A/N I have't seen many episodes of this show but I came up with this idea for it a little while ago. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

"Whatcha doing?" I looked up at the familiar greeting just in time to see Isabella closing the gate behind her.

"Oh, nothing much, just looking over some blueprints." I said motioning to the scattered papers in front of me. I don't think she actually heard me though, she had that look again a telltale sign that she was daydreaming again. Sometimes I wondered what she always thought about because it happens so often it must be something great. Once I even asked Ferb if he knew what it was about, but he just gave a small laugh and turned away. Weird.

I sat under the tree waiting for her to snap out of it when the gate opened once again. Buford and Baljet came in, Buford chewing the newest flavor of Tuff Gum and Baljet clutching his favorite calculator. "Good morning Phineas. How are you today?" Baljet said in greeting while Buford just gave a nod in recognition.

I gave them a quick wave but reclined to answer the question. They didn't seem to mind and started talking to Isabella, who's fantasy had finally ended. I looked back down at the plans halfheartedly. The conversation next to me faded into the background as thoughts raced through my head.

"What?" I asked when I realized my friends had asked me a question.

"I said, where's Perry?" Isabella asked again. I just shrugged in response. Perry's disappearances have become so frequent that I really didn't notice anymore. Isabella looked at me in confusion; I was never this unenergetic in the mornings. An awkward silence fell over my friends, who didn't know how to deal with my abnormal demeanor.

"So, what are you going to build today?" Baljet asked in an attempt to lighten up the mood. Once the question was asked, I could see my friend's eyes light up with anticipation. I can't blame them, it's near the end of August and they've had nearly an entire summer of new inventions waiting to be built as soon as they walk through the gate.

"Nothing." The word came out as a whisper and felt foreign on my lips. My friends' eyes grew wide in horror at my response. "I mean," I tried to explain, "I can't do anything without Ferb."

They all looked to Ferb's usual spot by my side, which was now empty. "Oh, I didn't even notice. I mean he's always so quiet, so… " Isabella said with a hint of guilt in her voice. "Where is he?"

I pointed to where Ferb sat in the shade by the side of the house. He was staring blankly at his hands, which were wiping down his old toolbox. "Wait, if he's right there than why"

Buford's question got interrupted by Candace opening the back door. She walked over to us slowly, almost unwillingly. She came to a stop a few feet in front of me and stood for a minute shifting from side to side. "Hey Phineas," She said softly, refusing to meet my eyes. "mom and dad went to run some errands. I'll, um, be inside if your need anything, okay?" Her voice was filled with concern and on the last few words she finally looked at me. We stared at each other for a minute before I gave a small nod. Then she hurried back inside without even acknowledging the others' presence.

Once again, an uneasy silence fell over my group. I stared back at the blueprints. They were old and hand drawn on construction paper with notes crammed in every corner. Looking at them I almost got lost in thought once again but then Buford snapped me out of it.

"Okay," He said in his usual loud and impatient way, "what the heck is going on here? I mean you're not building anything, Ferb's moping in the corner, and Candace was actually nice. What is it?" He glared at me with hard eyes letting me know I couldn't get out of the question. The others, although a bit surprised at Buford's outburst didn't seem to want to give me an out either.

"It's just," I struggled to find the right words "it's a long story."

They all sat down in a circle in front of me, Isabella placing an encouraging hand on my shoulder. "We've got time." Buford said, more curious that impatient this time.

I gave one last glance at the papers on the ground, then I looked in my friends' eyes. I knew I had to tell them and they deserved to know. I closed my eyes and sighed, collecting myself.

"Okay," I said firmly opening my eyes to look at them "this is a story about why we build the things that we do. It's about why Ferb is so quiet all the time. But mostly it's about her. This is a story about Erin."

I know this chapter is short but it's really just an intro. More will be coming soon.

Please review!