A/N: haha, can you say long time, no update? I can! Okay, here's chapter 17, sorry for the extremely long wait, and thanks so much for the reviews. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter of Back to the Beginning written soon, so that I can keep updating at the same time! I have another story in mind, but we'll have to wait and see how my schedule is.

The Prince You Charmed

Chapter 17: The Truth

"So," Miranda chirped, a few days later, "Gordo gets released today," she informed both Kate and Lizzie.

"That's great," Lizzie said a bright smile on her face. "Is he still really mad at me?"

Miranda shrugged. "I haven't talked to him about you, I'm going over to his house after school, to talk. You could come, if you wanted."

Lizzie shook her head, declining the offer. "Nah, I don't think that's such a great idea. He's really upset with me."

Miranda shot Lizzie a sympathetic look, as Kate sat quietly. "I know, Liz. But I'm going to try to talk some sense into him."

"I don't think it'll help Miranda."

Miranda shrugged again. "You never know. It could."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, doubting that anything Miranda said to Gordo would make him less mad at Lizzie. But, not feeling like arguing with her, Lizzie kept her mouth closed. She had a feeling that the only way to make Gordo not mad, would be to do it herself, not having someone else do the talking for her. The only problem, was that Lizzie was to afraid to talk to him.

Whether it was because she was afraid of what he would say, afraid of what she would say, or whether it was that she was afraid of how he felt about her, or even how she felt about him, she didn't know. All she knew, was that she was afraid.

She ran her hands through her golden blonde hair. Her hair glittered happily in the sun, making Lizzie seem like the average carefree teenager that you see at the beginning of most movies. But she wasn't, her mind was nothing but a jumbled mess. A mess that she knew she had to fix, but had no clue how.

With her mind dwelling on the situation, Lizzie wanted to burst into tears. She knew that if Gordo was released and still mad at her, she had a good chance of losing both of her best friends. Miranda wouldn't possibly leave Gordo's friendship behind, not when he hadn't ever done anything really wrong.

She frantically pushed back the tears that were forming in her eyes. Lizzie had told herself the day that Gordo had woken up, that she had to be strong. She couldn't go around crying anymore. It was the same day that she promised herself that she'd make Gordo forgive her.

"You know, Miranda, you can talk to him, but I really think it's me that has to do it."

"So, are you going to talk to him with me?"

Lizzie's eyes widened. "No way."

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Then how on earth are you going to fix things."

Lizzie let a low sigh slide out of her mouth. "Don't worry about it, I'll figure something out. But do me a favor?"

The Hispanic girl nodded earnestly. "Anything, you name it."

Lizzie nodded, but stayed silent for a few more minutes. "Promise me that we'll always stay friends, even if Gordo never forgives me."

Miranda shot her best friend an alarmed look. "Of course, Lizzie. Always. But why wouldn't he ever forgive you?"

Lizzie shook her head, not really wanting to talk about it, but knowing that she had to. "The other day, he-he was really, really mad, Miranda. He wouldn't even talk to me for awhile, and when he did, he had this horribly bitter tone to his voice. I've never heard it before, never in my entire life."

Miranda stared at Lizzie, "I'm sure he'll forgive you, Liz. He loves you."

Lizzie shrugged. "You know, I'm not really sure he does anymore," she replied, whispering.

Miranda said a quick good-bye to Lizzie before turning to walk to Gordo's. She was fully intent on making sure their relationship worked. She knocked timidly on the Gordon's front door, rehearsing what she wanted to say.

The door swung open momentarily, and Miranda was greeted by Mr. Gordon. "Miranda, it's great to see you. David's up in his room, if you want to talk to him."

Being to nervous for words, Miranda nodded. She slowly headed up the stairs, going over her points for Lizzie over and over again. She was going to make sure that those two got together if it was the last thing she did.

She knocked quietly on the closed door to Gordo's room before she heard him calling for her to come in. She opened the door and smiled vaguely. "Hey, Gordo. How are you feeling?"

He nodded gradually, and then shrugged. "I'm feeling," he responded, distractedly. Miranda rolled her eyes at his response.

How was she supposed to get on the topic of Lizzie? Miranda bit her bottom lip, going over her different strategies. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Gordo sigh loudly.

"Okay, Miranda. What do you want?"

"Want? Me? Nothing."

Gordo rolled his eyes. "Yes, you do. You want me to talk to Lizzie. It's not going to happen."

Miranda sighed. "Why not?" She pouted.

Gordo shook his head, as though he was appalled. "Miranda! You were even more mad at her than I was. Why did you just forgive her so easily?"

Miranda sat down beside Gordo on his bed. "You should have heard her, Gordo. She sounded so sorry, and so desperate," she told him, using her hands for emphasis.

Gordo shook his head once again, "I don't care what she sounded like, Miranda. Are you telling me she didn't just ditch you for Ryan?"

"No, she broke up with him after your accident."

Gordo snorted softly. "Well, at least something good came from it," he retorted, sarcastically.

Miranda was becoming increasingly frustrated. "Gordo! I know she hurt you, okay? I know that, and I understand that you're mad at her. And I know that you have every right to be, and so does she. But it's killing her. Will you just listen to her? Please?" Miranda begged.

"Why should I?"

Miranda slammed her hands down on the bed. "Just do it, will you? Next time she tries talking to you, will you just hear her out?"

Gordo stared at Miranda for a few seconds. Both stayed silent, Miranda waiting for Gordo to respond, and Gordo waiting for an easy answer to slip out of his mouth. Finally, after minutes of a dead silence, Gordo began to talk.

"Miranda, I love Lizzie, as a best friend and as more. You know that, I know that, and now, even she knows that. But she hurt me, okay? She tore my heart in half. I felt like I wanted to die. I will never forget that feeling. It's not easy to forgive, and it will definitely never be forgotten. So I can't promise you anything, I can't sit here and tell you that yes, next time I see Lizzie I'll talk to her. But I can promise you that someday, I'll listen to her. But I don't know when that will be."

Miranda leaned over and gave Gordo a small hug. "Okay, I respect that. Just, next time she comes up to you, remember that she feels horrible about what happened. She spent every possible minute at that hospital when you were in there. She talked to you, she slept in those stupid, uncomfortable chairs, crying."

"She cried?" Gordo asked softly.

Miranda slapped him on the side of the head lightly. "Of course she cried, Gordo. She was completely devastated."

They were silent for a few more minutes before Miranda let out another sigh. She stood up from her spot on the bed, and moved towards Gordo's bedroom door. "Look, Gordo, I hope you'll be back in school soon, but I have loads of homework, so I have to get going. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Gordo simply nodded. Miranda bit her lip slightly, as she began to turn the doorknob to the door. Gordo's quiet voice interrupted her from leaving. "Miranda? Does she really love me?" He asked her, his voice so quiet that she could hardly hear them. Miranda turned her head, so she could see his face.

She nodded, "Yeah, Gordo. She really does."

Miranda watched as Gordo's glum expression turned into on of utter happiness. It was the normal Gordo "goofy grin". Miranda hadn't seen him look so happy for a very long time. She shot him a smile, which he didn't have to return, and left the room.

Gordo watched as Miranda left the room, feeling better than he had in a long time. Lizzie loved him. She actually loved him.

But really, it didn't make anything easier to deal with. He was still mad at her, not willing to forgive her at this point in time. Still, even though he was so mad at her, he couldn't keep himself from feeling horrible at the fact that she was so devastated that he was mad at her.

But who was to say that she really was?

Sure, Miranda had, but Miranda had been trying to play matchmaker with Gordo and Lizzie since the two were in fourth grade. He knew Lizzie was sorry, but he wasn't sure that she was as devastated about it as Miranda made it sound.

He needed to hear the things from Lizzie. But not now, he wasn't ready to face her yet. He slowly stood up, and stared out the window for a few seconds. Then, he quickly turned around, grabbed his jacket, and headed down the stairs.

He had to go to the park, to sort out his thoughts.

Lizzie sighed, and threw herself back onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes before rolling over onto her stomach. She quickly buried her head into the comforter.

"What to do? What to do? What to do?" She mumbled incoherently into it. She drummed her fingers along the soft blanket and sighed. Lizzie turned herself back around, and sat straight up. She needed to go somewhere where she could think better, somewhere that she could sort out all of her thoughts.

The park, she thought with a satisfied smile. She could relax at the park.

Biting her lip, she grabbed a hooded sweatshirt and headed out of the house.