C

C is for Cassidy. C is for care. C is for concern. C is for conceal. C is for confusion. C is for contradiction.

Mac had cared for Cassidy. She had been concerned for some of his behaviors. Concerned for how he responded to some things. Confused by his responses. She had bought the lies he told to conceal the truth. She had been confused by his contradictions.

C is for Cry. Cassidy left her crying. Alone. Sometimes she wondered if he ever did care for her. Dick's words echoed in her mind then. "My brother never cared about you, you know. You were just his beard."

Dick had made her cry then too. But Dick hadn't left her alone, even when she wished he would. He was always around, in the periphery. The connection from Mac to Veronica to Logan to Dick always kept him there. Then he had started showing up more often. Being civil. Then apologizing, then popping up everywhere. No he hadn't left her alone and he didn't make her cry anymore either.

D

D is for Drink. Drinking. Drunk. D is for Down. Depression. Despair. Dejection.

Dick tried to keep the darkness at bay by drinking. He drank to forget, drank to remember, drank until he couldn't remember if he was trying to forget or remember. When Beaver's (Cassidy's) birthday rolled around again, the same time every year, Dick hit the bottle and drank until the day, week, month was over. Dick was 20 years old. His brother would never be 20 years old.

D is for disaster. Dick drank so much his life became a disaster. As if the governor had officially declared it a disaster zone, Betina Casablancas had swept back into his life, into the suite in the Neptune Grand and packed Dick up and off to an exclusive rehab. She hadn't stayed, didn't call, didn't visit, opted not to participate in any family therapy sessions, but she put him in the place that could give him the tools to pick up the debris of his life, and reassemble them into something. Maybe she cared, maybe she did it to say she had tried, but for whatever reason she did it, it worked.

D is for Discipline. The counselors and staff in rehab got Dick on a schedule. They demanded work from him, both physical and psychological. They gave him routines that didn't revolve around drinking. They gave him the right to remember, the right to forget, the right to move on.

Being sober made Dick realize that besides Mac he was the only one carrying the memory of his brother with any fondness. Dick couldn't blame Veronica, or even Logan. His parents, well it was best not to dwell. They had already forgotten. Erased the memory of their younger son. So Dick had to live, he had to survive so someone remembered Cassidy.

D is for Defy. Dick defied the odds, he got sober, and he used the discipline from rehab to restart his life. D is for Dick. He owned his name now. Dick Casablancas. Him. No longer Dick Junior. No longer Dick the asshole who hid behind humor, wealth, and a smartass attitude.

D was for Dealing. Dick learned to deal. Life handed you lemons or some shit.

E

E was for Entertaining. Dick was entertaining. And Mac was entertained. Day in and day out, he entertained. They could riff on his t-shirts alone for 30 minutes.

I Love My Dirty Ho. (with a picture of a tractor)

"I doubt your girlfriend appreciates this one."

"What girlfriend?

"The girl I've seen you around with?"

"Nah, she's just a stage five clinger."

No Soup For You.

If You Like Hotdogs You'll Love Dick's (picture of a hotdog) Dick's Famous Foot Logan Dogs. Fine Meats Since 1958.

I See Dumb People.

So Easy Even a Cave Girl Could Do Me.

I read the Constitution for the articles.

I'd Do Me.

Draft Beer Not People.

"You have deep feelings about war?"

"Beer. Beer is important if there was enough beer in the world for everyone, there'd be no war."

"'Cause everyone would be drunk?"

"Drunk and happy."

I'm with handsome. (arrow pointing up)

"Really? Did you and Logan attend the same self esteem class?"

Live the DREAM Ride Me Naked.

"No comment."

"'Cause you know it's true Mackie."

Then there was his commentary on pretty much everyone around them. From his Frat brothers to the other kids in class. But one of his favorite targets was Piz.

"Beaverton? Seriously?"

"What's with the hair Spaz-narski? Waiting to be discovered for a Nickelodeon show?"

"I get why you're on radio man. Did you ever see a DJ? Good voice, bad face."

Slapping Piz on the back. "Hey man, don't worry about Logan. It's not like you ever had a chance with Veronica Minx anyway. She's like…well not a Laker girl. Maybe a Chargers girl. And you're the guy who directs traffic in the parking lot outside the stadium."

One day as she lounged on the couch in Logan and Dick's suite at the Neptune Grand, her sides hurting from laughing so hard, she realized that she had never laughed this much in her life.

Logan had invited Dick and Mac to join him and Veronica for pizza and a movie. As usual Dick was full of commentary during the movie and eventually Veronica had had enough. When her curt demands that he shut up didn't work, she resorted to threats. When the threats didn't work she decided that Dick had gotten too comfortable with her and that she liked it better when he was more than a little scared of her. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and returned with her tazer.

Before anyone else knew what was happening, Dick was twitching on the floor with Veronica standing over him, smiling blissfully. "Now will you shut up?"

Dick looked pissed when he got up but instead of being an asshole he just tacked Veronica and began tickling her until she was red-faced and squirming on the floor. Logan let them fight it out, knowing that Dick wouldn't cross the line.

The whole time Dick was tickling Veronica he taunted her. "Not so tough now, are you Blondie? Without your tazer you're less lethal than Malibu Barbie."

Mac laughed almost as hard as Veronica, never having seen her friend reduced to giggles and involuntary fits of laughter.

Dick settled back on the couch as Logan restarted the movie with Veronica snuggled into his lap, her cheeks still red and her hair messed up. Dick sat on the other side of Mac, using her as a human shield, knowing that for Veronica vengeance was always better the more you got.

Dick pulls Mac against his side, his hand resting lightly around her waist.

"Truce Mars."

"Only 'cause you have a human shield."

"Truce," Logan says authoritatively. Then he kisses the pout off Veronica's face.

Dick turns his head towards Mac. "You'll protect me, won't you Mackie?"

She grins, turning to look at him, not realizing that his face was so close to hers. "Yeah," is her easy response. Her smile fades as his closeness registers. Two sets of blue eyes meet. His eyes are calm, easy, relaxed. Hers are not. She blinks her confusion as his eyes drop for just a split second to her mouth then he grins easily and turns back to the screen.

"I love movie night."

F

F was for Friend. Mac wasn't sure that's what they were, but Dick seemed to think so and Mac didn't know how to convince him otherwise or even if she wanted to.

"Hey, friend."

Mac is at the campus bookstore buying books for her Fall semester classes when she hears his voice. She hadn't seen him since that day on the beach. The day he had apologized and he had turn tail and run rather than deal with what it might mean.

Turning around she sees Dick standing behind her leaning against a bookcase. He looks tan and blond. Tall. But that's the usual. That he also looks relaxed and happy. Actually really happy. And sober. She stares at him, her face frozen then she smile hesitantly.

"Hi Dick."

He grins and comes closer. She shifts backwards automatically but then holds her ground.

"Whatcha doing Mackie?"

She smiles easily now. "This is a bookstore, more particularly this is our campus bookstore. I'm buying books. For classes."

He is still grinning, not taking offense to her sarcasm. "So what classes are you taking?"

She narrows her eyes at him. "You care what classes I'm taking?"

Dick shrugs and sees her course listing on a piece of paper on top of the stack of books in her arms. He plucks it up and looks it over.

"Ha!"

His 'ha' is triumphant. Her echoing one is questioning. "Ha?"

"We have Psych 101 together. I'll save you a seat," he says happily.

"You'll save me a seat?"

"Well sure, unless you get there first, then you can save me a seat."

She stares at him. "Why? Do you want to copy off my notes or something?"

"Nah, I'll just buy them off some kid in the class. Hey, do you want to sell me yours?"

She looks confused and seeing the glare of the students behind her, she realizes the line has moved and she takes a few steps to keep up.

"It's good money. And you're going to be taking notes anyway, right?"

-VM—VM—VM—

F was for Follow. Dick seemed to follow her everywhere. He followed Mac to her seat in psychology. He followed her from psych class to the food court. Every day. If he knew she was working late in the library he would appear with coffee and follow her back to her dorm room.

She accused him of stalking, he said he was doing what friends did. She opened her mouth to say they weren't friends, but didn't want to be mean. She also realized that somehow his persistence had resulted in something that could actually be construed as a friendship. They talked, they joked, they hung out together (only at school or with Logan and Veronica), they had common interests (video games and laughing at Logan and Veronica). He bought her coffee (always with soy), she explained psychology concepts to him in a way he understood. If that wasn't friendship she didn't know what was.