Drunk Logan
Ch. 20

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When Logan came into the kitchen, he saw Keith making breakfast.

"Isn't Mrs. Navarro here?" Keith looked up and smiled at Logan.

"She's here, but I told her that I would make breakfast so she could start on something else."

"Oh, okay." Logan's stomach was growling as the aroma filled his senses. Keith watched Logan pull out some Pop Tarts from the cabinet.

"You don't want any waffles?" He gave the boy an odd look.

"I didn't know I could have some." He shrugged.

"Nonsense. I always make breakfast for Veronica before she leaves for school. You know, food feeds the body, knowledge feeds the mind. Dig in." He said as he pushed a plate of food toward the boy.

"Thanks. It smells great!" Logan wasn't used to this. If Mrs. Navarro didn't make his breakfast, no one did. Usually, most of his family was still in bed when he left for school. On the odd occasion that they were up and had actually made themselves something to eat, they only made enough for themselves.

"So, what time will you be home from school? I just need to plan out my schedule." He didn't want to put too much pressure on Logan, knowing that he still had other friends to hang out with and things that he might want to do after school. Logan had spent so much of his week helping Veronica out, Keith figured he'd probably want a break, and he was grateful for whatever time Logan could give him. "I am going to be stopping by the Sheriff's Department to see if they've found anything more before I head to the office."

"I can usually be home by 2:45, but my last class is study hall. I just do homework in there, so I'm sure I can be excused. I'll talk to Van about it."

"Van?"

"You know, Vice Principal Van Clemmons." He smirked. "Anyway, that should get me home by two o'clock at the latest."

"You don't have anything else you need to do? I don't want to ruin whatever plans you had."

"Are you kidding? I'd stay home with her 24/7 if it weren't for you pushing me to get an education!" They both laughed.

"Well, this is going to take some getting used to." Keith said to himself after the laughter died down. He knew that Logan had been worried about Veronica and he'd seen how much the young man cared for her. He was still shocked, though, by the amount of devotion Logan was expressing.

"What's that?" Logan had heard him and didn't know what he was referring to.

"It's just that...for so long, Veronica and I have been on our own for the most part. Since Lilly's been gone, I've been the only one looking out for Veronica and she's held me together. Even before Lianne left, she wasn't exactly the picture of selfless motherhood."

"Well, I wouldn't know about that, but I do know that I owe you an apology. I deserted Veronica when she needed me the most. I just...I went into a tailspin when Lilly died and I took Veronica with me." Logan couldn't believe that he was being so open with Keith. Normally if he wasn't snarking at adults, he was outright ignoring them.

Having Veronica back in his life over the last two weeks had brought more emotion out of him than he'd shown in a long time. He'd spent so long wearing a facade of indifference for everyone, drowning all true emotion in snark, sarcasm and booze.

After seeing how much Keith cared for Veronica and how much she trusted him; Logan felt a bond with the man that he didn't quite understand.

"I know it was difficult for you, Logan. You've shown me how much you care about Veronica and she's forgiven you. I can forgive you, too. You've stepped up now, Logan. Don't beat yourself up too much."

"Thanks. Well, I'd better be getting to school. Tell Veronica I said to take it easy when she gets up. Make yourselves at home. I think she knows where everything is and if not, just ask Mrs. Navarro."

Logan finished the last of the food on his plate and left for school.

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"Was that the door I just heard?" Keith turned to see his daughter entering the kitchen and smiled.

"Yeah, Logan just left for school."

"Oh." Disappointment was written all over her face as Keith tried to hide the upturn of his mouth.

"Did you need him for something?"

"No. I just didn't realize he left this early." She was still exhausted. The only reason she'd gotten out of bed was because she thought she'd see Logan before school. 'Now I have to wait until school's out.'

"He left a message for you, though." He smiled when she perked up. "Yeah, he told me to tell you to take it easy. He seems to be pretty worried about you, huh?" He was baiting her, trying to extract information. He was wondering about the status of their relationship. Did they know how they felt about each other? Were they dating? Neither had mentioned anything to him.
"Yeah, I guess," was the only response she gave to his prodding. "I'm going to go do some homework. I've really gotten behind this week." She grabbed a plate of food before returning to her bedroom.

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Logan got out of the Xterra and put his sunglasses on to block out the bright morning sun. Although he didn't enjoy sitting in classes and homework and listening to authority, he usually didn't mind school either. Most of the people at the school looked up to him or, at least, respected his social status. He could generally mouth off, show up late, leave early and indulge in take-out for lunch on any given day.

It was ironic, really, that the one person who had not looked up to him and who had not respected his social status, was the reason he was dreading school. Not because she would be at school and he didn't want to see her. On the contrary, she wouldn't be at school and she was the only one he wanted to see.

"Hey, Logan," he heard the voice of the boy he had considered his best friend for the last four years and he cringed. When he turned around to face Duncan, he wondered if he had ever really known him.

"Uh...Hey, DK." He rubbed the back of his neck in a show of discomfort and nervousness. He turned and they both started walking toward the school.

"Where you been? I haven't seen you in school much this week." Logan knew that Duncan was digging for information. With as clueless as he could be, Duncan wasn't that disconnected. With the way gossip traveled at Neptune High, Duncan would've had to have been dead to not know something was up.

Logan knew that it would be difficult explaining this week to everyone. He and Veronica had left before school on Monday, but apparently not early enough to avoid people spreading rumors about her servicing him in the Xterra. They were both seen for half of the day Tuesday, and Wednesday, they weren't there at all. If anyone had any questions about whether there was a connection between he and Veronica's absences, they would have been answered by sighting Logan and Keith Mars together on Thursday.

"Been here and there. What's up with you?" He was trying to be as nonchalant as possible, but Duncan laughed.

"That's it? You've been here and there? Do you know what people are saying about you and Veronica?" He was flustered. He wanted to demand answers from Logan, but that wasn't his style.

"Yeah. This school always needs something to talk about. Look, I've gotta run. I've gotta get to the office. See ya later, okay?" Logan just wanted to escape the situation. He and Veronica would still have to deal with the discovery they'd made in Duncan's journal, but that would have to come later.

"Hey, Logan! Wait up, what's going on?"
"Nothing, man. Just let me know immediately if you hear from Troy, okay?" Logan said as he continued to jog away from his friend.

"Troy, why Troy?" Duncan said to himself. He was irritated that Logan had brushed him off.

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Logan figured that his best bet would be to avoid everyone. Normally, he wouldn't care what people said, he'd just tell them to go evaporate or something. This wasn't about him, though. It was about Veronica and the best way to keep her safe. Right now, that was to involve as few people as possible. He wouldn't tell them she was staying with him, he wouldn't even let them know that he knew where she was. Until he got the okay from Keith and Veronica, he didn't want to answer any questions about what she was going through.

It was Friday. All he had to do was get through the day and he would have the entire weekend with Veronica. His parents were due back on Sunday for a couple of days before heading out again for more publicity.

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Logan's visit with the Vice Principal was pretty uneventful. Keith had already called him to explain everything and he was very willing to help in whatever way he could. He told Logan to spend as much time at home as needed and if it came to it, he would have class assignments delivered.

He made it to his first class just in time, so he avoided having to answer any questions. Then, he stayed in the classroom under the pretenses of getting makeup assignments from his teacher. That's how his whole morning went. Into class in the nick of time, out with just enough time to make it to his next class.

When lunch came, Logan found an empty classroom to hide out in. He didn't have any lunch and was grateful for the big breakfast Mr. Mars had fixed. He was happy to be catching up on some of his schoolwork. Not that he minded missing a few assignments here and there, but being too far behind could put a damper on his free time. That was not going to happen, considering his free time was all about Veronica. Not only that, but he knew Veronica. She would be asking him about his schoolwork and would force him to be on top of things.

While he was sitting at lunch, thinking about Veronica, he wondered how she was doing. He picked up the phone to call her, then changed his mind. If she was napping, he wouldn't want to wake her. He decided to try Keith's number, which was now on his speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Keith, it's me. How's Veronica doing?"

"Boy, were your ears burning?" The line went silent except for some rustling around. He was beginning to wonder what had happened when he heard her.
"Logan?"

"Hey, Ronnie. How are you feeling?" He had the goofiest grin on his face just from the sound of her voice. He couldn't help it. He was just glad to be in a secluded classroom where he wouldn't draw attention to himself.

"I'm doing better. I'm finally feeling human again today. Granted a beaten up human, but human. At least there's a light at the end of the tunnel. How's school?" She had been dying to talk to him, but hadn't wanted to bug him at school. Plus, she never knew who he'd be with and she didn't want anyone to know he was talking to her.

"Uhh, is it over yet?" They both laughed. "What did your dad mean when he asked me if my ears were burning? Were you guys talking about me?"

"I had just asked him when you would be home. I wasn't sure when the changing of the guards would be happening."

"Oh. I'll be home after 5th period. I've been excused from Study Hall until further notice. Apparently, I am so brilliant, there's no need for me to study." They laughed again.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it. So, after 5th, huh? You don't have anything you needed to do? I'm sure Dick and the guys are thinking you've fallen off the face of the earth." She was trying for casual, but she really wanted him home as quickly as possible.

"Veronica," Logan said sternly. "You are my number one priority right now. I think the guys can wait. Stop being ridiculous. You know that I wish I were there right now."

"Thanks, Logan. I wish you were to," she said as she noticed her father looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, not that my dad isn't great, because he is. My dad is the bestest in the whole wide world." She was totally sucking up.

Then she spoke away from the receiver a bit, "You know I'm just concerned about you getting behind on your workload, Dad." She could hear Logan chuckling on the other end of the line.

"You hush over there. You're not the one getting the evil eye here." She whispered to Logan.

"Hey, lunch is about to be over and I've got to get to class. I'll see you in a little bit and we'll do whatever you want to. We can watch movies, relax in the tub...I, I mean hot tub, play video games. You know, whatever." He was still smiling from ear to ear and anxiously awaiting the end of 5th period.

"Video games, huh? Yeah, we'll see. Just get home and we'll figure it out." Logan loved hearing her say 'home'. For the first time, ever maybe, he felt like it really was a home. He had someone there who was waiting for him to come home and excited to see him. He doesn't remember the last time he felt that way.

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye"
"Bye, Logan."

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Logan barely got through Journalism with Duncan. He kept avoiding eye contact and then, when Duncan moved to approach him, he got up quickly to talk to the teacher.

The last period was a waste for Logan. He was so anxious to get out of there, he was counting down the minutes on the clock. The fact that he stayed focused enough to here his name for roll call was pretty impressive.

He'd made sure that he had everything from his locker before 5th period. When class ended, he bolted straight out of his seat and made a beeline for his SUV. Then, he had to physically restrain himself from pushing the pedal to the metal to get home as quickly as possible.

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"Logan? Is that you?" He smiled, 'there's my angel,' he thought to himself.

"Yeah, it's me."

"How'd you get here so early? I didn't expect you for another 10 minutes." She said as he walked into the den where she was sitting on the couch.

"Complaining, Miss Mars?" He dropped his bag on the floor and tried to check out the bruises on her face and arms without her noticing.

"Not at all. They're looking better, huh?" He knew he'd been caught and gave up all pretenses.

"Yeah, your healing nicely. Do they still hurt much?" He had been dying to hold her in his arms and comfort her since it had happened. The closest he had gotten was holding the one side of her face, kissing her forehead, stroking her arms lightly.

"They're still a little sore, but I'll live...so you can stop worrying so much." She smirked and lightly punched his arm.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't know. I'm sure you'll always give me a reason to worry, Mars." He knew that they were ignoring the elephant in the room. The elephant that spelled out 'Troy is a psycho.'

Of course, Logan had reason to worry about her, now more than ever. He would play her game, though. He knew that there was no reason to add to any fear that she might have.

"So, what's your pleasure, Echolls?"

"Huh?" He looked at her and swallowed. Suddenly his mouth had gotten very dry.
"What do you want to do tonight while dad's working? I assume you have some homework to catch up on, but what about after that?"

"Oh, don't you worry about my homework. I got some time to work on it today and I'll do some more later. We can do whatever you'd like. Play cards, swim, movies, games, whatever." Logan had to recover from his initial thoughts of what he'd like to do with her.

"Let's swim for a while, then we can come in the house and relax. I've been relaxing all day under house arrest and I'm bored." She smiled at him. "I'm glad you're home, you can be my entertainment monkey."

He watched her as she laughed at him and he couldn't be happier. He was starting to see a sliver of the Veronica he knew. Since the beginning of the week, she'd been so unsure of herself. Although he'd loved taking care of her and wouldn't have traded their time together, he was happy to see a little of her attitude returning.

"Yeah, I'll be your monkey...if you pet and cuddle with me." She smacked his arm and gasped.

"Logan! Go get changed. I've already got my suit on under my clothes." She was pushing at him to get up.

"Already have your suit on? I thought you said you'd been relaxing all day?"

"I have, but I figured we might go swimming." She looked at him innocently.

"You thought we might go swimming, huh? No, you planned to go swimming and just let me figure it out as we went along. Nice touch, though, asking me what I wanted to do. Like I had a choice. Girl, you are sneaky."

"I have no idea what you mean." She smiled sweetly at him. "Now move your butt, Echolls." She was laughing.

"Alright, I'll be back here in a minute. Don't go outside until I'm with you, okay?" He wanted to make sure she was safe. They'd been keeping the alarm on even when they were in the house. He didn't want her to be vulnerable while she was waiting for him by the pool.

"Alright, but make it snappy." She snapped her fingers to drive home the point.

Before Logan could get away, Keith came out of his room, ready for work.

"Oh, Logan, great. You're home. That means I'm going to head out. I'll see you guys later. Stay safe, keep the alarm on at all times, keep your cell on you, Logan, and I'll keep you apprised as to my schedule for the evening.

"Will do. Work fast." Logan said as he watched Keith bend over and kiss Veronica on the head.
"Oh! Mr. Mars. One more thing. My parents called today to tell me that they have contacted the security company that normally works our parties. They should be sending over a couple of guys later tonight."

"Logan, that's great. Please thank your parents for me. That makes me feel better about leaving." Keith had been nervous about leaving Veronica with only Logan to protect her. Not that he didn't trust Logan, he was very confident that Logan would do anything to keep Veronica safe. He was still a boy, though, and having extra muscle around made Keith very happy.

"I'll see you kids tonight."

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After swimming a few laps, Logan joined Veronica in the hot tub. She had been reading a book and looked up when he entered. He looked great and she had to roll her tongue back in as she watched him descend into the water. She was sure that the temperature of the water jumped a good ten degrees after adding one super hot Logan Echolls.

She blushed at how silly she was being and went back to reading, or at least pretending to read. Since she was continually glancing his way, she still hadn't turned a page after five minutes had passed.

Noticing him stretching his neck from side to side and trying to rub his own shoulders, she formulated a game plan. She moved over to him, pushed him forward slightly and slid in behind him.

"What are you...hmm." Logan had begun questioning her until the moment her hands touched his skin. With a single touch from her, all coherent thought left him and his body's responses to her took over.

She began massaging his tension-rich neck, shoulders and back. His muscles were so tight and she felt him relax and heard his moan of approval.

Her touch felt so good. He had no idea of why she had decided to give him a massage, but he wasn't going to put a stop to it. Feeling her hands on him created an automatic response in him. Returning her touch seemed natural.

She jumped a little when he rested his arms around her upper legs which were straddling him; and began to softly rub her lower legs. The feeling was amazing and chills spread over her entire body. She moved closer to him and rested her forehead in the crook between his neck and shoulder. She continued to rub over his back, shoulders, the top of his chest, then down his arms as far as she could reach.

Logan was sure he was in heaven. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feel of her touch across his skin and the feel of her skin under his touch. He loved feeling her snuggle up to him. He was sure she had no idea of the affect she had on him. Just being around her sometimes was difficult enough. This feeling, though, was almost unbearable.
The moment she lifted her head from him, he wanted to scream at the loss of contact. That was, until he felt her lips lightly grazing across the same area.

She heard a low growl escape from his throat. Then she felt his hands traveling up her legs to just above her knees, where he squeezed the back of her legs. All rationality left her and she began placing open-mouth kisses along his neck and up to his ear.

He pulled behind her knees until her crotch was pressed firmly against him. At that, he heard her gasp into his ear and felt her bite down softly on his lobe. He was at full attention now and could picture himself turning around and ravaging every last inch of her body. He began to move to return her kiss when he heard a throat clear. Both of them stopped immediately and looked up to see Mrs. Navarro trying to not look at them.

"Mr. Logan, the gentlemen from the security agency are here. They are waiting in the foyer." Still not looking him in the eye, she turned and left.

Logan took a deep breath and chuckled. "Of course they are." He turned to face Veronica who was blushing.

"Why don't you get your robe on and join us in the den. They need to meet you," he said and then got out of the hot tub to dry himself off.

She watched his body move through the water and away from her. 'Now that's a show stopper, Ladies and Gentlemen!' She rolled her eyes and knew that she was wearing a major blush.

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After meeting with the security detail and giving them a tour of the grounds, Logan and Veronica ordered a pizza. When they sat down to watch a movie, Veronica laid down with her head on Logan's leg.

He spent the last half hour of the movie stroking her hair and when he moved to get the remote as the movie ended, he saw that she had fallen asleep. He continued to stroke her hair as he watched her sleep. She seemed so peaceful and she looked like an angel to him, even with the fading bruise on her face.

He looked at her trying to remember if he'd ever felt for anyone, what he felt when he looked at her. 'I loved Lilly, I'm sure of it; but I just don't remember this feeling. Plus, it's not like I'm in love with Veronica. We've just started all of this. Actually, we haven't truly started anything. We're supposed to be waiting until things calm down. The hot tub was just a freak thing.'

Logan chocked it up to the intense circumstances of the previous two weeks. He covered her with the blanket that was on the back of the couch and then fell asleep, too.

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Literati and naley forever: Thanks! I hope you liked the LoVe here.

Lorelei Candice Black: hee hee hee, I know. And action, romance, etc, etc, you will get. Actually, hopefully this chapter gave you a litte. Thanks!

AJzkitten69: Yes, they would be true demon spawn...enticing at first look, but evil to the core. Oh, oh, what's that? Another non-cliff hanger? Say it isn't so. Hee hee hee. And, yeah, how could we not have them together. Separate living? No way!

xosummerxo: I LOVE your long review! Thank you so much. You know someone else mention OTH after ch 18. I swear I don't even watch it. The closest I've come to watching it is watching Chad Michael Murry (sp? Murray?)back when he was on Dawson's Creek. But, yes in a way, ah ha...when Troy said "I'll see you around, Veronica", obviously there was more going on there. Hope you enjoyed the LoVe in ch. 20. With Keith staying at their house, I think that although he'd be uncomfortable, I can see him swallowing his pride and doing a lot of things in the name of keeping V safe.

Beatlechicksteph: Well, thank you. I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Hey, hang on to your seat...lots more to come.

09nerLoVer: Thanks! I love that you are really feeling the story. I can never be sure how it's going to read when I write it.

Alfabettezoupe: Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate the feedback and the enthusiasm.

IlumVM: You are too funny. It seems that I was writing your thoughts...only, before you actually had them. Lol. Anyway, I am so glad you are enjoying it. Don't worry, I don't take offense to you telling me to hurry. I have stalked (not really) writers at times to try to get them to update.

Miss-Mars: hmmmm...guess we'll have to wait and see...Thanks!!!

LoVeElle: I'm so glad you held out and didn't skip ahead. I love that you had such a strong reaction to the chapter. That is exactly how I felt as I was writing it. Oh, was that some good sexyness?

SaraLyleth: I'm not tel-ling, I'm not tel-ling. I do know what happens, but I'm not tel-ling. Hahahaha. Anyway, my heart just broke for LoVe when they were separated. I had to let them have at least a little more time together. Ok, so you are right with the JD/KB banter. BUT, I have to say that I was beyond impressed with JD's acting ability. The man can say more with just a look than a lot of actors can through an entire monologue. I'm going to miss VM too, though.

VMLoVeR87: Good! Thank you. There is still some more for the two of them.

LoVeNaleyJamLite: Oh, extra reviews are fine with me. Yes, Troy is a naughty boy! He deserves it, doesn't he!

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lagurlroks: Ah, so many things...well your questions will be answered...eventually and in stages. How is that for informative? Heehee Anyway, thanks!!! Enjoy!