A/N: I have the most thoughtful and gracious fans in the world! Three or four weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Hacen, an author, who sent me his idea for the end of the story as well as asking me when I was going to update next. I e-mailed him back and told him I wasn't sure when, but i was really busy with school and stuff. Well, he responded to me (with a rather wordy e-mail, I might add) and asked if he could possibly try and write an upcoming chapter. I told him that was fine with me, as long as I write the next one, he can pick up where I leave up. Well, that was a while ago and I updated a few weeks later, thinking since we never really talked about it any further, I didn't think it was going to follow through. A few days, ago, however, an e-mail pops up in my account and who was it from? Hacen! He asked me if the offer was still good and I told him that it was, of course. (what kind of author would I be if I want readers to have some control over this story and then not let someone write a chapter?) He sent me this, and it was perfect, so, anyway, credit to Hacen on this chapter. Neither he nor I own Lizzie McGuire.
Chapter Sixteen
During the short flight to Maui, Gordo could feel himself getting more and more nervous about how everything would turn out. The part of him that had spent years hating Lizzie for cheating on him with Ethan was sure that she was going to lose this for them tonight by flirting and dancing, and for all he knew about her anymore, she may actually kiss someone at a club. Of course, the majority of him knew it was stupid to think that way. Lizzie had explained what had happened and he believed her. It still made him feel like an idiot to think of missing out on all those years over a simple misunderstanding.
"We'll be arriving shortly. As soon as we get to your hotel you are going to be disguised and taken to the club. Have fun tonight, Gentlemen." Gordo took a deep breathe after listening to Ryan fill them in on what was about to happen as the small plane slowed to a stop.
Once they had all been shuttled to the hotel, a group of four makeup artists, one for each of the guys, began working on disguises. In under an hour all four had been transformed into what they hoped were unrecognizable versions of themselves. Gordo was still not happy about getting stuck with a moustache and Hawaiian style shirt.
"I look like Magnum P.I." Everyone else in the room laughed at his remark, but he'd been serious and really didn't see the humor. Gordo looked again in the mirror and was about to question why nothing had been done with his hair when Ryan walked in and told them it was time to get going. Gordo shrugged and walked out of the room and into the waiting Limo out front of the hotel.
"Who do you guys think well lose the most points tonight?" James asked. "I bet Tory will have the hardest time with guys hitting on her. She's the hottest out of the four."
"I know I'd ask her to. . .dance." Thomas said with a smile. "But she doesn't seem like the type that would just talk to anyone. I bet she uses the "I'm with someone" line just to avoid most of the guys tonight."
"How about you Daniel? You share the love hut with her. Is she really as cold as she comes off during the competitions?" James asked Gordo.
Gordo almost forgot to answer to the name Daniel, being that his mind was a thousand miles away. He was thinking of Lizzie. The past and the present forms of her and wondering how he'd ever convinced himself he could be okay without her.
"Yo, Earth to Daniel!" George said from beside him while waving his hand in front of his face.
"Uh?!" Gordo looked around at the other faces and realized he had missed something.
"We were trying to figure out who would lose the most points tonight. Is Tory really like she is for the cameras?" Gordo was still confused for a few moments. Why would he care what Tory was like, he only cared about Lizzie.
"Oh, right." Everything clicked into place for him at once. "Um, yeah. For the most part, although she does have her moments."
"Okay then." James said, giving a weird look to Gordo.
"I just hope Jane doesn't get drunk." Thomas said, breaking in. "She told me the other night how she turns into the biggest flirt when she gets too much alcohol in her. If she has more than a few drinks I'm sure we'll be the two to go."
James and George both exchanged looks. Even with the game being scripted and rigged, there was no reason to not take advantage of every weakness that someone let slip. Gordo saw the looks on their faces and felt sorry for Jane, simply because she was going to wake up tomorrow with one mega hangover if the two guys smiling big had their way about it.
"I just hope tonight goes quickly and doesn't drag out." Gordo said more to himself than anyone else.
"Well, I for one am more than ready to do a little partying tonight. We've been spending too much time on that island for my tastes." James replied.
When they arrived at the club, they were ushered directly inside and told to find a good place to spy on the girls before they started allowing people in. The four of them spread out over the club, George sitting in a back both, James hanging around the dance floor, Thomas sitting at a table about mid way between the main door and the bar, and Gordo took the seat at the bar that was farthest from the door.
After just a few minutes people started to stream in and they were soon lost in the crowd and hopefully inconspicuous. Gordo thought he caught a glimpse of Lizzie entering, but wasn't sure. He scanned the room every few minutes until he found the four girls sitting at a table and talking while sipping on various drinks.
"Now how am I supposed to spy on them without staring?" Gordo mumbled to himself after realizing what it must have looked like to anyone else in the club when he had been staring ahead blankly at a table full of women.
At the table, Gordo's staring had not gone unnoticed. "Don't look now, but some Jackass has been staring for five minutes straight from the bar." Elizabeth said.
Lizzie tried to suppress the initial reaction to hearing her speak and played the part of Tory. "Probably can't keep his eyes off us. Can't say that I blame him, I have trouble not staring at myself sometimes." Inside she cringed while she giggled at her own joke, along with the other girls.
"I dare you to go talk to him." Elizabeth said to Tory. "Go up and get us some more drinks and just start talking to him. See what happens."
"I'm not usually the type. . ." Lizzie caught herself before finishing the sentence. Fact was, she really didn't know what type of person Tory usually was, but going up and talking to some random guy at a club was not something on her own personal list of fun things to do. "Well, why not."
"Hey can you get me something strong?" Jane asked as Lizzie stood up from her seat. "And make it a double?"
"Sure thing. Anybody else?" Mary and Elizabeth both declined, since their drinks were more than half full. 'Here goes nothing' Lizzie thought as she made her way around groups of people to the bar. She ended up standing right next to the guy Elizabeth had pointed out. "I need a double shot of the strongest stuff you've got and a. . ."
"Pina Colada?"
Lizzie turned to look at the guy who had just taken the words from her mouth to find him looking down at the bar with his mouth over his hand. There was something familiar about him, but she just shook it off and nodded to the bar tender that pina colada was correct, "Virgin, please."
"That was a lucky guess." Lizzie said, trying to get a better look at his face.
"Sorry about that, I just couldn't control myself for some reason." Gordo wanted to get up and walk away. Not only was this awkward but he was sure they were losing points just by talking to each other. He was technically a guy that she was on the borderline of flirting with.
"That's okay, just caught me off guard a little." The drinks were placed in front of her but just as she was about to pick them up and walk away Gordo made the mistake of looking up and their eyes met. Even with the moustache and a prosthetic nose, Lizzie knew those eyes.
Rather than say anything though, she somehow caught her emotions and just kept turning and walked away from him. For a moment Gordo thought that maybe she hadn't actually recognized him, but when she looked back at him with a clear question on her face, he knew that she knew who he was.
He was happy to see that she was just playing it off though and acted as if she didn't realize who he was. Gordo didn't remember being told about any disqualifications or anything, but he did not want to chance getting sent home because Lizzie and he were truthfully so close that she knew him simply by his eyes. They still had some things to get worked out before he was ready to return to life without her.
Chapter Sixteen
During the short flight to Maui, Gordo could feel himself getting more and more nervous about how everything would turn out. The part of him that had spent years hating Lizzie for cheating on him with Ethan was sure that she was going to lose this for them tonight by flirting and dancing, and for all he knew about her anymore, she may actually kiss someone at a club. Of course, the majority of him knew it was stupid to think that way. Lizzie had explained what had happened and he believed her. It still made him feel like an idiot to think of missing out on all those years over a simple misunderstanding.
"We'll be arriving shortly. As soon as we get to your hotel you are going to be disguised and taken to the club. Have fun tonight, Gentlemen." Gordo took a deep breathe after listening to Ryan fill them in on what was about to happen as the small plane slowed to a stop.
Once they had all been shuttled to the hotel, a group of four makeup artists, one for each of the guys, began working on disguises. In under an hour all four had been transformed into what they hoped were unrecognizable versions of themselves. Gordo was still not happy about getting stuck with a moustache and Hawaiian style shirt.
"I look like Magnum P.I." Everyone else in the room laughed at his remark, but he'd been serious and really didn't see the humor. Gordo looked again in the mirror and was about to question why nothing had been done with his hair when Ryan walked in and told them it was time to get going. Gordo shrugged and walked out of the room and into the waiting Limo out front of the hotel.
"Who do you guys think well lose the most points tonight?" James asked. "I bet Tory will have the hardest time with guys hitting on her. She's the hottest out of the four."
"I know I'd ask her to. . .dance." Thomas said with a smile. "But she doesn't seem like the type that would just talk to anyone. I bet she uses the "I'm with someone" line just to avoid most of the guys tonight."
"How about you Daniel? You share the love hut with her. Is she really as cold as she comes off during the competitions?" James asked Gordo.
Gordo almost forgot to answer to the name Daniel, being that his mind was a thousand miles away. He was thinking of Lizzie. The past and the present forms of her and wondering how he'd ever convinced himself he could be okay without her.
"Yo, Earth to Daniel!" George said from beside him while waving his hand in front of his face.
"Uh?!" Gordo looked around at the other faces and realized he had missed something.
"We were trying to figure out who would lose the most points tonight. Is Tory really like she is for the cameras?" Gordo was still confused for a few moments. Why would he care what Tory was like, he only cared about Lizzie.
"Oh, right." Everything clicked into place for him at once. "Um, yeah. For the most part, although she does have her moments."
"Okay then." James said, giving a weird look to Gordo.
"I just hope Jane doesn't get drunk." Thomas said, breaking in. "She told me the other night how she turns into the biggest flirt when she gets too much alcohol in her. If she has more than a few drinks I'm sure we'll be the two to go."
James and George both exchanged looks. Even with the game being scripted and rigged, there was no reason to not take advantage of every weakness that someone let slip. Gordo saw the looks on their faces and felt sorry for Jane, simply because she was going to wake up tomorrow with one mega hangover if the two guys smiling big had their way about it.
"I just hope tonight goes quickly and doesn't drag out." Gordo said more to himself than anyone else.
"Well, I for one am more than ready to do a little partying tonight. We've been spending too much time on that island for my tastes." James replied.
When they arrived at the club, they were ushered directly inside and told to find a good place to spy on the girls before they started allowing people in. The four of them spread out over the club, George sitting in a back both, James hanging around the dance floor, Thomas sitting at a table about mid way between the main door and the bar, and Gordo took the seat at the bar that was farthest from the door.
After just a few minutes people started to stream in and they were soon lost in the crowd and hopefully inconspicuous. Gordo thought he caught a glimpse of Lizzie entering, but wasn't sure. He scanned the room every few minutes until he found the four girls sitting at a table and talking while sipping on various drinks.
"Now how am I supposed to spy on them without staring?" Gordo mumbled to himself after realizing what it must have looked like to anyone else in the club when he had been staring ahead blankly at a table full of women.
At the table, Gordo's staring had not gone unnoticed. "Don't look now, but some Jackass has been staring for five minutes straight from the bar." Elizabeth said.
Lizzie tried to suppress the initial reaction to hearing her speak and played the part of Tory. "Probably can't keep his eyes off us. Can't say that I blame him, I have trouble not staring at myself sometimes." Inside she cringed while she giggled at her own joke, along with the other girls.
"I dare you to go talk to him." Elizabeth said to Tory. "Go up and get us some more drinks and just start talking to him. See what happens."
"I'm not usually the type. . ." Lizzie caught herself before finishing the sentence. Fact was, she really didn't know what type of person Tory usually was, but going up and talking to some random guy at a club was not something on her own personal list of fun things to do. "Well, why not."
"Hey can you get me something strong?" Jane asked as Lizzie stood up from her seat. "And make it a double?"
"Sure thing. Anybody else?" Mary and Elizabeth both declined, since their drinks were more than half full. 'Here goes nothing' Lizzie thought as she made her way around groups of people to the bar. She ended up standing right next to the guy Elizabeth had pointed out. "I need a double shot of the strongest stuff you've got and a. . ."
"Pina Colada?"
Lizzie turned to look at the guy who had just taken the words from her mouth to find him looking down at the bar with his mouth over his hand. There was something familiar about him, but she just shook it off and nodded to the bar tender that pina colada was correct, "Virgin, please."
"That was a lucky guess." Lizzie said, trying to get a better look at his face.
"Sorry about that, I just couldn't control myself for some reason." Gordo wanted to get up and walk away. Not only was this awkward but he was sure they were losing points just by talking to each other. He was technically a guy that she was on the borderline of flirting with.
"That's okay, just caught me off guard a little." The drinks were placed in front of her but just as she was about to pick them up and walk away Gordo made the mistake of looking up and their eyes met. Even with the moustache and a prosthetic nose, Lizzie knew those eyes.
Rather than say anything though, she somehow caught her emotions and just kept turning and walked away from him. For a moment Gordo thought that maybe she hadn't actually recognized him, but when she looked back at him with a clear question on her face, he knew that she knew who he was.
He was happy to see that she was just playing it off though and acted as if she didn't realize who he was. Gordo didn't remember being told about any disqualifications or anything, but he did not want to chance getting sent home because Lizzie and he were truthfully so close that she knew him simply by his eyes. They still had some things to get worked out before he was ready to return to life without her.