Disclaimer: Don't own them. Just LoVe them.
Notes: Little floofy, little dark. Not exactly LoVe-centric interaction, but more about their relationship? Go ahead to find out!
THIS CHAPTER: On the night of Logan's surprise party, thrown by his father, Veronica finds another surprise in the pool house. And then an old friend shows up to give her some advice.
Veronica admired Logan's backside as he exited the pool house with a chaste kiss and a smirk to get more liquor. She flopped on the bed, and was adjusting herself so she was comfortable when she saw it. The reflection. Something glinted in the ceiling.
"What is that?" she muttered to herself, getting to her feet among the ruffled covers. She reached for it, noting the odd shape. The strange casing usually used for wire coverage captured her attention next. She followed them across the roof and down the wall into a wardrobe. She shimmied off the bed and her bare feet pattered across the floor. She threw the doors to the wardrobe open with a flourish, revealing the horrifying sight of several televisions and shelves full of tapes, each dated and labeled.
To confirm the nagging suspicion swirling in her head, she moved back to the bed, under the camera, and glanced back at the screen, where it showed the top of her head. There was another screen for another camera, hidden in the bed frame across from her. She swallowed a cry of anger, hurriedly shoving her shoes back on her feet and gathering her things as she rushed from the pool house.
Veronica was tugging her phone out of her pocket, ready to hit the third button on her speed dial and get Weevil to come pick her up, when she heard the voice. At first, she thought she'd imagined it. She felt like she had been going crazy for weeks with this voice in her head, and it was getting to her even now. She shivered, tugging her jacket tighter around her. Then she saw the flash of an apparition crossing her vision at the end of the driveway, and she stopped in her tracks.
"Don't run, dorkus. Trust me on this one."
"Lily?" She didn't expect an answer. She didn't want an answer – it would only prove her insanity.
"Ye-duh, babe. The one and only. Now, you get back there, and you have fun. It's time for you to stop running and start living."
"I can't! He-he... there were these cameras and tapes and I don't think I can trust him."
A loud sigh. "Veronica Mars. Go back. Talk to him. Do it for me, at least."
"I didn't think you'd be okay with me dating your ex." Veronica was hesitant about stating it, but it was the first thing that popped into her head. Of all the reasons she had, Lily had been the top argument for not dating Logan.
"Honey, I'm dead and gone. There's no point going about it like you guys are cheating on me. You're going to get your butt back into that pool house and you're going to talk to him. And then, one day soon, you're going to fall in love with him, because you won't be able to help falling in love with Logan Echolls. Please be happy, Vee. Don't you throw away your chance to be happy on my count. I've got better places to be, bigger parties to attend."
Tears coated Veronica's cheeks and she sobbed into her hands. If she really imagined it, she could feel the airy wisp of Lily's hand on her shoulder, reassuring. "I miss you, Lily."
"Course you do. I was fabulous. Now go. He needs you as much as you need him."
In her mind, Lily's ghost blew her a kiss and wandered off into nothingness. It took Veronica a few minutes to cry herself dry, and she was busy swiping at her face with her sleeve when she heard Logan's voice.
"Veronica? Veronica, where are you?"
Veronica straightened, and he saw her form as he passed the giant gates. He approached her slowly, his worried face the first thing she saw under the security lights. He took one look at her eyes and reached out an arm. She grasped at him, tugging him into a hug.
"I was worried about you. Why'd you run off? What's wrong?"
She sorted through her responses. She could go with the truth, or she could weave up some ridiculous lie she knew he wouldn't believe anyway, because as much as she hated to admit it, he knew her, he got her. "I found something. You went off to get the alcohol, and I found something. In the roof of the pool house."
He stiffened against her, pulling back to look at her face. "What did you find?"
"Cameras. Hidden cameras. All of them led to a secret wardrobe – there were tapes, Logan. Lots of tapes. Were you planning on taping us?"
"Veronica, no!" Logan's eyes narrowed as he said this, and he clutched her tighter. "Do you really think I would do that to you?"
She shook her head and moved closer to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck as he held her. His hands rubbed her back, soothing and calm. "I don't believe you would. But why are they there, Logan? Why are there secret cameras in a room in your house?"
He didn't answer for the longest time. They stood there in the silence, both tense and worried.
"I don't know, Veronica. But I swear to you, we are going to figure this out. And I won't leave your side while we do." Veronica nodded into his chest. His hands stopped their movements and wrapped around her. They melded together, ensuring there wasn't a single shred of space. He placed a kiss in her hair and then rested his chin on her head. "You're stuck with me, Bobcat."