DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LIZZIE MCGUIRE. This is a story I have been working on for a quite a while. It's going to start off really crazily, so I hope you like it.

Summary: Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda went their separate ways after college. Now, seventeen years after college, (which would make them in their late thirties) Lizzie married, has two kids, and is getting a divorce, Gordo is directing, but still lives in Hill Ridge, and has custody of a teenage girl. When Lizzie decides to move back to Hill Ridge to start a new life, what will happen?

That's How It Goes

Prologue

Lizzie's Life up To this Point

All throughout college, Miranda, who went to UCLA, Gordo, who attended Columbia University, and Lizzie, who attended University of Texas, kept up with each other, despite their distance.

In March of their senior year, Lizzie announced that she was getting married to her boyfriend of over three years, George West. They were going to get married that summer and reside in Houston, Texas, where George's family kept a bar.

Of course, Lizzie invited her friends to the wedding in Hill Ridge, and both Gordo and Miranda showed up. Miranda was Lizzie's maid of honor.

Many people, including Lizzie's mother, Jo, wondered if she was getting married too soon. Lizzie hadn't even chosen a career, and already she was getting married. Lizzie, however, convinced all the people that were skeptical that she was old enough to make her own decisions and no one ever said a word after that.

The marriage was small, held outside in a public garden, with one hundred guests attending. It was beautiful and both Miranda and Gordo had a beautiful speech to give to Lizzie, saying that they were friends for life, this was a huge milestone, and how proud they were of their best friend.

That wedding was the last Lizzie ever saw Miranda and Gordo. It was the last time she had ever spoken to Gordo.

And now, seventeen years later, Lizzie McGuire-West, was sitting on her bed that she used to share with her husband looking at their wedding album. Everybody looked so happy in that album. If only they knew that seventeen years later, it would end in a brutal divorce, leaving Lizzie with their two sons, and George with practically everything else.

If only Lizzie had listened to her mom and other people who said she was too young. Lizzie finally shut the album as tears rolled down her face. She was sitting in an almost empty room. She was getting away from this city and moving back home.

For Lizzie caught her husband, George, having an affair with his high school sweet heart, and she knew she couldn't take it anymore. Before that, George had cheated her financially and sometimes verbally attacked Lizzie. When she caught him in bed with the other woman, she knew she had had it and she knew she had to get away from the city.

Her mom offered her to come back home, saying a house down the street was going on sale. Lizzie agreed to this, thinking her parents could help her take care of her boys, Jake and Andrew, ages sixteen and twelve, while she went to find a job or maybe even go back to college. She was thirty-eight years old and never had a full time job.

The one positive thing that came out of this was that George did not want any custody of his children. He would agree to pay child support and had certain limited visitation rights, but Lizzie and George bother agreed that she would be taking care of the boys.

So, in Lizzie's old, white pick-up truck, she piled Jake and Andrew with a few other things while she hired a U-Haul to take the rest of their things to Hill Ridge.

After all these years, Lizzie was finally going home.

Gordo's Life Up to This Point

David Gordon's life on the other hand, was completely different. After attending the wedding, Gordo went to Grad school to finish up his education and after that, he went to Los Angeles for a few years to work on a few films and documentaries. He never married and had a steady career, which his life revolved around, until tragedy struck within the family.

Gordo's older first cousin, Paul Isaacson, and his wife, Andrea, died in a horrific car crash in Massachusetts about seven years after Lizzie's wedding, when Gordo was almost thirty. Gordo found out that the will of his cousin granted Gordo custody of their only daughter, Hailey, who was five at the time.

At first, Gordo wasn't going to agree with it, because he didn't really know Hailey, and although he was close with Paul when they were younger, he wasn't sure he was at a time in his life where he could take on this type of responsibility, especially since he wasn't married.

But, he reluctantly agreed to take temporary custody of the child until the court could find Hailey a permanent home. Andrea was an only child whose parents lived in Holland and Paul's father was living in a special home for people with Alzheimer's, while his mother died a few years earlier.

Unexpectedly, though, Gordo grew a fondness for the five year old and although he knew it would be quite a challenge, he decided he would, after all, take responsibility and permanent custody of Hailey. He moved in with his parents and took a break from his job to spend some time with his new child. He worked every once in a while on a documentary or independent film, traveling mainly up to Los Angeles and occasionally to New York, and when he did this, he would either take Hailey with him or leave her with his parents. He only did this once or twice a year because of family.

Miranda's Life Up to This Point

After graduating college at UCLA, Miranda moved across the country to be involved with public relations in New York. She eventually married someone she met in college, Ben, and they had a daughter, Allie, who was eight at this point.

Miranda talked to Lizzie on the phone as often as she could, but as with Lizzie, Miranda's relationship with Gordo had also disappeared. Especially after her parents moved out of Hill Ridge and into Miami. She never went back to Hill Ridge. She remained somewhat close to Lizzie, and visited Lizzie in Houston a few times, but mostly their relationship was through e-mail and phone calls, and after Miranda had Allie, she rarely kept up with Lizzie.

However, a month ago, Miranda did receive a phone call in the middle of the night from Lizzie, "Miranda," she said, sobbing, "I'm getting a divorce."

Miranda, who had no previous knowledge of the affairs of George or financial problems, seemed completely surprised by this and didn't know what to make of it. Lizzie explained what was going on and Miranda even came down to help Lizzie pack, and on the day Lizzie left, Miranda walked in as Lizzie was looking at her wedding album and crying, "Lizzie, are you ready to go?"

Lizzie sniffed and then sighed, looking up from the album, "Yeah."

"That's my girl," Miranda said, walking up to her and hugging her old best friend.

"Miranda," Lizzie said, "I don't know if I can take starting my life over again."

"Well," Miranda said, "How will you know unless you try?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes, wiping her tears from under her eyes with her hand, "Miranda, will you come visit me?"

"Of course I will," Miranda said, "I haven't been to Hill Ridge in over fifteen years. I've been looking for an excuse to visit and see what everyone has been up to these days."

"Thanks," Lizzie said.

"And Jake and Andrew will be fine. Just give them time, especially Jake. This is going to be hard for him, but you are going to have to be strong."

Lizzie nodded her head, "I know."

"And if you need me, just call me. I'm an airplane away, and I am not afraid to drag Ben and Allie out to California to help my best friend."

Lizzie laughed through her tears, "Thanks, Miranda."

"Just be strong, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Lizzie said, taking one last sigh, she took her album and walked out of her room with Miranda by her side.

After Miranda watched Lizzie drive away, wishing her the best and going back to New York.

Broken Relations

As some of you—okay scratch that—all of you are wondering, friendships between the once dynamic trio, especially between Gordo and Lizzie, changed dramatically.

It was mentioned earlier that some people, including Jo, Lizzie's mother, didn't want Lizzie to get married so soon. Some of them, Like dear old Gordo didn't want her to get married at all—well at least not to George West, anyway.

Lizzie and Gordo went out in high school and broke up right before college because of the distance, but Gordo always thought they would pick up where they left off after college. It turned out, he was wrong.

When Gordo heard of the engagement between Lizzie and George, not only was he surprised, but he also was disappointed. He still loved Lizzie and still wanted him all to himself.

He was pretty quiet about this with Lizzie, and wasn't planning on telling her at all, until one night, about a week before the wedding, it all just kind of came out.

Lizzie, Miranda, and Gordo were all in town for the wedding and they were out eating dinner and they were drinking, and Gordo got drunk and started asking all these questions to Lizzie and everything he felt for Lizzie came out through anger and this really upset Lizzie. Gordo later apologized, and Lizzie accepted his apology, but still, their relationship was clearly strained. After the wedding, Lizzie never called Gordo and Gordo never called Lizzie. There was that one year Lizzie sent Christmas cards, the year Jake was born, she send him a card, but never again did they talk to each other. In fact, at this point, Lizzie didn't even know where Gordo lived or what was going on in his life and the same could be said about Gordo for Lizzie. Now, more than ever, however, Lizzie wished she listened to Gordo's words, because she was sure if Gordo had told her how he felt earlier and in a more fashionable tone, maybe she wouldn't have had to go through all of this today.

As for Miranda and Gordo, well, Miranda was also there the night that Gordo let it all out and sided with Lizzie on the fact that what he said was inappropriate. Gordo apologized to her as well and Miranda also accepted the apology, but after the wedding, when she went to New York, she never bothered to give Gordo any calls or updates.

It was funny, though, because at the wedding, it was as if nothing had happened between the friends. Gordo and Miranda toasted the couple at the reception and Gordo and Lizzie even shared a dance. The incident was never spoken about again. The last words Gordo ever said to Lizzie was, "Have fun on your honeymoon!"

But now, the honeymoon was clearly over.

To be continued