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

A/N:

Another short fic pulled from my "ideas folder."

Set in spring semester of sophomore year (pre-series, after Shelly's party which was December 6, 2003, according to episode 1.20).

The first day Veronica walks into auto shop, Mr. Dalton says that he's glad to have a girl in class – and seems thrilled that a girl would want to learn how to take care of her vehicle. He tells her that she will need a partner and asks if she knows anyone in the class that she would like to work with. If she doesn't have a preference, he will choose a partner for her.

She looks around and sees one familiar face.

She walks over to Eli "Weevil" Navarro and says, "Mr. Dalton says I need a partner."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Well … since you're the only one in here I recognize …" She trails off, not finishing her thought.

"Still waiting to hear why you're telling me this."

Veronica proceeds to blackmail him – threatening to reveal that the first time he was arrested he cried while he waited for his grandma to pick him up.

"Fine. I'll be your partner. At least until you can find someone else to work with." He has no interest in being paired up with a girl. Especially not the former Sheriff's daughter.

Veronica walks back to Mr. Dalton's desk. "I found a partner." She points over at Weevil, who nods his agreement.

Mr. Dalton is surprised and seems to caution her as he tells her that she should come to him if there are any problems with anyone in the class. He adds, "Most of my students are good guys, but it's possible they might say or do something that would make you uncomfortable."

Although sexual harassment would be unwelcome, it would not be as bad as what she's already been through.

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The first couple weeks, Veronica and Weevil don't talk to one another unless they have to. But as they get more comfortable with one another, that begins to change. Rather than just doing the more difficult tasks himself, Weevil instructs Veronica through the process, assisting her when absolutely necessary.

One day, after she comments that she's still having trouble with certain things, Weevil offers to spend extra time helping her. If she'll help him get through his math class.

After agreeing to his terms, Veronica talks to his math teacher to find out what they are working on and how far behind he is. She and Weevil have lunch at the same time – and it turns out that his math teacher does not have a class that period. So they are able to meet in that classroom for tutoring sessions.

That works out great for several reasons. The top two: Weevil does not have to give up any time outside of school and Veronica does not have to explain to her dad that she is spending time with the leader of the local motorcycle gang.

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While they are spending time together, they are in close contact and bump into each other frequently. Sometimes, by accident. More often, not so much by accident.

It does not take long before they are both trying to figure out what the other is thinking.

On one occasion, she is getting something from a high shelf in the storage area of the shop. The ladder wobbles and she starts to fall. Weevil catches her. Her back is leaning against the front of his torso. She remains still for a moment to catch her breath. When he turns her around to ask if she's okay, he sees a look her in eyes, which is something like panic. He knows he should release his hold, but he can't bring himself to do that. He rubs a smudge from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Her gaze drops to the floor and she steps back out of his arms.

"I'm sorry … I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's not … what you did." She looks up at him as she admits, "Being close to anyone would make me uncomfortable right now."

He has heard the rumors. But working closely with her, he doesn't think they're true. Getting to know her even the little bit that she has let him in, her personality and the rumors do not seem to match up.

Her reaction to his touch has his mind trying to piece together clues. Cautiously, he asks, "Did something happen to you?"

She looks away again. Her voice is soft as she says, "I don't want to talk about it right now."

These words come out before he can think about why he's saying them: "If you ever do, I'm here."

When she looks up at him again, there is a sad, but genuine smile on her face. "Maybe someday."

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At some point, Mr. Dalton notices that Weevil keeps finding ways to get close to Veronica. So, he walks over to talk to them about it.

"Veronica, I told you to let me know if there was a problem. You haven't said anything, but I've been keeping an eye on you two … and I decided I should check in with you to be sure that Eli's not doing anything to make you feel uncomfortable."

Veronica glances over at Weevil before responding to Mr. Dalton. "He hasn't done anything inappropriate, hasn't crossed the line in any way."

"Would you tell me if he did?"

She laughed as she answered, "Yes. But I wouldn't need to. You'd see his black eye."

From over her shoulder, Weevil interjects, "What makes you think you could move fast enough to hit me?"

Just as he finishes his question, she elbows him in the abdomen to make her point.

Shaking his head, Mr. Dalton says, "Looks like you've got things under control here, Miss Mars."

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At the end of each semester, the guys from class usually go out to dinner with their girlfriends. A couple times, they got together at someone's house and watched Corvette Summer, which is about a high school student and his auto shop classmates who rebuild a car – or rather, they build a custom Corvette.

When the guys extend an invite to Veronica, they tell her to bring her boyfriend. When she says she doesn't have one, there are more than a few comments – just not to her face.

Later, Weevil gets a minute alone with her. "I can pick you up that night."

"Why?"

He explains that she should be safe in their neighborhood, but if she's with him, he can be certain she won't have any trouble. He insists on driving her. "When you decide what you're wearing, keep in mind we'll be on my bike."

That thought sets butterflies into motion in Veronica's belly. She's not sure if it's because she's never been on a motorcycle before. Or if it's because she will be that close to him during the ride.

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Veronica asks Weevil to meet her at a shopping center near her apartment. The story she plans to tell her dad: She's meeting friends for dinner and a movie. That way, if he checks, her car will be in the parking lot all evening.

When Weevil gets there, he checks his phone and finds a text from Veronica saying where she's parked.

As he puts the extra helmet on her head, he can't help but smile. She will be on the back of his bike. Finally.

He turns his bike back in the direction he just came from. When they arrive at a family-owned restaurant in his neighborhood, he helps her remove the helmet and without thinking about his actions, he smooths her hair back into place. This causes Veronica to blush as she thanks him.

During dinner, a couple of the other guys' girlfriends make a point of telling Veronica that although they've seen Weevil with lots of girls, they don't often see a girl on the back of his bike. One girl asks if there is something going on between them. Another girl cuts her off, saying, "Of course, there is." Veronica does not get a chance to answer the question, because the conversation quickly moves on to another subject.

For the rest of the evening, Veronica turns their words over in her head. When he takes her back to her car, she decides to ask him about it.

She fumbles the question but manages to get her point across. "A couple of the girls … they seemed to be implying … well, I'm just trying to figure out … Should I be reading anything into the fact that you gave me a ride tonight?"

He tosses the question back at her, "What do you think it means?"

"I'm not sure. There have been a few moments … the past couple months … when – if you were any other guy – I would have expected you to kiss me. And a few times tonight, you were looking at me … with this strange look on your face. So I'm not sure. I understand why they think there's something going on between us … but you haven't given me anything definitive … so I don't know what I should be thinking."

"It seemed like I was about to kiss you, huh? Did you want me to kiss you?"

"I … I don't … know."

"It's a simple question, V." He steps closer to her. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

"It's not a simple question. The kiss isn't the issue."

He moves toward her again. "What's the issue?"

"What happens after the kiss."

Raising one eyebrow, he says, "I think you know what happens after the kiss."

She looks away and smiles nervously. "I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about at school, with friends, family. A kiss is not just a kiss. There are … consequences."

"You think too much."

He places his hand the side of her face and slides his fingers into her hair. His touch causes her brain to scramble.

When she doesn't respond, he says, "Tell me what you feel." He waits a couple of seconds for her answer, then he asks, "Do you want me to kiss you?"

"Does this mean that you do want to kiss me?"

"You're avoiding my question, V. Stop overthinking this."

She still doesn't answer him. So he leans in and kisses her briefly.

He breaks the kiss and searches her eyes.

She stammers her concern again, "But … what … happens next?"

He shakes his head as he strengthens his hold on the back of her head. Then, he pulls her lips toward him, kissing her more firmly than he just did.

This time when he looks in her eyes he sees the response he wants; she's not overthinking anymore.

With his hands on her waist, he backs her up against the side of her car. After several more minutes of impassioned kissing with his body weight pressing against her, he whispers in her ear, "What do you want to happen next?"

Her voice is so soft, he barely hears her. "I'm not sure."

He leans back, lifting his weight off her. "But you do want something to happen?"

Her lips spread into a shy smile as her eyes light up. "Yes."

Trying to decide what to say, he tucks her hair behind her ear and then his hand settles on the side of her face. He can't seem to take his eyes off her lips. His thumb starts tracing back and forth across her bottom lip.

"That's what I wanted to hear, baby girl. One of these days, I'll give you the full-service treatment."

His choice of words – and his tone of voice – causes her heart to speed up and her mind to slow down. She is not sure how to respond.

Just then, her phone is ringing in her purse. As she pulls it out, she explains that she set an alarm as a reminder to make sure she got home by her curfew.

Weevil pulls her body to him and kisses her one last time. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"You don't have to do th—"

He cuts her off with an authoritative tone, "I said, I'll call you tomorrow. Be sure to answer your phone when I do."

She nods in response.

"Words, baby girl. I need to hear you answer me."

"Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Weevil."

With his hand firmly on the back of her head, he leans in toward her ear as he says, "Call me Eli."

He opens her door for her to get in. When she pulls out of the shopping center parking lot, he follows her back to her apartment building. Before she walks up the stairs to go home, she waves and he gives her a chin lift.

[

As she climbs into bed, she is trying to figure out what happened tonight. But part of her has no desire to analyze it because it's the first time in a long time that she has had something to smile about. Drifting off to sleep, she thinks to herself: Taking auto shop was a good decision.

A/N:

Corvette Summer (1978) stars Mark Hamill and Annie Potts.

As I usually do with things that are pulled from my "ideas folder" … I'm posting it as a one-shot and marking it complete, but there's always the possibility that my imagination comes up with a way to continue it.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time …

~Jen

19 August 2019