dangermousie | Veronica Mars Fanfic: Uncomfortable, 1/1 (Mandy, mentions of L/V, D/V)

Title: Uncomfortable
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Rating: PG, 480 words, spoilers up until last week's ep
Summary: Mandy the Dog Girl hero-worships.
Characters: Mandy. Mentions of L/V, D/V
ETA: thanks for the feedback!

Uncomfortable. When Mandy walks down the hall and sees someone she knows, there is always this temporary but insoluble dilemma: when should she open her mouth and say “hi,” or look and nod, or make eye contact. She is never sure of the precise proper moment: it doesn’t come naturally and she has to think it through. Of course, she almost always over thinks and either stares much too long or appears rudely spacing out. It’s her little private daily ordeal.

Veronica Mars never has to think of things like that. When she talks, she knows people will listen. When she wants attention, she gets it. And she doesn't back off, ever. Or hestitate, or makes stupid clumsy mistakes.

Sometimes Mandy has a little ephemeral fantasy: Veronica looks up and invites her to sit with her at lunch and they talk and soon she is Veronica’s new best friend and their dogs play together. She knows it would never happen: if Veronica talked to her, Mandy is likely to be largely mute, the way she generally is, and her stomach would twist a little and she wouldn’t relax. But it’s a pleasant fantasy nonetheless.

She likes seeing Veronica walk down the hallway with her boyfriend, Duncan Kane. Her bag is swinging off her shoulder, and her hand is loose in his. He is exactly the kind of boyfriend Mandy thinks Veronica would have: good-looking, and attentive, and nice. Veronica Mars gets what she wants. No one-sided, humiliating crushes. Just a boy who will come back to you, a boy who is perfect and perfectly right.

When Veronica Mars walks down the hallway people notice. People move (sometimes out of the way). Mandy hides in her clothes, behind her hair. Veronica is all out in the open, no camouflage needed. Mandy is not jealous: the open terrain of school terrifies her. She is just admiring Veronica's free, fast stride. Her hair is dull brown. Veronica's is spun gold.

One day of the new school year, the teachers ask for nominations for Homecoming court and Mandy knows, without doubt, who she’d like to nominate. She is not the only one, it seems, and the possibility hangs in the air for a second, and Mandy feels more awake than she has all day. Logan Echolls, a few seats down, makes a mocking remark once Veronica’s name is mentioned. Of course. For Mandy, Logan is labeled under two uncomforting tags: “09er boy,” and “sarcasm.” And yet, Veronica isn't deterred by either: apparently they dated over the summer. Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars. The sheer incongruity of this made it even to Mandy's ears. Nothing scares Veronica. She was probably never tongue-tied or shy. Veronica Mars is amazing.

So she squares her shoulders a little and adds her voice to “Veronica Mars for Homecoming Queen.” Maybe a little of Veronica had rubbed off, after all.