Lizzie sits in her room, reading the latest CosmoGirl. Ever since Rome, her summer had been pretty dull...Well, only because she had been grounded. She sighs as she flips the page of the June and July edition that she had read at least one thousand times. A clack against her bedroom window grabs her attention. She looks at the window and sees nothing. Shrugging, she turns back to her magazine. She is re-reading about Ashley Simpson's new haircut when the clack comes from her window again. Lizzie looks up with a frown. She sits up on her bed before the clack comes again. After rising from the bed, Lizzie heads towards the window. She looks outside and sees Gordo standing on her front lawn. He sees her and waves. She opens her window and sticks her head out. Blonde hair cascades around her face.

"Gordo! What are you doing here?" Lizzie quietly whispers down at him.

He shrugs, calling up, "I thought you'd want to break free."

Lizzie laughs, saying, "But I'm grounded...?"

"Well, you could sneak out."

"What happened to the responsible Gordo I knew?"

"Haha, well, I guess you rubbed off on me." he jokes.

"I only snuck out in Rome!" Lizzie defends herself.

"I know, I'm kidding." Gordo smiles. "So, are you coming?"

"Yeah, lemme get ready."

Lizzie ducks back into her room and quickly changes out of her sweat pants and old tee into blue jeans and a cute top her mom had gotten her at rue21. She stuffs pillows under her covers to make it seem as though she were asleep. Lizzie pulls on tennis shoes before slowly opening her bedroom door. Peering around, she tip-toes out and down the stairs. As usual, her parents were curled up on the sofa watching some television show. She didn't know where Matt was and she didn't care. She creeps up to the front door. She gently opens it with care before stepping out onto the front porch. She releases a sigh of relief. Gordo runs around to meet her. He broadly grins at her before walking up the steps and grabbing her hand. She greets him witha kiss on the cheek. He blushes slightly. They start to step off the front porch and out into the dark night. Suddenly, a beam of light comes from the front door.

"Lizzie!"

Lizzie freezes at the sound of her father's voice. She and Gordo turn to face him. They smile innocently at Mr. McGuire. He frowns at them, arms folded across his chest. Lizzie and Gordo look at each other nervously. They look back at Sam McGuire.

"Lizzie, come here." he instructs his daughter.

She nods, releasing Gordo's hand. Gordo sighs, hoping her father isn't too mad.

"Go inside, Lizzie," Sam tells his daughter.

"B-But dad--" Lizzie stutters.

"Lizzie, go inside." her father tells her.

Lizzie steps inside, but stays within listening range of her father and Gordo. She peers out of the opened door and watches the scene.

"Mr. McGuire, I-I'm really sorry, but I just thought Lizzie would like a break from all this." Gordo starts innocently.

Jo holds up his hand to silence the teenager. "Stay away from my daughter." Sam McGuire orders.

"Wait...WHht?" Gordo asks, furrowing his brow.

"Dad!" Lizzie exclaims, bursting out from where she had been listening.

"Stay away from her." Mr. McGuire tells Gordo. Jo turns to his daughter and adds, "And you stay away from him."

"No! Dad, this is rediculous!" Lizzie shouts, on the verge of tears.
Gordo shoves his hands in his pockets and sighs. "Bye, Liz," he mumbles before turning and trudging across the lawn. Lizzie makes a move to follow him, but her father grabs her arm. Lizzie begins to cry. Tears make trails down her face as she reaches out towards her boyfriend.

"Please, don't g-go." she cries after him.

Gordo pauses, but continues walking. Lizzie is dragged inside the house by her father. "Go to your room." he says. Lizzie scowls at him through her tears and races up the staircase. She hurries into her bedroom and collapses on her bed. Her sobs shake her whole body. She wished so bad that her dad hadn't caught them. Slowly, Lizzie cries herself to sleep.

The next day, Lizzie wakes up to the sound of someone coming up the stairs. She sits up in bed, realizing she hadn't changed out of last night's outfit. She sighs and pulls on some old red gym shorts and a red and white school shirt. She plods out of her room and down into the kitchen. Her mom is at the table along with Matt. Lizzie pours herself a bowl of cereal before joining them for breakfast. They eat silently before her mom speaks up.

"So, your father told me that you were caught sneaking out with Gordo last night?" she states, looking up from her toast.

"Ooh, busted!" Matt pipes in rudely.

Lizzie glares at her brother before turning towards her mom. "Yeah, but we weren't going to do anything bad! We were just gonna go to the mall." she defends.

Her mom nods and says, "Well, you shouldn't be sneaking out. Your grounding was all summer. You've only got one week left."

"I know and I'm really sorry." Lizzie sighs as she stirs her cereal.

"Well, I talked to your dad and we've decided not to extend your grounding. Just...don't sneak out again." Jo (her mother) says with a smile.

"Oh, okay. Thank you...I love you, mom." Lizzie grins.

"Suck up," Matt insults his sister.

"Shut up, creton." Lizzie sneers.

"Oh, and Lizzie?" Jo smiles.

"Yeah, mom?"

"I'll let you use the phone again. Keeping you cooped up this long isn't fair." Lizzie's mother responds. "Don't tell your father, though. I'll break it to him."

"Okay! Thank you! Thank you! Sooo much!" Lizzie squeals, jumping to her feet.

Lizzie heads up to her room with excitement. She shuts the door behind her and grabs her phone immediately. She immediately dials Miranda's number. She smiles brightly at the new arrangement. The phone rings before Miranda's voice comes across.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Miranda!" Lizzie exclaims.

"LIzzie! Hey, I thought you were grounded?" Miranda asks.

"I am, but my mom's letting me get on the phone!" Lizzie updates her friend.

"Good, because it was getting pretty dull without talking to you for so long." Miranda states.

"I know! I've missed you sooo much!"

"Same here. By the way, Gordo tells me you two are finally dating?" Miranda squeals.

Lizzie blushes slightly. "Yeah, we are..."

"Well! When did this happen?!" Miranda demands giddily.

"When we went to Rome, this famous pop-star Paulo thought I was his partner Isabella..." Lizzie begins her story... "And then, I kissed Gordo." she finishes with a breath.

"Whoa! I always miss everything!" Miranda states.

"Gordo tried to sneak me out last night, but my dad caught us..."

"Oh no, what happened?"

"Dad told Gordo he had to 'stay away from me.'" Lizzie grumbles.

"That's stupid."

"Tell me about it!"

"Well, I hafta go...Sorry." Miranda sighs.

Lizzie smiles. "It's alright. Bye."

She hangs up the phone and sits up in bed. Lizzie sighs looking at a picture of her and Gordo in Rome. She knows that if she gets caught her dad would kill her, but she has to do it. She picks up the phone and dials the number. Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Gordo. It's Lizzie." she grins broadly into the telephone.

"Hey! You're on the phone now?" he asks.

"Yeah, I got a break."

"What about your dad? I have to stay away from you." Gordo's reasonable side takes over.

"Well, my dad is nuts. He can't keep us apart...I love you." Lizzie admits.

"I love you, too."

"Hey, you wanna try that sneaking out thing again?" Lizzie asks.

"It couldn't go worse than it did last time."

"Okay, meet me in the backyard at seven?"

"Alright, it's a date." Gordo responds.