Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire or anything related to it. The song 'Are You Happy Now?' belongs to Michelle Branch.

Chapter 1. Are You Happy Now?

Lizzie sighed lowly, placing her arms around herself. It was another rainy day and she was stuck at her parents' house. Jo appeared and sat next to her daughter, rubbing her arms.
"Hi, sweetie. Why are you so unhappy?" Jo gently asked. Lizzie sighed again and shook her head.

"I have no freakin' idea, mom. I wish I could be happy, but... something doesn't feel right," Lizzie said.

"Did you happen to hear about that record deal?" Jo said. Lizzie nodded slowly and brushed a blonde strand of her hair away from her face. "What is it, honey?"

"Mom... If I want this, I'll have to take a risk," Lizzie replied, her eyes glowing at the thought. "I'd have to get away from HillRidge for a while... I need to go somewhere else, like a big city" Jo studied her face closely.

"Do you really want this?" Jo whispered. Lizzie nodded again, locking their eyes.

"More than anything in the world, mom. This could be 'It'. My time. My chance," she whispered back. Jo caressed her child's cheek slowly.

"Well, honey... as much as it hurts me, I'm gonna have to let you go. You have to follow your dream," Jo stated. Lizzie looked at her with teary eyes.

"Thanks, mom," Lizzie said, tears making their way down her face. Jo nodded and wiped them off, while they hugged tightly. "I love you"

"I love you too, sweetie. Now, go. You have to pack, get your ticket... all," Jo said. Lizzie smiled and nodded, wiping the tears off.

"Thank you," Lizzie replied, rushing out. Jo watched as her daughter ran under the pouring rain and a tiny smile appeared in her face, then she shook her head slowly.

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"I just can't believe now you're leaving," Bella said, shaking her head. Jo gave her daughter a look. "What? Mom, I wanna spend, at least, a week with my whole family!"

"Bella, I've got my dreams too, okay?" Lizzie said. "Why do you always get to be the one who has it all? You got to go to England for years! Why can't I do as I want to?"

"Liz, you've got a point there," Matt said. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, dweeb," Bella muttered. Lizzie finished eating her food and got up quickly.

"Leaving already? So soon?" Jo asked. Lizzie nodded and brushed her bangs away from her face.

"Yeah, mom. I got myself an early flight... I can't let this opportunity fly away from me," Lizzie said. Bella continued looking down, a little anger in her eyes. Lizzie sighed. "Okay, I'm gonna go," she announced. "Bye to all, I hope to see you again soon" Lizzie walked to the door and out, then Bella got up and followed her. "Bella?"

"Listen, I can't resign to this. Lizzie, you're great at what you do. I guess I was just jealous because you always seem to get more stuff than I do..." Bella said. "I'm always seeking for adventures, but they always seem to find you" Lizzie smirked and shook her head sadly.

"I make things happen, Bell. I can't just sit down and watch it all slip away... I just needed that little push you're all giving me," Lizzie said. The two sisters hugged tightly. "You're the special one, girl" Bella shook her head.

"Nope, you are. You've got the charms," Bella replied. Lizzie smiled. "Good luck. I love you, sis"

"I love you too. Bye," Lizzie whispered, rushing to her car.

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Lizzie looked around in her new apartment, a little sad. She had gotten a room in one of those tall buildings she had always dreamed of. The contract she had been offered was still standing, so she was going to start working the next morning. She already had a busy schedule and wasn't going to get a lot of those 'break out time' she loved. Lizzie looked around again and picked up her cordless phone, walking to her balcony.
"Hey, mom!" she said, grinning from ear to ear.

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"Don't you find it a little strange... without Lizzie here?" Gordo suddenly asked. Bella shrugged. She had been missing her other half since they had last said goodbye.

"I bet she'll be having the time of her life. It's on her," Bella said. Gordo nodded slowly.

"Aren't you afraid she might turn famous and forget all about us?" he continued. She felt tears forming in her eyes, but shook her head. "Are you okay?"

"Gordo, I cannot stand that thought! I kept pushing it away and away!" she cried. He wrapped her into a tight hug gently as she sobbed against his chest. The phone rang suddenly and he picked it up, then smiled and handed it to her. "What? Who is it?"

"Someone who's missing you as much as you're missing her. I'll be in the other room," he whispered. Bella wiped off some tears and snuggled with a cushion on the couch, while hearing her sister's soothing voice on the other line. Gordo walked into the attic and looked around sadly. They hadn't talked about that day at the beach yet, and he was afraid she would hate him if he brought the subject up. What was there to do? Only wait.

End of chapter.

"Now, don't just walk away
Pretending everything's ok
And you don't care about me
And I know there's just no use
When all your lies become your truths and I don't care... yeah, yeah, yeah

Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you're happy now, ohhh, ohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?

You took all there was to take,
And left me with an empty plate
And you don't care about it, yeah.
And I am givin' up this game
I'm leaving you with all the blame cause I don't care, yeah, yeah yeah,

Could you look me in the eye?
And tell me that you're happy now, oohh oohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now? Ohhh, ohhhh
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now? yeah, yeah, yeah.

Do you really have everything you want?
You can't ever give somethin' you ain't got
You can't run away from yourself

Could you look me in the eye?
and tell me that you're happy now, yeah, yeah
come on, tell it to my face or have i been replaced,
are you happy now? Ohhh, ohhhh
are you happy now?

Would you look me in the eye?
Could you look me in the eye?
I've had all that I can take
I'm not about to break
Cause I'm happy now, ohhh, ohhh
Are you happy now?"

AN: I'm sorry the song didn't totally fit with the chapter, butwe were going to use Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" Cd, thenwe decided on this one...
AN2: I'M 1 YEAR OLD IN FAN FICTION!
Wow, it's a huge event for me... I wanted to have 50 stories by now, but I'm still pretty close!
AN3: We're planning on updating, at least, once a week. Wait for the next chapter!

Luv y'all,
LyG4ever.