She waited for about a week before doing anything else. During that time, the feelings steadily increased. By the second day her stomach felt funny whenever Toby spoke to her. By the fifth day her head swam when he was nearby. And by the end of the week, her mind exploded with images at the slightest touch from him. Taking into account that they wrestled a lot, her head was kept pretty busy.

Realizing that this was not going to go away, she decided she would rather try the subtle approach than risk a direct inquiry. When-ever Toby said something that was even remotely funny, she burst out laughing. Whenever another couple happened to pass by, she sighed passionately. And if she spied a slippery patch in the snow, she fell against him every time.

The result: Toby started asking if she had suffered any recent head injuries.

After three days, Luna was sick of the ditzy act. For one thing, it was getting her nowhere; which would have been preferable, since Toby kept giving her wary looks like there was some disease he was worried she might give him. For another thing, she hated herself as a ditz. Goofy, giggly, clumsy. This isn't me, she thought. But she still couldn't bring herself to say anything outright.

Finally, sick of being subtle and waiting to see how this thing would play out, she decided to pay her mother Taya a visit and ask for advice. After all, it worked out for her and dad. Then she realized where her mind was going. What am I thinking?

When she answered the scratching at the door, Taya was surprised to see her. "Luna!" she said with a smile. "Come in, come in." She pulled back through the doggy door, and Luna followed her. "What brings you here?"

"Hi, mom," said Luna, wondering how best to explain her predicament. She noticed that her father was also in the room. "Dad, can I talk with mom for a minute?"

Copper looked at her and seemed to guess that this was a females-only matter, and promptly agreed to leave. Luna almost instantly wished she hadn't said anything. Maybe it would have been better to talk to both of her parents about it. But what was done was done, and she couldn't summon the courage to call her father back in.

Taya studied her intently. "All right, so what's wrong?"

"I, uh…need some advice," Luna said hesitantly.

When Luna didn't say anything more, Taya said, "It might be a little easier to give if I knew what you needed it for."

Luna scratched at the floor nervously. "Well, it's about a boy."

"Ah," said Taya, nodding. "I see."

"Now mom, don't go jumping to conclusions!" Luna blurted out.

Taya laughed. "Did I say anything?"

"No, but you were thinking it," said Luna. "I can tell."

"Well, before I go 'jumping to conclusions,' maybe you should explain."

Luna sat down. "Well, there's this guy that I like. You know, as a friend."

"Just as friends?" asked Taya, raising an eyebrow. "Or more than friends?"

"Well, maybe more. I don't know. That's why I came here."

"Does he have a name?"

"Yeah, he's got a name," Luna said evasively.

"Is he anyone I know?"

Luna swallowed. Taya had known Toby almost as long as she had. "He…he might be," she admitted.

Taya nodded, taking it in. "Well, what's he like?"

Luna tried to think of something that wouldn't give it all away. "he's very nice," she said, trying to keep her tone casual. "And he's lots of fun to have around."

"Is he handsome?"

Luna grimaced. She'd never really thought of Toby as being attractive, but now that the thought had come to mind… "I guess he is a little bit," she admitted.

"I see," said Taya. She considered the possibility briefly before it seemed obvious to her, then asked, "Luna, you wouldn't per chance be talking about Toby, would you?"

Luna gasped. "How'd you know?"

Taya laughed. "Well, it didn't exactly take a genius to figure it out. So, does he know?"

Luna frowned. "Well, not exactly." Taya gave her a look. "Okay, so I didn't tell him."

Taya looked thoughtful. "How long have you felt this way about him?"

"About two weeks."

"How did it happen?"

"Well, Toby and I were wrestling―don't look at me like that, mom. We were horsing around, that's all."

Taya smiled. "I'm listening."

Luna rolled her eyes. "We were horsing around and he had me pinned. I wanted to throw him off guard, so…" Her face turned red.

"Go on," Taya encouraged.

"I…kissed him on the nose." Seeing the surprised look on her mother's face, she quickly added, "I only meant it as a distraction, but I kinda liked it. And then I started to feel…I don't know. It was like I'd been wanting to do that and just didn't know it, you know?"

Taya nodded. "Then what happened?"

"Well, I told Phoebe and Haley about it. Haley said I should just tell him straight out that I like him and wanted to go out some-time. But Phoebe said it was better to drop little hints like giggling a lot and leaning against him. I couldn't face the thought of admitting how I felt outright, so I decided to try dropping hints."

"You actually took advice from Phoebe?" Taya laughed. "You do have it bad."

"Mom!"

"Sorry." Taya looked thoughtful. "So now you're considering something more than friendship, is that it?" Luna nodded. "Well, I don't really know what this calls for. Things played out a bit differently for your father and me, so I don't know how much help I'll be. But I can offer you some advice."

"Please, anything would be great."

"First of all, how badly do you want a relationship? Are you unhappy with just being friends?"

Luna thought about it. "No, not really."

"Well, in that case, you might be better off with simple friendship. Going beyond that might put too much pressure on both of you. Not only that, but these things don't just happen on their own. You have to work at it. It wasn't easy for me and your father, that's for sure." Luna nodded, looking a bit glum. "But if you decide that you do want a serious relationship, obviously the first step is to tell him about it."

"Well yeah, but how? Lately I've been scared just to open my mouth around him."

Taya considered. "Well, like I said, your situation isn't quite like mine was, but I've heard of similar cases. I suggest that you start by telling Toby there's a boy you like, see how he reacts to that, then slowly ease into the fact that he's the boy you like."

"But what if he says he's not interested?" Luna asked. Right now, the thought of Toby not wanting to be more than friends was the worst thing she could imagine.

"Well," shrugged Taya, "then there's not much you can do at that point. But at least you'll know, so you'll be free to stop worrying."

Luna's tail dropped to touch the floor. "Very comforting," she said sarcastically.

"Do you have any better ideas?"

Luna sagged. "No."

The next day was, in Luna's mind, the worst day ever. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so nervous. She spontaneously came up with reasons to bump into Toby, then dashed behind the nearest wall and ran just before he knew she was there. But hit-and-run tactics didn't make the issue any easier. In fact, they only made it harder for her to tell him. And she wanted to tell him, more than anything. Her insides were screaming at her to tell him, but still she hesitated. By the time noon had come and gone, she'd finally decided that she was going to tell him, but the one thing that made itself perfectly clear was that she wasn't sure how to tell him. Her heart raced like a horse on steroids and her stomach was tying itself in knots, but she knew for certain that running wasn't going to get her anywhere.

Finally, long after noon, she decided to take Toby for a walk and tell him in the way that her mother had suggested, but was still unsure of exactly how to break the news to him. "Toby," she began. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Okay, shoot," said Toby.

Luna took a deep breath. "I'm guessing you're wondering why I've been acting so weird lately, right?"

Toby pretended to think hard. "Hmm. Let's see here… You've been swaying like a drunk, you've been laughing for no reason, and I've been asking you for days what's up. Yeah, you might say I'm a little curious."

Luna swallowed. "Well, there's this guy I kind of like, if you see what I mean…"

"Uh-oh," said Toby with a grin. "I guess I'd better warn him, huh?"

Luna forced a laugh. "Very funny. But seriously, do you think I've got a chance?"

Although he tried to deny it to himself, Toby was just a little jealous and a lot disappointed. Well, he thought, knowing better than to say it out loud, at least it'll shut Pete up.

"Hello?" Luna badgered. "I asked if you thought I have a chance."

Toby shrugged. "I guess it depends. Who is he?"

Something bordering on panic began to sap Luna's confidence. This was the moment that her mom had told her about, and she still felt like she'd rather run into the hills than tell him directly. Even more now than ever. Finally, she summoned the courage to speak again. She'd intended to say that it was someone Toby might know, but when she opened her mouth, out popped that horrible word: "You."

Toby looked at her sharply. "You're kidding, right?"

Oh, no! thought Luna, trying not to panic and failing miserably. "Well, uh, you see, I, um…"

Toby looked her very hard in the eye. "Luna, please tell me this is some kind of joke."

She took a deep breath. Her whole body itched and shook with nervousness, and her heart was beating a million miles an hour. Here goes nothing. She mentally forced her tail to come out from between her legs. "Well, Toby, I've been thinking about it. We've been friends for a long time now, and I was thinking maybe…"

Oh, please, no, thought Toby. This is not happening.

"I really like you, and…"

Toby had heard all he wanted to hear and more. "Bye!" he said, running off.

"Toby!" called Luna, running after him. "Toby, wait! I…"

But Toby was gone.