A/N: So…it turns out I had walking pneumonia and the stomach flu at the same time. And this was, like, right after I got my flu shot. Go figure. -_- Anyways, here's a chapter!
bFishstix: Yes, she'll be fine. Her being hurt just gave Lizzie and Gordo more reason to investigate this guy. And, yes. :) I figured even Matt has to love his sister a little. :P Enjoy!
Bubbles237: Thank you! Enjoy!
Littlemick: You're welcome! Thank you! Looks like your wish came true! :O Enjoy!
Boris Yeltsin: This'll be interesting, right? :P Enjoy!
Gordo parked the car and got out, briefly reluctant to leave the warmth of his car on this stormy day. He saw Lizzie, standing by the door, arms wrapped around herself. "Sorry I'm late," Gordo called out, going over to her, "How long have you been here?" He finally reached her. She shrugged, hazel eyes staring off into the distance. She turned to him.
"Not long." She shivered.
"You're cold. Let's go in." Lizzie nodded in agreement. Gordo tried the door. Locked. He dug around in his pockets, silently wishing he had remembered the key. "A-ha," he pulled out a silver key and slid it into the lock. The automatic lights switched on. Gordo held the door open for Lizzie.
"Gordo…are we going to get in trouble?" Lizzie asked, suddenly looking nervous.
"For being here? No, why would we? My parents work here. And no one will be here this late on a Saturday." She went in, Gordo following behind her. "Here's my mom's office, and my dad's is upstairs."
"Let's start with your mom's…since we're right here."
"Okay." Gordo shoved his hands back into his pockets and brought out another key.
"Where does your mom keep her case files?" Lizzie asked, glancing around the office. It was just like the psychologist offices in movies; a couch along one wall, a desk near a window, and filing cabinets and bookshelves taking up the rest of the wall space.
"In the filing cabinets?" Gordo asked, sarcasm making its way into his voice. Lizzie sighed and blew hot air at her bangs. Gordo raised a brow and grinned.
"We don't need the sarcasm, Gordo," she said, although she was obviously trying to fight off laughter. A moment of silence was exchanged between them. "But, that was pretty stupid of me." They laughed.
"Hey, you look a lot happier than you have since I arrived."
"I feel happier."
"Good. I like it when you laugh," Gordo said, hoping it wouldn't sound awkward. Was that his imagination, or were her cheeks lighting up with a pale red?
"Um…just help me look." Mrs. Gordon had always been big on photography. Therefore, she kept a picture of each patient in their case file. She had encouraged Mr. Gordon to do the same, saying it would make him feel more connected with the patients. Gordo went to Lizzie's side and began to dig through the drawer, pulling out several files at a time and looking at the picture inside each.
"There has got to be an easier way to do this," Gordo commented after several minutes with no luck.
"Do you have any better ideas?"
"No," Gordo muttered, continuing to look.
"Is this him?" Lizzie held up a picture.
"No," Gordo said, "his hair was red, not black."
"How could you tell? It was dark. Then again, this is completely pointless. Neither of us would be able to recognize him right now," she sighed. "I was so stupid."
Gordo figured this was the perfect time to confess. "Well, actually, I'll be able to recognize him."
"How?"
"He, um…he came up and talked to me a while before he tried to kill us. That's why he asked if I remembered him that night."
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
He shrugged. "It never fit into conversation until now."
"Well, there's no one with red hair and a beard here."
"I don't see anything, either. Ready to head upstairs?"
"Sure."
LM LM LM LM LM
"Gordo! Gordo, I think I found him!" Lizzie squealed a few minutes later, jumping up and down and holding up a picture triumphantly.
"Hold still so I can see," Gordo said, putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her from jumping again. She trembled slightly under his touch. "That's him, all right!" Gordo said. They smiled and embraced. "What's his name?"
Lizzie turned back to the file and read, "Darian Romero." Suddenly, a light turned on in the hallway. The two teens glanced back to the door and saw a janitor coming to clean the offices. Lizzie quickly shoved the file back in the drawer and they both dashed to the window. Gordo jumped off the window ledge, landing in the soft bushes below. Lizzie followed, landing next to him. They ducked down. The janitor came over and closed the window nonchalantly. Lizzie and Gordo crept around to the front of the building and to their cars. Why hadn't they noticed the janitor's car in the parking lot earlier; it was a very hard to miss shade of metallic blue. Gordo chuckled and leaned against his car. "Gordo!" Lizzie yelled, "That wasn't funny!"
He shrugged. "No, not really. I'm just so glad we found out who he is. We're finally onto something." He glanced at Lizzie, who looked slightly happy, now, herself. "You're amazing, Liz," he said, before he could even stop himself. What was he doing flirting with Lizzie when he had a girlfriend waiting for him back in New York? His emotions were starting to overwhelm him. Lizzie smiled.
"Right back at you." They stood there for a moment before she added, "I, erm…have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow."
LM LM LM LM LM
"Hello?"
"Miranda? I have a problem," Gordo said, switching the phone to his other hand and lied back on his bed.
"What's up, Gordo?"
"I spent the evening with Lizzie. And I was flirting."
"So? You still love her. It's only natural to flirt. Plus, all guys flirt automatically…it's like they can't stop themselves."
"But I have a girlfriend! It's not loyal to love Lizzie while I'm with Liza! I would have never even thought of looking at another girl when Lizzie and I were together."
"Take the hints, Gordo! If you flirt with other people, then Liza's obviously not the girl for you."
"But I like Liza. A lot."
"But you like Lizzie more. Gordo sighed in response. "Just break up with Liza, Gordo."
"I can't. After what I did to Lizzie, I really don't want to break up with someone over the phone again."
"Okay…but Lizzie won't wait forever."
"I know." They hung up. Gordo decided to call Liza, just to see how he was doing.
"Hello?" Liza's cheerful voice asked. Gordo could hear laughter in the background. He wondered who she had over.
"Hey, Liza!"
"David? Oh, hi…" More laughter erupted from behind her.
"Hi. Um, who do you have over?"
"Uh, just a friend. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I…I was just wondering."
"Okay."
"So…how have you been?" Gordo wondered why she was acting so strange. This just wasn't like her.
"Okay. David, we need to talk."
"We are talking, aren't we?" Gordo asked, hoping to at least get a chuckle out of her.
"No. Seriously."
"Oh, okay…"
"I've met someone," she said, after inhaling a deep breath.
Gordo tried to think of her words in every possible way, except the way she meant them. Except the way he knew she meant them. "Well, that's cool. I mean, everyone needs to meet new friends, right?"
Liza sighed. "David…you know what I mean."
"Oh. You met someone."
"Yes. And, maybe, with you being so far away and all we should try taking a break from each other."
"I'm going to come back."
"I know, but…I really want to try being with this certain someone I met. A long distance relationship isn't in my interests right now."
"You make it sound like I'm not coming back," Gordo said, trying hard to keep his cool. Now he truly understood how Lizzie had felt during their breakup.
"Well…you might want to stay out there after the next piece of news I have to tell you."
"I lost my job?" It was a stab in the dark, but Gordo figured his day couldn't possibly get any worse now.
"Yes…I mean, my supervisor wanted to know when you were coming back, and I told him that you were in California. I guess I could have worded it a little better. Someone's already in to take your place.
"Did you just, like, plan this?" Gordo yelled, standing up and pacing around his room.
"David, no. I never meant to hurt you or anything…"
"You're breaking up with me over the phone! Do you have any idea how lame that is?" A pang of guilt stabbed at him as he said that. He was just as low as Liza.
"I know…but I didn't know when you were going to come back and I just can't date this person behind your back anymore. I do have a conscious, after all."
"So you were cheating on me, too. Apparently you don't have much of a conscious."
"David, please be reasonable."
"Oh, I'll be reasonable," Gordo said, and he hung up. "Ugh!" he screamed, slamming his fist against the wall. What an eventful night that had been.
LM LM LM LM LM
Lizzie sat huddled on the couch in her pajamas. It was getting late, and the rest of her family had already gone up to bed, but Lizzie was wide awake, eyes glued to the TV screen where a horror movie was playing. Lizzie generally hated horror movies, but Frankenstein wasn't bad so far. She reached for the popcorn just as the doorbell rang. She went to go get it. There, she saw Gordo with a tear stained face and his hair a wreck. "Gordo? Are you okay?"
He took a deep breath and followed Lizzie into the living room. "Liza broke up with me."
"Oh, Gordo." Lizzie drew him up into a hug. "She doesn't deserve you."
"No, she was exactly what I deserved." Lizzie pulled back and looked at him, confused. "She broke up with me over the phone…now I know how lame that was of me." Lizzie squeezed him again.
"I really do forgive you."
"I know. I don't deserve your friendship," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He failed miserably. They sat down on the couch and Lizzie wiped a tear off of his cheek with her thumb.
Caressing his face with her hand, she said, "Yes you do. You're the greatest person I know, Gordo, and someday you'll find someone who loves you completely." She didn't add that she herself loved Gordo totally and completely. She pursed her lips, trying to keep the words inside her head.
"Thanks."
"I think we just all forget that everything we do and say affects people. And our future. But nobody's perfect."
"You are."
"No, I'm not. I'm clumsy, kinda ditzy, and I'm a slob. Have you seen my room lately?" He smiled.
"You're perfect to me."
"Thanks. But I think it's my turn to compliment you for once. You're cute, funny, smart, and creative. And…you're nice to everyone, even people you hate. You always stand up for me and Miranda. You're loyal, and you're your own person. You wear whatever you want, listen to whatever music you want, like whatever movies you want…and I kind of envy that. And I'm sure everyone else does, too. You don't care what anyone else thinks, and that's really great. So, why do you care so much about what Liza thinks of you?"
"I don't know."
"I guess sometimes we all forget that you're human. Even you."
"Yeah. Maybe." Lizzie pulled him close again and they sat there in the glow of the TV screen, Frankenstein wandering around somewhere in the background. There was a pregnant pause in their conversation, but the two teenagers were content to just sit there in each other's arms for a while. So, there they sat, their love for each other very evident. You could tell they loved each other just by the way they snuggled up. Lizzie sighed, trying to think of the perfect thing to say. She just didn't want Gordo to be hurt anymore. She could still feel tears slipping down his cheeks, and it pained her. So many times he had comforted her after a break up, and here it was Lizzie's turn…and she couldn't think of anything else to say. "You know I would never hurt you, right?"
Gordo wasn't quite sure how to take that. Did she want to restore their relationship? Was she just trying to be nice? He decided a simple reply would be best. "I know," he muttered, "I know."
A/N: There you go! 2,057 words of solid story. I made sure. Please review, guys! Expect a next chapter tomorrow or Monday. :)