AN: Another Phineas and Ferb one shot. My mind keeps supplying me with plot bunnies, and as I am not sleepy, well, here's another one. Also I love Ferb so much!
Please read and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb.
Ferb didn't know when Charlie first decided he was the perfect victim. Everyone knew that Baljeet was Buford's nerd, and that if anyone but Buford decided to pick on him they would have to run for their life, so Charlie knew he had to find another victim, and apparently Ferb was it.
Charlie had only been going to their school for six months, and seemingly found it very interesting how Ferb barely talked, and how the teachers knew not to pick on him for questions unless he had specifically raised his hand in order to answer one.
This made Ferb victim material in his book.
Why Charlie decided to be bully was beyond what Ferb could determine. Charlie was well-liked by a lot of people as he was popular and was a winning quarter-back on the football team, but apparently Charlie had decided that he wanted to be Buford's friend the most for some random reason. This was why he decided he needed to be a bully to gain Buford's attention.
Ferb was the victim.
It had started with a bit of ribbing in the corridors, and it hadn't really bothered Ferb. He hadn't been with any of his friends at this point, as h had just come out of a lesson and was heading to meet them outside the English and Maths block, and that was when Charlie made his first move.
" Hey Freak, answer a question for me? What do you get if you add silence and a loser?"
Ferb continued walking.
" It's you. Ha! Yeah keep walking, freak!"
Ferb brushed it off. It wasn't as if he had never been called a freak before, and names didn't bother him. Sure he always remembered them, and when he was feeling most vulnerable they echoed around in his head, but apart from that they didn't bother him. He tuned them out most of the time, so the quiet rudeness didn't bother him, and he brushed it off, taking it as a one time deal.
The next time it happened, it was worse. He took Ferb's silence last time to be an incentive to be more rude and harsh to Ferb.
" Hey idiot! Go fall in a ditch, and no one will miss you, you're so silent that they don't even notice when you are there, so what difference does it make? No one would miss you."
Ferb clenched his fist slightly, but carried on walking. He wasn't going to let the words get to him. He knew that Phineas knew when he was there, and that Phineas valued his company, as well as the rest of his friends. He wasn't alone, and people would notice he was gone,he knew that.
The first time it got physical was when Ferb realised how much Charlie hated him, and yet he still had no idea why.
" Freak! You little freak! Why do you never answer?"
Ferb continue walking.
" No, you get back here freak."
Charlie grabbed him and shoved him up against the locker, and Ferb gasped, surprised as he felt his head slam up against it on the left side. He twisted, trying to free himself, but he only managed to end up facing Charlie first on.
" Answer me freak!"
He slammed Ferb's head against it, hard. Ferb's head throbbed with pain, and his vision blurred slightly.
" You better watch it freak, or next time it will be worse."
With that, Charlie sauntered off, bag slung over one shoulder, and he had a slight perk to his walk. Once he rounded the corner, Ferb slid down onto the floor, resting against the locker and trying to calm his beating heart and stop the pounding of his head.
" I just need to get home and sleep, that's all." Ferb thought to himself.
Ferb had no idea how long he sat on the floor, he suddenly felt too tired to walk, and he was fairly sure he had a concussion. He had a concussion twice before, and he recognised the familiar feeling at that moment.
" Come on Ferb." He thought.
He slowly stood up on shaky legs, and prayed that he wouldn't vomit, willing the swirling of his stomach to calm and stop twisting and turning. He checked his watch, and gasped. His club had ended an hour and six minutes ago, and if he wasn't home soon, his Mum and Dad were going to be worried, and he didn't want that. He didn't want them to know what was happening. Ferb was sure it was going to blow over.
He arrived home seventeen minutes later, and was immediately greeted by his concerned Mum, apparently his Dad was staying over time at the shop.
" Ferb! Where have you been, we've been so worried about you!"
" Sorry." Ferb whispered, eyes focussed on the floor, hoping she wouldn't notice his face, which he was sure was swollen and beginning to bruise.
" Look at me when I'm talking to you please young man."
Ferb slowly looked up, and she gasped as she saw his face.
" Oh honey, what happened to your face."
" Walked into a door." Ferb told her softly.
" Oh dear. Candace! Can you fetch me some ice please?!"
" Fine Mum!"
Linda steered Ferb towards the couch, and he allowed her to do it.
" Concussion?" She asked him slowly.
He made to nod his head, but the immediate ringing warned him that wasn't the best idea, and instead he just gave her a thumbs up.
" Okay honey. Now, you are not going to go to sleep now, are you?"
Ferb gave her a thumbs down.
" Good boy. Candace?"
" Coming."
Candace came in with the ice and some tablets and water, which Ferb took gingerly, whilst Candace sat down next to him on the sofa, rubbing his back slightly in sisterly support.
" Now Candace, can you hold this to Ferb's head while I go and check the internet for something."
" Sure Mum."
Candace and Ferb watched their Mum leave the room, and sat in silence for a moment before Candace turned to talk to him.
" Hey Ferb, you know I'm always here to talk, you know, if you need it." She said, sincerity in her voice.
" Thanks Candace." He whispered.
He leant against Candace slightly as she continued holding the ice wrapped in a cloth to his head. Linda returned not long later.
" Now Ferb, it says here, that I should allow you to go to sleep, but I will need to wake you up every few hours, okay?"
" Yes Mum."
" Come on Candace, help me get him upstairs."
Ferb was glad of the help, his headache was worsening, and even the pills Candace had given him didn't seem to make much difference. As they reached his and Phineas' shared room, he was carefully helped onto the bed, and Phineas ripped the earphones out of his ears with haste.
" Ferb?" He asked, worrying clouding his usually happy features.
" He'll be fine Phineas. But come and bring your homework and do it downstairs, okay? Ferb needs some rest."
" Okay Mum, feel better Ferb."
The three of them left the room, and with that, Ferb fell asleep.
He was woken three hours later, asking if he was hungry, but he denied it, and curled back up and fell asleep once more.
- Phineas and Ferb-
Over the next few weeks, Ferb began to support a few more injuries at the hands of Charlie, and he knew that Candace seemed to know what was going on, but it seemed she was waiting for him to tell her himself.
He wasn't sure about Phineas.
Phineas still hadn't noticed Isabella's massive crush on him, and Ferb was fairly sure this was something else he hadn't noticed.
He was wrong.
One evening, whilst Ferb was at a club, Phineas gathered their group of friends for a meeting in the garage.
" What is going on Phineas?" Baljeet asked.
" I think something is going on with Ferb." He told them bluntly.
" I think so to!" Isabella chimed in.
" Yeah." Even Buford agreed.
" When we fireside girls earned our caring for others patch, we learnt how to subtly ask people if they need help. I can try with Ferb if you want, and Ginger and Addison can help me."
" That's great, thanks Isabella."
" No problem Phineas."
" I'll keep an eye out on him." Buford told them, an eyebrow raised, warning people not to comment.
" Okay guys, we need to make sure he is okay."
-Phineas and Ferb-
The group of friends all kept an eye on Ferb, but even the Fireside girls had trouble getting anything out of him. It wasn't surprising though, everyone knew that if Ferb didn't want to talk he wouldn't.
It was a month after the group had met to discuss how to make sure Ferb was okay, when Phineas got the call.
It was during English, one of the lessons that Phineas wasn't so good at, and wasn't in a class with Ferb, when the announcement came over the speakers.
" Please may Phineas Flynn come to the principles office."
The teacher allowed him to leave quickly, and with a deep sinking feeling in his chest, Phineas made his way towards the principles office. He just knew this had something to do with Ferb, and that worried him. Ferb was his best friend, and his brother, and he was very worried about him.
He knocked on the door, and was immediately allowed entry, and he was surprised to see his Dad there, looking solemn.
" Dad? What's going on?"
" It's Ferb." He told him sadly.
" What happened?"
" It seems that Mr Fletcher was getting bullied, and unfortunately it has reached a level where-"
" Unfortunately? That's what you are going with? If he was being bullied, surely you should have noticed, what sort of school doesn't realise when a student is being bullied? When they don't have an anti-bullying policy..." Phineas began to rant.
" Phineas lad, calm down. Sorry Principle Davenforth, he's just...well...worried for his brother."
" No harm done, and you mark my words Mr Flynn, we will be doing everything within our power to get to the bottom of what happened to your brother."
" Wait, where is Ferb anyway?"
" Unfortunately he sustained some serious injuries and at the moment he's in the hospital. Your Mother met him at the hospital, while your father came to pick you up."
" I need to see Ferb." Phineas told his Father bluntly.
" I know son, come on we're going. Thank you Sir." He told the principle.
" No problem, we will find out what happened to Ferb."
Lawrence and Phineas quickly left the school, and made their way to the hospital, which was thankfully only a short drive. The two sat in silence on the way there, neither knowing quite how to put words to how they felt. Someone had hurt someone they loved, and their was no way they were going to get away with it, especially not with the burning hatred Phineas was feeling to the unknown somebody in his chest.
" Flynn-Fletchers?" The Nurse asked as they arrived.
" Yeah. That's us."
" Follow me, I'll take you to Ferb."
She led us down a few long corridors before we reached the room where Ferb was. He lay in the bed with Linda and Candace at his side, and he looked incredibly pale, more so than usual.
" Ferb!"
" I'm okay Phineas, I promise." He croaked.
" What happened?"
" Well, he, I-"
" Mr Ferb Fletcher?" A voice asked from the doorway.
" That's me."
" We need to talk to you about what happened."
" It's fine. I don't want to make a fuss..."
" Ferb dear, you have a broken leg, a sprained wrist, a cracked tooth, a split lip and multiple bruises over your body, and not to mention your cracked rib. This isn't teasing, this is serious bullying." Linda told him softly.
Ferb looked down ashamed.
" I should have been able to defend myself better." He muttered.
Phineas could tell that Ferb seemed uncomfortable with the amount of words he was saying. It was so out of character for him, and yet Phineas was inwardly willing him to go on. He knew what he needed to do.
" Please Mr Fletcher, if you will." One of the women from the door asked.
It was at that moment that Phineas realised that not only were there two of them, but they were also police officers, who needed to talk to Ferb.
" Well..."
" When did it start?"
" About six weeks ago."
" How did it start?"
" Just, you know, taunting. I didn't take it seriously, I ignored it. But it got worse, and I..."
" Who was it Mr Fletcher?"
" Charlie." He whispered quietly.
Phineas paused, and then clenched his wrists.
" Charlie...?"
" Prescott." Phineas told the officers.
Ferb nodded his confirmation.
" Right, thank you Mr Fletcher, that's all for now."
The two officers left, and Phineas moved his chair on an angle, so that Ferb wouldn't see him texting their group chat of friends, just two words that made Phineas' point clear.
Get Charlie.
-Phineas and Ferb-
The group received the message, and they knew exactly what Phineas was getting at. After a text of confirmation and one attached image of Ferb, and the group were fuming and twisting in their seats, waiting for the bell to ring and waiting for the moment that they could get Charlie.
At lunch, it happened.
The three of them had gathered a few more people who loved Ferb, such as Irving, Ginger, Adyson, Django and a fair few others to corner him.
" Buford, my man, what's going on?" Charlie asked, reaching to high five Buford.
Buford slapped his hand away.
" What...?" Charlie asked confused.
" You. Hurt. Ferb." Buford spat, advancing on him, and jabbing him in the chest, hard.
" And...so what?"
" No one hurts Ferb, got it?"
" What's so special about that...that...FREAK!" Charlie said, screaming the last word,and making silence sweep across the cafeteria.
" You didn't just say that." Isabella spat.
" Oh I did. What are you going to do about that Princess?" Charlie asked, grinning gleefully.
Isabella's face went red with anger, and a gleeful grin spread across the faces of those gathered who knew Isabella best. With that, Isabella threw a punch, which made Charlie fall to the floor, just as the teachers ran in. They looked surprised at Charlie sprawled on the floor.
" Charlie Prescott, there is someone waiting for you in the office."
The teachers blatantly ignored the heavy bleeding of Charlie's nose as they dragged him off to the office. Isabella even saw Principle Davenforth a slight wink, and she knew that he knew what she had done, and yet wasn't willing to punish her for it. They later heard, that Charlie had been arrested and had to do a year at a juvenile detention centre and was expelled. It was less than he deserved, but the slight justice made the group content.
" Good punch Isabella!" Irving cried.
A fair amount of the canteen cheered, and Isabella, despite herself, grinned.
" No one messes with Ferb."