A/N : Thanx again for the fantabulous feedback - please keep it coming!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9 - Life On Mars

"Veronica! Veronica!" Wallace fought to get his friend's attention as she stood leaning on her locker and staring off into space, "Yo, Earth to Mars!" he joked and she rolled her eyes as she came back to reality.

"Yeah, cos nobody ever used that one before" she told him as they began walking down the hall towards their next class.

"You were in a whole other galaxy, girl" Wallace told her, "You wanna talk about anything? Cos y'know I'm here for you, just as much as your boy Logan"

"I know" Veronica smiled, fairly certain there was no jealousy meant in what he said.

Wallace and Logan were so completely different, and yet both had been good friends to her lately, when others would barely glance her way. That had improved a little over the past few days, but Veronica was fairly certain that was down to Lilly's guilt. She felt at least a little bad that her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend were being shunned for no good reason, and she'd been telling the Neptune High populous at large to smile and say 'hi' when they saw them in the halls. It was about all Veronica ever did get mind you of those she once classed as friends or at the very least people that didn't hate her.

The reasons she'd zoned out on Wallace, (and in English class, and in front of the mirror in the bathroom, etc.) were two fold. First there was her mother, Lianne Mars, who had left for a vacation a week ago and had since sent a letter to say she wasn't coming back at all. Veronica was less than thrilled to note she now came from a, for want of a better term, 'broken home'. It was great that she still had her father, of her two parents he was without doubt the more reliable, and yet, for all her faults, Lianne was still Veronica's mother, and she already missed her.

The second thing that was playing on Veronica's mind was Logan. The young Mr Echolls had been a good friend lately, as they leaned on each other, and banded together against a common foe. Though Duncan had no real quarrel with Logan that Veronica could see, the two barely talked lately and many of his other friends were too busy chasing Lilly who had proved herself to be as 'Nice and Easy' as the brand of hair colour she sometimes used suggested. Veronica didn't think for a moment that Logan only spent time with her because he had no-one else, though in the beginning she suspected that's why they had both clung to each other, along with the new boy, Wallace, who hadn't been given the chance to make any new friends before Weevil and his biker gang had humiliated him in front of the whole school.

Things were changing, and that was what made Veronica float off on a cloud of too much thought, regarding Logan and the strange friendship that had developed between them. This morning he'd seemed quite offended that she wouldn't share her problems with him, and then when she'd cried he'd been overly eager to hold her in the car, to comfort her and tell her everything would be okay. It hadn't felt so strange that first time, the night when Aaron had almost killed Lilly, and if not for Veronica may have done just that. She and Logan had only had each other then, and both had been in so much pain the comfort that they found in each other was just natural. Now they were back in school, and things were settling down to something that resembled a semi-normal state, it felt a little weird to have him be that way with her and vice versa.

What bothered Veronica more than the weirdness factor was the fact she didn't really mind. She couldn't find a part of her that cared enough to put a stop to anything that might be developing between herself and Logan. What that really meant, she dare not contemplate. Surely she didn't have real feelings for...

"Hey" a voice behind her and a hand on her shoulder made Veronica jump violently and spinning around to find him behind her did little to calm her down.

"Logan" she said, looking stunned by the sight of him despite the fact this was a school that they both attended and they were in the same class this period.

"Veronica, are you okay?" he checked, "You look like you saw a ghost or..."

"No" she said quickly, "No, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

As she hurried into the classroom, Wallace and Logan followed behind, sharing a dubious look. Veronica Mars was far from fine, both of them could see that, in fact anybody with eyes could.

"So anyway, I was like totally..." Lilly paused in what she was saying as Veronica entered the girls bathroom.

The Kane's daughter was currently sat between the sinks, swinging her legs like a little kid as she told stories to some of her adoring fans that surrounded her, namely Madison Sinclair, Shelley Pomroy, and Meg Manning. The first two shot Veronica nasty looks, whilst the latter managed at least half a smile. Lilly grinned like a Cheshire Cat at the girl she used to be able to call her best friend.

"Hey, V, what's up?" she greeted the other blonde who was less than impressed.

"I'm sure you and your... friends know better than I do" Veronica said haughtily, turning to leave just as quickly as she'd come in.

"Wait a sec" Lilly urged her and in spite of her own better judgement, Veronica did just that, "We were just talking about Shelley's Birthday party, it's this Saturday" she explained as she hopped down from her spot between the sinks and strutted over to her, "You're coming along, right?"

"Something tells me maybe I'm not invited" her old friend replied, as she looked over at Shelley who was glaring at her still.

"Oh, come on" Lilly rolled her eyes, slinging an arm around Veronica's shoulders which the other girl quickly dislodged, "Whatever, Shelley totally wants you to come to the party, we all do. Right, girls?" she asked the trio stood behind her.

"Sure, you should totally be there, Veronica" Meg told her, looking completely honest about it to, "What reason do you have to stay away?"

"Yeah, what reason, V?" Madison asked with a smirk, emphasising the name that only Lilly ever got away with using for the Sherrif's daughter. The look in her eyes told Veronica she didn't mean to be friendly like Meg did, she was insinuating there was a good reason for her to stay away from the parties that the cool kids went to.

"Be careful near those sinks girls" she told them as she turned towards the door, "Water and witches never leads to any good" she smirked as she slammed out of the bathroom at last, leaving three stunned and pissed off girls in her wake, and one rich blonde who was prestigiously proud of the best friend she had lost. It seemed she'd finally learnt to have some balls about her, it was just a shame they had to stop being friends for a while to make it happen.

"Veronica!" she stopped walking halfway to the lunch area when she heard her name.

If she could just have reached the safety of her table where Logan and Wallace sat waiting for her then everything would be fine, but no, that voice had to be the one to call her name and she inwardly winced at having to talk to him right now.

"Duncan" she greeted him similarly as she turned around and he ran up to her, "What's up?" she said in her best fake-casual.

"Er, nothing" her ex told her, "I just, er, I... I was wondering if you were okay?" he said eventually, and Veronica frowned.

"Am I okay?" she echoed, "You ran over here to ask me if I'm okay?" she checked voice rising as incredulity set it, "Well, let's see now Duncan, am I okay? My boyfriend dumped me without a word, my best friend who's life I pretty much saved is being so damn fine about it I just can't stand to talk to her, and oh yeah, this morning I found out my Mom had left my Dad and they're probably getting divorced sometime soon" she counted off on her fingers, laughing almost maniacally when she was done, "So if that sounds like I'm okay, Duncan, then yes, I'm fine and dandy" she told him, every word dripping with sarcasm, "Now if you'll excuse me, I still have two friends left and I'd like to eat lunch with them before they decide I'm the devil spawn too" Veronica told him, walking away both a little angry but also quite proud of herself. She didn't need this crap not from him, not today.

Duncan watched his ex-girlfriend walk away and felt awful. He'd checked on her because this morning he'd seen her crying in Logan's arms. If she was going to comforted he ought to be the one to do it, the young Kane had thought, although he knew quite well why he shouldn't. As it was it seemed Veronica wouldn't want his help these days anyway. He'd hurt her, and then Lilly had made a fool of her. Was it really any wonder the poor girl wanted no more to do with the Kane family... even if she was perhaps a member of it?

"Good luck, man" Logan was saying to Wallace, complete with one of those complex boys handshakes that Veronica would never understand, as she approached the lunch table and sat down.

"Do I give off like a radar signal that makes people want to run from me?" she asked in apparent bewilderment as Wallace backed away from the table.

"No way, girl" he assured her, continuing to walk away, albeit with his back facing the direction in which he was travelling, "but I got some place to be just now, wish me luck"

"Good luck?" Veronica called behind him, feeling confused, "What am I wishing him luck for?" she asked Logan, who appeared to be having trouble with the not grinning.

"Our newest little 'homeboy' is trying out for the basketball team" he told her, opening up the pizza box between them, "Which means lunch is just going to be you and me today" he said, looking strangely pleased about that.

An odd feeling ran through Veronica then, a peculiar mixture of two conflicting emotions that almost put her right off the slice of pizza that had found it's way into her hand. Her and Logan, alone for the next hour, surely that wasn't so bad, in fact it could be great, or it could be a disaster. The up-and-down feelings she was having must have showed on her face as she tried to figure them out.

"Y'know you keep thinking that hard you're gonna hurt yourself" Logan told her and her pensive look broke into an apologetic smile as she glanced his way.

"I think it'd have to be a pretty small brain capacity for that to actually happen" Veronica told him, smile turning into a smirk as she added, "How do you cope with that?"

"Ooh" Logan gasped, his hands going to his chest as he leaned back half off his seat, miming at being shot through the heart, "That hurts, Veronica" he told her, though they both raised a smile at the joke, "Maybe now I shouldn't ask you to the party after all, what with me being like an ape-brain or whatever"

"Shelley Pomroy's party?" she checked, feeling weird, although it wouldn't be that strange for herself and Logan to show up to a party together, it was just that usually they'd be with Lilly and Duncan too, as two separate couples, and much less together.

"Yes, Shelley's party" her friend confirmed with a nod, "I dunno, I just thought you were pretty down today, and maybe we could both use a little cheering up" he suggested, "So what do you say, Veronica? You and me? Friday night? Raising the roof?" he added with a smirk, miming said action and finally making her smile once again after too many long seconds of semi-frown.

"I don't know, Logan" she sighed, "I mean, you and me going to a party together..."

"As friends" he said quickly, "Obviously"

"Oh yeah, obviously" she agreed, though honestly part of her had kind of been hoping he meant a real date, whilst another part of was relieved to know he hadn't.

"So we party?" Logan checked, since it seemed so far he had received neither a definitive yes or no, "Come on, Ronnie, live a little" he urged her, "It's not like either of us have a reason to stay away. What do we have to be ashamed of?"

Veronica gave his question but a moments consideration, it was all it really needed. After all, they really had nothing at all to reproach themselves for. Lilly had cheated on Logan and been a bitch about everything, so much so she'd alienated Veronica. Duncan had dumped the blonde, not the other way around, and the school had tried to turn it's back on two formerly-loved students only because it seemed that's what the Kanes were trying to do.

"Nothing" she replied a moment later, "We have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of" she said firmly.

"So?" Logan prompted for a definite answer on the party situation.

"So, we party" Veronica told him with a smile, loving the grin that appeared on his face at the sound of her positive response. Still, she had to admit, it worried her a little too. It was going to look like a date, and feel like a date, despite the 'as friends' get out clause.

'Oh boy' Veronica thought to herself, 'What have I gotten myself into?'

To Be Continued...