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| - "Wow!" the redhead teen exclaimed excitedly, eagerly poking his pointy nose through the pile of rusted capacitors and stretched springs that had flown out of the box that had been flipped in front of him by his smiling father. "wow!" he repeated, his deep, dark blue eyes glinting with fascination and mischief. "Dad! Where'd you find all this?" "Oh, actually it was given to me by a man in a lab coat while I was walking around downtown today during my lunch break at the antique shop. He seemed eager to get rid of it and was quite certain that it was nothing but junk. But, obviously, you've found some new use for it." Phineas looked up from studying the pieces on the rug to grin at his father - not something out of the ordinary. "Well, you know what they say Dad: one man's trash is another man's treasure. Isn't that right Ferb?" he called teasingly across the room to his lounging stepbrother - a tall 5' 9" boy with neatly trimmed green hair (a trait held by no one else in the world, save for his late biological mother) that was rather nicely combed in a fashion so as to not look over groomed and royalty ready but clean enough that he could appear at any high-class party and not be out-stylized. On the bridge of his straight, flat nose sat a pair of thin wire framed glasses with thin lenses that merely gave you the impression that his knowledge was far superior to yours, which, truth be told, it was. On his broad chest he wore a thin and airy beige shirt with a neat collar that barely disguised his muscles. Over the top of the beige shirt he had casually placed a thin purple woolen pull-over vest. To top it off he sported a pair of breezy dark blue mesh-lined sport pants and cleanly polished leather sneakers. Gently, he peered both over the edge of his book and the tip of his nose to glance at his slyly grinning step-brother. He said nothing. And yet, despite the fact that no words had been uttered, both looked away from the other, satisfied with the answers they had gotten. Finished with his conversation with Ferb, Phineas turned his attention to his only-slightly taller father only to find that he had moved over to the corner of the room and was currently grabbing at something behind the sofa. At first curious, Phineas quickly grinned to himself as yet another attempt to seize the animal was foiled with a loud chattering noise. Yes, though Perry had aged slightly and gained weight he was still the energetic, curious and strange animal that Phineas had owned since age one and a half, a belated birthday gift (Phineas' father had insisted to Linda to get Phineas something from his trip for his birthday, despite the fact that it meant waiting) from his biological father who had attended his birthday but left shortly after to work in Australia. To make it up to him, Phineas' father had sent back one of the first domesticated Blue Platypus - a species he and his team had discovered in the Australian outback. Yes, though the Blue Platypus was a lot smaller than the Duckbilled Platypus it was a heck of a lot more energetic… A trait that showed clearly in Perry, Phineas thought as yet he watched another swipe of his father's arm behind the couch followed by a bucking of the couch and an angry chatter. "Oh Perry!" Lawrence exclaimed as yet another attempt was rebuked, "don't you want a hug?" "*chatter*" came the reply from under the couch and Phineas laughed to himself again. Absentmindedly, Phineas picked up another object from the pile and began to fiddle with it as he watched his father leave the room in amused frustration to pursue a different endeavor while Perry slipped quickly and quietly out from behind the couch and through the open sliding door, looking fearfully left and right as he went. As he watched this amusing spectacle Phineas laughed to himself again. "Oh Perry… where do you go?" he asked the thin air previously inhabited by the small furry blue mammal. At his remark Ferb looked up from his book for a second time to smile slyly. "Hey, where's Perry?" he asked somewhat jokingly. Phineas laughed again and the object he had been fiddling with flew out of his momentarily uncontrolled hands to land with a soft thud on the thickly carpeted floor in front of Ferb. Curiously, he picked it up and held it in front of his face, keenly peering at it while stroking his chin. After a few more seconds of silent observing while Phineas watched Ferb he tossed it back to Phineas and returned to his book. As he sat back down and opened it however, he popped the question "what is that?" 'A very good question indeed' thought Phineas as he caught the airborne object and held it in front of his face just as Ferb had done while peering at it for the first time since grabbing it. Though Ferb had no clue as to what the thing was (though he didn't show it in the slightest) to Phineas it was strangely familiar. Where had he seen it before? Chapter 2: Baby Phineas Gets a Friend Suddenly, Phineas remembered in a flood of memories that took him back in time to a cool autumn afternoon, a slight chilly breeze whistling through the red, yellow, orange and brown leaves and branches of the tree in their backyard. One year-old Phineas Flynn sat in his backyard, a fluffy blue coat cozily and carefully draped over his small shoulders as he sat in a pile of freshly raked leaves. Beside him, leaning on his rake, a serene smile playing on his kind face while the wind ruffled his striking red hair that hung in tufts around his head, stood his father. "Daddy!" the little boy screamed in delight as he threw another handful of leaves into the air and watched them float down, "maw leaves! Maw leaves!" His father smiled again before moving over to another corner of the backyard he hadn't raked and scooping up a large pile of leaves before walking over and dumping them on the little boy while he shrieked in delight and amusement. "leaves, leaves!" he giggled, throwing more in the air. Yes, his father was very proud of Phineas, he could certainly talk a lot more than the other one year-old kids! Phineas' father didn't spoil him, but in the autumn who could bypass such frivolity? Another laugh from the boy brought the man out of his stupor and he sighed before raking up more leaves and dumping them on his son. He sighed once again, to think! In only twenty-four hours he would be boarding a plane to Australia! He would be having an adventure Down Under for another two years (something from which he unfortunately did not return, Phineas always afterwards felt that his father lived on through Perry). He didn't want to leave his family just yet though, they had only just been reunited after his last trip to South America. They were all happy! With both Candace, Linda and Phineas celebrating their birthdays during the recent summer. Candace had only just started school with him dropping her off for her first day only six days previously, now they were going to be split up again! At that moment he heard they sliding door swing open with a joyous cry of "Papa!" as his oldest child and only daughter enveloped him, as best she could, in a crushing hug. "Candace, slow down!" he chuckled while she drew away giggling apologetically. "Sorry" she mumbled. Her father laughed and ruffled her hair, "where's mummy?" he asked the little girl. At this she squealed and grabbed her father's hand before dragging him in the house to find Linda putting her purse down while talking animatedly to a broadly smiling Hispanic woman. Upon hearing her daughter squeal "mom!" she turned to see her husband and daughter standing in the door. "Oh hello dear, how was your day? And how's Phineas?" "Oh the day was fine, I did rake up the yard." he chuckled, "Phineas had fun with that… actually, I think he's…" "who's dat?" interrupted the little boy standing in the doorway, pointing at the strange lady whom his mother had been talking to. Blinking in surprise, the adults laughed while Phineas looked on in confusion. "what's so funny?" he asked curiously. At this his father bent down to look him in the eyes. "nothing Phineas, just grown-up humor. Anyway, this is…" he looked curiously at his wife. "Oh, this is Vivian, Garcia-Shapiro. I met her at the parents' meeting today and invited her over." she introduced the woman. "hola" the woman smiled. Little Phineas peered curiously at her for a few seconds before his face broke into a smile and he waddled to hug her leg. "you look fun!" But as he ran to hug her he spotted movement behind her and stopped cautiously. Then, still holding her mother's legs, a small girl with jet black hair and deep, dark blue eyes wearing a pink sweater that was slightly too big for her and a nervous expression on her face, crawled out from behind her. Gingerly, she inched her way toward the now-sitting Phineas until she sat in front of him and stared at him intently. Then, quite suddenly, the boy piped up. "I'm Phineas!" he said proudly. He grinned at her and the girl felt a strange twinge. She felt she should do something so she replied. "I-I Izabella" she answered, over emphasizing the 'z' sound in her name. Phineas grinned at her again, "I like Isabella!" he laughed, the girl laughed too and then found her hand in the boy's. "Phines?" she mumbled, mispronouncing his name. Straining her brain for words with which to ask the question she fazed out until she felt something in her hand. Looking down she found that Phineas had put a bolt with a nut tightened around it into her hand. "Wat dis?" she asked questioningly while the boy smiled again, he did that a lot. "it's for you!" he grinned. As the girl continued to stare at it Phineas experienced a moment of hesitation, perhaps she wanted something else? Wondering what to give her instead, Phineas saw the staircase they were next to and began crawling up it. Following him, Isabella kept fiddling with the metallic object in her hand until she found herself at the top of the staircase with Phineas nowhere in sight. "Phineas?" she asked unsurely, looking around, hoping to catch a sight of him. Then, from behind, she felt something plop on her head. "there!" the little boy shouted. Pushing the fabric out from under her eyes, the girl crawled to the mirror in the closest room. When she got there, followed closely by the boy, she gasped at her reflection. In the mirror sat a small girl in a pink sweater that was slightly too large for her. Her medium length black hair curtained around her fair face but was tied in a small ponytail at the back. But the thing that surprised her most was the big pink bow that was planted on top of her head and the grinning boy behind her. The bow was quite large and flopped on her head, it probably wouldn't fit her properly until she was older. Standing open-mouthed she reached up to feel the bow and patted it softly before spinning herself slowly around to face the boy. "for you!" he cried excitedly. Then, for the first time since she had met him, the girl reciprocated his smile and enveloped him in a hug. Just then, the two were startled by the flash of a camera and became aware of the three adults (and an older girl) standing in the doorway, a camera in the hand of his mother. "that's so cute!" she exclaimed, beaming happily while Vivian cooed and Phineas' father knelt in front of him. "you two friends ay?" he asked, still grinning. The young boy nodded excitedly, "bestest friends!" he exclaimed happily, while the girl blushed, "forever!" His father laughed and Phineas smiled along with him. "gonna marry her ay?" he grinned. Phineas' smile turned to a look of confusion, "huh?" he asked. His father chuckled and ruffled his hair before standing up "never mind." he laughed. Phineas still looked confused for a minute before he appeared to shrug it off and turned to his new friend. "so what are we gonna do?" he asked her breezily while he leaned back and grabbed his toes. The girl looked thoughtful for a moment before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, clear pink stone. Gently she reached over and grasped Phineas' hand with both of hers while gently pressing the stone into his palm. "for you" she whispered. The boy looked curious and the girl drew back to sitting in front of him. As she withdrew Phineas slowly glanced down into his outstretched hand at the gem that now resided there. Inquisitively he pulled it out of his hand with his other and held it in front of his face to eye it. It was a hard, clear glass stone with the letters 'I.G-S.' carved into it and a pink tinge that, had it been a drink, would have made it instantly devoured. It was a most delightful little trinket and it pleased the boy, "Isabella!" he cried happily, hugging her again which she gladly reciprocated, still unsure of the odd feeling in her chest. It was this stone that Phineas, in his since calloused and abused hands, now held up to his scanning blue scrutiny. A tear came to his eye as he remembered and wiped it away before regaining his composure and turning to Ferb. "I know what this is!" he said excitedly while his brother half-heartedly looked up to acknowledge that he had heard him and to tell him to continue. Yes, Ferb loved his step-brother dearly, but the simple fact remained: they weren't the same person. Not that this was a bad thing, everyone was different, individual. But that also meant that each would have quirks, some more, some less, that would annoy the other to no end. In Phineas' case it was the fact that he found almost everything interesting, to him they would all be important. That wasn't to say he was selfish, far from it, but he valued everything too immensely and wanted to make sure it was properly treated so that everyone, present and future, would be able to enjoy it. For Ferb's part, he couldn't care less about another colored stone or dented nut, they had enough of them laying around both from their projects and from their sister's childhood. Of course there were a select few objects that Ferb found to have sentimental value, his mother's locket and pictures of his very young youth in Britain for example. But the word 'select' was in there for a reason. Ferb chose what he valued and what he thought was worth investing time in. Colored rocks were not at the top of his list. "this is the stone Isabella gave me when we first met! When we were one and a half. I can't believe I lost it!" he exclaimed, "weird, huh Ferb? I wonder how it ended up in this box." Ferb really didn't care, he just wanted to get back to his book. It was a good one, a nice and ensnaring novel with plenty of twists, a juicy storyline and a colorful set of characters. Besides that, he had planned to go find Vanesssa and, as much as he loved his brother and despite the fact that they did everything together, he wanted some alone time or time alone with her. He couldn't get that with Phineas around and he needed someone to keep him distracted, someone to go in his place. Ferb figured it would probably be Isabella, even if it wasn't amorous frivolity they were pertaining in. Chapter 3: Friendship Questioning And at that moment Ferb got his reprieve. "Phineas!" came a cry from the hall as their older sister walked briskly towards thecouch that Phineas was lounging on. "yes Candace?" he asked her. Candace's eyes turned soft as she set them on him and she almost whispered the next words. "I need your help." Phineas nodded solemnly, "sure Candace. Ferb and I'll…" but he was cut off. "no, just you Phineas, I think you'll be more help. Besides, I think Ferb's wanting some alone time." Phineas nodded and they both set off, Cabdace leading. Yes, he supposed it was a biological sibling thing. 'Finally' Ferb thought as they disappeared from view. It was true, Ferb did badly want some alone time and now he had it. 'But what to do with it?' he thought as his eyes scanned the page, not really taking any of the words in, his mind was preoccupied. Finally deciding on his course of action, Ferb folded a corner on the page of his book, gently laid it on their new coffee table and set off to the garage to get his bike before riding off downtown. At the same time, Candace and Phineas sat in her old, sickeningly pink, room on her cleanly sterilized now-white bed. Candace looked down, though slightly more than usual. Phineas' look became one of concern and he looked at her intently, what could he do to cheer her up? "so Candace, what did you want me to help you with?" Phineas asked, deciding that he couldn't solve the problem if he didn't know what it was. Candace looked up at him, pleading with her eyes and then spoke. "I'm having some friendship trouble" she stated and looked down at her feet again. Phineas blinked and then patted her, encouraging her to go on. "I met this girl called Vanessa…" "and that's what the problem is? Vanessa?" Phineas interupted. Candace shook her head, "oh no, Vanessa's just fine. It's just that… she asked me something, out of the blue, something innocent. And it just made me begin thinking until it led me to question my friendships. So, I just wanted reassurance." "Oh Candace! Like I've said many times before, you're a great person! You shouldn't be worried about how people find you!" "no, that's not the problem. I'm questioning my feelings for them, is it real?" "Well think about what life would be like without them and what you would do to get them back. I probably don't have to explain more" Candace nodded thoughtfully, "thanks Phineas, you really helped!" she cried, bringing him into a bug. "aw, it was nothing, Candace. What are brothers for?" "no, thank you. And thank Ferb too, after all, he is your best friend and step-brother." And with that, she hopped out the door to rejoin her twenty year-old social life leaving a thoughtful Phineas in her wake. He was still pondering over her last remark. Despite the advice he had given her, he was now unsure of what friendship was. Was Ferb his best friend? He liked to think so, but in his heart he felt that referring to Ferb as such was not right. Ferb was something more than a best-friend; a step-brother certainly, but in terms of friendship, Ferb was simply… Ferb. He couldn't find any better words to describe it. Than if Ferb wasn't his best friend, than who was? He supposed it would be Isabella. Isabella was his best friend. It would make sense, wouldn't it? After all, she was his oldest friend, but did that make her his best friend? He supposed it did. Did that mean he had no other friends? He certainly didn't feel the same way about Buford, Baljeet or Jango as he did about Isabella. Perhaps it was because she was his best friend… but that didn't seem right. For one thing, he had always thought that the difference between a 'friend' and a 'best friend' was just stronger feelings, the same ones, but stronger. And two, it was ridiculous that Baljeet, Buford and Jango weren't his friends, he cared for them very much. But than what was Isabella to him? It was funny, he had always felt differently about her but had never asked himself that question. In all their years of 'friendship' Phineas had not once pondered what Isabella meant to him; he had always referred to her as a friend, despite the fact that it never felt right to him. He just felt different around her. She made him feel different. He just couldn't find words to describe what he felt and yet he was sure that they were out there, he couldn't be the first person to experience this, could he? But, then again, it was a ridiculous idea to spend the whole day turning pages of a dictionary to try and find the one word that perfectly described his predicament. But what did he feel about her? He felt different around her; she wasn't a friend, that much was certain to him, but what exactly she was was a mystery to Phineas. His brain was almost aching at trying to deduce his emotions for her. It was cruel irony, the emotions that the brain had created were now baffling it to no end. Phineas shook his head to clear his thoughts. Chapter 4: Feelings are Not Mathematics What was she? She was pretty, cute, funny, smart… but those were all observations, not his opinions of her. But she was also ambitious, courageous, an excellent friend, a great leader… once again, observations. He shook his head again, this time in frustration. He was giving himself a migraine just thinking about it. Why did emotions have to be so complex and mysterious? Phineas overwhelmingly preferred maths, chemistry, physics and music. Almost yelling in frustration, Phineas jumped off his sister's bed and ran down the stairs to get a glass of water from the kitchen, perhaps it would help him think… and besides, Ferb was down there, maybe he could help. Phineas' hopes of help from his brother were dashed when he found the empty living room. However, he forced himself to put on a smile before getting his water as he had originally intended. 'Besides' he reminded himself, 'even though we're brothers we're not meant to be together all the time.' Again, he stretched out on the couch and contemplatively sipped his water, occasionally swirling it as if to give his thoughts a swirl. Again, he was plagued by the question 'what do I feel about Isabella?' he groaned. Then, he sat up quickly, he was Phineas Flynn! He was not going to laze around and he was not one to groan, ever. These thoughts cheered him up a great deal and he lay calmly back down on the couch, massaging his temple with one hand and sipping the water with the other. Jeez… this was, by far, the hardest problem he had ever come across. For others it may have been easy, not so for Phineas. 'I've come across math problems that have stumped great mathematicians and solved them, but this, this is obviously not maths.' he thought to himself. Isabella was just… just… what was she? What did he feel about her? He massaged his temple again and a surge of clarity rushed through him momentarily. He loved her. That was it, he loved her. But then another question was brought to his attention. 'what kind of love?' what kind of love indeed! The English definition of love was ambiguous and didn't help at all. He needed more specific definitions. Phineas knew the Greeks described four kinds of love and wondered whether those might help him. There was agápe: almost synonymous with the modern English word love, having many meanings. There was éros: love romantically, true love, love of a spouse, love sensually. The there was philia: brotherly love, love for ones family, friendly love, love of a friend. This was certainly what he felt for his family, his friends. And finally there was storge: simply affection, even as low as simply putting up with something. Agápe was too vague for Phineas, it simply led to the same question again. Then there was storge and Phineas knew it wasn't right, Isabella was higher, not lower, than friendship. That left two, éros and philia. Phineas thought hard, did he love her as a friend but… more? Or did he love her… romantically love her. It was confusing. Phineas rubbed his head and stretched. As he stretched he thought about it, éros or philia. How did he love her? And then two memories flooded his brain. Memories that would normally have been forgotten. Magical memories, twinkling ones that he had barely ever experienced before. As they erupted inside his brain he flew through time and space until, once again, he was back at that chilly late-September afternoon. It was warm in the house. Around him were the smiling faces of his parents, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro and Candace. Next to him was little Isabella. Little Phineas watched as his father bent down in front of him, a broad smile creasing his careworn face. Phineas smiled at him, "you two friends ay?" he asked, still smiling. That was it! Isabella was his friend! It was so simple! He felt so happy inside. He also felt very strongly for this girl, he didn't know why; she was his first friend, he hadn't had any before now, perhaps this is how you should feel toward friends. He nodded with his excitement at gaining a new friend, "bestest friends!" he shouted gleefully, releasing the excitement he held in his chest before he added hastily "forever!" causing his father to smile even more at his son's happiness, "gonna marry her ay?" he chuckled. At this remark Phineas felt just as puzzled as he had upon first hearing it, although now it brought some clarity to him. But before he could ponder it the scene was twinkling before his eyes and it was gone. Then once again Phineas was flying until he found himself in a bare, blue, darkly painted room. Around him in the room was a thick, pearly white fog that obscured everything except… he turned. There was Isabella, looking forward, into the fog, at something he could not see. "uh, Major Monogram?" she addressed the unseen figure. From he fog came a gruff voice, "uh, yes?" This didn't make any sense to Phineas. Who was Major Monogram? What was this place? He couldn't ever remember being here before. Perhaps it was a dream he had had. That would make a heck of a lot of sense to him, but somehow he felt that this had actually happened. But nothing here was familiar! "is it true that we won't remember anything from today?" she asked the fog again, glancing at Phineas for a second. "that's right" came the reply. That would make sense then. If Phineas had had his memory wiped than of course he wouldn't remember this! But still, what was he doing here? He felt sure that, when it had actually happened, there were other people here. Where were they? Why were only he and Isabella here? Quietly, Isabella turned, "good" she responded before turning fully to face Phineas and pressing her lips against his. 'Oh my gosh!' thought Phineas, 'why is she doing this? It doesn't make any sense! And yet it feels so…' "Isabella!" he cried involuntarily as her lips parted from his. Had Isabella ever done that to him? It didn't seem likely, but a part of his brain said that she had. 'But that's ridiculous!' Phineas thought, 'she would never kiss me!' he told himself. Again, he felt his mouth involuntarily moving, "wait! Wait! Wait…" it trailed off as he watched the scene dissolve before him and found himself standing in the living room again, on his feet instead of the couch. And then it hit him. Smack between the eyes. For the first time in his life, Phineas experienced true clarity… and it was bliss. "Éros!" he shouted, again involuntarily. It was so obvious, how could he have been so stupid? It wasn't that hard was it? It was simple, he was in love with her. No, he wasn't in love with her, he was smitten with her, or more! And he always had been! He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down on the couch. 'What a revelation!' he thought to himself humorously. His first priority was to tell Ferb, he needed to know. Ferb was his step-brother and they shared everything together. Just as he was about to reach for his cellphone however, Phineas drew back. Ferb was having his alone time and it would be selfish of him to interrupt that, he could wait and he'd tell Ferb when he got home. Second priority was to tell Isabella. She was his friend and needed to know. Besides, even if it was only one-sided Isabella was his friend and Phineas knew she would accept it so they could continue with their normal lives. Stretching happily to himself, Phineas rubbed his head again, it hurt badly. 'best not to attempt that again anytime soon' he told himself as he grabbed some aspirin and rolled out a set of blueprints on the table to occupy him for the day. Chapter 5: Tightening Screws Phineas tightened screw number 145 for a second time with his number 3 torx screwdriver and stood back for a second time. 'Still not right!' he berated himself as he leaned forward and unscrewed it for a second time while glancing down at the blueprints he had drawn up that lunchtime. 'Man! Building these things is a heck of a lot easier with Ferb around!' he thought as he tightened the screw again. Again, he leaned back and sighed. It still wasn't properly screwed in! Phineas was about to slap himself again when he stopped, took a breath and regained both his composure and his smile. Looking down at the blueprints for a second time he looked closely at the screw he was tightening, number 145, it said. And that was when it struck Phineas, something wasn't right about screw number 145. If he had designed this properly, and both logic and experience would dictate that he had, than screw number 145 should be one inch to the left. He stared hard at the blueprints for a few minutes before he threw himself back onto the couch and laughed. He had been so stupid! He had been screwing screw 145, a wide grip heavy notch torxwood screw, into hole number 146, designed for screw 146, a wide grip light notch flathead screw. He laughed at his foolishness, screw number 145 was for the inside of the machine, the wooden strut, and the blueprint was showing a cutaway. He looked to the right and found a small marker labelled 'hole 146, screw 146c' in the exact place he was screwing. Phineas was about to laugh at himself again when he heard a car horn honk outside followed, in quick succession, by the scrap and grind of thick rubber on the concrete and gravel of their driveway. He grinned to himself, stood up from the couch, stretched, yawned, wiped the bits and pieces of himself, cleared a path through the pile of 'junk' his father had bought him that morning and walked over to the door to greet his parents. As he walked over and turned the lock on the door he heard the car door close and the boot pop open. Upon opening the door he found his mother standing smiling to herself while she watched her husband try to haul an antique radio out of the trunk. Phineas laughed to himself before he ran to help his father, "here Dad! Let me help!" "oh thank you, Phineas, you're a life saver!" he uttered while he attempted another fruitless effort to move the radio out. Within minutes of Phineas' 'rescue' the radio was moved out of the car and Phineas and his father were sitting at the table discussing what they did during the day while Linda bustled around preparing dinner. "so were's Ferb?" Lawrence asked Phineas while he lounged back in his chair sipping a coffee. Phineas looked up from his glass of iced water to gaze at his father. "you know, that's the funny thing. I've been sitting at that coffee table all day building my machine and I haven't received one call from Ferb, ever since he disappeared during my talk with Candace." Phineas shook his head and smiled, "I have to wonder what he does when he's away from me. It'd be interesting, no?" At that moment Phineas heard a chime ring from outside as a bike swiftly and powerfully drew up beside the garage. Phineas chuckled, "speak of the devil" and walked over to the sliding door to get a better look. He saw the tallish green-haired boy disembark from his bike and wave to him to open the garage door which Phineas did. Moments later he walked through the garage door to the house and sat down at the table. "hello Ferb, have fun today?" Linda asked, turning from her roast dish for a second to eye her son. Ferb simply raised a thumbs-up and smiled appreciatively before turning to his father and brother, one of whom was leaning on the chair next to him instead of sitting down. "that's good" Linda commented before swiftly opening the oven with her foot and, in one fluid motion, shoving the meat in with both hands. Phineas and Lawrence clapped at the performance and Linda smiled while brushing off her apron and sitting down at the table. "So, Summer Vacation's just started, what do you boys plan to do tomorrow?" Linda asked. Phineas and Ferb exchanged a look for a few seconds before turning back to their mother. "I'm not exactly sure, what about you Ferb?" Phineas replied. Ferb shrugged noncommittally and leaned back in his chair, stretching his rather sore back. Phineas thanked God for his brother's silent nature and turned back to face his mother. "why do you ask, Mom?" "Well, I was wondering if you boys would be interested in the Mid-Summer Festivals just outside Danville. Vivian told me about them and they sound like great fun. Besides, Candace is coming, as well as me and your father, so if you two came it would be a whole family event." "that sounds great Mom! What about you Ferb?" Ferb nodded in Phineas' direction while he rested his chin on his hands. "that's great! What time is it?" "well, the festivities start at 9:00 and the parade runs from 10 till 11:30. But, Vivian told me that half the fun is actually setting up because of all the pieces of equipment and parts that you normally don't get to see. Of course, Candace didn't think that sounded interesting and decided to arrive later at 11:00 with Jeremy, but you two are welcome to leave with us at 7:30" Once again, Phineas and Ferb exchanged a look which was missed by their parents. Ferb cleared his throat, "if it's okay with you, we'll bike over later at, say, 9:00." he answered. Both parents nodded in acceptance and Linda stood to get the meal out of the oven. Within a few minutes (with help from both Ferb and Phineas) their dinner of Thai lemon garlic roast beef cutlets with curried gravy (an interesting find of Ferb's when hunting in the multicultural section of the supermarket which Linda had agreed to try) and mash potato; a strange meal indeed, but nonetheless enjoyable. As dinner progressed the table fell silent, only perforated with compliments from the rest of the family for Linda's cooking and requests for various condiments. Eating silently, Phineas began to experience something very odd. In his head swam an image of Isabella, teasingly dancing out of his grasp or control and playfully tempting and baiting him while he ate. It was driving him insane! He had to concentrate to stop himself slipping off into an Isabella-centric dreamland in which she danced and frolicked free of restraint from his ordered and disciplined mind. It hurt and he so badly wanted to sit and daydream about her but he knew he couldn't. But he couldn't stop thinking about her! This wasn't something new to him, no, definitely not. The problem was that, ever since his revelation, she was the only thing he could think about. Before, he had been able to multitask and think about two things at once, Isabella and whatever project he was working on. Now he had been struck with Isabella-fever. He couldn't understand it, how could anyone be this in love? And that raised another question: if he was this much in love, how come it had taken so long to figure it out? Thankfully, no one was noticing; if, by 'no one,' you meant Lawrence. Though Phineas was unaware of it, his mother had caught on quite swiftly to his odd behavior and was eyeing him keenly. It was both a mother-sense and a genetic trait, one that she was sure she had passed to Candace. Phineas was aware, however, that Ferb was watching him and was suspicious. Eventually, the silence at the table was broken by Linda. "Phineas, dear. You're not eating, is something wrong?" she asked. Phineas looked up, smacked his lips and put on a smile only to find that quite a large one was already there. "no Mom. I'm fine, I've just been doing a lot of thinking today." Ferb wasn't convinced and knew his step-brother was lying, he just wasn't sure whether he should interrogate now, in front of their parents, or later, alone. However, the choice was made for him as Linda spoke again, apparently not convinced. "Oh Phineas, though I know you both smile and think a lot, you're usually a whole lot more talkative at the table despite both." 'Darn! She has me there, did my eyes give me away? I suppose they did. Perhaps I can convince her otherwise, I'm not ready to tell them yet' he thought, but in vain. As he was about to open his mouth Ferb cut in, "what's wrong?" he asked. 'Drat!' thought Phineas, he could lie to his parents, though he never did it for his own gain, but he had never lied to Ferb. No, Phineas had never lied to his step-brother and he wasn't about to start now. He was going to tell him anyway, so why not now? His parents would accept it and he had nothing to be afraid of. "Well," he began, "today I was looking through that box of stuff you gave me Dad, it was really fun, and I found something that I began to fiddle with, not realizing what it was. When it was brought to my attention by Ferb, I realized it was the stone that Isabella gave me when we first met. This got me thinking, thinking a lot, I got a migraine afterwards, and I realized something. Something really important. Well, I think… I think I'm in love with Isabella." There! He had said it! The words had felt strange and unused in his mouth but he had said them. And, though he had repeated them in his head many times that day, saying them out loud added a sense of realism to the fact. He was in love with Isabella. He was in love with Isabella! Even thinking about it gave him a sense of excitement. 'So this is what being in love feels like!' he thought to himself. Lawrence and Linda sat silent for a moment at the table while the words sunk in until both their faces broke into huge smiles and Linda stood up to hug her son. "Oh, how wonderful Phineas!" she exclaimed and hugged him again, not caring about the fact that he was already slightly taller. "Calm down Mom," Phineas chuckled as he sat back in his place, turning to Ferb who gave him a thumbs up. Once Linda had calmed herself down a bit she took a bite of cutlet and Lawrence looked at Phineas. "so when are you going to tell her?" he asked. Phineas knew this question had been coming but he didn't dread it anymore, after the initial hurdle of confessing his love for her, telling them when he was going to tell her didn't seem as much of a challenge. He was beginning to feel like the boy he had woken up as this morning and he was confident again, he was Phineas Flynn! He could do anything! "tomorrow, hopefully. She's my friend and she needs to know. I'm not keeping secrets from her. Even if she doesn't love me in return, or doesn't want to start a relationship, she's my friend and she'll accept it." "that's very grown up of you Phineas." Linda told him proudly, "I know that, if it was me, I wouldn't have had the courage to tell them." Phineas smiled heartily at his mother's words and grabbed his plate to dump it in the kitchen. "thanks Mom, that means a lot to me" Linda smiled warmly and, as Ferb put his dish in the sink, added "now off to bed with you!" she chuckled, "though Phineas may just have confessed his love that doesn't give you the excuse to stay up late!" Phineas laughed, "Ok Mom" and started up the staircase followed quietly by Ferb. They entered their room and Phineas flopped on his bed, feeling the soft linen sheets and drinking the smells and sounds that he knew so well… but, somehow, everything to him seemed a hundred times better. He was sure there was some sort of scientific explanation that Ferb or Baljeet would have for it but he was too enamored with Isabella to think about it. Maybe another time, when he was sober. And then Phineas was broken out of his trance by a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Ferb sitting on the bed while he lay next to him. Phineas yawned, "hey Ferb, some day, huh?" Ferb nodded, thinking about the time he had spent with Vanessa, but then turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Phineas, I just want you to know, when you tell Isabella tomorrow, I'll be with you all the way." Phineas nodded sleepily, "thanks Ferb. That means a lot to me, you've been a great step-brother. Thanks." and, with that, he promptly fell into a rather explicit dream about Isabella. "Goodnight Phineas" Ferb chuckled before he moved over to his own bed and fell into a similar dream about Vanessa. Chapter 6: He Has… Clarity Quickly and quietly, the early summer sun crept up above the dusty planes of the night, its rays pushing away the darkness that clouded the city and sparkling off the cool, fresh, crispy dew that had been laid the night before by the sparkling clouds of mist that had swirled around the streets. These golden rays lit up everything and warmed up the birds and animals slumbering in the bushes and trees. Gently, the cooing of a dove relieved the silence and brought a sense of calm to the world. As you got used to the dove you became aware of the soft beating and chirping of the crickets which perforated the music of the doves. Steadily other animals awoke and added their noises to the orchestration until the cacophony was in full swing. And yet it wasn't this that awoke Phineas, no, he had awoken as the first rays of light hit his shining oak floor. Why he always awoke like this was a mystery, to him and everyone else, and he figured that it was just the way of things. Immediately after, he leaned over and gently flicked the off button on his alarm clock then turned to find Ferb standing next to his bed and stretching. "oh, hey Ferb! Sleep well?" Ferb turned to face him, he thought a bit and remembered the dream he had had. No, he wasn't proud of himself for imagining her like that and, if anyone ever asked (not that they would, how would they know?), he would blame it on hormones. He blinked at his brother, did he have a good sleep? 'In a manner of speaking, yes' he thought to himself. Phineas grinned, "don't worry bro, it's the don't ask don't tell rule. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." he answered in response to Ferb's guilty look, a rare slip in his complexion. Ferb raised an eyebrow and Phineas chuckled heartily, "c'mon, Mom's probably got breakfast." he beckoned him. After both boys had changed from their night clothes to their outfits for the day (Ferb sported the same outfit as the day before though he done his best to make it look spiffy by adding a bow tie to the front, exchanging his casual button-up tee for a long sleeved, crease-free one and swapping the sport pants for neatly ironed grey suit pants. Phineas, on the other hand, had gone for the sporty and wore a long-sleeved undershirt, a pale orange tee shirt, black jeans and dark brown running shoes) they made their way downstairs to the table where Lawrence sat with his usual cup of tea. "Morning boys!" Linda greeted them as they walked into the kitchen to grab the assorted bowls and cereal. "Hey Mom! Have you had breakfast already?" Phineas asked. His mother nodded, "yup, I'm just cleaning up and waiting for your father" she gestured to where Lawrence sat reading a copy of The Daily Telegraph which Ferb had procured for him on their last trip to England (which had been the weekend before after Phineas had remembered that he'd left a special tool of his at their grandparents'. Lawrence still had no idea where they had got it from but didn't ask questions). Phineas smiled at the memory of their (his and Isabella's) adventure there until he turned to face his mother again. "so what should we do after you leave?" he enquired. Linda sucked thoughtfully on her finger before she answered, "well, just stay out of trouble, we're leaving the house unlocked. If you need anything, call me or your father, one of us can drive the car back. Here's the map" she handed a sheet of paper to Ferb, "and the keys" she gave a pile of keys to Phineas, "right. Now, you're father and I are driving across the road to pick up Vivian, Isabella's coming over here" she winked at Phineas, "and will bike over to the festival with you if she wants to. If not, you can leave her at Candace's house when you bike over there, if she still doesn't want to come Candace can drop her off at Katie's house, it's close by." Phineas and Ferb both nodded, drinking in and memorizing her words as they mentally notarized her instructions (Ferb would, soon after, physically notarize them). "ok. That's everything, I think. And… oh! Boys, when you leave for the festival, please stop by your sister's and leave the keys with her. Ok…" at this they heard a shout from outside, "come on honey! We'll miss the pudding tasting!" Lawrence shouted from the car, none of them had noticed his absence (this trait seemed to have been passed down to Ferb). Linda laughed before quickly grabbing her purse and planting two wet kisses on each of the boy's cheeks, "see ya boys! Love ya!" and she was off. "so Ferb. Now that we've got the house free and one and a half hours to kill, what'cha wanna do?" Phineas turned to his step-brother, who had laid down the bowls and cereal of previously. Turning in a manner to indicate what he was saying was obvious, Ferb pointed to the bowls and Phineas chortled merrily, "oh right, breakfast" he laughed and grabbed a bowl. Barely a second after he and Ferb had finished preparing their meal and were about to sit down and eat there was a knock at the door. Phineas jumped up, "that's Isabella!" he almost shouted until he stopped himself, took a breath and calmed down. He wasn't going to let his emotions get the better of him. Cooly, he walked over to the door (though rather faster than usual) and opened it to find a pretty 5' 7" girl in the doorway. Phineas caught his breath unconsciously (something he had always been doing, only now he noticed it), she was beautiful. He shook himself, now wasn't the time. He painfully changed his gobsmacked expression to a smile and greeted her. "hey Isabella! Come in; have you had breakfast?" she nodded, "thanks Phineas" she smiled, "Watcha doin'?" Phineas grinned, both at the phrase and how it was only now that he realized how desperately wanted to hear it uttered from her lips. "I'm just having my breakfast, after that I'm not sure what we're doing. Ferb?" he asked. Ferb turned, blinked, shook his head and turned back to the newspaper. Phineas shook his head a little and turned to Isabella, should he tell her? No, he'd do it later, at the festival. "sorry Isabella, we may be a few moments; the TV's over there if you want to watch anything and feel free to peruse my Dad's library." Phineas offered. Isabella nodded, thanked him and walked over to the TV to flick it onto one of her favorite channels. She sensed something odd about Phineas, like something had changed since seeing him two days prior. He didn't look different and he didn't act different, so what was it? Isabella couldn't explain it, but it almost seemed as if Phineas had gained a sense of… clarity. {C}{C}{C}{C} Chapter 9: Inator Smash "Really Perry the Platypus? Really?" Doofensmirtz lectured the platypus standing in his broken trap, "what am I supposed to do with these?" he held up the pieces of machinery one by one and examined them, "sometimes I wonder why I created them in the first place. Look at this!" he held up the remote for the Least-Likely Inator, "I mean, who puts a self-destruct button on the remote?" "*Chatter*" "what? Why would I do that? I'm not tha…" "*Chatter*" "Oh sure, just because I created it you're going to say it was my fault. That can be hurtful, you know, Perry the Pla…" Doofensmirtz was cut off in mid-sentence as he tripped on Perry's hat laying on the floor and crashed into the Shrink-Inator which he had been wheeling in, sending it hurtling toward the Reconstruct-Inator. "Nooo!" Doofensmirtz cried, watching in horror as the two collided, "my Reconstruct-Inator!" And then there was a deafening crash as the two united, sending off sparks and hisses. Doofensmirtz ran over desperately and started tearing pieces of the Shrink-Inator off the Reconstruct-Inator and throwing them everywhere, desperate to ensure that his invention stayed intact. As he threw chunks of metal everywhere, Perry ducked and dodged the airborne objects; it would be a sad day indeed if Doofensmirtz defeated him without meaning to simply by hurling metal at him. As Perry dodged another flying piece, narrowly missing his head, he turned to see it smack directly into the previously charged capacitor, causing it to release a jet of green light that ricocheted around the room until smacking directly into Perry's trap. Perry flinched, he knew that it was both an occupational hazard and statistically likely that he would be shot with one of Doofensmirtz's inventions eventually (though it happened a lot more than 'eventually'), but that didn't mean the platypus had to like it. As he gently opened his eyes to see what damage had been done, he heard a series of mechanical clicks and scraps issue from his trap and found that it had repaired itself. Perry would have thought this was an obvious flaw in Doofensmirtz's plan, but, clearly, he didn't think so. Perry carefully stepped out of the trap, avoiding the protruding metal pieces that had failed to repair themselves: because of the fact that they were made broken in the first place and therefore had nothing they could be repaired into, and walked carefully over to where Doofensmirtz was painfully making sure the Reconstruct-Inator was alright. Perry heard him sigh with relief and saw his shoulders sag accompanied by the *beep* from a button and tapped him on the back. Doofensmirtz turned to look at Perry without actually processing what had happened. "Ah, Perry the Platypus, that was a close one, no? It's a good thing the Reconstruct-Inator was unharmed" he sighed. Perry grinned and counted in his head, '…3…2…1' Doofensmirtz's eyes lit up, "Perry the Platypus! How did you get out of your trap?" he blurted in panic. Perry blinked once, smirked and pointed to his Reconstruct-Inated trap. Doofensmirtz blinked once and stared, flicking his gaze between the trap and Perry. Slowly, he raised his finger and pointed to the trap, "I see… I see you've Reconstruct-Inated your trap, very clever. Though I think that was an obvious flaw… here, I'll fire off my Reconstruct-Inator a couple of times, you can destroy it and then we can both go on our merry way; how about that?" Perry shook his head and smacked Doofensmirtz in the face with his bill as he screamed and fought back, grabbing pieces of the destroyed Shrink-Inator as he went and throwing them or trying to whack Perry with them, which Perry avoided. Carefully, they ran around the perimeter of Doofensmirtz's lab until they found themselves out on his balcony, fighting among the destroyed Inators and one working one, the Least-Likely Inator. Doofensmirtz lunged at Perry for a second time and landed face down on the ground while the platypus rolled away, towards the Reconstruct-Inator. Doofensmirtz reared up, his face full of anger and looked around wildly for Perry, "Come 'ere, Perry the Platypus!" he called ferociously, daring the semi-aquatic mammal to attack him. This he did a few seconds later while hauling the Reconstruct-Inator. Doofensmirtz looked around once more, his eyes narrowed until they almost quintupled in size as they registered the large, mainly metal, heavy, ridiculous and oddly glue shaped object speeding towards them as it scraped its way across the ground, sending tidal waves of sparks forward, as if to announce its mighty presence. Doofensmirtz took one last glance at the oddly-grinning, furry blue animal behind it, slackened his expression to one of the boredom that only a person who had had this happen to them many times before could have, sighed and collided with the machine before they both became one spinning mass of biological and mechanical material that further hurled itself into the reconstructed Least-Likely Inator, Doofensmirtz's freshly painted balcony wall and eventually the sidewalk below, the words "curse you, Perry the Platypus!" echoing as it went. Perry smiled to himself, 'another day's work done' he thought, and pressed a button on his wrist beacon. A few seconds later, a platypus-themed hovercraft pulled up alongside the destroyed balcony wall and Perry hopped in, making his way home and congratulating himself as he saw his nemesis crawl from the pile of parts below, the same pile that had just glowed green and zapped off a beam. 'That can't be good!' Perry thought as he watched the beam arch away into the distance, into the Danville City Outskirts. He sighed in relief, it wasn't headed for his sector and therefore wouldn't be his problem; the only thing in the Danville City Outskirts today were the… Midsummer Festivals. Perry slapped himself, it might turn out to be a problem after all. But what were the odds of it hitting someone he was responsible for? Perry sighed, 'bad question' he thought. Judging by the weird occurrences that happened every day in his family, the odds were quite high. Chapter 10: Least-Likely-Inating Phineas felt Isabella's breath roll over his face and indulged himself in the feeling, the feeling that he was hoping to get a lot more of. He gazed deep into her eyes and almost lost himself in them until he shook himself and reminded his brain of the reason he was doing this. "Phineas?" Isabella asked unsurely, staring hard at her best-friend. A million thoughts and explanations were racing through her head right now, as she tried to select the one that best explained what Phineas was doing. This definitely wasn't normal friendship behavior. Perhaps it was just Phineas trying something different, he always was; but no, something about this situation seemed different to Isabella and she was sure that wasn't it. Could it be that these motions were unconscious? That Phineas was acting on deeper impulses? This was an enticing thought to Isabella, but Phineas seemed very aware of what he was doing. Could it… could it possibly be than… that… that Phineas was returning some of her feelings? This thought filled Isabella with happiness, not only because it was what she dearly wanted, but also because it seemed to fit the best. She was just about to jump about for joy when a fourth possibility occurred to her. What if… what if she had dozed off some time and this was simply a dream? Isabella shook her head, this explanation seemed even more likely than the last; but Isabella didn't want it to be true. She pinched herself hard in the back (so Phineas wouldn't see) and braced herself to wake up at any moment, she did not. Just about to shout for joy again, her mirth died in her mouth as Phineas began to speak, getting rid of all her actions except listening to his sweet, therapeutic and downright dreamy voice confess whatever it was he wanted to confess. Instantly, Isabella was riveted. "Isabella… we've been friends… best friends" he corrected himself, "for almost thirteen years now" Isabella nodded, it had been a long time that they were friends, every minute of it had been one amazing adventure and each day was a gift of unappreciated richness. Though her life had never been boring with Phineas Flynn and, quite soon after their friendship, Ferb Fletcher, her friendship with the former had never been completely satisfying regardless of how much fun she had had during that day. Isabella had always felt that she wanted more from their relationship, even before she was (or knew) she was in love with him. "and we've always had fun together. Since the moment we met, I felt I had a special bond with you, something that could never be broken. All these years I've called you 'friend' and acted accordingly, yet I never stopped to ponder at why 'friend' never felt like a meaningful enough word for you" Isabella pinched herself again, this time much harder. It was partly because she couldn't believe he was saying this, partly because she wanted to get rid of her sudden lightheadedness and partly to get rid of the massive amount of shock she was experiencing. She had dreamed of this moment coming in so many different ways for almost ninety-percent of her life. It was quite a shock to find it actually happening. For a brief period of time, after she had punched herself, Isabella's shock and lightheadedness would ware-off and she would regain control of her body. As soon as she did so, however, her mind would race into overdrive at Phineas' words and the shock and tension would return in full strength to be followed by an even harder pinch. "always, I loved being around you and I never knew why. All these years you've been the closest thing to me I've ever found. All these years I've made mistakes about my feelings and confused myself to no end. All these years I've never been able to stop thinking about you and I never asked myself 'why? Why is this occurring?' All these years I've wasted and, until yesterday, I never realized why." Isabella was having to calm and cool herself down at ferocious pace by this time and was trying to stop herself hyperventilating her lungs out. She could feel her heart beating in her ielbows/i, as well as everywhere else, and could swear her eyes were popping out of her skull. "why? You may wonder. Why? What happened yesterday? What epiphany did I have this time? I did have an epiphany, it was the most important realization of my life. With everyone gone, I was finally given time to ponder the question, 'what does Isabella mean to me?' It was hard, very hard. The hardest thing I've ever done. Finally, I realized what I was feeling. Finally! I knew why I felt different around you. Finally! I understood what these feelings meant." Isabella's chest was heaving heavily now. Any minute, any minute! Any minute he was going to utter the words she had been dying to hear her entire memorable life. Any minute, he would utter the words the would seal herself and him together for eternity. Any minute he would proclaim the most important thing in his life. Any minute, he would make Isabella's complete. "I was so excited. I knew what I had to do. I had to let people to know. I had to sort this issue out then and there. I had to tell Ferb the revelation that would change my life forever. And, soon after, I plotted to tell you. You are my best-friend" he smirked at the words and how wrong they were as well as how badly they would be contradicted in his next few sentences. "you are my best-friend and you were the one whom I needed to tell the most urgently. You are the one, whom I am in love with" He had admitted it, he showed no fear and no hesitation. He showed no sign of reservations and showed no sign of falsehood. He looked at her proudly, his gaze becoming stronger than that of a hundred men and leaned in close to her ear. "Ma chère, Je t'aime" he smiled, then added, "or, if that wasn't clear enough for you: Isabella, I love you" The last words echoed in her brain and bounced off her skull. 'I love you, I love you, I love you' were the words. The words that had sent the girl to the point of fainting with shear happiness. The words that she had waited to hear for so long; persevering through heartbreak, crisis, flood and anything that lay strewn across her path she had waited, continuing to put one foot in front of the other and never looking back. Many a time she had lain in bed, sobbing her eyes out over one of Phineas' many failures and wailing and despairing over the possibility that these same words might never issue from his mouth. Many a time she had felt sure that he did not love her in any other way than 'as a friend' and would destroy herself over it. Many a time she would tear herself apart over one shortcoming or another of the boy's that 'conclusively proved' he did not love her at all only to cheered up and rejuvenated the very next morn by the very same boy. Many a time, she had told herself that she was over the boy and would act as such, but no matter how hard she tried, she would end up swooning for him and only him. She would travel to malls, when she wasn't with Phineas, with her friends and surround herself with boys hoping that she would become attracted to one who noticed her feelings. But she never did, every time it was the same story. None of them were right for her, none of them were her man, none of them were Phineas Flynn. She sighed with joy, lifted herself up, to get a better look into his eyes, and was about to utter words 'Oh Phineas, I do love you' before giving him the most passionate and meaningful kiss a fourteen year-old could give when a stray green beam arched across the festival and hit a mirror in the pretzel stand, diverting it from its original target (Phineas) and hitting Isabella instead. All the love she felt instantly vanished and retracted. It felt as if it were being sucked back to her brain through her veins. Slowly, she leaned up even more, glaring at the love-drunk boy with anger. He loved her? He loved her? Who did he think he was? Of course the feeling wasn't bloody-well mutual! How could he expect someone to still love him after causing them so much heartbreak? Was he crazy? Yes, yes he was. Phineas' smile would have dissipated by now had he been in his normal state and he would have been downright terrified of this very, very angry Isabella. But Phineas wasn't in his normal state, he was in his love-drunk, Isabella centered state. "Phineas Flynn!" she shouted, causing several people to look up from their stalls, this girl was clearly very angry with this loopy boy. "who the hell do you think you are?" she screamed, her nostrils practically belching fire. Phineas sat and grinned at her, "but, Isabella my sweet, you know I'm Phineas Flynn, you said it yourself." he pointed out. Isabella looked as if she could have ripped someone's head off, this boy wasn't getting the point, his love was one-sided! How did he not realize that? As he grinned at her, thoughts of doubt nagged him in the back of his mind as to why Isabella was doing what she was. Phineas disregarded them however, he was too hyped-up on hormones to think clearly, let alone rationally. This annoyed Isabella even more and so she did the only thing that would get him to realize: she pulled her arm back, swung it and hit Phineas as hard as she could straight across the face. "Isabella!" he cried in pain as it reached his head. Isabella stood and glared at him furiously. "what do you mean you love me?" she hissed, the amount of venom in her tone not apparent to Phineas. "I love you, Isabella. I would do anything for you. I would do anything to make you happy, I would go to any length to stop you from being sad. I'm completely happy as long as you are. I could be doing anything and it wouldn't matter so long as you're there. Isn't that what love is?" Isabella's eyes narrowed, "no" she spat. "you wait until now to return my feelings? Now? Well, Phineas, now is too late." Phineas frowned, this didn't seem right, this didn't seem like Isabella at all. Meanwhile, Isabella was getting desperate, she couldn't control her legs, arms or body in general and the worst part was: her mouth was ruining her relationship with Phineas before her very eyes and was surely about to break his heart, 'shut up, mouth!' she demanded, 'shut up! Shut up! Shut up!' But, sadly, it continued. "for years I was in love with you Phineas, years. Everything about you was dreamy and perfect about you. Oh, Phineas' eyes are the same shade of blue as toilet cleaner. Phineas' bed feels like oatmeal. Phineas' can create a unicorn for me. Phineas has rainbows flying out of his butt. Phineas can grow a second head. Oh, wouldn't it be cute if Phineas grew a wart?" she mocked at how in love she had been while Phineas looked on in horror, he was finally having some of it penetrate through. "every single event that we went to you spoiled. At the play, when we were seven, you insisted on having someone else kiss me on the cheek instead of you. When we were eight, you insisted on taking Ferb to the beach too when I made it clear that I just wanted it to be us. When we were nine, you never went to anything I invited you to without someone else. Every single playground endeavor, trip to the pools, trip to the beach, going to concerts, going to the movies, coming over to my house, coming for sleepovers, coming for dinner… everything! Everything was an opportunity to spend time alone together and you spoiled every one! Throughout our entire friendship I wanted you to utter those words" Phineas was becoming horrorstruck and very angry at himself for causing her so much pain, of course that was what that meant! How could he have not noticed Isabella's love for him? Of course she wanted to spend time alone with him and he had ruined it for her. Now he was paying for it through consequences he wouldn't dare to believe were true. Isabella was getting tears in her eyes now, "even, on the first day of summer, when we were nine, you rudely told me that you were too busy to hang out with me and value our friendship or possibly deeper relationship. Then there was the Comet Kermillian, which you failed to watch with me. And when we built the golf course, you spent the whole time dancing with Stacy instead of me! And then, you ignored me so many times as I tried to ask you to the dance that I almost gave up; and, when I finally did ask you, you decided to crush that idea of mine by bringing Ferb along! How about that, Phineas? How's that supposed to work, you're the one who should have been asking me!" Phineas was getting scared now and traces of tears were beginning to form in his eyes. He knew worse was still to come and he was violently repenting for the mistakes he had made, praying that Isabella would stop soon, he knew he was too late, but he didn't want to hear any more from her mouth about it. "and, of course, you never thought of having dinner with me when you built the restaurant, did you?" Phineas shook his head sadly, "And then, how many times did you imply that I wasn't cute when Meap was here? The island, the 'romantic cruise,' the future, the wedding, the Beak, Paris," she hissed, "the island, the after-party, the second rollercoaster, the bio-sphere, the movies, your own birthday, the transporter… do you want me to continue?" Phineas shook his head, his mind racing into overdrive before it had a complete meltdown at her words. She was going to say it, the words that he hoped he would never hear, the words that would destroy him and leave him alone forever. "my point is, Phineas, you caused me so much heartbreak, so much, and never tried to make up for it. My heart ached to no end and you didn't care. Well, seems the tables have been turned, you're in love with me? Well, guess what! I don't love you! At all, ever, never again, zip" she motioned violently to indicate how 'over' it was. "in fact, I think I like you less than that, I'm not mildly attracted, I don't think I even like you as a friend anymore, in fact, I think, I think I hate you, Phineas Flynn! I don't want to see you again, I don't want hear you, I don't even want to smell you, let alone be with you! You thought that we might get married? Happily ever after? Sure! Not with you!" she laughed at this, throwing her head back, "be with you! Ha! Who would want to be with you?" Phineas blinked in shock and pain, she had said that she hated him, it was over. His mind went blank and numb, the only thing penetrating it was the sound of her laughter, laughter at his pain. What did he have to live for? He clutched his head, jumped up from under Isabella, ran to his bike, strapped his helmet on and rode off in such a hurry that he scraped the skin off his leg. As he rode, he could still hear her laughter ringing in his ears until he heard her shout from behind him, "and good riddance!" came the call. Phineas rode harder, fighting back tears. Back at the fair, Isabella felt her body go weak and the effects of whatever ray that had hit her ware off. She collapsed on the ground, the love-induced hormones flooding back into her body. But she didn't feel any love at the moment, none at all. And why should she? Her love wasn't happy, so neither was she, and it was all her fault. She didn't know what power had come over her, but what she did know was that she had just permanently ruined any chance of a happily ever after for herself and for Phineas. She sighed heavily and heard the soft crunch of the grass behind her. She turned and saw Ferb standing behind her, his strong gaze roving around her face. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was "why?" and he was gone, biking home, to Phineas, to his step-brother, to the person whom the person he had just talked to had crushed. All Isabella could do was reach out her hand, willing Phineas to ride back. But he didn't. And Isabella wept, she wept bitterly. What had she done? What could she do? All she thought of was how sorry she was. "Phineas, I'm sorry" she cried out softly, her arm extending to the horizon he had just vanished on. Chapter 11: Who Needs Love? Phineas rode as fast as he could, speeding around corners and jumping intersections, narrowly avoiding being hit several times. He rode on and on, he wanted to get as far away from the festival as he could, he wanted to be home, he wanted a hug from his platypus. He rode on and on, past the indifferent world. It felt to him as if the world was passing him by and not the other way round. On, past the beach, past the park, past the fountain, past the happy in-love couples cradling each other as they sat in contemptible silence, contemptible to Phineas. They represented everything that he had lost, everything he could have had, everything he was never going to. His face stung but he held back the tears. He was better than that. He rounded corner after corner until he found himself back in the suburbs, the place of his upbringing, the place of all his adventures, the residence of his love. Isabella… how he had messed up! How much of an idiot he had been! How he had spoiled her love! Rounding yet another corner, Phineas put on a final burst of speed and powered down Maple Drive, ignoring the dogs, sprinklers and summertime frivolity, all it did was mock him. Black clouds swirled around in his brain and dark thoughts engulfed him. He barely noticed that his leg muscles were crying out in protest, he barely noticed that he ripped the sliding door open (breaking the lock in the process), he barely noticed he had shoved his bike, his pride and joy which he had hand-built himself, unceremoniously into a corner of the garage. The only thing he did notice was the picture of Isabella on his drawer draw which he quickly chucked into the closet, slammed the door and collapsed on his bed. He didn't cry, he was too… broken for sobs. 'Besides' he reminded himself, 'I haven't cried since Dad died, I'm not gonna start now' He rolled over on his bed and stared at the ceiling, looking at the chips and cracks he was so familiar with and yet how strange they were. Only twenty four hours ago, Phineas had been staring at those same cracks and thinking about how wonderful they were while Isabella danced and played in his mind. He sighed and sat up. He looked around once, rubbed his eyes and stood up, out of bed. The house was eerily quiet, the silence, for once, not being disturbed by the sound of construction or the yelling of a neighbor, everything was tranquil. A perfect contrast to how he was feeling. Feeling worse than he ever had in his life, Phineas sat down at his desk and pulled out his laptop, quickly starting it up and opening his Ferb-designed internet browser. As it loaded up, Phineas became engrossed in his own thoughts. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Isabella liked him… nay, loved him! And he had never noticed. And now, through all his blunders and shortcomings, he had lost a once in a lifetime relationship that he could never hope to find another of. He was scarred for life… 'Unless…' his mind raced, hadn't he seen the plans for something called a 'De-loveinator Satellite'? He was sure he had, on that man's website. Phineas had visited it several times when he was out of ideas after he had discovered it during a bout of Internet surfing. Yes! He found the website and brought up the blueprints, designed by a man named Heinz Doofensmirtz, a name that seemed familiar to Phineas though he couldn't remember why. Everything on the website was designed by him and Phineas had to admit, though he seemed crazy and Phineas found a few flaws in some of his contraptions, the man was an inventing genius, almost on par with Phineas himself. Phineas peered at the blueprints for the actual laser piece and mentally evaluated them. Yes, yes that might work. Quickly, he dashed downstairs and came back up seconds later holding both the blueprints for and the contraption from he day before. When Phineas had designed it he had intended it to be a machine that cheered people up and banished feelings of sadness. Now, with just a few modifications, it could become a machine that banished feelings of love, Phineas' own personal De-Loveinator. Glancing back and forth and making last minute checks to the blueprints, Phineas began his misguided, if not evil (for lack of a better word, but to banish love is… inhuman, against nature…? Just my personal philosophy) work. If Isabella didn't love him… hated him, than what was the point of him loving her? It would be better for both parties if love wasn't involved. And so, Phineas set out to destroy his own feelings, banish them from his system and take away part of his humanity, what difference would it make if he wasn't able to love another in anything other than a friendly way? "Pff" Phineas snorted to himself, 'who needs love?' Chapter 12: My Own Portable De-Loveinator Ferb rounded the last bend and found himself on the last leg of the journey. He put on a final burst of speed to get him there and sprinted the last hundred meters on his bike. Up ahead he could see their house and neighborhood. He could also feel a sense of foreboding, that Phineas was doing something he shouldn't, something very bad. Ferb rammed up their driveway, hit the brakes and swung his bike side on, ending in a stance of the utmost perfection. But Ferb had no time for perfect stances, somewhere in the house was his broken step-brother, hopefully. Ferb had promised that he'd be there for him and by God he would! He quickly slipped open the garage door (using a technique he'd read about in a little-published Swiss manual) and parked his bike before running through the same door he had casually walked through the previous night. He looked around wildly, hoping to find his step-brother on the first floor. No such luck, all he found was the coffee table (cleaned of machinery) and a lack of blueprints. He raced upstairs taking the generous steps on the staircase two at a time and leaping over the last step onto the landing. Ferb was just about to lunge for his bedroom door in his fit of panic when he heard a small voice behind him and stopped. "Ferb?" the voice asked. Ferb stopped mid-lunge and evaluated the situation. Here he was, completely at a loss for complexion, standing open-mouthed in mid-panic induced lunge which had been immediately halted by a very familiar voice of unexpected origin. Given a few moments beforehand to evaluate this would not have found Ferb doing it now. But alas, he had not had a few minutes before. He very readily closed his mouth as he got to grips with the situation and calmed himself. He was Ferb, he was quiet, he was reasonable, he was logical, he wasn't flighty and he definitely wasn't wild. He slowed his heart rate and slowed his breathing. He lowered his arms and his leg. He brushed off his clothes and straightened his hair. He straightened his glasses and regained his composure. He was Ferb once more. And finally, he addressed the voice while slowly turning around. "Isabella, what are you doing here? Haven't you hurt my brother enough already?" Ferb asked, peering at her. He stopped himself, he was Ferb. He was reasonable and he was logical. Regardless of her and Phineas' problems she and Ferb would always be friends. Isabella looked ready to tear up again at Ferb's remark before he stood up to his full height, strode over to her and enveloped her in a brotherly hug. Isabella sobbed slightly. "I'm sorry Isabella, it's just that this day's been a bit much for me. I didn't mean to snap at you and I didn't mean to get our relationship involved. However, I did promise my brother to stand by him and you did just yell at him, so I need to know: why are here?" Isabella shuddered slightly, "you're right Ferb. And as for me being here, I need to talk to Phineas. I didn't mean any of what I said at the festival" Ferb's stunned yet neutral silence told Isabella that he was patiently waiting for her to continue and so she carried on. "At the festival, I don't know what happened, I was completely ready to kiss him, then it felt as if I was hit by a ray or something which started using my mouth to say those things" she explained. Ferb listened intently, making mental notes as to how similar these events were to one when they were nine. When Isabella finished Ferb nodded. It reminded him very much of the day he and Phineas had built the funhouse. That day too, a ray had zapped their sister causing her to involuntarily clean up the entire mess. Ferb figured it was the same powers at work now and that, if this was the case, Isabella should, by all means, be given a second chance. Ferb drew away and nodded before standing aside to let Isabella walk up to Phineas' bedroom door. This she did and, taking a deep breath, she knocked. Immediately, the shuffling and bustling inside the room stopped. "who's there?" Phineas asked cautiously; he hadn't left the doors open, had he? Tentatively, Isabella's soft voice rang out in the hallway. "Phineas, can I come in?" she asked, Phkeas was shocked, what was she doing here? Surely there couldn't be more she needed to tell him off for. "why?" he asked, he heard Isabella sigh. "Phineas, we need to talk. About what you said earlier and about what I said earlier" Phineas shook his head to himself, she was feeling guilty. But he didn't blame her, she had every right to be angry with him and he needed to alleviate her guilt. "It's ok, Isabella. You have every right to be angry with me, I know it was my fault. I understand that you don't want to be friends anymore and… and…" he choked up before clearing his throat, "and that's ok" But it was clear from his tone of voice that it was most certainly not ok with him. Isabella sighed, "please Phineas?" "no no! It's okay, Isabella. I've created a machine that will make everyone happy!" Isabella smiled a bit at the thought that, though he was very sad and broken, he was still Phineas Flynn. Suddenly though, a thought occurred to her. "uh, Phineas? What does this machine do, exactly?" "well, I figured that, since you didn't love me, there was no point in me being in love with you. Therefore, I created a De-Loveinator to destroy any feelings of love I might have" he announced from behind the closed door. Isabella shuddered, she had to get in there, fast! Phineas couldn't destroy his own love! It was almost as of he had gone mad! Isabella took a breath, "Phineas, please let me in." "No! It's OK Isabella! Once I zap myself, everyone will be happy!" Phineas cried excitedly, the humming becoming louder. "no Phineas! Don't do that!" she cried, her voice becoming desperate. "no! It's OK, Isabella! I know you don't love me and, after this, I won't love you! Then we can both be happy!" Phineas was mad, Phineas was crazy, Phineas was misguided. Isabella was terrified. No! He couldn't destroy his love for her! How could she go on then? There was only one thing she could do. It was a good thing she'd gotten her Advanced Retrieval Patch only a week ago for the second time. During earning it, Isabella had become very adept at breaking down doors. Chapter 13: So… You Saw That… 1,2,3… smack! Phineas' door flew open to reveal a very angry Isabella. Quickly, she took everything of the situation into account. There was the odd contraption on a tripod at the foot of Phineas' bed that was glowing a sinister shade of cyan. There was the crazily excited Phineas sitting on his bed in front of it. And finally, Isabella spotted her picture laying on the floor, looking like it had been thrown. She was just about to tear up at this when she remembered the De-Loveinator and glanced at it. On the side there was a digital timer counting down with five seconds to go. Frantically, Isabella lunged at the tripod a knocked it over before jumping in front of Phineas to shield him, just in case. …1 …0 the timer read and a white hot ray of dancing energy zapped out of the evil looking machine, hitting the bedside cabinets instead of Phineas or Isabella. As soon as the light had faded Isabella shuffled her legs around to a straddling position on top of Phineas and glared at him. "what the hell!" she screamed in his face. Phineas looked surprised, he was only trying to make everyone happy but it seemed that, no matter what he did, everyone was upset with him. "what the hell!" she repeated, "when would you ever think destroying your own feelings is a good idea?" Phineas blinked at her, "I was only trying to make everyone happy" he stated. Isabella blinked, "what the hell! I love you! How would that make everyone happy?" "you love me?" he asked, incredulous. Isabella sighed exasperatedly and was about to answer when she simply lay down on top of him and, exhausted and worn out from the day's events, too tired to argue, she pressed her soft, sweet lips to his. She savored the feeling and gently pulled away, Phineas blinked. "Isabella!" he cried. Both felt very awkward. They had moved from friendship to romance in such a short time and it was messing with their heads. Phineas blinked surprisedly and so did Isabella. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Isabella leaned down and kissed him once more. Phineas froze, dumbstruck. He was kissing his best friend of thirteen years. He was kissing his best friend. How awkward it was! It was the most awkward thing he had ever done. Her lips were hot, soft, moist and tasted ever so faintly of grape. The feel and pressure of her lips on his was mysterious and new to him. Something he had never done before. He had always figured Isabella was like a sister to him, not this, and that acts, such as osculation, were forbidden. It was strange, it was awkward, it was new, it was the oddest thing he had ever done. Part of his brain felt uncomfortable doing this to Isabella and yet the rest so badly wanted to. It was the strangest thing he had ever done and yet it was also the most pleasant. Phineas had had so many wonderful experiences over the course of thirteen summers and each day brought a better one. There was always a first time for everything and the first-times just kept getting better. From realizing his love for her, to holding and hugging her, to confessing it to her face, this was the best yet. And so he closed his shocked eyes, ignored the parts of his brain that told him what he was doing was wrong, forgot about how awkward it was and how awkward it would be once they stopped, and kissed her back. Phineas had never kissed anyone before, he was inexperienced. So was Isabella. Merely having their lips on the others was not good enough. They tried everything. Phineas kissed her nose, Isabella nibbled his chin. Phineas licked her cheek and Isabella kissed his eye. Phineas sucked on her neck and Isabella licked his lips. And then they stopped, there lips swirled closer and closer, like magnets drawing together, and connected once more. Phineas sighed, Isabella sighed. Isabella opened her mouth, Phineas opened his. His tongue reached out and… Ferb coughed. Though it had only been happening for about two minutes he had had enough. Yes, they were the two people he cared most about in the world, but seeing them do this was just too much for Ferb. Besides, they were rolling on his high-quality formal shoes. Phineas and Isabella looked up, neither seeing anything, judging from their unfocused eyes. They breathed hoarsely and Phineas shook his head before readjusting his eyes and blinking at his step-brother. He grinned a bit and looked around. Isabella stayed where she was, panting. Ferb gazed at him levelly. Phineas grinned some more. "sorry Ferb, I didn't realize you were there" he sheepishly exclaimed. Ferb continued gazing, his look glancing from Phineas to Isabella (who was laying on the floor rather messily, staring love-drunk at Phineas with a look of love and hunger while she pouted, her face pink and slightly sweaty) and back again. For once in his life, Phineas caught on. He grinned sheepishly again while helping Isabella up off the floor. "so, you… um, you saw that, Ferb." he laughed nervously. He knew the awkwardness was coming and now he was getting it full blast. Ferb nodded slowly and Phineas laughed a bit. He had just been caught starting a make-out session with his best-friend while his step-brother watched. Ferb coughed once and spoke up, "though I am very happy for you I'd like to ask that you do that somewhere else. Drooling on yourselves and the floor is not very… tactful. Besides, I'd rather not watch my brother and best-friend, or should I say sister-in law, make out. However comfortable you may be with it I, for one, am not" Ferb grinned. Phineas blinked slowly and looked back and forth between Ferb, the drool covered floor, his and Isabella's clothes and Isabella. He grinned slowly. "Oh, yeah. Of course Ferb." and with that they both raced downstairs. Ferb shook his head, lay down on his own bed, checking for drool first, and flipped open his phone to stare at a rather nice picture of Vanessa and himself he had taken the previous day while he was out. Chapter 14: Oh, there you are Perry At the same time the couple raced outside into the lovely early summer afternoon backyard laughing and playing with each other. Phineas ran out the sliding door followed closely by Isabella who reached out and tackled him to the ground right next to the backyard tree, both laughing. They laughed and laughed, playfully wrestling with each other for awhile until they simply ended up staring into the other's eyes, Phineas running his fingers through her hair while Isabella wrapped her arms around his neck. They lay like this for what could have been hours, just listening to their synchronized breathing and heartbeats until Isabella spoke up. "Phineas, sorry about the kiss earlier" she mumbled, "I'm not a very good kisser." Phineas was taken aback, "no, uh, no. Don't be sorry Isabella. It was… fun?" he consoled. Isabella's look of mild depression quickly changed to a smile as she laughed and punched him in the arm, "you make it sound so un-fun" she giggled. Phineas grinned, "oh but that won't do! I don't do anything that's not fun. Therefore: it must have been fun" he argued. Isabella laughed, "well then, how about we try again? To prove how fun it is" she tempted. Phineas grinned, "sure… but just to prove that it is, of course" "of course" Isabella smiled. And then Phineas pulled her still smiling lips to his in their third kiss, second of the day. He was Phineas Flynn. He was the odd boy, the inventor, the magician of words and gears. He never did anything the usual way. He thought outside the box… heck, he smashed the box. He thought in every direction imaginable. He thought on multiple levels… almost multi-dimensionally. He was the one to go out of the ordinary on a regular basis. He broke the laws of reality every day, whether in a big way or a small way. It was safe to say that Phineas was out of the ordinary. Therefore, nothing was out of the ordinary to him. And yet this was completely odd to him. He had never acted this lovey-dovey before nor had he ever initiated a kiss. He had never held a girl, let alone Isabella – his best friend – this way. He never even touched anyone this way, stroking their hair and holding them as close as he could to himself. He had never dreamed that he would be kissing his best friend… well, he had dreamt about kissing Isabella before but he had never told anyone or believed it would actually happen. He had never thought kissing could be this… exciting, exhilarating, fun? He didn't think that he would ever do this. A child at heart for his whole life, Phineas had always seen kissing as gross – when it was other people, if it was Isabella he didn't find it that bad. But still, kissing was just yuck! And yet here he was, kissing the girl of his dreams… and it was great. As his tongue played with Isabella's all he could think of were the words gonna marry her ay? the voice that they had flowed from, the man who had said it and the young girl he was holding in a beautiful white wedding gown while they sealed their marriage with a sweet kiss. As they broke away, Isabella snuggled up to him and Phineas broke out of his daydream, the reality was so much better. "So Phineas, am I your girlfriend now?" she giggled. Phineas smiled at her warmly, "I think that that question's redundant Izzy" he replied. Isabella giggled again, "humor me" "yes, Izzy, you sure are; in fact, maybe more" Isabella smiled gratefully and gave him a peck on the lips, "Phineas, are you suggesting…" "Marriage?" he finished for her. Isabella giggled, "Phineas!" she scoffed, "you know we're too young for that" Phineas grinned, "maybe…" "Phineas, you know perfectly well it's the law – and there's no loophole" Phineas sighed jokingly, "well… eventually at least" Isabella grinned at him and drew herself closer, if that was possible. "you're sweet Phineas" she cooed, Phineas smiled. "If not a little eager" she added. Phineas laughed, "Ma chère, Je t'aime" he whispered in her ear before closing his eyes. And then, before she fell into sleep, Isabella opened her eyes to gaze one last time at her new boyfriend and ask "Oh, and Phineas?" "Mmm...?" "Who's Izzy?" Phineas chuckled, "Oh, just the beautiful young woman lying in my arms right now. The most perfect, gorgeous human being on the planet – or, at least, that's what I think" "Oh Phineas" she sighed contentedly, "you don't know how happy you've made me" "Oh, I think I do. Most happy girlfriend in the world? Or most happy girlfriend in the universe?" he teased. Isabella chuckled once, her eyes already closed, and promptly fell into a deep sleep, snuggling into Phineas as she did so. Phineas responded by stroking her hair, closing his eyes and kissing her on the forehead before doing the same. gonna marry her ay? Phineas smiled in his half-sleep, 'yes Dad, yes I will' "*chatter*" Phineas opened his eyes, still holding Isabella close by him, her warm body giving him a magnificent sense of comfort. He shuffled around a bit, making sure not to wake her and turned to his blue platypus, standing wall-eyed and mindless on the lawn in front of him, gazing at who he was sure were his future owners. "Oh, there you are Perry." Chapter 14: Oh, there you are Perry At the same time the couple raced outside into the lovely early summer afternoon backyard laughing and playing with each other. Phineas ran out the sliding door followed closely by Isabella who reached out and tackled him to the ground right next to the backyard tree, both laughing. They laughed and laughed, playfully wrestling with each other for awhile until they simply ended up staring into the other's eyes, Phineas running his fingers through her hair while Isabella wrapped her arms around his neck. They lay like this for what could have been hours, just listening to their synchronized breathing and heartbeats until Isabella spoke up. "Phineas, sorry about the kiss earlier" she mumbled, "I'm not a very good kisser." Phineas was taken aback, "no, uh, no. Don't be sorry Isabella. It was… fun?" he consoled. Isabella's look of mild depression quickly changed to a smile as she laughed and punched him in the arm, "you make it sound so un-fun" she giggled. Phineas grinned, "oh but that won't do! I don't do anything that's not fun. Therefore: it must have been fun" he argued. Isabella laughed, "well then, how about we try again? To prove how fun it is" she tempted. Phineas grinned, "sure… but just to prove that it is, of course" "of course" Isabella smiled. And then Phineas pulled her still smiling lips to his in their third kiss, second of the day. He was Phineas Flynn. He was the odd boy, the inventor, the magician of words and gears. He never did anything the usual way. He thought outside the box… heck, he smashed the box. He thought in every direction imaginable. He thought on multiple levels… almost multi-dimensionally. He was the one to go out of the ordinary on a regular basis. He broke the laws of reality every day, whether in a big way or a small way. It was safe to say that Phineas was out of the ordinary. Therefore, nothing was out of the ordinary to him. And yet this was completely odd to him. He had never acted this lovey-dovey before nor had he ever initiated a kiss. He had never held a girl, let alone Isabella – his best friend – this way. He never even touched anyone this way, stroking their hair and holding them as close as he could to himself. He had never dreamed that he would be kissing his best friend… well, he had dreamt about kissing Isabella before but he had never told anyone or believed it would actually happen. He had never thought kissing could be this… exciting, exhilarating, fun? He didn't think that he would ever do this. A child at heart for his whole life, Phineas had always seen kissing as gross – when it was other people, if it was Isabella he didn't find it that bad. But still, kissing was just yuck! And yet here he was, kissing the girl of his dreams… and it was great. As his tongue played with Isabella's all he could think of were the words gonna marry her ay? the voice that they had flowed from, the man who had said it and the young girl he was holding in a beautiful white wedding gown while they sealed their marriage with a sweet kiss. As they broke away, Isabella snuggled up to him and Phineas broke out of his daydream, the reality was so much better. "So Phineas, am I your girlfriend now?" she giggled. Phineas smiled at her warmly, "I think that that question's redundant Izzy" he replied. Isabella giggled again, "humor me" "yes, Izzy, you sure are; in fact, maybe more" Isabella smiled gratefully and gave him a peck on the lips, "Phineas, are you suggesting…" "Marriage?" he finished for her. Isabella giggled, "Phineas!" she scoffed, "you know we're too young for that" Phineas grinned, "maybe…" "Phineas, you know perfectly well it's the law – and there's no loophole" Phineas sighed jokingly, "well… eventually at least" Isabella grinned at him and drew herself closer, if that was possible. "you're sweet Phineas" she cooed, Phineas smiled. "If not a little eager" she added. Phineas laughed, "Ma chère, Je t'aime" he whispered in her ear before closing his eyes. And then, before she fell into sleep, Isabella opened her eyes to gaze one last time at her new boyfriend and ask "Oh, and Phineas?" "Mmm...?" "Who's Izzy?" Phineas chuckled, "Oh, just the beautiful young woman lying in my arms right now. The most perfect, gorgeous human being on the planet – or, at least, that's what I think" "Oh Phineas" she sighed contentedly, "you don't know how happy you've made me" "Oh, I think I do. Most happy girlfriend in the world? Or most happy girlfriend in the universe?" he teased. Isabella chuckled once, her eyes already closed, and promptly fell into a deep sleep, snuggling into Phineas as she did so. Phineas responded by stroking her hair, closing his eyes and kissing her on the forehead before doing the same. gonna marry her ay? Phineas smiled in his half-sleep, 'yes Dad, yes I will' "*chatter*" Phineas opened his eyes, still holding Isabella close by him, her warm body giving him a magnificent sense of comfort. He shuffled around a bit, making sure not to wake her and turned to his blue platypus, standing wall-eyed and mindless on the lawn in front of him, gazing at who he was sure were his future owners. "Oh, there you are Perry." A/N - And that's it. The end of the story. Hoped you liked it and feel free to review, criticize and grammatically correct (*wink*). I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you found it worthwhile. Send me a message or comment if you have any questions or "nagging doubts" and look out for future stories if you enjoyed this one. (A/N - I'm sorry, I had to put that in there, I was in the mood. Besides, I love some of the poetry from The Lord of the Rings) "Oh, I'm." Phineas shook his head, what was he doing? And then he looked at the calender and was quickly reminded of his task. "Today is my and Mommy's anniversary, so I'm making her a present" he explained. Maria cocked her head, her eyes going wide, "Ooo! How romantic" she sighed. Phineas grinned a little more, how very like Isabella she was. Maria snapped herself out of her trance, giggled, muttered "sorry" and then moved over to look at her father's work. "What is it?" she asked curiously. Phineas grinned at his daughter and wiggled his eyebrows, "that's a surprise" he grinned. Maria pouted, "c'mon, please?" she begged. "Nope" "Pretty please?" "nuh-ah" "Por favor, dígame!" "No, usted tendrá que esperar" (A/N - I'm using Google Translate here. I don't speak Spanish. Anyone who does, feel free to correct me) Maria whimpered and tried her best to give her father the puppy-dog eyes. Phineas laughed, "sorry Maria, you haven't inherited that trait of mine. Mommy never was good at the puppy-dog eyes." Maria blinked and tried harder, Phineas chuckled. "Here, try out my old toolbox, build something. My and your Uncle Ferb's blueprints are in the basement, they should be fun" Maria huffed and shuffled off, but not before grabbing the toolbox and muttering "fine." Phineas smiled, 'she's like Isabella in so many ways' he thought. Isabella had never been good at the puppy-dog eyes, unlike Phineas; perhaps David had inherited that. Blinking once again, Phineas turned back to his work, hoping to complete his project before his wife returned.
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