Just wanted to add that at the top, in case anyone hasn't figured that out by now. Some people write stories, and say the movie never happened, Miranda didn't go to Mexico, etc. etc., well in this story, "stuff happens" BEFORE the class trip.
I thank each and every one that's reading this fic, I keep thanking the reviewers, so I'll take this time to also thank those who aren't reviewing as well... THANKS!
It took me two hours to write the last chapter, and FOUR hours to type it up. It more than tripled in size after I "punched it up". And I only used lyrics from three songs!
One reviewer said "Keep on writing, never stop." Thanks, but this story DOES end. Have no fear, I have a sequel planned.
I'm glad you guys like all the songs, but I can't use all the ones I come up with, I don't want anyone to think I can't write this stuff without them, and gotta save some songs for story #2.
I wrote way too many notes at the beginning of the last chapter, so...
Disclaimer - I do not work for/with Disney, Ren-Mar studios, do not own any of the characters of Lizzie McGuire.
All songs/lyrics used are property of the respective artists, labels, writers, agents, etc. and ASCAP/BMI.
On to Chapter 16.
Chapter 16
They both sat there, barely swinging, looking straight ahead. Lizzie turned and looked at Gordo, blushed, and turned away. Gordo turned and looked at Lizzie, blushed and turned away. This wasn't getting them anywhere.
She forced herself to focus on him for more than two seconds. "He looks so cute," she thought. She finally admitted it to herself, the boy who had been her best friend all her life was cute. Cute, sweet, caring, and a whole lot of other things she couldn't even put into words.
Gordo knew she was watching him, and after a few seconds, he couldn't stand it anymore. He looked at her, and their eyes met.
"She has such beautiful eyes," he thought to himself. But he couldn't figure out what color they were. Blue? Green? Brown?
Hazel. What a strange sounding word, but they were hazel, a mix of blue, green, and brown that was perfect. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. A lovely smile, to go with lovely eyes.
Was she waiting for him to speak first? He couldn't. He was captivated by her beauty. He loved to see her smile, but he wondered what she was thinking. She was here, so she couldn't be mad at him. What was she thinking? A song popped in his head before he could stop it...
It's written all over your face
You don't have to say a word
Just smile and smile and smile and smile for me
It's better than any word I ever heard
He shook it from his mind. He had no idea how many songs she'd listened to, but he knew she'd had enough. He had to speak now, in his OWN words. But how?
She actually liked the fact that she seemed to make him nervous. She thought she'd never have that effect on any guy. His eyes were a sparkly bluish-gray, and she could almost see herself reflected in them. She couldn't help looking him in the eyes, since he was looking back.
When he smiled, his eyes sparkled even more, and her mind started to go blank. She truly believed that what he felt for her was more than a crush, but she wanted him to say it aloud. No more notes, no more songs. She wanted to hear his voice speak the words from his heart.
He reached for the duffel bag he had brought, and pulled out a box of tissues. He handed them to her without a word. He hoped she'd say something first, anything, he couldn't speak until the silence had been broken. He pulled two water bottles out of the bag, opened both, and handed one to Lizzie. The fountain was on the other side of the park, so had come prepared.
She hadn't noticed the duffel before. She accepted the tissues and the water, and wondered what else was in there. Would he ever speak? She had been the one who kissed him, so maybe she should speak first. He had acted last by giving her the CD, and the note, so, she guessed maybe it was her turn.
"Gordo, it's me, Lizzie. Like you said in the yearbook, we've always shared everything with each other, so you can tell me whatever it is, even if you think you can't. Just follow your heart."
He looked at her puzzled. Was that just an offhand remark? She nodded at him, and he knew she'd figured out the whole "Confused Guy" thing... But what was in his heart? Music. He took a deep breath, and softly started to sing.
You are so beautiful to me
Can't you see
You're everything I hoped for
You're everything I need
You are so beautiful to me
You are so beautiful to me
She kept smiling at him. She was flattered, but she wanted HIS words.
He knew that said part of what he wanted, but why couldn't HE say it? A crazy idea came to mind, a scene from one of Lizzie's favorite flicks. He took another deep breath, and out came another song.
You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
Her breath caught in her throat. Had he said he loved her? Yes he did, but she remembered where she'd heard that song before, and laughed. "Ok, Elijah! But what do YOU say?"
He didn't know what HE had to say. He couldn't put it into words. It was one of those days where he couldn't open his mouth, without a song jumpin' right out, so even though he spoke in his normal voice, out came...
I think I love you
So what am I so afraid of?
I'm afraid that I'm not sure of
A love there is no cure for
He stopped, and took a drink of water. Like the juice the day before, it worked in reverse, as his mouth was now as dry as it could be.
She heard him say "love" twice there, but it wasn't him saying it, she knew it was another song. Three strikes and you're out was the rule, but she was willing to give him one more chance. "David Zephyr Gordon, I want to hear what YOU have to say, or I'm leaving!" She waited a few seconds, then stood up, and glared at him.
Lizzie NEVER called him David, and he loved it. He just wished he had a normal middle name to go along with his first. Why didn't he ever use his first name? There was nothing wrong with it. Now, if his name was Zephyr David Gordon, then it would make sense to be called by another name. She hadn't taken a step away from the swings, but he didn't want to test her. Could it be as easy as just saying what was in his heart, on his mind? He took several deep breaths. He was beginning to feel like Mike Fetters.
A/N A few of you got that, but most of you went, "Huh?"
In the episode Lizzie's Eleven, Gordo refers to the Arizona Diamondbacks as "Overrated, a bunch of banjo hitters, and journeymen," meaning essentially, they aren't very good. At the time the episode was filmed, they were celebrating a World Series victory from the year before.
Either 1) Gordo hates them, and really thinks what he said or 2) Likes them, and won't admit it. (Since he likes Lizzie, and won't admit it, I'm going with #2.
Mike Fetters, who played for the Dodgers for a few years, and now is with the Minnesota Twins, joined Arizona during the 2002 season.
Mr. Fetters, a relief pitcher, is known for taking exaggerated deep breaths before each pitch. He says it psyches him up, and as a result he doesn't hyperventilate. He does this with EVERY pitch. 'Nuff explanation, sorry for the interruption, back to the story now.
"Lizzie, I."
"Lizzie, I."
She softened her expression towards him, and like that night on the porch after the murder mystery, prompted him just a little. "Yes, Gordo?"
"Lizzie, I love you!"
There he'd said it aloud, for the first time, other than to himself.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she started to speak, but Gordo continued. "First, I loved you as a friend, but it's become more than that. I meant every word I wrote in your yearbook, and the only reason it took so long to write it out, is that I don't believe the words to express how I feel have been invented yet." He reached out, and pushed a stray hair out of her eyes, and wiped a tear away in the process.
"G- David," she felt it proper to use his first name now, "David, I." Great, now she was stuck. She tried to think of how to explain it to him.
"Remember back in 7th grade, we got paired together in a 'marriage'?"
He nodded, it had been one of the few school projects he had enjoyed, until she tried to dump him for Ethan.
"I'm sorry, but at first, I was just thinking about getting a good grade, but then I thought, "Best friend equals best marriage."
He stopped swinging. Had she really thought that? She continued. "And then I got upset that I didn't get Ethan, and I ignored you, and I know that hurt your feelings. I'm sorry."
He accepted the apology with a nod, and remained silent. "Do you remember when I freaked a couple of months ago when I said I should have a career lined up already?"
Again, he nodded. He had a feeling where this was going, but he didn't think he wanted to hear it. "I thought of different paths my life could take, and then I saw myself as a stay-at-home mom and..."
He was right. He didn't want to hear, but couldn't tell her to stop.
"... I envisioned my 'gorgeous' husband" coming home from work, and I was right in the middle of describing it, when you..."
Gordo couldn't take it anymore. "AHHHHHHHHH!" Here he was, revealing himself to her, and she had to bring up Ethan...
"...did that... Why, didn't you let me finish? I was NOT seeing Ethan in my dream, it was YOU!"
He couldn't believe his ears. "Me? You think I'm gorgeous?" He pulled a few tissues out of the box he had given Lizzie, and wiped at HIS eyes this time.
"Well, yes, I mean, no, I mean..." What did she mean? She racked her brain for another way to say it... "Remember the movie the Lion King?"
He nodded, he had NO idea where she was going with this... "Zazu tells Simba and Nala one day they will be married, and..." She trailed off...
He remembered the scene... "And he says he can't marry her because she's his friend, and she says it would be too weird, right?"
She nodded. "I think that's like you and me. I thought it would be strange. But I have thought of us together before, just not seriously. And I told myself I wanted Ethan, but deep down inside, I guess I knew I'd never get him. It's kind of like when you see someone famous, and you like them, but you know the chances are terrible for you to hook up, because chances are you aren't ever going to meet in the first place. What do you think about that?"
He didn't know what to think. He'd come here expecting to shock Lizzie, and here she was surprising him. "How many of the songs on the CD did you actually listen to?"
She thought for a minute... "Um, I don't know, a dozen or so?" Again, he was surprised. He had put about 150 songs on there, and she didn't even listen to 10% of them, but she was still here, talking to him? He didn't know if he should ask which songs they were, so he remained quiet.
"They were beautiful songs, but why are so many of them 'oldies'? I mean, there are songs there that were made before my parents were born!"
"Because I think most older songs were better in many ways. Sure, there are still wonderful compositions being made, but most can't compare to the music of the 1950's, sixties, and seventies. Now, I'm against censorship, but a lot are talking about butts, or just getting into bed, and those that aren't, I don't know if I want to talk about them... None of those three types of songs are romantic!"
She'd never thought of it that way before. He decided to give her an example of the latter type song. "Here's a great one..."
Your one vice
Is you're too nice
Come around now can't you see
I want you
All tattooed
I want you bad
He stopped to take a breath, and found Lizzie laughing at him. If he wanted her to be bad, then she wanted him to be bad as well. She countered his song with yet another song.
Bad, bad, bad, bad boy, you make me feel so good
Gordo picked up the refrain.
You know you make me feel so good, you know you make me feel so good
She barely was able to continue with the next line, she was laughing so hard.
Bad, bad, bad, bad boy, wouldn't change you if I could
It was Gordo's turn...
Wouldn't change you if I could, Wouldn't...
He stopped. Wait, she WOULDN'T change him? Was that right, or was it just part of the song? "Lizzie, you wouldn't change me?" He sighed. "I would."
"Gordo, you always say I'm perfect, and I never knew what you really meant, but now I'm thinking the same about you."
"But I'm short."
"Who cares? There are a million zillion kinds of people in the world. I like you for you!"
He couldn't believe it. The girl of his dreams liked him the way he was. "I bet you think I'm crazy, don't you Lizzie?" He took a drink of the water, cleared his throat, and out came...
You may be right,
I may be crazy,
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
She laughed, but not as heartily as he'd hoped."Yes Gordo, you are a little crazy. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Now can we stop with the songs and try to get serious again?"
He didn't know if he could, but he'd try. "Ok, since I'm here to tell you all my secrets, here's something you didn't know. I saw you when you and Ronny kissed."
"What? How?" That was a very private moment, and now she found out they had an audience?
"I didn't plan on it, I was bringing a CD to you, and you weren't home, so I decided to go to Miranda's, to see if you were there, and I saw you with him, so I kinda hid out, and watched to see what would happen. I just... I don't know."
Now she understood why he acted like he did the next day. She tried to finish his sentence for him. "...felt like ripping out your intestines with a fork?" She made a face, ewwwww, that sounded awful.
"Well, no, I found that song later... There's an episode of the Simpsons, when Bart falls for this tomboy, and she asks to meet him at his treehouse, because she has this big secret. When he gets there, she tells him she's just got a new boyfriend, and he has a vision of her reaching into his chest, and ripping out his heart. THAT is how I felt."
"Oh, come on, you had a girlfriend before I had a boyfriend, so what about how I felt when I saw you kiss Brooke?"
"What did you feel?" He'd always wanted to ask, but it was one of the many things he couldn't.
"I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Not exactly because I wanted to be in her place, but because I thought it was strange for you to be somebody's boyfriend. Or that's what I told myself."
"Is that why when I came to your house, and I told you I broke it off, you almost kissed me on the cheek then?"
She blushed. It had been an accident. Both her and Miranda were teasing him about kissing Brooke, and making kissy faces at him, and leaned in, and if he hadn't put his arm up, she'd have kissed him on the right cheek... "I didn't think you remembered that!"
"Remembered it? For a week I told myself how stupid it was to have put my hand up at that moment. Even a kiss on the arm was more than I expected, but I missed a kiss on the cheek? That's not something I should have passed up. I'm sorry I ruined the memory of your first real kiss, Lizzie, I shouldn't have told you..."
"No Gordo, it's okay. Things are a lot clearer to me now. But I haven't been totally honest with you with you either... Yes, when Ronny kissed me it was my first 'boyfriend/girlfriend' kiss, but if you count an official kiss as "on the lips", it wasn't the first."
Ronny not the first? Who then? "Remember when we went to see Aaron Carter make a video? I left my tape recorder in his trailer, and it was all decorated for Christmas, even though it wasn't, and there was mistletoe above the door, and he kissed me. Yes, I liked it, but it was just a kiss, no romantic feelings intended."
Should he believe her? He didn't think, she would lie about that. But he needed to know the whole truth, and expose some truth of his own.
Without him even asking, she knew what he was thinking. "I swear it's the truth. Miranda's cousin kissed me on the cheek twice when we were on that game show, and Frankie only kissed me on the cheek as well, also twice. Other than the two times I kissed you, the accidental one, and yesterday, that's it."
He nodded, and sensed it was time to reveal a little. "I've been kissed five times. By your own definition, Brooke was the only one I considered a "romantic kiss." The two you mentioned when you kissed me weren't the ONLY times you kissed me, but I guess you don't remember."
She had kissed Gordo and forgot? No way.
"I don't blame you for forgetting, I did too, until my Mom reminded me yesterday. It was at this park, and we were six years old. We were on these same swings, and this big kid, probably two or three years older, came up and pushed you off."
She could vaguely remember what Gordo was explaining. It was a memory that she thought she had long forgotten, but it wasn't really forgotten, just stored somewhere in the recesses of her mind.
He saw her trying to remember, and stopped until she looked as if she could. He continued. "I jumped off my swing, and belted him good. I think I hit him three or four times, and your mother had to pry me off of him."
Gordo had fought for her? She was impressed, even though it happened eight years prior.
"I, I just got so mad, you fell in the dirt, and you even though you didn't cry, it messed up your new outfit, and he had no right to do that!" He was getting worked up just thinking about it. He worked to calm himself before he continued. "I went over and helped you up, and you bent down, and kissed me on the forehead, because then, you were taller than me."
"Gordo, who cares which one of us is taller? Don't let that Randy Newman influence your thoughts!"
Wait, he was supposed to delete that song. He forgot? He started to feel a little sick.
"No, I didn't listen to it, because it said you were supposed to delete it, but I asked my Mom what it was about, and what she said, it just wasn't good. I don't care if you are two feet tall, or ten feet tall, as long as you are Gordo."
He smiled at her. She truly did like him as is. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his relief was short-lived.
"Gordo, that makes three times I kissed you, and one kiss from Brooke. You said you were kissed five times. I'm guessing you're ruling out when you were a baby, and got kissed by relatives and babysitters and stuff, like I did, so how did you get five? Who else kissed you?"
The sick feeling he had just moments ago, again rushed over him. Should he tell her? They were both baring their souls, no use keeping secrets from each other any longer. "Promise not to get mad?"
"I promise." Suddenly, she knew. "Wait, you don't mean..."
A/N ?????????? Guess whoooooo
I told you this story would have plenty of 'flashbacks' in it, but it's still fiction.
I switched around some things from the way I originally planned this chapter, hope it worked the way I meant it to.
Since I find tons of mistakes when I post too quickly, I'm a little late posting this chapter, but the next SHOULD be up before Thursday.
I almost wish I hadn't set the "post every three days" rule for myself, I don't think the story is suffering in its message, but before you know it, the story will be all online.
Most of you would forgive me if I spaced out the last few installments more than three days apart, but others would say I should stick to my original plan.
As always, thanks for reading, review if you like, or email me at either JP5683@msn.com or JP5683@webtv.net
All email will be replied to, and anyone who leaves a review with an email attached, whether on a profile, or written in on an anonymous post, will be contacted, unless you ask me not to.
Thanks,
JP
List of songs used in this chapter:
Rude Boys - Written All Over Your Face
Joe Cocker - You Are So Beautiful
Jimmie Davis - You Are My Sunshine
Partridge Family - I Think I Love You
Offspring - Want You Bad
Mase - Feel So Good
Billy Joel - You May Be Right
March 31, 2003