Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.
Author's note: thanks so much to everyone for your reviews! ^_^ Hearing that people like it makes me even happier to write it. So thank you!
And for those of you who thought Gordo wouldn't let the situation go that easily, you're absolutely right.
*Karasuma*Firestorm*
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The Sweetness: I Told Myself
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Gordo didn't know what to feel. On the one hand, Lizzie liked him, she really liked him, she had kissed him in front of Ethan to prove it. Well, there was the slightest chance that maybe, just maybe, she had done it to make Ethan jealous. But Ethan had seemed really happy that Gordo and Lizzie were going out, and Lizzie didn't seem that upset that Ethan was happy, so maybe it wasn't a plot to make Ethan jealous.
Then again, on the other hand, she did it as a gesture to win him over, to make him forgive and forget that she'd been flirting with Ethan Craft. Which he couldn't and wouldn't forget that easily.
Besides, the whole thing felt cheap.
Gordo had promised himself that he wouldn't bring it up, that it would be a fun afternoon, completely angst-free, but somewhere around the eighth hole he realized how forced their conversation was --when they spoke at all.
"I can't believe you were flirting with Ethan Craft," he voiced his displeasure finally, torn between being glad they were getting it out in the open, and wanting to kick himself in the head.
"Gordo, I'm sorry, okay? I really really am. Please," Lizzie said, and the look on her face was so pitiful he felt a lot of his anger ebbing.
But still, he couldn't get it out of his mind. "You said you finally realized what an idiot he was."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's that easy to get over him," she retorted, looking slightly angry.
"Funny, you got over it pretty quickly for Ronny Jacobs and Frankie Muniz," Gordo spat, and gave his golf ball a firm *whack!*. The yellow ball sailed clear off the green and rolled down a nearby hill. Gordo ignored it.
"Well, you know, that was different!" Lizzie said, her voice raising an octave as she ran to defend herself. "I mean, this time I can't get all gushy over you so quickly because I've known you forever, Gordo, and there isn't much about you that I don't know! This whole thing is weird, and hard, and you know it!"
Gordo sighed, dropped his club unceremoniously, and sat down next to the little '8' flag. "You spend all of your time gushing over Ethan Craft, and you've never looked at me like that, even now that I'm your boyfriend." Saying 'boyfriend' felt so weird, especially considering he hardly felt like one the way that Lizzie had been acting.
"That's not true..." Lizzie protested weakly, but he had a feeling she knew he was right.
"You always fall for these completely vapid pretty boys, and then you go around and you tell me *I'm* a great person because I'm smart and fun."
"Well, you are."
"But then you turn around, and you date the cute idiot. So what does that say about how you feel about me? I'm the guy you call up to talk to about the other, cuter guys that you'd *rather* date."
"Gordo, come on, don't be like that."
"Tell me I'm wrong, Lizzie. Just tell me I'm wrong."
She said nothing, and sat down, on the opposite side of the tee, so that their backs were facing each other. "You always tell me I'm pretty," Lizzie said slowly. "But that's only because I'm so hard on myself, that I need reinforcement, and you give it to me. You...you don't *care* what people think, Gordo, so you're never hard on yourself, and I've never had to reinforce you, you know? I do think you're cute, Gordo, it's just never been the right time to say it, you know?"
"So...what, Lizzie? What am I to you? Honestly. Because if you don't want to do this, if you still like Ethan or whatever, then we should just stop now before one of us gets seriously hurt."
"I like you, Gordo, I really do. I like you more than Ethan because I can talk to you about anything and everything, and with Ethan I have to talk about things like...I don't know, proper hair care and stuff." Lizzie sighed. "I want to do this. I do. It's weird, and it's hard, and I've screwed up so much already, but I really want to do this. Please believe me."
They sat in silence for awhile, unmoving. Finally Gordo turned around, tapped Lizzie on the shoulder, and when she looked at him, he cradled her face slightly, and kissed her. This was a much better first kiss, he decided.
"Um, excuse me, could you two get a room or something? Some of us are trying to enjoy our afternoon."
Gordo and Lizzie, embarrassed, jumped away from each other and stood off quickly. Kate and Claire were standing there, and they looked shocked when they realized just who had been kissing at the eighth hole.
"Whoa," Claire said finally, "dorks on parade. This is all Discovery Channel and stuff."
"Lizzie, can I talk to you a minute?" Kate said suddenly.
"Say what?" Lizzie and Claire chorused.
Kate huffed and grabbed Lizzie's arm. "Come *here*, McGuire," she said, and dragged Lizzie halfway across the golf course. She stared at Lizzie seriously. "Are you and Gordo, like...a thing?" she asked.
Lizzie stared at her defiantly. Today had been such a crappy day, excluding the last two minutes, of course, and she just wasn't in the mood for Kate being Kate. "Yeah, we are."
To her surprise, Kate actually smiled. A genuine smile, not a smug cheerleader smile. "So he finally asked you out?"
Lizzie blinked. "Um...yeah," she stammered, then got her voice back. "Yeah, he did. Last night."
"About time." Kate swooped in and hugged Lizzie loosely. "I *told* you he liked you. Congratulations," she said softly, but when she pulled away, the hard Kate mask had returned. "But if you tell anyone about this, you'll live to regret it."
"Yeah, right!" Lizzie said, in their standard bantering way, but the two girls smiled at each other briefly before Kate stalked off. Lizzie shook her head. Junior high was just so *weird*.
When she got back to Gordo, Kate and Claire had already played through, and Gordo had gone down the hill to fetch his wayward ball. "What did Kate want?" Gordo inquired.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Author's note: thanks so much to everyone for your reviews! ^_^ Hearing that people like it makes me even happier to write it. So thank you!
And for those of you who thought Gordo wouldn't let the situation go that easily, you're absolutely right.
*Karasuma*Firestorm*
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
The Sweetness: I Told Myself
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Gordo didn't know what to feel. On the one hand, Lizzie liked him, she really liked him, she had kissed him in front of Ethan to prove it. Well, there was the slightest chance that maybe, just maybe, she had done it to make Ethan jealous. But Ethan had seemed really happy that Gordo and Lizzie were going out, and Lizzie didn't seem that upset that Ethan was happy, so maybe it wasn't a plot to make Ethan jealous.
Then again, on the other hand, she did it as a gesture to win him over, to make him forgive and forget that she'd been flirting with Ethan Craft. Which he couldn't and wouldn't forget that easily.
Besides, the whole thing felt cheap.
Gordo had promised himself that he wouldn't bring it up, that it would be a fun afternoon, completely angst-free, but somewhere around the eighth hole he realized how forced their conversation was --when they spoke at all.
"I can't believe you were flirting with Ethan Craft," he voiced his displeasure finally, torn between being glad they were getting it out in the open, and wanting to kick himself in the head.
"Gordo, I'm sorry, okay? I really really am. Please," Lizzie said, and the look on her face was so pitiful he felt a lot of his anger ebbing.
But still, he couldn't get it out of his mind. "You said you finally realized what an idiot he was."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's that easy to get over him," she retorted, looking slightly angry.
"Funny, you got over it pretty quickly for Ronny Jacobs and Frankie Muniz," Gordo spat, and gave his golf ball a firm *whack!*. The yellow ball sailed clear off the green and rolled down a nearby hill. Gordo ignored it.
"Well, you know, that was different!" Lizzie said, her voice raising an octave as she ran to defend herself. "I mean, this time I can't get all gushy over you so quickly because I've known you forever, Gordo, and there isn't much about you that I don't know! This whole thing is weird, and hard, and you know it!"
Gordo sighed, dropped his club unceremoniously, and sat down next to the little '8' flag. "You spend all of your time gushing over Ethan Craft, and you've never looked at me like that, even now that I'm your boyfriend." Saying 'boyfriend' felt so weird, especially considering he hardly felt like one the way that Lizzie had been acting.
"That's not true..." Lizzie protested weakly, but he had a feeling she knew he was right.
"You always fall for these completely vapid pretty boys, and then you go around and you tell me *I'm* a great person because I'm smart and fun."
"Well, you are."
"But then you turn around, and you date the cute idiot. So what does that say about how you feel about me? I'm the guy you call up to talk to about the other, cuter guys that you'd *rather* date."
"Gordo, come on, don't be like that."
"Tell me I'm wrong, Lizzie. Just tell me I'm wrong."
She said nothing, and sat down, on the opposite side of the tee, so that their backs were facing each other. "You always tell me I'm pretty," Lizzie said slowly. "But that's only because I'm so hard on myself, that I need reinforcement, and you give it to me. You...you don't *care* what people think, Gordo, so you're never hard on yourself, and I've never had to reinforce you, you know? I do think you're cute, Gordo, it's just never been the right time to say it, you know?"
"So...what, Lizzie? What am I to you? Honestly. Because if you don't want to do this, if you still like Ethan or whatever, then we should just stop now before one of us gets seriously hurt."
"I like you, Gordo, I really do. I like you more than Ethan because I can talk to you about anything and everything, and with Ethan I have to talk about things like...I don't know, proper hair care and stuff." Lizzie sighed. "I want to do this. I do. It's weird, and it's hard, and I've screwed up so much already, but I really want to do this. Please believe me."
They sat in silence for awhile, unmoving. Finally Gordo turned around, tapped Lizzie on the shoulder, and when she looked at him, he cradled her face slightly, and kissed her. This was a much better first kiss, he decided.
"Um, excuse me, could you two get a room or something? Some of us are trying to enjoy our afternoon."
Gordo and Lizzie, embarrassed, jumped away from each other and stood off quickly. Kate and Claire were standing there, and they looked shocked when they realized just who had been kissing at the eighth hole.
"Whoa," Claire said finally, "dorks on parade. This is all Discovery Channel and stuff."
"Lizzie, can I talk to you a minute?" Kate said suddenly.
"Say what?" Lizzie and Claire chorused.
Kate huffed and grabbed Lizzie's arm. "Come *here*, McGuire," she said, and dragged Lizzie halfway across the golf course. She stared at Lizzie seriously. "Are you and Gordo, like...a thing?" she asked.
Lizzie stared at her defiantly. Today had been such a crappy day, excluding the last two minutes, of course, and she just wasn't in the mood for Kate being Kate. "Yeah, we are."
To her surprise, Kate actually smiled. A genuine smile, not a smug cheerleader smile. "So he finally asked you out?"
Lizzie blinked. "Um...yeah," she stammered, then got her voice back. "Yeah, he did. Last night."
"About time." Kate swooped in and hugged Lizzie loosely. "I *told* you he liked you. Congratulations," she said softly, but when she pulled away, the hard Kate mask had returned. "But if you tell anyone about this, you'll live to regret it."
"Yeah, right!" Lizzie said, in their standard bantering way, but the two girls smiled at each other briefly before Kate stalked off. Lizzie shook her head. Junior high was just so *weird*.
When she got back to Gordo, Kate and Claire had already played through, and Gordo had gone down the hill to fetch his wayward ball. "What did Kate want?" Gordo inquired.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."