A/N: Hey ya'll! Thanks sooo much for the encouraging reviews, and Tormented Soul/James of course, for helping me with the story! Thanks to all the reviewers, laraib, I-luv-roswell, KrisKG, XoaLLyCaT LoVeS ToMoX (oh, BTW, I reread the chapter, and it IS like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days!" I didn't think about that when I was writing it, but I guess it was subconsciously inspired by the movie!) I3itterSweet, Espanachick, Lostworld, Atlanta Enchanted, and Black Knight 03! Whew! Ok, I'll stop now so you can read the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Lizzie McGuire" or any of the characters from the show.

Ocean Front

Chapter 3: Catching Up With Old Friends

            "Damn it! You've got to be kidding me!" David Gordon groaned into his cell phone. "We are eight days away from opening night and you tell me there is a problem with the scene now? I'll be over as soon as I can."

            David reluctantly got up from his lounge by the pool. It was a beautiful 72 degrees in Beverly Hills, California. If he had a choice, David would spend the entirety of the day sitting in the shade and brainstorming for his next project. Unfortunately, he had to worry about the upcoming premiere and endless interviews with nosy reporters.

            David padded back into his mansion. He had just grabbed the keys and was ready to go out the door when the doorbell rang. David turned abruptly, almost tripping over his napping dog, Max. The golden retriever didn't even bat an eye.

            David peered into the peephole. Seeing who it was, he groaned and let her in.

            "Hi, Kate," he said.

            "Photographers are in the bushes," she muttered, smiling the whole time. "Hey, sweetie!" she squealed in a loud voice, and threw her arms around him. David plastered a smile on his face and kissed her cheek. When Kate stepped in and David shut the door, they quickly let go of each other.

            "How much longer do we need to do this for?" David grumbled.

            "Chill out," Kate replied, rolling her eyes. She promptly helped herself to a diet coke, stepped over Max, and plopped down on the couch. "As long as we give them stuff to write about, we're cool. After our very public breakup next week, it's all over. See? Look at this." She whipped out a magazine from her purse.

            A Match Made in Heaven- or on the set? David looked at the headline on the cover of the glossy magazine, along with a picture of him and Kate hugging. He scanned the magazine cover. The paparazzi had managed to take many pictures of them together, not to his surprise. After all, that was the whole point. The story inaccurately told of how they got together, along with some speculations that Kate was pregnant. David snorted.

            "Don't laugh," Kate said with an annoyed click of her tongue, not looking up from her own magazine. "Look at all the publicity we're getting. Do you know how many people will come watch our movie?"

            "You know, while we're pregnant, why don't we go shop for a wedding ring now?" David said sarcastically, feeling irritated. Kate looked up.

            "Actually, that's not a bad idea," she murmured, lost in thought. David rolled his eyes and silently wondered why he had allowed himself to get involved in this. He had been caught by the constantly fickle Hollywood business. In film school, he had made his way by making documentaries and short films. Then he moved onto bigger projects. A few blockbuster films later, he had won for best director at the Academy Awards at age twenty-three. Now he was stuck in the whirlwind of the entertainment industry.

            "Kate, I have to go to the studio," David said, shaking his head.

            "Ooh, can I come?" Kate asked, jumping up.

            "Yeah, fine," replied David, just to get her to cooperate.

            As they started out the door, they reassumed their role as Hollywood's It-couple. David slung his arm around Kate's shoulders and pretended to ignore the flash that just went off. They hurried into David's black convertible.

********

            "Matt, I can't believe you didn't call me earlier!" Matt cringed at the sound of his sister's screeching.

            "I'm sorry!" he cut in when Lizzie stopped to take a breath. "I just found out a few days ago! And I was going to call you, honestly!"

            "Yet, I had to hear it from Mom and Dad. And how do you think I felt when they just sprang it on me that you're moving in with me?" Lizzie complained.

            "Only temporarily, until I find a place of my own," Matt explained. "Pretty please? You're my favorite big sister," he wheedled. He heard Lizzie sigh.

            "I'm you're only sister," she answered, and Matt could almost see her rolling her eyes, even though he was in Chicago and she was in New York. She sighed again. "You know I'll let you stay with me," Lizzie pointed out. "Ok, I need to go to a meeting soon, but hey- congratulations on your promotion. Talk to you later, Mr. Marketing-Executive big-wig."

            "That's right, look up to your superiors."

            Lizzie laughed and they both hung up.

********

            "…so the uncertainties expressed in the Heisenberg principle are usually negligible on the macroscopic level. Ok, that's all the time we have today, class. Remember, exam in two weeks!"

            Ethan turned back to the chalkboard and began erasing the things he had written during the lecture as students began to file out the door.

            "Dr. Craft!" A man entered the room, waving away the girls that were still lingering, hoping to spend more time with their handsome professor.

            "Dr. Tudgeman, how are you doing?"

            "I just wanted to see how you're doing with the speech. Congratulations, by the way, for making keynote speaker," Larry said, watching Ethan erase the board cleanly.

            "Thanks, Larry," Ethan replied, dropping the formality they had assumed at the beginning of their conversation. "Oh, here's a copy. I've been meaning to have you read over it."

            "Will do," Larry answered, waiting as Ethan stuffed some papers in his briefcase. They walked out together.

            "You know, Ethan," Larry started as they walked outside onto the sunny campus, "I have to tell you, I admire you greatly. Don't take any offense, but when I first saw that you were going to teach alongside me, at Stanford University, I thought, 'no way can Ethan Craft teach physics here! Not that pretty-boy from high school!'"

            They walked past a couple girls when looked furtively at Ethan and began blushing and whispering.

            "I see that that hasn't changed," Larry said matter-of-factly. Ethan grinned. "So, anyway," continued Larry, "I couldn't believe it when I heard you had a Ph.D in quantum physics. You've come a long way, and I just want to praise you."

            "Wow, Larry," Ethan said. "Thanks."

            "Well, I better get going, I'm meeting Patricia for dinner later. I'll get the speech back to you before you leave."

            "I'm going down to LA Tuesday night. The seminars are on Wednesday and Friday," Ethan answered.

            "Ok then. Good luck, Craft!" Larry waved, going in the opposite direction.

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A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review! Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter out soon!