A/N: Ok, I'm having too much fun with these two and I really need to get going with the plot instead of the fluffiness! After this though…

Saving Abel

Cat got your tongue?

Logan hovered over Veronica's tiny form, his breath held as he waited for her to respond. He felt invigorated and flushed being around her, as if all his senses were operating at hyper speeds; it was the weirdest feeling, one he wasn't used to, but he kind of liked it.

Without warning, Veronica whipped around and flung her shoes at his chest, blue eyes snapping in temper. He was mesmerized by the color and clarity, as if her eyes really were windows into her soul, and wondered what he would read there if he stared long enough.

"How dare you say that to me!"

"What?"

"Innocence doesn't suit you, Echolls. You're hitting on me."

Logan splayed his hands against his cheeks with maidenly surprise. "I am? Heaven forfend."

"Ok, excusing the bizarre expression you just used, I am Lily's friend and you're her ex."

"You've been her friend for a minute and we both know it won't last longer than that. Besides, she moved on, or didn't you see that Saturday night? It's classic Lily Kane: move on before the sheets are cooled from the last lovah."

The fierce frown veeing her eyebrows shouldn't be cute, but Logan could admit he was aroused by the strangest things sometimes. "She wasn't hitting on Weevil until you showed up. I spent the day with them and while she flirted with him because he's a good-looking boy, it wasn't anything remotely like what happened when you stumbled onto the beach."

Logan couldn't deny a little skip in his heart beat at hearing Lily hadn't found a replacement already. Weevil? How does Veronica know him?

"And the look on your face is exactly why you shouldn't be hitting on me. It's incredibly insulting you think because I'm not a sacred 09er, I'd be okay with being the bounce girl for you until she whistles for you."

""Heaven forfend" is bizarre but "bounce girl" isn't?"

"I am no man's rebound. I am the main entrée, not an h'ordeuvres!"

He couldn't resist sweeping his eyes over her body with the patented Logan Echolls smirk firmly planted on his lips. "You are only bite-size, so you must be from an entrée from a fru-fru French restaurant."

"It's not my fault you were put on growth hormones as a baby and are freakishly tall."

"Freakishly tall? I'm only 5'11, woman."

"That's ten inches on me, so in my books you're freakish."

"I do have ten inches on you and in all the right places too."

"Urgggh! Why does every conversation we have devolve into innuendos?"

"You mean all two? And you were flirting back with the remarks about your stellar ass. Besides when you have two good looking people of the opposite sex with hetero inclinations standing close together, sex is bound to come up, among other things." He risked a rakish wink just to see what she would do.

"If anything comes up any more, you're going to pass out from lack of blood circulation." Her hand flew up to her mouth and he knew she hadn't meant to let the last snarky comment slip out.

"Oh ho, Mars, have you been peeking down under?"

"That's a horrible Aussie accent you know."

"Lily always said girls love a man with an accent."

"It's true we are a sucker for it. Didn't Connor Larkin have a British accent in that robot movie? God the accent and those abs…" her voice trailed off as a dreamy expression entered her eyes.

Logan swore he would punch out his ex-friend the next time he saw him. It was intolerable how much tail the man got when he wasn't even there! "He used to stutter."

"Excuse me?"

"You probably wouldn't have liked him in middle school. He had big ears and a stutter." What the hell are you doing, Echolls? Who cares about fucking Connor Larkin? And why does she always have to say his first and last name like that? "I'm surprised you weren't all over him at the bonfire on Saturday if you liked him so much."

Veronica ducked her head and slid one foot against the other; who knew the shy school girl pose would be devastating to Logan's senses? He literally had to tighten his muscles to keep from reaching out and grabbing her. "I didn't want to be one of those girls. You know the type: the goopy-eyed breathless twit who won't ever wash her hand because he touched it." Her light eyelashes looked so long as she blinked slowly. "I'd rather be left with my fantasies than be disappointed with reality."

"From what I hear, your fantasies would probably be better than reality. However, I am here…"

"Logan! Beav's here. You coming or staying with her?" Dick's shout interrupted their conversation and Logan seriously thought about strangling his best friend but figured a jury might not buy self-defense. Why is it whenever I talk to her, Dick and fucking Connor Larkin somehow interfere?

"Your woman is calling, you better get going."

"Oh sure, get started talking about sex and then go before I'm finished."

"I was not talking about sex or at least sex with you. "

"You would've. I'm irresistible and I know you want to take a ride on the Echolls Roller Coaster."

"You didn't just seriously liken sex with you to a roller coaster."

He nodded smugly. "There's always excitement and highs."

"Swiftly followed by plunging lows and nausea?"'

"It's worth the payoff." He subtly thrust his pelvis in her direction.

Her blue gaze seared him from shoulders to toes when she took a nice long look at his leanly muscled body. "Nope, still not interested. Read my lips Logan: I will not be your rebound or revenge fuck so turn off the smolder and find an empty-headed bottle blond to use until you guys get back together. I'm sure there are still a few girls at Neptune you haven't managed to bone yet."

"Logan!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

He didn't know why he wanted to keep standing there talking to Veronica instead of surfing with Dick as planned, but that breathless feeling still hadn't left and in fact intensified during their banter. Not keen on introspection, Logan was content to chalk it up to mingled frustrated lust and amusement.

"You'll be back at school tomorrow?"

Veronica's eyes shifted from his and she slightly shrugged. "Depends on what's going on."

"What could be more important than school?"

"Stuff."

"Can you define stuff a little more?"

"You're funny, Echolls. As you pointed out earlier, we've had two conversations and now you want me to spill my deepest darkest secrets to you? I don't think so."

"We haf ways to make you talk."

"Again with the bad accents? Well, at least your German one is more credible than your "throw the shrimp on the barbie," one."

"Fuck dude, if I knew we were coming here so you could track down your girlfriend I wouldn't have bothered coming." The blond surfer's irritation was plain as he stomped up to them, sandwiching Veronica between two tall figures.

"I thought dicks always came?"

Dick gaped at her witticism and then at Logan when he burst into belly-deep laughter.

Veronica gracefully stepped away while toeing her shoes towards her so she didn't have to bend down in front of Logan. "Don't worry you boyfriend is going surfing with you. I was just leaving."

The slap upside the head wrenched Logan from his fascination with Veronica's ass as she walked away again.

"Dude, what the hell? Why is it every time I turn around you're talking to the Mars chick? I thought you were hung up on Lily."

Logan frowned at his friend. "I am. I didn't even know Veronica was going to be here."

"Yet you certainly zeroed on her the minute you pulled up and saw her standing at the waterline. That chick has bad news written all over her; you step into her world and you ain't coming out alive."

"Whoa, geesh. I barely know her, and this is like the fucking second time I've talked to her."

Dick scratched his head in frustration as he tried to convey the weird vibes he felt between his friend and the small blond. He wasn't used to expressing his feelings with words so he was at a loss on how to define it. Logan was intensity personified, always had been, but he noticed the intensity notched up to almost out of control levels the minute he came into Veronica Mars' orbit, which kinda freaked Dick out.

An out of control Logan was one fucking scary dude.

"Beav, help me out."

Beaver came up beside Dick, brown hair ruffling in the slight breeze, and the other two waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts as he was often the voice of reason for the Casablancas brothers.

"I think what Dick is trying to say is you're different when she's around."

"What the fuck?"

"Dude, I was there the first time you saw her in the office. You zoned out and focused on her like you were riding the biggest fucking wave and had to balance just right."

Logan gaped at Dick.

"I noticed at lunch the other day you couldn't keep your eyes off her."

"Beav, she was sitting next to Lily, you know, the fucking love of my life!"

"I'm just sayin'."

"Well, you're both just sayin' utter bullshit. Until Saturday night, I never spoke a fucking word to Mars, and now you guys are picking out China patterns for us!"

"Whatever. Just remember I warned ya when the time comes."

"Jesus, Dick. You know Lily will drop her like a bad habit any day now and you'll laugh over your fucking concerns when she vanishes from our lives as quickly as she popped in."

Beaver had stopped listening to the conversation as his eyes focused on something beyond Logan. He balanced on the balls of his feet as if he wanted to surge forward, but was restraining himself.

Dick threw his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. Sorry dude, just remember bros before hos."

"You done with your intervention now, Oprah? Can we just fucking surf?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

They'd gone a few feet when Beaver's hesitant voice reached them. "Uh guys, I hate to stop you, but isn't that Troy Vandegraff in the parking lot?"

"So? Who cares?"

"Well he looks like he's really pissed at Veronica right now."

Logan turned and saw it was indeed the Pan High School quarterback standing near Veronica yelling at her. Troy was one year ahead and used to go to Neptune, but transferred out at the beginning of Logan's sophomore year under some pretty shady circumstances; he didn't know all the details, only it involved a girl and some drugs.

"How the hell does she know Vandegraff?" And Vandegraff better back the fuck up if he knew what was good for him. He was crowding the much smaller girl against a vehicle.

Dick sighed as he recognized the tone. "Dude, I told you…"

"Shut it." Logan flexed his hands unconsciously. Lily would be pissed she found out her friend got hurt and he just stood by. He was doing this for Lily's sake, not Veronica's. "You with me?"

"Yeah, I got your back."

"Beav?"

"I never liked Troy," the younger boy muttered darkly.