Third Wheel

By: xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx

AN: Hi! So, this is my 1st Phineas and Ferb fic, and I wanted to write one because PHINEAS AND FERB ROCKS!

Please excuse any OOCness, as this is my first fic. I'm still trying to figure out the characters. :)

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own P and F; all rights go to their rightful owner. :]

Three's a crowd.

It was a pretty average summer day in the city of Danville. Most people were going to the beach or the mall, because after all, it was summer. It was the time to hang out with friends, cut loose, and have an all out good time.

But for every person that wanted to go to the mall and hang out, there was a person who'd rather stay home and read a nice book under the shade of a large tree. And one of those people was Ferb Fletcher.

Now, Ferb Fletcher hadn't always been like that. In fact, just three summers ago, he and his step-brother, Phineas Flynn, had lived by the motto 'Carpe diem', meaning 'Seize the day' in Latin. They'd taken that motto to new extremes and had built crazy inventions every single day of that summer. Yeah, it was definitely the best summer of his life.

But as the two brothers drifted into junior high, and then high school, their inventions became a thing of the past—something to look back on and smile at. Things calmed down, and slowly, the brothers began drifting apart.

It wasn't on purpose, and neither Phineas, nor Ferb wanted to drift away from the other. But things such as being in different classes, or having new friends pulled the two away from each other. Sure, they still were brothers, but their relationship wasn't the same as it was when they were twelve.

The last straw came when Phineas began dating Isabella after the Fourth of July, just a week or so ago. Ferb had always known the two belonged together, and that they would end up together… eventually. He also knew they would've gotten together a whole lot sooner, had Phineas not been so oblivious. But that was his brother, and no one could change his naivety.

Ferb was happy for the new couple; he really was. But he couldn't help but feel like… the third wheel. It wasn't 'Phineas and Ferb' anymore; it was 'Phineas and Isabella', or Phinabella as the Fireside Girls called them. They were 'The cutest thing since puppies!' to the people of Danville. Their new relationship had everyone squealing happily for them, or telling Phineas, 'It's about time!'

And Ferb was seriously getting tired of it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Phineas and Isabella finally got together. Phineas had always been a popular kid, even more so when they started building things(Everyone loved their inventions, except Candace, of course.), so naturally, nearly the entire town knew about the couple. Except those living under a rock, most likely. He got it. They were cute; blah, blah, blah; they totally belonged together, etc. But, what happened to 'Phineas and Ferb'? What happened to all the crazy adventures the duo had? Were they just forgotten? Was he forgotten?

Phineas would never purposely try to leave his brother out; he was way too kind to do that, but that still didn't stop the fact that Ferb was being left out and forgotten. The older boy should've been used to it now, as Phineas always had the spotlight, but he still couldn't help but feel miffed about it.

Ferb sighed, setting his book down on the grass. Stop that, he ordered himself. You're going to feel so pitiful for yourself, and the next thing you know, you'll be cutting yourself, or committing suicide, or something outrageous like that. He sighed again, leaning up against the tree—the same tree he and Phineas used to sit under all the time to come up with brilliant ideas.

Speaking of Phineas, he was off at Isabella's house… again, for the third or fourth time this week. They'd invited Ferb to come along, but naturally, the British teen had declined, as he would've felt guilty for barging in our their personal time together. That, and he really didn't want to see Isabella give Phineas mouth-to-mouth again.

The fence creaked open, and the familiar face of Stacy Hirano peaks in, probably looking for Candace. She was just as beautiful as she was when she was sixteen, if not more, Ferb noticed.

"Oh, hey, Ferb," Stacy said, smiling at him as she invited herself into the backyard. "Is Candace around?" Ferb shook his head; much like her younger brother, Candace was on a date with her significant other.

Stacy sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Let me guess: She's on a date with Jeremy?" Ferb nodded. Stacy finally seemed to notice that there was another member missing from the Flynn-Fletcher residence, and no, it wasn't Perry.

"And Phineas is over with Isabella?" she added. Once again, the British teen nodded. "Well," Stacy commented. "That sucks."

Yes, yes it does. Ferb thought. Part of him wondered if Stacy felt the same way he did; like the third wheel. He wanted to ask her, but that'd be stupid. It was plain out stupid for him to feel like that. Whatever 'that' was.

"I bet you miss him a lot," Stacy commented, taking a seat next to Ferb on the ground. Ferb looked at her, somewhat surprised. Had she read his mind?

Stacy chuckled slightly. "No, I didn't read your mind. Trust me, I felt the same way when Candace and Jeremy started dating."

Ferb looked at her curiously, as if to say, Really?, and the Asian girl nodded. "I read online that it's natural to feel left out sometimes when your best friend is dating someone, so it's perfectly fine if you feel that way about 'Phinabella'." [1]

Stacy laughed, then snorted disbelievingly. "The Fireside Girls came up with that, my a—" Ferb shot her a glare; he wasn't fond up profanities at all. Perhaps that was just his more conservative side coming out.

The older teen seemed to catch his look, because she rolled her eyes. "—My foot," she corrected, looking at Ferb, as if to say, Happy? Ferb smiled. "Either way, I really doubt those girls came up with it. It was all their leader."

Ferb nodded in agreement; as happy as the Fireside Girls seemed for their 'fearless leader', if what Stacy said about feeling left out being completely normal, then the girls must've been pretty annoyed by the new couple as well. Good. He wasn't alone.

"Look, I know it'll take some getting used to, but that's what best friends are for, right?" Stacy said. "To support their best friend, even if they do feel like the third wheel." She once again laughed. "And trust me, it happens a lot. But, it's not like Phineas is purposely trying to ditch you or anything. He's just caught up in his first relationship."

Ferb blinked, before sighing slightly. You're right. his expression seemed to say. Stacy had a good point, after all.

The Asian teen smirked slightly. "Oh, I know I'm right. If things don't get better, then try talking to Phineas. Just…" She smiled impishly, as if remembering a personal experience. "Take my advice: If Phineas and Isabella somehow get stuck to each other—and I mean, literally stuck to each other—and Phineas tries to cover it up," She smirked. "Trick him into thinking you have no clue what's going on. It'll be hilarious."

Ferb briefly remembered the one day that Candace was attached to Jeremy, and they had to rebuild the Molecular Separator to separate them. He cracked a grin; somehow, he and Phineas had also been merged together, and the three of them—Phineas, Isabella, and himself—had been able to go to the latest(at the time) Stumbleberry Finkbat movie.

"Oh yeah," Stacy grinned. "Weren't you and Phineas connected to each other too?"

"More like merged," Ferb replied. "It was quite weird, but very fun."

"Ri-ight," Stacy laughed. "I remember Isabella ranting to Candace and I about how she was so close to going on a date with Phineas or something along those lines." She shook her head. "You have no idea how many times Isabella has come to us for advice on your brother. It got annoying after the first… five, ten times, but we never really told her that."

Ferb smiled; Phineas had done the same thing to his closest friends—Buford, Baljeet, and of course, Ferb—once high school started. Turns out, Stacy had more things in common with him then she had led on.

"Lemme guess," she said, raising a delicately plucked eyebrow. "Phineas did the same thing to you?"

"You have no idea," Ferb chuckled. "Thanks for the pep talk, Stacy. I really appreciate it."

The Asian girl grinned triumphantly, standing up. "No problem! If see you Candace, tell her to text me later, okay? I have to go pick up Ginger and take her to the Fireside Girls meeting or something!" [2] She waved to him, smiling. "Later, Ferb! Tell Phineas I said hi!"

Speaking of Phineas, if the Fireside Girls had a meeting… that would mean he was coming home soon. It'd be the perfect time to confront Phineas. Hopefully, his younger step-brother would understand what Ferb was trying to say.

Then again, it was Phineas, the most oblivious and naïve person Ferb had ever met.

Some things would never change.

[1]: I randomly made that up, but I noticed somehow there's ALWAYS someone who feels left out if their best friend is dating another person. Like, Leo Valdez from the Heroes of Olympus, for example. Yeah, Jason and Piper aren't dating, but close enough.

[2]: Remember Ginger? The Fireside girl that has a crush on 'Jeet? If you look at her, she REALLY looks like a younger version of Stacy in a Fireside girl outfit. Like, seriously. So, let's pretend they're sisters, okay? Who knows, it might actually be true.

Okay, so you're probably wondering how old they are. Well, Ferb is 16, Phineas and Isabella are 15, Stacy and Candace are 19(Presuming that Stacy is the same age as Candace.) and Jeremy is 20. Clear things up? And yes, yes I did call Stacy a 'teen', but hey, some people still consider 19 still being a teenager.

I hope I did alright for my first Phineas and Ferb story. The ending really sucked... But, oh well. Thanks for reading, and please review! :)

-xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx