Chapter Two
"What?" Lizzie barked into her cellphone as she paced across the small library lounge, one eye on everyone eating lunch. "Who? What paper?" She groaned, and sat down next to Gordo, swiping a carrot stick from his plate. "Fine, put her through."
Ethan watched Lizzie with amusement, a smirk on his face. She was a riot, he had to admit, it was daily entertainment watching her go through her usual tirades. Even when he was the target of those tirades, they were a lot of fun, and he got a kick out of learning new ways to set her off.
"You want WHAT?" Lizzie jumped out of the chair, her eyes wide. She laughed, and shook her head as she spoke into the phone. "No, Kate, you're not talking to Ethan on MY phone!" She shrugged off her denim jacket and slipped it onto the back of the chair, before resuming her pacing. "Why?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow when he heard his name mentioned, and he listened intently as he studied Lizzie. Shame she was such a bitch, really, she was really cute. Beautiful, even, with long thick blonde hair, and brown eyes, and she had one hell of a body. He chewed on his bottom lip as his eyes narrowed, looking her up and down. Her skirt could have been a little shorter, he knew she had great legs under there, but her sleeveless tank did at least expose some of the cleavage he knew she had. Of course, she kept that damn jacket on most of the time…tightass that she was, he chuckled to himself.
"Who? Give me a name," Lizzie said angrily. She returned to her seat and stepped out of her heels, continuing to pace in her stocking feet. "Wait, let me get this straight. You want a comment, from Ethan, about whether or not he may or may not have slept with some girl who doesn't have a name?" She laughed sarcastically, and shook her head. "I don't think so."
Ethan smirked. Who had talked, he wondered? He wasn't being too careful with his targets for the Game as of late, he had to admit. Just all the more reason to find a good girl to go after. One who would take some time to get, where he'd have to work at it. Then, the thrill of victory…THAT would be a lay he'd never forget.
"Ethan is a seventeen year old guy, who acts like it, Kate," Lizzie said firmly. "He's the most popular guy in school, and I'm sure many girls would love to claim they've been in his bed. However, the fact is, this girl probably has not." She listened for a moment, before groaning, "Very nice, Kate. I'll have him call you later. Uh-huh, you too. Bye."
Ethan grinned. All right, so she might be a bitch, but damn did she know how to turn on the charm when she had to. He winked when her eyes locked on him, laughing when she looked away with a scowl. She hated him, though, didn't she…
"Thanks to you too," Lizzie flipped shut the phone, and glared at Ethan. She raised a hand to him when he opened his mouth to speak, shaking her head. "Don't even talk to me right now, Craft, just…don't." She grabbed her shoes and jacket and walked out of the room without another word.
"That was…interesting," Ethan laughed, and ran a hand through his hair.
"Shut up, Ethan," Gordo quickly pushed his chair back and ran after Lizzie, frowning.
Ethan wondered what Lizzie would be like in bed. Probably really hot, with all of that energy and fire. Take some of that anger she loved pointing at him, and use it for something productive… He sat up straight in his chair, his lips curling up in a wicked grin. That was it! The Game! She hated him, she was Gordo's girlfriend, ferchrissakes, he shouldn't even be looking at her. She would be his hardest target ever.
Lizzie McGuire would be a conquest thoroughly worth having in the end, Ethan decided. He'd piss off Gordo, which was always fun, but more than that, he'd have one hell of a struggle getting her to let him in. But she would, he knew, ultimately, he'd be successful in the end. He'd convince her he was the man she'd just described on the phone, and he'd make her his.
Just the kind of challenge he was looking for.
**************************************************************
Over the next few days, Ethan became a master observer, watching Lizzie's every move, while at the same time, slowly toning down his animosity towards her. No too much, though, nothing that would be too obvious, but…just a little. He also discovered, for the first time, some cracks in the slick veneer that was Lizzie and Gordo's relationship. Why hadn't he ever noticed before the amount that they fought with each other? There was definitely tension there, tension he intended to exploit to its fullest.
He was sitting at a table with the other four group members doing research, fighting yawns as the report requirements asked one typical question after another. He knew full well that Lizzie liked the fact that the questions thrown at them were extremely predictable, but every once in a while, wouldn't it be fun if they didn't already know what was going to be asked?
Ethan had to fight back a groan when Gordo went over his section of the report, and rolled his eyes, watching Lizzie sit up straight to listen to his reply. She didn't look so good, he mused, she hadn't for a few days now. Slightly green, even, and the smile on her face as Gordo extolled the wonders of kinetic energy was clearly forced.
Later...
"Man, Lizzie, we sure were lucky having you in charge," Danny interrupted Miranda, not seeing Lizzie's scowl as he did so. "Aren't you glad Gordo?"
Gordo smiled at Lizzie as he nodded his head, "Definitely. We're lucky to have her."
"She has to be in charge," Miranda remarked dryly, laughing when she saw Lizzie smirk at her.
"She couldn't get away from me if she tried," Gordo laughed. "It works out for the best."
Ethan couldn't hold back a grin at that. Yeah, it definitely did…
*********************************************************
The next day, the group, along with with many other kids at Hillridge High School attended a huge party at the Hillridge Hilton, many of them renting rooms to go along with the party.
"Yeah," Ethan nodded to the cheerleader he was talking to, wishing Lizzie would show up and get these people away from him. That was her job, ferchrissakes, why wasn't she here doing it?
"Here," Danny pushed a drink into his hand, smiling widely at the girl standing by Ethan. "Drink."
"Thanks," Ethan threw back the drink, wincing as the liquor burned down his throat. "Christ, Danny, what was…" His words caught in his throat when he saw Lizzie walk into the room, flanked by Gordo. Dear god, she was stunning, wearing a low cut silk tank top of pale blue that clung to her upper torso in all of the right places, vintage jeans with blue lace trims, with her hair piled high on her head. He checked his reaction immediately, realizing that ogling Gordo's girlfriend in public was not the smartest of things to do, and instead forced a smirk onto his face as she walked over to him. "Well, well, well," he smiled at her, looking her up at down. "Doesn't Lizzie clean up nice." Understatement of the year, jesus christ…
"Why thank you, Ethan," Lizzie smiled sweetly at him, smoothing her jeans out over her legs. She rather liked the jeans herself. "How are you two doing tonight?"
Ethan looked around him, having honestly forgotten Danny's presence. The boy he'd been talking to had thankfully disappeared, however. "Waiting for you to get here."
"Sorry," she looked genuinely apologetic, as she sighed. "I didn't feel well, it took me a while to get dressed."
"Are you ok?" Ethan and Danny both asked at the same time, Ethan laughing lightly, before shrugging. "Well, are you?"
Danny's head whipped around to stare at Ethan, stunned by the show of concern. "Maybe you shouldn't have had that drink," he mumbled, grabbing the empty glass from Ethan's hand.
"I'll be ok," Lizzie nodded, and sighed. "Come on, there's some girls who are just DYING to talk you."
"Sure," Ethan followed Lizzie without complaint, turning around and waving for Brian to do the same. "Come on, D."
Danny watched Ethan walking after Lizzie for a moment, before shaking his head, and joining them. "All right, all right."
******************************************************************
"That went well," Gordo remarked from his spot next to Lizzie on the couch. He leaned over and kissed the back of her neck, frowning when she squirmed away. "What?"
"Not now," she said softly, before turning her attention to Miranda. "You were alone most of the night, how did it go for you?"
Miranda shrugged, "nothing I haven't been asked before. No worries Liz, I'm cool."
"Come on baby, party's over, let's go," Gordo cooed to Lizzie, one of his hands sliding over her leg and running up her thigh.
"Dammit, Gordo, I said no," she grabbed his hand and pulled it away, glaring at him. "I told you I don't feel well!"
"Maybe if you'd had a little less to drink you would be feeling better," he snapped.
"Hey, Kev, Lizzie's been sick for a couple days," Danny leapt to her defense, frowning at his friend. "Leave her alone."
"Fine. I will," Gordo got up and stormed out of the room, ignoring Lizzie's pleas for him to stay.
"Fuck," she cursed, covering her face with her hands and sliding down on the couch.
"Lizzie, he's just drunk," Miranda said consolingly, taking the spot on the sofa vacated by Gordo. "Don't feel bad."
"I know he's drunk, but, shit, I'm not," she said angrily, shaking her head.
"I think we should all probably just head to bed," Danny suggested, standing up and stretching.
"Um," Ethan frowned, and looked at Lizzie. "Where are you gonna go?"
Lizzie sighed, "I'm going to go talk to the idiot, I guess."
"If you need anything, just holler, ok?" Danny told her as he stood up.
"Ok," Lizzie waited for everyone to clear out of the room before pushing herself up from the couch, biting her lip at the wave of nausea that swept over her from the movement. She had the flu, it had been coming on for days, everyone could see it…why couldn't Gordo? Slowly she made her way down the hall to her room, banging on the door and calling for Gordo. "Baby, it's me, open the door." She groaned when she didn't hear a reply, and rested her head against the door, breathing heavily as her stomach churned. "Gordo…"
Still no reply.
"You asshole, Gordo, open the goddamn door!"
Nothing.
"Fuck," she turned and ran down the hall to the public bathroom, barely making it inside before she got sick. If there was anything Lizzie hated with a passion, other than Ethan Craft, that is, it was being sick. Fighting back tears, she rinsed out her mouth, before stumbling out the door, leaning against the wall in the hallway, wondering where she was going to go.
"Stop it," Lizzie told herself, banging her head against the wall to clear it. Her head was so foggy, blackness clouding her vision, her knees felt weak, this was just…bad. "Shit," she said an instant before she slid to the floor, her knees giving out under her as she broke out in a cold sweat.
"Lizzie?"
"Go away," she muttered, turning her head away from the soft voice. God, not Ethan. Not now.
"Lizzie, you look awful, let me help," Ethan knelt down in front of her and touched her cheek, forcing her to look at him. "Where's Gordo?"
"Passed out in our room, I guess," Lizzie said weakly. She could barely focus her eyes on Ethan, but she could have sworn she saw, what was that…compassion? No way. Ethan Craft didn't feel compassion towards anyone.
"Come on, you can't spend the night in the hall," ignoring Lizzie's protests, Ethan scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his room, setting her down on his bed.
"Ethan, I can't, I'm gonna," was all Lizzie got out before she threw up again, rolling onto her side just in time to aim for the garbage bin Ethan had managed to grab for her.
"God, you really are sick," Ethan said softly, pressing the back of his palm to her forehead. "Got a fever too."
"I'm fine," she mumbled, as she began to cry, curling up into a ball. This had to be her worst nightmare coming true. Sick as a dog, in Ethan CRAFT's bed, locked out of her own room…just totally and completely helpless.
"Oh Lizzie," he breathed, sitting down next to her and pulling her into a hug. "Shhh, everything's going to be ok," he reassured her, his fingers gently pushing away the soft tendrils of hair that had fallen down and stuck onto her sweaty forehead. How could Gordo just lock her out like that? Couldn't he see she was sick? Jesus, and couldn't he see that…even sick…she was amazing. Maybe it was because she was sick? Lizzie was normally so in control, so strong, it was annoying. But now, like this, she was all soft and vulnerable…he just wanted to take care of her.
"Gordo," Lizzie whispered, clutching Ethan's shirt in her fists as she cried. "Goddamn fucking bastard asshole."
Ethan laughed at the slew of curses that left her throat. Even without any energy at all, she still was able to summon up that amount of anger. It was absolutely adorable. "I should get him, tell him you're here."
"No, I…Ethan…" Lizzie squirmed, and Ethan quickly grabbed the garbage pail for her, holding her head as she threw up again. "I hate this," she gasped, rolling over onto her back and looking up at Ethan sadly.
"I'll call Danny, make him go bang Gordo's door down, ok?" Ethan offered.
Lizzie just nodded, watching as Ethan placed the call. When he hung up the phone, she touched his cheek, a curious expression crossing her face. "Why are you doing this?" She asked softly.
"What do you mean?"
"You hate me."
Ethan's breath nearly stopped at the pain in Lizzie's voice, and he shook his head quickly, "I don't hate you, Lizzie."
"Yes, you do," she insisted, groaning when he pulled her into his body. "Ethan…"
"Shh, let me make you feel better," he commanded, wrapping his arms around her. "Gordo will be here soon."
"You hate me," Lizzie repeated, her body shaking with another sob. "You always have."
Ethan stared at her for a moment, before answering softly, "I thought you hated me."
"Because of the way you treat me…."
"It's fun, that's all."
Lizzie looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes. "You don't hate me?" She sniffled, biting her lip as she realized what she was saying. Jesus, she got sick and became an idiot, didn't she…talking to Ethan about why he hated her? Please…
"No, Lizzie, not at all," Ethan reassured her, smiling when she scowled. "Really."
"I always hoped that someday we'd get along," she whispered, her eyes closing as she began to grow sleepy.
"We will, Lizzie," he told her softly. "We'll get along so well," he smirked, thankful her eyes weren't open to see his face. God, would they ever…
"Good," she murmured, before falling asleep, her head resting peacefully on his chest.
"Where's my girlfriend?" Gordo tore into the room a moment later, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of her curled up in Ethan's arms. "What the fuck!"
"She's sick, Gordo, really sick," Ethan said softly, slowly extricating himself from Lizzie, and getting up. "Get in," he waved to the bed. "I'll sleep out in the lounge, I don't think you should move her."
Gordo looked at Ethan in surprise, before turning his attention back to Lizzie on the bed. "She's sick?"
"Yeah, she is," Ethan replied. He watched Gordo crawl into bed next to Lizzie, wincing slightly at the thought of him sleeping with her in HIS bed. But…it would work well to get Lizzie to trust him, and that was what mattered. "Tell her she'll be all right, ok?"
"She hates being sick," Gordo said softly, looking closely at his girlfriend's tear stained cheeks. "She was crying?"
"Just upset," Ethan nodded. He turned to leave, stopping when Gordo called his name. "What?"
"Here," Gordo threw his room key at Ethan. "No reason for that bed to go wasted."
"Oh," Ethan caught the key, forcing a smile onto his face. Great. They'd sleep in his bed, and he'd sleep….alone…in theirs. Sick. "Thanks."
"No, Ethan," Gordo smiled at him, well aware he'd messed up but good tonight. "Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you, Gordo," Ethan looked at Lizzie, and sighed. "I did it for her."
**********************************************************************
"What?" Lizzie barked into her cellphone as she paced across the small library lounge, one eye on everyone eating lunch. "Who? What paper?" She groaned, and sat down next to Gordo, swiping a carrot stick from his plate. "Fine, put her through."
Ethan watched Lizzie with amusement, a smirk on his face. She was a riot, he had to admit, it was daily entertainment watching her go through her usual tirades. Even when he was the target of those tirades, they were a lot of fun, and he got a kick out of learning new ways to set her off.
"You want WHAT?" Lizzie jumped out of the chair, her eyes wide. She laughed, and shook her head as she spoke into the phone. "No, Kate, you're not talking to Ethan on MY phone!" She shrugged off her denim jacket and slipped it onto the back of the chair, before resuming her pacing. "Why?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow when he heard his name mentioned, and he listened intently as he studied Lizzie. Shame she was such a bitch, really, she was really cute. Beautiful, even, with long thick blonde hair, and brown eyes, and she had one hell of a body. He chewed on his bottom lip as his eyes narrowed, looking her up and down. Her skirt could have been a little shorter, he knew she had great legs under there, but her sleeveless tank did at least expose some of the cleavage he knew she had. Of course, she kept that damn jacket on most of the time…tightass that she was, he chuckled to himself.
"Who? Give me a name," Lizzie said angrily. She returned to her seat and stepped out of her heels, continuing to pace in her stocking feet. "Wait, let me get this straight. You want a comment, from Ethan, about whether or not he may or may not have slept with some girl who doesn't have a name?" She laughed sarcastically, and shook her head. "I don't think so."
Ethan smirked. Who had talked, he wondered? He wasn't being too careful with his targets for the Game as of late, he had to admit. Just all the more reason to find a good girl to go after. One who would take some time to get, where he'd have to work at it. Then, the thrill of victory…THAT would be a lay he'd never forget.
"Ethan is a seventeen year old guy, who acts like it, Kate," Lizzie said firmly. "He's the most popular guy in school, and I'm sure many girls would love to claim they've been in his bed. However, the fact is, this girl probably has not." She listened for a moment, before groaning, "Very nice, Kate. I'll have him call you later. Uh-huh, you too. Bye."
Ethan grinned. All right, so she might be a bitch, but damn did she know how to turn on the charm when she had to. He winked when her eyes locked on him, laughing when she looked away with a scowl. She hated him, though, didn't she…
"Thanks to you too," Lizzie flipped shut the phone, and glared at Ethan. She raised a hand to him when he opened his mouth to speak, shaking her head. "Don't even talk to me right now, Craft, just…don't." She grabbed her shoes and jacket and walked out of the room without another word.
"That was…interesting," Ethan laughed, and ran a hand through his hair.
"Shut up, Ethan," Gordo quickly pushed his chair back and ran after Lizzie, frowning.
Ethan wondered what Lizzie would be like in bed. Probably really hot, with all of that energy and fire. Take some of that anger she loved pointing at him, and use it for something productive… He sat up straight in his chair, his lips curling up in a wicked grin. That was it! The Game! She hated him, she was Gordo's girlfriend, ferchrissakes, he shouldn't even be looking at her. She would be his hardest target ever.
Lizzie McGuire would be a conquest thoroughly worth having in the end, Ethan decided. He'd piss off Gordo, which was always fun, but more than that, he'd have one hell of a struggle getting her to let him in. But she would, he knew, ultimately, he'd be successful in the end. He'd convince her he was the man she'd just described on the phone, and he'd make her his.
Just the kind of challenge he was looking for.
**************************************************************
Over the next few days, Ethan became a master observer, watching Lizzie's every move, while at the same time, slowly toning down his animosity towards her. No too much, though, nothing that would be too obvious, but…just a little. He also discovered, for the first time, some cracks in the slick veneer that was Lizzie and Gordo's relationship. Why hadn't he ever noticed before the amount that they fought with each other? There was definitely tension there, tension he intended to exploit to its fullest.
He was sitting at a table with the other four group members doing research, fighting yawns as the report requirements asked one typical question after another. He knew full well that Lizzie liked the fact that the questions thrown at them were extremely predictable, but every once in a while, wouldn't it be fun if they didn't already know what was going to be asked?
Ethan had to fight back a groan when Gordo went over his section of the report, and rolled his eyes, watching Lizzie sit up straight to listen to his reply. She didn't look so good, he mused, she hadn't for a few days now. Slightly green, even, and the smile on her face as Gordo extolled the wonders of kinetic energy was clearly forced.
Later...
"Man, Lizzie, we sure were lucky having you in charge," Danny interrupted Miranda, not seeing Lizzie's scowl as he did so. "Aren't you glad Gordo?"
Gordo smiled at Lizzie as he nodded his head, "Definitely. We're lucky to have her."
"She has to be in charge," Miranda remarked dryly, laughing when she saw Lizzie smirk at her.
"She couldn't get away from me if she tried," Gordo laughed. "It works out for the best."
Ethan couldn't hold back a grin at that. Yeah, it definitely did…
*********************************************************
The next day, the group, along with with many other kids at Hillridge High School attended a huge party at the Hillridge Hilton, many of them renting rooms to go along with the party.
"Yeah," Ethan nodded to the cheerleader he was talking to, wishing Lizzie would show up and get these people away from him. That was her job, ferchrissakes, why wasn't she here doing it?
"Here," Danny pushed a drink into his hand, smiling widely at the girl standing by Ethan. "Drink."
"Thanks," Ethan threw back the drink, wincing as the liquor burned down his throat. "Christ, Danny, what was…" His words caught in his throat when he saw Lizzie walk into the room, flanked by Gordo. Dear god, she was stunning, wearing a low cut silk tank top of pale blue that clung to her upper torso in all of the right places, vintage jeans with blue lace trims, with her hair piled high on her head. He checked his reaction immediately, realizing that ogling Gordo's girlfriend in public was not the smartest of things to do, and instead forced a smirk onto his face as she walked over to him. "Well, well, well," he smiled at her, looking her up at down. "Doesn't Lizzie clean up nice." Understatement of the year, jesus christ…
"Why thank you, Ethan," Lizzie smiled sweetly at him, smoothing her jeans out over her legs. She rather liked the jeans herself. "How are you two doing tonight?"
Ethan looked around him, having honestly forgotten Danny's presence. The boy he'd been talking to had thankfully disappeared, however. "Waiting for you to get here."
"Sorry," she looked genuinely apologetic, as she sighed. "I didn't feel well, it took me a while to get dressed."
"Are you ok?" Ethan and Danny both asked at the same time, Ethan laughing lightly, before shrugging. "Well, are you?"
Danny's head whipped around to stare at Ethan, stunned by the show of concern. "Maybe you shouldn't have had that drink," he mumbled, grabbing the empty glass from Ethan's hand.
"I'll be ok," Lizzie nodded, and sighed. "Come on, there's some girls who are just DYING to talk you."
"Sure," Ethan followed Lizzie without complaint, turning around and waving for Brian to do the same. "Come on, D."
Danny watched Ethan walking after Lizzie for a moment, before shaking his head, and joining them. "All right, all right."
******************************************************************
"That went well," Gordo remarked from his spot next to Lizzie on the couch. He leaned over and kissed the back of her neck, frowning when she squirmed away. "What?"
"Not now," she said softly, before turning her attention to Miranda. "You were alone most of the night, how did it go for you?"
Miranda shrugged, "nothing I haven't been asked before. No worries Liz, I'm cool."
"Come on baby, party's over, let's go," Gordo cooed to Lizzie, one of his hands sliding over her leg and running up her thigh.
"Dammit, Gordo, I said no," she grabbed his hand and pulled it away, glaring at him. "I told you I don't feel well!"
"Maybe if you'd had a little less to drink you would be feeling better," he snapped.
"Hey, Kev, Lizzie's been sick for a couple days," Danny leapt to her defense, frowning at his friend. "Leave her alone."
"Fine. I will," Gordo got up and stormed out of the room, ignoring Lizzie's pleas for him to stay.
"Fuck," she cursed, covering her face with her hands and sliding down on the couch.
"Lizzie, he's just drunk," Miranda said consolingly, taking the spot on the sofa vacated by Gordo. "Don't feel bad."
"I know he's drunk, but, shit, I'm not," she said angrily, shaking her head.
"I think we should all probably just head to bed," Danny suggested, standing up and stretching.
"Um," Ethan frowned, and looked at Lizzie. "Where are you gonna go?"
Lizzie sighed, "I'm going to go talk to the idiot, I guess."
"If you need anything, just holler, ok?" Danny told her as he stood up.
"Ok," Lizzie waited for everyone to clear out of the room before pushing herself up from the couch, biting her lip at the wave of nausea that swept over her from the movement. She had the flu, it had been coming on for days, everyone could see it…why couldn't Gordo? Slowly she made her way down the hall to her room, banging on the door and calling for Gordo. "Baby, it's me, open the door." She groaned when she didn't hear a reply, and rested her head against the door, breathing heavily as her stomach churned. "Gordo…"
Still no reply.
"You asshole, Gordo, open the goddamn door!"
Nothing.
"Fuck," she turned and ran down the hall to the public bathroom, barely making it inside before she got sick. If there was anything Lizzie hated with a passion, other than Ethan Craft, that is, it was being sick. Fighting back tears, she rinsed out her mouth, before stumbling out the door, leaning against the wall in the hallway, wondering where she was going to go.
"Stop it," Lizzie told herself, banging her head against the wall to clear it. Her head was so foggy, blackness clouding her vision, her knees felt weak, this was just…bad. "Shit," she said an instant before she slid to the floor, her knees giving out under her as she broke out in a cold sweat.
"Lizzie?"
"Go away," she muttered, turning her head away from the soft voice. God, not Ethan. Not now.
"Lizzie, you look awful, let me help," Ethan knelt down in front of her and touched her cheek, forcing her to look at him. "Where's Gordo?"
"Passed out in our room, I guess," Lizzie said weakly. She could barely focus her eyes on Ethan, but she could have sworn she saw, what was that…compassion? No way. Ethan Craft didn't feel compassion towards anyone.
"Come on, you can't spend the night in the hall," ignoring Lizzie's protests, Ethan scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his room, setting her down on his bed.
"Ethan, I can't, I'm gonna," was all Lizzie got out before she threw up again, rolling onto her side just in time to aim for the garbage bin Ethan had managed to grab for her.
"God, you really are sick," Ethan said softly, pressing the back of his palm to her forehead. "Got a fever too."
"I'm fine," she mumbled, as she began to cry, curling up into a ball. This had to be her worst nightmare coming true. Sick as a dog, in Ethan CRAFT's bed, locked out of her own room…just totally and completely helpless.
"Oh Lizzie," he breathed, sitting down next to her and pulling her into a hug. "Shhh, everything's going to be ok," he reassured her, his fingers gently pushing away the soft tendrils of hair that had fallen down and stuck onto her sweaty forehead. How could Gordo just lock her out like that? Couldn't he see she was sick? Jesus, and couldn't he see that…even sick…she was amazing. Maybe it was because she was sick? Lizzie was normally so in control, so strong, it was annoying. But now, like this, she was all soft and vulnerable…he just wanted to take care of her.
"Gordo," Lizzie whispered, clutching Ethan's shirt in her fists as she cried. "Goddamn fucking bastard asshole."
Ethan laughed at the slew of curses that left her throat. Even without any energy at all, she still was able to summon up that amount of anger. It was absolutely adorable. "I should get him, tell him you're here."
"No, I…Ethan…" Lizzie squirmed, and Ethan quickly grabbed the garbage pail for her, holding her head as she threw up again. "I hate this," she gasped, rolling over onto her back and looking up at Ethan sadly.
"I'll call Danny, make him go bang Gordo's door down, ok?" Ethan offered.
Lizzie just nodded, watching as Ethan placed the call. When he hung up the phone, she touched his cheek, a curious expression crossing her face. "Why are you doing this?" She asked softly.
"What do you mean?"
"You hate me."
Ethan's breath nearly stopped at the pain in Lizzie's voice, and he shook his head quickly, "I don't hate you, Lizzie."
"Yes, you do," she insisted, groaning when he pulled her into his body. "Ethan…"
"Shh, let me make you feel better," he commanded, wrapping his arms around her. "Gordo will be here soon."
"You hate me," Lizzie repeated, her body shaking with another sob. "You always have."
Ethan stared at her for a moment, before answering softly, "I thought you hated me."
"Because of the way you treat me…."
"It's fun, that's all."
Lizzie looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes. "You don't hate me?" She sniffled, biting her lip as she realized what she was saying. Jesus, she got sick and became an idiot, didn't she…talking to Ethan about why he hated her? Please…
"No, Lizzie, not at all," Ethan reassured her, smiling when she scowled. "Really."
"I always hoped that someday we'd get along," she whispered, her eyes closing as she began to grow sleepy.
"We will, Lizzie," he told her softly. "We'll get along so well," he smirked, thankful her eyes weren't open to see his face. God, would they ever…
"Good," she murmured, before falling asleep, her head resting peacefully on his chest.
"Where's my girlfriend?" Gordo tore into the room a moment later, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of her curled up in Ethan's arms. "What the fuck!"
"She's sick, Gordo, really sick," Ethan said softly, slowly extricating himself from Lizzie, and getting up. "Get in," he waved to the bed. "I'll sleep out in the lounge, I don't think you should move her."
Gordo looked at Ethan in surprise, before turning his attention back to Lizzie on the bed. "She's sick?"
"Yeah, she is," Ethan replied. He watched Gordo crawl into bed next to Lizzie, wincing slightly at the thought of him sleeping with her in HIS bed. But…it would work well to get Lizzie to trust him, and that was what mattered. "Tell her she'll be all right, ok?"
"She hates being sick," Gordo said softly, looking closely at his girlfriend's tear stained cheeks. "She was crying?"
"Just upset," Ethan nodded. He turned to leave, stopping when Gordo called his name. "What?"
"Here," Gordo threw his room key at Ethan. "No reason for that bed to go wasted."
"Oh," Ethan caught the key, forcing a smile onto his face. Great. They'd sleep in his bed, and he'd sleep….alone…in theirs. Sick. "Thanks."
"No, Ethan," Gordo smiled at him, well aware he'd messed up but good tonight. "Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you, Gordo," Ethan looked at Lizzie, and sighed. "I did it for her."
**********************************************************************