A/N: Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm really glad you like this story. For those of you who inquired about my story, "Cruisin," well, I'm in a slump that I'm sure I will get out of soon, but have patience. Also, I've never been in the Olympics, so if these athletes are completely strange, just remember that I'm not focusing so much on the sport or the way people behave because that's beyond me. Anyway, on to chapter 2.

Also, for clarification, the name of Gordo's roommate is Jay. I had it originally as Sam, but then I realized that it might be confusing with Sam McGuire.

Chapter Two

Meetings and Changes

???Matt McGuire, day before opening ceremonies, Olympic Village, Beijing, China???

Matt was resting that afternoon while his parents went to walk around the city. Also, his roommate, fellow swimmer, Kyle Pratt, was out with his girlfriend. He had just fallen asleep when he heard a knock on the door. Matt jumped up to open the door, to see American athletes Carson Henderson and Jake Paulson. "Hey," he said, as he yawned.

"Hey. Sorry to wake you, but we think there is something going on in the lobby that you don't want to miss out on," Jake said, pulling Matt by the arm and practically dragging him to the main lobby of their dormitory.

Once they stopped, Matt looked and sighed, realizing what was going on. For lying on the couch was a large, muscular man sleeping like a baby on the couch. There was a small crowd of people surrounding the couch as two or three guys messed with him, hoping to entertain their audience.

"You woke me up for this? Who is this?"

"We don't know who he is but we think he's a wrestler or something."

They looked on to watch the guy be tickled on his feet, poked on his stomach, and various other things were done to him and he didn't flinch. The crowd seemed amused, as it grew a little larger and represented quite a few countries. Matt recognized the guys messing with him as members of the American rowing team. He was almost embarrassed to be there as he thought it was kind of stupid. "Guys," he said, "I'm going to go back to my room and get more sleep. If anything else interesting happens, do me a favor and let me sleep."

Matt turned around and headed for the elevator, yawning. He pushed the button and when the door opened, he noticed that there was a girl already in there. He nodded politely as he got in and pushed the button for his level. The girl smiled, recognizing who it was immediately. She left the lobby festivities a few minutes before he came, "Are they still messing with that guy?" she asked.

Matt nodded, yawning yet again, "Yeah."

The girl nodded and then realized maybe she should introduce herself. She stuck out her arm, "I'm Ashley Chambers."

Matt was about to shake her hand until it clicked, "The swimmer?"

"Yep. And you are Matt McGuire...the swimmer. Nice to meet you, too."

Matt wanted to punch himself for feeling so stupid. He didn't have enough time to, though, as the elevator had stopped and reached her floor. She got off, turning back to wave and smile, "Nice to meet you, Matt. I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Matt said, feeling a little pitiful, "I'll see you around."

The elevator closed and headed to Matt's floor and Matt got off and headed to his dorm, and fell asleep.

???David Gordon, The Morning of the Opening Ceremony, Press Area???

"Gordon!" a large man called in a New York accent, "Come here for a sec!"

"I'll be right there," he called back, wrapping up his conversation with somebody, "I'll talk to you later." He walked over to the man and said, "Sir?"

"Gordon, you're covering the boxing competitions, aren't you?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Green. In fact, I was just about to head over to the arena in a few minutes."

"Well, plans have changed. Roberts called from America and said that his wife went into labor two months before she was supposed to and he won't be covering this stuff, after all. We need you to cover for him. He's in charge of swimming. You're supposed to meet this guy, Jenkins, at the Indoor Pool Hall in an hour. Is this okay with you?"

"Um...yes sir," Gordo said.

"Great. Thanks, Gordon!"

"You're welcome," he said and he left the building and went to the Pool Hall to meet up with Jenkins, who was already there. He handed Gordo a press badge and showed him where he would be sitting.

"I don't know what all Green told you about what you're getting yourself into, so thanks for coming on such a short notice," the tall, thin, official looking man said.

Gordo shrugged, "It's my pleasure. Besides, I think I might know a little more about swimming than I do about boxing."

Jenkins chuckled, "Well, its true that its probably a little easier to tell what is going on when its being reported in your ear and you get to look and see for yourself, but it is more tedious with the hours. Swimming lasts for the first eight days of the games, but it is in the morning and in the evening. The results are posted for the spectators on the board, but they will also be sent directly to your screen as well. You will also have access to swimmer's profiles and world records on the computer. I believe the person next to you is from Scotland and he'll probably be able to help you. You also have a telephone you can use to talk to others and sometimes they might talk to you. We'll have you a new badge and shirt by tonight and you'll work from six to noon local time as well as six to eleven in the evening. Those times are subject to change and if for some reason you can't work a day, call the press number as well as whomever else you are supposed to call. The badge will get you into any Olympic facility until the end, but if you abuse this privilege, the Official Olympic Committee has the right to take this away. Most of this stuff has been written down for you in a handbook, but sometimes people don't read the handbook, so that's why I'm going over it. My understanding is that you are an online journalist for us. Where are you staying?

"I'm staying in a hotel nearby. I forgot the name of it."

"Okay. You're probably staying with the rest of us. I think that's just about it...you need direct communication with the announcer as well as the press areas, which will be set up soon...," Jenkins said, looking around. Finally, he looked at Gordo and smiled, holding his hand out, "Well, good luck, Gordon. I'm glad you're part of the team. "

Gordo shook his hand, "Thanks."

He left the facility and headed back to his room. He knew nothing about any of the athletes and he knew that he should probably at least be aware of the big Olympic swimmers. He'd never even covered sporting events before, but he knew that this was an opportunity and a challenge, and in order to move up in his job, he couldn't turn down such opportunities.

Not used to the eleven-hour time difference, however, he fell asleep before he had the chance to read anything.

The next time he woke up, he realized that he only had time for a quick shower before he was supposed to go to the Opening Ceremonies. Someone had an extra ticket and offered it to him the day before. He dressed quickly, grabbed his wallet and headed for the main place.

Maybe he was in too much of a hurry, however, for as he got closer and closer to the massive crowd outside the arena, he managed to run into a young woman. The young woman ended up falling and Gordo, being the gentleman that he was, offered his hand to help pull her up. The woman, not really paying attention to the man as she concentrated on wiping her pants off, said, "Thank you."

Gordo, who only noticed that she had long, blonde hair, responded with, "You're welcome. I'm sorry I knocked you over."

The woman, after she figured she looked good enough, finally looked up as she said, "I was just waiting for something like this to happen. I'm just glad you speak..." then she stopped realizing the familiarity of the face in front of her. "Gordo?" She asked, with a puzzled expression.

Gordo jumped a little at hearing his name. He hadn't really given the woman a good look before, but when he looked again, he recognized the face, "Lizzie?" he said, sounding just as surprised as she was, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here? What kind of sister would I be if I didn't support my own brother? What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know Matt was in the Olympics. I'm covering the swimming events online."

"Really? Is that what you are doing these days?"

"Yup. So, excuse my ignorance, but what sport does Matt play?"

"He swims," Lizzie said, smirking as she crossed her arms.

"Oh yeah," Gordo said, "I knew he was some sort of junior champion a few years ago. It must have slipped my mind."

"Yeah, well its not your fault. We haven't seen each other in a few years, so I don't blame you."

"So..." Gordo said as the small talk converged into awkward silence, "I guess I will see you around, then."

Lizzie nodded, "Yeah, definitely. Maybe we can have lunch someday or something to catch up."

"Yeah, definitely," Gordo agreed as the old friends parted. Gordo knew he should have hugged his old friend and ex-girlfriend, but by then it was too late. He didn't realize he would have to face his best friend. He and Lizzie had dated in high school before he decided to leave to go to NYU for film school. After the first year, however, he decided to transfer to UCLA to major in journalism and to be closer to home, but by then, he'd lost track of both Lizzie and Miranda. He learned from someone that Lizzie ended up going to Arizona for school and was dating a football player. After learning this, Gordo figured that this was a sign that times were changing and that he probably would never see Lizzie again...even if he were still in love with her.

His heart sank as he watched her walk away and lost her in the crowd. It took him a long time to get over her, and he thought he was over her, but seeing her again, even four years later, made him wonder if he was over her.