DISCLAIMER: Characters of Veronica Mars, the canon events of their storylines, and recognizable dialogue belong to Rob Thomas.

A/N:

Chapter 5 occurs during modified versions of #1.13 "Lord of the Bling" / #1.14 "Mars vs. Mars" / #1.15 "Ruskie Business" / #1.16 "Betty and Veronica" / #1.17 "Kanes and Abel's" / #1.18 "Weapons of Class Destruction"


Chapter 5

After seeing Weevil's reaction to the news that I had been locked in my trunk, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by his behavior during the months that followed. But at the time, I had read his reaction more as protective than anything else. There was also that odd conversation after I flirted with Leo in order to get access to the evidence room. Looking back, I could see that Weevil was jealous, but at the time, I don't know … maybe, I just didn't want to see it.

As time passed, it became undeniably clear.

[

[

In February, my dad and I were both working on a number of cases: a music mogul's daughter (who I happened to know) had gone missing, one of my teachers was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student (as it turns out, rightly accused by the wrong student), and the Russian mob tried to enlist our help finding someone (who was in witness protection hiding from ... you guessed it, the Russian mob). In addition to that, Logan had asked me to try to find his mother, because he was convinced that she was still alive.

When we were working to find the daughter of "Bone" Hamilton, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about when Yolanda arrived at Neptune High. After helping her find her first class, I introduced her to my little circle of friends. It seemed like such a long time ago.

But I still remembered how our budding friendship was cut short. I told Lilly that I saw Yolanda and Logan kissing at a party. Right after that, my BFF declared Yolanda dead to us. However, in the early days of getting to know each other, Lilly had talked about how she couldn't stand when Logan would go crazy if he saw someone looking at her. Yolanda had said, "I know it's not cool to admit this, but I like a jealous streak on a man. Keeps 'em in line."

The way she had said it so plainly … at the time, it was a bit shocking to me, so I remember her words as if it were yesterday. In this situation, it was not so much Logan's jealous streak that affected things, but rather Lilly's jealous streak that demanded our group (including me) end our friendship with Yolanda.

My mind sifted through memories of events and things said over the past few years … while also trying to make sense of the past few months.

Before Lilly was murdered and my mother left, life wasn't simple, but I saw it that way. More often than not, I did not see the flaws in people or the evil in the world; I ignored bad behavior and extreme emotions. In some ways, it was because I truly wanted to believe the best of everyone and everything, but in part, it was due to my naiveté. My eyes have been opened to the harsh realities of life since then.

Due to my dad's line of work, I have seen more evidence of dysfunctional relationships than I care to recount. But sometimes an emotion is just an emotion. Jealousy does not always escalate into rage; it does not always end in abuse or murder. Sometimes, it is not even a sign of dysfunction; sometimes, it is just a natural human emotional response. But I had to admit that I still found Yolanda's comment slightly unsettling.

As naïve a notion as it might be, the hopeful romantic in me wants to believe that people could (and would want to) stay together because of things like love and loyalty. I even dare to hope that there are relationships based on fidelity and honesty.

I can't be sure how all of that may have contributed to me not seeing (or not admitting it to myself when I started to see) that Weevil displayed emotions that seemed … well, unusual for a friend or acquaintance, someone with whom I exchanged favors.

At some point when I was working on trying to find Logan's mom, Weevil and I got talking. I don't remember how it came up, but I was telling him some about the Hamilton case – nothing confidential, just some storytelling sans key identifying info. When I got to the part about my improv maneuver to bug a luxury suite at The Duke Hotel, Weevil was not happy about me putting myself in a potentially dangerous situation in order to get the job done. I assured him that I had already heard about it from my dad … so, he could save the lecture. He reminded me that he was a phone call away if I ever found myself in need of help.

It was around that time that Weevil came to me with some information about Logan's mom. He had heard a kid talking about having proof that she had jumped. I momentarily wondered why he was offering to help when I hadn't asked for a favor. In retrospect, I think he wanted the case closed as quickly as possible to keep me from spending time with Logan.

When my dad and I were on opposite sides of the Mr. Rooks case, Weevil had pulled me aside and asked me to be careful, saying that he had heard things about Rooks. I told him he shouldn't pay attention to rumors. He insisted that I promise to be cautious and to call him if I needed anything. Maybe that's why my spidey senses were so quick to tingle when I heard Mick Jagger's voice from the stereo speakers and I caught a glimpse of black silk bed linens when I was passing by the bedroom door – two things that Carrie had mentioned about Rooks.

When I spoke to Weevil a day or two later and thanked him for insisting that I be careful, he had reacted the same way he had after I told him about being locked in my trunk – asking me, "Why the hell am I just hearing about this now?" I had to repeatedly tell him that I was fine (and that nothing had actually happened) before he finally calmed down. Again, I just kept thinking of it as protective big brother type behavior.

[

[

There was a happy little caper at Valentine's Day: I got to help Meg track down her secret admirer – though it was more enjoyable before I realized that the person leaving tokens of love for her was none other than my ex, Duncan. The thing is, I had my own secret admirer then too. Mine never came forward and he was better at covering his tracks than Duncan was.

Mostly, I received cards and handwritten notes (short and sweet, nothing elaborate). A couple of times there were flowers, too. Not store bought. Cut from someone's yard or garden. My admirer seemed to prefer to slip the notes through the vent of my locker door. When there were flowers, I would find them tucked under my windshield wiper. This guy was stealthy, unpretentious, and frugal. I can't deny that I was intrigued.

After Meg was escorted to the center of the dance floor by her Prince Charming, I decided to leave the dance early … mere moments after arriving. When I got to my car, I sat there and cried for a few minutes until there was a knock on my window. It was Weevil, who of course asked why I was crying. I didn't want to explain – not yet, anyway. I told him I just wanted to get home and change into comfy clothes, take off the jewelry and makeup – maybe even wash the obscene quantity of Aqua Net out of my hair.

As he often did, he wordlessly nodded and turned to leave. I reached out for his arm and said, "If you're not doing anything else tonight, you wanna come over?"

He responded, "V, are you asking me to be your valentine?" His tone was playful.

I shrugged. "Well, I don't have one. Do you?"

"Nope." He tilted his head and added, "But I thought you had a secret admirer?"

"How did you know about that?"

"I hear things. Got my ear to the ground."

Back at my apartment, I pointed him in the direction of the fridge and a few key cupboards. He poured drinks and got some snacks while I changed out of uncomfortable underwear and into cozy PJs. When we had gotten situated on the couch, it seemed he wanted to tell me something. Just then, my phone rang, but as had happened multiple times lately, whoever was on the other end of the line was not speaking. Weevil used *69 to call back and I was told that a blonde woman had been using a payphone in Barstow. I knew that it had to be my mom.

Weevil offered to go with me, but I said I needed to do this on my own. After giving him a kiss on the cheek as we parted in the parking lot, I said, "Raincheck?"

He just nodded, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. As I drove to Barstow, I remembered that he was about to tell me something when my mom had called. Although it made me curious, I didn't have the brain capacity to unravel that mystery right now. I needed to figure out what to do with my mom when I found her.

[

[

In March, our school mascot, Polly the parrot, was stolen. Mr. Clemmons asked me to look into it. Once the ransom video showed up threatening to kill Polly if Wallace played in the basketball game against Pan High, I would have gotten involved anyway.

I enlisted Weevil's help to question a guy who, as it turned out, did not have any useful information for me. I did however get to hang out at Rest Stop 15 with Weevil while he took bets. He did not look pleased when a few male students from Pan High greeted me with smiling faces.

"I see you made some new friends while you were hangin' out at Pan today."

"Friends?" I shook my head. "Potential thieves or sources of information is more like it."

In between his clients, Weevil and I talked. Well, mostly we flirted. By now, it was kinda our thing. We bantered and we played with fire. Today, a little more than normal, because I was pretending to be someone else. Betty. 'She' giggled, sighed, cooed, and purred more than I normally do. Weevil seemed to enjoy the roleplaying. I must admit that it was an entertaining diversion.

When it was time for me to get going, I leaned over and placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth, which probably would have been fine if I hadn't lingered there. As I slowly pulled away, I saw something flash in his eyes and suddenly his arms were around me.

We were nose to nose as he said, "This is a fun little game, Betty. But don't start something if you don't plan to follow through."

It was difficult for me to read his true intent. Was he flirting? Was it a warning? Was it a combination or something else entirely? Damn, but he was good. Too much experience in the interrogation room. What made matters worse was that he knew my bag of tricks, because he had been across the table from my mentor and father more times than I could count.

As he released me and I moved toward my car, he was all business as he reminded me, "Gonna get back to me about—"

I cut him off before he could finish asking. "Yeah, I should have something for you in a day or two."

Trading favors – that was our other thing.

[

[

A couple days later at school, I went up to the PCHers at lunch. I thought Weevil might want to step away from the table to talk, but he didn't move. He remained seated, straddling the bench. In fact, he barely acknowledged my presence as he continued to pick at the French fries on his tray.

I sat down facing him, straddling the same bench. Now, I had his attention. "I was able to confirm the first part of your theory. I am still working on the second part." I was being purposefully vague since I did not know how much the others knew. "I'll have some time after school. You could give me a call or drop by the office, if I'm not there you can find me at my usual spot."

"Stake out at the Camelot." It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. He knew where to find me.

I nodded as I reached for a fry. He glared at me as I put it in my mouth. I gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look and said, "I'm sorry, did you want one?" I picked up another fry, dipped it in ketchup, and lifted it to his mouth. As I fed it to him, I allowed it to brush against his bottom lip on purpose. "Oh, look at that." I wiped the small red blob from his lip with my thumb and then brought it my own mouth to clean the ketchup off of it – maintaining eye contact the entire time.

Disengaging from his stare, I shifted my weight, bringing my left leg from under the table to place my knee on the bench as I came to standing on my right. I placed a hand on his shoulder to steady myself as I stood. My knee had come to rest near his crotch and my torso was directly in front of his face as I said, "Well, my work here is done."

I intended to step away from the table, but he raised his hands to my thighs, holding me in place. He slowly stood up until we were face to face and he held my body against his. He turned his head away from the guys at the table to whisper in my right ear, "What did I tell you about starting things and following through?"

Before I could reply, I heard Mr. Clemmons say from behind me, "Miss Mars, is Mr. Navarro bothering you?"

I leaned away from Weevil and looked into his eyes as I answered Mr. Clemmons. "No, sir. Actually, I was bothering him." I slid one hand under his jacket and grazed my fingertips along the side of his ribs, surprised to find myself wishing that I had more time to explore. Then, I stepped over the bench and turned to face Clemmons. I shrugged and went all wide-eyed again as I admitted my crime, "I couldn't help myself. Something so mouth-watering right within my reach?" I held out my wrists as if waiting to be handcuffed. "I'm sorry, sir. I just had to … have one of his French fries."

Clemmons looked at me, at the PCHers, and then back again. Finally, he shook his head and walked away.

I turned and winked at Weevil. "See you later."

As I walked back to my table, I could hear chatter coming from their table.

In response to their comments, Weevil said, "She's just helping us out."

Then, I heard Felix say, "Yeah, but she only gave one of us a lapdance."

[

Later at the office, Leo came by to drop off tapes of the interrogations from Lilly's murder investigation. He made copies because he was afraid that someone might notice if the originals were missing. He would do some favors for me, but he had limits, lines he would not cross.

"What do I get in exchange, Miss Mars?"

"What did you have in mind, Deputy?"

"I was thinking a dinner date."

"That sounds nice, but who are you taking?"

"Wow, I'm worse at this than I thought. Because if the girl you're asking out doesn't know you're asking her out …"

"Sorry, Leo. Not interested. But I will gladly buy you a gift certificate for the restaurant of your choice so you can take someone else." If it weren't for his place of employment and the age difference, maybe I'd think about it. Maybe. Possibly.

As he stood from the couch, the look of rejection was easy to read in his mannerisms and facial expression.

"Thanks again, Leo."

He gave a brief wave. As he disappeared into the hallway, I walked over to sit at my desk.

Just about a minute later, Weevil came through the door. "Good thing I didn't get here any earlier. I might have interrupted your date with the good Deputy."

I pulled a face at him. "He was just here to drop something off."

He nodded knowingly. "Favors. But you're not that dumb. You know he's interested in you, right?"

"If I didn't before today, I would now."

He raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry.

"He asked me out." I turned my attention back to the paperwork before me.

"And?" He sat in the chair across from me.

Face still down toward the desk, I responded, "I said I wasn't interested." I looked up at him without lifting my head, just moving my eyes. He looked like he was about to smile, but refused to admit it.

He leaned back in the chair, his voice neutral as he asked, "What was that today … at lunch?"

"Bartering? You got your info; I got a fry." I shrugged.

He laughed. "You know what I'm talking about, V."

"I'm just a dumb blonde. No idea what you mean."

"Whatever." He shook his head. "So did you get a chance to check out the rest of my theory?"

Shifting some files out of the way, I moved my laptop in front of me. I pulled up some photos and indicated that he should come around where he could see.

I had several photos for him to look at. "Do you recognize any of them? Anyone look familiar? If not, then I have run out of leads."

With one hand resting on the desk, he leaned over my shoulder and pointed at one guy. "Him. Yeah, I've seen him around."

He didn't sound happy, but I turned to see his face to confirm what I thought I was hearing. Sure enough, his jaw was set and he was glaring at the photo on the screen.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"No. I don't know. Not really. Just disappointed. 'Cause this most likely means that one or more of my cousins is trying to rip off my uncle. If it's what it looks like," he put a fake smile on his face, "family dinner on Sunday is going to be great fun."

Even if his face were not next to mine, it would have been clear how much this information grieved him. His family – immediate and extended – meant the world to him.

As I placed a hand over his on the desk, I determined that I would help in any way I could. "Now what?"

"I deal with it."

"Anything I can do?"

After taking a moment, he looked as if he would answer just as my dad walked through the door of the office.

Dad stopped in his tracks in the middle of the room, choked back whatever he was about to say and instead said with a nod, "Eli."

Weevil was still leaning over my shoulder until he heard his name. He straightened to his full stature and simply acknowledged, "Sheriff." Turning to look at me, "Thanks, V" was all he said before leaving.

Dad threw a look of disapproval my way as he rushed toward his office explaining he just needed to grab something and that he would probably be home late.

I told him not to worry, that I could fend for myself. But even while I was talking, my attention was on my phone as I texted Weevil the question he had not answered: anything I can do?

Just as I heard him start his bike outside, my phone beeped as his reply came through: I'll get back to you.

Dad walked back out to my desk and said, "I'm gonna ignore whatever that was just now, because I don't have time at the moment. But we will be having a talk."

He pointed at me sternly and waited for me to acknowledge what he had said – which I did … with an extreme eye roll.

[

Dad gave me a long lecture when he got home. I thought about trying to explain about mutual backscratching, but decided to save it for another time.

I thought I would hear from Weevil, but I didn't. I talked to him briefly at school. Although he seemed really stressed out, he insisted he did not need my help. So, I left it alone. Left him alone. After all, I had plenty of other things to deal with.

It was time for midterm exams, which is enough for any high school student to deal with. But on top of that, Sabrina had hired me to figure out who was messing with her and potentially screwing up her grades. Plus, I was making some headway on Lilly's murder investigation – I had tracked down the daughter of Abel Koontz.

[

[

In the middle of April, there were a few too many fire drills happening at school. After not much digging at all, I found out that the school was getting bomb threats, that the fire drills were a ruse. After a new student named Ben said some mildly disturbing things in class, I decided to have Wallace try to get his file – and I had a few questions to ask him. When I first talked with him, he was sitting with Norris at lunch. They might not be guilty of anything, but they were definitely odd.

I followed Ben one afternoon and got a call from Logan – which was both good and bad. Logan had called to give me a friendly heads-up that he had told Duncan about my files on Lilly's murder. While I was on the phone with him, Ben had climbed into my car and forced me to drive him to the Camelot.

Long story short: Logan and I assumed Ben was a bad guy; Logan punched Ben who turned out to be a federal agent undercover at our school investigating the bomb threats; Ben asked me to try to get close to Norris to see if I could help his investigation; and after I left Ben's room to rejoin Logan outside, I gave him a quick kiss as I thanked him for coming to my rescue (though it had turned out that I was in no actual danger).

Swept up in the moment and/or possibly having developed some attachment to me while I was helping him look for his mother, Logan embraced me and gave me one hell of a kiss. I was surprised, to say the least. Even as I made my way down to my car, my breathing was still ragged and my mind could not make sense of what had just happened. I just stared up at him where he stood by the railing.

What I didn't realize at the time was that Weevil had become concerned when he saw me talking to Ben and Norris at school. He had followed me when I followed Ben. He had watched everything unfold – including the kiss.


A/N:

Thanks for reading! Until next time ...

~Jen

8 July 2016