Fic Title: Almost Like A Country Song 3/?
Author: Brandee
Pairings: Veronica/Troy, Logan/Veronica, Logan/Parker, Wallace/OCC
Word Count:7,442
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: S3, know that Parker and Logan dated kinda goes AU after that..
Summary: She once cared about the boy she thought he was, but now can she fall for the man he really is?
Disclaimer: Mine? Nope!!
Warnings: None really, unless you hate Troy, because there's alot of Troy in here!
A/N:For those wondering my intentions with this fic as far as pairings here's a link to a more in depth Author's Note. This fic will be heavy in the Wallace/Veronica friendship, because I *heart* them bunches and muches! A huge thank you to my amazingly awesome beta katjs11 she totally rules!!!



Chapter One,
Chapter Two






Veronica took a bite of her bagel and stared over at her friend. “Mac, is there a reason you offered to buy me breakfast this morning?”

Mac’s eyes sparkled. “I’m a good friend, really, no need to thank me.”

“Try again?”

“I will not give in to the temptation of girl talk,” Mac chastened herself with a smirk.

“C’mon you know you want to, and afterwards we can paint our nails pink and shop for matching sweaters!” Veronica clapped, smiling brightly.

“Parker said you were eating lunch with Troy Vandegraff yesterday. I hate myself for being curious, but sadly I am.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “I was with Wallace the other night at the movies and we ran into Troy and his cousin. Wallace hit it off with his cousin, Layla, and I was forced to hang out with them all night. So yesterday at lunch Troy showed up at my table and decided to be a thorn in my side.”

“Interesting…”

“What’s worse is that I have to hang out with him tonight,” Veronica groaned. “Layla thought it’d be fun for the four of us to go out, since she’s apparently shy.”

“Wait, you have a date with Troy tonight?” Mac chuckled. “Oh this is good.”

“It’s not a date! It’s a favor for a friend, and I can assure you I won’t enjoy it.”

“Unless you do, not that you’ll admit it or anything,” Mac joked.

Veronica frowned. “I don’t think it’s possible for me to have a good time with Troy Vandegraff. This is a one time only deal, and after that I wash my hands of Troy for good.”

“Hey, I’m in total agreement with you,” Mac nodded. “From what you’ve told me about Troy, and what I remember from high school, he’s bad news.”

“Yeah, he is,” Veronica agreed.

“But, and correct me if I’m wrong here, Logan made your life miserable and you still dated him…”

“Different situations all together,” Veronica spoke firmly.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Mac spoke, taking a sip of her drink.

“I’m just happy to see Wallace happy again. Jackie really shook him up, so if I have to hang out with Troy for one night to help him get the girl, I’m willing to do it.”

“You’re such a noble person, Veronica Mars,” Mac joked with a smirk.

“Yes, yes I am,” Veronica spoke with a tiny smile. “So Parker told you about Troy?”

Mac nodded, “I guess she was just curious about him. She thought you two made a cute couple.”

Veronica wrinkled her nose and frowned. “I hope you set her straight on all things related to Troy Vandegraff.”

“I did indeed,” Mac nodded.

“Now my turn, you and Bronson? How’s that going?”

“I like him very much, thank you,” Mac smiled.

“And the fact that he’s kind of adorable doesn’t hurt?”

“Not really, no,” Mac blushed.

Veronica shook her head in amusement and smiled brightly at her friend. “Good, so now that we’ve got the major gossip out of the way, ready to go pick out those sweaters?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting my whole life for an invite like that,” Mac nodded, trying to hide her smile.

“See, I think somewhere in that genius-like mind of yours, there’s a girly girl just dying to come out,” Veronica teased.

“So where are you going on your big date tonight?” Mac asked, smiling brightly as she changed the subject.

“Why do you insist upon calling my favor to Wallace a date?”

“Because it’s fun,” Mac spoke with a cheeky smirk.

“And with that I’ll be leaving you to your evil thoughts,” Veronica spoke, standing from her seat.

“Fine, but I expect a full report about your date tomorrow,” Mac laughed.

“Actually, if Troy is the same person I remember, I’m sure it’ll end up on the six o’clock news anyway,” Veronica shrugged as she turned to go.

“Hey Veronica?” Mac called after her friend. “I better not hear about you driving the get away car!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The carnival? You’re dragging me to the carnival?” Veronica questioned as Wallace pulled up in the large parking lot.

“Stop your complaining woman,” he joked. “Layla suggested it and I thought it’d be fun!”

“I didn’t even know the carnival was in town!”

“Maybe you should pay attention to what’s going on around you,” Wallace suggested as they got out of the car. “Layla said they’d be waiting for us. So tell me Super Fly, how do I look?”

“Words can’t describe your hotness, Fennel. Seriously, I can barely keep my hands off you,” Veronica teased.

“Well you’re going to have to try, because tonight I’m all Layla’s,” Wallace winked.

“And how do I look?” Veronica questioned with a grin. She had dressed as plain as possible, hoping that maybe Troy would leave her alone.

“You look like you just got out of bed and tossed on whatever you found in the floor,” Wallace shrugged.

“So I’m not winning any beauty pageants tonight?” Veronica questioned.

“Well, if you’re trying to ward off Troy, I would have picked a pair of jeans that wasn’t so tight,” Wallace smirked.

Veronica’s mouth gapped open. “Wallace, are you checking my out?”

“Me? You must be jokin’, V! You’re my bunk bed sharing sister, remember?”

Veronica nodded her head and smiled. Ahead of her, she saw Layla waving at Wallace and Troy not far behind. Veronica studied Troy’s cousin for a moment and realized she slightly reminded her of Meg Manning. Maybe it was her smile, or the sparkle in her eyes, but Veronica couldn’t help but hope that Layla had better luck in life than poor Meg had.

“V, look at that girl, tell me God didn’t break the mold with that one,” Wallace smirked.

“Let’s take this slow Romeo,” Veronica spoke, patting Wallace on the arm.

Wallace rolled his eyes at Veronica as they walked toward Layla and Troy. Veronica saw Troy smile at her, and she managed to force a smile his way. She just had to remind herself she was doing this for Wallace, because if she didn’t she would most likely hurt Troy before nights end.

“Girl, you look amazing,” Wallace spoke as he rushed over to Layla. The tall blonde blushed slightly at the remark but couldn’t hide her smile.

“Thanks! You look pretty good yourself,” she noted. “I’m so glad we decided to come to the carnival tonight! It’s been so long since I’ve been to one!”

“Veronica Mars, we meet again,” Troy spoke up with a sly grin.

“And this time I even brought my trusty taser. Want to meet her?” Veronica questioned, smiling brightly.

“So would this be a bad time to tell you how incredibly hot you look tonight?”

“And here I thought dressing down might deflect your advances,” Veronica spoke with a fake frown.

“Obviously you’ve forgotten that I love a girl that can work it with a ponytail, a simple tee and jeans,” Troy smirked.

“And you’ve obviously forgotten that I’m immune to your flirtatious ways,” Veronica noted.

“This is going to be a long, freaking night,” Wallace observed shaking his head in disbelief.

“They’re like kids in a sandbox, huh?” Layla questioned with a grin.

“Yeah, and trust me, V will be tossing sand in his eyes before the night’s over,” Wallace sighed.

“After Troy pulls her ponytail?” Layla giggled.

“You know I don’t have to stay here and take this abuse,” Veronica spoke glaring at Wallace.

“Oh yes, yes you do,” Wallace smiled back at her. “I believe you made me a promise, and you can’t back out now.”

“Darn BFF loyalties,” Veronica spoke, stomping her foot teasingly.

“Hey, if I’m that horrible for you to be around,” Troy frowned, “I’ll be glad to find someone else to enjoy the night with.”

Veronica was about to speak when Wallace tossed her a warning look. Forcing a smile, she shrugged her shoulders, “I guess you clean up nicely and it’s just one night…”

“Clean up nicely? That’s the best you can come up with?” Troy chuckled. “Would one compliment kill you?”

“Possibly, but I suppose I could try,” Veronica sighed staring at Troy for a moment. “Okay I got one,” she spoke with a smile. “I like your shirt. That shade of green is actually really nice.”

“You forgot to mention that this particular shade of green also brings out my eyes, but we’ll let it slide this time,” Troy spoke, his tone matter of fact.

“Veronica, you’ll have to forgive my cousin. He doesn’t mean to be an idiot, he just doesn’t know any better,” Layla smiled.

“Hey!” Troy called out to his cousin.

“Well if I had known you were going to act like a five year old child, I would have left your butt at home,” Layla shrugged.

“Wow, a Vandegraff that I actually like,” Veronica spoke, smiling over at Layla. “I would never imagined.”

“Have we all forgotten the time in your life when you liked me?” Troy spoke with a pouty huff.

“I liked a version of you. Tell me which version was that again?”

“The misguided idiot. He’s long gone now, I promise.”

Veronica rolled her eyes as carnival music started to fill her ears. There were so many things she wanted to say to Troy, and yet at the same time, part of her never wanted to speak to him again. There was something about the way he had used her, that she just couldn’t get past. Maybe it was the simple fact that she had attempted to trust him at a time in her life when she trusted no one, that bothered her so badly. All she knew was, when she looked at Troy she remembered how easily he could fool someone into believing his lies and she had no intentions of letting him hurt her again.

“So what do you girls want first? Games? Food? Or you wanna try the rides out?” Wallace questioned.

“You just lead the way,” Veronica spoke to her best friend.

“Okay, but you two kids try to get along, would ya? That means no biting, scratching, or hair pulling.”

“Funny, that’s always a sign that I am getting along with a girl,” Troy smirked.

“Hey now,” Wallace warned. “V’s got her taser fully charged, don’t make her use it.”

“See, that’s why he’s my best friend,” Veronica grinned.

“I’ll be a perfect gentleman,” Troy spoke with a tiny smile. “I promise.”

“And your promises are worth what exactly?” Veronica questioned with a frown.

“Let’s just go try to have some fun, can you two do that?” Wallace groaned.

“Yeah,” Veronica nodded, seeing the frown on Wallace’s face,” I can try.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~

“Wouldn’t a movie be more fun? Or bowling, you love bowling!” Logan whined as his girlfriend pulled him toward a cotton candy stand.

“You said we would do whatever I wanted tonight, and this is it,” Parker smiled. “Now let’s get our cotton candy and go find Mac and Bronson.”

“Mac doesn’t want to be here either, you know. We’re both here against are will.”

“You could have always said no,” Parker reasoned.

“And you would have pouted until I finally caved,” Logan smiled. “It was much easier this way.”

“I don’t understand why you and Mac can’t at least try to have a good time!”

Logan shook his head, “Mac has her reasons, I’m sure,” he frowned.

Logan saw the confused look that came over Parker’s face and he dropped his head. He didn’t want to tell her that as far as he knew, the last carnival Mac had been too had been with Cassidy. He also didn’t want his girlfriend to know that at the same carnival he set a plan in motion to use a perfectly innocent girl. It had been an act of desperation, and he wasn’t sure Parker would understand.

“Back home I always loved to go to things like this! My friends and I would go every year.”

“And you’d let all the cute boys buy you pretty things when you got there?” Logan teased.

“I could buy my own pretty things thank you very much,” Parker smiled. “I did get the occasional stuffed animal won for me though,” she winked.

“I’m sure you did,” Logan laughed.

“So what do you say? Think you could win one of those bears over there?” Parker questioned, pointing to a ring toss game beside them.

Logan stared over at the prize bears hanging on the shelves. He could make out several bears holding hearts that read, ‘I love you beary much’. He shook his head, fighting back the memories that came into his mind.

Turning back to Parker he frowned. “I thought you wanted to go find Mac?”

“Yeah, but we have time.”

“Ring toss isn’t my thing,” Logan spoke. “I’d rather try my hand at that dart game we saw when we came in.”

Parker nodded and smiled. “I’m really glad you agreed to come tonight! We’re going to have a total blast, wait and see!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Okay, so we were in the semi-finals, and I had the ball right? There’s like a few seconds left on the clock and all I had to do was make it down the court and score. So I go running down the court and somehow I trip over my own feet, and next thing I know, I’m falling to the floor!”

Wallace laughed as Layla told her story. “I take it you didn’t win the game?”

“We lost, and it was my fault,” Layla laughed. “I was known all year as the freshman that kept the team from winning state! You can bet I didn’t let that happen again!”

“Hey, could have been worse. Could have happened your senior year,” Wallace joked.

“Senior year we won state, thank you very much,” Layla grinned brightly.

“So why are you not on a basketball scholarship?” Wallace asked, looking behind him to see that Veronica and Troy were following quietly.

“I wanted to concentrate on school, and honestly, I really wanted to get to know my dad.”

“Yeah, because he’s much nicer than mine!” Troy piped up. “I’ve offered to trade with her many times.”

“T, did you ever think that your dad might have been nicer if you hadn’t, I don’t know, broke the law all the time?” Layla questioned.

“Actually, that was just me acting out,” Troy shrugged. “According to the first two therapists dad fired, I was rebelling against his high expectations.”

Wallace shook his head at the cousin’s and looked over at Veronica. “V, you okay? You’re being unusually quite.”

Veronica nodded her head, “Wallace are you saying I usually talk too much?”

“Well you can be kind of gabby at times,” Wallace teased as they walked toward a ring toss game.

“Wait, so how did you two meet anyway?” Layla asked.

Wallace eyed Veronica and frowned. He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell the girl by his side that he became friends with Veronica after she cut his naked self down from a flag pole.

“I helped Wallace out of a sticky situation his first week at Neptune,” Veronica spoke, tossing a smile toward Wallace. “We’ve been BFF’s every since!”

“My mom even dated V’s dad for a little while. Now that was a little disturbing,” Wallace added.

Wallace watched as Layla laughed at the comment and he couldn’t help but smile. It was only their first date, but he thought he might actually like this girl. After Jackie, he had been reluctant to think about really dating anyone. Sure, he had gone out on dates, but there had never been any real expectations. This girl, however, had a charm about her. As long as she wasn’t hiding any secret children from him, or any other dastardly deeds, he honestly thought that maybe something could come of this.

“Oh look over there, a basketball throw game,” Layla spoke, pointing with a bright smile. “What do you say, Wallace? Think you can beat me?”

“Girl, just because you’re hot doesn’t mean I’m going to have mercy on you, you know that right?”

“Mercy? You’ve never saw my skills!” Layla bragged.

“You guys knock yourselves out,” Veroncia smiled. “I heard a popcorn stand calling my name a few games back.”

“I’ll go with you,” Troy offered. “I could use something to drink.”

Wallace saw Veronica’s eyes open wide and he couldn’t help but smirk. It was obvious the girl wanted nothing more than to run far away from Troy Vandegraff. He still wasn’t sure why she was willing to do the double date thing in the first place. Apparently, she was finally starting to take her BFF duties seriously.

“Great, maybe we can talk about all the things I’ve missed about you,” Veronica spoke with a fake smile. “Wait, I’ve got nothing.”

Troy shook his head in amusement, “I think I can come up with a few things.”

”I’m really starting to regret this idea,” Layla whispered to Wallace.

“It’s okay,” Wallace spoke giving her a comforting smile, “Veronica’s actually in a good mood tonight.”

“Wow,’ Layla grimaced, “I don’t think I want to see her when she’s in a bad mood.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The walk to the popcorn stand seemed to go on forever for Troy. Maybe it was the utter silence between him and Veronica, or the fact that she would glare at him every time he got into her ‘personal space’. Whatever the reason, he was starting to wonder why he had agreed to come on this fake double date in the first place.

When they finally got to the stand, Veronica smiled at the guy behind the counter. “I’ll take a small popcorn please.”

“And for your boyfriend?”

“Oh nothing for me,” Troy offered, chuckling a bit at the comment.

“And he’s not my boyfriend,” Veronica spoke gently to the vendor before sending a glare Troy’s way.

“Not anymore,” Troy frowned.

“Oh,” the man stuttered. “I hope you kids can work things out,” he added as he handed Veronica her popcorn.

Troy watched as Veronica paid for her popcorn and frowned. “I would have paid for that you know.”

“Yes, and then you would have called this a date,” Veronica pointed out.

“Oh, I assure you everyone in this park knows this is not a date,” Troy spoke, crossing his arms. “I’m pretty sure I even saw that fact on a billboard as I was coming in.”

“A billboard, I really should have thought of that,” Veronica spoke, stomping her foot as if she was disappointed in herself.

“Seriously Veronica, why are you here? I mean really?”

Veronica turned and stared at him. “I told you, I’m doing it for Wallace.”

“Because you’re suddenly the world's greatest friend ?”

“Yes Troy, that's the reason. Anything else you want to know?”

“No, I guess not,” he frowned.

“Look, I owe Wallace a life time of favors. So here I am, helping him out.”

“Well spending a few hours with me should pay him back at least half of that right?”

He saw Veronica smirk and then shake her head, “I suppose it might be a start.”

“Well if you want, I could just leave. I’ll even make up some excuse and make it easy on you,” Troy offered.

“So Wallace can accuse me of running you off? No thanks,” Veronica spoke bluntly. “It’s not the end of the world, one night with you.”

There was a part of Troy that knew he should just turn and walk away. No matter what his past sins were, he didn’t deserve Veronica’s verbal assault. At the same time, he knew what he had done to her, and he understood where she was coming from. Still, he was crazy for staying, yet he couldn’t help himself. There was something about Veronica Mars that made people want to stay, or come back. Usually come back. Duncan and Logan had both come back because there was a spark in the petite blonde that drew people to her. There was a smile, a wry grin, that made guys find their way back in to her world, even when they tried to walk away. So now he was back, like an idiot maybe, standing in front of her listening to her sarcastic remarks.

“You know, if you want you can do another background check on me,” he remarked. “I promise you won’t even find a speeding ticket.”

“Oh, so you’ve gotten better at hiding your crimes. Nice!” Veronica spoke with a wide-eyed grin.

“Let me see if I have this straight. In your world, people don’t change?” He questioned. “They can’t realize their mistakes and become better people?” Troy questioned, stopping suddenly.

Veronica stopped with him and stared at him for a moment, “I don’t think you’re evil anymore. There, did that help?”

Troy laughed, “I was never evil. Screwed up and misguided, yes, devious and conniving maybe, but evil? Come on Veronica…”

“So you’re changing, that’s great Troy! Maybe that means you won’t play another girl like you tried to do to me,” Veronica spoke, her voice filled with bitterness even though she wore a fake smile.

“What happened to us at least being acquaintances? Isn’t that what you said after you cleared me last year?”

Troy saw hesitation in Veronica’s eyes as she lowered her head. “I think we need to catch up with Wallace and Layla. Those two crazy kids may be half way to Vegas by now.”

“I doubt it, Layla’s not going to leave that basketball throw without a fight,” Troy smiled.

“Yeah, Wallace could play all night,” Veronica agreed.

“So what are the chances you’d be willing to attempt to play some of these childish carnival games with a guy like me?”

“Do I look like someone who would enjoy these games?” Veronica asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Actually you look kind of adorable right now, but I should have known you wouldn’t be willing to at least try to have a good time…”

With a tiny huff, Veronica popped a couple more kernels of popcorn in her mouth. “I’m going to win you know that right?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Please, these games are simple,” Veronica smiled.

“Oh really? Most of it just takes luck,” Troy answered back.

“And skill,” Veronica spoke as they weaved past a happy couple holding hands.

“Skill, huh? So does all that PI stuff you do give you skill?” Troy challenged.

“That’s confidential,” Veronica spoke with a little shrug.

“See Veronica, you do know how to play nice,” Troy laughed grabbing a hand full of popcorn out of her bag. “Now come on, I’ll buy us some drinks.”

“I can….”

“Buy your own drink, yeah I got it the first time,” Troy spoke. “It’s a soda, Veronica, or a slushy if you’d prefer, but I’m buying.”

“Just don’t make me regret this,” Veronica spoke, rolling her eyes.

Troy was about to defend himself again, but stopped when Veronica gave him a crooked grin. If Veronica could forgive Logan and Duncan for their misdeeds there was always a chance she could forgive him, too. He knew it was a long shot, but he’d like to at least be friends with Veronica, and maybe, a little more than that in time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Five…Four…Three…Two…One,” Wallace chanted clapping his hands together as Layla tried desperately to make another basket before time ran out. “I think we know the score here, don’t we? Wallace Fennel wins by two!”

Layla let out a huff as she looked at her score and then moved a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think I did pretty well considering I haven’t played in awhile.”

“Oh so now she’s going to throw me excuses?” Wallace grinned. “I got the most baskets, which I believe makes me the winner!”

“There’s always next time,” Layla challenged with a laugh.

“Next time, huh?” Wallace smiled hopefully.

“What? You think I’m going to let this go without a rematch? Ain’t no way,” Layla chuckled.

“Have I mentioned that I love that accent? Because I do,” Wallace winked.

“Always the sweet talker, huh Wallace?” Layla questioned. “Tell me, were the girls on the playground fighting for your attention in kindergarten?”

“Well they did like to share their juice boxes with me,” he spoke with a tiny grin.

“I’m sure.”

“Oh and you never had boys pulling your ponytail in the lunch line?” Wallace questioned.

“I was very shy when I was younger actually,” Layla spoke. “Boys didn’t really see me, I don’t think.”

“Oh, I seriously doubt that,” Wallace smiled.

“Honestly when I was little I read all the time! I never did sleepovers or anything like that. I just wasn’t a people person,” Layla sighed.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was totally shy! I only had a couple friends I would actually talk to. If my step dad hadn’t suggested sports to me, I’d probably still be hiding in a corner somewhere!”

“Well, I’m glad he got you into sports then.”

“Even if I do plan on kickin’ your butt on the court someday?” Layla giggled.

“You better get to practicing then, ‘cause I got skills girl.” Wallace joked.

“I don’t doubt that,” Layla teased with a tiny grin.

Wallace shook his head in amusement as they maneuvered through the crowds. “I could really so for some ice cream, how about you?”

“Now how many girls do you know that would turn down ice cream?” Layla questioned.

It was official, Wallace really liked this girl. He knew it was a first date, but so far, it seemed to be going great. She loved sports, but he could tell she had a girly side too. There was something about her that he connected with, and he honestly didn’t think she was hiding any children back in Mississippi.

“What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” Wallace questioned.

“Strawberry,” Layla spoke as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know it sounds boring, but I love homemade strawberry ice cream. What about you?”

“I’m a fan of chocolate chip cookie dough,” Wallace laughed. “Veronica got me hooked on it.”

“You’re a good friend to Veronica. She’s lucky to have you in her life.”

Wallace smiled, “I’m glad she’s in my life. The girl’s been through a lot, I don’t know how she’s come out of it so well.”

“Friends like you maybe?”

“Nah, I think it’s just determination. No matter what knocks that girl down, she just stands right back up.”

“Do you think she’ll ever forgive Troy?” Layla questioned with a frown.

Wallace shrugged his shoulders, “V’s gotta see a major change in someone to even think about forgiveness. The dude did her wrong at a time when trusting didn’t come easy.”

“He’s changed you know,” Layla sighed. “I mean I don’t blame Veronica if she doesn’t believe it, but he really has. Took me awhile to believe it myself, after everything he pulled I wasn’t sure, but since I’ve been living with him, I can see the change in him.”

“So what’s it like living in a the beach house?” Wallace asked. “It’s got to be better than the dorms.”

“Yeah, I lived in the dorms my first semester here,” Layla agreed. “It was cool, but then when Troy decided to start, his dad offered to buy him the beach house and it’s so much better!”

“His dad just bought him a beach house?” Wallace laughed. “This is the guy that’s always complaining that his dad is mean to him?”

“He’s strict, but he’s not terrible. Troy’s been doing so good lately, that his parents thought it’d be a nice gift. Trust me, if he screws up once though, his father will have no problem selling the place.”

“Enough about Troy,” Wallace smiled as they walked over to the ice cream stand. “I want to hear more about you. What was it like growing up in Mississippi?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is it weird that my boyfriend is on the rollercoaster with your girlfriend?” Mac questioned as she joined Logan on a bench.

“More than likely, but since when has that ever mattered?” Logan smirked.

“Bronson won me a stuff dog,” Mac spoke, sticking a black and brown stuffed English bulldog out. “Apparently it’s what normal boyfriends do for their girlfriends.”

Logan shook his head in amusement at Mac. “Bronson does seem like a nice normal guy…”

“Yeah, he does,” Mac nodded. “Parker is normal too, you know, in a perky, talkative kind of way.”

“Yeah she is,” Logan spoke with a smile. “Do you think they’ve realize how not normal we are yet?”

Mac let out a nervous laugh. “Logan Echolls are you saying that I’m not normal?”

“Oh? So I’m the only one that has never had a normal relationship?”

“Just because my first real relationship landed me in therapy, I’m suddenly branded as abnormal?”

“Hey, who am I to judge? My last girlfriend is a teenage PI who solves murder mysteries in her sleep.”

“As I recall you helped on a few of those cases.”

“As did you.”

“Good times.”

“Absolutely.”

“Think we shared enough for one night?” Mac questioned bluntly.

“More than enough,” Logan nodded with a laugh.

“Good, because this was becoming very awkward.”

“Oh it went past awkward right after you stuck the stuffed dog in my face,” Logan teased. He watched as Mac rolled her eyes at him and then he let out a laugh. “Speaking of my former girlfriend the PI, I hear she’s got a date with Troy Vandegraff.”

Mac eyed him and shrugged, “I’m pretty sure it’s not a date.”

“But she is going to go out with the guy?”

“She’s helping Wallace out.”

“By going out with a guy she can’t stand?” Logan questioned with a frown. “I mean she can’t stand him right?”

“Total loathing on her part.”

“Right because after what he pulled with her….”

“We’re heading back into awkward territory again Echolls,” Mac warned just as her cell phone rang out. “Saved by the phone,” she smiled as she stood. “I’ll be right back, you know, in case anyone cares.”

“And I’ll be right here longing for your return,” Logan winked.

Mac shook her head in amusement as she answered her phone and walked a small distance away.

With a sigh Logan stood, his eyes once again catching the ring toss game he had refused to play with Parker. He walked over to it and stared for a moment at the bear hanging in the booth. He never realized Love you Beary Much bears existed until now.

“Come here often?”

Logan turned his head, recognizing the voice right away. “Best cotton candy around they say,” he smiled.

Veronica smiled back at him and he saw her eyes go to the bear. “Parker here too?”

“She’s riding the rollercoaster with Bronson,” Logan nodded.

“And Mac is where exactly?”

“Phone call,” Logan shrugged. “She’s right over there,” he pointed. “I think she was babbling some sort of computer nonsense when she walked away.”

“I see.”

“And you’re here with?”

“Me, myself and I,” Veronica spoke, stuffing her hands in her pockets. “Okay, so Wallace might be here, and you know the Vandegraff cousins.”

“You’re here with Troy,” Logan noted letting the words slip out slowly. “So how long did it take you to get rid of him? Wait, he’s not unconscious somewhere is he? Mars tell me you didn’t get taser happy again.”

“He went to find an ice cream stand, and I decided to look for Wallace and Layla. Or, you know the getaway car, which ever comes first.”

Logan let out a tiny laugh and looked back up at the stuffed bear. “I didn’t know they actually made those.”

Veronica nodded her head and stared up at the bear. He could see in her eyes that she remembered the talk they had on his couch so long ago. “Yeah, me either.”

“You know I think I still owe you one.”

“Logan, we were only joking back then.”

“Yeah, but I still promised you one right?”

“When we were dating, but we’re not dating anymore,” she shrugged.

“No, but we’re still friends,” he spoke as he got in line. “Besides, it’s too ironic to pass up.”

With a smile he handed the man behind the booth money causing Veronica to let out a deep sigh.

“I’d like to win the ‘Beary Much’ bear for the little lady,” Logan smiled brightly.

“Logan…”

Logan shrugged his shoulders at Veronica and went back to the game at hand. He couldn’t help but at least try and win Veronica the stuffed bear. It was part of their past, a past that he would never forget. The sneaking around they had done at the time had almost made him feel like a normal teenager. It was a time when giggles and kisses in a girl’s bathroom were the most normal things in his life.

With a smile Logan tossed the final yellow ring, winning Veronica the bear he had promised her years before.

“I believe this belongs to you,” he spoke, handing her the brown bear.

Veronica took the bear in her hands and observed it carefully. “I’ll treasure it forever,” she remarked with a smirk.

“You should. Ring toss isn’t my best game, you know.”

“Veronica, hey!” Mac called as she walked back up with a smile.

“Macky!” Veronica grinned brightly.

“I thought you were suppose to be on your not date with Troy tonight?”

“I am,” Veronica nodded. “He’s here, somewhere.”

“You’re hiding from him aren’t you?” Mac smirked.

“Me? Of course not!” Veronica spoke, feigning shock.

“Just as long as I don’t know where you hid the body, we’re good,” Mac smiled.

“You’ve been spending way too much time with Logan,” Veronica huffed.

“She just won’t leave me alone,” Logan joked. “I keep telling her we need our space, but she just won’t listen.”

Mac rolled her eyes and stared at the stuffed bear in Veronica’s arms. “Troy win you that?”

Logan eyed Veronica as she loosen her grasp on the bear. “I won it for myself,” she smiled. “Logan here didn’t think I had what it took to win it, so of course I had to prove him wrong.”

“And prove me wrong she did,” Logan nodded.

“If you say so,” Mac shrugged looking past them. “Looks like Parker and Bronson are done with the rollercoaster.”

Logan turned his head to see his girlfriend waving at him as she and Bronson worked their way toward them. He looked back at Veronica and at the bear in her arms she had lied to Mac about moments before and sighed. He really hoped winning Veronica the bear wouldn’t turn out to be a mistake.

“You know this feels like a television show somehow,” she laughed gently.

“How so?” Logan questioned.

“You know those shows where the whole cast ends up at the same place at the same time, even though it makes no sense? It kind of feels like that right now.”

Logan laughed at the comment just as he felt two arms encircle him from behind. He could smell Parker’s perfume and he smiled gently at her touch.

“Veronica hey!” Parker chirped. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Yeah, I came with Wallace and a couple people he knows.”

“That guy from the cafeteria? Troy?” Parker questioned.

“Yeah,” Veronica replied flatly. “He’s one of them.”

“It’s Veronica’s favor to Wallace,” Logan spoke gruffly.

Veronica nodded her head. “I’d say he owes me now,” she laughed.

Logan could sense that Veronica was uncomfortable by the look on her face. He was sure she’d rather be anywhere than where she was right now. She held the bear loosely in her hand as she looked around carefully.

Logan looked to his right to see Troy shuffling through the crowd holding some sort of stuffed animal in his hands, Wallace and a cute blonde behind him laughing and talking.

“Looks like your group is looking for you,” he commented pointing toward Troy.

“Looks that way,” Veronica noted.

“Ooh is that Wallace’s new girlfriend?” Parker questioned. “She’s pretty!”

“America’s Next Top Model hot if you ask Wallace,” Veronica joked.

“I totally see it!” Parker nodded.

“Veronica Mars, did you think you could ditch us and get away with it?” Wallace called out as he made his way to Veronica’s side. “I see how it’s gonna be.”

“I found these two while I was getting ice cream,” Troy spoke with a smile holding on to a black and white stuffed pony.

“So you just ran off, huh Mars?” Wallace asked with a smirk. “Is that anyway to be?”

“I wasn’t running off, I was looking for you two. Troy just found you first apparently,” Veronica shrugged. “Decide to win yourself a prize Troy?” She added with a frown.

“Actually Miss Mars, I won this pony for you. I do believe you used to say the one thing you wanted in the world was a pony. I saw this one and had to at least try for it.”

Logan hear sincerity in Troy’s words as he smiled brightly down at the prize he had won. When Logan looked over at Veronica, he saw a mix of shock and confusion.

“I’m touched,” Veronica spoke as Troy stuck the stuffed pony out in front of him to show her.

“Did Troy win you that bear too?” Parker questioned. “That is just so sweet.”

Logan stiffened as he locked eyes with Veronica. With a shrug she smiled up at Parker, “I won the bear for myself.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Parker smiled.

“So V, you ready to get out of this place? Maybe go grab a decent meal?” Wallace asked.

“We even decided you could pick the place,” Troy smiled. “How awesome are we?”

“There are no words,” Veronica answered back causing Logan to smirk slightly. “Actually I kind of wanted to get home. Thought I might get some studying done.”

“Oh the weekend?” Parker questioned.

“Yeah, you can never study enough,” Veronica sighed.

“Hey that’s cool,” Troy spoke up. “If Layla and Wallace want to go eat, I can give you a ride home. I actually have a paper I need to work on myself.”

“V, if you’re not up to it, I can catch a bite to eat with Layla some other time.” Wallace offered.

“No,” Veronica sighed, “I guess I can survive having Troy take me home. The morel of this story, however, is that next time I’ll take my own car.’

“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best not to give you cooties on the way home,” Troy spoke rolling his eyes.

“I would appreciate that.”

“You kids have fun,” Logan smiled brightly before he looked over at Troy. “Oh and Troy, don’t forget, Veronica knows how to work that taser of hers.”

“She’s my baby!” Veronica beamed.

“Got that right,” Wallace scoffed.

“So if you’re ready?” Troy asked, “I’ll get you home to study.”

“Yeah,” Veronica nodded. “I’ll see you guys later,” she added looking at the rest of the group.

Wallace nodded toward everyone as well as he looked over at Layla and smiled, “I guess it’s just us at dinner now, huh?”

“Guess so,” she blushed.

Logan watched as the four turned and walked away. As they distanced themselves, Veronica turned back and waved with one hand, as she held her stuff bear close to her with the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica sat silent as Troy drove toward her house. In her arms were two stuffed animals, one from each of her ex’s.

“So, was tonight as awkward for you as it was for me?” Troy questioned as he turned the radio down slightly.

Veronica frowned as the music faded into the background. Somehow, the ride home with Troy had been much easier with the music drowning out her thoughts.

Veronica turned to look at him and shrugged, “I survived.”

“It was nice of you to let Logan’s girlfriend think you won that bear for yourself,” Troy grinned.

“I did win the bear,” Veronica spoke staring down at the stuffed brown bear at her side.

“Veronica, I’m not stupid, or naïve,” Troy laughed. “I saw the look on Logan’s face when what’s-her-name asked about the bear.”

“Her name is Parker, and not that it’s any of your business but I did win the bear.”

“Right,” Troy nodded. “I just thought it was a cool thing to do, that’s all.”

“But I…”

“Yeah, I know,” Troy smiled.

“Hey can I ask you something?” Veronica questioned staring down at the black and white stuffed pony she was holding. She ran her hand over it’s mane before turning to look up at Troy.

“Like your not going to ask anyway,” Troy chuckled.

“How did you remember about the pony? You weren’t around long enough for me to mention it more than once or twice.”

Troy came to a stop at a red light and shrugged. “I know it’s hard for you to believe, but when we were together, I actually did listen to you.”

“Guess you have to listen to your mark, huh? Makes the devious plans play out easier?” There was more venom in her voice than she had intended and she was slightly shocked when she saw Troy wince at her words.

“You weren’t a mark Veronica. You were my girlfriend.”

“No, see that was Shauna. I was just some random girl you decided to latch onto,” Veronica spoke quickly, glancing away from him. “As I recall all you were really after was a booty call from me. Still enable the cell phones, Troy?”

“As I recall, you came to me one night, Veronica,” Troy pointed out. “Did you forget the fact that you did reach out to me back then?”

“And what did you do, go back in the house and call Shauna? Did you two have a good laugh at my expense?”

Veronica really wasn’t sure why she was letting Troy get her so worked up. He was who he was, and she had dealt with it a long time ago. He had come into her life and he had left. It was as simple as that.

“I wasn’t with Shauna when we started dating Veronica. We really had broken up, okay? And for the record that night that you called me, it felt good to know that someone needed me. You opened up that night, and it meant a lot.”

“You do realize I don’t believe a word of this, right? You actually want me to believe that you and Shauna weren’t together?”

“We weren’t, not at first. She called one day though, and I don’t know…”

“Spare me the details Troy. It’s the past, you’re the past.” Veronica snapped.

“She started calling,” Troy spoke, ignoring Veronica. “I loved her, or at least I thought I did, and I just screwed up all over again. No excuses, I just totally screwed up and suddenly no one mattered but her and the thrill of getting away with something stupid.”

“I told you, I don’t need a play by play,” Veronica frowned, “and the light is green by the way.”

Troy hit the gas and let out a frustrated groan, “I guess nothing I say matters, does it?”

“I told you, I don’t think your evil. Maybe you’ve changed, maybe you’ve haven’t, it doesn’t really matter to me,” Veronica spoke flatly. “I’m over it, been over it for awhile.”

Troy turned a corner and Veronica sat back in the seat and stared out the window blankly. She wouldn’t let someone like Vandegraff get to her. She had putted him behind her a long time ago, and the last thing she needed was to have to deal with their past again. He had merely been a tiny road bump in her life.

Troy pulled into Veronica’s parking lot and put his car in park. Looking straight ahead, he shook his head, “I guess this is it then.”

“I would thank you for the wonderful time tonight but…” Veronica spoke as she opened the car door.

“Hey Veronica?” Troy questioned causing her to turn back. There was softness in his voice, and if she didn’t know him, she would declare that she saw a glint of honestly in his eyes.

“You were more than some random booty call that I was after. I really did like you.”

“I guess I should feel really lucky then, huh Troy?” Veronica questioned as she pulled her stuffed animals to her. “I was the girl you liked for two seconds, go me." Veronica spoke as she shut the car door behind her and quickly hurried to her apartment, determined not to look back.