Broken Wings

[FlashRocks]

Okay this fan fiction is in the POV of Cassidy Casablancas. Um, it'll have Macidy but also a twist that will shock everyone. I'm working on getting the summary up.

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The sun was starting to make its presence known, peaking out from behind the clouds that had held Neptune captive for so long. Robins flitted from tree to tree, announcing an early spring. Winter had finally released its icy grip and flowers were, again, blessing the world with their simple beauty.

It was a sad day.

The funeral had just ended and people were already starting to disperse. I could hear wisps of their conversation as they discussed ‘her poor family’ and what a ‘horrible shame’ the whole situation had been. I saw a few people look my way, their gazes harsh and accusatory.

I ignored it all. All I could do was kneel, reading her headstone again and again. She couldn’t be dead! And yet, there was her name, etched into the rock for all to see. As much as I wanted to deny it, the proof was glaring me in the face.

With all my might, I pulled out memories from the back of my mind and dusted them off. Clinging to them, I finally took a look at my surroundings. My heart shattered and I flinched as the jagged edges pierced my soul. How could life go on like this when someone I cared about was dead?

The tears could be suppressed no longer. With a sob that came from deep within me, I crumpled before the tombstone. Once the floodgate had been opened, I discovered that, there was no stopping the emotion that poured forth. I was aware of people staring at me but I didn’t care anymore. I had given up airs of indifference a long time ago. I did care. And it hurt.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to look into the concerned eyes of Veronica Mars. I bit my lip and didn’t pull away as she hugged me.

It’s funny. A year ago, I never would have imagined being here, saying good bye to someone I cared about, crying in public, and finding comfort in the arms of Veronica Mars. But, as I know all too well, a lot can change in a year’s time.

[LexLuthorMetropolis]

Very good fan fiction! Keep posting and welcome to K-Site/N-Site!

[FlashRocks]

Dude, I've been around forever. Just took a little vacation. Lol. Thanx for the greeting anyway. And thanx for the compliment as well.

[LexLuthorMetropolis]

Never noticed lol.

[yellowqueen22]

Great start to a fan fic... glad to have more people writing over in Neptune!!!

[FlashRocks]

Chapter one:

I tapped my pen against my notebook absentmindedly as Radiohead blasted on my stereo. I was supposed to be writing my English paper but my mind had wandered elsewhere. How could I try to comprehend the ideas of George Orwell when I was still trying to figure out my own thoughts and feelings that were still torturing me?

I gazed out my window and watched the autumn leaves fall gracefully to the ground. It was November again. It seemed unbelievable that a year had gone by since the tragic accident that had nearly killed my cousin. It seemed, actually, cruel. Why didn’t the earth stop spinning when her whole world fell apart?

With a defeated sigh, I threw my pen down and pushed my notebook aside. There was no way this paper would get done on time. Not that I minded. There were more important things to worry about.

I heard someone pull up outside and I stood up to look out the window. Dick was climbing out of his car and I saw the shadow of a familiar person in the backseat. Nessy! With a smile, I stood up and headed downstairs to meet Dick and my younger cousin, Nessarose.

As I stepped out of my large house, I could smell the sweet California air and pitied all those that didn’t live on the West coast and therefore could not taste the sea salt in the breeze. I knew Nessarose loved the sweet ocean breeze when she came to visit and always took full advantage of it. Her activities in Neptune normally included visiting the beach and enjoying the park. She loved that sort of thing.

Stepping closer to Dick’s car, I noticed Nessarose still inside as Dick struggled to unload her bags. I smiled and opened the door of SUV. Nessarose was inside reading a thick hardback book that looked like it lacked pictures.

“Really, Nessy. You have such a pretty nose. Why do you insist on keeping it in a book?” I teased.

The book promptly fell from my cousin’s hands and her face lit up with delight. “Cassidy!” Her blue eyes dazzled with recognition and admiration. “Hey! Dick said you probably wouldn’t be home!” Her voice told me she was pleased that I was.

I shrugged in reply and took a moment to make sure Nessarose was okay. She looked so different. Her reading glasses were being put away, better displaying her big blue eyes, her sandy blonde hair fell well past her shoulders and a few freckles were sprinkled across her nose. From the outside, she seemed alright but if there’s one thing we know in Neptune, it’s that outward appearances are deceiving.

Dick tugged furiously at something in the trunk. Cassidy gave Nessarose an apologetic look and went to help his brother. “Stuck or are you trying to show off you muscles?” I joked, wondering if I was spending too much time with Logan.

The look that Dick gave me was icy and unfriendly. “Glad you think it’s funny.” With that, he pulled the wheelchair out of the car and walked to the other door, a chip on his shoulder a mile high.

I stayed where I was, staring at Dick’s retreating figure. I remember when my brother and I used to hang out all the time. Ever since the hit and run last year, everything had changed. We weren’t really the best of friends anymore. I knew he blamed me for what happened and it hurt so much to think about what went through his mind every time he looked at me. I just wished he could understand.

Dick jokingly punched Cassidy on the arm and looked at his brother and cousin with a twinkle in his eye. “Alright. Now, I’m aware that we’re going out for pizza to celebrate Nessa’s 12th birthday. However, I just found out that there is something else we need to be celebrating as well.” He held up his arms in a cartoon-like grand gesture.

Nessarose glanced at Cassidy for a moment and then looked up at Dick, curiously. “What would that be, Dick?” Her lips were twisted up with impatience, scrunching up her otherwise pretty face.

“I heard from a charming young blonde today that a certain Mac has agreed to go on a date with our very own Cassidy Casablancas!” He clapped his hands and made obnoxious audience noises. Breaking off into laughter, he punched his brother again. “Dude, nice catch. I mean, I don’t exactly go for the freaky computer chicks but she’s kinda cute, I guess.”

Cassidy groaned, his face a deep shade of crimson. He had a feeling his brother was using his real name to mock him though he wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or pleased seeing as he’d always seen his nickname an unfortunate one. “I can’t believe Veronica told you. There was a reason I was trying to keep it a secret.” He angrily overlooked Dick’s rude dialysis of Mac.

Beaming, Nessarose put in her two cents. “I like Mac, Cassidy. You guys are going to be awesome together.” She smiled warmly and skipped lightheartedly for a few seconds.

Saluting mockingly, Dick started walking backwards away from Cassidy and Nessarose. “I think I’ll go ahead of you slowpokes and order for everyone. Large Combo?” Without waiting for an answer he ran ahead of his two companions.

Nessarose smiled. “Mac, huh? I guess that makes sense.” She laughed and kicked up some leaves in her path.

“What do you mean?” Cassidy gave her a curious look.

“Well, for a starter’s, you’re both a little geeky.” She giggled as her cousin tousled her hair with his hand. “I mean, not geeky, per se. You know what I mean.” She put her hands in her pockets and the two continued on in silence for a few moments.

“How are you holding up, by the way? I know it must be hard. You know, with the-,” He stopped, his face burning with embarrassment. Bringing up Nessarose’s father’s recent death didn’t seem like a pleasurable topic on her birthday. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

Nessarose shrugged, but remained silent for a long moment. “It’s alright.” She finally said. “I’m not a china tea cup that will break if you’re not careful.” She said with a little bit of meaning her words, as if many did treat her in such a way. Suddenly, a smile appeared on her lips. “Come on! To celebrate our joyful occasions! Let’s not bring down the mood.” She giggled as she punched Cassidy on the arm and took off running.

“You rascal!” Cassidy took off running after his young cousin but he watched in horror as she darted across the street. A speeding, swerving car was heading right towards Nessarose. “Wait! Nessa!”

It was too late. Years and years later, Cassidy would be kept awake by the images that followed. The green jaguar knocked down his dear cousin and she fell to the ground, her blood gleaming even through her beloved Supergirl sweatshirt. The scent of burning rubber filled Cassidy’s nostrils as the car sped away, leaving an unconscious, bleeding Nessarose in the street.

Dick, who had heard the commotion, ran back from the pizza parlor and held his hand to his mouth. With a shout of alarm, he ran to his cousin and screamed for someone to call 911.

Cassidy arrived a moment afterward, tears in his eyes. “Omigod. Nessa, I’m so sorry.” He pushed back her sandy blonde hair that was now matted with blood and fought back tears that threatened to burst forth. “Please. Please, just be okay.”

I came back to reality to see Nessarose and Dick both staring at me curiously. I must have been seriously spacing out to earn such looks.

Nessarose held out her small slender hand from where she sat in her wheelchair. “Cass? Are you alright?” Her face displayed true concern. Dick’s only showed agitation and impatience.

“Yeah. Sorry. Hey, let’s head inside. I think we have some chips in the kitchen.” I gave them both a fake smile and headed towards the door of my luxurious Neptune home.

What happened to my perfect life?

[FlashRocks]

Chapter Two

Opening up yet another cabinet, I sighed in irritation. Dick must’ve been through the kitchen lately. Everything was gone except for the health food I kept for when Mac visited. Dick wasn’t really into the vegan thing.

“Well,” I finally admitted. “Either we were robbed by the Hamburglar or Dick got hungry last night.”

“I’m betting on Dick.” A familiar voice startled everyone. “However, I am not saying you should underestimate the Hamburglar. He’s a crafty little bugger. The door was open. I let myself in.”

Dick groaned as he slammed the half empty fridge closed. “Beav, I thought we trained our attack dogs to chase sarcastic, blonde PIs off our property.”

Veronica Mars clapped her hands together in mock glee and grinned widely, showing off all her pearly whites. “Oh! So, you do tricks now? Go on, boy! Roll over! Roll over!” Her grin melted into a smirk and she crossed her arms across her chest.

“Alright, children!” Acting as a buffer zone, I held up my hands to silence both my brother and Veronica. “For goodness sake, play nice! Dick, I invited Veronica over. I have to talk to her about a school project.” I shrugged apologetically and cast a nervous glance at Veronica. I was lying and she knew. I was just praying that she wouldn’t actually open her big mouth and say something.

Nessarose smiled as her eyes met with Veronica. “Hi, Pixie.”

Veronica rolled her eyes with a smile and put her hands on her hips. “Now, I thought I was a Winkie.” She exclaimed with artificial disappointment and indignation. “I might have an identity crisis because of you, Nessa!”

With a shake of her head, Nessarose giggled. “No, that was last time when you had really long hair. With short hair, you remind me more of a Pixie.” She pointed to her head, to indicate the reason for the nickname switch.

I smiled as I listened to the sweet interaction between Nessarose and Veronica. My little Nessy had always had a strange fascination with mythical creatures and fairy tales. She had once nicknamed me Fiyero after she discovered a book that had her unusual name in it. I often wondered if it was a way for her to escape from her life that was less than perfect.

“Alright, then. A Pixie, I am.” Veronica pushed her blonde hair out of her face and looked up at Cassidy. “Well, Cassidy. Let’s go discuss this top secret school project, then.” She walked out of the kitchen with her held high, as if cherishing my awkward silence as I followed.

As soon as we reached my room, Veronica sat in my computer chair and twirled around once. “Okay, so I was thinking that it might be neat to put glitter on our poster. Presentation is everything when it comes to school projects.” She beamed as she rested her chin on her hand.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Alright, you can cut that out, now. You know that’s not why I asked you here.” I paused and gazed at the ceiling for a moment. I wasn’t quite sure how to do this. Last time, it got my family into a whole mess of trouble. “Veronica, I’m not sure how to say this…”

“Oh dear!” she clasped her hands to her chest. “Are you proposing? Oh, Cassidy! The answer is yes!” She wiped away the fake tears and nodded. “But, sweetie, you really should’ve gotten on one knee.”

“Oh, just stop, Veronica! I’m serious!” Realizing that yelling at the only person that could help was stupid, I resumed composure. “I’m sorry. But I just can’t take sarcasm, right now.” I stopped and raked my fingers through my hair. “I need-I need your help.”

“Now, if I had a nickel for every time someone said that to me!” Veronica must’ve noticed the serious look on my face and her smile disappeared. “Sorry, sorry. Now, before I delve into this, I just want to remind you about the last time I helped you. I’m not trying to be cruel. Just honest.” Her eyes betrayed a trace of concern-humanity. In that moment, I recalled a time when I was younger when I’d had a foolish crush on her but pushed the thought away.

“I know. But this is worth it. I want you to find out who hit Nessy.” I wasn’t sure if my face looked determined or just pathetic. “Not knowing is killing me.” I could hear the emotion in my voice and I winced. I hated sounding so weak. Only losers betrayed their emotions.

A sigh erupted from Veronica with such power that I guessed she’d been holding it in for awhile. “Wow, uh, Cassidy-I-I really wouldn’t know where to start. I have nothing to work with. The case is a year old. The trail is cold.” She gesticulated broadly as she made her case. “I really don’t know.”

“What about Lilly?” The question came out so coldly that I surprised myself. I kept myself in check and continued my argument. “Her case was more than a year old, there were a bunch of powerful people trying to cover up the truth, the trail was cold, but you found out what happened! Come on, you’re Veronica Mars! And this is important to me! To Nessy!”

I noticed Veronica’s lips twitch downward and I knew I had touched a nerve. For a few moments, she was silent as she listened to Nessarose’s laughter floating up through the ceiling. “Are you sure you want to dredge it all back up?” She asked after the long silence. “It could be painful.”

I was prepared for the question and I answered with certainty. “It couldn’t be anymore painful than thinking that my little cousin is scarred for life and the person responsible is free. Please, Veronica, will you help?” I stared at her until she lifted her gaze to meet mine. I noticed something there-pain. But also determination.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s catch us some scum.”

Yup, now that’s the Veronica Mars I know.

[LaineSV11]

i lke it.. can't want to read more

[LexLuthorMetropolis]

Getting even more interesting

[mars_mallow]

Waiting for the next installment!

[FlashRocks]

Sorry, I was working on another fan fiction for a contest and this one kinda got pushed to the side. Give me a few more days.

[FlashRocks]

Hm, I seemed to have forgotten I was posting this here....


Chapter Three

Veronica and I headed down the stairs to find Dick stretched out in front of the TV. I seriously hoped he wasn’t watching his regular selection when Veronica and Nessarose were in the house. Luckily, he was just watching Happy Gilmore on pay-per-view.

“Dude, where’s Nessa? You didn’t just leave her alone, did you?” I felt slightly frustrated with my lazy brother as I wondered about my cousin’s current situation.

Dick sighed as he put the controller on the coffee table and looked up. “Sure. The last time I saw her, she was hanging from a cliff by her right pinky nail.” He rolled his eyes in agitation. “She wanted to read so she went into Dad’s office. You know how she gets when she reads.” He pointed to his noggin. “Totally oblivious to the rest of the world.”

I couldn’t help being a little peeved but decided to ignore my brother for the time-being. “Alright, keep her busy. I have to work on some stuff with Veronica. I’ll be back in an hour or so. Then we can take Nessa out for pizza.”

With a disgusted look on his face, Dick looked at Veronica. “Are you sure you want to hang out with her? Really, Beav, it’s like you're trying to lose your social status.” He rolled his eyes skyward then went back to his movie. Veronica and I both knew he wasn’t really trying to protect me, rather himself. And he just couldn’t help getting a shot in with Veronica.

Veronica put her hands on her hips and scrunched her face up at Dick. “You know? You usually, I would reply with a snarky and rude comment. But, to be perfectly honest, I don’t have very much time, and I don’t feel like wasting any of it fighting a battle of wits that you are clearly not well equipped for. Toodles!” She waved with a smile and dragged me out the front door.

Sometimes, I really admired that girl.

As Veronica and I made our way into the sunshine, she headed for her Le Baron. I immediately grabbed her arm and steered her away. “Don’t worry. We can take my car.” I led her towards my red convertible I’d bought just a few months ago. But she caught on quickly.

“Hm, tinted windows. Could it be you just don’t want anyone to know that you’re hanging out with me? Really, Cassidy, I’m hurt.” She pouted and ran her finger down her cheek, mimicking a tear.

“No, that’s not it. Okay, it is but it’s not. It’s not that I don’t want to be seen with you. I just don’t want to be seen in your car. I mean…” I drifted off sheepishly and scratched my head. “My car is just nicer, ya know?”

There were her eyes rolling again. “Oh, alright. I guess I’ll just suffer through riding in that fancy car. I can take one for the team, ya know.” She gave me a thumbs up and headed for my car. Climbing inside, she ran her hands across the cool leather interior. “Nice ride, Cassidy.”

I climbed in and started the car, making sure to put down the roof and roll the windows all the way up. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Cruising down the streets of Neptune, memories flooded me. I usually avoided this district. Even the unique noises seemed to remind me of that one fateful day that had changed things forever.

Finally, I came to a stop next to a parking meter and got out. Paying the fee, I glanced around at my surroundings. I could hardly breathe now. The memories were pressing in all around me and they were almost unbearably vivid.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Veronica was out of the car and she must’ve seen the pain in my eyes. There was some in hers, as well. Maybe it was contagious. Maybe misery like this was too much for just one heart to contain. Maybe it spread like the plague, eating away the soul.

Veronica looked up at me and gave me a few moments to collect myself. When my grace period had ended she straightened slightly and the sharp, intense gleam returned to her eyes. “You know why we’re here.”

Indeed, I did. We were here to reenact everything that had happened that day last autumn. We were here to try and discover the truth behind all the lies that had been floating around about the accident. I wanted to know. I needed to know.

“Alright.” Veronica jogged a little bit ahead and motioned to me. “I’ll be Nessarose. You can be…yourself, I guess. But only if you think you can handle it.” She winked and walked towards the crosswalk where the horrid scene had unfolded. I could tell she was trying to lighten the mood but I wasn’t sure if it was really possible. Nothing could ease the pain of this memory, branded into my brain like a hot iron into a bull’s flank.

I stood at the curb and watched Veronica casually walk across the street as the light flashed green. I slapped my hand to my forehead. Was Veronica completely mental? Or just suicidal?

“Alright. So, she was right here, and you said the car was coming from this way.” She shouted to me, waving her hands to indicate the different directions. A car almost ran her over but she jumped out of the way. As they drove by, there was a horn blasted and Veronica scowled. “Same to you! Alright…so she fell here.”

“How is this going to help us?”

“Well, at this point, I’m not sure. But you said that no eye witnesses came forward after the accident. With the exception of you and Dick. But it happened in broad daylight. How could no one see? I just want to know who could’ve possibly seen anything important.” Veronica put her fingertip to her chin and I breathed easier as I saw the traffic light turn red. I watched her do a series of turns and a look of enlightenment crossed her face.

I smiled. I could tell that she had found something else and I again felt glad that she was the way she was. Everyone always called on Veronica Mars when they were in trouble and she always succeeded in getting them out. She was a constant in the ever-changing whirlwind of Neptune.

“So?” I could fight back the expectant look in my eyes. “I saw that face you make. You found something out, didn’t you?”

Veronica refused to give away any helpful information. She simply pointed the street and twisted her lips in a determined way. “Now, tell me. Do you remember anyone standing on that corner? They would’ve been at a perfect angle to catch a glimpse of the license plate.”

A frown immediately appeared on my face. The accident had happened a year ago and the whole thing was a blur. But…maybe, yes. There was a tiny string in the fabric of the memory that was suddenly starting to unravel the mystery. “Wait a minute. Yes, there was this lady that was trying to sell these dream catchers. Nessa felt sorry for her so she bought one.”

Veronica’s hundred watt smile appeared. “And we have our witness. I’ll see if I can find this mystery woman. You, though, have a date with a darling and a dick.”