TITLE: His Friend Too

AUTHOR: arbailey

WORD COUNT: 3,517

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: Okay, so, the timeline. My carwash occurs on a Saturday. Now, technically, October 3rd, 2003 was a Friday. But I needed Logan to be in school all week to avoid Veronica, and he needed to spend at least one night in Mexico. While I know Logan thumbs his nose at academic pursuits, it does seem weird he took off on a Wednesday or Thursday afternoon for an extended trip to Mexico. And as far as I'm concerned, carwashes on a school day are silly and unlikely. So my October 3rd is a Saturday, but, heck, this is already AU. I hope you can forgive me.

Chapter Six: Girls on Film

Veronica didn't want to go to the carwash. She hadn't really wanted to join Pep Squad, either, when it came to that. She had wanted to try out for girls' soccer, a far better use of her PE credit, but instead she let Lilly draw her into the insipid clutches of the Pep Squad. They weren't even proper cheerleaders! It was a total waste of time! But she had done it. For Lilly.

She didn't want to go to the carwash, and she didn't want to help raise funds for a club trip to Catalina, and she didn't want to wear her Pep Squad uniform and its entirely-too-short-to-be-school board-approved shorts to soap up cars for the dirty old men driving by. But she was doing it. For Lilly.

Because Lilly didn't want her to come to the carwash, and Veronica no longer did the things Lilly told her to do. In fact, she did the opposite of what Lilly told her. It was pretty new as a personal dictum, but she'd worry about exceptions to the rule when they came up. For now, she was going to be everywhere Lilly didn't want her to be.

Still, that does little to dispel her discomfort as she stands, overexposed, on a southern California Saturday. Veronica keeps her head down, crouching and scrubbing silently at the cars, but she feels the approach of her erstwhile best friend before a word is spoken.

"Hey, I've got a secret. A good one," says Lilly, sidling up to Veronica with a sponge in her hand.

Veronica's only response is to scrub harder at the fender before her, and Lilly huffs impatiently. "If this is about Logan, I guess I forgive you," Lilly says with a reluctant drawl.

That stops Veronica in her tracks, and she slowly stands and turns. "YOU forgive ME? Are you serious?"

Lilly nods magnanimously, missing Veronica's incredulous expression. In a begrudging tone, she continues, "I guess there are probably a lot of reasons you were late. I mean, you can't control traffic or whatever. And while it wasn't cool that you took off like that when I needed you, I guess I understand that you were caught up in the moment. I mean Logan taking off like that… What a drama queen." She scoffs a little at the expense of her emo ex-boyfriend.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Veronica moans to no one in particular. "You broke Logan, just destroyed him, and I wasn't supposed to do anything? I was supposed to go back to your house and run through Cosmo quizzes? Can you hear how insane that sounds?"

Lilly's jaw sets just slightly, "Yeah, okay, I get it Veronica. Duh, that's why I'm forgiving you, obviously. God. Lighten up."

"Yeah, see, I don't take orders from you anymore, okay? That's why I'm here, at this stupid car wash, in these stupid clothes, having this stupid conversation. And another thing, that stuff about throwing myself at Duncan and Logan! It's not funny, and it's not true!" Veronica says, one white-knuckled hand curled tight around her hip.

Lilly rolls her eyes, "Okay, so I told Madison to tell you not to come today, but that's only because I knew you would! You're too easy, girl. That's, like, pre-school level reverse psychology. And, duh, I never said you were throwing yourself at Duncan and Logan. That was just Madison being a bitch. I mean, why would you even bother? Nothing is ever going to happen with either of them," she finishes dismissively.

Veronica, while she has to instinctively agree, is still miffed by Lilly's dictatorial words and says, "What do you mean by that?"

Lilly shrugs, unperturbed by Veronica's slightly hostile tone. "They're, I don't know, the untouchables or whatever. Duncan – still not worth your time by the way – was a total coward, but he's not going to take you back. You're better just staying clear of him. I mean, you're smart, you get that. And Logan is too messed up over me to even think about anyone else. Especially you. I think it's going to be that way awhile… He's not even close to being okay yet," she muses. "It's kind of flattering really."

Veronica is sputtering indignantly, but Lilly isn't listening, isn't even paying attention. Spotting something behind Veronica, Lilly suddenly grins, a little evilly, and says, "Well speak of the devil..."

Veronica turns, and behind her Logan is placing something in Lilly's car. Lilly says, disgustedly, "Oh God, come on! I thought we we're past this!" She puts on a wheedling voice and says, "Veronica, please go tell him to give it up!"

Veronica shakes her head emphatically, "I am NOT going over there."

Lilly is genuinely surprised at Veronica's refusal, "Pretty please? You're better at dealing with his mopey ass then me."

Veronica sighs, "Yeah, see, that was before. Now I don't have to deal with him at all."

Lilly is suddenly furious, "Hasn't he apologized yet! God, I told him!" Lilly's eyes blaze for a second, and Veronica replies, "No he did, it's just…Wait… Since when are you and Logan talking!"

Lilly looks at Veronica a little blankly, "Um, we talked the morning after the party. I had to go round and pick something up. Also, I maybe wanted to snoop on him and Yolanda a teensy bit." Lilly squints her eyes and makes a tiny pinch with her fingers.

Veronica throws down her sponge fiercely, not even sparing a look for her former friend. She stalks back to her own car and grabs her bag before returning to Lilly's side. "I have to go Lilly," she says coldly as she strides purposefully towards the Xterra.

Lilly claps her hands delightedly and waves as Veronica stomps away, "Thanks Veronica, you're awesome! Besties!"

Logan had spent the last twenty-two hours wrapped in the warm embrace of tequila and increasingly bad decision making, but it just hadn't had the soothing affect he was hoping for. He had lots of experience drinking away the hurt of betrayal and rejection, but usually he could at least tell himself he was the injured party. This time, he'd earned his misery.

And the soft, sad picture Veronica had painted in the hall yesterday had left him utterly spent. She was so forgiving and hopeless that it made him sick to his stomach. He'd waited too long to talk to her, and so she had drawn her own conclusions. They were the wrong conclusions, true, but he wasn't really sure how to tell her that without further complicating their friendship.

And neither of them needs complications. Whatever his feelings for Veronica- which are not at all clearly defined in the first place- he's not going to poke the tender places of Duncan's psyche. His best friend deserves better than that, even if he is being a self-absorbed idiot. Duncan has been sullen and withdrawn since his break up with Veronica- definitely understandable- and while they are still best friends, Logan has lost a little of Duncan too. Logan is hardly going to sacrifice his last shred of honest friendship just to pursue some pipe dream of Veronica. He is 100% sure of this because he keeps repeating it to himself in a steady monotone. Over and over.

Wandering the street markets, he'd found a shot glass Lilly would love at some rundown, touristy little stall, and he bought it. Their break-up had been so sudden, so final, that Logan was feeling a little bereft. Not because he missed being with Lilly, exactly, but just because he missed the stability of being in a terribly dysfunctional relationship. He'd once been dragged to see his mother's therapist during one of her bi-annual attempts to bring her life into order, and the doctor had made a big production of describing the various evils of such twisted and stunted interactions. Even then Logan had known the doctor was bullshit. It's not the fucked-up relationships that break your heart; at least then you always know exactly what to expect.

So he had driven back to the Neptune High Pep Squad carwash determined to bestow his gift as a ritual, to capture the foul beast Closure, and to move the hell on with his life. But when he gets there, it's not just Lilly he's faced with, but Veronica to. He watches both of them for a moment. Veronica is looking pissed off, but Lilly prattles on cheerfully, blissfully unaware of her friend's obvious anger. He represses a compulsive chuckle, but his heart leaps to see that at least he's not the only one Veronica is angry with. The Veronica who doesn't buy into Lilly's games is a very intriguing creature.

He pulls out of his quasi-stalker-y stupor with a guilty shake and gets out of his vehicle to secrete the shot glass in Lilly's SUV. Face-to-face delivery is not an option. He wants to get closure today, not a tetanus shot. He climbs back into the Xterra and lays his head wearily against the steering wheel, only to hear Lilly's angry stomps up to the car as she throws open the door. She climbs in and slams the door shut. He lets out a put-upon sigh and turns. Right into the most testicle-shrinking glare he has ever received.

If you had asked him ten minutes ago who his least favorite Veronica incarnation was, he definitely would have picked the downtrodden Veronica of the day before. But wrathful Veronica is pretty terrifying. He's going to have to update his list.

"You made up with Lilly – the girl who slept with your FATHER – the next morning but you struggled to apologize to me almost a week later! Come on! When I thought you were just generally angry for your shit luck and your shit taste in women, that was one thing, but now that I know you saved it all for me, I'm starting to feel really hurt. You're an asshole, Logan, and I would hate to formally dissolve our friendship without saying that," Veronica spits at him.

Logan is knocked back by the force of Veronica's anger and, in particular, the cursing. He has made the classic mistake of believing that because he never heard Veronica curse, she can't. But she grew up at the sheriff's office and is fully fluent in virtually all forms of profanity. Still, as scary as she is, this Veronica doesn't seem so willing to forgive. Maybe she won't be so willing to give up either.

Logan turns to face forward, starts the Xterra, and throws it into gear.

For all of her earlier bluster, Veronica is genuinely surprised at this turn of events, and she panics at losing control of the situation, "Logan, stop!"

"You know," says Logan, blandly cheerful, "You have had an awful lot of to say over the past few days, but I've never really had a chance, so let's take this opportunity to clear the air."

"There is nothing to say, alright! Pull over Logan, or I swear to God I will throw myself out of this vehicle! Tuck and roll!" Veronica starts fiddling with the door, so Logan engages the child safety locks.

"Are you SERIOUS!" she screeches and then lunges across his lap to get to the driver's door controls.

"Veronica, for fuck's sake!" Logan yells as he tries to use his shoulder to block her and force her back into her own seat while remaining on the road. He can't have her in his lap and continue to correctly operate this vehicle, and for the safety all involved parties, he needs her to calm down.

"I know why Duncan broke up with you!" he blurts suddenly, and she immediately stills, slumping back into the passenger seat.

"You do?" she says skeptically and a little quietly.

"Yeah, and if you calm down, we'll go to my house and I'll tell you," Logan says with exaggerated and condescending slowness.

"Fine," Veronica huffs, throwing herself against the seat's backrest, buckling herself in, and pointedly staring out the window silently for the rest of the trip.

Someone must have leaked Aaron's flight details, because when they reach the Echolls mansion, the driveway is absolutely crawling with paparazzi. They part at the approach of the Xterra and watched the gate swing slowly open, snapping shots of the infamous Echolls boy.

Logan has parked, disengaged the safety locks, and hopped out of his open door before he notices Veronica isn't moving. She is staring straight ahead, her arms clasped in front of her.

"Veronica, come on. Let's go. We can talk in the pool house," says Logan, standing in the doorway of the Xterra, his arms braced against the roof. Logan can hear the shutters of high-end cameras clicking behind him, and they ratchet up his tension a further notch. While his list of dislikes is long, paparazzi are second only to his father, a dubious honor.

Veronica, staring straight ahead, replies in a clipped voice, "I don't see why we can't talk here. Let's just be done."

Logan walks around the cab of the vehicle with a sigh and pops open Veronica's door. "Seriously. Let's go. I think you'll appreciate the privacy," he says gesturing over his shoulder at the stand of photographers crowding the gate.

Veronica snorts derisively, "They're not here for me. I think I'm safe. But fine. Let's just do this, so you can take me back to my car." Veronica unbuckles her seatbelt and flings the strap away behind her, giving Logan a black look.

She slinks back towards the pool house, and Logan follows behind, rolling his eyes skyward and begging for patience. Her whole gait screams her general dissatisfaction with being here, in enemy territory, and he is beginning to despair this conversation when she suddenly straightens her shoulders and develops a bounce to her step. As he turns the corner, he sees what wrought this change in her attitude. Aaron.

Aaron stands at the entrance to the pool house, startled by Veronica's sudden appearance with his eyes wide and his expression blank. At the approach of the small blonde, he schools his features into a winning smile and greets her, "Veronica! How are you?"

"Hi Mr. Echolls," Veronica says in a cheerful voice, "How was Nepal?" At Aaron's hesitance, Veronica continues in an apologetic tone, "Oh I'm sorry. Should we go? Are we in the way?"

"Not at all! I'm just so surprised to see you! Logan told me he was going to be in Mexico this weekend," says Aaron, and with that he turns to Logan. The smile remains but the temperature is markedly cooler. "Son, you have to keep me and your mother informed of your whereabouts. What if there was an emergency, and we couldn't find you! It would break your mother's heart."

Veronica jumps in. "That's completely my fault Mr. Echolls," she says, breathy and regretful. "I'm doing this photo project for the school paper, and I needed Logan's expertise. I totally forgot that he was going out of town this weekend. But when I called him, he came right back to help. He's a really good friend."

Her acting is so over the top, so clearly disingenuous, that she is afraid he won't buy it. She rocks back on her heels subtly with that guileless smile on her face, her hands clasped behind her, and wills him to bite on her excuse. But she has vastly overestimated Aaron's self-awareness, and he is a man who doesn't understand why you would merely act when you could overact. His toothy smile beams down on her, and he even turns a little of that oral surgery-based sunshine on his son.

"Well, it's great to hear that Logan is so devoted to both his friends and his studies!" Aaron claps Logan on the shoulder, pretending not to notice the way Logan twists underneath his hand. "So nice to see you again Veronica, but I have a meeting I just can't miss. I hope you'll forgive my rudeness" Aaron intones as he walks away, his wave the same one he long ago perfected for the red carpet.

Veronica brightly returns his wave, and then turns to head into the building, her sullen expression back in full force.

"What the hell was that?" Logan asks, exasperation permeating his words as he crosses the threshold into the pool house.

"I have places to be, Logan. A whole new life to live, such as it is. I don't have time to watch you get grounded and then have to repeat this lovely little tete-a-tete, okay. Spill, and then you can deliver me back to my car," Veronica says, her eyes closed and her fingertips rubbing at her temples.

"Fine," says Logan shortly. He's never been a patient person, and Veronica's unbending defiance is working his last nerve. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you liked me?"

"What! I don't even know what you're talking… This wasn't the deal! Why did Duncan break up with me?" Veronica says, bemused and slightly panicked, stomping her foot.

"Lilly told me you liked me, that…" Logan begins, ignoring her ire, but Veronica jumps down his throat before he can continue.

"Lilly needs to stop dragging up the tiny crush I had on you when I was twelve just so she can keep manipulating us. Lilly needs to stay the hell out of my life. Lilly needs…" Veronica is counting off Lilly's needs – her head tilted back with mock concentration as she catalogs Lilly's sins – when her eye is caught by what is, most definitely, a lens flare.

Veronica immediately turns away from Logan and clambers on to the bed to get a better look at the fan. She traces the path of the wire, and what has appeared to be a blank wall in all of the million times she has been in this pool house before is now sporting a hairline crack. She forces her fingertips into the small fissure, and pushes the door out of the way. Inside is a television, broadcasting a panoramic view of the pool house, and, even worse, a little red light: the international symbol of a recording device.

She turns back to face Logan, drawing herself up in righteous anger. "THIS is why we had to talk in the pool house! You wanted to record my big confession? Oh god… Lilly sent me out to talk to you! You two set me up! I am so colossally stupid…" Veronica is almost hysterical, but she refuses to lose it in front of Logan, who is now headlining her most wanted list.

"I didn't… I wouldn't…" Logan is finding it nearly impossible to finish sentences, too wrapped up in his shock and horror at discovering his dad's newly revealed voyeurism. While he had no idea his father indulged in this particular sin, it's not a difficult leap for his brain to make. And however little Veronica thinks of him, he could never have brought her here if he'd known about his dad's perverse little set-up. Every private moment he's ever had in this room is on a tape somewhere, and he can feel the bile rising in the back of his throat.

But it wouldn't matter what he said, Veronica is not listening. She's is ignoring him pointedly, tearing through the formerly hidden cabinet with barely suppressed fury. She viciously pushes the eject button and pulls the current tape out of the recorder. And it's then she notice the carefully, though cryptically, labeled collection of videos.

She is pouring manically over the neat stacks of video tape when she runs across a hole in the collection, a wadded up piece of paper taking the place of what looks to be three tapes. She smoothes out the paper and reads in Lilly's loopy scrawl, Thanks for the memories, lover. I always wanted to be in the movies followed by a series of x's.

She immediately jumps up, shoves the paper into Logan's hand, grabs his shirt, and starts hauling him out of the pool house. "Come on, we have to go. Now."

Logan can't keep up with this emotional dynamo, and he is still protesting his innocence vehemently. "Veronica, I swear I didn't know about…" But she interrupts before he can continue.

"Logan," she says, ripping the note out of his hand to hold it up where he can read it, "We have to go. He's got a fifteen minute head start on us, but I bet the paparazzi have slowed him down. There's no time." Veronica trails off, darkly.

Logan closes his mouth, his teeth making an audible click. There is no question which "he" she means. Logan glances at the note, but it's Veronica's stricken confidence that gets him moving. In a matter of seconds, they are back on the road to the Kane place. As they speed through the 09er district, they pick up an escort: a sheriff's car, the sirens screaming. He hesitates, and glances at Veronica, but she merely shakes her head, and he puts the pedal down.

A/N 2: I have been thrilled to read all your reviews thus far, and I beg you to keep up your excellent work! You are all really driving my desire to write. Please and thank you!