Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Chapter 3

Always remember who your friends are. If you want to retain those friends, then treat them right. It may end up that your friends won't always be there for you to take them for granted. I myself, learned this the hard way. But when the tables were turned, it got even harder.

Miranda and Gordo started talking more regularly. Every time I'd try to get a word in edgewise, Gordo would just change the subject. I got angry and frustrated time and time again. I wanted to talk to Miranda sometimes, but that never happened. Gordo was always with us, hogging my time with Miranda, and she didn't seem to mind. In fact, I wondered if Miranda liked Gordo. The more I thought about it though, the more I thought that she just liked getting some attention from a guy...and she didn't care just as long as a guy paid attention to her.

Typically, Gordo would yell if girls talked girl-talk. He'd threaten to leave the room. But soon, Gordo changed his ways...he became more...more girly? Whenever I'd start talking girl-talk, or say "Whatever!" etc, he'd mimic my every move and then laugh. I found it very weird that he'd want to copy the motions of a girl, but it certainly made my life more interesting to say the least. This is where the "Always be true to yourself" theme comes along. Many people would think of Gordo as the last person on earth to ever mimic anyone's style...especially a girl's style. The one thing he didn't change about himself was the way dressed. Praise God that he didn't start cross-dressing! That would've been a clearly visible transition. Something about him though, made him feel more fun to be around. He seemed to me to be cooler and we got along smoother...for a while at least. Now looking at it, I realized how stupid it was, and how much he screwed up himself when he changed his way for almost everything that was a part of him. But then, he felt different. I realized that I identified with him more because of the way he changed himself. I felt like I could talk about shopping for hours, and he wouldn't get bored. He'd joke around about his nails, and how he dressed. For a while I thought it was funny. Then I started to worry about how he must've been changing himself for a reason. It dawned on me that he must have been changing himself for Miranda. My theory was that he figured since Miranda liked the way I acted, in order for Miranda to like him better, he had to change himself to fit my personality.

Never ever change yourself. It's the biggest mistake anyone can make. And the biggest thing is that, you make a fool of yourself. People will notice the change. Some may like you better for it, and others won't. Chances are that the people who care for you the most, will miss your old self very much. Just think about it. Which group of people will always be by your side no matter what?

I don't think Gordo realized exactly what he had done to himself, but I think that Miranda did. She would look at him sometimes and wonder what the heck he was doing. Pretty soon though, she caught on, and actually liked it. She'd laugh every time he'd act that way...and that inspired him to make an even bigger fool of himself.

One year, around the Christmas holidays, my family decided to pair up with the Sanchez's and the Gordons' for a family vacation trip. I didn't really want to see Gordo coming along, knowing that he'd probably take all of my time with Miranda. Our families thought that Disneyland would be a fun destination. Just to keep Matt happy, Melina and Lanny were invited to come along. Both did, and I knew that it would be some vacation.

Not to go over in great detail through the whole thing, but the summary of the whole visit was: Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda are friends, they all walk into the park, Gordo and Miranda talk all together, Lizzie gets ditched as Miranda and Gordo run off and have fun, while leaving poor Lizzie behind to go on all of the rides by herself. It was great fun. Wahoo.

My whole trip was ruined because of them. I saw them later on while I was in line to go on a train ride. I looked back and saw them in line a ways in back of me. They didn't even notice me. Finally, when they did, I didn't even wave back. I gave them the cold shoulder, and was very angry about the way they had treated me.

Our families rejoined later that day for dinner. I, of course, wanted to stay back at the motel and ignore my "friends." They hadn't treated me much like friends. I never wanted to see them again. I think that they sensed that I was angry with them, and they'd try to talk to me. I kept the smile away from my face, and ignored them to the best of my abilities.

When asked later about my experience at Disneyland, I said, "It was great, but it could've been a whole lot better." Believe me, going on the rides by yourself is no fun.

A/N: Sorry I didn't update in so long. I don't know why I haven't. No excuse this time! Just laziness. Please review and tell me what ya think. This story won't last too much longer I don't think. It's be less than 10 chapters that's for sure. Maybe less that 6.

Thanks to lvfgd, Tanguay18, Black Knight 03, and I3itterSweet for your reviews. They made me happy and gave me a lot of encouragement!

I promote underage drinking: I don't mind if you don't like my story, but please tell me why you don't like it so that maybe I could improve upon my writing.