By the way, I don't own any of these characters, and I keep forgetting to tell you why Paolo keeps calling Lizzie carina: Carina means pretty in Italian. He calls her it in the movie, if you pay attention....

Lizzie made her way into the lobby, hurrying over to Gordo, who was sitting in an armchair opposite the clerk's desk.
"Hey," she greeted him eagerly, smiling as he stood up.
"Hey you," he replied, looking her up and down. "You look.....good. I mean, you look.....nice. You look very nice, Lizzie."
She grinned.
"Thanks! You too, Gordo.....so, what do you want to do?"
He cocked his head to one side, obviously in deep concentration.
"I want to take you somewhere," he stated suddenly, grabbing her wrist. He pulled her from the hotel lobby and into the crowded streets of Rome. They darted in and out of traffic, Lizzie squealing each time a small vehicle nearly ran them off the road.
"Okay," Gordo finally huffed, as they finished their climb up a grassy hill. "We're almost there."
Lizzie smiled.
"Great, I can't wait to see what this 'big surprise' is."
He stared at her for a moment.
"Close your eyes," he instructed her.
"What?" She scoffed, "No way, Gordo. I didn't come all this way just to close my eyes."
"Please?" He asked, his voice soft. Something in his face caused Lizzie to oblige his request. Gosh, this really meant something to him.
He took her hand, in preparation to lead her up the remaining way. As they reached their destination, Gordo sighed, pausing for a moment.
"Alright," he nodded, "Open your eyes."
The familiarity of his words sent a stabbing pain through her stomach. She could feel the darkness closing in on her once again, his grasp tightening on her wrists as she struggled to escape, his face dangerously close to hers as he whispered-
"Lizzie, open your eyes," Gordo repeated, squeezing her hand.
She slowly opened her eyes, hoping that her imagination was only playing tricks on her again. She wasn't in that horrible room with Paolo, he wasn't closing in on her. Not again.
She sighed softly as her eyes rested on Gordo's face, and he smiled, motioning for her to look at the landscape before them. Her view shifted from his face to the scene in front of her, as she gasped softly. The rolling waves beneath them took her breath away. The clear blue water that filled her sights was so much different from the twinkling lights of downtown Rome. She felt the breeze ruffle her hair as Gordo sat down on the hill next to her, pulling her down with him. She situated herself on the bank, smiling in spite of herself. The rushing sound of the water made her feel....refreshed.
She sighed softly, realizing for the first time that Gordo's hand was still entwined with hers. She felt her cheeks burn crimson, and pulled her hand away slowly, her gaze shifting back to the rolling sea. She watched him from the corner of her eye, detecting his nervous movements. There was a brief silence between them, but neither found it semi-uncomfortable. Sitting with Gordo on this hill seemed like paradise.
"Uh, Lizzie..." Gordo cleared his throat.
She turned to him, smiling.
"Yeah?"
Their eyes connected before he sheepishly looked away.
"Do you like it?" He asked abruptly. She nodded.
"It's so beautiful."
He smiled.
"You are."
She turned to him.
"What'd you say?"
He felt his cheeks burning with embarassment.
"I mean....IT is. It is."
She smiled, nodding.
"I had no idea that anything like this was around here. How did you find it, Gordo?" She turned to look at him.
He smiled.
"I, uh...we.....Ms. Ungermeyer brought us here one day. We were supposed to be studying up on the history of Rome," he motioned to what Lizzie recognized as a pile of historical rubbish behind them. "But, I was curious, so I climbed up this hill, and..." His voice faded off, "You were the first person I thought of when I saw it." He looked at her, "I mean, I thought you'd like it, so I decided to bring you here."
She smiled, nodding.

"Well, you're right again, Gordo. I love it." She inhaled deeply, nonchalantly lying her head upon his shoulder. "It just feels like everything that's wrong in your life is just right up here. You know what I mean?"
He sighed, smiling to himself.
"Yeah, McGuire. I know what you mean."
She closed her eyes, trying to let herself take in the serenity of the moment. It felt so good to be with Gordo again. He made her feel so....at ease, and so comfortable. The love that she felt for him couldn't be compared with anything else. He was her guy, through good times and bad, and he had always stood by her. He always would; right? Even if he found out the things she was hiding from him.
She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling her head off his shoulder. God, she had to stop this. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours yet, and already this thing was threatening to drive her insane. But, then, it was so easy just to say it was something she could forget, and dismiss it as easily as she wanted to. It was the foremost thing on her mind; the memory that she knew she could never forget. For years to come, it would haunt her. Every time she saw an attractive man, or had a blind date. She would think of him, and how much he had hurt her.
"Lizzie?" Gordo asked softly, putting an arm around her, "Are you okay?"
Her gaze rose to him.
And then there was Gordo. Sweet, dependable Gordo. Her best friend. The only person who had never let her down. It was insane to think that somewhere, deep inside him, he had the same instincts as Paolo. Impossible to imagine that he could ever do to a girl what Paolo had just done to her. Gosh, why hadn't she listened to Gordo to begin with? Why couldn't she have swallowed her pride for one single second, or at least long enough to realize that she'd rather sit on this hill top with Gordo, or be anywhere in the world, any day with him, rather than be with Paolo.
But that was just her concsience talking to her. Paolo wasn't really a bad guy. He had just gone a little too far. He had no idea that she hadn't been willing. Right?
"Lizzie?" He asked again, his face coming into her view. He looked so...concerned.
"Yeah?" She asked, a little breathless from her thoughts.
"You all right?"
She nodded, smiling reassuringly at him.
"Yeah, I'm......I'm fine."
He smiled at her, before looking away. She noticed something in his eyes as he stared out at the horizon. It was almost a look of longing, as if he were attempting to grab something that was so far out of reach.
"Lizzie?" He asked softly, turning to look at her.
"Yeah?"
She stared at him as his face hovered near hers. She was so close to him, she could feel his breath on her skin. The look that posessed his eyes was almost obsessive. She couldn't force herself to look away, but then, she didn't really want to. He moved toward her, their lips only inches away from meeting. She could feel her skin ripple with goosebumps, as the sounds of the sea seemed to carry her away. At the moment, the only thing that mattered was Gordo. The way he made her feel, this moment, the rushing of the water. She closed her eyes, letting herself go, letting the water, and her feelings, take her away.
"ISABELLA!" A voice shrieked suddenly, causing Lizzie to open her eyes quickly, and just in time to see a group of teenage girls running toward her, wielding pads of paper and pens. The group began to talk hurriedly to one another, and her, as they nearly bombarded her on the grass. She rose quickly, flashing a smile as she forged one signature after another. She followed each of their statements with 'si', one of the only Italian words she knew. The group, undoubtedly, attracted other company, and Lizzie soon had her own personal followers. Shattered voices called out for her, tears fell as obsessed fans 'met' their idol.
After a few minutes, the crowd had died out, and Lizzie turned back to the spot where Gordo had been sitting, sighing. Only, Gordo wasn't there. In fact, he wasn't anywhere to be found. She sighed, making her way in another direction, calling his name hopefully. She soon found him around the corner from where they had been sitting, leaning against a fence as he surveyed the city.
"Gordo," she sighed, catching up with him, "Why'd you leave?"
He didn't turn to look at her.
"I didn't want to bother you."
She laughed softly.
"Bother me? Why would you have bothered me?"
He glanced at her.
"Well, I mean, with all of your devoted 'fans' now, I didn't figure you'd want the leftovers laying around for everyone to see." She detected a hint of anger in his voice.
"Leftovers? Gordo, what do you mean? I-"
"Lizzie, you can stop playing dumb, okay?"
She suddenly found herself completely overwhelmed.
"You're my best friend. Why would I ever be embarassed because of you?" She stared at him for a moment before nearing him, "But I think that we were about to do something else when we were interrupted."
He stared at her, not bothering to move.
"You're right," he replied finally, his voice dry, "We were about to make the biggest mistake of our lives." He slipped out of her way, and disappeared from her sight.
She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she watched him walk away.
"Gordo," she called helplessly, "I thought we were going to spend today together."
She watched as he stopped, his shoulders drooping. He turned back to her, and she hurried to meet him.
"Why are you angry with me?" She asked softly, her face sad. He looked into her eyes, feeling his heart sink. Gosh, this was ridiculous. He didn't even know why he was upset with her, but he was. He wanted to scream outloud, tell her exactly what was wrong, but he couldn't. He couldn't be mad at Lizzie. As much as he wanted to, when she looked at him with those big brown eyes, as her beautiful blonde hair fell over her shoulders, it was hopeless. He couldn't even begin to be angry with her.
"I..I'm not," he finally admitted, "I'm sorry, Lizzie, I just.....I just feel as if you don't need me anymore. I mean, you have Paolo now, and you have-"
"Don't say his name," she shivered suddenly, and, at his confused look, sighed. "I mean, today isn't about....him. And it's not about those people who just so happen to think that I'm a pop star, okay? Today is about me and you, Gordo. It's about us hanging out, exploring a foreign country together. Okay?" She asked, forcing a smile onto her face.
He nodded slowly, smiling.
"Okay," he replied, "Cool."
She shot him a quick smile before proceding to infiltrate their secret handshake. She grabbed his hand.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" She questioned him quickly, "Let's start exploring!"