Ice Princess 11- Hey there! I'm so glad you are able to see all the changes and enjoy them- but shhh!!! Don't give it away for all the people who haven't read it yet:o) I hope you really enjoy the rest of it as well because I'm loving re-writing it and am realizing just how much I love these characters!

SivChik101- Thanks so much! Just wait cause that chapter was one of the less exciting ones! (Very little Gordo time). Keep reading!

Meminenotyou- Thanks so much! I'm so glad you have so many questions right now, because that is definitely what I was going for in the first chapters, to set up the story so that you have all those questions then later answer them as you go along! I hope I answer all of them for you :o)

Popkornchicken- I'm really glad that you've enjoyed the re-editing of the story because I think that it is just so much better now than it was before (If you want more explanation of why I'm re-writing see my responses to Dear Lizzie and Jake below). As far as a new fic, I would love to write another Lizzie/Gordo fiction because I've loved this one so much. I am trying to think of a great story line at the moment, because for me, it's all about a good story!

Dear Lizzie- Thanks so much for your review this summer! It was actually your review that spurred me to re-read my story and decide that it needed to be re-written. I really debated on re-posting it actually, but I figured why not let everyone see how much better the story was now. I feel like I matured so much throughout my last story- the beginning of the story didn't have much detail at all but as I got through it, it got better and better. So I basically wanted to bring that level of maturity to the entire story.

Jake- It's so good to hear from you again! Like I said in Dear Lizzie's response above, I really did debate for a while about reposting the story. But after reading it through once myself, I just really felt like it was lacking so much. If you have the old version of the story, it's the same storyline but I'm adding a lot in, for instance in the last chapter I didn't have the prom scene flashback or the flashback about Jay calling her for the first time. Most of the descriptions throughout the chapters are new as well and they are about 3 times as long as before. So thanks for sticking with my writing and I hope that you will continue to read my stuff, especially if I keep it up and actually start a new story!

KittyDoggyLover- Thanks for your praise about the story! As far as things looking up for Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda- well, we have a long road ahead of us (I love making road trip puns). (In case you haven't realized, this story is about a road trip :o) )

Juan Pablo- Thanks for being so quick with all your reviews- let me know if there is anything you like or don't like, etc. I love constructive criticism!

Roxy Anne- I'm so glad you liked that last chapter! That flashback wasn't actually in the first version of this story, so I'm glad that it added a new dimension. As far as it being not my favorite chapter- that just goes to show how much better the rest of the chapters get after this! winknudgewink

A General Note to everyone- I'm so, so sorry for not updating until now! I wanted to update almost a week ago and hasn't let me upload my chapter, it kept coming up with some error message until just this afternoon! So, without further delay- Here is your chapter!

Chapter 3 Promises

"Lizzie, are you concentrating at all? Where is your mind tonight?" Jay burst through the door of the recording room, his hands in the air.

Lizzie frowned and knew that she had not really paid attention to his last bit of instructions. "Listen, Jay I'm sorry… I didn't sleep well last night" she said lamely, taking off her headphones.

"Lizzie" he said, rolling up his sleeves and sitting down on a stool across from her, "We are already extremely late in recording this album as it is." He sounded bitter about this. She knew that it annoyed him to no end that she continued on with high school, even though he kept insisting that she didn't need it. He continued on, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "We have these last bits of touch ups on a few of the tracks tonight and tomorrow afternoon and then you'll be done so we can start promoting."

"I know I'm… I'm really sorry Jay" she started playing with the wires from her headphone, "I promise I'll give one hundred percent from here on out." She checked her watch- it was already 10:15. Would she be able to make it to Sal's party? Do I even want to go?

"Okay, well I need you to really emphasize that direct modulation and hold out that C note for an extra beat." He rattled, "On the last go you weren't able to hold it out because you didn't breathe properly at all. You breathe with your diaphragm, you know these things Lizzie." He sounded disappointed in her.

She took a deep breath, "I'll do it right this time." Not knowing what else to say, she stepped back up to the microphone and pulled on her headphones.

She tried it several more times, and after several more long winded instructions from Jay, he said it was time to wrap up. She checked her watch: 11:07. She hurried to grab her bag, hoping to make it to the party before she was too tired. Jay followed her down the hallway, giving her a schedule for what they would be doing the next day. After he finished he looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "You seem rushed to leave- What are you up to tonight?" Jay asked, his tone measured.

"Um…" she stalled, figiting with the strap of her bag. She was never able to lie. "A party?"

Jay just looked at her before answering. "You have dance rehearsal from 7 to 1 tomorrow and then you have to finish up those voice tracks in the afternoon." He was looking at her as if he couldn't even believe she was asking. "I don't think so" he said, his tone a little more harsh than before.

"But Jay, I graduated today, please can't I just this once--"

He cut her off, grabbing her shoulder to stop her dead in her tracks, "Do you want to be a singer Lizzie? Are you serious about this or do you want to be like every other small town girl trying to make it in this business?" Lizzie's eyes narrowed at this statement, "This is what it takes Lizzie and if can't measure up then you will end up a nobody."

She let silence fall over them for a moment, thinking. "I'll be here at 6:45 on the dot" she finally replied dejectedly.

She pulled into the driveway 35 minutes later, still feeling rather depressed. She slowly entered the house, but was surprised to find a light still on in her kitchen. "Mom?" she asked quietly, seeing her mother sitting at the counter, drinking coffee, "What are you still doing up?"

Her mom smiled over her coffee, "Just thinking." She indicated the stool to her right, "Want a seat?"

"Sure" Lizzie smiled, grabbing a cup of water and filling it up before sitting down. She really enjoyed her talks with her mom, because it was often the only time she was able to let her guard down and speak without restriction to someone. Her mother looked at her closely, as if she were trying to gauge something. "Is everything okay Mom?" Lizzie asked, wondering if there was bad news coming.

"Oh, everything's fine" her mother sighed, taking a deep sip from her mug. "I just get so sad, my little girl…all grown up now." Lizzie smiled, rolling her eyes.

Eager to leave the subject of growing up behind, Lizzie said, "It's not as if I'm leaving anytime soon Mom, so don't worry about losing me just yet."

Her mother's eyebrows knitted together, "How did recording go today? You are home awfully late."

Lizzie put her head into her hands, "Not so good."

Her mother's hand started to rub her back consolingly, "You seem to be having a lot of those lately."

"I have…I just have trouble concentrating sometimes. I don't know why. Jay is starting to get really upset with me" her voice sounded oddly constricted all of a sudden.

Her mother sighed deeply. "I don't know Lizzie. Sometimes I wonder if you need a break. This whole singing thing… it forced you to grow up so fast you missed out on being a teenager."

Lizzie looked down into her water glass, feeling the lump in her throat grow even larger. Her mom hesitated, as if she were gathering up the courage to say something. Lizzie looked over at her. "I…" her mom started, "I saw Gordo and his parents today."

"Mom" Lizzie said warningly, "Don't start with that again."

"I'm just saying maybe it's time-"

Lizzie cut her off, "It's not time for anything mom." There was a thick silence that fell across the room. Lizzie instantly felt guilty for her angry tone.

"I'm sorry" her mother finally said, "Just think about it alright?"

Lizzie, wanting desperately to leave the subject, got up from the counter and dumped the rest of her water in the sink. "Yeah, okay."

"Be quiet as you walk up the stairs" her mother warned, "You dad is taking your brother on a father-son fishing trip tomorrow at 5 am."

Lizzie let out a laugh, imagining her brother half asleep as her father tried to figure out a fishing pole. "Night Mom, love you."

"Love you too Lizzie."

Relieved to finally be done, Lizzie let out a breath and leaned back against the pillows scattered across her bed. She realized at that point just how tired she was after such a long day. She knew she still needed to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth, but she couldn't gather the energy just yet.

Tink! A loud noise from the window sounded to her left, causing Lizzie to jump up into a sitting position. What the heck was that? She stood cautiously and walked over to her window, wondering if she imagined the sound or not. Tink! It happened again, and this time she realized that it was a pebble hitting her window and bouncing back onto the roof. She opened her window and stuck her head out cautiously, half expecting to see a psycho-killer standing there with a chainsaw. Instead she saw Gordo standing in the driveway, arm held up in the air as if he were about to throw another pebble. Close enough, she thought.

"What do you want?" she whispered accusingly.

"We need to talk, now" he said forcefully.

"Shhhh!" she shushed him, "My parents are asleep!"

"Then come down here" he lowered his voice a half a volume. She pulled herself out of the window and shut it quietly in order to block the sound before continuing on with the conversation.

"No" she said, still whispering, pulling herself down into squatting position on the roof, careful to hold on tightly to the side of the house.

He raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I'll stay here all night, and I have enough pebbles to throw at your window to keep you up for hours" he held up a handful of gravel.

"You wouldn't do that" Lizzie said, tightening her hold on the siding of her house.

"Try me." He smiled widely as he threw a pebble up into the air with his left hand and caught it.

Lizzie stared down at him for a moment before realizing that he was serious. "Were you always this irritating?" she asked, her eyes narrowed down at him. He only smirked up at her as she sat there for a moment, debating her options. She could use the front door, but that would most likely wake the family up. She looked down at the ground from where she was sitting, and suddenly felt a little nauseous. Why didn't it seem this far up back when I was 14? Defeated, she crawled to the corner of her garage and held her legs over the side, deliberating on whether or not to jump. It seemed about a mile off the ground.

Gordo was still standing on the driveway, pebbles in hand. He seemed to realize her predicament but just stood there with this little smirk on his face. "Need help?" he asked, his eyes shining. She eyed him from up above, unable to believe she was stuck in such a situation. He was still wearing those stupid shoes of his.

"No" she glared at him and starred down at the ground again for a moment. Her stomach gave a lurch at the thought of jumping down. "Maybe…" she admitted.

"Please?" he prompted smugly, strolling down to the spot under where she was.

"I can't believe this…" there was a long silence and they both starred at each other stubbornly, his blue eyes boring into hers. She let out a hard breath. "…Please."

He positioned himself underneath her and lifted up his hands which she placed her feet upon. Grabbing a hold of the roof for dear life, Lizzie tried not to look down at the ground, but instead focused down at the brown curls beneath her. He was a lot taller now, and his arms felt a lot sturdier than before. He was being gentle, letting her down slowly, with a firm yet tender grasp of her legs. Once she was low enough she let go of the roof and he shifted his hands to her hips, needing to hug her body to his own while he did this. Lizzie felt her cheeks grow warm as her body reacted to this feeling. She had no place to put her hands, so she was forced to place them firmly on his now broad shoulders. He lowered her painstakingly slow, his hands lingering on her hips as he placed her down in front of him so that they were face to face.

Lizzie finally let out the breath that she had been holding for the past 30 seconds, "Thanks." Her eyes seemed to be transfixed to his. They stood there for a second before Lizzie pulled herself away from his gaze and quickly started down to the end of the driveway. When she noticed he wasn't following she turned around and placed her hands on her hips, which were still tingling slightly. "Well, are you coming?"

"Yeah" he said, catching up with her as they began walking down her street.

"What do you want?" she said a little too quickly.

"It's about Miranda." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they walked.

"Listen, Gordo" Lizzie started, ready for this, "If you think that I'm going to drive halfway across the country for some stupid road trip right now, you're out of your mind." She stopped and turned to face him, "In case you've forgotten, I've got a record coming out soon-"

He interrupted her, "Miranda's dad left." He said this forcefully.

"What?" she asked.

"Left. Walked out. He just left Miranda to deal with the mess." He stuffed his hands in his pockets again, looking agitated.

"Wh…" Lizzie hesitated, "When did it happen?"

"About a week and a half ago… She told me that she's going to be working full time all summer to help support her mom. She's not taking it too well." Lizzie bit her lip and he continued, "So she said that since the two of us barely talk anymore and since you don't talk to…" he looked at her pointedly, "either of us, plus the fact that she has to work… well she thought that maybe we should cancel the road-trip." He seemed to be searching her for something.

"So what do you want me to say?" she exclaimed, obviously upset.

"I don't think we should cancel" he looked down, sweeping his hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Miranda needs us!" he exclaimed. He looked at her, "I'm going to take a road-trip to go see her and stay with her for a while in Mexico and I want you to come too. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow and probably won't be back for two weeks or so."

"What do you mean? You are driving down to Mexico to go see someone you haven't seen in 4 years" she said incredulously, turning her head away from him and wincing at her own sarcasm.

"No" he said, obviously trying to stay calm, "I am going to see my best friend because she needs me. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow from my house at 8am, and…" he paused, taking a deep breath, "…and I want you to be there."

"So what? You're saying that I should just leave everything for the next two weeks? I can't just drop my life for this Gordo!" Lizzie cried, trying not to look him straight in the eyes.

"Lizzie" he said forcefully, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her too look at him square in the face. He had an almost pleading look in his eyes. Lizzie felt her breath catch in her throat. "She needs us. Not just me, but you too. Lizzie, you may have a ton of people in your life you can call friends, but she doesn't." Lizzie bit her lip at these words. "She doesn't have anyone she can turn to right now. Please Lizzie, if not for me, then for her."

She stared at him, as his eyes searched deep into her own. "Gordo… I… I can't…" she whispered, her voice choked up. She pulled herself from his grasp, pulling her arms around herself as she walked away from him.

"You made a promise Lizzie" he called after her.

She stopped in her tracks, a lone tear falling down her face. She blinked and two more fell. "I know… I just… I just can't" she said quietly, and continued to walk away.