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

A/N: This Lizzie fanfic is a sequel to my story "Everything at Once."

Chapter 12

LIZZIE'S POV:

"So, what happened, Lizzie?" asked Miranda.

"Well, Claire showed up at Kate's party, Isabella and I sang, Kate got attacked, and then Kate and I became friends again," I said in one breath.

"Whoa, slow down there, partner! Did you say that you and Kate became...friends again?" asked Gordo in amazement.

"I sure did. Everyone deserves a second chance...even Kate. Besides, she is really nice now. She's her old self again," I said.

"How exactly did Kate get attacked? She looked, well let's say different!" exclaimed Miranda.

"Yeah. Claire and her posse ganged up on Kate I guess. Her hair was cut short, and her skirt was torn in the back. She was really embarrassed," I said while looking down. I felt really bad for Kate.

"Kate actually got a taste of her own medicine after all these years?" asked Gordo. He laughed and shook his head.

"Yeah, that must've been something!" exclaimed Miranda laughing. They both started whispering between themselves. I started feeling warm and flustered.

"Maybe we should've showed up!" laughed Miranda, and gave Gordo a high-five.

"The once in a lifetime opportunity to see Kate Sanders humiliated, and we missed it," sighed Gordo. They both laughed.

"You guys! Shut up!" I shouted and pushed them both away. "What are you guys saying? Can't you hear yourselves? You two are acting like heartless barbarians! Kate is nice now. Don't you get it? She's my friend now, and she's as nice as she was before!"

"Are you sure she's not just using you?" asked Miranda.

"For what, Miranda?" I asked. I looked them both in the eyes. They didn't appear to be backing away from their opinion. As for me? I was in a ticked off mood. "You know what, you guys? If you're gonna speak behind Kate's back like that after she just had an awful party, then I can't have anything to do with you!"

I started walking away from them, but Gordo stopped me. "Lizzie...baby, don't go," he pleaded in a soft voice.

"Don't you 'baby' me, David!" I shouted. "Let go of my arm!" He didn't let go. "Let go of my arm!" I yelled once more. I shook his grasp off of me.

"We didn't mean it, Lizzie," said Miranda. "Truly, we didn't."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to offend you," agreed Gordo.

"Well, you did," I whispered. Then a sudden thought occurred to me. "Hey, why did you guys miss the party?"

"We were...uh...hanging out like we told you," said Gordo.

"Yeah," said Miranda.

"Hanging out where?" I asked. "What were you doing that made you 'forget' about the party?"

They were silent. "Where were you?" I asked again.

A blend of noises was heard, as obviously they were both saying something different. Then, they both settled on the Digital Bean. "Yeah, sure," I thought.

"Something's not right here. Where were you really?" I asked again.

"Miranda's house," said Gordo.

"Why did you lie before?" I asked.

"I dunno," said Miranda with her hands in her pocket.

"What were you doing?" I asked. "Just curious." I didn't suspect anything really. I just wanted to see what they would say.

Miranda eyed Gordo, and he said, "...homework."

Homework?! What are they trying to pull? "Homework?" I asked. They nodded. "On a weekend?"

"Uh-uh, yeah! Of course! Homework on a weekend! Who doesn't do...h- homework on a weekend?" asked Miranda quickly.

"What 'kind' of homework is the question," I muttered. Then it struck me all together. Had Gordo been...

"Gordo?" I asked. "You...you weren't...Miranda wasn't...you..." I tried to keep control of myself, but I couldn't. Tears stormed my eyes and I began to slowly turn away. Then I ran. I started running, not even sure where I was going. But that didn't matter. I never thought that Gordo would do such a thing. I always thought I could trust Gordo. It certainly looked like something was up though. At Miranda's house, doing homework. The fact was, that Gordo had cheated on me, and I had caught him in the lie. He was such a bad liar. I had been used! Less than a year together, and he had cheated on me...he had cheated with my best friend. My EX best friend! 'Hanging Out!' Yeah, they sure were.

Right then, I collided with someone. I couldn't tell who it was in the darkness, but the voice sounded familiar.

"Hey," said the voice.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Guess. I know who you are," said the voice.

"You're a guy," I said.

"Well, yeah, I hope you're correct," he laughed. "Party? Jack?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed. Then I remembered exactly who he was. Oh great. Jack.

"What is a pretty thing like you doing all alone at night? I'd think that your boyfriend should be with you...or did he show up?" asked Jack.

Oh. That darn Gordo. "Um, he showed up all right! I mean...what boyfriend?" I asked suddenly.

He laughed. "Ah, I get your drift. Problems, eh?"

"Sure are," I said.

"Someone else?" he asked hesitantly.

Normally, I wouldn't have talked to someone I barely knew like this, but I was so devastated that I wanted to look to someone to comfort. "Yes," I said, "someone who I thought was my best friend."

"It seems like it's friends who bite the worst," he said in a sympathetic voice. "Sorry about that."

I started crying. "I can't believe he'd do this to me!"

"Hush," he said. Then he started rubbing my back. His touch was comforting. "Don't cry, baby. Everything will be fine."

"It's so late now," I said. "I've gotta get home."

"Don't you think you're a little ways away from your home?" he asked. "I wouldn't want you to go searching out at night like this by yourself. There are some bad people out there that would hurt you. My house is right here. Why don't you stay the night, and in the morning, I'll walk you home."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I wouldn't want to impose on you like that."

"Oh no. It's no problem at all! Not for a friend in need," he said.

I thought about it. Jack, earlier had seemed really uncomfortable and all. Now, in the darkness of the night, I felt that I needed someone to comfort me. And surprisingly enough, I felt that comfort suddenly in Jack.

"Sure, I said. I don't see why I couldn't stay. My parents would understand," I said.

"That's a good girl," he said patting me on the back. "Now if you'll take my hand, I'll lead you inside."

He brought me inside the dark house, and turned on the lights. It seemed like a nice, warm home. "Where are your parents?" I asked.

"Parents?" he asked. Then he laughed. "I'm twenty-one. I have this whole house to myself. I came up here to go to college. It's pretty close near Kate's house, so we get to see more of each other. She's a cool cousin."

I gulped. No parents? No parents! That was definitely not...good. The good feeling disappeared.

"Want something to eat?" he asked. "Popcorn, peanuts, cracker jacks?" Then he started laughing. I just stared openly into the air. "Aw, c'mon. You've gotta be hungry for something!" He stared at me and licked his lips. "Cuz, I know I am." Then he started getting closer to me.

"You know what!" I exclaimed. "I'll have the popcorn. And can you make it nice and salty?"

"How about hot and spicy?" he asked with a grin.

"You know what? Salty would be just fine," I said.

"Suit yourself," he said. Then he went to get the popcorn. I felt a sudden burst of relief. I went to go sit on the couch. I was tired. But I didn't want to go asleep. Not with Jack alone with me in the same house. I got up and started looking around his living room. In one corner of the room, were a big bunch of photographs. I looked at the various ones. Photos always seemed to interest me. Jack was surely cute as a baby. That lady holding him must've been his mother. She was very pretty and nice looking. I grabbed another picture that was older of him. He was a very cute guy, and I couldn't believe that I was alone in the house with a twenty-one year old guy. My parents would choke. There were many pictures with him in it, and his family. When I picked one picture up, all of a sudden, a picture fell onto the floor. I picked it up and gasped. I knew that person! He was very familiar looking! It was Paolo! He and Paolo were in the picture together. I suddenly felt a rush of heat throughout my whole body, and my heart started pounding. I quickly shoved the photo back in its place when I heard Jack coming from the kitchen. I ran to the couch and jumped onto it.

He smiled. "Wow! Excited about getting things going?" he asked.

I slightly nodded, not knowing what to do.

"Then what are we waiting for, baby?" he asked. Then, he too got on the couch next to me. I gulped. How could I get away? Now I was done for. I felt really uncomfortable. Now I had to get away. I'd sneak away tonight, when he fell asleep. He put his arm around me and drew me closer to him.

"Oh," he said. "I brought a glass of water for you. You wanted salty popcorn." Then he handed me the glass. I drank it all down, because I was very thirsty.

He started laughing at me. "Thanks," I said. "I was thirsty."

"Anything for you, baby," he said. Then he started rubbing my back. "We're gonna have a great night."

I gulped. Great. Yeah. My head started feeling heavy, and starting bobbing back and forth. I tried not to fall asleep, but before I knew it, I was out like a light.

A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry it took long for an update. But, I gave you a longer than normal chapter. Maybe you know where this one might be going. I hope that you like this chapter. I'm hoping to get the next one up before the end of the week. I know, Lizzie was pretty dumb, but I needed some kind of conflict to work into the story now that the party's over. Please review! I hate to think that this might be getting boring. Please let me know if you're interested, by reviewing! Thank you all!

To artisigirl16, I-luv-roswell, and Ambiecat88: Thanks for the reviews! You people are awesome!

OsuwariTetsusaiga: Yeah, I hope the Rockies do well. The Avs sure got screwed. I'm very sad about that. Thanks for the review!

Piggnaw: Hey! Thanks so much for reviewing! My name's Sarah, and I'm glad that you reviewed my story. Your review meant so much to me, thanks so much for the kind words! I'm flattered, and I hope you keep reading. I used an idea from something you said in your review. So, I have another conflict! Haha! And there's even more coming up next time. Have a great day!