In Truth

Blood Red Lips, Leaf Green Hair

Isabella watched her two gay best friends and sighed. Although Phineas and Ferb weren't constantly all touchy-feely, the way they looked at each other said it all. Isabella wished she had something like that, but all those years she'd spent dreaming and obsessing over Phineas had left her without anyone, since she'd only had eyes for him.

Her eyes opened to the truth now, she almost felt out of place. She'd always come over to see the boys to be with Phineas, and now she only came out of habit and friendship.

Ferb's cell phone rang, drawing Isabella out of her moping. "Hello? Oh, hello Aalina." There were sounds coming out of the phone from the caller's end, but Isabella couldn't decipher them. "Really? I'll let them know." He hung up and turned to his step-brother—his lover—Phineas. "She'll be here in fifteen minutes."

Isabella looked at them strangely, and Phineas realized something. "Oh that's right Isabella, we never told you did we? Ferb's sister is coming to visit."

Ferb, the intuitive one, could decipher her reaction. Why hadn't this sister been with them all these years? "When Cordaline and Father divorced, she claimed custody of Aalina." He explained simply. "Cordaline just now allowed her to visit us."

Isabella noticed how he talked of his birth mom. He referred to her by her first name in a way that was very unlike Ferb. It was rude, almost disrespectful, as if he had quite a grudge toward her.

The young lady in question drove up in a taxi not long after that, breaking what was about to become an awkward silence.

She walked up to the gate and slid through, carrying both the suitcases she had with her.

Ferb ran up to her, picked her up, and spun her around, forcing her to drop her luggage. She laughed gleefully, and when he set her down she didn't bother to attempt to fix her hair. She teased him, "Still 'Mr. Quiet'?"

"Still a lesbian?" he jeered in the same tone.

She laughed again, sweet and merry, then directed her attention to the other individuals in the yard.

"My step-brother and lover, Phineas," He said. The red-haired young man came up to him politely, and Ferb surprised him by placing his arm around his waist rather possessively. "and our best friend and girl from across the street, Isabella." The others hadn't arrived yet.

Isabella's eyes sparkled in Aalina's direction at the introduction. As soon as she had walked—no, sauntered was more appropriate—in, her heart had been acting strangely. It was pounding fast and hard, as if she'd been running a mile or riding a rollercoaster.

Isabella was drawn to her very image. Her hair too, was leaf green. "Genetic defect," they explained later. Her hair, on the other hand, flowed freely down her back, giving her an ethereal quality. Her eyes, on the other hand, were a deep mesmerizing violet, but she still had that adorable nose of her brother, long and skinny with a rounded tip. Her lips, quick to sneer and slow to smile, were painted blood red, proving that she was indeed, unmistakenly female to all, which was why Isabella was so shocked by her strange attraction to her.

She didn't like girls, did she? Well, no one could be certain, since she'd only been pining after Phineas all those years. The next thought she had was, Could Phineas have been a fluke? No, she reasoned with herself. It couldn't have been. Maybe it was like Ferb's situation, she reasoned. He'd always liked girls, but had fallen head over heels in love with Phineas. Who says she can't be attracted to Aalina?

No one did, which was part of the problem.

Aalina, on the other hand, had known all her life that she'd been attracted to the same gender, but she'd never gone for Isabella's type.

But that was the difference. Even though Isabella clearly had a type, she was forcefully squeezed into such a tiny space, which made her all that more intriguing of an individual in her eyes.

Isabella tried to stay calm and managed to utter a hello. A similar awkward, yet hopeful one was returned from Aalina, and the four of them sat down on the grass, ready for an adventure. And they sure were about to have one.