TITLE: His Friend Too

AUTHOR: arbailey

WORD COUNT: 3,748

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, I guess promising fortnightly updates was premature... But finals are done now, I've turned in my grades, and I should be able to devote a bit more time to this story! At least until I figure out my summer work situation! Being a grown-up is not nearly as much fun as sitcoms promised me when I was a kid...

Chapter Eight: Just My Imagination

Duncan Kane's parents are not fighting. They are simply sitting icily next to each other not talking out of a deep appreciation for road safety. They are most certainly NOT FIGHTING. And with reassurances like that, how can Duncan question their royal decree? The relationships between the members of the Kane family have been deeply fractured by the bombshell of his ex-girlfriend's illicit parentage, and no one is actually talking to anyone else. As he sits in the backseat, staring dully out the window at the sunset, he sinks into reflection - his least favorite hobby.

Today the Neptune's Boys Soccer team had lost 0 to 5 in an embarrassing score fest for Pan High, and this effectively ended the Pirates chances at the Division II championship. There had been some quiet muttering that while Duncan might be the richest player, he certainly wasn't the best, and that making him team captain had cost them the season. Duncan didn't like to disappoint, and he hadn't wanted to be captain in the first place, but circumstances seemed to conspire against him. Circumstances like his father buying new uniforms for the team.

It is against Duncan's nature to rail against authority or refuse to do what is asked of him - he leaves that to Lilly - but recent events have seriously strained his relationship with his parents. He has always been praised for being the rational one, the cautious one, and he learned long ago to lock the unacceptable emotions away. To hide them where they won't cause discomfort for the people around him. Duncan has always been carefully, evenly rigidly, organized. Even as a little kid, he made lists instead of scenes, carefully cataloging his unhappinesses. And today, his sorrows are numerous enough that losing the big game and disappointing his teammates doesn't even make the top five.

Number five is that his parents have unilaterally decided to change his medication after last week's unfortunate incident with his father. He has no memory of the attack on his father, but as much horror as he feels over that violent blank space in his memory, he understands it. He almost admires the invisible beast hiding in the dark bits of his brain. The Incredible Hulk in his hypothalamus said what Duncan never could. That what Jake did was wrong. That what Jake took from him and from Veronica was important and valuable, and it isn't ever going to be okay. That Duncan is paying for his father's mistakes and it just isn't FAIR. The new stuff makes him fuzzy and slow, and it had undoubtedly had affected his play today, but Duncan is more worried he has lost the only part of himself that still tells the truth.

Number four is finding out that his dad was still seeing Lianne Mars through the photos his mother had "accidentally" left on her desk when she sent him to fetch her day planner. He had sat in her office blowing quick breaths through his nose for ten minutes, as his doctor had suggested, before his mother came to find him and had disingenuously apologized. Perhaps he should not be surprised. He has always known that he is a pawn between his parents, sometimes working together to glorify their collective name, sometimes working against each other in carefully strategized power games.

Number three is Lilly. The weekend before she had come home in a foul mood and thrown his old controller at him, which demonstrated she'd been at Logan's but did nothing to explain her general demeanor. They hadn't been talking much; not since he'd told her why he broke up with Veronica. She'd been so excited about the possibility of Veronica being their sister, like she didn't see what a colossal mess this was. So their normally tight bond had been somewhat stressed. But it wasn't just on his side- it wasn't like she was talking to him either. She was cagey as to why she and Logan were on the outs this time, but she had laughed uproariously when she had heard about Aaron and Lynn cutting short their visit to Nepal over an as-yet-unremarked-upon-by-their-publicist domestic squabble.

"What the hell?" His father's quiet irritation snaps Duncan out of his thoughts. The gate to the Kane estate is standing wide open and an unusual selection of vehicles span the spacious driveway. Lilly's surprisingly staid silver Mercedes SUV. A bright red Spider with vanity plate "LNGHAUL". Logan's intentionally obnoxious yellow behemoth. A police cruiser, lights still flashing.

"I'm calling Wiedman," Jake mutters as he fumbles in his pocket for his phone.

Duncan hops out of the back, shouldering his gear and stalking towards the house. Inside, it is quiet, but he can hear raised voices coming from the backyard. He is on his way when Lilly suddenly appears, brushing past him and racing upstairs with a furrowed brow.

"Lilly?" he calls up after her, but he gets no response. Has Logan done or said something? Did Lilly call Aaron to fetch his son back? And who called the cops? Celeste is going to freak if Lilly has brought down some new scandal on their heads, and Duncan's pace slows as he ponders all the horrible scenes that might be occurring on his patio. But he is still unprepared for the sight that greets him. He takes up his list again to keep from screaming.

The number two worst thing about today is seeing Aaron Echolls passed out by the pool being attended to by a member of Balboa County's finest. Unpleasant possibilities are clicking into place as he reflects on his sister's disproportionate response to gossip about Aaron. Call it a wild hunch, but he feels reasonably certain that list entries two and three are related.

And the worst thing about today - the worst thing about this week, this month, this year, number one with a goddamn bullet - is watching his best friend and his ex-girlfriend cum biological sister making out by the pool.

Lilly Kane has never been a fetch-and-carry kind of girl. She has Duncan for that. But the tone of Veronica's voice and the sudden black blankness of Logan's expression have her scampering up to her room. She doesn't acknowledge Duncan as she darts past him – in truth, she barely sees him. Once in the confines of her sanctuary, she hops up on her vanity, screwdriver in hand, and has her vents open in record time.

As she paws through an assortment of love letters, airplane liquor bottles, and incriminating multimedia items, Lilly ponders how the hell it all got this far. And while she sneers a little at her own uncharacteristic helpfulness, it doesn't slow her movements. But it's just so weird. Because Lilly's whole ethos is built on a foundation of unassailable cool. It's what makes her, her. She has money, but so do Caitlin Ford, Susan Knight, and dozens of other 09ers. She has a sharp tongue and a party girl wit, but so do Carrie Bishop and Madison Sinclair. What she has that they don't, what makes her the queen of the school even as a junior, is a supreme self-confidence.

She does what she wants, says what she wants, fucks who she wants. Because she believes - enduringly, unflinchingly - in her own abilities to think on her feet, charm absolutely anyone she cares to, and always get what she wants. Which is part of what has made today - and let's be honest the last few weeks - so problematic.

When her original plan had exploded spectacularly because of Veronica's slavish devotion to traffic laws, Lilly had been sure she could ride out the flack from Logan and bring things back on track. But Veronica's defection had been seriously wounding, far more than any of Logan's petty barbs. The thing with Yolanda? Textbook and, frankly, kind of sad. But Veronica had never picked anyone over Lilly. Ever.

It hadn't even crossed her mind that Veronica's loyalties COULD be divided. And yes, with hindsight, that little peep show for Veronica had been in bad taste. For years she had poked and prodded and mercilessly teased her best friend for her almost puritanical sensibilities, but she hadn't meant to, you know, destroy their friendship. And now - knowing they are sisters! - the sting is even worse. They should be more connected, more united, than ever.

And undoubtedly, Veronica sees her methods as needlessly cruel. But Veronica has never tried to break it off with Logan. Because Logan doesn't take hints. Or rather, he DOES take hints, he process that information, he sinks into a depressed stupor, and then he pretends he is completely oblivious so he doesn't have to deal with their clear relationship issues. Primarily the fact that she doesn't really want to BE in a relationship with him.

She doesn't love Logan, not in the way he wants her to, and it isn't fair. It just isn't fair. So often, Logan is whiny and goopy and needy. And that wasn't what she had signed on for! She was looking for the bad boy of Hollywood royalty and his long line of casual sexual conquests! And while that was most certainly the image he presented to the world, once she got him, he turned out to be a serial monogamist with a side of masochism! She's seventeen, rich, and beautiful – she's an heiress, for fuck's sake. These are supposed to be her wild years!

She's not the weird one. Logan is the weird one. Logan is the one who wants to settle down at SIXTEEN. Hell may well have frozen over because Lilly is the one being sensible here. The one who recognizes that they are far too young to pledge their troth. This isn't a medieval romance. Their life expectancy isn't thirty-five. There is time, for God's sake.

And she tried, damn it. She gave him plenty of outs. She got distant and acted like a total bitch in the hopes that he'd break it off with her and save his own tender pride. And when that didn't work, she broke it off with him for good reasons, for stupid reasons, for any reason at all. But then she'd miss him, and he was never more eloquent than when he was trying to get back in her bed. She'd succumb, and it would be nice for a while. Total adoration is an opiate too, and she found it hard to quit. But then all the same problems would crop up: his jealousy, HER jealousy, his need to define their relationship with all these boundaries, her need to be constantly moving on - it was exhausting. So she started cheating on him.

But no manner of sleeping with other boys had made the slightest bit of difference. And then THAT had gone farther than she intended, and then there was Eli, and... Anyway, it hadn't changed anything. Logan drank more and surfed more and sulked more, but he didn't confront her. He didn't want to know. But there was one thing. One thing she could do which he would never forgive. One thing that would break them out of this stupid, painful cycle.

She has no illusion about her suitability as girlfriend material, at least where Logan is concerned. She's not romantic. She is not good at compromise. She's fun and exciting, but she can also be malicious and spiteful. But's that who she is! It isn't fair for Logan to demand she be someone other than who she is! She needs someone like her, someone content to live in the moment, someone who accepts the vagaries of life, someone who holds on to the raggy edges of society just for the thrill of it. Someone with a motorcycle.

And Logan deserves… Not better. But certainly different. Logan deserves different than Lilly. She can't make him happy, and his clutching affections are certainly not doing much to keep her spirits up. At first it had been intoxicating, the way she could toss him out and then reel him back in. Everyone loves being loved. But eventually, it just got suffocating. She and Logan were choking the happiness out of each other.

Sleeping with Aaron was never about attraction. It was about repulsion. Because there was nothing in the world that Logan hated more than his father. Lilly had always chalked that up as a product of the way Logan had rebelled against a life in front of the camera, the same way she had chafed at the control of Celeste and acted out. But now it's pretty patently clear that there was more to it than that. She finally understands how someone who moves with such smooth grace could be so apparently clumsy when out of her sight, and she's sick to her stomach.

She should have twigged that day when she spotted the camera. She'd thought he was just a voyeur! A chill runs down her spine as her fingers close on the three little tapes, and she jumps down from her rickety perch. She was lucky, and when she gets back downstairs, she'll tell them so. She'll apologize – which is minding blowing in itself - but she is resolute. She was foolish, and they saved her. She can forgive them, can forgive Veronica's abandonment and Logan's possessiveness, because they came through for her in the end. While it has been a challenging week, things are starting to right themselves. Despite their anger and frustration, they still love her best.

Her thoughts are running a mile a minute in her own head, and she doesn't even notice her brother standing at the patio door until she runs into him, bouncing against his tensed musculature. A swift glance over his shoulder tells her everything she needs to know about his sudden paralysis.

Something hot and acid swims in her chest, and it throbs painfully. If Duncan were in a saner place, he'd be able to hear the thrum of her unshed tears as she whispers archly into Duncan's ear, "My, my. He really goes for those Kane girls, doesn't he."

Lilly's bump and her tight, cold words are just enough to slightly throw off Duncan's balance, and his gear bag and cleats slip from his shoulder to fall heavily against the concrete of the patio. Veronica and Logan swing to look at their audience and their wide eyes take in the Kane siblings watching them. They spring apart, Veronica hastily shrugging off Logan's arms.

From behind the teens, Celeste calls out, "Duncan? Honey? What the hell have you done this time, Lilly?" The dulcet tones of the matriarch seem to restart everyone's stopped internal clock, and they start bustling about. Lilly and Duncan clear a path for their parents who step bewildered out onto the patio deck, followed closely by Clarence Wiedman.

Wiedman strides past them into the backyard and stops unnoticed beside Leo, who is still rechecking Aaron's vitals. A consummate professional who is available day and night to the Kane family and the Kane corporation, Wiedman quickly takes in the measure of the scene. He glances surreptitiously at the deputy; a new young man, incredibly green, and as yet uncorrupted by either graft or tabloids. Perfect. He claps a hand on Leo's shoulder as the deputy stands up, and Leo rocks back startled.

"I'm Clarence Wiedman, head of security. What's the situation?" says the stately and dangerous looking man before Leo.

"There has been a tasing incident," Leo says, bluffing his way through the conversation with more confidence than he feels. This had most definitely not been covered in his training manual. "I'm just going to call in the paramedics."

Wiedman crouches beside Aaron's still motionless body and checks his pulse and breathing. The actor is in stable condition, and Weidman heaves an inaudible sigh of relief. His night just got a hell of a lot easier. "Given the sensitive nature of his condition," says Wiedman, vaguely motioning to Aaron's urine-stained pants, "And his stardom, you won't win any prizes for bringing in more personnel. If anybody lets slip a word, much less takes a picture, Echolls' lawyers will have you out of the department so quickly your head will spin."

Leo hesitates, clearly conflicted, and Wiedman continues in a steady and reassuring voice. "Go call it in. There has been a minor altercation at the Kane residence. Tell them Kane security is taking over the scene. That's all you need to say. Mr. Echolls is in stable condition, and he'd be much more comfortable with receiving care from his own private physician. There's no reason to make this into a circus."

Leo's brow furrows, but he nods slowly. He's new, but he's not stupid. There is a lot more to this than appears, but he doesn't want to know. He doesn't want to know almost as much as they don't want to tell him. So much for a quiet little beach town. Wiedman claps him on the shoulder with a bright smile, and Leo walks back to his cruiser to call in the incident, throwing one worried glance over his shoulder at the Sherriff's daughter.

"Lilly, what the hell is going on? What did you do?" Celeste stands with her arms crossed over her chest and getting right in her daughter's face. Lilly says nothing, her face gleaming haughty and brittle.

"Logan?" says Jake, a little desperately.

Logan just shrugs and turns away, refusing to meet the eyes of Jake Kane. Any Kane, really. Everyone is refusing to look at Veronica, as well, and she sorts busily through her bag to keep herself occupied, replacing her taser.

Wiedman is familiar with the complicated dynamics of Kane-Mars relations, but he's also aware that the only person here likely to give an even half-way straightforward answer is Veronica. Leo clearly didn't understand what he'd just witnessed, and that was all to the good. But Weidman needs answers. "Ms. Mars, what do you think happened?" he says pointedly.

Veronica eyes narrow as she repeats, "What do I THINK happened?" She searches the imposing head of security's expression, huffs a small angry sigh through her nose, and closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, her eyes are filled with a banked heat. Slowly, she says, "I suppose I must have overreacted."

Her words are clipped and her tone disgusted as she replays her sanitized version of the night's events. "I was simply having a civil conversation with Logan when I noticed a discreet camera lens pointed over the bed. I was curious, so I explored the hidden cabinet and found a note from Lilly hidden inside Mr. Echolls' secret camera set-up. I'm sure it is exclusively for security purposes, even if the cameras do seem to be oddly aimed."

Celeste grimaces at Lilly who steadfastly ignores her mother as Veronica continues, "Now I can see that the whole thing was in jest, but I raced over here with Logan, concerned that there had been some... misunderstanding... between Lilly and Mr. Echolls. Well, I stumbled into what looked like a physical altercation. I'm sure I simply walked in at the wrong moment, but I panicked and used my taser on Mr. Echolls."

Her voice anything but contrite, Veronica continues, "I am so sorry for the mistake I made, but I hope you can see it was done out of a desire to make sure my friend was safe."

Lilly is staring at Veronica, slightly slack-jawed, when the smaller blonde grabs for one of the tapes in her friend's hand. "In fact, when he awakes, please tell Mr. Echolls how terribly sorry I am. Tell him I'm going to keep one of these tapes from his private collection as a reminder to myself of the importance of not jumping to conclusions."

Weidman nods, stone-faced, but with the ghost of a smile hovering hear the corners of his mouth. Leo returns just in time to catch the end of her litany and places his hand on her shoulder. She turns, and the comfortable smile she gives him almost makes the whole hellish night worth it.

He bends to her ear and whispers conspiratorially, "Veronica? Seriously, what the hell just happened?" Veronica just shakes her head blearily, the smile and a subtly quirked eyebrow promising she'll explain later. She leans into his impeccably starched beige uniform, and her head falls heavily against the hollow of his shoulder. Leo drapes an arm around her waist to bear her up.

"Take me home, Leo" she yawns. Leo nods with a small, indulgent smile, and they make their way slowly to the cruiser.

While the elder Kanes and Wiedman powwow in the background, two penetrating stares - one blue, one brown - follow the course of the police cruiser down the street. Their simultaneous reveries are interrupted by the practiced throat-clearing of a senior executive.

"Logan, I think you'd better get your father home," Jake Kane says, a tight smile screwed to his features. "Mr. Wiedman assures me there is no need to seek emergency medical attention, but I've contacted Dr. Walters, and he'll stop by to make sure everything is A-OK. Mr. Weidman says he'll you get your father into bed for a good night's sleep," Jake continues, straining for an upbeat joviality.

Logan blinks blankly and then nods. Wiedman and Logan each take an arm and heft Aaron's dead weight onto their shoulders as they carry the unconscious star towards the spacious backseat of the Xterra.

"I'm going with them," says a voice behind Jake.

Duncan hasn't spoken a word since he spotted Logan and Veronica in their kiss, and everyone has kind of forgotten he's there.

Jake and Celeste exchange a small panicked look. If Duncan has another attack, or, even worse, airs Kane family laundry... Jake, startled, stutters out, "Duncan, you've had such a long day. Don't you think you'd better..."

"I know you always have my best interests at heart - you have proved that to me over and over again," says Duncan, interrupting with a cool smile, "but I have a friend in need, and it's my duty to help him. Let's say Veronica inspired me."

Jake rubs the back of his neck uncertainly, and glances to Celeste. She rolls her eyes in annoyance and stalks off briskly.

"It's settled then," says Duncan, a chill in his voice. "I'll ride with Logan."

A/N 2: I feel like I've been pretty hard on Lilly up to this point, but I DO NOT think Lilly is an evil character. She did some pretty crappy things in canon though, and I'd like to see her both deal with that aftermath and explain her motivations a little. Let me know what you think of this Lilly - I'm super curious to see if you think she somewhat redeems herself or if I have made her too totally horrible to save!

A/N 3: Big, BIG thanks to everyone who has reviewed and put me up over one hundred reviews! I'm ridiculously grateful you guys! So grateful in fact, that it seems selfish to ask for yet more feedback. But I'm gonna do it anyway! Whoohoo! Any and all reviews and con-crit are most fervently desired!