ring the doorbell. Before she can even ring the bell the door opens up to reveal a middle aged woman dressed smartly in a pant suit.
She looks a little breathless standing in the doorway smiling brightly at the two teenagers, a black briefcase tapping against her leg.
"Oh, you must be Susan's friends. You just missed the cake, most of the other kids are out the back, don't worry I am leaving now and will be out of your guys hair, business trip to Seattle." Abigail says, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a steady flow.
"Actually Mrs. Knight I was wondering if I could speak to you about my mother, Lianne Mars."
Abigail looks startled, her bright smile fades. She stares at Veronica, and it feels as if she is looking for something. Lianne.
"It will have to be quick, my flight leaves at nine thirty."
She steps back into the house and gestures for Veronica to follow. Wallace slips past and heads through the foyer following the low rumbling of bass but not before giving Veronica a nod.
Abigail Knight leads Veronica into a small study and takes a seat on one of the large overstuffed armchairs. She sits perched on the edge of the seat as if she might leave at any minute.
"Mrs. Knight-",
"It's Miss Knight, I haven't been a Mrs. for five years. "
"Miss Knight, I'm putting together a special memorial in honor of my mother and I have been talking to all her old friends from High School to help me find out a little bit more about what she was like."
The lie slides over Veronica's lips easily, all the practice she has been getting lately has been doing her good because when she looks over at Abigail she is attentive and does not looked miffed.
"Well, Lianne and I were best friends in High School. We were as thick as thieves, you would be glad to know I was the trouble maker and your Mom was always the one getting me out of it. She was a great student, always got top marks in all her classes and was nice to everyone. But she could be fierce to, I remember one day this guy Joey something-or-other was picking on me because I had these brasses and couldn't talk properly and Lianne marched straight up to him and told him to buzz off."
Abigail laughs a small sad laugh as tears well in her eyes but before they can roll down her cheeks she pulls out a crisp, white handkerchief and wipes them hastily away. It was if they were never there.
Veronica moves on to the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind, she tries to make her voice as casual as she can when she asks,
"I know she was Prom Queen with Jake Kane, were they friends?"
Abigail shakes her head fiercely.
"Lianne and Jake were a couple, they were Neptune High's perfect couple to be exact, they even lasted through the first few years of college. Everybody, including Lianne, thought they would get married and live the perfect life. "
Veronica's throat tightens, her stomach flips and she has to choke out her next question.
"What happened?"
"They had a fight- I'm not to sure what over, I think it was due to the long distance because of their colleges- but they broke up for about a month. While they were separated Jake had a tryst with Celeste Connothan, he ended it the minute he and Lianne got back together, but a few weeks later Celeste was pregnant. Jake of course did the honorable thing….and that was that ," Abigail said before looking over at Veronica's face.
"It all ended up ok in the end, I'm sure your Mom and Dad were happy together and Jake and Celeste have two lovely children, I think they're here tonight actually."
Veronica forces out a smile but she doubted everything.
Was my Mom ever really happy with my Dad or were her and Jake Kane star-crossed lovers bidding their time before they could reunite.
"Did you keep in contact with my Mom after school?" Veronica said not entirely convinced by Miss Knight's well intentioned sentiments about her family.
"We would talk while at College but we soon drifted apart….one of my biggest regrets."
Abigail is silent for a minute, misty eyed and looking like her mind was miles away. It is not until Veronica shifts on her chair and a creaking noise echoes through the room that Abigail snaps to attention, quickly glancing down at her Gucci watch.
"I have really got to go or else I will be driving to Seattle. If you need any help with the organizing of the memorial I would be happy to help out. Lianne was a great woman and I'm sorry for your loss. "
"Thank you, you have been a great help. " Veronica says politely.
Abigail Knight pushes out of the armchair grabs her briefcase that was sitting on the floor beside her and is gone, leaving behind the smell of Chanel no. 5 and sorrow in the room.
Veronica stands outside the study in the Knight's house and marvels at the fact that not even fifteen minutes ago the house was serene, calm and orderly but now had turned into a dwelling of debauchery.
When the cats away….well you know what they say.
Music that was previously on easy listening volume had been turned up to a dull roar. Teenagers ambled aimlessly around with bright colored plastic cups in their hands some swaying more then others, most glassy eyed. Now if she could just find Wallace and get the hell out of here unscathed, she would be extremely happy.
She moved further through the house, noting that the further back she went the more people and smoke and tawdriness appeared.
She feels a large, heavy arm land on her shoulders and she immediately goes to shove the drunken, random Neanderthal off her only to find herself face to face with a sober, familiar Neanderthal.
"I see resistance was futile, you came."
Veronica opens her mouth ready to put Troy into his place when they're suddenly confronted by Logan and Duncan. She quickly shrugs Troy's arm off her shoulder and steps away from him. This action doesn't go unnoticed to Logan who smiles to himself.
"Well, well, well…look what we have here Veronica Mars and…..nameless android?" Logan says smirking infuriatingly at Veronica while Duncan looks like he wishes he was anywhere but there.
Now would be a fantastic time for the floor to swallow her up.
Before Troy can speak up Lilly Kane pops up from out of the crowd. Her piercing voice cutting straight through the blaring sound of music.
"Troy Vandergraff."
She pushes past Logan and Duncan and goes to stand right in front of Troy. Lilly looks Troy over and Veronica thinks she looks like a wild animal sizing up her prey. She obviously has never heard of personal space as she leans in to Troy and begins chatting, which looks a lot like flirting, low enough so that their voices are drowned out by the music. Troy is saying something probably not even moderately funny but bursts of laughter are erupting from Lilly, which causes Logan to pique up from behind her.
"Aren't you just a little social columnist"
He looks irritated and Veronica can't decide if it has more to do with the spotlight being off him then Lilly Kane flirting with everyone and anyone.
Lilly turns around from Troy, who shrugs at Veronica and gives her a nervous smile.
"Our fathers do business together", Lilly says before pausing to add a dig at his jealous tendency. "I've always said green isn't your color Logan."
Lilly turns away from Logan as if bored by his presence while he seethes behind her and notices Veronica standing there next to Troy.
"Oh hey Ve-ro-nic-a," She says enunciating every syllable.
"Do you two know each other?" Lilly says gesturing to Troy, her eyes dancing under the dim lights.
"Yes" "No" They say simultaneously and Veronica turns to glare at Troy.
Lilly raises her eyebrow in amusement and the other two thirds of the trio watch interestedly.
"So how do you know each other?" She says it so innocently, like an interested friend not a fiend who was collecting every scrap of information to maybe one day use against you, but that's how Veronica perceived it.
"We used to go out," Troy says quickly before Veronica could let another lie fall from her lips. Veronica looks over at Troy annoyance radiating out of her every pore.
Lilly smiles a little evilly but before she can go any further with her special brand of torture Duncan, who had been silent through the whole encounter, steps forward.
"Lilly, don't."
There is something in his tone of voice, it's so harsh and not like the usual annoyed-brother attitude he usually uses with her. He walks off in a huff, eyes darkened and his mouth pressed into a thin line. Lilly follows after him acting blasé and being as flamboyant as ever but it all seems faker then usual, and the glare that Veronica receives before she leaves is so fiery she feels the burn.
It is then that Veronica realizes she is standing amidst an 09er party with the two people she would rather not be in such close proximity to. Both boys seem to be staring at her, but she chooses to ignore them. Instead searching through the crowd for Wallace so she could get out of there as quickly as possible.
Her scan of the crowd is interrupted when Logan's voice rumbles out, "Why isn't this cozy."
The world just wouldn't be the same without Logan Echolls' constant sarcasm.
"You not only fed me to the wolves, you doused me in pig's blood and practically shouted, 'come get your fresh meat here'."
She opens the front door to her tiny apartment making sure to fix Wallace with a faux angered look before letting him in behind her.
"Come on V, it wasn't that bad. I got this hot chicks number."
"Well I'm so glad that you managed to instill your reputation as a player, while I had to hang with all the people that hate me."
Keith enters the room looking slightly rumpled, he had been trying to get an early night since he was leaving for Nevada tomorrow to track down a bail jumper.
"Children, back already from your night of good, clean, fun."
"As opposed to the bad, dirty, fun we had. Where underage drinking and teenage impregnations were abundant. Don't worry Dad, we made sure to use plenty of protection."
Veronica smirks at her father.
"Not funny Veronica." Keith says looking sternly at Veronica but he was secretly smiling inside.
"Really? I thought so, how bout you Wallace?" She turns to face Wallace turning on the charm, making sure to tilt her head slightly
"Nu-huh, I am not getting between the Mars's. I already have one ball busting Mars on my back, I don't need another."
"Hey." Keith and Veronica shout at the same time, both glaring at Wallace
Logan's POV
"Stupid Veronica Mars," Logan muttered to himself, slamming his locker door shut using a little more force then necessary.
He had woken up to a particularly pleasant dream of the one and only P.I extraordinaire. It just had happen to be a particularly hot and steamy dream. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had slowly started to creep into his thoughts, she was making her way into his dreams now.
He was actually kind of glad that Veronica had gone out of her way to ignore him all week. Oh, she may be this kick ass P.I but she really needed to work on her covert routine, Inspector Clouseau was giving her a run for her money in the sneaking around department. Her avoiding him had given him time to work out what exactly he wanted from her, friend or enemy? Peaceful coexistence or fiery passionate explosions- he really needed to stop dreaming about her.
But he did absolutely not have feelings for her, that he was certain of. She was hot and the only reason she had become a main attraction in his thoughts was purely for the physical aspect, or that is what he was telling himself. He was a guy and any guy that at least didn't go half hard when she walked in the room had to be gay…or a eunuch.
So yeah, she is blonde, beautiful with a kick ass attitude and whole lot of emotional baggage but that did not mean he was crushing on her like a pre pubescent thirteen year old. But this still didn't explain why the hell he was walking up to Duncan right now and opening his big mouth.
"Hey DK," He waits a beat, shifts his weight from one foot to the other, fiddles a loose thread on his shirt before asking, " what's up with that Troy guy?"
He was aiming for casual, nonchalant but even to his own ears it sounded awkward and forced.
"I don't think there is anything going on between him and Lilly if you're worried."
Duncan, oblivious till the end. At least it is working in my favor this time.
"Like I care who Lilly did, dude." Duncan looks like he doesn't believe him and even Logan isn't sure, but he thinks that maybe someday soon he will really believe that and be able to be indifferent to the great Lilly Kane.
Looks like it is time to be a little more specific.
"I think he is moving in on your territory though."
"What?" Duncan looks really confused now.
"Veronica, you were totally angling for her last week."
Duncan tenses at the mention of Veronica and Logan really wants to know what happened to cause his best friend to act so coldly towards her. He would ask, but the twelve other times he had asked DK this week had been fruitless. So he wasn't even going to bother.
"God Logan what is with you? You're starting to sound like Lilly. Next thing I know you will want to braid each others hair and talk about who is hotter, Justin Timberlake or Orlando Bloom."
"Just so you know Orlando wins hands down, no competition dude."
Duncan walks off, leaving Logan staring down the hallway. A flash of blonde catches his eye and he mentally berates himself for the way he's pulse quickens at the sight. He watches from afar as Veronica Mars pushes some freshman kid, he thinks he saw working at the video rental place, into the girl's bathroom.
Boy, was she weird, he thought even as the corners of his mouth turned up into a grin.
AN: Sorry to all of you guys who didn't want Troy!! Please forgive me, but I had to Do you want Troy to be the reformed bad boy or just a plain bad boy? It could go either way. Tell me what you think, who will win the battle of Good Troy vs. Evil Troy? It's up to you to decide.