Simba couldn't believe Nala had just said that. She had a crush? On Haiba? No, no, no, he must have heard her wrong… That couldn't be true. It shouldn't be true! They were together. The cutest couple who ever lived… Right?

"Uh… Um…" Simba didn't really know what to say. He looked shyly down at his chubby body, and frowned. "Well, I'm sorry," was all he could manage. "I… I guess I'll see you later."

Simba slowly stumbled away, confused beyond belief. Just what the heck did she mean by that? Was this a joke? Some kind of sick, horrible joke between her and Haiba? Because if it was, then it wasn't very funny! It made him want to vomit up his dinner from the previous night. That's why the joke was so sick in the first place! It made him want to wretch!

I… I just don't understand what's going on, Simba thought, a puzzled look on his face. First I'm putting on weight, and now Nala's got a crush on Haib a. Well, she says she has. But it can't b e true… Can it?

Simba tripped down a hill, and landed flat on his face, grunting in pain. He spat out a few blades of grass he had accidentally swallowed. "Stupid grass," he muttered, licking the inside of his mouth to try and get rid of the awful taste.

"Why can't it just go away for a couple of days? It'd be nice to have some dirt to play in…"

Simba didn't bother getting up. Instead, he decided to go to sleep for a little while. Maybe a nice nap will clear up my head, he suggested to himself hopefully. Mayb e it'll allow me to figure things out more clearly. This is all one big mystery…

And what was up with the way he was thinking? He felt like his knowledge had been multiplied by ten. As if someone had taken his old brain, and given him a brand-new one – a new brain that was practically bursting with information. A whole new world had been opened up to him…

Simba closed his eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep – although he didn't know what he was going to do about that annoying itch in his right eye…

"Ah…" Nala felt so happy today. Today was the day. The big day. The most important day of her entire life. Sure, she was only a few months old, and her life wasn't exactly all that long, but it was the thought that counted! "Can you believe it, Haiba?"

She awaited the sweet sound of his voice. Ooh, Haiba… she just loved him. Those blue eyes and that brown fur just made her tingle all over with excitement. A billion butterflies flew around inside her stomach, like they were trying to break free. It felt unreal. The feelings he gave her.

It all started when they first met. It was a good while ago, now. But Nala could still remember the first time they met so clearly.

First of all, no one would be Nala's friend. Sure, Simba was her friend back then, but she needed someone she could trust. A true friend. A friend who she would have something in common with. A friend she could do everything with. A friend who was exactly like her.

So then she met Haiba. It was a funny way for two friends to meet – they had almost ended up killing each other!

But maybe fate had decided that they should meet. Because from then on, they were the best of friends. There was so much for them to do together. There was so much for them to talk about. Haiba was truly the friend Nala had been asking for! He fulfilled all the requirements! Never mind, Simba – this was a friend! Not just some chubby, nerdy know-itall who didn't know how to have fun.

And their friendship grew stronger and stronger with each passing day. And as they got closer and closer, Nala began to have feeling for him. Tender, intimate feelings that just wouldn't go away.

"It's a part of growing up," Nala's mother had explained. "Everyone feels that way when they get to a certain age. It's pretty obvious to me what's happened – someone's got a crush on their best friend."

A crush? Nala couldn't believe it. But that wasn't to say that she hated it, either.

Actually, she loved it! Her feelings for Haiba grew stronger and stronger, and Nala truly thought that she was in love with him. And – she couldn't help but think this – she believed that Haiba was in love with her, too.

He was so handsome! That rugged chest and those bulging muscles… Ooh, she loved the muscles. That was what a real cub was supposed to look like. Unlike her other friend…

Simba was her only other friend. Unlike Haiba, he wasn't handsomely slim, and he didn't have thick muscles. He was nerdy, chubby, and had this rather irritating little tuft on the top of his head. Nala couldn't explain it – she just didn't like the tuft. She always made fun of Simba for it.

He didn't like being made fun of. But Nala had told him this: "Simba, being made fun of is a part of life. Deal with it."

Was that harsh? Yes, but that cub needed to man up, some day! If he wasn't going to do it for himself, then Nala had to help him along. "Why can't you be more like Haiba?" she had asked him one day.

He couldn't come up with an answer, and to be honest, Nala wasn't really all that surprised. She always thought of Simba as… kind of useless. Almost pathetic. She sometimes called him pathetic sometimes, but she didn't know…

There was a part of Nala – deep down in that tiny thing she called a heart – that knew he wasn't pathetic, and that he wasn't useless, and that he wasn't a total waste of space. Her mind sometimes told her that.

But she ignored that part of her brain. There were more important things to think about – like how hot Haiba was! He was so hot, Nala felt like sweating! She just wanted to pin him to the ground, look into those blue eyes and give him a big ol' kiss on the muzzle!

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Today was the day she would confess her feelings to him. Preferably during the sunset. That would be the most romantic time to tell him. She thought that her heart was actually going to melt!

"Can you believe what, Nala?" Haiba asked, giving her his best grin. Man, she was hot! So hot he felt like melting into a puddle! What he wanted more than anything else in the world was to throw Nala to the ground and kiss her right on the muzzle!

That was the sole reason he'd made friends with her. She was hot, and he wanted some kissing action. Other than that, she was just uninteresting. Her head was as empty as the biggest cave in the world, and every time she spoke, Haiba just felt like falling asleep,

But he had to suffer, because there were greater rewards to be had from this. Today was the day when he would confess his love to her. Nala was going to feel the love tonight. He would make sure of it.

"Can you believe we've known each other for three months?" Nala replied.

"I know – feels like for ever," Haiba muttered in response. "But it'll all be finally worth it tonight," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say, Haiba?"

"Oh…" Haiba chuckled sinisterly. "Nothing."