Many thanks to Sabrina06 for ideas and beta.

Trope bingo: genderswap

Timeline: summer of the year the main characters are 13.

Phineas kept looking at the gate, distracted. Ferb could feel the tree shift as his brother fidgeted.

"She's off doing the initiation for new Fireside Girls today," Ferb said, leaning against the tree in the middle of the backyard with his eyes closed.

"What? Oh, right, she mentioned that yesterday..." Phineas stopped, then asked, "Why would you think I was waiting for Isabella?"

Ferb opened his eyes and looked at his brother, shaking his head.

Eventually, he'll figure it out, Ferb thought. But not quite yet. He's got time.

"No, seriously, Ferb, why was that your automatic assumption?"

Ferb rolled his eyes. Seriously?

Frowning, Phineas sat back against the tree. "I wonder what they do at those initiations."

"Apparently it's a secret," Ferb said.

"I know. I just...wonder. I mean, it's really important to Isabella, but it's a part of her life we can't ever investigate because we aren't girls." Phineas paused, then snapped his fingers. "Ferb, I know what we're going to do today."

Ferb looked at him and shook his head. You have got to be kidding me.

"Come on, Ferb. It'll be fun!"

Ferb just looked at him. I can't even find the words to tell you how bad of an idea this is.

"Fine. Will you help me do it?"

Ferb sighed, and nodded. I reserve the right to laugh hysterically when this blows up in your face.

"Thanks, Ferb. Hey, where's Perry?"

Perry smashed through the window. "Perry the Platypus?!" Heinz Doofenshmirtz shouted, then looked at him angrily. "You know, the balcony door was open. You didn't have to break the window."

Perry looked at him guiltily.

"No, no, it's okay, I'll just clean this up, don't mind me," Heinz said, glaring at Perry as he retrieved a broom and dustpan. Perry reached over tentatively and took them away from him, cleaning up the broken glass.

"I'll send your agency a bill for the window," Heinz said as Perry put the glass in the trash can and returned the broom to the closet. "I'd say Francis will take it out of your paycheck, but you don't get one."

Clean-up complete, Perry jumped forward, ready for action. He suddenly found himself trapped as a large flowerpot dropped onto his head, immobilizing his arms at his sides.

"So I was up reading some classic humorous science fiction last night," Heinz began, "and in between laughs I realized that there was a really good idea in there. So, behold the Somebody-Else's-Problem-Inator! Except you can't, because the Somebody Else's Problem field makes it so you can't see it! See, I painted it bright pink so it's really blatant that it doesn't belong there, and if something doesn't belong, the S. E. P. field keeps your eyes from really seeing it. Because it doesn't belong there, but it's..." He waited for Perry to respond.

Perry rolled his eyes and looked straight at the -inator.

"Oh, right, you don't speak. Aaaanyway, it's Somebody Else's Problem! So, I will hit myself with the S. E. P. field, and go down to city hall! And there I will torment my brother Roger, who won't be able to see me! Except I need to not torment him too much, because my daughter Vanessa is working for him as an intern this summer."

He put on a bright orange jacket covered with fluorescent green smiley faces. "See, nobody would expect to see something like this."

"Okay, Ferb. Let's do this," Phineas said, grasping the handle of the transformation chamber. It was a small light-blue shed with a single door on the front; they'd re-used the shell of a porta-potty to speed up construction.

Ferb shook his head and sighed.

"It'll be fine, Ferb. I go sneak into the Fireside Girls' initiation, see what they're doing, come back here, and we undo the change."

Ferb gestured to the chamber, and Phineas stepped in. He quickly slipped his clothes off, and said, "Okay, Ferb, let 'er rip!"

The inside of the chamber filled with light, blinding Phineas. He felt his body changing, growing and shrinking, stretching and twisting. And then, with a *snap*, the lights turned off, leaving his eyes to adjust to the much dimmer light of the single bulb in the top of the chamber. He looked down, and the breasts he saw confirmed it - he was now a girl.

She pulled her new clothes off the hanger, and discovered a problem. They'd expected that she'd end up about the same size as Candace. However, Ferb had suggested that wearing Candace's clothes was likely to make Isabella suspicious, so they'd ordered a blouse and a skirt when they'd ordered the parts for the transformation chamber. Unfortunately, Phineas found, her breasts had grown noticeably larger than Candace's, and the blouse was far, far too tight across her chest for her to even button it.

She opened the door a crack, and called, "Ferb!" in a higher-pitch voice than she expected.

Ferb came over and raised an eyebrow.

"I need a bigger shirt, and probably a bra," she said.

"What size?" Ferb asked.

"How should I know?"

Ferb pulled a tape measure out of his pocket and held it up to the crack in the door. Phineas grabbed it and pulled it through. "What do I measure?" she asked.

"Just under the breasts, and then across the breasts."

Phineas measured in the dim light. "33 inches. And 37 inches."

"34C. Candace will be jealous," Ferb said, hiding a grin.

"Candace would be jealous of anything bigger than an A," Phineas said. "Can you get me some clothes, please?"

Ferb slid Phineas's phone through the crack and said, "Call Paul and order new clothes; I'll go grab you something to cover up with until he gets here."

"Okay, Ferb, how do I look?" Phineas asked. She'd dressed up in a light blue blouse and dark blue skirt. Ferb looked her over, sighed, and gave a thumbs up. "Okay, great. Wish me luck." Ferb shook his head emphatically.

"Hey, you guys, what are you doing?" Candace said, coming out into the back yard. She was enjoying a rare day off from her job at the Googolplex Mall. "Because if it's bustable, I'm going to tell Mom." She saw the small blue structure, cocked her head, and said, "A porta-potty? That's not bustable." She looked at Phineas for a moment, puzzled, before her eyes suddenly got wide. "You turned yourself into a girl, Phineas? You are so busted!"

"And busty," Ferb noted wryly.

"That too," Candace said, pulling out her phone. "Hey, how did you manage that? Because, I'm 17 and you've got me beat there. Did you tweak it to add cup sizes? Because if you did..."

Ferb shook his head, and Phineas said, "No, nothing like that. Maybe I got it from Dad's side of the family."

"I'm definitely going to tell Mom now," Candace said. She pushed the button to call her mother, only to hear the sound of Linda's cell phone ringing inside the house. "Nuts. Mom forgot her phone here. Do you know where she went?"

Ferb and Phineas both shook their heads.

"Fine. I'm going to go wait in the front yard until she gets home. And then you two are busted!" Candace said, then walked into the house.

Phineas looked at Ferb and shrugged, then headed out the gate. Candace had taken up residence in the front yard, stretched out on a lounge chair with her phone and a glass of lemonade. She was busily talking to someone - probably Stacy - about what her brothers had done.

Phineas waved to her as she walked past, then headed down the street, trying to get used to her unfamiliar body. She'd assumed that a girl's body was just like a boy's, but she was quickly finding that there were some differences. Her hips seemed to fit differently, and walking felt unusual. Her bra straps were digging into her shoulders, her back hurt just a bit, and she couldn't figure out where to put her arms. Part of her wanted to completely cover herself up, but that would just draw extra attention to her chest.

"Well, hello, there!" a familiar voice said. Phineas looked up, and saw that Baljeet was looking at her with an eager expression. "You...ah...must be new here? Can I show you around? What is your name?"

"Ph...um...Phoebe," Phineas stammered.

"Hello, Phoebe. I am Baljeet. It is very nice to meet you." Phineas would swear the look Baljeet was giving her was...oh, no. Not what I need right now.

"Nice to meet you too," Phineas said, "but I'm late for a meeting." She walked past quickly, hoping Baljeet would get the hint. No such luck; Baljeet started walking with her.

"That is okay. I hope you do not mind if I walk along with you. Perhaps we could get together after your meeting?"

"I'm sorry, Baljeet. I'm not sure how long it will last. Maybe some other time."

"I will see you around, then," he said as they arrived at the Fireside Girls' clubhouse. "Oh, you are a Fireside Girl? Several of my friends are members."

"I'm joining today," Phineas said. "Need to get in, I think I'm late. Bye!" She dodged through the door, relieved, then looked up. About ten girls were all looking at her. Isabella sat at the center of the table, with Gretchen and Adyson flanking her and the rest of the troop surrounding them. Three other girls that he didn't know stood facing them.

"Hi, you must be new," Isabella said. "What's your name?"

"Phoebe," Phineas answered quickly.

"Hi, Phoebe. You want to be a Fireside Girl?"

Phineas nodded.

"Please stand with these other candidates," she said, pointing to the three new girls.

Phineas did so, and looked up at Isabella. She was writing something down, and Phineas took a moment to study her. She'd grown into a gangly teenager, with a smile full of braces and just starting to develop a chest. Phineas had been noticing her for a while, pretty much ever since he'd realized that girls were interesting in a way that boys just weren't. He'd figured out pretty quickly that, as far as he was concerned, she was more interesting than any of the other girls he knew.

He suspected that she'd been noticing him too, but wasn't sure. They'd been close friends for years, and he really didn't want to mess that up by declaring his crush if it wasn't mutual. He'd asked Ferb for advice, but his brother had just shrugged.

She finished writing and looked up at the four girls in front of her. "You have petitioned for membership in Fireside Girls Troop 46231. I am Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, troop leader. You've asked to join this troop because, bluntly, we're the best. We earn more patches than any two other troops combined.

"We're the best because we work hard. As part of this initiation ceremony, we'll see just how hard you work. If you don't want to work that hard, the door's right there, and there are plenty of other troops that will gladly take you. Are you in?"

Phineas nodded, captivated. One of the other girls turned and ran out the door, leaving Phineas and just two other candidates.

"Okay. Next thing. You can't tell anyone what happens here. Ever. Especially not any boys. This is for girls only. The first thing you'll get to do is swear on your honor as a Fireside Girl never to talk about this initiation to anyone but another Fireside Girl. If you don't think you can uphold that oath...the door's right there."

One other girl took a deep breath, shook her head, and walked out the door, leaving Phineas standing with the last girl.

Isabella nodded as if she'd expected this. "Amy, you're in?" she asked the other girl, who nodded. "Phoebe, you're in?"

I should go. I'm not even really a girl. I mean, I am now, but I'm not planning to stay one. But if I leave now, I'll never know. "I'm in," Phineas said.

Isabella grinned maliciously. "This is it, ladies. The kitten-whispers and tickle fights end now. Let's get this started."

Perry struggled, left alone in the penthouse, as Heinz had gone off to city hall. With a mighty heave, he toppled the flowerpot over, extricating himself from the shards. His hovercar quickly carried him to city hall, where Heinz was just going in the door, dodging people who didn't notice him.

Perry followed him, catching up just in time for Vanessa to see her father. "Hi, Dad," she said. "Nice jacket. What brings you here?"

"What, Vanessa? You aren't supposed to be able to see me!" Heinz said.

"Why isn't she supposed to be able to see you, Heinz? Other than that blinding jacket," Roger said, coming up behind her and pretending to shade his eyes.

"What? You can see me too?" Heinz asked, astounded. "But you shouldn't be able to look at me!"

"Why not, Dad?" Vanessa asked.

"Because I hit myself with a Somebody Else's Problem field, and so you shouldn't be able to see things that shouldn't be here. Like somebody wearing a bright orange jacket," Heinz said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Vanessa laughed. "Dad, no matter what you wear, you're never somebody else's problem to me."

"Or me," Roger added.

Heinz looked back and forth between them, a dopey smile on his face, then looked down at Perry. "You too?"

Perry nodded.

"Hey, who's the guy in the orange jacket?" one of the secretaries asked.

"Uh-oh. I think my field is wearing off," Heinz said. "Gotta go." He ran back out the door; Perry followed, tipping his hat to Vanessa and Roger on the way out.

Isabella watched the two new girls moving through the obstacle course. Amy was struggling to climb the rope ladder, and Phoebe reached back to help her. Isabella nodded approvingly; helping your sisters was more important than individual completion, and she was glad Phoebe had picked that up so quickly.

The two new girls were very different. Amy was petite and waif-thin; her straight blonde hair was cut short. Phoebe was taller and, while still thin, had a fairly large chest for her frame. Her wavy red hair was the envy of half the troop already, Isabella was sure. She looked familiar in some way Isabella couldn't quite put her finger on.

Phoebe turned, and the motion suddenly made Isabella realize what it was - Phoebe resembled Phineas very closely. She shook her head, making sure she hadn't dropped into Phineasland suddenly. A second look, and yes, Phoebe resembled Phineas, but there were differences. There were even differences other than the obvious ones like hair and breasts; Phoebe was taller and less coordinated, among other things.

Isabella wondered if they were related. Phineas hadn't mentioned any cousins that lived nearby. Maybe she could ask Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher, who was helping Isabella's mother with the preparations for the party after the initiation.

Phineas sat and caught her breath as the two new girls recovered after the obstacle course. She wasn't sure when the girls had built it; she had never seen it before. And here I thought that Ferb and I had built everything for them.

"Okay, girls. Next up, trust falls," Isabella said. "You need to be able to trust us, and we need to be able to trust you."

Phineas felt sweat on her brow. I shouldn't be here. I'm lying about who I am just by being here. I should go.

"Phoebe, you go first," Isabella said.

Phineas looked around; she didn't see a good way out. Gretchen led her over to a box, and said, "Okay, step up. We'll let you know when we're in place, and then just close your eyes and fall backwards."

Phineas stepped up on the box and crossed her arms across her chest, a considerably more difficult task than it had been this morning because there was more chest in the way. She heard shuffling behind her, and then Isabella's voice saying, "Okay, on three. One...two...three!"

Phineas fell backwards, landing in the cushioning hands of the rest of the troop.

"Hi, I'm Gretchen. I'm second in command of the troop, and I'm thirteen years old," Gretchen said.

"...aaaaaand?" Adyson asked, a big grin on her face.

"And I have a crush on Irving," Gretchen said quickly, blushing.

Phineas sat and sweated. The newly-expanded troop were introducing themselves to each other, going around the table. So far, Phineas had found out that Ginger had a crush on Baljeet (not a huge surprise) and that Adyson had a crush on Ferb (much more of a surprise, and Phineas wished she could tell Ferb without breaking her oaths). There were only two more girls before Phineas's turn, and Phineas had no idea what she'd say.

Isabella, a smile on her face, said, "I'm Isabella. I'm thirteen years old, and I've been troop leader for four years now. Almost time for me to step down. And my crush...well, you all know that."

Everyone turned to Amy, sitting between Isabella and Phineas, and Phineas looked puzzled.

"Who's she got a crush on?" Phineas whispered to Milly, sitting next to him on the other side.

Milly giggled quietly. "Phineas Flynn. You didn't know? She's pretty obvious about it."

Phineas sat back, stunned, and didn't even hear what Amy said. She's got a crush on me? Me? Really?

Everyone was looking at Phineas, and she startled. "Um, hi," she said, stalling for time. "My name is Phoebe, and I'm thirteen and new in town. I...um, don't know anyone, so I don't have a crush on anyone yet," she said, idly scratching the back of her neck.

Everyone nodded, and welcomed her to the troop. Phineas barely registered it as she realized that she'd had a mutual crush with Isabella all along, and could quite possibly wreck the whole thing if Isabella found out who 'Phoebe' really was.

Isabella was puzzled.

Phoebe seemed much more familiar with the rest of the troop than a new member should be. Her mannerisms all reminded Isabella too much of Phineas for Isabella to really be comfortable. Did he? He wouldn't have. Phineas wouldn't lie to me.

Would he?

Phineas's mother had come out to help set up the party, and was watching the girls eat cupcakes with a benign smile. Isabella wandered over toward her.

"Hi, Isabella!" Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher said. "Nice group of girls you've got this year."

"Thanks, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher. Can you do me a favor? The new girl - the red-haired one, Phoebe?"

Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher nodded.

"Is she related to Phineas somehow? She reminds me of him an awful lot."

"Not as far as I know. He doesn't have any cousins on that side his own age. The resemblance is striking, though, you're right."

"Thanks," Isabella said, her stomach sinking. He did. I know he did. Why? Why would he do that?

She decided to find out directly. Phoebe was chatting with Milly as Isabella slipped up behind them. "Phineas," she said suddenly as the conversation broke up.

Phoebe started, looking around and suddenly trying to look nonchalant. A guilty expression came over Phoebe's face as she looked at Isabella.

"You did, didn't you?" Isabella said testily.

"I'm sorry, you startled me," Phoebe said. "Who's Phineas?" Her hands were twitching, as if she were barely suppressing something.

"Don't give me that," Isabella snapped. "You're Phineas, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not," Phoebe said nervously. "Really, who's Phineas?"

Isabella was about to inquire more deeply when her mother called out, "Okay, girls, let's get everyone together for the group picture!" Isabella turned back to Phoebe, only to find her already heading over to where the picture would be taken.

Isabella went over to get in the picture, putting on a smile she didn't really feel. He lied to me? Or maybe...maybe she's telling the truth?

After the picture was taken, she decided to track down Phoebe again, but couldn't find her. Puzzled, she asked Gretchen.

"Phoebe? She left early, said she had to get home," Gretchen said.

Isabella's eyes narrowed. "Did she? I need to go check on something. If I don't come back, can you get things cleaned up without me?"

"Sure thing, Chief!"

Isabella stalked out the door. She had a feeling she knew where she'd find Phoebe.

Heinz ran back into his office, Perry the Platypus following at his heels. "I just need to use the S. E. P. field on myself again, and then I can find something else to do. Maybe I'll go rob a bank. Hey, where'd my -inator go?"

Perry looked at him, puzzled. The -inator was clearly where it had been when they'd left, bright pink paint and all.

"It's got its own S. E. P. field, I guess I just can't see it right now. I know it's over this way." Heinz groped his way across the room.

Perry shrugged. OWCA training made it clear - nothing is somebody else's problem. He wasn't sure if Heinz would ever realize that an S. E. P. field wouldn't - couldn't - work on OWCA agents.

Heinz finally bumped into the Somebody-Else's-Problem-inator, accidentally activating it. A beam shot out of the window.

Phineas ran into the backyard. Ferb was sitting against the tree, sketching something.

"Ferb, we've got to reverse this. Isabella figured it out," Phineas babbled.

Ferb rolled his eyes, and they turned toward the transformation chamber. Suddenly, a beam from above struck it, and the chamber seemed to vanish before their eyes.

"What happened to it?" Phineas asked, open-mouthed.

Ferb shrugged.

Phineas sagged. "But...but...if I don't fix this before Isabella catches up with me, she'll know. All of it. You were right, this was a bad idea."

Ferb pointed toward where the chamber had been, and raised his hands helplessly.

"If Isabella finds out I lied to her..."

"She'll be furious with you, and never want to speak to you again," Isabella interrupted from behind him.

Phineas whirled around; Isabella was standing just inside the gate. Her distasteful glare cut worse than any words could have. She shook her head and left the backyard, slamming the gate shut behind her.

Isabella ran across the street to her house, fighting to keep her tears in. I trusted him. I thought I loved him. And he snuck into my meeting and lied to me about it.

How can I love someone I can't trust?

She ran in through the front door, into the empty house. Grateful that her mother was still at the initiation party, she ran up the stairs, throwing her sash off to one side as she collapsed onto her bed. The tears finally came, betrayal and heartbreak combining into soul-wracking sobs. Pinky nuzzled up to her, and she hugged the dog in gratitude. At least I don't have to worry about Pinky sneaking around on me.

Phineas watched Isabella run out of the gate, and his jaw dropped. "Ferb. I just messed up, didn't I?"

Ferb nodded silently.

Phineas sat against the tree, slithering down to the ground next to Ferb. "Go ahead and say it."

Ferb shrugged.

"No, I'm serious. You can say 'I told you so'. I certainly deserve it. I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

Ferb reached over and patted Phineas on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Ferb."

Candace opened the kitchen door, dragging her mother out after her. "See, Mom! Look, Phineas turned himself into a girl! He is sooooo busted!"

"Oh, hi, Phoebe," Linda said. "Nice to see you again. Glad you could make it over to visit. Now, Candace, that isn't a nice thing to say about this girl. Yes, she looks a lot like Phineas, but that doesn't mean he turned himself into a girl." She turned back toward the kitchen, saying, "Give me about five minutes and I'll have snacks ready, okay?"

Candace stood helplessly, stuttering as her mother closed the door behind her. "But... but... but... but... She saw you. And you still aren't busted. And you still have a bigger chest than me. It's not fair!" She turned and stomped back into the kitchen, pulling out her phone to complain to Stacy.

"Oops, I didn't mean that to happen," Heinz said, recoiling from the -inator he couldn't see. "Let's see..."

As Perry watched, Heinz felt around the sides of the -inator. Perry reached up and guided his hand to a bright red button, which Heinz pressed enthusiastically.

The -inator self-destructed, exploding into pieces, as Perry ran toward the edge of the balcony. He leapt off, his hang-glider deploying as he heard Heinz shout, "CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUS!"

Phineas looked at the light blue box that had reappeared in their backyard just as mysteriously as it had vanished. "Yes! Ferb, let's go fix this!"

Ferb sighed and followed Phineas over, taking the controls as Phineas entered the chamber. Phineas quickly stripped down, out of her girl clothes, confirming that her normal boy outfit was waiting for her.

"Okay, Ferb. All set." An instant later, the chamber was filled with blinding light. Phineas could feel herself twisting and transforming as her chest shrunk, shoulders broadened, and hips narrowed. Finally, with a *snap* the light turned off. Even before his eyes had adjusted, Phineas felt down to make sure he was all there, and was relieved to find that he was.

"It worked, Ferb," he said, his voice back to normal. He quickly dressed himself, rejoicing in the familiar clothes fitting him in their familiar way. He had an entirely new appreciation of boxer briefs, among other things. He stepped out, and Ferb gave him a nod.

The truck from Dan's Danville Cans, a porta-potty servicing company, drove along Maple Drive. Spotting a small light-blue structure, the driver deployed the pick-up arm to retrieve what he thought was a wayward porta-potty. The arm dropped the transformation chamber onto the truck's cargo bed as the truck drove off.

"Oh, there you are, Perry," Phineas said, seeing the platypus behind where the chamber had been before a giant arm had picked it up. "Okay, thanks, Ferb, but I need to go talk to Isabella now." He started toward the gate, only to be stopped by his brother's hand on his arm.

"What?" Phineas asked, and Ferb shook his head.

"But I need to apologize," Phineas said.

"I don't think she'll want to talk to you right now. You'll only make it worse," Ferb said.

Phineas looked at his brother, shrugging the hand away, and sighed. "You're right. As usual. If I'd listened to you to begin with, this wouldn't have happened. What should I do, then?"

"Write her a letter of apology. If she chooses to talk to you again, let it be her choice."

"If...she..." Phineas sat on the grass, shaken. "She might not accept the apology?"

"That is her right," Ferb said.

"I think I'd better write the best apology letter ever," Phineas said.

Isabella had mostly calmed down now, except when she looked at the picture of her and Phineas on her desk. It had been taken a month or so ago, when the boys had built Candace a shopping mall because of a water main break that shut down the Googolplex. They'd found a photo booth, and the two of them had made funny faces at the camera together.

There was a knock at the door. "Isa? Somebody sent you something..."

I knew this was going to happen, she thought. What grandiose scheme did he come up with to fix this? It's not going to work.

Isabella climbed out of bed as Pinky leapt off her lap. She opened the bedroom door. Her mother stood there, holding Perry. The platypus held a folded piece of paper in its bill, which it dropped into her hand.

Her mother smiled at her. "Maybe somebody from across the street is sending you a love note..." she sang as she carried Perry back toward the front door.

Probably not, Mom, Isabella thought as she unfolded the piece of paper and started to read.

Dear Isabella,

I apologize. I'm sorry for what I did today. It was a bad idea, and it hurt you. And the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.

I wanted to know about the Fireside Girls because it's important to you, and you are important to me. But I went about it badly, and forced myself into a spot where I lied to you. That was wrong of me.

I probably should use some fancier words here, but I'm not eloquent like Ferb. I'm just me. A guy who gets himself in over his head because he acts before he thinks, and even more so when it involves people he cares about. Like you.

I hope that, someday, I might be forgiven. I'd promise not to ever do it again, but I know that right now, my promises aren't worth spit. But if you want such a promise, it's yours. I won't say I won't mess up again, but I try really hard not to make the same mistake twice.

If you're willing to speak to me again, you know where to find me. If not, I won't push the matter. But it is my deepest wish that someday I might again be...

Your Friend,

Phineas.

Isabella stared at the letter. He cares about me? I'm important to him?

He knows about my crush now. I heard Milly telling him. Is he...trying to imply he likes me too?

Now what do I do?

Ferb stood up, brushing off the grass from his pants. Phineas looked up at him from his seat next to the tree. "Heading in?" Phineas asked. Ferb nodded.

"I'm going to stay here for a few minutes," Phineas said. "I need to think some more about just how badly I messed up."

Ferb shrugged and headed into the house. Phineas leaned his head back, closing his eyes. I can't believe I blew it that badly. What was I thinking?

He was startled by the sound of the gate opening. Isabella looked at him hesitantly. She'd changed out of her Fireside Girl uniform, and was now wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

"Hey," she said softly.

He nodded back. "I'm sorry."

"I know." She sat down a few feet in front of him, cross-legged. "Why?"

He took a deep breath. "I wanted to know. It's this huge piece of your life that I can't touch." Looking down into his lap, he quietly added, "I missed you."

"Much as you may drive me nuts sometimes," she said, "I missed you too."

"Just so you know...I still consider myself bound by the oaths. I won't repeat anything I heard. If Ferb finds out who has a crush on him, it won't be from me."

"That's good. Same for Baljeet?"

Phineas nodded emphatically. "Yes. He hit on me while I was a girl, you know?"

Isabella laughed. "I'm not surprised. I feel sorry for Ginger sometimes, falling for a boy who is so interested in so many other girls."

They looked at each other silently for a few moments before he spoke again. "You know what hurts the most about what I did? The one thing I'm really kicking myself over?"

She shook her head.

"Finding out that, if I'd tried to kiss you yesterday, you would probably have kissed me back." She nodded, a wistful smile on her face, as he continued, "And if I tried it now, you'd probably slug me. Deservedly."

She laughed. "Maybe. But who's to say what might happen tomorrow?"

I know, not my usual ending. There may be a sequel.