Author's Note: WOW! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for encouraging us along and enjoying the first chapter! We are so glad everyone is liking it and reading it! So THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! We will keep going and see where it leads us. We also love Roadtrip stories, so it will be a fun ride plus we have some fun things in store. If you want to see anything specific though please let us know! We also love to see V pinning away at least in her thoughts since you never do really get to see it on the show. She has a suburb poker face and yes Logan will be pinning away as well. Anywho! Here's chapter 2! Thank you again and please let us know what you think!
Thank you to: jandjsalmon, kit147, The Scarlett Letter, NorCal91, LVfangirl, Scandalpants, Guest, tigerlady1981, Laetitia, . smith, BeWitchingRedhead36, Lunky, degfas, nikatsu, viki, Martine200, kerali, irislim, minimoon16, Guest, AngelPete87, nuttynittnat83, Dani, cantarams, Alia Baron, & Goddess of Crazy!
And Special thanks to Bondopoulos for putting up with my neurosis.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: There is just one thing I need
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mac blurted out feeling anxious about going to Tahoe with Dick and Logan. She chewed on her bottom lip as she watched Veronica shove the remains of her clothes into her duffel bag and then slide her computer into her backpack.
She had nothing against Dick, except for the obvious; he was a dick and he reminded her of Cassidy. And maybe some other reasons she wasn't so comfortable thinking about yet. Mac told herself she was only nervous because she hadn't been around Dick for any long length of time since Cassidy's death.
Logan on the other hand was like a drug to Veronica - one that she couldn't seem to quit. Mac also thought that the trip wasn't such a great idea because she figured Veronica would inevitably get back together with Logan and Mac didn't think that was the best thing for her friend right now. The breakup had happened a few weeks ago and Veronica seemed to be doing well - or at least Mac thought she was. Veronica was full of smiles and snark like usual, so in Mac's book she was doing well.
"It's a great idea." Veronica said forcing more cheer into her voice instead of allowing Mac to hear how nervous she was about the trip.
Since having dinner with Logan they had talked a bit, not every day, but at least once a week. Every time they talked on the phone Veronica's stomach was full of butterflies. She tried to act normal, but it was hard when the person you wanted more than anything was nearby but so out of reach. She tried to act cool and collected for her friends, but inside she was a mess. Internally she realized that the more cool and collected she tried to act the more she realized how much she really wasn't.
"I mean we can always just stay here." Mac said giving her a smile.
Veronica shook her head. "They're already on their way. Besides it'll be fun. Just friends hanging out," she said double-checking the remains of her stuff and then smiling forcefully at Mac. She felt sick to her stomach about the upcoming week. She was nervous about what the trip would bring and she wondered if it was going to end up like everything else with Logan did, in a massive fight. But regardless, if they did fight or not, she was just glad to be spending time with him.
"Alright, I guess. I mean we are all just friends." Mac said watching Veronica move around the room in a speedy fashion.
"Yep, all friends. Nothing more. Just friends." She said nodding vehemently.
The two girls stared at each other before a knock interrupted the silence. Veronica hurried to open the door and saw Logan across the threshold smiling at her. He nodded over her shoulder at Mac.
"You guys ready?" Logan asked.
"Yep! All ready." Veronica said grinning maniacally and bouncing unconsciously as a result of the several cups of coffee she'd already ingested.
"Great. Do you need—" Logan began to help, but Veronica cut him off again.
"Nope! We got it." She said before grabbing the duffel and her messenger back and looking at Mac who followed slowly behind. Logan walked back outside watching the two girls carefully to see if they were struggling under the weight of their luggage. Once everyone was out of the apartment Veronica locked the door and they went down to the big black Escalade parked in the lot. Veronica smiled stiffly at Dick who was sitting in the front seat and then went to put her stuff in the trunk.
"Here Ronnie! Take front!" Dick said, jumping out of the passenger seat and hoping in the back.
"No, Dick it's fine, Mac and I can sit in the back." Veronica said watching as Mac set her own bags down in the trunk.
"It's cool, just sit in the front. You're better with directions and shit." Dick said. He had already buckled his seat belt.
"Aren't we going to your cabin though? Don't you know where we are going?" Veronica asked confused as she and Mac came around to where Dick was sitting.
Dick shrugged and popped open a PBR in the backseat. "I put it in the GPS. Logan can figure it out."
"You put so much faith in me, Dick, I'm touched." Logan said putting his seatbelt on and looking out the open passenger door at Veronica. "Are you getting in?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her uncomfortable expression.
"Yeah," she said looking over to check on Mac who was already walking around to the other side and getting in beside Dick. Veronica got into the passenger seat and situated herself while trying to ignore the fact that she could feel Logan's gaze on her. Once everyone was buckled in Logan began to follow the directions on the GPS to the highway so they could head north.
Veronica reached for the radio the same time Logan did causing them both to reel back at the electricity of their physical contact.
"Sorry. It's all you." Logan said shifting uncomfortable.
"No, it's your car. Driver's choice." Veronica said making a gesture.
Dick laughed in the backseat and made to lean forward. "I can choose." He volunteered.
"No!" Logan and Veronica said in unison. They glanced at each other and then out the window.
"If I can't turn the radio on at least one of you has to do it?" Dick impatiently complained from the backseat.
"I got it." Veronica said quietly reaching for the knob and selecting a station she knew Logan liked. The foursome listened in silence as they drove down the highway. Nothing much was said as they cruised up the highway until Mac asked for a bathroom break and a chance to stretch her legs. Veronica agreed wholeheartedly so Logan pulled over at the closest rest stop. Veronica hopped out as soon as Logan pulled the car to a stop and Mac made a move to catch up with her, but a hand reached out and held her back. Mac stopped and looked at the owner of the hand in astonishment.
"Can I uh talk to you?" Dick asked letting go of her arm as if she burned him.
She cast a glance over at Veronica. Logan had caught up to her and she was laughing at something he had said. Mac sighed and looked back at Dick who was openly schooling her features. She figured he wanted to talk to her about something to do with Cassidy.
"Sure."
"Cool."
She stared at him blankly, waiting for him to go on. He remained silent, however and seemed to be looking over her shoulder at something. Finally she followed his gaze and realized that he was watching Logan and Veronica walk into the rest stop. Mac watched as Veronica gave Logan a playful shove as he laughed. She sighed and looked back at Dick whose eyes were now on her.
"Thanks." He said giving her a smile and then taking a step away from the car.
"For what? We didn't talk." She said confused.
He chuckled and began to walk across the parking lot. She jogged after him feeling annoyed at his odd behavior.
"Why were you staring at Veronica and Logan?" She asked falling into step beside him.
Dick glanced down at Mac and gave her a look like she should know what he was thinking. She was annoyed he'd think that because—hello! Not psychic! She was lucky if she could understand when he was talking to her.
"You don't see it?" He asked curiously.
"See what?" She asked confused.
"They totally belong together, dude. They're just being really stubborn about it. Logan's been pining away for Ronnie since they broke up and Ronnie is definitely not over him either." Mac stopped walking as Dick's words hit her. She struggled to understand what he was talking about, but for some reason she didn't see it.
"What are you talking about? Veronica's…she's fine. She is over him, Dick. You don't know what you're talking about," Mac said defensively, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring up at Dick.
Dick stopped immediately when she did and he gave her a 'yeah right' look. "Mac come on, you don't see it? They make moon eyes at each other, dude. This weekend is for them anyway. The only reason I agreed to doing this is because…well I'm going to get Ronnie and Logan back together." Dick said so triumphantly you'd think he was declaring he was going to cure World Hunger.
Mac stared at him feeling like he was speaking Chinese. She didn't understand why Dick of all people was trying to get Logan and Veronica back together. She figured Dick would be happy Logan wasn't seeing Veronica anymore.
"Why?" she asked finally.
He stared down at her as if she were dumb. "Because Logan's my friend and Veronica makes him happy and who, like, am I to not help my friend find true happiness. Ronnie and I have had our differences, and he's totally whipped when they are together…but I totally admit that I miss the guy he is when they are together. I'm doing a good deed, dude. This should earn me some mad relationship karma!" He said smiling down at her and puffing his chest out.
Mac opened her mouth to respond and then shook her head before continuing her journey inside to go to the bathroom. Dick fell back into step with her easily but trailed behind her.
"Just watch them and tell me what you think. I can either do this with or without you, but it would be way easier to do it with you because Veronica is scary." He said gently tugging on her arm.
She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Dick, we are not in Clueless, I'm not Cher and you aren't…a male Cher, we aren't playing matchmaker. Veronica is fine without Logan, and Logan is fine without Veronica. So just drop it, Dick. This is a vacation not a reality show," she said tugging her arm out of his grasp and finally making it to the doors.
"Dude! You're totally wrong for such a smart chick," he called after her as he followed her into the building.
Mac huffed and told herself that Dick was being an idiot. It was easy to believe because, well it's Dick, and he was always wrong.
Veronica and Logan were waiting in line for coffee when they saw Mac stomp into the little store near the coffee hut in search of snacks. A few minutes later Dick followed her inside and went right up to her. Veronica smiled as she watched a look of Dick-induced annoyance look cross Mac's face. But, to her astonishment, after Dick said something to Mac, the look of disdain seemed to melt off her face only to be replaced by a genuine smile.
"Who's Dick seeing these days?" Veronica asked curiously looking over at Logan who was playing with his phone.
Logan looked up and shrugged. "Probably half the sorority population of Hearst ." He said putting his phone in his pocket.
Veronica smiled slightly and went back to watching Mac and Dick interact. "Dick needs a nice girl, someone to keep him in line." She mused.
Logan followed her gaze and let out a low laugh. "Seriously, Veronica? Dick's not going to go for Mac."
She turned to him with a frown. "Why the hell not? What's wrong with my best friend? She's pretty, nice, smart, and she doesn't take shit from Dick."
"Because…" Logan said trailing off with a shrug.
"Because why?" she hedged.
"Because Mac dated Cassidy." Logan said looking down at the ground to avoid her eyes. Even after almost a year it was hard for either of them to say his name after everything that had happened. Veronica felt a shiver run through her and wrapped her arms around herself at the mention of the man who had violated her.
"So? You dated Lilly." She said, ignoring the tremor of fear that still went through her at the mention of Dick's younger brother.
Logan's head snapped up to look at her. "That's different."
"How exactly is that different?"
"It just…is. I don't know. I just can't explain it, but it's different." He muttered.
"I dated Duncan and that didn't stop you." she retorted not wanting to drop the subject.
He sighed his eyes boring into hers. "Yeah you did and I dated Lilly and you and I dated. But none of those relationships ended well if I recall correctly." He said shortly.
She looked away, not wanting him to see the hurt in her eyes when he mentioned they weren't dating anymore or that it ended badly. It always ended badly between them, but that didn't stop her from wanting him again, and again, and again. She didn't want them to be compared to any other couple.
She heard him sigh and only when she was sure he wasn't going to see right through her act did she finally look back up.
"I think you're wrong." She said tightening her arms around herself.
"You always do." He mocked.
She clenched her jaw and looked up at the menu.
"Listen, Ronnie, it's Christmas. I don't want to bring up old arguments or the past or anything. I just…I want to just hang out and have fun. No drama." He said running a hand through his hair and trying to get her to look back at him.
"Right. Sure. Yeah, no drama." She said nodding and biting back a response about how he was the biggest drama-queen ever. She gave him a weak smile and then moved closer to the cash register when the person in front of them finally left. She ordered two black coffees and waved Logan away when he tried to pay. They waited for their coffee in silence, both of them lost in thoughts of the past.
By the time the four of them made it back to the car Veronica was making more of an effort to make Logan laugh. She didn't want this vacation to be about drama either and wanted to have fun. She always had fun with Logan and she wanted him to have fun with her too.
The two couples climbed back into the car and continued their journey north. As they drove Dick and Mac fell asleep, but Logan and Veronica were filled with energy. Veronica wasn't sure if this bubbly feeling came from being so close to him or because they had been chugging black coffee. She was too giddy to care.
"I want this vacation to be fun too." She blurted out breaking the silence.
He took his eyes off the road to look over at her.
"Good." He said smirking.
"I mean, I know it's been a difficult year and I feel that we deserve it. I've never been one for New Year's resolutions, but maybe we could start afresh next year." She said glancing over at him shyly. He changed lanes and nodded absentmindedly, whether it was because he didn't hear her or didn't want to Veronica wasn't sure.
She continued to look at him, taking in his profile as if she was memorizing every ridge and freckle. Veronica sighed without realizing it and continued to gaze at him as if he was the only one in the world. If she were being honest with herself she could admit that for her he was the only one in the world.
Mac jostled awake when Dick unconsciously curled an arm around her in his sleep. She woke up feeling disoriented as she took in the position she and Dick were in. His head was on her shoulder and an arm was thrown across her body. Drool leaked out of his mouth and onto her sweatshirt, but she wasn't as grossed out as she thought she should've been. Mac's own body was cuddled up to Dick's and her legs rested in his lap. They were essentially entangled together and Mac was shocked to realize that she felt more comfortable than she had in ages. At the sound of a tiny sigh she tore her eyes away from Dick and over to Veronica who was looking at Logan with such unabashed adoration in her eyes. The look Veronica have Logan was so intimate that Mac felt embarrassed to witness it. She looked back down at Dick and realized that this one time he might actually be right about something. She also realized that his being right frightened and bothered her even more than waking up in his arms.
The sky had just turned dark when they arrived at the cabin. Logan was thankful for their timing since he hadn't wanted to navigate mountains in pitch-black darkness. And it appeared that snow would be falling soon. He honked the horn to wake Dick and Mac up and he laughed along with Veronica at their startled expressions. The foursome took their things into the cabin. Neither Mac nor Veronica could hide their surprised expression of excitement at how lovely the cabin was. It was big, but not too big and it was warm and cozy. Veronica didn't think that the Casablanca's cabin would be so inviting especially since Kendall was the one who had insisted on its purchase. Veronica scowled at the thought of Kendall but pushed her frustration aside and began to explore the various bedrooms. She was determined to get first dibs the best one. She climbed the stairs and went into each room. There were five bedrooms in all and as she neared the last bedroom at the end of the hall she felt a presence behind her.
"I wouldn't go in there." Logan warned.
"Why?" Veronica asked narrowing his eyes at him.
"You know why." Logan said quietly before turning around and claiming one of the other bedrooms.
She watched him go before following him downstairs to grab her own stuff from the living room. When she got back downstairs she noticed Mac and Dick talking quietly in the corner. They stopped talking as she descended the stairwell and gave her innocent smiles. She threw them a weird look before grabbing her stuff off the couch and going to claim a room. It took her longer than she would've thought to claim a room since she couldn't decide whether she wanted to sleep next door to Logan or not. She finally decided on the room one over from him so she wouldn't appear to desperate. She also wanted to curb her temptation to visit him mat night, but for some reason she didn't think having Dick in between them would really help much in that regard.
When Mac was sure Veronica had returned upstairs and was out of earshot, she turned back to Dick with a pained expression.
"Yes, you were right." She admitted begrudgingly.
He chuckled. "Told you. Now are you going to help?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows at her.
She frowned and made a huge spectacle of debating it before she finally nodded reluctantly. "I'm in. But we do it my way."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Deal." Dick said sticking his hand out so they could shake on it.
"Deal." Mac said shaking his hand.
They eyed each other before finally letting go.
"It starts tonight." Mac said looking into Dick's blue eyes.
Dick smirked, "I'm already two steps ahead of you dude. We are going clubbin." He said gesturing between them and then upstairs.
"Clubbing, that's your big plan? And what's that going to do?" Mac said shooting him a look.
Dick grinned triumphantly. "Dude, there's so much I need to teach you, but first we have to go shopping. We need food and alcohol." Dick said grabbing a pen and paper and throwing on the counter.
Mac sighed and picked the pad and paper up before looking around the kitchen to see what she should put on the list.
"Beer. Beer. Liquor. More beer." Dick ticked off.
"Why didn't we buy anything in Neptune?" Mac wondered as she wrote down a list of what to get at the store.
"Because Logan and Dick planned this vacation and their main sustenance is alcohol." Veronica quipped walking down the stairs in front of Logan.
Logan rolled his eyes dramatically. "As opposed to your healthy diet of ice cream and Italian food."
She stuck his tongue out at him and came to stand beside Mac, reading the grocery list over her shoulder. "Get Muenster cheese and strawberries. And coffee ice cream because it's Logan's favorite." Veronica said without thinking. She felt the heat of everyone's stare on her and she shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"What are we doing tonight?" Veronica asked trying to get the heat of everyone's gaze off her.
"Clubbin!" Dick said making a raise the roof gesture.
"Seriously? It's two days before Christmas how busy will the clubs be?"
"There are parties up here all week, but if you guys are too tired maybe Logan and I will just go." Dick said innocently.
"I don't know man, I am pretty tired. You guys got to nap, but Veronica and I have been up since we left this morning." He said rubbing the back of his neck. If he was being honest with himself he'd have to admit that he wasn't about to watch Veronica dance with various guys all night. They might be trying to make this friends thing work, but there was no way he was ready to watch her be with anyone else.
"Fine. Then Mac and I will just go." Dick said looking over at Mac who nodded slowly.
"Yeah, that sounds fun." She said trying to sound enthusiastic.
Veronica frowned looking between the two of them and then shrugged. "Whatever. Let's just go shopping I'm starving." She said grabbing her jacket and taking Logan's keys without asking. He opened his mouth to argue, but she gave him a look that said 'Do you really want to go grocery shopping.' And all arguments died on his tongue.
"See you in a bit!" Dick said winking at Mac who rolled her eyes. Veronica watched curiously before looking over at Logan who was watching her.
"Don't crash my car." Logan yelled after her.
"I'll take good care of your baby." Veronica promised before leaving the cabin with Mac. Tonight, Mac thought, was about to get very interesting.
(A/n: So what did you guys think? Please review! Next up is MaDi's night on the town & LoVe's night in! Whatever could happen...)