A/N: So, I really had to do it, just to shut him up once and for all. The next chapter will kind of deal with the fallout of some of the things that happened at Veronica's birthday party. I'm really trying to pull out Logan's over-protective nature, but seeing as how Veronica hasn't really put herself in danger lately (I thought I would get into this but I haven't. Oh well. It has to do with Keith being elected sheriff... not a big deal) because I really want them to work through that before they get together officially. So that is definitely to come. Is it wrong that I've been planning the epilogue before this story is even finished? I'm a terrible person.
Chapter 14: Happy Birthday Veronica!
Logan had worked tirelessly to make sure Veronica's birthday party would be a success and that Veronica didn't have a clue about it, which was easier said than done. He was, after all, trying to keep something from a detective. On the afternoon of the party, he went over to her apartment to distract her for the day while everyone else set-up at his new house.
"Here," he said, handing her one of the many presents he got her, "Open it." The bag was blue with stripes and tissue paper coming out of the top. She took it happily and sat on the couch.
He had thought long and hard about what to get her and while some of them came easy, like her very own surfboard, which he was saving for later, others were not as practical. Logan watched her face as she fished the small box out of the bag.
Veronica opened the velvet coated box, knowing it wasn't a ring or earrings, but suspected some sort of necklace. Inside, on a silver chain, was a key that she didn't recognize. Her eyes met his, "I don't understand…"
Logan smiled, "I bought that house, the one on the beach. Remember, I showed it to you? You said you liked the view and thought the deck would be great for entertaining in the summer. It had the pool with the hot tub." He was describing it, although he would take her there that evening.
"The key to your house, Logan? Are you sure?" she was surprised by the gesture. They had been on a few dates, sure, but they weren't really at that stage in their relationship.
He nodded, "mi casa es su casa. Now, you need to get ready because I have quite the day planned for you. You're going to need a swimsuit, preferably that little blue number…"
Veronica cut him off, "keep talking like that and you'll never see that swimsuit again. I think I have a one-piece somewhere that covers everything." Logan immediately shut his mouth and pretended to zip it shut. "Okay, should I pack a bag? Or are we immediately going swimming?" she asked, moving towards her room to find said swimsuit.
"Bag," Logan said, "for later, right now, you should change into something… comfortable, sneakers, jeans, t-shirt…" He noticed that Keith also wasn't there; another business trip. "Maybe you want to pack pajamas, too? Stay the night?" he asked, moving to the kitchen so she could hear him better down the hall.
Veronica didn't have to think about it; she packed her swimsuit, her pajamas, and an extra set of clothing before moving on to the bathroom to collect toiletries. Staying the night did not imply sleeping with Logan, and they both knew that, not that either one of them was quite ready for that yet. Once she was finished packing and changing, she joined him in the kitchen.
They drove in silence for a while; Veronica trying to figure out where they were going based on the landscape and road signs, but was clueless on their final destination, which made Logan smile. Eventually he pulled off the road and handed her a blindfold, "put it on," he said.
"Why?" blindfolds and surprises really weren't her things. She liked to know where she was at all times and where she was going. Taking away her most crucial sense was not going to be easy.
He sighed, "I want to surprise you, please? We're almost there. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you."
Reluctantly she agreed and placed the blindfold over her eyes, hoping to still get enough sensory information with her ears and nose. She could hear the road become gravel by the crunch of the tires and took in the smell of manure, "Are we at a farm?" she asked, getting excited, "Did you get me a pony?"
Logan smiled, though she couldn't see. That was Veronica, you try to surprise her and she figures it out anyway. "Go ahead and take off the blindfold," he said, opening his door and walking around to help her with hers. He had gotten her a pony ride for her birthday, not an actual animal. He watched her run up to the majestic creature with glee and begin petting it.
The man who owned the ponies smiled and nodded at Logan as he walked over. The man quickly explained how to ride the animals before helping the pair on to them. There was a clear path around the property that they could take, assuming the ponies would listen. "You can't keep them," Logan warned as they set off, "it's just a pony ride, but I know how much you like them, so…"
"It's perfect, thank you, Logan," Veronica responded with a huge smile, petting the pony, "this is like the best birthday present ever." Logan took out his phone as they rode and snapped pictures of her on the pony. He wasn't sure how many times he had seen her that happy; her smile making her eyes light up. It was such a simple gesture, and yet it meant so much to her.
They rode around for a couple of hours, until Logan was sure that their friends would be finished setting up the party and most of the guests would have arrived. Veronica was sad to leave the ponies, but Logan promised her that he would bring her back someday. He knew she would hold him to it and he was okay with that.
When they arrived, it was just getting dark and all of the lights were off in the house. The pair walked up to the door and Logan unlocked it, letting Veronica walk in first. As soon as she stepped in the house, all of the lights came on and everyone jumped out yelling "SURPRISE!" and blowing noise makers.
"Logan!" she exclaimed, looking back at him, "Did you do all of this?"
He nodded and smiled, "Well, I did have some help, but yeah, it was my idea."
Veronica was amazed by all of the people there, some of the faces she didn't recognize and assumed they were dates of friends or some of Dick's Pi Sig brothers. She greeted Wallace and Mac, hugging each one of them and thanking them, before moving deeper into the party, Logan right behind her.
The first thing she noticed was the movie playing on the large projector behind the cake. At the moment it showed a scene of her and Lilly dancing in Lilly's bedroom, singing along to whatever song was playing. Then it cut to a scene from the day Lilly got her license and offered to take Veronica, Logan, and Duncan out for a drive. Veronica, of course, got to sit in the front with Lilly, while the boys were forced into the backseat. The sound of the movie had been removed, not that it could have been heard anyway. "I hope you don't mind, but I made a movie of your life, your dad supplied some of the younger footage of you," Logan explained, if he was going down, he was bringing Keith down with him.
She turned around to face him, a happy smile on her face, "I love it. Thank you." Once she noticed the movie begin to replay, she moved on to see the rest of the party, noting the bonfire outside and the surfers on the beach before seeing the large pile of presents on the deck. Just as she was about to get excited for presents, someone she didn't want to see at her party stepped into her line of vision. "Did you invite her?" she asked Logan, nodding her head in that direction.
Logan looked up to see Madison Sinclair. No, he did not invite her. Why the hell would he invite Madison Sinclair? He shook his head at Veronica before stepping forward to handle the situation. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
She laughed, "I was invited."
He looked at her like she was nuts, "To Veronica's birthday party? By who?" Seriously, whoever invited her needed to take her and leave.
"Him," Madison said and pointed to Piz as he walked over, carrying two drinks.
Veronica caught up to Logan as Piz returned, "Happy Birthday, Veronica," Piz offered, placing a hand around Madison's waist. The hurt in Veronica's eyes was unmistakable as she saw the interaction. Veronica about-faced and ran back into the party, looking for Wallace or Mac. Piz stood with a satisfied smile on his face; he had found just the right woman to make Veronica jealous and she would be his by Monday.
Logan just looked at Piz and shook his head, "You don't know what you've just done. I hope you find her to be worth it." He quickly left the pair to find Veronica.
Logan found her sitting on the couch with Parker. He took her other side and rubbed comforting circles on her back, "Do you want to go outside? We could sit near the bonfire? Or we could go surfing, there's a little sunlight left. Madison wouldn't follow us into the water…"
Veronica smiled and nodded, surfing would be nice. She had promised to surf with him again sometime and that moment seemed as good as any, "be right back," he said, getting up and looking to Parker to stay with her for a moment.
He returned shortly with two presents, one large and surfboard shaped, the other was another gift bag. Logan had gotten Veronica her very own surfboard and wetsuit; perhaps an attempt to coax her out onto the water a little more often. Maybe it was more of a present for himself in that sense. Either way, she loved it and quickly went to go change.
After a few runs, the daylight was completely gone. Luckily by that point, Veronica had calmed down, all of her energy spent on being angry and upset spent on surfing. Logan led her back into the house where neither Piz nor Madison could be spotted. Someone else must have escorted them out, he figured.
Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her before she blew out the sparkler candles on the beautiful cake Logan had picked out for her. She didn't care that she was still slightly damp or her hair was a mess from surfing, it didn't matter. The pictures would still come out great when they showed up online the next day.
After the cake was enjoyed, a few party games were played, including classics like pin the tail on the donkey and a piñata, which happened to be filled with condoms instead of candy. Being a little tipsy by this point, Veronica didn't care and knew that Dick was behind it. She didn't even get a chance to open her presents before the party died down and the drunk scattered off, most of them heading back to Hearst. Wallace ended up crashing on the couch, not wanting to deal with the aftermath of the Piz/Madison situation.
"Best birthday ever," Veronica said with a grin on her face as Logan climbed into bed next to her, "honestly, I don't know how you're going to top it next year when I turn 21. Thank you." He smiled at the promise of 'next year,' and wrapped his arm around her before falling asleep.
A/N: So, there's that. Veronica's almost perfect birthday with a little Madison Sinclair for good measure. Because why not? I want to get with you, so to do that, I'm going to bring the person you hate the most in this world as my date to your birthday to make you jealous. Totally will work. Every time. For serious. Haha. So, on a sad note, I'm predicting maybe three-four more chapters before the epilogue, maybe. I kind of want to do a nice flat twenty, but I feel like that might be stretching this whole thing a little too far, so we shall see. Anyway, thank you guys for everything. Your reviews are heavenly.