Disclaimer: Lizzie McGuire does not belong to me. She's a Disney-creation
and they own the entire kit-and-caboodle. Let's hope they can get it to
continue on a future path.
Author's Notes: Thanks sooooo much for the great reviews! So for a thank you, I give you a *double* treat! TWO CHAPTERS! *And* because of my inability to upload to fanfiction.net servers, I give you an ADDITIONAL chapter to make THREE new chapters. Hope you guys enjoy!
Another Way - Chapter Two
By: Taygeta
Lizzie exhaled deeply as she saw the plane descend toward the LAX airport runway. She bit her lower lip in worry. A billion different scenarios had entered into her head the entire plane ride. How she was going to meet him? When she was going to meet him? Who was he going to be with?
"First time in LA, dear?" asked an older woman who had sat beside her quietly the entire trip.
She looked up, "Oh, no. LA's home...I just haven't been back for a real visit in awhile. My brother got married last year and I came back to see that, but I had to fly to New York really quickly afterwards."
"Oh. Well that's a pity, dear. You should make it a point to come home more often. I speak from experience when I say that it's when you go home when you've been gone that you get to really know yourself."
Lizzie smiled, "I hope that's true."
After the plane landed, Lizzie walked out with the rest of the moving crowd. She looked around for Larry and half-expected to see him wearing his green-striped shirt from junior high...all the while knowing that Miranda would have probably made me throw anything remotely green of Larry's into the trash when she married him.
She spotted him easily though, and he was wearing a red shirt. His shirt, however, was not what she noticed. What she noticed was the sign that said "Lizzie" in black-marker and silver glitter.
"Your artwork, Larry?" she said with a laughing smile when she walked toward him.
"I had some time to kill," he said gesturing at his plastic bag with pens in it. He kissed her on the cheek and said, "Hello, Lizzie. It's been far too long."
She smiled as she hooked her arm into his, "Always the gentleman. Miranda did well...even if I do make fun of her all the time."
"I would think you would have no such just cause to do so," he said good- humoredly. "My wealth, my good looks, my oozing charm..."
She patted his arm, "Let's just get my bags, Mr. Tudgeman."
After they located Lizzie's luggage and gotten settled on their drive to Miranda and Larry's house, the two caught up on the last few years.
"Are you still with IBM?" asked Lizzie.
"Always and forever...hopefully," he said with a nod. "Miranda says that I took better wedding vows with my job than I did with her."
She laughed, "I've heard that one...and that you're having an affair with someone not even human."
"I love that woman," he said with a sigh.
Lizzie couldn't help but smile. Larry had said such simple words in such an endearing manner. "I'm sure she shares the sentiments. I'm so happy that you and Miranda are so happy."
"So are you still working with Ally Music?"
Lizzie nodded, "I got a promotion a couple of years ago. I'm actually now the head of the financial department."
Larry smiled, "Wow. That's incredible. Why didn't you tell us?"
She shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal. Nothing too life changing. The money's good, but nothing too extreme."
"Lizzie, you give yourself far too little credit. We miss you out here. If Miranda doesn't hear from you every so often, I swear she goes stir crazy.
She smiled, "Well I miss you guys too."
"Why don't you come back here? Live here...I mean. Ally has a LA office."
She sighed, "I don't know Larry. I'm pretty settled in New York."
He was silent for a moment and then asked, "Pretty settled in New York or is it because you have some unsettled business in LA?"
Lizzie glanced at him, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please. I may be still a nerd, but grant my intelligence some social credit. I know what happened with Gordo. He told me all about it."
She blinked.
"He did?" Then she attacked, "What did he say?!"
Larry grimaced. He hated it when he said stupid things. "He just told me what happened...then told me...."
"What?" she asked warily.
"Then told me he never wanted to see you again."
Lizzie grew silent, but somehow managed a "oh."
"But this was a long time ago. I'm sure plenty has changed since then," he added hopefully.
"Sure..." she echoed in a voice that had no hope at all.
The rest of the drive to the Tudgeman home was rather silent. The silence was soon non-existent at the house, however.
"Lizzie!!!" Miranda practically screamed when she saw her best friend again.
Michelle was bouncing up and down in her high chair in the kitchen. The last time she had seen Aunt Lizzie was when she was one, and she didn't remember exactly, but she recalled some person over the phone with Lizzie's name.
"Michelle, you're so big!" Lizzie cooed as she picked the baby up. The conversation in the car was soon forgotten as she lost herself in the eyes of her surrogate niece. "Oh, aren't you a sweetheart?"
~ * ~ * ~
Lizzie put Michelle into her crib. She had taken over baby-sitting duties since the moment she had walked into the door. Larry and Miranda's little girl had taken to her quite nicely. Now Michelle was sleeping peacefully for the evening.
The blonde baby-sitter/surrogate aunt sighed when she looked at her charge. She had to admit, she loved children. She always thought that she'd be married by now - or at least somewhere near the possibility of marriage, but no...there weren't many men in Lizzie's life. This was mostly due to lack of interest than for lack of trying. The one man she wanted apparently had no desire to ever see her again.
"Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to have a little one like you, honey," she whispered.
She walked out of Michelle's room and down the stairs where she heard Miranda and Larry talking in hushed voices.
"I don't think we should tell her," said Larry adamantly.
"Why not?" asked Miranda. "She deserves to know. We can't just spring this on her."
"Miranda, she's going to hide. I accidentally told her what he told me..."
"!Mi hombre se falta su mente!"
"I'm sorry...I know...I wasn't thinking."
Lizzie cleared her throat loudly.
The married couple turned to look at her.
"What's going on guys?" she asked.
"Nothing...nothing at all," said Miranda with wide eyes.
"Miranda..."
Her best friend exhaled and announced, "Gordo's coming over."
~ * ~ * ~
Lizzie stared at her reflection in the guest bathroom mirror.
She looked older than her twenty-seven years. She hadn't slept well for weeks and her appetite had waned a bit. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Lizzie supposed she was a bit depressed and preoccupied, but life was generally good and she knew that. The good parts of her life always drew her away from the bad, and the bad she knew was not really that bad. It was just that the little there was weighing on her mind...a lot, and for whatever reason, she couldn't control its hold on her.
What was Gordo going to think of her? They hadn't seen each other in years, but she couldn't help but imagine that somehow Gordo would be the complete opposite to her disheveled self. He was always so levelheaded and never letting things around him bother him too much. His philosophy: there are other, better things to spend one's energy on.
Lizzie had no energy at the moment. She was tired. The flight had worn her out and playing with Michelle hadn't helped with how she was feeling. It was three hours ahead in New York. She would be a couple of hours shy of bedtime, not a few minutes shy of dinner...especially not dinner with Gordo around.
Miranda had said that Gordo had planned dinner with her and Larry the week before, but due to scheduling he had to cancel to the next week. They hadn't been sure when Lizzie would be flying in, but it was too late to cancel when it occurred to Miranda earlier that the dinner with Gordo coincided on the same day as Lizzie's arrival.
Lizzie had half-a-mind to close the door and stay in the room, but she knew that action would be childish. She had to face eventually.
Eventually just happened to be sooner than she had thought.
~ * ~ * ~
Gordo was pensive as he drove through the LA freeway.
He had been a few seconds shy of making a lame excuse to skip out on dinner with the Tudgemans again when Miranda had mentioned Lizzie's presence. But Miranda was a fast talker and made some statement about Michelle and how she'd see him in an hour or so. She then hung up the phone and Gordo was left to mentally prepare himself to meet Lizzie again.
One hour to prepare himself to meet the woman he had avoided seeing these last five years.
One hour instead of one week.
He hadn't expected that Lizzie would be arriving quite so early to the party. He was stupid for not anticipating that. It was obvious that Lizzie wouldn't just hop on the plane the day before the party.
And now his stupidity had brought him to this and he was beside himself.
"What the hell am I going to do? What the hell am I going to say?" he muttered to himself as he got on the off-ramp.
The same questions echoed in his mind as he drove through the residential streets toward the Tudgeman home. Gordo half-wished that he could be wearing one of his Armani suits and that he was talking them all to a fancy restaurant. At least then he would make an obvious impression. It was the part of him that wanted Lizzie McGuire to know what she had given up. But the other half of him was glad that it was a casual dinner at a local restaurant. Gordo was in comfort clothes: a pair of worn jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. The clothes made him feel less nervous, less anxious, and most importantly, more himself. It was the part of him that wanted Lizzie McGuire to remember who she had known for so long.
As he parked his car, he wondered why he had stopped his impulse to ask Gretchen to go with him. She wasn't busy this evening so far as he knew, but when he started to dial her number, he stopped.
He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to see Lizzie without her.
When he stopped at the door, he took a deep breath.
Then, he rang the doorbell.
Author's Notes: Thanks sooooo much for the great reviews! So for a thank you, I give you a *double* treat! TWO CHAPTERS! *And* because of my inability to upload to fanfiction.net servers, I give you an ADDITIONAL chapter to make THREE new chapters. Hope you guys enjoy!
Another Way - Chapter Two
By: Taygeta
Lizzie exhaled deeply as she saw the plane descend toward the LAX airport runway. She bit her lower lip in worry. A billion different scenarios had entered into her head the entire plane ride. How she was going to meet him? When she was going to meet him? Who was he going to be with?
"First time in LA, dear?" asked an older woman who had sat beside her quietly the entire trip.
She looked up, "Oh, no. LA's home...I just haven't been back for a real visit in awhile. My brother got married last year and I came back to see that, but I had to fly to New York really quickly afterwards."
"Oh. Well that's a pity, dear. You should make it a point to come home more often. I speak from experience when I say that it's when you go home when you've been gone that you get to really know yourself."
Lizzie smiled, "I hope that's true."
After the plane landed, Lizzie walked out with the rest of the moving crowd. She looked around for Larry and half-expected to see him wearing his green-striped shirt from junior high...all the while knowing that Miranda would have probably made me throw anything remotely green of Larry's into the trash when she married him.
She spotted him easily though, and he was wearing a red shirt. His shirt, however, was not what she noticed. What she noticed was the sign that said "Lizzie" in black-marker and silver glitter.
"Your artwork, Larry?" she said with a laughing smile when she walked toward him.
"I had some time to kill," he said gesturing at his plastic bag with pens in it. He kissed her on the cheek and said, "Hello, Lizzie. It's been far too long."
She smiled as she hooked her arm into his, "Always the gentleman. Miranda did well...even if I do make fun of her all the time."
"I would think you would have no such just cause to do so," he said good- humoredly. "My wealth, my good looks, my oozing charm..."
She patted his arm, "Let's just get my bags, Mr. Tudgeman."
After they located Lizzie's luggage and gotten settled on their drive to Miranda and Larry's house, the two caught up on the last few years.
"Are you still with IBM?" asked Lizzie.
"Always and forever...hopefully," he said with a nod. "Miranda says that I took better wedding vows with my job than I did with her."
She laughed, "I've heard that one...and that you're having an affair with someone not even human."
"I love that woman," he said with a sigh.
Lizzie couldn't help but smile. Larry had said such simple words in such an endearing manner. "I'm sure she shares the sentiments. I'm so happy that you and Miranda are so happy."
"So are you still working with Ally Music?"
Lizzie nodded, "I got a promotion a couple of years ago. I'm actually now the head of the financial department."
Larry smiled, "Wow. That's incredible. Why didn't you tell us?"
She shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal. Nothing too life changing. The money's good, but nothing too extreme."
"Lizzie, you give yourself far too little credit. We miss you out here. If Miranda doesn't hear from you every so often, I swear she goes stir crazy.
She smiled, "Well I miss you guys too."
"Why don't you come back here? Live here...I mean. Ally has a LA office."
She sighed, "I don't know Larry. I'm pretty settled in New York."
He was silent for a moment and then asked, "Pretty settled in New York or is it because you have some unsettled business in LA?"
Lizzie glanced at him, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please. I may be still a nerd, but grant my intelligence some social credit. I know what happened with Gordo. He told me all about it."
She blinked.
"He did?" Then she attacked, "What did he say?!"
Larry grimaced. He hated it when he said stupid things. "He just told me what happened...then told me...."
"What?" she asked warily.
"Then told me he never wanted to see you again."
Lizzie grew silent, but somehow managed a "oh."
"But this was a long time ago. I'm sure plenty has changed since then," he added hopefully.
"Sure..." she echoed in a voice that had no hope at all.
The rest of the drive to the Tudgeman home was rather silent. The silence was soon non-existent at the house, however.
"Lizzie!!!" Miranda practically screamed when she saw her best friend again.
Michelle was bouncing up and down in her high chair in the kitchen. The last time she had seen Aunt Lizzie was when she was one, and she didn't remember exactly, but she recalled some person over the phone with Lizzie's name.
"Michelle, you're so big!" Lizzie cooed as she picked the baby up. The conversation in the car was soon forgotten as she lost herself in the eyes of her surrogate niece. "Oh, aren't you a sweetheart?"
~ * ~ * ~
Lizzie put Michelle into her crib. She had taken over baby-sitting duties since the moment she had walked into the door. Larry and Miranda's little girl had taken to her quite nicely. Now Michelle was sleeping peacefully for the evening.
The blonde baby-sitter/surrogate aunt sighed when she looked at her charge. She had to admit, she loved children. She always thought that she'd be married by now - or at least somewhere near the possibility of marriage, but no...there weren't many men in Lizzie's life. This was mostly due to lack of interest than for lack of trying. The one man she wanted apparently had no desire to ever see her again.
"Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to have a little one like you, honey," she whispered.
She walked out of Michelle's room and down the stairs where she heard Miranda and Larry talking in hushed voices.
"I don't think we should tell her," said Larry adamantly.
"Why not?" asked Miranda. "She deserves to know. We can't just spring this on her."
"Miranda, she's going to hide. I accidentally told her what he told me..."
"!Mi hombre se falta su mente!"
"I'm sorry...I know...I wasn't thinking."
Lizzie cleared her throat loudly.
The married couple turned to look at her.
"What's going on guys?" she asked.
"Nothing...nothing at all," said Miranda with wide eyes.
"Miranda..."
Her best friend exhaled and announced, "Gordo's coming over."
~ * ~ * ~
Lizzie stared at her reflection in the guest bathroom mirror.
She looked older than her twenty-seven years. She hadn't slept well for weeks and her appetite had waned a bit. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Lizzie supposed she was a bit depressed and preoccupied, but life was generally good and she knew that. The good parts of her life always drew her away from the bad, and the bad she knew was not really that bad. It was just that the little there was weighing on her mind...a lot, and for whatever reason, she couldn't control its hold on her.
What was Gordo going to think of her? They hadn't seen each other in years, but she couldn't help but imagine that somehow Gordo would be the complete opposite to her disheveled self. He was always so levelheaded and never letting things around him bother him too much. His philosophy: there are other, better things to spend one's energy on.
Lizzie had no energy at the moment. She was tired. The flight had worn her out and playing with Michelle hadn't helped with how she was feeling. It was three hours ahead in New York. She would be a couple of hours shy of bedtime, not a few minutes shy of dinner...especially not dinner with Gordo around.
Miranda had said that Gordo had planned dinner with her and Larry the week before, but due to scheduling he had to cancel to the next week. They hadn't been sure when Lizzie would be flying in, but it was too late to cancel when it occurred to Miranda earlier that the dinner with Gordo coincided on the same day as Lizzie's arrival.
Lizzie had half-a-mind to close the door and stay in the room, but she knew that action would be childish. She had to face eventually.
Eventually just happened to be sooner than she had thought.
~ * ~ * ~
Gordo was pensive as he drove through the LA freeway.
He had been a few seconds shy of making a lame excuse to skip out on dinner with the Tudgemans again when Miranda had mentioned Lizzie's presence. But Miranda was a fast talker and made some statement about Michelle and how she'd see him in an hour or so. She then hung up the phone and Gordo was left to mentally prepare himself to meet Lizzie again.
One hour to prepare himself to meet the woman he had avoided seeing these last five years.
One hour instead of one week.
He hadn't expected that Lizzie would be arriving quite so early to the party. He was stupid for not anticipating that. It was obvious that Lizzie wouldn't just hop on the plane the day before the party.
And now his stupidity had brought him to this and he was beside himself.
"What the hell am I going to do? What the hell am I going to say?" he muttered to himself as he got on the off-ramp.
The same questions echoed in his mind as he drove through the residential streets toward the Tudgeman home. Gordo half-wished that he could be wearing one of his Armani suits and that he was talking them all to a fancy restaurant. At least then he would make an obvious impression. It was the part of him that wanted Lizzie McGuire to know what she had given up. But the other half of him was glad that it was a casual dinner at a local restaurant. Gordo was in comfort clothes: a pair of worn jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. The clothes made him feel less nervous, less anxious, and most importantly, more himself. It was the part of him that wanted Lizzie McGuire to remember who she had known for so long.
As he parked his car, he wondered why he had stopped his impulse to ask Gretchen to go with him. She wasn't busy this evening so far as he knew, but when he started to dial her number, he stopped.
He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to see Lizzie without her.
When he stopped at the door, he took a deep breath.
Then, he rang the doorbell.