A/N: Stinkfly3 here. This chapter may or may not be corny depending on how you read it.
Phineas was about to hug Vanessa, but she stopped him. "Hold on a minute," she said. "I said I accept your apology, but that doesn't mean we're dating again."
"But I changed," Phineas insisted. "I love you more than I loved my parents. I'm no longer the scared conformist I was for most of my life. Don't you still love me?"
"Not anymore," Vanessa explained. "But I still see you as a good friend."
"So what are you saying?" Phineas asked.
Vanessa approached Phineas and reached up to his head, gently caressing his newly-cut hair. "I'm saying we should just be friends for now," the 10-year-old girl explained. "And who knows? Maybe we'll start dating again if things are okay between us."
Phineas sighed in defeat. "Fine," he said. "Now I know what I have to do tomorrow..."