New Eyes

Phineas is forced to look through new eyes, and finally sees what has always been right in front of him

Phineas shook his head, his elbows on the table to support his forehead. He supposed it had been inevitable. All those times of drawing up blue prints under the covers by the dim light of his flashlight had finally come back to bite him in the butt—or, rather, eyes.

Calmly, he recalled the optometrist asking him to read the letters on the chart. It had come as a shock to him when he'd realized how blurry they were. In fact, Phineas hadn't even bothered reading them. He'd just looked up at the unfocused form of the doctor and said, "I think I'm blind."

Now the poor boy was wishing he'd lied. The ugly red rimmed glasses that now rested on his face were dorky and ridiculous, and made his eyes look strange. Yes, he could actually see now, but every time he caught his reflection, he did a double take. They just seemed so alien, and the lenses were thick enough to be bullet proof.

"Ferb," Phineas mumbled as they sat beneath their tree. He was holding his glasses in his hands, examining them with fuzzed vision. "I can't wear these things."

Ferb gave a disinterested shrug. After all, he could still read his book.

"Hey guys!" called a familiar voice. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Isabella!" Phineas greeted. He set his glasses back on his head and smiled at her. The boy blinked several times. Had Isabella always been that pretty? Her features seemed much… sharper.

Isabella grinned. "You got glasses!" Immediately she held out her hand. "Let's see how blind you are."

Phineas removed them and handed them to her. "I'm told it's bad," he chuckled.

"Oh, it's bad, alright," Isabella agreed. She passed them back to him. "My head hurts now. How did you see without them?"

"Well," he began, placing the lenses back on his nose, "I guess I didn't know how horrible it was till I put them on." He sighed. "The only problem is, now I can see how awful they look."

"I think they're cute," Isabella told him sheepishly.

Abruptly, Ferb snapped his book shut and stood. He walked purposefully inside, leaving the two out alone.

"Hey!" Phineas called after him, his expression confused. "Ferb! Where are you going?" He turned to the Fireside girl apologetically. "He seems kinda upset. I'd better go find out what's wrong." He paused. "See you tomorrow?"

Isabella glanced away, and—was it a trick of the glasses, or did she look sad? "Okay then. Bye…"

Smiling, Phineas raced inside. His mother was in the kitchen, baking a pie. "Hey Phineas," she said as he made his way through the kitchen. "How do you like your new glasses?"

Phineas hesitated. "I don't know," he admitted. "Isabella said they were cute."

At this, Linda chuckled. "Phineas, you could be growing a third foot out of your cheek and she would still call it cute."

"What does that mean?" he questioned, puzzled.

"Never mind," Linda dismissed. She went back to her pie, so Phineas dropped the subject and continued upstairs to find Ferb.

"I saw you and Isabella!" Candace called as Phineas went past her room.

He stopped and poked his head inside. "Wow," he remarked, shrinking back. "Was your room always this pink?"

Candace ignored his comment and continued, "You are so oblivious, Phineas. I mean, I could literally write a song about you. Phineas the oblivious, never could really see!" she sang. "In fact, it was so obvious, his blindness baffles us all!" Candace stopped. "Wait. That doesn't flow…"

Phineas shook his head and left his crazy sister to head for his own room. "Ferb!" Phineas cried, spying his brother lying on his bed, book in hand. "What's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

The green haired boy set down his book and cocked his head at his brother. "I'm not upset."

"Then why did you just storm off like that?" Phineas pressed.

Ferb blinked slowly, then went back to his book. "It bothers me," he stated simply.

This left Phineas bewildered. "What? Hey!" he exclaimed, jumping up next to Ferb. "What bothers you? I don't get it!"

Ferb rolled his eyes, placed a marker in his book, and faced his sibling sternly. "You're as blind as a bat," he told him. "The glasses haven't helped you see at all. You're still oblivious to the world, and to her."

Phineas blinked again, unsure of what to say. "Huh?" he said finally.

"Those glasses are hideous, by the way," he commented.

The four eyed boy instantly went on the defense. "Isabella likes them," he protested, looking superior.

"Do you like her bow?" Ferb inquired, eyeing him cautiously.

This caught Phineas off guard. "Well… yeah, I do, I suppose."

"Excellent," said Ferb. "Now go tell her that."

Suddenly, it all seemed to click in Phineas's mind. "I'll be back," he said, and he charged out the door. Ferb chuckled softly and opened his book again.

Isabella had been slowly walking home, lingering everywhere she could. She'd told Phineas she liked his glasses. Was she stupid? His lack of response when she'd said that to him only confirmed her greatest fear: Phineas held no feelings for her in that regard.

"Isabella!" Phineas shouted. She turned around to see the short boy chasing after her, new glasses bouncing up and down on his triangle nose. He came up right in front of her, panting to catch his breath. "I…," he began. He took a big gulp of air and swallowed. "I like your bow," he told her.

The black haired girl blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"I said I—I like your bow." Whether his stutter was from nerves or from running, neither was sure.

A moment passed in which Isabella came to realize the underlying meaning of his words, and Phineas felt more awkward by the second. After a few more moments, Phineas simply could not take it anymore. "Oh..." Isabella started, her eyes growing wide with excitement.

"Can I kiss you now?" he blurted.

"Yes!" Isabella nearly screamed.

There was a final, brief moment of awkwardness when Phineas hesitantly leaned forward, trying to angle his nose so he wouldn't poke her or lose his glasses. Finally, he managed to land his lips on hers, making for a most unromantic, yet highly memorable, first kiss for the both of them.

*AN: There. A Phinbella. Take that, world.*