Gordo placed his books ontop of his desk. Wearily, he fell into his seat, anticipating yet another Lizzie/Ethan flirt session. He flipped open his copybook to yesterday's , which weren't even notes at all. It was his feelings scribbled on the back page of the notebook. His feelings about Lizzie. Not that he really had any anymore. They were friends. Friends, and nothing more. Who knows what possessed him yesterday morning? Some sort of first-day-back infatuation. His summer had been so family-oriented, that the mere sight of his best friends sent him into overdrive.

Gordo's parents hated to leave him alone all day at home. So they'd either send him to some pointless camp, or leave him home--with a babysitter. Granted, the babysitter was pretty nice. She was 23 and always brought cool music with her. But Mr. and Mrs. Gordon gave strict orders to not let him leave the house. And she wanted her paycheck. So they'd sit at home and play Monopoly all day. Before yesterday, Gordo hadn't seen Miranda since early July. And Lizzie...he hadn't seen her since the end of June.

Whoa, whoa, Gordo. Let's not go off on a tangent, he scolded himself. He stilll had copybook, open to that page, when Lizzie walked in. He quickly tore it out and stuffed it in his pocket.

Lizzie walked daintily to her seat in front of Gordo. As she laid her textbook down on the table and slid into her chair, he could hear the faint clinking noise her charm bracelet made against the wooden desk. He stared intently at the back of her neck as she fidgeted around in her chair. There was just something about it that made him crazy. Maybe it was how it always looked so elegant. Maybe it was how he knew how it made her feel. He thought back to this one time, back in 4th grade, at Lizzie's 10th birthday party, during a tickling fiasco, he accidentally lightly touched the nape of her neck. She stopped giggling and shivered. Of course, it hadn't occured to him then, but it was one of the few times in his life that anything Gordo did ever deeply affected her. Talking to her was like talking to a brick wall: everything just sort of bounced back, nothing ever being absorbed. That's how it felt.

He snapped back to reality when he saw Lizzie turned around, looking at him funny.

Gordo, are you...okay?

At any other time, he would've said yes. Because usually, it was the truth. But now...now it wasn't the truth. He was hurt, the kind of permanent hurt that won't subside. All the pain he felt traveled up from that pit in his stomach, up past his vocal cords, up to his mouth, and...

Why do you care? he replied, coldly. His usually-friendly blue eyes were frigid with hate. But did he really hate her? Could he hate her? Even through the pain he caused her, he knew she was still his friend, and he cared about her, even if the feelings weren't mutual.

she said quietly, turning back around like a puppy dog dejectedly backing into a corner.

How could I be so stupid? he thought. I want her to love me, and I go and do a stupid thing like... His eyes bulged at his own thoughts. Wait, I want her to love me?!

~~~~~~~

Immediately after school, Gordo walked over to the Digital Bean. Again, he just sat around and thought to himself. It was a Friday afternoon, and he figured somebody at his school was throwing a party that night, but he knew he wasn't exactly the life of the party. In fact, he had never even been to a party. A regular, non-birthday party. But he didn't plan on going to any regular, non-birthday parties soon. He was only 14. And besides, there's school now. There's plenty of time for partying in the summer. ....Who am I kidding? Here's how many hours I spent partying this summer: Zero. Zip. Nada.

Oh well, he thought. It's not like anyone wants me at their parties anyway.

He grinned. He didn't have to see who that was, he knew it was her. Carly. He loved how she called him Zephyr. Of course, he'd always treasure the nickname --he'd had it for God knows how long--but there was something refreshingly cool about Zephyr. It made him sound like a Final Fantasy character.

he said, turning around and smiling at her. It was his pet name for her, just as his was .

What are you doin' here? she said, taking a seat next to him. She was nothing like the meek little girl he'd met yesterday morning.

Just contemplating, he said with a sigh.

Ooh, look at Zephyr, getting all big-wordy' on me, she said sarcastically. He laughed.

I'm just thinking.

That's much better, she said with a smile. But don't you think you've done enough thinking for today? I mean, you kept staring out the window during Chem, and all you kept saying was What?' and

Yeah, well, I just have a lot on my mind. He wanted to spill his guts to her. He'd gotten so close and felt like he knew her so well, even though it had only been 2 days. He wanted to tell her about Miranda, and Ethan, and Kate, and most of all...Lizzie. But he was too scared. He knew she'd be weirded out.

This is about Lizzie, isn't it? she said blankly, much more like a statement than a question. He squirmed around.

That's not...all...it's about... he said nervously.

Sure, Zephyr, she said, rolling her eyes, Whatever you say.

he gave in, but whatever I tell you, stays with you. I really don't want her to find out.

No worries. I swear on my daddy's grave, she said with a fake Southern accent. He tried to hold back his laughter.

Stop, I'm serious, he said through his laughs.

Oh, I can see that. So serious. He'd only really made sure she knew not to tell as a precaution. In case something slipped out. Something she shouldn't know.

What, I have to tell you something immediately?

Uh, yeah! she laughed. I hope you didn't just make me swear on my daddy's grave for nothin'!

Some other day, he said, smirking. Like when I'm sure that we're going to be friends for a while.

In that case, can I speak my mind for a second?

Uh. Sure, he said, unsure of what exactly she would be talking about.

Okay, well I know Lizzie is your friend and all, and she seems pretty cool, but last night, she was really going jealous girlfriend' on you, if you know what I mean. I don't think she likes me, Zephyr.

Gordo sighed. Maybe it's true. It hurt him to think that she wouldn't be supportive of his new friends, when he'd been completely fine with her choice to be friends with Miranda. Okay, okay, maybe that was when they were 5 years old, but still, he didn't like Miranda that much at first. And Carly was so nice. How could Lizzie not like her?

And wait...jealous girlfriend? Yeah, right. Lizzie's not that type of person. But he grinned. Lizzie? Jealous of Carly? Because I'M talking to Carly, and not her? ...Wishful thinking.

What's with the grin, boy?

What? Oh...oh, nothing, he said, quickly turning his face back to the serious look he'd had a second ago.

Carly squinted at Gordo for a few more seconds, just to see his lips curl back up into the grin. Then it hit her.



he said, looking up and returning to the serious face.

I knew it.

Knew what?

You like Lizzie.

------------------------

[A/N: Ahhh! Oh no, how will Gordo react? Will he admit to it, or totally deny it? Hmm, you'll just have to wait and see!

Wow, I can't believe I updated so dang fast. It's only been 6 days! And it doesn't matter that today was a Snow Day because I didn't start writing this until about...6:00, anyway.

Do you like this story? I think it's my favorite, out of all 5 stories I'm writing. The next to be updated is Obituaries, as usual. But I might start an original fiction story tomorrow. And chapters for Obituaries take a while to write. So maybe Sunday. But I have drama auditions and then my greatnana's 101st brithday party then. So..Monday? Yeah, I'll say Monday. But maybe Saturday. I don't know. You just don't know with me.

Please please PLEASE let me know what you think of this story. Even if you think it sucks, just let me know. Yes, please review. Thanks.]