Chapter Text
Logan jerked awake with a start, the booming sound of the explosion still ringing in his ears. The sudden movement jolted his sore back but otherwise, he seemed unharmed but that was far from the strangest thing about his current situation, for one he wasn’t bleeding out on the pavement as might be expected for the survivor of a car explosion, instead he was sitting in a rather comfortable, vaguely familiar bedroom. It was far from a hospital room and nothing like the one he shared with Veronica, no it was big and fancy and
“No, no no no no,” Logan spoke out loud, finally placing where he was. “There is no way this is happening.”
The room in question was the one where he spent arguably the worst years of his life, his teenage years and it shouldn’t have been possible for him to be sitting in it, because it had burned down with the rest of his house when he was seventeen but here he was.
Leaping up Logan searched the room that wasn’t meant to exist, looking for his phone, hoping that it might offer some guidance. His phone, however, when he did find it, residing on his bedside table, only bought more confusion. It was the phone he’d owned in 2004, the one he’d held onto for years, as it was his last gift from his mom before eventually relenting and upgrading to a smartphone five years later. He couldn’t work out if he was meant to be surprised when it powered on, or if surprised was really a word he could use considering how his morning was going so far.
The primitive flip phone showed him all that he might expect from a phone he’d owned as a teenager. Quickly scrolling through his contacts he found Veronica’s number way down the list. Apparently, this phone came from a time that they weren’t speaking. Pressing the call button he silently hoped she’d have some explanation for him, that she’d reassure him that he wasn’t going crazy or if he had truly somehow managed to land himself in 2004, that she’d at least talk to him.
She didn’t pick up.
Tugging a hand through his hair in frustration, Logan stared down at the ancient phone, Logan made a split-second decision to take a visit to Sunset Cliffs, betting that there was a good chance that if he was somehow back in his teenage home, that she would be in hers.
Throwing on a brown top with blues jeans, Logan grabbed his phone but couldn’t find his keys. Hoping that he might’ve left them in the car by mistake, he quickly left the room and hurried down the house towards the front door.
“Logan there you are.” He froze, hundreds of memories, each worse than the last flashed through his mind as he heard the voice of the great Aaron Echolls for the first time in person since he was eighteen. “I’ve asked one of the staff to drive you to school today and to pick you up after, I want you coming right home, not sneaking off.”
Logan turned slowly and faced his father for the first time in many years. He would have been gaping because Aaron took offense.
“Don’t give me that look, you’re getting a fair punishment for getting caught with a bong at school. Really Logan, are you trying to embarrass me?”
At least that answered exactly when he was meant to be. “No Dad, wouldn’t want any embarrassment coming from this family.” The sarcastic quip still ruling off his tongue, even after years of not needing that coping mechanism.
“Just go wait outside Logan, I don’t want to see your face until dinner, is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
Aaron nodded and walked away.
Logan let out a sigh of relief and allowed himself to relax a little, he’d get in father behind bars as soon as he talked to Veronica and they’d make sure that he rotted there this time. First he needed to find Veronica and make her listen to him, hopefully, she remembered or at the very least would be open to talking once he told her he knew who killed Lilly. Really he hoped that this was just some coma induced nightmare and he’d wake up in the hospital, in the demons slayed present day with his wife by his side. He really needed to see Veronica.
Heading out front to wait for whoever was going to be his lift today, he made his plan. upon getting to school, he’d scan the car park for her car, should it not be there, he’d wait by the gates and try to persuade her to bunk off to talk, otherwise, he’d wait by her old school office, the girl's bathroom, during the break to talk. He just hoped that the deeply regretted smashing of her headlights, something that likely occurred during the past few days in this timeline. Wouldn’t stop her from talking to him. Even if this was some coma dream, he still wanted to be around her.
With his plan settled, he felt happy enough about getting into the backseat of his parent's staff members car. His parents.
Logan stilled once briefly after clicking his seatbelt into place at the sudden realization that in this time his mom was still alive. Watching the mansion disappear as the car rolled away, Logan stared back, knowing he’d see his mom again that evening and a little part of him hoping that this wasn’t a dream after all.
Veronica came back into consciousness slowly, as if her brain was attempting to protect her from the grief that would once again swallow her whole once she fully awoke. Blinking open her eyes, she took in her surroundings, while she may have fallen asleep in her dad’s house, this certainly wasn’t the one she’d expected to wake up in.
“Dad.” She cried out, confused and more than a little scared that Logan’s death had been one traumatic event too many and had sent her into la la loopy land.
“Veronica Honey, what is it? Are you okay?” Veronica’s dad asked rushing into her room, worried about what could have made his tough as nails daughter sound so worried, but this wasn’t the version of her father that Veronica was used too. this one was younger, with darker hair and full use of both of his legs.
La la loopy it was.
Trying to think quickly as to not upset her father too much, but with her brain still muddled from the events of the past two days, there was only one answer she could think of. “Yeah, sorry, think I just had a bad dream.”
Keith’s worried frown relaxed a little as he walked in to take a seat on her bed. “Honey after everything you’ve been through with your mom and Lilly, maybe you should try therapy again.”
“You sound like Logan,” Veronica said starting to roll her eyes before her brain caught up to her mouth and suddenly she was blinking back tears and attempting to swallow the lump in her throat. After all the crying she’d done yesterday, you’d think it wasn’t possible for her body to have enough water left for more tears but here she was fighting them back down again.
“You’re talking to your old friends again?” Her dad asked cautiously, likely hoping that maybe Veronica was getting some part of her old life back. His question, however, led Veronica to a very different realization. If her father was here, maybe fifteen years younger and talking about the tragedies of her teen-hood then maybe she could spend some more time with Logan, even if it was during a period in which he hated her, in her brain crazed grief-induced hallucination of at the very least extremely vivid dream.
Jumping up Veronica knew she’d need to placate her dad first. “Yeah, kinda, not really.” That’ll do it, give every answer to confuse them, way to go Veronica. “But I’ve gotta get to school earlier, school project and you know me, all about the grind.”
“Okay Sweetheart, just remember to grab at least something to eat before you go,” Keith said as he moved to walk out of her room, the man seemed placated at least.
Getting on a pair of black jeans, a purple top, and a black jacket. Veronica spent a second re-familiarising herself with her old bedroom, grabbing her phone, purse, and keys she set out of her room. With a quick stop in the kitchen to pick up a breakfast bar, Backup running up to her for morning cuddles.
“Hey boy, oh I’ve missed you.” She stage whispered to her childhood pet, happy to have been able to reunite with at least one lost member of her family. “I’ve got to go find someone else now, but I promise lots of Veronica Backup time this evening.”
The pit bull, looked up at her, not understanding a word but happy to be getting a bit more attention than usual. “Okay, I’ve really got to go.” Bending down to give him one last hug, she quickly got up and hurried out the door, eager to see someone else taken too soon.
The LeBaron was certainly not previously on the top of Veronica’s most loved cars list but at that moment it was the only thing that might let her see her husband one more time before she either woke up or regained her marbles. For that reason and that reason alone, it was now the most favorited item that she had ever owned.
She didn’t remember the drive from Sunset Cliffs to Neptune High taking so long, then again it was unlikely that she’d ever been all that anxious to get to school, definitely not at any point during her time living at that apartment.
Arriving early to school, certainly had its perks, the main one being hardly any of the parking spaces were taken yet so she had her pick of them, choosing to park near where the 09ers tended to park was strategical in her part, an attempt to spot Logan before he saw her.
It wasn’t long before more car started to fill in the spots, she hadn’t really been that early and it wasn’t uncommon for students to arrive early to spend some time with their friends before class. Veronica herself had done that on occasion before Lilly had died, her second-best friend hadn’t been quite as keen to spend any more time at school then need be.
Still not seeing the yellow monstrosity that had signalled Logan’s arrival so clearly in highs school, Veronica pulled out her old flip-phone, a modern-day habit to hang out on her phone more then out of any hope that it would hold answers to where the teenage form of her late husband was, just thinking that sentence was starting a headache.
Looking at the screen, Veronica could see that she’d missed a call from Logan, her phone likely being on silent during a stakeout the night before. Seeing his name on her screen caused hope to flare up within her, maybe the Logan in this dream version of her high school years wouldn’t hate her, she couldn’t remember any time he’d called her between her dad going after Jake Kane and her looking into his mom’s death.
“You busy, I could come back another time.” The voice brought her out of her thoughts. Looking up quickly, Veronica was faced with none other than the former teenage version of her husband and if the look he was giving her was anything to go by, he certainly remembered that they were married.