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.

I hope that the initial exchange wasn't too awkward for the nature of Phineas and Isabella. I don't even know how the idea of that came to being, honestly.

But the good thing is that Phineas and Isabella are now officially a couple! I was so proud of writing that part. At any rate, I'll update tomorrow, as always :)