A/N: I do not own the song "Mamma Mia" from the musical "Mamma Mia!" (NOTE: there is a difference between the lyrics from the musical and the original ABBA song. These words fit much better)

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Chapter Five: Mamma Mia

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Though she had changed her outfit about ten times, Lizzie finally decided that what she picked out to wear was just perfect for this occasion as she pulled up to the Digital Bean. Faded, ripped jeans clung nicely to her legs; her favorite tee – a sleeveless, vintage Foo Fighters shirt – was also selected. She checked her hair and make-up in the mirror quickly. Looking into her own blue eyes, she could see her own nervousness, the fourteen-year-girl inside staring back at her.

Walking inside her and Gordo's old hang-out was like stepping into an alternate reality. It looked much different, but it was still the Digital Bean. Music pulsed throughout the room as waitresses zoomed past her with trays. She was glad to see that most of the people in the room were tweens. They most likely wouldn't recognize her.

Lizzie sat down at the bar, heart thumping louder than the bass of the music. She recalled waiting for Gordo here for their two first dates all those years ago: one she was left heartbroken, but the other was one of the greatest days of her life. She could not help smiling like a doof when she thought back on it.

'Why am I doing this?' she suddenly thought miserably. 'Why? I am going to end up hurting myself all over again?'

She did not know. What was worse, not seeing Gordo or settling to be just friends with him? Oy, it was too late to think about that now. When he showed up she would figure it out. She tried to bring back all the pain of their break-up to help her solve her problem, but the pain had vanished sometime in between him ringing her doorbell early that morning and that moment as she sat waiting for him.

-I was cheated by you, and I think you know when-

After Gordo's meeting, he went back to his hotel room. He had time to kill, so he went to the closest record store and rummaged through CDs. He listened to each of Lizzie's songs through giant, black headphones, preparing his heart for when noon rolled around. He played "My Apology" over and over again, remembering the scorching pain of breaking Lizzie's heart with his big mouth.

'I'll watch what I say this time,' he thought to himself. 'We're going to have a great time.'

Still, his mind wandered back to a time when he was just getting used to life without Lizzie, the dreadful start of two years of emptiness inside of him.

-So I made up my mind: it must come to an end-

As Lizzie waited for Gordo, she thought about what had gone on between them when they were together. Everything. From their first kiss on a rooftop in Rome to that awful day when it all went wrong, Lizzie had Gordo and Gordo had Lizzie. They were never apart for more than a day in high school. When college came, they spoke on the phone at least four times a day. Through those four years, she remained faithful, rejecting every person that hit on her, even if she was slightly attracted to him. She would remind herself of Gordo and she would confidently state, "I have a boyfriend," even though he was 3,000 miles away. She never ceased to love him; she had given him everything, including herself one night during Christmas break of her sophomore year of college. She stopped herself from thinking about that night in detail. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. The love that was between them then was all she needed, but she didn't have it anymore.

And she wanted it more than anything.

-Look at me now. Will I ever learn?-

The cab ride back to Hillridge felt like it took an eternity to Gordo. He twiddled his thumbs in the silence that filled the car, a major contrast from his drive with Lizzie earlier that morning. Good beans, she was beautiful. She was vibrant, happy, girly… the perfect woman. But she was just his friend. 'The girl of my dreams is my buddy,' he thought miserably as they turned onto the Hillridge exit.

-I don't know how, but I suddenly lose control. There's a fire within my soul-

Gordo was completely embarrassed when he discovered that he had about two dollars left in his pocket after paying the cab driver to drop him off at the Digital Bean. Still, he tried to look confident as he walked through the doors of the place that had once been a second home to him, Miranda, and Lizzie. He was anything but confident on the inside. He spotted Lizzie right away, and like a corny movie, everything else faded away around her. He could hear the "Hallelujah" chorus.

-Just one look and I can hear a bell ring-

Lizzie turned her heads towards the door. There was Gordo, standing in the doorway, gawking at her. Her heart came to a halt in her chest. The world stopped around her.

-One more look and I forget everything, whoa, oh-

"Hey," Lizzie found herself calling out, eyes melting on him as if he was sitting on a white horse wearing shiny armor.

All Gordo could do was nod. His brain commanded his feet to move forward, and they did, but it took a second or two. Slowly he moved towards her, staring, disregarding his surroundings completely. Even though he saw he just a few hours ago, it was if he was seeing her for the first time. There was no doubt in his scrambled, stressed mind at the moment.

David Gordon was still completely in love with Elizabeth McGuire.

-Mamma Mia, here I go again. My my, how can I resist ya?-

He sat down beside her. Though he could feel his tongue swelling up, he tried speak just so she could respond in her smooth, loveable voice.

"So, how was your morning?" he asked.

A truthful response would have been: "I paced around my kitchen for three hours working up an anxious sweat" but she just said, "It was nice. Saved my appetite."

The waitress came over to them and took their drink orders. An awkward silence followed.

'Say something,' Gordo thought. 'Good goats, Gordo, this might be your only chance to rekindle your friendship. Say something!'

"Kick-ass shirt," he said.

"Thanks," Lizzie replied with a giggle. "Remember, it was you that got me into the Foo Fighters. We went to that concert junior year. Oh, that was so awesome."

Thankfully, the conversation began to flow, and flow so comfortably. They were friends again; that's what they felt like. But in both of their hearts, the emptiness they left each other with was still there, only able to be filled by one thing.

--Mamma Mia, does it show again, my, my, just how much I missed ya?-

Lunch was wonderful. They talked about almost everything. Gordo filled her in about his life, which pretty much blew, but Lizzie made it sound exciting.

"But you live in NYC! That's so cool!" "You directed your own movie! How hot is that?" "All your hard work will pay off soon, I can tell."

But there was one uninvited question that slipped out of Lizzie's mouth, "So, how's your love life going?"

Gordo took the unexpected remark worse than he should have. He began stuttering and almost slipped his drink right in her lap. When he stopped spazzing, Lizzie said, "C'mon, one of us had to bring it up."

He sighed. She was right. "I don't have a love life," he answered.

Lizzie stopped herself from smiling in the slightest. "Oh, why?"

"Work," he mumbled, sighing again. "It's all I've done for two whole years." He could not help but add, "What about you?"

Lizzie debated whether to speak about all the dead-end relationships with guys that meant absolutely nothing to her. Eventually she said, "I've been dating around. Not really anything that was more than a couple of months."

"Why?" As soon as the word came out of his mouth, Gordo wished he could take it back. Dammit, he thought. Why on earth would you ask her why? Why?

"Um, I just didn't feel any sparks between us," she replied, looking down. "No sparks with any of them."

Gordo wanted to make the situation a little better for her. "Well, you know, sparks are overrated." That didn't make any sense. Still, Lizzie laughed.

"That is such a Gordo thing to say," she said through giggles. He started to laugh, too.

-Yes, I've been broken-hearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why did I ever let you go?-

Lunch was over far too fast. There had to be something else they could do together, but what? Both of them thought fast as they stood from their seats and prepared to leave. It was Lizzie who came up with something first.

"You want to go for a drive?" Lizzie asked.

"Yes," Gordo answered immediately and eagerly.

-Mamma Mia, now I really know, my, my, I should not have let you go-

First they drove around Hillridge, sight-seeing places from their past. They went past the old junior high. Both were completely silent looking at the old buildings. So many memories crashed down on them, things that had happened in this place that became a part of who they were.

Once they had driven around Hillridge, neither of them really wanted their trip to be over. Now it was Gordo's turn to prolong the get-together.

"Let's go somewhere else."

Lizzie's answer: revving up the engine and heading onto the highway at 65 miles per hour.

-I was angry and sad when I knew we were through-

Instead of heading to L.A., they drove until they were in the town of Santa Monica. The warm air surrounded them in the open-topped car. It was scented of the ocean, and though they had nothing but the clothes they came in, somehow, Lizzie and Gordo ended up on the beach that day.

-I can't count all the times I have cried over you-

Lying on a Corona towel she purchased on the boardwalk for a buck, Lizzie pretended she was looking out at the blue water. What she really was doing was peeking at Gordo out of the corner of her eye. He had his video camera, sitting on the sand, recording the sights around him. Just watching him made Lizzie remember why she had cared so deeply for him. He was passionate about the world him. Though he had been deprived of that feeling for two whole years, she loved watching it flood back to him within a few minutes.

-Look at me now. Will I ever learn? I don't know how, but I suddenly lose control. There's a fire within my soul-

As Gordo panned Santa Monica's shore on this glorious early summer morning, things began to fall into place for him. He had not felt this happy or free in a long time. After being shut up in a crappy hole of an apartment in Brooklyn, this was, literally, like a breath of fresh air. He turned the camera over to Lizzie, staring wistfully out at the water. He called out her name, and she turned with her breathtaking smile to the camera. When she playfully waved, Gordo swore he felt his heart do a somersault.

-Just one look and I can hear a bell ring-

Still taping, Gordo looked out at the ocean. It looked so inviting, the white waves lapping over the pale sand. That giant body of water made him try to recall the last time he actually went swimming… he couldn't remember when that was. Suddenly he couldn't resist the sight of the sea. Forgetting to shut off the camera, he dropped it and pulled off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Lizzie asked.

He grabbed her hand. "C'mon. Let's go for a dip."

She laughed. "Are you kidding? I'm in jeans and a tee-shirt."

"So?"

"So, I'm not going swimming."

Suddenly, Gordo picked up her up off the towel slung her over his shoulder. "Why, I believe you are," he said as she exploded into a fit of laughter.

-One more look and I forget everything, whoa, oh-

Gordo ran for the water, Lizzie trying not the hit his back. When they got to the edge of the ocean, he kicked up salty water in her face.

"Hey!" she screamed, pounding on the back of his knees. "Put me down!"

"Gladly," he replied, tossing her out into the open water.

Lizzie emerged through the surface a moment later, laughing hysterically. Her make-up was just blotches of black underneath her blue eyes, but Gordo never thought she looked more beautiful. She ran over to him and knocked him over. They both began laughing and pushing, soaking wet, and never more in love with each other.

-Mamma Mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist ya? Mamma Mia, does it show again, my, my, just how much I missed ya?-

They swam around for about an hour without getting out. After that they were hungry, so they head up toward the boardwalk, stopping at a fry stall. Lizzie was having more fun on this "outing" than she ever had on any of her dates with those guys. She couldn't even remember their names as she sat outside, pigging out. With Gordo she could do that and not be embarrassed. He made fun of her, but that only made her happier. This was turning out to be one of the greatest days ever, a day she would always remember.

-Yes, I've been broken-hearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why did I ever let you go?-

After eating, they headed back to the beach. It would be evening soon, and Gordo decided to get one last swim in. He took off for water, Lizzie running behind. She jumped on top of him, bringing back a swirl of memories that instead of making her sad made her happy. After dunking Gordo underwater, she threw her arms around his neck without even thinking. It took her a minute to realize what position she was. Gordo realized it too, and he couldn't help but stare into her eyes for the longest time, getting lost, getting his life back.

-Mamma Mia, now I really know, my, my, I should not have let you go-

Lizzie's heart began to beat so loudly that she was sure he could hear it. Her chest vibrated as nervousness took over. She wanted to move her arms but they could not be swayed. She was paralyzed, her arms stuck to his bare neck. Oh goodness, she missed him. And here he was.

-Just one look and I can hear a bell ring. One more look I forget everything, whoa, oh-

The idiot Gordo of his teenage years took over normal, logical Gordo, the one that had inhabited him for two years. It was idiot Gordo that had gotten him Lizzie in the first place. He moved his face closer to hers, so slowly that he could have been moving backwards for all he knew, but suddenly Lizzie pushed her lips against his, tasting the saltwater on them, holding him tightly under the early summer sun in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

-Mamma Mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist ya? Mamma Mia, does it show again, my, my, just how much I missed ya? Yes, I've been broken-hearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why did I ever let you go? Mamma Mia, now I really know, my, my, I should not have let you go-