Hello there. :-)

Having been a silent reader for many years, I decided to add my humble contribution to the vast selection here.

Please read and leave me a note if you wish. Bear with me, this is my first story and english is not my native language.

Also please note: I don't own any of the characters in this story. I'm just borrowing them for a short while and promise to return them undamaged :-)

So, without further ado - here we go!

Miranda sat on her porch. Well, technically, it was not hers, but her parents' porch - For now. Roughly one hour and thirty minutes had passed since her parents broke the news and shattered her world. She had not moved ever since, just walked to the porch, sat down, hugged her legs and let silent tears flow.

It was supposed to be a nice evening. Lizzie was out of town with her parents, so she would have a movie marathon with Gordo alone. She loved Lizzie, but she also liked spending time only with him. Their conversations were different and she had all of his attention. Given the fact that the girl harbored deep feelings for her best friend, she obviously liked his attention. So she had happily agreed when he suggested he'd come over in the evening. Excited she had entered her home nearly two hours ago - only to find her parents sitting together at the lunch table. She had immediately realized that something serious and unsettling was about to happen and had tried to mentally prepare for the worst.

But it quickly became clear that she could not prepare for that. Chicago. An interesting city, nice for a visit. But so far away. Permanently moving there? Her dad's job made it inevitable - or so her mum had said as they broke the news to her. In roughly four weeks they would be living across the country. Far, far away from her home. Her friends. Lizzie. Gordo… More tears found their way down her cheeks as her best friend's name lingered in her mind. When her parents had finished talking, they looked at their daughter's blank face. For a moment, no sound seemed to fill the room. Then her mum had asked: "Mirija, you're OK?" She felt like it was not her but someone else who answered: "No." Without a tantrum or a scream, no further word even, she had gone outside and sat down on the stairs to the porch.

And that was where Gordo found her. He too looked forward to an evening with Miranda. Since the Brooke Baker incident a few weeks ago, something between them had changed. Somehow, they had grown closer. He couldn't quite put a finger on it. He approached the Sanchez' house when he noticed someone sitting in front of it. As he came closer, he realized it was Miranda. He quickly closed the distance between them until the girl noticed him and looked up. Sudden concern spread through him as he noticed the sad, empty look, the puffy red eyes and her tears. "Rand? What…?" Before he could continue, she jumped up. She had decided to be strong and carefully break the news to him. But as soon as she heard his voice and saw him, she fell to pieces. Her silent tears were replaced by loud, heart wrenching sobbing. Not knowing what else to do or say, she threw herself into Gordo's arms, gripping his hoodie with her hands, burying her face in the material and sobbed uncontrollably, all her self-control gone. bewildered he wrapped her into his arms, a mixture of confusion and worry etched on his face. "Shhh…"

Daniela stood by the kitchen window, looking at her oldest daughter. She and Eduardo had not been happy with the news either. It offered a huge career step, but her husband had been reluctant to take the offer. Until he found out that the California office was closing, staying and keeping his job was impossible. Now he stood beside his wife, a comforting hand on her shoulder. Both hated to leave, they too had to give up their friends, mainly the McGuires and Gordons, and their home. They also knew how difficult this would be for their daughter, who was now hugging her best friend as if her life depended on it, sobbing until her knees gave in.

Gordo sensed that her legs were failing and carefully allowed her to sit, finally resting next to her. He was at the brink of panicking. Miranda crying was something he had barely ever seen. She was always strong and sometimes he believed that she was simply too stubborn to cry over one thing or another. But while she was curled up to him 'Did we ever have so much physical contact? When was the last time I really hugged her?', she was beyond crying, she seemed completely broken over…something. What was going on? He suspected something really big and was sure it would somehow also affect him. But his only source of information so far did not respond. Carefully touching her shoulder, he softly spoke: "Rand? Hey…" Slowly her crying sub seeded and after what felt like an eternity, she looked up at him. "Rand? What happened?" His heart wrenched when he looked into her bloodshot eyes. "I…We…", again she started to hiccup, more tears spilling from her eyes. Before she had another fit, she blurted out: "We. Move. Chicago. Next month…"

Gordo was astonished. His grip on her tightened and he felt like someone had hit a blow into his stomach. Miranda, moving away? He looked at the girl in his arms, letting the news sink in, suddenly understanding why she was devastated. Actually, it took quite some willpower for him to not shed a tear, too. When she had finally calmed down, Miranda asked: "Would…would you mind taking a walk with me? I need to… to clear my head…" "Of course!" Miranda rose to her feet, opened the front door and found her mother in the kitchen. "Mum, Gordo and I are taking a walk." It was not a request, but Daniela would never deny it anyway.

Miranda's head was swimming. After a few meters, she tried to take a deep breath and calm down, yet she was still on the brink of crying. Gordo must have sensed it and she felt his arm carefully slip around her, pulling her closer. Her head found its way onto his shoulder. Given her feelings for him, it had a very calming effect. She knew he did it out of friendship and to support her, under normal circumstances she would be ecstatic to walk with him like that.

After some minutes, she, with a horsea voice, broke the silence between them. "It sucks, big time…I…I don't wanna go…I…I don't want to lose you…" While Gordo assumed 'you' meant Lizzy and him as in her best friends, little did he know that in that case, the term was reserved for him alone. He stopped, grabbed her shoulders and spund her around so she faced him. "Hey…" "Hey…", she answered flatly. "Rand, listen. Yes, it sucks and I would lie to you when I'd tell you that I'm not feeling like crying myself. But first, you will never, ever, at any time, lose us. I've got your back Sanchez, always remember that." She laughed at that, but it came out as half a sob. "And for sure the same goes for Lizzy. Amigos para siempre, remeber? And heck, if you get lonely, I'll hurry with High School and apply for Chicago University, so I can bugger you again in no time." She looked at him and smiled through her tears. "Goofball." "Rand', I'm dead serious." Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he indeed was. So she did the only thing she could think of, she hugged him fiercely and buried her face in his chest, only this time sighing contently. "Oh Gordo…" "Amigos para siempre, as I said." When she finally looked up, he made her heart skip yet another beat, as he kissed her cheek. Both immediately identified this as a platonic gesture, nevertheless there was much more intimacy between the two of them as there has ever been before. "I'll have to watch myself around you, mister. You are turning out to be quite the sweety." Gordo was happy that she had calmed down. He was also blissfully unaware how dead serious Miranda was with her last sentence, even though she did not have to watch because she had already fallen. How could she not? Gordo grinned and mimicking an english aristocrat's voice he said: "Well, I have much knowledge about 'the women'!" He earned a well deserved slap on his shoulder, just before Miranda hugged him again. "Gordo?" "Hmm?" "Thanks." "Always, 'Randa. Feeling better?" "Aside from this still being really terrible news - yes, I do feel better."