Disclaimer: Lizzie McGuire is a Disney-creation.
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! (
Another Way - Chapter 11 By: Taygeta
Gordo woke up and glanced at his watch. It was 4 am and his cd player was still playing Lizzie's song.
He sighed and sat up in his wrinkled clothes from work. His clothes were a mess, he looked like a mess, and he felt exactly how he looked. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had made the right decision...hadn't he?
And it hadn't only been his to make. Lizzie had agreed that they should speak less to each other. They were friends and they didn't need everyday conversations to make that fact establish.
So, why did it feel so wrong not to hear from her? Why did it feel so wrong not to talk to her? He had been without her for five long years. Why did that seem so impossible now?
*Why can't there be another way...*
He looked up at his cd player and stood up to turn it off.
"Why can't there be?" he asked to himself and walked away from the silent room with a sigh.
~ * ~ * ~
Gordo sat at his desk. He had handed his boss Mr. Essler a copy of Lizzie's song an hour ago, and he was trying to kill time in wait for a response.
"David," said Mr. Essler walking out of his office.
He looked up at the burly man and stood up, "Yes, Mr. Essler?"
"This is brilliant. Top 40 hit...I'm sure of it."
Gordo smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Can she sing for it too?"
"Well...I'm sure I can talk to her about it," he replied.
"Good...good...I hope we can all of this rolling. When's Mr. Lasco flying in?"
"Tomorrow."
"Great! I think we've got ourselves a winner, David."
Mr. Essler walked back into his office soon after that, leaving his assistant very tempted to call a certain Lizzie McGuire. After some time of internal conflict, Gordo picked up the phone.
He heard: "This is Lizzie. I'm not home right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll get back to you. Have a nice day!"
"Um...hi Lizzie. This is Gordo. I've never gotten your answering machine before...um...well I showed Mr. Essler your song and he loves it. I'm at work right now, but I'll be home if you want to call me back tonight, or whenever you're free...so I'll talk to you later then."
He hung up the phone.
He felt stupid. He felt like he was in high school again, calling up some girl who would probably reject him.
But he wasn't in high school, anymore. He wasn't even in college anymore. He was still a geek, but no one made fun of him for it. He was a grown man who had a successful job and who had a beautiful girl who loved him.
Why was that not enough? What was wrong, and how was it that Elizabeth McGuire had the ability to make things feel so right and so wrong at the same time?
~ * ~ * ~
"Um...hi Lizzie. This is Gordo. I've never gotten your answering machine before...um...well I showed Mr. Essler your song and he loves it. I'm at work right now, but I'll be home if you want to call me back tonight, or whenever you're free...so I'll talk to you later then."
She pressed the rewind button again.
The message played for the fifth time.
Lizzie sighed. Something was wrong with Gordo. He sounded so distant and uncomfortable.
Almost reluctantly she picked up the phone and dialed his number.
"Hello?"
"Gordo?"
"Oh, Lizzie, hey...did you get my message?"
She smiled, "Yea...did he really like it?"
"Loved it," he emphasized. "And...he wants you to sing it."
Lizzie blinked, "What?!"
"He wants you to sing for the film," Gordo repeated.
"Uh...are you sure?"
He laughed, "He told me himself. Probably wants to fly you out here to do it too. Unless, of course, you've found a job since I last talked to you?"
She laughed, "Hardly. No one wants to hire me it seems."
"Good...then you're free to come to LA...and it will be nice seeing you again."
"We just saw each other a few months ago."
"We have five years to catch up on, remember?" he said.
She sighed, "Right. Wouldn't things be better, Gordo, if we didn't have to catch up on five years?"
"Lizzie...we can't just go back in time and make things different. Do you really think anything would change if we could? We would still be the same people...we would still have the same...reaction."
For all the hours that they had talked, this was the first time they had truly spoken about the events five years prior. Perhaps, it had all built up to this.
"Every time I look back, I know I still would have kissed you," she admitted.
She heard him intake a sharp breath. How did this become a confession?
"Why did you have to tell me that?"
"Because it's true," she replied. "And would you have told me to go away...to never see you again?"
"I was in love with you. You kissed me...then you broke my heart," he summed. "What would you do if your worst nightmare came true?'
"Enough said." She continued, "It was hard to stop crying after that."
Gordo felt those words like they had kicked him in the stomach. In all of his self-involved inflictions, he hadn't considered that she had lost a friendship too.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She shook her head and adjusted the phone, "Don't be. You did what you did. We've just been through memory lane. Nothing would have changed. We can't be sorry about things that have been done."
"Then what are we left with? What do we do?"
"Keep on doing what we've been doing. Keep on getting back to being friends." She paused and continued in a voice that was half-joke and half- hope, "I mean...it's not like you're still in love with me."
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! (
Another Way - Chapter 11 By: Taygeta
Gordo woke up and glanced at his watch. It was 4 am and his cd player was still playing Lizzie's song.
He sighed and sat up in his wrinkled clothes from work. His clothes were a mess, he looked like a mess, and he felt exactly how he looked. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had made the right decision...hadn't he?
And it hadn't only been his to make. Lizzie had agreed that they should speak less to each other. They were friends and they didn't need everyday conversations to make that fact establish.
So, why did it feel so wrong not to hear from her? Why did it feel so wrong not to talk to her? He had been without her for five long years. Why did that seem so impossible now?
*Why can't there be another way...*
He looked up at his cd player and stood up to turn it off.
"Why can't there be?" he asked to himself and walked away from the silent room with a sigh.
~ * ~ * ~
Gordo sat at his desk. He had handed his boss Mr. Essler a copy of Lizzie's song an hour ago, and he was trying to kill time in wait for a response.
"David," said Mr. Essler walking out of his office.
He looked up at the burly man and stood up, "Yes, Mr. Essler?"
"This is brilliant. Top 40 hit...I'm sure of it."
Gordo smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Can she sing for it too?"
"Well...I'm sure I can talk to her about it," he replied.
"Good...good...I hope we can all of this rolling. When's Mr. Lasco flying in?"
"Tomorrow."
"Great! I think we've got ourselves a winner, David."
Mr. Essler walked back into his office soon after that, leaving his assistant very tempted to call a certain Lizzie McGuire. After some time of internal conflict, Gordo picked up the phone.
He heard: "This is Lizzie. I'm not home right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll get back to you. Have a nice day!"
"Um...hi Lizzie. This is Gordo. I've never gotten your answering machine before...um...well I showed Mr. Essler your song and he loves it. I'm at work right now, but I'll be home if you want to call me back tonight, or whenever you're free...so I'll talk to you later then."
He hung up the phone.
He felt stupid. He felt like he was in high school again, calling up some girl who would probably reject him.
But he wasn't in high school, anymore. He wasn't even in college anymore. He was still a geek, but no one made fun of him for it. He was a grown man who had a successful job and who had a beautiful girl who loved him.
Why was that not enough? What was wrong, and how was it that Elizabeth McGuire had the ability to make things feel so right and so wrong at the same time?
~ * ~ * ~
"Um...hi Lizzie. This is Gordo. I've never gotten your answering machine before...um...well I showed Mr. Essler your song and he loves it. I'm at work right now, but I'll be home if you want to call me back tonight, or whenever you're free...so I'll talk to you later then."
She pressed the rewind button again.
The message played for the fifth time.
Lizzie sighed. Something was wrong with Gordo. He sounded so distant and uncomfortable.
Almost reluctantly she picked up the phone and dialed his number.
"Hello?"
"Gordo?"
"Oh, Lizzie, hey...did you get my message?"
She smiled, "Yea...did he really like it?"
"Loved it," he emphasized. "And...he wants you to sing it."
Lizzie blinked, "What?!"
"He wants you to sing for the film," Gordo repeated.
"Uh...are you sure?"
He laughed, "He told me himself. Probably wants to fly you out here to do it too. Unless, of course, you've found a job since I last talked to you?"
She laughed, "Hardly. No one wants to hire me it seems."
"Good...then you're free to come to LA...and it will be nice seeing you again."
"We just saw each other a few months ago."
"We have five years to catch up on, remember?" he said.
She sighed, "Right. Wouldn't things be better, Gordo, if we didn't have to catch up on five years?"
"Lizzie...we can't just go back in time and make things different. Do you really think anything would change if we could? We would still be the same people...we would still have the same...reaction."
For all the hours that they had talked, this was the first time they had truly spoken about the events five years prior. Perhaps, it had all built up to this.
"Every time I look back, I know I still would have kissed you," she admitted.
She heard him intake a sharp breath. How did this become a confession?
"Why did you have to tell me that?"
"Because it's true," she replied. "And would you have told me to go away...to never see you again?"
"I was in love with you. You kissed me...then you broke my heart," he summed. "What would you do if your worst nightmare came true?'
"Enough said." She continued, "It was hard to stop crying after that."
Gordo felt those words like they had kicked him in the stomach. In all of his self-involved inflictions, he hadn't considered that she had lost a friendship too.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She shook her head and adjusted the phone, "Don't be. You did what you did. We've just been through memory lane. Nothing would have changed. We can't be sorry about things that have been done."
"Then what are we left with? What do we do?"
"Keep on doing what we've been doing. Keep on getting back to being friends." She paused and continued in a voice that was half-joke and half- hope, "I mean...it's not like you're still in love with me."