I don't own Lizzie McGuire, or any of it's characters, and am
making no profit from this story monetarily or otherwise. Yada,
yada, yada.
"Lizzie, what are you going to do when you graduate?"
Lizzie was wondering for a minute if they were having the same conversation. What did this have to do with Ethan, or the college boys Kate had been spending time with? "Well, I think I'm going on a trip to Disney World with Gordo, Miranda, and Danny. Then I guess I'm going to study Foreign Policy in college. Why?"
"You have the whole world open to you. You have good grades, so you can do what ever you want to do. And you have good friends who stand by you and support you no matter what. And everyone actually likes you. I mean, really likes you. People pretend to like me because I am popular and a cheerleader, but they don't really like me as a person. And I know that if I stopped cheerleading, my "friends" would dump me in a heartbeat."
Lizzie was watching Kate, trying to see her side of this story. It was a little hard, since it was coming from someone who had been fairly bitchy for the last seven years. I mean, there was a reason people "didn't really like her as a person."
"I've spent the last 7 years of my life alienating most of my old friends, and devoting my life to people who care more about the color of my nail polish than about who I am. My grades are ok, but they won't get me into Harvard. In fact, I'm hoping they'll get me into a state school. I may be stuck here at the community college for a couple of years before I can go anywhere. While everyone else goes off to start a whole new life." Her voice was starting to shake again, so she took a couple more sips of the soda to calm herself. "I'm not stupid, you know. It's not like I couldn't have gotten good grades if I had tried."
Lizzie said quietly, " I know, Kate. I remember the Factathalon."
Kate looked at Lizzie for a minute, having a strange sort of Deja Vu moment. Claire would not want to sit patiently and listen to her bawl. "Yeah, whatever, Kate. Like, what are you going to wear to the Prom?" She thought of when they were kids, and how she and Lizzie had always been such good friends back then.
"So, I'm standing there on stage at the football Homecoming Dance in October, about to be crowned Homecoming Queen, and I realize that this might be "It." This might be the highlight of my life. Pretty soon, we'd graduate, and I would have nothing to show for my life but a rhinestone tiara and some dead roses. I looked at Ethan standing next to me with that goofy smile on his face, and I just couldn't do it anymore. So I dumped him. I went to a party at my cousin's Fraternity, and had a great time. I got to go as a whole new person, that noone knew. I could start all over. And I liked the college guys. They were fun to hang out and party with. And they seemed so much more mature." She was finally regaining some of her composure, so Lizzie handed her the wet wipe. Kate wiped her face, ridding herself of most of the spider lines.
She sniffed a little, "But college guys also expect more out of you than high school guys, and they want it faster. And since I'm not the popular cheerleader there that I am here, if I didn't give them what they wanted, they would just find someone who would."
Lizzie looked at her, but didn't know what to say. She finally said quietly, "So, did you…?"
Kate laughed bitterly, "No, but I almost did."
"What stopped you?"
"His girlfriend that he forgot to tell me about. She came to his room, and he made me hide in the closet. Naked!" She covered her face again, "Oh, god, how cliché! How humiliating!" She turned her face to Lizzie, who handed her another wipe. " I swore I would never tell anyone."
Lizzie couldn't help herself, "So, what happened next? Did his girlfriend find you?"
"No, she didn't. I decided, though, that I wasn't going to let him get away with this. I was not about to let him jerk her and me both around. So, I took a deep breath and stepped out of the closet, absolutely naked. I said, "I guess you won't be needing that blow job from me now that she's here to give it to you!" I grabbed my clothes and dressed while they sat there with their mouths wide open, and left. I heard something crash as I closed the door."
Lizzie couldn't help herself. She was rocking with silent laughter, trying desperately to hide it from Kate, who had been very serious up to this point. Kate caught on, though, and just stared at her for a minute. Then she started laughing, too. It really was pretty funny.
"I'm sorry Kate, but it really is funny! You rock! I'm really glad you didn't just cower in the closet and cover for that jerk! And I'm glad you didn't lose your…um…were you a virgin?"
"Yeah, I was. Ethan and I were going to…you know… the night of Homecoming. But then I decided to dump him…"
"So, you want him back now."
"Yes, I do."
Lizzie furrowed her brow. "So, why didn't you just take him from me?"
Kate looked down at her hands in her lap. She seemed to be wrestling with something. At length, she said, "I tried."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I did. I put on my sexiest dress, and went to see him. Ethan wasn't interested. He said he liked being with you."
Lizzie frowned again. She didn't know what to say to that. Ethan had liked her enough to turn down Kate. If she didn't feel so bad for Kate at the moment, she probably would have felt a little smug about that. But the fact that Kate was so miserable, and that she might have hurt Ethan more than she thought kept her from feeling good at all.
"Um, Kate, I don't know if this will help at all, but he did tell me something when we were…uh…breaking up."
"What?"
"He said that he liked that his girlfriend was nice to him for a change, and that I actually pretended to listen to him when he talked."
Kate glared at Lizzie, but Lizzie went on, "Look, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or tell you what to do. I just thought telling you might help."
Kate regarded her thoughtfully for a minute. "You're right, thanks."
[pic]
"Lizzie, what are you going to do when you graduate?"
Lizzie was wondering for a minute if they were having the same conversation. What did this have to do with Ethan, or the college boys Kate had been spending time with? "Well, I think I'm going on a trip to Disney World with Gordo, Miranda, and Danny. Then I guess I'm going to study Foreign Policy in college. Why?"
"You have the whole world open to you. You have good grades, so you can do what ever you want to do. And you have good friends who stand by you and support you no matter what. And everyone actually likes you. I mean, really likes you. People pretend to like me because I am popular and a cheerleader, but they don't really like me as a person. And I know that if I stopped cheerleading, my "friends" would dump me in a heartbeat."
Lizzie was watching Kate, trying to see her side of this story. It was a little hard, since it was coming from someone who had been fairly bitchy for the last seven years. I mean, there was a reason people "didn't really like her as a person."
"I've spent the last 7 years of my life alienating most of my old friends, and devoting my life to people who care more about the color of my nail polish than about who I am. My grades are ok, but they won't get me into Harvard. In fact, I'm hoping they'll get me into a state school. I may be stuck here at the community college for a couple of years before I can go anywhere. While everyone else goes off to start a whole new life." Her voice was starting to shake again, so she took a couple more sips of the soda to calm herself. "I'm not stupid, you know. It's not like I couldn't have gotten good grades if I had tried."
Lizzie said quietly, " I know, Kate. I remember the Factathalon."
Kate looked at Lizzie for a minute, having a strange sort of Deja Vu moment. Claire would not want to sit patiently and listen to her bawl. "Yeah, whatever, Kate. Like, what are you going to wear to the Prom?" She thought of when they were kids, and how she and Lizzie had always been such good friends back then.
"So, I'm standing there on stage at the football Homecoming Dance in October, about to be crowned Homecoming Queen, and I realize that this might be "It." This might be the highlight of my life. Pretty soon, we'd graduate, and I would have nothing to show for my life but a rhinestone tiara and some dead roses. I looked at Ethan standing next to me with that goofy smile on his face, and I just couldn't do it anymore. So I dumped him. I went to a party at my cousin's Fraternity, and had a great time. I got to go as a whole new person, that noone knew. I could start all over. And I liked the college guys. They were fun to hang out and party with. And they seemed so much more mature." She was finally regaining some of her composure, so Lizzie handed her the wet wipe. Kate wiped her face, ridding herself of most of the spider lines.
She sniffed a little, "But college guys also expect more out of you than high school guys, and they want it faster. And since I'm not the popular cheerleader there that I am here, if I didn't give them what they wanted, they would just find someone who would."
Lizzie looked at her, but didn't know what to say. She finally said quietly, "So, did you…?"
Kate laughed bitterly, "No, but I almost did."
"What stopped you?"
"His girlfriend that he forgot to tell me about. She came to his room, and he made me hide in the closet. Naked!" She covered her face again, "Oh, god, how cliché! How humiliating!" She turned her face to Lizzie, who handed her another wipe. " I swore I would never tell anyone."
Lizzie couldn't help herself, "So, what happened next? Did his girlfriend find you?"
"No, she didn't. I decided, though, that I wasn't going to let him get away with this. I was not about to let him jerk her and me both around. So, I took a deep breath and stepped out of the closet, absolutely naked. I said, "I guess you won't be needing that blow job from me now that she's here to give it to you!" I grabbed my clothes and dressed while they sat there with their mouths wide open, and left. I heard something crash as I closed the door."
Lizzie couldn't help herself. She was rocking with silent laughter, trying desperately to hide it from Kate, who had been very serious up to this point. Kate caught on, though, and just stared at her for a minute. Then she started laughing, too. It really was pretty funny.
"I'm sorry Kate, but it really is funny! You rock! I'm really glad you didn't just cower in the closet and cover for that jerk! And I'm glad you didn't lose your…um…were you a virgin?"
"Yeah, I was. Ethan and I were going to…you know… the night of Homecoming. But then I decided to dump him…"
"So, you want him back now."
"Yes, I do."
Lizzie furrowed her brow. "So, why didn't you just take him from me?"
Kate looked down at her hands in her lap. She seemed to be wrestling with something. At length, she said, "I tried."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I did. I put on my sexiest dress, and went to see him. Ethan wasn't interested. He said he liked being with you."
Lizzie frowned again. She didn't know what to say to that. Ethan had liked her enough to turn down Kate. If she didn't feel so bad for Kate at the moment, she probably would have felt a little smug about that. But the fact that Kate was so miserable, and that she might have hurt Ethan more than she thought kept her from feeling good at all.
"Um, Kate, I don't know if this will help at all, but he did tell me something when we were…uh…breaking up."
"What?"
"He said that he liked that his girlfriend was nice to him for a change, and that I actually pretended to listen to him when he talked."
Kate glared at Lizzie, but Lizzie went on, "Look, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or tell you what to do. I just thought telling you might help."
Kate regarded her thoughtfully for a minute. "You're right, thanks."
[pic]