A/N like always I do not own, just playing in the sandbox. Thank you to those that have reviewed, it makes me smile to know I am not the only one loving the story :)
The Girl Next Door
She sits on the steps of her apartment building.
Could this had been avoided?
She moves when the paramedics ask so that they can bring the stretcher down the steps.
One Week Earlier
She walks down to the laundry room.
I knows it wrong to avoid his texts over the weekend but she's not sure what to say to him. I like him but not sure what to do with the fact that he was involved with Lilly, shortly before she passe. The kiss was good but...Dammit liking a guy shouldn't be this bloody hard.
She brought out of her thoughts by Sarah, her pregnant neighbor.
She notices that Sarah is upset.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, my journal is missing. I think Andre took it."
"Why would he do that?"
"He thinks I have a thing for my boss."
"I hope it turns up. I'll keep an eye out for it."
"Thanks, umm Veronica?"
"Yeah."
"I have a doctor appointment Tuesday morning, I'm getting some test results..."
"You need a ride."
"More like hand holding."
"No problem."
"Thank you."
She goes back to put her clothes in the washing machine while Sarah sits a fold her things with he dog, Killer.
Monday
In journalism, Miss Dent introduces Evelyn Bugby to her and asks for her help with a project on of the class of '79. A photo display for a reunion.
Miss Dent looks ready to get on her knees to stat begging, so she agrees.
Before going to her desk, Miss Dent says to her "Please keep he away from me."
She looks through the old yearbook and finds a photo of her mom.
He hates tests.
He glances around, unfortunately Logan sees him when he glances over.
"They teach you manners in ESL?"
"If I was gonna cheat, don't you you think I'd pick somebody smart?"
"If you was gonna? Well if you were smart you wouldn't be making out with Veronica Mars."
Mr. Daniels, their English teacher stand s up and heads over to them.
"Ah, alas. Both of you get zeros. No talking during tests." he takes their test sheets away from them and starts to head back to his desk.
"Guess Mrs. Daniels isn't giving it up at home, huh." Logan mutters just loud enough for everyone to hear.
He smirks but hides it when Mr. Daniels turns around to start ranting at Logan. He tunes them out until Logan stats praying, "Please say high school English teacher. Please say high school English teacher."
He's unable to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"Mr. Navarro, I wonder if you'll find Mr. Echolls so amusing ten years from now when you're pumping his gas."
He gives them detention.
Logan is playing solitaire.
Unable to keep his anger in check he decides to start ranting.
"You know what I love. I love that I get a zero for talking when you were the one talking to me. You get detention for dissing the teacher in front of everybody and I get detention for laughing. Let me as you something?" he says as he turns toward Logan.
"Geez, is this detention or hell?"
"How do you people not make yourselves sick? I mean it's like you walk on water in this school for what? It's nothing that you do. I mean all that matters is who your parents are and zip code your mom shot you out in." he knows that he's ranting but unable to stop himself. Luckily, he's able to stop himself from mentioning V.
"Look, if I donate to the United Latino pain in the ass fund, will you shut the hell up?"
"You like playing with yourself?" he asks motioning to the cards.
"Huh?"
"O you want to make things interesting?"
"What do you have in mind?"
They start playing poker. He got a good run going.
"Your almost as bad an actor as your dad."
"So, you and Veronica?"
"Not feeding you gossip. Let's play?"
"Is she why you are still coming to school. I mean you don't need a diploma to steal hubcaps. I mean why do you even show up here?"
"I promised my grandmother. I don't beak my promises."
Whatever Logan is about to say is cut off when Mr. Daniels walk in.
He give them a week of detention.
She overhears Sarah and her boyfriend, André, fighting when she gets home after school.
That night, she wakes up to a woman's scream overhead and a loud thump.
Tuesday
In the morning she knocks on Sarah's door to take her to her appointment, but there is no response.
She looks through the window and sees things knocked over.
Killer is on the table barking.
Before class, Felix asks him about how detention was with Logan.
"Makes juvie seem like a vacation."
"Bet, he would freak if he knew about you and Lilly."
"Dude."
Felix raises his hands in surrender when he turns toward him.
"So is Blondie still avoiding you."
He doesn't answer, just leaves the bathroom.
After she finds a photo of her mom and Jake Kane at Prom together in the year book, she decides to talk to Duncan. To see if he knew.
He calims that he didn't but she knows that he is avioding talking to her and walks off
At Sarah's workplace, her boss says that he doesn't know where Sarah is either.
He tells her that Sarah fights with her boyfriend a lot. That the guy has a temper.
After asking Nathan where to find him, she goes to find André.
She questions him, but he dismisses it as a simple fight and nothing serious.
She doesn't believe him, and these suspicions are heightened when it turns out that André is painting a portrait of a female nude who is not Sarah.
Hearing Killer bark up a storm, she sneaks into Sarah's apartment and find things that seem out of place, like Sarah's phone and a gun.
André shows up in the middle of her search.
She manages to escape with minimal conflict.
Mr. Daniel tells them how he wants them to organize his book shelves.
He ignores everything that he says.
Once he leaves the room, he and Logan push Mr. Daniels desk and he jumps onto of it.
He starts flinging each book not caring whee they land.
Logan states that wants to get the teacher back.
He just smirks coming up with the most perfect revenge.
After she returns home to see Andre talking to who she guesses to be Sarah's parents.
She gives them her dad's card
Wednesday
He barely been at school long when Clemmons call him into his office.
Claiming to have a witness.
Clemmons tells him that he is expelled.
Sarah's parents talk with her dad about him looking for Sarah
After they leave, he tells her that he does not want her on the case.
However, she convinces him to let her help as long as she stays away from André.
Thursday
She finds out that Sarah's baby is not André's after pretending to be Sarah to get the test results over the phone.
She visits Sarah's boss again, and finds out from him that Sarah was raped and that the baby might be the child of the rapist.
It clicks in right before she leaves the store, that he must have he journal.
She tries to get him to give it to her and he denies having it
Smirking at him she walks away, taking her phone out of he bag.
Suspensions, after a mild scolding from Abuela, consisted of sleeping in late, playing video games with whoever else decided to ditch that day, and tooling down the PCH. Suspensions were, for all intents and purposes, a vacation.
Suspensions he could deal with.
Expulsion, on the other hand...It hadn't started with the yelling or screaming that he'd expected, instead, there was a silence followed by a sad shake of her head that spoke volumes and a heartbroken look in her eyes that just killed him.
This woman had taken care of him all his life. When his mom passed and his dad split it was Abuela who had fed him, clothed him, sat by his bed to comfort him after a nightmare and always told him that she believed in him.
It was like a sucker-punch.
He plays video games by himself and felt like a complete loser.
He's luckily dressed and showered when Hector and Felix get there after school.
When his cell buzzes with Veronica Mars' name, it's like a gift. He'had been debating calling her but she kissed him not the other way around. Maybe she finally wants to talk about it.
"Hey, it's me," he can already see her tilting her head, "Hear you have some free time on your hands, you wanna do me a little favor?" Someone up there loves me.
"Really, what's the favor?"
"Trash a prissy little boutique down by the waterfront? A friend of mine is missing and the owner has something of hers that might help."
"What's in it for me?" he knows he sounds like an asshole but nearly a week of being ignored can do that to a guy.
She pauses, and for a moment he wonders if he pushed a little too far.
"Um, did I mention the part where you get to trash a store without fear of consequence? Don't even try and tell me you haven't entertained the spoiled rock star fantasy once or twice."
Since she can't see him, he grins knowing that she is right.
"I could swing by," he tells her casually.
"Feel free to bring some of your boys, I want to make a scene. I'll text you the address."
"What's up?" Hector asks.
He and Felix have taken control of the couch and video game that has made up his entire day.
"Heading out. Gotta do somebody a favor. You in?"
Felix nudges Hector's shoulder and gestures at him.
He tries to pretend they're not staring at him like he's got something on his face.
"What?" he spats suddenly annoyed.
"I know that look," Felix sing-songs.
"In or out?" he demands.
Hector looks down at the controller in his hands and shrugs, oblivious to the unspoken conversation going on.
"Yeah, why not?" he agrees.
When they pull up, she's perched on the hood of that ancient car of hers, nose buried in a book.
She looks up when she hears the roar of engines, she smiles at him and he bumps his fist against hers before leading the PCH'ers into the boutique.
Hector is at his side as they slip through the door.
"Now I get it," he says with a smirk. Yeah, yeah I'm whipped and not even with her...Shut up we got work to do
Felix chuckles from behind them.
"Right?"
Ignoring the two of them.
They start trashing the place.
"Guys, remember no white after labor day" she says when she enters the store.
She walks over to stand right next to him.
"Nathan, you find that Journal?"
She's chatting easily with Felix when they leave the store.
His boys standing by there bikes and she is leaning against her car.
He watches her fiddle with the diary, her eyes continually drifting down even as she holds conversation with the boys.
He knows that she's only being polite, and that right now there's nothing she wants more than to delve into its contents.
This is something important that out of everyone she could have called, she chose him.
They're at a precarious place right now and he hopes that he doesn't screw it up.
Friday
His Abuela is pleased when Clemmons call to tell them that he is allowed to come back to school.
He is stuck removing graffiti with Logan.
When Logan finds a tattoo with Lilly's name on it he comes up with an adequate lie.
It's one thing for V or Felix to know about his past, he doesn't want Echolls to know.
She reads Sarah's notebook and finds her near her car.
Sarah goes back to André.
While washing dishes her dad comes home.
He asks her if she knows who the father is when they are sitting down watching tv.
He is upset when he finds out that she did't tell him about Sarah's rape.
Hearing Sarah and her parents yelling, he runs out to help.
She grabs her phone to call Eli, thinking that her dad might need extra help.
She is waiting for him to pick up when she hears a gun shot.
Dropping the phone she rushes out and sees her dad has shot through the window.
He and Felix arrive at her apartment in time to see a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance. His heat had stopped when he answered the phone only to hear a gun shot before the phone cut out.
Worried, he looks around and see her on the second floor, hugging her dad.
All but throwing his helmet at Felix, he rushes up to them.
Almost next to them, she looks up and see him.
She removes herself from her dad's hold.
"V, you scared the hell out of me." he whispers in her ear as he pulls her into a hug when the Sheriff is called away by someone.
He rubs her back and she hides her face in the crook of his neck. He can feel the wetness from her tears and just holds her and rubs her back.