(Author's Note)

Okay, I have a reason for going idle for like the past few weeks. Well my cousins from Toronto just arrived and we were their hosts so I had to attend to them most of the time. It's family after all and we have to value each time that we had left.

Also I've had the bad case of writer's block ever since the start of my Xmas vacation. Probably because of the stress of college. Alright I confess, I've been feeling a bit down lately but I try my best not to show it here in public… but I guess showing a little bit of it means that I am just showing my humanity. But I can't go heart to heart on public, I'm a guy and it's a guy's job to be strong.

Anyway, I sadly am too excited to even proofread this for quite a bit. I just want to show it to you. I hope you guys like it.

Chapter 2 "What's… A Date?"

Downtown was pretty quiet today, mostly because it's the start of working hours. It's also the home of the parlor that sells the signature ice cream of Danville. The Lunar Parlor was its name. Right now it's moderately packed thanks to some teenagers that decided to eat there… in a morning oddly enough. A guy's digital watch read 9:00 am. One of the teenagers that had a funky afro and was dressed in a blue civilian outfit with a nametag on his shirt was manning the cash register serving the ice cream. Despite the surprising number of customers he seemed to be relaxed.

"Enjoy the ice cream!" Said the afro.

"Thanks Coltrane!" Said the served teenagers.

Satisfied, Coltrane went back to the cash register. If you'd even bother to inspect the cash register, you'd see that there are some photos decorated around it. These were pictures of some of Coltrane's friends and customers who favorite the place. One of the images had Phineas licking a vanilla ice cream while standing beside Coltrane, who's kneeling down to his level and smiling for the camera. He picked that photo up and wondered.

"I wonder when he's gonna visit again." He thought.

Speaking of Phineas, he and Isabella were walking on the street, now calm and composed. Their glee from the previous activity they did only lasted for fifteen minutes. Isabella was looking as cheerful as ever while Phineas… was a little more nervous than usual. Why? Of course, he's on a date!... Which he only bluffed about. Oh dear… What if Isabella found out?

"Okay… It's Okay… It's only date after all… with my best friend… Isabella…. who needs this patch more than anything in order to make her dreams come true more than my needless panicking. So just chill…. Chill Phineas… Chill…. Okay!... I'm chill!... Now what do I do?! Do I give her flowers or anything? Do I hold her in my arms…. Wait… Wouldn't that mean I'm… courting her?"

Phineas's eyes widened in horror.

"No! No! I like her! I mean…. Not like her as in…. like like her… I like her as in she's my BFF since kindergarten kind of like like her…. LIKE HER… not like like her. But… when you're on a date…. Doesn't that mean…."

Phineas gasped out loud, catching Isabella's attention.

"What's wrong Phineas?"

Phineas turned to her in surprise. "Oh, nothing!"

Isabella gave her a confused look. Phineas fake smiled. She shrugged her shoulders and gleefully resumed her walk. Phineas then plunged himself back to deep thought.

"Aw man! I should've said no… But that would mean….. Awwwwwww maaann!" Phineas sighed silently. "Fine! I'll keep this act up until it's over. Besides, it's really hard to say no to Isabella. I mean…. When was the time I ever said no to her? None. Why? Because… she just has that way that makes you not say no. To me at least. So…. Yeah…. I'll give her some stupid flowers if I have to…. And… Yeah I guess I'm gonna have to….. hold her hand?"

Isabella held his hand so suddenly that it made him jump in surprise. Phineas turned to her and blushed.

"Hey! You okay buddy? You seem to be fully fledged head-in-the-clouds back there."

Phineas didn't quite catch what she just said as he was too focused on her eyes and smile. He tried to utter something but it's as if his breath was stolen or something. Isabella started to look a little more concerned. She elbowed his side without breaking the bond between their hands.

"Hey!" She called again.

Phineas was now fully awake and was aware what she just did. Finally he smiled and playfully elbowed her side as well. Isabella gaped and smiled. She elbowed him a bit harder. Phineas elbowed back, he started to chuckled.

"Stop!" She said, elbowing him back.

"You stop!" He said, elbowing her back.

"No! You stop!"

"Uh-uh! You should stop!"

"I said stop!" She now stabbed his neck with her right palm.

Phineas laughed. "Okay okay! I'll stop!... But seriously you started it though."

"What's up with that brain of yours Phineas? You seem to be deep into it." She said casually.

"Oh!... Well I was just a little worried about….. P-Perry!" He scratched his left ear with his left hand. "Yeah I was just worried… a little. I suddenly just realized that I left him at home… all alone… or maybe he has disappeared again like always. I guess there's nothing to worry about though. He always comes back in one piece after all."

Isabella chuckled. "Why are you always so attached to that Platypus?"

"Why are you always so attached to that Chihuahua?"

Isabella silenced. "Hmm, touche. So… where's this place you're talking about that you wanted to…" Isabella's smile widened a bit then shrunk back. "…date me?"

"We're almost…. No wait! We're here!"

They stood across the street in front of "The Lunar Parlor", the most popular ice cream parlor in town. Everything was designed in a moon-like theme. The font color of the sign was white with a dark red outline, the letter u is a crescent moon arching downwards; at night the sign is in a yellow font with a pink outline, the crescent moon remained white. The store stood on the corner of a T-like intersection, The T rotated counter-clockwise, on the upper-right. There were a couple white of tables for two on the outside and many more tables for two inside, visible thanks to the glass windows. These were marble tables carved to have small moon craters sticking out the dome under and the stem. The cushions on the chairs were black.

Isabella looked at the parlor majestically. "Cool place!"

Phineas looked at her, surprised."That's all you can say?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh." He said disappointingly.

"I'm speechless." She followed up.

Phineas gasped in epiphany. "Ohhhh! I get it! C'mon let's go!"

He pulled her to the parlor and Isabella happily jogged with him across the street. Upon pushing the glass door, the bell dings.

Although Coltrane was busy wiping the marble cups clean, he noticed the sound of the bell.

"Welcome to the Lunar Parlor! How may I be of-!" As soon as he turned around his smile widened. "Phineas!"

"Hey Coltrane!" Greeted Phineas.

"How's my favorite Dorito customer doing lately?"

"As fine as a nacho cheese flavor!"

Isabella giggled. "I love nacho cheese Doritos!"

"Oh!" Said Coltrane as he noticed the new girl. He smirks and flirtatiously says "Hello. Who is this?"

Isabella lightly saluted. "Fireside Girl Isabella Garcia Shapiro reporting for duty sir!"

"Wow, a Fireside girl! So… Phineas, I gotta ask… Aren't you a little too young to be on a date?"

Phineas blushed. "We-we're not on a date. We're just best friends!"

"Really? Then why are you holding hands with her?"

The two stiffened. They looked at each other's hands and then looked at each other, shocked. They quickly broke their bond, faced away from each other and hid their hands behind their backs. The two blushed. Isabella started to smile though.

Coltrane, deeply interested, rested his chin on his hand. "You guys having fun?"

The two kids peeked at each other then looked away.

Phineas took a pause. "Well… I-I guess so." He smiled a bit.

"Okay. That's all I need I know. Can I get you guys anything? The usual I guess?"

"Well actually, since I've got a special guest with me, I'd like a banana split."

"Ahaa! You hear that er… Isabella was it?" Asked Coltrane.

"Yeah!" She said cheerfully.

"He called you special." He winked.

The two best friends instantly blushed. Isabella smiled though. She pushed Phineas's arm lightly.

"Awww Stop flattering me Phineas."

"…. O-okay." He said blankly.

Slowly Isabella's face smile faded. "It was a joke."

"What? O-oh!" He chuckled nervously. "Fail…"

"Yeah…." She said awkwardly.

Coltrane whistled. "Someone's a little shy."

"Say Phineas. One banana split?" Asked Coltrane to break the ice.

"Huh? Oh! Two please!"

"Oh. Sorry Phineas but I can only offer one set. There were lots of customers that passed by this morning and I ran out of bananas. I could go to the market, but who'll man the cash register? You'd have to come back later…" Coltrane smirked. "…unless you guys would like to share it."

Isabella smiled. "You wouldn't mind that right?"

"Mind what?" Asked Phineas suspiciously.

"Sharing the split of course!"

"Oh! Not at all! You wanna split it?"

"Yes! Wait, No! I wanna use the same bowl."

"Uhh wouldn't that mean a banana whole, not a split?"

"Technically you call it a split because you cut the banana in half. Ergo…"

"Yeah yeah a banana split." He said, admitting his defeat.

Isabella stuck her tongue out.

"What flavors?" Asked Coltrane.

"Strawberry! Tasty Strawberry!" Requested Isabella.

"One vanilla. The last flavor would be half of each."

Coltrane chuckled. "One order in a bowl then?"

"Yes please!" Said Phineas. "Why don't you choose a table for us Isabella?"

"Sure." She said cheerfully.

Phineas pulled out his two dollars and handed it to Coltrane. When Coltrane held it, he wasn't able to grab it due to Phineas' grip.

"Hey! Coltrane." Whispered Phineas.

"Hmm?"

"C-could I ask you something?"

"Oh! Sure. What is it?"

Isabella happily chose a seat and sat on it. It was a round white marble table for two that had moon designs. When she looked back at Coltrane and Phineas, she got a bit suspicious. Coltrane knelt down to Phineas and the latter whispered in his ear some sort of secret.

"Have you dated anyone lately?" Whispered Phineas.

Coltrane smiled warmly. "Looking for a dating tip?"

"Well… yeah… But don't take it the wrong way! I mean, just because I'm on a date doesn't mean I'm dating her in the sense that she's my girlfriend or…. Anywhere that area. She's just my best friend and that's that."

"Oh? Then why are you dating her?" Asked Coltrane, emphasizing the word "are".

"It's for a patch that Isabella's trying to complete. I promised that I would help her with all of our patches today and… it just so happened that one of the patches involved dating." He stated, embarrassed.

"Do you like like her?"

Phineas blushed. "No! I don't like her I just like like her! No I mean, I don't like like her I just-! She's my best friend! Period!"

He weakly punched Phineas in the arm. "Hey! I'm just messin with ya! So what is it that you really need help with?"

Phineas took a pause. "Well… about everything I guess. I kinda know how it works, I've seen my sister Candace date Jeremy and, looking at Jeremy's perspective, he's supposed to be the one giving flowers, holding her hand, embracing her even… But that's really okay because they're already a couple! But… in my case….." He looked at Isabella.

Innocently Isabella smiled and waved at Phineas while the latter waved and smiled back.

"….Do I really have to do all that stuff? It's really making me…. Ugh."

Coltrane chuckled. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"Really? It's been a long time then since I had you as a customer here."

"Honored to be one in the greatest ice cream parlor in town! But… If you'd actually help me in return it'd make me glad."

"Okay. I'll help. But first, I have a question."

"What's that?"

"Why do you think us teenagers do those stuff?"

Phineas took a moment. "To… Impress the girl?"

"Well… that would be the case if you would want to court the girl."

Phineas had an epiphany moment. "So… If I'm not courting Isabella… I don't have to do those stuff for her?"

"Well yeah! But don't take flowers the wrong way. You can give flowers to any girl just to show how you appreciate that said girl."

Phineas nodded slowly.

"Next question. When I date someone, where do you think I would take that girl for a date?"

"I dunno, somewhere romantic I guess… like… maybe a romantic cruise?"

Coltrane was a bit surprised. "You really think a guy like me could afford two tickets for a 3-day cruise, especially with the current job I have now?"

Phineas chuckled. "I guess not. But you can dream of it!"

"Yeah! I could. But face it kid, this is reality. Take another guess."

"Hmm, a romantic movie?"

Coltrane shook his head defiantly. "I'd hate that. I'd much prefer a horror movie… and so would my date."

Phineas's eyes widened. "Really?!" He said a little loudly.

Coltrane shushed Phineas and the latter covered his mouth.

"Yeah. We think that the cheesy romantic kind of stuff is too much that it becomes lame. I like to take my life to the thrills."

"That sounds like a cool relationship!" He whispered.

"It is! But do you know the real reason why we do those stuff?"

Phineas took a pause. "To… Impress…"

Before he finished Coltrane shook his head.

"Hmmm… I don't know anymore."

"To have fun!" He said softly.

Phineas eyes widened. "So… you date your girlfriend… to have fun?"

"Yeah! We like being together, just the two of us! And we love having fun, just the two of us! I bet you feel the same way with that girl over there, right?" Coltrane pointed at Isabella.

Phineas looked at her. Isabella just waited there at the table looking bored. Her finger is circling the table.

Phineas suddenly found a burst of energy in him. "Thanks Coltrane!"

"No problem! I'll ready your order in a few seconds!"

Phineas quickly ran to the seat in front of Isabella and sat on it.

"What kept you?" Isabella asked.

"Sorry, it's between us only. So what are the patches that we need to complete?"

Isabella pulled out her hand book and laid it on the table. "Well like I said before, we only have ten patches to accomplish. We've got the Dance in the Public Fountain Patch, the Break a World Record Patch, the Wrestle a Bully Patch, the Break Yourself free from Hostage Patch-."

"Woah! Woah! They encourage kidnapping now?"

"Well they encourage us to be daring and fearless. These patches are under the category of Most Daring patches. That includes the First Kiss Patch and the First Date Patch."

"Reasonable." Thought Phineas.

"But you do have a point though. These patches are pretty dangerous. But we've been through a lot of those stuff in the past, so it doesn't faze me a bit. The only problem is the amount of time I have."

Phineas grinned. "It's a good thing you have me then."

Isabella grinned. "Thanks."

"No problem! I mean, what are friends for?"

Coltrane arrived with the banana split containing Vanilla ice cream, Strawberry ice cream, and a combination of both. They both licked their lips, craving for the dessert in front of them.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Coltrane pulled out a bottle of whipped cream and twirled it on top of each scoop. "Just how you like it buddy!"

"Awwww!" They said in amazement.

They're heads were resting on the table and their eyes were so fixated on the heavenly whipped cream.

"Whipped cream." Said Phineas.

"So white." Said Phineas as he scooted towards the cream.

"So sweet." They said together.

They mindlessly, eyes closed, decided to eat it with their mouths alone… but they also came into contact with something mushy in the process. When they opened their eyes, they discovered that that mushy thing was their own lips. Their own eyes shrunk in surprise.

-End of Chapter 2-