Fic: Save Yourself 1/2 (Logan/Veronica) R
Title: Save Yourself 1/2
Author: tory_jhay88
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica
Word Count: 2,406
Rating: R for language
Summary: Sometimes you just have to save yourself...
Spoilers: Season 1-3.15 Papa's Cabin
Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars (not that I'd mind owning Veronica Mars).
Author's Note: Written for my own personal enjoyment (and yours if you actually enjoy it). If you like the idea of a reformed Logan, well this fic is for you.
AN2: I added three characters from other shows just because I like them, they have little bearing to the story...well except one, read on and you'll see.
‘What a difference a year makes.’ Veronica Mars thought to herself as she looked around her.
A year ago she was a freshman, trudging her way through the halls of Hearst College. A year ago she was in a relationship with the one and only Logan Echolls. A year ago she was happy.
But this year, well this year it seemed like nothing was going right.
She made an attempt to move on with Stosh Piznarski. She really did. He was a nice guy. He treated her right. He never lied to her. He never flaked on her. He had none of the baggage that Logan had. But when it came down to it he just wasn’t Logan.
A year ago Logan was an ass. Sure he had his sweet moments, moments when he did such a simple thing like show up at her place of work instead of going to TJ. But his obligatory psychotic jackass side did not want to remain asleep for long.
He broke her heart, she could admit as much.
The thought that he slept with Madison Sinclair sent shudders through her entire body. She told him she couldn’t get past it. And she stuck to her word. She went out of her way to shut him out from her life. Looked the other way when their eyes met, went the other direction when they were about to cross paths. Avoidance, she was good at that.
But she did not entirely succeed. Wallace, BFF Wallace, remained friends with him. She couldn’t fully comprehend how they could have a friendship when Logan broke her heart. She asked him as much and all he said in return was that she wasn’t the only one who was brokenhearted.
And he had changed. Everyone keeps telling her that Logan Echolls was a reformed man. She didn’t believe it. Stripes and tigers, as the saying goes.
Logan would never be more than a screw up. He would consistently hurt and betray those he loved. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself even after her friends and hell even her own father told her that Logan was doing a swell job at growing up.
Parker told her that Logan somehow got involved in ’Take Back the Night’, something she was still unable to believe. From Wallace she heard that he was working with underprivileged kids of Neptune. From her dad she found out that he was helping Cliff McCormack at his dubious law firm. And from Dick she found out that he was actually going to class, much to his dismay.
Swell. Yeah right, and the world would be coming to an end right about…now.
But she couldn’t deny the truth of their words for long. Not when she had the evidence right before her eyes, staring at her right in the face.
She knew she shouldn’t have taken the Political Science class. But because she had to fulfill her general courses she enrolled in the class that majority of Hearst was trying to get into.
The professor was cool, she had to admit. Professor Dorian encouraged debates in his class, pointed out that the entire purpose of Political Science was to encourage dialogue. ‘Between smarmy politicians and the populace,’ those were his exact words.
The sole cloud in the clear horizon was her. She was Bethany. Wallace called her the anti-Veronica. And she had to agree. The girl was taller than her, her auburn hair came down to her waist. She had an open smile for everyone she meets, she talked in cultured tones, she giggled like a cheerleader, she walked like a courtesan. And everyone adored her.
Veronica hated her. Not because of her attributes, physical or otherwise. She hated Betty, as everyone called her (who in their right mind would prefer the name Betty over Bethany she thought murderously) because she possessed what Veronica lost. She had Logan in her life.
She sighed as she continued to look at them. Betty was in the same political science class as her. And twice a week she got to see Logan walk the other girl to class. They would be arm in arm and then he would give Betty a kiss on the cheek before he left. Sweet? More like nauseating.
Her only consolation was the two never made out in front of her. Well, they probably didn’t know she existed. She would sit in the back of the class, far from view but afforded her a great view.
For a month now she had been subjected to a front and center view of this new improved Logan and he had to be in someone else’s arms. She couldn’t help but be angry at him. Why couldn’t he have gotten his act together when she was with him? Why did Betty get to have the perfect Logan while she had to endure OPJ Logan?
Veronica tapped her pen on the desk impatiently. She enjoyed Professor Dorian’s class, she’d enjoy it more if Betty was not there.
Just then Dorian himself walked in. Veronica tried to focus on him. But she watched Betty instead. She would have felt justified in her hatred for the girl if she wasn’t such … well people tend to describe her as perfect.
She of course had to investigate the woman who has been taking much of Logan’s time. And she had to concede that she was pretty much on the way to perfection.
Betty was not rich like Logan. In fact her family belonged to the middle-class category. She did not grow up in Neptune, spent most of her life in a quiet town in Connecticut. Which was why Veronica couldn’t figure out why she would go to Hearst. Still the girl had a 4.0 GPA, was active in a lot of school organizations, belonged to honor’s society. In a word, perfect. Veronica hated her all the more.
The professor must have said something because most of her classmates were standing up and forming twosomes. Obviously she missed something big. She looked around helplessly, hoping that one of her fellow students would clue her in.
And to her consternation it would seem that Betty took it upon herself to be the one to do it for her. Veronica mentally chided herself for not listening to the professor but then plastered on a smile at Betty’s approach.
“Hey, Veronica Mars right? You’re pretty famous around campus. I feel so lucky to be paired with you.” Betty was smiling at her sweetly, even her voice was sweet. It definitely grated on her nerves.
“Paired with me?” she gave her a look of confusion.
“Oh, JD told us that we’re working in pairs for the final paper. And as high school as it may be he just went with the class roster and paired us alphabetically.” Betty shrugged helplessly.
“And I’m working with you?” her brow shot up at the idea.
“Yup, Mars,” Betty pointed at her “Marsden.” she pointed to herself.
“Oh.” she tried to hide her displeasure.
“Yeah, so we’re supposed to take the rest of the time today to discuss what we want to do for the paper.” Betty was looking at her expectantly.
Veronica swallowed the sharp retort that she wanted to blurt out and tried to work with Logan’s girl, the title that she was craving all the more.
She was a little impressed at the way Betty’s mind worked. There was no doubt that she deserved her place in the honor’s society. She found herself dreading their project less as they continued with their plans.
“Are you doing anything after class? Maybe we can continue this with coffee.” Betty was shooting her a hopeful look.
“Sure, why the heck not. Anything sounds better with coffee.” she found that she was actually looking forward to hanging out with the girl.
Betty practically beamed in delight as she stood up and grabbed her bag. The two of them walked out of class.
Veronica was feeling a little better about her as each minute passed. Betty really wasn’t so bad. And she really was sweet, her sweetness was natural and it really was difficult to begrudge someone who had such a sweet temperament.
And she had to be interrupted by none other than Logan Echolls. She felt all her charitable thoughts about Betty disintegrate at his appearance. He looked at her and then at Betty. She could see his mind working overtime. How exactly do you deal with your ex and your girlfriend working together? He must be thinking that she would sabotage his relationship out of spite. And she can’t help but laugh a sinister laugh inwardly.
“Hey Lo. Veronica and I are going to work on our final paper. You’ll just have to endure Dick’s company on your own tonight.” Betty was smiling up at him and then she kissed him on the cheek.
She growled internally at the action, her generous assessment of Betty vanished completely. She couldn’t help but feel that Betty knew all about her history with Logan. It was confirmed by the casual way she mentioned their outing, not even bothering with introductions.
“You’re going to have to pay for this. You know that right?” Logan replied, a smile firmly plastered on his face.
“Whatever dude.” was Betty’s dismissive answer. Veronica couldn’t help the smile at her words. They sounded out of place coming from Betty’s mouth.
“Don’t stay up too late on this project. Don’t go home too late. Make sure to call me when you’re heading for your dorm. And-”
Betty just smiled and shook her head at him, “I‘ll be careful. I have my pepper spray and my karate skills. I think I‘ll survive.”
Betty patted his hand gently as she let go of him. “Let’s go Veronica. My caffeine level is at an all time low.”
She looked at Logan one final time only to see him staring at Betty, she felt a pang to her heart at the tender look he was shooting the girl. And then as if he felt her stare he allowed their gaze to meet. Only to tear it away abruptly.
“Are you telling me that I won’t be getting the ‘don’t drink even if Dick is taunting you’ speech?” Logan stopped the both of them at his words.
“Lo, you won’t drink. You know it, I know it. There is no point in going over it as if you were going to.” Betty’s eyes had a mischievous twinkle.
“Yeah well. I’ll see you later.” Logan rolled his eyes as he walked backwards to where she supposed his car was.
The two of them walked to the coffee shop in silence. Once they sat down they got back to business. Managed to complete an outline of how they were going to write the paper. Scheduled meetings at the library for research
Three cups of coffee and a piece of pumpkin pie later they were done. Betty looked satisfied with what they had accomplished and she couldn’t help but share the feeling. She knew that they would do very well in the project.
But Veronica couldn’t pass the chance to ask after Logan. She just needed to know if he really was okay now.
“I’m not dating him.” Betty uttered quietly.
Veronica tried to control the confusion that assaulted her. She shot Betty a questioning look.
“Logan. I’m not dating him. I knew you were wondering if I was but I’m not. We’re friends.” Veronica was surprised at her straightforward words.
“You’re not? Certainly seemed like you are.” the claws have emerged.
“Why do you care so much? You’re the one who broke him.”
“Don’t you mean broke up with him?” she shot the girl an annoyed look. She had no right to pass judgment at her. She had no idea what she had to endure with Logan.
“No, I meant what I said. You broke him the last time you two broke up. If you were so willing to toss him aside because he made a mistake of sleeping with someone you hate why would you care if what we have is beyond the realm of friendship?” the question was asked without malice, only pure curiosity.
“I wasn’t willing to toss him aside. I agonized over that decision. You have no right to say anything. You weren’t there. You only got to see the new improved Logan. You got the better end of the deal.” she snapped at her.
Betty smiled sadly, “Do you honestly think that it was an easy feat? For Logan to be where he is right now? It took him a long while to be this okay. He had to hit rock bottom first. Do you know how we met?”
Veronica simmered in her anger and refused to acknowledge her question.
“I first saw Logan at an empty hallway, naked and bleeding. He made the mistake of sleeping with a girl who had a bouncer for a boyfriend. We became friends when he returned my boyfriend’s clothes to me. I had to see Logan pick himself up and try to move on with his life. Without you in it. It wasn’t easy. There were times when he would mess up. But time after time he would pick himself up. He saved himself. And now he’s in a better place. He has so much going for him. No one can look him in the eye now and tell him that he’s a screw up. So go ahead. Believe what you want to believe about him. He doesn’t have to prove anything to you. He just needed to prove to himself that he can be.” Betty gathered her things together.
“I’ll see you in class Veronica. And believe me when I say you can stop with the dagger looks. I was serious when I said that Logan and I are just friends. Jess, that’s my boyfriend, actually likes Logan and what’s more he trusts him. That’s why Logan was going mother hen on me. Jess trusts Logan to look after me when he’s not here to do it himself.” Betty got up from the chair and started to walk away only to turn around to face her again.
“Oh and Veronica. He still loves you. Fact is he always will. He may have saved himself, but you were the driving force behind it. He wants to feel that he deserves to be with you. Maybe it’s your turn to work on deserving him.”
Author: tory_jhay88
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica
Word Count: 2,406
Rating: R for language
Summary: Sometimes you just have to save yourself...
Spoilers: Season 1-3.15 Papa's Cabin
Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars (not that I'd mind owning Veronica Mars).
Author's Note: Written for my own personal enjoyment (and yours if you actually enjoy it). If you like the idea of a reformed Logan, well this fic is for you.
AN2: I added three characters from other shows just because I like them, they have little bearing to the story...well except one, read on and you'll see.
‘What a difference a year makes.’ Veronica Mars thought to herself as she looked around her.
A year ago she was a freshman, trudging her way through the halls of Hearst College. A year ago she was in a relationship with the one and only Logan Echolls. A year ago she was happy.
But this year, well this year it seemed like nothing was going right.
She made an attempt to move on with Stosh Piznarski. She really did. He was a nice guy. He treated her right. He never lied to her. He never flaked on her. He had none of the baggage that Logan had. But when it came down to it he just wasn’t Logan.
A year ago Logan was an ass. Sure he had his sweet moments, moments when he did such a simple thing like show up at her place of work instead of going to TJ. But his obligatory psychotic jackass side did not want to remain asleep for long.
He broke her heart, she could admit as much.
The thought that he slept with Madison Sinclair sent shudders through her entire body. She told him she couldn’t get past it. And she stuck to her word. She went out of her way to shut him out from her life. Looked the other way when their eyes met, went the other direction when they were about to cross paths. Avoidance, she was good at that.
But she did not entirely succeed. Wallace, BFF Wallace, remained friends with him. She couldn’t fully comprehend how they could have a friendship when Logan broke her heart. She asked him as much and all he said in return was that she wasn’t the only one who was brokenhearted.
And he had changed. Everyone keeps telling her that Logan Echolls was a reformed man. She didn’t believe it. Stripes and tigers, as the saying goes.
Logan would never be more than a screw up. He would consistently hurt and betray those he loved. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself even after her friends and hell even her own father told her that Logan was doing a swell job at growing up.
Parker told her that Logan somehow got involved in ’Take Back the Night’, something she was still unable to believe. From Wallace she heard that he was working with underprivileged kids of Neptune. From her dad she found out that he was helping Cliff McCormack at his dubious law firm. And from Dick she found out that he was actually going to class, much to his dismay.
Swell. Yeah right, and the world would be coming to an end right about…now.
But she couldn’t deny the truth of their words for long. Not when she had the evidence right before her eyes, staring at her right in the face.
She knew she shouldn’t have taken the Political Science class. But because she had to fulfill her general courses she enrolled in the class that majority of Hearst was trying to get into.
The professor was cool, she had to admit. Professor Dorian encouraged debates in his class, pointed out that the entire purpose of Political Science was to encourage dialogue. ‘Between smarmy politicians and the populace,’ those were his exact words.
The sole cloud in the clear horizon was her. She was Bethany. Wallace called her the anti-Veronica. And she had to agree. The girl was taller than her, her auburn hair came down to her waist. She had an open smile for everyone she meets, she talked in cultured tones, she giggled like a cheerleader, she walked like a courtesan. And everyone adored her.
Veronica hated her. Not because of her attributes, physical or otherwise. She hated Betty, as everyone called her (who in their right mind would prefer the name Betty over Bethany she thought murderously) because she possessed what Veronica lost. She had Logan in her life.
She sighed as she continued to look at them. Betty was in the same political science class as her. And twice a week she got to see Logan walk the other girl to class. They would be arm in arm and then he would give Betty a kiss on the cheek before he left. Sweet? More like nauseating.
Her only consolation was the two never made out in front of her. Well, they probably didn’t know she existed. She would sit in the back of the class, far from view but afforded her a great view.
For a month now she had been subjected to a front and center view of this new improved Logan and he had to be in someone else’s arms. She couldn’t help but be angry at him. Why couldn’t he have gotten his act together when she was with him? Why did Betty get to have the perfect Logan while she had to endure OPJ Logan?
Veronica tapped her pen on the desk impatiently. She enjoyed Professor Dorian’s class, she’d enjoy it more if Betty was not there.
Just then Dorian himself walked in. Veronica tried to focus on him. But she watched Betty instead. She would have felt justified in her hatred for the girl if she wasn’t such … well people tend to describe her as perfect.
She of course had to investigate the woman who has been taking much of Logan’s time. And she had to concede that she was pretty much on the way to perfection.
Betty was not rich like Logan. In fact her family belonged to the middle-class category. She did not grow up in Neptune, spent most of her life in a quiet town in Connecticut. Which was why Veronica couldn’t figure out why she would go to Hearst. Still the girl had a 4.0 GPA, was active in a lot of school organizations, belonged to honor’s society. In a word, perfect. Veronica hated her all the more.
The professor must have said something because most of her classmates were standing up and forming twosomes. Obviously she missed something big. She looked around helplessly, hoping that one of her fellow students would clue her in.
And to her consternation it would seem that Betty took it upon herself to be the one to do it for her. Veronica mentally chided herself for not listening to the professor but then plastered on a smile at Betty’s approach.
“Hey, Veronica Mars right? You’re pretty famous around campus. I feel so lucky to be paired with you.” Betty was smiling at her sweetly, even her voice was sweet. It definitely grated on her nerves.
“Paired with me?” she gave her a look of confusion.
“Oh, JD told us that we’re working in pairs for the final paper. And as high school as it may be he just went with the class roster and paired us alphabetically.” Betty shrugged helplessly.
“And I’m working with you?” her brow shot up at the idea.
“Yup, Mars,” Betty pointed at her “Marsden.” she pointed to herself.
“Oh.” she tried to hide her displeasure.
“Yeah, so we’re supposed to take the rest of the time today to discuss what we want to do for the paper.” Betty was looking at her expectantly.
Veronica swallowed the sharp retort that she wanted to blurt out and tried to work with Logan’s girl, the title that she was craving all the more.
She was a little impressed at the way Betty’s mind worked. There was no doubt that she deserved her place in the honor’s society. She found herself dreading their project less as they continued with their plans.
“Are you doing anything after class? Maybe we can continue this with coffee.” Betty was shooting her a hopeful look.
“Sure, why the heck not. Anything sounds better with coffee.” she found that she was actually looking forward to hanging out with the girl.
Betty practically beamed in delight as she stood up and grabbed her bag. The two of them walked out of class.
Veronica was feeling a little better about her as each minute passed. Betty really wasn’t so bad. And she really was sweet, her sweetness was natural and it really was difficult to begrudge someone who had such a sweet temperament.
And she had to be interrupted by none other than Logan Echolls. She felt all her charitable thoughts about Betty disintegrate at his appearance. He looked at her and then at Betty. She could see his mind working overtime. How exactly do you deal with your ex and your girlfriend working together? He must be thinking that she would sabotage his relationship out of spite. And she can’t help but laugh a sinister laugh inwardly.
“Hey Lo. Veronica and I are going to work on our final paper. You’ll just have to endure Dick’s company on your own tonight.” Betty was smiling up at him and then she kissed him on the cheek.
She growled internally at the action, her generous assessment of Betty vanished completely. She couldn’t help but feel that Betty knew all about her history with Logan. It was confirmed by the casual way she mentioned their outing, not even bothering with introductions.
“You’re going to have to pay for this. You know that right?” Logan replied, a smile firmly plastered on his face.
“Whatever dude.” was Betty’s dismissive answer. Veronica couldn’t help the smile at her words. They sounded out of place coming from Betty’s mouth.
“Don’t stay up too late on this project. Don’t go home too late. Make sure to call me when you’re heading for your dorm. And-”
Betty just smiled and shook her head at him, “I‘ll be careful. I have my pepper spray and my karate skills. I think I‘ll survive.”
Betty patted his hand gently as she let go of him. “Let’s go Veronica. My caffeine level is at an all time low.”
She looked at Logan one final time only to see him staring at Betty, she felt a pang to her heart at the tender look he was shooting the girl. And then as if he felt her stare he allowed their gaze to meet. Only to tear it away abruptly.
“Are you telling me that I won’t be getting the ‘don’t drink even if Dick is taunting you’ speech?” Logan stopped the both of them at his words.
“Lo, you won’t drink. You know it, I know it. There is no point in going over it as if you were going to.” Betty’s eyes had a mischievous twinkle.
“Yeah well. I’ll see you later.” Logan rolled his eyes as he walked backwards to where she supposed his car was.
The two of them walked to the coffee shop in silence. Once they sat down they got back to business. Managed to complete an outline of how they were going to write the paper. Scheduled meetings at the library for research
Three cups of coffee and a piece of pumpkin pie later they were done. Betty looked satisfied with what they had accomplished and she couldn’t help but share the feeling. She knew that they would do very well in the project.
But Veronica couldn’t pass the chance to ask after Logan. She just needed to know if he really was okay now.
“I’m not dating him.” Betty uttered quietly.
Veronica tried to control the confusion that assaulted her. She shot Betty a questioning look.
“Logan. I’m not dating him. I knew you were wondering if I was but I’m not. We’re friends.” Veronica was surprised at her straightforward words.
“You’re not? Certainly seemed like you are.” the claws have emerged.
“Why do you care so much? You’re the one who broke him.”
“Don’t you mean broke up with him?” she shot the girl an annoyed look. She had no right to pass judgment at her. She had no idea what she had to endure with Logan.
“No, I meant what I said. You broke him the last time you two broke up. If you were so willing to toss him aside because he made a mistake of sleeping with someone you hate why would you care if what we have is beyond the realm of friendship?” the question was asked without malice, only pure curiosity.
“I wasn’t willing to toss him aside. I agonized over that decision. You have no right to say anything. You weren’t there. You only got to see the new improved Logan. You got the better end of the deal.” she snapped at her.
Betty smiled sadly, “Do you honestly think that it was an easy feat? For Logan to be where he is right now? It took him a long while to be this okay. He had to hit rock bottom first. Do you know how we met?”
Veronica simmered in her anger and refused to acknowledge her question.
“I first saw Logan at an empty hallway, naked and bleeding. He made the mistake of sleeping with a girl who had a bouncer for a boyfriend. We became friends when he returned my boyfriend’s clothes to me. I had to see Logan pick himself up and try to move on with his life. Without you in it. It wasn’t easy. There were times when he would mess up. But time after time he would pick himself up. He saved himself. And now he’s in a better place. He has so much going for him. No one can look him in the eye now and tell him that he’s a screw up. So go ahead. Believe what you want to believe about him. He doesn’t have to prove anything to you. He just needed to prove to himself that he can be.” Betty gathered her things together.
“I’ll see you in class Veronica. And believe me when I say you can stop with the dagger looks. I was serious when I said that Logan and I are just friends. Jess, that’s my boyfriend, actually likes Logan and what’s more he trusts him. That’s why Logan was going mother hen on me. Jess trusts Logan to look after me when he’s not here to do it himself.” Betty got up from the chair and started to walk away only to turn around to face her again.
“Oh and Veronica. He still loves you. Fact is he always will. He may have saved himself, but you were the driving force behind it. He wants to feel that he deserves to be with you. Maybe it’s your turn to work on deserving him.”