Thanks to everyone's who reviewed! You've been so great sticking with me through this story and over my long hiatus. So, I hope you're enjoying it this far! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gordo quickly walked inside. Though he'd never been close to Matt, he'd felt like within the last couple of hours he'd managed to find a closer connection with the younger guy.
Jo was standing with her husband, a cordless phone in hand. "Should we try Lanny's parents?"
"No, Lanny's family went out of town," Sam stated.
"What about Melina?" he asked.
The frantic parents turned to him curiously. "What?" Jo asked. "Did Matt say something to you, Gordo?"
He shook his head. "I know he wanted to talk to her."
Jo nodded then dialed the phone number. The room was tensely quiet. Lizzie came in from the patio, Miranda and José came from the living room. Jo looked up sadly and shook her head. "No answer."
"Mrs. McGuire, I'm sure I know where Matt went. We were talking about twenty minutes ago. Go ahead and finish dinner, and I'll go find him."
Jo looked over him for a minute, her mouth twisted pensively. She sighed, knowing that she had eleven people to help prepare dinner for. "Take a cell phone and call the moment you find him okay?"
Gordo nodded. His parents handed him the keys, but he shook his head. "I'm not going to waste the gas." He walked towards the door.
"I'll go with him," Lizzie called.
Gordo heard her footsteps behind him. He sighed. Not quite sure if he wanted her to join him or not. He was still at a loss of what he was feeling. He'd been so confident and ready to tell her how he really felt until she'd come home with José, but then, she kept following him.
He stepped outside and briskly walked down the walk. Hey, maybe if telling her how he felt didn't work, he could have her like a pet. 'Aw, pretty Lizzie. . .' Okay, now he'd completely lost his mind. It was amazing how when she completely took over his mind, the way insanity would run unbounded.
"Gordo, wait a second," her voice floated though his head.
With a start, Gordo realized it wasn't floating, it was actually Lizzie, struggling to catch up with him. He stopped and waited until she was along side him.
"Gordo," she asked softly, sticking her hands in her back pocket. "What's going on with you. You're acting strange."
"I'm not," he stated.
"You are," she insisted. "What's been going on inside that head of yours?" She reached up and ran her hands through his hair.
Gordo leaned to the side, just out of her reach. He would not become the tongue tide goof he usually did when she got this close to him.
He avoided talk of what was really on his mind as he babbled about how hungry he was until they finally reached the park.
He saw them right away. Melina was sitting on the table, her legs dangling over the side of the table, Matt was standing inches in front of her.
"There he is," Lizzie muttered, advancing forward.
Gordo suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She didn't realize it, but he could see by their body language, that they were talking about something important, and he was sure he knew what it was.
"Gordo! What are you doing?" she demanded, staring at him.
Gordo glanced over her shoulder back at them then at her. "They need to talk, it's important."
"So important that he had to skip out on dinner and not tell anyone where he was going?" Lizzie sighed. "And how do you know that they need to talk."
"I just do," he answered. he fell silent as he gazed into her eyes. He felt his courage returning. If Matt could do it, why couldn't he? "Lizzie-"
"Gordo! Lizzie!" Matt exclaimed.
Lizzie turned towards her bother, and Gordo let out a low frustrated groan as he tossed his head back. No, no, not again. He'd been interrupted yet again!
With a sigh he followed behind her. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe he should just give up. If he hadn't gotten through it yet, he wasn't going to get through it. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Please read and review!