Author: Jade Unicorn
Title: When The Thunder Rolls
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
Rating: PG13 for some fluff and stuff.
Summary: It's storming so Lizzie asks Miranda to come over. They discover something about themselves in the process. I got the idea because...well because it's storming right now. And I'm listening to Garth Brooks, hence the title name 'When The Thunder Rolls.'
E-mail: tenryu@excite.com
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/tigerwolf (for other stories by me and my poems)
WARNING!!!: This story contains female/female relationships!!! If you're opposed to this sort of thing, don't read anything that I write. Because all my stories have the lesbian theme with them.

Lizzie shuddered as the lighting broke across the sky. Reaching for the phone, she prayed the lines weren't out so that she could call Miranda. Tonight was not a night to be alone in this house. Thankfully, the phone was still working. But she started to change her mind about calling her friend until an ear shattering sound of thunder slammed down. Quickly she dialed the number to the Sanchez's home.

"Hey Lizzie." Miranda said once she retrieved the phone from her mother's hands.

"Miranda, can I ask you a huge favor?" She curled up in her bed, pulling the covers over her quivering body.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Will you please, come over and stay with me tonight? You know I hate it when it storms."

"Yeah because that's when all the bad things happen. That's why all the spooky books start with... 'it was a dark and stormy night and the convict had just escaped from the prison.'" She tried to stifle back a laugh but didn't do too well.

"Miranda!" Lizzie half yelled, half whined, into the phone.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I'll be right over. So when you hearing the knocking on the door, don't call the cops."

"Smart aleck." Lizzie said as she hung up the phone.

Anxiously she waited for her friend to come over. The storm seemed to be getting worse which only made her even more nervous. Storms had never been a good venture for her. When she was younger a storm rolled through one night while she was playing hide and seek with her brother, back in a time when she would claim Matt as her brother.

Lizzie had been hiding in the basement when the lights went out. She stumbled over boxes and crates to get out of the small room but ended up falling and cutting her leg pretty bad. Not being able to find the door, she curled up into a ball in the corner until somebody came to find her.

A ringing noise broke into her thoughts causing her to jump. It was just the doorbell which meant that Miranda was finally there. Lizzie rushed down the stairs and slung open the door. Miranda stood there with a smile on her face and a bag dangling over her shoulder.

"Did you miss me?" She questioned.

Lizzie backed away so that Miranda could come in. She held the door and was about to close it when she caught sight of lighting rushing across the sky. Slamming the door, she tightly closed her eyes and waited for the thunder to come next. Even though she was braced, she still wasn't ready when she heard the sound.

Miranda watched the pain in her friend's eyes as they climbed the stairs. It hurt her to know that her friend was so afraid of something so little. But to Lizzie, it wasn't a little thing. It was a very big deal to her. Miranda sat her bag on the floor beside the bed. She pulled one foot underneath her and sat down on the bed while her other foot dangled off the bed. Lizzie stood for a moment, waiting for another thunder or lighting strike. It relieved her when she didn't hear it.

"Thanks for coming over. I just can't stand being alone in this house when it's storming."

"No problem, that's what best friends are for. Where are your parents by the way?"

"Mom and Dad went to go see my dad's aunt in the hospital this morning. Matt and I didn't want to go so they let him stay over at Lanny's house. They're coming back tomorrow afternoon."

"It was cool of them to let you stay here."
"Yeah its all apart of the 'Lizzie is growing up so you better accept it' program that my dad has Mom on. She's making a lot of progress."

Lizzie was calming down. She hadn't heard, or noticed, if the storm was still going or not. Miranda had that effect on her to make her calm. Not even Gordo could do that. Lizzie chalked it up to being a girl thing and thought nothing more of it.

The phone rang, causing Lizzie and Miranda to jump. "Who's jumpy now?" She asked as she picked it up. The blonde expected it to be her parents calling to once again check on her. But it surprised her to find that it was Gordo.

"Hey Lizzie, just thought that I would call and see how you were. I know how you don't like storms." He sounded sympathetic.

"Thanks Gordo."

"Oh! Tell him I said hi!" Miranda shouted, letting Gordo hear her.

"Miranda's there?" His voice was hurt. How come he wasn't invited over in her time of need?

"Yeah, I asked her to come over."

"You could have asked me."

Lizzie stood there trying to find her words. "It's a girl thing Gordo." It was a lame excuse but it seemed to work around guys so she used it.

But he didn't believe it. He knew that Lizzie would never think of him first or think of him as anything other than a friend. That's what hurt him the most. How blind was Lizzie to not see that she had a great guy right under her nose just waiting for the chance to date her? "Oh well don't let me keep you from your girl things." His voice sounded angry, something that Lizzie had never heard from him before and it worried her.

"Is something wrong Gordo? Did I do something to upset you?"

"No, I'm busy so I'll talk to you on Monday." Quickly he hung up leaving Lizzie sitting on the line wondering what had just happened between them.

She turned to face Miranda with a questioning look on her face. "Gordo has been acting really strange around me ever since Ron and I broke up."

Miranda turned her head away, she knew something that Lizzie didn't. Something that Gordo had told her in confidence. "Do you know something?" Lizzie sat beside her friend.

"I can't tell you because Gordo told me not to."
"Miranda please?" Lizzie was intrigued. What could he possibly have to tell Miranda and not her?

"Look, if you told me something not to tell anybody else, I would respect that. Just like I'm respecting Gordo's wishes by not telling what he told me."

"How can you make me feel so guilty about something that hasn't even been done yet?"

"It's a talent. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving." Her belly growled for emphasis.

"You're always hungry."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Moving about the kitchen, Lizzie began to think about Gordo. Sure he was a friend and he was kind of cute, but that's all he was, a friend. She turned to look at Miranda who was sitting at the table reading over the newspaper. She's really cute. The thought came unexpectedly causing her to jump and gasp.

Miranda turned to look at her friend's strange behavior. "Are you okay?"

"Uh...um, y-yeah. Just thought that I heard thunder."

The girl nodded her head and turned back to her previous task, reading the paper. Lizzie turned towards the sink so that her back would be to Miranda. Where did that come from? I can't believe that I thought that. I mean she is cute and does have a great smile and a sense of humor that I like. What am I doing? I'm attracted to Miranda? She turned back to look at the girl. Yeah, I'm attracted to Miranda.

The blonde held two plates of food, one in each hand, and was heading towards the table. Without warning, thunder crashed down making Lizzie jump and losing control of the plates so that they fell to the floor. Tears started welling up in her eyes as the past came back to her. Being all alone, bleeding and in pain lost in the basement. She fell to the floor with the plates and being to cry.

"Hey, it's okay." She came to Lizzie's side, hugging the girl hoping to calm her fears. "It's just thunder, it can't hurt you. And I'm here to protect you."

"Y-you'll protect me from the thunder?" Lizzie pulled back from the embrace to look at her friend through watery eyes.

"Always, I'm always here for you whenever you need me."

A veil of silence fell between them. It just started out with them staring into the other's eyes. But it began to progress when Miranda let her hand softly stroke Lizzie's cheek. Her thumb moved back and forth, taking with it the tears that had fallen there. The blonde sighed and leaned into the embrace.

"Lizzie..." Miranda's voice broke softly into the silent room. She swallowed hard before asking in a near whisper, "What's happening here?"

She thought about the question for a moment. But she didn't have an answer. Instead she leaned forward and caught Miranda's lips with her own. Nothing else matter in that instant except that kiss. It was a short lived kiss though, much to Lizzie's disappointment.

"Um...Lizzie." Miranda spoke. The way she spoke those words scared Lizzie. It was said in the same manner when you say 'um...you're standing on my shoe.' It was rarely ever a good sign.

"I'm sorry Miranda, I don't know what I was thinking." Her voice rambled on hoping that she could talk her way out of this situation she just put herself in.

"No its not that, we're sitting in the food." Miranda looked down as did Lizzie to see the food that had been previously on the plates covering their legs and parts of the floor.

Lizzie looked down at their covered clothes and couldn't help but laugh. It was a contagious thing because Miranda started chuckling. "Let's go get out of these clothes." Lizzie said without thinking. Once she analyzed the sentence a little bit more, she realized that it could have a different meaning that how she said it. Her face turned a light red as she changed her words. "I mean let's get this food off of us before it stains our clothes."
Miranda smiled at Lizzie's embarrassment. A thought of how Miranda would like to get Lizzie out of her clothes crossed her mind. She grinned, catching Lizzie's eye.

"Something amuses you about this?" She grinned back.

"Just thinking. Let's go upstairs, I've got a change of clothes." For a moment Miranda considered asking Lizzie to join her in a shower but it was just too soon for those sort things.

Lizzie was the first to head up the stairs. Miranda stood at the bottom for a moment, just watching the beauty in front of her brush off pieces of food and muttering to herself about how it was going to stain. It was when she reached the top that Lizzie realized she was alone. Glancing back down, she saw Miranda standing there with a smirk on her face.

"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there?" She asked of her friend.

"I'll go anywhere you want me to." Miranda mumbled to herself. "Yeah I'll be up there in a minute." She called out.

Lizzie shrugged and thought nothing more of it. Turning, she left her friend at the bottom of the stairs while she went to change clothes. Miranda smiled to herself, maybe her life was going the way she wanted it to. So now all she had to do was explain to Lizzie how she felt and hope that the best would come of it.


To Be Continued...
Feedback is welcomed, any suggestions are welcomed too. I may not take them but I'll consider them.
Forgive me if there are any mistakes.