"Toby's got a girlfriend! Toby's got a girlfriend!" Pete sneered. Toby's older half-brother took great delight in making Toby's life miserable however and whenever he could. "Toby's got a girlfriend!" Pete said again.

Toby scowled. He'd been putting up with Pete teasing him about having a more-than-friends relationship with Luna for the past week, and it was getting on his nerves. Day in and day out, whenever they crossed paths, Pete would tease him relentlessly about his friendship with Luna. Pete was making his day miserable, and the loose-lipped nature of Luna's two gossiping sisters, Haley and Phoebe, certainly didn't make the matter any better.

"Toby's got a girlfriend!" Pete persisted. "A snoogy-woogy girlfriend!"

"I do not!" snapped Toby. "Just shut up already!"

"Then why do you hang out with her all the time?"

Toby rolled his eyes. Would Pete ever understand? "Because she's my friend," he answered. "That's what friends do. And that's all she and I are, okay! Just friends!"

"Sure," said Pete sarcastically. "I bet you bring her flowers and poofy girly stuff when nobody's looking. I bet you hang out in the boiler room kissing all day. I bet you two even crawl into bed together."

Toby had been holding his temper in check, but this last jab was too much for him to take. "That's it!" he snapped, jumping at Pete. In seconds, the two were locked in an all-out brawl. It was hardly a fair fight. Even though Toby was in the midst of a growth spurt and had been gaining size and muscle almost daily, he was still no match for his older half-brother. Pete's thick fur put some padding between him and Toby's attacks, but Toby's thinner coat left him vulnerable to every painful blow. Fortunately, the fight only lasted half a minute before a voice with the authority of a trained guard dog rang out.

"Stop!" Both of them froze where they stood. They turned to see Rex, the police chief's dog and Nome's best tracker, approaching them. "That's enough, both of you. Now, break it up."

Toby and Pete shoved each other off. "He jumped me," accused Pete.

"Whatever," retorted Toby. "You were the one who was―"

"Boys, I don't care who started it, I just want it finished. Both of you, stop right now."

Pete growled at Toby. "You're lucky we were in front of your pop's place, you little―"

"Pete, enough is enough," warned Rex, glowering at his stepson. "Now run along home before somebody gets hurt."

Pete snorted and stalked off, grumbling. "Ah, this little pipsqueak isn't worth my time anyway."

"It's a wonder you even bother with me, then," Toby called after him. Pete stopped briefly, then kept walking.

Toby started to leave but Rex stopped him. "Son, what have I told you about fighting?"

"Sorry, Dad," Toby said. "It's just…argh. Pete won't leave me alone! For the past week, he's been teasing me about Luna. He says we're in love and ushy-gushy stuff like that."

"Well, that's no excuse to get in a fight. Besides, who cares what he says? You know the truth, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Toby started to leave. "But either way, I have to go."

"Where to?"

"The storage lot."

"What for?"

"Luna's waiting."

Rex shook his head as Toby took off. "Kids," he muttered.

A short while later, Toby arrived at the lot where he and Luna liked to play, and he saw Luna there waiting for him. "What took you so long?" she asked. "It's not polite to keep a girl waiting."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Toby said. "Pete got in my way."

"Again?" asked Luna incredulously. She knew Toby well enough to know what he wasn't saying. "Toby, that's your third fight this week, and it's only Monday! What was it about?"

"Oh, nothing," said Toby.

Luna shook her head. "Honestly, why do boys have to get into fights all the time?" she asked. "Why can't you have the sense to talk things over like us girls?"

"Ah, girls aren't as tough as guys," said Toby playfully. "Everybody knows that."

"Oh, is that so?" Luna asked slowly. Her ears were perked, sensing a challenge.

"Yes, it is so," Toby replied. "Besides, if both guys and girls talked everything out, what excitement would there be to an argument?"

"Well, I guess maybe boys get more exercise lugging those big, fat heads around," Luna retorted. She tackled him and instantly they were rolling in the dust, whacking and nipping and pouncing like mad. After several minutes, Toby succeeded in pinning Luna on her back. "See?" he asked.

Luna smiled, then jerked her head forward and kissed him right on the nose. When Toby's brain registered what happened, which took all of half a second, he reeled back in disgust. In a flash Luna jumped up and had him pinned to the ground. "Told you," she said smugly.

"Foul!" Toby protested. "Foul! Foul! Foul! No fair kissing!"

"Who said there was a rule against that?" asked Luna, letting him up.

"The guy it was used on," answered Toby. He wiped his paw across his nose. "Yuck!" he said again. "Seriously! Kissing a guy on the nose? That's low."

Luna smiled and stared at his muzzle. "I could aim…about half an inch lower next time," she teased.

"You'd better not." It wasn't so much the fact that Luna had kissed him that bothered Toby as it was that nagging little voice in the back of his mind that asked, Nobody saw that, right? Still, there was something about Luna's smile…

He shook it off. Don't go there, Toby, he told himself. Nothing but trouble.

For the rest of the morning, and even after they went their separate ways at lunchtime, Luna couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. Though she'd only meant it as a distraction, there was something about it that she didn't expect. She realized with a mix of pleasure and nausea that she'd wanted to do that for a long time, but had no idea why. What the heck is happening to me? she wondered.

Later, she happened to bring it up during a chat with her sisters, who were astonished. Naturally, Phoebe promptly blew it out of proportion. "You actually kissed Toby?!"

"It was just a distraction, that's all," Luna said defensively. "There wasn't really anything behind it."

"Yeah, right," said Haley. "Come on, Luna, you can level with us."

"Yeah," added Phoebe. "You don't have to cover it up."

"I'm not trying to cover anything up!" insisted Luna. "What are you trying to say?"

"Don't sweat it, sis," Haley said calmly. "You and Toby would make a great couple."

"Yeah," agreed Phoebe. "He's a real cutie. A lot better than others like that jerk Pete." Pete and Phoebe had broken up after going steady for exactly one day, a typical relationship for both of them in terms of lifespan.

Luna's face started to flush. "I am not in love with Toby!" Then she softened. "But if I were, what would you suggest I do about it?"

"Just tell him straight out," said Haley.

Luna's ears shot up in alarm. "Are you crazy? I couldn't do that."

"Sure you could. Just tell him you like him and that you'd like to go out sometime."

Phoebe shook her head. "No way," she argued. "It's way more fun to just drop a few hints here and there."

"What kind of hints?" Luna asked, curious.

"Oh, like when you see a basket of puppies you should get kind of excited, you know?"

"What for?"

"So he'll know that you're interested in puppies."

"Subtle," Haley commented dryly.

Luna made a face. "I'm not quite sure that's the kind of message I want to give him," she said.

Phoebe gave Luna an impatient look. "Well do you like him or don't you?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "As a friend, absolutely. As a boyfriend, maybe. But definitely not that much."

Phoebe shook her head as if she couldn't figure Luna out. "Anyway," she said, "just little hints like that, you know?"

Luna considered. "Well, I always go over to look at puppies, whether he's with me or not."

"Hmm, okay," said Phoebe thoughtfully. "Then try laughing whenever he says something. And act really wistful whenever another couple walks by."

Luna gave her sister a peculiar look. "That's your advice? He'll think I'm crazy!"

"You got a better idea?" asked Phoebe.

Luna shrugged. "Well, I guess if I get desperate enough, I could try it. For now, I think I'll just wait it out."

"No way," said Phoebe. "You've gotta make your move before someone else does."

Luna scoffed. "Who would bother?" she asked. "Half the girls in town don't look twice at hybrids." Phoebe and Haley looked at each other, then back at Luna with a look that spoke what they were thinking very clearly. "Uh-uh."

"She's right for once," commented Haley. "Luna, Toby is smart, funny, and kind of cute. Just the kind of guy that's bound to draw some attention sooner or later."

"Yeah," Phoebe agreed. "Just because half the girls in town don't give hybrids a second look doesn't mean the other half won't."

Luna laughed. "You worry too much."