Disclaimer: Don't own, so don't sue.
Part III
"Lizzie, you've got to wake up! Lizzie! Lizzie!"
Lizzie woke to a loud hammering noise. At first she was startled and disoriented, but soon she realized it was someone pounding urgently on the door of her hotel room.
"What–is–that–sound?" grumbled an irritable Kate as she immerged from her bedding.
Lizzie was hurriedly slipping into her bathrobe. She tied the sash and shuffled quickly to the door.
"Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie!"
Whoever was out there was certainly intent on being let in. She opened the door and was vaguely surprised to see Gordo on the threshold, but not quite as surprised as she was a few minutes later.
"Lizzie," he panted, falling forward into the room. Lizzie jumped to the side and narrowly avoided being plowed into by Gordo. He re-adjusted himself quickly, but he was no less jumpy and anxious.
"Gordo, what's up?" she asked, curious as to his unexpected adrenaline rush, and concerned that something had his this upset. Gordo was usually the one who restrained himself from freaking out during crisises.
"This is bad, Lizzie, this is bad."
"What?" she asked, again. "What?"
"Don't freak out-" he began. He was interrupted just as Lizzie was thinking how she wasn't really the person Gordo should be advising not to "freak out."
"Look," Kate interrupted, coming over to them, looking quite a sight with her hair all pinned up and frizzy. "I'm sure what ever Gor-dork here has to share is terribly important, but do you think you could keep it down, like, a lot. Either shut up, or go somewhere else. I need my beauty sleep, and I'm not going to get it if you continue freaking out over here."
"Sorry," Lizzie said to her, but she was cut short as Gordo grabbed her arm and strode across the room, stuffing her into the bathroom and following her in. He closed the door and locked it.
"Okay," he began again. "Don't freak out." She barely had time to even consider asking "about what" before Gordo held up an Italian tabloid. Not herself being fluent in Italian, she was unable to decipher any of the writing, but the headline article was pretty clear: on the front of the magazine, in full color, was a picture of the precious lip-lock Lizzie and Gordo had shared before on the roof of the hotel.
There was a two-second delay, during which time the following crossed Lizzie mind in a loop: ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh.
Like clockwork, as soon as the two seconds were up, the screaming began.
"Gordo!" Lizzie cried shrilly. "That's us! That's us! And we're–we're–how did they get that picture? Why would they–and they, they–they put us on the–Ohmigosh, Gordo, that's us!"
"I know!" he said. "I know!"
"This is bad, Gordo, this is really bad…now everyone's going to know that we…ohmigosh…I can't believe this…how could this, why would, how could…"
Her knees had given out and she was now perched shakily on the edge of the bathtub.
"I know," Gordo said miserably, sinking down beside her.
"What are we going to do?" Lizzie asked, not really directing it towards Gordo in particular. Subconsciously, she began playing with one of Gordo's locks of brown hair. The pulled it out straight, then let it spring back. Gordo crossed his eyes and looked up at her, wondering at her sudden interest in his hair.
"Look, Lizzie," he said, putting his hand up to stop her. She seemed surprised to find that she had been playing with his hair, a bit more surprise, maybe, that they were so close to holding hands. Gordo noticed this and retracted his own hand immediately.
"Look. There's not much we can do about this," ("Except maybe leave the country," Lizzie interjected.) "so we might as well live with it and try as best we can to ignore it."
"Right," Lizzie said, not really sure she could do so. She rose from her perch on the bathtub, unlocked the door and padded out into the main room. After Gordo had retreated to his own hotel room, Kate jumped on Lizzie.
"So what was the big emergency?" Kate wanted to know.
Lizzie held up a copy of the tabloid Gordo had left with her.
"You kissed!" Kate shrieked, thinking immediately that her prodding and pushing of Lizzie and her relationship with Gordo had been a success.
"Yeah!" Lizzie said irritatedly. "And now the whole country knows it."
"Yeah, well, there's that," Kate agreed lightly. "But just think: you kissed! This is a huge step in your relationship. I'm so proud of you!"
"Thanks," Lizzie said glumly.
"Oh come on," Kate said, rolling her eyes at Lizzie. "Don't tell me you're actually upset about this." Lizzie looked at her as if she were incompetent and incapable of comprehending. "Seriously," Kate went on. "What's the big deal? So the tabloid caught you and Gordo smooching it up on the roof" (here Lizzie made to protest that she and Gordo were not "smooching it up," but Kate glossed over her words smoothly and kept talking) "so what? So they think he's your boyfriend. So what? Don't tell me this isn't what you've wanted since the fourth grade."
Lizzie seemed to have frozen at these last words.
"Lizzie?" Kate asked, waving a manicured hand in front of Lizzie dazed eyes. "Right?"
A Note: Sorry it's been so long, people! I hope you like this anyway! I tried to make it a little longer to make up for being gone for so long, although I know I'd have to write about eighty-three feet of each story to fully make up for not writing, which, quite frankly, isn't going to happen. Let's face it: some plot lines can only go so far. Haha, wow, I'm really not all that funny today. Anyway, no matter. Enjoy the story, send a review, or not, email me, or not, but remember this: the only rules that really apply are these, what a man can do, and what a man can't do (ahhh…pirate truths…gotta love 'em).
Love to all my readers!
~Bethany*Katherine~
