Lizzie blew out a long shuddery breath as she wiped the tears from her face. She smiled a little at how silly she was being about this whole thing, but she couldn't help it, this was difficult for her. Lizzie was sitting on the floor in her closet rummaging though a box that was simply labeled 'Gordo.' Gordo had been the love her life for as long as she could remember. They had finally gotten together after their trip to Rome and the kiss on the rooftop. The box held special souvenirs from the last eight years that they had been together. But the end had come and it was time to pack up the memories of the past and move onto what the future would hold.

Jo peeked her head into the room and saw that Lizzie was just as emotional as she'd figured she would be, "Sweetheart, do you want me to help you? You know, you don't have to go through this alone?"

"Mom, thanks, but I'm fine. I'm a big girl now and I can do this. It's making me a little nostalgic and sad, but this is something I need to do on my own," Lizzie said.

"As long as you're sure," Jo admonished, not wanting to Lizzie to just put on a brave face for her.

"I'm sure," Lizzie said shakily.

"Well, I'll be down in the kitchen if you need me, okay?" Jo said, "Oh and I want you to have this, to keep the things you decide to save in." Jo presented her daughter with a large black and pink hatbox, which Lizzie cried over as she accepted it from her mother.

Jo retreated to the kitchen, also crying; she couldn't believe that the end was here either. She'd always secretly wished that she could stop time and keep this day from ever arriving. Lizzie turned back to her work and sighed deeply. As easy as it would be to put this work aside, she knew that it needed to be done today. She was glad that she had left herself an entire day for this chore, she was sure she'd need it to reminisce as she packed away the old memories. She'd decided to make sort of a game of it, not that it made it any easier. She closed her eyes and reached into the box. Every time she pulled something out she tried to remember exactly when it was from and the circumstances behind it.

Lizzie closed her eyes and pulled out an old musty cast that had once been on her arm, for six weeks. Lizzie laughed a little over the cast then closed her eyes to let the memories behind it sweep over her...

Lizzie and Gordo had been dating for a little over a year. After the kiss on the rooftop both had confessed their feeling for one another and become completely inseparable. They were taking things slowly though, becoming a couple after being best friends for so long could be a bit of an awkward step at times.

Lizzie had always been a klutz; typically it did not get her seriously injured though. One day in late July, the summer after their class trip to Rome Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda were swimming at the public pool. There were signs everywhere warning people not to run around the pool deck, but they were kids, they didn't pay any attention. Gordo was trying to tickle Lizzie, in response Lizzie sped up, trying to get away. She slipped and with a sickening crack, her left arm was broken.

Lizzie was rushed to the hospital. Gordo would not leave her side. He felt guilty about what happened and didn't want her to be alone until her mother or father could get to the hospital. Lizzie cried softly while claiming that it didn't hurt too much. She held tightly to Gordo's hand with her good hand and winced every time the Dr. touched her arm.

When Jo arrived at the hospital she found Gordo and Lizzie sitting together wrapped in towels in Lizzie's hospital bed. Lizzie was being kept for observation. She had also knocked her head on the ground when she fell and they wanted to be sure she didn't have a concussion. Jo had never been too keen on the idea of two – fifteen year olds dating so seriously. But watching them together now, she began to understand a little, they belonged together and he would always take care of her.

As they sat on the bed together in their swimming suits Gordo asked, "Can I sign you cast first, even though it's my fault?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that it is just as much my fault as yours? I was running, that was my stupid decision," Lizzie said.

"But you wouldn't have been running if I hadn't been chasing you," Gordo said.

"Maybe not, but it doesn't matter, so drop it. You can sign my cast first, but if you write, 'I'm sorry,' I'm gonna kick your butt," Lizzie said.

Gordo smiled and said, "That wasn't what I was going to write. I'm going to write something I've been trying to figure out how to tell you for a long time."

"What, I have bad breathe?" Lizzie joked, "You want me to leave you alone?"

Gordo laughed and said, "You'll see." Carefully he wrote his message on her cast as she tried to sneak a peek. When he finally moved his hand for her to read it. He'd written, 'I Love You! Love, Gordo.'"

Lizzie's eyes welled up with tears. In an unsuccessful attempt to give him a hug she clunked him in the head with her cast and they both burst out laughing. Sweetly she whispered, "I love you too, David." They both smiled and tenderly he kissed her.

Both got a lot of ribbing when they had to return to school in September and Gordo's love for Lizzie was professed on her cast. Neither took it too hard though and neither ever forgot how Gordo finally told Lizzie that he loved her.

Lizzie smiled and decided that she would only keep the part of the cast where Gordo had written his message. She also kept a picture of the two of them together when she had the cast on. When she'd placed both these items in the hatbox she closed her eyes and put her hand back into the box.

Author's Note: Don't worry, I'm still working on the Sweet 16 series, but this is an idea that I've had bumping around in my brain for a long time and I needed to get it down before I lost it. Tell me what you think!! Best, Tinkerbell