(for amber)
i've travelled all this way for something
...
.
Isabella finds it hard to breathe. The air is stuffed up and hot and her dress clings to her body in the mess of dancing people. Plus, her feet hurt like crazy in those way-too-high pumps that Gretchen forced on her earlier tonight. 'To get him to notice you', she'd said but it didn't help. No matter, how high her heels would be, Phineas would remain oblivious.
She finally gets to the back door and tumbles outside, the fresh breeze hitting her face. She inhales it deeply and relaxes a bit.
The party had also not been her idea- but the former fireside girls all wanted to go and they wanted her to come with her to 'have some fun, for once'. So she obliged, got stuffed in a fancy dress and here she was (the fun had yet to come). Several boys hit on her this evening but she'd denied them all, knowing that she would never feel about them the way she felt about Phineas.
He was at this party too, probably socializing with a bunch of new kids, she muses and smiles. They'd only greeted each other briefly, earlier this evening and she hadn't seen him since then.
"Are you okay?"
Speak of the devil.
Isabella winces and whirls around to Phineas, who's got his head cocked to the side like a puppy and she laughs.
"Nah, I'm fine. It was just so hot in there, you know? And my feet hurt"
"I can imagine"
She nods and then just shakes them off. It doesn't matter what Gretchen says, he won't notice her because of her heels. And if anything, she wants to be noticed for herself and not for her shoes.
Phineas grins and stands next to her.
"That's better. Now I'm taller than you", he mocks cheekily and she rolls her eyes.
She looks up at the clear nightsky and for a while, they don't say a thing. It's exceptionally quiet- the party is taking place at house that is more in the uptown area of Danville. They've never really been here and it's nice. It feels clear and fresh and the air is not as congested as it is in the city.
"Let's run away", she says suddenly and grabs his hand, tugging him out of the backyard. He wants to laugh because she looks adorable, like a little kid as she pulls him on the street but he knows that she'd dead serious and laughing would be sort of inappropriate.
"Wait a second!", he says and shakes his shoes and socks off, "Okay, ready to go"
And then he grabs her hand again and they run.
They run for what seems like hours, barefoot on the streets. There are no cars, no people, no nothing, just them.
Her hand is securely wrapped in his and he loves the feeling- he hasn't spent as much time with her lately, much to his dismay and it feels good to have her all for himself for once. There's too many boys enjoying her presence and although he is most definitely, absolutely, not jealous it's still bothering him somehow. He doesn't like the way that they look at her in the hallways and he doesn't like how they talk about her; describing her with words like 'hot' and 'sexy' which she is but that's not it. She's so much more than a pretty face and Phineas just wishes that they could see that, that she could see that.
But he's afraid that he won't be able to tell her that- not now, not, when he's just a friend to her. And he's sure that he is because why would she like someone like him? A few lousy inventions, breaking the laws of gravitation now and then- he wasn't special and he wouldn't be to her. She deserved someone who could be romantic and charming and those were subjects that he hadn't quite mastered yet.
And so he tries to be okay with the fact that someday she'll find her 'meant to be', someone who'll make her happy. As long as she's content, he'll be too.
They run until they can run no more and then she just lays down, in the middle of the streets and tries to catch her breath. He laughs at her antics and runs a hand through his fiery hair.
"Where are we?"
"I dunno. Somewhere in Danville?"
He chuckles and helps her to her feet.
"Well, then come on little Miss somewhere-in-Danville. Where are we gonna go?"
"Miss somewhere-in-Danville, really? That's all you can come up with? Man, High School really sucked the creativity out of you, didn't it?"
"And it only got you more sassy and feisty, didn't it?", he grins.
"Maybe", she starts walking, slowly and casually in the middle of the road. The light of the street laterns illuminates her face when she turns around to him.
"Are you coming or what?"
He catches up to her and they resume walking throught the streets with no one around. It's silent, the only sound being the slight tapping of feet.
Their hands brush, just a little bit but then suddenly, he's holding onto it and she interlaces their fingers. They don't say a word, don't even glace at each other.
They completely loose track of time and soon the amount of tidy little houses lessens and are replaced by wide, golden fields of wheat and fresh, green meadows. Which should certainly worry them but it doesn't, somehow.
Isabella smiles all of sudden and pulls him on a nearby meadow and starts to run again. He falls back but she keeps on running, shrieking with laughter and joy and she looks oh-so beautiful with her arms stretched out as if she was flying, her light summer dress fluttering around her legs. For a fleeting second he wishes his eyes could take pictures- god knows he'd like to see her all carefree and childish more often. She's not like this a lot anymore and that both saddens and worries him.
He follows her up on one of the little hills where the view is almost as breathtaking as the girl next to him. The sun is still setting at the very back of the horizone, leaving one small orange glittery stripe of sunlight to illuminate her face.
Her hand holds onto his.
It's different this time. Earlier, holding her hand meant comfort to him, feeling the warmth of her presence- but now it was electrifying, sparkeling and he wonders if she feels the same.
When she turns to him, he forgets to breathe because there are no words to describe her. Fair skin, raven black, luscious hair framing her perfect face. The last sunrays make her midnight blue eyes turn the sparkeling blue of the sky and he can't, he won't ever turn away from her even if she's moved on to another boy, he will always be there to wait for her.
Because as much as she's pretty on the outside, she is beautiful on the inside. No matter how much school and stress and routines exhaust her, there's is always a part that is optimistic and bright and so, so very alive. She hasn't given in to anything life threw in her way and quite frankly he doubts she ever will. Because that is Isabella, stubborn, strong, beautiful Isabella and she will never just merely exist to drag herself from one tiring day to another. She will exist to live and to be alive and to enjoy what she's doing with everthing she has.
And suddenly he's kissing her.
They're both not quite prepared for the emotions that hit them as their lips touch- it's loving and passionate and it's all the things that they have been to this moment. Because all their years together, from the very first meeting as six-year-olds to now ten years later- quite literally everything has been leading up to this moment. Everytime they touched hands; every glance and every hug; each and every time fate has been shaping their story a bit more and this, this is just the beginning of the happy end.
They pull away breathlessly and her forehead rests against his, never looking away from each other. He's pulling her as close as possible; too many moments have been wasted with too much personal space already.
"Hi", she breathes.
"Hi", he smiles.
They don't need any words, not anymore. Their story is done, for now, and they're ready for the epilogue.
And as he peppers her lips with sweet little kisses with the last drops of sunlight letting her eyes sparkle like the sky, she knows exactly what he's telling her.
(As she wakes up the next morning, snuggled in her pillows, still in her dress from last night, there's a little note taped to her forehead.
'Traveling with you was lovely. We should definitely do it again sometime. But next time, you should wear appropriate shoes-Phineas'
As she finds her black pumps on her bedside table, her running shoes on the floor and Phineas in front of her window and she realizes two things:
1. he doesn't need tutoring in romance after all
2. and that maybe the real journey still lies before them. She can't wait to start)
(update 1-1-15)
written for my bestie ambers birthday so i'm not taking this down either. disclaimer: i do not own phineas and ferb or the song on top of the world by imagine dragons