F A N F I C T I O N > V . M A R S
With A Scream by Amberina
Duncan goes to see Jake in jail. There's cold concrete and shiny metal, and it all emphasizes the chill that runs through Duncan's body. He can't breathe, he can't think, he just walks, and then his father is there, and they talk and Duncan's not sure what they say, but he thinks it went well. Maybe.
Veronica waits outside. When Duncan is done, he goes outside, and he gets in his SUV, and he drives away. They go to Lilly's grave and they put red roses there. She loved red roses, despite the cliche. Veronica runs her fingers over Lilly's name engraved on the tombstone, and Duncan just watches her, as she seems to carry on a silent conversation. When she is done, they leave.
They stop by Logan's, and Logan is drinking, but Logan is always drinking lately. He's a mess, but isn't everyone? Veronica says some things and Logan comes with them, quiet and broken. They end up at the beach, sand under their toes, and Duncan's not sure when Weevil shows up, but he does, and Logan and he just look at each other. Neither say a word.
Weevil whispers something to Veronica, and Logan rolls his eyes, the gesture over-dramatic, but that's Logan. Veronica grabs Duncan's hand and drags him down the beach, and he doesn't know where they're going. He never does. They walk for a while, and then they end up back with Weevil and Logan, and the two are sitting in the same spot that they were in before.
Logan sobers up eventually, and the four of them go back to Veronica's. Keith is away, so the apartment is empty. Veronica throws some hamburgers from the freezer onto the grill and makes Weevil watch them, as she tells Duncan to pick out a movie. She goes to her room, and then she returns a moment later, and somehow Mac and Meg are with her, but Duncan isn't sure where they came from. He hasn't chosen a movie yet.
There's a knock on the door and someone (Mac? maybe?) lets Wallace in, and he's carrying a cake. Candles are burning on it as Duncan approaches it and he wonders whose birthday it is. People begin singing and Duncan joins in half-heartedly and everyone smiles reassuringly at him. Veronica squeezes his hand and tells him to blow the candles out and Duncan thought his birthday was in February.
As the candles go out, someone taps him on the shoulder and he turns around and it's Lilly, bathed in light. She looks beautiful. "Thanks for wishing for me," she says, and he doesn't remember making a wish, but there she is and Logan walks over to her and begins kissing her. Veronica smiles across the table at him and asks him if he wants to go for a walk. He thinks he said yes, but he's not sure how they got outside.
Veronica links her hand in his and leans her head against him, and it's so perfect. She looks so beautiful in the moonlight (but wasn't it just bright as day out?) and Duncan kisses her. He kisses her, and then her lips are bleeding and she looks at him with this look and she says that nothing's changed, and then he hits her. She crumbles to the ground and Duncan wakes up with a scream.