A/N: Okay, you can for sure call this a filler chapter. But I need a filler before I get to the another exciting point. Besides, Gordo and Lizzie need a romantic little get away, don't they? ;)

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!"

Lizzie groaned and threw her pillow over her head to block out the sunlight. "Matt? What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving soon and I came to say goodbye."

"Buh-bye. Now leave!"

"Not yet."

"Argh! What do you want?"

"Take your anti-depressant."

"I will when I get up."

"I don't know if I can trust you, though." Lizzie rolled over and looked at her brother.

"Matt, of course you can trust me."

"Take it right now."

"Why does this matter so much to you?"

"Because you felt so much better yesterday. Hang on." He ran into the bathroom and returned with her prescription bottle. "Here. Please, Liz."

Lizzie sighed but swallowed the pill anyway. "There, happy?"

"Yup! See ya, sis."

Lizzie rolled back over and settled in to go to sleep. Gordo came and stood by her open door. "Knock, knock."

Lizzie sighed and sat up. "Okay, okay, I'm up!"

"Good. It's getting late, anyway. Do you have plans today?"

"Nope. What do you have in mind?"

"There's this sweet new ice skating rink open downtown."

"Ice skating, Gordo? How old are we? And it's only August."

"Come on, it could be…" He was thinking "romantic" but no way in hell could he say that.

"Fun?" She tried to finish his thought for him.

"Yeah. Fun."

"Okay, you win. Let me get dressed and we can go downstairs and grab some breakfast first."

"Sounds good." He went out to wait in the hall.

Lizzie dragged herself out of bed and over to her closet. She threw on a sweater, jeans, Ugg boots and brushed her hair. A little lip gloss and she was good to go.

"You look good," Gordo commented.

"Thanks. What do you want to eat?" They jogged down the stairs together.

"I'm actually not hungry. But I'll sit with you." Lizzie got out some pancake mix and got to work.

When they were all cooked, she asked, "You sure you don't want some of these?"

"Well, maybe just one. You know me and food." She smirked.

"Yeah, I know."

LM LM LM LM LM

"Gordo, this place is so dorky. Who listens to Christmas music in the summer?"

Gordo stopped humming along to "Jingle Bells" long enough to retort, "You're just bickering 'cause you're not good at ice skating."

"I'm not bickering. And just for the record, I am great at ice skating. I just have to get my 'ice legs' or whatever first."

"Okay, McG, whatever you say. Let's just get our skates." They wandered over to the front desk. "Two, please." He laid some bills down on the table.

"Gordo, let me pay for myself."

"It's no big deal, Liz."

"What size skates?" Asked the attendant, smiling at the two teenagers.

"10 and…?" Gordo started.

"7's," Lizzie finished. They ventured over to a bench and traded sneakers for skates. "How long do we have to do this?"

"Until we get cold, I guess."

"Well, I'm already cold. Let's leave."

"Not so fast. I paid for you, remember? We have to get my money's worth first."

Lizzie and Gordo got on the ice, Gordo showing his athletic side and taking to it immediately. Lizzie…not so much. She held tentatively onto the railing, slowly making her way around the rink. Gordo laughed as he lapped her. "Gordo! Don't laugh! Just help me!" He slowed down next to her.

"Here, hold my hand." She wrinkled her nose. "Just do it. I don't bite or anything. We used to do this all the time, remember?"

"Yeah…I remember." She reached out and grabbed his hand right before falling over. Gordo helped her up.

"Come on. We'll go slowly." They waddled their way around the ice for a while until Lizzie got her "ice legs." They began to go faster, Gordo even daring to spin her around in circles once or twice. Soon he had her laughing and smiling, just like old times.

They stopped at an Italian restaurant and got some spaghetti. "Remember the last time we came here?" Gordo asked.

"Yeah. On my birthday."

"Oh…yeah." They were silent. "You know, I've really missed you, Lizzie."

"I've missed you, too. But I manage."

"Yeah. Me too, I guess." Lizzie's eyes started to fill with tears. She looked up at Gordo.

"How was New York?" This was the first time they had seriously sat down and talked about Gordo's leaving since the hospital.

"It was…interesting. The people weren't bad, except for Liza. My job was okay. The apartment was decent. I mean, it was so different than Hillridge. It was kinda fun being in a big city for a while. I missed everything about this place, though."

"School's starting soon. I guess you have to go back soon?"

"About that…I was thinking it's too late to get back into UCLA for this year, but I could just hang out here for a year. Then I could go there next year."

"Everyone would love it if you came back. To stay, I mean."

"Thanks. Ready to go?"

"Sure."

Before either of them realized it, they were in Gordo's backyard, lying in his old tree house. "Remember all those summer days we used to spend up here?" Gordo asked, pulling Lizzie's hand to help her up the ladder.

"Yeah. We were, like, obsessed with this place. We used to bring lemonade and cookies and board games up here. We would all talk for hours. Miranda usually came with, though."

"Yes. But I like being with just you sometimes, too." Lizzie's cheeks lit up.

"Well, the feeling is definitely mutual." They sprawled out on an old blanket they had left there years ago. Gordo reached over and took Lizzie's hand. She shuddered, but didn't pull away.

"Look at all the stars," Gordo said, using his free hand to point out constellations. "The Big Dipper, the Little Dipper…"

"Not a cloud in the sky."

"Yeah. It's gorgeous."

"For sure."

"Liz, how did we break up?" He asked, just hoping they could talk about it.

"You seriously don't remember?"

"Well…can we t-talk about it?" he stammered.

"Sure, but what is there to say?"

"What would you say if…if I told you I was sorry I broke up with you." Gordo hoped she could take a hint.

"You already told me you were sorry you dumped me over the phone."

"Oh, yeah…" That wasn't the way he meant it, but he decided to play along. "Have you, um…been seeing anyone?"

Lizzie considered the possible answers in her head. Should she lie? Say she's over him? "No." She had always been a bad liar, anyway.

"Oh. Well, don't you think you should start to get out again?" Saying the exact opposite of what your heart felt could be difficult, but Gordo had managed to do it in that simple sentence.

"Maybe. I don't want someone just to be with someone, though, you know?"

"Yeah, I completely get it." In response to that, Lizzie leaned over and pecked him on the lips. She pulled away and touched her lips. She had forgotten how good that had felt.

"Sorry," she said, blushing and lying back down.

"Don't be." Gordo commented, giving her hand a squeeze.

LM LM LM LM LM

Lizzie tapped her thumbs against the screen of her blackberry. She had kissed Gordo. She had kissed Gordo. Her ex-boyfriend Gordo. What had she been thinking? But that was in the past. Now her dilemma was deciding whether or not to text Miranda and tell her about it. Finally deciding she was in desperate need of guidance, Lizzie typed a message into her phone and hit send.

I NEED YOUR HELP. MOVIE NIGHT?

The reply came:

I'LL BE OVER IN TEN.

Soon the two girls were sitting on the rug in the living room, sharing ice cream straight out of the carton. "So spill," Miranda insisted, licking the chocolate cream off her spoon.

"I…well…ugh, I have no clue where to start."

"Something to do with Gordo?"

"How'd you know?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Please. He's been the only topic of conversation for months now."

Lizzie blushed. "Do I really talk about him that much."

Miranda smiled, "It's okay. So what happened?"

"Well, we went ice skating…"

"That's so cute! I used to love ice skating with Keith…sorry, back on topic."

"It's fine. Then we went to dinner and we hung out in his old tree house. We got to talking about…us…and I kissed him. Kissed him. What the hell was I thinking, Miranda? And more importantly, what do I do know."

"Well, what did you say after the kiss?"

"I said, 'sorry'."

"Sorry? That's worse than his 'thanks' in Rome, Lizzie!"

"I know, I know."

"Whatever. What did he say?"

"He said, 'don't be'."

"Ooh, he must have liked it!" Miranda cooed, bumping shoulders with her friend.

"Stop it," Lizzie giggled. "And even if he did, it doesn't mean anything?"

"What? Why don't you two just get back together already? I'm tired of playing matchmaker," Miranda groaned, laying her head back on the couch.

"You think it's been hard for you? Walk a mile in my shoes."

"No."

"What?"

"I could never walk a mile in your shoes. We're different sizes." The two girls giggled.

"So, seriously, what do you think I should do?"

"You know what I'm going to say."

"Yeah…but I just don't know if I'm ready to tell him I love him yet…"

"Please, like he doesn't already know?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"Yes. For sure."

A/N: The next chapter will be a little more exciting, but still a filler. Sorry. I have to have these two fillers, though, so I can get to the exciting parts! :P Review, please!