DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned by Rob Thomas, no infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SPOILERS: References to flashbacks in season 1.
The Thing With Best Friends
By giantessmess
It's hard to be friends after something like that, isn't it? I mean, awkward silences aside, there's always that weird moment when you both catch each other's eye. Then there's blushing, then another stare. And, come on, don't you just wish she'd stop wearing dresses like that? You're just glad homecoming's over, and you can go back to being Duncan's girlfriend.
You were always dull Veronica to her. A fixer-upper she never gave up on.
"Embrace your hotness, Veronica," she'd laugh, shaking her head at your reluctant smile.
"Embrace it."
You preferred to just blend into the background around Lilly Kane.
"Mom caught me once, y'know." Lilly fell onto the bed beside you.
You didn't know why you were over at the Kane place, getting drunk with Lilly on a school night. Usually you had more sense than that. And honestly? You didn't let Lilly talk you into as many things as she'd like to think.
"No way," you smiled, a little hesitantly. "Really?"
She passed you the bottle, and raised an eyebrow. "Well, hasn't big ol' Mr Sheriff caught you and Duncan, yet?"
"Please," you winced, and swallowed the vodka. "Like there's anything to catch."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure there's plenty."
She fiddled with the strap of her dress. "Mom went totally schitz, of course. Threats and everything."
"And now dear Logan's scarred for life?" You laughed. "Poor baby."
"Fuck, no," she laughed. "Jesus, Veronica. Logan'd be out on his ass if mom had caught us. Like she'd let him take me to homecoming like that."
"She didn't know it was going to be like that."
"Yeah, well, we all had fun that night, didn't we?" She curled her lip. "Pass me the vodka."
You almost dropped the bottle. Great, Veronica. She kissed you on a dare (and it wasn't even much of a kiss), and now you became a human domino game whenever she even hinted at it.
You gave her what you hoped was a believable smile. "What happened to the big confession, hey? So let me guess, ok… so your mom caught you. It really wasn't Logan?"
"Nope," she stretched out on the bed, lazily.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you? So, great, your mom walked in on you with some guy. He was barred from here for life. Big deal. When was this?"
"Over the summer," Lilly smiled, biting her lip. "That week and a half where Logan and I were off."
"Well, it's hard to keep track of you and Logan."
"And it wasn't a guy."
Ok, now that floored you. Now you definitely had permission to pull a face.
"What?" Then you swallowed. "Who?"
"Get a grip, Veronica," Lilly snickered. "It was just a night or two. We were bonding over our mutual hatred of men."
"You so don't hate men," your voice squeaked.
"It's a cyclical thing," she rolled her eyes. "Like locust swarms, y'know?" Then she noticed how awkwardly you were lying there. Stiffly. "Look, she was pretty out of it anyway. We'd been drinking. I totally didn't think she'd get fired."
"What?" you stammered. "Fired? Shit, Lilly. Who the hell is this?"
"Miss Sommerton. You know…the old journalism class teacher?"
"Yeah, I think…" You still didn't know how to make your face look.
"No, really. I feel like such an ass about it."
You hesitated, then stuttered. "But wasn't she only just fired? I mean, didn't she only quit, like last week?"
"Dear mother's classic delayed reaction," Lilly gestured grandly with the bottle, then tilted it back and gulped. She raised an eyebrow. "She liked lording it over me. You know mom, she probably didn't care enough to do anything till now." She looked away. "She's been going crazy, trying to find ways to punish me for Homecoming. She'd fire you if she could, I bet."
"Am I on the Kane payroll now?" you tried to joke.
"Hell yeah," Lilly laughed. "And hey, so much better than going to a harem."
"You're nuts."
You wished you knew why Lilly was telling you all this. Then you remembered she was your best friend. Best friends shared the crap, creepy secrets that everyone else preferred to keep under the rug with the dust mites.
"Mom had this look on her face," Lilly sighed, meeting your eye. "You know…the classic head tilt, the dirt under my shoe costs more than your livelihood look."
"You sure it wasn't just the get the hell away from my daughter look?"
Lilly rolled her eyes. "That one isn't in her repertoire. Like she really gives a damn."
"What was it…" you hesitated. "How could you….I mean…how do you?"
Lilly grinned then. "I wasn't that drunk. Why are you so surprised, anyway?"
You quirked your lip, and feigned confusion. "Good point. I really…don't know."
"It's just sex, Veronica Mars," she snickered. "It's not that different."
You gave her a look, and laughed as she fell back on the bed, dramatically.
"Oh don't tell me you and wonder boy are still saving yourselves. That's too cute."
"Shut up," you pushed her away, and she rolled her eyes back.
"I always thought my brother'd be the kind to wait for marriage, like something twisted out of the fifties."
"He's not waiting for marriage," you protested. "And it's sweet."
"Oh, Duncan. Marry me," she mimicked.
"Stop it," you laughed, slapping her shoulder.
"And chain me to the bed post…so I don't escape when you want to have your way with me….."
"Gross, Lilly. Don't…"
You were both laughing, now. Her head was on your shoulder, your legs tangled together. Your heart sped up, and she was giving you the look she had in the back of that limo. Only neither of your boyfriends were there to watch, this time.
But you only pulled away, and felt her stiffen next to you.
"Veronica…look, I was only joking, you know."
"I know, I…"
You felt like a pulp novel character, or maybe Audrey Hepburn to her Shirley MacLaine. If you kissed, one of you was going to die.
But you were leaning in. Then she was. Her breasts pressed against yours, her lips were soft. God, she was soft. And suddenly, her hands were running through your hair, and she was sliding your top off.
"You're shaking, Veronica Mars," she teased, a finger trailing down your collarbone, down your chest. Circling over the material of your bra. You swallowed.
"I'm not… shaking."
Why did it suddenly feel like there was so little air in there?
Neither of you were drunk enough to blame it on the vodka, but you knew it would just be chalked up as another crazy stunt of Lilly's.
The End