Andy- I had a feeling you were from England from your speech patterns. I can usually always tell when someone writes fan fiction and is English and trying to write American or is American and trying to write English (if you get what I mean). I lived in Edinburgh for a while so it makes it easier. I am glad you liked the fluff of the last chapter and hope you like the fluff here as well!

Dario- I used to hate heights too- but then I worked on a ropes course at a camp and stopped hating them as much (mostly because I spent the summer being strapped to a 60 foot tall tree). Thanks for your praise!

Fanfiction06- I'm glad you're still hooked! I always imagined that Gordo would be the one to teach her to drive- he is good at everything else (except sports I think) so I thought he'd be a good driver as well. Plus, if he was patient enough to have two girls as best friends- then he is patient enough to be able to teach :)

Mitchel-musso-lver- I hope that this chapter is as super adorable as you hope it is:o) I think both Lizzie and Gordo run through a ton of emotions in this chapter- so I think I did what you suggested, but even more! Thanks for the suggestions!

Siv- I hope you were able to clean your room successfully! I'm in the middle to packing my room up, so it's not only cleaning it but going through all the old crap and deciding what stays and goes and being all organized about it at the same time. Hope you keep enjoying!

RoxyAnne- I love Chasing Liberty too! And I've tried to drive clutch- my ex-boyfriend actually taught me (the last scene was based off of what I wished would have happened when he tried to teach me) but it didn't really stick as well without Gordo as my teacher:o)

KittyDoggyLover- I would love to have adventure like that, so I thought it was exciting too! Just wait until this chapter when they actually go through with it! Thanks for all your praise about my story and the last chapter- hope you continue to enjoy it!

Unconventional- I've been trying to work on how I write Lizzie and Gordo recently, making sure I get how their relationship was in the show versus how it might be now – so thanks for the praise! Also, it does make it interesting when we add Miranda in- because we never saw her interact with Lizzie and Gordo when they started get more romantically interested in each other during the show (she was already off the show at that point), so that makes things interesting for me as a writer!

JuanPablo- Thanks for the review! But as far as Gordo being more inclined for adventure than you thought he'd be, remember he is much older now, and also, just wait till you see more of his reaction in this chapter!

Ali Oldman- Thanks! I am totally in love with Gordo, in case nobody noticed, so he would seem pretty cool, but not too cool, because he is a dork underneath it all (which is why we love him in the first place).

Note to everyone: Sorry about the delay in updating, I'm home for winter break so it makes it more difficult to have access to a computer (plus my friends from home keep taking me out all the time). However, I did find an old Lizzie McGuire tape I made back in the day, full of all of the best episodes from this Valentines Day marathon they had a few years back- it had the Dear Lizzie episode, the murder mystery party, bye bye Hillridge Jr. High, all the best ones where Gordo says he likes Lizzie, Lizzie finds out, Lizzie realizes she likes Gordo… It made me so nostalgic, I just had to update ASAP. So, without further ado…

Chapter 8- Leap of Faith

"So are you guys up for it or what?" Mark said, leaning up against a post.

Still mesmerized by what just happened, Lizzie said in a half whisper, "I'll do it"

Gordo whipped his head over to face her and said quickly, "What!" his voice cracking loudly. He cleared his throat, the tips of his ears turning slightly pink and said nervously, "I thought you were too scared."

"Well, now I decided I'm going to do it." She crossed her arms in a challenging sort of way.

"Good," he said, his voice wavering slightly, "Because so am I." He crossed his own arms and puffed up his chest a bit. Lizzie held down a smile at his 'I'm trying to be macho' look.

"You don't have to do it just because I am Gordo" Lizzie countered back. She shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, if you're too scared-"

He interrupted her, "Yeah, right" his voice still high.

Mark interrupted both of them, "Well I'm going to need you two to sign some forms and suit up while I get the bungee ready."

It was one of those moments where time seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. She felt as if she was going in slow motion while she was numbly signing the forms (none of which she really read) and being strapped up by a these two women with a tattoo's all over their arms. Did I really just agree to what I think I just agreed to?

She looked over at Gordo across the way and saw that his eyes were wide as he looked over the bridge and out into the large canyon down below. His head turned around to find her, almost as if he could feel her eyes on him. His eyes found hers and they stared at each other for a moment, both understanding the fear the other was feeling. His mouth curved upwards into a slight smile and Lizzie felt a small jump in her stomach.

"Okay, you two, come on over and we'll hook you in" Mark's voice called.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Lizzie waddled over to Mark, having difficulty with her ankles tied up, "Who's going first?"

He tilted his head, "Both you of you are going, I just assumed you'd want to go together."

"Uh, I mean… I…" Lizzie found herself stuttering.

"Well, we could do two singles but I'm not sure we'll have enough time for it today, plus we have the doubles bungee cord already hooked up." He explained.

Lizzie glanced over at Gordo who was eyeing her curiously, as if he were asking her approval on the matter. She stared at him for a moment, unable to look away from his penetrating gaze. "We'll do it" she whispered.

Before she could gauge his reaction, hands from all different directions began strapping her harnesses into the bungee cord. She felt herself being pushed forward and suddenly she was standing face to face with him. She looked up, seeing that he was almost a half a foot taller than she was. He was already looking down at her, his brown curls sweeping into his face.

Her heart began to beat loudly in her chest. The pair just stood there, hands shoved in their pockets, about a half an inch away from each other, looking into each others eyes while the workers finished hooking them up. Lizzie bit her lip and pushed her hair away from her slightly sweaty face, almost positive he could hear how loudly her heart was beating.

"Okay, now I'm going to need you two to climb up together onto the platform." Mark pointed to a flat board on the railing of the bridge.

They scooted their way over to the side and Gordo pulled himself up first. He grabbed her waist and easily lifted her up. She felt tingles shoot through her body at his touch. Once she was on the platform he held out his hand for her to grab a hold of and he helped her stand up, her legs shaking.

Until this point she was sort of numb to exactly what she was about to do. However, when she looked down to the left of her and saw the huge expansive canyon down below her the fear in her stomach began to claw its way up her throat.

"Gordo I can't do this" she whispered, wrapping her arms around his body, desperately seeking his stability. Her legs were shaking badly and she felt like she might puke.

Shocked at her sudden change he just stood there for a moment, his arms limp at his sides. However, instinct kicked in and he wrapped his arms around her back and squeezed her softly. He looked into her eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Lizzie's eyes widened and she was suddenly transported back in time again. "Always."

His hands began to softly massage her back, going in slow rhythmic circles. Her breathing began to slow and suddenly the man began to count down from five.

She whispered up to him, "I'm so scared."

"Just let go Lizzie…" he whispered into her ear. Even though she was a bundle of nerves at the moment, Lizzie could still feel hot tingles at the feeling of his warm breath against her ear.

"Four!" the man yelled. Lizzie lay her head onto his shoulder.

"Three!"

Her mother's words came back to her, "You just need to let go Lizzie, just let go of everything that is holding you back."

"Two!"

Lizzie clung onto Gordo with all that she had. He held on equally as tight.

"One!"

Time stood still for a moment as the pair clung onto each other, took a deep breath, and, at the same time, jumped sideways off the platform. Lizzie felt like the world disappeared from around her as a huge rush of adrenaline coursed through her body. Time went in slow motion and for a moment it felt as if they were flying but gravity soon took a hold as the ground began to rush towards them.

The cord caught them at the bottom with a hard pull on their ankles and suddenly they were soaring back up towards the bridge. It was at that moment that Lizzie realized she had been screaming the entire fall. She stopped to take a breath but continued to scream as the cord went slack at the top and they began to plummet to the earth once again.

Lizzie leaned her head back and starred at the river as it rushed to meet them. Through her screaming she began to laugh as she realized just how nuts it was that she was there, strapped in a bungee with Gordo, falling hundreds of feet. She leaned her head back and let herself soak in every aspect of this moment.

This is amazing…

They fell up and down a few times before they came to a standstill, just hanging upside down in the air, clinging to each other.

"Lizzie, you can stop screaming now" Gordo laughed.

Lizzie stopped and took a breath, realized how hoarse her throat felt from the fall. She began giggling.

He laughed along with her, the tension from what just occurred falling away. "Gordo can you believe we just did that!" she cried out, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins.

"No" he said back, still laughing.

She let out a whoop of excitement and heard the echo of her cry reverberate throughout the canyon. A rope of overhead reached them and Gordo grabbed it, hooking it to their feet.

As they slowly began to be lifted back up to reality Lizzie squeezed Gordo even tighter than she was at that moment (if it was even possible). "Thank you so much" she whispered.

"My pleasure" he whispered back. They both smiled.

"So how was it?!" Mark exclaimed as soon as they got on their feet and were unhooked.

Lizzie, for probably the first time in her life, was at a loss for words. "It was…I…I mean…" she giggled, "Wow." She bent over and struggled to get her ankle straps untied.

"Here beautiful, let me help you get that off" Mark took a step towards Lizzie, bending down to help untie her straps.

He started to pull at the strings when suddenly Gordo showed up at her side, his own ankle straps hastily undone. "No, that's fine, I can help" he offered quickly, side stepping in front of Mark and bending down to help.

Gordo finished untying her straps while Mark took a step back and winked at her and motioned to Gordo with a nod. Her eyes widened. What does that mean? Does he think Gordo and I are together?

As soon as Gordo finished helping her up, he got directions to get back on their way. "Thank you again so much!" Lizzie exclaimed, jumping up to give Mark a hug goodbye.

He almost fell backwards at her sudden leap and said, "No problem, ya'll were great!" He pulled back from her for a moment and said, "Hey listen, if you're ever down near Smackover Arkansas and need a place to crash- I'd welcome you anytime missy." He winked at her.

"Come on Lizzie, we have to head out." Gordo grabbed her arm, dragging her away from Mark's arms.

"Great to meet ya'll!" Mark called after them.

"You too!" Lizzie called back. Still feeling the adrenaline from the jump she let out a whoop and turned a cartwheel in the middle of the road.

Gordo laughed as she linked her arm around his and began to skip next to him. "I haven't seen you with this much energy in forever" he commented, still grinning from ear to ear.

"I haven't felt this amazing in forever!" she exclaimed, still skipping along. "I mean, can you believe we just did that?? We just jumped off a bridge!" her voice rang out.

"First bungee jumping, next thing we know you'll be skydiving off of the top of tall buildings and getting biker tattoos" Gordo said, taking longer strides to keep up with her skipping.

"You know, that was so much fun, maybe I should look Mark up down in Smackover, maybe we could be a traveling duo together" Lizzie said this, glancing over at Gordo with a half of a grin on her face.

"Ha ha" he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Then I could marry one of those biker chicks with the tattoos and we could all be one big happy traveling family" he countered back, pulling a hand through his curls.

They reached the car, and both stood there awkwardly for a second. "I can drive" Lizzie offered, smiling.

"No, that's okay, I mean I was the one who got us lost." Gordo countered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"No really, its fine, I want to give you a break." Lizzie persisted.

"No, I mean, I just got the directions and all so it's probably better this way." Gordo smiled back.

"Oh." Lizzie said, "Well…" There was a long silence before she turned on her heels and hopped into the passenger seat. After a compromise of playing the Beatles, Lizzie helped Gordo navigate his way back to the highway, which was now oddly deserted. It wasn't until they finally reached I-10 that Gordo spoke up again.

"Lizzie?" he took a deep breath.

Lizzie looked over at him, "Yeah?"

"I was just thinking about…" he sighed, "I mean…" he stuttered, obviously trying to choose his words carefully.

Lizzie's heart quickened. What is he going to say? "Yeah?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to speak again and suddenly the sound of a cell phone rang throughout the car. Confused, Lizzie opened her bag that was sitting at her feet. After digging around the bottom of her bag past old receipts and gum wrappers for a moment she finally flipped it open, not checking the display in her hastiness.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Lizzie." The voice on the other end was full of disappointment and frustration.

Lizzie didn't say anything, the excitement from the jump completely draining from her system. He didn't say anything for a moment, however Lizzie knew that the moment wouldn't last long.

"Lizzie…" Jay took a deep breath, "I don't even know where to start." His voice was hard and stern. "I mean should I talk about the amount of time you are wasting by doing this? Or should I talk about the training you are throwing down the drain by not doing your singing and dancing exercises daily?" his voice started getting louder, "Maybe the gigs you have been missing? You realize we will never be able to go back to the Starlight café again after you stood them up last night?"

Lizzie looked down in her lap, tears beginning to burn in her eyes, the familiar feeling of the last four years coming back to hit her in the face. He continued, "Or maybe I should talk about the fact that you have important meetings that you are missing to talk about the release of your new album?" his rant turning into a yell.

The silence was deafening. Gordo glanced over at Lizzie in the seat next to him, her face downcast with tears in her eyes. He reached his right hand over and gently clasped her free left hand. Her face jumped up in surprise, almost as if she was surprised to see someone else there. He caught her eye for a moment, giving her a look of reassurance before turning back to the road.

"Well!" Jay demanded, "Don't you have anything to say! Lizzie, this is your life we are talking about here!"

Lizzie looked down at her left hand, which was now intertwined with Gordo's. It was soft and warm and completely Gordo. She felt the tingles from his touch traveling up her arm. She remembered how it felt to have his whole body wrapped around hers on the jump. How safe, how…right. How, when he was touching her, or even close to doing so, she felt like her whole body was on fire. Suddenly, without warning, something snapped inside of her.

"Yes Jay, I do have something to say." She said, her voice loud and clear.

"Yeah, what is that?" his voice still condescending.

"I quit." The words flew freely out of her mouth, surprising all three people who heard it.

"You… you what?" Jay's voice was much quieter now.

"You heard me, I quit, I'm done. I can't do this anymore." She said, gaining confidence with each word she spoke, "And I know, I do have a contract that I signed and an album that has yet to be sold but you know what? I don't care about any of it. It was you and only you who cared all these years, not me."

"But what-" he began, but Lizzie cut him off.

"I don't care about the money, and neither do my parents. Yes, I signed a contract and I'm breaking it but that means you will own my profits, not me. Go ahead and take all the profits from my album and we'll call it even." Gordo gave her hand a squeeze and she looked over to find his blue eyes shining. With even more confidence she continued, "All this time I've been letting you tell me what I'm doing, where I'm going, and what I want… but no more Jay… I'm finished."

It took him a moment to find his voice. "You…you can't do this…" his voice cracking with disbelief.

"Well you know what Jay?" she paused, "I think I just did."

And with that, Lizzie flipped the phone shut, turned it off and threw it into the seat behind her. Silence filled the car as Lizzie just sat there, digesting what she had just done. She looked over at Gordo who had a grin spread across his face. "Did I just do what I think I did?" Lizzie asked in a small voice. Gordo looked over at her and nodded his head slowly, continuing to keep his eyes on the road.

Lizzie rolled down the window, unfortunately letting go of Gordo's hand in the process. Sitting up slightly she stuck her head out of the window and felt the rush of the wind hit her face and blow through her hair. Lifting her hands up with her she let out a loud scream.

After a moment of this she pulled her head back into the car to see a wide-eyed Gordo starring back at her. "Can we get something to eat?" she asked, breathless with happiness coursing through her system.

"Of course" he said, taking the immediate exit to their right. They pulled into a diner and both hopped out. The bell on the door made a high ringing noise as Gordo held the door open for her. Looking around, Lizzie saw that the diner was slightly grimy and smelled unmistakably of greasy hamburgers. She saw only one guy sitting in a booth sitting in the corner, besides that they were alone. There was a jukebox in the other corner that was playing a slow country ballad. After sliding into a booth a short woman with a blonde beehive hairdo walked up to their table, handing them their menus.

"Hi, welcome to Al's Diner, my name is Gretchen, Can I start you guys off with some drinks?" she said, chewing her gum between sentences.

Gordo looked at her, letting her order first. Without even glancing at the menu she said, "Is it okay if I just order?"

"Uh yeah, sure" the woman said, pulling out her pad of paper.

"Okay, I'd like a chocolate milkshake, a large coke, a burger with everything on it, an order of fries with that and an order of onion rings. Oh, and can I get ranch dressing on the side?" Gordo and the woman just stared at her wide-eyed.

She smiled sheepishly, "What? Jay hasn't let me eat anything good in 4 years…" A look of understanding ran across Gordo's face and the woman looked confused, not understanding but shrugging her shoulders.

"And what can I get you?" she asked him.

"I'll get a crispy chicken sandwich and a coke please" he said, handing her the menus.

"That'll be right up" she said, walking to the back.

Gordo looked deeply at Lizzie before asking, "How are you doing?"

"I'm a little shocked" she said honestly.

"That makes two of us" he said, smiling. After another beat he asked her, "Are you going to be okay?"

She stared over at Gordo across the table, his light blue eyes staring into her own. She let out a breath and said, "Yeah… I'm going to be great…."