Ms. Dew's really outdone herself this time.

As if the (sort of) dumb wall of handprints' thing wasn't psychotic enough, now she's doing something that could put her own career in jeopardy.

But hey, I'm not complaining. It's not like I wanted to be stuck with Ethan Craft or, worse yet, Larry Tudgeman. But you just don't know with some of these kidsespecially the more popular among them.

I'll stop being vague now and just give it to you all at once:

Ms. Dew is letting girls and boys stay in the same hotel rooms together.

I say again, I'm not complaining. But it's just so weird, I mean, Mr. and Mrs. McGuire wouldn't even let me sleep in the same room with Lizzie and Miranda at sleepovers, and now I'm in another country, with Lizzie in the bed next to mine, with minimal adult supervision.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning onum, you knowwith Lizzie late night, despite the romantic Roman honeymoon' feel of the whole thing. Plus, she'll probably make me change in and out of clothes in the bathroom while she got the whole room to herself. She was careful about stuff like that.

But EthanI just didn't trust him. Not in a room with Kate. And Larry and Veruca? I mean, they might be "dorks" but they were just as hormonally imbalanced as the rest of us. Well, the rest of them. I knew how to keep my mojo in check.

As if I haven't taken enough forms of transportation in the last 24 hours, we have to take a bus to our hotel.

All Lizzie could say between getting off the plane and getting on the bus was, "Gordo, we're in Rome!" and "Gordo, we're in Italy!", always followed by, "This is insane!".

This was insane. Insane that I was so stressed when this was supposed to be my vacationa getaway from my parents and my responsibility. Some time to enjoy the sights of Rome and time spent with my best friend, Lizzie. But all that ran through my mind was, "What if that kiss really did mean something?" and "Does Lizzie still like Ethan?" and "What if I trip, fall and land in a fountain?"

Then again, my trip would be absolutely trivial next to whatever monumental tripping sequence Lizzie had planned on for this trip. Though I'm not sure anything could beat that trip at graduation. Even I was holding back on laughing, just to make sure she knew that when she fell, I'd be there to pick her up. Without laughing.

The airplane ride had taken 11 and a half hours, then add the 8 time zones we crossed over and it was now just about5:30 AM.

"Oh my Gosh, Gordo," Lizzie said in that airy, breathless way she did whenever she was truly amazed at something, "Look."

She pointed out the bus window towards the sky. In it, the orange sun was slowing rising above the horizon.

Of all the things to notice first when going to Rome, the sunrise has to be the least of anyone's concerns. Except Lizzie, naïve Lizzie, who was still fascinated by the sky and all of its phenomena'.

"Lizzie, if you didn't notice, sunrises happen everyday." True, 99% of people never woke up nearly enough to see one, especially not Lizzie and most definitely not me, but I'm trying to make a point here. "It's not that big of a deal."

"You don't have to be such a cynic, Gordo. I'm just trying to enjoy myself here," she said back harshly.

"I'm sorry" I said, quick to apologize. "I'm sorry for being a jerk." I scooted over and looked out the window. Through the tall, majestic buildings of Rome shone the orange glow from the sun, illuminating the streets. "Wow," I said, sounding like Lizzie, "It isreally.."

"Perfect. Soabsolutely perfect."

Did you ever just get one of those moments where a simple word or phrase just brings back memories you thought you'd forgotten about? That's what it was like in those seconds.

~*~*~FLASHBACK~*~*~

School picture day, 7th grade. It was nearing 6th period, which meant trouble for Lizzie. I'd already gotten my picture taken, destroyed by the peer pressure laid upon me by Ethan. But we were only about a period away from picture time for her, and she still didn't have a top other than the red unicorn sweater her grandmother gave her.

My initial thought was, Oh, get over it, McGuire. The sweater's not that bad.' And to think, I was going to stick to that the whole day, if it hadn't been for Ethan ousting me on to not smile. Then I realized how much she would appreciate it, and how much it meant to her. Maybe part of me agreed with Miranda that school pictures were really important, but I made a deal with a girl from drama club to let me borrow some of the costumes.

I ushered Lizzie over to my locker, and when it opened it up and she saw the shirts that hung in there, she was shocked.

"I thought you thought this whole school picture' thing was stupid," Lizzie said, smirking a bit, happy she proved me wrong.

"I do," I hesitated, wanting to word the next part as well as possible, hoping she wouldn't call my bluff. "But certain things have happened that made me realize that stupid things can still be important."

"You caved on the Ethan Craft stone face thing, didn't you?" She was smirking a whole lot now. Was it that hard to believe that even I was susceptible to peer pressure? I'm not a robot. I have feelings, too.

"Yes," I sighed, "But I still think that who you are as a person is more important than how you look in a picture." Just because I easily cracked under Ethan's urgency didn't mean I didn't hold my strong values anymore.

"Soas long as I'm a good person, it's okay that I still want to look pretty?" Lizzie said in such an innocent way that the sight tickled down my spine. When are you not pretty?' I thought.

"Yeah" I said, instead. "It's okay."

"Thanks. I want the white one." She grabbed the white shirt out of my locker and examined it. "This is so cool. So retro." She looked up at me and smiled. ".Soabsolutely perfect." And I smiled back at her.

~*~*~END FLASHBACK~*~*~

But what was that, anyway? That was 7th grade, back when we were all a little naïve. And I wasn't exactly Ethan Craft or Danny Kessler, who got all the swoons. I was just David Gordon, and if it hadn't been for my extreme nerdiness, girls would've liked me and I wouldn't have started liking Lizzie. I mean, I wouldn't have ever liked her. I would've like her? No, no, not present tenseI mean, I don't think I do? I think she's pretty, nice, funny, kind but I don't like her like that. Right, I mean, that would just mess things upso I don't. But she's so vibrant and confident, and the way she looked lying her head on my shoulder yesterday was so

I swallowed down a huge lump in my throat. No more thinking about this. No more. Not for the rest of this trip. I'm going to have a great time in Rome with Lizzie. My best friend. My friend. Just my friend.

Just my friend.

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

[A/N: Do you likey? I likey this chapter a lot-y. I'm a dork, I know. Gosh, I am weird. Movie comes out in 6 days! Ahhhh! That's bleeping crazy! In the words of Hilary, I can't wait.'

First of all, you all must go vote for "Why Not" on TRL. Then, you must watch "George Lopez" on Wednesday to see Hilary. Then you must watch "Dear Lizzie" on Thursday. Then you will go see the movie on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

I'm not sure why I threw watching "Dear Lizzie" in there. Maybe because it's my 2nd favorite "Lizzie McGuire" episode ever? (After "First Kiss", that is.) So just do it. J

I love you all. Lemme know what you think: please review. THANKS!]