"Um…thank you!" he says, startled, the touch of her lips still burning on his.
"You're welcome," she answers, not looking at him, her cheeks pink.
"Yeah," he says after a while. "So, um, wanna get back to that party before we get into more trouble?"
"Yeah, 'cause I definitely can't afford any more trouble."
They walk back through the door, fireworks flaming up behind them.
* * *
Lizzie went over to talk to her parents, while Gordo sat and sipped punch.
Sitting there, watching her from across the room, made snatches of memory flash past his eyes…
* * *
"Make a wish."
"I'm in Rome with my best friend. I'm good."
Wait – I wish she wasn't my best friend. I wish she was more.
* * *
"Promise me that we'll have adventures on this trip."
"Me. You. Adventures. Promise."
As long as it's "you and me."
* * *
"You're a loyal friend, Gordon."
Which is all I'll ever be…
* * *
"Gordo?"
A sweet voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Ready to do? It's getting late. We should get to bed, you know, since we have a really long flight home tomorrow."
"Right." He set his glass down and followed Lizzie upstairs, a faint dizzy feeling filling his head as he watched the hypnotic sway of her hair.
* * *
"Mom – dad – what are you doing in here?" Lizzie asked, surprised to see her mother, father, and all their luggage in her hotel room.
"We—ll…since we flew over to get you in sort of a rush, we kind of just realized that we forgot to reserve a hotel room – and the hotel's booked."
"So, you're sleeping in my bed instead?"
"Yeah, well, if you don't mind…You don't, do you?"
Toon Lizzie: "Nah, I'll just grab some pillows and snuggle up in the stairwell."
"Sure. Of-of course not. Just, where an I supposed to sleep?"
"Um, well, Mrs. Ungermeyer said that she accidentally got an extra single suite. We have the keys somewhere. You could stay there."
"Yeah, okay." She took the keys her mom handed her and headed for the stairs. "Hmm…" she said to Gordo as they passed his and Ethan's room. "I wonder where all Kate's stuff went."
"It's in here with me," Kate said, opening the door to Gordo's room. "Oh, and you'll want your stuff," she said to Gordo, pushing his suitcase out into the hallway at his feet. "Sleep tight," Kate said, before closing the door in his face.
Gordo looked down at his stuff, then back at Lizzie.
Toon Lizzie: "Okay, so now Gordo's homeless, too. That seems to be happening a lot today."
"Lizzie? Is there a problem?" Her mom asked, poking her head out of Lizzie's room and looking the short distance down the hall at them.
"Yeah, mom. Kate's staying in Gordo's room."
"Where am I sleeping?" Gordo said, addressing the issue at once, and speaking for the first time in a while.
"Gordo, you could sleep with me," Lizzie offered at once, holding up the room key her mom had given her and gesturing with it towards the stairs.
Jo and Gordo looked at her in surprise, Gordo raining his eyebrows at her.
Toon Lizzie: "What? What did I say? I just said that Gordo could….Oh my gosh! I did not just say that!! I didn't mean that!"
"In the room with me, I mean," Lizzie corrected frantically. "In the room with me!"
Jo began laughing, Gordo just looked away, but he was snickering behind his hand.
After everyone had calmed down and Lizzie had stopped hyperventilating, Sam and Jo got serious. Jo took the room key from Lizzie's hand and said, "Really, though, Lizzie. You . And Gordo. Alone. In a single-bedded suite?"
"Mom, it's Gordo!"
"Hey!" Gordo said, mocking offence.
"I mean," Lizzie said, continuing, barely acknowledging Gordo's remark. "We are two mature adolescents. A guy and a girl. What's wrong with that?"
"This isn't helping our case," Gordo muttered in her ear, leaning over.
"This, similarly, isn't helping out case," Gordo muttered again.
Jo looked at Sam with an "I-don't-know-should-we-trust-them" look. Sam shrugged.
"Please," Lizzie and Gordo pleaded, sporting matching grins (à la Simba and Nala).
"Well….alright." Jo sighed. "Lizzie…" she added in a warning tone as Lizzie squealed and took the key from her hand.
"Mom, I know! We're friends – it's fine! Its just like old times when we used to have sleepovers. We're just friends."
Yes, Gordo thought bitterly, frowning. That's all I am, just your friend. That's all I'll ever be. Just a friend.
(PS – This is my first time writing a Lizzie McGuire fanfic. I've written them for other books and shows before, but I'm new at this type, so please review and tell me how I'm doing!)
(PPS – Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors; they were definitely not inteded.)
