Guys, thank you so much for giving my fanfic a chance! I know I'm not the best, but I'm really glad that it seems like you guys enjoyed it! I said that I would update it every week, and I'll probably update it every Saturday or Sinday. Thank you to all who read it, followed it, and/or reviewed it. I'll try not to let you guys down, and hopefully I'll have time to update it each week. I'll try to work on some of the side plots too, but it is a romance after all. And without further ado, chapter two!
Ferb POV
Ferb wished he wasn't such a hopeless romantic. Maybe then he wouldn't feel betrayed.
After all, it wasn't like he was dating her. He had no right to be jealous.
It was just a few days before school started, early in the morning. In the morning was a slight calming breeze, perfect for alone time. Ferb usually walked in the park in the mornings because of this. It was nice, having an early start on the day, and relaxing. At least, it usually was. Today laced him with anxiety.
The very person he hoped to see and hoped to miss happened to be in the park. Ferb saw her before she saw him.
She was perfect. Pure beauty, what with her dark chocolate hair and her stormy gray eyes, suave, five years older, and way out of his league.
He would have waved, had it not been for the dark-haired man with the monobrow that she was walking with. He was her age, handsome (besides the monobrow), and she was clearly smitten with him. There was no way Ferb could even compete. What twenty year old would even be interested in a fifteen year old like him?
So he stayed silent, unnoticed, like he always was. Sometimes the silence bothered him. He noticed how people ignored him and mostly talked with Phineas. Ferb wished he could be noticed, but talking like Phineas did was not in the cards for him.
He would have to find another way.
Just then, a crumpled piece of paper blew by him.
An idea struck him. And it was perfect.
Phineas POV
"Ferb, what do you mean, you're busy? It's the last day of summer! This needs to be perfect! We need to start early, or we might not have enough time for the ice cream slip and slide!"
Ferb had shrugged. "I'll be back."
And then he had left, clutching a basket full of letters and chocolates. Phineas couldn't even imagine what was more important to Ferb than his own brother. This was Phineas' reputation at stake! He and Ferb always build the biggest, bestest project on the last day of summer, and without Ferb, who knows if he could top off last year?
Maybe Phineas was the only one freaking out about the last day of summer. Baljeet had already cancelled on them because of some summer school thing, and Buford with him. Ferb just couldn't opt out of their end of summer extravaganza, too! He wanted to make the biggest, best project he had ever done. He had to make the most of the day. Tomorrow was school, and he just knew he wouldn't have a lot of time for his projects.
Whatever. Phineas could still get started on building the gigantic water guns. He didn't need Ferb, because clearly Ferb didn't need him. Apparently, neither did anyone else.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Hey, Isabella. At least you're someone I can rely on."
Isabella tilted her head. "What happened?"
Phineas sighed. "Ferb had something else to do. I guess it's just you and me for now."
Isabella squealed, then slapped herself. "Sorry. I'm, um, practicing for my drama patch."
Phineas pinched his nose. "Do you know how to use a blowtorch?"
"What?"
Phineas sighed and returned to his work. "Nevermind."
Isabella sat next to him on the grass. Her chocolate brown eyes bored into him. "Phineas, is something bothering you? You seem… stressed."
At that, Phineas blew up. "No, I'm perfectly fine. Peachy. Of course I'm stressed. Ferb isn't here to help me build this gigantic project that the entire neighborhood is expecting to see. Oh, you see Phineas Flynn over there? Yeah, he built that roller coaster through downtown. I bet he's going to build something huge for the last day of summer. It's unrealistic, and I have basically no one to help me, and Buford and Baljeet are going to miss it, and you're literally no help at all."
Phineas instantly regretted the last part. He knew it wasn't true. But judging by Isabella's red-rimmed eyes, she believed it.
"Isabella-"
Standing up, she sniffed, "I think I should go."
He grabbed her wrist. "Isabella, I didn't mean to-"
Isabella stared at the ground. "I want to be alone now. Please."
He had messed up. And he didn't know how to fix it. Phineas held his head in his hands. What to do, what to do…
"Hey, Phineas. Is there a reason that Isabella's sitting in your front lawn?"
He couldn't deal with her right now. He had to find Isabella and apologize. That was what he would do. All he had to do was find her. Wait, did Abby just say…
He darted towards the fence. God, he hoped Isabella would forgive him. What kind of person yells at their friends like that? He was a horrible-
"Ow!"
Phineas tripped over something soft and big, landing on top of them. Who in their right mind would sit on a pathway?
"Sorry," he said, looking into familiar brown eyes that he had known for ages. He took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Isabella, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it all. I was just really stressed about today and I took it out on you and I know that's no excuse but-"
"Phineas, it's okay."
"No, it's not okay. Izzy, you're one of my best friends, and I don't want to hurt you and-"
Phineas realized then just how close he was to her. If he just leaned a little bit closer-
Where did that thought come from? He pushed it to the back of his mind. It was probably nothing.
He scooted back, sighing. "Look, I'm just really stressed and-"
"I forgive you, Phineas."
Phineas helped Isabella up. "How about we finish these gigantic water guns? I promise to not explode this time."
Isabella smiled. "I'd like that."
Behind them, the sound of footsteps alerted them to another presence. Phineas turned to see-
"Ferb! And Baljeet and Buford!"
"What, you think we would miss out on the last day of summer? No way," Baljeet laughed.
"Aw, you guys!" Phineas hugged his group of friends. "Thanks. I'm glad we get to do this. Together."
Little did they know that they forgot a certain dark haired girl who had heard everything.