Interlude: So Don't Tell
Candace had planned on spending the day moping on her sorrow of trying to bust her younger brothers and maybe get in some of her university work done on the side-lines. She was sad because at this moment Ferb had his head stuck in some Geometry textbook in the kitchen while Phineas was frantically tapping away at his keyboard upstairs writing an essay on some boring history thing. She knew this because she had been standing behind him watching for the past few minutes.
Then something disrupted her plans, something she had not expected at all.
The knocking downstairs didn't originally deter her from her inspecting. It was only when Phineas stopped typing did she realise. "Candace…" Phineas looks at her pleadingly.
"Fine! I'll go see who it is." She slowly backs out the room. Then changes her mind and rushes back in looks at him still working innocently, "I'm watching you!" She glares and gestures at him then runs out the room again. Downstairs she saw the silhouette of their next door neighbour and greeted the bow wearing teen. When Isabella asked how she was she began, bemoaning her boring fate for the rest of the afternoon. Then she had the epiphany that whenever Isabella was around Phineas always did something to impress her or make her smile. Internally she was wiggling with glee and told Isabella why as she turned to go fetch her youngest brother.
""Actually no. I didn't come for Phineas." With one sentence Isabella stopped Candace in her tracks. "What?" Maybe they are planning something?
"Hey Isabella" Her usually silent brother comments.
Yeah, that must be it.
"Hello Ferb! Are you busy right now? I have a license and there is a two for one hot dog sale at Slushy Dawg."
But Isabella's next question confuses Candace even more, but not as much as Ferb's bored response of "Just me?"
He seemed like he knew what was happening, unlike herself.
"Whawhawhawha…" Candace knew she was stuttering but she couldn't to wrap her mind around Isabella not wanting to spend time with Phineas.
She looks between the two and tries to imagine what they could be up to.
Maybe they want to surprise Phineas with something?
With that in mind she asks Isabella, "What about Phineas?"
"Oh! Well he doesn't really need to know, right?"
AHHA! So they are planning something for Phineas!
"Besides at least Ferb already finished his homework at lunch today."
Wait, what does that have to do with anything? …And why is she zoning out? Is she thinking something bustable? …why is she looking sad? Why would she be sad if she is planning a surprise… And now…is that, guilt? Why would she be guilty for planning something with Ferb? Isabella wouldn't feel guilty unless she was hurting someone, but who could be hurting because of her? But it isn't just her is it? She is feeling guilty because of something to do with Ferb.
She doesn't notice the two leave the house but she does notice Isabella driving in the opposite direction to the closest Slushy Dog. That was the last straw for Candace and she decided that this situation was too much to deal with on her own, she could almost hear that blasted Zebra calling her Kevin already, so she pulled out her phone and on the second ring a voice answered.
"Candace, I will vacuum the apartment when I am good and ready!" Stacy says sternly.
"Isabella just came and asked Ferb if he wanted to go for food." Candace blurts out, "Without Phineas."
"WHAT?!" Stacy gasps. "No Coltrane, no one is dying, Isabella wanted to do something WITHOUT PHINEAS."
Then faintly a masculine voice calls from the background, "WHAT?!"
"She even went as far as to specifically tell me not to even tell Phineas that they were going to go out together." Candace continues her rant as she makes her way into the lounge.
"Wait, couldn't they just be planning a surprise for him again?" Stacy asks.
Candace flops down on the couch sideways, indulging in the familiar moment from her teens, slouching when gossiping with her friend, "That's what I thought! But get this, she then mentions how she already knew Ferb could go out with her because she was watching him do his homework at lunch! She didn't mention Phineas being with them at all!"
"Okay, Candace start from the beginning." Stacy seems to be picking something up.
So Candace tells the story of how Isabella came to ask her brother out for food. With Stacy 'hmm'ing and 'ha'ing every so often. "…then she started looking guilty and after Ferb came down they drove AWAY from the Slushy Dog that us just a few blocks from here!"
"Oh Candace." Stacy says sadly.
"What?"
" They didn't just go out for food, she came to ask him out. Like out out." Stacy says calmly.
"No ways! Isabella could never do that to Phineas! I mean Ferb would have had to have a much bigger reaction, unless they have done something like this before. Like their lunches… No, no ways."
"Yes ways."
"There must be another explanation, but then why would she not want Phineas to come with them to lunch, better yet how come she wouldn't want him to know at all? Also she was guilty about something… she is only guilty when she hurts people, and the only way she could think to hurt him is to give up on him, and by asking not to tell him she won't hurt him. AND they drove off somewhere, most likely where no one who knows them can see them. OMG Stacy. They're dating aren't they?" The last part was whispered in disbelief.
"Well yeah." Stacy states.
"BUT THEY ARE DATING!" Candace flips upside down and waves her arms around.
"This might be the weirdest thing that has happened to us," Stacy sighs, "And we have literally had a mysterious force abduct you to a different dimension."
Candace laughs lightly and both girls think over the current issue in silence.
"What am I supposed to do now? How am I going to tell Phineas?"
"Well, in my opinion…"
" Tell me what?" Phineas says from the staircase.
"NOTHING." Candace shouts.
"Really?"
"Well that sounds suspicious, what I meant to say was… How am I supposed to tell you that you…ah… might have a problem… with um?"
"PASTA." Stacy calls from the phone.
" Yes, pasta, you might have a problem with deciding what…SAUCE, yes sauce you will have on your pasta tonight." Candace stumbles out quickly.
"Not really, I will have whatever Mom makes us." Phineas shrugs and moves towards the kitchen.
"Ah yes! The perfect solution to an easy problem!" Candace smiles. "And the only problem. Not like something is happening that no one would want you to know about. Or like unsuspecting drama is going to occur with whoever tells you that thing… That doesn't exist… Or have anything to do with your brother… yes, well done! I'm going to go do something very unsuspicious somewhere not here…bye." Candace rushes out of the lounge and up the stairs.
"Smooth." Stacy says in her ear.
"Oh be quiet! Pasta? What am I supposed to do with THAT?!"
"Well at least I..."
Phineas watches his sister as she hisses into her cell phone and vanishes up the stairs. He shrugs, knowing by now that somethings with Candace he will never understand, and vows not to let it distract him from the copious amounts of homework he still had since he had been planning his newest scheme instead of actually concentrating on school.
He thinks about how lucky Ferb is that he managed to do some at lunch. It was weird that Ferb actually hadn't taken part in his planning. But maybe this is what happens when people grow up, they grow distant. He shakes the thoughts out of his head and goes back to his homework, but try as he might he cannot stop himself staring out the window and thinking about what everyone already seemed to know and the things no one wished to tell him.