A/N: I do not own the song "Follow You Down" by the Gin Blossoms.

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Chapter Seventeen: Follow You Down

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Two days after Lizzie left, Gordo's grandma had arrived to pick up her "favorite grandson". He was packed but he was anything but ready to go. He hadn't heard from Lizzie, but that was no surprise. Still, it hurt. He hated when they didn't talk. He felt like a chunk of him was missing. And that didn't even have anything to do with their romance. They weren't even friends anymore.

"David!!!" Ruth Gordon shouted when she entered her son's home that hot July afternoon, spotting Gordo and squeezing him.

"Hey Grams," he choked out.

She released him and began pinching his cheeks. "Oh, look at how handsome my David is! You look just like your grandfather when we first met." She planted a kiss on his forehead. "I think I'm falling in love all over again."

Gordo ignored the fact that he was creeped out and just smiled politely at his grandmother.

After having a quiet dinner (the Gordons, aside from Grandma Ruth, were really not a rambunctious bunch), Gordo went up to his room and gather a few last things together for his trip. They were leaving early in the morning because his grandma wanted to have breakfast at a "real roadside diner". He didn't know if they could find one off the PCH, but they were guaranteed a good time looking for one.

He grabbed his mini-iPod, one of his birthday presents. He only had five songs on it, but Lizzie had put them on there. The first one was "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. A very chick song, but Lizzie had insisted on listening to it on something as cool as an iPod. The second song was "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen. Lizzie thought that the song described Gordo to a tee, but he had no idea how. He was a big fan of the Boss, though, so he didn't mind. The third song was "On the Way Down" by Ryan Cabrera. Another chick song, but it reminded him of Lizzie and how everyday, just by being her, she saved Gordo's life.

-Did you see the sky? I think it means that we've been lost. Maybe one less time is all we need-

The fourth song was "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra. It was old but it was definitely a favorite of his. Lizzie liked it, too.

"Isn't it just so romantic?" Lizzie had sighed when she played it on his computer.

It was a very romantic song. Everytime he heard it, he thought of that night at the spring dance when Lizzie and Miranda were his dates. Lizzie had looked so beautiful. She was always beautiful. Even as he was out on the dance floor with Parker McKenzie, he was pining for her. At that point, thought, he had figured 'I'll never get Lizzie. I might as well go for someone else.'

And then he got her. What he had wanted all along.

Now that was gone and so was the greatest friendship he'd ever have.

-I can't really help if my tongue's all tied in knots. Jumping off a bridge, it's just the farthest that I've ever been-

The last song was "Crazy For This Girl" by Evan and Jaron. When Lizzie played it for him, she said, "Just listen to the words. Listen to what this guy feels for this girl." She had mouthed along with the song: "When you look at her, she looks at me. She's got my thinking about her constantly but she don't know how I feel. And then she carries on without a doubt; I wonder if she's figured it out that I'm crazy for this girl. Yea, I'm crazy for this girl."

Never before had Gordo heard a song that clashed with reality so much. It was as if Gordo had written it. He had just stared at Lizzie, watching her dance happily to the music, wondering if she would ever know how he truly felt about her.

Gordo pulled his parents' Rod Stewart CD out of his stereo and put it in his computer. He plugged in his iPod and waited for it to download. Though the song made him sad, it made him happy, too. He just needed that song to be reminded of Lizzie McGuire, the love of his life, and think of what might have been and what was for a brief period of time.

'If only, if only,' repeated over and over again in his head.

And that's when he realized.

He couldn't just sit there and let his heart break anymore. He couldn't let Lizzie meet and fall in love with some phony popstar AGAIN. He couldn't just stand by and watch the life he had loved deteriorate.

He needed to go after her.

-Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down. Any place but those I know by heart-

Normal, logical Gordo would have just dismissed that thought. But this was not normal, logical Gordo. This was idiot Gordo, totally and completely in love. He missed Lizzie McGuire and wanted her back. Not just as a friend. Getting her love back was all that mattered to him right then and there.

He jumped out of his chair and was ready to race out of the room. Then normal, logical Gordo took over again for a second and reminded idiot Gordo that he couldn't just run over to her house. She was in Rome, thousands of miles away.

But idiot Gordo wasn't going to let that stop him.

-Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down. I'll follow you down but not that far-

Gordo ran out of his room and pounded down the steps. He didn't know what he was going to tell his grandmother, or his parents for that matter, but he couldn't wait for Lizzie to come home. By then it would be far too late.

He ran into the living room where his family all was.

"Why, David, what's the matter, son?" his mother asked in a concerned voice as she looked at her wide-eyed, out-of-breath son.

All Gordo could do was smile. He was always the guy who was sure of everything. In truth, all he had ever been truly sure of was Lizzie and how he felt about her. He was sure that if he didn't go to Rome and find Lizzie now, his whole world would be over.

"I have to go to Rome," he said in one breath. "I need to catch the next plane out of here."

His parents just stared at him like he was crazy (which is not good normally but REALLY not good if your parents are shrinks).

"Why do you need to go Rome, David?" his father asked him as if he was a patient. "Weren't you just there?"

"Yes," Gordo sighed. "But I have to go. I have to talk to Lizzie."

"Then call her," his mother said.

"I can't call her," Gordo replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, son, you certainly can't go to Rome," his father said. "You can talk to Lizzie when she gets back."

"But it'll be too late by then!" he shouted. "I need to get there! I need to talk to her."

"Why?" his mother asked. "What is so important that you have to go all the way to Rome to tell her?"

Gordo didn't want to say it. He would have rather said that he was trying to flee the country. But the real reason was the only hope he had of going, even if it was a very small, thin, slice of hope.

"I'm in love with Lizzie," he blurted out. "I love her and I have to get her before someone else does."

-I know we're headed somewhere; I can see how far we've come. Still I can't remember anything-

The three elder Gordons just sat there, open-mouthed, staring at Gordo. No one spoke for a long time. Then, finally, Grandma Ruth was able to put together a sentence that could follow up Gordo's declaration.

"I'll call the airline."

Now it was Gordo's turn to be shocked. "What?"

His grandma stood up, smiling at him, and pinched his cheeks. "Hey kiddo, if you love this girl, there ain't no way a measly little ocean is gonna come between you."

Gordo smiled. He should have known that if anyone would go along with him on this, it would be his grandma (but remember, this was idiot Gordo controlling his mind at the moment).

Grandma Ruth shooed him towards the stairs. "Go get your bags, David. This is going to be an adventure."

Gordo did as he was told, heart soaring, while his grandmother went to the phone.

"Mother, what are you doing?" her son asked.

"Oh Howard," said Grandma Ruth. "I'm still taking him on a trip. Just to somewhere more exciting. I've never been to Italy before." Without any more regard to what her son was about to say, she picked up the phone and called information.

-Let's not do the wrong and I'll swear it might be fun. It's a long way down when all the knots we've tied have come undone-

Gordo and his grandma got a taxi to the airport. It was 6:15. The next flight to Rome left at 8:00. If they left then, they would make it through security in time. Gordo's parents had protested this trip, but his grandma, matron of the Gordon clan, would hear none of it and there was nothing stopping Gordo.

On the way to LAX, Gordo called Miranda.

"Hello?" she said when she picked up.

"Miranda, it's me," said Gordo. "I need to know where Lizzie's staying in Rome."

Miranda paused a moment. "Wait, why? What are you doing, Gordo? Not something stupid I hope."

Gordo laughed. "It's the stupidest thing I've ever done, but if I don't do it, I'll regret it the rest of my life. Where is she staying?"

"Um, at Isabella's house, some giant villa."

"Damn it," Gordo said. "How am I gonna find it?"

"Gordo," said Miranda cautiously. "Don't tell me you're going to Rome."

Gordo paused as they pulled into the airport parking lot. He took a deep breath.

"Miranda," he said. "I'm going to Rome."

-Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down. Any place but those I know by heart. Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down. I'll follow you down but not that far-

After going through all the security, Gordo started to get nervous. His heart started racing and his palms started sweating. It would be hours before he even saw Lizzie, but he already felt like he had swallowed his stomach. What would he say to her? "Hey Lizzie, it's me, your ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend. I just thought I'd dropped by to tell you that I love you and I'll never stop loving you. Wanna go out again?" Well, he could say that, but he would have to add, "Sorry I was such an ass."

At 7:30 they called the flight to Rome. As they boarded the terminal, Gordo said to himself, "Why am I doing this?"

His grandma kissed his cheek. "Because you're a romantic. I know these things. Your grandfather was like that, too. I remember once I went up to see Bandstand in Sacramento and he went all the way up there to surprise me."

"Well, this is going to be a pretty big surprise," he said.

His grandma patted his head. "C'mon David. There's a pretty blonde thing out there waiting for you."

-How you gonna ever find your place running with an artificial pace? Are they gonna find us lying face down in the sand? So what the hell now, we've already been forever damned-

The plane took off in the total darkness of the night. Gordo sat by the window as they soared into the vast, black oblivion. He could not BELIEVE he was doing this. Why was he doing this? What would Lizzie say when she saw him? Would she be pissed? Would she be happy? Would she be flattered? After all, he was going all the way to Rome for her. But when the last words someone says to you are "Get out of my life", you could get a number of reactions.

Normal, logical Gordo was the one asking all of these questions. Idiot Gordo told him to shut up. He was going to Rome.

And he was coming back with Lizzie.

-Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down. Any place but those I know by heart. Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down. I'll follow you down but not that far-

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Hey everyone! One more chapter left! What did we all think of this chapter? I know what you're all thinking: Is Gordo going schizo? No. He just REALLY likes Lizzie. Are we all happy that he's going after her? If you answered yes to this question, you like idiot Gordo much better than normal, logical Gordo.

Keep it Heavenly,

( Goddess4LiFe