Disclaimer: I don;t own Milo Murphy's Law or any of the characters in it. I'm just waiting for season 3 to finally be announced.

Amanda was sitting at her desk in her room after school the next day, doing what she normally did around this time, writing up her schedule for the next day after finishing her homework and feeding her pet mice. She had to admit, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate on it, especially with the Big Dance right around the corner and the fact that Milo was unable to take her now. Almost absentmindedly, her hand went to the sparkling star around her neck and she slid it up and down the chain. She was thinking more and more about Milo lately, especially after their pizza and movie night that Saturday.

Milo and Amanda made their way to the pizza parlor, Milo holding her hand tenderly, making Amanda feel warm all over. Amanda glanced backward and saw her sister following them arm in arm with her boyfriend, Christopher, laughing and talking and not paying a bit of attention to them. Amanda smiled, good! She never understood why her mother insisted that Teresa go with her sister to 'chaperone' her. Yes, she was 13 but it;s not like this was a date...or was it? Either way she was sure she didn't need a chaperone! Luckily Teresa didn't even seem to be paying a bit of attention to that at all.

"You'll really like Veronica," Milo told Amanda. "She was the best baby-sitter I ever had!"

"She gave you your backpack too, right?" Amanda asked.

"Yep. She helped teach me a lot about being prepared," he opened the door for her and followed her in, holding the door open for Teresa and Christopher. He smiled when he saw the young woman in medevil garb by the counter. "Hey, Veronica!"

The woman looked up "Good afternoon, Sir...why grant mercy, it's Milo!" Beaming she came out from the counter and gave him a huge hug. "Milo! It's so great to see you!" She stood back and ruffled his hair. "You're looking good. I think you got taller since the last time I saw you!" Her eyes fell on Amanda. "And who is this pretty lady you have here?" She winked at Milo. "Milo, ya didn't tell me you had a girlfriend." Milo blushed slightly, causing Veronica to giggle. "Aw. Ya know I'm only teasing!"

Milo smiled and took Amanda's hand. "This is Amanda Lopez. Amanda, this is my old baby-sitter Veronica."

Veronica smiled and pleasantly shook Amanda's hand. "Very nice to meet you, Amanda. Any friend of Milo's is a friend of mine! Let me personally show you two to the best table we have in the house!" Taking two menus, she escorted them to the nicest table by a window. Amanda saw Teresa and Christopher at the table nearest her, but again they were barely paying attention to them, so Amanda just pretended they weren't there.

"Don't worry, Milo, these windows are shatterproof glass," Veronica told him. "Can I get you two anything to drink?"

"Sure, two Pepsis please."

"Coming right up," she winked at Amanda and whispered to her, "I'm speaking from experience, you lucked out getting him! You can't find a better guy then Milo, you make sure to hold on to him now!" Amanda smiled at her as she left.

"She's very nice."

"Yeah, she's the best!" Milo leaned forward. "And she always gives me a ten percent discount on the pizza."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he smiled as they looked over the menu. "So, the usual? Large pizza with double cheese, sausage, and pepperoni?"

"Sure," when Veronica came back with their drinks they gave her their order. When she left again Amanda smiled at Milo, butterflies suddenly starting in her stomach. This was pretty much the first time she was sitting at a table alone with Milo. True she and Milo had gone out before but they usually doubled with Melissa and Zack. As much as she enjoyed the two of them a part of her had longed to be alone with Milo, and now here was her chance. So why were her insides all fluttery? She turned to Milo and smiled tenderly. Milo grinned back at her and reached over to finger the star that dangled from her neck.

"This necklace really looks beautiful on you, Amanda," he told her honestly.

"I love it, Milo," Amanda said honestly. Milo smiled, took her hand, and kissed it gentily.

"Ya know, Amanda," he said quietly. "I know I never told you this...but I always did have a crush on you."

"Really, Milo?" she said, surprised.

"Yeah..I've felt this way about you since 4th grade," Milo confessed with a blush. "I thought you were the prettiest girl in our class...I still do," he admitted.

"Oh, Milo," Amanda said, flattered. "Why didn't you ever say anything before?"

"Well...it's...I wanted to, but...I kinda knew you didn't feel the same way about me. And I didn't want to bother you with it," he suddenly noticed a nearby light bulb was wiggling in it's socket. Milo knew that scene all too well, it was about to fall off! "Uh hold that thought," he said, quickly running over to the bulb and catching it before it was able to fall. He then took a screwdriver out of his backpack and carefully screwed back the bulb. He turned it on and off to test it, and then sat back down. Amanda watched this whole thing with raised eyebrows.

"Milo, you amaze me," she said honestly.

Milo smiled back. "Thanks. My Dad has a lot to do with that, he helped teach me everything I know about how to deal with Murphy's Law."

"Is that how you knew how to fix the fuse box during the dance?"

"Yep. But anyway, that's why I never really told you my feelings before. I didn't want to be a pain, and I wanted to respect you and your wishes. Though I wanted to make sure things went right for you at the same time."

Amanda's heart melted at this confession. That was so like Milo, always thinking of others, wanting to help and see others happy. "I was so foolish before," she confessed, reaching for his hand and looking into his eyes. They were both startled when Veronica put their pizza on the table and handed them their plates. They both smiled at one another and reached for the pizza.

That was one of the best Saturdays she had ever spent with someone. She so enjoyed spending time with Milo and chided herself for the way she had acted before. Yes Murphy's Law acted up, there were several instances that day on the way to the movie, but Milo was always such a quick thinker and anything that happened he managed to fix! The more she spent with him she more she truly enjoyed him and the longer she wanted to stay with him. Now if there was a project in science class that would require a pair up, she would do anything to be on Milo's team! If Cake Splosion ever came back and wanted her again SHE would recommend HIM to be her partner!

She almost jumped out of her seat when Teresa came into the room. "Hi, little sister," she called.

"Hi, Teresa."

"Can I borrow one of your pens for homework, mine just ran out of ink."

"Yeah. Help yourself," she gestured to the mug on her desk which neatly held a large group of pens.

As Teresa reached for a pen, her eyes happened to fall on Amanda's schedule. Before Amanda could react her sister snatched the schedule away from her and looked at it with her eyebrows raised. "This your plan for tomorrow?" she asked.

Amanda grabbed a pen from the mug and held it out to her. "I believe you were looking for this?"

Teresa took the pen but didn't put down the schedule. "You're planning on spending time with your friend Milo tomorrow, huh?"

"That is my intention."

"So you're gonna stay at his home? Say up till about 9?!"

"No, not that late! Why do you say that?"

Teresa then showed her the paper. "Cause you wrote his name all over this schedule!"

Amanda snatched the paper from her sister and looked at it with surprise. She was right! All over the bottom of it, and even along the edges and around the holes in the margins, she had written 'Milo', and she didn't even know she was doing that! She slowly put down the paper as her cheeks turned a bright crimson.

"Hermana, will you stop fooling yourself?!" Teresa said. "Just admit it, you are crazy about him!"

"But...we're still in 8th grade.."

"So? That doesn't mean you can't love someone!"

"I don't know the first thing about being in love!"

"There's no better time to learn! Come ON, Mandy, the signs are ALL there, right in front of your face. You can't stop thinking about him, you write his name down over and over, you've been majorly depressed ever since he got banned from the dance, you work more and more time with him in that schedule! Besides I saw the way you two were looking at each other at the pizza parlor!"

"You were watching us?"

"I promised Mama I would. I was, out of the corner of my eye and it was obvious to anyone how you both felt. Those looks of adoration you were giving to him were so easy to see!"

"Was I really doing that?"

"Aw he did it to you too! And the way you were siting so close to him in the movie theater, just admit it, it's not like he doesn't feel the same way about you!" She hugged Amanda. "You're growing up, Little Sister, you've gotten your very first boyfriend!" She giggled and kissed the top of her head. "You'll live!" She went out of the room as Amanda stared after her.

Meanwhile Milo was at a nearby clothing store with Zack helping him choose a new suit for the dance. Milo was sitting on one of the small chairs outside the dressing rooms. Actually he had moved the chair a fine distance away from the dressing rooms to avoid any Murphy's Law incident. He had almost had one when he noticed a rack of ties was about to fall, but he managed to catch it and steady it in time to avoid a catastrophie.

Now Zack emerged from the nearest dressing room in a nice dark colored shirt with a bright red tie and matching dark jacket. "Well, how does this look?"

Milo whistled. "Hot stuff!" he teased. "You and Melissa are gonna be THE best dressed ones there!"

"Well, I'm actually looking at a few more suits besides this one. Let me know what ya think of this," Zack disappeared into the dressing room again, and when he came out he was wearing a very different suit. This one had a light blue shirt and black tie with a matching jacket. "How's this one?"

"Divine!" Milo stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Not too many 14 years olds can pull off a look like this, but you my friend, are divine! Melisa better not let YOU out of her sight! So, is it just those two?"

"Well, I'm looking at one more," Zack went back into the room. When he came out he was wearing a white shirt with a dark blue tie and a navy blue suit.

"That's not bad, not bad at all!" Milo grinned.

"So, which one do you think looks best?"

"Hmm," Milo thought. "I think I like the first one. I like how the red tie stands out." Zack went into the room again and came back out in the first suit. "Yeah, that's the best one I think."

Zack studied his reflection in the mirror. "Yeah, I think I like this one myself."

"It's definitely you," Milo agreed. He took out his phone and set it to 'camera'. "Take a walk down the runway, handsome!" Zack walked down the carpet, stopping and turning like a fashion model while Milo snapped pictures. "Terrific, terrific! Fashion model!" He smiled. He saw a suit he liked himself and carefully took it off the rack. Immidiately the rack started to sway back and forth but Milo expertly reached over and caught it before it could fall and rightened it. "Hey, I'm gonna go try this suit on, I wanna see how it looks myself." When Milo emerged he and Zack stood side-by-side on the mirror.

"What do you think?"

"Nice!" He put his hand on Milo's shoulder. "Look at us, we are two handsome guys," Zack said, smiling.

"Yeah. Let's get em!" Milo said as they posed in front of the mirror. They did gun fingers, and stood side by side, and made model-like poses. Turning from the mirror, Milo put his arm around Zack and took a selfie of them, then Zack took one of the two. Finally they both laughed out loud and fist-bumped.

"Thanks for helping me choose," Zack said.

"Hey, what are best friends for?" Milo said. "You and Melissa are gonna knock em dead when you enter the room!"

"Thanks," Zack said. But his smile soon faded.

"What's wrong?" Milo asked.

"It's not gonna be the same without you there."

"Well, don't worry about me, you both go and have fun."

Zack sighed. "It's just that...ever since I moved here we've done almost everything together, ya know? It's always been you, Melissa, and me. We were the Three Musketeers of Jefferson County, ya know?"

"And now we can add Amanda," Milo reminded him.

"And now we can add Amanda," he agreed. "The point is...we've done almost everything together, Milo. It...it isn't gonna feel the same without you."

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss you guys too," Milo admitted. "But, hey, I got an accordian lesson that afternoon anyway. I'll just practice that night. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You both go, I insist. Come on, let's pay for these and go find your corsage."

"You gonna take that?"

Milo looked at the suit he was wearing. "Yeah. It looks pretty good. Think I will."

"Go for it, it looks sharp on ya," Zack said.

"And that looks perfect on you!" Milo said. "You and Melissa are gonna have a great time at the Dance." But as they headed for the dressing rooms to change back into their regular clothes, Zack didn't feel as sure.

Later that day Amanda walked down the stairs to the kitchen and sat quietly down at the table, deep in thought. Her mother turned from the stove. "Hello, Sweetheart, I've hardly seen you this afternoon. You hungry?"

"Not right now," she looked down at her hands. Finally she raised her eyes. "Mama?"

Her mother looked up from a recipe card she was reading. "Yes?"

"May I talk to you for a moment?" Her mother could tell it was serious. She walked over and sat down next to her, putting her hand on hers.

"What is it, Mi Amour?"

"Mama...I'm so confused."

"About what?"

She sighed. "About Milo. About how I feel..."

"What is confusing you?"

"Everything," she admitted. "Mama...I just don't know. I...I like Milo...I like him so much. He's such a wonderful friend, and I do enjoy spending time with him. We've been spending so much time together that I've almost forgotten about Murphy's Law. I mean, no, I haven't forgotten about it completely, but I'm not scared of it anymore. It's just part of who Milo is, and I realized it no longer bothers me. I really love being with him, he's the sweetest, kindest person I've ever met. And...I care about him so much. But..."

"But what, Sweetheart?"

"But...Mama...Teresa said a few minutes ago that..I was in love with him!"

"Oh?" Her mother said with an amuzed look in her eyes. "What made her say that?"

"The fact that she caught me daydreaming about him...and the fact that I wrote his name all over my schedule without even knowing about it," Her mother raised her eyebrows as Amanda's face turned bright red. "Mama...I can't be in love!"

"Why not, Mi Amour?"

"Mama, I'm only 13! Milo just turned 14! That's too young to be in a relationship!"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, we're only in 8th grade."

"So?"

"So, don;t you think that's too young?"

"I don't think so, mi pequena corazon*. You can fall in love at any age."

"You can be in a relationship at 13?"

"I think so."

Amanda thought about that for a few moments. "Mama? I've never even been in love before. How do you know...how you feel...if it is love?"

Her mother smiled. "Ah, Querida**, you're starting to grow up," she put her arm around Amanda. "Love can be pretty complicated at times. But at other times, it can be the best thing to have ever happened to you. Let me ask you something, Miel***, do you find yourself thinking of him a lot?"

"Only...all the time, Mama."

Her mother smiled. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Happier than I've ever felt, Mama. But sometimes I do feel ashamed."

"Of what?"

"Of the way I treated him before. I was so afraid of Murphy;s Law I went out of my way to avoid him. I refused to be his partner during science class, I told him to stay away from everything last year during our School Dance before I found out his talent with fixing things. Oh Mama, I wish I could go back and undo all of that."

"But he hasn;t held it against you, has he?"

"No, Mama. That's another thing about him. He's so decent and kind and forgiving of others. That's another thing that I admire so much about him. But, Mama...is this admiration...or is this actual love? I just don't know."

"Well, Quirida, only you can truly answer that question. But I can give you some advice. Look deep down inside of you. Look deep in your heart and explore your feelings completely. Think of how he makes you feel, think of how much you do care about him. Do you enjoy being with him?"

"So much, Mama."

"Do you care about him, I mean deep down really truly care?"

Amanda paused for a few moments. "I do."

"Do you truly accept everything he is despite his faults."

"Yes, Mama, I do."

"Do you feel happy just seeing him happy?"

"Yes, Mama, I love to see him smile. That's one of the reasons I was so upset when he couldn't go to the dance. Because I know he was hurting inside. I hate seeing him so hurt, Mama. He's so kind and thoughtful and generous, he didn't deserve that! Things that go wrong with Murphy's Law, he's the first one to fix them and he can even make things better than ever. I found that out."

"Do you care what other people may think if they see you two together?"

"No, Mama, I don't care. Anyone who would say anything doesn't know him like I do. I'm proud to be seen with him and I don't care if someone stares.'

Her mother smiled. "Concentrate on those feelings, Miel. Think long and hard about them, and then you will have your answer. And remember, it doesn't have anything to do with age, or what others may think. It's about you and your own feelings. "

Amanda considered her mother's words, slowly smiling to herself. "But, Mama? If I am in love...when would be the right time to tell him how I feel?"

Her mother smiled and affectionately touched her nose. "When the perfect time comes, you will know."

Amanda smiled at this and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Thank you, Mama," she said before she left the room. Her mother watched her go. "Mi pequena corazon is growing up," she sighed.

*mi pequena corazon- My Little Heart

**Quirida- Dear

***Miel- Honey