Musings of a Dangerous Mind

Come Around (5b/?)

2008-07-10T04:02:42Z

Rating: NC-17 for language, sex, and some very mild violence
Word Count: Part one is 4587, part two is 8712. 13299 in this chapter
Category: AU, after “The Bitch is Back”
Characters/Pairings: Veronica, Logan, Keith, Parker, Dick, Logan/Veronica, slight Veronica/Piz, Logan/OFC, slight Veronica/OMC, some merry Neptune residents
Spoilers: Up to 3.20 “The Bitch is Back.”
Disclaimer: The characters were created by Rob Thomas and remain the property of Thomas, the CW, and Warner Bros. Television. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Special Thanks: To the betas of this fic, afrocurl and solflower22, who are so very patient with me while I struggle with this monster (currently 100 pages and counting!). Any and all mistakes after their betas are my own.
Dedication: Once again, the main reason this is being posted now is all because of smiles1_9's charity. THANK HER.
Summary: Logan would understand her. Out of all those she had abandoned and forgotten and come back to, she was certain Logan would be able to see her point of view. He had to, no one else knew what it was like to burn their own bridges and struggle with the aftermath like Logan.

A/N: Holy hell, this chapter is long. I apologize profusely for the wait and I hope everyone enjoys it! Good night!

Now

“Don’t be nervous,” Logan muttered, rubbing Veronica’s shoulders as if she were a boxer about to step into the ring. “Just be calm. This is nothing.”

Veronica glanced over her shoulder at him, cursing his encouragement for the lurch of her stomach. She was in the red heels and black dress that Carmen and Rita had picked out for her and Rita had come over early that morning and flat ironed her hair into a most flattering style and had applied red lipstick and subtly smoky eyeshadow that brought out her eyes. Veronica would have been marveling over how hot she looked if she wasn’t ready to throw up.

“Look at that plant over there.”

“Shut up, Logan.”

This wasn’t normal for her- she never got nervous during interviews. Yet as she stood in the lobby of Talk magazine and observed the clothes and hair of the employees and saw how flawless they all looked, something had changed. She felt like she was back in high school being sneered at by the 09ers except this time, there was no bitchy defense mechanism. This time, she actually could believe that she was of a lower species than they. These were people who, even though they were faceless entities for the magazine, was more or less paid to be beautiful.

And that was before she saw the models.

“So this is why you look so perfect every day,” she muttered.

“Nah, I’m just really hot. I wake up like this,” Logan said with a grin.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Veronica said shakily. “I’m not prepared. Look at these people- I’m not even experienced enough.”

He rolled his eyes, turning her around so she was facing him. “Veronica, I wouldn’t have brought you in here if I didn’t think you could do this.” He took her hand, leading her down the lobby.

Veronica followed him, her free hand holding her portfolio to her chest. She pressed her lips together, hoping she didn’t get any of her red lipstick on her teeth. He stopped in front of a large white desk, grinning at the pretty young black girl behind the counter. She fought back the roll of her eyes at his obvious flirtation, weakly smiling at the girl.

“Hello, welcome to Talk Magazine,” the girl drawled and the boredom in her eyes was so very apparent as she looked up at the two. “Morning, Logan.”

“Morning, Ella,” he took a moment to clip his identification to a belt loop on his pants. “This is Veronica Mars, she has an eight o’clock with Brenda Mahoney.”

Ella picked up her iced coffee, taking a long sip and looking at Logan from behind her long bangs. For a moment it looked seductive until Veronica realized that the girl was in fact being obnoxious in her stalling to give Logan any sort of leeway.

Logan slowly grinned. “Come on, Ella. No fooling today, I have a girl ready to throw up at my side, here.”

Veronica took a moment to admire the girl’s nails. They were black with a small diamond-looking jewel on the left tip of each finger. Her eyes drifted to her chest and she noticed the military dog tags on her neck that clashed with her silver necklaces. This girl was too young to be some soldier’s girlfriend, she had to be no older than twenty.

“Who do those belong to?” Veronica spoke up, pointing at Ella’s chest. “Your boyfriend’s a marine?”

Ella glanced down before staring at Veronica. “My brother was,” she said curtly. “He’s dead.”

Panic flashed in Logan’s eyes for a moment as Veronica’s mouth dropped in mortification and he quickly smiled, leaning forward. “Ella.”

Ella glowered at Veronica for a moment before looking to Logan. “Brenda’s in at eight-thirty. Her appointments start at eight-thirty. You know that. She is thirty minutes early.”

“Well, I guess that means she’s stuck with me until Brenda gets here. Can she have a visitor’s pass?”

Veronica forced a smile on her face as Ella wrote down Veronica’s name on a visitor’s pass, ripping it off the pad and handing it to her with a frown. “Thank you,” Veronica said, trying to keep her voice cheerful. “Sorry about your brother-”

“Okay, stop talking,” Logan muttered, grabbing her by the elbow and steering her toward the elevator. “From now on, do not talk unless you’re spoken to.”

“I didn’t know they belonged to her brother!” Veronica hissed, jerking her arm from his grasp. “And I’m not a child, thanks.”

“That was my boss’ daughter, Veronica,” He moved inside the elevator, holding the door for her. “And I know you’re not a child but you’re my guest until you are employed. Hopefully,” he pressed ‘ten,’ glancing at her. “Listen, I just don’t want to have to confront the angry mob you leave in your wake so let’s keep the talking to a minimum until you see Brenda. For my sake.”

She shook her head, pushing her hair behind her ears as the elevator began to rise. She knew her face was red and she needed to get some control of herself. She couldn’t be flustered when she went in for this interview and at the moment, Logan wasn’t helping. “I just don’t get-” she began.

“Veronica,” Logan said firmly. “This is my job and I like it here. This isn’t a hobby for me. I want my life here to be as pleasant and drama-free as possible.”

Veronica’s jaw clenched as she nodded, her hands tightening into fists. “Understood.”

The elevator stopped on the tenth floor and the doors opened, the brightness of the area surprising Veronica. Like much of Neptune nowadays, Logan’s workplace was white and impeccable. White walls, white carpets, white furniture.

Veronica examined the framed covers of Talk that decorated the walls as they walked down the hallway as Logan paused to accept a memo someone’s assistant handed him and he told her of Veronica’s presence. The pictures looked like your typical magazine with models and celebrities on the covers and the random eye-catching blurbs about the current issue. What caught her attention was that on the edge of each cover was a quote. An ironically inspirational quote, at that.

She had to smirk.

Logan smiled, stepping behind Veronica as she stared up at a cover with Agyness Deyn posing in a red kimono. “Like it?”

“I’m guessing the quote thing was your idea.”

“You guess correctly,” the pads of his fingers dug into her hip as he steered her down the hallway. “Multitask. Look and walk.”

She followed Logan, more than aware of the stares she was getting as he led her down the office. Clearly, the employees of Talk magazine were long-term and new faces weren’t welcomed. She attempted to walk closer to Logan and he took her hand, stopping in front of a cubicle.

“Veronica, this is Leon, who plays the drums in a salsa band awesomely. Leon, this is Veronica,” he said to the gentleman seated in front of a long table, nodding at her. “She might be working here soon.”

The dark, goateed man glanced up, giving Veronica a grin. “And a good morning to you, Miss Veronica,” Veronica smiled as he looked at Logan, holding up two pieces of cardboard. Two magazine covers, one with a red background and a model in a black dress, the other with a black background and the same model in a red dress. “A or B?”

Veronica chuckled. “It’s the same picture.”

Leon shot her a look before glancing down at the covers. “Color makes all the difference, Miss Veronica.”

Logan carefully examined the black cover, frowning. “Giselle looks old...”

“Focus, my friend.”

“B.”

Leon’s brow furrowed. “It’s not too dark?”

“It’s the issue with the goth spread, remember? Go with the theme. Cliff will love it,” Logan raised his eyebrows, glancing at Veronica as he led her away. “If you get the job, you won’t be working here. You’ll be on the sixth floor with the other snappers and graphic artists.”

Her nose crinkled. “Snappers?”

“I was going to go for whipper snappers but I figured it was a little too corny,” he perked up at the sight of a redhead with a short bob walking past, her silver heels getting Veronica’s attention.

Even from that far away, Veronica could tell those shoes cost more than her entire wardrobe including the shoes that weren’t hers and the Victoria’s Secret underwear she wore underneath.

“That’s Bren,” Logan said, beckoning Veronica onward. “Let’s go.”

Veronica clutched her portfolio tighter to her chest, following Logan as he dashed after Brenda into the elevator. This woman had a tough walk and Veronica had to admit that it was intimidating, even after traveling around the world and taking down killers and child molesters. She knew the power of confidence and a hard stare and she just knew this woman had both.

Logan pressed the ‘six’ button as soon as Veronica stepped inside, smiling down at Brenda. “Good morning.”

Brenda glanced up at Logan, nodding once as the elevator lurched down. “Morning.”

“I have Veronica Mars here for her interview-”

“At eight-thirty,” Brenda interrupted coolly as the elevator doors opened on the sixth floor. “I’m well aware of my appointments and she is five minutes early,” she moved forward, leaving Logan and Veronica behind.

“Come on,” Logan muttered, following Brenda out.

Veronica nodded, walking after Logan. She glanced down at Brenda’s shoes once more and somewhere between looking back up and putting one foot in front of the other, her right foot caught behind her left and she went flying straight to the ground. She managed to spot the obvious cringe on Logan’s face before she slammed to the floor, her folder hitting Brenda’s foot.

Brenda barely glanced at Veronica, continuing her walk to her office. “First impressions...”

Veronica blinked back the embarrassed tears in her eyes, gathering herself up to her knees. “Oh my God.”

“She’s okay!” Logan called to the small group that stared at Veronica from several feet away. He crouched down next to her, picking up her black folder. “Are you all right, Mars?”

“Oh my God.”

Before he could stop himself he laughed, shaking his head. “Okay, seriously, how would you rate your wipe-out on a scale of one to ten?”

She snatched the folder out of his grasp, carefully wiping at her eyes with a shaking hand. In an instant, her morale had dipped dramatically. She didn’t know how she was going to be able to go through with that interview. Hell, she didn’t want to even look at that woman again. “Stop. I want to leave.”

His laughter faded as he realized how mortified she really was as her hands shook and she kept her head bowed. His gaze softened as he attempted to glance at her face through her hair, his hand resting on her shoulder awkwardly. “Veronica.”

Veronica shook her head. “Can you just take me home?”

“No. It’s okay,” he said quietly, firmly. “Get up, stand up straight, and go to your interview.”

“Logan.”

Logan leaned forward, his face inches from her hair. “I didn’t bring you here so you could ditch the interview,” he said softly. “Come on, I’m going in with you.”

She clutched her portfolio, her jaw clenching. “I just want to go.”

He inhaled sharply, his hand sliding down to her elbow. “Veronica, get yourself together, get the fuck up and let’s fucking go before this crowd expands. You’re better than this and to be honest, I’m kind of pissed you’ve actually come to this. Move it.”

Veronica turned her head, looking at Logan, who raised his eyebrows in response. She knew then if she refused to go and walked out, he would give her that look of his, that look of complete disgust. He would completely blow her off and she wasn’t going to allow that to happen. She was better than this. “Okay,” she whispered, handing him her folder.

Logan nodded, grasping her by the elbow as he helped her to her feet. He waited as she wiped off her skirt and fixed her hair, glancing at the first few pages of her portfolio. He had to admit he was surprised by her choices. Very basic, common photographs. There were some gems from the school newspaper and some arty photos but nothing that stood out. He was suddenly worried for her.

“Why didn’t you include any of Lilly?” he mumbled.

Veronica glanced up at him, wiping at the corner of her eye. “What?”

“Lilly. You took a lot of great pictures of her, why didn’t you use them?”

“Those are private,” she said shortly.

“Your future job might depend on them,” he replied, just as curt.

She wordlessly took the folder out of his hands, closing it as she started down the hallway toward Brenda’s office. “Let’s go.”

Whatever newfound confidence Veronica had gained after Logan’s pep talk was slowly withering fifteen minutes into her interview with Brenda. Interview was pushing it. An interview actually involved talking and conversation. For the last ten minutes, Brenda had opted for examining Veronica’s portfolio instead of talking to her.

Veronica was hesitant to speak unless spoken to after both the receptionist incident and the fall outside Brenda’s office, so she chose to closely inspect her surroundings. It was better than daydreaming.

Brenda’s office was huge and fashionably modern. The bookcase and desk were beautifully peculiar with their size and asymmetrical shapes. On her walls were photographs and more photographs, some of models, some of scenery, and some that were just plain weird and clearly from some foreign, high fashion magazines. Veronica caught the Vogue Italia logo on the corner of several pieces and there were some photos from W, Numero and Jalou.

Occasionally, Brenda wiggled her pen between her fingers or made a humming noise. Veronica wasn’t sure if Brenda’s mumbles and looks were reactions that were in her favor. Brenda wasn’t a talkative or very expressive person, Veronica could tell. The woman barely mustered a greeting when they walked in earlier.

Logan sat quietly beside Veronica, his knees bobbing rapidly as he checked his cell phone. She silently wished he would say something to break the ice, anything to ease her growing anxiety over Brenda’s lack of decipherable reaction.

“Are you a professional, Ms. Mars?”

Veronica jumped, slightly startled by Brenda’s abrupt question. She glanced at the woman who continued to flip through her photos. “N-No. I did a lot of photography in high school and college. Lead photographer four years in a row during high school...” she trailed off when Brenda looked up, her brown eyes boring into Veronica. “I did most of my photography in high school.”

“School’s out, Ms. Mars.”

Veronica sat there dumbly, almost speechless by Brenda’s brusque attitude. She had dealt with a lot of mean, nasty people throughout her life, she had even been one of those nasty people, but this woman unnerved her. Brenda wasn’t outwardly mean or nasty, she was unsympathetically frank. For some reason this almost frightened her. “It is.”

Brenda examined a photograph, one of the beach near Veronica’s home, before turning the page. “Do you like fashion?”

Veronica hesitated, glancing at Logan. He shrugged, nodding toward Brenda and she quickly turned, facing her. “Yes. I guess.”

“Do you follow it?”

“No...not really. I usually do my own thing. If I like it, I wear it.”

A frown played on Brenda’s lips. “Is your current appearance you doing your own thing?”

Veronica laughed nervously. “Well, the dress is mine, but a friend did my hair and makeup- I’m not usually into dressing up all the time even though I like to look...pretty, I guess-”

“Do you know where you are?” Brenda interrupted.

“What?” Veronica blinked. “Y-Yes, I know where I am.”

“Are you willing to dress up for the duration of your employment at Talk? Since you consider how you look right now to be dressing up, I wonder how you expected to dress on a daily basis.” Brenda sighed heavily, looking Veronica over. “We project a certain kind of image here at Talk-”

“What are you talking about?” Logan interrupted, gesturing at Veronica. He seemed to know exactly where Brenda was going and that worried Veronica. “Look at her, she’s gorgeous!”

Veronica smiled slightly at Logan’s compliment, giving him a grateful glance. She went unnoticed as Logan continued to argue with Brenda, leaning forward in his seat, his hands on the edge of the table.

“Bren, she’s a knockout.”

Brenda’s eyebrow rose. “I assume you have ulterior motives, Logan.”

“It’s not like that at all,” Logan said with a laugh. “There’s no motives- she’s just a friend. But if you’re going to actually pull the image card, I think you’re being unfair because you’re around models and actors all day. In the real world, Veronica is gorgeous and to be honest, who the hell cares anyway? She’s behind the camera, not in front of it. Who cares how she looks?”

Bren held her hand up, silencing Logan. His mouth set in a thin line as he leaned back in his seat. She glanced at Veronica, her eyebrow rising. “Ms. Mars, if you have any sort of disdain for the fashion industry, as well as toward any persons who are meticulous and take pride in their appearance...if you are the type who looks down on those who work here, then this is not a job for you.”

Veronica smiled firmly. “I assure you that I take pride in my appearance. I would love to work here despite our differences of opinion in fashion.”

That answer didn’t seem to please Brenda yet she turned back to Veronica’s portfolio. “What was your previous job?”

“My previous job?”

Brenda blinked slowly as she glanced up at Veronica, her annoyance clear. “I don’t need an echo, I can understand myself perfectly.”

Veronica sat up straighter in her seat when Logan glanced at her, forcing a smile on her face. She knew this topic would come up, she should’ve been better prepared. “I worked for the FBI.”

Logan nodded when Brenda glanced at him, perhaps for verification. “It’s true.”

Brenda shifted her gaze back to Veronica. “If you worked for the FBI, then what the hell are you doing here?”

Veronica felt her cheeks begin to hurt with all the smiling she was doing. “I need a new job. I was let go and that kind of sucked but I’m ready to work,” she perked up in her seat. “Bright eyed and bushy tailed!”

“You were released from the FBI,” Brenda intoned.

Veronica’s smile faded slightly. “Yes.”

“For what reason.”

The smile faltered even more and she could feel her face begin to grow hot. “Insubordination.”

A hint of a smirk fell on Brenda’s lips as she returned back to Veronica’s photographs. “Good to know.”

Veronica frowned, feeling something inside her slowly twist into anger. She wasn’t going to let Brenda Mahoney, a complete stranger, make her feel like nothing. It wasn’t about to happen, not after all the crap she went through in high school. She defeated people like Brenda. “Look, Ms. Mahoney, I know I might not have experience but I have drive and I will work to be the best possible photographer you have-”

“If you have drive,” Brenda interrupted swiftly. “Then why did you bring me the most benign, mediocre pieces I have ever seen in all my years? My five year-old can take better pictures than this. Right now, I am insulted that you’re actually wasting my time.”

Logan shook his head, straightening up in his chair. “Brenda, that’s not fair. Veronica’s been aggressively going after bad guys for years- when would she have the opportunity to take recent pictures? If you give her a chance-”

Brenda’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry, what do you do here at Talk?”

He frowned in confusion. “I write.”

“All right, then,” she turned back to Veronica, ignoring the scowl Logan shot her. “Ms. Mars, I’m going to be very blunt with you since you came all this way for an interview. Based on your portfolio, I would not hire you for Talk. You show no passion or pride in your work, there’s no sense of artistry but a solid sense of pathos which clashes dramatically with the vision of this magazine. Other than your job at the Bureau which did not include a reference, your resume is less than impressive and your pictures would best be suited for amateur photo contests for the Neptune Herald.”

Brenda leaned back in her chair, her pen tapping against the edge of her desk. “First impressions are key and I can tell just by looking at you that you are uncomfortable in your own skin- how would you manage to coexist among the people in this building? Confident, smart, funny, bright people who were hired for their personality and image and not for how many honor rolls they were on or how many popular cliques they were in. You radiate an alarmingly low sense of self-worth because not once, not once, did you try to stop me as I berated you, not even now as you are ready to cry.”

Logan glanced at Veronica who sat stone faced beside him with the exception of the look in her eyes. She was barely holding it together. “Brenda.”

“You fell outside my office and it took you a whole two minutes to gather yourself together instead of the fifteen seconds needed at most,” Brenda continued firmly. “If you cannot handle a minor fall in front of a handful of people how can I trust you to walk amongst models and actors? Hell, how can I trust you to handle yourself among the cutthroats trying to get your job and they will try to get your job.”

“Brenda,” Logan tried again, leaning forward. “Come on.”

Brenda ignored him, gazing at Veronica. “Logan described you as smart, witty, talented and a sight to behold. I was actually quite excited to meet this woman that got him in such a state because I’ve only seen him speak in such a way for three women before you. His mother, our current resident and...” Brenda trailed off, shaking her head. “I was expecting more than what I see before me. Frankly, I’m quite disappointed that you haven’t made me laugh once, didn’t attempt small talk, did nothing to show off what sparkling personality you should have, and even now you still haven’t told me off. I cannot have such a weak spirit working for me, you would wilt and die.”

Veronica licked her lips, left with the aftermath of Brenda’s scathing words. “I’ve had a tough year,” she mumbled.

“That is an excuse,” Brenda said icily. “I do not accept excuses unless it involves a death.”

Veronica nodded swiftly wanting nothing more at that moment than to run out of that office. If she had known the interview would’ve gone down the way it did, she never would’ve showed. She couldn’t blame Logan, though. He looked visibly guilty as he glanced at her. She just wanted to go. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Logan muttered. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

There was a knock on the door and after a pause Brenda waved the visitor in. Logan glanced over his shoulder and Veronica could’ve sworn he tensed as the clacking of heels got louder as the newest arrival approached.

A smile fell on Brenda’s face, the first Veronica had seen since the interview started. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” came a smooth, faintly hoarse voice from behind Veronica.

Logan straightened up in his seat, nodding at Veronica. “Veronica, this is Razia, our resident photographer. Razia, this is Veronica.”

The woman now identified as Razia barely glanced at Veronica, focusing intently on her papers as she approached Brenda’s desk. “Veronica?”

“Veronica Mars,” Logan replied and the slight waver of his voice wasn’t lost on Veronica. “Veronica Mars.”

“Oh?” Razia’s brown eyes suddenly lit up with a certain recognition and she looked at Veronica. “Oh!” Then, suddenly, she cringed. “Oh.”

Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “Why is that everyone’s reaction when they meet me?”

Logan shrugged, glancing down at his lap. “You’re a legend, Mars.”

“Nice to meet you,” Razia said and once again, the change in tone wasn’t lost on Veronica. This time, there was a forced cheerfulness in Razia’s voice. “What brings you around these parts?”

A slow grin came on Logan’s face and Veronica was surprised to see him flush. “Trying to get her your job.”

Razia’s eyebrows rose. “I wasn’t aware I was gone yet,” she met Logan’s gaze for a moment before turning to Brenda, holding out a large manila envelope. “Modern hippie shoot, proofs and finals.”

Brenda took the envelope, giving Razia a look. “Choosing the finals are my job.”

A frown played on Veronica’s lips as she gave Razia a once-over. Long tan legs in a black pencil skirt, red heels that were clearly more expensive than hers, and a form-fitting white button down. Her long, wavy black hair fell down her back and over her shoulders and she chewed on her bottom lip as she looked through her stack of papers.

It took Veronica only a moment to realize Logan was also staring at this woman’s mouth in an admirably discreet way.

“I’m sure you’ll agree my picks are the finals, Brenda,” Razia said confidently, leaning against Brenda’s desk as she looked through her paperwork for something specific.

“What’s wrong with your voice?” Logan asked softly.

Razia gave him a faint smile. “Woke up and it was almost gone. Karma for smoking, I’m sure.”

“I told you to stop.”

“How do you pronounce your name?” Veronica asked abruptly, ignoring the looks she got in her direction.

Razia looked at Veronica in an almost suspicious manner. “Rah-zee-uh.”

“No snooping,” Logan said under his breath, straightening up in his chair. “Bren, are you done berating my friend, here?”

Brenda gave Logan a brief smile, picking up Veronica’s portfolio. “Ms. Mars, your resume will unfortunately be kept in our files for a year to the day you came in for your interview. Feel free to apply to other jobs at our magazine as well as elsewhere,” her smile disappeared abruptly. “Have a lovely day.”

Veronica was on her feet before Brenda finished her last sentence, giving Brenda a forced smile as she nodded to Logan. “Let’s go, let’s go,” she muttered. Logan climbed to his feet and she couldn’t help but notice that he was staring rather intently at this Razia woman as he slipped past her to get to the door.

She smiled grimly as Logan joined her outside the office, pushing her hair behind her ears. He started to speak and she quickly beat him to the punch. “Talk to me. Anything except this failure of an interview. Tell me about your tie.”

Logan glanced down at his tie as they walked to the elevator. “It’s blue.”

“Elaborate.”

“Blue...navy blue? Persian blue? Midnight blue?” A pause. “Sapphire blue.”

Veronica smiled gratefully at Logan’s lame attempt at distracting her, glancing up at him as he pressed the ‘down’ button. “How do you know her?”

“Know who?”

“What’s her name- Razia?”

Logan shrugged, staring up as the numbers lit up over their heads. “Old girlfriend.”

Veronica’s eyebrows rose. “White chocolate mocha girlfriend?” she asked carefully, already knowing the answer just from the look on his face. The tension in his jaw. Definitely an old girlfriend.

“Yes.”

“How serious was it?”

“Listen,” Logan glanced down at Veronica as the elevator doors opened. “I’m really sorry about that interview. I knew Bren was a hardass but if I had known she was going to treat you that way, I wouldn’t even have bothered. I’m sorry.”

Veronica chuckled as they walked into the elevator, waiting until the doors had closed to face him. “Stop saying you’re sorry. Sorry doesn’t suit you. Don’t you have to work?”

He shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Took a day off. I figured a morning with you would exhaust me, so...” he trailed off, giving her a grin. He jumped as his phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket, checking it.

She glanced at the phone, trying to get a clear view of what he was smiling at. “Who’s that?”

“Parker.”

The way he abruptly cut himself off after saying her name didn’t go unnoticed by Veronica and she waited as he finished texting Parker before shoving the phone back in his pocket. “Parker...” she smiled at Logan, knowing then if he said the wrong thing, she was going to kill him. “Did you two get back together?”

Logan shook his head slowly. “Not exactly. We’re, uh, just friends. Again.”

“Just, uh, friends?” Veronica mimicked, growing slightly uneasy by the short answers he was providing. “Friends with a big F?”

“Friends as in friends,” he responded carefully. “She’s a very good friend.”

“Why haven’t I seen her?”

“She’s in Denver. Was in Paris on vacation.”

What was remaining of her smile faded. “You don’t want to tell me?” she asked, hating herself for allowing the question to come out. “How bad is it?”

Logan chuckled, shaking his head as the elevator doors opened to the lobby. He walked out, waiting for Veronica to join him. “It’s not bad, I’m just not into sharing at the moment. You know, you could just read my columns and all will be revealed-”

“Why can’t you just tell me?” she cut him off.

“Because I don’t want to, okay?” he sighed, his voice softening as he continued. “Not now, it’s complicated and there are years of stories and events that I don’t really want to rehash at the moment. When I’m ready, I’ll talk.”

“You don’t trust me?” Veronica eyed Logan as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, texting someone once more. “Parker?”

“Heather.”

“Heather?”

Logan grinned slightly. “Perpetually happy child, wearing your shirt, tried to get us back together in the elevator of the Grand.”

Veronica was silent for a long moment, trying to recall this Heather. Then, there the memory was. Rather, there the memory of the mortification was. “Yes! You kept in touch with Heather? That’s good!”

“Yeah, we’re pretty close. When her family or sister came to Neptune on vacation, we would hang. Every year, holidays, and whatever,” Logan frowned suddenly, something interrupting his cheerful story. “When she was about fifteen, she read The Time Traveler’s Wife. Got a bit of an obsession with it.”

Veronica slowly smiled when Logan began to flush. “What happened?”

“She decided that our relationship sort of mirrored the book’s in a warped way and on her sixteenth birthday...” he trailed off, shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She laughed loudly, ignoring the stares she got from the employees of Talk magazine. “Oh my God, now you have to tell me.”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Logan exclaimed, starting to walk toward the front entrance.

She laughed, rushing after Logan as he nearly flew out the door. “Logan! It cannot be that bad!”

“It was traumatizing. New subject.”

“Traumatizing for her?”

Logan snorted, unlocking his car and climbing inside. He waited for Veronica to buckle herself in before starting the car. “Traumatizing for me. Who cares about her feelings?”

All Veronica could do was laugh harder because despite all of Logan’s bravado and cool exterior, he was now as red as a tomato and nothing was funnier than Logan being embarrassed. This was familiar and she embraced it. Even with the crash and burn of that interview, she couldn’t stress while Logan sat next to her blushing furiously. “Oh my God, are you going to cry?”

“Shut up!”

Seven Years Ago

Keith looked up from his newspaper when the front door of the Presidential Suite of the Grand opened and in walked Logan, his eyes on the floor as he shut the door behind him. Keith watched as Logan moved into the living room area, kicking off his sneakers and throwing aside his book bag. His hands were hidden underneath his green sweater and his pants were so baggy that they almost covered his feet.

Logan looked like such a little boy, Keith noted as the boy flopped on the couch farthest away from him.

With a faint frown, Keith turned the page of his paper, leaning back in his seat. Logan remained stubbornly silent and Keith sighed calmly. “How was school?”

“Fine,” Logan said shortly.

“Learn anything?”

“No.”

Keith finally lowered his newspaper, glancing at Logan. “What did you learn today?” he asked firmly.

Logan scowled before staring up at the ceiling. “Learned how to write stuff. Tudor England.”

Keith’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Which wife?”

“We’re still on Anne Boleyn and the whole Church of England crap.”

Truth be told, Keith didn’t know much about any of the royals and their troubles. Even Veronica didn’t care about that stuff and yet here was Logan taking Tudor history “for fun” in his words. He knew Logan had no goals, no drive for anything other than girls and his surfing, so the fact that he actually decided to take a challenging course “for fun” surprised and pleased Keith to no end.

Logically, he knew Logan was only taking the class to shut him up.

“Is it interesting?” Keith tried before the awkward silence could set in.

Logan shrugged, his gaze shifting down to his lap. “It’s all right. It’s just pretty insane that this one woman changed the history of England, you know? It’s nuts...” he trailed off, frowning. “Are you leaving or staying or what?”

Keith hesitated, thinking about Logan’s question carefully. It was past seven, Keith hadn’t even eaten dinner, and yet he had expected a conversation with Logan once the boy had come from school. Veronica’s absence had taken a specific toll on Keith, he knew that now. He missed having someone to talk to and unfortunately, it looked like Logan didn’t want to be that person.

“Why are you so solitary?” Keith asked abruptly.

Logan glanced at Keith, his brow furrowing. “Hm?”

“Why do you want to be alone all the time? That stupid friend of yours doesn’t even hang out here as much,” Keith said, giving Logan a shrug. “It’s been almost a year and you don’t have friends or a girl- if you’re dating or have a girlfriend, I don’t know about it.”

“I’m used to being alone,” Logan muttered, staring at the ceiling once more. “And I do not have a girlfriend,” he sighed loudly, looking at Keith. “You’re not my dad, you know.”

Keith was thrown off by the matter-of-fact manner in which Logan delivered that information. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation to spare any embarrassment or awkwardness, Logan just said it and it hung there. It didn’t really embarrass Keith but it was definitely something he couldn’t really respond to. “I know that.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m here to make sure you have a good life.”

Logan straightened up in his seat. “So let’s say I did have a girl coming over, would you just hang out here to make sure I didn’t snort coke off her ass or something?”

Keith couldn’t help but smile, giving Logan a look. “If you were to have a lady friend over, I would leave with the promise that you wouldn’t try to escape Neptune.”

“Okay, deal. I won’t leave Neptune if you let me have lady friends.”

Keith eyed Logan, noting the swiftness at which his mood had suddenly elevated. “You were always going to come back to Neptune, weren’t you?”

Logan shrugged, his expression indescribable. “Eventually. I kind of like it here, painful trauma and all,” he paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone. “It’s clear you don’t want to leave so shall we order some Italian?”

And there it was. Despite the performance Logan put on and the insistence that he preferred to be alone, in reality, he really didn’t want to be. He put up a fight to save face but ultimately, he just wanted to have someone there with him. Everyone he loved had left him in some way and he never had an appropriate parental figure. Even if this entire thing had began over Keith’s disappointment and disgust over his, Logan’s, and Veronica’s respectful situations, Keith knew now that it was beyond a disposable chaperone relationship. Logan needed Keith to keep him alive and Keith supposed they were in the same bind.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” Keith said quietly.

Logan’s jaw clenched as he stared at his phone, refusing to even look at or acknowledge Keith. “Yeah. Do you want pasta or lasagna?”

Now

Five minutes past two in the morning and endless sheep counting and Veronica was still awake.

She hated to admit it but Brenda’s words had stuck with her far longer than she thought they would. Really, she shouldn’t have cared what some stranger thought about her but she couldn’t help but believe that Brenda’s observation of her was simply spot-on. If this stranger thought so low of her, she couldn’t imagine what those close to her thought.

For the last ten minutes, she had taken to staring at Logan’s business card. He was definitely hiding something from her, it didn’t take a psychic to figure that out. He had a relationship with Parker, and she wasn’t sure if she should dwell on it or not. He was definitely thrown off by the presence of that Razia woman and Veronica had to tell herself not to snoop on either Parker or Razia’s backgrounds with and without Logan. Logan claimed that he needed space and time before telling Veronica about the last seven years and Veronica was going to respect that.

Despite all her troublesome thoughts, Veronica knew she had no right to snoop. Logan had clearly explained why he was being so sparse with information on his past and she knew she had to respect that and honor it.

It didn’t mean she had to like it, though.

Veronica gazed at the business card for a long moment, the pad of her finger running over the raised lettering. She flipped the card around, her eyes scanning the two handwritten numbers that he had scrawled weeks earlier when they had barely known each other. With a sigh, she picked up her phone, typing in the cell number, her teeth nipping at her lower lip. Her thumb hovered over the green button of her cell phone, silently debating the pros and cons of what she was about to do.

Finally, and before she could change her mind, she pressed the green button, her eyes shutting tightly as she waited.

Logan would understand her. Out of all those she had abandoned and forgotten and come back to, she was certain Logan would be able to see her point of view. He had to, no one else knew what it was like to burn their own bridges and struggle with the aftermath like Logan.

After a couple of agonizing seconds, she heard a click and a rustling as the call was picked up. She held her breath, waiting.

“Hel...Hello?”

Veronica exhaled slowly, forcing a weak smile on her face as though Logan could see her. His voice sounded strained, like she had woken him and she suddenly wanted to hang up the phone. “Hi.”

“Hi?”

She was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, she settled on- “How are you?”

“Fine. I’m kind of-” he inhaled sharply. “Wait. Who is this?”

Her smile faltered. “Veronica.”

Logan inhaled audibly once more, and she could hear him moving around on the other end. "Ver...” he trailed off before continuing. “Wha...it’s two in the morning, Veronica.”

“I know.”

“Okay...oh my God, Keith isn’t dead, is he?”

Veronica laughed abruptly, shaking her head. “No! No, he’s fine. He’s still on his case...probably sleeping.”

“At least someone is,” Logan sighed when Veronica didn't respond. “What’s up?”

Her mouth opened as she prepared to spill her heart out but nothing came out and she found herself sputtering silently for a few moments until her lips pressed together in frustration. She swallowed hard, trying again. “Nothing.”

“Nothing made you call me at two in the morning when I have to work tomorrow?”

She opened her eyes, staring at the shadows that formed on the ceiling before dropping her gaze to the foot of the bed, where her dog slept. “I need someone to talk to,” she finally admitted, her eyes closing.

He chuckled dryly. “I had no idea I was a therapist now.”

Veronica was momentarily stunned by his comment, unsure if he had meant to be hurtful or not. Finally, she chose to ignore it, cutting right to the chase. “I don’t really have anyone to talk to.”

“Did you call Keith? What did he-”

“I don’t want to talk to him,” Veronica cut him off abruptly.

He sighed heavily and she could hear him move about. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Veronica sat up swiftly, feeling her heart begin to race in a steady panic. Out of all the things she had expected, him coming over wasn’t one of them. She didn’t need this. At least if she embarrassed herself over the phone she could hang up on him. “Logan, no. You don’t have to-”

“Twenty minutes.”

“I can’t wake up Harmony.”

“Then don’t walk like an angry man like you usually do. Twenty minutes.” With that, he hung up on her.

Veronica blinked rapidly, her gaze drifting to her phone which she had let fall to the bed. Logan wasn’t playing around and she needed to fix herself up.

True to Logan’s word, roughly twenty minutes later Veronica’s phone rang as she pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. She picked up the phone, but before she could get a “hello” out-

“Come outside.”

Veronica rolled her eyes, pushing her hair behind her left ear. “I’m not going outside until you get here, so forget about it.”

“I’m outside, jerk. Move it or lose it.”

Veronica hung up on him, inhaling sharply as she stared at her reflection. He definitely wasn’t joking around, he had actually driven all the way to the apartment. She checked her face, making sure she looked acceptable before slipping out of her bedroom, tiptoeing past her father’s bedroom as she headed for the front door. Anxiety began to overwhelm her, and she wanted nothing more than to tell Logan to go home, to just forget about it. Of course, she knew he wouldn’t, especially after driving all that way.

She opened the door, walking out and closing it as quietly as she could. She glanced out, spotting Logan’s car and she closed her eyes momentarily, resisting the urge to run back inside. She walked down the path slowly, her lips pressing together tightly when Logan stepped out of the car, giving her a short wave as she reached him.

Logan’s hair was a mess and he was dressed sloppily in a pair of wrinkled cargo shorts that fell below his knees, sneakers with no socks, and a baggy Hearst sweatshirt. Veronica felt guilty then because he still looked half-asleep.

With a weary sigh, Logan smiled, leaning against his car as Veronica approached. “Only you would do this to me.”

“It’s a gift,” Veronica replied weakly, nervously glancing down at her feet.

“Your gift is my curse, I suppose,” he waited until she looked up at him to nod, gesturing to the pool area several feet away. “Let’s at least attempt to be quiet.”

Veronica followed Logan to the pool, watching as he sat down at the edge of the shallow end, removing his shoes before setting his feet in the water. He glanced up at her expectantly, so she took a seat beside him, pulling down her shorts over her thighs before she could imagine the feel of his eyes on her.

She moved her legs, enjoying the feel of the cool water against her skin. Her eyes drifted to Logan’s, also in the pool but still. “Were you alone?”

“When you called?” Logan replied quietly as he glanced at her. She nodded and he shrugged in response. “Yeah...”

“Lying?”

“No. I actually needed to get some sleep,” a smile played on his lips. “And if I had company, I wouldn’t have answered the phone.”

“Oh.” She frowned, focusing on the leaves floating in the water. “So what happened with Heather?”

Logan’s gaze darted to Veronica’s face and he had to laugh when she gave him her most innocent smile. “Come on.”

“Logan, I’ve had a crappy day. Humor me.”

He glanced at the black sky, letting out a huff. “So, you’ve read The Time Traveler’s Wife, right?” he looked down at the water when she nodded. “Yeah, so, remember that scene where the guy’s wife sleeps with him on her birthday because he promised her he would or something? Yeah, that’s what happened to Heather and I, except I never promised shit.”

“Wow,” Veronica laughed, shaking her head. “And here I am complaining about my problems.”

“Yes, perspective is key,” Logan intoned. “So, I come home from work and at this point of our lives, Heather had a key to my place because she was having problems with her big sister,” he paused, clearly reliving the memory and Veronica nearly lost it with how pained he looked. “I come home and she’s actually in my bedroom in this white, really virginal slip and she all but offers herself to me, saying that if she wanted to lose her virginity, she wanted it to be with me.”

“Wait. Rewind,” she slowly grinned. “Just like that. She brought up the whole sex thing just like that.”

“No!” Logan exclaimed. “We had talked about it. She asked me about girls and sex and so on and I knew she was upset because she hadn’t had sex yet and all her friends had...” he trailed off, shaking his head. “In hindsight, not a good plan. In hindsight, I never would’ve told her that she just needed to wait, the right guy was right in front of her, waiting.”

“So, you know,” Logan continued. “She decided months earlier that I was going to fucking take her virginity, never mind that she was a minor and I was, like, in my twenties and hello- illegal. She’s there in my bedroom looking inappropriately virginal and pure and I wanted to kill myself.”

Veronica tried to hold herself together, knowing full well if she burst out laughing, Logan would never finish the story. “Nice. What did you do?”

“I ran away.”

That was her breaking point and she let out a loud laugh, quickly covering her mouth. “You ran away?” she repeated incredulously.

“Veronica,” Logan said, annoyed. “She was a minor in lingerie in my apartment that was filled with my girlfriend’s shit. I would’ve been arrested, had my ass kicked, and been dumped, no questions asked.”

“So you ran away.”

“No, I looked at her, nodded, turned around and then ran away.” Logan frowned, pulling the sleeves of his shirt over his knuckles. “It was about a week before I was able to face her, but we got the outline of our relationship clear- she’s like my little sister,” he nodded once, giving Veronica a look. “There’s your story for the day.”

She gave him a faint smile. “Will you be telling me more?”

“Maybe. Why am I here right now?”

“Because you offered?”

“Veronica.”

Veronica frowned, reclining on the pavement and leaning on her elbows. She had been hoping Logan wouldn’t bring the subject up at all. “I have no one to talk to.”

He glanced down at her, shrugging. “Harmony?”

A chuckle escaped her. “Come on, Logan. Harmony and I can barely talk. Dad keeps avoiding me, I barely know Rita and I refuse to talk to Dick. You...” she trailed off, sighing deeply. “You I can trust.”

His eyebrows rose in slight disbelief. “Really.”

She nodded slowly. “I think I can accept that you’re not out to get me,” she said carefully. “And I don’t blame you for what happened today, okay?”

Logan gazed at her, his brow furrowing. “It was never my intent to embarrass you-”

“Stop apologizing,” she said with a laugh, shaking her head. Her smile faded as she felt the heat of his body as he reclined beside her, his eyes still on her face. “Next time, I’ll be better prepared for that bitch.”

“Good.”

She licked her lips, her eyes on his profile as he turned to stare at the few stars in the sky. “Wanna tell me about this Razia girl?”

“You got your story for the night, don’t be greedy.”

“Ouch,” Veronica glanced at him, a sigh escaping her. This felt normal to her, nothing much had been said, but she appreciated his presence. Not everyone would’ve gotten out of bed to keep her company in the middle of the night. “Thanks for coming.”

He met her gaze, offering her a slight smile. “It was my pleasure.”

She smirked, nudging him with her shoulder as they started to sit up. “Liar. You’re falling asleep right now.”

Logan grinned, nudging her back. “Yeah, I’m going home.”

“Really, though,” Veronica said, glancing at the water. “Thank you. For humoring me.”

“Whatever, it’s almost three in the morning, you bitch,” he muttered, a smile coming on his face when she laughed. He pulled his legs out of the pool, climbing to his feet. He held out his hands, helping her up. “And really, you’re welcome. I could be sleeping, but this isn’t a bad alternative.”

She nodded, feeling her breath catching in her throat when he didn’t let go of her hands, holding on to them loosely as they stood there. Years ago, this was the moment when he pulled her into his embrace but now, he didn’t budge and she didn’t know what to make of it. Finally, she smiled, pulling her hands out of his grasp. “I won’t call you this late again, I promise.”

He grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets as they began the walk to the parking area. “It’s a promise that will inevitably be broken, I’m sure.”

“Okay, I’ll wait a week,” she said as cheerfully as she could.

“That was five days more than I expected,” Logan said lightly as they stopped in front of his car. “Good night, Veronica.”

“Good night, Logan.”

Logan nodded to the door of Keith’s apartment. “Go inside before I get in my car.”

Veronica gave him a knowing look. “What if I go inside and you get maimed? Why don’t you think about how guilty I’d feel?”

“Why don’t you think about the fact that I am tired and it’s almost three in the morning and maybe you should do what I say considering you’re the reason I’m awake?”

She was slightly thrown off by the faintly sharp tinge in his voice, glancing at his face. Before she could get too nervous, she saw the flash of amusement in his eyes and she smiled, moving toward the door. “Fine. Good night, Logan.”

He watched as she opened the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Night.”

Veronica stopped halfway inside, leaning backwards and tilting her head back so she was staring at him. Sure, he was upside down, but at least she was looking at him. “Thank you!” she said in a loud whisper.

“You’re welcome!” he responded in an equally loud whisper.

She smiled, standing upright as she moved into the house, closing the door ever so slowly. He continued to watch her, backing to his truck and she couldn’t stop the odd, long-forgotten feeling in her stomach. Strangely enough, the feeling of Logan’s eyes on her as she walked to the door was probably the most comforting and familiar thing she could’ve felt in all the weeks she had been in Neptune.

In his presence was the safest she had felt in seven years and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Come Around (5a/?)

2008-07-10T04:00:18Z

Fun Little Thing (Fic Related)

2008-06-10T23:47:35Z

Ask me a question about one of my fanfictions. It can be absolutely anything in any fic and I will tell you the honest-to-god answer. Don’t hold back. Ask about major upcoming plot points if you want to. Whatever you ask, I have to answer truthfully.

*

I'm still working on my fic(s), I just thought this would be interesting.

ETA: Also, re: the upcoming plotlines thing- please be kind. Some things I've planned way, way, way in advance so...just be kind. :)