A/N: So while I continue to write Can't Let You Go, I decided to post some of my older LoVe fics. This one is set Season 1 - AU. Placed the day after "Weapons of Class Destruction". It always bugged that Veronica/Logan never discussed his abuse and that's where this kinda fits in. Donut never left town, sorry, but I needed him around for this, so there you go. Dedicated, as always, to my sis/BFF/beta, Tanya.

Sometimes the Last Thing You Want Is Just What You Need

Logan clenched and unclenched his fists as he watched Veronica. He should be pissed at her. Hate her even. He thought back to the day before when she had kissed him out of the blue and ran off without a word. Where the hell had that come from? He continued to stare at her, eyes narrowed, hands still clenched. His entire body was tight with anger and there she sat calmly eating her lunch with no worries. He let out a breath trying to relax.

The sad fact for Logan was that hate was the furthest thing he felt for Veronica Mars. His gaze traveled up and down her body and he swallowed hard. How the hell did he manage to fall for her? His best friend's ex? His ex's best friend? His mortal enemy? Veronica Mars had done it again.

Bitch.

His cell phone started to go off and he flipped it open without checking the caller ID. "Yeah?" he answered.

"Is there a reason you keep staring at me or is this just another one of those Logan Echolls things? Cuz if it is, guess what? Creepy."

How the hell did he not manage to see her place the call? "I'm not staring," he replied.

Her head finally turned in his direction and he saw her eyebrows go up. "No? So what you're doing is called--what?"

"I'm gazing at you adoringly," he snarked in reply.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I am irresistible after all."

Veronica watched him as he made his way towards her. Talk about awkward situations. She had been avoiding him as much as possible ever since they had kissed at the Camelot. The moment had caught her off guard and she stopped thinking and kissed him. Yeah, he had come in swinging to safe her life, but there was something else that compelled her to kiss him. Something that she had been avoiding thinking about ever since she drove away. And here he was again. Maybe if she completely avoided the topic, he wouldn't bring it up. And maybe if she stopped thinking about the kiss she would forget it. She sucked in a deep breath determined to follow her own advice. Her mind went back to when they had found Trina at the Sunset Regent two weeks ago. Since he finally broke down in her arms. Since she unwittingly overheard that Aaron Echolls abused him.

Veronica wanted more info. Yeah, scratch that. She needed more info and she needed to hear it from Logan. She had surprised herself when she didn't broach the subject with him earlier. She had plenty of chances and for some reason she always held herself back, but she couldn't do that any longer. She let out a frustrated breath. Goddamnit she cared. A lot. Yeah, awkward didn't even begin to cover it.

He sat down to her left and twirled his cell phone around avoiding eye contact. "Look," he began after a moment. "I just wanted to say sorry 'bout the other night."

She looked at him slightly panicked. Did he regret the kiss?

"At the Regent," he clarified in case she didn't know what he was talking about. "I don't usually, you know, cry like that in--" He cut himself off and fidgeted again. The phrase 'in front of people' was left unsaid, but there it was nonetheless.

His comment left her temporarily speechless. What the hell does someone say in reply? 'You're welcome? No problem? Do you cry a lot? Tell me the truth - does your dad abuse you? Why did I never notice? Why didn't anyone notice? What else aren't you telling me?' What?

"Don't worry about it," she finally answered him. "I'm . . . I'm glad I was there for you." It was her turn to play with her phone. "You know what I mean," she added.

"Yeah," he sighed.

The thickening silence was beginning to make an awkward situation uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, Logan," she began breaking the silence.

"For what?" he asked her confused, his mind drifting back to their kiss.

"I was really hoping your mom would be ok . . . I'm really sorry."

His back stiffened slightly at her comments. It was still too new. Still too painful to talk about. "Yeah, me too," he finally mumbled half-heartedly.

"If you ever wanna talk--"

"No," he cut her off. "No, I don't."

She realized she had pushed him too far too fast. "Ok," she sighed.

"Listen, I'm, uh, gonna go." He started to get up from his seat. The awkwardness had already doubled and the tension in the air had multiplied.

"Logan, wait. What Trina said . . . was that true?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. The quick look of horror on his face confirmed her thoughts and the need to take him back in her arms multiplied by a million.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he told her without hesitation.

"Logan," she started.

"Stay out of it, Veronica," he finished angrily and walked away.

She watched him as he left, a million thoughts running through her head. Stay out of it? Yeah right, like that was likely. If she were being honest with herself, Veronica was glad that she and Logan were getting along again. Yes, he had been an asshole to her and she hadn't completely forgiven him for the hell that he had helped put her through. But she cared about him. Still. Maybe she never stopped.

Hell, as long as she was being honest, she knew that she had a crush on him when he was dating Lilly and she was with Duncan. Logan was Logan. Yeah, he was a jackass - a hot jackass - but there was always something about Logan that drew her to him. Something she could never quite put her finger on. There was intensity about him. He was a charmer, he was funny . . . he was an amazing kisser.

She shook her head quickly at her last thought. She was not falling for Logan Echolls.

There's always a point where one should stop poking around in other people's business. Logan asked her, yeah ok, he ordered her to stay out of his business, but it wasn't that easy. If Aaron Echolls was abusing him than someone had to stop him. She stopped dead in her tracks. Did Lynn Echolls know what was going on? Did she just sit back while Logan suffered? Veronica felt sick to her stomach. If Logan didn't want her help, too damn bad. She was going to give it to him anyway.

She found him as he was walking out of the journalism classroom. "Hey."

Duncan's mouth upturned into a smile when he saw her. "Hey, Veronica."

"I need to ask you something," she began as they made their way towards his locker.

"Veronica," he sighed. "If this is about Meg--"

She had to fight her eyes from rolling. "No, I don't care about that," she waved him off.

"Ok, what's goin' on?" he asked her, the surprise evident in his voice.

"What do you know about Logan and his dad?" she asked him when they had stopped walking.

Duncan looked away from her and hesitated for a moment before focusing on opening his locker. "What do you mean?"

Veronica felt sick again. She could see that he wasn't surprised. He knew damn well what she was talking about.

"I mean your BFF, Duncan." But he still wouldn't respond. "I can't believe this," she practically shouted. A few people looked in their direction and she had to take a calming breath before continuing. "How long have you known? How long have you known that his dad was abusing him?" she asked him through gritted teeth.

He slammed his locker shut and began to walk away from her. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, not looking in her direction.

She had been right on his heels and grabbed his elbow to stop him. "Bullshit, Duncan. I can't believe you've known and never lifted a finger to help him."

"Look, Veronica, I get you're trying to help, I do. But Logan has never said anything to me about it."

"But you never bothered to ask either, did you?" she countered before walking away and shaking her head in disgust.

It was his turn to grab her. "Look, Logan never said anything to me," he defended himself. "I brought it up once and he told me to go to hell."

"And that's it?" she asked astonished. "One question and everything's right in the world?"

"Why do you even care, Veronica? You hate Logan."

She took a step back incredulous at his comment. "If you see a dog being kicked on the side of the road would you stop and help it even though you hate dogs?"

"Logan's not a dog," he sighed at her exaggeration.

"You're right. He's a person! Which makes you ignoring this a million times worse."

"Veronica, stay out of this."

"Ok," she told him cheerfully. "Let me stand around and do nothing like you, Duncan."

He dipped his head so that their eyes met. He didn't appreciate her trying to imply that he didn't care about his best friend. "What are you gonna do, Veronica?" he asked her seriously. "Tell your dad? Call the cops? How is that gonna help him? He just lost his mom. Do you want this to be the next scandal in his life? You want to see his picture on all the tabloids? 'Aaron Echolls Child Abuser!' How's that gonna help Logan, Veronica? He's already at the point of breaking, why push him off the ledge? Because you can? This isn't one of your little mysteries ready to be solved. Listen to me and more importantly listen to Logan. Stay out of it."

She watched him as he walked away a part of her agreeing with what he said. The last thing she wanted was for Logan to snap. She took a step forward resolved to let the matter drop like Logan and Duncan had said, but she stopped and thought again. She had to do something. She couldn't just let this drop like they wanted. Logan was her friend once and they had been starting to pick back up on their friendship. She couldn't just ignore it. She couldn't do what Lynn had done. Or what Trina had done or what Duncan had done. She nodded her head resolved and headed in the opposite direction of Duncan determined to find Logan.

Logan couldn't stop thinking of Veronica. So much so that he felt like he really was going nuts. He couldn't stop thinking of her lips on his, her body tight against him. He groaned and shook his head as if trying to pry the memory out of his head. The cold shower he had just taken didn't seem to be helping either. He thought back to when he supposedly hated her, but even that wasn't entirely true. He never truly hated her. He knows he hates his dad and what he feels for him isn't even a fraction of what he feels for her.

Maybe it all went back to Lilly. When Lilly first died, every time Logan saw Veronica he saw Lilly. He would be pissed and hurt and relieved all at the same time. But lately -- lately when he sees Veronica he just sees -- Veronica. He didn't know what that meant. Was it proof that he had moved on? Accepted at last what had happened? Or was it something else?

He sighed tiredly.

He made his way toward the kitchen in the pool house and winced as he pulled on a clean long-sleeved t-shirt over his head. His back and stomach were still sore from his last 'talking to' by his dad. It had happened a week ago after Logan had come home drunk and accidentally knocked over one of his dad's blown-glass sculptures. After that day, his dad swore that he wouldn't touch him again and so far he was keeping his word. Logan couldn't help but snort at the memory. Like it fucking mattered now.

He thought about Trina and her stupid mouth when he and Veronica found her at the Regent. Deciding then and there to snidely comment on the 'cigarette burns and broken noses' courtesy of their father and all in front of Veronica to boot. Trina was a bitch. It was bad enough that she was going around impersonating his mom, but she had to open her mouth too. He had hoped against hope that Veronica hadn't heard her and he almost believed it until today. Of course Veronica had heard Trina with her bat-like ears. When she had brought it up that afternoon at school, he wanted to kill Trina. For years he had been able to keep it a 'family secret' and now he was sure that the whole world would know by the end of the week. He knew he shouldn't care, but he was just so sick of the paparazzi outside the gates. He was sick of going to the gas station and seeing his dad's face or his mom's face plastered on the cover of the latest tabloid. He was just so fucking sick and tired of it all. And now he to deal with Veronica Mars. Just fucking perfect.

Logan knew he had something to do with Veronica being ostracized from the 09ers. But it was easier for him that way and easier for Duncan too. Lilly's death had changed them all. Duncan was dead on his feet, withdrawn and moody. Logan himself had started drinking more and mouthing off more to his dad which led to more frequent beatings. And Veronica - Veronica was no longer the sweet blonde California girl he always thought was cute on some level, but not quite his type. Veronica became tougher. More abrasive. More smart mouthed. More - more like his type. He no longer thought she was cute. No, Veronica was now hot.

Logan threw his head back and groaned. "What the hell is she doing to me?" he asked out loud not expecting an answer.

But he got one anyway. "That depends on the 'she' you're talking about."

"Christ," he muttered to himself. "Who's doing the stalking now?" he asked with a smirk as he turned around to face Veronica.

She dropped her messenger bag on the floor and walked towards him where he stood behind the bar. "You make it sound like I'm doing something dirty," she smiled.

"What do you want?" he asked her, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

"How long has your dad been abusing you?" she asked him without hesitation in the same tone.

"Is this your idea of foreplay?" he questioned her curiously.

"Logan, I'm serious."

"If I would of known when I first asked you for help, that you'd stick to me like gum on a shoe, I never would of done it."

"Logan."

His face darkened and she flinched when he slapped his hand on top of the counter. "We're not having this conversation," he told her as he moved away from her. "Get out."

"I'm not leaving," she told him defiantly.

His cell phone began to ring and he smirked at her when he saw the caller ID. "What's up?" he asked with a smile.

"Logan, listen," Duncan's voice began. "I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"'Bout what?" he asked, his smile leaving his face.

"Veronica cornered me today after school."

Logan's eyes flickered to the girl in question. "'Bout what?" he asked again, this time a little more anxious.

"You know what she's like, dude." Duncan hesitated before continuing. "She was -- she was being Veronica. I told her to back off, but . . . you know what she's like."

"Yeah," he muttered.

"I think she listened to me, but you never know."

"Thanks, man," Logan sighed as he ended the call.

Veronica dug her hands into the back pockets of her jeans already bracing herself for what was coming. "Who was that?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he asked her furiously.

"Logan--"

"My mom's fucking dead, Veronica, what else do you want? My blood?"

"I was worried about you," she told him honestly. "Why haven't you ever said anything?"

He ignored her question. "I told you to stay out of it."

But Veronica wouldn't be deterred. "Is he still abusing you?"

His mouth fell open in shock. "Is this what you came here to see?" he finally asked her as he ripped off his t-shirt and threw it to the ground. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her throat and the pang of hot tears in her eyes. The ugly red welts went across his back and wrapped around his torso like a horrifying snake. A spattering of large yellow and green bruises was beginning to fade, but there they were spotting his golden skin. "Are you happy now, Veronica?" he asked her angrily. "Are you gonna be able to sleep better at night because you saw this?"

"Logan, I--" she trailed off.

"You what?" he yelled. "You didn't think it was true? You think I made it all up like Trina did? You think I did this to myself? What, Veronica? What the fuck do you want from me?!"

"I'm sorry," she told him softly after he finished his tirade. "I just wanted to help."

"I'm beyond help," he told her sarcastically. "Isn't that what everyone says?"

"You have to go to the police."

He laughed bitterly. "The police? Do you know what will happen if I go to the police? Do you realize my face will be plastered on every paper, every tabloid, every fucking TV show out there? I don't want that, Veronica. I'm almost 18 and then I'm outta here and I never have to see him again. For once in your life, listen to me." He swallowed hard. "Just let this drop."

She wanted to listen to him. She wanted to believe what he was saying, but she was honestly scared for him. "What if he does it again, Logan?" she asked him quietly.

"He won't," he told her as he put his shirt back on, wincing as he did so.

"How do you know that? Because he promised you? Because your mom's gone? What, Logan?"

He couldn't answer her. "Fine. I don't know," he told her after a long pause. "Are you happy now? But what the hell do you want me to do? I have to depend on him 'til I'm 18. I have no fucking money to grab and run. Not enough to live out for the next year."

She watched him for a moment. "What about emancipation?"

He groaned loudly in frustration. "Veronica, I've been through this over and over again in my head. I have no fucking just cause."

"Unless you go forward and disclose the abuse."

"Not gonna happen. No one," he looked at her intensely. "No one is ever gonna find out about this. Right, Veronica?"

She wouldn't look at him.

"Veronica." He didn't say her name as a question.

She avoided his gaze, the thought of him being attacked by his dad again in the forefront of her mind.

"Veronica," he said more forcefully.

"Do you know what you're asking me to do?" she finally answered. "You're asking me to ignore the fact that your dad can one day go nuts on you and break you because he can."

"Why not?" he asked her turning away from her. He was nervous. Veronica Mars was making him nervous. For years he had been able to just go on with his days and not have to worry about anyone invading his privacy --at least not to this extent. And now this tiny blonde was here, ready to turn his world upside down. "Why the hell do you even care, Veronica? Last time I checked you hated my guts and vice versa."

"I thought we were past that, Logan. I don't hate you, not anymore. I won't lie and tell you I never did, but that still doesn't mean I want you to get hurt. I hate that I never noticed before. I hate that your mom and Duncan and Trina and every other freakin' 09er friend of yours never bothered to confront you about this."

"Poor little rich boy, right Ronnie?" He raised his arms above his head as if he had just been enlightened. "Praise the Lord and save the boy," he mocked in a southern accent. "Cast thy demons out and save his wretched life." He laughed humorlessly. "Go find someone else to save, Veronica, and stay out of my life."

Veronica's face flushed with frustration. Fine. Whatever. She tried to help and that was that. She glared at him angrily and grabbed her messenger bag from the floor where she had originally dropped it and made her way to exit. She stopped dead in her tracks before she even reached the door. "I'm not leaving," she told him, turning back to face him. "I'm not leaving you, Logan. You push and you push and you push and everyone fucking leaves, but I'm not going."

His mouth fell open in surprise.

"You don't want to go forward, fine. You don't want me to tell anyone what's going on, fine. But I'm not leaving you."

"You--" he tried to interrupt.

"Shut up!" she screamed at him. "I'm not leaving and that's final."

"Why?" he shouted in return. "Why can't you just pretend that you never heard what my stupid sister said? Why can't you just walk out that door and pretend you never came here today? Why won't you fucking listen?"

"Because I care about you, Logan! Because once you were one of my best friends. Because after all that's happened, I still consider you a friend and I refuse to let another one of my friends die."

"I don't need your pity," he spat.

"It's not pity, you ass," she shot back as she made her way towards him. "Why don't you believe me?" she finally asked him when she was inches in front of him. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone cares about you?"

He looked away from her. The last person who cared about him? Who the hell was that? Lilly? His mom? Who?

"Logan, look at me." He finally looked down at her after a long pause. "Do you believe me?"

"No," he told her softly. "Why should I believe that you care about me? After everything I've done and said to you. Why the hell would you care? Just tell the truth, Veronica. The only reason you're here is because you have nothing else to do today. You found another wrong that needs to be righted and that's why you're here."

She felt her eyes burn again from the unshed tears. "You're wrong! I care about you, Logan. Yes, you've been an ass to me and I would be lying if I told you that I've completely forgiven you. But I still care about you. I can't just cut you out of my life and pretend that this hasn't happened. I can't go to school tomorrow and ignore you in the halls because you think that's what you want or need or deserve or I don't know. But I'm not telling you this because you're just some random guy I know. I'm not your mom. I'm not Trina. And I know I'm not Lilly, but I am not gonna walk out that door and pretend that everything's ok. And don't you dare tell me to do that either."

He looked away from her in surprise. "You think you can fix me, Veronica?" he asked her. "Because you can't, you know."

"I'm not trying to fix you, Logan. I'm trying to help you. I'm not gonna stand here and tell you that everything's gonna be ok, because I don't know that and I won't lie. I'm scared," she told him honestly. "I'm scared for you."

He shook his head in response. If someone would have told him this morning that Veronica Mars would be standing in front of him telling him that she cared what happened to him, he would have cracked a rib from laughing so hard. But here she was all in tiny whirlwind mode. Who would of known? He sucked in a breath and let himself fall on top of one of the barstools resigned. "So what are you gonna do? Stick by my side to make sure my dad doesn't hit me again? Booby-trap the place? What?"

She sat down next to him. "I'm gonna do whatever you want me to do, as long as you don't ask me to leave again."

"Does that mean you'll do my laundry too?" he smirked at her.

She couldn't help herself and grinned as she hit him across the arm. "Fuck you," she laughed.

His eyes lit up in return and he had to bite his tongue from responding what he was thinking. He was sure that would have earned him a slap across the face. "Thanks, Veronica."

She looked up at him as she searched his face. He looked more relaxed. More like the old Logan that she knew. And now she sort of understood him better. The tortured eyes, the sarcastic remarks, yes they were part of Logan's 'charm' but there was a reason behind them too. She smiled at him in return. "You're welcome," she finally answered.

But the elephant in the room couldn't be ignored any longer. "Why did you run?" he asked her after a moment.

She tensed at his thought. "What?"

"Yesterday," he answered, staring at the ceiling. "Why did you run?"

She looked towards the door trying to figure out how long it would take her to ditch and run again. After a long moment she finally answered him. "I-- I don't know. I freaked out. I got scared. So I left."

"Why did you kiss me?" She got up from the barstool and began to pace slightly. "Hey, you got to play twenty questions with me, now it's my turn," he told her.

"But you didn't even answer most of them," she challenged right back. "You evaded practically everything I asked you."

He smirked at her in response. "Fine. You ask, I'll answer, and vice versa."

She grinned at him. "So what is this, poor man's truth or dare? Without the dare part of course."

He smiled at her amused and stretched out his arm in invitation. "Bring it on, sugarpuss."

She narrowed her eyes at him. That was a little too easy. She contemplated his challenge for a moment. She would finally have the answers she was so curious to know, but it also meant having to open up to him in return. "Fine," she finally agreed. "But I go first. Naturally."

"Naturally," he smirked.

"No off-limit topics?"

He realized she was giving him an out. "No," he sighed.

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "When did your dad start abusing you?" she asked him quietly.

He crossed his arms across his chest, surprised but not surprised at the question. He looked away from her, tugged at the bottom of his shirt and back up at her. "I was eight," he answered simply.

"But why?" she sighed when he didn't elaborate.

"Cheater," he answered. "It's my turn."

She nodded silently for him to continue. He watched her carefully for a few moments, his gaze drifting up and down her body. Veronica shifted on her feet. He was making her nervous. There were so many things that no one knew and here she had given him an open invitation to her life. She really couldn't complain, she told herself, he was doing the same thing. "Well?" she finally asked him and she cursed under her breath at the crack in her voice.

"What's . . . your favorite color?"

Her eyes grew wide. "You're kidding, right?"

"You're cheating again," he grinned. "I think we should add some sorta penalty round if you don't answer questions. What do you think?"

"Black," she told him with a sigh.

"Your turn," he smiled.

"Did your mom know?" she asked him softly.

He shrugged resigned. "Yeah."

Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "And she didn't do anything to stop it?"

"There should be a penalty round for tryin' to ask two questions in a row too," he contemplated. "Like maybe you have to remove an article of clothing or something."

She smirked at him in return. "No penalties."

"Then stop cheating."

"Fine, I'll stop cheating. Your turn."

Again his gaze bore into her and she could swear she could see the wheels turning in his head. She finally sat down on a barstool a few feet away from his. "Are you a real blonde?"

"What?"

"Just wanted to know if the carpet matches the drapes."

Her mouth fell open in shock. She should be used to Logan's innuendoes after all this time, but she could still feel the blush climbing up her neck. "Yes, you idiot, but you already know that."

His eyebrow went up. "I do?"

"Cheater," she pointed at him. "Stop trying to distract me." She took a deep breath trying to regain her control. "Your mom never did anything to stop the abuse?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, obviously uncomfortable with their entire conversation and his way of distracting her wasn't working. For the life of him he couldn't figure out why he was telling her as much as he was. But another part of him acknowledged that it felt good to finally tell someone what was going on and deep down he knew he could trust Veronica. "What was she supposed to do, Veronica?" he sighed. "He was bigger than her and the one time she tried to step in . . ." he trailed off. But of course there were some things that she didn't need to know and that story was one of them. His mind briefly drifted in remembrance and he sucked in a shaky breath before focusing back on her.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Whatever," he sighed. He contemplated her for a moment. "Besides Duncan, did you tell anyone about this?" he asked her seriously.

"No," she answered quickly. "No, I swear, Logan." He nodded silently, satisfied with her answer. A part of her felt horrible for what she was asking him, but she justified it by telling herself that he was letting her. And she needed to know what was going on in his life for some reason. She wanted to understand him better. "Did you ever fight back?"

His eyes focused away from her, lost in thought. "Ye--," he cleared his throat. "Yeah, once." His mind drifted away to some unknown time and Veronica shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Whatever playfully mood he was in before was now gone. He turned his attention back to her after another moment. "Are you still in love with Duncan?"

Her head tilted to the side as she watched him. "No, I'm not," she answered after a few seconds. "I haven't been for a while." She tried to ignore the sense of warmth that was building in her stomach and she knew it wasn't being caused by memories of Duncan. She still had more questions she wanted to ask him so she tried to ignore the feelings he was causing her. "What happened when you tried to fight back?"

He winced before answering. "I never fought back again."

Veronica realized that she wasn't going to get any more info than that. At least not right now and she broke away from their conversation for a moment. "I can't believe no one ever noticed. A teacher, doctor, someone . . ." Me she thought to herself.

"You'd be surprised what a famous face and money can buy," he told her bitterly. "Besides the first time I had to go to the doctor it was explained away by me falling off the diving board. After that, he made sure that there weren't any 'visible' marks," he air quoted. "And the times something was broken - it wasn't until I was older and then it was just me being a boy getting into fights."

She nodded silently as she listened to him. He sounded . . . detached. She guessed it was his way of coping with what was going on. She fleetingly wondered if she sounded the same when it came to her mother and her drinking. But what Logan had said made sense. When he did show up at school with a new black eye it was always led back to a fight he had that weekend. He was, after all, a smartass and he never backed down from a fight that she knew of. If his back and torso were any indications of where he was hit, then she could only imagine where else the 'non-visible' marks were. His back, his shoulders, the backs of his thighs . . .

"Why did you kiss me?" he finally asked her breaking her out of her thoughts.

It was her turn to look away and she could feel the faint blush coloring her face again. God, why the hell was she acting like a twelve year old? She stood from her seat and began to pace again. She supposed an answer like 'I don't know' wouldn't fly, but she thought she'd give it a try anyway. "I don't know."

"That's not an answer," he told her. "Why. Did. You. Kiss. Me?" he asked her again, this time enunciating each word.

"Because you rescued me."

He looked away from her, not surprised at her answer, but he felt slightly disappointed anyway. She could see his face fall and her heart began to pound in her chest at his look. Was it possible?

"And because I wanted to," she continued. "Because I've wanted to for a long time."

He quickly looked back at in her surprise. "What?" he asked her confused.

"My turn," she shot right back. "Why did you kiss me?"

His eyebrows went up in surprise, not expecting the turn in events. "Because you're Veronica," he finally answered her.

"That's not an answer," she breathed.

"Why not?" he shot back. "Do you want me to say because you're bitchy? Because you're smart-assed?" He made his way towards her, shortening the distance between them. "Because you're hot?"

Her mouth opened to answer, but he cut her off. "Why did you run?"

"Because," she sighed, her eyes darting across his face. "I already told you. I freaked." He nodded silently. "Why didn't you follow me?" she asked him quietly.

"I didn't think you wanted me to." His gaze darted down to her lips. "Why--"

She cut him off as she reached up and grabbed the back of his neck and brought his mouth down to hers. It had been less than twenty-four hours, but she was aching to kiss him again. As much as she had tried to avoid it and put it out of her mind, she couldn't do it. She wanted him and she wasn't going to deny herself any longer. He reached down and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up flush against him. Her feet dangled off the ground as he walked back to the barstools they were once sitting on. He sat her down and stood between her legs as his lips left her mouth and began to move down to her neck. Her hands slid up his chest and face before landing in his hair.

"You gonna run again?" he asked her between kisses.

"I couldn't if I wanted to," she told him, his mouth swallowing her words. His hands made their way to the hem of her shirt stroking the soft skin at her stomach.

The sudden slam of the door caused them to pull apart and their heads quickly turned in the direction of the entrance. There stood a shell-shocked Aaron Echolls.

"Oh, God, sorry." His eyes were looking everywhere but at them. "I -- I didn't know you were in here," he told them, his eyes finally landing on Logan. "I just needed to grab something, but I can get it later."

He exited the pool house quickly and Logan and Veronica remained there in silence. Veronica's eyes were still trained at the door. She had felt sick when she saw him standing there. The only thought on her mind was him abusing Logan.

The silence continued until Logan stepped away from her. "Go ahead and say what you're thinking," he told her, his hands clasped behind his neck.

"How can he come in here and act as if everything's ok between the two of you?" she asked him irate. "How can he act as if nothing happened? How could he . . . how could he hit you, Logan?" her voice was strained and he began to lengthen the distance between them.

"Why's the ocean blue? Why's the grass green? Why isn't my life sunshine and rainbows and puppy dogs, Veronica?" he finally answered her from behind the bar. He wanted to reach into the liquor cabinet and grab a bottle of something, but he knew that that would just earn him another welt across his back from his dad.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean--"

"Don't apologize," he cut her off. "You can leave if you want," he sighed, his eyes fixated on the countertop.

Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "You want me to leave?"

His eyes darted back to her. "No, but if you want to I won't blame you."

She hopped off the barstool and made her way behind the bar to join him. "What did I tell you earlier, Logan? I'm not leaving."

He nodded and she took a few extra steps to stand closer to him. "So, Veronica Mars, you know my deep dark secret," he began, the smile on his face not reaching his eyes. "Your turn. Spill it."

"I don't have any secrets," she told him, looking away from him.

"Liar. Everyone has secrets."

Her mind drifted to Lilly and a forgotten memory of her 'spy pen'. Logan was right, everyone had secrets. She had a couple buried deep in her closet, but which one to fess up to? She focused her attention back on Logan and shrugged nonchalantly. "My mom had an affair with Jake Kane and I might be his daughter."

He laughed slightly. "I think there should be a penalty for lying." Her eyes met his and his face fell. "Seriously?" She nodded once. "That means," his eyebrows knit and his mouth formed words but nothing came out. "You might be Duncan's sister," he finally said out loud.

"Yep," she answered, popping the 'p' at the end.

"Wow. I thought my life was fucked up," he grinned.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be an asshole."

"So this -- is this why you're not in love with Duncan anymore?" he asked her quietly.

"No," she sighed. "I found out about this after. I fell out of love with him a long time ago."

"Are you sure?" he couldn't keep the hopefulness out of his voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure . . . What about you, Logan. Are you still in love with Lilly?"

He shifted his gaze away from her a moment, but just as quickly locked eyes with her. "I think -- I think a part of me will always love Lilly, but I'm not in love with her anymore. She's gone and I'm not looking to replace her."

"Are you sure?" she asked him, repeating his own question.

"Yeah," he smiled. His hand smoothed down her hair and he couldn't help but laugh. "This is really fucked up you know that right? We're supposed to be mortal enemies or something."

She laughed in response. "Yeah, I know, but somehow it would be weird if it wasn't like this," she told him as she took a step closer to him and placed her hands on his hips. She couldn't ignore the feeling of how right this felt. "We probably should talk more about this," she sighed.

"Yeah," he whispered in agreement.

He dipped his head down and kissed her again, his hands framing her face. They pulled apart and he rested his forehead against hers and her hands came up to rest on top of his.

"I'm not gonna sleep with you," she breathed.

"Yes, you will," he laughed.

"Well, I don't put out on the first date," she clarified.

"What if I buy you dinner?"

"Eh," she muttered. "Only if it's a really good dinner," she told him before pulling his head down for another kiss.

FIN