Miranda shuffled to the mess hall with only the idea of a thirst-quenching drink on her mind. As she walked through the door, she stopped in her tracks at the sight.

"Tudgeman!" Miranda exclaimed. "Why aren't you at canoe practice? Our whole group's there."

Larry walked toward her but darted his eyes around uncomfortably. "I um…get seasick canoeing," he said hastily.

"Really? I had no idea a person could get seasick canoe--" Miranda started to say.

"I knew you wouldn't remember," Larry interrupted.

"Remember what?" she asked.

"I don't get seasick canoeing, okay? That was just a test," he said hastily.

"Hmm, not following," Miranda said.

"Do you remember the first day of camp? Well not your first day-- my first day. I didn't start out very well; I was just getting over rickets, I was the new kid, I had to sleep in Gordo's smelly bunk--"

"Hey Gordo doesn't smell!" Miranda laughed.

"Well you've obviously never smelled his Brawny Man Aftershave. Anyway, we went canoeing that day. You and me. Remember?"

Miranda was struck the guilt, she honestly couldn't remember. "No, sorry, I don't," she said, unable to meet his eyes.

"Well you were my partner," Larry continued, "And I know you probably didn't even want to be, and I was totally annoying you, but you still agreed to be."

Miranda smiled a little.

"I just wanted to see if you remembered. Because I certainly didn't get seasick, in fact, it was the complete opposite. Somehow, riding in that canoe, I knew you and I would be friends this summer."

An image of the two of them riding in a canoe flashed into her mind. "I remember now," Miranda said.

Larry grinned. "And then when I saw those canoes today I just knew I had to ask you if…" Larry trailed off.

"Larry, I…" Miranda interrupted because she was too scared to hear what Larry was going to ask. Not because she didn't want to hear it from Larry, but because no one had ever made her feel this way.

"Yeah?" Larry asked.

"I…I shouldn't be here. I'm in big trouble," Miranda stuttered.

"Okay, but will you promise me something. No matter what happens for the rest of the summer, will you promise me that next year, when we get to high school, you won't completely ignore me?" He asked sincerely.

"Ignore you? How could I? You really think I would after this summer?" Miranda asked, stunned.

"Well, I've always liked you Miranda, but it's always been quite obvious you haven't always felt the same way. But now, I was hoping, maybe you liked me too, or could at least tolerate me."

"Yeah, I was hoping you would have figured that out by now," Miranda said, looking awkwardly off to the side.

"Cool. That's all I needed to know. Have fun being in trouble!"

"Thanks," Miranda laughed as she started toward her cabin.

Lizzie could feel herself losing her senses as she paced back to the cabin. How could it be just a few minutes ago, everything was perfect, and now everything was turned upside-down? How is it possible that Gordo chose Charlotte over her? It was like a bad dream she couldn't wake up from, no matter how hard she tried. It seemed like he was genuinely having fun with Charlotte. In fact, it always seemed like they had fun together.

Why should I care anyway, she thought as she marched on. I should be happy for them. They would probably make a cute coup--, but Lizzie couldn't even bear thinking of it. Why am I so upset over this, Lizzie thought, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. What's the big deal? So they like each other.

But deep down, Lizzie knew exactly why she couldn't stand seeing them together. When she reached the cabin she climbed up to her top bunk and buried her face in her pillow. She wasn't there long when she started hearing muffled shouts coming from outside. She lifted her face out of the pillow for a moment and could hear Gordo shouting her name.

"Lizzie!" Gordo shouted up to the cabin window. "Lizzie!" He shouted again. Lizzie just lay there with her face in the pillow. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. "Lizzie McGuire!" He kept shouting. But Lizzie knew if she didn't tell him to shut up, they'd both be in trouble for having him near the girls cabins. She got up to the window so she could just make out his figure through the dirty screen.

"What Gordo?" she said with a quivering voice through the screen.

"Lizzie, just hear me out. Will you let me in?"

"No, Gordo," she said sternly.

"Come on Lizzie, I just need to talk to you. Please? Please please please?" he begged.

"Fine," she said as she went to open up the screen door. Gordo looked into her red eyes and could see she had been crying. His eyes widened.

"Oh, no," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I don't want to see you this sad."

"Well I am sad, Gordo. Why didn't you--" but she couldn't finish as she started tearing up again and started staring at her feet.

"Lizzie I wanted to be your partner. I did," he said honestly. He regained his composure and spoke squarely and slowly. "And you know that. Deep down you do. I would never want to purposely hurt you. And I know you know that too."

Lizzie continued staring at her feet.

"Lizzie? What's so interesting on that floor? Lizzie, do you hear me?"

"I know, Gordo," she said through the tears, still looking that the floor. "Of course you wouldn't purposely want to hurt me. But if you're happy with her then, I don't…" she trailed off.

"With who? With Charlotte? Who said I was happy with her? Lizzie I wanted to be with you!"

Lizzie looked up. "So you never liked her?"

"Well to be perfectly honest, when I first realized she might like me, it sent my mind spinning. I mean, here was a girl who actually liked me more than a friend. So I tried looking at her differently, but it didn't work. You can't make yourself like someone just because they liked you first."

"No you can't make yourself like anybody," Lizzie said.

"So listen, of all the people in this camp, of…of all the people in the world, it's you I want to be stuck in a canoe with," he said, trying not to sound too mushy.

"Stuck?" she asked gasping.

"You know what I mean," he said smirking. "You're not like Charlotte. I don't know, I- I look forward to just seeing you. I like when you sit with me at breakfast just so I can try to make you smile. And best of all, I like you, for you. Not some idea of you I've built up in my mind that you could never live up to, like those girls in junior high."

"I--" Lizzie started.

"And even if you don't like me back," Gordo interrupted, "it doesn't change anything. I still like you, Lizzie."

Lizzie just smiled and sighed. She felt her heart racing furiously. This was the one thing she had been waiting to hear all summer, maybe even her whole life. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and without another word, kissed him.

It just lasted a second, but suddenly everything felt different. Not only had the anger and hurt she had felt moments before completely melt away, but she knew things between her and Gordo would never be the same.

"I hope you get it now," she whispered.

"Well, yeah, I'm not that dense…" he said stifling a laugh.

All she could do was stare at him and sigh. He's so adorable, she thought. Look at him standing there all awkwardly. Everything felt perfect. It was cosmic. The stars were aligned, and all that crap.

Gordo stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "Lizzie McGuire…"

Lizzie's eyes popped out of her head. Uh-oh, is he going to propose, she thought.

"…Will you be my canoe partner?" Gordo asked with these kind of sad, pathetic eyes.

Lizzie stepped back. "I wish I could, but I can't. I was kicked out of the race for missing practice," she grumbled.

"I don't care," he said defiantly.

"What do you mean you don't care?" Lizzie questioned.

"I don't care. I'm going to get in that boat with you. I'll forfeit, I'll quit, I'll scream and yell, I'll throw Rachel in the water. Whatever it takes, Lizzie, I don't even care anymore," he said boldly.

"Okay, but only if you throw Charlotte in the water too," Lizzie bargained.

"Deal," he said, extending his hand.

Lizzie shook it, then grabbed his other hand, and started walking toward the beach.

"Lizzie!" Miranda called through the trees, "you'll never guess what happ…" Miranda stopped in her tracks at the sight of Lizzie and Gordo holding hands. "Whoa. I didn't know you guys were….I mean are you…or I mean how long have you…?"

Lizzie and Gordo looked at each other awkwardly, but their hands remained together.

"It sort of just…I kind of…" Lizzie started.

"Nevermind, forget I asked," Miranda said quickly, trying to avoid an awkard conversation, and started walking next to them. Miranda leaned back a little so only Lizzie could see her. "We'll talk later," she mouthed. Lizzie smiled.

Once they got to the beach the girls noticed Rachel helping some campers out of the water. They both tried their best to avoid her, and went to the opposite end of the beach. If they were going to be punished, it was better to steer clear of her at all costs, so the punishment wasn't extended. Gordo and Lizzie started untying one of the canoes from the dock.

Miranda could not believe what she was seeing. "Lizzie, what are you doing, do you know how much trouble you could get in?" she asked.

"I'm already in trouble Miranda," Lizzie said, strapping on her lifejacket.

"Alright I'm staying out of this one," Miranda said sitting down on the sand, watching the other boaters.

Rachel appeared out of nowhere. "Hey campers," she said with a somber tone. She bent down next to Miranda and Lizzie, who slyly started backing away from the canoe. "You guys, I'm really sorry I blew up at you. I talked with the assistant director, and we decided it was just miscommunication. Now, I still can't let you participate in the race since you missed an important practice, but I can let you use the canoes for fun if you want to. Sorry again guys," she said getting up to help some other camps.

"She's so weird," Miranda said shaking her head.

"Yeah tell me about it," Lizzie said, "She's always on such a power trip."

"Sorry, campers, it must have been miscommunication!" Miranda said in a mocking tone.

"Are you going to get in or what?" Gordo called from the back of the canoe.

"You heard her, I can't be in the race!" Lizzie called back.

Gordo walked toward the back of the boat. "I told you I didn't care!" he said laughing.

Lizzie smirked, tightened the bottom cord on her lifejacket and walked toward the front of the canoe.

"Ready?" Gordo said, getting ready to push off.

"Yeah, but I don't think Charlotte is," Lizzie said, her knuckles turning white from her firm grip.

Gordo spun around and saw Charlotte coming toward them.

Charlotte had her arms crossed in front of her, and a scowl on her face like she was ready for a catfight. "What took you so long, Gordo? And why are you with her?" Charlotte asked coldly.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I promised Lizzie I would be her partner," Gordo stated.

"But we were a team, we were going to win," she said cattily.

"Well you know what? Lizzie and I aren't even going to be in the race. So you're going to have to find someone else to win with," Gordo said.

Charlotte scoffed and glanced over at Miranda, who was intently covering her feet with sand.

"Don't look at me," Miranda said innocently, and Charlotte stormed off toward the boathouse.

"You know, she's probably going to go tattle on you," Lizzie suggested with a cringe.

"I know," Gordo said understatedly.

They pushed off from the beach and began paddling toward the horizon. Lizzie couldn't see Gordo, but just knowing he was back there, lending half of the power of the canoe they were both in was so comforting.

Lizzie gazed back to the shore and saw Tudgeman sit down next to Miranda. They laughed and looked like they were having the time of their lives, burying each other's feet in sand. Then she glanced at Gordo, and he winked at her.

At the beginning of the summer she was so nervous, leaving her mom, meeting all these new people, being on her own, not knowing whether she would sink or swim. But here she was, paddling along, and it didn't matter if she was in a race or not, because life was a race, and here she was moving forward, with nothing but open water ahead of her. She spent so much time worrying about what other people might think, or squabbling with her friends. Sometimes it's hard to remember that those little things that seem so important at the time don't matter, and in times of struggle the things that do matter stick by you. And those people were with her today. She glanced down at the dark water gliding by her. She heard nothing but her own and Gordo's swift strokes in the water. And even though the sun was still in the sky, if she closed her eyes, she could just imagine herself sailing into her own perfect sunset.