A/N Okay, well, I think I have this figured out to end at 10 chapters. I hope those of you reading have enjoyed this piece as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Please R&R as I take all comments under consideration.
Also, this chapter is a little longer than normal, just as a warning…
To: morrisi@nyu.magazinedesign.net
From: farrisa@nyu.film.net
Date: 3-27-16 12:23 a.m.
Subj: Jake, last names, and why I believe in soul mates.
Isabelle,
Mr. Gordon was back in class today (well, yesterday, since it's actually 12:00 a.m. TUESDAY morning) and he paid me $50 for my help. I was pleased.
I did as we agreed and didn't mention a word about our discoveries. I figured you were probably right about the whole thing. There were just too many questions for us to be jumping to conclusions. I mean, the odds had to have been about 100,000,000 to 1.
I was thinking this as I walked across the campus towards my dorm room. I was meeting Jake for dinner, and wanted to shower beforehand.
Picture this, if you will: There I am, about to enter my building when my eye catches something in the distance. I blink, once, twice in shock. There is Jake, about 100 yards away, kissing Julia. I freeze. All I can do is watch, trying to ignore the painful knots my stomach is tying into. All these thoughts seem to fly through my mind at one time. He and I at our high school prom, he and I in my dorm room, laughing over the stupidity of round doughnuts, he and I promising that no matter what, we'd always be friends.
All I could do was run. So I did. As fast and as far as I could go.
I was halfway across the campus when I finally halted. I couldn't breathe, and the sobs erupting from my chest were no help. I collapsed on the near by bench and cried and cried and cried. Jealousy unlike anything I had experienced in my life poured through my blood. 'How could he,' I thought, which was ridiculous. He and I weren't dating, had never dated. He was just my best guy friend, oblivious to the fact that I was in love with him.
"What's wrong?" asked a voice behind me.
I turned and faced Mr. Gordon, who was staring down at me in sympathy.
"Nothing," I choked out.
He chuckled. "Somehow, I don't believe you." He took a seat beside me.
And before I could stop myself, before I knew what was happening, the words were flying out my mouth.
He listened intently and then, "You know you've got to tell him, right?"
"See," I replied, "I'm thinking that I really DON'T."
"He deserves to know."
"He's with someone else."
"He was KISSING someone else." Okay, obviously he wasn't following. Kissing was just as bad as being with.
I stared at him, waiting for him to make his point.
"Just because he was kissing someone else doesn't mean he wasn't thinking of you."
I rolled eyes. "We've been friends our whole lives. He doesn't feel that way about me. It was an act of God that got us to the same university."
He was silent, as though debating whether to reveal something to me. It was a full minute before he'd made his decision.
"When I was, well, a LOT younger than you are, I fell for my best friend. Despite the fact that we'd been friends our whole lives. And I spent a full year torturing myself, wondering if she could ever feel the same way." His eyes clouded over, and I could tell that he was thinking about an event that must have taken place years ago. "Watching as she kissed over guys. I loved her so much. But she didn't know." A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Until I told her." He returned his attention to me. "You know, it's really not that bad. The hardest part is waiting for their response."
"What'd she say," I asked, figuring that I already knew the answer.
He grinned. "She said she was mad about me. What did you think she said?"
I smiled back. "Well, that's all well and good for you, but that's different."
"How?"
"Well…" And I couldn't come up with an answer.
"I thought so." While he'd been sitting next to me he rose and gathered his books.
"What were you doing here so late anyway?" I glanced at my watch. It was closing in on 10:00.
"I guess I fell asleep at my desk," he responded sheepishly.
"Ah."
"And now I'm going home." He turned and began walking in the direction of the teacher parking lot.
"Mr. Gordon!" I called.
He glanced back at me.
"Was this that Lizzie Craft that you mentioned to Isabelle? I mean, was Lizzie Craft the one you fell for?"
"Well, yes," he replied, taking a step forward. "But back then she was Lizzie McGuire."
I nodded and he left. For about an hour, I sat there, contemplating our conversation, Jake, and what I was going to do. Finally, with a smothered sigh, I returned to my building and entered my dorm room.
There were 6 messages from Jake, each one more frantic than the last. For just a moment I felt a touch of guilt. After all, I DO love him, and it was pretty horrible to make him worry. But I couldn't shake the image of him and Julia so I ignored them and climbed into bed. A song was playing on the radio, but I couldn't focus on the words. Something was ticking at the back of my mind, but I couldn't figure it out. Inwardly shrugging, I resolved to call Jake in the morning to tell him I hadn't been in an accident. So I shut off my bedroom light, noting that it was 11:25. And it wasn't until I was half asleep, thinking about how I was going to tell Jake my feelings, with thoughts of my upcoming history test playing at the outer limits of my mind that I recalled a tidbit of my convo with Mr. Gordon.
"Well yes. But back then she was Lizzie McGuire."
McGuire.
To say that I sat up straight in bed and leapt from it to the computer would be quite the understatement. So, NOW tell me it's just a coincidence.
Arwen
To: farrisa@nyu.film.net
From: morrisi@nyu.magazinedesign.net
Date: 3-27-16 8:25 a.m.
Subj: Even the most knowledgeable of girls can be wrong.
Okay, Arwen, here we go. You were right and I was wrong. Apparently she is the one and the same. But I still don't get why their families haven't clued them in. Other than that, I think I may have pieced all this together.
Mr. G and Lizzie are best friends and then they start dating. Then they all drift apart and stuff. Time goes by, he becomes a famous filmmaker, and since she hasn't heard from him, Lizzie begins dating Ethan Craft someone that she likes, not loves. In a last ditch effort to end up with Mr. Right (who is, apparently, Mr. G, something I am still attempting to come to terms with.) she sends him a letter of her engagement before she tells anyone. I assume he is probably NOT living in NY at this point since that would mean that she knew were he lived, and would understand that she is currently living in the same city.) She probably hopes he'll go after her. To her surprise, all he does is write back, saying that he loves her and that he's there for her. They are both expecting the OTHER to make the first move. Neither does as her wedding approaches. Suddenly, probably on the day of her wedding, as is often the case, she realizes that she simply cannot marry Craft, and the wedding is canceled. Perhaps out of shame, or pride or whatever, she makes everyone promise to not say a word to Mr. G about the un-wedding. And then she moves to NYC where he has been living for, probably, about a year.
I still don't get why their families haven't told them, or, really how Mr. G could NOT realize that she didn't marry the other guy, but hey. I still think I have given Hercule Poirot a run for his money.
So now, of course, since we have this info, the question becomes, what are we going to do with it? I mean, we could tell one of them. I vote Mr. G, since he seemed all but desolate when I told him that Lizzie was not Lizzie Craft. Besides, Lizzie doesn't seem very good at handling this situation. After all, she knows she's not married, and what's she do? Nothing. Seems to me that if I was away from my soul mate, I would do everything possible to ensure that we ended up together. Ahh well. Not everyone can understand the human mind like yours truly.
We could surprise them with some romantic rendezvous and then, when they saw each other it would be like BAM! And then, of course, they would be forced to name their first child after one of us, which would cause a problem since we both have such great names. Which one would they choose? Well, I guess they could use a combination of the two. Like Isabelle Arwen Gordon. A bit of a mouthful, don't ya think? But people would just call her Isabelle, or just Belle. I always wanted to be called Belle, but my parents weren't all about it.
Or, of course, we could do nothing. It's your decision since you did the BIG detective work.
Isabelle
Also, this chapter is a little longer than normal, just as a warning…
To: morrisi@nyu.magazinedesign.net
From: farrisa@nyu.film.net
Date: 3-27-16 12:23 a.m.
Subj: Jake, last names, and why I believe in soul mates.
Isabelle,
Mr. Gordon was back in class today (well, yesterday, since it's actually 12:00 a.m. TUESDAY morning) and he paid me $50 for my help. I was pleased.
I did as we agreed and didn't mention a word about our discoveries. I figured you were probably right about the whole thing. There were just too many questions for us to be jumping to conclusions. I mean, the odds had to have been about 100,000,000 to 1.
I was thinking this as I walked across the campus towards my dorm room. I was meeting Jake for dinner, and wanted to shower beforehand.
Picture this, if you will: There I am, about to enter my building when my eye catches something in the distance. I blink, once, twice in shock. There is Jake, about 100 yards away, kissing Julia. I freeze. All I can do is watch, trying to ignore the painful knots my stomach is tying into. All these thoughts seem to fly through my mind at one time. He and I at our high school prom, he and I in my dorm room, laughing over the stupidity of round doughnuts, he and I promising that no matter what, we'd always be friends.
All I could do was run. So I did. As fast and as far as I could go.
I was halfway across the campus when I finally halted. I couldn't breathe, and the sobs erupting from my chest were no help. I collapsed on the near by bench and cried and cried and cried. Jealousy unlike anything I had experienced in my life poured through my blood. 'How could he,' I thought, which was ridiculous. He and I weren't dating, had never dated. He was just my best guy friend, oblivious to the fact that I was in love with him.
"What's wrong?" asked a voice behind me.
I turned and faced Mr. Gordon, who was staring down at me in sympathy.
"Nothing," I choked out.
He chuckled. "Somehow, I don't believe you." He took a seat beside me.
And before I could stop myself, before I knew what was happening, the words were flying out my mouth.
He listened intently and then, "You know you've got to tell him, right?"
"See," I replied, "I'm thinking that I really DON'T."
"He deserves to know."
"He's with someone else."
"He was KISSING someone else." Okay, obviously he wasn't following. Kissing was just as bad as being with.
I stared at him, waiting for him to make his point.
"Just because he was kissing someone else doesn't mean he wasn't thinking of you."
I rolled eyes. "We've been friends our whole lives. He doesn't feel that way about me. It was an act of God that got us to the same university."
He was silent, as though debating whether to reveal something to me. It was a full minute before he'd made his decision.
"When I was, well, a LOT younger than you are, I fell for my best friend. Despite the fact that we'd been friends our whole lives. And I spent a full year torturing myself, wondering if she could ever feel the same way." His eyes clouded over, and I could tell that he was thinking about an event that must have taken place years ago. "Watching as she kissed over guys. I loved her so much. But she didn't know." A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Until I told her." He returned his attention to me. "You know, it's really not that bad. The hardest part is waiting for their response."
"What'd she say," I asked, figuring that I already knew the answer.
He grinned. "She said she was mad about me. What did you think she said?"
I smiled back. "Well, that's all well and good for you, but that's different."
"How?"
"Well…" And I couldn't come up with an answer.
"I thought so." While he'd been sitting next to me he rose and gathered his books.
"What were you doing here so late anyway?" I glanced at my watch. It was closing in on 10:00.
"I guess I fell asleep at my desk," he responded sheepishly.
"Ah."
"And now I'm going home." He turned and began walking in the direction of the teacher parking lot.
"Mr. Gordon!" I called.
He glanced back at me.
"Was this that Lizzie Craft that you mentioned to Isabelle? I mean, was Lizzie Craft the one you fell for?"
"Well, yes," he replied, taking a step forward. "But back then she was Lizzie McGuire."
I nodded and he left. For about an hour, I sat there, contemplating our conversation, Jake, and what I was going to do. Finally, with a smothered sigh, I returned to my building and entered my dorm room.
There were 6 messages from Jake, each one more frantic than the last. For just a moment I felt a touch of guilt. After all, I DO love him, and it was pretty horrible to make him worry. But I couldn't shake the image of him and Julia so I ignored them and climbed into bed. A song was playing on the radio, but I couldn't focus on the words. Something was ticking at the back of my mind, but I couldn't figure it out. Inwardly shrugging, I resolved to call Jake in the morning to tell him I hadn't been in an accident. So I shut off my bedroom light, noting that it was 11:25. And it wasn't until I was half asleep, thinking about how I was going to tell Jake my feelings, with thoughts of my upcoming history test playing at the outer limits of my mind that I recalled a tidbit of my convo with Mr. Gordon.
"Well yes. But back then she was Lizzie McGuire."
McGuire.
To say that I sat up straight in bed and leapt from it to the computer would be quite the understatement. So, NOW tell me it's just a coincidence.
Arwen
To: farrisa@nyu.film.net
From: morrisi@nyu.magazinedesign.net
Date: 3-27-16 8:25 a.m.
Subj: Even the most knowledgeable of girls can be wrong.
Okay, Arwen, here we go. You were right and I was wrong. Apparently she is the one and the same. But I still don't get why their families haven't clued them in. Other than that, I think I may have pieced all this together.
Mr. G and Lizzie are best friends and then they start dating. Then they all drift apart and stuff. Time goes by, he becomes a famous filmmaker, and since she hasn't heard from him, Lizzie begins dating Ethan Craft someone that she likes, not loves. In a last ditch effort to end up with Mr. Right (who is, apparently, Mr. G, something I am still attempting to come to terms with.) she sends him a letter of her engagement before she tells anyone. I assume he is probably NOT living in NY at this point since that would mean that she knew were he lived, and would understand that she is currently living in the same city.) She probably hopes he'll go after her. To her surprise, all he does is write back, saying that he loves her and that he's there for her. They are both expecting the OTHER to make the first move. Neither does as her wedding approaches. Suddenly, probably on the day of her wedding, as is often the case, she realizes that she simply cannot marry Craft, and the wedding is canceled. Perhaps out of shame, or pride or whatever, she makes everyone promise to not say a word to Mr. G about the un-wedding. And then she moves to NYC where he has been living for, probably, about a year.
I still don't get why their families haven't told them, or, really how Mr. G could NOT realize that she didn't marry the other guy, but hey. I still think I have given Hercule Poirot a run for his money.
So now, of course, since we have this info, the question becomes, what are we going to do with it? I mean, we could tell one of them. I vote Mr. G, since he seemed all but desolate when I told him that Lizzie was not Lizzie Craft. Besides, Lizzie doesn't seem very good at handling this situation. After all, she knows she's not married, and what's she do? Nothing. Seems to me that if I was away from my soul mate, I would do everything possible to ensure that we ended up together. Ahh well. Not everyone can understand the human mind like yours truly.
We could surprise them with some romantic rendezvous and then, when they saw each other it would be like BAM! And then, of course, they would be forced to name their first child after one of us, which would cause a problem since we both have such great names. Which one would they choose? Well, I guess they could use a combination of the two. Like Isabelle Arwen Gordon. A bit of a mouthful, don't ya think? But people would just call her Isabelle, or just Belle. I always wanted to be called Belle, but my parents weren't all about it.
Or, of course, we could do nothing. It's your decision since you did the BIG detective work.
Isabelle