Title: Not How You Expected

Black Knight 03: Thanks for all of your help so far and for your future help. It means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters you recognize in this story.

Chapter 3

NO POV:

"How does this look?" asked Miranda coming out of the changing stall.

"It looks fine to me," said Gordo eyeing his best friend. "Actually, it looks really good." He raised his eyebrows and Miranda laughed.

"Oh, so it looks that good?" she playfully asked. "Checking me out, huh?" Miranda twirled around and the black skirt with red roses swayed back and forth.

"I really like the sash around it," she said. "It's kind of cute. I'm not one for wearing lots of flowers, but this is nice and comfy! The only problem is if I buy a new skirt, I have to buy a new shirt. If I buy a new shirt, I have to buy new shoes. If I buy new shoes I have to buy new hosiery. If I buy new hosiery, then why not by new jewelry? If I buy new..."

"Ok!" yelled Gordo. "I get the point. You'll have to buy a whole new wardrobe of junk."

"Excuse me? Junk?" asked Miranda. She came up to Gordo and pushed him gently. "The skirt goes back on the rack. Not because it's junk, but because I have a budget that I'm trying to keep. Proud of me? I'm conserving my money."

"That's very good," said Gordo. "I don't know what is up with you girls. You spend your money on things like makeup and hair stuff. Us guys spend it wisely on video games and stuff like that."

"Uh-huh," mumbled Miranda. "I'm happy with spending money frivolously on makeup."

"So no new clothes?" asked Gordo.

"No new clothes," repeated Miranda.

"Isn't that the whole reason you came to the mall?" he asked.

"Not really," said Miranda shrugging. "Don't you get the whole concept of shopping? It's to drool over the things that you can't and never will have. That's the whole fun of it!"

"Isn't that a waste of time?" asked Gordo with a look of confusion on his face.

"Yeah, I guess," said Miranda, "but it's fun. I don't know about you Gordo. You're too practical at times. You need to loosen up and it seems that my trying never works. We've been best friends for how many years now, and you never seem to change. It's refreshing in an annoying sort of way."

Gordo looked even more confused which caused Miranda to burst out into laughter.

"I love you!" laughed Miranda. "You always make me laugh." She patted him on the back and they walked to the food court to get something to eat.

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"Order me a smoothie and a taco," demanded Miranda. "You're paying for lunch this time, right? Thank you, goodbye." Then she shoved Gordo towards the ordering line and picked a table to sit down at.

Gordo soon got their order and found Miranda. "Why do I always get stuck paying for everything?" asked Gordo sitting down.

"Because you're so nice," said Miranda. "And besides, do I look like I have money?"

Gordo started laughing.

"What?" asked Miranda.

Gordo laughed some more.

"What?" she asked again.

"Nothing," he said, "you just make me laugh. Oh! And one more thing: you have smoothie dripping down your chin."

"How about that," said Miranda. "Ha ha."

Right then and there, some familiar faces came into the picture, and one that wasn't quite so familiar. The four approached Gordo and Miranda's table.

"Oh, fancy meeting you here," said Kate with her hands on her hips. "It's dweeb and dweeb-ette." She giggled.

"And your problem is," said Miranda.

"You of course," said Kate. "You are sitting at my table. Oh well, no big deal. I guess you'll just have to move."

"You're talking to us? Us move?" asked Miranda. She laughed. "We're not going anywhere."

"Ah-haha," said Kate, "you're funny. Now move."

"Uh, Kate," said Kate's boyfriend, "we haven't even ordered our food yet."

"Great joke," said Kate staring at him angrily. "Does that really matter? It's always nice to get a reserved table first."

"There are plenty of tables around," said Miranda.

"My point. Which one are you going to?" asked Kate. "Your friend Gordork over here is kind of quiet. Do you always speak for him?"

"First of all his name is Gordo. Get it right," said Miranda. "And second of all..."

Gordo cut her off, "You know," he said, "let's just move."

"He does speak!" exclaimed Kate mockingly. "And he's smarter than I thought."

"You're right Gordo," said Miranda, "let's just move. We can't rationalize with these creatures."

"Ooh!" exclaimed Kate. "She called us creatures! How mean!" Then Kate laughed evilly. "Buh bye!"

Gordo and Miranda picked up their food and went to another table.

"I can't believe them," said Miranda. "They are complete losers."

Gordo just stared at the table where the four sat. Kate and her boyfriend were there, and so was Lizzie with another guy. They looked quite friendly and Gordo decided that he must be Lizzie's boyfriend...one of them at least.

Lizzie giggled and wrapped her arms around him despite the fact that they were trying to eat. He put a French fry near her mouth and she chomped on it and giggled.

"Look at that," said Miranda not realizing that Gordo was looking all along. "You would think Lizzie would know how to eat by herself by seventeen."

Lizzie giggled some more and kissed her boyfriend.

"Ew," said Miranda. "That is so gross! How can she do that after she ate!"

"Thanks for that mental image, Miranda," said Gordo.

Gordo kept his eyes focused on the couple and Miranda noticed that he looked pained by them.

"Don't worry about them, Gordo," she said. She remembered that Gordo had liked Lizzie for years.

"It's ok," said Gordo. "I don't really like her that much anymore. It was an old crush that's not there now."

"Right," mumbled Miranda. She knew what Gordo really was thinking and it tore her to imagine what Lizzie was doing to him.

Finishing a kiss with her boyfriend, Lizzie for a moment caught the eyes of Gordo and her eyes lowered. Her smile faded and she occasionally glanced at Kate and company, and then at her old friends. It almost looked as if she was making up her mind about where she wanted to be.

"You know what, guys," said Lizzie. "I'm up for more shopping. Let's get out of here."

Kate looked at Lizzie weirdly, but then agreed. Soon they left, with Gordo's gaze following them until they disappeared. Lizzie never looked back.

A/N: Sorry it took me a while to post this chapter. This chapter, I think, is very critical to the whole story line. I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully I'll be posting the next chapter within a few days.

Thanks to brie, winter blaze, and JoJoLookAlike1220 for their reviews.

Lilwhitegurl89: That's cool that you're taking French. I took French for two years, and I thought it was really fun. If you ever need someone in French to talk to let me know! I sure need the practice. Thanks for your review!

Tanguay18: Only an hours worth of homework. (mouth flies open) Can we switch places, lol? Thanks for the review! That was really nice.

Jersey Princess: You're welcome for the present. I was sending you more, and I realized the email isn't sending it. Thanks for your review! And about the pairing...you'll just have to read, won't you? Sorry about the tongue ring. In actuality, it sickens me too. I don't know why anyone would do that to themselves. I think bellybutton and nose rings are cool, but not the tongue.

Thanks to all the wonderful reviews. Keep reviewing and have a nice day!