Disclaimer: blah blah blah, don't own Lizzie McGuire- WARNING- this chapter contains some sexual material; don't read if you're offended.
Chapter 14
Lizzie's POV
I walked downstairs to the kitchen. My parents and Matt were already up and having breakfast.
"Um, good morning," I said to them hesitantly, wondering if my parents were going to yell at me again.
"Morning," Matt said back, and quickly left the room. I didn't blame him.
"Oh, sweetie!" Mom cried, coming around the counter to hug me.
"Lizzie, honey, we're really sorry for the way we acted last night," my dad said, also hugging me. "We were just really shocked."
"Lizzie, we support your decision to have this baby. And we just want to let you know that you can always come to us whenever you need something," my mom assured me. "You can call us at 4 in the morning to help you if the baby is crying."
"Jo, I think you mean, you will at 4 in the morning," my dad grumbled. She glared at him. He looked at her sheepishly.
"Anyway, no matter what happens, your dad and I will always be there for you, and we'll always love you no matter what."
"Thank you, Mom. Thanks, Dad," I replied, giving them a great, big hug. I felt as though a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
"So, when's the baby due," Dad asked.
"March 20th."
"Oh, Sam, we're going to be grandparents!" Mom said, starting to cry. She grabbed Dad and me and hugged us hard.
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Soon, summer was drawing to a close. I was now about three months pregnant and beginning to show. Gordo took me out to dinner two weeks before our two-month anniversary.
We got all dressed up and went to a fancy restaurant. It was the same as the one Kate and Ethan held their rehearsal dinner.
The maitre 'd led up to our table. We both ordered the special, and leaned forward to talk to each other.
"Listen, Lizzie," he said, putting his hand on top of mine. "Remember how I got accepted into NYU's film program?"
I nodded. How could I forget? I swallowed the lump in my throat that formed when I thought about raising this kid by myself, and smiled.
"Of course! I'm so happy for you sweetie!"
"Well, I'm not. I don't want to leave you here all by yourself, pregnant."
"I'm not going to be all by myself. I'll have my mom, and my dad, plus Matt. You have to go. It's going to be just one step closer to your dream career."
"I know I have to go," Gordo said, rubbing my hand, "but I don't want to leave my kid here and just see him or her during vacation."
"Look, Gordo, I can't let you stay here and ruin your career."
"I won't stay here. Because I think you should come with me."
"What?" I said, surprised. That was not what I was expecting.
"I mean, you come to New York with me. I've already started to look for apartments- for three," he said.
"You mean, moving in together," I stammered. "That's an awfully big commitment."
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Gordo said, withdrawing his hand. "I don't mind commitment. I've always known that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but it's perfectly fine if you don't want to-"
I took his hand again. "No, no, I want to! I just thought that I was pressuring you. I want to live the rest of my life with you too."
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Miranda's POV
"I'm sorry," Larry said softly. "I have to go."
"I know," I said, leaning against him. We stood on the balcony outside his place. I heard the stereo softly playing inside. Even though it was August, the cool night air still made me shiver. Larry wrapped his arms around me.
"I can't believe you're going to Princeton," I said, trying to sound happy. It failed. "All, the way… in New Jersey," I said, my breath hitching in my throat.
"Hey, listen, we can still call each other and visit," he pointed out.
"I know, but it will never be the same," I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheek. He gently put his hand on my face and wiped it off.
I caught his hand. "Listen, maybe we shouldn't do this anymore," I said softly.
"What? Just because I'm going to be at Princeton?"
"Larry, we both know that long distance relationships never turn out well. Plus, I'm not even sure what we have here. We haven't even told anyone."
"I know long distance relationships don't have the best future," he answered, looking into my eyes, "but I lo-"
I cut him off by putting my hand to his mouth. "Don't," I choked. "It will just make it harder for me to let you leave."
"But I do," he said. I looked down. "I do too, but I don't think this is the time."
I laid my head on his chest. He sighed and stroked my hair.
"So, this is it?" Larry said ruefully. I nodded, tears streaming down my cheeks.
I suddenly became aware of the music floating outside. Enrique Iglesias.
Let me be your hero.
"Our song," I murmured. Was it just coincidence? I looked up at him. "So what do we do now?"
His eyes gazed into mine. "I guess we just dance."
Would you dance
if I asked you to dance?
Would you run
and never look back?
Would you cry
if you saw me crying?
And would you save my soul, tonight?
I rested my head against him, and clutched him. I felt his arms wrapping around my back tighter.
Would you tremble
if I touched your lips?
Would you laugh?
Oh please tell me this.
Now would you die
for the one you loved?
Hold me in your arms, tonight.
I can be your hero, baby.
I can kiss away the pain.
I will stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
Would you swear
that you'll always be mine?
Or would you lie?
Would you run and hide?
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care...
You're here tonight.
I gently pulled away from Larry, and turned my head up towards him again. All I could smell was the scent of dying rose petals beneath us. Our lips met softly and we kissed tenderly. I suddenly realized that I wanted him, and only him, tonight. Our kiss deepened, and soon, we were kissing each other with a hunger. Silently, Larry guided me inside, our lips never leaving each other.
I can be your hero, baby.
I can kiss away the pain.
I will stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
We fell onto his bed, kissing passionately. We broke off for air, and I gasped as Larry began to kiss my neck. Without words, we both knew that we wanted to spend our last night together as one. He asked me the question with his eyes. I nodded, and began to unbutton his shirt.
Oh, I just want to hold you.
I just want to hold you.
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care...
You're here tonight.
Larry gently pulled off my blouse and began to kiss a trail down my body. I knew that we shouldn't be doing this, since he had to leave tomorrow, but I didn't try to put up a fight.
I can be your hero, baby.
I can kiss away the pain.
I will stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
We made love, and for once, it was truly love. It wasn't just lust. It was love. We came together, as one.
I can be your hero.
I can kiss away the pain.
And I will stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
You can take my breath away.
I can be your hero.
Larry rolled over next to me. We smiled a secret smile, and kissed again. We slowly drifted to sleep, his arms wrapped around me.
***
The next morning, I woke up and found ourselves in the same positions as we had been in when we fell asleep. I got out of bed quietly, not wanting to wake him up. I found my clothes strewn haphazardly on the ground and slipped into the kitchen, where I found a pen and a pad of paper.
I wrote him a note, barely noticing the tears dripping down onto it.
Dear Larry,
I'm sorry for everything that happened last night. But I have no regrets. I did it because I wanted to. I hope that you'll be happy in New Jersey, and I hope that you won't dwell on me. When you get there, please don't call me, or else it would be that much harder for me to get over you. I know that you are going to meet some girl at Princeton, and make her feel as lucky as you made me feel. Good luck, Larry. I'll miss you, and I want to let you know that I love you with all my heart.
-Miranda
I folded the note and placed it next to his pillow, along with my silver necklace with a pendant on it (AN: think Arwen's necklace in LOTR). I wanted him to keep it.
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Lizzie's POV
"Oh, my baby is going away!" my mom cried.
"Oh, mom," I said, hugging her, but a little teary eyed myself. "It's not like we'll never see you again." I broke apart. "I expect you to be at our doorstep the moment the baby is here." We hugged again.
My parents, Matt, the Gordons, the Crafts, and Miranda were at the airport, seeing up off. Gordo had set us up to live with his friend temporarily until we found an apartment, and all of our stuff had been shipped over there.
"I can't believe my little girl is going away," Dad said, giving me a big hug. "Call us anytime you need something. And you better visit soon."
"We'll be home for Thanksgiving, definitely. But after the third trimester, I can't fly," I said, hugging him back.
"Bye, Matt," I said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Have fun with college!" We hugged, and I turned to Kate and Ethan and Mr. and Mrs. Gordon.
Finally, I hugged Miranda. "You better come over soon," I demanded, wiping away my tears.
"Of course," she replied, also looking teary. "How will the Lizzie and Miranda Boutique run with half of the title missing?"
I laughed and hugged her. "Call you right when I get there."
"Flight 267 to New York will be beginning to board shortly," announced a voice over the speakers.
"This is it," Gordo said, putting his arm around me. I had to give everyone a quick hug again.
"I'll miss you!" I called to them as we walked up to the person taking our tickets. I blew them all kisses and Gordo and I waved goodbye to our family and friends, ready to begin our new life in New York City.
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A/N: I hope ya'll liked that chapter! I hope that the part with Miranda and Larry didn't offend anyone. I tried to keep the graphics down to a minimum. I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows that it was out of love, not just lust. Anyways, I think I'm going to end this after a few more chapters- almost over! I'll take it to when Lizzie gives birth, and I'm thinking about definitely doing a sequel- that is, if you guys want me to! If you don't, that's fine, just tell me. I want to do a sequel because the Miranda/Larry chapter of this story is totally gone, and I want to expand on this idea and let the other characters know in the sequel. Oh, and thanks SOOOO much to everyone who reviewed, and please continue to do so! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!