A/N: New story!!! I had the inspiration for this when I came across an article in a magazine about Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. Don't ask. But, some information-Gordo is a movie director, and Lizzie is a pop star...think Mandy Moore, who wants to break into serious acting. She is "dating" Adam Mercer (name I pulled out of my head), a British singer-songwriter kind of like John Mayer. So, here it goes...

"THIS TIME AROUND"
by hey cool

Lizzie ran and ran, but no matter how fast she ran, Gordo was always the same distance away from her. He stood in the same spot and yelled at her to go away, but Lizzie remained undaunted in her chase.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake underneath her. It opened up, and she started to slip through the crack. She tried to hold on, but her efforts were to no avail.

Lizzie was about to hit the ground, until suddenly...

She awoke with a sudden twitch. She rubbed her head, as her neck was very sore.

"Darn it...I fell asleep on the couch again."

She climbed the stairs of her New York penthouse to her room, and pulled on her robe. Lizzie then went to the room next door, where she found her daughter already up and playing with her dolls.

"Knock, knock. Good morning sweetheart," Lizzie said, smiling at Kylie.

"Good morning mommy," the six year old replied. Her face was framed by soft, dark curls, and her blue eyes shone brightly. "Barbie and Ken are going to get married."

"Again?"

"Well, we just bought Barbie a new dress, so I thought that they could have another wedding just for fun."

Lizzie smiled at her daughter's logic, and that way she looked exactly like Gordo when she was explaining something.

Kylie's face was overcome with a look of curiosity, as a question was about to pop out of her mouth.

"Mom, did you ever get married?"

Lizzie didn't know how to answer that question.

"Well...not really...."

"What about my daddy? Did you ever get married?"

Lizzie panicked, but she just resorted back to the answer she always used.

"Kylie...you know that your father and I were best friends, and he was a great guy, but..." she replied, trailing off as she always did. "I'll tell you about it when you get older.

"Okay," she said quietly, before she sprung to the next thought. "Can we go to the movies today?"

"Actually, Mike is going to come over, and we are going to work on some promotional stuff for my new album."

"Ewww...I don't like that guy," Kylie said, wrinkling her nose at the mention of Lizzie's manager.

"Kate and Miranda are coming too, and Miranda said she would take you anywhere you wanted."

"YAY!" Kylie exclaimed. "Can we go to dinner tonight?"

"No, we were just going to eat in tonight. Adam is coming over."

Kylie's face fell with disappointment.

"Why can't we go out?"

"It's complicated, sweetie. You will understand later. Now, go get ready for Miranda."

She kissed her daughter on the forehead, and Kylie took off running as the doorbell rang.

Lizzie looked through the window, and there was standing Miranda.

"Hey, senorita. Here, I brought you this. Figured you would get a few laughs," she greeted Lizzie, handing her a magazine.

Lizzie glanced at the headline.

HILARY DUFF AND ADAM MERCER EXPECTING?

She scrolled down to read the rest of the article.

RECENT PHOTOS SUGGEST THAT MS. DUFF HAS THE PROVERBIAL 'BUN IN THE OVEN'. BUT WOULD THIS RUIN HER OTHERWISE VIRGINAL APPEARENCE? TURN TO PAGE 17 FOR DETAILS...

"Oh, if they only knew," Lizzie said, handing the tabloid back to Miranda.

"What would Mike say about this?" Miranda asked. "We have worked so hard to build this reputation," she said, imitating Lizzie's publicist.

"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder if it was all worth it. I mean, when you have to hide the fact that you have a daughter, use a stage name, and date someone who you don't even like very much-"

"Adam? He is a cutie."

"Yeah, but he is the cockiest jerk ever," Lizzie said with a sigh. "I wish Gordo-"

"No, you don't. Stop thinking about Gordo. He did the worst thing possible to you," Miranda interrupted. "He completely ran away from you and Kylie."

"Speaking of it, she asked about her dad again today. What should I tell her?"

"Besides the fact that he is a spineless creep who dumped us the minute he got you pregnant?"

Lizzie playfully hit Miranda on the shoulder.

"Stop that. I loved him."

"But did he really love you? I tell you, if I ever saw him again, I don't know what I would do..."

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Kate Sanders, who was also Lizzie's personal assistant.

"Hello, hello! I brought breakfast for our little meeting," she said in a singsong voice. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Gordo," Lizzie and Miranda replied in unison.

"I'd like to wring his neck," Kate said angrily.

As Kate and Miranda chattered about their lives, Lizzie couldn't help but drift away. Sure she was the richest popstar in the United States, and was dating People Magazine's number one hottest bachelor, but she never did seem quite happy.

She excused herself to her room, where she pulled out a very worn piece of paper.

DEAR LIZZIE, I AM REALLY SORRY, BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN HANDLE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING A FATHER RIGHT NOW. I HAVE TOO MUCH THAT IS GOING FOR ME, AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO CARE FOR OUR MISTAKE...

A tear dropped onto the letter, and Lizzie carefully folded it back into its envelope.

She still believed that maybe Gordo didn't really write that letter. It was farfetched, but she still could never believe that David Gordon, the boy who loved Lizzie with all his heart, could even be capable of writing that.

Then again, she also thought that her parents would have been supportive of her descision to keep that baby. Instead they kicked her out of their house, and Lizzie was left to fend for herself. Her best friends, Kate and Miranda, came to her aid, and the three of them left for New York City. Lizzie tried her best to stay in school, and get a degree, while keeping her job as a waitress.

Kate and Miranda helped too, and the three of them got a very small apartment right next to the junior college that Lizzie attended.

The two of them also worked while attending college, and money was tight, especially when Lizzie had to go on maternity leave. But they made it through, and Kylie Mcguire was born. The three of them mutually decided that they would not give her Gordo's last name.

Lizzie decided not to go back to waitressing, instead she decided to pursue her lifelong dream. She was discovered at an audition by Mike, and everything was a whirlwind from there.