Here's another chapter to the story. Though right now it's mainly Piz/Veronica down the line it will be a LoVe story because I just don't think I could write anything else. A reviewer has pointed out that Veronica is relying too much on Piz and I've realized that too but I'm still trying to find my VM voice. She's an extremely complex character to capture but I will try harder in the upcoming chapters.
Again, there are some lines from episode 3x19, so I obviously do not take credit for that. I do take credit to the tweaks in the storyline and everything that will happen after episode 3x20.
Also, let me know what you think of my story. It would keep me motivated to continue ;
I'm not sure what's worse: my father not talking to me or my boyfriend of a month both confessing his love for me and taking responsibility to a fetus that wasn't his. I didn't have much time to think because as I looked up from my leg, which I had propped in my sink lathered with shaving cream, Mac was standing in the doorway behind me.
"What?" I eyed her amused grin.
"Miss Mars uses a Venus razor," Mac raised her eyebrows at her clever pun.
I laughed too at the irony, "Because if she doesn't, her legs look like Pluto's"
"And she's down-to-earth, to boot."
Even in my current state, I couldn't help but laugh, "I think I read in Teen People that a clean leg shave will make that special boy sit up and take notice."
"I read in FHM that boys like bare breasts," She tried to one-up me.
"Interesting. I did not know that," I rubbed my chin, pondering, "Bare breasts, you say? Hmm."
Mac nodded her head, and I continued to get ready, not looking forward to the day ahead. The last thing I needed was a day at the beach but lately I had been being a bad best friend and this hang out was necessary.
Parked at the beach, the four met around at my trunk. I opened it as Wallace jumped in to grab his plane from the back.
"Jeez," I waved my hand in my face as the smell crept from the trunk of my Saturn, "What does that thing run on? Nail polish?"
"It's a methanol-oil mixture," Wallace carefully lifted the plane out, "I don't even smell anything. What do you have? Super-smell?"
Piz and I glanced at each other before I looked down at my freshly shaven legs and Piz reached in to grab the fuel container.
"Hey," Mac broke the awkward silence, "anyone else hear there's gonna be a Matchbox 20 reunion show?"
"So," Piz asked dismissively, "Rob Thomas is a whore."
"Yeah," Mac looks away, defeated as I slammed the trunk closed. We all took that as the signal to make our way to the beach.
Once safely in the warm sand I decided it was time to get this best friend hang out session in gear, "Hey, you never told me what happened with your whole man-crush thing."
Mac's ears perked up, "Wallace has a man crush?"
"The man crush isn't me, is it?" Piz asked defensively.
"Some guy following him around campus," I answered Piz and Mac before turning back to Wallace, "Is it Piz?"
"All right, now," Wallace shook his head, "it was...nothing, you know? It was just nothing."
"Why didn't I know about this man crush?" Piz looked a little hurt.
Mac nodded, "I feel so out of the loop. When did we start keeping things from each other?"
"Its not a big deal," Wallace said as he continued to prep his plane for its first trial flight, "Now if I was going to confess that I was gay, then you guys would be the first to know."
"At least we're in the loop for the serious stuff," Mac smile contently while oblivious to another awkward glanced shared between Piz and I. I nodded at his questioning glance.
"Speaking of serious," Wallace and Mac's heads turned as he spoke, "Veronica and I have something pretty serious to tell you."
"Um," Wallace looked back and forth between us as we tried to see who was going to spill the beans. Personally I was sick of saying it. The more I said it, the more it became a reality.
"Well," Piz laced his fingers in mine, "Veronica's pregnant."
"Didn't see that one coming," Mac seemed to think out loud.
"Wow," Wallace stood up and wiped his hands on his pants, "Congratulations?"
"Guys," I hated the way they were looking at us, "Don't make a big deal out of this. Just forget about it."
Mac laughed, "Well it might be hard to ignore a bulging stomach."
Again, my hand flew to my still flat stomach to reassure that it was indeed still flat.
"Today isn't about this," I desperately tried to change the subject, "Is this plane ready for take off or what?"
Wallace smiled, getting back to his baby as I stared off at the crashing waves.
"So, what's the protocol for a plane christening? I mean, does someone get to, like, smash the, uh, Sea Monkey with a miniature bottle of champagne or...?" Piz asked as Wallace stood up, taking the remote control from Mac.
"The protocol?" Wallace rubs his hands together, "Pray to whatever god you believe in she flies. Otherwise my ass is grass."
"Orville Wright's exact words, if I recall," I commented with my best British accent.
"I'm so nervous. This is totally knotting up my inner nerd," Piz squirmed next to me grabbing my hand for moral support.
"Wait," Mac thought for a second, "You have an inner one?"
Piz didn't answer, probably because he didn't know how to answer without making himself out to be more of a nerd. I dropped his hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling myself in as close as I could get. Wallace extended the antenna to the remote and the plane started up. Pressing the joystick forward causing the plane to roll across the sand towards the water. Just as it was about to roll right into the water, it lifted off the ground, soaring through the clear blue sky.
"Whoo-hoo," Wallace yelped, "We're up!"
I couldn't help but jump up and down for Wallace's hard working paying off as Piz let out a "Yes!". But our celebration was too early. The engine's stopped working, and the plane plummeted to the ground. We all cringed together. Walking towards the crash site I stopped dead in my tracks as two boys with their wetsuits pulled down around their waist, halted their game of Frisbee to go see the plane. I stopped dead in my tracks.
"Hey look," Dick Casablancas pointed, "A toy plane!"
"Do not touch the plane," Wallace yelled as he jogged the rest of the way towards the duo.
"Hey, hey," Dick looked up at the approaching group even though I did not budge from where I had planted my feet as soon as I saw the spikey beach blonde hair, "Look who's slumming it at the beach. What's up, hot legs? Ow!"
"Score one for Teen People," Mac chuckled in my direction.
"Hey, we're blowing off a little dead-week steam if you kids want to hang," Dick motioned towards a small fire pit a little ways up the beach.
"We can't," I spoke up before anyone could accept, "We're helping Wallace."
"Actually," Wallace was distracted by his fallen aircraft, "Uh, Wallace could use a little time to himself."
As Wallace sat by himself in the sand, the rest of us sat around the fire pit, in an awkward silence for some time. Dick and Logan were both nursing beers on their bench across from Mac, Piz and I. They had offered us some of their alcohol, which I sweetly declined, wrapping myself in a towel to hide my attention grabbing legs. Piz, however, needing a beer to get through this uncomfortable encounter, chugged the can before neither Dick or Logan even opened theirs. Impressed, they offered him another one, but he refused a second. My little lightweight.
"I feel so bad for Wallace. He needs more thrust," Mac broke the silence.
Of course, Dick snickered earning a smile from Logan. Oh the maturity levels.
"Don't say it," Logan warned and Dick put on a serious face.
It didn't last long however because Dick shouted, "That's what she said!" only moments later.
Apparently it was a guy thing because along with Dick both Logan and Piz smiled in acknowledgement of the offensive joke.
"I think I'm going to go help Wallace," Mac excused herself from the increasingly awkward conversation.
"Hey Mac," Dick yelled after her, "Wait up."
Great, that left Piz, Logan and I to look anywhere but at each other.
But of course it had to be Piz to try and initiate a friendly conversation, "You know, uh, a couple of my high-school friends surfed. Yeah, they'd drive down to Sunnyside early in the morning, but I always had to work these crappy jobs over the summer. It must have been cool growing up down here."
"It must have been great working," Logan pretended to be interested. Piz looked on confused, "That's what makes you so real, Piz, so salt-of-the-earth. My life, on the other hand? Frivolous."
"No," Piz tried to clear up the miscommunication, "that's not what I'm saying."
"No, you're right," Logan smiled, searching his tiny brain for the right words, "Not frivolous, full of frivolity. You hear that, Veronica? The, uh, subtext? Piz worked for a living while I frittered my days away. Impressed?"
"I'm not impressed right now," I said through a clenched jaw. I unclenched it the moment I felt Piz's reassuring hand rubbing my back.
"What's your problem man?" Piz answered for me.
"Fundamentally, I guess it's that I lack a working man's backbone."
"Logan, enough," I said sharply. He nodded as we heard the plane engine start up again. Looking over my shoulder, I was just in time to see the tiny plane to lift off again. This time it did not plummet to the ground and all was well as Wallace smiled happily.
"Wallace got it working," I announced grabbing Piz's hand, "We should get back."
After that eventful afternoon, I needed some peace and quit. What better place for that than at my comfy reception desk at Mars Investigations. Even though I heard my father's voice behind his closed office door, I knew he wouldn't bother me. He hadn't talked to me in days.
"Honey," He called out with a tired voice, "Can I see you in my office?"
This was the moment I was dreading. I had no choice but to face my father on my own.
"Close the door," He rubbed his eyes.
"Dad, I -"
"Wait," He cut me off, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. It was childish and I'm sorry."
I shook my head, "No, I think you reacted pretty accurately. You did good, Dad."
"Don't let me off that easily," He warned, "I'm not happy about this, but you bagged yourself a good guy. Its hard not to like Stosh."
"I'm sorry. We didn't plan this or anything but I just really need to -"
"Veronica," He stopped me again, "You don't have to explain anything to me. You're an adult. You're going to be a mom. I need to start trusting in your decisions."
"I love you," I walked around the desk and kissed the top of his shiny head.
"I hate to make up and leave," He pushed out his chair, "But I need to get to the station. I'm kind of a superhero."
"Yeah," I nodded, "You are."
"Who's your daddy?" He turned to face me just as he was about to walk out of his office.
"Dad!" I whined, "What did I tell you about that?"
He pointed at me, "You're making me a grandfather, so I'm allowed to say what I want. The end."
With my father gone, I settled back into my quiet time. I still had a lot to get done. I called to make a doctors appointment finally figuring it was time to accept the fact that yes, I had a bun in my oven. Nonetheless I needed to stay healthy. I needed to make sure the baby was healthy especially with the whole GHB incident.
Then after the important stuff was out of the way, I decided it was time to catch up on my homework. Homework had taken a back burner to the other things happening but if I wanted to provide a good life for my child, I needed to get through college.
I cursed as I heard the office door opened, pushing my books out of my way to start up the next case.
"Veronica?" The hair on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of his voice, "Hello?"
Before I could even answer I noticed the blood on his shirt, face and knuckles. His left eye seemed to look swollen as I studied him more closely, taking a step closer.
"Veronica," He said again, "There's something you should know."
I know this chapter relied heavily on 3x19 but the next 2 chapters will involve 3x20. After that I have nothing to rely on besides my own ideas and storylines. So, if you like this you might not enjoy chapter 5 and on or if you hate this you might enjoy those chapters better. I hope you all stick with me through this story!