Friday Afternoon, Echolls Residence [NFB]
Nov. 25th, 2005 04:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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veronicamars1. Partially played by email]
Logan lounged on the couch watching Dude, Where's My Car. The volume was turned up high to cover up the sounds of construction coming from his room, where the NPC Home Repair guys were fixing his terrace doors. A half-empty bottle of Captain Morgan's Rum sat nearby.
After her phone call from Marty, Veronica realized she never had visited Logan. She heard on the radio that he was finally out of the clinic, so she decided to walk into town to see him.
She knocked on the door and waited a few minutes. She could hear the television and she could hear a lot of banging. Not sure if Logan was ignoring her or just couldn't hear her, she tried the door and, when it opened, decided to let herself in.
"Logan?" she called, walking toward the living room.
Logan turned around in surprise. "Veronica!" he said. "Nice to see we've dispensed with informalities like knocking."
"I knocked, you just didn't..." she trailed off as she catalogued his extensive injuries. "Logan! Oh my God! You told me you were okay."
Logan touched the bandage on his neck. "I'm alive," he said. "Better off than Kitty. You okay? How was Neptune?"
"It was fine," she replied, still distracted by his injuries. Seeing him so banged up reminded her of the night his father had tried to kill her. "And I'm... fine," she hesitated, not wanting to let on that something had happened. "How's Rory?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Logan noticed the hesitation. He clicked pause on the remote and gave her his full attention. "Rory's okay. What happened? Is Bel harassing you?"
Veronica closed her eyes and sighed. "He... well... let's just say he won't be bothering me anymore."
Logan raised his eyebrows. "Is he dead?"
"No..." she said, not even attempting to mask the confusion on her face.
Logan leaned forward. "Here's the deal. You can tell me what happened with Bel or I can call your dad and warn him that you've pissed off a vampire and a half-demon and see how long it takes before you get yanked back to Neptune on a permanant basis."
Veronica sat down in the chair across from him. "Your roommates aren't home, are they?" she asked. "Because I'll tell you what's going on, but you have to swear you'll keep it between us." She gave him a half smile. "Otherwise, I'll be forced to ask questions about that message you left warning me that Bel could get into a locked prison."
Logan shrugged. "Angelus told me. No big secret there," he said. "No roommates around right now. This'll stay between us, I swear." His hand drew an 'X' over his heart.
She raised an eyebrow. "Right, Angelus told you. And I'm sure it had nothing to do with your father getting the shit beat out of him in a locked cell, right?" She gave him a knowing look.
Logan blanched at the mention of his father, but shrugged innocently.
After a pause, she sighed again and started telling him the story. "All right, so I got back to Fandom on Monday evening and I assumed you'd be out of the clinic, so I walked down here to see how you were. I guess Bel realized that I... would be worried about you..."
Logan stood up. "What did he do?"
Veronica swallowed hard and looked up at him. "He... grabbed me. Took me to some warehouse on the edge of town." She shuddered slightly. "He... threw... fireballs... at me," she managed to get out. She blinked back tears at the memory.
Logan knelt next to her chair and took her hand. "You're okay," he said softly.
She nodded. "I am," she replied just as softly. She forced herself to look him directly in the eyes. "Thanks to Angel."
Logan froze. "When you say 'Angel', you better mean your hypothetical guardian angel. Or one of Weevil's spic boyfriends. Or maybe there's a new Slayer chick in town with bouncy blonde hair, a great rack and an unfortunately cutsey name?"
Veronica bit her lip and shook her head. "Logan, I know you hate him, and I don't blame you, but he saved my life."
"Jesus, Veronica," Logan exclaimed, dropping her hand and standing up again. "How fucking stupid are you? He probably set up the whole thing so he could sweep in and 'rescue' you."
"And what the hell would have been the purpose of that?" she demanded, also standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "He got hurt fighting Belthazor, protecting me. And we're going to make a deal with Bel that we won't turn him in as long as he leaves me alone and gets the JA to back off." She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "Look, I understand why you don't trust him, but you know me, Logan. I'm not stupid. Trust me on this, okay?"
"What purpose?" Logan threw up his hands. "Let's see." He ticked off points on his fingers. "He gets caught for killing Kitty. Suddenly, he's got a new and shiny soul. But!" he held up a finger, "Still gotta get people to accept the new and improved version. So he gets Bel to threaten and attack you, swings in to save the day, then brokers a deal so that you're safe and Bel doesn't get in trouble?
"This is his game, Veronica. He pulls strings right and left and watches everyone dance. He almost lost everything, so he created a new persona. And why the fuck would he care if he got hurt? The guy took five rounds to the chest and got back up!"
Veronica sighed. "Logan, Belthazor was lobbing fireballs at both of us. Fire is one of the few things that can actually kill a vampire. I guarantee they were not play-acting for my benefit." She shook her head as she remembered Belthazor shifting to his demon form and Angel shifting to his vampire form.
"And as for the soul thing? I've talked to him and he really is a different person. I was friends with Angelus and he is not Angelus anymore. I know that sounds unbelievable, but I believe it. And I'm not the only one. Dean Bristow believes it, too, and don't tell me you think he's naive."
"If he'd gone up in flames, I'd believe he was for real. Seeing as he's still walking around, I'm thinking it was all a show. Stunt people play with real fire, too." Logan paced, running his good hand through his hair.
"Yeah, he is different. He's playing a new role and he's damn good at it, but he is still a vampire and he is still a killer! Maybe this soul thing is for real - I don't know this magic bullshit - but what difference does that make? My father has a soul. You trust him to protect you?"
"Fuck you, Logan," Veronica said, turning to leave. She was determined not to break down in tears, but the memories that were streaming to the surface of her consciousness made it difficult to keep her voice even. "I don't know why I even bother trying to talk to you."
veronicamars1. Partially played by email]Logan lounged on the couch watching Dude, Where's My Car. The volume was turned up high to cover up the sounds of construction coming from his room, where the NPC Home Repair guys were fixing his terrace doors. A half-empty bottle of Captain Morgan's Rum sat nearby.
After her phone call from Marty, Veronica realized she never had visited Logan. She heard on the radio that he was finally out of the clinic, so she decided to walk into town to see him.
She knocked on the door and waited a few minutes. She could hear the television and she could hear a lot of banging. Not sure if Logan was ignoring her or just couldn't hear her, she tried the door and, when it opened, decided to let herself in.
"Logan?" she called, walking toward the living room.
Logan turned around in surprise. "Veronica!" he said. "Nice to see we've dispensed with informalities like knocking."
"I knocked, you just didn't..." she trailed off as she catalogued his extensive injuries. "Logan! Oh my God! You told me you were okay."
Logan touched the bandage on his neck. "I'm alive," he said. "Better off than Kitty. You okay? How was Neptune?"
"It was fine," she replied, still distracted by his injuries. Seeing him so banged up reminded her of the night his father had tried to kill her. "And I'm... fine," she hesitated, not wanting to let on that something had happened. "How's Rory?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Logan noticed the hesitation. He clicked pause on the remote and gave her his full attention. "Rory's okay. What happened? Is Bel harassing you?"
Veronica closed her eyes and sighed. "He... well... let's just say he won't be bothering me anymore."
Logan raised his eyebrows. "Is he dead?"
"No..." she said, not even attempting to mask the confusion on her face.
Logan leaned forward. "Here's the deal. You can tell me what happened with Bel or I can call your dad and warn him that you've pissed off a vampire and a half-demon and see how long it takes before you get yanked back to Neptune on a permanant basis."
Veronica sat down in the chair across from him. "Your roommates aren't home, are they?" she asked. "Because I'll tell you what's going on, but you have to swear you'll keep it between us." She gave him a half smile. "Otherwise, I'll be forced to ask questions about that message you left warning me that Bel could get into a locked prison."
Logan shrugged. "Angelus told me. No big secret there," he said. "No roommates around right now. This'll stay between us, I swear." His hand drew an 'X' over his heart.
She raised an eyebrow. "Right, Angelus told you. And I'm sure it had nothing to do with your father getting the shit beat out of him in a locked cell, right?" She gave him a knowing look.
Logan blanched at the mention of his father, but shrugged innocently.
After a pause, she sighed again and started telling him the story. "All right, so I got back to Fandom on Monday evening and I assumed you'd be out of the clinic, so I walked down here to see how you were. I guess Bel realized that I... would be worried about you..."
Logan stood up. "What did he do?"
Veronica swallowed hard and looked up at him. "He... grabbed me. Took me to some warehouse on the edge of town." She shuddered slightly. "He... threw... fireballs... at me," she managed to get out. She blinked back tears at the memory.
Logan knelt next to her chair and took her hand. "You're okay," he said softly.
She nodded. "I am," she replied just as softly. She forced herself to look him directly in the eyes. "Thanks to Angel."
Logan froze. "When you say 'Angel', you better mean your hypothetical guardian angel. Or one of Weevil's spic boyfriends. Or maybe there's a new Slayer chick in town with bouncy blonde hair, a great rack and an unfortunately cutsey name?"
Veronica bit her lip and shook her head. "Logan, I know you hate him, and I don't blame you, but he saved my life."
"Jesus, Veronica," Logan exclaimed, dropping her hand and standing up again. "How fucking stupid are you? He probably set up the whole thing so he could sweep in and 'rescue' you."
"And what the hell would have been the purpose of that?" she demanded, also standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "He got hurt fighting Belthazor, protecting me. And we're going to make a deal with Bel that we won't turn him in as long as he leaves me alone and gets the JA to back off." She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "Look, I understand why you don't trust him, but you know me, Logan. I'm not stupid. Trust me on this, okay?"
"What purpose?" Logan threw up his hands. "Let's see." He ticked off points on his fingers. "He gets caught for killing Kitty. Suddenly, he's got a new and shiny soul. But!" he held up a finger, "Still gotta get people to accept the new and improved version. So he gets Bel to threaten and attack you, swings in to save the day, then brokers a deal so that you're safe and Bel doesn't get in trouble?
"This is his game, Veronica. He pulls strings right and left and watches everyone dance. He almost lost everything, so he created a new persona. And why the fuck would he care if he got hurt? The guy took five rounds to the chest and got back up!"
Veronica sighed. "Logan, Belthazor was lobbing fireballs at both of us. Fire is one of the few things that can actually kill a vampire. I guarantee they were not play-acting for my benefit." She shook her head as she remembered Belthazor shifting to his demon form and Angel shifting to his vampire form.
"And as for the soul thing? I've talked to him and he really is a different person. I was friends with Angelus and he is not Angelus anymore. I know that sounds unbelievable, but I believe it. And I'm not the only one. Dean Bristow believes it, too, and don't tell me you think he's naive."
"If he'd gone up in flames, I'd believe he was for real. Seeing as he's still walking around, I'm thinking it was all a show. Stunt people play with real fire, too." Logan paced, running his good hand through his hair.
"Yeah, he is different. He's playing a new role and he's damn good at it, but he is still a vampire and he is still a killer! Maybe this soul thing is for real - I don't know this magic bullshit - but what difference does that make? My father has a soul. You trust him to protect you?"
"Fuck you, Logan," Veronica said, turning to leave. She was determined not to break down in tears, but the memories that were streaming to the surface of her consciousness made it difficult to keep her voice even. "I don't know why I even bother trying to talk to you."
