Disclaimer: I do not own Lizzie McGuire, or anything that has to do with it.

A/N: This ismy first fanfic that I've ever shared with anyone, though it isn't the first I've written, it just finished first. I know that there are already a lot of similar stories (what happens after the kiss...), but I felt like I wanted to write my own, and here it is. This is a one-shot, and will stay that way. Please leave a review and let me know what you think, I'd greatly appreciate it. Hope you enjoy.

Taking a Risk

Lizzie checked her watch on the plane for the thousandth time, calculating the time left until they would land. Her class trip to Rome was over, far too soon in her opinion. She couldn't believe everything that had happened to her in such a short amount of time. The whole Paolo and Isabella thing, which would have been plenty enough for one trip. But then now, added in near the end, things happened with Gordo as well. Well, really hardly anything happened, besides the itty-bitty fact that she kissed him…

She closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, remembering that night. They had gone up on the rooftop together, for one last time. Lizzie had been thinking about what Kate said, Gordo liking her, and really didn't know what to think of it all at first. After all, Gordo was her best friend, they'd known each other all their lives. Besides the little crush on him in third grade, she'd never really thought about him like that before. But up there on the rooftop, she realized how much he really meant to her, and caught up in her new emotions she leaned over and kissed him.

Sure, it was a short kiss, but a kiss is still a kiss. And no matter how short the kiss, it counts as something major when it's between two best friends. Gordo just said, "Thanks," though, and that made Lizzie wonder what was really up with him. She just kissed him for heaven's sake, totally out of the blue, and all he could say was thanks? Unfortunately, neither liking the sudden uneasiness, they went back downstairs, where Lizzie was surrounded by a crowd at all times. She was starting to wish they'd stayed and talked things through, but it was too late now.

After that everyone was in a rush to pack, and in the flurry Lizzie and Gordo never managed to find time alone to talk. It didn't help that Lizzie was being constantly watched by an adult, to make sure she didn't sneak off again. Lizzie had been hoping they would be able to talk on the plane, but Kate ended up sitting behind them, and although she had been surprisingly nice during the trip, Lizzie still wouldn't dare talk to Gordo about what happened with Kate anywhere nearby.

So now Lizzie couldn't wait to get home, where she would finally be able to talk to Gordo. They did talk on the plane of course, but not on what they both really wanted to talk about. They talked about how great the trip was, the upcoming terror of high school, how much they missed Miranda… But they both stayed clear of the kiss, knowing it wasn't an ideal time to discuss it. At first on the plane things had been somewhat awkward, but before long things were back to normal, besides the fact that in the back of both of their minds was the memory of what happened on the rooftop.

Lizzie opened her eyes, done reminiscing for the moment, and looked at Gordo next to her, who was currently sleeping. He is pretty cute, she thought to herself with a slight smile, why didn't I ever notice before?

When at last the plane landed, Lizzie and Gordo were shocked at who was waiting at the airport for them.

"Miranda!" Lizzie squealed, running forward to hug her other best friend. "When did you get back from Mexico?"

"Just yesterday. And I remembered you guys would get back today, so I decided to surprise you here! How was Rome?"

"Oh my gosh, we have so much to tell you! It was amazing! Wasn't it Gordo?"

"Hmm, sneaking out, me getting almost sent home, impersonating a pop star… What is it that you're talking about that was amazing?" he asked sarcastically.

Lizzie lightly hit his arm.

"Hey! You just spoiled the whole story!"

"Whoa, whoa, back up!" Miranda said, looking back and forth between her friends. "Exactly how much did I miss out on?"

"You've got no idea," Lizzie said, shaking her head. "Hey, let's all go to the Digital Beam, and we'll tell all there, ok?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Miranda said.

Gordo agreed, and they all went to find their parents to be sure it was fine.

"Mom, Dad, can I go to the Digital Beam with Gordo and Miranda?" Lizzie asked her parents when she found them in the luggage area.

"Didn't we tell you that you would be grounded when you got home?" Jo asked, turning to face her daughter.

"What?!?"

Jo raised her eyebrows.

"You didn't think we were going to let you get off easy, did you? Sneaking out with a strange boy in Rome, you're grounded for two weeks!"

"Fine, but can I please just go with Miranda and Gordo before my sentence starts?" Lizzie asked.

"Only because you haven't seen Miranda in so long. But starting tomorrow, you're grounded, okay?"

"Thank you so much Mom!" Lizzie gave her a quick hug. "I'll be back later this afternoon, Miranda's parents are giving us a ride there."

Lizzie hurried off to find her friends again, eager to tell Miranda everything.

An hour later the "three amigos" were at their usual table, each drinking a smoothie. Lizzie and Gordo had just finished telling Miranda the whole story about Isabella and Paulo.

"You -- sang -- on stage?" Miranda asked incredulously. "And you didn't trip?"

Lizzie acted offended.

"No I didn't trip! At least, not on the stage… But how clumsy do you really think I am?"

"Clumsy enough to get our middle school graduation in the national news!" Miranda said slyly.

Lizzie's eyes widened.

"How'd you hear about that? Did you see it on TV? In Mexico?!?"

Miranda laughed.

"No, found a video on the internet actually…"

Gordo laughed, then quickly tried to make it into a cough when Lizzie glared at him.

Miranda changed topics.

"So, was Paolo cute?"

Lizzie nodded.

"Very! To bad there was that little drawback of his just using me to get back at Isabella," she added bitterly.

Miranda winced, realizing that would be a topic to remember to avoid. The three of them fell into silence, and Lizzie found herself glancing at Gordo, then back to her now empty smoothie cup. Does he really like me? she found herself wondering. I mean, sure, he was willing to get himself sent home to keep my secret, but that's what best friends do. He'd do the same for Miranda, I'm sure, wouldn't he? Why's it have to be so complicated?

Miranda noticed Lizzie's glancing at Gordo, and also noticed that Gordo was glancing at Lizzie in the same manner. And of course, she found it very interesting.

"So, anything else happen you haven't told me?" Miranda asked suddenly. "Not related to the whole 'Lizzie's now a pop star' thing, anything big with just you two?"

"No," Lizzie and Gordo said at the same time.

Miranda smiled, not convinced for a second. "Whatever you say… Hey, Lizzie, want to sleep over tonight?"

"Can't, I'm grounded," Lizzie said sullenly.

Miranda was in shock.

"What? You just got back! How could you do something bad enough already to get yourself grounded?"

"I didn't do anything here, it's what I did in Rome," Lizzie explained. "Sneaking off and all, I'm grounded for two weeks. My mom's only letting me come here because it's been so long since we've all been together, she says my punishment starts tomorrow."

"Starts tomorrow, huh? Well that still leaves the rest of today for something!"

"How about you two show up later at my house, for movies or something," Lizzie said, formulating a plan. "I most likely wouldn't be allowed to go over to your houses, but if you show up today she'll probably let you stay."

"What time?" Miranda asked.

"Uh, it's just after two right now, so how about around five?"

Gordo and Miranda agreed, and they all left for their own homes. Lizzie was disappointed she still hadn't talked to Gordo, but figured that there'd be some time that evening.

When she got home Lizzie went straight to her room, where she found her suitcase on her bed, and began to unpack. She changed out of her clothes she'd worn on the plane into a clean outfit, and put everything else in the laundry basket.

By three, Lizzie had nothing left to do, and was waiting for time to pass so her friends would get there. She hadn't mentioned to her mom that they would be coming over, but she couldn't see her mom sending Gordo and Miranda back home, especially since she'd specifically said her punishment wouldn't start until the next day. Knowing her mom, she might even invite them to stay for dinner.

Deciding she really had nothing better to do, Lizzie lay down on her bed, intending to get a short nap, as it had been hard to sleep on the plane. Just as she was about to doze off, she was jerked back awake by the doorbell ringing. Lizzie listened closely, and heard someone open the door and voices downstairs, but she couldn't hear what they were saying, or figure out who it was at the door. Soon after she heard someone come up the stairs, and then there was a knock at her door.

"Who is it?" Lizzie asked, sitting up.

"Me, Gordo."

"Come on it," Lizzie said, smiling, "You're early."

"You don't mind, do you?" Gordo asked, jokingly. "I could always leave, and come back in an hour or so."

"No, I'm actually kind of glad you're here early," Lizzie said, suddenly feeling anxious. "We really need to talk, about what happened, you know…"

"Yeah, that's sort of why I came early," Gordo said, walking further in and closing the door behind him. He sat down next to Lizzie on her bed, and they sat in silence, neither sure how to start.

Lizzie took a deep breath, and started to talk.

"So, what are we now? I mean, does the kiss change anything? Best friends don't just kiss each other and think nothing of it. Okay, well, really I'm the one who kissed you. I got caught up in the moment, it just happened, I wasn't thinking much at the time, not that it was a bad thing!" she quickly added, not wanting to give Gordo the wrong impression. "I just, I dunno, it's so confusing! Kate told me that you liked me, and I just then really realized she was right, so…" she trailed off hopelessly.

"Well, Kate's good for at least one thing," Gordo said, trying to lighten the mood a little. He then said more seriously, "She's right, I do like you, which is easier to tell you now that you basically already knew… Do you, do you like me?" he asked hopefully.

Lizzie bit her lip.

"I think I do. I mean, I've never really thought of you that way before, but when Kate said you liked me, it got me thinking about it… And I realized that I sort of liked the idea, you as my boyfriend. I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't like you that way, so I do like you, but I honestly don't know to the extent of how much. Where do my feelings for you as a best friend stop, and then as more begin?"

Gordo shrugged.

"I think that's something you have to figure out on your own." He paused before continuing. "Would you like to try giving a relationship a chance between us? I mean, as boyfriend-girlfriend? Since it's open now that we both have feelings for each other, it's only logical that we act on these feelings, right?"

"I want to, I really do," Lizzie said, looking down at her hands. "But what if it doesn't work? We've got a great relationship as best friends, what if we become a couple, then break up, and hate each other? I don't ever want to lose you as a friend, it'd be too hard."

"But what if it does work out?" Lizzie looked up at him, and he continued. "Do you really want to live the rest of your life wondering, what if?"

Lizzie shook her head, but found she was unable to make a verbal reply. She was lost in his eyes, his deep blue eyes. Why didn't I ever notice how beautiful his eyes were before? she absently wondered. I saw them every day, but I wasn't really looking…

Her thoughts came to a halt as Gordo started to slowly lean in, moving his lips closer to hers. Lizzie felt herself move in as well, as if she was being pulled in like a magnet. Their lips met, and it was unlike anything Lizzie felt before. Their kiss in Rome had been sweet, but this one was filled with so much more. It was a longer kiss, deeper, and each was trying to tell the other how they felt in a way that words couldn't describe.

When they came apart, Lizzie knew she'd made her mind.

"I don't want to always wonder what if," she whispered quietly.

"You won't have to," Gordo murmured sweetly. They then shared another kiss, each glad they were taking the risk.