my disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire or any other LM characters. I don't own any of the schools, websites, books, etc. that may be mentioned in this story. I don't even really own the idea for this story…got that from a paragraph in a Madeleine L'Engle book…I only own Brenna and Dr. Hensen.
Ok…this is absolutely the last time I say "I'll have another chapter up in a few days!", because every time I do, I either get writer's block or something and it's another month before I'm able to update. So, from now on, I will work hard at making timely updates, but I make no promises as to exactly when.
Reviewchick14 – thanks for such great comments and the good luck wishes. I'm glad that all my medical babble hasn't weighed the story down too much, but it's something I know a bit about and can relate to…so I write what I know!
I3itterSweet and loopylou1 – I'm glad you both like it. And as for a definite proposal, keep on reading and we'll see! And as far as a sequel, again, we'll see. This is already a sequel to the original LM story I wrote, so I'm not sure how I feel about another sequel, but who knows?! Maybe if I have another burst of inspiration…but I do have another LM fic in the works; I'm very excited about it, so hopefully it'll be ready for posting soon.
Gabby – yeah…it always seems like the most random stuff happens in second grade and I know Lizzie has known Gordo "since she was one day old"…so yeah. Thanks again for the great reviews!
Amanda – thanks so much for pointing out the typos. I really do appreciate it…I typically try to be really good about proofreading and all that, but I must have missed a bunch. But I went back through and edited the last chapter, so hopefully it's error free!
Kirsten – augh…isn't o-chem the worst?! I'm a microbiology student myself, so naturally, I despise anything to do with chemistry. And it's finally done! I've got my lecture final on Friday and then no more o-chem ever! I hope… But I digress…thanks for the great comments. I really like Jo too, she's always such a strong character. One of my favorite episodes is "Mom's Best Friend" cause you get to see more of her personality, and not just as Lizzie's mom.
Two days later, Lizzie was on a plane to Denver, still reeling from the events of the past two weeks. Her mind drifted to the evening two days ago and her conversation with Gordo.
Lizzie had sat, speechless and shocked for several moments, trying to grasp what Gordo had just said. Finally she gave up and leaned back against him, smiling. They stayed like that for a while, Lizzie wasn't sure how long, not saying anything, just being comfortable with each other.
But somewhere in Lizzie's head, doubts started creeping in as they had so often the past few weeks. She tried to push them out of her head and concentrate on something else, but they kept coming back. Just as they were about to overwhelm her, she spoke.
"But what if it doesn't work?"
"What?" Gordo turned and looked at her, a questioning expression on his face.
"What if it doesn't work?" she repeated quietly. "What if our lives end up being too different?"
"What are you talking about?" Gordo asked again, clearly not following her.
"You're gonna be a big director. I want to be a doctor. When you're done with school, you're done. I've got a ton of years left for med school and then a residency and I'll end up who knows where. And you'll be traveling all over the place making movies and…" Lizzie's voice caught again and she blinked back tears. The expression on Gordo's face told Lizzie she was scaring him. She was scaring herself too. "How do we know it's gonna work?"
Gordo sighed. After a moment, he took Lizzie's hands in his. "Because I know." He said slowly. "Lizzie, I've known you for longer than I can remember and you're still my best friend. Think of all the stuff we've been through. Elementary, middle and high school, remember those? All the fights and traumas and all that crap? And look at us now. We just spent a year and a half on opposite sides of the world and there's still nothing I'd rather do than be with you."
Lizzie stopped trying to hold back her tears.
"And it doesn't matter if we end up with different lives." Gordo continued. "I'd give up all of that just to be with you. You know that." He added pointedly and Lizzie nodded remembering how he almost did.
Brenna met Lizzie at the Denver airport, full of questions about Lizzie's trip and stories about the time she was gone.
"Oh, and Dr. Rock mailed you a copy of the letter of recommendation he'll be sending to your schools." Brenna said, pulling into the small parking lot in their apartment complex. "And we're supposed to go into see Lisa soon so she can go over all our application stuff and we can get it all sent." Lizzie nodded silently, suddenly realizing how much she hadn't gotten done in the last few weeks.
Lizzie and Brenna managed to lug her overstuffed suitcase and backpack up the stairs and into the apartment.
"I think it can stay there for a bit." Brenna wheezed, rubbing her arm, as the cumbersome suitcase sat in the middle of the floor.
Lizzie smiled. "I think I can take it from here." She said, as she wheeled the suitcase into her room. Brenna followed her, glaring.
"It has wheels! Then why didn't we wheel it into the apartment?" She demanded.
"It's more fun to see you struggle with it." Lizzie grinned, tossing her bag on the floor next to her suitcase.
"You want some help unpacking?" Brenna asked.
Lizzie shook her head and sat down on her bed. "I think I'm just gonna rest for a while." She said, suddenly feeling very fatigued.
Brenna nodded. "Let me know if you need anything." She told Lizzie before closing the door. After a moment, she stuck her head back in Lizzie's room and said, "And I'm glad you're back."
Lizzie smiled back at her roommate and waited until she closed the door. She put her head in her hands and sighed. While her trip home had been anything but relaxing and painless, Lizzie had thought she'd feel better after being at home for a bit. But now, she felt worse. It seemed like everything was piling up against her and she could only scramble in hope of keeping up. All she wanted right now was to crawl into a cave and ignore the rest of the world. So she did the next best thing. She crawled into bed and pulled her heavy comforter up over her head and closed her eyes, blocking out the world.