Wow! Thanks to everyone on the great reviews. Especially thanks to new readers/reviewers! Glad you are enjoying the Olsen Twins. I thought that was pretty funny, actually. To green aura: YES! I do make Gordo suffer, don't I? I'm so mean to him! Not really. It will all come out alright in the end.

Before you read any further…if you are a big fan of the LG ship, you might not like the direction this story is going. I only mention it because I don't want to get any flames about how Gordo and Lizzie would never act like this towards each other. In this story, they do. Remember, I'm trying to be angsty here, and you can't have angst if the existing ship is all peachy.

-

-

12:00 Noon

Now it was noon, and that meant Gordo was having lunch with Lizzie in the courtyard. Sometimes Miranda and Charlie joined them, but today they were alone, and Lizzie seemed to prefer it that way. She had a lot to talk about, most of it about the Dance, and Gordo tried as hard as he could to pay attention, but he wasn't one hundred per cent focused until he heard her say, "And I think it would be a good idea to get a room."

Now he looked at her, and he knew that before they went any further he had to be absolutely certain he understood what she was talking about. "You want us to get a room?" he repeated. "You mean at the hotel? The night of the dance?"

"Of course at the hotel!" Lizzie said. "Where else, silly? It will be fun, don't you think?"

Gordo swallowed hard, knowing where this was going, yet not wanting to go there, especially not now while he was eating. This morning his parents had managed to ruin his bowl of cocoa puffs, and Lizzie was about to make a churning mess of his ham and cheese sandwich.

"I wonder how much it would cost," Lizzie said idly.

"Are we splitting this with Charlie and Miranda?" Gordo asked, curbing an edge of sarcasm in his voice.

"Gordo!" she scolded. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking of how expensive this dance is turning out to be."

Lizzie sighed and said quietly, "Gordo, you shouldn't be thinking of the expense. Though, hmmm….it would be a lot cheaper if we split it, wouldn't it? But, really! You should only be thinking about the fun. Not only the fun we're going to have in the limo and at the Dance, but also the fun we can have….later….in our very own room."

Gordo took another bite of his sandwich, knowing that if his mouth was full of food, he could avoid responding for at least a few moments as he tried to think of a tactful way to inform her that he did not want to get a room. He did not want to pay for it, but that was the least of his concerns. Most of all, he did not want a repeat of what had happened last time.

Gordo sighed through his sandwich, trying not to be annoyed with Lizzie. He understood that she liked him and wanted to be with him. He used to want to be with her too. But things had changed recently. And it had nothing to do with that other girl. But it had everything to do with the one and only time he and Lizzie had actually had sex.

It happened about six weeks ago. After months and months of talking and agonizing about it, they finally made the decision to do it. It seemed like the right decision at the time, but almost immediately afterwards, Gordo knew it had changed everything between them, and not for the better, as he had hoped.

It was the first time for both of them, and it felt awkward, and apparently a bit painful for Lizzie, though she kept assuring him that she was okay. Of course they had been smart enough to use a condom, but being inexperienced, there was a slight mishap upon withdrawal.

Lizzie was not as traumatized by the mishap as Gordo had been, until a week later, when her period did not appear in its usually timely fashion. Then they worried together, and at one point Lizzie angrily lashed out at Gordo for being so stupid. Nobody had ever called him stupid before. He knew she was upset, but so was he. She could have been a little more understanding.

Three days later Lizzie took a pregnancy test, and the results were negative, but Gordo was not completely convinced until her period finally, miraculously appeared, ten days after its appointed time. Altogether those were thirteen days that scared the crap out of Gordo, and he swore that he never wanted to go through an experience like that again.

Above and beyond all that, though, things had changed between them. Gordo could never forget the way Lizzie had called him stupid, nor could he forget how stupid he had felt for ever letting the "mishap" happen in the first place. Maybe he wasn't as ready for sex as he thought he was. Maybe he was still too much of a dumb kid. And maybe he didn't actually love Lizzie as much as he thought he did. He felt young, dumb and confused.

Now as he recalled all this, his stomach churning, Lizzie locked her arm in his and whispered in his ear, "We don't have to use a…a---one of those things again. I have a plan, I have something better."

"You do?" Gordo squeaked out.

"Yes, I do. I can go on the pill. And the best part is that there's no chance my parents are going to find out. Do you know Mindy in my third period? Her older sister is on the pill, but she just broke up with her boyfriend, so she's not going to need her prescription for a while. She offered Mindy her pills. Mindy doesn't need them, but I had talked to her about you and me, so she said she would get her sister's pills for me if I want them."

"You talked to Mindy about us?" Gordo asked in alarm. "About what happened?"

"We're friends," Lizzie explained. "That's what friends do. We talk to each other."

"You talked about me? Lizzie, you had no right to talk about me. That's personal stuff."

"Oh, Gordo. Don't worry about Mindy. She's not going to tell anyone."

Gordo's alarm increased. He hadn't even gotten as far as thinking that Mindy might pass the story on to other people. If that happened---

"Oh, Lizzie…" Gordo said, dropping his head in to his hands.

"Gordo…" she comforted, drawing closer to him. "Listen---"

Gordo shook her off. "No, Lizzie, you listen to me," he said strongly. "What happens between us is personal. You don't go blabbing it to all your friends."

"Oh, all right," Lizzie agreed. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to Mindy. She's not that good of a friend. But Heather, and Miranda---"

"Especially not Miranda!" Gordo exclaimed, immediately regretting his outburst. He covered it up with the addition of, "And especially not Heather!"

"Why not?" Lizzie wondered.

"Neither of those girls are capable of observing the 'Cone of Silence.'" Gordo explained, glad to have a reason so quickly come to mind. "If they should tell their boyfriends, before you know it, everyone in the school will know---"

"Oh, Gordo," Lizzie scolded. "Mark is not going to blab your personal problems to everybody in the school. Neither is Charlie. You should know that."

"Listen, Lizzie," Gordo repeated. "I'm asking you. I'm begging you. Please. Please do not talk to anybody about this stuff."

"Okay," Lizzie said quietly, leaning against him, clutching his arm. "I'm sorry," she added in a small, baby voice. "I didn't mean to upset you, sweetie."

Gordo put his had on her arm, squeezing it. His stomach was now officially upset, and he almost felt like he was going to cry. It suddenly occurred to him that he and Lizzie would probably be breaking up sooner rather than later. He felt bad, because she really was not a bad person, she didn't purposely do mean or stupid things. Maybe he was too damn sensitive. All he knew was that their time together had passed.

"So…" Lizzie said hopefully. "About the room…"

Gordo closed his eyes. "I don't want you taking someone else's medication, Lizzie. You're not supposed to do that. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"It's not a big deal," Lizzie said. "It's practically over- the- counter. Anybody can take them."

"Lizzie, it's not right, and you know it."

"But I don't want to wait any longer," Lizzie pouted, holding him tighter. "I want to be with you again, sweetie. This time will be better, I promise. And the Dance would be the perfect opportunity."

They heard the bell ringing from across the courtyard. "Out of time," Gordo said, but what he was secretly thinking was Saved by the bell! "We'll talk about this later, Liz, okay?"

-

3:30 p.m.

Again, Gordo found himself running. Around and around the track, getting nowhere. Afternoon practices were always worse than his morning run, because the sun was merciless at this time of day. Sweat ran down his face, into his eyes. His legs ached, his stomach churned. Damn! There had to be a better way to keep the parental units off his back!

Since it was Friday, Coach called the practice off early, knowing most of his runners were looking forward to starting their weekend as soon as possible. Coach was an understanding kind of guy, and Gordo appreciated at least that much.

"Stop!" Coach called, waving his hands, calling them in from the track. "Hey, guys! Enough for today! Stop, everybody! Just stop!"

Gordo slowed to a trot and his best friend Charles Clooney was soon beside him. "Hey, Gordon," Charlie said, slapping his on the back. "Whassup?"

"Not much," Gordo breathed. "What's going on with you?"

"Not much," Charlie said. "Big beach thing tonight, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I thought you worked Fridays."

"Oh, shit!" Gordo exclaimed. "I switched with Jimmy. I forgot to call him, to remind him to go in for me tonight. Remind me later, okay?"

"Remind you to remind Jimmy," Charlie nodded. "Sure."

They walked in towards the gymnasium, catching their breaths.

"So," Charlie said at last. "You think Coach is gonna give us the standard weekend speech? Safe sex, designated driver, recreational drugs in moderate amounts…"

Gordo laughed. "Probably."

They walked a little more, then Charlie suddenly said, "Speaking of safe sex, Gordon, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

Gordo let out a deep breath and said, "No, Clooney, I don't swing both ways."

"You know Wednesdays are Amateur Night down at the Comedy Club," Charlie replied, never missing a beat. "You ought to try out."

"I'll do that, Clooney. But why are you talking about safe sex?"

"Oh. Yeah, here's the thing. I've been wondering if you and Lizzie would like to split the cost of a room with me and Miranda the night of the dance."

Gordo almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why the hell would you ask something like that?" he asked.

"Because the rooms are so damn expensive, dude. And I heard Lizzie had a similar idea. God! I don't mean we should all use the room at the same time. Is that what you thought, you sick bastard? I mean we could take turns. You and Lizzie first, me and Miranda next. "

"And Miranda is in agreement with this plan?" Gordo wondered, feeling strange.

"Well, not exactly. Not yet, anyway. I'm still working on her, you know, but I think she's starting to weaken. And if we had the room, if it was right there, and we were having a good time and all, maybe a few drinks…"

Gordo shook his head in disgust. "Man, you are such a pig."

"Not really, " Charlie said. "She wants it. I can tell. She's just playing coy with me. But it's going to happen."

"You should leave her the hell alone," Gordo shot back. "Miranda's a nice girl, a good girl. She deserves better than to be pressured into sex by some jerk---"

"Gordon! Chill, dude! Did you just call me a jerk?"

"I've known Miranda a lot longer than I've known you, Clooney. She's my friend, she's like a sister. And I'm not going to let some jerk pressure my sister into---"

Charlie reached out and grabbed Gordo's shoulder. "Dude!" he repeated.

Gordo threw him off, aggrevated and disgusted beyond reason. "Don't mess with Miranda," he warned.

Charlie gave him a strange look. "Gordon, you are so out of line. Where the hell do you get off---?"

"Shut up, Clooney," Gordo warned. "Shut up and get off my back. And get off Miranda's back, while you're at it, too. You got it? Dude?"

Gordo stalked off, feeling Charlie's angry presence behind his back. Neither of them were the type to come to blows, but as he walked away, Gordo felt he wouldn't have been at all surprised to feel Charlie attacking him from behind.

Gordo had spent too many years with only Lizzie and Miranda as best friends. He didn't always know how guys were supposed to act with each other. As smart as he was, he sometimes felt like a social retard. Had he overreacted? Was Charlie right to say he was out of line? He didn't know. All he knew was that he couldn't bear the idea of Miranda under that kind of pressure. Hell, he couldn't bear the thought of Miranda having sex with anyone.

Unless….unless…

How could Charlie be such a jerk? Or was he the jerk for not acting like a typical guy, not jumping right on board with the idea, saying, "Oh yeah, that chick digs you, man, she wants it! Go for it, dude!"

But guys didn't let other guys mess around with their sisters. That much he knew. And Miranda was like a sister to him….wasn't she? Well, she was…but she wasn't exactly. Was she? It hadn't actually been brotherly concern that had set Gordo off like that.

He was still trying to deal with what was happening to him lately, as far as Miranda was concerned, and this incident had been exceptionally difficult, exceptionally revealing. He wasn't sure he was completely ready for what was being revealed.

Gordo got into the locker room and changed. He saw Charlie on the other side of the room, but when the time came for everyone to sit down for the Coach's weekend pep talk, he and Charlie stayed on opposite sides of the room. Afterwards, though, as everybody was clearing out, Gordo gathered his things and headed out towards his car, only to find Charlie was waiting for him outside the door.

"Look, Gordon," he said. "I'm sorry."

Gordo sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. What happens with you and Miranda is your business. And besides, I know Randa. She can hold her own pretty good. She can be obstinate. She's not going to let you talk her into anything she's not ready for."

Charlie smiled. "You think so?"

"Oh, I know so," Gordo said. "Miranda doesn't need me to fight her battles for her. She can fight them just fine herself."

Charlie nodded. "All right then, Gordon. Whatever you say. As long as we understand each other. Right?"

Gordo nodded in agreement. He felt he understood Charlie. He even felt he understood Miranda. He just wasn't sure he really understood himself and all he was going through at this moment.

-

5:00 p.m.

The house was empty. The house was almost always empty these days. Gordo was always at some school activity, or out with Lizzie, and his mom and dad had recently started going out on "dates" quite a bit, no doubt preparing for the day when he would be permanently out of their hair, shipped off to an East Coast Ivy League college.

It was nice that his parents' relationship was blossoming again after all these years, Gordo supposed, but somehow that meant he was always getting the short end of the stick.

He couldn't remember the last time Mom had cooked a family dinner. Tonight, there was a twenty dollar bill on the table, with a note in his mother's delicate hand, "Get pizza!" Underneath this, in his father's hand, angular block letters, was the scribbled SAT website address, along with his credit card number and expiration date, with the one word command, "Register!"

Gordo sighed, put the twenty in his pocket, left the note on the table. He plopped down on the sofa, in front of the TV, and reached for the remote. Finally able to lean back, after this long day, he suddenly felt exhausted. It seemed he had spent half the day running, and the other half of the day fighting with all those people who were closest to him. Not much had gone right today, had it?

As he flipped through the channels, he found a 1960's musical that apparently was called "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!" The movie itself looked pretty bad, but the title intrigued him. Of course in the 1960's, the phrase "get off" did not have the double meaning it did today…or did it? At any rate, Gordo found himself more focused on the first part of the title: Stop the World.

Man…he thought. Stop the World….

Wouldn't it be nice to just stop the world? He didn't even care if he got off, or if he got off. It would so great to just stop…even for a moment….

He sighed heavily, feeling so tired. It wasn't right that a kid his age should feel so tired. Maybe he needed a nap. He really hadn't had enough sleep last night, and now tonight promised to be another late one, at the beach first, and later probably at Denny's, eating breakfast with the whole gang at two or three in the morning. He ought to get a little sleep now.

Gordo pointed the remote at the TV, pressing the Mute button. As he did, a commercial came on for a movie that would be shown later tonight. Holiday in the Sun, starring the Olsen Twins. Gordo grinned, almost laughed. He closed his eyes, thinking of the Olsen Twins, thinking of Miranda, and in only a few moments, he was dead asleep on the sofa.