Standard disclaimer, I don't own Lizzie McGuire or any of the Disney characters here, I just like the show and because I liked it so much, I decided to write a story based on it, so if Disney type people read this, please understand I wrote it because I think your characters are great and I love your work so don't sue me.
Chapter 2 - Life Without Lizzie
Gordo had thought things would get easier the longer he was away from Lizzie, but as the months went by he got more and more depressed. He loved Virginia, it was beautiful, but he was not enjoying his life without his best friends and especially without Lizzie. The more he thought about her the more he knew he loved her, it was intoxicating thinking about her, the more he thought about it, the more he missed her.
Gordo's relationship with Lizzie had gone from best friend to pen pal. He tried to be pen pals with Miranda too, but for some reason the communication between the two started slowing, and soon it was only Lizzie who would answer his letters. Although he considered both of them his best friends for some reason keeping in contact with Lizzie was easier then Miranda. On his part he knew it was because he loved her so much, on her part he assumed she was just a good friend.
Things got worse as he went to his local high school in Virginia, he became reclusive and introverted, he made absolutely no friends and started making enemies. His local bullies figured out quick that because he seemed to be pining over something he was a somewhat willing punching bag and they started beating him up in the locker room before and after Gym class.
One day he was so depressed as he stood at the corner of the alleyway that the bus comes down to pick them up as some of the neighborhood kids were again making fun of him that he snapped. Just as the bus was coming down the alley he jumped out into the alley and stood staring at the bus. Just before the bus arrived someone pulled him back out of the alley. He probably wouldn't have been killed, just hurt a little, after all it was an alley and therefore the bus was moving slowly, but he was so depressed that he didn't know what to do anymore.
The bus driver of course reported the incident and later that afternoon he ended up talking to his parents. Now as his father was a psychologist, talking of course took a decidedly Doctor/Patient turn very quickly. His dad had him put into therapy with another doctor and he was there for weeks, never telling anyone that the real reason for his funk was the fact that he missed absolutely everything about Lizzie. He told them that it was because he was being beat up at school, and granted that was a big part of it, but he was just not content to be without lizzie anymore, she was everything to him and she didn't even know it.
One day shortly thereafter in one of his daily beatings at school, he for the first time retaliated and gave the bully a quick punch in the eye. All the times he had been a punching bag a teacher was never around, but as soon as he took a retaliatory swing, a teacher just happened to walk by and saw it. Needless to say, Gordo got suspended from school, the bully just got off.
During his suspension his parents enrolled Gordo into a private school in the area and things started looking up, he got a chance to use his talents and people were nicer. There were only two bullies at this school and they never got physical (except for the end of the year pool party when one of them dunked Gordo so many times that he threw up and they had to evacuate the pool). Yes things were looking better for him but he still missed Lizzie terribly.
His mom later got a job working for an airline and that brought in cheap standby flying. Gordo was so looking forward to his first visit back to Hillridge that he couldn't sleep, he felt sure that when he saw Lizzie there he would tell her how he felt and would this would cure his depression.
When he saw her again all he could think was how beautiful she was, she was absolutely perfect in every way. But he couldn't tell her, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the only thing good in his life was her letters and if she didn't feel the same way she wouldn't write him anymore. He didn't know what he would do without at least her friendship, as that was the only thing that made life worth living for him.
So he spent the entire visit with Lizzie just talking to her and staring at her beauty, he knew it would be a little while before he could come again so he wanted to memorize every inch of her to hold him over until then. It was over far too quickly and he was back in Virginia, pining over her again.