Disclaimer: I do not own Lizzie McGuire, the song Why Don't You Kiss Her? (by Jesse McCartney), or anything related to the two.
A/N: I wasn't planning on writing this, but I heard this song and thought it was perfect for Gordo. I never thought I'd write a songfic, but this seemed like too good of an opprotunity to let pass. So, here's the result. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Why Don't You Kiss Her?
Gordo walked up to his dark front door, his mind full of the events of the past night. He had gone on a date with Lizzie, but not really with Lizzie. It was a double date, Lizzie went with some guy named Brian, and Gordo went with Brian's cousin Emily.
"Come on Gordo, it'll be fun!" Lizzie had said the previous week, begging him to come along. "Please, for me?" She gave him her sad eyes and stuck out her bottom lip - how could he have refused? Of course, he would have ended up agreeing anyways, he could never turn down Lizzie when she asked for a favor.
So that's how he ended up on the double date, going with a girl he didn't even know. The night itself actually wasn't too bad, they went to eat at a nice restaurant, but Gordo knew it would have been much more enjoyable if he didn't have to watch this Brian flirt with Lizzie the whole night, and watch her flirt back.
He shook his head as he opened the door, walked in, then closed it back behind him. Silently making his way through the dark house (he knew his parents would already be asleep), he found his way to his room. Once inside, he turned on the light, and squinted at the suddenly bright light.
Gordo flopped himself on his bed and continued his thoughts. Emily had been a pretty nice girl. She was in the tenth grade, a year younger than him, and on the honor roll, so he could hold an intelligent conversation with her. They did talk throughout the night, but Gordo always had Lizzie on his mind. Gordo could see himself possibly becoming good friends with Emily, but no further. The problem was nothing that Emily could help, it was simply the fact that she wasn't Lizzie.
Deciding to try to get Lizzie and his troubles off his mind for a while, Gordo turned on the radio, and turned the dial until he got a clear station coming in. He didn't recognize the opening notes, but was shocked at the lyrics.
We're the best of friends
And we share our secrets
She knows everything that is on my mind
That's just like me and Lizzie, he thought. They had known each other longer than either could remember, and neither hesitated to list the other as one of their best friends. Lizzie could always tell when something was bothering him, she could practically read him like a book. Except she has no idea I'm in love with her, he added bitterly.
Lately something's changed
As I lie awake in my bed
A voice here inside my head
Softly says…
Why don't you kiss her?
Because I'm afraid of rejection, Gordo thought to himself, mentally answering the question. He marveled at how well this song fit his current situation.
Why don't you tell her?
Gordo thought of all the times he'd come so close to telling her, but chickened out. Even that night, when he'd picked her up to meet their dates at the restaurant, he saw how beautiful she looked, and he almost told her.
"Hey Gordo!" she'd said brightly, coming down the stairs. She was wearing a short flowery skirt and a light purple top. The clothes weren't too different from what she'd probably wear to school, but her makeup was obviously nicer, and she'd put more effort into her hairstyle. Gordo noticed all of this, as he'd started soaking in every little detail of her appearance years ago.
"Hi," Gordo had said, wishing that she would dress up special for him. It hurt to remember that she'd put in the extra effort for Brian, not him. He took a deep breath, preparing to say what he'd held in for so long. "Lizzie?"
"Yeah?" she asked, rummaging through her purse for something. When Gordo didn't say anything for a few seconds, she looked up, meeting his eyes.
"Yes?" she asked again, raising an eyebrow.
Gordo gulped. No, he couldn't do this. "You, you look really nice," he finally said, hating himself for chickening out again.
"Aw, thanks Gordo," Lizzie said, grinning. Well, at least he got her to smile, he loved her smile. "Come on, let's go, I don't want to be late!"
The smile that had been forming on Gordo's face was wiped off. She was eager to get to dinner, for her date with Brian.
"Ok, let's go."
Why don't you let her see
The feelings that you hide?
'cause she'll never know
If you never show
The way you feel inside
Gordo had often wondered which was worse, telling Lizzie the truth and being rejected, or never telling her and keeping it bottled up all his life. If only he could come up with an answer, he would know for sure what he should do. But no, he would go back and forth for hours between the two, never making a decision.
It was true that Lizzie would never know if he never told her. She only saw him as best friend material, never as a possible boyfriend. She was so busy looking at guys like Brian that she'd never notice Gordo's love for her. So didn't that mean that she wasn't interested, she wouldn't return his feelings if he told her?
Oh, I'm so afraid to make that first move
Just a touch and we could cross the line
Exactly. What frightened Gordo the most was making that first move. Just telling her he loved her would definitely cross the line, best friends aren't supposed to feel that way! And once that line was crossed, if she rejected him, would they be able to go back to their old relationship? He didn't want to be responsible for ruining their lifelong friendship.
Every time she's near
I wanna never let her go
Confess to her what my heart knows
Hold her close
Earlier that night, when he dropped Lizzie back off at her house after the date, he didn't want to leave. Finally, he had her to himself again, without Brian around. Gordo knew he couldn't keep her at the doorway forever, but he didn't want to say goodbye. Again, the urge rose within him to tell her, but again he held it back.
"Goodnight Gordo," Lizzie said, almost sadly. For a second Gordo wondered if she was feeling the same way, but he dismissed the thought at once. If she liked him, she wouldn't have gone on that date just now with Brian, or any of the many other dates she'd been on since they started high school three years ago.
You just went on a date too, a voice in his head told him. But that's different, he argued back, I didn't want to go, I went for Lizzie.
"Goodnight," he said, trying to grin and act like everything was fine. He gave her a friendly hug as he always did, and as always the hug was far too short in his opinion.
Why don't you kiss her?
Why don't you tell her?
Why don't you let her see
The feelings that you hide?
'cause she'll never know
If you never show
The way you feel inside
What would you say?
I wonder would she just turn away?
Whenever Gordo ran through the worst case scenario, it always prevented him again from telling her. He could picture it perfectly.
"Lizzie, I love you."
Her reaction? A mixture of shock on her face, that she'd of course try to hide.
"Oh Gordo," she'd say. "That's just, wow. I'm sorry, but, I don't feel that way about you. This is so… weird, you know? We'll still be best friends, of course, I just don't like you that way."
Then have to deal with a broken heart, knowing that he was rejected by the girl of his dreams. And of course things wouldn't be the same between them, it'd be all awkward, and they'd spend less and less time together to avoid the awkwardness, until…
Gordo shook his head, not wanting to even think about life without Lizzie in it. It was too horrible, there's no way he could ever chance that.
Or would she promise me
That she's here to stay?
Or could be chance it? What if Lizzie did love him too, or at least wasn't completely revolted by the fact he loved her? Maybe she at least had feelings for him that were somewhat more than just friendly, and they could go from there.
Just the tiny hope that she just might like him back kept Gordo considering telling her. If she did like him, well, his dreams would come true! He knew he'd be a much better boyfriend than all the others she'd dated, and they would be able to skip the whole "getting to know you," as they'd been getting to know each other for the past sixteen years.
It hurts me to wait
I keep asking myself
Why don't you kiss her?
(Tell her you love her)
Why don't you tell her?
(Tell her you need her)
Why don't you let her see
The feelings that you hide?
'cause she'll never know
If you never show
The way you feel inside
Why don't you kiss her?
The song ended, and Gordo turned off the radio, his mind to full to listen to another song.
Well there goes trying to get Lizzie off my mind, he thought sarcastically.
Through the song didn't make clear any new revelations, it did at least help him organize his thoughts a little. He had two choices: (1) tell Lizzie, or (2) don't tell Lizzie. That was obvious. If he chose (1), there were three possible outcomes: (a) she rejects him, and they go back to old relationship, (b) she rejects him, and things are weird, or (c) she has feelings for him too. If he went with (2), there was only one outcome, he'd have to keep it secret forever, and never know if she felt the same, possibly missing out on a deeper relationship.
Once he had it put like that, Gordo realized he had to tell Lizzie and just hope she liked him back. At least that way, there'd be about a 33 percentchance that things would turn out how he wanted them to. By never telling her, he was just refusing to open a window of opportunity.
Feeling sudden boldness, Gordo sat up and looked at his clock. It was 11:53, he'd dropped Lizzie off at her house around 11:30. She would probably still be awake. It was a Friday night, after all. Lizzie loved staying up late on Fridays, then sleeping in on Saturday.
Gordo picked up his phone and dialed her number, not even thinking about the keys he was pushing. He'd called her so many times through the years, his fingers moved automatically against the faded keys.
It rang once, twice… Gordo almost hung up, but forced himself not to, a part of him realizing it was now or never.
"Hello?" Lizzie said answering the phone, her sweet voice giving Gordo the confidence boost he needed.
"Lizzie? I love you."
A/N: Yes, that's how it ends, you can use your imagination to decide how Lizzie reacts. : )