A/N: I forgot to mention last time, this story won't be too incredibly long. Not sure how many chapters exactly, but I'm probably shooting for ten or less.
Also, in case anyone is interested, I was inspired to write this after attending an awesome (but late, due to being postponed a week) V-Day dance at my own school. I actually wrote the first chapter last night shortly after returning home from it. ^_^ Anyway, now that my useless fun fact of the day is out of the way, you can read!
Disclaimer: I'll only say this one more time; I don't own, you don't sue.
***
This One's For You
CHAPTER TWO
"Hey, sweetie. How was school?" Jo McGuire greeted her daughter as she entered the kitchen. Lizzie set her purse down on the counter and smiled.
"Oh, you know," she said. "School. Nothing special."
"So all that money and they're not teaching you a single thing?" Jo mused. "Hmm. Maybe we should just pull you right out of there."
"Hey, wow! Mom said something...cool!" Lizzie joked. Jo just shot Lizzie a look while smiling and nudged her gently.
"But I did find out about a dance on Valentine's Day," Lizzie said as she opened the fridge. "You know...not a formal thing, just...a dance. There were flyers for it all over."
"A dance, huh?" Jo wiped down the counter near the sink with a dishcloth. "Sounds fun, honey. Are Gordo and Miranda going?"
"Yeah." Lizzie shut the fridge and poured herself a glass of water. She swallowed down some of it and wiped her mouth politely with her hand. "Where's everyone else?"
Jo gently brushed past her daughter and opened the fridge, removing a frozen pizza from the freezer. "Oh, you're dad's still at the office till about five, and Matt's at Lanny's...'studying for our science test tomorrow, Mom'..." She rolled her eyes as she set the frosty pizza on the counter.
Lizzie snorted. "My brother the genius," she said. "He got a whopping total of, like, 63 on the last one, didn't he?"
"That would have been great...but try a 57."
"Ooh."
Lizzie finished her water, picked up her bag and turned to leave when Jo added, "Oh, and sweetie, Miranda called, at about 3." Miranda's mom usually came to pick her up after school, so she always returned home pretty early. Lizzie, however, had ridden the bus this particular afternoon, bringing her home around 3:15. (A/N- School gets out at 2:45, mmkay?)
"Oh, okay," Lizzie replied. "Thanks, Mommy." Mommy? Hmm, oh well. She felt particularly happy this afternoon. She wasn't really sure why.
"You're welcome, sweetheart." Jo smiled warmly at her daughter.
As Lizzie headed for the stairs, she opened her purse and dug through it for her Cherry Blow Pop flavored chapstick. (A/N- LOVE that stuff!) As she did, she found Gordo's school picture between her fingers. She smiled warmly down at it. That's why, she thought.
Clasping the picture between her fingers still, Lizzie bounced up the stairs quickly and entered her bedroom. Tossing her purse down on her bed, she grabbed up the cordless phone and dialed Miranda's number at the speed of light, then placed the phone next to her ear. It rang twice before Mrs. Sanchez's voice came onto the line.
"Hello?" Daniela's greeting was light and happy, as her voice was most of the time.
"Hi, Mrs. Sanchez, is Miranda there?"
"This must be Lizzie, right?"
"Yep," Lizzie responded, gazing down at the small photo of Gordo she held.
"Oh, well, I guess I shouldn't have even asked, huh?" Daniela laughed. "All right, honey, I'll get her. Miranda!" Her accent was clear in her voice, which she heard echo in what must have been their kitchen as she called her daughter.
Soon enough, she could hear Miranda approaching, and then it was her own voice that replaced her mother's.
"Hey Liz, what's up?"
"Hey Miranda. My mom said you called earlier."
"Oh, yeah, I did. Hold on." Miranda paused, then added, "I'm going to my room."
"Okay," Lizzie said.
Soon, Lizzie heard a door close. "'Kay," Miranda said.
"Why'd you go into your room?" Lizzie asked her.
"Well, I kinda had something I wanted to talk about that happened today in seventh period that I forgot to tell you about. I kinda got...I dunno. Sidetracked or something. But anyway, I just needed to tell you, and I didn't want my parents questioning me about it in case they overheard."
"What is it?" Lizzie combed her fingers through her straight blonde hair. She moved from the edge of her bed over to her computer desk, where she switched it on.
"Well...okay, remember last year when I had my party? Well, obviously you do," Miranda began.
"Yeah, how could I forget?" Lizzie laughed.
"Well, um, you know how...how I kinda...danced with...you know..."
"Larry," Lizzie finished, pausing. "Is this about him?"
"Well, uh, yeah," Miranda responded. "See, uh, today in seventh period, he...asked me...to the dance."
Lizzie's eyes widened. "What? Larry? He...asked you? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am." Miranda was quiet for a minute. "He wrote me a note, too."
"A note?" Lizzie clicked onto the Sims and waited for it to load. "What did it say?"
"Not much," Miranda replied. "It just said, 'Tell me what you think by tomorrow. Don't take it too seriously, it's no big deal. Larry.'" She paused. "It's kinda...strange. Larry doesn't seem like the note-writing type."
"Wow." Lizzie drummed her fingers on the desk, still waiting patiently for the game to finish loading. "So...have you thought about it?"
"I...kind of," Miranda said, uncertainly. "I don't know what to say! That's why I called you, Lizzie. I need help."
"Okay, well, that's what I'm here for." The Sims finally loaded completely, and Lizzie picked the 'Gordon' family to play with - she, Gordo, and their fraternal twins with light brown hair and cute clothes. She smiled to herself.
"So, any thoughts on it?" Miranda questioned. Lizzie heard the sound of rustling paper as her friend fondled the note from Larry.
"Well... at the party... didn't you two get along... pretty well?" Lizzie asked. "You danced together, and you didn't set a certain length that had to be between the two of you at all times." She giggled, remembering the eighth-grade project in Mr. Digg's class.
Miranda laughed. "You're right," she said. She paused for a second. "Liz, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but...Larry, he's...really not that bad," she added.
Lizzie shrugged. "Not so much, if you don't count his crazy sci-fi type addictions to stuff and all that," she laughed. "But seriously...I don't think you're crazy. In fact, you and Larry...okay, now THIS may sound crazy, but...you guys actually look kinda...cute together."
Miranda laughed. "Thanks, Lizzie," she said. "I...I mean, that helps a lot. I felt really weird for actually considering going to the dance with him, but, not so much anymore. I mean, ever since we started high school, he has kinda changed a little, hasn't he? I mean, he wears different shirts now, for a start." She giggled.
Lizzie laughed. "Definitely a step up from before," she said. She took a deep breath. "I think if you really wanna go with him, Miranda, you should."
"For real?" Miranda asked softly.
"Yep."
Lizzie could feel her best friend smiling on the other end. "Thanks, Liz," she said. "See, this is one of the reasons I love you so much."
"Thanks," Lizzie laughed. "Anytime."
"Hey, listen, I'm gonna get online, so you get on too and we can talk more," Miranda said.
"Okay," Lizzie said. "Talk to you in a few, then."
"Yep," Miranda said. "Bye for now."
"See ya." Lizzie clicked off the phone and placed it aside.
She'd been playing the Sims for a few minutes when she closed out of it and signed onto AIM. As soon as her buddy list popped up, one of Miranda's screen names appeared online. Lizzie clicked on it and sent her an IM.
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: hey, long time no talk huh??
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: yeah, its been almost too long
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: haha
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: lol
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: i'm still confused :-\
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: still? I think u should!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: yeah... it's just something really... new?? idk, it's kinda scary in a way
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: I know...but the worst that could happen is um....it doesnt work out...but hey!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: lol thanks liz
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: sorry Miranda...seriously, do it
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: u think so?
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: yes!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: ok
cRzYLiLsAnChEz: well then.... I guess I'll write him back.... I'm writing it right now...
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: good!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: thanks Lizzie...ur probably one of few who could make me not feel stupid about this
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: anytime :-D
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: well I wish I could stay b/c I need someone to talk to about all this still, but if I wanna get my cash this week I g2g help mami with the dinner stuff
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: okay, ttyl... call me l8r and tell me what ur thinkin and stuff, k?
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: alrighty...thanx again... Luv you
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: luv ya too!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: buh-bye
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07 signed off at 4:31:08 PM.
Lizzie bit her lip. She could only hope she'd given Miranda the right advice. Would she and Larry really make a good match, or would it all screw up?
She sighed. How bad could it be? Larry obviously liked Miranda. Miranda obviously didn't think he was quite the huge Dwarflord nerd he'd always been before.
Lizzie scrolled through her buddy list, and, after finding that few people worth talking to were online, put up an away message and switched off the monitor. She went over to her stereo, sifted through her CDs and picked out Now 14. She put it into her stereo, and as the first track began, she flopped down onto her bed and began working on her homework. Forty-five minutes passed quicker than she'd anticipated and before she knew it, her mother's voice carried up the stairs, calling her daughter down to dinner.
***
Miranda lay on her bed, flipping through the newest issue of YM she'd received in the mail today. She was singing along with Britney's "Toxic" on the radio, gazing at photos of shirtless hotties in the Last Boy Standing contest section, and doing everything she could to block out... him.
Larry.
Too bad it wasn't exactly working.
Miranda thought about her earlier phone and AIM conversations with Lizzie. Lizzie McGuire, so kind and generous and always ready with advice. She loved Lizzie to death, but...she was so confused!
Confusion...Dwarflord was a really confusing game. Larry plays Dwarflord. Larry Tudgeman...his eyes are really blue, his hair is nice this year; Larry...
STOP!!! Miranda's mind screamed.
She sat up, nearly tearing her magazine in half. "You...are...LOSING IT!" she told herself.
But, was she? She had, after all, not totally ruled out going to the dance with Larry as a possibility. Had he not changed some since eighth grade...uh, she probably wouldn't be pondering this at all.
But he was so...nice! Courteous, generous, he showed interest in her, and his looks had improved. That, if nothing else, was a plus.
Ughhhh! Why were guys so freaking hard?!? They shouldn't be! SHOULD NOT!
Miranda closed the magazine and looked around the room. She jumped off her bed, grabbed her CD player off her dresser, and popped her personalized mix CD. Putting on her headphones, she climbed up onto her bed, turned on the player and blasted the music as loud as it would go. She began to jump furiously up and down on her bed, amongst a pile of pillows, as the music blared out of her headphones into her ears.
It was beginning to help.
"Another day is going by,
I'm thinking about you all the time
But you're out there
And I'm here waiting..."
Huh? Okay, this song was reminding her of...things. And that wasn't good.
She switched it to the next track. Shakira. "Whenever, Wherever." Yeah, it was a good song. Till the chorus started up...
"Whenever, wherever,
We're meant to be together..."
STOP! Now!
Miranda turned off her CD player and pulled off the headphones, letting them fall down around her neck in defeat. Sinking onto her bed, she picked up a star-shaped pillow from Delia's and tossed it to the floor in frusteration.
"Whyyy?" she moaned to herself. Everything reminded her of him!
Still...
She kinda...liked...it.
The worst part of the whole ordeal was the desicion. It was a stressful one, because Larry was, well, Larry.
Jumbled tidbits began pulsating through Miranda's jam-packed mind again...
"You guys look cute together... a step up from before... I think you should... different shirts... I'm thinkin' about you all the time... seriously, do it... we're meant to be together...."
Miranda bit her lip. Her eyes fell on the note from Larry, folded and sitting on her desk near her phone.
It was all she really needed.
She jumped up, grabbed up her phone, and began to dial.
***
That's it, chapter two! Hope you liked. You know the deal, R/R. Sorry it took a little while, I've been preoccupied. Stick around for the third installment, coming your way ASAP. =D
Also, in case anyone is interested, I was inspired to write this after attending an awesome (but late, due to being postponed a week) V-Day dance at my own school. I actually wrote the first chapter last night shortly after returning home from it. ^_^ Anyway, now that my useless fun fact of the day is out of the way, you can read!
Disclaimer: I'll only say this one more time; I don't own, you don't sue.
***
This One's For You
CHAPTER TWO
"Hey, sweetie. How was school?" Jo McGuire greeted her daughter as she entered the kitchen. Lizzie set her purse down on the counter and smiled.
"Oh, you know," she said. "School. Nothing special."
"So all that money and they're not teaching you a single thing?" Jo mused. "Hmm. Maybe we should just pull you right out of there."
"Hey, wow! Mom said something...cool!" Lizzie joked. Jo just shot Lizzie a look while smiling and nudged her gently.
"But I did find out about a dance on Valentine's Day," Lizzie said as she opened the fridge. "You know...not a formal thing, just...a dance. There were flyers for it all over."
"A dance, huh?" Jo wiped down the counter near the sink with a dishcloth. "Sounds fun, honey. Are Gordo and Miranda going?"
"Yeah." Lizzie shut the fridge and poured herself a glass of water. She swallowed down some of it and wiped her mouth politely with her hand. "Where's everyone else?"
Jo gently brushed past her daughter and opened the fridge, removing a frozen pizza from the freezer. "Oh, you're dad's still at the office till about five, and Matt's at Lanny's...'studying for our science test tomorrow, Mom'..." She rolled her eyes as she set the frosty pizza on the counter.
Lizzie snorted. "My brother the genius," she said. "He got a whopping total of, like, 63 on the last one, didn't he?"
"That would have been great...but try a 57."
"Ooh."
Lizzie finished her water, picked up her bag and turned to leave when Jo added, "Oh, and sweetie, Miranda called, at about 3." Miranda's mom usually came to pick her up after school, so she always returned home pretty early. Lizzie, however, had ridden the bus this particular afternoon, bringing her home around 3:15. (A/N- School gets out at 2:45, mmkay?)
"Oh, okay," Lizzie replied. "Thanks, Mommy." Mommy? Hmm, oh well. She felt particularly happy this afternoon. She wasn't really sure why.
"You're welcome, sweetheart." Jo smiled warmly at her daughter.
As Lizzie headed for the stairs, she opened her purse and dug through it for her Cherry Blow Pop flavored chapstick. (A/N- LOVE that stuff!) As she did, she found Gordo's school picture between her fingers. She smiled warmly down at it. That's why, she thought.
Clasping the picture between her fingers still, Lizzie bounced up the stairs quickly and entered her bedroom. Tossing her purse down on her bed, she grabbed up the cordless phone and dialed Miranda's number at the speed of light, then placed the phone next to her ear. It rang twice before Mrs. Sanchez's voice came onto the line.
"Hello?" Daniela's greeting was light and happy, as her voice was most of the time.
"Hi, Mrs. Sanchez, is Miranda there?"
"This must be Lizzie, right?"
"Yep," Lizzie responded, gazing down at the small photo of Gordo she held.
"Oh, well, I guess I shouldn't have even asked, huh?" Daniela laughed. "All right, honey, I'll get her. Miranda!" Her accent was clear in her voice, which she heard echo in what must have been their kitchen as she called her daughter.
Soon enough, she could hear Miranda approaching, and then it was her own voice that replaced her mother's.
"Hey Liz, what's up?"
"Hey Miranda. My mom said you called earlier."
"Oh, yeah, I did. Hold on." Miranda paused, then added, "I'm going to my room."
"Okay," Lizzie said.
Soon, Lizzie heard a door close. "'Kay," Miranda said.
"Why'd you go into your room?" Lizzie asked her.
"Well, I kinda had something I wanted to talk about that happened today in seventh period that I forgot to tell you about. I kinda got...I dunno. Sidetracked or something. But anyway, I just needed to tell you, and I didn't want my parents questioning me about it in case they overheard."
"What is it?" Lizzie combed her fingers through her straight blonde hair. She moved from the edge of her bed over to her computer desk, where she switched it on.
"Well...okay, remember last year when I had my party? Well, obviously you do," Miranda began.
"Yeah, how could I forget?" Lizzie laughed.
"Well, um, you know how...how I kinda...danced with...you know..."
"Larry," Lizzie finished, pausing. "Is this about him?"
"Well, uh, yeah," Miranda responded. "See, uh, today in seventh period, he...asked me...to the dance."
Lizzie's eyes widened. "What? Larry? He...asked you? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am." Miranda was quiet for a minute. "He wrote me a note, too."
"A note?" Lizzie clicked onto the Sims and waited for it to load. "What did it say?"
"Not much," Miranda replied. "It just said, 'Tell me what you think by tomorrow. Don't take it too seriously, it's no big deal. Larry.'" She paused. "It's kinda...strange. Larry doesn't seem like the note-writing type."
"Wow." Lizzie drummed her fingers on the desk, still waiting patiently for the game to finish loading. "So...have you thought about it?"
"I...kind of," Miranda said, uncertainly. "I don't know what to say! That's why I called you, Lizzie. I need help."
"Okay, well, that's what I'm here for." The Sims finally loaded completely, and Lizzie picked the 'Gordon' family to play with - she, Gordo, and their fraternal twins with light brown hair and cute clothes. She smiled to herself.
"So, any thoughts on it?" Miranda questioned. Lizzie heard the sound of rustling paper as her friend fondled the note from Larry.
"Well... at the party... didn't you two get along... pretty well?" Lizzie asked. "You danced together, and you didn't set a certain length that had to be between the two of you at all times." She giggled, remembering the eighth-grade project in Mr. Digg's class.
Miranda laughed. "You're right," she said. She paused for a second. "Liz, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but...Larry, he's...really not that bad," she added.
Lizzie shrugged. "Not so much, if you don't count his crazy sci-fi type addictions to stuff and all that," she laughed. "But seriously...I don't think you're crazy. In fact, you and Larry...okay, now THIS may sound crazy, but...you guys actually look kinda...cute together."
Miranda laughed. "Thanks, Lizzie," she said. "I...I mean, that helps a lot. I felt really weird for actually considering going to the dance with him, but, not so much anymore. I mean, ever since we started high school, he has kinda changed a little, hasn't he? I mean, he wears different shirts now, for a start." She giggled.
Lizzie laughed. "Definitely a step up from before," she said. She took a deep breath. "I think if you really wanna go with him, Miranda, you should."
"For real?" Miranda asked softly.
"Yep."
Lizzie could feel her best friend smiling on the other end. "Thanks, Liz," she said. "See, this is one of the reasons I love you so much."
"Thanks," Lizzie laughed. "Anytime."
"Hey, listen, I'm gonna get online, so you get on too and we can talk more," Miranda said.
"Okay," Lizzie said. "Talk to you in a few, then."
"Yep," Miranda said. "Bye for now."
"See ya." Lizzie clicked off the phone and placed it aside.
She'd been playing the Sims for a few minutes when she closed out of it and signed onto AIM. As soon as her buddy list popped up, one of Miranda's screen names appeared online. Lizzie clicked on it and sent her an IM.
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: hey, long time no talk huh??
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: yeah, its been almost too long
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: haha
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: lol
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: i'm still confused :-\
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: still? I think u should!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: yeah... it's just something really... new?? idk, it's kinda scary in a way
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: I know...but the worst that could happen is um....it doesnt work out...but hey!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: lol thanks liz
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: sorry Miranda...seriously, do it
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: u think so?
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: yes!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: ok
cRzYLiLsAnChEz: well then.... I guess I'll write him back.... I'm writing it right now...
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: good!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: thanks Lizzie...ur probably one of few who could make me not feel stupid about this
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: anytime :-D
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: well I wish I could stay b/c I need someone to talk to about all this still, but if I wanna get my cash this week I g2g help mami with the dinner stuff
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: okay, ttyl... call me l8r and tell me what ur thinkin and stuff, k?
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: alrighty...thanx again... Luv you
BlOnDiEsAStAr17: luv ya too!
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07: buh-bye
cRzYLiLsAnChEz07 signed off at 4:31:08 PM.
Lizzie bit her lip. She could only hope she'd given Miranda the right advice. Would she and Larry really make a good match, or would it all screw up?
She sighed. How bad could it be? Larry obviously liked Miranda. Miranda obviously didn't think he was quite the huge Dwarflord nerd he'd always been before.
Lizzie scrolled through her buddy list, and, after finding that few people worth talking to were online, put up an away message and switched off the monitor. She went over to her stereo, sifted through her CDs and picked out Now 14. She put it into her stereo, and as the first track began, she flopped down onto her bed and began working on her homework. Forty-five minutes passed quicker than she'd anticipated and before she knew it, her mother's voice carried up the stairs, calling her daughter down to dinner.
***
Miranda lay on her bed, flipping through the newest issue of YM she'd received in the mail today. She was singing along with Britney's "Toxic" on the radio, gazing at photos of shirtless hotties in the Last Boy Standing contest section, and doing everything she could to block out... him.
Larry.
Too bad it wasn't exactly working.
Miranda thought about her earlier phone and AIM conversations with Lizzie. Lizzie McGuire, so kind and generous and always ready with advice. She loved Lizzie to death, but...she was so confused!
Confusion...Dwarflord was a really confusing game. Larry plays Dwarflord. Larry Tudgeman...his eyes are really blue, his hair is nice this year; Larry...
STOP!!! Miranda's mind screamed.
She sat up, nearly tearing her magazine in half. "You...are...LOSING IT!" she told herself.
But, was she? She had, after all, not totally ruled out going to the dance with Larry as a possibility. Had he not changed some since eighth grade...uh, she probably wouldn't be pondering this at all.
But he was so...nice! Courteous, generous, he showed interest in her, and his looks had improved. That, if nothing else, was a plus.
Ughhhh! Why were guys so freaking hard?!? They shouldn't be! SHOULD NOT!
Miranda closed the magazine and looked around the room. She jumped off her bed, grabbed her CD player off her dresser, and popped her personalized mix CD. Putting on her headphones, she climbed up onto her bed, turned on the player and blasted the music as loud as it would go. She began to jump furiously up and down on her bed, amongst a pile of pillows, as the music blared out of her headphones into her ears.
It was beginning to help.
"Another day is going by,
I'm thinking about you all the time
But you're out there
And I'm here waiting..."
Huh? Okay, this song was reminding her of...things. And that wasn't good.
She switched it to the next track. Shakira. "Whenever, Wherever." Yeah, it was a good song. Till the chorus started up...
"Whenever, wherever,
We're meant to be together..."
STOP! Now!
Miranda turned off her CD player and pulled off the headphones, letting them fall down around her neck in defeat. Sinking onto her bed, she picked up a star-shaped pillow from Delia's and tossed it to the floor in frusteration.
"Whyyy?" she moaned to herself. Everything reminded her of him!
Still...
She kinda...liked...it.
The worst part of the whole ordeal was the desicion. It was a stressful one, because Larry was, well, Larry.
Jumbled tidbits began pulsating through Miranda's jam-packed mind again...
"You guys look cute together... a step up from before... I think you should... different shirts... I'm thinkin' about you all the time... seriously, do it... we're meant to be together...."
Miranda bit her lip. Her eyes fell on the note from Larry, folded and sitting on her desk near her phone.
It was all she really needed.
She jumped up, grabbed up her phone, and began to dial.
***
That's it, chapter two! Hope you liked. You know the deal, R/R. Sorry it took a little while, I've been preoccupied. Stick around for the third installment, coming your way ASAP. =D