A/N - This was just a quick little one-shot that popped into my head over the weekend thinking about one of the VMficrecs prompts for June, "Your OTP serenading each other", along with hearing the song mentioned in this story one too many times while I was doing yard-work on Saturday. It may not fit the prompt exactly because it's only one direction, but I thought I'd share it anyway. And if you can find the song and listen to it when you get to that part of the story, it might make it even better. :) It was also nice to work on something less intense after finishing off Duplicitous Hearts (Sorry - that doesn't mean there's an epilogue yet!).
And thanks to Bondopoulos for doing a quick beta on it and giving it a title!
Disclaimer: All VM characters belong to Rob Thomas.
If Piz had been Disneyland, then Logan certainly had to have been Magic Mountain. Definitely Magic Mountain. Jeremy? Veronica was guessing he'd fall somewhere along the lines of... Knott's Berry Farm, perhaps? A little more exciting than Disneyland, but not just filled with only roller-coasters. He was a year ahead of her at Hearst, and while he'd spent most of fall term not so subtly crushing on her while she worked at the library, it wasn't until the middle of winter term that he finally asked her out on a date. Their first date had been fun. They'd gone to an art show on campus before going out to dinner together. Their second date, he'd taken her to a music festival. They were just finishing up dinner on their third date at a Thai restaurant he'd suggested they try. She had an early shift at the library the next morning, so even though it was a Friday night, she'd told him she didn't want to be out very late. He'd asked if it would be okay if they stopped by The Break for a little while before he took her home. A good friend of Jeremy's had won a bet against a guy in their Sociology class, and Jeremy had told Veronica he was looking forward to the impending humiliation because he didn't really care much for the guy either. It was karaoke night at The Break, so Veronica figured some good-natured musical torment sounded amusing. It wasn't like they were forcing the guy to streak through campus naked or something.
It didn't take them long to spot Jeremy's friend, Dalton, with a small group of other guys at a high-top table near the front edge of the stage. A group of girls were on stage singing Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' terribly out of tune, and Veronica noted that they seemed fairly drunk as well. Jeremy and Veronica made their way over to the group and as if Jeremy could read Veronica's mind about which guy was the unlucky loser, he leaned over and whispered that the guy in pink who had their back to them was the guy who had lost. Veronica nodded in understanding as she watched the group of girls stumble down off the stage.
Dalton spotted them across the bar and gave them a quick wave. It was fairly crowded in the bar since it was a Friday night and The Break was one of the more popular bars near campus. They had to work their way through a few groups of people before they reached Dalton's group. Veronica ended up standing next to the guy in pink and was finally able to see his face as he turned toward them.
"Logan?" Veronica asked incredulously.
"Veronica," Logan replied with a slightly surprised yet smug smile.
"You two know each other?" Jeremy interjected as he glanced back and forth between Veronica and Logan.
"Yep… since we were twelve," Logan replied, a dangerous grin forming on his face.
"Yeah… we've known each other quite a while," Veronica answered cautiously, starting to get a little worried, based on Logan's expression, about what he was planning to say next.
"So, how long have you two known each other?" Logan asked, his focus now on Jeremy.
"This is our third date," Jeremy offered before Veronica had a chance to say anything.
Logan smiled deviously and turned back to Veronica. "Ahhh… remember our third date, Vee?"
Veronica narrowed her eyes at Logan, not willing to back down at all. "Can't say that I do… it must not have been very memorable."
"Hmm…" Logan replied with a wistful look on his face. "Well I thought it was pretty memorable, but I'm sure this date will be even more memorable for you two," he continued as he gestured between Jeremy and Veronica.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him and instead just gave him a placating smile.
"Sooo… lost another bet? At least this time you get to keep your clothes on, thankfully," she countered. "And the pink… I guess it's a step up from orange."
"Yeah… pink was always much more your color," Logan replied as he gave her a lecherous sneer. "I remember quite a few favorite little pink numbers."
Veronica felt her cheeks start to heat up, but still gave Logan an annoyed glare. She also remembered several very little pink lacy articles of clothing that Logan had clearly articulated how much he liked them when she wore them.
"Are you up soon?" Jeremy asked, reminding Veronica that she wasn't here just to spar with Logan, but actually on a date with someone else. "Veronica needs to get home early, so we're only going to be able to stay for a little while."
Logan quirked his eyebrows at Veronica in a questioning manner, perhaps surprised that she had to be home early on a Friday night.
The guy who had taken the stage after the drunk girls had just finished up his song and the DJ announced 'Next up… Logan E.' over the sound system.
"Very soon," Logan replied with a gleam in his eye as he stood up from his chair. "I'm so glad Veronica gets to stay around to enjoy my humiliation," he added before he headed to the stage.
Jeremy gestured for Veronica to take the seat that Logan had just vacated. She mouthed a quick thanks and slid into the seat. Jeremy seemed slightly annoyed by the little show he'd just witnessed, but he still gave her a kind smile as he nodded in reply.
As the song started to play, Veronica instantly realized why Logan was wearing the pink shirt. Of course… Geek in the Pink. She knew Logan could be quite theatrical when he wanted to be and she'd certainly seen him dance suggestively several times. She just hoped this wasn't one of the times that he put both those two skills to use. Logan gave her a lecherous grin as he grabbed the mic and she knew she was in trouble.
~ Well, let the geek in the pink take a stab at it
If you like the way I'm thinkin', baby, wink at it ~
Veronica shook her head at him after he winked at her.
~ I may be skinny at times but I'm fat fulla rhymes
Pass me the mic and I'm a grab at it
Well, isn't it delicious, crazy way that I'm kissin'
'Cause baby listen to this, don't wanna miss it while it's hittin'
Sometimes you gotta fit in to get in
But don't ever quit 'cause soon I'm gonna let you in, but see ~
Veronica tried really hard not to think about the way he was thrusting his hips with his hand up behind his head as he moved to the beat of the song. Why didn't I just insist Jeremy take me home after dinner?
~ I don't care what you might think about me
You can vibe without me if you want ~
Veronica was relieved he'd at least started looking around the crowd a bit more. The group of 'Single Ladies' from before were in the front row and were enthusiastically cheering him on. Unfortunately it didn't take long for his gaze to fall back on Veronica and he seemed to be very intently staring at her as he sang the next lines, of course with even more hip gyrations and lusty glances.
~ I could be the one to take you home
Baby we could rock the night alone ~
Veronica couldn't help but notice that his dance moves seemed to have improved even more since the last time she'd seen them. She tried to keep as disinterested an expression as possible. And she tried even harder to not imagine what it actually used to be like to rock the night alone with him. Damn it.
~If we never get down it wouldn't be a let down
But sugar don't forget what you already know
I could be the one to turn you out
We could be the talk across the town
Don't judge it by the color, confuse it for another
You might regret what you let slip away ~
Logan continued singing the next section and then through the chorus again, mostly watching her and keeping the same salacious grin on his face while he ever so seductively moved to the music. She had to admit she was impressed that he was keeping up with the quick rhymes. She hoped that trying to think rationally might offset the fact that she was finding it sexy as hell, especially since she was on a date with someone else. And the fact that Logan kept staring intently at her was not helping matters at all.
~ Hey baby look at me go
From zero to hero
You better take it from a geek like me~
She'd heard the song enough times to know what was coming, and of course Logan would make a show of the next lines just to taunt her.
~ I can save you from unoriginal dum-dums
Who wouldn't care if you commmmm...plete him or not ~
She swallowed hard and tried even harder not to think about all the times they'd been together. It didn't really help that she hadn't been that intimate with anyone since him, which she also certainly didn't want him to know. She struggled to keep a neutral expression in place as he went through the rest of the song. Of course the girls in the front row were going nuts by the time the song was over. Veronica wouldn't have been surprised if they started throwing lacy undergarments at Logan based on how they were acting.
"You know, I don't really think you picked much of a punishment for him losing the bet," Veronica said loud enough to Dalton so Logan could hear her as he approached the table again. She climbed out of his seat that she'd taken and continued talking to Dalton. "Next time, give me a call. I'm sure I can come up with a much better humiliation for him than feeding his already over-inflated ego." She turned to Jeremy without looking at Logan at all. "Ready to go? I know I am."
Jeremy nodded and said a quick goodbye to Dalton before leading the way out of the bar.
"Sorry about that," Veronica said as she gestured back toward the building with her head when they reached Jeremy's car.
"Yeah… it's fine… I didn't realize the two of you used to… date…"
"Yeah… we did," Veronica replied. She wasn't really sure what else to say to that. She really didn't want to discuss it with Jeremy, and apparently he didn't really want to know anything else either because they were silent the rest of the way back to her apartment.
She thanked him for dinner as they reached her door and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning to head back to his car. She let out a frustrated huff as she opened her door and headed inside. Backup was at least happy to see her, and given her dad was out of town, he was in need of a quick walk before bed.
Veronica was not expecting a tall figure to be leaning against the railing by her apartment when she made it back from her quick walk with Backup. She narrowed her eyes at him in a clearly annoyed expression as she assured Backup it was fine when he started to quietly growl. She then unlocked the door so Backup could go back inside, closing the door behind him and crossing her arms across her chest as she glared at Logan.
"I'm sorry… I don't what made me do that tonight," Logan said as he averted his gaze down to the empty space between them.
"I'm pretty sure they call that jealousy, Logan. And it looked about as bad on you as the pink shirt did." She'd noticed that he'd changed out of the shirt he'd been wearing at the bar as soon as she spotted him waiting by her apartment.
Logan nodded and let out a defeated sigh. "I know… and I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have interfered with your date. Even if the guy's a douche."
Veronica let out a frustrated growl. "He's not that bad, Logan. I'm sorry that you two don't like each other, but that doesn't have anything to do with him and me."
"Right…" Logan said faintly as he glanced up at her and then back down to his feet. "I really am sorry, Veronica," he added before he pushed off the railing and turned to head back to the parking lot.
"Mama Leone's," Veronica said loud enough to be sure he'd hear her.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "What?" he asked with a hesitant look on his face.
She finally let a small smile ghost across her lips. "Our third date… you took me to Mama Leone's… you ordered the manicotti and then shared it with me since I couldn't decide between that and the lasagna. You wore your blue long sleeve shirt with the green stripes down the sleeves because I'd told you it was one of my favorites; you also forgot your puka shell necklace at home and I teased you mercilessly about it. Then after dinner we drove to Dog Beach in your yellow beast of a car and made out for thirty-five minutes before we had to leave so I wouldn't miss my curfew."
The faint smile that had appeared on Logan's face as she started talking only grew larger as she continued.
"I didn't forgot our third date, Logan," Veronica said as she took a step closer to him. "I don't think I've ever forgotten any of them," she admitted softly as she looked affectionately up at him.
"Me neither," Logan replied as he took a step closer to her, putting him within arm's length of her. He tentatively reached up and caressed her cheek, watching her cautiously.
She let out a soft sigh and then leaned into his hand as she looked up at him with an alluring smile. Logan blew out a slow exhale and then closed the distance between the two of them placing a soft, slow kiss on her lips.
"So… want to come in and relive those thirty-five minutes on my couch?" she asked coyly the moment he pulled his lips away from hers.
"Lucky for you, I don't have a curfew," Logan replied teasingly as his face lit up with anticipation.
"Maybe I'll give you forty-five minutes instead then," she countered with a wink as she reached out to take his hand. She turned toward the apartment door, giving him a light tug. I always did have a weakness for pink. Maybe I am more of a Magic Mountain girl after all.
A/N - I'd love it if you'd take a minute to leave a quick comment if you enjoyed this. Poor little one-shots seem to not get many comments, which is understandable, but it's still nice to know if people liked them or not. I wasn't really even sure I wanted to post this after I was done, but decided to go ahead anyway. I'm actually working on another longer story for another one (or several) of the prompts, so look for that to come out before the end of the month.