Two Lizzies, Another Path 2: A Lizzie McGuire Fanfiction Story
Chapter 14: You're A Falling & Rising Star
At the Roman Coliseum...
After Lizzie and Paolo go backstage... Lizzie and Paolo are in the midst of talking.
Teary eyed... Lizzie concludes, "I don't think I can do this."
Paolo heavily sighs.
He starts to say, "Lizzie..."
Lizzie sniffles hard.
She somberly murmurs, "no! Hard sniffle. Gordo and Andie are gone. And... And we don't even know who kidnapped Kate. Hard sniffle! I'm...I'm really sorry. I can't keep pretending I'm happy like this, Paolo!"
She starts to cry into her hands.
A little teary eyed... Paolo heavily sighs.
He puts a comforting hand on her cheek.
At a near whisper... He says, "Lizzie...I know this is hard. But... Sniffle. But, it's just for tonight. Look at me. Please?"
Lizzie kind of slowly looks up.
Some tears fall from her face.
She puts her comforting hand over his.
She moderately sighs.
Paolo continues, "if it make you feel any better... Sniffle. You cry as long as you have to in your dressing room after the performance. It won't be long. We rehearsed this. You know all the steps without tripping and falling for me or Gordo. You know all the words. You must try to calm down now. You will be great: I know."
Lizzie gulps nervously.
She asks, "how do you know?"
Paolo faintly smiles.
He kind of shrugs.
And... He says, "because. Because you shine like the light from the sun. And, the sun never goes out without a fight."
Lizzie very faintly smiles.
She very faintly laughs at the last part.
And, in the Italian custom... Paolo kisses her on both cheeks.
Lizzie blushes.
Then... A supervisor guy with a microphone ushers Paolo away.
Paolo waves. Lizzie waves back.
Sergei faintly smiles to Lizzie before following Paolo.
A unseen man announces, "twenty one minutes until showtime."
Paolo starts to head to his dressing room.
But... He pauses.
He sniffles hard.
He takes out a tissue to wipe his tears away.
He inhales and exhales nervously.
He tells himself, "I know what I must do. I know what I must do. She'll... Hard sniffle. She'll understand in time."
He goes up some metal stairs.
He tells Sergei to stay at the foot of the stairs.
Paolo continues up the stairs...and into his dressing room.
He closes the grayish glass door behind him.
Meanwhile...
Lizzie inhales and exhales sharply.
She wipes some of the teariness away from her eyes with one of the tissues that Paolo gave to her earlier.
Then... She turns around.
She looks shocked.
She drops the tissue in her hand.
Gordo and Andie are standing there now.
A little teary eyed... Gordo starts to say, "Lizzie..."
Lizzie realizes, "Gordo?! Andie?!"
Andie puts a sympathetic hand on Lizzie's.
She assures, "yes Lizzie. It's really us."
Lizzie sniffles hard some.
She smiles wide.
She goes, "oh my god! Oh my god! What are you doing here?"
She hugs Andie tight. Then, Gordo.
They both hug her back.
But... Gordo says, "Lizzie... Heavy sigh. That's...that's not important right now."
Lizzie and Gordo pull apart.
Lizzie starts to get teary eyed.
But, before she can say something... Gordo nervously continues, "well... Faint sniffle. There is something I have to tell you about...about us. But...but, that's not important right now. You have to listen to me."
Lizzie sniffles hard some.
She puts a comforting hand on his.
She lets it all out, "okay. But...but, of course it's all important! Hard sniffle! Hard sniffle! I never thought you or Andie would come back. I never thought our parents would let us see each other again. I...I'm really sorry. Hard sniffle! I feel so awful. I...I can't believe you would both try to cover for me like that. Hard sniffle! I hate that you and Miranda dragged Kate along for your adventure, and that I wasn't there to stop her. But...but... Hard sniffle! I just know you have something important to tell me that will make it all up to me, Gordo. So... Hard sniffle! So, please just tell me."
Gordo gulps very nervously.
He finds it hard to look up.
Andie very nervously sighs.
Lizzie lets go of Gordo's hand.
She lets out some sobs.
She shakily says, "I...I don't understand."
Andie tries to assure, "Lizzie...it will. Hard sniffle. But, because of things outside of our control...it's...it's going to hurt before it gets better. I'm really sorry. We are really sorry to tell you this."
Gordo very faintly nods in agreement.
He's looking up now.
Andie somewhat shakily stands there.
Some tears fall from her face.
Lizzie shakily asks, "tell me what?"
And... Gordo answers, "Paolo is setting you up."
Lizzie asks in disbelief, "what?"
Gordo continues, "and he kidnapped Kate just to try to keep her from punishing him after he...he... Hard sniffle! After he sets you up."
Lizzie cries out, "what?! I... He... Hard sniffle! I don't believe you!"
She's about to run off.
But... Andie puts her sympathetic hands on hers.
Lizzie inhales and exhales sharply.
But... She doesn't run off.
Lizzie somberly murmurs, "I...I know. Hard sniffle! I know you're trying to protect me. But...but, Paolo would never do that to Kate or me!"
Gordo and Andie very nervously sigh.
Then... Isabella walks over to Lizzie.
She's holding some photos in her hand.
She nervously rolls her lips in and back out.
Teary eyed... She brings up, "actually...he is setting me up."
She deeply sighs.
Lizzie turns to face Isabella.
Lizzie moves one of her hands away from Andie to more easily do so.
Isabella continues, "I'm very sorry Lizzie. Hard sniffle! I know it is really easy for most girls to fall for Paolo. But... Hard sniffle. But, everything they are saying to you is true."
Lizzie looks wide eyed in shock. Complete shock.
She finds it hard to look up.
She sniffles hard.
Some tears fall from her face.
Andie squeezes Lizzie's hand a little tighter.
Lizzie puts a sympathetic hand on top of hers.
Isabella offers her photos to Lizzie.
Lizzie and Andie kind of slowly pull their hands apart.
And, after a bit... Lizzie murmurs, "okay. I... Hard sniffle! I'll look."
The supervisor guy tries to usher Lizzie over to her dressing room.
But... Lizzie is quick to shoo him away.
Lizzie very slowly takes the photos from Isabella.
She looks through them.
One is saved and printed from some of the live footage from the security monitors when Kate was kidnapped.
A second is a full frontal picture of the guy who kidnapped her.
Another is him laughing with Paolo and Sergei on a hotel balcony.
Another is of the same guy from the kidnapping...quickly leaving his parked car outside the coliseum next to Paolo's car from earlier.
Lizzie sniffles hard at the third and fourth pictures.
There was no way the fourth could have been taken before tonight.
The picture cuts over to Animated Lizzie.
Animated Lizzie opens the trunk of a animated version of the kidnapper's car.
Animated Lizzie solemnly says, "now you know things are bad...when kidnapping Kate is how it starts making sense."
Animated clothes and photos fly out of the trunk like crazy past her.
Animated Lizzie reactively covers her face.
The picture cuts over to Lizzie, Gordo, Andie, and Isabella.
Trying to break the tension... Gordo says, "yeah. Freaky, huh?"
At the same time... Lizzie and Isabella say, "way way freaky."
They both briefly very faintly smile.
All four of them sniffle hard.
Gordo continues, "that whole story about Paolo doing his own music and...and wanting to go solo? That's Isabella. She's the one who sings live."
Isabella faintly nods.
She adds, "si. Hard sniffle. Paolo is the one that lip syncs: Not me."
Gordo tensely continues, "Isabella is the one that wants to quit the act. Paolo is...is just a liar. This has all been some crazy scheme to embarrass you onstage so it looks like Isabella can't sing. Hard sniffle. Paolo...wants to destroy Isabella's career. And, while Isabella says he's never punched anyone...he has to have kidnapped Kate to go further to protect his career."
Lizzie inhales and exhales sharply.
Lizzie somberly goes, "okay. I...I'm really sorry you guys. Hard sniffle! Hard sniffle! I'm really sorry I didn't..."
Gordo mostly assures, "Lizzie... Heavy sigh. Sniffle. It'll be okay. This is a lot what high school will be like: Getting stuffed in trashcans."
He puts a sympathetic hand on hers.
Andie and Isabella solemnly look their way.
Lizzie somberly says, "ohh. Thank you Gordo."
With a very faint smile... Gordo says, "you're welcome, Lizzie."
After a bit... Lizzie wonders, "so...who is this guy in the pictures?"
Isabella explains, "he... Deep sigh. He is the big reason I left Paolo. Gorgei. Hard sniffle! Sergei's stepbrother and Paolo's second bodyguard. Hard sniffle! Gorgei... Hard sniffle! He has done worse things than Paolo. I caught him in the act with a picture and made him go. I don't know how Sergei took it. But, Paolo... Hard sniffle. We had a really big fight over letting him go. It was... Hard sniffle. Hard sniffle. ...the final thing that made me break up with him. Hard sniffle. Hard sniffle. And, it looks like Paolo is secretly still hiring him for getting his hands dirty and not his own."
Lizzie brings up, "well, umm... Heavy sigh. Hard sniffle. You're here now. So, shouldn't we go to the police?"
Isabella nervously sums up, "Lizzie, I...I understand. But, please understand this: If we do, he'll put the blame on us as a excuse to the police and to the record company. Paolo knows I'd want to get back at him, and that you aren't really me. Hard sniffle! Then, we would be ruined for life. Hard sniffle. But...but, don't worry about Kate. We have made a plan."
Andie, Gordo, and Lizzie very faintly smile.
Isabella smirks wide.
She goes on, "but if we want to get back at him in front of the whole world on live TV...we must make him sing. And really sing: Not lip sync."
Lizzie asks, "but how? What am I supposed to do? I can't sing live!"
Meanwhile...
Kate is tied up in many ropes against a modern styled black chair in Paolo's dressing room.
Gorgei is standing in the corner, watching over her in case.
Paolo is all too casually getting the top of his clothes on.
Kate sighs in frustration.
She argues, "please. Sniffle. You don't have to do this Paolo."
Paolo darkly chuckles.
He mutters back, "oh. I'm sorry. But, I do. Hard sniffle. I was never good at singing. I kind of wish it didn't have to be this way. I have gotten to like Lizzie and Andie. Hard sniffle. But...but, this is about my career. You can imagine what that is like. Faint chuckle. Sure. I don't know much about what happened with you and Lizzie. Hard sniffle. But...but, I know you can be evil. Keeping you tied up until someone finds you and I'm long gone is only fair. I even left a better cell phone for you under the chair when one of your friends unties you. Isn't that more than fair?"
Kate faintly laughs.
Teary eyed... She mutters back, "I'm not evil anymore, Paolo! At least... Faint laugh. I'm trying not to be. Hard sniffle. I embraced evil, Paolo... Hard sniffle. Because I thought pushing her away would be better...better to not trip and fall for both of us. Hard sniffle! So, how do you think I really feel?! Why the hell should I feel sorry for you?!"
Some tears fall from Paolo's face.
Kate looks wide eyed at this.
With a somber smile... Paolo tries to argue, "there is... Hard sniffle. There is one thing that doesn't make me feel too awful about doing this."
Kate asks back, "what?!"
Paolo tries to argue, "it's not Lizzie that's really being embarrassed: It's Isabella. Hard sniffle. Once she sees that, she will get over it and be really great. Someday."
Kate concludes, "I don't believe you. Hard sniffle! She will get hurt if you do this, and that is enough for me to hate you!"
Paolo concludes, "then we have nothing more to tell each other."
And, with that... He leaves his dressing room.
Around then...
The supervisor guy finally ushers Lizzie over to her dressing room.
Isabella tries to assure, "change! Change! Change your clothes and go out there and do what you rehearsed. Okay? Everything will be fine. I...I promise. We have a plan to help you too."
Lizzie can't help but wonder, "what plan is that?"
She sounds a little more confident now.
But... She's quickly escorted away to her dressing room.
The unseen man announces, "five minutes until showtime."
Almost at the same time... Gordo and Andie ask, "so...what's that plan to help Lizzie?"
Isabella deeply sighs some.
She admits, "I don't know."
Gordo and Andie nervously sigh.
Isabella walks a little around the catwalks with them.
At a near whisper... Isabella recollects the plan in place, "but, Andie... You got to go save Kate. Just...just copy as much of Gorgei's moves as you have caught in your head from us covertly following him. I will lead Sergei away in case he is still loyal to Paolo. Then, you go in."
She moves her arm out to kind of point in Sergei's direction.
Andie and Gordo look out to see where Sergei is.
Paolo walks past Sergei.
He's going off to get some final touches on powdering his face.
Andie, Gordo, and Isabella gulp quite nervously.
Andie points out, "doesn't mean I have to exactly like it. But...yeah. Hard sniffle. I understand."
Gordo solemnly nods.
Isabella very faintly smirks.
She puts a sympathetic hand on Andie's.
Then... She says, "good...because now I'm going to talk to him."
She starts to walk over to Sergei.
Gordo and Andie very faintly smile to each other.
Gordo says, "good luck Andie."
Andie says, "thank you Gordo."
She puts comforting hands on his.
Then... She starts to fast walk in a blur past Isabella and Sergei.
They're too busy faintly chuckling and talking away to see Andie.
Andie sharply inhales and exhales.
And, then... She finally goes through Paolo's dressing room door.