Disclaimer: I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but I don't own the show. I know.I was just as surprised as you are.

A/N: Sorry the chapter is rushed. I just couldn't find a way to cut it into separate chapters.

First day of sophomore year ...

"Lizzie, Steven's here!" her Mom hollered up the stairs.

"I'm coming!" she called back.

Steven Parsons had become one of her closest friends since she and Miranda began attending Hillridge High. Although he was a year older, they seemed to get along well, and he had become friends with Miranda as well. He was tall with black spiky hair and dark brown eyes. They shared a lot of the same interests, and always had a blast together.

"Okay, I'm ready!" she said running down the stairs.

"Great!" he said while flashing his Colgate smile.

"Bye Mom!" she said as they both hopped into his silver Corvette and raced to school.

By the time the first day of school was over, Lizzie couldn't help but think that this year was going to be a blast! Only one thing had changed and that's all it took to make her feel like she was on cloud nine. Steven began flirting with her, and she couldn't help but flirt back. She had secretly had a crush on him since they'd met and was hoping for him to start looking at her differently.

"Hey Randa...gimme a call later so we could hook up!" Daniel called as he left with one of his buddies.

"We'll see." She said before winking at him and turning around to meet up with Lizzie and Steven. She stopped herself before interrupting their in- depth conversation. Something was different. Whoa! Are they flirting? This is new ...

Before hopping in his Corvette, Steven gave her a kiss on the cheek and drove out of the student parking lot. Miranda laughed at Lizzie and her goofy grin.

"Ouch!" Lizzie said, as Miranda pinched her.

"What was that for?"

"I think I should be the one asking questions, Liz."

"What are you talking about?" she questioned as they walked to the bus stop.

"What's up with you and Steven?"

Lizzie immediately began to blush and looked away.

"Nothing."

"Oh please! Am I supposed to buy that?"

"I don't know what's going on, okay? But I think he likes me!"

"Really?" Miranda said squinting.

"Yeah! I mean, I didn't think he would ever like me like that, but he FINALLY does!"

"So...you guys gonna get together, or what?"

"I don't know." Lizzie said honestly. "Hopefully! Wait, you don't sound too happy about this Miranda."

"Of course I'm happy about this!" she lied. Lizzie squealed and hugged Miranda. She just played along, but felt a little uneasy about this whole thing. Something wasn't right, but what?

No more then a week later, Lizzie and Steven we're an item. Everyone seemed fine with it.

Everyone but Miranda.

She hid her uneasiness about the whole situation from everyone, especially Lizzie. This whole thing was driving her insane. Why was she so uncomfortable with this whole thing? She tried looking at it from every angle, but could think of nothing. She decided to finally give it a rest and let it go.

Welcome Back Dance ...

Lizzie attended the dance with none other than her boyfriend, Steven. And Miranda went with her flirting buddy Daniel. The two couples walked into the gym together and went straight to the dance floor. To Lizzie, this night was like a dream. She was having the time of her life with her picture-perfect boyfriend, who by the way, was a complete gentlemen. And her best friend seemed to be having an equally good time with Daniel.

What was the deal with those two anyway? They seemed to really like each other, but never committed to a real relationship. What was the big deal? Being boyfriend/girlfriend was great! Lizzie didn't understand why people had trouble committing themselves to another person. Oh well...

"Hey Steven, everyone's going to that golf course a couple of miles from here. You coming?"

"No thanks." He said taking Lizzie's hand as they exited the gym along with all the other teenagers. She noticed that he had grown more serious as the dance came to its end.

"Why didn't you want to go?" Lizzie asked, once they were alone in his Corvette. "It sounded like a lot of fun!"

"Because I wanted to spend some alone time with my beautiful girlfriend." He said leaning over to kiss her. She smiled as they kissed. He was so good at it, and she always hated when he pulled away. Only this time, he didn't pull away. Why wasn't he pulling away? And why is hand on my b-
"Okay." Lizzie said pulling away from his kiss. He looked upset. There was awkward silence in the car and she couldn't stand it.

"Could you take me home now?" she asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you won't let me do this." He said leaning in to kiss her again. He never kissed her like this. It was forced, and not at all romantic. When she felt his tongue on her lips, she tried pushing him away but he was too strong. She began struggling to get free as he unzipped the back of her dress.

Okay, she was beyond worried at this point. She was scared shitless! What the hell was going on!