14AmyChan: okay, so this starts off the oneshots that I said I'd do. If you asked a question, I WILL get to it, just not super-fast.
Isabella: this is in between chapters 5 and 6
Phineas: Isabella doesn't know she's Isabella at this point, so Amy's just gonna call her Anabella.
14AmyChan: I don't own PnF, and I hope ya'll like~! *^_^*
"Let's see... I need streamers, balloons, sushi—" Anabella listed off as she walked. Phineas noticed the fast pace with which she walked and the authority in her voice that made a simple list seem like it was Isabella looking for another one of her patches. The similarities were uncanny, but there was something off with this list.
"Why would you need sushi?" Phineas asked. When they were younger, he had never seen Isabella come near sushi. It acted like an Isabella repellant when they were little, much like zucchini for him. He wondered vaguely if he had made a mistake and if this was really just some huge coincidence.
"Almost everyone who wants to hang out with me loves the stuff for some reason. I really don't like it, so I think I'll get that last," Ana stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose for emphasis. She had never liked sushi. When she was eleven, she had been forced in the same room with the stuff and blatantly refused to eat any of it. She was grateful when her father had not pushed the subject.
Ana cast a curious eye to the boy beside her. She was still holding onto his hand, and it seemed neither of them minded for the most part. That thought filled her chest with warmth for some reason. It was starting to freak her out. She had never been one to believe in love at first sight. That was only fairy tales, right?
"So, Phineas," Ana started out, truly testing his name on her lips, smiling when a faint tingle of happiness coursed through her veins. The red headed teen looked at her, obviously expecting her to say something next. She racked her mind to find something to say without sounding stupid.
"Where do you wanna go first?" Ana decided to ask, relieved that it did not make her sound like a complete dolt. Phineas seemed to interview his surroundings, preparing to answer the question.
In reality, the lad was wondering where on earth they should go. He was unfamiliar with this territory and was trusting the judgment of someone he had just met who had uncanny similarities to someone he knew and loved. Before he could follow that train of thought to question if he needed to see a shrink, his eye caught a nearby shop. City Party was its name.
"That looks like a good place to start" Phineas pointed in its direction. Ana followed his gaze and raised a curious eyebrow. Perhaps he was not from the area. He obviously did not know about how expensive City Party could be. Before she could point this out, however, the young man was already striding toward the shop. She quickly caught up, not wanting to lose him in the crowd or miss the look on his face when he saw the price tag.
She walked in the store expecting him to be like any other male and look at the price tag first. She was pleasantly surprised to find that he was instead exploring every inch of the store, being pleased with every costume, mask, and prop. Party supplies galore filled the inside of the store to the brim and splashed color everywhere. Watching Phineas in such surroundings was more than a tad comical.
"...bella! Look over here!" Ana heard faintly from the other side of the store. She briefly wondered why he called her by her full name instead of by Ana as everyone else did, but shook off the thought as she proceeded to the back of the store. A hand flew to her mouth to stifle a laugh as she saw her new friend in a red cowboy hat and a huge, childish grin.
"Look at what I found! Oh, this isn't even the best one!" Phineas exclaimed excitedly as he put the hat exactly where he had found it before reaching for a dark brown cape and a nearby sword.
"Pretend this is a light saber," Phineas imagined out loud, his grin becoming infectious. Ana giggled as he boyishly swung a plastic sword around. Before long, it looked as if he were struck with another idea. He quickly returned his brown robe and looked around.
"Whatcha looking for?" Ana asked, the phrase almost naturally rolling off her tongue. Phineas did not seem to notice as he had found what he was looking for. He proudly placed the jolly roger hat on his head and attached the fake black beard to his face.
"Look! I'm a pirate now!" Phineas grinned in pride at his newly found disguise. Ana could not help but laugh.
"But, Phineas, you don't even have a chin!" Isabella proclaimed, instantly getting a sense of déjà vu. A blur of dark colors overtook her vision. Like a cave with a few spots of moss in it. Ana quickly shook her head just in time to see that her companion had removed the pirate disguise and was looking at her with a worried expression.
"You all right I—Ana?" Phineas halted himself before he accidentally called her Isabella again. He did not understand why, but there was still that gut feeling that told him the girl in front of him was her. It was what allowed him to act like such a child after such a long time. Deciding to mature a little bit, he glanced at the price tag of all the costumes he had been going through.
"No way!" Phineas' jaw hit the ground as he stared at the price. Twenty five dollars for a mask? That was ridiculous!
"I was going to warn you, but you just looked so excited when you trying all that stuff on," Ana admitted, a guilty smile on her face. Phineas' head swiveled to her direction. He lifted the price tag incredulously.
"And you guys pay this much?" he asked, relieved when she shook her head no.
"We usually go to the store down the street," she answered. Phineas looked at the mask, carefully replaced it on the shelf, and walked out of the store with Ana following closely behind. They walked a few blocks to save at least ten dollars and talked all the way, discussing little things such as the weather.
"Hey, look at this," Ana halted in her tracks as something caught her eye. In truth, it had caught Phineas' as well, and it had taken his strength to try to ignore it for the sake of trying to figure out who this girl was, but upon her calling out, he simply could not help himself.
"Yeah, it looks pretty neat!" Phineas said as he brought his eyes to watch a machine work its magic through a windowpane. Though Ana was probably going on about the sugary confections the machine was making, Phineas was mesmerized by the efficiency with which the machine worked. For the first time in a long time, he thought about making something new with the basic idea of this machine.
"...Phineas?" Ana finished up her question and inadvertently brought the young man out of his thinking spot. He looked to see that Ana had a slightly miffed look on her face and he smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked, hoping the question would get him out of this pickle. Ana sighed, then chuckled and smiled.
"I asked if you wanted to go in and try some of their fudge, mister inventor," Ana said before she stopped, a curious look on her face.
"That's strange, you don't invent..." Ana mumbled, trying to figure out why she had just called him that. Why had she not called him by his name?
"Actually yes, yes I do," Phineas disagreed gently. Though it had been a long time since he had made something new, he still liked to invent. It was a passion that had surfaced again when he and Ferb worked on the Sunbeater 9001. And when Isabella had been around, he had invented every day. Isabella would not have known about him ever stopping inventing.
"That's odd," Ana remarked, seemingly nonchalant. However, even Phineas could tell that what she had said—and the accuracy with which she had said it—was beginning to freak her out a bit. To take her mind off of matters such as that, he hesitantly took her hand and walked her into the confections store.
"So, how about that fudge?" Phineas asked with a grin. Ana smiled in return and Phineas knew he had done the right thing. While she was still recollecting her thoughts, she brightened instantly at the thought of chocolate and followed him inside. Once they had placed their orders, they looked for a table and soon found one. Phineas walked ahead and pulled the chair out and assisted Ana into the chair. She accepted with a smile.
"Thank you, Phineas," Ana said quietly, and her entire demeanor reminded him at once of a shy Isabella. He really hoped this was her, but he was still so unsure.
"No problem," he answered as he let himself in his chair. The shop was small, but it was not girly by any means. It had color, much like City Party, but the prices were a little better. Perhaps that was because of the two-for-one sale on fudge going on right then.
"No, I don't think you get how rare that is, that a guy would actually pull a chair out for a girl," Ana smiled. Phineas was confused. Was that not manners? It was just being polite, right? It was really no big deal, but he decided not to press the issue and instead switch topics.
"So how long have you lived here?" Phineas asked, hoping this would be a make-or-break question with a clear answer to tell him exactly who he was dealing with. Ana, however, scrunched her face in concentration.
"It's been a long time," Ana answered, somewhat dodging the question. In truth, she could not remember before she was eleven years old, something that threw a wrench in the works whenever she had been asked that question. This was the answer she was accustomed to giving, so she gave it.
"Oh," Phineas said, feeling like he had been cheated out of an answer, but deciding not to press this issue either. There was a silence for a simple stretch of time before Ana noticed something.
"It looks like a roller coaster," she stated, looking behind Phineas' head. Curious, the boy turned and saw nothing except for a multicolored line that spanned the entire wall, making loops, fast drops, and—oh.
"Yeah, it kinda does," Phineas smiled, grateful for something they could talk about openly. Roller coasters had always been a happy thought for him, being the first big invention he had ever made with his brother.
"Strange," Ana mused for a second, catching Phineas' attention. She smiled warmly. "For some reason, whenever I think of roller coasters, I think of planes, construction, and outer space," she noted without realizing the implications of what she was saying.
"Do you think of a little cute alien in a space ship?" Phienas asked, attempting to be subtle about his asking. If she remembered Meap, then…
"Pssh, no," Ana fibbed, twirling her hair and looking anywhere instead of Phineas' eyes. How did he know about the little alien? She cast a curious look back at the boy's face, unsure whether or not she should be giggling at his confused expression. In the end, she gave in.
"How did you know about that? Is that some kind of ride I could have been on before?" Ana asked, finally giving in. Phineas was even more confused now. This girl knew about Meap, but did not want to admit it to him, she knew about what happened—both times, mind you—on their rollercoaster, and generally acted and sounded a lot like Isabella.
So what's missing? Phineas thought as he looked at the girl across from him, who was instantly being delighted by the fact that the fudge they had ordered had just arrived. She instantly took a toothpick and expertly chose a chocolate with a caramel center.
The same that Isabella likes… Phineas thought before scanning the fudge for himself. He eventually found and claimed a piece of fudge spotted with almonds. He noticed that she had seen him take his piece and her eyebrows had furrowed together in concentration.
"What's up?" Phineas asked before taking a bite of his fudge. Ana seemed to break out of her trance long enough to smile.
"It's just weird, cause I knew you were gonna pick the almond one instead of the lemon one. It's like I'm going psychic or something," Ana offered a half-baked hypothesis in good humor. Soon enough, they both were laughing and giggling like five year olds.
Though something did not sit well with Phineas. True, he loved almonds more than lemon, but the fact that she would have "guessed" that was really quite uncanny. He plopped his piece of fudge in his mouth after a few moments. Perhaps this was her… If so, then what—
"Oh my gosh! Look at the time!"Ana exclaimed, taking a glance at the clock hung up on the wall. Phienas turned and his eyes shot wide open.
"I've gotta grab some of that sushi and head back home," Ana stated, hurriedly grabbing her things and placing a tip on the table. Phineas had paid, so she figured she might as well tip.
"Yeah, I've gotta go, too," Phineas admitted. He thought about him wasting the entire afternoon with some girl who probably was not even the person he was searching for. However, even he had to admit to himself that he had a good time.
"I guess I'll see you later, then," Ana asked hopefully, her purse slung over her shoulder and her bags in a sturdy hand. Phineas studied her for a moment. They had been shopping for a party. He was going to a party. For a birthday girl. The supplies were for her birthday party.
"Probably," Phineas replied, certain that he had been invited to her party. The only question was as to why. Why would he and Ferb have been invited to a party on the west coast for a girl who looked and acted almost exactly like Isabella?
Ana was already departing with a smile. Before she left, however, she turned back and, seemingly without a second thought, hollered, "And the next time you see Ferb, tell him I said hi!"
And like that, she was gone, leaving a dumbstruck Phineas standing in a confections store.
14AmyChan: and that should tie it back into the main plotline.
Phineas: and Amy was listening to a song while she wrote this.
14AmyChan: it's not really relevant, but it's a good song.
www . youtube_._com "forward slash" watch?v=G6O_6dIuI9c
totally listen to it, cause it's amazing~! *^_^*
Isabella: please read and review~! And if you don't know what's going on, go back and read "Can the Lost be Found". :D
14AmyChan: l8r, all~! *^_^*