A/N: Well here we are with another one =) And yet another general
disclaimer; I don't own Lizzie McGuire, You've Got Mail or any brand names
mentioned herein. On with the fanfic!
Gordo stood on the doorstep of the McGuire's for a good two whole minutes before anyone came to the door. The rain had not been as bad as he had predicted. It did sprinkle but not as intensely as the sky would have convinced one of. The clouds were dark, swelling with rainfall and menacing. It was not as if Gordo feared them in anyway, the clouds just had a foreboding nature.
He sighed and waited. There had to be someone home, his parents made sure of that, so he pressed the doorbell again and took a step back, staring at the door.
There were muffled voices inside. An exchange of conversation between Lizzie and her parents up and down the stairs? More than likely. Although he lov- considered Lizzie his closest friend, she had a problem with understanding the concept of time. It was as if she was oblivious to it; and to think, not long ago he had bought her that clock she so dearly wanted. Had no one arrived at the door, he probably could have reminisced all day but he preferred the inside - for more reasons than one - and the dryer conditions.
"Gordo!" Jo McGuire exclaimed, "how long have you been there?" she asked. Gordo had a feeling he knew where Lizzie's understanding of time came from.
"Oh you kno- not long at all," he lied and smiled to seal the deal.
"Come in, Lizzie's upstairs," she said and walked back into the kitchen.
Gordo glanced in every direction after closing the door behind him. The McGuire house wasn't much different to his but there were subtle things that only he noticed which made all the difference. For one, the smell. Lizzie had some unbelievably aromatic scents she unknowingly left around the house. They were so- so Lizzie. Gordo could distinguish Lizzie among all others purely by her wonderful aromas. They were generally different from day to day, but he knew the ones that were her favourite, even without actually knowing what they were named specifically.
There was also that uncanny way Jo McGuire kept the house. She knew how to clean and maintain a 'standard' that gave distinct character to everything. Perhaps it was because she had too much time on her hands, but Gordo believed otherwise. It was what she was good at and he admired the way she was consistent.
His thoughts were interrupted once more. Lizzie stood at the top of the stairs.
'She's so beautiful,' his mind complained, 'why? Why is she so beautiful?' he felt like it had been an eternity since he had last looked at- really looked at her.
She stood there, hands resting on the ball adorning the hand rail of the stairs; not moving, just looking down at him, smiling a little. She was so finely dressed. Lizzie was an incredible dresser. Gordo always envisioned her perhaps world's next fashion trendsetter or designer, whatever they preferred.
Dark blue jeans- or something to that effect, he wasn't too good at distinguishing the names of specific types of clothing and a light blue blouse. Such simple items of clothing, yet, on her, they were stunning.
"Hi," he mumbled, still quite stunned by her.
She'd had her hair shortened to that perfect length. It was frizzy again too. She was perfect. Absolutely flawless.
"Uh- hi," she replied, equally as uncomfortable as he was.
"What are we going to do today?" he asked, making small talk.
"Oh you know- stuff," she answered goofily, which she noticed, shaking her head after her answer and muttering.
"O-kay, so- when are we going to start- doing stuff?" Gordo patronized.
She giggled a little, half annoyed at him for making a joke about her and half genuinely, so relieved to see him as the original Gordo.
"Hey uh- I guess we could watch a DVD. Mom said she hired one from the store," Lizzie said, hoping that a movie, where one needn't talk much in, would settle things down.
"Sure, sounds great," he responded, glad that a movie would prevent much further awkward conversation.
"Great, umm just let me finish here and I'll be right down," she said and disappeared into her room.
Out of nowhere Matt and Lanny appeared from the lounge room.
"Gosh! No wonder you haven't gotten her yet," Matt assumed, cloaked in all black, as Lanny was, speaking at Gordo.
"And what does that mean runt?" Gordo retorted.
"Oh nothing. It's just become so obvious to me and everyone else, but you're still too chicken to do anything about it," Matt continued, turning to Lanny and nodding all the while, "you're right Lanny, it's ninja time" "What do they feed you here?" Gordo teased, actually quite serious.
"A ninja reveals none of his secrets to those who are unworthy," Matt stated, turning to Lanny once more, "heh, you're right Lanny, he IS a bit-"
"All right!" Gordo raised his voice, "cut that stuff out and give it to me straight. What do you guys know?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Matt answered sing-songingily and smiling evilly.
Gordo looked around and lowered his voice, "what'll it cost me to find out?"
"Depends," Matt said, "a ninja needs few things in life of any importance"
Gordo thought for a moment and then began to smile himself, before leaning down and whispering inaudibly between Matt and Lanny. The smiles on both Matt and Lanny disappeared instantly and their expressions changed dramatically. Lanny's mouth dropped and Matt's eyes bulged.
"Are you SERIOUS?" Matt cried out.
"Deadly," Gordo whispered.
"Then all this time, we haven-"
"Yes," Gordo interrupted, nodding seriously and attempting at all costs to stifle his growing laughter.
"We'll get right on it," Matt said, "come on Lanny, we've got so much packing to do"
"Wait!" Gordo called, "what about your end of the deal?"
"Easy," Matt replied, "just check your email when Lizzie's done. You're a smart guy, you should have figured it out by now"
Gordo looked at Matt puzzled as the pair ran away, muttering and nodding, obviously planning their next scheme.
'I should have figured it out by now?' Gordo thought, running the question in his mind continuously before something clicked.
He ran up the stairs and stood outside Lizzie's room, 'this is either a big mistake or the answer to it all'
Gordo pushed her door forward and walked in. Lizzie spun around and jumped up, covering her computer screen. "What are you doing?" she yelled exasperatedly.
"I just came to see if you were ready to see the movie," he lied, shrugging at her sudden defensive attitude and stance.
"Well, I'm not- just go out and let me finish up here," she instructed, covering the screen and attempting to stay calm.
"Okay, okay. Take it easy," he said soothingly, "but just outta curiosity, what's going on here McGuire? It DOES look a little sus' you know," he said, smiling in that special Gordo way.
"No-nothing is going on here, I'm just doing- stuff," she lied, avoiding his gaze.
"Oh, stuff again eh?" he persisted.
"Ye-yes, now- can we drop it?" she asked, stuttering and losing control of her attempts to stay calm.
"Come on McGuire, what's going on here?" he continued, not ready to relinquish his attack.
"It's- it's nothing- it's work- and it's-" she stuttered again, racking her brain for a convincing lie.
He continued to gaze at her, almost confident he knew what she was hiding but continuing with the game.
She looked up at him and bit her lip softly, "it's not what it looks like," she lied and moved slowly out of the way.
Gordo moved forward slightly and squinted, he could make out some of the body of the text from his range but it was the 'signed' portion that hit it home to him.
'-I know she feels the same. Good luck and don't give up, Sleeping_Beauty- '
For Gordo, it was the proverbial 'smoking gun'. He stood there for a moment, not once looking at her. He didn't want to believe his mind's accusations but the evidence was there.
He turned and walked quickly out of her room, walking even quicker down the stairs, ignoring Lizzie's calls of "wait" and "let me explain".
Gordo opened the door and walked out. At that moment the rain started. He smiled sarcastically and continued to walk.
Gordo stood on the doorstep of the McGuire's for a good two whole minutes before anyone came to the door. The rain had not been as bad as he had predicted. It did sprinkle but not as intensely as the sky would have convinced one of. The clouds were dark, swelling with rainfall and menacing. It was not as if Gordo feared them in anyway, the clouds just had a foreboding nature.
He sighed and waited. There had to be someone home, his parents made sure of that, so he pressed the doorbell again and took a step back, staring at the door.
There were muffled voices inside. An exchange of conversation between Lizzie and her parents up and down the stairs? More than likely. Although he lov- considered Lizzie his closest friend, she had a problem with understanding the concept of time. It was as if she was oblivious to it; and to think, not long ago he had bought her that clock she so dearly wanted. Had no one arrived at the door, he probably could have reminisced all day but he preferred the inside - for more reasons than one - and the dryer conditions.
"Gordo!" Jo McGuire exclaimed, "how long have you been there?" she asked. Gordo had a feeling he knew where Lizzie's understanding of time came from.
"Oh you kno- not long at all," he lied and smiled to seal the deal.
"Come in, Lizzie's upstairs," she said and walked back into the kitchen.
Gordo glanced in every direction after closing the door behind him. The McGuire house wasn't much different to his but there were subtle things that only he noticed which made all the difference. For one, the smell. Lizzie had some unbelievably aromatic scents she unknowingly left around the house. They were so- so Lizzie. Gordo could distinguish Lizzie among all others purely by her wonderful aromas. They were generally different from day to day, but he knew the ones that were her favourite, even without actually knowing what they were named specifically.
There was also that uncanny way Jo McGuire kept the house. She knew how to clean and maintain a 'standard' that gave distinct character to everything. Perhaps it was because she had too much time on her hands, but Gordo believed otherwise. It was what she was good at and he admired the way she was consistent.
His thoughts were interrupted once more. Lizzie stood at the top of the stairs.
'She's so beautiful,' his mind complained, 'why? Why is she so beautiful?' he felt like it had been an eternity since he had last looked at- really looked at her.
She stood there, hands resting on the ball adorning the hand rail of the stairs; not moving, just looking down at him, smiling a little. She was so finely dressed. Lizzie was an incredible dresser. Gordo always envisioned her perhaps world's next fashion trendsetter or designer, whatever they preferred.
Dark blue jeans- or something to that effect, he wasn't too good at distinguishing the names of specific types of clothing and a light blue blouse. Such simple items of clothing, yet, on her, they were stunning.
"Hi," he mumbled, still quite stunned by her.
She'd had her hair shortened to that perfect length. It was frizzy again too. She was perfect. Absolutely flawless.
"Uh- hi," she replied, equally as uncomfortable as he was.
"What are we going to do today?" he asked, making small talk.
"Oh you know- stuff," she answered goofily, which she noticed, shaking her head after her answer and muttering.
"O-kay, so- when are we going to start- doing stuff?" Gordo patronized.
She giggled a little, half annoyed at him for making a joke about her and half genuinely, so relieved to see him as the original Gordo.
"Hey uh- I guess we could watch a DVD. Mom said she hired one from the store," Lizzie said, hoping that a movie, where one needn't talk much in, would settle things down.
"Sure, sounds great," he responded, glad that a movie would prevent much further awkward conversation.
"Great, umm just let me finish here and I'll be right down," she said and disappeared into her room.
Out of nowhere Matt and Lanny appeared from the lounge room.
"Gosh! No wonder you haven't gotten her yet," Matt assumed, cloaked in all black, as Lanny was, speaking at Gordo.
"And what does that mean runt?" Gordo retorted.
"Oh nothing. It's just become so obvious to me and everyone else, but you're still too chicken to do anything about it," Matt continued, turning to Lanny and nodding all the while, "you're right Lanny, it's ninja time" "What do they feed you here?" Gordo teased, actually quite serious.
"A ninja reveals none of his secrets to those who are unworthy," Matt stated, turning to Lanny once more, "heh, you're right Lanny, he IS a bit-"
"All right!" Gordo raised his voice, "cut that stuff out and give it to me straight. What do you guys know?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Matt answered sing-songingily and smiling evilly.
Gordo looked around and lowered his voice, "what'll it cost me to find out?"
"Depends," Matt said, "a ninja needs few things in life of any importance"
Gordo thought for a moment and then began to smile himself, before leaning down and whispering inaudibly between Matt and Lanny. The smiles on both Matt and Lanny disappeared instantly and their expressions changed dramatically. Lanny's mouth dropped and Matt's eyes bulged.
"Are you SERIOUS?" Matt cried out.
"Deadly," Gordo whispered.
"Then all this time, we haven-"
"Yes," Gordo interrupted, nodding seriously and attempting at all costs to stifle his growing laughter.
"We'll get right on it," Matt said, "come on Lanny, we've got so much packing to do"
"Wait!" Gordo called, "what about your end of the deal?"
"Easy," Matt replied, "just check your email when Lizzie's done. You're a smart guy, you should have figured it out by now"
Gordo looked at Matt puzzled as the pair ran away, muttering and nodding, obviously planning their next scheme.
'I should have figured it out by now?' Gordo thought, running the question in his mind continuously before something clicked.
He ran up the stairs and stood outside Lizzie's room, 'this is either a big mistake or the answer to it all'
Gordo pushed her door forward and walked in. Lizzie spun around and jumped up, covering her computer screen. "What are you doing?" she yelled exasperatedly.
"I just came to see if you were ready to see the movie," he lied, shrugging at her sudden defensive attitude and stance.
"Well, I'm not- just go out and let me finish up here," she instructed, covering the screen and attempting to stay calm.
"Okay, okay. Take it easy," he said soothingly, "but just outta curiosity, what's going on here McGuire? It DOES look a little sus' you know," he said, smiling in that special Gordo way.
"No-nothing is going on here, I'm just doing- stuff," she lied, avoiding his gaze.
"Oh, stuff again eh?" he persisted.
"Ye-yes, now- can we drop it?" she asked, stuttering and losing control of her attempts to stay calm.
"Come on McGuire, what's going on here?" he continued, not ready to relinquish his attack.
"It's- it's nothing- it's work- and it's-" she stuttered again, racking her brain for a convincing lie.
He continued to gaze at her, almost confident he knew what she was hiding but continuing with the game.
She looked up at him and bit her lip softly, "it's not what it looks like," she lied and moved slowly out of the way.
Gordo moved forward slightly and squinted, he could make out some of the body of the text from his range but it was the 'signed' portion that hit it home to him.
'-I know she feels the same. Good luck and don't give up, Sleeping_Beauty- '
For Gordo, it was the proverbial 'smoking gun'. He stood there for a moment, not once looking at her. He didn't want to believe his mind's accusations but the evidence was there.
He turned and walked quickly out of her room, walking even quicker down the stairs, ignoring Lizzie's calls of "wait" and "let me explain".
Gordo opened the door and walked out. At that moment the rain started. He smiled sarcastically and continued to walk.