Story so Far: Veronica has woken up in her 15 year old body a few weeks before that fateful day in early October. At first she believed she was dreaming but now she believes that she is back in her past. She makes a list of the things that should change in her personal life and a list of the crimes that she needs to stop. She is uncomfortable in the sweet, innocent clothes she used to wear so she calls Meg Manning and they go shopping.
The next morning Veronica is up early and ready for school before her mother comes to wake her. As she looks in the mirror at her shorter hair, shorter skirt and boots, she feels more like herself.
Last night her mother had been upset she cut her long hair to shoulder length and got bangs. Veronica had assured her parents that the long haired pink wearing girl was not her anymore. Her mother had been puzzled but her father had kissed her forehead and told her she looked beautiful.
Her parents were worried this morning when she came out in her new look but Veronica's confidence in her appearance and her happiness at seeing them and talking to them had reassured them she was happy and not going through some unknown teen crisis.
Veronica inwardly smiled at how caring her parents are and she hugged them both before she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth before she left. She is on a mission this morning. She has a lot to do today.
Confidently she waves goodbye to her parents and heads out the front door after hearing Lilly's honk.
The three teenagers in the SUV do double takes as they notice Veronica's changed appearance. Lilly immediately jumps out of the vehicle and skips up to her best friend.
Veronica adopts a snooty air doing a model's walk and pose for her friend.
"The boots are a bit butch but a bold choice," Lilly tells her critically.
Veronica smiles comfortably at her friend and points out, "Better to kick ass with."
Lilly laughs happily and throws her arm around Veronica's shoulder as they walk together towards her vehicle.
Veronica looks at Lilly and quietly tells her, "I finally get what you've been trying to tell me about being red satin."
Giggling Lilly says, "We are going to rule the school together."
Logan after Lilly leaves the vehicle to go and talk to Veronica watches Veronica do her model walk and pose. He gives a slow quiet whistle and says, "You are one lucky guy DK."
When Duncan doesn't answer, Logan looks over expecting to see him oogling his girlfriend. His eyes widen at the look of disappointment on DK's face.
Duncan merely says, "I liked how she looked before."
Logan's mouth drops open in surprise as he can see Duncan is serious. Logan smirks and tells Duncan he should be thrilled.
Logan looks back out his window and sees Veronica and Lilly are now walking towards the vehicle. He definitely notices the swing of her hips in her short skirt and how her hair moves as she walks. He can see now she is closer that she is wearing more make up than usual. Her toe nails, finger nails and her lips are a brighter red than he has ever seen on her. She looks totally hot. It is not a word he normally associates with Veronica but it's definitely a word he can use for her now. He had initially been shocked when he saw her new look but he has to admit the boots work with the short skirt. Logan being a fifteen year old boy likes the new look much better than the virginal, untouched air.
When Veronica gets close to the passenger side of the vehicle, Logan rolls down the back window, leans out and wolf whistles at her. To his surprise she isn't embarrassed. She smiles at him and purses her red lips at him in a kiss. She climbs into the front passenger seat and turns to say hello to Duncan.
Veronica can see that Duncan is not impressed with her wardrobe change. She inwardly smiles as she didn't think he would approve.
Lilly settles into her seat and starts the vehicle. She says, "You should have called me. I would have come and helped you shop."
Veronica rummaging through her new much larger purse absently says, "I went with Meg."
Affronted and now a little pissed off, Lilly snaps, "Virgin Meg?"
Logan and Duncan get another suprise when they see that Veronica is not at all put out that Lilly is angry.
Finding what she wants in her bag, Veronica sits straight and says, "You are just upset I didn't take you."
Still put out, Lilly points out, "Who better to ask advice on how to dress sexy than me?"
"Well," Veronica drawls, "I needed clothes that suited me not showed off my ass and breasts."
DK chokes on his coffee. Logan looks shocked. Lilly laughs delightedly.
The boys are even more surprised when Veronica placates Lilly by telling her that she can take her underwear shopping.
Lilly instantly perks up telling Veronica that they will definitely go shopping on the weekend.
Veronica shows Lilly the CD she pulled out of her bag. She says, "I cut us a girl power CD."
She puts it in the CD player and turns the music up loud.
Logan inwardly groans as he imagines what the two girls will buy. Now he will be looking at Veronica and wondering what she is wearing under her sexy tops and skirts. A few days ago he would have bet big money that Veronica would never wear underwear Lilly picked out but now he is not too sure. He wonders again what has gotten into Veronica.
The two girls sing and bounce to the girl power music the whole way to school. Although he enjoys watching the two girls bounce, Logan wants to rip the CD from the player and snap it in half.
When they arrive at the school, Logan and Duncan immediately jump out of the back and sigh with relief. Veronica smiles mischievously at Lilly and says, "Now they will find their own way home."
Lilly seeing her friend has driven the boys out on purpose laughs and says, "I bet tomorrow Logan's has his license even though he won't be sixteen for a few months."
Veronica laughs and says, "I won't be taking that bet."
The girls get out and Veronica walks over to Duncan leaning up to give him a short kiss. She walks with him into the school seemingly oblivious to the looks she is receiving from the student body. Lilly walks behind her enjoying the spectacle.
Logan frowns as he watches the guys do double takes and then drool over Veronica's new look. He questions his ex girlfriend, "You really didn't get Veronica to change her look?"
Lilly pouts and says, "No but I like it."
Logan frowns in thought. Lilly looks over and sees Logan watching Veronica's hips sway as she walks. She smiles.
Incredibly Logan is thinking about how out of place Veronica looks walking with Duncan now. She looks like she might be too much for him to handle. Logan could never imagine Veronica changing into someone Duncan would be so uncomfortable with. There is definitely something going on with Veronica.
As they walk down the hall towards their lockers, they pass Dick and Cassidy standing beside Dick's locker. Dick wolf whistles and leers at Veronica. He predictably makes a sexual comment asking her meet him in the mop closet.
Logan frowns ready to intervene when he notices that Veronica is not at all put out by Dick's manner. She turns and looks at him putting her hand on her hip in mild disgust. She tilts her head a little and asks him if that line actually works.
The guys all look at her in surprise partially because she is not blushing and the other part at her posture and attitude.
Dick stands up from his locker and brags that his line does indeed work.
Frowning a little Veronica easily zings Dick by observing, "Madison must be really easy."
She looked over and smiles a little at Logan and then she wanders easily up the hall towards her locker leaving Duncan and Logan behind.
Lilly laughing loudly at Veronica's comment to Dick wanders the adjoining hall on her way to meet Weevil.
Logan watches Veronica walk off. He is so puzzled by her new attitude and look. She looks sexy but what is really striking Logan is that he can see she is very aware of how she is affecting the guys and seems comfortable with her body.
Logan does not see Lilly look back and see him watching Veronica walk away.
***
Veronica opens her locker and looks around. She sees she is alone. She pulls out her list and looks at it. She has divided the list into criminal problems and personal problems. There is so much to do.
She sighs as she looks at the criminal side of her list. She wrote a letter to her father last night talking about all the crimes that she knew were happening or going to happen; giving him details he needed to know to solve them. She is going to put the note in a safety deposit box and leave the key with Mac.
That way if she is taken back to her time before she has the opportunity to get the cases solved, her father would get the note and handle things.
She makes note of the crimes that are happening now and mentally goes over her plans to get the crimes solved. She will have to get Lilly to drop her off at the Sheriff's Department after school. She needs to set her plans into motion.
On the personal side of the list, last night she borrowed Meg's computer when Meg came over after cheerleading practice. She ordered the genetic testing kit while Meg was changing in her bathroom. Once it arrived in the mail, she would get blood from her father and send it off.
Tonight before her father came home she was going to talk to her mother about her drinking. She didn't hold her breath about getting her mother to seek help but she had to try.
She had quizzed Logan yesterday. Aaron was home for another couple of weeks before he was leaving to go on set. Veronica needed to talk to Mac about how to copy the pool house tapes to a computer. She had called Lilly and asked her bring her lap top to school today. She told Lilly that she wanted to borrow it for a few weeks to see if she liked it and if she would want one for her birthday. Lilly didn't use her lap top so she was happy to lend it to Veronica. As soon as Aaron left, Veronica was going to sneak over and get the tapes and copy them to Lilly's computer and then to a portable hard drive or something. Mac would help her get it set up.
Veronica remembered two times in the next few weeks that Logan came to school sore and she knew she had to prevent the beatings from Aaron somehow. Tonight she would write her essay and draw the poster that won the Green Neptune contest. Maybe she could parlay Logan winning the essay contest into keeping Aaron in a good mood around Logan the week before he leaves for the set. She also needed to get the second part of her "Make Aaron Pay" plan ready for when she got the tapes copied. Aaron Echolls needed to be stopped. He is an abusive cheating bastard who thinks he is above retribution. He is wrong.
She absolutely had to get Lynn and Logan away from that monster.
Veronica was torn about what to do about Cassidy. In her letter to her father she had put Cassidy's name along with the other boys she knew Woody Goodman molested so she knew her father would handle that.
She just didn't know what to do about fourteen year old Cassidy. She hated him but in reality he hadn't done anything to her yet. Except now she knew that underneath his sweet, unassuming facade was a person very capable of rape and mass murder.
Was he already beyond help? He certainly has demons and needs psychiatric help. If she got him psychiatric help would it be enough?
Would having friends and a better brother be enough to help him now? Future Dick and Logan felt a lot of guilt about how they treated Cassidy and both felt that he would not have been so screwed up if they had been there for him. Veronica wasn't as sure. He had this evil or crazed look in his eyes that night on the roof. Right now she could teach Dick to be a better brother and get Logan to be a better friend. At least then neither of them would have to live with the guilt of how they treated him.
This whole situation with Cassidy was too much for her to handle alone. She would need help with him but who could she ask? Veronica put the thought aside for now and looked back at her list.
Her plan to get Duncan uncomfortable with her and ready to break it off with her has already started. He didn't like how she dressed and acted. She would continue to make him uncomfortable around her.
Looking farther down her list she decided she will have to follow her Mom a few times and see where she is going. She needs some proof she is sleeping with Jake and then she will confront them and tell them to stop.
Today she will talk to Casey and get him to talk about his parents. She needs him to be aware of how his parents are using him. He can't retreat into a cult because he doesn't have anyone to support him.
She is going to teach Dick to be a better brother; hell person if she could. She has a lot of negative feelings about how Dick treated her after Lilly's death but in his time line, he has always been pretty nice to her.
Madison need to learn not to be such a bitch. She hurt so many people and someone needs to teach her that she is no better than anyone else. Mac will have to deal with her once the baby switch comes to light.
Veronica sighs as she looks at top of her list again. She has to talk to Lilly soon and confront her about how she treats Logan. Lilly needs to either commit to him or let him go. She is hurting Logan's self image deeply by fooling around on him all the time. If she could get Lilly to commit to Logan, then maybe she wouldn't have to worry about Lilly and Aaron.
She also has to turn Lilly from this self destructive path she is on. Lilly needs to quit reacting to life and choose what she really wants. Sleeping with the leader of a bike gang is worrisome behavior. Thankfully it's Weevil and he would never hurt a woman. Lilly's deep seeded need to get attention, even negative from her parents is pushing her into increasingly dangerous territory. Frustrated Veronica wonders again what Lilly was thinking having sex with Aaron Echolls who she knew abused Logan. She knew he was violent and she did it anyways. She knew if Logan found out it would really hurt him and she knew Aaron was a dangerous man. She ran with the tapes knowing he would come after her. What was she thinking? Does she think she is bullet proof or does she just not really care what happens to her?
Most importantly Veronica is going to become a better friend to Logan. He really needs her right now. Thinking about Logan right now is difficult. She loves him so much but this Logan; this fifteen year old, issue filled, unhappy, wild young man does not love her. He loves Lilly. Lilly was ripped away from him and he needs to have that chance to develop his relationship with her or to move on.
It is hard to look at Logan and know he doesn't love her. She is so used to those wonderful brown eyes looking at her with love and desire. Veronica thinks about how his eyes darken when touches her. She thinks about how she wants to run her hands over his chest and abdomen; how his muscles clench under her caressing hands; how hard his body is and how he fills her up when he is inside her. She thinks about his wonderful kisses and how he always likes to be touching her when they are together. She feels so safe with him; so safe and loved.
This Logan doesn't think about her that way and if she is successful changes the future, he never will.
This opportunity she has been given to come back and right the wrongs in the past is wonderful and she is very grateful. She thinks the price for this opportunity might be her chance with Logan in the future. If it is she has to pay it because stopping the Mannings from abusing their children, saving the kids on the bus, stopping the Hearst rapist and Neptune serial killer is more important than her happiness. Giving Lilly the chance at life she deserves and Logan his mother and time to grow up away from his father trumps her needs easily.
It's just sometimes knowing what is right and doing it are two different things. She sighs and puts her list back in her purse. She shuts her locker and heads to first period ignoring all the looks she is receiving. School is boring anyways but when you have already taken the courses, it is excruciating. She's said it before and she'll say it again, 'Life's a bitch and then you die."
***