A/N: Whatever happens on the fourth date is still an open vote.

Chapter Thirteen

An hour after Lizzie and Gordo split up, Lizzie showed up at the Love Hut. Gordo, who was sitting on the bed and reading, looked up and said nothing. In all truth, Lizzie didn't really enjoy talking to Ryan. Sure, he was a nice guy and everything, but she was too busy playing what if with Gordo in her head to concentrate on anything or anyone else. She went with Ryan feeling confused and came back to the love hut even more confused.

She, like Gordo, was fully aware that their past was messed up. She, also like Gordo, was growing more and more curious as to what it would be like to have Gordo in her arms again. (Only Gordo was thinking this with Lizzie) She didn't know what she was getting herself into and she found enjoying this experience. The reality part of the show may have been fake, but the real life part had never felt more real.

While she wanted to talk with Gordo and hear what he thought about everything, she also wanted to see if it was worth her time. She knew her heart always belonged to Gordo, but wanted proof that he could still have it. If this wasn't the beginning of something new, this was closure to something old.

She wanted to see if he had changed at all. She wanted to find out if he was as loveable as he was before and although he was acting like a jerk now, she wanted to make sure that was just a fence he built to protect himself against her. She lay down on the bed next to Gordo and asked, "So, what are we supposed to wear tonight?"

"It's casual. Wear whatever you want."

Lizzie got up and went into her suitcase and found her favorite T-shirt. She held it up, "What do you think of this one?"

Gordo glanced away from his book and when he saw what she was holding up, the book dropped to the floor as he looked at her confused, "You still have that?"

The shirt Lizzie held up was special for a reason. It was Gordo's old "Clash" t-shirt that Lizzie stole from him because she loved it so much. Gordo finally agreed to let her have it and Lizzie wore it almost every night to sleep. "Yeah," Lizzie said, sitting on the bed and putting the shirt aside. She looked at Gordo and smiled, "You know, this always was my favorite shirt."

"Yeah," he said, still confused, "but I figured after we broke up, you would burn all my things or get rid of them."

"Gordo," Lizzie said, shaking her head, "As awful as our break-up was, the thought of you hasn't always brought me bad memories. We had at least three good years before things started getting shaky."

"But still," he said, "I can't believe you kept it."

"Yeah," Lizzie said, grinning, "Sometimes, neither can I."

"So. . ." Gordo said, "did you keep anything else?"

Lizzie shrugged, "Yeah. It's all in my old room at my parent's house."

"Where do you live now?"

"In an apartment with Miranda."

"Wow. I haven't spoken to Miranda in years."

"I know." Lizzie said, "I always made sure that you didn't."

"Why?" Gordo asked, confused.

"Because," Lizzie said, taking the shirt back in her hand, "In the beginning, it was hard, you know? I mean, I had to get over you and Miranda was trying to get me to call you."

"What does this have to do with her?"

"I don't know. I think I made her promise not to call you or something like that. I was really mad at you."

"Yeah, I probably would have done the same," Gordo said.

"So," Lizzie said, "Do you have a girlfriend right now?"

"Nope," Gordo said, "I'm here, aren't I?"

"True," Lizzie agreed.

"What about you? I know you are here doing someone a favor by being here. Do you have a boyfriend?" Gordo asked, finding that he liked having this pleasant conversation with Lizzie.

"No," Lizzie said, "In fact I haven't had a boyfriend since…well, in a while anyway." Lizzie decided to keep some things away from Gordo.

Gordo nodded his head, "Yeah, neither have I."

"How's life been to you, Gordo?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lizzie said, propping her head up to show interest, "has life treated you well these past few years."

Gordo shrugged, "It's been okay. How about you."

"Same with me."

"Wow," he said, "I mean, I always thought we had a lot in common being best friends and all back then, but it seems that the older we get, the more we have in common."

"Yeah," Lizzie said, thinking about it in her head. She thought about the last five years and how lonely she felt. Her last real boyfriend was Gordo and she had a lot of trouble opening her heart out to other people during college. She wondered if he felt lonely.

"Lizzie," he said, letting his thoughts drift, "now that we know the truth about each other, don't you kind of wonder how things would have been different if we never broke up?"

"Yeah," Lizzie said, "In fact, I've been thinking about that a lot lately."

"I might have decided to stay in California."

"We may be married with kids by now."

"Well," Gordo said, "If we got married after college, which is what I always wanted, we might not have kids…but you never know."

"Yeah…you never know," Lizzie said.

"Lizzie?"

"Hmm?"

"What's going to happen to us after this all ends? Do you think we'll be friends again?"

"I don't know," Lizzie said.

Gordo nodded his head.

"I mean, things happen for a reason, right? Maybe there was a reason we broke up," Lizzie said.

Gordo looked at her, "Yeah, but maybe there is a reason we are both here now…together."

Lizzie looked into Gordo's eyes and tried to read what they were saying. Gordo did the same. Then, slowly, they both started to lean in, and just as their lips were about to touch, they heard a knock on the door. Both of them jumped and looked at each other until Lizzie finally spoke up, "I'll get it."

Lizzie got up from the bed and disappeared to get the door. Gordo stared at the doorway, wondering what just happened. They just had quite possibly the deepest conversation they have ever had. The thing that echoed in Gordo's mind was, "things happen for a reason." Maybe this whole thing was trying to tell Lizzie and Gordo that they belonged together.

Lizzie reappeared in the bedroom and said, "dinnertime."

"Ahh," Gordo said, standing up, "I should probably change shirts."

"Yeah, I think I'll change into a skirt and wear a different shirt."

Gordo nodded his head as he got a shirt, "I'll go into the bathroom."

Gordo disappeared into the bathroom and Lizzie smiled. Maybe Gordo had changed over the years, but maybe it was for the better. He respected Lizzie enough to let her get dressed, which showed that he had respect for Lizzie.

A few minutes later, Lizzie okayed Gordo to come out and he appeared and they looked at each other, "Ready?" Lizzie said.

"Yep."

"Well, Tory," he said, holding out his hand, "Let us go to supper."

Lizzie smiled and accepted his hand and they walked out of their hut and to the mansion. As Lizzie and Gordo's time together passed and their relationship became more unclear every minute, they realized that all these feelings they were having were true.

That evening, nothing too eventful happened during dinner. They ate in the living room in a large circle on the couches. Lizzie, who still felt tension between her and Gordo, tried to concentrate on the other couples. No one seemed to belong together, but when her eyes reached Gordo, she got this funny feeling in her stomach. Like she was the only one who could ever be perfect for Gordo because it felt right. She was coming to terms with everything…maybe love was a possibility.

But still, she was scared. Scared to open her heart again to the one person she ever truly loved and have it broken again. She wanted to know if he felt what she was feeling. If they kissed again, would there be more depth than just supposed acting.

It was almost like she still had to test him. See how much he was willing to open up and see if he would tell her the truth. She had a plan when they got back into the room and were safe from the cameras.

Gordo, on the other hand, seemed to know more about what his heart wanted. Gordo felt the tension between him and Lizzie, but in his eyes, he found himself more comfortable to be himself. Still, he didn't know. He wished he knew what Lizzie was thinking. He wished he could get inside her head. It was so jumpy with Lizzie…one minute she would be talking to you and almost kissing you, but the minute before, she was spending time with another guy. He thought he was jealous of Ryan when she was with him, but she acted like nothing serious happened between them when she got back. He decided to take that as a good thing, but then again, he wasn't positive.

After dinner, the couples departed and went to their homes. The cameras left in a matter of a few minutes, just long enough to tape them getting into bed and doing whatever. After they left was Lizzie's chance to test him.

"So," Lizzie said, as she got out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and washing her face, "Gordo,"

"Yeah?" Gordo said, watching her literally jump on the bed and get under the covers next to him.

"Answer me this, old buddy," she said, propping her head on the pillow, "of all the women here, which one do you think you'd bring home to your mom."

That was an easy question, Gordo thought. Still, he had a feeling she wouldn't stop there, "Well, all things considered, I think my mom would be thrilled to see you again. She never knew why we broke up in the first place and it always bothered her."

"Okay," Lizzie said, realizing that this was going to be a difficult task, "Who do you see marrying?"

Gordo thought for a moment. It wasn't a hard question in his head, but he knew saying the truth would be awkward. It was still tempting though, just to see what her response would be, "Let's see. Elizabeth, Jane or Mary. Well, I don't really know them, but if I had to pick one right now, I'd say Mary."

"Really," Lizzie said, nodding her head. She was thankful it wasn't Elizabeth because Lizzie couldn't stand Elizabeth, "Interesting."

"Do you think she's the prettiest?"

Again, Gordo thought, Lizzie was the prettiest, but he wasn't born yesterday. He shrugged, "I don't know. Jane is kind of cute."

"Hmm," Lizzie said, nodding her head. She was having fun with this. It was like they were friends again, "So, what do you think about for me?"

Gordo shot Lizzie a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"You know. Of all the guys here, who do you think seems most like my type?"

These questions that were fun for Lizzie were killing Gordo. Every question she asked made him more and more confident that she wasn't interested in him the way he was interested in her, "I don't know." He said, but he so badly wanted to speak up for himself.

"Oh, come on! You know you have someone in mind. You know you are thinking about it."

Gordo sighed. Actually, he hadn't given that much thought, but now that she mentioned it, he was curious. Did she have a crush on one of the other guys? What happened between her and Ryan, anyway?

"Lizzie, I'm tired. Can we please just go to sleep," he said and he turned the light off next to him.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. She knew when enough was enough, but she still wanted answers. She turned off the light next to her side and went to bed.

This day of the journey was over, but what would come of the next?

~*~*~*~

A/N: I haven't had a question in a while, so here goes another question.

Question: At some point soon in the journey, Lizzie will talk to Ryan on a social level again. When he asks her what she thinks of "Daniel" how will she respond?

a.) Honesty (without giving past away) meaning she will tell him that she thinks she loves him.

b.) She will tell him that she isn't interested, only because she is still scared of the truth.

c.) Tell him that it's none of his business and get angry, but inside, she's really angry because even she can't come to terms with this whole thing.

Please review and I will update as soon as possible.