Author's Note by SomeoneD:
I hope you guys enjoy this, it was a pig to write, I must say. I've got chapter two coming up, but if this gets reviewed... that'd be nice. It really would. Rate it as well, and please, for the love of god, dont flame me on the pairing choices.

Chapter 1: The Falling Star.

Ferb was moving quickly, trying to keep up with Gretchen. She was close to dragging him away from Phineas. Ferb looked back, and a smile crept on his face. He realised why he was being dragged away, and admired Isabella's guts for it. He stopped resisting the pull, and walked along with Gretchen, who was looking a bit embarrassed. He let his train of thought drift as to reasons why – was she embarrassed to be with him? When this hit him, he quickly scoured his appearance, checking for anything in his teeth, and whether he smelt. He did this while making sure Gretchen didn't see him. When he was satisfied, he stopped. "I should be nice..." Although he hated dancing and the publicity of it, he figured he would make one special exception. He leant towards Gretchen, who, suddenly realising he was doing so, spun around. Ferb's eyes drifted as he watched her dress fly up during the twirl, giving her the look of a princess out of a fairy tale. Returning to the task at hand, he asked Gretchen for a dance. Seeing her reaction at this, with her face going bright red and her seemingly being unable to speak, he realised she may not have been embarrassed to be with him at all. Or maybe she was... but for a different reason. He smiled inwardly, pausing to reflect on how cute Gretchen looked in her dress. The orange sash around the waist, wrapping to her stomach. He began to mutter to himself. "I wonder...", with his thoughts remaining undecipherable, even to him, due to their clutter. Gretchen heard, but couldn't respond due to her embarrassment. Ferb just smiled, outwardly, using his natural trick of showing more of his emotions than many people could through actions, suddenly feeling content that he was with her.

Gretchen was trying to avoid looking at Ferb. She really wanted to just shout out her feelings and her thoughts, but her natural quietness was working against her. She was saved by Ferb, inadvertently, through what appeared to be sheer luck. "Would you like to dance?" She turned around, and Ferb, simply offering his hand to her. She plucked her courage, and simply said a single set of words. "I'd love to." Taking his hand, they moved into the centre of the crowd. Gretchen felt her anxiety rise up again – why was Ferb moving into the middle, of all places? I mean, he hated crowds almost as much as she did, so why would he come into the middle of a massive one?! She decided to let it ride, however – as long as she was with Ferb, she felt she would be fine. She smiled inwardly, before closing her eyes and allowing Ferb to lead – disconnecting from her anxiety and worry. In her mind, there was only her and Ferb. She was amazed she was willing to do this, even while disconnecting from her thoughts, with her general shyness making her unwilling to even go to the dance. She had almost not come – until Isabella said "Ferb's gonna be there." The moment she heard this, she was rushing around her room, preparing herself, in a manner which Isabella noted was "quite unlike her."

Isabella paused from her hugging of the recently-made-alone Phineas to watch Gretchen. She knew, and only she knew, that she liked him. Gretchen's personality had rendered her unable to share this with anyone else, not even the troop. Isabella -didn't- know, however, that Gretchen HAD shared this information with the rest of the group. Nevertheless, she wanted to get it out in the open, as Ferb was generally more receptive of feelings in general. However, in keeping with Gretchen's wishes, she decided to keep it quiet. She knew, from what had been happening with Phineas, that staying quiet wasn't always the best plan of action. She trusted Gretchen's plan though, but prayed she knew what she was doing. Phineas had walked over to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder, but with a gentle feel. "What 'cha thinnnnking?" She smiled at the use of her own trademark line, thinking back to all the times she herself has used it. "Just thinking about Ferb." Phineas moved to her side, and grasped her arm, holding it with a gentle style of force she had never seen before. Isabella felt herself blush, but regained her composure quickly, as she had to around Phineas' ignorance. Phineas began to speak, in a serious tone, which she noted didn't suit him whatsoever. "It's obvious, isn't it?" Isabella turned to look at Phineas, who was now intently staring at Ferb and Gretchen's dancing, his eyes following their movements. "I mean, it's so obvious Gretchen likes him." Isabella sighed. How was it that Phineas could pick up on other people's feelings, and yet not pick up on hers? "I'm surprised you didn't see it, either." Isabella felt like thumping him on the nose, hoping to redirect some of that blood to her brain so she can see what he is missing! She was about to counter with a sarcastic comment, but he continued, almost cutting across her. "And no, I don't mean Ferb and Gretchen, Isa." She lost her train of thought – she had thought Phineas was completely oblivious! He couldn't know... right? "Isa, how could you not see it?" Isabella decided to reply on this one, with the reply having been formed in her head for years, but was whispered only in her dreams. "You mean..-" Before she could finish her sentence, Phineas cut across. "Yeah... I mean about us."

Phineas was having a hard time of it. He had attempted to put off her asking him out, and even though he had succeeded in delaying it, she still managed to in the end. He couldn't show why he didn't want to go when he was asked though, so bringing Ferb along was a last resort. Unfortunately for him, the stars were determined for him to explain himself, with Murphy's Law in full effect for him – from Gretchen pulling Ferb away to him sitting next to her. "Why did I even do that?" was his inner thought response to this action, feeling as if his legs were being autonomously controlled by some unknown puppeteer, determined for him to speak to Isabella. I mean, where he could begin? From every girl he has ever met, he has had a hard time trying to admit that he loved someone, namely due to his own personal lack of understanding – both of the concept and the feelings. He even rarely said it to Mom, but not for reasons of dislike, or disrespect. He just couldn't do it. "Well... Isabella..." He kept pausing, the silence stinging his ears. "I..." Isabella interrupted him. "You don't like me, do you?" with her expression and her mood turning to glumness, as well as a sense of defeat. Phineas decided now was the time to be extremely blunt, a technique which he felt didn't really fit his style. "Isabella... you've got it wrong. It's the exact opposite. I... I l-" Isabella's face changed once again, into a massive grin, with the red flush indicating her joy, rather than embarrassment. Having interrupted Phineas, she quickly leant in and hugged him, kissing him as he did. Phineas, although pretending to try to break away, was secretly enjoying it more than the dance itself, with the light of the stars and the warmth of the night adding to the feeling. Rather than dignify her reaction with words, Phineas merely took her hand, and led her to dance.

The Next Day...

RING. RING. RING. RING.

Ferb stirred. He heard their alarm clock, which was a joint purchase between them, ringing in the space that their pet fish, Goldie, used to occupy. Climbing out of bed with a groan, he switched it off. Noticing that Phineas was still asleep like a rock, he decided to let him be. Looking around his room quickly, he noticed his clothes were buried in the washing pile, with the washing pile being where it always was – wherever Phineas had decided to drop his clothes off. He looked up from it to the shelf above, noticing the photos that lay above. Ignoring their contents, he climbed out of bed, before treading on something sharp. Retracting his foot, and letting out a grunt of pain, he noticed it was a tack. "How the hell did a tack get in here?" He placed this thought at the back of his mind, where several other thoughts rest, all contending to be heard, and to be listened to. He brought his mind to his current problem – where were his clothes? He quickly scanned the room, but couldn't do a full search without waking his brother. Sighing, he decided to go downstairs in what he was currently wearing, which was his night wear. He hoped Candace wouldn't see him in this though, as he didn't look particularly nice – she may be their sister, but he wanted to keep some pride in his looks. He moved his eyes to the alarm clock – 7:59am. His brain momentarily forgetting all rational thought, panic swept in about his being late for school. He smiled as his brain slowly remembered he was on his summer vacation, and even if it wasn't, it was a Saturday, meaning no school anyway. Pushing himself off the bed,while making sure he avoided the tack which lay on the floor, landed softly, avoiding any unnecessary noise. He crept out of the room, ensuring to avoid anything else Phineas may have scattered around the floor. With the carefulness he walked with every morning, he crept downstairs, taking time to ensure he put his feet in the correct spaces, as well as to enjoy the photos that adorned every wall. When he passed his parents room, he ensured that the section of the floorboards that creaked were left untouched, as they were sure to wake them. He needed some time to think to himself, and hopefully make some sense of the collection of thoughts polluting his mind and tying up his attention. Ensuring that he was alone, he made himself a bowl of cereal, having a momentary debate between which cereal to have. After deciding on Sugar Bombs, he gave the pristine kitchen a quick scan. He noticed the fridge had a note on it, held up with Candace's favourite magnet – it was only her favourite due to whom had given it her. It had been a special gift from Jeremy Johnson, custom made. Walking towards it, he removed it from the fridge, before opening it and reading it's contents.

"Ferb.

I'm not an idiot, I saw last night.

I'm off out for the day
Also, tell Phineas I'm not in! ty.

Candace xxx.

Ferb shuddered. How much did Candace figure out on her own – considering she was normally clueless with love, with her attempts with Jeremy proving this, it was impossible to tell. Placing this thought at the back of his already crowded mind, amongst all his other thoughts, he started to walk into the living room. A sudden jolt almost knocked him and his cereal onto the floor, as his foot collided with Perry's side. It wasn't forceful, but it was still enough to make Ferb nearly trip over. Thanking the stars that he didn't lose his cereal, he walked over him, ensuring that he didn't trip over his beloved pet this time. Perry was still asleep like a rock, with his gentle chirping noise being his only indication of life. After stroking Perry gently, feeling his fur-like covering against his hand, he sat down on the couch, taking his usual spot to the right. While looking for the remote for the television, he noticed the lipstick stains on the other side of the couch, positioned in a suspicious way, with the marks far closer to the centre of the couch than he would like to believe. Pushing the recently acquired mental image away before he lost all will to eat, began on his cereal. His eyes kept getting drawn towards it, and against his better instinct, went over to the marks, feeling them them. Part of the lipstick came away on his hands, staining them a dull red colour – they were recently made. "What did they do last night?" was Ferb's reaction to the lipstick, and when he noticed some had some away on his hands, he added a resounding "Argh!" before rushing off to wipe it off. If any one else saw him with lipstick on his hand he'd have all sorts of accusations to deal with, not least from Phineas, who would be asking him which girl he had gotten with that night. Splashing the tap onto full, he struggled to rinse it off, eventually suceeding.

Phineas began to wake, with the feeling that the morning had come far too quickly. His night with Isabella was better than he could of imagined. He rolled over, expecting to find Isabella, as she was who he had fallen asleep with, trying his best to ignore the thumping pain in his head reminding him that alcohol was bad. It quickly dawned on him that he was in his own bed, and then wondered how he had gotten there. "I could have sworn I fell asleep in Isabella's living room." was his reaction to this development, acknowledging his mind still felt a bit blurred. Ignoring the recent turn of events, his mind drifted to what would happen between them now. "Isabella knows I like her, I know she likes me... the next step is... dating." He shuddered at the word, but placed this thought at the back of his mind – thinking while suffering from a hangover was never the smartest idea, even for him. Unbeknownst to everyone else, his conceptions on dating and love were far less developed than he let on, as proven by some of the more romantically-inclined ideas he had. Most of his knowledge of these kind of relationships had come from TV, drama and books, which he was not proud of admitting, which was again evident – his cruise ship for Baljeet had most of it's ideas taken from romantic movies. He was said to be the smartest person in everything, able to solve pretty much any creative problem, or come up with any idea to solve any problem you could imagine, and yet he doesn't even know what love is. Making a mental note to ask Candace about it, he climbed out of bed, ignoring the bundle of clothes on the floor that vied for his attention. His mind drifted off, when he realised asking Candace would not be the best course of action. "I'll ask... well, I don't know who I'll ask but I'll ask someone!"

Ferb heard the floorboards creak upstairs, with the heavy-footed steps thumping with each movement. Realising that his personal time was coming to a close, and that he was soon to be joined by another member of the family, he made a silent resolve to figure out how he felt about Gretchen, and piece together what really happened last night. Seconds after, Phineas came bounding into the kitchen, eager to talk about the dance. Although Ferb could tell he had the hangover of all hangovers by simply looking at him, either he wasn't letting it bother him or he was simply ignoring it, akin to the way he was. "Morning, sleepy." Phineas smiled, with the familiar smirk Ferb saw every time he called him this. Ferb always used that as a greeting if he could for that very reason, but he also took the mood he said it in as a sign he didn't want to talk about what had happened between him and Gretchen. Phineas decided to open up with the statement that Isabella looked really cute, but before he had the chance to form the words, Ferb cut across. "So, you and Isabella are together now, huh?" Ferb noticed Phineas' involuntary shudder when told this, the same shudder he saw whenever Phineas had to admit he didn't know something. "Well, Ferb, I don't honestly know." was his sheepish reply, his tone of voice far quieter than was usual for him. Ferb, using his natural ability to sense emotions through actions, saw his embarrassment, and more importantly, his disappointment. "Well, did you ask her out?" was his calm reply, ensuring to not put any antagonising tone in his voice – upsetting him wouldn't be a smart move while he was in this state. Phineas pretended to not hear his question, and proceeded to put some bread into the toaster, setting it to low, as he liked it. Ferb repeated his question, and waited for Phineas' response. "...Yes." Phineas refused to dignify the question any more, walking into the lounge, and almost treading on Perry, as Ferb had done only several minutes earlier.

Ferb proceeded to follow, watching as Phineas took a seat on the couch, away from the lipstick marks. Ferb placed himself next to him, making sure he was as far away from the lipstick as possible without being too close to Phineas. They sat in silence for several minutes, only interrupted by the occasional swallowing or chewing sound. It wasn't long before Phineas broke the silence, which was like him – he was never happy unless he was talking. "So, how are you... and Gretchen?" Ferb froze, stunned. "Phineas, what do you mean?" Phineas let out a chuckle, which was an unfamiliar sound to Ferb, even know he had heard Phineas laugh many a time. He then realised why he was chuckling – he was chuckling at him! Phineas eventually calmed down, and put on a serious face, or at least, what he believed was a serious face. Ferb thought he was lucky he had a strong resolve, else he would have burst out laughing at his "serious face", as would many a person.

Phineas simply stared at Ferb, before revealing what he knew. "Dude, she likes you!" Ferb froze for a moment, with this statement having struck a chord within his mind, causing all the thoughts he had in his mind to be jumbled and scattered around. How could anyone like him – small, unfit, nerdy Ferb? Even a whole bunch of the people at school didn't like him, with them always stealing and then copying his homework. But with another flash of inspiration, similar to the way Phineas obtains his many creative ideas every day, he realised how Gretchen could like him – they were similar! Both were smart, detached, and exceptionally quiet, and now that he recalled, he could swear he had seen Gretchen with similar injuries to him when he was once particularly beat up on by the thugs. He shared this with Phineas, whose only reply was "Isabella said she's liked you for a long time." Ferb thought to himself. He couldn't be with Gretchen... could he? He decided to spend more time thinking about this later. "In any case, Phineas, we have a bigger problem." Phineas quickly shifted his gaze to Ferb, with all humour and faux-seriousness stripped from it. "Oh really?" was his reply, speaking in a cool tone. "Yeah, we need to fix you and Isabella up. I figure the first thing we need to do... is a lesson on love. And I know just who to talk to!" Phineas paused for a second, before he jumped up, uttering his trademark phrase - "I know what we're gonna do today!"