Chapter 8- Everything You Want You Can't Have

"Alright, what's wrong?" I ask Meg as I sit down beside her in class. We are switching around homerooms today because of an assembly. Meg and I are in Mr. Wu's class.

Manning and Mars!

"Nothing, just a stupid fight with my mom and dad. They think that I should spend time with other people. That it's not 'healthy' for a teenage girl to be hung up on one boy," Meg tells me.

I was on that end of that conversation once. My mom. Of course, she had a different reason for that. She thought Duncan was my brother. Let's see if I can get cheerful Meg back out.

"Well, tonight is Friday. Which means we are heading to L.A for the concert. Fun! Fun! Fun!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Meg laughs with a smile. I don't believe her.

"Can I have your attention, please?" Mr. Wu tries to get our attention. "As you know, Homecoming season is upon us."

"Much like the plague," I joke in a whisper to my friend.

"Each homeroom will nominate one boy and one girl. The top five vote-getters from each class will comprise the royalty court. Homecoming king and queen will be announced at this Friday's dance. The floor is open for nominations. Anyone?" Nada. Nothing. "Anyone?"

Suddenly, I get an idea.

This will bring back annoyingly cheery Meg.

"You know, sometimes when I'm feeling...I don't know, glum? I like to get a little Pirate love," I whisper to Meg as I raise my hand.

Mr. Wu calls on me and I nominate Meg. She looks at me with a smile and a little shake of her head. She seems a little stressed, but I can tell she's a bit happy.

MEANWHILE:
3rd Person

In Mrs. Murphy's room, Corny, the school stoner, raises his hand.

"Yes, Douglas?" Mrs. Murphy calls.

"I'd like to nominate Veronica Mars," Corny said with a smile.

"Like, ironically?" Ashley Banks, bitch extrodinaire, snorts.

"Hell Yeah! She's bad-ass, smoking hot and overall nice to come home to."

"Watch it Douglas. Only I can say she's nice to come home to without getting a broken rib," Logan threatened from the seat next to him. Corny just wiggled around in response. "But for once, Zippy The Pinhead has a good idea."

"My ass would make a better Homecoming queen," Ashley sniped.

"Well, we all know there is enough of that to get nominated. But could it fit in the thrown?" Emmett glared at her through narrowed eyes.

"We should nominate Veronica. She deserves it. Remember when she helped me find my dog?" Mandy said dreamily from her seat. "She was totally nice to me even though we barely knew each other." Logan and Emmett smile at each other. "Plus she found Polly the parrot last year."

"Veronica Mars! Saving the world one pointless act at a time!" Logan joked from his seat in a light hearted tone. Although the words should be mean, his smile betrayed that.

Mandy turned to the new girl Jackie. "Veronica's so good at helping people. If you ever need any help, you should ask her." Jackie rolled her eyes.

Jackie was an 09er, and she did not like all the attention Veronica got.

BACK TO VERONICA POV

I was sitting at the normal lunch table in the quad before anyone else. Logan sat beside me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He held up a bag of Chinese.

"How did you manage to get that, when lunch just started?" I looked at him funnily.

"I made the order when I was in the hall," he gave me an innocent look.

Sure you did. Especially considering the fact that my boyfriend had this tendency to skip the class before lunch.

He pulled out two carboard boxes and a rice container. From the smell I knew it was eggrolls, Orange Chicken, and Shrimp Fried Rice.

I knew there was a reason I kept him around. He opened the first two boxes, and I laughed. He had gotten them to spell out HOMECOMING W/ ME? in my favorite food.

"You are a dork," I laughed as I ate my eggroll.

"But I'm your dork."

"Yeah, uh huh, sure," I said ripping open an eggroll, feigning a poison search. "I guess since I don't see anything deadly here, I'll go with you."

"SCORE!" he joked pumping his fist into the air.

LATER

"You are aware that blanketing the electorate is like a figure of speech," I mock my father as I walk into the office with his campaign stuff all over.

I know my dad is slick and all, but this takes the whole "Eyes in the back of his head" thing to a brand new meaning. Slightly afraid.

"What's that smell?" I ask with a scrunched nose as I sit down.

"Buddy of mine in Sanitation called. One of his crews found those in a dumpster downtown," Dad answers.

"At least Lamb has the sense not to use the dumpster behind the sheriff's department."

"Aaahhh. Look, Veronica.Your father's campaign is riding on a gravy train with biscuit wheels. Woody's numbers guys just called to say I've got a twelve point lead. I don't need to roll around in the mud with Lamb."

"In that case it sounds like you don't need a photographer from the Neptune Navigator who knows how to shoot your good side," I joke framing his face, knowing he has a debate later this week.

"Got nothin' but good sides, baby."

Riiiiight. Keep telling yourself that Daddy-o.

THAT NIGHT

I was working another shift at Java when my best buddy Mike showed up.

"Hello, Miss Mars. How are we this evening?" Mike jokes as I take his order.

"I am doing fine. How are you? Date?" I ask when I notice he only ordered coffee.

"No. Study partner. That new girl, uh, what's her name, Jackie Cook? The newest 09er."

I know her. She seems to hate me more than the other 09ers. Well, the 09ers have been nicer to me, despite Madison and Dick and a few others. All I know is this: She hates me, most of the other 09ers don't, and I don't care.

I walk away to serve some of my other tables when she comes in. She literally snaps her fingers to get me to get her order. I walk right by not paying any attention. Mike finally just calls me over, saying please.

"Hey Mike. Jackie. What can I get you?" I ask in a sickenly sweet voice. Mike stifles a laugh.

"How about your manager? I tried to get your attention for like, twenty minutes," Jackie demands.

"Um, Mike was only here for fifteen, and you weren't here when he was. And also, my manager is out. Not only that, but snapping doesn't constitute as 'trying to get my attention'. It's being snotty. Now, what drink or food item can I get you?"

I took her order, with a glare, and ended my shift. I left for home, finished my evil math homework, watched Coach Carter, and went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up and got dressed. As I ate my Reese's Pieces cereal, I heard honking from outside. I put down the bowl, wiped my mouth with a napkin, and walked outside carefully. I laughed.

There was Meg Manning in a brand new Nissan Versa. Hatch Style.

"Do you like my birthday gift? It's in my name and everything. My parent's can't even take it back!" She cheered.

I kissed my dad goodbye and grabbed my small duffel bag. We blasted Meg's CD of Sixpence so we could be some of those obnoxious people you see one the highway screaming through the sunroof.

We got to L.A in a few hours, and I had changed the CD numerous times. Mostly to my own stuff that the Manning's would never approve of.

So this is what it's like to be a normal teenage girl huh? What a very foreign feeling.

"So, shopping first?" Meg suggested, already pulling into an exit for the outlet mall. "We can get homecoming dresses!"

"Um, suuure." I said and gave her a weird look.

I know that Meg is a cheerleader and all, but uh, this was just a bit too peppy.

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly. "I'm just really happy today."

So, we shopped and laughed and ate massive amounts of food before going to check into the hotel.

I walked into the suite with her, a bell hop struggled with our shopping bags while we carried the actual luggage.

I was definitely feeling a bit off by all this. Lilly and I had done it all the time, sure, but this was just so, I don't know. I. Am. Different. Now. I know that much. But, I guess, in the back of my mind, this is my Lilly weekend.

"Do you want room service?" Meg suggested nervously.

"Why not?"

"Burgers?"

"You read my mind."

We put on the cable and I glanced around. All this was great. But then...

The Manning's may be rich, but they had a strong no spoiling rule. Although Meg got normal teenage things, they wouldn't get her both a car and a suite. It was just so...un-them. Weren't they sticklers on the whole, greed thing? Didn't they know it was a sin?

I'd have to look it up later.

"Veronica, I need to tell you something," Meg glanced up from her ice tea.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Veronica, I'm pregnant."

I sit there, shocked.

This explains the massive junk food, the getting back with Duncan, even after everything, and not to mention, all of this.

"Did Duncan pay for the suite or the car?" I ask with certainty.

She looks at me with shock and wide eyes.

"The car. He said he wanted to make sure that both of us were okay when he wasn't around. My parents don't know yet," she looked intently at her pickle while she answered. "Veronica, I need your help though."'

"With what? You're eighteen, legally, you could do whatever you want Meg," I explain perplexed.

"But see, my parents would try to have the baby put up for adoption. They would claim us unfit parent's and claim custudy of the child."

"Well, if they do get it, and put him/her up for adoption, Meg, you could appeal to the judge and get the baby back."

"But that's the thing, I couldn't. My parents, they would put the kid up in one of those horrible completely Christian places in some other country," Meg confided with tears in her eyes. "Those places are so beyond religious. Some places even lock them up. Or give them to families that would."

She was crying freely now, and I couldn't think.

"Meg, listen to me," I grabbed her shoulders. "Does Jake Kane know?"

Meg shook her head no.

"You and Duncan have to tell him first. Before Celeste. He will back you up totally."

If there was one thing I knew about Jake Kane, it was that he was a nice guy. Despite most things, he was a decent man and cared about his son greatly.

"Okay," she whispered.

The next day, we did go to the concert. It was so utterly dull. The music was okay, I guess, but we left early. I had Meg drop me off at Logan's and she left for Duncan's suite. We both decided it was what we needed, and our parents were letting us miss Monday anyway...

And that's how I woke up the next morning next to Logan, my head on his chest, and his arms around my waist, pulling me tightly to him.

Hey how are guys? I'm soooooo Sorry!! I have had like, a million things to do, and I wrote this as a pick-me-up. We lost our first soccer match Tuesday. : ( OH WELL! we have TWO games next week, and on the boys team, some of the boys are really cool to me. We praticed with them today, and I got like attacked. My friend cleated me in the BONE, I hit my knee on impact, AND this really hard, tall guy almost tackled me. But I didn't hit the ground, so it's all good. Plus the kept asking me if I was okay.

I hope you like this. I really wanted a cliffie so you'd review more. Loves to LoVer159 my beta!

Magic pie says: Review with love, becuase Vartan-LoVer has a major bruise where the shin pad doesn't cover.