Holidays in Texas



"Wow, that southwest sunset looks really nice, doesn't it?" asked Phineas. Ferb showed his approval by whistling. The step-brothers were watching a nature documentary on the Uncovery Channel about the Southwest, talking about the wildlife, the local lifestyle, and the scenery. When the show was over, the boys turned the television off and headed outside to sit at their usual spot beneath the backyard tree. Even though they were both 15 now, they still did this morning ritual before they built something.

"I wish there was a good excuse to make us go explore the rest of the U.S." Phineas said. "And I'm not just saying a daytime trip like the one we did around the world. No, I'm thinking big. We should take a week or so, to immerse ourselves in each region for a day or two. What do you think?"

"That's quite a bit of wishful thinking" was the reply from Ferb. Phineas nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right, there's no way our mom would let us take a week to explore the U.S, especially by our usual means." With that they sat silently, admiring the day.

Just then, Isabella came into the boys' backyard, skirting as usual towards Phineas. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Nothing yet, Isabella. We were just thinking about going around the country for a week, but it's really not possible. I guess even summer vacation has its limitations."

"You were watching that show about the Southwest, weren't you?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"I tell you Phineas, I know you too well. Only a program like that (or a good legend) would inspire you to do something like explore other places." Phineas gave her a toothy grin. Only she could get one of those smiles out of him. This made her go into Phineas-Land, if only for an instant.

"So what are you doing, Isabella?" asked Phineas.

"Well, I just came by to tell you that I'm leaving in two days to visit some of my family in Texas" she replied. "I think my mom is going with me, but she still isn't sure. Her workplace might need her just when we plan to leave. Come to think of it, I haven't checked on that. Want to come over?"

"Sure" said Phineas. They ran across the street and entered the Garcia-Shapiro house. Isabella's mom, Vivian, was sitting in the living room watching television, with Pinky the Chihuahua sitting on her lap. "Hi boys, how are you doing?" she asked.

"We're doing great, Ms. Garcia-Shapiro. How are you ma'am?"

"I'm good, thank you."

Isabella said, "Mom, I just came back here to ask about the vacation we're supposed to take to Texas to visit the family. Are you going to be able to come?"

Vivian, after a moment's pause replied, "No. Sorry Isa, but the workplace needs me right now. And not to lie, I kind of need the money too." Genuinely disappointed, she said "Too bad I already bought two plane tickets. What a waste."

Just then, something occurred to Isabella. "Hey, why can't somebody else come with me?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, that plane ticket will just go to waste if nobody comes with me. Why can't somebody else keep me company?" She pressed, "Somebody like Phineas?"

Vivian gave a slight smile. "What do you think Phineas?"

Phineas felt honored. "Well, I'll miss my family and especially Ferb. But I would like to go, just to explore something new. I just need to ask my parents to see if they approve or not."

"No need to do so" Vivian said. "I already asked Linda if she would allow you to go. I had a feeling that Isabella would ask me if you could go with her, so I went ahead and asked. She said that it was fine with her."

"Oh, well that's great" exclaimed Phineas. "I'll just let my mom know that it's official. Thanks Ms. Garcia. When should I be ready?"

"Please have all of your packing done by tomorrow night. It is an early morning flight. On the day of, be ready by 5:00 in the morning. Will you be able to do that?"

"Sure thing, I wake up early anyways, so a little earlier wouldn't hurt. But I got to run and tell my mom about it. Once again, thanks a lot."

"No hay problema, mi'jo. Anything for you." With that, Phineas and Ferb went over to their house to tell their mom about the whole thing. Not surprisingly, Linda approved of Phineas' trip to wherever Isabella was going. Isabella later clarified that she was going to El Paso, because Phineas was wondering where exactly in Texas they were going. "It's a huge state, you know" he said. "I just want to know exactly where we're headed." He also learned that they were going to stay for about two weeks.

The next day, Phineas spent most of the morning researching the place. When he was satisfied with what he learned, he started packing. This consisted of packing about one week's worth of striped white-and-orange shirts and matching jean shorts. Just in case though, he also packed an Oxford-style button-down shirt, colored pink. He matched the shirt with a pair of dark jeans and some dress shoes. That should do, he thought, just in case there is some unexpected party where I need to dress up.

When he was done with all of this, it was already about 3 in the afternoon. He spent the rest of the daylight hours with his friends, including Isabella and Ferb. They went to Sandwich Hut, where they talked and had fun. Phineas told the group that he would miss them all, but promised to bring lots of pictures of everything. Isabella was more than happy that Phineas was going to be alone with her for two weeks. The Fireside Girls giggled with glee at the idea.

At the end of the day, they all went to Phineas' yard, where they said their byes to the two. They all left, only Phineas, Ferb and Isabella remained. They silently watched the starry night sky. The moon was a lovely golden orb.

"Excuse me, I need to get some water" said Ferb. "Sandwich Hut doesn't get any better". With that he retreated into the house. Phineas and Isabella sat under the tree, both admiring the moon, and thinking about the trip.

"I can't believe we're leaving Danville tomorrow" Isabella said. "It's the first time I'm going to Texas to visit my family. Honestly, I'm kind of nervous."

Phineas grabbed Isabella's hand, and squeezed it. "Relax Izzy. Just do what you usually do, and everything else will take care of itself. I should be the nervous one. I'm the stranger randomly coming to visit."

"Don't be silly Phin, I'm sure my mom has told them all about you."

"Oh great, now they'll have high expectations."

"No. Trust me, they will think you're a great person." She added with a smile, "And as far as I know, you won't disappoint."

Phineas looked over to Isabella. Her hand was still in his. He liked how it felt. Cool and soft to the touch. He smiled. "Thanks Izzy, you always know what to say."

"What can I say, I know you too well."

A toothy grin spread across Phineas' face. Isabella blushed slightly. They gazed silently at the moon for a while, and Isabella turned towards Phineas. The moonlight was reflected on his thoughtful gaze. "What's going on in that head of yours?" she asked.

"It's a beautiful night." He shifted slightly, "I was just thinking about that trip around the world. Do you remember when we explored Paris?"

Isabella's eyes lowered, the memory of Phineas ignoring her during their stroll through the City of Love still fresh. "Yeah, I do." Her voice reflected more sadness in it than she wanted it to. Luckily he didn't notice.

"Well, I kind of regret not relaxing during our short stay there. My mind was just so full of to-do's and worries, and I was so invested in finding parts for the plane. After all, I had a bet to answer to, but most importantly I had people to return home." He looked over to Isabella, "I just feel bad that I didn't get to have fun, to relax, to seize the day. I also feel kind of bad that you didn't get to have a good time. We should've done something cool together. Like going to a Parisian café, enjoying the Champs-Elysees, you know…Parisian stuff."

Isabella felt her face getting hot. She was blushing again. "Wow, I never knew Phin. I mean, I…"

"And yeah, I knew you were upset" he interrupted. "Your voice said it all. I guess I feel guilty for not relaxing and having fun with you."

"You don't need to apologize, its okay. Where did all of this come from anyways?"

"I don't know. Just needed to get it off my chest I guess. The point is, I want this trip to be fun for the both of us. No stress, no worries. And I'll make it my goal to have you enjoy yourself." Phineas smiled at Isabella. He admired how the moonlight played with her facial features. Flawless, he thought. Whoa, where did that come from anyways? A sudden gust of wind picked up, blowing a strand of her hair loose. He delicately guided it back behind her ear. It stayed.

Isabella giggled, and said a soft thanks. He smiled. "I have a feeling that this vacation is going to be awesome." After saying goodnight to each other, both Phineas and Isabella went to their houses to get rest before the early morning ahead of them. It was already around 11 at night. Funny how one gets the least sleep right before a trip, thought Phineas as he jumped into bed. He set his alarm clock for 4:15 in the morning.

"Goodnight Ferb."

Silence.

He turned off the lights, and soon enough, he fell asleep.

He really didn't remember what he was dreaming about. It was all a blur after being shaken awake by Ferb. Sleepy, he only managed to ask a groggy "What?"

"Get up mate. It's already 4:30. And please turn off that alarm, its driving me crazy."

The last fuzzy memories of the dream dissipated. He jolted awake, and ran to get ready. He showered and got dressed in less than 10 minutes. Impressive, he thought to himself. As he journeyed downstairs, he noticed that Ms. Garcia-Shapiro and Isabella were already waiting in the living room. "Morning sleepyhead", said Isabella. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up. We were starting to think that I had to leave without you."

Phineas laughed. "Not a chance. I'm not missing out on a good vacation. Let me just eat a quick breakfast." Linda was way ahead of him though. She gave him a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. "Thanks mom."

When he was done eating, he grabbed his luggage and put it in the back of the Garcias' minivan. He chuckled at Isabella's Hello Kitty suitcase. "Allright, I'm all set."

"Good, we're right on schedule." said Vivian. "I guess it's time to…wait, did you bring your passport?"

"My passport?"

"Yeah, for when you cross to Mexico. We also have family across the border. You won't be able to come back into the country without it."

"Here it is" said Linda as she gave it to Phineas. "Just be careful when you both venture over there."

"I guess we're ready to go" Vivian said. "Said your goodbyes yet?"

"Allright, bye mom, bye Ferb, and bye Candace" said Phineas as he hugged his mom, patted his step-brother's back, and hugged Candace, who had just woken up and looked a little annoyed. "I'll miss you."

"Bye son" Linda said. "Have fun and don't forget to keep in touch."

"I won't forget, promise."

With that Isabella and Phineas got into the back seat of the van. As Vivian pulled out of the driveway, he made sure to give his family one last wave. When the house disappeared from view, he relaxed in his seat.

"Your family means a lot to you, huh?" asked Vivian. Phineas nodded. She smiled, "Yeah. That's a good thing though. Don't worry, they'll be okay."

Vivian then started telling the two about the trip. She stated that they would receive two tickets each, because they had to take two flights to arrive at El Paso. The first plane would arrive at Dallas, the connection city. From there, they would take the second plane to their final destination. She told them the times of each plane's departure, and their approximate arrival at both Dallas and El Paso. Their first flight would leave at 6:30 in the morning, right at the crack of dawn. It seemed awfully early to fly, even to Phineas.

"But Ms. Garcia, why do we have about two hours in Dallas?" asked Phineas. "We arrive at 10 in the morning, but the next plane doesn't leave until 12:15."

"I did that on purpose", she replied. "You won't get to El Paso until 3 in the afternoon, so you will probably be starving on the way. Take that time to eat some lunch and relax a bit. You'll need it."

"Okay, thanks", he said. He looked out the window. They were on the interstate, and he gazed at the cars cruising next to them. He marveled at the skyline, the street lights outlining the sheer size of the city. He watched the cars and trucks outline the highways, which looked like veins in the midst of all the lights. Danville looked beautiful by night. Off in the horizon, the night sky was beginning to turn a lighter shade of violet. The sun was on its way.

About half an hour after leaving the Flynn-Fletcher house, they arrived at the airport. They grabbed the suitcases and headed towards the check-in counter to print the tickets, drop off the suitcases, and get the gate numbers and other information. Despite the early time, there was already a long line of people waiting to get their tickets. Luckily, Vivian reserved their seats online, so they didn't have to get in line. They printed the tickets out in the self-service kiosks, and only had to drop the bags off in the counter specifically for the self-service customers.

As they headed towards the security checkpoint, Vivian told them that she couldn't go with them into the terminal. Phineas and Isabella said goodbye to her, Isabella giving her a hug and a kiss. Phineas just stuck to a simple hug.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you", Vivian said as she snapped her fingers. "When you arrive at El Paso, your cousin Manuel will pick the both of you up. He's 17, so he will drive you to where your uncle Juan lives. Look for an old green Corolla."

"Okay got it", said Phineas. Vivian hugged him goodbye a second time. "Take good care of Isa for me, Phineas."

"I will guard her with my life" he replied, jokingly doing a knightly salute. She chuckled at this.

With that, they got in line for the security checkout. Vivian looked on while they went through the checkpoint, and giggled when Isabella had to go through the checkout again because she forgot to take off her dress belt. When they had passed, and were out of sight, she sighed and shed a tear. She walked back to her van, thinking about how fast her only daughter has grown. It seemed like yesterday when she was a baby.

She drove to the top of the parking garage where she had left the van moments before. The top was uncovered, and allowed a view of the sky and of the airport. Although the view of the terminal was incomplete, there was still a good view of the runway and of the planes taking off. Once parked, Vivian got outside and looked on. The sky was now indigo, the horizon having a slimmer of a red-yellow hue. She waited until the approximate time of departure, watching other planes take off.

At about 6:35, a plane appeared, with the same make and airline that Phineas and Isabella were supposed to take. Vivian was sure that this was their plane. She watched it taxi, speed up on the runway, and take off. The plane rose in the sky, turned towards its destination, and disappeared in the clouds.

When she was sure that she could see the plane no longer, she whispered softly, "Goodbye mi'ja." Meanwhile, Phineas and Isabella had just passed the security checkpoint. Phineas passed with ease, since he only had his phone and wallet with him. Isabella had to have her handbag checked though. The security guard made her get rid of some hand sanitizer that was packaged in a bottle half an ounce too large. Also, she forgot to take off her dress belt. She was rudely reminded of this when the metal detector beeped and the guard sent her back to try again. Not a big deal, but still worth a laugh for Phineas.

They boarded an elevated train to the terminal, watching the cars and buses hustle in and out of the airport. When they arrived, they looked for their gate. A game was made out of this, and Phineas was the one that spotted the gate first. His prize: bragging rights. He wasn't the type to brag though, so the prize really amounted to nothing. They sat next to the window and observed the plane that they were going to get on. Not too tiny, thought Phineas. They talked about their trips and adventures while they waited to board.

Ten minutes after they sat down, a voice said, "Will all of the passengers of American Airlines Flight 237 please start boarding." The voice proceeded to say what to do with baby strollers and wheelchairs.

"Allright, that's us" Phineas said. They walked together and took a place in the line. Soon enough, their tickets were taken and they were in the plane. Phineas looked for their seats, 9D and E. The plane rows had three seats on one side of the aisle, and two on the other. They had the side with the two seats. Isabella was happy at the idea.

"Where do you want to sit, Izzy?" asked Phineas. She chose the window seat. He got the aisle seat, not the least upset. He still had a decently good window view, since the seats were so close together. These airplane seats make us look like sardines, he thought.

Soon enough, the plane taxied and took off. Isabella regretted taking the window seat, because she started to feel lightheaded when the plane rose into the air and banked a little too sharply. She instinctively looked the other way, butting into Phineas' shoulder. He knew what was going on. He pushed the arm rest between them back into the seat, put his arm around her, and rested her head in his chest. "It's okay, I got you." She nuzzled into him, and dozed off to sleep.

Phineas stayed awake for a little while after Isabella fell asleep in his arms. He looked through the window. The sun was already up, the light painting the clouds a lovely red. If only she could see this, he thought.

He then thought about what he was doing right now. At first, it seemed kind of awkward to hold Isabella. It was more of a nervous thing though, and he soon grew used to it. Now that she was asleep, it felt natural, as if he has always done it. He placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and covered her with the blanket that was folded in the seat pouch in front of him. The long flight and the view of the clouds started to make Phineas sleepy. As he dozed off, his head started to droop. He took care to rest his head on Isabella's shoulder in a way that wouldn't hurt or be uncomfortable on her.

When Isabella woke, she found herself still in Phineas' embrace. He was asleep, head drooping to the side, resting on her shoulder. She grew ecstatic about this, and giggled to herself. This caused Phineas to stir and wake up. He gave her sleepy look, "How was your beauty sleep?"

"It was wonderful, thanks" Isabella replied, half in reality, half in Phineas-Land. "Yours?"

"It was good. But it's great that you got some rest, you need it."

Isabella responded in mock-insult, "You think I need beauty sleep? What is this?" She put the back of her palm on her forehead, still playing the victim.

"No Izzy, I think you're beau-" Phineas cut himself off.

"What? What were you going to say?" pressed Isabella. Her eyes were getting wider by the second.

"I think you're beautiful, Izzy." Phineas found himself grinning like an idiot, and didn't know why. He tried to suppress it, but that just made his cheeks hurt. He chuckled to relieve the pressure.

"Why thank you" she replied dreamily.

He sighed and continued "I mean, it's true. When I made the cute-meter to find Meap, I knew you were going to interfere, so I configured it to not detect you. Although I honestly didn't know that you would break the machine."

"So you thought that I wasn't that cute?"

He felt like he was being pinned into questions that he didn't want to answer right there. But he gave her a short answer anyways, "No, I thought that the machine was going to explode."

Isabella felt her heart melting, and turned to look out of the window. Phineas forgot what he was about to do, thought for a while, then remembered that he was going to check the time. It was past 9 in the morning. He said, "We're almost in Dallas, the plane should start descending anytime now."

As if on cue, a cool voice, the captain's voice, said "Allright folks, we are about to begin our descent. We still have a ways to go, but please fasten your seatbelt when seated, lock your trays in their upright positions, and try not to venture anywhere unless needed."

Phineas said, "Wow, we were so asleep we didn't even notice when the flight attendants came by to give us our snacks and drinks." He casually looked in Isabella's direction. She was looking out the window. He smiled.

Ten minutes passed when the seatbelt logo officially came on. All of a sudden, they felt their ears start to pop. The plane was beginning its descent. They dove into the clouds, and felt the turbulence bounce them up and down. On one particularly rough bump, Isabella couldn't help letting out a squeal of fear. Phineas laughed softly, but she still heard him. "I can't help it, I'm a girl" she said indignantly.

For some reason, she started to feel lightheaded again. The plane was descending too quickly for her comfort. Once the plane got out of the clouds, it started banking to align itself with the runway. This made it worse on Isabella. She pulled down the window covering, shutting the window.

Phineas was staring out the window at the time. He was admiring the Dallas skyline and the surrounding area, even though it was cloudy. Then Isabella pulled down the window covering. "Hey, what was that for?"

Isabella just shook her head in her hands. He realized that she wasn't feeling well. He pulled her towards him again, resting her head in his chest, and wrapping his arms around her. The awkwardness was gone. Now, it actually felt good. He smiled, and said "It's going to be allright."

The landing at Dallas wasn't that graceful either. The plane pulled in too fast, and abruptly stopped, sending a scare down many a passenger. Phineas could handle it, but Isabella clutched onto him. "It's okay. It's over now." She reluctantly let go of him and smiled meekly.

A nasally voice came on the intercom. "Folks, welcome to Dallas. The local time is 9:56, a little bit ahead of schedule. It's a cloudy day today, a few scattered showers and the temperature a moderate 82 degrees. You will be exiting into the airport at gate D17; that's D as in dog. Please stay seated until the plane has come to a complete stop. We hope you have enjoyed your flight with American Airlines today. We all wish you a good stay at Dallas, or wherever your final destination may be." When the plane finally stopped moving, they immediately got up, beating the crowd that would rise to get their overhead baggage. They only got held up by the first class passengers, but the worst crowd was behind them. In no time they were in the airport, on firm land.

Just as Vivian said, they took the two hours to relax and eat an early lunch. Both Phineas and Isabella weren't really hungry right away, so they checked for the gate of their next flight on the departures screen. Their plane was going to be in the A concourse, so they took the tram to get there in a hurry, and without much walking. The gate was empty at the time; the plane would come eventually.

At first they just relaxed, each taking a moment to try to sleep in the noisy terminal. When this failed, they talked about anything and everything. Both admired how they could do this with such ease. Phineas thought this was because Isabella was very close as a friend, although he subconsciously started to have his doubts. Isabella, of course, thought that this was love in action. An hour passed in this fashion.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Phineas asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Come on, lets get something to eat. It's on me."

"But Phin, I have-" she was cut off by Phineas. "Nope, I insist. I'm the guy, and it's the gentleman thing to do. What do you want?"

"Fine" she said, resigned. "I don't know. I'm not really good with choosing. You decide, Mr. Macho-Man."

Phineas gave her a smirk. "Let's go to that burger joint over there."

They ordered their food and Phineas paid as promised. Isabella was taken aback by this gesture, and thanked him. He smiled and said anytime. They talked some more, remembering some of their adventures. He wondered, "It's a shame that we have to take a commercial airline. If it was up to me, we would have gone on the Sunbeater 3000 and arrived at El Paso in just a few hours."

This caused Isabella to smile. "Yeah, it could've been better. But I think it's going great so far." She thought about their latest flight, and how they were sleeping, embraced in each other.

"Yeah, you're right. It has been wonderful" replied Phineas. Secretly, he was thinking the same thing.

After they finished eating at the burger joint, Phineas and Isabella went back to their gate. They arrived on time, as the plane was starting to board. They took their seats in a plane similar to the one they had just been on. They got the two seat side again, Phineas claiming the window seat. "I can't bear to watch you not feel well" he explained. Isabella gladly accepted; she already had enough of the window seat with the last flight.

They watched as more people boarded the plane. Most of them were Hispanic-looking. Some of the guys wore cowboy hats. An old white man, wrinkled as can be, probably from his years in the desert, announced in an Anglo accent "Vamos al Paso del Norte, amigos!" He earned himself some approval in the form of yeehaws and gritos mexicanos before taking a seat, laughing. This cracked Phineas up.

Soon, the plane took off, and was above the clouds. Phineas and Isabella both read the magazines provided by the airline, Sky Mart and American Custom. Phineas laughed at the funky inventions and overpriced accessories on the Sky Mart catalogue. Isabella was entertained with the news articles and stories on the American Custom.

They shared comments about what the other was reading. Isabella thought that the overpriced kimonos on the catalog were cute. Phineas explained what he thought should happen in order to restart manufacturing in the country. They talked for most of the flight. Before they knew it, the plane started its descent.

Phineas was marveled at the dynamism of their relationship. One moment, they would comfort each other by just their presence. Another, and they could talk about anything and everything. They could discuss even the dumbest of things, and enjoy the whole conversation anyways. He was starting to feel different about Isabella. When in her presence, he felt confident, calm, like his natural self. But he also felt so happy, bounding with joy, almost like he had butterflies in his stomach. Totally at ease but jittery with happiness. He thought he had turned into Jekyll and Hyde. He wasn't sure what to think. Could this be something more than a friendship?

Isabella had always admired Phineas for what he was; an upbeat and creative boy. Ever since she knew him, she knew, ''this is love. ''She had a lot of emotion invested in this crush, so it was no wonder that she became upset when her signals went unnoticed by Phineas. She had almost lost her hope in Paris several years ago, but he reclaimed his spot in her heart with a grateful hug. Funny how the simplest things can refill a girl's hope.

Despite her crush, she was still surprised by Phineas' sudden attention and caring throughout their trip. I guess we just needed to spend some time alone without worries, she thought. Isabella was secretly grateful that her mom bought only two tickets. Phineas would have surely brought along Ferb had he the chance.

As the plane descended into El Paso, Phineas looked at the scenery outside. The first thing he noticed was sand and rock, everywhere. Scraggly shrubs dotted the barren landscape. Thin dirt roads cut through the shrubs every now and then. This was the true look of a desert, he thought. He motioned Isabella over, and they both looked, astonished at the landscape.

The city and suburbs came into view soon after. The shrubs and desert gave way to highways, buildings, and residential neighborhoods. There were even a few golf courses, glimmering in the sun. This impressed Phineas. Nonetheless, it looked just like Danville, even though it was larger and a lot more desert-like. Manicured lawns here consisted of rockscaping, with an occasional bush or desert plant. The plane soon landed in El Paso, way smoother than the last flight. Isabella felt allright, and this made Phineas happy.

The attendant spoke, "Hello, and welcome to El Paso, named one of the country's most beautiful cities. The local time is 3:13, a sunny day with a few scattered clouds. The temperature is 97 degrees. Please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop. We hope you have enjoyed your flight with American Airlines; we know why you fly. We wish you a lovely stay in beautiful El Paso, Texas, or wherever your destination may be. Once again, thank you for choosing American."

They left the plane. Once in the jet bridge, they immediately felt like they had walked into an oven. The old man from the flight must have noticed their faces, because he told them, "That kids, is the classic desert heat."

Once in the airport, they ventured towards the exit. Surprisingly, the airport was smaller than they had anticipated. There were only two or three terminals, and the atmosphere was not as hectic as what they had experienced in Dallas. Nonetheless, the airport was beautiful. It didn't have the sterile polished beauty that they were accustomed to seeing in airports. This was a more Southwestern, if homely beauty.

They claimed their bags in the baggage claim, admiring the ambiance of the place. Phineas led the way outside, where the cars came to pick up the travelers, waiting for Manuel to show up. The air was hot, but they sat on a bench in the shade, which made it bearable. Isabella got slightly irked when a smoker started talking on his phone and puffing right next to them. Phineas took her hand, and squeezed it. When the guy left, they sighed in relief.

They sat in the afternoon sun, admiring the beauty of the area. Mountains were standing tall to their right, and there was a beautiful, desert themed hotel within view of the airport. Both Phineas and Isabella were happy that they were having this trip together, secretly wondering what the other thought about them.

After what seemed like an eternity of watching vans, trucks, taxis, and a Hummer that seemed to be driving in circles roll by; an old Corolla, with faded green paint, finally came into view. The guy in the car spotted the only kid with the orange hair, and stopped right in front of them. He rolled down the window and asked, "Hi are you Phineas Flynn?"

"Yes, yes I am. Are you Manuel?"

"That's my name." He got out of the car and walked towards them. "Manuel Garcia, nice to meet you." He shook Phineas' hand. "And you must be Isabella. Como estas?"

"Nice to meet you" she said. "I'm doing good. How about you?"

"I'm good prima. You guys just hop in while I load you luggage into the trunk."

Phineas opened the back door for Isabella. She giggled at his extended hand offering help, holding it as she climbed into the car. Once she was seated, he shut the door and got in through the other side. Manuel teased him as he rounded the trunk. "So you're a gentleman, now are you?" he said while laughing. Phineas smiled, "Yes, yes I am."

Mind you, Phineas thought that his experience so far in El Paso was leaning on the exotic. Most of the people at the airport spoke Spanish among themselves. He spotted more men with cowboy hats. Some even sported pointy crocodile-skin boots. This is the true Mexican experience, he thought.

To add to the wonder, the first thing he noticed when he got in the car was the music playing on the radio. It was norteño music, a ballad-like genre played with an accordion, a bass, a guitar, drums, and an optional saxophone. This particular song was "Me nortie", sung by Conjunto Primavera. He first thought it was strange, but he got used to it.

The trunk shut, and Manuel got into the driver's seat. He whistled along with the tune for a while, then turned around and looked at Isabella. "So do you understand Spanish?"

"I get bits and pieces, but not really."

He smiled, "That will change here. You'll see." Then he turned his head towards Phineas. "What do you think so far of the place?"

"It's hot, and I can't understand what most of the people are saying" he replied. "But I like it a lot."

Manuel laughed. "That's good to hear. You'll like it even more as you go. Now let's get out of here. Uncle Juan is dying to see you guys." With that, he started driving, eventually getting on the interstate.

Phineas looked around. So many cars, trucks and trailers cruising, and it wasn't even rush hour. The town looked even more beautiful on the ground. He loved the desert landscape and the view from the interstate, overlooking El Paso, as well as Juarez on the other side of the border. Soon they exited the interstate. After a few turns and a cul-de-sac, they were at the house. It looked no different from Isabella's home, just that this home had a gravel lawn and genuine desert plants. Barrel cactuses indicated the corners of the property along the street. The backyard fence was made of stone and mortar, about 4 feet high.

Phineas grabbed his suitcase, towing Isabella's as well. He followed Manuel, and walked in through the front door. They were suddenly greeted by a bunch of family, of all ages and sizes. The eldest person, Isabella's grandma, was the first to greet her grand-daughter, with a hug and kiss on the cheek. The uncles and aunts followed, doing the same.

Phineas noted that the uncles all had the same type of mustache and facial features, the only differences between them being their height and clothes. Nonetheless, Phineas introduced himself to the family, greeting each person with a cordial handshake. He didn't greet the kids though; they were too busy running around playing tag in the maze of people. Whe Isabella and Phineas had finished mingling with everybody, Manuel walked them over to the guest room, with two beds, where they left their luggage and walked back to where the family was.

For a while, both Isabella and Phineas went their separate ways. Phineas started conversing with the uncles, making sure to connect their names to their appearance. Uncle Antonio was the shortest and widest. Uriel was the tallest, and Uncle Juan, their host as well as Manuel's father, was only a tad shorter and burlier. Uncle Robelo, just as muscular as Juan, was the only one from the crew that stuck out; he had a buzz cut and chinstrap beard. Although he looked intimidating at first, he turned out to have a friendly and joking personality. Phineas found out that there were two other uncles in other parts of the country. My God, how much family can one ask for, he thought. Learning everybody's name would take time.

Isabella went over to her aunts and talked to them for a while. Quite the opposite of what Phineas was dealing with, she was wishing for more aunts. On her mother's side, she had only two. Teresa and Rosa were their names. They just talked about Isabella's trip, what she thought of the place so far, and so forth. However, she found out that what she lacked in aunts she made up in cousins; about a dozen, and those were only the girls. Some of those cousins were her age and older. They were absent though, because they were across the border in Mexico. She would visit them one of these days.

Isabella was happy talking with her grandma and aunt about her experiences in Danville. Their conversation shifted to Phineas, and why he had come. She rambled on and on about how good of a person he was and all of the things he has done for her (in a way that didn't give away their enormous projects). Her aunt Teresa then popped a question out of the blue. "You like him, don't you?"

Isabella thought this came out of nowhere. Then she realized that she had been talking in a higher voice and grinning like crazy. She nodded, "Am I that obvious?"

"Si, mi'ja." her aunt replied. "On one hand, you two are still too young to be in a serious relationship. But on the other, he seems like a good guy. Besides, you two are really comfortable and happy around each other. It shows. You don't really feel that until…Oh crap, the food is ready." She rushed over to the stove to tend to the rice that was already set.

Isabella wondered about what her aunt was about to say. Being her, she didn't let it go, just let it drift to the back of her mind for future fancy. Now, the food was ready, and the crowd walked into the backyard to eat. Everybody ate a delicious plate of Spanish rice, carne asada, and salad. Spicy salsa and pico de gallo were on hand for those with bold taste buds.

Phineas tried some of the salsa, but turned red when it was spicier than he thought. Isabella was sitting next to him, and started to worry when his eyes started to get teary, so she ran off to get a drink. When she returned, Phineas thanked her and downed the drink in no time. Manuel grinned at the scene, mocking by doing an overdone "Aww." Phineas smiled at Isabella and thanked her again, the redness in his face receding.

When the event was over and the visiting relatives left, they went ahead and called their families at home. Phineas told his mom that he was already safe at Isabella's uncle's home. Isabella talked to her mom about the day and about her family. When finished, they relaxed and talked to Manuel. He insisted that they call him Manny instead. At any rate, they watched the Uncovery Channel. The episode on the Southwest was airing again, and Manny told them about what else there was to do in El Paso. Evidently the episode missed out on quite a lot, because Manny kept rambling on about what he does with his free time.

"So what do you do on your free time, Phineas?" he asked.

"I always try to seize the day" replied Phineas. "So I usually make stuff in my backyard so that my friends will have fun."

"You make stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Like what?"

"Anything, really. Me and my step-brother Ferb fixed a time machine in the museum once years ago."

Isabella continued, "But, I had to help you guys out because you got stuck in the past. The Fireside Girls and I had to build another time machine. The problem was, Mr. Genius misspelled time machine and we ended up making a tie machine instead."

Phineas gave her a joking dirty look. "Yeah. Good thing she figured out the mistake. Thanks to her, we got back in one piece." Isabella nodded sheepishly, as Phineas smiled at her.

Manuel was astounded. "Wow, that's impressive. Mind if you show me what you usually do tomorrow?"

Phineas smiled. "Of course. It will be fun."

Night fell, and they were tired from the long travel. Isabella climbed into the bed next to her suitcase. Phineas got in the bed on the other side of the room.

"Today was fun wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it was very long and tiring. Especially the flight" she replied. "Good thing you were there to keep me company." She turned in Phineas' direction. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Don't mention it" he said. "I'd do anything for you." He smiled and turned towards Isabella. She was smiling back at him. Phineas chuckled. "What?"

She sighed. "Nothing. I'm just thinking, that I'm fortunate to know a person like you."

"Well, I'm fortunate to be a person like myself" he joked, allowing Isabella to giggle. "Seriously though, I feel the same way. I'm lucky to have found a girl like you; you're simply priceless. You're caring, understanding, brave, smart, cute, and…" He cut off and started turning red. "Ah what the heck, I already told you you're beautiful. But it's all true." He started grinning like an idiot again.

Isabella giggled when she started seeing the toothy grin. She spaced into Phineas-Land for a moment.

"Izzy, are you okay?" asked Phineas, slightly concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just happy. Thanks for being there for me, Phin."

A smile returned to his face. "Of course. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. First off, your mom told me to take care of you. I would have lots of explaining to do if something happened. And second, I care about you. Very much."

Phineas walked over to Isabella and gave her a hug. When he pulled away, he looked in her eyes. He smiled, she giggled. "Allright, it's getting late Izzy. We should get some sleep if we want to build a project for Manny first thing tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right" Isabella said, sort of bummed that the hug had ended. She wanted to preserve that moment forever. "Let's get to sleep."

He shuffled back into his bed and turned over to Isabella. "Goodnight, Isabella."

"Goodnight Phineas."

With that, he turned off the lamp. Soon both were fast asleep, dreaming about all that had happened between them during the day. Phineas was dreaming about something that had happened almost a year ago. Ferb and Isabella had helped him construct an automatic food creator that prepared the food that the person was thinking about. Ferb created himself some crumpets, while Isabella created an ice cream sundae. Phineas created some steak burritos, because he was hungrier than the other two.

When they finished eating and the machine inexplicably disappeared, Isabella had to leave for dinner, although her appetite was somewhat spoiled. Phineas walked her out of the backyard and across the street. They said goodbye to each other, and Phineas looked on as Isabella knocked on the door and entered. He noticed her long black hair, her pale soft skin, her petite figure, the way she held herself, feeling his gut start to jitter, as if he had butterflies.

He walked back to his house and told Ferb about the whole thing. Utterly confused, he said "Hmm, I wonder if the burritos were the culprit" as he rubbed his stomach.

Ferb smiled knowingly, muttering "Yes, that must have been it."

Phineas then felt the world start to shake.

"Phineas…Phineas, wake up!"

It wasn't the earth shaking. Isabella was shaking his bed to wake him up.

"Phineas, wake up, its 8 in the morning!" Isabella was yelling in a whisper. Phineas stirred and woke up. The first thing he saw was Isabella hovering over him.

"What? Isn't it a little early to be awake?" he drawled.

"No, no it isn't. Get up! It's already getting late to get started on the project we were going to do for Manuel today. You haven't even planned what to build yet."

Phineas smiled sleepily. "Izzy relax, we're on vacation. Besides, everything will fall together on its own time. Just trust me and it will be allright."

Isabella crossed her arms. "Okay" she sighed. "Just get up. Breakfast is already served. I don't want you to eat cold pancakes."

"I won't get up until you say the magic words."

Isabella pleaded, "Please, Phineas?"

"No…the other magic words."

"What are you talking about, Phin?"

"Two words, starting with a G and an M."

"General Motors?"

"Izzy, really?"

"Well, I don't know what you're trying to tell me."

"Okay, one last hint. Good…" he tried to gesture the rest with his chin and hands. Wow, now I'm playing charades with her, he thought.

Isabella giggled. "Oh! Good morning, Phineas!"

Phineas grinned. "And now the rest."

Isabella was getting tired of the games. "Are you really going to make me do this?"

Phineas pretended to pout on the bed.

Isabella giggled for a good half a minute. This is too cute, she thought. "Okay" she sighed. "Good morning, Phineas. Will you please get up to eat some breakfast with me?" She smiled widely, like when she used to try to convince a potential customer to buy Fireside Girl cupcakes.

Phineas laughed. "That's more like it. And yes, yes I will." He jumped off of the bed and walked up to Isabella. Giving her a quick hug, he said sweetly, "Good morning, Isabella. How was your sleep?"

"It was wonderful, thanks" she replied, giggling. "How was your sleep?"

"It was great. But I had this dream. Funny, I don't remember much of it anymore. But it was basically that time that we made the automatic food creator."

"Oh that time. Yeah, that was fun" Isabella said, smiling. "I remember that I got an ice cream sundae, because it reminded me of that time that you made me the giant ice cream. When they took out my tonsils."

"Yeah, I went through a lot to make that ice cream" Phineas said. "But I'm glad that you liked it."

"Very much" she replied. They walked to the kitchen to grab some pancakes. Phineas served Isabella the two best pancakes, taking the other two for himself. When they were done eating, they walked outside. Phineas looked for a place with shade to sit under, but there was no shade, just hot stone walls to lean against. There was a prickly barrel cactus, but they refrained from sitting there, for obvious reasons. Giving up, they returned inside, to think up a project in the comfort of air conditioning.

"Where's Manny, anyways?" Phineas wondered. He went to check in Manny's room. He knocked, and a moment later Manny opened the door. He was playing a video game.

Phineas asked, "Where are your parents?"

"Mom and dad are at work now. They won't arrive until the evening." He pointed at the television with the game on pause. "Want to join?"

"No, we were just thinking of ideas for our project today. We remembered that you wanted to see us in action. Got any ideas?"

Manny scratched his head. "No, not right now. But let me save this game, and then I'll join you." He fidgeted with the control and tuned off the game and television. "Okay, I'm done. By the way, I saw that this morning."

"What?" asked Phineas.

"When you woke up. I saw how you were flirting with the prima."

Phineas smiled. "What are you talking about? I was just joking around with her."

Manny laughed. "No amigo, that was more than joking around. I'm 17 dude, I know what I'm talking about."

"Well, as far as I know, I wasn't trying to flirt."

"So you're telling me that you did all of that so suave and confident, and you weren't even trying?"

"Yeah" Phineas said. "Besides, Isabella is my best friend. I'm totally comfortable around her. She always brings out the best in me."

Manny did a low whistle. "Wow, that's something else. I wish I could be like that with Rosalinda."

"Rosalinda, huh?" inquired Phineas.

"Yeah" Manny replied. "She's a friend of mine, sort of. We grew up together and have always had a good time. It's just that recently I found out that I had deeper feelings for her. It all started when we were playing soccer together in the backyard. Nothing fancy, just kicking the ball back and forth."

Phineas let him continue the story.

"One of those times, she kicks the ball too softly, so it winds up right in the middle of the yard. So, we both went to pass it to the other person. We didn't notice that we were running towards each other. When we collided, I fell back sitting down, and she landed on top of me. She looked into my eyes…I swear, that was the most electric feeling I ever felt. Before we knew it, our faces were coming closer together. Evidently she realized this, because she turned away, embarrassed, and ran back to her house. I tried to stop her and apologize, but she was already out of earshot when I managed to call her name. It was so weird and embarrassing, yet so beautiful."

Phineas thought hard for a while. "Well, why don't you apologize and invite her to a dinner or something?"

Manny sighed. "I don't know. She hasn't talked to me since this happened last week. Besides, I don't want to ruin what's left of the friendship by making things official."

"How long have you known her?" Phineas asked.

"Years. I first met her when we were eight or nine."

"Oh. And you didn't feel anything special about her then?"

"Not really. I mean, I was totally comfortable around her and she brought out the best in me. The first time I really felt something else, I was about 14. At first I thought it was nothing, but as the years passed and the emotion grew, I started to realize, this was love."

Phineas listened, then replied, "I think you should give it a shot. At worst, she will see you as a creep and leave you." Manny's face dropped. How is that supposed to be comforting, he thought. "But at best, she will admit that she feels the same way, and you two will be good to go. From what you told me, that will likely be the case." Manny's face instantly filled with hope. "Thanks, Phineas" he said.

"You're welcome. I know what we're going to do today."

Phineas relayed his conversation with Manny, as well as his idea, to Isabella. She instantly loved it. They were to create a romantic restaurant so that Manny and his friend would get together.

To start with, there was an overarching problem to deal with when they started construction in the backyard. Phineas realized that without his usual friends, there would be an enormous shortfall of manpower. It would all be up to him and Isabella. Despite the difficulty though, he fully trusted her.

To make it possible for the both of them to build it, Phineas ordered a prefabricated concrete base and walls, as well as the necessary machinery to help. When the walls were propped up and joined together, he ordered prefabricated trusses, along with other roofing, construction, and decorative materials. He did the roofing and outdoor work, while Isabella was in charge of the indoor decoration and organizing. Before they knew it, the restaurant was complete. It looked just like a Parisian café from the outside, and the inside was just as romantic. Inside, Isabella swooned at what both she and Phineas had created.

Phineas' mind was one full of mathematical concepts and formulas. Laws of physics and properties of materials. This left no room for Phineas to consider other things, like climate conditions. Thus, he had failed to see a second challenge to deal with: the desert sun. They were finished by midday, avoiding the worst of the heat. Nonetheless, the temperature climbed into the hundreds during construction. Roofing and doing the outdoor work in the unforgiving sun had taken a toll on Phineas; he was completely drained of energy.

After installing the restaurant's sign, he barely managed to get off of the ladder without falling off. He saw yellow stars as he entered the restaurant. His forehead felt hot and cold at the same time. His lips felt parched. If this would have been Danville, he would have walked up to Isabella and congratulated her. But this was El Paso. He quietly trudged towards a table, and plopped into a chair. He laid his head on the new tablecloth. He felt his warm breath, now irregular, on the cloth.

Isabella at first was excited when she heard Phineas walk into the restaurant. She was just about to congratulate him on his hard work, comment on how beautiful the whole place looked, when she turned around. She immediately noticed; something is wrong with my Phineas. His face was as red as a tomato, and his gaze was not the usual confident stare. It was spaced out, his face showing fatigue. Freaked out, she saw him plop into a chair, his head collapsing onto the table. She was frozen with surprise, until she realized:

"Oh my God! Are you okay!"

She hated how obvious the answer to her question was. She ran over to where Phineas was limply sitting, and tried to attend him as best as she could. "What's wrong Phin?"

Phineas mumbled something barely audible. The fact that his head was facing down into the tablecloth didn't help. Isabella knew what this was, though. Heat exhaustion. She knew what to do. She lifted his upper body off of the table and back onto the chair, which was harder than usual as he was so limp. It's like moving a dead person, she thought. ''Oh God, hopefully not. Knock on wood…darn, there's no wood in sight!''

She took off his shirt. It was dripping with sweat, but his forehead was dry. This was severe. Fortunately, the plumbing and electricity were already installed. Isabella rinsed his shirt, and filled it with newly made ice. She grabbed a wet towel along the way. When she returned to Phineas, he was again lying on the table, softly moaning. She carefully put the wet towel on his back, and pressed the shirt filled with ice on his head.

"Phin, put this on your forehead" she instructed in a nurse-like tone. "It will help bring your temperature down. I'll be back with some water."

Phineas weakly obeyed, and Isabella ran over to the kitchen to get a glass, filling it with water. She brought it back, putting it up to his lips as he drank slowly. When the glass was emptied, he sighed, and smiled weakly. Isabella had a small tear running down her cheek. "You have to take care of yourself Phineas. That scared me."

"The restaurant had to be finished. I forgot about the heat, and didn't drink enough water."

"You didn't drink water that entire time?" asked a worried Isabella.

"Yeah, I brought a little water. It was one bottle, and I downed it in no time. Before I knew it, the restaurant was finished, and I was totally exhausted and hot. I don't even know how I installed the sign. I thought I was going to fall off the ladder."

"Phin, you need to take care of yourself" Isabella said in a half worried, half annoyed tone. "Good thing I'm a Fireside Girl and know what to do to treat heat exhaustion. But that's not an excuse. You scared the wits out of me." Another tear rolled down her cheek.

Phineas looked at Isabella, still holding the icy shirt to his forehead. He put the shirt down on the table. A lone ice cube slid out and formed a wet circle in the tablecloth. He grabbed her by the shoulders and puller her into a weak hug. Isabella returned the embrace, as her emotion started spilling out like a bag of marbles. Phineas felt her chest shake against him with each sob. He rubbed her back and pulled her closer. "It's okay, it's over now. I'm sorry, Izzy."

Between a sob and a sniffle, she said "I'm just afraid that something will happen to you. I'm afraid to lose you." Sniffle. "You mean a lot to me."

"I'll always be here for you, Isabella. You mean the world to me. When I was panting and almost at the point of passing out, I couldn't help thinking, this is it." Phineas paused. "Then…I thought of you. All of a sudden, I had extra energy in me. Not Energizer bunny energy, because I was still weak. But it motivated me to try to stay awake. That's when you came around."

Isabella pulled away and looked into Phineas' eyes. He wiped the tears off her cheeks, not standing the sight of them, even if they were for him. She smiled, eyes sparkling. "Really?"

"Yes, you saved my life, in more ways than one." Phineas took a good look at Isabella and chuckled. "Where would I be without you?"

"I don't want to even think about it. But you're here with me right now, and that's all that matters" Isabella said as she hugged Phineas again.

"Yeah. We're together right now. That's all that matters."

After the incident in the backyard, Phineas and Isabella walked back inside together. Phineas, still shirtless, left his soaking shirt and the wet towel outside to dry. He would have to take a shower to cool down further and get ready to be the host of the restaurant later in the day. He grabbed his usual attire and started showering. He was ready in 15 minutes.

Isabella was still on edge, even after Phineas was stable and showered. Sadly, this made her prone to snapping at anybody. The target turned out to be none other than Manny himself.

When she had showered and taken care of her hair, she went to the kitchen, wondering what to snack on. Manny popped in, smiling as always. "Hey, I saw what you guys built out there. That's impressive. Did you guys have fun?"

This struck the wrong nerve. ''Phineas almost died out there, dude. How is that fun?'' She turned around and glared at her cousin. "No, no we didn't. You know, Phineas almost passed out from heat exhaustion. I was scared beyond belief. Do you call that fun? Where were you anyways?"

Manny flinched back, surprised with Isabella's sudden accusation. "Whoa, whoa. I didn't know, okay. Phineas told me to relax and choose the outfit I'm going wear to the dinner at the restaurant tonight, for my date. He told me he would take care of everything. But he's okay now, and that's all that matters."

This further inflamed Isabella. She hissed, "Yeah, he's okay, only because I knew what to do. Did you ever come outside to check on him? No. You could've at least given him some water. But all you care about is your dumb date. Gosh, even Candace would have known better." She ran off into the guest room, leaving Manny with his mouth open in surprise.

Phineas was thanking the heavens for air conditioning. He laid on his bed, eyes closed, enjoying the cool breeze on his face. He heard Isabella come in the room and crash on her bed. Her breathing was heavier than usual.

"What's biting you now, Isabella?"

"I don't think Manny deserves the date that you planned out for him. I mean, he didn't even come out to check on you or how you were doing. He was in love-land while you were dying of thirst outside!" Phineas knew Isabella was angry. Her voice said it all.

He looked across the room. "Yeah, that's because I ordered him not to worry about anything. He's a good guy, and he deserves to relax before the date. Don't get mad at him."

Isabella sighed. "Okay." She admired how Phineas could be so forgiving.

They rested in their beds in silence for a while. Phineas dozed off to sleep. Isabella at first worried, and rushed over to where he was lying. She chuckled when she started to hear him snore, and relaxed. He looked handsome in his sleep, she thought. She looked out the door to see if Manuel was in sight. He was in his room, absorbed in some project. She went back to the bed. She leaned in, and quickly kissed Phineas on the lips. It felt electric.

"Sweet dreams, my love."

With that, she skirted to her bed, and started reading a book that she brought along. The hours drifted by, her eyes reading the pages, but her mind thinking about him. Only him. Phineas woke up after his long nap. He noticed Isabella was consumed in the book she was reading. He wondered what time it was. He fumbled with his pockets trying to find his phone. In all of the movement, the phone slipped out of his pocket and landed on the floor. He groaned and reached for it.

"Why do my lips feel so tingly?" He smacked his lips in wonder. They had a slight fruity taste. What's going on here, he thought.

Isabella had noticed his movements, even though her eyes were on the book. When Phineas rolled out the question, she couldn't help herself. At first she grinned, then she started wincing almost painfully. Then, she started laughing out loud. Waves of laughter filled the air as she tried to get herself back under control again. When she did, Phineas was looking at her with nothing but wonder.

"What's so funny?"

Isabella was still grinning. "Nothing. That was just a really random question."

"Well, it's true. My lips feel like they've been electrified. And they taste kind of fruity. Not that I mind, it tastes good." Phineas looked confused. "Do you know anything about it?"

"What?" Isabella was surprised by the sudden question. "No…I was reading the book over here the whole time. I don't know why your lips feel like that." She tried adding an insulted tone, to make the tall tale seem convincing. Her face was red-hot. She was blushing. She tried covering her face up by pretending to read the book again.

"Okay Izzy, I believe you. Don't get all mad with me, I'm just wondering." He saw her face buried in the book. He jested in mock-insult, "Wow, and you don't even apologize. What a bookworm."

Isabella lowered the book and replied, "I'm sorry Phineas. I shouldn't have…" She realized what she had done. Before she had time to correct the mistake by raising the book, Phineas asked what she didn't want to answer.

"Why is your face so red?"

This made Isabella's face get even redder. She thought she would spontaneously combust at any moment. Her mind was looking for an excuse. Fast. "Um, it's just that the project today kind of gave me a sunburn." She knew it sounded lame.

"Lies. You were inside most of the time. Besides, that's not a sunburn. You're blushing." Phineas looked directly at her. "Why are you blushing?"

Darn, he didn't buy it. "Well, your question was just random and funny. I laughed so hard, I almost cried. So that's why my face got so red."

Phineas smiled mysteriously. "Oh, well I'm glad I gave you a reason to laugh. At least I made the score even."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, whether you know it or not, every day I try to make you laugh or be happy at least once a day. So today, I made you cry, then I made you laugh. It's even. Now I only have to make you laugh again to finish the day on a good note."

Isabella thought that this was silly, but cute. "Wait, isn't that what the old couples always tell the younger people to do in a relationship. You know, to make it last?"

Phineas thought in silence, a slight grin on his face. He replied. "I didn't know that it could also count as relationship advice. But I guess you could see it that way." He thought, then asked, "So, do I finish the days on a high note most of the time?"

Isabella giggled. "Phin, you finish the days on a high note always."

The romantic dinner between Manuel and Rosalinda was about to begin. Isabella and Phineas rushed out of their guest room just in time to get all the finishing touches and setup down. Manuel soon walked in, Rosalinda's hand wrapped around his arm. Phineas led them to a candlelit table. The couple was in awe at the ambiance of the place. Phineas had acquired more skill since he was 10 in choosing music fit for the occasion, and the result was truly romantic violin music. Isabella took their order, Phineas cooked the meals, and the food was served.

The host and hostess just looked on as the magic happened. Manuel and Rosalinda were soon entranced with each other, talking about anything and everything, laughing, joking, flirting, and eventually, a kiss. Since they were constrained by the round table, it was a simple kiss on Rosalinda's hand, but nonetheless a kiss. Their important night stretched into the hours.

Soon, Phineas and Isabella grew bored. With the restaurant having limited access (only to the Manuel and his date), there was nobody else to serve in the meantime. Phineas, seeing the opportunity, asked Isabella a question.

"Say, are you hungry?"

"Yes, a little bit. I haven't eaten since that time I snapped at Manuel."

Phineas scratched behind his ear, internally nervous. "Izzy, would you like to have a dinner with me?"

Isabella's eyes widened instantly, and she blushed a little. "Yes, yes I would." She was internally squealing in glee.

Phineas asked Isabella what she wanted for dinner. She ordered a spaghetti dinner for the two of them. He smiled and got to work in the kitchen. Before long, they were both sitting at a candlelit table, roses spread on the tablecloth, with a single plate of spaghetti before them. They ate at the meal in pieces while they talked and laughed and joked. Manuel and Rosalinda, previously enchanted with one another, now turned their attention to the younger couple sitting across from them. They grinned, exchanging knowing looks.

When the spaghetti was almost finished, Phineas asked Isabella what she thought about everything. In pure ecstasy, she replied, "It's been wonderful!"

He grinned, "Well, you're going to love this." He clapped twice, cuing in a tall guy with a top hat. It was a magician.

"Oh my God, I love magicians! How did you know, Phin?"

"What can I say? I know you too well" was his reply. Isabella giggled, blushing slightly.

The magician then performed wonders that only he knew how to do. He did the usual bunny-out-of-hat routine, the endless handkerchief routine, goofy card tricks, and other wonders. Isabella and Phineas were very entertained, and they clapped and cheered profusely when the show ended. The magician's finishing act consisted of pulling doves out of his hat. Just when they thought that the show had ended though, the magician reached behind Phineas' ear and pulled a rose out of thin air. It was fresh and ruby red. He handed it to Phineas with a wink, as he bowed to the couple and left.

Phineas knew what he had to do. He gave the rose to Isabella. She blushed and took it, and held on to it as if her life depended on it. Her eyes were bright with the excitement. Phineas noticed. He asked, "Whatcha thinking?"

Isabella smiled. "I'm just very happy to have this dinner with you. I've always enjoyed acting all grown up and dining like this, in a formal, romantic setting. Who better else to enjoy it than with the guy that I lov...call my best friend."

Phineas hadn't caught the slip up, he just chuckled and replied, "Yes, I've always been the same way. Whenever I would go out to eat at restaurants like this with my family, I enjoyed dressing up and acting all formal and grown up. It's different, a good different." He gave a toothy grin, "I'm happy that I'm getting a chance to do this sort of thing with you. Although I'm not exactly in the best outfit right now. I'm in my usual garb. Doesn't exactly scream fancy, if you ask me."

"Oh stop it, Phin." She reached across and placed her hand on his forearm. "You look handsome to me no matter what you wear."

This made Phineas grin a little wider, and his face got a little redder. "Thanks Izzy, I think the same. I think that I look handsome no matter what I wear." He noticed Isabella's smile faltered for a second. "I'm just kidding. Seriously, I think that you look beautiful no matter what you wear."

"Ugh, you weren't awake this morning to see how I look when I wake up. My hair is all poofy and frizzy. It's not exactly cute."

Phineas' reply surprised even Isabella, "It doesn't matter. Even then, you would still be the cutest person in the whole wide world."

Her heart practically melted in her chest. Phineas must have felt it through her hand, still resting on his forearm. He placed his other hand on top of hers, and squeezed it lightly. She looked at him endearingly, he winked while saying, "And right now, you're the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen."

When Manuel and Rosalinda called it a night, they thanked Phineas and Isabella. Phineas couldn't help noticing that they looked genuinely happy together. He thought to himself, ''Do I know romance or what? ''

Manuel ended up walking Rosalinda home. Phineas and Isabella were happy for the new couple, but most of all happy for the leaps in their friendship they had made that night (although they wouldn't let that on to each other). Phineas had installed a mechanism into the restaurant that packed it up into a cute little gift box with a dainty pink bow. He gave the little box to Isabella.

Soon, Manuel came back, and his parents arrived home soon after. Apparently they had gone across the border to visit Isabella's grandmother, and got held up on the line waiting to get back into the United States. Nonetheless, it was already past ten, and the teens were exhausted from the day they just had, especially Phineas. They changed into their sleepwear, and went to bed.

Phineas lay idle in bed staring at the ceiling. He was spaced out, but subconsciously interested in how the light played with the popcorn ceiling, making weird mini-shadows. Isabella looked at him from across the room with wonder. How could somebody that makes the coolest things in the world be so interested in the ceiling?

"Whatcha' thinking?"

Phineas smiled and turned towards her. "Just wondering how light plays with all the jagged angles and random shapes of the popcorn ceiling."

"And I thought Baljeet was bad enough."

He gave her a smirk and continued. "Nothing really, I'm glad that I'm successful for once with creating romance. It more or less failed that time I did the boat romance thing for Baljeet and that Indian girl he grew up with."

Isabella thought about the event from her experience. Phineas had made a whole hype about a romantic dinner for two, only to find out that it wasn't meant for her. "Yeah, it failed miserably." She said it in more than one way.

"But the good thing is that it worked for Manuel." He fidgeted in his bed and scratched behind his ear. "So what did you think of our dinner tonight?"

Isabella brightened up in an instant. "Oh, it was marvelous Phineas. I'll never forget it."

He smiled at her with a vibrant gleam in his eyes. Isabella noticed it; he looked very happy and confident, almost as if he were mesmerized. He replied, "I'm glad that I can make you happy. That's what I live for everyday."

She giggled. "Thanks Phin, I appreciate it more than you know."

He chuckled. "Well Izzy, I think its getting kind of late. I'm exhausted, especially from that heat exhaustion thing that I went though. Time to call it a night, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get to sleep."

Phineas got up and walked over to Isabella's bed. As he gave her a goodnight hug, he whispered in her ear, "Thanks for making me happy everyday Izzy. I don't know what I'd do with myself without you."

Isabella blushed, and agreed. "Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without you either. You're irreplaceable."

He walked back to his bed, got in and beamed at Isabella. "Goodnight, Izzy."

"Goodnight Phin."

The lamp turned off, and they fell asleep almost immediately.

I read the reviews about the romantic dinner where it was suggested that the story shouldve involved the spaghetti more. This involves the classic scene one where they chew on the spaghetti, move closer to each other, and meet each other in a kiss.

Let me clarify, that was the specific reason that I added the spaghetti in the first place. But as I was writing the chapter, I was more absorbed in describing the magic show and the dialogue between Phineas and Isabella. When I was finished, I thought "Oh crap, I forgot about the spaghetti." Even though I wanted to add that part back in, I couldn't see a way to put it that wouldn't disrupt the flow of the story. Besides, I wanted the "kiss scene to make it official" farther back in the story.

So yeah, sorry if I disappointed the fervent Phinabella fans. Even though I would love to edit the chapter to include a scene like that, I realized that it would be in the best interests of the story to keep it the way it is. Small steps are relished more than leaps, so to speak.

At any rate, here's the next two chapters. Enjoy :)

P.S. Aunt Rosa is married to Uncle Juan. Aunt Teresa (from The Greeting) is the sister of Isabella's mother.

Nothing really interesting happened for the next four days or so. Phineas and Isabella just relaxed at uncle Juan's house, spending time with Manuel and each other. They also called their parents just to check on what was happening back in Danville. Phineas learned that Ferb had started cultivating an affinity for solitaire, and that Perry kept on disappearing. Isabella received news from the Fireside Girls and learned that Pinky had swallowed a patch that she hadn't sowed onto her sash. No matter, the incident would earn her the 'Pet Swallowed a Patch' patch.

On Friday morning though, they were woken up by a knock on the door of their room. Phineas opened the door and saw Manuel. He asked a sleepy, "What's up?"

"Dude, it's my mom's day off and she decided that we're going to Juarez. Wake your girlfriend up and tell her the news."

Phineas glared. "Okay, I'll tell her. And she's not my girlfriend." He felt a wave of heat come to his face.

Manuel laughed. "Whatever." He went to the living room and started talking to his mom.

As instructed, Phineas walked over to Isabella's bed and gently shook her by the shoulder. She stirred, and he stopped. She opened her eyes, saw Phineas, and smiled.

He was all smiles. "Wake up, sunshine!"

"Goodmorning Phineas, what's going on?"

"Manuel just told me that we're going to Juarez today, and she wants us ready in an hour."

"Oh, I can do that." She frowned as she pointed at her head, saying, "Now you know what I'm talking about when I say I'm a nightmare when I wake up. Look at my hair."

Phineas found himself staring at Isabella's hair, but he saw no flaw with it. Sure, it was messy and a little frizzy from the sleep, but he couldn't complain about it. When he looked at her, it was only her and her beauty. Whoa, snap out of it, he thought. He finally found the strength to put together words.

"I see nothing wrong with you."

She giggled. "You're just saying that. Let me get ready." Not before Phineas gave her a good morning hug. She noticed that he had fallen into the habit of giving her these ever since they were in El Paso. But she relished in the extra attention.

Isabella showered and dressed for the day ahead, and Phineas followed suit. As he was in the shower, he thought about what had been happening to him the past few days. It was as if he had grown closer to Isabella, in the closest way possible as friends. Yet he still found himself feeling like he was facing a wall. He wasn't as interested in what they routinely did over the day anymore. It wasn't that he found her boring, quite the opposite. He felt as if there was so much more that he wanted to do with her.

He supposed that it was all because he had known her for so long. Since first grade. How could he forget the girl that always sat next to him in class, wearing the cute Fireside Girl outfit? The girl that had always asked him the familiar "Whatcha' doin'?" That question always inexplicably made his heart temporarily bounce with joy. What was happening to him? Phineas put all of his questions into the back of his mind and continued showering. When he was dressed and ready, he joined up with Isabella, who was sitting on the couch watching television.

She was watching a Spanish channel, a network from across the border. They were airing a re-run of a Mexican comedy show, El Chavo, which was recognized worldwide. It was about an apartment complex where some kids did childish antics and slapstick comedy. It was still the favorite of many, even though it was filmed in the 1970's. Phineas tried to understand what was going on, but was temporarily lost.

He looked over to Isabella, and asked, "Do you understand what they're saying?"

"Yeah, most of it. There's some parts that I still don't get though."

Phineas smiled. "Maybe you could teach me Spanish?"

She beamed back. "Of course Phin. Maybe we can make it a project when we get back to Danville."

Phineas looked down, smiling but inwardly cursing that they were supposed to return home. He wanted these types of moments with Isabella to last forever. Isabella, who knew him like a book, noticed. "Don't worry, it will be our own personal project."

He looked up, the twinkle in his eyes returning, "Okay."

Just then, Isabella's aunt, Rosa, announced, "Okay everybody, get your passports and give them to me, we're leaving in less than a minute." Everybody turned their documents over to her, and she put them safely in her purse. Soon enough, everybody got in the car and they started their drive across the border.

After a half an hour on the interstate and a huge flyover ramp, they were at the international crossing. Phineas noticed how it was jam-packed on the other side with cars trying to cross into the United States. Their side was running more smoothly. Rosa drove into a lane and went through the checkpoint, which was nothing other than a toll booth with a stop-go signal in every lane. The Mexican customs only checked those cars that got the stop signal (red light), programmed by chance. Luckily they had gotten a green light.

As they entered Juarez, Phineas noticed a stark contrast between Mexico and El Paso. Although there were no really tall buildings, the construction was really dense. Stores, shoe shiners, newsstands, and vendors were jam packed on the sides of the road, with people flowing in and out of the shops and markets. It was hectic, bustling, and full of music and sounds. Phineas rolled down the window to experience everything. Immediately he got a puff of exhaust from a public transit bus (nothing more than an old school bus painted white). Apparently, Juarez was full of pollution as well.

Rosa told the kids that they would come back to downtown Juarez later in the day, and that she just needed to park the car at the grandparents' house. After a short time on the major avenue they were traveling on, and a turn onto what seemed at first an industrial road, they arrived at the neighborhood, and finally the house that was their destination.

Isabella looked at what was before her. If it weren't for the fact that it was decorated with shards of tile and painted in a lovely yellow-orange color, the house would've looked like a prison. No picket fence or yard bordering the sidewalk. Just a wall, about 15 feet high, with a clay roof facade. Steel rebar came out of the top, supporting razor wire. The main entrance was an iron porch door and wrought iron bars. It looked very traditional and homely, but it seemed like security was a serious concern here. All of the houses in the neighborhood had the same precautions; enclosed, with razor wire on top.

Soon, Isabella's grandmother came to the front entrance and unlocked the lock that was holding the door shut. She opened it, greeting her granddaughter with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She talked in Spanish, saying something along the lines of, "Oh my God, Isa is so big and so beautiful!" She then looked at Phineas, who was standing there smiling. In a heavy Spanish accent, she asked, "How are you?"

Phineas responded courteously, "I'm good, encantado en venir." The last part was said in an Anglo accent, slightly worse than the old man that attempted Spanish on the plane. Isabella's grandmother chuckled and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek too, commenting in Spanish "My, what a gentleman." The elderly woman chatted with Rosa for a moment; the conversation flowing back and forth. Phineas' name was mentioned, and he grew curious as to what exactly they were speaking of. At any rate, they entered the house.

It was evident that the house was constructed in phases, and on a slope. Each room was connected by a doorway with a couple of stairs. The room they had entered was obviously the oldest and simplest. There Rosa left a couple of things, including her car keys. Then, they went up the house, coming into a room that was the master bedroom. After a steel doorway and another step, they were in the kitchen. By now, they were at least three feet above the level of the bottom room.

The crowd gathered in the kitchen and chatted a bit, before setting out to leave. Rosa led the way out of the kitchen door, which opened into the same corridor that they had used to get in earlier. There was another opening to the side, which led into a gorgeous courtyard. Most of the area was shaded from the desert sun by lush grapevines, which had grown on a trellis made out of rebar and wood. The result was a sight that was simply wonderful, more apt to be found in a romantic Parisian location instead of the middle of the desert. Grapes were days away from being ripe, within easy reach, hanging temptingly above the crowd as they walked under the cool shade.

Phineas was in awe at what the house looked like. At best, he figured they would have visited a simple home with only a few rooms. He was left speechless, expectations more than fulfilled. Here he saw many rooms to explore, lots of tools lying on a worktable presumably used by Isabella's grandfather, and a very peaceful, perhaps romantic location where he could relax.

Immediately he thought of spending some time sitting there with Isabella, but now was the wrong time to think about that stuff. They were about to leave the home to explore the downtown area. Rosa assured Isabella and Phineas that they would return in a few hours. Isabella was inwardly more desirous of spending some romantic time with Phineas in the grapevine courtyard. At any rate, they said a temporary goodbye to the grandmother, and started walking.

Rosa led Manuel, Isabella, and Phineas on a downhill street. The sidewalk was riddled with steps as the street descended. This was obviously not a city for the handicapped. There were no provisions on the sidewalk for wheelchair access.

Finally, the ground evened out, and they crossed a street that was a little wider and with more traffic. They stood in front of a church, waiting for a bus to come by. Finally, a white bus with an orange stripe stopped in front of them, and they got on after paying the fare. Manuel sat with his mom. Isabella and Phineas sat together in the row behind, with Isabella taking the window seat.

Phineas mostly sat in silence taking in the sights and sounds of the city. The bus driver had decked out his bus on the inside, putting speakers in the front and back. The top of the windshield was decorated with CD's, sporting insignias of his favorite soccer team. A radio station was playing on the bus speakers, pumping a very vibrant cumbia mix. These type of mixes came on every hour from what Phineas understood, and lasted between 10 to 15 minutes. He was entertained by the music, nudging Isabella to listen to it as well. They sat in silence, entertained, tapping their fingers and toes to the beat.

Before long, they were within blocks of the downtown. The bus then did a sudden turn, and went into a narrow street. Shops, vendors, and more than enough people crowded the sidewalks. In contrast to downtown El Paso, Juarez seemed grimier and more ragged. The sidewalks were beat up and cracked. The shops looked very battered, some sporting graffiti on the walls. Utility poles strung wires in a messy web over the road. After a minute of cruising by shops and a turn that seemed impossible for a bus in such narrow conditions, they finally came to a stop. The bus driver opened the door, and almost everybody rushed out. The group set foot in the downtown, and gathered together for a word.

Rosa warned them that Juarez was a dangerous place, instructing Isabella to take off any earrings or jewelry if she had any. She didn't wear any that day.

The ground rules were to stay close to her at all times, and be aware of the surroundings. Juarez was notorious for being the main stage of drug-related killings along the border. By midday, three bodies had already been found. If anything happened, like a gunfight, Rosa instructed them to drop to the ground and lay idle until the event calmed itself (euphemism for death on either side of the firefight).

Phineas and Isabella, who had never been in a situation close to this in Danville, were uneasy about the sudden warning. Isabella showed this outwardly. Phineas noticed, and grabbed her hand, assuring her that he would protect her if anything happened. She had heard this line in too many movies, but blushed at his promise.

When done speaking, Rosa motioned the group to follow her. They ventured deeper into the narrow streets, as they began their journey through downtown Juarez.

Rosa had already planned out where to go, since she needed to do a little food shopping, as well as pick up some new shoes. She led them through street after street. Even Phineas got lost, which was rare, since his sense of direction was always so keen. Finally, after alleys of shops, they came to a one-way avenue that was transited by lots of traffic.

On the other side of the street, was a type of plaza, with a park and bandstand. A block away, a Catholic cathedral stood in its magnificent beauty, on elevated ground. Presumably, this was the center of the city of over one million people. Phineas and Isabella put their wonder to the side, as they followed Isabella's aunt, who led them into another side-street, finally walking into a small dry goods store.

The store was owned by one of Rosa's uncles, Toño. Even though the store looked really small from the outside, squashed between two other storefronts, he really knew how to make the most out of the tight quarters. Every dry and canned good imaginable to the Mexican palate was readily handy.

The most commonly sold goods, which were several varieties of rice, beans, dried peppers, and peppers in powder form (chile en polvo), were at ground level in Rubbermaid containers for easy access. Other types of peppers, sunflower seeds and other seeds, canned soups and goods, evaporated milk, beef jerky, among other things, were orderly stacked on the wall. The racks reached almost up to the roof of the small shop. A lone ladder leaned on the back wall, in case anything was needed from the top.

Toño greeted Rosa and Manuel first, and commented in Spanish about how tall and strong Manuel had grown. Then he approached Isabella and greeted her in Spanish. His northern Chihuahua accent dominated his voice's inflection as he spoke.

"Hola mi'ja, como estas? Vaya, que bonita estas, cuantos años tienes?" Hi, how are you? You're beautiful, how old are you?

She responded, with a barely detectable accent. "Gracias. Estoy bien, y usted? Tengo quince años." Thanks, I'm good, how are you? I'm fifteen years old.

"Ah bueno, asi que eres quinceñera? Pues estoy bien, nomas haciendo la lucha para salir adelante." Oh, so you're sweet fifteen? I'm good, just working hard to make ends meet.

Toño then greeted Phineas with a firm handshake. "Y quien eres tu?" And who are you?

Phineas returned the firmness of the handshake. "I'm Phineas Flynn, encantado en conocerte." He said the Spanish part with his still-heavy accent.

Toño grinned, "Ah, Phineas…que nombre tan unico. Pues bienvenido a Juarez." Phineas huh? What a unique name. Well, welcome to Juarez.

Phineas half-understood what the man said. He just replied a simple "Gracias."

Toño noticed the incomprehensive look on Phineas' face and smiled, turning his attention to what Rosa was going to buy. She had asked him to get a kilogram of beans, half a kilo of dried California peppers, and a small bag of sunflower seeds. While he was busy scooping the products out of their buckets and weighing them, he was conversing with the woman. The conversation was too fast for comfort, and Phineas tuned out. He looked at Isabella, who gave him a look that said that she was just as confused as him.

Once the goods were bagged and Rosa paid at a reduced employee price, they left the store, saying goodbye to Toño. They then walked through more alleys, with shops and vendors packed on either side. The shops sold everything: jeans, shirts, boots, shoes, hardware, wallets and leather goods, CD's with mixes of every genre imaginable, pirated movies, and other things. Each shop played their own music full blast. The cacophony was annoying, but it made the experience more fun in a sense.

Phineas was especially surprised with a shop that was selling pirate DVD's of a movie that been in theaters for less than a week. This is piracy on steroids, he thought. He walked up to the guy running the shop and asked an accented "Cuanto cuesta?" How much for the movie?

The guy replied promptly, "20 pesos."

Phineas' jaw dropped. Holy crap, that's not even 2 dollars.

Rosa led them onto the sidewalk of another major street. They walked for a block or two before entering a shoe store. The entrance was wide and doorless, so Phineas could still see and hear the street. Most of the display inside the store was devoted to women's and children's shoes. He took a seat in a chair while Rosa and Isabella had girl time dreaming about the shoes on display. Manuel had ventured outside, checking out a stand next to the entrance that was selling wallets.

Phineas sat looking at the men's boots on display. They were noticeably of good quality, some made with crocodile skin, others made of ostrich or snake skin. But they were surprisingly cheap for the quality; ranging in price from 20 to 30 dollars.

As time wore on and Rosa couldn't decide between a two pairs of heels, Phineas listened to the radio playing within the store. It was the same station that they had heard on the bus, now pumping another cumbia mix. Man, all these people listen to is cumbia, he thought. But he enjoyed the rhythm of the music, it blended perfectly with the sounds coming inside from the street.

He closed his eyes and took it all in. The music pumping, the hum of motors of cars, trucks, and buses; the squeak of brakes. The slight smell of burnt diesel, the rumbling sounds of foot and automotive traffic, the voices of people talking and haggling. Phineas thought the sounds, smells, and sights were all beautifully orchestrated. It was the heartbeat of a hectic and busy city, the sound of the struggle of many people to make ends meet. He couldn't help thinking; ''things are so much easier only a few miles away, across an imaginary political line. ''

Isabella sat next to him and asked, "Whatcha' thinking?"

Phineas turned over, a serene expression on his face. "Nothing…this city, it's simply beautiful."

"A bit too hectic, if you ask me. And it's a very rough city, there are murders every day."

He replied, "True, it isn't my cup of tea when it comes to choosing a place to live. But for this instant, it just seems so electric and perfectly synchronized."

Isabella smiled. She was happy that he was enjoying the trip across the border. Part of her wanted to hug him right in the midst of everybody, but she refrained. Phineas took the initiative, by grabbing her hand and giving it a playful squeeze. "Thanks for inviting me to come with you, it's wonderful."

She went into Phineas-Land, dreamily replying "You're welcome."

By then, Rosa had finally decided which shoes she wanted. She chose some silver high heels. Both Isabella and Phineas rolled their eyes, because it had only taken her about an hour to decide. When the shoes were paid for and bagged, they left the store, and started on the journey back to the bus stop that brought them here. It was already 3 in the afternoon.

The walk back to the bus stop was different than how Phineas had remembered it. Rosa led them through some different streets. He wondered how the woman managed to keep her sense of direction in such a confusing web of streets and alleys. Isabella was just as bewildered, and Manuel just tagged along thinking nothing of the walk.

When they finally reached the bus stop, a small crowd was already gathered waiting for buses. Some other bus routes stopped at the same stop; buses with green stripes, purple stripes, and red stripes stopped, taking most of the crowd. Finally, an orange-route bus arrived. The group got on the bus, paid the fare, and took their seats. The bus sat around for a minute. A popsicle vendor took the opportunity to pitch his products, and got on the bus. But when he saw nobody interested, he got off and tried his luck elsewhere. The bus pulled out of the small street, and left the downtown to continue its route.

The bus got stalled for a moment in a traffic jam on the major avenue. It sat idly, boxed in by cars and trucks of all sizes. Phineas looked out the window. A truck full of Mexican soldiers, armed and ready, was stuck in the traffic, next to the bus. The soldiers were part of the Mexican government's war against the drug cartels. So far, the tactic saw no success.

Phineas nudged Isabella and pointed at the truck. She gasped and grew a little nervous. She knew that if any violence arose between the soldiers and gunned cartel members, they were directly in the line of fire. He noticed her nervousness, and took her hand. Somehow, this gesture was more than enough to calm her down. To Isabella, it signified that everything was going to be okay.

The traffic jam let up a bit, to a slow crawl, but then stalled again. This time, the bus was stopped in front of a pedestrian bridge. Lots of people were using it to get from one side of the street to the other. The soldiers were still next to the bus.

Everybody was calm, talking and enjoying the moment as best as they could, when they heard what seemed like a succession of cracks. Nobody really paid attention, until one of the soldiers fell off the bed of the pickup, unconscious. A pool of blood formed where his head landed.

Until then it became evident what the cracking sounds were. Gunshots.

The soldiers started panicking, getting in position for any possible ambush by armed cartel members. The traffic jam essentially made them an easy target, like turkeys on Thanksgiving. Manuel was the first one to start freaking out. "Oh my God, they're getting shot at!" Him and Rosa immediately ducked below the window of the bus.

Phineas and Isabella were slower to react, since they had never been in this situation. Isabella leaned towards Phineas, who had taken the window seat. She asked, "Phin, what's going on?"

Phineas saw the panicked soldiers, the dead man on the ground, and the fear in the faces of the drivers that were next to the truck. Some had actually ditched their cars and ran somewhere else. He responded quickly, "They're getting shot at; we should duck and protect ourselves."

He put his hand on the back of Isabella's head and guided her to duck into her lap. A fraction of a second later, he did the same. He was halfway down, his head and neck still visible through the window, when another crack was heard.

All of a sudden, Phineas' world temporarily went black. An instant later, it held nothing but raw pain.

Isabella's grandfather, Juan, finally got home, after another day of selling Marlboro cigarettes on the street. He walked the entire way to and from his stand; about a mile from the house, in a semi-commercial district. To the unaccustomed person, this would be a long walk, especially with the heat and the hilly nature of the streets. Juan was used to it though; this had been his work ritual for decades.

He walked in through the kitchen door. Hearing his wife in the laundry room, next to the kitchen, he turned the other way, towards the master bedroom. Juan stored his box full of merchandise, and plopped into the bed, turning on the small television in front of him. He changed the channel to a network from Juarez that usually did news flashes throughout the day. Most of these "breaking news" reports concerned scenes of cartel shootings and dead bodies. The news flash airing now was about an ambush that happened near the downtown. Juan was not surprised, and he watched with little interest.

The reporter spoke, "At around 3 in the afternoon today, there was a shootout between a band of gunmen and a truck of Mexican soldiers. The scene happened on the Eje Vial Juan Gabriel (name of the major avenue), during a traffic snarl. It all started when one of the gunmen opened fire from a pedestrian bridge, fatally wounding a soldier. The firefight raged for ten minutes, with civilians stuck in the crossfire. When the traffic cleared, reinforcements came to assist the soldiers. All in all, two gunmen and one soldier were killed. One gunman was arrested. Another is suspected to still be at large."

The report continued. "At the same shootout, an innocent bystander was wounded. The victim was sitting inside a public transit bus that was next to the ambushed convoy, when he was shot. As the traffic cleared, the bus rushed to the hospital, where the person was taken in and treated. Reportedly, he is an American citizen, a teenage boy, by the name of Phineas Flynn. He is currently in serious condition."

A file photo of the teenager was displayed on the television. Juan grew disgusted with the nature of the story, and turned the television off. Isabella's grandmother had finished loading the washing machine, and walked into the master bedroom. She greeted her husband.

"Hey Juan, how was today?"

He replied, "It was a bit slow, but I got decent business. I need to restock on more light cigars though."

"I saw that you were watching the TV. What was on?"

He sighed. "Nothing, Nicha (her name). They ambushed some Mexican soldiers and killed one. There was also some triangle-headed boy that got shot in the crossfire."

She gasped. "Oh my, the things that happen these days. Did they reveal information about the boy?"

"They said he was a teenager. He looked about 15. He was also an American citizen."

Nicha started to wonder. "Really? What was his name?"

Juan thought for a while. "I'm not sure, it started with a P…Phineas, I think."

Immediately, the color drained from her face, and her hands started shaking. Juan noticed, and asked, "What? Do you know him?"

She replied softly, as if speaking louder would confirm what she was thinking. "It's Isabella's best friend."

Isabella heard a series of loud cracks over the sound of the music on the bus. She turned towards Phineas, who was looking out the window. "Phin, what's going on?"

He replied, fear in his voice. "They're getting shot at; we should duck and protect ourselves."

She felt his hand on the back of her head, pushing her down into her lap. She had to get out of view of the window. The metal sides of the bus offered a little more protection than the glass window. Phineas ducked down an instant later.

What happened next seemed surreal to Isabella. Phineas was halfway down, when Isabella heard the tiny sound of glass being pierced. She felt him bump into her. At first she thought nothing of it, until she turned her head and saw blood dripping onto his shorts. He started to groan and cough in pain, which only caused more blood to drip.

The firefight between the soldiers and the gunmen suddenly got intense. Isabella heard several bullets rip through the body of the bus. The other passengers started screaming. But she didn't care about the danger of the moment. She didn't care about the risk of being shot. All she cared about, in that instant, was Phineas.

His look was one of pure pain. Isabella sat up and pulled him away from the window, where she finally got a chance to see his injury. The bullet had pierced into the front of his neck, right above the Adam's apple, creating a gash that was bleeding profusely. She gasped in horror, and continued to pull on him out of range. She finally managed to sit him down in the center aisle, where she tried to analyze the injury as best as she could.

Rosa and Manuel looked over and gasped in horror at the poor guy. Isabella's aunt almost fainted. The bus driver had taken notice, and found new determination to get out of the traffic jam. Fortunately the traffic had cleared. It was a mystery whether it was due to natural causes or the desire of the other drivers to get out of the danger zone. At any rate, the bus sped out of the range of fire, and went into a small street.

On the way, Isabella was trying to attend Phineas. He groaned, and raspily said, "Isabella…"

She replied, sadness, stress, and worry all in her voice. 'What, Phin?"

He quoted something he had heard in an old western movie he had seen once. "The devil like to got me." Then, he went unconscious.

Isabella slapped his cheeks repeatedly to try to wake him up. When this failed, she hugged his body and started to cry uncontrollably. She didn't care about his blood staining her pink dress. She just wanted him to live. The bus drove fast as it turned into another major avenue, cruising past cars until it pulled right in front of a hospital.

Manuel and the bus driver carried the wounded Phineas into the emergency room, with Rosa and Isabella following, the latter crying her eyes out. When the nurses had taken notice of Phineas, Rosa went to the bus driver and thanked him.

Rosa knew that there was only so much that they could do at a Mexican general hospital. She ordered the doctors to do their best to stop the bleeding, and transfer Phineas to El Paso. They were planning on doing the same thing. They bandaged the wound tightly, and called a helicopter from a hospital in El Paso. Within ten minutes, the helicopter was there. They rushed Phineas to the roof level, and loaded him into the aircraft. It soon took off and headed back across the border.

Rosa, Manuel and Isabella remained at the general hospital. They took a taxi back to Isabella's grandparents' house, overpaying the driver. Rosa rushed into the house to grab the keys to her car. Isabella's grandmother walked into the room.

The elderly woman asked "Where's the boy?" in Spanish. She already knew about the news. Rosa told her the whole nine yards in a quick manner. She said that they went to the general hospital and he was flown to El Paso. With that, she said a hurried goodbye and rushed outside to get in the car. Everybody got seated in a flash. Rosa turned the car on, and sped away, her mind fixed on getting to the hospital.

It was easier said than done. Rush hour had already started, and the line to cross into the United States was miles long. An hour later, they crossed the bridge that went over the border, and were within feet of the customs checkpoint. Rosa instructed Manuel and Isabella to act calm. True, they were nerve-wracked on the inside. But if the Homeland Security customs saw any hint of nervousness, they were sure to be held up for further inspection and questioning. That was what the three least wanted. Nonetheless, they held their anxiety on the inside. It was the best acting that Isabella had ever put on; inside she just felt like bawling. They passed inspection without a hitch.

The nurses at the general hospital in Juarez had given Rosa the directions of the hospital to which Phineas was transferred. It was directly off the interstate, near downtown El Paso. They got there in a jiffy. Once parked, they raced into the hospital, and crashed at the front desk. The clerk, seeing their distraught faces, calmly directed them to where the surgery was being performed. She also informed them that they couldn't enter the room, but would be given information by the doctors.

They got on the elevator, and went up to the third floor, following the clerk's directions. The song "Gitchi Gitchi Goo" was playing as they ascended. This only brought memories to Isabella, and she started crying again. Soon, they arrived at the surgery floor, and they sat down in the waiting room. They alerted the nurses at the desk that they wanted to know information about Phineas.

After about fifteen minutes, a doctor came out of a door, and walked to the desk. He talked to a nurse and pointed at the clipboard he was carrying. The nurse pointed at Rosa. The doctor turned around and walked to her. "Are you the guardian of Phineas Flynn?"

She nodded. He started, "When Phineas got here, he had already lost a lot of blood. The bullet managed to nick his jugular vein. But he was really lucky that it was just a nick; he would have bled to death in a short period of time had the bullet entered several millimeters to the side. His vocal cords, nervous system, and windpipe are unaffected."

He paused, then continued. "Right now, he's more or less in stable condition. We patched him up pretty well, with a few stitches, and bandaged him up. We also removed the bullet and gave him some blood, since he lost a lot. Although it is not all of the blood he needs, he should produce the rest in no time. You guys can rest now. He will be moved into a room shortly for recovery. He will stay here for two days or so, in order for us to monitor him. When he's in his room, we'll let you know promptly."

Manuel gave out a big breath of relief. Rosa smiled meekly and thanked the doctor. Isabella shed a few tears of joy. The doctor left, and went on to talk to some other guests waiting.

The group waited for an hour or so until the doctor appeared again. He walked towards them, and gave them the number of the room in which Phineas was now located. He even got in the elevator with them to walk them over. They went up two floors and arrived at the fifth floor. After a brisk walk, the doctor opened the door and let everybody in before leaving.

Phineas was either sleeping or unconscious as he lay in the bed. Isabella just wanted to walk up to the bed and give him a big hug, but Rosa sensed this. She put her hand on Isabella's shoulder. The young girl turned towards her aunt, which shook her head. Nonverbally, Isabella was told that hugging him now would not be a good idea.

The group of three sat down, and talked to each other about their vantage points of what had happened on the bus. Rosa reassured her niece that they were just very unlucky. One usually does not see anything violent, much less experience it up close. It was purely bad luck that on their first day in Juarez, they had managed to be stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Manuel then opened up about how he had seen a guy with a thing that looked like an AK-47 run off the pedestrian bridge shortly after the dead soldier fell off the truck. The girls inquired him about this down to the smallest detail, and he responded what he remembered from the fuzzy memory. Isabella talked about how she had seen Phineas moments after he was hit. The memory was still too fresh for comfort, and she had to stop talking in order to not cry again.

After several hours in the room, Phineas was still asleep. It was already night, and Rosa said that she had to get back home, because she had to work the next day. Manuel was feeling sleepy and wanted to give the drama a rest. Isabella, however, refused to leave the room. Rosa agreed to letting her stay the night with Phineas. She was compelled by how much the young girl cared for her friend.

When her aunt and cousin left, Isabella sat in the room, and turned on the television. She checked to see what they had done with Phineas. Not much of the surgery was visible, because his neck was bandaged. She killed time watching the tube, sitting next to his bed in a recliner. She took his hand, and caressed it, tracing circles on the back of his palm. When she grew sleepy, she planted a goodnight kiss on his forehead. She got back on the recliner and leaned back, falling asleep with the television still on.

Before Isabella knew it, she woke up to the feeling of somebody tracing their fingers over her hand, which had fallen limply on Phineas' bed. It was morning already. She lazily opened her eyes. To say the least, what she saw after made her bounce with joy.

Phineas was wide awake, with Isabella's hand in his, smiling at her. He looked healthy and normal, except for the bandage around his neck. She squealed in joy, jumping up and giving him an emotional hug. She was careful to not tax his recovering neck too much. He chuckled and returned the hug with equal joy. He kissed her forehead and spoke for the first time since the unfortunate afternoon. "Goodmorning Isabella. How are you?"

"I'm happy Phin, very happy. So glad that you're allright." She inevitably shed a few tears of joy.

He looked into her eyes and delicately wiped her tears away with his bed sheet. He then took her into his arms and held her there for a while. She nuzzled into his chest and smiled. She asked, "How long have you been awake?"

He still held her close, "For awhile. It's kind of hard to fall asleep when you're watching paid programming and there's no way to turn off the darn TV."

Isabella giggled. "Oh, sorry about that. I was just so tired yesterday from everything that happened, I forgot to turn it off."

"No, it's okay Izzy. You needed rest. I got more than enough now, even though I'm still sleepy."

"Yeah, I didn't rest that well last night", she replied.

He asked, "Do you want to share the bed?"

She blushed, "No, Phin. I'm not the one that needs it."

"Come on, I insist. You spent the whole night on that recliner. The least you deserve is resting on a bed, even though it's kind of small."

Isabella accepted. She got onto the bed, lying right next to Phineas. He scooted to the side, and put his arm behind her neck, resting his hand on her shoulder. He asked, "So, what happened after I lost consciousness on the bus?"

She told him about how they went to the general hospital in Juarez, how he had been flown across the border, and the ordeal that they had gone through to get to the hospital. She was no longer sad. Now, she was more than happy in knowing he had pulled through okay.

They gave the subject a rest and talked about other things. Phineas said that even though his first visit to Mexico hadn't been the ideal one, he still loved the experience. He even wanted to go again once he recovered. Secretly, his hands were itching to use the tools he had seen at Isabella's grandparents' house. More importantly, he really wanted to spend time with the girl now at his side, in the lovely courtyard.

Soon, the two grew tired again, and they dozed off to sleep. Isabella turned towards Phineas, who put his arm over her. They curled into each other, fast asleep.

In the middle of the day, a nurse walked in to check on Phineas' recovery. Upon seeing the two sleeping together, she smiled and left. As she made notes on her clipboard, she mumbled, "I guess he's recovering quite fine." Aunt Rosa had asked to get out of work early, citing an emergency. She arrived at the hospital at around 3 in the afternoon.

The first thing that she saw was the two friends curled into each other asleep. Isabella was stirred by the opening of the door. She turned towards her aunt, and smiled sheepishly. Rosa only raised an eyebrow in slight suspicion. Isabella's facial expression answered her doubt. This is not what it looks like, we were just sleeping.

Isabella started to shuffle to get out of bed, but Rosa put her hand up in front of her. She smiled and said, "It's okay, you can keep resting. I know you guys were behaving." The young girl didn't doubt it twice, and she remained laying next to Phineas, a blissful smile on her face. Rosa asked, "How is he doing?"

"He's doing okay. He woke up in the morning and was watching television until I woke up. We were just talking, and then we started getting tired. He invited me to lay on the bed to get proper rest, because he couldn't stand that I had spent the entire night sleeping on that recliner." She pointed from the seat to the bed that she was on now. "So that's how we ended up asleep."

Rosa just smiled, "It's okay Isabella, you don't have to explain yourself. I trust you. But I have to say, that he was awfully nice. You guys are close friends and all, but I'd say that he likes you. And you definitely like him."

Isabella glared at her and turned towards Phineas. "Aunt, he's right here!"

"Don't worry, he's fast asleep." Rosa's voice then changed to a more serious tone. "Now listen to me. You both are totally comfortable around each other. You know each other like a book. There's no hiding that both of you like each other. The first few days it wasn't that obvious, but as I've spent more time with you it's really evident that you have big potential to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Isabella was wondering where this was all coming from. She just whispered, "Really?"

"Of course. I daresay that you two are the most mature pair that I have ever seen. Not even most married couples treat each other with as much respect and care. I have never seen anything like it. It is as if you both are made for each other."

"So what should I do?"

Rosa advised, "As of now, do nothing. If he has feelings for you, he should be man enough to make the first move. I just know that he loves you. It's really obvious. So don't lose hope, he will make a move. I guarantee it."

Isabella beamed in joy, hearing this come from her aunt. She still wondered one thing. "Wait, why are you so interested in us getting together anyways?"

Rosa smiled. "Because you deserve each other. You are a smart and beautiful young woman. You deserve a guy that is just as good as you. If he were a jerk that was as dumb as a rock, all muscle and no brains, than I wouldn't have even considered the thought of letting you spend the night here with him. But Phineas is a very intelligent and bright fellow, and he cares about you very much. I know he would give anything to see you happy and do anything to keep you safe. He took a bullet for you, dangit."

Her voice rose a tiny bit. "If he would do all of that for you, only as friends, imagine what he would do for you if you were his girlfriend? This is serious Isabella, you only meet guys like that once in a lifetime; he is one in a million. He loves you, and he wants the best for you. The way that you and Phineas interact…I haven't seen anything remotely close to it. You both are way ahead of your years."

Isabella thought about what her aunt had said. She realized that it was all true. Even when they were back in Danville, Phineas would always go to great lengths just to make her happy. The ice cream sundae after she had her tonsils taken out was the first thing that came to mind. Then, she remembered the time that he had created a rainbow for her just because he thought that she had never seen one before. Other instances throughout the years came to mind, and she realized; even though he had never directly returned her feelings, he had always shown that he cared about her very much. What her aunt said was spot on.

Her aunt just hummed to herself, and then changed the subject. "By the way, the reason I bought those high heels yesterday was because there is a quinceñera next Saturday. It's your cousin Cynthia's birthday. She's turning fifteen on Thursday. I think that it would be great if you and Phineas went to the party before you leave. It would be great for him to experience the culture that way. Bring it up to him and see what he thinks."

Isabella nodded, and asked, "By the way, where's Manuel?"

Rosa smiled and said, "Oh, he went on a date with Rosalinda. Evidently they started going out the day after you came. I'm happy for them, they make a cute couple."

Isabella smiled. At least something of Phineas' creation had created romance. And with what Rosa just said, she was sure that another romance was brewing. Rosa then abruptly had to leave, because she had to do some errands. At any rate, she asked Isabella if she wanted to stay.

Isabella knew that she was dirty. As she was about to say that she wanted to go home to shower, Rosa said, "Don't worry, I brought you a change of clothes. Besides, there's a bathroom with a shower in this room."

Isabella replied, "Yes, I know about the shower, I was just worried about the change of clothes. But in that case, yes, I'll stay here with Phineas." She grinned uncontrollably.

Rosa smiled and said, "Fair enough." She grabbed her purse, and warned as she left, "You just behave."

Isabella nodded, "Of course, aunt."

When her aunt left, Isabella picked up the bag of clothes and went into the bathroom. It contained a towel, body wash, shampoo, a clean pink dress, and a change of intimates. The thought of her aunt bagging the latter made her kind of embarrassed. After some thought though, Isabella's mind let it rest, because she knew that her luggage didn't have anything too risqué. At any rate, she undressed, showered, and changed clothing. She was ready in about 20 minutes.

When she came out of the bathroom, Phineas was already awake, watching the television. He heard the bathroom door open, and looked towards her. "Took a shower, huh?"

She replied, arranging the dirty clothes into the bag. "Yeah, Aunt Rosa came by to drop off a change of clothes. I was feeling dirty anyways."

"Oh, she came by?"

"Yes, yes she did. She just came by to check on how you were doing, and we talked about…other things. But she told me that…"

Phineas interrupted her, "Wait, don't tell me that she walked in when we were…"

Isabella finished the sentence, "…when we were sleeping together? Yes, she did. But she didn't mind, she knew that there was nothing inappropriate going on."

He just chuckled. "Oh, that's a relief. That would have been so great. I get shot, and then I get my girlfriend's aunt mad at me. Wouldn't that be…" Phineas then realized what he had just said. Isabella stopped folding her clothes and looked at him, eyes wide.

Phineas let out an awkward chuckle. She asked softly, "What?"

He tried evading her question, "What?"

"What did you just call me?"

He wanted to cringe in embarrassment, but he found himself smiling like an idiot. "I called you my girlfriend. I didn't mean to, it just kind of slipped out. Sorry, I guess I got all caught up and…"

She cut him off, "Abupbup. Don't apologize Phineas. There's no need to."

His heart sank, "It's okay…If you don't feel the same way, then just…"

"No…I mean yes…I mean…" Isabella was confused as to what to say. She finally settled her thoughts. "That word…was the best thing you could have ever called me."

His heart rose to his throat again. "Really? I mean, it sort of slipped out. It was just that all this time, ever since we met, I had always felt so comfortable, so natural, so happy and alive around you. I have always admired you so much. I thought we were just very close friends, but it took this vacation for me to realize that this – what I feel – is more than a friendship." He paused and cleared his throat. "Isabella?"

She felt a smile creep onto her face. "Hmm?"

"I think that I love you."

Isabella grinned even wider, "Phineas…I want you to know one thing. I don't just think that I love you. I know that I love you. I have always known, ever since I first met you."

He stared at her, a twinkle in his gaze. "You loved me all this time?"

"Yes, yes I have. You always have made me so happy. I have always loved you for your view of the world. I admire how you can always make things interesting, despite how boring they are. Your optimism, your spirit, your inventiveness, your caring personality. It all just won me over." She looked at the guy in front of her. "So when did you start feeling the same way?"

Phineas thought. "I don't know. I guess it just had to happen. Back in Danville, I was always consumed in the projects and activities that we make. I had always recognized that you were very cute. But it took this vacation for me to realize how much I truly appreciate you. The first time that I recognized how deep I felt about you was probably the romantic dinner."

By this time, Isabella had walked across the room, taking a seat on Phineas' bed. He reached for her hand, continuing, "That night – was simply magical, no pun intended." He allowed her to giggle. "It was then when it struck me; she is just so beautiful, so sweet, she's my everything. I care about you a lot, Izzy. More than you know."

Isabella smiled, "I think that I know just how much." She started leaning in, but Phineas took the initiative first. He pulled her into a kiss. It was short, but felt like an eternity for the both of them. Phineas could've sworn that sparks flew. He felt his lips get tingly, as if they had electricity. They also tasted kind of fruity, from Isabella's lip gloss. His mind put the pieces together. ''So that's what made my lips so tingly. She had kissed me in my sleep.'' He looked at Isabella and smiled. "That's only a small slice of how much I care about you."

She giggled. "And this is how much I care about you." She pulled him into another kiss, this one longer. When they pulled apart, they held each other's gaze for an eternity.

Phineas finally found the strength to put together words, "Izzy, you were saying?"

Isabella thought for a while. "Oh yeah, I was about to say my aunt told me that there is a quinceñera next Saturday. It's my cousin Cynthia's 15th birthday."

Phineas chuckled, and rubbed behind his ear, internally nervous. "Izzy, do you mind if we could possibly go together. You know, as a date?"

She squealed with joy. "Of course Phin, I'd love to be your date." She pulled him into a hug. He kissed her cheek.

He clarified. "I don't want to ruin the moment, but I need some mental preparation. Even with all of the projects we have done, this is the first time that I have ever made a decision like this. I just want to be sure that I'm doing the right thing before I decide to make a move. In the event that we don't – make it – I don't want to break your heart. I could bear almost anything - but I couldn't live in a life without you and your friendship. Ever." Phineas sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Isabella smiled and said, "Its okay, I understand. I feel the same way; I don't know if I would ever be able to carry on without you in my life. So take your time Phin, I'll be waiting."

He assured her, "Okay, I'll have an answer by the quince on Saturday. You can count on it." He kissed her on the hand. "Oh by the way, I don't want this conversation affecting how we see each other. Can we still be friends in the meantime?"

She giggled. "Of course Phin, you're always going to be my closest friend. Don't worry, I won't be creeped out or anything."

He just said, "Good." He took her into a hug, whispering in her ear, "I feel so honored to have met you." She smiled and said simply, "Same here."

Phineas just held her close for a while. Internally, he had already made his decision. He just looked out the hospital window, thinking; ''I love her so much. Saturday, I'm asking her to be my girlfriend'' Isabella stayed with Phineas for his entire recovery at the hospital. It ended up being a one-day stay instead of two. The nurses had checked on him in the evening, and found that he had entirely recovered, except for the stitches. His blood levels were back to normal, and he generally looked healthy. The doctors and nurses were all very impressed. Phineas found it amusing, because medicine and science sometimes didn't offer all the answers. He thought, sometimes, love itself is the answer and cure.

Nonetheless, Rosa came by to pick Phineas and Isabella up a little before 8 in the evening. The first thing that she noticed was that the two were very happy. The way that they held each other's gaze, how they seemed to nonverbally say that they cared for each other above all things. She couldn't put it out of her mind. As she was drove out of the hospital, she asked Phineas, "Did Isabella tell you about the quinceñera on Saturday?"

Phineas looked at Isabella endearingly, "She sure did."

Rosa spotted this through the rearview mirror. Her curiosity got the best of her, "What's up with you two? I'd say that you're like lovebirds."

Isabella gave her aunt a glare, "Aunt!"

Phineas chuckled. "It's okay, Izzy." He turned towards Rosa, "We both confessed our feelings to each other. I just wanted to make sure that I'm doing the right thing. So I'm going to tell her my final decision on Saturday, the day of the party."

Rosa smiled, and Isabella blushed. The aunt spoke after a while, "Well, I'm glad that you are thinking before you actually make a move. That shows that you are a very level-headed and mature young man. As far as I know, you two really complement each other."

Night had already fallen over El Paso. When they got on the interstate, both Phineas and Isabella were amazed at what they saw. If they thought that the whole area looked beautiful by day, they absolutely loved how it looked at night. There was a bright white star made up of lights on the side of Mt. Franklin, which was beautiful to say the least. On the other side, the street lights of El Paso and Juarez stretched as far as the eye could see. Phineas could determine where the border was, because the street lights on the Mexican side were denser. As they drove for miles on the interstate, overlooking the region, the street lights kept on going, stretching endlessly into the horizon.

When Rosa took the exit to get to their suburban house, the two teens were upset that the show was over. But they were satisfied, knowing that they still had a week to explore the area that they were enchanted with. When they arrived home, Manuel and Uncle Juan went outside to greet the two. Manuel gave Phineas a quick hug, saying "Great to know that you're okay, dude. I was worried about you."

Phineas and Isabella both took advantage of their return to the house to call their parents. Isabella called her mother first, and told her about everything. Vivian gasped at what happened to Phineas. She just sternly said, "Let me talk to Rosa."

After five minutes of conversation, Rosa handed the phone back to Isabella, with a sheepish look on her face. Isabella asked her mom what they had talked about. She simply replied, "I just asked her what she was thinking when she took you both across the border. She knows you guys would be at risk, especially with what happens in Juarez."

Isabella said, "Mom, she warned us about what happens over there. It was quite a scare, believe me. But we're okay. As a matter of fact, Phineas wants to go again when he recovers."

Vivian laughed, "What is he, a masochist?"

Isabella grinned, "Mom, you know Phineas. He's adventurous and a little stubborn."

"Yes, yes he is. Hmm…I wonder how I know that. Maybe it's because somebody always talks to me about him." Isabella giggled. Vivian continued, "How are you two doing?"

"We're doing fine, just enjoying the vacation."

"That's not what I meant."

Isabella's face grew hot. "Mom, not you too."

"Well, your aunt told me all about you and Phineas. To be honest, I've seen it coming for a long time. After all, you have daydreamed about him ever since you met him. And he always showed that he cared about you a lot, even if he didn't exactly love you. As a mother, it's a relief that you guys actually stepped up to the plate and acknowledged how much you have in common. You both know each other like a book."

Isabella blushed. "Aww, mom. My aunt said the same thing."

"Well, it's true. I have faith that if you guys do end up dating, your relationship is going to be very strong and very lasting. As a mother, I give you my blessing."

"Thanks mom. At any rate, he hasn't asked me out yet."

"Oh, well I bet that he wants some time to think. After all, dating and getting to know each other on a new level - after years of being best friends - is quite a lot to process. Give him time Isa. I guarantee that by Saturday, you will both be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Isabella smiled widely at the thought. "Yeah, I hope so."

Phineas talked to his mother about his experience in Juarez. To say that she went nuts was an understatement. Even though Phineas was talking to his mom in the kitchen, Isabella could hear Linda's voice in the living room. Rosa had to intervene and explain that everything was okay, saying that tragedies of that nature rarely happened. Only then did Linda calm down a bit. Phineas told his mom about the hospital stay, and how he recovered with Isabella keeping him company.

He went into the guest room alone, still talking on the phone. He started. "Mom, can I ask you something?"

"What, Phinny?"

"What would you say if I fell in love?"

"Well, I'd want to know who the girl is." She paused, "Phineas, don't tell me it's…"

He finished, "…Isabella? Yes, yes she is."

Silence. He started getting worried. "Mom? Is there anything wrong with that?"

He heard a sniffle. "No, there's nothing wrong at all. It's just that I've seen it coming for so long. Now that it's happening, it's so overwhelming. You two are practically made for each other. I'm really happy that this is happening, that's all." Another sniffle indicated that she was tearing up. "She's a very good and upright young lady, Phineas. As a mother, I know that she is the best girl that you can ever find."

Phineas smiled, "Thanks for the advice mom. I just wanted to know what you think about everything. I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend on Saturday."

Linda replied, "That would be excellent Phineas. I know it would make her very happy."

By the time that Phineas had finished talking with his mother, it was almost 11 at night. He walked over to the living room and sat next to Isabella, who was watching the last few minutes of a Spanish rendition of "Saturday Night Live." She turned off the television and they both went to their beds.

They got into their sleep clothes and talked for a while about what they were going to do the next few days. Isabella informed Phineas that Rosa was taking them to Juarez again. They were to stay at the grandparents' house for a few days. He was overjoyed with the idea, as was Isabella.

When they grew sleepy, Phineas gave Isabella a goodnight hug and a kiss on her cheek. Soon, they fell asleep.

Isabella was dreaming that she was with Phineas riding in a 1950's-style convertible through Juarez. The top was down, and they were essentially riding open-air in the back seat. They were both happy, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. She looked over towards Phineas, and smiled. He took her hand and kissed it. She asked, "Do you like Juarez, Phin?"

He beamed, "Yes, Izzy. I love this town."

Uncle Juan was driving the convertible, and Rosa was seated in the passenger seat. She turned around, and told the both of them, "See, this place isn't that bad. The people here are very friendly."

Phineas replied, "I sure see that, ma'am."

Isabella put her head on Phineas' shoulder, and he put his arm around her. She was perfectly happy, savoring the moment with the guy that she loved completely.

Crack.

Phineas suddenly flinched forward, grabbing at his neck in pain. It started bleeding profusely. A small hole indicated that the bullet had passed cleanly right through his neck. It had been a high-speed, high-caliber bullet. Isabella started to fear the worst, trying to comfort him, as well as pull him out of range. She blinked.

Crack.

For a fraction of a second, she thought that she had been sprayed with water. She opened her eyes and almost fainted from the sight.

Half of Phineas' head was missing. She was sprayed with blood and bits of tissue. She screamed in horror and fear. Juan took notice, and floored the gas pedal, speeding away from the scene. Isabella noticed that a piece of Phineas' head was on the trunk. She got out of her seat and reached for it, as if getting it would guarantee a chance for Phineas to survive.

She was struggling to put a thought out of her head. It's of no use, Phineas is already dead.

She started sobbing loudly, hugging Phineas' limp body…

Isabella's soft sobbing breaths had woken her up. She was still riveted with fear and grief. She felt beads of sweat on her forehead and neck. The sobs of her dreams turned into real tears. Her sniffles woke Phineas up.

"Are you okay, Izzy?"

"Yes, Phin. I just had a nightmare."

She heard the creak of his bed, and his footsteps making their way across the room. He knelt by her bed, delicately wiping her tears and sweat. Grabbing her hand and caressing it, he gently said, "It's okay. It's over now."

She let out a sniffle, and said softly, "Have you ever seen the Zapruder film?"

"The one with JFK's assassination? Yes, yes I have. Why?"

"Well, I was dreaming that we were in a open-air car cruising through Juarez, just enjoying the sights and sounds. Then, I heard a crack, and you…you…" She started tearing up again. Phineas didn't need to hear the rest. He could fill in the blank. Nonetheless, she still tried to explain, "It happened just like in the Zapruder film."

Phineas understood. Isabella sat up on the bed, her back leaning on the wall, facing him. He took her into his arms, resting her head on his chest. "It was only a dream Izzy, I'm alive and well. I promise you nothing like that will happen to us."

She asked, "How are you so sure?"

He simply said, "I just am."

Even though she knew that it was lame explanation, she still accepted it fervently. She clung to Phineas' promise like she was now clinging to him, relaxing in his embrace. She gently asked, "Phin?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind spending the rest of the night with me? You know, like how we slept at the hospital?"

Phineas accepted. "Sure. I'll keep you company." He looked into her eyes and said, "I'll never leave your side, so you can rest easy. Even if you do have more nightmares, I'll be right next to you to tell you it was all a dream."

Phineas got in the bed, putting his arm around Isabella's waist. She curled into him. He kissed her forehead, and whispered, "Goodnight Izzy."

"Goodnight Phin." A while later, she fell asleep, a small smile on her face.

Phineas remained awake, thinking about what he was doing. When he first accepted to sleeping with Isabella, he thought that it was going to be awkward. Now, he thought otherwise. Phineas was ecstatic to keep her company in this manner, but he also felt totally at ease. It felt natural, as if he had always done this. He thought, I guess my mom was right, we are made for each other.

He placed a kiss on her sleeping lips. A while later, he fell asleep, thinking about her. Only her. Isabella had no more nightmares. She woke up in the morning, finding Phineas still asleep, his arm around her waist. As she stirred, Phineas woke up as well. He opened his eyes and smiled. She giggled softly, "Good morning sleepyhead."

"Good morning, Isabella. How was your sleep?"

"It was marvelous, Phin. I have never slept better in my entire life. All thanks to you."

He gave a toothy grin, "Well, I care about you. What else can I say?"

She smiled, as he gave her a hug. They went to eat breakfast, thinking of a project to do for the day. Isabella suggested making a lotion that would heal the wound on Phineas' neck, eliminating the need for his stitches. At first he felt bad about doing a project that would only benefit him. She insisted, "Come on Phin. Do it for me."

This got the best of him, and he accepted. They got working on the medical aspects of the cream, and before long, it was created. Phineas first tested the substance on a little cut he got when he was working on the romantic restaurant. It healed immediately, and the cut disappeared. The skin looked as if nothing had happened to it. They were both astounded with the results.

Phineas breathed in, and exhaled. "Okay, now it's the real deal. Put the lotion on my neck, Isabella."

She rubbed it over the stitch, and watched nervously. At first, nothing happened. Then, the skin started healing itself as the stitches dissolved. Before long, Phineas' neck was totally healed. As the saying goes, his skin was as smooth as a baby's bottom. He was happy with the results, and hugged Isabella in the excitement.

They killed time watching television and spending time with Manuel. Eventually, Rosa came home from work to drive them over to Juarez. Both Phineas and Isabella packed three changes of clothes, since they were staying at the grandparents' house for several days. Less than an hour later, they had crossed the border.

As they drove up to the grandparents' house, they saw that there were some neighborhood kids playing street soccer on the corner. Once Phineas got his and Isabella's bag of clothes, Isabella's grandfather Juan led them to where they were going to settle. Like the last time they visited, they entered through the first room, making their way through the master bedroom and the kitchen. Juan opened a door on the other side of the kitchen, entered the laundry room, and opened another door. It was another bedroom. He motioned for Phineas to leave their belongings, as he said in broken English, "Here you stay."

Juan then took the time to introduce himself. "I'm Juan Lopez, mostly everybody calls me Don Juan. But you can call me whatever you want." He shook Phineas' hand. "Who are you?"

"I'm Phineas Flynn. You can call me anything, it doesn't matter."

The elderly man chuckled, and introduced himself to Isabella. "Hola mi'ja, como estas?" Hi, how are you.

"Bien y usted?" Fine, and you?

"Cada vez mas viejo. Pero estoy bien." I'm getting older every day, but I'm doing well.

Isabella smiled, and her grandpa left to do something outside. Not before he gave them a duplicate of the key to the lock on the front door. Phineas stored the key in his pocket, and asked, "Izzy, do you want to go outside and watch the street soccer?"

She would have rather wanted to spend time in the romantic courtyard with him, but she accepted, knowing that he liked soccer. They unlocked the door, went outside, and locked the door again. They took a seat on the sidewalk, elevated a good three feet above the street, and talked and joked about the soccer game, with a slight bit of flirting.

Another teen that was sitting on the corner took notice of Phineas and Isabella, and walked over towards them. Phineas noticed the fellow; a short guy, about their age with messy black hair.

Once near, the guy introduced himself in pretty fluent English, "Hi, I'm Ivan. And you are?" "Hi Ivan," said Phineas. "She's Isabella, and I'm Phineas."

Ivan smiled and shook Phineas' hand, "Nice to meet you, Phineas. Nice to meet you, Isabella." He shook her hand a moment longer.

Phineas raised a suspicious eyebrow, and asked, "So how did you learn English?"

"It was an elective at my school, so I took it. I find the language interesting, so I try to speak it at any chance."

"Cool…Do live around here?"

"Yeah, I live right around the corner with my mom and grandparents. My grandpa owns the little grocery store right next to my house." Ivan pointed at the house painted blue, as well as the large open window with the Coca-Cola poster on it.

Phineas, Isabella, and Ivan talked about their classes at school. Phineas asked Ivan what he wanted to do when he was older. At first, he replied that he wanted to be a soccer star, obviously joking. In a more serious tone, Ivan said that his dream was to attend a university in the United States, and become a doctor. He explained, "We young people have no hope of progressing here. If you want to look for opportunities, the first thing you have to do is get the hell out of Juarez. There's just no hope; it's all violence, crime and corruption."

What the guy said sobered Phineas to the reality that kids face in the city every day. The teens talked some more, until Isabella felt like getting a snack. Ivan offered to walk them over to his grandfather's grocery store. Before long, the three each had a bag of Lays chips (called Sabritas in Mexico), sitting on the corner right next to the soccer game.

After a while, some twins had to go back home. This left one team with two players short. The goalie of the team that was missing players invited Phineas and Ivan to play, and they joined in without a hitch. The goals consisted of fairly large rocks and somebody's old sneakers. Before long, they were in the midst of the action, and Phineas ended up scoring a goal. Isabella cheered on the corner, and blew him a kiss. He blushed.

Uncle Robelo had stopped by the house to get some tools, and took notice of the soccer game. He sat next to Isabella and talked to her for a bit. He then went across the street to talk to Ivan's grandfather, who basically knew everybody in the neighborhood. When night fell, the game ended and most of the teens went home. Some stayed around on the side of the street, talking and joking around.

Phineas palled around with Ivan and the guys for a bit, but they were speaking in Spanish. He felt awkward not understanding the conversation, so he walked back across the street towards Isabella. Ivan left the group and joined him. She was sitting on the corner, smiling at Phineas. "Nice game, Phin. And good goalie skills, Ivan."

Ivan had replaced the goalie halfway through the game. He had easily saved about 10 shots. "Thanks Isabella, you were quite the cheerleader."

"Well, I root for my own."

Phineas smiled, "That's a good thing, though. I'd be worried if you were rooting for the other team."

Isabella giggled and winked, "You know I wouldn't."

They mingled for a few minutes, before Phineas said, "Well, it's already dark. We should really go inside. Don't you think so, Izzy?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Phineas shook Ivan's hand, "It was nice meeting you, Ivan. How about we hang out tomorrow in the afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you guys tomorrow then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Isabella called back. They entered the house and went up to their room.

Phineas and Isabella spent a while talking about the day and how they enjoyed it. Phineas asked Isabella what she wanted to do tomorrow. Noticing his language barrier, she automatically suggested teaching him Spanish. He accepted happily, suggesting the lessons should take place in the courtyard. They also talked about their new friend, Ivan. Isabella brought up a question that surprised Phineas.

"You were jealous of him, weren't you?"

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "No, not exactly. Should I be?"

"Of course not, Phin. I only have eyes for you. But I noticed that at first you were kind of suspicious about him."

"Yeah, I guess at first I was a little protective. But it's just a natural reaction. I love you, Izzy, and would protect you from anything and everything."

"I understand, Phin. But I only love you. There's no other man that could come by and sweep me off my feet. Only you have the ability to do that."

He smiled, "I'm glad to be the lucky guy."

They watched the television as they ate cereal. Phineas took the time to look around the room. There was a queen size bed, the couch they were sitting on, and a flight of stairs that led to another room above them. He finished his cereal and walked upstairs. The room was doorless and dark. After turning on the lights, Phineas found another bed and some dressers. A small television with an antenna was sitting atop a small table. A door on the other side of the room led to a bathroom.

Satisfied with his discovery, Phineas turned off the lights and rejoined Isabella downstairs. They talked for a while before growing sleepy.

She asked, "So how are we going to sleep?"

He replied sarcastically, "Perhaps we could try sleeping standing up."

She gave him a joking dirty look, "I'm being serious, Phin."

"Hmm…you sleep on the bed. I will sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure? I mean, it's a queen size bed. We can both fit comfortably."

"Yeah, but we're in your grandparent's house. I don't want them to think we're up to no good."

"I'm sure they won't. I mean, there's only one bed."

"There's another bed upstairs, Izzy."

"Well, I don't want you to sleep up there."

"I don't want to sleep up there either, the room looks kind of creepy. But I'll sleep on the sofa."

She pouted, "Come on, Phin. You played hard today in the soccer game. You're exhausted and need a good rest. The least you deserve is a good comfy bed." Phineas sat in silence, looking at her. She gave him the puppy eyes, "Do it for me, please."

He chuckled and said, "Allright, I'll sleep on the bed." He could never say no to Isabella when she did the puppy eyes.

They soon got dressed into their sleepwear. Isabella changed in the upstairs bathroom. When she came back down, she commented to Phineas that the room was indeed a little creepy for her taste. After some small talk, he turned off the lights. They hugged each other goodnight and slept on opposite sides of the bed, just in case Isabella's grandmother walked in and doubted anything.

As the night went on though, they slowly shifted towards each other in their sleep. It was a mystery to whether this was just chance, or due to a sort of magnetic attraction between the two. What is certain is that before long, Phineas and Isabella were snuggled together, each being the other's complement.

When Phineas woke up in the morning and found Isabella snuggled into him, he was puzzled as to how they ended up together in the center of the bed. Nonetheless, he was happy, putting his arm over her as he lay awake, admiring how the morning sunlight played with her features. Absolutely flawless, he thought. Now he made no effort in trying to remove those thoughts from his mind. Phineas was already certain that he loved her.

Soon, Isabella stirred. Finding herself in Phineas' embrace and gaze, she smiled sleepily. He kissed her forehead, saying sweetly, "Goodmorning, sleeping beauty."

"Goodmorning, Phin."

They got up and went into the kitchen to eat some breakfast. It was close to 8 in the morning, but Isabella's grandmother had already finished serving breakfast. Grandfather Juan left at 7 to sell cigarettes. Nicha was already busy watering the plants and sweeping the courtyard.

When she realized that they had already woken up, she stopped cleaning and went to the kitchen to make them breakfast. Phineas realized that the elderly woman was busy enough, and he said with gestures and pointing, "No, we're good; we can make ourselves breakfast. You're busy enough, and we don't want to be a burden."

Isabella translated. At first, the woman insisted, but she smiled when she saw how stubborn Phineas was. She left, muttering in Spanish, "What a considerate young lad."

They ended up cooking some scrambled eggs. When finished eating, they walked outside and sat in the courtyard. They talked for a little while, and before long, the Spanish lesson began. Isabella taught the ins and outs of pronunciation, the basic phrases and basic vocabulary. Phineas was a fast learner. Before they knew it, the hours had gone by and Phineas spoke simple sentences. He no longer had such a strong accent.

Isabella tested his pronunciation one last time, "Hola, como estas?" Hi, how are you?

"Bien y tu?" Good and you?

"Tambien. Que estas haciendo?" Same. What are you doing?

"Me estoy sentado en el patio." I'm sitting in the patio (courtyard).

"Good, just leave out the me. It's 'Estoy sentado en el patio.' Okay, one last question. Con quien estas sentado?" Who are you sitting with?

Phineas smiled, "Con mi amor."

Isabella giggled, "Hey, I never taught you that."

He grinned, "You didn't teach me the word. But you definitely taught me the feeling." He grabbed her hand and kissed it, looking into her eyes. They held each other's gaze for a long time. Isabella's grandmother walked by, ruining the moment. Phineas looked up and saw that the grapevines now had ripe fruit. He asked, "Do you want grapes, Izzy?"

"Yes, yes I do."

Phineas grabbed a bunch, and walked into the kitchen to wash them. Within seconds, he came back with the grapes in a bowl. They sat together, eating, talking about anything and everything.

They spent most of the day exploring the house. They were entertained for hours, finding more rooms, tools, electronics, construction materials, and discovered a sort of balcony on top of the kitchen roof. After eating Isabella's grandmother's delicious enchiladas for lunch, they sat on the balcony, admiring the view of the neighborhood. The neighborhood was on a hill, overlooking the streets nearby. Phineas and Isabella sat together, talking for hours about memories and adventures. Needless to say, chemistry was definitely in action.

At around 5 in the afternoon, they went out in the street, meeting up with Ivan. He and Phineas played a game of soccer with the neighborhood kids. Their team ended up losing badly, mostly because the good players from the previous day's game weren't there. Ivan had to leave for home, and Phineas walked back towards Isabella. He joked, "We lost royally, Izzy. I really stunk up the field."

"No you didn't, you played great."

"That doesn't explain the 10-1 score."

"Well, at least you were the one that scored the only goal."

Phineas remembered the goal. He was running with the ball, when a guy tripped him. Phineas had managed to kick it softly before falling, but the ball rolled painfully slow. The goalie went to grab the ball, but it slipped out of his hand, crossing the goal line. It was pure luck. He stood in front of Isabella, "Yeah, but it was a goofy goal. I'm telling you, I'm losing my game."

She leaned into him, whispering into his ear, "I disagree, Phin. To me, you have plenty of game." She kissed him on the cheek, then started to run to the front door.

Phineas was surprised by the flirtatious statement, and chuckled. "Hold on Izzy, don't leave me like this." He ran after her, and soon caught up. At the entrance, they stopped to rest, laughing and breathing heavily. Phineas said, "Why did you start running? You forgot something back there."

Isabella replied, "I don't know, I just felt like playing hard to get. Although I'm interested as to what I forgot." She asked coyly, "What did I forget?"

Phineas grinned, and said "This." He placed a quick kiss on her lips, and hugged her tightly.

When he let go, Isabella looked into his eyes, "Oh dear, how could I ever have forgotten that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you were too busy playing hard to get."

She giggled, as Phineas opened the door. They locked the door and went up to their room, where they sat together, watching television. There was nothing interesting, except for an old movie about an alien in the jungle. The two watched this, with Phineas wrapping his arm around Isabella's shoulder. When the movie ended, it was already 10. They changed into their sleepwear and talked a little about what to do the following day.

After giving up on ideas, Phineas just suggested to relax and let the day's activities guide them. He turned off the lights and gave Isabella a hug. "Goodnight Izzy."

"Goodnight, Phin."

Soon, the two fell asleep.

They spent the first half of the next day helping Isabella's grandparents with things around the house. It wasn't because they were obligated to help. Quite the opposite, Phineas and Isabella both wanted to make the elderly couple's life easier.

Isabella helped with the daily cleaning of the courtyard and watering of the plants. When she was done, she helped with the washing of the dishes, as well as the indoor cleaning. After this was completed, she walked outside and relaxed on the courtyard, watching Phineas work with her grandfather.

Phineas was helping Juan with some manual work around the house. In the carport, there was an old Mercedes that one of Isabella's uncles had bought several years back. Due to years of disuse, the car no longer worked. Phineas gladly pitched in to help, knowing that he could fix the car in a jiffy with his mechanical expertise. After testing the car to see what was wrong, Phineas siphoned out the old fuel that was causing the car to stall. Then, he disassembled the motor and cleaned it entirely. When assembled back together, the car worked like a charm. The elderly man was really impressed with the swiftness of the repair, thanking Phineas for the help.

After eating lunch and another round of Spanish lessons under the grapevines, Phineas and Isabella went outside and knocked on the door to Ivan's house. His grandpa replied through the store window, "Ahi viene, esta limpiando su cuarto." He's cleaning his room, but he's coming out soon.

After five minutes of waiting, Ivan finally walked outside. They went to their usual hangout on the street corner, and talked about what they did during the day. Ivan told them how he had been semi-grounded for forgetting to do some chores. His punishment for this was doing more chores, of which cleaning his room was part of the deal.

Eventually, the neighborhood kids meandered towards the corner to play another round of street soccer. Some kids were missing, and the teams were uneven. Phineas and Ivan's team was short by only one player. Nobody wanted to sit out the game to make the teams even. They were puzzled, thinking of what to do, when Phineas thought of something. He told Ivan, "Hey, let's get Isabella to play."

Ivan looked at him with a concerned stare, which said, I really hope that you aren't serious, the team won't like this. But seeing Phineas' insistence, he sighed and brought it up with the rest of the team. At first the guys were all laughs and snickers, along with occasional comments of "gringo loco."

Isabella was close enough to hear, and became frustrated with the group of guys. She walked up to Ivan and asked, "What's wrong with me playing on your team?"

Ivan sighed and said, "It's nothing against you, but they just think that it's crazy that a girl would play soccer with a bunch of boys."

"Well, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I'm not good enough to play on the team. I'm just as good as any guy."

Ivan grinned and told the team that she was the only hope of getting the teams even if nobody wanted to sit out the game. They laughed some more, but accepted. Phineas was ecstatic, and told Isabella that she was in. After giving her the news, his smile was replaced with a look of concern, "Um, Izzy? Are you going to play the game in a dress?"

She giggled, "Of course not, Phin. I don't want to flash anybody. Let me change really quick."

Phineas gave her the key to the house, and she ran inside. Soon enough, she came back, sporting some gym shorts and a tank top. The outfit made her look, well, sporty. Phineas thought she looked beautiful, as always. But he realized that some of the guys on his team were now gawking at her.

He glared at the onlookers, an eyebrow raised. Irritation in his voice, he asked, "Que estan mirando?" What are you looking at?

The guys got the message, and they turned around, trying to get their minds off their pretty teammate. Phineas chuckled, and thanked Isabella for the Spanish lessons. Now he could stand his ground.

Immediately after the game began, Phineas' team let in a goal. The team members sighed and laughed, attributing their bad start to Isabella. But as the game progressed, the score was tied again. Eventually, the score was at 4-4. The team that scored the fifth goal would be declared the winner. Both teams played with as much grit and passion as humanly possible. The game had gotten really interesting, and some of the adult neighbors were on the sidewalk watching it.

During one play, Phineas was dribbling with the ball, passing by two defenders. Isabella was wide open on the other side of the street. He passed the ball to her, and she received it, shooting at goal. To Phineas, what happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. He had to admit it; there was something inherently sexy about Isabella getting all competitive during a soccer game. But what happened next made him totally ecstatic.

Isabella scored the winning goal. The goalie was badly positioned, so that when Isabella's shot flew by, he had no chance of blocking it. The ball sailed between the goalposts consisting of old sneakers and bounced off a parked car. Phineas had always known that Isabella could do it. He ran up to her, and gave her a tight hug. True, they both were sweaty from the intensity of the game. But that didn't matter at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that they were together, enjoying the victory. When he let go, he kissed her on the cheek, and said, "I knew you could do it, Izzy."

She looked in his eyes, and replied sweetly, "Who said girls can't play soccer?"

Those teenage guys that had at first catalogued Phineas as a crazy-in-love lunatic now saw that he was right in believing in his closest friend. They saw the two friends hug each other and walk back home holding hands. One of the guys called the pair "enamorados." Another guy, in a softer voice, said in Spanish, "I guess girls can play soccer as good as guys."

On their last day in Juarez, Phineas and Isabella spent the first part of the day cleaning up the room they had slept in and arranged everything back in order. Then, they washed their dirty clothes. There were only six changes of clothes between them, but they preferred to have everything clean and ready instead of dirty. They shared a load, with Phineas being the first to throw his clothes in the washer. Isabella followed, and started the wash.

When the wash was complete, the two noticed that there were no dryers. Instead, the method of drying involved hanging their damp clothes on a clothesline. They were embarrassed with the prospect of exposing their clothes, particularly their underwear, like that. Phineas was the one that strung his clothes first, to avoid the awkwardness of looking at Isabella's intimates. She laughed out loud at his rationale. Either way, she didn't mind, but she found it amusing how he could be so over-considerate sometimes.

When they were sure that the clothes were dry, they both went to pick up their respective clothes. Phineas tried not to look, but he was done with grabbing his clothes sooner than Isabella. He turned towards her and asked, "Izzy are you done?"

Right at that moment, she was grabbing a pair of green boy shorts. Phineas noticed, and turned away. "Whoops, never mind."

She giggled, saying, "Relax, Phin. It's just underwear. If I really minded, do you think I would have accepted to sharing a load?"

Phineas turned back towards her sheepishly. "No, but I don't know, I thought that it would be weird to see each other's...you know..."

"Not really. Of course, if you were gawking at me while I was grabbing my undies, I would be worried. There would be serious doubts about our relationship. But I know you're better than that, Phin."

"Okay, I guess it's not that bad after all. But trust me, I'm not here ogling at your undies" Phineas then thought about how awkward what he just said sounded, "Crap, never mind. Can we just pretend this conversation never happened?"

Isabella giggled, "I saw nothing wrong with what you said. But okay, whatever you say."

When the clothes was folded and bagged, they both sat in the courtyard, under the grapevines. They talked about how they had enjoyed their three-day stay in Juarez. But mostly, they sat in silence. They didn't need words to express their thoughts to each other. The air hung heavy with nonverbal communication, as they enjoyed the moment, in the romantic courtyard, with each other.

Phineas was conflicted on the inside. He had promised Isabella that he would have a reply by Saturday. That implied that Saturday was the day of truth. But another part of him was saying that the moment had to happen sooner. There was no denying that by now there were serious sparks between them. They were practically dating without officially being boyfriend and girlfriend. Besides, the grapevine courtyard was a more suitable and romantic location to begin their relationship than a loud and hectic party. Phineas was confused, and he let out a sigh of despair.

Isabella noticed. "What's wrong, Phin?"

He knew that he couldn't circumvent the issue anymore. Isabella knew him too well, and she wouldn't rest until she found out what he was thinking. He gave in, and decided that this would be the moment of truth. He started, "You know how we talked about our feelings at the hospital?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Do you remember how I said that I would have you an answer by Saturday?"

"Mhmm."

"Well, I was just thinking that…maybe…I don't know. I mean, I'm a man of my word…and it just occurred to me sooner…but…"

Isabella interrupted him, "Phineas, you're mumbling. What do you want to tell me?" She figured what he was about to say, and smiled expectantly.

Phineas cleared his throat. "Isabella? Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

What happened next was surreal to the both of them. Isabella went at Phineas and hugged him, beaming with joy. She said, "Yes, yes I would! A million times, yes!"

Phineas returned the hug and beamed equally in joy. He picked her up and planted a kiss on her lips. When he put her back down, he still held her in a hug, whispering in her ear, "I love you so much, Isabella. I can't even begin to describe how much."

She giggled, "Same here, Phineas. I can't put into words how much I love and care about you. I've loved you for years. Now I'm just so happy that all those years of waiting finally paid off. I just knew that this was love."

He replied, "Well, I know that this is love. There is no past tense in my mind, Izzy. There's only the future that lies in store for us."

She nuzzled into his neck, "So it is, Phin. Nothing matters right now, except my future with you."

And so it was, under a grapevine trellis and a perfect Southwestern sunset, when they officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Granted, they were young and still needed to mature with time. Like any couple, they had their share of serious arguments throughout the years. But every time things looked like they were on their last straw, the couple remembered all those years of friendship and togetherness, spanning back to their childhood. It was during those seldom hard times that they truly realized that they were made for each other, each having a significant portion of the other's heart.

And so they did. Little did they know, that a relationship that started in their teenage years would grow to last a lifetime.

The newly-formed couple stayed together under the courtyard for an eternity. They laughed, flirted, and had a good time. Then, they went up to the balcony on top of the kitchen. Sitting together, Phineas and Isabella enjoyed their last view of the neighborhood. The houses were ragged and compacted together. Only the colors of the paint determined where each property began. Nonetheless, in the sunset, the neighborhood looked picturesque. The couple snuggled together, as they took in the sights of the Mexican city one last time. They watched, awestruck, as the sun set behind a mountain; El Cerro Bola, as it was called.

When Aunt Rosa called to let them know that she was already on her way, they made sure everything was taken care of one last time. When they were finished, they went outside to relax and talk on the sidewalk. Soon enough, Ivan came over, and the neighborhood teenagers gathered again for a round of street soccer.

The three were sitting on the sidewalk, watching the game from a distance. Ivan already knew that this would be Phineas and Isabella's last day in Juarez, and he just dropped by to chill with them one last time, as well as say goodbye to them. They talked about what they all were going to do for the rest of the summer. Phineas and Isabella said that they would probably do projects in Phineas' backyard, explaining what these usually involved. Ivan was genuinely impressed, and wished them luck. Ivan said that he wouldn't do anything too extraordinary. He would probably stay the whole summer in Juarez, hanging out with the neighborhood friends and visiting his family in the city.

When Phineas first met Ivan, he was at first a little suspicious and even a little jealous of the guy. Now, he now realized that he had formed a good friendship. Granted, Ivan thought that Phineas was dating Isabella from the start. But even then, Phineas found in front of him a guy was honest, hardworking, and had integrity. Ivan had goals that he fervently wanted to accomplish; he was a teenager that wanted to defy the circumstances that he lived in, and make himself a good life.

Juarez was a city of vice, crime and corruption. It was a city that saw an average of eight homicides a day, almost entirely due to infighting among the cartels. Sadly, a great portion of those killed were young males, less than 20 years old. They were teenagers lured into a lifestyle promising easy riches, power, and influence. It was a tempting road that offered a different path than the norm: a life of living on meager wages, working at manufacturing facilities owned by multi-national corporations.

The choice for the youth rested in either being a hitman for the Juarez Cartel or a worker assembling LCD televisions at a Sony plant. Work for El Chapo* or work for General Electric. Sadly, many a teenager chose the road of violence and crime. Instead of power or riches, they only paved the way for their deaths; a fate signed in blood, sealed by the medic that zips up the body bag. It is a shame that the funeral homes are some of the most lucrative businesses in the city.

Phineas found himself thinking about all of this, and didn't want Ivan to have the same fate as so many. Ivan was too good to be reduced to a hitman or a dead man on the street. The guy wants to be a doctor, for Pete's sake, he thought. The three talked some more in the final minutes before Rosa arrived. When she finally pulled up, they loaded their bags into the car and said their goodbyes to the grandparents and Ivan. Isabella gave him a handshake and simple hug, wishing him luck. She said that they might visit again next year.

Phineas gave Ivan a handshake, with the thoughts still whirling around in his head. As he said goodbye, he added, "Take care of yourself, dude. Don't give up on your dreams. If you want to be a doctor and study in the United States, so be it. Just believe in yourself, and seize the day. You're too good to be reduced to a life of crime or poverty. Just keep your hope alive, and the rest will take care of itself."

Ivan teared up, replying, "I won't give up, man. All I want is to have a better life, to have the opportunity to take care of my family. And I will accomplish my dream, if it's the last thing I do."

"So be it, Ivan. I hope that we can come by next year so we can hang out again. But if we don't meet again, I wish you luck in your endeavors."

Phineas gave Ivan a pat on the back, who said a last goodbye, before getting back on the sidewalk, standing next to Isabella's grandparents. When Rosa pulled away, Phineas and Isabella couldn't help looking back at the neighborhood. The scene was almost cinematic, with the grandparents and the friend waving goodbye, disappearing into the distance. Isabella was a little teary-eyed from the exchange between Phineas and Ivan. She said, "I hope that his dream comes true, Phin."

Phineas took her hand and kissed it, replying with an air of certainty, "I know he will make it, Izzy. It might be difficult, but he's tough as nails."

As it turned out, Aunt Rosa figured out that the two were now dating. She was at first surprised by the news, since Phineas had said that the moment of truth would be Saturday. Nonetheless, she smiled and wished them good luck.

She also expressed her confidence in the strength of Phineas' and Isabella's relationship, reiterating, "You both have a good solid foundation of years of friendship, and show much more care than most married couples. You know each other very well. Now that you both are dating, you are developing a new form of connection. But I'm confident that you will form a lasting relationship. I'm sure of it."

When they arrived at Uncle Juan's house, Phineas and Isabella retired to their guest room to arrange their clothes. When they came out, Rosa was standing in the living room. She said in a slightly stern voice, "Now that you guys are dating, I think we're going to have to change the sleeping arrangements around here."

Phineas and Isabella knew what she meant, and winced at the prospect. It wasn't because they were planning anything. Rather, it was because they had already gotten used to sleeping together over the course of the three-day stay in the grandparents' house. It was a rather moot point, since they inevitably would sleep in their own houses back at Danville. But the idea of being in separate rooms bothered them a little.

Rosa must have noticed the concerned look on their faces, because she laughed and said, "Just kidding, guys. I know you wouldn't do anything questionable. But it goes without saying that I won't put up with any nonsense in this house."

The couple nodded in agreement and retired to the guest room. They talked for hours, just remembering adventures and experiences they had shared over the years. Phineas brought up, "Remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, it was in first grade," Isabella replied. "Me and my mom had just moved in across the street and your mom introduced me to you and Ferb. I remember you helping me unpack my boxes. You even helped me arrange my room. We ended up talking for hours."

He chuckled, "I don't even remember what we were talking about."

"I don't remember either, Phin. But you were quite social with me, considering it was the first time we met. It was then that the feeling hit me." She sighed dreamily, "I was a small girl that dreamed of being this sort of princess that would meet a prince and live happily ever after. I imagined my prince to be sweet, charming, and charismatic. Somebody I felt totally comfortable and in love with."

She smiled, "I remember thinking that you were the realization of that dream. You were everything that I was looking for. We were seven, Phineas. Doesn't it seem like such an incredible story? Who knew that all these years later, we would end up dating?"

"Indeed, it seems like such a dream. But I'm glad that the dream is a reality now. How serendipitous, don't you think?"

"Yes, definitely serendipitous. I love you so much, Phineas. You are my knight in shining armor."

He knelt in front of her and held her hand in the manner of the cheesiest fairy tale prince. "Don't get me wrong. I'm definitely no knight in shining armor, or a Prince Charming. I still have my flaws and quirks, and I acknowledge that I might be hard to deal with sometimes."

Isabella chuckled, "I know that. You are quite stubborn and hard-headed sometimes. We've been best friends for a long time - I know you like a book. Needless to say, I'm aware of your flaws and quirks. If anything, they make me love you even more. I don't see your quirks as flaws. To me, they're like the pinches of reality that tell me that I'm not dreaming."

He grinned, "That's a cute way of putting it, Izzy."

"It's true though. And as for your quirks - your obsession for engineering and building things, your perfectionism - I find them quite attractive." Phineas couldn't help himself, and laughed out loud. She scoffed playfully, "What? I'm turned on by a smart guy that's good at what he does."

"Oh...you know there are other guys out there that are smarter and more perfectionist than me, right?"

"Yeah, but you're the most handsome and charismatic of them all. My eyes are firmly set on you, Phin. I only love you."

He got up from his kneeling position and sat next to her on her bed. He smiled and replied, "Fair enough." Then, he pulled her in for a kiss. He held her in his arms for an eternity of time that seemed to stand still. Both Phineas and Isabella didn't want this moment of magic and emotion to end.

They whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears and talked some more about their optimism for the future. They needn't worry about setting down terms and conditions for the relationship. Each knew exactly what the other expected of them, and were willing to please. Before long, they realized how late it was.

"Oh crap, it's eleven already," Phineas said. "We should really get to sleep."

Isabella smiled and replied, "Okay."

They changed into their sleepwear, and Phineas gave his girlfriend a goodnight hug, paired with a goodnight kiss. He held her close for a long time, before going back to his bed and turning off the lights.

"Goodnight, Izzy."

"Goodnight, Phin."

There was a moment of silence. Phineas smiled in the dark, "Guess what?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you, so much."

She giggled, "I love you too."

Soon, they fell asleep, with nothing but happiness and optimism. There were no nightmares, worries, or heavy thoughts. Now that they had each other, there was nothing left but pure bliss.

When they woke up the next day, they were surprised that Aunt Rosa had taken the day off. She explained, "Today is Wednesday, and the party is on Saturday. I need to pick up my dress and see what kind of alterations it needs. And I'm sure that Isabella wants to get a dress for the event. Especially to impress her new novio."

Isabella blushed, but was excited with the idea. She hadn't packed any formal clothes for the vacation, and needed a formal dress. Phineas also needed to do some shopping. Even though he packed a semi-formal outfit, it consisted of a pink button-down dress shirt and dark jeans. He wanted to buy a pair of dress pants to better suit the occasion. After all, his Oxford-style shirt went well with both jeans and dress pants.

Soon, they all took a shopping trip in downtown El Paso, except for Manuel, who had gone on a movie date with Rosalinda. Opposite to what they had experienced in Juarez, the stores and streets in El Paso were more polished and less crowded. It was a more beautiful, less hectic atmosphere.

They parked in a parking garage, and started their walk through the streets. Phineas was thankful that the streets made more sense in El Paso. There weren't any confusing alleys or side-streets. At any rate, the first thing on the list were Phineas' pants. He walked into a store, chose some black dress pants, paid and left.

The women weren't that simple. Aunt Rosa walked them into the store from which she had ordered her dress. They spent about an half an hour talking about measurements, adjustments, hemming, and even gossiped about the latest Spanish soap opera. What was agreed, after much chatter, was that Rosa only needed a simple hemming of the bottom, since the dress was a tad too long. The rest fit perfectly. She arranged for the dress to be ready by Friday, when she would pick it up on her day off from work.

Then, Rosa guided Isabella to a store that sold semi-formal, homecoming-type dresses. There were dresses of all cuts, colors, and sizes. Isabella immediately went into girl-land, essentially kicking Phineas out of the store. She didn't want him to see what she was going to wear to what would be their first date. Rosa jested, "It isn't that serious Isabella, it's not like it's a wedding dress. It's only the first date."

At any rate, Phineas killed time outside looking at the neighboring shops. There was a store across the street that sold cowboy clothes. The named intrigued him; Starr Western Wear. He walked in, and looked at the merchandise. The pants didn't interest him, since they were a little too cowboy for his taste. On the other hand, their dress shirts were nice. He killed time flipping through the stock, not really wanting to buy anything. After a while, he walked back to the store where the girls were.

By this time, Isabella had already chosen a dress. Phineas was curious, and asked for details on how the dress looked. She just replied that it was pretty, and offered no further explanation.

He begged, "Oh come on, Izzy. How does the dress look like?"

She smiled, "You will find out on Saturday. It's a surprise."

"I'll give you a kiss if you tell me."

She replied sarcastically, "Wow, you're such a good briber."

"Well, what do you want me to do? Stand on my head?" Phineas looked at her, his eyes begging for an answer.

She sighed, "Fine, it's pink. That's all you're going to know. Like I said, I want to surprise you on our first date."

He grinned, "Fair enough. But I'm sure that you're going to look stunning." He gave her a peck on the lips.

Isabella smiled and reached for his hand. They held hands on the entire walk back to the parking garage, and Phineas would occasionally tug on it to pull her into a kiss.

When Friday rolled around, Rosa and Isabella traveled back to the downtown to pick up their dresses, already hemmed and ready. They returned soon, satisfied with their purchases. Phineas found it hilarious that Isabella insisted in keeping her dress a secret. She sent him into the guest room while she stored her dress in the master bedroom closet. She warned, "Don't you dare peek, Phin."

The night before the party, the couple talked about the upcoming party. They were excited because it was a party unlike the both of them had seen before (Vivian didn't have the money to throw Isabella a quinceñera). Mostly though, they were excited because the party would be their first official date. Rosa had told them that the party hall was on the side of Mt. Franklin, with a garden that overlooked the city. This only added fuel to the expectation.

Eventually, they let the topic rest, and changed into their sleepwear. After the goodnight hug and kiss, they fell asleep, anxious for the next day to arrive. On the day of Cynthia's quince, Juan and Rosa were busy with the last-minute preparations. They were at Uncle Uriel's house, preparing the salsas and traditional condiments for the party. The party hall that was rented for the occasion came with complimentary buffet service, but the party still needed a little Mexican taste to it.

Phineas, Isabella, and Manuel were at home, getting ready for the party. They were to be ready by four in the afternoon.

Manuel and Phineas were the first to shower and get ready. Phineas ironed his pink Oxford shirt and dress pants. He was ready in half an hour.

Isabella took way longer. She showered, got dressed, and spent what seemed like an eternity shut in the bathroom getting her hair and makeup done. Phineas was in the living room watching the television, but he was not paying attention to what was on. He was anxious to see his girlfriend come out of the bathroom in her dress. The time waiting only increased his expectations of how beautiful she would look.

Finally, Isabella came out of the bathroom and walked to the living room where Phineas was seated. Standing in front of the television, she asked shyly, "How do I look?"

By then, Phineas' expectations were sky-high. But as he looked at the girl in front of him, those expectations paled in comparison to how stunning she was looking at the moment. Her hair was slightly curled, loose as always. She was wearing a fitted, knee-length satin dress, colored pink. The way it accentuated her features caused Phineas' jaw to drop. He couldn't find the strength to put together words for a long time. When he did, he just said a scintillating, "Wow!"

Isabella giggled, "I look wow?"

"Izzy…you look gorgeous. I can't even begin to describe it."

She saw the mesmerized look on his face, and grinned, "Mmm, I'm glad you like it. You look rather dashing yourself, Phin."

He stood up and gave her a kiss, feeling his mouth get sticky. "Wait, is this lipstick?"

"No, it's just lip gloss, but it's fairly sticky."

He chuckled, "Aww, why didn't you warn me?"

She just giggled. He continued, "Not that it matters, anyways." He pulled her in for another kiss, and held her in a close hug.

The sound of somebody clearing their throat ruined the moment. It was Manuel, "Excuse me you lovebirds, but some people are trying to watch the TV."

The couple smiled, and took a seat on the couch. Phineas asked, "Oh by the way, where's Rosalinda?"

"I'm going to pick her up and drive to the party myself. So yeah, she's going."

As expected, by 4 in the afternoon, Juan and Rosa arrived to pick up the couple. They had rented a Cadillac for the day of the party. Before they knew it, they had gotten on the interstate, gotten off at the right exit, and arrived at the party hall. It was beautiful, decorated in a Southwest style, and had an ample garden with a spectacular view of El Paso.

Phineas and Isabella were amazed with the beauty of the place against the backdrop of the afternoon sun. At any rate, it was still a little hot to be outside in formal clothes, so they caught back up with their hosts and entered the hall. It was decorated extravagantly, with the seats and tables having linens. The interior had a classical taste to it, having a sort of arch at the entrance and chandeliers lighting up the dance floor. There was a small balcony in the front of the hall, where the DJ was playing music.

Uncle Juan invited the couple to take a seat at the table reserved for them. They sat and relaxed, taking in the atmosphere. Phineas observed the invitees, recognizing some faces as those of Isabella's family. The uncles, aunts, and cousins were all there. The only people missing were the grandparents. Nonetheless, most of the people were friends of the family and of the quinceñera. Cynthia was visible in the crowd, greeting the people seated at the tables. She was wearing a princess-like pink dress. Phineas and Isabella smiled, because their apparel had inadvertently matched the colors of the party.

After Cynthia and her court had danced the typical quinceñera waltzes and did the girl-to-woman ceremonies, the DJ started playing popular Spanish music to kickstart the dance. The quinceñera and her escort opened the dance floor with the first song, and soon the guests went to dance in droves. Phineas and Isabella preferred to sit out the first few songs and soak in the atmosphere some more. Besides, Phineas was out of the loop with the type of music playing. It would be up to Isabella to teach him the ins and outs of how to dance to the Spanish genres.

When Phineas had gained enough confidence to finally go up to the dance floor, he asked Isabella if she would like to dance with him. "Of course I would," she replied.

The tanda (back to back songs of the same genre) that was playing at the time, not surprisingly, was cumbia. At first, Phineas improvised his own dance moves. After he had his own fun and realized that other people were staring, Isabella started teaching him the basic steps, and the two main forms of dancing the genre. He was a fast learner, and after about two cumbia songs, he did both forms with relative ease. She taught him the turns, and soon enough, he was dancing like a pro.

She leaned into his ear, "Phin, you're such a fast learner."

He replied, "Yeah, you get the hang of new dances kind of quick when you have a step-brother that's a lean, mean, dancing machine."

Isabella giggled. Apparently somebody had remembered Ferb and Jeremy's dancing stint on "Dance Until We're Sick." The producer of the show had contacted Ferb, and he now was a regular on the show. To say the least, Ferb's dancing skills were phenomenal.

When the tanda of cumbias ended, the couple stayed on the dance floor expecting the next song. After shout-outs and greetings to Cynthia, another tanda started, this one with norteño music. Again, Phineas learned how to move his feet, the hand placement, and how to hold Isabella. They both enjoyed this type of dance, because it was simple, relaxing, and intimate. Not rap-song intimate, but rather a type of proximity that allowed Isabella to nuzzle into Phineas' chest and enjoy the moment, while he whispered sweet nothings into her ear. When the mix ended, they were both kind of bummed that the moment of closeness had ended.

The rest of the night dragged on with the couple dancing to mix after mix of genres. While some mixes were short because of the dull response, others that really engaged the crowd lasted around half an hour at least. One such tanda was a classic rock n' roll mix. Phineas and Isabella were amused by how a bunch of Mexicans, some wearing cowboy hats and sporting crocodile-skin boots, could all of a sudden start dancing to Jailhouse Rock, the Rock around the Clock, and the like. The couple joined in, and created quite the buzz when they were the best dancers in the hall.

After a considerable amount of time dancing, Isabella leaned into Phineas and said, "Phin, my legs are killing me. Let's go take a break."

Phineas was secretly relieved that Isabella was tired of dancing. They had been dancing to duranguense, and he wasn't really understanding the concept of how to move with the rhythm. To him, it sounded like circus music. At any rate, he walked her back to the table, taking a seat and watching the crowd. After a while, he suggested, "Izzy, do you want to go outside to the garden? I bet it's lovely now."

Isabella accepted, and they walked hand in hand out the entrance into the night. He checked the time, and was surprised when it was already past 9:00. It was fairly cool in the garden, and they sat on a bench, admiring the bird's eye view of the region. The city was already illuminated, with the street lights stretching into the distance. El Paso's interstate and Border Highway, as well as it's main avenues, were outlined by the passing lights of vehicles, like veins in the midst of all the buildings and lights.

On the Mexican side of the border, El Cerro Bola had it's own lighted decoration; a rendition of Benito Juarez's* face. Alas, some of the lights were not working, and the portrait ended up looking like Bart Simpson. Nonetheless, the sheer size of the city was illuminated, stretching as far as the eye could see, even from Mt. Franklin. Phineas and Isabella were both mesmerized by the view.

They sat in silence, with Phineas grabbing Isabella around the waist. She leaned into him, enjoying the moment, her arms around his neck. She cooed into his ear, "I love you, Phineas."

He guided her chin up to his with his free hand, and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips met for what seemed like an eternity. When she pulled away, he looked into her eyes and replied, "I love you too, Isabella. More than all the lights in this city."

She blushed at his comment, and nuzzled into his neck. Phineas felt her cheeks, warm and soft, brush against his face. He couldn't help thinking about how much he loved her. He thought about how long it had taken him to figure out that she had a crush on him, and thought about how his feelings for her had developed over the years. At first, he dismissed the feelings as a result of years of knowing her, since his childhood. He reasoned the attraction he felt for her was a byproduct of being best friends with her. Now that they were a couple, he couldn't help thinking, I was so naïve.

Phineas thought about all that happened between him and Isabella since they had become boyfriend and girlfriend. He had lost count of how many times he had hugged and kissed her. To him, kissing Isabella had become a necessity, like the need for oxygen. It was a refreshing thought, since it confirmed that he loved her to death. But the thought also unsettled him.

He said softly, "Izzy?"

She was still nuzzled into his neck. "Hmm?"

"Do you think we're moving too fast?"

She was surprised by the question, "What do you mean?"

"Our relationship. Do you think we're going too fast as a couple?"

"No, I don't think so. What do you think, Phin?"

He took a deep breath, "Like, we've been dating less than a week, and I've already lost count of how many times I've kissed you. Right now we're sitting on the bench like this. You have your arms around my neck and I have my arm around your waist. We're like lovebirds."

He allowed himself a small smile, then continued, "I mean, I really enjoy showing you how much I love you. It feels so good, and so natural - like it's meant to be. But when I used to imagine you and me together, I imagined us taking it slow, enjoying the little things." He paused, "You know me, when it comes to feelings, I'm very casual and slow-moving."

Isabella nodded in agreement, replying, "Yeah, you're very slow when it comes to listening to your feelings."

He gave her a joking dirty look, and continued, " Sometimes I can't help thinking and worrying. What if we end up moving so fast that inevitably there will be nothing new to look forward to? That everything will be so monotone that we won't - see a point in being with each other anymore. I can't even begin to…"

Isabella interrupted him, "Shh…relax." Her arms were still around his neck. She shifted them slightly and started massaging the base of his neck, knowing that this relaxed him. She kissed his cheek and said, "I have very high hopes for our relationship, Phin. I am certain that we will be together, until death do us part. I couldn't bear to be in a world where we aren't together, loving each other."

Isabella looked up into his eyes, concerned. Phineas basked in her gaze, seeing himself reflected in those midnight orbs. Being able to look upon her pretty face with nothing but love was what he lived for everyday. Right now, he returned the gaze, wanting answers to his doubts.

She kissed him on the lips, and continued, "I've loved you for years. How long have you loved me?"

He replied, "I've been crushing on you since last year. But I think I could've been crushing on you for longer. After all, I was quite naïve. I thought that I was attracted to you because we were close friends. As for loving you, I didn't realize how deeply I cared about you until this vacation."

She said, "There you go. You just found the answers to your own question. We've been crushing on each other in some form or another for a long time. We have been best friends since we first met. We know each other as good as we know ourselves. There's no hiding that we love each other very much."

He smiled, adding, "With the intensity of a million burning suns."

She giggled at his corny compliment, "See, we can't help ourselves when it comes to showing our feelings. You said that showing your emotions feels so natural and right. Well, it is natural. After knowing each other for so long, and being totally comfortable around each other, how could it not be natural to show our feelings in a such a short time span?"

He looked at her thoughtfully, "Enlighten me, Izzy."

"Well, if two people are not comfortable around each other in a relationship, they will take things way slower than they would if they already know each other like a book. A simple kiss can't happen until the couple is comfortable around each other. Or if it does happen, it won't feel right."

She paused, allowing time for Phineas to think. "You might ask why we kiss each other so much and always hug. But I think that we're blessed to be loving each other this way, this soon. It just shows that we are already very comfortable around each other and are just as comfortable kissing as anything. I don't see ourselves as going too fast. I see it as making up for lost time."

Phineas smiled and said, "Okay, I guess you're right. But what if we keep moving this fast?"

"We won't, Phin. We might know each other like a book, but there are certain things that we still have to discover about each other. You surely know what I'm referring to."

His face grew hot at the mention, since talking about the more sexual parameters of the relationship wasn't on his agenda. He said, "Whoa, I wasn't really planning on talking about that this soon."

She smiled, "Me neither. But don't worry, our relationship won't go that far yet. I personally want to keep to myself until we get married, if you know what I mean."

He nodded in agreement, "Yes, same here Izzy. I was planning on bringing that topic up sometime in the future, but I guess you beat me to it."

Isabella smiled, and replied, "Well, better to establish it now than later. I like this kind of affection though, personally. Just kissing, holding hands, hugging. I would be perfectly satisfied with this forever."

Phineas gave a toothy grin. He pulled her into a hug, and cooed into her ear, "I love you Isabella. If I could put a number on how large my feeling is, I'd give Avogadro a run for his money."

Isabella giggled, "That's the second corny compliment tonight, Phin. I just love how you can be cute and nerdy sometimes." She giggled some more at his facial reply, and added, rather seductively, "But I get turned on by a smart guy."

"Well, I get turned on by a girl that can be sweet, loving, caring, and pretty darn sexy."

She blushed, "Oh my, Phin. Now that is taking it too fast."

As he pulled her in for a kiss, he replied, "Well, it just comes naturally."

Isabella nuzzled into Phineas, her arms around his neck. He returned the embrace by grabbing her around the waist and kissing her forehead. He stared into the night sky, watching the stars and wishing for the moment not to end. Then, something caught his eye. It seemed like a flick of light, but he knew what was going to happen.

He nudged Isabella, and said eagerly, "Izzy, look. There's going to be a meteor shower."

She sat up and looked into the sky, her head leaning on Phineas'. They stared as more streaks of light, barely visible, passed over them. When the last shooting star faded into the darkness, she asked him, "Did you make a wish?"

"Yes, yes I did. What about you?"

"Of course I did. I think you can figure out what I wished for."

He grinned and replied softly, "I think I know. If we were of the age and in the place, my answer would be 'I do'."

The time flew by as they cuddled together under the night sky, talking and enjoying each other's presence. Even when the air was filled with laughter, jokes, and conversations about the most mundane things, there was an undercurrent that wasn't heard, but rather felt. It was an undercurrent of emotion that indicated that the couple really cared for each other, that each person was totally devoted to their other half, and that they would do anything to make them happy. At that instant, they were the happiest people on the face of the Earth.

Phineas checked his phone clock and let out a small gasp. "Holy crap, it's already past eleven." He couldn't believe that they had just spent more than two hours together in the garden.

Isabella was cuddled into Phineas' embrace, almost dozing asleep. She just replied a soft, "Mmm." She came back into reality from Phineas-Land, and regretted that the moment of magic ended.

He kissed her, and suggested, "Come on, Izzy. Let's go inside. I know you're just dying to dance some more."

She would have rather spent more time in the garden, but she accepted. He stretched out a hand to help her up off the bench, and they walked back inside the party hall, hand in hand.

Needless to say, they danced the rest of the night away. Fast songs, slow songs, close songs, they enjoyed it all. The party ended at 1 in the morning, with the last song being a close norteño song. As the last song ended, Phineas gave Isabella a close hug, saying almost apologetically, "It must be the millionth time I've said this, but I love you."

She smiled and kissed him, "I love you too, Phineas. I've thought that for at least a billion times today."

They helped with the cleanup of the hall, and rode home with Juan and Rosa. They arrived at the house at around 3 in the morning, and sleepily changed into their night clothes. Phineas went to give Isabella a goodnight hug and kiss, but she had already fallen asleep by then. He kissed her sleeping lips, and whispered, "Goodnight, Izzy."

He walked back to his bed, looked at her one last time, and turned off the lights, falling asleep shortly after.

In the darkness, a sleeping Isabella smiled with a world's worth of happiness.

It was an early Sunday morning, and the last full day that Phineas and Isabella would spend in El Paso. Phineas was already awake by 6 in the morning. True, they had gone to sleep really late because of the party the previous day. But he was early riser by nature, and today was not the exception. Besides, he had a mission in mind: to see the Southwest sunrise with his girlfriend.

He nudged Isabella awake. "Izzy, wake up! We won't get to see the sunrise!" It was already 6:15. Dawn was going to break any minute.

She opened her eyes sleepily and looked at Phineas with utter confusion. She drawled sleepily, "What's the big deal? I'm tired."

"I'm tired too. But you have to see this."

She replied a terse, "Fine," reluctantly getting up and following him outside. Using a ladder, they got on the roof and watched the horizon expectantly. It was still relatively dark outside. In the distance, the sky was starting to turn a light shade of red.

Phineas cuddled Isabella into his embrace as they both witnessed darkness giving way to daylight. They were mesmerized by the Southwestern sunrise. He turned towards the girl in his arms, who was now watching the sky in awe. He asked with a smile, "Was that worth it?"

She replied softly, "It was totally worth it, Phin."

He chuckled, "Good. Now we can go back to sleep."

They got off the roof and went back to their guest room. He carried Isabella into the room and placed her delicately on her bed. She gave him a small smile and asked softly, "Phin, would you mind laying in bed with me?"

"No, no I wouldn't." He lay next to her, resting his arm on her hip. She nuzzled into him, falling asleep. He dozed off soon after.

When they woke up, it was already midday. Phineas took the initiative to make Isabella some brunch, cooking up some scrambled eggs and making French toast. Soon enough, they finished eating and went off to prepare their things for the return trip home. They washed and dried their dirty clothes, packing it into their suitcases when it was ready. The couple also cleaned up the guest room that they had used for their stay.

After making the beds and vacuuming the carpets, Isabella called her mother about their airplane tickets for the return trip. Vivian instructed her to go into her online American Airlines account, and print out the pages that confirmed the purchase of tickets. These pages contained the ID and password needed to print their individual boarding passes at the airport. Phineas took a look at the information. Surprisingly, their connection city was now Houston instead of Dallas. It didn't make sense to him, since Houston was father away from Danville than Dallas. At any rate, he shrugged and continued to read. They were to leave at 6:30 in the morning, just like last time. They also had two hours to spare in Houston between flights. The only difference was that they would arrive later at Danville, touching down a little past 4 in the afternoon.

After the flights were taken care of, Phineas and Isabella relaxed in the living room, watching television. When Uncle Juan and Rosa arrived from work, they brought along seasoned meat to make carne asada. The uncle was about to walk outside to turn on the grill, when Phineas said, "No sir, you treated us to a nice stay. Me and Izzy will cook. You guys just relax."

Phineas went outside to grill the meat, as Isabella prepared the rice in the kitchen. Aunt and uncle were taken aback by this voluntary act of niceness, and they sat back, watching the couple work together.

Phineas would occasionally go back inside, to look for utensils to help with cooking the meat, like tongs, aluminum foil, among other things. While waiting for the meat to cook, he would also venture inside to help Isabella in any way possible.

Rosa and Juan looked on, and were surprised about one thing. As the couple cooked the meal together, they functioned in perfect harmony. Not once did they ever bump into each other, or have to speak in order to understand what the other wanted. If one needed something, the other would automatically hand it to them, as if they communicated telepathically. Working in perfect synchronization, they finished cooking the meal in a flash. The hosts were in awe; they had never seen a couple function that perfectly in sync with each other.

When everybody was seated and they started eating, Rosa asked the couple, "How did you guys do that?"

Isabella asked, "Did what?"

"When you were cooking. You didn't even bump into each other or talk. How did you know what the other needed just at the right time?"

Phineas and Isabella just shrugged. He offered an explanation, as he looked at his girlfriend endearingly, "I guess we know each other too well."

They finished eating, and watched a movie with the family, about a father that was searching for his kidnapped daughter in Europe. When the movie ended, they talked for a bit, until Phineas and Isabella called it a night. It was barely past ten, but they had to go to sleep early if they were to wake up early the next day. Phineas and Isabella went to the guest room, and he set the alarm clock for 4:15 in the morning.

They talked for a while; first about the movie. Then, they remembered what they had done over the course of the vacation. The couple still couldn't believe that they had already spent two weeks in El Paso. It still seemed like yesterday when Isabella had invited Phineas to tag along with her.

They recalled everything; the flight where they cuddled asleep, the romantic restaurant, the visit to Juarez and the hospital stay, where they revealed their feelings for each other. And of course, they recalled the grandparents' house, where they had become boyfriend and girlfriend.

Phineas and Isabella were sitting next to each other on his bed, telling each other how happy they were at the moment. He smiled, saying, "See, I told you I had a feeling that this would be a good vacation."

She leaned into him, humming softly as he put his arm around her shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "I love you, Isabella," as he guided her chin up to meet in a kiss.

When she pulled away, she replied cheerfully, "I love you too, Phineas."

He grinned the toothy smile. "Well, we need to get to sleep if we want to wake up early tomorrow. What is the saying? Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Isabella giggled and said, "Yes, a Ben Franklin quote. Well, I guess we should call it a night then." She paused and asked, "Phin?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind sleeping together?"

He grinned and looked at her suspiciously.

She continued, "Well, it's our last night on vacation. And it will probably be our last night sleeping like this for a long, long time. So I just wanted to…"

Phineas interrupted her, "Shh…I understand Izzy. Yes, I'd love to share the bed with you. I was going to ask you myself, but you beat me to it."

She smiled triumphantly and went into the bathroom to change into her sleepwear. Phineas changed too, and before long, they were ready, and in his bed. He kissed her before he turned off the lights.

"Goodnight Isabella. I love you."

"Nighty night, Phin. I love you so much."

He put his arm over her, as she curled into him. By now, they had grown used to the closeness, and it felt perfectly natural. Phineas looked on as Isabella fell asleep, and carefully guided some loose strands of hair off of her face.

He was intensely grateful that they could be this comfortable loving each other in this way. Looking at her sleeping figure, he thought, ''wow, she's absolutely gorgeous. ''He knew, deep down side his heart, that he would do anything possible to make her happy, and would demonstrate, every single day, how much he loved her.

As his eyelids grew heavy with fatigue, Phineas' arm protectively pulled Isabella closer to him. She curled into him even further, and went into her slumber once again. His last waking thought going to sleep was, consider the day seized.