"Hi Ivan," said Phineas. "She's Isabella, and I'm Phineas."

Ivan smiled and shook Phineas' hand, "Nice to meet you, Phineas. Nice to meet you, Isabella." He shook her hand a moment longer.

Phineas raised a suspicious eyebrow, and asked, "So how did you learn English?"

"It was an elective at my school, so I took it. I find the language interesting, so I try to speak it at any chance."

"Cool…Do live around here?"

"Yeah, I live right around the corner with my mom and grandparents. My grandpa owns the little grocery store right next to my house." Ivan pointed at the house painted blue, as well as the large open window with the Coca-Cola poster on it.

Phineas, Isabella, and Ivan talked about their classes at school. Phineas asked Ivan what he wanted to do when he was older. At first, he replied that he wanted to be a soccer star, obviously joking. In a more serious tone, Ivan said that his dream was to attend a university in the United States, and become a doctor. He explained, "We young people have no hope of progressing here. If you want to look for opportunities, the first thing you have to do is get the hell out of Juarez. There's just no hope; it's all violence, crime and corruption."

What the guy said sobered Phineas to the reality that kids face in the city every day. The teens talked some more, until Isabella felt like getting a snack. Ivan offered to walk them over to his grandfather's grocery store. Before long, the three each had a bag of Lays chips (called Sabritas in Mexico), sitting on the corner right next to the soccer game.

After a while, some twins had to go back home. This left one team with two players short. The goalie of the team that was missing players invited Phineas and Ivan to play, and they joined in without a hitch. The goals consisted of fairly large rocks and somebody's old sneakers. Before long, they were in the midst of the action, and Phineas ended up scoring a goal. Isabella cheered on the corner, and blew him a kiss. He blushed.

Uncle Robelo had stopped by the house to get some tools, and took notice of the soccer game. He sat next to Isabella and talked to her for a bit. He then went across the street to talk to Ivan's grandfather, who basically knew everybody in the neighborhood. When night fell, the game ended and most of the teens went home. Some stayed around on the side of the street, talking and joking around.

Phineas palled around with Ivan and the guys for a bit, but they were speaking in Spanish. He felt awkward not understanding the conversation, so he walked back across the street towards Isabella. Ivan left the group and joined him. She was sitting on the corner, smiling at Phineas. "Nice game, Phin. And good goalie skills, Ivan."

Ivan had replaced the goalie halfway through the game. He had easily saved about 10 shots. "Thanks Isabella, you were quite the cheerleader."

"Well, I root for my own."

Phineas smiled, "That's a good thing, though. I'd be worried if you were rooting for the other team."

Isabella giggled and winked, "You know I wouldn't."

They mingled for a few minutes, before Phineas said, "Well, it's already dark. We should really go inside. Don't you think so, Izzy?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Phineas shook Ivan's hand, "It was nice meeting you, Ivan. How about we hang out tomorrow in the afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you guys tomorrow then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Isabella called back. They entered the house and went up to their room.

Phineas and Isabella spent a while talking about the day and how they enjoyed it. Phineas asked Isabella what she wanted to do tomorrow. Noticing his language barrier, she automatically suggested teaching him Spanish. He accepted happily, suggesting the lessons should take place in the courtyard. They also talked about their new friend, Ivan. Isabella brought up a question that surprised Phineas.

"You were jealous of him, weren't you?"

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "No, not exactly. Should I be?"

"Of course not, Phin. I only have eyes for you. But I noticed that at first you were kind of suspicious about him."

"Yeah, I guess at first I was a little protective. But it's just a natural reaction. I love you, Izzy, and would protect you from anything and everything."

"I understand, Phin. But I only love you. There's no other man that could come by and sweep me off my feet. Only you have the ability to do that."

He smiled, "I'm glad to be the lucky guy."

They watched the television as they ate cereal. Phineas took the time to look around the room. There was a queen size bed, the couch they were sitting on, and a flight of stairs that led to another room above them. He finished his cereal and walked upstairs. The room was doorless and dark. After turning on the lights, Phineas found another bed and some dressers. A small television with an antenna was sitting atop a small table. A door on the other side of the room led to a bathroom.

Satisfied with his discovery, Phineas turned off the lights and rejoined Isabella downstairs. They talked for a while before growing sleepy.

She asked, "So how are we going to sleep?"

He replied sarcastically, "Perhaps we could try sleeping standing up."

She gave him a joking dirty look, "I'm being serious, Phin."

"Hmm…you sleep on the bed. I will sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure? I mean, it's a queen size bed. We can both fit comfortably."

"Yeah, but we're in your grandparent's house. I don't want them to think we're up to no good."

"I'm sure they won't. I mean, there's only one bed."

"There's another bed upstairs, Izzy."

"Well, I don't want you to sleep up there."

"I don't want to sleep up there either, the room looks kind of creepy. But I'll sleep on the sofa."

She pouted, "Come on, Phin. You played hard today in the soccer game. You're exhausted and need a good rest. The least you deserve is a good comfy bed." Phineas sat in silence, looking at her. She gave him the puppy eyes, "Do it for me, please."

He chuckled and said, "Allright, I'll sleep on the bed." He could never say no to Isabella when she did the puppy eyes.

They soon got dressed into their sleepwear. Isabella changed in the upstairs bathroom. When she came back down, she commented to Phineas that the room was indeed a little creepy for her taste. After some small talk, he turned off the lights. They hugged each other goodnight and slept on opposite sides of the bed, just in case Isabella's grandmother walked in and doubted anything.

As the night went on though, they slowly shifted towards each other in their sleep. It was a mystery to whether this was just chance, or due to a sort of magnetic attraction between the two. What is certain is that before long, Phineas and Isabella were snuggled together, each being the other's complement.