Disclaimer: I know it's been awhile since I've submitted a chapter; however, the same parameters exist. I do not own Lizzie McGuire, or anything in relation to Lizzie McGuire.

A/N: Well, it really HAS been awhile, hasn't it? Thank you all for being so patient. I'm still kind of busy, but not so bust that I can't take some time to write. So, never fear, a semi-steady flow of chapters is coming your way. I'm thinking about wrapping this up in 3 or 4 more chapters (depending on how long it takes me to get where I want to) and then making a sequel. What do you guys think? Anyways, onward!

Chapter Nineteen:

Anonymous Viewpoint:

It was the morning after Ronnie had attacked Lizzie in her kitchen and she had only calmed down slightly. She found is very difficult to sleep that night, and she woke up thinking that maybe everything that happened was a dream. She sleepily walked out of her room, where she bumped into Matt.

"Uh… H-hey sis…" He stuttered.

"Oh, hey worm." She fired at him, expecting him to fly back with an insult about morning breath. Instead, he just looked at her with an odd expression on his face. Lizzie couldn't quite pick it out; he almost looked concerned. "What's wrong with you?" She frowned.

"I- well, nothing. I-I just wanted to know how you were doing…." He stared at her. It hit her then, he was asking about the situation with Ronnie yesterday.

"O-oh.. I'm fine." She lied.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She assured him that she was fine, even though she really wasn't. She didn't feel like elaborating on her feelings for her little brother. She walked past him and down to the kitchen to serve herself breakfast.

"Hey, Honey." Her mother said as she walked into the room. "You feeling any better?"

"I-I guess, Mom. It'll take awhile before I'm really over it, though."

"I understand. Something like that isn't able to be erased from your mind after a day."

"Yeah…" Lizzie spooned some cereal into her mouth and then thought aloud, 'I wonder how Miranda's doing…."

"Don't you think you ought to go see her?" Her mother hinted.

"I-I guess… I'm just afraid she'll be mad at me. And, what if she's not ready to talk about it yet?"

"Don't worry, Honey, she's not mad at you. She's ready to talk, too."

"Mom, how do you know?"

"Mom's just know." She smiled coyly, "and I talked to her yesterday afternoon. She definitely needs to talk to her best friend." Lizzie nodded, finished her breakfast and then prepared herself to go over to Miranda's to talk. She didn't think to call because it had always been all right for her to just stop by when she needed to. About an hour later, she began walking to Miranda's.

"L-Lizzie…" Miranda said, after opening the door. "I wasn't expecting you. I-"

"I know." Lizzie cut her off. "I thought we should probably talk… Can I come in?"

"Sure." Miranda accepted and led Lizzie into the living room. They sat on the couch in silence for a few minutes for Lizzie spoke up.

"Miranda, I'm really sorry for everything that's happened. I-I didn't know at first that Ronnie was like that. When you first mentioned him, I did have some uncomfortable thoughts, but I thought that I was being silly. Then at the restaurant.. when I freaked out… it was because he kissed me." She blurted out.

"THAT'S what happened at the restaurant? Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I was afraid to tell you. I thought you'd get mad at me." Lizzie choked out. She also told him about the taste of alcohol that lingered on Ronnie's breath at the time.

"Lizzie, I-I don't know what to say."

"I should have said something.. it's just that… you wouldn't have believed me! You would have thought I was lying or jealous or something."

"Lizzie! I would never-" Miranda said, at first outraged, but her expression changed when she thought about what Lizzie had said. "I guess you're right. I mean, right now I wouldn't have said you were jealous or lying, but then I guess I would have."

"Miranda, I'm so sorry for everything that happened. It was all my fault and I screwed up really bad this time."

"Lizzie, i-it wasn't your fault. You didn't know… and you were afraid to tell me. That would have happened to anyone." Miranda said. Both had eyes welling up with tears as the hugged each other. They vowed that from that point one, they would both tell each other about anything that was important, and in return each would take what the other said into objective consideration. While they were talking, Lizzie's eyes fell to Miranda's wrist, where she saw and unfamiliar mark.

"Miranda…" She said. Miranda's eyes followed Lizzie's gaze and she realized what had been seen. She quickly pulled her sleeve down as a feeble attempt to cover it up. "Miranda! What was that!?"

"I-It's nothing… don't worry. I-I'm fine." Miranda blurted. Lizzie grabbed at Miranda's sleeve and the two began to fight to either close the sleeve or open it. Finally, after much fighting, Lizzie rolled the sleeve up. The sight she saw was actually appalling: three cuts had been mutilated onto the top of Miranda's wrist. Lizzie looked at her in shook. "Lizzie…I-"

"Miranda, what are you doing to yourself!? What… why.. how?"

"I-I was so upset yesterday. I mean, I thought everything was going so well with me and Ronnie and it turns out that he's just using me. I didn't know what to do… i-it was the only thing that seemed to take the pain away…."

"Miranda." Lizzie said as she hugged her. "I'm so sorry you felt that way. But… it really scares me that you did that. I mean… didn't it hurt? Wasn't it weird to watch yourself… bleed? I-I can't imagine."

"I-I don't know. It just kind of happened. I didn't want to… it just felt like I had no control."

"Just… promise me you won't do it again. Promise me that the next time you feel that way that you call me… or come over… or something. Even if it's 2 o' clock in the morning."

"O-okay… I don't want to turn into one of those people who cuts themselves because they can't deal." She said. Lizzie hugged her again.

"Just remember that I'm always here for you… no matter what."