| "I was a bad boy when we dated, but after a year of private school, therapy, quitting drugs, and dumping my loose-cannon ex-girlfriend, I've changed into a more-or-less good boy." |
| — Troy to Veronica, The Rapes of Graff |
Troy Vandegraff dated Veronica Mars for a short time during her junior year, but their relationship didn’t last long because Troy involved an unwitting Veronica in a plot to smuggle steroids from Mexico into the US. Veronica managed to find out his intentions before he was able to successfully complete his plan and run away with his real girlfriend.
She encounters him again a year later during a visit to Hearst College. He is accused of raping and shaving the head of a girl. Veronica ends up clearing Troy's name but doesn't find out who the rapist is until her freshman year as a student there.
It is briefly mentioned that during the time since we last saw Troy that he was across the country at a private school. He had also broken up with his real girlfriend during that time and claims to now be a better person. After Veronica exonerates him, he calls her a true friend where she then responds with saying that she is merely an "acquaintance with reservations."