[Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire, I don't own The Lizzie McGuire Movie, I don't own Hilary Duff or Adam Lamberg and I don't own Rome!

This is my take on what happens in Rome. There will be no Paolo, people! It'll be an entirely different plot. Plus, I hate Paolo. Erggg, I'm gonna end this disclaimer before I start cussing him out...]

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Can you believe this, Gordo? We're actually going to Rome. She stuffed yet another teen magazine into her carry-on bag. Rome. Rome!

I said quietly as I took a seat on Lizzie's bed.

Don't get me wrong, Rome was a great city. And I was excited, I really was. We could go there, learn a bit about Roman history, have a great time and buy lots of souvenirs.

..I'm not sure who I'm trying to kid here.

Lately, Lizzie had done nothing but confused me. She'd say one thing and mean another. I knew she meant well, but it aggravated me to be pushed and pulled around like a yo-yo.

Not to mention she's been a lot less open with me. I remember the days when we used to talk about everything....everything we saw, everything we heard, everything we felt. Now, there's just this tinge, this little feeling of inadequacy between us.

And to make matters worse, our usual mediator would be thousands of miles away---in Mexico.

It wasn't like I couldn't deal with being alone with Lizzie. But for 3 weeks? What if we got in a fight? What if I did something I would regret? Who would I turn to then?

Kate? Ethan? Our tour guide?!

I was making things much more complicated than they really were. Let's go back to my initial thought. Yeah, that's better. History, good time, souvenirs. History, good time, souvenirs. History, good time----

I'm finally going to the place I've been dreaming about my entire life! She squealed with delight as she fixed one of her braided pigtails in the mirror.

Uh, recap, Lizzie... I began.

~*~*FLASHBACK*~*~

And this summer, we're funding an optional trip for the entire graduating class of 2002....to Rome! Mr. Dig announced to the class. Lizzie meekly raised her hand. Yes, Ms. McGuire?

she scrunched her nose in thought. That's in Italy, right?

~*~*END FLASHBACK*~*~

she gave in. Maybe I'm exaggerating. She sighed as she crammed one more thing into her little backpack. Looking up at me and smiling, she said, But that doesn't change the fact that this trip is gonna be kool mo dee.

Please tell me you're not thinking of resurrecting that phrase permanently, I said cynically. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a pillow and smacked me in the head with it.

After flopping down onto the bed beside me, her smile suddenly disappeared, and as if it was a chain reaction, mine did too. Her demeanor grew serious.

And there it was again. Like a caterpillar wriggling through my stomach, it was a little feeling but so hard to ignore. Why did I try so hard to ignore it? It wasn't bad. It wasn't painful or confusing or bothersome. I just needed to suppress it. For the time being. It wasn't that overpowering anyway.

She looked down and her hair fell in her face. Promise me that whatever happens on this trip, we'll still be friends.

That tinge. Again with the tinge. Like I had a prove myself to Lizzie, and comfort her at every turn. Why did I feel like it was my responsibility? Like it was my job in life to sit around and wait for something bad to happen to her so I could rush to her side and be there with her every waking moment. My ridiculous frame of mind.

Lizzie, I think you need to lay off the sappy teen movies. She looked up at me. Do you really think that some life-shattering event is going to occur when we're on this trip? Something so life-shattering that it tears us apart?

Why was it so life-shattering to not be friends with her?

I'm serious, Gordo. Again, she put her head down, as if in shame. I don't want to lose you, as a friend.

The feeling continued to intensify as I glanced over at my best friend. I didn't want to lose her either. But I felt my face grow hot at the thought of telling her this. Why was it so difficult for me to tell the truth?

As long as we have each other, we'll be fine. Now I was the one who sounded like a sappy teen movie.

But it was working. Lizzie looked me right in the eye and smiled. As if snapping out of a trance, she shook herself and held out her pinkie.

So make it official. Promise that we'll always be friends. No matter what.

I stared at her pinkie for the longest time. Was I really authorized to make this kind of promise? What if something happened, and suddenly we hated each other? I couldn't really control fate. ...But I couldn't let Lizzie down, either.

Lizzie and I had been friends for nearly 15 years. How hard was it to stay friends for 3 more weeks?

I locked my pinkie with hers.



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[A/N: Before you start naming me a hypocrite, you must listen to my reasons.

First of all, the little L/G clip from the Why Not video that is currently my desktop background. That picture is so cute. That, plus the fact that everyone on TVTome that bought the novelization is talking about this big surprise ending. That, plus I've just been in a really good, normal mood, propelled me to writing this story. Is it gonna be L/G? I don't know. You'll just have to wait and see.

Just as a note, I have NOT bought the novelization and I do NOT plan on it. I like waiting. Only 40 days and 40 nights, the countdown is now down to. So there will be no spoilers.

And please, people, no spoilers in the review. If you ruin the movie for me, I don't think I'll ever be able to love you again. And I'm pretty serious about that.

La dee da...lemme know what you think. Please review. Thank youuu!]