"It's Not A Side Effect Of The Cocaine, I Am Thinking It Must Be Love."

This quite possibly is my favorite chapter title. ;) And I still kept the trend of chapters named after songs alive! I'm somewhat cool! Anyway, I need to tell you guys again that anybody who reads, whether or not you review, is much appreciated. But, as you can see, I've been responding to my reviewing friends, so you just might get your screen name or something written into a story. Three cheers for national exposure! Anyway… I know I should be working on my homework now, but I just was thinking about where I could go with my story at school, and I need to get it down. Besides, I can do homework at 5:30 in the morning. No big deal.

Phil let out a huge breath as he fixed the collar on his shirt in the mirror. Tonight was the night that he and Bonnie would officially go out… and when he asked her on a second date (at least, he assumed he had the guts to do it), they'd officially become a couple. The mere thought of his first girlfriend being somebody so perfect was electrifying. Not even one of Pim's diabolical schemes could ruin this night… Not that that would've excused one of Pim's diabolical schemes to be executed.

Phil walked down the stairs, whistling to himself.

"Where are you off to?" Barbara asked. Phil forgot that he had yet to tell his parents about the date.

"I have a date…" Phil explained.

"With who?" Barbara asked, with a strong suspicion of who it was.

"Bonnie," Phil said, with a smile. Well, there went Barbara's theory.

"Well, have fun," she called to him. Phil was sure he would.

He knocked on the Teslow door at precisely 7:00. The sun had already set, and Phil wondered if it was at all possible that the moonlight made Bonnie look even more beautiful.

As crazy as it seemed, he strongly suspected it was true.

"You ready?" he asked her.

"You know it," she said, smiling at him. Something about her smile made him so… happy to be alive. Almost as if a light was born deep within her.

The two of them walked down the sidewalk, arms linked at the elbow. Phil would drift off occasionally, but when he came back to his senses, he found he was inexplicably glancing sideways at Bonnie's blue-green eyes.

Phil was a little worried that there had been minimal conversation on the way there, but when they settled into the table near the window at Alla Luce del Sole, Bonnie seemed to become a little more talkative.

"Why did you go on this date with me, Phil?" she asked.

Phil was somewhat surprised at this question. He remained silent, wondering if this was some sort of secret code of girls. When he figured it was pretty safe to assume she was genuinely curious, he answered. "Well, Bonnie," he started, "I really like you. When I first met you, you were really nice… really funny, really caring…" Blushing slightly, he finally added, "Really cute," in a quieter voice.

Bonnie's cheeks flushed at the last addition to his statement. She had been expecting him to tell her that he was helping Keely… but this was certainly a refreshing turn of events.

"Why did you want to go out with me?" Phil asked.

"I just… wanted to see how you felt…" Bonnie said. She was sure that she was right at first, but now, she had doubts about her theory. But if this was the cost, then she'd gladly accept the charges.

Phil nodded. The rest of the dinner went by without event.

On the walk home, Phil was the first to speak. "Bonnie… have you ever heard of the saying, 'Things do not change, we change'?"

"Yes. Henry David Thoreau said that," Bonnie replied, wondering where he was going with this.

"Have you ever really thought about that? I mean, like, have you ever thought of yourself in…" Phil sighed, as he was forced to use this word. "The future? Or… like, what you'll think about other people?"

Bonnie sighed. She understood. "Phil… I try not to think of things like that. People change every day. It's natural. I know that."

"But I mean, long term. Like… have you ever thought that one day… say, your sister might stop liking one of her friends? Hypothetically, let's say that Tia and Keely stop talking to each other… What would you do about that? Have you ever considered that?"

Again, Bonnie sighed. "Phil… I don't know how I'll feel about you in a few years… I don't know how you'll feel about me in a few years… We're different people every day… Look up at the stars, Phil." Phil did so. "The light from some of these stars… takes years to reach us. One day, we may look up, and discover that one of them is gone. But while that star just disappeared to us, it would've actually been gone for several years. I don't want that to happen to any of us, Phil. I don't want to turn around, and see that my life had disappeared overnight… The fact that two people can grow distant without knowing it is terrible. And once their star is gone… It'll never come back."

Phil understood, and nodded. "Well," he said, after a few minutes of silence. "We're here."

They walked up the porch, and stood in front of the door. Neither of them knows how long they remained lost in each other's eyes, but for that moment, they felt like they were finally at peace. Like nothing could bring them down.

They slowly started leaning towards each other.

But a loud crash brought them quickly apart. A rather startled looking cat rushed around the corner and jumped into Bonnie's arms. Phil and Bonnie's eyes locked, and the couple laughed nervously.

"Um," Phil muttered, "so… is tomorrow night free for you?"

"Tomorrow night would be great," Bonnie smiled. She entered her house. A rather awkward ending to an otherwise great night.

Phil walked to his own house. While it wasn't what he wanted, he felt they had made quite a connection. And he wouldn't trade that for anything.

If you'll notice, there is a reference to one of my favorite stories by element90, Becoming Who We Are. Anyway, I'm sure you guys will respond, because that's the kind of people you are!