Why
Title: Why
Author: Diane
Pairing/Characters: Logan/Veronica, Piz
Rating: Mature Rated (to be safe)
Disclaimer: I don’t own a thing!
Spoilers/Warnings: Set during the first half of Season 3. Logan and Veronica reunited as per the show in episode 3x10 but it veers off from there in that there’s no Madison so there was no subsequent break-up. Contains some swearing.
Summary: Pushing back her chair, Veronica got up and stared down at him. “How could I have been so wrong about you?” Grabbing her bag, she walked away without giving him a chance to respond.
Author’s Notes: This has been written for the Cliché Ficathon at vm_boardwalk. The cliché I used for this is posted at the end of the fic. I have to be honest and say that this isn’t anywhere near what I consider to be my best work and I apologise for that. A huge thank you goes to both Viv and Tes for reading over this for me and helping me feel a bit better about it. You girls are the best! *hugs*
Neither Piz nor Veronica come over very well in this fic so if you’re big fans of theirs, you may want to avoid reading this. Oh, also, just because Piz features in this, there's no Veronica/Piz. Just thought I'd better make it clear.
Feeling a shadow looming over her, Veronica glanced up from the newspaper she was reading in the college’s cafeteria and gasped at what she saw. “Piz! What the hell happened?” she asked as she got out of her seat so she could examine his bruised and battered face more closely.
Piz shrugged his shoulders and ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with her. “Nothing.”
“Nothing, huh? That definitely looks like something. Who did that to you? Have you reported it?”
“I told you, Veronica, it’s nothing. Just…just leave it, okay?”
She stared at him incredulously. “You’re seriously not going to do anything about this?”
Taking a seat in the chair opposite hers, he sat down gingerly, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Veronica.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” she asked, already knowing the answer to her question.
“Please, can you just stop with all the questions. I don’t want to talk about it… Let’s just say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and leave it at that.” There was a moment’s pause before he added, “Believe me, Veronica, you don’t want to know how this happened.” As the words dropped from his lips, he looked her straight in the eyes, giving her a pointed look.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Piz shrugged his shoulders again as he once again averted his eyes from her crystal blue gaze. “I’m going to get some coffee, do you want anything?”
“I want some answers…”
“So, no coffee?” Pushing his chair back noisily, he got up and walked towards the counter.
Returning to her seat, Veronica stared at his back and wondered what the hell had happened for him to have sustained those injuries. His left eye was sporting one hell of a shiner and he had some scrapes along his right cheek and just under his chin. And what did he mean by her not wanting to know how this happened? Did he not know her at all.
She was about to take a sip of her coffee when she suddenly saw Piz freeze as he made his way back to her table. He instantly did an about-turn and hurried out of the cafeteria, ignoring her as she stood up and called out his name. The voice that suddenly spoke to her from behind gave her an indication as to why Piz had changed his mind about sitting with her, although she was still puzzled about the look of…well, fear on his face as he’d stood frozen to the spot for a moment.
“Hey,” Logan said in a low voice before kissing her cheek and giving her hip a squeeze. “What’s with the frown?”
“Someone beat up Piz,” she told him, turning around to face him so she could see his reaction. He didn’t disappoint, barely trying to hide the smile that pulled at his lips.
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
“Logan!”
“What? The guy acts all sweet and innocent yet we both know he can’t wait for me to fuck up so you’ll dump my ass and he’ll be here to step right in.”
Veronica shook her head. “You’re unbelievable. He’s a friend and that’s all. Men and women can be friends without it having to be more than that.”
“I know that but I’m telling you, Veronica, the guy wants to be more than just your friend. Why don’t you ask Wallace or Mac and see what they think, huh?”
Releasing a heavy sigh, she said, “Look, it doesn’t matter if he does want to be more than my friend, I’m not interested in him that way.”
It was Logan’s turn to shake his head. “The more you hang around with him, the worse it’s going to get. Remember the night we went bowling? You know as well as I do that he thought it was just going to be the two of you and I’ll bet he thinks it’s just a matter of time before we break up again and he’ll be here to comfort you.”
“You know what? It’s too early in the morning to be having this conversation and I need to find Mac before my first class so I’ll see you later.” Pushing herself up onto her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and had already moved away before he could say anything else.
Logan stood and watched her walk away, a feeling of inexplicable dread suddenly washing over him.
* * * * *
Knocking on the door of Wallace and Piz’s dorm room later that day, Veronica impatiently waited for one of them to let her in.
“Who is it?” Piz’s voice called out.
Instead of answering him, she placed her hand on the door handle and turned it and, as she stepped into the room, she saw him lying on his bed, the covers pooled at his waist. “It’s just me,” she said, smiling at him as she walked further into the room. “I just wanted to--”
“Ask me more questions?” he interrupted.
“See how you were feeling,” she offered instead. “So, how are you?”
“I’m fine,” he said but the wince that accompanied his words told her otherwise.
“Yeah, ‘cause you really look it. Can I get you anything?”
“No thanks, I just want to lie here and try to get some sleep. Hopefully the painkillers I just took will kick in soon.”
Veronica looked at him closely, taking in the abrasions on his face. Her eyes lowered to his hands which were resting on his T-shirt covered stomach and she noticed that there were no marks evident which made her gasp.
“What’s the matter?”
“Didn’t you try to defend yourself when you were attacked?”
A strange look seemed to flash across his features for a split-second before it vanished just as quickly. “That’s kind of hard to do when someone’s holding your arms behind your back so that his buddy can beat the crap out of you,” he blurted out angrily.
Her eyes widened in horror at hearing his explanation. “Who did this to you, Piz? You can’t let these people get away with it… Can you live with yourself if they do it to someone else, injuring them even worse than what they’ve done to you?”
“I doubt they’d do it to anyone else since I’m pretty sure I was their intended target.” Seeing that she was about to say something else, he quickly added, “Look, I’m tired and I’m in pain and I just want to try and get some rest. I’ve already missed a couple of classes today and I don’t want to miss any tomorrow so if you don’t mind…”
“Fine, I’m going but this isn’t the end of it. I will find out who did this and--”
“In that case maybe you should speak to your boyfriend.”
Veronica stared at him in shock as she whispered, “What did you just say?”
“You heard me. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get some sleep.” Piz turned his back on her and Veronica knew she wasn’t going to get any more information out of him today.
Leaving his dorm room, she made her way outside almost in a daze as she contemplated Piz’s words. She remembered the smile Logan had worn as she had told him about what had happened to Piz and the words he’d uttered sent a chill through her now:
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
With a look of utter determination on her face, Veronica made her way out of the college and to find her wayward boyfriend.
* * * * *
Logan was just coming out of his bedroom when he saw the door to his hotel room open and his girlfriend walk in. He couldn’t help smiling at the fact she was using the keycard he’d presented her with and since they’d gotten back together, she was using it more often. True, Dick wasn’t too happy about her walking in whenever she felt like it but he knew when to keep his mouth shout. “I wasn’t expecting to see you toni--”
“Did you do it?” Veronica asked outright, the anger having grown stronger on the drive to the hotel the more she’d thought about Piz’s last words to her.
“Did I do what?”
“Don’t play games with me, Logan. You know what I’m talking about.”
“Unbelievable,” he muttered under his breath but loud enough for her hear. Walking over to the mini bar, he grabbed himself a bottle of water and unscrewed the lid. “Actually, I don’t know what you’re talking about so you’re going to have to be a bit more specific. What crimes am I being accused of this time?”
“Piz,” she answered.
“What about him?”
“Did you and your buddies beat him up?”
Raising the bottle to his lips, Logan took a long drink of the cool liquid before looking her straight in the eye and saying, “No.”
“Did you arrange for him to be beaten up?”
“Where the fuck is this coming from, Veronica?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Say please?” he quipped, although there was no trace of humour in his voice. When she glared at him, he glared right back and said, “Why should I? It’s obvious you’re not going to believe a word I have to say when it comes to your little boyfriend so what’s the point of bothering. Believe what you want to believe and get the hell out.”
Veronica followed him as he made his way towards his bedroom. “Just tell me why. Are you that insecure that you have to go around beating up guys who show an interest in me?”
“Yeah, that must be it. God, can you hear yourself?” Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, he looked at her standing just inside the doorway. “Did he tell you I beat him up?”
“Not in so many words,” she admitted.
“Okay, so what exactly did he say?”
“He didn’t want to tell me anything at first but then when I said I was going to find out who attacked him, he told me that I should speak to you which is why I’m here.”
“You’re accusing me, Veronica. Kind of a big difference between just speaking to me about it.”
“Can you blame me considering the way you were smiling when I told you what had happened to him this morning and then what you said to me afterwards?”
“Just because I don’t like the guy doesn’t mean I beat him up or arranged to have him beaten up. When did he say he was attacked anyway?”
Veronica opened her mouth to answer but then realised that she actually didn’t know. She guessed it must have been last night given how fresh his injuries appeared.
“Well?”
“I don’t know… He didn’t tell me when it happened.”
“That… That’s just great. You’re accusing me of something when you don’t even know the full details of when and where it happened. You’re just taking some vague statement from Piz and going all gung-ho on my ass. Why don’t you go back to him, get all the details and then go see Lamb and tell him to keep my cell warm for me if you’re so sure I’m responsible.”
As Logan ran his hands through his hair, Veronica took in every detail of them trying to find any cuts or bruises which would give credence to Piz’s statement that her boyfriend was somehow involved.
“What are you staring at?” he asked when he saw the intense way she was looking at him… No, wait, at his hands. Fucking unbelievable. She just wasn’t prepared to accept he had nothing to do with it. Holding them up in front of her face, he let her look closely at the unmarked skin. “There, satisfied now?”
“Piz said something held his arms behind his back while someone else punched him so that doesn’t mean anything, Logan.”
“Ah, I’m the coward who was pinning his arms back. Gotcha!”
His normally warm eyes were staring back at her with cold disdain and Veronica felt a shiver run through her but she forced herself to ignore it. She couldn’t let him get away with hurting someone who hadn’t done anything to warrant such a vicious attack. “What happened, Logan? If you just exp--”
“You know where the door is,” he told her as he turned his back on her and stared out of the window. “I’ve told you I had nothing to do with this but you refuse to believe me so why don’t you just go and work your little investigation magic and leave me alone.”
Releasing a loud sigh, she stood staring at his back for several long moments before she turned on her heel and walked out. Once outside in the fresh air, she pulled out her Sidekick and dialed her best friend’s number. Maybe he could fill in some details for her.
* * * * *
Thanks to Wallace, Veronica now knew that the attack on Piz had definitely happened last night. Her best friend had been working on a paper when the other boy had staggered into the dorm room they shared, his face and clothing covered in blood. Piz had been sketchy with the details and refused to let Wallace take him to the hospital to check nothing was broken or to call the campus police and report the incident.
Unfortunately, she still didn’t know where the attack had taken place. That is until she was in her Criminology class the following day and heard two students sitting behind her discussing a fight that had happened outside of a popular college hang-out not too far from campus.
What she was hearing, however, was making her frown. From what they were saying, it sounded like someone had been goading a group of guys, taunting and provoking them until they’d had enough and had retaliated. She was pretty sure the someone they were referring to was Piz but why would he be taunting them? He was such a peaceful person, seeming to shy away from confrontation so this piece of information had left her more than a little baffled.
Gathering up her notes at the end of her class and leaving the lecture room, Veronica saw Logan walking past and she felt her heart thump wildly in her chest. She was about to call out to him when she remembered they weren’t talking and her shoulders sagged dejectedly. Had Logan been one of the guys that Piz had deliberately been provoking in the bar and if so, exactly what had Piz been saying? She knew Logan had a quick temper but she had to admit he’d changed considerably from the hot-headed young man she had gone to high school with and she found it hard to believe that he would revert to that angry person, particularly attacking someone she considered a friend.
If you find it hard to believe, then why were you so quick to accuse him?” her inner voice asked.
Doing her best to ignore the question, at least for now, she headed for her next class.
* * * * *
Between her classes and working in the library, Veronica found little time to spend on her investigation into Piz’s attack. She’d been to the bar where the fight had happened but no one there was willing to help her and they claimed not to have CCTV cameras even though she could see them.
Her next step had been to try and track down the group of guys that had been in the bar that night but that was a bust, too. Piz was still refusing to give her any details and had clammed up with Wallace, obviously knowing he would pass on the information to his best friend.
With so little to go on, she decided to find out what Logan had been up to that night and go from there. They still weren’t talking so asking him outright where he’d been wasn’t going to work. She didn’t think he’d take too well to her asking him for an alibi. Knowing his schedule off by heart, she remembered he had a late Sociology class on the night in question so all she had to do was find someone who shared that class and have them confirm he was there that night. Usually she’d just ask Wallace but he’d already told her he had skipped class that night to catch up on an assignment which is the reason why he’d been in the dorm room when Piz had turned up all bloody and bruised.
Getting the names of a few of his and Logan’s fellow classmates from him, she managed to track them down and was now standing outside the dorm room of the first one on her list.
The sour taste in her mouth at what she was doing was overwhelming. What she was doing felt so wrong but she needed to know…she needed to know that her boyfriend wouldn’t and couldn’t do something so repugnant whatever the provocation may have been.
Taking a long, deep breath, Veronica raised her fist and knocked on the door which opened a few short moments later. A young brunette stood there, a smile gracing her pretty features. “Hi, Janine Lawrence?” When the young woman nodded, she continued, “You don’t know me but--”
“Veronica, right?”
Tilting her head to the side, she replied, “Uh, yes. How do you know my name?”
“You’re Logan’s girlfriend. I’ve seen you with him before, not to mention he talks about you so much I feel I know you already,” she said, laughing.
“He does?” For some reason, those words had her smiling, too.
“Uh huh. Do you want to come in?”
“Thanks,” she said, crossing the threshold.
“So, what can I do for you?”
Veronica bit her lip as she contemplated her words. “This is going to sound weird but, um, was Logan in class on Wednesday night?”
Janine nodded her head as she spoke. “Yeah, he definitely was. I wasn’t feeling well during the class so I left halfway through but he stayed and the next day let me photocopy his notes.” Walking over to her desk, she pulled out a binder and leafing through the loose leaf pages, she pulled a few out and handed them to Veronica.
The notes were definitely in Logan’s handwriting but it wasn’t conclusive proof since he could have borrowed the notes from someone else and copied them by hand. Even as she thought that, she knew she was looking for excuses. Logan hadn’t beaten Piz up. Hell, she’d put good money on him not having been anywhere near the bar that night. What on earth had she done?
“Are you okay, Veronica?”
Blinking away the tears that had suddenly formed, she gave the girl in front of her a somewhat shaky smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Would you do me a huge favour and not mention my visit here to Logan?”
“Sure, but I don’t get it.”
Heading for the door, she opened it but before she stepped out she said, “Let’s just say that Logan gives me too much credit when he talks about me and I don’t give him enough.”
“That’s kind of cryptic,” the other girl said.
“I know.”
* * * * *
Veronica wanted desperately to go and see Logan but she knew she had something else to do before she could put things right with him. He’d been right all along about Piz but she’d been too blind to see it. Even Wallace had pointed out that his roommate had a pretty big crush on her but she’d shrugged it off when she should have nipped it in the bud.
Confronting Piz wasn’t going to do any good. He hadn’t had to say much to have her doubting Logan and she knew he wasn’t suddenly going to reveal more information which she would be able to use to find out who had really attacked him and why.
No, her best course of action was to play it cool and act like things were still off between her and Logan, which they still were of course, and see if that provided her with anything.
She was currently sitting in Wallace’s desk chair flicking through a magazine while Piz lay on his bed, propped up against a pile of pillows while strumming his guitar.
“So, uh, I was thinking that maybe we could, you know, go and see a movie tonight?”
Veronica looked up from her magazine and seeing the hopeful look on Piz’s face, she knew he wasn’t referring to them just hanging out as friends. “You mean like a date?”
“Well, yeah.”
“You do realise I have a boyfriend, right?”
“Oh! I, uh, thought you’d dumped him because of what he did to me.”
“No, I didn’t dump him,” she corrected. She had no intention of dumping him not now she knew for sure he’d had nothing to do with the attack.
“So I went to all that trouble for nothing,” he mumbled but unfortunately, or fortunately where Veronica was concerned, he didn’t do it quietly enough.
“What did you just say? Did you set Logan up so that I’d break up with him?”
“Look, the guy’s a thug and you’re way too good to be with someone like him. God, his father was a murderer and I wouldn’t be surprised if Loga--”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Veronica warned. “He is absolutely nothing like his father and he never will be. And you’re wrong about me being too good for him. It’s the other way around.” She felt so sick as she looked into Piz’s eyes. How could she have gotten it so wrong again?
“Veronica--”
“Don’t!” she interrupted again. “I can’t believe I took one simple statement from you and believed it.”
“Because you knew what I said could’ve been true. I mean, look at what he did to Mercer and Moe.”
“Are you saying he was wrong?” she asked incredulously. “Those bastards were responsible for a string of rapes and they deserved every single thing Logan did to them. There, I’ve said it. Does that make me as bad as him?”
Piz shook his head. “No, of course not. But he has this… I don’t know, thirst for revenge. I heard about what he did to you in high school after Lilly Kane was murdered.”
“That was a long time ago,” she whispered as tears stung her eyes. “He’s more than made up for the things he did back then… Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about me. Why did you have to lie?”
“Why did you believe me?” he countered. “I never actually said Logan attacked me, Veronica; I just planted the seed and you did the rest. I guess what people say about your trust issues is true, huh?”
Pushing back her chair, Veronica got up and stared down at him. “How could I have been so wrong about you?” Grabbing her bag, she walked away without giving him a chance to respond.
* * * * *
Veronica couldn’t keep still as she stood outside of Logan’s hotel suite and waited for him to open it and, as she debated whether or not to use her keycard, the door suddenly opened and he stood in front of her. Her eyes met his warm, whiskey coloured ones and she could see the hurt clearly etched upon his face. Why did she keep doing this? Why was she always doubting him when he was one of the few people, along with her dad and her best friend, who she could truly count on.
“I-I’m sorry,” she said sincerely. “I was--”
“Wrong? Well, there’s a surprise.”
“I don’t blame you for being angry but--”
“But what? I bring these things on myself so what do I expect. Is that what you were going to say?”
“No…no, of course not.”
Logan sighed as he looked into the petite blonde’s eyes. “You’re so quick to judge me, Veronica. You’d think I’d be used to having you accuse me by now but it still stings. It still hurts that you think so poorly of me and won’t accept that I’m not the same guy who treated you so badly after Lilly died.”
“I know you’ve changed, Logan. I do but you hurt me once and--”
“And you’re waiting for me to do it again?” he interrupted.
Veronica’s face flushed with colour, her eyes looking down and staring intently at the carpeted floor as he guessed correctly. “I’m sorry,” she spoke almost in a whisper.
“I’m sorry, too,” he said tiredly. “How could you believe someone you barely know over me? You just stomped in here and accused me outright when you didn’t even have all the details anyway.
“I know and I-I’m so sorry. You’ve got to believe me.”
“Maybe… Maybe we need to face up and accept that we’re just never going to work. Maybe we just need to admit we’re…” his words trailed off as his eyes looked everywhere but at her.
“Admit we’re what?” she whispered.
“That we’re over.”
“What?” Her head shot up and she met his gaze. “No! No, I don’t want it to be over between us.”
“What’s the point of carrying on? It’s like a vicious circle with us. One minute we’re together and the next you’re accusing me of Neptune’s latest crime. We can’t keep doing this over and over again. I can’t keep doing this.”
“Can I come inside?” she asked, shifting from one foot to the other. For a moment, Veronica thought he was going to say no but then he took a couple of steps back and opened the door wider, allowing her to cross the threshold and enter the suite. “Thanks.”
“I meant what I said, Veronica; I can’t keep doing this,” he told her, making his way to the couch and sitting down. She followed and took a seat on the coffee table so she was directly in front of him.
“I can’t keep doing this either but I don’t want us to be over. I don’t want him to have won and--”
“So this is just to prove a point?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m doing this all wrong as usual,” she said, sighing loudly. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. “I love you, Logan. I love you so much it scares me sometimes because I…I’ve never really felt that before. Not this strongly.” Veronica watched Logan’s eyes widen with a combination of what she thought to be shock and surprise. Seeing the unasked question in his eyes, she smiled shyly. “You’re wondering about Duncan, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I did love him but it was a mistake to go back to him when I did. I needed closure though and I think he did, too and us getting back together then made sense. When I wasn’t with him though…you’re the one I thought about,” she confessed.
“You did?” Logan asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
Leaning forward, he cupped her face between his palms and looked into her beautiful blue eyes, searching them as if trying to make certain she was telling him the truth. Maybe he was just seeing what he desperately wanted to see there but, in that moment, he was sure he was witnessing the sincerity of her statement right there in her clear, azure gaze.
Veronica moaned into his mouth when their lips finally met and she twined her arms around his neck, bringing him in even closer to her. She yelped when he suddenly pulled her off the table she was sitting on and brought her onto his lap so she was straddling him, his thumbs hooking into the belt loops of her jeans so he could pull her into him even more closely.
“I love you, too,” he whispered against her throat several moments later when the need for air had become an issue and he’d broken the kiss. Closing his eyes, he reveled in the feel of her fingers running through his hair and he felt the sharp sting of tears prickling behind his eyelids. He couldn’t help feeling hopeful at the fact she was, for once, being open and honest with him about her feelings.
“I don’t want to lose you, Logan. I promise to try harder and--”
“How about we talk about this tomorrow? I don’t know about you but I haven’t exactly been sleeping well this past few days.”
Nodding her head, Veronica pressed a kiss to his lips before sliding off of his lap. “Yeah, it’s getting late so I guess I should go.”
“You’re not staying?”
Blushing, she ducked her head before looking into his face again. “I, uh, wasn’t sure if you wanted me to.”
Getting up from the couch, Logan stood in front of her and took her hands into his. “Of course I do,” he whispered huskily. “What about your dad though? Won’t he be expecting you home?”
“He’s away for a couple of days chasing a bail jumper,” she informed him, her smile much broader now that she knew he wanted her to stay.
He smirked at her and releasing her hands, he wrapped them around her waist and started walking her backwards towards his bedroom. “That’s handy.”
“Mmm, isn’t it?”
Once they’d arrived at his bedroom door, Logan paused before entering it, his tone becoming serious as he spoke. “We still have a lot to talk about and--”
“And we will, I promise. Things are going to be different, Logan, they have to be because I meant it when I said I don’t want to lose you.”
He nodded his head slowly as his eyes took in every inch of her. Lowering his head to hers, he captured her lips and kissed her hard and deep, pouring into it every little bit of love and affection he felt for her.
When the kiss eventually ended, he opened his bedroom door and smiled warmly at her as he danced her through it. Just a few short moments later the sounds of their reunion echoed around the suite and as the young couple reveled in the feel of being with each other again, they both knew that what had happened these past few days had strengthened their relationship and, if anything, had managed to bring them closer than ever. They still had a lot to talk about but at least it was a start and something and something to build upon.
Fin
Out of the five clichés I was given, this is the one I used: The honest loving boyfriend of the heroine being blamed for something he didn't do, yet still takes her back when she comes to him.