This story is the product of listening to iTunes on shuffle and hearing Panama by Van Halen and Cop Car by Keith Urban back to back, and then seeing the new Need For Speed movie.

Even though I ship it, I don't do too much Ferbnessa stuff, but I got the idea and it just really seemed perfect. Before you say anything, I don't really think this is out of character for Ferb. Just read it, you'll see.

Chapter 1

"Try it again, Ferb."

At his brother's request, Ferb turned the key in the ignition of the 1965 Cadillac Coupe Deville. The starter cranked, but the stubborn 7 liter V8 engine refused to turn over.

"Alright!" Phineas called, and Ferb let go of the key. He leaned out the open door to watch as his brother crouched under the hood, ratchet and screwdriver in hand, tweaking the carburetor.

The two step-brothers were in the large workshop on the back of their parents' antique shop. They'd been working here summers and weekends since they'd turned 14 to earn a little extra money. Their favorite task was restoring items that their parents bought at garage sales and swap meets. They loved machining little parts for clock movements, repairing broken pieces of wooden furniture, and occasionally called Isabella to help them patch up a worn tapestry.

As much fun as it was, it just didn't compare to the grandiose rides and contraptions they built in the backyard as kids. They missed the hustle and bustle of major construction, welding, riveting, and the like. So when Lawrence brought home the battered '65 Coupe Deville to restore for a customer, they were ecstatic to get their hands dirty and do some work.

Their first task was turning out to be a bit more difficult than they'd anticipated: getting the engine to start. They'd been at it for about four hours now, and while the old engine didn't need any major repairs other than replacing a rotted fuel line, it simply refused to start.

"Okay," Phineas said, standing up and brushing back his sweat-soaked red hair. "Try it now."

Ferb turned the key. Once again the starter spun, and this time the engine even sounded like it might catch, but it continued to be stubborn. He let the key go. Leaning around the hood to watch his brother again, he saw Phineas unscrew the air cleaner and remove it, grab a can of ether, and spray some into the carburetor.

"Okay, go," Phineas called again, his voice echoing slightly in the workshop.

Ferb turned the key, and after a number of protesting coughs from the engine, at last it turned over. It coughed again as if it might stall, so Ferb gently pressed down the gas pedal and revved up the RPMs. Once the old engine had warmed up, he let it idle again, and it purred smoothly.

"Yes! We got it!" Phineas high-fived his brother, which was possible because the convertible top was down. "Want to go get some pizza? I'm starving."

"Yeah, alright."

"In fact, let's drive the Caddy there. It'll probably be good to drive it. You know, break in the engine after not being started in so long."

Ferb nodded and Phineas ran around to the right side of the car, stopping briefly along the way to close the hood. Then he jumped into passenger seat. "Let's go!" The transmission made a bit of a grinding sound as Ferb shifted into reverse. They both winced and looked at each other. "We should probably fix that next," Phineas said.

Ferb carefully backed the eighteen-and-a-half foot car out of the workshop and steered for the road, heading toward the pair's favorite pizza place in town.

"What the-?"

Phineas's exclamation came when he caught sight of the crowd of cars and people in the road in front of the old drive-in theater lot. The road was so clogged that Ferb had to stop the car. People were piling into the drive-in lot, and they all seemed to be gathering around a mostly empty area that was blocked off by rope beneath the dark movie screen.

Before they even realized what was happening, the car was surrounded by people filing past. They couldn't even back up.

"What in the world is going on?"

Ferb shrugged. "Beats me." They unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up on the seats, not caring much about their dirty shoes. The interior of the car had to be completely redone, anyway.

"It looks like…" Phineas squinted toward the base of the movie screen, shading his eyes from the setting sun with his hand. "Cars. Really shiny cars. Lined up like they're ready to race or something, but there's no racetrack here."

Ferb carefully hopped over the windshield to the hood to get a little bit closer and a little bit higher. "Hmm…you're right. It does look like they're lined up for a race."

"Hey! Phineas! Ferb!"

They turned, scanning the thickening crowd for the source of the familiar voice. "Over here, Dillweeds!"

There, right in front of the idling car, stood Buford.

"Hey, Buford!" Phineas called. "I thought that was you! Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Street racing meet, duh!" the bully mocked, rolling his eyes.

"And all these people came to compete?"

"Of course not! They came to watch! That's why I'm here." Buford lowered his eyes. "I'd love to compete, but I don't exactly have the cash to blow on a new car if I crash."

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "Isn't street racing, you know, illegal?"

Buford smirked. "Only if you get caught. But running from the cops is part of the fun!"

"I don't know about this," Phineas said. "I sort of feel like we should call the police. Someone could get hurt."

"Nah," Buford quipped, flipping his hand. "I've been to plenty of these things. It's not dangerous. The drivers are actually really skilled. Hardly ever a crash."

Phineas put a hand to his non-existent chin. "Mmm…I don't know…what do you think, Ferb." For the first time, Phineas realized that Ferb was not paying attention to the conversation. He was looking very intently at the group of racecars beneath the movie screen. "Ferb?"

Ferb squinted hard. He was peering intently at a forest green 1985 Z28-IROC Chevy Camaro. More specifically, he was looking hard at the person that he assumed was the owner. He'd only briefly caught the figure before they'd crouched down beside the car, and he was intently waiting until they stood back up.

And when she did, his jaw dropped. "Vanessa?!"

"Vanessa?" Phineas repeated. "You see her?"

Ferb nodded, trying to make absolutely sure that it was her. There was no mistaking it. She was dressed in a black leather jumpsuit and her silky hair was even longer than when he'd seen it last. He couldn't make out much more detail from so far away, but as far as he could tell, she was just as beautiful as he remembered.

It had been years since he'd seen her last, not since he was twelve. But he never forgot about her. He often thought about the crush he'd had on her. Ferb was tormented, not sure just how much he'd really liked her. He'd never had time to find out before she'd seemingly disappeared from his life. But he knew one thing for sure: His heart still beat faster at the sight of her.

"Oh, yeah," Buford said. "Vanessa Doofenshmit. Or Doofenblat. Or…um…something…I never know how to say it."

"Doofenshmirtz," Ferb corrected without averting his gaze.

"Right, right. Anyway," Buford went on, "She's a real badass behind the wheel. She's killer. Really tough to beat. Everyone loves her. Real popular. That's part of the reason why there's such a crowd."

"Huh," Phineas said, "I never really took Vanessa as the law-breaker type."

"Well, apparently, she was dating some dude a bunch of years ago, someone that her father didn't want her associating with, and the guy's pop didn't want him associating with her, so to keep them apart they shipped the dude off to Europe or something and Vanessa's dad kicked her out," Buford explained. "As least, that's the rumor, anyway. She was feeling depressed and angry, so she bought that Camaro of hers and started working on it, and then she started racing it."

Ferb didn't hear much of the explanation after Buford said that Vanessa had been forced apart from her boyfriend. He found his usually very calculated and logical brain thinking nothing but I have to talk to her.

"I want to go say hello," Ferb said, hopping off the hood of the Cadillac to the ground.

"Good luck with that, Dude," Buford laughed. "Just because this isn't exactly a legal event doesn't mean that they don't have security. They block off the starting grid from spectator to give the racers room to work on their cars. The only way you could get close enough to talk to her would be if you were to enter the race yourself."

For the first time, Ferb turned to face Buford. "When does the race start?"

Phineas's eyes just about popped out of his head. "Ferb, you aren't seriously thinking about partaking in an illegal activity, are you?"

"Of course not," Ferb said. "I just want to get on the grid so I can talk to Vanessa. When the race starts, I'll just drive home instead of competing."

"You're not planning on entering in this rolling scrap pile, are you?" Buford asked, kicking the dented front bumper of the Coupe Deville.

"It doesn't really matter," Ferb said. "It's not like I'm going to actually race."

"I hate to break it to you, Dude, but if you roll this thing up there, they'll laugh at you and refuse to let you enter. You need something that at least looks like a racecar. The race doesn't start for an hour. Why don't you go home and get your GTO?"

"I can't. I lent it to Baljeet so he could go to that week-long science conference at Harvard."

"Well, you'd better find something. Otherwise, they'll never let you up there. They won't think you're serious."

Ferb looked at Phineas. "Oh, dear sweet brother of mine, do you think I could-"

"You are not entering my Ford Torino in an illegal street race," Phineas growled. "Besides, I'm supposed to pick up Isabella in forty-five minutes to take her dancing."

Ferb put a hand to his chin, deep in thought. After a few moments, he slowly climbed back into the driver's seat of the Cadillac. "Come on, Phineas. Let's go."

Phineas looked confused. "Uh…okay. Where are we going?"

"Home."

"Oh, good. Let's get out of this place." Phineas resumed his spot in the passenger seat. "See you, Buford," he called with a wave. "Try not to get arrested."

Ferb shifted the car into reverse. The crowd had thinned enough behind them to back out and turn around.

"Um, Ferb?" Phineas said slowly. "Where are we going?"

"Home," he replied simply.

"I hate to tell you this, Bro, but this is not the way to our house."

"I didn't say we were going to our house. I said we were going home. And home," he added with a smirk, "is where the heart is."

Phineas was even more confused than before. "I'm pretty sure that's still our house on Maple Drive."

"True, but there is a piece of heart that doesn't live at our home anymore."

They passed the STOR, and Phineas suddenly realized where they were headed. "Ferb, no! Bad idea, Dude! Turn around!"

Ferb just smirked and urged the rattling Cadillac onto a side street.

Candace quickly wrapped a robe around herself and hurried down the stairs to the front door in a huff. She flung open the door ready to unleash her wrath on whoever stood on the other side, but she never even had a chance to open her mouth. She only had time to realize that the one who had rang the doorbell was Ferb.

"Hello, Candace. I need to borrow your car," her step-brother said quickly.

Her jaw hung slack with shock, unsure what to say. For the first time, she noticed Phineas standing at the bottom of the stoop, holding his face in his hand and shaking his head. "Uh…you want the Nymph?" she said slowly, surprised. "Um, sure. Hang on." She scurried back into the townhouse and returned a moment later with the keys to the car in question, which was parked in the small lot just behind the boys. "Here you go. Have fun."

Ferb took the keys from her and headed for the parking lot as Candace started to close the front door.

"Wait, hang on, Sis!" Phineas called. "Aren't you at all curious as to why Ferb wants your car?"

"Nope. Don't care."

"Really? Not even a little?"

"Nope. Jeremy and I were in the middle of…something when you showed up and I'd kinda like to get back to it."

Phineas turned his head away and held out his hands, palms out. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! T.M.I., Sis!"

"Well, now you know." And she closed the door.

Phineas heard the Nedlington Nymph's engine crank to life behind him. He strolled slowly toward the parking lot, watching Ferb drive away in the car that they'd restored for Candace seven years ago. He sighed and strolled back over to the Coupe Deville. He sank into the sagging driver's seat and placed his hands on the steering wheel. Shaking his head, his pulled out his cell phone.

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

After a few rings, the person he'd called picked up. "Hello?"

"Um, hi, Isabella." Phineas pinched the bridge of his nose. "I, uh, I think I have to cancel our date tonight."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because Ferb is entering in an illegal street race so he can talk to Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. I don't want to leave him alone. I won't feel right if I don't know if he's safe or not."

"Oh. Well, okay then. That's fine."

"Thank you so much for understanding, Isabella. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, Phineas. I understand. I'd do the same thing if one of the girls had a problem."

Phineas smiled. "You're the best, Isabella. And I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Don't worry about it, Honey." There was a pause. "Would, uh…would you like some company?"

I hope you're all enjoying this so far. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be, but I expect there to be at the very least three or four more of them to finish the story, all hopefully within the next two weeks or so.