TITLE: His Friend Too

AUTHOR: arbailey

WORD COUNT: 3,218

RATING: PG-13 for language

SUMMARY: When Veronica catches her best friend and an aging action hero together, everything falls apart.

SPOILERS: Pre-series that quickly goes AU but does spoil the 1st season Lilly/Aaron storyline

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any rights to Veronica Mars, and this story is written as a tribute only.

A/N 1: Two new chapters up in a week! Somebody open the champagne! Granted, chapter 4 was ridiculously late, but who's counting! I will try to keep to a new chapter each week, but this is my busy season. I have two classes worth of essays and journals to grade this weekend, and I'll have the same next weekend. So I can make no ironclad promises, but I'll do my best. In the future, I think will be keeping my uploading to Saturdays. As always, this story is un-beta'd and all mistakes my own.

A/N 2: Would a recap opening each chapter be useful? PM me or let me know in reviews!

Chapter Five: She's Changed…

Logan rolls into the parking lot just as the first bell rings and strolls casually into the building, earning a stern look from Clemmons. Logan smiles condescendingly, but he is decidedly on edge today. Arriving late on a Monday morning is not an unusual thing for Logan Echolls, but he's never done it so deliberately before. He covertly sweeps his glance across the entrance and public spaces and then relaxes when he finds himself utterly alone. Veronica Mars is an excellent student. She won't jeopardize her stellar attendance record just to confront him. He's passed the day's first hurdle, and it'll take a lot more than a little stink eye from the assistant dean to make him change his strategy.

After Lilly's early morning attack on Saturday, Logan had just wanted to go back to wallowing in his own misery. He'd had a carefully arranged plan for the weekend: he was going to drink until he passed out, sleep it off, and then repeat those two steps until Monday. He was keeping his fingers crossed that he wouldn't choke to death on his own puke, but even that added a roulette-like element of excitement to his plans for self-annihilation. But he wasn't even allowed that. He was hungover, ill, and irritable, all of which were Lilly's fault. And somehow she'd managed to make him feel guilty.

Logan was something of a soft touch when it came to Lilly. She'd spent years learning how to make him feel guilty, and perhaps it shouldn't have surprised him that she could wield that power even in the face of his recent betrayal. He was angry with Lilly, obviously, but he wasn't shocked really. At least not that she was cheating on him. Admittedly, the dad angle had been a real surprise twist.

And so of course he had hooked up with Yolanda to make Lilly angry. Yolanda was fun and cute and everything, but above all else she was new to the area. Lilly's response to him ogling Yolanda had been surprisingly vehement, and Yolanda didn't know enough about the intricacies of the Neptune High hierarchies to realize the importance of keeping her distance from him. It was a pitiful attempt at retribution, though. He was willing to acknowledge that. There was nothing in his arsenal to compare with Lilly sleeping with his dad. She'd gone nuclear on him, and he was still throwing stones.

In less than twenty-four hours, Logan had discovered that his relationship with the only girl he'd ever imagined a future with was finished, that his girlfriend was sleeping with his father, and that his best friend had dropped Veronica because she might be his sister. Any one of those items of information was fully deserving of his complete attention. But what was sticking with him was that Veronica had, once upon a time, had a crush on him.

The idea that Veronica liked him as more than a friend- even if it was in the distant past, even if she hated him now- made him nauseous. Because he hadn't thought she was hot when he first met her at twelve. He'd thought she was perfect. She was funny and feisty and, okay, hot too. When Lilly introduced him as Aaron Echoll's son, Veronica had given him a sort of pained and vacant smile, and that ambiguous expression had made him even more curious about her. Months later when they were really friends, she'd told him in an apologetic whisper that she had been worried he'd be another arrogant Hollywood brat like that idiot Connor Larkin who had wrecked in the marina the summer before. Then, shamefacedly, she told him that she thought his dad's movies were kind of dumb. She was quick to assure him that they were fine, but that she liked grittier stuff like Easy Rider and old noir detective films. Logan had been crushing on her since the day he met her, but in that moment he fell for her: instantly, deeply, and hard.

He'd never made a move, never made any hint that he liked her. She was cheerful and obliging and she rarely disobeyed her parents. He knew he wasn't good enough for her. He was snotty and rude. He was mean sometimes, lashing out in all directions. He wasn't a good person. Aaron had been telling him that for years, and while he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Aaron was a world-class asshole, that didn't mean he wasn't right about his son.

And he could tell Duncan liked her too. Duncan, with his All-American looks, his good grades, and his sparkling future. Duncan and Veronica just made way more sense, just as he and Lilly made way more sense. Lilly was feisty and hot too, and if she lacked the sort of sly self awareness that made Veronica appealing, she made up for it with other ample assets. It had seemed like kismet, the way the four friends broke so cleanly into romantic pairs, but in retrospect Logan can see the invisible hand of Lilly Kane making her machinations in the background.

If he'd given himself even a moment to think about it, he would've known Veronica couldn't keep a secret like Lilly's betrayal from him. And she wouldn't have been up for a big, painful reveal either. That wasn't Veronica's style. But she was so relentless, chasing him down when he just needed a moment to get his head straight. He didn't need her pity, hovering over him like an injured baby bird just thrown from the nest. She seemed to think that having a friend would make it better when it should have been obvious that having to face ANYONE in that moment was unimaginably worse. But he regrets his hasty words. On the beach. At the party. In every breath since he talked with Lilly. Because now he has proven that he IS another arrogant Hollywood brat, and he's going to have to apologize.

Logan gave up apologizing, for anything, when he was ten. Apologizing didn't make people forgive you. It didn't keep your father from beating you. If anything, it made him hit harder with the triumphant knowledge that you had been broken. Saying you were sorry didn't make your mother smile again, it just left her eyes darker and more pained, and she'd console herself with the contents of the liquor cabinet. It didn't make the help like you any better. It didn't mean anyone was going to be on your side. It just meant that you'd lost. That you were wrong, that may be you deserved what you got. With what he's said to Veronica, she's earned an apology, but he's not sure he can give her one yet.

So he takes alternate routes to all his classes and keeps his head down to avoid accidentally catching anyone's eye. He skips Journalism entirely, and he fakes illness to get his half senile French teacher to let him go fifteen minutes early. As he floors the Xterra and screams out of the parking lot, he's feeling pretty proud of himself. Veronica is known for her ambush tactics and merciless pursuit, so the fact that he managed to evade her conveys upon him a strange sort of honor.

Tuesday, Logan keeps up his bob-and-weave passing style between classes, but he's beginning to feel sort of silly serpentining through the halls to avoid a five-foot-nothing blonde chick. He skips Journalism again, but this time it's for practical reasons. They're passing out assignments today, and if he has to listen to Carrie Bishop run one more vapid poll, he'll probably kill somebody. He just doesn't need the heat that disciplinary action against him would bring right now. For reasons that were not made entirely clear in the email, his parents are coming home from Nepal a little early. On separate flights.

Logan can feel a cluster headache coming on just thinking about the happy homecoming, and he sure as hell isn't going to give Aaron yet another reason to be pissed when he gets home on Saturday. Maybe Mexico would be far enough away to avoid the worst of his father's wrath in those first few days back. Making a mental note to call the Casablancas brothers, Logan slinks out to his car lost in thought. It's not until he actually reaches his vehicle that he realizes how lucky he is Veronica hasn't caught him unawares. He promises himself to be more vigilant in the future.

Wednesday, Logan gives up his alternate routes and skulking. He even goes to Journalism, only to be told that Veronica picked up a photojournalism assignment yesterday. She won't be in class until Friday. He is completely torn by this information. On one hand, he's thrilled to get a little bit longer respite from her anger and accusations, a little more time to compose his thoughts. On the other hand, there is a little stab of disappointment. In any event, Logan is going to let this run its course. If Veronica wants to have a big confrontation about this, he probably owes it to her to listen. Maybe even break out that apology if the moment seems right. No more hiding. When she finally catches up to him, he'll take it like a man. So it's not until Thursday that he realizes he's not the only one taking evasive maneuvers. And when Friday rolls around and it comes out that Veronica has asked for an extension, Logan steps up his game.

Logan has decided to stake out Veronica's locker. He's tired of missing her, and impatience has replaced his earlier trepidation. He's going to bite the bullet and force a confrontation. He gazes up and down the hallway, watching for the swing of her long blonde hair and her carefully matched pink twinsets, but she remains elusive. While he's getting antsy just standing there, he resists the urge to go looking for her because the second he leaves she'll be at her locker. She's undoubtedly watching for him at least as closely as he is watching for her. But he's also tucked back in a doorway, hoping to ambush her and head off her need to bolt the instant she sees him.

He sees Yolanda stop to talk to some chick he doesn't recognize in tall black boots and a just-long-enough denim mini. Already Yolanda's tenure as the new girl is up! But Yolanda is looking apologetic and then unconvinced, which seems like an odd reaction for a "welcome to the neighborhood" speech, and he takes a better look at the fresh meat. The girl he's been absently ogling for a couple seconds, the girl with the short hair and the shorter skirt, is Veronica. The sudden recognition knocks him back, but he doesn't have the time or the stomach to catalog his reactions. If he doesn't talk to her now, he may not get another chance. He has to clear up his mistake soon, or she's going to entirely write him off. And however legitimate that decision might be, he can't deal with the idea of Veronica giving up on him like so many have done before her.

Logan advances on his prey while she is distracted and hears just the tail end of their conversation. "… In fact, I think the only thing we have in common now is how much better off our lives will be without each other's interference." If his own inherent pessimism wasn't enough to convince him that this statement was aimed at him, Yolanda's tense little smile would certainly have clued him in. Veronica pauses abruptly as Yolanda gazes on Logan. She turns her head just enough to catch Logan in her peripheral vision before turning back to Yolanda and slowly releasing a hissing breath between her teeth. The pained sound causes Yolanda to quickly swing her attention back to Veronica.

"Well," says Yolanda, desperately seeking an out from the conversation, "Good talk. I'll see you guys later." Yolanda turns and strides down the hallway quickly, squeezing through barely available spaces between other bewildered students.

Veronica watches Yolanda sprint off and shakes her head tiredly, then immediately goes into high denial mode, refusing to even glance at him. Her shoulder is turned to block him, and she is stealthily working the combination on her locker. This is clearly an extraction: get in, secure the target (codename: math book), get out.

"Veronica are you seriously gonna…" he starts, a weary sigh beneath his words.

But she simply opens her locker, gets her bag and textbook, and snaps her locker shut with a controlled flick of her wrist. He's come too far at this point to let her bolt without hearing him out, so he tries to block her exit. She simply turns on her heel and spins past him as though it was a choreographed move. Desperate, Logan catches her arm as she turns away from him, and she flinches. A dull yellow and purple bruise peeks out from underneath her t-shirt sleeve, and he drops her arm quickly.

"What happened?" he asks brusquely, only to see her eyes harden. He's made a critical misstep, but for the life of him he can't figure out what it is.

She smiles saccharinely and says, "Enbom accidentally bashed me with his history textbook as we passed in the hallway. Whoops! That joker can be so clumsy sometimes! And wouldn't you know it, I was so surprised I inadvertently socked him in the solar plexus, and he puked all over Susan Knight's shoes. Well, I was so embarrassed I could have just died! But accidents will happen I guess. It is so important to be aware of the people around us."

Her tone is disingenuously innocent and she bats her eyes at him cartoonishly before letting her features slide back into something approaching her usual expression, though her eyes are darker than usual.

Logan glowers, "I'll kill him."

Veronica snorts indelicately, her arms crossed over her chest. "That's really not necessary; I think he gets the message. Susan said she was gonna bill him for the cost of the dry-cleaning. Apparently, getting puke off of Uggs is not cheap… And besides, it was an accident. That means no one gets blamed. You think Clemmons will take the same stance if you beat John's face in?"

She's right, and that somehow makes it worse. Logan is outraged, partially because he is aghast that anyone would dare touch Veronica and partly because this means Lilly was right, which is frustrating and upsetting all on its own.

"I'll say something. I'll get them to back off," he growls, but she just shakes her head wearily.

Veronica sets her shoulders and looks at him sternly, her arms still crossed and her hip cocked, "I don't want you throwing your weight around for me Logan. That kind of antiquated machismo isn't going to improve my situation. And I know you're 'king of the 09ers' or whatever, but it is stupid to think you can stop people from behaving like assholes. This is high school; we're all assholes. You of all people must know that. So just… Don't. I'll fight my own battles."

Logan swallows back his anger and nods, his eyes cast down. She's right, ultimately. He can't force Madison to like Veronica or to treat her with respect, and Veronica will do a much better job of exacting revenge than he ever could. She is careful and cunning in a way that Logan just can't manage. He's a man of fist-bruising action, as likely to hurt his cause as help it. Still, if he can't prevent her torment, he can at least apologize for what he himself has done and said to her.

Logan begins in fits and starts, unable to clearly articulate his chagrin, and says, "What I said at the party, that… That wasn't cool, and I mean, what the fuck do I know? Your mom is great, seriously, and I shouldn't have suggested… I was talking out of my ass. And, I just wanted to apologize for that bullshit at the party and, hell, at the beach too. I was way, way out of line."

"Okay," she says, somewhat blankly. "Good to know. Thanks."

Logan just parrots her words back at her. "Okay?"

That can't possibly be all she has to say. Logan runs his hand through his hair unconsciously. Veronica recognizes his nervous gesture, and she responds with a little forced cheer, hoping to finish this conversation before he says something that makes her tenuous control collapse.

"Yep," says Veronica a tight and tentative smile on her face, "Okay. Are we done here?"

Logan blazes forth, suddenly furious and terrified. Because things are not okay. Not at all, and Veronica is giving up. "I said I was sorry! Doesn't that mean anything to you!"

Veronica looks him over, her eyes wide in surprise. "It absolutely means something to me. I appreciate it. I know you were upset at the beach and drunk at the party, so I wasn't going to hold it against you, but the fact that you regret it says a lot. So thank you for the apology, and I forgive you for the things you said. You wanted to make amends. So good, we've done that. But what I don't get is why you think this changes anything."

Logan, baffled, opens his mouth to protest when Veronica steps forward to cut off his tirade. She puts a hand against his chest to stop him in his tracks and then looks up at him with her clear blue eyes.

"Hey," she murmurs in a soft voice, "It's okay."

The skin under her warm hands prickles and stings, like tiny, ongoing static charges, and he suddenly finds himself unable to speak, his tongue too thick in his mouth. It's a startling and uncomfortable sensation for a guy who has spent his entire life getting into and out of trouble with his smart mouth. Veronica rushes on, completely unaware of Logan's discomfort and determined to get her point across before he interrupts.

"Listen, you're Duncan's best friend, and I'm nobody's best friend. We know where we stand. You don't have to keep pretending, okay? You don't owe me anything. And the sooner you get over this misguided need protect me through your loyalty to Duncan or some twisted sense of responsibility left over from Lilly, the better. You don't owe anything to Lilly either, and Duncan doesn't care to acknowledge that I exist, so please. Just stop. No one expects you to play nice with a Kane reject, least of all me…" she pauses, a pained expression flashing across her face before she returns to the calm, detached mask that Logan is coming to hate, and continues, "Anyway, you're off the hook."

She withdraws her hand and shrugs her shoulders before giving him a small regretful smile, "I'll see ya around Logan."

And with that she walks off. He watches her with a slump to his shoulders. He pulls his cell out of his pocket and absently dials a familiar number.

"Dick," he begins, the barest hint of rawness in his tone, "I need to get seriously brainless this weekend. You down for a trip to TJ?"

A/N 3: As always, reviews and con-crit are enormously appreciated! And they really do feed my desire to write, so… You know what to do!