Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Gordo wandered into the Digital Bean after school. He wasn't exactly sure why he was here, seeing as how he couldn't hang out with his friends, but he was itching to insert any sort of normalcy into his life at the moment.
He ordered a mango smoothie and while he waited for his order to be filled, looked around the joint, eyes widening when they landed on his body, sitting with Miranda. They were laughing about something.
"Hey, kid, your smoothie," the guy behind him in line said, pointing at the counter. Gordo grabbed his smoothie and rushed over to them. "Hey, what're you guys doing here?"
"Hanging out," Matt-Gordo said, looking him over with distaste. Clearly, Gordo had interrupted something...but what on earth could Matt be doing with Miranda that Gordo could've interrupted..?
Duh! Gordo remembered how earlier in the year, Matt had had a crush on Gordo's other best friend. Gordo had mocked Miranda relentlessly, but really he was sort of jealous that Miranda got the attentions of a McGuire, while Gordo was doomed forever to be 'just friends'.
But was Matt using *Gordo's* body to get closer to Miranda? That was just...that was low, even for Matt McGuire.
Then again, hadn't Gordo been using Matt's body to try and get closer to Lizzie?
Okay, so they were both scummy. But still. If Miranda started to fall for Matt, that meant she would really be falling for *Gordo*. And that meant...well, it meant all sorts of disastrous things. "Mind if I hang out with you?" Gordo asked.
Miranda was looking at him weirdly, and he swore he could see her blushing slightly in the darkness of the Digital Bean. "Um, sure, sure, join us," she said hurriedly. "I'll...I'll be right back." She rushed off, and Matt looked pleased. "She *does* like me."
"Where's Lizzie?" Gordo asked, sitting down.
Matt-Gordo shook his head. "Are you in love with my sister, or what?" he said.
Gordo choked on his smoothie, spluttering wildly. "Say what?"
"It's always Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie with you."
"I'm just saying, it's weird for her to not be here. She's not doing anything this afternoon, so it would normally be the three of us here."
"She's out inviting people to Miranda's surprise party," Matt-Gordo said, looking around the DB surreptitiously.
"Surprise..." Gordo said slowly. "Oh, it's her birthday tomorrow, isn't it."
"Yeah. How'd you know that?"
"Um...I'm her best friend?" Gordo said.
"Well, Lizzie forgot until this morning."
Gordo laughed despite himself. "Yeah, she does this every year."
"Remembers *your* birthday though, doesn't she," Matt said pointedly.
"It's only a month before hers," Gordo said, suddenly anxious to change the subject. Because if they stayed on this track too long...
"You know, she doesn't have a picture in her room anything like that picture *you* have of *her*," Matt said.
Gordo's eyes widened. "*What*?"
"Like I wouldn't see," Matt scoffed, rolling Gordo's eyes. "Please, Gordo, it takes front and center in your room, like you're a half step away from building a shrine, lighting candles, the whole nine yards."
"You're exaggerating," Gordo said, swallowing nervously.
"Well, it's a little ob--"
"Okay, I'm back," Miranda said breathlessly, sliding back into her seat. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing!" Matt and Gordo said, casting each other glances.
Miranda raised an eyebrow, about to say something, then thought better of it. "When you two start getting along, I get confused," she said.
"Us too," they said in unison, and then glared at each other.
"Right then. Well, so, um, Matt, what's up?" she said, glancing rapidly between her smoothie glass and Gordo. Gordo blinked, bewildered. What was up with *her*?
"Um, nothing. You know?" he said. "Just...stuff. Today Lanny and I glued a fake spider to the back wall of the classroom. You should've seen everyone freaking out." Gordo sat back in his chair and smiled, actually kind of proud of the fact that this story was absolutely true. furthermore, it had been kind of fun. He'd always been such a goody-goody, and while it wasn't in his nature to be anything but, it still was annoying to have that reputation. He'd tried once --miserably-- to be 'bad'. Of course, now that he was out of body, he might as well be out of character, to boot. It was fairly tame considering some of Matt's previous pranks, but Gordo was new.
"Sounds...fun," Miranda said with a perplexed smile that Gordo knew all too well.
"So how was your day?" Gordo asked, leaning forward. He was eager to hear just what Matt had been doing in his body all day.
"Well, there was a pop quiz in math, which all of us probably failed," Miranda said breezily and Gordo turned to Matt-Gordo, alarmed. Matt-Gordo just shrugged like it was no big deal. Gordo refrained from groaning. He *never* failed pop quizzes. He loved pop quizzes.
Miranda continued talking about her day, looking thrilled that someone had even asked her about it. She spent all of the time with Gordo and Miranda, he thought, and since they were *there* for all moments of her day, and she firmly believed in the no-communication-with-parents rule, she didn't really have anyone to talk to about these sorts of things.
Before long, it was getting pretty late, and all three of them had to get home. "You know, this was really fun," Miranda said, gracing Gordo with a special smile. "It was pretty cool hanging out with you, Matt. Thanks for listening to me," she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.
Gordo's heebie-jeebie radar went into overdrive. Whoa, there. Miranda. Kissing him. Miranda. Matt. *He* was Matt. He...
Wait. Okay. He was Matt, Matt was him, Miranda had kissed Matt, not him, Miranda liked Matt, Matt liked Miranda, Gordo still liked Lizzie. Things made sense again, as much sense as they could make when his best friend had a crush on his other best friend's little brother, and he was stuck in said brother's body.
When they lectured you about preparing for the real world, they never mentioned body-switching antics.
~~~~~
'Matt' invited 'Gordo' over for dinner at the McGuires' that night, and Gordo was so comfortable being around them that he almost felt normal. Until of course he looked up from his food and saw himself sitting across from him.
Matt, on the other hand, was having a hard time sitting with his family and not being himself. He had to be nice to Lizzie, he wasn't allowed to burp or fart or be disgusting in any way. Lizzie walked him to the door while his parents and Gordo went upstairs to bed. "Ummm, Gordo," she said slowly, holding onto his arm lightly. "I just wanted to...I wanted to say thanks."
"Thanks?" Matt echoed, swallowing slightly. The way Lizzie was looking at him...well, he knew that Gordo liked Lizzie (even if he wouldn't admit it). But did Lizzie like Gordo..?
"Yeah. For, um, for being...you know. For being you. I mean, thanks for helping and for keeping calm while I was tweaking, and..." She smiled at him, and there was something in her eyes that Matt couldn't read, and wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Of course," he said, scratching the back of his neck. This would be the perfect opportunity to say something romantic, but even though he was supposed to be Gordo and was doing a pretty good job at it, saying something romantic to his sister was crossing a line. Furthermore, he knew that Gordo would never have the balls to do that. "I'm your best friend. And...Miranda's, too."
"Yeah. Yeah, of course you are. But just...thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome," Matt said, and smiled at her. "But I gotta go, okay?"
"Yeah." Matt turned the knob, opened the door, and was just stepping outside when Lizzie grabbed his arm. "Gordo, wait," she said, pulling him inside. "I just wanted to say thanks," she said.
"You already said--" Matt started to say, when Lizzie leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You're so good to me sometimes, Gordo," Lizzie said with a smile, and released him.
Matt stared at her for a second, then left.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Gordo wandered into the Digital Bean after school. He wasn't exactly sure why he was here, seeing as how he couldn't hang out with his friends, but he was itching to insert any sort of normalcy into his life at the moment.
He ordered a mango smoothie and while he waited for his order to be filled, looked around the joint, eyes widening when they landed on his body, sitting with Miranda. They were laughing about something.
"Hey, kid, your smoothie," the guy behind him in line said, pointing at the counter. Gordo grabbed his smoothie and rushed over to them. "Hey, what're you guys doing here?"
"Hanging out," Matt-Gordo said, looking him over with distaste. Clearly, Gordo had interrupted something...but what on earth could Matt be doing with Miranda that Gordo could've interrupted..?
Duh! Gordo remembered how earlier in the year, Matt had had a crush on Gordo's other best friend. Gordo had mocked Miranda relentlessly, but really he was sort of jealous that Miranda got the attentions of a McGuire, while Gordo was doomed forever to be 'just friends'.
But was Matt using *Gordo's* body to get closer to Miranda? That was just...that was low, even for Matt McGuire.
Then again, hadn't Gordo been using Matt's body to try and get closer to Lizzie?
Okay, so they were both scummy. But still. If Miranda started to fall for Matt, that meant she would really be falling for *Gordo*. And that meant...well, it meant all sorts of disastrous things. "Mind if I hang out with you?" Gordo asked.
Miranda was looking at him weirdly, and he swore he could see her blushing slightly in the darkness of the Digital Bean. "Um, sure, sure, join us," she said hurriedly. "I'll...I'll be right back." She rushed off, and Matt looked pleased. "She *does* like me."
"Where's Lizzie?" Gordo asked, sitting down.
Matt-Gordo shook his head. "Are you in love with my sister, or what?" he said.
Gordo choked on his smoothie, spluttering wildly. "Say what?"
"It's always Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie with you."
"I'm just saying, it's weird for her to not be here. She's not doing anything this afternoon, so it would normally be the three of us here."
"She's out inviting people to Miranda's surprise party," Matt-Gordo said, looking around the DB surreptitiously.
"Surprise..." Gordo said slowly. "Oh, it's her birthday tomorrow, isn't it."
"Yeah. How'd you know that?"
"Um...I'm her best friend?" Gordo said.
"Well, Lizzie forgot until this morning."
Gordo laughed despite himself. "Yeah, she does this every year."
"Remembers *your* birthday though, doesn't she," Matt said pointedly.
"It's only a month before hers," Gordo said, suddenly anxious to change the subject. Because if they stayed on this track too long...
"You know, she doesn't have a picture in her room anything like that picture *you* have of *her*," Matt said.
Gordo's eyes widened. "*What*?"
"Like I wouldn't see," Matt scoffed, rolling Gordo's eyes. "Please, Gordo, it takes front and center in your room, like you're a half step away from building a shrine, lighting candles, the whole nine yards."
"You're exaggerating," Gordo said, swallowing nervously.
"Well, it's a little ob--"
"Okay, I'm back," Miranda said breathlessly, sliding back into her seat. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing!" Matt and Gordo said, casting each other glances.
Miranda raised an eyebrow, about to say something, then thought better of it. "When you two start getting along, I get confused," she said.
"Us too," they said in unison, and then glared at each other.
"Right then. Well, so, um, Matt, what's up?" she said, glancing rapidly between her smoothie glass and Gordo. Gordo blinked, bewildered. What was up with *her*?
"Um, nothing. You know?" he said. "Just...stuff. Today Lanny and I glued a fake spider to the back wall of the classroom. You should've seen everyone freaking out." Gordo sat back in his chair and smiled, actually kind of proud of the fact that this story was absolutely true. furthermore, it had been kind of fun. He'd always been such a goody-goody, and while it wasn't in his nature to be anything but, it still was annoying to have that reputation. He'd tried once --miserably-- to be 'bad'. Of course, now that he was out of body, he might as well be out of character, to boot. It was fairly tame considering some of Matt's previous pranks, but Gordo was new.
"Sounds...fun," Miranda said with a perplexed smile that Gordo knew all too well.
"So how was your day?" Gordo asked, leaning forward. He was eager to hear just what Matt had been doing in his body all day.
"Well, there was a pop quiz in math, which all of us probably failed," Miranda said breezily and Gordo turned to Matt-Gordo, alarmed. Matt-Gordo just shrugged like it was no big deal. Gordo refrained from groaning. He *never* failed pop quizzes. He loved pop quizzes.
Miranda continued talking about her day, looking thrilled that someone had even asked her about it. She spent all of the time with Gordo and Miranda, he thought, and since they were *there* for all moments of her day, and she firmly believed in the no-communication-with-parents rule, she didn't really have anyone to talk to about these sorts of things.
Before long, it was getting pretty late, and all three of them had to get home. "You know, this was really fun," Miranda said, gracing Gordo with a special smile. "It was pretty cool hanging out with you, Matt. Thanks for listening to me," she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.
Gordo's heebie-jeebie radar went into overdrive. Whoa, there. Miranda. Kissing him. Miranda. Matt. *He* was Matt. He...
Wait. Okay. He was Matt, Matt was him, Miranda had kissed Matt, not him, Miranda liked Matt, Matt liked Miranda, Gordo still liked Lizzie. Things made sense again, as much sense as they could make when his best friend had a crush on his other best friend's little brother, and he was stuck in said brother's body.
When they lectured you about preparing for the real world, they never mentioned body-switching antics.
~~~~~
'Matt' invited 'Gordo' over for dinner at the McGuires' that night, and Gordo was so comfortable being around them that he almost felt normal. Until of course he looked up from his food and saw himself sitting across from him.
Matt, on the other hand, was having a hard time sitting with his family and not being himself. He had to be nice to Lizzie, he wasn't allowed to burp or fart or be disgusting in any way. Lizzie walked him to the door while his parents and Gordo went upstairs to bed. "Ummm, Gordo," she said slowly, holding onto his arm lightly. "I just wanted to...I wanted to say thanks."
"Thanks?" Matt echoed, swallowing slightly. The way Lizzie was looking at him...well, he knew that Gordo liked Lizzie (even if he wouldn't admit it). But did Lizzie like Gordo..?
"Yeah. For, um, for being...you know. For being you. I mean, thanks for helping and for keeping calm while I was tweaking, and..." She smiled at him, and there was something in her eyes that Matt couldn't read, and wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Of course," he said, scratching the back of his neck. This would be the perfect opportunity to say something romantic, but even though he was supposed to be Gordo and was doing a pretty good job at it, saying something romantic to his sister was crossing a line. Furthermore, he knew that Gordo would never have the balls to do that. "I'm your best friend. And...Miranda's, too."
"Yeah. Yeah, of course you are. But just...thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome," Matt said, and smiled at her. "But I gotta go, okay?"
"Yeah." Matt turned the knob, opened the door, and was just stepping outside when Lizzie grabbed his arm. "Gordo, wait," she said, pulling him inside. "I just wanted to say thanks," she said.
"You already said--" Matt started to say, when Lizzie leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You're so good to me sometimes, Gordo," Lizzie said with a smile, and released him.
Matt stared at her for a second, then left.
