Rating: PG-13
Summary: As a senior in high school, Miranda and Gordo 'open their eyes'.
Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me, this is all fiction, thank you very much.
***
Eyes
Wide Open
***
Gordo sat comfortably on the freshly cut grass, his legs crossed indian style, his deep eyes narrowed down at the notepad, the blue ball pin, twirling around in his fingers, a low hum in his voice. His short hair, I guess you could say it had a curl or two was neatly hidden under a black beanie he was wearing, he stopped his humming for a moment, to gently bite on the edge of the pen as he examined the notepad. The text flowed evenly, each word holding a meaning of it's own. Standing out in a crowd. Yeah, inventive writing was definitely his thing, he could just let go in writing, much like directing. When Lizzie and Miranda went for the Drama class, he eagerly went straight to inventive writing, and no it wasn't because Carly Johnson was in it. This was of course, before his break-up with Carly, but just to set the records straight, he did NOT join inventive writing because of her. Did so, Gordo's little annoying voice piped up. Gordo snorted, and began scribbling back in the notepad, ignoring the rest of the world.
There were loud chattering from each direction, and he seemed to be sitting in the middle of it, although you would never guess he knew by the way he seemed to only see the white notepad and the plastic pen. A football flew across the lawn and landed in Gordo's lap. Gordo let out a sigh, grabbing the football and throwing it hard right back at the tall young man. The man gave Gordo a look of interest before going back to his game of football, and Gordo not even acknowledging the look went back to his notepad. Gordo, with his free hand, his left hand, scratched right above his eyebrow, his fingers coming in contact with the soft fabric of the beanie, but never messing the routine Gordo seemed to be on. Self-concentration, that was his thing. Gordo could be in the center of the loudest party to ever hit and he could act like he wasn't even there, he could just blank out or do one *single* thing and nothing else seemed to matter to him. Trevor once said it was freaky, meanwhile Carly had said it was cool. Cool, freaky ... that was David Gordon. Although, don't you ever call him that. He was plain Gordo, it was that simple, and everybody remembered it.
"Hi." Came the soft sounding voice of Miranda Sanchez, the softness also held an edge to it, much like Miranda.
"Hola." Gordo said, raising a hand up to wave at her, then going back down to his notepad. Gordo bit down on the skin of his bottom lip, a bit too hard, because a pain shot through his body. Gordo nevertheless scribbled more words down on the notepad, not yet looking up at Miranda, who had by now sat down next to him on the grass. "I dropped Spanish." Gordo announced.
"And yet you greet me in Spanish." Miranda said, quirking up an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Gordo said, a little distant, as he continued to write, his hands moving quickly.
"Whatcha writing?" Miranda asked, flopping herself around on the grass, until she landed on her stomach, making a whooshing sound. "Hmm?" She pressured, knowinng if she didn't, Gordo would just continue being in his own little world.
"I don't quite know." Gordo said, trailing off a bit.
"Hmm, read it." Miranda said, pulling out a piece of gum and popping it in her mouth, she then offered Gordo one.
Gordo nicely refused the offer of gum; he stopped writing and picked up the notepad and eyed it, before clearing his throat. "Love. What is love? Is it a rose without the thorns to prick you? Or is love those thorns, taunting you, saying you will never feel the beauty of the rose? Is love a friend? Or maybe family? Or is love that feeling we tremble in fear? Or is it anticipation? Is love me? Or is love you? Or is love that guy across the lawn, we never talk to? Is love what we hold inside? Or is love what we never find?" Gordo put the notepad down, and then reached up and yanked the beanie off, he rubbed his hair timidly, the look of confusion etched across his face like a piece of art, something you just want to touch, to know you've felt the beauty and smooth texture of it.
"I like." Miranda said, staring at Gordo. His dark strands of his hair were now a bit messy because of his rubbing it. She cocked her head to the side lightly, staring at the way Gordo's face was contorted in a confused state. It made him look like one of those drama guys, who sat there and drank their coffee and mused about the analyzation of the universe, except Gordo was way better looking. Of course Miranda meant this in the platonic way, or so she would hope. "You in love Gordo?" Miranda asked.
"Nope, love hates me." Gordo said, falling back on the grass, his legs unwraveling. "For I am the geek you all fear."
Miranda rolled her eyes. "Where's Trevor?" Miranda asked.
"You still hung up over him?" Gordo asked, finally lifting his head to look at Miranda. Her raven colored hair was in a bun, streaks of hot red laying loosely out of the bun and leaning against her face perfectly. She had a black and blue beaded necklace laying comfortably around her neck, and she wore a plain black v-neck shirt and camaflouge cargo pants. Gordo smirked and flung his head back down, it landing on the grass, making a whooshing thud sound, once his hair came in contact with the grass.
"No." Miranda snapped.
"Sure."
"I'm not!" Miranda screeched. "What about you? Hmm, still moping over little miss Carly?" Miranda bit down on her lip, once the words came out of her mouth, words she never meant to say. She just hated when Gordo accused of her still being in "love" with Trevor. She hated Trevor, because he was just an egostical guitar playing jerk, and it always caused her to snap at Gordo.
Gordo just made a noise.
"I'm sorry." Miranda said, crawling over to where Gordo was laying down. "Want a piece of gum?"
Gordo was silent for a few seconds, before flipping over on his side, facing Miranda. "What flavor?" He asked, smiling. He brought up his hand and it darted across the grass and touched Miranda's wrist, it then found it's way to the friendship bracelet she wore. His fingers seemed to interwoven in the bracelet, his own wrist, showing off a bracelet exactly the same. They had made them last week, just for the fun of it, something they now didn't go anywhere without. They were the bracelet twins.
"Cherry." Miranda answered, toying with Gordo's bracelet. "I'm not, you know. Hung up over Trevor."
"I like cherry." Gordo answered, he stopped playing with Miranda's bracelet and let his hand drop down to the grass. "I know." Gordo said, looking Miranda in the eyes. "He was never good enough for you, you know that right?" Gordo asked gently.
"I know this." Miranda said, handing Gordo the piece of gum. "Like Carly wasn't good enough for you."
"Carly was perfect." Gordo said quickly, grabbing the gum and popping it in his mouth. "Where's Liz?" Gordo asked.
"Hmm," Miranda said, looking around the school yard. "I'm not quite sure. Still on her mission of love, you know Lizzie. Once she has something in her head, she's not going to stop it, until she has it done. And like she told us, she is determined by the end of senior year, she will have found the love of her life." Miranda said, staring at Gordo. "Y'know Lizzie."
"Yeah, I do, as you do." Gordo said, shrugging. "Love, it all boils down to that doesn't it? Can't life be about something besides that? Why does it always have to be about love? Why not friendship? Or family? Or something besides love?" Gordo asked.
"I don't know." Miranda said, shrugging as well. "Love is in everything. Even friendship, you know."
"All is fair in love and war." Gordo spouted out a quote.
"All you need is love." Miranda spouted one out at as well, grinning at Gordo.
"Ooh Beatles quote, you got me." Gordo said, raising his hands in defeat. "I like that song."
"I like 'imagine' by John Lennon." Miranda commented.
"Good song." Gordo mused. "John Lennon is STILL missed and forever will be." Gordo said, kicking at some grass. "Don't you miss it Miranda? Me, you and Liz? All hanging out? Just the three of us. Don't you miss it? Don't you feel sort of empty without it? I do. I miss it. I feel sort of empty without it. I didn't think entering high school would change us this drastically."
"Gordo ... " Miranda started, her voice holding an edge to it. "You know the only reason Lizzie is not around much because of this whole stupid mission thing she has her mind set on. We're all still best friends. We hang out with each other every day after school. Nothing is going to change the way we feel about each other, not even high school." Miranda said in a demanding voice.
"She wasn't there for me when me and Carly broke up." Gordo said, still lying down on the grass.
"I was." Miranda said quickly.
"I know, but she wasn't. I'm there for BOTH of you when you guys need me. But she wasn't there for me when I needed the both of you. Which brings me back to my original thought, I miss it. All three of us. And I'm not talking about some after school hang out, that makes me feel like I'm in some after school program. I'm talking about being together all the time, sharing thoughts, having three-way phone calls, eating together, communicating like we used to. We don't do that anymore. It sucks." Gordo replied.
"Gordo." Miranda said again.
"Dropping it." Gordo said, he grabbed his notepad and flinged in the air.
"Don't make me speak in Spanish." Miranda said, looking sternly at Gordo.
"I wouldn't understand it anyways Miranda, I was never good in that class." Gordo said, smirking. "No espanol for me."
Miranda laughed. "What are you doing after school?" Miranda asked.
"Nothing, you?" Gordo asked, raising up an eyebrow in questioning.
"My cousin, Chico, it's his seventh birthday, I told him I would sing at the party. Wanna film it?" Miranda asked.
"I'm there." Gordo said, crawling on his knees and then jumped up on his feet. He reached a hand down and pulled Miranda up, once she was up to her feet, Gordo grabbed the beanie and slipped it back on. Back in junior high Gordo never really liked beanies, he thought they never really gave his head time to breathe, but now he grew a fondness of them, he liked how they tightly fit, how it gave him a standing look to himself. Gordo dusted off his pants and grabbed the notepad and rolled it up and stuck it in his pocket, the pen slid inside his shirt pocket, and soon Gordo's eyes were alert as the school bell rang loudly.
"Lunch is over." Miranda said, frowning. "I didn't even eat."
"Me neither." Gordo said, as they began walking, side by side. "We can grab a bite after school, if you like."
"Sounds good, what class of yours is next again?" Miranda asked.
"Luckily, inventive writing." Gordo answered. "And you?" He asked in return.
"Drama." Miranda answered. "See you during break, be good my good man." Miranda said, waving.
"Yeah, yeah, see ya." Gordo said, waving as well; he pushed past some people and tried to make his way to inventive writing without getting pummeled down to the ground. Gordo entered the class-room and shoved himself down in a seat, he leaned in the desk and bit down on his lip, thoughtfully. Friendship. Best friends. They all just disappeared, didn't they? Perfect.
***
"Do you ever think about where all those lost friendships go?" Gordo asked, eating a bag of chips he had bought out of the vending machine. "I mean, really. Where do they all go? Me, Lizzie and Miranda used to be like the three musketeers and now we're all so busy, to even hang out. It's a miracle me and Miranda spend as much as time as we do together." Gordo replied.
Trevor straddled the chair, and looked at Gordo. "It's life. Things happen, friends grow apart."
"Yeah, I guess." Gordo said, shrugging, popping another chip in his mouth. "You see the new guy Carly was with?"
"Uh huh." Trevor nodded. "Ain't no Gordito." Trevor said, smirking. "You still hung up over her?" Trevor asked.
"No, not really." Gordo answered, staring at the chips bag. "Do you regret breaking up with Miranda?"
Trevor ran a hand over his face. "Gordo, don't go there man. I get you're her friend and mine, but let's not discuss it okay? Me and Miranda didn't work out, and if you opened your eyes once in a while Gordo, you would understand why it didn't work out. You would also understand why you and Carly didn't work out. Sometimes Gordo, that brain of yours doesn't think." Trevor stated.
"I have no idea what you mean." Gordo insisted.
"I know, but one day you will." Trevor said. "Then you'll be kicking yourself in the butt for not seeing it sooner."
Gordo just grumbled and went back to eating the chips, shooting Trevor a look.
***
"Can you drop P.E.?" Miranda asked, as her and Gordo piled out of the school, she hopped down the stairs, and then she watched Gordo walked down them in a calm state. That was Gordo all right, calm, always calm. Seeing him walking down the stairs slowly, his black beanie covering almost all of his hair, only a few strands popping out here and there, she really wondered why in the world girls weren't falling all over him. He was smart, funny, nice, and very cute. *very* cute, Miranda thought to herself, she then shook her at the mere thought. "Not like you in general, but like me." She said, trying to get rid of her thoughts. Gordo was her best friend, and that was all he was, even though the night of her break-up with Trevor, he had told her she was in love with Gordo. That was just idiotic, she wasn't in love with Gordo, she wasn't. Gordo was her best friend, her guy friend, nothing more, nothing less.
"No, you can't." Gordo said, once he walked down the last stair. "It's a neccessity."
"Ugh!" Miranda groaned, as her and Gordo began to walk again. "Are you sure about this? Can you maybe be wrong?"
"I am never wrong." Gordo said, with a playful smirk. "Physical Education *has* to be taken, there is no way out of it. Believe me if there was, about a billion of students all around the world would be dropping PE, you have to get over it Miranda."
Miranda rolled her eyes. "I'm obsessed, what can I say? Hey there's Lizzie!" Miranda said, excitedly.
Gordo looked up and smiled when he saw Lizzie jogging up to them. "Lizzie, hey." Gordo said, smiling widely at his blonde friend.
"Where are you two heading off to?" Lizzie asked, standing in front of Gordo and Miranda, stopping them from walking.
"Food, then Chico's birthday party." Miranda answered, for some reason she kept stealing side glances at Gordo. What was wrong with her? This was Gordo. Best friend Gordo. But why in the world did that black beanie have to make him look so cute? He looked like a poet. One of those mopey, artistic, dark, poets that just make you melt with a verse or two of their magic.
"Ah, yeah, I'm so there. The birthday I mean. I have something to do right now." Lizzie said, bouncing excitedly.
"Ah, how goes the mission ma'am?" Gordo asked, wiggling his eyebrows, making Lizzie giggle. Gordo pulled out his video camera and began taping Lizzie. "Yes please tell the camera Lizzie, you may be my next star for my total fab movie." Gordo said, zooming the camera in and out. "How goes your little mission in love? Find your perfect soulmate yet?" Gordo asked humorously.
Miranda stared at Gordo and just realized how cute he looked when he was all focused and behind a camera. Gah, stop it! Miranda screamed at herself, she would hold her head and literally scream, but that might bring attention to herself, and ... well no.
"Good, very good." Lizzie grinned, as they all began to walk. "Charlie Peterson, tall, dark, and oh so cute!" Lizzie gushed, she then turned to the camera. "He has the cutest eyes, deep, meaningful, hello catch me, I'm falling." Lizzie said, laughing.
"Ooh that good?" Miranda asked.
"Yes, that good. He is so cute Miranda, and oh he has a brother! You and his brother would be so cute together!" Lizzie squealed.
"Double date!" Miranda said, excitedly.
"Totally!" Lizzie said, as her and Miranda got excited. "Wouldn't that be the coolest? You go out with one brother and I go out with the other and we of course share all the gossip with each other. Want to meet him with me?" Lizzie asked.
"Oh of course --- " Suddenly Miranda stopped. "No, I can't. Me and Gordo are supposed to have lunch."
Gordo sighed and shut off the camera and shoved it back into the camera case. "No, go Miranda." Gordo demanded.
"Wait ... " Miranda started, knowing that look. Gordo was upset, upset with her.
"Just go, I'll meet you two at Chico's birthday party." Gordo said, oddly upset with Miranda right now. Maybe not Miranda, but just the fact that she would ditch him to go meet a "guy", some cute "guy". Damn the cute guys. Gordo was NOT jealous. Repeat, not jealous, even though it may look like that. He WASN'T. Miranda could go hang out with whoever she wanted.
"Well, Gordo, come along!" Lizzie said, smiling.
Miranda winced; just knowing that the invitation wasn't going to make Gordo all that happy. Despite the fact that they were Gordo's best friends, she knew lately he didn't like the whole "being one of the girls" thing, she could see it painted all over his face. It was frustrating him, and sadly enough, Lizzie McGuire had no idea of this frustration Gordo had inside of him.
"You know what, no thank you." Gordo said, re-adjusting his beanie. "Have fun."
"Gordo ... " Miranda said, bringing up his hand.
"See ya." Gordo said forcefully, and jogged away. Yeah Miranda could do whatever she wanted to do, it wasn't like he was in love with her. No way. They were just friends. Then why did it hurt that she was going to go meet a guy?
"What's his deal?" Lizzie asked.
Miranda sighed, and watched Gordo jog off and disappear around the corner. Somehow, this is going to take a while to fix, Miranda thought to herself, as she began to walk with Lizzie. Miranda knew Gordo always said he was cool with things, but meant another thing. And Miranda could see that this was another thing Gordo wasn't "cool" with. Ugh, did he have to look so cute all mopey and demanding like that? She didn't like him when he was being cute. This was wrong. Gordo was NOT cute!
Oh yes he is, Miranda
mused.