A/N: Holy hiatus! Well, no, actually. I guess that I've still been writing, but it's hard to find the free time in university. Even my weekends should be spent doing homework, but...it's the weekend, come on. Anyhow, I still have a chapter pile-up, so no worries for the time being. I actually finished another chapter just the other day, so hopefully things will be completed in good time. As for this chapter, our fourth, we return to our heroine to check out how she is faring. Enjoy!

And just to lay with you,

There's nothing that I wouldn't do...

.*.

Isabella spent weeks not knowing what to do with herself. She had not been able to shelve her pride and return to the Flynn-Fletcher's backyard ever since the incident on the beach. It had not been so obvious before, but she realized now how much of her time had been spent with the two boys. Now that she could no longer face Phineas, the main portion of her social circle was nonexistent.

She had taken to spending the time she was not working cooped up in her room, reading. Most times, the books lay discarded as her mind slowly churned through ways to deal with the situation. The resourceful, sensible Fireside Girl inside of her wanted only to fix things between them somehow; she was beginning to truly accept that just friends would be far more desirable than not speaking at all. It was clear that the best course of action would be to forget the awkward encounter and go on as they always had. Phineas would probably act as if nothing had ever happened, which would make the return to normalcy much easier. Re-establishing their friendship would be as simple as initiating a casual conversation.

And yet, the determined Fireside Girl inside of her knew that although it was a matter best left dropped, it still felt as if she had been cheated out of a wonderful opportunity. Perhaps it was because she could not comprehend why Phineas would reject her, but she refused to let the subject go. As much as she wanted to move on and not put herself through any further embarrassment, she could not stop herself from concocting elaborate plans that could possibly ensnare her target.

No matter how much Isabella dwelled on the subject, she still could not work up the courage to let Phineas know that she was thinking about him. Her pride had been damaged at the beach, and it was still not fully repaired. Every day, it became harder to steel herself for what had to inevitably come. Some days she would sit for hours at a time, staring at her cell phone, unsure of what to do.

It was late July when the ice was finally broken—but it was not Isabella's doing.

She was seated at her desk, chin propped onto one hand as see stared unseeingly at the book in front of her. Her mind was whirring in its usual fashion when a vibration from her phone startled her into awareness. It had been a while since anyone of any consequence had sent her a message, and so she peered at the screen with her usual apprehension.

To her surprise, the sender was Ferb.

Coffee? was all it said.

So starved was she for attention from the Flynn-Fletchers that she responded immediately without giving the situation any forethought. Only after she had pressed the Send button did it occur to her that it might be a set-up. Meet Ferb for coffee, only to see that Ferb is nowhere in sight and Phineas is waiting instead. And yet, a part of her felt as if Ferb would not do something of that sort. She tried to ease the growing nervousness when Ferb messaged her back with a time and place.

Isabella was at the coffee shop fifteen minutes early. She had decided on the way over that if Phineas were to walk through the front doors instead of his stepbrother, she would make a hasty getaway through the side exit. She hoped that she would not have to resort to such a cowardly act, but she would rather defend her honour than her already-battered pride.

At three p.m. on the dot, it was Ferb that entered the store. Isabella breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a small wave. He returned it, and went to stand in line for the coffee.

Isabella watched him as he waited, wondering why he might have invited her out. Maybe he wanted to discuss the situation with Phineas in order to remedy the widening fissure between them. Ferb was bright—he might have a plan.

When Ferb returned with the coffee, she decided that she was not going to delay or mince words. She wanted to know his reasons for meeting straightaway. All she had to do was remain cool and focused.

Ferb looked like he was about to say something when she cut him off.

"Okay, Ferb, why did you ask me to meet you here?" she demanded. "Why today? Why after so many weeks? Is there some sort of agenda here? What do you want?" She took a deep breath. Cool and focused. Right. "Ferb, do you know how lonely it's been? If you wanted to hang out or talk or whatever, you could have at least asked me sooner! Doesn't anyone care?" She had already gone off on a tangent, but at the moment she did not care. All of the bitter thoughts that had been accumulating over the past few weeks were now pouring out in an unstoppable flow. "I made one little mistake and now everything's ruined! I just want to talk to Phineas again, but I can't, because I already made myself look like an idiot and now I can't even look him in the eye—"

"Isabella," Ferb interrupted. His voice was clear and firm, and Isabella immediately ceased her tirade. He grabbed her hand and looked her straight in the face. "Listen to me. I just wanted to see how you're doing. That's all. I don't have an agenda or an ulterior motive. I just wanted to see you. Okay?"

Isabella could only stare at him for a moment, abashed. "Okay," she said in a small voice, and took a sip of her coffee.

Ferb nodded and released her hand. He took a drink of his own coffee, not taking his eyes off of her, as if afraid that she was going to lose it once more.

She did not want to ask, but she found herself unable to resist. "How has Phineas been?"

"Fine," Ferb replied. He did not look like he was going to elaborate, so Isabella did not pry. Her gut gave an unpleasant lurch at the simple response. Was he doing fine without her? Was that what Ferb meant? Was he just trying to spare her feelings? Or was he covering for his stepbrother? She could not read his expression.

"I've really missed you both," she murmured, eyes downcast.

She felt a warm hand on her own again. She looked back into Ferb's eyes. Though he said nothing, it was easy to see that he felt the same. His eyes, though, could not speak for Phineas, and that was the person who she was worried about. She was desperate to hear that Phineas wanted her back in his life; he must miss his old friend, even if their feelings for each other were not the same anymore. He could not have forgotten about her so easily.

Since Ferb did not seem willing to offer any more information, Isabella knew that it was upon herself to catch Phineas' attention. It was all a matter of how she went about it.

An idea was burgeoning somewhere deep in her consciousness—an unpleasant idea. She tried to prevent it from properly forming, but it was gaining momentum. Weeks had passed since she had last seen Phineas. Desperation was setting in, and she was willing to do anything to get him to notice her, even if it meant resorting to desperate measures.

A part of her screamed not to go through with it, but her foolish love of Phineas overpowered it with ease. She was sickened to hear the words coming from her mouth. The plan was lonely, pathetic and terrible—but she was enacting it all the same.

"Ferb..." She brought her other hand over to the one that Ferb was already gently clasping. "I've really missed...you."

Ferb's face showed no change of emotion.

"This is really hard for me to say," she mumbled, and bit her lip for effect. Grasping his hand, she prepared herself to go on. "Ferb, I...I was being silly before, chasing after him. He's my friend...was my friend, I guess...but it's not worth it to put myself through that just for a boy like him. He obviously doesn't have any interest in me..." The swell of bitter resentment was gathering in her chest, and she bit it down with difficulty.

His expression still did not change, but he gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze.

"But...I've noticed that...you've always been there for me." She smiled weakly at him, still cursing herself for sinking so low. "And you're so sweet, and nice. Ferb, I think I might...I might..." She let her voice trail away, hoping that he would catch on without her having to finish the sentence. It was nauseating her already.

There was almost a full minute of silence during which Isabella gazed fixedly into the depths of her coffee cup and Ferb continued to stare blankly. As the seconds ticked by, Isabella prayed that he would reject her just as Phineas had, so as to spare them both from her hurtful deception. It was true—Ferb was sweet, nice and understanding. He was probably the kindest person she knew. It would be the ultimate cruelty to take advantage of him to achieve her own means. It was too late for her to take back what she had said.

It was all in his hands now.

A/N: The lyrics preceding this chapter are from Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect, by The Decemberists. Reviews are greatly appreciated, as always~