Roller-coaster

"Buford!" the panicked voice rang through the boy's head. He forced himself to conciseness. He had to find Baljeet!

"'Jeet," Buford mumbled, cracking his eyes open.

"Buford?" he heard his mother's worried voice.

"Ma, where's 'Jeet?" Buford asked, realizing he was in a hospital bed.

"He's at home. You took the brunt of the blow when the two of you fell. He just has a sprained wrist and a few bruises. How are you feeling?"

Buford was relieved, his 'Jeet was safe. "I'm okay, my legs kinda sore. How long was I out?"

"A week, I was getting worried you would never wake up."

"When can I get out of here?" Buford hated hospitals.

"I don't know Buford, that cart almost crushed you. As it is, you broke your left arm and leg. What were you thinking, that thing was dangerous?!" Biffany almost yelled at her son.

"It was Phineas and Ferb, Mom. They build things that last forever, how was I supposed to know this was the exception?"

"What happened, what went wrong?"

"Baljeet was in the back car, alone. The connection cable broke. He called out for me, I had to help him! I reached back for him and we both fell off the coaster. That's all I remember."

Before Biffany could reply, there was a timid knock at the door and a familiar red-head peered around the door.

"Hey, Mrs. Van Strom, I came to see if…Buford, you're awake!"

"Hey, Dinner Bell, have you seen 'Jeet lately?"

"Yeah, I was just at his house. He's worried sick about you, he hasn't seen you since the accident," Phineas said, coming into the room and standing next to Buford, "I'm sorry Buford, I was careless. If I had been more careful, none of this would have ever happened."

"It's okay Phineas, we all make mistakes. I don't blame you," Buford said, sitting up in the bed.

"Are you sure?" Phineas asked, wringing his hands together.

"I'm positive. Where's Ferb?"

The look of pain on Phineas' face told Buford everything.

"How, our cart was secure?!" Buford asked.

"We were at the top of the hill, the really tall one. His cart broke off. We could barely recognize him when we found the cart, he never had a chance. And he had just become mine." A tear fell from Phineas' eye.

"Oh Phin, I'm so sorry for you. At least he didn't suffer."

"Oh, that's the irony of it all. He had a picture and a note in his hand when we found him. Look," Phineas said bitterly, reaching into his pocket.

It was a scrap of paper and a strip of pictures from a picture machine.

My Dearest Phineas,

I don't want you to let this ruin your life. Build, live, laugh, and love enough for the both of us.

So give me one last kiss, and move on with your life

Don't be a Juliet.

And always remember,

I love you

My heart is forever yours,

Ferb

"Oh, Phin, I'm sorry, I mean Ferb was the anchor for the whole group. How's Isabella taking this?"

"Badly, she locked herself in her room when we found the body, and she hasn't come out or spoken to anyone since."

Mrs. Van Strom's phone rang. She looked at the name and held it out to Buford. "It's Baljeet, he will want to talk to you."

Buford eagerly took the phone.

"Hello?" Buford heard Baljeet say over the phone.

"Hey 'Jeet," Buford said, a wave of relief flowing from somewhere deep inside him. Hearing people tell him Baljeet was alright was not the same as hearing Baljeet himself.

"BUFORD! You're awake! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine 'Jeet, just a little banged up. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, are you sure you're alright? The doctors wouldn't let me see you, and I'm pretty much on house arrest for going on the coaster, which I'll never be able to do again."

"'Jeet, I'm fine, and I know what you mean, especially what happened to Ferb." Buford barely saw Phineas shaking his head, out of the corner of his eye.

"What happened to Ferb? Phineas was just here, but he wouldn't tell me," Baljeet said, sounding puzzled.

"I…I can't tell you over the phone. It's something that needs to be told in person. I'll tell you when I get out of this monkey joint, okay?" Buford said, hoping it would satisfy the nerd.

"Okay, if you say so," Baljeet said, wondering what had made the bully, normally so tough sound like he was about to cry.

"Is Isabella okay? I was thinking, if she would talk to anyone, it would be you," Buford said, trying to get the topic off of Ferb.

"She called earlier. She's taking all of this pretty hard. Apparently she got into a really big fight with Ferb, right before the ride… Is that what happened, did Ferb get hurt, like us, and she blames herself for it?"

"No, that's not what happened. 'Jeet…Ferb's gone. His cart broke off at the top of the really high hill and he fell. He's dead, never had a chance," Buford said.

"So Ferb…Ferb's…dead? Poor Phin, poor Isabella, she wished he never existed, during that fight."

"Wow, well 'Jeet I gotta go. Call me tomorrow?" Buford asked, looking at the nurse at the door, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'll do you one better, I'll come see you in person. 'Bye Buford."

"'Bye 'Jeet."

The next few weeks flew by in a blur. Buford went home in a week, and in two more he got his arm cast off. And even though he was on crutches, Buford Van Strom was still the most feared bully in the neighborhood.

"Hey 'Jeet?" Buford asked one day after he had gotten his cast off and they were heading to Phineas' house.

"Yeah Buford?" Baljeet responded, turning to the taller boy.

"How come you use contractions now?" Buford asked, looking at Baljeet.

"'Cause, I found something that scares me more than contractions," Baljeet replied, not looking at the taller boy.

"What's that?" Buford asked, remembering how scared the boy had been of contractions.

Baljeet mumbled something Buford couldn't hear.

"What was that? I didn't hear you," Buford asked.

"Losing you," Baljeet said, looking up at Buford, tears in his eyes. "When I didn't see or talk to you for a week, I thought I had lost you."

Buford was touched. They stopped, right outside Phineas' gate. "'Jeet, you're not going to lose me, ever," Buford said, leaning into the smaller boy. He stopped, to see if Baljeet would pull away. When he didn't, Buford closed the gap between the two of them. Their lips met softly.

The gate opened silently behind Buford.

Phineas smiled and quietly closed the gate.

"Well where are they?" Isabella asked when Phineas turned back to her.

"Right outside, they'll be in when they're ready," Phineas said, smiling softly.

"What are they…oh," Isabella said, realizing what was going on, on the other side of the fence.

Buford pulled away from Baljeet slightly. "Come on, they'll be wondering where we are if we don't get in there soon."

Baljeet nodded, slipping his hand into Buford's as they entered the backyard.

"Buford, took you long enough! I thought I would have to invent something to get the two of you together."

"Y-You know, how?" Buford asked, stunned.

"Well, it wasn't hard to tell you liked him, especially after you threw yourself of a roller-coaster to save him…and I saw the make-out session," Phineas said.

Buford just shook his head and bent down to kiss the most beautiful boy in the world, his 'Jeet.