A/N: Wow, OK, so you may be wondering why neither of my stories have been updated in months. Well, the last few weeks of the school year were pretty busy for me (dance recital, school play, etc.), and for the last two weeks, I have been on vacation in South Carolina. But I still don't have a very good excuse, so from now on, NO MORE LOOOOOOONG PERIODS BETWEEN UPDATES!!!

For more on my vacation, see my online diary, which I will soon update with all the details on the last few weeks.

OK, so, at long last, enjoy the ninth chapter!!!!!!!!

P.S.: You will find a very looooooong author's note in the next chapter!!!

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Chapter 9: Dreaming

No POV

Lizzie opened her eyes and looked around. She wasn't really sure what time it was, since their plane had traveled through so many time zones that she couldn't possibly remember which one they were in now. She looked at her watch. Back home in Hillridge, it was 2:10 AM. Outside, everything was dark. Whatever time it was, it had to be nighttime. Closing her eyes without even noticing Gordo tossing and turning beside her, Lizzie nodded off.

Meanwhile, Gordo's dreams were getting crazier by the minute. First a dramatization of a fruit fly eating pancakes, and then a freakish nightmare about psycho clowns running away from the circus in the middle of a storm and, one by one, dying strange, unusual deaths.

Ugh, enough creepy talk. The dreams were getting more interesting, anyway. This one appeared to be set in... Hillridge Junior High. Everyone was standing in front of the wall outside the school. And they were all on stands. And smiling. Kate and Ethan were checking each other's hair. This could only be one thing: the day of the graduation photo.

Next came the sound of the principal barking at them all to stop talking and get ready for the picture. He then stepped aside and left the rest to the photographer.

Gordo knew that everything happening in this dream was just as it had happened on the day that the picture was taken. Which meant that eventually, The Kiss was going to happen.

Yeah, it's sort of stupid, but ever since Lizzie had kissed him on the cheek in the class photo, Gordo had come to call that event The Kiss. In fact, the entire day was The Kiss to him. After that had happened, he'd kind of just walked around in a trance. After making up a dumb excuse to bail on Lizzie, that is. Gordo couldn't even remember the excuse now. But he did remember running home thinking, Lizzie might like me, Lizzie might like me... Oh my God, Lizzie might like me!

Anyways, back to the dream. As the photographer began counting to three, everything started to play in slow motion. Lizzie made him promise that they'd always stick by each other in high school and then, just as the flash went off, she planted that Kiss right onto his left cheek. In the picture, Gordo wound up looking like a total doofus. There Lizzie was, kissing him on the cheek, while he stood there grinning into the camera like an idiot! You'd think that the entire school would be gossiping about this once the pictures came in - after all, it is a pretty juicy story - but they were only interested for about a millisecond. The truth is, they had all known about Gordo's crush on Lizzie since forever, so the fact that Lizzie had decided to like him back was no real surprise.

In reality, Gordo had just made an excuse and run off before Lizzie could say anything to him. But in the dream, he found himself not being able to move. He was frozen to his spot on the stands, and he couldn't help but stare at Lizzie. This girl, this beautiful girl who he'd been staring at just like this for years, had just KISSED him. It was like... like everything had changed in a flash (a camera's flash that is).

When Dream Gordo finally got himself to move, it was toward Lizzie, not away from her. "Lizzie?" he asked softly.

Lizzie turned her head and whispered, "Yes?" She stared back at him, her eyes full of hope and fear and joy and confusion.

"I... I just wanted to say that I like you, and I have since the day you were born, if that's even possible. I know this might sound lame, but you've always been the only girl I've ever really cared about, and I know that you're the only one for me."

Lizzie continued to stand there and stare for a moment. 'Oh my God, she doesn't like me back!' thought Dream Gordo. 'She hates me!'

But it took only a moment for Lizzie to snap out of her daze and walk a few steps closer to Gordo. For a moment, she looked as if she was pondering what to say. She moved her mouth, but no words came out. When she finally got the courage to say what was on her mind, she stepped even closer to Gordo, brushed away a few of his curls, and softly whispered in his ear, "I love you, Gordo."

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A jolt of his chair awoke Gordo instantly. "Lizzie?" he asked groggily, barely able to open his eyes. When he finally looked up, he saw Ethan standing over him with wide, anxious, puppy dog eyes. 'Geez, how did Ethan ever pass middle school?' Gordo thought. 'What's he scared of now, the Boogie Man? This guy should be in kindergarten!'

"Gordo, I think you'd better see something!" Ethan whispered, trying not to wake up Lizzie. "Trust me, this is really, really important!"

'Aw heck, he's still a nice guy!' thought Gordo. No matter how stupid Ethan was, he was still a funny, friendly, and downright compassionate human being. The positives far outweighed the negatives in Ethan's personality.

Groggily, Gordo rose up from his seat and silently slipped past Lizzie. She turned over in her seat, but remained asleep.

"OK, Ethan," whispered Gordo. "What do you need me to see?"

"Well, I would've waited until morning to show you this, but I think it's pretty important... and well, I can't really figure out when morning is in this time zone."

Rolling his eyes, Gordo looked at a paper in Ethan's hand. It was yellowed and torn up in places, but he could clearly make out row after row of neatly written, purple cursive. "Hey, isn't that Miranda's writing?" Gordo asked.

"Yeah, exactly!" Ethan replied. "Miranda wrote this! It's a letter to Lizzie. I found it on the bathroom floor. And I think that Lizzie read it!"

"Wait a minute, where was this letter addressed to?"

"Lizzie's house, I guess."

"Well why do I need to see it? It's Lizzie's letter, not mine."

"But Gor-don, it's about YOU."

"WHAT?" Gordo practically shouted. "Well don't just stand there, gimme that!" He snatched the paper out of Ethan's hand, unfolded it, and began to read.

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Dear Lizzie, OMG, do you know how much I miss you? It's been soooo long! I really wish I could have been at graduation. And I am so totally jealous that you and Gordo are going to ROME! I wish that the Three Amigos weren't apart for the last summer before high school, but at least you guys are together.
So why didn't you send me the graduation picture? Cuz you know, I'd really like to see it. I'm sure you looked awesome (as sure as I am that Gordo didn't even try to wear a special outfit for the occasion!). I really feel like I'm missing out on a lot, what with you guys graduating and going to Italy, while I'm stuck here in Mexico City. I mean, yeah, it's Mexico, which is pretty cool, but I have to be with my parents and cousins and aunts and uncles 24/7, while you get to meet new people and have new experiences and stuff. Maybe you don't realize how lucky you are, but... you are.
Anyways, there's a whole lot of stuff going on out here, but I won't bore you with a whole bunch of Mexican traditions that I barely even understand. I will tell you that the people in my family are obsessed with game shows, and I'm actually starting to understand the language (since I've been watching "El Oro De Montezuma" nonstop).
Lizzie, look. There's something I've gotta tell you, and I'm not really sure how to say it, but... I think that Gordo likes you. And I don't mean he likes you, like a friend likes a friend. What I mean is, he LIKES you. As more than a friend. I know that this sounds cheesier than Stuffed Crust® pizza, but if you ask anyone else, I'm sure that they'll tell you the same. Gordo is head-over-heels in love with you, and everyone can tell.

Maybe this sounds immature, stupid, whatever, but I think that if you just ask him about it, he might tell you the truth. I mean, I don't want our friendship to be broken up by a failed relationship (and it's Gordo, ew!), but if you just ask him, maybe you can convince him to be just friends, to stop LIKE-liking you and start just liking you as the awesome best friend you are.
If you think I'm crazy, whatever, but do me a favor, and just ASK the poor boy - before I do it first!!!
Well, gotta motor. I have to go to this big family dinner that everyone's been planning for the last two weeks. So, I'm outie. See ya!

Your best friend till the end,

Miranda

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"I can't believe this!!!" Gordo exclaimed. "How could Miranda have written this? She actually said that... Wait a minute. Did Lizzie read this? Ethan, DID LIZZIE READ THIS???!!!"

"Chill, Gor-don," Ethan replied, obviously not worried at all anymore. "Look, I don't know if Lizzie read this. Maybe she didn't, for all I know. But if that thing was on this plane, then chances are, Lizzie read it. And I for one feel a lot better knowing that you have seen this, so if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna do this." And without another word, he collapsed onto his chair and was snoring within seconds.

And Gordo was freaking out, big time. "I've gotta find out if Lizzie's read this letter," he said quietly to himself. "And if she hasn't, then I've gotta make sure that she never does!!!"