A/N: I do not own the song "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette.
Chapter Eleven: First Date
Gordo picked up a comb and twirled it in between his fingers. To brush his hair, or to not brush his hair? That is the question. He had never brushed it before. Why should he? There was no point in starting now. But tonight was a special occasion, he reminded himself. Tonight he had a date.
Just yesterday, he and Lizzie had hooked up in, of all places, his bathroom. Then he asked if she wanted to have lunch with him at the Digital Bean today. It was just like they did when they were friends, except now they were more.
-I had no choice but to hear you. You stated your case time and again. I thought about it-
Gordo just let his hair be and brushed his teeth. He had taken his parent's Rod Stewart CD and kept playing "Have I Told You Lately" over and over again. It was his new favorite song. It would remind him of Lizzie for the rest of eternity. As he put his toothbrush down, her favorite part came on. He grabbed his comb and sang along into it as if it were a microphone (A/N: remind you of anyone? ;) ).
"Have I told you lately that I love you? Have I told you there's no one above you?"
"David!" his mother called from downstairs. "You have to go!"
-You treat me like I'm a princess. I'm not used to liking that. You ask how my day was-
Gordo rushed out of his room and got to the bottom of the stairs before he realized that he wasn't wearing shoes. He ran back up to get his sneakers and ran through his mother's office.
"Bye mom!" he said as he rushed past.
"David, wait!"
Gordo slowly turned around. He hadn't told his mom about him and Lizzie. He hadn't told either of his parents. And Lizzie definitely hadn't told hers yet. The only other person that knew was Miranda, who was, surprising enough to Gordo, thrilled about it. He thought maybe she would have reservations because it would affect their friendship, but she was really happy for them.
"She's your lobster," she had told Gordo (A/N: That's from the prom video episode of "Friends," if anyone saw it. I can't believe it's over! -starts sobbing hysterically- anyway. . .).
"David," Roberta Gordon said to her son, "it's just you three, right?"
Gordo got nervous. It was just Lizzie and him. "Uh, yea, us three. The three amigos: Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda. The same as always."
Lucky for Gordo, his mother's phone rang. When she went to get it, he breathed a sigh of relief, thanked his lucky stars, and ran out the front door.
-You've already won me over in spite of me and don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet-
It was a warm afternoon. The weather in Los Angeles was really hot around this time, right before July, and it only got hotter. As Gordo walked down the street, he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. He rubbed his head full of curls, embarrassed, and kept walking, really, really fast
-Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are. I couldn't help it; it's all your fault-
Lizzie waited impatiently at the Digital Bean. She played with her pointy hunk of broken plastic on her charm bracelet. She felt like puking. Was this the right thing to do? She did want to be with him, but would this take a toll on everything they had and turn everything sour? She really, desperately hoped not. That was the absolute last thing she wanted a result of this date to be.
She began to squirm in her seat. The waitress approached her with a big smile and a virgin Shirley Temple.
"Um, I didn't order this," Lizzie said to her in the most together way possible.
"Oh, I know," the waitress squealed, hands shaking, almost spilling the drink. "This is from the staff. It's on the house."
Lizzie was surprised. Celebrity perks? "Oh. Um, thanks." She smiled graciously and took the drink closer to her as the waitress wandered over to a group of waitresses giggling in the corner (one which Lizzie and Gordo ran into the day before).
Lizzie looked at her watch. She sighed. Time rolled by. She took a sip of her drink. It was really good. Five minutes went by. Another sip. Still good. Six minutes. Eight minutes. Thirteen minutes. Twenty minutes. Where was Gordo?
Gordo stood in the Digital Bean doorway, panting heavily, heart beating, palms sweating. He paced in the small space, "Have I Told You Lately" now annoying stuck in his head. He had been standing there for about twenty-five minutes. He was too nervous to actually go sit down with Lizzie. But he couldn't hark there forever. She would get up to leave eventually (he was surprised she hadn't already), thinking Gordo had stood her up, and she would run into him. He doubted she would sit down for a date after that.
"The Reason" began playing. Gordo rubbed his throbbing temples and gulped. He looked over at Lizzie painfully. He looked so upset, and he knew she probably felt foolish. H had caused her to feel that way too many times. Now it killed him.
-Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole. You're so much braver than I gave you credit for. That's not lip service-
A whole half hour had gone by. Lizzie sighed and took one last sip of her Shirley Temple before pulling a five out of her wallet and putting it on the counter. She straightened out her skirt and pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. She headed towards the exit, heart-broken. Gordo had stood her up.
-You've already won me over in spite of me and don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet-
Lizzie walked out of the Digital Bean. The sun was burning. Lizzie immediately took off her denim jacket and tied it around her waist. She walked towards home, a deep gash of emptiness in her heart. After going through the Cupid's impossible obstacles of love, they finally made it too this point. And what happened? Her worst fear: it didn't work out. How would this affect their friendship? Probably dramatically.
"Great," Lizzie huffed to herself as she crossed the street.
The scariest part?
She still was crushing on him.
Stuff like that just doesn't go away that fast.
-Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are. I couldn't help it; it's all your fault-
Gordo sat on Miranda's bed, a billion thoughts racing through his brain. He felt so incredibly guilty for standing up Lizzie, for leaving her sitting alone for a half hour when they could have been on a date. Now he completely ruined the friendship.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," Miranda commanded, entering the room with a giant plate of curly fries. "You were too nervous to go through with it."
Gordo looked down at the food and felt like vomiting. "True, but I shouldn't have stood her up. I mean, we kissed yesterday. She knows how I feel now. Our friendship is gone."
"Gordo, that's not true," Miranda retaliated, shoving three fries in her mouth. "You guys have known each other since you were born. You've been through heaven and hell. She'd never let your friendship be destroyed. She couldn't even if she wanted to, which she doesn't."
Gordo shook his head. "That's why I didn't want to get into this in the first place. If something went bad in the relationship, our friendship would never be the same, whether we wanted to or not."
"But there never was a relationship," Miranda replied. "You didn't even give it a chance."
Gordo rolled his eyes and collapsed on the bed. "I know."
-You are the bearer of unconditional things. You held your breath and the door for me. Thanks for your patience-
Lizzie got home and ran upstairs so her mother wouldn't see her. She had only shed a few heartfelt tears, but they ruined her make-up anyway. She slipped off her flip-flops, ran into the bathroom, and stared at her pathetic reflection in the mirror. She titled her head, pushed back her hair, and let out a high note:
"I've got somewhere I belong. I've got somebody to love. This is what dreams are made of."
-You're the best listener I've ever met. You're my best friend, best friend with benefits. What took me so long?-
"So, whatcha gonna do?" Miranda asked, smearing a curly fry in almost- gone ketchup.
Gordo let out a long breath and shook his head for the thousandth time that day. "I have no clue."
"Well get one, Gordon!" Miranda shouted. "This is Lizzie we're talking about. Lizzie! You're totally crazy for her, as a best and friend and a girlfriend, and for the first time ever, you don't have a clue!" She waved her arms in the air. "Time timing, Romeo!"
Gordo let out another long breath and looked down at his watch. "I better go." He stood up and headed for the door.
"You better be going to Lizzie's house," Miranda called out.
Gordo stopped himself in the doorway. He knew she was right. This was unfair to him and to Lizzie. Their love deserved a chance. They deserved a chance. And Lizzie deserved an explanation.
-I've never felt this healthy before. I've never wanted anything rational. I'm aware now... I'm aware now-
Lizzie was watching fighting with Matt for the remote when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Mrs. McGuire shouted, rushing past her kids, adding, "Stop that, you two," as she went.
Gordo stood outside the McGuire house, breathing heavily, going up and down on his heels. There was no turning back now. Yesterday was just the starting gun. Now he was off and running. No turning back.
Mrs. McGuire opened the door. When she saw their visitor, she smiled. "Hello Gordo." She moved out of the way to let him in. "C'mon in. Lizzie's in the living room."
At the sound of her name, Lizzie gave up the fight (leaving Matt to do a victory dance) and walked into the foyer. There stood Gordo, looking like completely guilty and feeling two feet tall. When Lizzie saw him, her mouth fell open slightly and her hand grabbed in the inside of the other arm's elbow, like she always did.
Mrs. McGuire, oblivious as always, just smiled and walked into the kitchen. Lizzie just stared at Gordo as his eyes fell to the floor.
'Just kill me now,' Gordo thought to himself. 'Just get it over with.'
"So," Lizzie finally said, "where we you today?" She made a sincere face at him.
Gordo looked up into her sad eyes and felt that two feet tall was about two feet taller than he really was.
"Lizzie," he began after taking a deep breath, "I am truly sorry for today. I was there, I really was, but I was standing in the doorway, just watching you and feeling like the worst person in the whole world because I was too afraid to be with you."
"Wait, you were too afraid to be with me?" Lizzie asked, hurt seeping inside. "I thought you wanted to be with me. I thought you wanted us to be together." She put her hands on his shaking shoulders.
Gordo tried to explain it better. "No, that's not what I meant. What I meant was..." He stopped himself, defeated.
"You were nervous," Lizzie said quietly, eyes falling to the ground.
"Yea," Gordo replied. "I was."
"I was to, Gordo," Lizzie said, anger rising in her voice. "But I still showed up. I was still willing to go through with it."
Gordo felt like crud. What could he do now? One look into her bright blue eyes, hiding the soul of the girl whose heart he had crushed, and he knew he couldn't give up. They were off and running.
"Are you still willing to go through with it?" he asked, a glimmer a hope in his whispering voice.
Lizzie was surprised by the question. She looked at him. "Are you?"
"Yea," Gordo answered, looking into her eyes. "I really want to."
-You've already won me over in spite of me and don't be alarmed if I fall haed over feet. Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are. I couldn't help it; it's all your fault-
Hey everybody! Sorry for all the late updatings. But now that school is done, I can update a lot more. I'll be updating this and "Whole Lotta Living" (read it!!! lol) Oh, btw, I was actually going to use the song "First Date" by Blink-182 for this chapter, but that would have sucked, so I used this. It's on the CD "Jagged Little Pill," which is kinda old, but really good.
Keep it Heavenly,
Goddess4LiFe